Preggo Pics

Since I don't have the software to make those cool collages, I finally figured out how to post a slideshow of my belly pics so here it is. This will catch everyone up from my 23-week pictures.

I know, I know - I'm HUGE! Strangers tell me all the time with stupid comments like, "Any day now, huh?" "Wow! You're REALLY pregnant!" and "You look like you're ready to pop!" People really should think before they speak.

Pawden Jox

I discovered again this morning that my children evidently watch entirely too many movies. Luckily we do not have satellite service in the house anymore so I don't have to worry about what exactly they're watching, but we watch our fair share of movies.

I need to include the disclaimer that this may not be as funny when it's typed because it was what I HEARD Anthony say that made it so funny. I'll do my best to recreate this moment though.

My sweet 3-year-old Anthony came in from watching the girls go to school this morning and said in his most serious and surprised tone, "Mom! There's pawden jox outside!" I was completely confused by this statement and all I could come up with was "What?" So he repeated himself, emphasizing it this time: "There's pawden jox outside!" Still perplexed, I heard C.J. pipe up from the kitchen to correct his brother. "They're not pollen jocks Anthony. They're bees."

Thanks Bee Movie. Now my kid doesn't even know what a bee is.

Going backwards...that's how I roll!

So, it's the jolly fat man at the keyboard once again. It has been a while since the unmasked crusader has been on. I was looking through the plethora of available photos to comment on, and realized I had never talked about our kids' first time on the back of a horse! We met our good friends Jeff and Vickie from Las Vegas up at Pine Valley for a break from the heat. They brought up their three horses and our kids loved it!

This is Ninja C.J. on Lady with Vickie

Here is Hailey with Jeff on...some other horse (give me a break, that was two months ago! I can't even remember what I had for dinner yesterday!)

"Look Mom! I'm so cute they let me go by myself!"

Hannah's turn with Jeff. It is fun to see the differences between Hannah and Hailey when it comes to adventure! Hannah was ready to take off without Jeff on a full gallop, while Hailey was ok with a leisurely stroll down the driveway and back.

So here is our little cowboy...I couldn't decide between the horse picture, or this one in Jeff's hat Then in hit me. I AM IN CONTROL! Both it is.

GIDDYAP!!!

Here is Pregasaurus. She had to stand on this huge rock just to get on the horse. We almost had to give Vickie a horse tranquilizer just to relax enough about Janet to let her even get on one.

The Wife had fun, but was severely disappointed when her ride ended up being as long as Hailey's! Down and back, nothing extravagant, but she still got to ride. Doesn't she look like a natural?

So, the common theme I am sure you all noticed...Yes, I do NOT ride horses. I was getting FREAKED out every time the butt of a horse was aimed at me...I just knew they were going to kick me in the head. I was sitting in a chair, and one of the horses turned her back towards me and I thought for sure I had earned myself a horseshoe shaped face. Luckily I am a wimp for no good reason at all.

Baby Countdown

At the request of a friend, I decided I would finally give in and put up a baby ticker. But I really didn't like the ones where the baby is floating in the fluid - they kind of creep me out. So I looked online for something different and found this one here. You can change the background color to blue, pink, green or a yellow-gold. There are other types of badges too, but I liked this one the best. Now you can all keep tabs on how much longer we'll have to wait for this little one to arrive. :O) Happy waiting...I know I'll be enjoying the next 10-11 weeks!

3 Things

The rules are as follows: list 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions, and 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Here goes...

Joys

1. Family
2. Childbirth (experiencing it myself as well as helping others)
3. Singing

Fears

1. Grasshoppers (weird, I know - let me know if you want the full story)
2. Not being a good mom
3. Losing one of my children

Goals

1. Learn Chinese
2. Become a midwife
3. Serve a mission with Greg

Current Obsessions

1. The Twilight series
2. Blogging (mostly reading others lately)
3. Air conditioning :O)

Random Surprising Facts

1. I've never been to Disneyland
2. I've delivered someone else's baby
3. I'm a member of MENSA

I'm tagging people that read my blog and have a blog of their own. Have fun!

Kind of a tag

Okay, so it's a lame excuse for a post since it's copy and paste, but I wanted to let everyone know I am, in fact, alive. :O) We're headed to my dad's extended family reunion at Duck Creek this weekend so hopefully I'll remember to take some fun pictures and actually take the time to post them when I get back. No promises though!

I saw this on Sarah's blog and thought it would be fun to see what kind of memories you guys come up with. It can be a memory of Greg or me individually or even both of us together. I can't wait to see what y'all remember about us.

1. As you comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments.

So, it's me again.

I have yet another disclaimer. I don't know how to get the pictures from the camera to the computer...so you will notice this is a picture from two years ago. If Janet doesn't already have it on the computer...it won't be on the blog.

I wanted to get on and plug in my two cents about the 4th. Janet's Grandpa died last week, so we threw the kids in the van and traveled up to the cold country for a weekend of ups and downs. We spent Thursday morning at the funeral, followed by a trip to a Veterans Cemetery. This was a great experience for me to teach my kids about the brave men and women who have died to keep us free. I teared up a few times as the Color Guard played taps, fired the 21 gun salute, and folded the flag. I took C.J. aside, and explained to him what they were doing every step of the way.

We took the opportunity to stay at Brad and Jagaa's house this weekend. The kids had an absolute BLAST playing with cousins their own age. Little Abby chased C.J. around all weekend, copying everything he did. Amanda was the group mother. She got up and cooked pancakes and eggs for everyone, and even cleaned up the mess afterwards.

When it was time for the fireworks, we congregated at the Mom and Dad's place for a Bar-B-Q and then went to Micks house for the fireworks show. I was sure to wear closed toe shoes this year, because I was a monkey's uncle a couple of years ago and got a hot firework spark stuck between my toes!

Dave made the comment that it was quite a joy having someone with ADLAK (Attention Deficit... Look A Kitty) lighting the fireworks. I couldn't sit still, so I had 3 or 4 screamers going at the same time. We even got the neighbors out to watch our masterful production.

The weather was absolutely AMAZING! We left the 110 degree heat of the desert to enjoy a nice cloud cover and a breezy 85 degree evening.

Ever wonder?

DISCLAIMER: This is not a picture of me in a Spidey Costume...

So as I check in with my sister and all other diligent bloggers, I realize that waiting for a pregnant mother of 5 children to do all the blogging could take a while.

I would like to take this opportunity to say hi to everyone! Hi!

I, along with many other unsuspecting passers-by have been sucked into the world of blogging. I used to light-haertedly laugh at others who had succomed to this exciting and fast-paced arena until I realized that I could actually keep in touch with my sister on the other side of our Nation! Bring it on!

So as I was contemplating what I should post, be it funny or sweet and tender I came across this picture of Spiderman. It brought to my mind that there are three possibilities in this picture:
1. Mr. Tuddly lost a bet with his college buddies, and had to stand on a street corner in the Spidey Suit.
2. He is part of Community theater, and this is an exercise he uses to overcome stage fright.
3. His parents were heavily involved in experimental drugs during the developmental phases of his early life.

This is a game that Janet and I play on long road trips. We watch people as we pass them, or they pass us, and we make up a story about them.

I am willing to let you all copy us though, it is a free Country. Besides with 5 2/3 children, we have to get creative on things to keep our sanity.

23 weeks

Okay...here is the first of many catch-up posts. These are my 23-week pictures and another of my cute shirts I told you about.

An "action shot" of me walking. Greg's such a nerd. :O)


The 23-week belly in all its glory.

One of my three favorite shirts. I find it even funnier because I'm not wearing any!

Wait for it...

New posts are coming, I promise. I've been super busy this last week trying to recover from three days of choir camp and drudging through a HUGE pile of tapes for transcribing. But I'm done with the transcription now, so hopefully I can get my pictures uploaded (always the worst part for me!) and get the new posts made. I've been working on some fun ones. Well, I think they're fun anyway! So keep waiting and maybe I'll surprise you with them tomorrow. =Þ