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i'm not complaining...

I'm just saying, this pregnancy is soooo different from my last two. I'm not sick, at all. Not even a little, not even kind of. I get headaches every once in a while but that's no different from any other normal day. I don't wake up in the middle of the night to pee (which both of my last pregnancies consisted of 2-3 times a night from day one till the end of the 1st trimester). I'm getting bigger faster, gaining weight quicker. I can eat any and every thing in sight. Usually it's so hard for me to even come up with something that sounds good and even then I don't want it after 2-3 bites. I've got tons of energy. I stay up late. I don't have the annoying side effect of excess saliva. I mean, nothing is familiar this time around. I feel like it's the same old story, different song and dance.

My theory: in a week or less all that yucky pregnant stuff is gonna kick in and I'll eat my words OR...it's a girl. It's the only different factor. I've never been pregnant with just a girl. In which case, this whole being pregnant thing is AWESOME!!! Although, I will admit the 6 lbs and 5 inches in my abdomen that I have gained in just 3 weeks is freaking me out. What if this is my "big fat" pregnancy? gagggg! Here's hopin' some things never change. ;)

here and now

 Getting back to blogging. I can't believe it's been so long. The problem I think, is that Facebook is just too easy and then I don't have to deal with trying to upload pictures and stuff cause you can upload a million on facebook in 5 minutes. Anyway, here it goes...December was a blast. We had Joel's parents out here for awhile and that is always fun. We went on our first real vacation as a couple and our first cruise (same trip in case you're confused) and it was sooooo much fun. We went on the Western Caribbean Carnival Cruise on the Valor ship if you wanna look it up. We left from Miami, stopped in Cayman Islands (too cold for snorkling and too windy to even get in the water), Cozumel (gorgeous, sunny and so fun), Belize (zipline and cave tubing and THE best shopping on the tour), Roatan Honduras (fun, relaxing and tons of shopping). We got stuck in Minnesota which was not a hassle at all considering we got to meet Baby Mason and see Kayla, Grumpy and Derek. Paul and Jane watched the kids (along with daycare at our friend's) and Miles spent a couple of days in California with Grandma. Landyn was with his mom which was nothing unusual for him. At the end of the month my mom and Dana came out to celebrate Christmas with the family. We spent Christmas Eve with the McClures and Christmas Evening with the LaClaires.

The news for this year is that we are expecting again. We did have an ultrasound and it looks like there's just one. Of course they will check again in February just to be sure but I don't think we're having twins again. At 6 wks I had some bleeding which was scary. I had an ultrasound at a clinic in Salt Lake which I had made very early on cause I didn't want to wait to see if I was having twins and they discovered a "mass" and sent me to me doctor. My doctor diagnosed the mass as a SUBCHORIONIC HEMATOMA. Google it if you wanna know. But I'm on a pelvic rest and no exercise (like I ever do that) and will get another ultrasound in February but for now we were told, "all is well, and not to worry".

 These cute boys are still growing and it's crazy. Landyn is about 63 lbs and 48 inches. He grew almost a full inch in one month!! He loves TOYS!! He did NOT get enough at Christmas. :) He is very good at math and coloring and can spell almost any 3 letter word. He is very smart and so much fun to be around.

Miles is about 56 lbs and 49 inches tall. He loves movies and video games and I'm pretty sure he will end up working in television and fullfilling his life long dream of moving back to California. He is Landyn's polar opposite. He enjoys climbing to the top of the tree and riding his 20" bike. He is fast and athletic and loves roller blading, ice skating and skiing. He is not afraid of falling down and trying again and that makes up for his lack of interest in all things studious. :)

 The twins turn 2 this week! What? When did that happen? They are finally somewhere in the 20-30th %tile for height. Isaac is a full 2 inches taller than his sister at 34 and a 1/4 inches. He weighs in at 25 lbs while she is a tiny 23 lbs. They both still love their pacifiers and I'm afraid we are going to be paying for it in dental bills. :( They are sharing a bed now and love it. They hated sleeping apart. Scarlett is talking up a storm and just can't say enough, while Isaac is still a mumbler. They are both really smart and very good at puzzles. They love cell phones and dancing and watching "moomies" on the wii netflix. Miles has them addicted to Scooby-Doo. 

We truly feel blessed and can't believe how fortunate we are. Heavenly Father has given us so much and we are so grateful for the blessings which we receive.

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let's start with my youngest, Isaac aka "isee". literally 2 days after i tell joel that is not my favorite nickname and i want to stop using it, scarlett starts calling him "isee". what are you gonna do? it's so cute when she says it. he is 19 months and 21lbs. he wears a lot of 12 & 18 month stuff but can still fit into 3-6m shorts. he's got the cutest little bum! he loves to give kisses and snuggle mama. he loves to read and go down the slide. he shoves all of his food in his mouth and eats just about everything we feed him. he's a mischievious little boy and likes to run away from his mama when he gets the chance. i love him to pieces.

scarlett bean is also 19 months ;) and about 20 lbs. i put her in a 0-3 m dress the other day and called it a shirt. she looked adorable but it was a little snug when I was taking it off. so today she's wearing a 6-9 month shirt. she is a cutie who is really starting to talk. she also loves to kiss and snuggle. she is really helpful too. she brings mama just about anything i ask for. she has the most infectious laugh and she can shake it on the dance floor. she is very good at sharing and when she brings you something she says, "dain doo" aka thank you! she is slightly more well behaved but only slightly. her favorite place to play is in the middle of the road which is very annoying! luckily we're on a cul de sac so we get very little traffic.

miles is 5!!! and i can't believe it. he is taller than ever 49 inches i think. and weighs about 50 lbs. he's in size 6 stuff mostly. he's one of the tallest kids in his class. he's my big boy helper. he is so great with the twins and when he comes home from his dad's he's always picking the twins up saying, "who's my baby girl? who's my baby boy?" i love it!! he is currently in karate and is obsessed with his sensei. he loves it and is so excited to go every time he has class. our neighbor across the street is in miles' class at school. they play together 2 or 3 times a week after school. he is great with the kitty and is very cautious since xander got his "nuts cut off" last week. he's a man in a childs body cause everything he wants needs to be "adult". he wants books with no pictures, and glass not plastic, he doesn't care much for his toys (unless someone else wants them), he still loves his veggies and even asked for brussel sprouts last time we were at the grocery store and we still check every time to see if they have "pomegramitts" yet.

landyn is the big boy in the house. at about 48 inches and 60 lbs i can barely pick him up. i don't know how his mom does it cause she still carries him all of the time. he is fascinated with toys and puzzles. he could play for hours in his room with his toys which is pretty typical i guess, but so different from miles. he LOVES his dad and always wants to spend time with him. he enjoys camping too! he calls himself an eating machine and that's no joke. he could eat all day long until you bring out the veggies that are green. :D also very typical for his age. we still get to see quite a bit of landyn even though he has also started kindergarten. the afternoon schedule has definitely gone in our favor. he's great with numbers and i can totally see this kid being an accountant one day.

then there's us. not much new. joel is still doing carpet and enjoying it. i'm still a stay at home mom and never want to quit. we are in our new house 724 N. 480 W. Orem 84057. we've got fruit trees and plenty of room for the dogs. we have a room for everyone, even uncle spencer who we love having in our home. joel is scout master in our ward and you know he loves that! i'm the compassionate service leader. setting up dinners for all the preggies and sickies. ;)

Audra Mei Mitchell

this beautiful baby girl was born at 9:12a on July 17th to Joel & Weedle Mitchell

she is very tiny, only 6 lbs 5 oz at birth at a little less by the time they brought her home

Mom and baby are healthy and doing well!

Congratulations to my brother and his wife on their 3rd child in 3 years!

shooting the twins

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wish we could have gotten family pictures with the boys too but it wasn't our night and it just didn't work out. luckily I found someone on ksl.com offering a free family shoot each month and we got picked for July!! so really soon we will have some new family pictures. :D in the mean time, enjoy these. isaac totally out shot scarlett...again but every picture isaac looked super adorable in, scarlett was in the background crying. lol it just turned out that the best pics of me and joel have scarlett in them. also can i just say how glad i am that awful beard is gone? yes, I'M SO GLAD!!

3 months later...

So far this has been an amazing summer. At the very end of April our annual family pass to the Tracy Aviary and Ogden Dinosaur Park expired. Joel had the day off and we had both of the boys so we took them up there for a farewell visit. While we were there we met a family with twins and after talking for a moment found out it was their 2nd set of twins! They had 7 year old boy/girl twins and 1 year old boys. :D That is always fun.

These kids had a great time walking around and the twins got to swing on the swings. (It was their favorite thing to do at that time.) We had a Burger King picnic and took a bunch of pictures. Here are just a few.

In May, Joel and I took our first ever vacation together and went all the way to Park City! It was such a fun vacation. We started off by getting massages at the Massage Cabin where Emily works. The prices are so reasonable ($35 for an hour) that we couldn't pass it up, especially when Emily and Nicole had openings. Then Joel surprised me with a reservation at the Dakota, a resort at the Canyons. Our room was amazing! Seriously, one of the nicest rooms I'd ever stayed at. We went out for sushi at the Flying Sumo which was fabulous by Emily's recommendation! We stopped at the grocery store on the way back and picked up some hot chocolate (Stephen's peanut butter cup) and Ice cream (haagen daz java chip) and popcorn. We had the nicest little kitchenette in our room and we wanted to take advantage. And after we make a stop at the pool and hot tub we had yummy snacks.

The next morning we ate breakfast at the resort and that was delicious. The best eggs benedict I've ever had. The make their own english muffins (which tasted like pizza crust) and cure their own ham. Un-believable! After breakfast Joel let the front desk know our TV wasn't working properly and after sending someone to fix it, they decided they would just switch our rooms. Our new room was bigger than our first apartment. The kitchen was amazing! Two fireplaces, a washer and dryer, view of the pool, jetted tub, double headed shower...it was unreal.

That night we went to Cirque du Soleil's Alegria! at the E Center. An amazing show to say the least. We had excellent seats (which I found for super cheap on ksl.com). We were both blown away and I'm pretty sure it was the first time Joel didn't comment on how "he could do that". ;) That night Emily and Jennie & boys came up to Park City and we went to TenPin and danced the night away. It was a such a fun vacation. I loved every minute of it with my honey. The twins were with my step-mom and dad and the boys were with their other parents. 

In June I took the kids out to California for a final disney trip before the summer blocked us out. It was so fun. I love taking the kids there. It makes me as happy as it makes them. My mom even splurged one night and got us a hotel in Anaheim so we could do a double header at the park. I also went to San Diego and got to spend some much needed time seeing a few of my favorite people. None of whom I got pictures of but I did get to meet Gunner Von Pierce, Kim's adorable redhead baby boy. I got to spend some quality time with the Bramwells who also let us stay at their lovely home. And last but not least, the Neylan's and I got to meet their sweet baby Aubrey. Beautiful children all around. We had a great time! The day that I got back into town, I unpacked and repacked for a week in Snowbird with the Mitchell's. We swam and played lots of cards and ate delicious meals and had a great time. Again I didn't take many pictures but I did get this cute one of Isaac in a hand towel after he showered from swimming with Daddy and Landyn.

As soon as we got back from Snowbird Joel and I got ready for Trek. It was an incredible experience. Neither one of us went on trek when we were in high school so we were both very interested to go. In fact the last four wards that I have been in have participated in Trek while I was living in the ward boundaries and this is the first time that I have ever been asked to participate as well. I loved every minute of being a "ma". We had a great group of youth, two of which joined us the day before we left. (And boy were we lucky!) Everyone did an amazing job trekking and pulling/pushing the handcarts. It was an incredibly spiritual experience for everyone. The first picture is at Independence Rock in Wyoming. It was basically a message board for anyone traveling the Oregon and Mormon Trails. They told us a story of a woman whose husband had left before her to set up a home and she didn't even know if he'd survived until she got to I.R. and saw his name carved in the rock and she knew he'd at least made it that far. Unbelievable! We got to go to Martin's Cove which President Hinckley has been quoted as saying "it is the most sacred place on the Earth he has ever been to". We got to see the Sweet Water River where the 4 "Valley Boys" carried the people of the Martin Handcart company across the river all day long because they were too weak and weary to cross another river in that cold. We went to Sixth Crossing where the Willey handcart company was rescued. We went to Rock Creek where so many of the Willey handcart company were buried. All of these places were sacred. The last night we camped in Wyoming we had a HUGE dinner of  steak, and potatoes and corn and biscuits and a cherry cobbler dessert and as we left that line they handed us a tiny sack of flour and told us this was the adult ration of food for the saints in the Martin Handcart company before their rescue. I was sooo hungry and tears came to my eyes as I felt the pain they must have felt. And as a mother what I would feel not being able to feed my children. I'm so glad I got to go and I hope that one day we will be able to give our children this same experience.

Two days before I trek I went blonde. I'm having more fun and I love it. It's not Joel's favorite but I wanted to try something new. :D

Lately we have been spending everyday at the Lindon Pool. I love it. Basically I put the twins down for a nap around 11a and when they wake up we eat lunch and head to the pool. And even though I use spf 50-75 because I'm out in the sun for 1-3 hrs a day I have my very first tan. Of course my husband and Miles and Isaac all out tan me so I still look totally white.

This 4th of July we did Stadium of Fire with our good friends Ryan and Tiffany and Paige. We sat outside the stadium and watched the whole show. It was wonderful. The kids did fireworks the whole time while we sang along to Carrie Underwood, who is gorgeous by the way. Joel did announce a day or two before the show that she is the only blonde he's ever been attracted to. :D Thanks babe! I also put in my blue contacts which don't look so creepy with the blonde hair. Funny story about those contacts. When Miles saw my eyes he said he wanted blue eyes. I told him I could do it for him but I would have to touch his eye. He asked if it would hurt and I told him maybe just for a second but then it would be okay. While we were at the pool later that day he came up and asked me what color his eyes were and I said brown. His response, "ugh! I touched them so many times! I thought they would be blue by now." Then Sunday we went to church up in SLC with Joel's parents and siblings and then had a BBQ and swam. Yes I recycled my shirt cause I loved it so much.

This pretty much catches us up. Facebook has most of the rest of our happenings. We are looking forward to Grandma and Grandpa coming out to visit us from California! We are also anxious to meet our new niece/cousin in just 2 more weeks. How about the name Brielle? I saw that on fb the other day. And this week we are having fun visiting with our Grandy and Grumpy from Minnesota. We've been lucky cause Joel has been really busy with work but we are hoping to take a trip to MN to see the LaClaire family and meet little Mason (who I hear is about as big as the twins even though he's more than a year younger than them). Actually I weighed all of the kids today. Landyn 59 lbs...Miles 52 lbs...Isaac 21 lbs...Scarlett 19 lbs. Yes my 5 year olds are in the fifties and my 18 month olds are barely breaking 20 lbs. 

little miss determination

this little girlie was walking back and forth in the hall with her hands behind her back. it was...strange. she just went back and forth, and back and forth all the while with her hands behind her back. finally, inbetween a load of dishes and a load of laundry i picked her up. she immediately started to cry. so i put her back down and without missing a beat, she put her hands behind her back and started walking again. this is the moment i realized what she was doing: practicing walking!! she was trying to do it without depending too much on her arms for balance. i was amazed by her determination. she did it for about an hour and now today she is walking like a pro! i can't believe it. she is much steadier on her feet and doesn't have nearly as hard of a time balancing herself. i'm quite sure this little beauty is going to accomplish some wonderful things in her life and i know this will be a story i will share with her again and again.

Happy Easter!

We had a fun Easter/Conference Weekend at my Dad's house. We did puzzles, ate, played games, ate, watched conference, ate, colored eggs, cooked and ate some more. It was a lot of fun. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Stake Pioneer Trek Activity

hahaha...this is Emma Green, Shyenaia Luna (two of our "daughters") and Me & Joel in our pioneer get-ups Wednesday night at a Stake Mutual. The other Ma in our ward (Tiffany) made all of my stuff: bonnet, apron & skirt; talk about talent! She spent so much time making everyone else's stuff she didn't have enough time to do her own. But she did make her daughter, Paige this adorable bonnet. Love it!

We had a lot of fun playing pioneer games and square dancing. We're really excited for this summer. Even though it's a lot of work for everyone involved, I think most people are really getting in the spirit of things and getting super excited. More to come!