Requiring little introduction, Molly Christine Brazell has finally arrived! Britt and Molly are doing very well, and are sleeping well at the hospital. The expectation is that they will be discharged tomorrow afternoon sometime.

At 9lbs 2oz and 21 1/4 inches, she’s the giant of the Maternity Ward and our biggest yet! She was delivered at 4:50pm on 6-21-12, which is barely inside of business hours (one of my original requests).

After everything had settled down at the hospital, I picked up Ella and Jameson and we headed over to see their new little sitster. They were even excited to wash their hands so that they could touch Molly.

Jameson was especially proud to be able to hold Molly for a bit.

Last week we had a visit from Shelby. She came up to, hopefully, help with the kids a new baby, but apparently this little girl did not like those plans. So, instead, we played. The day Shelby got here, it was raining and cold. Surprise, surprise. But, I forgot the city was turning off power that day for work, so the house was about 63 degrees when we got home. It was a little cold. Luckily, we were only home 2 hours, and then the heater kicked on.

Wednesday, we stayed home so friends could come over, since that was the day their power was scheduled to be turned off. Thursday, we headed off to Pike’s Market. It was barely raining, so it turned out to be a good day to go. We grabbed some lunch and watched this band play while we ate. They were pretty good, and the girl would even dance on her wood to add to the music.

We bought a bouquet of flowers that Jameson picked out, but Ella insisted on carrying in the house. She almost tipped over, because the bouquet was awkward and heavy for her.

Jameson showed Shelby how to beat the asteroids and fight the birds in Happy Action Theater. Best game to get kids wiggles out before bed.

Monday came and still no baby. I figured I needed to be in the hospital by Monday in order to be out before Shelby left to go home. It turned out to be a gorgeous day. The only day, I think, Shelby didn’t freeze. So we walked to the park. That’s about 2 miles round trip. Plus, I was pushing the stroller. Shelby offered to push, but my point was to try to go into labor. When we got home, I vacuumed the house, mopped, swept, did laundry, and dishes. Do you think any of this helped? No. Oh yes, I contracted through all of it, but it did not help progress anything.

Really funny, though. Ella was watching the water shoot out of the ground, when it disappeared. She was checking out the whole, when the water turned back on and shot her in the face. I was laughing pretty hard. She shook it off, but made sure to steer clear the next time.

Tuesday, we took Shelby over to the Microsoft campus and met Kevin for lunch. We ate in their “cafeteria” which is ridiculous. Pretty much a mini mall but with a better food court. We walked her over to the store, and tried to go to the museum, but it was closed for something. Instead, we headed back to the Commons and played with the microsoft surface they have there.

After their game, we took the kids home and Kevin headed back to work. Wednesday morning, we took Shelby to the airport and dropped her off with no baby in tow. We had fun, though, so we can’t ask for more.

This week, our activity for young womens, was to take a treat to a new beehive. She doesn’t come to church, but we wanted her to know we were thinking of her. Some of the girls worked on a card while others helped frost cupcakes. I saw a cute idea of putting cake batter in ice cream cones. So, I tried it. The girls loved them! I brought frosting and food coloring, and showed them how to swirl the frosting so it looked like ice cream.

We finished up and dropped them off. I will be making these for kids birthdays as they are way less messy than regular cupcakes, plus smaller. Easier to handle.

We got to spend a lot of time together as a family this weekend. Friday started with a doctor appointment where I was told I was 2 cm dilated. Makes sense. Last week, I had tons of pain, but I was surprised. I’ve never made it that far without already being in labor. Don’t misunderstand. There is no labor pains going on here.

Anyway, I had talked to Kevin about meeting him for lunch. We’ve actually never really been over to the Microsoft campus other than trick-or-treating. Kevin thought that would work out, so I called him as soon as my appointment was over to let him know we would be on our way. It also just so happens, the first Friday of the month is family day. We met up with friends there, and the kids had a blast. They started with a few carnival games, and got prizes… even if they didn’t win. Jameson was determined to knock the ducks down, though.

Ella was just enjoying her sucker while Kevin got us some lunch. Jameson was busy playing pinball on the machine next to our table.

After we ate, Kevin took us through the Microsoft museum. The kids loved this. It’s like a giant ipad. Can I say that? Compare a microsoft product to an apple product? Oh well. The kids were putting puzzles together.

They played a little kinect as well. Then we headed into the Microsoft store. The kids got a new game, which I think I am going to love. Jameson was running in place all night, wearing himself out. On our way back through, we stopped to let the kids make a Fathe’s Day craft.

We need to take advantage of family day more often. I guess each month is a different theme, too.

Today, Saturday, we did a little shopping. We headed down to the outlets, and we’re able to find Kevin some clothes for some good deals. Jameson was also in need of pajamas. All his shirts show his belly, and his pants are about 2 inches from the ground. Carter’s had their pajamas on sale 70% off plus, I had a coupon for another 20% off. Needless to say, he got quite a few pairs, and should be set now. After shopping, we took the kids to Sub Zero Ice Cream. I’ve wanted to check that place out, but it’s a pretty far drive. Since we were down that way, we thought we’d check it out.

It’s pretty fun. You tell them what ingredients you want, including type of cream, flavor, mix-in, and how hard you like your ice cream. Then, they spray it with nitrogen.

Jameson was not a fan of the smoke. Is it smoke? I don’t know. Anyway, he did not want it touching his clothes. They flash freeze your ingredients to make ice cream, and then dish it out to you. It was really good. And, they mentioned that they are in the process of trying to open up more locations, so they may be closer in the future. I wish they were, it was  a pretty fun concept and really good ice cream.

The kids both crashed on the way home. I realized we should probably do a few more things while we can, before we are home bound by a new baby. So we’ll see if we get out for a few more outings this week. Either way, we had a fun weekend.

Last Thursday, I was headed to a baby shower for a friend. I asked my friend, Lauren, if she wanted to ride with me over. She said sure, but that she wanted some frozen yogurt before going over. Mostly, some time without kids before joining a bunch of other friends. I said, “Sure, no problem.” Who doesn’t want dessert before going someplace with more yummy food? So we head over there, and on the way, pass someone from the ward. She points her out, and I start telling her how bad I am. I am so oblivious to other people around me sometimes. Ok, a lot of times. So we park the car, and walk inside. We’re still talking about something, when all my young women turn around and yell, “Surprise!” It took me a minute to realize who was yelling, and recognize that it was for me. Lauren was laughing at me. I just looked at her… just proving my point about how I’m oblivious a lot of the time.

So back up to earlier in the week. I was told we were canceling the Tuesday night activity, because the girls were having finals and AP tests. Worked for me. I probably would have bailed on them anyway, because Tuesday night, I could not walk. Let me tell you. It was a rough two weeks. The previous week, Kevin was out of town and Jameson was vomiting. Then, last week, I was so sore with pain that I pretty much laid on the couch every afternoon and evening. I’ve never had this kind of pain before at the end of a pregnancy, and do not enjoy one minute of it. So, when they canceled Tuesday, I was really glad.

Unknown to me, the girls actually did have an activity Tuesday night. They put together a diaper cake for me and tied a baby quilt. I guess they were worried I would drive by Tuesday and see their cars at the church. I told them they had nothing to worry about since I was laid out on the couch all night.

One of my beehives took the left over diapers and made a small cake to go with it.

We all got some yogurt and the girls each took their guesses at what time the baby will come along with what to name the baby. No, we have not decided on a name. Not because I want to “see” her first or anything. Just because, we have no idea. So, just know, I’m a pretty easy person to surprise. The young women pulled it off, and that’s saying something. I was surprised none of them slipped and said anything. It was fun, and then we headed off to the actual shower we originally were headed for.

After a fun filled Saturday, Sunday was Mother’s Day. Last year, I was out of town with the kids for Mother’s Day. This year was a little better. Kevin got up early and made me breakfast. He made me waffles, which he doesn’t like, and cut up a bunch of fruit. He even arranged it nicely on the plate, all decorative! He had to wake up the kids (they were still exhausted from Saturday), and we all had a nice breakfast.

Then, Kevin had to pack and get ready to catch his plane. He had to leave again to do testing for his project. So, I got to haul everyone to church by myself. Luckily, the kids did pretty well. Ella went to nursery with her nursery leader so I didn’t have to deal with her fake crying. Jameson was supposed to give his testimony in primary, so I went with him. The whole morning we were talking about what a testimony is and what to say. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea, and kept telling me he didn’t want to. When we got to the primary room, he said he needed to sit in the front to give his testimony. When it was his turn, I was helping him, but trying to help him come up with something on his own. I asked him why he loved Jesus and his response in the mic was, “I don’t know.” So we wrapped it up pretty quick after that. After church, the kids had Mother’s day presents for me. They had drawn on kitchen towels for us. So cute, and useful.

Jameson wrote his name, a tree with apples, a fence, grass, and I think it was a wolf. His teacher also helped him make me a cookie. She told me he wanted to make me a big cookie. That he did.

Ella’s towel had her hand prints on them plus some doodles.

The back had a quote about motherhood. I’ll have to update that later, though. So even though Kevin was gone, it turned out to be a nice day.

Saturday, the 12th, we got a baby-sitter and headed out with friends to the gun range. Kevin gave me a new gun for Christmas, that I needed to try out, and we needed to teach another friend how to shoot. So after going through basics, and a few rounds, the boys decided it was time for some competitions. The first one they wanted to do was “kill shot.” At least that’s what they call it. Basically, who can be the most accurate while holding the gun up sideways. He even picked out his 1911 with silver side plates for the cause. Of course, the only picture I have shooting that day was of this pose. (This counts as a belly shot at 35 weeks.)

I will say the baby did not enjoy shooting. She jumped and kicked as Kevin started shooting the first round. She calmed down after a bit, but I’d like to see you be accurate while a baby is kicking around in your stomach. Not only that, it somewhat throws your balance off. I did hit the target if you were wondering. Our new shooter tied with Kevin for first.

After that competition, they wanted to do quickest and most accurate. I will say, I was hitting the target more than Kevin. The boys were making fun of us, though, because they would fire as quick as possible, where us girls still tried to aim.

We had a good time, and then headed home to get ready for a bbq with lots of friends later. Once we got back, we got the kids taken care of, then Lauren and I headed to the grocery store. We got our items for the bbq, and then went home to begin prep work. Friends started coming over at about 4. Everyone brought their own meat and something to share. We ended up with tons of food, lots of friends, and lots of fun. We had 8 families over, which resulted in about 19 kids. My neighbors thought we were having a huge party, but really, we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to enjoy friends and the nice weather. It was such a fun evening, but I was not expecting what was to come. By Monday, 7 of the 8 families had majorly sick kids… but we’ll get to that later.

Thursday, April 19th, we started our journey home. It was a big travel weekend. Mom was headed to Utah for Paul’s graduation from BYU, Weston was headed to Idaho to go to prom with his girl friend… yes, you read that right, and I was starting my drive home. Luckily, my cousin was able to ride with me so I didn’t have to make the long trip by myself with the kids. We left in the early afternoon, and made it to Medford a little after 8 pm. We got a hotel for the night, where none of us slept well. Well, maybe the kids did, but Jen and I didn’t.

We got up and got back on the road. The kids did pretty well, until nap time. Ella will refuse to take naps on trips. You just have to let her break down, and then she gives up. We did pretty well, though, and made it home just after 6 pm. The kids were so excited to see Dad, and I was so excited to have everyone in their own beds again.

We had a great trip, and will now be home bound till at least July. My doctor wasn’t too thrilled that I drove that far. But, we got out frequently, and walked around so everything was fine. I had a doctor appointment a few days after getting back, and everything was looking good and on track. We even made it with no one getting car sick on the way home. Success!