Family Photos

Our last day of the vacation we had family pictures taken by SM's sister.  Didn't she do a great job?

Here's the whole crew!  I loved that we got this photo without having a photographer behind the camera.  We put the camera on a ladder and then had a count down.  I love this photo!!



Here's SM's parents with all the grand kids!

I love this photo of SM's parents.

And here's the family silly photo.  Check out the teenagers with their phones.  That's not a silly thing since they are often on their phones but it was cute for the picture. 

Pregnancy 17 weeks and two days

My sister-in-law told me that she wanted pictures posted of the pregnancy.  And so here I am at 17 weeks and two days.  I know I don't look very big but as soon as I sit down, I get all get squished out and look bigger than this and I feel big.  But what I'd like to report is that I am feeling really good.  I usually take a nap during the day but I don't feel sick anymore and I'm feeling very "normal."  And I'd like to add that I'm very very very excited.  We've been trying to have kids for eight years.  We've gone to multiple doctors and fertility clinics.  I've seen acupuncturists, homeopathic doctors, used Chinese herbs and oils.  We've done so much and it was all worth it.  Baby coming at the end of January.

Mesa Verde

On our way home from visiting family this summer we stopped in Mesa Verde to check out the ruins.  We were so impressed.  We only had a couple hours to spend and we loved it. 

We took a tour of the Balcony House.  We had to climb down a pathway to get to these ladders and then climb up the ladders to get into the cliff dwellings.  I was a little freaked out by the heights but tried to not let it affect the tour.

Here's a photo of part of the Balcony House with a couple kiva's in the floor.  Isn't it cool?!

To get out of the dwellings we had to crawl through a small area...which was actually the only way in or out while the people dwelling actually lived there.  Sorry all you get is a photo of my behind.

We were told to shimmy out or duck walk out of the area because there was a large step down at the end and it was easier to do if you had your feet in front of you.

And then another ladder to get out...and finally...

...this steep path.  I'm so glad they had the steal railing to hang onto since this was the scariest part of the whole tour.  And this was how the people entered their town. 

Timpanogus Half Marathon

SM and I signed up for the Timpanogus Half Marathon before we became pregnant and so in the end SM was the only member of our family to run the half marathon.

The half marathon started seven miles up AF Canyon and then continued out of the canyon to AF High school. 

SM got another personal record for this half marathon.  He ran it in one hour, thirty-three minutes, and some seconds.  He was very excited even though in this photo he just looks hot and tired.

Here are all the runners.  Crystal (a family friend), Tiffani (SM's sister), SM, Stacie (our sister-in-law) and Dawn (Stacie's sister).  Congrats to all the runners!  I was a little jealous but super excited for all the runners.

SM's brother holding up some of the signs.  When I've ran some previous half marathons, I enjoyed reading all the signs along the route.

After the race we went to find our beautiful red car...a stress on the red.  Apparently at three thirty in the morning, the freeway construction splashed cement water all over the car.  We stopped at a car wash on our way away from the race and they got most of it off but not all.  I ended up hand washing the car.  But that was the excitement for that day.  Way to go SM on a great run!!!!

Valentine's Day in August?

SM and I got our picture taken at the 80's Valentine's Dance last February.  Just recently I was able to scan the photo into my computer and I thought I'd share that photo with you all.  See how silly my husband is?  One of the things that we enjoy about each other is that we make each other laugh.  And hopefully you get a chuckle from this photo.  Enjoy!

Family reunion Part VI

I wanted to add some fun photos from the reunion.  As with most reunions, we ate a lot of food.  Here's one of the youngest members of the family getting her food.  Yum!

And when you are the very youngest member of the reunion, you get so much attention.  Sometimes it's overwhelming!

Here's my brother and his wife!

Mom and Dad! (and a animal cookie?)

My sister and her hubby!

And Me!  My husband went home early because he was running a half marathon the next morning.  I stayed playing a game called Boxers or Briefs with everyone.  I almost won!

Silly faces.  SM won a sucker that had a crazy mouth on the outside.

Another silly face because of a silly sucker!

Family reunion Part III

Friday night we played a Minute to Win It games with the kids.  In the first game the kids had to balance a Starburst on a tongue depressor for one minute.  My brother then increased the number of Starbursts on the sticks for the kids.

And then they played the game where you move the cookie down from your forehead to your mouth in one minute.  It was so much fun to see them try to move the skin on their faces so that the cookies will move.  What I noticed is that without all the wrinkles and age, their skin does not move very well and they have a very difficult time moving the cookie on their faces.

In the next game, the kids took one pencil and balanced it on the back of their hands and then with that same hand, they had to catch the the pencil.  And then they increased the number of pencils.

In the last game...the kids had a Kleenex box with Christmas bulbs in them.  They had to shake out all of the decorations in a minute.  They were so cute, all of them.

What a fun evening.

Family Reunion Part II

Friday morning we took some family pictures, ate some lunch and then we drove up to Cascade Springs.  As a child, my dad took us up to Cascade Springs and we loved it.  I think the kids enjoyed all the water.

When Jeremy and I were either engaged or first married, we drove up to Cascade Springs.  It was earlier in the morning and there was a mama moose and her calf, walking in the springs.  Jeremy and I sat on those stairs and watched the moose for awhile.  This trip brought back that memory.

It was a beautiful day.  As Jeremy and I were on our way back down the mountain, we got stuck behind some cars.  We were very confused why we were stopped.  Finally we saw the teenage son run back to the car with his camera.  They had stopped in the middle of the road so that the teenage son could run out and take a picture of a mother moose and baby.  But the crazy thing was, these moose were right there next to the road.  It was so stupid of that boy to get out the car and get so close to the animals.

So much fun to be together as a family.