One of those traveling parking-lot-type carnivals came to town last week and Sam thought it would be fun to take Ollie. Oliver was in heaven running from one end of the park to the other, he wanted to ride everything but unfortunately he was only tall enough for a few of the attractions. Sam even insisted on giving Ollie his first taste of cotton candy - of course, who wouldn't enjoy a snack whose only ingredient is sugar? Sam thought that the only thing missing was my mom, he likes to listen to her blood curdling screams on all of the rides that go to fast or spin you upside-down. My only complaint would be the ride operators, I am convinced that they were all ex-convicts. Sam says he thinks it was some kind of rehabilitation program. Couldn't they rehabilitate them on a potato farm somewhere, they certainly didn't give a very friendly face to the carnival.

Parade

Colorado Springs didn't have a parade for the Fourth of July, but they had one a few days later to kick off their rodeo days. I have to admit I was a bit disappointed because no one was throwing frootsies (the fruit flavored tootsie rolls). That is the only reason I go to parades, those candies are my favorite and it is the only time of year I ever see them. Other than the lack of candy I would have to say the parade was pretty fun. It was mostly all horses and so Oliver thought it was absolutely spectacular.

Disasters and Cleanups

Pregnancy brain is nothing to joke about. I swear, I can't remember anything these days and I feel like such a klutz. I am blonde to begin with, so when you add pregnancy into the equation I become a force to be reckoned with. There was one week this summer that was a real doosey. First, I ran over a sprinkler head and crushed it to pieces. Then, I was filling up the kitchen sink when I heard Oliver yelling in the backyard. I went out to help him and got distracted, for about an hour. I went back in only to discover that my kitchen now resembled Niagra Falls. I totally flooded our basement as well. Fortunately there was no permanent damage done. I am very lucky that my husband never gets mad, he just laughs at me. Oliver didn't mind either since he got to splash all around in the kitchen and help dad replace the sprinkler. I'm sure he can't wait for my next big blunder

Fourth of July

We got to have house guests for the Fourth of July and it was sooooo much fun. My whole family drove out to spend the weekend with us. Their whirlwind stay included rock climbing at the Garden of the Gods, swimming, a trip to the top of Pikes Peak, some good barbecue and a whole lot of fun.


Oliver pointing to his daddy on the side of the rock.


Sam, making his ascent.

Oliver decided to do some rock climbing of his own.

He had no trouble keeping himself entertained at the base of the cliff.

How impressed are you that I summited a "fourteener" (a 14,000+ foot mountain) at seven months pregnant?


Does it count if I rode a train to the top?

We had planned to go and see the fireworks at the Airforce Academy, but there was a huge downpour and we figured they were most likely canceled so we came home and lit off a few of our own, courtesy of grandpa and the Wyoming Indian Reservations. Oliver wasn't a huge fan of the bottle rockets but he couldn't get enough of what he now calls "hot-pops." (The little white firecrackers you throw at the ground.) All-in-all it was an awesome 4th.

Enough Said

Today was our last day of swimming lessons. The final remark from Oliver's instructor was, "wow, he's a handful." That pretty much sums it up!

What will be next to go?

To put it bluntly, I am TIRED. Being out under the hot sun makes me tired. Chasing my toddler all day long makes me tired. And being pregnant makes me really tired. I just don't have the energy that I did a few months ago and so to compensate I have been slowly eliminating things from my daily schedule. Sadly, the first thing to go was cooking. I used to be one of those good wives who wakes up and makes their husband a yummy breakfast all from scratch. Lately, I just makes sure the cereal shelf is well stocked. I even broke down this week and purchased Eggo waffles for the first time in my life. (I'm sure my mother would be so disappointed in me).

Next to go was my personal hygiene, don't worry, I still shower, shave and put on deodorant, but the days of blow drying and straightening my hair have come to an end - at least for the rest of this pregnancy. Now I am all about the wavy, disjointed curls that come from letting my hair just air dry on my way to the library or the park. As if that wasn't bad enough, last week I caught myself putting on a collared shirt without ironing it, an absolute unparalleled act of laziness for me.

All of this leaves me sitting and wondering what will be the next to go. What else can I cut out so that I can still have the energy to make it to the top of the slide when I am playing with Ollie at the park?

(Oh, and for the record, I actually thought the the Eggo waffles were really yummy).

Summertime

Ollie and I spent most of our morning weeding our garden (I pulled weeds, Ollie mostly pulled and stepped on the vegetables). In the afternoon we decided that we needed a break and rigged up a makeshift waterslide. Oliver loved it and I loved just sitting and watching him play. I'd have to say that at this point I love anything that just allows me to sit, I don't think I'm lazy, just really pregnant.

I had to included this picture of my little fruit-o-holic. I can't seem to keep enough fruit in my fridge to keep him satisfied. Here he is devouring an apple and a nectarine simultaneously.

Does that make me a bad person?

So, a couple of weeks ago the bishop called us into his office to extend us callings in the ward. First, he called Sam to be an assistant in Young Men's. Next, he turned to me and asked about my musical abilities. I promptly replied that I didn't play the piano or lead music or even enjoy singing and that my musical ability extended no further than turning on the radio. After which he asked me to serve as the ward music chairman and chorister. WHAT!??! Of course I accepted the calling, but with a rather shocked and dazed look on my face. I kept thinking about an experience Sam shared when he was serving in the bishopric of the student ward. They would reorganize the ward every semester as tons of students moved in and out. This made for long lists of callings to be extended and of course room for mistakes. One time things got mixed up and the bishop asked a girl who didn't even know how to play the piano to be the ward organist. Rather than balk at the calling (as I did inwardly) she got super excited and asked if that meant God was going to teach her to play the organ. Her comment cued the Bishop to the mistake and they got things straightened out, but I think her faith was commendable.

Unfortunately I don't have that kind of faith, or at least that kind of desire. I didn't want to learn how to lead the music and I especially didn't want to get up in front of the ward every Sunday in my current state of pregnancy. Yuck. I think that the Bishop must have sensed the vibes I was sending out all the way from my house because he called me in today, rescinded my calling and gave me a new one. (I hadn't been sustained yet). I would like to state here that I would have done the calling and probably learned to enjoy it, but do you think it makes me a bad person because I really didn't want it?

For The Record

Today I received my very first "you look like you are ready to pop any day now" comment. I just smiled and said yup. Because really what is the difference between one day and 76 days? Ha.

I thought only girls did that....

When I left him upstairs he was happily engaged in playing with his trains. It was a little quiet but I didn't think much of it. Then he came downstairs with an open tube of my mascara. Fortunately, he only applied it to himself. So, while his hair may be dyed black for a while, my carpet and bedspreads came out unscathed. Whew.