So yah...

it's true.  We're expecting #6.  Families are so weird when do you try to add 1+1.  Suddenly 1+1=8!!!  I'm feeling much better about this pregnancy than the last one.  I'm definitely feeling pregnant.  I feel queasy a lot of the time.  I'm not as sick as I was with Ari (thanks goodness!) and really hope I don't get that sick EVER again.  I'm tired and making more trips to the powder room.  I am also having a few cravings.  I want protein; usually in meat form and warm.  Tonight I wanted seafood.  I grabbed some crab salad knowing full well there wasn't really any crab in it.  I hate fish.  I always have.  I can't even eat tuna without smothering it in Miracle Whip and adding lots of celery, cucumber, salt and pepper.  I've eaten almost half a pound of this crab salad.  I feel better right now and am, quite frankly, surprised at myself.  I just can't think too much about it.  =)

Taken opportunities!

I had a breakfast with a couple of girlfriends and have been reflecting on the good fortune I've had to make a couple really good friends where ever we've lived.  The kind of friends that even if I don't get to see in person for the rest of my life, I'll look forward to seeing in the afterlife.

Which got me thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't had the experiences I've had.  I've definitely had some memorable experiences everywhere we've lived. 

Not all have been good.  Not by a long shot.

Not all have been bad. Not by an even longer shot.

Memorable.

For one thing, we've had a child in every state we've lived in.  Those are good experiences.  The great people I've met--another good experience.

Memorable.

The horrid landlord in Logan.  Lead poisoning fears I've kept with me since living there.  My dismal school failure in Connecticut.

BAD.

Memorable.

But, I've learned from the good and the bad.  After 8 pregnancies and 5 kids, I'm learning to be more grateful for my children and for timing other than my own.  I'm humbled by people I've met in every state.  There are so many people struggling out there that I have trouble remember everyone when I pray and am left feeling like there are more but I just can't remember.

After bad landlords and lead poisoning fears and failures at school, I hope I've learned when to quit, when to step up to the plate, and when to speak up.

Mostly, though, I'm just really thankful to be where I am, when I am and with whom I am with.  It's nice to know I'm supposed to be with such a great group of people right now. 

CJ, our 4 boys, Ryan and Nathaniel went on a 4 day, 3 night float trip down the Smith River.  Apparently, it's a really big deal to do this.  There aren't very many permits allowed each year.  A lottery was held in the medical/dental group to try and get a permit.  CJ and his commander both won a permit. 

 

It was quite a party to get all that was needed and all ready to go.  We had to borrow a truck and rent a couple boats.  We also bought a pup tent for Alex and Andrew figurig it would get used again for scouts.

 

 

Ryan, Kara and their kids arrived the evening before the float trip was to commence.  We got a late start the next day. (Did anyone really expect anything else?)

 

 

Finally we got all in and the boats pushed off.  It was a longer drive there than we had expected.  I think all the kids were hungry and there was no place to eat.  I felt badly for them.  They seemed to be pretty happy with all the hulabaloo going on.

 

 

Kara and I were both a little jealous we couldn't go.  I looked like fun!  Of course, the jealousy definitely ebbed for me when they came back with ticks.  YUCK!

 

 

CJ said it would have been nicer if they had gone with a tour group type thing where you get all the fun of floating and none of the work of packing up and unpacking.  Welcome to my world, CJ...

 

 

I learned after they got home, we had forgotten to buy more camping cups.  There were only 4 cups to share between 7 males.  Oops.

 

 

I had a lot of fun with Kara, Christopher and Mille!  It was so nice to meet her finally.  She is a CUTIE!  Maybe in a few years, we women folk can do it and leave the men at home.  =)

 

Sooo we had family pictures again.  A dear sister in our ward takes them for us.  We have a small but incredibly talented ward!  We have not 1 but 2 wonderful photographers close by!

 

 The photos were taken at a local park.  It was HOT and muggy.  I am continally surpised at how humid it is in Great Falls.

 

The kids were pretty darn good for being stuck in warmer clothing (Avery and Andrew chose what they wanted to wear).  They also couldn't run around as much as they would have liked to.



 

 

However, the promise of ice cream cones at the end helped--for most kids.  Ari and CJ still weren't very cooperative.  hehe

 

Alex didn't want to smile.  I think he's working on his serious side.

 



 

Andrew found his own pose!

 

 

 Have I mentioned how much I love and really like

this guy!  I am looking forward to retirement so we have more time together.

 

 

The way I take pictures (or get them taken), this might be it until next year....

 

Play it Again!

We finally found a safe place for Ari to eat a lollipop.

Yep, the bathtub.

9 month stats

We're a little late for the actual 9 mon mark; more like almost 9.5 months.  Not too much is going to change too drastically in a couple weeks.

Weight 17.4 (14%)
Height 27.2 (28%)
Head 45.6 (85%)

Our child has a pumpkin head.

Pbbbbbth (raspberry sound)

I hate dieting.  When I get tired, it's really hard for me to not munch.  So, yah,  almost all the time I'm feeling like prowling around for a munchie. 

Ari is balancing on her own now.  She doesn't know what to do when she stands on her own and it kinda distresses her.  She has 6 (working on 7 or 8) teeth now!!  I absolutely love to see her little face peeking around a corner or a person.  Adorable.

Andrew has brought almost all is VERY low grades up to at least a C.  He has one D to bring up.  It's been not fun but I hope he feels some sense of accomplishment.  He's really worked hard to catch up on everything.  I'm still frustrated trying to figure out what his homework is everynight.

Aiden is doing better with his preschool work but I'm still not sure he's ready for Kindergarten.  We still have a couple months.  I will register him whether or not he goes so the school has his paperwork.  Church is hard.  I teach his class.  The last 2 Sundays, he's tired by the time singing time starts and won't sit on a chair or near a chair.  He wants to lay down or run around.  I have Ari at that time so I have a hard time holding him.  C'est la vie.

Alex is almost done with his sophomore year.  He slacked off in English, PE and Government.  He has been taking some junior year classes too.  If he works hard this next year, he'll be done with his highschool classes a semester early and be able to take some college courses in highschool.  That's pretty far off still.

Avery is working hard.  He started wrestling in February.  CJ and I aren't a whole lot of help with any at home practice since we know next to nothing about wrestling moves.  Avery practices 2x a week and has 2 wresting meets he can attend during the week.  He has to attend 3 meets to qualify for the tournament at the end of this month.  His first meet, he was pinned really, really fast.  This 2nd one, he lost 2x and won once.  He is improving, which means he's listening to his coaches, which is good.

Dieting!!

I decided to download a calorie counter for my phone and diet more appropriately.  This sort of app has worked well for both CJ and I in Connecticut.  It's a pretty typical app; you pop in your weight, your target weight, when you'd like to weigh tthat much, food you eat every day, your exercise and water you drink.  The application tells you how many calories you can eat to reach your target weight goal at the specified time and adds more "to eat" calories when you exercise.  Well, day 4 now and I'm seriously munchie, not hungry, just munchie.  It's a good thing I don't have any cookies around or I'd be nibbling.  As is, I'm gettin butter thawed to make cookies!  Usually, if I make the goodie, I don't eat as much of it.  And, if I still want cookies hours from now, I'm okay with eating a couple of them.  All ready I've noticed I have to move more.  This is not thrilling for me.  I'd like to walk outside but small ones and coldness make that not so fun.  The elliptical is nice as long as Ari isn't crawling into it.  I do get in 15-20 minutes of strength training and some light exercise here and there but, more is needed.  I also learned how terrible Papa John's cinnapie is for you! 

Winter doldrums

Staying indoors has taken it's toll on me. I am winter-weary. I've noticed my energy at nil the last couple weeks and I my body has no idea of what motivation is. This is really affecting my housework and my playtime with kiddos. I've been thinking for the past week about how to revamp my dreary February that somehow rolls into March. Sooo, I came up with a list of things I could do to try and do SOMETHING rather than sit like a bump on a log and have wistful thoughts of sleep.

#1 Get more sleep.
This really is wishful thinking and not likely to happen during the week. This family has been passing around a cold. Ari and I have managed to get 2 of them. When she doesn't sleep, I don't sleep. As we all know, moms don't get sick days. This item will just have to wait till we're better (I hope that's soon!!).

#2 Make something.
I have been perusing websites for card making, cooking, gardening and general crafty ideas to try. This is the time for me to refind my creative outlets.

#3 Get moving.
While it's been cold outside the last couple of days. This winter has been really mild and it's time for me to push kiddos in a stroller or at least jog around the block when someone is around to watch small kiddos. I think just even getting out of the car and walking to the school to wait for kids would do me some good.

#4 Keep up with my scripture reading and journal writing.
As a family we're trying to read the BofM. I include that in my scripture reading time as well as the church magazines. Read the latest V.T. message? I did! I won't be writing every night in my journal but when I feel the need to vent, or try and keep track of my week. I feel sorry for whoever eventually reads them! Hehe

#5 Speak with and interact with other adults.
I miss adults right about 1pm when Aiden has been talking since we got home around 9am and Ari is on her 4th dirty diaper. My house is chaotic right now, but I would welcome the distraction of company. This one requires me to actually call people and make appointments to visit. We'll see how well it goes.

I wrote these winter blah busters with the idea that I would refer back to them and about the time spring rolls around, report on whether I did them and if they helped. If anyone else has any suggestions, I'm all ears. Meanwhile, I'm going to day dream about a night of uninterrupted sleep where I can breath freely and wake up to a happy household who hasn't once knocked on my door with the word, "Mom" on their lips.

Car accident

This morning Alex and his friend and driver Austin were involved in a car accident. A truck driver didn't see them and turned into the front passenger corner of the Austin's car. All involved are okay but the car will probably be a loss. (If you want to see pictures, you'll have to look at facebook.) Hopefully, a car is lined up so these boys can get to places they need to be to. I am just really thankful it happened where and how it did. In a school zone and the driver at fault was turning a corner so no one was going very fast. Alex wasn't able to get out his door and was a little shaken up after the wreck. I have a feeling tomorrow he may be a little stiff and sore. CJ and I are wondering if this kid is ever going to want to drive. =)

Ah ha!!

I got lucky on a username and password combination. Happy New Year all! We had a wonderful holiday break. The kids enjoyed Christmas and their presents. Alex is old enough he wants expesive stuff this year. We got him a Kindle to play around with. He took it to seminary this morning since he has the Gospel Library on it. We'll see if we get any comments from his teacher. Andrew wanted Wii points to download games so he got them. He also got a couple games he's been talking about for a while. Avery received a video game and a couple Crayola objects. He seems to like both but was happiest when he found out he had enough money to buy a computer game account for a game Andrew and Alex have. Aiden wanted a machine gun. I cam close enough to it, he's happy. I'm begining to look forward to the end of Nerf dart guns. I do have to admit, they have been a lot of fun for the boys. CJ and I got our exercise machines (which we both like and try to use).
John and I were invited to a whopping 3 new year's parties. I don't think I've ever felt so popular. Hehe. We went to 2 of them and enjoyed ourselves. For once I was thankful church started at 11am instead of 9am.