Thanksgiving and what we came home to find~

For some reason all my pictures have a weird glare but I wanted to share the few that I took at Thanksgiving. The girls were so spoiled. Here they are getting pedicures and manicures by Grandma and Aunt Laurie. Lydia was in HEAVEN!

Abigale and Uncle Aaron

Daddy and Lydia

There was a lot of snow but not the good kind for building a snowman so the girls and Daddy did the best they could but they did find a can of silly string so that made the snowman awesome!

We took the girls to a fun Aquarium in Sandy and they loved it.

Ignore the glare on the glass but this was a huge octopus

Cute Girls

This is what we came home to after a great Thanksgiving break. You can tell by the footprints that the floor is soaking wet. Yes, we did put up all our Christmas before we left only to put it all away the next day :( Garage floor

Obviously the heat had gone out and it was soo cold in the house especially with the water everywhere.

Our poor house. The legs on the tables were ruined and had to be replaced. The water came in through the wall behind that couch and filled the room and then traveled a few feet into the other rooms. We know that it could have been a lot worse. Usually when we go out of town things are so frantic that the house gets left in a mess but this time the girls were playing at a friends house until we left so I was able to deep clean the whole house which meant there was hardly anything on the floor. Such a blessing!

It's about time . . .

Just when I was getting the hang of blogging and staying on top of things, life took a big turn for us! This is kind of a long story but I want to get it down for our records so I apologize now but I will start at the beginning with pictures to soon follow! It all started Thanksgiving week while we were spending time with Jonathan's family for the holiday. Jonathan decided to interview for a new job which was exciting but a little scary because the job was in Utah. The interview went well but we decided to just wait and see what was going to play out. On the way home from Utah we hit a major snow storm and the road closed so we had to turn around and go the long way with a stop overnight in Pocatello. My parents were still out of town so getting into the house with the alarm system going off was quite the adventure in itself but we made it and I was grateful for an extra day of vacation. The next morning we started off to Boise and about 20 minutes into the drive we got a call from Jonathan's work saying that our neighbor had called looking for us because we had water pouring out of our garage! Not news you want to hear when you are 3 hours away from home! We started calling friends to go over and turn off the water and check out our house and sure enough the entire front room and parts of the rest of the house were flooded! We then called the insurance company and got some things worked out and spent the rest of the drive trying to figure out what could have happened and what might have gotten ruined. When we finally got to the house, it was crazy to see our house in its condition but nice that we had some time to prepare ourselves. The insurance agent met us at the house and gave us some money to stay at a hotel and told us we would probably be out of our house for a month! It was a little overwhelming and sad to think that we would not be in our house for the whole month of December! We packed some more clothes and made the best out of the situation by finding the best hotel we could that would feel a little like a home. After switching hotels a few times we found a place with a little kitchen, two bedrooms, free breakfast, and a swimming pool. It was definitely hard to be out of our house and away from our things but living in a hotel had its perks as well! As for our house, they said that the water heater broke and sprayed water throughout our garage for the 4 days we were gone and eventually it soaked through the walls and got into the house. Nothing of real value was ruined but a lot of little things (thank goodness for insurance)! The biggest deal was that all of the carpet had to be replaced which we were excited about because we had been wanting to replace the carpet since we moved in!

Now back to the job- while all of this was going on with the house and we were living in a hotel, Jonathan was told that he got the job in Utah and that they needed him to start January 1st. After a lot of thought and prayer we decided it was best for our family so while the workers had to pack most of our things to lay the new carpet and fix the walls, we just decided to pack the whole house up. We loved our house and it was sad knowing we would not live there again but we were excited for the new opportunity. In the middle of December, we left the girls with my parents and drove to Utah for a few days to try and find a house to rent. It was pretty stressful and some of the places we saw were really bad but we were definitely blessed when we found our house and knew the minute we saw it, it was perfect. We signed the papers drove back to Idaho and that weekend said goodbye to our friends (sad, sad day) and packed up the house. Jonathan drove the truck straight to Utah and unpacked in the new house and I rode with my parents to Pocatello to spend time with family before Chirstmas. We eventually all met up in Driggs and had an amazing winter wonderland Christmas! On New Years Eve we drove back to our new house in Utah and spent the holiday unpacking. It has been an adjustment for everyone but so far we are really enjoying this new adventure. I should of known it was coming because we have moved in the middle of every pregnancy so I guess I am used to it. Speaking of pregnancy- I am officially full term at 37 1/2 weeks! Crazy! I go to the doctor tomorrow and hopefully some progress is going on so that we can schedule an induction and finally know when we will meet this little guy (who is still yet to be named- HELP!) Well that is actually the quick version of our crazy month of December but I promise pictures are coming soon!

100th Post!

Well it only took me about 4 years but I finally reached my 100th post! To celebrate I thought I would share some exciting news! I am sure most of you already know but I havent shared it with the blogging world. We are having baby #3 at the end of March! We are super excited and I am even more excited now that I am over halfway at 21 weeks! The pregnancy has been a little rough to say the least but now that I can actually eat without throwing everything up, I can enjoy the little kicks and movements and be excited about the little one joining our family. We had the big ultrasound a few weeks ago and it was so cute because the baby was laying on its belly with its knees to its chest, looking very comfy. I love this picture because the baby is giving a thumbs up and flexing at the same time! Haha awesome!

And the news you have been waiting for . . .

Thats right, its a boy! We are so excited to add a little boy to our crazy family! Since we told Abigale I was pregnant she told me it was a boy because she needed a sister and brother. When we told her it really was a boy after the ultrasound she just said yeah I already knew that! Almost every day she talks to the baby and asks if he is ready to come play with her. She is a great sister! We are so excited and Jonathan already picked out the outfit to bring him home in!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!We are heading to Utah tomorrow as long as the weather permits! Hope everyone eats a lot of yummy food- I know I will!

Leaves!

Having fun playing in the leaves!

The Birthday Week Continues . . . Lydia Turns 2!

Having my girls birthday exactly a week apart can be a little stressful but a lot of fun! Since most of Lydia's friends are Abigale's friends younger siblings- It was just a week long party for both of them! We decided to keep it very simple and took Lydia to Chuck E. Cheese and invited some friends to join us. I think she was a little young and we had to force her on a few rides to enjoy them but we had a great time!

This is while everyone sang Happy Birthday to her (so excited because Happy Birthday is one of her favorite songs):

Fun times at Chuck E Cheese

After we wore the kids out- we were brave enough to go to some stores and out to dinner with friends. Luckily, it turned out fine and we all had a great time. We then headed back to our house to open presents. At this point Lydia was a little tired, so we saved a few presents for another time (Christmas!)

This was by far her favorite present! First, the princess pajamas she insisted on changing into as soon as she opened them but when she opened the Barney doll it was priceless! She LOVES Barney (luckily, I dont mind him too much and she has learned a lot from some of his movies). The toy plays his "I love you song" and as soon as I started playing it she just sang right along and carries him around everywhere ever since! We love you so much Lydia! You definitely bring a lot of personality to our family! You are either the entertainer trying to make everyone laugh or the drama queen finding ways to get mommy to hold you! My favorite thing you say right now is before you start a sentence you say, "Momma, you want to know what . . . (Abigale hit me, I saw a dog, I am hungry, etc)" It is so cute! Like I mentioned, you love Barney but also The Wiggles and as soon as you wake up you ask to watch a show. You are Abigale's little shadow and get so excited when she lets you play with her. You still are a great sleeper- sleeping 12 hours at night and a 2-3 hour nap everyday. You still need those naps or else you are very grumpy but otherwise you always have a smile on your face. We love you so much!

Abigale's 4th Birthday!

Abigale had a great birthday this year! Like always it feels like a week long celebration. She had a little party a few days before her birthday, the night before we had a ward trunk-or-treat, and on her birthday she got to go with just mom and dad to lunch and to the toy store to pick out a present. That night we went to some friends house to celebrate some more. It was a great day (week) and Abigale asks daily when it is her birthday again.

For her birthday party, we got a great deal on a bounce house and she loved it! This is her watching the man blow it up at 8:00 am. She was begging to go out there but it was a little cold.
This is her classic poise now whenever I take her picture- silly girl! It was finally ready and dad came home just in time to jump with this girls for a minute before heading back to work. Lydia took some coaxing but she loved it by the end of the day.
Abigale's party was a lot of fun. She loves Halloween so we did a Halloween party with scary treats and fun Halloween games but the kids were jumping in the bounce house for the majority of the time so it was great for me and the moms to sit and chat! Abigale jumping until the sun went down! Of course the day of her birthday she couldnt wait to open presents so that was the first thing we did. Modeling her new snow gear while wearing a princess dress? We got her this new toy where you trace the princesses and she spent a good hour just sitting and tracing. She loved it! We took Abigale out to lunch while Lydia was with my parents and her favorite thing in the world is pancakes so we went to IHOP so she could get her smiley face pancake. They even sang to her and brought her ice cream but she ate almost the entire pancake so she was too full for the ice cream. In this pic she was bugged that I was taking her picture- she just wanted to eat! At the toy store she spent most of the time sitting in all of the cars but too bad she had a $20 limit!

Happy Birthday Abigale- We love you so much! You have turned into the sweetest most adorable little girl. You are such a great big sister and love taking care of Lydia and making her laugh. You are so fun to have around the house and your smile lights but a room! We love you!

Some Pictures of Halloween

I wanted to post a few pictures of our Halloween and of course the girls in their princess costumes. Halloween is Abigale's favorite time of year and it might have something to do with that her birthday is on October 30th. She is a lucky girl to open presents in the morning and go trick or treating at night! With Halloween being on Sunday, this year was a little different. We planned on trick or treating Saturday night but no one else in the city had the same idea so we went to our friends trunk or treat and hung out at their house. Abigale missed going door to door but she didnt need any more candy! Two trunk or treats was plenty. Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Yes, this pumpkin Jonathan carved won first place at the ward party. His talents never cease to amaze me (and kind of scare me)!

At the pumpkin patch: Carving a pumpkin with dad:

She loved it and yes her pumpkin is green. She got to pick one at the pumpkin patch but it had to be one that she could carry herself and this half green one was the only one left but she still loved it!Ariel! Snow White!This is the only picture I got at the ward trunk-or-treat but it was a great night and I am glad my mom was able to go and help Lydia. She was a little nervous about all the costumes but after she got a few pieces of candy she was fine!