Skiing and Museum

Monday afternoon  walks - it was nice enough the kids didn't feel like they needed coats. I checked when we got home and it was 30 degrees.😂 

 

While I made dinner, the kids insisted on  playing outside. With no running canal this time of year I don't have to be out there with them - play away you crazy kids! They were out there for probably 30 minutes before deciding they were too cold and came back inside. 

All that play made for an easy bedtime: Logan fell  asleep during family scripture study💗

On Wednesday I asked Mom to babysit Logan so I could go to an appointment in Idaho Falls and only have one kid to wrangle. Since I was headed that direction, I decided to get Emmett connected with my friend Claire for one last ski trip for the season. I needed to redeem his last lesson. When we pulled up to the mountain Emmett said,  "I don't want to ski with the grumpy man!" After reassuring him that the grumpy old man was not on this hill 😂 he told me after his time with Claire, "I love skiing." Oh yay - it was seriously COLD with wind whipping into his face the whole time. If he can love it after the cold and wind then I think he'll be okay. I was able to meet Trisha for lunch between my appointment and Emmett's lesson (her house is 30 minutes from Kelly WUT) so it was fun to see her for a minute.

Emmett told me when he looks like he's punching the air that he was pushing buttons in his dino truck (because Claire told him to pretend to drive a dino truck to introduce turning to him) 😂

These two finally decided they can co-exist

Thursday Emmett had his valentine party at preschool. He shared his candy when he got home with me and Logan, and asked if the baby likes candy. I told him yes so then he decided he was going to save his dipping  powder candy for the baby when he/she comes. 😂😍 Here he is waiting for baby to come so he can share. Sweet boy.

I made bone broth that day as well - the animals enjoyed the scraps.

At 22 weeks, baby is as big as a spaghetti squash (this spaghetti squash was harvested from our garden💗)

Friday I dressed the kids in matching Mickey shirts and borrowed Mom's church key to burn some energy.  I walked two miles while the kids played on their balance bikes. They got creative with the chairs on the stage😂 of course they have to line them up riiiight next to the edge!😅

After our church fun I gave all the boys haircuts. Justin's turned out the best (thanks to his curly hair texture; it sure hides a lot more mistakes than these two with their straight Kelsey hair).

I LOVE when my boys want to snuggle next to me 😍

Logan singing his heart away while playing legos

Saturday we decided to take the kids to the museum. Emmett has been earning money (Logan too, but Emmett is better about following through on his chore/task to actually earn the dough while Logan usually gives up mid-chore😂), so we took his jar of coins to the bank for him to exchange for dollar bills to spend on a toy at the museum. That was a fun parent moment. To see the teller count up his coins and give him eight $1 bills in return was SO exciting for him, and it was fun to have him handle his money at the museum to pay for his toy/get his change. Today Justin helped him fill out a tithing slip and hand his tithing to the bishop at church.

The museum had a "bodies" exhibit for animals that was pretty awesome but Justin and I will have to come back just the two of us if we want to actually take our time to enjoy the displays. They also had a section all about Idaho - I especially loved the mineral/rock displays (Idaho is the Gem state after all).

My boys checking out the rock section - I am here for it!!

looking  at a rattlesnake

I tried the "Red Aspen" brand of press-on nails - I'm a fan!

My kids have been through A LOT of drive thrus 😂

Our washing machine has been broken since the beginning of January.  I've been Little-House-on-the-Prairie-ing it for the last while: after the washer fills I take the end of a broom handle and slosh things around for a minute, then change the setting to rinse, then spin, and then usually spin again because it didn't do well enough the first time. One load would take like 1/2 a day, and we had to do very small loads for the washing machine to even fill with water. So it's been a total pain in the neck while we waited for this guy to get a part in to fix it. Six weeks later he texts me that he won't be able to get the part - bahhhhh!!!! So Shannon bought us a washer that we picked up on Saturday (hallelujah it fit in the minivan). I ran a load on Saturday night just for fun: the clothes came out sparkly clean and it only took an hour-ish. Ahhh...modern appliances for the win. Also: bonus when you don't have to pay for them 👌

I gave the cats a lovely dollop of pork fat on their dinner😍 They were ready to be fed!

I got myself a few more supplements to add to my regime and I'm waiting for my extra Vitamin D (my last probiotic "only" had 7 billion strains while my nutrition book recommends 30 billion; I'm getting 350 mcg DHA from my prenatal supplement, but I'd like it to be closer to 2,000; extra collagen to build that baby/placenta; also helps my skin as it stretches). The collagen doesn't have a taste, but the after taste DEFINITELY tastes the way you might think cow feet might taste 😂 so now I hide it in my NORA tea which I already mask with a bit of honey.

Taco Salad is a favorite over here - I could eat it every day.

Sweet Logan watching Emmett play a puzzle game

We have one bottle of peaches left until we're out 😭 I will plan to bottle triple the amount of peaches next fall because they are so good! Emmett is asking me if the peaches are "real sugar or fake sugar" (lots of discussions over here about what kind of sugar is acceptable in large quantities and what is not😂).

Burley Fun

Last Sunday Logan took a nap and when I tried to wake him, he kept falling back asleep. It was cute and sweet.

Ahhh stay little, my little Logan boy <3 

Justin made sugar cookies for the kids to frost just for the fun of it

I'm learning TONS from my pregnancy nutrition book. I'm the kind of person that's always on the up and up: I'm always learning new things and I don't ever think I have it all figured out. Books and podcasts this round of pregnancy have been great resources for me. I had an anatomy scan last week to make sure everything looks good. It's important that baby and I remain low risk when choosing a midwife. I told the ultrasound tech not to tell me the sex so that will be a surprise for us in June. I'm convinced it's another boy so we'll see what we get!

Emmett and Logan love saying hi to baby. He will come over to my belly and say, "Hi baby I'm your brother Emmett and I love dinosaurs!" It's so cute.

Making play dough

We've adopted a new cat. This black and white kitty showed up last week and has stuck around. The other cats and Teddy HATED it for a couple of days but now they seem to have warmed up to each other. We think we'll go with Oreo for the name.

Wednesday I took the kids to the park while we waited for the library to open.

I made a red Thai curry soup that turned out pretty good! It's not good leftover, however...the rice noodles soaked up allll the broth by the next day ha!

Two eggs, cheese, kale, and fresh tomatoes...pretty sure I could eat this breakfast every day the rest of my pregnancy (and I think I will).

Morning supplement lineup from left to right: probiotic, vitamin D and K2, B12, zeolite, zinc, gut support, and prenatal vitamins 😂

I'm also trying NORA tea this pregnancy. It's like the seven-dates-a-day thing where some women swear by it but the studies are limited and evidence is mostly anecdotal. Still it can't hurt to try it. Dates supposedly soften the cervix (I eat seven a day in the final weeks of pregnancy) and NORA (nettles, oatstraw, red raspberry leaf, and alfalfa) is supposed to tone the uterus for more efficient contractions which could mean a shorter labor. Women have also reported less postpartum bleeding and I've even read it can reduce risk of hemorrhage.

We made our Burley trip happen! Roads were clear and kids were healthy so we headed down on Thursday. After Rachel fed me and my kids a yummy lunch, we headed to Pomerelle so the big kids could enjoy a ski lesson. Emmett had a hard time with his instructor which made for a lousy day for him. But other than the wind, we couldn't have asked for better weather, and the road conditions getting up there were as good as they could be. The kids had a blast with their cousins. They especially loved jumping in the play house and dressing up in Hudson's superhero costumes. I stayed up late chatting with Chase and Rachel, and then got to go to barre class with Rachel Friday morning. That's definitely something I miss about living in a city: the community of fellow fitness goers. The kids were sad to say goodbye to their cousins and have asked me every day since if we can go to Hudson's house and play in the bouncy house😂

Bundled up and ready for the ski hill

snow angels while waiting for his ski instructor to arrive

off they go!

Logan and I hanging out while watching Emmett come down the bunny hill.

pretty much the only shot I got of him before my phone died

venom, batman, and the black panther

Friday morning cereal time

McDonald's on the drive home

The kids were SO HAPPY to get home to their daddy!

Saturday Blizzard mountain was open! So we took the kids sledding to break up our day. The weather was great minus the wind (I use that caveat often, don't I?). The kids built igloos and snow angels in between sledding sessions. I was happy to let them play in the snow as long as they wanted.

hot chocolate after sledding is a must

When it's Saturday night and you have one hour until bedtime and the kids are going berserk...oobleck for the win!

Today after church we took the kids for a mile walk/balance bike ride. I asked Justin to take the kids so I could continue for another mile myself. The weather was so nice today and no wind! Logan refused to wear gloves or a coat but seemed unfazed.