This post is strictly for journaling purposes, so I'm warning you now it is boring. But I quickly wanted to recap what has been going on lately.

hannah   mylee   esi

Hannah turned five years old in March! It's hard to believe. I took Hannah, her friend Esi, and her cousin Mylee to Disney on Ice as her "party". The theme was Tinkerbell, so I bought them some little fairy wings, wands, and crowns. We stopped at Chic-fil-a for dinner, then drove down to Salt Lake for the show. We got there a little bit early so we could see Princess Tiana live and in person! She was beautiful! The girls loved it. Esi gave Hannah a Barbie with these little dogs that really go to the bathroom on their special pads! What will they come up with next. Mylee gave Hannah a Barbie Mermaid movie and a Barbie mermaid doll. Shawn, Chance and I gave Hannah an American Girl Doll baby, plus … a Barbie Mermaid movie and a Barbie mermaid doll! Great minds think alike. Oh well, it never hurts to have two!

Soon after Hannah's birthday, Shawn and I left for Hawaii. We took a trip to Oahu this time. It was so fun! Our resort was amazing and when we first arrived, I felt really guilty for leaving the kids home because it was a perfect resort for kids! There was a little waterslide, a sandy beach that was next to the swimming pool, plus a shallow ocean beach where large rocks were built to block the waves from crashing in. It was so nice! We stayed there, but drove around a lot to see the sights of Oahu. We took a trip up to the North Shore and took a surf lesson. Our teacher was a babe (I'll have to post a picture) as well as a great teacher. Her swimming suit was falling off the entire time, so Shawn really enjoyed that. I actually got up on my surfboard a few times! It was fun but tiring. We walked around Waikiki but it was so crowded (a little too crowded for me). We also took a plane over to Kona to see Lindsay, Jason and Lily. That was so much fun – they had rented a really nice condo that we shared in Waikoloa. I couldn't believe how big Lily had gotten! She is the cutest baby ever! And my sister is the best mom ever. There was a really yummy market next to the condo so we ate a few meals there, but the highlight of the trip was a 50% special that happened to be running at a very nice restaurant. Everything you ordered before 6:00 was 50% off so, of course, we ordered everything on the menu (sushi, tempura, meals, desserts) and all of it was 50% off! I swear it made it all taste even better. That was the highlighted meal of the trip for sure! When we went back to Oahu we visited Pearl Harbor and drove around some more. There was a lot of driving on the trip, but there was a lot to see. We had a really fun, relaxing time. We went for five days instead of seven, which I think was a good move. The time we were gone for seven seemed way too long to be away from the kids. Shawn's mom and my mom babysat for us, which was a favor I will never be able to repay!

surf teacher (told ya!)

view from resort

When we returned from Hawaii, we had planned to surprise the kids with … a puppy! I had searched and found the perfect puppy for us. There were requirements for the perfect puppy - it had to be potty trained and also have hair instead of fur so it wouldn't shed and so I wouldn't be too allergic to it. We picked up the puppy on a Friday night. We kept telling the kids that we were going to Bountiful for a "surprise" and that they were going to love it. When we arrived at the house, Shawn noticed that there was a basketball hoop hooked to a trampoline in the front/side yard of the house and pointed it out to Chance, thinking Chance would get a kick out of it. Chance got tears in his eyes because he thought the surprise was that we were going to move into this house as our new house! He was so sad! Hannah, on the other hand, got out of the car and kept repeating, "I have a good feeling about this…" When we got to the door, the puppy was jumping on the kids' legs and they thought he was so cute. I said, "I thought we could take this puppy home with us." They didn't really react until we actually left with the puppy in hand. Then when we got to the car, they were all smiles! The puppy's name Rags – he is a shih tzu. At first I thought he was well-behaved but I am learning his true personality!! Haha, no, I love him but I can't stand waking up with him in the night and cleaning up after him. He is like a baby! Which leads me to …

picking up Rags (pre-haircut)

Chance and Rags (post haircut)

Shawn and I are expecting a baby! What??? Total surprise here. And just for the record, had I known I was expecting a baby, I would NOT have bought a puppy! But I am due in November and I have been sick as can be. I don't remember being this sick with the other two kids. I just lie here and try not to throw up. I was really tired in Hawaii, and I thought it was because of the drastic time change, but I guess that wasn't all! Chicken nuggets (just the sight of the bag) cause me to gag. Same with fish smells. But ice cream and popsicles have been my favorite! Oh, and today I made Paula Deen's homemade macaroni and cheese!!! Yum. Last Sunday a woman in our ward asked me if I was expecting. I was so shocked because we hadn't told ANYONE and I did not want to tell anyone for a long time! But, since the cat was out of the bag (and my stomach was obviously poking out more than I had thought!), we decided to tell family and friends. Who surprisingly, were all very excited! For some reason I thought they would be "oh…not again." Shawn and the kids are so, so, so excited! It has been fun to see the kids' reactions because they really understand what is going on and how this will change our family. The first thing Chance asked me was, "When are you going to birth it out?" The first thing Hannah asked me (at least three times) was, "Are you trickin' me?" Chance wants a brother and Hannah wants a sister, so it will be interesting to see what comes out. Hannah insists that she needs a sister because they already have a little brother (Rags).

On Sunday, Chance and I played a duet in Sacrament Meeting – Called to Serve. The meeting happened to be our bishop's son's missionary farewell and there were a TON of people there. Chance was a little nervous, to the point that he crossed our names off of the program in hopes that we wouldn't have to perform! But we made it through, and he did not make ONE mistake. The kid has a good ear and is VERY good under pressure! I was so proud of him.

Hannah had her kindergarten round up last week, she was so excited! We had been to the doctor so she could get her shots. She barely cried! She was very brave. I think she was just so excited that the shots meant she would be able to go to kindergarten that she didn't even care. It's hard to believe she is old enough to be going to kindergarten next year. Chance will be going into second grade, and wants to be sure Hannah is in afternoon kindergarten so they can walk home together. He has had so much fun walking home from school with his friends each day. Chance loves playing basketball at school. He loves it so much that his dad has decided to build a half-court basketball court in the backyard! Shawn has been working on it religiously for about a week now. Which is fine, but I can't stand the dirt that has been tracked in the house. And what is worse is that Hannah comes home 10 times dirtier than Chance! So it's bath night every night around here, especially for Hannah!

Shawn hard at work creating the basketball court, moving sod

Just Dance
I thought I'd post this for the few people who might actually watch and think it's as funny as I did!