Two Teeth

Sara lost two teeth this week. On Friday, she had just come home from Kindergarten, and sat down for lunch. All of a sudden she exclaimed, "My tooth just came out!". Then, on Sunday when we picked her up from her primary class, she was proudly displaying another tooth that had come out during her class. That little girl is growing up way too fast!

Pumpkin Patch

I'm a little late with this, but I wanted to post some pictures from our annual family trip to the pumpkin patch. We went a week and a half ago, on the Saturday before Scott left from his 5 day trip. The weather was perfect, and the kids had a great time. Each came away with what they thought was the perfect pumpkin for them. Last night we let the kids draw out their designs for their pumpkins, and tonight we are going to let them carve them. They are pretty excited.

Nate loved the hay ride and couldn't stop talking about it.



Sara had her eye on the extra big ones, and couldn't resist trying to prove that she could carry pumpkins almost as big as she is.



The kids took their time wandering the field, looking for the perfect pumpkin.









This is what happens when you ask Aaron to smile for a picture.


The whole experience completely wore out the two little boys.

We Made It!

Well, we've almost made it through another week without Scott. He left Monday morning for Spokane, and will get home this evening. The week has gone relatively smoothly. After going 15 days straight without him, 5 days seems like a walk in the park.

Wednesday evening, the kids had an art show at their school. All the classes had their artwork displayed for the parents to come see, and the Honor Choir performed twice during it. Since Savannah is in the choir, I decided it was important that I go. Luckily, one of the sweet young women in our ward called the day before (knowing that Scott was out of town), and offered to watch my kids for me if I wanted her to. The idea of not having to chase Aaron and Nate around a gym filled with breakable artwork was very appealing, and I took her up on the offer. So, she came and stayed with the two little boys while I took Sara and Josh to the art show (Savannah stayed after school for choir rehearsal and then the performances). All three kids were very excited to show off the things they had made, and Savannah did great singing. She was one of 5 kids who got to accompany the choir with African drums for "Kumbaya".

Thursday was our gymnastics marathon day. Aaron has gymnastics on Tuesday mornings, and the other 3 kids have it after school on Thursday. We have 2 hours back to back of gymnastics. Savannah's class is 4:15-5:15 and Sara and Josh's class is 5:15-6:15. We came home and threw some pizzas in the oven for a late dinner, and then tried to get to bed at a decent time.

Today is picture day at school for the kids. Savannah really wanted curls for her pictures, so we got up early to curl her hair. She has so much hair, and it takes forever to curl it all, but it sure looks beautiful when it is done. Hopefully the curls survive till picture time. I drove the kids to school instead of sending them on the bus, in hopes of their hair not getting messed up too much before pictures. Let's hope the pictures turn out great for all three of them.

So, now we just have to make it through today. I've been so worried all week that I would have this baby without Scott. I'm breathing a sigh of relief now that we've almost made it. His flight comes in at 6 this evening. Then, I'm free to do all the walking, lifting, working, etc that needs done around here. Part of me loves the idea of making it to my induction--I love the calm and planning that goes along with being induced. But another part of me would love to experience the real thing--recognizing labor pains, rushing to the hospital, and all the excitement that would go along with that. This is my last pregnancy, and a part of me would really like to experience going into labor on my own for once. One way or the other, in at least two weeks we are going to have a new little baby around here and life is going to change for all of us!

Not Much Longer

I went to the doctor this morning. I will be 36 weeks on Monday. Today I was dilated to a 1. My doctor told me it was a little early for that, and told me to take it easy. That's easier said than done when you have 5 kids and a husband that travels. It's been wonderful having Scott home this week, but he still has one more trip to take. He leaves this Monday morning and is gone till Friday evening. So, we just have to get through next week.

I have one more appointment in two weeks, and that's when my doctor will schedule my induction for the next week (if I don't go into labor before that). It won't be long at all till we get to meet this little baby boy. The kids are so excited and are having a really hard time waiting. Yesterday I got the baby boy blankets out to wash. Aaron and Nate helped me. I told them we were getting the blankets ready for their baby brother. Aaron excitedly asked, "Is it today that he gets to be born?!". Every day Savannah sits with her hand on my stomach and says, "It's just so hard to wait!". It's such a fun and exciting time getting ready for this baby, and I love that the kids are so involved in the excitement. Now if only we could decide on a name....

I Love This Kid!

Scott pointed out that all of our "low points" while he was gone were caused by Aaron. I told him I was very aware of that. And in spite of that, I can't help but love this kid. He is so full of imagination, creativity, generosity, curiosity, and STUBBORNNESS. He brings such joy to this house. And yes, those are his sister's pajamas.

He's Home

Almost Home

In just a half an hour, I get to load up the kids and go pick up Scott at the airport. It's the end of his second (and longest) trip. And he's getting to come home 4 days early. The 19 day trip got cut down to 15 days (which is still a heck of a long time to be gone, but we are very grateful for the extra 4 days). Four days early means that he will be home for a whole week (instead of just 3 days) before he has to leave again for his third and final trip. We can't wait to see him!

The last two and a half weeks have been difficult (and that's putting it mildly). They have been filled with lots of work...

-I mowed the lawn twice
-Picked produce out of the garden
-Cleaned the house more times than I can count
-Put kids to bed by myself too many times
-Washed, folded and put away tons of laundry
-Ran kids to activities (which requires loading up all 5 kids each time)
-And everything else that is required to run a household by yourself.

The last two weeks have been filled with low points:

-A doctor's visit with the two little boys. Aaron refused to come back to the exam room, so I carried him kicking. My doctor told me I was no longer allowed to carry him (he's 50 pounds). Try being a single parent with a stubborn 4 year old and not be able to pick him up--not easy!
-Church by myself with the 5 kids. I was asked to sub in Sara's class. Nate fell asleep the last 10 minutes of Sacrament, so I had to carry him with me to primary. Aaron refused to go to primary, and I couldn't do anything about it because Nate was asleep on me. Thankfully, his Sunbeam teacher and a counselor in the primary presidency stepped in and "handled" him.
-Gymnastics with Aaron. He refused to do his class, and just sat against the wall and cried the whole time.
-A trip to the park with the kids, where Aaron threw a cell phone into the pond. That's right--who's kid throws a cell phone into a pond? Apparently mine does. I apologized profusely to the teenage kid who was the owner of the phone and gave him my name and number so he could send me the replacement bill. Still waiting to see how much that will cost us.
-Grouchy kids at bedtime.
-Grouchy kids in the morning trying to get them off to school.
-Grouchy kids all day long because they miss their dad.

And we've had some high points:

-After Scott's first three day trip, he was home for a day. We spent that day going to Justin and Megan's birthday party, playing at Bounce, then going to the zoo as a family. We ended with gourmet frozen yogurt with every topping imaginable.
-Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen came to help out and celebrate Savannah's birthday.
-Savannah's birthday celebration with just her and me out for the afternoon.
-Getting to help with the kids' Walk a Thon.
-The ward brought in two meals this last week.
-The kids had Thursday and Friday off of school this last week, so Grandma Jo invited them for a sleepover at her house Thursday night. The four older kids got to go, and Nate stayed home for a very quiet time with me.
-Yesterday I took the 4 older kids to a sibling prep class at the hospital to learn how to care for their new brother. Nate was too young, so he got to hang out with a babysitter at home.

And the best thing of all is that right now I'm telling the kids to go get their shoes on because it's time to go!!!!!!! We are off to the airport to get DAD!!!!!

Savannah Turns 9

Saturday was Savannah's 9th birthday. To make up for not being here, Scott sent Savannah flowers. She was so excited about them--a dozen roses!

The celebrating actually started on Thursday, when she got to go with Grandma Jo birthday shopping for some new clothes. It's a tradition my kids have come to love. Shopping and dinner with Grandma. Savannah got some really cute new clothes that she couldn't wait to wear the next day (that's one of her new outfits in the picture with the flowers and another on in the donut pictures).

Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen came to help celebrate Savannah's birthday. They came on Wednesday night and stayed till Monday afternoon. Friday night I had them stay with the other kids while I took Savannah to Walmart to pick out a new bike--her present from us. She was very thorough in making her decision and rode each bike up and down the Walmart bike isle till she finally decided on her favorite bike. It's a real bike--21 speed woman's mountain bike. She loves it and has been riding it every chance she gets.

On Saturday (on her birthday) I had Grandma and Grandpa Sorensen watch the other kids and I took Savannah out for some special birthday time. We went to the dollar theater and saw "Beezus and Ramona". She had just finished reading the book, and was excited to go see the movie. After the movie, I took her to Red Robin (her favorite restaurant) for lunch. She was really excited because they sang to her and brought her an ice cream sundae at the end of our meal. Krispie Kreme donuts is right next to Red Robin, so after lunch we went over there and got some birthday donuts (instead of birthday cake). Then we went back home and picked up Grandma Sorensen, then went to "Claire's" to do some shopping (Grandma gave her a gift card there for her birthday). Once again, Savannah was very thorough in her shopping--looking at everything before finally making her decision (a fold-up brush to go in her backpack, some lip gloss, a hair headband, and matching mother/daughter bracelets for her and me).

Then we came home and had donuts!


Mmmmm.....Halloween frosted donut!
Then it was time for presents. She didn't have much to open because our big gift to her was her bike, but I did get her a few things to open. She got a new robe, which she LOVES, and a few new items of clothing.





Happy Birthday Savannah! I can't believe you are 9 years old already. What a beautiful young woman you are turning into. We love you!!!