Lots of fun in Utah

Hanging out with the boys

Roasting marshmallows over a "campfire"


Playing with dad at the park


Eating dinner at the park for FHE with Gramma and Papa Bill


Hanging out at Gateway

Meeting Alex and Felicia, and their kids, Olivia (my new girlfriend) and her baby brother, Lincoln

Fun at the Fair

While we were up in Utah, my Grammie and Papa Mathie took me to the Fair. I had so much fun seeing and petting all of the animals, picking apples, and of course, eating all the yummy food! Dad took me on a gigantic slide and I didn't even mind that too much. I was kind of onery the entire night, but only when Logan wasn't pushing me in the stroller. My favorite part of the night had to be when I got to pet the little horsey. He was cute and I did not want to leave him. Of course, I didn't want to ride him, either. I'm too little. Maybe next time...
Thanks for the fun time at the fair, Grammie and Papa!

Let me tell you 'bout my best friend

I sure miss hanging out with my awesome cousin Kate. Mornings just aren't the same without her. I really miss seeing her mischievous little face bounding upstairs every morning. I also miss her dancing to The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse songs. That was always funny to watch!
Every day was so much fun, watching cartoons with her over breakfast, wrestling and running outside, playing Gramma's piano (loudly), and causing all sorts of trouble together. Kate is a great older cousin and liked to help me with everything I did, well, at least watch me to make sure I did things right. I miss her so much and hope she comes for a visit to my house really soon!! Love you, Kate!

Dates to remember

Here are some important things coming up that I'm sure none of you will want to miss!
September 26: foreign policy sit down debate
October 7: town hall debate
October 15: domestic policy and economic policy debate
Tuesday November 4: Election date!

Of course the election date would be my due date. With Max, my water broke hours before my much needed hair appointment. I have no doubt she will make it a challenge to get to the polls. Apparently my children just want me to know right from the start where my priorities should be.
But on a side note, if Sarah Palin can get back to work 3 days after giving birth, I guess I have no excuse:)

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.

Sign the Petition

For those of you who don't know, Morgan and I have a little nephew with a genetic disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). There is a petition going around for signatures to get Congress involved in funding more research to help cure this disorder. Here is the link: http://www.petitiontocuresma.com/
If you could all just take a minute to sign the petition, it would really be appreciated. We love our little Jonas and want to make sure that he gets all the help he can. If you want to read any more on this genetic disorder, head to their website: www.coleman2family.blogspot.com
Thanks for your support!

Trip to Newport

We just got back from the best 2 week trip ever! We spent the first week with Morgan's family and then my family came down and we just did a house swap for the last week. We got to go to Disneyland 4 times (at least 1 time too many, even for Max), the beach, and loads of shopping for our little addition coming this fall. It was so fun getting to relax and spend some time with family, I can't believe it went by so fast!
The week we were with the Mathie's, we got tons of beach time in, 2 trips to Disneyland, went and saw Kung Fu Panda (Max's fav new movie) and of course, major shopping. It was fun to get to spend time with Max's cousin, Jonas, and by the end of the week, Max was tickling his toes and always looking for him. Jonas is such a sweetheart and I can't believe all of the things he and his mom and dad have to go through. They are great parents and Jonas is a very lucky little boy.
Of course Max loved getting to spend time with Uncle Wodan and he even finally warmed up to Uncle Taylor and his cute girlfriend, Erica. The funniest part of the week had to be when I walked into the bathroom when Max was going potty and he screamed at me "Stuff to think about!" and continued yelling it (loud enough for the people in the alleys to hear) for about 5 minutes until he was finished. Apparently he needed some privacy.
After the Mathie's left, we met up with my family down the street. Max loved getting to know his cousins and there definitely wasn't a dull moment! We had 6 families with 9 kids running around and somehow Max managed a nap every day. It was fun getting to see my cousin Brandon, and his wife Nicole and cute little Ellie. I wish we could have gotten to spend more time with them! But it was so great to see them and maybe one day we'll live close enough to visit a lot more frequently?!
The last week in Newport, we went to Disneyland 2 MORE times, had lots of beach time, runs on the boardwalk, and because I'm married to Morgan, more shopping:)
My favorite part of the week though, had to be the mornings my sisters and mom and I all were up before the rest of the family and we got to sit on the ocean, sipping our diet cokes, watching the mist clear and just getting to talk. I never felt bad about missing my morning run when I got to do that.
It makes it really hard to live so far away from family when you have such a great time together. I really miss my sisters and was so glad we got to see each other. They are such good friends and I hope one day we can all live close.
Thanks A TON to the Mathie's and my parents for the sweet trips! We love getting to see you guys and had such a great time! Thanks for all you guys do for us!
That was pretty much the short version of our awesome trip, but I'm sure it's too long as it is. Enjoy the pix!