Catching Up! (July - Nov 2009)

Today is the day after Christmas and I'm having a "stay-home lazy day" (in fact, I'm still in jammies and it's 1:30 in the afternoon), so I decided to catch up on my blog and record some of the fun we've had each month since my last post in June.

July

We spent the 4th of July in Granny Louw's backyard. Anders had fun playing in the pool and hot tub with his Pew cousins.

I decided it was time to donate the hair that I had been growing out for 14 months. In the end, I lost nearly 12 inches. I've had long hair for so long, that I was a little scared...but I've actually liked the shorter length.

We joined the Hendersons and Johnsons on the 24th and set off a few fireworks in the street. The kids had fun and Anders got to handle a sparkler for the first time.

Holly, Kennedy, Lauren, & Andersen

Sam's family was able to come down for an overnight visit. We went to eat at The Brick Oven...I hadn't been there since my college days and it was a fun time. We had a FANTASTIC server who had to deal with a crazy party of 6 little ones and only 4 adults. The kids were excited to end their dinner with ice cream and balloon figures that the balloon artist made for them. The next day we went to the "cheap zoo" aka Cabella's. It was a very hot day, and when we came home, the kids played in the sprinklers and went on the slip and side. It's always fun when cousins come to play.

Katie, Holly, Raegan, Andersen, Madison, McKinley, & Jordan

AUGUST

We always have a big water party in Granny Louw's backyard in honor of her birthday. The kids think it's a blast when Uncle Keith makes tidal waves in the pool and the boat rocks back and forth. Aunt Amber was nice enough to help Holly swim in the turtle floaty, since I didn't plan on swimming with my belly just starting to pop out.



The other main activity that went on this month was hours and hours of shoveling and wheelbarrowing. Charl decided to move the paver patio he did a year ago to a different location in the backyard. He spent countless hours on this project, but the hard work has paid off. The new patio looks great and we will get a lot of use out of it next spring and summer. (There is still more work to do in the spring, but the "hardest" part is done and we now have grass and hard scape completely surrounding the house.)

Anders helping spread the sand.

Holly and Anders eating lunch on the new patio.

SEPTEMBER

We took the kids up to Sam's house in Idaho for the weekend to experience "farm" life. Sam and James have a lot of property and they have horses, goats, dogs, cats, tractors, etc. James drove the kids around in a "cow train". It's made of water barrels and he pulls it with is 4 wheeler. We also went to the Eastern Idaho State Fair. I tried a deep fried Twinkie...YUM! It was also James' birthday so we helped him celebrate by eating ice cream cake.



Another bit of excitement was that I had my 20 week ultrasound and found out we are having another boy.
This was also the month that I potty trained Andersen. The swine flu also came in full force and many kids all over were sick. My kids thankfully avoided the swine flu, which was easier to do since they weren't in school. Holly did have a bad cold/sinus infection for 2 weeks, though, but once she got an anti-biotic, she was instantly better.

OCTOBER

This was a fun month. We enjoyed the last of the nice weather as much as we could. I took the kids to a duck pond with Rachelle, Zane & Gwen to feed the ducks and play on the playground. Andersen loved feeding ducks and got real close to them, but Holly kept her distance. Holly, however, loved to climb on the playground...and did NOT want any help.

For FHE, we went to a garden nursery in Orem to buy our pumpkins and I was able to take some cute pictures. We met the Pews there. (This is a much cheaper route than a pumpkin patch.)

The wrap up to October, of course, is Halloween day. We were blessed with decent weather again. I got crafty this year and decorated the yard with a skeleton made from PVC pipe and ghosts made from my tomato cages and a sheet draped over them. (I got the ideas from Lowe's magazine.) Andersen dressed up as a lion and Holly was a sheep. We took the kids to see granny and grandpa Louw before we knocked doors in our neighborhood. This year Charl took them up and down our street. That was enough for Holly, but I took Andersen up and down another street. The last house we went to happened to be my friend's house, and Andersen invited himself in to play. We stayed at least 30 minutes and he was mad when we had to leave.

Andersen & Zane: aka Alex & Marty

NOVEMBER:

The kids discovered my boots...and they had some fun with them.

We invited Layne's family and Charl's parents over for Thanksgiving dinner. This is the first time I've been honored to prepare the turkey. It smelled divine and looked beautiful and tasted okay, I guess. I quickly learned that I don't enjoy the stress that comes with cooking the turkey and being the one who has to make sure all the food is done at the same time. (Next time I'm in charge, I think I'll just do a turkey breast.) In the end it all turned out great and we were well fed.

Layne & Marin

Layne had her girls, Marin and Natalie, give Holly an early birthday present. They passed along all their curly hairbows that they outgrew. While the final dinner prepareations were being made, Layne entertained Holly by "fixing up" her hair. Doesn't she look like a cute little present!


Sorry for the long post. I'll do December's post separately and try not to get so far behind, but there are no guarantees, especially with baby scheduled to arrive on Feb. 4.