Time to be a blogger

It seems like it wasn't that long ago that I was bedresting before Andrew was born and catching up on blogs and photo albums and journals. And here I am doing it again with our next baby! I have 3 weeks to go, so I am trying to do some things to feel useful while I am laying around trying to keep contractions at bay!!

We had a fun time waiting til Christmas to find out the gender of this baby. When we got to Germany, dad did an ultrasound and then went to work knitting a scarf for us to open on Christmas morning. It was exciting- and we were happy to see a cute BLUE scarf! So now to find a name for a 4th little boy in our family.

So more post to be coming in the next few weeks updating on the boys, and our fun trip to Germany for Christmas!

Logan trip

A few weeks ago we did a overnight trip to Logan. I had never been up there before and we thought it would be fun to take the boys on a short trip. We had a great time. Started out with a dinner at Chuck-a-rama across the street from the hotel, which the boys loved. It was easy to find food they would eat and it was quick, so a good choice. Don't think I would really choose to eat there again, but it was good food. Then after dinner we went to the American West Heritage Center. They had a big corn maze, a  huge slide- just a  long hill covered in a tarp, (Daniel and Nathan LOVED that!), a hay castle that Andrew thoroughly enjoyed jumping from the walls into the hay, and a wagon ride. We didn't get there until  after 7, and stayed until 10. We were glad the boys had such a good time. The next day we went to the zoo in town and had some Aggie ice cream before heading home.

 The boys did a talent show for us at the park! It was hilarious!


We made a stop at the Hill Aerospace Museum. That was a great stop for the boys. Nathan was a little disappointed I think that we didn't get to go inside the planes. He saw 3 men at the museum wearing vet hats, and asked if they were pilots. One guy talked to Nathan about how he flew 5 planes in the museum. It was cute to see Nathan listening to him.

 There was a fun hands-on area for kids where they could try on different costumes and had a couple of cockpits that they could sit in.

Summer Camping Trip

Last weekend we did a one night camping trip up in the Wasatch Mountains. It was beautiful. The campground ended up further up than we thought, but the van did amazing and handled the bumpy dirt road really well! We took all of our bikes with us and the boys liked riding around. Daniel's training wheels didn't do quite as well on dirt, but he was a trooper and kept trying even when his wheels were just spinning. All three boys loved the DIRT, and I just had to smile and say, oh well, we're camping.

Andrew loved helping out with the cooking the next morning. He ate all the sausage his brothers wouldn't eat (it was the wrong shape...) and finished all the pancake they left on their plates.

It was pretty chilly the next morning, so  the boys were all bundled up and riding their bikes to keep warm!

Nathan found this stick and had fun marching around with it.

This was the dirt road to the campground. The campground was just a few miles north of cascade springs.

We had to stop and check out the stream.  Andrew really wanted to go for a swim. The other two were content to throw sticks and rocks in the water.
This was at Cascade Springs. It was a great walk for the little guys. It would be fun to go back and walk more of the loop around. Andrew loved all the waterfalls and stopped to roar at them all. That is his new sound for almost anything, excited, any animal, mad, funny,etc.  Daniel was watching for fish a lot of the time- we didn't see any though.

We drove home thru the Alpine Loop (paved roads!!) and Scott told the boys to watch for animals. We didn't see any, but the boys sure had fun imagining! They saw tigers, dinosaurs, baboons, monkeys, giraffes, you name it, it was there that day! Beautiful drive and cheaper than the zoo. We certainly enjoy the mountains that we live by. It will be fun to explore and see more as we venture out with the boys!!

A moose on the loose

A couple of weeks ago, Scott went to scout camp with the priests in the ward. So it was me and the boys for a few days. I was looking for something to do, and I found a hike that sounded like it was a great one for kids and short. So we drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon and found the trailhead. The boys were so excited, and then disappointed to see the high water had cut off the trail. I have to admit the high water was kind of scary- I had to have a big talk with Nathan and Daniel about staying away from the water.We said a prayer before we started, and they did a great job staying away from the water. Andrew was in the backpack most of the time and seemed to like that. Anyway, long story short, we hiked up to a cool bridge on another trail and sat on the bench to have a snack. Nathan tells me, "there is an animal crossing the stream."

And if you can tell, there is a MOOSE walking our way!! I was pretty nervous; I told the boys they needed to stay on the bench, hold still, and be quiet. I didn't know what I was going to do if it came our way. Me and 3 kids on the mountain seemed kind of dumb at this point!

But, she wondered down the trail and away from us. That made me happy. And we got some pictures, so that made it fun. When we told Grandpa about it, he asked Daniel if he saw a moose on the loose. Daniel told him, "No, we saw a moose on a hike." So there you have it.

We went to Copperton Park last night and Andrew loved it. He really loves swinging.

Happy Birthday Daniel!!

Daniel is now a busy, wonderful 3 year old!! We decorated his room with streamers and balloons, which he was excited about in the morning. Nathan picked out a toy knight and horse to give him, Daniel loved it. It was fun to see Nathan thinking about what to get his brother. That afternoon, Andrew went to G&G Johnsons, and we took the older boys to see "Cars 2." They loved it, I really loved the new short pixar before the movie- Toy Story Hawaii Vacation.

Here is the Mater cake he requested., Daniel said he had to be blue.

 Here is Daniel new bike. He is a little speedster chasing Nathan down the sidewalk.

We opened presents out in the back yard.

 The birthday hat. We got this at Disneyland last fall and are starting to have all the kids wear it on their birthday. We almost forgot, so he wore it right before bed for a few minutes.

Daniel got a package yesterday from Opa and Oma and Anne. He loved it. See the bear card- it was a big hit with all the boys. Andrew especially likes to roar at it. And he spoiled his dinner tonight with a kinder egg. It made him happy!

Happy Independence Day

Scott made this video for the 4th of July this year. All the scenic pics are places that we have been. It also features both our dads and some pictures from their time in the Army! Go army! This really hits home for me and makes me very proud and happy to be an American. We are blessed to live in this great country.

Projects around the house and yard

I decided that we needed to show all of the things we have been working on lately- i.e. the last few months!!

We have a playground in the backyard now. It has been wonderful. The boys especially love the sandbox and swings.

 For family night last week, Scott led the way in building the bird feeder. The boys thought that was especially cool, cuz they had seen a Bob the Builder show where he had built a bird feeder too! I like to watch the birds that come in the morning. 

I LOVE this pic of Andrew- this is the face he made when I said, "smile!" Isn't he a cutie?? He loves the red shovel, and puts up a big fit if one of the other boys has it. He is the tool boy, he loves to get into the shed outside when we leave it open and find Scott's tools. Especially the hammer. This pic also showcases the border Sco built around the playground. It turned out great and keeps all the woodchips contained.

The bench on the front step used to be black. The paint was chipping off like crazy, so I thought about stripping it and starting anew. But I decided that that was a lot of work and just went with spray paint!! Primer and a few cans of red did the trick! I love how it stands out. Also notice the ivy that we are attempting to tame. That plant is a BEAST. It looks nice when under control, but it grows like crazy and sticks to everything. If anyone knows how to get the old sticky tendrils off of stucco, let me know. We pulled the ivy down last summer and I still can't get the root junk off the column.

This planter is between our driveway and the neighbors yard. There hasn't been anything there but weeds that we kill off every month or two, so I decided to get a few plants and some mulch for it. I planted all perennial stuff, I want it all to grow and hide the electric boxes in it!! I hope they will be happy and grow. I love smelling the lavendar, it brings back many good memories of family vacations. I think I might plant several more lavendar plants around the yard.

This is our front room wall. Not the greatest picture, but it shows the cool lantern we hung up (2 euro from the basket factory!!) with an led candle. Also the window that I have had for 5 years at least and finally spruced up this spring. It had so many coats of paint on it. I stripped it all down and found some really pretty hardware that I love. Then we blew up a picture we took from the sacred grove in NY, and now we have a window looking out to it.

This is Andrew's room. Scott learned a few electrician skills installing a ceiling fan/light. The boys rooms get so hot at night and this really helps cool the room down.

Another shot of the playground and cute Andrew!! More to come later!!