Stake Conference

Back in March, we had stake conference up on Oakland's Temple Hill.  We do this twice a year and we almost always have beautiful weather!  We like to take advantage and stay afterwards to enjoy the scenery, the Spirit and have a picnic lunch. 

 This year was no exception, it was magnificent with all the flowers and such.  I don't think I have ever seen so many daffodils!!

 We took a walk up on the terrace around the temple and had a nice view of Oakland, the San Francisco Bay and even San Francisco beyond. 

 While up there, Reagan FINALLY lost this dang tooth!

 We were so blessed to have friends to hang out with, especially the Edwards visiting from Utah. 

Random pic of Nolan, sporting his rocket backpack from preschool.  He asked me the other day if he could go to preschool forever?  With sadness I thought, I wish!!  You are at a fun stage, buddy.

Spring has Sprung

We have been blessed with a beautiful couple of months here.  The sun is shining almost everyday and spring felt like it arrived awfully early.  Some of my favorite pics of the kids are just simple outdoor shots of them enjoying the sunshine. 

 Below are some pics of the kids dressed in their Sunday best, just before heading to church.  They were wearing the new clothes I had saved for Easter, but when it was beautiful and 70 degrees in February, I couldn't resist pulling them out!

 Reagan has become a champion on the monkey bars and has the callused, blistered palms to prove it.  This is all she wants to do for recess, yet complains about how much it hurts :)  She finally mastered riding her bike and loves to go ride around the sidewalks and down at the school.

 

 

 Nolan is obsessed with Spiderman and wore his new mask all day one day.  He does make a pretty good Spiderman impression.  One day, I found him sitting on the toilet doing his business, but his legs were pulled in and his feet were bottom-to-bottom.  He said to me, "mom, look I am just like Spiderman!"

 His first day of preschool was in February.  He had a hard time the first week, but now LOVES it!  His favorite thing to do when he gets home, is to surprise me with all his art from that day (and seriously some days, there are like 8 projects!)

I am going to leave this post with some pregnancy thoughts.  I hardly blogged or have taken any pictures about it, but my thoughts are on this baby all the time.  I don't take this for granted, despite how much I complain.  My face is chunky, my thighs rub together and I feel pretty dang ginormous.  But I remember what it felt like when I thought I would never experience this again and I know that it is all worth it.  Despite it being my 3rd and you would think that I would be oh so relaxed, it is the opposite.  I find myself so concerned all the time that all is well.  I have no shame in admitting that I have already checked myself TWICE into labor and delivery after not feeling baby movement for a while.  I think all the time about my family and friends who want a baby so bad, but it just isn't happening.   I know what it is like to have your own timetable and not have it coincide with the Lord's timetable.  It is very frustrating.  Not a day goes by that I don't think and pray for these loved ones.  Every kick to my bladder and sharp push to my ribs I answer with a smile because I know what a lovely blessing this is.  I think all the time about whether the baby is healthy or not.  So far, it all seems good, but sometimes you just don't know until that baby is here.  And then beyond, watching them grow and praying they reach each milestone.  I have been blessed with some good friends who are expecting babies around the same time as me.  I have watched 2 of them welcome babies to earth, only to have to say goodbye just as quickly.  One delivered her son at 20 weeks, just too early to be able to breathe on his own.  My heart ached for her and her family and also for the fact that this is her 4th baby--4th son--born just a bit too early.  Just last week our other friends welcomed their son and were able to spend almost 5 days with him, before he left his earthly life due to complications.  My heart is full.  I find it hard to believe that such good people have to face such difficult trials, but I know that we are never alone.  That knowledge is such a blessing, even though it leaves me feeling so vulnerable. 

And since you listened to my stories and sat through all the photos of my kids, here is your reward: a very rare picture of me pregnant.  This was taken this past week, at 30 weeks pregnant and I was also super sick with a cold/cough.  So basically I can't look much worse.  Love to you all!

Nolan turns 4!

What can I really say about Nolan right now when a picture speaks a thousand words? ;)  Nolan went from THIS:

 

 to THIS:

in what has truly felt like seconds.  I love so much about Nolan.  I love that even though he is aggressive and hits way too often, I get to see the soft and sensitive side to him.  I love that he follows his sister around and melts when she takes him under her wing.  I love that he loves preschool and looks forward every day to going.  I love his big blue eyes and huge grin and infectious laugh.  Nolan is my buddy and I am so glad I get to be his mom.

We had a little party for him centering around monster trucks.  We invited a small group of friends, played games, ate cake and all sorts of goodies.  Nolan got some fun presents and then we called it good.  I have to admit, planning birthday parties is not my thing.  I stress too much and then afterwards I can't help but think, "man was this really worth it?"  Not very nice of me. 

Here are a few pics of the birthday:

We love our big bubs so much!

Capping off 2012

Well, I was really a decent blogger for the first half of 2012.  If you would like to catch my last official post, it is here.  Let's just keep this short and sweet, though and here you can see the rest of our 2012 year in bullet points:

*Reagan celebrated her 6th birthday in June.  We had a swim party with pizza and cupcakes. 

*We spent most of the summer swimming at our neighborhood pool.  Reagan learned to swim.  Nolan learned to float around in a tube or arm things.
*We took a fun trip to Utah for the 4th of July.  We camped, bbq's, Boondocked, cornholed and paraded.  It was really hot, and that is about all I remember :)

*Matt and I took a day off and spent it at California Great America.

*My mom and sisters drove out from Utah to visit in August and spent a few days with us, including my birthday!  We went to the Wharf, ate lots of clam chowder and sourdough bread, swam and relaxed.

*After my mom and sisters left, we headed to SoCal to go to Disneyland, California Adventure and also see my bestie Lori and her family.

*Matt started a new job in August with Kaiser Permanente.  He loves it, and that is all there is about that :)

*We took the funnest family trip ever up to the Redwoods.  We camped for 2 days near Founders Grove and saw really large trees.  It was beautiful and fun and I loved it.

 

*Reagan ran cross country for St. Francis in September and October. Matt had a birthday.

 

 

*We were so happy to find out in September that we were expecting another baby.  Sickness ensued and most of the next several weeks are foggy, but I do know that we had Halloween somewhere in there:)

*We went to Utah for Thanksgiving and got to break the news (or rather, my already growing belly broke the news) to family.  There was lots of food and I enjoyed it about half the time.  I still felt pretty sick.

*We bought a minivan and Matt sold the Geo.
*Christmas came and we had a blast getting into the holidays. 

*Santa came and visited our house.

 

*Matt and I celebrated 10 years of marriage on December 28th.  Matt surprised me with a dinner at Flemings (steeeeaaaaakkkk!!) and we also stayed in a bed and breakfast in Pleasanton.  No kids, thank you to our dear friends for watching them overnight.

*And that about sums up our year. 

I promise to be a better blogger, so stay tuned for a more detailed run of our lives so far in 2013.  Love to you ALL!!

 

Hiatus ending

Hey everyone, yeah its really me!  I know that I need to be better at blogging and get up to date with this old thing, but it has been tough!  Once I fell a few weeks behind, it just seemed too monumental of a task!  But really, I will try.  In the meantime, here are a few pics of my kids using our new camera.  I am loving the high quality.  Stay tuned!