We did it!

Our goal was to get the fence up and stained as well as the bricks around the garden done before Benjamin was born. Thanks to many helpers and a hard working husband we achieved our goal today! Here is a picture of our amazing backyard...if any of you remember what it used to look like then you know what I mean by amazing. So now that all of our projects are done there is no excuse for Benjamin to not come...soon...like now. Got that kid?

Round the Garden

Pregnancy update

I had my appointment yesterday morning with some good news I thought I would pass along. In one week I dilated to a 2 and I'm also at least 50% effaced. My doctor was quite impressed with my progress and said "IF you make it to next week, lets see you earlier, like on Monday." Of course they never know exactly when you are going to 'go' but hearing what she said sure made me excited! I know the longer they stay in there the better but I'm sure ready to be done being pregnant, to see our little boy, and learn all there is to know about boys. Cross your fingers for me!

"Orange Suit"

It's been super hot here so today I blew up the pool so Rachel and I could cool off; my did it work well! I have no swelling today, YAHOO!! Anyway, when I was blowing up the pool she wasn't too sure about the whole idea; but when we filled it up with water and tossed in a few balls she couldn't wait to put on her "new orange suit." Orange is her new favorite thing lately...orange frosting on cookies, orange cheese, orange balls, orange suits etc. I don't know what it is about orange but at least she can wear that color, I can't.

In and out

While we were at mom and dad's this weekend so dad could cash in his "Father's Day Golden Ticket" the cousins had a blast playing together. Rachel and Brook thought it was so much fun to go in and out of the cabinet. It was the perfect size for these two petite munchkins.

Tradition!

So we have a tradition that whenever someone is pregnant or getting married the sisters get together for a pedicure. We figure that at least one part of you should look cute when your delivering that red faced bundle of joy. So this past weekend (Joseph's) Amy and I decided to continue with the tradition even though (David's) Amy is in Missouri and Nicole couldn't make it. So Amy you need to tell David that you have to get a pedicure, and it's tradition so he can't say no. Here are our beautiful feet, if you can call the swollen elephant foot on the left beautiful...

Merry Go Round

Just thought we would share Rachel's first Merry Go Round trip with you.

Going to the Zoo

Rachel was so excited to go to the Zoo! So excited in fact that we were not 20 minutes down the road when she started pointing at things and saying "Zoo!" Parking was crazy because everyone else had the grand idea to go today but we finally found a parking space and made our way in. The first thing she wanted to see was the elephants. We learned that one of the elephants is pregnant and next summer will deliver...boy I'm glad that my gestation isn't 2 years long!!

Here is Marc and Rachel strolling through the Zoo.

Here we are at the giraffe exhibit. Rachel loved their long necks and thought the baby one was so cute.

Most of the large cats were sleeping when we went by, but this leopard sure entertained us well. When Rachel saw it she shouted out "Tiger!" and a little boy next to her looked at her and said "No that's a leopard." Hey at least she has her looks going for her.

Rachel had her first ride on a Merry Go Round today. She thought it was the neatest thing that she could sit on an elephant and "go round and round". Infact that's pretty much what she said the entire time we were on it. When we had to get off she cried becuase she wanted to "go round again!"

How do you like my monkeys?

An evening just for Rachel

We decided to take an evening off from fence work and do something that focused on Rachel, would be fun for all of us and cheap. So we gathered up all of the crusts I cut off from her bread, which I usually save to make bread crumbs with, and headed out. She had so much fun watching and feeding the ducks and seagulls...especially the "little yellow baby" one (pictured above). The bread never got very far but she sure tried hard. After the bread was gone we stopped off at the swings, her most favorite thing to do. On our way home we stopped off at the store to let her pick out a treat and so Marc and I could get some ice-cream for us. Rachel ended up picking out sugar cookies with orange frosting. She of course had to have one on the way home...in the car...needless to say by the time we got home she was COVERED in orange frosting and cookie crumbs. I should have gotten a picture of that too, but I think you can all imagine what she looked like and how much fun I had cleaning that up.