Update

One of our favorite holiday's came and went. The girls got to make mail boxes for their Valentines this year, at home, and then take them to school. I loved making Valentine mail boxes, when I was young, so this was very exciting for me.

We made yummy Valentine's Day treats to deliver to our friends. I even let the girls help with many things - which I'm normally not very good at. I discovered that I need to have more faith in them, b/c they do an amazing job helping. And tasting of course!

(a friend mentioned that his daughters were most likely vampires - I think the above picture suggests the same for my girls...maybe it's something going on in the neighborhood!)

The girls woke up super early (for them) and ran down to find their Valentine's day presents in the kitchen. We had pink heart shaped pancakes and pink milk for breakfast.

Alli with her loot and breakfast.


We went to Oregon the weekend after Valentine's Day - I forgot my camera so I didn't take any pictures of our fun. We didn't do much, but it was perfect for me. The girls had a great time playing with their cousins and I enjoyed hanging out with Michelle. Konrad rode a 4 wheeler for the first time. Kimber and Sam got their haircut. We ate out a couple times and took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. It was a great weekend. We decided we weren't done playing with Makenna so we brought her home with us to spend a few days here. Grandma Leanne took her back on Friday morning, so she got to be here most of the week.

We had a snow day this week - which we LOVE in our house. There is nothing like a good old snow day. I think I love them b/c I use it as an excuse not to go anywhere. I'll never teach myself to drive in the snow just for that reason. It's a day to stay home, organize stuff, watch movies, read books, and bake treats. Oh and of course play in the snow!

Alli, Kenna, and Sam heading out for a 2 hour long play session with the snow. I couldn't believe they made it that long! Poor Kimber was sick, too sick to go outside, so she missed all the fun!

Oh, I just realized I never turned the picture below. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd fix it, but I'm feeling lazy right now. "A" came over and helped the girls make a snowman. I thought they did a great job. They were excited about it. Unfortunately they built it at the park so as soon as they left it unattended it was destroyed. Note to self - build in the back yard next time!



Jack, Jordan, and Kenzie stayed with us Friday night. I realized I won't have to do much work with our new baby - our girls jumped right in to help Kenzie with everything. Sam even had the patience to feed her oatmeal for breakfast. She did say it took a bit too long, but she lasted through the whole thing! Yeah for helpers!




Other than that:

• Allison has been sick for a week and half.
• Kimber has been sick for a week.
• I am tired of hearing coughing - I can't imagine how tired they are of coughing!
• I enjoyed 2 girls-nights this past week. I stayed up too late, but had a great time. I love those girls!
• I've spent today organizing pictures, both hard copies and the ones on the computer. I still have so many to print out - but at least my "need to print" folder is current and ready to go. Bring on the deals Snapfish!
• We booked a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge - we are going the 10th of March if anyone wants to join us. It will be our last "easy" vacation for a few years.....

I think that's about it. I need to start taking more pictures so that I will blog more. Or I need to start having interesting experiences to write about at least - lately my day to day life hasn't been to exciting.....

Have a great week everyone!

For those Non-Believers

I keep telling people that I normally gain a ton more weight when I'm pregnant - some people don't believe me.

Here is proof:


This was taken at my sister Stephanie's wedding reception in early May 2005. Allison wasn't born until late September 2005. I'll let you imagine how much worse it got!

Man, it's amazing what some exercise will do for you!!!!

Woe Is Me

We were supposed to get on a Disney cruise ship today.....

Wish I was enjoying a nice dinner at sea right now or watching a fun show (can you imagine how fun the Disney shows would be? All the characters and everything!!).

Oh well, there will be others, right????

A Big Day at Our House

Samantha lost her first tooth!!!! (and has another loose one already)

And Konrad turned 34!!!!

(he was in a goofy mood tonight - figured if he was going to "ham-it-up" then I'd post the pictures he posed for)

Getting ready to open presents:

Sam and Allison gave him a kettle ball

A "boy" game - that involves guns. Can't believe I bought it for him....

My 4 favorite people:

Singing happy birthday - Konrad started the singing...

And really got into singing it....

ready to blow out the candles:

(oh and the chocolate lush only has whipped cream on part of it b/c our weird daughters don't like whipped cream...until they tried it with it and realized it wasn't all that bad)

We went to a Japanese restaurant to celebrate. The girls were not excited at all - until they heard the word "chopsticks", then it became a very exciting adventure. They even found something they liked (Chicken Catsu - basically chicken strips) and all 3 ate without any fighting. It was a successful dinner out.

Okay, I'm going to try and list 34 things about Konrad....wish me luck :)

1. He likes Japanese food

2. He loves Chocolate Lush

3. He likes to play sports

4. I think volleyball is his favorite

5. He is the Ward Mission Leader at church

6. He has 3 brothers and no sisters

7. Him and his brothers all were born within a 5 year period - I don't know how his mom did it (all though I'll be watching my little sister do it...maybe then I'll get a glimpse!)

8. He grew up in Auburn

9. He graduated from High School in Houston though

10. He served his mission in Japan

11. He likes to do nothing on Saturdays

12. He stays up late working almost every night

13. He likes those orange shaped gummy candies

14. He will pretty much eat anything - except: Hamburger Helper and Chinese Chicken Morsels (a recipe I tried once) - ooh, and I've decided he doesn't share my love of broccoli either

15. He listens to talk radio in the car

16. He graduated from BYU with a Japanese major and a business minor

17. At one point he wanted to get his MBA in International business

18. He is attached to his computer/I-phone/I-pad - has one with him at almost all times

19. He doesn't get mad at me when I toss and turn for 2 hours in the middle of the night and keep him awake

20. Then he comes down (I eventually moved to the couch) to wake me up when my alarm goes off

21. He reads with Samantha for an hour almost every single night (part of the time I think he sleeps though :))

22. He falls asleep very easily when being read to, reading (even when he is reading out loud to the girls), or being talked at (meaning at church and I'm assuming school)

23. He rarely says a bad thing about anyone

24. He rarely ever gets mad about anything

25. He has trained our family to use only the lights in the room we are in - we all turn them off as we leave each room/hallway/stairs

26. He is still trying to get us to use less water

27. He loves to play ping pong

28. He is really good at the card game "It Came to Pass" - b/c he can discard a card faster than anyone else

29. When we split entrees at restaurants he always lets me pick what we order

30. He isn't the best person to share cold stone with though - he eats ice cream really fast (actually that is how he is with most desserts that we attempt to share)

31. He sleeps on the left side of the bed (if you are looking at the bed)

32. He is blind and has to have contacts or glasses on at all times (except while sleeping of course)

33. He has a cavity right now - I'm pretty sure this is the first one he has had since we've been married....we won't mention how many I've had in that time period!

34. He is the best guy in the world. Kind. Caring. Competitive. Hard working. Loyal. Honest. Patient. Funny. Smart. Seriously the BEST!

Happy Birthday Konrad!

(p.s. My contractions are definitely slowing down - I only had a few today. I think as long as I take it easy we'll be good to go!)

Catch-Up Post

It's been awhile. Figured I should do so recap of what's been going on in our lives....

My birthday was last month.

I obviously wanted Zumba for the Wii :)


I also mentioned at one point that I wanted my own Webkinz...I guess Kimber was listening. I have yet to put it on the computer, I need to get on that!

Allison liked the pig too.



When I uploaded pictures from the camera to see what was on there, so I could add some pictures to this post, I found that Kimber took 95% of the pictures. She took all of the above of my birthday (plus many many more of my birthday including close ups of every present and of all her cousins/sisters, etc) as well as had a little photo shoot with her sisters and friend "A".

Here is a sampling of their pictures:

(Tami do you recognize the pants "A" is wearing in the above pic??? :))

Oh, this is our new chore chart. Each week the girls are in charge of one of the sections. They do each chore everyday for 6 days. The next week I rotate them to a new section. I printed out an 8x10 of this at Costco, put it in a frame, and we use dry erase markers to mark off each chore as it is done. The girls are doing pretty well with it, hopefully it will last! It definitely makes me happy - it's amazing to wake up to a clean house each morning - nothing better than that!

Let's see. Besides that what's been going on???

• I hung out in the hospital for an hour and a half yesterday b/c I was having contractions - about 5-7 minutes a part for most of the morning. Luckily nothing was really happening (meaning I wasn't dilating or anything), unfortunately even when I'm home laying down they are still happening. I'm going to have to figure out how to make them stop so I don't end up on bed rest....I don't think I could handle that. Looks like earning points for working out (in the fitness challenge I'm doing) isn't going to be so easy anymore. Anyone have any good ideas on how to get an hour worth of exercise without using your stomach and most likely sitting down? Really, the points are the least of my worries. To be honest, I'm just afraid to stop working out b/c I saw what happened in December when I wasn't working out - talk about putting on the pounds! But baby comes first - so bring on the chubbiness :(
• My niece (Konrad's brothers little girl) ended up in the hospital this weekend. She had a major seizure. This poor girl has had way too many tragic experiences. No one should have to go through what she has - and she is only 8. We're praying for you Kayla!
• My other niece (my sisters daughter) broke her elbow last week....she is the 3rd person I know right now with a broken arm. When it rains it pours!
• I got a new calling today. I am the new Activity Day Leader - didn't stay out of Primary for too long :)
• My gal bladder kills.
• I get to start eating sweets again tomorrow - which is in bad timing with the possibility of not being able to work out! Luckily for me, my gal bladder is killing me. Why is that good? Because when I eat anything fatty (sweets, fried foods) it REALLY KILLS. I tend to eat better when I'm pregnant b/c it isn't worth the extra pain. The key is remembering that....
• Konrad and I are trying to decide when is the best time to go to Disney World. (Jen if you are reading this - can we stay with you???? :)). I've heard the end of August is a good time, when it comes to lines (there aren't any) but it is soooo HOT and HUMID there in August. I'm kind of a weenie when it comes to the heat. So then we're thinking about October or November....any suggestions?
• My preschool class for next fall filled up - which is nice. I'm still bummed that I have to cut back to one class - but at least I have a cute reason to do so (baby!)
• Konrad's birthday is on Tuesday - any ideas on what to buy him? He is tricky to shop for. We're going out to Japanese that night if anyone wants to join us....(kids are coming too)
• Oh, on Friday it is our Stake Fill the Temple Day. Konrad and I are going to go to an evening session and I'm hoping to go to our favorite Thai place, either before or after, any Thai lovers want to come with?
• Samantha has her first loose tooth. She found it last Sunday and is VERY excited about it. She is pretty sure she is the only second grader to have all her baby teeth still. Hopefully the tooth fairy will get to come visit her soon!
• Kimber is obsessed with email right now. She emails my dad the most, but also a few of her friends. Today she was emailing my dad while he was at the Super Bowl - she was so impressed that he could email her while watching the game. She was determined we would see him on TV - we saw the section he was in, but not him :) She also figured out how to sign her emails using a crab symbol, plus the word tree. I don't even know how to do that. I still make my smiley faces with punctuation marks!
• Allison is the same old Allison. Cute as can be and happy most the time. She's my little sidekick and with me most of the time. She is getting excited to be a big sister. She is also doing really well with reading - which is fun.
• Speaking of reading. Samantha is doing great as well. Today was the first time that when I called her to come do her hair, she brought a book with. Kimber used to do that all the time - but this was the first time Sam didn't want to put a book down. I was so excited. All though I didn't know what to do with myself while I was curling her hair, normally she talks my ear off and asks about 1,000 times, if I am done yet. She is one of the highest readers in her class and now has to read "big chapter" books - no more skinny ones :)

Okay, now you see why there hasn't been any need to blog lately. Our life has been pretty laid back and low key. Nothing too exciting. Life is good though. I'm adjusting to the slower pace of it and finding that I'm probably a nicer mom because of it. There are times I miss being busy busy busy, but this baby is already showing me how important it is to take a step back, chill out, and relax more often. Hopefully he won't try to teach me to relax ALL the time (as in bed rest....) so let's hope these contractions stop!

Have a great week everyone!