Moab

Stephen and I decided to take a little family vacation to Moab last weekend with the boys. He had a free night stay at the hotel, so we thought why not take the kids; we've never been to Moab, and right now is one of the perfect times to go. The boys were excited to go on vacation and stay in a hotel and go swimming in the pool. It was an almost four hour drive in the rain down there. The boys did great in the car, but they went bonkers as soon as we got to the hotel. I was expecting this since it was their first time, but holy cow! Don't let this picture fool you.

Friday morning we headed to Arches National Park, and it was a perfect day--the sun was shining, blue skies, and low 70s. We did most of the really easy hikes for the sake of the boys and myself. I don't think we hiked any further than a mile at a time.

Our first stop was Balanced Rock. I'm not going to lie, I think the Idaho version of  "Balanced Rock" is way better than this one, but it was still neat regardless. The boys were anxious to get out of the car to explore and climb the rocks.

Our next stop were The Windows and Double Arches. These were pretty cool, but you had to climb pretty high to get underneath them, and of course, Zander had to try. Stephen followed him up while I stayed behind with Lucas; it was too steep for the two of us.

We found some lizards in the bushes!

Our last stop in the park was the Delicate Arch Viewpoint. We didn't want to hike with two toddlers to the arch itself because it's kind of steep with a narrow trail and a drop off, so we saw it from afar.

Once we got back in the car the boys fell asleep, so Stephen and I took a drive down Potash Road across from the park so the boys could nap for a bit. On our way back we stopped to see some dinosaur footprints which the boys loved.

We finally made it back to the hotel for some lunch and a swim. I honestly think going swimming was the highlight of the trip for the boys. It's all they talked about and asked about every 10 minutes until we got in the pool. It was an outdoor pool so I thought it'd be too cold for me, and I wasn't even sure if my "swimsuit" was going to fit me, but it did so I got in. We had a great time, but it made for an exhausting day.

the next day was our drive home, but we stopped at a dinosaur museum to see some more dino tracks and try to tire the boys out so they'd sleep in the car. We got up too early and the museum wasn't open yet, so we took another scenic drive and stopped to let the boys explore until  we could go back to the museum.

 That is sandstone that Lucas is trying to take a bite out of.

Finally we got to see the dinosaurs!

 We let the kids play for a while before eating lunch and heading home. We stopped in the gift shop and let the boys pick out one thing to take home. Lucas got a bucket of little dinosaurs, and Zander chose a triceratops mask. I'm glad we make time every now and then to spoil ourselves and go on vacation. These are what our childhoods are made up of. We sure made some good memories!

Logan Trip

For Christmas this year mom and dad got the four siblings that live in Twin and I  an overnight stay at the Old Rock Church Bed and Breakfast in Logan along with a ticket to see the Slapstick Sonata.

We started off meeting dad in Snowville Friday afternoon to drop off the boys for the weekend. They were so excited to get to stay the night with their cousins, and of course, just to see Grandma and Grandpa. On our our way home Stephen and I cruised around some neighborhoods in Davis County to see what the houses and neighborhoods looked like before making a decision on where to move to in the next month. Then we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner to celebrate my birthday.

The next morning we worked on the house before meeting up with everyone else at Maddox for lunch. Tim and KoLei did their own thing that day, so we really only saw them at the show that night. Joseph and Brad came up together, then Adam and Lynnette and Mo and Angela Tomlinson all met up at the restaurant. After lunch Joseph, Brad, and I went bowling before checking in at the B&B. We had a friendly competition to see which couple could score the highest. Of course Stephen and I won. We had a blast! We checked in before meeting for dinner. We ate at a neat pizzeria, then went to the show. The show itself was pretty funny and the acrobatics were amazing. I think this group was from the Czech Republic or Sweden. We went out for ice cream for a late night treat before hitting the sack. When we got back we all ended up sitting and chatting in Joseph and Trish's room until 2:00 in the morning.

Sunday morning we went into Logan Canyon and hiked up to the Wind Caves. No one had any idea how long  or hard the trail was. Me and Tim and our spouses only made it about 2/3 of the way up before turning around. Turns out it was about a 3.5 mile hike up the mountain. I really tried to make it, but I started to get lightheaded and dizzy and I didn't want to over do it being pregnant. I was a little disappointed I didn't make it, because the  caves looked pretty cool. We had lunch before parting ways. The boys were going to go to Franklin to visit Grandma's grave. I really wanted to go, but I was not doing so well after that hike, so Stephen and I decided to go home. It was so much fun getting together with my siblings. We haven't had any time like that in years! I just wished everyone could've been there; we missed Becky and Scott.

Mom and Dad watched all 16 grand kids that weekend, and even took them to church. It sounded like they all had fun and everyone survived the weekend. Our boys got to stay an extra two days. Grandpa Pettingill is having heart surgery  down here tomorrow, so Dad brought the boys with Grandpa today. As happy as they were to see me, they didn't want to get out of the car and go home, they wanted to stay with grandma and grandpa. I don't blame them, but it is good to have them home. I kind of missed them.    

IT'S A GIRL!!!

I had my 20 week ultrasound last week, and was elated to find out we are having a little girl. I had a feeling...but it was so fun to hear. She was all huddled into a little ball at the very bottom, so I was worried we might not get to find out the gender, but she squirmed just enough for us to get a look. She is as healthy as can be, and we couldn't be happier!

Random Pictures

These two are so cute together when they are getting along. Lucas does everything Zander does, and loves to give out hugs and kisses. 

 These are Zander's Iron Man hands that he bought at the store with his birthday money a few weeks ago. He was so excited to buy them that he had to hold onto the box while we finished our shopping. He sat in the cart holding up his box and saying, "Look! my Iron Man hands!" "I got Iron Man hands!" to every person we passed along the way. I stopped at the pharmacy for a minute so he asked me if I would move the cart to the next isle so he could show "those people" his Iron Man hands. It was so cute how happy he was, and this picture sums it up.

 Ok, I wasn't going to put this picture on here,  but I thought why not document my third pregnancy for a minute and give an update. This was taken at 15 weeks; I am currently 17.5 weeks along, and through the morning sickness. My energy level has come up a little bit, but not where I'd like it to be, but that may be because of the snow and cold weather. We will find out the gender in about three weeks, and can't wait! Zander has been insistent that he wants a pink baby. The boys are still too young to really understand what's going on, so they are constantly climbing all over me all the time, and wanting me to hold and carry them. I'm trying really hard to teach them that they can walk and they don't need my help all the time.

I don't fit into my maternity clothes yet, but I can't button up my pants so I have to use a rubber band to hold them together. I'm trying to eat clean with the occasional treat in the afternoons during nap time. It's been fun to see my belly grow and start feeling this baby kick around a bit. Baby is always at the top right of my belly so I'm hoping that's a good sign that I won't have any placenta previa problems this time. We're pretty anxious for summer to come so we can meet this little one! Only five more months!

Boise Trip

We took a random trip to Boise last weekend with mom for craft day. I say random because I wasn't planning on going to craft day, but I figured since I have been feeling better and the nausea has almost completely gone away why not go for a drive? It'd give me a chance to see Grandma and Grandpa Watson and my cousin Rachel and her family whom I haven't seen in many years. Plus I was looking forward to chatting with mom on the drive to Boise. We had a good time, but the boys, especially Lucas, was tired of his car seat, so they were getting cranky towards the end of the day. We stopped at Grandma and Grandpa's house for a bit, then did some shopping and eating before going to Mercedez's baby shower. Go figure, I forgot her shower gift on my bed at home; I forgot to put it in the car, so mom let me sign my name on her gift. It really was so good to see those family members that I hadn't seem in a long time, and the ones that I do get to see every once in a while.

While we were in Twin for the weekend Becky sent Kimball with Lance to stay with his two grandmas for a few days. Zander was so excited to get to play with Kimball. He talks about Kimball and Cora all the time at home. Every time those two get together they get along a lot better each time; they had a lot fun. Even Lucas got in on the fun.

I had to quietly sneak a shot of grandpa with Lucas. Lucas was having a good old time playing with grandma and grandpa giving kisses, and toys, and of course, M&Ms

Differences

The difference in personalities between Zander and Lucas are night and day. When Zander shoots me and I fall on the ground dead he jumps on me and shoots me again for extra measure. When Lucas shoots me and I'm dead he drops his gun and runs to me trying to hold my head up and kisses me on the lips to make sure I'm not really dead.

Last week I took the boys to institute and dropped them off in the nursery. When I came to pick them up one of the moms who watched the kids said, "it looks like you have a lover and a fighter!" Lucas was going around giving everyone kisses and Zander was play fighting (super heroes) with another boy. I had to laugh because those words couldn't be truer.

These babies develope their personalities in the womb and are blessed with special gifts and talents from our Heavenly Father. I remember being so excited to snuggle and love on my little Zander when he was born, but he was SO rigid and stiff and very independent. I can count on one hand the number of times I got any snuggles out him as a baby and most of those were when he got sick. He would never even lay his head on my shoulder as I tried to rock or walk him to sleep at night. Lucas, on the other hand snuggles me every chance he can get. He still rests his head on my shoulder or against the side of my face when I'm trying to put him to sleep. He willingly and readily gives out hugs and kisses multiple times a day.

I celebrate their differences. They are each special and unique in their own ways. I love my boys!

Busted Mouth

Last week towards the end of sacrament meeting Lucas took a fall off the bench smashing his face into the hymn book holder. I knew he was hurt, so I scooped him up and started toward the door. When I was halfway there Stephen yelled at me saying he was bleeding. I didn't see the blood until I got him to the bathroom. His face was covered in blood as was my dress. He was hurting pretty badly, little did I know how extensive the damage was. All I could see was that his tooth went through his bottom lip cutting it up which is where I thought most of the blood was coming from. He was so mad he wouldn't let me clean him up; I got one swipe across his mouth and that was it. I could see a lot of blood in his mouth, but he refused to drink anything to clear it out so I could see better. A friend came in to see how he was doing and tried to help as much as she could, but Lucas wasn't having it; he screamed for her to go and kept trying to hit her to go away. There were several people outside the bathroom waiting to see if Lucas was doing all right including Stephen. I had to teach sharing time, so I handed him over to Stephen to take him home to get cleaned up and take some medicine. I am so appreciative of everyone's concern and help for Lucas. Some people even texted that night and the next day to see how he was doing.

 Later that night Stephen and I noticed that his top gums looked really bad--they were black, dark red, and a little purple, so we got concerned that maybe we needed to take him in the dentist the next morning. We called a few friends who are dentists just to make sure we didn't need to take him in right away. They both said he would be fine and that he would only need to see a dentist if his tooth got knocked loose. Well, Lucas wouldn't let us near his mouth for a while for us to check if his tooth was loose, but I felt that he would be ok.

Luckily Zander had a dentist appointment this morning, so I was able to ask the dentist to take a quick peek at lucas's mouth. Turns out he not only cut his lip, but he also skinned his gums bad enough that it left a hole--he had a chunk of his gums missing, and he did, in fact, knock his new tooth loose. But after the dentist looked at it he said that it looked like it was healing really well and that the tooth had repaired itself. So all I have to do now is keep an eye on it to make sure his tooth doesn't change colors or his gums don't get any bubbles caused by infection.

Poor boy, but he has been a trooper through it all. It really is amazing how fast kids get over things.