School Fun!

I love that both Carson & Kaylee are in school. It keeps them learning and they stay busy with lots of fun activities. The elementary school did a Dads and Donuts Activity last week. They had Jon Schmidt come and play for them and of course, they ate donuts. Nick and Carson went in the evening along with a lot of other dads and their kids! I sent the camera with Nick and the only picture that turned out that I could use was the following one. The rest of the pictures of Jon Schmidt were too blurry. But just know he was really there!
Today, I was able to go on Kaylee's preschool field trip to the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. I decided we had better take Carson with us, since none of us have ever been there before. So I checked him out of kindergarten just a few minutes early and we braved the snowy roads all the way to Sandy and ate our lunch of PB&J on our way. We met up with the rest of the preschool at the aquarium.

They had some really neat exhibits and it was very kid friendly. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon. Our favorite exhibits were the stingrays and the penguins.

It was a fun day and we enjoyed spending time with our school friends and neighbors. We can't wait to do even more fun school things in the future!

To pass the time....

While the boys were away fishing, Kaylee and I enjoyed some down time just relaxing around the house and not doing much of anything. This may sound bad, but unless I HAVE to, I try not to leave the house because it means I have to wear pants (not my comfy pj pants) and I normally come home exhausted. So even though it would have been fun to go shopping or do something exciting, we opted to just stay home and chill. So Monday afternoon we did a bit of laundry, work on the computer, and then watched the movie "Eclipse". Well, I watched it and Kaylee mostly just played with toys here and there. But we did enjoy some popcorn with our movie! Kaylee LOVES popcorn. We got a cute movie package present from Nick's sister Tamra for Christmas. It included these really cute popcorn cups. Now we can't have popcorn unless it is served in the popcorn cup! She also looked really cute that day. I am trying new things with her hair and lately it has been braids. She LOVES it when I put a braid in her hair. This one I did two braids and then connected them in the back. I tried to french braid her hair somehow but that was a disaster. I don't know if it is because I don't know what I'm doing, or if it is because her hair is too think and short to really do that yet. I may have to spend some time with my sister who has 3 girls and is an expert in that department! Anyway, we had a good time just the two of us and it was a great way to pass the time that day!
The kids have also come up with fun ways to pass the time. Since Carson didn't have school on Tuesday we had another lazy day of just hanging out and playing. I was working on some real estate files when I took a break and went downstairs to see what the kids were up to. This is what I found.

They had been playing with the blankets on the stairs and so I knew the closet was probably empty, but I didn't realize what now filling up the shelves! It made me laugh! I told them not to move so I could go get the camera. They played like this for like an hour. And if you look closely, they both have their Book of Mormon. They were pretending that they were getting ready for bed and they wanted to read their scriptures before they went to bed. It was just so cute!

I am always amazed on how creative the kids can be and it reminds me of all the silly things that my siblings and I did to pass the time when we were younger. I love when kids are just kids and they do what kids should do. I am sure my kids aren't the only ones that get creative when it comes to play time!

Ice Fishing

Yesterday was Human Rights Day. And according to Nicholas he was going to exercise his right to Fish! So the boys headed down to Holden Sunday evening so they could head out Ice Fishing early on Monday. They went with Papa Bear to Otter Creek first. The ice was still pretty thick, but it had warmed up enough to melt the snow on top of the ice so it almost looked like it was just water. Here are a few pictures from their fun day of fishing.
Papa Bear getting ready to drill a hole for fishing!

They came up with a very clever way too keep their sodas cold while they were fishing. I am sure they stayed plenty cold!

After a few hours of no luck getting any fish they headed to Fish Lake. It was a little colder there since it is higher up and there was snow they had to walk through, but they enjoyed it there since there were already several holes made that they were able to use. However, they still didn't catch any fish.

Even though they didn't get any fish, they had a blast and the weather was perfect for them. They also did a good job putting on the sunscreen so they didn't have a repeat of Carson getting burnt to a crisp like he did last year when they went ice fishing. I am so glad that they were able to go and make another fun memory!

Sunday Sampler

This morning before church the kids helped me in the kitchen. I was making knot rolls for Natalie's birthday dinner and the kids kept busy with dough of their own. They love playing with (and eating) the dough. They had a blast and it kept them busy while Nick was at meetings.
That is the nice thing about 1 PM church. We have time to do things like that in the morning and just enjoy getting ready for the day in not too big of a rush. After we got home from church, Kaylee and I headed up to Ogden to celebrate Aunt Natalie's birthday . The boys headed to Holden so they can go Ice Fishing tomorrow. It is Human Right's Day and in Nick's own words "I'm exercising my right to Fish!". It was sad to not have Nick and Carson with us tonight, but we had fun with Matt & Nat and their friends. Here are some pictures from the fun.

Natalie turns 27 tomorrow! We hope she has a great birthday! We love her tons and we are so glad she is part of our family!!!

Change

Change is inevitable and can be scary. But it can also be a good thing! We have a few things going on right now in our family that involves change. Soon we will be changing from just 2 kids to 3!!! The kids get to change rooms! And Nicholas is going to be changing jobs. Yep, he is now going to work at the Grease Monkey.
We have some friends in our ward that Own and Manage the Grease Monkey in Centerville. They have decided since it is doing so well they want to open up another store in Highland/Lehi area. So they have asked Nick to take over as manager and eventually become part owner of the Grease Monkey in Centerville, so they are able to open the new store in Utah County. This has been in the works for several months and has been a BIG decision for us. Nick has a good job at the base that provides steady work and great insurance benefits. However, looking long term we felt that even though it is a good job and we feel very blessed that Nick has been able to work at the base, an opportunity like this would allow for more growth, more sleep (Nick gets up at 3:30 AM right now to go to work), better work environment, and overall better lifestyle and quality of life for Nick and our family. He has started working there part time after work and will go full time in April after we have the baby. Our insurance is much better right now while he works at the base, so we thought we had better take advantage of it! The next few months will be very busy while he is working two jobs, but this will allow him to get a feel of the Grease Monkey and start to learn everything he needs to know to be good at his job.
We are really excited for this change and we are so thankful for all the support we have gotten from family and friends while making this big decision. So in the future, if you need your oil changed or your car needs to be registered, come visit Nick at the Grease Monkey in Centerville! (They also have an awesome car wash!)

30 Weeks!

Yep, I am 30 weeks pregnant!!! That means I am 75% of the way through my pregnancy and only have 10 more weeks to go! (Or Less). I had Nick take a picture of me this evening to show how big I am at 30 weeks.
I feel pretty good for the most part. I am still pretty tired and get exhausted pretty easily, but I still have a good appetite so I won't complain! I was pretty sick with my other 2 pregnancies so I am glad I haven't thrown up once with this one! I haven't started waddling and I have avoided stretch marks so far as well, but I am experiencing very small contractions during the day and I have learned to not stand or walk for long periods of time because it makes it worse! On Saturday I went to walmart with the kids to get groceries and by the time I got home I was exhausted and had felt a few contractions, so I pretty much did nothing the rest of the day! Which was kinda nice! I remember feeling like this with Carson more than Kaylee, but not until about 34 or 35 weeks. But my Dr isn't worried and said it is pretty normal. When I start having 5 an hour is when I should worry! At the first of the year our insurance changed, so I had to change Dr's. However, I was able to go back to Dr. Stowers, who did both Carson and Kaylee's c-sections. So I was happy to back to my original OB, even though I really enjoyed seeing Dr. Ward in Bountiful while he was my doctor.
So with only 10 weeks left, we are working really hard to get the downstairs finished, house organized, and also to pick out a name. We have the names limited down to:
Kinley
Ashlee (or Ashley)
Preslee
I would love your input on what name you like. We are thinking of doing Noel for the middle name. But that isn't in stone either. This name thing has been hard! I guess I worry about picking the wrong name! It's a good thing we have 9 months to figure it out!

Camp Out!!!

Carson has been talking about setting up a tent in the basement and doing a camp out in the basement for weeks now! So last night we decided since we don't have to get up too early (our church doesn't start until 1 PM) it would be a good night to finally set up the tent! At first it was going to be just Carson and Dad, but of course, you can't leave out Kaylee! So all three got their pillows and blankets and set up the tent for a camp out. I would have joined them, but it is technically only a 3 man tent and I don't think this pregnant body of mine would have appreciated what a hard ground would do to my body the next day! So I opted to stay in my own bed last night and just be the photographer!
Before they went to bed we all had fun singing some songs and reading books. I turned out the lights before heading upstairs, but they had a flashlight to help them see if they needed to get up for any reason! I didn't hear a peep from them the rest of the night! I think they were ALL so tired that they fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow! They woke up around 8 this morning, and they ALL climbed into my bed and we snuggled for a few more minutes before they wanted to have breakfast! They had a fun night and I am so glad Nick was willing to do this for them (and me!).

Monster Trucks!!!

Last night the boys had a Boys Night Out and went to a Monster Truck show at the Maverik Center. They went with our good neighbor friends the Yospe's and Slagowski's. Carson was so excited to go again this year. They made sure they took some snacks and also some ear plugs! It can get pretty loud in the arena with all those big trucks! Here are some pictures from their night out!
When Carson got home, he was pretty excited to tell me all about the show. He said the best part was when a truck got stuck in the mud and they had to pull him out with a back hoe! I could tell he had a good time, especially because he smelled like exhaust. I was glad that Nick got some pictures of their exciting night! While the boys were gone, Kaylee and I just hung out, watched tv, blogged, and ate ice cream! It was kind of nice! We were going to do pedicures, but we ended up doing those this morning with Carson while dad was at work. He likes to 'wash his feet' with us! But don't worry, there wasn't any toe nail painting going on!

Whistle while you work!

Carson doesn't know how to whistle, but he sure knows how to work!!! He has been right there along dad helping finish the downstairs rooms. He even has his own work apron!!!
He is great at handing things to dad, picking up pieces of sheet rock, and cleaning up messes with the vacuum and broom. He is such a hard little worker! And really cute too!

The kids love being with dad. If he's working, he finds a way to spend time with them and lets them help, even if it isn't always the easiest thing to do.

This morning my dad called and offered to come down and start the the mud & tapping in the basement now that the sheet rock had all been hung. So while Nick was at work he got quite a head start on the mud before Nick got home and helped him finish the first coat. I have such a sweet dad to come and help! Between him and my brother Matt, they have been such a blessing to us!!!

He is also very good at sheet rock and actually enjoys doing it too!!!! Thanks dad, you are the best!

When I went down to take a picture of the boys working, this is what Carson was doing. And he was actually doing a really good job at sweeping up all the sheet rock crumbs! I was impressed!

Once again, Carson proves to be a great little worker! So after a few more coats of mud and some messy sanding, we may just be ready for paint! Which means I need to decide exactly how we are painting and decorating his room. I know we want to do a grayish blue, with black contrast somehow (like black curtains or bed spread). He wants a cars room. Not the movies cars, but just cars in general. So I might do a vintage car theme so it isn't as juvenile. So if any one has any ideas or wants to help, please let me know!!! I would love to have input and ideas!