Much to be grateful for...

This year Josh and I stayed in Miami for Thanksgiving. We had the brief trip to Utah a few weeks ago, plus some of my family is coming to my graduation next week, and to top it off Josh's family is coming for Christmas...so we thought we'd save a few dollars and stay home for the holiday. It was very nice. A lot of our friends also stuck around for the holiday so we thought we would all celebrate together. So, our across the garages friends and ourselves decided to throw a potluck block Thanksgiving party. We ended up having around 30 adults and who knows how many children. We had a great spread that included 3 turkey's, 1 ham, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green bean casseroles, jello salads, rolls, green salad, soup, and much more! I was so worried we wouldn't have enough food, but we ended up with lots of leftovers! Thank you to everyone who brought food, drinks, tables, chairs, etc, etc!



I had a 3 week break from school (today I started Board Review) and I honestly couldn't tell you what the heck I did with all that time. It's amazing that no matter how busy you are (or aren't) time goes fast and now December and the Christmas season is here. This is one of my most favorite times of year and I can't wait to go out Christmas shopping for everyone! I love to wrap the presents and put up the decorations, watch Christmas movies and listen to Christmas music. There's a special magic that occurs this time of year, even in Miami. We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!

Utah Trip...

A friend of ours got married this past weekend so we took the opportunity to come out to Utah. We hadn't been out that way for quite a while, and it ended up being a very quick trip. We got there after it had snowed a few inches, so the next couple pictures are from Josh and I giving my parents cute dog Roxie a walk. By the end of our weekend the snow had pretty much melted away.



My mom and grandma decided to throw me a family baby shower which was really fun and exciting! It was great to see my family and be able to catch with those I don't get to see often. My mom also surprised me by inviting a few of my close friends (sorry to the friends who were not invited, I would have loved to have seen you all!) My sister was in charge of taking pictures and I mostly ended up with a bunch of me opening presents and a bunch of her and my cousin goofing off. So therefore I don't have any pictures of the whole group! Thank you to all who came and for all the fun stuff you gave me and my boy!

My mom and friend Di at the shower.
My grandma made this quilt for her first great-grandson (aka my son) and I was very excited!

Josh and I were able to go to the University of Utah's big game against TCU. It was a blackout game which we didn't get note of until after we had arrived in Utah so we didn't have any black.

My family at the U game during halftime. The U won in the last minute, it was a great game! Thanks Steve for getting us our tickets!

Once most of the snow melted, we took some pictures with the colorful leaves.

This is at our friend Brandon's wedding in American Fork. Josh and I had been in church attire for the luncheon and sealing but we had to go back to my parents for family pictures and decided not to change for the reception! Congrats Annie and Brandon!

After the reception we celebrated my sister Nina's 16th birthday! I can't believe she can officially drive and date and whatever else! She's growing up fast!

We were only in Utah a mere 3 days and as you can see they were jam packed full of fun! We were rushing around like crazy and we wish we had more time to have seen more people we miss and love!

Halloween Trunk or Treat

Although it was already 2 weeks ago, we hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween! Josh and I didn't dress up this year, but we did have fun helping out at our ward's Trunk or Treat.

This was my "spooky" witch that I made so the trunk or treaters could play pin the wart on the witch's nose. I think the kids enjoyed it.

Here is Josh with our neighbor Bryant, and Josh's favorite animal....a skunk! Very cute!

The RESULTS are in!!!!!

And it's a............ BABY!!!

I'm not quite sure what the best way to put the ultrasound pictures on the computer is. Although they are a bit difficult to read or see what you're looking at, I did my best! :) The first picture is a frontal view of our baby's face, he wouldn't give us a profile shot. Yes, HE! He looks sort of alien like with that photo...but a very cute alien because he's our little alien!! The second shot is of his little shoulder, arm, and hand. I think he was sleeping because he didn't move much for us, but he had both of his arms up around his head...Josh sleeps like that so already like father like son! He gave us a nice shot of his genitals so we knew right away that he was a boy, but I didn't post those pictures. By the way, if you click right on the pictures, you should be able to see an up close and personal view that's much easier to see.

It was so much fun being able to see him and know that he is doing well. Everything measured out just perfectly! I wasn't really recognizing his movements inside me until I saw where his little legs are, then I realized that the little flutterings that I feel on my right side are exactly where his feet are! So now I purposely drink juice to get him going so I can feel him! I'm sure in a few weeks when he really starts to kick me I will be drinking more water!

We can't wait for our little guy to join us in March! In the meantime, I'll work on eating more protein so I don't gain another 8lbs before my next appointment in a month! Whoops! :) I think he just had a growth spurt, that's all....right????

I was tagged!

This is a fun one :)

1. Post rules on your blog
2. Answer the six "8" items
3. Let each person know they have been tagged

8 Favorite TV Shows

1. Friends
2. Flip that House
3. Reba
4. Um...the weather channel!
5. Seinfeld
6. I don't really watch too much TV so I don't know what to say!
7. ??
8. ??

8 Things I did yesterday

1. Drove around Miami picking up Primary kids
2. Went to a Primary activity
3. Ate lots of leftovers for lunch
4. Took a power nap
5. Attempted to do homework
6. Went to The Grand Lux for dinner with Josh
7. Went and saw the play Hairspray
8. Blogged a bit and went to bed!

8 Things I look forward to

1. Visiting Utah in only 2 weeks!
2. Graduation
3. Passing the PANCE
4. Halloween, Thanksgiving, and of course Christmas!
5. Finding out what we're having.
6. Becoming a mother
7. Having a real house and yard of our own
8. Life in general

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. Cafe Rio (oh how I miss yummy salads and burritos!)
2. Subway
3. Texas de Brazil
4. Dulce Vita (yummy gelato on the beach!)
5. Rumbi Island Grill
6. Chicken Kitchen
7. Jamba Juice
8. We don't eat out that much so this one was really hard for me!

8 Things on my wish list

1. A beautiful new home and big yard
2. School loans to be paid off
3. A new car (the Lincoln Rocket is starting to die)
4. To be able to pass the PANCE
5. Having money to decorate the new house on my wish list
6. An all expense paid trip somewhere cool (can't decide where at the moment)
7. Living closer to family
8. A puppy to play with my kids and in my future big yard!

8 People I tag!
1. Jamie R
2. Rachel
3. Diana
4. Angie
5. Janell
6. Any
7. One
8. Else!

A BABY BUMP!

Here are a few pictures from our evening...we went to go see the play Hairspray and had a great time. The picture of Josh and I isn't the best, but during intermission we had to go to the bathroom and the lines were a mile long so we found the doors that led backstage and used some tiny bathroom there! Soon after taking this picture some guy saw us and made us go back to the main area.

The other pictures are of the baby bump that has started to develop on my waist! The last picture is my view of my belly when I look down. I am now 19 weeks along and we have our ultrasound this week! So if you want to guess whether it's a boy or a girl, now's the time! So....what's it going to be?

Our Townhouse!

Finally some pictures! This is our new place, and we are enjoying living here so far. I posted a whole bunch of pictures of the little community as well as inside our place. The first picture is what you see coming in off of the street. Then there's our lovely front door which we don't use unless people are coming over. We have a 2 car garage but due to the size of our wonderful Lincoln rocket (and our bikes), it's a bit tough to get both our cars in. We need to get more organized and then I think we'll be able to do it. We are located almost directly in the middle of a total of 4 townhouses, but it's quiet so we don't mind. Just a little walk will take you to our pool (which sits directly behind the office at the front entrance), or to the docks where some of the wealthier folk store their yachts! It's a little inlet off of the Atlantic Intercoastal waterway. A fun place to sit and watch for dolphins, manatees, or just about anything else!

Now, lets go to the house! We have a little entry way, then it's straight upstairs to the main floor. The main floor has a living room, dining area, kitchen, and not pictured is our make shift office (which is still a disaster area) and it sits next to the kitchen. Up the next flight of stairs to our 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The master has it's bathroom right in the room...well at least the sink portion. The only time it's bothersome is when Josh is trying to go to work early and get ready in minimal light so I can sleep. The baby's bedroom is a bit white at the moment! We're waiting to find out the sex before going to town on colors and decorations. It's a work in progress, but it's our home! You're always welcome to come visit, we have more room for you now...so come! P.S. the red car slightly pictured by the front door is NOT the Lincoln rocket...come on now, we take better care of our things!

Fatiue, Laziness, and more...

I always thought that this whole tired thing that comes along with pregnancy went away after the first trimester...well so far for me, it hasn't! I'm still soo tired! I can honestly take a 3 hour nap in the middle of the day and then go to bed at a normal time and sleep until the alarm goes off in the morning! Luckily for me, I have a little bit of "extra" time on my hands right now. My final semester of school is not as time consuming as the past 2 years have been. However, that "extra" time really should be spent doing something productive such as cleaning, organizing, blogging, studying, etc, etc. I'm just lucky to have a very tolerable husband who fully supports me taking care of our baby, and he is extremely patient with my fatigue and constant complaints of "getting big" or not feeling good.

I've promised pictures of our new place to several people...let's just say that we've been slow to get organized enough where I feel good about posting pictures of our pigsty! It's not really that bad, but that really is the reason for no pictures. I've also been thinking of starting to document my weekly or biweekly progress with the pregnancy...so maybe I'll actually post some pictures for you all soon. Keep in mind that we find out the baby's sex in only 2 weeks! We are so excited to find out what we are having and to go out and start spoiling this kid! Until next time...

Trip to Washington!

And we're back! Hello everyone! We have had a very busy past month or so with my clinical year ending, moving into a new place, and then a fun trip to Washington! For the past 6 years Josh has been telling me all about the Ellensburg Rodeo, "the greatest show on dirt"! He's talked about it so much that I wanted to go and find out for myself! So, over the Labor Day weekend, and during my week and a half break from school, we headed to Washington. We stayed in Ellensburg with the Horsley family (thanks again for the hospitality and good food) for 5 days and then spent a few days in Seattle before coming back home. We had a great vacation and loved spending time in cooler weather surrounded by good friends and family! I posted a bunch of pictures from the trip because those are more fun to look at than to read anything I have to say! They are not in order, in fact, they're posted from the end of our trip to the beginning. Have fun! Oh yeah, that rodeo was "The greatest show on dirt"! Unfortunately they can't say that anymore because of a lawsuit from some lame guys (Ringling Brothers) who use "The greatest show on earth".


This is me on a random mountain ledge, we missed the boat to go whale watching so instead we headed over towards the Cascades National Park and went looking for Bigfoot. Unfortunately we didn't find him, but we did find lots of waterfalls, rivers, and beautiful mountains!

Before heading east, we spent a few hours cruising around Antecortes looking out towards the San Juan Islands. It was beautiful! As you can see from Josh's facial expression we were bummed to have missed the Orca watching cruise.

Josh got to see Jeremy Kukes (his long time high school buddy) and his family when we went to dinner at The Palace in Ellensburg.

Old friends, watch out they might be older but they're still crazy! Jeremy, Josh, Eric

Josh and I (and a good picture of my chubby belly poking out! Good thing I'm pregnant!) in Seattle at the Space Center. We didn't go up, but we did check out the music museum next door!

Me loving all the gorgeous fresh flowers at Pikes Place Market! I wish I could've brought some of them home with me!

Fish throwing at Pikes Place Market

Lots of fish, lots of stinky smelly goodness!


We went up to Salmon de Sac and Eric decided he was going to jump off the bridge! We all wanted to; however, both Josh and I were on the injured reserve (I have a baby in my belly and Josh had stitches in his knee) so Eric being "The Man" decided to do the deed himself! Apparently Eric (the smart one of the bunch) had always watched the guys do their crazy stunts and had never jumped off the bridge! He demanded the shorts that Brett had, put them on and headed over to the bridge in the 50 degree weather. He posed for the camera and then jumped! Josh says it made his year!

Eric after his plunge into the freezing river! The bridge is about 25 ft or so...but Josh missed the actual jump with the camera. But don't worry, Brett is going to e-mail us a copy so keep checking back for the update.

This is the group that went up to Salmon La Sac, before the bridge jumping. From left to right, Josh, Jack, Elise, Brett, Eric.

Paula and Lynette eating their elephant ears at the Kittitas County fair! Yum!

Although Josh had 16 stitches in his knee (he cut it open playing soccer 2 nights before we left to Washington) he still wanted to go on a bike ride with Jack. They were supposed to do 100 miles but due to the injury and the cold windy weather, they only went 20 miles. Josh is in Jack's riding gear and it was pretty funny!

Eric, Brett, Josh up at Lions Rock. It was beautiful but very windy and cold!

Josh and I with the infamous Ellensburg bull! It sits in the center of town and apparently Josh has some history with it. He used to sneak over to it in the late hours and spray paint the testicles blue. Oh my husband what a character! ;)

Josh and I up at Lions Rock

We went and picked our own sweet corn! It was so good. Josh took off like a mad man into the corn field (apparently he's done this before) looking for "the good stuff" while I struggled to keep up and kept falling all over the corn!

Jack took us up to Quartz mountain one morning. It was a beautiful drive and fun to be back in the mountains. We saw a coyote and some campers but mostly the place was quiet. We were supposed to be able to see Mt. Rainer in the backround but it was covered in clouds.

Snoqualamie Falls
Josh, Paula, Scott at the viewing area of Snoqualamie Falls.

Paula and Scott at the troll that lives under the bridge in Seattle. It's near the U district (I think) and is a bit random but fun!

A picture of Mt. Rainer from the car while we were on our way to the airport our last night.