35 Weeks and Lots of Fun

Here is the baby bump (mound) at 35 weeks.
Last week for playgroup we went to Bauman Orchards to pick some yummy apples.
Jen and Ava met up with us, which was such a nice treat since we haven't seen each other in forever. The girls were very happy to be together but Ava was missing her boyfriend, Morgan. That's what you get for liking older men who go to preschool:)

Ava and Megan enjoying the farm animals. Pepper took one look at them and didn't want to get out of the wagon. Not a fan of farm animals I guess.

Pepper was so freaked out by the animals I barely convinced her to walk through the hay bale maze once. I couldn't even get her on the slide. Now you know how scared she was.

Pepper was much happier outside the barn helping me pick apples.

And of course eating them.

The girls with our spoils.

This was the best shot I could get of these two. Great smiles but too bad no one wants to look at me.

Pepper and Ava enjoying their treat for being such good helpers, little apple shaped bottles of fresh apple juice. Yummy!

Now, I just need enough energy to make a really delicious fresh apple pie!

Last Saturday morning, the 24th, we loaded up the kids plus Abby and Ben and headed downtown to do the Akron Marathon Kids Fun Run.

All the kids were super excited as you can tell. We were worried it would rain but it ended up being a beautiful morning.

Since the little ones and strollers go last, the race had some entertainment for the little kids. Pepper joined right in because she wanted to get closer to the "ballerina."

Marching along.

Morgan was too shy to join but had to give his sister instructions, like always!

Becky was part of a relay team and joined us just in time for our little race to start.

Finally, it was time to take off and boy did Pepper take off!

Everyone was excited to start running.

However, Ben didn't last too long and was back in the stroller with me for a nice slow walk through the one mile race.

Good form Morgan.

Here's a video Cody took of the kids running. Unfortunately, I had the camera most of the time and was so far behind everyone that I didn't catch anyone crossing the finish line and getting their medals. Pepper was super excited though and on the way to church on Sunday kept telling me that she had run a race and got a medal.:

After the race, the kids got their goodie bags and treats and we all sat down to enjoy the musical stylings of Zobapago, a local children's band.

Pepper caught sight of the ballerina again and didn't let go of her till we finally had to drag her away. Here's a video of them dancing together:

After the break, we had to walk back through the course to get to our cars at the starting line. By the time it was all done I was exhausted and having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions. I decided to take it easy the rest of the day because my mom comes next week and I am going to try my best to keep this baby inside until she gets here!

Sunday afternoon, we tackled some projects in the basement trying to find all our baby stuff and get prepared. We also brought the pool inside and filled it with balls. Pepper was quite happy about this and also about me taking her picture.

Pepper trying to be the photographer.

Cheesy, cheesy.

Morgan wanted his picture taken as well but has a hard time standing still. It is hard when you have such awesome Jedi skills.

So that was last week, good times but I'm still tired thinking about it!

Morgan's 1st Day of School + 7yrs of Marriage Celebrations

So fall is officially upon us here in Northeast Ohio and I must admit I am rather enjoying it. The wet weather is not my favorite but I love going for walks with the kids and not feeling miserable (pregnant waddle aside).
Last Tuesday we went to meet Cody for lunch at Smuckers one last time before Morgan started preschool and wouldn't be able to go anymore. This was how they looked when we got home and were "hiding" in the door.

The next day, Wed. Sept. 14th was Morgan's first official day of 4yr preschool. He will be going every morning from 9-11:30. His school, Woodland Preschool, was just voted one of the Top 10 Preschools in Akron. I'm so glad we live so close to such a great school with amazing teachers and staff! I asked Morgan to pose for a "first day" picture and Pepper insisted on going first.

Looking good Pepper!

My big, big boy!

My kids who insist on dressing themselves if you couldn't tell. Yes, those are sparkly Christmas socks Morgan is wearing with his new Clone Wars shoes.

This past Sunday, the 18th was our 7th wedding anniversary. On Thursday night, Cody brought me home this beautiful bouquet of roses. Cody has always been so good about bringing me flowers on special occassions and I never seem to remember he's going to do it. Such a good hubby I have!

He brought them home on Thursday night, because Friday afternoon the kids and I picked Cody up from work early and headed to Columbus. Cody's cousin, Robin, and her family met us at the temple and were kind enough to take our kids home for the night. So Cody and I checked into our hotel, got milkshakes and went to see a movie, The Help. Such a lovely, lovely date night!

Saturday morning we had a big, yummy breakfast then headed back to the beautiful Columbus Temple to do some sealings. Such a great way to celebrate your marriage and wedding day!

This is me not knowing how to pose and feeling uncomfortable in front of the camera as always.

Showing off my 34 week belly with a fantastic backdrop.

I keep thinking I don't look that big till I catch my reflection somewhere. Yep, I'm that big!

The happy couple after all these years

(and yes I was being sarcastic because I realize 7 is still only the beginning.)

After the temple, we headed over to Robin's house to hang out with everyone for the rest of the afternoon then head home. Not surprised to find this when we got there. They were having an epic lightsaber battle on the trampoline. Thank you, Aaron, for being such a great sparring partner for Morgan!

Morgan showing off his jedi skills and Aaron probably nursing his most recent wound.

Andy was nice enough to wake Pepper up early from her nap so we could all play together. She really liked playing with Uncle Cody; who doesn't?!

Later we found Aaron and Morgan defending the home from invaders. Not sure if that is a common problem but I know I felt much safer.

Pepper joined the watch.

After a very yummy pizza dinner, we packed up the kids and headed home. We needed to be home for church on Sunday because it was Morgan's first primary program as a Sunbeam. He did a great job speaking his line, sitting with his class and singing the songs. I was sitting with my primary class and couldn't see him very well but a lot of people said he was quite entertaining. I wouldn't expect anything less from my son!

Cody and I are so grateful for our family that live close by and are willing to help us, even with last minute notice. My kids had the best time and can't wait to get back together with their new cousins again! We are also so grateful for our marriage and the knowledge that we get to be together with our family for time and all eternity!

I love you Cody; you are and always will be my favorite!

Super Labor Day Weekend

Before I launch into our fabulous Labor Day Weekend pics and stories, I just wanted to catch up on the end of August. The last playgroup activity for August we went to a sprinkler park in Barberton. We got there a little early to let the kids play on the playground and hopefully warm up. It was a bit on the chilly side.
Morgan was immediately stoked about the whole thing and spent most of his time in the water. Pepper did ok but a lot of the other kids felt how chilly the water was and were more interested in the playground. At least they had options and we had the whole place to ourselves.

Krista trying to get the girls, Pepper and Sophie to check the water out.

That is a whole lot of freezing cold water. Brave boy.

I only convinced Halle to try out the water again by promising to take her picture.

What a girl will do to get her picture taken.

Another library storytime, this time the kids worked on some colorful paintings.

Ok, so now on to our Labor Day weekend. On Saturday morning we drove to Cody's cousin, Robin's, house near Dayton. She and her family just moved here in June and we are so excited to have more family nearby. We got there around lunch time on a VERY hot afternoon. But that didn't stop the kids from heading outside to jump on the awesome trampoline.

Gotta love Pepper's awesome hair! Robin's hubby Chris supervising the crazy kids.

Khan's family also came up later in the day. That is Kegan getting some serious air.

The three other girls watching Pepper jump.

Our best group shot. Starting from the left: Ali (13), Morgan (4), William (5), Aaron (10), Pepper (2), Kegan (12), Karissa (16) and Andy (6). The two missing are Theron (18) who stayed home to work and Antonio (15) who must have been inside trying to escape the madness.

I know it is blurry but I love the various stages of flying and falling in this picture.

Cody took all these fun pictures while I sat inside in the comfy coolness chatting with Robin and Joanna. I cannot tell you how excited we all are to live near each other. None of our families have lived near extended family before and we are all so happy that for the most part the kids are all close in age. Pepper is a little young, but luckily she is so darn cute everyone was constantly playing with her and entertaining her. I barely saw my kids the whole time we were there. Perfect!

Karissa's 16th bday was on Wednesday but since we were all together we had a little celebration for her. It is not easy to get a picture of Karissa and I'm sure she would not be happy with this one:)

By this time of night Morgan, William, Aaron and Kegan had not stopped running, jumping and playing lightsaber battles. They were the four sweatiest boys. It was kind of gross and amazing at the same time.

Nice cheesy grin from Pepper. And surprise, surprise she's sitting in Ali's lap. I don't think Pepper walked much the whole time we were there either between Ali and Antonio. I need those two to live much closer!

Youtube always draws a crowd. And this is finally Antonio in a picture.

Pepper with her new best friend.

I had to showcase the crazy wallpaper in Ali's bedroom that she graciously let us use. Robin's house was previously owned by some pretty eccentric people who had a little too much money and time on their hands. It was an awesome house though with lots of room for the kids to run and play while the parents could sit and chat and actually play some fun games.

But seriously, isn't that the craziest wallpaper?! And it was only just a taste of what the other bedrooms had as well.

Sunday afternoon, after sacrement meeting, we all drove down to Khan's house to hang out and for us to spend the night. Khan's work just moved into a brand new building that overlooks the river in Cincinnatti. Every Labor Day the city sets off an amazing fireworks show on the river and Khan's office let people (13 and older) come watch in comfort. It was AWESOME! We all hung out in the kitchen area, ate pizza and watched the fireworks that were eye level with us. Meanwhile all the poor suckers outside were standing in the pouring rain. I never want to watch fireworks another way again.

Those lights at the bottom were on top of the water. Such a cool effect. We were on the 25th floor so most of the fireworks were eye level but we could see all the way to the river and above so we saw everything.

A shot of me at 32 weeks. Not the best shot but you can see the belly pretty well.

Better shot of me but not the belly.

We had such a fun night and weekend. Monday morning, Khan, Cody and Theron went shooting with the priesthood in their ward while Joanna and I hung out with the kids. Pepper had had an allergic/asthma attack during the night and woke up with a puffy face but after some benadryl and a blessing she was just fine. So besides that little hiccup, we had a fantastic weekend getting to know more of our family and having fun with everyone. We can't wait to get together again.