August is going to be Crazy!

It's official. We are expecting a baby on August 23rd. I am hoping we can just line up one hospital room with me, Candice, Lauren and my cousin David's wife Leah. Do you think they will give us a group rate? Kerry, I think you better plan a trip so we can get your baby together with ours! In case you are wondering, let me give you a little accounting of the known babies coming this summer. Let me know if I need to add any to the list!

June- Kerry, Katie, Bret's cousin Sarah (her first!),

August- Me, Candice (her first!), Lauren, Leah and Bret's cousin Jamie

We are excited, Bella really wants to be a big sister!

President Gordon B. Hinckley

I was so saddened to hear the news about President Hinckley. He was such a remarkable man. I will so miss hearing from him at conference. I have been thinking a lot about what he has taught us, and what sticks out most to me is how cheerful he always was. He always knew how to look on the positive side of everything. I think one of my favorite quotes is "In all of living have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured." I believe he exemplified that every day. I remember other prophets fairly well, but none has meant as much to me, I think that is what makes this so hard. I do find some consolation knowing he is with his beloved wife again. What a wonderful man who will be truly missed.

Oh, the Drama!

Sunday mornings seem to be a little long these days, our church does not start until 1:00 and it leaves us plenty of time inside. I think it will be easier once the weather is better. Bella seems to be especially dramatic on Sundays, and yesterday was no exception. It started early, but came to a head when Dad was making some soup for lunch. While I was getting ready, Bret let the soup boil over. Bella came running into the bathroom. "Mom, Dad ruined the soup. Now we have nothing to eat. We are going to be so hungry." I have to admit I struggled to keep a straight face while I comforted her and explained that we would be able to figure something out.

Next, at church, she didn't want to sit with her class. She decided that she wanted to sit a row behind with her "best friend." I girl I personally have never seen before. I ended up taking her to the bathroom, where she preened in front of the mirror for about 5 minutes.

After church, she decided we need to have a beach party with floppy hats, glasses and magazines. (She calls them showtimes, I have no idea why.) Bella could only come up with one hat, so a crown was better for her anyway.

A while later, I turned on the figure skating championships. Bella was dancing along and trying to do what they were doing. She ran in and grabbed Dad "You are going to miss it Dad. You want to ice skate with me." I wish I had the video camera so you all could see Bella and Bret ice skating on her pink blanket. I think it would be the final straw for Bret though.

Then, when Bella was playing in the office, she fell and bumped. She ran to get herself a band-aid and put it on herself. The picture speaks for itself.

What a day with Miss Drama Queen.

Cannonball!

Bella has decided she can't wait for summer, and I can't say that I blame her. Every time the sun is out, she says "It's a nice sunny day, can we go swimming at Grandma's?" I have to remind her about the snow on the ground and she gets a little disappointed. I have been letting her bath in my tub, and we call it her little swimming pool. She fills it as full as she can and is happy for a long time. I am usually dragging her out because the water is tepid and I don't want her getting sick. The other day, I walked in to check on her just as I saw standing on the edge of the tub, yelling "Cannonball" and jumping in! Funny girl!

Dinosaurs

Today was a preschool field trip to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. After trying Bella's terrifying experience at the Dinosaur Park in Ogden, I knew we needed Dad to "keep me safe from the scary things." She was a little nervous when we pulled up and saw the Tyrannosaurs Rex crashing out of the building. Dad decided it would be best to park near the friendly brontosaurs, which Bella named "Stripes." She started out okay, but the dark cave set her off. After that, she was pretty scared. Dad finally got her to settle down, but she didn't let him out of her sight! I think her favorite part was the sand table. She didn't really set anything up, but decided the dinosaurs really needed baths. It was great to spend the morning together!

Silly Girl

Isabelle put this outfit together all by herself. I partcularly love the glasses!

Snow Day

Bret had to work all night on Sunday, so he had today off. We decided to get out of the house and try a little sledding this year. It was quite the process to get everyone bundled. I try to avoid winter, so I don't have a good winter's coat for playing in the snow. I finally dragged out an old sweater I bought on my mission. Nothing like llama wool to keep you toasty! We headed to a small hill near the house. Bella went down once, pushed Bret a couple of times and then decided she would rather make snow angels and throw snowballs!

Mom and Me

Bella woke up just wild today, so it was decided we needed a day of Mom and Me at the mall. (I chose the location, but she readily agreed so she could ride on the carousel.) Dad stayed home and cleaned the house, which I really appreciated. As we headed to the mall, Bella was pretty sad about Dad not coming with, but she got over it as soon as she saw the carousel. First she decided to ride on Rudolph the Red Nose. During that ride, she noticed the dragon, she decided she was brave enough to ride it, especially because it had pink sparkling wings. As soon as I had her on it, she wanted to call Dad and let him know she was "brave of dragons." We took a break, did a little shopping and had lunch. Then it was twice more on the Tinkerbell carousel horse. (It has a cherub with green wings on the side, she can find a Tinkerbell anywhere!) She asked me if there was an alligator at this mall. It took me a minute to figure out she meant escalator, but we went for a ride. She found the Hello Kitty store and filled her basket. I steered her over to Gap Kids. She saw this dress and said "Mom, I really want this really cute dress and these pink shoes." A girl after my own heart, what could I say put yes? We had a great time together. I sure love my Bella!

Scouts

What a great snowy day for a service project with the scouts! We needed to do one so they could complete their citizen pin, so we told them to dress warm and bring a shovel. They shoveled a couple of driveways and then all around a park (I bet it was close to a mile before they were done!). They were all pretty tired, but the afternoon still ended in a great snowball fight!

My Food is Not a Laughing Matter

We had quite the experience at Melia's birthday party. Bella was in a mood and through some serious fits. It was so out of control so we ended up leaving pretty early. What really seemed to stick with her about the whole evening, is Melia taking her carrots off her plate. After the party, we stopped at my parent's house, and Uncle Matt seemed to be able to change her mood with some mashed potatoes and peas. I was telling Matt about the carrot incident and we were laughing. Bella looked at Matt and said (with a completely serious face, I might add.) "It is not a joke." Don't mess with my kid's vegetables, it is one serious thing!