Update....pictures to follow!

Well, I survived our week of camping last week. It was really a lot of fun and the scenery was so beautiful...really a hidden gem in Michigan. The kids had an absolute blast. They are right at home in the great outdoors. They mainly love the unstructured time...playing in the woods, swimming in the lake and playing in the sand, riding bikes. They were still good troopers when we dragged them along to see various little towns and what not, but they made it clear that they would rather be doing other things. We took the fishing poles. Jackson is obsessed with fishing which is amusing since neither Douglas nor I know much about the sport. Our first try at it was a flop. but we went out again another day to a place where the stream from one lake connected to the stream of another and caught fish after fish. They were little fish, but they were fish none the less. Jackson was in heaven. We would just catch them and throw them back, but we had to take a picture with each fish first and Paige always wanted to touch the fish (and it's eyeballs) before throwing it back. She lost her interest in fishing quickly, but sure enjoyed sitting and playing with the box of live worms. She is such a funny little girl. She told me later that day that she would put the worms in her shoes. Yuck!! Thank heavens there were shower facilities at the camp site and I was able to scrub her down every night. She definitely needed it!

The camp ground we stayed at was pretty nice. It was full as many people had the same great idea that we did! We got there Monday with our fingers crossed hoping to find a site to camp for the three nights we would be there. I guess the reservable spots are taken six months ahead of time. I can understand why. I don't mind camping, but always miss the toliets and being able to shower. This site had both and they were nice (for a camp site). The toliets were flushable which is a major plus. Paige has not mastered the art of using the great outdoors as her bathroom, so I was happy she had a bathroom to go to! She always ends up with it on her shoes and legs. Some things are just much harder when you are a girl!!

The kids were great sleepers while we were there. Paige ended up rolling off her mat most nights and just sleeping on the ground. She didn't stir the whole night. They went to bed late each night and got up early in the morning, so by the time the trip was over we had some grumpy kids (especially Jackson ) on our hands. For as well as they slept, I did not! I think I learned my lesson about camping in my at 32 weeks pregnant...DON'T!! I woke up so many times at night so uncomfortable with an aching back and neck. I didn't sleep more than an hour or two at a time. It was one of those times when you just cannot wait for morning to arrive so you don't have to try and sleep anymore. I was so, so happy to get back to my own bed! Oh, and without Douglas' sleep apnea machine, he snores, which didn't help the cause either.

One night we had a great storm too and we learned that our big family tent does not, in fact, hold out the water. Douglas had taken an ambien so he was no help at all when I woke up with a wet bed and blankets. He kind of stared around in slow motion. The kids had wet pillows. It was a mess. I just grabbed dirty clothes and whatever else we weren't using in the tent and used it to soak up the water that was coming in. The kids...slept right through it all, of course. What would it be like to be so care free. So, we are going to have to add that to the list of things we need to purchase when we finish school...a tent that doesn't leak!

The lakes around Sleeping Bear Dunes are so beautiful and clear. They are cold for my liking, but that didn't stop Douglas and the kids. We were about a mile from Lake Michigan. I was surprised to see so many waves and sand. It looked just like the ocean, but not saltly. The kids LOVED playing in the lake. We were also close to an area where a river dumped into the lake and that was fun to play at too. The river was flowing slowly and the kids would run between the river and lake. Douglas buried them in the sand, they dug around and I sat and watched. Haha!! Thank heavens for dads who will get out and play with the kids!

We drove out to this cute little town called Frankfurt. There was a long pier there you could walk on to get out to a light house. It was so foggy that we didn't even know the lighthouse was there until we were almost down the length of the pier. It was a long walk down to it too. I guess, technically, it wasn't even a pier. I don't know what the correct term would be.

A few days have passed since I started this. Sometimes it is so hard to find uninterrupted time to complete a letter. Douglas took the kids camping last night and I have been home all alone since about 3pm yesterday. It has been so nice!! It is unusual that I get to stay at home without kids. I spent time cleaning up without distraction and invited some people from the ward to come and watch a movie last night. We watched "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a day". I really love that movie. It is so cute. And, I didn't even get up until 9am this morning. Hooray to uninterrupted sleep. That does not happen often. I am in my workout clothes with plans to go and walk in a bit. Some days I just feel energy-less so it really takes motivation to get out the door! The weather has been so nice here lately though so it is really enjoyable...once I make myself go!!

So, trying to remember where I was on out trip...after Frankfurt we just drove around to look at all the beautiful lakes and places that were all so close together. It is a beautiful area. Douglas and I talked about coming out again some day. Next time I think we will rent a little cottage or something, but we all really enjoyed the area.

Funny story...on the way to camping I realized that I had forgotten to pack Paige a sweatshirt. I assumed it would get cold at night and it would be a necessity, so as soon as we got there and got all the stuff out of the car, I headed to the nearest big/little town to the walmart. It took me 45 minutes each way. The kicker of it all though was when I stopped at the little service station only 2 minutes from our campsite on the way home. I was just going to pick up wood, but when I walked in it was a huge country store with clothing and everything I had just driven so far to buy!! Haha!! Guess I should have checked there first before assuming they wouldn't carry stuff like that! Oh, and it never got cold enough to need the sweatshirts either!!

On Wednesday evening we got most of our stuff packed up and ready to head out the next morning. Packing up is the worst part of most events, especially packing. It takes so long! We had a very full load too...the back of the car, top and bikes hanging off the back. Douglas did a great job packing it and got everything to fit though!

On Thurdsday morning we were off fairly early. We got the tent all folded up and were on our way. We stopped at McDonalds to get breakfast so we wouldn't have to fuss with that in the morning. By Thursday morning Jackson was acting like a bit of a terrorist. He was tired and mean!! I was tempted to leave him at McDonalds :)!! He kept up the attitude most of the day. I cut him a little slack because I know he doesn't function well when tired, but I was so excited to get him home and well rested again. I wish the kids would learn the art of sleeping in. It would make those late camping nights more tolerable.

We drove out to Mackinaw City. It wasn't too far...2.5 hours or so. We got there and got our tickets to take the ferry out to Mackinac Island (also pronounced Mackinaw). Man, those tickets were a RIP OFF. I guess they can charge what they want since there is no other way to get out to the island! We took our bikes with us so we could get around when we got there. I am so glad we did. The ferry ride was actually quite relaxing. In fact, both kids fell asleep on the ferry ride back! We spent our time on the island riding around, hiking a bit, sampling fudge, eating lunch. I finally hit my wall while we were there. I was exhausted. My legs hurt. I couldn't go any farther. So, we headed home. It was so nice when we got into the car and realized that we only had a 4 hour drive to get home. I had assumed it was 6-8 hours. It was such a relief to me to know we would get back at a more reasonable time and get the kids in their bed and me in mine!!!

So that is the brief run down on our trip. We have been fairly low key since then, thank heavens. Jackson and D start school this coming Tuesday and it will be nice to get them on a schedule again....and ME! I am just excited to begin Douglas' last year and be on our way to finishing school and moving on. The next months will be a whirlwind with the baby, house hunting, holidays etc. I am already dreading the snow, but trying to be excited about the fall coming up and all the great things fall has to offer.

An Update...

I just put a pan of brownies in the oven to cook, so I thought I would take the few minutes while they are in there to write. We are heading out to a bbq that some other business school students are hosting and I needed something to take to share. I didn't want to go to the store, so brownies it is. I guess sweets are always welcome at parties. It looks as though it will rain this afternoon, so it will be interesting to see if the party is still on or not. Hopefully their house can accomodate a group. Adults are never a problem, but sometimes it gets a bit overwhelming with kids. We have the oldest kids by far though so if we can keep ours under control things seem to be okay.

The baby has turned somehow so his feet push on my bladder whenever he moves. It is very uncomfortable and every time he moves I feel like I will wet my pants. Not a great feeling!! Earlier this week, when I went for my checkup, his head was down and feet in my ribs. I will take that over this! I guess he still has room to move enough so that he twists and turns a lot. He was not a very active little fella until just the past few weeks and now he never stops moving. It is a reassuring feeling, but a little crazy at night when I am trying to settle down. Douglas and I have been discussing names a little bit...such a hard choice. There are a lot of good names out there, I just don't want to name my son a lot of them. It will come together when it has to, I guess.

I went with my friend Beth to the baby store today and picked up a car seat. I wish I didn't get so anxious about having everything together, but I do. I know I have two months, but it stresses me out to wait until the last moment. I feel like once school starts (September 6th) the time will just fly by.

Speaking of school, surprisingly enough Jackson has mentioned many times how excited he is to start school again. I am glad he is feeling that way. I think he feels pretty grown up with the idea of being in 1st grade. I really hope he makes some good little friends in his class this year. He loves having friends to play with and it was kind of slim pickings this year. Paige has so many friends in the neighborhood that she can play with and Jackson has very few. I let him call up one little boy this week and have him come and play and Jackson was in heaven. I think part of it is my problem since I feel so uncomfortable calling parents that I don't know. I don't feel comfortable sending my kids over to people's houses if I don't know the parents well, but I am beginning to think that may be my issue more than anything.

I decided that I wanted to bottle salsa this week. I had done some two summers ago when we were in Santa Clara and we really enjoyed it. My problem is that I always overdo it. Instead of buying just one box of tomatoes, I got two which turned out to be a lot of salsa and a lot of work! Luckily my friend Beth came and helped in the morning and then Douglas was a big help too. He set up an "outdoor kitchen" for me to work in so I wouldn't have to get so hot in the house. He put his big propane camp stove up, an extra table, chairs to sit on and fans to keep me kind of cool. It worked out really slick. It took all day, but we got it done. I tried a new recipe, so I am really hoping I like how it turned out. Oh, I forgot to mention that he put his big screened canopy up over the table to keep the sun, bugs and mosquitos out.

The mosquitoes have been SO bad this last month. I can't let my kids outside without putting bug spray on them and then they still get eaten alive. Douglas sprayed some sort of mosquito killer in the yard earlier this week though and it seems to have helped a lot. Hooray! I went out to cut the boys hair yesterday evening and didn't get a single bite which is unheard of lately. I guess they have been really bad this year because of the wet winter and they don't do anything to control them. I hate mosquitoes. The kids will wake at night scratching themselves to death. Paige got about 8 on one side of her forehead and one on the inside of her eye...all at one trip outside last week!

It has been so, so nice to have Douglas home again. He got home a week ago and since then have had a really great time as a family. It has been nice that he didn't have to go right back to school. We have been on many bike rides and outing, barbecued most of the week, cleaned out the garage, watched movies. It has been so fun. We leave on Monday morning for our camping trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park. We have heard so many great things about it and can't wait to see it. It sits up against huge sand dunes that border Lake Michigan. The water is supposedly warm, clear, and great to play in. I think the kids will have an amazing time. We will stay there Mon-Wed and then we will drive to Mackinaw Island which is between the lower and upper peninsula of Michigan. Want to know what is crazy?? I had no idea there was an upper and lower peninsula to Michigan before we moved here!! I am excited to check Mackinaw out. You take a ferry over and there are no cars on the island...just horse drawn carriages, bikes and the like. Also, I hear they make amazing fudge up there...YUM!! I love fudge! We will just stay there for a day and then drive home that evening. It is about an eight hour drive from there to Ann Arbor. Long, but not horrible, especially if I am not doing it alone!

So, our very exciting news is that Douglas was offered a job by the company he interned with this summer. This is a very happy thing for us since Douglas really feels like he fits in there and they respect him a lot. The offer was way better than we had hoped for and it will be so nice to have benefits again...health insurance, signing bonus, moving services. I am so happy they pay to pack us and move us. Woohoo!! I hate packing!! They must have really liked Douglas because they sent the kids and me an "edible arrangement" last Saturday to thank the three of us for letting Douglas come and work for them. It was this cute "floral" arrangement made of fruits...strawberries, pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew. It was yummy. The three of us gorged ourselves on fruit right after it came. It was so kind of them to think of us. They are also flying the whole family out there in a couple of weeks so that they can meet us and take me on a tour of a mine. They pay to fly us, put us in a hotel, feed us, etc. It will be nice to be wined and dined! I am 98% sure Douglas will accept the offer which means that next June St. Louis will be our home. I am okay with St. Louis, but sad that it is so far from all my family. I am really proud of Douglas for doing such a great job this summer. There are not many people who are offered a job so soon after their internship.

We have been spending a lot of time bike riding lately. A family in the ward gave us a little bike that attaches to the back of Douglas' bike and Paige can ride that while J and I ride our bikes. It allows us to take real bike rides which has been fun. We went out yesterday and rode along side the lake. Jackson whined most of the time, but hopefully the stronger he gets, the more he will enjoy it.

The Last Few Days in St. Louie....

On Thursday we went to a place called the "Magic House". It was one of the most fun kids play places we have ever been to. It was four stories in an enormous remodeled house. It was kind of pricey so I was thrilled when once again, they accepted my museum pass and we got in for free. That pass has payed off many times over. I would have to say this was the most fun the kids had the whole week. They begged to go back every other day we were there. We did end up taking them back on Saturday and they had a great time again.

This was the giant beanstalk. The kids LOVED it. I think Paige would have stayed in it the entire time. It followed the stairs so I would walk up and down the stairs following their crawling. It went up all four floors so it kept them busy.

This was a fun toy. It would suck things up, move them all around and then shoot them out.

This was the huge bubble maker. You stand in the middle and pull the bubble up around you.



These three pulleys let the kids test the difference between the number of pulley points.

This was one of those nail plate things where you make impressions. Can you make out Paige's face in the bottom. It was hard to get the other kids to leave it alone long enough to take a picture!

A huge slide down the four floors of the building. The kids went down this thing about 10 times in a row.



The static electricity ball. It was hard to tell on J because his hair was so short.

Paige couldn't quite reach so Jackson had to touch it and hold her hand.


The museum has a huge pretend play area. Paige was in heaven. I was shocked the Jackson enjoyed it so much too. There was an auto shop, ice cream stand, grocery store, house, fishing pond, tree house, library, bank, restaurant, dr.'s office. It was so cute and fun. All of the different places were filled with things for the kids to play with. I sat for a good two hours while they played.

Paige "checking out" at the grocery store.

The house.

Ice cream stand.

auto mechanic shop

Restaurant

Dr. office. This is the other place that Paige really loved. At all the different places we went she was always drawn to the dr. offices. Here she is weighing her baby.

And, here we have the infamous City Museum. We came here on Friday. It was a pretty amazing place, but the Paige was too young, it was too crowded, too expensive, hard to find your children, and I was tired and hormonal. After about an hour I was in tears after having lost Paige for the second time (or, more specifically, she ran off because she didn't want to do what J did). I composed myself and went to the front desk to see if I could get my money back. The second I started talking I burst into tears. I think the people were so taken aback by the pregnant lady. They not only gave me my money back, but also gave me two passes to get in for free.

See that bus on the top of the building....it is a real bus. This just gives you an idea of the size of this place. They had an old airplane to climb through, a whole caving system inside. It was pretty amazing especially for older kids.


This is the famous custard place (that I may or may not have visited numerous times in my week there). It was always PACKED!!
The famous St. Louis arch. We came here on Saturday. It is just down the street from Douglas' office. The weather, luckily, was really nice.

It was marine week downtown and there were a lot of people, marines, and equipment by the arch. It was really interesting. I love seeing the kids with their daddy. I haven't seen this site enough this summer.

Here we are waiting in line to take the pods up to the top of the arch. They had some interesting things to see and read about while we waited. It was nice to have something to keep the kids occupied.



Here the kids are in the pod.

Only four people fit in them and you could feel it following the arch up to the top. I have to admit, that being at the top of the arch made me really nervous. It was pretty narrow with small windows overlooking the river and downtown. I could barely look out the windows without feeling sick. The kids, of course, had no problem with heights. I was ready to go after only a minute or two.

Here Douglas and the kids are looking out over the city.


The windows actually had a latch that technically anyone could open. That freaked me out even more.

Here is a cute little family shot.

After our trip up the arch we took some time to look at all the things the marines had out...boats, helicopters etc. They let people go onto the different things and learn about them. It was pretty cool.





And, of course, Paige had to dance a little while she was in line...always putting on a show.



Later that afternoon we took the kids back to the Magic House. Paige spent almost all her time in the construction zone. She wore full costume the entire time too. Douglas and Jackson went around together and explored.


...and then back to the dr.'s office. She couldn't get enough of it.
Later that evening we went out to my friend Yvonne's house where they treated us to a very yummy dinner and then I took family pictures for them. It was a great evening minus getting totally eaten alive by mosquitos, even after putting on bug spray. I was covered. Yuck!

...and with that we wrap up our adventures in St. Louis.