Wanna play the name game?

When my parents were expecting me, they were also playing this game. Their finalists were Allison or Brianne. Obviously, you know which one they picked. But how weird would it have been if they had picked Brianne?!? I have always kind of liked knowing the name that I almost had- Is that strange? Anyway, I wanted to remember all the names we have considered for this baby. Each has been the front runner (if even temporarily) but we do have one we're leaning heavily toward. This will be revealed at a later date...

If the baby is born a boy, like we are expecting, we will choose one from this list:
Nicholas
Will (William)
Eli (Elijah)
Charlie (Charlton)
Gavin
Zachary (soon to be taken but I still love)
Garrick
Emmett
Krew
Aiden

P.S. I have a thing with shortened names, apparently.

Girls names we considered before I peeked:
Alexa (This name has been runner-up three times now. I still love it, but it just didn't quite fit.)
Lily
Sophie
Leah (Tony's fave)
Tessa
Carly
Brooke
Eva (Recently taken)
Morgan (taken, sadly, but I still love it)
Kate (Soon to be taken. It's beautiful.)
Addison

I had planned on using the middle name Bell, or Belle, in honor of my mother (Debra Bell Rees) but we'll just have to wait and see if we ever make it to 5. Don't hold your breath.

American Goldfinch

"The American goldfinch is the state bird of Washington, New Jersey and Iowa. Females are more dull than males, but with identical conical bill shapes. Goldfinches of the same mating-pair will have virtually identical flight calls, and identify one another by these calls."

Our big back window is very reflective. Birds splat on it all the time, ecspecially in the afternoons. The bigger birds that we usually see, like robins and magpies, can take a hit and usually just sit there on the porch stunned until they fly away. (The loud window-thud scares me every time.)

This sweet little guy must have really hit hard. He didn't make it.

At first I thought he was just stunned, so I went out to check. He was obviously dead. Since he was kind of unusual, I called for the kids to come see and I wrapped him in an old rag. They were all fascinated...

and sad.

Lauren was particularly interested. She even waited for me to go inside for a minute before she unwrapped him and picked him up, patted his head and then rubbed him on her little cheek. I know- eww. We washed. Lots.

Gage made a sign for all birds to watch out. (I taped it to the window- you can see how reflective the glass looks.)
The next morning I had Gage bury him in the yard. Each of the kids got a rock and decorated it with markers for little headstones. They did a great job.

Today I caught him and his little buddy Nate trying to dig him up. Gage insisted that Nate wanted to see. More washing has ensued.

As a woman, I don't understand the fuss.

And Tony, as a man, can't understand why I need more than 3 pairs of shoes.
Apparently, this is a big deal. Who knew... Tony told me to add that if anyone wants to go fishing, let him know.

Summer Kick-Off!!

I'm pretty sure that the only way to tell it's summer in Idaho is that the kids stop going to school.

These are the cute little cupcakes we made for Gage's end-of-school party. I got the idea from my friend Kara, who made these for my kids last year on their first day of school. I loved them. Tony asked me why I was making Halloween cupcakes. (They are a Chalkboard with chalk and apple) I tried not to be offended and will try to remember this come Halloween time. Lauren has started taking gymnastics with Jossy. She was terrified the first week and hid under my skirt. I was completely surprised- she's usually the fearless one! After seeing all the other girls do fun things on the mats and bars, she joined in and did surprisingly well for her first week, ecspecially considering she's 2! Gage started T-ball! He is is super excited about this and takes it very seriously. He will seriously wrestle the other little boys on his team for the ball. We're probably going to have to talk about that.


This is his first hit- He made it to first, stood there, and then fielded the ball for the little boy hitting after him. Luckily they don't keep score.

We've also had some little visitors above our front door. The poor mama bird sat there for so long, I thought her eggs had frozen or something. I never heard a peep. I climbed up there to rip the nest down, thinking it was empty and this is what we found!

I climbed up again one week later and look how much they had changed!!

Their little roost was a happy one, but they didn't stay very long. When I checked again the next week, they were gone. And I thought my kids grew up fast!

This last picture is from yesterday while I tried to clean the garage. It has been raining and there was a big puddle out back. It was just too tempting. Once Lauren started in, no one else could help themselves.


I tried really hard, but I just couldn't work up a good mad. They were having too much fun and I was a little jealous of how good of a time they were having. Oh, to be that free.

Their clothes are pretty much ruined. If you have any tips on removing deep set mud stains, I would be much obliged.

A little of this and that...

Sorry about my last post- now it seems like such an embarrassing rant! Forgive me. Anyway, Memorial day was a blast- the kids had so much fun visiting all the Utah Rees cousins and if you want to see some killer pics, check Jen and Brandon's blog, because she did a better post than I would even try to do.
I also have read a new book series that deserves a recommendation: Mortal Instruments. It's a trilogy- City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass. The first one was okay. The second and third one were pretty dang good. I'm not talking Twilight here, but still better than sitting with my eyes glazed over pretending to watch late night Sports Center with Tony.
Baby update: I'm huge. I didn't even look pregnant until about 22 weeks, at which point I ballooned and am convinced I am either having spontaneous twins or a 15 pound baby. My ribs are killing me and I still have over 2 months left. In truth, I think my ab muscles have just given up completely. But I'm getting really excited, and I can't wait till the day when we can bring this little bundle home and the rest of my family can start to love a baby that I have loved for about 7 months.
Coming soon: Lauren at Gymnastics! And Gage starts T-ball! Seriously, both were a laugh a minute. I'll post pics soon!