Disneyland

Fall break was our first family getaway to Disneyland. Before we went the kids had one question:

Is Disneyland more fun than Chuck E. Cheese?

I think so.

Hormone Issues

This pretty much sums up the way I've been feeling the last two months. My hormones are so out of whack. Feel kind of bad for Sam. I take a lot of stuff out on him. But then again....he has to deserve it, right?

Being pregnant has always been emotionally empowering to me. Around months 4-9 I have these unhindered and uncensored superpowers to sense out bull crap and become this no holds bar demon to call people on it. I am definitely not a people person at this point....and for some odd reason, especially not a male-liking person. Some dudes are just plain idiots. Did I mention Sam got after me the other day for calling a customer a d*** head over the phone? And I didn't even feel bad about it.

This list is not mine, but I agree (especially numbers 1, 5, and 9).

10 WAYS TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE "ESTROGEN ISSUES"

1. Everyone around you has an attitude problem.

2. You're adding chocolate chips to your cheese omelet.

3. The dryer has shrunk every last pair of your jeans.

4. Your husband is suddenly agreeing to everything you say.

5. You 're using your cell phone to dial up every bumper sticker that says: "How's my driving".

6. Everyone's head looks like an invitation to batting practice.

7. Everyone seems to have just landed here from "outer space."

9. You're sure that everyone is scheming to drive you crazy.

10. The ibuprofen bottle is empty and you bought it yesterday

Boy...boy....boy, and....boy!

Another boy will be joining our family in early March. I'm outnumbered, to say the least.

This pregnancy has been a little harder than the other ones it seems. Maybe it's cause I'm four years older than the last time. Maybe it's because I just don't remember feeling so worn down. Or maybe it's because the last time I only had a 2 year old and 5 month old as I started my third pregnancy. A 7, 5, and 4 year old make bigger and faster messes than babies. So, maybe the nausea and crap feelings have just been exacerbated by extra busyness in our home.

Am I complaining?

Sometimes I think we feel like we have to walk a fine line between being honest and being grateful.
Yes, I'm so grateful for one more baby. Lots of things in life haven't always come as easy to me as being able to get pregnant (losing weight, always loving life, Zumba). But, the reality is that I think I have confirmation that Baby #4 shall be the last. Honestly, I yell at my kids way too much probably to be allowed to have another one.

And honestly, I'm so tired of the question: Are you disappointed it's not a girl? Seriously, people? Lots of women can't have babies or don't have healthy ones. I've been blessed with three loud, obnoxious, messy boys. What could be more normal than that?

So, the fact that I may be a little disappointed is purely selfish on my part. Here I go walking that line between being grateful and honest, again. Honestly, I feel kind of cheated that I don't have a sister. I mean, I do have a sister, but her cerebral palsy puts her on level that I feel more like her mom than a sister. We don't do sisterly things....unless watching "Smurfs" and playing with Thomas the Tank Engine qualifies. I know that sounds harsh, but it's the reality.  I know she'll have all of her mental and physical capabilities one day, but eternity seems a way off.

I have sisters-in-law whom I love. Some more than others. They fill that gap of sisterly qualities, but not quite the same as a blood sister would, I think. One has to admit that you're not as close, usually, to your mother in law as your own mother. Admit it! I don't have quite the same relationship with Mary as I do with Nancy.

And this chain of reasoning is what leads to me to my selfish reasons for wanting a girl: I'm just going to have daughters-in-law. Daughters-in-law who probably will have living mothers and maybe even sisters! Ah, so where will that leave me in my old age? I hope my boys marry nice girls because I see myself just being the MIL.

See, I hate being honest because that makes me seem not so grateful. It's these damn hormones making me feel lonely about possible future events.  I know families are all different. Lots of girls don't have moms. Lots of boys don't have moms. Family dynamics are all different.

But, alas, Baby Boy #4 is joining us. And I'm thrilled. I've got the clothes. I've got the trucks. I've got the blankies. And I get to look forward to not even being surprised at what an uncircumcised baby part looks like. I am a self proclaimed expert, after all.

So, I may be outnumbered, but I can handle it....and maybe I can teach them to be cleaner than my husband and brother.

Not in Sawt Wake

As I was dressing Cooper this morning, he looked over at his wall at some pictures and asked, "What's that?"

"That's Jesus with some little kids," I answered. (Mind you those same pictures have been on his wall, in the same place, long before his birth). "Where does Jesus live?," I continued, hoping to impart to my youngest some spiritual knowledge as I pulled his undies up.

"Hmmm...," he thought for a moment. "Not in Sawt Wake." (Salt Lake for you non-toddler speakers)

Oh, my boy. So perceptive! 

A Motorhome Keeper

Sam and I own a towing company. Most of the time it's a pain in my behind, especially when I'm answering tow calls while grocery shopping with three small boys.

 But, as with any business, there are times you eat it (like when we answered a police call to haul an abandoned motorhome at Enterprise Reservoir, complete with a nest of rats underneath that prevented my driver from wanting to get anywhere near the driveline) and there times when you think you've fallen in a pile of "it" and actually come out smelling closer to a rose.

Such was last night.

We towed this beaut-ee from just past Mesquite into Vegas late last night. About 3/4 mile from the drop-off destination, all the tires pretty much simutaneously blew. Long story short: the owner didn't want to spend the money to get it going and gave it to us.

Now, usually I'm pretty skeptical about such deals. I've been burned before (see aforementioned Enterprise prize) and a 1970s motorhome Sam actually paid for (complete with petrified poop in the toilet). Ah, love my husband.

Well, this 1984 Fleetwood Pace Arrow is a real humdinger. You see, I have a soft spot in my cold, hardened towing heart for this vehicle. It's similiar in year to the Pace Arrow my grandparents owned while I was growing up. Lot of memories made in the motorhome: my cousin peeing in his sleep on the bunkbed and it dribbling onto my aunt below, playing board games while my parents gambled inside "Circus Circus," asking Grandpa why he had a pistol above the driver's seat and getting my first taste of good old-fashioned prejudice when Grandpa answered "it's for Mexicans." 

So, I think we may keep this old classic for a while.  

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Glee! Live

Glee! Live in Las Vegas made me realize some things:

1. Being an American Express card member realize does pay. Who doesn't take American Express?

Not the Glee! kids. Perks allowed me to get two seats three rows from the very back one week before anyone else could claim those bad boys.

2. Glee! is bringing America together.I spent a good part of the show watching the reactions of the four grown, bald, heavy-set men, sitting two rows below me. I have my own conclusions as to why they were there, although they were a bit more inconspicuous than the flamboyant boys screaming on the other side of the aisle.

3. My camera pretty much bites the big one. These pictures were the best I could do. And I pretty much decided most people there would do better to spend money on clothes that fit than IPhones.

4. Next year, Kara, my bestest Glee! buddy and I are splurging on better tickets. It'd be worth the money to reach out and touch a Gleek...OK, I'd settle for seeing their faces.

and

5. Awesome time with an awesome friend. Girls' days/nights/weekends can do wonders for the soul!

Puck singing "Fat Bottomed Girls"

The Warblers

Kurt dancing to "Single Ladies"

A Bunkerville Easter

Easter Saturday was spent on the sandy beaches of...Bunkerville, Nevada. Cool waters, warm sun, sand in the toes, drinks in hand, and bikinis worn.

OK, so maybe only some of those are true.  

Uncle Bill's Funeral

Uncle Bill, Sam's uncle and my father's-in-law twin brother passed away April 26. Sam described Uncle Bill as being "like a second dad." He taught Sam a lot about truck mechanics and Sam has worked and talked to his uncle quite a bit. And some of Sam's best memories are Saturday lunches at the Chalet, a hometown restaurant in Mesquite, Nev., with Uncle Bill, his son, Tom, Sam's cousin, and Sam. It was a ritual in Sam's early and teenage years. Sam was especially close to Tom, who passed away in an auto accident in 1996 at the age of 17.

I've posted quite a few pictures, for my in-laws, mostly, who weren't able to attend the funeral. They're serving an LDS mission to the West Indies. They couldn't leave the country having only been there less than a month.

I've posted this video at the beginning, as I felt like it was a special tribute to Uncle Bill and my father-in-law. The funeral procession began with the hearst, followed by the limo with Aunt Clo and some children, followed truck #1176 (Bill's truck) driven by a son, then Jim's truck (that Sam and I drove), and finally Tom's old Chevy.