Spiderman Party

Ever since Spider-Man: Homecoming came out in theaters, Jayze and I (especially Jayze) have been wanting to watch it. I was going to take Jayze to it for his birthday, but as luck would have the last showing was a couple of days earlier. He's We've been anticipating it coming out on DVD ever since (I was more excited for Wonder Woman).

A few days ago I noticed that Spider-Man had finally come out on DVD. Since we had been patiently waiting for it, we decided to not just watch it but put some pizzazz and party into it.

K's cheesy smile. And A looking like a teenager. When we went to Walmart earlier, he had his hood on and his hands in his pocket and a sullen look on his face. It definitely looked like I was towing around a mini teen. 

I looked up some Spider-Man-themed party food, and we chose a cute pancake shish kabob. And let me tell you, they were delish. My mouth is watering again just thinking about them. 

Even though they were pancakes, Jayze made the batter thinner than normal so they tasted more like crepes. So, they were pretty much these delicious mini crepe-tasting pancakes on a stick. With Nutella on them. Kimball chowed down the entire thing. Aidan ate his pancake and asked for more but (surprisingly) slid off his bananas and strawberries and didn't touch them again. Can't say I don't blame him, but that Nutella, strawberry, banana, pancake combo was to die for. He kind of missed out by leaving off the fruit. And I'm probably saying all this because we never buy Nutella, so those shick kabobs were a real treat.

I had wandered Walmart earlier that day. When I spotted the spiderweb paper doilies, I couldn't resist. They really added to our dinner aura (especially since those were the only decorations).

After we put the kids down for bed, Jayze and I turned on the movie and it was all fun from there. For anyone interested in watching it, I recommend it, BUT be aware there's more crudeness and language throughout than I normally prefer. I think the creators did a fantastic job, and I have to say that Tom Holland is my favorite Spider-Man yet.

Haha, Kimball was so tired. He just wanted to eat them and NOT take a picture. :)

Jayze and I both agreed we'll have to make movie nights more fun like this in the future.

Kansas City Marathon

This past Saturday (Oct. 21) Jayze ran the half marathon in Kansas City. He did so well!

A few weeks ago we were visiting our friends, and they mentioned they were training for the half. Jayze has already run two marathons but had kind of a fallout with running since moving to Kansas. Our friends told him he should run the half with them, and signing up for it ended up being the perfect motivation to consistently run again. It was his first official half marathon, and I think the running bug is still going strong.

On Friday Jayze took half a day off work, and we drove the three hours up to KC where we met our friends at the expo. I think the main part of the expo was the day before, so the aftermath of that was a tad bit disappointing, but we were still glad we went.

The runner

The supporters

The runners (Dustin, Lindsey, and Jayze) made sure to stock up on carbs the night before. I enjoyed stocking up on the carbs too, even though I wasn't running. Even though he was tired, Aidan didn't end up falling asleep until about 11:00. He didn't want me to leave, so I ended up laying next to him on the floor, dozing off and on until he finally closed his eyes and I could hear his soft snore.

I got up with Jayze early the next morning and got myself ready while he drove off to the starting line with Lindsey and Dustin. I was nervous about taking charge of the kids by myself, but I said a quick, sincere prayer, and things went as smoothly as I could have hoped. I ended up having to wake them up to go, and from there on out they didn't sleep the rest of the day (they were troopers!).

I followed Lindsey's family to downtown where we parked and then walked to the finish line. Luckily we made it there in plenty of time to watch for D, L, and J to cross the finish line.

While we were waiting for them to cross, I made friends with two women standing right by us because Kimball kept climbing onto one of their camping chairs and playing with one of their cowbells. Of course when Aidan saw Kimball playing with the cow bell, he wanted to as well.

It was a good thing I made friends with them because when I was distracted for a minute handing my tic-tacs to my friend's son to help distract him, Kimball ran off. I turned around, looked down, and didn't see Kimball in front of me anymore. I spun around to see if he was behind me, and then looked left and right, but he was gone. I couldn't see him anywhere.

Just when Lindsey's mom and I were about to full-blown panic, one of the women I had made friends with came running up with Kimball in her arms. As she handed him to me, she said, "I saw him running this way, so I took off after him."

Oh.my.gosh. I can't believe I almost lost my child. I am always diligent about watching my kids in public places to the point where I feel like a helicopter parent all the time, and the one time I look away, Bam! He's gone. I am so, so, so, so, so thankful for that kind woman. Kimball was strapped in the stroller for the rest of the time. Thankfully he still liked that cow bell.

A few minutes later, one by one Lindsey, Jayze, and Dustin finished their 13.1 mile run. Jayze was seriously on cloud 9 the rest of the time. When I walked up to him after the race with the kids in the stroller, he had the biggest grin you ever did see. It was the best.

Aidan and Kimball wouldn't look at the camera. They just wanted to look at Daddy.

The rest of the day was relaxing, which is just how it should be after a big run like that. The kids played all day long with toys and books and watched a couple of movies. We played games with Dustin and Lindsey and Lindsey's family. Jayze and I made a quick Walmart run sans kids. And it was even more relaxing when we decided to stay an extra night because of a rainstorm (you don't mess with Kansas rainstorms - they are a pain to drive through).

The next morning we woke up early so that we could make our 9:00 a.m. church. After church, we all crashed. I still could barely move when Kimball woke me up a couple hours later. We had cereal and smoothies for dinner and then went for a walk around our neighborhood to shake the cobwebs out of our muscles. Needless to say, I think we all slept well that night.

All in all, it was a good weekend and I can't wait for Jayze or me to sign up for another event. There's just so much energy and camaraderie among all the runners who have trained for weeks for this specific event, and it's intoxicating to be around. I loved it, and I'm glad we got to go.

24 Weeks

19 Weeks along

This past Sunday, I hit 24 weeks along in my pregnancy. It's going by much more quickly than the last three pregnancies, which is both exciting and terrifying. I'm excited to have another boy to love on, but I'm terrified of the last few weeks of the pregnancy that are right around the corner. The last few weeks are always the most stressful because that's when we lost Alma.

I'm also starting to doubt my ability of taking care of three children here. I've felt consistently nauseous and tired and some days it's been hard to take care of two boys let alone three. The second trimester has been a lot easier than the first, but A and K definitely give me a run for my money with their energy (especially since Aidan's suddenly turned into a three-nager haha) and I don't know how it's all going to pan out with me not sleeping through the night. One of my biggest struggles as a parent has been balancing time between my kids (even Alma) and making sure I have enough one-on-one time with each of them. It's hard to split my attention three different ways, so I know it will take even more effort splitting it four ways.

However, every time I get a moment to myself to rub my belly and look around my living space, imagining a newborn snuggled in my arms or asleep in the bouncer, I feel such a deep, abiding peace that this baby is meant to be here and it will all be okay. It's such a sacred privilege to carry a child, and I want to give it the honor it deserves by treasuring the tender mercies that come every single day. Yes, it's hard and scary and exhausting, but it's also a quiet joy and I'm grateful. Whatever comes, I know Heavenly Father is right there with me.

22 Weeks

22 Weeks

Update:
How far along: 24 weeks + 2 days
Gender: Boy!
Maternity clothes: The past three times I always just winged it because we had almost no money for extra clothes. I was planning to do the same this time around, but I've gotten bigger faster and it's just so much more comfortable to wear maternity clothes. I've bought a couple of things and have been rotating through them and my regular clothes, but I also don't want stretch out my regular clothes. So, if anyone has any recommendations for good quality but not expensive maternity clothes, I'm looking! :)
Sleep: I go to bed exhausted almost every night, so I've actually been sleeping pretty well. Since the boys take a nap at the same time (yes!), sometimes I'm able to squeeze in a nap too. No crazy dreams yet. And since I wised up and stopped drinking so much water right before bedtime, I'm not up 3-4 times a night going to the bathroom anymore.
Movement: This baby moves so much, and I love it SO MUCH. The second trimester is especially the best because his kicking and moving doesn't hurt yet. I never ever get tired of feeling him move.
Cravings: Chick-fil-A, Panera (aka soups and salads!), smoothies, baked goods, macaroni salad (but only a few bites), hummus and pita chips or pita bread, muffins, snacky foods.
Aversions: Pizza, Chinese food, burgers, spaghetti (hmmm, this seems to be a common theme), and sometimes chocolate (heartburn!). Actually, I probably have zero excitement for any of the food I just mentioned because they all give me heartburn.
Missing anything: Working out hard core...or even working out at all...so I finally started doing strengthening exercises again this week. I'm committed! It helps with the aches and pains soooooo much. I also miss fitting comfortably into my clothes.
Hardest part: Picking a name! Guys, if Jayze and I were having a girl the only hard part would be picking which one. We probably have five girl names picked out already (middle too!). It's been difficult (to say the least!) going through names and trying to find one we both like.
Best moment of the week: Today I took Aidan and Kimball with me to the doctor's appointment (they were so busy!), and we all got to hear the baby's heartbeat. They stopped getting into stuff the moment they heard it and were kind of like, "What the heck?" but it was cute. I never get tired of hearing that sound. Someone should invent some sort of bracelet or app or something that allows you to listen to the heartbeat any time you want.

22 Weeks

It's been a blur of a pregnancy so far. We're grateful we're having another baby and I keep getting more and more and more excited about having another boy. It's going to be wonderful having a baby in the house again.

Aidan's 3rd Birthday Party

Aidan's birthday wasn't until September 25, but since we were surrounded by so much family in AZ, we decided to celebrate it early. I don't regret it one bit. I could tell he felt so loved, and he was so, so, so excited for it.

Jayze helped out a ton with the decorating, thanks to a silent migraine on my part, plus he's just awesome. My sister and sis-in-law helped out with cutting it into the "3" shape, too. 

Since it was an actual birthday party and Aidan's old enough to play games, I decided to have a couple games available. Aidan wanted a Lightning McQueen themed party, so we had "Pin the Tire on the Car," and "Sally's Cozy Cone Ring Toss" (guess I forgot to take pics of them). They were half and half successful, haha. I think the kids were more interested in running around. :) I still had fun putting them together.

Not going to lie, I'm so proud of this banner I made. It's literally from card stock and baker's twine. My sister and I colored the black squares ourselves, and I was so pleased with how it all turned out.

We did cake and ice cream first since we celebrated at kind of an odd time between lunch and dinner. We didn't want to spoil the kids' dinner (or ours), so we did the dessert first so we could run and play it off before dinner.

He couldn't wait to play with, "Cruz, the yellow car."

He was so excited to blow out the candles.

He received about a bazillion more presents than he would have if we had celebrated in Kansas. It was fun to see him understand the concept of opening presents a little better than the previous two years, although I think next year he'll be a little better at it. He mostly wanted to play with the presents he had already opened instead of going on to the next one. I still can't believe he's three years old now.

Both sides of the family were there, which was so great. Pam helped Aidan play with his new baseball mitt and ball. All the cousins had a blast running around the stage and huge cultural hall. Kimball of course got ahold of the trash can and wheeled it around most of the time. And the adults enjoyed relaxing and visiting.

It was so nice having everyone's help and support. I can't even describe how it felt being able to celebrate Aidan's birthday with extended family. He's so loved.

Spontaneous three generation picture. .

Aidan's brought so much joy and love to our family in the past three years. More than I knew was possible. I'm excited to keep getting to know him and watching him learn and grow. He has such a sweet disposition, loves to problem solve, can play outside all day long if there are cars and dirt involved, is so helpful, and is getting better at talking every day.

I love my handsome boy so much. Happy three years, kiddo.

AZ Trip September 2017

Both Jayze's and my parents live in the same town in Arizona, so we usually try to visit every year around Christmastime. However, since I'll be too far along in the pregnancy to travel, we decided to make a trip in September instead.

It ended up being such a laid-back, relaxing, chill, and much-needed vacay. Since we had spent so much time with Jayze's family (pretty much 100%) in February, we decided to focus on spending more time with my family this trip. All of my siblings were able to come down too, so it was like an unofficial mini-reunion.

After traveling to AZ in Feb. and then in September, I am now on board to travel on non-holidays. The roads were clear, the weather was awesome (probably because we live in Kansas now instead of Idaho), and we didn't have a million events and/or obligations to attend. As much as I love visiting family during the holidays, both times it was realllllly nice to just spend time together without all the stress and (hardly any) drama.

All that said, here are a few memories I want to remember and record from this past trip:

Day 1 - Traveled for 15 hours (GPS says it should take 13.5, traveling with two kids adds at least another 1.5):
Since we've done the driving-the-entire-day-with-two-kids a few times, I wasn't too stressed about it. Despite making more stops than we normally do, there were zero meltdowns from Aidan and only two from Kimball. I drove a lot, Jayze drove a lot, and we both talked a lot. The kids slept, ate snacks, watched movies, played games, and sang songs. Late that night, we finally pulled onto my parent's curb where my dad accidentally startled Jayze (which Aidan thought was hilarious). "Papa scared Daddy!"

He used my sunglasses because it was "too bright."

Day 2 - Saturday:
We roasted marshmallows (A and K's first time!) and gobbled down s'mores that night in my parents' backyard.

Aidan and Kimball played with their cousins in the dirt outside all day long. Kimball took a huge liking to the apples that had fallen on the ground from my parents' tree, and we almost never saw him without one after that. I helped my dad make homemade bread before dinner, and all the cousins had bath time together (which K hated) before bedtime. I think the kids had a bath every single night the whole time we were there just because of how much play time they had outside. It was awesome (except for Kimball screaming the whole bath time, of course). I loved seeing the kids play so much.

Tried to imitate his cousin, Breck in so many things, including climbing the rails. 

All fascinated by a stink bug.

Day 3 - Sunday:

Lots of early mornings with these two. The time difference is two hours (insert sleeping emoji here).

Significant because 1. It's the Sabbath, so it's always significant. 2. My sister's son, Breck, escaped the pew and sat up on the stand with my dad when we weren't looking (haha, so cute!). 3. Kimball's first time falling asleep on my shoulders at church (he was zonked and I didn't mind the snuggles at all). 4. Homemade peach ice cream.

5. The best part - We visited Alma.

Day 4 - Monday:
Went to Freeman Park to try out their new-to-us zip line. Even the adults were able to get on it, which was awesome. I took Kimball, and he loved it. That morning we announced our baby's gender to both sides of the family, too (we took a video of Aidan saying he's going to have a little brother).

He got so tired on the walk that he just sat down in the middle of the path.

In-Between:

Playing with Nana Dee (Jayze's mom).

Peacocks at Jayze's Grandma's house.

Played at another park (Pioneer).

The kids loved activities even as simple as plastic fish in a bucket of water.

Bubble machine!

They loved the tricycles (and sidewalk chalk).

Day 7 - Thursday:
We stayed inside for most of the day. After dinner, Jayze made two delicious apple pies.

The best part of the day: Jayze felt the baby move for the very first time!

Day 8 - Friday:
This was our big day. We went horseback riding and celebrated Aidan's birthday party. It was so windy that day, but not cold. It was also Kimball's first time on the trampoline (maybe Aidan's too?).

Totally in his element.

Oh, my heart. 

Aidan's bday will be my next post! (most likely) :)

Day 9 - Saturday:
Pumpkin Patch!

The only pumpkin patch in town had its opening day! If I had known how cheap their butternut squash was, I would have bought a gigantic one like my parents did. It was Kimball's very first time to any pumpkin patch. The game section was free that day, and all of the kids had so much fun running around from one game to another.

On the way home, I asked Aidan what his favorite part was, and he said, "The balls on the trampoline!"

That night we saw Pam (Jayze's mom) for her birthday. We gave her a homemade card, and I took the kids home right after we sang "Happy Birthday" because they were exhausted. Jayze stayed, and him and his siblings had fun talking.

Day 10 - Sunday:
All of my siblings left that morning, but Jayze and I stayed because his brother's missionary "farewell" was that day. It was the last day we were going to see him for two years! He looked like a missionary when he gave his talk. The luncheon afterwards was delicious, and it was fun to spend that time with Jayze's side of the family and visit with friends.

This is the only picture I got from that day, but it's a good one. Aidan wrote the letter D "all by myself."

Day 11 - Travel back to KS day:
The trip back was a lot smoother than Day 1. We got up early and hit the road (after a quick trip to Walmart for a pack of diapers).

New Mexico's sky is amazing.

We made a quick stop in Liberty, KS to stretch our legs and prep for the three more hours' drive. It was cold, but the kids were ecstatic to be out of the car. We were grateful when we finally pulled into our parking lot, unloaded the van, and tucked our kids in nice and tight.

I'm going to miss going to AZ for Christmas, but I'm excited to spend it here with just our family. We'll try to make it as magical as possible and come up with a couple of our own traditions to still make it just as special.