The cat's OUT of the bag!!!

That's right folks...baby #3 is ON IT'S WAY! Set to arrive on the 15th of January!


(Sorry about the blurry picture. I am NOT a great photographer.)

There's totally a little bean in there! Actually, it's my little kumquat right now, but growing rapidly as evidenced by my growing belly as well! Apparently with this third baby my body has just said "FINE...I am going to just let it all hang out then!"


I love winter babies...mostly because I HATE to be hot, and pregnancy really does me in in the hot category! I feel crummy, which is good news, but haven't been quite as sick as I was with my boys! So who knows? There you have it! Yeah for babies!!! Hopefully this next one will be as ridiculously good looking and charming as my boys!

Plethora of pinatas

So- there are a BOATLOAD of pictures and commentary below. You MIGHT want to get a bowl of popcorn, or ice cream, or whatever it is that you snack on, because it will take you a while! Enjoy though! Sorry it's taken me so long to update. Sort of in a blog "funk" if you know what I mean. Just lots of other stuff to do eh? Enjoy!

Hail, Hail GO AWAY!!

So this past couple of weeks we have had some MAJORLY crazy weather here in Denver! It has been an unusually wet spring/summer, and we have had some CRAZY weather! Last Sunday we were enjoying our afternoon when it started to hail just a bit. We went outside to try and decide if we should cover our garden with a tarp, thinking that the hail would stop shortly. We decided to and Cole was out there diligently covering our crop so that it wouldn't be lost to the elements. GOOD THING TOO! It started hailing like I seriously have NEVER seen it hail before! GOLF BALL SIZED! Most weren't that size, but there were definitely some that were! It was the craziest thing ever. Our garden- luckily- is no worse for the wear and we didn't lose anything- unlike alot of people that we have talked to! It has been doing this off and on for a while now, and it sure is annoying! We want to go swimming already! But we are glad for the moisture. But seriously, bring on the sun! The boys need to go to Elitch's!

One of the biggest pieces of hail that we found. Lincoln kept calling it a HELL storm. We couldn't figure out why. I wonder what they're teaching him in nursery! This picture was also after it had melted a little bit, so you can imagine!

A couple of different sizes...all big! Sheesh!

SORRY! The movie won't upload. It's been a while trying to upload, but I just don't have the patience. Who does anyways? Just believe me when I say it was SO crazy! It looked like we had white mexican jumping beans- REALLY BIG ONES- in our yard and all over our deck! So crazy!

First family fishin trip

The High Priests in our ward hosted a family free fishing fiasco a couple of Saturdays ago and we decided to venture out and try our hand at catching fish! I used to fish all the time growing up, but it's been a while since I have been cast-fishing, so it was quite the adventure! I remember all of my knots though- thanks dad! Cole was quite proud of me. The boys had the GREATEST time, and we took TONS of pictures. Lincoln was SO PUMPED when we were catching all of these fish! He was having the greatest time! Payton didn't think that the fish were the coolest thing, but he sure enjoyed his hot dog, and throwing rocks! So enjoy this plethora of pictures. :)

Lincoln and daddy pullin in a big one! Lincoln is trying to do thumbs up if you are wondering...he just can't do it on command! Geez!

Payton not quite so sure about what is flippin around in front of him, but still willing to say cheese.

Contemplating what exactly is on the line!

In mid catch. Link's favorite thing to do is to reel in the line!

Don't mind what looks like a really chubby belly! I had EVERYTHING stuffed into my coat pockets...and there might be a bit of fat for warmth there too.:)


Really enjoying his "dog"



Trying to figure out why it won't stay in that bun already!


The whole "Kittenboodle" as Link would say

Cole doesn't know how to clean a fish...DANG! So that lot fell to my shoulders. Thanks again Dad for teaching such a delicate woman to clean the guts out of a fish! We enjoyed eating them that night but we understand why people that eat fish regularly are so skinny! It sure takes a LOT of work to get all of the bones out! I finally gave up after about 2 ounces of fish. But it sure was yummy.

The "Dead Heads"

**Seriously, longest post EVER! Cool commentary (travel log) but feel free to just peruse the pictures if you wish!**

We had the amazingly fun opportunity to go on a little family vacation- kind of spur of the moment at the end of May! It was SOOO much fun! We had a blast! Of course, it was a camping trip- we're pretty into these nowadays- and the boys did so great! Cole's brother Spencer and his new sweet wife Laura live in Gillette, Wyoming, so we decided that it was time to make the trek up there to visit them, and to see the sights (sites?) up there. We stopped in Glendo, Wyoming the first night in a DOWNPOUR- torrential I might add- and set up our tent in, seriously, the LAST camp spot! Luckily we got our tent up while it was still a little bit light, but it was raining SO hard! The boys were having an absolute blast though running around in the rain and sitting in puddles, and all sorts of other stuff. Needless to say, we were all soaked to the bone when it came around to dinner time! Luckily, there was a nice little picnic awning that we were able to cook our dinner under. We had a great time sitting in chairs, watching the rain, and roasting marshmallows on our little stove! We even made SMORES which Lincoln wasn't too thrilled about. He isn't too much into mixing things that are melted especially! Payton was diggin them though, that is for sure! But what doesn't he dig, let's be honest. (I LOVE that by the way!) Anyways, we had a great time there in Glendo. The next morning, we walked around the campground, down by the lake, and the boys threw rocks into the lake for quite some time. HEAVEN!

Little Payton SNOOZIN in the tent-FINALLY- after running laps in the tent for what seemed like 2 hours! He didn't sleep so well and ended up sleeping with Cole and I in our sleeping bag! It was his first time not in a crib! So he didn't do TOO bad.

Lincoln all bundled up...can you see him?

Payton and I at the crack of dawn when both boys woke up. Hooray for it getting light so early!

The tent all set up in the little sand box. It literally was a box with sand in it- designed for a tent, but resembled a children's sandbox more than a tent site!

Probably my most favorite picture of the trip...what a stud!

Throwin rocks

My two cutest monkeys!

King of the WORLD! He is the HARDEST to get to smile! Any ideas?

My boys...seriously, isn't that the cutest! What could be cuter than boys holding their daddy's hands. I think I've said this before!

We took this on our way OUT of Glendo. Cole thought it was cool. The local bar/hangout. The ONLY one! Seriously, town of like 325 people or something like that.

After checkin out the campground, we packed up the car again and headed up to Gillette to hang out with the Smith's! We stopped by the SEARS store that Spencer owns up there in Gillette for a while, and then went to the park to hang out with Laura and have a picnic and stuff! We had so much fun. We went back to their cute apartment and went swimming- which Lincoln loved and Payton was less than thrilled about. He's not a big water fan. We had a great time just being with Spencer and Laura. We had a wonderful dinner and then put the boys to bed because they were exhausted and had a great time watching a movie, and just getting to know Laura a little bit better. (Which is good because we had only met her for like 20 minutes at their WEDDING in March!) The next morning, we had a nice breakfast, packed up our bags, said goodbye to the Smiths after they gifted our children some SWEET train whistles! (If you don't know by now, you should know that BOTH of my kids are obsessed with trains. I- frankly- am REALLY sick of them! But what can ya do.)


We stopped at a couple of places that old South Dakota is famous for in them there Black Hills. We stopped first at the Devils Tower which was absolutely amazing! Wow, it was so neat. What an amazing landmark! I loved reading about all of the old folklore that came along with it as well! Some neat stuff! We hopped back into the car, and of course it was cloudy and overcast and a bit foggy- and headed to the main purpose for the trip-besides to visit the Smith's- which was Mount Rushmore. WOW! I never thought I would actually go to Mt. Rushmore, but I am sure glad that we did! It was a really neat thing! When we got there, the lady told us that we might need to come back another time, because the mountain was covered in fog, so we were pretty bummed. We walked up to where the mountain was supposed to be and couldn't see ANYTHING!!! We were so bummed! We saw tons of people walking out saying that they hadn't seen anything and they had been there for a while. So just as we were resigned to the fact that we were going to have to come back the next day, the fog cleared for like 20 seconds! Just long enough for people to take pictures, and then it covered back over. So we were pretty happy that we got to see it at all. We were just kind of walking around for a minute and then the mountain uncovered for the rest of the time we were there. What an amazing thing! It was great. Lincoln kept asking, and was SO concerned about why President Lincoln didn't have any legs! Such an inquisitive mind. Cole and I got asked more questions just on that trip then we have probably asked each other the entire time we have known each other- COMBINED! He likes to soak it all in. But it was really cool, and I would recommend going to anyone that thinks it would be cool-because it was!








After Mount Rushmore, we loaded into the car again and headed for the Jewel Cave- which is about 30 minutes away from the mountain. Boy did we have a fun time in that place! It's actually really neat- a cave that is about 150 miles long already, and that is just what they have discovered. The COOLEST part about it all though was that it was about an hour and a half walking tour through the caves, and Payton SCREAMED his HEAD OFF for like 3/4 of it! Seriously- I have never seen this kid so angry! We couldn't figure out if he was scared, or if his ears hurt, or what, but the poor little dude was MISERABLE! I was so embarrassed. Again, what can you do. But Lincoln though it was pretty neat, so it was worth it.


After the cave, we headed out to our campspot that was about 15 minutes away or so, and we thought that we were going to have a nice clear night with no rain. Oh boy were we wrong! Luckily, this time, it didn't start the downpour until after we had the tent up, so we just chucked the kids in the tent, and Cole and I tried to set up the rest of the camp! Oh man- I haven't EVER seen it rain so hard! The camp host told us the next morning that it had rained an INCH AND A HALF! In ONE NIGHT! Wow- and it wasn't just rain, it was hail and all sorts of stuff. But we still had a great time, and didn't stay dry, but had fun nonetheless.


Our cute little Subaroooo (as Lincoln calls it) with the "Big Mac" on top. We couldn't do it without it!

Hello....twins?

All happy again after the miserable trip to the cave!

WOW- if you read all of this...pin a rose on your nose. Thanks Mom! I don't even know if my Mom will read all of this! She only cares about pictures. :)