Wow it has been a long time!

So, I don't even know where to start. After life got really exciting, I got really busy, that is why I haven't written since last June. So, where to start? Would you like a play by play of the last 7 months? Or just something exciting or funny that just happened? I think I will combine the two and see what we get.

For those who missed it, I am due with #3 in a week and a half. My husband is currently in his first year of MBA at BYU, so we are no longer technically Boston Rodgers, though we still are in heart. We no longer own our online business Ikey Blue, and I am now all done with the really difficult parts of turning it over to new owners. That pretty much brings you to the present position we are in, Zach is busy with school, I am very big and pregnant and trying to motivate myself to be super productive, and the kids ask me everyday if we are going to have our baby today.

Now for the cute story. #2 is a very smart cookie. He is constantly asking questions that I don't know the answer to and making very clever observations. A few weeks ago he asked, "Mom, do you know what is the same about God and our Baby?" I didn't have a good answer so he went on. "If we pray, Heavenly Father can hear us, and so can our baby, right?"

Oh sweet routine, where are you when I really need you?

With a long trip like ours, comes a lot of tricky things when it comes to kids. First of all you are uprooting the well established routine. The usual, in bed at 7:00 has been thrown out the window! Not once in our 27 days of vacation have my kids even come close to that. Especially since #1 can now climb out of any walled structure we put her in!

As I am typing the kids are making their way down Grandma's hallway. Every 6 minutes or so I hear, "Mom, she is sleeping next to me now." or "Mom, she is out of her bed again!". So now we have a new routine. Put them to bed anywhere between 7:30 and 10:00 and spend and hour reminding children they need to be in bed. I think this is better than rocking them to sleep, I keep telling myself that, I hope I am right :)

Over the River and through the woods...

We are now officially at Grandma's for 4 WEEKS! Wow, that is a lot of time! We are excited. I promised my husband I would end him pictures everyday. I had some problems with the technology, so a post is the best I can do for now.

We had a great flight with an eventful night the first day. My active little #1 learned the beauty of crawling out of her pack n' play. She continued to perfect that trick until 1:30 in the morning until I finally put her in bed with me and called it a night. She was still up at least an hour after that. It amazing what 4 hours on a plane plus airport time, a box of Junior Mints, a bag of Swedish Fish, some fruit snacks, and some healthier snacks in between can do to a 22 month old. From the Words of Lilly (Lilly and the Purple Plastic Purse, by Kevin Henkes), "Wow, that's just about all I could say, wow!"

Here are some pics of our travel day. So far our trip is great, though as #2 commented a day before we left, "I will be missing dad when we are on the plane." Once we were up in the air, he did not forget, on our second flight he looked over at me and said, "Mom, I am missing Dad now", Me too Buddy!

The Red Sox are coming! The Red Sox are coming!

My son and I enjoyed a lovely Patriots day a couple of Monday's ago. For those who do not know and have never experienced a Patriot's Day, you are missing out. Patriot's Day falls on the 3rd Monday in April. This year it fell on April 19th, the same day that the battle in Lexington and Concord and the Shot heard 'round the World first occurred. (Note: this holiday is only celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine, but I think I will honor it for the rest of my life, it is a great day to be a Patriot!) Better than it falling on the same day, we also had the exact same weather on the night before and the morning of the 19th, that was pretty cool.

We woke up at 3:50 and drove to Lexington to see the reenactment of the Battle in Lexington. It started at 5:45 in the morning and lasted about 20 minutes or less. We were able to get up very close and see everything. And to top it off, while we were waiting for the battle to start, we were able to listen to an actor that told the group we were sitting with all about the battle and what led up to it and pretty much everything he knew about the colonists and the pilgrims among other things. It was great!

On the way home, my son and I were talking about the battle and how the colonists were fighting the Red Coats (the "bad guys" in 3 year old terms). He turned to me and said, "Mom, I think they were fighting the Red Sox". He thought that was pretty funny, and called them the Red Sox for the rest of the day.

We had a wonderful Patriot's Day! There are a lot more things to attend on Patriot's Day, parades, The Boston Marathon, more reenactments, and memorials all over Boston, but we had a great time just visiting Lexington. If you decide you want to come visit this wonderful city, the third Monday in April is a wonderful time to be here!

Magic Tricks

A week or so ago our ward put on a talent show. (For those of you not familiar with LDS church lingo, "ward" is the term we use for the congregation we meet with each Sunday) At the Talent show there were 2 different magic acts. The first was a pretty high tech home video of the 3 and 5 year olds making things disappear and turn into different objects. Isaac was pretty convinced. Days after he was still perplexed why they would turn their baby sister into jelly, they turned her back of course, but he just couldn't get it.

The second was a 4 year old boy who did a magic trick while his dad narrated it. Here was the trick:

He had a large gift bag. Out of the bag he pulled a stuffed rabbit. His trick was turning the rabbit into a blue ball. First he put the rabbit into the gift bag. Then he pulled out a blue ball. my 3 year old was facinated! He kept asking, "Mom, when is he going to turn the ball back into a rabbit?"

He has a very logical mind and really desired to know how these magic tricks worked. He was pretty convinced that those things could really happen as he saw them. After 2 weeks of Zach and I explaining the tricks and how they worked, and even trying a demonstration or two, I think he finally understands that it was just a trick.

Just yesterday, #2 came up with his own magic trick. We have a play cell phone that changes the picture when you open it. It goes in order: cat, dog, mouse. Here is how his magic trick went:

"Mom, look at my magic trick. Watch! I am going to turn this cat into a dog."

He closed the phone and opened it up again, low and behold it was a dog.

"Now I am going to turn this cat into a blue mouse!"

He closed the phone and opened it again and it was a blue mouse!

"Now I am going to turn it back into a cat again!"

He opened the phone and closed it, and it was a picture of a cat!

Pretty good magic Buddy.

I remember being fascinated by magic tricks when I was a kid. My dad would pretend to make the wipers on his car go by saying a magic word. He got it everytime! I was pretty convinced up until I learned to drive a car. I couldn't figure out how he did it with no hands.

"Bab-buh"

Today is a beautiful day from 4 stories up. I haven't been out yet, but it sure looks nice from up here. So here is a story that completely warmed my heart last week.

Ari has been saying a couple of words here and there, she says mama, dada, and "I" on a regular basis. Her main source of communication is meaningful hand signing and "uh". If she wants food she usually points and gives a grunt. It was quiet as picked Ari up out of her bed (Isaac was still sleeping). As I held her on my hip, I started cleaning up a few of her animals and toys. She spotted her baby doll in the stuffed animal basket, out of blue I hear a small voice say "Babuh". I look over at Ari, she repeats, "Babuh" and points to her baby. A very sweet moment. My daughter used a word to ask for what she wanted.

Life is Good and a dentist appointment

I feel like I need to write something because life is so happy. As we speak, Isaac is playing under a sheet playing an imaginary game with dinosaurs. I especially like the high voice he uses when he is pretending, it kind of sounds like Mickey Mouse. Ari is playing in the bedroom, probably making some kind of fun, curious, mischief. But, she is in the bedroom, which is much better than the kitchen, so I hope she is having a good time.

Zach is at work and I am getting myself ready for my first real dentist appointment in 5 years! I say "real" because I had one a month before Ari was born but my gums were bleeding so bad, the dental assistant stopped cleaning them before she even got to the bottom and said "I am sorry, I feel too bad hurting a pregnant woman, you can come back in a few months and we will do a full cleaning then. Your insurance won't cover 2 cleanings within 2 months of each other, but it will be worth it." Needless to say, I did not go back. Strike one, that was pretty painful, strike to I would have to pay to have that done again? No thanks!

So, I am trying to get relaxed about this dentist thing. I am trying to think of it as "hypno-dentistry". Maybe if I can relax it will hurt less? It worked with giving birth. We shall see.