We love Fall!

I've been very delinquent in posting. Life has been crazy as ever here, as I'm sure everyone else's has been as well! Kate got to go on her first field trip at school. Luke and I were able to meet her there, and we had a great time! We went to a pumpkin patch and walked around. Luke thought that he needed to be a member of Kate's class. He didn't like it very much when I wouldn't let him in to listen to the stories, etc. because I knew he'd just be a huge distraction to the other kids.

We also went to the fair, which isn't very big here, but we still had fun. They have an exotic zoo with a zebra, two giraffes, camels, a kangaroo, pigs, goats, and more. We also took the kids to see the livestock, which they thought was interesting. Some people let the kids pet their animals: chickens, cows, goats, sheep. They thought that was cool. There was also a free little circus that was quite the experience for the kids to see.

We're getting ready for Halloween. Kate has a party at school on Friday, which Luke and I get to go to. Then we're crashing another ward's Trunk or Treat, because our ward isn't doing anything!! So, we're going to go take part in theirs!


Kate excitedly on the bus to go on her field trip.


Petting a giraffe at the fair


Waiting for the Circus to start at the fair



Kate on a ride at the fair

What a weekend

Randy took leave this entire last week. It was really fun for us to have him around, but it went by WAY too fast!!

On Wednesday (after my shocking ultrasound) we drove to College Station. Early Thursday morning, Randy and I got up, kissed our kiddos goodbye and headed to Dallas for a long, VERY LONG day. While the kids were playing with Grandma and Grandpa, we went to the temple, did LOTS of shopping, and went to the BYU vs. TCU football game. Wow, was that depressing! It was a very sad way to end a great day! It was embarrassing to walk out of the TCU stadium with BYU shirts on. What a game. . . we were planning on staying in a hotel since we didn't get to our car until almost 11pm, but we decided that we were too depressed to spend anymore money on the day. So we headed back to College Station, arriving at 2am. Poor Randy. I couldn't stay awake on the way home! Luke had been up for an hour in the night, so I was VERY out of it by the time midnight rolled around. Plus, we stayed up late playing games with Randy's parents that night. . . so there were a couple of things working against me. Thankfully, he got us back to College Station in one piece, and we got to sleep in (all the way until 8:30! WOW!) the next morning, thanks to Grandma! The kids had a great time playing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Kate was given Beary, her classroom Teddy Bear to take on our trip this weekend. He has a journal that you're supposed to fill out and bring back with pictures of the weekend's events. Here are a few of the pictures we took.



This is at the Fall Festival on base. I told Kate that had better be the only time I see her in a police car!


Firefighter Kate. Luke wouldn't climb up because he was so ready for a nap. It was really sad, because he LOVES firetrucks!


Our regular stop at the zoo in Tyler, TX on our way to College Station. Luke couldn't take his eyes off the tiger that was RIGHT against the fencing. I think he was a little nervous!

Kate LOVES the giraffes at the zoo. Here's a picture of my baby belly!



Us before the disappointing football game!


Kate and Luke making Halloween pictures with Beary.


Teaching Beary how to roast marshmallows.

Kate and Luke are enjoying the campfire.

The cruelest thing EVER!

So, I had my OFFICIAL 15 week ultrasound today (the one on Friday was the nurse practioner doing it). . . It's a GIRL!!! Oh my goodness! Randy and I were in COMPLETE shock! We've been telling everyone it's a boy, calling it Jackson. . . poor baby girl is going to have a complex now! We were SO excited for Luke to have a baby brother/best friend forever. Well, now he'll have a little sister he can watch out for. :) So, SURPRISE!! It's a girl! We have to name her quickly now so she won't feel so upset! Now that I've gotten out all of the boxes of baby BOY clothes. . . what a mean thing to do to someone! In defense of the nurse practioner, the ultrasound technician looked at the ultrasound from Friday and said she would have said it was a boy, too. But she said today, there was no doubt that it was a girl. I have a level 2 ultrasound in a few weeks to check the baby for spinabifida (since I was born with it), so I'm not buying a single thing until after that! There was no doubt in my mind on Friday that it was a boy. I've felt like this was a boy all along; I was right about my other two kids! Randy described it well today, by saying he felt like he'd been hit by a truck. Not that we're disappointed, but just so shocked!!!

It's a. . . . . .

I know I've already posted today, BUT! I had another ultrasound this morning, and it's a BOY! He was being SO funny! He even did a headstand for us at one point! He was sucking his thumb most of the time. That would be a change from the two paci babies we've had! I've been feeling all along like this was another boy-- he is just non-stop!!!!! So I thought I'd share the news with everyone. Hurray! Here is a cute video of my two boys together today. Luke thinks he needs to do EVERYTHING that Randy does. He even holds his hands the same way as his dad does during prayers, etc. It's short, so enjoy!

Twilight Trailer

I've never done this before, so I'll give it a try. I love the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer, and here is the final trailer to the first movie! I have to say, I'm disappointed in the cast. . . . I would have chosen a different Edward, but no one asked me!

We are excited for our upcoming week. Randy is taking the week off and we're spending lots of time as a family before he has a Nuclear Surety Inspection (which means he won't have any weekends or anything for about a month or so). We're going to the BYU vs. TCU game together in Dallas, going to the temple, visiting his parents in College Station, AND having our ultrasound to find out our baby's gender! It should be a very fun week!!
Twilight HD Exclusive Trailer

Watch Day

So yesterday was "Watch Day" at Kate's dance studio. The last 15 minutes of class, parents are allowed to come and sit in the studio and watch their dancers work. It was SO cute!! I was worried Kate wouldn't dance with me in there, but she was thrilled that I was in there, with a camera at that! Here's a little video clip I took:


I'm happy now to know what they've been working on so I can help her. Her class is a little bigger than I would like, so she doesn't get quite as much individual attention from her teachers, but she loves it SO much! They are starting tap next week, which I can't wait to see!

Luke's Birthday

Since I'm a few weeks behind, I'll mostly just post pictures. We had a couple of fun birthdays right in a row. It was SO fun to have Grandma Thomason here for my birthday! Luke's birthday was a few days later. We celebrated it on Saturday so that we would have the whole day to do something fun as a family (we just told Kate that his birthday was Saturday so she wasn't confused why we weren't doing birthday stuff that day). We took the kids to Build-a-Bear, rode the carousel, and had a fun party! Kate got a BYU cheerleader outfit for a bear she already had (it's a blue and white cheerleader, and we just told her it was a BYU cheerleader. She LOVES the BYU cheerleaders. She watches the football games with us and is so excited at the tiniest clip they'll show of the Cougarettes or cheerleaders!). Luke got a cheetah, but we named it Baby Jaguar (from Diego). He carries it around everywhere with him at home! I'm a little nervous about when it will need a bath, because we had the roar sound put in it. . . oh well, I guess we'll see what happens.

Our new baby is growing well and being as active as ever! Instead of going every four weeks to the OB/GYN like a normal person would get to do, mine makes me go every two to three weeks because of how much running I'm doing it. I have to say, it's a really big nuisance! I can't wait to be done with my half marathon (less than six weeks!) so that I don't have to spend so many hours in the doctor's office. We have a big ultrasound scheduled in a few weeks with a neonatologist to check the baby for spinabifida, since I was born with it. I have to take 4mg of folic acid a day, instead of the regular 800 micrograms-1mg. It's a lot of pills!

Alright! Here are the pictures!



Grandma here for my birthday

I had great help with my birthday candles

Kate giving her older bear a bath, Luke giving Baby Jaguar his first bath.


You can't see Luke's face very well, but he was VERY concerned about the burning candle. For those who don't know Luke well, the cupcake is just a prop. He won't TOUCH anything that is sweet-- cake, cookies, candy, ice cream, whatever it is. He HATES sweet things. He'll usually throw it at you and yell, "No way!!" It's much healthier this way! Although, I'm ready to start potty training him, but I don't know how! I have nothing to bribe him with! Kate got a jelly bean every time she went potty. With Luke, who knows. A chip?


Andi and Brookelynn got back just a few days before Luke's birthday. We are so glad to have them back!!!


The giant firetruck that Grandma Thomason got for him. I didn't even need to get him anything else for his birthday. He would have been thrilled with just this, and his new rescue pack that he got. Those are his two favorites.


Here's Rescue Pack! Every morning he wakes up and says, "Where's Rescue Pack? Let's go find him!"

His cool trucks and tractors from Grandma and Grandpa Todd.


Carrying Baby Jaguar up and down the stairs. Doesn't he look so grown up?!