Summer Fun 2011 - May and June

I've been meaning all summer to write about the fun things we planned to do. Or have done so far. And now, summer is almost over and I haven't posted anything! I know, I'm such a slacker.

But, that means I can post pics of all our fun activities while I tell you about them :) Lots and lots of pics, in fact. I trimmed it down as much as I could...but you know how hard that is with a summer full of fun activities and super cute kids! And I even broke it up into 2 posts!! So...sit down, relax, and enjoy tons of pics.

I made a nice long list at the beginning of the summer of fun activities we wanted to do. We've managed to cross off almost everything on that list! And the things we haven't done yet, we either plan to do soon or aren't as high of a priority. Some activities we've done multiple times.

It took the weather awhile to warm up. By June, it was finally nice enough to really plan our activities out in advance. Mostly...our first attempt at an FHE picnic got rained on... But we penciled at least one fun activity per week on our calendar. We moved things around a lot, but at least we had them tentatively planned out. Planning out our summer definitely helped. We've had an absolute blast!!

We played with sidewalk chalk:




We went on walks:







We played at Nathan and Jessica's while working on the dresser:




Going "fishing"



We played at the park several times:







We went to the farmer's market a few times, including for kid's week where they released a bunch of ladybugs. We got balloon animals, sat in the firetruck, sprayed the fire hose, drew on the sidewalk, and Emma even won a prize!








We went to the zoo:














We spoiled John on Father's Day (which landed on Mom's birthday this year):




We had a picnic at the nature park and fed the ducks:







We went swimming at the lake:









We rode the carousel and played at the spray park:









And that's our May and June!! Stay tuned for July and August! We've definitely had a busy summer. More to come soon :)

My 3rd 3rd Trimester

I should probably post a pregnancy update while I'm still pregnant, yes? It's weird to think this is my 3rd 3rd trimester. And no, it's certainly no more fun than it was the other 2 times.

But at least with this one I don't have to deal with carpal tunnel, swelling, or unknown gallbladder issues. Definitely an improvement from last time! My wrist only hurts if I spend too much time at the computer; but it would do that anyway. I'm still rocking the wedding ring at 37 weeks. And I no longer have a gallbladder ;)

But I have plenty of other discomforts. Oh yeah. Heartburn. Oh how I hate heartburn. And the waking up every 2 hours to use the bathroom. Yeah, that can go away now, thanks. Granted, I'll be up every 2 hours to nurse soon, but at least I'll be able to fall asleep again.

I have a huge belly that makes it hard to do things like brush my teeth or drive. I can't reach the sink without pushing on my tummy. At least I get out of dish duty this way! Driving is a challenge. I'm really short, so I have to be pretty close to the pedals. Which...doesn't work so great with a big fat belly pushing into the steering wheel. Thankfully, John usually drives when we go places anyway. It's when I'm going out on my own that I have to deal with it.

Not to mention the hormones. Oh boy. I've been crazy grumpy irritable psycho mom this whole time. Sleep deprivation makes it worse. Which, of course, happens frequently. I fly off the handle about the dumbest things. It's ridiculous. I'm trying to be patient...but it's so hard! Some days are better than others. And other days...well, let's not go there. I think my family will be very happy once these hormones are gone!

My son likes to push his butt or feet out. It hurts! Like his siblings, he prefers the right side. I'm mean; when he stretches out, I push him back in. If you're running out of room in there, you're welcome to come out...just sayin' ;)

But what I hate the most is ligament spreading. OH do I hate it! It hurts!! Getting up is so painful. Rolling over, walking, any type of position change - regardless of how small - hurts. I'm sore all the time. I'm so ready to be done with this!

Well...mostly. I have a big fat to do list that needs completing before he can make his appearance. Like finish Hyrum's baby book, clean my bedroom to make room for the pack n play, clean the car seat cover (it was in storage), finish updating my recipe book, give John and Hyrum haircuts, and get the blog up-to-date. That's not even close to everything. But I'm almost to the halfway point on Hyrum's baby book, I made significant progress on the bedroom project, I plan to give the boys their haircuts tomorrow evening, and, as you can see, I'm working on the blog updates now.

There will always be more to do than I can reasonably accomplish. As long as I get the high priority things done, we'll be set. And if not...we'll survive. All new babies really need are clothes to wear, food to eat, diapers, snuggles, and a place to sleep. Aside from the diapers, I've got everything I really need. All the same, I'd like to get more stuff done before he comes!

Health-wise, I'm doing great. I'm measuring perfectly, have awesome blood pressure, baby is right on track, etc. I've gained 22 lbs so far. So if I gain a pound a week like I'm "supposed" to, we're looking at around 25 lbs total. I gained 20 with Emma and 17 with Hyrum, but I also weighed less when I got pregnant this time around.

All in all, despite the many discomforts, everything is going great. We're so excited to meet our little boy!

Failure is Imminent

Hard drive failure, that is. Oh yes, I get to go through that again.

Thankfully, this time I had 1. forewarning, 2. a back up of the bad sectors, and 3. a valid warranty.

It all started when I tried to open my family pics folder...and it wouldn't open. It just hung and then tried to tell me that the drive wasn't formatted. Um, yes it is...the other folders worked just fine, too. Well, except for the friends pics folder. On the whole drive, those are the only sections I haven't been able to access. Good thing all those files are backed up on my external!!

I ran a diagnostic test on the drive. Or tried to. It stopped itself and said there were too many bad sectors to continue.

At that point, I looked into warranty info and thankfully it's still covered. Yay! So I get a replacement drive for free! Ish...I have to pay to ship the bad one to them. But $5 in shipping is a lot cheaper than buying a new 500 GB hard drive...

And then I backed up everything that wasn't already backed up. Thankfully most of my files were already backed up on my external. Phew! No data loss for me!

I'm also glad that if I have to lose a drive that it's my pics and digiscrap drive - as long as I've got everything backed up, that is. Which I do. I'm glad I don't have to reinstall Windows or Photoshop or any of my other programs. All those are on my main drive. I'll still have a functional computer while I wait for my replacement.

I'm not exactly thrilled that I have to go through the whole RMA process and wait for my new drive. But considering what could have happened, it's not so bad. Just a minor inconvenience. I have to pull out the bad drive, put it in an anti-static bag, wrap it up in bubble wrap, find a box, slap my shipping label on it, slather it with my RMA number, and ship it out. Annoying, but certainly not the end of the world. Nowhere near as awful as losing all my files (been there done that, it sucked) or being without a computer for awhile. Or having to *gasp* actually pay for my replacement drive. With money I don't have, of course. So glad it's free!

In the meantime, I'll be scrapping off my external hard drive! I should reorganize my files while I'm at it; it'll make the transition from back up to new drive much smoother. Ha - if I can find the time to do it! I've got a billion things to do in the next 3 weeks before my due date! Sorting through 5 months of files isn't exactly my favorite activity...;) But it needs to be done. It's just not the highest thing on my priority list at the moment. Packing my hospital bag is much higher on that [extremely long] list and I haven't even started yet. I've still got time, right? ;)

In Want of A Yard

Oooh how I want a yard. We live in a small 2 bedroom apartment. With 2 kids and a 3rd on the way. It meets our needs for now I guess, but it is small. I desperately want more space. But in the summertime, what I want most...is a real yard.

Sure, there are a few grassy areas around the complex. But they aren't what I'd call ideal. There's a long, narrow, sloped grassy median between the 2 parking areas. When we play outside at our complex, that's where we go. But it's not the most kid-friendly place to play. See?


You can see we have no qualms about staying in PJs all day ;)





And there are a few grassy areas at the street side of each building. But that's pretty much it. None of those areas are as play friendly as a full on yard. Our complex does not have a play structure; I asked about the possibility once, but there's really not a good place to put one. Not to mention the liability issue on their part.

There is a fabulous park just 2 blocks away...but sometimes I don't really want to put forth the effort required for a trip to the park. Especially in the heat and while pregnant. Pushing a double stroller with 55 lbs worth of kids + heat + 3rd tri = exhausting. Yeah, not very fun. At least not for me. So, most of our park trips lately have involved driving...and John has the car during the day since he has to, you know, be able to get to work...

What I really want is a yard. A fenced in backyard. With a wooden privacy fence.

Imagine the possibilities.

I could take the kids outside to play all day long - and in my PJs, without having to worry about people seeing my ratty, unwashed hair and yesterday's leftover makeup. No having to get ready before we play. Gotta love that.

I could bring a book to read while they play, or do housework or yard work (depending on kid's ages and the yard's safety).

We could have one of those awesome playhouse swing set structures. I'd love for my kids to have one.

I could plant a garden. Not a huge one; just the right size for us. John and I have decided that we'd prefer a smaller, modest garden. I'd have some tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, green peppers, basil (mmm, loooove fresh basil), garlic, strawberries, cherries, apples...maybe a few other herbs, fruits, and veggies. Just things we'd use enough to make it worth the effort.

And of course some pretty flowers and trees. Roses, lilies, willows...stuff like that. I want a nice, shaded garden area with a comfy bench or swing. Something semi-private and romantically tucked away in a back corner, but where I could also watch the kids play.

We'd want a nice, big open grass area for the kids to play in. It'd also be perfect for mingling with BBQ guests and such. Or running through the sprinkler and filling up a plastic kiddy pool. Or water balloon and squirt gun fights.

There'd be a patio area with a BBQ and a large picnic table. We really like the hexagonal ones. Those are just cool!

But on glorious summer nights like tonight, what I long for most is a nice, comfy swing or hammock on the back deck and a good book. Doesn't that sound simply divine? Or, as the kids get older, for all of us to sit out back and just enjoy being together in the evenings. I just love love love summer nights. The cool, refreshing air is simply delicious. I could eat it. It's so invigorating. It's definitely one of my favorite things about summer.

If I had a decent (and private) porch area, I'd probably be out there now. As it is, I've got a window open behind me and 2 fans blowing that delicious air towards me. But it's not quite the same as being out in it.

Next summer, however...we will have a yard. This is our last summer here. We'll head out to grad school in April. Wherever we end up for it, we will have some yard space. It's one of the big criteria for me. We want to rent a 3 bedroom house/duplex/townhouse. We need more space, more privacy, and more of an outdoor play area. I'm sick of sharing walls. I'm sick of not having enough room. And I'm sick of not having a yard.