some news to share: part IV

Yes, you interpreted that photo correctly. We are indeed having another child. Another little adorable donut hole. We're fryin' up another one. Our take on "bun in the oven" if you will.

Honestly, I still can't believe it. I mean I can believe it considering my pants are starting to be quite snug and those first twelve weeks of gross-ness were well... gross. But like what in the world!? We're having another baby! We still call Calvin a baby! We're going to have THREE CHILDREN. That's more than there is us. They are going to out number us and take over the house. But I guess we're going to have to be okay with that... I mean there's no turning back now haha. 

I got to see baby's profile today and let me just say that we make some super cute noses. Everything else looked healthy too so that's good. (:

So yeah... here we are. A third of the way in already and pretty excited to be here. Only ("only" ha!) 26 more weeks! 

I better go eat one of those donuts... ya know to keep things looking healthy for the babe. Wouldn't want to deprive the poor thing.

Jekyll Island camping

Last weekend we went on our annual camping trip. This is nothing for you big time campers... but it's just enough for us right now and we always have a good time. Something about camping with small children makes you want to only do it once a year.

Our annual trips unofficially began right after we started dating. In 2010 we went down to Escalante with Todd's brother and his wife as well as some other married friends.

Our second summer (first summer married) we went to... my grandma's front yard. Wah, wah. I don't remember a specific camping trip but maybe our honeymoon to hike around Zion's and Bryce count?

Summer's three and four took place in Wisconsin at Devil's Lake and Council Grounds.

Summer four also took place in Wisconsin at Door County... part one and part two. Definitely a favorite.

Last year, summer five, we took a short trip with a teeny baby Calvin up Hobble Creek.

And here we are in Georgia for summer number six! 2016! We drove down the coast a little bit and camped on Jekyll Island (Peter called it Jack-o-lantern for a while). It's a pretty richy-pants touristy little place but also outdoorsy and filled with wildlife at the same time. You can probably guess which category we fit into. (:

We dodged some crazy weather and arrived on Thursday night with just enough time to set up and attempt to make a dutch oven dessert. Our dutch oven hates us though so of course it didn't work. Maybe we are doing something wrong. Maybe...

Friday morning we awoke bright and early to clear skies and georgia blueberry pancakes.

We also tested out the bike trailer since it has been in storage all summer... which makes me so sad. Fortunately it still works well and the boys were happy... even though I rode through some mud and sprayed them a bit. Sorry about that guys. 

Our first stop was Driftwood Beach. It was only half a mile away so we loaded up the bike trailer with snacks, towels, sand toys, and two cute boys. 

Those two cute boys as well as the one big handsome boy loved the beach. The water was warm, calm, and shallow and we only ran into one slightly dangerous creature...

... this little dude. Squishy, of course.

It's called Driftwood Beach for a reason...

The sand was also superb. I know this is basically a picture of Todd's rear but I caught Calvin handing him little bits of sand for the castle. It was adorable. The sand thing... not Todd's bum. Haha.

It ended up looking like the Oakland Temple with a moat. Cool!

The lack of shade wore Calvin and I out pretty fast so after a couple hours we loaded up and headed back. We took the long way and both boys got a nice nap.

As I mentioned... there was all sorts of new wildlife on Jekyll Island. Not only is it a sea turtle nesting ground but there are alligators, other turtles, snakes, racoons, birds galore, and lots of interesting bugs. Peter called this one a super bug. He kept coming back to look for snacks on our picnic table. p.s. he's on the right side of the lantern.

We saw lots and lots of neat birds at our campgrounds bird sanctuary. The boys loved it and Calvin, to no surprise, barked at the birds the whole time.

Day one ended with hot dogs, s'mores, and just enough rain to cool us off. But not enough to put out the fire. Perfect!

The next morning I got up and took a solo ride out to the beach to watch the sunrise. It was beautiful of course and it was fun seeing all of the "morning life." Ya know crabs and anything else not scared away yet by beach goers.

Aren't these uprooted trees so cool? 

Day two also brought a visit to Horton Pond. Known for it's wildlife... and it did not disappoint!

As soon as we got there two ~6 ft. alligators swam over looking for a snack. We were a tad nervous but the gators kept their distance and no one fell in the water so all was well.

After the pond we visited the farmer's market-- there were four vendors haha-- and we got a sweet potato muffin. It was unbelievably moist! And delicious. (:

We ended our trip packing up the campsite and visiting the Georgia Sea Turtle center on our way out of town.

Overall we loved Jekyll Island and would definitely recommend camping there. It's very visitor friendly with it's beach access and bike paths around the little island.

ottley wedding weekend!!

Earlier this month we went back to Idaho... already. I know, we can't stay away! ;) Really though Todd's sister, Callie, was getting married and there's no way we're going to miss that! So yeah we packed up and made yet another trip across the country for the festivities. 

The day we left our neighbors lit the yard on fire... something about smoking next to dried up pine needles. *face palm*

Peter thought it was pretty exciting though.

Daddy got home and our trip began. We flew through Atlanta and landed around 1am in SLC so we stayed that night with family and headed to Jerome the next morning. Also we ran into a bunch of Todd's MBA friends on their way back from a bachelor party cruise. Haha Todd and Keith took Spencer mini golfing.

 

It was Calvin's first flight and he clearly wasn't as excited about it as I was. He did alright though. Sitting on mommy's lap for that long was hard but luckily it was bedtime for most of it.

Peter was pumped about getting to chew gum for the take off. He also swallowed it about 5 seconds before the wheels left the ground. Again... *face palm*... we'll practice the whole gum thing some more another day.

He was also pumped about endless shows and games! He couldn't decide on one so he watched the beginning of about seven different movies then passed out around 11pm haha.

Grandma Preece fed us breakfast the next morning (which was delicious, of course) and we got to go upstairs to say hi to some of our favorite cousins!

And off to Jerome. Todd and I had a lengthy conversation about the anatomy of a Junior Mint (Todd's travel candy of choice).

Cause "Everybody loves Junior Mints."

The weekend was a short one but we had lots of fun. The day before the wedding was national donut day. Yum right? Yes except the only donuts we could find in Jerome, Idaho were at the corner country store. Wah wah. #comeonridleyskeepup

Peter loved playing with his cousins. Lucy is almost two years older than him and Annie is six months younger than him. But he's the same height as Lucy so she was the cousin of choice haha. They played and played and played!

The big day finally came! Callie and Spencer has been engaged for like a thousand years so we were all pretty excited on wedding day.

Lotsa smiles at the temple!

The kids were so shy around the bride.

Uncle Spencer!

After the temple we all hung out at the house until the reception. My parents drove over from Pocatello too! 

Grandpa has the magic touch.

Callie and Spencer had their reception at a friend/cousins house and it was perfect! The kiddos ran around the yard and ate treats and had a grand ol' time getting dirty. Seriously I still can't believe those stains came out of the boys' church clothes. #doyoubelieveinmiracles

And here is Spencer waiting for his bride to leave the reception. The guys will tell you to get used to always waiting around for your wife. But here's the deal... it's true that you'll wait around for your wife quite often. But it's not like she's sitting around just making you wait. She's either beautifying herself just for you or she's grabbing one last thing so you guys have a good time or she's simply the last one getting ready because she was getting the kids ready too. Just remember that... and maybe adjust your "getting out the door" routine so you don't finish too soon before she does. ;)

Thanks Uncle Scott for this picture! I was showing the boys how you can see the Twin Falls temple across the canyon while we waited for Todd to get back.

p.s. it's that little white square under the bottom bar of the empty sign post

Did I mention that Peter loved playing with his cousins? He was so sad to leave on Sunday. The trip just wasn't long enough!

We sure love these guys. Our short trip was a fun one! Living over 2,000 miles from family is hard but it makes our visits/having visitors even more special.

And once again let's end the post with the face of one of my angel children. Haha he's a handsome boy. And a goofy boy. A handsome, goofy, energetic boy.