My SS Impala

Bear Lake..again!

Can you say "Dramatic!"..YES, even in her sleep! : )

Joe was leaving for work the other morning and I heard him say, "Mandy, come here and look at this!" I was a little nervous because it was 7:30 in the morning, and it was in the girls room. I was kind of expecting a big spider or something. I go in there and he pointed to Alyssa's bed and here is what we saw....

A few days later, we were on our way to Bear Lake for a Gambles family reunion and Alyssa was in the back telling me that she was worried that I would be chased by cows. I said, "what are you talking about?" She proceeded to tell me that she had a dream that Mommy was being chased across the street by cows. She kept saying "I was so wou-weed about you" (while grabbing her cheeks). That must have been the dream she had that morning or something. We have definately laughed about that one! She has the funniest facial expressions and is so dramatic. If you want sympathy or for someone to make a fuss about things, you just tell Alyssa. :)

BAPTISM DAY!!

Katie has been counting down for this day for MONTHS!! The day finally came and boy was she nervous. She looked so beautiful in her white gown. She looked so grown up. It was such a "Special" day for her and for us. When she was done, she come in and said, "I want to do that again Mom!" Too bad you can't! Sometimes we all could use a practice dunk to get rid of the nerves. We made sure her hair wouldn't float up and Daddy put his toes on hers so they wouldn't pop up either. While she was getting dressed, she turned to me and said, "Mom, this is the start of a new life for me." I always want her to remember that day and how she felt. It was neat to have our family here for her.

Happy 4th of July!

Ok! It was definately a crazy weekend. Joe's family came up for Katie's baptism on the 5th of July so they were able to be here for the 4th. We packed in quite a lot in those few days. The guys went golfing the morning of the 4th and we raced down to the annual parade that we have. We were a little late so we were literally running across the highway to get to where we parked the truck the night before. I was pretty tired by the time we got there so the pictures I did take, weren't the greatest. Sorry. Then I realized that I didn't take any more for the rest of the day! What a ditz I am!

Happy 8th Birthday Katie!!

It was on the 14th of June, 8 years ago that a beautiful 5lb, 16 1/2 inch baby girl came into our family. We were definately so grateful for her being healthy and what a blessing she was to us. These past 8 years have just "FLOWN" by. She has truely brought us such joy and excitement. There is never a dull moment around here! Here are a few recaps of some of the things Katie did when she was little:

5 months old: Katie drinks out of a big glass. Forget the sippy's and bottles!!

6 months old: Katie would grab her two fingers and put them over her head and smile. Daddy called this his "SUNSHINE"

8 months old: Katie loved giving people "FIVES"

9 months old: Katie would say "Mmm" when she wanted to use my chapstick. She loved putting it on everyone else too!

1 year: Katie would howl like a coyote! She would tip her head back and say "owww".

14 months: Katie counts to 3.

15 months: Katie pointed to the picture of Christ in the hall, and then pointed to her eyes then to her heart and then she said "Jesus." She was syaing, "I love Jesus."

18 months: Katie knows and points to most of her body parts

19 months: She knows the whole alphabet. When she has to say "J,K,L,M,N,O" she would say, "J,K,"ELMO",P. It was really cute.

24 months: We had all gone to sportsman's Warehouse in Idaho Falls. Daddy had been looking at safes and guns for a long time and so the girls were ready to leave. Right before we left, we were browsing throught the flashlights and Katie started pulling accessories out of the next isle and putting them into the cart. Daddy said, "Katie, put them back." Katie refused and said she wanted them. Daddy then asked, "Well, do you have money to buy them? Katie quickly replied, "Yes I do," as she reachind in her pocket and pulled out a quarter that she got from Mommy's dresser early that morning. Daddy was pretty shocked when she pulled that fast one on him!

28 months: Katie loved to learn poems! Here is her version of "Little Bo Peep"

"Little Bo Peep, lost her sheep, and don't know where to find 'em

Leave 'em alone, and thill come home, wag their tails by hind them!"

30 months: I was making a cake and Katie asked if she could lick the bowl when Iwas done and I said it was ok. While I wasn't looking, she climbed up on the counter and said, "My life has been saved by the miracle of chocolate!"

Definately a girl after my own heart!! There has been so many more things that surprise me from Katie but one thing that stands out is how big her heart can be. She is always so caring and wants to take care of those around her. You don't know love until you see and feel the love of a little child. Thank you Katie for being part of our lives. We love you so much!! We hope you have a GREAT Birthday!

Golf Anyone?...

Well, it was only a matter of time before Joe got his way. The girls love to golf with their daddy! Alyssa thought it was really neat to have a pink ball to hit. Joe took her out in the back yard with Katie's clubs and hit a few with her. Then she wanted to venture out on her own. She actually is a really good hitter! She chased the ball all over the yard. Katie is sure getting a good swing. Joe will take her out the the golf course by our house and she can really drive those ranges!! Way to go Katie and Alyssa! That is definately something they didnt' get from Mommy! I guess I can cheer for them. (although I wasn't a cheerleader either! :)

And the baby is.......?

Tuesday, the 10th was the day that we had all been waiting for. I don't know how many times Katie would ask, "Is it today Mom? Is this the day I find out? She did this for weeks it seemed. We haven't really been calling the baby a specific gender and it was driving me crazy. It's a good thing we have the technology now. I don't know how I could wait 9 months. Joe and I are the most impatient people ever! We have been busy getting ready for Katie's 8th birthday and her baptism but for some reason I couldn't really get it out of my mind. I felt that if I knew then I could get on with the birthday business at hand. Maybe also we could feel like the baby would be a little more a part of her birthday too. (silly, I know). Everything looks great. The baby is 3/4 lb. pound and measuring where it should for 20 weeks. The ultrasound pictures are in .tiff format so it won't let me change them to .jpeg so here is a little video. Look quick! Also, Jake and Rachel had their baby girl on the 10th! Congratulations! We are so excited for them! The cousins will only be 4 1/2 months apart.





It looks like Joe will be a Daddy to 3 beautiful girls!! YEP!! ANOTHER GIRL!!! She definately has long legs and likes to play with her toes. In the video, she has her hands over her head and is playing with her feet! :) When the technician told us it was another girl, he looked at Joe and said, "Sorry Dad". I don't think Joe was upset at all. He has always said he would have 3 girls. He jokes and says that he is being punished for something! I'm sure he won't mind another little girl giving him hugs and kisses!

4 Months in Review

Ok, ok. I admit I haven't been a very good blogger lately. Things have just seemed to go crazy since February. So here are the last few months in review:

February: Found out we are going to have Baby #3. We are very excited but soon after, I got really, really, REALLY SICK. Boy do I wish I was one of the lucky ones that never had to deal with morning sickness. With my girls, I was sick for just the morning and was good to go by noon but I have had my work cut out for me with this baby already. I was sick all morning, afternoon and night. Joe kept asking me how long this would last and I just smiled and said, "Every child is different!" (secretly hoping that it would end at the 12 week mark like the other two). Well, good news, by week 13, it was like magic. I feel much better now.

March: We went to California to see Joe's brother Josh come home from his mission. It was fun to go and see all of the family. I was fighting pregnancy sickness the whole time but it was good to go. It was really nice weather and Katie couldn't believe that we got to have an Easter egg hunt outside! Meanwhile, back in Soda, it was snowing, raining and whatever else comes with spring weather! :)

April: The first few weeks in April were kind of rough. We lost my Grandpa Hopkins to cancer. It was really hard to see him so weak and sick but we know he is happy and in a much better place. We will truely miss him. Katie was always drawing pictures and doing things for him so he could get better faster. She is definately the nurse of the family. She is so caring. The girls got to visit him the day before he died, which was really good. The thing I will remember the most is when we went in the room, they went and stood by his bed and just held his hand. Even Alyssa would put her little hand there and tell everyone to "Shhh, be quite. Grandpa's sleeping!" Grandpa would look over and he would have a little smile on his face.

I went in for my 12 week check up and to listen to the baby's heartbeat. The doctor asked how I had been feeling and you all know that answer. This is kind of a relief/worry visit for me. I worry enough anyway about being pregnant but the doctor said, "Well, lets see if this is for real or if your just imagining things!" I didn't think that was funny! Good news, it was a very strong and fast heartbeat! Yeah!

May: Katie had her dance recital. It was so fun to see how much she has improved this last year. She really liked dance. It probably helped that her friend Haley was in her class too! Those two are inseperable!!! Alyssa loved dance too. I thought she was a little too young to do dance this year so every Thursday (dance day) when I picked up Katie from School, she would race in her room and put on her little black leotard and pink skirt. She wouldn't go to dance with Katie though. I would take her over to Mom's or Grandma & Grandpa Gambles and she would dance for them. She looked forward to that every week!! So when it came to Dance Recital day, she asked if she could put on her costume. I even had to curl her hair and primp her like I did for Katie. (Now I know what it is like to try to get 2 girls ready for recitals!) Aahhhh!!!

I am 16 weeks, 2 days and have felt the little flutters of the baby already. Katie swears she feels it but I keep reassuring her that she will definately feel the kicks pretty soon. We are all anxiously awaiting my 20th week to find out what we are having. Alyssa likes to talk about the baby in her tummy too. I'm sure I will hear about all the flutters and kicks from her pretty soon too. Sympathy pains I guess.

Well, for the past year, we have been working on plans to build a home. The county has approved the new subdivision but we have to wait until the power and the road are finished before their final approval and then we can start building. Our houseplans are finished and hopefully we will break ground in a month! I have really been looking forward to this for over a year!! I definately know it will be a lot of work and belive me, it TOTALLY consumes your time. I even dream it in my sleep. That is, when I do sleep. I forogt how many times you can go to the bathroom in the middle of the night when your pregnant! :} I will try to go and get some pictures to put on here. I think the girls are really excited because Grandma and Grandpa are going to build right next door to us. Katie tells me she now can go to Grandma's really early in the morning. We'll see how long that lasts and how long before a fence suddenly appears! j/k I am concerned what the heck I am going to do with 1.85 acres though. We will probably end up having the mud bogs at our house for awhile! If anyone has some good landscaping ideas, that would be greatly appreciated.

I will try to be better at keeping things updated. Family, kids, husband, housework, church callings, school functions, FHE group, HOUSEPLANS and an occasional nap sometimes (for the baby) defiantely doesn't leave a whole lot of time for blogging. I'll do better.

Sledding at Beus Hill

My family all decided to take the kids sledding at Beus' Hill a few weeks ago. It was so much fun to have all the cousins there. It was so nice. The wind wasn't blowing, it was warm and we had the WHOLE HILL all to ourselves.... on a Saturday even! We played for hours!!! I think that is one highlight to our winters here! We took Bremen and Andrea when they came to visit us and I think they liked it too! :)

Katie invited her friend Haley to go sledding with us. They are inseperable and LOVE to giggle!

Boy! Did these "3 Amigos" have fun. They loved getting pulled around in the snow!

Daddy and Alyssa loved playing in the snow. Daddy took a break from drooling over snowmachines to take his picture. But the drooling didn't last long. Now next time we go, he has his own.

Another toy for Daddy. I'm beginning to wonder who has more....my girls or Joe? I think it is pretty close!

"Giddy Up Sugar!"

Alyssa and Katie were playing horsey tonight after dinner. We kept hearing Alyssa running around saying "Hi Sugar! Come here Sugar"! I guess she named her horse and was trying to round her up in none other than....Her Cinderella shoes! Katie is always so good to play fun things with her sister.

I'm a BIG KID NOW!

Alyssa now has her very own "BIG GIRL" bed like Katie's. She loves to go and sit on her bed and read. (And of course she has to be dressed in her Cinderella pajamas and you can't forget the glass slippers)!

YOU GOT THE RIGHT ONE, BABY! UH HUH!

Oh, you can just tell that they can be mischievious! Where else would they get away with their own Pepsi's than Grandma and Grandpa's trailer. Alyssa and Kiersten are pretty much inseperable when they get together and have a whole lot of fun!

The girls at Disneyland

We went to Disneyland over Christmas and of course it had to sell out on the day we went! Their were so many people there but Katie and Alyssa were having a blast. We went to go and see the Princesses for Alyssa and she was in seventh Heaven. She loved to dance on the ball room floor and listen to the Princesses tell stories!

When Alyssa saw Cinderella come down the stairs she said, "Ooh, SHE'S SO BEAUTIFUL"! I think Alyssa could have stayed and played Princesses the whole day!