Once upon a time...

It was Halloween.  My very original kids came up with their costume ideas.  Evelyn, who was on a bit of a "'Lizard' of Oz" kick wanted to be the Wicked Witch of the West and then she and Max decided we needed a Winkie guard.  I came up with the flying monkey (because we had a monkey costume that has now been worn by all three :)  At one point, there was going to be a Wizard and Wicked Witch of the East.  It just didn't happen.  

Right before Halloween, Grandma and Grandpa Lloyd came to visit.  We took no pictures but we had a great time.  The very next weekend, Grandma and Grandpa Buttars came to visit.  It was fun to have so many visitors and very spontaneous as well...especially that they came within a week of each other!  We are so glad, though, and it was wonderful for the kids to be with their grandparents in our home.  

Which brings us halfway through November.  When we lost everything on our computer and I spent forever searching for old backup discs and such to restore as many pictures as possible.  It was a little traumatizing but in the end I was able to find a lot and my iPhoto is very organized. 

Evelyn with her friend Valentina.

We had family photos taken.  In October!  They are fun and crazy.
I think I'll save them for the next post.

The first weekend in December, Jason and I went to Les Miserables in Chicago.  I finished the novel (unabridged...since a lot of people randomly bring that up when I mention it :) on Thanksgiving.  I started it this summer and finally got through it.  It was really good, don't get me wrong, but my friend Julie described it well as being "very...wordy..." (you have to say that very...slowly...)  In the end, it was definitely worth reading and I appreciated the play much more.  Although there was so much I felt was missing after knowing more of the background of the characters.  I especially grew very fond of Fantine's story even though it was the very most heart-wrenching and miserable.  In the play, she seems to be hinted at.  I sobbed through her entire segment of the play...and the book.  And Gavroche.  Love that kid.  It was amazing and I'm so grateful Jason and I were able to see it together.  

Then something huge happened.  I turned 30!!!  Which was really great since I've been telling people I'm 30 for a least a few months.  I don't quite find the need to exaggerate my age anymore...I may be happy to stay at 30.  In any case, I'm very glad to be "in my 30's".

Sadly and surprisingly, there are really not many more pictures than the ones displayed to account for the past 3 months.  We're just trying to get through the day to day.  I've been trying to keep up with swimming which means no shower/make-up pretty much ever.  As much as I shouldn't care about posting pictures of myself in such a condition, I do.  

Oh, shoot!  How did that lazy lounging picture find it's way onto my blog.  How embarrassing.

Do you know who this is?  I didn't- but I was labeled with a new doppleganger on my birthday by the waitress at our restaurant.  Her name is Annie something but she's known as St. Vincent and is an Indie musician.
Besides being compared to Audrey Hepburn- which is really more of a wish that happens to be mentioned by the kindest of people- I think this is the most accurate comparison yet.  The most flattering anyway.

________________________________

Just as I looked forward to hitting my 30 year mark, I'm anxious to reach 30 weeks with this pregnancy.  We (I'm including the baby here...hopefully not just me) had a huge growth spurt between about 22 and 28 weeks and I'm ready to be "in my 30's" to account for the size of this belly.  December is breezing by and after Christmas, although January is always slow, this baby will be the next event!!!  Evelyn walks around with some sort of dolly or teddy bear stuffed in her shirt every day.  She wants to deliver my baby and tells me everyday that my belly is huge.  The baby is certainly ready to "fall out" and she wants to catch it.  I think all of us think the baby is a girl, but we are excited to find out. 

I'm hoping the next post will be Christmas, but in reality it is likely to be Christmas/New Baby/Spring Break combined.  :)  Just kidding, I'm sure the baby will get it's own mention on the blog.

Happy Birthday to Evelyn!

Evelyn turned 4 on October 3rd!  

She had a fun morning at preschool, dinner at her favorite restaurant, Puccini's, and a 

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" cake.  

Here are some pictures and a video of sweet Evie for her special day.

Bitty got a Halloween costume, some jammies, and diapers.
Evelyn now loves to get her dressed in the morning and ready for bed at night.

With her rainbow cake...which doesn't look as cool on the outside but I didn't get a picture of the inside.
You have probably seen them and made one yourself.  It was really fun to make and I was a little proud.

I recorded a cute birthday video of Evelyn that won't upload for some reason.  

She even sings "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" on it.  

I will keep trying.  

This is a really great video of Evelyn reading a book to Jude...you don't want to skip this!

We are so excited to have Grandma and Grandpa Lloyd visit us at the end of the month!

(Which will most likely be my next post.)

Since summer is drawing to an end...

I guess it is time that I posted a few pictures of what we've been up to.  

The children had their very first lemonade stand.
Evelyn: flag down the cars
Max: in charge of money and lock box
Jude: fill up and drink out of every cup

 We spent the entire month of July out West beginning with a trip to Bear Lake 

(which wouldn't be complete without everyone getting sick).

We then spent the rest of the month hanging out in Twin Falls doing things like...

helping Grandpa with yard work (That is Scarlett, by the way.  Not Jude.)...

trying out different 'dos...

 and swinging in our {cousin's} jammies.

To complete our visit out West, Jason joined us on the last weekend of July for a wonderful trip to Sun Valley.  It was the highlight.

Evelyn sure misses her cousin Audrey.

Redfish Lake

We even met up with the Grandma and Grandpa Lloyd, Derek and Kendra, and Paul, Sherlyn, and their kids who had been camping near Ketchum.  

Max had a blast exploring with Porter.

Evelyn loved walking Ellie (her puppy cousin) around on the leash.

 While in Sun Valley, Max celebrated his 6th birthday!!!  It was great to be with family on this special day.  We had brunch in town, lemon cake, a trip to the hot pots, and he found out a bike was waiting for him at home.  

 On August 15th, Max started 1st grade.  He didn't want to be nervous, but as you can see in this picture, it was inevitable.  He has done so well and is really loving school.  It has been amazing for him. 

While Max is in school all day, these two get to run freely in the backyard thanks to Jason.  While we lazily played in Idaho, he spent his evenings putting up a fence (not the one along the back).  

Jude loves exploring the back yard and I love not having to worry about living on the highway.

In addition to being outside, Jude has recently discovered that he loves books.  I love that Max and Evelyn can read books to him once in awhile.  I'm finally finding that precious balance to motherhood. 

 And now we are up to date and on to our Labor Day/Birthday weekend.

For Jason's birthday and Labor Day combined he spent the morning cycling and in the afternoon we discovered Turkey Run.  I had been hearing about this state park from friends but was really amazed when we finally went.  It was so beautiful.  Jason remarked that he didn't realize we could be so close to home and find terrain like this.  It reminded me a little of being in the Smokey Mtns. in Tennessee (probably because it was such a humid weekend).  As a family, we decided we were adventurous enough to go on the most rugged hike the park had to offer.  It included straddling through ravines, going down three steep ladders, and hiking up lots and lots of steps.  It was muddy and humid and the kids were awesome!  Max did the entire thing with no assistance.  Evelyn mainly needed to be reminded to watch where she was stepping.  Jude loved his ride.

Not us, but a picture of one of the ladders.

September 4th was Jason's birthday.  Evelyn was in charge of the treat (brownies) and the candles.

Jason extinguished all 33 in one blow!

He's a man of many talents.  Apparently including the hula-hoop.

And the day Evelyn has been dreaming about came at last...

PRESCHOOL!!!

Here she is- ready to go!

Jude wants to go to school, too.

Guess what?

We're having a baby!  

We are extremely grateful and excited for it's arrival in February.

Wouldn't you keep on going too?