Camping...Sort Of

After all the work we did last week I decided this weekend we really needed to do something fun. Camping in a tent was the thing to do. I have no desire to battle a campground with Ty at this age so camping in the backyard was the location of choice....That is until I remembered how stinkin hot it is outside. Thus, camping in the livingroom was the next best choice. Really, being pregnant this was the BEST choice. Air mattress, no bugs, BATHROOM, climate controlled...YES PLEASE!!! Myles loved it and besides him sleeping ON me and kicking every few minutes all night long, it was a great time. He loved it and it got us excited for when can do some REAL camping!! (On a side note...I love that all the pictures are of Nat and the boys and he didn't sleep one minute in the darn thing with Myles....That's the life of a mom!)

My camping  boys, glow sticks and all.

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MN visitors

This week was a busy one around the Mitchell house. We worked crazy hard at getting our NEW spare bedroom finished so we could have visitors come and they could have their own space. It was ALL worth it when we got our first visitors the day after we finished the room. I can't tell you how excited I was to have my AWESOME and AMAZING friend T and her son Chris come to visit. (T's real name is Dawn, but I really don't know the last time I called her that. She calls me Mitchell and since her last name is Tveitbakk and I am lazy, I call her T)....Back on topic....It was so much fun to be able to show her the house after a year and a half of me venting to her about all the craziness that we have put ourselves through. While she was here the heat was insane, but it didn't stop the boys from having a blast the entire time. Myles was insane with his laughing and running around and is already asking when he can go to Chris' house. T and I pretty much talked from the moment she got here until the moment she left. The funny thing was that I still thought of 100 things I wanted to talk about after she left. Imagine that :-)

 There is just something about boys and a sandbox. They were so creative in what they were making or digging up. They also were super annoyed with Ty who kept trying to break every castle they made or digging up their treasures. Poor Ty just isn't quite big enough to play with the big kids. Soon enough. He LOVES to "swim" in the sand and I haven't really been able to stop him. I've decided to pick my battles.

Ty doing his sandbox swimming.

With a smile like that, it's REALLY hard to get too annoyed.

 The boys decided that they wanted to play garbage men. They were so into it and it was hilarious to listen to their conversation. They started to take toys and said they were taking them for the garbage. I wasn't really paying attention to what they were taking or the quantity. I was just enjoying the fact that they were having so much fun together and T and I were able to just talk it up. The picture above is what I THOUGHT they has taken into the room. The picture below is what they actually took in. The t.v. stand was COMPLETELY empty when they started. :-) So funny!!

Love that smile!!

Three little trouble makers FOR SURE! 

Nothing better than time with GOOD friends!! 

Happy Friday

We hope you are having a superhero Friday! Who says you  need Halloween to play dress up!

My little Mr.Incredible

25 weeks!

I have officially passed the 25 week mark!! I haven't written much about this pregnancy so far so I thought I better do that before it's almost over! This pregnancy has been going really quite smoothly and I am very thankful for that! ( I say this now that I am far enough away from the morning sickness stage to have sort of forgotten it :-) Really though, there haven't been any major surprises or scares at all. I have to laugh at how much more at ease I am with being pregnant. By the 3rd one I know what's big enough to cause alarm and what just has to be toughed through. I have been really trying to cherish this pregnancy a bit more as we are "planning" on this being our last. (I know God is the one who makes the REAL plans so I won't get to cocky here and say it is our last, but this mama is absolutely ok with having her body back to herself, AND we know that adoption is something we are very passionate about so this doesn't mean our family is done growing). I digress....I do know that with this pregnancy I feel more in awe of what God does for us and the miracle of it all. I CHERISHED the ultrasound and getting to see a sneak peak at our littlest one and was just amazed at how REAL it was and how there was NO QUESTION that it was a little being and not just a "fetus". Lately Tiny Baby has been really stretching out and it has been a welcome change from the little flutters. Now I know it has to be a heel or an elbow. Makes me smile every time. Because I had such different pregnancies with both my boys I'm not going to even try to predict what I am having this time. I do know that I am carrying higher than I did with the boys, but beyond that I would not put any money on whether it was a boy or girl.
Last week we finally gave in and told Myles that I was pregnant and there was a baby in my belly. The only real reason we were holding off was because he is such a thinker and asks SO many questions and I don't know how to answer the baby questions yet. He wanted to wrestle with me and he was getting too rough so we decided to tell him. He was interested but didn't say too much....until today as we were driving home from church. He asked me to turn around and get him and I said I couldn't because my tummy hurt. Really my hips hurt from a day of just doing too much. Then he says, "Why does your belly have to rip open?" I was confused and asked him what he meant. He clarified with "Why does your belly have to rip open to get the baby out?" I being a rookie at this kind of stuff said, "My belly won't have to rip open to get the baby out". (I thought this would be reassuring to him) He then asks what is obvious to all of you, "How does the baby come out then?" I asked Nat for help and he said it was up to me...thanks!!! And then God helped me out and placed a police officer with his lights going on the side of the road and I was able to distract Myles with the shiny lights and police officer until we made it safely home and could TOTALLY change the subject. SOOOO if anyone has some good answers to these baby questions that have been asked or ones you know will come up, PLEASE help a girl out!! Never a dull moment!!

25 Weeks

My Little Man

Sweet Dreams

This is when you know a kid loves his Papa and Nana....I found him asleep with a picture of him in the tractor with his papa. Pretty sure this kid loves the farm.

Old Friends New Fun

During my recent MN trip I was able to visit with some "old" friends of mine from early teaching days in Ralston, NE. Christy and I started our first year of teaching together and then she moved up to the high school and Chris took her place. We have stayed close through the years and have gone through so much together. It is fun to look back and think of our late nights out on Friday nights together and now the only late nights we have are being up with sick kids. :-) Our newest adventure together is that we are all expecting at the same time. Christy is due in about 4 weeks, then I am due in mid October, and Chris is due mid November. Chris already knows she is having a little girl, but Christy and I both wait to find out. It will be so much fun to have our little ones all born in the same year.

I was totally cheating here and was as high on my tip toes as possible.

In order of due date!

They even got me a surprise for my 30th birthday!! YUMMY cupcakes!

Happy 4th of July

Zinsfest 2011

Zinsfest has quickly become one of my favorite times of year. It is a chance for my hardworking farming family to take a break and just enjoy time together. This year was obviously a little different for me since Nat was not with us. I didn't have a lot of  "me time" to sit and hang out since I didn't have Nat to help with nap times and wrangling kids. I really missed getting the extra time to catch up with everyone, but was SO happy I was able to be there for the parts that I was there for. It feels like we are really getting a fun, smooth routine going with the reunion. We started the weekend off with a cookout at Roger's house. This was a GREAT time to just sit and talk with everyone. My cousins from California came and brought a few more siblings this year. I haven't seen some of them in over 5 years. It was fun reminiscing about Grandma and Grandpa's farm. Myles and Ty had lots of fun playing with all the kids and seeing the cows.  Myles even found a super soaker and managed to soak a few people until mom stepped in and ruined all the fun. :-)

Ty and Lenny were cleaning the garden...

Kade and Ty shooting some hoops.

Pretty sure no one was happy to see him with this...Look at how proud he is.

Saturday we did our 5k walk/run.The weather was gorgeous and everyone did a great job. Dad even placed in his division. I was really proud of all my aunts and uncles who ran. For some it was the first road race they had done in YEARS!! Awesome.

Ty worked so hard during the 5k walk he was just tuckered out.

After the race we went back the Jeff and Sue's where the boys enjoyed horses, pigs, and a rock pile that seemed to be Myles' favorite new toy. I had to take the boys back for naps and missed the entire cornhole tournament which was quite the disappointment, but next year I will be there for sure. Funny thing was that Dad and Irene ended up as one of the top two teams and both of them were not even going to play!!! They were hiding their talents all along.

Chatting it up with Sue and Jeff's horses.

Uncle Jerry is the best at getting kids to do things they don't think they can do.

Asking Jeff all about the pigs.

Irene was showing her skills.

Dad kept telling me he "was no good" at corn hole. LIAR!!

Myles, Ty, Kate, and Ann on the beloved rock pile.

Who needs fancy games? All we need is a hammer, log, and some nails and we have fun for hours!

Parade time is always a good time. We had to find a new place for the family to sit so that we could all be together, but we found it and really love it. I still don't know who likes the parade more, the kids or the "adults". Usually the floats get heckled pretty hard from us, and the candy is secretly snatched from the kids.

Stacey and I with our little guys.

Excited kiddos ready for some candy.

Dad and his siblings.

He was getting pretty good at grabbing that candy.

Proof of the heckling that went on. We want our free candy!

Teddy with his pockets full of candy.

Ty sat really well for the entire parade. I was impressed.

I love this picture. Kim and Stacey and I have been so close since we were babies and now we are getting to be moms at the same time and with all boys!! Love Love LOVE the time we get to spend together.

Uncle Jeff filled up a pool with water and then added bubbles! Myles was in heaven!

As another Zinsfest came to an end, I was sad with how fast it went, but am already looking forward to next year when Nat will be with us again.

A great weekend with family makes us tired and happy!