Catching up

Well, lots has happened since we last updated the blog, but I doubt I'll remember everything. So, I'll give a brief rundown. We've been unpacking, gardening, visiting, and really enjoying our time here so far. We particularly enjoyed a few things, like dinner at Grandma Whetstone's house--it reminded me and Jessy why we decided to move closer to family, and the kids thought it was great (they also thought a visit to grandma's meant spending the night!). We hope Grandpa's knee gets better soon. We also met Grandma and Grandpa Jones up at Porcupine Reservoir for an outing on the boat. Lots of fun!!

Jessy competed in a half-ironman on Saturday, August 9 (sorry, no pictures). Because it was at Utah Lake and started at 6:45 am, we stayed over at Angie and Robert's house for the night. We got up early and headed over to the lake...along with about 2 trillion mosquitoes! Luckily, they dispersed with the sun coming up, so the kids and I ventured out of the car to watch Jessy. Jenny, Nathan, and Grandma Jones also made it, so we were able to watch his swim (1.2 miles...plus 200 meters, thanks to the organizers' GPS mistake), see him off on his 52-mile bike ride, and then see him a couple of times on his 13.1 mile run. We were able to go to the beach and play at the park and eat snacks during the 6 hours during the race, and it was quite fun, except for the bee sting Hunter got. Jessy didn't fare so well. He drank too much on the bike ride (it was overcast and he didn't need quite as much hydration as he thought), so he was sick and puked twice on the run. He said that after he got rid of it all, he felt much better and finished well. Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Jones even made it just in time to see him, with Savannah and Collin, cross the finish line. I'm not sure I liked this race so much, but I was proud of him for having the motivation to train (he was up early every day practicing one or more of the three events), and actually going through with it. And I'm very glad he didn't die.

I had a doctor appointment Aug 11 and the doctor is now certain, along with the ultrasound tech, that the baby is a boy. So, that leaves finding a name. And that's where we are. Thirty-one weeks into it and no name. Fortunately, this pregnancy has been pretty smooth. Unfortunately, the third trimester aches and pains are settling in. At least with this one (unlike some previous pregnancies), my back has held up pretty well. It makes a big difference. I'm also excited to have some cooler weather soon, as most of this pregnancy has been in the heat.

Last weekend we had a fun time at our house. Robyn and Jacob and crew came up Friday to spend the weekend, and Grandma and Grandpa Jones and Jenny joined on Saturday. Jessy and Jacob took 5 of the kids fishing at Pineview Saturday morning and they all survived, including the fish. Then on Sunday most of the rest of our families came up to celebrate Savannah's 7th birthday. (I'm going to let her give most of the details on her blog--click here or see link to right.) It was so nice to have everyone here and the birthday party was great. Angie's cake was awesome!

Yesterday we went to Back-to-School Night to meet Savannah's teacher and walk around the school a bit. Mrs. Shaw seems very nice and well-organized for the upcoming year. Savannah is excited to start on Monday, and particularly excited to take the bus to school.

The kids are ready to start school, I think. We enrolled Savannah in tumbling and a cheerleading clinic, and she continues to progress well in piano lessons. She loves to go to her friends' houses and has been good about doing her chores first thing so that she can play ASAP. She had a mega-sleepover with her friend, Emma, from Albuquerque (who now lives about 1/2 hour away). They slept over here for two nights after sleeping over there for 2 nights. Collin starts preschool on September 2, and soccer starts sometime shortly thereafter. He loves playing with his buddy, Carson, and they are two peas in a pod. Hunter...well, there's no kindy here, but he likes it when the kids go away. He did go to the potty once, when I caught him squatting after getting out of the shower. He likes to "do a little, tiny wee wee" whenever his diaper is off (before or after bathing). He also does well to ride his bike in circles on the patio (Collin gets dizzy after a few minutes, but sometimes Hunter is out there for an hour or more), and play in the dirt. He is the first to really care about what he is wearing, and his outfit of choice is usually finished off with some snow boots I found while unpacking.