Sea World

Our trip to San Diego was perfect. Perfect weather, perfect children, perfect crowds. Just perfect. It seems we only go to Sea World when I'm pregnant but that's probably got to do with the selfish reason that I can't go on any rides and don't wanna miss out. But with Katelyn having never been we packed our bags a left a day early for the wedding to hit the park. We got there at lunch time and had the perfect amount of time to see everything. First it was off to see the Shamu show. When I told Katelyn we were going to see the whales and dolphins, I'm sure she was thinking about the Secret Garden where we went a few months ago. Which would explain why she was jumping everytime Shamu jumped out of the water.

Just waiting for the show to start. Their faces seem to say, "I don't see what the big deal is, we've already seen the dolphins." But once it started she went to this.Katelyn's favorite part of the show was when Shamu jumped up and splashed all the people in front, for which she was grateful to be sitting just out reach of his splash.Next up, the dolphin show. Katelyn still loved it, but was not nearly as impressed because they just didn't make as big of a splash. For those of you wanting a picture of the tummy, I find it hilarious because while I am not in many, every picture I am in, subconsciously there is something or someone blocking it!!
Then we were off to feed the sea lions. Feeding the dolphins was closed, but the girls were so excited to "get their hands dirty" to feed a few of them. It was extremely crowded so we couldn't get back far enough to see the sea lions that gathered around as soon as the girls got near the edge with their fish but they had a blast. If you look closely, Katelyn is about to drop the fish into a welcoming mouth.And Kelsey, always willing to smile for the camera.

How quickly we went from this...
...to this!! You can't really see her face, but she was screaming as soon as Dave got it spinning crazy fast and since I wasn't on it to monitor the spinning he felt it was fair game. For the rest of the ride, she was tucked in next to him. When they got off, the first thing she said was, "That was fun." Yeah, I don't believe her for one second.
Since again, I couldn't go on any rides, Katelyn was up first on the flying fish ride and Kelsey had to sit out and wait her turn.
Hi Mom!!
Next it was Kelsey's turn.
This last and final ride was this one. It was like the big ship that goes back and forth but with an added twist, it went in a circle too. It really looked rather calm, but I'm not fan of the buccaneer ride either so I opted to sit it out. Katelyn again smiling before the ride started.
That is her screaming, and if words could come out of her mouth besides shear terror, she'd be screaming to be let off.

This is supposed to be fun? And look at Kelsey's face, loving every minute of it.
This is her, I'm really not enjoying this, smile!! But she was good sport!!

I knew Dave's answer to this before the girls even asked, so I went up instead. Where's Katelyn might you be asking? She's already so far ahead climbing to the top.
So proud that she made it all the way without any help at all. Dave had to race to catch her.

The last event of the day, the polar bear caves. Kelsey went on the ride with Dave while Katelyn and I walked through it.
And still all smiles at the end of the day. Not a fit to be had!!

All tuckered out from a full day at Sea World. Next stop, the long awaited wedding!!

Pine Valley

For Memorial Day weekend, we headed up to Pine Valley for a much needed break and although it was a quick trip up and back, we all had such a great time. Nothing like a little R & R from the daily grind of life and work. We may have been a little crazy to attempt a camping trip only a few days before leaving for California for the wedding, but it all started with Dave having to go on the Father's and Sons campout, without any sons since the bishopric was cooking breakfast.

The girls were in tears as he was driving away because it was just camping for the boys and they wanted to know why girls weren't allowed to go. So with promises of a camping trip with dad in the near future we decided with a free weekend and not having to sleep in a tent being 6 months pregnant, now was as good a time as any. It has almost been a year since we were there last and Katelyn doesn't even remember going at all, but Kelsey was so excited to go to great grandpa's house.

The girls got to bed so late that night, but we still woke them up bright and early to go fishing. They were so excited and ready to catch some fish. It was slow at first, about 10 minutes of just waiting and Kelsey asked why it was taking so long. When we finally got all the poles in the water, they started biting like crazy and within 3 hours we had our limit and were heading back to the cabin to clean them all. I think the girls brought in just as many if not more than we did and were so proud of their catch!!Katelyn caught the biggest one of all but while she was waiting for Dave to make it over to hers (he was finishing with one Kelsey just caught), the fish snapped the line and got away. Well, you can only imagine how upset she was so we threw out another line, while Dave rigged up her pole again and about 2 minutes later, she had another one she reeled in and was successful at keeping.

They each had to touch their fish and wanted to help with it...until they flipped when they bent down to touch them. That ended that, but they still had to check that they were all there and didn't swim away once they were put on the stringer.

Anyone want some worms?

At first they wanted nothing to do with the worms, but Dave made them each hand him one to bait up their hooks and then there was a fight at who got to give it to him next. Katelyn's face really doesn't look it, but she really wasn't repulsed by this.

The girls went rock climbing.

Katelyn asked me to take a picture of just her on the rock they found.

Always wanting to help.

A successful fishing trip if you ask me.

Dad with his two girls.

They each learned how to clean a fish and even got to help cut off a few of their heads. I love that our girls aren't afraid to work or get their hands dirty.

Kelsey's Preschool Graduation

A couple of weeks ago Kelsey graduated from preschool. Her teacher, Miss Kris, had a short program at her house in the evening for all the parents and Kelsey was so excited and proud to show us all that she has learned this year.

Don't mind the cheesy smiles, they both were about to head into the bounce house and I pulled them out to take their picture before their hair got messed up.

I don't think she once looked across at her teacher, every picture we have she's looking right at us!!
Katelyn during the program. How can you not love that face?!

Each of the kids had a speaking part and Kelsey and Ellie were chosen to say theirs together.

Kelsey's afternoon preschool class. Not sure why the long face, but she wasn't happy about something.

A proud Miss Kris and an even prouder Kelsey with her diploma.

She has mixed feelings about moving on to kindergarten. She is sad because Miss Kris will not be her teacher anymore and she won't see any of her friends that she had preschool with, but she is excited to be moving on and going to school to meet new friends.

At least she's lucky enough to still see her at church. We are so fortunate to call their family our friends.

We're off!

Our vacation and wedding is finally here. We're headed down to San Diego for a day at Sea World and then spending the rest of the time with the wedding plans. We'll see you all when we get back!!

Strawberries

Kaylene went down home for Mother's Day and brought us back 2 flats of California strawberries. For those of you who have had to settle with buying them from the store that have been trucked in for 100's of miles, well you may not know what you're missing. But for those of you who've had these wonderful berries and bought them right off the trucks in Camarillo and Oxnard, don't know how good you really have it. The strawberries we get here are usually half the size they are in California.

So for family night we cut them, froze them, mashed them and ate them. The girls have always enjoyed helping in the kitchen with whatever we are making for any meal and cutting the strawberries was no exception.

We were up to our elbows in strawberries and can't wait to enjoy more of these red, berry goodness. We'll probably have to bring some more back with us in a couple of weeks when we go down for the wedding.

Katelyn helping with stirring the freezer jam.

Kelsey finally graduated from a butter knife to a real knife and is so pleased with herself. Ya gotta love the open mouth deep in concentration.

Katelyn trying her luck at cutting them. And doing a pretty good job. The only problem she had was actually putting them in the bowl. I think three out of four berries made it to her mouth rather than the bowl. I guess I should be thankful this girl eats any fruit at all. She is only a connoisseur of strawberries and peaches. Unless she's dipping the fruit in chocolate, then her palate seems to be a little bit broader. But who doesn't like a little chocolate with their fruit?
Prime example - her mouth is stuffed full of strawberries. We're just lucky we had dinner first or her dinner would have been strawberries. When we put them in bed that night, her stomach was so full with them. And yet, she was still asking for more the next day.

More please!!

Swimming 101...again

We've been in the pool for a few weeks now and unfortunately the repercussions of Katelyn falling in the pool and then jumping in the spa and getting pulled under by the jets have taken their toll. She has no problem getting in the pool with us, she just thinks she is going to sink. We tried at first without the ring to no avail so we opted to put it back on her to build up her confidence again, but with very little air in it. She still has to work to keep helself above water but hey, she thinks she's doing something great.

Her face says it all, right there. Believe it or not, she's smiling in this picture just so Dave would leave her alone and let her do it by herself.

She finally warmed up to the idea of being ok and then the fun really began.

It didn't take her long to warm up to playing in the pool.

While she doesn't see the fun in wearing these in the pool, she was all about wearing them around the house the next day!!

We also started swimming lessons again this week and I'm pleased to say, Kelsey has picked up where she left off. Except with her stamina. She gets very winded very easily so she's working to build that up and with just 2 lessons, she's back to diving to the bottom of the deep end for rings and rockets and whatever else she can get her hands on. She truly is our little fish.

For Katelyn's first lesson, she wasn't fond of taking the ring off but within 5 minutes of swimming with Kaylene, she was back to swimming to the edge and jumping off the side. All smiles. Her second lesson only got better and this year she is a much stronger swimmer. She is so proud to show off her stuff to mom and dad, and really anyone else that will watch her and think she's great. In the next few weeks she'll probably be able to swim the width of the pool.

Not your average Mother's Day post

Mother's Day is probably one of my least favorite days, right up there with Valentine's Day. I believe it to be one of those made up days, just an excuse for florists to raise their prices and stores to capitalize on unnecessary things. While there are those of you who were happily enjoying your breakfasts in bed, a church time other than 9 am, a day off from the everyday chores that life brings your way (etc etc etc), I was up at 7 getting the girls and myself ready for church. But I'm not complaining, I actually love that I can make it to church on time without my husband around to help because really it's just another body to get ready and out the door.

Anyone that knows me, knows that I hate any attention drawn to me and Mother's Day is just that. I realized that since we have started our family, I have been pregnant just about every other Mother's Day. But Sunday was just a bit different. See, it's Dave's month to conduct and to find speakers for sacrament meeting and I was especially excited to listen to those he asked to speak on mothers. Surprisingly the girls let me listen more than normal to them and it was such a great meeting. One of the speakers ended her talk with "One of our biggest faults as mothers is that we don't acknowledge our worth." Hence the floodgates opened again!! (See the previous post for more info).

So I'm sure most of you are thinking what does any of this have to do with the title of this post. The truth is, Dave is such a strength to me, and that he is in the profession that he is with the economy. Last week I was feeling particularly down after crunching the numbers and paying the bills, it's amazing that he can dig up business the way he does and it was later that same day he called up with a sale, an elephant hunt, really. It was an almost immediate answer to prayer. Very few people can go into sales and survive and actually enjoy it and he does both. I am so thankful for the level head that he is in our family.

I'm also thankful for the 2, beautiful, healthy girls we have. I learn so much from them each and everyday!! I love being able to stay home with them. This past Mother's Day, Dave made dinner - which he makes every Sunday - and the girls played and got along, and actually let us take a nap, a distant favorite past time since he's been in the bishopric. I think it was another blessing from heaven to love and appreciate the girls again. So while there was no "pampering and spoiling" it was still a good day and I am so blessed to have a family that loves me despite my faults and short comings. In fact while we were eating dinner that night, I was reminded of this from Kelsey. She simply stated, "This is a great dinner, dad. Better than yours, mom." To which I replied, "I know it is. Dad always makes a great dinner." I'm perfectly aware of this and am just glad to have an excellent meal at least once a week.

Happy pregnancy

Warning: Too much information to follow in this post. Continue at your own risk!!

I don't know very many people that love being pregnant all the time and while I admittedly feel a world of difference from the first three months, there is one thing that is seemingly worse with each pregnancy. (No one tells you any of this by the way). I think aside from worshipping the porcelain throne, clothes that no longer fit after the baby is born, the lack of sleep you get before the baby is born, leaky boobs, and the constant kicking and pushing that we endure once they run out of room inside, there is one that particularly stands out. Dave likes to refer to this as The Emotional Basketcase. I hate this expression because while I feel that I have my emotions in check most of the time, during pregnancy this along with any type of reasoning go out the window. Yes, I'm talking about the floodgates that open up for no apparent reason at all and there's just no stopping the tears from flowing. And you never know when or what will set them off.

For example, last week I was trying to pick out a card for our anniversary. I'm not a fan of all the sappy love stuff, but there I was in the card isle of the store with wet, watery eyes. Normally I am laughing or rolling my eyes at some of the silliest things cards say and I can't seem to find the perfect card for the occasion. However, it didn't matter if it was humorous, sentimental or romantic. Fortunately there was no one around, and the girls keep the atmosphere light so it didn't get out of control. But seriously, in the card isle?

And then there are songs on the radio that are the absolute worst. There we are in the car with the girls singing along in the back and they just creep up on me. Is there just no self control left at all? So here's to another happy pregnancy!!

Kindergarten Registration

Today was kindergarten registration - fitting since she went to kindergarten yesterday. She was so excited to go see the inside of the school (since we drive by it everyday). There were lots of other kids there and quite a few from the ward that she knew. I'm not sure she'll have any friends in her class since I think I'm the only one in the ward not doing aftenoon kindergarten, but I think it's good for her to meet new friends and I'm all for not knowing anyone so she can make new friends too. She's a "ring-leader" enough, and doesn't need any help in that area.

I can't believe I'm old enough to have my first going off to school. It really has gone by so fast since she was born and I know I'll be saying this at each stage of her life!! We are so proud of her and what she is doing and can't wait for her to begin this next adventure in her life!!

Unofficial first day of kindergarten

Yesterday Kelsey had a field trip with her preschool class to visit a kindergarten class. She is so excited and just can't wait ALL summer long to start school. Once she realizes how much time will be spent in school I'm sure that will change, but at least for the moment she's excited. The field trip wasn't to her school but she at least got a feel for what she's going to be doing and how it will be in a few months. They had circle time, played with playdough, did some kindergarten papers and an art project, had recess and snack time. She wasn't too specific but at least these were the highlights. I don't remember kindergarten being that fun - I know we didn't have play dough or snack time.

None of the preschool moms or siblings were able to tag along on this field trip so Katelyn was bummed, but it was a sneak peak into what the fall will be like for Katelyn without her sister there - she's going to be so bored without Kelsey. Fortunately there will be a new baby so lots of new things to keep her busy for a little while and maybe after Christmas I'll be able to help out in Kelsey's class to see what actually goes on and what she may need help with. Although I'm not really concerned with that, it's that she's going to be bored and distracting the other kids around her that do need help!!

She did tell me that she met a friend named Alison and they played ice cream shop out on the playground for recess. I'm sure she latched on to her since she will soon have an aunt Alyson and was so excited to hear some names of people she recognized.

In talking with her preschool teacher afterwards, Kelsey is so ready and will do great - was there really any doubt?

Nine years of bliss!!!!!!!!!

Today marks our ninth anniversary!! Wow, has it really been that long? Through all the crazy ups and downs that we call life, I'm so glad that I am able to spend them all with the greatest guy in the world. For him I am truly grateful. I appreciate all he does for me and the girls. Last night while I was out with some girlfriends for a few of hours I came home to an early anniversary present: an immaculately clean house. I'm embarrassed to admit that it's been needing an overhaul for a while and it is extremely frustrating when I spend a few hours on it and have nothing to show for it. Yet when he and the girls get together, the entire house is cleaned top to bottom in just 3. Now if we could just keep it this way for more than a day!!
He is such a kid at heart. I love to just sit back, listen and see him play with the girls. The peels of laughter that come from them is simply hilarious and you can't help but join in. They run to the garage the second they here it open when he comes home at the the end of the day. They really are "so glad when daddy comes home."
I am so lucky to have married my best friend and that I get to spend forever with him. So here's to the nine great years we've had together and to many, many more.

I love you so much!! Happy Anniversary!

The official results

While I'm sure all of you just want to know the actual results rather than any details of the ultrasound, I'm sorry, you'll just have to keep reading to the end. There's nothing worse than having your appointment at the absolute latest time in the day, but to accommodate everyone else's schedule that's what I had to do. We brought the girls with us because when we told them we were going to find out whether the baby was a boy or girl, Kelsey was so excited. Katelyn was excited because her sister was but really wasn't understanding what was going on.

Kelsey got all shy when she saw the baby moving around on the monitor. She didn't say much other than she was hoping for a boy and Katelyn wanted a girl. But since there was only one in there someone was going to be wrong. I think they were just so overwhelmed and amazed at what they were seeing that they just didn't have much to say at all. I'm sure they were thinking, "Wow, there really is a baby in mom's tummy, she's just not getting fat." (Thank goodness). They had plenty to say on the drive home about it.

For those of you that actually specified a gender the votes were 4 boys to 1 girl. But somehow I think those who chose boys were just hoping and wanting us to have a boy. Not reality considering we already have 2 girls. I'm not sure what the odds are for having a boy after having 2 girls, but I don't think it's very high since we are having another girl. Which we are really fine with. I don't think we really cared one way or the other.

Yesterday was the first real day I even entertained the idea of having a boy. And all I really came up with was shopping for it would be fun. But we just don't know how to do boys. As it was getting closer to finding out, it was feeling more and more like Kelsey and Katelyn and it's up so high and in my lungs that I just can't breathe anymore. So I was convinced it was a girl and said that I would be shocked and speechless if he found out it was a boy.

Dave's reaction: He doesn't have to move any furniture around, doesn't have to paint a room, doesn't have any real additional cost up front because we already have everything for it. He did say it'd be nice to have a boy, but his girls are about the two biggest tom-boys around and that Katelyn is the closest to a boy that he will have and he's fine with that too. He does get to go buy a gun, granted it's a pink 22, but it's a gun just the same.

Quite a few people in the ward asked if we were hoping one way or the other and then went on to say that Dave is so good with the two girls he has that it wouldn't matter.

Here's a conversation we had as we were finishing up lunch earlier today.

K: "I really want a boy. Dad's the only boy in our family. Maybe next time you can have a boy."

I think my exact words were, "Next time? You think there's going to be a next time?"

K: "Yes, after this baby is born, I want another baby and I want it to be a boy."

Me: "Well, we don't really have any control over that. Heavenly Father decides what we get."

So basically I learned 2 things from this conversation:
1) There is going to be a next time
2) But only if she's guaranteed a brother.

So here's to not needing a new blue wardrobe, keeping the guest room a guest room, and tying the grandchildren back up 11 boys and girls each. And no, we don't have any names waiting and we didn't want to go with all "K"s in the first place so I doubt we will go in that direction but you will all just have to wait like the rest of us.