No, you didn't miss nine months of pregnancy news, unfortunately this cute bundle of joy isn't really ours.  We only pretend she is three days a week.
This is Madison.  She is just about 3 months old.  She and her parents are in our ward.  We watch her while her real mommy is working (7:30 am until 5:30 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays).  We started this last week.
The money helps us out a little, and we get a good glimpse into if we really want another of our own or not.  She's a good baby, but definitely time intensive.

All of the kids love having the baby around.  The girls just wish they were home during the day more to ogle after her.  Will loves her!  He gets to play big brother with her around.  He is such a good helper too.  He's so worried when she cries and always reminds me to check if her diaper needs changing.  He loves playing with her and making her smile and coo at him.

Here they are on the first day we had Madison, watching Sesame Street together.  Ahh, so cute! 

          I am assuming that this photo (above) was taken by Marc Merlins.  I got it off of this website (http://marc.merlins.org/blogmedia/250_Thunderbirds.jpg) because we forgot our camera today.  We knew for a few weeks now that the big Air Races were this week, but when we found out how expensive the tickets were, we told the kids we couldn't go this year. 
          This morning my friend told me about a park that is about a mile away from the small airport and that they've gone there in the past to see the show.  Spur of the moment, we decided to pack a picnic lunch and head out to see what we could see.  We got to the park at 12:30, found a shady grassy place to relax and eat.  At 12:40 the show began.  Four Thunderbirds zoomed passed us in diamond formation.  We soon saw two others join in.  The jets put on an unbelievable show across the whole sky for almost forty minutes.  Occasionally they thundered right over our heads at a really low altitude.  They were so loud and exciting!
          After the Thunderbirds, we saw a smaller red "trick" plane for a while.  He was doing all sorts of sommersaults, dives, and corkscrew spins.  Quite the dare-devil performance.  Unfortunately, he stayed much closer to the airport so we couldn't see him as clearly.
          Will absolutely loved it!  The girls were also suprisingly thrilled by it.  They didn't want to go at first, but ended being glad they went.  On our way home, they asked if we could go again next year.  I kept thinking of my Dad, knowing that he would have loved to share in this experience with us.  Maybe another year he'll be in it himself?!?

                                Definitely a successful, fun, and cheap family outing!

There are some definite bonuses to being in a larger city like Reno.  One of which is their annual Balloon Race.  We had to go experience the magic for ourselves with our Neahusan cousins and grandparents.

The initial "Glow Show" starts early at 4:30 a.m., but we had to arrive extra early to beat the traffic and get good seats.  We planned to leave by 3:30 a.m.  And no, that was NOT a typo.  Sean and I actually decided to just stay up all night.  Needless to say, we definitely beat the crowds. 

The kids were drowsy but excited.  It was at least an hour of waiting until a few balloons started filling up and "glowing" in the pitch black darkness.  We dressed in layers, but not quite enough.  It was REALLY REALLY COLD!  Two of our kids even forgot their jackets at home, and we didn't catch it in time.  Next year, we'll bring heavier layers AND hot chocolate.  (Plus next year we won't leave quite so early.)

The next event was called the dawn patrol.  This is where 4-5 balloons will fill up all in a row.  They'll "glow" on command, and then they'll rise into the air and kind of make flight patterns in the air and glow or twinkle on command.  It was fun.

As the sun got a little higher, more balloons started surfacing.  It started getting a little warmer, and my camera started taking better pictures.  :)  There were over a hundred balloons up in the air by the time we left at 9:00 a.m.  There were all sorts of shapes and colors.

When the bald eagle rose, everyone stood for the national anthem. 

One of the kids favorite balloons was the energizer bunny.  It was huge!  Before it filled up, the kids got energizer foam bunny ears to wear.

above:  cousin Kinsey, cousin Megan, Aspen, Will, Celeste, Kylee, & cousin Ryan.