Fall fun

We squeezed in a trip to our favorite pumpkin patch a few Saturdays ago. The weather was gorgeous and sunny and Mt. Rainier looked amazing The kids love the farm because there are so many fun things to do: tractor rides, sling shotting ( I just made that word up) pumpkins, corn kernel pit, tricycles, hay maze, etc. We went with some friends and had a great time.

FHE last night consisted of making caramel apples (drizzled with chocolate, of course)

Jack tried rebelling against wearing a bib, but I know the kind of eaters that live at my house. :)

Check out how my husband eats a caramel apple : he uses a fork and knife. He did get a spot of chocolate on his upper lip though and I made sure to point that out to him :)

We hosted a Murder Mystery dinner for the Elder's Quorum presidency Friday night. Clint was supposed to be "Del" , a 1950's jock. He borrowed a friend's letterman jacket and I had to talk him out of wearing a pair of my jeans with it. (How sad it is when my husband can fit into my clothes and I can't.) I was "Pris", the valedictorian and class president....somehow the pregnancy thing didn't fit in too well with my character, but I made it work.

Thanks for the ride......

Some of you may or may not know this, but I have had a part time (sometimes full-time job) with a company that offers science camps and after-school clubs for the last 7 years. I got the job to work as a camp instructor the summer after Clint and I married. I taught another summer before having Jack. After that, my fabulous manager was so very flexible and let me start working part time (mostly from home). I taught club trainings on Saturdays and ordered supplies and did other admin things from home. It was a perfect way to earn a little extra cash and keep my foot in the working/teaching world. I kept it up even after Lindsey was born. I would take the kids with me to visit camp sites during the summer and taught our big summer camp trainings once a year (sometimes having to pump a few times during the day).

I even had the opportunity to travel!I traveled to California to get trained for a few days. Then, after Lindsey was born, I received an award from the company that bought our smaller company out. They flew me ( and 10 week old Linds) to Arizona for a conference and special ceremony to present awards. I kept her in the Moby the whole time and some people didn't even realize I had a baby with me!Then, a few months later, I flew to Colorado for another training. Since Lindsey was still so little, I brought my sis along to watch her while I trained. Last year, I took a quick trip to Kansas City to train some new employees on our science projects. I had extra time to go to Carthage and Independence and have some much needed alone time!

This week, I found out that the larger parent company does not need the employees of our smaller science company any more. We have all been let go. I haven't been working nearly as much as I used to work, but I still have had a true sense of loss. I have had a wonderful journey with this company learning many new things, meeting wonderful people and feeling like I was making a difference with children other than my own. The loss of income won't kill us, but it was nice for the extra things in life. I don't know if I will ever find another job that was so flexible.
Thanks for the great ride.

Fall Updates

It is officially fall and we've been busy at our house!

Lindsey has been loving preschool and can be quite the social butterfly (when she wants to be!!). She continues to be quite the precocious little thing....speaking her mind whenever she wants to be heard. She is hilarious though and keeps us laughing (which makes up for the times she makes me cry!). In Fred Meyer yesterday, she spotted a boy wearing his pants way below his bum and turned to Clint and I and said, "That boy's pants are falling down!" The boy heard and said "sorry" and pulled them up. We laughed and laughed. She also can't keep her hands off of people- many poor people have had their bums touched while we are walking the aisles of WinCo. She doesn't really understand the personal space thing yet. :)

Jack is really enjoying kindergarten after a bit of a rocky start. He loves PE and playing with his friends at recess. He is playing soccer as a "Tiger". He loves having dad and papa as his coaches. He plays midfielder most of the time, which means lots and lots of running. He is super fast and loves being in all the action. He is quite the athlete and we love having soccer to burn some of his never-ending energy.

Yikes, me! I am getting bigger and bigger at a much faster rate than my other pregnancies, which is a bit depressing, but such is life ( I think I was this size when I delivered Jack). I discovered my first varicose vein (yuck!!), but my energy is high and I can still keep up with the kids most of the time! The countdown has begun (I am 29.5 weeks) and I am beginning to nest a bit. We are all excited to meet our new little one, but a little anxious for this big transition in our lives.


Clint (no picture) has been crazy busy with work and his church calling, but we enjoy spending time with him whenever we can.

We went to the Mariner's game last weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday. We had a great time eating, playing on the play structure, taking advantage of all the free fan appreciation activities and being together.