Suffering from insanity and exhaustion.

With the new baby on the way, I have felt a HUGE desire to get everyone situated to make room for her. That is much easier said than done. This was Ashlyn and Brooklynn's room. As of last night at midnight it was lime green. All the kids stayed up and helped us. After we painted, we had to move the furniture back in the room so we could function.

This is McKinley's old room. It used to be bright yellow, but now is pink with white stripes. The baby and Brookie will stay here.

I totally underestimated the work it would be to do the stripes, but now that they are done, I'm very happy with it. (although I think we used about 5 miles worth of painting tape.)

We are still living in a construction zone, but it is getting better. I need to put up curtains in both rooms, and add the hot pink polka dots to the green room for the "big girls." (We already have the hot pink curtains.)

So that is my last week in a nut shell. I have neglected everything else! My laundry pile is almost to the ceiling! Hopefully the rooms will be complete soon and I'll post the final pic's. Happy Friday!

......McKinley get's home from girls camp today. I have really missed her. It is just not the same without her here. I hope she likes her room.

Yeah! (and DUH!)

Okay, I'm not too smart. I found the cord I needed to download my pictures. I was distracted by the other fancy HDMI cord. Anyway, here are the pictures from picking up the boys from trek. Here they are coming down the trail.

Conner pulled away to give us hugs as they pulled in.

Brennan's family in a family huddle.

Conner's family picture.

Brennan's family picture.

Brennan with his Ma and Pa. They were perfect for him.

Conner with his Ma and Pa. Also perfect!

No Pictures!

As many of you might know, I have a husband that is PERFECT! Except, that he loses things. Alot. So when he went on the family reunion camping trip with our girls while the boys were at trek, I sent the camera with him so I could see all the fun they had. (Being in my 3rd trimester I opted to stay home and stay sane. The heat would have killed me, not to mention sleeping on the ground. Sleeping at all can be hard enough.) We'll I knew better. Will lost the camera. UG!

I ran out and bought a camera that was not fancy, but had good zoom and mega pixels, etc. I bought a sony. I didn't know that a sony used a memory stick and was not compatible to my computer. UG!!!

The result is some great pictures from picking the boys up from trek with no way to use them. (If anyone has any idea's that would be great)

Picking the boys up was AWESOME! We got up to the trail about an hour early to make sure we didn't miss them. We watched them come down a hill to where we were all waiting. As each family went by I watched for my boys. I could hardly wait to see them. I saw Conner who pulled away from the handcart long enough to give Will, Brooklynn and me a hug, but I never saw Brennan.

They met briefly with their families once they arrived, and that's where I found Brennan. Huddled in a family circle with his family. I watched them as they knelt together in family prayer and my heart swelled. I saw my sweet boy and the joy on his face. I knew he had been placed with a good family and was happy. I watched their family hug, and then Brennan hugged his ma and pa. It was a very tender moment for me that I really can't describe.

Once we gathered Brennan and Conner and their gear, and they had said their goodbyes, we piled into the car. OH the smell. UG. Then they took off their shoes!! Luckily the smell was tempered by their stories of the trail and their families. I am so happy to have them home. I am thrilled that they both had ma's and pa's that they clicked with. I am thankful! (even with no camera)

For some must push and some must pull

This morning my boys left for pioneer trek. I got up at 6:00 a.m. to help get them out the door. Last night they put on their trek clothes and started goofing off. I told Brennan that he looked like a hill-billy-gangster!

For those who may not know, pioneer trek a reenactment of the Mormon Pioneers coming across the plains. The kids ages 14-18 go up to the mountains and are put in "families". They have a "Ma" and "Pa" to look after them and help them along. They leave all of the modern conveniences at home, so no ipods, cell phones etc. Then they push a hand cart while they hike anywhere from 12 to 16 or 17 miles a day. Oh, I almost forgot, they don't have a ton of food either, and have to cook it as families.

I know you're thinking that sounds crazy! It is a little. But it is also wonderful. I've gone once as a teen, and once as a "Ma." Both times were totally exhausting, but I came home with a much greater appreciation of what I have been blessed with.

So now it is time for my boys to go. I can hardly believe it. I am so excited, nervous and anxious for them. I know it is going to be tough. I hope it will also be wonderful for them too.

So here they all are. Ready to face the great unknown. As they pulled away in the bus, my heart hurt. I am sad that they are gone, but I wouldn't want it any other way. There is no where else I would rather them be right now. I can't wait til Saturday to see them marching along the trail, and to bring them home.

Precious Moments

This is my sweet little Brooklynn. She is the sunshine in my day. Over the weekend she got a mean mosquito bite right above her eye. Poor baby. We asked her what happened, and she smiled and said, "A buggy kissed me."

Sights in Chicago

Here is a famous restarunt that serves Chicago style pizza.

Last time we were here Will went to Uno's with some work people. He's been wanting me to try it.

So here is Uno's Pizza. That famous deep-dish Chicago pizza people rave about.

We had our own little pizza's. They tasted as good as they looked!

We stayed here at the Sutton, right off of Rush Street. There was an original house of pancakes across the street. One day we had breakfast out on the terrace. It was lovely. The little birds served as entertainment as they snitched off plates.

This is a view from a bridge over the river.

Will had some fun parties that we got to go to. One was at the House of Blues.

It was too dark to get pic's but I couldn't resist taking this picture of the bathroom. Crazy!

Enjoying the city

I had the opportunity to go see where my great-grandmother was living in 1920. I believe this is the apartment building. (I got the address off the 1920 census.) My grandma would have been 3 and a half when they lived here.


This is the street they lived on.

Will and I found this yummy shop that makes crepes and super good smoothies. Will was very impressed with the design of the shop. We talked with the owner, and told him we thought it was a fantastic little gem. It turns out he opened it just 5 weeks ago.

We ran to Cheesecake factory for dinner. Yum again. On the way home it really started to rain. I of course was wearing very slippery high healed flip flops. Practical, I know. Soon after this picture was taken, I ended up ditching the footwear, and walking barefoot down Michigan Ave. Barefoot and pregnant.