Visit from Grandma and Grandpa G

Jamie and I decided we needed to have a "girls weekend." Because I can't travel, and because GJ is halfway between where mom lives and where Kara lives, we decided to do it here. We got a hotel for one night and did a lot of shopping, eating, and relaxing. It was fabulous.

My dad came too, and we made sure to save some time to play all together. Saturday night we went to the pool and had such a great time!

Aunt Jamie and Essie

Grandpa and Nicholas

Thomas demonstrating his front crawl skills.

Grandma soaking up the sun

Nicholas loves the more shallow pool and happily bops around in it the entire time.

With a bit of encouragement, he put his face in the water.

Aunt Kara cheering him on.

We got a family pass that included admission to the slide for 5 people. It is a VERY tall, long slide. Nicholas was just barely tall enough to ride on it. I wasn't so sure about encouraging him to do it for a few reasons...1- he would have to go down all alone and 2- he would go completely under the water at the end (which he really doesn't feel comfortable doing yet). When everyone started up the stairs, though, he wanted to go too, so I didn't say anything. The lifeguard at the top gave a little whistle to the lifeguard at the bottom as Nicholas started down, and I was happy because the lifeguard stood in front of the bottom like he was going to catch him.

As soon as he saw Nicholas coming, though, he stepped out of the way and Nicholas sailed out all on his own. This picture shows you how he felt.

Jackson quickly jumped in, grabbed him, and we started cheering and high fiving Nicholas. That was enough distraction to prevent tears. He even went one more time, but that was enough. Good job Nicholas!

Thomas went down over and over and over. He loved it. Whenever we go to the pool, no matter how hot it is outside, he ends up spending just as much time warming up on the cement as he does in the water. He gets cold in the water so easily.

Jamie and Essie

Essie likes the warm cement as well.

Grandpa coming out of the water slide.

Mommy and Nicholas

Jackson and Grandpa took Thomas and Essie to the deep end to jump off the diving board.

Jackson sent Essie out to the end of the board and Grandpa tread water just underneath to catch her. When she got out to the end, though, she froze and couldn't make herself jump. She really wanted to do it, though, so Jackson broke the rules and walked out there with her and helped her jump off. She didn't like it enough to want to do it again, but she seemed proud of herself for doing it once.

Thomas jumped over and over. He is really enjoying the water more and more as he gets older.

Slip 'N Slide

This little slip 'n slide has brought us many fun filled afternoons this summer. It is so nice for the kids to have something to cool them off in the back yard. (warning...I took LOTS of pictures)

Essie Faces

Nature Camp

Thomas LOVED nature camp. He came home every day full of fun facts and excitement about the world around him. The last day they had a "museum" for the parents to see. We watched them errupt the different types of volcanoes they had created. Thomas helped me figure out how old a tree was and which years it had enough water and which years it didn't. There were crystals, rocks, plants, clouds, and other great things to see. We tried on glasses that made us see the way a fly sees...crazy! It's no wonder they always run into things.

I love my cello very much

Nicholas loves his cello. Jackson taught him a little song called "I love my cello very much." The point is to get him confortable with the cello in the right position. Since taking these pictures I have learned that I was positioning the cello wrong on him the entire first week of practicing, so it is wrong in these pictures. The parent has to learn just as much (more at first) as the student. Anyway...back to the song. You get the cello in the correct position and then the child hugs the cello and rocks back and forth while singing the song. This is Nicholas' favorite activity so far.

We have been so busy getting things set for cello lessons. The "studio" has been given lots of scrubbing, electrical socket removing, hole patching, painting, carpeting, picture hanging, and rearranging. It is looking great and is beginning to feel like a place where good teaching and learning can happen. Hooray!

Frisbee in the park/field

We have a neighborhood "park" just down the street from our house. I get in trouble when I call it a park, though, because to the kids park means slides and swings and monkey bars....this park has none of the above...just lots of grass and two really big trees. Thomas decided we should call it the field to help avoid confusion.

We had a free hour on a beautiful afternoon, so we grabbed some frisbees (and the camera) and walked down the hill to the field. It was so pleasant to be there just enjoying each other without anything to do.

Piggie Tails

The Squeezing Begins

Why, oh why, my uterus, do you like to squeeze so? Why can't you just relax and let me not worry about you squeezing this baby right out of me? This little one isn't ready yet to take on this world...just let him stay where he is and grow in a safe place.

I was hoping this wouldn't happen this time. I had high hopes that travelling was the only trigger for my early labor last time and I could avoid it by staying here for 9 months. My hopes have been dashed. I have been having bouts of regular contractions for about two weeks now. They come when I have been active or when I am fatigued. Sometimes they are every 10 minutes. A few times they have been every 3 minutes. Each time I realize they are coming regular and strong, I grab a huge glass of water and lay down to time them. They have slowed and become irregular within an hour of laying down each time, for which I am very grateful.

One morning after some evening contracting, I felt more pressure than normal when I would stand up. I got scared and decided I wanted to be checked by the doctor. Everything was fine. My cervix was still thick and closed. That was so relieving!!!

One evening, the elders were here for dinner and I was having regular contractions. I asked them to help Jackson give me a blessing. I felt very calmed and reassured that I would be able to understand my body's signals and know what I needed to do. If I didn't have any other children, I think I would do bedrest to be safe, but I DO have other children who need me and need at least some sense of normalcy in their lives. I am taking things very slow and easy, but I am not laying down ALL of the time. Through trial and error I am figuring out my limits and boundaries. I have put tall stools in places where I generally stand to do certain chores....folding laundry, making meals, ect. It really helps if I just sit to do these things. I could go on and on about the things I have changed, but it really doesn't matter. What matters is that I know Heavenly Father is aware of my specific situation, and He cares about me personally, about this little baby, and about my other children. If I stay humble and open to His direction, He will help me through this in the best way possible. (I say this because I need to hear it and remember it...not as a sermon to anyone.)

Here's to keeping this baby inside for the next 10 weeks (well...7 weeks at least)!

Counting Peas

I am slow at posting. Our pea plants are long gone because of the heat, but we really enjoyed them while they were happily producing! This particular morning Thomas and I had plenty of time and picked all the peas we could find (that were ready to be picked of course). When we brought them inside Thomas wanted to count how many there were, so I got him started with putting them in piles of 10. He dilligently completed the task, and when the final tally came in there were 362 pods. Yum!