The last 6 months

A lot has happened in the last while that I need to record...so here it goes!

~I'm pregnant! Expecting # 3 in one month (So any day now, for me). It's a BOY! Due October 12.
  The beginning of this pregnancy was easier than the last two.  I didn't feel great, but the lows were not nearly as low as I remember/ expected...for which I was very grateful!


 Eden's response to the news that she won't be the baby for much longer

I meant to post this on facebook to announce the big news but never got around to it.  I guess I still have time.

~Scott and Stephanie came to visit us for their spring break in March.
   We celebrated my birthday with them, went to the children's museum, had dinner with cousins Jonathan (Call) and Melissa (Wooley), went to 'Out of Africa', and hung out at the pool. All 5 of them stayed with Ali who has more space than us...or she is just the favorite. 

 Where we went to celebrate my birthday...big 27!  You get in free during the entire month of your birthday.

~Ali and Mike got me a really fancy jogging stroller for my birthday. I could not believe they did it! It was way too generous! I love it, and it is definitely an upgrade compared to the one I was using. Seriously a Rolls Royce when it comes to the stroller world.  James helped Mike with his anatomy stuff, so they were returning the favor.


~California trip to see James' grandparents
   Highlights
     -Annie and James stayed with us/his grandparents one night to go to a friend's wedding. We went to Corona del mar (the best beach ever) and played in the sand all day and roasted hotdogs.

      -Knots Berry farm. Such a blast! After the tea cups (bad idea!) every ride was making me sick though...even the kiddie rides that barely even move. 

~Mom, Dad and Katie also came down to visit. We hiked to Fossil Creek, ate out, went swimming

Here are a few from Fossil Creek, one of my favorite places in AZ

~St George trip with the girls
Annie organized a last little girls trip at her grandparents' condo before she moved for 4th year. This place was beautiful!  I don't think I've even been in a home that nice before, let alone stay in one. We swam at the golf club pool, played tennis, went out to eat, and hung out. So fun!

~Right after St. George, I went up to Salt Lake with Mandy, and went home for the week. It was a last minute trip because we realized James had the week off. It was so fun. James dropped me off in St. George then went up to stay with his family while I was with the girls.

~Pool time
This is how we spend our days (and sometimes nights) in AZ

~In June, James did his first anesthesia rotation after deciding that's what he'd like to do.  Luckily he liked it enough to stick with it! Yay! He's now doing his first and only audition rotation in Kentucky. He had a hard time scheduling more auditions with the baby coming right in that window when you usually audition. Hopefully the one he's doing will be enough to match in anesthesia next March!

~Camping, Rock climbing, and Lava Tubes in Flagstaff

~In July James' took the month off of rotations to study for step two boards. Plans changed when we got the news that his grandma (Ruth) Brown had passed away. We went up to Star Valley, WY for the funeral, along with his entire family. The fact that everybody was able to come was a surprise! It was so nice to be able to be at the funeral and to say our goodbyes to such an amazing lady. It made it even more special to have all of James' siblings there. And everyone stayed for quite a while, so we got to spend time with them! James switched his tests up to UT, and since all of his family was there, he didn't get nearly as much studying in as he originally planned.

 Getting acquainted with the newest cousin in the family...Preston.  We love him!

I can't help but take and post lots of pictures of Eden right now.  She is just at the most adorable stage, and I'm a little obsessed with her. I love seeing her funny little personality develop. 

 

 The kids were in heaven riding this horse and both threw a huge fit when they had to get off.  They still talk about it 2 months later. 

Great-Grandma Brown's funeral viewing happening inside the church.  The moms watching the kids outside.
Notice the cowboy boots...Vicki (or Grandma Ricki as Benson says) bought some for all of the cousins to wear while we were in Star Valley.  My kids love them and still wear them all over AZ, even in the blazing heat.  The kids love them so much that I use them as leverage when they won't listen.

    
~We celebrated everyone's summer birthdays at one giant birthday bash at Jessica's. Thanks Jessica for hosting and letting us destroy your beautiful new house.  And of course, thank you Pollyanna for the beautiful birthday cakes you decorated.  I wish I would have taken a pic!

 Loved her new baby from "Grandma Ricki"

 Thanks John and Jennifer for the fun shopping set!

                                 

~Bamberger's Cabin and Mary's Lake (harder hike than I remember!)

I forgot one important detail.  We lost Teressa.  While we were all leaving to walk around the boardwalk, we realized she was not with us, and hadn't been for a while. We did end up finding her, but not before lots of prayers and calling 911.  Apparently she was playing with the cousins behind the cabin, when everyone came back except her.  Luckily she wandered back/we found her before it was completely dark.   

~ After James' two step two boards tests, he also had another test (it never ends) to take in Philadelphia. It fell over our 5 year anniversary, so I opted to go with him. It was so fun, and the timing was perfect because I don't have a nursing baby! We left the kids with the Browns and my parents, then went to NYC first, then to Philadelphia for the test, then to DC. Besides being super expensive, it was such a blast! Definitely a much needed break! I will do a separate post about the details of the trip, because this post is getting too long.

   I flew home after 8 days, and James stayed out east for his audition rotation that he did in KY. He really liked the program he auditioned for, so if we're lucky, we may end up there. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but for right now, I'm not thinking about it:)

Before coming home to Phoenix, I stayed with my family for about a week in Pocatello. I was able to go to my dad's family reunion, and also celebrated Eden's 2nd birthday!

 Thank you Natalie for the beautiful cupcakes!

 With all of the chaos of the trip, I didn't buy her one thing for her birthday.  So pretty much all of the presents were provided by my mom.  Even the ones that I told her were from me :)

 She had more help than she needed opening all of her gifts

Loved her necklace from the Tafelelmars

 We got the chance to go out to eat with just the adults.  Doesn't happen very often, so we thoroughly enjoyed it!

The next memorable event was our immediate family reunion in Bear Lake. It was so fun! I'm so glad I was able to go! However, it was a lot of work without James. It didn't help that my kids were being awful, and that we didn't have our own room, and that Eden could fit through the balcony and fall to her death so I had to have her in sight 24/7. That's all part of the fun, though, right...? Luckily my family helped me a lot, for which I am very grateful!

This was taken right before my battery died :(

Unfortunately, I had to rush home for doctors appointments to check on the baby. Otherwise, I would have stayed longer, but I'd already missed a few of the MCA Doppler ultrasounds after being gone for so long. I would have done them in UT, but I would have had to pay out of pocket and it was nearly 1,000 per time. So I just skipped a few and came home early. Everything looks great with the baby though, so I'm expecting a normal experience with this delivery (knock on wood!)

Fortunately my friend Annie drove down with me so my mom didn't have to. She stayed with me for a few days and we hung out with the girls like the old days. I was pretty exhausted from the previous month, so I was pretty lame, and I hope she wasn't too bored! It was so nice to have another adult in the house while James was away!  Somehow we survived the month without him.

~Eden is potty trained...day and night! I got serious about it once I got home and Annie left. Eden has been such a breeze compared to Benson! And it's been such a blessing in the midst of all of the craziness of traveling and having the kids adjust to all of the changes. They have been especially defiant since getting home and having James gone, so this has been a true tender mercy! (Hopefully it's the real thing and not just a honeymoon stage...I guess time will tell) 

I think that about catches me up to the present. Now it's just a count down for the baby to arrive.