What were the chances...Really!

Today was our big 20 week ultrasound. In the past this has never been a big deal considering that I can get a free look at the baby whenever I want-the perks of working in the x-ray dept. This time was no different. We already knew what the sex was. At around 16 weeks I had a scan to check the sex-not sure if I really wanted to know- I had the tech write it down so that I could decide with Ben if we were going to find out what it was. Well in the past I have always found out first and told Ben after the fact. This time I wanted Ben to know first, so I let him read it first. I kinda already knew what it was because it took the tech 1 second to go "oh". Not hard to miss boy parts. Yes, another boy!!! At first I was a little disappointed but realized no matter what I love my boys, they are fun, energetic, and are definately boys!! Jocelyn was perfectly fine with another brother. Maybe she's too young yet to realize the fun of having a sister. Growing up with sisters has some perks. But now as a mom, there are very few days that my sister and I don't talk, and laugh, and cry about motherhood. I'm sad Jocelyn will not have that. Maybe she will call me when she is a mom and we will be just as close. Anyways the boys are thrilled, of course, and I will have lots of rough housing, cars, legos, starwars, loud body functions that boys think are funny, a lot of smelly socks to wash, tons of food to buy when they are all teenagers, and 4 possibly 5 missions to pay for. Wow! Oh and 1 wedding for the princess. We are happy the baby is healthy and can't wait for him to be born. We're not sure about a name it was hard enough to name Riley, as for now BABY BOY ALLEN!

We're back!

This is the year we decided to finally take a vacation somewhere other than Washington. We had been promising the kids for a couple of years that we would one day go to disneyland. In January we thought this is the year. So plans were made(before I knew I was pregnant),quarters started being earned for souveniers,and a paper chain count down was made. Before I knew it April was here and luckily I was feeling better-tired but better. We drove down and endured a millions "are we there yet?" and started a crazy and busy week. We had so much fun! The kids loved going from ride to ride and luckily we never waited more than 15 mins. Ethan started out going on everything but then decide some rides were just too scary. Jocelyn did the same thing. On the first day she rode everything even splash mountain, but by the second day she started asking "Is it dark?" and "Will I get wet?". She was still a good sport and really liked A bugs land. She especially loved the princess lunch just the two of us had. She was able to meet quite a few Princesses. Jake rode everything except for the big california screamin. He really liked the tower of terror and the pirates rides. Riley just loved everything. There was actually a lot that he could go on. I think nemos submarine and the buzz rides were his fav. He was the most animated on those. The kids loved picking out their souveniers. They had worked long and hard doing chores to collect quarters and it paid off. They each had 40 bucks! Ethan bought legos, Jake bought a star wars gun and legos. Jocelyn of course picked out jewelry and Riley of course got buzz lightyear stuff. One of the best things was that as part of their Year of Dreams at Disney land we won an hour at the park after it closed to ride any of the rides we wanted. This part was unforgettable for the kids-no lines . We rode the carosel 3 times in a row because Jocelyn kept seeing a different sea creature she just had to ride. Ben got to ride cal screamin 3 xs without a wait also. So us and a few other chosen were let loose to ride the rides with no wait.Needless to say we were disneyed out by friday so most of the day was spent at Huntington beach and then back to Disneyland for the fireworks. I am so glad we decided to go to Disneyland. It was crazy,a lot of work but so much fun! and now to still hear the kids talk about it is just priceless. They have already talked about next time. Not for a while and definately not when I'm pregnant!

Happy Happy Birthday!

What a day! I can't believe Ethan is 9 years old! Ethan arrived home from school and was suprised by a large sign and balloons in the front yard. He was so excited to see that I was making his request of a space rocket cake come true (blue and red with a monkey or dog in the window) because everyone knows a monkey and dog were the first life forms sent into space. Only Ethan would want to be so specific and acurate. His love of science shows up in every part of his childhood.
He was so excited to recieve the book he requested-Fablehaven and since that was the only thing he said he wanted- I had to come up with somethingelse. A 9 year old shouldn't just get a book for thier Birthday. So after a trip to Toys R Us and searching the science section, I decided on the eye clopse. I'm so glad I got this toy. It is so cool! For those of you who do not know about this thing- it is like a microscope that hooks up to your tv and magnifies anything you can find onto the tv screen. We started out with stuffed animals and hair and Ethan tried my arm-Which is never allowed again for the finding was a very small mole made very big and ugly on our tv. Yuck! The best thing was a couple of spiders I found but Ethan caught. Jocelyn and I couldn't even watch the tv-two hairy legs were all you could see. It's been a lot of fun. He had a great day- his choice of dinner-Little Caesars pizza, renting his own movie,cake, and presents. The only thing missing was Ben who was at his annual ForeverGreen convention. We didn't see much of Ben that week. Ethan didn't seem to mind too much although he wants to go to the movies with Ben since "Dad missed my birthday and I missed him".

Unexpected Cuteness

Just really quick-the boys are coming home from school any minute and the world seems to stop for homework,snacks and piano practicing. So last night Ben was gone forever at young mens and finally at ten I decided to head to bed. So it fell upon me to turn off the computer and I'm so happy I did. This is what I found...

I had let Jocelyn play games at playhouse disney.com while I made dinner and at some point she used photo booth to do some modeling. It's time like these that I realize how smart a 3 year old can be and how incredibly cute kids are. I couldn't help but laugh and smile all the way to bed.

So in my last blog-oh so long ago- I stated that one of the things I would never wear again was maternity clothes. Well-I must say, I jinxed myself. Yes we are expecting again. Such a huge surprise! I am still in denial. This wasn't in the plans and I've had a really hard time with it. So a few months later here I am in maternity clothes-Yuck! This has been hard because of sickness and working and not having the right insurance and not to mention our trip to Disneyland next month-I can't ride any of the fun rides!!! Everyone says maybe it will be a girl-I guess to try and make me feel better.
I guess this makes me sound very ungrateful to be able to be part of such a wonderful blessing,let me say-I am not a good pregnant person!!! I am moody and cranky, and hate getting fat. I have horrible sickness from beginning to end and did I mention moody? I also have a hard 1st year. Call it what you want-post partum or craziness-It's just hard for me. Although, it has been fun to watch the kids chant boy or girl at each other. Of course the boys want a boy and Jocelyn wants a girl and has already picked out names- polly pocket and cinda (short for cindarella I think). It's been getting easier as the sickness isn't as bad and I'm able to get out of the house and thank goodness for McDonalds spicy chicken sandwiches they always make me feel better!
Here are a few pictures of what's been going on around here. It's amazing what happens when the kids know I'm not feeling well!

Riley found the drawer of tapes-that night Ben hesitantly got rid of them all.

Jocelyn and Riley had a few days where they would "camp" in the living room. Each had a blanket and pillow and chair. Jocelyn used a pile of hair ribbons for the fire. On this day they were doing winter camp which is why she has socks on her hands-never mind the rest of her naked body.Yes those tights are too small and she put them on herself.

We are so proud of Ethan for representing his school at this years knowledge bowl. He did great and all that studying paid off!

Ok so I realized Laura my sister had tagged me a while ago. Here it goes.

5 things I was doing 10 years ago

1. Ben and I had been married almost 5 months
2. The realization of thinking I was an adult in college suddenly ended with being married-now I was an official adult and truthfully it scared me.
3. I was working at Primary Children's Hospital and loving it.
4. I was driving Ben back and forth from work at Wal-Mart because he hadn't gotten his license -ever! a couple months later we sat down and I gave him an ultimatum-get a license or take the bus. It worked! Although he still can't drive a stick shift! (some lady claims he rolled back into her at a stop sign-He never drove my car again!!!)
5. I could eat a warm meal, shower, use the bathroom, read a book, cook, and scrapbook without being interrupted. Those were the days!

5 things on my to do list today

Well it's Sunday so...
1. Survive church and my sunbeam class(check)
2. Make cookies (an every sunday thing-check)
3. Take a nap-didn't happen luckily work was slow last night
4. Watch Amazing Race with the fam while eating popcorn and smoothies(another every sunday event-unless the kids are bad in church)
5. Go to work-Yuck

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire

1. Quit my job
2. Pay off the house and the Expedition
3. Travel with kids and without kids!
4. Go on a shopping spree
5. Buy land and a cabin somewhere

5 things I will never wear again

1. Braces!! once these babies come off I will NEVER have braces again.
2. High waisted jeans-yes I know low rise can be risky but I tried on a pair of jeans I had in high school and even Ben agreed he didn't know what people were thinking-Yes they still fit just things aren't as perky and I bulge in different areas-i.e. my rear and my hips.
3. I have to agree with Laura-short hair-it's not for me. My hair is too thick and I pretty much ended up with an afro-not pretty
4. A bikini- oh why are all the cute swimsuits bikinis
5. Maternity clothes which is why I can't wear the bikinis!!!

5 things I can't live with out

1. Cell phone
2. My Expedition with the TV it's a life saver
3. Scrubs I'm not sure what else I would wear when at home
4. Chocolate- I've gone thru 2 bags of dove dark chocolates since christmas
5. My family of course but also my neighborhood lunches with my friends, they keep me sane and I miss them if we go too long in between.

So thats it I've got to run to work I'll think of someone to tag later.

Christmas Fun

We had such a wonderful Christmas except for me having to work! Ben did great as Santa though. I was very sad to miss all the fun. Christmas Eve was low key. We read the Christmas story from the bible, opened presents(new p.j.s) and Ben watched the Nativity on tv with the kids while I got ready for work. We helped Ethan write his letter Santa asking him to leave a movie downstairs for them to watch while waiting for me to get home from work and then I tucked my kids into bed and went to work. Work that night was quiet-somehow people don't get sick as much around the holidays-it's amazing! So I was able to get quite a bit of sleep. I did call Ben a few times to see how santa was doing and to give instructions. Again he did great! and did even better in the morning when I called on my way home and found out they had all been awake since 4 am and were now watching their second movie. The second I walked in the door the kids all ran upstairs- they couldn't wait any longer and neither could I. This year was so exciting for me. The boys are at the perfect age for knowing exactly what they wanted and I had fun seeing the looks on their faces. Ethan got his mars mission legos,and his high school musical mp3/movie player, Jake got his beloved star wars lego ship (I still don't know the name of it-except big and expensive!) and a pirates of the caribbean mp3/movie player,Jocelyn got her Doll house and a princess cash register,and polly pockets, Riley got a jumping zebra toy and tmx Elmo. Everyone got what they wanted. Ben did great and got me a bunch of clothes,jewelry, cds, books, and since I didn't have anything big I just had to have we decided that we would buy something we have wanted for a few years- a very large gospel picture. We decided on a Mt Timpanogas temple picture. It's beautiful and still not hung up.-We lost the measuring tape- Ben found it this morning,so maybe tonight. I love this picture of Riley he wasn't sure what to expect but he knew this was candy.



We spent the day at my moms. Tons of fun with the fam. We did our annual white elephant gift exchange the kids even had their own white elephant game as well as the candy bar games for adult and kids. Ben and I did quite good this year and ended up with about 10 candy bars. Just what we really didn't need-more candy- but it was a blast taking it from everyone! Well after a few games, dinner, pie, presents, more games and a crack at Laura and Marks WII-high school musical sing along- the kids and adults were exhausted. What a great day.