ENGAGED!!!

My sweet sister Karen got engaged this weekend!

So this past August she met a boy named Roger McMullan in Montana. They spent the week together and some magic happened...Since that time they have been memorizing the sites of I-15 as they visit each other on the weekends (ah the stress of a long distance relationship. He attends BYU.)



And Sunday {02/20/11 ~ fabulous day as far as numbers are concerned, brownie points for Roger!} he got down on one knee to ask the BIG question after Karen had finished reading their very own "Choose Your Own Adventure" book {did I mention he is a creative genius? Perfect for Karen.}



Naturally she accepted and it was laughter, perma-cheesy-grins, & XOXO for the rest of the weekend.



Extra brownie points for Roger, he proposed the weekend Elaine and I were in town! {Thanks, Roger!!!} It was so fun to share that with Karen and see how excited and giddy and happy and excited she is. {Kurt had to remind me that I too acted like that once upon a time. Jeez I must be getting old.}

The ring is gorgeous.


Emma said, "Wow, look at all the jewels!"


But the couple even more gorgeous. Ahhhhh. So our Kare Bear found herself RogeBear and she's all grown up. Ahhhhh. This whole post is quite tender.

But Seriously, I LOVE you KAREN. SOOOOOO happy for you!

It's a ........................

GIRL!!!

Honestly as I write this I'm still a little shocked. I was so sure {like 99.999%} that we were having a BOY. This pregnancy has been similar to Spencer's, a BOY follows our pattern {it's ALL about the pattern!} and more honesty, I was ready for a boy. But not to be.

We are having a baby GIRL!!!

Lucy Jane will join the Romans family summer '11. :D

The kids are really excited. Since they are older it has been fun this time to share this experience with them. I'm excited for my girls to have another sister
{I LOVE having sisters! And all of my girls will have 2 sisters just like I do.} Pink is such a beautiful color and we all know how fun it is to dress a girl. ;) While my girls can be dramatic and sassy at times they have brought me so much joy.

We cannot wait for Lucy to join our family!
{As we pulled into the house Spencer said, "This is not the hospital. We need to go get Lucy from the hospital."} All in good time little buddy.

I {heart} You!

We had a great day to celebrate LOVE.

We started out with heart shaped pancakes.



Austin said he didn't want to eat any and then threw up. {Bet you're glad I don't have a picture of that!} We got him cleaned up and back in bed. Fun way to spend Valentine's. It reminded me of his first Valentine's day when he was also miserably sick.

Spencer had his preschool group that morning with a super fun party at Bella's. He has really been enjoying this. I'm excited for him.



For FHE that night (& also our monthly service project) we did a "HEART ATTACK" for two widows in our ward. We had a great time doing it and I really feel like we should be doing more of this everyday. Spencer told us on the way home that he felt the spirit when we were doing the heart attack.







We ended the night with our traditional scavenger hunt to find the valentines. Always a fun time. I am blessed with so many fabulous people that I LOVE!

Preschool Pet UPDATE

So Kurt was right. Luke, the goldfish, didn't even make it one week.

R.I.P.
Luke The Goldfish
February 7- 13

Luckily there were no tears and the kids promptly buried him under the deck complete with sprinkling the rocks from his fish bowl on top of the grave.



When dad came home ALL the kids informed him that Luke was dead. Kurt asked if anyone was sad.

With a big grin Rooster replied, "Luke is."

My Models

I found these pictures on my camera when I went to download my pictures. What a funny surprise.

Impromtue Photo Shoot by Emma Lynn {age 6.5}
Models: Spencer Gene {age 4.11} and Rooster Rudy Ruthie {age 2.11}

These CRACK me up!

I LOVE the posing. I LOVE the facial expression. I LOVE subjects.

LOL

Preschool Pet

After I stopped teaching preschool at the beginning of the year a few moms got together to form a joy-school / co-op type preschool group {we each take a turn teaching it at our house.} We started on January 24th and will meet until May 2nd. It is only on Monday mornings from 10-noon. Spencer has really enjoyed it and I love that he is still getting some interaction and learning with a low commitment level on my part.

Today they learned about Living Things {Plants & Animals.} He came home with his very own pet GOLD FISH! It has been the highlight of everybody's day! He named him Luke and Spencer is very good about caring for all his needs.

With our pet track record I'm a little worried about the life expecancy of little Luke. Kurt gives him a week, tops.



Regardless it is nothing but love for little Luke at our house. {They made a name tag for his fish bowl in Luke's favorite color (orange, naturally!) And Spencer really wanting to give him a job at FHE tonight so he could participate.}



In the morning we are going to google how fish sleep. We have so much to learn to keep up with Spence's expectations and questions. Personally I'm rooting for Luke to survive until the up-coming fifth birthday so he can graduate to a bigger tank with friends.

This kid makes me smile.

Nicknames

My school kids were making up nick names for everyone in our family on the way home from school today. It was funny and clever so I thought I'd share.

{Important Side Note: Jeff Romans has a nicknames for all the kids: Austin - Taco, Emma - George (as in the monkey), Spencer - Lady's Man, Ruth - Rooster (like everyone else!)}

Marti - Mac N Cheese {she always makes it and its our favorite!}
Jeff B - Tooth Fairy {you never see the tooth fairy...}
Braxton - Hairy Scary Bair
Brooke - Princess

Kelli - Good Food {we always get to eat all her good food!}
Dan - Tickle Monster
Kenzie - Dora

Jeff R - Eyeball
Julie - Easter Bunny {same idea as the tooth fairy.}
Hallie - angel
Mollie - Cute Face
Matthew - Tongue

Traci - snowflake {because she is so beautiful!}
Elliot - smarty pants
Madison - funny bunny

Joseph - beard
Maren - beard's wife
Adelaide - lemon aide

Ben - frog {he jumps really high, I saw him!}
Elaine - noodle {she always makes us yummy noodles!}
Lorna - man with the yellow hat {think of Emma's nickname...}
Ethan - Min yin {Despicable Me movie}

Karen - Fiji

Roger - Joseph {look-a-like}

Sam - Utah
Tim - rice & beans

What do you think, will any of these stick?
;)