Great weekend.

We had a fun weekend with my mom and stepdad in town and spending time as a family. Friday afternoon we went swimming at their hotel and that night we went to dinner at the Red Iguana in Salt Lake. Saturday morning we decided to take a little hike up a hill that is really close to our house. The kids LOVED it.

 Indie was a trooper the whole way up. He just kept going and going. I think he could have gone for several miles if it came to that. He is a natural hiker.

 The view from the top was beautiful.

The only problem we had with Indie was when it was time to head back down and he wanted to keep going. Where he thought he was going, I don't know, since we were at the top. This is him throwing a fit while I carried him back down.

Later that day we spent some time with my mom's family at my grandma's house and that night Scott surprised me with a group date with some of our friends in the neighborhood. We had a blast going to Thanksgiving Point for dinner and cruising the beautiful gardens they have there. Sunday brought dinner at our place with all the cousins playing with their uncles and having Papa Jim read them books. What a wonderful weekend!

Parkisms

I don't know if it's just this age or what, but as quiet as Park was when he was younger he sure is making up for it now. The other day we had the Superior Water guy come out to check some things and the whole time he was here Park would not stop talking to me. I was making cookies and lunch at the same time and Park had pulled up a chair to "help" which really means to watch. Every so often I would hear the Superior guy chuckling because Park was so non-stop. It went something like this: "Mom, you're scooping the cookies, huh. Then you're going to put it here, huh. Then it's going to cook in the oven and get ready to eat, huh. Those cookies in the oven are getting ready right now, huh. Those ones on the counter are ready, huh. I'm going to eat one after I eat my quesadilla, huh. Are you cooking my quesadilla yet?" His talking is a constant stream of observations and he will say the same thing several times in a row until you acknowledge what he has said. (Notice the "huh" at the end of every sentence. If you don't say something after his "huh" that's when he repeats himself.)

And of course, with so much talking some pretty funny things come out of his mouth. Today he was talking to a friend when he said. "Hey Corbin, watch how fast I can run! I can run fast because I ate vegetables once!" He ate a total of about 10 pieces of carrots and corn a few days ago and he still thinks he can run fast because of them. Maybe I should tell him that they wear off everyday and that to run faster he has to eat them EVERY day.

Do I have to?

It appears that it is officially time to put Indie into a toddler bed. I had just finished changing his diaper when he thought it would be fun to throw his blanket into his crib. He then proceeded to retrieve it. I have since found him waiting right next to the door after a nap, or in the morning. *sigh* I guess I'm more surprised that he hasn't done it before this.



Happy Easter!

I think I have officially become the queen of low-key. For Easter we dyed Easter eggs on Saturday and on Sunday after church we had an egg hunt. Most of the eggs were filled with candy, but there were some that had some of the symbolic things about Christ's crucifixion and Resurrection. The kids had to listen to our explanations of them before they got to eat their candy.

 Park wanted to take a picture of the eggs himself.

 Crazy daddy! Park took this picture too.

 The egg hunt.

Indie was not interested, at all, in picking up eggs. So he jumped on the trampoline instead.

Our LA vacation

 Be forewarned that there are about 500 pictures ahead (okay, not that many...but still) We got in to Doug and Emily's (Scott's brother and fam.) Saturday night, and the kids had fun doing art with their cousin Penny.

 Sunday brought church. Isn't their building beautiful? Indie had a fever and so I stayed home with him and got everything ready for dinner with the missionaries that evening. It turned out that Indie ended up with a double ear infection. Luckily his tubes are still in so we were able to call in a prescription for some ear drops.

 Monday we went to "Travel Town." It was a park that had old trains that the kids could explore and there was a train ride that Park actually went on! He insisted on sitting on my lap the whole time, but he did it! And he had a good time! Monday night we saw "Jane Eyre," it was fantastic!

 Perfect Penny face.

 Of course Indie wanted to just wander at his own whim.

 Scott's mom grew up in Santa Maria and her parents lived there all of their married lives.

 Tuesday brought the LA Zoo. The kids loved it, they even had a little petting zoo where the kids could brush the goats.

 Indie eating lunch.

 Wednesday we had lunch with my cousin Cory who lives in LA. It was great to see him. Afterward when the little ones were down for a nap Park and Annicka made the biggest train ever.

 Thursday brought Santa Monica Pier and beach. The water was cold, but the kids LOVED it! This is both Park and Indie's first time at an oceanside beach.

 On the pier we got funnel cake, and as you can see, Penny got an ice cream cone the size of her head. And she ate it all too!

 Poor Indie was so tired from roaming all over the beach.

 And of course Annicka had to ride a ride on the pier. Park refused, surprise, surprise.

 Friday was supposed to be another day at the beach with some friends who live in San Diego, but it didn't work out so we decided to take a small hike. It was the perfect length for the kids. Afterward we went to get lunch, but there were roads shut down because the police were looking for a murder suspect. So what did we do? We found a parking lot and walked to the restaurant! Friday night we had to watch Three Amigos, since Sophie had never seen it. We had such a great time! Thank you, Doug and Emily! (Mostly Emily, let's be honest!)

 Saturday we drove home. The most exciting thing about our drive was that Annicka lost another front tooth while we were stopped for lunch in St. George. All she wants for Chrithmath is her two front teeth!

And when we got home, Annicka insisted that she sell her seashells that she found on the beach. She was hilarious outside yelling, "Seashells! Come and get your seashells!" And she actually made $2.30, thanks to the Michaelson's.

We are leaving for LA soon and so I decided to empty the camera. Here are a few of the new pictures that were on there. On my mom's side of the family St. Patrick's day is a huge deal because of our Irish ancestry. My grandma, who we lovingly refer to as "crazy grandma," dresses up as a leprechaun each year. What other grandma do you know that would do that? So, here are Park and Annicka trying on her hat.

 One of Indie's favorite things right now is to make faces at you and wait until you copy him. This is one of his favorite faces.

 If you can believe it, the day before I took this picture it was 75 degrees and beautiful. We woke up in the morning to this snow. Ahhh, spring in Utah!

And here is Indie being Bono, at least that's what Scott says.

It's about time!

Well, that little white blob in the middle of the black spot is baby number four! It has a good strong heartbeat and will be joining us around October 25th. We are very excited for this little one! It took us a year exactly to get pregnant and we are grateful it has finally decided it was time to make an appearance. I'm feeling all sorts of crappy with the usual food aversions to EVERYTHING and headaches like crazy, but even though being sick stinks, it's a good sign for the pregnancy. Hopefully it only lasts a few more weeks and then we'll be on to bigger and better things! Like actually getting the house clean instead of vegging on the couch wishing I could just go to sleep for the next month and wake up when it was over...=)