Decorating our Rooms Finally!

I will post our Christmas pics soon, but first I wanted to get up some pictures of new bedroom decorations.

Avery's room is a work in progress, but Michael has been anxious to work on it especially when I am at work and can't give any input. This baby better come out a little girl : ), or really like pink, brown and cream.

Here is the boy's room. We finally got bunkbeds a couple months ago. We found awesome mario decals and then for Christmas Grandma Connie got the boys Mario sheets and blankets for their beds!

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December 2010

December is such a busy month, with so much to do. So I am just going to highlight some of our activities so far and get caught up!

We put up our tree and Christmas decorations the first week of December. I'm so lucky this year to have boys who want to help.

We had a ward Christmas Party at the beginning of the month. Santa came to visit and the boys got to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Ethan wants a Nintendo DS and Josh wants a new bike like Ethan's. (Where did they learn such expensive wishes?)

Josh got visit with Santa again when he came to his preschool class during their Christmas Party. I love Josh's face when he sees Santa, it still seems very magical to him.

The boys had a Holiday Concert at school. Both Ethan and Josh's class sang a few songs and we got to enjoy Grandma Connie for a few days since she came to see the show.

For my work's end of year party, they opened up the Arizona Science Center for employees. It was very crowded but we made it to the rock wall before the line was too long. Ethan did excellent making it all the way to the ceiling.

Ethan has lost yet another tooth, he is up to four which is more than anyone in his class. He especially enjoys the money the tooth fairy leaves him each time.

Finally a picture of baby Avery, thanks to our photographer Joshua. This is me at 27weeks, looking large and wondering how I'm going to grow another 3 months.

Thanksgiving 2010

For Thanksgiving we traveled up to St. George to visit family and had so much fun. Lots of our family were able to come and extended family came over for Thanksgiving too.

Aunt Melissa came down from Salt Lake and we were able to see sweet Hadley for the first time. Josh loved Hadley and can't wait for his own baby to come to his house.

After playing inside for a day or two, we decided the boys needed some outside time. St. George has lots of tree dropping their leaves, something we don't get to see very much of in Phoenix. The boys of course had a blast jumping in the leaf pile Daddy raked up for them.

Avery in 3D!

Yesterday we splurged on getting a 3D ultrasound done. I know to most people they look really weird and not like a cute baby, but I thought it was so neat to actually see her. We got a DVD of her moving around, stretching and yawning just like newborns do. Here are a few of the still pics we got from it. Her little face doesn't have much baby fat on it yet, but she really looks like my Joshua when he was born.

She was doing all sorts of acrobat moves, here she pulled her knees into her chest and then kicked them straight out at the ultrasound probe.

Halloween 2010

This year for Halloween we dressed up as pirates. We had a lot of fun carving pumpkins, at our church Halloween party and trick or treating.

The boys and I getting ready for the party.

These are our pumpkins, Josh helped clean out the pumpkins and Ethan drew what he wanted the face to look like.

Here is our family pic in our costumes.

A close up of the boys.


And to not leave Avery out, here is a belly shot at 20 weeks.

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Cabin trip

Two weekends ago we finally went up and stayed at my Grandma's cabin. We've been wanting to for a long time, it's just hard to find a whole weekend without plans or work. It was nice and cool and the boys got to play outside all day.

Michael fixed the ladder to climb up to the tree house so the boys got to play up there.

We made Ethan go potty in the outhouse once, even though my grandma has an indoor bathroom.

This is Michael eating a sandwich for maybe the second time in our entire marriage.

Us posing by the fire, after dinner we made some yummie smores.

We went to the creek in hopes of catching some tadpoles or little fish but there was nothing but a little bit of water.

Our Avery!

I had another ultrasound on Monday, again the baby was super active. I don't even have any good ultrasound pics to share because they are blurred by movement. My doctor says he is sure it is a girl, we got to see the 3 little lines on the ultrasound a few times and definitely didn't see any boy parts at all. I left feeling excited but maybe a still hesitant about having a girl finally but the next four months will go fast and I need to start planning if a girl is going to join our family. We will name her Avery, since that is a name we have had picked out for several years.


I don't have any super recent photos of my belly, but here is one at 18weeks when we went to Schnepp farms. I have gained 10 pounds so far which is good for me, but my appetite has really started to kick in lately. This baby loves jalapenos, salty and sour foods, which is different than with my boys. With them I ate ice cream and cherries a lot.

Ethan's 6th Birthday

We celebrated Ethan's birthday last week. Ethan is 6 now, he is in kindergarten this year and reads and writes the best in his class. He is a very smart boy as he has always been and we always have to be on our toes to make sure he isn't tricking us. He loves to play mario kart, do word searches and really any type of activity sheet. He is a good big brother to Joshua and is excited for us to have a new baby.

On his birthday, Ethan got to open a few presents, he just got a few small gifts from us because we are sending Santa extra money to get the Nintendo DS he wants for Christmas. Then we went out to Red Robin to eat.

We ate dessert at Red Robin, but we still wanted to blow out some candles at home, so we stuck them in some playdough.

On Saturday we continued our celebration by going out to Schnepp farms. We've been there before and we always feel like it is the funnest family activity you can do in Phoenix. They have everything rides, corn maze, pumpkin patch, spooky train ride, hayride, family pedal cars and more. It's a blast and makes it actually feel like fall time.

Aren't my boys the cutest, especially in their plaid shirts I bought?

Josh had an emergency pee in the corn maze, it was already dark when we were doing the corn maze so it was easy to hide around the corner.

A Good Weekend

We had an excellent weekend. First off I didn't have to work on any of the days which is always great. We were home all together and had plenty of time to relax.

Saturday morning Ethan had his first T-ball game down in Buckeye. It was very hot out but fun to watch him playing. His team is called the Tigers and his shirt says #11. After that we went and took family pictures with Grandma Sandy and all my brothers and sisters. After pictures we all went and ate out.





The big highlight of the weekend was General Conference. Conference comes on the first weekend in April and the first weekend in October. It is a full weekend of getting to here our prophet and apostles speak. They always have great messages that recharge you for the next 6 months.

Our family in the past has struggled with watching conference from home and really paying attention to what is being said. So Sunday morning we decided everyone had to get dressed, have paper to take notes and noooo blankets and pillows out. Even if it was just one session that we had strict rules, it was a step in the right direction for our family. Every was able to sit for the 2 hour morning session and listen. The talks were great and we look forward to getting to review them when they come out next month in the ensign.

Here is a quick pic of everyone getting ready for conference.

It's a .....

Well it's still somewhat up in the air. I ate a fruit by the foot while we were waiting for our apt and then we went in and the baby was dancing everywhere. It was neat to see the baby moving around so much but not good for getting pictures and seeing what was between the legs. The doctor tried multiple angles and saw no boy parts at all. With both our boys we saw clear boy parts at 15 weeks, soooo the doctor thinks it's a girl. I'm scared to get too excited about a girl and then have it change next time we look....But for now we are sort of saying it might be a girl!

Everything looks good so that is what matters. I have felt a little bit of movement the last week and I have only gained 3 pounds so far, but my belly is certainly noticeable and my maternity clothes are coming out of the box. This is me at 15 weeks.


Here is one shot of our baby with their hand up by their face. We are thinking of getting a 3D/4D ultrasound this time around, so maybe some more photos soon.

August 2010

To catch up on some August happenings: Michael went out of town for almost the whole month but we got to have Aunt Elizabeth and Cousin Autumn come visit and Grandma Connie come visit while he was gone.

While cousin Autumn was here we we went to an aquarium, played at our splash pad, went swimming and ate out lots.

Ethan also started Kindergarten August 11th. He's already such a big boy and going to school was a breeze for him. He was ready for me just to drop him off and go. Joshua also started preshool, his biggest issue is not being with his brother all day.

We still don't get to find out what we are having for another week and a half, but now the boys are voting for a baby peach because they don't want to share their room with another boy!

Our Big News!

We are finally pregnant with our third baby and are very excited. After trying for over a year and having surgery, we weren't sure if another one was coming or not. I am 12 weeks now, so my due date is March 10th, which means we will probably have the baby the last week of February. I will hopefully be at the hospital being induced before this baby can decide to come on the freeway or out in the desert where we live.

This is a picture of me at 5 weeks. The boys are excited about the baby, they are calling it Baby Mario as they are currently obsessed with Mario Kart.

Me at 10 weeks, taken by Joshua. At my appointment this week I actually hadn't gained any weight yet, which is good since I'm starting about 15 pounds heavier than I did with my boys and really don't want to add 50-60 pounds to that.

We will most likely get to find out what we are having at our appointment next month, so stay tuned for an update.

Yo Gabba Gabba!

Josh's 3rd Birthday was a super fun Yo Gabba Gabba party! We had dancing, food and tons of balloons! Lots of friends from church and the neighborhood showed up.


Dad painted us a Muno game and a Brobee cut out to take pictures in! Thanks Dad!

It wouldn't have been a party without our own DJ Lance to conduct! And yes I made him wear underwear underneath his costume.

Opening presents from friends is so much fun.

Birthday cake face, I can't believe this guy is already 3.

One last picture with mom after all the friends left.

Happy Birthday Joshua. Our Josh weighs in at a whopping 25 lbs. He loves cars, trains and playing golf still. Josh takes a lot of energy because he likes to do everything himself, his own way. His kisses and hugs sure are sweet though. He has been fully potty trained for a few months and has started preschool this week.

What's for Dinner

I thought I would share a dinner idea for anyone out there who needs one. A couple times a month I buy a whole roasting chicken, they usually only cost around $4, this week though I got one for $2.25 cents. I'll make one dinner from the whole roasted chicken and then shred the leftovers for another meal.
Roast chicken recipes:

Pesto Chicken- rub pesto (jarred or homemade) inside and outside of chicken and cook for 1 hour at 400
Dr. Pepper Chicken- Pour out half a can of Dr. Pepper, position chicken standing up with can most of the way in the cavity. Then rub the chicken with a mixture of brown sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin and chili powder. I usually set this guy standing up on the grill on med-high for about an hour.
Lemon Herb Chicken- salt and pepper chicken, fill cavity with lemon halves, garlic and any fresh herbs you have like thyme, rosemary or sage. Pat outside of chicken with olive oil or butter and cook at 375 for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Then later in the week I use shredded chicken for:
Chicken tortilla soup
Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas
Chicken enchiladas

Have fun cooking!

Mother's Day Video

This is the video my boys made me for Mother's Day. Brings tears to my eyes everytime I watch, partly because it's so funny and because it's so sweet.

Spoiled Boys

My boys are so spoiled but I just can't help myself. They are growing up so quickly and soon they won't want to hang out with their mom. We love doing fun things. I am just not good at staying at the house....but then later I complain that I never have any days to relax at home. This summer we are: going to the movies on Mondays, a good deal of 50cents a movie couldn't pass that one up, doing the reading program at the library and attending story time when we can, going to the gym a few times a week, and swim lessons on Fridays. Here are some pics from swim lessons. We go to the Hubbard school, a little more pricey than others but the indoor pools are sooooo nice. They also offer family swim time on Fridays after our lessons.

And this is what happens when it is time to leave the pool.