Shout Out for Elder Cam

I was glancing at my blog, and I noticed on my countdown for my brother, Cameron, that he only has 100 days left on his mission. Right now he is serving in the Taiwan, Taichung Mission, speaking Mandarin Chinese. I just wanted everyone to know how much I appreciate what he is doing. Every week he sends an email out to the family and he always tries to share with us an inspirational message of something he learned through the week. He constantly has a good attitude about teaching the gospel and serving the Lord. Good job Elder Cam! We are so proud of your service. We love you and miss you tons!

Spring has (FINALLY) Sprung!

We have so enjoyed the beautiful weather we have had lately! Except of course, today it is dreary and wet. But overall, it has been so nice to go outside each day. I forgot how much I enjoyed living here before the forver on-going winter showed up. Too bad the beauty only lasts 3-4 months of the year! On Sunday, we went for a walk on the Greenway (down by the river) and it was so gorgeous. The trees are just really popping out with their beautiful blossoms. This of course, has brought on allergies like crazy for Phil. If anyone is offering free hand-outs of Allegra D, I know someone with an out-streched hand!

Coleman and I on top of the berm! Look at the view, so pretty! :)


Other than enjoying the weather, not too much is going on around here. We are getting very excited for the new addition to join our family. Right now, I am scheduled to be induced three weeks from today! Yay and Yikes at the same time! I am feeling very large and in charge, but at the same time, I am having crazy anxiety about labor and delivery. Why can't a stork just drop a baby off at the door? I like that idea a lot better! :)

I Love Long Weekends

We had a very eventful Memorial Day weekend. It all started with heading to the hospital for a stress test on the baby. The night before, I was headed down stairs to get a sippy for Coleman at 2 a.m. because he wasn't sleeping. I stepped down two stairs and then went crashing and falling down the last 7. Can I just say that my bum, back, and neck have never been so sore. We called the Dr. in the morning, and she suggested we go check and make sure the baby was okay. Don't worry, #2 is just fine. We had plans to go camping that night, but because of the fall, Coleman not sleeping very well through the night, and the fact that I am ready to pop; we thought it would be best if we just met up with our friends for dinner and then head home to our own beds, instead of a tent and air mattress. We had such a blast on our "mini" camping trip. Thanks Erhards and Bartletts for a fun night!

Phil made dutch oven and it was so delicious! Thanks sweetheart!

Surprise, surprise, our toddler LOVED the dirt!

Coleman loved playing with his friends Maggie and Brynlee. (Brynlee ran away before we could take the picture!)

We didn't get back until late on Friday, so Saturday was very low key. I don't think I ever went outside. Phil spent the day studying for a test. On Sunday, we show up for church and find out that we were being released from our Primary calling. This was such a surprise. I never saw it coming. Phil is being called as a nursery leader, and the Primary President (the most wonderful lady EVER!) thought it would be nice for me to have a break and enjoy Relief Society before the baby comes. Also, Phil was really excited to go into Nursery because Coleman has really been struggling in there, and Phil is really good with little kids. Thanks Alisa!

Anyway, moving to Monday, our weather was dreadful, and Phil studied all day again. However, we did get something exciting. So our tax returns came back higher than we planned, and due to the fact that we are having another boy, we haven't had to spend too much money in preparation for this next one. So we bought a nice recliner that matches our couches. I am so excited about it. It is so comfortable! That pretty much sums up our weekend! Hope everyone else had fun, too! :)

My new recliner!

Now and Then

Hello Fellow Bloggers,
After lots of groveling and begging I finally talked my wife into letting me post again. I've seen lots of now and then pic's on other people's blogs and decided to post my own. These are several pic's of Megan in her pregnancy now and then (with Coleman). So it's time to put your guessing skills to the test. First tell us which pregnancy, where she is at, and finally how far along she is! Good Luck in your quest!!!

Foto Numero Uno


Foto Numero Due


Foto Numero Tre


Also, I couldn't help but add a picture of our adorable son. We gave him sidewalk chalk the other day, he kept looking at us with the "Uh, Oh, I did something bad" look after he colored the cement!

Making Changes . . .

Phil has been threatening to blog again because I guess I am not posting fast enough. Not that I mind him blogging, but I just don't want him taking over! (You can post the next one sweetheart!) :)

So we have been super busy this week. Over the past few weeks, I started to have a nervous break down that we weren't ready for this next baby to come in any way, shape, or form. I made three different lists of things that we needed to do before he arrived. I started just spinning in circles attempting at accomplishing "the lists"! However, I needed my sweet husband to take control and point me in a straight direction, reminding me to just take it one at a time! We now have moved the computer downstairs, turned the loft into a mini nursery, gotten Coleman out of the crib, and bought a very nice recliner that we will pick up in two to three weeks! Wow! Now Phil is encouraging me to work on my own personal list of projects to finish before the baby comes. One of these was finishing the denim quilt that I began like three months ago. I still need to finish pillows, curtains, and the bed skirt to match. But I am so proud of how the quilt turned out. (Thanks Mom for helping me quilt it and sew the end in!) Here are some pictures:



Remember that I still need to add a few details, but it was a big project that is nearly finished. The next room on the list is Coleman's. We are going to do Trains with denim, red, and black. What do you think?

The Illustrious Tag Game

Coleman was tagged again by one of his friends (Maggie), So I (Phil) decided to show some fellow blogger support and post this tag, dad style!

8 Things About Our Adorable Son
1. Coleman's new favorite food is ketchup packets from Wendy's. He uses the fries as a dipping utensil and occasionally one of the soggy ends will break off in his mouth and he will swallow that too. Good thing ketchup is made from tomatoes (chalk up one serving of veggies for the day).

2. My favorite animal sound he makes now is the sound of a bear. Rrrraaaahr!!! Which is usually accompanied with a giggle because dad is chewing on one of his scrumptious arms or legs.
3. He has finally figured out how to manipulate his father by getting mom involved. He will do something super naughty and then run to his mom, because he knows dad is going to let him have it. It goes something like this. Coleman is quietly destroying all of the DVDs and CDs the Roylance's own. (He has been told a million and a half times to stay out of them). Down the stairs comes dad, Coleman hastily tries to close the drawer knowing that he is in big trouble. SPANK!!! Mom in the kitchen comes tearing around the corner. "Whats going on?" Dad, "Coleman go to the stairs for time out. He is just ruining our CDs again." Mom, "Why did you spank him?" Dad, "Because that's the only thing he listens to." Mom, "You need to go and apologize to your son." Dad, "Sorry bud, you just need to listen to dad when he tells you to stop."
"Dad likes to take pictures of every occasion, it will be perfect blackmail for high school."
4. Coleman loves to go outside, but what he loves doing more than going outside is going out our front door and back in the house a billion times. And we wonder why our house is always full of dirt and grass.
5. He hates breakfast. The morning usually starts out with some crying that is only remedied by a sippy cup full of milk. Then when its breakfast time its Cheerios on the floor, syrup in the hair and jam from the toast on moms rug! I told Megan that we need to stop feeding him breakfast, but apparently our pediatrician was trained at the FBI interrogation center. She always asks about every meal.
6. Coleman is the best sick kid you've ever seen. He currently has an ear infection, bronchiolitis and some bacterial infection in the back of his throat. The only thing that tipped us off was the cough and he was a little extra cuddly. How many kids do you know that read books while getting a breathing treatment. Pretty Amazing!!!

7. We have these little DVDs that came with the little people toys. He loves, and I mean loves watching them. One day he was sitting on the floor watching them and he laughed so hard he fell onto his back. Silly Kid!
8. He loves his mom! Sometimes I feel bad because he is so attached, but he loves doing everything his mom is doing whether it be baking, sewing, cooking dinner, cleaning the house and everything else. He is the best thing that ever happened to us and we are so grateful he is here. We love you big boy!

UTAH

I just returned from visiting my family in Utah, and I had the best time, for the most part! I got there on Friday, spent one evening with my sister Chelsea before she flew off to Israel to stay with my other sister Ashley.

Coleman on the airplane on our way to see Grammy & Grumpy!
Coleman and I kept so busy while we were there. We went bowling, had picnics, rode around town in Mom's cute, new Volvo convertible, walked the gardens at Thanksgiving Point, quilted a California king-size denim quilt, ate out lots and lots at my favorite restaurants, visited with family, attended Women's Conference at BYU, and to top it all off-sat at Mom's house while Coleman overcame another illness of who knows what, which he got from who knows where. Other than Friday, my trip was fabulous! I just loved going to Thanksgiving Point. The tulip festival had just ended the previous week, lucky for me, none of the tulips were in bloom during the festival, but they were just perfect when I got to see them! It was so beautiful! The weather was a bit cloudy and windy, but the temperatures were in the 70s*, which beats what Grand Forks has seen for awhile!

Sitting in the Gardens. Aren't those flowers beautiful?


Me, Mom & Amber in front of the Butterfly Garden. Amber's four year old son took this picture. Good job Colby! :)


I also really enjoyed going to Women's Conference at BYU with my sister, Amber. I only went to the morning sessions on Thursday, but I learned so much in the short time I was there. I heard Sister Beckstead (General Relief Society President) and Sheri Dew speak about our role as women. Sister Dew talked about how Satan often makes us feel as though what we are doing isn't good enough. As women we add on project after project, when really we need to accept ourselves as who we are and quoting President Kimball, she said, "You are enough". I love that. I then went to a class called "Cherish That Role That Is So Uniquely Yours: Parenting for Young Mothers". Oh wow, was it good. It totally opened my eyes as a mother. After the class, all I wanted to do was sit and play with Coleman and enjoy these precious moments that I am given. And also, to not complain of all the trivial tasks that come along with motherhood.

We went to see the Roylances on Wednesday. Here is Grandma Roylance & Coleman.


Anyway, I had a blast! Thank you so much to my parents for flying Coleman and I out there, feeding us wonderful food, and entertaining us like no one else can! And thank you to Phil for supporting and loving me enough to let me go! I love you and missed you so much!