Thankfulness in All Things

Today I'm just really loving the spirit of Thanksgiving. I think this time of year is one that can easily be overlooked with the Christmas season approaching, but to forget our blessings is something that I compare to forgetting that even the air we breathe is a gift from God. We need to remember how truly blessed we are.

I love a thought that Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley shared in her book "Small and Simple Things". It reads, "It is good to kneel as a family and to hear daily expressions of gratitude to our Heavenly Father for the blessings we enjoy. The Lord intended His children to enjoy the good things of life. With all that we have, we must also have grateful hearts. We must teach our children not to take all that they have for granted. Thank you is a wonderful phrase. Use it. It will add stature to your soul. Never let a day go by without saying thank you to someone for something--and especially to your Heavenly Father."

If we challenged ourselves to every day think of something (at *least one thing) that we were thankful for, I believe we'd be surprised to see how evident the Lord's hand truly is in our lives. Whether big or small, we have much to show gratitude for. If we ever get down about the bad things happening in our life, try to remember how many *good things there are... It is a humbling experience. And many times, you forget what that first concern was all about anyways. Count your blessings, name them one by one :)

D&C 78:19 "And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more."

SYTYCD!!!

Let's just start off by saying I LOVE this show!! I've watched my "fair share" of dancing shows, all wonderful mind you, but this one? I always come back to :) I love that it fuses old and new styles together on the same stage, I love that the show is so young in it's styling, and let's face it, I think I *just might not be only me that loves it for its entertainment... :P

So for last season, season 5, Greg and I went to the tour a little over a week ago. Remember Jeanine? Brandon? Kayla? Evan? Yeah... I thought so :P *Awesomely talented dancers. We didn't know quite what to expect, seeing that we've never gone to a concert of them, but I definitely wasn't disappointed. SO much entertainment! Totally worth it if you ever decide to attend a future performance.

Waiting for the show to begin, I look down and there is just a *massive section front and center on the floor of people holding a huge sign up that reads, "Randi's Fan Section!!" My picture here (along with others you'll tell) is blurry, so some aren't quite as clear as others, sadly, this is one of them. But I tried :P



The cheering dies down, the lights go up, and the cast of Season 5 dances its way onto the stage. After an opening number, they introduce themselves. I find out, and I don't know *how I didn't remember, but Randi... is actually *from Orem, Utah! How cool right? :) When she introduces herself, the crowd goes *WILD.... It was SO noisy, I couldn't believe it. And it just *didn't *stop! She put her hand over her mouth and started getting emotional that they were cheering so long and loud for her... Here's the kicker though... MY stupid eyes started crying!

I was CRYING for crying out loud! :P

(These pregnancy hormones I tell ya....) As I'm wiping my eyes (how embarrassing right?) Greg is laughing at me :P But I couldn't help it! It was so touching. *Truly.

I loved how they did all the favorite dances from the season, but I also really enjoyed the dialogue they did in between pieces. They were pretty funny :P I think one of my favorites was of Kupono putting in an *obvious plug for the SYTYCD DVD workouts :P (Of course on purpose to make you laugh.) You'll see a pic of him below in a *total 70's workout getup :P I laughed so hard :P I wish I would have taped it :P



Another thing they kept joking about through the WHOLE night was the Russian Folk dance that Jeanine and Phillip were FORCED to do during the regular season... and then laughed at :P No lie, I about *DIED laughing at all their puns :P Any time the dialogue would mention "dances from around the world" or such, those two would sneek onto the stage and try to get down with the Russian Folk :P haha I LOVED it :P They kept shunning them for trying, but at the end of the show, as Jeanine and Phillip try *ONE more time to steal the spotlight, they hit the big ol' boombox and out runs ALL the contestants dancing the Russian Folk dance! haha! It made me about cry from *laughter (that time :P). Just hilarious to me :P Wish I could replay my memory of it to y'all. I'm cheesing it thinking about it again :P What can I say though, I'm easily entertained :P So funny :P











They also did some extra group dances and highlighted each dancer with their own solo. Usually there is just the top 10 that get to tour, but this season, they asked two others to come back because either their dance with one of the top 10 was so good it had to be part of the show or in the case below, HE IS JUST AWESOME!!!!!!!! :P I *seriously heart Phillip :P He is a popper from Houston, Texas. And if I was just a *bit younger and single.... ;) haha :P (Totally kidding.)

Really though, I can't tell you how excited I was to see that they invited him to the tour. He's sooo talented. I just can't even believe half the stuff he does with his body. Blows my mind. You can bet your buttons I was cheering PRETTY loud during his solo :P I've seen him dance before this show and just always have been impressed with him. So without further adieu, here's a taste of Phillip for you. Seriously sick!



Recap of the night...

I also had the extreme treat of meeting up with one of my very best friends *ever :) Lindsay and I met in my yearly years at college, and I haven't been able to let her go since :) She is one of the sweetest, most caring people I've ever met, and I truly feel blessed that she came into my life. Throughout the years, I've never met anyone that could replace her, and I know there never will be one :) I'm so glad that she and Larissa (Lindsay's sister, not like you can't tell :P) were there for the fun too. Isn't she so cute? :P I'm feeling quite jealous next to her gorgeous face :P haha

LOVE YOU LINZ!!!! :)




There *are a couple of dances I just can't forget. They were so touching that I could watch them over and over again. I think it's amazing that music and dance can affect you so much. When you know the meaning behind a piece, it seems to be brought to life. It takes on an experience of its own and somehow, you seem to relate. These were a couple of Greg and I's all-time favorites.

"Addiction". This piece is set to Sarah McLachlan's "Gravity". When they first performed this, Mia Michaels, the choreographer, explained that it was a piece about struggling with addiction, with its consuming grasp, you see as Kupono portrays himself as the addiction for Kayla. Kupono had explained that many of his close friends had struggled with this, and for him, he did *not want to play this part.. He could not hold back tears with his emotions over being the one thing that had been the destruction and downfall of people close to him. It was so touching, that I can't help but cry watching this now. Because I knew how close it was to his heart, and yet, I knew how many people in this world probably feel what this dance portrays... The struggle of overcoming.



"If It Kills Me" Jason Mraz. This piece is pretty explanatory. The relationship between a guy and a girl who are trying to figure out their feelings. Friendship, love, frustration, happiness. I just love this song :) I love how Travis Wall, the choreographer and previous contestant on SYTYCD, made Jason and Jeanine dance with the heart shaped necklace. Jason tries to give it to her many times, she rejects him, she tries to give it back, but eventually, his heart is around her neck :) Ahh :) Just how love feels many times. And just romantic :)



Breast Cancer Awareness dance. "This Woman's Work" by Maxwell. Choreographed by Tyce Diorio. I am so glad this was already posted because I accidentally erased my own tape of it. I can't even begin to explain what this piece makes me feel... Tyce introduced it to the performers, Ade and Melissa, by explaining he made this piece for a friend of his that was struggling with breast cancer.... He talked about her struggle, all the emotions that go with it. I just can't even *imagine... So it was a tribute to this friend. On the night that Melissa and Ade went to perform it for the very first time, Tyce announced that his friend had called him that morning and told him she was in remission. Cancer free... I do have more than one person in my family who passed on from breast cancer. The one I was closest to was my Aunt Lola. I remember going with my dad to see her after her mastectomy. I can't tell you how hard it was to look at her, knowing she wasn't doing well, knowing she was struggling, and yet, still joking, still laughing... She really loved my dad. And he was so good to visit her. I'm thankful that I knew her through him. I do miss her jokes :) She was a good woman. We loved her so much. So this piece just tugs at my heart. It shows the struggle of a woman who is fighting, fighting, and just wants to let go.. So much pain, so much suffering, still trying with what little she has in her. That fight, to free herself.



So many emotions, so much fun :) I hope if you ever get the chance to go to one of their tours, you'll go. It was just such a good time! I loved it :) I'm also thankful to Greg for going with me. He's such a good sport. I'm sure if you asked him years ago if he'd ever go to a DANCING tour... He'd have laughed :P But I honestly think he likes it now. We had a lot of fun and went home pretty deaf :P

Good times, good times :)

The Pumpkinaze!

Kade's preschool class went to the Pumpkinaze for a field trip. It was kinda a cold overcast day, but that didn't stop the kids from having fun :)

They started off posing in the Halloween cutouts (which Kade and *most of the kids were too short for...). Then they were off to play some fun fall games. The pumpkinaze is known for the huge corn maze though, so naturally, we had to go through it :P Since it was cold, we kinda took the short route :P Greg kept telling Kade that we were following the trail of the super heroes (since Kade is *OBSESSED with the Super Hero Squad :P) It was really funny because Greg would tell Kade about "clues" he spotted that they must have gone that way :P This pic demonstrates a path that the Hulk had brushed up against because some of the cornstalks were still green :P Kade is doing his best Hulk impression here :P Oh it makes me smile :P haha



After the maze, all the kids wanted to go down the haystack slides. Since it was so wet and cold, the slides had a lot of water on them. Kade didn't want to go down by himself the first time, so Greg went with him. Both of their bums were sopping wet by the time they got down :P It was really funny :P The trip was ended with cider and doughnuts, I don't think anything could have made Kade happier :P

This was a cute idea, and I know despite the weather Kade had a blast :) I'm so glad he loves preschool :)

Who Dunnit?

We did another murder mystery dinner last weekend. I love these, I swear :P I just think it's so fun to be silly and have an actual reason :P (Silliness, comes natural actually. In fact, I usually am on a daily basis, but here, it's *okay to do it :P)

So we had some friends over and played How to Host a Murder's "The Good, the Bad, & the Guilty". It was a lot of fun, and I'm thankful for our good friends who came :)

Our friends Steve "Wyatt Hertz" and Stacy "Butch Chastity" we met the first year of being married. They lived in our same apartments, and in fact, *many times, I'd come home from working at the Health Department and Steve would be there :P I'd have to call Stacy to come over and hang out with the three of us :P Eventually, they moved to San Diego for Steve to go to law school, and I missed them so much. I'm just so thankful that we kept in touch after all this time. They are great friends :)



Jake "Chief Breaking Wind" and Erin "Dee Adela Muerte" :) I love Jake's face here :P We met Jake and Erin after moving into the family ward. For the first little bit while living in our house, we had gone to a student ward, but once I was going to have Kade, we decided to make the shift to the family ward. Erin and Jake moved into their house just about the same time, so we were both "new" at church together :) Soon after I was partnered with Erin to visit teach. We've been together since then, so it must have worked :) I'm thankful for these two who have helped me so much, especially once Greg started working more. Many times Erin has watched Kade for me, or Jake has cooked us dinner, or Erin has reminded me what a good friend she is to me. I'm thankful for their friendship :)



Greg "P'elvis Swagarin" and Dana "Helena Handcart". What can I say, except thank you Mom for letting me borrow your bonnet and skirt from trek :P Greg's getup just made me laugh so hard :P He picked his character, and later regretted it (for reasons I won't share because if you ever play this game, which I recommend you try them! I don't want to give away any clues) :) You find out about your character along the way, as the storyline unfolds, so poor Greg, it was hilarious :P He's a great sport :) Just a lot of fun :)



Mike "Elias Truist-Heath" and Tai "Elvira-Lynn Fekshin" are actually my family thanks to Greg :) Mike is Greg's older brother. I honestly love these two. They are the best "in-laws" I think I could have asked for. Mike is absolutely hilarious, and Tai is SUCH a good friend to me. I really appreciate that. I have to be honest, I still get a bit shy around large groups, it's easier for me to be quiet and not stand out, but these two just make me smile :) They make me feel so comfortable in the Smith family, and I'm really grateful for that.



Kade "The Cowboy" (He wanted to be called this :P) Kade got to hang out with us (for lack of a babysitter :P) but he was so good. I dressed him up since he was jealous that we all had costumes :P I *am kinda scared about that bloody Halloween knife he loved to show me though... He actually shows it to me when he's mad at me :P Because he knows I hate *real blood I guess :P (Kinda funny he thinks that way :P) I think I need to hide it now that Halloween is over. Back to the costume closet it goes :P



We have a tradition with Erin and Jake that every Halloween for the last three? years, we watch "Army of Darkness" with them...... This Halloween we missed it, just too much going on. So that evening they stayed, and this *HORRID movie had "play" pushed :P I won't lie, it's stupid :P I mostly get a kick out of Jake and Greg laughing their heads off about it :P Erin's a better sport than me about it :P There are a couple of funny lines in it though, like, "Give me some sugar baby!" or "Hey, She-B@*!@" I will admit I laugh at that :P But, every year like clockwork, it enters my DVD player :P So I've kinda submitted to it :P

This year, I apologize that I just fell asleep. (Dang it....) :P This pregnancy thing is messing me up bigtime :P When I'm awake, I'm sick. When I'm asleep, I'm uncomfortable :P And half the time when I *am awake, I'm trying NOT to sleep! haha It's really different for me :P I'm guessing this baby is gonna love me A LOT for putting me through all this.... ;)

This Is Halloween!

Halloween. The holiday I decorate *second best all year long :) (Meaning I'm already getting antsy to put out my Christmas decor... haha). I love any chance at dressing up and having fun. This is true :) In fact, I got SO excited this year, that I had posted my costume ideas for a *very indecisive girl named Dana...(ahem :P) My gracious friends voted for me, which in essence, made up my mind for me. Clever, eh? I thought so :P Little Red Riding Hood won by a *landslide... I bought the costume, got excited, and then realized one very major detail.... I wasn't fitting into my costume with a preggo belly :P See, that sexy little number just *doooesn't quite fit with a miniature Santa's belly :P No siree.

So I nixed my costume and listened to the pro. Namely Kade :P Kade's costume this year was Darth Vader. He's been SO excited for this! Star Wars has still got it I guess :P So Leah is the quick fix to my Halloween blunder. (No, not the slave princess...that would just offend some minds thinking about *that one :P) White dress? Check. Wrap my hair in buns over my ears? Check. Slapped on a gold belt around my waist (okay, let's not lie here, it was below the said "bump" that mocked my Red Riding Hood costume...) Never in a million years would I opt for Leah, but this year, it worked :P And heck, Kade was all smiles :) To top it off, Greg had a storm trooper costume from two years ago, so we were decked to the nines :)





We started our night off at Greg's parents house where the kids received awards for their costumes as they arrived. Kade loved saying "LUKE! I am your FATHER!!" :P Our nieces that helped Grams throw the party loved that their cousin Kade's parents dressed up with him. So we are "officially cool" :P Unfortunately, this photo is our *only one together, and it didn't turn out so good, so I'm not loving it. It's blurry :( But, you get the jist I'm sure.



Dinner was then served, no stops, followed by a round of trick or treating among the hills of Posh Town :P (Which also doubled as my workout for the day seeing as I got *quite tired going up and down those hills, oh yeah, the driveways were just about as bad :P Can we say "Richie Rich"? :P

Seriously though, it was so nice to be with everyone, and I *know Kade loved trick or treating with his cousins. (Let's face it, parents just *aren't as cool...) He kept wanting to catch up with them as they ran from one house to the next collecting loot in their hot little hands :P

Our evening finished off back at the Smith's for donuts and drinks. Just a fun, fun night. Thank you again for making it a great holiday for us this year!

Last, but *certainly not least, our pumpkins for 2009 :) We kinda didn't get around to carving them until the day *of Halloween, so classic triangles it was :) Still made Kade smile though :) I just love their masks to be honest :)

Fire It Up

This was Kade's first field trip with his preschool class. A trip to the local fire department :)

It was a lot of fun for the kids to see all the engines, they taught them some basic fire safety, and even handed out fire hats for them at the end of it all :) *Heaven :)

I took *quite a few pics there... (haha) But I just thought they looked so cute! I loved how Kade and Liberty kept hugging each other. It was so funny to me :P Another thing that cracked me up was Kade's "poses" :P I'd say, "Kade! Smile for me!" It only took once :P He would looks at me, smile for the camera, and I even got some GQ sit down with one leg up poses every once in a while :P HA! It seriously made me snicker :P

I think I have this kid trained I tell ya :P I notice that he smiles sometimes *waiting for me to whip out the camera now! (Does this say anything about my camera usage? Hmm.... :P)

One cute kid :)

Kade's Big Day :)

This is a random pic, but it is the day he gave his big talk in *sacrament :) A couple of months ago, he was asked to give a talk in Primary in front of all the kids. Some kids get a bit worried about this, Kade on the other hand *revels in it :P He LOVES to be a part of the spotlight :)

After he was done, I had a couple of the ladies in the Primary presidency ask me if I wouldn't mind hanging on to Kade's talk so he could give it as part of the Primary program in sacrament. The BIG league folks ;)

The program was really cute. It focused on how we can strengthen our families, through the daily things we do. All the kids did a great job. The songs were cute. (I honestly couldn't wait for the day when Kade was big enough to be a part of this because I love being the mom that sits in the row and smiles and tries not to cry at how cute her kid is :P)

So not only did Kade get to sing the songs with them, but the Sunbeam class (Kade's class) got to give a small speaking part, and then I helped him with his talk :) He loved it :)

Sitting watching him, I couldn't help but laugh as he did all the things the leaders asked kids *not to do... Like waving to your parents, or winking at them... I even got a thumbs up from Kade :P haha Hey, he was happy :P It's hard for a kid to sit on the stand for the hour and a half he's supposed to and not have *some wiggles :)

So yes, this is the proud mama boasting of her son post :P For all he was asked to do, he did great :) I love him so much and am so proud of him :)

(P.S. This pic is what he colored in his primary class later that day. He reaalllly wanted to show it to me, so we took a pic of it.) :)

Meet Chloe :)

Yes, we got a dog. Yes, she's six months and already huge :P (She weighs 48 lbs. already :P) Yes, she tried to escape the first night but was too scared to actually *go anywhere.. I found her hanging out in our front yard when I woke up to go to work :P (haha) And *yes, she's a sweetie who loves to be loved :)


She loves playing fetch, although she already "gets" that it's funny to get close to give you the ball and then run away from you... You can tell she thinks she's *hilarious :P Kade loves to chase her anyways :P
Chloe loves to sit in your lap to be petted. She also loves when you say "You want the belly?" She'll flip over and want you to scratch her stomach :)

She's already learned a couple of tricks too. Such a good dog :)

Makes Me Smile :)

This is just a little heart warmer, for me :) Every time I drop Kade off at preschool, I can't help but smile. I can't believe he's big enough to go to "school", and I can't believe how dang cute it is when he meets his friends and they run down together to class :P It's like glimpsing into something that is just starting for him. Peers :P I love to hear him and his little friends yell each other's names.... "AVERIE!" "BRIELLE!" "DANIEL!" "KADE!" (whoever) :) as they see each other upon the moms' dropoff :)

Speaking of which, Averie, is pictured here below. This is Kade's preschool "girlfriend" :P I love that she tries to take care of him :P I've seen her grab his hand and walk Kade down the path to the classroom :P So one day, I asked her if I could take a pic of her and Kade :) Don't you love the height difference? :P It *also makes me smile... :P

A Little Late....

I had a birthday the first of this month. Yes, I'm *that behind :P I'm now the age everyone wants to be for the rest of their lives, so I figure, hey, this is gonna be a GOOD YEAR!! :)

So far, I believe it has been :) I found out I'm pregnant with my second child, which is CRAZY :P Especially since it's been so long since I was last expecting. But I could not be any more *thrilled about it :)

I had a pretty relaxed birthday, which is fine with me. My parents were sweet and took me out to eat before my birthday, my mom took me shopping, which was *really nice since I don't do that much? :P I got things that wouldn't push on my belly since it KILLS lately... (think stretchy people :P) a dress, a skirt, and some exercise capris which are PANTS on me :P Hey, it works :P So comfy :)

On my actual day, Greg was very sweet to have taken it off to be with me. I was very thankful for this because, let's face it, I'm feeling pretty crappy lately due to pregnancy :P And this day was no exception :P So it was nice just chilling. He took me out to eat and bought me NEW CAMERA folks, yep, I now have a screen that you can actually *see what you are taking a pic of. Whereas before, I'd just tell whoever was using my camera to just point and shoot and that if there were people in the pic, "we'll just squeeze together" :P (haha)

I have to say thank you to all my sweet friends who sent or brought me things too. I'm not a real big "present" person...makes me feel weird, but it really was nice that y'all thought of me. I couldn't ask for better friends :) I even got some pretty flowers from Liberty (via her mom :P), Kade's little friend :) She picked them out herself :)


My yummy strawberry cheesecake Greg gave me (Strawberries sound so good right about now :P)


I have wonderful family and great friends :) It means everything to me. Thank you for all the birthday wishes! It just was a nice day to feel like you are cared about, so thank you to all :)

Answers...

Thank you so much for the overwhelming congratulations I've received from all of you, be it through facebook, an email, a phone call, I've even had a SINGING message... ;) (I love you Lisa!) It has made my day.

I know that some of you have got to be thinking, "She's serious?" :P For different reasons, I have not been pregnant for 4 1/2 years... Many people find that strange. I myself would have loved for this to come true years ago, I love being a mom :) But among other things, it has just not been right, or timing wasn't good, etc. The worst thing I've felt during that span though? Is the questioning... or the feelings I've felt *from the questioning.. like I would ever NOT want another child. It made me feel very selfish. So with that in mind, I secluded myself from that area of my life. It hurt too much to think about and in a way, I was a bit bitter. I felt no one understood what I was going through. So being the private person I am, I kept it to myself, lived my life, and have tried every day to be happy. Because I *am a happy person! :)

Maybe a bit of background will help. Everyone knows my Kade :) If you looked at him today, you'd never know what his beginnings were like. There I was, a happy, excited young mother, 7 1/2 months pregnant, just loving life. I went to work one day, didn't feel right, talked to my co-workers who were already moms, explained how I was feeling, and they convinced me I needed to get to the hospital. Never having a child before, I didn't know what "normal" was, so I took their advice.

After arriving at the hospital, and finding that my doctor was out of TOWN....(freaked me out I must say) I waited patiently for the doctor on-call. While waiting, I went into labor... being only 34 1/2 weeks along, I was scared, very scared. I didn't know anything about having a child, I knew it was not even CLOSE to when I was supposed to HAVE mine, and yet, there I was..in labor. My water broke at 11:00 AM. After I'd been checked, I was told that I was not only going to be put on bed rest, but that I was one of the lucky mothers that is Rh negative... and that my baby (Kade) was Rh positive...meaning our blood types aren't compatible and my body could make antibodies to go attack my baby's blood... Scary huh? LOVELY that I was that lucky :P It only occurs in typically 15% of women. (Like I said, aren't I lucky?)

So they try to get me from going fully into labor, that doesn't work. They soon realize I've lost ALL fluid and, it is now a danger to my son. They need me to have that baby NOW. They tell me they will give me a shot of pitocin to encourage labor...no need. My body is doing it all FOR me. Before they know it I'm dialating so quickly, that they have to call my nurse (one of my best friends who was going to be called in for me) and my husband (who went home to get things for me since I came straight from work and this WASN'T expected) because I'm going so fast that they are afraid they will miss it! At this point I'm freaking out a bit. I'm scared. I'm scared for my baby, I'm scared for me, I don't know what I'm doing. They rush me into the ER, and if you can believe it, 43 minutes later I have a baby. No lie. One of the nurses joked with me that I better be careful next time because usually a first birth is NOT that quick. She laughed that next time I'd be having it in an elevator. Not cool nurse. Not cool.

After this whole ordeal, they take Kade and put him in an incubator, which he would stay for almost three weeks in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit or NICU. Do you know how *hard it is to not take your baby home? Or to look at them in a plastic tube with IV's and such taped all over him? :( It was something I'd like never to repeat, but I will eternally be grateful for. If we didn't have this technology, I know I would not have my baby. Kade was a healthy little guy despite all this. He was born at 4 lbs. 14 oz. *Tiny. You could see his little ribs :( But nothing was wrong with him, his lungs were developed (which they worry about at that little) and he was mine, and I couldn't have loved anything more :)

I tell you all this because now, being pregnant with baby #2...you could see this all would be a worry for me. I was told after giving birth to Kade that this quite possibly could happen to me again :(

WHEN I found out I was pregnant, I say that because I did not know for some time, I woke up early morning, around 4:00 and had so much pain in my stomach that I thought I was dying. Literally. Best part? It was my birthday :P I had talked to my mom previously about my nausea, my being tired, and she suggested taking a pregnancy test. I laughed at that and didn't do it. "I can't be pregnant." But that night, waking up in so much pain, I did. In fact, I took *three.... all of which told me I was going to be a mother again...

I called a nurse the next day, told her of my pain, and she explained that I needed to watch this very closely. If I experienced *any more like that, I was to go directly to the emergency room, because this could be a tubal pregnancy. I hope my friends understand *why I would not want to share my being pregnant until I knew everything was okay. I did not want to share excitement, only to be set up for regret :( So that is why I have kept it to myself.

I was not able to get into the doctor until this last Friday, the 23rd. At which point, they teased me with things like "Nice to see you again, Dana" and "Thanks for FINALLY coming in!" A joke since I've gone so long between babies and because I found out that I'm 11 weeks along, to their best guess. So I'm basically almost done with my first trimester...oops :P

So they have set my due date for May 13th :) With my history, they spoke to me of prevention from having another pre-term delivery, meaning I get additional shots :P "Yay." I hate shots :P Although, if that is what it takes, I will do it. I'd do anything. I want to take my baby home healthy.

When Kade was given a due date, it was May 31st...and I had him April 18th instead. 5 1/2 weeks early. So we will see on this next arrival. Wish me luck :)

I've been sick as a dog, very unlike what I experienced with Kade since I was NEVER sick with him. So this is all new for me. I apologize for not being able to be my full self with my responsibilities in work, church, etc. But I truly thank you for your understanding. This is huge for me. Thanks again for all your support. It means a lot :)

SeaWorld & Aquatica

We spent a lot of time at both of these places while in Florida. It was so fun to meet the sea life, see all the shows, ride the rides, and just enjoy a place unlike what we have back home. I've mentioned before, but Kade thought the beach was like the coolest thing *ever, so to see animals that *lived in the sea?? *Awesome :)

Kade's favorite part was the Shamu roller coaster, the Ocean Commotion ride and Shamu himself! :) We saw him a *couple of times actually. The last time, we sat in the "wet zone". Mind you, we didn't think it would get *that wet :P We were about four rows up and close to the middle so Kade could see Shamu really well. They have you chant "Shamu! Shamu!" as it get closer to the "main event's" coming. Well, my mom said she was watching Kade, chanting it up, I unfortunately didn't see this because of the DIRECT hit of ICY COLD SALT WATER in my face! Anyways, she told me that while it happened, she was looking over at Kade, and he got hit with the water, it's STREAMING down his little face, and he's yelling,

"SHHHAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMUUUUU!" :P haha

It made us laugh PRETTY hard :P He absolutely LOVED it :) Since we've been back home, he would tell me, "Mom, I really miss Shamu." :P And I think he really does :P

Aquatica is SeaWorld's new water park. It was way cute too. I loved that they had a lot of rides that kids could go on. It was so nice because I'd just strap on a life vest for Kade to wear, and he could go down water slides, float in the lazy river, *whatever :) It was a lot of fun :) They also had a big playground in the water that Kade liked going through because there were a lot of waterfalls and slides off of it. You basically just got soaked :P I was trying really hard to keep up with him and not lose him through all the different little avenues you could take :P

I personally haven't been to a water park in quite some time, so I had a blast racing my sister Candice down the mat slides :P (Thanks again Candice for making me :P) haha They were pretty high! We were laughing because on one of our trips up, we had some little teenage boys trying to tell us how to do it and wanted a race :P haha They also had a lot of fun slides for adults :) Their big seller is one where you shoot through a clear tube that goes through the dolphins tank so you can "swim with the dolphins" :P I must have been making sure I didn't DIE because I saw NO dolphins :P haha But yeah, you could see people go through if you watched someone do it. Kinda cool :) Candice also took me on one that was like a giant toilet bowl :P No lie :P Who thinks of that?? I'd like to know :P Anyways, you sit in a double tube, go through the slide until you hit this big "toilet bowl" and then you spin around and around until you are about to be "flushed" :P haha Candice and I were laughing because EVERY ride we went on together, SOMEHOW our tube would always turn and make ME go backwards through it all! I'm cursed :P I also fell off at the end of the toilet bowl because we hit the water laughing so hard that I fell out like a drowned rat :P I think the girl that was working that ride thought I was stupid :P Oh well, it was fun :P

One other thing I thought was so cute was that they have this beach of sand next to a big wave pool. Kade and Taylee thought it was run to "swim" in the sand and to make "snow angels" :P haha Yep. We play winter in summer folks :P Kade was just bringing ours to Florida I guess :P

Here's some videos for your delight :) Enjoy!









Last but not least, my favorite :P haha Kade was dancing after a show and people were laughing at him. When I started taping him he wasn't showing off as much, but it still makes me smile :)

Farewell Florida!

Just a couple of last photos I love from our trip that are random enough to have their own post, but too cute not to share :)

(Thanks to my great brother-in-law Mike who played with the kids on a rainy day so they could "swim", you are such a sport) :)