where'd summer go?

So, Kari has accused me of abandoning this blog for my own. Funny enough, I think I've just pretty much been lazy with both these past few months. You guys just have way more exciting stuff going on... I'm so excited for all the babies :) Anyway, to prove my loyalty, I'm posting these pictures here first... :)

A few weeks ago we did make it to another Brett Dennen show. He was actually opening for John Mayer. Colbie Caillat also opened, which was a nice surprise since I didn't even know until we got there. We took a quick weekend trip to Houston for the concert. It turned out to be a lot of fun. It kind of gave me the concert fever again though -- so now I have already planned a couple more shows... The next being Weezer in September. I've always wanted to see them live so I am super excited.
Here's a picture of us waiting for the show. My favorite part was that it was at an outside amphitheatre. It was a little warm, but a pretty night to enjoy a show.

Anyway, other than that... Doug and I have been super addicted to the Olympics these past few weeks. I'm totally bummed that those are over now. We also joined a gym - 24 hour Fitness (so we can work out around the clock... HA - yeah, right.) We've been several times now and I'm really enjoying it. It's actually my first time to commit to a gym membership and we actually paid for 2 years, so I'm trying to stay motivated. I'd really like to get in better shape and lose a few of the pounds that I've put on in the last few months. Never hurts to tone up a bit... We took these awful pictures so we can check out the "before" and "after" shots. If results are good... maybe you'll be privledged enough to see those. I'd say your chances are one in a million.

By the way... have any of you seen Stephanie lately? She is looking freaking hot.

Here's some pictures of us at dinner the other night when we got together with our local ladies... (Careful, my white legs may just blind you)






Anyway, I miss everyone -- Our April reunion already feels like it was FOREVER ago!! Can't wait until our next get-together!

We are having a baby ...

Well yesterday was a big day for us. My brother Max went into the MTC. I had flashbacks being in Provo and driving past the Raintree apts. Brad and I were so glad that we got to go with Max to the MTC. The little oreintation they do with the missionarys and family is so uplifting and afterwards I wanted to go on a mission then I remembered that I am not 21 anymore and oh yeah I have a husband and children. It was also neat because Brad went into the MTC 9 years ago almost to the date. He had a little PTSD about being back there. So as if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, we drove back home to go to our doctor's appt. I am 16 weeks along and we know what that means! Time to find out what we are having. The doctor noted that Brad was more nervous at this appointment than he is in the delivery room. Well I am pleased to annouce that after three little boys we are getting a little girl! It is hard to beleive and I think I need to go buy something pink or purple to get me in the right frame of mind. I have to apologize to Lizzy because I think she is the only one I have not told about being prego.... again. I am due on Feb. 5th. We are very excited. I will try to write more later because we went on vacation last month to North Carolina and I have a lot of fun pictures to share.

privacy!

We finally got our new plantation shutters installed today. I think they look fabulous, although it is a little strange after having no window coverings for 3 months now. It's great though, because I can tilt them open for lots of light, or leave them closed for maximum darkness. They even hinge open completely for cleaning or viewing ease. Here are a few pictures of our latest (and most expensive) home investment to date:

Ole!

Owen received his mission call today. He will be serving in the Mexico, Torreon mission (Spanish speaking of course) and will enter the Provo MTC on November 19th. We're so excited for him and know he will be a wonderful missionary. Soon he will be able to speak Spanish with Brett and Steve! Now he just has to find a job and be patient for the next 13 weeks.:)

Sarah - please forgive me...

My Dear , sweet Sarah: Sorry this is sooo late. I lost track of this month. Hope you had a great birthday! Love you!

August "Rush"

I snuck in to take this picture the other day. Aubrey had fallen asleep with her bum up in the air, and found a binky in the crib. She has just started taking them at nap time. She just looked too sweet and even though she had been cranky, it all just melted away when I saw her like this! : ) I love my little sugarpie...

We've been so busy lately it seems with all of the house preparations, but it seems that about everything is in place now. I drove past "our" house today with Aubrey and the sellers were moving out so that was kind of exciting.

Aubrey didn't really want to take a morning nap so finally around noon I decided to go run my errands anyway. We dropped off some paperwork at the bank and on our way home I gave Aubrey a little "open-the-flap" book that she's been looking at from the library in her carseat. She was pretty quiet but every time I peeked back at her she still had her hand holding up a flap.

When I stopped at a stoplight I turned around and she was knocked out but had fallen asleep holding up the flap to the bunny rabbit page. It was so cute. But apparently the elephant page looked mighty tasty because a whole corner of that flap was gone and little pieces of red paper were stuck all around her mouth and on her cheek!

She's such a crazy girl. I know she must have been pretty exhausted though because she didn't even wake up as I took her out of her carseat and walked her all the way upstairs. She was so warm and cuddly in my arms. I'm really trying to hold onto her baby moments, I know they'll be gone so fast. I was just thinking tonight as I put her to bed how good it feels to have the weight of a sleeping baby in your arms, especially when they're all soft and sweet smelling fresh from a bath.

We took her to a park here close to us this evening to have a little dinner picnic with my family. It was a beautiful night and we had brisket and watermelon. It was nice to sit and visit a bit. Aubrey loved to look at the fountain in the pond and all the ducks. Actually, she wasn't really interested in the big ducks but loved looking at the little fuzzy baby duck that came swimming by after it's momma.

On another note, has anyone been watching the Olympics? We've been watching about every evening. Unfortunately, we only caught the tailend of the opening ceremonies the other night. We did get to the amazing fireworks however. I absolutely love fireworks and I wish I could have been there right under them in the stadium. They really had an amazing show. Anyway, that's all for now. Hope everyone is well. We are missing everyone and are extending an open invitation to visit us ol' Missourians anytime!

We bought a HOUSE!!

Yes, we did it. We took the big plunge and bought a house in Grain Valley, MO just about 15-20 min away from Independence where I grew up. It's only 2 yrs old and we're really excited about it. We close the end of August and I can't wait! I'm so sick of apartment living. Since the pics are no longer available on the MLS, here is a link to the builder's website with the floor plan. Ours is the 1500 sq ft. Dogwood plan with the luxury master bath. The unfinished basement is about the same size, so when we finish that we will have more room than we know what to do with!

http://www.valleyhills.net/dogwood.asp

Aubrey has two teeth on the bottom now! They both poked through today. I still can't really see them but I can feel the tops of them. I can't believe she's old enough to have teeth already. She turned 10 months old on Sunday and is crawling all over the place.

PS...I tried to upload some pics on here but they are all coming up as errors so I'll have to try again later.