Family Visits

Shayli's arrival meant lots of visitors! We got to have Grandma Suzette out for just over 2 weeks which was so nice! She was a big help keeping the kids busy and keeping things in order with housework and meals. Uncle Travis also stopped in for a few days and then Pa rounded out the visit the last of July. We loved having everyone visit and I, for one, sure miss the help around the house!

Playing "Spider" with Pa

Kyson "helping" Uncle Travis hold "Shayli-Baby" ;)

Back to School Again

We started school at the end of July. (Yikes, right? Who's ready at that point?)

Kendri is making her big debut in kindergarten........

and Lexi is going strong in 2nd grade! Both girls love school and are star students (if I do say so myself!)

The Stork Has Arrived!

Shayli Janae Reese
Born July 15, 2011
1:57 pm
Weighing 7 lbs 13 oz
20.5 inches long

The kids are absolutely in love with their new baby sister. She definitely has a fan club!

Pickin' Cherries and Hunting Eggs

A few weeks ago we went to pick some cherries. We did this last year too, and came away with plenty. Kyson chased the chickens and loved every minute of it........
and he almost got one by the tail! Run chickens, run!

Yummy!

I've decided I should hire out my children during cherry picking season......;)

We also got some fresh eggs thanks to the poor, "tormented" chickens!

Overall, we had a great time! Thanks Colbourns for sharing the goods!

37 and a Half

Today was my doctor's appointment. I am now on the weekly schedule and I do believe I won't be cancelling any more appointments. I cancelled one last week because I decided going to the Jelly Belly Factory was far more important than being poked and prodded. :) (What can I say? I had a hankering for Sunkist Fruit Gems.)

Notice how excited I look to be taking my picture? I always feel weird taking a picture by myself. I couldn't seem to mold my face into something close to normalcy so I just stopped trying.....and yes, I look tired. Oh well! It's going to get worse before it gets better!

Anyway the stats are in......I've gained a total of 20 lbs so far. This is the least amount of weight I've gained at this point with any of my pregnancies. I'm not sure what the the difference is, but I have a theory. The first one is, Kyson. I run around with him so much that perhaps I'm just burning up those calories. The second theory is that none of the major food holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter) are a part of my third trimester this go around. Whatever the reason is, I'll take it!

The baby is head down but not fully turned yet. There is no "business" going on as of yet. My doctor wanted to talk to me about when the "right" time to come to the hospital is. He said not to come in unless my water breaks, I'm bleeding, or I have contractions every 5 minutes for an hour. I told him the last time I went by those guidelines, I was dilated to 10 cm by the time I got to the hospital. So he threw in an exception.....if I think there is something going on, I can come in. ;) Everything looks good so far! Now we just wait.....Come out, come out wherever you are!

Angel Island

We got to spend Saturday in San Francisco. Every year Ryan's work puts on a work party and this year it was on Angel Island. So we we took the kids to Pier 39. They were in awe of everything to do with the city. It never dawned on me (until then) that I am raising hillbillies ;) But it was fun to hear their reactions to everything. Even though this is definitely NOT the first time they have seen a skyscraper.

Angel Island game time.....you'll hear more about the frisbee later on ;)

Digging on Angel Island (sorry the first two pics are out of order.)

We actually did Pier 39 first, and who can go to San Francisco and skip the sea lions? Not us!

Still watching the sea lions......

On the ferry on our way to Angel Island.


Inside the ferry.

As you can see from the above pictures, we had to board a ferry to get to Angel Island. And basically we had to check out the scene from every possible location.....top deck, inside and every level thereafter. I must say, it was rather chilly even with jackets. And now that I am in Valley Springs where it is threatening above 100 degree weather, I feel that I didn't fully appreciate my goose bumps like I should have. Sigh.

Anyway, we ate some food, had a massage, and threw some frisbees into the ocean. Or should I say, Kyson threw his frisbee into the ocean. And then tried to get it with his pregnant mother lunging after him. (There was no beach at that point. Just a 3 foot drop into the sea.) Overall, we had a good time and the kids got to see some fun stuff. And we certainly got our exercise in. The ferry ride home dropped us off at a different pier than the one we left on. We came home with aching backs and tired feet!

And finally, waiting for the ferry to take us back to San Francisco.

Big Trees Field Trip

We are backtracking to June for a minute.....there are a few things I haven't got around to posting. Lexi's class had a field trip to Big Trees at the end of the year. Ryan and Kendri went with her and by the sounds of it, everyone had a good time!

Lexi and Kendri inside a fallen tree trunk.

And, obviously, someone is impressed by the size of these Redwoods!