Tagged!!

So Kandace tagged me weeks ago and I am just now getting to it. I have to list 6 facts/habits about myself and then tag 6 other people to do the same.
1. I love to cook, but not when I HAVE to. I love to try new recipes. Baking isn't my favorite.
2. I like to scrapbook. Lately I have been lazy and have been using page packets. Maybe some day when I am up to date, I will be creative again.
3. I am a website manager for a coupon/ad website. I am also a moderator for another coupon/deal site. Yes, I love to save money. And yes, ask Bryan, I love spend $$!
4. I like to decorate my house. We do it slowly but I think it is more fun that way. Luckily Bryan and I have similar tastes and agree with each others ideas.
5. I am not much of a reader. I can sit still long enough to read a magazine, but I don't have much patience for a book. Even when on bed rest I couldn't get into the Stephenie Meyer books.
6. I love a good nap! (in my bed - falling asleep while watching a movie on the couch doesn't count) I don't get them often but love it when I do!

I tag - Cara, Sarah, Brenna, Jen Moffitt, Michele and Peyton!!

Christmas Fun with the kids!

Check out what the kids have been up to!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1160153118

Not sure if there is an easier way to do view this - hope you enjoy!

Bryan's trip to New Mexico

Bryan went with some people from his company to Gallup, New Mexico to an Indian Reservation to take Christmas gifts. His company collected coats, shoes, food and other items that they needed and took them to the school. There are 34 kids that attend that school. Here are some pictures from his trip.

Let it Snow!!

Bryan and the kids went outside to the basin by our house to slide down the hills. You will never find me out there, unless I am in the car watching. I HATE the cold. The kids were out there for hours and loved every minute of it.

Christmas is coming!!

Here is everyone getting the tree decorated. It is nice having a "fake" tree, we can put it up right after Thanksgiving and leave it up after Christmas! The kids also got their own trees in their rooms this year.

Lauren's Piano Recital

Lauren had her piano recital on the 5th of November. She takes lessons from Kelly Kunz. She has been taking for 2 1/2 years. She did really well. Grandpa and Grandma Atwood came to the recital. Afterwards, Lauren picked Chuck a Rama for dinner.

We're having a...

Today we had our ultrasound! We were there for almost an hour! I am not complaining, you can never get tired of watching your baby move while it is inside you. Everything looked great. The baby was being a little stubborn and wouldn't move so the tech could see the heart, finally "it"did. We got some good pictures. It kept sucking or moving its tongue, that was pretty cool to see, and its feet were up by its head. Which made it really easy to see what it was. Within 10 seconds of being there, we knew what it was! I had Bryan hide the two pictures that show us what it is, so that no one will see anything. The baby is also another week ahead of what we thought! Yea! So I am almost 21 weeks! Another reason why we were there for a while, is the placenta. It looks like a have a very small chance of having placenta previa. So...what this means is, we go back in 8 weeks for another ultrasound, to see if it has moved. She (the tech) is pretty sure it will have but if it hasn't, we will then go back in another 4 weeks. (32 weeks) At that time if it hasn't moved, I will have to have the baby by c-section. The risk for major bleeding is too great in a regular delivery. With all 3 of our other kids we got one ultrasound - this one will be 4 after this next one, possibly 5. It will be fun to see how much it has grown. So... no trying to guess by what I say! :)

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween. On Monday night before Halloween we had our traditional pumpkin carving and caramel apple night. I did the apples and Bryan and the kids did the pumpkins. Then on Halloween day, Bryan took the day off work since we had so much going on. We went to the school parade, which is always exciting to see all the kids. Then we went to my monthly Dr's appt. We took Matthew with us, he liked listening to the heartbeat. Proof to him there really is a baby inside me. (Sometimes he is in denial) Our ultrasound is the 7th of November. We are going to find out what we are having. BUT... we aren't telling anyone. We have never found out with any of the other kids, and since this is the last, I really want to know. Don't try to read in to if I say "he" or "she" as I decided I will use them both for the rest of the pregnancy! Bryan doesn't think I can keep a secret that long, so I really have to prove him wrong! That night Bryan took the kids out trick or treating. The weather was great! After they were done we headed over to his parents, so all the cousins could see each other. Lauren was Princess Peach from Mario Bros. Tyler was Mario, and Matthew was Thomas the Train, of course!

Our trip to Chicago

Bryan and I went to Chicago this last week to attend my nephew's blessing. He was born in September. (My brother Nate and his wife Michele) Right after we flew in we left with Nate, Michele, baby Lincoln, my mom, and other brother Jeremy to Wisconsin. Taking the advise of our neighbor Rod Northrup, we went right to the Jelly Belly Warehouse. My brother lives about 25 minutes from Wisconsin. So it was pretty quick trip. And I LOVE JELLY BELLYS. We went on a little tour that showed us how they make Jelly Bellys and showed all the other candy that they make. Then... we went to the store! Bryan and I had lots of fun in there. They have a Sample Bar where you can try about 100 different candies. YUMMY! After the that we met my dad, who had just flown in (Mom had been in Chicago for a week already helping my sister in law with the baby) to Mars Cheese Castle. We HAD to have some Wisconsin cheese. My dad was a little disappointed that there wasn't an actual castle made out of cheese there. They had lots of good cheese. And of course had to bring some home for the kids. The next day we headed to downtown Chicago for a food/cultural tour. We had about 8 stops, and got to try some good food. It was about 31/2 miles. After the tour we decided to take a taxi back to where our car was parked and not walk! We were are really tired. After the tour we drove to the United Center to see the Michael Jordon statue and check it all out. Bryan is a huge MJ fan so he was loving every minute of it. We then drove to Wrigley Field. It was fun to actually see it in person. On our way home we stopped at White Castle to try a burger. We had heard of this place but never actually tried one. Not my favorite, but glad we tried it. That night we met up with everyone and went to a traditional Chicago pizza place. We had the BEST deep dish pizza. I could only eat one piece it was huge and filling! Then next day was the blessing. Lincoln did a great job - no crying! That afternoon we went to Michele's parents house for dinner. We had an early Thanksgiving dinner. Michele's mom put a lot of thought and effort in to her meal and it all was wonderful! The next day (Monday) up at 4 am to catch our early flight home. Our kids and Heather survived the weekend!

Wrigley's Field. The apartment building has seats on the roof. People will pay lots of money to live there so they can watch the games from the roof. They are redoing the field so we were able to look through a chain link fence and see in.

Outside the United Center - the Michael Jordon statue.

My family right before we started our Food Tour.

Inside the Jelly Belly store

The latest news...

The end of July we found out we are having a baby! This totally caught us by surprise, but we are excited to have this baby come. The kids are really looking forward to this, it has been awhile since we have had a little one around. About 6 weeks into things, I started having some problems, they found that the placenta had a moderate to severe tear in it. They said that they have seen it heal before, but they have also seen miscarriages from it. So... I was put on bed rest and given a prescription for a week till my next ultrasound. I had bathroom privileges only! Luckily my sister Heather had moved in with us the week before. So between Bryan and Heather things were taken care of. By about the second day I was tired of laying on the couch or my bed. I endured my SEVEN long days of bed rest and returned to the Dr. They did the ultrasound and it totally healed. I was off bed rest but still had to take things easy. Long story... I am now 15 weeks (according to the ultrasound - it moved me up a week!) and all is well. As of my appt. this past Monday, I can resume my normal activities. YEA! So my due date is March 28th.

A little bigger...

Baby at 7 weeks - "it" did get much bigger

Here is baby...

Here is the 1st ultrasound at 6 weeks

Matthew turns 4!!

Matthew turned 4 on September 17th. He wanted a "Thomas" birthday party. We went to Thanksgiving Point and had a picnic at the farm. Then we went home for cake, ice cream and presents.

Tyler's Birthday!

Tyler turned 7 this year! We celebrated with our little family by going to Pier 49 Pizza - his favorite pizza place. He loves their BBQ Chicken Pizza. We then went to the park to play and have cake and ice cream. Once it got dark we went home to open presents!

Matt's first day of Preschool!!

We decided to have Matthew go to preschool this year. With being the only one home with mom he gets a little bored sometimes. He goes to a preschool that is in our neighborhood. He loves it! His teachers are Miss Denise and Miss Heather. (they are sisters)

I then have 2 hours twice a week to get things done that I need to.

1st day of school!

Lauren and Tyler started school on August 21st. They were really excited to go back and see their friends. I think Matt was ready to have the house (t.v) back to himself.

Trip to the lake!

While we were in Fresno we headed up to Brenna's place and went to the lake. She lives about 10 minutes from Friant Dam. Dad rented a house boat and we had lunch on it and let the kids play in the lake.

Lauren's Birthday Surprise!

As part of Lauren's 9th birthday - we surprised her and decorated her room. We told her we could only do the beadboard and paint and the rest would have to wait for another time. While she was gone at her cousin's house on the last day of school and the day before her bday, Christa came over and helped me put together her room. Then Bryan came home from work and finished it! It turned out really cute and boy was she surprised!! Here is how it turned out --

In and Out!!!

We had to stop at our favorite burger place! Once in Vegas on our way to California and then in Bakersfield on our way home!!

We visited the Los Osos cemetery. I had the kids stand by G'ma and G'dad's headstone. It was great to go there and tell the kids about them. Before they all walked over, (because I found it first) I totally lost it, and started crying. I realized how much I miss them when we were on our trip. On a lighter note, the last picture is the family at Sylvester's! Love that Mushroom Swiss Burger!!

More California pictures

We went to Fresno for a few days for Heather's graduation. Then we left on Wednesday for a Beach Trip with all the Atwood's. Instead of our yearly family camping trip we went to the beach!! Our family decided to stay an extra day and got a hotel right across the street from Avila Beach. Despite the BAD sunburn I got (that lasted a week) we had a wonderful time.

Here are pictures from Avila. The first two are the kids on the sundeck above our hotel. The next one is from Bryan.