Where do I begin?! Seriously I have no idea…. We had the most wonderful trip and I have like 80 pictures which I know I can’t post all of. So which do I tell about and which do I leave out? Well, I think I will take this post in pieces so I don’t overwhelm anyone.

Hallie loved helping Grandpa Crane in the garden. It combined 3 of her favorite things: Grandpa, helping, and being outside!

After working so hard in the garden Hallie was a little dirty. Grandpa volunteered to bathe her in the kitchen sink. (I guess that’s how he used to do it in the good ol’ days.) haha

One of the two reason’s we made the trip. Ben’s younger brother Brogan got married to his sweetheart Stacey. It was such a beautiful ceremony in the Salt Lake Temple. What made it even better was the fact that I was sitting next to my handsome eternal companion. Marriage ROCKS!

We were able to meet Stacey the day before the wedding. Talk about cutting it close! We went out to breakfast and enjoyed getting to know Stacey just a little bit before she joined our family. A funny side note: Hallie liked Stacey way better than Brogan even though she has met Brogan several times and she only just met Stacey. Welcome to the FamDamily Stacey! We love you already!

While waiting for pictures outside the Temple Hallie and Aunt Marci looked for ants. (Hallie’s new FAVORITE thing to do.)  Between looking for ants every time they were together and calling Marci “Aunt Marci” Hallie connects Marci with the little black ants. 🙂

More searching for ants.

Ben and I at the reception that night.

Back at Grandma and Grandpa Romrell’s house Hallie got to meet her one and only cousin for the first time. She was so excited to see baby Carson in real life instead of just on skype. We told her he was her cousin and that his name was Carson so naturally she calls him “GUS”.  So cute!!

Remember how I said she loves to help. Here she is helping change Carson’s diaper. Just practicing for the many diaper changes she will be in charge of in the near future. haha

Carson sticking his finger in Hallie’s ear. She better get used to it with a little brother coming soon!

Cute Cousins!

Pushing Carson on his car.

Hallie and grandma playing with bubbles. Hallie was spoiled with all the attention she got from everyone. There was never a dull moment because there was always some one to play with. She really was in heaven. It was so fun to watch the constant excitement and happiness on her face.

One afternoon I got to escape and go see my highschool friends. I love these girls! Each one of them has accomplished so much in their lives. I love keeping up to speed on their blogs. Even though it has been 8 years since we graduated we can still get together like no time at all has passed. This time we were excited to find out that Lena is getting married! YAY!! Wish I could go in August.

Most of the trip we spent with family and so I only saw a couple friends. This is me and my old roommate Michele who I absolutely ADORE! She just had baby Lily 2 months ago. I was so excited she drove up to see me at my parents house. We got to spend a couple hours catching up and reminiscing about all of our good times together. (The biggest change we have noticed in ourselves since getting married and having kids is that we aren’t funny like we used to be. What’s up with that?! We used to be silly and crazy and now we are responsible. Dang it!) haha

One of my old mission companions also drove up to see me. Honivah Rafaranirindraibe (I just have to write out her whole name!!!) She is from Madagascar and I love her to pieces. She kept me laughing constantly on my mission. Honivah just found out that she was accepted to BYU provo starting fall semester. Congrats to her!!!

One of the best parts about the trip was all the family we got to see. Hallie loved the attention and had everyone’s name memorized. I was really impressed!

Just look at all those grandparents playing with her! Needless to say Hallie loved the attention and misses it now that we are back home.

Hallie and Uncle Shawn coloring. Once after we left the Crane’s and were going to my parents house I asked her if Shawn was her friend. She replied, “No, Uncle”. I guess she told me!

Hanging out with second cousins.

Visiting with Great Grandma and Grandpa Romrell. They were in town from Arizona. We were so happy we got to see them!

Getting kisses from Great Grandma Dutson. (We call her Chenie)

One of the many fun things Hallie got to experience while in Utah was this zip line. This is her on the way back up. Daddy rode it with her going down.

Mommy got in on the fun too.

We also took Hallie bowling. At first she was all concerned because the pins fell down. “Uh oh, fall down” she would say. (She’s tender hearted and hates when people or things get hurt.) After we explained thats what was supposed to happen she loved it! She would say “Hallie’s turn” and help carry the ball up to the lane and then push it down. So fun! I can’t wait to take her again.

We got to have a lot of really fun adventures on our vacation. Three of which were visiting the aquarium, dinosaur museum, and feeding baby goats.

THE AQUARIUM:

Watching the string rays swim by.

Hallie and Grandma. (Sorry the pictures are so blurry.)

Driving a boat with Grandma’s help.

Hallie now loves frogs!

DINOSAUR MUSEUM:

Hallie and Grandma and Grandpa

Creating a dinosaur with Grandpa.

Crawling through a cave. (I love Hallie’s smile in this picture!)

Playing with the dinosaurs in the sand and water.

Another hands on exhibit.

FEEDING BABY GOATS:

My mom’s friend has a little hobby farm that she let us come out and visit. Hallie loved the goats and the chickens.

We got to go home with fresh eggs. They were so good and made me want my own chickens… well almost!

Hallie got to pet the baby goats.

And even feed them! She loved it and talked about it for days.

The last few days of our trip included a drive to Seattle to see my best friend Tiffany get married. Tiffany and I were roommates our freshman year of college and have been best friends ever since. She is seriously the sister/best friend I always prayed for growing up. I was so grateful that I was able to see her get married.

Most of our trip was spent in my parents motorhome or “BUS” as we called it for Hallie’s sake. I have such great parents who also love Tiffany and were willing to drive across a few states to see her get married. My poor dad-driving all that way! (Let’s just say my mom and I weren’t very helpful in driving the motorhome.) He’s a trooper!

Hallie in the front seat helping grandpa “drive” and talking to her daddy on the cell phone. (Ben had to go back to D.C. to work) We sure missed him!!

Hallie watching Signing Time on the “Bus”. Oh how times have changed! She’s not even 2 yet and she already has a DVD player and headphones!

Hallie getting all cleaned up in the motorhome bathtub.

When we got to Seattle we stayed the night at a beautiful campground. We kept saying how much fun it would be to have a family reunion there. It was so beautiful!

Playing in the water at the camp ground

Helping Grandpa get the “Bus” level so we could cook etc. (She honestly has to help with EVERYTHING!)

The happy couple! It was so great to be there. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I actually planned this pregnancy around the wedding. (They were engaged forever!!)

Funny Story: Tiffany never cries. She is always strong and holds it together. Except… at my wedding. In the Temple she bawled like a baby. Probably more than my mom. As for me… ever since my mission I have been much better at not getting so emotional. As I sat there in the Temple watching the ceremony I held it together and didn’t shed a tear. She did the same. No crying. However, after when I went up and hugged her we both just started bawling like babies. What is it with us and crying at weddings! So much for not smudging her makeup.

At the Temple. She looked stunning! I mean just look at that million dollar necklace!

Later that day at the dinner reception. Hallie was off playing while Grandpa tried to catch up with her.

Cutest picture ever!

The three of us at the dinner reception. It was so perfect!  I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Cool Story: Tiffany and her new husband, Chris, left the dinner in a helicopter. I know crazy! Who does that?! It was a surprise that nobody but her parents knew about. How cool is that!?!

Here is a picture of me at 36 weeks and 2 days pregnant. The countdown has begun!!

And here is Hallie at 22 months exactly.

Ben and I can’t help but laugh out loud when we look at this picture. She is such a copy cat these days.

While we were in Utah we revealed the name of the new little guy that will be joining our family in a few weeks. It took a lot of patience on my mom’s part not to know. Everyday when I would talk to her she would try and trick it out of me. Silly moms!

So drumroll please…………

BENTON KYLE CRANE

I had such a hard time picking a boy name. I seriously lost sleep over it. (Dumb I know!) I decided to pray about it while in the Temple a few months back and I received an answer.  When I told Ben he thought about it for a while and decided that he liked the name but wanted to call the baby Kyle instead of Ben. (He said having 2 Ben’s in the house would be too confusing.)

Ben’s dad’s name is Kyle and we are excited to name our son after him. We want each of our children to be named after someone we love and look/looked up to. We want the names to come from people who are strong examples of living a God centered life, who cherish their family, and serve others. I’m grateful that Ben looks up to his dad in this way.

Some may ask why not just use Kyle as the first name. My answer~ I wanted my first born son to be named after the best man I knew and that is my husband. Ben really is amazing and I am so grateful that my children get him as a dad.  Our growing family couldn’t have asked for a better man in our life. So…. Benton it is!

This past weekend Ben and I took the advice of our Stake President who advised married couples to go on an overnight date without children.  This was the first time we had ever left Hallie. In fact the most time I have ever spent away from her is a 5 hour Temple trip. When we considered going on this trip I knew exactly who I wanted to watch Hallie. Ben’s cousin Melissa lives about 30 minutes from us and she has 3 girls who just adore Hallie. I knew Hallie would be crazy spoiled and not even notice we were gone. I was right! Hallie just played, played, played!!! She never cried or anything! What a relief for me to know she was in good hands and that she was enjoying herself. Thanks again Orton’s you are truly the best!!!!

We stayed at the Historic Powhatan Resort.  This is the main building at the resort. (Not where we actually stayed) They give tours of the mansion and tell ghost stories about how it’s haunted.

This is part of our condo. We were not expecting something so huge and nice. We had two floors with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen with all utensils and needed cooking supplies, washer and dryer, huge jet tub, and living room. And the best part was it was cheaper than a hotel.

The grounds were breathtaking. We were able to walk around and explore in the perfect weather!!

Next we drove to Jamestown and took the Island drive tour. (We are cheap and didn’t want to spend any money for admission tickets to the actual town.) We learned a lot about how the first settlers settled on an Island and then abandoned it when they moved the capitol to Williamsburg. The island is mostly a marsh land now.

Our next stop was Williamsburg. We parked the car this time and got out and walked around. Again we didn’t buy admission tickets so we didn’t see any demonstrations etc. but it was still cool to walk around and see the old town.

After Williamsburg our last stop was Yorktown. This is where the British surrendered to George Washington and the colonists.

It was a wonderful and relaxing trip! I can’t wait until we can do it again in about two years. haha

We have been busy enjoying the warm weather here in Virginia. It has been so nice to go outside and sit on the porch while Hallie writes with sidewalk chalk. Hallie is getting so smart these days. She can say pretty much any word it’s just understanding her that gets a little tricky. Her memory is amazing and she never ceases to amaze me at how demanding she is. I seriously feel like I have two kids already because we have to take care of her baby doll like it is real. (Besides her throwing it down the stairs every now and then.) We feed the baby all it’s meals with a bowl and spoon (plus the occasional bottle), we dress it and then undress it so it can sit on the potty, we put the baby to sleep on it’s belly and cover it with a blanket, and we take the doll everywhere we go. I think she will like her little brother for about one week until she realizes he is sticking around. Even with that said I know she will be a great big sister.

Here is a little taste of our spring/summer fun.

Enjoying a birthday party cupcake with other “older” kids

Playing with bubbles at a birthday party. (Thanks for inviting us Cheata!)

Flying a kite with Daddy.

Just so cute!! And grown up!

BOOM!! I told you I was bigger than that last picture depicted!! haha There is your proof! Ben took this picture last week at 28 weeks but I haven’t had time to post it until now.

Things are still going great with this pregnancy. I started having a little bit of trouble sleeping with my big belly in the way but it’s not as bad as it is going to get so I’m counting my blessings. No more sleeping on my belly or even my back. (Which bites!) I experience cramping a lot but I think it is because I bend over so much and pick up Hallie. Everything is going great with my hypnobirthing and my midwife. I can’t believe I am to the point where I go in for a checkup every two weeks. That is crazy to me!! The baby moves all the time. I used to think he was super calm because he would only move at night when I was going to sleep, but now he is constantly moving. It’s making it more real to me. I finally feel like I’m starting to bond with him and I’m getting excited to meet him.