We're Almost There

Our front yard landscaping has been a big project for us since we moved in. We had to have our design submitted to the HOA within 30 days of purchasing our home. By the time that we came up with the design that we wanted, got a couple of bids, got the HOA approval and finally was able to have the landscaper start the work, it's been about a month. It was really fun to come up with the design and see it become a reality You'd like to think that the final product will always look like what you've pictured but we know that's not always the case. Luckily, for us, each step of the way has gone exactly how we wanted it to and it's shaped up to be the yard we had in mind. We're not quite finished yet. The landscaper is coming back this week with a few plants for the backyard, more rocks for the front yard, he has to seal our pavers, and paint the retaining wall to match the color of the house. In a couple of weeks the turf company will be out to install the fake grass around the palms in the big planter boxes and possibly the backyard. We may wait to finish the backyard until after Logan is born - we're still deciding. I will post more pictures of our yard once it's complete.

Before we moved in.

Backyard before the work started

It took a total or four days and three guys working to get most of the work finished. I never would have guessed that it was so involved.

Again, mostly done but not quite complete.

Fake grass will be laid in the areas around the palm trees. Rock will go in the section closest to the house, the wall will be painted to match the house and rock will be laid in the section down by the sidewalk.

The main portion of the backyard will be grass but we will have some plants along the back wall. Also, we painted the wall an accent color of the house. I was amazed at how much that alone has done for the yard. It was originally just the raw blocks but now it looks so much nicer. My queen palm looks tiny now but give it some time and it'll be big and beautiful!

Micah's Wedding Takes Us Back to Idaho

Who would have thought that just five weeks after we move out of Pocatello that we would be returning for Micah's wedding. Kolissa is from Pocatello and most of her family still lives there. They had a really nice wedding and everything seemed to go according to plan! They both were very happy and made a cute bride and groom. Believe it or not the weather was actually nice for their wedding day. Of course, the nice weather didn't last long and it was back to rain the day after the wedding.

We drove up and on our way stopped in Vegas. Lincoln loves the lights and I think he likes people watching as much as Rick and I do. We got upgraded to a really nice room at the Luxor, which was really nice, and unfortunately we were only staying one night and it was a quick turn around. While Lincoln and I were coming out of the M&M store, getting on the elevator on the fourth floor, a lady and a two men got on with us. The second I saw her I knew she was famous but I couldn't think of her name or why she was famous. The entire time she just kept talking about how cute Lincoln was, how beautiful his eyes were, how pretty his skin was, what a cute smile he had...I'm not kidding...she went though it all. She loved him. As we exited the elevator Lincoln blew her a kiss. I immediately walked over to Rick to tell him of our experience. Because I couldn't think of her name I just described her as a body type and personality similar to Dolly Parton except that she had a thick Spanish accent. It was driving me crazy that I couldn't remember her name. I later called Dana who quickly said, "Oh, that's Charo." Of course it was! The second she said her name I knew it was right. It was such a relief to finally have figured it out. More importantly...why the heck do Dana and I know who Charo is? Anyway, we do and I think it will be fun to tell Lincoln one day about how she adored him. I found out that she has a new show in Vegas which I'm assuming is why she is there.

Anyway, once we were in Pocatello it was nice to know our way around and to stay at a familiar place with Grandma and Grandpa Tutu. Lincoln was excited to see them and Freckles, the kitty cat. We got to see all of the work that has gone into Tutu's new house and Lincoln got to play on grandpa's tractor!

The triplets are now all married.

This is Charo. Now can you see why I described her like Dolly Parton!? By the way, she's a lot older now then she was in this picture.

Lincoln loved looking at all of the big Vegas buildings, especially the lions.

I'm not a fan of SpongeBob but Lincoln has seemed to enjoy the cartoon. It was fun for him to see this statue in the Excalibur lobby.

Papa (Rick's maternal grandfather) came to visit when we were in Idaho.

Apparently Lincoln Really Likes Nectarines

We had just finished dinner and headed out to the grocery store. Lincoln was sitting in the grocery cart and I asked him if he wanted to help me pick out some fruit. I handed him a bag to hold and told him to open it so mommy could put the fruit in it. I proceeded to pick out a perfectly ripe nectarine and put it in the bag Lincoln was holding open for me. I turned around to pick out a few more pieces of fruit. After selecting a couple more nectarines I turned back around to face Lincoln and put them in the bag. To my surprise, Lincoln had taken the first nectarine out of the bag and had taken several large bites out of it. I wasn't quite sure how to respond. He had never done that before, I didn't have my back to him for more than a minute, he had just eaten a huge dinner, and he was eating fruit that hadn't been washed or purchased. So...I started busting up laughing. A few seconds later Rick came around the corner from another aisle and saw the result of what had just happened. He, like me, just started laughing. What else do you do. You can't punish your child for eating fruit. In fact, Lincoln was quite proud of himself. He continued to chow down on the nectarine until he got to the pit and half of the fruit was gone. He ate it as if he had never eaten before. I of course started taking pictures; trying very hard to keep the camera still as I continued to laugh at the situation. Then Rick and I turned to each other trying to figure out how you pay for a half eaten nectarine when they charge by the pound!? Needless to say, I put the half that remained uneaten in it's own bag and proceeded to checkout after our shopping was complete. I was so embarrassed as I confessed to the clerk that Lincoln had eaten half of the fruit and I wasn't sure how she would ring that up. She assured me it wasn't a big deal and not to worry about it.

I'm sure this is one of those stories that is more funny if you were there - but trust me - it was pretty dang funny. Here are a few pictures to prove it.

The Sound of Freedom

I'm sure there are some who would complain if they heard jets flying over their house multiple times a day.  I however, am not one of those.  Especially because not just any jet is flying over, they are F16 fighter jets.  It's not as loud as one would imagine (unless they go right over the top of the house) but I think it's quite a unique impressive sound that reminds me of the cost and joys of freedom.  We are about 15 - 20 minutes away from Luke Air Force Base.  The fighter planes fly daily in different formations for routine practice.  Most of the time we see them flying solo or with one wing man. 

Lincoln has really taken to airplanes since we've moved here.  I'm sure it's a combination of flying on several commercial flights in the last month but also with visibility to the F16's.  We went to a place for dinner last night similar to a Chuck-E-Cheese and when Lincoln turned in his tickets he picked toy jet as his prize. We talk to him about what these F16's do and I'm grateful for the opportunity we will have to teach him love of country and about freedom.  We often get caught up in our own worlds with the day to day duties of life.  Now when I hear an F16 fly by, I'm grateful that it's a reminder to stop and count my blessings and remember that there are men and women out there fighting for the freedom of us and others. 

Lincoln's 18 Month Photo Shoot

I know I'm posting this late, considering Lincoln is now 21 months old, but I figured better late then never.  We know our little guy is normally a ham but often when we take him in for pictures he isn't too quick to pose for the stranger behind the camera.  We took him in a few weeks after he turned 18 months because we were waiting for a scab underneath his nose to clear up.  Of course it was my luck that two weeks before his pictures he fell at school and landed on his face, scraping his nose and upper lip.  Nevertheless, it cleared up and we went in for pictures.  We were pretty sure we would go in, take a few pictures, maybe like one of them, and walk out with a couple sheets.  It turned out we liked almost every picture the photographer took (including a couple candid ones) and we ended up with 14 sheets!  There were about 8 different poses and they were all too cute to pass up.  We got some enhanced and enlarged so we can hang them in our living room.  Here is a few of the pictures from that photo session.

Michaela's Wedding

It's official, Michaela is married.  We were in California last week for Michaela's wedding.  It was nice to see family and friends that we haven't seen in a while.  Lincoln was so excited to play with his cousins, Caden and Vance, and to play with the new toys at Grammy's house.  We tried to fit in as much in as possible while we were there. We spent a day at the Orange County Fair, went to Disneyland, met up with a few friends, went to the wedding and reception, attended church in Whittier and I had lunch with the girls from work while Rick met up with his buddies.  I'm not sure we could've squeezed in anything else.  Because of our move and Micah's wedding all happening within a month, we had to shorten our trip by a week.  Luckily now we're only a 5 1/2 hour drive to So. Cal. 

Now it's just two weeks away from Micah's wedding.  Nothing like being 7 months pregnant in two of your siblings wedding pictures!

Sorry, I know this is picture overload but I tried to just put in a little of everything.

New Orleans Square in Disneyland.  

Isn't he just the cutest!!  His room is all Disney Cars stuff so we waited in line to take his picture with Lightning McQueen and Mater.

Mr. Independent.  We are at that stage now where Lincoln wants to do his own thing.  We were walking onto the Monsters Inc. ride in California Adventure. 

Lincoln wanted to go on the slide really bad so it was either Rick go with his bad back or my and my prego belly.  As you can see...Rick had to go.

Lincoln ran up to this and knew exactly what to do - he was a few inches short though so daddy had to lift him up to see out.

Uncle Lee taught Lincoln to give "knuckles" so he's giving Uncle Micah "knuckles"

Extended Family

My siblings minus Genesis.  The photographer said squeeze in...this is my brothers idea of squeezing in. 

Michaela and Jared

Vance, Lincoln and Caden.  Lincoln's two cousins on my side of the family.

Baby Logan

Quick update on baby...in case you haven't heard, we're naming him Logan Spencer.  I'm now 28 weeks and I just went in for a doctor's appointment.  He seems to healthy and all is going well. He is very active and luckily I'm not so sick anymore...just tired.  I'm measuring 29 weeks but they did an ultrasound and Logan's measurements are about 10 days bigger than average.  The doctor said not to worry, they will keep the same due date.  He might just be a big kid.  Yikes!  I thought Lincoln was big at 8 lbs 8 oz so we'll see what's in store for us.  Good thing I decided that this time I want to get an epidural!  

Here is a 3-D ultrasound picture of Logan.  It's a picture of his profile (looking down on his right cheek)...which I happen to think looks a lot like Lincoln's profile did in his ultrasounds.  I have to admit that I think 3D ultrasound pictures are cool but also a bit creepy.  I was a little freaked out when the ultrasound tech showed me the picture and I could see Logan's head, just the face.  He laughed when I asked him where the rest of his skull was but he explained to me how the technology worked and that it won't show his head in this picture.  I felt much better after that!

Our Big Move

I know it's been a while since I've posted anything but that's because we've been so busy.  We have finally moved into our home and we're loving it!  We are totally unpacked and believe it or not, we're somewhat organized.  There's only a few things hung on the walls but we're getting there.  Lincoln is loving his new room and playroom.  I love my new office which has a big window right in front of my desk with a great view.  Our guest room has already been put to great use by Grandma and Grandpa Tutu and also by Grammy.  We've been working with a landscaper for our front yard and hope to have plans finalized within the next couple of days.  Thank goodness!  The last several weeks have been spent on projects around the house.  Some are more exciting than others.  I have a feeling that the projects will be never ending!  

Most of our neighbors have come over to introduce themselves and they all seem really nice. Our neighborhood definitely has a lot of young families in it.  There are about 6 kids on our street that are under 3 years old and our next door neighbor is expecting a baby girl a month after Logan is due. 

Rick and Lincoln have been to the community aquatic center a couple of times and have really had a good time. Lincoln is quite the fish and is loving the opportunity to swim often.  Unlike Idaho, we are close to a big mall, a ton of chain restaurants, and all the good stores. Even though the temperatures have been averaging about 110 degrees, it really hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be.  Since we inside most of the day anyway, you just go from one air condition building to another.  Today was actually in the high 80's and mid 90's....not so bad. 

We feel really blessed to be in our home and feel like it's the right place for us at this point.  We love the house, the city, and the neighborhood. 

I will post pictures soon.