From NE to ID

Two nights before the kids and I left Nebraska our family had so much fun on our trampoline. I absolutely love trampolines. However. . .

The night before we left NE, a pretty fierce wind blew our trampoline through our fence, down the hill, onto our neighbor's car (a car that had previously received damage from another flying trampoline in Colorado) off the car, over another neighbors fence (breaking it), and landed bent and broken in their yard. 

Nathan and I were at a work dinner while this all happened. The best babysitter in the world was babysitting our kids in our house where all our belongings had been loaded into the moving truck earlier that day. If this wasn't bad enough, the storm caused the power to go out. We came home to find shingles off our roof, the whole trampoline incident, and being 8 months pregnant, I had to sleep on the floor because we couldn't blow up the air mattress we had left out due to the power outage.  Nathan drove us west and we had a great trip, then he flew back to Omaha to work and clean up the mess from the storm. Luckily some great friends helped us get it all done and he was able to leave the next weekend, and do the whole drive straight through to meet up with us in the house we are renting in Twin Falls, ID. We have enjoyed it so far and have been jet skiing, hiking, swimming, playing with cousins and enjoying the summer while we wait for the baby to come and for Nathan to start work. 

Pregnancy Shot in Nebraska before we moved. I miss our back yard!

Pregnancy shot taken in Idaho.

Still pregnant

And still pregnant!

Pierce was born 18 days early so I assumed this baby would come early too. I'm now 6-11 days away from my due date and a bit surprised every morning when I'm not in labor. We're not sure if my due date is the 24th or 29th. Either way, we are excited for baby #4 to come whenever he does. We love him already. 

I got this photo idea from my sister Jessica-thanks Jess. 

This picture pretty much sums up why we're having another kid. I love my happy children!

Austin is beating his strong chest like a gorilla. 

Loving Motherhood

Recently, Nathan and I attended a wedding without our children. The bride's dress was stunning, the weather (it was an outdoor wedding) was warm, there was a candy bar, and a talented band; a combination for a perfect night--right? However, as we were driving home I was concerned that I felt like being home with my children was more fun than dressing up and spending time with adults. I'm supposed to crave adult interaction right?

Upon arriving home, we discovered Austin still awake. While re-tucking him in bed, I shared our experiences at the wedding. When Austin heard that it was very warm at the outside portion of the wedding, he got a mischievous grin and asked, "did anyone pour water down their back?" "No, Austin, no one poured water down their back to cool off" I replied. He followed with, "Why not?" After a lengthy discussion about not pouring beverages on your body during formal events, we moved onto discussing the dinner and dancing. "What dance did they dance?" asked Austin, "Was it Zumba?" I laughed so hard. Can you imagine the bride and groom busting out Zumba moves to celebrate their marriage? 

I think I enjoy my children so much because they constantly break the convention. Why not poor water down your back to cool off at a wedding and bust some Zumba moves to celebrate your happiness? Little kids are so much fun! I feel privileged and blessed to be able to have 3 1/2 children and get to stay home to raise them. 

Here are some pregnant belly pictures. I have less than two months left! 

Olivia's First Dance Recital

Olivia's First Dance Recital! 

All the girls sang along to their cute tap song "open up your heart and let the sunshine in." 

She danced two dances for her recital. This was her ballet number and she's doing a bumble bee move (in the picture above).