Pregnancy Update...

Well here I am in my 38th week of pregnancy. According to the doctor this little guy is very happy were he is at. He still has not dropped and I am only about 1 or 2 cm dilated. I have a feeling that he is like his older brother, Zane. That kid never dropped until I was in full labor and dilated to a 5. But I am in no hurry to have him. My mom does not come up until the 13th.

This has been a good pregnancy for me. I don't feel as big as I look, so that is good. But now I understand why when I ask "how do I look?" the response is "You look very pregnant."

All is well and he will be here soon. His cradle, changing table, and cloths are all ready for him. Everyday, Emilee asks "are you going to the hospital today?" The kids are very excited to meet their baby brother and so am I. The count down has started and I will keep you updated on Krew's arrival.

Showered with love....

Saturday, my girlfriends from Heber came down to shower Krew and I with love and fun. We started our day getting pedicures. It was great because we were all in one room and were able to chat and laugh. Even at the age of 30 we were told we were being kind of loud for the salon. Seriously, what do expect when you get 5 women together.

After our pedicures, we did a little shopping. I found a cute little Halloween costume for Krew, I will post that later. After shopping we headed downtown Salt Lake to Bennihanna for lunch. Oh my goodness, I was in heaven. I have come to the stage in my pregnancy were I am not a fan of eating, well because there is no room. However, the food was awesome and even had some sushi. After our lunch we walked to the conference center, to attend the Relief Society Broadcast. This was my first time going to a conference. It was amazing. The Spirit that the Prophet brings in the room with him is unbelievable. The talks were great and I left feeling uplifted.

I had a great day spending time with my friends and enjoy the company of great women and getting some cute outfits for Krew. It was great to take the time for me before my little man arrives.

Backing up...

To the Heber Derby. It is sad to sad to say but I can't remember when we went to the derby. I do remember it was during our 2 week move. However, it was one of the highlights of the summer. This year once again we had the threat of rain. Luckily, it never came. Probably, because I was prepared this time.

Zane loved it. His favorite part was the tractors. "Mom, look at that big tractor." He loved watching them clean up and move cars around, which is good because this year it seem like it took forever in between rounds.

Garrit loved watching the cars crash. They would come out and he would pick his favorite and make everyone else pick too. To my surprise, he usually picked the winner.

We all had a great time at the derby this year. There were a couple of people they brought the ambulance in for, which added to the kids excitement. It was a fun time and hopefully we can go again next year.

Labor Day...Lake Powell

We rented a camper and loaded up the family and headed down to Halls Crossing. The kids were so excited about staying in the camper we could of just rented a camper and left it in the driveway for the weekend.

The kids loved sitting in the front of the boat and feeling the wind on their face. They were like dogs hanging their heads out a window. The would scream and say "go faster, Dad". Unfortunately, the result from them in the front of the boat was wind chapped faces.

We spent the days on the lake, then we would go back to the camper for dinner, movie, and bed. Symen took the kids tubing and hydro sliding. The first day I am not sure who was more tired. The kids or Dad.

Emilee, tried everything. She was able to pull herself up on the hydro slide, water ski, and she even tried to wake board. I think next year will be the year for the wake board.

Garrit, loved to swim off the back of the boat. He would just jump in and out all day. We did eventually get him on the hydro slide and the tub. He had fun, but wasn't thrilled to do it again.

Zane did everything we would let him. He went on the tub and the hydro slide with Dad. He loved every minute of it.

We had some friends that parked their boat at a beach, so everyday we would go to the beach and have some lunch and play in the sand.

Symen took the kids for a little hike.

Dad and Emilee on the hydro-slide. I laughed so hard watching these two, I thought I was going to go into labor.

Garrit and Dad on the hydro-slide. Is that a smile I see on Garrit?

Things went more smoothly with Zaner. Zane is loving it.

Hanging out at the beach.

Poor Garrit, the kid is so skinny, his pants would not stay up at all.

We had such a great time. It was good to spend some time together as a family, before things get turned upside down with the baby coming. As a kid Symen would go to Lake Powell with his family, he really enjoyed sharing this with his kids. I can't wait for next year when I will look good in a bath suit and be able to ski and play with the rest of them.

Days of Summer!

Here are some of the fun things that we have been up to this summer.

Robin and Tyson sent the kids a slippin

slide for their birthdays. The kids had a lot of fun playing on it this summer. It was fun to watch them, it reminded me of when I was a kid and we would set up the slippin slide in the yard and Justin and I would spend hours out there. Zane thought that it also doubled as a drinking fountain.

We also took the kids up to Snowbird, a local ski resort. They went down the Alpine slide and did the air trampoline.Emilee was finally old enough to go down by herself. She was coming down at a good speed. The girl has no fear.

This is only a test.

I got a new flip video camera and I am trying to figure out how to put the video on my blog. So that way you can see the gang.

Update!

A lot has happened in the VanderLinden household in the last few weeks. First, we rented out our house in Heber and moved. We put our house up for rent Thursday night, had a contract by Friday, and had to be out in 2 weeks. We are now living with Symen and Tracee, in West Jordan. It was hard to leave our perfect Heber, however, the Lord has blessed so much that it is hard to be sad. During our 2 week move, Emilee started school in West Jordan (they go year round here) so we had a crazy last week of going back and forth to Heber around school schedules.

Emilee is off to 2nd grade. I seriously have no idea when that girl grew up. She is so full of life, she wants to do everything and not miss out on one thing life has to offer her. She lives for now and enjoys every minute of day. She is a amazing girl, the world is hers for the taking.

Garrit started kindergarten. Yes, my little man is off to school. The day before school started Garrit had his kindergarten assessment. He came out and said "Mom, I pretty much know everything. Kindergarten is going to be so easy." The first day of school Symen was a little worried that he might not go to school as easily as Emilee did. However, he was excited and ready to go. As we walked closer to his classroom he got a little quieter and a little closer to me. I asked "Garrit, are you nervous?" he said "No, Mom." I reassured him that he was going to have so much fun and that he got to play on the playground. And as soon as he saw the playground he was gone. The only tears shed that day were from Mom. He is so fun to be around, he is our little family clown and lover. He always has a smile and I love you for you.

Zane is officially potty trained. I would not recommend trying to potty train while moving and being pregnant. However, he caught on quick. He is getting bigger and bigger everyday. He has a hard time every morning when we take the kids to school, he does not understand why he can't go to school also. He loves to be with his sister and brother. Zane is my buddy, he repeats a lot of my sayings. One night at dinner he asked for strawberry milk, I said "Sorry, buddy we are all out." He hung his head and said "For the love." Zane is so fun, everyone that meets him, just loves him.

Symen, is doing good. Now that the move is over, things are starting to settle into place. He now is able be to home from work in time for dinner and homework. I love having him home, I didn't realize how much I missed having him be part of our night time routine.

As for me I am doing good. I am heading into my 32nd week of pregnancy. I am feeling really good. I am getting excited about our little guy coming soon. I am having a hard time believing that I will have a newborn and going through all the stages again. It will be great, I want to enjoy it as much as possible because

he will be my last baby.

Things have been crazy the last few weeks for us, however, we are doing great.