Catching up

Okey dokey, I have a little free time this morning so I'll play catch up for a minute... Shall we start with Halloween? With it falling on Sunday we didn't actually go trick or treating but we (and by 'we' I mean Dan and the 4 older kids) had fun going to the 'trunk-or-treat' and chili cook off at churchthe Friday before. Tyler decided he was a bit too old for playing dress up so he just handed out candy. That was nice because it freed up Dan to take Aaron around. We L.O.V.E. Phineas and Ferb around here so the kids decided to go with that theme, it was so fun. Katherine was Candace and enjoyed carrying a cell phone for the night..."Mom, Phineas and Ferb are going trick-or-treating". Kyle wanted to be Phineas but since he couldn't figure out how to get his head to be a triangle shape he went with Dr. Doofenshmirtz instead...that was better because he was able to 'collect all the candy in the tri-state area'. Aaron was ecstatic about being Perry the Platypus and a big thank you to Grandma for whipping up a green platypus suit before she left town. Elizabeth didn't really participate in Halloween but she got a tutu, etc. as a gift when she was born. We decided to put it on her for Halloween. She hated it--but we thought she was cute.

Most of November was pretty uneventful...Dan took a week off so I could rest and he also had a full week off for Thanksgiving. It was fabulous! We really didn't do anything. Just a lot of hanging out, taking naps, playing with the kids...we saw a movie at the dollar theater. Thanksgiving day was pretty normal, we had a nice dinner but we didn't overdo it, it was more like a nice Sunday dinner than a Thanksgiving feast but I don't think anyone noticed.

December has FLOWN by...in fact I forgot to pay a bill because I didn't realize what week it

was, but that's another story for another day. We have been busy, but in a good way. Tyler has been working on a really fun science fair project, I think I will blog that when he's totally done but it involves corking a bat so the boys have really enjoyed it. Homerun derby at the Hoppie's house! Tyler also spent a large part of the fall making duct tape wallets. Why? He was involved with a class entitled "Kids mean business" which essentially taught the basics of starting and running your own small business. The culminating event was a trade show where the children actually got to sell a product. We wanted him to get the full experience so we made him purchase his own materials, etc. He learned a hard lesson when he really wanted to buy a new bat and didn't have enough money for both the bat and the business supplies...he wanted to borrow money from us and Dan told him that was fine but we would charge him interest...and it was a really high rate! Tyler decided to buy his business supplies and wait to buy the bat. It was really hard for him but I'm so glad he is learning patience and getting control of his money at a young age. The trade show was 2 weeks ago and he did really well. He turned a pretty nice profit and he is really glad he took this class. He was a bit disappointed to not sell out his whole inventory but he did sell more than half. If anyone wants a duct tape wallet for Christmas let me know, HA!

Of note for our Miss K is that she now has "real braces". According to my bank account she has had "real braces" for a long time now but now she has them where the whole world can see them. This is a very big deal in the 3rd grade, she is the first one in her class to get them and she's pretty excited about it. We started this journey before we left on vacation...so we're glad to see some progress. She has been a trooper with all the surgeries and appliances leading up to the ultra cool real braces you see here. The journey is far from over so we are glad she loves them.

I guess that's really it for now. There is probably more to post but I really want to take a bath and don't think I should take the computer with me. We have been having fun with all the Christmas preparation and have a few birthdays coming up...more fun pictures on their way ;-) Have a happy day...just a few more days of school...

For Jen

Miss Elizabeth Ann...so sweet!

Matching sisters...Katherine has been waiting almost 9 years for this day!

Kyle is a proud brother and Elizabeth is so calm when he is around...which is weird because HE is not calm...at all...

We LOVE tubby time!

Big fat cheeks just ready to be kissed.

I was chastised on Thanksgiving by my wonderful sister-in-law for not sharing more photos of our beautiful new babe so, Jen, this is for you ;-) I really thought I was more on top of things but looking back on my blog I realize that it's true...my last post with photos was on Oct. 20...she was born on Oct. 19...ummmm, yeah. I also thought I was being on top of things by responding to Jen's request quickly...and then I realized that Thanksgiving was 2 weeks ago. Seriously, time is flying by at lightning speed! We're still trying to figure out a routine that meets the needs of all 5 kiddos and allows Dan and I some time for the things we need/want to do. I'll let you know if we ever get there.

I'm just going to satisfy Jen's desire to see Elizabeth in this post and put up a few pics of our sweet girl. I, of course, have tons of pics over the last 7 weeks including Halloween which need to be blogged before Aaron's birthday and Christmas so expect multiple posts from me in rapid succession...but don't really expect them because I might decide to shower instead...

Elizabeth is such a sweet baby, we can't get enough of her, it's only been 7 weeks but it's hard to remember life before we had her. She sleeps really well, usually giving us 6 or 7 hours at night, I am so blessed with good sleepers!!! She has had a cold recently and those were rough nights...she could only breathe when she was upright...good thing we have a really great recliner in our bedroom! Lots of steamy showers and snuggles and she's doing fine now, nothing serious. Generally speaking she is super strong and healthy, at 6 weeks she weighed a hearty 12 pounds and now holds her head up well enough to spend a few minutes in the Bumbo every day. Side note: I love the Bumbo, I wish I had had one for my first 3 kids. We are getting a few smiles out of her and she is starting to show a real personality. She prefers Kyle over all her other siblings (and her Dad) and will smile whenever he talks. If she happens to be fussy (rare) and he starts talking to her she just stops fussing. I don't know what his secret is but I always make him do his reading homework while I fix dinner so she will sit quietly. Weird. With some older siblings actually big enough to help she is very spoiled and privileged enough to be held most of the time...maybe that's why she sleeps so well, she needs her alone time too! Here's a few pics of our princess...Jen, if you really want to get a good look just come on down...Houston has nice mild winters ;-)

He was right...

So on Saturday Dan and I were out and about and happened to see, on sale, one of those battery charger things that don't actually require another car to jump start your car. Dan said we should get one and that he would feel better knowing I had it in the van. Admittedly they are kind of cool but with my birthday/anniversary/Christmas just around the corner I didn't want to 'waste' valuable gift funds on something boring like an emergency way to start my car. Geez. I thought nothing more of it.

Today I ventured out on my own with Elizabeth and Aaron. We had a few things to get from Wal-Mart. Elizabeth must hate that store because she screamed most of the time in the store. I decided to change her diaper and feed her in the car before we left so she could fall asleep on the way home. I guess shutting the door all the way would have been a good option...I didn't notice it was slightly ajar and that there was a light on in the car. After 20 minutes of nursing my baby the battery was not strong enough to start the van. All of the parking spots surrounding my car were full so I had to wait for someone to come out of the store in order to ask for a jump. The first person ignored me...rude...but at least they opened up a spot for a potential jump car. I found a good samaritan and he pulled his car into the spot. I went to the back to get my cables. Somehow one of the alligator clips on the cables was gone. Not loose, gone. I couldn't even find it in the car. How did I lose part of my jumper cables? I never use them and they are in a bag. Weird. So my new found friend who is willing to help me does not have cables, I do not have cables, hmmmmm. We found another person with cables also willing to help. We hook it up and voila! Nothing. Argh! There was some corrosion on my battery and the connection was bad. Luckily I had just purchased some vinegar and gauze pads...I had not intended to use them toghether but a little vinegar on a gauze pad is a nice easy way to clean the corrosion off your battery. I got the car jumped and finally got home.

I'm trying to stay positive about the experience so instead of listing all the bad things that happened (like how Elizabeth had a blow out while we were waiting for the jump and I had erronously only brought one diaper with me...it was not pretty. My cell phone battery was almost dead allowing me to make only one phone call...like I was in jail or something, etc.) I'm going to list the good things that were in place that made this a minor inconvenience instead of a disaster.

I'm so thankful...

1. That I did not purchase frozen food.

2. That I watched Mr. Wizard as a child, thus gaining the vinegar/corrosion knowledge.

3. That I purchased vinegar.

4. And gauze pads.

5. That I had bananas, bologna, and marshmallows in my purchases...which makes a great lunch for Aaron.

6. That there are nice people in the Wal-Mart parking lot.

7. The forcast for rain was incorrect and it was, instead, a beautiful day. Perfect for hanging out in a parking lot with a screaming baby and a bologna eating toddler.

Okay, so Dan was right. I really could have used the battery charger thingy. It would have made my adventure so much easier. I guess I WAS at Wal-Mart so I could have gone in and purchased a new battery, borrowed a phone, bought diapers, etc. but it all worked out. I'm glad I made it home and I have resolved to not leave the house for the rest of the week...

Have a happy day!

Elizabeth Ann

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Elizabeth Ann

She is here! Elizabeth Ann Hoppie 9lb 15oz 21 in. 10-19-10 1:56 pm. The big day finally came...okay, so we forced the big day, but she's here! We are just so excited to have another member in our family and are thankful for all the support and prayers that have helped us through this journey.

Alright, so here are some details...just in case you want the whole story;-) I really hesitated to be induced because I just really feel that things go better for everyone when the body does its own thing...but in the same breath Aaron was 41 weeks, 10 lb 12 oz with only 90 minutes of labor...a smaller kiddo and a more controlled delivery were sounding good. I decided to go ahead and be induced. Would I do it again? I'm not sure...but I AM sure that 39 weeks was a good idea...holy cow, she would have been HUGE if we let her grow for 2 more weeks!!!

We got to the hospital at 7 a.m.--I was only 3 cm and 60% effaced...grrr. The doctor broke my water around 8:30 and I moved to a 4...woohoo. We started the pitocin and 2 hours later...I was still a 4, dang! This continued for quite some time...lots of contractions but not a lot of action...my body really wasn't ready to give birth and baby girl seemed content to stay in as long as possible. We had a few rough moments where baby's heart rate dropped but a little oxygen and repositioning for me and she was okay. They tried to back off the pitocin to let baby rest but every time they did that the contractions stopped. Not slowed down or weakened, stopped. So we would restart the pit nice and slow and when the contractions got good and strong she would struggle, we would stop the pit and the contractions would stop...this vicious cycle continued on until about 1:30. At this time I was at a 7 and 80%...not too bad. Baby had an episode and we turned off the pit...but the contractions continued! Woohoo!!! Baby was in trouble a bit so Dr. checked again and holy moly it was baby time...once my body kicked into gear it was good to go! Baby girl was struggling so they decided the best thing for me to do was to just get her out...a few good pushes and welcome to the world Elizabeth!!! So how long was labor? I don't know...if you start from the induction time it was about 5 hours...if you start from the time my body kicked into gear it was about 1/2 hour...crazy!

She is here and she is wonderful. I just love how soft and snuggly they are when they are new! She does have a broken collar bone from delivery...ouch! Babies heal so quickly that by next week you won't be able to tell it was ever broken so we're just being a bit gentle with that arm and giving her extra kisses. She also has a heart murmur...but is not showing any symptoms of distress...we're not doing much for that either right now, just watching her a little more closely and hoping she'll grow out of it soon...most newborns do. We can't wait for everyone to meet her and thanks again for all the support and well wishes! Have a great day!!!

The Great Debate, please chime in...

So Aaron is pretty solidly potty trained. He hardly had any accidents anyway and it has been weeks since that occured. Even at night he seems to do well. I keep him in diapers at night because I just don't have the energy to change a bed if he happens to not make it but basically I throw away a dry diaper every single morning. I mentioned this to a friend and she seemed shocked that I would actually throw it away instead of reuse it. I can see the logic in reusing, diapers are expensive and it is hard to toss it when you know the absorbancy is still intact. On the other hand it is underwear...don't we all wake up dry every day and still change our underwear? If we only changed when we had an accident we could wear the same pair for years, decades even (I hope). My kids are hard sleepers...I'll check on them and they are all sweaty and passed out...you have to assume that if they are sweaty on one set of cheeks they are sweaty on both...

Anyway, what is your opinion on the great 'used but not really used' diaper debate?

At least I'm not an elephant

Okay, so yesterday I took Katherine, Kyle, and Aaron to the zoo...for the record Dan was opposed to the adventure...but I went anyway. Apparently there was a new elephant born last Sunday here at the Houston zoo, baby girl Tupelo. We didn't get to see her because she was still too new...the good news is that there was also a baby born 5 months ago and he was out and about so we still got to see a baby elephant, whew. Let me tell you that even though some days I feel like an elephant and may believe that I look like one, I am really, really glad that I am not ACTUALLY one. Baby Tupelo was born full term...at 22 months gestation...weighing 273 pounds. I think my attitude just improved.

Update

Okay, so I am realizing that I just don't blog a whole lot now that I'm not on vacation. Side note: the kids have repeatedly asked if we are going on that 'really long vacation' again next summer. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? They need to be taught the meaning of the phrase 'once in a lifetime'. We did make a cool Shutterfly book with the whole summer in it...we look at it a lot, that's enough vacation for me!

Anyway, I'm not a good blogger anymore but will hopefully have some 'blog worthy' news soon. Tomorrow is October and that is the month I have anxiously been awaiting! I know she won't be born until late October but there is still something nice about being able to say 'my baby is due THIS MONTH'. I'm ready for it...but I'm SO not ready for it.

I'm in that stage of pregnancy where I just can't stand to be pregnant one more day but as soon as I think about having the baby I panic and realize that I don't really want to do this! (I know, information that would have been helpful in January...) I just can't make up my mind...I know, there really isn't any decision to be made...we ARE having a baby...but you know what I mean. One minute I am READY, let's get this party started...I want to have the baby today! I can't take it one more day, pregnancy is the worst. The next minute, PANIC, I'm NOT ready for the baby. I have a million things to do and really, as tough as it is to be pregnant it is kind of easier to just leave her in there. This morning I overslept big time. I woke up and was positive it would be chaos...but I don't think the kids noticed. At all. They had finished breakfast and were getting dressed/packing lunches. Katherine and Tyler had even helped Aaron get a bowl of cereal and had traded his nighttime undies for his daytime ones. I was basically not needed. Oh how that will change so very quickly, square one here I come! But really, it will be awesome to meet her and snuggle...is there anything better than a brand new baby sleeping on you? I'm just a circus...pick an emotion and within 5 minutes I will probably get there ;-)

Okey dokey, I will stop this rambling and try to make something of this day. I want to just go back to bed...and chances are high that a nap will occur today...but I don't have anywhere I HAVE to go so I'm going to try to get some stuff done today. Seriously, nobody has organized our shoes or alphabetized our recipes or any of that vital stuff since we moved in...it really must be done, we can't bring a new baby home to such chaos.

Have a wonderful day, thanks for riding the roller coaster with me this morning.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER!!!

I just can't believe this guy is 11 already! Am I old enough to have an eleven year old? 11 years ago he made me a Mom (okay, so 11 years ago yesterday...) in one fell swoop we went from a young couple to parents. Gone were the days when we could just think about ourselves, Tyler was on the scene and he has been so patient with us as we've learned about this crazy thing called parenthood. A few years ago he got frustrated with us and complained about being our 'test kid'...he is so right! Everything we do with him we do for the first time and hope we do it right... Thanks T for being a really good test kid! He is such a great person and we're happy he's ours. He is growing up way too fast; he just started his last year of elementary school, is out of cub scouts, and instead of a themed birthday party just wanted 'some of the guys to come over for a barbecue and some ball'. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TYLER! WE LOVE YOU!

Nightmare

Tyler's birthday party is tonight and of course I have put off buying the food until today. Let's not mention the fact that I'm having a lot of pain this morning and a few contractions (nothing serious, just annoying). I really want to curl up in bed and take a nap, but the party is tonight--the house refuses to clean itself, and Wal-Mart does not deliver so I'm up and out of here. I get to Wal-Mart and fill my cart with all kinds of stuff...some of it is on my list, most of it is just stuff. Aaron, who is usually great in the store, was cranky and whiny...not a good trip so far. I get to the check out line and am just thankful to be done so I can go home. I reach into my purse to grab my debit card and remember something.

I paid bills yesterday.

By the computer.

I needed to add my card number to some of the accounts since we are still in the move-in process. Some required the card number and some required my checking account number. While I was getting organized I decided to go ahead and clean out my purse. I removed all credit cards so as to not use them frivolously. That's right; no debit card, no checkbook, no credit cards. Do they take library cards?

Yep. I'm in line with a cart full of stuff and I can't pay for it.

SERIOUSLY?!?!

I just about cried at the thought of driving home for money and then doing it all over again when I realized that I had taken a little cash out yesterday because Dan and I have a babysitter scheduled this weekend. Score! I furiously scan my cart and start sorting into two piles; party and everything else. I had enough cash to buy all the party products and a few odds and ends for the weekend. Phew! It was not my best moment when I had to tell the cashier that I only had a certain amount of money and once we reach that everything else has to go back. Yeah, I was that lady. The people behind me were really excited.

The good news is we are a go for the party and I probably saved a ton of money because I really didn't need most of what was in my cart. The bad news is I needed some of it and will have to go shopping again very soon.

Happy Friday!

Fishing?

Soooooo, who goes to a grocery store parking lot and comes away with a fishing trophy? Tyler. How weird is that? Last Saturday some friends let us know that our local HEB grocery store was having a free fishing event for kids. I wasn't sure how that would work but figured it's free and I needed a few things for dinner so why not. They had a portable tank set up in the parking lot filled with catfish. The kids stood in line for a 10 minute turn at the tank and if you caught something you were in the running for the hourly trophies. Tyler happened to not only catch a fish but caught the biggest fish of the hour...so he now has a fishing trophy from HEB. Random family fun.

First Day of School!

Wow! I can't believe how fast they are growing up. This year is the last year we will have all our school aged children at the same school, it's Tyler's last year of elementary school! We met the teachers last week and they all seem great...the kiddos were very excited to get out the door this morning. Our only grump was Aaron, he did NOT want to leave the school and just misses everyone. We will get some playdates going soon! I sure hope the rest of the day goes as well as this morning did...we'll let you know the scoop once they are home. HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

I love Craig's list!

We still have boxes piled high and nothing on the walls...but thanks to Craig's list we have a nice place to relax at the end of the day. We found these beauties...2 recliners and a 7 foot couch, dark brown leather...for a mere $275. I love it when other people move and need to get rid of all their furniture :-)

Adventures of the pregnant homeless lady...we're home!

Holy Cow! What a summer! We are moved in (well, almost) and ready to start our new adventure. Here's a few lists to summarize our adventures!

7059.9 miles on the Kia

52 days from Friendswood to Friendswood

11 states slept in

23 states driven through

7 Sundays

1 set of church clothes

596 photos loaded to Shutterfly

1 visit from the tooth fairy

1 birthday

2 holidays (if you are from Utah)

10 swimming pools

7 burger joints

8 hotels

8 homes of friends/relatives

57 license plates

1 flat tire

1 dead battery

2 oil changes

1 urgent care visit

3 stomach bugs

4 suitcases

5 backpacks

1 well used iPod

3 sets of headphones

14 historical landmarks/museums

5 professional baseball games

23/26 cousins

14/16 aunts/uncles

4/4 grandparents

16 "bonus relatives" (great aunts, second cousins, etc.)

4 amazing kids

2 really tired parents

1 adventure of a life time!

Not counted (or classified):

ice cream cones

hours of screen time

gallons of gas

bottles of water

cans of sunscreen

band aids

pounds gained ;-)

Things I will miss:

All that time together as a family...just us

Relaxed rules

almost no bills

spontaneous side trips

spontaneous anything!

"special occasion" food

relatives/old friends

play doh in the car

extra people to help with the kiddos

walking down memory lane

historical landmarks/museums

relaxing just because I can

Things I will NOT miss:

All that time together as a family...just us

Relaxed rules

suitcases

buying gas more than once (or twice) in the same day for the same car

eating out of the blue cooler

hotels

sharing a room (or a bed) with my children

Wyoming/ New Mexico

the same 4 outfits

Things I'm looking forward to:

big grocery shopping (weird huh)

catching up with friends

my own bed

decorating my new house

getting the mail

establishing a daily routine

potty training (Aaron, not me, I'm good)

PLANNING OUR NEXT ADVENTURE :-)

Adventures of the pregnant homeless lady...GRRRRRRR!!!

So here we are in Flower Mound. We made great time today and got here by 2:00...so excited to be with cousins! We had planned a few days of visit BUT I have to officially blog a complaint about Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Last week Dan reserved a car...not online mind you, he actually called and made a reservation...and received an email confirmation. The price for a one way rental was obviously more than a local rental but still reasonable so he opted to rent a car and take Tyler with him rather than fly. We show up at the rental place at 5:00 p.m. today and the price they want to charge us 3 times the quoted price. Even with the confirmation they were not budging. Their explaination? That employee was not authorized to make that transaction, it is incorrect, you can try somewhere else is you are not satisfied. REALLY? It's 5:00 p.m. and Dan needs to be in Houston before the end of business hours the next day...what are our options? Airline tickets are too expensive the day before, no other rental place is a good option at this hour...basically we are just having a quick visit with the Egan's tonight and it's back in the car tomorrow morning. Grrrrrr! We were hoping to have some time to unwind and relax but maybe we'll get that another time...maybe next spring? I guess the good news is that I don't have to drive home alone...I really don't love to drive so that's the bright side. Anyway, I'm going to log off since I only have one night here but I just wanted to let you know that the vacation ends tomorrow! We are still not moving in until Saturday but will be back in Friendswood tomorrow (thanks to Dave W. for opening his home tomorrow night). I'm not sure when we will have online access at our house so this is it for a while...Happy Summer, don't rent from Enterprise.

Adventures of the pregnant homeless lady...back in Texas!

Howdy Friends! We're not home yet...but we're getting closer. Today we crossed the border and are back in Texas...staying in Amarillo tonight so we're still not exactly 'home'...but I must say it's good to be back in the Lonestar State. The 15 albums of photos I've posted can attest to the fact that we have, in fact, enjoyed the rest of the nation but it does feel good to be back in our home state. Nothing exciting to report today...just driving. I have been very, very tired the last few days...that coupled with the fact that I can NOT pass up an ice machine made me realize I haven't been taking my prenatals...maybe some iron would be a good idea...I'm not much help to Dan in the car lately! Other than that everyone seems to be doing well. Today was a nice day of reading books, finding shapes in the clouds, watching some movies, and just hanging out. We are SUPER excited to be at the Egan's house tomorrow...tonight is our last hotel night :-) Wahoooooo! Happy summer everyone!

Southern UT, CO, NM

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UTAH: Wolf Creek, Ogden, Lehi

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Provo

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Brigham City Utah

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The Ol' B.Y.

Good times since I last posted. Our Utah portion went very quickly...we sure packed in the fun! I think last time I posted there was an illness issue...no worries, Kyle bounced right back (go with the shot) and so far nobody else has shown signs of strep (or any other illness). Whew. We finished a great week on the lake. We had wave runners again on Friday and everyone just had a great time...the boat had some issues so that part of the adventure ended early but we still had a very full, very fun week of sun and sand! We ate enormous amounts the entire time we were there and still managed to send home enough food to feed an army...amazing! Some of the group headed out Friday evening and more left Saturday. Saturday night it was just Jeff's family, our family, and Kim (along with a couple of stray cousins). We enjoyed some time at the dinosaur museum and a night of cards. Sunday morning we packed up and headed back to Brigham City for a few hours with Dan's parents. We really wish they could have spent more time with us on the lake but we cherished the few hours we had alone with them this trip. After even MORE food in Brigham we decided to sleep in Lehi at Kim's house with Jeff's family since we needed to be south anyway. It was a great time...thanks Hoppie's!

Monday morning brought the much anticipated BYU portion of our vacation. Basically there are two kinds of people in this world; those who love the Y, and those who are not invited to our house ;-) Seriously, good times. BYU is where Dan and I met--we lived there all the way up through the first 4 1/2 years of marriage. That place is steeped in memories for us and it is always a treat to go back. The kids were great and we all had a fun time. The morning was spent on campus...breakfast at the 'Cougareat', a trip to the bookstore for some new shirts and souvenirs, and then meeting friends for a tour of Legacy Hall. Obviously we had lunch at the Brick Oven (tummy pizza) and then off to the hotel. We relaxed for a bit and then it was off again. A trip to Provo is not complete without a drive up the canyon, so drive we did. Bridle Veil falls, and some of our favorite parks were included. It was trying to rain so we didn't spend a ton of time but it was a pleasant afternoon. I convinced the kids to take off their socks and shoes and walk a bit in the water...hehehe! They have never exactly experienced the 'refreshing' cool of mountain spring water...it really feels nice...if you are trying to ice down your ankle. It really did start to rain so it was back to campus for some more walking down memory lane, dinner at Creamery on 9th, bowling at the WILK (Monday night is dollar night...score one for us!), and back to the creamery for the best ice cream ever (I know, Blue Bell fans, it's a tough call. I think we need to go head to head on this one, and I need to be a judge!)

Since we can't move into our new place until Saturday we decided to break up the drive home into 3 days instead of 2 and that allowed us enough time for a bit more of The Ol' B.Y. before leaving town. Dan took Tyler and Kyle to hike the 'Y'. We always plan to do it and it never works out...the last 3 times we've been in Utah something has foiled our plans and we have never taken any children up the mountain. This time we prevailed! We opted to keep Aaron and myself behind for this trip...and Katherine decided last minute that she did not want to go (when she got to the trail head and looked up it was over). Next time we're going to take everyone! Side note here...we were almost unable to hike again today. When we got into the car this morning the battery was indeed dead. Grrrrr. I guess if you are going to have car trouble that's a pretty good option...very easy fix, but still frustrating. We were already running late and then we had to take time out to jump the car. Thankfully the hotel is across the street from a Jiffy Lube and they loaned Dan one of those jumper cable boxes that doesn't require another car to jump start your battery. Whew, thanks guys! Dodged another bullet. After saying goodbye to Provo once more we headed out on the road and here we are in Farmington, New Mexico.

It was a slow drive but basically pleasant. The kiddos enjoyed driving through Moab/Arches the most...it really is impressive. One of these times we are going to have to take time to add southern Utah onto the itinerary as well, lots of good camping to be had down there. Anyway, we hit some rain but saw some amazing rainbows...the pics didn't turn out but they were great. We experienced the joy of driving through the Indian reservations...and are thankful that our car functioned properly the whole way...and here we are at the Towne and Place Suites in Farmington. We all enjoyed a quick swim and, again, love the really comfy beds and are hoping to sleep in a bit. Tomorrow we drive to Amarillo and Thursday we get to the Egan's in Flower Mound (yippeee). I know I keep saying this but I can not believe it is over already. In some ways it feels like we've been gone forever and in others it's like we just left. Definitely the trip of a lifetime! I hope all is well with everyone, happy summer!

Update

Just in case you were interested Kyle got progressively worse yesterday until I decided I was done watching him get sicker and sicker and we went to the urgent care. A little penicillin shot in the hiney and within a few hours he was feeling a lot better. He had a rough night sleep for the first half of the night but eventually he settled down and woke up this morning ready for a day on the boat. He's such a trooper. We are all hopeful that strep will not make it's way through the entire extended family...and I'm really hoping the rest of us in our little family do not need hiney shots in order to make it home...not the highlight of the vacation. And while we're getting out all the 'sick on vacation' stories Aaron actually threw up again last night. After I finally got Kyle settled I heard that tell tale sound and knew Aaron needed to get out of his crib NOW. He threw up twice, fell back asleep, and woke up this morning happy, hungry, and ready to play. He has been fine all day and never had a fever so I guess he just ate too many meatballs for dinner or something (side note...why do they always throw up when they eat something red or blue...ugh). Anyway, long story short yesterday and last night were not good...today was great. I'm exhausted. I'm praying for more than 4 hours sleep tonight...wish me luck.

Adventures of the pregnant homeless lady...sick on vacation

No, I am not sick, but my Kyle is. There are few things worse than being sick on vacation...hopefully this will pass soon. He was fine yesterday morning and by the time we got off the boat he was complaining of a headache...which turned into a terrible headache with a fever by the time we got to the condo which turned into a terrible headache with a fever and a sore throat by this morning. We're hoping it's just a little one day thing and he'll be better tomorrow...lots of gatorade and popsicles today...wish us luck.

Let me back track a bit and fill you in on the week. Basically we're having a great time (other than the above paragraph). Sunday after we went to church with Grandma and Grandpa we loaded up the vehicles and headed to the condos at Wolf Creek...near Ogden if you are familiar with Utah...to spend a week on the lake. Dan has 3 sisters and 2 brothers and it is a very rare thing to have all 6 of them together so this is a pretty big deal, our kids don't get to see these cousins much and are really enjoying getting to know them. Dan's sister Pam brought her boat and his sister Kelly rented some wave runners so we are enjoying lots of 'water toy' time (thanks to Kim for the condos, Pam for the boat, and Kel for the 'water motorcycles'...we just brought people...) There was a little trouble with the wave runners on Monday but we still managed to get some good rides in. It's fun to see which kids have a little dare devil in them and which kids take the slow rides. Honestly, I love wave runners and like a bit more of a crazy ride...but in my present condition they only let me take the timid children, darn it! I have actually spent most of every day on the beach...the boat really takes it's toll on me and I can't really do any of the fun stuff so I build sand castles and visit...but it's still fun. I have been doing every other day just to play it safe so it's really fine that Kyle is sick today...I was going to lay low and rest today either way.

Dan has the camera so the pics will have to come later (I figured he would have more photo ops at the lake then I will have here...unless you want to see photos of Kyle and me on the couch drinking gatorade and watching Phineas and Ferb...) We have about 40 people here give or take...some of them have just been here part of the time...so it has been an action packed week. Monday was a big lake day with tons of food and games in the evening. Tuesday was a bit shorter at the lake but in the evening Wayne and Judy (Dan's parents) came down and we ended up playing a kids vs. adults baseball game. I actually got to see my mother-in-law play baseball. Awesome. I wish I had a photo of the faces of her grandsons when she was up to bat...priceless. She's a good sport and we had fun...it was a close game and those kids had no sympathy for the old or pregnant people...they were out to win! I was not at the lake Tuesday but I guess Uncle Andy took some of the boys fishing and Tyler caught an enormous fish (there is a photo on someone's camera...I'll get it) they also went out after dinner to fish some more, I've actually never been fishing but they are having a blast with it! Wednesday brought another fun day on the lake but we had to cut it a bit short due to some pesky lightning in the area. I felt a bit bad for Dan and Tyler. Dan had a paper for school that he needed to finish so he stayed home in the morning, Tyler was pretty pooped so he stayed with Dan. They didn't get there until lunch time and then we had to pack it in early...Tyler only got one ride on the boat (with 40 people you kind of have to take turns) but I think he'll live. He has been playing hard all week, he went from never wake boarding in his life to getting up and riding every turn. Katherine, Kyle, and Aaron just go tubing but everyone is loving it. Anyway, after we got back from the boat some of the crowd went bowling...Dan and I stayed with our sick Kyle but Tyler reported tons of fun bowling with cousins. After dinner brought a swim in the pool and then more games and hanging out. Hopefully today is a great day on the lake and a good rest day for Kyle...tomorrow is the last day of boating and I would be so sad if he missed it.

I hope everyone is well and am both sad and excited to report that we are now down to a more 'normal' vacation time frame. Dan (and maybe Tyler) will be back in Friendswood one week from today! (I will come down a couple of days later once the storage unit is unloaded). It will be sad to leave all the fun...but I could go for a dresser instead of a suitcase (and my own bed would be pretty nice). Okey dokey. I'm off to fetch some gatorade and tylenol for my favorite 6 year old. Those of you in the Houston area needed to focus on getting some good weather down there for our welcome home gift ;-) Happy summer!!!

Illinois (Springfield and Nauvoo)

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Niagara and Kirtland

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Palmyra cont.

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Adventures of the pregnant homeless lady...this week.

Okey dokey, so photos will have to wait a day or two. I'm not able to upload from my in-law's computer and can't seem to find a wifi connection in the area...but I'll get it taken care of soon. While we wait on those here's the long version of our trip this past week...



Let's see, when we last left off we were enjoying the comforts of the Findlay Ohio Marriott. Good stuff. We got up and moving Monday morning and drove to Springfield Illinois where my mother-in-law grew up. I had never been there and it had been a couple of decades for Dan but we had a blast! We stayed with his Aunt Nancy and loved every minute of it. It was really freaky to meet his Aunt Nan...I truly believe someone cloned my mother-in-law. They look alike, sound alike, have the same speech patterns, word choices, and mannerisms. The children were a bit confused as well! She rolled out the red carpet for us and we had a great family dinner where we met many of Dan's relatives. We saw Aunt Nan, Aunt Sallie, Aunt Susie, Aunt Vickie, cousins Tom, Mike, Karen (with husband Ed and son Mitch), and Greg (with wife Chris and daughter Fran). Aren't you impressed that I remembered all those names. It won't last! We did have a great time though. The kids loved the big backyard and all the animals that come up for snacks...Aaron is still talking about feeding the bunnies.

We had planned to get up and moving Tuesday morning so we could make it to Nauvoo, IL by lunch time...but the nail in our tire took us on a different path. Dan dropped the kids and me off at the Abraham Lincoln museum and found a service station to take care of the tire. We hadn't really planned to do much of the Lincoln stuff while we were there but I'm glad we did. Great museum...if you have a chance to see it you really should go...very family friendly. Not so much fun for poor Dan but we are just so thankful that the flat tire occurred in Springfield where we had something to do and a service station nearby rather than in the middle of Wyoming!

Okay, after we fixed the flat we hurried on over to Nauvoo and had a nice afternoon/evening there looking around the city. We went to the Carthage jail and then enjoyed the old time country fair at dinner time. Kyle played stick ball the whole time, Tyler loved the stick pull, Katherine had fun with crafts, and Aaron just loved it all! After the fair we stayed for the pageant. Very different from Palmyra but a great experience. We're glad we did it.

The next morning we let the kids take some time for a morning swim...they were thrilled that this hotel had an indoor pool rather than an outdoor one. Simple pleasures ;-) We got a bit of a late start because of the swim but everyone was happy and ready for a L.O.N.G. drive. We drove all the way through Iowa and a good chunk of Nebraska. More corn than you could imagine. Corn, corn, corn, corn, corn. It was actually not a bad drive and we had a fun day in the car...nothing really newsworthy just some good visiting and playing games. We were very happy to get to the hotel and stretch our legs. The hotel was actually the highlight of the day for Kyle. We had to get two rooms because they didn't have suites at this one. One of the rooms happened to be wheelchair accessible. We had showered the kids in the morning after they swam so I didn't think they would want another one but oh, no...Kyle was loving the idea of a shower with a seat in it! He could not get over the bathroom...I think he would have slept in there if we let him. He also really enjoyed the peephole that was on his level. I'm pretty sure he left there wishing he could be in a wheelchair just for the cool hotel rooms.

Thursday brought more Nebraska and the entire state of Wyoming. Really glad we didn't have car trouble in Wyoming...we went hours without seeing people. Really, really, really long drive day. Not as much fun in the car...multiple movies! The highlight of the drive was stopping at Little America at the border and getting 50 cent ice cream cones, so glad we're done with that state! We got to Wayne and Judy's house at dinner time and were able to have a nice meal and visit with Gram and Grampa before bed. The kids all love Grandpa's motorized scooter and just can't get enough of it. I will definitely post some photos of that...Kyle just zooms on up the street like a pro. Good times. What is it with the kid and wheelchairs? Yesterday we mostly just hung out and enjoyed not driving anywhere. Dan spent a lot of the day working on homework so he can finish this class before we hit the lake next week. I did laundry and got our suitcases organized again. The kids ran around not touching each other :-) and we just had a relaxing day. Today brings some cousins and the pool...good prep for a week on the lake, right?

That pretty much sums up our week...we can't believe we're down to just the last two weeks of our adventure! I hope all is well...we'll load some pics soon. Have a great day!

Adventures of the pregnant homeless lady...finally here!

I only have a few minutes so I will give the long version later but I just wanted to say that we are here! We got to Brigham City Utah last night for the Hoppie leg of the journey. I'm just so glad to be out of the car...Wednesday and Thursday we just drove...approximately 1300 miles in those 2 days (1000 of it on I-80 W). I'm done with looking at Wyoming, does anyone actually know why the US has Wyoming? It does not appear populated. I could not figure out it's purpose, unless we are trying to hoard all the sagebrush in the world. Anyway, we are here at the in-law's house and are enjoying some down time before we see all of the aunts/uncles/cousins. I have to regroup (pay some bills, do some laundry, etc.) so I have to get going...I'll find a few minutes later on to play and load the pictures of this week. For as many miles as we drove from the time we left one set of Grandparents to the time we got to the other set I think things went pretty well. Have a great day! HAPPY SUMMER!!!

Adventures of the pregnant homeless lady...niagara falls and kirtland.

Well, the good times continue! We got movin' this morning and left Palmyra headed out west. Our final destination today...Findlay Ohio. We're still not sure what's in Findlay other than a clean hotel room but we're happy enough for that. Since Palmyra is only an hour and a half away from Niagara Falls we decided to stop off and enjoy the sights. We had to stay on the US side since nobody had a passport and we didn't want to get stuck in Canada...but it was still fabulous! We knew we had a long drive ahead of us so we didn't spend a ton of time there but we took a quick ride on "The Maid of the Mist" and got a nice taste of the falls. Everyone loved it--Aaron was super excited to see the water and they were all thrilled to see rainbows and get wet on the boat. Good times, it was a quick visit and then we were on our way again! Our planned path took us right past Kirtland Ohio so we decided stopped off for a rest stop and took a quick walk around the temple. We didn't see any of the city because we needed to get going on the road but it was still nice to say we've been there...maybe we'll come back another year when we can see more. Today was the first day that the kids really didn't travel well. Nothing major just some of the stuff that we have (miraculously) avoided thus far. We had some "they're touching me" and "are we there yet" moments. Since we're more than halfway into our trip and today was the first cranky travel day we've had we are doing really well. And they weren't that bad, you could just tell that everyone was tired. We're all ready to snuggle up in these comfy beds and enjoy the beauty of hotel black out curtains (I really need some of these for my house!) Okey dokey. I'm pretty tired, no real exciting stories from today...sleep well everyone!

Hill Cumorah

Just a quick post to let you know the adventures of last night. It was AWESOME. We did, in fact, go to the Hill Cumorah Pageant in the rain. We figured we would rather deal with a few sprinkles on Friday than huge crowds on Saturday. We have very few pics because I didn't want to ruin our camera but it was really amazing.

For those readers who are not familiar with our faith the Hill Cumorah Pageant is a depiction of some of the scenes from The Book of Mormon, a companion scripture to the Bible. which tells of Jesus Christ's ministry to the people in the ancient Americas. It was a very moving and powerful experience. I'm so glad we came. I had seen it when I was younger but this was the first time for Dan and the kids, great times.

I do have to mention that the kids were super despite the rain...we were such a circus...we had a few umbrellas but no raincoats. Dan just stopped in for some hefty bags...that's right, we're so white trash we bring our own bags. Aaron put one on for a minute then started to cry and said "Mommy, I don't want to be a trash can!" He opted to just get wet. We're off for some sight seeing, great times. Miss everyone, have a great day!

p.s. Yes, in one photo you see Aaron's splint on his finger...I accidentally shut it in a door and I'm pretty sure I broke it. Mother of the year. At least I packed a good first aid kit.