I shop at Smith's...

**first let me say that there is an occasional trip to the Super WalMart when the non-grocery items on my list outweigh the groceries, but I try to avoid... because I usually end up leaving the store frazzled, with crying kids, and my blood pressure sky-rockets to way higher than normal. What is it about that place that causes so much anxiety?!**

When we lived in Columbus I LOVED doing my grocery shopping at Kroger. It was clean, they were nice, they doubled coupons and I even had my favorite (extra speedy) checker lady that I lined up for when I shopped on weekday mornings. 

Since we've been back in Utah I've shopped at Smith's (Kroger in the Western states). Sadly, they don't double coupons here, but there are several reasons I prefer to shop at Smith's:

• The employees are always super friendly. They say hi as you walk by and ask if you need help finding anything. 
• They keep track of the groceries I buy regularly and send me coupons in the mail for those items every couple months.
• They have mini ("baby") carts that Emri loves to push...as long as I'm not needing my achilles tendon that particular shopping day, I will let her push one behind me! It keeps her happy. 
• Their produce is always top notch. 
• The bakery gives out cookies to my kids...another way to keep them happy while I shop.
• I have the store memorized, so I write out my grocery list in order and work my way from the left to right and do it quickly (while the kids mouths are busy with the bakery treat)!
• They have this special parking spot for me... and it is ALWAYS open! Where on earth are all the other pregnant mom's in Utah shopping?! My guess is Wally World!  I will miss my front row spot here in another week!

• They ask if I want a paper bag to help ripen my bananas if they are a little green at checkout.
• When they ask if I found everything I was looking for...if my reply was no, they do something about it. For example, they don't sell a particular kind of granola cereal I like, but were willing to order it in for me so I didn't have to go to another store to buy it. THAT'S CUSTOMER SERVICE!
• If I am ever waiting in line to check-out, they automatically call another employee to the front and open a separate check-stand. NO WAITING!! It's amazing people!
• They bag all of my groceries and load them into the cart for me! What a concept....that some stores have forgotten! 
• AND, they ask if I need help out to my car. I don't take them up on it very often, but with 2 kids a heavy cart and a heavy (ready to pop) belly....this week I let the nice high school kid walk me to my car. He had all the groceries unloaded into the back by the time I had my kids buckled in.
• I can't always say their prices are the lowest of all the competitive stores. They are comparable though. But hey, for me....the service I get there is well worth it to spend a couple extra bucks!

Where do you shop?

Eating my words....

Well, we bit the bullet and finally upgraded our car! Honestly, never in a million years did I see myself purchasing the vehicle we did. For the past about 9 months we've been discussing our options and not till about a month ago did I even consider the MINIVAN. What is happening to me?! The girl who grew up driving a Jeep Wrangler, borrowing dad's big trucks, born into a family of big SUV/truck driving siblings. SWORE I WOULD NEVER be a minivan mom! Well, when life happens and you have a small family...what can I say? The minivan makes sense....in more than a million ways! My dad said I'd probably have to drive around with a paper bag on my head so nobody would see me! Ha!

Picking up the van was a pretty emotional day (and surprisingly, not because of me this time)! Remember just before Emri came....when I said goodbye to my Jeep? Well, this day was similar to that, but for my kids! We bought our Tucson the day we moved to Columbus... 6 years ago exactly. It's the only car the kids have really known. We loved it!

Look how happy they are playing in it, just before the transfer :) Well I moved their car seats over and they were excited about the van idea... until I told them to say goodbye to the Tucson. AND THAT'S WHEN IT HAPPENED!

The tears started flowing....

...and the crying got louder! Jet cried, "I want my white car!" It was really sad! And I could totally feel for them!! It was heartbreaking, but there wasn't much I could do for them. Even that night at bedtime Emri had some tears in her eyes and when I asked her what was wrong she told me she missed our white car. :(

We've had it for about a week now...and the kids love it, and only mention white car occasionally now. I still laugh...can't believe it's happened! Oh the things we do for our kids!! For this new chapter of life, I will consider this my "mom porche." 

Anderton Bear Lake--Summer Closer

We closed out the Summer with a great trip to Bear Lake....is it ever not great there? Our "small" car can be the cause of much contention these days when packing for days at a time. Who needs to see out the rear view mirror anyway?!

 This place is amazing! Perfect sandy beaches for the kiddos...

...and even pregnant women! Why not dig a hole?! It's been a long time since I could lay on my tummy!

Here Brett and I are taking instructions from our little nephews on the skills of paddle-boarding!

 Brett hi-centered on my board right off the bat!

 Me trying to push him away.

 Finally somewhat stable on our knees. I stood up quickly on my first try, but got a little too confident and quickly lost my balance and went in the lake. We each took a few pretty good spills and got some good laughs out of each others coordination....or lack thereof!! I feel my center of gravity may be a little off these days! We'll have to try it again sometime.

 The war paint made a debut...

 Jet fell asleep on a boat ride and the wagon doubled as a nice crib for sleepy boy!

 We stayed in an amazing "cabin" that was really more like a brand new house in the woods. I must have been having too much fun to take any pictures there, besides this one of our afternoon visitor off the back deck.

 Day 2 at the lake was heavenly... I mean, where can you go besides Cancun to get water this beautiful?! Here's the "GO FASTER" kids!

 Jet and Loralye are brave little ones! They love that tube!

 Max Capacity?!

 T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

We had a wonderful weekend! Also, while we were there, my M-I-L and sis-in-laws surprised us one night with several awesome gifts for baby boy! They are always so thoughtful! It was the perfect end to summer!

Roomies

We are kicking it into high gear around here to prepare for baby! Jet said goodbye to his old room...

...and moved in next door with big sis!! Yes. He still is in his crib. Surprising that the mischievous boy that he is, he still hasn't climbed out. Jet still naps and I'm not about to throw a wrench in things at this point! The first night was rough, but it's been smooth sailing since. Some CARS decals on the walls helped get him excited (can't wait to own a home again and be able to paint)!

 And now back in the other room....it's filling up fast. Trying to be prepared for this one! 

Summer Days...

Other than being super preggo in the (I swear) HOTTEST Utah summer in like, ever.... we have had such a great time! I will be super sad to see it end!

Splash Pads galore....we've explored about 6 different ones this summer in our area (you can't beat free)!

 The Morgan County Fair...

 

 I got to spend some time at girls camp this year with my young women...

 Beautiful sunsets...

 Time with amazing friends....

 Scooter rides before sunset....

  Backyard plays put on by my talented nieces and nephews....

Snowcones with my favorite people...

What's NOT to love?!

Growing.....

26 weeks

 27 weeks

 28 weeks

 29 weeks...in the middle of a heat wave at Lake Powell. 

 30 weeks

 31 weeks

 32 weeks... in my bridesmaid get-up for Bridger's wedding

 33 weeks

 34 weeks

 35 weeks. At my appt this week, he checked me (earlier than I expected) and surprised me when he said I was already dilated 2 cm and 70 % effaced. Then I went into a little bit of a panic! Nesting has definitely settled in this week!

 36 weeks

4 weeks to go till I'm officially due, but Dr is thinking maybe a week early? Emri and Jet were each a week early, so that sounds good to me! After playing kickball with my Young Women last night though maybe it will happen sooner?! haha! I'm a bit sore today :)

Fortunately I still feel pretty good! We've been staying really busy to keep my mind off of things! Sleeping is getting trickier, and the nightly visits to the bathroom are increasing. Guess that means we're close?!

Jet @ 2 1/2 years

Jet is quite the character, and keeps us on our toes and laughing MOST of the time! He also has a mischievous/naughty side that shines through on occasion!

In the past 4 months Jet's vocabulary has really taken off! He started saying more words a couple months after his 2nd birthday. Then he started putting 2 words together and now more than that, in broken sentences, but it's good to be able to communicate with him. He seems to be a lot happier boy as well, now that we know what he's talking about (for the most part).

He really likes to be with Emri...and mostly in her business. They have a love/dislike relationship right now! 

Jet is really excited about the idea of "baby boy" growing in mom's belly! He is constantly patting my tummy and saying "hi boy", "where you?," and giving my tummy kisses! I hope he's as excited when boy is actually here! He is still mostly a momma's boy so it might rock his world a little bit to have another baby in the picture.

Jet likes nursery on Sundays for the most part. Sometimes he still wants mom to come in and play for a few minutes before he excuses me. 

He adores his Brklacich uncles and mostly loves Brody. When we spike his hair up he says "yike Bodee?!" (like Brody's?!).

He likes the idea of playing with his Anderton cousins....but actually enjoys playing solo for the most part when we are around big groups.

Jet loves the water just as much as Emri. Thank goodness!

He likes to snuggle before naps and bedtime. I do too :)

His favorite color is GREEN; it's a bit of an obsession, really!

Jet still naps in the afternoon, usually a couple hours. We moved him into Emri's room this past week to get ready for baby boy to come. The first night was a train wreck, but has since been better and I think they like being roomies! Jet is still in his crib...he hasn't tried to climb out yet (shocking), so we just moved that into Emri's room...I wasn't about to throw a wrench into a good situation weeks before the baby comes! 

He likes to go pee on the potty before bath time, but other than a handful of times of volunteering to go potty I haven't pushed the issue.... We've been on the go non-stop this summer and I didn't want to throw potty training into the busy mix, so I think we will give it a shot this winter when not a whole lot else is going on?! I'm not really looking forward to it! 

He still doesn't really love TV much. There are a couple movies he will sit partially through... "Cars" & "Wreck-it Ralph." At night after baths he and Emri like to watch America's Funniest Home Videos. 

He counts to 12....I have been a slacker when it comes to a lot of learning things with him :( We are working on alphabet song and letter recognition. Poor 2nd child! 

His favorite bedtime songs are "I am a Child of God" and "You are my sunshine."