Soccer, Spring Fest, Easter and Book Fairs

I don't love to be pregnant. Though it be a miracle, I choose to fill up my time and stay quite busy during pregnancy so that I don't dwell on the fact that I feel like a beached whale trying to get out of bed in the morning. That being said, we have been busy the last few weeks. We went to Purdue's Spring Fest which is a big outdoor event that the colleges within the university put on. The entomology department has food with bugs in it that you can try and a buy petting zoo, even cockroach races and a tractor pull. Different tents have treats or games you can play. The kids watched a sheep getting sheered and pet a baby pig. (you know, piglets are pretty cute, but I bet OUR little piglet will be even cuter.) Colton came home with this stylin' hat balloon hat.
Colton also really wanted his photo taken with the Bee. He liked all the bug stuff and touched everything he could. Brownies with meal worms he did turn his nose up.
Lydia just wanted PINK cotton candy. While we were eating cotton candy, it started to pour, but it was still fun. Colton even stood out in the rain so he could participate in Cricket Spitting. He spit the cricket two whole feet. For a little boy who won't put most dinner's in his mouth, I was shocked to see him stick a bug in.
As many of you know, I like event planning, and so, I volunteered to run the Spring Book Fair at Lydia's school. I greatly enjoyed it and the kids both thought it was pretty cool that they got to help with things. I loved working with great people. (Like the Amazing Dacia pictured above.)We also did a program called 'One for Books' where we collected spare change as a school and if the kids could collect $1500 they could earn a pajama day. The money we collected was sent to an elementary school in Southern Indiana that was hit with one of the tornadoes awhile back. It was amazing to see how compassionate the children were. Some envelopes contained more than $50 cash. Some had pictures drawn on them and little notes of sympathy. One little girl received change in her Easter Eggs and sent it all to the program. The kids ended up collecting a whopping $1700. Who says that children aren't capable of changing the world? Children really are powerful examples.
Colton trying to snap.
Soccer season has begun! Lydia loves it! And we have been blessed with excellent coaches. Lydia always wants to play goalie. She keeps her hands up, ready to go, but often she is watching everywhere else. I love this league. The defense gets bored and starts picking dandelions. If someone throws in the ball, their team mate will go and catch it. They run to coach if their cleats come untied because they can't tie their own shoes. Goalies go cry to their mom if they get scored on. It is fun to watch them learn.
Colton easter egg hunting. He got off to slow start, angry because he couldn't find a BIG egg. Once he got the hang of it, he was mad again because most of the eggs were gone.
Lydia and her chocolate easter bunny. She was so pleased. What a happy girl she is.
And, as promised a pregnancy photo, taken today after church. 9 more weeks to go.

Today I substituted a class in church and I was so glad for the experience because it really made me look at my blessings. Not only have I been blessed physically with an able body, a home, food, good kids, a husband getting his education, but I have been blessed spiritually. Teaching this lesson really made me look at that. I have been given a precious gift- my life. I have a Savior who loves me and died for me. I have the Holy Ghost to inspire me and prayer as a means of communication with my Heavenly Father.

And, to keep myself busy, in the future there will be posts about the family photos I have agreed to take, the baby shower I am hosting, the camping trip we are going on, Mike's half marathon coming up, etc.

This is Fun

I know I haven't had much of a blogging life lately. I haven't had much computer time. I've been planning the elementary book fair. It's been tons of fun and there are only two days left. This evening I found myself with the children in bed and Mike playing b.ball with his buddies, so I started editing my sister's Sr. photos. Oh so much fun! I found a new website called picmonkey.com and I loved it! Very easy. I am also taking a photo class with some girlfriends next week. Should be fun as well.
So, my last post was a photo journal of sorts. I am in a writing mood so I will share some real life details of life.
Yesterday I took a 3 hour blood glucose test. Not my favorite. Fasting for 14 hours is not the most fun for the preggo lady. Getting poked repeatedly in the same vein is not so fun, but the good news is, I do not have diabetes! Hooray. And, the 3 hour test allowed me plenty of time to finish my baby blanket.
That brings me to the baby. I haven't said too much about her. She is affectionately being called Piglet around our house. She has no real name yet, and if you ask Colton, Piglet IS her name. I was questioning the kids on what they wanted to call her and they were coming up with silly things. Piglet being one of them and it has stuck. So our little Piglet is quite wiggly and I am carrying her like I carried Colton- low and straight out. Eventually I may post a pregnancy photo. I really need to actually. I know I will regret it if I don't.
Some thoughts on Lydia. Recently, we had a parent teacher conference with Lydia's teacher and she recommended we have Lydia repeat Kindergarten. We had wondered if this would come up and you could tell Lydia's teacher was relieved when we were accepting of the idea. I feel very good about it and feel keeping her back will be the best option for her, especially now before peers will judge her and while she is building such foundational skills. There is still that worry though that people will think my child is slow. Granted, it takes her longer to grasp concepts. She needs more repetition, but I would hate for her to have that stigma placed on her, because then she might believe it. It has made me more aware of judging or labeling people. We are so quick to say, "Oh, it's because they are the youngest child." Or, "That's just the ADD." Children are so trusting. They believe what you tell them. We mold who they are by what we tell them and it's not just what we say. It's how we act. Another example, Lydia LOVES soccer, but she is not the most coordinated. Mike and I both being sport enthusiasts sometimes find this difficult. Soccer season is being a time of growth for both Mike and I as we learn to accept Lydia for who she is and what she is capable of. I am constantly evaluating what I say to her, and what I don't say when she play soccer. Do I accept her 100%? Because I had better learn now. It's only going to get harder as she gets older.
On a lighter, less philosophical note- have you ever had your clock stop only to realize how much you look at it? It is so disorienting when you look at your clock and all day long it says 9:30.
Well, I'm tired, and the dishes aren't done. Will they get done? Probably not. Good night.

Traveling and Busy

This is just a quick update and more of a photo journal than anything. There have been several thoughts lately that I've thought about posting, but I haven't gotten to it. The Book Fair is next week and I am in charge, so until the end of next week, I probably won't be doing much for recreational computer time.
For Lydia's spring break, we went to Idaho. Normally we go over the 4th of July, but since the baby is due around then, we went in the Spring and it was actually pretty warm.
While we were in Idaho, we also went down to Utah and saw our nephew get baptized. While we were there, we went to this fun skating, bounce house, obstacle course place.

Everyone before Jackson's baptism. It was St. Patricks day!
A hike with the Hansen and Hoover boys.
The super nice pilot and Colton on the flight home. You can see how pleased Colton was to sit in the cockpit.
What is a trip to Idaho Falls without some Reed's Dairy icecream?
My sister Latesha asked me to take her Sr. pics. We both had a great time. This is one of my favorites. Tesha is headed up to BYU-Idaho in January!
The Reed family.
The Reed kids. It sure is fun to get together with them!
Out of order, but the hike we went on. Hansen and Hoover kids with Papa in the cave.
My parents have a cabin in the mountains so we took the kids up for a night. It was one of the highlights of the trip. There was only a few feet of snow, but that was a lot for the kids who don't remember seeing that much. We rode to the cabin in this 'torpedo' An enclosed sled you pull behind the snowmobile.

Colton packing up the snowbole helmet.
Our little family at the cabin.
Again, pictures out of order, but we went to lunch and cupcakes with Latesha. Fun and delicious!
Mike went riding with the boys for a few hours, but the zipper on his snow pants broke. Thankfully it wasn't a very cold day, but the ride didn't last too much longer with Mike in his shorts.
We stopped by my brother's house in Bountiful and the kids absolutely loved jumping on the trampoline with their cousins!
Random, but I am quite proud of the pillows I made. They are SO much better than what I used to have.
I also made this quilt for Latesha to take to college.
Before our trip we went bowling with Lydia and Colton's best friends. It was a little crazy, but hopefully a good memory for the kids.
And I have no idea why this photo ended up last, but this is the big kids at Reed's dairy. I cannot express how much I enjoyed my experience there! They had grasshopper icecream which is my favorite. Mint icecream with oreos and caramel. Can you say Yumm-o! It was fun to be with my family there. Reed's dairy was started by my grandpa and his two brothers. They eventually split and my dad ended up taking over the farming end while the dairy was taken over by his cousin. They have a picture on the wall of Grandpa and his brothers when they were young and starting up the business. It was fun to tell my children, "That man in the picture is your great grandpa." Isn't family just grand?! I was so glad to visit them all!