November so far

Dan had a birthday. I got him a better lawn mower, a book, and a few things for his guns. The kids made him cards. Since his birthday was on a Saturday we were treated to lunch at Liberty Market with Stephen and Rachel while our kids played at their house. Dan made his own cake (wife fail)... but he said it was a good day. We were going to go shooting with AZ family, but some couldn't make it so we rescheduled for the next Saturday. Dan ended up being sick, but he went anyway. I stayed home because I am just feeling more and more pregnant every day. I can't stand up for long periods of time, and I have a hard time sleeping. I think this is the hardest "home stretch" out of my three pregnancies so far, which is kind of funny since I was working so hard before my other two and this one I've been taking it easy. I also have more anxiety and am sometimes moody. I am looking forward to meeting this little guy. My doctor says it could be any day now, but he has been saying that for weeks. I guess I was really progressed, and then I just haven't changed from then.

Gwen had a birthday too. She had a tea party with five friends. It was really cute, the girls would play soccer in their pretty clothes, and then come in and do girly things. Lest you think I'm some kind of super woman, I did not decorate for this party. I traded voice lessons for this, and I'm so glad I did. It was hard enough for me to put together the food, and I didn't even make the cake. Gwen LOVED her party and her gifts, though. She sure is a light in my life. I can't believe she is FOUR!

How cute is this?

My pregnant belly makes a cameo. 

P.S. She still fits into the Alice dress I made her when she was not quite two years old. She is petite. 

We also went to "Frontier Days" at Asher's school, which is CTA's annual carnival fundraiser. I took pictures, but none of them were great because the event is at night. There was a DJ and food just like last year. Our kids rode the train, and Gwen rode a real pony while Asher did all the booths with Dan. (Well, Gwen's pony ride was probably 10 seconds long... but we sure waited in line for a long time.) Asher and Gwen also did a lot of bounce house-like activities. They were really into those this year.

I also got it into my head that we needed to paint stripes in our 1/2 bathroom downstairs. It has been on my list for a while, but honestly there are other far more pressing things that I still need to do. Oh well, something got done! Yay us! In real life you can see a lot of paint where it is not suppose to be, but I still love it. Maybe someday I will get around to cleaning up the edges. 

Last but not least, we just had Thanksgiving at Stephen and Rachel's. There were about 33 people there. The tables were decorated beautifully, and the food was good. We brought a green bean casserole and a chocolate haupia pie. And that note you see in the picture is one of my favorite traditions. Every time we go to S&R Hixon's for Thanksgiving a member of their family writes a personal letter of gratitude to each guest. One year I got a note from Jake- this year it was from Chip. Those teenage boys sure are sweet.

Also that morning the whole group (except me and Gwen) went to a place called "Feed my Starving Children" and helped pack food for the hungry. Dan and Asher had a great experience with it, and I can't wait to participate in the future. I'll need to get this baby out of me first... and hire a babysitter.

I'm really coming into home stretch, although I've almost totally given up on it. I feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever. :) But I've cancelled all lessons for the month of December, and my due date is right around the corner. Now we are just playing the waiting game. 

China, Sedona, and so forth.

In September Dan went to China for a week. I was sad to miss an adventure, but it was a business trip and I wasn't invited. It turns out the only thing I missed was karaoke and a lot of factories. Still, it sounded amazing and I want to invent or design something just so I can have an excuse to go there. Maybe someday. Anyway, while he was gone I often stayed up until 1:00am to get all the housework done. I am slow and tired with this pregnancy. My back was killing me and my patience was worn a little thin by the time he came back. But now he is here to keep me company, wash the dishes, and bathe the kids and put them to bed. It was weird having my best friend gone for a week. I sure missed him.

Then fall break happened. It was so nice to sleep in a little every day. The first weekend of the break we went up to Sedona where Dan's brother and his family have a time share. They wanted Dan to take their family pictures, and they told us to go up a little early so we could have the place to ourselves. It was nice. And minus food and gas, it was a free vacation. Score. We had fun seeing the sights and we ate at a restaurant named Pisa Lisa that had the most amazing salad I have ever tasted in my life. The pizza was good too.

In October I helped (last minute) with Copperstar's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Mesa Arts Center. I lead the music for the kids on stage left. I am supposedly getting paid for that, and I got comp tickets for my family and some friends. It was a really great show. And the Saturday matinee that my kids attended was fun. They played in the fountain outside the theater. It was a beautiful day. The weather is finally getting better around here.

Halloween also happened. I got to go to the pumpkin patch with Gwen's preschool class, which was pretty fun. I also made two Star Wars themed costumes for a family in our neighborhood, and our kids were Harry Potter and Tinkerbell. We had fun at the Trunk-or-Treat a week before, and they had fun trick-or-treating on actual Halloween. Of course, Gwen was sick, and now we are all going through it. 'Tis the season, I guess.

I'm still teaching a few voice and piano lessons, but I'm planning on taking December off. I'm also teaching a few acting classes for Copperstar in their new studios. They are having a hard time getting going. I'm sure once the word gets out, they will be very busy, because the other teachers are awesome. So far my largest class had 6 people. We'll see how it goes next session.