Waiting and keeping busy

We've had a couple of evenings of regular contractions this week that have given us false hope that Grant would make his appearance. A few hours of it, and then nothing. Bummer. So, this morning we walked around the farmer's market and then tackled one of the last items on our summer to-do list--bark dust. It was an all day family endeavor of shrub trimming, weeding, and bark spreading. After three pickup loads of bark dust, our yard looks much nicer. It had been a couple years since we'd done it, so it was time.

I did everything I could to make this baby come, but I petered out toward the end of the day, so Greg was left with just his three little helpers to finish the last part of the job. They worked hard and had fun.

Our yard is finished and our to-do list is all checked off, so anytime now, Grant!

12 days

That's how many more days (at the most) I will be pregnant, Lord willing! If you want a few more details, you can go to Baby Grant's blog, but there's not much news to report. Just waiting for him to decide to make his appearance.

It's finally here to stay

My 'endless summer' hydrangea is in full bloom, and the kids are playing in the water almost every day. We're drinking smoothies for snack and relaxing in the shade. Must be summer time.

Sunriver 2010

It's been a week since we got back from our family vacation, and I'm just now getting around to posting about it. We're having quite the summer around here. Since we got returned a week ago, we've had multiple dr. appointments, a family reunion, and kidney stone surgery for Greg. Craziness!

Now about our trip...Greg had one day to recover from jetlag after his trip before we packed the car up to the gills and headed to Sunriver. Our time there was fun-filled and jam-packed with activity, and the kids had an absolute blast. Kari had been talking about this trip for months and had it so built up in her head I was afraid she might be a little disappointed. But she wasn't! The most exciting part for her this year was that she was able to ride her bike without training wheels, and that's what you do in Sunriver--go on lots of bike rides. It'll be even more fun in years to come when her cousins can ride uninhibited, too. I felt like I hardly saw Joel, even though we were all together the whole time. He was always busy playing with someone. His laid-back personality makes it easy for him to get along with anyone and everyone. Grandma and Grandpa had all kinds of tricks up their sleeves and kept pulling things out of a big bin 'o fun for the kids to do in any down-time. With eight kids six and under, you have to be prepared and keep them busy, and boy, were they busy--bug catchers, nature walks, bike decorating, scholastic booklets, new books, play at the park, swimming, bike rides, movies, picnics, trip to the lava caves. At 8 months pregnant, I opted out of some of the activity, and some of the time Aubrey stayed with me because she was not feeling well and had a fever pretty much the whole time we were there. She did amazing for being so miserable. The days were ok, but we had rough nights. We got her in to the doctor as soon as we got back, and the poor thing had an ear infection and sinus infection. Aubrey being sick kind of put a damper on things for me, as I was worried about her, but overall, it was a really good vacation and a good time with family. So many memories that I'm sure will stick with the kids forever.

The Adventures of Andy the Monkey

Greg did something special for the kids while he was gone in Ireland. He took a little stuffed beanie baby-type monkey with him and had "Andy the Monkey" write emails with photos to go along with them. The kids looked forward to those "Andy Monkey" e-mails each day. They loved it, and so did I! Here's a sampling of the e-mails he sent and a smattering of the many photos:

Kari, Joel, and Aubrey:
This is Andy the monkey writing to you. I wanted to tell you about my adventure. You see, I 'snuck' into your Daddy's suitcase, and I am on the trip with him!!! At first he wasn't so sure, but since he couldn't leave me behind, he decided that he would bring me with him, and we could hang out together while on his trip.

I wanted you to see a few pictures of what we did today. The first one is of me at a restaurant in the airport this morning. I got hungry, so we shared a plate of biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and some OJ.


The second pic is of me riding the train from the airport as we headed into the city of Vancouver to look around for the day. We watched some soccer at a restaurant, and ate lunch outside near the waterfront. The 3rd photo is of me touring the city, and taking a break on a fire hydrant after all that walking! Finally, I headed towards the water to look at the ships, they were big. I am sure I will have more to share this next week, so stay tuned and I will try to write you again in a few days.


Bye,
Monkey Andy
P.S. From Daddy- I love you all VERY much, and I hope that you had a fun time at Miles' party.
.........................................................................................................................................................
Hey there kids, it's Andy. Your dad mentioned that he told you he thought I would write today, so I better.


Another longer day at the forklift building plant. This time, I asked your dad to get my picture on a forklift. And he did, sort of. After we had built up a transmission, he said he would take me over to a forklift and take my picture. He walked over and set me down on a forklift alright, a BARE forklift frame with no wheels!!!! I was not happy about it, but he laughed and laughed and thought it was SOOOOO funny.
Next, he took me over to a real forklift, and I got to drive it! Joel, it was a black and yellow one. The two pictures he took show my different forklift 'rides'.


Well, it's about 10 pm over here, and time for bed. Your Dad is going to read for a bit, while I sleep tight on my bed. He was excited to talk to you guys and hear your voices.


Oh yeah, I almost forgot. He wanted me to remind you to take care of your mommy and the Aubs. Can you keep doing that for him?


Alright, time to sleep.......
Andy the monkey

He's home!!!

After 12 days away on his business trip to Ireland, Greg came home late last night. It is SO good to have him back! We were all very ready for him to be home. I was so worried and scared about how we were going to survive with me being in my third trimester and all. I wouldn't have done very well if it hadn't been for the help of our family and friends. God has blessed us with amazing people in our lives. So many people helped and supported me in so many ways. A group of my girlfriends got together and gave me a "survival schedule" before Greg left. They had various fun activities planned for the kids and me throughout the time Greg was gone, and it was wonderful! I felt so loved, supported, and cared for. They spoiled me and even cleaned my house last night, getting down on their hands and knees to clean my floors. They were truly the hands and feet of Jesus to me and my family these last two weeks.