She's Here!

Elizabeth Noelle Rupper arrived last Monday, December 17th at 7:23 a.m. measuring 8 lbs 5oz and 19 1/2 inches long. She is absolutely perfect and we've been so in awe of her that we really haven't done much other than hold and love on her for the past week! Anna is so sweet on her little sister Izzy and Quinn isn't so sure that he likes sharing all the attention, but the baby is growing on him and he is occasionally willing to let her sit in her bouncer seat when he isn't using it. Brett is, once again, smitten by a younger woman and I am both overjoyed and overwhelmed at the blessing of having a third child to call my own.

Two Weeks and Counting. . .

Each time I'm pregnant Brett paints a little something to celebrate the season on my bump. With Anna, it was a turtleshell, Quinn's pregnancy was a jack-o-lantern, and "Baby Brownie" got a Christmas ornament. After the fact we decided that a christmas present would have been proper, with a tag stating, "Do not open until Christmas." My actual due date is the 25th, but with a c-section we get the option of scheduling early and anyone who knows me knows that if I can open a gift early, I won't hesitate!

Yeah, I'm pretty bold to post photos of my belly but, sadly enough, when I'm pregnant my midsection is the firmest it ever is (I won't say "ever will be" because I may actually start working out after this kid!) Also though, I LOVE having a big bulging belly-I love the attention it gets and the feeling of having a little person squirming around in there.

I love how excited the kids are about having a baby sister too. They often come over to kiss the baby and Anna keeps bragging to her friends that she's getting a baby sister for Christmas. Which, I can't argue-nothing Santa brings can really compare to what we're getting at our house!

Just two more weeks-I can't wait! My c-section is scheduled for December 17th. After then I'll have something worth blogging about!

Slime Time!

I had to post these pictures we took last weekend while frog hunting in the nearby ponds.

Brett and Anna fearlessly trudged through the swampy mud and found a bucket of frogs. Anna and Quinn then giggled, squealed, and hopped around after their new slimy green friends. This was one of those moments when time stands still, when you see the wonder in your daughter's eyes instead of the mud on her clothes, and when the sweet sound of your childrens' laughter (and your husband's) echos in your mind for days thereafter. It was priceless!

It's Fall!

Cool crisp mornings, apple cider, pumpkin bread, weather FINALLY cold enough for wearing sweaters, the changing of the leaves. . .nothing beats this time of year. Autumn is my favorite season, a time when we go for drives up the canyon, collect and press leaves in golds, oranges, and reds, spend our last evenings outside before the freeze, and for me, a time to reflect on that fall when Brett and I fell in love.

We took a drive on a dirt road a week or so ago when my Mom was visiting and stopped along the way to get some branches of leaves for Anna. When I climbed back in the car on one occasion Quinn looked and me and simply said, "fall peese" so I handed him a branch of red maple leaves and he was satisfied. This pleased me, even my little guy wanted to feel this season and take in what he could of it!

What's New. . .

I guess the biggest Rupper news (which is growing BIGGER and BIGGER daily), in case you haven't heard, is that we are having a baby GIRL!!! Anna nicknamed her future baby sister "Baby Brownie" after her favorite dessert and LOVES to rub it in her Daddy's face that she was right about the sex of the baby and he was wrong. Also, we parents are a bit relieved/overwhelmed to be having another girl as we were informed by our lovely daughter that she would not be nice if the baby was a boy. Needless to say, we hope this baby has a mellow sweet temperment like her brother.

Here's Anna, living up the last days of summer in her hot new swimsuit, compliments of Aunt Jill and Aunt Ashley. When she first donned the suit she said, "Look at me Mom, I"m a pink girl zebra!"

Here Anna is enjoying a new friend Daddy found for her in the yard, a frog! She and her friend Hallie took care of him all day and even brought him swimming in the kiddie pool with them.

We aren't sure what happened to Kermit, he may have escaped or turned into a prince-I could swear I saw Anna kissing him at one point in the day!!!

Here's our sweet Quinn, asleep after a short stroll around the neighborhood with Ariel, the beloved sprinkler toy. Q is such a busy boy and is growing so fast. He is starting to put a few words together too. Last night he pointed to Daddy's bike and said, "Bike. Pees. Dada?" To which Brett HAD to give in and give him a ride, it was SO CUTE!!! Another favorite is when we go out on the porch he tilts his head and inquisitively suggests, "Paw-sicle?" He's a big fan of the Otter Pop, and with his sparkly eyes and sweet smile, it's hard ever telling him no.

Last comes Brett, who has managed to not only get away for his annual "Guy's weekend away" to the mountains for some 30+ miles of backpacking in the Uintahs recently, but he has also gotten our fence installed almost single-handedly -both during the month of August. He is such a hard worker and has nearly gotten our entire yard completed this summer! He's stalled on a few fence pieces and I'm kinda relieved, we don't have the budget to keep up with him!!!

I'm It!

I've been "tagged", a few times so I guess it's my turn to reply:

Jobs I've had:
newspaper girl
Drive-thru at A& W
retail sales-Gottschalks
custodian-got fired from that one!
phone surveys and sales-Wirthlin Worldwide and Convergys
life skills coach/working with adults with disabilities
Instructional Technology lab assistant
seasonal work (decorating Christmas trees in October) at Fred Meyer

Movies I LOVE:
I am Sam
Little Women
Hope Floats
The Family Stone
Th Story of Us

Places I"ve lived:
California-San Jose, Morgan Hill, Redondo Beach
Nevada-Reno & Carson City
Utah-Brigham City, Provo, Logan
Hawaii-Laie

Places I've been on Holiday:
Europe-Italy, France, Switzerland (sounded like a good idea at the time but I went with my sis, bro-inlaw & their 18mth old twins-hardly a "vacation")
Washington D.C.
Seattle
Tahoe-try to get there & jump in every year
San Francisco, Monterey Bay Area
Camping/backpacking-Yellowstone, Yosemite, Escalante, Moab, Calaveras Big Trees (my favorite), etc.

Favorite T.V. shows:
Grey's Anatomy
The Office
The Baby Story
The Colbert Report

Websites:
Family Fun
Motherhood
Friends' blogs
Parents.com

Places I'd rather be:
back in Seattle-the temp is perfect right now there
in the middle of a great book

Guilty Pleasures:
chocolate ice cream
a blended mocha with whipped cream & cinnamon
sleeping in while Brett heads off to work
making and eating cookie dough before it ever gets cooked

Who I'm tagging:
Anyone who hasn't already been tagged and is reading this. . .

Christmas is Coming. . .

Much to Brett's dismay I usually start thinking about Christmas around this time of the year, I've even been known to play holiday music while cleaning the house the whole year through, but I try to do it when nobody else is around. There is something soothing and happy about it, it makes me work better too.
Anyway, as I was contemplating the holiday (yes, while listening to Harry Connick Jr.'s Christmas album) I found this cute idea online for an advent calendar which I liked. You hang various children's socks for each day of December with numbered clothespins (a good use for those socks without mates), and each sock contains a note listing an activity for that day, or including a candy, a game, or a book to read as a family. You can include reading stories like The Tale of the Three Trees, or Twas the Night Before Christmas. You can plan a night of writing letters to Santa, decorating a gingerbread house, making cookies for neighbors, caroling at a nursing home, driving around to look at the lights, visiting temple square, or watching favorite holiday movies with popcorn and hot cocoa.
As this will be our first Christmas actually spent in our own home, I plan to start this new advent calendar, hopefully as a new tradition in our family to bring the spirit of the season into our home daily. If anyone has a tradition to share or an activity that is special to your family please share-25 nights are a lot to fill!!!

Summer Highlights

Getting away without kids for our anniversary. On the cable car in San Francisco

Anna's early birthday celebration.

Our big girl on her first "big kid bike"

Quinn, after refusing it a few times, realized how much he LOVES watermelon!

Our kids having a snuggle together-nothing makes a Mom happier!

Camping Out

This weekend we had our first family campout since moving back to Utah and it was terrific! After a day swimming at Bear Lake, we headed back up Logan Canyon and found a beautiful spot to set up our gigantic tent. Anna and Quinn enjoyed collecting firewood and picking their Momma every wildflower they could find, and we had tin foil dinners, roasted marshmallow Peeps, and cozied up around a toasty fire. It was so much fun to see the kids so excited and we hope this is the first of many outdoor family adventures this summer!

Baby Rupper

Here is the first peek at our Christmas present-everyone knows I can't resist opening and rewrapping gifts and an unborn baby is no different-I wanna see it as soon as possible!!! I had this ultrasound done last Tuesday, the baby's head is on the left side and looks to have gigantic eyeballs like it's Mom! Yes, it's the little alien creature in the middle of the black peanut shape-which is my uterus. Yep, that's my uterus-just wait until after the thing is delivered and I try to get you to see my actual uterus on the c-section video! They pull the whole thing out and hand clean it! Brett got it all on tape with Quinn's delivery and much to his embarrassment, I showed the footage to anyone who'd see it-it was pretty awesome! You'll have to visit me in person to see the video though, don't think I'd actually post it online!!!

Anyway, my official due date is December 25th-no joke-but my doctor said he'd try to get me delivered, home, and feeling decent in time to celebrate Christmas with my family. Which means I better start my holiday shopping now since I'll be too preoccupied to do any last minute trips to the store.

Well, this is all there is to share about the baby now. More updates to come. . .

Escalante National Monument

Over Memorial Day Weekend Brett and I met up with Jill, Dave, and Lindsay (Dave's really cute girlfriend) to backpack into Escalante. After our first trip to Coyote Gulch we were drawn back to the area and we weren't disappointed! We chose a different hike this time and although the dirt road drive down to our sweet spot was a brain jiggler, the hike was perfect and we found a great secluded spot to set up camp and spend the night.
Here Jill and I are showing off our sexy socks-and-sandals look. You can never look too good while camping and yeah, we looked good. Smelled great too!!!

Oh, Baby!

I thought about buying a t-shirt that says, "Yes, I'm Pregnant. And yes, I know how it happens." Oh, and also not telling anyone I'm blood related to until I show up for Caralee's wedding in August sporting the t-shirt and a half-watermelon belly. But, I thought I'd give everyone plenty of notice so that baby Rupper #3 can make it onto your Christmas lists, as she/he will be born around that time! (Tina, this also gives you plenty of time to get knocked up so baby #3 can have a cousin the same age!) Plus, lame as it is to announce it in my blog, at least you all have an even chance of finding out at the same time and nobody can whine about being the last to know!

As it happens, Brett is responsible for poor timing of baby #3. Each time we've had a kid I've conceived in the cycle after Brett has announced that he's ready for a new baby. I'll mention it for months, but once HE says the words, as he did this time- something to the effect of, "I miss having a tiny baby curled up on my chest. We need a new one." BOOM! I'm knocked up! Okay, something else happens in there too but I'll leave those details out! It's happened that way for Anna and Quinn, so when Brett said he wanted one I told him that he'd vocalized it, he said the words and now we were in trouble. . .

Anyway, after I'd gotten over the initial shock of realizing that Christmas dinner for me might be hospital meatloaf and green jello, festive as it is, I realized that I might be harvesting the best Christmas gift ever! A week or two ago Anna asked me when she was gonna get a little sister and I told her she should ask Santa for one. (We hadn't told her at that point that it was in the works) Anyway, she whined that Santa would give her a fake one, a doll, and she wanted a real live baby instead. So, then I told her she should ask Heavenly Father for one in her prayers. She asked me to pull over, as we were driving to her preschool at the time, and she said a little prayer right then and there to get a baby sister! I think she has an inside source, I think she knew before we did and, I won't be surprised if our baby, now 3/4 " in size is a girl after all! Regardless or whether it's a boy or a girl, I think I've taken care of the "big" gift for Christmas for the kids, and for Brett too!!!

Four of a Kind. . . and working on a full house!

This year on 7-7-07 Brett and I will celebrate our 7th anniversary! With numbers like that we're thinking about hitting Vegas! (if only we had some money to gamble with!

We had this portrait done last month and it makes me happy to look at it-seven years and we're still happy together (and I'll have to say-Brett is HOTTER than ever!!!)

It's amazing to think back about the changes in our lives. . . together we've gotten three college degrees, lived in five different cities, had two amazing kids, and now live in our first home.

Thank you for sharing your life with me Brett. You are an amazing man and I love you so much!

The Colbert Report seems to be the prelude to bedtime around our house. Stephen Colbert is such a weird witty, nerdy man but he cracks us up. Previously seen on The Jon Stewart Show, he has his own evening show, not to mention Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream flavor. Click on him for a strange little taste of milk and hormones. . .

I subscribed to Wondertime Magazine this year and have really enjoyed the ideas it has for fun ways to play and grow with your kids. There was an article about fort making which suggested using sheets-they let the light through better than a thick blanket and require less to hold them in place. Anna and Quinn LOVE building forts and we often build one with a view to the tv so they can snack and watch Charlotte's Web in their own little space. Then there are the usual recipes (there was a tasty one for sweet potato muffins we liked) games, and childrens book reviews. Another feature of the magazine I enjoy is the Instant Journal-a tearout page with prompts of different memories to write about your kids. For example: "What made your child laugh today?" ,"What is your current goodnight ritual with your child?" "What do you love most about your child right now?" and, "When your child is being quiet, ask what she/he is thinking about. Write it down verbatim." This magazine is really cute, check it out online, or check your local library for it before subscribing, I found that my library checks out magazines for up to three weeks-which means fewer piles of periodicals to throw away, and, it's free!

Secret Lover Cake

I feel like inviting people over for dinner, JUST so I have an excuse to make this cake! I call it my Secret Lover because I sneak back to get some throughout the day until it's gone-and I may or may not dream of it too!

Here's the recipe:
1 pkg. chocolate fudge cake mix
1 pkg. (3.9) instant chocolate pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Grease a bundt pan and dust with flour. Mix all ingredients-chocolate chips last-it'll be quite thick. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. Cool for about 20 minutes and invert onto a plate. Add frosting after it cools:

Frosting: microwave 3 cups Cool Whip and 1 pkg (8 squares) Baker's semi-sweet Baking chocolate(or the equivalent amount of chocolate chips). Stir frequently until chocolate is melted and let it set slightly. Spoon onto cake and it's ready!

Upon serving, microwave each piece of cake for about 15 seconds and the chocolate will get all gooey. Add raspberries if desired. Share if necessary.

Anna, enjoying the wonder of winter before it melts away. Logan Canyon, March 2007

A Review

As this is my first attempt at a blog and the only news many of you have had since, well, my last Christmas letter, I'll summarize the last little bit of our lives. . .

For the last two years we've been living in Redondo Beach, California where we enjoyed the weather, our ward, the beach-pretty much everything but the traffic and the cost of living. We were really getting anxious for a move as we were living in an 800 square foot house and we knew that unless we started dealing crack we wouldn't be able to afford to buy a home in the area. (we had to opt out of dealing because the local "ice cream man" ran the area where we lived and our Bishop was a police officer-it wouldn't have looked good!) Brett started job hunting and started work at ATK Thiokol in September of 2006.

ATK is out at Promontory Point in Utah, if you know your history you'll know it was there that the two railroads met; nothing has happened there since, believe me! We chose to move to Brigham City which was the fastest commute for Brett and a charming little city which we will admit, we'd only stopped to buy Big Gulps and gas in on our way down from Logan when we lived there before. We found a perfect home which was to be finished just when we needed to be in and now we're getting settled and making it our own. We love the rural area-the sound of the passing trains is a welcome change from the infernal sirens. The open fields and towering mountains are a much prettier sight than the parking garage of the mall, and we have horses, ponies, and chickens just down the road-you really can't beat that!

Our kids are growing up fast and we are so in love with their funny little personalities. Anna is a 3 1/2 year old little devil, but I realize that my frustration with her is because she is as stubborn and strong-willed as I am (Mom, I think we got this from you). Anna started preschool this year and loves coming home and showing me up by singing songs I don't know yet and showing me projects that she made with her buddies. Quinn is almost 16 months old now and he's a great big teddy bear who hugs and snuggles and then gets down and dumps all of the food out of the pantry. He is getting good at making messes but I can't get mad at him because he just smiles his magic smile and poof-my frustration dissolves (Quinn inherited his smile from Brett and yep, it works for him too!)

Anyway, that's my fam. More later. . .

The Rupper Update

It seems we've been out of touch since the move and, well, shut-ins with the winter cold as well! A friend of ours, Kaila, has an amazing blog that she updates with book reviews and recipes to share, creative ideas and how tos. . .I don't know if I can make this half as good as her blog, but I keep going back to read her recent blogs and I've decided that it's time I start my own. . .