Our camping adventure!

Finally! I'm sitting here working on this blog :) Mike really wanted me to get the picture book made first and that was finished last night, so wala......our monumental trip! I was so nervous before we went. Really lets face it. A 2 year old a 1 year old and a pregnant momma in the car for 40 hours and camping 10 days....I just had a hard time putting it all together in my head. So thankful I didn't think about and just did it! The Kaelber family has started something really cool here!

The kiddos did PERFECT! I really mean it, PERFECT!!!! They car tripped it like they were pros! Aubs had just a couple melt downs, short in nature though. I blame it on her being rear facing in the car seat and she just felt left out. Mike and I would take turn crawling back and playing with her or bribing her with snacks and that took care of that ;) Brody had so much fun holding the I-Touch and watching movies. He thought it was the coolest thing. They also got REALLY good at taking naps in the car! So every couple hours we got to enjoy some quietness in the car :)  

These pics are really out of order! We did the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion and then a few hours at Bryce Canyon and Arches National Parks. The next few pics are from Zion.

Mike couldn't wait to take us to Zion. He's been there numerous times before and always dreamt of the day we got to join him :) Absolutely gorgeous! There was a view every direction you looked! Our campsite sat directly behind a stream. It had rained a ton before we got there and so the water was rushing and just made our campsite that much more perfect!

Once in Zion you park your car and ride the trams. The kids HATED these trams. Each time we got on it was as if they needed everyone to know their presence. These really were some my most frustrating times. I hate being center of attention and goodness were we! I had to remember to just take a deep breath :) On a lighter note Brody called these buses "School Buses" and was so confused why they weren't taking us to school :)

 

Probably the best picture from the trip. Notice that rainbow top left corner?!! We worked out a great schedule at Zion (where we spent most of our time). Morning hike with a picnic lunch. Usually Aubrie would fall asleep in the pack during these hikes. We really stretched her because she takes a morning nap. Get back to the campsite around 1ish for afternoon naps. Late afternoon of swimming or just hanging out at the campsite, get dinner ready and then basically time for bed. It worked out great!

And there's our beauty :) And look at that view! It was beyond words at sunrise and sunset!

Another great part about Zion was our friends from California met us out there and we got to meet their sweet son! The kiddos were so cute together :) There's the stream also. Poor Brody lost a ball and a toy down that river. He really misses his ball. Every time we saw a river or a body of water he would quickly say, "I just can't see my ball anywhere" it was the most heart wrenching thing!

Now we are at the Grand Canyon. We spent 3 days there, 2 of which is rained and was cold! This was the start of the trip. I really had to make a conscious decision to stay positive and just go with the flow. The kids weren't phased by the rain and so we shouldn't be either, right? The great thing about camping is being able to wear the same clothes over and over ;) We weren't anticipating the Grand Canyon to be so cold so for 3 days we stayed in the same clothes. Goodness I loved it! It was so nice waking up in the morning and with no thought into it, grabbing the clothes from the day before ;)

There was a beautiful horse pasture down from our campsite. The kiddos loved seeing these horses. Aubs would squeal from absolute joy and B would wave and ask for the horses to come closer. It was great!

The sun FINALLY came out the day we left! It's okay though because we finally got to enjoy the absolute beauty and wonder of this Canyon! We've now been to both the North and South sides of the Grand Canyon and hands down prefer the North Rim! We enjoyed such a perfect picnic and ran off some energy before hopping in the car for naps and a couple hour drive to Zion :)

In Zion again :) On every hike we did there was always a struggle, and it was with Brody. He loved the dirt! I mean he wanted to do NOTHING ELSE but to put his hands in it and make tunnels and doors and hand prints. Our little mile hikes ended up taking a couple hours! At some points it got to be super frustrating. The Lord would quickly remind Mike and I why we were on this vacation. It was to spend time with our family. And so we joined him. We made a deal that we would hike 5ish minutes and stop for a dirt break ;) We met so many people this way just camped out on the side of the trail playing in the dirt :) And goodness did it make for a very happy 2 year old :)

 

I'm so glad the Sorenson's joined us!!! We just had a blast with them!

We got really good at this picnic thing!

Here we are at Arches National Park. Super cool place! Of course Brody and daddy had a blast on all the rocks :)

We ended our camping adventure with a hotel stay. A hotel had never felt so good before! We saved a few clean outfits for this night, even though everything still smelt of bonfire! But it was a great way to just unwind, jump on some beds and decompress.

We had an awesome time! We even bought a National Park Season Pass! Our next adventure will be the Smokey Mountains sometime after the baby comes :) Yes, of course there were some hard and difficult moments. The kids weren't always as sweet and innocent as they look above :) But it taught Mike and I to just let go. Try not to have a set plan, go at their pace, and just enjoy seeing things through their eye's :)

HOT, HOT, HOT is what it's been here in the 'ville! The sprinkler came out for some refreshing fun, and for the yard to get some water :)

Brody loves the sprinkler. In fact the moment I suggested it, he immediately stripped down all his clothes, running to the shed and yelling at us to strip down also. Oh my boy!

Aubs likes the sprinkler. Well she likes one spout of it and only for a small amount of time....

She would much rather be doing this though :) I can see some GREAT beach vacations in store for us girls :)

We are busily getting ready for our big camping trip next week! Getting a little  nervous about the amount of car time (about 20 hours each way!) but I know we are going to have a blast! Really once we brainwash our kiddos into thinking the car is a fun place, we have the whole country at our fingertips ;) Kinda wishing we had our mini van for this trip, but hopefully this will be our last big hoo-hah in the Pilot. The plan is to drive through the night Sunday and stop in Albuquerque (10 hours). Our great friends and we have some family we will see out there. Stay the night and Tuesday morning drive to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon (8ish hours). Then Thursday finish the 2ish hours to Zion National Park where some more great friends from California will meet us for the weekend! We will head back the next Tuesday. Being gone for a week and a half, I couldn't be more excited!!!

Number three is 14 weeks and growing like a weed! I like 14 weeks. The beginning of 2nd trimester. Kinda like a fresh start. Wipe away the miserable, ikiness of that first awful trimester and begin new. I've felt more energy the last couple days. I even did a couple loads of laundry today with only one nap! :) I can see life coming back and realizing yes, we will survive :)

The cousins came up a few weekends back and that brought a super fun evening at the Kiddie Park!

 Goodness, if we thought B loved it last year we weren't prepared for how much he was going to love it this year! He has no fear. The faster and higher the ride the more he liked it.

 But then again, who doesn't enjoy a leisurely train ride :) It's my favorite ride!

 Not the greatest picture of Mike but I included it because of Aubs. Really, is she just the most adorable thing?!

 

I can only imagine what these two are talking about ;)

I'm not sure if it's Aubrie getting a bit older and more "playable" for Brody but they inseparable lately! Brody loves trying to tickle Aubs and Aubs loves trying to climb on Brod. Of course to go along with them playing so much together, also comes this new world of sharing and being kind. It's a tough new world for these kiddos ;)

Girlfriend is so close to walking! She even took one step on her own yesterday and this morning took 2 steps! YAY!!! We leave on our big camping adventure in a few weeks. We just have to have a walking girl by then (that's kinda why we planned the trip for when we did).

And finally, the cool dude has discovered his newest form of independence that he just loves, dressing himself :) He's adorable at it. He wants NO help one bit. So as you can tell from above and below his clothes always tell a story now ;)

 He's a big fan of these pattern clothes. Often days my eyes go bonkers from all the excitement on his little self ;)

Round 3

On Father's Day we found out that number 3 was baking inside! We are so excited! This little bean will be here by February 17th!

 I was hoping this third one would allow me to skip the morning sickness phase, not so much. This last week I've felt really good. But the 4 weeks before lots of nausea and goodness these emotion of mine have gotten the best of me! I'm so thankful for ultrasounds and how the Lord has used it to give me the "boost" I've needed. Goodness, just looking at that tiny head, that sweet little body and those precious legs, love has overwhelmed me again! I don't say it nearly enough but God is so good! How he intricately creates all of us and at this very moment I get the absolute privilege of carrying another one of his masterpieces!

It's fun watching Brody put this all together. He touches my belly and says, "Baby in here". Aubrie likes to rub my bare belly (now she really could be only doing this because Brody is ;) But we can't wait for February to get here and add some more craziness to the Kaelber home :)



Vacation time!

Warning......Lots of pictures ahead :) This year our vacation took us on a 12 hour drive to Vail, Colorado! We love Colorado, we would move there in a heartbeat! What made this trip even greater was the fact that our family from Wisconsin and Iowa met us out here! How we choose Vail was due to my cousin. She is dating a profession triathlete (crazy and absurd!) and we really wanted to meet him. We couldn't think of a better way to do so than to go to one of his competitions :)

 We all stayed at a fun, super family friendly resort with our condos close to each other. Goodness how it made us sad to not live close to each other. We got spoiled just walking over and walking in each others homes.

 I love mountain vacations because they are so outdoors. We spent time hiking, biking, having beautiful picnics and just being lazy having fun together.

 How exciting to watch Brandon compete! He finished 2nd place!!

Out order but, we took 2 days to get to Colorado. Lo and behold a Dairy Queen was just up the street! How perfect! And delicious! :)

 My aunt threw a birthday party for Aubrie :)

 The day after the triathlon, there were a couple trail runs. Here is our family represented with the 5k and 8k :)

 And there was even a fun run for Brody! Mike carried him most of the way, but gosh! I was so proud of my boys :)

 Brody got a medal for his accomplishment ;) Poor guy missed the ceremony due to needing to go potty ;)

 In the middle of our condos there was a beautiful barbecue area. Family meals, just the greatest!

I'm thinking this is the first of many annual family vacations! We had a great, great, great time!!!!



Happy Birthday Aubrie Marie!

Miss Aubrie Marie is officially 1! Can you believe it, because we can't! Way back when I got pregnant with her and realized her due date was right smack in the middle of summer, I began planning her Hawaiian Luau :) Mike of course thought I was nuts, but how perfect, right?

 These parties are really all for us as Aubrie had her one friend best friend there, Adele. Adele's mom and I were pregnant together with these two sweethearts and our families are great friends. Adele is one week older then Aubrie, they are so sweet together :)

 Our friend who watches the kiddos when I work has son, Jake, who is 6ish years old. He adores Aubrie :) So much so this was his gift to the birthday girl; a balloon that says "Happy Birthday Pretty, Pretty Princess" tied to a rose. Melt. My. Heart :)

 

 Keep the heart melting coming! This is Graham (Adele's brother). He walked right up to Aub's and started serenading her with "Happy Birthday"!!! The whole song! What a great treat :)

 We served chicken, shrimp and steak kabobs with Hawaiian rice, rolls and fruit. A very tasty festive lunch. Of course followed with birthday cake.

Another incredible cake by my friend. It's a pineapple with these beautiful flowers and sand surrounding it! If you look closely to the right and see the red string, its a Leigh! :) 

 This is Jake :) Can you tell he likes her ;) Aubs loved her cake (Did we have any doubts? No not one!)! I'm pretty sure we were picking cake out of her ears later than night ;)

Happy Birthday Aubrie! We feel so blessed to have gotten a whole year with you! You are such a sweet, sassy, princess diva, and gosh do we love you!



Our camera has been broke for a few weeks and so not too many pictures. Mike was the one who finally caved and braved the 2 hour car drive to get the thing fixed. Living in a small town definitely has it's perks but goodness it also has it's negatives when you have to drive so far to the largest city.

 Our sweet and great babysitter has been putting pig tails in Aub's girls hair. OH. MY. WORD. Too cute! :)

Our first outside play set was received today! Got it for a whopping $30 from a friend and it's just perfect.

 

 My favorite part of it is the smiles it brings these two faces :)

Brody has been loving "exploring it" and calling it the "Clubhouse". I think this was one of the only times I caught him actually going down the slide on his bottom ;)

Can you tell who the one with no fear is? Oh my son, he is a monkey I tell you! Aubrie is slowly learning how to climb the ladder, she's so cute as she tries so hard with such dedication :)