Randomness

Time flies around here. I can hardly believe that it is November and that the holidays are here. This past week has been pretty chill, but we have had some good things so here they are.

The Temple: Gaupo and I were able to go to the temple on Saturday. It was so nice to be able to go. We dropped the girls off with Aunt Kitt and they were SOOO excited to see her again. We were making pretty good time and we were at the temple with plenty of time to make the 11:30 session. I get my temple bag out of the car and start looking for my wallet. I discovered that I had left it with our backpack back at Kitt's place. DANG! So, we headed back picked up and luckily made it to the 12:00 session, which was apparently added, so double thank goodness. It has been so long since Gaupo and I have been to the temple together that it was really nice to be able to go together. I really wish I could go more often, but alas I have two kids and the temple is at least an hour away so all the time is not possible. I love going. I love the calm and peace that fill that wonderful building. After we were done at the temple, Kitt went. So, we didn't get to spend as much time with her as we would have liked, but we will get to see her soon.

R.S. Activity Mtg: I went to my first R.S. Activity planning meeting. It was really interesting. They do a really good job, but it led to a lot of questions that don't have easy answers. So, I am currently trying to figure out what our sisters need and how to use the extra meeting to actually help them. However, I do have a great committee and chairman. They really do an awesome job.

Missionaries: On Wednesday, I went out with the missionaries. Both of their drop-in appointments didn't answer, but we were able to go through my YSA list and learned some good things. I am not sure I could take the constant rejection that missionaries do, however, I hope one day I get the chance to figure it out.

Flu Shots: The girls and I got flu shots on Thursday. They both did really good, but Kylee was sure mad that I made her one. I think that getting the band-aid off hurt worse than the actual shot did.

Water Zumba: I went to a water Zumba class this morning. I really enjoyed it. I wish I could have stayed for the whole thing, but after the first 30 minutes my family was ready to go home, so we came home. I am really surprised at how much resistance water can create and also and gentle it is. It is no wonder that water helps things be no-impact.

WARNING: Don't but two 3-year olds and an almost 2-year old in the same room. I am listening to the noise as I write this. Although, really we never have people stay over, so I thought I would see how it went. I think it is going crazy in there.

Life is good. I still feel like it takes everything I have to just get the basics done. I am continually amazed at how hard it is to get life back on the tracks. It seems like a constant battle and honestly sometimes I lose. Sometimes I don't have the time, energy, emotional strength, etc. to keep it all together. However, I do have a great husband and kids who are very forgiving and please with what I can do. One day I hope to be able to have everything pulled together and have everyday kind of flow like it use to, but it isn't now. My sister reminded me that it all takes time. I guess it is kind of hard to be patient when there isn't a constant reminder (in my case Derek) do help me remember why its okay that life is a little off kilter. However, I still love life. I am grateful I can run, play at the park, jump, laugh, play hide-and-go-seek, and cook breakfast and dinner.

Halloween and Other Adventures

Holy cow, time seems like it is in fast forward. I can hardly believe it is November. Part of me thinks that is should still be the beginning of October. Even though time is flying we  have managed to fill it with some traditions and adventures.

Every year for Halloween our family tries to have a Halloween meal every day for dinner. We also have quite a few Halloween movies that we usually watch that lead up to Halloween. However, this year was a little crazy and we only watched two of our Halloween movies. But we did manage to have a Halloween meal every night. This year the meals were pretty simple. They were still a little time consuming, but for the first year ever I liked everything we made. Here is what we had.

Monday: Trick-or -Treat Turnovers. These are a repeat, but always so good.

Wednesday was pizza snakes. The girls did a great job painting them.

Thursday Mummy burritos. 

Friday: Meatball Creepy Crawler. Kylee helped me with this and insisted this guy have 3 eyes.

Saturday: Worms and Moldy Mac. 

In addition to crazy foods we usually have drinks and a fun dessert too.

Dracula Blood Punch

This Warlock and Witches conjured up some homemade root beer. I am pretty sure we do this just for playing with the smoke.

Tia drinking from her big cup. She loves all this related to big people.

Monster Oreos.

I really like doing these creative foods, but it is kind of time consuming. However, it is super tasty and a fun tradition.

Along with crazy food, drink, desserts, and movies we also stick to the basics of dressing up and trick-or-treating. The girls went trick-or-treating 3 times this year. They had a lot of fun each time and are still enjoying the spoils of it.

Kylee as a nice witch and Tia as a Kitty.

After trick-or-treating both these guys stripped their costumes and played. Here is what they undo spell at our house looked like.

Just in case this week wasn't fun enough we had some other adventures too. For example, Kylee really wanted me to build a "castle" for her. We that usually takes up a lot of space and time. Plus it comes tumbling down way to easy. However, I had a brainstorm and we did this instead...

Kylee and I played castle in their for a bit. Then her and Tia had a snack in there. Then they read books, and Kylee pretended to do her homework in it too. It was really fun to see how pleased she was this simple "castle."

Also, last week I had my first go at making changes to a visiting teaching board. It was kind of frustrating made more complicated by a two year-old who loves magnets and bright colors. Tia wanted the VT board so bad, and all she wanted to do was knock all the names off. Oh boy, that was an adventure. However, we did get it figured out and nothing was permanently damaged.

Friday, was Gaupo's Friday/Saturday switcheroo. We both need new shoes, so we headed to our favorite place--Sports Authority. However, they are in the process of moving so their inventory is crazy low. They literally had no Asics in my size, and Gaupo couldn't find anything he was willing to pay for. So we struck out for shoes, but we found a great deal on Rollerblades. Yes, I am now the proud owner of Rollerblades and I LOVE them. They are so smooth. They go fast. It is AWESOME. Although, it is kind of scary getting out of my steep driveway. For example, Gaupo had gotten his on and was following me and our driveway is pretty steep and then to turn to go down around our mailbox is kinda tight. Well he didn't make the turn and ran into the mailbox. Both he and it were okay. However, later I was testing things and seeing what I could do and I was trying to make the same turn and got going to fast too and ran into it. I finished it off. Gaupo spent a good portion of the evening putting it back up. The drive and that turn are a little crazy which is why if the girls are in the stroller with me I have to back down the driveway. I really enjoy taking the girls for rides with my Rollerblades and I am loving the beautiful fall days that are lingering around.

Our final adventure of the week was yesterday. We went to free day at the zoo with Heather and Matthew Merrill and their friend Issac. It was a really busy day at the zoo, but it was still fun. Man my kids were troopers. We got their shortly after 10 and then walked everywhere until about 1:45 when we headed home. They didn't even start complaining until the end. They did so great. Both were really pretty good at staying by me and we got to see all kinds of cool animals. My favorite this time were the Seals. They were swimming and barking and showing off it was so fun. I was so glad we got to go. We are really going to miss our adopted Merrill family when they move to Salt Lake at the beginning of the year.We had a great day. I actually really like the Denver Zoo. I think it is like the perfect size.

Kylee and Tia watching the Giraffes. 

Kylee, Tia, Matthew, and Issac watching the Seals.

The tuckered out crew. We were on the road for about 5 minutes or less and they were all zonked.

So grateful for family and friends. They really do make life worth living. It is so fun to get out, have adventures, and make memories. 

Fall is Here

So last week was full to the brim with all kinds of things. I had something almost every night last week. I had relief society meeting, visiting teaching, stake auxiliary training, baby shower, and ward Halloween party. I also managed to can 28 pints of applesauce. It was so crazy, but also very good. It is good to be busy with things that are worth my time. I know I should probably write about all that stuff, but really all I want to write about is yesterday.

Yesterday, Monday, was a great day. We started off the morning a little late. That has been happening a lot lately. I blame it on the cold and dark. Anyway, I asked Kylee if she wanted to run in the stroller or go to babysitting at the Rec Center. She chose babysitting. After I asked her, I really wanted to go outside but caved and we went to the Rec Center. It was actually really nice to run in my own little world. I ran three miles. It was slow, but I did run the whole thing. Then because we had already had breakfast we took our sweet time leaving. I let the girls run a lap on the track and then let them go through the bike rack several times before heading home. Once home we decided to go to the park. It was such a beautiful fall day. The sun was shinning, it wasn't cold, and the wind wasn't blowing. We had fun at the park doing normal park things like swinging, digging in the sand, and playing on the slides. Then we had to get home for speech.

However, on the way home I decided to let the girls experience walking in crunchy leaves. I LOVE walking in leaves and listening to them crunch. It is definitely my favorite part of fall. So, we were running/walking through the leaves and Kylee found an almost already made pile of leaves. Of course being the good mom that I am we had to stop and play. We threw them around, made the pile bigger, jumped in them, and buried each other in them. This made us a little late for speech, but luckily she was a little late too, so it worked out.

Tia playing with our new sand toy. This picture was about a week ago.

Kylee and Tia with leaves.

Getting ready to jump.

Speech is really good for us. One the girls love it and two it helps me be able to help Tia. Tia really getting quite noisy now. She can make many sounds/words like Go, Da (down), Ba (this is a sound and can mean ball), Ma, Help, Dad, Mom, yes, fish, food, keys, and O. She is still working on using these words without prompting, but she can say all of them quite well along with say 'ruff' for what a dog says. I love hearing this little girl talk and as she gets better I really feel like she gets less frustrated with us and life.

After speech, which included lunch it was nap time. After nap time, Kylee really wanted to fly a kite. Well the wind wasn't blowing, but I really couldn't get the idea out of her head, so we went outside to fly a kite. She loved running all over the hills by the high school with her kite following behind. Tia didn't really get what was such a big deal and it was hard work, so she was getting grumpy. However, Kylee was enthralled with it. I did convince her to go home and just play which worked out good, because our neighbor Brian had just gotten home so he came over to play with us for awhile. Finally, after all the playing it was time to make dinner. We made Trick-or-Treat turnovers, to start off this Halloween week and they were as good as ever.

Kylee 'flying' her kite.

Tia, Me, and Kylee patting out the turnovers.

The first of the Halloween meals.

After dinner, we carved pumpkins. I don't remember doing it last year. I am sure we did, but I know Tia didn't help. This year we gave both girls their own pumpkin. Kylee was totally into helping me clean it out, coloring it, and then eventually helping me know how to carve it. Tia on the other hand was all into carving, but screamed anytime the slimy stuff touched her. So, she got it stuck to her foot once and almost started crying, but calmed down. It was so funny. I guess the texture was just too much for her.

Kylee and Tia with their pumpkins.

It was such a great fall day. I really loved it.

Our Weekend--Derek's Graveside

Our weekend began Thursday after swim lessons. As soon as Kylee was out of the pool, we head to the mortuary to pick up Derek and then we were on our way to Idaho. The drive was thankfully uneventful and the girls did great. We saved a movie for the last part of the drive, and it really did procrastinate the impatient crankiness that is just inevitable after being in the car for 8.5 hours. Finally, around 7:20 we were in Swanlake. It was so good to get there. Grandma made us funky chicken and potatoes. It was super tasty and nice to have after a day of fast food/ trip food. We did visit quite a bit the night, and Gaupo worked on his homework a little, but eventually we all had to just give it up and go to bed.

I was worried about Friday. It was Derek's graveside. I was so worried that I would just lose it completely, that things wouldn't turnout right, that I would have regrets, or a bunch of awful things like that. However, it was perfect. We had a great breakfast to kickoff the day. I got some time by myself to read scriptures. In one of the verses, it mentioned afflictions and I took a detour in the tropical guide and found a couple of treasures.

1. Every time the righteous have trials and afflictions the Lord is with them. Not every time did he make them go away, or even lighten them. However, every time he was there to bless and help them. They were never alone. 
2. The scriptures in Alma about the Savior knowing how to succor his people according to the flesh. He knew about life and the pains and trial that each one of us would face, not that a mass of people would face, but that every ONE of us would. Because of the atonement he know how to help us according to the flesh. To me that means he really knows what I need in every way.
3. The part of the Atonement where Jesus took our burdens upon us. I was kind of wondering at this point why I hadn't lost my mind, or fallen completely apart and been an inconsolable mess. Or why I really did feel okay and peaceful and that even though it was/is hard that its also okay. True I wonder all the time about Derek and what would have been, but I know that because of the atonement he has literally shared this burden with me. I have not had the whole thing and because of that I can still enjoy life. I can still move forward with faith, hope, and knowledge. 

So, that scripture time really gave me what I needed for the day. We headed up to the cemetery around 10:00. I meant to be quite a bit early, but it didn't happen so we were just on time, but since it really couldn't start without us I guess we were on time. The actual graveside turned out just the way I had hoped. It was a beautiful day. Clear and warm. The perfect day (at least in my mind) for this little guys graveside. I don't need miserable weather on an already rough day.

For the service, Guapo conducted. Then we sang I Am a Child of God. Then Grandma (Gaupo's mom) gave the opening prayer. Then my Grandpa said a few words. It was wonderful. It was all about the eternal nature of families, eternal life, and that it was okay and natural for me to wonder what Derek would be doing, or how our family would be with him here. After my Grandpa spoke, Kylee sang a special number. She sang I Lived in Heaven. She sang all three verses with no help. It was perfect. I originally wanted her to sing I Know my Savior Loves Me. However, when I asked her if she wanted to sing at Derek's graveside she said yes, but she wanted to sing a different song. I asked her which one and she said I Lived in Heaven. I thought for sure on the day of the graveside she would back out, or change, but nope. That little girl knew what she wanted to do and didn't deviate and did a perfect job. Then Grandpa Merrill (Gaupo's Dad) dedicated the grave. We had a closing song, Familes are Forever. Then Grandma Hammond (Gaupo's Grandma) gave the closing prayer. Really, it was so awesome. Everything was beautiful and peaceful. 

After the graveside, we headed back the house. We had hoggie sandwiches for lunch. Which is so perfect. Hoggies are like my favorite thing. If you have good meat, cheese, and bread I am sure I could eat them everyday. So, we enjoyed food, and family. Then I got the girls down for a nap. When Kylee woke up we went up to the pond, so she could go fishing. That little girls is getting pretty good at casting and reeling. She loves fishing.

Kylee in her skirt fishing.

Grandma and I also took her in the paddle boat with her cousins and they all enjoyed that. Except maybe Arlen. I think he wanted to, but was still just a little nervous about it all. Anyway, super fun. When we came down from the pond we had snacks, and said good-bye to the Anderson's. Then we went on a "real" four-wheeler ride. For Kylee, this has to at least be up to the pond and back. We actually went out farther and I have decided that for me almost nothing is quite as therapeutic as four-wheeler rides in the quite county. It was so wonderful. The rest of the day was just spent enjoying. Gaupo and I did go back up to the grave around 5:00, just to make sure everything was squared away, but once home we had dinner and then sent the girls to bed. Then we just talked.

Saturday, we got up and going. We had breakfast and then left the girls with Grandma and went to Pocotello. I would like to say it was a for fun alone trip, but no it was business. We went and picked out Derek's headstone. I think we did a good job and I am very excited to see it complete. After we did that, we went to Winco and picked up food for a cookout and went home. We got home in time for lunch, which was tacos. Oh man, I love beans and meat on a tortilla. It was sooo good. Then it was naptime for the girls. I rested a little although, Kylee was being rather noisy and not taking a nap, so that was rough. (Sleep on this trip was just rough) However, after naps we rode up to the pond to help de-fly the cabin. We did the best we could then Grandpa sprayed fly killer in and we left to go home and collect all the stuff. We got it all rounded up and head up to the pond. It was pretty windy, but Kylee still got some fishing in. She wanted a boat ride too, but the water was too choppy, I was afraid we would get stuck out there. Tammi, Doug, Debbie, Wes, and a few of Tammi and Doug's kids joined us. It was fun. Around 7:30 we headed back to give the girls baths and bed. Everyone else followed shortly after because it started raining and they wanted to make sure they could get down the road. So, after the girls were in bed we visited and played games until everyone left and then we went to bed.

Sunday was good. Everyone in Swanlake told us how sorry they were and how they wished they could be at the service. They were so sweet. I played the piano for sacrament. I am really rusty, but it was really good to play. Church went good. Kylee loved primary and Tia really wishes they had a nursery, but it all worked out good. Then we went home had dinner and naps. Then Gaupo, the girls, and I went down to Granpa-Great's house to visit him. As always, it was way too short. This time it was my girls pulling me away, but I am sure glad I got to see him. I really wish I lived closer so I could visit longer and more often. Grandpa-great is such a wonderful man who is solid in is testimony of the gospel. It never ceases to amaze me. When we got home we had dinner and then got the girls down. Then we visited for a long time and went to bed.

Monday was definitely the hardest day. It was rainy and cold and we had to leave. It was so hard to leave. So much of me wanted to stay. It wasn't as hard as leaving Derek in the hospital, but it was still hard. It was hard to say good-bye to family and to leave my precious boy's body their trusting the Lord to watch over it. Not only was a it hard to say good-bye, but then I had the long drive to let me mind think way to much. It was kind of a rough day, but eventually Gaupo and I got wrapped up in a book and the time passed and we were home. It is good to be home. 

Being home is really nice. I went to the doctor on Tuesday and everything looks good, so I got the ok to resume regular activity WAHOOO!! wanna know the bummer...its super rainy and cold. Oh well, I can now care for my kids the way I like to. I honestly feel like I have more energy which is good, because I just got called this Sunday to be the 2nd Counselor in the Relief Society. So, life is busy which is good. I still have time to think, but not too much time. I love reading the scriptures and the Ensign. It is kind of weird looking back on all that has happened because much of it seems like an eternity ago, but I am amazed at how I feel like I have grown in the last month. Life is good, live it.

Lights in the Darkness

My last post was proudly announcing my third child, our beautiful little boy. Shortly after I wrote that post, I sent an email to my doctor about how I hadn't felt movement in awhile and wondered if that was normal. Well, it isn't and I went to the doctor and found out my little boy's heart was not beating. That was a blow let me tell you. I had anticipated with such joy our little boy coming home, finding his sisters to be oh so funny. I was looking forward to finding out how rough three kids was going to be. However, that is not the case at least not right now. I truly believe that families can be together forever. So, although my little boy couldn't come right now, I believe he will always and forever be my little boy.

I don't really want to go into everything on here, but after Derek's delivery recovery seemed to be going great. However about 5 or 6 days later I started having heavy bleeding. I went to the doctor. They did an ultrasound and say some 'stuff' still in the uterus and recommended a D and C. We felt good about following their recommendation and went in. However, during the procedure I started bleeding. They were able to get it stopped, but I lost over a liter of blood. Consequently, I had to stay at the hospital and had all the warnings they give before the procedure look like they might be a reality. But, the Lord in His mercy let the bleeding stay stopped, so nothing else bad happened. 

With those two stories there are a lot of question and a lot of things that could have led to a lot of darkness, despair and doubt but lucky there are so many tender mercies in these stories and that is what I want to share here, because no matter how bad things seemed or how scary the possibilities were I knew I wasn't alone. I knew God had a plan for me and my family and if I would put my trust in him then no matter what happened everything would turn out right.

My Lights (no particular order):

1. Timing: if something like this was going to happen right now the timing was amazing. We hadn't started preparing really. I stopped potty training Tia. My sister moved to Colorado one month prior. Gaupo had a job were we have sick time and bereavement time, so we didn't have to worry about work. Gaupo was ahead in his school work. Really a bunch of tender mercies.

2. Priesthood Blessings: When I found out about Derek, Gaupo and I both received blessings that night from very trusted friends. Those blessing brought a clarity, peace, and hope that were completely amazing. Often times they are the hope I cling to when I really want to fear instead of have faith, or when I want to question or doubt. 

3. Doctors and Nurses. I know it sounds really crazy but I met a ton of doctors. No one doctor did everything on me. I count this a blessing because they were all good doctors, but all different and handle situations a little differently. The doctor that delivered Derek was very cautious and thorough. I feel like he did the very best he could and really save me from what would have been super major complications. The second set of eyes he had did a good job in making sure things looked right. My nurse that night was exactly who I needed. She didn't push anything, but let me know everything I needed to and explained it very well. She was understanding of me and gave me some of the best advice..."We are all people with opinions about what we would do in your place, but in reality we aren't you and we have never been in your place. You have to do what is right for you." This has helped me a lot. The doctor who made the recommendation for the D and C I believe made the best decision he could and was good for check-out. The doctor who did the actual surgery I believe was who I needed. I just really feel like even though these things happened to me, I really did get the right care for me.

 4. My moments with Derek. I will forever treasure the time I had with him in the hospital. I will also treasure the time I with our little family there too. It was quite amazing to watch my girls with their little brother. I don't want to go too much into it, but what a wonderful thing.

5. My mom. My mom was not able to come when I actually had Derek, but my sister was here. However, she was able to be here when I needed her most, during recovery and second surgery. It is a true tender mercy that even though she is working, was wondering when my sister would deliver, and many responsibilities with her calling in the church. She was able to be out here with me. I needed her and my girls needed her. 

6. The Gospel. This really should have been toward the top, but it is also here because it is truly what has held me together. I do have a warning to be careful what you pray for, but my testimony of Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, Eternity, and Families is stronger than ever. I love the peace the gospel bring. I love the comfort and peace the Holy Ghost can bring to my heart, mind, and life. 

7. The Atonement of Jesus Christ. I feel that even though I have hard time. There are times that hurt, that are dark, and that are scary. However, I feel that through the atonement the pain is lessened, the darkness is soon overcome by light, and that as I rely on the Savior and Heavenly Father I can walk by faith. The atonement is real and as always in grander and more encompassing than I previously thought.

Stay true. Miracles happen both big and small. God still lives and cares for his children here on earth. Life is full of joy and light--find it and live in it.

Our little family. Pardon all the weird looks we just don't do pictures very well. Although, we are still so cute!

Announcing Baby #3

I know I have written about being pregnant, but I hadn't formally announced it yet. Or at least I don't feel like I have done a proper job of it. That is mainly due to the fact that I wanted to wait until we knew the gender of the baby. So, before I mention that detail here is the 20ish week preggy shot.

Sorry my head is cut off, but all the other pictures Gaupo took I dislike even more so this is  all you get.

Just as a comparison. Here are the twenty-ish week shots with Kylee and Tia.

20 weeks Kylee

20 weeks Tia.

 Yesterday was our twenty week/ gender ultrasound. I have been really hoping that this one would be a boy and WAHOOO!!! It is. So, we will be welcoming our first boy sometime in January and I am super excited. Kylee seems excited too. At first, she kept insisting that she wanted just a plain ole baby, not a brother, but now she is pretty excited. They also gave us a ton of pictures from the ultrasound and she wanted one, so I let her have one. She then asked "Can I put this in my room?" I asked her where she wanted it. She replied "By the picture of me and Tia." Kylee is so excited to have a picture of her brother in her room, right by the picture of her and Tia. She is too cute. Tia honestly doesn't really seem to care except when it takes attention away from her.

So here are some interesting things about this pregnancy. I feel like I have grown/shown so much faster, but people didn't really seem to notice any sooner, and really in the pics above I almost look smaller than I did with Tia. I feel like I have been more tired and sometimes more irrational than the past two pregnancies, but that may or may not be true. Or it could also be related to having two kids and not just one. I love bacon, it is super good. I seem to like it and allow it to be had a lot more than I did before. I can't eat a hamburger anymore. I have tried and tried and the first two bites are SOOO good, but then its just gross. It makes me so sad. Hopefully this will pass because I LOVE burgers. I still enjoy hot dogs and polish dogs. I actually probably enjoy them more than I have at other times. Other than that I do't know that there has been too much different about this pregnancy.

I am super excited to have a little boy. I am little nervous about having three kids especially since right now two seems really overwhelming. I love my family and am excited to see it grow and change, but so nervous at the same time. I guess that is the update from here. 

Super-Dee-Duper Weekend

This weekend was so full of great things that were both fun and productive. It was so great I had major weekend hangover or at least that is what I am calling it. I wanted to not get up this morning which isn't too off these days, but when I had to I was crabby and mad. I managed to make it through about an hour before I had a breakdown. Then I pulled it together enough for breakfast and swimming lessons. Finally, I took a nap, so I could last till nap time. Then I had some quiet time before I started working. I didn't even stay up late this weekend. Oh man, I think I am acting more and more pregnant by the day and I am not even half way yet. Might want to send prayers my family's way, that way they can have the strength to deal with this crazy cool, but crazy still mom/wife they have. Just so you know, the moment passed and I am doing just fine now, but WOW was that an emotional morning for me. Anyway, the weekend our Super-Dee-Duper Weekend.

It all began on Friday night. Gaupo got home from work, I didn't feel like cooking or what was on the schedule so we had to decide. Right now I love sandwiches and burritos Gaupo not so much. So, we had to think really hard about what we wanted. We finally decided on Chinese take-out. Boy was that a good choice. We have a really good Chinese restaurant here, and we got sesame chicken and cashew pork. The great thing about is we can eat it for two meals. Also, Chinese food comes with rice, so I don't have to fix anything for our kids.  Yet, I digress. After dinner we let the kids play, play, and play. I love that my two kids usually love to play together and are actually pretty good at it. It does often get kind of crazy and two little kid minds think up more trouble than just one, but oh man I love watching and hearing the play. Anyway, after the kids were in bed Gaupo and I relaxed together. Gaupo did a little homework footwork, and we watched the Munsters'. I really like that show right now because they really don't seem to have too much family quarreling.

Saturday started off with lawn mowing, dirt leveling, and making breakfast. I only made breakfast, but I did allow the girls to help which is sometimes quite a bit of work. After breakfast Gaupo went to the dungeon aka the basement and worked on homework. Us women folk cleaned up breakfast and made a list for the store. We went grocery shopping. All I can say is I love free samples, great deals, and 1 cent pony rides. King Soopers is awesome. I may spend a lot of money there, but at least its fun and I can get quite a bit of food to. While we were shopping out friends (Ethan and his mom) texted us that they were going to thee park. So, once we got home we put the groceries away and checked were Gaupo was at with his homework. He still needed to be left alone for awhile so we headed to the park. I think all three kids had quite a bit of fun playing together. They did the typical little kid thing of playing together and then just playing around each other and then together again, but it was fun to get out and have someone for me to talk to. After playing for awhile it was time to come home for lunch. Guapo had finished what he wanted to and so we had lunch and then naps. During nap time I prepared my nursery lesson, and then headed to mattress firm to see what kind of price I could get on a mattress. Well they couldn't give me any really good deals this time and I came home and Gaupo did some research and we found one we liked and it was actually at one of the stores hear in town. So, when Tia woke up we headed to Denver Mattress. We tried out a couple different ones. I tried to negotiate as best I could. We got a pretty good deal I think and now Tia sleeps in a big girl bed. After we drove the mattress home, which it was super nice to have the van for we ran out to Wal-Mart. Then came home and while I cooked dinner, Gaupo and the girls worked on Tia's big girl bed. We had dinner and baths, and finished putting the bed together. We were so sure Tia was ready and excited for a new bed, but oh my WORD. Trying to get those two to go to sleep was a NIGHTMARE!!! We tried everything. Finally, we split them and shut Tia's door and left Kylee's open. You see we had Tia whacked out because of the new bed and Kylee having a ow and half about the door being closed. Oh it was AWFUL! Once we split them we went downstairs and setup out new tent that came. It is HUGE! It is awesome and I think will work great for what we need it for...camping, family reunions, and fun. After all that we were tired, so we went to bed. I would love to say the night went great, but honestly it was kind of rough. Tia was up about 3 times, but we made it.

Kylee and Tia in there big girl beds. Just took this picture, luckily they both stayed asleep.

On the topic of beds, my mom made me this beautiful quilt for my bed. I LOVE it!!

Me inside of our HUGE tent.

Sunday dawned and luckily I was up and getting ready by the time Tia came out of her room all undressed. That is her thing lately. She loves to just strip. If she is in a diaper that usually stays on, but if she is in panties and gets in that mood she is naked. Anyway, the night before had tuckered Kylee out, so we did Tia's hair and got her some milk and I finished getting ready and finally Kylee woke up. So, we did her hair and had breakfast and then hurried super fast to church. Nursery went well. Every week is so different, we do all the same stuff, but man every week is something new. It was also the first week that people started to notice I was a pregnant. That was fun, and funny. People were kind of nervous to ask, because it can  be really awkward if the person is not, but luckily I am so it was funny to watch people try to ask me. I love church and  nursery, but honestly it wears me out, so after lunch I took a nap. My kids were up way to fast, but it is what it is. Then Kitt arrived for the weekend and about 5 minutes later it was time for my family's video chat. It was really good. It lasted a LONG time, but it was good. It was kind of crazy because my kids were awake and wanted my attention, and then were playing nosily, but I think everyone made it and it was good to catch up. After the chat we had dinner, played a bit and put the girls to bed. We were a little tougher and made the girls figure it out. There was quite a few tears and screaming. Kitt was quite amazed that there was so much, but they did quiet down and go to sleep. Us grownups played the farming game, and then talked until too late and went to bed.

Monday we were again awakened by Tia wandering the hall. However, it did get us up and moving, sort of. Gaupo fixed us a griddle breakfast of eggs, hashbrowns, and bacon. I fixed some toast inside. It was super good.

Gaupo cooking our breakfast.

Aunt Kitt and Tia playing while breakfast was cooking.

Once that was all cleaned up we headed on our adventure. We went to Lilly Lake. When we arrived it was cold and me being me didn't bring jackets or anything. I was expecting it to be hot. Luckily as we walked the breeze died down a little, the sun came out every now and again and it was super pretty. We made it all the way around the lake. I really wanted to do the ridge part, but with the weather I wasn't sure my kids would stick with it, so we just did the lake. Tia was fascinated by the ducks, plants, walking on the logs, and just loved it.

Tia and Kylee watching the duck. There were ducks on this bank before we got there.

Walking the trail with Dad.

Tia and Aunt Kitt walking on the logs.

Kylee thought it was fun, but was content to just keep moving.

Kylee wanted her picture taken right here and this is how she posed.

Tia saw pictures being taken and joined in like this. What a silly.

After taking out time on that, we drove back home and had lunch and then put the kids down for a nap. Here are some group shots.

Me, Kylee, Tia, and Gaupo.

Me, Kylee, Tia, and Aunt Kitt.

Me, Kitt, Kylee, Tia, and Gaupo.

Me, Kitt, Kylee, Tia, and Gaupo.

Once they were down, Kitt was kind enough to go with me to the Labor Day sale at Hancock fabric were I got the fabric I needed for our Christmas PJs. I picked all different ones and they are pretty expressive of our different personalities. I am really excited to start this undertaking. When we got home Kylee was up but GROUCHY!! Luckily she didn't want to do anything either and fell back asleep on the couch, but I was worried we were in for it. We made pretzel dogs for dinner and then sent Kitt back to Littleton. It was sad to let her go. I wanted to play more and just enjoy her, but alas she needs to get into her new ward, make friends , etc. For FHE we went to Lowes and got some more supports for Tia's bed. It was fine for her with just 3 but with any regular person on it, not so much, so we decided to fix that.  So, after we cut the boards, we had ice cream for a treat and then put the boards in and sent the kids to bed. We finished the night with budget and episodes.

See a great weekend.

Here is a random pic of my cute family.

Kylee, Daddy, and Tia. I was making dinner.