Initial Reactions

We were all a little nervous as we walked into the doctor's office. But the ultrasound technician delivered the news. And...


We were surprised...


A little dismayed...


Some of us had to collect our thoughts...


And some of us weren't sure what to think...


But we couldn't be more thrilled to welcome a little BOY to our home later this year! We're wondering if a boy might throw our house a little upside down!

Summer Vacation(??)

In 2 weeks...

*We saw all of our immediate family members plus a good portion of extended family (on both sides).

*We drove several hours in the car, flew on six planes, and set foot in six states.

*Two of our children had strep throat, one (still) has pneumonia, and one pregnant mommy had the stomach flu. We went to the doctor five times, filled five prescriptions, and took a temperature that was as high as 105.2.

*Mommy unexpectedly flew on the airplane with three kids all by herself for the first time ever (and is quite proud of that accomplishment).

*Aubrie boogie boarded for the first time and also had her first spill, swallowing the salty ocean water (and then nearly puked).

*Daddy traveled to his hometown to attend a special memorial service of his cousin Joe -- who has been more like his brother. Joe was on our first date and acted as Dave's best man at our wedding. We miss him but know he is happier now.

*After the funeral, Daddy met up with Bob, his high school best friend, whom he hasn't seen in a decade -- they even ended up having a slumber party since they were both without their families!

*Our girls enjoyed valuable cousin time on both sides of the family.

*Daddy was able to recreate some of his childhood memories at Carpinteria State Beach with our children and his cousins' children.

It was definitely an eventful time, but we are more than happy to be home. We hope Aubrie's pneumonia heals soon. And, we look forward to finding out the gender of our next baby tomorrow! (Please visit our blog and vote for your guesses)

In-flight Entertainment

This guy was my flight attendant on my flight this week out to California. He had the place hoppin'. Enjoy!

Training wheels bite the dust

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For the longest time Aubrie has been petrified of bike riding. It was hard to have patience going on walks because we could literally walk circles around her as she rode her bike. Or, she'd get scared and decide to walk her bike the rest of the way. Thankfully, this is becoming a thing of the past! After a small taste of success last night, she woke up at the crack of dawn today, just so she could practice again. Go Aubrie!!

Let Freedom Ring!

One of my favorite holidays is the Fourth of July. Not only do I love celebrating our great country and freedom, but I love making memories with our family (and it helps that the weather is usually nice too!). We started our day with a red, white and blue breakfast made by Daddy.


And then it was on to the parade. We haven't really found a great parade to watch here yet. There are a handful of them but nothing seems to compare to the parades of my growing up days in Cody, Wyoming!


The parade was packed until it down poured for about five minutes. That cleared a majority of the crowds away, and the second half was much more enjoyable!


Teyah was so much fun this weekend. She's starting to figure things out a bit and was not afraid to seek candy, give hugs to people dressed up as various characters, or play carnival games. Although she was quite frightened by the fireworks at first. But it wasn't long until her "I scary" turned into "Pretty!" "Awesome" "Yeah!!!" "Ohh, purple!" Dave told her the screaming fireworks sound like a baby, so each time we'd hear those she'd say, "It's a baby!" and then she'd make the screaming noise. Even today at church when someone was asking her about fireworks she started making the whiny noise and saying she liked the baby ones.


Aren't they precious?


Many of our neighbors celebrate Fourth of July together. It's great fun, and the kids have a blast. Out of the five houses in a row on our street, we have 11 girls and 0 boys! The lone boy in this picture is from down the cul-de-sac.


One of the neighborhood traditions is a kids parade. They anticipate if for weeks and love deciding how to decorate their bikes, wagons, strollers, etc. and choosing what they are going to wear.


Many of the kids decided to be "dancers," so that's why they are wearing their costumes.


Ellie enjoyed throwing candy.


We have much to be grateful for -- especially a fun, family-friendly neighborhood! The huge aerial fireworks display set off in front of my house was as good as any big show around -- it went until 11 p..m.!

Happy Fourth of July!