More Visitors

We had a nice quick visit from Sarah, Corey, Ezra & Audrey.
They were "passing through" on their way to check out
Clarkston, WA for themselves and stayed a night with us.

Audrey is 8 months old now and is getting so big.
She was only 5 months last time we saw her and the
time for snuggles has come and gone quickly. She
definitely wanted mom and dad, that's for sure.
Katelyn's trying to give her a hug (above).

Katelyn thought Audrey was pretty cool. Katelyn
gets so motherly sounding when younger kids are around.
She will definitely fill her role as oldest child well.

Justin the baby whisperer. Taking care of all three
munchkins out on the back porch.

Thank heavens for bubbles. Endless fun!

Just a quick belly shot. It's getting harder to see my feet :)

Big D Mama

My mom and Dale came down for a night this
weekend. They cooked dinner, cleaned, fixed
my vacuum, let me sleep in til 10am today...
What a treat!

Grandpa getting in some snuggles.

Today it was quite warm so we decided to take a
quick trip to Hermiston, OR to hang out at the
water park. The water was so warm and relaxing.
Katelyn loves to be in the water.

Grammy and Katelyn

I know what you're thinking...she's brave posting that
picture! Well here I am in all my pregnant glory.
Just imagine what that belly will look like in
two more months. WHOA BABY!
They don't call me "big d mama" for nothin'!

Strange Similarities

When Justin and I got married, one of the movies he
brought along with him was this one: The Black Cauldron.
This is a movie I had never seen before. We've been married
almost 5 years and I still have never watched it. Katelyn is 3
and she watched it for the first time I think in the last couple
of weeks. I'm usually doing other things while she is watching
a show, so I only catch glimpses here and there.

So the other day this was on and I was listening to the character
(the creature in the middle, in the above picture) and he sounds
EXACTLY like the voice of the creature Gollum, from The Lord
of The Rings (one of my all time favorite movies ever!) The voice,
the way he speaks, all of it. It makes me wonder if this little guy
was the inspiration behind Andy Serkis's performance of Gollum.
If you are a LOTR fan, such as I- you ought to check this out.
There's even the similarity of calling an army from the dead (or undead).

Justin's Bong

Katelyn got a really fun bubble blowing kit for her
birthday and we had some fun playing with all
the different bubble-blowing paraphernalia.

Whoa! Look at that HUGE bubble!

Katelyn explaining that these are not for us.

Clarkston Trip & Campout

Yesterday we took a spur of the moment trip to Clarkston, WA.
Justin's brother is looking into possibly applying to transfer there
and since we live way closer, Justin thought we could go do a
tour of the area for them, before they come down. He also
thought it would be fun to cam pout for the night while we were there.
Being the agreeable person that I am, (haha) I said, why not!
It's only a 2.5 hour trip from Kennewick which is really decent.

If you're going camping, ya gotta have a do-rag.

Goofy kid!

Katelyn was sooo excited about the tent. In fact, I don't
think I have ever seen her that excited about anything.

Getting impatient for dinner

Playing in the sand, just being a kid. I love it!

The wild life. Two white bunny rabbits.

Looks like we're still waiting to eat (I was really hungry!)

OK. So honestly, not a great night's sleep. It pretty much
stunk! Justin even humored me by blowing up the queen
sized air mattress and squeezed it into our tent. Kate and I
slept in the tent and Justin slept outside. What a guy, huh?
I think he got the better deal. I got up four times in the night
to pee, each time getting a massive cramp in my butt cheek as I
tried to heave myself off the air mattress and out of
the tent. Which was probably like watching a beached
whale trying to get back in the water.
It was near 100 degrees yesterday and we waited all evening for
the cool breeze to set in. Yeah. It set in all right and whipped and
howled around the tent all night. It was really irritating. My
restless leg was acting up. Even more irritating. And the mattress
wasn't really inflated that well because it barely fit in the tent, so
every time I moved Kate went rolling down on top of or under
neath me. Either that, or she was sleeping upside down with
her little feet in my face or her legs strung out across me.
However, I did manage to get a few minutes of sleep and to my
surprise, morning arrived a lot faster than I thought it would.
On the way home. So tired. Kate and I slept the whole way.
We got back in town just in time to stop by the house,
freshen up and head to my prenatal appointment. Justin
decided to take Kate over to REI while I had my appt.
I caught up with them after and decided I need a cot
for our next camping trip. Luckily Justin's parents just got
us a bigger tent, so hopefully that will help too.
Looks like Miss Kate loves the out doors. She's gonna
be a gear junkie, just like her daddy :)

All in all, even though the sleep wasn't good, I am glad
we did something fun and spontaneous as a family.
In the end, it's all about the memories, right?

Express

Sometimes you just have to get it all out. In no particular order...

We lead a very simple life. It is one that makes me happy. I am not the type of person who needs or wants a million things or activities going on to fulfill me. I find that for me, when I am being pulled in too many directions, I become very irritable, stressed out and impatient. Even when they are good things pulling me in all those directions. But then on the other hand, I usually feel like I need to be doing more. Or creating more opportunity for my children. Dance lessons, swim lessons, preschool, play dates, dress up, trips to the library. Then the responsibility of teaching her about God and the gospel. There are so many things I feel like I should be doing in order to be an adequate mom. Is it necessary? In then end, when they are grown, what is going to mean the most to them?

In reality, it is the simple things that bring me the most comfort and happiness in life, such as being with my family and close friends.

Speaking of friends- since moving to the Tri-Cities I have felt frustrated in my attempts to become friends with people. I have met and made friends with many wonderful people, but a lot of times I would really like to take those friendships further. I don't know for sure why it seems harder to do that in this stage of my life. Is it because we have children now? Are there too many things going on in everyone's lives? Have I just not made enough effort?

I want good friends in my life. I am thankful for my peer moms who without knowing, inspire me on a regular basis to be a better person, wife and mother. I want to rub shoulders with these women who uplift me and make me want to be a better person. Not because they are perfect, but because they are not, yet they continually strive to do what's right, in spite of their weaknesses and the trials they face.

I am thankful for the non-LDS people who I have met. Sometimes I feel like I am in a Mormon bubble. I have met some really great people who are not of my faith, but who are great women. I want them in my life too.

I love my husband. He is a good man. I have never doubted his love for me. He loves me unconditionally, thank goodness! I love Katelyn and I am really looking forward to the new addition to our family. I am blessed.

"K"

Katelyn got this cute little handmade skirt from the Galloway's
for her birthday and today she is finally getting to wear it.
It came with two matching bows even. So cute!

Strike a pose!

beautiful girl

I was looking through some of these old pictures of
Katelyn and feeling really excited for our next baby
to come. With only about 2 months left to go, it
seems like it will be here in no time. I wish I had
some of when she was really tiny, but most of those
are on the other computer.

Learning to Read

Katelyn has been getting in on reading scriptures with us.
She started with just repeating the words we read to her, but
then she wanted to do it all by herself (like everything else right now).
She makes things up and says a lot of words, but nothing makes
sense. It's OK. At least she wants to be involved.
Did you know that the scriptures talk about magic carpet
rides and dinosaurs? Sounds affects and all are included.
Pretty Fun

Pictures from Granny B and Granpa's visit

I think this is a cute picture of Katelyn.

Summertime means Popsicles!

And letting the dog help clean you up.

This is one of Justin's favorite things to do-
comb out Kate's hair after her bath.
Aw..so sweet, huh?

Isn't my husband cute!

I love my husband ~ Thanks for making me smile

Happy Father's Day

It was a simple, but very nice Father's Day today. I am very thankful to have such a loving husband. Justin is an awesome daddy and Katelyn loves him. Justin helps me out so much. More than I give him credit for. He even let me sleep in today, on his special day. I love and appreciate him more and more every year that we are together.


I am also very thankful for the Father's in my life. Lucky me, I get three Father's. My Dad, Dale (my step-father), and Justin's dad, Dean. It's great having the love and support and three great men in our family.

happy father's day

Stuck

I brought this little chair in from the garage yesterday
and Katelyn has taken to locking herself into it.
Only one problem: she can't get out.
At least one of us has a seat to sit on now.
help! I'm stuck!

3 years of Kate

This is Katelyn the day she was born.

She had the rosiest little cheeks.

I meant to post this yesterday on her actual Birthday,

but forgot at the end of the day.

1st birthday (almost has a head of hair)

2nd birthday (sportin' the mullet)

3rd birthday (beautiful, thick hair-finally!)

I can't believe how fast these babies grow up. It's

fun watching her learn and grow and turn into a

very sweet little girl.