Slurpees in the Snow

A Sneak Peek

2012-01-31T00:08:00.003-07:00

My sister-in-law is one of the most talented photographers ever! We are so blessed to have her and she is SO generous! She took Sawyer's pictures, and some family pictures as well for us in December. They turned out so amazing and I can't wait to share them. However, it is late, and I still have to get up for work tomorrow, so here are a couple of my faves, and then I'll add more later. Like I said, she is AMAZING!

Andy's New Present

2012-01-31T00:02:00.003-07:00

Andy and I have been debating this purchase for a while now. It is not cheap, and we wanted a nice once because we plan on using it a lot this summer. And here it is! The Deuter baby backpack! In the store, Sawyer cried when we took him out. The nice thing is we can use it until he's 40 pounds, which is awesome! We actually tried it out at Disneyland last week. We went without a stroller and only used the pack. It worked really well. He fell asleep in it and everything. We are very excited to go hiking once the winter comes and goes. Andy is very very pleased with our purchase!

Universal Studios

2012-01-30T23:52:00.003-07:00

We decided to go to Universal Studios because I had never been there. I had been to the one in Orlando, but never to the original one here. It was an adventure! The day turned out to be FREEZING in L.A. Luckily we brought warm stuff for Sawyer, but I was so stinking cold!

Despite the cold, it was a super fun day. The backlot tour was so cool! I live in this imaginary world where people go to these small towns and film these shows and of course, none of it is fake. Well, seeing the places where they actually film movies and t.v. shows was so crazy! I kept telling Andy that they were lying and that they really go to these tiny towns and take over for a couple years so they can film the show. That is the world I live in.

The rest of the park was fun, but not quite as kid friendly as Disneyland. Sawyer enjoyed the shows and being outside all day. So I can now say I have been to Universal Studios in L.A. and perhaps I think it is more fun in Orlando...but I will say that the backlot tour is worth seeing!

The Many Faces of Sawyer Paul

2012-01-30T23:28:00.006-07:00

Sawyer has changed so much in the last six months. I can't believe how big he is getting, and even more, how much personality he has! He is such a chill kid, but what I love is how loving he is. He is a snuggeler and will cozy right up to you. We had to go through a couple of rough weeks sleep training, but now he is doing so well sleeping at night, and he doesn't hate us for doing it! There were a lot of tears involved, but what I love about babies is that they are so quick to forgive.

The last couple months have been hard for me. I'm away from Sawyer so much, and I miss him like crazy every day. I am so grateful that Andy has the chance to spend this time with him, and he is an AMAZING dad! He and Sawyer have so much fun, and even on grouchy days, he handles every situation so well. I have to remember that this is just a short time and one of these days, I'll get to stay home and play all day long with my sweet baby. I'm so glad he shows me how much he loves me when I come home, and for now, that is enough.

He brings us so much joy, and I can't imagine what life would be like without him. Here are just some random pictures to show how much fun he is every single day!

The Muppets

2012-01-30T23:19:00.003-07:00

One thing I must mention is Sawyer's first movie. We went and saw The Muppets the day after Thanksgiving. We went to the 11:00 am showing and I fully expected to spend the majority of it playing in the lobby. We got there, the previews came on, and Sawyer was entranced. He had some star puffs, drank a bottle, and still didn't fall asleep. He loved the bright colors and music. Next thing I know, I look down, and he's passed out. He lasted about an hour, which was pretty good, and then slept until the last 20 minutes of the movie. Overall, it was a success!

More Disney

2012-01-30T23:09:00.005-07:00

I realize I post a lot of pictures of Disneyland on here. We absolutely love it there. Having season passes has been one of my favorite parts of living here. We get the opportunity of going on days in the middle of the week when the park is ten percent full, and just enjoy the atmosphere and have fun! So here ya go, lots of pics!

This is usually what happens when we go on Small World..

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years

2012-01-30T22:34:00.005-07:00

I can't believe how quickly the Holidays came and went! I'm really upset about this fact, but we didn't take any photos on Thanskgiving...boo! It was a really nice, chill day. We had dinner at Andy's family's house and it was a lot of fun.

Then it was time for Christmas. We went all out decorating this year. Our tree we bought at a small place up here and we bought it all tied up. Then we got home, untied it, and realized we bought a bush! It was HUGE! It took up double the space it was supposed to and we could barely cover it with our decorations. However, we had a lot of fun making it work. Every year, Andy and I go to Pier 1 and pick out a "special" ornament to add to the tree. Here is Sawyer with his first ornament.

Also, I learned how to knit and tried to make Christmas presents that way. This is Sawyer loving my ball of yarn and making my life much harder. He was so cute though, I didn't mind his "help."

We spent the holiday here in California. We spent Christmas Eve with Andy's brother and his family. It was full of presents, the park, and pizza! Sawyer ate his first dirt clod, and also threw it up, so that was fun. It really was a great day.

We did take a lot of videos of Sawyer on Christmas morning, but I haven't found the cord to put them on the computer yet. We went to Utah the next week for New Years. We had so much fun! We stayed with Andy's grandparents, and also my parents. Andy and I miss our families so much so it was great to see everyone again. Sawyer loved it! He absolutely had a blast with all of his cousins, and of course he loved great grandma and grandpa, and Pop Pop and Granny V. We are so glad we got to go!

As I went through all the photos we took in Utah, I realized we didn't take any with Grandma and Grandpa Carabine. I'm so sad. It is official, we are getting a camera. We will brave the camera curse, because I'm just not happy about this. So I'm sorry Gma! Next time we come out, we are having a photo shoot! Here are the rest of the Christmas pics!

Sugar Cookies!

Packing for Utah on Christmas Day

Granny V and Pop Pop

The First Balloon

2012-01-30T22:32:00.001-07:00

I also forgot to add something else for Halloween. We got Sawyer his first balloon. Every single time we go to a grocery store, Sawyer's head is up to the ceiling as he looks for balloons. We finally gave in and got him one.

Now, we live in the mountains, but we usually go down the hill to shop. When we go up the hill we go about 5,000 feet higher in elevation. This means that things full of air expand in the higher elevation. At the store, the balloon was kind of limp and not super full of air. Andy and I left feeling kind of sad because we didn't know why we didn't get a fuller balloon. When we got home, the balloon was SO tight! Had we gotten a fuller one, it would have popped on the way up! Sawyer had a lot of fun playing with his balloon, and he still keeps his eyes on them any time we go to the store.

And We Return!

2012-01-30T21:44:00.006-07:00

Long time no post eh? Well, how about a little blog vomit to catch up on what has been going on around here. Life has been crazy, Sawyer is getting so big, and we have been experiencing a lot of firsts. I'll kind of start where I left off and basically breeze through the last three months. We'll start with Halloween!

We were at Disneyland one day, and saw the cutest Mickey Mouse halloween outfit. We had been back and forth on what Sawyer should be, but when we saw the Mickey outfit in the window, we knew he had to have it. It was perfect because it was warm, and we could use it as warm jammies for when we went to Disneyland. We didn't really like the hat, and so we used his original Mickey ears. The first one is one we took, and the second one is an amazing one from our sister-in-law. I had to put the first one because the tail is one of my favorite parts...

We went trunk-or-treating with our Branch which was fun. The actual night of Halloween, Andy's mom came over and we put on "Dial M for Murder" and waited for trick-or-treaters. We didn't get one single kid to come and get our free candy...we were so sad. Things are different here in the mountains. People tend to go to the flatter streets to trick-or-treat, and that left us eating lots and lots of candy all by ourselves. Overall, it was a good holiday. Andy and I love Halloween so we decorated our little house, ate our candy, and enjoyed our Alfred Hitchcock movie. As for Sawyer, he was in bed by eight like a good little Mickey.

Ornery Much?

2011-10-12T21:09:00.003-06:00

I came across this picture and started laughing so hard! I love my little man!

Still More to Come!

2011-10-09T00:03:00.002-06:00

There is a lot more to blog about that has happened since we've gotten to Cali, but it will have to come another night because our bed is calling my name. However, I need to say, when did my baby become a little boy?

Beach Day with the Pretes

2011-10-08T23:39:00.006-06:00

While our friends were here from Utah, we went to the beach. It was Korri and Morgan's first ever trip to the ocean. They searched for shells and walked along the water. Andy and Clayton acted like ten years old and boogie boarded as long as they could. They had a blast. As for Sawyer and me, we enjoyed the sand! Not really...sand equals the devil when you have a baby but Sawyer had so much fun! We did have a big beach towel that he played on, but if you think you can take a baby to the beach and not have him eat sand...you are crazy!

It was a really nice day. We walked along the pier, got some delicious donuts, and ate at a restaurant at the base of the pier. The food wasn't great, and it was super duper cold, but the view was beautiful.

Disneyland Take Two

2011-10-08T23:12:00.008-06:00

I know there will be many more Disneyland trips to post in the future, but this is the one we count as Sawyer's "official" first day at Disney; meaning we went to Town Hall and got him an official button.

We had friends come from Utah, Clayton and Korri, and they took their little girl Morgan to Disneyland for her first time. We spent three days there and one at the beach. It was a crazy, but fun week.

Sawyer was so good, and of course, he slept through a lot of attractions.

...But he also enjoyed some new ones.

Sawyer got to officially meet Mickey Mouse and he LOVED him! He met Pluto and didn't care, but as soon as he saw Mickey he went crazy! He was bouncing in Andy's arms and squealing so loud. The picture shows it so perfectly.

A Missing Post...Swimming in St. George

2011-10-08T23:08:00.002-06:00

I have to add this in even though it is not in the right order. When we drove out to California, we stayed overnight in St. George. We enjoyed the pool and a good night's rest. I have to put these cute pictures up of Sawyer. I love his sunglasses. Unfortunately he has discovered them and so he no longer keeps them on. Sad day...but he's so cute.

Sawyer's First Trip to the Beach

2011-10-08T01:27:00.006-06:00

When we got here to California, Andy's dad planned a beach trip for the whole family. We would all drive down, spend the day at the beach, have a bon fire, stay at a hotel down there, and then spend the day at the beach again. Sounds pretty awesome huh? I love the beach so much. The sounds, the smells, the sun, the sand...all of it is so wonderful. However, when there is wind, it can ruin beach day!

The wind was atrocious. I never even put Sawyer in his swimsuit because I was busy trying to bundle him warm enough all day long. During one of his naps, Andy's mom watched him while Andy and I swam in the ocean. Boy was it cold! But I still loved it. Swimming out there with the waves is really so much fun.

The wind never stopped, but we were able to hunker down behind the sand berm for our bonfire. Fire rings are the best at the beach. We enjoyed hot dogs and s'mores and good conversation. Andy's brother and his family were able to join us as well and it was fun catching up with everyone. We are so lucky to be so close to family.

That night we went back to the hotel and crashed.

We woke up the next morning with every intention of going back to the beach...but it was raining...oh well. We stilled walked the pier and then we hit the shopping district, which was AWESOME!

I forget what shopping is like outside of Utah. Of course we are poor, so we didn't buy anything, but we got lots of ideas about what we would buy if we had money. Then we found a restaurant for dinner that showed the Utah game, and we called it a beach trip! It was all together fun, and are hoping it becomes a family tradition.

Catch Up Time!

2011-10-08T00:34:00.005-06:00

It has been far too long, but a lot has happened. Andy, Sawyer and I had a nice four week "unemployed vacation", but I am now working and life is back on a schedule. As scary as it was coming to California with no jobs for either of us, it was actually kind of nice being able to spend so much time together. I was definitely stressing about how we were going to afford life, but it all worked out perfectly. So...the next couple posts will be a catch up of what we have been doing for the last month since we got to Cali! First off, Disneyland!

We decided to get passes to Disneyland because they really aren't that expensive for Southern California residents, and Andy's family goes really often, so we got them. We went for the first time with Sawyer and Andy's parents. I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure how Sawyer would do with the crowds and being out all day, but he was perfect! He did sleep through most of the rides, even though they were SO LOUD, for example, the Haunted "Holiday" Mansion, but as long as he was happy is all we cared about.

I love Disneyland. There is just something about it that allows you to be a little kid again. All of the fun things in the windows, the old rides, the new rides, and the friendly people that work there, they all seem to make the experience so enjoyable. One great thing about going with a baby is it makes you slow down, and not jump from ride to ride. You see what else Disney has to offer besides a quick thrill. It really was a lot of fun.

Sawyer absolutely LOVED Its a Small World and couldn't keep his eyes all of the bright colors and faces.

Disneyland has all its special Halloween decorations up, so it was extra fun. Andy's parents were kind enough to watch Sawyer while we went on some "big kid" rides so all and all it was a really good experience. We are so excited for our many more trips to Disney!

I'm sure there will be many more "Mark Twain" moments, but the kid was named after Tom Sawyer so we're allowed to take all we want! You can tell Andy is thrilled!

We are here!

2011-09-03T10:09:00.001-06:00

These last few weeks have been pretty crazy! Andy's parents drove out to Utah, loaded up all of our stuff into a uhaul trailor, and drove to cali. Everything went really well. We barely fit all our stuff into the trailor, and we did leave some of our holiday decorations behind, but we'll get them later.
Our house is just perfect. We absolutely love it! It is small, but the space is used really well and so it doesn't feel small. We finally got all the boxes unpacked and it is really starting to come together.
We've been spending a lot of time with andy's parents, which has been super fun. Yesterday we went to a car museum near LA. They had some crazy old cars that were so cool. I'll take some pics of the house and stuff and post them later, but here are some from the car museum. I have to explain sawyer. When we pulled into the museum I knew I needed to change sawyer's diaper. I pulled him out to change him in the car and he had poop everywhere. The one time I didn't bring an extra change of clothes and his onesie was covered. Yet, somehow he managed to miss his shorts. So that is why sawyer is only wearing a bib and shorts in the pic. I would have bought him something somewhere but there was nowhere to buy anything. Please don't judge.

Davis County Fair

2011-08-21T22:15:00.007-06:00

On Saturday we spent some time at the Davis County Fair. These last few weeks have been pretty crazy because we are trying to squeeze in all the things we want to do in Utah before we leave for California. The Fair was a lot of fun, but boy was it hot! Our favorite part was the dog jumping show, which was super awesome. Poor Sawyer was so hot, but so chill. Once we took him out of the stroller, he was all smiles and then he just couldn't help but take a nap.

Utah has really fun stuff during the summer. Andy may call it a little "hick-ish" but even he enjoys it. I love that you can still go see winning cattle, bunnies, chickens, and produce at the Fair. It makes me feel like we are in an old movie and times are more simple and wonderful. That old time feel is something I crave in this busy world, and here we got just a piece of it. They even had winning quilts. I love it.

My favorite part is the funnel cake. I crave it all summer, and the Fair did not disappoint. When Sawyer saw it, he kept reaching out for it and even got a little powdered sugar on his hands. To his dismay, I cleaned them off before they could make it to his mouth.

He's such a good baby, and he really does grow more and more every day. The other morning Andy woke up with Sawyer and let me sleep in. When it was time for his morning nap, Andy brought the baby in and laid him in bed with me. When he woke up, I was awake and just looking at him, and he saw me, picked his head up and smiled so big. I didn't even recognize my baby anymore because he looked like a little boy. It caught me so off guard I almost started crying. He's so aware of what is going on around him and so very curious. I don't know what we did with our life before he came, and I can't imagine it without him. We love him so much!

Swimming at Steve and Mary's

2011-08-17T23:10:00.003-06:00

This week we got to go swimming at Andy's uncle's house, and it was so much fun! We've taken Sawyer to the water park and put him in his kiddie pool, but this was the first time he really got to just sit and float in the water.

I think he enjoyed it. It was hard to tell because he was so incredibly chill. He hardly smiled, but he didn't cry at all. He just sort of floated around in our arms. This is how he always is when he's outside, almost like he is just taking everything in and watching his surroundings.

We put him in the penguin floaty and he really liked that. At first we put him in backwards...we're still new parents...and he licked the penguin's feet for a while. Then we realized our error and we put him in the right way and he LOVED it. He played with the little balls inside the floaty and tried eating it. He was so much fun.

Before we left, I let Andy dunk him once. He didn't even cry. He came up and looked really angry, but then he saw me and Gma, and he was fine. It was a really fun day at the pool, and we'll be going back before the big moving day. After we loaded him in the car, he was asleep before we got down the driveway.

Three Years

2011-08-04T11:40:00.009-06:00

Andy and I celebrated our three year anniversary last month on July 19th. We didn't do much because we have a small child now, but Andy's grandma was kind enough to watch Sawyer while we went to dinner and got frozen yogurt, and then my sister MaryAnne took him the next day while we spent the day at a water park. It was so much fun acting like kids again running around with tubes and going down water slides. Andy was always in the back of our double tube, which meant we FLEW down the slides! We would come out so fast the little lifeguards would jump out of the way because we would plow them over.

I love Andy so much. I have the most handsome, fun, entertaining husband in the world. He is such a good dad, and of course, he's my best friend. We always joke about how surprised we are that we never get sick of each other. Even the best of friends you need a break from, but not Andy and me. We would always rather be together than apart.

It is funny how three years can go so fast, and yet we feel like we've been together forever. The next few years will bring a lot of new things for us and I'm so excited. I know we'll continue to learn, love, and grow together through all the good times, and I'm sure some hard ones too. Thank you to my wonderful husband! I love you at least a million swedish fish.

Four Months Old

2011-08-04T11:26:00.003-06:00

Sawyer was officially four months old yesterday. Time is flying and he gets more and more fun everyday. He's at the point where he loves to play. He has mastered rolling over on his left side, he still gets stuck on his right, and he hasn't quite figured out he can roll back over onto his back. He is all smiles and giggles. His personality is definitely starting to show. He is so chill and mild and has the sweetest disposition.

He's sleeping through the night a little better, which makes life easier for Andy and me. However, he hates the car, so...yeah. That's not very much fun. He constantly has his hands in his mouth, and oh the drool! It is so ridiculous how much drool comes out of that kid's mouth!

We go to the doctor today, so we'll get his weight and height, and he will also get shots. Not so much fun. It is crazy to think this will be the last time he goes to see his pediatrician here in Utah. I'm not really looking forward to the adventure of finding a good doctor in California, but we'll figure it out.

Yay for four months, I can't wait to watch him as he continues growing!

Ode to the Jeep Wagoneer

2011-08-03T23:09:00.005-06:00

Andy may have more to add to this on his own, but tonight we sold our Jeep. It was actually really hard for me, and even harder for Andy, because we have so many memories with that car. I know that I get overly attached to things, but as we drove away leaving the Jeep parked at it's new home, my heart just kind of broke a little bit. I still remember the very first time I saw Andy in this Jeep. It was Christmas break and all of my roommates were gone for the holidays and I was all alone in my apartment. I didn't want to go to church alone, so when I was at work Saturday night, I asked if anyone wanted a friend to go to church with. Andy readily volunteered for me to go to church with him.

We met on campus at BYU, and I was running a little late. I pulled into the creamery parking lot, looked at Andy in the Jeep and thought, "Of course he drives an awesome Jeep." It just seemed to suit him, and I was right.

There are so many stories about the Jeep I could share, but there are just too many. One that I will tell, is when Andy was driving me to Miss Utah. We knew the Jeep smoked in the back seat, and we knew it needed a new muffler, but we thought it was just cracked. So I had all of my pageant clothes in the back of the Jeep, and we are driving to Salt Lake when smoke starts billowing out of the back seat of the car. We kind of start freaking out, me because I was worried all of my clothes were going to smell like nasty Jeep smoke, and Andy because he was worried the car would blow up.

We pull over on the freeway to find a hole burned through the bottom of the Jeep, clear through the carpet. Apparently the muffler not only had just a crack, but a huge gaping hole in the top. Somehow we made it to Salt Lake with all the windows rolled down. We didn't know that was the problem until we took it to the mechanic a couple of weeks later, but I will never forget the fear that overcame me when the car filled with smoke.

I think selling our Jeep was hard because it signals a lot of things changing in the near future, and it kind of reminds me that Andy and I are grown up. That may sound stupid, but this gets us one step closer to moving to California, which is a big deal to me. I'm so super duper excited, but it is still a big change.

So goodbye Jeep. Grandpa may be glad to see you go because he no longer has to try and fix you anymore, but we loved you and grew so much with you. We are so thankful for all of the amazingly good times we had in you, and also for the not so great ones...like when you got broken into...but that's another story...

Life Around Here

2011-07-16T21:56:00.008-06:00

is pretty simple. Not too much has happened lately. We are just super eager for Andy to be done with school and see where our road takes us next. We have been looking for homes in Cali, and have found a couple that we love and can actually afford. It is really hard because we just can't do anything about moving yet. We have to wait. I don't want to wait anymore. I want to move and start a new chapter in our lives. There is a lot I'm going to miss about Utah, but it is time for a change of scenery.

I never wanted to stay in Utah. Having grown up here, I was convinced I would move out of state the second I graduated high school. Well, then I got accepted to BYU for college, and knew I was supposed to stay. It was so hard for me to make that decision, solely because the college was in Utah. I love my family, but I think you learn to appreciate family once you are away from them for a while. I need that, I think. But I stayed, finished school, and lucky thing I did because I found Andy. My other half. Definitely worth a couple more years in Utah, and I knew that he didn't want to end up here so that was a bonus. However, he wasn't done with school yet, but so we are finally at the point where we can get out of this crazy state and test our luck somewhere else.

So...one or two more months and our new adventures begin. The adventures of choosing a place to live, renting a trailer, packing with a four month old, and saying goodbye to so many things, people and places we love here, and introducing ourselves to new things, people and places.

Until then, it will be more of the same here. Studying and working for Andy, washing bottles, feeding Sawyer, playing with Sawyer, changing Sawyer, bathing Sawyer, putting Sawyer down for naps and bed, and making funny faces at Sawyer for me. I definitely got the better end of the stick. (Except for washing bottles...I HATE washing bottles...)

And just so ya know. On the Sawyer front, he is becoming quite the little man. He now has complete control of his head and can sit totally by himself in his Bumbo seat. He rolls over, when he wants. He tends to like tummy time, and back time, so he only rolls when he needs something or is really upset. He LOVES to stand. He has figured out how to put his feet flat on the floor now. Today we were driving and Andy looked in the mirror to check on Sawyer, and he was sleeping. Andy said to me, this is the first time that he looks like a little boy sleeping and not a newborn baby. 'Tears' I can't believe how fast he grows, but he is becoming more fun everyday. We just love his guts! Here are some recent pics.

Andy scaring Sawyer

His new favorite toy courtesy of Bonni and Alan...It is a lion.

All handsome and ready for church...I should've taken the bib off dang it! He is so drooly...

Sawyer in 9 month old pjs. He is 3 months. I know his head looks tiny. Bad angle.

Just being cute

Granny V and Pop Pop

2011-07-06T10:22:00.003-06:00

On Sunday, my mom and dad came up to visit and see Sawyer. I was glad they came because when we see them at their house, there are always tons of people and cousins running around. Sawyer tends to get overwhelmed very quickly and is usually cranky. This way, my parents got to see Sawyer in his element with familiar surroundings.

I apologize for the poor lighting in the pictures, but I'm glad I got some. They read stories together and played in the bumbo. Then my mom got Sawyer laughing so hard, harder than I've ever seen before. I was dying because he was throwing his head back and laughing. He is so cute!

I'll upload the video a little later!

A Wonderful Fourth of July

2011-07-05T20:57:00.005-06:00

We had a really great Holiday weekend. As I've mentioned before, Andy was so excited for fireworks. We had a lot of fun picking out different aerial fireworks as well as little ones. Andy actually had to work the night of the fourth, so we set off fireworks the Thursday, Friday and Saturday before the holiday to make up for it. The baby, miraculously, never woke up once to the fireworks.

The actual morning of the fourth, we got up and got ready for the Kaysville parade. Andy and I love parades. Andy actually went out at midnight the night before to reserve a spot for us on the parade route. We weren't sure how Sawyer would handle the sirens and such, but he was perfect. He actually slept through part of the parade, I don't know how, but he did.

Yes we have a thumb sucker on our hands...grr...

Just as the parade ended, it started to rain. It was perfect timing. It was the kind of summer rain that you crave. It was so warm, overcast and wet. Perfect. We walked to the car and headed home for lunch. After lunch, we went to our favorite frozen yogurt place, yogo togo, so good!!! We can never get enough of it and am embarrassed about how much money we spend there. After that, it was time for Andy to go to work. Sawyer and I napped, and then just hung out the rest of the evening. Overall, it was a good holiday. Adjusting to having a child has made our holidays a little different, but we still have so much fun because we are together. Happy Fourth of July!

This picture is one that happens often. Sawyer loves to throw himself away from you right now. I love that we caught Andy's true reaction.

Dear Bloggy Blog

2011-07-04T22:02:00.002-06:00

I'm laying here in bed listening to fireworks going off all around the neighborhood. I'm loving it because there is just something about fireworks in the summer that makes you feel like life is balanced and good, but then I'm terrified they will wake my oh-so-overly tired baby. Today was a good day, but a busy day and Sawyer didn't really get to nap.

I mostly am just laying here thinking about how good life is. I've mentioned before that the Fourth of July is my favorite holiday of the year, and there will be a super fun post to follow this one, (when I get all the pics off Andy's phone...he's at work...) but for now I just wanted to remember this moment of peace. I have a wonderful husband, a beautiful baby, and an amazing country to live in. Andy makes fun of me, but I always get tears in my eyes when Veterans are in the parades. I can't help it. I love my country and I love my freedoms.

We have so many life changing decisions coming up and I feel overwhelmed a lot of the time, but for now, I'm going to bed. I'm going to enjoy this feeling and take it with me into oblivion. Does everyone realize how precious and wonderful sleep is? Have a kid, and then you will truly appreciate sleep. I now know why my oldest sister can't get through the day without a Red Bull... Anyway...God Bless America and I hope everyone enjoyed this awesome holiday!

Good night!

Physical Therapy Day

2011-06-30T21:23:00.005-06:00

Today we took Sawyer to Physical Therapy for his torticollis and flat head. The flat head part has a fancy term as well, but it really just means flat head so there ya go. Primary Children's has a rehab branch up in Ogden so we are incredibly lucky to have an amazing pediatric PT program so close to home. Our physical therapist is great. Sawyer didn't mind her at all, and even smiled at her a couple of times.

She basically did some stretches and tests to see how bad his neck is. Andy and I have been working with him at home, and almost didn't go because he has been turning his head so much better, but then we realized we would never jeopardize our child's health because we "think" we know better. It is SUCH a good thing we went. She measured Sawyer's head to see how bad his head shape was, and basically they take the difference of two measurements, and anything 3 mm or below is ok. Sawyer's was TEN! Which means really flat head. She told us not to worry because he's so young, the shape can easily be fixed. So we go back once a week for three weeks, and then once every two weeks until he's looking "socially acceptable." That's really how they word it. I don't want my child to not be accepted due to his weird shaped head so we'll be diligent in our appointments.

We had to go buy this little thing where there's two pillows that go on both sides of the baby's head. We have to put it in his car seat, swing, stroller, and stuff like that where his head tends to roll to the one side. Sawyer HATES it. and I mean really really hates it. Every time we have used it so far he screams until he's purple and falls asleep. Oh well, if it makes him better right? I feel like the meanest mom, but I know it is for the best.

In other news, Sawyer flipped over from his tummy to his back tonight. I'm pretty sure he was so proud of himself because he was smiley and giggly the whole rest of the night. He's so close to rolling over from his back to tummy too. His little fat arms get in the way, but he'll have it soon enough. My life is about to change, once again, forever. No more laying him on his play mat and eating dinner, washing bottles, or having any other kind of freedoms. I'm now going to be chasing a rolling baby. It certainly is exciting though!

Also, Sawyer loves to watch So You Think You Can Dance...

They Don't Come Cuter Than This!

2011-06-28T21:46:00.002-06:00

This was tonight before Sawyer's bath. There is nothing more precious on this Earth than a baby's laugh. It melts my heart every time!

Raging Waters

2011-06-28T16:41:00.004-06:00

Andy and I bought season passes to Raging Waters thinking it would be nice to have somewhere to go during the summer where we can relax and stay cool. Raging Waters (now Seven Peaks Salt Lake) is a waterpark. It isn't the biggest or best place, but it works for us. We thought we would give it a try today. This was the result...

First when we got there, he was awake, fed, and happy. We got inside the park, got situated on some grass, and looked into the stroller...the kid was sleeping.

So...Andy and I just kind of chilled for a while, layed out, got some desperately needed sun. I told Andy he could go on some rides but he felt like a creepy stalker getting in line alone with all the little children and their parents. Poor guy. He needs a friend to go with. When Sawyer finally woke up, we were very ready to get in the water. It was very hot out. Here is our first attempt.

The water was way too cold for him. He did not like it at all. And I have to say how brave of me it is to put a video up of me in a swimsuit. Andy kind of made me. Oh well...I've had a kid, I've gotten over the fact that my body won't be back to normal right away.

Anywho...after the kid's pool, we headed over to the wave pool and Sawyer liked that much better. The water was warmer and he had a lot of fun. Next we headed to the lazy river. I sat in the tube with Sawyer while Andy steered us through the crowds. The wind was ridiculous and Sawyer wasn't having it. We got half way around the circle and he started crying.

We got out, got him back to the towels and into dry clothes, and he was all smiles again. We decided that was enough for the first time, and it went much better than we expected. We'll go again when the stupid wind isn't blowing everyone away. After the park we headed to Rubios, got some tacos and then headed home. Of course Sawyer did a big poopy on the way home which resulted in us stopping at the capitol building and changing him on a towel in the grass. Oh the joys of parenthood.

Now we are home. Just chillin' and enjoying the evening. In a little bit we are going to go for a walk and get some fireworks. All the firework booths just opened and Andy is very, very excited...they just made aerial fireworks legal here in Utah. Andy was deprived of home fireworks as a child because of living in the mountains where there are high risks of fire. I have a feeling we are about to drop a pretty penny so that my 25 year old child can have some fun before we move back to the mountain where they are illegal. I'll let you know how it goes.

So Much...

2011-06-24T22:27:00.007-06:00

Yowza! Where does the time go? I'm pretty sure yesterday was June 1st and we were getting ready to head to California, and now there is only one week left in the month...what happened? I'll tell ya, life is so great right now, but it is hectic. Can someone please tell me how you get anything done with a baby? I admit that I have kind of given up. Not in a negative, self loathing kind of way, but I've stopped beating myself up over not having time to clean, cook, shower...ya know, the normal stuff people do on a daily basis. Instead, I hold and play with my baby all day long. When he is napping, or should I say IF he naps, I can catch up a little bit, but he's growing so fast that I'm afraid if I worry about all the other "stuff," I'm going to wake up the next day and he'll be 5.

But onto other things. It is summertime...woohoo! and Utah finally decided to get with the program and act like summer. Yes, this means scorching heat, but it also means lovely evenings and fun activities such as swimming pools and fireworks! I hate the winter and it is long and it is bitter cold and miserable. The summer, however, I love. My favorite holiday out of the whole year is the 4th of July, and it is rapidly approaching. Can someone please explain to me why the winter has to be so long when summer only gets a couple of months? Injustice I tell ya. Oh well, I'll take what I can get.

At least a billion things have happened in June. For example, we went to California to a beautiful wedding and we got to spend time with family. Andy's good friends Alan and Bonni got married, and it always amazes me what good friends Andy has in Cali.

We have good friends here, but their friendships are a whole new thing. These are people who Andy was close with in high school, and yet they all care so much about each other even today. When we see them, they are so genuine and interested in what is going on in our lives.

I've never seen this dynamic in people before. There is no judging, no comparing...just friendship. I can't wait to be closer to them all so that I can get to know them better. And as I mentioned earlier, the wedding was BEAUTIFUL! Sawyer also got to meet Andy's friends, and he was loving them. (Thank you Jordan for the photos)

Sawyer also got the chance to meet his Hunt cousins while in Cali. Baby Evan is soon to be on his way, but he got to meet Zoey and Colin. I cannot believe how much Sawyer looks like Colin. It kind of freaks me out, but Colin is stinkin cute so I have very high hopes for my baby's good looks.

Uncle Alex left on his mission. It is crazy to think that Sawyer will be two years old the next time he sees him. We'll all miss him so much, but we're so excited to hear all the stories about Panama and see where this road takes him. He is busy learning Spanish in the Provo MTC, but he'll be in Panama soon enough!

Sawyer met all sorts of people this month. He met his other Vanderhoef cousin, Sean, as well. I don't have any photos of them together because my sister's took them with their cameras, but I'll have to get them. Sean turned one this month and he is adorable! He showed off his hot dance moves, and was very impressive at eating popsicles. Check out that hair!

Other than that, we've been hanging out! Sawyer is developing so quickly. We did find out he has minor torticollis, I don't know how to spell that...but basically, he will only turn his head to the right. This has resulted in his head being a little flat on the right side. He goes to physical therapy this week, and is actually already doing better just from working with him at home. He has a favorite toy, a frog. It doesn't make any noise, it doesn't move, it just smiles at him, and he smiles back. We love him so much.

We Had At Least One Day of Spring

2011-05-31T00:02:00.005-06:00

This spring has not been the warmest. It has rained and rained and rained. Secretly, Andy and I both love the rain so we haven't complained much, but last Wednesday, we decided to get outside and enjoy one of the sunny days we did have. Andy asked if I wanted to go to a Salt Lake Bees Baseball game. He could tell I had anxiety about taking Sawyer to it, but we decided it would be fun. I am still learning how to live a normal life with a child. I do great when it comes to staying home and playing all day long, but I also need to be able to get OUT of the house. I've been doing better than expected, but baby steps, right?

We got there and had a blast! I expected Sawyer to sleep in my Moby wrap the whole time, but he decided he was going to enjoy the game with his dad. We got 1.00 hot dogs and enjoyed funnel cake. Oh how I love funnel cake! It is the epitome of summer and makes me so very happy. Who cares that all it is is deep fried sweet dough and powdered sugar, I am willing to spend 6 bucks on it.

Sawyer did really well. He ate when we ate, and then decided to take a short nap on the blanket. I was the overly paranoid mother and did everything I could to keep him out of the sun. One thing we have learned is that he absolutely hates the sun in his eyes. Of course nobody really likes it, but he seriously hates it.

We stayed for about half the game and then decided it was close enough to bedtime that we needed to go. On the way out we saw a homeless man asking for money and talking on his cell phone. Gotta love it. Andy took a picture, of course.

We are really looking forward to the summer. Andy hates the heat, but we have found a lot of things that we are going try out. Things like concerts in the park, the zoo, farmer's market and we have passes to a waterpark. I love the summer, I love the heat, I love being tan. I can't wait! The Bee's game was a great way to kick off a great summer.

Stripes Anyone?

2011-05-25T11:35:00.003-06:00

I realize the majority of my wardrobe is....stripes! and my son is following suit. Maybe this is because I buy/choose most of his clothes...

So Much to do...So Little Time

2011-05-23T09:51:00.003-06:00

Do you ever have those days where you think of the millions of things that need to get done, then you freak out for a minute, then get so overwhelmed that you put on a movie and just ignore it for a little longer? That's how I feel today. My mind is constantly making lists of things that are looming over my head. There are little things like how the bathroom is absolutely disgusting right now, and how I should probably do laundry if we want to wear clothes this week that don't smell like baby spit up. Then there are things like needing to apply for dental school on June 1st and the long list of things that go along with that. Then there's the fact that my baby is growing so fast that all I want to do is hold and rock him all day long.

I must say that my sweet husband was a rockstar last night, and as a birthday gift to me he let me sleep through the night. He got up with Sawyer, who is actually sleeping really well, and then had to get up to go to class. It is amazing how one night of sleep makes me feel like a new person. I haven't slept through the night since my second trimester of my pregnancy. Maybe that is why all these lists are forming, because I finally have enough brain power to realize what needs to get done.

Life is kind of weird right now. On a day to day basis, I'm so so happy, and love playing with my baby all day long, but it is like our life is in limbo right now. Nothing is set in stone, and being the planner that I am, I'm finding it very hard to create a plan for the next year. As of right now, the plan consists of Andy finishing his last two classes this summer and working, applying for dental school this fall after he has retaken the DAT, and then moving to California at the end of August. This has been our plan for a while now, but there are a lot of variables in our plan and they could change things in an instant.

Maybe this is all coming at me because my birthday just happened and I have this irrational fear of getting old. Andy says he can't wait to get old and he's going to use a cane as soon as he can. I, however, am learning to dread birthdays because it symbolizes one more year gone. I think it is because I started college with such great ambition to do great things, and now I feel like I'm getting older and none of those "great" things have happened. Don't get me wrong, getting married, finishing school, having a baby, these are all amazingly great things, they just weren't what I planned to have happen when I graduated high school five years ago.

Which leads me back to plans. I don't mean for this post to be depressing. If there is anything I have learned in my 24 years of life it is that sometimes plans don't work out, and it is for the best. I also realize I'm not turning 80 and have plenty of time to succeed at some of the goals I have planned. Being a good mom is one of those goals, and one that will take the rest of my life to fulfill. What I need to work on is enjoying myself in the midst of making all these plans. The laundry will get done, the bathroom will get clean, we will apply to dental school, and to my dismay, Sawyer will continue growing. The important thing is for our family to love each other and love the life that we have created for ourselves. It is a good life, even if it is in limbo right this second, and I really couldn't wish for anything more.

So for now, I'm going to ignore the lists in my head, and sit and watch the Blindside. What a good flick.

One of Those Perfect Spring Evenings

2011-05-17T20:45:00.004-06:00

Sawyer is getting more fun everyday. Tonight was one of those perfects nights. It rained all morning, then the sun came out and the evening was beautiful. Andy and I decided to take Sawyer for a walk. I was nervous because he took such a late nap today that I was worried that he would not sleep tonight and when he is in the stroller he tends to fall fast asleep.

About half way through the walk, I put the car seat cover up and Sawyer was wide awake! and even better, he was smiley! He seems to smile more all the time, but we have yet to hear a laugh. I've heard him laugh in his sleep, but not when he's been awake. He was so cute and so of course we had to stop walking and take pictures.

I love this time of year, and am so excited for the summer. I love not having to wear a jacket or coat all day, and seeing the green grass and beautiful flowers appear. I wish I could write more, but it is bed time and someone is getting fussy.

Andy's New Hobby and My First Run

2011-05-16T22:58:00.004-06:00

Andy has a new love in his life...his brand new mountain bike. It is his birthday/fake graduation present from his parents and he is in high heaven. I say fake graduation because he got to walk and wear the cap and gown and all that jazz, but he still has two classes to take over the summer so it doesn't quite count yet.

He has decided that he is going to ride it to work, take it on trax so that he can ride it around Salt Lake when he goes to school, and pretty much ride it everywhere he is able. I love this because he has so much fun, plus it is amazing exercise. His ride to work is all hills and is 13 miles. He did really well the first time he did it. He said there was only one point where he thought he was going to throw up, not bad huh? He's hoping to be able to do a triathlon by the end of the summer and I would absolutely love to join him, but I don't really know how to swim and I haven't been on a bike in years. I guess that's why they call them goals...

On another note, I took my first run last week since the baby. I can't even begin to explain how good it felt. It was like my body took over and let my mind go free for a while. Was it hard? Most definitely, but the first run back is always the hardest. I thought my lungs were going to catch on fire due to the fact that my poor heart hasn't had much exercise in the last nine months. Aside from the burning lungs and achey muscles, it felt so good to allow myself a moment where I knew the baby was safe and being loved, and I could just think about life and all the changes that have happened and really appreciate the world around me.

I so easily get overwhelmed and stressed out. I have to remind myself to step back, take a breath and ask what really matters. Running makes that easy. I don't know what it is, the endorphins or whatever, but it is so easy to have a clear perspective when I'm running. I can feel like I'm going crazy all day long, and then as soon as I hit the pavement, clarity comes.

Andy and I are both working on losing weight. I have been so blessed to have all the pregnancy weight gone, but the flabby gross tummy is making sure I remember I had a child inside me for nine months. I think I can do crunches for the rest of my life and it will still be flabby. Gross. Oh well, it is the price we women pay to have beautiful children and it is so worth it.

This is a random post, and since I didn't have any photos to show, I'll put Andy's "fake" graduation photos up. Sawyer slept through the whole two hour event in my moby wrap. Not even the fog horns or cow bells could disrupt him. I have the perfect child.

Sawyer's Baby Blessing

2011-05-09T13:34:00.006-06:00

Sawyer was blessed on May 5, 2011. Normally in our culture, blessings take place on Sunday at church, but we really wanted Andy's parents to be there and they were out for Andy's graduation, but weren't staying for the Sunday. So we talked to our Bishop, and he agreed that we could bless the baby at home so that our family could be there. It was such a lovely evening.

It was emotional for me because I do not feel old enough to have a baby. The whole time we've been married I've looked forward to starting our family, but now that it has actually happened, it feels very surreal. I feel so very blessed. I know that it seems like I say the same thing over and over again on this blog, but I have the most amazing husband, and an adorable baby.

Aunt Cathy was kind enough to let Sawyer borrow his cousin Sean's blessing outfit since the whole thing was last minute. He didn't like it very much, and it was a little big, but he was so cute. He was a little cranky because it had been a busy day, but he was silent during the actual blessing. I am so grateful for our beliefs. I don't know how I would get through the day not knowing my Heavenly Father is there for me every step of the way. The blessing Andy gave Sawyer was such a comfort to me. Knowing that he would grow up and choose the right and knowing that I would not hinder his chance at life because I am not perfect makes me realize that I can do this.

After the blessing, Sawyer was done being passed around and loved. He wanted alone time, and he wanted out of the outfit. Unfortunately, almost all the pictures we took was during this time so he's upset in most of them. Then I got him stripped down, and he stayed in his diaper due to the fact that it was ten billion degrees. The weather here is finally getting nice, but the tarps haven't been pulled off the air conditioner yet and so we had no cool air. The poor little boy was roasting.

Once we put him down and let him chill for a bit, he was happy again. Here are the classic "mormon" pictures of Sawyer and the family. We are so blessed to have so many people to love and support us.

One of our first family photos

My parents and Sawyer

Andy, his parents, and Sawyer

Four generations of men

The Women in My Life are Awesome!

2011-05-07T23:22:00.009-06:00

First of all, this is Andy writing. I wanted to try my hand at this blog thing because I wanted to share with the world (or our ten followers) how wonderful the women in my life are.

Firstly my darling wife. From the moment I saw Michelle I knew I wanted to spend time with her. In fact, I suppose I'll share how that went down. I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I once worked at Applebee's. This is a huge blessing though, because Applebee's is where I met my bride. After I returned from a two year mission in Sydney, Australia I decided I wanted to go to school in Utah. This was partly because I met some great new friends, like Brock Brimhall on my mission, that lived in Utah; but mostly because I wanted to find me a pretty Mormon girl (not that those don't exist in California, there's just more of them in Utah). Anyway, all I really knew how to do was work in a restaurant and so I started at Applebee's in Orem. I remember the first time I saw Michelle. It was my third day of work and I saw her come through the side entrance. I turned to the server next to me and asked:

"Who is that girl?"

"Her name is Michelle."

"Do you know if she has a boyfriend?"

"Haha. Don't even think about it, man. Casey is her brother and she doesn't date people from Applebee's. Plus I think she has a boyfriend on a mission."

Casey was the kitchen manager at the time and later became the general manager. Casey is a big dude. He's a lot thinner now but at the time he could (and probably still could) kick the crap out of me. The guy played football for Nebraska for goodness sake. Plus he was my boss so that didn't help much. I was pretty darned disappointed at this so I bagged that idea; although she never really left the back of my mind. I would ask people about her. When I found out something new I would go ask her about it. It was so dumb but I was almost nervous to talk to her without some topic in the chamber. I found out she was in pageants, so I asked her about that. I found out she wanted to serve a mission, so I tried to convince her that was a bad idea (so she would stay home and maybe date me instead). I tried to convince her to "Dear John" her boyfriend because it would "be the best thing she could do for him as a missionary." for him... right.

After a few months I couldn't take it anymore. I had to at least try and ask this girl out. We may have written about this in another blog but somehow I convinced her to go get Slurpees with me after work... in the dead of winter... at 2 in the morning. The rest is History. We stayed up all night and talked in my freezing cold car. We talked about everything; about her family, my family, school, church, growing up, and a million other things. We went off-roading at one point and hiked up a little hill thing, which we refer to as "the perch". I asked her if she would go on a date with me. She said, "A date could hurt I guess." Ouch. I would have been more disappointed if we didn't spend the next three and a half years together. Pretty much every day. She was right. A date didn't hurt.

I have the most amazing wife. She is so patient, so loving, so responsible, so full of worry, such an amazing mom, so fun, and so many other fantastic things.

I am such a lucky person to have her in my life. Without her nothing would get done. I know that for sure. My life would be a lot different, and lot worse. I Love My Wife so very Much. So, I guess, thank you Applebee's.

My mom is one of my best friends. She is the best mom a kid could hope for. She is fun, and loving and has the best sense of humor. Growing up she let us make many of our own decisions so that we could learn from our mistakes, but she was always there to rein us back in when we were being stupid.

She worked so hard to help provide for our little family. She put up with so much from the boys. Raising three boys could not have been a walk in the park. We were always getting in fights. Adam punching me in the face and me making Alex cry because I was "hurting him with words." I broke a few bones and we broke a few windows and lamps. My mom took us to movies, she took us to friends houses, she took care of us (and still does in many ways). I Love My Mom.

A lot of people think they have the best Grandma in the world. They're wrong. My Grandma is the sweetest, most wonderful grandma ever to grace this fine planet. She is always so concerned for others well being. If you have met her, you know that she WILL make sure you are not too cold, too hot or hungry. She is always thinking of others. She is always knitting something for someone, or taking food to someone. She is always so willing to watch our little boy if we want to pop down and get some frozen yogurt. She is also so funny. She can always make me laugh so hard (usually on purpose).

It has been such a blessing to be able to live at Grandma's house. I was always SO excited to come visit when I was a kid and I still feel that way about Grandma now. I Love My Gma.

All in all, My family ROCKS. Happy Mother's Day Ladies!

Catch Up Time! Sawyer's First Easter

2011-05-07T18:36:00.004-06:00

So it is time to catch up on what has been happening the last month. I'm going to try really really hard to stay up to date on things and blog at least a couple times a week, but as I mentioned in my last post, time seems to fly during the day and it is over before I can get anything done. However, Sawyer seems to be getting into somewhat of a schedule, so as long as the necessary things are done, I can blog during naps.

So Easter came and went, which made me sad because it is one of my favorite holidays. On the religious side, it gives me time to reflect on my Savior and be grateful for the life he has given me. On the superficial side, it has the best candy of all the holidays. About a month before Easter, Andy and I were walking up and down Hobby Lobby looking at all the Easter stuff that had been put out. It was still fairly early, so we were walking around thinking we had plenty of time to get all the Easter candy our hearts could desire. Then we saw these eggs. It is pretty much the nesting dolls of Easter eggs. One big one, another one inside, with another one inside. We thought it would be cute to use as Easter baskets. Andy's would be the biggest, then mine, then Sawyers. That is when it hit us the first time that we were going to have a baby by Easter, and it kind of freaked us out.

Once Easter actually came, life was hectic. Sawyer was three week old, I was just starting to feel better from my recovery, and Andy and I were still trying to figure out the whole baby thing. But even through all that, we loved Sawyer and couldn't help doing cheesy, terrible photos of him inside the Easter egg. And of course, he ended up with the biggest egg.

The day before Easter we spent with my family, and then Andy had to go to work. It was such a blessing that he didn't have to work on the Sunday. My mom and sister bought Sawyer Easter outfits, so it worked perfect since we had two days of celebrating.

Other than that, Easter was pretty chill. We just enjoyed our little family and spent the day with Gma and Gpa. I am a firm believer that quiet holidays are sometimes the best.

Time? Where Does It Go?

2011-05-06T23:27:00.003-06:00

This isn't going to be a big post, I'm too tired to actually write more than a few sentences but I wanted to write something. So much has been happening lately, and emotionally and physically I am exhausted...yet, I am happier than ever. Sleep is a luxury, along with eating and bathing most days, but I have the most amazing husband and the sweetest baby to make it all worth it.

This week has flown by, and for that matter, I feel like I blinked and my newborn become a one month old. He's getting so big, and he's losing his beautiful dark hair and it is coming in blonde! I almost cried when it started falling out, but then I noticed the super super light fuzz underneath. He really is just like his dad.

Every day I feel blessed. It is definitely hard, but the good moments far outweigh the bad. Our lives have changed so much in the last month, but at the same time, it feels like we have known Sawyer forever and life wouldn't be the same without him.

For now, I'm going to bed. He's sleeping now and should be up in two hours. Two hours of uninterrupted sleep? Now that is bliss.

I get peed on at least once a day...

2011-04-18T19:33:00.002-06:00

That is what life is right now. I can honestly say that babies eat, sleep and poop. Lots and lots of poop, and with little boys, include pee in that statement. I've got five nieces, and when taking care of them, I never had to worry about getting peed on when changing their diapers. I'm learning, but it seems to be a very slow process.

Sawyer had his two week appointment today. Where does the time go? Everyday seems to fly by with the nights being a little longer. It still shocks me how hard it is to get things done with a baby. All I want to do is sit and snuggle him, and then sleep when he sleeps. That would be ideal. However, showers are necessary, as well as cleaning and washing all the clothes and burp cloths we seem to go through these days.

Luckily I have help. Andy's gma and gpa have been such a blessing. Plus, Andy is such a good dad. I always knew he would be, but seeing him in action is incredible. I can't believe how he's willing to just walk into a situation, and without asking, take over. He can tell when I need a break before I do. He was so afraid of changing diapers before we had the kid, and he's probably changed more diapers than I have! He's becoming a pro, and I'm so grateful for him.

This is just sort of rambling, but it is nice to get some of my thoughts down in writing. Sawyer is growing perfectly though. He's already gained over a pound, grown an inch and a quarter, and his head is normal sized. I'm so happy he's healthy. It was a serious worry of mine, but everything is great. He only cries when he's hungry or poopy, and just loves to sit and stare at whoever is holding him. We really are so blessed.

I'll post more pictures soon. It is hard because most of them are on Andy's phone, but I'll make sure I send them to the computer. For now, I'm going to sit and relax because Sawyer is napping. I'm sure when he wakes I'll battle being peed on again.

We Now Have a Kid

2011-04-13T21:02:00.005-06:00

Life has been a bit of a whirl wind the last ten days. Sawyer took us by surprise by coming a week early, April 3rd, 2011. I was so happy, and then I panicked. I didn't have everything ready because I was planning on being induced. When I went to the doctor the day before my water broke, I was only dilated to a one, and she said it looked good for him to stay in until we forced him to come out.

His room was not all the way ready, our laundry was not done, and I just didn't have that feeling of, Ok, now I'm ready, let's go have a baby. Does that feeling exist? I'm not sure it does.

So here is the short story. I was sitting at the bar at Texas Roadhouse, the restaurant was closed and Andy was cleaning up the bar. It was Saturday night. I had just eaten so much food, and was ready to go home and go to bed. Everyone at Andy's work was so excited for us to have the baby, and I had just finished telling everyone it looked like it would be another week. I was playing on Andy's phone when I felt like I peed my pants a little. I had just gone to the bathroom, so I was really surprised. I sat there for a second, putting the pieces together and Andy looked at me. He asked what was wrong and I said I needed to use the restroom. He knew what had happened before I could say it. I stood up to go to the bathroom and felt a huge rush of fluid. Gross? Oh yeah. I had always heard that your water breaking is like spilling a cup of coffee down yourself. NOT TRUE! There was so much fluid. Luckily I caught all of it in my clothing, Andy told his boss what was going on, and it was off to the hospital.

I remember shaking so bad. My hands wouldn't hold still and all of a sudden I was struck with terror. Not only was I scared of what I was about to go through, but the reality of having a child who I was entirely responsible for made me want to pass out. Andy was able to calm me down and remind me that I could do this. We stopped by the house, picked up our hospital stuff and drove to Ogden.

It was snowing the whole drive, white out snowing. It was midnight when we got to the hospital. They took us up to labor and delivery and got me situated. I hadn't had any contractions yet, which I was so grateful for, but that meant they had to give me pitocin to get me going. I lasted through 45 minutes of contractions, and then had to get the epidural. My labor went really fast and I was able to nap through most of the night, and luckily Andy was able to sleep. The poor guy had been at work since three the day before, and hadn't even eaten dinner. I was so glad he got to sleep.

Then all of a sudden, the nurse came in, checked things, and said the baby would be here in the next couple of hours. The panic set in again. It was all happening and it was happening now. There was no going back. The nurse got everything ready and then the doctor came. I pushed for about a half hour, if even that, and then he was here. It all went so fast. I sat there looking at this new baby, trying to figure out how he could possibly be mine and was so grateful he was healthy.

He was a good 8 pounds, 1 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. I held him while they cleaned things up, and then they took him to measure and weigh him.

I was so grateful I looked up when I did because I got to see the doctor put the baby into Andy's arms for the first time. That's when I lost it. Andy was so happy and looked so natural. I was once again reminded of how lucky I am that I have him in my life. He is my better half, and is often the stronger half of the relationship. I have my strengths, but I wouldn't be half the person I am without Andy. Sawyer is so lucky to have him as a dad. Andy held him for a while, and then they gave him back to me. The whole morning is such a blur even now, looking back.

Labor was not half as bad as I thought it would be, and in the end, I got a baby out of it. The end result was definitely worth the work. Life has been harder, but we have a lot of help. My body is finally starting to heal, and we just love our little baby so much. It amazes me that my heart is capable of loving as much as it is. When Andy and I got married it was easy to give my whole heart to him and love him with everything I had, but now Sawyer is here and its like I now have more love to give. I don't know if that makes sense, but it is truly amazing. Andy just keeps looking at him and saying, "he's so cool" and I entirely agree.

So...

2011-03-23T20:00:00.003-06:00

meet Cotton! Our full bred Border Collie. We just couldn't resist...

We still miss Molly, but this certainly makes it easier. We hope she is around for 10-15 years. We love that she and Sawyer will grow up together and she is the sweetest, snuggler. She and Maggie already get along great, so now we are back to anxiously awaiting Sawyer!

A Better Day

2011-03-23T07:52:00.002-06:00

Today is going to be a better day, I can already tell. Yesterday we put Molly down, and when I say we, I mean Gma and Gpa took her for us. It really has been hard for us because she's been our best friend, but everything always works out for the best.

We've already been looking at puppies. What can I say? We are dog people. We'll give it a little time, see how this whole baby thing goes, and then we'll decide. Or...we'll be irresponsible and go get one today. Who knows?

Endorphins Make You Happy, and I'm Missing Them

2011-03-21T17:28:00.003-06:00

I now remember why I run. At first when I stopped running because of my pregnancy, I thought it was a nice break. I finally had an excuse not to feel guilty on those days where I just didn't have the energy to strap on my shoes and go for a run. No more did I feel like a lazy bum for missing those miles. I still felt lazy, but I felt justified in my laziness.

Today is one of those days where I remember why I love to run, and I miss it terribly. I have anxiety, and that's putting it lightly. Today I feel like I have so many emotions inside my body that I am going to explode. I have a splitting headache, my heart is racing, and the flood gates for the tears have been opened. It is times like these that the only that helps is going out and feeling the blood pump through my veins as I methodically fall into a rhythm of shoe on pavement. Running clears my mind and helps me realize that not all is lost, and I see things in a clearer perspective. It never fixes any of my problems, but it at least makes me feel sane.

What's so wrong with today? Nothing really. That's not entirely true, but the baby is safe, I am healthy, and Andy is fine, it is just one of those crappy days.

The weather is cold. I am grateful it is not snowing, but it is raining, and it is the mean kind of rain. The kind where there is a bitter wind that blows the rain horizontally into your face and it feels like ice pellets when it hits.

I can't sleep. This is so super common during pregnancy, and I know I shouldn't complain because millions of women go through this, but I don't care. Sawyer loves my ribs. Last week I woke up and thought he had broken them. They were burning on fire to the point that I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't make it stop. It took a lot of standing, crying, and rocking back and forth for him to adjust his position. Poor Andy just watched me, wishing there was something he could do. This has happened multiple times since. So I'm tired and grumpy.

This is my last week at work. This is half good, half bad. Good because it will be nice not having to go to a tedious, monotonous job everyday. Bad because it means the paychecks stop coming. We will officially be a one income family. Plus it means I have to find something to kill the time until the baby comes. Work right now is a distraction. Take away the distraction and what do you get? I don't want to think about it yet...

We may have to put our dog down. Andy and I got Molly two years ago on my birthday. She is the perfect dog. She is obedient, mellow, and so much fun. She hikes with us, swims with us, and runs with us. We both vowed we would never be one of those people who spent crazy amounts of money on surgery for our pets because we know how many puppies are born every day, not to mention how many dogs need homes. Well, last night on our walk, Molly started chasing some deer and got about half way across the field when she stopped, and turned back to us. She was only using three of her legs. We took her to the vet, and apparently she tore her ACL. The vet said it was genetic and very prone to labs. There was nothing we could do to prevent it. To fix it will be somewhere around $2,000.00. We don't have that much money to spend on a doggie surgery, especially with the baby this close. Plus, the odds of her tearing her other ACL are extremely high. We're torn. We've already called to see what we need to do to get things taken care of, but we can't bring ourselves to make it our official decision. We know we are being silly, but seriously? Why is this a decision a very pregnant person has to make? It really doesn't seem very fair.

Last thing? This baby is still in my belly and not in his crib. I know there are still two weeks until his due date, and I know he needs to stay in there and grow, but I'm going crazy. We had a small scare with me possibly having pre-eclampsia, but it was a false alarm. My blood pressure just loves to be high, and so I have gestational hypertension. Whatever. She said she would induce me now, but she's worried because it is my first that it will be a long, tedious process, and I do NOT want a C-section. So...we wait. I know I'll be crazy tired and emotional as soon as he's out, but right this second? it is all I want. Plus, I want to meet him and love him as much as I possibly can, and I desperately want to start running again. Andy is super anxious as well. He's on spring break this week, so if we had the baby he wouldn't have to worry about school. Also, my doctor is out of town next week, which makes this week an even better option.

All these things are on my mind, plus a hundred other things. The biggest problem is that I don't have a release. I don't have the ability to go for a run and clear my head. The best I can do is walk, which isn't the same thing, and bounce on my exercise ball for two hours, which also isn't the same thing. The bright side in all this? I have faith. I know things are going to work out, and I know that the sun is going to come out one of these days and spring will be here.

One of my favorite talks given by one of our apostles has the message that in the darkest of Fridays (or Mondays in this case) of life, Sunday always comes. Hard things happen, but we are not alone. Andy and I have decisions to make, and time to endure, but it is going to be ok. It always is. I just can't wait until I can run again to make my brain realize all of this before the emotional break down takes place. For now? I have to settle with washing the bathroom floor.

Our Current Sleeping Arrangements

2011-03-18T16:56:00.003-06:00

This is what our front room looks like right now.

No, I'm not just showing more pictures of our messy home, and actually, take away the bedding and it is quite clean right now. I've been running around making sure the place is livable in case the baby comes.

Anyway, the reason Andy is sleeping on the floor? Right now the only way I get any sleep is if I sleep on the futon with it folded up. For a couple nights, Andy just slept in our bedroom and I slept out here, but he didn't like that very much. One night he went and grabbed the floor pads that Gma and Gpa have, and he's been sleeping on the floor ever since.

I keep telling him he needs to get some good sleep in our bed, but he insists, and I feel much better with him near me. Isn't he the greatest? I sure think so.

The Baby has BYU Pride

2011-03-14T18:56:00.004-06:00

I don't really care to follow sports, and sure, I loved going to BYU, but I'm not one of those die hard zoobies. My father may not like me saying that, but it is the truth. However, I do have quite a few t-shirts from my college days, and since nothing really fits me right now, this is what I wore to the doctors on Friday. Andy insisted on taking a picture.

Clearly I wanted to have my picture taken...this is me at 36 weeks!

Worst/BEST Date Night Ever!

2011-03-11T18:06:00.003-07:00

This is going to be a long one, and it is not going to be very exciting, but I want to remember this night so here it goes. Andy and I went out last Thursday. We are trying to enjoy our date nights because we know they will not happen very often pretty soon here. Well...we planned to go to a little boutique that we had heard about, dinner, and then a movie. Exciting right?

So I got off work, waited for Andy to get home and then we were off. We decided on food first because we were starving, and we wanted something different so I looked up some BBQ places, because I really wanted some ribs, which is weird in and of itself. I found this place called "Soul and Bones" and it had good reviews, so we tried it out. We got there, got a table, and then looked at the menu. The place wasn't the cleanest, but not disgusting, just somewhere in the middle. I decided on the ribs, and Andy picked out two of his favorite meats, and we waited. They were trying to go for the old southern bbq feel, which meant they were playing really weird, New Orleans style music, and they were playing it from a laptop. Classy. Our food arrived. I ate some fries, and then decided to try out the ribs.

Now, I HATE spicy food. I think spicy-ness is ridiculous because it doesn't taste like anything, it just burns your mouth off so that you no longer have taste buds. I don't understand it. Plus, my tummy is very sensitive. I think that pepperoni is too hot to handle. That is my hot limit. So...back to the ribs. I took a bite, and they tasted alright. I took another bite and all of a sudden, I thought I was going to die. They were so spicy, they killed me. But the thing was, they had this really good smoky flavor that made it so I wanted to keep eating. Don't ask why, but I ate two of the four ribs. When I finished, my lips were burning, my stomach was churning, and my heart burn was ridiculous. Andy ate all his food, which was NOT hot, and then tried one of the ribs and even he thought it was really spicy. He would have traded me food, but we both figured the sauces were the same on all the meats. Oh well...

Off to the boutique we went. I love Utah because everyone is crafty and sews and makes cute things and then sells them for dirt cheap. Especially baby stuff. And since I am not crafty, don't sew, and can't make cute things, I am willing to buy. The first boutique we went to like this, we ended up spending 80 bucks. It was the Christmas one, we had just found out we were having a boy, and we had a blast. This is one thing Andy doesn't mind going to because of all the different stuff they have, he doesn't feel like its girly. So we walked around and nothing really caught our eye. Then this lady stopped, looked at me, and said, "You poor thing." I stood there for a second trying to figure out why she would say that, and then realized it is because I'm pregnant and huge. However, I did not know that being pregnant was a bad thing, or something for someone to feel bad for you about. I just kind of smiled and we walked away looking at each other like, "What the heck just happened?" I love Utah.

We walked around the rest of the boutique, bought Andy some fudge, and got sawyer a bathrobe, and that was it. Kind of a bust, but oh well. At this point, we had three hours to kill before the movie. Andy asked me if I wanted to go to Babies R Us. I didn't really want to, but we figured we had time so why not? I had coupons. We got inside and were walking around when Andy, all of a sudden, started to not feel very well. His face got really red, and he kept saying how hot it was. I dawdle around baby stuff, so he decided to go sit on one of the rocking chairs. This lasted for a while, then he came back over to me. I was looking at first aid stuff, and he kept taking his shoes off because his feet were so hot. I couldn't help but laugh because he looked so sick and who takes their shoes off and walks around in their socks in a store? He decided to go outside and wait in the car. Then he came back in. Apparently, he tried to eat some of his fudge, but his body was not having it. He said he took a bite of a corner, and his body just kind of rejected it. He did an impersonation of what he felt like, and I just started laughing.

This isn't coming across right, but it was so funny. Leave it to Andy to feel awful, and then decide to have some fudge. We left Babies R Us with a pack of onesies, and some lotion. We spent 2 hours there, and that's all we left with. We are awesome.

We then went to Jamba Juice, got some Orange Dream Machines, and then headed to the movie. We then realized how crappy the day had been, and yet, we had had so much fun. 1. Ribs that burned my mouth, stomach, and lips off. 2. Walking around a boutique where there was nothing cool. 3. Walking around Babies R Us and buying practically nothing 4. Andy feeling like death 5. Having movie tickets to an awesome movie that we want to see, but feeling way too tired to actually go.

Then we both laughed, shrugged our shoulders and headed to the movies. We both wanted to see The Adjustment Bureau and were excited. We got there and there was one other couple in the theatre. We found our perfect seats and waited for it to start. As the previews begin, all these people come into the theater. The theater was HUGE, and yet, four people sat right behind us, three people sat right in front of us, and the strangest couple EVER, sit one seat away from me! What the heck?! Did they not see the hundreds of other seats in the theater? Plus, the strange people next to me had B.O. It was so frustrating. We were going to move, but felt awkward, and then the smell stopped when I leaned into Andy, so we stayed.

The movie turned out to be really good, and after it was over, we very tiredly went home and went to bed. So yeah, it was actually a really crappy day, but I don't know that Andy and I had ever laughed so much at random things. I love him so much and can't wait for more crappy, wonderful dates.

Here I am at Jamba Juice looking gianormous.

Hmm...?

2011-03-09T17:07:00.001-07:00

This morning I went to wash the mascara off from under my eyes and it wouldn't come off. Then I realized that was just the dark circles under my eyes. Hmm...how fun.

More Pics

2011-02-22T15:45:00.017-07:00

This is kind of a blog vomit day I think, but I'm in the mood to write so here we go. One thing that Andy and I are so lucky to have is a sister-in-law who is an amazing photographer. Her stuff is amazing, and she has taught herself everything she knows. When I got married, I never thought about the fact that I would be taking on more sisters. I already have five, and more would just seem too crazy, but I got very lucky.

Suzanne is married to Andy's oldest brother Adam, and has two little ones, Zoey and Colin, and then one more little boy on the way. They are the cutest family, and their kids will make you laugh for hours. Things have been a little more difficult for them lately, with kids being sick and scary pregnancy news, but I just wanted to post something saying how much Andy and I love them and appreciate the little things they do for us all the time. We didn't get to see them this last trip because of yucky sickness, but we look forward to introducing Sawyer to his cousins very soon.

These are pictures that Suzanne took of Andy and me right before we left California after the summer. I've posted some in previous posts, but I can't help but brag about the talent we have in our family. There are a ton more, and there's no way I can put them all on, but here are some of my favorites.

Baby Andy

2011-02-22T14:46:00.006-07:00

Andy and I went to California for the weekend and it was a blast! It was a much needed vacation. I have pictures to post, but most of them are on Andy's phone and so I have to wait for him to get home from school to post them. However, there was one activity that I thoroughly enjoyed while we were at his parent's house.

Andy and I were looking for some of his old clothes he wore as a kid, and with his mom's help, we came across all the old family photos. We probably spent two hours going through them all. I haven't really ever seen Andy as a baby, and I was very eager to get some baby pictures to see who Sawyer looks like when he comes. Here are the ones that we scanned into the computer.

I'm so excited because Andy and I both have curly hair, and we've been praying Sawyer does too. But as kids, Andy and I both had stick straight hair, so we don't really know what to expect. BUT! Andy's hair was SO curly as a baby/toddler! Our hope is restored! So here are some of the photos. The last one is my all-time favorite.

Stupid Netflix

2011-02-14T18:34:00.003-07:00

This is a post dedicated to how pathetic I am, but this is seriously ridiculous. I love netflix. We got it a couple of months ago, and I don't know how I lived without it. We stream shows through our wii, and as a result, I always have something to watch. Andy works nights, I work mornings. This leaves me with a lot of down time to kill, and Kaysville isn't exactly the most entertaining place in the world, and let's face it, I don't really have a lot of friends up here. Also, I've been crafting/sewing/scrapbooking, you know, typical utah girl type stuff, and so it is nice to have something on in the background.

Can you tell that I am trying to justify the fact that I watch so much T.V.? Cuz I am.

Well, I have recently started watching the first season of Bones. Andy and I watched one episode of it one time, and he thought the lead actress was too manly so we never watched it again. I decided to give it another shot. I love those mystery murder solving shows, and I ended up loving it. So I get to season three, they had a really good episode and I go to play the next one. To my surprise, and frustration, the last four episodes of the season are only on disc. You have to have them sent to you in the mail! Fine, I understand that maybe it is getting closer to the actual season and so they don't have instant streaming. I check to see what other seasons are on the wii. Yep, the entire fourth and fifth season can be instantly streamed. What the heck?!

So I can either add the last disc of the third season to our queue to be sent to us, or I can run down the street to blockbuster and see if they have it. Which choice? Blockbuster it is.

I realize this isn't really a big dig deal. Maybe I'm just bummed out because I have yet to see my husband since I left him sleeping this morning at 7:30 and he won't be home until after eleven. We knew Valentine's Day wouldn't be anything special this year, but it is still lonely being home by yourself trying to get yourself to clean the house and do the laundry, when all you want to do is eat sugar cookies and cuddle up on the couch with your hubby. Oh well. That's life, and I really can't complain. I have it really great most of the time.

I'll leave this boring, pretty pointless post for now. I need to make a trip to blockbuster...

My Saturday Night Plans...the "Before"

2011-02-12T17:18:00.007-07:00

This is not a very exciting Before and After post...just a warning.

Tonight I will be taking on THIS little space, and turning it into a closet for Sawyer.

I also plan to make these windows a little more appealing...

And turn this into a dresser/baby station. I know it is a bookcase, but we're getting creative here.

I realize I should be embarrassed about the condition of our living space, but I like to see the changes that can be made. Andy and I have this tendency to clean an area really well, but in doing so, another area of a room turns into something like this. It is kind of like we just move our messes to another space that we don't have to look at everyday. It is things like board games, old text books and school work, and stuff like that that I just don't know what to do with. Isn't it pathetic?

I do have to say I use my exercise ball everyday, I'm not that lazy...

I've been desperately trying to de-clutter everything but it seems never ending. However, I am optimistic about tonight! I'll post after pictures later when I get everything done...

31 Weeks and Getting Bigger Everyday!

2011-02-04T21:41:00.007-07:00

Today marks my 31 weeks mark! Hopefully only 6 or 7 to go, but possibly 9. I've been super surprised at how this third trimester fatigue has hit me. I read about my friends hitting 30 weeks and just being exhausted, and I thought, I've had a pretty good pregnancy, I'll be ok, but I was WRONG! I find myself coming home from work, falling asleep and waking up three hours later. Who does that? I have all these projects I need to get done, and I can't find the time because I spend it all sleeping.

I can't believe how much the baby is growing. It is a love/hurt relationship because I love feeling him move more and seeing my belly jump around from his movements, yet my ribs are extremely sore from his kicks and I still have no feeling in my skin on the right side of my belly. He only sits on my right side, which is kind of a pain, but whatever makes him happy I guess! It is funny because I felt like I was so big when I was 20 weeks, and now when I look at pictures, I can barely even see the belly.

I am definitely no photographer, and yes I am standing on a chair because I didn't want you to see my messy bathroom so the lighting is all weird because I'm too close to the lights and whatever. The only thing that matters is the belly, so here is my 31 week picture. I know, I'm huge!

I Just Have to Say

2011-02-03T06:54:00.000-07:00

Right this second, I have to talk about how awesome my husband is. I'm really not sure what I did to deserve him in my life, and the fact that I get to have him forever makes me so happy. He is my daily reminder that life is good, and even when times are hard, life is still good.

This pregnancy has done interesting things to our relationship, and I'm so grateful for it. I now know that even when I'm crazy with hormones, Andy still loves me. He may think I'm being dramatic and overly sensitive all within five minutes, but he just laughs about it and gives me a hug. I can't wait to see our little boy, and I hope he is just like him. I will take my obedience as a child, but little boys are meant to rambunctious which is exactly what Andy was.

We converted some old family videos to dvd over Christmas, and in every one, Andy is running around, not holding still. His poor parents would make him run back and forth from the living room to the kitchen over and over again just to tire him out a little. Watching those videos made me realize what I may be getting into, but I guess we'll see.

Andy loves to have fun, which I do to, but sometimes I get caught up in all the "have to do's" in life, and he's my reminder that we need to drop everything and go bowling or miniature golfing. One thing he loves to do that I hate, but secretly love, is bite my face. This sounds weird, but let me explain. I have alway had cherry cheeks, the kind that when you smile, your cheeks become these little circles like you have cherries in them. Well, Andy thinks that is the prime spot for him to bite me on the face. Like I said, I hate it because he gets all his spit on my face, but I can't help but laugh as I try to free myself. Whenever things get a little too tense, or I'm feeling a little too sad is usually when this happens, and although I will never live this down, I love it.

This post may be cheesy, but I'm having one of those awful mornings and Andy is being only supportive and loving. I know he truly cares about me and loves me, and having that is something that I know many people wish for everyday. We can't wait for this new little addition to come to our family, and even though sometimes I worry my relationship with Andy will change, I know it will only be for the better. I can't wait to see him holding that little baby, and of course, changing all the poopy diapers. I know he is really excited for that part.

All these pictures were done by my wonderfully talented sister in law over the summer. I'll post more of them later because they are so amazing. Thank you again Suzanne!

One Project Down

2011-01-30T21:49:00.000-07:00

So the goal of taking the picture? Still hasn't happened, at least, not a good picture. However, I wanted to get on here and talk about a little artsy fartsy project I just finished.

I have the wonderful gift of a talented mom who is able to sew pretty much any project you give her. When looking at bedding for Sawyer's crib, I could never find anything I loved and of course, it all costs at least 160.00. So instead, Andy and I went to Hobby Lobby, picked out some material we like, found a quilt to model it after, and asked my mom to make all the bedding. It is coming a long great. Its all dark brown, mint greens, and then some yellows and blues that are in the material, and then she is making little owl appliques to go on some of the squares. It is hard to explain, but I'm so excited to see the final result. She is making the bumper and the quilt, and then we got matching sheets.

As great as this is for us, it left the issue of a mobile. I love mobiles. I think they are the sweetest things ever. I realize they are all for decoration, but I like the thought of the baby laying down, looking up them when he's alone in his room. I know, kind of weird, and totally unrealistic, but I like it. I went to the baby stores and searched online for a mobile and never found anything I liked that wasn't over 100.o0 just for the mobile, plus I wanted it to be owls or birds or something that would match.

Thank you Etsy. I went on one night and just searched for baby mobiles and found this awesome one. I was so excited!.....until I looked closer and realized I was paying for a pattern, not the actual mobile. It was a mobile made out of owls, which were made out of socks. I showed Andy and he liked it, so I bought the mobile. I'm not one of those that would have just been able to figure it out, so I think it was worth the nine dollars I spent for three pieces of paper. Hey, it is better than spending 100 for the little thing.

It took some practice, and I never did find socks that match the quilt exactly, but I think it turned out really well. Andy did the stick part, we just used branches from the gully behind the house, and then he shaved them down and stained them. I've actually really enjoyed doing this and I'm sad that it is over. I'll have to find something else to do to occupy my time while Andy is at work...

In the pictures, don't mind the messiness in the background. Andy's grandpa just built us a door so I haven't cleaned the room for a while because of sawdust. That's going to be the plan for this week. Plus, all the baby stuff just goes into the crib for now. That'll all change soon.

A couple weeks late...

2011-01-15T20:23:00.000-07:00

I realize it has been more than a few weeks since I last was on here, and my reasoning behind it is very silly. I hate that I don't have any pictures to post. That makes for a very boring blog. However, I sorta kinda hate cameras right now, and I sorta kinda hate that I feel that way because I want to document life right now with the belly growing, but I just can't bring myself to keep any pictures. So here's the deal, the part that I'm a couple weeks late on is my New Year's Resolutions, and guess what one of them is? Yes, take pictures.

New Year's Resolutions are a very funny thing for me. I think about it a lot, but never really write them down because....I"m not really sure why. It is almost like time just gets away from me, then it is no longer January and so I just make "goals" and go from there. So, here I go, on January 15, making a list of resolutions that I would love to keep/accomplish this year.

1. De-clutter my life! With the baby coming, its amazing how much space he takes without even being here! I've been trying so hard to clean out a lot of our stuff in storage, and then move more into storage. Andy probably hates it, but I keep taking down pictures and decorations and putting them in buckets because I figure we're moving after summer, so I'm just sorta starting the process now to make room for baby. It kind of makes for depressing blank walls, but oh well for now.

2. Be happier! I'm officially working part-time now for insurance reasons, and it couldn't be more wonderful! I can't believe how much time there is in the day when 9 hours of it isn't taken up by staring at a computer screen. However, having more time means more time for me to worry about all the different things in life. I've really been working on just relaxing, feeling the baby move, cleaning, and enjoying my precious time with Andy.

3. Learn Patience. This is a huge one, especially with the baby coming. I don't want to be one of those crazy moms that I kind of already know I'll be. I know that people say you are the perfect parent until you have a child, but I never want to lose my patience with my kids. I say that, and know that its going to happen sometimes, but I want to try to keep things in perspective and remind myself that it is such a gift to be a mom. I don't know. Patience also comes into play with the place we are in life. I find myself wishing time away so that Andy will be done at the U and we can move on somewhere new, start dental school and stuff. I think I'm just bored, but I have to remind myself that life is going to come at us fast and I should just enjoy the things we are experiencing now.

4. Enjoy being pregnant. This one is extremely hard. I am so disappointed, but I am not the kind of person that enjoys being pregnant. I love the baby inside my belly so much and I love feeling him inside me, but I hate the back cramps, the no sleeping, the heart burn, the heart burn, the heart burn, and all the other lovelies that come in these nine months. I feel like a terrible person saying I don't like being pregnant, but I just want Sawyer to come out! I'm so anxious to meet him and I know that three months from now I'm going to wonder what I was thinking, but I hate surprises. I think my sister put it best when she explained being pregnant as knowing you have a present waiting for you, and you know what it is, but you can't have it for nine months. It is just mean. But I know he's worth waiting for, and I'll be loving the every 2 hour feedings and dirty diapers soon enough.

5. Be a better person. This may seem vague and kind of out there, but I genuinely want to try and be a better person. I need to call my friends, sisters, and mom more. I take for granted too much of what I have in my life and I want to appreciate it more. I feel like a homebody and I really hate being put in situations where I'm uncomfortable, but I'm learning that life is kind of lonely when you don't put yourself out there to meet people. I need to be more involved in church, at work, and better about not just cuddling up with a movie on the weekends when Andy is at work. I'm not sure how I'm going to do this one yet, but it is on the list.

Ok, so there are others, but for now this list is good enough. The others, of course include eating healthy, exercising, losing the baby weight, blah blah blah, the same ones I always have on my list, but the ones listed above are things I have to really really work on.

So there ya go. Oh yeah, and add to that list to blog more and take pictures. Not just take, but take and KEEP pictures. That's the important part. Let's see if I can take some tomorrow after church and post again tomorrow. That's a good goal to start with.

Getting Ready for Baby

2010-12-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

I have the best husband in the world!

The Joys of Not Sleeping

2010-12-09T03:16:00.000-07:00

I love sleeping. It is truly one of my favorite things to do. Maybe this came from being raised by a father where if he was awake past seven, it was a late night? I dunno...and what is funny is I've always been a night owl, always, but ever since this little guy started growing inside of me I see the clock hit nine and I'm ready for bed. However, the night time trips to the bathroom because my bladder just simply can't hold it for eight hours, those ruin everything! For example, right now, it is three in the morning and I'm just chilling here, reading blogs, updating facebook, and getting ready to settle in with an episode of Glee, all because I couldn't fall back asleep. Meanwhile, Andy's snoring to my right, which I can't help but love. I always have this cruel desire to wake him up so he'll be with me, but I would never have the heart to do it. Besides, he would just be grumpy so maybe that's what stops me...

I guess these times just make me think. You know, the kind of thinking where your brain starts going and you can't make it stop even though you may want to so bad? Andy says I worry too much, and I always tell him he doesn't worry enough. This is why we work. I would probably have a new bleeding ulcer weekly if it weren't for him, and he wouldn't have a clue how to apply to dental school without me. No, that's not fair. He could do it, he just would probably miss all the deadlines. But then he would shrug and say, "that's OK" and start getting ready for next year. Me? There is a chart hanging up in our front room of all the dental schools that we want to apply for, what the requirements are, how much they cost, and when their deadlines are. I think focusing my worrying on him makes it seem less like worrying, and more like helping.

But Andy can usually get me calmed down when it comes to the more silly things that I worry about. Then again, he stills asks my brother in law if this ever goes away. It doesn't. It may get better over the years, but I will never be a worry free person. I will be that mom who doesn't like strangers touching her baby. Not even that, I won't want anyone, except family, touching my baby. I will always carry hand sanitizer with me, I already do. Sure, I'll let my kid be exposed to germs so that he can build up an immune system, but he will never, ever, ever lick the handle on a shopping cart. (Andy and I have seen this happen and we both wanted to vomit.) I will worry that our child has no friends, and then I'll worry that he's not being kind to those who don't have friends. I'll worry about him when he's in high school. I'll worry about his grades, about girlfriends, about eating, about sports, about driving, about everything. I'll worry about him on a mission. And I'm already worried he'll marry someone who thinks Andy and I are crazy.

All these worries and the kid is the size of a small baby doll. Can you imagine the wreck I'm going to be when he gets here? But, like I said earlier, we are so excited. I can't stop buying things for him, and he makes me so happy when he's moving around in my belly. It is so funny to think that I go to work, talk to my co-workers, go out to eat and act so normal, and yet, there is something inside of me moving and kicking that only I can feel. It is such an amazing thing. Usually I'm uncomfortable and just want him here, I've always hated surprises, but then it is nice to sit back and enjoy the experience of being selfish and having him to myself, since its the only time I can really keep him safe.

This is a lot of rambling, but its kind of what it is like in my head right now. All these joys and fears intertwined together, when all I really want to do is sleep. I'm going to watch Glee now. Hopefully this weekend I can steal an hour and catch up on the rest of life. So, that's all for now! Good night, and sleep tight! (Hopefully)...

Finally, the Last California Post!

2010-12-02T21:54:00.000-07:00

This is the last post about California. I'm sure there are a million more things I could write, but I am ready to move on! I want to talk about the stuff happening now, so here it is, our hike to San Jacinto, and then something a little more exciting.

We did a lot of hiking over the summer, and most of it we did with Andy's parents. These times are a highlight of my summer. There is just something about being in nature and having good conversation (on the down hill of course). Andy's parents did this hike last year, and we were excited to try it out. The hike is in Palm Springs, but you take a tram up this huge mountain and then there are a bunch of hikes you can do from there. I was super excited for the tram, but it was actually really scary. Andy's dad could tell you all the facts, but I'm just going to say that you should look up the website if you wanna know more.

Once we got to the top, we decided to do the six mile hike to the top of San Jacinto, so twelve miles round trip. It was beautiful, but hard. I'm so impressed with Andy's parents. The hike takes you through meadows, forest, and a lot of rocky areas. I've never seen such a beautiful view as we did at the top of the mountain. I think round trip it took up about four hours, but I can't remember exactly. I'll put some pictures below, but all we had was the camera on Andy's phone, so they're not great.

After the hike we went to Famous Dave's. Food never tasted so good! Then we made a trip to Walmart because Andy's dad needed new shoe laces, and I needed to pick something up as well.

Now, to begin this part of the story, I must explain something. I was late...and by late, I mean "could be pregnant" late. When you think you may be pregnant, it is the only thing that consumes your mind. On every run for the three days prior to this, all I could think about was how our lives would change and what we would name "it" and I would get so super excited, and then oh so very scared. Starting our family has been something that Andy and I have been so excited about, but when you aren't sure if its happening or not, it drives you crazy!

Andy kept telling me that if I didn't start by Saturday, this was on a Wednesday, that we would get a pregnancy test. He kept saying, "you'll start tomorrow," but I knew I wouldn't. I'm never late, it is like clockwork. So Friday rolled around and I couldn't take it anymore. He told me that we would pick up a test on the way home from the hike. The only problem? It is a little weird buying a pregnancy test with your in-laws around, not even that, it is weird with ANYONE around! We figured we could be all sly, branch off from his parents, and then sneak back to the car. Well...that's not what happened.

Andy's mom, like any normal woman, didn't really fancy going to pick out new shoe laces with her hubby, so she tagged along with us. This resulted in Andy making up a lie about me needing to buy tampons and being embarrassed about it , and me sneaking off to pick out a very scary pregnancy test. I hurried to the correct aisle, and please explain to me why they have to be with all the condoms? There was a super creepy dude standing there, taking his time trying to pick out whatever it was that he needed, and I didn't think he would ever leave. I'm talking super gross, creepy. After a couple laps, he was gone. I looked at the shelves and it seemed there were a million different kinds! And please, do I really need two? I just need one. I just want to pee on one stick, see if I'm pregnant, and move on. But no, they only come in two packs. So, I picked the cheapest one that I still knew the brand of, and sprinted to the check out.

Another great perk to the pregnancy test I picked out? There was a coupon on the front that said you could save one dollar if you used it at check out, or you could save two dollars if you waited until your next purchase. One dollar at check out it was!

One thing that I learned very quickly in California, is that it is very different from Utah. The Walmart we were at wasn't exactly the classiest place, and when the check out lady saw me buying the pregnancy test she looked at me with the "oh you poor thing!" expression. And when I told her I wanted to use the coupon, she said, "Every penny helps, doesn't it?" I wanted to say, yes, I'm only 23, yes, I'm married, and this was planned! But instead I just said, "Yep, it sure does!" Then I took my two pee sticks, and hid them in the trunk of our car in the first aid kit.

I then headed back into the store, pretended like nothing was out of the ordinary, and waited for everyone else to finish shopping.

When I got home, I went straight to the bathroom to shower. Remember the twelve mile hike? I was filthy. So I went into the bathroom, and hand shaking, I peed on the stick. I remember looking at it thinking, "how long do I really have to wait?" Then I looked at the stick, probably like ten seconds after I peed on it, and there it was, two lines. I couldn't believe it. So what did I do? I cried. I was so happy it was positive, and so freaked out! Then I did the next most important thing. I texted Andy. It said, "Please come to the bathroom." Then I got in the shower, still holding the pee stick.

Very quickly, Andy came in the bathroom, I stuck the pee stick out of the top of the shower. I didn't say a word. Then I heard him gasp. I peeked my head out of the shower and I don't think I've ever seen his eyes so big. Then he started laughing. Silently of course. I don't think he believed it either. We both agreed I would take the second test in the morning, (now I know why they sell them in two packs). It was positive again.

The Magical Land of Disney

2010-11-06T23:53:00.000-06:00

Somehow Disney never seems to lose its magic. Andy and I decided we wouldn't spend the money on tickets because we've been so many times before, but we just couldn't resist! Luckily Alex had a friend that worked on the Indiana Jones ride and she was willing to let us in with her employee passes, and so we only ended up spending money on one ticket.

We went with Alex and Sheridan. I'm so glad we did. Seeing World of Color made the whole thing worth it. We were also able to go on the new Toy Story ride and of course, all the classics. The weather was perfect when we were there. It was threatening to rain all day, and barely sprinkled at one point, but it made it a little, tiny bit less busy, and we weren't sweating to death. And of course, one of the best parts? Eating my wonderful Monte Cristo Sandwich! Here's some pics!

Eww...Gross!

2010-11-06T23:46:00.000-06:00

This happened. Andy and I were in the dining room minding our own business, when we looked out the window over the deck. Andy saw it first.

One thing must be understood. Where Andy's parents live in the mountains is kind of a vacation spot. So people have cabins that they visit in the summer. These lovely people are their neighbors and they must assume that this is what everyone does at their summer homes.

We felt a little creepy spying out the window and taking pictures, but then again, they were just chillin on their driveway for the whole world to see, so whatever...

Jon-Erik and Erika's Wedding!

2010-11-06T23:37:00.000-06:00

One big thing that happened this summer was two of Andy's very best friends got married! Jon-Erik has been one of Andy's best friends since high school. I met him at our reception in California, and then have heard countless stories about their ventures, not always safe ventures mind you, but it is fun hearing them none the less.

I had the chance to meet Erika this summer, and we were so happy for the two of them when they got married. Their wedding meant I was able to meet the rest of Andy's "Clan" from high school as well. He had a really tight group of friends in high school, and they've been so great about staying in touch. Andy kind of fell out of the loop due to serving his mission and moving to Utah, but seeing them at the wedding made him feel as if he'd never left California. It was fun for me because I got to put faces to all the stories I've heard.

The ceremony was beautiful, and the reception was a blast! It was full of dancing, eating and having a good time! We're excited because two more of his friends are getting married next May so we'll get to do it all over again!

Fourth of July 2010...These Aren't Exactly in Order...

2010-11-06T23:21:00.000-06:00

This year the 4th was on a Sunday. Saturday we had a delicious BBQ at Adam and Suzanne's. We sat around and ate very tasty food courtesy of Adam's BBQ magic, played the Wii, and just relaxed. Look at these super cute cupcakes Suzanne made.

Sunday we went to church, came home and played lots of games, and then headed to Lake Arrowhead for dinner and fireworks. Every Fourth of July, the restaurant that Andy worked for, Belgian Waffle Works has a big party on their patio. It is perfect because it is a private party, and it has the perfect view of the lake for fireworks.

We had burgers and yummy sides for dinner, and then I helped Andy study for the DAT while we waited for the fireworks to start. I love the 4th. It is one of my very favorite holidays. There is just something about summer time, BBQs, and family. Add a beautiful lake to this mixture and it made for a pretty perfect night.

Can We Please Live in San Diego When We Grow Up?

2010-11-06T21:37:00.001-06:00

The San Diego Temple is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. I went through the temple for the first time there and so we really wanted to attend a session while we were there. So we figured, why not make a day of it? Andy's parents, little brother and girlfriend Sheridan, and Andy and me were able to enjoy a wonderful day in San Diego.

Like I said, we first went to the temple. While we were in there, Alex and Sheridan killed time at Best Buy I believe...sorry if my memory is failing me. Unfortunately, they were cleaning the outside of the temple and so the outside was half covered like it was under construction. It made the inside so much darker because the windows were all covered. It was still beautiful though, and when we go out we were ready for lunch.

We went to lunch at Anthony's. It is the same place that we ate lunch after I went through the temple for the first time, and is on the pier so you kind of sit out over the water. The food is mostly seafood, which Andy loves, and there is always something chicken for me to eat. The whole atmosphere of the restaurant is so pleasant with the ocean. You can hear the waves, see the gulls and smell the fishy scent, which doesn't bother me if it is actually near the ocean.

After lunch we went to Old Town, and visited the Mormon Battalion Museum. The church has recently remodeled the whole thing. It was actually very entertaining and extremely interesting. It is always fun to visit church sites outside of Utah and see the different affects of the Pioneers in different locations. It is such a great missionary tool and I'm so glad I got to see it.

Then we just kind of walked around Old Town, ate some really great Mexican food, and drove sleepily home.

Now, I have to add this part. Andy's dad may kill me for sharing this, but I hope not. Andy and I still laugh about this because we were just so tired, and so was everyone else, and that's when this happened.

We were taking Sheridan home and she lives in Crestline, but we needed to get gas so we stopped in San Bernardino before we went up the hill. San Bernardino isn't exactly the most pleasant place in the world, and it can be pretty scary at night. We pulled off the freeway and went to the Valero. It was super shady. Alex got out to go to the bathroom, but Richard decided not to get gas there because it was a little too scary of a gas station. So we sat in the car waiting for Alex to get back. It seemed like forever, but he got in the car, and we went to another gas station.

The next gas station required you to pay at the window, so Richard got out and stood in line. There were these two guys at the front of the line and they took forever at the window. We just sat there watching them as they ordered all this junk food from the guy, but finally they paid for their gas and moved on. Also, there was this tiny Asian man standing behind Richard. It was pretty clear Richard did not see him, and every time he took a step back, we in the car feared he would squash the tiny Asian man. Richard got to the window, and what did they say? They only accept cash. At this point, you could tell Richard was getting upset. It had been such a long day and we all just wanted to be home. It was hilarious hearing him describe the men that were taking forever at the window. Those of us in the car couldn't help but laugh because the odds just seemed to be against us.

Richard knows California really well, so he told Andy to pull out because he knew of another little gas station down the street. So, here we go again, we pull out and go to another gas station. Yep, it was no longer open. I'm pretty sure we all just started laughing at this point. We headed back towards the freeway, pulled into the most expensive Chevron since that was all that was left to try, got gas, and finally got to go home.

Still in Cali...San Diego Wild Animal Park!

2010-11-06T21:02:00.000-06:00

When we go to California, we usually do Disneyland, which we did, but one thing Andy has always raved about was San Diego Wild Animal Park. We decided that this trip, we'd go. So Andy, myself, and his mom and dad piled into the car to head to Escondido. Now, I grew up in Utah. The zoo that we have in Utah is called the Hogle Zoo. I loved going to the zoo as a kid, and I even went with my family in August this year, but to put it nicely, the Hogle Zoo is PATHETIC, and actually quite depressing.

This left me a little hesitant about the wild animal park because I didn't want to see locked up, confined animals. I've always been a "Save the Animals" kind of girl, minus the granola personality, so I don't like seeing the small habitats animals usually end up in at the zoo. Andy explained to me that the wild animal park would not be anything like that, and he was right. It was so fun!

Before I show any pictures, I need to make a note. Normally, Andy and I are quite intelligent people. However, we did make a rather stupid decision regarding the date for this little excursion. It just happened to be in the middle of California's heat wave and was 110 degrees outside! The sun was not very kind to us. If it weren't for the misters, I'm not sure any of us would have made it back.

We started the day off with taking the train ride through the safari like habitats for all the animals. It was very vast and impressive. All the animals at the Hogle Zoo should totally move there....then we spent the rest of the day getting our exercise by walking around the entire park. We saw a few shows, which were fun, especially the last one. It was a group of "African Acrobats." Super cool.

After we went to the zoo, we were sweaty and sticky and gross. It was the kind of sweaty where you never actually feel dry under your clothes. It was awful. But you see, we went on a Friday, and Friday nights mean the Redlands Bowl. Ordinarily, we would have skipped the bowl and gone straight home to shower, but this night was an irish singer, Ken O'Malley, and we really wanted to go see him perform. So yes, we went straight from the wild animal park to Panera, and then to the bowl.

I figured that once the sun went down, the temperature would drop and we could finally stop sweating. No such luck, the performance was AWESOME, but when we drove home at ten o'clock at night, it was still 98 degrees. It was such a relief to get up the mountain where it FINALLY cooled off! I made sure to write down the temperatures because I was so shocked to see the temps. I like the heat and love the summer, but that was just ridiculous.

Over all it was a wonderful day, minus the heat!

The End of Catalina....Something Really Super Awesome!!

2010-10-25T20:16:00.000-06:00

I decided to break this up in two posts because it gets so long. But this part is super awesome! We happened to have the most perfect ending to a really great trip.

I mentioned that it was overcast and chilly when we left Catalina. Well, as we boarded the boat, the wind really picked up and it got cold. We, because we're super smart, decided to sit on the roof of the boat. We were right behind where the captain is and he was out on the deck watching over the crew to make sure everything was going ok. At one point, he was yelling that we really needed to go. The waves were rocking pretty intensely, and we could tell the captain was getting nervous. At this point, a rope, a huge-mongous rope, snapped in two. This is when the captain freaked out that we needed to leave right now.

The crew listened and we were pulling out of the harbor right then. Once we were out in the ocean it wasn't so rocky. But then the cool part happened.

The Catalina Flyer leaves from Balboa pier. At Balboa there is this part called "The Wedge." It is really cool because its right by the jetty and so when the waves crash, they hit the jetty which sends the water parallel to the land instead of away from it. I'm probably not explaining it very well, but basically, it causes these really huge, awesome waves.

So as we were pulling into the bay, the crew members and the captain were outside watching the wedge. We thought this was weird since they see the wedge everyday, twice a day, and yet, they were watching an oohing and aaahing. That's when we noticed the waves. yes, ten foot waves. We got off the boat and went to check it out. Unfortunately, we were parked at Newport Pier, so we got to the car, and figured it wasn't that far of a walk down the beach to Balboa. Now, remember, we don't have batteries in our camera.

The beach was a little longer than we thought, like over a mile! But, we enjoyed the waves, which Andy couldn't believe were so big, and made our way down the beach. Finally, we got to the wedge. There was a huge group of people just standing on the beach, watching the waves and surfers. We stood in awe for a while, and then realized we had to get some pictures. This meant walking back to the car, finding some batteries, and then we were smart enough to drive down and find parking nearer to the wedge. Oh yeah, and we had to make it back before the sun went down. Basically, we ran the whole way back to the car.

To make this really long story shorter...we made it back, got batteries, and found some pretty good parking near the Balboa pier. We made it before sunset and were able to get some pretty cool pictures.

They had to bring in tractors to make sure the waves didn't flood the parking lots. This was a cleared spot near the pier.

Picking Up Where I Left Off...Catalina Island, a Massive Post

2010-10-25T19:16:00.000-06:00

So...it has definitely been a while. Summer has come and gone, but I decided to finish out our Summer fun in California because I don't want to forget all the fun experiences we had. I doubt I'll be able to actually get everything in the right order that it actually happened, but we'll start with a really big one.

Andy and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary in July. We wanted to do something really fun and so we decided to spend a night on Catalina Island. It was probably one of the best decisions we ever made! The trip was so much fun and we didn't want to leave. The island was so beautiful and the weather was perfect, for most of the time.

The trip started with breakfast at Mimi's Cafe, and then it was off to the pier for a ride on the Catalina Flyer! The boat ride was really fun. There's nothing like being out in the middle of the ocean with nothing anywhere to be seen but the blue water. We actually got to see pods of dolphins from the boat. They were very active and just seemed to be all over the place.

We stayed in Avalon and when we got there, we worked our way along all the shops and found our hotel. We had a while before we could check in, so we dropped off our bags and then headed to the beach. We both just relaxed, read our books and enjoyed the sun.

When we got hungry, we went to a place along the boardwalk. They served a little bit of everything. Andy was able to get pasta and I got a taco salad. It was nice because we got to sit on the deck over the water. It was just perfect.

Flattering picture huh?

After lunch we checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Hotel Metropole. It was right on the beach and really nice. It was super tacky, which is always awesome. After we checked in we went to check out what kind of deal we could get on some jet skis. This is something Andy begged me to do. Was I the biggest fan? mmm...not really. But he wanted to go so bad I couldn't say no.

We met this really cool guy who owns a jet ski barge. We made the appointment for later that day and gave the man his money. This was Andy's anniversary gift. When the time came to head out to the barge, I was pretty nervous and Andy was totally psyched! We got taxied out and given the schpiel on how to stay safe and work the jet skis. After we were life vested up, we hopped on the machine and headed out to open sea! We had a whole hour and were allowed to go out as far as we wanted into the ocean, and as long as we stayed west of the barge, we could got anywhere around the island.

Now, I've been jetskiing when I was young, but always on lakes. Driving a jet ski in the ocean is an entirely different experience. The constant currant is intense, you never really get a break. The other thing that was slightly frightening was not knowing what I would be falling into if I fell off. I would look into the ocean and it was just dark, black water. Yes, blue on top, but then underneath that it was just scariness. I threatened Andy a lot that if I was thrown off the jet ski, we may not make it to the third anniversary...haha.

We both took turns driving and I got used to the movement of the jet ski and things got much better. Is an hour too long for me? Yep! Was it too short for Andy? Yep! We were lucky because the clouds set in right as we were getting off the jet skis and it got chilly! All in all I'm glad we did it. Andy had so much fun, and although my fingers were blue because I was gripping Andy's life jacket so hard, I had fun in the end. I wish we had pictures of us jet skiing, but we were afraid to take the camera out on the water. Turns out the attendants on the barge would have taken some for us...too bad for us.

After we got back from the barge we were starving! We wanted to have a really nice dinner so we checked out the menus outside the restaurants as we made our way back to the hotel. We got ready and then headed out. We ended up eating at a place called "Steve's Steakhouse." Once again we had a really nice view of the ocean while we ate. I got chicken and Andy got steak. All in all the food was ok, a little too pricey for what we got, but it was still really nice.

After dinner we walked around the island. It was a little chilly, but very romantic. We went into the little shops, checked out what candy shops were the best, and also scouted out the ice cream shops. We walked up to the old Casino. We were hoping to be able to walk around inside and stuff, but only tours are offered these days and they're during the day. so we just turned around and walked back to the main part of town.

The night ended with ice cream cones and a bag full of candy. Unfortunately, our camera's batteries died at this point in the trip...when we got back to the hotel, we were both so tired that we ended up falling asleep around 9. I don't think I mentioned that the boat that morning left at 7 am sharp, which meant we left Andy's house at 5 am. These hours were very hard for us...

The next morning we woke up, had a nice complimentary breakfast and got ready for the day. We checked out of the hotel and went to the beach again. Unfortunately for us, a cruise ship came in that day so it was way crazy in all the shops. It was actually the same cruise that we took for our honeymoon. When we were on the cruise, we bought Andy a ukulele from this really cool little shop. So we thought it would be neat to get something from that same shop this time around. We got this really cool clock that was carved in the shape of a surf board.

So yeah, too many people from the cruise and an overcast sky kind of put a damper on the afternoon. We took a small hike up a million (or so it seemed) stairs to this cool bell tower. By the time it finished, it was time to head back to the Catalina Flyer. I was so sad to leave. It was so much fun and the island is so charming. I can't wait to go back!

Keller Peak

2010-07-31T21:30:00.000-06:00

This summer we have really gotten into hiking. Andy has been hiking his whole life and loves backpacking, but he hasn't really gotten the chance to do any real big hikes since he got home from his mission. His parents started hiking last summer, and so we figured we would get some good hikes in. We started out small, and then our first big one was Keller Peak. It was a ten mile hike, and we were really excited about it. We knew it would be hard, but we had our camel backs and we were ready. Molly absolutely loves hiking, and so we took her and Penny, Andy's parents' beagle.

We started the hike a little later than we probably should have, so the sun was blazing. The bugs were also very bad. They were these stupid fly things that would just hover around your face. They made the first part a little miserable, but it got much better after that. There is this tree on the trail, and we call it the "Mary Shrine" tree because its carved out and looks like it should be a Catholic statue. I climbed in for a quick pic.

Molly is really the type of dog that is made for the outdoors. She is naturally obedient and so we can let her off the leash, she'll run a ways, but she always stops and waits for us before she goes any further. She always comes back when called, and she's rewarded because she loves water and so she gets to play in the streams along the way. Unfortunately, Penny is not that way. She is a beagle, and she cannot help but follow her nose. This hole, for example, she worked on for 45 min. while we walked around and explored an area.

Molly tries to keep her on the trail, but she usually stays on the leash because she wanders. This hike was so long, that we decided she should be ok off the leash. She stuck to the trail for about 4.75 miles of the way up. We could see the summit, but when we went to put leashes on the dogs, Penny wasn't there. Andy went back down the trail looking for her, and half hour later, still couldn't find her. We had brought lunch to eat at the top, so we figured we would look for her on the way down. We had lunch and relaxed for a bit, and then started the hike down.

We called and called, but no Penny. We really started to get worried then. We thought that the rest of the night would be spent driving the car and up down the road that runs parallel to the trail, searching. We hoped that she found the road, someone picked her up, and took her to the Ranger's station. Oh, I forgot to mention that she didn't have her tags on. In the back of my mind, I was thinking that we were searching all day for her, and somehow she was going to be waiting for us at the bottom. Secretly, everyone was thinking this but we didn't want to jinx it by saying it out loud. As we were getting closer to the bottom of the hike, we kept seeing this little puddles of dog vomit. We joked that Penny was leaving us bread crumbs back to her, but we never saw her.

As we finished the hike, we were all kind of looking for her near the car. No Penny. Then we heard a nose to the left of the car, and there she was...tied up with a jump rope. Some little girls had tied her up so she wouldn't run away. They said they found her hiding under the red car, our car. So yes, Penny made it home. Her nose served her well in the end, and we happily finished our first ten mile hike. This is how dirty I was when we got home...gross.

Overall, we had a great day. In hiking terms, we bagged Keller Peak. We came home, showered, and it was off to the Redland's Bowl!

Woe is Us

2010-07-31T21:20:00.000-06:00

Here comes the story of our life. So...for our birthdays last year, Andy's mom bought us a camera. We were super excited and busy taking pictures of everything. Then we went to Pony Express Days, and when we got in the car that night, the camera was gone. Needless to say, we were very, very sad. We had the camera for maybe a month. Frustrating.

So Christmas rolls around, and we decide it is time for a new camera. We actually got a really sweet deal on one, and it was the same camera that we had before so we knew we would love it. Because we are awesome, we went hiking some weeks later, and the camera ended up getting the camera smashed in the door of the jeep. Yes, that happened. The camera still worked and we still used it, but the screen was broken so we couldn't see what we were taking pictures of.

Fast forward to this summer. We found a really nice camera on woot and decided to get it. We were SO excited! It was super cool, orange, and really small. We loved it. We loved it so much that we even bought a case for it. Then two days later, we went on a hike. We took lots of pictures and were loving it. Then Andy put it in his back pocket, forgot about it, and leaned up against a large rock. Yep, you guessed it! The screen broke. We now have two cameras that are capable of taking pictures, but neither show you what you are taking a picture of.

So now we have no fully functioning camera. I'm not sure when we'll splurge on one, but we'll see. So I apologize ahead of time for the crappy photos that may be put on here. But hey, at least we still can take pictures...right?

Alex's Graduation

2010-07-31T20:56:00.000-06:00

This just goes to show how far behind on this blog I am. Andy's little brother graduated in June. His parents are officially empty-nesters, which is pretty exciting. Alex's graduation was different than any graduation I have ever been to, and it was actually quite fun.

The day started with us going to get in line for seats. The ceremony was held at the high school football field. That was the first thing I was not expecting. Every graduation I have been to has been at BYU's Marriott Center, or UVU's McKay Dee Center. Alex's graduating class wasn't even the size of half of mine, so the field was perfectly adequate.

Yeah, we waited in line, and got decent seats. Then came the fun part. Technically there was no seat saving, but that never really means anything to people. This meant that we got to listen to people fight and bully their way into seats that were being saved. There was a kid in front of us that may have been 12 or 13, and he was saving seats for his family and he was all alone. This old man came in and just sat down. The kid tried to explain that he was saving seats, but the man wasn't hearing it. Needless to say, the kid lost his seats. It was incredibly awkward, and not fun to be around. Some people in this world are just not very nice.

Like I said, we saved seats for about 2 hours-ish. Andy's brother Adam and his family came which was really nice. His little Zoey and Colin kept us highly entertained and even though it was a long time to wait, they were so good. We read books and ate lots of candy, of course. Finally the graduation ceremony started. This was more like the other graduations I've been to, but it wasn't too painful. People spoke, the seniors walked, received their empty folders, and then they were graduated!

By the end of the day, we were nice and sunburned and VERY hungry. We were all going Cheesecake Factory after, so it was just a matter of finding Alex in the swarm of people, and making our way down the hill. Dinner was fine, probably the first time I actually really liked the food there, and it was the night when the Lakers won the NBA finals so that was pretty excited for most the Californians. After the bellies were full, we went home and went to bed. Overall it was a pretty good, maybe long, day.

Lame Sauce

2010-07-14T01:02:00.000-06:00

So I've been totally lame when it comes to updating the blog lately. There is a lot for me to write about, and I'm working on it. There will be multiple posts coming up soon! They involve another broken camera, a lost beagle, and attendance to my first Catholic wedding. It has been a busy summer!

Feeding the Ducks at Lake Arrowhead

2010-06-13T21:34:00.001-06:00

One major advantage of living here is that we are only about fifteen minutes way from Lake Arrowhead. Its a private lake so it is very clean and Andy works in the village that surrounds the lake. On Saturday night Andy and I took Molly to the village to walk around and feed the ducks. We were even really nice owners and stopped at a little doggie bakery and bought Molly a "pupcake." No, we are not weird about our dog. The problem is she is afraid of everything and so we are trying to take her around people and other dogs so that she can socialize a little. It hasn't really worked, but we figured a treat would get her in where the other dogs were.

Anyway, the night was really fun. We of course had to stop at Rocky Mountain and get a caramel apple, and then went to feed the ducks.

Molly had fun swimming in the lake, we had fun walking around, and we all went home to watch a movie.

Roger's Wedding

2010-06-13T21:14:00.000-06:00

I mentioned earlier that we went to our good friend Roger's wedding. Here are some pictures. We only took three, but it was really beautiful and we had a lot of fun. The second picture is a picture of an m&m with Roger and Cassie's faces on it. It was hilarious. They had a bunch of them customized to say their names, and then the pictures.

We would have tried to get a picture with Cassie, but since she's from California, all of her family and friends were trying to get some time with her so we kept Roger company for a minute or two and then took off. Like I said, it was a beautiful wedding, beautiful weather, and a really fun night!

It Has Been a While...

2010-06-07T17:06:00.000-06:00

We've now been in California for three weeks, but it sure doesn't seem like it has been that long. I still feel like I'm trying to adjust, get my footing, and feel settled. We've had so much fun since we've been out here, and we've actually been really busy so I find myself still trying to find places to put things. Being unorganized makes me anxious. Andy laughs when I say this because I always have a nice pile of clothes that need to be hung up and I rarely put away my hair straightener. I'm not saying I'm the neatest person in the whole world, but I like things to have their own place. I need to know that I can find something when I go looking for it. If that place is on the ground from where I took it off last week, at least I know where it is.

No, but really, we're taking it step by step into getting settled in. It has been a lot of fun this last week because Andy's parents and brother got back from their trip to England. Its been wonderful listening to stories, but of course it only makes Andy and me more eager to save money and plan a trip over there. Molly is still terrified of Andy's dad. We're not sure why because he's taken her on walks and everything, but when he comes in the door or down the stairs, she shoots straight for me or her bed trying to hide. She's been weird around men in general though. Sometimes she won't even go to Andy, only to me or his mom. I hope it will only take some time for to get used to living here. She seems to enjoy it, but then again she's a dog. She's happy with a bed to sleep on, a bone to chew and a hand to pet her.

Saturday night we were able to go to a wedding for one of our Applebee's friends. His fiancee is from Southern California and they were married in San Diego. We were so lucky to get to go. I was so sad that we were going to miss the reception in Provo, but we were still able to go. It was absolutely beautiful and we couldn't be more happy for them.

This post is fairly random, but it is kind of how my head feels right now. For some reason, like I said earlier, I'm still adjusting to life here. Adjusting to a new living area, trying to convince myself to drive on the mountain, trying diligently to run even though it is so hard, working from home, and just trying to enjoy the summer time. This is my favorite season and all I want to do is be in the sun all the time. Hopefully we can plan a trip to the beach soon. I think it is finally getting warm enough.

Well enough rambling for now. I'll get back on later with pictures, and hopefully a few more organized posts through out the week.