new car

This is the last thing I ever thought I'd be blogging about...We realized after our last vacation to Asheville, that there was no way we're going to be able to go to Orlando in January with three kids. I always dreaded having to get a minivan and thought somehow I would be able to get away with an suv as long as we didn't have 4 kids. But our last trip was so crowded we realized it was time. My sister Sara came home from her mission and was looking for a car so I sold her mine.

We couldn't find anything in Louisville so drove up to Cincinnati and found the perfect one- a Honda Odyssey with leather & dvd that seats 8 and is in brand new condition. I knew it would be more convenient and comfortable for our family but thought it would be a chore to drive. After driving it for two weeks, I absolutely love it. I never thought in a million years I'd not only be driving- but enjoying driving- a minivan. I guess I really am a mom.

The boys love the dvd and I like that I can change the movies up front rather than trying to reach behind me like before, and Ethan can't reach Joshua- he used to poke him when he'd fall asleep and make the poor kid cry. And suprisingly it drives just like a car, I never even know I'm in a bus except when I have to back up.

(I was too lazy to get the car out of the garage for a picture, but this is the color)

And here are some random pics of the boys. I was playing around in my photo room last week and the little stinkers wouldn't cooperate, but I did manage to get one good shot of them both. It's hard to believe Ethan's going to be three in less than 3 months. Joshua's almost 17 months old now but he's still such a baby. I'm hoping he'll get a bit more grown up before this new baby comes...

Articles of Faith

Ethan has been learning the Articles of Faith since he turned two. We have the songs on a primary cd that he listens to in the morning and he started repeating them. He's got the first five memorized now. He also knows all the apostles and prophets. He has Anthony's amazing memory, he just has to be told something a few times and he doesn't forget. So I finally got around to uploading the video of him reciting them.

Asheville, NC

We just got back from a last minute trip to North Carolina. Anthony has a goal to hit all 50 states high points and North Carolina's was closed last time he was there, so we decided the day before to take a trip out there for the 4th of July weekend. I'd been wanting to go to Asheville anyway, so we headed out there Thursday afternoon.

Our boys love camping more than anything, as soon as we set up the tent they're inside wrestling with each other and jumping around on the beds squealing like wild animals. And of course they love dirt, so they spent a fair amount of time digging and chasing fireflies.

We toured the Biltmore Estate- an impressive mansion with 250 rooms and beautiful gardens. It's in such a beautiful setting too, there's 200 acres of rolling hills and forest. We also did the trolley tour of Asheville. It's such a cute town, I love all the old houses, the architecture is just beautiful. Next we went to Chimney Rock Park and the real reason we came- Mt. Mitchell. Mt. Mitchell's the highest point in the U.S. East of the Mississippi and we were fortunate to have such a clear day, we could see for miles. It was so beautiful on top. It reminded me a lot of Germany, so green with lakes and mountains as far as you can see. This part of the state is just so beautiful, it was wonderful to be in the mountains again.

On our way home we stopped at the Ghost Town in the Sky. We rode the chairlift to the top of the mountain where they have a cool old fashioned ghost town. We got there just in time for the gunfight- I didn't realize they were going to use real guns, it was quite impressive although Ethan was scared to death by the gunshots. It's a pretty fun amusement park though, quite creative and can't beat the views.

Of course clumsy Joshua had to hurt himself on our last day. We were eating breakfast at this cute little cafe next to a creek. The boys were running back and forth across the bridge while we waited for our food, and Joshua tripped and landed right on his nose and forhead, his nose is swelled up and got a nice goose egg between his eyes, the exact wound he just healed from a week ago. We really need a helmet for the poor clumsy baby.

Choo Choo

I decided I can't wait until Ethan's birthday to get him the train set. Since we don't have a fenced backyard I can't just send him out to play while I get things done, so I figured this would be my only hope at accomplishing anything during the day. We got it for him yesterday and he was so excited he could hardly stand it. He refused to come down for dinner last night and this morning he was up at 6:30 playing. He is in two-year old heaven.

And here's Joshua's latest injury. This child is seriously the clumsiest kid I have ever seen. Every few seconds he falls down and since he runs with his hands behind his back like he's trying to fly, he always lands face first. Ethan helped out with this injury, I thought he broke his nose, and this photo is actually a few days after- he smacked his face on the table and got a huge bruise and bump between his eyes that swelled up pretty good. Poor clumsy baby.

it's a...

BOY. That's right three boys in three years. I am one lucky mama ;) I really thought this one would be a girl, but no such luck.... Well at least I don't have to buy anything and I get to keep my craft room- he can sleep with the other two monkeys. My due date is Oct 26, which means he'll probably come the 2nd week in Nov. Wish me luck, I'll need it!

Day out with Thomas

Last Saturday we took the boys to Day out with Thomas at the KY railway museum. Ethan was so excited to see Thomas. We did all their little activities and then let him play with the train tables, he was there for at over an hour completely engrossed and we finally had to drag him away kicking and screaming. I guess we know what he's getting for his birthday...

The Dress...

Some of you know I'm making a wedding dress for my friend Juliann. I actually finished the dress in April, but just finished some last minute touches. I just took her bridal pictures, she's getting married tomorrow. Isn't she gorgeous?

Camping

We went camping for memorial day, and of course it rained on us. We seem to get rain every time we camp at this spot. But fortunately we have an awesome tent so we didn't get too wet, but the boys got pretty muddy the next day. Ethan is learning about bugs this week, so we went on a bug hunt and he found all sorts of creepy crawlies. I think I got bit by a few at night too. They had fun though, these boys love camping more than anything.

Catch up time...

Last weekend I went to Time out for Women in Cincinnati. It was the first one I've been to and it was so awesome. The presenters were Sherri Dew, Wendy Watson Nelson, Hillary Weeks, Michael Wilcox, Kim Nelson, Kim Belcher & Jenny Oaks Baker. I was amazed at how funny each person was, they were each as funny as they were spiritual. It was such a great time and I can't wait to go again. Not to mention a whole two days without kids! Anthony took the boys to the Fathers & Sons campout, they had so much fun.

Spring has finally arrived, actually I think it's turning into summer now. We've just been spending a lot of time at the park and playing outside. Ethan's talking so grown up now. We've been practicing the 4th article of faith and every time I repeat it, he says "excellent job mama!" Today when he was in the bathroom he said "go out mama, Ethan needs privacy" and in the grocery store the other day he was singing "Follow the Prophet" at the top of his lungs. In Utah no one would think twice, but I got a few strange looks from people trying to figure out what on earth he was saying ;)

I finally got the treadmill I've been wanting forever. No more pushing 80+ pound strollers up steep hills and getting nearly run over on my morning walks! It's so nice to be able to exercise before the boys even wake up. And we're expecting baby #3 at the end of October. Life just doesn't slow down for us!

Disney World '09

We just had a great vacation at Disney World with Anthony's family. We drove down and camped for a few nights before his family arrived. The boys love camping and got as dirty as can be. Joshua kept digging in the fire pit and putting these round ball things that fell off the tree in his mouth. Two of the state parks we camped at had fresh water springs where you could swim with signs warning of alligators. Anthony and Ethan swam in one, it was pretty cold water. Joshua fell on our second day of camping, hit the picnic table and got a nice cut down the side of his face.

We hit the beach before heading to Orlando, just north of Daytona Beach. Ethan actually loved the water this time and drank so much that he threw up several times. This old man who was out fishing kept telling us Ethan was going to be a future Navy Seal. He was completely fearless until Anthony got out the raft and they got flipped over by a wave. They dug in the sand for hours, they loved it.

Friday we spent the day at Sea World, Ethan had been talking for weeks about going to Florida to "see Grandma Osborne, dolphins & penguins" so he was so excited to watch the dolphin show. We walked by just as they were feeding the dolphins and he was just inches from them as they jumped up to grab the fish. He had so much fun running from place to place seeing everything.

Saturday, Laura's family arrived and we spent the day at Magic Kingdom. It was so fun to see them again and Ethan loved playing with Jackson. He was able to ride most of the rides there and was so excited to see Winnie the Pooh & Mickey Mouse.

The next week we spent going to the parks, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Magic again. Ethan loved Animal Kingdom- he loved seeing all the animals on the safari. The Everest ride was awesome. Grandma and Shauna watched the boys for me so I could go on some of the adult rides, I think I got to go on almost all of them. On our last day at Magic the guest relations people came up and asked us if we wanted to meet a "special guest" so we followed them in and got to meet Cinderella. She was the only one Ethan was afraid of, I guess since she was a real person.

We had so much fun spending time with family again and Ethan grew so attached to everyone. He keeps asking for Jackson and Uncle Scott and loves to look at the pictures from our trip and point out each person. Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for arranging such a wonderful vacation!

Inkubook 28% sale

FYI: inkubook is offering a fabulous 28% discount off their photo books if you order by Friday, April 17. The coupon code is INKUTAX09

Catching up...

We've all been sick since the day after Joshua's birthday. It has been a really long month. I got sick first then Ethan got the cold virus that's been going around, passed it to Joshua who passed it to me again. Joshua's also teething so our sweet angel baby has turned into a grumpy little thing who whines and cries all day long. I really hope when he's done teething he'll go back to his sweet little self.

Although it's gotten cold again, we did have spring for a few days and our flowers have started to bloom. The tulips haven't opened up just yet, but the hyacinths & daffodils have and they smell so wonderful. I can't wait for spring be here for good!





Update on digital scrapbooking- I got my book finished and ordered and I absolutely love it! I cannot believe I waited so long to go digital. The book is almost 100 pages yet it's only 1/2 inch thick compared to my book(s) from 2007 which are 4 1/2 inches thick each- and has broken the binding

because they're so thick

and heavy. I had a coupon so the entire thing only cost $60, the crafty way usually costs $3-5 per page. So I compiled my top 10 reasons why I love digital, maybe it will help some who, like me, were on the fence or thought it was totally cheating and the anti-craft. I'm fully convinced, and have no regrets. So here's my top 10:

10. I'm not stuck with the pathetic selection my Michael's has, I can get cool free stuff online or create my own elements
9. I can scrapbook anytime anywhere and the only thing I have to lug around is my computer
8. I don't have to spend hundreds of dollars printing 4x6 photos
7. I can resize images easily and fit a ton more pics on one page
6. I can change my mind and easily edit anything at all

5. I can make extra books for my kids with a click of the mouse
4. It only cost 66 cents per page compared with $3.50 minimum for regular pages

3. I can put 100 pages in a single book that weighs less than 20 pounds and fits on my shelf
2. I don't have to stress about being behind- it's easy to stay caught up
1. I actually have a current finished scrapbook sitting on my table that I can look at!!!

And last, but not least. Fireproof. It's been recommended by several people and we finally got it the other day. I heard it would be good but I wasn't prepared for the floodgate of tears! You've gotta warn me next time! Anyway I highly recommend it. But keep the tissues nearby.

*btw, I used Inkubook to print my book- they are fabulous and the least expensive...

Birthday Boy!

On Monday, we celebrated Joshua's first birthday! I can't believe our little baby is growing up. A few weeks ago he started taking his first steps and now he's walking everywhere. It's kind of sad to see him get so big and independent. He's been the sweetest baby ever and I'm going to miss this...

Scrapbooking Marathon

I have been really frustrated at how far behind I am on scrapbooking, I really like to scrap things as they happen and are fresh in my mind. So Thursday I did a few pages. I was in May of 2008. Anthony took Ethan with him on a campout last night and Joshua went to bed at 7:30pm so I stayed up all night scrapbooking. I scrapbooked most the day today as well and I am finally FINISHED with my 2008 book! This is my first year going digital so I'm going to have all the pages printed in a bound book. I am a simple scrapbooker so I don't have a lot of detail and really don't spend a lot of time on each page, I'd rather just get it done. I feel like a burden has been lifted and now that I'm caught up I can actually enjoy scrapbooking again. It's amazing what you can do when you're not chasing after a toddler!

Jesus loves you...

The last few weeks Ethan has really started to absorb things. There gets a point in a two year old's life when you wonder if anything you say is sinking in. I usually feel this way during family home evening. We use the nursery manual so the lesson is only about two minutes long but that entire two minutes he is pacing laps around the coffee table and jumping off the couch and I think why on earth do I even bother? Then out of the blue they say something that makes you wonder if some of it actually sinks in. A few weeks ago Ethan was walking upstairs to his room and out of the blue said to himself "Jesus loves you".

Since then it seems he's having an intellectual growth spurt. I tell him something once or twice and he remembers it. I showed him his right and left foot so he could put on his shoes and he still remembers. I play the children's songbook on cd for him during the day and he's started repeating the first article of faith and almost has the second down. He's getting better with the computer and loves to play on starfall.com. The other day I showed him a picture of President Monson and told him his name was Thomas and he got very excited (he's completely obsessed with Thomas the Train) then pointed to President Uchtdorf and said Percy! It feels like my efforts are finally paying off and my time trying to teach him things may actually be worthwhile!