May's Madness

This month is gone as I'm writing this post on June 1st. I can't believe it. 41 days until my "real" due date. That's really not a long time but in my mind it still seems too long.  I'm really hoping that this sweet angel girl comes a little earlier than that.  They have estimated that she will be my biggest baby yet.  I'll be fine with a delivery in anything after 20 days.  I'm actually shooting for July 2nd if anyone has any control of that.  :-) I posted my bittersweet news on Mother's Day.  But here is the rest of the news..... (updates)

The third week of May Jacob went up to upstate NY to work a little and then I met him for a long weekend so we could look at the area and neighborhoods and get a feel for it.  I'm not sure what to think yet.  Sunday we finally took a day off (since it was Stake Conference for all of the wards there) we went up to Niagara Falls.  We didn't do any of the "touristy" things as we figure we will wait for our children to be here for that. 

It really pretty.  But just from looking and from what everyone has said, the Canada side is WAY better.  I have my passport but it looks like we are going to have to get the kids and Jacob's paperwork going so we can take advantage of it.

Forever.....even if its following him off a cliff......

I came home and had less than a week to finally get a Texas drivers license before my Idaho one expired.  I don't like my new one.  Who would at 7 1/2 months pregnant.  At least they didn't make me put my pregnancy weight down.  Maybe they just didn't notice.  Oh well, at some point I'll have to get a New York license.  (Maybe.)

McKay had her first Stake Youth Dance.  She had counted down the day for months!  She was so upset she missed the Stake Youth Conference by less than ten days.  Now she's trying to convince dad into staying ten extra days so she can make it to the next one in August!

On our way home again. Hopefully for awhile.

Last Saturday, It was time to take off.  We went by and said goodby to family members and gave as many hugs as we could. 

 

We stopped by my dad's grave and had our peace.  I was glad that this time a could get a picture of all the kids in front of his grave.  I know he is holding our new baby daughter and getting his play time in with her before she comes her on earth.

 So then we got in the car and drove.  Jacob really wanted to do one thing out of the normal.  This time is was to climb Delicate Arch.  It was super icy and very slick. 
I don't recommend it to pregnant people or unbalanced children.....or both.  And right at the top, I dropped the lens COVER, only the cover, down into the canyon.  So Jacob ran down and found the small piece,

 and runs back up.

He was my knight in shining "canon".  : )
Then we got back in the car and drove for a very long time.  And even more the next day.  This week, I have definitely been happy to be home.   Home sweet home.

It had been a long time since our last road trip

 Last Monday morning, we decided to take a road trip to Utah to see Jacob's parents and brother.

It was a long drive but it was definitely worth our time.

Every chance the kids got, they played in the snow.

 

We visited with my family, and of course, a Utah trip means a new hair do.  

Of course, we always needs the group pictures.  It turned out that the first one was the best.

And then they got silly.....

 

.....and sillier.  We were having a good laugh as Jacob tried to get Katanya to smile and not make a funny face.

 The celebration was because Axel had come home from his mission in Japan.  My kids had missed him!  On the way there, Cruz had asked if Axel would come live with us again.

 This was one of my favorites.

 And then the food babies came out.  Axel has McKay beat.

 Here is my 19 week picture.  I think that this past week I have been home, she has decided to pop out a little more.

 The girls had to have a picture also!  We were being silly most of the time though.

 I am so lucky to have so many "sisters".  Thanks for the great trip!  

More to come....

"The Life Cycle of a Road Trip"

We left for Kansas the Thursday before our race.
Since it was McKay's birthday weekend, I told her she could come and see Aspen or stay home.  She came but I also let her bring a friend so the 20 hours in the car wasn't boring for her (or annoying for us.) 

You can see that we were peppy and full of life.  The car ride included laughing, singing, talking, and playing a game called psychiatrist.  We learned a lot about each other and soon came up with our "KS road trip nick names."  Mandy was very good at getting us to our destination at the ETA the GPS gave us when we left.  That was including our gas and bathroom stops.

And we pulled some "touristy" photos along the way.  We have to have proper documentation.

McKay's friend, Amanda, turned out being from a family that Betsy new.  Back when they were in the Taylor ward, part of our ward was within their boundaries.  It really is such a small world.

Lawrence tries to claim that they are a twin sister to Austin.  Betsy told this when we got there and we actually ran into people that claimed this too.  It's not.  But I did like the fact that they were different and changed their signs.  I'm used to seeing "speed bump." Friday was our "take it easy after a drive day."  We went and drove the course and picked up our packets.

This new tool is one of my best friends.  After receiving a massage, I was sold.  I have a foam roller but this works my calves so much better and easier.  I know, I'm a sucker.  My first thought was, "this could help me with my Christmas gift that I gave Jacob".  My second thought was "now Jacob can give me a massage and it won't tear my muscles up or feel worse the next day."  And my last thought was, "This feels good."  Now Cruz will rub my legs and back down for a low cost. 10 minutes = $1.  

We ran our race and then that evening we went to the Kansas City Temple Open House.  It is a really gorgeous temple. 

You can see from our (or my) eyes that we are tired.  I was exhausted.  I wasn't able to take a nap after the race. 

 When I was a little kid, I remember being amazed by fountains.  I still am. 

 It still amazes me how peaceful and calm the feeling is when you walk through the doors.  It's so instant.  The rooms were amazing.  The chandeliers in the celestial room were hand sewn by community members.  The tour didn't last long enough.

Of course, we have to sport the stylish shoes! 

Nate spoiled us the next morning.  He got up and started making some of his famous waffles. He really is an amazing cook and we were all very grateful.

There were "real" chocolate waffles with vanilla ice cream, lemon poppy seed waffles with blueberry syrup, and ginger waffles with buttermilk syrup topped with pears.  I think I ate the most waffles in that sitting than I had ever eaten.

This was our final shot in Kansas before we started for home.  I was still exhausted. 

There was no game playing on the way home.  Mentally, I couldn't do it.  So the girls did this instead.  And, no this isn't a balloon....

  ....it was McKay's bubble from a whole package of Bubble Tape.

The car ride was a lot quieter.  Stacy summed it up best, "It's the Life Cycle of a Road Trip.  Although the last two hours went by quickly because we plugged my phone in and we played YouTube Videos of the classic older Young Women Songs.  There was Ordinary Hands, I Heard Him Come, Learn of Me, etc.  But our favorite was "I Walk by Faith," and we sang it with pride.  The girls didn't find it as fun as we did and finally said, "Can't you play any ones we know?" 

I should have known better

I shouldn't have been so proud of how far we had come. With pride comes humility. This is what we woke up to.We had checked the weather the day before and it was suppose to be clear all weekend. It wasn't a pretty sight, but we decided to tough it out. About 30 miles later it was clear and so were the roads. So we kept on going, and another 70 miles the road got to be like this.A blowing snowstorm with bumper to bumper traffic.

With driving eight hours, and a nine hour road trip, we accomplished just over 180 miles. We called it quits and stayed our cousins in Denver for the night. We will try again tomorrow.

P.S. These pics do not deserve being blown up. I am not ready for this weather.

P.P.S. I am enjoying the Christmas music on the drive.

Road trip Reality

• Last night was Jake's last volcano (for awhile.)
• This morning was an early (6am) farewell to the beach.
• Throughout the day was a realization as we watched the temperature drop what we were in for when we get home.
• After stopping for dinner and having 3 out of 4 kids spill their drink before dinner came, it came to the point where all I could do was laugh as the third one spilled, even though Jake was telling me it's not funny as he is holding in chuckles also. I'm sure people thought we were nuts.

On another note, we drove over 1,080 miles. We went from the southern tip of Texas to the North-western tip, through a corner of New Mexico, and we are now barely into Colorado. Tomorrow we will be home in another 800 miles.

I must say, we are quite the fam to punch out the miles.

I'm actually tired for once. It's now time for sleep.

When will he ever learn?

Being married to Jake will always keep me smiling.... and laughing. Tonight I wondered when Jake will realize what that little yellow light means in the corner by the gas gauge.So in the middle of Austin, in the middle of the evening, in the middle of the road. We ran out of gas..... we all remember Moab right?Luckily, we pushed, parked, and walked just down the road and down a block. We weren't so stranded this time. As Jake said on our walk to get gas, "This never happens to me, the last time was when I was in college......"

(We all remember Moab.)

There is a First for everything....

This trip was a FIRST in a lot of ways. I originally was going to get a picture of the trailer and how packed it was, but I forgot, and it's unloaded, so I'm out of luck.

FIRST....

• time Jake over packed. I always over pack. I think Jake has more clothes than any of us here this trip.
• in the way we took a different route to Texas. Wouldn't advise it, longer and well, just longer.
• time in a long time that is only took $23 dollars to get to Salt Lake City in gas. Wow, and Ya!
• that we stayed both nights on the road in a hotel with three beds. The best part is we didn't spend more than $75. I don't know if the price is because 1-Jake is always wanting a good deal, 2- travel coupons, 3-because we travel til 1 or 2 in the morning and then are trying to find a room.
• time we saw wolves along the roadside in Arizona.
• ever hearing about Jonestown and the tragedy that went on there. There was a special on CNN that we picked up on satellite radio that was very interesting. This leads to the next one....
• trip with satellite radio. Big bonus!
• trip to Betsy's that we spent less than $240 in gas. And that is adding extra hours of driving on.

Now that the firsts are over there is one thing that we have realized. In all the times of us driving to Texas, we have ALWAYS driven through Albuquerque (and most of New Mexico) in the dark. Always.

Our new Journey's Journey

I guess I have to brag, just a little. He deserves that much. This is the trailer that Jake built.

It's just the perfect size for our upcoming road trip. I'm really stoked because it opens from the top. Easy access makes all the difference.

I must now admit that Jake can be a genius sometimes. He's always asking me that. He is one of the handiest men I know. (That's the bragging part.)

"This summer...."

"....I'm staying at home more and not going down to Utah as much." I say this every year. Does it happen? So far, not yet. This summer out of 6 weeks already, I have made three trips. I'm not saying Utah is bad, I'm just saying that sometimes it's nice to stay home and do other things. So while my blogging has been a little shaky and sometimes non-existent, this is the reason.

The first week of June, baseball started. The girls wanted to do some kind of sport, and this happened to be the one of choice. So for 3 mornings a week, I had to juggle six games. Fun but as a parent, you wonder why you do this to yourself. (We all know the reason, it's for the love of our children, but you still ask yourself).The only trick was, keeping the little kids happy and close by why I watched the older kids play. We all know how two year old's work.The only unfortunate thing was in the first two out of four weeks. Only two days were played because of weather. It was still mighty cold, wet, and windy in the land of Idaho. The good thing, this baseball league is played more for fun than anything. It makes it so the kids really enjoyed it.Then came the first trip. My sister's wedding. I'm not going a lot into detail here because it was (and still is) a very complicated soap opera. My dad came back for two weeks. My kids always love it when he comes up.(Our second trip down) Mike and Haley got married on the 24th. They are a cute couple and this was a fun gathering. We also had to take Grandpa back. From the time they got engaged, my girls were excited Haley would be there aunt. They love to tease and play with Mikey.You would think that they actually love each other. This is a favorite pic.Sam spent a good 7 weeks with us. He learned how hard grunt work really is. Also just how important sleep is when you have to get up early and start a long day. Although his appetite is one of a horse. : ) He is a great kid and my kids really like him.. All of the grandchildren with the grandparents.After the reception, we headed back to Idaho that night. I really wanted to just keep on going and go to Robbie and Hannah's reception in California, but work and the trees just made it impossible. But on the other hand, Betsy and her kids were almost to our house! This is always fun when she is here and she is a great friend. I am always saying how lucky I was to marry into a great family! I wish I were closer to her too. Betsy stayed with us for a week like I said before. So at one point there were 12 in our house. It never seemed like that many at all. Believe it or not, everyone had beds except two. Isaac slept on the couch downstairs and Toby got two foam pads on the floor. (I tried out the foam pads and I thought they were more comfy than the couch personally.) Hint, hint, anyone is always welcome to visit us up here and we have plenty of room.

We all know Betsy is one of the photographers in the family, where I really struggle. I didn't even pull my camera out at all. We played a lot in the water, and whenever this happened Katanya had the desire to be undressed. I'm still shaking my head and smiling.

Our third trip was last week. McKay goes to her other dad's for the 2nd half of summer and Jake starts a project in Salt Lake. We spent a couple days with Erika and pictures are still in the camera. That will have to be a later post.

So as you can see, this summer won't be the one either.