I couldn't do it!

I couldn't handle the anxiety of the unknown.

Like I said before, I'm a planner. Waiting to find out the gender of our baby until the birth was just about sending me over the edge. Really it was. Today was our ultrasound. Justin gave in and decided he couldn't wait to find out either. Our baby boy looks great and is measuring right on schedule. Yep, it's a boy! We are so excited!

I'll be honest though, I was completely surprised. The whole time I've thought (and was almost sure) that he was a she. But the technician said, "it's definitely a boy." Then I saw for myself. Yes, it is definitely a boy!

I've had a couple of hours for it to sink in now, (and to stop thinking pink) :) and can I just say, I am SO SO SOOOOOO excited to meet this little baby boy of mine!!! I can't wait! Thinking about the future of our little family makes me smile. What a blessing! We are thrilled!

play dough breakfast

Yummy, anybody hungry???

This is such a fun play dough set! Avery and Quinn LOVE it!
.....so does Justin! :)

Some sweet's for my Sweet's

We had a lovely time on Avery's preschool field trip. We went to the Sweet's Candy Factory. They gave us a tour and we got to sample some of their delicious candies. It was very interesting to see how the candy is made. Did you know that cinnamon bears are made from cornstarch molds shaped like little bears? Yes it's true! They fill a tray with cornstarch and then use another tray with cinnamon bear shapes on it to make the indents in the cornstarch. Then the cinnamon bear candy jelly stuff is poured into the cornstarch molds. Once the cinnamon bears are set, they use a huge fan to blow off all the cornstarch and then they rub a tiny bit of oil on them to get any remaining powder off. Very interesting! And did you know that all jelly beans start out a white-ish clear-ish color? Well, yes they do. The color and flavoring are added at the very end of the process. Who knew?

We got to wear these fancy hair nets, pretty sweet!


Avery insisted I take her picture in front of all the candy! She's just like her Mama!


Best buddies! Reese, Camille and Avery.


We learned a lot and had a great time. At the end of the tour the kids each got a little bag of the Sweet's Salt Water Taffy, one of the candies they are most famous for you know! Of course we couldn't leave the factory without purchasing our own Sweet's candy. And that we did!

three little monkey's jumpin' on the bed!

Luckily none of them fell off and broke their heads! :)

My kids are in love with Chuck...

.....Chuck E. Cheese that is!

We had such a fun time at Jacob and Madelyne's birthday party last week! Avery and Quinn LOVED it, they didn't want to leave!

Here's the birthday crew watching Chuck E. and the band play during dinner.


Here they are dancing with Chuck E. and the band on stage. Wow, what lucky kids!


Quinn and Madelyne absolutely loved the big monster truck ride. They rode it about 8+ times before dinner and that's the first thing they did after dinner too!



Avery, Quinn and Chuck.



Avery had to fill out a survey for the spotlight in Primary yesterday and when I asked her what her favorite thing to do with her family was she said, "go to Chuck E. Cheese!" That was our first time going and as you can tell, it really left a mark! I guess we'll just have to go back!

What a fun party! A big thanks to Justin and Kristen for a great night!

The Winter LOW!

That's what I like to call this time of year! The holidays are over, the Christmas decorations are down and now we just have to endure the long cold "winter low" until Spring has sprung and it warms up a tad. It seems like this time of year goes by ever so slowly and lasts about 10 years!...okay, maybe not that long! :) I know this time of year is a winter sports fans dream, but since I don't ski, snowboard or do any of that kind of stuff it just drags. I do get out and build an occasional snowman here and there and perhaps go sleigh riding a time or two, but for a stay-at-home Mom who is OCD about not taking her kids anywhere where they might catch a germ or sickness it makes for a very long winter IN-doors! Especially since Quinn's recent case of RSV after Christmas, it makes me that much more leery about taking my kids out in public! I know, I really need to get over that right? Occasionally I'm reminded of my sickness when I take my kids to the grocery store and use an antibacterial wipe to sanitize the whole cart before letting my kids touch it. I can't help but notice the awkward, concerned for my mental health looking stares from by-passers. They look at me like I'm crazy!!! What's that about, please tell me I'm not the only one that does this? I'm just glad that they don't catch me sanitizing my kids hands again in the car before we even leave the parking lot or then they would really think........okay, maybe I am a little crazy.....but in a good way, I'm just trying to protect my children!!! :) I know, I'm lame! Anywho.....

Quinn and Avery were doing a little painting the other day and wearing their fantastic new aprons so here is a picture of Quinn's that I made. Sorry the coloring in the second picture is a bit off, the picture came out darker than usual so I had to lighten it so his apron would show up. He looks like a cute little cowboy!




These next two pictures are of Quinn and Justin vacuuming. Every time we pull out the vacuum, Quinn has to run and get his, "I help, I help". It's so cute!



Wow, this turned out to be a random post. Oh well, I told you, not much happens around here during the "winter low" slump!