Black Eyes, Wisconsin, & Baby

I've been going crazy. Literally.
Bed rest does not agree with my personality.
However, the contractions have been coming and we're not ready to let this little guy out yet, so bedrest it is.

Anyhow, Jeff took pity on me and took me for a drive through Wisconsin.  It is beautiful country!  There were so many quaint farms and fun sites to see. 

As you could probably guess, the boys have been going a bit crazy in the house during the day.  While doing jumps off of the little bed Jeff brought downstairs for me, Grant hit the bridge of his nose pretty bad.  Here it is a few days later and bruising up.  Boys will be boys!  I'm surprised I haven't walked in and seen Jeff doing jumps off the bed with them.  ;)



I am soooo anxious to get this little guy here!!  I love him to pieces, but I'm sure ready to hold him in my arms instead of my belly.  I get asked if I'm having twins.  I tell them that I'm starting to wonder!!  Only 19 more days!

Como Zoo

When Bree was here, we took the boys and Kya to Como Zoo. The zoo is run by the city of St. Paul and is completely free of charge. The kids had a great time getting out of the house and the rain that had been coming down most of the week! Here are a few pictures of the fun. Not sure which one is the real monkey....Will was so great to carry Kya's pink back-pack even though it wasn't a "boy" backpack. Will is our African boy by heart. He wants to go to Africa so bad and is saving his mission money, determined that's where the Lord is sending him. :) We had to keep him from climbing over the fence to join his African buddies. The kiddos enjoying the view of the flamingos. As fun as the real animals were, I think they had the most fun climbing on the statues instead. Thanks Bree & Kya for coming to see us! We miss you guys! P.S. I just finished my quilt and will get that up next! Sooo glad it's done.

Carver Lake & New Wheels

There's a little lake nestled in the trees less than 3 minutes away. It's breathtaking with small old cottages dotting part of the shore and shaded walking paths along the rest. Our favorite part though is the park hidden back in the trees. Any day it's sunny...which hasn't been too often lately, we head to Carver Lake Park. I park in a camping chair with a book while the kids get their wiggles out chasing cotton weeds and playing on the grounds. I wish I could pack this park up with me next time we move. I'm in love with it. Here are a few pics I shot of the kids last time we were there. Woodbury is hosting their annual yard sale this weekend. This is unlike any yard sale I've seen before. The boys and I hit the sale all day yesterday and got some terrific finds!! We even found a new bike for Will. He had dad help him get the hang a "taller" bike yesterday. I have more pictures to post from Bree's visit and Will's program I'll get up next!

There's a reason it's so green here! The rain has been coming like crazy lately! It's fun though and the boys love the rainbows after the storm. We're just praying the tornado's keep missing our town. :)

Family Pictures

We finally got our family pictures back from earlier this year.
Jeff's family was doing pictures with everybody at once, so we had a few taken of our little fam at the same time.
Don't you love Grant's face in the first one? What a cheeser. :) I love it.

Cake and Missionaries

We are loving Woodbury. The people are fantastic out here and we are dreading the time we will have to leave. Also, the weather hasn't been too shabby either! Instead of the normal 40's that are supposed to be here now, we have been in the upper 70's all of last week! Since last week was Spring Break, the kids and I spent every day in the park, going on walks, going to the library, etc. We are loving getting to know this wonderful city.
So we had the missionaries over for dinner yesterday. What a fun experience! They are such terrific young men and left us with a wonderful message about staying close to our Savior so we can be ready to help others when he needs us. One of the Elders is allergic to dairy, so I searched online for the perfect cake recipe to make dessert with. I found a recipe that I fell in love with!! Not being a huge fan of cake, this is definitely one that is going in the recipe book. It is unbelievably moist!
*Since we didn't need an entire 9x13, I used my stoneware bread pan and increased the baking time a bit.

Chocolate Cake..minus the dairy
3 c. flour
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
6 Tbs. cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. vegetable oil
2 c. water
2 Tbs. white vinegar
1 Tbs. vanilla extract

Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl, and all the liquid in another. When the liquid ingredients are mixed smooth, pour it all at once into the dry ingredients and mix. Pour into a greased 9x13 and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

I did a dairy free frosting with shortening, powdered sugar, almond extract and almond milk. Then I dusted it lightly with powdered sugar.

It's a Boy!

We got to see #3 today. It was a boy! Looks like we are on our way to creating our own sporting team. He didn't want to give us a peek, but the tech finally managed to get him to move. We are so excited to meet the little guy this summer. Now it's time for name picking to begin...hmmmm

Speechless

If any of you know me, you know I usually don't have a hard time talking. And it's not often I find myself without words. However, Will definitely rendered me speechless twice this week.

The first time I was asking the boys what they wanted the baby to be...a boy or a girl?
Will thinks hard on it for a few moments and finally asks in an exasperated voice..."Isn't there another option?"

So I guess I'll be letting you know if we come up with an Option C on the Ultrasound in 10 days.

The next time came when he was playing with his little transformer that rolls up into a ball. He was spinning it on the couch when the transformer popped open unexpectedly. His eyes went wide as can be and then he turned to me and said "Mama, did you see that? I finally have Jesus' power!!"

I guess it's time for a FHE lesson on the priesthood.

Sigh...funny times. Gotta love kids, right?