Sunday, November 29, 2009

It's beginning to look a little like Christmas!

It never looks a lot like Christmas here in the Valley of the Sun, but we are starting to get in the mood.

picking out our Christmas tree


Since my mom was here for Thanksgiving, she brought the kids their Christmas PJ's. We used to open our PJ"s Christmas Eve, but now we do it when we get them so we can take pictures and wear them up until Christmas. Surprisingly the kids actually posed for me, but not together. I'll have to lose some weight and a baby before I can wear mine.

We went to the Festival of Lights Parade in Downtown Tempe this last weekend. The parade was kind of lame, but the kids seemed to have enjoyed it. We met C and H's best buddies at the parade, Natalie and Carson.

Happy Thanksgiving

To get in the Thanksgiving mood, we went to C and H's best buddies house, Carson and Natalie's to make cookie turkeys.

And of course, we continued with our annual tradition of running the Turkey Trot. Although, this year, I wasn't up for a 10K being a month away from having a baby, so I did the 2 mile fun run with Cameron and panda (his first race) while Chuck did the 10K with Hannah. Hannah was not happy about not getting to do the Turkey Trot with Mommy! C and I ran/walked the better part of a mile. I was then giving him a piggy back ride when some friends came up behind us with a wagon. So, he rode the rest of the way in the wagon with his friend Noah Smith. He did run across the finish line though. Chuck and H were the second stroller to finish and they beat the Turkey (running it in 44:00min). The rest of the day was spent cooking and eating. We were joined by my mom and dad, sisters and Kwan.



I couldn't get the kids to stand by Chuck and because we started before he and Hannah did, I was not able to get a picture of him. It's not because I'm slighting him.

Lily is 18!

Lily turned 18 on the 21st of Nov. It's hard to believe that she was 8 when Chuck and I started dating. She was able to join us for birthday dinner where she requested pot pies and mint chocolate chip ice cream cake. I took some liberties with the ice cream cake and made a Mint Oreo Ice Cream which received rave reviews. Fortunately, she did not feel the need to get a tattoo or buy cigarrettes on her birthday (so she says:))

Here is a little update from her:
Hello everyone! I'm just writing a quick update on my life! This year is my senior year at Tempe Prep. Football is over :( We had a pretty good season considering we went from 1A to 2A (8-man to 11-man football). I got to be a captain the Homecoming game, which was pretty awesome, but unfortunately I tore my ACL in my second play of the game, and it ended my season early. It was all worth it though and it was a great experience! I have surgery just after Christmas on the 28th, so wish me luck!
High school has been a really great experience, and I love my school, but I am excited for next year. I am most- likely headed to Northern Arizona University in the fall 2010. I am still not positive about what I want to study, but I am thinking about going into music (I have been singing for TPA for 4 years now), or possibly athletic training. Different sides of the spectrum, I know! Every year, the seniors at Tempe Prep go on a trip to Washington D.C. for a week. We go to museums, tour the city, visit monuments, the works. The cost is about $1000 per student. The students are fund-raising and working to raise the money. I am writing to family members and friends to say that if you need any jobs done; babysitting, cleaning, or anything really, I am looking for work! If you would even like something made, I am pretty crafty!:)I hope you all are well!

Monday, November 23, 2009

And the Winner Is...

Chuck Royalty and Josh Brown

Chuck and Josh raced tandem in the Tour De Tucson last Saturday. They attempted to win this race last year, but flatted twice. So they gave it another shot this year and in addition to talent, had luck on their side! I would let Chuck give the details, but I don't think he'll blog and I don't want to bore anyone. But basically, everything just went well, no flats, crashes etc. Chuck did say it was the most challenging mental race he has ever done. He made sure he knew where the competition was at all times and during the final sprint they had good position. They won only by 3 seconds. That would have been an exciting sprint to watch. I am so happy for them! Chuck's been under some stress, so he needed something positive to happen. There are no photos posted from the race yet, but when there are, I'll post them here.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Surprise!

Last week, my yoga students threw me a surprise baby shower! And I was surprised. I came out after class and they had a room all decked out!
This tree was filled with money and lots of it as well as gift cards and M&M's.

Niccole (shown above) and Carla (who is not in any pictures) were the masterminds behind it all.
It was for Chuck also, but he knew about it.

The crowns were made of money also. We did well! This blanket was from the whole class and made by one of my students, Peggy.

I haven't had many pictures taken during my pregnancy (I sure was glad I had taken a shower and put on make-up before this class) but as I look at the pictures from the shower, I think, could I get any fatter! Many people have been telling me, I'm all belly. And thank you for that! But really, I'm not. I have the perfect picture from the shower to prove it, but I'm not going to include it here. I am going to be so fat after this baby is born! I won't have that big belly to make it appear like it's all belly.

Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

Cameron has the most amazing Sunbeam teacher, Jill Jones. She goes above and beyond the call of duty! She is teaching the kids so much and always has a project or craft that they bring home. Last week, C brought home a name badge with this picture on it. I love this picture! These days I get the "cheesy" smile. I can tell C is paying attention in class by the questions he comes home with. He asked me the other day why we had to wait so long to see Jesus and why couldn't we see him and talk to him now. Answering questions like these is just another reason mothering is so hard. The primary also had their annual sacrament program a couple weeks ago. C had a small part, "The family is ordained of God and is central to his plan." I told him to say it loud and clear, which he did! I was so proud of him! I fully expected him to not say a word. Maybe it was the bribe of taking him to Target and getting him a new toy that did the trick.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Ultrasound #3

I had an ultrasound on Tues. with a different doctor, who said she did not see a "hole in the heart" and the fluid around the kidneys is normal. She seemed to think there is nothing to worry about (not that I was all that worried). And she actually apologized for making us wait. How often does a Dr. do that?!

Okay, this is ridiculous! How much bigger can I get? And I thought black was suppose to be sliming. I am 32+ weeks here and I look huge! I know this is the biggest I've been, but I didn't think I looked that big until this picture. I'm freaking out about how much weight I've already put on with 8 weeks to go! And I'm comparing pictures from when I was 41+ weeks with Hannah and it looks like I'm just about there.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

A Day in the Life

Here is an example of a typical day in the Royalty household...
I come in from my morning workout. Both kids are awake and C instantly says "Play with me Mom." We play for a bit, but I'm starving to death, so I get up to have breakfast. C throws a fit because I am no longer playing with him. After breakfast and Caillou, we attempt getting ready for our day. I finally have C getting dressed by himself but H thinks it's fun to run away from me while I'm trying to get her dressed. This makes me nuts! We get in the car to go to the Y. H wants to go for a walk. She takes off down the street and around the corner before I can catch up to her. She ignores me when I say stop. She resists getting in her car seat. Once we've made it to the Y, I have a good workout and a break (which is already needed) from the kids. It takes us quite some time to gather our things (the kids always have to take an animal/doll with them and they always take off their shoes), wash our hands, and get to the car. Again, more resistance from H about getting in her car seat. We head to story time. It is where H took art classes. She recognizes this and says she wants to go to art class. When I tell her we aren't going to class but to story time, she throws a fit. During story time, H engages a little, but C not at all. Eventually, they are both on my lap. As we are leaving, H throws another fit because I won't buy her M&M's from the vending machine. We get home, C wants to watch Scooby Doo. I want to watch Young and the Restless for a bit while I fix lunch. C throws a fit about that. Rather than going to play, both kids sit and watch Y&R. So, I put on Scooby Doo. We have lunch and the kids eat virtually nothing, as usual. We play for a bit, but as we are playing, I am falling asleep. I tell them it's time for stories and a nap. As we read, they climb on me, don't listen, complain about the book, pull the book away from me etc. I receive relatively little resistance on going down for a nap (this is no longer the norm). After naps, we head to the park. C's friend told him he was going to the park today, so C is convinced he will be there. Of course, he is not nor is anyone else. H wants me to swing her, C wants me to build a sand castle (with dry sand) with him. After about 1/2 hour C packs up the toys and says he is ready to go. He carries the toys to the car while H throws yet another fit because she wanted to carry the toys. I get dinner ready and soon Chuck is home. I'm molested thru out dinner as usual, but H is getting better about having to be on my lap. Chuck gives the kids a shower and I help them get PJ's on. Chuck has a church meeting, so I read to the kids, with better luck than at nap time, and put them to bed relatively easily. I sit on the couch and recover before I get up to clean the kitchen. This was a relatively good day. Normally, we have many more fits from C. Being a stay at home mom is not easy! But it's worth it.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Trick or Treat




at least by 15 and 17, you can get them to pose and smile



the loot!
Thanks for the AWESOME costumes Grannie Annie!

A Happy Apple Halloween

Watch out Edward Cullen!

his victim doesn't look too scared

trading secrets with Carson

H gets a swing at the pinata