Steak!

So here's the deal. I'm not proud of this picture. I can't believe I'm even posting it. But I do think that it appropriately shows my passion for steak lately. I can't get enough steak, or sometimes just beef in general. Best steak so far, Ruth Chris' filet mignon. Yep, that was the best and I was truly spoiled to get it. The downside to experiencing such a marvelous steak though, is that it is hard to find a cheaper one that can satisfy my craving. Outback Steakhouse failed miserably. Anyway, one day when my beef craving hit hard, my wonderful husband ran to the store for steaks and cooked me one within 20 mins. It was fabulous. He then pointed the camera at me and documented the moment well.


Why talk so much about steak? Well, there was one other time when I needed steak like I need it now. And that reason was Kode. So as you probably have guessed, or already know, we are expecting our 4th baby. It has taken a while to get to this point because 3 felt really good for so long, but we are all really, really excited. I am due at the end of September, but I have to have a c-section at this point and after my last one the doctor said the next one would probably need to be 3 weeks before my due date. So probably mid September we will have a sweet new baby join our family. The kids are super happy about this. We waited for a while to tell them because we wanted to make sure all was well first. Lyda smiled at me for days and can't stop saying, "I wish it was September!" Kode would occasionally say, "You're pregnick" and then ask when my stomach was going to get bigger and if I could feel the baby move yet. He has been so into this pregnancy because he is desperately hoping for a brother. I hope he gets one, but I keep reminding him that we just want a healthy baby and girls are great too. Ruby is determined that this baby will be a girl. The other day she referred to this baby as a girl and Kode said, "You can't call the baby her, you have to call it the Mystery Sibling cause we don't know if its a girl or a boy yet." Steve and I are excited and nervous all at the same time. Poor Steve worries the whole pregnancy. And I have to admit that this time around I worry too. I think the older I get the more I worry. But I have a great doctor and at this point we have already had 2 ultrasounds and seen this little one moving and kicking and seeming healthy. So we are just hoping it stays that way!

Cabin Snow Trip

In January we took a trip to the cabin hoping for snow. We had what I thought was the perfect amount of snow, with sunshine. It was a lot of fun for all of us. Warm enough to take walks on the street if you didn't want to walk through snow, and there was enough snow to make the kids happy. All of the Edmunds family was able to come too. We have taken trips to the Crandell cabin together before, but never in the winter. I love being at the cabin in the winter. Its so nice to be able to have a fire and to cuddle up with a blanket. The cousins have so much fun up there together. They tear the place apart and it can sometimes be quite the chore to put it all back together before we leave.








The pond near the cabin was frozen. Steve was the one who tested it out for safety. He had a great time imagining his friends coming up next winter to have a hockey game on that pond.



The kids thought it was pretty cool to be standing on ice. And that's fair, it was pretty cool.

We did a lot of lounging around. And shooting dart guns. And playing stupid games on cell phones. It was pretty relaxing.


Brad was hands down the favorite uncle this trip. He got quite a workout playing with those kids. They were on his case constantly asking him to wrestle.


More lounging.


No trip to the cabin would be complete without some type of organized performance by Sarah. The kids found outfits in the dress up room and Sarah taught them some songs. It is always an entertaining show.


We always have a great time at the cabin and are so grateful that we have a place so close that we can escape to.

New Year's Eve 2010

New Year's Eve was a lot like Christmas Eve. We started out at the Edmunds' house and ended at the Crandell's house. I think this New Year's was extra fun because we were able to do some of our own fireworks. That's huge for us Arizonans. We played games, ate lots of food again and stayed up way too late. Ruby actually slept in until 11 the next morning. It was pretty awesome.

Scenes from Christmas 2010

I love, love, love Christmas. I love shopping and Christmas is the best excuse to shop. I love trying to figure out what exactly to get the kids. I love ordering on Amazon and receiving packages all December long. Its like Christmas for me every time the UPS truck stops at my house. I even love trying to figure out what to get for Steve. Sometimes that is a difficult thing to do. The downside to me shopping so early though, is that I typical tend to overbuy. The big hits this Christmas seemed to be pillow pets and bikes.

Christmas Eve at the Crandell's

After we spent a few hours at the Edmunds' on Christmas Eve, we headed over to the Crandell's. Every Christmas Eve we gather downstairs in the basement around the fireplace. We have cocoa, soup, crackers and cheese balls, and a variety of desserts. We do more chatting and hanging out and then Grandpa reads the Christmas story from the Bible. This year, Uncle Jim brought his puppies so the kids could see them one more time before they went to their new homes as Christmas gifts. The kids were so anxious to see the puppies again, but there were certainly some tears when it was time to say goodbye.





Poor Lyda had the hardest time saying goodbye to the puppies.

Edmunds' Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve started with a stop at the Edmunds' house. Grandpa always makes an excellent prime rib dinner and this year was no exception. We had yummy food, played games, opened a few presents and hung out and just visited. It was a fun time for everyone.

Gingerbread House

Look, I know it is March and I'm just now putting up pictures of Christmas, but I have good excuses, really. Anyway, I am one of those bloggers who only blogs when I feel like it. And, well, lately I just haven't wanted to. Probably mostly because I knew how much catching up I had to do.
So we made a gingerbread house this past Christmas and we all had a lot of fun doing it. It was a great way to spend a Sunday evening.

Earrings!

Back in December Ruby decided that she was ready to get her ears pierced. Steve and I decided that we would let our girls decide when they wanted to get their ears pierced rather than just doing it when we want to. I might talk about it a lot with them, but ultimately the choice is theirs. Before she got her ears done, she watched a 5 year old girl get hers done. The older girl freaked out and cried hard. I worried that Ruby wouldn't want to go through with it, but she was determined. She chose the same earrings as her baby cousin Nellie. She was a champ while getting them pierced and didn't even cry. She was so proud to have done it and she just looks extra cute with those sparkly ears.