Jared, Summer 2012

Here are some random pictures and memories of Jared from this summer.

Jared continues to be fascinated by all things Star Wars related. He used some of his allowance and birthday money to buy Star Wars costumes for his Build A Bears. Together, they had many light saber duels, rescued the Princess, and saved the galaxy.

He helped me do some fun projects, including help me make these cool bubble snakes. (Easiest activity EVER! Get the instructions HERE. Literally took me 10 minutes and I had everything we needed on hand.)

I don't have many pictures from the pool this summer (keeping Kate safe and taking pictures was too much for me!) but Jared LOVED swimming. He started trying more things, jumping off the side, deliberately going under the water, etc. Last year swimming lessons were kind of a flop for him - he balks at being pushed into anything, so this year we just let him do his own thing and he made a lot of progress. I think he'll be swimming all over next summer.

Megan, Summer 2012

Here are some random pictures and memories of Megan from this summer.

Megan has the best taste in haircuts. She is fearless - I have been known to try and talk her out of cutting her hair, for fear that it won't turn out or that it will be hard to manage, but she has the attitude that it's just hair and it will grow back if she hates it. Here's a picture of her summer haircut.

Megan gave a talk in Primary. She wrote the whole thing without help and did a great job. I love hearing her share her understanding of the gospel and her testimony. Here's a link to her talk.

Megan has a natural gift with babies and small children.  She is a natural nurturer. Kate adores her. Lots of mornings they would get up together without waking me, and I'd find the two of them snuggled on the couch when I got up. I love her for that! It made dealing with morning sickness a LOT easier this summer. Every baby should come with an 8 year old!

Every summer, Megan takes part in a rotating playgroup for girls her age. Each week the girls meet at a different home, giving each girl in the group a chance to host. Megan wanted to have a fashion show when it was our turn. The girls were all very glamorous.

Our Trip to Utah, part 4 (4th of July)

We spent the 4th of July with Grandma Suzanne and Grandpa Mark and all the Mansfield cousins. The kids had a blast at the parade.

Our Trip to Utah, part 3 (Orem)

 We had a lot of fun with the McGees and Campbells too. It was so much fun to spend time with family and friends.

I got to spend a fabulous evening watching my friend and teacher Connie Jensen preform. She is amazing!

Kate adores her big cousins. They were all so patient with her. She loved "helping" Ben practice the piano.

And she commandeered Auntie Char's water bottle (that's the blurry orange thing in the picture - once she got a hold of it, you couldn't pry it out of her hands!)

We had fun at the park with David and Auntie Char.

Our Trip to Utah, part 2 (Bear Lake)

We spent a week at the Mansfield cabin at Bear Lake with the Mansfield cousins. It was so much fun to be up in the mountains. I miss that, living here in Houston where the tallest things around are freeway overpasses, and all the hills are man-made.

We rode four-wheelers.

We made giant bubbles.

We flew kites.

 We hung out with Grandpa.

We wrestled with our cousins and uncle Matt

We played. And played. And played with cousins.

We went to Bear Lake and played in the cold, Cold, COLD water. (Okay, it wasn't that cold, but compared to the water in the Gulf, it sure FELT cold.)

We "helped" fix Grandpa Gustman, who was cruelly stepped on.

We made Diet Coke and Mentos volcanoes and baking soda/vinegar volcanoes

And we had a treasure hunt, complete with a treasure chest pinata. 

As Megan used to say when she was about 3, "What a life!"

Our Trip to Utah, part 1 (Brigham City)

The kids and I spent almost a month in Utah this summer. We had such a great time seeing family!

We love our cousins! Spending time with them was definitely a highlight of the trip. It was fun to get to go to brunch at Great Grandma and Grandpa Greenland's home and see them all!

 We visited my dad and Judy in Brigham City and got to see the (then) unfinished Brigham City Temple and go on a tour of the Brigham City Tabernacle! I have been in the Tabernacle many times, but touring it with my dad and sisters and their families was a really neat experience. I learned lots of new things - like the time my dad spoke there when he was 8 years old during Stake Conference. And that that's where he proposed to my mom. Sometimes its fun to play tourist in familiar places. You never know what you'll learn!

We had a lot of fun staying up late, playing games with dad and Judy (although a few times we got so loud I thought we'd wake up Kate - I kept having to tell grandma and grandpa to shhhh! They were as noisy as the older kids!)

Kate discovered sprinklers while at their house. She had a wonderful time crawling through them, getting completely soaked in the process.

Who's Ready for Lunch at Five Guys?

Not me. At least not yet. But I think its coming. Soon.

Turns out, I'm pregnant. 10 weeks today. Due February 12. I got to see the baby today, via ultrasound. Its a wiggly little thing. Everything looks healthy and normal.

So, what does this have to do with Five Guys? When I was pregnant with Kate, I craved their burgers. It was almost embarrassing how much I craved them. I would have eaten them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I thought that this was just something I craved with Kate, but Travis reminded me that I craved burgers with both Megan and Jared as well (I craved Burger King of all places. Ewwwwwwww!). Not with the same intensity, but craved them still the same. Apparently my veggie-loving-self wants red meat when I'm expecting. (Maybe that's why all of my kids love steak as soon as they can chew it - it must be Travis's influence!)

So although I'm not ready to head out to get burgers for lunch just yet, get ready. I'm sure I'll be bugging y'all about going with me soon.

Hey There! It's Me, Kate.

Someone should really tell my mom to change her password to keep me from periodically hijacking her blog....Or maybe having me write my own posts is part of her plan....Hmmmm.....

Well, either way, I'm in control now and I'm gonna post a bunch of random pictures from summer to remind you all how amazingly adorable I am. Ready? Okay - here we go!

This summer I really hit my climbing stride. I discovered that I am a lot quicker than mom, and that I can get access to just about anything if I am willing to climb. You will routinely find me on top of the kitchen table,

 Standing on top of my rocking horse (should I worry that instead of getting me down, my mom went to get her camera?),

 and I even discovered that hiding on the bottom of my little table is a built in ladder. It's awesome just how much more access I have to all the cool stuff now!

My favorite game is peek-a-boo. I love to pull my blanket over my face and then pull it off  when someone asks "Where is Kate?" (As a side note, you'd think that as much as we play this game, they would have a a non-blurry picture! What a bunch of slackers!)

I don't remember what adorable thing I was demonstrating here, but it doesn't really matter. Because I am adorable. And that's all that's important.

I finally got to experience my first popcicle this summer. It was wonderful - cold and wet and sweet and sticky. They have been holding out on me all this time! (And yes, I may have thrown an all-out temper tantrum when I finished it and they took the wrapper away. But it was an adorable temper tantrum. Trust me.)

I still love food. Pretty much any food (except fruit snacks and jello. Those are just GROSS!). I was so cute at the restaurant, the nice waiter-person brought me my own bowl full of lemon wedges. Yummy!

Okay, I take it back. I don't like everything. I discovered that the inside of the banana tastes a lot better than the peel. (Again, I am wondering why my mom took pictures instead of taking the peel away.....Should I be worried?)

Okay, I guess I'll stop now. Don't want to overload you with cuteness. And I think mom just noticed that I am using her computer instead of napping. Until next time!

~Kate