Here I am at 20 weeks.

I guess this should be fun to see how much I change every month or so. I am nervous this may get embarressing by the end though.

The 4th of July!

Or as Aubrey called it, all day long...."The 4th of July twentieth." She was confused. Anyway, that morning we had pancakes and played Wii all morning. I even tried to teach the kids about America and our freedom. They were really confused, but cute about the whole learning thing. Then around 1pm we went over to our ever faithful friends the Hayes family for a party. The food was wonderful, the company too! We had way too much food..., including "men love these beans" and smoked brisket and ribs. MMMMmmmm. Anyway, I just wish I would have taken some pictures of the whole thing. They have an awesome backyard pool, so we really just enjoyed the hot AZ day at it's best. We stayed at their house clear until it was dark, then headed over to the local park for Maricopa's firework show. It got postponed a little because of the weather, but at least we saw them. Aubrey danced and clapped throughout...while Weston held his ears, then fell asleep. It was all a little too much for him and a definitely too late. Lots of fun though! I am glad we went.

Before the fireworks:

During the Fireworks:
Aubrey dancing :
The End.

The end of Swimming lessons...

but not the end of Swimming. Here they are eating cookies at their last lesson. Then we have some cute videos of the kids learning to swim. They are getting braver every day and we are so proud of our little mermaids.

My review of The American Idol Live Tour 2008

Yes the title is correct. Last night I went to the American Idol concert in Glendale AZ. This was the first concert of the tour and I am here to tell all it was awesome. I almost decided not to go because I was missing a big family outing to a Diamondbacks game. However, I am so glad I decided to go to the concert. I went with my friend Molly and her hilarious mom Lynn. I was nervous that there would be too many group numbers and not enough of my favorite songs....I was wrong. It was perfect.
The concert all began with Chikezie: who was awesome live and he sang 3 songs....not from the show, but better. Then they went in order of who was kicked off. So next was Ramiele: who was definitely the worst of the show. She was flat and lacked stage presence. I felt sorry for her. Her 3 songs just drug on. Moving on....Next was Michael Johns. I still can't believe he was next to get kicked off of Idol. He should have made it farther. Here is a little clip of him. I am telling you....I fell in love with him at this show. Many of the songs he sang on Idol just didn't have time to build up in the 1 minute they had to perform on Idol....but here at concert he stole the show (that is until the David's.) I cannot tell you how good he sounded. You just have to get tickets and go.

OK, next was Kristy Lee Cook: who I was never a fan of. However, her rendition of "I am proud to be an American" still got me teary eyed. She just annoys me personally (I don't like the way she stands). Anyway, she sang well live and I enjoyed it. Next was Carly Smithson: I have always liked her and she was definitely good. For some reason the mic was turned up too loud for her and just that technicality made her a little less enjoyable. She sang all the best songs from her Idol time. So....next, was my favorite girl : Brook White: She was absolutely amazing. Her voice was so clear and she was even better live. She sang "let it be" and "yellow" which I loved. I could listen to her all day. Here is a little teaser of her too.

There was an intermission then we got to hear the top 4 perform. They got to do 4 or 5 numbers each. Jason Castro: Adorable. He really can sing and live it was amazing. He didn't seem as nervous or goofy on the big stage. He really just entertained. He sang all my favorites. "Somewhere over the Rainbow " and others. He was great. Then we have Syesha Mercado (who I wish went home before Brook) anyway, she sang beautifully. She chose to sing some more contemporary songs like that Alecia Keys song and Under my Umbrella. I liked her choice of songs and she does sound good live. Her outfit was atrocious (that is unless you like seeing excessive amount of breast), but oh well.

Moving on to David Archuleta: Amazing, what can I say. He sang a Josh Groban song that he didn't sing on the show and it was truly just perfect. He sang all my favorites (except Imagine.) He was flawless live. Sigh....you have to go hear him.

Last but not least was our great David Cook. He was born to entertain. He was great on the guitar...he sounded amazing (especially for a rocker) and he rocked out to all of our favorites.

There actually ended up being only 2 group numbers and all of the best individual songs packed into this show. I am so glad I got to go. I felt like a crazy teenager again. Funny being I am pregnant and almost 30, but oh well. Thanks Jake for understanding my Idol obsession this year. There were just so many good ones to love. Thanks Molly and Lynn for having as much fun as I did. :)

Drum-roll please..........

We are having a .....

can you tell? We are having a little boy. Honestly for some reason I was sure it was a girl...so obviously I was wrong. We are so happy. Weston thinks it is the coolest and Aubrey never cared too much whether it was a boy or a girl - she just wanted a baby.

The ultrasound was a little stressful. They found a small white spec (can't remember the technical name) that is a small marker for down syndrome. Weston had this same thing...and he is just fine, so not too worried. The Dr. also noticed a small VSD or vetricular septal defect. This is not uncommon, but combined with the other heart defect and our past history we of course weren't happy with the news. This also makes our chance for downs a little higher. We are scheduled for another ultrasound in 6 weeks where hopefully the VSD is gone or getting smaller. It is an actual hole between the right and left ventrical. Anyway, Jake is very optimistic...I am on the fence and would love every one's prayers. We feel we can handle just about anything...and if you research VSD's they are the most common heart defect and with surgery...there are rarely complications. You can have a happy full life with a VSD....so that is what is most important. Keep in mind...we still have time for things to look better and we know that with a little prayer and faith the Lord wants to bless our family.

I will keep everyone posted. We are happy to have a boy and hope to see him safe and healthy in a few months.

Date Night....

So tonight is technically "date night" for Jacob and I. However, tonight ended up being a very special Date night for Aubrey and Jake instead. Jacob found this neat "Daddy Daughter" dance that our community was putting on. You just bring a can of canned food and there is music, dancing, dinner and pictures. Aubrey has been excited for at least a month. We even did a countdown chain till today. She bathed...painted nails...I did her hair and make-up. She was still ready with 1/2 before it was even close to go. Funny girl. I am sure they will have lots of fun. As for me...I will enjoy just being alone with no hubby and no kids. I should clean, but why?

Happy Birthday Samantha Lee

So today is 6 years since Samantha was born. Samantha was born on Fathers Day. She died at birth due to a heart defect called "atrial septial defect." We love her and miss her so much. I would never want to re-live the moments when she passed, but still cherish the little time that we shared with her precious body and spirit. Samantha was such a little kicker and fighter. It was a hard birth and I felt her strength throughout it. Samantha was our first and she will forever hold a special place in my heart. Happy Birthday Samantha... we think of you always and I know that we will have the chance to live with you again someday. Weston is here with me and says "I love you and I heart you!" He also said that you are so cute, and he wishes you were in our happy family. So cute. Aubrey is off making "birthday cards" for Samantha and we made rice crispy treats to celebrate this day. I am grateful for all of my kids and what we learn from being a parent.

Random things

Here I am showing my growing tummy. This is around 16 weeks. I will post a new pic every month or so.
The kids are taking swimming lessons. Here is goofy Weston in his goggles. They are learning so fast.
We went to Kung Fu Panda this Saturday. It was super funny. Jake's dad took all of the cousins. It was lots of fun.
Afterwards we went to Chris and Janalyn's (Jake's brother) and played on a slip and slide. We had some fun playing Wii Fit and just chilling with family. Thanks guys.
This was on our way to the movie. Weston just cracks me up with his dancing in the car. He loves mom and dad music. Both the kids have great rhythm.

Bowling Fever

So in an attempt to discipline as well as encourage "good behavior" in our children, Jake and I came up with a Bowling Chart. This was just a chart where the kids could earn a bowling ball whenever they were caught helping mom, being nice, obeying ect. We could also used it to take away a ball when they were fighting, hitting or just being naughty. Anyway, after three weeks or so they managed to earn all 15 bowling balls and we were off to the alley for some family fun. Here is a slide show of the fun. We even took them to a Carl's Jr. which has a kids' playground afterwards. It was a lot of fun.

Tag: Book your reading

I was tagged by my sister Tonya Jensen, I'm supposed to grab the nearest book and turn to page 123 and read sentence number 5. I grabbed eclipse by Stephenie Meyer- I am the last Mormon woman to read this 3 book series I suppose...but I picked it up in Idaho from my younger sister Traci. I had no desire to read the books, but just started to read Twilight and haven't stopped yet. I read the first two books in 4 days...but have put off starting the 3rd due to the fact that I know I will neglect my children. I haven't read this book yet...so hopefully this sentence doesn't ruin anything for me. Oh funny! It is short. It reads, "I snickered."

Thanks Tonya. I wish I would have gotten a more intriguing sentence.

I tag Sarah, Jennie, Misty and Danielle.