Dallan and Carrie's reception...

Blogger doesn't want to let me upload too many pictures but here are a few fun ones...

Lizzy Beth about to make her family party debut...

My dad and Brittany...

Jessica and Simon

Wende, Rosie, Clara, Bep and John

Devin...he was kind enough to look "aloof" and let me try lots of different flash options in the terrible lighting!!

Paula and Simon

Francis and Kerry

Cutie Stella and Joe

Baby swap...

The happy couple...Carrie and Dallan

Happenings...

Okay...really this is just a picture post (with a little info)...

This was last night...we finally had a decent storm and it was beautiful. I didn't do anything to these pictures (actually, I don't do anything to any of my pictures as I have no software to do so :) That is how it looked last night...


Our street. That is our yard on the right but you can't really see the house...

There are very few pictures of me. I think I will need a tripod or a place to set my camera with a timer if I ever want a picture of me :) However, these two make a great pair also! Bep and Daddy at 3 months...

For my birthday last week Elizabeth started laughing. It was her first real laugh and a great present :) On her 3 month "birthday" she reached out and grabbed at something...Here she is all smiles and 3 months old!!

And a few pictures of Sammer being himself...

Heard around...

Josh...on our way to our favorite swing set (it belongs to the neighbors who bring the boys out a treat every time they hear them) Josh teased the little boys the whole way there. He then accidentally walked it front of Math while he was swinging and got nailed by Math's feet and knocked down. Getting up Josh exclaimed, "I hate Karma." :)

Josh..."The world is trying to bring me to my knees in agony." (he had a bad day ;)

Seth licking his fingers..."Mmmm, that tastes just like hot dog juice, very satisfying."

(we had not been eating hot dogs :)

Seth - I saw a rolly poly around the house. I thought it would taste like frosting so I ate it.
Me - And how did it taste?
Seth - Not that good but I still like it because you can eat bugs. Lots of people do it in other places. I am going to tell my brothers that I can eat bugs.

December...

We finished the decorations although most of them went up in mid-Nov... :)

After I had Beth, I bought a sweater. I felt pretty bad about spending money so I took this picture to make myself feel better. It is all my clothes minus pants...

John and Dallan opened a present that was for them and Joe without Joe there. It was a small retribution for all the years Joe has spent opening and eating their presents without them :)

Little Sammer turned 2 and got the best present ever..a snow shovel he can use!!

And finally, our Baby Beth is growing more wonderful everyday :)

Have a very CHERRY Christmas...

It is 10 degrees so we are having hot chocolate and toast for lunch....

Baby Bep is asleep, dinner and wash is done so now I get to work on treats...

You may not know this but John has a moderate obsession with maraschino cherries. He loves everything with them in it! I have been making a few recipes for years that he loves but last week at Costco I noticed they had maraschino cherries (in bulk!!). I thought we'd do the cherry treats theme this Christmas. It has proven VERY popular in our house. I've done all my old recipes now. I have done the internet and recipe site searches and made many of those. I think I have exhausted the basic cherry bar (a shortbread/sugar cookie base with a filling on top and frosting). I usually don't have time to do any cookie that requires me to wrap a cherry in the dough (although I might try some on a Sat or Sun) so I skip those recipes mostly. Now for my request...does anyone have a recipe that they love with maraschino cherries? The easier it is the better but if it is worth the work then I am willing to try it :) Traditionally we give John chocolate covered cherries for Christmas. I have some recipes that work good but if you have one for them that you think is "john worthy" I'd love it too.

Merry Cherry Christmas!!!!

PS - Michele, when you read this...I'd love that one recipe that you always made at Christmas for gifts with the dried fruit, etc. You can stick it on your kitchen blog or send it to me :) I figured a public plea might add extra incentive to send it :)

3 weeks down...

You know when you go to the store with your kiddos and someone inevitably says "You've got your hands full." Well, I can finally answer truthfully that YES, I do have my hands full. I remember it being a little overwhelming with the first 3 little ones at home but (for real) this time I have my hands full!! It is very busy trying to keep up with the older ones' activities and the younger ones' needs and John's schedule and calling! I am pretty sure we'll make it but John and I agreed to not talk about any more children for at least 2 years and decide then.

We have had lots of wonderful moments over the last 3 weeks. Little girls really are the most precious. It is hard to believe how much a little person can be loved in just 3 weeks. She is adored and adorable!!

These are some pictures that were done by my SILM. That's what we call her at our house because it is too long to say my sister-in-law's mother (her dad is SILF :). When Baby Bep was 2 weeks old my sister-in-law and I went out to my SILM's studio Idlewild (check is out HERE) for our shoot. Our husbands only called us twice :) There were so many darling pictures. These are some of my favorite.

PS - to the Anne of GG fans...are you not just enchanted with the name of the studio!!

These 3 weeks also brought an end to Josh's Reflection contest. He entered the photography section with the theme "diversity means..." This was his project. He took all the pictures and did the editing and decided how to put it together. He had to write an essay and talk about the meaning of his work. This isn't the finished product. The background actually turned out green with the title above it called Apples Together. I only have this version on my computer though. He ended up winning and is now moving onto the regional competition.

In the hood....

Yesterday I was caught in a room, meaning I had shut the door and was in the middle of something I couldn't leave right away. It is amazing how many times that happens during a day. The phone always rings when you are in the middle of changing a diaper or feeding a baby :)

Anyway, I was "caught" for a few minutes and I heard my sweet 1 year old looking for me. He was running between all the rooms saying "Mama, Mama??" As more time wore on he started to get frantic until finally the tears started falling along with the "mama...." The boys tried to help him but he wasn't having it. Finally I emerged and put Beth down and went to find him. He was still running around trying to find me. On my way I picked up a plate with part of a treat still left on it to bring it back to the kitchen. At the end of the hallway he spotted me and started running down the hall with a huge smile and his arms stretched out. As he runs down the hall I think to myself, I may be tired, unkempt and a little jiggly around the belly but I am still mom and that is better than anything to all the people that matter most to me. I bent down waiting for his jumping hug. He got about 6 inches from me with that sweet look of relief in his eyes. Just as he starts to reach for me, he notices the plate. His arms swerve away from my neck and down towards the plate. He grabs the treat, turns and heads off to the kitchen without a care in the world.

My much anticipated hug diverted, my desperate toddler satiated and that sweet "motherhood" moment gone.....I burst out laughing. I couldn't help it...it is such a true and ironic end to most of the sweetest moments in life. The only thing better than mom--food!

Stardate: [-28] 05690.00

Our little Elizabeth Pauline arrived!! I am a little slow with pictures but I literally have not sat down at the computer since she came!! I've checked email occasionally but that is all. It is busy :)

For the last 7 weeks, every visit to the doctor has been stressful. Basically from day 1 it has been nothing but drama and it didn't end until she came! Discussions every week about what to do with little Beth. Ultrasounds and non-stress tests, worry, decisions. At 38 weeks I passed the non-stress test and we decided that we'd keep her one more week but the doctor said she had to come out 39 weeks. She even postponed her vacation a few hours to come deliver her. (I have a great doctor!!) The drama didn't end there, delivery was.....eventful but it all worked out. She eventually came out. A beautiful 7 lbs and 18 1/2 inches long. Her hair is brown!! I know...I can't believe it. Her eyelashes and eye brows are blonde so we'll see if it lasts.

She has been an okay sleeper and a really good nurser. It is clear that I am not in my 20's anymore. So tired....Even my doctor commented on the fact that the whole pregnancy it seems like my body hasn't been working very efficiently ;)

Sam calls her Baby Bep. Math calls her Lizard and sometimes we call Eliza just to try on a few different names. She is now almost a week old and absolutely as cute as can be!!

Baked...

Well, I am finally officially "baked" although I still have a little while to go till 40 weeks so a small run down of life...

I don't really expect the baby early but if she makes it to 40 weeks we have a small problem because John is leaving to go out of town at the end of week 40. My doctor said she'd induce me in time (a few days after my due date) to make sure he has at least 4 days before he leaves in case I have complications and I have to stay in the hospital that long. Not ideal because the first few days home can be tiring especially with John gone. A similar thing happened after Sam was born and I survived although John felt bad when he got back because he had literally missed half of Sam's life :)

Out of options...I tried to save things till the end so I'd have something to do. I didn't want to finish my wordsearch book before the baby got here but it is done. I finished reading Sense and Sensibility, Emma and Pride and Prejudice and watched the corresponding movies. I thought that would last a week or two longer so now I have nothing...maybe a Bourne movie party but that will only last 3 days. Any suggestions? I am too tired/grumpy to put up with anything that isn't really entertaining :)

Baby has some timing issues to work around...So, even though she could come anytime, if she wants to come now we don't really have too many openings in our schedule for her arrival :) Tomorrow or Sunday would work along with next Thurs afternoon. The next two Tuesdays after that will work and any Sunday and Sat afternoon but that is about all we have open till my due date. It is a busy time. Homecoming, presentations for BYU, National Chemistry Week and grant proposal deadlines means that John will be gone many, many nights over the next 2-3 weeks. If she wants to come in the middle of the night we have a block of time from about 9:00pm to 6:00am every night that should be long enough :) Of course, if labor goes slow then I can just sit at the hospital myself for awhile till John finishes. That is what I did with Sam. I was there for about 4 hours myself and it was pleasant. I get to be home tonight myself...like almost every other night this past week. I am thinking hot chocolate... :) It is snowing so I think it is appropriate.

I am staying away from gymboree. It wasn't that bad before because their boy stuff is super cute but nothing that special. But now...some of their girl items just make a person tear up they are so darling. I already used my gym bucks. I'll wait for the next big clearance but if it comes in the next 2 weeks I need to budget :) I am learning to try and like animal prints also...

John, apparently, has a nickname from his students. The beauty of having siblings at BYU is they know people in John's classes and they give reports from his students. His students call him "Prince John" and he reigns down too much homework but they like him still :)

Things looked a little fishy so we had to do some extra tests and ultrasound. Everything turned out fine but we do know that it is a GIRL for sure (again) and according the ultrasound tech she has a lot of hair. She may end up without too much hair but I packed the hospital bag accordingly just in case. An assortment of knit hats and flower clips to fit whatever I like that day :)

Football has been sad but it has provided a lot of conversation and entertainment!! I haven't been able to go to any games because John has had to work through all of them but watching them has still been stressful. That is what I need right now, distractions...

My current status at my last appointment. Baby at +1 station (yeah, it hurts), dilated to 4cm and pretty much effaced....so I probably have forever long to go :) Hopefully the next time I post it will be with baby pictures. Happy Autumn!! I hope you get some beautiful weather like what we are having here!!

We're still here...

Just super busy, tired and ready to be done with everything!! :)

So...a small review of autumn so far...

School started...

Dinners in the canyon...

Birthdays....

Leaves and more leaves!! :)

The canyon has turned and the valley has started to change color...

How you know football season is here...

The weather cools. The leaves are turning and you can smell the scrub oak. The ground is littered with acorns and hot chocolate is totally appropriate in the evening...

Saturday at Costco is a sea of complete blue and white. If you are pregnant and can't fit in any BYU shirt then you are about the only one there without one.

When activities are announced in church they are followed by listing the time of the BYU game and the assurance that the activity will not interfere with the game.

Saturday at Costco the store is almost empty 30 minutes before game time. A few hours before there were literally thousands of people there.

Your Relief Society uses their "good news minute" to talk about the BYU game.

Although Saturday is a "no screen" day in your house, you happily allow your children to watch PBS kids if they leave you alone during the game.

The need for 7 layer dip increase 100%.

Pizza and root beer always seems like the best meal for Saturday.

Your 1 year old already knows some football terms even if he still prefers Jimmer highlights.