May update

Just an update for the last few weeks...sorry no baby yet.

This was a cute one of Alex from April (notice the nice green grass)

May was really, really hot and unusually dry, until this week. Our lawn got pretty brown and dead before Jared fixed all the sprinklers. It was weird to see Florida so brown. One of our solutions for the hot weather was this pool (which is big enough for two kids and a pregnant mom). They had a blast going down the slide into the pool.

These are pictures from Erin's pre-school graduation (even though she'll be back next year). Every day Erin came home and sang the songs, did the dances and even recited the speaking parts of the other kids. But of course when the time came she just stood there and cried through half of it (I expected her to do that). That's our sweet, shy little Erin. We've had a few new babysitters that came over and were so surprised at how much Erin talks at home because she doesn't anywhere else.

Yes, they even had caps and gowns. Erin was the only one who refused to wear the cap, and yes, she is crying in this picture. I'm really glad we sent her for the social aspect of school. We'll see how she does next year.

This is just a cute one of the kids playing with dolls. Poor Alex only has Erin to look up to and thinks dolls are normal. Usually he has a baby in one hand and a hammer or a bat in the other, so I'm not too worried about him. But for now I love to watch them play together like that.

Tagged

My first tag. Here are the rules:
A ~ Each person has to list 6 facts/habits about them
B ~ After part A, go to 6 people's blogs and leave a comment letting them know to read your blog, and that they have been tagged. List at the end of your posting who you have tagged.

1. I am addicted to Chap Stick. Ever since probably high school I have needed the stuff--daily. I usually just carry it in my pocket, but if I lose it or forget it for a day, I go crazy! My lips just need it. I suppose there are worse things to be addicted to. Mine only costs $1.29 every couple of months (though I like to have a couple of spares on hand just in case).

2. I have gone to college for 9 1/2 out of the last 14 years, and I won't even have a master's degree to show for it when I'm done in a year and a half. At least I will have two bachelor's degrees and have had a lot of fun along the way.

3. I have what I refer to as "the fruit reaction." Basically, I have a reaction every time I eat anything that's too tart or citrus-y. My face gets all red, hot and sometimes breaks a sweat. It happens with oranges, pineapple, grapes, grapefruit, some types of apples, lemons, some kinds juices, starbursts, etc. I thought it happened to everyone because it's not really severe and goes away pretty fast. But I realized when I first went to college that it wasn't normal to have that reaction. I haven't met anyone else with it yet.

4. I have a stub toe. It's the "big" one on my left foot and is about a 1/4" shorter than the one on my other foot. I always thought it was from dropping an ice skate on it when I was 7, but then I looked in my baby book at my footprints and guess what? I was just born a mutant. I used to be self conscious of it, but now I think it's pretty cool. (Hey, it's just a miracle I can walk with that thing.)

5. I like cats a lot more than I like dogs. I don't know if I just had some traumatic experiences with dogs growing up (like getting attacked on my mission by a vicious beast) or if I'm just lazy and like the fact that cats clean themselves, bury their poop, and don't need walks. I think I've just always been a cat person.

6. I was the first sister missionary, along with my companion, to serve in the southern most city in the world: Ushuaia, Argentina (on the island of Tierra del Fuego). It was my dream my whole mission to go down there, but they'd never sent sisters that far south before. I spent 6 months in Rio Grande, 3 hours north of Ushuaia, but I still wanted to go further. I think my mission president got sick of my begging so he sent me down there the last two months of my mission. It was an amazing dream come true!

I tag Cheryl, Marinda, Lisa, Ariel, Robin, and Rachel

Family Fun Day

Yesterday we had a fun day at the zoo. The top three moments according to Erin are:

1. Holding a snake (I was so proud of her for not being scared)
2. Feeding the giraffes (she thought it was funny when the two giraffes both went for the same piece of lettuce or whatever that stuff was)
3. Watching a gorilla poop in his hand, put it on the ground and then roll on it to go to sleep (no picture for this one--just a visual image)

Anyway, we had a lot of fun and completely wore ourselves out. The kids slept for like five hours when we got home. Oh, and because people have wondered if I actually look pregnant, I think this picture proves it. This is me 8 months pregnant.

The Saturday before that our family fun was washing our cars. Erin learned how to spray the hose and got pretty good at it. Alex picked it up, pulled the lever back all the way and started screaming because he didn't know how to shut the water off. It was pretty funny. Then the kids had so much fun playing in the puddles. Erin thinks we should wash the cars more often because it was so fun. I don't see it getting done again before this baby is born--it was pretty tiring.