We were all so excited to finally tell family and friends about our wonderful baby news.  We told the kids that they weren’t allowed to tell anyone until after our Spring Break trip.  Today we rushed back to Colorado Springs so that we could make it back to church.  I wore my yellow dress and just let it all hang out.  No more hiding it or sucking in needed.  It was fun to let people know of our good news.  We also posted a photo of all of our feet with a pair of baby shoes in the middle that we had taken before Spring Break.  Above the baby shoes we put the due date. We posted it on Facebook and just let the photo tell it all.  Lots of our friends and family were surprised by our news.  I think most people thought we were done having kids. It was so fun to surprise everyone.  

​After leaving Las Vegas we drove just a short way to my parents house in St. George.  We thought it would be nice to stop by for a day and a half to hang out before driving the long way home to Colorado Springs.  We had a great time while visiting Grandma Anne and Grandpa Franz.  On Friday night Mike and I went with my parents to see Jay Leno at Tuacahn.  He was hilarious.  So glad we got to see him live.  The next morning we did an Easter egg hunt with the kids and then headed over to the Rec. Center to swim before our long drive.  Our drive home wasn’t too bad as we stopped in Grand Junction and stayed the night.  We got up early Sunday morning and drove straight to church. The whole ride back to Colorado Springs we listened to Hank Smith with the kids.  We all really enjoyed being uplifted by Hank.  We were able to make it to the Cordera Ward to take the sacrament and then headed over to our ward for the rest of church. 

​We had a great 3 days in Vegas just playing, exploring and eating good food.  We stayed at the MGM Grande hotel in one of the penthouse suites.  We were so grateful that Mike found such a good deal on the suites because the kids had their own side and Mike and I had our own side.  That really is the best way to vacation with kids.  We felt really spoiled.  The first night we ate Ramen and it was seriously so good.  Then we stopped at the Japanese grocery store to gather some yummy Japanese candies and chocolate to take with us back to the hotel.  The kids choose Japanese gum and the soda candies and I got the chocolate covered almonds.  Back at the hotel we played King of Tokyo and stayed up late just because we could. 

​The next day we took the kids through the hotel and the casino so that we could adventure over to the main part of the strip.  We headed first to the M&M factory and had fun creating personalized M&M’s with the kids.  Then walked next door to the Coca Cola store and enjoyed our taste testing of different cola’s from around the world.  Some of them were oooh so delicious and some of them were down right awful.  While we were there we ran into some friends from Colorado Springs who also came to Vegas for Spring Break.  Small world.  For lunch we headed over to the New York, New York hotel and ate at the BEST sandwich place called Greenberg & Sons.  We had this multi meat hoagie sandwich that everyone absolutely LOVED.   After lunch the boys wanted to ride the roller coaster so we took the girls and played at the arcade while we waited for the boys.  We all had a blast just playing to our hearts content.  The boys joined us afterward for a few games of the PAC MAN four way battle game.  That game is hilarious.  Once we ran out of money we headed back to our hotel to go swimming.  The kids enjoyed spending the afternoon playing in the pool and I enjoyed relaxing in the warm weather.   For the evening, Mike and I left the kids at the hotel and we spent the evening on a date.  We ate at a Steakhouse in the Venetian hotel and then walked along the strip all the way back to our hotel.  The strip at night is a very interesting place.  It's definitely not a place for kids.  

​Our last day in Vegas was spent walking along the strip with the kids in the morning followed by playing at the waterpark during the day.  The waterpark was not crowded at all which was nice.  It wasn’t the best waterpark we had ever been to but it’s not worth complaining about when back home it was snowing.  We’ll take the mediocre waterpark thank you very much.  After the kids pretty much rode all the rides we headed back to the hotel to shower.  We ventured back over to New York, New York for dinner at our favorite sandwich shop before going to the Blue Man Group show.  Yes…the sandwich was that good that we just had to eat there one more time.  The Blue Man Group was AMAZING.  It was the perfect show for kids and adults.  The kids even got to meet one of the Blue men afterwards and got their picture taken with him.  It was the perfect way to end our time in Las Vegas. 

​After leaving the Grand Canyon we headed towards Las Vega and stopped at Hoover Dam.  This was the first time the kids and I had seen Hoover Dam.  We sat in a little bit of traffic just to get through security and then didn’t have much luck finding parking so that we could walk across the dam.  That was a total bummer.  We decided to head back to the upper parking lot and walk along the bridge to see the dam from up above.  That ended up being good enough for us.  The view was pretty spectacular from the bridge so I guess it’s a good thing we couldn’t find parking down below. 

​Everyone was so excited to go to the Grand Canyon today. The nice thing about staying in Sedona was the fact that we were only an hour away from the Grand Canyon.  We left pretty early from Sedona so that we would be on the trail before it got too hot outside. We parked at the Visitor Center near the Mather Point Overlook on the South Rim and got on a shuttle headed towards the South Kaibab Trailhead.  The view of the canyon was absolutely stunning from the top of this trail.  We headed down the steep descent until we got to the Ooh-ahh Point where the view of the eastern canyon opens up. The kids enjoyed the mile long switchbacks and fun trail up to this point.  Knowing that we would have to climb up on the way back some of the kids wanted to turn around at the Ooh-ahh Point but we pushed on knowing that the next viewpoint was sure to be a winner.  We continued on towards Cedar Ridge where there were bathrooms and an awesome ridge where we played and ate lunch.  After spending an hour at this awesome viewpoint we headed back up the trail.  To our surprise, we ascended faster up the trail than we descended down the trail.  Our round-trip mileage ended up being around 3 miles.  Back at the top we got back on the shuttle and headed back to the Visitor’s Center.  We walked along the ridge trail and enjoyed some more gorgeous views from the top.  We just couldn’t get enough of how magnificent the Grand Canyon was to look at.  We walked along the ridge until we got to the Yavapai Geology Museum and then spent some time there.  Inside the museum there was a model of the entire Grand Canyon.  We were all shocked to see how big the canyon was from east to west.  After looking around the museum for a while we took the shuttle back to our car and called it a day.  What a great time we had exploring the Grand Canyon. 

​After driving through Santa Fe and Albuquerque, NM we finally made it to Sedona, AZ.  We spent the afternoon hiking along the West Fork Trail.  The trail followed the creek and crossed over the creek several times.  We loved all the creek crossings and the smell of the aspen trees.  We stopped to play at a rocky section along the creek.  The kids took their shoes off and had fun walking through the creek.  At one point Abby was walking back to one side of the creek when she slipped on some slimy rocks.  Luckily she didn’t slide down the creek but was just wet from the fall.  It was one of those moments we wished we had caught on camera.  After playing there for a while we turned around and headed back.  No one really wanted to leave but it was getting late and the sun was starting to go down.  On the way back to our hotel we stopped at The Olive Garden and ate dinner.  Hiking in Sedona was a great way to end our long day of driving.   

It was super early to be able to really see anything on an ultrasound but Ashley was able to get me an early appointment with her so that we could see if something was indeed there.   I was really nervous as Mike and I had been having thoughts about having twins and the last time I was pregnant it ended in a miscarriage at 9 weeks.  To our surprise and relief Ashely was able to see a tiny little something.  That was all I needed to see to feel comfort today.

Today I took my first pregnancy photo.  The bump is barely noticeable to me and not at all noticeable to those who don't know I'm pregnant.   I have been feeling pretty good and I haven't noticed any symptoms of morning sickness just yet.  I have been going to the bathroom A LOT though.  That is something I remember from my other pregnancies.  I have been keeping up with my swimming and running and tried mountain biking at the Section 16 trail in Black Forest but decided to put biking outside on hold until after my pregnancy because I don't want to risk falling and getting hurt and hurting the baby in the process. 

Well, the morning sickness is in full motion now.  Although, this pregnancy I haven't thrown up very much which is nice.  I am usually pretty nauseous when I first get up in the morning.  I eat my crackers and then I am usually ok until I can eat something else for breakfast.  Mornings have been rough trying to get everyone out the door for school.  After I get some breakfast and the kids leave for school I am usually feeling a lot better.  It's really been the afternoons and evenings that are my worst times.  I have felt good enough in the mornings to continue exercising which is such a blessing.  I have continued to run with my running group.  I am starting to slow down a bit and I don't do as many repeats on the track but at least I am still running.  When I go to Flying Horse I will get on the bike and do 20 minutes of either fast flats or a hill workout.  Then I get in the pool and swim at least 1000-1200 yards.  After I am done working out I have to eat a snack right away.  Lately I have been packing veggies and hummus and a go go squeeze applesauce.  I'm so grateful I have been able to keep exercising.  I think it actually helps me feel better throughout the day.

This is the first time we noticed that baby's hand is always by the face.  So cute.

I have officially made it through the first trimester.  I'm still nauseous at night and in the early morning but I know in the next few weeks it will just get better.  My little bump is starting to get bigger so I ordered a new dress for church.  It's not a maternity dress but one I know I will be able to wear throughout my pregnancy and after.  I haven't gained that much weight.  I weigh 114 lbs now and started my pregnancy at 113 lbs. This trimester I craved cold things, fruit and citrus.  I couldn't get enough of mangos, bananas, and pineapple popsicles.  The popsicles were the only things that sounded good to me at night when I was extremely nauseous.