Boy Oh Boy!

I have to apoligize for the lack of posts lately.  Contrary to what many of you thought, we weren't swallowed up in the Iowa floods- we just moved and were slow to hook up our internet at our new place. We are all alive and well and enjoying the Summer.  I have tons of pictures to post from the last couple of weeks, but I had to start with the most exciting news of the month.  Monday I went in to have my first ultrasound.  Everything looks great and we are having one healthy, adorable little baby who looks a little bit like a ball of playdough. 

Or, as Ammon said, "Our baby looks kind of like a rock"

Whether it is playdough or a rock, the ultrasound technician 

gave us 110% that it is  a baby girl.

We are all very excited! Even in the ultrasound pictures, 

I think she is beautiful.

Frog!

The other day, the boys were playing outside with some friends when Ammon came running in the house yelling, "Mom, quick- we found a frog!"   To my surprise (and horror) Ammon had brought the frog INSIDE the house. They were sooo excited about their discovery, they spent the afternoon chasing the frog, carrying him around and building a "pond" for him. Eventually the poor little frog escaped.  The boys are still looking for him.

Catching Up

We have had an eventful couple of weeks, and I have been a major slacker in the blogging world.  This mega-post will hopefully get me caught up on the events of the last couple of weeks.

Two Years Down...

Yeah!! Colby finished his second year of school. He worked very hard and it paid off.  We are so proud of Colby for this major accomplishment.  Only five years to go.  We had a celebration dinner in honor of the end of the second year.

I spoiled Colby with some of his favorite foods:

Grilled Steak, Steamed artichokes, twice baked potatoes, 

crab legs and sparkling apple juice. 

Happy 29th Birthday!

That about sums it up.  This may be the last birthday Colby "celebrates."

Some of our friends watched the kids and we were able to go out to dinner

and see the new Indiana Jones movie. Happy Birthday Colb!

Colby and his awesome store bought cake. 

(I am becoming a slacker in my pregnant state)

Midwestern Storms..

We have learned that they have they craziest storms here in Iowa.  

You wouldn't believe how loud the thunder gets, or how frequent the lightning is.

Sunday we had a new experience, a midwestern hail storm. Ammon was confused

(thinking it was a tornado) and told me he needed to get his pillow and go

hide in the bathtub (apparantly they learned about tornado safety at school).

Here are some of the hail pieces I retrieved from the front lawn.

Preschool Graduation

Ammon finished preschool and had a great end of year program. 

We are so proud of Ammon! I can't believe he will start 

kindergarten in the fall. 

Ammon receiving his graduation certificate.

Ammon with his teacher, Mrs. Shoemaker.

A sampling of the preschool program.  Isn't he adorable?

Girls Night Out

Sadly, some of our good friends are moving away from Iowa this Summer.  Thursday night we had a final girls night out.  We started with dinner at Panera bread. (Obviously no one was quite ready for me to take their picture!)

Then we had to hit Cold Stone for icecream.

We will miss you Skye, Celeste and Kristine!

We ended at the movie theatre where we saw Made of Honor. (From L to R, Skye, Celeste,

Auprielle, Shauni, Lisa, Heather and Kristine).

It was so nice to get out for the night. We had a great time. We will miss you girls!

Somewhere in Middle America

Colby finished his classes last week and decided to take the weekend off before he started studying for his boards.  We decided to take the boys on a little vacation to Omaha.  When I told Ammon that we were going on a trip we had the following conversation:

Mom:      We're going to go on a little trip and stay in a hotel and go to the zoo.

Ammon:  Oh, is Ashlyn coming?

Mom:      No.

Ammon:  Oh, is Caden coming?

Mom:       No, just our family

Ammon:  Oh, so are Grandma and Grandpa coming?

Mom:       No, just me, you, Daddy and Carter, how does that sound?

Ammon:  Sounds pretty boring to me.

I think it's a little early for Ammon to think that we are "boring," but we all ended up having a great trip (even Ammon).

The Omaha zoo was awesome!  The "desert dome" made us feel like we had

been transported to Southern Utah.  It was full of SNAKES (which the boys

loved, me not so much), bats, mice and caves. It was a little boy's dream come true.

Colby and the boys in the "desert."

The zoo also had an indoor rainforest, complete with waterfalls, vines, 

crocodiles, hippos and monkeys. It was also very cool.

Ammon, Carter and Colby crossing the rope bridge in the rainforest.

We borrowed this wagon from our friends so the boys wouldn't

whine if they got tired of walking. Colby was a trooper and pulled them

around the entire zoo. (up and down many hills, might I add)

Mom and the boys getting ready for swimming at the hotel.

We were also able to visit the Winter Quarters visitors center. 

They had displays of a handcart, wagon, cabin, and a couple of 

cool movies about Winter Quarters.

Here are some fun movies we took of the kids on our trip.

  

Tulip Time

Friday the boys and I drove out to Pella, Iowa with some friends for their annual tulip festival. Pella is a Dutch community about 45 miles Southeast of Des Moines.  During the tulip festival, Pella features parades, crafts, tulip gardens, bakeries and kids games and activities.  We were lucky to have relatively good weather and we had a great time. It is finally starting to look like Spring here and we are enjoying the nice weather!

The kids enjoyed watching the parade, although Ammon was a little disappointed 

that they didn't throw any candy.

The boys played a couple of the kid's games and got 

to jump in the bounce house.

We had to stop at the bakery for dutch letters 

and other yummy pasteries.

And of course, we visited the tulip gardens.  The tulips were beautiful! 

There was a huge variety of types and colors of tulips.

The boys were just excited to be outside, 

running on the brick walkways.

Thanks to some great photography by Celeste, it looks like we are in a vast 

field of tulips. Actually, it was a vast flower bed of tulips.  Too bad my boys

will NEVER look at the camera and smile.

Boys Night Out

The other night while I was working, Colby decided to take the boys to Burger King for a "boys night out."  I'm not a big fan of Burger King so Colb doesn't get to go there very often.  The boys LOVED Burger King (although I have the sneaking suspicion it had more to do with these crowns than with the food).  Next time we go out for hamburgers, I'm sure we will have two more votes for Burger King!

Three is great!

Lately, we have been thinking that three is great for LOTS of reasons.  Carter thinks three is great because he is old enough to do things like take swimming lessons, go to preschool Summer camp and make important announcements for us:

For those of you who don't speak three year old, we are expecting baby number three!  I am due in November, which is perfect because Colby will be in his third year of school. For those of you who have seen me lately, this announcement may not come as a surprise! Although I am not quite three months along, I am already getting a "baby bump."

I have three possible explanations for this:

1. This is my third baby

2. Technically, I haven't had an ultrasound yet, so maybe 

I am having three babies.

3. Most likely, I have to get started now if I am going to look 

like this by November.

Birthday editorial

Apparently I need to issue a retraction to my previous post in regards to my birthday celebration.  Colby said that I made it sound like he didn't do anything for my birthday, and actually he made my birthday GREAT!  So here is the revised version of what we did for my 29th birthday. 

Colby stayed home for the ENTIRE day (no studying), which rarely happens on a Saturday.  We opened presents in the morning and he got me an awesome hot chocolate maker and some hand weights so I can work out at home.  We went to Ammon's soccer game together, then Colby took me to Applebees for lunch for a yummy oriental chicken salad. Somehow I even talked him into taking me shopping (with the kids) and we spent a couple of hours at the mall. Thanks Colb for making my birthday WONDERFUL, you're the best!

Soccer, Birthday and more...

We had an exciting weekend!  Ammon played his first soccer game of the season,  I celebrated birthday #29 and we were able to watch general conference.

Ammon waiting to sub in to the game.

Carter watching the game (note: he has to wear his cleats and bring his own soccer ball to the game. Carter can't wait until he's old enough to play!)

Colby was able to go to  "Dad's day" at preschool with Carter. They had a great time!

Happy Birthday Mom!  We had a yummy icecream cake.

For my birthday, the boys and I went to Chuck E Cheese with some friends while Colby was at preisthood session. We had a great time! What mom wouldn't want to spend her birthday at Chuck E Cheese?

Cannon, Celeste and Carter playing some serious arcade games.

What are you going to do in Iowa for a WEEK??

When my brother in law Mike found out that Colby's parents were coming to visit us for a week he asked them, "What are you going to do in Iowa for a week?"   I guess Iowa isn't a huge vacation destination?  Despite less than perfect weather conditions, we had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa Frost.  To answer Mike, this is what you do in Iowa for a week:

Visit the Science Center and build your own lego car.

Think about driving to St.Louis to see the arch, but decide to build your own instead.

Play with cheap hotwheels toys.

Drive up to the spillway at Saylorville Lake.

Eat deep fried mushrooms that are the size of your fist,

then finish off your meal with a five layer chocolate cake.

Eat at lots and lots of midwestern restaurants with amazing food.

Drive to Illinois to visit Hyrum and Joseph at Carthage jail,

and see them again by the Nauvoo temple.

Learn how much work it was to live in the 1840's.

Go swimming with these three handsome boys.

Visit an ancestor at the old Nauvoo cemetery.

Visit the Nauvoo temple.

Have two cute little buddies accompany you everywhere.

Drive to Winterset, Iowa to see the actual "bridges of Madison county,"

and the birthplace of John Wayne.

Get all tuckered out from a wonderful trip!

Thanks so much Ron and Susan for the visit, we had so much fun!  Hopefully next time you come it will be warm and nice and green.