evan, lindsay, nina, elena and esther

What I mean by the title is, I have a ball for a stomach. See for yourself.



How I know that this is a fact (other than the photo above):

Three or four times people have said something along these lines to me, jokingly: "I'm glad you remembered to bring the ball" (including one person today! haha)

But here is the real PROOF that my tummy is perfectly spherical like unto a ball:

Two weeks ago I was sitting on a chair near our kitchen table. Emily and Vaughn were over. Emily was holding Vaughn, who was piercing my tummy with his gaze, without blinking, for quite a while. Chuckling, I pointed to my stomach and clarified, "tummy!" in case Vaughn wasn't sure what to make of it. He was quick to correct me without any hesitation and said, "BALL".

Case in point. An 18 month old just doesn't lie, it's impossible.

hahaaaaa It was so funny. He still points at my stomach and since then he's been taught that there's a baby in my tummy, so he now says "baby". It was really funny while it lasted.


Since Nina was 11 days early I figured I'd assign myself an alternative due date to my actual one which is August 1st. So the "nina" due date, as I call it, is next Wednesday, the 21st! BTW isn't it amazing that Nina was due a day after I graduated, and this girl is due a week after Evan's graduation? Who plans these things?

I had another weekly midwife visit. The verdict is I'm a time bomb. I wish I just knew how long the fuse is. She has dropped and is lodged down low and there's only one place for her to go. Considering that I had false contractions on Monday night, painful and steady enough to keep me up for three hours, is maybe a sign that I'll deliver soon. Attempts at self-induction such as water aerobics, touring the BFA exhibits today with my grandma and aunts and uncle, biking, and lots of walking, have all failed. I admit they were all pretty leisurely attempts.

People ask me if it's hard being pregnant right now - mid/late summer in Rexburg. Surprisingly no. We had kind of a heat wave a couple of weeks ago and are about to have another, but our basement apartment has really come in handy. It stays so nice and cool! I count my blessings.

There have been so many fun times these last few weeks. Camping at Heise with Kendra, Joel & Lily and their family Chris and Lindsay. Playing at Egan Lake at the sand dunes was another fun time. It's this lake that is no deeper than a foot - the most amazing natural wading pool that goes on forever and ever. Nina loved it. Here are pictures taken on Sarah Miskin's camera. I'm grateful she captured this memory, of Nina eating mud. (we tried so hard to keep her from doing this, I swear!!) :





Last Saturday Bethany threw a baby shower for Shauna and I. Shauna's due date is exactly a month after mine. I wish I had taken pictures. LOVED hanging out with a lot of the people we're going to miss in Rexburg. It might be one of the last times before we leave. And the 'birthing' mini plastic babies game was short lived but hilarious. They were frozen in ice cubes and the first person to get theirs out or "birth" their baby, won. It was also awesome to have chocolate fondue and other amazing treats to enjoy.

My dad visited recently and we took a tour of Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole for a day with Grandma, Uncle Jerry and Aunt Ann. It was such a gorgeous drive. Kind of unbelievable. Fields of wild daisies and other purple flowers. Striking mountain grandeur. Buffalo crossing the road. At one point while rounding a corner we almost hit two baby moose and their mom who gallumphed down the road away from us. Here are a few beautiful pictures he took during the day:









Yet another great recent event - Evan's BFA show open house - where all the Bachelor of Fine Art students exhibited their final projects. I just felt so much pride for all the work he put into it. The project itself is an interactive website, but the display he created for it is so perfect. When we get some pictures of it taken we'll post them. We can't believe the kindness of a few VERY giving friends who helped Evan with the programming part of his project, soooo generously. It was fun to see Evan get the chance to introduce President and Sister Clark to his project. We had a good time meeting his friend and classmate Joseph's wife and their two kids. I'll never forget when their daughter Audrey stole my shoes and Nina chased after her to get them back. Then Audrey misjudged her placement and hurled her little 22 month self into a door while clutching my shoes. It sounds brutal but it was really, REALLY cute. And so funny.

Back to Evan's BFA, it's just awesome. Please check it out. - The hopefear project.