family skate night...

On Monday we went to the elementary school's family skate night at Classic Skating! Now the last time we went we didn't know what to expect. We rented the kids skates and skates for us too. We spent the whole night holding up the boys and trying not to fall down ourselves! It was a disaster! I even fell over on Noah, so this time we were determined to do it different. One thing we didn't know before is that you don't have to use skates. You can bring scooters and big wheels! So this time Noah wore his Heeleys, Zach rode his scooter, and having their good friends Tyler and Josh Lewis was also a great addition!!

Noah and Tyler both had Heeleys and had fun honing their skills on the flat smooth surface! They are getting pretty good! (Kinda cheesy smiles though!)

Noah on his Heeleys!

Zach on his scooter! This kid was a crazy kid on that scooter! Normally everyone goes the same direction around and around the floor. Not Zach! He starts plowing head on into all of the kids. Zooming in between the kids and almost crashing several times! One game that they play at the rink is Wipe Out! (boy does that take me back to childhood) It is a competition between the boys and the girls. When the disc jockey turns the music off and says wipe out, all the kids are supposed to lay on the ground. The last one standing gives the other gender a point. So if a girl is the last one to wipe out the boys get a point etc... Zach didn't quite get it. He was so determined to find Noah that on more than one occasion he was the last boy standing! The jockey would say something like, "Hmmm who knows whether it is a boy or a girl last standing!"

Bailey didn't skate, but she was so happy to watch and dance to the music. She loves to dance!

Zach wanted Travis to go around the floor with him, so he got some skates and took a turn around the floor!

Because Travis had skates, Bailey did get in on the action. Travis was able to push her around on the floor in her stroller! It was a fun night!

trees...

On friday my mom and I were at Costco and we saw some trees. Not just any trees, but the trees that I have been wanting. They had almost a hundred. They were a great price, and they were going FAST!! As we were standing there people were taking them by the truck loads. So we hurried home and picked up Noah from school, emptied my van of car seats and strollers and headed back to snag a few. Getting 3 15 foot trees into our van was an adventure, but we got them home!! We got 2 flowering pear trees, one flowering plum , and a nectarine tree!! Woo hoo! So when Travis came home we (or should I say HE) started digging! It took a little longer than we anticipated. We ended up not even finishing with the first tree until after dark!

We have 2 of the trees planted and hope to plant the other two this weekend! We needed to give Travis' back a break!

It is amazing how much just the two trees add to the look of our yard! I love it!!

travis doing the bankhead...

So...I caught Travis this morning before he went to work and made him do the bankhead bounce. The first video I took (the one posted) is probably his best go at it. The more he did it the slower he got. So this isn't a video of him in all his glory, but he can still do it faster than anyone else I know! When he got done he said, "At a certian point I am just going to start looking silly!" I still think he looks cool!

bankhead bounce...

So when I met Travis I was a dancer. I have seen many many styles of dance. But none quite like Travis' Georgia style. Including the Bankhead bounce. At first I must admit that his bounce and his Michael Jackson routine took some getting used to. (Usually me slowly sneaking into the background) If you know Travis chances are you have seen him do it! When we were first married he would do the bounce so fast you could barely see his shoulders moving. I must say that his bounce as gotten a tad bit slower as the years have passed, but he still can bounce with the best of them. Here is the how to video that he found on YouTube. Travis does it with his arms up like the video, but he doesn't move them from side to side. He just holds them still and lets his shoulders go crazy. Now watch this and picture Travis doing it 4Xs as fast. Makes you wanna chuckle!

the words of Noah...

The more Noah learns about the world around him the funnier he gets! Here are a few funny conversations:

Travis was watching a game and in the middle shouted, "Now this is a playoff game baby!"
To which Noah matter of factly stated, "Why do I care! I don't even know what that means!"

I was making lunch last week and was dancing around and acting kinda silly. Noah thinks silly and weird mean the same thing.

Noah:"Mom you are weird!"
Me:"Everybody is weird sometimes. Mommy is weird sometimes, Daddy is weird sometimes..."
Noah cuts me off and says:"No way! Daddy is weird all the time!!"

spring break?...

This week is spring break for this area. I keep feeling like we should be doing something cool, something big, something different. The only problem is that Travis doesn't have work off and we are saving his days off for the summer. All around me people are going to Disneyland, Hawaii, the beach, cabins etc... I find myself thinking, "hey I wanna go somewhere too!"

I have tried to do little things each day that make it different than normal. We have ordered pizza (okay, now that is not so out of the ordinary, but it did feel festive!), gone to Cabellas, ate breakfast at McDonalds, played at the park, had a picnic lunch in the backyard, etc...

So here is my salute to all of the rest of us who aren't going anywhere cool this week!!! It doesn't have to be cool just make it different!

martin's cove...

On Friday and Saturday Travis and I had the opportunity to drive out to Martin's Cove with 2 other couples from our ward to be trained for our youth conference trek. We will be going in June of 2009. At first I thought that being trained more than a year before we go was really early, but as we learned all of the things that need to be done ahead of time I understand the wisdom in getting an early start!

My YW secretary graciously took care of our kids so that we could go. We left around 5 am to drive the 6 hours to central Wyoming! When we got there we had about an hour or two of training and then we got to Trek about 5 miles to the Cove and back. What a special and spiritual place! I was so grateful that I was able to experience it with Travis by my side. It was a long walk. The wind blew, the snow fell, and we were freezing. I got a small glimpse of what it might have been like for those poor pioneers. They had no food, in feet of snow, with little or no protection. Some didn't even have shoes! I was so touched by all of their stories of faith and courage. Click HERE to read some of the pioneer journal entries.

When we returned from trekking we had a wonderful dinner and then opted out of the square dancing and went right to bed! The next day we had a wonderful breakfast. All of the food was prepared by the cute couple missionaries. Then we had about 4 hours of more training. Then we drove the 6 hours home!

I am so excited that Travis and I get to be a part of this neat trek! We will be making pioneer clothing to wear while we are there, learning how to square dance, getting in shape to walk the 17 or so miles while pulling a hand cart, taking on a pioneer name and sharing their story, and becoming Ma and Pa to a family of youth! I can't wait!

latest creation...

Here is a picture of my latest creation. My sister Rachel's birthday was last week, so I made her a bag and sent it with my parents who are visiting them this week. I was pleased to hear that she loved it!

invasion of the birds...

So I am sitting down at my kitchen table and all of the sudden the room goes dark like a cloud has just covered up the sun. I look out the window and I see a flock of pelicans so thick that you can't see the sky. There must have been 300 or so! Amazing! It is just a sea of long necks and bills! (Click on the picture to make it larger and you will see what I mean.)

p.s...

A couple of you have commented on my baby ticker and how depressing it would be to see how far I had left in weeks! I had no idea what you all meant. So I started clicking around. If you click on the numbers on the ticker they can change from weeks, to days, etc... Mine has always said how many weeks and days I am currently. I like that view a lot better than the days too! Also, if you click on the baby you can make it jerk around. Why...I don't know....kinda fun...?!

the pelicans are here...

Every spring through early summer we have discovered an exciting group of visitors to our neighborhood! Pelicans! Some of you may know that our house backs up to a wilderness preserve. Just beyond a tree line is a pond. It has become the local hangout for hundreds of birds. If we want to see the birds up close we drive on the road that cuts through the pond. The pelicans come in huge flocks of between 10-40 birds at a time. We were driving past a few days ago and there was a huge flock, but by the time we quickly drove home to get the camera they had mostly left. They are so neat to see fly. They are huge birds and when they fly their wings look like shining silver! You never know what you will see!

my tickle pickle...

When Zachary was born his name took on a life of it's own. We started out calling him Zachy Packy. Then it turned into Zacher tacker...which is kinda like tickle(I know...it's not at all!) which rhymes with pickle. So right now Zach is my Tickle Pickle. Well, my Tickle Pickle turned 5 today! I can't believe he is 5! Zach holds a special place in my heart. He is my cuddly bear. He is my only kid who loves to curl up right beside me still!

This year Zach requested a batman birthday! We only do friend parties on even birthdays so even though it is a family party I tried to do everything batman. Do you know that Wal-mart doesn't carry a single batman toy? Unbelievable! This is a picture of his batman cake that I made. I just used a piece of wax paper and cut the bat shape and laid it on the top. He loved it!

Zach is 5!

After opening every present he would say, "Wow, this is AWSTHOME!" (he still has a little lisp)

Plotting his birthday wish!

I don't think he ever figured out that his brother was helping!

#4...

I thought it would be fun to post the pregnancy ticker on the side bar of my blog and see what people had to say...who noticed...who didn't...etc! It was so funny to read some of your reactions!

So here is the official announcement----We are expecting our 4th child!! I am about 10 weeks along. The baby's due date is October 27th. We are really excited and can't wait to find out if it is a girl or boy! I have been sicker with this one that my other pregnancies. It also doesn't help that I have been flu sick twice already. I hate not being able to take medicine!!

Anyhoo, so there you have it...the official post!