BFF's

Center top is 4 years ago!  These two peas in a pod have such a great time whenever they get together.

We had the chance to take on 3 extra adorable little boys for the week - Henry, Ellis and little Sam Iverson.  Their mom and dad are long-time friends of mine and they were brave enough to take my kids last year when Brandon and I took a trip to Mexico.  This was our turn to return the huge favor while they had an adventure of their own and the kids and I had a great time.  Our kids are such natural playmates - they seem to be able to just pick up wherever they left off from the previous visit.   I should have gotten pics of all our fun, but 5 kiddos and a pregnant belly didn't quite lend itself to me lugging my big camera around.  There was lots of giggling, reading, running, wrestling, and of course tears on my kids end when their good friends had to head back home to Boston.  We're so glad to have friends like them!

1st Grader at last

Miss Olivia is officially a first grader...I can't believe it.  Somehow she seems so young and so old at the same time.  She always comes home from school in a great mood from a great day.  I love her new teacher, Mrs.Reed - she is so great with the kids and really makes an extra effort to connect with parents and her class.  I should have gotten a picture of her backpack - she picked a Disney princess backpack with shimmers, pink and purple.  All girl this one.  The school is really pushing the kids to do uniforms: khaki, navy blue, light blue, and white.  I've been surprised how well Olivia has done with it.  As soon as she gets home though, she's changed into her pink and purple attire.  Here's to a new year kiddo - I'm so proud of you!!

Birthday Boy

In all his birthday hat and chocolate cherry cake glory.  Happy happy birthday to my favorite guy!

By the way....

We're expecting a new edition to our family Oct.29th. That means this week kicks off week 30 for me!  We don't know if the bun in the oven is a little girl or a little boy.  We've got one of each that are pretty stinking adorable so we thought this time around we'd hold on for an extra big surprise on delivery day since we can't go wrong either way.

I love these pics for so many reasons.  I came out during Olivia's "quiet time" play and she was all dressed up in her princess gear, complete with every bit of jewelry she could find and even a single glove.  I love looking at that little face on the ultrasound printout and wondering what kind of a personality he or she will have and how that will add to our family.

When I told Olivia about the baby she was so excited and hasn't stopped the excitement since.  She is always hugging and kissing my belly and talking to the baby.  After about two weeks of me constantly being sick in bed the first trimester (about 8 wks. along) I felt like I owed her an explanation of why I was being such a lame mommy.  I told her this was our family secret because it was still really early and we didn't want to share the news with others quite yet - HOPING she would be able to keep the secret.  That next Sunday in her Primary sharing time, the president asked, "Did anyone have anything exciting happen this week?"  To which she promptly whipped her hand in the air and shouted, "My mommy has a baby in her tummy!!"  :)  Secret blown, it was still fun to have her be so excited.  She walked around for months after telling everyone around that "mommy has a baby in her tummy!"  She will be such a great helper and big sister to the baby.  

This is Ben's rendition of the baby.  He came in one day, in his favorite "ispicable me" shirt, proudly showing me his Teddy Baby.  I love how he's rubbing his teddy belly - something I tend to do constantly without even noticing.  At story time when he snuggles up on the side of me or my shrinking lap he'll let me know he's not sitting on Baby. :)  

I really have no hunches on gender...Brandon thinks its a boy because I was so sick this time.  It was my worst first trimester, and Ben was 2nd...I didn't feel a thing with Olivia until the end, so who knows. Either way we'll be thrilled.  Any predictions on your part?  

Temple Square

We were lucky enough to spend the last month visiting our family in Utah and Idaho.  The next few posts will be sharing our time there.  Since I can't seem to ever pick just a few pics, get ready for lots and lots of visual stimulation!

The one destination I knew I wanted to share with the kids was Temple Square. Growing up in Utah I have fond memories of the SLC temple (Brandon and I were married there), the grounds, Christmas lights there, the church history museum, etc.  I wanted to share that with the kids and transplant a little of my feelings into their little hearts.  I went in with expectations a bit higher than was realistic - I had envisioned having sweet reverent happy discussions all day long about the gospel and the Savior and basking in the spirit of the grounds.  About an hour into the day (as Olivia was trying to climb on the Christus statue to give him a hug, Ben was climbing into every roped-off exhibit and they were both running laps around our tour guide, I realized this was not going to happen and just let go and let the kids soak up whatever they could.  Hopefully something stuck and they'll remember the special spirit and beauty there!

My oldest sister and her two youngest kids went with us and we had a fantastic time!  She had the great idea of taking the train into SLC and riding the city tram around.  This was probably the highlight of the day for Ben. We had some laughs learning the ropes - both Taunna and I had a kid get stuck behind closing doors of the train with the rest of us outside the train and didn't know how to rescue them. It was as complicated as pushing the big "Push to Open Doors" button next to the doors but we were ready to sacrifice arms and hands getting shut in the doors to try to comfort our kiddos and in the adrenaline rush didn't notice the big button right away.  :)  I think plenty of people got a kick out of watching us and we'll be laughing about that ourselves for a lifetime!

Catching the train to downtown SLC and walking through City Creek mall on the way to Temple Square

When we peeked in the tabernacle to listen to an organist practicing, Olivia shouted excitedly, "MOM!!  It's the front of the hymn book!!!  I've never seen this in my entire LIFE!"  :) It was pretty adorable.  I love the architecture of the tabernacle - so elegant.  

We took a quick "tour" of the conference center - we told the guide our audience wouldn't last too long so he was super patient and gave us the shortened version.  We got to peek in the conference center where the Prophet speaks during General Conference, and then go up to the roof and get the garden tour.  

Love this set!

We closed our SLC day with a stop in Juicy Berry at the Gateway - SO yummy!  It was my first introduction to a self-serve frozen yogurt place.  We had so much fun sampling at our pleasure and then picking our favorite flavors and toppings to share.  Perfect after a hot day.  The kids were definately fans! :)  

When we got home we my very skilled nephew who can fix anything and pretty much build anything, took Ben for a ride on his home-made Go-Cart.  Ben was in heaven!  His older cousin was so sweet, pushing him around so that he thought he was driving.  They are such thoughtful good kids - loved getting to visit with them and sharing a special day with my big sis!  

Yost Family Fun

As part of our family summer trip, we were able to spend 5 days at a reunion with the Yost side, back in Brandon's home town in Idaho.  His siblings are scattered all over the country so it was really nice to be able to all gather together for the week.  The kids loved all the wide open space to run and play and all the cousins.

24th of July Parade.  We were so happy to get a good parade in.  And this parade is the only one I've been to where you get to see BOTH sides of the float.  They go down once, turn around, and come back.  And everyone is loaded with candy to throw.  The combined collection we came back with was pretty impressive.  Ben thought he'd try out the frisbee they through and see if it tasted good or not.  "Is this candy mom?"  If only, buddy.

Family Olympics: Venues entered - 3-legged race, potato sack race, fill the bucket with water, spin your  nose on the bat, wheelbarrow race.  The kids had such a great time and I was so impressed with the older cousins who helped out the little ones.  I think in my family the older kids would have run down the younger ones to get to the finish line. :)  We also did a set of games for the adults - no proof was captured though since I was participating.  We added an egg toss to ours and I got quite the splatter of yolk all the way up my arm!  

The platforms at Lava Hot Springs.  Brandon, his brothers, and dad all ventured off the ledge...33 feet above the pool!  I was content to stay back and take pictures.  

And where, but in rural Idaho, can you go skeet shooting off your Aunt's back porch?  I even picked up a gun or two and came away with 3 skeets shot!   I loved the unique beauty of the farmland.  This was where Brandon was raised and he had all kinds of stories of adventures with his buddies and brothers. 

Before Brandon flew back to CT, we had to make sure and visit Olivia's great grandpa.  We just love him - he is full of stories, smiles, and huge bear hugs.  For a girl who didn't get to know either grandpa and whose grandmas passed away when I was young, I cherish these times with grandparents and great-grandparents my kids have.  We just soak it all up! 

Utah family fun

As air is getting crisper and Fall is on its way, I realized I'd better post the rest of the pics from our summer fun in Utah.  I wondered if almost a month there would be too long but it still felt packed with fun and perfect. 

We had a fun time exploring Hogle Zoo.  We saw a pretty incredible "birds of prey" show with birds flying right over our shoulders, a front and center view of the seal show, tigers, elephants, giraffes, polar bears ... what more could you ask for? 

I love the unique beauty of Utah.  It is so different than the East - I love both for their own unique qualities.  My parents have a beautiful view looking over Morgan valley - these pics are literally in their back yard.  Grandma and Grandpa took the kids on a picnic in the mountains - across the street.  We loved it!  

Popping popcorn with Grandpa!

Harward family doing their thing.  Gigantic slip'n'slide with uncles and grandpa jumping in the fun.  Ben was pretty  nervous about getting splashed with the water, but he was ok as long as he was on Grandpa's lap!  

My sis owns a face painting business and does such a great job.  The kids got all kinds of works of art while we were there.  If you are Wasatch county based, you should give her a call for your next birthday party!

Ahhh...you can't beat Krispy Kreme donuts.  So much of my "must do's" during our trip were centered around food, and my family was so sweet to oblige us.  Besides Krispy Kreme we had to hit Cafe Rio several times!

And Layton Park.  So many great memories here.  We fed the ducks and hit the playground.  Such a fun place to relax on an afternoon!