Final Summer Wrap Up

Wow...such a fun summer - that I am still trying to catch up in September. Just a few final pictures of the joyous days of summer.



I was able to take a girls trip to Vegas for a dance convention. Three straight days of taking class from amazing choreographers/teachers was so fabulous. The way my muscles felt after those three days, however, was not so fabulous.

I did come to a realization moment while there.... I LOVE DANCING! I don't dance anymore for anyone but myself. I am not there to impress, or be the best in the room....I am only there to let my soul rejoice in dance. And, I did just that! It was so therapuetic.

We had great fun dancing, drinking frozen hot chocolates from "Serendipity", shopping, seeing "KA", running into a club to dance to Michael Jackson, and "girl talk" until the wee hours of the night.



We took a trip to Lagoon. The kids love this place. And Kason loved going on the "skycoaster".



And, lastly we went to the County Fair. Pony rides (Ava loved it), holding tarantulas and scorpions (all my kids loved that), and petting lots of animals.

Whew....summer wrap up done! Guess it is officially time for fall....

All things Girlie

I haven't mentioned about Mothers' Day or my great "Girlie Weekend" with my dear friends.



First off....my weekend with my friends was absolutely delightful! I always learn so much from our coversations; they motivate me to be a better mother; we have discussions until wee hours of the morning; we exchange our annual "favorite things"; and I just love these girls so much! I look forward to this weekend all year - and it never dissappoints.

This year we spent time in sunny St. George shopping, eating, spaing, eating, talking, and eating. (Did I mention eating?) I feel so blessed to have these amazing women in my life.



Mothers Day was fabulous. I love the homemade cards and gifts from the kids...they are by far my favorite gift.



It is crazy to think that I am the mother of 5 kids! FIVE.....that is a lot of responsibility. I am grateful that I have been entrusted with these amazing children.

There is nothing harder or more rewarding than being a mother....and I love it!

Being a mother has definitely made me appreciate my own mom....who is amazing. Thanks Mom for raising me the way you did. You always wanted the best for me, and taught me what true determination and dedication is. I love you!

And thanks to Brandon's mom...who raised him to be an honorable, wonderful, caring, and motivated dad and husband. You are an incredible woman with so many talents and gifts. You bless our lives!

Happy Mom's Day!

Things not to say to a pregnant woman!

So, since I am coming down to the last few weeks of my pregnancy...I have been thinking about all of the things someone should not say to a pregnant woman. I have had quite a few crazy comments this pregnancy, so I will share a few.

1. "Oh, are you having twins?" (don't ever say this to someone, unless you know they are....of course I answered "YES")

2. "You must be really close to having that baby!" (This was said to me when I still had 2 1/2 months left!)

3. "You really have your hands full" (This said while Braden and Halle are both throwing huge fits in the check out line because they want gum, candy, to help me press the buttons on the credit card machine, etc. And of course my belly is huge at this point...although I am only 7 mths pregnant, and I am trying to hold a kicking and screaming 2 year old.)

4. "Your belly has really grown over the past week....I can't believe how big it is!" (Although this was probably true, don't point it out to me!!)

5. "That thing is HUGE" (This was said by a complete stranger who was talking on his cell phone, and took time to stop his conversation, point at my belly, and make this comment....SERIOUSLY have some tact!)

There have been quite a few more, but all have been around the same topic....so instead of depressing myself even more, I will stick to the top 5.

All of these comments have been said by men...of course. I am sure not many men read this blog, but maybe we as women can pass this on to them for future reference! Even if you think these things, lie and tell the woman how great she looks pregnant!

All in all, I am feeling very "done" being pregnant. However, I will miss feeling a human life inside of me and watching my belly literally grow by the week. Such a wonderful miracle it is to be pregnant! (I have to remind myself of that often). I am so grateful I am able to be pregnant and healthy, which not all woman are able to do. I am ready however to be able to bend over, put on my socks, shave my legs, not have to go the bathroom every 20 minutes, be able to carry Braden without shooting pains going down my right leg, and not have to sit down anytime I walk up a flight of stairs! Only a few weeks left...I can make it!

I Finally Did It

This 5th pregnancy has been so hard on my body. I can definitely feel that I am not 25 years old anymore! Things are happening that have never happened before. Many that I won't go into detail about....but one new thing in particular is the developing vericose veins on my leg! I have never had any problems with veins throughout all of my pregnancies. My mom didn't have vericose veins - and so I thought I was safe!

Well, think again....from the minute I found out I was pregnant my right leg began to throb. Even though I couldn't see any veins, I knew they were coming. And, boy did they. With every new week - I would get more and more of the ugly, black and blue, spidery veins. It looks like my leg is extremely bruised. So ugly! And, they hurt like nothing else. By the end of the day, I wouldn't even be able to walk and then I would check out my legs....horrified to find yet another patch of veins!!

I had heard of the "compression tights" that you could buy to help this problem. I like to refer to them as "old lady tights" because they just look like something my grandma used to wear. They were expensive (for a pair of tights), so I kept putting it off.

The legs got the best of me, and I broke down and bought the tights. They are not cute, you can't wear flip flops or any open toed shoes, they are extremely hard to get on, and by the end of the night I want to rip them off.....but I LOVE THEM!!! They have saved me. I can actually make it until the end of the day without having to sit down because my legs are killing me! I wish that I would have bought them earlier. My veins have actually stopped spreading as fast, and look a little better than they did before.

So here is to "old lady tights", and relief of vericose veins. But, I have told Brandon to save his pennies because I am definitely getting them fixed after I have the baby!