Stuff

So, we haven't had our computer for the last 2 weeks because somehow a penny found its way into the CD drive...so, they had to replace the CD drive, then they broke a video cable in order to get the penny out, then for some reason they had to replace the screen too...quite the process. Let's just say our 3 year old isn't quite ready to be unsupervised with the computer. :)

Since the last post...we have had lots of fun things going on. One big one is that Hallee turned 3!! We had a nice little BBQ to celebrate for Hallee and 2 other little girls, one having the same birthday as Hallee, and the other whose birthday was a few days later.

It was lots of fun and even my brothers and their families got to come celebrate too. Can I tell you how fun it is to have 2 of my 4 siblings living within a few hours drive? It's so fun! I love it! So, we had bbq hot dogs and we had lots of cupcakes for dessert.

I made some princess cupcakes for Hallee, and she had sparkle candles to blow out!

At this age, I think birthday parties are more for the parents than for the kids. Not gonna lie.

We also have had lots of changes in our ward. We had about 14 families move out because they graduated from (mostly dental) school. So, with all the changes, I was called as the Primary President. I am really excited to take on the challenge, but also humbled and nervous. Our ward isn't like any normal ward, and it's sort of hard to explain it, but it's a new challenge and I am excited!

Kyle's job has been quite interesting. He is interning for a criminal defense attorney, and he has had a fun project to work on, which could potentially change a law regarding expungement of criminal records. So, it's been a cool project and he has learned a lot. The problem with the job is that Kyle has done most of it from home, and he just went 2 weeks without even hearing from his boss...He was also supposed to pay Kyle during that 2 week period, yet he somehow went MIA. Kyle started looking for a new job, because this wasn't cutting it. Then, all of a sudden, he gets an email from the boss saying he sent the money and he has been out of town, and then got really depressed, and other weird things, and Kyle is meeting with him today, and who knows what he will say. SO...most of the reason why I explain all this is because Kyle has been home A LOT more than we ever expected, and he also got paid A LOT for really, not a lot of work...which is also cool.

Another little ditty regarding Kyle is that he has applied to transfer to about 5 different law schools. We are just waiting to hear back from them, and if he is accepted, then we will be moving in August. I know. It's so crazy and sort of up in the air. There is also a chance that we will just be here for the next 2 years too. I guess we will see. It's kind of stressful though, not knowing where we will be living or what we will be doing just next month. Nothing like living by the seat of your pants! That seems to be the way we do things. :)

Also since my last post, my grandpa passed away. He was my mom's stepdad, but her dad died when she was 6, and so he was around for most of her life. He was also my last living grandparent. Sadly, most of my grandparents passed away in the last few years. So, one minute they were all around, and I turn around and they have all passed away. It's different too since I have lived away from home for so long, because I never really saw them much, but just knowing they wont be there when I do go home is a strange feeling. I am just grateful for the knowledge I have of the plan of salvation and I know we can see them again.

Last of all...our little baby boy...growing perfectly happy and healthy in my tummy. I only have about 12 weeks left! That is so crazy! Then our little family will have a new special blessing. We still have no idea what to name him, we welcome suggestions. We are really so excited and so blessed to be able to have another little spirit in our home. Having a boy will be so much different but I know the girls will be great big sisters and he will be so loved! I am grateful that Heavenly Father trusts us to raise these sweet little children. Being a mommy is the best calling in life. It is so fulfilling, rewarding, exciting, surprising, frustrating at times, joyous most of the time, and fun! I love my little kiddos and wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world.

Touring Philly Part 1

Day 1:

Mia and Grandma Lund flew in on Grandma's birthday so within an hour of their arrival we were heading downtown to celebrate. We ate at FARMiCiA, a restaurant in the Independence Park area that specializes in fresh-local-organic deliciousness. They also had Hank's root beer which was a bonus since it is awesome-good.

We then went just around the corner on a ghost tour where a lady in a cloak led us with a lantern through the Independence Park and Society Hill areas and told us ghost legend mingled with history. Turns out Ben Franklin was somewhat of a ladies man (or horn dog, not sure which one exactly) and his ghost will still try to bump into unsuspecting cleaning ladies at Library Hall. Also there are 11,000+ people buried beneath Washington Square from the Revolutionary War. Makes for some great fertilizer, it's a very green area.

Day: 2

The next morning was kicked off by Riding the Duck. It's a tour on a bus that turns into a boat, so we learned about the city by both land and sea. We also got crazy quackers which the girls enjoyed--and us adults also. On the tour we went down South Street and the guide pointed out a cheesesteak place, I think Jim's, and said it was good. We later tried it out after Mia and Grandma had taken off, and it is the best place for cheesesteaks--fact.

After the Ducks we went to the Franklin Fountain. Probably one of the coolest ice cream parlors ever. One of the founders majored in history so they have recreated, using antique machinery and handmade ice cream, a parlor straight from 1905.

Close by was the Betsy Ross House. Cool history, hot and muggy house. It was not a hit for the prego wife needless to say. On the duck tour we learned that Betsy didn't even design the flag, she was the seamstress. Francis Hopkinson was the designer. That's a good little fact to know if you are on a duck tour and the tour guide asks if anyone thinks they know a lot about history and you raise your hand and he asks you who designed the first U.S. flag. So here's Mialooking at Betsy's grave and the Philly mascot also lives in the House's courtyard for some reason.

That night we were treated special by Grandma Lund taking us out to one of the top restaurants in the nation, Le Bec Fin. Now I have never eaten French before, and especially not at a place as classy as this, so I decided to be adventurous and try some exotic foods and go with the waiter's recommendations. Anyways my four course meal went like this:

Foi Gras. Translation: "fat liver." And not just any liver it was duck liver. Risky but oh so rewarding because it was delicious.

Hawaiian Opha. I don't usually like fish, but I'm telling you this chef knows how to cook and I enjoyed this.

Rabbit Tenderloin. Cute little bunnies taste pretty good.

Creme Brule. Ok this wasn't risky or new, but I couldn't pass up my favorite desert at a French restaurant where it is in it's element. The birthday celebration continued as Grandma got a little surprise from our server for her desert.

Check out some of the more professional pics from day 1 and day 2 here.

HOLY busy....

So, we are alive. And we are doing well. The past month has been, uh, CRAZY! So the girls and I went to Texas to visit Grandma and Grandpa Baillio, see some friends, and let daddy study for and take his finals. It was so fun and so nice to be down there, and the girls really had a blast! Grandma and grandpa went all out with their grandbabies, taking them to playgrounds, kiddie parks, chuck-e-cheese (or as Hallee referred to it, Chuck-e-Jesus!), eating lots of yummy food, grilling chicken and steaks in the gorgeous backyard, playing in the little kiddie pool, and sliding down the fun slide they have in their backyard. (whew). But, let's not forget the incredibly cute and fun baby shower my mom threw for me! I am SO excited to have a boy this time! Not that girls are overrated or anything; I really LOVE my girls. But, the change of a boy will be really fun! And it was great to get a start on all the boy things we will need. :) SO....

(unfortunately, I forgot to bring a camera, so all pictures were taken by Grandma and Grandpa. I will have to get some from them to post here)

Then, we get back from Texas on the 18th, and 2 days later, Kyle's mom, Jeni, and his grandma Gwen came into town to visit for a week. His grandma had never been to Philly before, so she was excited to do all the touristy stuff downtown, which was great because we have actually never really done it either. SO....the same day they came to town was Gwen's birthday, so we dropped off luggage, and took off downtown to dinner at this fun little place called La Farmicia. THEN, we went on a "ghost tour." This lady with a robe and a lantern walked us around downtown telling us about reported ghost sightings in different historic places. It was...interesting! Anyway, all that was JUST on day 1. Now, if you can imagine how the rest of the week went! I guess Kyle wants to post about that visit, so I will just say it was so fun, but also quite exhausting!

So, they left Wednesday morning, and Thursday we decided to drive down to Westminster Md to visit my brother and his family. Aaron and fam just moved to the DC area from Germany! It had been a really long time since I had seen the whole family, and the first time I ever met Ellie-Jayne, their cute little 1 year old girl. They were staying at Brad's house, so we thought we would take advantage since they would soon be moving farther away (by another hour or so...not much). So we were there until Friday afternoon, drove back, got all refreshed and ready, then Kyle's friend from college and his wife came down to visit from NYC. We went to dinner with Richard and Kate, Noelle and Kevin. Kevin and Noelle are in our ward and also knew Richard from college. Then we spent all of Saturday with them having fun, eating a lot, being tourists, and hanging out.

WHEW!!! After ALL of that, I have just been a vegetable, doing all I can to regain some energy. It's been 4 days since all the festivities and I am almost back to normal. I wouldn't have changed any of it though, because it has been a REALLY FUN month! And when you are that busy, time really flies, and this pregnancy is just zooming by. I am 23 weeks now. HOLY COW! We will be having our little baby boy in such a short time. SO excited!

Anyway, that's where we have been the past forever. Busy as bees. No extra time to blog. We are really loving life right now, even though we are VERY poor. :) Someday.....law school will be over...and we will have a normal life...but until then...we are having a blast!

AND...since I am not a fan of posts without pics, here are a few from when Mia and Grandma Lund came to visit.

We went on this "duck tour" and they gave us little quacker toys to use at approproiate times. The bus also turned into a boat and we went on the water for about 20 minutes!

We also went to this petting zoo at the Amish village and the girls loved feeding the animals. There was a pony about as tall as Hallee, and Maddie really loved it!

Valley Green.

To cope with missing my girls while they're living it up in a place that uses "y'all" instead of "yous guys," I thought I would work on some photos I took of them on a walk we took at Valley Green.

I want to take some more photos on those steps, so if anyone is interested let me know. Also in my attempt to change the blog I lost all of our list of friends blogs that we follow, so if you don't see your name on the side, after my attempt to add everyone, please leave your blog so we can add you.

Giveaways are GREAT!

So, I have been following this giveaway blog for a while now, and I have actually already won one of these awesome pillow pets. But, the latest giveaway is so fun I just have to share!

http://takeitfrom-me.blogspot.com/2010/05/downeast-basics-swim-review-giveaway.html

It's for a free swimsuit from downeast basics. Anyone that has lived in Provo knows this store, and how they have some fun stuff! Go check it out!

Easter Dress

As much as I love how cute my girls are in their Easter dresses, I am so excited that the next child will never be in that attire--he better not be. Finally having a boy is going to compensate for my inability to grow a beard. As I paused Project Runway for Megan to tell me the news I immediately felt testosterone run throughout my body which made me teary eyed--I didn't know testosterone did that either. My manliness had been confirmed, and I immediately changed the channel to ESPN and let out a manly grunt. The fact that this news had been confirmed a whole month before they usually check also added to my man ego--my mango (wait that sounds too fruity, don't use that, or if you do I didn't create that word someone else did)--and I'll let you fill in the reasons why that would be. There's about to be a lot more basketball and root beer around this house and I'm brushing up now on my acting skills so that when, or better yet, if I do cry during a commercial it will just seem like manly sweat fell into my eyes instead. Time to go out and buy my boy his first pink tie . . . so that he matches his sisters.

Also check out my photography blog to see a cool new technique I used on some of Hallee's Easter pictures.

Updates GALORE

So....where to begin??

Early in March we had Spring Break! Awesome! We even got to get out of town and go to good 'ol Albuquerque to visit the Payne family. It was great because even Val and Taylor were able to come down, and we got to meet little Kelsey Crandall (Val's baby) for the first time! We had lots of fun, ate delicious food, had constant babysitters, celebrated the big 5-0 for Mia and Gramps (Jeni and Jeff), saw a couple movies, and just relaxed. It was a really nice break, which is what spring break is for, right? Awesomeness....I am sure we have pictures from that week, but I don't know where Kyle keeps all the pictures here on this computer....so, my next post will be all pictures.

THEN, just 4 days after we got back, my parents came down for a quick little trip. There were some people in the stake that needed someone to drive their car to Baltimore, and if you know my parents, they LOVE road trips, so they hopped on that offer, and came out! We went to the Amish country, Kids museum, ate good food, and played. It's funny because we have been able to see them more since we have been here in Philly than we did in Utah!

After Grandma and Grandpa left, we were able to wind down and get back into our usual routine. Since then, we were just coasting along, nothing exciting, until last week! We had a play group out at Ocean City, Nj. SO FUN! It was when the weather was finally warm again, and we got to go to the BEACH!!! Of course the water was too cold, so Hallee just had a merry little time playing in the sand with friends, and Maddie had her share of sand eating and playing. The sun, waves, sand, friends, all of it was just perfect!

Then, of course, Sunday was Easter! Terrible mommy that I am, I didn't take any pictures....but we do have this one that Kyle took when we went on a little walk to enjoy the spring weather and BEAUTIFUL blossoms! Seriously, I can't get over how gorgeous it is! I have never seen HUGE flowers growing on trees before! :)

This coming sunday I will take some pics of the girls in their dresses! :)

Anyway, we spent Easter with friends, eating a delicious meal, talking, and playing. I am really grateful that we have made so many friends out here! It makes being away from family a little easier!

So, then there was YESTERDAY.....I am almost 16 weeks prego now, and my doctor had me go in a few weeks ago for an ultrasound, just to check on baby and due date and all the routine stuff. Then at my last appointment I mentioned that I started getting braxton hicks contractions at 9 weeks, and sometimes they are pretty painful....(but I got these contractions with both girls, the earliest with Maddie at 15 weeks) So, I wasn't terribly concerned, but the Doc kinda was, so he had me go in again for another ultrasound yesterday, and let's be honest, I was excited to see my baby again! I knew that there was a slight chance they would be able to tell what gender the baby was, and as she was going she said, do you know what you're having yet? I said....no. "Do you want to know?" YES!

"Well, it's a.......BOY!!!!"

Oh my goodness...we are having a boy! I mean, it's definitely what we wanted this time, having 2 girls already and all, and we are so so so so excited!! The only thing is that our house is ALL GIRL! We have zero boy things. The carseat is the only thing that is unisex. It will be so fun, though, finding and picking out all new boy things! AND we got to find out so early! I really can't express how grateful and excited we are for this new addition to our family. Sometimes I get a little scared and I think I am crazy for wanting another one already, but I know this little boy was supposed to come to our family now. Hallee is finally understanding that she's going to have a little baby brother too, which is so fun! She said she's going to give him his binky and if he cries she will hold him. This little man will be well taken care of by his big sisters! :)

Anyway, I think that's the jest of what's been going on lately. Life is great! We are healthy and happy! And it's SPRING! No more winter!