A Whole New Level of Nesting

As you know, I am pregnant. I am now 3 weeks away from my scheduled C-section and I have been nesting. Randy wrote his opinion on this a few months ago. My last project is the baby's room. I haven't done any organizing or cleaning in the nursery yet. So today, I opened the door to take a look and remembered how I wanted to have the carpet restretched in that room and the hallway. There is a big bubble in the middle that drives me crazy. I also thought I might as well get the carpets cleaned while they are repairing the carpet. I made a few calls, got a few estimates, talked with Randy and we decided to go forward with one company. They called and said someone had cancelled for tomorrow--would we be available if they came by. Of course, the sooner the better.

So, I was planning on picking up the toys, moving a few small bookshelves, and calling it good. Randy decided that if we were going to do this project, we had to go all in. So he moved everything. Literally everything off the carpet, except the piano. We decided it could stay where it was. Tomorrow night we will be sleeping in the basement because the carpet has to dry for 24 hours. He worked really hard, but it was way more work than anything I have been doing. Who's nesting?

The kitchen with 2 bookshelves, a dresser, and a changing table.

The one item that didn't get moved.

Our basement full of red couches.

The boy's bathroom. Yes, that is a shredder in the bathtub.

Our bathroom. I hope I don't have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

I Love Bacon

Hey, this is Randy:

Nothing quite like good old American decadence. A few years ago, some of the brothers-in-law went to a restaurant in Lehi called Emmett's (now Emmett's and Ethel's). We went there with the sole purpose of trying the Bacon Dog-- a hot dog wrapped in a thick piece of bacon and deep fat fried. Though I don't remember the actual taste of the Bacon Dog, I do remember the heart burn afterward.

"I can almost hear you getting fatter!"

Well, Americana has upped the ante. Yesterday was the last day of school, and I received many generous gifts and kind notes. The most unique, though, was this bacon cupcake.

I'm not really sure what's in the wrapper, but I'm sure that those are chunks of bacon on top.

Here's me trying the cupcake. Believe it or not, it was delicious. It tasted like pancakes and maple syrup. A regular campout-style breakfast. You know what? Bacon really DOES make everything taste better!

Ummmm. . . Sinfully decadent!

Check out my new tattoo!

Preschool Graduation

Last week Mark "graduated" from preschool. Dax and I attended the ceremony. We are so proud of Mark and how he has grown this year. He is so excited to head to Kindergarten next year. He will be a great student.

Mark waiting for the program to start.

Mark with his teacher.

Proud brother. Dax loved the graduation.

Mark with his best buddies from school.

Scandinavian Festival in Ephraim

Today we headed down to Ephraim for the Scandinavian Festival. The parade was nice, and the kids picked up way too much hard salt-water taffy. We were surprised that parents let their kids stand on the dotted white line on either side of the highway. We were sure someone was going to be hit by a car. It was hard to keep our kids all the way back on the solid white line.

After the parade, it was really windy, and we felt bad for all the vendors holding onto their tarpaulin booths as the gusts knocked over the displays. We did buy a gift for everyone. Randy got a piece of petrified wood because he's teaching about permineralization this year in science. The boys got light sabers because they were only three bucks each. (They also got free fossilized oysters from the fossil booth). And Natalie got a picture of the temple to hang in the basement. Here is a picture of everyone with their booty:

I'm so glad that I had to be in this picture!

For a little more info on the Scandinavian Festival and dates for other city events, check our other blog here.

Eclipse

Last night we drove to Beaver to see the annular solar eclipse. I got Natalie to leave church a five minutes early (better than 15 minutes late, as usual), and we had a lunch all packed and ready. We drove to Beaver, about two and a half hours. The eclipse was just beginning, and we quickly found a park using Natalie's new iPhone (Happy Mother's Day!).

Everything was perfect. We found a picnic table that was half in the shade of a large pine tree and half sunny for the eclipse. There was even a little playground within 20 feet for the kids. The eclipse was to last for nearly 2 hours, so we wouldn't be staring at it the whole time, obviously.

We ate and watched the eclipse progress for the first hour. Then a cheer went up as it reached totality. Because we'd driven south, we were able to see the "ring of fire" which means the moon was in front of the sun with just a sliver of the edge of the sun peeking out. (For more pictures and a fuller explanation see our other blog eclipse entry).

After totality, as the moon moved off the sun, the eclipse seemed pretty anti-climactic. We watched for a few more minutes, but it was almost 8 o'clock, and we still had a long drive ahead. Luckily, our kids are great in the car and other than Mark's mild complaints that dad kept beating him in the name-the-50s-artist game, and a minor break down from Dax as we left the freeway in Lehi just 5 minutes from home, it was a great trip.

Sports

Our family life pretty much revolves around sports. We talk about sports, we watch sports, the boys' room is sports themed, and man, do we play a lot of sports. Right now Randy is playing softball, Mark is playing soccer, and Dax is playing tee ball. We have had lots of games at the same times, but everyone is having fun. I can't even imagine adding another boy to this mix, but he'll be here in 6 weeks. And soon we will switch--Mark will play tee ball and Dax will play soccer, but at least Randy will be done with softball, until August. AAHH! Here are some pictures of the boys. Unfortunately I didn't snap any of Randy at his game last night. I'll take the camera next week.

I love this picture of Dax looking into the sun.

Dax playing 1st base!

Randy is the assistant coach of Mark's soccer team.

If you are wondering what Mark is doing--his coach always tells them to spread out, so Mark puts his arms out to make sure he isn't touching anyone.

Ian Kinsler Isn't Natalie, Either

Hey, this is Randy . . .

Natalie really hates giving the kids a bath. And when she's pregnant she REALLY hates giving the kids a bath. What better way to get out of it than to fake an ankle injury? Why not legitimize it by going to the doctor, getting x-rays, the whole 9 yards?

Okay, I can't prove any of that, but it doesn't stop me from suspecting. . .

Here's what really happened:

Mark was throwing me a few pitches. Like a 5 year-old, he couldn't really toss up a meatball. He was throwing them low, high, outside, and at my head-- anywhere but across the plate. Natalie told him she'd show him how. She tossed a perfect pitch. Though I'd been showing off for Mark, I wasn't about to rip a line drive off my pregnant wife, so I gently popped one up right to her. Well, it was ALMOST right to her; actually it went a little over her head. She took two steps back and twisted off balance, landing in a heap. Worst of all she started to cry. Oh, and she did catch the ball, but dropped it as she hit the ground. I rushed over to see if she was in labor or had landed on her tummy, she finally got out that it was just her ankle.

Though Natalie is a great whiffle ball player, she is not much of a crutch user. She half hopped, half leant on me as we got her in the house. Neither of us really thought it was broken, but we thought it was worth the co-pay to find out. The doctor, who happened to know me from Ephraim, took a few x-rays and confirmed what we thought-- no break. He gave her a brace, and she's been sailing along ever since.

She's quite a trooper.