National Conventions

I am not going to talk politics, I just want to make sure that everyone knows that the RNC is going on this week and Sarah Palin is giving her speech, as is Mitt Romney. Tomorrow night McCain is giving his acceptance speech and I'm really looking forward to it. If you get a minute, you really need to check out Fred Thompson and Joe Lieberman's speeches from last night. They were awesome! Also, Obama is going to be on The O'Reilly Factor on Thursday night, which could be really good.
I hope everyone it enjoying this as much as I am!

Rainforest Cafe with the Redd's

We went to the Rainforest Cafe the other night and Max and Jack spent the entire night yelling and roaring with all of the animals. There was definitely never a dull moment! (Or quiet one, poor Ella!) By the way, thanks again, Sarah, for having us over for dinner on Sunday! It was delicious!

Sleepovers

When Morgan has his 24 hour shift at the hospital, Max gets to have a sleepover with me in my bed. No matter how far away he starts out, he always ends up pushing me off the bed. The first week I tried just switching to opposite sides whenever he started hovering over me which seemed to work fine. Last night he caught on and when I woke up to go to the bathroom (and took this second picture) he had just sprawled out in the middle. Of course when I woke up this morning, I was barely hanging on to the side of the bed, my legs totally dangling off, Max's bum right in my face. And don't you love how Bandit thinks he gets a pillow all to himself? 4 pillows on the King sized bed, and I get 1/8 of the bed and no pillow (see far left). Maybe the next sleepover we'll sprawl out on the living room floor and see what happens...


Beginning of the night

I took this about 2 a.m. To the left of Bandit is "my area." The rest Max and Bandit get to share.

The vacation is officially over

We are finally back from our month long stay in utah and I bet the Mathie's are glad to have us gone! Really, though, I need to thank them for hosting us, I'm sure it wasn't easy. Thanks for all the groceries and free room and board, we really appreciated it!
Max got to do so many things in Utah, he was definitely never bored. Besides celebrating 5 birthdays, we got to go swimming at the Mathie's club and my grandparents several times, at least 2 trips to the zoo, boating, shopping at the Gateway and Park City (of course my mom spoiled me rotten with little girl clothes, thanks a TON, mom!!), miniature golfing, REAL outdoor camping (except for sleeping in the Suburban instead of a tent), playing Rock Band (naked, sometimes), and playing with cousins and Uncle Wodan all the time.
Unfortunately sweet little Jonas got sick while we were up there and had to stay awhile in the hospital. Max was always asking about baby Jonas and we're glad that we got to see him at his own home before we left. We are all thinking of him and hope he continues to get better. He was so fun to get to see and spend time with. He is such a sweetheart.
It is good to be back and getting into the swing of things again. We've got tons to do before our next big trip and hopefully it will keep us busy and our minds off of the heat. The nursery still needs to get "girlified" and that's going to be a fun project to work on. Max is excited to get to see his Arizona friends again, though he really does miss his cousins "Tate" and Johnny. One insight I had of how Max will be with our new baby girl happened one Sunday when we went to church with my family. I was holding little Johnny and Max kept saying "Max's turn" which I thought meant he wanted me to hold him. So I gave Johnny to my mom and put my arms out to Max offering to hold him, which he quickly rejected. He was saying it was HIS turn to hold Johnny. So my mom shoved the baby into Max's arms and he held onto him with all of his might. It really was the sweetest thing I have ever seen. I can't wait to put him in the role of big brother, I think he is going to be an amazing asset when our little girl gets here. He is so full of love and I think he will be so excited to have a little sister around to take care of.
Again, thanks to all of our family for all of the help and attention you showered on us. We really are so blessed to have such great parents who support us so much.