A Post and a Pic So You Know We're Still Alive

Howdy folks, sorry about the long time with no news. I seem to have a big lapse this time of year with our anniversary trip and all the birthdays--at least I guess that's my excuse. Anyway, we are all still alive and kickin', including baby #3 (no name yet) and he's not due for another month, so stay tuned for that news, too. We've been really busy 'round these parts and so that makes for lots to report, but little time in which to do it. But for now, here's a few pics from our little train ride last month. We promised Collin a ride on the train if he stayed in Primary all by himself, and that was all it took (that and a few jellybeans in his pocket). He originally made the transition to Primary from Nursery smoothly because I was the chorister in Primary and he could see me sitting right up in front of the room. It wasn't an ideal change for him--I mean, trading snacks, bubbles, and play dough for being in the same room with your mom while she sings like an idiot, not the best, but he did alright. But about a month and a half ago I was released and called as YW Secretary and that was not cool with Collin, but we're over that now and on to other issues.

This is the fam on the New Mexico Rail Runner, they just finished doing the track from Albuquerque to Santa Fe about a year ago (maybe less). We packed a lunch and rode to Santa Fe, played in a park and then rode home, no biggie--unless you're 3 years old and a train FREAK! Collin loved it and of course Jesse and I loved it because Collin was enjoying himself so much. It was $8 and a Saturday morning well spent.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

This past Christmas one of my gifts from Jesse was that he enrolled us both in Ballroom dance class--pretty much one of the best gifts I've ever received. So every Wednesday from Jan 21st to Mar 11th Jesse and I have had a 'Merry Christmas'. It worked out well with babysitting because Sunni took a cake decorating class on Thursday nights so we just swapped kids once a week. In our class we rotated partners so Jesse and I didn't get to dance together all the time, but I enjoyed watching him from across the room as he danced with his different partners. When it was our turn to dance together we acted like we were meeting for the first time...so much fun. I came to enjoy a lot of the fellas that I danced with (mostly the cute old men who reminded me of my grandpa). I'm actually going to miss some of them. I definitely won't miss Mr. Count Out Loud In My Ear or Mr. Bad Breath, that guy almost made me gag--I seriously would have vomited if I were still in my 1st trimester/puke-y stage. Anyway, enough of that--it was a TON of fun and now we are no longer just beginners in Cha-Cha, Fox Trot, and Tripple-Step.

These Pics Deserve a Post All Their Own

I was going to include these with the November post but I decided they needed their own space. I love shirt-less little boys like I love a baby in a diaper. There is nothing much cuter than a pot-belly over the lip of some jeans (I'm strictly talking about toddlers here, not anything older than 5, and definetly not refering to any adult pot-bellies). Whenever Lucas gets his shirt taken off because of a spill or something, Collin has to go "belly" (that's what he calls it) like his bro.

It sort of freaks me out how big Collin looks in this bottom pic., he does NOT look like a 3 year old. Yikes!

Ultrasound Results are In!

Just a quick post to let everyone know (most of you know already) that we are having ANOTHER BOY! He looked totally normal in the ultrasound--hands and feet and lip and nose...all that good stuff. We feel so very blessed that things look good and we're getting excited to meet this little guy. It's funny how it is when you find out you're pregnant (at least for me). At first I get to wondering whether it's a boy or a girl and I actually can't figure out in my mind if I'd rather it be one or the other. But when the moment comes and we find out it is a boy, I get the feeling of, "oh yeah, of course...it's you, isn't it?" Don't know how to explain it any other way.

Ahhhhh, three boys, I am so excited (but not for the grocery bill). Some of you may have heard this already about going from two kids to three, but I just heard it this week and thought it was funny. I was talking to a guy about his two kids and when he found out we were expecting our third, he said, "oh yeah, going from 'man-to-man' to 'zone', that ought to be fun." It made me laugh.

Now For November

Hey would ya look at that, I'm catching up! Here's a bunch of pics from the month of November:

When we visited Jesse in Artesia the little travel trailer got crowded fast so we spent a lot of time at the park. Thank heavens for mild New Mexico winters.

And speaking of the little trailer, Lucas got his first shiner from falling out the screen door onto the metal step. His upper left cheek made the first contact. Uggg, I still hate to remember that poor little guy falling, it makes me sick. I am grateful, though that it didn't break the skin or damage his eye--it could have been way worse. Pictures below are of his eye: the day of the fall and about a week later.

And Halloween, Too

Was NOT motivated at all to make any costumes so we borrowed a cute little tiger costume for Lucas from Cliff and Lisa (the same one Collin wore two years ago) and threw together a pirate costume at the last minute for Collin. We went to the ward Trunk-or-Treat at the church and had a dandy time. I like Trunk-or-Treat a lot better than going from stranger's house to stranger's house asking for candy. And the kids get their bags full in record time, which doesn't matter now to the boys but it will in just a few years. Here they are in their costumes, Collin only kept his eye patch on for the pictures because of the candy we promised him. Whatever works, no?

Some October Stuff

We joined Sunni's pre-school group at the mud-I mean Pumpkin Patch in Corrales. It seemed like a nice enough day, it had been raining a few days earlier but things had dried up at our house pretty well so we thought we were safe. Apparently the sun doesn't shine in the corn maze too well and it takes a little longer to dry things out. By the end of the maze we all had mud hi-heels, it reminded me of running through my Grandpa Donaldson's freshly irrigated fields with my siblings and how we were all about 4 inches taller from all the mud that had collected on the bottom of our shoes--'course if you keep on running the mud flings off your shoe to the back of the person in front of you and your shoes start collecting again. Anyway, about this corn maze, it was my first time in one and it was kind of freaky-claustrophobic-panicky feeling for a while but I calmed down once I figured out where we were on the map and how to get us the heck out of there. We stopped every now and then to wipe our shoes on an obliging corn stalk and made it out in good time. At the end there was a little petting zoo and some fresh apples. I was glad that my boys didn't want to pet the animals because there was nothing but mud puddles to wash hands in before eating the apples--and I'm tellin' ya, those animals had been wallowing in their muddy/poopy pens for quite a while. (I'm really not that big of a freak about dirt and germs, it just crossed my mind, that's all). We were all brought back to the start of the maze on a hay ride--Collin's favorite part by far because it was pulled by a tractor. All and in all, a fun day with plenty of 'laugh about later' material.

Get a load of our shoes!