The End of May...

7 weeks until the due date and counting.....

For all who want to see-- this is my tummy of our future baby. I've been alot better at taking pictures of my pregnancy (this time around) however, Cael was not so lucky. It was just something that didn't happen for the boy. Don't say anything, but we'll just pretend that this is me pregnant BOTH times around. Things are pretty much the same, we'll just have to see how much this boy is going to weigh in at and if he comes close to the 8 lb baby Cael was. I haven't had to get up in the middle of the night to go.. you know... so I consider myself lucky to get a good nights sleep. That will not last long once this little guy gets here, so I am putting away a "sleep reserve" for those middle of the night feedings :)

Also, for those who don't believe that Cael can ride his bike without training wheels... here's an okay picture of his amazing skill. We went on a ride today, despite the drizzle. This picture is at a park that we frequent, but I don't know who that little boy is chasing Cael around. Some neighborhood boy who was very impressed to say the least. I hope you can see the look on our boys face, he is very proud on himself.





And now: Here is a picture of Army Ben, on his way to do a presentation on Subcutaneous Hematoma Formation after Insulin Injections in an Anticoagulated Patient. He looks like he's ready to talk all about that stuff, right? Cael and I both thought he looked pretty cute as an Army man and the presentation went well, according to Ben. He also came home with a few items from some drug reps who were at the conference as well... We sure love the pens they hand out, as well as the notepads-- they are simply amazing!
Tomorrow we have many things planned as it is Ben's first day off in 2 weeks. I can't wait for the all day set of projects that will occupy our Friday Frenzy :)

Finally....

After many unsuccessful attempts to create a family blog, I finally figured it out! I'm sure you are all as excited as I am!
Just a quick update on the family:

1) Cael is tall enough and rode his first rollercoaster ride at Sea World. The Shamu Express was quite the exciting ride and we got some great action shots with our trusty camera. He was a little wary at first, but by the second time around he started saying "Woo Hoo" and he had a huge smile on his face.

2)Cael also learned how to ride his trusty Red Rocket Schwinn WITHOUT training wheels! You can believe that Ben was very proud of his 'big boy' and Cael was proud of himself as well. I had been to a Young Women meeting and when I got home they sure had a surprise for me. I almost started crying just because he is my baby and isn't supposed to grow up! When I said that to Cael he replied "I'm not little, I'm a big boy! "I guess that is what happens when your boy is almost 3 years old, they start telling you that they are big :)

3) We are having a baby in July! I'm currently 32 weeks along and we've been calling my tummy "baby brother" and are not quite sure on a name yet, although when asked what he thought of the name Connor, Cael said "that's a good name". So we will see if the little guy looks like a Connor. If anyone has any boy names that they would like to pass along, please feel free to send them our way before too long :)

4) Life is busy-- We are almost finished with our home remodeling and hopefully it will be completely finished by the time the little guy arrives. Our home was built in 1981 and needed some updating. It has been fun, although a little more expensive than we had originally planned for. However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and so we are hopeful of its' completion

5)We just got back from the library for our weeks ration of new children's' books for Cael. We have read our own collection so many times that Ben and I have them memorized. We enjoy the change and have found some pretty entertaining books as well, such as "Drat that Fat Cat" and "Scaredy Squirrel" (really funny), just to name a few.

Well, that is our family update for now, hope that everyone enjoys it!

Christmas in Arizona

We went to the Mesa Temple grounds to see all of the Christmas lights. The McWhorter family joined us and we had a great time together. It is still strange to only wear a light jacket during December and Christmas time, something we are getting used to a little each year.

Christmas in Arizona and WYO

Gobble Gobble

LAS VEGAS Wedding

My cousin Shannon was getting married in Las Vegas and we were invited. It was wonderful to see family and especially grandpa looking so handsome walking Shannon to her future husband. 

Baby Cael was sure excited to meet his great grandpa Byron and great grandma Mary again. Their smiles and attention brought a feeling of warmth and happiness to my heart. 

Aunt Melody, aunt Sally, aunt Celeste, Shannon, aunt Carolyn, aunt Mary Lou, and cousin Holly. What a good looking group of ladies! 

The wedding reception was in the backyard of aunt Melody's house. There was dancing and food and uncle Nick put on his snorkel gear and jumped into the pool. He may have had one too many drinks to celebrate the wedding. 

I love this picture of Ben and I, what a fun trip!

Halloween Part(ies)

I remember that been won a gift certificate to a party store from school. Could never decide what to buy, so we settled on Halloween costumes. We had fun picking up material from Walmart and creating our own Viking costumes. We cut pieces of arvest and sewed them together by hand with yarn to give them a rustic touch. I don't know how Cael grew facial hair for Halloween, but he was the cutest little Viking baby we've ever seen. 

Our good friends JT and Leslie hunt sure look cute in their Frankenstein and bride of Frankenstein costumes. We have a lot of fun going to their house, playing games, and hanging out. 

The day after Halloween I really wanted to have a family party with our friends from medical school, so we invited them all to our house. One of the first games we played was eating a doughnut on the string. We had some fierce competitors but only one winner. 

The donut eating champion – medical student Matt!

The McWhorter sure look cute in their cheerleader and football player drag! They have arrived fashionably late from Mesa, so we gave them a hard time. 

Ben and Bryony Wilde-- Friends from university of Wyoming that followed us down to Arizona. Ben was scripture hero Nephi and Bryony was expecting their first baby. 

Matt and Rebecca Okander look cute, although I think Matt needs a haircut-- or to go back to the 60s. 

Scott and laurie robins became their own superheroes, I think.

Mike and Kelly Galbraith, fun friends from medical school, hang out in the kitchen and keep an eye on the food. 

Jen and Kylie Mortensen are looking festive, scary, and brave. Kylie goes to school with Ben.

I was having so much fun, but I remember that Cael was acting pretty hungry. I still wasn't very confident in feeding my baby in front of my friends, so I waited as long as I could – or as long as he could – before he got to eat. 

Most of the friends had left and packed up for the night we sure had a good time letting the kids do a cake walk in the living room and. We had sent them in the garage with snacks and a movie for most of the night. We sure love Halloween, parties, and our friends!