We're Back!

Right now, I need some chocolate. From Canada. They have the best chocolate bars in the world. (And yes, I said "chocolate bar" not "candy bar". That is what we call them in Canada because, after all, they are bars made from chocolate, not candy.)

So anyway, I can't have my Canadian chocolate right now because it is in my luggage somewhere else other then where it should be. And I can't read my book that I am currently really enjoying because it is also in my luggage. Last I heard, it was in Denver. Hopefully it gets here tonight so my kids will have clothes to wear this week. And at least it was only one suitcase that didn't make it instead of all 3. That's all.

The kids and I had a great time in Utah but it is sure good to be back. It was a little hard not having a car and with so much family in the area, we dedicated this trip to just family. And Tami. Because she is special.

Some hilights of the trip:

• Cafe Rio. Let's just say that Mexican food in Michigan is.......not Mexican food.
• The Kangaroo Zoo. The kids loved this place. There were tons of huge bouncy toys they could climb on and slide down. And Cassie wouldn't even let me help her get around. I couldn't believe how well she got around in these things.
• Finding maternity clothes at Ross Dress For Less. I couldn't believe the endless supply of maternity clothes I found there. I don't have any summer maternity clothes so it was kind of fun to have an excuse to go shopping.
• Watching Cassie dress up in Katelyn's princess dresses every day. I have never seen her so happy.
• Spending time with my sister and her new little baby. I am not a baby lover and never really care to hold other people's babies, but I just loved little Morgan. I couldn't put her down.
• Spending time with my mom, brother, Grandma, cousins, aunts, and all of Nate's family that I was able to see. I wish I could have spent more time with each of them.

Some not-so-hilights:

• Dylan is a little home body, like me, and wouldn't stop asking to go home. He really missed his daddy too.
• I didn't take one single picture of our trip. Our camera went on the more exciting trip, to Guatemala. We will hear more about that later on.
• Having 4 little kids and a newborn in one house for a long time means a lot of crying.
• My kids don't adjust to the time zones very quickly. Even after keeping them up until 11pm, we still had a few 5:30 mornings. This didn't make for a very happy me.
• The weather. Refer to my last post. (And to make it worse, it finally got to 75 degrees in Utah the day we left. And you guessed it, it was 32 degrees when we woke up here this morning. Sweet.)
• Being back in Utah traffic. If you have lived in Utah, and then lived elsewhere, you should understand. (sorry if I am offending anyone from Utah)
• Being told on the airplane that I need to get control of my children. I am still upset about this so I won't go into too much detail. Maybe later.
• I feel like my stomach doubled in size. Not from being pregnant but from all the food that I ate.

Okay, that's all I can think about right now. It was so good to see Nate at the airport when we got home. We didn't get home until 3am and we couldn't stop talking about each of our trips. I sure did miss him.

Weather

Why is it that last week the weather in Utah was in the 70's while in Michigan it was in the 30's?

Now that I am in Utah/Idaho for the week, it is in the 30's here and in the 70's in Michigan.

Seriously!!! I didn't even bring my kids coats and all they have wanted to do is play outside in Grandma and Grandpa's yard.

I just need warmer weather. Now.

(At least Nate is warm in Belize. He better bring us back something good!)

Update

Well, things are going really good around here. Just a few highlights:

• Nate is on a plastic surgery rotation, which sounds pretty busy, but this has been his lightest load yet this year. It has been great! He gets his readings all finished at work and when he is home he is actually home! YAY!! This doesn't happen often at all. He has a 3 day weekend right now and most days gets a 2 hour lunch and is home by 3. Too bad we are both cutting the month short and leaving on trips!
  
  
• Nate is going to Belize/Guatemala for 10 days and I am heading to Utah with the kids on Thursday. My plan was to stay here but when I found $150 round trip tickets, I couldn't pass them up.
  
  
• It is FREEZING here still. We had 2 days that made it to 60, but I think we are back to 30 again. brrrrrrrrr. I need Spring.
  
  
• I am feeling so much better then I was a month or so ago. This pregnancy has really been different than the other 2. Instead of feeling nauseous all day I am just tired now, but at least I have some energy and motivation finally. I think in the last 3 days I have organized almost every closet in our house.
  
  
• Now that I am pregnant, I have this sudden desire to be in a triathlon. Go figure. Maybe some day.
  
  
• The kids have been getting along so well lately. It has been great. They will disappear downstairs for an hour at a time and just play play play. I love it.

Hope everyone else is staying warmer then we are!

Little fingers and toes

The last couple of nights as I go check on Cassie before I head to bed, I have found this:

And this:

She falls asleep right by the door. I then proceed to push her out of the way (with the door) just enough so I can squeeze in and put her back in her bed.

Honestly, we are not neglecting our children.

When I put her to bed at night, she never cries or whimpers for us, she usually just plays for a little while and then goes to sleep when she feels like it. Sometimes, I hear her sitting by the door scratching it, or trying to open it, or even singing, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" or "I am A Child of God" (which is very very cute, by the way). But until these last couple of nights, she would usually make it back to her bed. I guess she was too tired and decided to crash on the floor. Poor thing.

My smiling kids

My wonderful and talented friend Cora took some great pictures of the kids on Saturday. My kids hardly ever smile for a picture (when we ask them too) and I was really surprised at how well they did. Dylan kept posing and smiling and being all cute. It was funny, because he never does that. There were too many pictures to choose from but here a few that I liked. Enjoy.