Swimming Lessons!!

This is Addison's first year in swimming lessons and I have to admit I was a little nervous about her actually enjoying it. She loves playing in the water but HATES getting her head wet and getting water in her eyes. I was just praying that she wouldn't be screaming through the entire lesson. My parenting skills are such that I would just leave her there to tough it out (probably encouraging her "teacher" to dunk her as much as possible) and hope that it doesn't scar her for life. Luckily when I arrived on the first day she was eager to get into the pool and swim. I was very relieved when I saw her swim teacher who happened to be a friend from Grangeville that I grew up with. He just graduated from NNU and I used to babysit him and his sister all the time. And it just so happened that his sister was teaching the "other" class. It was good to see them again and it was nice to know Addie's "teachers" right off the bat. Throughout the course of the week Addison did great in her swim lessons. She participated and didn't complain at all. She even jumped off and got dunked without tears or crys of fear. I just sat there thinking that this wasn't my child. It helped that she had her friend Eli in class with her I think. This week she will have her last 4 lessons. I'm glad that she has decided that the swimming thing is not so bad.

Air Conditioner!!

O.K. - so here we are at the beginning of the scorching weather ( emphasis on the beginning part) and yet again for the fourth year in a row our air conditioner is not working correctly. The first summer we were in this house we had it constantly set at 69 degrees cuz we both like it cold - and it was fabulous! Ever since then it's been nothing but problems and each summer we have someone come out and check it, and of course they do a complete inspection, clean the air ducts, and top off the frion, which means of course hundreds of dollars spent in a matter of 17 minutes. We've poured enough money into fixing this air conditioner that we could've saved money if we just would've bought a new one right off the bat. Boy, are we dumb huh? Anyways, so here we are June 25th and it's a whooping 86 degrees outside and 79 degrees inside, even though the air conditioner is turned to 74 degrees. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when the weather gets into the 100's - and - oh it will, all too soon I'm afraid. So - do we sweat it out? Do we get some other lovely (oh - and they are lovely) AC fixer to come and check it out yet again probably to just do exactly what they did the past few years (which was NOTHING - dimwits)? Or do we bite the bullet and spend my child's college fund on a new air conditioner? Choices! Choices! You can't tell I'm six months pregnant, entering the scorching weather and am a little on edge with the whole ordeal can you? GOOD!! Life is grand!

Summertime Blues!!

Yeah - o.k. I woke up this morning feeling like summer is going by way too fast. I am thouroughly enjoying my time at home with my little girl but can't help but think how soon it will end. I have soooooo much to accomplish this summer, including baby boy room, different projects around the house, visiting with friends that I don't normally see, making time to read books that have been collecting dust, putting together a garden and maintaining it, planning a few bridal showers for my sis, the list goes on and on and on. I bet now that you read this you are even feeling a bit overwhelmed too huh? I know that "the list" will always be there and it will probably only continue to grow and grow. I've decided that all of those things will be taken care of sooner or later and that I need to concentrate mostly on enjoying the time I get to spend with Addison before her baby brother arrives. I pray that the time goes a little more slowly and that I'm able to relax and just enjoy each minute.

Here are a few pictures of Addison playing with her 2nd cousin Elijah on Friday. I babysat for my cousin Mindy and the kids had so much fun enjoying the first swim of the season in the new pool.

Trip to the Boise Zoo!!

Addison and I ventured off with some friends to the Boise Zoo on Thursday morning. I would have to say it was the perfect day for a trip to the zoo. The weather was around 70 degrees and because of this, instead of basking in the shade the animals were interactive and moving around, as well as being very vocal. The zebra seemed like he was having a hissy fit about something when we went past and scared us to death. We thought that he might be having a rather heated conversation with his neighbor, "The Gemsbok" of Africa, simply because they were staring at each other through the mesh-like fence that seperated the two. Zebras are fiesty!! While playing on the giraffe slide we also heard one of the tiger's roar, which in a zoo should seem like a common noise to be heard but at the Boise Zoo where these tigers are known for attacking innocent bystanders, not a very fun sound!! My heart skipped a beat and thought of climbing on top of the giraffe slide with my child (tiger's can't climb giraffe slides can they?) just to be safe. But when we realized that there was no blood curdling screams or people frantically running out of the zoo we figured we were o.k. I actually think we saw and maybe even heard every animal that they had at the zoo that day, which in past experiences doesn't happen often. It was great and the kiddos LOVED it! After the morning spent with the animals we went into Julia Davis Park and had a picnic lunch. It was a wonderful day!!

It's a baby BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Words cannot explain how excited we are to announce that in October we will add a little boy to our family. We had our ultrasound yesterday around noon. We brought Addison with us and she was fascinated at first but easily became distracted. Jeremy's face was priceless as the doctor showed us "the picture" of . . . well - you know what! He was ecstatic!! I know that he would have been happy if it was a girl but he was glad that he got his boy.

That evening we had some family and a few close friends over to celebrate with us as we told them what we were having. I hid some small plastic bottles with different colored lids in 7 cupcakes. There was four more of one color than another. It couldn't have worked out more perfectly. It came down to three blue and three pink. Then Aaron took his sweet time in revealing the last bottle which he knew was in his cupcake. He pulled it out and revealed the blue bottle to everyone. It was so fun!! I'm glad I decided to reveal it that way, it seemed so much more memorable!

Thank you to all who came and celebrated with us. Jeremy and I have never felt so blessed!

Finally, a playset for Addie

After a lovely weekend away up in the mountains I come home Sunday afternoon to find my husband in the backyard putting together a playset for my daughter. We have been looking for playsets ever since April and were getting very frustrated with the process. The cost of everything seemed too high, the ratings on the ones that we liked were not great and when we finally decided on one they were no longer available. I'm glad that my husband just bit the bullet while I was away and went out and got one. Addison loves being outside and our backyard was big but bare. She is very excited for friends to come over and play and can't wait until her cousins are here as well to help her enjoy this new toy. Thank you daddy!!

Wonderful Cabin Weekend!

This past weekend was spent with friends at my grandma's picturesque cabin. We had a wonderful time together eating, sharing, laughing and then more eating and more laughing. We talked about everything under the sun (and then some) and enjoyed every minute of it. The weather was beautiful, the river was high and we were free from the normal everyday tasks of taking care of our families. It was a nice getaway! The most memorable moments included finding cell phone service (in the middle of the road), taking a lovely nature hike up to lightning creek when it began pouring rain and hail on us when we were almost there - luckily on the way back down the mountain Shawna rescued us, Watching pregnant Pete and his posse (deer) make their way through the cabin property in search of food, and the constant bouts of laughter than eminated throughout the cabin. Thank you ladies for a great time!!