Fun with the Family

Things have been pretty busy around the Hoover household this past month. Some of my family (my parents, 2 nephews, and an aunt) were out for a visit from July 2nd-July 12th. They arrived around 9:30 on the 2nd and the kids were soooo excited, I don't think we went to bed until sometime after 11 that night!! And it was like that pretty much every night that they were here, they stayed busy playing from morning until night. We had a lot of fun while they were here and were able to do some fun things. We left the next morning after they arrived and headed up to the mountains to camp for the night. We spent that day just visiting, going for a few hikes, and then some of Waylen's family came up that evening and joined us for dinner and stayed to visit for a few hours. The next day, which was the 4th, was spent in much the same way. Waylen's family came up and joined us for the day. We were able to go see the train, then have lunch, but then it started raining, so that was the end of our day. We decided to go ahead and pack up and head home. That evening, we went up to Alamosa to watch the fireworks, which the kids really enjoyed.

The boys waiting to see the train pass by.

Kayla waiting with "Papa Night" and Nana.

Kayla hanging out with Porter. They were big buddies the whole time he was here.

Hanging out with Corbin, and being silly, of course!!!
Hayden, Corbin, and my dad keeping dry while it rained.
Waiting for the fireworks to begin.

Then, we were able to go to Zapata Falls and the Sand Dunes one day. Kayla stayed down at the picnic area with my mom and aunt while me and my dad took the boys on the hike up to the falls. The water was freezing cold, and Corbin and Hayden were ready to get out of the water within a few minutes. But we managed to get them to continue on, which meant my dad ended up carrying Corbin on his back from one big rock to the next, then going back and getting Hayden from that rock to the next one. By the time we made it back to the falls, our feet were frozen. Although, Hayden and Corbin didn't seem to have liked it, they commented that it was awesome, but that they would never do that again!!! After Zapata Falls, we had lunch, then headed down to the Sand Dunes. The kids stayed busy playing in the water and covering themselves from head to toe with the mud. It was pretty warm that day, but after getting all covered in water, they all started to get cold when the wind decided to start blowing. Needless to say, we were only there just over an hour and then we got the kids cleaned up the best we could and headed home!!!

The boys and Papa Mike making their way through the freezing cold water to Zapata Falls

Hayden managed to make it to see the Falls with lots of help from Papa Mike

The kids enjoying covering up Porter with all the mud.
Then it was Hayden's turn.
Then, it was time for Kayla to get covered with mud.

Kayla had to cuddle with Papa Mike to get warm.

I wanted to get a picture of the boys together at the Dunes, but Hayden was too cold to stand up for the picture.

We went up to Colorado Springs on Friday, and were able to spend the weekend with my aunt's daughter who has just moved there. My cousin has 5 girls, ages 13 to 2, so the kids stayed pretty busy playing from the time we got there Friday afternoon until past 11 that night. The next morning, Waylen came and met us up there, and then we all went to the Air Force Academy and toured the museum and the chapel there. Then, after spending a few hours there, we headed to the mall and did some shopping. That night and Sunday were spent visiting and the kids stayed busy playing the Wii and just having fun. It was a fun weekend, and it was nice to be able to visit with my cousin and the kids had a lot of fun. Even Hayden didn't seem to mind that he was surrounded by a bunch of girls!! Although, he was ready to go home by the time we left Sunday afternoon. However, Kayla didn't want to come home, and my cousin's little girl, Emily, who is just a few months older than Kayla wanted to come home with us!!

Kayla with the four younger Gunn girls: Heather (back), *also Corbin in the girls picture*, Hailey, Lexie, and Emily

Kayla with her new friend, Emily
Doesn't he look like he is ready to go home?

My parents stayed in Colorado Springs and left from there Monday morning to go back home to Georgia. I am always sad to see them go because it seems like the time they are here just goes by too quickly. Then, I don't know when I will be able to see them again. The kids really enjoyed having them here too, one day while they were here, Kayla told her Papa: "I go home with you Papa Night!!" "I go to Georgia, and Hayden, and Mama, and Daddy too!!" But who knows when our next trip out there will be - probably not until sometime next summer since Hayden will start school this fall!! But we haven't had much time to think about it since we have been busy ever since they left helping Waylen's mom on her float for the celebration. It's hard to believe that it will be here in less than two weeks, then only another week until July is over!! Then the summer is almost over, wow!!!

Our Upcoming Addition

Well, it has been awhile since our last post, so I thought since I can't sleep what better thing to do than blog!!! I'm sure most of you probably already know that we will have a new addition in our family in November. I haven't blogged about it yet, so what better time than now when it's officially 4 months until my due date!!

I had my ultrasound on the 6th. My mom went with me to the hospital to keep the kids until Waylen got there. My appointment was at 1, and they were able to get me in within a few minutes, but Waylen wasn't able to take his lunch break until 1, and then the lady had all of the measuring and such done before 1:20 and Waylen still wasn't there. But, she said she had about 10 minutes before her next appointment, and luckily Waylen arrived not long after and was able to bring the kids in for a "sneak-peek" of the baby. When she was measuring me, she said there was no way that she would be able to tell what the sex of the baby was because of the way it was positioned straight up and down with legs closed tight together. However, while waiting for Waylen to arrive I had moved around some and so did the baby. The technician was amazed at how much the baby had changed positions and commented how much easier it would have been to do all the measurements if the baby had been like that the first time. Anyway, with the changing of positions, it was easier for her to tell us the sex of the baby, and I'm sure most of you have already heard, but just in case ..................IT'S A GIRL!!!!

Here's her first photo:


When Hayden heard this news, he just got a smirk on his face (like he was disgusted or something) and didn't say anything. Then when we were leaving the hospital, he tells Waylen: That's o.k. Jesus will send me a brother. **For those who aren't aware of Hayden's "desire" to have a little brother should read this previous post for some background knowledge on that!!** So, who knows what Hayden is trying to tell us: that this little girl is actually a boy or that he thinks there will be another chance (which is highly unlikely) for a brother. --I don't think Kayla really has a clue about what me having a baby entails, but when we told her she was having a little sister, we asked her if she would share her baby dolls with her, and she quickly and politely responded with a Yes!! But we'll she if that holds true in the years to come!! She is just ready to have a "huge" baby at her house. After my appointment, we met my dad, aunt, and nephews at McDonald's for lunch. When we got there, I got her out of the car and started inside, but she quickly made me go back to the car to get the pictures of her baby that I had forgotten in the car. She was really excited to show her "Papa Night" her baby sister's picture. --The other day I was asking Hayden what he thought we should name his baby sister and he said: Scooby Doo. I said: But that would be more for a boy don't you think? So then he says: Well, how about Scooby Doo woman!! Then he was also asking me how much longer until the baby comes (I know it's going to be a loooong 4 months) because he is ready to see what "it" (he still says "it" instead of "she") looks like and to get out all of the baby stuff. So who knows how he will be when she does arrive, if he is like he was when Kayla was born, he won't know she is even here until she is crawling and getting into all his stuff. Then there's Kayla, who I'm sure will be a BIG HELP, I won't be able to leave her alone with the baby for more than two seconds. --I am anxious for the baby to arrive and hope that these next few months go by quickly. It will be interesting to see what kind of personality she will have because Hayden and Kayla couldn't be more different. Will she be more like one or the other or will I experience something totally new with her?