Baby #3

Due January 21st! I went to the doctor yesterday and the baby has a good heart beat so I guess everything is going well and I will post for those of you who don't know yet.

I am as usual full of morning sickness that really lasts all day long. My best moment was throwing up at the post office on the dirt because there was no where else to do it. Ali told me after that she was never going to have a baby when she grew up after that. Poor child to find out so young the joys of early pregnancy! So its been fun. But we are excited! Hopefully in a few more weeks we will have more of a chance to enjoy it.

For now Cameron has been great taking care of the kids in the evening so I can just lay there and try not to be sick. He has been a great husband and though I am sure he is very tired of me being sick he has not complained at all about it. The girls have also been great and have helped me with lots of little things that I need.

Oh the lazy days of summer!

I love summer time. I was a little hesitant to have Ali out of school but the closer it got the more I looked forward to it. And Ashling really looked forward to having Ali home to play with. It reminds me of being a kid now that I don't have to drive Ali to and from school. I have nowhere I have to go and nowhere I have to be. I am still in my pjs and I don't care. I may decide not to even get dressed today!

We have had a couple of wonderful lazy days that fit the summer mold. We have watched movies, woke up late, ate junk food (especially the girls) and just played. I have done a lot of reading. The girls are outside right now with the hose on and making a water slide with their small slide. They are also eating ice pops! They are also trying to capture a butterfly which is Ali's very favorite thing to do. They have been playing that they are puppies and then they change in to ballerinas. I am enjoying my garden that is finally growing and enjoying reading stories to the girls in bed. I love how the girls crawl into my bed each morning and get warm. (Our nights are still pretty cool especially with the windows open.)

We also went up to Green Valley lake this weekend with the Lintons and went swimming. It was fun to see the girls both doing a pretty good job. We took our boogie boards and used them as little rafts. Ashling is getting pretty brave in the water as long as she has floaties on.

On Saturday Ali also had her dance recital. I am a lame mom and took video but I didn't take any pictures so unless I get her dressed again you won't see the pictures. She danced to a dance called singing in the shower. They had on little costumes that looked like towels and wore shower caps. The stage had clear shower curtains that they danced around. It was a pretty cute show.

Written by: Melissa (Ina thinks that we need to sign our names at the bottom since Cameron and I both write on here.)

ABC TAG

ABC Tag
A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Cameron and Ina
C- Cake or Pie: Cake, defiantly cake
D- Day: Saturday
E- Essential item: the computer, my cell phone, and flip flops
F- Favorite color: Pink
G- Gummi bears or worms: worms
H- Home town: I don't know? Maybe Sandy, Utah or maybe San Marcos California. I guess now I am starting to feel like Running Springs is my home town.
I- Indulgences: reading books, swimming anywhere
J- January or July: Depends on what season it is. Right now I am rooting for January!
K- Kids: 2 great little girls
L- Life is incomplete without: My family, my friends, the beach and a good book
M- Marriage date: August 28, 1999
N- Number of siblings: 3
O- Oranges or apples: Apples
P- Phobias or fears: Mountain Lions and rattle snakes might eat my kids in my own backyard. A fire might happen again and I won't be able to get Ali from school or evacuate anything.
Q- Quote: Go big or go home. (Cameron always says this. I think it is a little silly but it sticks in my mind.)
R- Reason to smile: The warm beach, a nice place to swim, a good run and a great book.
S- Season: Fall: I love fall colors and the cooling of the temperature. I love fall decorations and Halloween costumes. I love making applesauce and putting on a jacket for the first time. I love hikes where the air is crisp and camping where you sit around a campfire to stay warm.
T- Tag: Melissa Brown, Melissa Garn, and Stacey
U- Unknown fact about me: I love to work out at the gym. It makes me happy.
V- Very favorite store: American Eagle
W- Worst habit: Reading instead of doing anything else.
X-rays or ultrasounds: ultrasound I love to see my babies.
Y- Your favorite food: Tacos, 4 layer desert, tucanos
Z- Zodiac sign: Cancer

A noise in the night

Beep................................................................................Beep.....................................................Beep.......... now I am awake and imagining that this small noise I hear in my sleep is the carbon monoxide detector and I am just about to fall asleep into the sleep of death. I felt tired enough and was sure I couldn't move at all. I imagined what I was going to do if it was. Would I try to get the kids out or should I just call 911? I wasn't sure how much time we might have. I got up and looked at the carbon monoxide detector. It had a green light and everything seemed to be okay. I wasn't sure what else it could be but in my sleepy state it didn't occur to me that it could be the smoke detector.

Finally I went back to bed and almost fell asleep only to hear the beep again. I woke up Cameron who wasn't awake even after all these beeps and he found the smoke detector and took the battery completely out. Now my question to everyone is why does the battery ALWAYS go bad at night? I have never had it go bad in the day but only when I am sleeping. I guess maybe I should just change the battery every six months. ...

Ali's 6th Birthday Party

I had some pretty fun ideas for Ali's birthday party. Here is a copy of the invite:

Hear ye, Hear ye...Calling all Princes and Princesses of the

Mountain Kingdom to a Royal Celebration!"

By order of the King,

Princess Brooke

is cordially invited to the Brown Castle

to celebrate

Princess Ali's 6th Birthday!

The Royal celebration will be

Saturday at 12 PM on the 31st of May.

The King has asked for each lady to come in her favorite princess costume, and the gentlemen are asked to come dressed as a prince or knight.

The royal cook has prepared a feast for the celebration, including cake, punch & ice cream. There shall also be games, crafts and fun for all. Have your carriage arrive for you at 2:30 in the afternoon when the celebration commences. Please RSVP with the Queen Mom if you plan to attend this royal gala. (there was a picture of a castle too.)

At the birthday party I had a bunch of tasks for the kids to do. I told them a little story:

Once upon a time there was a land called the San Bernardino National Forest. Within the forest there was a beautiful princess named Ali. She lived with her mother, father and sister, Princess Ashling. While she was getting ready for her birthday party a scary dragon flew to her house. His name was Jasper. He saw all the party treats and wanted them for himself. Jasper stole all the goody bag treats and ate them whole! Ali was very sad because now she no longer had any goodie bags to give her friends when they came to the party.

But wait: There is one way to get the treasure back. The dragon respects people who are full of talents. You have to complete a treasure hunt where you prove that you are wise, graceful, brave, strong, sneaky that will lead to Dragon Jasper and then you will be able fight him to get the treasure back.

Here is the first task: To prove that you have grace and rhythm go to the great ballroom and play freeze dance. After you are finished the King will give the winner the next clue.

To prove that you are strong go outside and swing across the great moat to find your next clue. All the princes and princes must swing before you get the next clue.

To prove that you are brave, walk along the outer castle wall from the top to the bottom. If you fall you must start at the top again. When all are finished you will find the next clue.

To prove that you are responsible go inside and play telephone. For this game the queen will give the reader a message that she needs the king to know. When the king has heard the message right he will give that person the next clue.
To prove that you are smart build a tower of blocks.
To prove that you are sneaky play hide and seek. When the last person is found they will get the next clue.
The dragon is under the house. Go and fight him for the treasure!

After that the kids had hot dogs and dragon's blood punch and then Ali's opened her presents. They then had a castle cake which I took a picture of and it didn't turn out. But Cameron's mom took one too so soon I will post that too. I thought it was a fun birthday party and a lot of work. We will see if I am up to more birthday parties next year. :)