Catch up: Nic's birthday.

 Nic had a birthday. In January. I have been a bit behind on my blogging, but I am going to chip away at it. For Nic's birthday (in January) we decided to go to the Utah Natural History Museum. It turned out to be really cool and the kids really loved it. Mason got to hold a cockroach and hang out with tarantulas and scorpions. Sage got to run free, splash in some water, and see big dinosaurs. They loved it.

I really love this guy. He is an insanely good daddy and my best friend. I always tell him that when I pictured my future life when I was younger, it was just like this. He is such a major reason for that. Love you Nic. 

Three.

We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting our third baby this fall (due date September 20, 2012). Here is an ultrasound picture from today. (This baby has been ultra-sounded quite frequently. Its just too convenient having an ultrasound machine and a trained radiologist at my disposal at all times. And its just too fun to watch the little wiggle worm grow and move.)

From the moment we decided to get pregnant I have had a strong feeling that we would be having a boy. This was new for me as I had no idea what sex Mason or Sage were prior to an ultrasound. I have never claimed to have any sort of motherly/womanly intuition to help me predict the sex of my (or anyone else's) baby.  But this time I was just so sure. I even told Nic at one point that if it was a girl it would take me a while to wrap my head around it because, in my mind, its a boy. Well...in the end I guess that all says something for my motherly intuition. And that is that....

it works.

Its a boy and we are so excited! 

With all the ultrasounds we've done we were pretty sure it was a boy a few weeks ago, but we weren't quite willing to commit. I think this picture shows that a commitment is in order. Sage loves to watch the ultrasounds of the baby and even knows that its a baby (though I'm sure she doesn't understand that it actually is a real live baby). Mason is thrilled to have a brother. He has also been convinced that it was boy. We tried to tell him that we didn't know for sure if it was a boy or girl, but we would love it no matter what it was. His response to that was, "Yea. It doesn't matter. We'll love it if its a boy or a girl. But its a boy."

My heart is full and I am so grateful to have this little baby be a part of our family. We are so, so blessed.

Mason-isms

Tonight, as Nic was tucking him in, Mason said, "Daddy. I think Heavenly Father made us (meaning he and Sage) to make you happy." He melts my heart. Of course Nic replied with how happy he is to have such awesome kids. I am one lucky girl.

New Years in Idaho

This year we spent the week between Christmas and New Years in Island Park at my parent's cabin. Unfortunately (for us and us alone) we didn't get to spend the week with my dad and Penni. They were cruising in Mexico. We did, however, have Lindsey and Marci and their families up at different times during the week. Mason had so much fun spending time in the woods with his cousins, and we loved spending time with with some of our favorite people.

Mason

Chloe

Carson

Abby

Nic and Sage (note the scab lip).

I think these two pictures are awesome.

Love it!

Cute kids!

Buddies. After dinner on Christmas (before the cabin) Carson hugged Mason and said, "Mason, I'll never forget you." So funny!

This girl loves her daddy.

Playing some Wack-a-Mole

The spa treatment.

Sage wasn't crazy about being outside. She liked it fine for the first few minutes (and she laughed when she rode on the snowmobile), but after about 10 minutes she was done.

Love these kids.

The fearless leaders.

This picture is kind of a big deal. This girl simply does not sleep anywhere but in a crib or (occasionally) in the car. We were making lunch and I looked over to see this. I was shocked.

Love this picture.

Sweet Abby. I love this girl. She is so funny.

The girls were running from the stairs to the kitchen and having a great time.

The kids were playing upstairs for quite some time when they came down to get us for a "show." A "wrestling match show". We came up to find that Mason, Carson, Chloe and Abby had been having wrestling matches. It was really funny to watch. Mason and Carson really were going after each other. Luckily no one got hurt and it ended up being super funny.

They assumed the Sumo stance prior to contact.

Abby and Chloe

Then Nic got involved.

And a naked Sage.

There was a day between when Lindsey's family and Marci's family came up where we had no one at the cabin. So we took a quick trip to West Yellowstone (in a blizzard) and did some light shopping at the bookstore, then had dinner at a local deli. West, in the winter, is a little less inviting than it is in the summer, but it still holds a very special place in my heart.

Later that day Marci, Seth, and Ellen came up and we were able to have some quality time with them.

Mason and Ellen loved playing with the "Giant Peanut" (aka the love sac) and the kids spent a good amount of time and energy jumping from the couch onto the "peanut". I figured it was a good way to get out some of Mason's ever present energy.

Cute kids! Mason, Ellen and Seth. These guys loved going on the snowmobile.

We had an awesome time at the cabin. Seriously, I have such great memories from the week we spent there. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with our own little family, as well as some of Nic's. I had a goal to not get out of my pajamas for the whole week and (with the exception of going into W. Yellowstone) I achieved that goal. I don't really know how to describe how wonderful it felt to be up there, away from everything, tucked into the woods with my sweet family. It was really wonderful. A big thanks to my dad and Penni for first, building the cabin (from start to finish, by themselves) and second, for letting us stay. Hopefully they'll let us stay again after reading this post! 

After spending 5 days at the cabin we decided to go back to Idaho Falls and spend New Years eve at Nic's parent's. We put the kids to bed early a few nights and went to movies, and we brought in the new year with Marci, some Martinelli's and some stinky cheese. It was perfect.