camping- major photo overload!

We have talked about going camping for ages. We went twice before we had Axton and then haven't been since. Axton loves the father/son campout every year and Greg said he does well so we decided to go. We tried to get Greg's siblings to go with us but the first week it just didn't work out. So we ended up going on July 1st with some friends, the Nield's for just Friday night, we all had to be to church on Sunday. They have 4 kiddos, one of which is only a month younger than Axton. They had a blast together. I though was a slacker and didn't take any pictures. We had so much fun, and I actually slept pretty good for being 34 weeks along, and so we decided to do it again the following weekend when we could stay the two nights.

This time we did take pictures and Greg's sister, Kim, and her family joined us for some of it. This time we got to stay in the campground which was much appreciated by me because trying to go to the bathroom in the wilderness, with sparse, little trees wasn't the easiest task the week before! Can't believe I didn't think about that before going!

This is the lake we stayed by. I can't wait to bring a canoe up so we can explore it more, but that won't be happening until next year.


Axton's favorite "dry" past time at the lake was throwing rocks in. The bigger the better. I finally had to start limiting the size afraid he would either drop it on himself or go over with it when he threw it.



They had some HUGE fish! Or not. The half a dozen we caught between the two weekends were all this size.



The best part about camping with Axton is that when it gets dark, he BEGS us to go to bed. The down side, as soon as the sun is up so is he! It makes perfect sense to him. So even though I slept half decent I was still really tired come 5:30am and the cousins were all still sleeping so Greg graciously got up with him and they went exploring for about 45 mins.




After breakfast we went back to the lake to swim. I forget how much I miss swimming,tubing/boating in lakes and rivers. I prefer it over a swimming pool any day, probably even over the ocean because of the nasty salt in the ocean. Axton loves it too, especially since with his tube or life jacket he can swim by himself to his heart's content. Greg of course had to find the highest rock and jump off of it, giving me a heart attack everytime (when did I become such a chicken, oh yeah when I had a child to think of)!



Axton and Brooklynn trying to warm up after swimming.


We decided to go see the dam after swimming. It was a bit of a walk but not too bad. Here are the requested prego photos, enjoy me in all my huge glory!





After naps we went to explore a creek that the kids could play in, however we got hit by a storm. I wish I remembered how to make our videos smaller because it was a pretty rad storm complete with hail! Needless to say the storm convinced Kim and them to go home because they had their 4 month old with them and were worried about their kids getting cold. So we stuck it out by ourselves Saturday night. It rained on and off the entire night. During one of the breaks from rain but not from thunder and lightning we went back to the lake and discovered that there were tons of small fires that had been started by the lightning. The pictures don't do it justice but it was awesome. There were tons of them, but luckily more rain followed so they were quickly put out.



Sunday we got up and decided to just go home, so by 7am we were out of there. While driving home though Greg saw a sign for a state park boasting about a natural bridge so we decided to take a small detour and go see it. When we got out of our car we saw these lovely boars putting a show on for us!


We soon discovered that you had to hike down to see the bridge. So us in our "hiking" gear, aka sandals and pjs, decided what the heck. It was a very steep climb but only about 1/2 mile to it. The trip down was fine, coming back up, well Axton sat a few times to watch me catch up! And because the one hike wasn't enough we decided to go do another one, even steeper but shorter. Luckily it wasn't really hiking, it was more like stairs, and short. I would love to go back and do the other hikes when I'm not 35 weeks along.









Despite the rain it was a great weekend. No cleaning, no boredom or wandering what to do, and just a nice change of pace. I definitely think camping is in our future every summer, I forgot how much I really do like it.

Babe

We went to the ultrasound and they said she had "gained" almost 2 pounds in the last 2 weeks. Hmmmm.... I just don't think any weight is accurate with those things. So she is doing fine and gets to come play when ever she decides to. I knew I should have stuck to my gut instincts which are that she'll probably be around 8 lbs if she comes on time. I think I carry the same way with both kiddos. I think I carry pretty inward but I feel like my stomach is getting huge all of a sudden. Guess we'll see what the next 3 weeks hold for us. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

Baby Girl Update

We had an ultrasound at 30 weeks that showed that everything was going well with the baby and that she was in the 60% for weight. Then we went back at 32 weeks where they said that I had lost weight and that my stomach hadn't grown and asked that I do another ultrasound at 34 weeks. So on Tuesday I went back in and had the ultrasound to make sure baby girl was growing. Even though I had worked hard to put on a couple of pounds they said in the last month she had put on less than a pound which dropped her to the 17% for weight. So alas we get to go have another ultrasound done in 2 weeks (36 weeks along) to see if anything has changed. If she gains percentages (not just weight) than we will do weekly ultrasounds (unless her % goes back up drastically) and it will be a weekly guessing game as to when she gets to come play. However if she stays the same or drops any percentages than I will be induced.

All of it is very interesting to me. Obviously I would love for her to come early- no more heartburn, weight gain, painful kicks to the ribs, I get to place dress up with her, hold her, see her, etc. But I really just want her to be healthy and if that means going late I'd take that too. So we are in a constant state of uncertainty until she comes, more so than we ever thought we would be. Not knowing if she'll come in 2 weeks or 6 weeks is killing me! One plus, I'm super motivated to keep my house extremely clean knowing that after each dr appointment I might not be coming home! We'll keep everyone update as we learn more.

Greg informed me that the 4d ultrasound pictures creep him out so I decided to post something that would be more to his liking. As previously mentioned his brithday was last month and all he really wanted was a pinata for the adults. So I went looking for one and wow they are expensive. I wasn't about to spend $20 on one and then another $10 or so to fill it just to have it destroyed in minutes.

So I decided to make one! I got the first two layers done when Greg got home and got in on the action. He decided that my skills weren't up to par and so he went and bought some metal wire to go around the whole thing to make it more indestructable.


Axton helping me decorate it




So about 3 days, 7 layers and some wire later we were ready just in time for the family get together. We let the kiddos go first and then Greg and and Brad took turns hitting it. They were definitely entertaining. Greg has decided that a pinata for adults is going to be our new family tradition. He wants to see how hard he can make them. Oh boy!

Axton getting a turn, and boy was he thrilled.


Greg:

Ultrasound

We went in for the 3rd trimester ultrasound. Baby is doing good and they say it is definitely a girl so bring on the girl stuff (oh wait I already have some girl clothes, girl bows, girl toys, girl bedding, girl bedroom!). Guess we would have already been in trouble if they had said it was a boy!

No gestational diabetes for me, which I'm not too surprised by but I am anemic, again not much of a surprise. She is measuring where she should be, a little larger but go figure. I want her small so she can fit in the newborn clothes we inherited but that might just be a dream too.

They tried to get a good 4d picture of her face but our little gymnist decided to show us her skills instead. Can tell what you are looking at?

Here's the cheat sheet!

She had her left leg extended parallel to her body, her knee was at her mouth and her foot above her head, while the other leg remained either by her stomach or straight down the other way. As though the leg in the way wasn't enough she decided to keep her right hand covering the other side of her face. Really we got to see her nose and mouth and that was about it. But I can't wait to see her, hopefully in 9 long weeks!




I think she has my gma's button nose but I guess we'll see if that's true when she comes. Oh I can't wait!

Happy Birthday Greg! It's been a good 6 years together. I've come to realize that I need this man more than I ever thought. He is an amazing provider, husband, father, and priesthood holder.

I know that he will do anything he has to in order to take care of his family. He is definitely blessed when it comes to work. He has a job that he loves for the most part and works great hours so we get lots of family time together, which we all cherish. He is very handy to have around, from the shelves in the toy room, to helping me paint, to planting a garden, and lets not forget the nasty backyard that he was willing to take on by himself in the AZ heat nonetheless. I have many more projects for him, starting tomorrow, I'll give him the day off!

Axton is in love with him and nothing better ever happen to Greg because Axton would truly be destroyed. The boy counts down the minutes until Greg is home and often tells me is "mad" at Dad because he's not home enough. He will refuse to go to sleep on the nights that Greg is gone until Greg is home from scouts or whatever else has taken him away. Those two share a very special bond.

While Greg may not understand or like some of my quirks he puts up with them with very little complaint. He has a very simple outlook on problems which I admire and wish I had. Life is always so sunny and positive to him. I rarely, if ever, hear him complain about life or trials, I really should take a lesson from him. He never judges me when he comes home from work and I'm a mess, the house is a mess, and I don't want to cook dinner. He simply takes Axton outside to play to give me a break, as long as the reason behind these isn't because I've been reading a book all day!

Even though our courtship was pretty fast I know that it was meant to be. We fit together so well. For us the last 6 years has been pretty easy, and I look forward to the next 6. Thank you Greg for everything you do for me and our child"ren". You make life so much easier for me than I ever thought it would be. I have been blessed to have you in my life. I hope this year is everything you want it to be. I love you.

BzzAgent

Yep another review of some products I tried, and really LOVED! I am a bzzagent which means that on occasion I receive products for free and then get the great opportunity to share what I discovered about the product with others. I also get coupons so let me know if you want any!

This time I received a spring cleaning kit. It had scrubbing bubbles mega shower foamer! I had never used this before and was very happy with the results. I didn't think it had too strong of a smell but it worked great! Axton's tub always gets a dirty ring around it and sometimes it can be a pain to get all of the dirt and grime off but not with this! I sprayed it on, let it sit for a minute or two and then wiped it off. Everything was white and sparkling again, no elbow grease needed. I am definitely sold. I would probably buy this even if it wasn't on sale, but I can't promise because I like my cheap/free cleaning products.


Another product I received was the scrubbing bubbles toilet cleaning gel. Another new found love. I have never tried any of these type of products before either. I think I put one on Axton's toilet about 3 weeks ago and it is almost gone now. They say it last for a week so we must not use our toilets as much as the normal household because they still smell great and the bowls are still clean. I have only had to clean the outside of the toilet during that time which I love! His toilet is almost always clean now with no help from him! And very little help from me. It also makes the whole bathroom smell clean, which I personally love. I have now used it on ours as well, almost 2 weeks now and still going strong. This too I will most likely buy again in the future as long as it isn't ridiculously expensive.


Other items I got was Pledge, which I haven't used. We don't have very many wood things in our house. And we also received from Glade the oil fragrance plug into the wall thing. I didn't like the smell of the one they sent so I don't even know what happened to it, but I have used other scents by them in the past. And then Glade also sent a candle which again I didn't really like the scent and it disappeared as well. Greg may have had a hand in those disappearing since he really didn't like their smell!

So overall I liked or have used similar products from these companies in the past. I was very happy to find the shower foam and the toilet gels. The others are things I use but not very often. Again let me know if you want a coupon, they're around here somewhere!