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