The COLOR RUN, GALVESTON trip, TWINS

 The last two weeks- 

I'll start with the most recent...

THE COLOR RUN Kansas City

Who needs teeth whitening?! Just paint your face darker!

My sisters and I and our husbands have had this 5K run on our calendar for months now. No, we didn't really train for it, and no, it didn't really matter.
          It also didn't matter that we ran the "race" with my 8 1/2 month PREGNANT sister, and it didn't even matter that she cut a quarter mile or more out of the race by cutting across fields and other possible corners so that the rest of us could actually break a sweat to catch her. It was hilarious to see a big pregnant lady waddle-running by herself through the huge field very clear for all to see.
          There were 30,000 people that did the run in Kansas City, 15K of us on Saturday and the other half on Sunday.

Preparing for our super intense run 

There's a reason we registered as Team A.W.E.S.O.M.E.

 The START. See how FAST everyone is movin'?

We are FLYIN!!! 

 "You the man"

The first attack. "I surrender!"

 Let's just take a break in middle of the race for a picture..

Running to the finish line

"Wait! Where's Scott!!?!!" 

I went across the Finish line for the Kansas City marathon as well holding

my sister's hand and not Scott's. I WILL hold HIS hand across a finish line someday!

At the finish line everyone released their packet of color-it was a little hard to breathe for a moment. Mike got a little of it on video.

(Jeff's famous for these thigh shots)

Compare,

and contrast.

Thanks, Mike, for chasing strollers down hills to capture 

these moments on camera for us :)

My new favorite pic of us :)

haha

Shirtless for the ride home. 

Though, I don't think it helped much to keep the car clean ;)

It was a blast, in more ways than one. 

GALVESTON-  HOME HUNTING TRIP

We dropped Sydney off in Dallas with Scott's parents and cousins on our way down to Galveston to find a home to live in for the next 4 years while Scott's in med school. 

Those TX cousins sure know how to make a cousin feel special!!! I think they treated her like a queen- always on some kind of throne with her cousins surrounding her haha. 

 At first she didn't know what to think of all the attention from all the young people.

And then she loved it.

We got to spend some time with (my oldest sister) Sarah, and Eric and their kids too while we were in Dallas and got some fun pictures. Check out their sweet water-bounce house slide!

 Soccer lesson 101- foot on ball

Syd loved sitting in that chair in the pool. You'd think she was in time-out :)

GALVESTON

The beach, just down the street from our new home. 

Hazy morning- It was the hottest week of the summer so far.

 That's the Pleasure Pier in the distance.

          We didn't have any leisure time while there except meal time, which I thoroughly enjoyed, as always. When we found the house and didn't need to stay any longer, we realized we hadn't been swimming in the ocean yet and it was a must. So we drove way west (to check out that part of the island) to a secluded beach almost in the middle of nowhere and were there only 15 minutes when it was time to leave, take showers, and hit the road.
          Scott took one last dip and got stung by a jelly fish which I saw floating right next to him after it happened and we both ran out of the water. He had blistering bubbly welt marks on the back of his arm which burned throughout his whole body for the next hour.
We'll stick to the public beaches next time.

 This was moments after the sting. I should have gotten a picture of it!

TWIN WEEK
Two weeks ago, Scott, Syd and I made Michelle and Jeff's house ours for the week while we took care of Madie for them while they were on vacation. It was a little vacation of our own, and I got a tiny taste of what it might be like to have twins (Syd and Madie are only a month apart). The most noticeable difference from only having one: I was a LOT more tired at the end of the day--and I had Scott there with me all week to help!

What was more, my cousin Daniel, who is a twin, and is dating a twin, was in town with his friend who is also a twin. I mean, seriously??? The thought crossed my mind- Is this some sort of a sign? Am I going to have twins next and that's why I'm getting a little longer break after Syd? ha ;)
Here are the highlights from that week, including Father's Day dinner the Sunday before. :)

Those two boys are twins, but not with eachother. 

Dan, my cousin, is the one to the left holding Syd.

  We met some people from church at a park for play group...

...and then got MCDONALDS after!!! My dream as a kid; we NeVeR got MICKy D's! ;)

 After-dinner dip at the pool

 Silly Girls!

Costco

Best Buy. And trust me, they were most definitely NOT

in the carts the whole time. Bad idea!!! 

 It was a fun little week :)

The rest are from Father's Day weekend, or thereabouts

I always loved eating at "The Kid Table"

Such a big girl! (With pig-tails) :)

Hey, when you want water and there's a straw closer than a cup,

you do what you have to do

She was so proud to help wash the cars :) Great little helper!

Have I mentioned yet that her #1 most used word is "SHOO"? 

She is OBSESSED! And I know JUST where she got it from :) 

An overdue THANK YOU

This is far overdue, but as I said in the last post, and as you keep reading in this one, there are reasons it's overdue. I want to thank everyone who reached out to me in various ways after the blog post about my recent pregnancy. It was very helpful to have that support and it was good to know so many care! So thank you, even just for reading my blog and listening to what I had to say. Just like it took a little courage to write that blog post, I know it takes courage to reach out in uncomfortable situations so thanks for your courage and kind words, no matter how they came- even if they only came to me through your prayers. I sure felt them~


HOUSE UPDATE
Not to be cliche' or anything, but Wow, life is sure a RoLLeR cOasTer for Scott and I right now, a very tall one with STEEP drop offs. At first I'm pregnant, then I'm not. At first we're buying a home, and now we may not be. There is a lot that's going into it and hopefully by the end of today we'll have more answers, but when everything's said and done, hopefully we'll still end up getting to live in this cute little house that we found on Galveston Island, only 1/2 a mile from UTMB campus.

Because we are going to be SO close to campus, we've decided to sell our Honda Civic. (Click here for more info). We just put the ad up yesterday and have had several calls already. I have high hopes that it should go fast, but you never know- this may be another high point in this coaster that we're on where the next direction is down again. That seems to be the trend with anything good happening in our lives right now. BUT, that is the logic of a puny, pessimistic and temoral perspective.
I KNOW everything will work out; Our home, our future baby/s, selling our car. As I see how things are coming together, not as I would have them but as God would, I can see how His perspective of our past, present, and FUTURE are determining how His hand is playing in our lives today. I didn't want to sell our 2nd car, but if we kept it, it would sit in our driveway eating up insurance money and depreciating in value until it's time to upgrade to a family size car in a few years anyway. Over the last few months Scott has gotten a free bike, and a free moped, and we've found a place to live only 1/2 mile from campus. Also, we need the $3000 that the car is worth to help us with some of the upfront costs of buying a house. It's all coming together and it all is making sense.

At this time, I'm going to keep my mouth shut as far as what is happening with the house because things can and have been changing like THAT and I don't want to speak too soon before I know the outcome. But however it does work out, the point is that it WILL work out. And when it all comes together, I will be able to see why it did work out the way it did and why it's for the best for us.

As far as the ups of this roller-coaster, I have lot's of PICTURES to post from the last 2 weeks of being MIA- from our trip to Texas/Galveston, to being a mom of twins for a week to the Color Run etc.. but I'm going to create a separate post for all that fun stuff starting now..

THANKS AGAIN!

WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!

And thus, the reason I have been a slacker at blogging for the last 2 weeks. We found the house the first day we were on Galveston and went under contract the 2nd day. Today (day 3), we are in Dallas to pick Syd up and spend an unexpected bonus day or two with family here before heading back for our final month in KC.

I will make a more official post during our road trip from Dallas to KC if I'm not still slacking, but I just wanted to throw that exciting news out there and let you know why we've been MIA lately.

I was pregnant...

Yes. I was. You would have gotten a much different announcement of it in a few more weeks.

We announced this one to our family just this past Friday with this video:

Two days later, I miscarried.

Everything went perfect with Syd; pregnancy and birth. We expected it to be the same the 2nd time around. It was. We got pregnant right away again, just as we hoped for. To me, that meant another perfect pregnancy.

Scott felt different about it. From the beginning he suspected something was not right. He just had a weird feeling. He wouldn't even completely believe the pregnancy tests until the 3rd positive.

I on the other hand, wasn't even concerned with things you hear about like the dangers of miscarriage. I was with Syd- I think that just comes with the territory of first-time moms-to-be, and because it was so smooth the first time, I was too relaxed about that possibility this time.

When I went in to the doctor on Monday, he made it very clear to me that no matter what the results were, "There is nothing you did to make this happen." 1 in 6 pregnancies end up in miscarriages; it's a natural part of reproduction, and to most women, they never even know they were pregnant; they think it is nothing more than a late period. But I knew better.

I was worried Sunday when it began, and even after the doctor told me he was concerned on Monday, I held my ground. I was let down,  bummed, a little embarrassed even, but I was prepared to accept that we'd lost this baby.

I'm not one to break down very often. I did break down, Monday night, after Scott gave me a priesthood blessing for comfort. We were to get my blood test results back the next day, but I already knew the outcome.  It was then that I let loose and everything became a reality. I learned that I was to rely on my husband who wants to be so much a part of everything in my life, and also that I'd learn more deeply the Plan of Salvation by experiencing it myself. Hearing that was all I needed to know.

Then I cried for the next day and a half. It was literally out of my control, the fact that I cried. This is the weird part, the part I didn't expect. The best way I can explain it, is that mentally, I had accepted it and I was fine and ready to move on. I was grateful it happened earlier on in pregnancy and not later. I knew that it happened for a reason and somehow it was probably a blessing in disguise, if nothing more than to make my character stronger and more sympathetic toward others. Mentally, I didn't need to mourn like I would if it had been Sydney instead, But it was as if my body and spirit were mourning beyond my control. I could literally feel my body and spirit mourning for me and I'd cry and not know why; I'd just cry and want to go lay down or just be still and not move.

In honor of that sweet spirit that we didn't get to meet in this life, I write this post, and for some reason I haven't been able to focus on much until I've written this. Getting things in writing has always provided some sort of closure for me. We are fine and feel very blessed. I look at Sydney as more of a miracle than I did before and I know that feeling will be the same with each little miracle that gets to join our little family. Now that saying is no longer a cliche', it's a reality. Children really are miracles!

 I got this in a fortune cookie on Monday night- it was very fitting and cute; a tender mercy. 

We will get our "moment" some day!

LIEUTENANT WALTON

Brace yourself, it was another eventful weekend. I'll start with the most life-changing event...

We did it! Scott took the Oath of Office last Friday June 8th and was officially sworn in to the US Army some 100 feet high on the Shawnee Mission Park Observation Tower. 

 She's fearless

Gettin' a lesson on how to pound the bar pins (without the backs) into his collar for after he took the oath. It's tradition. 

                      TAKING THE OATH

I had the honor of pinning him

Bam! I pounded that thing just like I was trained :) Jk, I could only make myself tap it...

..because I love him :)

 Meet Lieutenant Walton!

          It's a little weird transitioning from the civilian world to the military world, even though it won't really hit us for four more years. First off, all the military guys immediately started calling Scott "Sir" because he outranked a few of them. Second off, we're not used to the awesome insurance discounts and other benefits yet, but we'll take it! He'll go to school as normal for the next four years and then report at a military base hospital to do his residency. After residency he'll owe 4 years more. So we'll be in the military world for the next 12 years, even though we won't realize it until residency starts and we have to move to base. 

Right now he's commissioned as Lieutenant in the IRR- Inactive Ready Reserves, and will be active at the end of these next 4 years. 

There are many reasons why we chose this to be a great route for our family, the least of which may even be the pay. I'm sure you'll hear about all those things as they come; until then, THANK YOU ARMY for paying for Med. school. 

X FACTOR TICKETS

We got free tickets through On Camera Audiences to the taping of X Factor auditions (singing competition show like American Idol) while they were here in Kansas City last weekend. 

To be honest, I have never seen the show, only heard of it and I figured if Simon Cowell and Britney Spears were a part of it it was worth going to, especially for free! 

Simon Cowell was "under the weather" for our Friday night taping which was pretty lame but Britney, Demi Lovato, and L.A. Reid were still the judges of the night. It was interesting to see what it was like before all the editing takes place- a lot longer and drawn out with more breaks to reapply makeup and get drinks. Other than that, it could have been an impressive church talent show. 

I learned that Britney Spears was always "bored" and didn't have as much of a personality as I would have liked for someone to have, and Demi Lovato was always "on the fence," which got old to hear after seriously about 25 times of hearing it. You KNOW they'll be editing all that repetitiveness out for the show. It's definitely more exciting to see a movie star or famous musician when they are the one performing. L.A. had great things to say and I only wish Simon had not been sick. 

After the editing, the lights, music, large crowd and presence of Hollywood stars, the TV shows seem like a bigger deal than they were when they were taped. I guess it's all a big deal though, especially the 4 million $ and life changing future involved for the winner! 

 Wow, Mike. Way to make everyone look like midgets ;)

 We're famous

 Michelle and Jeff

 Mike and Mel

 Matt, Heather, Me, Scotty and Mich

 Total church talent show. These girls actually came together at their church.

 Britney Spears

Fun night :)

It really was a busy weekend; the kind where everything is fun but you can't help but be either annoyed that there's another place you have to be or stressed out because you just want to sit and do nothing. Besides Scott being commissioned as an officer, and the X-Factor show, there were two separate family birthday celebrations and we also had a neighborhood garage sale which we participated both Friday and Saturday.

And yes, that is where we got Sydney's 50 cent outfit from last post which actually cost less than 50 cents because we bought so much (each item at 25 cents, we couldn't control ourselves!). The grandpa talked his daughter into selling as much as we could fit into a box for 5 bucks. So we filled two. Syd is gonna be one well dressed baby until she's size 3T. That was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime jack-pot garage sale- awesome stuff for a steal (and a lot of it still had tags!). We were grateful for the little neighbor girl who had a grandma who spoiled her rotten with way to many super cute clothes, shoes, swimsuits and dresses.

          We finished off the weekend with this awesomeness. It was a going away party for my two brothers in laws' cousin (two brothers married my two sisters..).

Adult Slip 'N Slide, Anyone?!

 Syd LOVED it! She kept asking for "More? More?!"

 Scott clearly won that race...

Waiting patiently in line... :)

Sydney rocked the Adult slip 'n slide

 A random snake that decided to join the party...

 Told ya! FEARLESS!! She gave him a little tap, tap.

Good times. It's been nice to rest a little this week.

Daddy Did Sydney's Hair for Church

He used my straightener, my hair pins and hairspray. This may be one of the first times she's ever worn her hair down as a style. She looks so much older! She looks so cute. I'm going to have to start having him do my hair!

Oh, and just to give you a little foreshadowing for the next post, (which will happen soon enough with some very exciting events...) that dress - 25c; shoes - 25c. 

What baby can dress better than that for 50 CENTS?! 

Next Post Preview:

Caught Red-Handed

She disappeared for a couple of long minutes that were waaaaay too quiet and suspicious. 

We found her like this, in the act, at the scene of our secret closet candy stash. Now that she's discovered it, she always runs to our closet door any chance she can get and before closing the door on us waves at us and says "Bye, bye."

Then ::SLAM. WRINKLE, WRINKLE::

Ha, so chubby. She has chocolate drool dripping from her lips. :) That's my girl!