Sew Cute!

My mom finished her quilt for this baby. I love it soooooo much! It's perfect for a summer (gender-neutral - since we're weird and don't find out) baby. Thanks again mom! I seriously love it! It's a 3-D quilt so the fish are puffy and the cute fins stick out. Here's a closer view. I love the bubbles!

Even closer.

And even closer. Look at that cute face! Her friend did a great job quilting it as well! All the quilting looks like coral and waves. I love it!

This baby only has to wait 5 more days until it gets to make use of this fun quilt. Of course it's welcome to come any time before then but I don't think it's in too much of a hurry. Oh well, guess I'll have to enjoy the 4th without being in the hospital!

Ivins Family Reunion

We had a great weekend at the Ivins Family Reunion! Doug's mom made this cute tree for everyone to put their name on so we could see where we all fit.When we first got there the girls immediately put on their suits for the slip and slide. They had a blast.We had our reunion in Wales, UT at Doug's parents pioneer house they have there. It was also Welch Days (Wales' town celebration) so we got to partake in all the festivities. At night the kids got to be part of the children's parade. They had so much fun. Leda and David (who we were so luck to have visit from NC) were nice enough to drive everyone in the Gator. Grandma took a few kids on the 4 Wheeler too. After the parade and dinner we had a few roations for the kids. One of the aunts talked about the talents of our ancestors and things they liked to do. They had kids make foam collages. Both of my girls loved it.Another aunt and uncle talked in the barn about the animals they had. The kids had fun pretending like they lived back then.Doug's grandma also talked about what it was like to grow up at that time and different things from her childhood. After all the rotations the kids went on a treasure hunt and then we had an outdoor movie complete with popcorn and rootbeer floats. It was so fun!

The next morning we got ready for the big parade. The kids had a fun time decorating and riding in the trailer. And the Gator (again).

The last entry in the parade was contestants in the Strong Man Competition that was later that day. Some of us thought that the strong man competion was kind of a joke. It definitely was not. We couldn't believe some of these guys.

There were about 5 events in the competition and the whole thing seriously lasted about 5 hours. It all took place across the street so we got to see most of it. They had to lift some pretty heavy things. It was seriously nuts. For one of them they had to see how long they could hold up these pillars. Each one weighed 1000 lbs supposedly.

After we got home we got the girls ready for a bath. The mosquitos were pretty bad down there but we didn't realize how many bites Lilly got! Her back was totally covered. We counted about a dozen bits. She also had about that many on her face and neck. My legs and ankles are covered in bites too. Somehow Doug and Sophia barely got any. Not fair! Overall, it was a fun weekend. We had a great time being together as a family. Thanks mom and dad Wilkins for all your planning and preparation! We know you put A TON of work into this and we appreciated it!

The Nursery is Complete!

Almost. The only thing I have left to do is wash blankets and clothes and get them put away. We put up all the Peter Rabbit stuff again and I'm so excited about it. I love it!

I know the chaise doesn't match because we still haven't decided what to reupholster it with. It's still plenty comfy and I'm looking forward to sleeping on it for the first few weeks.

Now all we need is a baby and we'll be set. The countdown is 2 weeks from today and we are definitely ready!

Birthday and Father's Day

We had such a fun birthday and Father's Day weekend!

On Friday we went to the Manit Pageant with our ward. We really debated if we should go or not but our kids were looking forward to it and we wanted to to see it so we went for it and we were glad we did. Sophia loved it. She kept saying "This is just like Book of Mormon Stories!" My favorite was halfway through when they were talking about the Nephites and their belief in God she looked up at me and said, "I believe God and I love God too."

We got home late and then got up bright and early the next day to pick up my Bountiful Basket and then headed to our ward breakfast. After breakfast we came home and opened presents. Doug printed these pictures from our Goblin Valley trip and had the kids color the mats. I love them! I thought it was such a cute idea. He also printed one of them together. I love Sophia's mat and all the work she put into it. The purple circles on the left are glass slippers and the blue paper underneath is a soccer ball. On the right is a lady bug and some water. I really like the picutre of me at the bottom and the one of Doug at the top. She's the best. Lilly did a great job too.

Doug also gave me some new silverware (the set we got for our wedding 7 years ago has slowly been dwindling and we're down to about 3 forks). He also gave me a gift card to Old Navy so that I can get some post maternity clothes. After that we took the girls to lunch and then to see Toy Story 3. I loved it! Ken was definitely the best part. It totally made me cry though! They sure know how to do it. Anyway, it was for sure better than the 2nd one and may be my favorite of all 3. After the movie we walked around Cabella's for a little while and then dropped the kids at Doug's parents so we could go to dinner. It was nice to have a little break. After dinner Doug gave me the option to go to Color Me Mine, mini golf, or swing at a park. Unfortunately it was getting late and we were both so stuffed and tired that all we wanted to do was get our kids and go home and go to bed (we're pretty exciting people). We both decided to take a raincheck on an activity and go home.

It was such a fun birthday and I was so spoiled. I told Doug the only reason why he was so good to me for my birthday was because he knew the next day was Father's Day and that it was going to be his turn to be treated like a king. I got a fun gift from my mom full of things that my kids went crazy over and a few things from friends in the ward. My amazing friend (who builds her own furniture) is starting a birthday party blog and has been making cakes for it. She made me this one and I loved it! It was sooooo yummy and almost too cute to cut into! I'll be sure to post her link once her blog is up and running. She's amazing! Thanks again Stacy!
She also made these cute ladybugs. This was after Sophia had eaten about 10 of them. I was luck to get a picture!

On Sunday we made breakfast in bed for Doug and then he opened his gifts. The girls made him a candy poster (and then snuck in to our room later and ate almost every candy bar by themselves) and we got him a few other things. I made him this Daddy's Tie quilt. It turned out to look more like a baby's quilt than I'd hoped. It works though and it was fun to make.

That night we went to my family's for more celebrating and then to Doug's parents to see his dad. It was a great day! The best part was Sophia went up all by herself to sing with the primary (she did a great job!) and then gave the talk by herself (with me whispering in her ear). She said every word though and I was very proud of her. When she sat down her teacher asked me what I gave her to bribe her to give the talk. I think it was the fact that this was the fourth time she's given the talk this year (can she please have the prayer next time?) and so she'd had plenty of practice.

Yesterday the fun continued with a trip to the zoo and aquarium. My amazing SIL Lexie tagged along and was such an amazing helper! It was so nice to have her join us. We didn't stay too long (thank heaves for zoo memberships!) but long enough to ride the train and carousel. The kids loved it.

Lilly was thrilled to take a picture with me.

After the zoo we made a quick stop at the aquarium. Lexie and my niece Emma joined us. Once again, I was so grateful to have them! I thought that I would do okay but I was surprised at how quickly I got exhausted! I am definitely ready to have this child!

Overall, it was such a great weekend and for end to the summer for me. I'm looking forward to having this baby and doing nothing but sitting on the couch with some popsicles, a good book and a snuggly baby (I hope) for the rest of the summer.

Attention Black Car Owners

Okay so this is kind of a weird post so just bear with me.

After Doug hit his deer a few months ago the hood of his car never quite shut the same. A few weeks later (sorry if I've alreay blogged about this) it flew up while he was driving on the freeway. We now have a beautiful dent in the top of the car from where the hood hit it. Anyway, we ended up getting a new hood from a junk yard for a pretty good deal but it only had the primer coat on it and wasn't a shiny black. It wasn't too bad and we really weren't to picky. With the matte hood and years of not living somewhere with covered parking the paint job on his poor car has suffered. The paint was completely starting to peel off both bumpers and his car had become quite the site.

He mentioned something about how you can get black wax so I looked into it and got him some for Father's Day. We cleaned and waxed his car for FHE (so fun. I know). Anyway, it's amazing how well it really worked. This is what I ended up getting.

This isn't a very good before picture (and this was before we replaced the hood) but you can kind of see how the paint was peeling on the front bumper.

After we got done his car looked like this. Pretty fancy if you ask me. HE practically has a new car now! (not really - the kids have done a number to the inside).

Funny side story about this fabulous car. A few months after we moved here we had someone come and knock on our door asking if our car was for sale. At the time it was our only mode of transportation and I told her it wasn't. A few weeks ago I was cleaning out the car and the same woman was walking by and asked if still had no interest in selling the car. So weird. If she only knew how much of a spectacular car it was maybe she wouldn't ask anymore. It's a '98 and although the odometer only shows 198,000 miles it broke a few years ago (the only thing that works on the dash is the gas gauge - which is why we got a GPS so he knows how fast he's going and why he overheated in the middle of winter (since the temperature gauge doesn't work)). We're also pretty sure that it has well over 250,000 by now. Got to love Hondas! I did ask her what she was willing to pay for it and she couldn't give me an answer so maybe she'll quit asking. Kind of weird.

Anyway, I highly recommend this stuff if you're looking to improve the look of your black car. We'll see how long the new look lasts though.

Goblin Valley 2010!

After a fun vacation there last year, (here and here - man my kids have grown up a lot in 1 year!) we had another great weekend in Capitol Reef and Goblin Valley. We left early Friday to spend some time in Capitol Reef. On the way we there we stopped to get some lunch. We hoped to find a Subway on the way down and our GPS led us to this one in Bicknell, UT. It was hillarious. Right when we got to this point it said "You have reached your destination". Huh. Funny that the Subway in Bicknell is invisible. Luckily Torrey (the next town over) had one.
The first thing we did was hike to the Goosenecks and Sunset View (or something like that). Both hikes were under 1/4 mile. It was perfect.

We saw lots of cool lizards along the way.

Doug got pretty daring (this ledge was actually only about 10 ft from the ground - sorry Doug - but it looks cool!)

Sophia at Sunset View. Although it's a pretty view, we think it might be more spectacular at sunset.

We stopped at the orchard in Fruita to have our picnic. The girls had fun playing on the cool trees there.

After lunch we went on the scenic drive through the park. It was pretty cool and we were glad we did it.

We hiked a little to see some petroglyphs.

And the pioneer register. I was a little dissapointed because there was so much graffiti. It was hard to tell which markings on the wall were real that I didn't even bother to take a picture. We did find this cute thing on the wall though.

Doug was a good sport and carried both girls for awhile. I don't know why but he absolutely refused to let me carry either girls. Something about how I was already carrying a child and didn't need another one.

After Capitol Reef we headed to Goblin Valley. We had such a blast! The girls loved playing in the hoodoos. Doug and Sophia were ahead of us and when we caught up to them Lilly said "Look! Daddy's on the dolphin and So-sia's on the chicken!" She was right. I love her little imagination. She kept pointing our hippos and ducks and other creatures. It was hillarious.

This is as close as I would let Doug get to me with the camera.

Here's one of our cute nephews that joined us on the trip. We were so glad cousins were able to come with us!

That night we went to the ranger show about scorpions. It was pretty cool. I learned a lot and was glad I went because I'm not as afraid of them now. I didn't realize that Utah has little tiny ones and that most of them are not poisonous and that their first defense is to hide or run away. When I saw one in the bathroom that night I didn't freak out. It was good to be informed. I however did not take part in the scorpion hunt. Our niece and nephew said it was cool though and that they easily found about 2 dozen of them. Pretty comforting.

The next morning we went to the Junior Ranger Program about Predators and Prey. The kids loved it as well.

After the program the ranger took everyone on a little hike to this cave in the valley. I didn't know there were any caves there. I also didn't know that there are actually 3 valleys at Goblin Valley. The things you learn. I managed to climb up in the cave (somehow) but wouldn't go all the way back. The kids made it to the back and were greatly enthralled.

Here's the group of newest Junior Rangers!

As we were heading back to our cars it started to get really stormy. This picture was taken around 11 am.

That sky was crazy! We were so glad Grandpa and Grandma came too. They were such great helpers!

Doug wins again.

We hurried (My lazy pregnant self actually stayed in the car with the girls and watched everone clean up - most of our stuff was already packed though) and packed up the rest of our camp in the wind and rain (it had dropped about 30 degrees!). We hurried off to avoid the storm and were pretty successful. We went through Captiol Reef again and had another fun picnic in the Fruita orchard. That place is beautiful!

Both of our kids did great. They were troopers and were completely exhausted at the end!

I'm going to try and post a few videos later if I can. We had a great time but are happy to be home. This was our third camping trip of the summer so far and I think I'm done! Our air matress also sprung a leak and the zipper on our tent is starting to break so I think our equipment is done for ahile as well. Thank goodness I'll have a better excuse to stay home in 3 weeks!