winter 2014

OK, so far so good, I'm into 2014! I seem to be moving right along with trying to catch up-ish on this blog. Some pictures from Winter 2014.

Drew turns 3!

Drewby turns 3! That's pretty much my best birthday cake ever! Drew is all about Thomas the Train. Thankfully because of the Dillan's collection over the years from Santa and Grandmas, he has tons of engines and tracks! He always wants to watch Thomas on Netflix and can't get enough!
He's sensitive and sweet. Also very intuitive and always thinking and solving. You can see the wheels turning often in his eyes. He likes to be goofy and playful. He is such a special addition to our family. We can't get enough of our Drewby-Doo!

Blue & Gold Dinner

Dillan has been doing great with scouts. He's the ONLY one from our ward that goes. So his den is full of boys who all go to school together and are friends. But he's a trooper and is hanging in there. We brought our contribution for the cake contest for Blue & Gold dinner. We knew boys liked donuts. We were right. This cake was devoured in seconds. It didn't win a prize, but it did get eaten. Most of the fancy ones were untouched! Gold medals all around!

Bowling

Both kids were students of the month! Seriously so proud of these two. They are amazing students, super smart, and learning so much. They teach me everyday and help me become a better person. So grateful.

And finally, it appears I'm about to pop. Back in November, I found out Dr Bianchi was leaving his practice and the state. He did a quick ultrasound to try and figure out the flavor of this baby. He couldn't really see very much, but "penciled in" a boy because he thought he saw "something." I didn't argue because I don't see those things very well anyhow. I knew I was done with being pregnant ever again, boy or girl. This was it. This pregnancy kicked my behind. It's like my body hated me for going through this again. I was sick and uncomfortable A LOT. I had crazy symptoms I'd never had before and was just overwhelmingly miserable!

So for a few months that's what we went with. Finally, in March, Chris couldn't take it anymore and set up an appointment at an ultrasound boutique. He says he just wanted to be 100% sure, but I know deep down he wanted the baby to be a girl. I just wanted to be done with being pregnant. And I was at peace with that. The ultrasound room had a bed, a couch, and a huge projection screen on one wall. I was hooked up and the kids and Chris watched the huge wall. The ultrasound worker said "You haven't bought any boy stuff yet, have you?"

"Uhhhh, no?!"

"Because this baby is a GIRL!"

WHAT?!?!

"I am 100% positive. See the hamburger? That's a GIRL!"

It's like Chris knew. He was thrilled after that. We all were. And we couldn't wait to meet our little girl. Now if only it was easy to come up with a name...

Not my favorite thing: naming babies.

Catch-up!

It's not the best feeling knowing it's been 2 whole years since I've done any writing of our family's story. But I'm determined to catch up and start fresh for next year. I love seeing the books I publish on our bookshelf and have hope that one day someone in my posterity will appreciate them.

December 2013 We loaded up our van with grandma and grandpa and drove across country to Tennessee. I believe it was the worst winter Oklahoma had had in a while. Freezing rain. We saw Chad & Lindsie and then they followed us the rest of the way. It was a week of nutty craziness. Cousins and Christmas taken to the extreme. But as Chad has said: It always just feels right when we're all together. I agree 100%. We had a blast and the drive wasn't really all that terrible. The kids did great. We did discover, however, that my kids are NOT very good on roller skates. I'm not sure why. I tried to help coach them, but they didn't want to listen or something. Still working on that, actually.

gotta love these faces!

they seem so young just 2 years ago!

Just before Christmas Day, we found out the sad news that Papa Bob had passed away. We had spent Thanksgiving in St. George, and while his Alzheimer's was definitely advanced, it seems that it took a huge dive just after. So, we took a detour home to Utah to attend a funeral. Got to meet a bunch of people who called us family and remember a great man who had a positive impact on Chris and especially his mom.