Our New Arrival

He's here!!  Evan James Rice was born the morning of July 12th.  He's a long and skinny one weighing in at 7 lbs 1 oz and 21 1/2 inches long.  He's our sweet boy and we're already loving having him around.  Trent adores him and constantly wants to hold him and touch him.  He even shared some cake and ice cream with the baby last night. . . how nice!  Trent is, on the other hand, quite upset with ME, for leaving him for 3 days and as a result will not let me out of his sight and is unwilling to accept help from anyone other than Mommy these days.  Here is and abundance of pics to satisfy your curiosity. . .

Nine month belly shot--  taken two days before he was born:

Me:  Super excited to meet our little boy!

He's here!

Dallin is such a good big brother.  Pretty sure it has a lot to do with all that experience he has under his belt.

Sierra and Evan

The whole Rice Paddy

Grant was a little unsure at first

Introducing Trent to Evan

My wonderful Mom who watched our kids!

Grandma Sue came up to visit too!

Evan LOVES the adorable blanket his Aunt Kim made for him

It's amazing how good it feels to shower and change out of those hospital gowns while staying at the hospital! My sweet nurse even came and changed my bedding while I showered so everything was nice and fresh.

Friday morning:  Ready to go home!

The kids made this sign for our garage door to welcome us home!

After we arrived home from the hospital, it was time to celebrate our princess's 7th birthday!

Scott took the kids and cousins bowling. . .

Then home for Pizza, presents and Cake!

Sierra wanted to make her own cake this year!  Convenient since I was in the hospital.  So with the help of Grandma she created this:

Virtual Nesting

I'm "nesting" this week.  Most of my household projects are complete, which leads me to other organizational projects like cleaning out my email inbox (which I haven't done in YEARS) and updating the blog--- "Virtual Nesting" I've decided to call it.  This is the perfect time for projects like this since my parents took our 3 oldest to Lake Tahoe for a week to enjoy views like this:

and this. . .

and do FUN things like this. . .

and this. . .

and this. . .

Meanwhile I'm at home with Trent, working on projects and laughing at how I STILL end up with 9 extra kids at our house when Scott comes home from work in the evening.

June has been a busy month for us-- full of FUN summer activities.  Here is what we've been up to:

In addition to her summer dance technique classes, Sierra attended a hip hop workshop.  Here she is at the final performance:

She is the cutest gangster I've ever seen!

The kids also got in a session of swim lessons before they left on their trip 

Speaking of swimming, Scott competed in the Park City Triathlon a couple of weeks ago and swam in FRIGID water.  This was his first Olympic distance Tri and despite the freezing water, and a VERY hilly bike course (it is Park City) he still rocked it and came in 4th in his age group! :)

The kids made signs to cheer Dad on while we waited

Here they are modeling the T-shirts we made with iron-on letters.  The front says "Swim, Bike, Run"

And the back says "My Dad 'Tri's"

Waiting. . .

He finished earlier than I anticipated, but we were all there to cheer for him!

In Utah you have to be 5 to play t-ball, which means that Grant, once again, is NOT old enough to play.  We did find a program for 4-year-olds that teaches baseball skills to children and a parent. So, we signed up Scott and Grant.  He LOVED it!  Twice a week for a month, Scott would get off work early and take Grant to baseball practice.  The only thing Grant loves more in this world than playing baseball is playing baseball WITH DAD!  It was a wonderful bonding time for them. 

Gooooooooooo. . . .

. . . .Pirates!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At their last session, they played a "real game" and were each given a certificate AND a medal!

More summer activities (and a new addition to the family) to come in July! We'll keep you posted!

Maternity

A couple months ago I told Scott that I wanted to have some professional maternity pictures taken.  We have been married for 9 1/2 years and I've spent over 3 1/2 of those years pregnant (and another 4 years nursing babies, but that's a different story. . .).  While I usually shy away from the camera during those pregnant months, I really wanted some pictures to document my maternity in general (not necessarily just THIS pregnancy).  So, I contacted a friend of mine who is a fantastic photographer and asked her if she'd be willing to take some pictures for me.  She was totally awesome-- made me feel completely comfortable and beautiful.  I knew I wanted Scott in some pictures, but last minute I decided to bring the kids along too and am so glad they were there.  It was a great experience for us all!

Poor Trent, he still has no clue what's going on.  He still occasionally lifts up my shirt asking "Ball?"  (Apparently he thinks I'm hiding a LARGE ball under my shirt and I'm not sharing with him)  When I tell him that there is a baby in there he looks at me, shakes his head and laughs.  We'll see how funny it is in a couple weeks when I bring home a baby brother from the hospital NOT a bouncy ball.  

I have been so blessed to experience pregnancy FIVE times.  And am very thankful for my amazing husband and beautiful children!  THANK YOU, Maleen, for capturing so perfectly my maternity.