Lisa tagged me.

I've Been Christmas Tagged!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapped... all in brown paper with different colored bows for each person. I also make gift tags that hang off the bows. Can you say OCD

2. Real tree or artificial?
We have done both, just depending on the year. This year they are both fake.

3. When do you put up the tree?
December 1st and not a second earlier or later. Again OCD

4. When do you take the tree down?
January 1st. I can't stand it any longer than that.

5. Do you like eggnog?
Ewe no. Just the thought of it makes me sick, but Ryan and Sheldon love it, so we have it in the fridge

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Porcline doll. I got one every year and the year Ryan and I were engaged he bought me one to carry on the tradition.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes. I got the Willow Tree one from my parents last year, then we have two that we found in Ryan's grandpa's house when we were cleaning it after he died, then I have a hand painted wood one that my Uncle Roy (the one that Sheldon is named after) cut out for me the year before he died. It is painted to look like little kids are acting out the nativity.

8. Hardest person to buy for?
Ryan

9. Easiest person to buy for?
Allie

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail

11. Favorite Christmas movie?
A Christmas Carol

12. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
All year. We just put things away during the year.

13. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
No, but that is a really good idea!

14. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
White chocolate popcorn. A Hoskins' family tradition

15. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Clear... OCD again

16. Favorite Christmas song?
Joy to the World

17. Travel for Christmas or stay home?
We go to Ryan's parents house for breakfast and then mine for a late lunch

18. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph

19. Angel on the treetop or a star?
The tree in the family room has Tinkerbell, and the one in the office has a bow

20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?
Jammies on Christmas Eve and everything else on Christmas day

21. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Not having a gift for neighbors that drop them by... I always keep Bed Bath soap on hand just for that.

22. What I love most about Christmas?
The wonder in my kids eyes

Doctor appointment

I went to see my OB/GYN today and made the mistake of taking Ryan with me. He talked to the doctor about all of the contractions that I have been having and probably told a more accurate amount then I tell. Dr. Hansen said that whatever I am doing when I start having contractions I need to do the opposite... so if I am up on my feet I have to lay down, or if I am laying down I have to get up and walk. If that doesn't make them stop I have to take a warm bath. If that still doesn't stop them then I have to go to the hospital right then. Hopefully the bath will take care of them every time and I won't have to go to the hospital, but I guess only time will tell. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Family outting to Square Temple

Last night Ryan and I thought it would be fun to take the kids up to see the lights at Temple Square, (or if you ask Sheldon Square Temple) The weather was nice... not to cold, but it was so busy.


Allie and her cheese face with Sheldon giving his little sis loves.

Allie just being her cute self.



The kids couldn't get enough of the Nativity. They kept asking about things and Ryan was telling them the story.



Sheldon was getting tired, so we figured we would call it a night. We of course had to have one more picture before we went though.
Tonight we are going over to our stake center to walk through the town of Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus. The kids are so excited. I'm sure we will have a great time, and feel the Spirit. Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures of that too.

I hope this puts a smile on your face.

I saw this on Ryan's assisstants blog and it totally cracked me up... thought you guys might get a kick out of it!

1. My rock star name (first pet and current car):
Buffy Freestar

2. My gangsta name (favorite ice cream flavor and favorite cookie):
Strawberry Snickerdoodle

3. My "fly guy/girl" name (first initial of first name and first three letters of last name:
K Hos

4. My detective name (favorite color and favorite animal):
Green Giraffe

5. My soap opera name (middle name and city where you were born):
Lyn Salt Lake

6. My Star Wars name (first three letters of your last name and first two letters of your first name):
Hoske

7. My superhero name (2nd favorite color and favorite drink with "The" in front):
The Red Diet Coke

8. My Nascar name (first names of your grandfathers):
Russ Tony

9. My stripper name (name of your favorite perfume/cologne and your favorite candy):
Pink Kit-Kat

10. My witness-protection name (mother's and father's middle names):
Lynne Michael

Life of stress

So my life for the past few weeks has been a major ball of stress with one crazy thing after another. First it was Thanksgiving, then it was Enrichment... now it is digging myself out of the hole that I created by not doing anything but those to major activities. This week we are finally settling down and spending some family time with each other.

Thanksgiving was nice. Ryan spent all day cooking, for those of you that don't know he is the real cook in our house. He made a wonderful turkey, stuffing and gravy. I on the other hand spent most of the day cleaning, decortating and cleaning some more... the life of a stay at home mom right! We had 12 adults and 5 kids that came for dinner, a small group when you consider that my family has 12 kids and spouses and then 20 grandkids. It was a nice evening, but by the time it was all said and done I was having so many contractions Ryan actually wanted to take me to the hospital.

Enrichment night the next week was a great success. We had 50 women show up, which is a huge number from our ward. Ryan again cooked all day... I cleaned up after him, because we were having a babysitter come that night for the kids. Ryan made a pork tenderloin with a pomagranite glace, zuchinne spaghetti with a lemon sauce and garlic parmesan mashed potatoes. The food was a big hit, everyone thinks that he needs to start doing a cooking class in our ward.

Saturday we spent all day decorating the house for Christmas. With snow finally coming down I am in the mood for Christmas. We put up both of our trees, decorated the fireplace mantal, the entry banister and the rest of the house. The kids were so excited to be able to decorate one tree all by themselves. We have been playing Christmas music ever since.

Tonight we are going to Temple Square with the kids to see the lights. They both are so excited they can't wait. I am charging the camera battery now so that we can get some good pictures. Tomorrow night we will be going to the live Nativity that our stake does every year. Ryan was in it last night and says that the Spirit there is so amazing. We are going to read the Christmas story tonight for scripture time so that as we walk through the "town" tomorrow we can remind the kids about waht is going on. If any of you live close to me I would suggest coming to really get into the right Christmas spirit. It goes until tomorrow.

Sorry that I don't have any pictures to post with this... taking pictures has been the last thing on my mind the past few week.

Just so you all know I hit 26 weeks. I don't normally do this, but will you keeps us in your prayers that the baby will at least make for 10 more weeks? I would really appreciate it.

My nightmare almost came true...

Yesterday Ryan, the kids and I went to church and my kids were so great in Sacrament meeting that I thought a couple of times that we must have grabbed someone else's kids. During Sunday School I was not feeling to great... Ryan had Reese's Pieces that he was eating and the smell of them made me throw up twice in the hour of Sunday School. During Relief Society I started having contractions. I would have 1 about every 10 minutes or so. Then when I got home they were at every 5 minutes. I laid down and tried to relax thinking that they would just go away... no such luck. We went up to Ryan's parents house for dinner and they kept coming. Ryan's brother-in-law (his sister's husband) who is a doctor asked if I wanted him to check me. HUM... NO was my answer. For 7 hours I was having contractions every 5 minutes. I asked Ryan to give me a blessing because I just couldn't be put in the hospital this week with Thanksgiving and Enrichment night. We got home at about 7:30 and Ryan told me I needed to go soak in the tub, and go to bed. Finally at about 12:30 the contractions stopped. I am so sore today, and have been taking it very easy. (under direction from Dr. Dave and my darling Hubby.) I do feel better and haven't had as many contractions, so hopefully we can keep this baby in for a few more weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Talk about crazy

Okay, so I am one of the craziest people that you will ever meet. Back in May when we moved into the new house we said that we would like to have Thanksgiving here. We didn't at the time know that I would be pregnant and having problems. Well now that we are less than a week away from the wonderful day, I am stressing out. It is Ryan's family that will be eating here, and we will have 14 adults and 5 kids. For any of you who know me, I can't just do dinner... it has to be the whole deal. Spotless house, cute tables, favors for the guests, activities for the kids, plus the wonderful meal. I just don't know how I am going to get it all done. Ryan luckly is the chef in our house, so I don't have to worry to much about the food... it is the rest of it that scares me to death. I just hope that the contractions and the bleeding will keep itself at bay for the week. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

The week following Thanksgiving is our Enrichment night. We have a very divided ward and I have been racking my brain to come up with a nice Enrichment to help the sisters get to know each other better. Plus I have 600 dollars in my Enrichment budget that I have to use. So we are having a nice sit down dinner totally cooked by my darling hubby. I have been stressing out about this Enrichment because other than myself and the Enrichment committee leader I have one other person on the committee. YIKES!! I'm praying that all will go how I have planned... I'm decorating each table in a different color and giving out little gift bags in each other one of the colors to the sisters as they walk in the door. That way they will have to sit at the assigned table and not by their group ob friends. I know that I am going to get a lot of complaints from the sisters that have lived in the ward forever, but those of us that haven't will finally be able to meet some of the other sisters. I hope that everything works out and I don't have so many complaits that the Bishop releases me... of course would that really be such a bad thing? HUM!?

I miss my baby

Okay... I know that I am a total dork, and all of you who have husbands that travel for work will laugh at me, but I miss Ryan. Since we have been married we have only spent 1 night away from each other. That night was last week... and I saw him Friday and Saturday, so it really doesn't count. Ryan left to Dallas this morning for a conference. He will be gone until Monday afternoon... unless he wins the car, and then he won't be home until Tuesday. I cried when the kids and I left him at the terminal this morning... cried when I hung up the phone when he called to tell me he was there, and then cried again when he called to say goodnight to the kids. I don't do well when I feel like half of me is in Dallas. :( Ryan has always been my best friend... the love of my life... my everything. I don't think that I could ever handle if he travelled all of the time. I have great respect for people who can do that... I'm to much of a baby.

Girl's weekend.

Okay. So 10 years ago I met some of the most special people in my life. And this past weekend we all met up in Logan again for an overnighter. I haven't been to Logan since graduation, so it was fun to see all of the changes and enjoy the company of such wonderful people.

Here we all are on the famous A. The kid that we snagged to take the picture didn't quite let us know he was taking it. Thus the weird poses. :)

Here is a bit of a close up. on the bottom. Wendy, Emily and myself. Top row Heather, Anna and Heather.

We stayed up until 1:30 talking... which is way past me bed time, and then got up at 7:30 the next moning. We talked and laughed and remembered our time together. Can you believe that we were all just put together and we ended up actually loving each other. It is amazing how the Lord works.

Halloween

Okay... I know this is so late, but at least it is here. My kids are still a little young to really understand what Halloween is all about. Allie just knows that she gets to dress up and she loves that. I asked Allie what she wanted to be for Halloween and showed her some pictures. She figured it would be fun to be Snow White. My mom loved this idea and when full force and made her this darling Snow White outfit. Including the tricker treat bad.

She took her stuffed Dopey with her, because Dopey goes everywhere with Snow White. She told us to do a picture while she was kissing him.


Sheldon wouldn't do a picture without Allie. And when we got this one he had to have a crazy face. We went to Walmart and he saw this Spider Man costume and just had to have it. I'm glad it was something easy and I didn't have to go on a quest to find something for him.

Blog Tag

Okay, so Lisa blog tagged me and so I am finally going to do it... Sorry Lisa, I'm a slacker. :)

Rules:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I have OCD. I try to pretend like I don't, but really I do. Everything in my life has to be in place and facing the right direction. I make shopping list based on the categorey they are in... like produce, dairy, bakery... I then go one step further and arrange them according to where they are in the store. Eveything in my cupboard and pantry have to be in the exact same place, and it drives me crazy for other people to put my stuff away. I can't stand it when othere people write on my calendars... I will buy a new one it this happens. I know, I'm a freak.

2. I am very routine oriented. If something comes up unexpected it throws me for the biggest loop that it is hard for me to recover. I have a certain time that I do everything, I even plan in service time into my day just so that when things like that come up I can handle it.

3. I can't whistle. I just never figured it out.

4. I only learned how to snap when I was a senior in high school... and the only reason I learn then was because we did West Side Story as our school musical and I had to learn... it took about 6 weeks for me to finally pick it up.

5. I love to buy office supplies. Pens, note books, post its... you name it I love it. My favorite store is Office Max.

6. I had a crush on Ryan from the moment I first met him in Junior High. I knew then that he was the man of my dreams. To bad it took 8 years for us to figure out we really did belong together.

Okay... because I only have like 4 people that read my blog... Heather, and Wendy. You are it.

Halloween fun

We had some friends come over for a super fun night. The kids enjoyed some time painting pumpkins. This is Hailee and Allie painting their pumpkins.

Sheldon being extra carful at painting hair on his pumpkin. He was working so hard to get it just right. He gets his OCD from him mom! ;)

Nicole making sure that she had just the right color and sprakles for her pumpkin. She was being very careful to not get it on herself or anything else.

Andrew making sure that he got the nose in just the right place.

Cute naked baby Allie hamming it up for her daddy and the camera. I think that she had more fun painting herself than she had painting the pumpkin. During her bath we found more paint on her than she had on her pumpkin.

PIF winners...

You guys made it to easy on me. I didn't have to do a drawing or anything. The winners are, if you didn't know already.... Lisa, Heather and Emily. Yay!!! Heather and Emily I will get your prizes to you at our retreat, and Lisa, I will put yours in the mail, hopefully by the end of the week. Thanks gals for your comments. We all love to ready them!!

PIF winners...

Tumbling...

So I never get pictures of Allie durning tumbling, because I have to be in the class with her. Last Monday however, Ryan didn't have to work so we both got to go with her and snap a few pictures. This is her climbing up to wall to do an almost hand stand on the bar.

She loves to do the balance beam too. It is a real sized one and she walks on it like it is nothing. Ryan is trying to talk her into jumping off of it, but she kept telling him to hold her. She sure has her daddy wrapped around that little finger of hers.

Allie doing her favorite trick of all... the summer salt. We don't have to help her with this one, even when she is just doing them at home... she gets around most places by summer salting. :)

Allie loves to hang on the uneven bars too. This is Mrs Kim her teacher helping her on the bar... she just lets go when she is done.

Pay it Forward

So I won Lisa's Pay It Forward game, and as a result I am proud to offer it on my blog too. Of course it has taken me longer than a couple of day sto do it.

Sorry Lisa... I too stole this off of your blog.

So here are the rules and "legal" stuff:

1. I promise to send 3 lucky comment makers a gift as soon as I get around to it (with in a three week time period of the end of the contest). It will not be a leg lamp.

2. I will choose 3 winners randomly out of... a hat or something... based on a one entry per person rule.

3. Comment winners must be willing to "Pay It Forward" by offering a similar contest to others, somewhere, somehow (I know not all of ya' have blogs - c'mon, jump on the bandwagon, people!) *YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE A BLOGGER TO JOIN! ANYONE CAN COMMENT- BLOGGERS, SPACERS, EMAILERS, FAMILY MEMBERS, FRIENDS, HUSBANDS, KIDS, DOGS, GECKOS, ETC.*

4. Comments must be a little interesting to read....I'm not gonna count a "count me in" comment. Give me something funny, something new I may not know about you...I'm talking quality information here. Maybe why you would like to PIF...or how you feel about the challenge altogether. Or just something entirely preposterous. You know utter nonsense always makes me happy. :0) If you have been lurking around my blog not commenting, now would be a good time to make yourself known.

5. I know some of you are related to me but that doesn't mean you shouldn't enter. I think you will still like what I am giving away, and the drawing will be completely random so your chances are no better or worse.6. Now for the time line. All interesting comments left before Wednesday, October 22nd at 11:59 pm (Mountain Standard Time- is that right? Oh, Heck. UTAH time. Lol.) will be counted, and I will announce the winners Tuesday morning. Good luck everyone. Now go ahead and leave me a comment. :)

Today is a weird day...

Have you ever had one of those days? Not a bad day by any strech of the imagination, just not your normal day? That day is today for me. I was a little worried because both of my kids were up by 7:15, but my darling husband took them downstairs and made them breakfast (real breakfast, not just cereal) while I showered and got ready. Ryan was working late last night, so after the kids were in bed I had a chance to clean the house and not have anyone following me making a mess behind me. I think that helped my day today out. After the kids finished breakfast, I took them upstairs to get ready and we cleaned their rooms. All of this before Sheldon even left for preschool. With the house cleaned, Allie and I got to read some books and play. At 11:00 she told me that she was tired and wanted to lay in her bed for a nap. So at 11:00 I had a quite, clean house. I got to read my scriptures, read a few articles in the Ensign, read a couple of chapters in my book club book, and have some yummy chicken noodle soup and hot chocolate with marshmellow ready for Sheldon when he came through the dooran hour after Allie went to bed. So like I said, it hasn't been a bad day at all, just a really weird one. But I'm not complaining... I will take this kind of day every day of the week. :)

Dentist check up

Sheldon had a dentist appointment yesterday. I was so nervous, because last time we went he had 7 cavities and it ended up costing us 1500 dollars to get them all fixed, because he had to be put completely under with an IV. This time however, he had no cavities and just got his teeth cleaned and then got to choose a prize! Yeah Sheldon!!!

More family fun

Last night after Ryan took me to the mall for a little bit of lift my spirits shopping we came home planning on cleaning out the garage. After finding Sheldon and Ryan's baseball gloves in one of the boxes, we quickly changed our plans and had a little bit of family baseball time.

It took Sheldon just a couple of minutes to remember how to hit the ball. Ryan was very happy to give him a little bit of a refresher course.

Pretty soon he was hitting the fine by himself. He hit a few that went right past me. I think that he might take after my brothers and be a big sports fan. :)

After Sheldon had his turn Allie instisted on taking her turn too. I think that is was more that she wanted her picture taken too.

You can never have Daddy help Allie with anything without a kiss to follow. She told him thanks for the baseball.

After about an hour of baseball it was time for baths, stories and beds. Sheldon first question this morning was if we could play baseball some more. The only way to get him to stop asking was to tell him we would do it today when he got home. So you know where we will be at 12:15 today. :)

Finding joy in your life.

Have you ever had one of those days? Today started like any other day of my life... I got up showered, cleaned my room, got the kids up and dressed. We all had breakfast and then sat on the porch to say goodbye to Ryan. From that moment on my day went down hill. And did it very quickly. Of course, like most days of my pregnancies, I was sick and have been consistantly for a couple of days and as a result my head has been killing me. My kids were playing quietly upstairs so I thought I would take my quiet moment and sweep, dust mop and wet mop the hardwood floors on the main floor of my house. I had just finished it when Allie came down stairs with Tic-Tacs that she had found in my purse. Shortly after putting a huge hand full of them in her mouth, she ran into the wall, of course it startled her and as a result she started to cry, spitting all of the Tic-Tacs on to the floor. While I was cleaning up that mess, Sheldon thought he would help out by pouring himself and Allie a glass of rootbeer. With the brand new half gallon he tried really hard, but alas he ended up spilling it over the kitchen floor. Needless to say, I lost it. I sent them both upstairs again to watch kid shows while I cried over spilt rootbeer. While I was cleaning/crying Ryan called. Of course I couldn't stop the water works while I was talking to him. A few hours after I got off of the phone with him I had a knock on the door and a darling girl handed me these beautiful flowers.

So needless to say it is now time for me to make my list of everything that I am grateful for.

(Thanks Lisa)

I have a wonderful husband who bends over backward to make me happy and to make me feel special.

I have two and a third wonderful children to teach me to laugh at life and enjoy my journey.

I have two wonderful parents who love and support me in everything that I do.

I have a home that is full of peace and love

I have a car that takes my family where we need to go.

I live in a place that allows me to open my windows and enjoy the quite of the world around me.

My husband has a job that he loves and that allows me to stay home.

I have two dogs that make me get out and walk every day.

I have the gospel in my life and it helps me to know that no matter how low I feel I am never alone.

I have wonderful friends who love me for who I am, flaws and all.

I am fourtunate enough to have my needs and some of my wants provided for.

I have 4 wonderful siblings who are always there when I need them.

I have a body that is healthy (except when pregnant) :P

I have a whole new life inside of me that reminds me every day that I am in a partnership with God.

I have a testimony of the atonement and know the power that it gives.

Enjoy your day everyone and really look to find the joy in your lifes!

Fun outside

Yesterday after Ryan got home from work and we had dinner he decided that he wanted to mow the lawn. We just had it fertalized on Monday, and he wanted to get it mowed before the fertalizer kicked in. Our family ritual is that when Ryan mows the lawn I sit on the front porch while the kids play with their bikes and cars.

Sheldon is just starting to figure out that he can ride his scooter like a big kid and not have to have his foot on the ground at all times. It was cracking me up, because he was lifting his leg up so high after each push he would almost fall over the other side.

Allie was enjoying the fact that she could ride in the car without having to share it with Sheldon. They normally have to take turns. She kept driving the car up to where I was sitting and saying "Bye Mommy. I be back in minute. Have a day." Which is what Ryan says to us as we sit on the front porch each morning to wave bye to him. He of course says it without the Mommy part and makes complete sentences, but you get the idea. :)

I was enjoying the view from our steps. For any of you who aren't 100% sure, this is Mount Timpanogos. Yep you can see it from our front yard. We happen to be just far enough west that the Point of the Mountain doesn't block our view. You can also see the new Draper temple that is under construction. The best view of that however is from the kids bedrooms.

For those of you who don't know, I am a Daddy's girl. Even now that I am married with kids I still consider myself that. My dad travels a lot for work, but we always talk once a day, and he calls me right before take off and right after the plan lands to tell me that he loves me. So the fact that I have a Daddy's girl is one of my favorite things. Allie will follow Ryan around for hours just to give him loves and kisses. If he ever leaves for work without giving her a kiss, her world almost crashes down around her. Last night she kept kissing Ryan and telling him thanks for mowing the lawn. I had to get a picture of one of the 800 that she insisted on giving him.

Baby number 3 was very happy to be a part of the action last night too. He (we say that because we can't call the baby an it) kicked and rolled the whole time. After we got the kids in bed and were settling down for the night oursleves, Ryan put his hand on my stomach, even though he can fell the kicks yet, he can feel where the baby is and everytime it moves out from under his hand. I get to feel the kick that are involved with each movement, but it is fun to have the two of the "play."

Soccer anyone.

Okay, I am trying to be better about keeping you all up to date on my Blog, but it is a challenge when we do the same things over and over everyday. I guess I could take some pictures of my laundry piles. :)

Anyway, Sheldon is right in the middle of his soccer season. He love to play, but he is the littlest one on the team, so it is not always the easiest for him. He tries really hard, and because of that we scream like crazy people every time he gets close to the ball. And if he kicks the ball we (the three of us, Ryan, Allie and myself) do the wave. I'm sure that we embarrass him to all ends of the earth, but it is so much fun to see your little ones out there growing.

He is number 2 ( he picked that because that is how old Allie is) and as you can see he is a lot shorter than the rest of the team. He is playing on the U-6 league. Which means that anyone that was 5 before the season started is in the same league as Sheldon. So there are a lot of kids that turned 6 the first week of games, so they have been playing for 2 years already. It has been a really good learning experience for him however. Being the littlest has made him have to play harder. :)

Anyway, on top of Sheldon's soccer, right now we are being slamed with church callings. Sheldon is giving a talk in Primary, and he isn't the type that will let you go up with him and whisper the talk into his ear. He has to have it memorized with pictures so that he can go up and do it all by himself. Along with planning and helping Sheldon memorize a talk, I was informed that I have to give the lesson in Relief Society on Sunday. We had some confussion because it is a 5th Sunday, which is under the direction of the bishop, but then our Stake has made it our Fast Sunday, so now I get to teach a presidency message. I am scared out of my mind because I have never had to teach Relief Society before. I just hope that I'm not sick and that I don't throw up. :)

12 week checkup

I just got back from the doctor. He was not happy with me at all. :( I have lost 3 pounds in the 4 weeks since my last appointment. And my blood pressure was high. He told me that I needed to get my blood pressure down and keep my stress level in check. I laughed a little, because if anyone has ever tried to sell a house, have another one for rent and getting yet another one leased out and raise two kids with crazy schedules, they know how easy it is to not be stressed! Anyway... I have a new eating plan that I have to follow... eating every hour so that I always have something in my stomach, hopefully that will help me to keep food down and try to not lose weight. I also was told that I need to meditate for 30 minutes everyday and walk at least 30 minutes every day to try to keep my blood pressure down. I have 6 weeks to get things figured out before my next doctor appointment. Wish me luck... I don't want to have another talking to. At the next doctor appointment I will also be having an ultrasound, but don't ask me what we are having... this baby is going to be a big suprise! :)

Bad blogger

I have been a really bad blogger lately. Our cameras battery died last weekend, and I still haven't been able to find the charger. I haven't seen it since the move three months ago. I am hoping that tomorrow while Sheldon is at preschool I can look through the boxes that are down stairs and see if I can find it.

Anyway, we have had such a busy couple of weeks. Between Sheldon's preschool, tumbling and soccer practies and games, and Allie's tumbling, and dance classes, Ryan's work and softball games, and my new church calling we have had very little time for anything else. We are however all doing very well. We are busy but, very happy.

I haven't been feeling very good the past few weeks with the pregnancy and everything. The doctor has put me on a new morning sickness med, but it makes me really drowsy. I don't know which is worse, the thowing up everything that hits my stomach, or wanting to sleep for four hours during the day. I just have to keep telling myself only a few more months! :)

Sheldon and Allie have been taking swimming lessons this summer. I haven't been able to get any picutres until yesterday, because I have been in the pool with Allie each day, but yesterday Ryan came with us and decided that he wanted to be able to swim with Allie, so I got to be on the edge of the pool and take some pictures, finally.

Allie loves jumping off of the side of the pool. She goes all the way down into the water and comes up with a big huge smile on her face.

Sheldon on the other hand likes to put his head down in the water and kick himself across the pool. He is really learning to keep his body up at the top of the water and hold his breath for a really long time. I think right now he could probally do it longer than I could. The teacher walks right in front of the kids so that they feel like they are really safe. In case he starts to sink she is right there to grab him, but he usually makes it all the way across with out her help.

He is such a little fish.

Allie hasn't quite figured out the idea on swimming. She doggie paddles almost every where. She normally will jump in off the side of the pool, and then turn right around to swim over to the stairs. She then climbs up the stairs and does it all over again.

At the very end of wach class, they get to go down to the deep end of the pool and jump off the diving board a couple of times. They both think that this is so awesome!

Happy Birthday week Allie!

I don't know if you guys are the same, but if you have a birthday in our house it goes on for a week. Allie is turning two on Wednesday, and we started out her birthday week with a party with my family. Sheldon and Ryan went birthday present shopping while I was in the hospital on Firday night, and they picked out this Cinderella dress up outfit for Allie.

After we opened presents we sang happy birthday and Allie got to blow out the candle. She told Sheldon and her cousin Kyle they had to help and they were more than happy to do that...

You can't have a cake without tasting it first... Allie just wanted to pick the sprinkles off and eat them. She could care less about the cake.

Kyle want so badly to dance with Cinderella that he just about came out of his skin. He loves the movie more than any other one... He calls Allie "Baby Girl" and he keep saying "I need to dance with Baby Girl Cinderella."

After their dance Cinderella and Prince Charming had to kiss, and then Prince Charming road off into the sunset on his horse (which is his dad Randy.)

For the rest of the week, we haveplanned on Wednesday Allie gets to have a special lunch date with Daddy, then that evening she is having a friends party. And then to round out the week next Sunday the Hoskins family will be coming for dinner.

A weekend at the cabin

For those of you who don't know, my family has a cabin up Weber Canyon, that we spend a lot of time at during the summer. This past weekend we went up with my parents and two of my brothers to do some work.

We had a few trees die over the winter, and to reduce the risk of fires on the property we cut down the dead trees, and then use them for fire wood. This is a picture of Ryan and my big brother Rob right after they fell the tree

(that is really what it is called when you cut down trees.)

This is Ryan's favorite part of the cabin... cutting down 50-60 foot trees.

Allie loves to watch the big boys when they cut down the trees, but sometimes she thinks that the chainsaws are too loud. :)

After the boys finished dropping four trees we thought that it would be fun to play in the river. This time of year it is really low and doesn't move very fast.

Sheldon loves to walk across the river and then turn right back around. He thinks that he is one of the big boys because he can make it all the way across and back.

We built a little dam this year and made a small pool...

The pool area was deep enough for Ryan to sit down in it, but the water was really cold.

This is a picture of my neice Emily who is about 2 months older than Allie trying to help Ryan stand back up... then she decided to splash him instead.

My cute dad loves to sit on the side lines and watch his family playing together...

He loves to have us all up at the cabin, because it reminds him of when we were all a lot littler and when his mom was still alive.

I just thought this piture of Allie was so cute. She is giving everyone a kiss and telling them thanks for looking at our pictures of our fun weekend. :)

Happy father's day daddy

Okay, so Allie doesn't pose for pictures ever... in fact if you can get a picture of her you are really lucky. We were out in the yard yesterday trying out Ryan's new father's day present and Allie was her normal self running around giggling at whatever Sheldon did... I pointed the camera at her and called her name and this is what I got. Granted her face is dirty (she and Sheldon had just had popcicles) but I couldn't resist that smile and the sparkle in her eyes. I asked what she was doing and she said, "I play Shel- Shel. Bye Mommy.)

So besides the crazy picture of Allie I had to snap a couple of Ryan with his new lawn mower. His dad and I were very sneaky. Ryan had no idea he was getting one, Dale found it for me, told me it was the best on I could get, had the company pull if for me, so all I had to do was pick it up and bring it home... It was sitting in the driveway when Ryan got home from work. Dale and I were sitting in the front window waiting to see his expression... He just about peed his pants. :)

Dale of course couldn't resist tryingit out too. I loved the fact that I had two guys there to mow, trim and edge my lawn. :)

So now my yard actually looks like someone lives here! Can't wait for you all to see it.