Guess what!!

Well, we're EXPECTING!! Baby #3 will be here in June and we couldn't be more excited. Well, I take that back, I'm excited but will be LOTS more excited once this yucky nausea subsides. It's just like it was with Cole and Kate which gives me hope because with them it died down around 12 weeks, which is just a couple weeks away. So I can make it. I had my first prenatal visit today and saw the little one and it's heartbeat on ultrasound. It's really happening! I love it.

I'm still thinking about my list of 29 things and have crossed off several. One of my goals, to blog more often, has been on my mind although I totally haven't been feeling up to blogging, and when I sat down to do it a couple weeks ago and our computer was taking a whole 10 minutes to upload 3 pictures I decided it could wait. So I'm not going to be too hard on myself until I feel better :) You gotta play that pregnancy card while you can I've learned.

Well Kate has been busy lately, making messes in anyway possible. She somehow reached my mascara that I always put out of reach the other day, and this was the result.

And this girl loves markers! This is actually our first color-on-the-wall incident in our home, Cole never even thought of doing that. Thank goodness for washable, came right off. You would think this girl has no adult supervision, but not so. She's just lightning fast.
I've been doing great with my goal to make a homemade pie from a new recipe each month on the 23rd (our anniversary day, we always try to do something a little fun). Here's Apple Pie, it was SO good! And I used apples from mom and dad's tree which made it even better.
Halloween was great! It just gets better every year. Cole has been planning on a clown for a month or so, we have a costume mom made for us kids when we were little that he's been wearing around the house and seemed to love. The day before Halloween, he decides to be a cowboy! Which was fine because we had all the stuff. Kate was a ladybug. She loved holding her hands out and saying BOO! She's scaring me here while Cole is holding his pumpkin he helped carve.
Our friends have season tix to Utah football and couldn't make it to the Utah vs OSU game, so we were the lucky recipients! It was so much fun especially because we are Beaver fans too. Tyler wore his OSU tshirt and Utah beanie with his red-orange sweater. It was especially great with a crazy lady fan behind us that kept screaming "WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOOOOOOUSE!" every third down. We couldn't help cracking up every time after the first quarter.
Our second Halloween Half! Well second for dad and me, first for TP. The weather was beautiful, the course was downhill, and it was fun surprising my family with us being pregnant. I made a tshirt that said Running for 2 on the front and Baby on Board on the back, so everyone was pretty suprised at the finish line when they saw my "costume" :) I loved talking to other runners that would run next to me and say Hey, I'm pregnant too! Tyler carried his iphone the whole time so he could call mom and let her know when we were going to finish, so he also got a couple pics in. Crazy guy!

Carving pumpkins with our buddy Connor.
Cole's preschool Halloween program - they just paraded through the library then sang a few cute songs and fingerplays, it was adorable. Cole however was as shy as ever! It was hilarious.
Here's September's pie!! Over the top Banana Cream!! At Tyler's request. It was delish!!
Hanging out with Sundance at grandma's for the weekend means early mornings with the horses.
We went up and cut a bunch of firewood on a beautiful fall day. I love seeing my dad and Tyler do manly things together with power tools, they are totally in their element.
We also went to the local pumpkin patch which we've done for the past few years. They have this little shed that they just fill with corn kernels and let the kids play around in. Here's Kai and Christine.
Kate was so funny with corn stuck on her face! She loved it!
Haha!


Playing in the leaves at grandma and grandpa's.
I just had to add this because of his face, he was so frustrated. We were late for preschool but he had to wear the rollerskates, we were trying to get things moving and he was not cooperating. Resulted in a small meltdown. Lasted for like 30 seconds. At least he gets over things quickly.
Annual trip to Gardner Village! We love going down and seeing the witches and beautiful fall decorations. It was a Tuesday afternoon and Tyler was one of two dads there. He's the best!! Here's how we roll. I totally love my double stroller, I use it almost every day.
Our firefighters held an open house and Cole got to dress up and pretend to go in a smoky building. He was in heaven.
We went for a little hike a couple weeks ago and Cole was in charge of Biscuit the preschool bunny. I was carrying Kate in my hiking backpack so we made one for Biscuit too. It was so cute to see him talking to the bunny the whole hike and turning around so Biscuit could see the different things he was referring to.
They love their cousin Kai! Especially Kate, she's really into babies lately.
Kate is totally an artsy girl. Really into paint, markers, and creating more than her brother. He just hates sitting still for longer than 3 minutes.
This was our pie from August! I know, a ways back but wow fresh peach pie is soooo good.
Kids playing in Cole's bed.
One of our last outdoor family outings before fall weather set in. We did a bike ride on the Legacy Trail, here's Tyler fixing my flat. What a guy!
We borrowed our neighbor's bike trailer, it was awesome. We have to get one of these.
Now we're totally looking forward to the holidays!!! Thanksgiving with the Morrill side, Christmas in OR with the Petersens. Can't wait!!

29 before 30

So I'll be 30 in 9 months (today!), and that deserves some kind of amazing to do LIST! Because I am a huge list maker. Inspired by other 30 year old friends, I have created a list of 29 things for me to accomplish before July 19, 2012 when I say goodbye to my favorite decade ever and join the old thirty year group. I love setting goals and crossing things off, so this kind of stuff is really exciting to me. These are things I either have been thinking about recently or have been wanting to do for awhile. I wanted to wait until after conference to see if I got any new ideas and I'm glad I did! (#s 25 & 29). Several #s started out at a higher number, but I had to be realistic for the amount of time I have to do those things (#s 2, 19, 28). One great thing I already learned is that I want my life to focus on the things that really matter to me and my family, things that have eternal value. I have this quote from Sister Hinckley on my fridge and it is my true favorite:

“I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived.”

This is the kind of person I want to become!

And everyone knows that telling others about your goals holds you more accountable and committed. Wish me luck!

1. Fill a journal
   

2. Read 5 great literary classics

3. Take my kids regularly to our local retirement home

4. Learn to make homemade bread

5. Establish new family traditions

6. Cross off one of our destination places with Tyler

7. Finish Kate’s baby books

8. Run 20 miles consecutively

9. Paint something I’m proud of

10. Sleep under the stars - no tent
    

11. Write more letters and thank you cards

12. Be a more involved visiting teacher and give a message every month

13. Complete 29 house projects
    

14. Sit by someone different at church each week

15. Blog more often - bi-monthly

16. Become a better listener

17. Get to know everyone that lives on my street

18. Run in 2 half marathons – seriously consider a full (after completing #8)

19. Give away 5 Book of Mormons
    

20. Make a new pie from scratch each month on the 23^rd

21. Make our family and home prepared for a major earthquake

22. Change the oil in my car by myself
    

23. Take a moonlit walk on the beach with my darlin

24. Learn a skill from my mom that I can pass on to Kate someday

25. Find two family names that Tyler and I can take through the temple

26. Have a three month supply of food and water

27. Create birthday cards for everyone for the year by February

28. Cross off 15 hikes in our Farmington Trails book

29. Memorize "The Living Christ"

I can't wait to get started on planning out when I'll do these! I already feel good about where I am in my life, I remember thinking ahead when I was 20 wondering where I would be at 30 and what I would be doing, and my greatest dream was to have what I do now, a husband I love and children to be home with and enjoy. I am so blessed! So I think this list will help me feel I've accomplished something extra this last bit before my bday.

I'll keep you posted! #15! Oh and I'm doing part of #18 by running the Provo Halloween Half next weekend! Woohoo!

Family Milestones

Well, these last few weeks have produced some great family memories. Looking back on them, they were milestones in their own unique way. We experienced:

-The first time Cole and Kate got into a paint mess together. I can't believe I left the paint out for half an hour while I went upstairs to make lunch. I knew they were into something when it got much too quiet, so I went down to investigate and found them looking like this.

Kate's mess was limited to her mouth - she tried to eat it. She did manage to paint on the desktop though. Thank goodness for washable and non-toxic!

Cole had much more fun painting his face and hands. "I'm batman mom!" ?

- Tyler received his Wood Badge award for scouting - it was really a big deal. He went to a course for 6 full days, then had lots of requirements to fill after that and 4 service-type projects to organize and carry out. He was the first one of his group to earn his! He worked really hard and I was so proud of him.

I got to put on his new neckerchief at our Court of Honor. Look how proud he is! :)

- Cole had his first day of preschool! And it went super smoothly. He had been excited leading up to it, but also hesitant at times when he would talk about me leaving him there. But day of, he was awake and dressed when I walked in his room :) He was just beaming through our morning routines, and talked nonstop about how big he is now that he's in preschool. We walked him over to school and he just made himself right at home in his classroom. I was talking to his teachers after getting him settled working on a puzzle, and he turns around and waves "bye mom and dad!", like Okay you can go now :) So we left. He has loved it ever since and has a great class and teachers.

Opening the door for me on the first day

Bye mom and dad!

-Tyler fixed a beam on our porch. Our porch just started tilting this summer, and although we could still use it, it was looking a little unstable. Tyler dug down under the main beam that holds it up and discovered the wood at the bottom of it was rotting and causing everything to "fall". So he replaced it, poured some new concrete and now it's better than new. Have I ever mentioned how great it is to have such a handy husband? I love it!

Cole and Kate got to put their handprints in the base

- We made letters with our bodies! After watching an inspiring Sesame Street, we thought it would be fun to see what letters we could make with our bodies when we laid down. Turns out, not that many when you only have 2 people. But it was fun.

Making the letter L with his body. Kate just copycatting, as usual :)

- Kate wore a dress that was my mothers. I've been waiting for her to grow into this dress! My mom wore it when she was 1, and now Kate has too! It is so beautiful, with this flowy lace on top and puffy, silky blue material. I thought it was so special that she could wear something that was worn 50 years ago by her grandmother.

Laughing at daddy

Kate looking adorable in mom's dress

Dancing to music - aka twirling in a circle with hands in the air

Cole didn't have anything significant to wear but still looks awesome!

- Our family did a 6 mile hike. Or I should say, Tyler and I did a 6 mile hike with a child on our backs. This was one of those "glad we did it now, but never do again" things :) We absolutely love hiking, just maybe not for that long while carrying them. It was Labor Day and we had some friends going (up Big Cottonwood, to Lake Blanche) so we thought we would tag along. We knew what we were getting into, but of course were thinking we can always turn back if the kids get tired or if it's just too long. But it was great! We hiked up to 3 beautiful lakes and enjoyed perfect fall-ish weather and sights along the way. The views were incredible. I'm sure partly due to the very steep trails...this was no casual stroll. Poor Tyler carried 60 lbs worth of Cole and gear on his back, so he definitely felt it the most. But they both loved every minute of it and we were glad we went.

Taking a breather after a steep slope - notice Cole napping.

Finally to the top! Kate enjoying a snack break and stretch.

Lake Blanche

Us at the top! We did it!

Love my girl! I decided carrying her on my back and being able to take her on and off is much more fun than that time I carried her in front for 9 months.

So glad we did this together

This is me at the very bottom, 6 miles and 6 hours later. Pointing at the "severe rises in elevation" sentence on the map.

Lots of big days for us! Now we're trying to enjoy the weather before it turns for good, soaking up these last beautiful days.

Ode to Summer

Although sometimes I do enjoy it, I am not a natural writer. Coming up with things to say (even photo captions) in each bi-monthly blog that don't sound like what I said about last blog's photos can stress me out. But some days I do feel a little poetic, like today. On my morning run, I noticed a cooler temperature for the first time in 4 months and felt a bit of sadness that summer is drawing to a close. So I wrote an ode to summer:

Dear Summer,

Don't say it's so.

Another year gone already?

What about us?

You took me places.

Oregon, California, Park City.

Lovely places.

Showed me things.

Sand and surf, green lake water, mountain glory.

You are my favorite.

You give us wonderful options.

School park or Moon Park?

Blue or red popsicle?

Tricycle or scooter?

Baseball or football?

But fall is nice.

Fall eases the pain of your goodbye.

But winter.

Cursed winter.

Lame options.

Indoors, or indoors.

Coat or bigger coat.

Hot chocolate or hot cider.

Boring.

You will be missed.

I love you.

I'm feeling a little bummed that summer is closing today :) But I do love fall too!

These are a few of the pictures that Janale took of us while we were in Shasta. I now know firsthand why the bigger your family gets the harder it is to get a good shot of everyone. There are just too many variables. But I think they turned out super!!

After returning home from Shasta, we celebrated my 29th bday. Jess made me a delicious german chocolate cake, complete with 29 candles. Cole is at the ready to blow.
We left the kids with Jess for the night and Tyler took me backpacking close by here up Addams Canyon, it was the best bday present! I love being with him anyway, but doing something we love like hiking/camping was terrific. It's a beautiful hike right along a stream with a couple waterfalls along the way. Gorgeous!
Cole had a big milestone, he had his first trip to the dentist! I love our dentist and seeing how great he was with Cole just confirmed that. Cole was a little tentative at first, but as he watched me get my teeth cleaned he warmed up and started talking nonstop with Dr. Hair and his assistant. He opened so big and wasn't scared at all when it was his turn, I was so proud of him. No cavities either! Yay!
This summer we spent probably a full month when put all together living out of a suitcase. But it was all worth it to spend such quality time with family! The last week of July we spent a weekend in Park City with Parker, Jenn, and their boys and Mom, Dad, Shane, Tegan, Christine, and Walt of course. The boys had a great time in the hot tub. Jack and Josh are such great swimmers.
Then we went to the pool where Cole discovered the joy of jumping off to daddy, a million times.
Kate was his cheerleader on the side, clapping and yelling for him. He came over to give her a kiss. Awwww!
The Morrill fam! It's already outdated now that little baby Kai is here!
This was an outfit that was mine, and I have a picture of me wearing it sitting in the grass and wanted to get one of Kate doing the same.
Kate LOVES her peach yogurt! I just love that smile.
We headed back to Oregon at the beginning of August and got to help Rod get his work truck ready for a trip. Cole got to help Tyler do a few things with the forklift, he is such a mini-copy of his dad! Loving boy stuff, asking how every little thing works, loving the power of it.
We spent most of the time in Florence this trip which meant going to the beach!! As you can see, the water was chiiii-lly. But still fun!
This kid wanted to walk right out in it and never stop, I was trying so hard to keep her jeans dry and she was getting so frustrated that I just wouldn't let her go out and get drenched. We came back another day when we were a little more prepared :) This was when me chasing her was still a game.
LOVE it! And I think Kate actually has a seashell in her mouth here.
A different, more sunny day. We went to see our fave lighthouse, Haceta Head, and stopped by the beach to have a little picnic lunch beforehand. It was idyllic. I would come here all the time if I lived here! It was sunny but not hot, and the sand felt glorious.
My lighthouse!

Tyler is always ready for a nap.
Tyler is always game for a project, so he decided to expand Lisa's deck in one day while we were there. He did an amazing job and had a couple of his high school buddies help as well. I am always impressed with his natural ability to create beautiful things. Here's before and after.

Cole loved being with Shaely, she's so sweet.
We ran our traditional (3 years strong!) Scandia Run 10K and it was awesome!! Tyler and I finished in 47:17/18, and Jess did 57:?. We were all happy with our results! I'm still running lots and getting ready for the Halloween Half at the end of October. I'm LOVE running and get so much out of it! Anyway, then we completed the day with friends and food at the lake on the boat. Best day ever!
While we were in Oregon, Christine went ahead and had her baby without me there. I don't know why, but I guess that's ok :) I ran home with the kids the day after we got back in town to get to hold my new nephew. Sweet baby Zahkai is beautiful and perfect and Christine is the best mommy ever. Cole couldn't get enough of him and was so interested in everything about him.
Loving the fourwheeler rides with grandma! Cole liked his special seat on the back with the cushion :)
We also went up to the cabin and floated down the canal on tubes, just like we used to do when I was a kid. Cole thoroughly enjoyed it, as long as he wasn't getting wet. This rock has been a traditional picture place for many years.
One sad part of our summer was saying bye to Jessica. She left us for Virginia and a teaching job, and we have really missed her!! But are excited of course for this new part of her life. She drove all her posessions to Oregon in her mini, I don't know how Tyler fit it all in there. It was a miracle.
More of the lovely days of summer.
This is a good one of all her teeth, she has five now. And she's a total cheeseball for the camera.
Kate's first baseball game! (not counting Cole's tball). We went to see the Ogden Raptors play because it was get-in-free-with-a-scout night, and we happen to have a scoutMaster in our family. It was fun. We made it to the 7th inning before Kate had had it.
Having family time at a park nearby. Nothing better in the world!
Can you believe this kid starts pre-school next week! I just can't process it. Here he is before his open house. We got to go look around his room and meet his teachers (whom I've known for years, they work at the same school where I taught first grade. They are amazing!). He was shy, but will warm up to it all. He's growing up!
So goodbye summer. It's been one of the best EVER.