Greg: AKA: Super Husband/Dad

Greg may have had a little vacation from being the super-duper-do-everything-guy around here for a few months, but last week he had to snap right back into his role. Unfortunately, I got really sick-- an ear infection, sinus infection, and bronchitis, and I was no longer a functioning wife & mommy. Of course it hit on the week of our 8th anniversary, my baby shower, and Father's Day. Oh well. We skipped the anniversary and I made it to the shower, though I wasn't myself. Father's Day got a little effort, though not as much as Greg deserves!

We decided it is only fitting to kinda miss these holidays, since we've skipped most holidays for the past year! My birthday last summer (I was sick), Christmas, Greg's Birthday, and Valentines all came while I was in the first half of the pregnancy, so those got skipped. On Mother's day, Greg was sick, on Father's Day and our anniversary, I was sick. For awhile we kept pledging that we'd make the day up and celebrate later, but there's just too many to catch up on now! Now we just know this will be the year we'll never forget, and we have lots of precious memories of taking care of one another (and being taken care of) and a lot of love and appreciation for each other. You can't buy that for a gift!

Anyway, I am feeling a little better each day. The doctor put me on antibiotics and I am slowly recovering. I am amazed at how tired I am! My body must be fighting really hard. Had a check-up on Scotty yesterday and I've lost 3 pounds since my check 2 weeks ago, but the doctor didn't seem alarmed, so I won't be either. I've got just a little over a month to go to get to the finish line- hooray! Now it's time for all the last details to get put in place, the last items purchased, and then sit around and wait!

Sneak Preview

Well, yesterday's ultrasound gave us a sneak preview on what Scotty will look like! And here he is!
(that's the umbilical cord in front of him, not an arm by the way)





Dr. said everything looks great! He weighs just over 4 lbs. now and is right on track. Everything is going really well.

Parents

I gotta tell ya, we love being parents!
Here is my new favorite picture of my favorite people in the whole world. Man, I love these two.
And here's a picture of me that shows how the new Spangler is getting bigger and bigger. Only two months to go!

Lukas' cowboy birthday

This morning we got to join in our neighbor Lukas' birthday party at the park. It was a Brown/Cowboy themed party. Brown because that's what he said he wanted when his mommy asked him (he's three people!), and cowboy to make it extra cute. We had such a great time!

Here's cowboy Lukas and Cowgirl Addie. I do not think they could get any cuter. Nothin' like a toddler with a gun to win a young girl's heart I guess.
The Espino family, our neighbors and some of our favorite people.
Here's Addie "helping" me push Ally on the swing. Until she got a bottom to the head, it was great.
Lukas just after blowing out the candle on his cupcake. Happy 3rd birthday!

Soda Pop

Is it SODA? Or is it POP?
Yes, I am brave to start what I know could become a heated debate. Folks here in So Cal are going to say soda, whereas folks from everywhere else (I think) call it pop. Well, at the Spangler home we call it soda and makes us happy. It actually provided the icing on the cake (or should I say the bubbles in our drink?) for the great weekend away Greg and I had a few weeks ago.

There's a place I'd heard about that I've been wanting to visit for quite some time now, and we made it our first stop on the way East. It's called Galco's Soda Pop Stop, and we have to tell you- YOU GOTTA GO! It's an old little market that now carries almost nothing but soda pop, and the most unheard-of, hard to find, and interesting sodas you can imagine. We went in intending to each pick out two, and, well, see the picture?

We picked out lots and spent the weekend and the next week and a half sampling all kinds of interesting sodas. It was a hoot! We loved seeing what the other picked, and even picked out one each for the other person. It provided for some fun conversation and made every meal interesting.

Here's what we picked out, left to right.



-Kickapoo Joy Juice: We bought it just because of the name. It's a citrus flavored soda. My dad really liked it.
- Lorina Frenchberry Lemonade: oooh la la! It's from France. I bought it because I wanted to know what a "Frenchberry" would taste like. Turns out it's actually strawberry lemonade, and I thought it was too fizzy.
-Hank's Root Beer: Greg loved it. He actually licked his lips just remembering it now. He says it was "Smooth at the start, just right root beer flavor without being too syrupy, and a sharp but not strong bite at the end." It was his favorite.
-AJ Stephans Sarsaparilla: Greg thought it was OK.
-AJ Stephans Rasperry Lime Rickey: A taste sensation, a burst of joy to my tongue, a true delight!
-Stirrings Pink Grapefruit Soda: My mom thought it was OK
-Hot Lips Pear Soda: My absolute favorite. It really tasted like real pears and it wasn't overly carbonated. I could drink this stuff morning, noon, and night.
-Stirrings Tart Cranberry Soda: It was OK
-Nesbitt's Peach: "An American Classic" the bottle says, and everyone of a certain age seemed to brighten up and say "Nesbitt's!" and we understand why now. It was deeeeelicious.
-Lorina's Blueberry Lemonade: Also too fizzy. The French seem to overdo it a bit.
-Moxie Cherry Cola: Greg thought it was "slightly more cherry-y than wild cherry Pepsi", and says it's worth a try.

So really people, if you live in the Los Angeles area, you should really take a little trip down to Galco's. You won't regret it, and you'll enjoy every sip!