My Trip to Arizona

I had a strong desire to go to Arizona for months but couldn't figure out how to do it but I finally hatched a plan. My mom flew here on a Tuesday and stayed to help me do a few things till Monday when we drove all day to her house. Tuesday, my sisters kids came and we swam and played. Wednesday, the kids and I drove to the valley to play with Oma and Papa. 

Little Brother likes to follow papa around like a sweet little puppy and I think it's so adorable! We swam, hung out, had a forced nap which brother fought for about an hour before screaming himself to sleep. Literally, he closed his eyes, fell on the pillow, screamed a few more small screams then was gone. The kids helped Oma make cookies, Papa helped put brother to bed at night, and in general it was a great visit except for the day I threw up then felt crummy the rest of the day.

Saturday was the 24th of July celebration with a parade and fireworks show. The parade was so-so because there wasn't any music and I think some of the floats had run out of candy by the time they got to us but that was kind of ok because I guess kids aren't supposed to have a ton of candy....? Just kidding.

The fireworks show took WAY too long to start but once it did it was pretty cool. I haven't seen fireworks that close since highschool and it was pretty fun except for when they started LittleBrother started booking it away from the sound and Honey was scared. I ran after LittleBrother and tried to hold him and cover his ears but it wasn't working. Luckily, Papa came and got him and worked his Papa magic on him and got him to enjoy the show. Oma did the same for Honey and after only about 3 minutes everyone was happy.

Sunday morning, we drove back to Grammy and Grumpys house for church. Sacrament meeting was rough and I gained a strong appreciation for GoodLooking and his great LittleBrother wrangling skills. After that I got 2 hours sans kids. When we got home after church almost all my family was at moms house (my brother was a little late). It was great being able to see them all at once and interact and I met all of their special someone's. 

Monday morning, mom and I went to Phoenix to get our hairs did and it was great! 

Tuesday, we went swimming I think... With my sister then got our nails did. 

Wednesday, we had a BBQ which was a lot of fun. Up to this point in Honeys life, I had been trying to get her to jump in the pool. No incentives worked, then I came out to swim and she says "mom look" and just jumps in like it was nothing. I asked around and no one had done anything she just decided it was time I guess. My brother had a good time throwing the kids around and the food was good and company was great.

Thursday, we packed up and drove back to Oma's house and early Friday morning I picked up Sunshine and we drove to Texas. It was a great drive and we split it into two days and got to swim in the hotel pool. We got home in time for a late lunch.

Mom helped can peaches

Just a funny sign in New Mexico

The way he sleeps is fun

Riding with Papa

A cheesy smile

They called this sitting on the potty

Bedtime stories with Papa

Little update

We found out we are having a GIRL! I'm relieved as a girl is what I wanted really bad.  My sister asked if I was going to do anything fun as a reveal and I said I wanted to and we decided she would send me a piñata after she got the news from the tech that did the ultrasound. Well, I had my appointment on a Friday morning and that afternoon there was a guest at the door. All I could see through the peephole was pink and purple balloons and I thought someone had the wrong house and was maybe trying to find a birthday party. I can be so clueless sometimes. IT WAS MY SISTER! She flew in to surprise me with a gender reveal! I almost sobbed like a baby but held it in because once I start I ugly cry for hours.

She got to stay till Sunday morning and boy it was great. 

A week later we drove to Colorado to hang out with GoodLookings family. We had a weenie roast, did a lot of hanging out, talking, and playing games, I got locked outside one night so was sick and tired the next day, hiked a trail around a pretty lake, parks, splash pads, and just all around a great time. It sure was hard to come back home. The temps were a perfect 70's and 50's at night no humidity. On our way home we stopped in A small town in Texas for pizza and took it to a park. It was HOT and HUMID! And mosquitos were HUGE! We still ate and let the kids play then got back on the road. 

Little brother had a haircut.

I'm pregnant

It's true and I've been miserable. I am 14.5 weeks now and I think maybe getting some energy and becoming less sick. 

Little Brither has a cast on his left leg for 2 more weeks. And he is 2 years old now.

Honey will go to preschool in September and she and I are super excited. 

GoodLooking has been in his MBA program for almost a year now. He enjoys playing basketball once a week and playing with his kids as much as he can. 

And that's what we all look like these days. 

FASTER

I have been training for a 10k on Halloween. It's been going really well the last month. I have posted all these photos on Instagram but I know some readers on the blog don't have IG so I will post them here now. 

I thought that as I increased my distance the average pace would get slower but the opposite has been true. I don't know how but I am proud of it! And I think I am faster not on the treadmill so I think I'm going to kill my goal time. I also looked up my 10k time from last year that I don't really count because I know I wasn't ready for it but that time was 1 hr 26 min. It was painful, hot (beginning of sept), and I have had issues with plantar fasciitis ever since. 

I have been walking for 5 minutes, stretching, then starting out slow and gradually speeding up. 

It's going well and I feel good.

Allergy recovery

After 3 days and the swelling swallowing my whole upper arm and a little past my elbow, the swelling is down but it's still intensely itchy at times.

On Friday we drove out of town after GoodLooking got off work. We stopped by the outlets to get me new running shoes.

I now wear a 10.5. I do buy my running shoes a LITTLE big so my toes don't touch at all but when I got married I wore a size 8.5 or 9.  

We also stopped by Oshkosh for some kid clothes. I set a budget before we walked in and it's a good thing! $15 per kid. Little brother got overalls and Honey got 2 shirts and a pair of jeans. She's really been wanting some sparkly princess shoes but even with the sale they were having they were $17.  For the kids' clothes I've always bought a garbage sack for say $25 from someone off of FB classifieds or something to that extent but I really wanted something NOT previously worn for both of them. 

Then we went to Tyler to spend the night in a FREE hotel room. 

Saturday we went to Canton, Tx for the largest swap meet ever. It was huge but also really hot and humid and the previous night Little Brother fell off the bed so everyone was tired and cranky so we only walked around for 2 hours. We went to a grocery store for lunch which was actually really good and got frozen slices of pie for dessert (from the freezer section) then headed home to watch BYU win in s Hail Mary and finish the night with Harry Potter.

Allergy Update

Last Wednesday I experienced what is called RUSH immunology. I received 4 of 7 shots of a serum containing essence of what I'm allergic to (grasses, trees, cat, horse). After the fourth shot and a short waiting period the doctor said to stop because the injection site had swollen slightly and I was getting flushed in the face and congested. I thought "I feel fine let's keep going" but they insisted and good thing too because that night after scratching desperately at my head, hands, and stomach I had the call that doctors cell phone and he told me to take a Zyrtec and doxepin. The next morning, my ears and hands were swollen and red. Fast forward to right now and I feel fine.

Oh and my eyes were swollen.

Here's what they normally look like

And my swollen hand

And here's one for reference

Whoa! Good thing we stopped and got me a shot of epinephrine.