Here are the bellies...

for all of you who have been asking.

One of the fun things we got to do while Whitney was here was a pregnant "photoshoot" at the beach. My talented friend, Jen, offered to take some pictures of our matching bellies at the beach. Of course we picked the coldest, windiest day of the week, but it was so fun! You can't even tell in the pictures that between each shot Whitney and I were bundled in winter coats and boots! I haven't gotten the cd of pictures yet from Jen, but I stole these from her blog. I love the setting and can't wait to take more there. Thanks so much Jen, it was so fun!

Fashio Show and Photoshoot

Most of you know by now that I'm one of the leaders of our church youth group. For our last activity we had a "Modest Girls are the Hottest Girls" Fashion show. The idea was for each of the girls to share modest but stylish fashions, to prove that you can be stylish and modest at the same time. We were missing a lot of our girls this night due to school activities, but it still turned out to be a great activity.

We surprised the girls with a "mock photoshoot" at the end of the night. I'm much more comfortable with natural lighting and one of my bulbs burnt out as soon as we started, but for just starting with indoor shoots, I think they turned out pretty cute. The girls were so fun striking poses in front of the camera. The color shots turned out great too, but my favorite were the B&W and especially the "mocha" ones!

The Zoo

We were lucky enough to have a few nice days here before Whitney left so we took the boys to the zoo one day. The weather was beautiful and the boys loved it. Carter especially loved the "choo-choo" since this it had been closed all winter.

This is what happens when you have only one stroller, two tired boys, two pregnant women and a four year old with blisters because he's wearing new shoes...

Ty posing like the flamingos...

Can you tell Carter was happy to be on the "choo-choo?"

Carter's second favorite? The petting zoo...

My little kangaroos....

Conference Weekend

I love General Conference Weekend. For those of you who are not familiar with General Conference, twice a year our church members gather together to listen to the leaders of our church speak from Salt Lake City. Meetings are broadcast Saturday and Sunday over satelite all over the world.

I always look forward to these weekends in April and October to listen to the advice and inspiration from our leaders and always come away feeling uplifted and new goals to achieve. One of my favorite parts of the weekend: watching the meeting from the comfort of our family room!

My family came over to watch on Sunday and eat Cafe Rio (my VERY favorite recipe ever!) and my mom and sister and I used the time to finish some projects we've been working on while we listened. It was a very successful day. My sister and mom finished the projects they've been knitting and we worked on my sisters baby quilts. I finished these:

nursing cover...

the border on the cute blanket my friend, Stephanie, knit for me...

burp clothes...

binki holders...




baby bracelets...

and worked on this blanket I've been crocheting forever...

Now on to the next projects before #3 arrives: curtains for her room, hiar bows and flowers, and the Amy Butler Nappy Bag.


In between conference sessions on Sunday we were able to enjoy the gorgeous weather we had for a few days (should have known it was too good to last) by taking a walk around the neighborhood and on the "birdie trail." The boys absolutely LOVED being outside and want to spend every waking minute outside!!

LOVE that this is how I spent most of the second session of conference on Sunday...

Whitney's Baby Shower

My mom, my sister's friend, and I hosted a baby shower for my sister, Whitney, last week. Everything turned out cute and there was LOTS of yummy food (we had soo much left over)! Since Whitney doesn't know what she is having we chose a green and brown theme and had a delicious Saturday brunch. Here are a few highlights:

Whitney and her cute high school friends, us with our "Gam-Gam" and cousin, and with my mom:

The favors:
The yummy centerpieces:

Spring Break Bee Party

My friend, Tiffany, had a temporary lapse of sanity last week and invited 20+ children under the age of 6 to her house for a "Spring Break Bee Movie" party. It was actually a lot of fun. She had the bounce house up, bee crafts, lunch and Carter's favorite: a chocolate fountain. He spent most of his time there.

Chocolate

If anyone is thinking of going to the Chocolate exhibit at the Science Center--don't waste your time! I was so disappointed and just so you know, you don't get samples all along the way. Next time I'm going to Malley's chocolate tent instead and eating all of their samples.

Even though I was disappointed in the lack of samples, we had good company and the boys enjoyed the rest of the museum.

The bellies at the wall of chocolates.

Carter, Where are you?

So, I thought the transition into the big boy bed had gone pretty good. Carter has always been really good at going to sleep and continued to be good in the bunk beds. He doesn't come out or cry after we say good night and goes right to sleep...or so I thought.

Carter put me into panic mode twice this week.

First on Friday I put him down for a nap while I showered for my cousin's birthday. After I was ready I peeked my head in, just to check on him and to my suprise his bed was empty and his room was a disaster. He had dismantled his railroad crossing coin bank, taken all of the knobs off his chest of drawers and there were toys all over the room, but no Carter. I went downstairs to see if anyone had seen him, but he was still MIA. I went back up to his room and happened to look up on the top bunk (he NEVER sleeps up there) and there he was, curled up with his blanket, sound asleep.

Last night, as Keith and I were going to bed, I peeked into his room (because watching my boys sleep is my favorite thing to do ever!) and again, no Carter. I quickly scan the room and check the top bunk this time, but still no Carter. As I'm just about to call out to Keith, I look down at my feet and there he is, sound asleep on floor, clutching a piece of string he had been playing with earlier. So cute! I really wish I had taken a picture!