Check out this COOL name site!

NameVoyager shows the popularity and peak of popularity of names going back as far as the 1800s! It's a bit addicting! And helpful if you're in the market for a new name for a new family member!



Here's a look at my name, can you guess what year I was born??? :( LOL



Feel free to comment on names you want me to see that are in your family, that surprised you, or you like and want to share/offer to us to consider for the new baby!



And, just because, here's a few more pictures :)

-Avery and Papa-

-Hudson and Avery-

-Avery and the Girls-

Memorial Day Pics

This is mostly for Uncle Bob -but here are some pictures from last Memorial Day Weekend. We met Uncle Bob in Fernley at the Veteran's Memorial Cemetary, which is where Grandpa Jack -Rob's dad- is buried. The photo above (if it's still the 3 kids climbing) is from that day. Below -

Uncle Bob placing flowers for Grandpa Jack

The Boys

Uncle Bob and Carter spending some time together

The kids

The Definition of a Big Family?

You decide! I still don't feel like even now with three young kids that we've got a BIG family, and even with one more on the way it's not that daunting. BUT, if I have to give myself a definition, well, this one could, or should, be it. I NEED something else to drive because we've run out of seats!!!
So, here's the new one! Rob calls us the 21st Century Griswalds!


The kids love the new ride. I thought Carter might not like it, with Hudson and Avery sitting in the back and leaving him by himself. Apparently, he's more like his dad everyday and is enjoying all his own space! See?


The kids and I will take it for a test drive next week to see Chari and the cousins. Then, the whole family will be pushing our limits by taking a nice road trip to Missouri for a Kittrell Family Reunion! Rob hasn't been back there since he was a young boy and is looking forward to seeing all his family and the cousins he grew up with. It will be nice to meet more of the family -his dad's side is very big! Because Hudson and I will need to be back for our school year we won't be gone too long, so hopefully the new car is comfy for the long days! (Grandma Kay was concerned I'd be squishing the baby by being in the car too long! ;) )

In the past 4 years we've taken my niece Kaydance with us on our vacations. When Rob and I were talking about this trip the other day Hudson realized what was going on and asks in the saddest voice, "Kaydance isn't going on vacation with us?" She is a staple in our family, our home, and obviously, our vacations! Hopefully she'll be able to sneak over to Mt. Shasta with us next week, though.

Happy Father's Day!

This is Hudson and Rob, right before leaving on a Father's Day trip by themselves to an Oakland A's baseball game! They had a lot of fun, even though the A's didn't win the game.

My Daddy is 39 years old. He weighs 80 lbs, He is good at baseball. His hair is brown and his eyes are blue. My Dad likes to wear baseball and football clothes. He loves to cook bbq hot dogs. His favorite TV show is sports and his favorite song is You are my sunshine. My dad’s favorite color is maroon. He is smart because he knows how to keep score in baseball. At work my Dad is a coach. Daddy always tells me I love you. It makes him happy when I follow directions. When my daddy shops he loves to buy hot dogs. If he could go on a trip, he would go to an A's game and he would take me. I really love it when my Daddy lets me go on the Wii and the computer. If I could buy my daddy anything I would buy him lots of baseball cards so we could have fun with them!
He’s the best!! I love you Daddy!
Love,
HUDSON



Avery and Rob - A rare Rob dressed up for the Sparks High graduation. Don't they look so sweet?

My Daddy is older than Hudson (first answer was 5, but then she laughed because that would make Hudson older). He weighs 10lbs, He is a dad. His hair is cutted and his eyes are blue. My Dad likes to wear shorts. He loves to cook knuckle sandwiches. His favorite TV show is football and his favorite song is When it's cold outside I've got the month of May. My dad’s favorite color is maroon and gold. He is smart because he knows he loves us. At work my Daddy is a coach. Daddy always tells me to stay in bed. It makes him happy when I follow directions. When my daddy shops he loves to buy knuckle sandwiches. If he could go on a trip, he would go to the jungle and he would take me. I really love it when my Daddy hugs me. If I could buy my daddy anything I would buy him a football book.
He’s the best!! I love you Daddy!
Love,
AVERY



Carter and Rob, getting in some fun outside.

Carter loves when daddy lays on the floor and Carter can jump on his back! Carter loves to sit in Rob's room with him and watch baseball. Carter also loves to play ball or catch whenever he can. And loves to go anywhere with his daddy. Today, when Rob was getting ready to leave Carter followed him to the front of the house, got Rob's other shoes, put them on and tried to follow him out the door! Carter is truly a mini-Rob!

Thought I'd put some pictures of Rob and the kids. =) Rob spent the morning and a little of the afternoon with the kids and is now on his way to football camp, so no bbq or anything tonight. He'll be busy for the next three weeks teaching math in the morning and football in the afternoons/evening. He's working extra hard for us and we'll miss and think he's a great man for taking care of his family!!!

Poor Carter

The little guy was trying to get up on the chairs with his brother and sister but somehow fell and busted his lip. I think he must have been chewing on his lip when he fell, actually, because he landed on his back. I didn't even know about his lip until we sat on the couch and I realized he had quite a bit of blood running down his face and neck...and shirt. Hudson and Avery were told to get off the computer [NOW] and I later found Hudson wrapped entirely in a blanket and Avery trying to shrink down in a hiding spot in the playroom - they felt really bad. :(

I got a cold washcloth for Carter and while I cleaned him off to even get a good look he was busy trying to suck the water out of the washcloth. He was fine after that. Even as we were in the doctor's room waiting we were singing and dancing! The cut went down past the lipline and it was just a little too deep so I took him to the drs and waited outside their doors until they openned after lunch!

They wrapped him in a blanket, like an infant, and I held his hands and legs but he never tried to move those! One dr held his head, and tried to keep his tongue in -everytime something came near his mouth he'd try and lick it. The other doctor just kept going, but she decided not to do a third stitch because he probably couldn't take one more and it would have been the closet to his mouth and he'd probably bite it off anyway. He just cried, I sang, at one point he took a deep breathe, then I heard him say "mama" and I about lost it. When we left he blew kisses and said bye to everyone.

And, a little while later we had some other kids playing and at one point 5 out 6 kids were crying for different things but they all happened at the same time, complete with a nice big bleeding cut in a knee, luckily not belonging to Carter! I wasn't sure how much more I could take! I just wanted to go take a long bath and go to bed! Never got my bath and didn't get much sleep either!

A Family Update

Avery, Hudson, and Jen - Hudson's class hosted an Author's Tea & Hudson is holding the book he wrote, "The Important Things about My Family". He made me cry!
Today I officially began my summer vacation. I celebrated by getting up early and going to a Gestational Diabetes clinic and getting all set up for checking blood sugars, logging everything, and insulin and shots -which I will probably begin in a week if my dr would like, which I think is the plan. I'm currently about 26 weeks along and am starting almost 10 weeks early on the GD plan and I'm not thrilled, really. But, gotta keep the baby safe and do my best. Otherwise, pregnancy is going very well. I just started putting on weight, even though my belly looks like I've put on at least 15-20 lbs! I haven't had any serious issues with my back and am trying to keep it that way! I actually feel better than I have in a very long time.



I finished up teaching middle school last week and started at my new school immediately after, by way of meetings. I will be a Special Ed resource teacher at the elementary school that all the kids will attend....that Hudson will be going into SECOND GRADE next year! He is so excited that mama will be there! On his first day driving to Kindergarten Hudson told me I should get a job teaching at his school so he could see me whenever he wants. <love> Well, I hope he doesn't regret those words! HAHAHA! I'm so excited for the change of everything -new school, new age group, new program. Also, the school is switching over to multi-track this next year and they got a new principal, so it's perfect timing to come in while some of it will be new to everyone. The position they needed filled was for the track that Hudson was going to, so the job fit me perfect! We start in August. Did I mention I'm still part-time? YEAH!

Hudson (will be 7 in Sept)- just finished up 1st grade and did very well. He said on his first day of summer that he's ready to start 2nd grade! His reading went from right at grade level to almost 2 grades above. He loves to read! He does well at everything right now, but still needs to get those letters written down facing the right direction. I think he got that from me! =) He also just finished his 2nd year of baseball. Rob coached, which makes Hudson very happy! Because Hudson is right at the cutoff age Rob says he'll keep him in this rookie league one more year to allow him to grow in skills and confidence.

Avery (4)- I told her a couple of months ago we needed to practice learning writing her letters and spelling her name and she said she didn't want to and she didn't want to go to school either. Then, the next day she basically sat and taught herself. =) She's our stubborn one! She's full of fun and joy, and lots of hugs and kisses! Her latest saying is, "well, actually, ..." She's really smart and seems to keep an eye on Hudson so she can do whatever he's doing. She says Hudson is her best friend! They mostly get along all the time.


Carter (not quite 2)- Cuddly and sweet and knows what he wants! He's very funny, loves to dance and sing, and can throw a ball. His current favorite things to do are watching/playing Blues Clues, singing, playing or watching baseball games. Oh, last weekend we went to Hudson's baseball banquet, which was past the baseball field. Carter got upset, yelling and pointing to the baseball field, "baseball!" when we drive past it. He's really smart and has a great sense of balance.

Rob- will be teaching his usual football summer school and adding a math class for summer school. Then on to football season. So, I might get to see him when I call him from the hospital to tell him it's time for our 4th and Goal to be born! Or will the call be to tell him the baby was born?!?!?

Today we started our first family outing for Geocaching! We didn't fare very well and need to work on our teamworking skills, but we came home and know exactly where we needed to go to today. Geocaching is like a treasure hunt game of sorts. We are starting small because one, we're new, and two, we don't have a GPS and don't want to get lost in the woods just yet! But overall it looks like something the family can do together. Rob has a couple of days when he'll be at mtgs so Hudson and I found one at the library we can't wait to do! geocaching.com has more info if you want to look into it.

Okay, gotta get the kids starting for bed now. I'll try to get a couple more in here for the next month, especially for you Grandma!