Kjersti & Seth Trader

 My sweet little sister, Kjersti, got married in the Newport Beach LDS Temple on August 17, 2013.  It was such a special day for her.  I was blessed to be able to fly over for the wedding and be apart of her special day. She was beautiful. she was smiles.   She was calm.  She was spiritual.  She was one happy bride.  Kjersti and Seth were meant to be together.  They are such a cute couple and compliment each other.   I am excited to have a new brother-in-law, and know he will make my sister so happy.  Congratulations to a beautiful couple.


I flew to California the Thursday before the wedding, all my myself.  Leif had to stay back to work, and be a daddy.   I was sad to leave my family in Florida, but excited to be with my parents and siblings.  On Thursday we went to the temple then visited the boardwalk for dinner and the sunset. I enjoyed watching Kjersti and Seth together so happy.  It was fun watching Amy being a mother to such a cute little one-year-old.  And I loved my parents face as they watched their "posterity" interacting.

On Friday everyone meet at the beach to have a BEACH DAY.  It was a fun and relaxing day.  But I  realized 2 things. 
#1 I need to stop complaining about Florida Beaches being too hot and shelly.   The California water was so cold.  The sand was hard and there weren't any sea-shells.  Being there make me appreciate what I already had.
 # 2 Beaches are always better with family.  It didn't matter that the water was cold.  We had so much fun playing in the water, passing the volley-ball, body-boarding, building castles, and just talking.  I thought I was going to get some reading done, but we all just had too much fun.

Friday night we had a little "Girls Night" where we all gave KJ her presents and then went to pizza.  Daryn and I also got some presents for our growing babies.  Daryn and I are 6 weeks apart.  She is having a little girl and we are so excited that our babies will be close in age.

 
Saturday  morning Kjersti became Mrs. Seth Trader.  It was a beautiful wedding.  They were both so happy.  It was fun watching them smile at each other and hold hands.  It made me think back to when Leif & I were married.  How excited I am for them to start this new and fun chapter in their lives.  

 

PLAY DATES

ONE THING I LOVE ABOUT BEING A MOTEHR IS PLAY-DATES.  In our ward we have about a dozen other stay-at-home-mommies who all enjoy getting together on a weekly basis. 

 (There are other Mommies I meet at random places who have also become great play-date-friends.) I look forward to these play-dates where my kids can have fun, and I can get some social interaction.  This summer has flown by due to all the AWESOME Play-Dates the twins and I have been on.  We truly enjoy our friends and all the adventures.  

The Lowery Park Zoo

 

 

Here are some pictures of the summer fun we have been having.    

Going for a tour at the Seminole Fire Station.

Riding in a Fire Truck

Going to Heritage Village and learning about Florida History (plus finding a frog)

Having a Pioneer Day Picnic.

Swimming... Swimming.... Swimming

   Story Time at Weeden State Preserve

Now that Summer is officially over, we are back to more Story Times, reading, and starting a friend pre-school.

Getting Bigger

Everyone keeps asking how the pregnancy is going???  It is going GREAT.  I feel our little boy moving each around each day.  I have enough energy to still keep the twins active.  The placenta has moved up!  And since I can't work out, I have read some great books http://rachellovesreading.blogspot.com/  Best of all.. the belly is finally looking like a pregnant belly, and not just full. 

Daddy Time

Leif's schedule for August is normal.  Which means he gets the weekends off. YA!!!!  We therefore were able to have some "play time" with Daddy.  One weekend we played tennis and went to the splash park.  The next weekend we played in the sprinklers, baby-pool, and big pool.  Both weekend we went to church and had a movie night.  I can't wait for the day when Leif has a normal (whatever that means) schedule.  It is so nice to have him around.

 

 

 

 

scouts

 

Back in June Leif & I were called to be the Cub Scout Leaders for our ward.  I was released from Activity Days (8-11 year old girls) and put with these 8-11 year old boys.  And what a difference.  These boys are Active, Crazy, Sensitive, Competitive, and Aren't Afraid to Make Bodily Noises!!!!  It has truly been an adventure. 

Because of the boys personalities, we try to have activity that require movement.  But somehow after only 60 minutes of Cub Scouts... we are always tired.  The twins have grown to love Cub Scouts.  Micah & Savannah always participate in our activities and the boys treat them as equals.  It has been a fun couple of months.

 

We went swimming with the boys last week and passed off our swimming achievements.

Love these twins

These babies are growing up WAY to fast.  The are now 3 years and 3 months.  They are so entertaining, smart, spiritual, funny, and fun.  I have SOOO much fun staying home with them every day.  Being a stay-at-home-mommy is the hardest and most rewarding job ever.  I sure do love these little guys.

Here are some pictures and quotes from the twins.

 Micah, "Mommy, I a monster.... a nice monster... RAAAAA."

Savannah, "Micah I will show you how to go pee...see...like this."

Micah, "Hi mommy, I am Daddy."

Savannah, "Shh Mommy, we are sleeping."

 Savannah, "Mommy your belly is big. Go have the baby now."

Micah, "Can I take my dog to the dog park?"

 

 

 

beach trip

Some friends and I took our kids to "Sunset at Pier 60" on Friday night.  They just put in a indoor surfing machine that was so fun for the twins to watch.  After watching everyone "fall down!" we headed to the beach.  The kids go dirty and wet.  The sun set.  The weather was perfect.  We watched some performers. Then it rained.  So we went home and ate left over Chick-fil-a.  It was  a great way to spend the evening.

 

  

19 Weeks

July 15th was our 19 week appointment along with the anatomy ultrasound.  So ,the whole family came as we knew we would find out the sex of our little baby.  The first thing the Ultrasound Tec asked was if we wanted to know the sex.  We were.  So, she put the gel on my tummy and within the first minute she had "found" out what it was.  We are having a little BOY. 

Leif and I are both so excited.  Deep inside we both wanted a little boy.  Micah was all smiles when he saw it was a boy.  But little Savannah started to cry.  I'm not sure if she was crying because she had cookies on her fingers or if she really wanted a sister.  BUT I know Micah will have sure have fun playing with a little brother.  And I know Savannah will try to take care of this little boy.  We are ALL so excited to have a little boy in our family. 

The rest of the appointment went great.  Our boy is growing good, measuring fine, had a good heart-beat, and a perfect profile. We are so excited to meet our little man in 20 weeks.    

We are so excited to have a little boy in our family.   Welcome little man.

Cow appreciation day

Every day is special for something.  And July 12 is "Cow Appreciation Day".  So to honor this special day, Chick- Fil-A gives you a FREE meal if you dress like a cow.  So that is just what we did.   We invited all our friends and has a wonderful FREE breakfast and lunch.  Thanks Chick-Fil-A!!!! 

Lunch

Breakfast

Happy 7-11

On 7-11-2013 we took advantage of a FREE 7-Eleven slurpee!!  This was the twins' first slurpee ever.  And it was good.

Happy 4th of JULY

So poor Leif has to work 2 weeks of Nights at the Hospital.  It is hard on him and hard on us.  We try to be gone during the day so he can sleep.  When he comes home in the morning we only get to see him for 30 minutes before he goes to bed.  Therefore the twins and I have been having a lot of fun two-on-one time.  And yes, Leif had to work nights.  So we made the best of it!!!

 Us on June 30th going to church in our "Red white and Blue".  Thanks Mom for always dressing us up as kids... now it just come first nature to me.


On the 4th of July the twins and I went to a parade in Safety Harbor with some new friends.  There is a couple, Jenny & Eric, that just moved into the ward who are 1st year residents.  I really like them and think we will become great friends (it's always nice to have someone who really understands residency life).  Well her husband worked so we got to hang out together.

After the Parade we went home for naps and then headed to Largo Central park for Fireworks.  I knew it was going to be bad traffic, so I pulled the twins on my bike.  Well... as soon as we got there, it started to down-poor.  SO we waited under a shelter for 20 minutes until it stopped.  THEN we called Jenny who let us come over to her hotel and watch the fireworks for the window.  (They are living in a hotel until their house closes.) 

The twins had so much fun at the hotel and truly enjoyed the fireworks.  It was so cute to hear all their little comments about the show.