Unexpected Weight Gain

So I've gained a lot of weight over the past several weeks. It has me a little concerned. I'm wondering how am I going to last 2 1/2 more months in these maternity clothes? They're not fitting too well these days. As I was surfing my sister's blog, I was reminded of how this gigantic spike in weight gain was accomplished...



I guess I should have layed off the "shave ice" as they call it

More Hawaii photos to come....

Pumpkin Patch

Here are some cute photos Matt's family took while we were out of town. They went to a pumpkin patch one evening, and found some great pumpkins (see the pumpkin carving photos!). They were spoiled while we were gone, and had some good quality time with Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Amy & Uncle Anthony, and of course cousins!!!

Zoo with Grandpa & Grandma

Grandpa, Katie, Emily, Issak, Amber, Parker, Skyler, and Grandma

My fabulous in-laws offered to take Amber & Parker to the zoo several weeks ago. What troopers! All the grand kids were there (six under 4)! They did have a little help though, Amy & Lisa (Matt's sisters) went along too. I stayed behind and worked. I know the kids had such a blast! Neither of them had naps that day, and they came home around 5:00! They were exhausted, but had such a great time.









Matt was out of town that week hunting, so I was so happy to have a little break. That night though, they both were SO tired so I started a bath at 6:00 for them, thinking bed was at 7:00! They both screamed from 6:00-6:30 NON STOP for no reason! They had both had it! Luckily I was full of patience since I had spent the entire day away from them, and then to our surprise Matt came home at about 7:00 (we didn't expect him for another day) which made everyone happy! Matt's hunt was a success, and he brought home a 3 point buck...those pictures & experience I'll let Matt post.

Garnder Village & Pumpkin Carving

Matt had last Monday off, so we went to Gardner Village and then carved pumpkins later that evening. It was such a fun day. I wish Matt and I were independently wealthy, and Matt were retired to we could spent every day together! Forget the wealthy part, just to be retired while the kids were young! I would want nothing more! It was such a fun day, and was so sad when Monday came and Matt returned to work. Gardner Village wasn't as fun for Matt, he was a good sport. He said the whole scene was a nightmare for him (a bunch of moms pushing strollers, all cute and done up, shopping with bags overflowing their stroller...). We still had fun though, and the kids LOVED riding the little ponies.

We went to my brother & sister-in-law's house to have a yummy chili/cornbread dinner and carve pumpkins. The kids had a blast, and so did we!

WAY Behind!

So I know it's been forever since I've posted. As I've said before, since I work from home getting on the computer is the LAST thing I want to do in my spare time. I was hoping Matt would keep up with the posting, but he just joined Facebook, so all his free time is devoted to that! Don't be surprised if he asks to be your friends...I've asked him to email all my friends so I can check up on you through that (:

So where do I begin? So much has happened in a month! I'll start with the oldest and work my way forward. This will be a daily task though, so for once you can check back daily and I'll have updates!

These pictures were taken in August I believe. We went to Payson to go horseback riding with my sister's family. The kids loved it (mostly Amber). I think she has the same love for animals I do. She shows so much compassion towards them, it's really cute. She was glued to the horse, and had a fabulous time! I went on a small "walk" with one, but since I'm pregnant I thought I'd better take it easy and not go too fast.






These are my nephews Andy & Taten


Here's Amber, and my niece Kiley


Matt and Amber, hogging the horse! J/K


This is Kiley & Emily


Here's Amber, proud and as excited as ever!

LoToJa

Once again it's that time...LOTOJA!!! Matt completed his 4th finish. For those who don't know, this is a bike race that starts in Logan, and you finish in Jackson (206 miles all in one day!) I was a little nervous about this year's race because his training schedule has been pretty minimal due to my crazy work schedule and the demands of Search & Rescue and other family stuff. He did as much as he could, but it's still such a huge race that it made me nervous. He did SO awesome though. I was so darn proud of him.







These pictures above are in Montpelier (about 80 miles in to the race). His time was great, but he hadn't eaten much to this point. He was trying to eat some salt potatoes and was gagging on them like crazy. I thought for sure he was going to throw up right there on the spot. I was worried, because he needed to eat and the next stretch was a tough one. It's a 35 mile stretch, mostly up hill. He was able to hold his food down and plowed through the next 35 miles with out any problem. From there the race got better and better, and he was feeling great.




These pictures are at the "King/Queen of the Hill." It's at the top of Salt River Pass. It's quite an incline and super tough. We watched several riders walk up. He did great though, and by this point was feeling fabulous! He was happy to reach the summit and flew down to Afton.





There is no way I could be support crew without the help of Matt's parents, Lee & Debbie. They are awesome. We all drove together, so they were able to help with the kids and to help with food items/water/etc. The kids LOVE being with their grandparents, and I love it too. They are so lucky to spend so much quality time with them.



Here we are at the finish! Unlike last year, we're in daylight still! Matt shaved an hour off his time from last year. His average speed was better, and he looked/felt so much better too. I was so darn proud of him. He had a really successful race. When asked if he was going to do it next year, he said "Oh, of course!" That's a huge indication of how great he was feeling. When I asked him last year he said "Hell no." What a great weekend. We loved being there supporting him and cheering him on. The kids were great in the car (we were in the car for about 16 hours straight...we left Salt Lake at 4:30 AM Saturday morning and got to our hotel at 8:30 at night!) Way to go Matt! You did awesome and we're excited for next year! Let's hope we have a van by then, or else how are we going to do it?!




This is Parker in the hotel in Jackson. How cute is that?

More Camping Photos

Here are some photos from our camping trip in August with Matt's family. We camp at Washington Lake. It's so fun to be together. Matt's brother and his brother's fiance live in California, so it's our opportunity to play with them for a few days. The weather was a little rainy (actually rainy about 80% of the time) but we still had a blast. We had to pack up camp in the pouring rain though. That was a soggy mess, but a fun memory. We had good food, lots of fun, and tons of fishing. Aaron told us dozens of funny jokes too. Amber's favorite was "what do you get when you cross a brown chicken with a brown cow? BROWN CHICKEN BROWN COW"