It's a BOY!

Yes, that is right people who aren't related to me. We are expecting a boy towards the end of May. I know that it is kind of weird that this is the first that you are hearing of this and i only have four months to go, but that is life with three kids and a ton of other stuff going on right now. I am really happy to be having boy #2 and, dare i say, the final addition to the clan. This pregnancy has been the hardest for sure and it seems like my body is trying to tell me something. Hmmm, what could that be...oh yeah, STOP. I always wanted to have all my kids by the time i turned 3o and it looks like it is turning out that way. I know that this may seem odd to some people but i can tell you that my body and my stamina are not what they were at the 22 when i had Alexis (it still shocks me a little to think i was that young). And hey, all my kids will be out of High School before i hit 50, cool!

Cool Fall Pics

The manic blogger is back! Wow, Fall came and went in a flash, am i wrong? That is a retorical question. I savored every minute of it, especially those warm days before winter showed up. I tell ya, you can take the girl out of California, but you can't take California out of the girl. I think that my blood has thickened since we have moved here, but clearly not enough.

I don't know if you can tell, but this is a cobweb. Jules found these fascinating and Spence found these facinating to tare to shreds.

Alexis played soccer for the first time this year. It turns out that she was a great goalie, she's like her mother, and truth be told, doesn't like to run. SO this is the perfect position for her. But in the final tournament of the season the coach didn't play here here at all and kept benching the best players. Hey coach why don't you be a little more obvious about wanting your season to be over. FOR THE LOVE!!!

This is a controlled burn that the fire department did. Here is the view from our house. Pretty cool. It was surprisingly loud too. This was taking as it was dying down but it raged for quite a while. Dan took the girls over to get a closer look and i stayed and watched from my upstairs window.

Meet me at the Fair

One last thing and i will be caught up. I have decided that i am a manic blogger. Anyway, in September we went to this fair called the Sandwich Fair. It is a pretty big deal and we ended up seeing people that we knew from all over the western suburbs. This is a classic rural fair with livestock, bunnies for sale,carnival rides, barrell racing, John Deer tractors for sale, arts and crafts on display and even baked goods. My favorite was the wedding cake section. This one made me think of my Dad who loves James Bond. But this cake may be taking it a little too far. It was awesome!

The kids sitting on a John Deer tractor. Spencer loved this section

Little Jules may seem small and helpless but that girls is a daredevil at heart. Alexis was too scared to go on this ride so Julia went on it by herself. And she loved it!

We had a really fun time, walking around, lookng at all of the animals, riding the ferris wheel, eating apple rhubarb pie, and people watching. There was so much to see. We ran into some good friend of ours there and everyone ended up at our house for pizza after. Maybe next year we'll stay for the Tractor Pull.

Pretty in Pink

So you may be wondering what Spencer does all afternoon with both sisters out of his hair. Well his main activity is his nap but he also likes a little relax time on his own. His favorite part of his day though is taking Julia to the bus stop. He is the only boy there with about 6 Kindergarten age girls and their little sisters. Him and Julia started out the year riding their bikes to the bus stop and of course Spence wanted a backpack too but i only had a girl one. So here he was on a pink bike with a pink backpack. That poor kid. Luckily he doesn't seem to care about it at all.

Not a bad bike rider for a 2 1/2 year old.This is him reading a book on my bed. Ahhh, time to himself. Actually the truth is that he misses his sisters a lot when they are not home. And he often asks "Mommy, where's Jewyah, where's Yex?" But it is a chance to have Mommy all to himself and sometimes he'll even say "Mommy, yets cuddle" oh so sweet. I know i better treasure that while it lasts.

Back to School

So the girls went back to school in August. It still seems crazy that Julia is in Kindergarten but she seems to like it. Alexis started 2nd grade and has had a bit of a reality check coming in to it. It seems that "you don't get to do any crafts" in 2nd grade. But she is still doing great and we are trying to suplement that need at home.


Julia couldn't wait for Kindergarten, after telling me everyday last year that preschool was "so boring".



So after she caught the bus i rushed over to the school to see her line up take some more pics, along with a ton of other parents. It's hard to let those little ones go!

After school the girls get to ride home on the bus together. Julia is lucky to have a big sister that takes such good care of her.

The Wedding and the rest of California

OK, this catch up thing is taking me forever. Here is the final pics from our trip and then i will post back- to- school pics tomorrow and be done with it.

So here you go. Beautiful wedding in the Oakland Temple that sits nestled in the Oakland hills. A wonderful day for everybody. Dan with all of his siblings. My daughters as self designated bridesmaids with their cousin, Abby. Spencer, looking bored.

This was such unique chance for my children to see both grandparents at the same time. Our parents have a lot in common and Dan and i really enjoyed hearing them reminisce about their time in Asia and all of the people that they both knew.

Spencer and the girls had a good time with his California Grandparents . The highlight was the pool, of corse, and just hanging out was good too. Spencer helped my Mom wind the clock, but most of all he enjoyed hanging out with my Dad. We discovered that Spencer takes after his Grandpa Steve in that they both read the airplane safety instructions from cover to cover before take off.

Summer - i'm still not done

So the actual event that took us to California this summer was my brother-in-law's wedding. It was like a mini Holt family runion, minus most of the cousins and one spouse. So the day before the wedding all of the siblings (minus the groom) went into the city and walked around. It was a beautiful day and we got to see quite a bit. My kids were exhausted, i guess they aren't accustomed to city life (walking, walking, and more walking). We went from the Embarcadero, to Pier 39, all the way over to China Town. It was great!

Then we rushed back to the "rehearsel dinner" put in quotes because there was no rehearsel involved but it was great to meet Megan's (the bride) family. It was a wonderful night. Here Dan's bro, Dave (aka. the groom) and my new sister-in-law, Megan.