Baby Boy Laudies new "CRIB"

Now by crib, you do realize i meant hangout...digs...man cave...flat...joint...or just plain ROOM!
Since he will arrive into this world around the first of June, and not a day sooner, as I will be in Kansas Meeting Baby Boy Potter, who was first on the scene, I decided he needed a boy space to come home to. ( Lindsey agreed she just knew if she kept waiting I would take over) So found a cute boy themed crib bedding set on sale (which was so hard to pick, girl things come so much easier to me) then pick so paint (some left over from my living room paint job) and drove to Goodyear to create. We opted for the easy way out just paint stripes, not the whole room. So first up went the good old painters tape... (I thought just the tape looked pretty good)


Amy helped by handing me the yardstick and singing me songs to make the work go a little more quickly.

And Ta DA...stripes and the new valence. We have to wait for Mike to set up the crib before we can see the new bedding.

And here is the proud mother to be...posing like she helped...not really the deal was i paint, she catches up on her blogging.

I am really excited for the two new additions. I will leave for Kansas on the 18th to make sure Calli and Brendan can remember how to birth babies, (or at least do the dishes and play with Taylor and Keaton) Then get home where Lindsey will PATIENTLY be WAITING to finish up her long sojourn.

San Francisco Trip

Mom, Bonnie and I have made the pilgrimage to San Francisco to visit Cousin Joan a couple of times. This time I decided rather than flying and having to have Joan pick us up and since we had already had the adventure of airports and "Bart", Mom and I drove. This is a picture of the excitement Mom could barley contain.

I think I did amazingly well getting us there...just a couple side trips, asking "dumb" people where the freeway was, sitting on a side road pursuing a map (which i really didn't get anything from, i just wanted Mom to think I was competent) and taking a more scenic tour than we planned. But we made it to Bakersfield the first day by 11 that night.

One extra delay I hadn't counted on was the oil light coming on, dinging loudly, and just a little panic over...what should we do now! We drove on of course...stopping at the lovely town of Quartside, sitting at a garage with "I only know how to change tires" weird guy, leaving there because the guy who actually knew what an engine was at the bank and never showed, driving on the Blythe only to have the garage guy there say "if it was anything major your car would never have made it this far". That made me feel so secure, we just kept going.

The dinging did finally quit we just got to keep looking at the cute oil light.

This is our "ARE WE HAVING FUN YET' look.

We made it to San Francisco the next day around 1:00 and I was soooooo brave and drove across the Bay Bridge. Any one who knows me knows heights and bridges are not my thing.

I just starred straight ahead and screamed silently in my mind!

This was the highlight of the trip though. After "allowing" Joan to beat us the first night in Shanghai, which she gloated about the entire next day,

I managed to turn the tables the next night and catch her with a couple of AMAZING hands. She did win the last hand which she tried to pass of as as good as a win...but it wasn't, the score told the story of the spanking she and mom got!

She took it with a happy face (I have a picture of her "mad" face but decided I would be the bigger person and only show her happy one!)

This picture looks like Joan was calling her life line for help...but alas it was for naught!

She still LOST! ( did I mention yet I won)

We can never leave without taking a stroll down the beach. It was a beautiful day. I packed lots of warm clothes, because it usually chilly, but the sun shone every day.

Mom, Joan, and her friend Mariella, (usually when we go she is gone and Bonnie and I sleep in her apt. on the next floor down, so it was nice we got to visit with her this time)

Just to finish the trip off. We passed through the Bermuda Triangle again on the way home. This time though it was the gas that decided to stop working. We would be driving down the road, and WA LA the gas peddle would be down to the floor and the car would not go anywhere. We would pull off to the side of the road, sit a few, turn the car back on, drive 2 or 3 more miles and do it all again. We finally nursed it into Tonapah, topped off the gas tank left the gas cap off (Dads suggestion) and drove home with no more problems...Yeah! All in all it was a good trip. Joan fed us really well, we never did actually break down, and I got to quiz mom some on her life and loves.

Happy Easter

What a good looking group...minus the Potters of course!

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. Amy did her best to entertain us looking for eggs...but without competition, the egg hunt was pretty low key. She knew what was in them this year so she didn't need much encouragement to look for them, but she would pick one up then shake it, like she couldn't believe every egg would have something in it. I can hardly wait for Taylor and Keaton to be here for an Easter to give her a run for her money!

Then of course there is the food...as you can tell we will feed just about anyone!

Grandma and Grandpa Knight came and helped put away some...

of course Grandma makes the best salad so we had to invite her!

Lisa made the "Funeral Potatoes" and i whipped up the string bean casserole



and since it came later no picture because we were too full and tired to do anything but eat it, But Lindsey, aka mike made strawberry shortcake to finish off the meal.

and here are my little Easter cuties...Summer and her "Little Sister" Jessica.

Conference Weekend Defined

We were Blessed over the past weekend to hear from our living Prophet and many others with messages that hit home for me and gave great guidance for our families. Saturday morning conference taught me such things as always be living the kind of life that will allow the Lord to bless our lives no matter the struggles we are facing at the time. He reminded me that we need to know what our weaknesses are so we will recognize it when be are being attacked.

During the break in sessions I (being humbled by Sis Linford's message about our children respecting us but more our respecting our children) decided Jessica and I should bond over shopping for Easter Dresses (even though Arlon chose to quote from conference "can we afford that") being armed with my additional 30% off coupon I had from Kohl's, we went, we shopped, we lamented our size, we grew depressed UNTIL... shoes! I had found a skirt with purple flowers on it that I deemed okay, so we went in search of shoes. Jessica spotted this pair of "plum" shoes. I found sturdy black ones. I tried them on Jessica and several women talked me into the purple shoes. Jessica was suddenly excited, shoes, all the sudden she though of how cute those shoes could make any outfit. Now she wanted to shop. she decided she could squish her 1 size bigger feet into my shoes and find something purple to wear with them. Alas purple was not the IN color for the teen section of the store, but she tried on a cute skirt that made her tush looked FABULOUS....which is not always easy to do with our heritage. So armed with a skirt she now liked it was back to the shoes, and after searching high and low she found a pair of shoes that will prove as arch killing as the purple ones. Check out these killer shoes...Calli would be proud!

Due to the exhausting shopping trip we were late for the afternoon session but the talk I heard was Elder Scott's and I know I was suppose to hear it. He talked of temples. We live so close to the temple and still it always seems like an effort to get to the temple. I do love the temple and it has helped me make several major decisions in my life. I am recommitted to attend more often.

Sunday morning brought the delicious smells of sausage gravy and biscuits...which Lisa and Tj we able to arrive in time for, then we were filled my words from more GA's. Elder Uchtdorf has definitely risen to one of my top favorites, but it was Bro Hollands talk that brought a squeeze to my heart. He gave the Easter Talk. He reminded me of all Christ went through just so he would feel exactly how we feel. He spent time totally alone in Gethsemane, so no matter confused or sad or alone we feel, we aren't he knows just what we need.

Between sessions even though we weren't hungry due to a constant input of food to our stomachs, Grandma and Grandpa Knight came over for Cafe Rio...another tradition.

here is where I wish i had been more Uncle Charles (never without his camera) because Sunday afternoon conference was wonderful, even though by now we were stuffed, in need of naps, and sprawled all over the place. The vision of open mouths, silently snoring (or not) and bodies fighting for positions of space on the couch, was truly a sight. but in between we were again blessed by President Monson and others with blessings of families and warnings of technology. I am so excited to get the Ensign to rediscover my internal "GPS". There was so much to be learned and reminded of in conference, and once again I have recommitted myself to doing those things that had to be repeated again for me.