Go Cubs!

Adam and Celtin had the chance to go to a Cubs game in September courtesy of our awesome friends, who have since moved back to Utah. :( They had a couple tickets they weren't going to be able to use and were kind enough to send them our way. Celtin was really excited and I think they had tons of fun. Adam even took a few pictures...

4th and final

In September we found out we were expecting our 4th child. I was pretty sick for the first 5 months...I think this one has been my worst as far as intensity of sickness, but at least it stopped after 5 months instead of continuing for the entire 9 months as it did with my first two.

We found out in December that we would be having another boy! The kids are all sooo excited! Anika is a little sad that it was not a sister but I think she is coming to terms with the idea of being the one and only princess. We have not decided on a name yet, but will have one in place before he is born at the end of April.

Under construction

We decided to rip out our carpet on the main floor and replace it with laminate over labor day weekend. Anika, Celtin and even Lochlan "helped" out. The big kids actually did quite a bit; they pulled out a lot of the old carpet, staples and tack board. They were also very good at making sure Adam had a new plank for cutting at all times. It was a mostly fun undertaking and I absolutely love the outcome. I didn't really take before and after shots but here are some pictures of the during!

A little (actually a lot) catching up

Okay, so I have been a slacker on updating my blog. I have been busy...I promise I have not just been feeding my addiction. :) The end of summer was great-we hit up the county fair to check out the rodeo, farm animals, go on expensive rides, eat fair food, and attend our first tractor pull (Not exactly sure what that was about...Adam liked it-I guess I need a little more redneck in me!). We also made a few last minute trips to the pool and beach. The kids were sad to see summer go but were so excited to start school.

Anika is a big 3rd grader and Celtin started 1st so he gets to go for a full day now. You would think this gives me tons more time, but somehow I feel like I have less. Since Lochlan's playmates are gone I have to entertain him and that has cut back on my ability to accomplish tasks! Here are pictures of the kids on their first day. Such cuties! They are loving school and Lochlan has adjusted to them being gone. (he seriously pouted the first few days) He gets so excited when it is time to pick them up and wants nothing to do with me for the first hour or so after they get home.

A new addiction

Is it possible to become addicted to a hobby? Adam thinks so! I found some free photo editing software that can do things my other software cannot. It is called GIMP and it works great for digi scrapping and photo manipulation. It is a little difficult to figure out so I have to search for tutorials but I have been having so much fun with it. The kids start school in a couple days so I will have a little more time to play with it. Here are my first attempts at photo manipulation.











For Anika's picture I removed the background (she was at a parade) and replaced it with the flower paper then added the floral overlay and her name. On Celtin's photo I blurred the background and removed Anika (she was standing in the distance looking the other way) then added the grunge overlay and embossed his name in the rock.
Lochlan's was pretty simple...I just used a photo mask and placed it on the dot paper then added his name. The picture with his cousin was in color so I changed it to black and white then added the color back to the ball to make it pop. I also removed a hose from the background.

Vacation..the final week

We spent the last week visiting with family and friends in Utah. We drove all over the valley trying to get in enough time with everyone. Unfortunately there is never enough time. There were a few friends I really wanted to see but I somehow ran out of time.

Some of the fun included:

• playing in the water with cousins
• the "Stuffed Animal" museum aka Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum
• picking veggies in Pappy and Grandpa's gardens
• eating lots of good food (Cafe Rio, Del taco, La Luna, Leatherby's...MMMM)
• visiting with family
• Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house
• cousin sleep over with Grandma
• watching the children's parade
• catching up with old friends
• sweating to death in ghetto bouncy house
• playing with cousins
• meeting baby carter
• watching Adam play with fire...ahem, I mean light off fireworks
• did I mention how much the kids loved playing with their cousins

The kids had so much fun and didn't want to leave. Thanks to Adams parents for the awesome accommodations and to everyone else for all your hospitality. We were sad to leave but it is always good to get home. Can't wait for the next visit, who is coming out first! :)

Family Reuinion at Bear Lake

We left South Dakota early Sunday morning and made it to Bear Lake in about 10 hours. My mom had already set up a couple tents for us so we were able to relax. We spent 4 days enjoying the nice weather and visiting with family.
A few other highlights include:

• hunting for seashells
• playing in the sand
• swimming in absurdly cold water
• tubing
• potlucks
• penny scramble and pearl dive
• horseshoes
• riding on the Anderson's wave runner and Josiah's boat
• Celtin learning to ride a little motorcycle
• hiking
• relaxing
• roasting marshmallows and hot dogs around the campfire
• mountains and starry nights (I really miss those, out here we see about 24 stars on a clear night!)
• adult game night -I won a pool noodle playing bippity bop :)
• Labeaus shakes