Back on the island again

A FEW PICTURES OF OUR JOURNEY TO THE MAINLAND

PAPA giving the girls a tractor ride in front of the house. You can see the Rexbug temple in the far right corner of the picture

At Mesa Falls when Papa Dolezal came for a visit

Picnic Lunch at Mesa Falls

The Upper Falls

Flowing into the Snake River

Laila and me at Mesa Falls

Skylar, Maya, and their cousins



The infamous Clements family "Weenie Roast"

and a bikini baby!!!

An amazing sunset at the Sand dunes

and a two headed sand-dinosaur!!!

Sitting by the fire (and ash) at the Dunes

Going for a Girls Night Out with all the sistas (Katie and Les were in the front)

Camping in the tetons at our annual Anderson Reunion

Roasting mallows and eating smores....mmmmm

The FREEZING Mornings

and crisp afternoons.

Building boats with papa for the boat race

and on the Hobo Hike--arrgh matey. These little pirates found juice boxes and fruit snacks at the end of the trail. Perfect.

Reflecting on years past

and welcoming the new campground!

Visiting other family campfires

And finally back in SLC at a hotel downtown with the girls

Going shopping at the gateway and getting stalked by 15 year old boys who thought I was a babysitter to my three kids.

Finally on the 6 hour flight home

The girls did pretty well on the flight and were excited to be home

That's right...we're HOME!!!

Birthdays, anniversaries, and babies OH MY!

So, here it is almost June and I have been notedly absent from the blog scene for the past month or so. But, of course there are reasons for this.

First this happened--April 27th, our 7th Anniversary!!

(and one very large meatball)

The very next day (April 28th) our little girl turned FOUR!!

And she wondered what she would do with a brand new bike helmet

And only hours later (about 1 a.m. on April 29th) --this happened! Our baby girl was ready to meet her sisters!
I was all smiles here....

And then this happened---(contractions!)

But soon enough---this happened (I am a TEN!)

Finally--she is here!
Welcome to the world Laila Capri Dolezal.
April 29th, 2009 at 1703, weighing 5 lbs 15 oz , and 18 inches long.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Well, I seemed to have joined the silent ranks of those in the Almost-Thirty-Club. I have reached 26, an age which is no longer closer to 20, but closer to thirty instead. But after much contemplation, I have come to terms with the age I once dreaded. I had an amazing day, and overall--I think it's going to be a good year.

I sent Maya to work with Matt for a few hours so I could sneak away to the nail salon to get a pedicure and manicure. I couldn't understand one word the nail guy was saying, but he did a great job and even drew some pretty flowers on my toes while I sat in the massage chair.

After Matt got off work we headed downtown to the Cheesecake Factory. Traffic wasn't too terrible and we made it down there in a record time of 25 minutes (amazing if you've ever experienced the traffic in Honolulu). Of course Matt made sure he told them it was my birthday while I was gone, so there was a whole crew of people I didn't know singing and a silly little scene in the middle of the restaurant. But it was pretty fun and the Cheesecake was divine.




The girls were so excited to give me their own cards that they had picked out and decorated. Skylar got to practice her writing skills and couldn't wait for me to see it. The card read: "Mommye, I luv you so so so. You are so luvley. Luv, Skylar" and was one of my favorite presents. The girls went shopping with their Daddy and he had sworn them to secrecy over the past few weeks(something very hard to do, especially for Maya). They had done so great in not spilling the beans the entire week, and right before I opened the last present, Maya exclaimed "Okay, it's time for your last purse present mama!" And whaddya know--indeed there was a purse inside.


Hip Hip Hooray for TWENTY-SIX!

I have a husband again (and I'm still very pregnant)!

I guess I didn't realize how long it has been since I've blogged or updated anyone about anything. It says my last post was January 28th, which I find hard to believe! But life definitely keeps happening and isn't slowing down just for me. A lot has happened in the past few months--including the arrival of my husband! One day Matt called me from Iraq and was trying to explain that he wouldn't be coming home at all. To make it even worse, they wouldn't put him on a plane until I actually went into labor. For all of those curious, it takes DAYS to get out of Iraq and back to Hawaii. It can sometimes take longer than a week. I was shocked and wasn't sure how I would handle having a baby by myself. The next day, he called telling me he was going to be coming home soon and that things completely changed. A week later he called and said he was getting on a plane and would be home in a matter of days. It all happened so fast it didn't even feel real. I knew it was a blessing and nothing short of a miracle. After four days of traveling, he finally made it to Hawaii and we were able to pick him up at his gate. It is amazing to have our family back together again.

I am now almost 34 weeks pregnant, and the time couldn't be passing any slower. I have 6 weeks to go, but I am just hoping I don't have to be pregnant for the entire 40 weeks (or longer). I have never made it past 36 weeks in a pregnancy before, but that doesn't mean much. Matt loves my ever growing belly and feeling her move inside. He loves watching the knees and elbows he sees sticking out of my sides (more like karate kicks to the ribs), but I just can't wait to feel human again (and be able to see my feet). I am trying to enjoy being pregnant, but it's getting pretty miserable here towards the end. I just can't wait to meet our new little girl. We decided to name her Laila, but haven't exactly settled on the spelling of the name yet. There are so many different ways--Layla, Leila, Leyla, Laila. I pretty much change my mind every day, but hopefully it will be decided soon. Other than the spelling of her name, everything is ready for our little one's arrival--down to the bedding, diaper bag, changing table, crib, car seat, clothes, etc. The next two months are jam packed, but I will try find some time to blog about our lives. Tomorrow I'll be turning the big 26, and at the end of the month we'll be celebrating Maya's fourth birthday and our 7th wedding anniversary. In May we will hopefully be having a baby, along with Skylar's 6th birthday and Matt's 26th. I guess it wouldn't seem right if this baby chose any other month of the year to be born. Life really couldn't get any better right now and being a family again is pretty great.

The Laundry Escapades

It is not uncommon in our house for a pile of clean laundry to sit on the couch for a week (I know, I cringe reading it too). On most days I will get laundry out of the dryer and fold it immediately, but sometimes when I'm having a busy, rough week--I will still do the laundry, it just may not all get folded right away. While visiting my sister in Texas, I realized I am not the only one who does this on occasion and now I don't feel as guilty. Thanks sis!

So, today I spent part of my morning talking to Matt on Skype and the webcam, as I do most mornings, and decided I may just tackle the pile of clean clothes that has been staring at me in the face for a week. Most of the time I will clean everything around the couch of unfolded clothes, vacuum the floor, and de-clutter every corner, but the pile (like this particular one) will stay untouched for over 5 days. Today I figured there definitely has to be some sort of limit to how many days it can remain unfolded, so I sat down to do some serious folding.

But then something strange happened. I heard my tv talking to me. Really it was my dvr, telling me to erase the things that I would never watch or never have time to watch, and it was begging to be organized. Matt has also kindly asked me to clear some space on the dvr, and save the episodes of 24 so he can watch them upon his return. Being the dutiful wife that I am, I sat down on the laundry-free couch (trying to avoid eye-contact with the couch designated for clean clothes) and began deleting programs and figuring out which ones I needed to keep. During this time, Maya got bored with me but didn't want to go up to the play room and play with her toys. She was already dressed for the day, but within a few minutes began adding more and more shirts, pajama pants, shorts, and two different colored socks to her wardrobe from the clean pile of clothes. By the time she was done she was wearing a pair of jeans, pajama pants, shorts, and four shirts (all the while singing and talking to herself). She put on my heels from church and a coat and happily exclaimed, "I'm ready for the ball!" The moment was too sweet not to capture. If I had folded that pile a week ago like I should've, this moment would've never happened, so thank goodness I didn't. Yet another great reason not to feel guilty about it. Ah, and here I am blogging about the experience instead of folding that pile of laundry on the couch.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

Well, we made it. We are finally home from our 3 1/2 week vacation visiting my sister, Leslie, in Sugar Land, Texas. We survived another 2 1/2 hour plane ride, and then a 6 hour and 45 min one directly after, and we are all still alive and in one piece (miraculously). It was the busiest, craziest, funnest, and most adventure filled 3 1/2 weeks I've had in quite some time. Leslie has a great husband and six little munchkins, so adding myself and my two girls to it all was beautifully chaotic and a lot of fun. A house of 11 people gets a little wild at times, but I definitely wouldn't trade it. Just the simple fact that I didn't have to be alone over the holidays made it easier to glide right through them.

In other news, we are still looking for a name for our little one. We had four perfect boy names picked out (of course), and now we are struggling to find the perfect fit for HER name. We are definitely open to suggestions. Anyone, oh anyone? I suppose we still have a few months left to stew over it.

I am now 22 weeks pregnant and my belly seems to be growing every day. This means sleep has started to become a bit impossible. With all the kicking and prodding to my belly every single time I lie down, the fact that I can no longer sleep on my stomach, and peeing about four times in a single night--it's a wonder I get any sleep at all. But, I absolutely love it--being pregnant that is. With my history of preterm labor I started my progesterone shots a few weeks ago in Texas (which are supposed to keep me from dilating too soon). I get one every week until 36 weeks--talk about a pain in my butt. Literally. Lucky for me Leslie's husband, Thomas, had become an expert on giving these particular shots during Leslie's previous pregnancies. He was able to give them to me (while Leslie posed as the nurse's assistant of course), but not without first pointing out that in some countries he would be shot for having seen his sister's naked behind. What can I say? We're a close family!

At my ultrasound yesterday, they confirmed that yes...indeed...we are still having a girl and she weighs a whopping 1 pound. She looked so perfect up on the screen, moving around and sucking on her fingers and kicking up a storm. It's weird going to all these appointments without Matt, but he may be home by April if everything falls into place. Perhaps even sooner if we can twist enough arms. I'm not really betting on anything right now, but I'm just glad he's safe and that there's a possibility he will make it home before our little girl arrives into this world.

Baby girl number 3

Well, not much to report as of late. But perhaps there is too much to report and I don't have enough time or patience to blog about it all (yet). I am 17 weeks pregnant and found out we are having a little girl! Girl number three for the Dolezals. How, oh how will their father survive once we have three teenagers in the house? I just chuckle whenever I think about. He will do great. Here is a video that was taken at the ultrasound clinic. They are giving away free ultrasounds for pregnant women with deployed spouses. I will take all the free stuff I can get. The news station heard of this and interviewed me (of all people) at the clinic and filmed me in the ultrasound room about to get the sonogram. It was an eventful day. Here is the very slow 3D vid of our cute little baby (who still somewhat resembles a being from outer space...but is still cuter than ever).