Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Spring Break 2015






















Since we had had enough vacationing and traveling after our Phoenix trip and car crash...we decided to stay close to home for Spring Break this year, which meant getting creative to keep a house full of kids entertained. I'm glad that our desperation for fun forced us to discover the skating rink here in Pratt. We had never gone before and I had no idea what we were missing! All the kids, even though they had never skated before, jumped right in and had a blast. They were not too shy to revel in the limbo and the hokey pokey either! I had a blast just watching them. If I wasn't prego, I would have been out there skating too. Fun, fun. Aside from that, we celebrated St. Patrick's day with a big green breakfast, took up oil painting, and went to the Hutchinson Zoo. Not bad! Not bad at all :)





























































Saturday, May 16, 2015

Finding Out

















On March 4, 2015, we met with the ultrasound tech (who is also our lovely neighbor and good friend - Ruthann). Unlike most people do on most days at lots of times, she told us exactly what we wanted to hear (we, meaning both Scotty and me and more than anyone, Hanna)...that we are having a baby girl! Oh, how happy. Our first stop after we left the hospital was the balloon store. We ordered a giant helium inflated balloon full of pink confetti, then grabbed a pink cake and some strawberry ice cream and went home to tell the kids. Again...oh, how happy!







Trip to Phoenix

















We took our annual trip home to Phoenix in the Spring this year, knowing that we would be busy having a baby in the summer. Our timing turned out to be a blessing in some ways and a curse in others. One blessing was escaping the cold Kansas winter and enjoying the beautiful Phx temps. It was so warm we were able to take a long hike into a canyon in Cottonwood with our Gordon cousins. We hiked down to a river where some of the brave kids did a little cliff jumping. Colby was one of those brave kids. Scott and I were surprised he had the nerve! It was so, so beautiful and a good hike was just what I needed after a long winter on the flat plains.




















Another stand out experience from this trip was seeing the Phoenix Temple and bringing Nolan for the first time. I was so pleased and grateful for how hard some of my wonderful family members worked to make this happen...especially Melanie who gathered up some family names, and Uncle Rus and Aunt Karen who got us in at the last minute and gave us a tour of the Temple President's house, and my mom and Lori who rearranged their schedules to be there. Mark's wife Laura also came and went to lunch with us after, and Chandler and Makenna were there to perform baptisms with Nolan. We had such a great little group, and I doubt Nolan will ever be able to forget it. After we were done and came out, he was all ear-to-ear smiles. He said, "I can't stop smiling." I could understand why...I felt the same way. After the temple we stopped to see Grandma Gilliland and tell her all about it.


























The rest of the trip was spent getting around to reconnect with as many family and friends as possible. We spent a lot of time with our favorites the Eastmans of course (although, I somehow ended up with hardly any pictures of that)! We also met up with the Spencers and had a pizza/game night with all the Wellman cousins. It was fun swapping belly sizes with Chrysta. I never thought I'd be pregnant at the same time with a sister who is 12 years younger than me!






























The trip home was when the curse kicked in. As soon as we left the Arizona sunshine, winter was waiting for us again. We hit black ice traveling at a high speed on the freeway outside of Albuquerque. We swerved off the road, across the oncoming freeway and busted through a guard rail. My perfect family car was totaled, but my perfect family was saved. So, even though it was costly and traumatic, we were SO thankful for a happy ending to our Phoenix trip. As soon as we got home, we bought another Expedition. We probably wont take this one on any long road trips in the Spring.

































































South Carolina






















In early Feb 2015 I took a trip to South Carolina to see my brother Scott and his family. I got to spend lots of time with my nieces and nephews who I haven't seen in over 3 years. Plus I got to set foot in the South for the first time ever. Scott and Cheryl treated me to southern food a few times and took me to lots of cool historical sights. It was nice to see that my big brother, who has always been my good buddy, hadn't changed his silly ways. I love all my siblings so much...my first true loves for sure.