Happy 33rd Birthday to ME!

This is my new haircut by the way

So, I just had a birthday. I am now 33. I was very spoiled on my birthday. On Friday after Chris got done with work we picked up our rental car, went to Las Herraduras and had lunch then went to California. We checked into our hotel and hung out for a while then went to Souplantation to eat dinner. It was really heavenly
. The next day Chris dropped me off at the San Diego temple and I did a session there. It was amazing. The spirit was so strong I was trying not to ball. I didn't have a Kleenex either which was a bummer. I sat in the Celestial room for a bit and meditated which was amazing. I love that temple.
 after I left we went to the garment store and I got some maternity garments which make a huge difference. We went to the church building there and met some ward members to eat lunch that was provided and then we went to Deseret Book and got the kids a picture Book of Mormon to read to them. Emma also got a set of scriptures to take to church. I just need to make a scripture case for her to carry them in. Everett got a CTR ring that was super cheap. He loves it. It has a car on it. Emma got a CTR bracelet.
 I want to get a CTR ring for myself. When I was in the temple I was contemplating the meaning of what we promise while we are there. There is a lot that we covenant to do. I was thinking of CTR and came up with my own meaning. It is "Commit to Righteousness." I am going to commit myself everyday to live a righteous life and to make the necessary changes so I can be worthy of the blessings promised to me in the temple.
After the bookstore we went to La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya) beach. We saw some Pelicans, seagulls, and Sea Lions. It was a lot of fun. we collected sea shells as always and put our feet in the ocean. It felt really nice.After the beach we went back to Souplantation and ate dinner. Yum!!!
Chris was super excited about my birthday. He always asks if he can give me my gifts at least a week before my birthday. So he did. I really wanted the books shown in the picture and he surprised me with a Note and it has a pink cover because he knows I love pink. I love it. It is so much better reading from that then my phone. My eyes feel strained after a while. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband and best friend. I love Chris dearly. He definitely spoils me.

Mother Nature's creatures

So last night I was awakened by my husband who said he just shot a huge snake by our porch. He was walking to his work van and as he was walking back noticed he was walking right by this snake. He grabs his 22 single shot bolt action rifle, loads it and shoots the snake. His heart was racing. It doesn't look like a very old snake to me but it is still big. Luckily it wasn't a rattler. He then got a shovel and planted it in the snake in the ground. That snake wasn't moving anywhere.

Emma wanted a haircut. I wanted to cry. Darn tangles!

 Emma has such beautiful long blonde hair and I LOVE  to braid it and fix it up for her. The only problem was she hated the tangles that came along with brushing it. I asked her one day if she wanted me to cut it off. Her reply was usually "NO" very assuredly. But this time her response was "Yes, I want to look as pretty as you." I was completely surprised. "Okay, we will do it tomorrow then" came my reply back. I asked again the next day and her answer was still a strong "yes." So off we went. I came upon a place and said this is it. Lets do it. She wanted me to get my haircut first so she can see how it is done. I did because I was planning on getting mine done as well. .

 Mine was finally done and now it is her turn. She hops up on to the yellow seat on the chair.

 The guy was good and very friendly. I was impressed with my haircut so I knew he would do a good job on her.

 Her hair is up ready to put the cover on. She didn't freak out at all. All was good.

 He is putting her hair in a pony tail getting ready to chop it all off. I still couldn't believe that all that beautiful hair was going to be gone soon.

And it begins!

 This is what it looked like afterwards. He took the hair up front. We were donating it to Locks of Love.

 She is still happy.

 We decided to do an A-Line cut instead of a bob because of how it was all cut off.

And the finished Project...

 All of that beautiful hair!

 But she loves it and that is all that matters.

I have asked her if she misses her long hair and she says "No!" She loves having no tangles and I am happy I don't have to hear her complain about her hair being brushed anymore.

summer happenings in Kansas

 The kids and I went to Kansas in July. We spent all of July and the beginning of August there. While we were there Emma turned 6. We went to the zoo with Mema and had a blast! Emma got a bird from the zoo store and named her Jewel. Everett got a monkey sword that lights up. They were both great that day.

 Emma got a dragon from Uncle Kyle and Aunt Brittany. It has a remote control to make it walk and roar. As you can see its eyes light up too. She named it Red.

 We also spent some time with the cousins. Everett fell in love with his cousin Kayla and she is now his girlfriend. They were so cute together. He was always excited to see her and play with her.

 Brendan introduced Emma to Pokemon and now she is hooked. She is a true tomboy. She loves her cousin Brendan and still asks if she can go play with him.

 Go Everett, Go!

 Chris' brother Randall and his family came from Olathe Kansas to spend the day with us for Emma's birthday.

 While we were in Kansas it rained quite a bit. I let the kids run around in the rain since it is pretty much non-existent in Arizona. They had a blast.

 Davis was of course a goof ball. He is so awesome. especially since he can make pink look good.

 Uncle Winn was there in Kansas too getting his house ready to sell which is why we were in Kansas too. While we were there we went to his house and he was wanting to get rid of the stuff that was my Nana's. Emma went into one of the bedrooms and came out with this dog which I gave her a long time ago. It has been missing for a couple of years now and we were super excited to have found what she calls "Brown Puppy."

 We went to the thrift store to find the kids some pj's to wear. i asked Emma if she wanted a princess shirt or a dinosaur shirt that says "Rawr!" and from the picture I am sure you can guess which one she picked.

 The kids decided that it was fun to ride in the front room. This is the house that I was fixing up to sell. they were trying to find any way to keep themselves entertained.

 Emma dressed herself that day. She has a shirt on with her pj shirt and shorts around her neck. She said they were her feathers. She is definitely an interesting girl. I wouldn't change her imagination for anything. Now Everett is starting to have more imagination play and it is so fun to watch.

 Yes, that is a rock in her nose. I have no idea what she was doing. as you can see she also has two shirts on again. she is so funny.

 My pops helped me a lot on the house. I was so grateful that he was there. I loved spending time with my dad. We had a lot of good laughs. It was just like old times. We were both in bad shape. His job has hurt his body a lot and I was 5 months pregnant. We made a great pair let me tell you.

Mema was also a great help. While pops and I were working long hours on the house, Mema was busy watching the kids. They loved spending time there and I was grateful that she was able to do it. I wouldn't have been able to do all that I did without her helping as well. I love my family. 

Emma got to spend the night a couple of times at Jerusha's. she loves her cousins. I am glad I have such an awesome and fun sister who has a great husband and amazing kids. I miss them tons. I can't believe how big they are all getting. I am glad to have spent time with them. 

 Dad and  I had a lot of projects to do. We poured in a back porch together. it was exhausting. We ended up having to go back to the store because we didn't have enough concrete. I am glad I had my van. We couldn't have put all of it in my van though because it was so heavy. I couldn't have done it without him. He was my hero.

 This is also one of the other projects that pops helped me out with. We rented a sander and he did all the sanding. I did all of the prepping. The picture below is what the floor looked like after I took up the carpet. Unfortunately I don't have an after picture of what it looks like being done. I left before that happened. Pulling up all of the staples and wood was tough especially having a big belly in the way.

 this is what the floor looked like after being sanded and with the walls painted. It looks really good.

 Pops and I treated ourselves to some much deserved authentic passage to india cuisine. It was so yummy.

On our way home we stopped in Flagstaff to eat at Freddy's Frozen Custard. Yum. We did have a custard too. It was so good to get home after being gone for over a month. We all missed Chris like mad and I know he missed us. I was glad to have had an opportunity to spend with my family.

Emma is now in the first grade. she is doing really well so far and has already made a lot of friends which are also in her class at church which is a bonus.

We now live in the Foothills in Yuma in a little two bedroom house. This is part of our yard. It is huge, but unfortunately it is all dirt. We decided to get out the kite on a really windy day. The kids had fun.

Cambria is due November 27th and I am really looking forward to that time that she will be here. I love being pregnant but hate the limitations it brings.

Everett is turning 3 September 18th. Time sure does fly. He is such a sweet boy. He kisses my tummy a lot. He is going to be such a good big brother. He is already a good little brother. He is always looking for opportunities to hug and kiss on Emma. If they get into a fight and I tell them to kiss and hug he gets so happy. Emma not so much but she will consent anyways. They are best friends and play so well together. I hope that never changes.

I am going to be 33 on September 6th. I still feel like I am in my 20's so it really isn't a big deal to me. I am just glad that I have experienced all that I have. I have learned so much in my short life and look forward to learning more in the next 33 years. I know it will bring much joy, learning and hard times as well.

Chris has been the co-owner of ChemDry for almost 2 months. It has been challenging. someone has hacked into his phone and has been taking his jobs. Not cool! But he now has it figured out and hopefully we will see a change soon.

I have another ultrasound set up in two weeks. I love my midwives. I have 2. they work together and are both amazing. I am still going to deliver in the hospital. they just work at the clinic I attend. Cambria is super active and has grown a lot. Someone asked me if I was going to have twins. Sheesh! I get that every time I am pregnant. I just carry them out like my mother did.