Oh yeah, i have a blog...

Much has changed.

And due to a series of recent events, and after much prayer and deliberation we've decided to move out to Washington much sooner than anticipated.

So my lack of blogging can be explained by a huge of amount of planning, preparing, and packing for our 4th move in 10 months.

And let me tell you, packing up a house at six months pregnant is no fun and is partnered  with little motivation and zero energy.

Luckily Harrison is a hard worker and I'm a good decision-maker, pointer, and box-taper.

"That goes there, honey. We can throw that away.  Okay bring that box to me." 

So we have a little over a week before Jack and I will be west-coasters again.

Harrison has more training here, and will be joining us soon. (hopefully before this baby comes!)

Speaking of baby...

Anyone who has ever been pregnant will tell you how fabulous it is to take pregnancy photos, and I think I may win the award for most awkward poser ever.

But here I am at 27ish weeks, and this baby is wearing me out!

I'm pretty sure I'm nearly twice the size I was with Jack at this point in my pregnancy, and I am feeling it.

But I am loving all the kicks he's giving me all day long, and we can't wait for him to come!!

And Jack will be 2 1/2 years old next week

(yes, I pay attention to half birthdays)

He makes us laugh all day, everyday.

He is learning new words all the time, and even if we have to translate most of what he says to other people we still think he is the smartest two year old. Ever.

He loves, loves, loves, sports.  Basketball, baseball, golf, soccer, swimming, and anything involving a ball and a racket/paddle. 

He is so active all day which is fine with me since it makes him sleep so well.  He is still napping like a champ (2+ hours a day) and he spoils me by sleeping until 8:30 am or later.

He is starting to be "too cool" for kisses, but has really become quite the cuddler.  

He does however often kiss my tummy and say, "baby!"  

He's going to be the cutest big brother :)

"Golk"

Last week when we were in Atlanta, we discovered Jack is a boy of many talents.

We went to the Children's Museum (lots of money for little parental entertainment...)  

And Jack took his activities very seriously.

"Mom, I'm workin' the land, can't we do this later??"

 His new favorite thing to do is golf...or, "golk" as he more affectionately calls it...

 And he's not half bad either.

Although this picture doesn't show it...

I can't get enough of Mr. Jack - he cracks us up everyday.

And I'm so excited to have another one.

There's just something so sweet about little boys.

Belated Post

Last week Harrison graduated from IBOLC

Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course

 (by the way, this picture counts as my 20ish week belly shot...I'm feeling very unmotivated to take progressive pictures of my baby bump this time around)

Harrison's branch in the Army is Infantry. 

What the heck does 'Infantry' mean?

When you think of a typical US soldier, you're probably thinking of an infantry soldier, I bet.

They are the soldiers who fight in units on foot, and Harrison as an Officer, will most likely soon be a Platoon Leader over about 40 men. (when we get to Ft. Lewis, WA)

IBOLC consisted of 16 weeks of training on weapons, land navigation, emergency medical care, and other military operations. 10 of those weeks he was out in the field doing overnight training, ruck marches, and night missions.

Many of the 150+ men that went through this same training with Harrison are reporting to their units and are soon deploying overseas to defend our nation.  We're not crossing that bridge yet, thankfully, but you do gain a stronger sense of appreciation for what these men are willing to sacrifice when you are surrounded by them and their families here.

So, he's kind of a big deal.  

And we had lots of fun celebrating his graduation.

We had our friends, the Cornetts, over to help us eat this yummy treat:

And oh-so-yummy, it was... 

Fruit Pizza

Cookie Crust:

 1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

2 eggs

 1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

2 3/4 cups flour

Mix together, then press into pizza pans (or cookie sheet)

Bake crust @ 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until slightly golden brown around edges

Icing:

12 oz. cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice

Mix together, then spread on cooled crust

Then slice desired fruit and arrange on icing.

I use strawberries, but you can use peaches, mandarin oranges, pineapple, kiwi, etc.

Or a mixture of anything you want!

I love to see the Temple

I have always lived near a Temple.  I grew up in Fresno, CA where a LDS Temple was dedicated less than 1 month after my 12th birthday. Then from Fresno, I moved to Rexburg, ID where we had a temple in Idaho Falls (about 20 minutes away) and even as I attended BYU-Idaho I got to watch the Rexburg temple being built from my apartment window and it was dedicated 2 months after I left.  And since then I've lived in Las Vegas, Portland, and Provo, UT where there were temples easily within a 20 minute drive - and in the case of Utah, about 4 temples in that 20 minute drive.

But here, the Atlanta Temple is about 120 miles away. And I know compared to most members of the LDS church I am still blessed to be that close to a temple, but it definitely takes more effort and planning to attend.  We finally made that happen yesterday for the first time since we moved here.  Luckily we were able to go with some friends of ours to make the babysitting swap while each couple was inside.  And I'm always so grateful I get to go after I do.  It is such a great place to get away from the craziness of the world, feel peace, and worship.  The temple is so sacred to me and my faith.  I've had so many wonderful experiences there, including when I married Mr. Smith in the Las Vegas, NV Temple and because of that blessing I believe I will get to be with him forever, not just "until death do we part".

To find out more about LDS temples, click here.

I've never driven East to get to the ocean before...

Until our trip to Savannah over Memorial Day weekend.

Harrison got to show me his old stompin' ground (he lived there for about 6 years growing up...)

This street is in his old neighborhood...have I mentioned how pretty Georgia is, yet?  

Maybe one or twice.

And we spent the whole weekend in some type of water because it's really the only way you can stand to be outside right now in the south

We walked around downtown Savannah which was beautiful!  Cobblestone streets, fun little shops, water fountains and statues on every corner, and Mr. Jack needed some coaxing to play in this fountain, and his dad may have gotten more wet than he did, but he ended up loving it!

 Saturday we went to Tybee Island to the beach, which was fun for awhile...

but we soon discovered that 2 days of no napping and a night of not sleeping well equals one unhappy little boy.  Then adding sand, sun and a huge body of water to the mix only made things worse.  Poor Jack was exhausted, and we made sure he got plenty of sleep that night

And this picture proves I was actually on this trip.  I was so worried about getting pictures of our vacation (because I'm usually terrible at this...) that I may have failed to actually get in front of the camera very often.

We also went to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina and spent some time in the pool at our hotel

Overall it was such a blast and a nice little getaway after 4 crazy months of Harrison's IBOLC training!

We've been busy bees over here...

This week has been full of Harrison re-cooperating from being eaten alive by mosquitoes for ten days, getting poison ivy in several areas of his body, a serious sinus infection, and a pulled muscle in his back...Bear Grylls has got nothing on him. And now our grocery bill will most likely double because he is literally a bottomless pit, and eats constantly.  It's funny how easily I forget that...

Jack was also sick this week with a little cold but nothing slows that kid down.  We made it outside today for the first time this week only for him to play basketball in the rain and do some good puddle jumpin...probably wasn't the best thing for his runny nose, but he loved it.  

How I've avoided all the sickness between my boys throughout the past several weeks, I'll never know, but I'm giving credit to my prenatal vitamins.

And I've had such a blast photographing some cute families lately.  And Georgia is so green and gorgeous it makes it that much more fun to use it as a backdrop.  If you can stand the humidity, that is.

 

A Dr. Pepper kind of day

This single parenting/being pregnant stuff ain't for sissies.
Jack was a little challenging difficult today.
He wouldn't eat anything..that I wanted him to eat, anyway.
His nap time consisted of him throwing his pillow, blanket, sippy cup, and Buzz (his sleeping companion) out of his crib over and over until I knew there was no hope in getting him to nap.
And he seemed to be taking note of everything I put away and he would pull it back out again as soon as I left the room.
Sounds like fun, no?

But then about an hour before bedtime I sat in his room with a container of yogurt while he played. And it didn't take him long to see what I was eating, and he was sitting next to me waiting for a bite. After about a minute he obviously thought I wasn't feeding him fast enough so he took the spoon and yogurt away from me to feed himself.

How could I stay frustrated with him when he looks like this?

 He was kind enough to leave me some...at least two whole bites.

 

Even on days like today, I love being a mom.
I highly recommend it.