Super Grandma

I just wanted to post these pictures of the shirt we made for Mom Pratt. Thanks again for all of your hard work!! You are a great triathlete!

Halloween

We were able to get back right in time to go to trunk-or-treat at the church. Jared was worried he might have to miss his flight because of meetings, but was luckily able to make it on my flight home so we went to the Halloween party together. yay!
The girls were really happy to see us, but as you can tell in the picture, they were having some issues cooperating :) Once we ate a yummy dinner and went outside for the beautiful weather the girls were just fine... maybe candy played a little part in them being so happy :)
Madeline was a cat, Aliza was a dog, and Rachel was a bunny. It was great fun and now we'll be set for candy for a year :)

[Jared update]
The Idaho Statesman found our blog about last year's Halloween at Harrison Blvd and contacted us via email/ cell phone. You can read the entire article here.
It said:

Jared and Jen Pratt last year drove from Nampa with their three daughters, Madeline, 3, Aliza, 2, and Rachel, 1, to experience Halloween on Harrison for the first time. They were instant fans.

"We loved it," Jared Pratt said. "The street was lit up, they had police officers and crossing guards, all the houses were decorated - the whole community got together for Halloween. Where we live, it isn't that big of an event. We only have about 10 trick-or-treaters come to our house."

Back to Blogging

This past week I got to go on a week long work trip with Jared to Kansas City, Missouri, without ANY kids!! Jared's mom came up and watched the kids and did a great job- even though I'm sure she was super tired at the end of all of it :)
So for a week I got to do whatever I wanted, which consisted of walking around town window shopping, projects galore, a 6 mile round trip walk to the Crown Center, Union Station, and the Hallmark Museum, and much more freetime at night to spend with Jared. Walking around and visiting all of those places was pretty cool and my legs were SO tired at the end of all of it!! I also got to go out to eat every night with Jared thanks to the governments large-for-our-cheapness daily allowance for food spending. I don't think we even spent more than they allowed for one person! Nice.
We also got to stay in a nice hotel on the 8th floor and had a great view looking out into the city- the picture isn't that great that I took, but it was an awesome view.
One night we got to see Jared's friend Kurt Hanson and his wife Alice and their new baby. That was fun seeing an old friend and hearing the guys talk about good old JPI basketball :) We were also able to go to the Nelson-Atkins Art museum, which was interesting and great if you are into art. Jared and I had a great week together. It was nice and refreshing and a much needed break.
By the end of the week I was definitely ready to come home though. I missed being a mommy, and I actually felt like cleaning the house (even though my mother in law did a great job keeping up with the house and taking care of the girls--- now she needs a break :)) I love spending time with Jared and with my girls and I'm so happy to be a mom!!!
Thanks again Grandma Pratt for coming and watching the girls!! You did a great job and we REALLY appreciated all you did for them and for us!! We love you!
I didn't have anyone to take pictures of me, so instead I just took self-portraits of the things I wanted pictures of :)

The baby is A....

?????????????????
Confused?

So are we! Our baby has a sense of humor and decided to cross his/her legs. So instead of telling you what it is, because I really don't know... I'm humoring you with a picture of me- 18 1/2 weeks along. The good news is that the baby looks healthy and is growing properly and that's all we really care about. The Dr. did said he'd try again at our next appointment though, so until then we're still anxiously waiting to find out what we're having. Better luck next time :)

Family Baby Boom 2008

The last 15 months has been a family baby boom for our families. All seven married couples had babies. Here are the photos from other blogs. There are going to be tons of cousins at reunions.


Rachel Mae July 23, 2007 6 lbs 3 oz


Brayden James Jan. 11, 2008 5 lbs 14 oz


Hallie Sage February 12, 2008 8 lbs 7 oz


Emily Sophia March 6, 2008 8 lbs 7 oz


Avalon Kaye March 11, 2008 7 lbs 3 oz


Ashlyn McKell May 11, 2008 7 lbs 12 oz


Carson Kyle October 1, 2008 7 lbs 0 oz

MOPisms

I always forget to write down the funny things Madeline says, but today I actually remembered and thought I'd share them with you, they still have me laughing :) I love my little girl.

Mommy: "Oh dang it" (I was working on the computer and don't even remember why I said dang it)
Madeline (in her sweet little voice): "oh dang it, did Daddy forget to leave a comment?"

Later in the day...

Madeline: "My teeth are getting bigger, and then I'll be a wolf"

I think we've been reading a little bit too much of Little Red Riding Hood...

Columbus Day Adventures

Since Jared works for the Government he gets every holiday off... even Columbus Day! How nice! I taught aerobics in the morning and didn't have to take the kids- yay! Then we decided to go to Swan Falls and explore the nature a little bit. There are tons of huge rocks there so of course Jared wanted to climb :) Actually, it was really a lot of fun. All of us climbed rocks and had a great time, much better than staying at home!! Jared caught a couple lizards and the girls even held one of them!

Then we went off to our next adventure- the Linder Farm






















One of my favorite things to do in the fall is going to Linder Farms. They have a great pumpkin patch, a little kid maze and this year they added a petting zoo all for free! I've never seen a Zebra so close so I had to get a picture of it. The girls loved the petting zoo and even tried to feed some of them :)

We didn't buy a pumpkin this year because we grew our own little pumpkin patch, whether we actually get any orange pumpkins or not is the big question, (they're all still green and we just had a really cold weekend) but I figured we could just paint them if they don't change colors :)

I just love going on the hayride, watching the sun set, and seeing a beautiful red barn with corn fields surrounding me, and being with my family on a beautiful fall evening. It was a great Columbus Day and I'm happy we were able to "explore" our area:)

P.S. We find out on Monday what we're having, so don't forget to leave a comment on what your prediction is for the gender!!