Sunday, May 25, 2008

Thomas the Train

Every Memorial Day Weekend Thomas the Train has been coming to the Heber Valley Railroad for a visit. Jake, Stevie, and I went on Friday to ride in the "coaches" of Thomas and see the festivities. It is quite expensive for the short train ride, but at least the rest of the stuff is free. To be honest...I would pay an even higher price if I had too because it is truly magical for my kids. Jake loves trains of course, but Stevie does as well.

The McClellands joined us there and we happened to run into Luke, Jake's friend from preschool and he rode in the same seat as well. Jake & Stevie were both all smiles most of the ride. They loved seeing the conductor and all of the other trains in the yard. After the ride we joined Emily & Sarah (a few of my close roommates from college) and their children for tattoos and a petting zoo. Dairy Keen was next on the list and it was nutty. Jenna & Stella met us there. Last day of school in Heber and along with the Thomas the Train crowd...I have never seen that place busier. Despite the crowd, everyone still had a good time eating and playing with the train table and Lego's. It was fun to see so many friends in one morning.

Trampoline Time With Dad

Disclaimer: I may have written about this already in a past blog...it seems familiar, but I just can't remember :-) Steve and I are both thrilled that we took the money and effort to put the trampoline in our backyard. The whole family loves it, including the dogs. I'm not the best jumper right now with this belly, but Steve has been spending so much time with Jake and Stevie on the trampoline. They love to have him bounce them higher and do tricks.

One of the many things that I love about my husband...he loves to play with the kids and act goofy. The secret is that Steve loves the trampoline more than anyone. Last summer he would go outside after dark and do a few jumps and I even caught him recording himself one day to see how his new trick really looked on TV. Ask him about it one time :-)

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Third Trimester

This week marks the 27th week for this prengnancy...I'm officially in my third trimester. Although I am looking forward to meeting this baby in several months, I was really enjoying that second trimester. My energy level was great, I didn't need as much sleep, and I could buckle my shoes without too much effort. I still feel pretty good, but I have noticed a drop in energy level again and the starting of back pain. I'm just waiting on the "nesting" phase to arrive so I can get some painting and other things done around the house before baby comes. I'm also working really hard on slowing the weight gain down since I got a small lecture last time I went to the doctor :-) But along with that lecture, Dr. Yamashiro says the baby looks and sounds great.

Spring Has Sprung...Finally

For those of you who live in Park City or near here...you know that this winter and spring have been very cold and wet with snow. I usually don't get too upset about it, but this year was different. I was ready for warm weather at the beginning of April. It's finally here! I know that we will probably have a few more fluke snow storms, but I feel like spring is here. Last weekend was really nice, then another snow storm on Monday, but the past few days have been beautiful.

Th bikes came out...walks to the park...playing in the sand box...and the new favorite of Stevie & Jake - picking dandelions. They have spent hours now picking dandelions and saving them in bags. It took us about 45 minutes to walk home from the park yesterday because they wanted to pick almost every one they saw. I wouldn't be surprised if they woke up this morning with sore backs & legs.

Happy Birthday Brittoni!


Thanks to Rachel Labrum, we had an awesome surprise birthday lunch at the Cheesecake Factory for Brittoni's 30th birthday. Yep...she turned a decade older :-) We decided to have cheesecake for an appetizer just so we wouldn't eat too much to have room for it after lunch. Great idea and I highly recommend that. Happy Birthday Brittoni!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Mother's Day

I've read some great tributes this morning on other blogs for Mothers. My thoughts started flowing and I wanted to write down a few words of appreciation for my Mother and my Mother-In-Law.

My Mom. To me she is a person of amazing strength and patience. I'm not sure how she does it, but she does so great at everything she is involved in: being a mom, grandma, wife, friend, employee, etc. She is also a woman who doesn't look her age (can you pass that my way :-) Thank you for teaching me and going through life with me with all the love in the world. We love you!

My Mother-In-Law. To me she is a person of dedication and love. I feel so lucky to have someone so giving and so dedicated to her family as my mother-in-law and the "Nannie" to my children. She has always been so open and always wants to hear what is going on in our lives. She looks great for her age too! All of us wish we were closer so that we could spend more time with her. We love you and miss you!

Happy Mother's Day.

Philly!

This past year my wonderful husband has given me the opportunity to travel not once...but twice on a long weekend getaway. In September was NYC and last weekend was Philadelphia. My cousin Amber lives there and I have been wanting to visit for many years. I booked a flight and then when I was sharing the news with my friend Miranda, she really wanted to go. Miranda served her mission outside of Philly in the Cherry Hill, NJ Mission and has been dying to go back to the area for a visit. Her husband came to her rescue and gave her the trip to come with me as her 30th birthday gift. Worked out great.

Amber and her fiancee Mike were great hosts and tour guides. Thank you so much for taking time off work, spending money, and just showing us everything that I know you have seen before :-)

Some highlights from the trip:
* Learning so much history and seeing so many historical places. I loved the Betsy Ross house.
* Eating, eating, and more eating. Amber took us to some great places.
* Driving with Amber. She is not a Utah driver anymore :-) I would be so scared to drive, but she is so good at driving right downtown and knowing all the crazy rules with one-ways and left-hand turns.
* Watching Miranda enjoy Times Square.
* Seeing the Hansens (Tom, Sara, and Jack) in Central Park for lunch. (We went into NYC for the day).
* Having a wonderful Sunday experience when Miranda's prayers were answered and we found Fatima.
* Watching brave Amber and Miranda climb out on a ledge from the 13th floor just to get some good views and pictures. I thought I was going to have a panic attack.
* Pulling my calf muscle running the "Rocky" stairs at the Museum of Art. Then watching Miranda trying to climb on for a piggy-back from the Rocky statue.
* Getting in lots of girl talk and sharing memories.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Celebrating Stevie Kate

Happy Birthday little girl. I'm so happy we have you in our family. I love love love you!

Here are a few words that I think describe Stevie:

Independent
Friendly
Determined
Beautiful
Vivacious
Fearless
Happy

I have been trying to write letters to my kids on their birthdays every year. This was a great idea that my sister Nikki gave me to help remember and look back on what happened over the last year. It also gives us a chance to look their personalities and spirits and see how they changing. I'm hoping they will love to read them when they get older. Now I just have to make sure and write them every year :-)