Our Busy September

Amidst J.R.'s crazy schedule this month, we did manage to do some really fun things.

Fist: Getting anxious for Halloween mixed with bordom = Halloween cookies in September

Second: Apple picking at Anderson Orchard. The apples were really picked over and it was a hot day, but we managed to still have a great time. We also were so excited to have my best high school buddy, Bergen visit for a couple weeks. Lots of reminiscing happened and I was reminded once again how TERRIBLE my memory is. Love you BERG!

Third: IUPUI Regatta. Even though J.R. didn't end up getting to actually race in the canoe we still got to enjoy the rest of the festivities. Elliot's favorite part was getting his face painted like a tiger!

Fun, Fun! Memories, Memories!

The Vintage Pearl Giveaway

http://thevintagepearl.blogspot.com/

Cute cute stuff!

The neatest lady I know

This month we said good bye to one of my greatest heros. This woman did more in her life then I could ever imagine one woman accomplishing. She raised 6 awesome son's and 1 amazing daughter. She was the ultimate BEST mother and grandmother ever. When I was younger we spent every summer in Utah and while my mom was busy with PVP grandma slipped in as our mom. We learned songs, lessons, and how to be positive and ENJOY life. She was always telling us to keep practicing the piano and to let our hair grow out long :)  I felt especially lucky because I got to have her same middle name. Betty June - Chelsea June.

Just days before she passed we were emailing back and forth. Me asking advice about raising twin boys and surviving residency - her replying by telling me to lay down and get off my feet and telling J.R. to nod his head then do what he thinks is best at work. She was an amazing writer with quiet humor filling the pages. She was my best resource for advice and love that only a grandma could offer.

I wasn't ready for her to go, but have a very strong testimony that she was needed on the other side and that it won't be long till I'll get to tell her how much I love her in person.

I hope I can be just like her when I grow up. I want to have her same love for life, love for ALL her kids ( 7 kids, 48 grandkids, and over 110 great-grandkids). That's a lot of people to keep track of and pray for, but I have no doubt she took time to think about each of us individually.

I hope her legacy can live on through her memories and strong testimony of the only true gospel on earth.

I love you bushel and a peck!

Summer fun

Just a hint into the fun summer we have had this year. So sad to see it end, but so excited for the fall and new arrivals coming this winter!

Baby Bumps

Erin is due in October with baby boy #4
I'm due in January with baby boys #3 & #4
Sharli is due in March with baby girl #3

So fun to be pregnant with my sisters. Imagine the complaints and silent understanding that is going on. Love it. :)

Golf day with Dad

J.R. took Elliot to the golf course for his first 9 holes. Elliot had a great time! He had so much fun that he peed his pants 4 times in the 2 hours they were gone. OOPS! 

I think we definitely have pro material on our hands! If not pro, for sure SERIOUS CUTENESS! 

Visit to O-H-I-O

They boys learned a few new tricks while we've been apart. Boys will be boys I guess. 

We had a way-too-fast, but super fun weekend in Columbus! The boys picked up right where they left off...playing, running and of course picking on each other. I got to love on Sarah's new baby boy which really pumped my anxiety to get my baby boys here! It was so fun to cuddle an infant again! So precious!

Thanks Glen and Sarah for being such great hosts! We love you and miss having you around the corner.

Look what I made today!!!

I can't believe it either! I am not a seamstress, but something inside me needed to create something from scratch so I stole this idea from a friend of mine and gave it a shot. If you have an upcoming baby, beware: you'll probably be getting one of these from me!!

Thanks J.R. for playing with Elliot so I could finish it in a day. Now I have confidence to make more!

Hooray for babies and all the cute stuff that goes with them!!

Did yesterday really happen?

It all started with a nice hot morning. We were swimming in the YMCA pool, having a blast with the Wennergrens when a thought pops in my head to check Elliot's diaper for poop. (yes, he's potty trained completely with the Pee, but not even close with the poop so I still make him wear a swim diaper in the pool) I ignored the thought because Elliot was headed out anyway to get a snack. Just before he's about to step out of the pool he decides to sit on a fountain that is spraying water high into the air. AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH.......

In an instant poop is spewing everywhere. The water now looks like chocolate milk and I'm about ready to die. I'm frozen! WHAT DO I DO? Ummm...excuse me lifeguard, my son just got poop ALL OVER...not the easiest thing to admit. I wrestled with how and if to tell any one then saw that it wasn't just going away so I marched over and told the life guard "I'm sorry, but there is poop in the pool over there." Notice, I didn't mention it was actually my own son. HUMILIATING!

I marched Elliot to the bathroom and was about to explode. I've been so frustrated with his pooping in his pants. How many times does a mother have to clean out underwear and stay calm about it? I hit my limit. We came out of the bathroom to see the pool totally cleared and the lifeguards hooking up some cleaning contraption.  We ate our quick snack then headed to the car.

Sorry to all the parents who were hoping to have a nice morning swim with their toddlers and ended up having to sit in the grass and wait for about an hour.  Sorry to Natalie for cutting our playdate to just a half hour due to unforetold circumstances.

The day didn't get much better after that, but I'll spare you the details.

I sure hope I'm not the only mom who's experienced this horrifying event.  (Loud exhausted SIGH!!!)

Is this a problem?

"Oops, sorry mom." (He completely ripped my phone in two...nice!)

Can you believe it still works? Of course I can't see anything that would have displayed on the screen, but I can make calls and receive calls on speaker phone. Amazing! This phone has been through a lot. It's just hanging on for dear life.

FYI: I LOST MY ENTIRE CONTACT LIST
(I'm trying to get verizon to restore it, but until then....)

Potty Success for my Elliot boy!

FINALLY we are moving somewhere with the whole potty training thing. It has been such a fight just getting him to try to go. I decided to lay off him and just ask subtly and act like it was no big deal and he could go when he wanted. NOTHING WAS HAPPENING.

Then yesterday our neighbor said he'd heard somewhere to have boys pee in a coffee can because it makes a cool noise and it's fun to aim. It was worth a try. He gave us an old can and we gave it a try that same night. Sure enough he thought that was pretty funny and PEED IN THE CAN! The next day he did it again so we put on underwear and crossed our fingers. We decided to make a quick stop at the library later that day. We were standing there looking at a book when I noticed my shoe was getting wet....He was peeing through his pants and onto my shoe. AAAHHHH! As calmly and kindly as I could we rushed off to the bathroom, but he refused to sit on the toilet. He insisted he wanted the can....(back fire) So we slapped on a diaper and headed for home. The next day was on and off as far as success was concerned then came Friday.

We were headed to the children's museum and I told him he needed to pee before we left if he wanted to wear his big boy pants. That was all it took. He marched over to his little potty and did his business! YES! Then we were at the museum and had another successful attempt followed by wet undies due to intense playing. Finally to finish the day (after stopping at the store for Buzz Lightyear undies) we had another successful attempt! I was so proud of him and we was so excited about it too.

We are well on our way to full time undies! Hooray for no diapers. I'm sure there will be set backs and we still need to deal with the "#2" part, but we've got till January when the babies come so I'm sure he can do it.

What a great day!

Girls Camp 2010

Kristina, Lilli, Ashlie

Ivana, Julia R.

Tvae, Carly, Allie, Julia S.

Leann, Brooke, Olivia, Alexa, Josie, Stephanie, Milani

Makensey, Angie, Anastacia, Laura, Amelia

Beech Grove Ward

Beech Grove girls getting ready for our skit

Me, Sarah, Laura

I had the fantastic opportunity to be a Level Leader for the 3rd year campers this year. It was such a new experience. When I was at girls camp we camped in wards, camped in tents, and it was only a 3 day event. This experience was full of decorations, treats and gift planning for 16 girls from all over the stake for a week. I had no idea the amount of planning and prep that needed to take place before hand. I was so lucky to have Sarah L. as my assistant and 5 awesome Youth Leaders to help prepare, otherwise there's no way it would have come together.
I kept trying to remind myself the details I was working on weren't what was important. The presence of the spirit and creating a learning atmosphere was what was top priority.

The week went splendid. There was TONS I learned and wished I would have thought about, but overall everything ran smoothly. Our camp director and Stake Leaders put so much work into it and it was amazing. From the food to the crafts to the nightly devotionals. All were just awesome!!

I was exhausted. Being 13 weeks pregnant with twins I had to sneak naps during the afternoon just to survive each day. We usually got about 6 hours of sleep each night and that with the ever consuming nausea, it was tough just to keep moving each day.

Aside from all that, the girls I got to spend time with were amazing! It amazes me what these girls face on a day to day basis and how strong and faithful they are. Living outside of Utah is such a new experience. It scares me to death thinking of raising my kids surrounded by the ever increasing temptations and attacks on righteous living. Our youth today are just amazing!

"There's no place like home"

155 mile TEMPLE BIKE TRIP

Lots of pictures...and terribly out of order. Sorry:)

All the bikes stacked together at the end of the trip

Louisville, KY temple

The whole group

Laying on the temple grounds totally worn out.

A super steep hill that about killed me to ride up...but I did it, with out getting off the bike.

Riding across the sweet bridge that connected Indiana to Kentucky.

The same bridge. It crosses over the Ohio River

J.R. at the head of the pack. What a babe!

Andrew Corbin, J.R, Me, Aspen Garyson

Through one section they required we have a police escort. It was nice because they held traffic for us which helped us stay tight as a group without much stop and go.

Probably around mile 30 or 40 on day 1. Still lots of energy. Feeling good!

Lunch stop on day 1 at about mile 40.
I ate 2 HUGE plates of taco salad. I was starving, but paid for it when I felt terribly sick for the next several miles. Taco salad now triggers a vomiting reflux because of it. Nasty!

I think J.R. was getting bored because I was riding slow. You can see that I'm almost the very back of the pack. I think there was 1 or 2 people still behind me at this point.

Our first break on the 1st day. Feeling great. Legs warm and happy. We were slamming down the power bars to keep the energy going.

7:00am just before pulling away from the church parking lot in Indianapolis.
"Let's Do This!"

Did that actually happen?
If you ask me - It was fun, it is over, I have proof I did it.
If you ask J.R. - That was awesome! Let's ride our bikes the 155 miles back home. Can't wait to do it again!

We rode about 75 miles per day. The first night we camped in tents. The next night was all bunked together in a HUGE house. Yes, showers in each place, plenty of good food and TONS of spiritual nourishment! We had support vehicles carrying water and snacks following us the whole way. They were also available when it was time to call "Uncle" and load the bike in the trailer. Luckily our bikes held together and we rode the entire 1st day. Unfortunately my knees didn't have enough time to recover or enough ice to help heal them the first night so I had to load my bike in the trailer for the first 30 miles of the 2nd day. I think J.R. was kinda excited because he finally got to ride at the head of the pack. Riding in the car got old real quick so when we stopped for lunch I had to get back on the horse.

The 2nd day was full of HUGE hills. Up and down, up and down all day. Going down was great relief, but every time we went down I couldn't help but remember that what goes down must come up. Ugh. Even without the first 30 miles I was beat. It was all I could do to hang on the last miles. But my pride pulled me through and we finally turned the corner into the temple parking lot. I've never felt such relief and joy. "I Love to See the Temple" had so much more meaning at that moment! We took pics and my body surrendered. Unfortunately we still had to ride the 5 miles of more hills to the place we were staying that night. My legs were beat, is a major understatement.

The next day at the temple I couldn't stop crying. We spent the morning with the youth doing baptisms for the dead. The spirit was so strong and to watch these tough kids doing such an important work touched my heart in a major way. Our youth is amazing! Later that day the adults went back and did an endowment session. Staying awake was almost painful. The temple is so peaceful and calming it's hard to stay awake even when I'm well rested, but after 2 days of major physical activity, only about 6-7 hours of sleep each night and 2 babies trying to grow inside me, it was more then my body could take.

I slept most of the ride home, got home and just kept sleeping.

What an amazing experience! I didn't expect it to be such a wonderfully spiritual experience. Each night and each morning we had devotionals and a final testimony meeting after attending the temple. Again...our youth are incredible! We had a flu bug circle through many people in the group which was terribly disappointing for those who had trained so hard, but they didn't leave the experience empty handed. They all learned amazing individual lessons and surprised themselves at how tough they are. More then half the kids rode the entire 155 miles at speeds I just couldn't keep up with. Amazing!

I couldn't help but think of my dad the whole way. He always loved road biking. He had such strong legs. I always wanted to get into it with him, but timing just never let that happen. I have a feeling he rode along with us for some of the ride, enjoying nature and breathing in the fresh air created by all God's marvelous creations! Soon dad we'll do it again together side by side!

Thanks to all who helped with Elliot. Debbie and Jerry - Natalie and John. You guys are awesome! We really appreciate your kindness and making Elliot feel so welcome in your home! Love you both very much!!

(Next years ride will be a great way to loose the baby fat. It will be much funner to ride without all the 1st trimester nausea too.......did I just say I want to do this again? I must be crazy! JK)

Good News

That's right...we're expecting TWINS (again). We're excited, nervous, apprehensive, elated, worried, happy and feel absolutely BLESSED! With a due date in January we still have a long road ahead of us, but I'm confident we'll be taking healthy babies home this time! I'm humbled to think Heavenly Father trusts me with 2 at a time. Luckily my sister's twin girls just turned one so I have an expert twin mother at my "I need advice" disposal. So exciting!!

Babies don't come so easy for us, so if Heavenly Father wants to send them by two's we are honored to have them!

Welcome Baby A and Baby B! We love you so much already!

ps: YES, J.R. mowed that message into our backyard. He's so crazy, but it was sure fun to watch our neighbors reactions. What a goof ball!

60 Miles

60 MILES

Half way lunch break at 30 miles

We rode as part of the "Mayors Bike Ride" for part of the 60 miles. It kept it interesting, plus all the free good treats and I even won a prize!

Our final training ride before the actual trip. The lesson we learned on this ride was to EAT MORE FOOD! Again the last 5-10 miles were killer. We both had run out of gas and realized we weren't eating near enough to cover the calories we were burning.

Riding 60 miles at an average of 12 miles an hour you burn around 2,000 calories. I couldn't believe it! We decided to be more prepared for next time and EAT even when we would rather throw up. :)

Over all, great ride in the rain! Sore legs, but they bounced back much quicker than last time....we must be getting stronger I guess.

Thanks Sheri for watching Elliot! We really appreciate it! (again...awesome neighbors!)