Friday, October 29, 2010

Manhattan, here we come!

So, it looks like we'll be moving to Manhattan next summer.  Last week Scott felt impressed to start looking at other jobs that would be more interesting to him.  So, we started looking at different school in Kansas and found that K-State has the only School of Agriculture in the State and it's very well-known!  Even cooler is the fact that they have different majors in the horticulture field.  Scott was practically drooling just looking at the classes he would have to take!  Then I started looking at their Elementary Ed Program, and I might get done a whole semester earlier!  Woohoo!  They don't have a ridiculous amount of classes that are worthless to take.  Hurrah for K-State!  Of course, this will be my fourth school, but I think that this is a great fit and since we got the go-ahead from Heavenly Father, we're starting to make plans.  Don't get me wrong, Emporia is a great place, but it's so not my favorite!  I've had a very hard time adjusting to life here and it isn't a place I want to stay at forever.  I've been working on getting a real park in my neighborhood and everyone talks about what a great idea it is, but I only have four people helping me get funding together.  It's ridiculous!  I feel like I'm taking too much on myself, but can't do anything about it, since who's going to take up my slack?  That's my little rant.  Now on to happier things.  Like Scott mentioned this morning, I should probably start considering the packing of my labor bag, since I have about 2 months to go!  I told him that since I can walk to the hospital, and my labors are looooong, that I could probably pack the bag when I go into labor.  Not that I will, but it is there as an option!  I'm still praying that I get through finals.  She can come anytime after my last final!  Watch, I'll go super long.  I can hope not!  I'm already having to concentrate to not waddle!  So, yeah, fun times at the Westhoffs!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

My brother is back!








Right after school on Thursday, we finished up packing, told Scott bye and headed up to Olathe.  We got there and played at the park for a little while, then on to the house, and soon after to the airport!  they were early, so we were rushing to get there in time and we did!  Not that the kids held the signs up right, but it was still pretty cute!  Emma was holding the Chris sign backwards(Together they were supposed to say: Welcome Home Chris, Kim and Sam), which just had her name.  It worked, since she chopped her hair since everyone had seen her, so she needed a name tag!  It was so great to see my siblings again!  We didn't get a picture together, but now we can!  I'm hoping to do a family picture after Cecilia is born!  When I'm not so huge.  And the family is more complete.  Anyway, back to Chris.  So, they were 30 minutes early, so the whole group wasn't there yet.  They got Chris' luggage before Mandy showed up, so she met up with him at the curb.  Then Brother Foster and later Bill, Laura and Alexis showed up in the parking lot.  We went back to the house and had dinner.  We were all up late, though Sam and Chris stayed up the latest, the sillies!  We had a Wal-mart run at midnight.  I guess it's a tradition.  I had to get shoes for Ben, since he decided to wear not only two mismatching shoes, but the same foot.  So, his foot was really hurting him!  It was about time for some new shoes anyway.  I got to bed after one, but they stayed up until 4!  Yikes!  On Friday (I missed classes, but the kids were out of school) we went to the KC Zoo!  I am pretty sure that the last time I went was when Scott and I were dating (and we didn't go in, just walked around the outside).  It was all new to me!  We stayed for awhile, to see as much as we could before starving!  After all of that walking I was miserable.  I have a cold, plus I'm HUGE, and my Active Living class yesterday completely wore me out.  So, yeah, we didn't make it through all of Africa.  It didn't help that it started pouring as we started in Africa!  Luckily, they had mercy on us and paid for us to ride the Tram back to the front gate!  Leah actually went to Chris which was very exciting!  We went and ate at Arby's afterward, since we were hungry and it's expensive to eat in the zoo!  Then we went back to the house for the kids to change into their swimsuits and go swimming at the hotel (though I did stop at Children's Orchard first, it has completely changed)!  I lasted maybe 30 minutes before I couldn't take the adrenalin rushes (Leah stepped off the side into the water, while I was holding onto Emma, and Aunt Jan and I caught her).  Sheesh!  It was too hard with the three of us adults (though Chris did very well with Emma and Leah), and five kids!  So, we went back and had dinner.  I put the kids to bed and we watched Iron Man to prep for Iron Man 2.  I didn't like it.  It was supposed to be a good movie for Chris to watch as his first movie home.  We were up till one watching it.  Family time.  My kids slept in some, and mom cooked them breakfast, so I had time to pack everything up, and we could hightail it back home.   We weren't too late!  I took the little girls with me to the Park Meeting and Scott took the older two to the Primary Program practice.  After our meeting we went to a garage sale that I saw on the way in.  I got some stuff for Cecilia.  Now, it's been a long day, but it's great to be home!  Scott even let me take an hour nap!  Nice! 

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

And so on and so forth!





We just had an amazingly fun (and LOOONG) weekend!  I'm just now recuperating enough to write about it!  We headed up and across to St Louis on Friday after Scott and the kids got home from school.  We got there about 11!  And most of the kids were still awake!  So, of course, they were excited to be at the hotel and had a hard time going to sleep.  Especially Leah, who I finally begged long enough to get her to sleep at 12:30.  In the morning we got our free breakfast (love Marriot) and headed out.  Scott went to the Temple and my dad and I took the kids to the Zoo.  Leah and my dad had never been to the St Louis Zoo (and technically they still haven't seen most of the zoo, since it took us too long to get there).  My dad had never even seen penguins before, so it was fun to see how excited he was!  Our favorite place was the Butterfly Room!  I LOVE it!  The kids loved having butterflies everywhere.  Kira, my dad and I all had butterflies land on us.  I got a lot of great pictures!  I may have a butterfly room here!  After our whirlwind trip through the zoo, we picked up Scott for lunch, ate fast (just us, turns out the kids didn't get fed lunch), and Scott and I went back to the Temple.  Which was awesome!  It was so good that I managed to keep my calm until Monday (and then with how Emma was behaving, I really can't be blamed) through the long trip back!  Scott and I got to go together to the session, which was the best part!  It's been a long time!  We really enjoyed the peace that Temple Attendance brings.  Though I had a curious incident in the Celestial Room afterwards when a lady came up to me and asked me when I was due.  I told her January 1st and she asked me if I was having twins.  Why does everyone keep asking me that?  She said, maybe one is hiding.  I doubt that the ultrasound technician would have not noticed!  Though it would be an interesting surprise (since I'm not ready for two babies).  So, now I'm considering making a shirt that says, "It's not twins, please don't comment on my belly size."  My kids are slowly growing up, and they are alternately hilarious, loving or terrors.  Emma has preferred the terror phase.  She keeps hurting Leah and wasting things.  I had bought the vinyl to make a Family Home Evening sign and she applied it to random sheets of paper.  She dumped the laundry detergent down the sink, put hand soap all over her bed and on two pieces of clothing (one being a onesie for the baby), has poured out food coloring all over her sheet, carpet and paper, is fantastic at wasting computer paper and manages to never eat what she is just dying to eat!  Then she will do something bad and I'll tell her it's bad, and maybe five minutes later she loves me again and makes pictures for me.  So, yeah, 3 year olds exhaust me with all the flip flopping!  Luckily Leah is still in the cute cuddly stage.  And Kira and Ben can do a lot by themselves.  I love that Ben can sit and read a book!  LOVE it!  And they aren't begging for tv as much, which is nice too!  So, yeah, that's my family life in a nutshell, school is a whole 'nother can of worms.  Enough said!