Is August Really Over?

Is tomorrow seriously September? Where did the summer go?

This picture completely captures what we're feeling like in our house.

(mom, Dakota, H, and Ri conked out one afternoon after too much playing)

We're played ourselves to pieces the past few weeks. For some reason, August always turns out to be the month where I spend a good chunk of time with my parents and sibs in Eastern Washington. Riley joined for the last few days. It was awesome.

We did so many cool things and I forgot to take pictures just about every time.

(Auntie Koda with her "spy bag". She really did jaunt around the neighborhood spying on people with binoculars and a notebook. Stand back Michelle Trachtenberg. There's a new Harriet in town!)

Dakota was a lifesaver to me by playing with Hinder constantly. H is in l-o-v-e with his aunts and uncle. Especially Koda.

Speaking of the devil...

Our little kiddo isn't so little anymore. In fact, he's taken to referring to us as "rirey" and "desty" after spending so much time around people calling us our names and not "mom" and "dad". I know it's a bad habit, but it kind of makes me laugh when he does it.

Highlights of the trip:

**Canning peaches all day with my mother. 96 lbs and 53 jars later those peaches were conquered!**

** Sending H off to play at the town water park with Dalyn while I took a blissful 2 hour nap.**

**Driving through my old stomping grounds and remembering old times. O-Town!

**Catching up with an old bestie.**

**Spokane shopping trip with my best girls, scoring awesome deals (thank you, Kohls!), and raiding a Flying J for late night treats.**

** Celebrating Papa's 70th birthday**

**Playing Farkle with the fam, including daddio**

Another wonderful getaway to Washington.

Crazy to think the next time we see them there will be another member of our family!

(evening at Roylance Pond, an Othello landmark)

The sun is setting on our eventful summer.

But with SO MUCH to look forward to this fall, I can't pretend to be too sad.

Spaz Flashback

H and I are currently visiting my parents and their new house in Washington. While snooping through old photo files, I stumbled on these pictures from Hinder's last birthday party.

He's such a spaz. It's hard to believe that we're closing in on this time of year again.

This little face is a bit different these days. He's starting to look more like a little boy and less like a baby. And he talks with an attitude similar to a 14 year old. It scares the bajeepers outta me.

Visits to Nana and Papa's house are always so enjoyable. H has the best little aunts and uncle, and we even had a brief visit with the Wenatchee Killians.

While lovin' on the last few weeks of summer, I'm already dreaming of all the fabulous things to look forward to about the fall. Cooler nights, Halloween costumes and decor, pie making, football games, school starting, turkey dinners, etc. And this year, to finish off the fall, we'll be welcoming a new baby.

Sweet anticipation.

Pregnancy Musings and Other Jibberish

I've been a tired, pregnant mess the past few weeks. Trust me. There is no pregnancy glow about this girl! The only glow goin' on around here is the glow of my sweaty face in the August heat. The second trimester symptoms have taken over, including being ultra scatter-brained. So pardon me if this blog is incoherent.

At about 24 weeks (I think??) along, this is what I resemble:

I feel your pain, Gus Gus. I really do. My wardrobe is shrinking. And that's about the only thing of mine that I can say that about.

And the prego dream thing?! What's up with that? Let me explain. MOST people have weird, vivid dreams while pregnant. My problem is for most of my life I have had weird, vivid dreams. So pregnant dreams for me are so BORING. Like last night I dreamt about canning peaches. No monsters appeared. No car chase scenes. No exciting twists. It's lame.

Enough complaining about that.

Other mentionables:
1. The raccoons are back. We hear the little demons outside out bedroom window at night. They chitter-chatter about how they are going to defecate in the most inconvenient places in the yard and nibble at my garden.

2. Hinder got in a little fight with Riley yesterday. It was hilarious. They were play-wrestling and apparently it went too far. It ended with Hinder running me in tears exclaiming, "Why doesn't daddy like me?!" While stifling a laugh, I asked why H thought daddy didn't like him. He replied, "Because he tackles me and he smells!" Typing about it made me laugh again.

3. Hinder decided potty training would start last Saturday. We reluctantly went along with it, but turns out the little man was serious. Diaper free is the way to be.

4. Except at nights. Then we have diapers. Because this mama don't change sheets everyday...

5. My mother is visiting us in TWO days. I'm dying with excitement. I don't remember the last time I go to hang with my mom and just play. She's one of those women who is always going. She's one of those mamas that does change sheets everyday.

6. I'm turning a year older on Sunday. Mixed feelings....I'm starting to realize why adults don't get excited for their birthdays. More on that later.

7. However, I am VERY excited for birthday cake. How will I decide which cake to have?! The old stand-by Snickers cake? Red velvet? DQ ice cream cake? All three?

8. Now I'm just trying to think of more random thoughts so that my list ends on an neat, tidy 10.

9. My feet are swollen. It's not pretty. Maybe I should get myself a pedicure for my birthday?

10. Told you I was scatter-brained.

One Year Down

Sister Killian, my just-younger-than-me sister, has been on her mission for a year! Hallelujah!

Oh my word, I'm so glad that girls serve for 18 months rather than 2 years. Having her across the world has just about done me in.

Anyway, enough about me... (self-centered much?). She's been doing fabulous and couldn't be a better missionary. Here are a few pictures from the last three months in Bulgaria.

(D'laney with MTC groupies on her half-way day)

(Tsventi and her mom in Sliven)

(With a family in Sliven)

(With her English Class)

(Eating corn from a cup. Vendors sell these on the street)

(Hiking in Sliven)

(Investigators Antonettta and Anastasia)

Keep it up, Sister Killian!