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!

Awww..so sad!

Well, I decided to switch and start blogging over at wordpress. Our new address is sanfranrasmussens.wordpress.com I am going to try and import all our blogger posts from this site over to that one. So make note of this new address in case my blogger blog gets deleted or removed!! Hasta la vista, baby. See you all on the flip side.

Help

Wow, I have never had to back track this much on the blog. Summer is halfway gone and we have had a blast these last couple of months. However, I sit down to blog about it and for some reason, blogger won't let me post pictures? It is saying I have exceeded my picasa web limit. Anyone know what this means? I really can't post without a pic to go with it. If anyone can enlighten me on this prob, leave a comment or shoot me an email!

40 Years of Cinco de Mayo

On May 5th, my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary!  This was an exciting year because not only is it 40 years, hot diggity dog.  But when my Grandma and Grandpa Roundy celebrated their 40th anniversary, all my dads siblings threw them a surprise party.  I remember being like 9 years old and traveling to Utah for this.  It was made into a video which we have watched through the years.  

Probably a year ago, my eldest bro and the main planner behind this shindig, told us all to clear our schedules for Saturday, May 5th.  Something was going to go down!

We ended up doing a luncheon with the siblings and their spouse (no kids) and a reception that night at Loren and Kelly's house.  We had catered desserts and invited all my parents siblings families and a few close friends.  It was a blast, but the best part was keeping it a secret for my parents.  They hate surprises, especially my dad!!  He tried for months to get it out of us what we were planning.  He told Loren that he would probably take my mom on a cruise that weekend.  Loren laughed and told him to have fun :)  

I went without my family which was sad.  Matt couldn't take any time off work, with him already taking 2 weeks off in June and July.  I was gone for 4 days but I think Reagan thought I was leaving her forever.  She had anxiety for weeks before I left, crying uncontrollably at times.  When Matt and the kids dropped me off at the BART station the morning my plane flew out, I just remember seeing them pull out and Reagan just staring at me out the window bawling her eyes out.  But no worries.  A trip to IHOP for pancakes and a phone call less than an hour later, she was feeling better. 

Right after flying in, we went (where else?) to Cafe Rio for lunch.  My dad knew I was flying in, but it was a surprise to my mom.  I hid in the corner of Cafe Rio and then snuck up behind her.  I felt special because it was the 2nd time that day someone cried over me! 

This is my sweet niece Jane playing in her field of dandelions.

My sister is this total Zumba pro and becoming an instructor next month.  She gave Loni and I a Zumba lesson on Friday morning.  It was fun to have Loni and Dallas there the whole weekend.  I was a little less scared sleeping by myself on that side of the house :)

Lindsey really helped me with one of the gifts, which was this family tree with the thumbprints of all our family.  Roland sketched it and we picked out the antique frame.  Each of my parents kids has a branch and then tiny branches coming off that for all their kids.  It turned out beautiful.

 Hard to read in this pic, but it says Alan and Julie Family Tree May 5, 2012

We had lunch at Corbins in Layton.  I would totally go back there for the fried brie, dang!  Something so disgusting sounding never tasted so good! 

We let them open their gifts and my dad gave my mom a ruby necklace.  A ruby is the 40 year symbol. 

Here is the family, posing at the entrance.

 

After that, we set up for the party, which was tricky trying to hide from the parental units again.  Loren and Kelly have a fabulous backyard.  Lindsey got a great cake. 

 

Loren and Kelly took care of the desserts.  They got cookies from Harmons Bakery, brownies from this fab place don't know where, and donut holes from MadBrooks. 

 

Landen and Caitlin took care of the decorations.  I loved them.  Each table had a picture of my parents on it, some old, some more recent.  This pic below is of my dad when he was in the army and engaged to my mom.  It is a pic of him with a pic of my mom sitting next to him.  Cute, huh?

 

Here is my mom below, does she look like me?  Everyone says yes, so I guess so! 

Another one of my dad.  This picture could easily be passed off as my brother Lance.

The highlight of the evening was easily when my dads fishing buddy Dave Brown (DB, as he is affectionately known in our family) showed up.  Long story, but basically, he is my dads best friend from childhood and closest friend outside of family.  Dave battled cancer a couple years ago and it really shook my dad up.  About a month ago, Dave got really sick and was in the hospital again with blood clots in his heart and lungs.  They didn't think he would make it.  We all fasted and prayed for him to recover and to the amazement of everyone, he made a miraculous recovery.  We weren't sure if he would feel up to making it that night, but when he walked out and we all saw him, it was such a moment.  Tears everywhere, it was so neat.  That moment alone made all this worth it!

Here is my mom and dad with Dave and his wife Robin.

 

 Cheesiness alert--my parents cut their cake and fed it to each other, all wedding like.

 

Here is my dad with 2 of his brothers, Dave and Shad.  Yes, Dave is a real cowboy and Shad is the one who supplies my family with tons of Oasis Plumbing shirts with the fun slogans on the back.  

 

My dad and mom with some of his siblings--he has 8!

 

It started getting chilly, so we built a fire and stuffed our faces with even more cookies and donut holes.  It was so great to see Lance and KT, they came all the way from New Mexico to be there.  They spent more time driving to and from than actually being in Utah, so it was a sacrifice.  KT made the invites to the reception and they were awesome!  And because we don't want to leave them out---Loni and Dallas made a great slideshow of my parents from when they were babies till now, set to music and everything.  It was so fun to bring home my own copy to show Matt and the kids.

Luck could not have been more on my side and the next day ended up being the Sunday the Melanie and Aaron were blessing their newest baby in church.   So Lyle and Bev picked me up and we headed to Spanish Fork for the afternoon.  I got to meet my newest nephew, Marcus, who was only 6 weeks old.  It was really neat to see Jeff and Selly as parents!
 

Cutest pic ever of all the newest Rasmussen grandkids-Marcus, Brinlee and Ashley, the star of the day!

Great trip to Utah, but I missed my 3 loves terribly.  More than I thought I would.  I am glad that we will be headed back to Utah all together in July.  So is Reagan.  I have already promised her a dozen times that I will never fly to Utah again without her. 

Love to you all!