Blurb Book

I just completed my 2009 blog book! I received an email last week from Blurb that stated you could get 20% off your book if you ordered by July 31, so I couldn't pass up the deal. I have been using any spare moment I have to get my book done & I just finished this morning!!

Can't wait to receive it in the mail!!

So Tired.....

This morning I had to get up at 5:30am to take The Maddox's & Victorin's to the airport as they are headed to Hawaii. I don't remember the last time I had to wake up that early, but I do know that I am not a fan of that hour!! Once I got home I was so tired & could barely keep my eyes open. The kids had just got up when I got home, so they were ready for the days activities!!

Thanks Erin for coming over so early to stay with the kids!!

Pioneer Day

This morning we went to our Stake Pioneer Day Celebration at Fair Oaks Park. We enjoyed a yummy pancake breakfast, with sausage, eggs & watermelon. Then we had fun at the many activities they had to do. Carter & Claire's favorite thing was the bounce house castle. They spent quite a bit of time there!! Claire wanted to go to the park so Cory brought her there while I took Carter around to some of the different booths. He hammered a heart with the work "FAMILY" in the center on a piece of tin & he ended up giving it to Aunt Marci!

This kids also had snow cones!! It ended up being a fun activity for the kids!

When we were done at the park Carter really wanted to go swimming with Uncle Tom & Aunt Marci. Tom said he could come swimming at Marci's parents house that afternoon. I brought him over while Cory stayed with Claire & we swam for about 3 hours!!

After that Carter had a birthday party for his friend Kaylee. What a busy & fun day he had!!

Train Museum

This morning the kids & I went to the train museum. Olivia was at Grandma's so we invited her to come along. Carter's membership runs out at the end of August & I'm not planning on renewing it this year since he will be in school everyday & we won't have many opportunities to go. Olivia had never been, so we showed her around the trains on the main level & then headed upstairs to play on the Thomas train tables. They spent about an hour up there & then we headed outside to enjoy our picnic lunch. I told the kids that if they ate their lunch we would stop into one of the candy shops in Old Sac & they could pick a piece of candy. For some reason I was craving salt water taffy so I grabbed a few pieces of those & enjoyed them in the car on the way home!!

"Where Did That Piece Go?"

Primary Pirate Pool Party

This morning we had a super fun Primary activity at Marilyn Johnson's house. We swam for hours, had lunch, did slip 'n slide, went on a pirate treasure hunt & enjoyed yummy ice cream sandwiches. Carter was swimming so well! He went off the diving board at least 50 times!

Claire was her normal friendly self & was friends with everyone. When Marilyn got in the pool Claire started calling her Grandma. Marilyn would take her around swimming & then bring her back to me so that she could take other kids swimming & Claire would have a fit. "I want Grandma!" She's such a character. The water felt great & it was fun spending time with friends!

And......I'm Done!

I just finished the last book in the Harry Potter series!!

Cory & I made a deal long ago that if he read the Twilight series I would read the Harry Potter series. I was worried during book 5. It took me months to get through that one. And I'm sure it had to do with the fact that I was sick during those months. I loved books 6 & 7.

Now I need to watch all six of the movies before November when the last one comes out.

Planet Earth

Cory was showing Jeff & Kristen an episode of Planet Earth & after a few minutes all of the kids were on the living room floor, staring up at the t.v. They were totally engrossed in it, even Claire!

Cameron Park Lake

Today we met Kristen & kids at the Cameron Park lake.

The kids had so much fun swimming & playing in the sand. The lifeguards announced that there would be a sand castle competition, so the kids busied themselves with that. They didn't win but had fun! Claire did so much better than last year. She did not like the sand last summer but this year she was playing in it & sitting in the water for long periods of time. It was a fun day...and I'm glad I brought a lawn chair with me!

30 Weeks

I've made it to 30 weeks! Can I do 10 more???

It's getting hot & I'm getting bigger & bigger!

Some of my complaints right now:

I have been having severe muscle & ligament pain in my lower stomach. It's this shooting pain that goes up my belly. It's actually been happening since about 10 weeks, but has gotten worse. My lower back has been hurting too. I decided to start wearing a maternity belt. It's this elastic fabric with Velcro that I wear below my stomach. It's supposed to help with back pain, but has actually really helped with the muscle pain. Let's hope it continues to work.

Heart burn has not been fun either. Almost everyday I am popping Tums!

My feet are pretty sore by the end of the day, but they aren't really swollen yet.

Swimming has been nice....I feel so light!!

Such A Sweet Big Brother

Carter has really picked up on his reading. He can pick up a book or paper & read just about any word on them. Today I walked in to the family room & Carter & Claire were sitting on the couch. Carter was reading a Curious George book to Claire. They looked so cute together, with her arm around his back. I about died when I saw her little hand patting his back as he read. So cute!!

Beautiful

John & Patricia came over for dinner tonight & they brought us these beautiful flowers!

We felt honored that they took a day from their honeymoon in San Francisco to come & visit us!
I was so happy to see them, since I wasn't able to go to Calgary for their wedding. The kids loved playing with them & we enjoyed a delicious bbq with them!

He Can Swim!!!

It's official!!! Carter doesn't need his life vest!! He took it off, jumped in the pool & swam to the side!! I was shocked & amazed!! Way to go buddy. Now you can find him jumping off the waterfall & swimming across the pool. He is loving it!!

Time with all the cousins is winding down, so we got together this afternoon/evening for some swim time & good food. We got a picture off all of them eating their ice cream sundaes, making some silly faces! We've been missing Lisa's family who is in the their RV headed to Mt. Rushmore!

LEGOS!!

When Cory was growing up he was really into Legos. Recently, Carter has started showing interest in them as well so when Cory went home last week he brought an empty suitcase with him & brought back all of his Legos. Carter was so excited when he opened up the suitcase & saw what was inside! He has spent hours playing with them. Grandma Wozniak picked up a new Star Wars Lego set for him too & he loved it!

Happy 4th Of July!!!

We had a great day celebrating the 4th of July at Clyde & Judy's house. It was so relaxing & we really enjoyed their backyard! Carter & Claire loved playing with all their friends too!

Cory arrived around 2pm, just returning from his drive home from San Francisco. He was beat after his late night wedding on Saturday & early morning flight from Calgary, so he grabbed a bite to eat & took Claire home for a nap. Perfect timing!!

The kids swam for hours in the pool, did a pinata, ate lots of delicious food, did some crafts, & swam some more.

I loved soaking in the water & hanging out with my friends. Fun times being with 3 of my friends from elementary school!! When Cory & Claire returned they got in the pool & Claire had a blast. She loved swimming with Daddy!!

Naps were had on the hammock while hiding out in the shade.

Once it got dark we headed up the street to watch the fireworks that were being set off from the mall parking lot. We found a spot in a parking lot across the street & set down our blankets for the show, which was really good. We made it home a little after 10:30pm & were ready to crawl into our beds. Another great year in the books!

Let Freedom Ring

We celebrated Independence Day on July 3rd at my parents house with our extended family. The kids spent all afternoon (and evening) swimming. I got some great action shots of Carter jumping off of the waterfall, doing cannon balls & saluting me. He was having so much fun. Claire finally decided that she wanted to get in the pool too & she loved it.

Grandpa Altop brought his famous snow cones & we downed quite a few of those! My favorite is root beer & Carter loved the suicide...a mixture of all the flavors.

We enjoyed a delicious bbq & once it finally got dark we headed outside to do fireworks. Claire was insane with the sparklers. She was waving them around like a crazy woman; I was so afraid. I kept telling her that it was fire but she didn't seem to care. Once the sparklers were done we watched as all the guys lit the bigger fireworks. Around 10pm we noticed a big plume of smoke a little ways down the street & it was orange in color. A few minutes later fire trucks came racing down the road. There was a fire in the grass of American River Parkway behind houses; about 15 houses from my parents. So scary.....but they had it out quickly.

Our fireworks were going on for quite a while & both Carter & Claire said that they were tired so we headed home before it was over. I was ok with that! It had been a long day, but we had so much fun!! Until next year.....