Jackson Hole

Our good friends, Rich and Abby invited us to their condo in Jackson Hole, WY last week. It was a BEAUTIFUL drive even though it took a good 5 hours. The boys did great even though we had to count down the hours for them- "How much longer Mommy?" "Still 4 hours left... 3 hours..."etc. 

Of course the guitars were a must. Rich is one of the few people who has music on the brain almost as much as Adam. The little boys had fun playing in the loft for three days. And all the boys had fun playing with the greatest find from our Dollar Store adventure- styrofoam airplanes. (Although by the end of our stay, Rich's had pennies and aluminum can pieces and pieces shaved down to make it the best plane ever...) Abby and I just read magazines and talked. Seriously- that's my kind of vacation! 
Abby- who has the most BEAUTIFUL blue eyes you have ever seen- second is her hubby, Rich. Their kids are going to have amazing eyes... (This is Ollie taking shots with the camera- he wants to take it over every time he sees it.)

STill Ollie with a major close up.

At the visitor's center. Behind the boys you can see little fur samples of all different kinds of animals found in the Tetons. It was cool- my favorite was the fox fur- so soft and I never knew.

Oliver Jack shots from knee-length. (Sheesh- good thing I let him have the camera- otherwise I wouldn't have any pics!)

It was so, so cold in Jackson! We had water bottles in our car that froze and stayed solid the entire stay. Tons of snow everywhere too. Did I mention it was beautiful and clean and refreshing?
All the shops on Main Street are around this park. We walked around and had some great BBQ lunch in town at Bubba's. The last time I was in Jackson was when I was seven or so and these arches made from elk antlers are the only thing I can remember. Oh yeah- and eating sandwiches in our camper.

The view of the mountains from the condo. They were glorious!

This pic is so cute- Ollie was complaining the whole time we drove home that he couldn't see the river. Finally he caught a glimpse! The Snake River was so wide and such a pretty color. I just wanted to watch it all day. 
The sun was shining in our faces for like 3 hours of our ride home- so Ollie had to wear my sunglasses. Love his hot little cheeks. Plus he always has to have every toy in his hands. I can't even count how many times we had to pick them up off the floor to avoid a meltdown. 
They had elk refuges there with tons of elk. It was pretty cool to see. I guess that's where they get all the horns for the arches in the park since they shed them every year...
Finally the sun set. I stared the whole time it went down. I loved it. It was a relaxing few days and we hope to go back and see it again soon! Thanks Rich and Abby! (Sorry about my coughing the whole time...)

6 weeks to go...

So we have 6 weeks to go until our baby arrives! We are so excited! We finally got a new car seat and stroller, since we trashed our other set with our boys... And we (Adam) found out that we can squish all the carseats into the back of our Subaru Outback, so we don't have to get a new car yet. (I still get a little claustrophobic thinking about it, but hey- no car payment is always nice...) 

We are still deciding on a middle name, and we are open to your ideas. So if you have a boy name that you love (and would love us to use as a middle name) tell us about it! I think we are pretty set on a first name. 

Other than that, we are pretty much ready to go. It was fun to unpack all of the baby clothes that I used with Elliott and Ollie- and it seems like yesterday that they were wearing them! I can't believe how fast they grow! 

Here is a picture of my huge pregnant belly. I'm really excited to have my ribs and bladder back to myself. But this pregnancy has been pretty great (as far as pregnancy goes! ;) ) Usually by now I have heart burn like crazy and my back hurts. But it hasn't been too bad yet. I do realize I still have 6 weeks left and may have just jinxed myself... I keep thinking I haven't had time to feel the pregnancy stuff because I've been fighting off first the stomach flu, then the actual flu and now a cold that just won't get out of my lungs and sinuses!!! Seriously- enough of that stuff already! Ollie is usually the first to bring it into our house, and somehow I always get it...

Anyway- the doctor is predicting a smaller baby than my last two (Elliott was 9 lbs 6 oz and Ollie was 9 lbs 12 oz!!!) Although, he thought Ollie would be smaller than Elliott too. So I'm predicting a 10 pounder, which is why I am already scheduled for induction (one week early) on March 26th!  The boys seem really excited- in fact Elliott is obsessed with touching my belly and coming up with scenarios about when he is finally here, like baths and the sounds he'll make etc. Ollie is just in for a huge life change- which is good for him right? :) I think as I've been resting a little more than usual and just watching the boys play- they have been in heaven. And Adam has his calm moments and then freaks out a little bit too (i.e. "How are you ever going to go anywhere with three boys?" and "I forgot we will have to carry a car seat everywhere for a while...") Stuff like that. He's such a confident person, it's funny to see him a little nervous about this. 

Look-a-likes

We are getting so excited for the baby to come. (2 months left!!) The big question is who he will look like...

Will he be in the brown eyed, brown hair club?

Or the blonde, blue eye group? (I never realized how different mine and Ollie's eyes are!)

Any predictions?

Walking with Dinosaurs

Last week we decided to take the boys to a dinosaur show. It had HUGE dinos that looked and walked exactly like they would have. They had every kind too- I just forgot to take pictures until the T-Rexes. The boys were in heaven. Adam's Dad and sister Christie came with us. 

Christie, Elliott and Steve

They had a narrator down with the dinos. You can see how small he was. Later- Ollie told me his favorite part was when the mommy and baby T-Rex kissed. (And they both loved the part where the dino pooped a huge ball. In fact I think they remember that the most and remind me often.)

This is how Ollie watched the show.

Little Questions

Yesterday Elliott was playing with tinker toys and was making everything from robots to dinosaurs. For a while he was making things for a caveman, like a tent, a campfire- even a car.  So today we were driving and from the back I hear Elliott's little voice, "Mommy, were you a caveman?"

Christmas Revisited

I wanted to post these pictures from our week early Christmas- even though it is out of order for now. We had it early at Grammy's house since they were going out of town to be with Amy- who was having her baby a few days later. The boys were SO surprised that Santa came for a visit and even gave all of us a present! 

Ollie, Elliott, Christie, Santa and Megs

With Aunt Christie singing, "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer."

I know these are great pictures of us, but just wanted to show we took a turn too.

Elliott was a little more serious with Santa. Santa told him to try and be a little nicer to Ollie and it looked like he was going to cry for a few seconds there...
I love Ollie checking out the big man. He wanted to keep telling Santa stories...


A doctor kit from Grammy and Grandpa! He loves to do routine check-ups on Mommy and always has to wear the little blue glasses before he starts. So cute. 
Elliott found this big one with his name on it, so he got on and waited patiently until he could open it. 

The flying turtle!

After presents we made gingerbread trains and sleighs. What a fun night! Thanks Grammy and Grandpa!

Our Saturday in Pleasantville

Fresh squeezed orange juice. Loving the fruit of the season...

Elliott always likes to  help.

(Love Elliott's juicy fingers in this one!)

Just had to try squeezing the last pieces by his own hands- I was fine with it as long as it was in his cup...

Mmmmm- fresh and tasty.

And Friday night's bitter storm left us these beauties- kind of like a rainbow after the rain.

While I was out snapping a photo, I discovered our sled that has been lost and buried from the huge storm before... yay!

The boys learned a new way to carry all of their cars from one place to another...
The mountains were there to greet me every time I looked out the sliding glass door in my kitchen- just like every day. They look so majestic all covered in snow... and that blue sky...

After a few errands, a nap and a little Wii Fit-  what's better than finishing off a pleasant day at Chuck-a-Rama with a few friends?

Little Lukas, Carrie, Abby, Rich, Grant, Adam, Collin, Cam (Court), Carrie, Little Ari, Ollie and Elliott.
Carrie, Grant, Carrie, Cam, Ari, Ollie, Adam, Elliott, Rich and Abby. 

Ahhh Pleasantville.