Goodbye clothes!!

Not like anyone really cares but this week I had to take the plunge and start wearing maternity clothes. I guess it was bound to happen but I was holding out for as long as possible. It's weird how one day my jeans fit and 2 days later they don't!! All of a sudden I have a pregnant belly! Hopefully someday I will fit back into my normal clothes!

Lucy the Cheerleader!

I've not always been a fan of cheerleaders. I have nothing against them but my preference would be to be the one participating in the sport - basketball, cross country, track..... whatever it is. However, Lucy participated in this "poms" program. She learned a cheer and got to cheer at the high school basketball game. It was soooooo cute. I leaned over to Andy and said, "I can't believe I'm so excited to see my little girl cheering". It really was cute and she got to do it with some school friends and she loved every minute of it. Go Lucy!! (Can you believe this is the same Lucy who a few years ago wouldn't even leave my side? I guess they don't stay attached to you forever!!)

Lots to celebrate during the winter!

In about a months time we have 3 birthdays to celebrate in our family. Lucas turned 2 this year and of course he had a ball birthday cake - he is obsessed with balls!
Andy is the GREATEST husband in the world. He always seems to have something up his sleeve and has surprised me much more than I have ever been able to surprise him. About a week before my birthday he surprised me with a ticket to UTAH to visit my parents, Alisa, Ryan, Adam, and college roommates. Yes, he sent me with NO KIDS and although I LOVE them to death it was a much needed break and I loved every minute of my trip.
I was gone for about 4 1/2 days. On the first day my mom, Alisa, and I slept in. After exercising we took off for pedicures and manicures. Then we headed to Jamba Juice and Great Harvest Bread for lunch. Then home to watch a movie and take naps. Can it get any better than that?!??! It was a GREAT day.
That night I met up with college roommates. It was so good to see all of them. Unfortunately I don't have pictures. I left my camera at my parents house (oops!). We went out to dinnner and then they planned a really nice evening at MJ's house with LOTS of treats and we all had fun looking at pictures from college! Thanks girls!!

On Saturday we went to BYU for a basketball game and I even got to meet up with Stephanie (although it was brief - it was really great seeing her!) After the game we got to go to one of my favorites - Cafe Rio!!! I love that place!!
On Sunday my mom made an awesome dinner - salad, homemade rolls, baked potatoes, and dad cooked up some steaks!!!! And for desert we had chocolate eclairs. And I ate every bite without one child tugging and pulling on me!!! It was wonderful!!
Before leaving Utah we also managed to get a little bit of shopping in, lots of exercising, a stop at See's chocolate and well come on we ate plenty of treats. That goes without saying when you hang out with mom!!!
Thanks to Andy for planning the trip and to my roommates and parents for making it a WONDERFUL relaxing weekend!!

And last but not least - Ethan's birthday is 2 days after mine. He turned 5 this year and had a Batman birthday party. It was a really fun party. We have had our share of cake over the last month!!

It's a.............

GIRL!!!!
She will be arriving in June. The date is debatable but hopefully she will arrive before Andy takes off for high adventure! We are all so excited around here. Lucy was hoping for a girl and well.....so was I!

I'm a big fan!

Not that it really matters to anyone but I am a HUGE fan of steel cut oats and if you haven't tried them I highly recommend it. They are full of protein, fiber, and lots of other good stuff. It's basically the center of the oat kernel cut into a few pieces. It looks a bit like rice and you cook it up like any other hot cereal. However, unlike oatmeal (which I also like) it is grainier (and healthier) so has a great texture. If you like hot cereal and have never tried this you really are missing out!

A touch of Paradise!!

Thanks to Andy's mom, we got back a few days ago we got back from a WONDERFUL trip to Cancun - actually about 1 hour South at a great private resort called Taninah. The 85 degree weather was greatly welcomed by us. (I'm not sure our California family could appreciate the warmth as much as us!) We had tons of fun and the week went by much to fast. We loved hanging out with family, eating wonderful food, and soaking up some rays!!

We enjoyed a little shopping and bargaining. Here is Lucy trying on a hat.

This is the place we stayed. We were at a resort in the jungle which happened to be only about 5 minutes from the beach. It was only our family on the property during the week. We each had a little house like this to stay in. The kids were so tired at night they went to bed without any problems!
There was TONS of stuff to do at the resort. This is a gym/play area for the kids. It especially came in handy during meal time. They would play in there while we finished our meal.
This is where we congregated for meal time and at night to play games and talk
The food was soooooo good and we ate way too much. There were 11 men on site 24 hours a day. They cleaned and cooked for us. They were so friendly and became our friends. We had freshly squeezed orange juice every morning with fresh pineapple, cantalope, and other fruit which was followed by the main breakfast. Lunch and dinner were always fabulous and dinner was finished off each night with some rich hot chocolate. They served us our meals. It was nice because they'd serve the kids first and then the adults. Meal time was not stressful at all. They even cleaned the high chairs. Does it get any better than that?!??!

The grounds were beautiful

Some of the activities on site included a trampoline (built in the ground - so no worries about injuries), mini golf, a trail to go running on, volleyball nets, ping pong, air hockey, slides, sand boxes, t.v., a giant movie theater (they set up the big screen and served us popcorn a couple nights we were there), a pool, and a big hit was the zip line.
Another great thing they had at the resort was this water slide in a cave. There are stalagtites (I think I got that right) everywhere with a little pool of water to slide into. It was quite a site. Ethan LOVED the slide and as you can see here Lucy isn't so sure about it!!

This is what it looks like all around. It's really cool.

We had lots of fun on several different beaches. Yes, the water really is this beautiful blue!!
We had a great time snorkeling. Lucy and Ethan couldn't figure out the masks but they had fun looking around with their goggles. I had a wonderful time cruising around with Lucy

Ethan went out with Andy......I can't get enough of the water! We all some some cool fish.

Here is Katie taking a rest with this statue!! Ha!

Here are the ping pong tournament planners looking very seriously over the brackets!!! Chad was the winner!

The workers set up a pinata on New Year's Eve for the kids. They had so much fun!

We even played volleyball against the workers......they beat us!!!

There was a dog(LUNA) running around all week. She lives there and we always knew when she was near by because Lucas would let out the loudest screech. He is HORRIFIED of dogs!!

And here is the lucky group that got to go para sailing. Amy and I were both a little sad not to be in on the action but given we are pregnant we decided we better not go. I did, however take a rain check!!

Here are Andy and Mike

We enjoyed our visit to Tulum where we saw all of these old ruins. It was a hot day but worth seeing. There is a beach right behind the ruins so we were glad to get wet after the tour.

A HUGE THANKS to Andy's mom for a FABULOUS trip!!! We had tons of fun and wish we were still there with everyone!