So Dustin will probably....ok he will be embarrassed that I put this up here but what can I say "I'm proud of my man" (and I said with a southern drawl). Dustin was required to write an article for The Daily Journal of Commerce and I thought he did a good job. He actually sounded like he knew what he was talking about! jk I know you know what you are talking about. And you can check out his cute picture here:

or with the article here.

Good job Dustin! I think you are one smart lawyer!

My baby is an orange......

Well apparently my baby is an orange this week! I found this fun website that tells you how big your baby is by measuring it against different fruits and vegetables to get a better visual. So every week I will be putting a new fruit up for everyone to visualize as my baby......to weird? but yummy?

Anyway, I haven't written much about this new baby.....not really anything actually. But we are very excited about the arrival in February! This was a complete surprise to all parties involved. I think it was a bigger shock to Dustin when I finally told him I was pregnant and already 3 months along. Lucky for him he got to bypass a few of those sick weeks without having to feel too much sympathy. Unfortunately I am still feeling sick, which is only par for the course, but hopefully soon in the next couple of weeks it will go away.

I don't want to complain much, because compared to the first three pregnancies this one is a BREEZE! But I still reserve the right to feel a general overall CRAPPINESS and complain about it on occasion. I think that Dustin and my mom however will both attest to the better mental health of their wife and daughter this time around.

Now on to the real issue.......to be a girl or not to be a girl.....that is the question. RIGHT? Anyone who knows us knows this is the real question!! I am not really sure how I feel about this issue. I will not deny that if the scales were measured between the desire for a boy next and the desire for a girl next.....the boy scale would be heavier. However after having three beautiful, darling, talented girls already, there is a part of me that would feel more comfortable and actually happy about adding a fourth to the mix. I was washing my girls hair in the bath the other day ( I do not usually wash my 9 year olds hair or my 7 year olds hair but they were all in the bath together and I just dove right in) and I tried to imagine a fourth child in the bath with them. I will admit that it was easier to imagine a fourth little girl in there rather than an unknown, foreign boy. But the desire to know what it is like to raise both genders and to see a little boy follow around Dustin (ok...really I just want him to have to take someone to the bathroom every five minutes in a restaurant) is pretty strong.

After we found out Lilly was a girl I can't say I reacted well. I thought for sure she was a boy and I had it all planned out in my head. However Heavenly Father had something else planned out for our family and I think I was being taught the never ending lesson that I can't seem to learn, that Heavenly Father knows what is best for us and I can't control everything. So I have to acknowledge that I really just don't know. I can bet my life that this baby is one gender or the other but really when it is all said and done whatever is best for our family will be delivered.

So with that said on October 5th......are you all marking your calendars......cause I know everyone out there really really cares about this issue. We will find out what the answer is to this pressing question. To be fun I will decorate my blog with the predicted gender so as soon as you pull up my blog you will have the answer. If it is all blue......it's a boy.......if it's all pink......you get the idea. Any predictions out there?!?

Moyes Girls Western Tour 2009

Well three weeks ago today the girls and I hit the road to see my mother (mention #1) and my sister and her kids and to make it down for my niece Julia's baptism. We had moved into our new house about a week before and then the temperatures in Portland went CRAZY and we decided to get the heck out of dodge. I packed whatever clothing I could find that was clean and told the girls to grab a pair of shoes and get in the car. We had so much fun and it was a SERIOUSLY long trip but I am so glad that we did it because I am not sure when we will be able to do it again. I think it will be at least a couple years....but you never know. I may get the itch again!



Here is Maddy and Josey and Julia "getting ready".



The most beautiful and chunkiest baby Ali.

The sweetest 2 year old Bear.

We were lucky enough to be able to swim in my sister's in-laws pool a lot while we were there, which the girls LOVED. Then never wanted to get out.

Maddy and Claudia......the pre-teen.....and the pre pre-teen.

The girls looking for snails.....so fun.

And boy did they find snails!

Lilly and Georgia. They had so much fun together.

We actually stayed with my mom (mention #2) in her little apartment. She was so patient with all of us packed in there. We had so much fun meeting her (mention #3) for lunch at the park and waiting for her (mention #4) to get home from work so we could play. Almost everyday we went here.....

to the Danvile Hay and Grain. They had little chicks, ducks, rabbits and baby turkeys that you could pick up and hold to your hearts content. I only took pictures one day that we were there and Maddy had spent the night at the cousins house so she wasn't with us. But she got plenty of time to hold the baby animals as well as I just didn't get any pictures of her.

My mom (mention #5) took the girls school shopping before we left. They were so excited to actually go into the dressing room and try on their clothes. We don't EVER do that! Lilly told her it was the best day ever. She adores clothes and especially trying them on. The girls are very excited for their new school clothes and can't wait for school now to get to wear them. Thanks mom (mention #6)

Then we capped the week off with Julias baptism. We were so glad we were able to be there for that special day.

San Fransisco with the Flemings

One day we met our friends the Flemings, (my mom (mention #7) was at work and Beck was not very excited to take five kids to walk around San Fran) who just moved from Oregon City to the Bay Area. We took all the kids....which again was fun but a lot of work. Lots of girls.....and poor Ethan. I think he had fun? All the girls looking at the Sea Lions.

Luckily we had BEAUTIFUL weather. It is usually REALLY cold in San Fran but we got lucky and it was great. We walked Fishermans Wharf and rode the carousel and looked for souveneirs but by that time I was to tired to take out my camera anymore.

Thanks for coming with us Flemings and we miss you! We will call the next time we are down.

Fairyland---Oakland

My mom (mention #8) took a day off work to take us to Fairyland. It is a little place in Oakland that has been there for years and years. I went there as a kid. And my grandpa worked on the little train that is still there. My mom (mention #9) even went there as a kid.The last time I was there was when Maddy was a little baby. My sister only had Caludia and Julia was just born. This time was much different! We had 8 kids in total and 4 of them were 4 and under. Consequently we lost Bear 2 times, Georgia once and Josey ended up at the staff center crying because she was lost......it was a lot of work.
My mom (mention #10) with all the kids.

My girls LOVED the puppet show. I thought they might get bored but they watched the whole thing and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Here is the little train that my grandpa helped build. The kids really liked riding on it. Especially Bear who kept running out onto the track while we were in line. He wanted to get on that train SO BAD! My mom (mention #11) stayed off and took pictures of us.

We rode the little carousel.....

...and it was kinda little as you can tell. I wish I had a picture of Claudia who is 11....it looked even funnier!

Lilly's face was so funny in this picture if you can blow it up.

Then my camera stopped working so I didn't get anymore cute pictures. I need to get those from you Beck! Thanks for going with us mom (mention #12)