39 weeks

In the past, once I deliver and hold our baby, I am always struck with

wonder and amazement about how they ever fit in my tummy.

I've taken pictures towards the end of every pregnancy,

and without fail, when I go back and look at them months later I can't help but exclaim,

"Holy Cow! Look at the size of that!"

Staying true with tradition,

here I am today at 39 weeks.

So if you're thinking to yourself that I look huge, that's ok,

I'll be sharing your sentiments in a few months when I look back at these pictures.

I've had a few sporadic contractions and I'm definitely waddling but over all I'm feeling pretty good.

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It's been a while since my last post, so I wanted to include just a few pictures from some

of the things we've done the last couple of weeks.

Grandma made the girls pioneer/caroling outfits (for the Christmas program) but with

Halloween approaching I decided to have these be their costumes as well.

They looked super cute, and it was so nice to not have to stress about it.

Mike was in charge of decorating our car for the trunk-or-treat,

he whipped something together the afternoon before the activity, and it was a big hit. 

There's something about blood that kids think is so cool.

Having easy access to medical equipment can come in handy!

We had Mike's brother Vance and his family visit for a few days.

They have two little girls the ages of Raquel and Elena.  Needless to say

my girls LOVE it when they come.  Besides playing here non-stop,

we were able to sneak an afternoon at Laguna Beach.

Sunset over Catalina Island as seen from Laguna Beach.

Stay put for my next post as we anxiously await our new arrival.

Moved in and preparing for baby

Well, for the most part, it's done. We did it.  Our 8th move. And I don't want to do it again for a while. 

I was happy with the house before moving in, but in the 2+ weeks here I'm really really loving it.

The kitchen has a breakfast bar, so prior to moving in I went on the hunt for bar stools.  I came across a counter-high dinner set on craigslist.  Super sturdy, solid wood, with 8 counter-high chairs, and only $175 for the whole thing!  We had a really small table at our other home due to lack of space, so I figured I'd put 3 of the chairs at the counter in the kitchen and use the rest of the set for our dinning area.  I emailed the guy with little hope of getting it.  I was thrilled when he got back to me the next day and was on the road in lighting speed to get it before it got snatched.

I love it! Even Mike-the-king-of-good-deals was impressed with my find.

The girls are enjoying the backyard.  We have a lot more trees, which means a lot more shade. 

We've had this swing set for a while, but since it's not under direct heat anymore, it's gotten a lot more use.

I love the covered patio. As do the girls.

We feel blessed to have found a home that will work so well for us.

We had our first visitors last weekend. Mike's sister, Raquel, and her husband

spent a couple of days with us.  We went to New Port Beach on one of the days.

It's a good thing people come visit us, because we don't make it out there enough on our own.

Craig got little Raquel to boogie board.

And a boogie board is now on her wish-list.

Speaking of wish-lists.  I went to my OB appointment this week and he did another ultrasound.

There was a certain appendage that was not visible on the first ultrasound. 

So obvious that I don't know how it was previously missed.

That's right.  There is a little man coming into the picture.

Lucky kid he'll be indeed.  We are very excited,

but when we first found out there were definitely mixed emotions. 

We had mentally prepared ourselves for 4 girls.

4 girls would have been less complicated in so many ways. 

And if we never had a boy, I was really Ok with it. 

Though I would have always wondered what it might have been like

to have a little guy in the mix.  I now get to find out.

February Beach

This weekend we met up for dinner with some of Mike's childhood friends in Costa Mesa.  Given the proximity of the beach, we headed out early and spent the afternoon at the beach prior to eating.  I dressed the girls semi-warm, expecting windy and mid 60s weather.  In retrospect I should have heeded their pleas to bring swimsuits.  It couldn't have been more perfect.  Little to no wind, mid 70s, and slightly overcast.  Plus the best parking spot we've ever had at the beach, literally steps from our feet touching the sand.

   

   

  

They chased seagulls, collected sea shells, caught crabs. and pursued the tide. 

I took pictures.

Girls, girls, girls

We had my brother visit this week.  He and I have managed to go through many of life's milestones at the same time, i.e., graduating college, getting married, and having 3 kids--all girls--pretty close to each other.  With them in town it was girls galore.  There was a lot of squealing, giggling, and princess-dress-parading.

We spent a day at New Port Beach.  The weather was beautiful and the girls played until the grown-ups were worn out and called it a day.  So much fun!

Please come visit again!

Casting and Company

Staying true to my promise that I would do a better job documenting Mike's PA School experience than I had my own,

I made sure Mike took the camera on this particular day last week.

I present to you--Western University's PA Casting Day.

And the trippiest part of having a cast--getting it off.

And while we are on the subject of fun things that happened last week.

One of the benefits of living so close to Disneyland and the beach,

is that we get to have family come and visit.

We spent an afternoon at the Santa Monica pier/beach with cousins from Utah.

The girls had a blast carrying wet sand and making piles of...wet sand.

This picture was taken shortly before we decided to let the girls toss their pants and run around in their underwear.  I know.  Pretty ghetto. But I've gotten to the point in my life as a mom where I just don't care.  To my credit though, no swimsuits were brought because I only expected them to get their feet wet.

Great fun!  Despite the girls' wet sandy clothes that we brought back home.

Old Stomping Grounds

We are so close to where I served my mission 10 years ago (yup it really has been that long) that I've been wanting to make it out there since moving here.  So yesterday afternoon, on a whim, we decided to pack the kids and go.

I love exiting on Overland from the 10 freeway and seeing the magnificent structure up ahead.  I was excited to go inside the visitors' center, where a large portion of my mission was spent, but as we drove onto the temple grounds, I was unpleasantly surprised to find this.

That's right fellow former LAVC sisters, the VC is getting a face lift.

I know this was much needed and well overdue, seeing as I felt it was in need of a remodel back when I served here, but I was none the less disappointed.  They have gutted the entire thing, and it looks like a major over haul.  I hope it's finished while we are still here and I can sneak another trip out to see the finished product.

Despite the unexpected surprise, we still had a good time walking the grounds.

After our stroll on the grounds we headed to the beach.  Although cloudy and on the verge of a storm, we managed to sneak a few minutes before it started raining.

Elena was not a huge fan of the water at first...

But she warmed up to it.

Raquel was all about feeding the seagulls...

and Elena opted for throwing sand on them (here she is with a fist-full ready for the throw)

However, this only lasted until Raquel got pecked by a sea gull (seconds after I took this picture).  And the feeding abruptly stopped.  Birds note so cute anymore.

They collected sea shells...

and baby chilled.

When it started sprinkling, we packed up and headed home...

Elena would have rather stayed.

Great Sunday afternoon!

Come visit and we'll take you too.