If you need me...

this is where you'll find me....for the next 1-2 months. Ugh, I forgot about this part of pregnancy.

Our Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was very special this year. It started with the flowers Steve had delivered to me at home! I've never had flowers delivered to me before, it was so much fun! I had no idea what was being delivered to me, honestly. Especially since they came on the 13th. When I opened the box I was all smiles seeing the flowers inside. It was perfect to get them the day before.




I made a special breakfast for Steve and the boys. Then Steve headed off to work and the boys and I went about our day. Ethan and Luke made two valentine's cards for their dad. One we tucked inside his lunch box and the other Luke gave him when he got home from work. This is what the second one looked like.

Yep, that's right....it says Baby #3....we are having another baby! That was our Valentine's surprise. I'm guessing that I will be due in late October but the doctor will confirm that for us in about four weeks. Steve and I thought that posting the news on our blog would be a fun way for you all the find out. Now we'll really see who reads this thing. :)

Chicken pox....round two!

Ethan has caught chicken pox for the second time. He didn't show any symptoms, no fever or anything. I was helping him change his clothes on Monday morning when I was surprised to see about 30 pox covering his torso. So we have been keeping away from people that don't want to be exposed. We made play dough today. This was my first time and we had a lot of fun kneading it and coloring it; actually I think the boys' favorite part was adding the food coloring. My hands are still blue and green. Here are some pictures of our experience.

We've also had some friends whose parents DID want them to be exposed so we've invited them over to play. And we've been taking more walks. The trees around here are blossoming and I love the buds. Ethan should be all clear by the end of the week then we'll have to wait and see if Luke ends up getting it. People have been asking me whether I vaccinated Ethan or not and I have. His pediatrician said that this happens sometimes. He has a very mild case but enough to keep people at bay.

Prehistoric Pets

A good friend of mine told me about this great pet store called Prehistoric Pets. We went to it last Saturday morning and Ethan and Luke were in heaven! This pet store is like no other. They have a big pond full of huge fish and turtle swimming all over it. They had manitors climbing huge cages, pythons all wrapped up and looking so sweet. You can have a birthday party there and they even do little presentations inside the store. Its like a little zoo. Honestly, I had the heebie jeebies the entire time we were there but its all in the name of fun for my children. We paid a few dollars to buy some mealworms in a dish to feed the turtles. Boy those guys were chomping on them! Ethan and Luke were really good at using the huge tweezers to pick up the worms and drop them in the turtle's mouths. Again, more heebie jeebies. I'm so glad I have boys that push me beyond my limits. :) We can't go to Prehistoric Pets too often because I know they'll end up wanting to bring some scaly reptile home one day and I don't think I could handle that (shudder).

Would you want to have this lying around your home?

What's in there?

Our friend the Manitor poking his head in the picture too.

And there's his hiney.

This is the lingering turtle that was waiting for more worms when our supply ran out.

Luke wanted me to take a picture of the big fish.

And finally a picture of the albino python behind Luke.....ew.

Visiting the Whittakers and Rasmussens

Some pictures from our visit to Mesquite for Jaxon's baptism. The weekend went by so fast being with so many fun people. We already want to go back! Thank you Rasmussens and Whittakers for "playing" with us.

Sitting with Grandpa before the baptism started. We're so glad he made it, they were cutting it close!

Ethan and Luke were excited to see their Aunt Sherrie!

It was so fun to witness Jaxon be baptized! He looks so grown up in his suit. Ethan could not part with Jaxon. Here are all the cousins that were there, from left to right: Luke, Tyler, Ethan, Jaxon, Adam and Jake.

Baby Alyssa is missing from the cousin picture but here she is crawling around the floor. She's so cute!

Sorry about the lopsided pictures. We don't have our photoshop loaded onto the computer yet since the crash so I'm working with fewer tools.

I hate computers

I'm feeling pretty hostile toward my computer. I don't care if user error has anything to do with anything. I hate my computer. I hate it for lulling me into a false sense of security - that anything saved within its hard drives, motherboards, graphics card...whatever, is safe from harm. I hate my computer. I hate it for confusing the heck out of even the most skilled user therefore causing permanent damage "due to user error." I hate my computer. I hate it for requiring hard drives and back up hard drives. I hate my computer. I hate it for crashing. I hate my computer. I hate that all my boys' pictures are gone, lost in electrical space, never to be viewed again. I hate my computer. I hate it even more because I'm sitting here again, in front of my computer. Typing away how much I hate it. Loathing it with every key I push. Cursing it for not being able to be sent to a data recovery specialist and somehow be resurrected. I hate it for all the precautions I "should have" taken and now its gone....gone baby gone. I hate my computer.

This is for you Jennie

How long have you been together? We have been married for almost six and a half years! How long did you date? Oh geez that was so long ago....hmmm....we were an "official" couple for about four months before Steve proposed. Before that we had been friends and "hanging out" for another four months I think. How old is he? Steve is the big 3-0! Who eats more? Hmmm.... Who said "I love you" first? That would be me, thank you very much. Who is taller? Steve, hands down. Who sings better? Steve Who is smarter? Steve Who does the laundry? Moi Who does the dishes? Usually me but when we remodeled the kitchen we invested in a super duper dishwasher so I'll give it most of the credit. ;) Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Steve, I need easy access to the door. Who pays the bills? Automatic debit all the way Who mows the lawn? Most of the time its Steve Who cooks dinner? Me Who is more stubborn? We both are pretty stubborn Who kissed who first? This is a good story but to sum it up Steve initiated it. :) Who asked who out? Steve asked me out. Our first date was with some good friends of ours, Josh and Mari. We rode trax to SLC and ate at China Lily. Chinese food has played an integral part in our relationship ever since.....hehehe. Who proposed? Steve proposed to me. He took me on a beautiful hike up Provo Canyon. We sat on the edge of a beautiful cliff and he read me a poem he had written that ended with his proposal. Every time I go back to Provo I look at the place on the mountain where we sat after we climbed it and remember how incredible that day was. Who is more sensitive? That would be me. Who has more friends? Um, I think that would be me too. Who has more siblings? Steve has five and I have three. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Neither of us makes any big decisions without consulting the other person. Who are you tagging? Britt-ay, Evelyn, Mae, Katie Naylor, Julie Good

This is for you Jennie

How long have you been together? We have been married for almost six and a half years!

How old is he? Steve is the big 3-0!
Who eats more? We can probably eat about the same, isn't that scary about me?

Who said "I love you" first? I did.

Who is taller? Steve for sure. He's 6'2" and I'm 5'4"

Who sings better? Um, probably Steve.

Who is smarter? Steve, for sure. I stink at Math so I think that makes him smarter.

Who does the laundry? I do.

Who does the dishes? I do, most of the time.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Steve does.

Who pays the bills? Automatic deduction!

Who mows the lawn? Steve but we hope to have someone else one day.

Who cooks dinner? I do.

Who is more stubborn? Steve is. Love you, hon!

Who kissed who first? Steve kissed me. Actually, he asked "when are you going to kiss me?" It was pretty funny, and awkward.

Who asked who out? Hmm, according to Steve he asked me out first.

Who proposed? Steve proposed to me at the top of a mountain in Provo.

Who is more sensitive? I am, definitely.

Who has more friends? I think I would have to say that I do.

Who has more siblings? Steve does, there are 6 kids in his family and 4 in mine.

Who wears the pants in the relationship? Um, I do! haha...I think we both do.

Life list

1. I'm still in shock that President Hinckley has passed away, it feels like the end of an era for me. I know he is much happier now. I will miss hearing from him. My favorite characteristic of his was how personable he was, he was always good for a laugh! Whenever I listened to him I wanted to be better. I really liked Glenn Beck's tribute to him, you can read it here. Thank you for all you did for us President Hinckley, you will be missed.

2. I've given up reading Pillars of the Earth. It got a little too disturbing for me. Have any of you read it? Is it worth pushing through?

3. I love that I've come in contact with two old friends because of this blog! I'm so excited to be in touch with Julie and Abbie again.

4. I am an iphone owner. I love it! Its so fun....a bit extravagant but fun. I've been afraid to make my ownership public because it lends the wrong image but I've decided to embrace it and be proud! ehhhh, or something.

5. I've been talking (since November) about painting over my canvases in the living room. Well, its about time I put some action behind my words and finally got around to re-doing my paintings in our living room. This is what they used to look like.

And this is what they look like now.

6. I am really excited to go to Mesquite tomorrow. We're going to see our nephew Jaxon be baptized. I'm excited to see all the family. I know my boys will be bursting with joy to spend time with their cousins and see their Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen. I want to leave right now but Steve is making me wait until tomorrow morning (sigh). Honestly, I can't believe Jaxon is eight and going to be baptized! It was just yesterday that he was five (?) and asking me to hold Ethan every other minute. :) I'm always impressed with how easily Jaxon and Tyler share their toys when we come to visit. They are so nice to Ethan and Luke its no wonder my boys never want to leave. We love you Jaxon and we're so excited and happy for you! Thanks for being such a good example to your younger cousins. I know Ethan and Luke will look up to you. Here's a picture of Jaxon holding baby Ethan when they came for Ethan's blessing.

And here is Jaxon in his suit he got for his eigth birthday. His mom told us that he asked for a suit, I think he looks so grown up and handsome. He's got "future missionary" and "heart throb" written all over him.