One Week Birthday

It's hard to believe that Dalanie is already a week old. Time passes so quickly and they change so much. She is still the sweetest little baby. She is a delight to have in our home. Hudson is adjusting to being a big brother, and becoming quite a good one.

The kids and I set out to Burley to pick blackberries with mom. Traveling with two was a bit of a trick. Hudson would shush Dalanie as soon as she'd make a squeak. By the time we turned on to 500 S. Dalanie was convinced that she was pretty hungry. Once again, big brother tried to quiet her. This time he kept saying "Momma," like he knew we were almost to Grandma's and that she'd make everything better.
We had a good visit. Hudson fed the chick-chicks and horses and even caught 2 frogs with Grandpa. Dalanie got to meet her Aunt Tameka and I got a much needed haircut, not to mention the 2 1/2 gallons of blackberries we got picked.

My Helper

Hudson loves to help me with Dalanie. He is my little runner. He fetches diapers and burp cloths. His favorite things to help with are bathing her and putting lotion on her. I think he also likes to kiss her- as I catch him doing this quite frequently.
There are a few things he doesn't quite understand. He doesn't think she really gets a bath without getting in the tub. He is also puzzled by the entire nursing thing, especially my nursing pads. I tried explaining how I feed Dalanie milk. Now he just says "Mom, cow." Why didn't I think of that?

Soaking It Up

It's been hard to take it easy since I am feeling so well. I tell you what, I'd give birth any day over being sick for the first 4-5 months. As predicted, our little 'Lanie has tons of hair. It is jet black and so incredibly soft. (I think Hudson has as much fun dolling her up as I do. He brought her headband to me this morning and wanted to help put it on her.) I still cannot get over how tiny and perfect she is. She is a very good baby.
Yesterday we decided to put her in the sun, activate the vitamin D, and hopefully avoid a bad case of jaundice. Mom, Brent, and I all thought should would have a fit lying on the bed without a blanket or clothing as security. Much to our surprise, she loved it.

She's Here

We dropped Hudson off at Nikkala's and headed to the hospital bright and early Friday morning to have our baby. Once admitted, they proceeded to induce me. It was an uneventful morning, just laying around and waiting for the medication to take effect. By noon I was beginning to make progress dialating, so they ruptured my membrane and started pit. I kept holding out on getting my epidural until I was a 6 and my contractions were becoming severely uncomfortable. We anticipated a few more hours of laboring until I would be fully dialated, so I decided to get an epidural. The anesthesiologist administered my epidural immediately and was just cleaning up when the nurse checked me again. I was fully dialated and ready to push. (This all happened within about a half hour.) We had to wait for the nurses to finish the final preparations before I could begin pushing. Three pushes later and our beautiful baby girl was here at 3:44 pm. Dalanie weighed in at 6 pounds 11 ounces and was 20 inches long.
Everything happened so quickly that my epidural never had time to take effect. It was nice to be able to get up and use the bathroom without having to wait for my legs to wake up. I was numb during delivery though from medication they administer to fill the gap until the epidural begins working. That was a good thing.

All in all, it went very well and I am feeling great. Maybe too good in fact, my mom keeps threatening me.
We feel very blessed to have our baby here, safe and sound. Birth is such a miracle.

Mini Me

Today I've been trying to get everything in order since we're scheduled to have our baby tomorrow. Hudson has been a great helper. We've mowed the lawn, he's mopped while I've cleaned bathrooms. I'm taking a break to get my monthly pages posted for Adornit. While they upload I decided to make a blog entry.
It's funny, the closer I get to having this baby- I start wondering more and more what this little person is going to be like. Will she be anything like Hudson? Or will I have to learn a new way of mothering? I also wonder what she'll look like. Odds are that she'll have hair (since I've had heartburn) and that she'll chunk right up with me nursing her.
I ran across a picture of me when I was little. Is there any question who Hudson looks like? Brent asked me why I have to have such dominant genes. Who knows, maybe our little girl will be a mini-Brent.

Pregnant Lady Ramblings

I have officially lost my mind. They say it happens when you're pregnant, never to be totally regained. I have my own theory on the matter. I think it's a necessary part of pregnancy. Your mind just goes numb and you're out to lunch during the last weeks of your pregnancy. Otherwise, how would you deal with the anxiety of labor/delivery, the misery and discomfort caused by your expectant little one, and lack of motivation to do anything? Add to that your whacked out hormones and emotions and you've got a serious case on your hands. I am officially zoned out.
Just waiting.
Waiting for our baby to come.

Lessons From Grandpa

During one of our visits to Grandpa's this summer, he taught Hudson how to share grapes. He would put one in his mouth and hold it with his lips. Hudson would have to "kiss" Grandpa in order to retrieve it. Well, we were spending the day at Ross Park Aquatic Center on Saturday with Stephens', Mom, Jacie, Kolby, and Mason. Hudson was eating his Swedish fish that Grandma gave him. Before we knew it, he had a fish dangling out of his mouth and he was proceeding to share it with Grandma.
Before you knew it, Grandma and all of the kids had cheese puffs, gummy worms, and fish hanging out of their mouths and it was a kissing frenzy.

Dad can sure be proud of the valuable lessons that he teaches his grandkids.

Watch My Corn Pop Up In Rows

Here are a few pictures from awhile back. By now the corn is over your head. It grows crazy fast this time of year. Hudson loves to help Dad. When we're driving and he sees corn he always asks if it's Dad's. If I say no, he questions "Pappa?" Little does this kid realize that there's a lot more corn being grown throughout the world than just in Bingham County.

Backseat DJ

I didn't know that 2 yr. olds could have an opinion when it come to music, turns out they can. We were on our way home from Burley and I was listening to the radio to try to keep myself awake. Pretty soon I hear Hudson say "Tis" (the name he has affectionately given to his Uncle Chris.) It just turns out that Chris is an aspiring singer/song writer and we have a few of his cd's. (Go check out the 4 chord song- I quite enjoy it.) I put a cd in and Hudson was completely content. He actually sang along, lalalala.
Fast forward to this morning.
We were in the car on the way to my Dr. appointment and Hudson puts in his request for Tis. As soon as it was playing he kept saying "Tis!" "Tis!" He had a smile from ear to ear. Thanks for saving the day Uncle Chris. I'm just wondering when your going to produce a kid cd with toddler hits? I don't think he needs to be inundated with all of your lost love and breakups quite yet. ;)

Burley or Bust

Hudson and I sent Brent off to youth conference bright and early Friday morning. Shortly after, we got in the car and set out for a weekend in Burley. Despite the heat, we had a lot of fun filled with of water, ice cream, and crazy Grandpa.

That afternoon we ran some errands in town and took Hudson to the kiddie pool in Burley. It was all fun and games until someone pooped in the pool and they shut it down. Friday night Grandpa set up his slip and slide and took Hudson down it. It was quite entertaining to say the least. Tameka hosted a movie night, showing Little Rascals with our projector. Too bad us oldies were too tired to enjoy the show.

Hudson loved helping Grandpa feed the horses apples and gather eggs. He taught him how to use his shirt as a basket. It was okay as long as someone was helping Hudson fill it, otherwise he tried to put the apples under the shirt.

Saturday morning Mom and I took in a few garage sales. Nothing too impressive, but Mom got 3 very versatile pairs of shorts. The funnest was trying to find homes for them. We also checked out the farmers market at Gossners and I had my first icrecream of the day at 9:00 am.

Once home, Mom made the finishing touches on the baby's blessing dress. We hung out and tried to beat the heat. It took a few more icecream cones and popsicles to get the job done. Nik and Chod came and the boys enjoyed playing in buckets of water. All in all it was a good trip.

Free Kids Movies

At the play group today, I found out that Edwards Cinema in Idaho Falls offers free kids movies every Tuesday and Wednesday during the summer at 10:00 am. Here's the schedule for rest of the summer. Oh yeah, and they said to get there 30 minutes early because it fills up so fast. Enjoy!

July 17/18
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (Rated G)
&
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (Rated PG)

July 24/25
Charlotte’s Web (Rated G)
&
Monster House (Rated PG)

July 31/Aug 1
Everyone’s Hero (Rated G)
&
Barnyard (Rated PG)

Aug 7/8
Jonah: A Veggie Tale Movie (Rated G)
&
Open Season (Rated PG)

Aug 7/8
Curious George (Rated G)
&
Flushed Away (Rated PG)

Christmas in July

After I dressed Hudson in some shorts and a t-shirt, he brought me his jacket and wanted help putting it on. Next he proceeded to get his cowboy boots. I kept telling him that he would be too hot outside, but he didn't seem to listen. I walked him to the door so he could go outside and he ran back to the mud room and pointed to his gloves. Once again I assured him that he wouldn't need them and that he would be too hot, but he persisted. As I was putting them on he got excited and exclaimed, "Snow!"

Poor kid, that makes two of us wishing for a little relief from this summer heat.

Skinny Jeans

Ever since we got home from our little vacation, Brent has been complaining about his pants being tight. Yesterday he asked, "Be honest, have I really gotten fat?" to which I laughed very unsympathetically. C'mon, lets ask an 8 1/2 month pregnant woman about clothes not fitting. I can't imagine him putting on too much weight this time of year, but he's convinced he has. Maybe I managed to shrink his pants, I don't know. Nevertheless, he is still wearing the same size of pants he did in high school. Does he think that I'm still wearing the same size of pants as I did in high school? One of these days he might have to break down and wear a bigger size.

Get Away

Brent and I decided that if we were going to have any sort of a vacation this summer, this past week was the time. We loaded up and headed out on Tuesday. You should have seen our Red Neck Toy Hauler. We had a camper on the front and Rhino on the back of the 4 place snowmobile trailer. (I was determined that if we were going camping, I was going to have a "real" bed to sleep in. It took much persisting to convince Brent that the camper would be better than a tent.) Much to my dismay, I left my memory stick in the computer at home. I was sick to my stomach, but then I realized that you can still have fun even if there isn't a camera to document the fun.

We headed to Emigration campground by way of Lava and Preston. We were just about to the campground when we noticed a truck off the side of the road with it's hood open. Brent stopped to see if they needed help, it's a good thing we did. One of the men had some medical conditions and he was suffering from heat stroke. We turned around and took them to Preston. By this time we decided to bag the idea of going to Logan for their fireworks show, so we picked up some groceries and headed back to camp.

Hudson was so excited the entire trip. He called the camper his "house" and enjoyed his first camping experience very much. He especially liked washing his hands in a little sink we borrowed from Grandma and Grandpa Hillman. It wouldn't have been such a big deal, but the generator was broken at the campground which meant that there was no water. We made sure to keep close tabs on the water situation and conserve but what two year old is conservative when it comes to playing in water?

On the 4th, we went 4-wheeling and got completely filthy. We tried cleaning up at a creek where we had our lunch, but little good that did. While we were eating lunch, a deer came bouncing down the road and then up the mountain when he saw us. From then on, Hudson would hop like the deer. Once we got back to camp it was stinking hot. We decided to go to Bear Lake to clean up and cool down. It was pretty busy, but we managed to find ourselves a spot on the North Shore beach. Brent had never been to Bear Lake in the summer and he was quite impressed with all the people and how fun it was. (Hint: He's looking for some people that would like to share our boat for a day or two on the lake. RSVP in the comment section.) We also scouted out some closer camping spots for our future excursion. Our Bear Lake experience was rounded out with dinner and shakes from LaBeau's. No fireworks for us, we were all too tired after our busy day.

On Thursday, we got camped packed up and headed back Preston way to Riverdale Resort. Hudson couldn't wait to get in the water. He floated in his tube and went down the big waterslide over and over with Brent. After swimming we headed to Logan where we dropped Hudson off so Brent and I could go out to eat at Cafe Sabor. After a leisurely dinner, we picked Hudson up and went to the Cache Valley Cruise-In. It was the first night of the event and hadn't officially started. There were still enough cars to look at, but the best part was the Sock Hop Dance they had going on. We watched and participated, Hudson likes music and to dance.

The last day of our adventure was pretty well spent on "business errands" to Ogden and Salt Lake. We were all ready to get home. Hudson was sure missing his Makita. He kept asking for her and we told him that Grandma was taking care of her. That only led to more home sickness, "Mamma, Kita?" All in all it was a good get away, a little hot, but we survived.

Not Stopping

There are a few things that my pregnancy have put a damper on such as: waterskiing, painting my toenails, and jumping on the trampoline. But I refuse to let it ruin all of my fun. I am still able to sleep on my stomach (don't ask my how, never could with Hudson,) pull weeds and have a garden, and ride my bike. I'm not saying that I do any of the above well, but I manage to get it done. After a 4 mile bike ride a week or two ago, my hips hurt the next day. I thought it might be the end to my bike riding, but after a week they still hurt. I decided that the hip discomfort is just part of the pregnancy package and really didn't have a lot to do with the fact that I was riding my bike. Hudson and I both really enjoy bike rides, so I'm determined not to let my pregnancy stop me. I'm afraid that delivering the baby might put a screeching halt to it though. I remember trying to ride my bike a month after I had Hudson. Not too pleasant, still a little tender.

I'm It

Four Jobs I’ve held;
1. Petiole Puller @ Rod Lake Ag
2. Grounds Crew member at Utah State University
3. Mailroom specialist as International Sports Specialists
4. CEO of Brent Hillman Farms

Movies I can watch over and over:
Not a big movie buff. I prefer sleeping through them instead of watching them.

Places I’ve lived:
1. Burley, ID
2. Logan, UT
3. Shelley, ID- parent's travel trailer for 2 months prior to our trailer house
4. Current home

T.V. Shows I enjoy:
1. Food Network Star
2. Curious George
3. HGTV shows

Places I have been on vacations to:
1. Deutschland/ Germany
2. Russia- Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novo Sinkovo
3. Back East (DC, NYC, Maine, Connecticut)
4. Western Carribean- Jamaica, Cozumel, Grand Cayman
5. Santiago, Chile

Favorite foods:
1. Icecream
2. Fajitas
3. Pizookies
4. New peas and Potatoes

Websites I visit:
1. gmail.com
2. family blogs
3. key.com
4. ebay

Places I’d rather be right now:
1. Maine
2. Glacier National Park
3. Chile, except it's winter there now
4. A Labor and Delivery Room

Consider yourself tagged
1. Nikki
2. Julia
3. Emily Gerratt

Monster In Our Lunchbox

Nik and I took our boys down to Pocatello to swim at the Ross Park Aquatic Center. It must have been a good day for a swim, as we had to stand in line for 20 minutes to get in (turns out there are more good moms than just the two
of us. Who knew?) The boys spent most of their water time in the zero depth kiddie pool. During the hourly pool checks when they make everyone get out of the pool, we'd make our way back to our towels and stuff. Hudson would always head for the lunchbox packed with treats. It was a bit breezy so the boys would freeze when we pulled them out of the water.

French Fries and Missed Church

Last night after Brent finished putting in our railing upstairs and hooking up our air conditioner (he was a busy boy. He said he hopes it will "make me happy." Are pregnant women so unhappy? . . . probably.) he wanted to go and get some ice cream. We decided to visit the newly opened A&W by DAD's truck stop. Although I had already fed Hudson, he managed to inhale a large portion of Brent's fries and milkshake. Once the fries were gone, he tried drinking his ketchup.
Anyway, I woke up to Hudson crying at 6:00 this morning. I went to see what was the matter and found him lying in his bed, surrounded by lots of french fries. They must not have settled well with him because his tummy definitely wanted to give them back. Reminds me of when I was expecting Hudson and Brent and I (okay, so it was mostly me) finished off 2 large orders of curly fries. Same outcome, only difference was that I made it to the toilet. I got him bathed and his bed cleaned up and took him back to bed with us. Brent didn't think it was a good idea to take him to church, so here I sit blogging instead of being in Sunday School. And that my friends is the story that makes my title make sense. I know. . . some of you probably thought I had a craving and decided to miss church. Not true, even if I do find fries to be quite yummy.

Something For Baby

I finally finished a quilt for our baby. It should come as no surprise that it has something to do with John Deere. I couldn't resist the fun, pink fabric. It was fun to machine quilt. I went a little crazy with the flowers- but I had to keep it feminine, right? For some reason Brent hasn't objected to me making two blankets for the baby, although he adamantly opposed me making any for Hudson. Maybe he likes pink better than blue. Enjoy!

Barefoot & Pregnant

Here I sit, hours away from Brent's 10 year class reunion. And this is my condition. Since I didn't graduate with him, or even from Firth, I feel the pressure is off. No one here will ever know what I looked like when I graduated (including Brent) so I have no image to live up to. Besides, there's no quick fix for my weight gain. I've still got 6 more weeks until the baby should come. Until then, I'll still be barefoot and pregnant.

Flooding Fun

After shutting off the water (hooray! Brent finished flooding our wheat) we stopped by Grandma and Grandpa's to see Mitchell and Dalton. Ever since the night before, Hudson had been begging to go to Mamma's to see 'Tchell. When we got there, the boys were out playing in the water while Grandpa flood irrigated the lawn. Hudson ran right in, so I went after him so we could take his clothes off. They had so much fun running and splashing around. I was sad I didn't have my camera. Hudson's diaper got pretty soggy, luckily by then he was starting to get cold. I pulled him out and wrapped him up in a towel. Poor guy, he got the worst rash from his bulging diaper rubbing against his legs. I guess next time he might get to run around commando.

I can still remember all of the hours, if not days, of fun I had playing in the water while I was growing up. Miss America photoshoots while someone poured buckets of water over our head or splashed us with water, waterskiing behind Dad's swing, slip and sliding through several inches of water, (it's a wonder we didn't drown) and tracking grass in the house. Oh how I wish that I could flood irrigate my lawn.

How Long Can It Take?

Before I got married, I'd fix myself a wrap for lunch and dinner. (Tortilla, lunch meat, cheese, and any fruit or vegetable I had in my fridge.) From meal prep to clean up, it took about 10 minutes from beginning to end. Then I got married and meals started taking a bit longer, but I became pretty proficient at whipping up something in less than 10 minutes when we were in the middle of farm work. Now that I have a child, mealtime takes F O R E V E R ! As I type this, Hudson has been sitting in his seat playing and eating with his food for over 50 minutes now and insists that he is not quite finished. I finally convinced him that he was finished by telling him he could feed the rest to Makita.

I swear. I do not know how we'll ever manage to get this kid to school on time. He'll have to start eating breakfast the night before.

Summer Fun

Warren Tribute

In honor of Father's Day I decided to give a little shout out to my Dad.

*He's a hard worker who taught me how to work. He also taught me how to make work fun. He can boogie to KBAR or make a game out of any chore.

*His top priority has always been his family. I can't remember a ball game or activity I was involved in where he wasn't there.

*Everyone in Burley knows him. Afterall, he's a legend.

*Whatever he is, he is the best. Whether it's scoutmaster, nursery leader, home teacher, welder, grandpa, dad, blogger, neighbor, or boat driver.

You're awesome Dad. In fact, all of your son-in-laws try to be like you. Can anyone pick out the real Warren? **Hint: The man in the white shoes is not him, even if the white shoes are his.

From all of us here at the Hillman household,
Happy Fathers Day! We love you.

Domestic Bliss

Whew! What a week. It's taken awhile to post, so I've got a lot to cover. In reaction to Nik's post "What does she do all day?" I've decided to recap my leisurely week as a housewife.
Monday- pack for Brent's high adventures, mow lawn, weed the garden, pick strawberries, Relief Society Meeting
Tuesday- baby Dr. appointment, make jam, have Mitch over to play with Hudson, conversation with neighbor about our unruly puppy- requests a new bike seat for his son since Makita chewed the other one, pack and entertain Hudson on our trip to SLC with Mom, Nik, and Bentley
Wednesday- waddle around shopping, try to keep up with Mom and Nik, (Does shopping wear anyone else out?) endure the 3+ hour car ride home, start watering lawn and garden, fix dinner for our unexpected visitors
Thursday - recover. laundry, unpack Brent's things from high adventure
Friday - clean house, spray weeds, pick strawberries, entertain Mitch, get new tires for the hay rake, get new bike seat and deliver it to neighbor, visit NiCole and see their new baby
Saturday - make cookies for ward Father's Day gift, make meal for VT sister that just had a baby, deliver meal and visit, find a babysitter for that night, call sisters in the ward to remind them about bringing cookies, go boating, attend friend's reception in St. Anthony, take Brent out for dinner
** and of course, the usuals like fixing meals, doing dishes, caring for Hudson, etc.
I'm sure many of you had a similar week. Hope you're ready for another Monday.

Things You Might Not Know About Me

I was tagged by Tammy to post some things you might not know about me. Since most of you are pretty familiar with me, these might not come as much of a surprise.

1. I got chicken pox the day before my 3rd grade track meet. It was a huge disappointment since my class had been running a mile everyday and I was pshyched for the "marathon." (Rumor had it I was the fastest girl in the school. Too funny considering my current pregnant state. I don't think I'd make it too far.)

2. I was I was selected to represent our school and community in an exchange program to Germany (known as the Daimler-Benz Award of Excellence.) I received an all expense paid trip to Germany for 2 1/2 weeks. It was luxurious since Daimler-Benz was picking up the tab.

3. My first kiss was after my freshman year of college. Hussy, I know.

4. I played rugby at USU until I suffered head trauma and got some sense knocked into me.

5. I haven't gotten a speeding ticket since high school (knock on wood.)

6. I really want a laminating machine.

7. I can drive an 18 wheeler (forward and backward), weld, grind, run a cutting torch, vaccinate and castrate calves. Why?!? Because my dad always said "It's better to make a tom-boy out of a girl than a sissy out of a boy."

Now that you all know me inside and out, I challenge you to come up with your own interesting list about yourself.

Gardening Adventures

I remember those quiet mornings out hoeing my garden, listening to the birds sing before there was Hudson. Now that I'm a mom, my garden weeding sounds more like this, "Hudson! Quit stepping on the peas!" "Hudson, don't hoe the carrots!" "Be careful when you swing your hoe." Today was no different. I had to tell him to not hoe my zinnias or marigolds. It will be a miracle if we are able to harvest anything from our garden.
For now, the safest place for him in the garden is in the corn. Brent has gone to great lengths to teach him about corn and it has paid off, since he can tell the difference between weeds and corn. He managed to hoe meticulously around the corn plants without causing any damage. I was quite impressed and almost forgot that he was only two. But then, he finished his weeding and proceeded to trample the corn on the way out of the patch. "Hudson! You're walking on the corn!" To which he turned around, walked back to the corn, laid down on his tummy, and kissed the corn he had stepped on.
So when the freezing temperatures come this fall and put and end to our garden, I suppose I won't remember all of the stepped on plants or how many bushels my garden yields, but I will remember Hudson's desire to help and the time we spent working together.
The addition of our puppy, Makita, has added another dimension to gardening. She runs over more plants than Hudson and me put together, often rolling on top of them. Some people have to worry about birds getting their strawberries, not me. Makita sniffs them out and eats them out of the patch.

Fancy Wheels

Our trip to Burley for Grandpa's funeral was good. It was fun to see family again, but I must say- all the Parish aunts are crazy. Never before have I had anyone touch my pregnant belly, until the viewing and I think they all had to get their hand on it. The funeral service was nice and appropriate. It was a beautiful day.

When we got home, I was looking through my pictures and found a few from when Grandpa snuck out in his Caddy to visit. He wasn't supposed to be driving, but who could resist with wheels like these?

Where's Hudson?

That's not much of a question anymore because I always find him in the same place- OUTSIDE. As soon as he's eaten enough breakfast, he has to take the rest out to Makita. Once he's dressed, he brings me his boots so I can help him put them on and then it's "bye." He likes his sandbox, playing with Makita, or digging in the dirt pile with his shovel and neighbor friends. All of his sock are now brown from spending a lot of time in his sweaty boots, in the company of all the dirt and sand he manages to get in them. I am having the go out and physically drag him inside for meals and bedtime. It's going to be a long summer.

Fun Site

Here's a fun site for all sorts of gospel related things. http://sugardoodle.net/ I've been working on some FHE lessons, but there's help for all sorts of things. Go check it out.

Grandpa Ole'

Saturday night Mom called to tell us that Grandpa wasn't doing well. On Sunday we got the news that he had passed away. Upon hearing the news I just sat there for awhile. Death has a way of evoking all sorts of emotions and memories. When Hudson and I were home last (for Tameka's graduation) we went in and visited him. It was 10:30 in the morning and he was still in bed. We talked, all the while he stayed lying down. (I guess I didn't realize that his health had detiorated so much. I was actually a little bothered that he never sat up.) He said he was excited for us to get a new baby girl and that Hudson was a good looking young man. Before we left, I gave him a hug and a kiss, not knowing that it would be my last visit with him.

Looking back, I'm glad that I went in and visited him. I imagine that Grandpa will give our baby a big love before she comes to us. I hope I can teach our children about their Grandparents who have passed away and continue to make them a part of our lives since their lives have influenced who we are today.

Simple Reminder

Yesterday I was reminded of why I ever wanted to have another baby and wade through another nine months of pregnancy. It went something like this. I was lying on Hudson's floor, trying to take a rest while he played. I asked him to get me his pillow off of his bed. He quickly handed it to me. Before I knew it, he was unfolding his blanket and covering me up. He got another blanket for himself and laid down next to me. A minute later, he looked at me, wiped the hair out of my eyes, and proceeded to give me three kisses on my forehead. As soon as he had done that, he was up and playing again.

Camping Out

I found this little tent while garage selling a few weeks ago. After trying to set it up outside in gale force winds, we opted to bring it inside. It now occupies a corner in Hudson's room. He absolutely loves it. We read stories and play games in there. When it's nap time, we head for the tent. And bedtime it's back to the tent again. Every once and awhile he chooses to sleep in his bed. We might have to take the tent down so it's no longer an option as I continue to get fatter. It's not the prettiest sight to watch me wallow in and out. I'm afraid I might become stuck in it one of the days.

Memorial Day Memories

Brent didn't have to plant corn until the afternoon, so we got up and ready and headed out for breakfast. We ended up dining with the locals at North Hi-Way Cafe. It's a fun little dive. We topped breakfast off with a fresh slice of strawberry pie. Next we headed to Tautphaus Park Zoo. Hudson was so excited. He pushed his stroller around more than he rode in it. The tiger exhibit was definitely his favorite. It was fun to have Brent come with us for a change.

Hudson spotted a slide on our way out of the park, so we stopped and let him run around. He went crazy. Brent didn't realize that he enjoyed slides so much. FunLand was open, so we took Hudson for a little train ride. He was so excited that he was running/hopping the entire way to the train. Once we got his tickets purchased and put him in a seat, he quickly changed his mind. From the first lunge out of the station he was screaming. It continued around the track twice. We must have worn him out because he fell asleep on the way home.

Mom, Mom, This?!?

This phrase explains what I've been up to. Hudson and I play this game all day, everyday lately. It gets tiring at times, but I am surprised at all that he is learning. It has definitely made me more aware of the little things.
We spent the last part last week in Burley, to celebrate Tameka's graduating, and to hang out. By Friday Hudson was saying "Momma, Momma, this?!?" Mom assured me that she could handle it since she raised 4 children of her own.

Family Affair

Last night we loaded Makita up in the back of the pickup and set out to help Brent change water. Okay, well I had no intentions of setting any siphon tubes, but decided to take my camera and tag along. Hudson was looking stylish with his boots and shorts on. Makita loved the water. She swam across the ditch and ran through the water. I'm thinking she'll be quite entertaining if we should ever take her out in the boat.

Here's My Sign

I don't know what this sign does for the rest of you- but for me, it's exhilarating. It gets my blood pumping. Call me weird, I know, but there are few things in life that get me as excited as garage saling. The hunt and anticipation of finding "good stuff" makes me happy.
Garage sale season is in full swing around here. Today Hudson was my partner in crime. We set out at 7:30. Our adventures yielded a children's bike seat (the ones that attach to your own bike) by RhodeGear, jogging stroller by Schwinn, small Texaco sign, antique garden shears and clippers, and kid and baby clothes. All in all it was a fun day. Hudson also got 2 scraped up knees from running. (I guess it was pretty hard for him to keep up with me.) If anyone would like to join me, I'll probably be going again next Saturday.