Arizona

Last Friday we flew to Arizona to see Lindsey and her family and my mom's side of the family. My mom stayed with her sister Julie and I stayed with Lindsey at Alan's sister's house. She has a beautiful home and Ammon loved playing with her boys, who gave him plenty of attention. The weather was beautiful. The first day we went to a family picnic at a great park where the kids were able to run around, swing and ride bikes. Sunday we went to church which was interesting for me. Cohen was absolutely insane and wouldn't sit still for five minutes. I ended up spending the last part of church in the nursery with him because he fell apart when I tried to leave. That night we went to Julie's home for a delicious turkey dinner and my cousin heather made a yummy cake similar to Texas sheet cake but white with almond flavoring. I will get the recipe and post it later.

Monday we spent the morning and good part of the afternoon shopping at the Chandler Mall. It has every store you could ever want and more. Tuesday we went to Camel Back Resort in Scottsdale. Ammon swam all over with the new love of his life, Emily. Emily is my 9 year old cousin (Julie's daughter) and Ammon was smitten with her the minute he saw her. All he talked about the WHOLE trip was Emily. He ended up staying with my mom two nights because he wanted to be with her as much as possible. At the resort Cohen wasn't too interested in swimming until 10 minutes before we were about to leave. On the other hand Lindsey had her hands full with Izzy who couldn't get enough of it, and went under the water half of dozen times only to go back for more. She is hilarious.

I didn't get to eat out as much as I wanted because I got a stomach flu Tuesday afternoon but felt better by Wednesday just in time to hit Pei Wei and Cold Stone. We had a great time visiting Lindsey and the rest of the family. I love visiting Arizona but don't know if I could ever live there because it gets too hot in the summer.

Ten minutes before we were about to leave for shopping Cohen was pushing Bella's pram, got inside and fell out. He landed face first on the pavement. His teeth hit his top lip which caused quite a bit of bleeding but it made for a very enjoyable shopping trip. He was an angel in his stroller for three hours because he was exhausted from falling and crying so much.

Ammon with Laura's boys, Jonah and Sam.

Cute little cousins from left: Lacey, Emily, Makenna, and Ellie.

Stay tuned for pictures and commentary on my whirlwind trip to Delaware, Philly, and New York City.

Raphael

Have you read it?

This was a very interesting book. If you liked Memoirs of a Geisha you will be fascinated by this book as well. The book tells the life of a Chinese women, telling of Chinese traditions such as foot binding, matchmaking, and a secret way women used to write to each other called Nu Shu. They had some crazy customs. I encourage all to read it!

New York

As many of you are aware, Jody is currently completing his training for AstraZeneca in Delaware. Last week movers came and boxed all of our stuff up and took it to Santa Rosa to sit in storage for a few weeks. What a wonderful way to move. They took way better care of our stuff than we would have. Just one more reason why I love this company, who paid for the move plus gave us a generous amount of relocation money.

The boys and I are staying with my parents. Lindsey, Alan and Izzy are in Arizona for the next few weeks and on Friday my mom, the boys and are going to fly there to visit her for six days. I can't wait to be in warm weather and get started on a tan. My mom has bravely consented to flying home with my boys on Thursday while I fly to Delaware to see Jody for the weekend. Our anniversary is the 26th and we wanted to spend some alone time together before the baby comes.

So back to the title of my post New York. NYC is only an hour train ride from Delaware so we are planning to take the train in on Saturday for the day. I really want to go to Central Park but does anyone know of other places we MUST see while we are there for just one day? (Lindsey should be a big help since Alan took her there for a day a few years back) Oh and what mode of transportation should we take? I am so looking forward to being alone with my husband and going to the big city!

Easter

A few weeks ago I took Ammon to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with Tasha and her kids. Ten minutes into the movie he handed me all of his Batman stuff and said, "I'm not Batman anymore. I'm a Ninja Turtle." Hence the reason he got Ninja Turtle stuff for Easter.

We started our Easter weekend off by going to a church breakfast Saturday morning followed by an Easter egg hunt at the shopping center. Ammon was a pro but poor Cohen was so upset because I was holding him back for 15 minutes, waiting for the stupid lady to say go, that he sat there and just cried by the time she finally did! Poor kid. Good thing his mom is a little competitive and grabbed some eggs for him. After the egg hunt we drove to the mall and let Ammon sit on the Easter Bunny's lap. He was so cute about it. Cohen was scared to death of it.

The Easter Bunny had a huge mask on and it's tongue was sticking out. So Ammon began hopping and telling everyone, with his tongue out, "Hello I'm the Easter Bunny." But you really couldn't understand what he was saying. It was hilarious.

Later that night we dyed Easter eggs. Jody dyed my two very favorite ones that I had to get a picture of. Sunday the Easter Bunny left baskets for the kids and after dinner, of ham and scalloped potatoes, we had an egg hunt. It started pouring rain right as my dad began hiding eggs. Fortunately this didn't slow Ammon down! Cohen picked up three and then grabbed his head and said, "It's cold mommy." So we brought him back in and let him find a few inside.

I walked out of the bathroom for two seconds and came back in to this!

29 Weeks

Me at 29 weeks and feeling it. The other day a lady at the grocery store told me I looked like I was about to pop. Well that's good considering I have eleven more weeks left, a 3 and 1 year old, a move to get through and basically no husband. But I'm not complaining. These are all things I wanted: a baby (especially girl), to move, kids close in age and for Jody to get a job. I just have moments of losing it and tend to get emotional lately. I just want to be in the rental house, waiting for Rylee to come!

Last week I had a doctor's appointment and the midwife snuck me into the ultrasound tech to get 4-D pictures of the baby. I had to take pictures of the pictures so they aren't super clear but it made me more anxious to see her, in person. Like my other babies, Rylee is very active. I already have a tub full of baby clothes thanks to her grandmothers. Next week Tasha is throwing a shower for me so I am sure I will be adding to it!

Ammon being silly in his sombrero that Chris and Kalie brought him from Cancun.

P.S. I hope I am just not photogenic because I look hideous in these pictures (Alex we've had these conversations)! Oh and thank goodness for sisters. The maternity shirt is Lindsey's and pants are Kasey's. Thanks girls!

Welcome Home!

Tasha and Makynna got home Tuesday night, just in time for her to celebrate her 27th birthday! I didn't realize how much I missed her until she came home. Tash and I have been best friends since we were babies. My dad used to call me Kelly Jones because I would go on every family vacation with her and would often stay the weekend at her house. When we graduated from high school we roomed together until she married Craig. I was a little sad when she left me alone in Provo but was so happy to live near her again when Jody and I moved back. I will truly miss having such a good friend around when we move next month. She is just one of those people that you always feel comfortable to say or do anything around. I can drop by her house anytime and know that I am welcome. Not only has she been a best friend but like a sister to me. I know that no matter how far away we live we will always stay close.

In other news. I had a garage sale this weekend to get rid of some of our things. I started it Friday morning because the weather forecast showed rain for Saturday. For future reference, never have a garage sale on a Friday! I made a whopping $4! When I told Kasey she almost ran off the road because she was laughing so hard. Luckily Saturday went a lot better. We sold most of our stuff and made about $110. Much better than Friday. Having a garage sale is kind of awkward and humbling. It's weird to watch people go through your things and almost embarrassing when they leave with nothing. I think some people bought something for 50 cents just because they felt sorry for me!

A moving company is coming this weekend to pack and move all of our stuff. They will put it all in storage until we arrive there at the end of April. Jody will be gone for three weeks for more training so we will be staying at my parents house. I will be so happy to be out of our apartment and be done cleaning!

I promise to post pics pronto and hopefully be a better blogger this week.

Batman and Robin

This is suppose to be Robin's cape. I love the look on Ammon's face as he is tying it on.

Superman has left the building but Batman has taken his place! This Batman has a sidekick, Robin (AKA Cohen). The cape that Kasey made Ammon for his third birthday has definitely been priceless! He has worn it for 3 months straight! Seriously. I am getting so use to seeing it on him that I don't think anything of it until people at the grocery store comment on it. He wears it to school and now other kids at his preschool are wearing capes or asking where I got his. He also takes it to bed every night and sleeps next to it. The only time he isn't wearing it is when he is in the bathtub or at church. It's best feature is that it is reversible! Batman on one side and Superman on the other.

Cohen has also gotten into wearing it around, when Ammon feels like sharing. And Cohen already knows who Batman, Superman and Spiderman are. The joy of having boys! I love it but also look forward to the girly things. Although I am certain she will be somewhat of a tomboy with brothers like hers.

Surprise

When I checked my mail today I found a package from my cousin Jami. I opened it up to see the CUTEST and seriously tiniest little bikini I have ever seen! I love it. Thanks Jami!

Funny

A few weeks ago Ammon said this while we were taking the sacrament in church:

The bread had just been passed through our row and Ammon decided not to have any for the first time since he started taking the sacrament.

"Mom do you like bread?"
"Yes Ammon. I like bread."
"Well I like bread but only if it has butter on it."
When the water came through he was happy to take it.

Thanks for reminding me Sarah.

In other news. I had a fabulous birthday! I went out to lunch, got a pedicure, went shopping with Jody and the boys and then to dinner. When we picked up the boys from my friends house a bunch of our other friends were there to surprise me with cake and ice cream. I even had some presents to open!

And the gifts keep on coming. Today I received a package from Kasey with these cute, pink candies slippers inside and a gift card for Pier One. Alex got the same slippers for Christmas and Kasey remembered me wearing them all the time. They are super comfy. Thanks Kas!

Busy as a bee

They got me a birthday cake at work

Mom and Dad's house as of yesterday

Since we got home we have been very busy. Jody sold his car yesterday and the company is suppose to deliver his new car next week. We don't know what he is getting yet but don't care because it is free!

Yesterday we ran errands all day and took some time to take the kids to the zoo. I will really miss it when Jody starts working again but the income will be nice.

Today I got up early, drove to Eureka and got a massage at Personal Choice. Thanks for the gift certificate Tasha. It was the perfect way to start the day off. Tomorrow is my 27th birthday! I can't believe that I am only three years away from 30. I plan on going back to Personal Choice tomorrow for a pedicure with one of my friends and then we will go out to lunch. She is also going to watch our kids in the evening so that Jody can take me to one of my favorite restaurants, Abruzzi.

My mom is in London so of course the weather has been beautiful. It is always nice when she goes out of town. She will be back next week and supposedly she is bringing the rain back with her. The kids are loving playing out on the patio. I look forward to warm weather this summer. When we were in Santa Rosa this week the temperature was in the high 70's. I also plan on getting season passes to Six Flags Marine World because it is only 45 minutes away!

House Hunting

Downtown Windsor

Our new home!

Jody's new home (golf course)

This is a candy store in downtown Windsor. A billionaire owns it and wanted to make it like Charlie in the Chocolate Factory. It has every kind of candy you could think of in it. Ammon was a little overwhelmed.

We just returned from Santa Rosa. Jody's company set us up with a "rental agent" who "would know the area" and be able to set up appointments for us to find a house to rent. We won't be buying anytime soon because a 3/2 is in the 500's. Well the rental agent was a very nice woman, who got Jody lost a number of times and showed us homes we had already seen on the internet but we weren't interested in them.

To make long story short we got back to our hotel Monday night very frustrated and irritated (which isn't good when you are traveling with young children, because you tend to take it out on them). I started looking around on the internet and found a home that I wanted to go see in Windsor. The minute we drove into the neighborhood we knew we would love the home. So we found the home and tried to look inside through the windows, it was beautiful but a little above a comfortable price range for us, $2000 a month. But we were seriously starting to consider it because we had seen junkers all day and there wasn't much on the market. Luckily my outgoing husband saw a women, Rendy, getting out of her car that lived next to the home for rent. He started asking her questions about it and she was a very nice lady. We found out that she is a pharmaceutical rep too and has three kids. Right as he was leaving she told him about a home her in-laws own only a few streets away that they would be renting out June 1st. Jody made such a good impression on her that she called her in-laws right away and got the ball rolling.

Okay so I am not making this very short. We ended up talking to Rendy and her husband Christian outside of their house for two hours! They are super nice people. Christian grew up in Eureka and new of my famous baseball family and of Kalie's family (sister in-law). The next night we were able to see the home and then we went out to pizza with our new friends and were able to meet our future landlords.

The best part of this is that it is a wonderful neighborhood with tons of families, right next to a golf course, in a great ward and we already have friends. Like I said our new friends have three kids, ages 10, 7, and 5. The older two are girls who took care of Cohen both nights and the younger is a boy who Ammon had a blast with. There is also a beautiful park a few streets away that we can walk to. I know this is very cliche', but Jody and I just feel so blessed and like it was meant to be (mom and Alex I put that in for you).

Oh and in case you were wondering, we will rent an apartment that leases month to month until the house is vacant.

My Weakness

I don't know when this obsession started but as long as I can remember I have had cravings for Cadbury mini eggs. Each year I can't wait for Valentine's Day to be over because mini eggs come out the very next day! I always have a bag or two of them laying around. A few times grocery stores have ran out of them before Easter has arrived, those have been very bad years for me. In an attempt to find more I have driven to almost every store from here to Eureka.

If you haven't tried them you must.

Oh and there is a right way to eat them. Put two in your mouth and let them get warm so that the candy shell pulls off easily and the warm chocolate melts into your mouth. There is nothing like it. Enjoy!

Twilight

I came across this book on my trip. My grandma bought it for my cousins wife who loved it and is not a reader. So then my grandma felt like she had to buy it for me, because she knows I love to read. The author, Stephenie Meyer, is a BYU grad and the book is nothing like I would have expected it to be. It's strangely intriguing. It was a New York Times Bestseller and it is the first book she has ever written. Last week I was telling Jody about it and actually ended up reading an hour of it to him because he too wanted to find out what was going to happen. When I finished it I got the sequel to it and spent the last three days reading it. Now I can't wait for the third edition to come out this summer. I am warning it is different, only eight dollars, worth every cent, and you won't be able to put it down!

Yes, I am still alive

I am a poor excuse for a blogger but I promise to do better. We got back from our trip to Georgia a week from Monday. While we were there we caught a horrible bug that made the trip a little less fun for Jody, Ammon and I. When we got home on Monday I felt worse than I had before so it took me a good week to start feeling like myself again. Poor little Ammon slept for about three days straight and lost a little weight but he is doing much better now.

Jody starts his job March 19th. He starts with home training and then will do a little bit of traveling. So we aren't planning on moving until the end of April. Right now we are just enjoying spending time together because we know he will be very busy once he gets started.

I thought this was going to be a relaxing week for me until we were asked to speak at church on Sunday. I dread getting up in front of people. But I have already started preparing my talk, on service, so I should be prepared which usually minimizes the nervousness. Kasey recently spoke in her ward on Charity so she emailed me her talk to get me started.

We had a great time with Jody's family in Georgia even though we were sick. The kids loved playing with their cousins. Cohen especially fell in love with his Aunt Jen. I hardly took any pictures because we were sick and didn't do much.

Me at 25 weeks. I am feeling great and the baby is moving like crazy! I can't believe how use you can get to a little alien moving around in your body.

The best grandma in the world! She spoiled us like crazy when we visited her and grandpa in Knoxville. Bailee is my cousin Isaac's adorable and hilarious little girl.

I wish I could freeze Ammon at this age. He is the sweetest little boy ever. He started going to Sunbeams in January and LOVES primary. He is a little angel when he is there and I seriously get teary eyed every time he walks into sharing time with his little arms folded. They gave him his own Book of Mormon with his name on it and he couldn't be more proud.

The Verdict.....

I have been dieing to blog but I have not had access to a computer for the last few days. We found out Monday morning that Jody got the job! I am so happy for him. He worked really hard to get it and lost a lot of sleep over it. So we will be moving in a month or so. It all depends on his training and everything.

We are having a great time in Georgia. I got to see my grandparents Sunday and Monday and then we went to Pigeon Forge Monday evening and stayed in a 14 bedroom 12 bathroom cabin. We are here until Sunday so I will post pictures soon.

Congrats to Stephanie who gave birth to Dillon, her fourth baby on Valentines Day! You guys have got to read this article about the birth.

Yuck!

Me at 22 weeks. Not the best picture but when I promise I deliver. I will post more when I get to Georgia.

Busy!

Sorry for slacking people. I do have pictures, vidoeo and events to post about but I don't have time! We got home late Monday night from San Francisco and I took Tuesday off from cleaning, unpacking, blogging, etc. because I was exhausted! Since Tuesday I have been on the go nonstop. I am working from 8-5:30 today and tomorrow. My dad's secretary is out of town and I am filling in for her as much as I can for some extra cash.

Meanwhile... Jody got a call back yesterday from AstraZeneca and the manager told him that he is being considered for the job but that he needs to submit a 30-60-90 day plan of what he would do once he got the job. Luckily my mom is off work this week and is helping out with the kids. Remember we are leaving for Georgia Saturday so Jody will submit his plan before we leave and then we will find out next week. I have cleaning, packing, haircutting, and errands to run but have no time! It will be nice to finally get to Georgia and take a breath.

I will post pictures of the belly before I leave. I am officially in maternity clothes now. Not so much fun. Hope you all had a great Valentines Day!

Events

For the last month we have anxiously been waiting for a call from the manager of a pharmaceutical company to schedule a second interview with Jody. Just when I was about to give up he got a call.

We are back down in the Bay area this weekend. His interview is Monday afternoon but we drove down here Saturday and have spent the weekend with Tasha and Craig. Makynna is doing great. If everything continues to go smoothly they will be home at the end of March. We have missed them so much! Ammon is having a blast with his girlfriend Lex and best friend Jake (of course the best friend thing is one sided, Jake is 6 and Ammon is 3 1/2). Ammon just idolizes him.

We will be back Monday night and then head to Georgia on Saturday. Wish Jody luck!

Ammon and Lex are obviously faking it!

Pictures

We have had beautiful weather the last few days. I think if I woke up to sunshine and blue skies every morning I would have energy to get more done. I love the way good weather uplifts and motivates me. I need to move to Hawaii or something.

Confirmation

When I found out we were having a girl I was beyond excited. But over the weeks I have begun to question the ultrasound. Lots of people find out they are having one sex only to deliver the opposite. Luckily for me we have an ultrasound tech in our ward. On Sunday I showed her my ultrasound picture and she told me to just come in and get an ultrasound from her today.

So we did and she confirmed that we are having a girl. Okay so maybe now I can finally start to buy some girl clothes!

Think you can tell the difference between a boy or girl? Try this quiz.

relief and reflection

If you've never heard of AFP screening before, it is a screening that is done for pregnant women to detect abnormalities in the fetus. Between 15 and 20 weeks of pregnancy a woman can elect to have a simple blood test taken to determine whether the baby could have certain birth defects such as, Down syndrome, trisomy18, neural tube defects and a few others. I have always elected not to have the test because whether there was a problem or not I knew I would not abort the baby. This test is also known for false-positive results. Leading expectant mother to worry for absolutely no reason. When a mother gets a positive result a follow up test will almost always come out negative. So why do it? I chose to have the test taken this time because my doctor urged me to. He said that because we live in such a remote area it would be best to give birth to a child with birth defects at a better hospital. I also chose to do it because if my child did have an abnormality it would be nice to prepare myself for it.

I had the test taken two weeks ago and thought on and off about it over the last few weeks. Today I called my doctor's office and was relieved to hear the nurse say that the test came out clear. Then I got to thinking what if it hadn't? How do women handle these types of situations when they are already exhausted and hormonal because they are carrying a child who could possibly have a birth defect? I have always felt that if I had a child like this that it would be a special child sent to enrich and better our lives. But if these thoughts became reality would I truly feel like that? Mothers or future mothers what do you think?

After watching a great episode of Grey's last night I walked upstairs to go to bed and stopped in the boys room to watch them sleep. I was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to be a mother of these sweet little boys. I stopped and looked at each one and for the millionth time in my life thought how amazing it was that these our my children, that I have been blessed to be their mother. What a wonderful gift I have been given. Now as I reflect upon the things I have just written I realize that no matter what the outcome I would love any of my children just the same and the urgency I feel to protect them and take care of them would be just a strong.