Why hello there...

So here I am catching up again. This time my excuse is a combination of being extremely busy and not being able to find my USB cord to connect my camera to the computer. So here's what we've been up to.


JULY


We celebrated half of the 4th with my family and the other half with Scotts. Unfortunately I always forget to take pictures until half the day is already over, so I only have pics of the latter half of independence day. My apologies.
Anyway, we spent the afternoon at Scott's aunt Jill's house, using her pool and hanging out. Here are some pictures of the day:


At the pool



Dani, Link, Kelsey, Dan


Scott and the kids



Dan, James and Todd enjoying the sun


Lila



Gathering on the driveway for fireworks





Seth, Crystal and Jackson



The boys playing a sports trivia game that Scott made up from the laptop



Other Stuff that happened this July was my little sister Denise's birthday



Also I got a cute new nephew, courtesy of my brother Jared, and my sister in law Alisa. His name is Issac, and he was blessed in July. He's adorable. Here is Alisa holding him with Crystal taking a peek.


We also had Scott's parents in town for the end of the month. My brother in law, Brian, graduated from school, and he came out here to see his brothers with Nick and Margie as his graduation present.

At Todd and Megan's house getting ready for an excursion:


We went up into the mountains to spend some time in the canyon. We stopped near Sundance really quick to look at some land that Nick and Margie had bought a few years ago that they plan on building on at some point. Sorry the picture is cloudy, I stayed in the car with the kids so that I wouldn't have to chase them all over the mountain, but I still took pics of them looking at it and making plans.





In my genius I decided to roll down the window. I blame my pregnancy. Here is what the land looks like.


Then they got back in the car and we drove up to Cascade Springs. It's a place up here in the Canyon that has pathway with a lot of cute little natural springs and bridges and just enjoy the mountain air.

My awesome family











More Itri Awesomeness
















Here we all are at bridal veil falls a few days later. In my pregnant genius I forgot to take a picture of the actual waterfall.




Anyway, July was a lot of fun, with a lot of craziness. It was great having family in town and hanging out with everybody.




AUGUST SO FAR

How is it already the 11th??? Where did the time go??
Anyway, for those of you who don't Facebook and haven't already heard through the grapevine, a week after my In laws left town I had my 20 week ultrasound and found out that I am having a baby BOY!!



Scott and I are really happy about this. Like I said, even back when Scott and I were engaged, that I told him we would have a Girl and two boys, in that order one day. We now will have exactly that. This is also good because neither Scott, nor I feel pressure to have a fourth child at this point since I've only had those feelings about those three. Even a few weeks before we got pregnant, I started having dreams and feelings about a little boy, and told Scott that I felt like a little boy was waiting to come into our family. I'm glad I was right and not crazy. There's more to that story, but I don't feel comfortable going into personal details online where people probably already do think I'm nuts, so I'll just leave it at that.


Here he is in his male glory:



It was next to impossible to get a good profile pic of him because he kept moving his face away from the camera. He would curl up into a ball and hide his face, and when the ultrasound technician would move the camera toward his face, he would turn his head the other way. Anyway, we finally got one with his arm up over his little head, trying to hide his face.


Then he randomly stuck up his finger, which we're told is his index finger...but it looks like something else. It makes me laugh every time I look at it.



So that's my new son. He also stops kicking the second I put my hand on my belly to try and feel him from the outside. He's either really shy, or really really stubborn. Considering who his parents are, it's probably the latter. Sometimes I'm amazed that two people as stubborn as Scott and I were able to fall in love and get married. They always say that your kids are a perfect taste of your own medicine.

We don't have an official name yet. Long story. Also related to his parents stubbornness. We've narrowed it down to two names, and can't agree which will be the first name, and which will be the middle name. I'll get back to you on that one.

We had both Crystal and Seth in the room during the ultrasound so they would be able to see our new family member with us. I had prepared both kids before hand that they might not get what they were hoping for. I was worried that Crystal would be heartbroken when she found out she wasn't having a sister and that Seth would be mad if it wasn't another brother. Luckily, Crystal has been very accepting about the whole thing, and is still really happy. When the technician made the announcement Seth jumped up and down and yelled "Now we're TWO boys!!!" He was really happy. He crawls in my lap all the time and touches my belly and tries to talk to his little brother, it's really cute. Crystal can't wait to mother him, she loves any and all babies, and is starting to like the idea of being an only girl, mom's only shopping partner, and the family princess. Scott is happy because like me, he was sort of expecting a boy anyway.

Crystal is registered for school and her schedule will be posted tomorrow. I can't BELIEVE how big my little girl is getting!! Again, she's ridiculously excited about the whole thing and already waves to her new school every time we drive by, which is often.



More good news for me and Scott? We're going to Hawaii next week. Pretty much our last vacation before life gets really complicated. Not that it already hasn't been with moving, pregnancy, both parents working, two kids and fitting in the summer's activities, but when this little guy comes life is going to get extra crazy. In December we already have our wedding anniversary, Christmas, Crystal's birthday, New years eve and now a newborn. Crazy, but life is usually better for me that way than when it's boring. Anyway, this vacation will be much needed. We can't wait, in spite of the fact that I'll be squeezing my pregnant body into a bathing suit in public. That's awesome...if by awesome I mean I may or may not have started crying at the mere thought of it. Hold me!
Seriously though, I'm just happy to take a break and relax somewhere beautiful and sunny. I'll get over the rest.

Stinky people, primay, working out and life in general

Things are getting easier. We're almost completely moved out of our old place, and even though I'll be unpacking until I'm 80, we're slowly getting things together in the new place. Also the gag reflex is calming down, but my brain to mouth filter seems to be malfunctioning. I say more of what I think and less of what is just more polite right now. Not good. Things still smell strong, but I'm not vomiting every time I smell something offensive either. I realized this when we had a patient at work, who always reeks of sweaty over-powerful curry in the the office and I didn't run for the bathroom. I did have to put some rubbing alcohol in my face mask to control any dry heaving, but I made it. I'm not trying to be mean, but my office is close to some of the more uh...interesting people in the city of Salt lake and we get all kinds of druggies and crazies and weirdos. Usually I find it entertaining, but not when I'm sensitive to smell. This person, a woman, not only has an over powerful smell, that lingers for an hour after she leaves even to those who aren't pregnant, but she INSISTS on sitting in the dental chair without shoes, and her feet are scary. Really, really scary. I'm talking CGI horror movies. Sometimes I want to take a picture of them and post them on here because they are so horrifying that it's hilarious, but I don't want to get fired for violating privacy laws. Anyway I realized I'm getting better when I didn't want to run into oncoming traffic at the smell of her arrival.


Other good news?

I've successfully avoided a church calling in the primary. So far. I've been working in the primary for almost seven years, and I'm kind of terrified that they'll do it to me again. I don't wanna be an ungrateful jerk but I work 20hrs a week, have two small kids and am preggo with my third. I need a break. The problem is that I like kids, and I love talking to them and playing with them. Probably because I'm a big kid myself. They already called and had Scott and I substitute in the nursery for our new ward and without even thinking about it I was picking up the crying kids and comforting them and setting time apart to play with the violent kid to give him the one on one attention that he really wanted, and directing actions to the song "Do as I'm doing" and "Head shoulders, knees and toes". After leaving Scott told me that if I'm trying to stay under the primary radar, I'm not doing a very good job and I need to be more careful or they'll put me back in there. Like I said, I love kids, but going to relief society has been...well, a relief. I can sit back and actually enjoy the lesson, and participate in class discussions, and actually interact with adults. I never made any friends in my last ward because they put me in primary my third week there. Now that I'm in a neighborhood with people I'll actually be seeing a lot of and not planning on moving in a year or two I want to make friends. Is that so bad?


Other new things? Now that my energy is coming back I'm back on the exercise wagon. I'm really enjoying this one right now:

This is the chick who invented buns of steel back in the 80's and yes, she made my buns Kardashi-tastic back in the day. Anyway this little workout isn't anything hard core, I'm not trying to loose weight, just feel good during my pregnancy, and this is helping. It also promises that "bouncing back" will be a little easier afterwords. I hope so, but I've never been the girl who fits back into her skinny jeans a week after giving birth and I kind of resent girls who do because they suck.
This is the other one I've bought:

It's a prenatal pilates program, which I haven't tried yet because my hand weights are still in a box somewhere and it requires that I use them. So we'll see if I like it. I'll report back in a couple of months.

I also want to say how thankful I am for my family lately. While I was at work yesterday Scott put on his 'Super Dad' cap and took care of housecleaning, lawn mowing, wall painting, kid watching and dinner making. My mom came over and planted flowers in the front of my house,then did the dishes. My dad came and put together a kids safety trampoline for my kids to play in outside. My family is so awesome that it made me want to cry when I came home after a 12 hour work day to all the help and support from them. I always feel bad for making you people gag when I gush about the people I love in my life, but I can't help it. For some reason these people insist on being amazing and blessing me every day.

Anyway, right now life is just unpacking, work, registering Crystal for school, trying to convince Seth that the potty isn't the devil, and figuring out what I'm doing half the time. Whenever I'm pregnant my brain sometimes decides to re-boot like a computer that shuts itself off and I have to figure out what I was saying or doing and why. Makes work interesting. Luckily half the staff at work is pregnant ladies like me. I'm not kidding. Out of the six staff members there, three of us are pregnant and we're all only a few weeks apart from each other. Maybe something we ate at work made us all more attracted to our husbands during the same month, who knows. We're all our own support group over there and we've been comparing how many times we throw up in a day along with belly sizes and brain farts. When all our bellies are huge people are going to wonder what kind of office we have and if we're doing anything illegal, but it makes the work day easier to get through. I'll be sad to leave it when I give birth, but three kids AND work will be too much on my plate for at least a year and being a mommy comes first for me.

I'M BACK!!

I know, I know, I've been so so bad at the updating and I've even received near death threats because of it. I'm sorry. (Although I'd like to add that even though some of you complain about my lack of updates, you never comment on my posts anyway so you stink.)
SO much to tell. Where to begin?
I guess I need to play the catch up game first. Always my least favorite, but I feel like half a woman when I skip things that should be mentioned when updating blogs and journals.
Scott had a birthday! The family came over and we ate Mexican food. Everybody took a stab at a Mexican dish and brought it over and Kelsey thoughtfully provided an Eagles cake which completed the awesomeness.













So that was March.



Honestly, April and May are kind of a blur. Probably why I should update more.
I had some issues with my camera as well as my sanity on Easter...(I'll explain later) so I only have pics of their Easter buckets. The Easter bunny and his Easter bunny wife are a little concerned about our kids eating large amounts of candy, so they tend to stick with cheap dollar toys and only two or three little treats mixed in. Still, the kids love it.






ALSO in May my little brother Matt came home from serving his two year mission. My little baby pookie is all grown up!! He's also already dating some girl from Belize, whom I've only seen pictures of, but at least he's ready to move on with life, unlike I was. I was terrified of relationships and anything remotely resembling them when I came home.



Scott keeping the kids busy while waiting at the airport





Some of my family waiting for Matt





Matt and Crystal were always great buddies. He couldn't wait to give her a hug.








ALSO, some big news, we bought a house. We've always rented condos, our last one was a great place as far as space, luxuries and convenience, but it was time to own a real home, not to mention real neighbors. Our neighbor in our last place used to play with his rock band at all hours, smoke on the front porch which was attached to my home, and invite all his creepy friends over. The only thing that made me smile about him was the fact that his name is Gator, and whenever I saw him, I got to say "Later Gator." Which was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Other than that he made me afraid to let my kids out of the house.

Our new place is awesome, every day I'm in it, I fall more and more in love with my new home and neighborhood. You know what? I really really really like living in suburbia. I love only being able to drive 20-25 miles down my street, because there are kids playing everywhere on a nice summer evening. I love waving to neighbors as I drive, and I love that they wave at me too. I love the quiet, peaceful atmosphere and the friendly, NORMAL people who live around us. I love having a home with a FENCED BACKYARD so I don't have to worry about weirdos looking at my kids, and I can do housework while they play outside. I love that my home isn't near any busy streets or shopping areas that create noise and unwanted attention.


Seems after all these years, that living a nice, quiet, suburban life was meant for me after all. The twenty year old girl I once was, who spent all her spare time in the city with her cool city friends, would have never believed it had you told her that way back then. Most of all, growing up is awesome. It's something I used to dread when I was younger, but there's so much more meaning, love and happiness in being a grownup than there ever was when I was young and going to the latest events with "exciting" people. Settling down with a great person, (not just great, FANTASTIC person), and having a family is the best decision I ever made. I've seen some friends I've grown up with go off to do fun and exciting things with their cool friends and active, happening lifestyles. Some have moved on to bigger cities and are around people that I only see on the TV. Some travel all over the world, and dive into a new culture, and new life every month or so. It looks fun, it looks busy, it looks exciting and stimulating, and I'm really happy for them, and I'm glad that they're happy too, but this is where I belong. I'm happy here, and I don't consider it "settling" at all. I love my life, and this is where I feel the most fulfillment.

I'm so thankful that my life has led me here, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. ANY. Thing. Most of all, I have a family I can grow old with. People who love me in spite of my flaws, and in spite of what I say or do that may not be cool, attractive or exciting. They are loyal to me, and I to them, and they are part of who I am, and who I want to be. They are my best friends, and the loves of my life, and with them, I will always be fulfilled and never feel like I'm lacking something greater. The world can only offer so much satisfaction. My family is who I need to fill the void that endless fun and spontaneity could never offer. I'm not saying it's for everyone, and I'm not judging people who choose to live differently, I'm just thankful that in my life, I found what I wanted and needed.




SO, now that I'm off my tangent of "I like being a suburban housewife," I'm going to show you some pics of my cute new house. PLEASE note that there is much much work to be done, but people have been angry at me for not posting any pictures, so I will show you some areas that aren't currently overcrowded with boxes and chaos.

Here is the outside of the house. It needs some gardening and some landscaping, but other than that, I think it's darling. You can always click on the photo to see it more closely and decide whether you agree with me or not. :)


Here is my backyard. It also goes all round the sides of the house too, there's also a covered patio, but this is the view you get because it's from my window and I'm too lazy to go into extreme detail. We don't have back neighbors, but the tall trees provide privacy either way. You can't really see it, but behind the house is a local park where neighborhood kids sometimes go to run around. Yes, this yard also needs a lot of gardening, landscaping and work, but it's full of potential.



Here is our cute living room. The ceilings are higher than the picture makes it look. Please forgive the lack of decorating and the ugly yellow box sitting on the throne. Up above there is an upstairs family room, which is too messy to show right now, but you can see the windows leading to it in this pic.





Here is my VERY bare dining area, but it's all you get, because the attached kitchen is also full of boxes and things that make it embarrassing to show.



I'm afraid you only get one bedroom for now. Also severely lacks decorating, but it's clean, and Seth looks cute napping in his bed.


ANYWAY, I'll get more up when things are cleaner, decorated, and more organized, but if you've been bugging me about pics, this should hold you off for a little while.

MORE STUFF....

My little Seth turned three years old last week. The amount of energy that has been brought into our lives for the last three years, has been amazing. He brings life into our house and home. He's hilarious, and extremely social. He says and does things that make me laugh every day. From yelling at me for trying to put hairspray in his hair because "it's for girls" to green marker on the wall, to crawling in my lap, giving me a kiss on the cheek and saying "I lub you mommy", to demanding some super hero show be on the TV 24 hours a day, he has completely captivated Scott Crystal, and me and we are madly in love with him. We had a little birthday party with my family and he thought it was the best day of his life.



Seth demanded a Batman cake. Since I've been reeealy busy with moving and working and stuff, we had one made from Walmart for 40 bucks. This blue frosting made EVERYONES mouth and teeth turn blue. It also provided some exciting surprises on the way out. Never get blue Walmart cake.



I actually love that he wanted a Batman cake. When I turned four years old, all I wanted in the world was a Superman cake. I understand him completely. I have a picture of me somewhere just like this one, but with me in front of my Superman cake. I can't post it because it's in a moving box, but the point is, that even though Seth's a boy, he has a lot of my personality in his genes. The love for superheroes is one of them. I was also Supergirl for Halloween 2 years in a row, with a little red skirt over my blue tights to show that I still had a shred of femininity.



My family did a great job at helping us celebrate. My kids are currently the only grand kids, so everyone in my family spoils them.








New pajamas, new mask, and his stretchy spider web (sticky hand).


It was a great day.



Okay, now for the stuff that most of you have heard through the grapevine by now anyway.


I'm pregnant with baby number three.



Not so sure what else I can say, except that the morning sickness was horrible during the house hunting, Easter, moving, birthdays, and still working 20 hours a week. It sucked not being able to complain to anyone about waking up at 5am to simultaneously vomit into a bucket and diarrhea into the toilet, let alone brag that yes, that's totally possible, and extremely painful. I even had dreams/nightmares that doctors were telling me that I wasn't really pregnant and that I was actually dying of some rare disease, and in the dreams I nod and say that it makes a lot of sense when I consider how I've been feeling.
It also sucked not being able to confess to my sister, who texted me randomly one day telling me that she had a dream I was pregnant. I wanted to scream at her that she's a prophetess and creepily psychic, but instead told her she was crazy, and to go back to sleep. After I confessed to her and she gave me the "I knew it" speech, I ordered her that she needs to have a dream that I win the lottery now.
It wasn't very fun looking bloated and having people thinking I needed to cut back on the doughnuts either. Through all the sickness, I'm ten pounds heavier, which has frightened me more than any horror movie, but it's what I've sighed up for, so I won't complain. I've never enjoyed the 'being pregnant' part of having kids, but I LOVE the day when they come into the world, and I love what they bring to my life when they're part of it.
I'm excited for this little one. I'm hoping for a little boy, because I always told people, that when I got married I would have three kids: A girl and two boys who would be younger than her. I'm SOOO close to being right, I hope that I am. That being said, I will be ecstatic if it's a girl too, though I may try for a fourth just to see if that little boy isn't waiting in heaven somewhere or if it's just my false hopes. If I had a fourth and it was also a girl, I'd cut my losses and enjoy my family either way. In a little less than two months I will find out. I'm due in December, so that will be two out of three kids in December, along with my wedding anniversary, Christmas, and New years eve. December is just a big part of our lives every year I guess. More now this upcoming year than ever.



Anyway, that should catch me up for now. My life is just starting to get a little easier, I'm still a little sick and tired, but I should start having enough energy to unpack, cook, clean, and blog now. Who knew that skipping three little months of blogging would skip so many big things in our lives. I'll try to be better.