On the Road AGAIN!

A very blurry picture of the St. George temple.

For Thanksgiving this year we loaded up the kids and drove for 20 hours to St. George Utah to spend the holiday with Paul's family. Being 8 months prego, I was worried that it would be awful that long in the car. Honestly it wasn't that bad at all, we've trained our kids from birth how to travel long distances in a car.

We loved seeing all of the Watts' side of the family, and had a fabulous Thanksgiving feast. We always have a blast with Paul's family. We ate lots of food, played games, watched lots of football(oh joy) went to the movies and even braved shopping at 4am on black Friday (thanks Mimi and Papa for staying with the kids so we could go)!! Total crazy experience. Paul and I have been plenty of times, but this time was different. People were getting knocked down (Paul's Aunt being one of them) and some lady had the nerve to keep shoving me in the back with her cart! We were all corralled in the isles like cows and she kept shoving me in the back trying to get me to move! I turned around quickly and said rather harshly, "stop pushing me, I can't move!" She didn't even apologize, but she did stop. I think this lady learned her lesson: Don't shove an 8 month pregnant girl in the back at 5 in the morning!

One of my highlights of the trip was seeing Matt and Amy and their sweet kids. They drove down from Provo to spend some time with us. We ate at In-N-Out, played mini golf (so much fun!) went to the lighting ceremony at the St. George Temple, attended a session and even went swimming. We loved seeing them and I was so sad to say goodbye. It's hard not knowing when I'll see them again. Amy and Matt, thanks again for coming and bringing me the best homemade truffles and buckeye balls ever, it was the best 2 lbs I ever gained!

Studly bachelor, Uncle D and LuLu at the lighting ceremony (btw, I made the beanie Eliza is wearing during the long car ride. Luckily for me, I don't get car sick so I was able to make everyone in my family one)

The other Aunt Amy, and Uncle Spencer. The cutest newlyweds ever!! Actually they've been married for 2 years now but still act like they're just married. I miss them too.


Mimi and Papa!


Aunt Amy (my sister) and sweet little Bella. Sorry Matt, I didn't get a picture of you. The one time I bring out my camera and you were no where to be found.

two peas in a pod!

Me, Z and my big Daddy!

Handsome boys. Paul, his brothers and his Dad. I know, Paul looks nothing like his brothers

My little sis and I after our awesome session. I kept grabbing Amy's hand so she could feel Ruby squirm all over the place.

Big Momma, Mimi, and Amy
This is how my kids slept each night. 3 to a bed, the best thing we ever thought of. There were a couple of nights two of the kids would end up on the floor in that little space between the wall and the bed.

All Aboard! Checking out of our great hotel, the Abby Inn

Some of the sights along the way home. Totally breathtaking isn't it?

Glen Canyon, Arizona

Snow in Arizona. We couldn't resist.

At one point during our car ride Grant got a hold of the camera. I ended up deleting about 20 videos he made of his Lego's. We wondered why he was having such a good 'ole time in the back seat for hours. The rest of the photos are pictures Grant took without us knowing, but I thought I would post them since they pretty much show exactly what most of our trip looked like!

Another memorable trip!

November Milestones

Potty train Zachary...check!

(sorry for the pornographic picture) After Halloween I decided to give potty training a try, if it worked out, great, if not, no big deal. I really just planned on having two in diapers, so it was a nice surprise when just after a week, little Z was fully potty trained. I guess I'll never know what having two in diapers feels like...poor me!

Teach Eliza how to ride a two wheeler...check!

Actually Grant taught her! After her soccer game one Saturday earlier in November she came home and decided she wanted her training wheels off. This video of her is the first day with her training wheels off. Grant spent the after noon with her riding back and forth on the patio. She's usually on that bike every single day after school.

Halloween Watt's style!

We LOVE Halloween, have I mentioned that before? We have all sorts of traditions in our home during the month of October. Some of them include: eating Dinner in a Pumpkin, decorating the house while listening to "Elmo sings the Boos"(Paul hates that cd) Making lots of homemade decorations, treats, carving pumpkins and decorating sugar cookies...to name a few. This year for Halloween we had Ken, Lisa and kids (Paul's sisters family) spend the weekend with us. I feel bad I didn't get one picture of our kids together in their costumes. We went to the ward "trunk-or-treat"` it looked more like a Stake size function. I've never seen a bigger trunk or treat. It took us 45 minutes to go to every car ( we had an awesomely decorated trunk, thanks Paul). We came home with 3 grocery bags full of candy, unfortunatly they're almost gone, yikes! The kids had a blast!

The following night we dressed up again and went to the elementary school, "Fall Ball", it was pretty lame (no offense to the PTA members in charge of that one) Hardly anyone was there, Grant didn't see one person from his class. Oh, well. We still had a good time. After the Fall Ball, Paul and I left the kids with a babysitter and went to a grown up Halloween party!

Our "Scary" Vampire. His cousin Ellie literally couldn't look at him with his teeth in, it scared her too much. He thought he looked pretty awsome. It's been a week and his hair is still gray from the black hair spray.


Pretty little Indian princess. Doesn't she look like Tiger Lily from Peter Pan?

My baby, Thomas the Tank Engine. We were lucky he wore it the whole time at the trunk or treat, he wouldn't let us put it on him again. He was the cutest little trick or treater.


"Mr. Bottle Bones" We made last year from Milk jugs. It's my kids most prized Halloween decoration.

What? Is that Brangelina? That's right, we went to our party as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. We were hauling around like 4 babies, it was pretty funny. We attended the annual Halloween party thrown by our friends Lisa and John. This was our first year to go and we heard that folks go ALL-OUT at this party. Last year two couples came all decked out as members of the band KISS, costumes, instruments, make-up and all! So I knew we couln't come in some generic costumes like say, Pirates.

At this party we were told that everyone had to come prepared to preform a skit. The best skit and costumes were awarded prizes at the end of the night. I was reluctant to do a skit, but a friend of mine told me what a big deal it was, and that I would be "lame" if I didn't. Long story short, we won first prize for our skit! Let's just say it involved Paul and I doing some yoga, my water breaking (I popped a water balloon strapped to the inside of my thigh) and giving birth to a cute little black baby. I'll let your imaginations run with that one. People were literally rolling on the floor.

"Frankintreats"

It's been a fun month, but I'm definitely ready for November. Hope y'all had a fun and safe Halloween!

My feelings on Prop 8...vote YES!

Even though I no longer live in California, I feel it is important to communicate my thoughts and feelings on this important subject since this will eventually have an impact on the rest of the country.

First of all I have personally done a lot of research on this specific initiative in order to better understand both sides of the issue. If you would like to read more about Proposition 8 yourself, you can go to:

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_8_(2008)
or
- http://www.protectmarriage.com/
or
- Go to Google or Yahoo and Type "Proposition 8" for a ton of articles

I understand this is a very sensitive subject for most people and I want to make it clear that I believe all individuals should have equal rights. Both Paul and I have gay friends who we absolutely adore and are some of the nicest people we know. We respect others decisions and hope they respect ours.

I am for Proposition 8 and here's why:

- The proposed amendment to California's constitution reads simply "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California". Marriage has historically always been between a husband and a wife; however, there has been a recent effort to change this definition. If this definition is allowed to be changed there will be conflicts with religious liberty and a diminishing of traditional values. Passing Proposition 8 does not take away the right of same sex couples to have civil unions.

- It disturbs me to think that if this proposition does not pass that our public school system could start to teach our children what is morally right and wrong. For those of you who say, "that is not true" we already are seeing this in Massachusetts schools. To see a story about this you can go to: www.protectmarriage.com/video . Such a sensitive and important subject needs to be taught to our children by parents and not our schools or government.

- Finally, I'm concerned that there will be no tolerance of moral beliefs if Proposition 8 does not pass and this issue is left to the biased courts of California to decide. (btw, didn't California already vote on this same issue and the courts overturned it????? just a thought)

I hope none of you are offended by reading this, that was certainly not my intention. My family and beliefs are too important to not say anything at all.

24 Weeks Prego!

I am now in the lovely stage of "showing" which I absolutely love! I hate the "in between" stage where people wonder..."is she pregnant, or just getting a gut?" I now get to hear all of the many different remarks about my ever growing belly from people I know as well as strangers . My belly is a great conversation starter. I think it's so crazy that one person will say, "Oh my goodness, I didn't even know you were pregnant, you are hardly showing" and another will say, (ahem, my bishop) "Wow, you're looking mighty pregnant". I think my all time favorite comment was from a new friend whom I only met a few weeks ago who tried to complement me by saying, "wow, you barley look pregnant, you look like your only 22 weeks or something". She must of thought I was 8 months or so because I shocked her when I said, "I am 22 weeks, good guess". I realize this is the beginning of lots of interesting and awkward comments. I'm fully prepared for the strangers in the grocery store who come up to me looking so sorry for me and saying,"oh, you poor thing, you must be due any minute." "Nope, 7 more weeks, but thanks". I get that one every time! For all of you who look at this picture and think, "she's not that big", just you wait, I get huge!

MY PINK WEASEL!

Little Eliza just started playing soccer a couple weeks ago. Her team: The Pink Weasels! She had her first game a couple weekends ago (last weekends game got canceled) and it was the cutest thing ever! She's actually pretty darn good, we weren't too surprised though, she can be aggressive and competitive when she wants to be. Paul and I were the obnoxious parents yelling and cheering our heads off. People on the bleachers kept turning around laughing at us. What can I say though, we just get really into watching our kids play sports. It helped that Eliza was constantly stealing the ball away from the other team and dribbling the ball down the field. Who wouldn't be whooping and hollering if that was there kid? She also scored her first goal in her first game, it was too much fun. Little tiny girls all chasing after a ball is great entertainment!

I just had to add this little picture Eliza drew of herself playing.

I love their pink and black uniforms. She looks so official.

Run Eliza Run!!

Zachary was happy running around and eating some kids goldfish sitting next to us. Grant had a friend there who's sister also plays on the team so he was off running around with him.

Game well played Eliza! Aunt Jessica would be proud! Afterward Eliza kept saying, "that was fun mom, I really like soccer, it was so fun." Can't wait till next Saturday!

Fort Worth Zoo

I heard that the Forth Worth Zoo was ranked one of the top Zoo's in the nation, so we just had to go and see if that was true. Being the kind of person who only feels it necessary to visit the zoo once a year, I have to say I was really impressed. The zoo was beautiful. Trees, flowers, waterfalls and tons of bamboo were everywhere. Not to mention there was every kind of living thing to see there, the place was huge. We were there for 4 hours and still didn't see everything. The kids and I had a great time, and yes, it's by far the best zoo we've ever been to. So, if by some crazy chance you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, you should go. Call me, I'll go with you ; ) It's open 365 days a year!

I don't think my kids knew I was taking this picture of them. I was trying to get a picture of what it looked like throughout the whole zoo. Tall Green trees, flowers and all sorts of plants everywhere. This picture really doesn't do it justice.

The alligator exhibit. At most zoo's they have like one or two, not here, there's like 6.

Yet another shot that my camera just didn't do it justice. I was impressed with how much each exhibit looked like the animals natural habitat. This one had waterfalls, large pools and super high rock walls.

The giraffes were probably my favorite. There were two babies that looked about my height. They were soo cute! I took this for you Carrie.

One of the many children's exhibits they had there, where the kids could learn all sorts of facts about the animals.
Zachary's favorite part: riding this train through the zoo. The zoo is so large that most people don't want to have to walk from one end to the other (lazy bums!) We did, but we just had to try out the train for fun. All in all it was a great day with the kids.

SURPRISE! IT"S A ....

GIRL!!!! We are so happy and excited, especially Eliza, to get another little girl! We went to the Doctor yesterday and got to see our cute little alien looking baby girl. I always feel so much relief when I can see that the little heart, brain, spine and all those other major organs are there and working! Such a blessing! I have to say, this is the first time I had any intuition at all. I just knew it would be a girl. I had NO idea with the others. It has also helped me knowing I get huge right away with the boys and have stayed smaller like I did with Eliza this time. Also, I really think that Chinese/Lunar Calender is pretty darn accurate it's scary. It has been right with all four of mine and all four of my sisters kids too, crazy! You should check it out if you haven't already. I can't wait to start looking for teeny tiny girly baby things. By the way, we are thinking of the name Ruby for her, what do you think? It's kind of one of those names you either love it or hate it...we love it!

Back to School, Back to School

My little boy Grant is in third grade this year, and my baby girl is in Kindergarten!! It was a very exciting day for my kids, neither of them could sleep the night before. Despite the fact that this is Grant's 5th elementary school he's attended, he loves school and makes friends easily. He has yet to attend the same school twice. He's such a trooper. The kids were excited to finally be able to wear the clothes they set out for the first day of school more than 3 weeks ago! It was definitely a mix of all sorts of emotions for me that day, and really this whole week. I'm happy they want to go to school, and I'm actually used to Grant being in school, but sending my baby girl and having two in school makes me a little sad. Luckily Eliza is only gone for a few hours in the afternoon, and not all day. She's like Z's second Mom, I don't know what I'm going to do without her.

Grant wearing what he calls, "the coolest shorts ever". Eliza already to go, 4 hours too early. She was disappointed when I didn't drop her off with Grant.

I will miss you Grant, but I think little Z will miss you even more.
My handsome boy!

Too cool for school!

Little miss Lu-Lu all ready for Kindergarten.
Total cuteness!
Zach has no idea how much his life will change without is favorite play mate around. As soon as we drop her off, he becomes a broken record asking "where's La-la" ? He misses her.

Eliza requested two braids for her first day of school.
Sitting at her table in the class room next to her new friend Grace.
All ready to take on the world! I will miss you Lu-Lu, probably the cutest Kindergartner ever!!