Sand and Surf

This week I decided to take my girls on an impromptu trip to visit my Aunt Lezlie who lives in Newport Beach. It sounded like so much fun that my sister and her three kiddos decided to join us for the ride. We all crammed, and that is not an understatement, into my car and took off. Nothing like road tripping with 6 kids ages 7 weeks to 4 years old. We got going on Tuesday and of course had to stop off and visit my grandma who lives in good old Barstow, CA. There are two things I love there, one being my grandma and two being a Del Taco that is the best you'll ever eat. Next it was off to Newport. I don't know about anyone else but there is a distinct California smell that fills your car as you get closer to the beach. It is probably one of my favorite smells ever, so full of memories from when I was a kid going to visit the beach. Ok so smells aside, we got to our destination and waited in anticipation for the morning, beach day #1. We visited San Clemente beach Wednesday and it was sort of a let down. The beach was pretty crappy due to all the storms and the sand was too rocky for our taste. Not to mention the swarm of bees that had me pregnant and sprinting through sand with a three year old in my arms. My back still hurts. And swarm means hundreds, not 20. Needless to say we packed up immediately. I was pretty bummed, I drove 4 hours to be attacked by one of my biggest fears! But no worries beach day #2 completely made the trip satisfying. Leave it to the locals to take you to the best beach spots. My Aunt Lezlie went with us and took us to this little cove in Laguna Beach and it was AMAZING. Fine sand, beautiful surf and a day of fun. My kids absolutely love playing in the sand, the water not so much. Maile told me she doesn't like Las Vegas anymore due to lack of beaches. I couldn't agree with her more. Anyhow we drove home that night, (last night) and it was slightly rough on the ears. After a certain point it seemed like if one kid wasn't wailing another would start up, but it was a small price to pay for a fun trip. Aunt Lezlie and her family are so gracious to host such a huge party of kiddos. It makes me so happy that my kids are getting a chance to have the same childhood memories I had of visiting Aunt Lezlie at the beach. Can't wait till next time!

Easter 2010

Too exhausted to type details but here are some pictures of our wonderful day!

16 Week Belly

Love that I look like I am 6 months preggo but oh well at least my lady lumps got bigger too. Here is my two days till sixteen weeks photo.

Coloring Easter Eggs

Today Grandma Liza, Auntie Sam, Aunt Lezlie, Jake and Leila came over for an egg coloring party. We had a yummy lunch and then got down to coloring eggs. It was a messy good time and we only cracked about half the eggs but the kids had fun and that's all that counts. Grandma then sat with all the kids and made some cool Easter crafts. Thanks Mom!

"Sister Cuts"

If you put kids on timeout in their room quite possibly they will find a way to pay you back. Especially true if they happen to have a pair of scissors with them. Becca got it the worst. Maile's was virtually impossible to rebair but can be hidden and Lexi didn't have much damage besides the back. Went straight over to my very talented friend Jasmine and she gave them all new cuts. They are pretty happy with the end results.

Butchered Becca

Becca After

Lexi Before (her damage was barley noticeable)

Lexi After

Maile After (didn't get a before pic of her)

Feeling Human Again

The past 12 weeks have been the hardest 12 weeks in my entire life. Being sick was one thing, but the mental aspect was something I have never felt before. I had some serious self pitying going on and I was doubting everything about this pregnancy. I was not in a good place and everyone in my family suffered. Lucky for me my hubby and kids are supper resilient and I had a huge support from family and friends. Fast forward to today and I feel like I am on top of the world! It is amazing what a few really amazing days can do for you! I am feeling pretty good comparatively speaking and I am finally feeling excited about the little spirit growing inside me. I am loving the nice weather and finally got to take my kids out and about. When I was so sick my Becca would ask me everyday "where are we going?" and then "well who's coming over?" She would be so sad when I would say "nowhere" and "nobody." So I am sure they are glad that we got to leave the house everyday this week so far. I am really looking forward to the rest of the month and for the upcoming summer, we are going to have some fun! I was able to get some pictures of our park fun this week and now that I am feeling better I hope I can keep up better with my blog! Thank you to everyone who listened to me whine and cry and mope about, you all mean the world to me!

Preggo

Well I still haven't had my first appt. yet but since everyone already knows I guess I can finally blog about it. After peeing on four different sticks we got four positives and that was enough to tell me that I am definitely preggo! Now I was very excited when I first found out the wonderful news, but 4 weeks later I am trying to figure out what I was thinking when I decided to give it another go. However, I do realize that am very blessed to be able to get pregnant and I should take the being sick part as my body working really hard to create a miracle (that's what I tell the kids) but it is kind of hard to have that kind of attitude when I puke so hard I break bunches of blood vessels around my eyes. I know this won't last forever and I am trying very hard to see the light. On a more positive note, the kids are happy as little clams that I have a baby in my tummy and subsequently they walk around the house with "babies" stuffed into their shirts. Very cute I must say. Another positive, Zach has really been helpful, he even went grocery shopping for me which if you know Zach it was a-m-a-z-i-n-g. No really he has stepped up to the plate hoping that this will be our best pregnancy ever and reminds me of that point every time I whine about how bad I am feeling. Hope he doesn't lose his zeal due to my poor attitude. So I go get the official your preggo from the Dr. in about a week and I am very much looking forward to hearing that beautiful little heartbeat, kinda makes it all worth it!

New Year Fun

Holiday Time

Some highlights of our very busy Holiday are as follows....

-The girls seeing Santa driving a car in the Walmart parking lot..apparently he needed to get some last minute items also!

-Yummy dinners too many nights in a row resulting in extra poundage around our midsections

- Being completely spoiled by anyone who has a name starting with the word GRAND

-Becca forgetting how many times she talked about getting a car from Santa when she saw her new bed (whew...I was worried about major disappointment)

-Last minute Christmas card photo session (which turned out awesome, thanks again Jenn!) and getting my card out so at least the Vegas recipients got theirs on Christmas Eve!

-Getting to sleep through the night now two days in a row thanks to the wonderful Santa delivery of new beds!

-Zachary telling my Mom when he was done opening gifts, "wow, people like me!" Too funny, like if he got not so great gifts it would mean that people don't like him...silly boy!

- Getting a three and a half day weekend with my honey pie.

- Maile looking like such a big girl all weekend.

- Big poofy dresses that make little girls feel like princesses, superhero capes and lots of new Jammie's.

-Major family time that is the best part for sure!

I don't have as many pictures from Christmas Day as I would have hoped and I am done messing with blogger to make it the way I want so this is it for tonight!

Family Pictures

Ward Christmas Party

This past Saturday evening we had our ward Christmas party. It was lots of fun and the kids actually sat on Santa's lap this year. Every other year they have been too scared to even get near Santa. Maybe it was because they finally understand that he's the guy you have to talk to in order to get presents. No matter what it was really cute finally hearing them tell Santa what they wanted. Oh yeah one more thing, would just like to apologize to anyone who got my cheesy scalloped potatoes...they were really underdone big opps!!

Maile's Last Game

Yesterday was Maile's last soccer game and I will admit I am relieved. As much fun as I had getting to know all the kids on the team I don't think coaching is for me, thankfully I had some awesome assistant coaches and a fabulous team mom to help get me through our season! The best part of the season for Maile it seemed was always snacks at the end of the game and especially getting her bobble head trophy! This was a fun experience but I don't think Maile will want to play soccer at least for a few more years!