Nesting in Full Force

It is hard to explain, but since I've been home from our trip to Arkansas I have this feeling of urgency to get things accomplished. Our sweet baby cakes will arrive in about 7 weeks and I'm feeling a bit anxious and unprepared. Somehow finishing all my unfinished projects and cleaning and organizing makes me feel like I'm better prepared.

For example, I started this wreath months ago, it ended up being a lot more work than I had anticipated, so it got put in the guest room with all my other unfinished projects. This past week I realized that once baby cakes is born we are going to have all kinds of visitors, thus I needed to work on the guest/craft mess of a room. Begrudgingly I broke out the scissors, finished the wreath, and then started on all the mending and sewing that I had procrastinated. Table clothes, baby blanket and drapes are all completed. Now I just need to organize the closet in the guest room and then it will ready for company.

Did I mention that I have already gone through baby clothes and baby stuff. It is true, I pulled out all of my newborn baby stuff and organized it in our closet. I figured I needed to know what I had in order to know what I still needed. I even have the diapers, I swear I am out of control! But at least I know that when the last couple of weeks are here and I am miserable, I won't be digging in the garage for all my baby crap! Well that is what I tell myself so that I don't feel like a crazy mad woman. I'm all but ready to set up the crib, but I'm afraid that Paul will give me that "Wifey" look. He knows that he married a crazy lady, but I don't need to make it obvious.

Glad to be Home

Shortly after walking in the door and unloading all of our bags from the car, we realized that we had absolutely nothing to eat in the house. Addie had already expressed that she wanted choket nilk (chocolate milk) and I was craving a giant bowl of cereal. As I unpacked, Paul ran to the store for some much needed milk. Addie wanted to go, but forgot to tell us. So shortly after Paul left Addie came running out with her rain boots and my hat looking for Dad. Luckily she was soon distracted by Dad's golf clubs and happily played until he come home.

The next morning as I am doing the laundry, putting all of our bags away and restoring order to our house, I find Addie in her room thoroughly enjoying all of her long lost toys. Trust me that was just the beginning of Addie getting reacquainted with her toys!

We left the heat and humidity of Arkansas and came home to the dry warmth of Idaho. Not exactly like Inotda or Pop's pools, but we were excited to get our little pool up and running.

Someone else was excited about her swimming oasis. As I contently watched Addie play in her pool. She decided that I needed to get in with her. Addie and I have been struggling lately with who is really the boss. After Mooshing me out of my chair, she demanded that I get in with her. She looked right at me as seriously as she could and went "one" and held up one finger, then said "two". It was all I could do not to laugh. You gotta give the girl credit, she knows what she wants and finds a way to make it happen.

Now that we are home, unpacked and rested we can start exploring what Boise has to offer has for summer fun!

The Last of our Arkansas Adventure

Life at Inotda's house was sooo taxing let me tell you! Once Addie realized that if she asked Inotda it was a guaranteed yes. You mostly heard, "Inonna where are UUUU". Popsicles for breakfast, chips for lunch and cookies for dinner, Addie's dream diet!

Take notice of the Sonic beverage. It is true with Sonic only minutes away, we partook in happy hour. It became our afternoon pool ritual! Lounging in the pool sippin' on a route 44 cherry limeade, Yummmmmm!

Inotda couldn't let us not sneak into the office and get a sneak peek at our new Baby Cakes! Mauri was kind enough to fit us into her busy day, and boy did it make Inotda & Addie's excited. When we heard the heart beat she immediately went Baby!

Auntie Joey, came over most mornings before work, usually just as we were waking up. But on this special morning she came bearing gifts! She know the way into Addie's heart!

Auntie Joey might have purchased the gift, but Mom had to figure out how to make it work. I guess I'm supposed to know these things since I'm a Mom in all.

Family bonding, lets see how many bodies we can get to fit on one little chair before we all fall out!

Addie and her Daddy were two little fish, I'm fairly certain that they are amphibians. Thank goodness for sunscreen, as much as we were outside in the pool, you would think that we would be completely burnt to a crisp. Luckily there is a red head in the family who keeps us fully stocked with SPF, Thanks Lewy!

Swim until you can't swim anymore, then it is time to float! That is Addie's motto, she took a brief breather on the raft to re-energize for another bout of swimming, jumping, and floating.

Back in action! Give the girl a few minutes and she is ready to go. Those water wings were amazing! Addie was everywhere and loved being able to do things all by herself!

Bye Bye Bebe and Pops! Wove UUU!

Bye Innona, Thanks for being my servant, even when I kicked you out of your own bed! Wove UUU! See you in a couple of months. Addie might look a little grumpy, and it is because she was! Her Aunties kept her up late and then she decided to make my night miserable! But at least our trip was filled with lots of loved ones and fun afternoons in the pool!

Faja Day

Happy Dad Day! Addie was really excited to give Dad his special tie and card with her hand print. Or maybe she was more excited about the waking Dad up part, but either way she was excited! Addie actually picked out the pink tie all on her own. She was shopping with Mom and Auntie Mo Mo, looking at ties for Pops when she grabbed the pink one and insisted that we get it for Dad.

It wouldn't be right if we didn't enjoy the beautiful, hot and sunny afternoon in the pool! We call it family bonding!

We got out of Inonna'a (that's how Addie says Inotda) and went to Pops and started swimming some more! Dad is such a great swim instructor! You would think that Addie would be water logged, but no. She swam until her lips turned blue!

Presents for Pops opened by Addie! Fresh out of the water and ready to check out Pops loot! Good thing we love her, she undeniably spoiled rotten!

A great Sunday afternoon with 2 special Dad's. Addie didn't understand "Happy Father's Day" so we left it as Happy Dad, and Happy Pops, Day!

Wow 10 Years!

I can not believe that it has been 10 years already! WOW, I am feeling like an old lady, especially since I left the party before midnight. I didn't even last past my high school curfew. Gees Louise, the pregnant lady couldn't stand the late night out, along with the heat! Gotta love those hot and humid summers of Arkansas.

(Shelby, Areta, Katie, me, Claire, & Alex)

I was truly amazed at how much we had all changed and yet were still very much the same. I feel like I look and act the same, but I know that a lot has changed since high school! We have all grown up to be amazing people and live amazing lives that have taken us in all directions. Yet, when we get together it is just like those Friday night in high school, minus the skinny dipping!

(Mandy, me, Katie, & Leanne)

All in all my 10 year reunion was wonderful. I was sad that not everyone was able to make it. I was very grateful for the opportunity to see all of my close friends from back in the day! It brought back a flood of memories, mostly good, but all the same I am grateful that I am not in high school anymore!

Life at Inotda's

Maybe when we are on vacation we pick up a few bad habits, but really who doesn't. One habit that we aren't taking home is this. Addie has taken over my bed! Not only is she in the middle, but upside down and on top of the covers! Don't even get me started on the crumbs she left for me in the covies!

Bed time is relative at Inotda's swim by day and play by night is our new motto. Addie loves watching all of Inotda's VHS movies, she has even recruited a few friends to join her in her nightly show. Its a good thing Auntie Meli and Gavin are REALLY patient.

When at Inotda's house it isn't all fun and games, we find time to workout. OK more like we play on the workout equipment while drinking a succulent Sonic chiller. But we like to think of it as working out!

Since we have watched classic movies, pretended to work out and frequented Sonic, we are ready to go swimming! Oh and did I mention that we talked Mo Mo's boss into letting her ditch work and come play. You know Pops can be so demanding sometimes, good thing we have Addie Pie to sweet talk him.

After a nice afternoon or all day in the pool, it is time for another classic movie and quick workout! You know a girl has to keep her girlish figure. Sitting on the elliptical counts, right...

Yup you guessed it, more swimming!

An Inotda can't go wrong with swimming, jumping and splashing. Those are all Addie favorites!

This is about as good of a picture of Mom as you are going to get! Sorry no beached whale picture for the blog. I prefer to keep it from the neck up only. Trust me I'm here and bobbing in the pool, a favorite pregnant past time!

What get out! Why would I ever do that! Silly Mom! I have an Inotda, and Auntie Mo Mo, and an Auntie Meli all at my beck and call. This is the life!

Another Day at Inotda's

Peek a booo! Today was rather overcast for most of the afternoon, but we didn't let that stop us from enjoying the day.

Addie had lots of giggles while playing in the hammock chair. She loved being able to completely hide herself in the chair and of course the swinging/spinning was another favorite.

Know that if you leave your drink unattended, it may not be there when you come back! Thank you Aunt Meli!

This girl is one pampered little cutie. She wanted to eat watermelon, but didn't want to have to leave her comfy chair of fun. All it took was one cute smile and a sweet "teazzzz" and Inotda moved the table over and she had it all, the chair, the food, the drink, and the table to put it all on! This kid had caught on quick, skip Mom and go strait to the Inotda and the Aunties. The results are much better if you skip Mom all together!

After a long afternoon of being pampered and entertained a kid has to take a time out for a classic like Cinderella. If you are going to truly enjoy a good show you need to have your blanket, babies, a good snack and some strawberry milk. Since you are skipping out one dinner. I tried to make my child want to eat dinner, but we are on vacation!

Inotda's House

First thing is First! We get off the plane, go to the bathroom, eat and then get in the pool! We barely make into the house with our stuff before Addie finds the pool and starts trying to take her clothes off! Addie has her priorities, play play play and sleep when you have too!

After a good swim in the pool, a girl needs a little nourishment! When at Inotda's house a banana Popsicle has all the nutrients a kid could ever need!

Now that we have had our quick dip in the pool enjoyed a bit a Popsicle, one must sleep in their pink "house". You say castle, Addie says house, either way it is her special fort that she loves!

Now that we have rested and Mom has had a couple of days to rest and start to feel better, we should get her! Lucky for Me, Addie enjoyed getting Auntie Meli way more than getting Mom!

Now that Gavin is here Auntie Meli is in big trouble! 2 against 1 is never good in a water war.


This is just the beginning of pool packed trip. Now that Mom is finally feeling better we should have more pictures to come. I think Dad will be surprised when he comes next weekend and finds that his family has turned into water logged raisins!

Cousins Cousins and more Cousins!

Memorial Day weekend, we made a quick trip to Utah to celebrate Damon's graduation and Jordon's 16th birthday. To our surprise the Quist family surprised us all. We had a fun filled weekend with all of the Hannant cousins, lots of great food and festivities.

Kinley helped teach Addie to climb grandma's tree that overlooks the fish pond. Actually the Quist girls were very helpful in making sure that Addie was able to join in all the fun and games. It was really cute to watch them all play together.

Addie LOVES Aunt Laura's puppies. She would tease Bennett and play with him until he was done with her. I now fully understand why smaller dogs are not suggested for little children, they just don't have the patience and mild manor of our Ellie dog. But I must say, it was good for Addie to learn that not all dogs like her as much as she loves them, or tolerate her like our Ellie.

Who needs toys when there are shoes! Seriously our child played with all of Jordie's shoes forever! She thought that it was so fun to try to walk around in them, she would even put a pair on her hands. Never a dull moment with that kid, not to mention that it was well after 10 pm. No such thing as bed time when on vacation!

I had to wrestle her to sit still long enough to take a picture with me. She was busy trying to catch Bennett while wearing Jordon's shoes!

Addie was really helping Dad! Believe it or not she is a wiz when it comes to computers! Especially with all of those reports and numbers Dad is always checking.

Addie was a big help to Aunt Laura as she was trying to get the last of her plants planted before the big graduation party! I'm not sure that Aunt Laura could have managed without her!

"Tease" Now can I get back to climbing up to the fort! Uncle Scott built a fort for the boys when they were little and Addie thought that it was the coolest place ever! She thought that she was one of the big kids being able to climb up and down all by herself. Until she missed a step and fell, then she was happy to have Kinley help her until she regained her confidence.

A vicious game of ice tag started up in the back yard, and amazingly enough no tears were shed! Addie even joined in and loved it. What a dainty girl we are raising;).

While all the other kids wrote notes and colored pictures for Damon, the little A's decided that they needed to watch UP. So they came and put themselves in bed and had me turn on a "mooie".

Do these girls love each other or what! I was truly amazed at how well they all played together. They were all running around Grandma's backyard enjoying the warm sunny afternoon!

Paul and his wonderful wife hanging out on the couch watching the kids play. You might notice that I am looking a bit rough, it is true. My allergies were killing me, causing my head head to throb. Oh the joys of having seasonal allergies, one day I'm fine and then the next the wind changes or something blooms and I'm a goner!

Playing sure can make a girl dirty! All that running around outside and climbing trees, made this yon Bert one stinky kid! Thank goodness Aunt Laura was willing to let us stay at her house, eat all her food and use all her soap.

We couldn't let Addie be a stinky kid for the big sleepover! On the last night, Sydney, Jake and Noah came over to Laura's house for a sleepover.

Uncle Scott was soooo nice to the kids. He dug out a sleeping bag for Addie, and hung out on the couch watching Princess Bride with them until they all fell asleep. Well he slept on the couch until Laura came and woke him up. He tries but he gets up way to early to stay up late. Addie out lasted them all, she ended up with us on the floor in her sleeping bag! We had a great weekend and enjoy spending time with our wonderful family.