Gotta BEAT the HEAT!!!

It is definately summer and it is definately HOT!  I now understand why people have made comments like, "Oh you get to be pregnant all summer...I'm sorry."  The heat is NOT a pregnant woman's friend that is for sure. Despite the heat, we have found a few ways to stay cool and enjoy ourselves.  Ryan for one loves to swim and brings me his swimming suit atleast once a day.  This past week we all took a little dip in our little wading pool in the privacy of our fenced backyard.  I am so grateful for a wood fence all the way around, NO ONE wants to see someone who is 34 weeks pregnant in a wading pool that is for sure!  Luckily no one was there to take pictures either so I don't have any pictures of me but here are a couple of Ryan and Matt over the past few days.  He loves it! Plus Matt is so much more fun than mom in the pool!

BIG Splashes!

Dad copying Ryan

Horsey ride in the pool!

In addition to swimming we have also resorted to camping in order to stay cool. Its amazing how much cooler it is in the mountains.  We took Ryan fishing for the first time over the 4th of July and guess what...he caught his first fish!!!  He was so excited until he actually touched the fish and it flipped water in his face, then he was a little unsure about it.  He loves getting dirty and playing in the dirt!

I love getting dirty!

Here comes the fish!

Mr. Gorilla A.K.A "Ha Ha"

May I introduce all of you to Mr. Gorilla: This cuddly little guy is Ryan's obsession and best friend. He has had Mr. Gorilla for a long time but only recently has decided that Mr. Gorilla's name is "Ha Ha" and that he has to do everything Ryan does. When I say everything I mean he has to eat with Ryan, sleep with Ryan, play with Ryan, etc. As for the name, we aren't exactly sure where he came up with the name "Ha Ha." Our only guess is that he has taken the sound a monkey makes, shortened it and made it his name. Strange but cute.

Here are a few pictures of Ryan and his "Ha Ha." He insists that they share every meal lately.

So cuddly

Have a cracker

and don't forget the milk.


On another note, I had my 32 week appointment yesterday and all is well with our baby girl. She is definately growing and I feel like I have doubled in size in the past few weeks. Here is a picture of me at 32 weeks taken today. I am feeling pretty good and actually the heat isn't bothering as much as I anticipated. This has been a pretty good pregnancy so far and we just can't believe that she will be here in about 8 weeks (hopefully a little sooner).

5 years, I can't believe it!

As of today, Matt and I have been married for 5 years! It is amazing how fast time has flown by over the past 5 years. I can still remember our wedding like it was yesterday yet it seems like it was forever ago at the same time. We were so young and in such different places than we are now. I mean I still had two years of college basketball left and Matt, well Matt really had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. We have come so far. We now have an adorable little boy, a little girl on the way, we own a house, I have been teaching for two years, and Matt is nearing the end of his electrial apprentiship. Such a difference 5 years can make! I feel so lucky to have Matt in my life. He is an amazing husband and dad and works so hard to make us happy!

Happy Anniversay Matt! I love you!

Ragnar 2010 and our BIG boy!

I have to give a shout out to Matt for just a minute! This past weekend he completed his first race and it was a big one! A year ago (before I was pregnant) I committed to run in the Ragnar (Wasatch Back) Relay race. So when I got pregnant, Matt was sort of forced into the race as we had to fill my spot. What a guy! So he has been training for the race for the past few months and really was not too excited for it. The Ragnar is intense! It is a 12 man relay race that covers 188 miles. The race starts in Logan, UT and finishes in Park City, UT. Each member of the 12 man team runs 3 different legs of the race and they never stop for like 36 hours. Not only did Matt run in the race, he also ran the three hardest legs of the race and did a great job! One of his legs was even 7 miles up hill at 3:30 AM....CRAZY!!! Of course I have zero pictures to put on here as I wasn't able to go and lets face it, Matt is not really into taking pictures like I am. I am so proud of him and the dedication he has shown through this whole thing. He is actually talking about doing a 1/2 marathon in a few weeks too....WHAT HAVE I STARTED!?!

On a completely different note, Ryan is growing up so fast! He is officially sleeping in a "big boy bed" which is both good and bad. Its good because he won't have the crib in 2 months, but its bad because he can now get out of bed whenever he wants. There is nothing more freaky than the first time he came into our room at 2AM, tapped me on the arm, and said "hi mommy!" I loved being able to put him in his crib and not worry about it but we are all adjusting. He actually fell asleep on his own, in his new bed today for the first time, he's finally getting used to it!!! He's hugging a stuffed gorilla in this picture in case you were wondering....he can't be without it at bed time!

Here are a few pictures of our family from the past few weeks. WE LOVE SUMMER!

The Art City Days parade

The Carnival-- Ryan loved the rides!

Our newest family addition...

Much to our dismay, Matt and I decided that our wonderful Chevy Avalanche was not the ideal vehicle for our situation. Matt is driving to Salt Lake every day and the gas prices are killing us! Although we absolutely loved it and were sad to see it go (I think Matt might have cried when I wasn't looking), it was a gas hog and with another kid almost here we decided that we needed to save a little money. Initially we thought we would get a car that got good gas mileage which Matt could drive to work but as soon as we realized what some of our other options were we quickly changed our minds. So we test drove this Mazda 5 and loved it! I know what you are all thinking, and I can here my brother Adam making fun of us already, "Oh Matt and Camie got a mini-van." I have to defend myself (because I swore that I would never drive a mini-van. Nothing against all you mini-van drivers but I really did NOT want a van. I guess I didn't want that soccer mom stigma quite yet) this car is a mini-van/wagon and definitely much cooler than a traditional mini-van! It gets awesome gas mileage, it drives like a car, looks sporty, but still has the sliding door feature of a van which makes getting Ryan in and out super easy. We really do love it! So I have totally convinced myself that we do NOT have a van. I just have to ignore everyone who has made the comment, "I love your new mini-van!" what do they know anyways!

On a different note, Matt's mom saved a little suit from when Matt was about 2-3 years old. We tried it on Ryan the other day and it fits him perfect. He looks so grown up and so handsome in his little suit! There are matching pants to go with it but they are WAY out of style. The first picture is kind of blurry but I love his face in it! We also went to the zoo with my parents on memorial day and got some great pictures of Ryan. He loved seeing all the animals and making their noises!

The Hogle Zoo!

RETIREMENT after 2 years.....what was I thinking!?

Bear with me on this one.

Today I finished my last day of school as a teacher. When Matt and I decided to try for another little one, we also decided that I wouldn't be teaching next year either. Believe me I am way excited to be home with Ryan and our little girl but I am kinda nervous about it as well. Although we decided that this was best for our family, we also knew that we could not ACTUALLY afford this and that it would have to be a leap forward in faith. I just can't stand the thought of hauling two kids to a babysitter everyday and missing out on another year. I'm sure Ryan will turn out fine and we've been blessed with tons of family who are willing to help so he has never really gone to a babysitter; rather just gone to play at grandma's house or with his cousins. If I had to work, there couldn't have been a better situation that for sure.

So where is the problem?

Well, I have really liked teaching and although I hate to admit it, I will actually miss parts of it. I will not miss the whining 14 year old kids that want an extension on the extra credit assignment (seriously, its called EXTRA CREDIT for a reason), but I will miss the daily interaction and the feeling of fulfillment when you watch a kid finally grasp something you have been working on. I have been teaching sophomore English so I got to see this all year long. It makes me feel like my job has a purpose. Although teachers don't make very much money (okay realistically if I was paid by the hour I might make like $1/hour when I add in the time I spent grading papers and coaching basketball), we at least had a set income that we could count on.

Now what?

I have thought of a couple ideas that I can do from home but I am looking for a few more. Do any of you (this is where I am assuming that a few people actually read this blog) have any ingenious ideas that you can do from home where you can make a little money? I have looked into teaching classes online, but teaching jobs are really tough to come by and that idea isn't working out. I have also thought about starting an online tutoring service for kids where they could pay a small fee to have me edit, revise, and critique their writing assignments. I guess I just don't know where to start. If anyone has any bright ideas that I could look into, PLEEEEESE let me know. I am not desperate yet but I would feel much better if I had some type of focus for the Fall.

Thanks for bearing with me through this post, I needed to clear my mind somehow.

SPRING is finally here!!!!!!

We are so excited to be able to say that spring is finally here! I am so sick of being stuck inside the house in the cold and the rain. Ryan is so happy when he can be outside and the weather lately is absolutely wonderful. I have a bunch of pictures that show what we have been up to over the past few weeks. The first is a pregnancy shot of me taken today. I got my hair cut today and absolutely love it so I thought it was a good time to take a belly pic. I am 26 weeks and have finally started to really show. I guess I am okay with it now since I only have 96 days left (but who's counting)

We have planted our garden and I am so excited to announce that I had the first salad fresh from the garden tonight for dinner. Its amazing how good something tastes when you grow it you backyard. We think we are doing pretty good so far, at least it looks good anyways!

Ryan loves to help dad in the yard and this might be one of my favorite pictures of Ryan. I love the expression on his face, he is ALL boy that is for sure!!!!

Lastly, our neighbor just started a photography company and took Ryan's 18 month pictures last week. She did a great job and got some cute shots of Ryan. If you are in Utah check out her website, http://autumnbaldwinphotography.com/ she is really affordable and does a great job!