Utah Pioneer Days

We celebrated the 24th of July in style.  For those of you who don't know, the 24th of July is Pioneer Day, a Utah state holiday.  Consequently, J had it off.  My mom took Zuri the evening of the 23rd and we had respite care for Kai all day on the 24th.  So, J and I slept in, then we went to a matinee, came home, took a nap, went to get Zuri, then went to the Utah Pioneer Days celebration in West Jordan.  They had all sorts of crafts, booths, and fun for the family.  After dark, they started the Pioneer Day celebration where they had sky divers, musical talents, a skit, and most importantly, fireworks!

Since we had missed the fireworks for the 4th of July, I really wanted to see them on the 24th.  We saw an impressive display--my only complaint is that they didn't start the fireworks until 10:45, which means they didn't end until 11:00.  Way too late for Miss Zuri, who had a tired meltdown when we got home.  I thought the fireworks would be an hour earlier--other displays were.  There were at least seven other fireworks shows that could be seen from our seats.  When the first one started, Zuri got so excited, jumping around, pointing, dancing, that the people all around us all had huge grins on their faces watching her.  She can be quite entertaining, and her enthusiasm is refreshing.





We watched the moon rise over the mountain

4th of July Weekend

For the 4th of July weekend we went south to 12-mile Canyon for J's family reunion.  We spent Thursday, Friday, and part of Saturday up in the mountains camping.  I had come down with a pretty severe stuffy nose and sore throat the night before we went up.  I think I overdid it that day--I had a sudden burst of energy and I took advantage of that energy by doing too much around the house.  Consequently, with the cold and being pregnant, I had little desire to sleep in a tent (even though under any other circumstance I would jump at the chance to go camping).  J's mom had just had knee surgery so both of us ended up going back to the house to sleep at night (a fact my dad will tease me about until the end of time).


Zuri is finally at the age where camping with her is fun.  She and J slept in the camper with J's dad, and she slept all through the night both nights--even through the rain, lightning, and thunder storms.  J said there was one time when she woke up, mumbled "daddy," and when J said, "I'm here," she said, "I love you," and went back to sleep.  So sweet.

With the storms, I am doubly glad that I didn't sleep at camp because as it was, I was up both nights (although I slept better the second night) having to go the the bathroom (par for course for this pregnancy) and trying to breathe (ie blowing my nose) while soothing a sore throat.

The family reunion itself was fun.  There was the usual horseback riding, 4-wheeling, a skit in the evening, fishing, and just hanging out.  We were able to see family that we haven't seen in a long time (J's Uncle Steve and his grown up boys and their wives all came out--we don't get to see them all that often), and it was fun catching up with them.  (A shout-out to my "blog stalker" peeps!) 


Zuri and her cousin.  She had so much fun playing with her cousins.  She just loves to be around other kids.



J and Zuri went on several rhino rides.  Zuri, our little gardener, had to stop and get some flowers along the way.  She would show the flowers to everyone and I think she had a good bouquet by the time we left.



I joined in on a couple easy rides on the rhino. 

Zuri and J playing horseshoes together.  Unfortunately, none of the pictures I took with J turned out while they played.

Going for a canoe ride, and going fishing.  We didn't catch anything but had fun rowing around the pond.  Zuri didn't understand the concept of "keep still" and sent our little canoe rocking more than once in the beginning as she shifted around. 


On Friday morning, there was a family hike.  Suzanne and I had planned on not going on the hike and getting lunch ready for everyone when they got back.  We arrived at the campsite just as everyone was leaving, and Robert said the plan was for us to do lunch at the base of the hike.  So we loaded the food into the truck and went along.  We realized when we got there that we had forgotten the propane tank to heat the meat.  That, along with the heat, lack of shade, and lack of places for everyone to sit, we then decided to go back to the original plan and have lunch at the campsite.  Unfortunately, everyone had started on the hike, and the road to get back is for more advanced off-roading, so we chose to wait until everyone got back.  Little did we know it would be several hours later.


The hike.  They went to the patch of yellow on the other side of the lake.  The picture was taken from the starting position of the hike--no motorized vehicles were allowed past that point.

When I originally bowed out of the hike, it was due more to the fact that I hadn't been feeling well, and since J and I didn't know how strenuous or long the hike would be, we didn't want a repeat of Seattle, when I pushed myself to the point where I was hurting (and pregnant with Kai; we have been more careful with this pregnancy than the others).  J more than once discouraged me from going, especially when we got to the starting point and I looked down at the "trail" and knew that I most likely would be fine. 

What neither J nor I knew was the reason for the hike--that was where James had his accident, and they were going to the place his body had been found. They had a little memorial service.  Had I known that, I would have insisted on coming, especially since I had been unable to attend his funeral.  I only found out the purpose of the hike after everyone had been gone at least forty minutes or so, and I happened to ask Suzanne why they were hiking so far from camp. 

I sent my camera along with J, and he was able to get these great pictures!  Beautiful field of dandelions.





They put a plaque in the trees where James had been found.

Robert, Peggy, Jannie, and Julie put on a little skit.  The sisters were pretending to be the Kardashian sisters and Robert was their brother.  It was pretty funny.  They handed out bags to everyone with a quote and something inside.  We had to guess who belonged to the quote.  J and I got: "When life gave them lemons, they made lemonade!" and inside the bag was pink lemonade.  Zuri got "daddy's little princess" with some chapstick.  So cute!





On Saturday, everyone was packing up camp.  Time to return the port-o-potty!  Haha.  At least we had that and didn't have to rely on a hole!

The highlight of the trip for Zuri came on Saturday with this little guy. 

I caught this little frog Saturday morning and showed it to Zuri.  She was so enamored with it that we found an empty grape container to put him in for a couple hours.  Unfortunately, he escaped through the holes a couple of times and I had to re-catch him.  We poked a few holes in a water bottle and Zuri showed everyone her frog.  I found another smaller frog to join him but the smaller frog eventually found his way out through one of the holes. 

Zuri's frog created a craze with the other kids, and they went down to the pond and caught some salamanders and other small frogs.

Finally, it was time to go home.  Zuri wanted to keep the frog but we told her that he needed to be with his family in the wild.  It took some convincing, but she finally let him go.  Ever since, she has wanted a pet frog and keeps talking about getting one.  She just loves animals.



Can you see the blur of the frog jumping away to freedom?

Bundle of Joy

...

In case you missed it:

That's right!  We are expecting baby #3 Christmas day!

For some reason this has been a really hard post for me to write.  I have written and rewritten this post in my head at least a hundred times, but whenever I get to the computer, I just draw a blank.  

First off, we are excited! When we made the decision to have another baby, it was done with much thought and prayer.  We did not go into this lightly, knowing how complicated another baby would make things with Kai.  I think the clincher was one day when Zuri was wanting attention and J was taking care of Kai while I was getting dinner ready.  We had already been contemplating another baby, but I just couldn't wrap my head around the responsibility of another child.  Zuri  had become all sad and huffy.  When I asked her what was wrong, she said that she is sad because no one will play with her.  Unfortunately, that was not an isolated incident--she longs for the company of other children.  Then, later that evening after we had put Zuri down to bed, J turned to me in a really disappointed tone and said, "we aren't going to have a big family, are we?"  I knew at that moment what was missing from our family.  We knew that the decision to have another baby was the right one.

Secondly, we are nervous.  I can list a thousand things we are nervous about with the introduction of another child.  First and foremost is balancing the needs of a newborn with the needs of Kai, especially when we leave the house.  Managing two strollers?  Luckily, we have respite hours that can help with some of that need, and Zuri is big enough to help out at times as well.  Then there is always the possibility of another special needs child.  If we were to have another special needs child, we would love that baby just as much as we love Zuri and Kai--that is not even a question.  I just don't know how I would be able to physically take care of two special needs children and Zuri (for those of you who know Zuri you know how energetic and active she is--she is sometimes two or three in one!).  

So far, everything indicates a healthy, typical baby.  I am about 16 weeks, trying to eat right, exercise, and take care of myself.  My blood pressure is normal (although we do expect it to increase as my pregnancy progresses), and everything looked good on the first ultrasound/blood tests.  Between 18-20 weeks I will see some high risk specialists and get an in-depth ultrasound done as a precaution.  The baby is measuring about 4 days smaller than the date of my last period would indicate, but the doctor is keeping the due date as December 25th.  I think I may have ovulated late, because I didn't receive a positive pregnancy test until 5 days after my expected period, which would also explain the baby measuring 4 days younger.

This pregnancy has kicked my butt.  With Zuri and Kai, my first two trimesters were relatively easy.  It was the third trimester that was the hardest.  So far, I have gotten sick (as in a cold) twice, and my energy has been nearly non-existent.  I was nauseous all day through my whole first trimester, although I only threw up once.  My bladder has been working overtime and I routinely get up at least two to three times at night to go to the bathroom, which results in a loss of sleep.  I normally don't hit that phase until my last trimester.  Since entering my second trimester, my nausea has pretty much gone away, but it will still randomly hit me.  My energy has increased, but I think I took advantage of it too much and caused myself to be sick trying to get things done while I could.    

Zuri is super excited about the baby.  She is always putting her hand on my tummy and wanting to feel the baby, which at this stage she cannot do yet.  Every week I show her how big the baby is growing, and throughout the week, she will say, "the baby is this big" and show me with her hands, and say the corresponding fruit or vegetable size (ie apple).  

When we askZuri whether she wants a brother or a sister, her immediate response is a sister.  In fact, she has become rather emphatic that we are having a girl.  When I told her that the baby might be a boy, she said that she doesn't like boys.  The first time I asked her what we should name the baby, she said, "Zuri!" When I said, "but that's your name."  Her response was: "so we can be twins!"  Since then she has given me a lot of made up names.  Most memorable is Tree-on. 

J won't say, but I think he is hoping for another boy--he states that he just wants a healthy baby.  As for me, I would like another girl.  There is nothing like the bond with sisters.  According to the Chinese gender horoscope, the baby is a boy.  I have had a feeling the baby is a girl (intuition or hope?), and I was right with both Zuri and Kai.  So, we shall see!

Bonding

Lately, after Zuri goes to bed, J has been unhooking Kai from his humidifier and bringing him over to the couch.  Usually, we use that time to play with Kai, but we generally do it in his area.  I think Kai has really enjoyed the change in scenery, and it is cute to watch the two of them together. 

In the picture above, Kai has fallen asleep.  My two guys.  So precious.  Love them so much!

Beating the Heat

We had a heat wave earlier this month.  It was two degrees away from setting a record high.  Luckily, it cooled down, but temperatures are on the rise again.  To help beat the heat (and boredom) we put a sprinkler under the trampoline and let the girls (Zuri and my sister, McKenzie) play.  It was a hit.




We have done it a few times since and the kids just love it.  Such a good way for the kids to have fun, exercise, and stay cool in this hot summer sun.

Fruit Trees!

We have been working hard on the yard.  J's aunt Peggy came over one Saturday and we spent all day getting the front yard whipped into shape.  Shin and Heather ended up stopping by that day so Heather kept Zuri busy (and had an eye out for Kai) while Shin helped us in the yard.  It was so nice to have all the help and we were able to get a lot done.  We have pretty much given up on the back yard for this year (the previous owners had let it go for several years, so we have our work cut out for us).

One of the things that took the longest was getting this ivy into shape.  As you can see, it had crept up onto our house.  It had become entwined with the aspen trees (which aren't in the picture), and had even grown right over a stubborn rose bush.  I say stubborn rose bush, because one vine of the rose bush snaked up along the fence and actually poked itself out over the ivy.  It was really cool to see.  



Here is the after:  we have since evened both sides out (horizontally and vertically), and the ivy has started creeping back down the fence.  When we started working on the ivy, I was trying to just clear it away from the house and create a nice path through the archway/gate, but J's aunt said that we need to be aggressive with it and clear away all the dead undergrowth.  Once we did that, we took most of the ivy away, but she assured us that it will grow back with a vengeance (remembering how the ivy took over in Georgia, I believe it). 


I wish I had taken more before pictures of the yard, but here are some after pictures!

 We dug out a nice area along the front base of the house (preserved the grass and moved it to the backyard) and along the fence line to the backyard, got out all the rocks and weeds, planted flowers, and afterward put in mulch.  We had some extra flowers at the end, so we potted them!


Around the base of our pine tree there was no grass growing, so we dug out a nice section, got rid of all the pine needles, pine cones, rocks, and weeds, and put in mulch.  It looks so much better.  You can see where there is still some patchy grass, but we are working on getting that all nice and filled in.


We haven't managed to get the grass on the right front side of the house to grow (over by our willow tree).  Our sprinkling system doesn't extend to the other side of the driveway, and we really don't use that area of the front or back yard.  I want to put in a tiered garden next spring in the backyard area just east of the shed.  J wants to put the garden on the other side of the house, but I want the area for the kids to play--especially because that is the area where we spend our time.  J is just worried about the sunlight because of the shading from trees and the house, but the grass is growing nicely there, so I don't think it will be a problem.  

Another perk of all our trees besides the fabulous shade and beautiful scenery, is the fruit!  Our trees are starting to bear fruit!  In fact, our cherry trees (we have two) have pretty much ripened (and oh, are they yummy cherries), and the others are well on their way.



Our plums may not be much to look at right now, but I am told they are delicious!  There are two plum trees, but one looks a little sickly and isn't bearing much fruit.


Apples are growing nicely!


We may only have one pear tree, but I think it has the most fruit out of them all! 


I am excited for all the fruit.  Looks like I will be canning because there certainly is a lot of it.  We have also discovered a possible raspberry bush hidden by the ivy along the back fence.  We cleared around it, so hopefully it will grow. 

Family Time

We have had a pretty busy spring/summer so far.  With Zuri being out of school, you would think that things would slow down a bit, but definitely not here!  At the beginning of June my uncle Joe and aunt Randilynn (ie Randi) came in from Missouri.  My cousin Micah (my uncle's oldest son) was graduating from high school.  My other cousin, Alexis (my aunt April's oldest daughter) was also celebrating her high school graduation that weekend.  We had a family dinner at our house, and took pictures in the park.  We hadn't seen my uncle Joe and aunt Randi since we were in Missouri almost three years ago.  It was fun catching up, and although we only had a few hours to visit, we enjoyed the time we did have.

Neither of them had met Kai before, and they were both eager to spend some time with him.  Kai, of course, ate up the attention.