It doesn't take a Rocket Scientist to figure...oh wait, yes it does!

So my Dad is one of the head engineers on the vehicle that will replace the space shuttle (ARES). It has an awesome new (much safer for the astronauts) design. It looks like a really tall pencil



and is 327 feet tall; tallest rocket we have had since Saturn V. The boosters are at the very bottom (the piece my Dad is responsible for)



and the astronauts sit at the very top, far away from the boosters. The rocket weighs 2 million pounds; the launch platform it sits on weighs around 9 million pounds or so and the crawler that picks it all up and moves weighs another 7 million pounds or so

They just rolled it out onto the launch pad



this week and will do their first test launch early next week.

Way to go Dad!

Creativity

My mom is very creative and talented. She always coming up with fun creative things that she does for those she loves. Her latest creations were Micah and Noah's birthday cards. They were adorable, and I wanted Micah and Noah to be able to appreciate them in the future. I should also say thanks to my Dad for being such a good sport.

The outside:


The inside (they each got their own):


Another, which she actually made almost two years ago, is this ABC book. I've been wanted to post it forever. I actually think she could sell these books. It has become one of the boy's favorites over the last few months as they have been learning their letters. Basically, she made an ABC book with pictures of our family. The boys just love it, as do I.

The Cover:


And a few of the pages:

G: Green Glasses, Grapes, Goofy, Ghost, Grandma & Grumpa:


T: Turtle, Twins, Train, Tree, TrTractor, Truck, Toes:


N: Nest, Napping Noah, Nut, Nose, Nickel:


M: Moon, Micah, Messy Melissa, Mom, Mouse, Mittens:

The real birthday

My brother Devin, and his amazing wife, Melissa came to visit for a few days this last week. They were actually here for the boys real birthday (their party was two days early). It was WONDERFUL to get to spend some time with them. It is actually the first time since they were married that we have spent any time with just their family and our family. It really was nice. They took a lot of awesome pictures...all of which I thought I uploaded, but CAN"T FIND! So, I will post what I have now, and pray that they will email me what they have soon. They just moved into their new house today though, so it may be a while.

So, the morning of the boy's birthday, they woke up to find animal costumes laid out on the table for them (Devin and Melissa had made them). There was an alligator and a lion. Unfortunately, Micah was a bit scared of the costumes. He wouldn't go near them. In fact, if you brought them anywhere by him, he would run away. So, we only have pictures of Noah in his costume. Since Devin and Melissa left, however, Micah has asked to put his costume on. He got all dressed up as an alligator today, but took it all off before I could get a picture. So, we will work on that and get a picture or two of our little alligator up soon!



A few hours later we headed to the zoo for more fun with animals. They boys always enjoy the zoo, but this time was especially fun with Uncle Devin and Aunt Melissa there. They have a way of making everything extra fun. We had churros and frozen lemonade to celebrate the boys birthday.



The polar bears were especially awesome. The picture only show Melissa and Noah, but all four of them stood at the window for 4-5 minutes while the bears played and jumped in and out of the water...all that close. It was so awesome. Too bad I forgot to get my camera out until the last minute!


When we got home from the zoo, Devin and Melissa watched all three kids while I ran to the store. When I left, they were playing in the little pool on our patio. They got some GREAT pictures of the boys laughing their heads off playing with Devin. They had a great time. When I got home, they had the boys in the bath getting them all washed up for dinner. These two are going to be amazing parents some day!

Thanks for coming guys! We've really missed you.

Hot Stuff!

Cory's parents gave the boys some awesome new church clothes for their birthday. I absolutely LOVE them. Don't they look handsome (minus all the dorky (yet adorable) smiles....)?


Family Picture:

My Mother

So, I think the more kids I have, the more I am going to appreciate my own mother. Having a girl is different from having boys. There is just something very special about the opportunity to raise someone else to be another mother. It is both an overwhelming responsibility and a wonderful privilege. It has also made me appreciate even more the wonderful way in which my own mother raised me/prepared me for this opportunity.

Having her here the first couple of weeks was wonderful. She was a great blessing to our entire family. The boys adored her, and it was so nice for them to have lots of attention during the transition, and she cleaned the bathrooms so Cory didn't have to. However, I believe she blessed me the most. And it wasn't just the fun activities/ideas I got from her, my clean house, or the extra sleep/naps I got while she was here.

What I appreciated most was her absolute confidence in my abilities as a mother. Sometimes, I really struggle to believe that I am doing a good job as a mother. I worry a lot about if I am really up to this task. I want more than anything to do this job as the Lord would have me do it, and I spend a lot of time wondering if I'm measuring up. Having my mom here for those few weeks was wonderful b/c she made me feel like I can do this. She made me feel like I really am supposed to be these kids mother. There aren't many better feeling in the world.

Thanks Mom! I love you!

Fun at the Park

It is nice to be able to get out of the house on occasion...for the boys and for myself! It hasn't been too so easy since my parents/sister left!
We are getting better though. This last week, I took all three kids to the bank, post office, 3 grocery stores, and a drug store! They all did really well. They actually tend to do really well whenever we go out.
A funny story: There have been a couple of women in my ward who have been extremely helpful since my parents left (as well as quite a few Young Women). One of them took the boys for a few hours the first couple of afternoons that I was all on my own (I still wasn't supposed to be lifting the boys). I guess that they were having a really hard time as she drove away. She and her daughter tried everything they could think of to make them happy, but nothing seemed to be working. So, then they asked, "Do you want to go shopping?" Both boys immediately stopped crying and said "yeah!" So, she went to the grocery store and picked up a few things. They were perfectly happy from then on. Maybe I spend a little too much time in the grocery store?......

Anyway, back to the point of this post. We took a bunch of trips to the park while my parents were here. The boys love it there, so it was nice for them to go again and again while we had the help. I'm a little worried about how I will do it by myself with all three of them though...I have yet to try. I guess I'll just have to strap Samantha in the carrier again. It sure is a good thing she is happy there!

Spaghetti & Naked

My parents took us to Olive Garden while they were here. Cory and I used to eat there all the time, but it's been a while...like since before we had kids. So, it was a very nice treat. The boys had a great time eating their spaghetti. I usually cut up their noodles at home, so this was a whole new experience for them.



We had dressed Samantha in her really cute dress (see post below) that Chelsea gave us, since we were expecting to get some pictures. I was holding her, and she was wrapped in a blanket since it was a bit chilly with the AC. I was patting her backside and thought I had gotten some Alfredo sauce on my hand as the blanket felt a bit sticky. After a few minutes though, it just got more sticky. So, I turned her over and realized that she had leaked poo ALL OVER. So, Cory took her to the bathroom to change her. Her dress was no longer wear-able, and I (silly, I know) had forgotten to bring a change of clothes, so Cory brought her back to the table wrapped in the breastfeeding cover. Later, we had to completely unwrap her to get her in her carseat. So, yes, I took my 2 week old daughter to Olive Garden naked....