vaca recap continues:: playing at nana and papa's awesome hotel. complete with water park!

utah about killed me with it's cold temps and awful inversion.

[but made up for it all with a few beautiful snowstorms]

thank goodness the hotel we stayed at had an indoor water park.

and double thank goodness the water was warm!

i love my family.

eating at restaurants brings me joy

NANA!!

congrats to you- nana of three grandbabies!
i love that i'm congratulating you and not BB who did all the work.
but that letter will come tomorrow once i have see the little guy and taken 50 bajillion pics of him.
so for today-- congrats again!

aren't new babies just magical?
i bet you're so jealous that later today i get to go to the hospital and love on him.
[sorry to rub it in]
but don't worry, once you guys return from egypt you'll fly out here lickety-split and get your nana-loving on.
so don't go and get yourself blown up while you're over there.
[i really mean that!]



in other news...

 @ texas roadhouse. katers ate about 4 rolls and we called it good and 

didn't order her a meal. we're great parents like that.

we miss you and we miss going out to eat!
that sounds horrible i know, like all you're good for is paying at the restaurant [couldn't be less true].
but it's so nice that you spoil us when you're here and then you leave and we go back to eating like college kids and we cry.
ok, no one cried but i have had one hell of a time getting back into the cooking mode.
meals this week consisted of sandwiches, cereal and a crockpot dinner that totally didn't turn out.

at least it's my birthday weekend and jank is taking me out.
yeeeeeaaaaah for birthdays!!


so thanks for birthing me so i can go out to eat.
[that just sounds weird. i'm off my game today]


ps. every time we get into the car miss kate says 'nana? nana?' she's always disappointed when we pull up to the grocery store and not your hotel.


.

waiting sucks.

to my unborn nephew-

um, hurry up.
i'm not a patient person and i want to meet you.
will you have hair? what color?
will you have a dimple on your right cheek like your daddy?
will you be a snuggley baby?
[please, please be a snugglebug]


will you be a ball of happy energy like your sister?

don't let this demure shot fool you.

or will you be a shy child like your cousin- who NEVER looks at the camera when i desire her to. 

tsk tsk katers!

miss kate's hair! it's growing!

bangs and sunglasses are something i can't figure out- someone please advise.

well, little man... we're trying our hardest to get you to come while nana is here.

we all thought a little walk might do it.

nana's rocking her new toms and i am sooooo jealous.

the walk was unsuccessful as far as going into labor is concerned. [it was even uphill!]

however, being outside and feeling the sun on our backs was awesome.

it looks like nana might miss your entrance unless you come before 0800 tomorrow.

[i offered to break your mom's water but she just looked at me with a look of disgust. apparently that's not kosher. whoops]

so fine- be stubborn [just like your momma] and come when you feel like it.

but let me just say there is nothing fancy about waiting until 38 weeks. 

37 weeks works just fine-- trust me, okay?

i'm the brilliant one who knows everything [and you should never forget that]

ps. it's my birthmonth so you have to do as i say. case closed.

.

family

mom's in town and i couldn't be happier.

i love having her here.

hopefully she'll still be here when bb has her babe.

[fingers crossed]

jank, liz, kate and nana enjoying the spring weather




ps. woog is still missing [hate you car thief!] but our rental is a new camry- now that's not half bad.


.

sunshine= giddy and random kayla

mom-

this is what was happening in my car today while i talked to you:

that's kate in case you didn't recognize her-

normally she's crying (not peacefully sleeping) when she's in the car so that's probably why you don't recognize her.

doesn't that position look painful?

don't worry, i left her like that.

i wasn't about to wake a sleeping toddler-

i figured if she couldn't breathe, she'd wake up.

(now that's some great logic isn't it??)

this is what i did after i hung up with you but before i picked up liz from bb's store.

because i know you are just dying to know how i waste 30 minutes.

why yes, those are beautiful. 

thanks for noticing.

they're flash cards that you can color.

courtesy of an app i downloaded for kate but use (frequently) when i'm bored.

i'm such a great artist.

and when i get bored of coloring...

i try styling my hair different ways.

option 1:

option 2:

i went with option 1.

i bet you agree.

ok, well that's enough randomness for one day.

enjoy maui!

i'm so glad you and dad get to spend 2 weeks just relaxing.

(soooooo jealous)

send pics everyday so i can be happy for you and sad for all of us stuck on the mainland.

drink a lavaflow for all of us.

ok, now i'm just depressed.

love you

.

ski day

mom and dad-

a day at alta

another utah visit is coming to a close.

i know i should be all adult about it and say "we had a good time, see you soon"

but what i'm going to do is beg you two to abandon everyone in MN and move here.

how else are we going to finish our game of 'hand and foot'?

which jank and i are totally going to win.

ok, fine.

i'll be adult about it (but i don't like it)

besides, i know you'll be back soon.

no one can resist their grandchildren for long.

especially grandkids as adorable as these two:

the best pic i have of both of them. getting toddlers to hold still is impossible!

we had a good time. see you soon. blah blah blah.....

ps. please stay!

.

best present ever

mom-

while i worked last nite, jank was at home "studying". now you know jancer- a very dedicated student and a obsessive studier but last nite he found my scrapbook in iphoto and got distracted for an hour or so perusing old photos of me (the good and the bad- eek!) he picked out his favorites and this was one of them:

i must agree. it's a fav of mine also... i'm just so darn cute! can't you just see a little bit of katers hidden in there? behind all the hair of course. 

anyway, just wanted to say thank you (again) for taking the time to scan each and every page of my scrapbook so we could have a digital copy. oh, and thanks for taking the time to make a scrapbook... i really should get working on kate's book.

water baby

nana and papa-

you leave tomorrow in the morn. tear. ok, big tears. i love when you're here.
my life seems full again. and you bring presents- new toys and music and quiet books for church. awesomeness.


more importantly you bring the fun.
i don't remember the last time i saw kate smile so much.


remember tonight when you nana were pushing kate and liz around bb's house in the rolling chair?


or when kate actually reached for you papa because she wanted more airplane rides?


or when we all went to the zoo and kate didn't care about the animals but LOVED when we found a dripping pipe to put her under? pretty sure the other zoo-goers thought i was torturing my child until they saw her smile.

(kicking and laughing weren't captured in this pic, but they did occur)

please don't leave. pretty please?

mother's day

mom,

now that i'm a mom i am starting to understand what motherhood is all about. and it makes me sad that i wasn't the best about getting your card mailed before mothers day. sorry. life gets a little too busy sometimes. but that's why i wanted to dedicate this tiny space of the universe to you. so you can read and know how great you are.

thanks for...

being so compassionate- especially that time when i was riding my bike with no hands with krissy d and i hit the curb and injured myself. not fun but you were so kind

being so thoughtful- i love my tiffany's necklace. i wear it constantly and it reminds me of you and kate. two happy thoughts

being so fun- when bb and i were in charge of the kids in south africa there were numerous times that we didn't know what to do or how to entertain them so we just copied things you did with us. and they loved it just like we loved it when we were little

being in love with dad. i love knowing my parents are still in love. i love that you miss him when he's gone

being so crafty- homemade playdough. neon puff paint birthday parties. black and white zubaz with hot pink shirts- ok that last one was horrible but so funny

being a wonderful grandma- it's so fun watching you play with kate. i can't wait to watch your relationship develop as she grows

being strict- remember when you followed me to "i know what you did last summer". i hated your rules at the time but i'm glad you cared enough about me to set boundaries and stick to them

being patient- you changed my endlessdiapers, fed me endless meals and loved me even when you didn't like me

i'm glad there is a day when i get to pause and honor the woman that you were, are and will be

it makes me so happy to know that i get to be your daughter forever

i love you mom

thanks for everything

*******

brysaac, ryken and kate playing together as cousins should