We're having a....

It's a BOY! And we're all super excited around here!!! GO BOYS!

Disney, Disney--YAY Disney

DISNEY WORLD IS SOOOOOOO GREAT!

So for REAL! This vacation was so so so much fun. We've had lots of vacations back home and to visit family but this was probably our first real FAMILY VACATION. A HUGE thanks to the Davis' for inviting us to stay with them--it was soo much fun and so nice to go with our friends-not to mention that the place we stayed was way nicer then any place we would have stayed on our own. We loved it and THANKS THANKS THANKS! Shari's blog is up too if you want to check it out here .

We drove down Friday--went swimming in the places AMAZING pirate pool (with a ship and slides and water shooters--this pool was so so great! And the next morning started our trip with Animal Kingdom. Jess, Shari and Ben went on Expedition Everest and LOVED it. Me--being great with child---and getting motion sickness since I was little gladly stayed with the kiddos! But they loved it! (Everest is in the background...see...that white blob that didn't show up...anyway--I heard the ride was awesome!)

See how tough they are?

This was a dinosaur digging area. Both boys found a spot where there were no bones--and dug till they found their own--they were pretty proud of themselves!

Sunday we just chilled. We went to church, then in the afternoon drove to the Orlando temple. It was only like 15 minutes away so it was awesome to let the kids see it. And just walk around and see how gorgeous it is. I wish I could do landscaping like the temple people...so so pretty!


Cutest quote of the week was done by Lilly our friends 3 year old. While at the temple, she ran to one of the doors, banged on it and said, "Jesus! Let me in!" SOOO CUTE! (me and Jess were laughing at this in this picture)

Monday--Typhoon Lagoon and it was so fun! Kade and Luke could have stayed all day in the wave pool and been perfectly happy. Every time that water went up for the giant wave they would scream with the happiest little faces I have ever seen! Then I'd just hold onto them while we all got washed away...FUN! Jess took Kade on some medium sized rides and he LOVED it! Then for the bigger tube rides we switched off with Shari and Ben and had so much fun!

Jess is awesome and did all the super scary rides--(which next time I am SOOOOOOOOO doing! (here's my rant) I love water parks and LOVE freefalls. And it's a good think Jess was there to keep me, and our little one inside, from going down them...I wanted to real bad...he's a smart guy...probably kept me from going into labor. Anyway--anyone up for Water Parks next summer???)


That day was perfect. We even got this giant "Garbage Pail" ice cream for everyone to share at lunch--soooo much ice cream and tons of toppings--it was awesome---Even with all of us eating it, we still had to throw tons away. FUN THOUGH RIGHT? The kids played in the sand, rode on tubes--did the lazy river thing..it was so nice!

Here is Kade's Sand Monster. I'm sure the Typhoon Lagoon people love it when parents let kids get all sandy over and over again and wash off in the water...probably right? They were loving it though!

Tuesday was Magic Kingdom. We splurged and did this pirate thing for the boys where they got their faces painted and spent like an hour with other pirate people getting medallions and swords and pictures and swearing pirate oaths. It was cute--and I think the boys really liked it...but we probably won't do it again. Luke took off all his stuff within the hour, and then just looked like we beat him cause of the makeup. And for real---should I really be encouraging stealing and lying and cheating? Probably not. ANYWAY--it was fun though.

Luke's close up

Kade's best pirate face--in the secret pirate room....

Lucas acted like we didn't give him anything to drink. He tried to lap up all the water here...he got soaked!

On the way back from Magic Kingdom. The Conductor guy let Kade and Luke open all the monorail doors and gates--that was nice!

Wednesday we went to Sea World....we went to one show, and Kade felt nasty sick. So I took him home (our hotel was like 2 minutes away--so that was nice). It was a super hot day and it sounded like comparing this Sea World to Disney was rough--the kids thought it was fine...and everyone came home early..and we played in the pool and watched movies.

Thursday we went to Hollywood Studios. Kade loved his autograph book this week and filled it up with all the power rangers here. My only regrets from the whole week were that we didn't take Kade to the Hollywood Tower Hotel Ride. He had LOVED all the rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, this scary dinosaur one.....other stuff Jess took him on...and he really wanted to do this one, but after the simulator Star Tours Jess took him on Jess felt nasty so..he didn't have anyone to take him. Another time I suppose. I was so impressed with him though. He and Luke both were so brave!

Luke wanted so bad to go on the bigger rides but was 2 inches too little. He did enjoy one roller coaster called the Barnstormer something...after it he was all hysterical and happy and giddy and wanting to do his roller coaster again...and then after the second time, he said..."I don't want to do that one ever again." in a plain, "there you go" manner.

And seriously--who doesn't remember that scene from Honey I Shrunk the Kids where they eat the giant oreo? I loved that part and had Kade pose.

Here's a shot Luke took of us all relaxing. Seriously--it was such a great trip!!! Happy happy happy! (and sooooo much food...and great dinners...and just...YAY)

Ahhhhhh....

Kade and I are reading "The Chronicles of Narnia"--"The Magicians Nephew" (the first one) and without us telling him anything about it, he said this one night,
"Mom, Aslan reminds me of Jesus. He created the world and is really nice." Ooooh, it made me so happy to see this happy smart awesome little boy making these comparisons. Anyway--he's a sweet one!

The boys loved it, we loved it...it was amazing. The whole week was so much fun--it was just perfect! YAY

Triathlon Fun

HICKORY KNOB TRIATHLON 2009

Course description: "Rolling to Hilly Moderate Course....a great one to end the season on!"

So naturally that's what we started with!

So me and my friend Sarah have been training for this triathlon for 3 months and today (Saturday) was the big day! It was a sprint triathlon which means a 500 meter swim (1/3 mile) 10 mile bike ride, and a 5K run.

And HOORAY!!! I did it with 21 minutes to SPARE!!! My 3 goals went like this. A#1, finish before 2 hours (that's when they said they'd start kicking you off the course cause you're just too darn slow). B#2, Don't stop, and C#3, Don't be last. Check Check and Check!

Let's start with the swim. Me and Sarah entered into the Novice category and got some lovely green caps to wear in the water. Everyone was SOOOO nice. Crazy novices all laughing and making up cheers while bobbing in the water waiting for our start...

It was FREEZING. Unlike the warm weather I'd imagined I'd be racing in, the temp we raced in started at 49 degrees and maxed at 51...I thought jumping into a lake which was 71 degrees would be a relief...but no...it was quite a shock. (which might explain the hyper crazy cheers and laughing from all of us before.) Sarah's timing chip fell off her leg and she had to dive blindly into the murky water to get it...AMAZINGLY she got it. (if not, she would have been disqualified and owed them $40 bucks--not a great start)

Getting to that first buoy I thought I might possibly maybe sorta die...but then...when I got there (after going way off course cause I forgot to look up for a bit...and crazy of all crazy things...turns out they don't paint lines on the bottom of the lake--huh? Who would have thought:) and looked behind me, I saw tons of green caps---YAY!! I might succeed. Getting to the second buoy and returning to the dock was MUCH better...lovely even. Climbing out was even fun. We had rope ladders and people to help us out. They even gave me the warning, "you're going to fly up so be ready" my arm ended up slipping out of one of their grip and I just sorta dangled there for a bit...a little break I suppose--that was nice.

So...on the course description they've labeled the distance from the lake to the bike racks as a "short steep climb". It was more like 10 miles uphill both ways with stairs. I finished the swimming part without dying though, and that made me so happy that it only seemed like 9 miles (it might have really only been .3.........just saying......)

First transition: I wasn't sure how cold I'd get on the bike so I put on a beanie, shorts, and my giant hoody. And I was warm, but as soon as I started biking...I noticed most everyone was wearing just their triathlon suits and were down and low looking all professional and fast...I looked more like a fancy red parachute. Now I realize I could have gone the route of aerodynamics like them...but I like to think I was being more charitable then that...I was helping those behind ME be more aerodynamic.....I like to give like that!

I LOVED the 10 mile bike ride. I think it was my favorite. Plus, a major bonus was that I didn't even crash--not once. Not going to lie, it was a major concern...what with all those gears and crazy shaped handle bars. (I just want to add here that Sarah had the saddest thing happen. She rented a road bike last minute instead of using her mountain bike, and the chain kept falling off until the race people suggested she walk it back. She wanted to finish so she ran the bike back from the 3 mile point and ended at the same time I finished the bike portion. Then we ran...she's so cool! Seriously, she basically ran a 10K with a bike for half of it! That's fast! I'm really glad she asked me to do this with her...cause...fun!)
Now you might think for someone to do a triathlon they would be good at at least one of the three events.....but let's just say I thought it was enough that I COULD swim, COULD ride a bike, COULD run. But my least favorite of the three definitely was running. I don't so much like running. I thought maybe it was my attitude, and I could just think better thoughts about it and enjoy it more...NOPE, still don't like it, but here I was, running/jogging a 5K...

I should add here how nice everyone was at the race. I mean seriously, everyone is your instant friend and everyone cheers for you and says "good job" and "you're almost there!" "Finish strong..." all sorts of nice and encouraging things. Just really nice people all over! Maybe it was the desperate look on my face or the pace I had settled on of "barely moving" that made them feel inclined to say those things, but I like to think they did it for everyone. The run ended and they announced my name (fancy). WOO WOO. 1:38...just yay!

The food they gave us for lunch was AWESOME...that might have been my favorite part. I mean a buffet of BBQ chicken sandwiches and beans and brownies and candy bars...on a cold and rainy day--soooooo yummy! So that's it! We did it. When I got home, Jess had got me a card and the boys had signed it and were all over me with hugs and kisses and it was soooooo fun. I loved it all!
Also--a HUGE thank you to my friend Natalie who answered every single tiny and big question I could think of. Also for sending us her triathlon suits to wear-they made us feel super legit and not like posers at all! THANKS NAT!

(I may look partially delusional in this picture...but it was my big finish so...here it is!)

A few things I learned:

When the course description says there is a 2 hour limit, they don't actually have someone following you on the course ready to tackle you down the moment 2 hours expired, at least that I saw...they could be very sneaky.

• I'm not nearly as competitive as I used to be. I'm sure it's lots of fun to be in front...I'm just happy for them. Cause how fun for them to be in front. But I'm perfectly content to be behind, exerting exactly the amount of energy I want to. (I think I'm more competitive with things I'm good at....that's more healthy anyway right?)
  

• Racing and being pregnant caused me only one problem. Keeping hydrated and having an itsy bitsy bladder is inconvenient.



• I love free shirts from events!



• Always train with someone. If it wasn't for Sarah I would SO have stayed at home instead of training all those mornings that didn't start off so well--what with the nausea and what not...but Sarah got me out! Thanks!

• I love, love, love to try new things...and I think it's totally okay to do those new things once.

(I wrote this the day of the race...it's the next day now and I've changed my mind. Maybe triathlons are like giving birth...immediately afterwords, you might not want to do it again right away...but the next day....you think it might be fun? Well, not exactly like having a baby...)

I think it would be fun to do this again! Okay! There it is! I loved it!

Winns come to visit!

Can I just say I love my in-laws? Of course I can--this is my blog! They are so so so great. Jess' parents came out to see us a couple of weeks ago. Now, I'm sorta a planner and like to have lots and lots to do....and Jess thinks that can get crazy....so I had express directions to not plan anything...and know what? It was still SO FUN! Huh? Who knew?





First off Julie got the greatest gifts for the boys! She brought Kaden a bug box and Luke Play-dough. Their first day here was spent catching grasshoppers and crickets in the back yard! We even caught a frog and added him in there and he ate the cricket! AWESOME! I know that's not so awesome....it happens all the time...but Kade saw it happen! Now that is awesome! (and every spare minute was play dough)

Next she got busy with doing household chores that had needed to be done FOREVER ago. She's nice! This table leg stabilizer wood piece thingy...well, it broke 2 years ago. It's been taped since. That Julie knows how to get a job done though. Took it off, found the guy that would do all the fancy cutting and make a new one....(Leland at Ace Hardware--he made sure we knew he was the ONLY one that would have done it for us...funny guy that one)...and boom boom, now our table's not broken.

Then she fixed the leak in the car--seriously--she rocks! (I was a helper, see, I was holding the chair....)

A little backyard fun with grandpa....

Both of their faces make me laugh in this one...I'm sure it was fun for all!

And of course we all took part in a little Beatles Rock Band Guitar action.

George and Julie went to lunch at Kade's school both Thursday and Friday and Kade felt so so so special to have his grandparents there. We went to the Oliver Hardy Festival, watched lots of Conference, and just hung out and talked. I am so so blessed to have such great in laws. For real! THANKS for coming out guys!!!

With all of Julie's can do spirit, I decided to tackle something I should have done months ago...decorate the boys room. They wanted outer space...but we weren't sure how to do it. At any rate I think it turned out soooooooo great! Turns out...the boys don't care either way. I mean I'm sure they like it, but for real, turns out decorating boys rooms is more for mom then anyone else...maybe when they're older they'll love me more for it. Maybe? At any rate I totally just sit in there sometimes and look at the walls....I really do like projects...I just haven't done one in a long, long time!

Jess is the artist of the family and I'm sooooo glad. He was in charge of Earth--and for real--how cool is that earth??? We used this Styrofoam-type (not real styrofoam--that doesn't work so well turns out) balls and cut them in half....for a 3D effect (It was the ladies idea at the craft store...I'm glad there are creative sorts out there like that.)

The boys and I painted little wooden hearts with white/silver sprinkles/and glow-in-the-dark paint and used poster puddy to put them up with. The planets and the starts go around the room like this...FUN!

Prego!!!

The Winns are adding to their ranks! (not smell--but children) I'm pregnant! Hip Hip Hooray. Things are great, especially now that that crazy first trimester is over. And other then a nix on Orange Juice and Navajo Taco's (a few things that our itty bitty baby decided should make my stomach feel like it would explode...) life is beautiful! Today I'm 18 weeks! YAY!

So...we slept in our car last night....

Last night was our Ward Campout (Friday). Much of the hot dogs and smores were had (YUMMMM...I love hot dogs and smores!!!). The boys played, we chatted, played some games, then we went to bed. Nice and dry.

So....come 3:15, it started to rain. Jess and I put up the rain guard. APPARENTLY the makers of our tent thought that the tarp actually guarding us from the rain was more of a suggestion...cause...it wasn't so much water proof. We waited, the rain got heavier, we were trying to think if we should ride it out or pack up. Kade kept a great attitude the whole time with soft comments like, "don't you just love the sound the rain makes?"

So...we made the decision that we'd just pack up and sleep the rest of the night in our beds....I walked back and forth with the boys and our stuff and an umbrella. Jess flatened the air mattress' (I like to camp on beds...). We shoved as much stuff as we could into the back seat with the boys because we weren't going to roll up the tent, just cram it into the trunk. We got all packed up and pretty fast too. The boys were in good moods, excellent helpers...we drove to the exit of the camp......and the gate is shut for the night...right...we forgot about that.

Okay--so look for someone to help. We drove and found the rangers residence.

Cari---"so, you going to go wake him up to let us out?" Jess---"I don't want to, will you?" ......... Neither of us wanted to so.........

We found a nice parking spot and slept the rest of the night in our car. Now when I say slept...what I really mean is this: the car was packed and our seats couldn't so much recline. The boys couldn't so much move either. Not to mention that we were worried the leak in our car (we just have awesome stuff...that's all) wouldn't get Kade soaked during the rest of the night. It was so humid that it was like breathing underwater, but we couldn't unroll the windows cause we'd get all wet. Luke wasn't so much sleepy anymore and was all about playing games and asking questions to which Jess, in his exhausted excitement would make comments about shutting his mouth or be beaten to death...stuff like that.

I think overall we had a really nice time!

The Circus!

So, we had the circus come to town. I don't ever remember going to a circus growing up. Jess did, but he doesn't remember if he liked it or not...He's pretty sure it was fascinating though. ANYWAY, it came to town so we took the kids!

Kade's favorite part was this guy that...I'm not sure how to describe it but this guy was in a giant silver pendulum type thing that when really high in the air and then in circles and he just ran to keep from dying....ANYWAY, it was pretty amazing. Plus, he loved the motorcycle riders that rode in this tiny sphere.

Luke liked the tight rope walkers, and the guy getting shot out of the canon...he was so nervous for the noise...and says he didn't like it now...but he did. I think I have it on the video.

Jess liked the Ring Master most of all.

And I can't really choose between the Funnel Cake or the Cotton Candy. I do love Funnel Cake!!

The boys got to go for a camel ride too. It was a fun night!

Alright...so for real, we found the fastest turtle in our front yard the other day. And it was sorta creepy looking. I mean with long claws and beedy eye's...yikes. But fun to find a turtle!

Lazy Summer Days

The other night I had one of those, "ooooh, I love this life" feelings. It was so small too. The boys were playing outside and I came to bring them in for bed. Kade was busy catching grasshoppers--his new FAVORITE pass time. He catches like 10 a day, just stalking them in the back yard and pouncing. It's super cute.

Then, earlier that day me and Luke had been cleaning out their craft cupboard that had turned into the craft insanity place of stuff...and I was throwing away a bag of beans. He would have not part of that and insisted that we save some to plant a magic bean stalk in the back yard. So we planted it, and counted on the rain to water it. He was tired of waiting for the rain, so he found our watering pitcher and was painstakingly getting cups of water from the kitchen, dumping them out into the pitcher and watering his magic beans. I love being a mom.

I don't even remember the movie that we watched this night, but what I remember is how much the boys LOVE movie nights with popcorn and pillows and moving the couches around. I like them.

This flower just makes me smile. One day Kade just made it for me out of paper and a weed stick he found in the back yard. He got out a vase and put it in the kitchen for me. Sweet! Then he didn't want dad to feel bad so he made him a poster to hang on our door with a soccer ball, foot ball and a baseball on it. Kade is the one that always wants to make sure no one feels sad. If look sits by Jess during scriptures or stories or anything, even though I'm not totally awesome dad, Kade always picks me to sit by or vice-versa. He's nice that one.

Laundry Day!!! I was in the shower and the boys made good use of the laundry baskets littering the kitchen. They even added their own personal touches to make it an official train. Complete with cotton-ball wheels.

Here's some photo's from our bike ride at the creek. It was a huge success. Lately Luke has been pretty nervous on his bike...I don't know why,but he goes soooooooo slow....and no way is he going down a "slidy-slide" without me holding on. But when Kade went with us, he was CRUISING! Go Lukester!

Luke has been LOVING to swim lately. And he's gotten so so good at it. I'm super excited to put the boys in lessons soon...or later...I don't even know when they are...but sometime..that's when I'm excited.

Family Pics!

We had some family photo's taken by our AWESOME friends the Johnsons! You can see more of them on their websight here. THANKS GUYS!!! You're the coolest!

Birthdays, Bowling, and Kindergarten!

Kade's first day of Kindergarten was Monday. He's been excited about riding a bus for years now, that I'm pretty sure that the actual school was the second best thing. I know he's old enough and I know he's just freaken awesome, but it was so incredibly hard to send him off on the bus on the first day...I mean, it would be so easy for him to get lost right? Well, all was well, and I only cried a bit. About when the bus was right here....Luke said, "I miss Kade" on the walk home--ooooh...And the only reason I cried was because of how freaken cute and excited he was when the bus got there. He climbed right on up, he was sooooooo happy. (this is the child that will occasionally still cry at the child care at the gym because he thinks I might not come back) He could barely see out the window and just waved so excitedly. It was really a beautiful thing. Luke insisted on wearing his back pack to the bus stop too. Luke and I had a great day swimming, and when Kade got home at the end of the day I sorta attacked him. (next it's pretty long...but it's for posterity right...plus, I'm sure my mom and Jess' will want to read it...so...whatever!)

So...here's what he had to say about his first day:
"the first thing I remember is we had lunch...I have to go to the bathroom (as he sprints to the toilet)....I chose where to sit on the bus. The bus ride was pretty good.(wait for it)..it was so fun. It felt comfy.....and we didn't even have to wear seat belts! It didn't even take a long time to get on the bus because of seat belt problems. We picked up like 15 or 18 more kids. I didn't know anyone who sat by me. When we got to the school we went in and went to see the principal, pretty much everyone in the school was there, and we had like a thousand people. The principal counted them and found out there were a thousand there in the school. She said this was the best school in the United States, blah blah blah (ha ha--for real, he said "blah blah blah"). She said we needed healthy snacks..(thinking)...mom...can i go get my unhealthy snack and eat it (I'd sent a cup cake from my birthday with his lunch, he ran to get it.)...No way are you going to bring a pop tart or...an air head or something like that---those aren't healthy. We came back and learned every one's name. they'd whisper the names in their ears like telephone. I didn't really remember every one's names. the kids in my class are pretty good.I remember Ashley, and Chloe...I saw my friends in the hall...like Kavin, and I saw Kavin's sister Carli, and Jayden, I was in the lunch room when i saw him so I mouthed hello. Then we went to lunch. It was a long line to stand in, it was quiet cause no one could talk. At the end of the music, you could talk, you just had to whisper. I loved the lunch you packed me, mostly the (he stopped here because his mouth was completely full of cupcake....) goldfish--no not the goldfish, the grapes. I went through the hall back to our classroom, we had recess---they had a sand box--that's why I had so much sand in my shoes (he had probably 1/4 cup that i dumped out of his shoes when he got home.) I dug 4 inches into the sand. I played with Ashley at recess--the 4 inches took me the whole time of recess. Alexander pushed Jaylyn at recess because he forgot the first rule--not to fight...the whole class just circled around and watched. (awesome...) After recess we went through the hall into our classroom and had nap time. I liked the pad I was sleeping on, I didn't sleep though, At the beginning I whispered to Ashley that this school was kind of weird. I don't know why, i just thought it was weird. Since i didn't fall asleep, I just watched everyone. When we woke up, I went home. A teacher told me where my bus was, I got on. I sat next to some kid with a spider-man back-pack--he was a first grader, and a big guy. First we went to Grove Landing to drop off kids, then we came here. I told the bus driver that this was my house.the best part of the day was: all of the parts were so good that I don't know....every day gets a little funner...one of the teachers is a bit weird...cause she's a little bit too old to be teaching. She told me stuff that I already know. Oh, and we have a pretend school pet. A stuffed animal dog....I think that's pretty weird (he says with eyebrows that said "lame"). you can bring him home I guess. It was a weird and fun day. I'm happy and happy to go back tomorrow.the end of my terrific story....."

I think he's going to be just fine!

In other news, I turned 27 on Saturday--woo woo. This is what I was welcomed with...(also, my camera takes really lame pictures...it looked and tasted much better then this looks....)

It really was a great day! The first time I woke up I heard Luke coming from his bed to our room singing Happy Birthday...then Jess jumped out of bed saying, 'not yet not yet'...then I heard both little boys voices starting to sing and Jess say, 'not yet'.. then Jess and the boys came into the room singing. Jess had made breakfast; biscuits, sausage, eggs, toast, pineapple and grapes and orange juice. Oh, and a cupcake with a candle in it. It was super sweet. We all ate and Jess let me go back to bed....I LOVE RELAXING BACK IN BED AFTER BREAKFAST. It's one of those extremely rare things I get to do and I love it. So the day started great....

Jess had a full day of homework to do so he left and me and the boys went bowling.

The boys were so funny to watch. Kade was concerned and calculated...I took a million pictures just like this one...he'd throw the ball and just...be deeply concerned.....Luke just danced the whole time.

Other then the time he fell while holding his ball and split his chin and bit his cheek--that was sad-but he was super tough and got some gum from the nice bowling alley ladies.
Then Jess called and told me our babysitter was already at our house.....and I got a speeding ticket......LAME!!! (seriously, ON MY BIRTHDAY...what's the deal with legit consequences?)

Jess and I went out to dinner that night at the Chop House--YUMMY! We shared a meal again--which for real--is my favorite--because then we have plenty of room for DESSERT. It was great and one of those just really great dates--I love that man!!! He makes me smile.
That night Jess had more homework to do, so I hung out with some friends--eating more ice cream...(This weekend I gained 2 lbs...just saying...it was a good weekend!)