Life Without Kids

So, I have a little secret . . . when Chris and I left Utah on the 4th of July, we left the girls with Grandma and Grandpa to continue vacationing while we came home to spend 4 weeks home by ourselves! Whenever people find out about this we get one of three responses: 1) "Wow, I am so jealous! Is it like being on your honeymoon again?", 2) "How could you be without your kids for so long?!?", or 3) "What are you going to do with all your time?/Won't you be bored?" So let me clue you in . . .

1) Yes and no. It has been kind of like a honeymoon . . . a honeymoon with an eight month pregnant wife, that is. Chris and I have taken total advantage of not needing babysitters by going out to dinner, ice cream, and movies and perusing bookstores spontaneously. We have also loved all the time we've had to read books together, have uninterrupted conversations at the dinner table and also be able to sleep in until whenever we feel like it on various occasions. So yeah, nice break there.

2) 4 weeks is kind of a long time, and I do miss my girls tremendously - Chris and I both think that the house is much too quiet and wonder if this is the trial run of how it will be when we're empty nesters. However, I don't feel too guilty about leaving them with my parents because they are having a BLAST! The spent one week camping up at Red River, are currently up at Snowbird, will spend one week boating at Flaming Gorge, and during the one week they were actually at my parent's house, they had a sleepover with their cousins, went to see a movie, and pretty much got to do whatever they wanted. I know they are having a much more eventful summer in Utah than they would here. I am so slow and waddling these days. Also, I know that this is my window of opportunity before all the chaos ensues . . . my mom will bring the kiddos back, I'll have the baby, school will start, and we'll be back into our normal turbo speed mode (most of which I will experience through a haze of sleep deprivation, I'm sure.) So I'm trying to take advantage of this time and resting up as much as possible!

3) No. I am absolutely not bored. I am racing desperately to get to all the projects I've been putting off or never have time for because I'm taking care of my family. Chris has been working on projects of his own: taking care of my car, framing his degree, helping me with the garden, going through the garage, and a general "de-cluttering of his stuff" as he puts it. He's also back in school and working on his next thesis.

As for me, here is how I've been spending my time without children:

* I did not do ANY baby prep before we left for Utah, so I've been putting together the nursery and associated perafanelia (sp?), sorting through baby clothes and doing the associated laundry. I've also cooked 30 freezer meals to use after the baby is born because dinner is my most stressful time when I have an infant.

*I went through all my primary stuff to give to the new president - yes, it happened. I was released last Sunday. We have our Articles of Faith primary activity this Saturday, but then after that I am done! I really loved this calling and am going to miss it and the kids a ton. However I do feel ready to move on to the next season of my life and feel this is what is best for the primary as well.

*doctor's appointments and preadmission stuff/tours at the hospital

*getting a massage/taking naps (okay, so I'm pampering myself some!)

*reading

Things that remain on my to-do list are:

* putting together the diaper bag and packing for the hospital

*writing my church talk for Sunday

* putting together a professional family pictures and Christmas letter album.

*update 72 hour kits with Chris

Wish me luck!

Summer Daze

Um, yeah, summer days, huh? So what's up with the jackets?!? Well, this is summer in Monterey, where it is perpetually 60 degrees. I couldn't believe I was actually sending my kids to swimming lessons in an outdoor pool when it was so cold. But alas, we survived, had some fun even, and then . . .

. . . escaped to Utah! Oh, wait though, hold on, before I get into that, let's talk about Kate's birthday party. Here is a picture of her being obstinate when I asked her to smile for me and she didn't feel like it. So I decided to take the picture anyway to have for the future to remind her what a trying child she was and how much she owes me. :) Anyway . . .

. . . Kate actually did have a very fun double birthday party at the park with her friend, Ali, who shares her same birthday. A playground, cupcakes, balloons, and presents, what could be better?

Okay, so back to Utah. I was totally worried that being acclimated to Monterey weather, and also being 7 1/2 months pregnant, that I was going to absolutely melt in the desert heat. But you know what? It was awesome! No humidity is the best. First we headed up to the mountains for a week with Chris' parents. It was just the sort of rest and relaxation we needed: shooting with his dad and brother (okay, so to Chris, that's relaxing), seeing Toy Story 3, feeding the horses, taking rides on the cool new four wheeler, sitting on the porch, feeding the chipmunks (and killing the potguts - again, another Chris pastime), playing in the sandbox with cousins, organizing my mother-in-law's pantry (that's my preggo nesting mode in full gear), taking nature walks and watching movies. Lotsa good summer fun.

We also took a day trip to the Provo River Falls. It was beautiful with all of the Spring Runoff still going. We also found a couple of Geocaches up the canyon for our very own treasure hunt. Good times. My girls love posing for pictures. Can you tell?

After a quick stop in the valley to get a haircut and go to the temple, it was off to the Southern part of the state for a week at Lake Powell. Oh yeah, it was hot now (close to 100 every day), but you could always just jump in the lake or wet your shirt down to cool off, so no big deal. Aly went down the slide off the back of the houseboat 101 times! That girl is a fish! She jumped off the top of the houseboat with Chris a few times, tried to ski, knee boarded, went tubing, kayaked with her dad, and drove the boat. She definitely made the most of the trip and the lake.

Analise also loved swimming by playing mermaids and sharks in the water with her cousin, Camren, and her aunt Jessica. She also liked playing in the sand, tubing, and even went off the houseboat slide herself. She also loved boat rides and would frequently take a nap on the boat after wearing herself out in the lake.

Kate liked jetskiing, tubing (see her giving the thumbs up on the picture below), swimming (while holding on to mom or dad - see the picture of Kate and I riding the noodle "horsey" at the bottom), and playing in the sand and the water where she could touch. She had an unfortunate incident the first day there where she wandered out a little too deep and ended up floating on her back - thank goodness for life jackets! Anyway, that kind of scared her a little bit and she kept talking about how she was going to drown the rest of the trip, but she warmed back up to the water by the end, and I think she'll be just fine.

Chris had a blast playing with the girls, waterskiied, and kayaked around the bay in some mega exercise feat. He and I went on a jetski ride up a canyon and found this neat 1/2 mile hike that led to these awesome rock formations. We brought everybody back the next day so they could come see it as well. Nature is so awe inspiring. I loved it. Another highlight for me was the cloudless night of endless stars - georgeous. I love the stars at Lake Powell.

Well anyway, I hope you are all making the most of your summer. We've done our part!