Splash Park

Here are some pics of my kids at the splash park. They all had a lot of fun. We've been having some hot hot weather here lately and just looking at these pictures makes me feel a little cooler.

Memorial Day

Our ward had a real nice Memorial Day picnic. They even had a kiddie parade. Here's Brandis working his way around the corner.

Here comes Koen.

Eades with a nice flag strapped to his bike.

Koen with a flag in his face.

Brandis still chuggin' away.

Dougan didn't want to be in the parade so another little girl used his scooter so she could be in it. The kids had a good time decorating them red white and blue and us adults loved cheering them on as they went round and round the little circle.

Marshmallow Fluff

Here's a couple pictures of when Taygan got into some marshmallow cream.

She acted like she didn't know how it happened.

Beetle

Two nights ago Tony and I were talking about the awesome trek that the youth from our ward were on. Suddenly we hear shrieks and screaming coming from one the other room. I figured one of the kids must have changed the channel or something and Tony asked me if that was our kids, not believing they could be making such a ruckus. We decided to check it out. There was a huge black beetle in their room. Most of the kids were terrified. Tony picked the beetle up and told all the kids they were going to touch it. Of course the older two were interested as was Taygan. Brandis reluctantly pet the beetle and Dougan wouldn't go near it. Tony put it outside and I thought that was the end.
Today the boys found the same beetle on our front porch. They decided he needed to be our pet. They brought him inside and tried to feed it. I told them he had to go out. I watched out my window as they tried to get it to eat ham, carrots, broccoli, and a cherry. I told them they needed to come inside because a storm was coming. They were concerned for their pet beetle. I said, "Let's look him up online". We googled him and I found that he is a dung beetle. I told the boys he doesn't eat any of that stuff they tried to feed him. They didn't know what dung was so I told them it was poop. They had a good laugh about it. I teased them for having held it. They no longer want it as a pet.

Blue or Pink?

I had my ultrasound this morning. It was a really interesting appointment. While the tech was checking out baby we were talking a lot. She found out I grew up in Middlebury so we mostly talked about the Amish. I think she may have purposely taken longer than usual to ask a bunch of questions. I also got to see the baby in 3D image. That was a first for me. It was really interesting to see a baby like this. She said it would look a lot cooler in the third trimester but I still thought it was pretty neat. She told me right away what I would be having. She says it's a little girl. I was really excited because I wanted Taygan to grow up with a sister. I have four sisters and those are relationships like nothing else. Plus I have all the girl clothes close at hand already.

Our Weekend

Saturday morning we slept in. We hardly ever sleep in so this was a real treat. I had the kids get dressed and ready to go and we cleaned up the house a little before we left. We were on our way to Fort Wayne. We went to a new farmers market first. We bought some cinnamon rolls and an apple pie from a sweet amish woman who was a real good sales woman. She kept trying to get me to buy more. When we were leaving I almost drove off with the food on top of the car. She came and warned me before I took off. Sweet right?
Then we went to the fort. They had people from many different time periods there. There were mostly pioneers and soldiers, but they also had roman soldiers Ben Franklin, Mary Queen of Scots, some native americans, and some jesters. They shot the cannons, had an archery show, and they had a trial but we missed it.
We visited with a man who had a ton of toys. He let the kids play with them and he explained each toy. He was so cool and the boys were surprised they could actually touch and play with the stuff. We ate our cinnamon rolls because we didn't eat breakfast and we also bought some stuff from a little shop at the fort. Then we went on a tour of the actual fort.
The lady was a great tour guide and the boys loved answering her questions. I had a lot of questions and she humored me. It was so interesting. We learned a lot but it was so fun too that the boys were never bored. One of the last places we stopped at was the doctor. He had so many tools and gadgets. The room was completely silent as he talked. I think seeing the saw and the scissors on the table made my boys clam up. He had some things that I had never seen before and he knew so much about it all. He was our favorite part of the fort.
By the end of that it was 1 pm and we had planned on meeting Mysti, so we went to look for her and she came right to us. We introduced all the kids to each other. Dougan and Nick immediately linked arms and Koen, Eades and Caleb made a group and were instant friends. We walked around a little and then it started to rain. We took cover and decided when there was a break in the rain we'd run to our cars and meet at the library.
We did as planned and went to the awesome Allen County Library. The kids section there is so cool. The kids had a wonderful time and then we went upstairs to see the geneology section. Mysti said that it is the 2nd largest next to SLC. It was a very big section and a lot of people were there. I will have to go back there without kids some day. Mysti's husband Adam works there and he knows a lot about geneology. He loves it and Mysti said he could help me anytime I need it. I am so excited about that.
The boys thought Mysti was great. They kept asking about how we were related. They figured she had to be my sister because she was a lot of fun like Aunt Rachel. I found it interesting too because she did remind me a lot of Rachel throughout the day. She just really seemed to enjoy herself and having all the kids around. So we know we're going to get together again soon. We only live 20 min. away from each other. I found out Fred moved to Fort Wayne too not long ago. I don't have any plans to meet with him though.
Okay, so then we came back to Huntington and went to the store. Dougan and Brandis still had gift cards left over from their birthdays so they each got to pick out some more gifts. Then we got some groceries and finally made it home. It was a long day. We cooked some dinner and then watched the storm brewing outside. Later that evening Tony took the older two out to see some flooding, then to Wendy's for some frosties. They said it was really neat to see how much water there was.
The next day we got to take it easy in the morning because it was stake conference. We had and extra half hour to get ready, so I prepared a roast and veggies and put it in the oven. We got new counselors in many different stake presidencies and then got to hear some great talks. When we came home we had a wonderful lunch. Then we watched some Anne of Green Gables and went to bed. That's my kind of Sunday.

Getting Healthy

Every year around springtime I start wanting to get healthy again. A friend of mine talked me into going to a Pilate's class with her at the YMCA. We go twice a week. I figured it would be good because it's low impact and it's supposed to help your core. So I go and of course I'm the largest person in there. The instructor seems to get delight out of calling me the beginner. I like her though, she's really nice and I really don't mind when she says, "Beginners, you can just watch, advanced we're going to do the crab."
The worst part is they have two walls of mirrors. I originally positioned myself so I couldn't see me in the mirrors. Well class size has dropped and now there I am. It's almost depressing. I could fool myself in my mind that I looked like the other ladies while doing the moves but now I know exactly what I look like. Pilate's is really hard. My legs are never as high, I can't stretch as far, and why am I the only one sweating? I know it's doing something because I always feel it the next day. After class I walk one or two miles on the track upstairs. There are no mirrors so I like that part. Plus I can go as fast or as slow as I like. I'm glad I'm in the class because it makes me go to the YMCA whereas if I was just going to go walk I would probably never make it there.
I think I might have lost a little weight already but nothing noticeable where people are saying, "Hey Sarah, You're looking really good".
Then as far as food goes, I am not on a diet at all but I have noticed that I don't have much of an appetite anymore. I'm pretty sure my stomach has shrunk. I think my kids are actually out-eating me. I suppose it's not bad but hopefully I'll feel like eating again once the reunion comes up. Between the Essenhaus buffet and Aunt Lorene's I need to be able to pack it in. I'm actually going to Lorene's next Saturday. Maybe that will snap my appetite back where it used to be.