Labor Day- Whitewater State Park

I am so grateful that I have a husband that is adventurous and spontaneous because I really am not, but... he forces me to be even when I am complaining for an entire morning while he is pushing me out the door!  I know I know I'm boring what can I say. I just don't do well at times in unfamiliar places and territories, especially in the outdoors!  With that being said, Chill really wanted to do something fun for Labor Day so he did a little research and found a state park not to far from us with some great family activities.  Like I said before I was not real excited about it so I was dragging my feet.  He got the kids ready and packed a lunch and some snacks for everyone and before I knew it we were on the road.  I didn't know we were in a time crunch so I was taking my dear sweet time (I know I am mean) but we needed to be to a little Fossil Education class by 10am.  We were a little late, but it was okay.  We learned about fossils and then we went out on a little fossil dig.  I will have to admit that by this point I was having a great time.  The kids were absolutely loving it.  Especially Carson.  He was so into finding fossils and did a great job!  We had a lot of success.  After the fossil business was over we found this nice grassy picnic area and ate our lunch.  Carson, Chill and Bailey scaled the side of the mountain a little and went on a few adventures.  Carson spent a good 30 minutes digging in the dirt trying to make a hole big enough for his foot to fit in.  It was really quite entertaining.  There was a bunch of hiking trails so we decided to go to the other side of the park and take a little hike when we happened upon a little beach and swimming area.  We decided since Bailey was ready for a nap and we'd end up carrying her the entire way on the hike, we'd check out the water.  There were tons of kids swimming and playing in the sad.  We of course were not prepared for swimming, but we let the kids go crazy and swim in their clothes.  The best part was Bailey wanted her shirt off because Carson had his off and everyone thought she was a little boy running around.  It was pretty funny.  We played until the kids were exhausted and everyone was starving and then we headed home.  Once again I'm grateful that Chill "forces" me to do things because we had a great time!

Out on the Fossil Dig...This is serious business!

 

Taking a little hike

 

A little friend we found in the grass that I was not too fond of...

I hate Snakes!

 

 Where most of our time was spent...in the Freezing Cold Water!

Completely Exhausted...fell asleep mid-apple!

Minnesota State Fair

We decided we should venture out and take the little trip up to the Cities to go to the Minnesota State Fair.  I read some stuff about what a "family friendly" fair it is and how big it is and yadda yadda so we thought we would check it out.  Oh My Insane Amount of People.  Seriously it was absolutely crazy.  I guess I should have known it was going to be crazy when they have about a million park and ride parking lots all over the city.  Honestly though we could not believe how many people there were.  I mean yes we did go on a Saturday morning, but still...Anyway even though there was crowds of people, we still had a great time.  We decided we like the Utah State Fair a little better just because it isn't so insane!  Chill and I were pulling cash from every draw, wallet, etc because we didn't want to go get more, or spend too much.  We are cheap...always have been, and especially now that I am on a strict budget!  I packed a lunch and a bunch of snacks so all our money wouldn't go to food.  I know fair food is what it is all about but it is so hard to spend $50 on a corn dog!  Anyway I got chatting with a lady while I was taking a breather on a bench and she was saying how her son and husband spend so much money at the fair.  She said, "I told them I am putting $400 dollars in my wallet and when it's gone, it's gone!"  I gave a little laugh and then thought to myself $400 dollars to spend at the state fair.  What the heck are you buying?  Anyway Chill and I had a good laugh about that.  We are obviously in a much different place financially than my cute friend I met!  The best part of the whole thing is she tells me, "I don't want you to think I am crazy or anything but my husband and I were following you guys for a while.  I noticed your cute kids and how you were handling them and I said to my husband, Now there is a good family.  Their kids are fully dressed, they are clean, they aren't shoving cotton candy and treats in their faces."  It really made me think that you honestly never know who or when someone is watching you. 

Life is Good

We are enjoying every minute of this beautiful fall weather.  It is just perfect.  We have had some chilly days which makes me nervous just knowing winter is around the corner, but for the most part the weather is just perfect!  Life here is pretty easy for us right now.  We have been busy!  We just jumped right in and have met so many wonderful people and are making great friends.  We seriously love it here.  We have been able to spend some great quality time as a family and we love every minute we get to spend with Chill.  He has some weekends off when we were first here so we took advantage of that and did some fun things.  This is what some of our weekends have looked like...

Hanging out on the deck reading up about Hunting in Minnesota



 

 Having a little campfire in the backyard!

 

 Relaxing, watching shows on the I Pad

(Sometimes they are just the best little buddies)

 

Learning how to ride with no training wheels!

 

 Ski show on Lake Zumbro

 

 Tin Foil Dinner and Smores with Friends

P.S....It's a Boy

Oh to be the 3rd child...the one that no one talks about or blogs about.  I just realized I never announced my pregnancy, talked about my pregnancy, or announced what were are having. So I guess at 29 1/2 weeks now is a perfect time to let all 2 of you that read this blog know that we are having another Boy!  I am beyond thrilled.  I really wanted to have another boy and was secretly praying all along it was a boy...but knowing I could be happy with a girl...but really wanting a boy!  I spent a lot of time prepping Carson about how Heavenly Father sends us the right baby at the right time whether its a boy or girl and that he was born first so that he could be the big brother and make sure everyone got her...and on and on.  Well all I have to say is Carson is so beyond excited!  I have not heard the words ..."I never wanted a sister" (referring to Baily) come out of his mouth since he found out he would have a brother.  Life is good in our home these days.  Now if I could just find a way to slow time down a little because I am not sure I am ready to be a mother of three!!!  Ahhhhh the words just scare me! 

Making it Offical

Well I feel like we are almost official.  We got our car registered here with Minnesota plates, Chill passed his test and got his Minnesota license and now I just have to go down and take my driving test to get mine.  Kind of crazy, but we are settling right in!  The kids in heaven because we have a park right in our back yard and we have bunnys that live in the trees right behind our house so they are in our yard most of the day.  We have 50 billion kids in our neighborhood which is a change from the "hood" in Salt Lake!  Lets just say, I'm happy that they are happy.  Carson told me today he wants to live her for lots and lots of years because he loves it!  Here are few random photos of the kids...

2...And Boy is She 2

Well the Little Miss turned 2.  Where did the time go.  I honestly feel like I was just blogging about her 1st birthday and now here we are a year later.  I can't even tell you how much I love this little lady!  She is a handful and is definitely trying my patience, but she is just so dang cute and funny!  She really got a little personality this past few months and I find myself asking on a daily basis, "where did this girl come from?"  She is such a girly girl and loves pretty things.  My sister in law did shellac on her toes when we were in Bear Lake and she has been obsessed with them ever since!  She loves head bands and pretty dresses.  She likes bows but tends to just pull them out.  She loves babies and especially loves her baby dolls.  I am a little concerned she is going to love our new baby just a little too much.  She is very competitive with Carson and has to try and do everything he does.  She loves Carson to death and most of the time he loves her right back.  She is definitely a daddy's girl and can turn the drama on so fast when he walks in the room.  She still loves pizza and anything with sugar.  She apparently got her appetite back because she eats like crazy again which I am welcoming because she didn't eat anything for about 6 months!  She still refuses to eat any kind of bread except Little Ceasars breadsticks which she loves and will eat tons of.  She loves to be little miss independent and try things on her own.  She can be pretty daring at times, but can also be a big chicken...you just never know.  She loves to talk on the phone, especially to daddy and her grandma's.  She is still an excellent sleeper and tells me when she is ready for a nap!  She is talking up a storm and she loves to sing and perform for anyone that will listen.  She is big into reading books and saying prayers right now and it is just the cutest thing.  She is a little mother to everyone and thinks you can cure anything with a blanket and a Binky!  She loved her birthday and still sings... "Happy Birthday to Bailey, Happy Birthday to Me!"  We were so lucky to have my mom here to help us celebrate Bailey's birthday.  It made being a way not so bad! I have to admit the best phone call we got all day was from my sister Mindi.  She told me she was so sad that she wasn't with us to celebrate.  She was whining to her husband about it and said, "I've been to every one of her birthdays...and I am missing this one!"  He looked at her and said..."this is only her 2nd birthday."  I had a good laugh!