It's A... (drumroll, please)

We had our ultrasound today and everything looks great. The baby was wiggly and measured to my due date exactly. At one point, the technician caught the baby doing the sign for 'love' with it's little fingers (or maybe it was 'rock on'). So cute.

Nick said that he didn't care about the gender of the baby, but he sure looked mighty proud when we found out that we are having a BOY! That's right. We are excited.

Pretty Girls

My friend asked me to take some photos of her girls, and they (well, most of them...) turned out pretty cute. I'll spare you lots of photos of someone else's kids, but I had to post this one:Ellie had to be in on the action too. Oh, and I must include this very cute one of the new baby sister, Emilee. Isn't she sweet?We had a little photo shoot as well. Can I just say that my little Ellie is growing up? I can't believe how big she looks in this photo. And Maren isn't as cooperative as she used to be for the camera, but we take what we can get.

State Fair

Last night we took our girls to the State Fair. I think there are two types of people...those who go to the fair to enjoy the Carnival, and those who go to see the entries. We are definitely in the second category. Nick really enjoyed seeing the produce and canned goods. I loved the photography and the home arts. Ellie said her favorite part was the animals. I have fond memories as a child going to the State Fair while my older brothers showed cows. Just walking through the dairy barn gets me all excited and takes me back to that piece of my childhood. It was a good night, despite the disappointment in our 'elephant ear'. As Nick put it, you pay 4 times more at the fair and should expect about a 1/4 of what you would get elsewhere. Oh well, I suppose it is part of the experience, right?

Here we are in the produce building. Ellie wanted her photo taken with the watermelons. She was the photographer in the other photos.

A Minivan Family

This last weekend we made the big step up to a minivan. It had to be done. We just could not fit another child in the back of our Rav4. We are excited to be able to fit other passengers in our car again. Right now it just feels so big and roomy. The car buying experience was a good one. We went through the Costco Auto Program, so when we talked to a salesman, he gave us a price we thought was fair, so we didn't have to do the whole negotiating thing. We took the kids with us, which wasn't so bad either. The dealership had a fun kids room with XBox (which was fun for mom). It was pretty snappy and at the end of it, we had a nice drive home.

I'm Just a Little Bit Awesome

We've been busy working on projects around here. First of all, we are just trying to keep up with our garden. Lots and lots of tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini (anyone want any?). I picked a big bowl full of raspberries (no complaints there...) and actually had enough, after Ellie got to them, to make two batches of raspberry freezer jam. Yum-o.
I have also been busy bottling pears and tomatoes. I think I'm about done there. Today I completed a project for the nursery that's been in the works since shortly after Maren was born - about a year ago. Usually when I start a project, I don't stop until it's finished, but I just didn't keep up the momentum with this one for some reason. They did turn out cute, though. And one last project for Ellie and I. Can you tell which one is mine?

Weekend Stay-cation

When Nick and I were discussing what we were going to do with our Labor Day weekend, we both would have loved to pack up and go somewhere. However, we both had responsibilities on Sunday for our church callings, and couldn't just ditch. Although, honestly, the thought did cross my mind. So, instead, we decided to have a stay-cation, doing nothing but fun family activities away from our house. Here is our weekend:

Friday night we went up American Fork Canyon for tin foil dinners. The girls had a great time picking up rocks and Nick and I very much enjoyed our dinners (the girls had hot dogs). Nick got all fancy and made a chile relleno/tamale creation that was very tasty. Followed by s'mores of course.

"Mommy, is this three?"

We stayed up late Friday night and slept in Saturday morning, just like good vacationers should. We began our day with a big breakfast (unfortunately, no one cleaned up after us...). And yes, folks, that cantaloupe is from our very own garden.

We went to Silver Lake by Brighton. It was beautiful, and perfect to push the stroller around. It was a good time had by all.

We drove over Guardsman Pass into Midway (where we saw evidence that Fall is indeed on it's way). We braved Swiss Days and then came home through Park City, stopping to visit the outlets and have some dinner.

Sunday was full of meetings and really good food. Nick made gnocchi, ragu sauce, french bread, and stuffed zucchini. I made pavlova for dessert. We shared this deliciousness with our good friends and neighbors, the Hamptons. I was too busy having a good time (and holding their sweet new baby) to take any photos.
And today, we headed to Hogle Zoo. It was packed with people, but that didn't stop us from seeing everything we wanted to (including the new baby giraffe), and completely wearing ourselves out.

What a great weekend!

Creature of Habit

I am not a very organized person. I like to pretend that I am, but if you could see my basement, you would know that it is a lie. So it seems kind of ironic that I am also a huge supporter of 'the routine', but it is true. I live for the routine. I get frustrated sometimes because I want to do fun things with my kids outside of our home, but I also love our routine at home so much that I often sacrifice those fun things just so I have that sense of stability. Ya know? Anyone out there feel the same?

Here is a dose of our daily routine:

*Ellie wakes up around 7 or 7:30, which means that the rest of us are awake too (actually, I have been getting up at 6 to workout every other day, which is way too early, but that is another blog entry...).

*We have breakfast together before Nick heads out the door at 7:45.

*I do my computing: check my email, blogs, facebook, write in my journal, while Ellie watches a tv show.

*I shower and dress. Usually.

*I clean up the house.

*Ellie and I do 'school'.

*Lunch at noon. Naps follow. Both girls take about a 3 hour nap. It is heaven.

*During said naptime, I do things that are nigh unto impossible with Maren around: mow the lawn, pick raspberries, mop the floor, read a book, or lately, take a nap myself.

*After naps (about 3 or so) we are honestly just wasting time until dad comes home from work. We clean up a bit, or go outside.

*At 4, I usually start thinking about what I should make for dinner that night and by 5, I am usually working on it.

*Dad comes home at 5:45 and we have dinner together before our various evening activities.

We go to the library once a week, and usually to a store of some sort, plus any scheduled appointments we may have. But that is my life, in a nutshell.

However, having said all that, we broke free from the routine to do something fun yesterday. The girls and I went to the Aquarium and then to Fazoli's for lunch. It was a good time, and it felt good to be out of the house.