"So Fun"

Now that we're living in a third-floor apartment, we've made some changes to our nightly schedule, namely that we venture out almost every night after at least one round of indoor basketball, football, soccer, wrestling, or combination of all four. Once outside, we walk anywhere from 15 minutes to and hour, then the kids usually play at the playground. It's not that we're trying to be super-parents, it's just that our sterile, white, box of a home gets a little boring, and Ogden has many walking trails. Dain and I have also talked about how much more energy we have now, and the fact that it makes the nights a lot more enjoyable.


Anyway, the other night we went for our usual stroll, and Kale brought along his football so he and Dain could play catch. We took a different path and headed around the cluster of medical buildings that sit across from our apartment complex. Kale and Dain would stop and toss the ball around, running plays on the grassing lawns while Bailey and I looked on. Kale kept saying over and over, "Man, this is so fun," with the biggest smile on his face. It really was adorable. And the best part? His pure happiness was as simple as turning off the TV and heading outside :)

And a few of my favorite quotes from my favorite 4-year-old over the past few weeks.....
(Kale) Can we go to "No Davies" today?
(Me) I have no idea what you're talking about!
(Kale, repeated about 5 times, getting angrier each time) "No Davies, Mom" "No Davies"
(Me, still no idea what he's saying) Maybe another day.
(Kale, as we drive past Old Navy) "THERE! No Davies!"

(Me) Look Kale, there's a praymantis outside our door!
(Kale) Whoa, cool! Dad, Dad, we found a Carry-Cantis!

(Kale, very serious after we left the dinosaur park) I think I know why the asteroid that his earth killed all the dinosaurs.
(Me) What happened?
(Kale) I think the asteroid crashed into the backs of all the dinosaurs with spikes, you know, like Spinosaurus. I think their spikes made it explode and they all died.

Days Fly By......

Kids with Great Grandad Sutton

Bailey reading with Grandpa Ballard

Kale feeding a tortoise at the wildlife park

Miss Bailey petting a goat

Kale with Great Grandma Ballard

Bailey with Great Grandpa Ballard

Our three-week "trip" (I use that term loosely b/c Dain was working 99% of the time) flew by quickly. Days were filled with 4-wheeler rides, playgrounds, cartoons, cousins, books, unloading all of my mother-in-law's cabinets (thank you Bailey), a trip to a wildlife park with Grandpa Ballard, and on and on. Dain learned a lot at the class he attended in Wisconsin 2 out of the 3 weeks we were back, and my trip to New York to visit my best friend was amazing! Bailey apparently grew during the time we were back; the last week she was finally able to swing her leg over Grandpa Hammy's recliner and shimmy up by herself. We're finally back in Utah in getting back into our daily routine again. My grad class started last week, so I'm having to learning to read academia text again; a slight change from my "beach reads" and the kid's picture books :)

In Case You Hadn't Heard.......

The third (and final) member of the Hammerschmidt household will be joining us in March......I'm almost 10 weeks pregnant!!

We are very excited. And in answer to all of the questions you're wondering let me just say.......

#1 No, we did not plan on baby number three right now. We wanted three, but not for a year or two........funny how quickly plans change!

#2 I am feeling okay, I get a little queasy now and then, but eating small meals seems to help.

#3 Yes, I am still going to work on my masters and I plan on "returning to the workforce" next school year.

#4 No, we are NOT completely insane, we just like a good challenge now and then :)

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa

We made it back to Kansas with no major incidents......well, I DID get yelled at on the plane by a grumpy old man who has obviously never traveled with a toddler, but I figure you do the best you can and let it go, right? Aside from that, we've been enjoying our time at the farm. We're eating so well.......bacon and eggs for breakfast, fried catfish, enchilada casserole, and pulled pork dinners, plus homemade cookies and treats........we may never leave! I've already warned Dain not to get used to the gourmet food because he won't be getting it when we get back to Utah :)

We've got some good pictures of the kids playing at the farm and from our trip to the Topeka zoo. Dain heads to Wisconsin and I head to New York tomorrow, so keep Grandma and Grandpa Hammerschmidt in your prayers; they may need it to get through 4 days with our lovely children :)

"Cooking" at Grandma's House

Kale watching Gerdie cool off in her water tub

At the zoo and Bailey fast asleep on cousin Emily afterwards

Snow Mountain and Pine View Lake

Today we went up the mountain to Snow Basin and Pine View Lake. We started at Snow Basin where we road a gondola to the top of the mountain and did some exploring. Kale was so excited to ride the "gondo-gond" (for some reason he kept calling it that). Bailey liked squashing her face up against the wall of the gondola to see the view, too. After that we wound our way around the mountain to a lake. We ate a quick picnic lunch, then the kids had a lot of fun splashing in the waves and playing in the sand.

(This is a view from the gondola...you can see the lake we drove to in the background)

Minor League Baseball Game

A few days ago when the kids and I were at McDonalds, I noticed that they had FREE tickets to get in to see the Ogden Raptors, the minor league baseball team (associated with the Dodgers). I picked up a few, and Dain and I decided to take the kids tonight. It turned out to be a lot of fun; we only lasted about three innings in our left field seats, but how can you complain when it was completely free?

Here are a few pre-game photos (we saw Clydesdale horses on our way!)

And a few pictures at the ball park.....

Splish Splash

Yesterday we went to Cherry Hill Water park. Kale loved it so much, he asked us if we could go back again today! The water park was great--not too big, very family-friendly, filled with enough attractions to keep a 4-year-old smiling for days. I'm confident that we'll be making another trip before the summer is over.

Getting ready to go swim!

Kale playing under a waterfall
Playing by the pirate ship

Kale helping his sis in the water

The after photos... :)

Snoozing in the car

And one more quick story........

We don't have a washer and dryer in our apartment out here (we claim we're trying to save money; I think we may actually be testing our sanity, but that's another story..). Needless to say, I frequently stop by Walmart to get a roll of quarters to do laundry. Last time I did this, Kale asked if he could carry the roll for me. When he took them he said, "Whew, these are heavy." He then proceeded to "pump iron" with the roll, lift it up and down over his head as we were walking out to the car. I said, "What are you doing?" and he responded, "Exercising." "I really want to beat daddy in basketball tonight so I've got to get stronger than him." :)