Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Boy- Oh Boy


Yep that's right- we are having a boy.
I didn't include a picture of the deciding factor but it was obvious.
He was hiding behind his arm so we didn't get any clear profile pictures. It was so comforting to go through the different body parts and everything looked good. It is amazing people can have healthy kids because there seems to be such potential for things to go wrong. At this point he is measuring big compared to my due date so it will be interesting to see if he comes early or how big he is when he is born or maybe he is just going through a growth spurt and he will be about the same size as our other kids. To know our baby is well is one of the best Christmas gifts this year.

So here is to the next 20 weeks of getting bigger and trying to figure out a name.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Our Spring Adventures

Kaley participated in a children's choir called Cache Valley Children's Choir. She was in the youngest group and they would meet every Monday for choir practice. They would spend time learning the concert songs and emphasize a musical concept such as woodwinds, beat, phrases, breathing, etc. Her concert was in May and my mom, sister, and Jed's mom all came down for it.

This little boy was standing next to Kaley in the concert and kept stomping throughout when they weren't supposed to. Kaley kept looking at him and rolling her eyes, and folding her arms. I sat there and giggled about her clear disgust for his lack of following directions.

Here is Anna singing while we are waiting for the concert to start.She has done the air-mic thing for a long time and it still cracks me up when she does it.


Anna and Shelley also got new bikes while they were visiting. I had been looking for a tricycle for Anna but the Walmart version was either Princess, Dora, or Diego. I wanted to get a somewhat gender neutral one that would last for awhile, that way if we ever have a boy he could use it also. She loves riding it (unfortunately it is usually out into the street but we are working on staying in the driveway).

My mom's trip included shopping for clothes. Kaley got a new bathing suit and dresses. Here she is in her bathing suit. Kaley started taking swim lessons this past week at Mountaincrest High School. The high school students are the teachers and Kaley was happy she got a girl. It is twice a week during the month of June.

While my Mom was here it was also Mother's Day. Here we are after church sitting in our tree- trying desperately to get a cute picture of all of us but it was after 4:00 pm and we were feeling the after church hunger and fatigue. This was the best we could do. I look like I am in pain but my mom is cute like usual.

This is one of my favorite pictures my mom had on her camera. Sidenote: We get most of our pictures from the ones other people take. I am lazy to get out our broken camera and try to hold it so the batteries don't fall out.


Our other major Springtime undertaking is getting our garden and fruit trees in. Here we are watching Jed dump compost into the garden section. Our Saturdays are filled with yard activities- watering, weeding, mowing, and tilling. Almost every night we walk out and see what is happening- we have peas, corn, beets, dill, cilantro, basil, garlic, carrots, tomatoes, strawberries, sunflowers, and raspberries all with visible plants. We also have cantaloupe, pumpkins, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, rosemary, parsley, sage, thyme, and onions all planted. I think we bought almost one of everything when we went to pick out seeds. This is our first garden so there is much for us to learn but we are having fun.
We also put in several fruit trees- peach, a variety of pears, two different kinds of apple, and plum. We wanted to be sure to put them in this year since they will take a long time to start producing. We also planted a maple tree that will eventually be for shade.

On a sad note and for those who I stay in touch with only through blogs: I also had a miscarriage in April. I was about 10 weeks along when I found out at my first doctor's visit. I was sad and disappointed but I find comfort in knowing it is very common. When I told people, most women explained to me they have had at least one, sometimes more. I was really disappointed because I had been really sick and throwing up for the past month and a half. We are so grateful to have had Jed's mom here to help us during this whole experience. I would never be able to thank her enough for helping me with the girls and chores around the house. I am doing great now and just hope and pray we will be able to have more kids.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Little Anna turns 2

Here is the cake I made Anna for her birthday. I picked out three different cakes I was willing to do (read: Easy enough for me to do and still look okay) and Kaley picked out of those three which one.
It was a vanilla cake with purple vanilla frosting then decorated with marshmallows and yellow sugar.

Look at that smiling face- I just want to kiss those cheeks.

I am not sure how she is going to eat the cake and ice cream with her binki in her mouth but I guess she found a way.

The party included dinner with Jed, Kaley, Grandpa and Grandma Simmons, Aunt Raschel and Uncle Steve, Aunt Samantha, and cousin Daniel. We had a creamy chicken noodle soup that Anna likes and fruit salad. After dinner and cake- it was time to open up presents.
Here is Anna with her Aquadoodle.


Here she is with the big teddy bear Grandpa and Grandma gave her (thanks D:).

We love you Anna- Happy Birthday!




Sunday, January 24, 2010

Wilson


On Saturday we built a snowman in our backyard. I am such a traditionalist I was working so hard to get three perfectly round balls stacked on top of each other. I went inside to grab a carrot for the nose, a scarf to go around his neck and a hat for his head. Kaley was gathering rocks for his eyes and mouth and Jed and Anna were on the hunt for some sticks for his arms. As I came out, I found Jed putting sticks on the top of his head... not so traditional but definitely a lot more personality. He reminded me of Wilson on Cast Away (you know the volleyball he becomes friends with on the island) so we named our snowman Wilson. Jed put a chin on him so he is obviously in our family (Jed has a well defined chin). So welcome our newest family member- Wilson Simmons.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Anna and her cousins

I was in the kitchen when this happened but I could hear them laughing and screaming from the other room. We love living so much closer to our family- good times!


Kaley turned Five

Kaley's birthday falls exactly a week after New Years which is a week after Christmas. So we get to party for three weeks straight. Kaley had a family birthday lunch at Grandpa and Grandma Simmons' house on the 1st of January because we were there for the holidays. She requested a blueberry and strawberry cake which made me think cheesecake with strawberry and blueberry topping (not shown).
Kaley with her cousins Savannah and Lizzy.

Here she is blowing out her candles.

On her actual birthday we picked up her friends Madison and McKell and
headed to Carl's Jr-her favorite place to eat- to have lunch with Jed.



Three kid's meals later, Jed was headed back to work and we were headed to the Fun Park- an indoor play park, rolling skating, arcade games, bowling, etc. We had a great time climbing all over the equipment and playing a game of Skee-ball.


Happy Birthday Kaley!
It has been a fun five years filled with princess, Barbie, and dancing fun!