Skinners

It is about time for a professional photo, but hey, at least everyone is in it!

Bakersfield

We are back from Bakersfield. That was a long drive for a short weekend, but it was worth it.

I love to be in the moment, so unfortunately I rarely stop to try capture it with a camera. Sorry, I don't have many pictures.

However, here is Raea and Audra.

Life Is Good

On the drive home, a homeless man watched Grant and I tried to get the kids out of the car, with shoes on, and then make them go potty.

He came up to Grant and said, "Watching you makes my life look good. Now I don't feel so bad."

My Mouse

"Mom, pet my mouse."

I was trying to finish my paper, so I barely saw the toy.

"Mom, look at his long tail."

"Wow, Ethan," I said still focusing on the computer.

"It is real nice!"

I turned around to see Ethan and his new toy. No joke. I couldn't brake his heart. He is still playing with it.

Boys

Today was Ethan's jumping beans class. We kicked, threw, and played. The instructor can up to me in a girl dominated class and said, "I can tell you work with him a lot." The sad truth is probably not as much as I should. However, he is a boy. They are just different.

My aunt sent me these photos, and it explains it so well.

The Curls Are Gone

Raea got a much needed haircut today. She looks so much like Alice to me it is scary. Since I have spent years doing Alice's hair, I know for a fact that their hair is at least the same.

Our "First" Date

When I meet my husband, I was madly in love with someone else. I only went on the date as a courtesy to my mom. She meet Grant at Joe's birthday party and feel in love with him.

Even though I wasn't interested in a date, I still wanted to look good. While I was perfecting myself, everyone was waiting for me at my brother's apartment. Grant didn't want to miss the first part of the Rattler's game where the buffalo runs out. My brother said, "Sorry, dude. We have to wait for my little sister." My brother never told Grant it was a date. Grant still doesn't consider that our first date. In retrospect, that was a great idea.

Anyway, I liked Grant. He was goofy with a lot of confidence. He reeked of "good guy", so I just wanted to be his friend. At EFY, I was told not to kiss on the first date, but you can hug anyone. So at the end of the date, I asked for a hug. This got him hooked. He later recalled, "Wow, Joe's little sister likes me."

I soon left for summer school in Costa Rica. As soon as I returned, he didn't stop calling. It was so easy to fall in love with him. A couple months later, he secretly bought a ring. We got engaged on Thanksgiving, about 4 months after we started dating.

Since I still needed to finish my senior year of college in Wisconsin, we had to endure a long distance relationship. It was all worth it now. Three weeks after graduating, we got married.

The Trunk

Well, the trunk is out of the attic already. I haven't gain any weight, but I feel bigger.

My sympathetic husband said, "Well, Ruth, this is your FOURTH kid."

Good Job Rissy!

For the last couple years, we have done a Thanksgiving triathlon. Because I loathe my bike and the event is in BFG, we decided to do something closer to home. We will be doing a short 6 miles, Mesa Mi Amigo's 10K, and it would be cool to have friends sign up with us.

Anyway, I am so proud of Larissa. This is the first time ever that she didn't cry at the Y, and I got in a decent workout. (It is amazing how much pregnant chicks sweat.)

Two Philosophies

There are two different philosophies regarding when to announce one's pregnancy.

One idea is to wait until at least 12 weeks since most miscarriages occur during the first trimester. When you wait, you have less people to talk to about your loss. This is the traditional route and very common for first time pregnancies when you don't know what to expect.

Another philosophy is to tell who you know when you know. This way people can be sympathetic to you when you are tired and nauseous. If you do have a miscarriage, more people can help you with your loss.

I am sure this is no surprise to anyone. I took my IUD out on October 2 after I realized that the Skinner family wasn't complete. Just like I planned, I got pregnant the first time.

To everyone that said you can't plan your pregnancies that well, I just smile.