Update

Happy 31st birthday Joseph! We celebrated with lots of visiting family and carrot cake, of course. We have had months of family visits, so the kids have been in cousin heaven. Every morning, the first thing David asks is when we are going back to grandma's house. Lucky kid.

Joseph's latest hobby is the Ukulele. He is getting really good and it is fun to sing songs together. David was interested for about 5 minutes. Luckily, I got it on camera!

We have been very blessed to have mild weather throughout June and most of this month. It has hardly been above 80 degrees, except for the heat wave that came through last week. Here is our future gardener (as long as it involves water).

Well, the week is finally here. Baby girl comes on Thursday. My real due date isn't until August 3rd, but the doctor expects this baby to be large so I am being induced 5 days early. It will be quite wonderful to shed my wonderful support hose and be able to hug my loved ones really close. I guess that pregnancy is one way the Lord teaches us patience. Any guesses on her size?

Happy Father's Day

In primary, each child was interviewed about their fathers. Here's are David's thoughts:

My dad's favorite food is... "lettuce"

My dad is ____ years old... "a long time. Older than my mom"

My favorite thing about my dad is... "(he) plays games"

My dad's favorite thing about me is.. "when I sing 'I am a Child of God'"

My dad's favorite place is... "Disneyland"

The funniest thing I ever saw my Dad do is "jumps and flips"

My dad likes to... "play with me"

I like being with my dad most when... "he builds stuff with me"

If I could give my dad something special it would be... "a saw"

The first thing my dad does when he gets home from work... "yardwork"

My dad is the best dad ever because... "He likes to do my favorite things"

Pure happiness

Happiness for James is a warm shower with a bar of soap.

My happiness is found when I look at this adorable smiling face.

Final Day

One perk to being married to Joseph is that he can find unusual places to visit. Before we boarded the plane to go home, we visited a revolutionary war battleground. David got to try out this real rifle.

How can you resist these little cuties?

Peek-a-boo!

Here's one of all the gang. Thanks for the good time!

South Carolina Part 2

Joseph flew out to SC for the weekend, but because of a major thunderstorm pulled in at about 3:00 am. The next morning, however, we were in the car ready for a mini road trip. The kids were angels until our very last hour in the car.

First, we drove a few hours to the Biltmore, built in 1920. It is the largest home in the United States.

View from the balcony. To pacify James during the tour, we snuck candy to him. It worked pretty well.

After the tour, we jumped in the car and drove through Smokey Mountain National Park until we reached the Tennesse/ North Carolina state line.

View of the beautiful Smoky Mountains. After living in such a deserty place, all the greenery felt so good on my eyes. I felt so rejuvenated.

I never realized that the Appalachain trial borders the two states and actually runs through 14 states. We couldn't resist a little hike.

This is heaven for a little boy: plenty of sticks and enormous rocks.

I really felt like I was in different country as we drove through the border towns to the Smokeys. We pulled off into a gas station to use an ATM. As I waited in line, I noticed a man taking a wad of money out of his shoe. He remarked, "I got me my bank right here!"

South Carolina Part 1

We had the opportunity to visit my mom and dad last week in Union, South Carolina. Since they have only lived there for 6 months, we had many new sights to see. We were fortunate to have my two sisters, Emily and Heather, drive out to visit with us. David had such a blast with his cousins. He has informed us that when he gets big he wants to move next to "Grandma M" (Mumford) in South Carolina.

When we first arrived, we took a short trip to Greenville falls. The park was filled with flowers and swings. We couldn't help but sit and relax for a few hours.

My dad is part of the Rotary Club in Union. They held a BBQ at this old mansion, home of Governor Gist, who convinced South Carolina to secede from the Union, which eventually led to the civil war.

James and his cousin, Julia, were misbehaving during the tour, so grandpa got to babysit.
By the end of the week, they became really good buddies. It was sad to say goodbye, knowing that this duo won't see each other again for quite a while.

Just for fun

I've purposely been avoiding the camera lately, but thought that it might be fun to have a picture just for memory. This is me. I am now about 30 weeks. The doctor says that the baby is going to be large (no big surprise considering that David and James were almost 9 and 10 pounds). He has suggested inducing me a week early, but I am not sure I want to because it would put me in postpartum during David's birthday. I don't really care how big the baby is, as long as she is healthy!

This is a recent score off Craig's list. We needed a bassinet this time because James is still using the crib. The basket lifts off the wheels. I'm sure it will look even cuter with a little baby inside!