For a husband far away

This post is for N who's been back in Sydney hard at work for a week and a half and requested some pictures of these boys. We are into our 6th week of vacation and have seen more friends on this trip then we knew we had. I'm sure several of you reading this have seen us in the last few weeks. The trip has not disappointed. I'm sure these pictures show evidence of our state of bliss.

Hope you enjoy the randomness.

{More of the Frannie part of our vacation soon. xo}

And last but not least, B showing off his mad kung-fu moves.

Bon Voyage

Feeling a bit guilty here since I haven't posted in forever.
T minus 4 hours till we leave on a jet planed destined for the beautiful US of A. Can't wait to get back on American soil. Thought I'd leave you all with a picture of this little turkey.
xoxo,
Linds

Yay for Wil Wil

My baby turned 2 and we had a little party to celebrate. I decided that it would be fun to make him a dinner that he'd enjoy so I made a bunch of finger foods, kid friendly and mostly unhealthy. Of course he came down with the flu that night, which explained why he wanted nothing to do with the food.



He also wanted nothing to do with the party hat. Fortunately the rest of the dinner party were not as picky about wearing them as Wil was.



He was interested in dessert. What 2 year old isn't? flu or no flu.

A tower of monkey's to celebrate the biggest monkey of all.



Dessert went something like this:

"Ooh, I want to blow these out so bad, I'm trying to restrain myself"



"What happened, where did the lights go?"



"Did I do it right, Mom?"



"Oh good, I did it!"



"Did everybody else see what I just did?"



"Oh I'm so good at blowing out birthday candles!"



"Not going to waste any time with utensils"





"If I could just secure the cupcake a little bit better"



"That's better"



"See how good that worked?"





The older boys enjoyed them too.



We bought Wil a ride on toy so he and Beckett would stop fighting over the one we already have. Now they just fight over the new one.





So happy to celebrate Big Dub.

Addition

Eeek...I can't even contain my excitement at the arrival of my newest niece.

Miss Evalyn Elizabeth Klain.


photo courtesy of coleenhauthphotography.com

She made her debut early last Saturday morning. I've only seen her sweet little face over miles and miles of wire connections, but she is beautiful and elegant (how can a newborn baby be elegant? One glance at her and you'd know.) I am dying to meet and squeeze her.
She is perfection...

Addendum to previous post...

Possible explanations for the random picture in that last post from Nathan?

(not sure if the lack of comments/questioning stemmed from the inability to conclude any parallels between that image and our life, or just shear confusion.)


Possibility #1. Our first sighting of the Australian mammal.


Possibility #2. A simple reminder to you all that we're still here. In Australia.


Possibility #3. A recent lesson on how kangaroo offspring are toted around in a pouch.


Possibility #4. Nathan just brought one home as a pet for the boys.


Possibility #5. That one of us might be looking like said kangaroo before too long.


Any guesses?



Yes, indeed #3 is on the way and we are so so excited! I am due mid-October and am just through my first trimester. I felt more sick this time, but still think it's a boy. I figure that way I am not disappointed when I find out it is a boy, and if it turns out to be a girl, it will be a delightful surprise. Beckett has been praying for a baby sister.
(probably so I stop trying on all of the girl accessories I buy on him) :)

Oh and I had to include this picture, so you can get an accurate idea of what the babe will look like if it is a girl.



I went in yesterday for my first doctors appointment and giggled through the whole ultrasound like it was my first experience with it. It just became a reality for me as I saw the little bean wiggle around, feet crossed at the ankles, hands waving around. It's pretty awesome.

Yay for babies! Can't wait to meet this little one.

Seeing Australia {Part 1}

When we headed to Oz, Nathan and I knew there was one thing above all else we had to do while here.
And that was to snorkle in the Great Barrier Reef.

Fortunately for any of you who would have put that on your list as well, I'm a picture taking fool and have included waaaayyyyy too many photos in this one post. I hope you enjoy. We really did.

On the easy 2 hour flight there. The boys did so well and snuggled together as they watched some TV.



Upon arrival at the tiny itsy-bitsy airport in Hamilton Island
(part of the Witsunday Island chain).



Besides the picture of the welcome sign, this was the first sight my eyes met as we rounded the corner. I immediately thought of Mom and Dad who love Hawaii. I'm trying to convince them to come visit us sooner than later, maybe this will seal the deal.



We boarded our golf cart (everyone on the island drives these) and took a little tour (or detour) on our way to the accommodation. We saw the resort side of the island...



and some rain headed our way...


...fortunately it was just a nice refreshing little shower and didn't stay long.

The first day was spent:

#1 Swimming


#2 Beaching


and #3 Mini Golfing



(Notice Beckett's new pose found here and in the first photo. He's spent hours refining it.)

The following day we saw what we'd come to see. The reef.

This is the floating pontoon where we suited up and ate lunch.











I hope Katie doesn't kill me for posting this, but I wouldn't have ever dared if she didn't look so dang HOT in it.



We also went out on a semi-submersible so the kids could see what we'd seen while snorkeling.





Our last day was spent at White Haven beach.

On the ride over



Our boat



What the kids did while we boated along some of the most beautiful coastline in the world.









We put the kids in these stinger suits to help protect against the sun
(and cause it was hil.ar.ious).
Surprisingly they were not bothered by them and Owen even protested having it taken off.











Another refreshing rain came by and cooled us off and we were ready for more stinger suit action:







Okay, okay, I'm done with the funny suit pictures. Sorry.



I am definitely a fan of this place.



We finished our trip off with a nice trip to the park.



Then waited patiently to catch the bus back to the airport.



What a trip.
(Both for us and any of you who actually finished reading this post.)