Bike Washing

There's nothing like playing in the water when it's hot outside.  So we decided to do something somewhat productive:

bike washing!!  The girls had lots of fun, they cooled off, the bikes are a little cleaner, and the lawn got a little extra water on it.  An overall win.

Help

I am at that post pregnancy part where my tummy isn't getting any smaller on its own and I still have a couple of extra inches around the waist.  I can't fit into any of my pre-pregnancy clothes and that isn't going to change unless I do something about it.  Bummer!!  Too bad you can't eat for two without paying for it, huh?!
Anyway, I don't really want to diet because, well...who does?  But, I want to be more careful about what I'm eating and maybe actually fit into some clothes.  I came across a website that has an 8 week challenge. It's supposed to be a competition among a group of people, but I'm just going to do it on my own.  The problem is....I need someone that I can text/email every day to report on how I did eating/exercising for the day.  Is there anyone out there that can help me?!!!

1 Month

Hard to believe this little guy has been around for a month (well, over a month now that I'm finally posting about it...but the picture was actually taken on the 1 month mark).  At 1 month he is:
* still spitting up like a champ
*sleeping a little more some nights, a lot less other nights

 Despite Hannah and Sofia's helping hands he is still alive - and for that I am grateful!

Fashion Show

We have bought some clothes for Hannah to grow into over the next few months.  With all those clothes piled high on our bed Hannah got pretty excited and wanted to do a fashion show.  Here's the audience:

Here are some of Hannah's outfits:

She started off a little timid, but then got more daring.

Sofia even joined in on the fun:

Hannah's giving us a wave while Sofia is blowing a kiss.

Then out came the sillies:

and here's the audience by the end of it:

1 Year of Clothes

1 year of clothes with 3 kids = huge mess

In case you were wondering, this is what 1 year of clothes for 3 kids looks like. Considering TJ will grow through 4 different sizes of clothes while we are gone...he wins for taking the most with us.  

It looks pretty chaotic, but I have spent lots of time debating what we need versus what we really need and trying to minimize what we have to take.  After much thinking, we fit all of it into one large suitcase.  Excluding the winter coats and everything else I've forgotten....so most likely it will end up being 2 big suitcases.  

Our Next Big Adventure....

After graduation we moved here hoping James would find a permanent job sometime during the summer.  You know, one of those long-term jobs that actually has benefits and a 401k. Somewhere where we could buy a home and settle down for a while.  

Well, we have decided that is over-rated (I think we might be afraid of commitment) and instead James just accepted a fellowship to spend a year teaching/working in Turkey.  Not the animal...the country located in between Europe and Asia.  :D

I have a few reservations about it (like what to do with 3 kids in a small apartment for 6 months of winter where no one speaks English :D), but for the most part we are excited about it.  I'm realizing each day that 'real life' isn't around the corner...this is it.  And it's okay if it's just one adventure after another.

Parade Fun

This past weekend our neighborhood had some Pioneer Day celebrations.  Included in this was a parade.  So, Grandma, James, and I ventured out with the little ones to watch the parade.

I forgot to get a picture, but it was our first time testing out our new baby carrier....it worked like a charm!

The girls were very excited.  They even wore their new cowgirl hats in honor of the parade.  Sofia was really concerned about hers falling off...so one hand held it on, while the other picked up candy.

 At first they were a little hesitant to run out to get the candy that was thrown at them....

 ...but those reservations shortly wore off.  We had to call Sofia back several times because she started going too far to pick up candy.  Pretty soon the hats were converted into carriers for the candy.

We decided sitting at the front of a small-town parade is the way to go.  This is the loot the 2 girls picked up in just 20 minutes

Morning Time Reading

Here's what our mornings usually look like as we read scriptures together...

I dare say they like their daddy.

A Few of our Favorite Things

There are a lot of things we miss about L.A:
*friends
*weather
*amazing prices and variety of produce
*our own space - even though it was tiny, it was ours
*being able to walk most places - I only used the car probably twice a week compared to twice a day here.

I have been rather bummed about our in-between stage of life and wondering how long we will be stuck in it, but there are lots of great things about living here.  Here are a few of our favorite things:

*traffic - doesn't exist.
*being outdoors- the mountains and trees are beautiful, even if they are turning brown due to drought.  It's nice to have it be quiet and breathe fresh air all the time.
*parking spaces - they feel monstrous
*every store has nice, clean bathrooms with diaper changing stations and lots of them even have small sinks for little kids.....everything is so child friendly.
*shopping carts - they feel gigantic after the ity bity ones in the city and most stores have fun carts for kids with steering wheels or something of that nature.
*so many parks - although I feel like we have to drive to get to most of them, there are tons.  I guess there's a large supply because of the large demand!
*so many kids.  SO MANY KIDS and PREGNANT women.  I still haven't gotten used to how many kids there are around.  I used to get stared at for having 2 and a baby on the way.  People thought we were crazy.  Now, we are in the minority....we don't have nearly the average number of children.  :D

Conversations

I'm always talking to the girls in the car as we drive...or should I say they are always talking to me?!  Anyway, I have to laugh about our conversations.

They used to consist of:
"Look at the skyscrapers, traffic, ambulance, fire truck, crane, etc....."

Now they've turned into:
"Who can find the horse, llamas, cows, sprinkler pipe, etc....)

The other day on our way to the park we were passed by a trailer loaded with goats and another loaded with rams.  Once we got to the park, we saw a deer there.  Crazy!