THE TRAVELING GARDNERS

With a combination of moving, re-decorating, excitement of preparing Isabella's nursery, and out with the old and in with the new mentality......we changed the theme of the boys room. For years the main decor of Ben's room has been sports. I attempted to get a jungle theme going with Zachary. But with moving, he never had his own room. So sports took over as the main decor and bedding for the boys room. It worked out because Dan and I combined, have enough sports paraphernalia to fill a small sports museum. We ended up using signed sports photos and other items to decorate their room. Well, in this recent move Dan and I felt it was time for a change.  The boys decided together that they wanted a Superhero room. Ben's favorite character is Captain America. This started with a free comic book put out by the military a few years back. Captain America was the main character. Also, this past Halloween he dressed up as Captain America. Superman comes in a close...

With our "family carver" out of country this Halloween, we decided to take a different spin on pumpkins this year. I painted Baby Zach a pumpkin. And little "Picasso to be" painted his own. Every time I asked him to look at the camera, without looking up once or pausing from his master piece......he would say, "Mom, I'm painting a pumpkin!" How is it possible that our little munchkin gets cuter every day????? Not the greatest for painting pumpkins. But they came in handy for our secret project for Daddy! The greatest invention ever! Do you mind Mom? I am working on my art........ All I see in this picture is a character from "Lord of the flies" or a lost boy from Peter Pan..... He kept pointing to his creation and saying, "MY PUMPKIN!" He had so much fun. After everything was painted, little monkey was taking a bubble bath. I asked him if he had a fun time painting. He said, "Yah Mommy, you had fun too?" Yah lit...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM THE GHOULY GARDNER'S! First pictures are around our house on Halloween ~ Halloween lunch time....yup, still in our pj's........ :) Ben could watch this movie 4 times a day if he had his way! Today we watched it twice! Ghouly green broccoli and orange cheesy macaroni ~ TRUNK OR TREAT ~ Our church Hallowen party. First we had a chili and soup dinner. Benjamin was clapping with some music that was playing in the background. His favorite Halloween song is, The witch Doctor sung by David Seville and The Chipmunks. Mr Incredible, Horsey, and Penguin ~ Benjamin with his buddies Brycen and Kael ~ Ben enjoyed handing out candy and popcorn balls more than trick or treating ~ Benjamin with his favorite babysitter Natalie ~ BACK AT HOME - CANDY TIME! Time to dump his Thomas the train candy holder and see what he got! Yummy! His favorite...dum dum lollipops! Airheads rule! While sorting the candy, we watched a classic Halloween movie ~ My attempt at getti...

So, for the 4th time this pregnancy......... I got food poisoning! This time was from Panda Express. I thought healthy steamed veggies and grilled chicken was a good choice for little monkey. And although he didn't get sick, my choice of Tai cashew chicken, fried rice, and cream cheese Rangoon's were not as kind to me. I have decided that because we are eating out so often, I have a higher percentage than other people to get sick. But seriously people....4 times in one pregnancy!?!?!?!! Even if it is more convenient with being 9 months prego and taking care of a toddler with hubby on deployment.........I will not be frequenting ANY take out for the rest of this pregnancy! Only 13 days to go. So, I don't think this will be too big of a feat to accomplish........ The one good thing about getting sick from these restaurants? It will make my post pregnancy weight loss easier. I will not be visiting Panda Express or Cafe Rio for a VERY long time, if ever!

In the mean time.....while trying to prevent pre term labor.....we have been taking it easy...... Having fun with dress up and props..... Making my vote count! Absentee ballot from California......... Cleaning and organizing new and old clothes. This adorable new outfit provided by Ocean Grandma...... And shopping and preparing for the cold weather to come....... Oh yah and drinking lots of water, putting my feet up whenever possible, and catching up on movies and books.

I can't help but look at the pregnancy countdown and think Ben was born at 38 weeks. I am so anxious for Dan to be here. And, I am super anxious that Baby Zach will arrive before Dan gets here. Stay in my tummy Zach!!!!!! And Dan...... get home!!!!! Only, 14 days until the scheduled c-section!!!!!!!!! AUGHHHHHHHHHHH! It's becoming very real!

At my Mom's suggestion and request, we headed up to Sundance. It was one of my favorite memories of my Mom's visit! Sadly, I forgot the digital camera. Thank goodness for our camera phone though! Ben was such a good little monkey. Everyone kept commenting on what a well behaved little man he was. Ben loves to snuggle with Ocean Grandma ~ Ben REALLY loved the cheese puffs ~ I highly recommend the Sundance buffet to any prego out there! It was a pregnancy craving dream come true! I don't remember the last time I was this relaxed. I love the mountains! The bubbling creek in the background that Ben wanted to jump in! I rested my feet while Grandma and Ben went and checked out an Art Studio. The last pictures before leaving Sundance. Ben was sad to leave because he wanted to stare at the water a little bit longer. He was happy though when he got to bring home a leaf. Whewww was I full?!?! After Sundance, we drove up the road to visit Nana and Opa! Benjamin loves visiting...