Sad Cows

July 9th was Cow Appreciation Day at Chic-Fil-A. Last year the girls and I had fun dressing up and getting free meals, and I was excited to do it again. The girls didn't have any black or white clothing in their wardrobe, so I whipped up some cow masks and "shirts". Once we got to the restaurant, they didn't want anything to do with their costumes. They HATED them, especially the masks, but luckily they wore them long enough to get their free meal. Once we got our meals and I took off their costumes, we were able to relax and visit with Aunt Robyn and cousin Landon. That was until the Chic-Fil-A cow made his grand appearance. Something about that large cow mascot doesn't sit well with them. After all the drama we headed home, and lucky for me they took a nice long nap. Which at this age is unheard of, and definitely worth documenting:)

Progress of the best kind

"Progress of the best kind is comparatively slow. Great results cannot be achieved at once; and we must be satisfied to advance in life as we walk, step by step."

- Samuel Smiles

18 weeks.............................32 weeks

Now you might be thinking, "Nine months isn't that long to have to wait," but some days it sure feels that way, or better yet some days I allow others to make me feel that way. I've been getting the "how much longer" question every day now, and usually more then once. I catch myself rounding down for some reason, as if I should be further along and it would produce a better answer somehow. Looks like my bubble of peace needs a little reinforcing.

In reality my baby and I are just where we need to be, and ultimately he will decide how much longer {thus the lack of countdown on my baby ticker}. It's really a matter of reminding myself of this every day which is the harder part. I've been trying to not let the "number games" get to me and just enjoy the "slow" progress along with the time it allows me to prepare. Because believe me I have plenty of preparations left to do!

So if anyone asks...

no, it's not twins again

(for the 434th time)

and my best guess is September.

(short-simple-and number free:)

A Tale of Two Egg Yolks

This past Easter, my Mom and her "boyfriend" Alan announced that they were engaged. Planning commenced, and they opted for a short engagement. July 1st was going to be the "big day," the day when they were hoping to be sealed in the Mesa Temple. June 30th rolled around, and I found myself in the kitchen making some eggs for breakfast. As I cracked the first egg open onto the pan, out poured two egg yolks. One egg white, and two yolks folks. It had me staring for a few moments. After looking it up on the Internet, I found out that there is a superstition that says if you get an egg with two yolks, it means that a marriage will soon come to pass. Right it was.

The next day was my Mom and Alan's Temple Marriage and Open House.

The Newlyweds

They were sealed in the afternoon, and they both looked so happy coming out in their wedding garb.

The Daughters

Lucky me got 5 new sisters:)

{Robyn, Me, Aimee, Sarah, Tina, Alan, Lindsay, Jen, Keri, Deanna, and Kristi}

My Family

Not the most flattering angle, but what can you do?

Cousins

{Brenna, new cousin Mailey, Brooke and Bryant}

The Prego Sisters

My sister Aimee is visiting from Kentucky and is also expecting a baby boy about a week before me.

The Temple Ceremony and Open House were wonderful,

and it's so nice to have my Mom happily married to a wonderful fella:)

Highlights {SD Part 3}

SeaWorld

This was the first year that the girls could actually appreciate going to Sea World. They loved seeing all the animals and touching everything.

Meeting Rafael

I can only assume that the girls favorite show at SeaWorld was Pet's Rule, and only because they got to pet the pig afterwards. P.S. The Blue Horizon's show was lame-o.

Day 2 of SeaWorld

The day after we went to see all the shows, Kevin and his Mom took the girls back to the play area at SeaWorld while I hit up a few thrift stores.

(Take a gander at Brooke's flexed calf. Is that for real?)

Brenna's Whistle

During one of the shows at SeaWorld, Brenna taught herself how to whistle. Basically, she places two fingers by her mouth while she shrieks loudly. Ask her to whistle next time you see her.

The playground on the bay

The girls burned off a lot of energy, and I got myself a nice farmer's tan. It was a win-win.

Bicycle Trailer Rides

This was the perfect way to get the girls around when we were going somewhere close.

The San Diego Temple

After several attempts over the last 3 years, Kevin and I were finally able to do a Temple session in the San Diego Temple. The outside was covered with scaffolding at the time, but the inside was gorgeous.

Strawberry Shortcake Obsession

Brenna picked this DVD at WalMart before we left. They took quite a liking to it, and watched it about 7 times on our trip, and every day since we have been home. I have never watched it all the way through, but I pretty much have all the songs memorized. Annoying as it was, it kept the girls happy during car rides, and the inside of the DVD case smells like strawberries.

Just bein' on the beach

What can I say...it's the best!

Life's Beachy and Some Food For Thought (SD Part 2)

Life's Beachy

As soon as we arrived in San Diego, the girls were begging to go out on the beach to build sand castles. There was still a lot of daylight and weather was perfect so we obliged.

We noticed a pattern after a few days spent on the beach. Brenna and Brooke would dig and build for about 30 minutes, and then become intrigued by the water. Brooke would suddenly request to go surfing on her "pink surf board" that doesn't exist, and Dad was kind enough to go closer to the water with them.

As soon as they got close to the water, they would play for a few minutes and then accidentally fall into the oncoming waves. It would be mostly shivering and crying at that point, and then it was time to turn in. That was the cycle for the first few days, until we found that it was best to keep them away from the water altogether. No more "pink surf board rides." The sand alone kept them occupied for hours. It was great!

(my bump on the beach)

Some Food For Thought

It's funny how every time we go to San Diego, part of the main attractions are the places we eat at. We always try to fit in the same places to eat out at, and many have become tradition. Kind of sad how our vacation revolves around food, but at the same time, I guess that's why it's called a vacation.

Yogurtland

Last year we discovered Yogurtland while riding our bikes around Mission Beach. Thank goodness there are Yogurtlands here in Arizona too, but we are happy to pay homage to the place that started it all.

Mr. Frostie

Our friends Autie and Jeff, and their two kids came to visit us one day and introduced us to an ice cream joint called Mr. Frostie. The ice cream was really good and inexpensive, and their sizes were ridiculous. Check out the "large" butterfinger blizzard that Kevin and I got to share. It was about the size of a thirstbuster!

Kono's

We hit up Kono's for breakfast, one of our last days on the beach and it was delicious as always. They give you a LOT of food for a decent price, and it's all really tasty. Kevin got a breakfast burrito that he couldn't even finish, which is probably a first for him. The line is always long, but it's well worth the wait.

Point Loma Seafood and Joe's Crabshack
While we are at the beach it seems only right to hit up some fish places. I am not a fan of fish whatsoever, but I'm happy to join in the tradition. We enjoyed dinner at Point Loma one evening and then another dinner at Joe's Crab Shack the following week. Kevin was in heaven with his steaming pot of sea creature goodness.

During our 10 day stay, we also had our fill of Wenchell Donuts, Luigi's ginormous pizza slices, Voltero's deli sandwiches, and La Playa's mexican cuisine. It was all so delicious at the time, but all added up to a very painful weigh-in the following week. Note to self for next year: Less food and more bike rides on the boardwalk.