St. George Family Vacation 2014

This year my parents invited us to come to St. George with them along with a few of my moms family members.  We jumped at the fun family vacation opportunity and looked forward to it for months.  We left on Monday June 30th and came home the Saturday after, so we were there over the 4th of July which was lots of fun.  At first it was supposed to be a family reunion of sorts for my immediate family members, but once Corinne got engaged we knew that the wedding had to be everyone's priority so Larissa and Rusty were not able to come to St. George after they had just traveled out to Utah for the wedding a few weeks before.  Bummer!  We missed seeing them, but grateful for their St. George vacation tips.  Since that is where Rusty is from, he had some good pointers.  In fact we had his parents babysit our kids on the night that we went to Tuacahn, which was super helpful.

Here is a recap of our St. George adventures.  We left Monday morning and all the cars caravaned down.

Those that went on the trip were as follows...
My grandma Fry (my mom's mom)
My parents and my sister Mykelti
The newly weds, Corinne and Stu
The engaged couple, Bradley (my cousin) and his fiance Rebecca
My mom's brother Craig and his wife Libby (Adalyn's buddy for the trip) and my other cousin Jacob

Oh and us with our two adorable cuties who got spoiled rotten with all of the attention

We had already traveled down from Idaho to Salt Lake on Saturday June 28th after going to Bear Lake for the Pace Family reunion so it was nice to only have to drive 4ish hours from SLC to St. George instead of 8 hours from Idaho.

On our way down we stopped at a scenic point to see the Kolob Fingers in Kolob Canyon and to stretch our legs for a bit.  Here are a few pictures from our stop (it was in a cemetery).

Once we got to St. George we hung out at a splash pad and went grocery shopping while we waited for our condos to become available.  When our condos were ready we went and unpacked and set up our week long mini homes.  The condos we stayed at were wonderful thanks to my grandma for sharing her time share with us.  They were lovely and so nice with our little kids since all of them had 2 rooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, and living room.  Much better then a 1 bedroom hotel!  And since we had a full kitchen we were able to cook all but 2 of our meals the entire week.  Definitely helped keep the food budget to a minimum!  

Monday after unpacking we had pizza and cake with ice cream for Jacob's birthday which happened to be that day.  After dinner we swam in the pool the rest of the night :)

Tuesday bright and early we headed to some pickle ball courts to learn how to play pickle ball.  Pickle ball is a mix between tennis and ping pong.  I loved it, which it is rare for me to enjoy a sport so I highly suggest it.  After a few practice rounds we had a women's tournament and a men's tournament.  McKay beat all the men except my dad and I didn't do so well, but I had fun! 

The kids were great spectators and endured the intense morning St. George heat wave.

Tuesday night we had a special treat.  All the adults went to an outdoor performance of The Little Mermaid at Tuacahn.  Like I mentioned before Rusty's parents, who live in St. George, watched the kids for us while we went to the play.  I know Adalyn would have loved seeing the play, but it was a really late night (the play doesn't even start till after 8 and we didn't get back until after midnight) and I don't think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much if I had to deal with a cranky toddler.  So maybe next time we will have to take her.  

It rained during the last scenes of the play and while the rain kind of added to the water effects I wish it had held off a little longer since it was kind of distracting.  But McKay loved the rain, so I guess it just depends on what you prefer.  All in all the play was so fun and I really enjoyed hearing the familiar songs along with some new ones.  Mine and McKay's favorite scene from the whole play was the "Under the Sea" song.  

McKay and I with my parents

 Mykelti and my mom

Everyone waiting for the play to begin

Wednesday morning, many of us chose to sleep in, but some crazy people chose to go hike Angels Landing in Zions.  Angels Landing is not for those who are scared of heights since some of the trail is right next to very steep drop offs.  I volunteered to watch the kids :)  So just McKay ventured out with some of my cousins and sisters.  Luckily they all seemed to have a good time and everyone made it back safely.  

 The engaged couple.  You can tell they are engaged because they hold hands while hiking :)

Except for the steep parts :)

Just a little steep...

Wednesday afternoon the ladies and my dad all headed out shopping to the outlet mall and a consignment shop.  This may or may not have been one of my favorite parts of the trip ;)  Shopping without kids... heaven.  Plus I found my new favorite store.  The Gap Outlet.  Ok so it isn't a new store, but I got some really cute clothes for some good deals so I was really happy.

Wednesday evening we ventured back to the Splash Pad on main Street with the kids, but I failed to take pictures... again.  They really liked running through the water and loved the fountains a ton.  Now we need to take them to the Gateway in Salt Lake and see what they think of those fountains since they are twice as big as the ones in St. George.  

After the splash pad, Grandma and Grandpa babysat the kids while we headed out with the others for a round of mini golf.  2nd date night in one week, pretty amazing in my book! 

And if you are pregnant, your belly is a great place to keep score... just sayin. haha 

Thursday morning everyone ventured out for a group hike to the Emerald Pools in Zions.  The hike was short and sweet, and since we kind of got a late start to the morning it was probably best that it was not longer then it was because it was getting pretty hot.  

After the hike we make a quick decision to go to Sand Hollow Reservoir for some cliff jumping and wading.  This was not the best stop on our trip (the kids were tired, the water wasn't the cleanest, and it was just SO dang hot by the afternoon everything you touched would burn you), but turned out ok in the end.  Beautiful views, just wrong time of year to be there.  Neither McKay nor I participated in the cliff jumping, but the kids loved being in the water. 

McKay even took the kids on a ride down the river that flowed into the reservoir

After a very busy afternoon we took the night off from cooking and headed out Thursday evening to Iggy's for some yummy dinner.

Friday was the 4th and after a yummy breakfast McKay and I took the kids along with Mykelti to go hike around on the Dixie rock.  Everyone else stayed back at the condos to watch a soccer game.  

 The Dixie rock is not the mountain with the "D" on it, but a red rock with the word "Dixie" on it.  Near that rock there is a gap between two red rocks that is barely big enough for people to squeeze through (well if you are not big and pregnant like me, then you could squeeze through).  It is kind a fun little adventure so we thought we would try it out with the kids.  I did not think either of my kids would want to be confined to such a small space, but they both surprised me and went through.  They even both walked on their own through it since you can't really carry them.  

Oh and side note, this is the best family picture that we got of all of us in our matching clothes on the 4th.  Always fun to dress up!  

Here they are heading into the narrow slot

During their little climb through the rocks

All done!  

After hiking through the rocks we just climbed around on top.  

The rest of the 4th was spent playing, swimming, and ended with a family barbecue.  The rest of the group went to fireworks that night, but our kids are still not quite old enough to handle staying up that late so we chose to stay home.  Maybe next year...

Bradley and Adalyn

Saturday we just packed up and headed home.  We drove all the way back to Idaho in one day this time and it took us about 8.5-9 hours driving although we did stop along the way to drop a few things off at my parents.  The kids were SO done with the car by the end, but we survived and were so happy that we were able to go on this trip with my family.  

This trip was a really special one for us and turned out to be SO fun!  Really, if you are ever going to take a trip with toddlers we highly suggest going with lots of other adults who love your children also.  Oh and staying in a condo with a kitchen is a huge must too.  We were so grateful to the constant willing hands of those around us who helped babysit and care for our kids.  Seriously the kids had a TON of fun playing with everyone and this pregnant mommy actually got a vacation instead of coming home more tired then when we left.  2014's family trip was a huge success!  

  

  

      

  

  

  

  

29 Weeks- Baby #3 Recap on 2nd Trimester

Hello everyone, just wanted to give a little update on my pregnancy.  Today I am 29.5 weeks along with baby #3.  Things are really happening now and my belly is growing lots!

I will start with a little bit about how my 2nd trimester went.  I always love the 2nd trimester and things went really well through the whole thing.  I felt great and really enjoyed being able to feel the baby move more and more.  Really the whole trimester I would just randomly think "wow I love this trimester!"  It is definitely a pregnancy highlight for me.  I tried to keep running through the 2nd trimester and made it to about 24 weeks and then I no longer had the motivation so I am just walking now.  Also through this trimester I tried to read up on birthing a little bit more and find out more about what I wanted out of my birth so that I would be a more informed consumer in the delivery room.  I read about and talked with others who gave birth in the same hospital that I am going to and found out more of what they allow and don't allow.  For example, my last two pregnancies I did not know that you did not have to be monitored the entire time you were in labor.  So this time it will be nice to get out of the bed a little more during labor!  haha sad that I didn't know that before...  I also talked to my midwife at my last appointment and we discussed my thoughts, needs, ideas, and feelings on birth.  She and I are very much on the same page and am excited to have her at this next delivery.

We also figured out some new insurance stuff and I am excited to have some extra coverage on this pregnancy/delivery thanks to my parents insurance.  Since I am not 26 yet I can still be on their insurances.  So with triple coverage we are hoping for some VERY low hospital bills on this baby.  :)  Thanks mom and dad!

I officially stopped babysitting in the beginning of June and have had lots of family fun to keep us busy since then.  Not sure what we will do to keep ourselves entertained once school starts back up for everyone, but for now we are enjoying some nice summer outings.

As far as how the baby is looking and doing, everything seems to be going well.  I was measuring 2 weeks ahead during some of my 2nd trimester, but I was back on track at my last appointment.  I have had the glucose test and everything looked normal after it.  I am still waiting to here back on some of the blood tests to see if anything else showed up, but I am hoping no news is good news.

Here is my current belly shot as of a week ago at 28.5 weeks...

p.s. don't you love that color green!  I know I do and was so excited to find this sweater recently.  :)

Now on to the 3rd trimester, which has already proven to be a little more challenging then the 2nd one.  My energy is gone, it is hot, and my emotions are ALL over the place.  It has been so interesting to me that one pregnancy can seem so much easier then another and I have no idea why?  Jensen's 3rd trimester in my mind was really great and I don't remember struggling too much.  I carried him differently and didn't swell at all.  I had hoped that all of my pregnancies could be that great, but unfortunately with this one I already feel really run down, mild swelling, and question my ability to make it 10 more weeks.  I know they say to not worry and just relax during pregnancy, but I really don't want to do that too much this time around.  Movement and work are good for me.  I know the more active I try and stay now the better adjustment I will have after the baby comes.  Just got to find that motivation!  darn it!  

So these days are spent staying as active as possible (which is still a lot slower then normal) and dreaming of the day we get to meet this next little one.  I recently bought darling new outfits (a girl one and a boy one) to take to the hospital with me and I love looking at them.  They are just so tiny!  Can't wait to use one of them!      

      

Pace Family Reunion at the Lake

McKay has 11 brothers and sisters.  So there are 12 kids total.  Throw in the fact that it is a blended his/hers family with none of the kids living at home now and you have 12 very different schedules.  We don't get together with his family tons because it is just plain hard to coordinate everyone's lives when they are spread all over 4 different states.

So last year my sister in law, Natalie, attempted a family reunion at Bear Lake and it ended up being so fun!  So we decided to try our luck again this year and once again we had a lot of fun and it was a great day spent with family.  This year's reunion was on June 28th and even McKay's sister from Colorado was able to be there with us.

The adults all played multiple games of volleyball, ultimate Frisbee, and football; while the kids spent lots of time swimming and digging in the sand.  For food we grilled hamburgers and had lots of dessert, even ice cream thanks to Grandma Liz.
 

Playing football

McKay and I at 27 weeks pregnant with baby #3

Madison and Grandma 

Grandma Liz snuggling Adalyn

Dax and Diana

Jensen sword fighting with Jaxon

Jensen finding shade with daddy under the table

There was also a canoe that Laron brought that we all took turns going for a ride in.  McKay loved the canoe part, honestly someday I am sure that we will be canoe owners, he talks about them all the time.  :)

Towards the end of the day under Ben made a big sand castle and McKay helped while the kids watched.

The very last thing on the agenda was group pictures.  Candace, McKay's sister, got the ball rolling on group photos and I am so glad she did because we will love these pictures many years from now.  

All the adults (I took the picture)

All the grandkids minus the babies and Maka

Bunny ears!

These last group photos are McKay with his 4 biological (is that what you would say!?) siblings and their dad and Mama Liz.  They are just missing Preston who gets home from his mission on July 30th.  

 McKay, Jesse, Candace, Diana, Laron

The reunion was so fun and while it may not be an annual thing we enjoy it when it does happen :)

 

18 Months Old- Jensen

On June 27th Jensen turned 18 months old.

He is a little guy still and weighs in at 23 lbs.  He wears mostly 18 month clothes right now and size 5 shoes.

What a cute kid he is!  Seriously so handsome and he has a smile that can melt any frustration that I have.  He also KNOWS that his smile will melt me because he just laughs and smiles anytime I get mad at him.  He knows if he does it well enough I will crack and start laughing too.  darn cuteness!

Jensen and Adalyn have a fun relationship.  They rarely fight yet with each other, mostly because they just do their own things.  I think it has to do with the fact that they are a boy and a girl, thus interested in doing different things.  Although Adalyn does try to be a little mommy to Jensen (even wants him to call her mommy sometimes), but Jensen is really good at just ignoring her so she doesn't get to boss him around too much.

Twinners!  Oh how I would love to have 2 little girls to dress up ;)

Jensen had a few rough weeks this past month as he cut his 4 mollars.  He was very needy and fussy.  Jensen already loves to be held by me A LOT but this past month he took it to the extreme and wanted lots of snuggle time with mom.  I am happy that he doesn't weigh too much so that snuggle time isn't too difficult with my growing belly.  Teething is not very fun though and I am so glad that all his mollars are in now.

Jensen's favorite word is bye and loves to stand in parking lots and wave bye to all the cars around us.  He also loves to wave bye to mommy as I drive away at night for zumba.  He gets so excited!

Jensen also loves to push Adalyn's stroller around the house and crash it into things.  He loves to sing, and his song of choice these days is "Let it Go" from Frozen.  Probably not the best thing, but he is a very good movie watcher and loves all the Toy Story movies and of course the movie Frozen.  He dances, loves his water table outside, and gets excited anytime I mention going for a walk in the stroller.

Jensen is a fairly good eater, but insists on always feeding himself everything, so he gets pretty messy at meal times.  His favorite foods are smoothies or granola with milk.  The only fruit he really likes are applesauce and bananas.  He is not a juice drinker, but loves just plain water and an occasional cup of milk.  Both of my kids have not really been big milk drinkers.  But recently they both decided that it isn't so bad and will usually drink some every other day.  

Jensen loves the aden + anais swaddling blankets and is usually seen carrying one around the house.  He has just about worn out all 4 of the blankets that we have so baby #3 will be getting their own new set.  

Jensen does not like holding hands when we are walking and will usually throw himself to the ground if I try.  He is an excellent pouter.  Seriously.  He hates having his diaper changed and since the day he was born I can probably count on one hand the # of times he hasn't cried during changing time.  

He has a lot more stranger anxiety then Adalyn ever did.  But will usually warm up to people after about 30 minutes.  Although in large crowds he can sometimes get very nervous and overwhelmed.  

A big milestone at 18 months for us is that Jensen now gets to go to nursery.  Because he is such a momma's boy I was worried how he would do in nursery, but he has gone twice now and has done excellent both times.  We hope this trend continues because mommy and daddy LOVE being able to be kid free during church. :)

Something else that I want to note in this update is a little rash that Jensen has had for the last couple of months.  It is on his back and on the back of his legs.  It was not red or itchy so we ignored if for a while, but when it was not going away we finally decided to take him into the doctors.  The doctor thought that it was eczema and gave us some steroid cream.  I do not like steroid cream because I believe that it is just trying to heal the symptom not the problem, so after much discussion we decided to take it in steps.  1st we are trying the steroid cream to see if it does actually heal it.  We did that for 2 weeks and while the rash looks lots better it is still not healed so our next steps are an elimination diet.  My gut feeling as a mother tells me that it is a sensitivity to dairy.  So next week we will be eliminating dairy for 3 weeks to see how he does.  After that we will move to other foods, probably gluten next.  We also changed the soap that we were using on him.  Hopefully we will get it figured out soon!  

Picture of the rash that you can barely see.  It is super hard to take a picture of it because it is so light in color.  

So happy that he does not seem bothered by it

  

We love you so much Jensen boy!  We can't believe that you are 18 months old.  Weren't you just born yesterday?  Thanks for being such a fun addition!