Kaley and Levi Kendall

2 Weeks

2012-01-22T18:32:00.000-08:00

This week I've started becoming more awake and alert during the day. I make eye contact with mommy a lot, especially during the middle of the night when she is feeding me and changing my diaper. I started getting acne on Monday and it has been getting worse and worse all week. Mommy says I'm a "pizza face" and daddy says I'm cursed with bad skin genes. Thankfully we took my newborn pictures before my skin got bad! They're going to be in another post, but here are a few pictures from this week:

I LOVE my swing! I get bored in the afternoons when I'm awake and swinging is the perfect activity for me. I also love that mommy got this swing for only $5 at a garage sale!

When I'm wrapped up in my green blanket mommy and daddy call me their little lettuce wrap.

I started doing a little bit of tummy time this week. My head might be heavy, but my neck is really strong!

I went on my first walk with mommy when I was 10 days old. We just walked around the apartment complex for a little bit, then mommy had to go home and lay down.

Here I am, hanging out with daddy during my awake time (every afternoon for about 3 hours). I think we're watching "Bones." I don't like to be by myself while I'm awake. Usually daddy lines dances with me which is my favorite activity, but mommy hasn't been able to catch a picture of that yet. Maybe next week!

Coleman's First Week

2012-01-15T16:11:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened during my first week of being alive! Most of the time I just eat and eat and eat, but I've been doing some other fun things too. Mommy and daddy have taken some pictures so you can see for yourself:

Daddy played football with me at the hospital

I met the Palmers, mommy and daddy's friends from Denver

I wore a diaper on my foot

Daddy changed his first diaper!

I got dressed in real clothes, and did NOT like it!

But I calmed down once we got in the car. I like going for car rides!

I went home with mommy and daddy!

Mommy has wrapped me up like a burrito many times. As you can see, I really like it!

Daddy's work sent me these pretty flowers

I got my first bath. It made me really mad!

But then mommy massaged my head and I felt better.

I started peeing during my bath, so grandma grabbed a diaper and redirected it from her face to mommy's leg. This made mommy laugh so hard that she had to hold herself up on the counter!

I went on my first trip in the car with grandma and mommy when I was five days old. We went to the distribution center and JoAnns. I got mad at JoAnns because the people cutting the fabric were taking WAY too long and I wanted to eat!

My eyes have been getting bigger and bigger all week. Mommy says she loves it when I'm awake and looking around with my big eyes.

Delivering Baby Coleman

2012-01-14T15:52:00.000-08:00

My labor with little Coleman was a long one. 35 hours! It didn't go at all as I had planned it, but I'm perfectly happy with how everything happened and couldn't be more grateful for the wonderful midwives/nurses at the hospital where I delivered. Levi and I had been practicing Hypnobirthing and were doing relaxation exercises almost daily to prepare for a non-medicated labor and delivery. I kept pretty quiet about our plans because the few people I told always had a horror story to tell me about how awful giving birth is.

Thursday the 5th I went in for my appointment in the evening. The midwife I saw told me I was 2 cm dilated and 75-80% thinned out--a little progress from the week before. Like the week before, she stripped my membranes to help induce labor. We didn't really expect it to do anything, since nothing had happened the previous week except for some cramping for a day. The cramping started immediately after the appointment and continued on until I went to bed but I didn't really think anything of it.

3:00am Friday morning I woke up with a really strong contraction. There was no mistaking what this was! I stayed awake to see if it would happen again and 10 minutes later another one came. They continued coming every 10 minutes until 5:30am, when I got up to shower. After I showered the contractions started coming every 15-20 minutes and seemed to feel a bit lighter. I was afraid of labor completely stopping so after Levi left for work I took Tilly on a pretty speedy walk. By the time we walked back into the apartment, my contractions were back to being 10 minutes apart and feeling stronger. My dad and grandmama were heading down from Orange County to take me out to lunch that day, so I spent the morning running around the apartment making sure it was as clean as possible and making sure everything was prepared for when Levi and I had to go to the hospital. All the cleaning/packing REALLY sped up my contractions, and by 10:00am they started coming every 2 minutes. I timed them for an hour then called Levi and told him to come home. My dad and grandmama arrived a few minutes after 11:00am only to be told that we couldn't go out to lunch after all, which I felt kind of bad about. Levi came home, I called the midwife to let her know we were coming, and we took off for the hospital at 12:30pm.

At this point I thought I must have progressed pretty far and thought I would be one of those women who have easy 12 hour labors. I'm laughing at myself now.

When the midwife checked me at the hospital I was still only 2 cm and was 90% thinned out. Disappointing news, yes, but she told us to eat lunch and walk around the hospital for a couple hours to see if that would help. The baby's head was SUPER low so we had a lot of hope that walking would be "that thing" that would really set labor into motion. No such luck. I was exactly the same the second time I was checked and was sent home.

We arrived home at around 4:30pm. For the next few hours I tried a few different methods of relaxation so my cervix could relax and open up: hot baths, visualization exercises, massage, progressive relaxation, etc. My contractions continued being 2 minutes apart during this time and were lasting 60-90 seconds apiece. With each "relaxing" thing I did they became more and more painful. At 10:30pm we were headed to the hospital again, this time with me crying from the pain and Levi driving a little faster than normal.

The midwife checked me at 11:00pm and told me that after 20 hours of labor I was still only 2 cm only. I COMPLETELY lost it! I yelled out "are you kidding me?!" and just sobbed and sobbed. After I had sort of calmed down he gave me the option of going on morphine for the night so I could sleep and allow my body to relax. I lapped the idea right up and spent the next half hour with the baby being monitored to make sure he would be okay while I was on the morphine. Unfortunately his heart rate was dropping with each contraction, so going on morphine would have been too dangerous for him, so he suggested I get an epidural instead. The anesthesiologist was in a c-section so I from midnight to 2:00am I had some medication injected in that took the edge off the pain and made me drowsy enough to sleep a few minutes. The midnight checked me right before I got the epidural, and in those 2 hours I was relaxing I progressed from 2 to 5 cm. Finally, some good news!

The magical epidural went in at 2:00am and I was out like a light. I'd been up for almost 24 hours and was ready for some sleep! I got a solid 3 hours in before the midwife checked me a little before 6:00am. I was 7 cm opened. (Progress!!!) This was a little slower than what the midwife wanted to see, so he put me on pitocin to try and speed things up. At 8:30am a new midwife, Erica, came in to check on me. She was the midwife we had seen the day before when we walked around the hospital. I was still at 7 cm, so she broke my water. At that point she told Levi this would be his last chance to get something to eat because our son would be born within the next few hours. Levi went down the street to his beloved Jack-in-the-Box (I told him to treat himself there since he'd been such a trooper so far).

At 12:30pm Erica checked me again and I was at a 10!! My nurse, Jen, got everything ready for me to start pushing and brought in a mirror so I could watch what was happening. I have to say, pushing was BY FAR the best experience out of this whole thing, and probably the best experience of my entire life. Erica told me to be prepared for at least a couple hours of pushing since I was a first time mom. I had already been in labor for 34 hours and decided I was NOT going to spend another 2 hours pushing. I started pushing at about 1:10 and at 1:48 I watched little Coleman come into the world! Erica was really surprised at how fast I was able to push him out, but I think having the mirror and being able to watch what was happening made ALL the difference!

Coleman was placed on my stomach right away and a lot of his vitals and tests were taken while there. It was such an awe inspiring moment having him lay there against my skin, looking around at the new world he is now a part of. He didn't start crying for a while, so nurse and I rubbed him and she flicked his feet until we finally heard a cry come out. Even after letting out a few cries, Coleman was completely calm and wide awake during everything. It seemed like he was just taking it all in.

Meeting Grandma and Grandpa

First Family Picture

The view from my bed in the postpartum recovery room. I loved looking over and being able to see his face.

This post has taken me 3 days to write and my baby is calling for me, so that's all for now!

2012-01-10T21:38:00.000-08:00

Coleman Levi Kendall

Born January 7, 2012 1:48pm

8 lbs 3 oz, 20.5" long

Birth story coming soon!

40 Weeks

2012-01-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

The due date is here! We’re still hanging around waiting for the little guy to make his grand entrance. I’ve been doing little projects around the house to pass the time and Levi has been able to study for the CPA exam at work (it wouldn’t be smart for him to be working on a project right now when he could be leaving at any time).
I’ve made a few hats/photo props for our boy and I’m SO excited about them! I finished this one today:

At church this past Sunday my hands started swelling up quite a bit. I think I was really warm or something. They stayed swollen, however, and didn’t go down at all until Tuesday night. My wedding ring was stuck on my finger until I went to bed last night and I’ve got a couple of perma-marks from it now. I think I’ll have to be going sans wedding ring until after the birth just to make sure it doesn’t happen again, but I feel pretty lucky to have made it this long!

We’ve been trying every induction method possible for a week and a half now. And yes, we’ve been doing THAT one. I think he’s just nice and comfy in there. Can you blame him? We have seen some good progress, though. Sunday night I lost my uterine seal, which means my cervix is opening up. Not much has happened since then, though, other than a lot of constant cramping and feeling nauseous. Induction is sort of frowned upon in the midwife office I go to (unless there's a medical reason) so I know I won't be induced, if needed, for another 2 weeks. I don't really want to be induced, but seeing as I was 13 days late when I was born, it's becoming more of a reality. We'll have to see!

2011

2012-01-02T22:46:00.000-08:00

2011 was such a whirlwind year for us! After looking back on the year I've come up with 2 goals for 2012-

Goal #1-Blog once a week. Doing this post was really hard because I just couldn't remember anything we had done. We do so much and create so many memories that end up lost because I don't record them.

Goal #2-Remember birthdays. One of my many faults that need to be fixed.

Here’s a summary of what we were up to in 2011:

January

In the beginning of this month we were both out of the country—Levi in Switzerland and I in Mexico.
Right after we got back to Colorado we started our last semester of classes.
Levi got a seasonal tax job toward the end of the month and bought a cheap commuter car. After 2.5 years we became a 2 car family!
One week after school started we took an impromptu trip out to Orlando to visit Hogwarts and all things Harry Potter. It was pretty crazy timing, but we didn’t have to deal with any lines and we still did fine in our classes, so it was well worth it.

Our new addition!

Hogwarts

February

We were both very busy in school and didn't really do much this month. We did, however, dress up and go to a very fun couples Valentines dinner with our friends. The theme was famous couples, can you guess who we are? :)

At the Valentine's dinner

March

Levi turned 27 on the 7th of this month! He had 2 tax finals within 3 days after his birthday so he didn't want to do anything but study. I remember doing something nice for dinner, but I don't remember what it was. (This is why I need to blog more.)

April

Levi's crazy work schedule ended on the 20th of this month. He had had 4 jobs for the last few months and was working 60-70 hours a week on top of taking 18 credit hours. Crazy guy! The tax season (and his most time consuming job) ended and we celebrated by going to a Rockies game.
Levi's brother-in-law came out to visit and we went to an Avalanche game. I really like watching hockey; to bad tickets are pretty pricey!
We found out we were expecting at the end of this month. It took 3 days and several pregnancy tests for my skeptical self to believe it, but it happened! After I believed it, I went out and bought a couple of baby outfits (boy and girl) and we celebrated with some good ol' Chick-fil-a.

At the Avalanche game

May

The big news of this month is that Levi finished law school and graduated! I walked at my graduation, but I wasn't quite done with school yet (I had to complete my internship still).
I started feeling really sick.
I drove back and forth between Denver and Layton (8 hours) 3 times in one week. Out to Layton to start my internship, back to Denver for Levi's graduation, then back to Layton.
We found out that the couple who had been planning on buying our house since January had a job loss and would not be able to get a mortgage...2 weeks before they were supposed to move in. They were wonderful, though, and found us some great renters to live in the house until they could buy it (sometime in 2012).
At the beginning of the month we went to a Cinco de Mayo party at our friends' house that doubled as a going away party for us. We were really sad to leave such a great group of people, but we have been so grateful for all the things we learned from them and how much we've been able to grow because of their friendships.

Funny story: I was asked on this night if I was pregnant. I was, and was only about 5 weeks along, but it didn't seem real yet. I instinctively said no, then realized after a few seconds that I had lied!

June

I was officially living with my parents for the summer and doing my internship at HAFB. Levi was originally going to join me in the beginning of the month, but since our renters weren't moving in until the end of July we decided that it would be better if he stayed in Denver and took a California Bar Prep course.
We went to southern CA with my family to celebrate all our graduations.
I spent a lot of time at my internship doing exercise testing and program writing for my cardiovascular study: cycling vs. on foot training. I really enjoyed doing it, but did not enjoy throwing up between participants!

July

On the Fourth of July I went up to hick-town Woodruff with my brother Colton to see their classic parade and have lunch afterwards with Levi's brother-in-law and his family.
I went to an Alex Boye concert with Colton and Bethany and loved it!
I flew out to Denver for a weekend to help Levi pack up the house (sadly I only got about 9-10 boxes done. I was so sick that weekend.) We announced to our friends that I was pregnant!
Levi packed up the rest of the house with the help of some wonderful friends and moved everything out to San Diego. A week later he took the 3-day Bar Exam. I think it goes without saying that he was more than fried by the end of the Bar.

Alex Boye and us. My mom came at the end of the concert to pick us up and was able to jump into the picture.

August

A LOT of things happened this month! I completed my internship and moved out to San Diego to finally join up with Levi. I was so excited to get down to him that I got a speeding ticket in Filmore. Oops!
We celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary
I had a crazy weird stabbing pain in my back. I tried to stick it out for 6 days but it kept getting worse and worse, making me cry all the time from the pain and not be able to sleep. I finally went to the hospital on day 6 and was admitted into the perinatal unit for 4 days where I was pumped full of antibiotics and stayed in bed all day.
I unpacked all our boxes and moved into the apartment. This was quite the task since we downgraded to a place that is about 1/2 the size of our townhome in Denver!
We saw Levi's 49ers play the Chargers in a pre-season game at Qualcomm stadium.

This is how Tilly spent most of the 12 hour car ride.

Home sweet home

The packed dining room

Our first dinner together in our new place. I don't know why the picture is sideways.

Happy Anniversary from Coronado!

Our delicious anniversary dinner

At the Chargers 49ers game. I promise my arm does NOT have cellulite on it. It's just the lighting.

September

We toured the USS Midway
Levi's sister and brother-in-law came out to visit with their cute 2 year-old. Levi had to work while they were here, but we had a lot of fun going to SeaWorld, the Safari Animal Park and The Cheesecake Factory with them.

Touring the USS Midway

Clutching the Top Gun plane

The Safari Park

Cutest thing ever

About to watch Sesame Street in 4D at SeaWorld

October

Levi started off the month by getting stung by a stingray. For the record, the treatment is NOT to pee on it, but rather to stick it in the hottest water you can tolerate for an hour to neutralize the venom. Crazy guy!
Levi's bff Jeremy came out for a weekend visit on his Harley. We went to a BBQ place where they filmed a scene from Top Gun.
We took a road trip out to Utah for a family baby shower and stopped in St. George on the way up to see "The Little Mermaid" at Tuachan.
We went to our ward Halloween party and won the costume contest in the "most original" category!

Sebastian and me

It's not the best picture, but the little mark on the side of Levi's foot is where the stingray's barb got him.

Our Halloween costume: a bun in the oven and the baker

November

The biggest news of this month is that Levi passed the California State Bar Exam!!! We were in a tiny town in AZ for his grandma’s funeral when we found out. We wanted to go out and get ice cream to celebrate, but it was 9:30 when we found out and all the restaurants in the town closed at 9:00. After a little bit of driving around we ended up with a McFlurry at McDonald’s. Classy!
We went to my Grandmama's senior community up in Orange County for Thanksgiving. I think it was the best Thanksgiving meal I've ever had, and we really enjoyed spending time with her. I forgot to take pictures, though. :(
The week of Thanksgiving we dog sat our friend's pomeranian.

The official letter. He passed!

Little T

December

Levi killed his foot playing soccer.
We took care of the pomeranian again for a couple of weeks after he was attacked and had to have surgery.
We went on a harbor dinner cruise for Levi's work party. How fancy!
We visited SeaWorld, the Mormon Batallion Center and the temple and all it's Christmas wonder.
We celebrated our first Christmas by ourselves.

Levi's foot

Our picture from the dinner cruise

Snow World at SeaWorld

Pretty temple

A fancy schmancy birthday dinner

Christmas morning!

Catching Up: Family California Trip

2011-12-31T09:46:00.000-08:00

Scroll down to see the 39 Week post!

This spring, my family celebrated FIVE graduations! First, my brother-in-law Derek graduated from Utah State with a B.S. in Business Management, Accounting Emphasis

Then my other brother-in-law Dan graduated from A.T. Still University Medical School

Then I graduated from Metropolitan State College of Denver with a B.S. in Human Performance and Sport/Adult Fitness, Nutrition Minor

Then Levi graduated from University of Denver Sturm College of Law with his J.D. and an LLM in Taxation

Then my youngest sister Bethany graduated from high school. The last high school graduation in the family!

The day after Bethany graduated, we drove down to Orange County to stay with my grandmamma for a couple of days. It was nice to be able to see her. I think before we moved here I’d seen her around 5 times in my life. My aunt Deanna (my dad’s only sibling) and her husband Steve came out for dinner one evening, so we took a family photo.

We went to sacrament meeting in a local ward, then visited the Newport Beach temple and took pictures. I was 9.5 weeks along at this time and I remember feeling REALLY sick on this day.

On day 3, my family went to Sea World while Levi and I spent the day apartment hunting. We fell in love with the first place we visited and nothing else was able to compare. It’s not the biggest place we looked at, nor is it super posh, but it’s (barely) within our budget and in a good, safe area. We ended the day at the beach and dreamed about how we were going to be living here in just a couple of months.

The next day went to Old Town and the beach again. The highlights of today were visiting the Mormon Batallion Center and eating at Casa de Reyes. Since we had toddlers with us, we decided not to take the tour of the MBC, but played in the back instead. Levi and I had a lot of fun panning for gold, while the kids enjoyed playing with the water pump and making bricks. While we were there we decided to get a new family picture taken.

All dressed up like Batallion members! We're so corny.

Levi searching for his fortune

Gage with the water pump babysitter

Lookin' cool

Casa de Reyes was absolutely delicious! Thinking about it now, I can’t believe Levi and I haven’t gone back for more. Maybe tonight if I haven’t gone into labor?

Day 5—our last day there—was spent at Disneyland! I hung out with my mom, (pregnant) Danika and her 2 year old while Levi went off with Dan, Bethany, Colton and Luke. I remember feeling really sick on this day too and the only thing that helped was super salty popcorn.

*Side note: my mom was the only one who knew I was pregnant at the time. I told her the day before we left.*

I was more than happy to ride the little kid rides like Finding Nemo and Alice and Wonderland. Levi had a little more fun riding the roller coasters with the others than if he would have stayed with me, so it worked out perfectly.

Layna was so excited to see Mickey the whole time we were in line. When we got down to it, though, I guess he was a little bit scary. Afterwards she looked at Danika and said Mickey was funny.

Luke and I showing off our cool drivers licenses

Dan snapped this picture on the Peter Pan ride

Getting into the submarine for Finding Nemo. I have pretty bad claustrophobia so I was really nervous! It ended up being all right, though.

It's hard to see in this picture, but the last 3 seats are occupied by Colton, Bethany and Dan & Luke. If you zoom in to see their faces, you'll see that Colton likes roller coasters just about as much as I do.

39 Weeks

2011-12-31T08:57:00.000-08:00

Not much has happened this week. For Christmas, Levi and I kept it pretty low key. We went out to see “We Bought a Zoo” Christmas Eve then opened our presents Christmas morning. We didn’t set up any decorations this year, for fear that the baby would come and we would have to take them down afterwards. I felt kind of sad that we didn’t have a tree, so I woke up really early on Christmas morning and drew this on the back of some wrapping paper.

We went to church and had a really nice musical program, then took Tilly to the dog beach. I think Levi was pretty excited to be able to tell people that he went to the beach on Christmas. J It was kind of funny seeing how protective Tilly was of us. She normally NEVER barks, but whenever another dog came close she ran after it barking her little head off. Silly thing. We weren't sure how she would do with the water, but she seemed to like it just fine. We went to our friend’s house that evening for a delicious dinner and games.

I saw my midwife on Thursday and talked about how hard we’ve been trying to induce labor. Really, we’ve been trying EVERYTHING since Christmas to get this baby to be born in 2011. I wanted to know if we’d made any progress, so my midwife checked me (they don’t normally do that until 40 weeks at this office). She said I was thinned out 40% and opened up 1 cm, which is very normal at this stage. She also stripped my membranes (another thing they don’t do until 40 weeks here) just to give a little boost to the whole induction process. I was pretty crampy for 24 hours after that, but nothing regular and it subsided pretty quickly yesterday. L One cool thing, though, is that while she was checking me she was touching the baby’s head. I don’t know if that’s even abnormal or anything, but it hit me just how close he is to entering the world and being with us.

Like I said, not much has been happening. It’s just sort of a waiting game at this point. I’ve had a cold all week that finally started to clear up yesterday (yay!) and I bought some things to decorate the baby’s wall. I didn’t really care for the most part that we don’t have another bedroom to use as a nursery, but I feel kind of bad about not doing anything to decorate, so I’ll be decorating the wall in our bedroom that has his pack ‘n’ play against it. I’m pretty excited about it!

Maternity Pictures

2011-12-27T10:23:00.000-08:00

A couple of weekends ago we had maternity pictures taken down at Coronado Beach. One of the women I visit teach took them, and they turned out amazing! Here are a few of our favorites:

We had so much fun doing this shoot! We did it a little late in the pregnancy (37.5 weeks) but I'm so glad we were able to document it. There are more pictures on my facebook page, and you can find Michelle (the photographer) on facebook from my page as well.

38 Weeks And A Birthday

2011-12-24T05:23:00.000-08:00

I had a baby shower hosted by my friend in the ward on Saturday. The turnout was pretty small because most of my friends had left town for Christmas already, but it was a great shower with wonderful people and I’m so grateful that I was thought of.

We had maternity pictures taken! I’ll put some of them up in the next post. We LOVE them!

Levi’s weekend started yesterday, so we were able to move the furniture around the apartment to get everything ready for the Baby C. Now I feel much more calm and relaxed about the idea of him coming at any time.

As far as discomforts go, it’s really not that bad. I don’t know if I’ve just been lucky or have a higher tolerance to discomfort or what. I’ve got all the things that I’ve heard others complain about (backaches, lack of sleep, feet hurting, etc) but I feel like I haven’t had anything bad enough to be worth a whine. I think my swelling is kind of funny, though. My ankles and feet are fine, even when I’m on my feet for several hours. However, my right hand—and ONLY my right hand—becomes a complete balloon while I’m sleeping. Nothing else has been affected by swelling. It’s almost become a game to wake up and see just how fat/immobile my right fingers got during the night!

On Thursday I turned 24! It was a very relaxing day, and I hardly did anything productive. (All the better that Levi was home yesterday. We needed to catch up on what I didn’t do Thursday.) After Levi came home from work we went out to The Prado, a beautiful restaurant in Balboa Park. The food was amazing! I’m not really a big steak/meat person, but I swear I could have eaten 5 lbs of the steak that I had! And the roasted duck Levi had was to die for. It didn’t come cheap, but thankfully we had a gift card from Levi’s work that covered it. Our waiter was a sweetheart and put together a delicious cream cheese flan with caramel sauce, with fruit and sweet tomatillo sauce on the side, for my birthday. Since there was cream cheese in it, I got to eat it all myself!

Pretty food

Yummy dessert!

How about this piece of fine artistry? Antlers, frisbees and mushrooms, all in one lamp! These were all over the restaurant and made me laugh because they were so random and didn't really go with the rest of the decor.

35, 36, and 37 Weeks

2011-12-21T11:57:00.000-08:00

Whew! The last few weeks have been crazy around here! During week 35, we had a bunch of stressors hit all at once, and things have finally started calming down. Heck, I’m 38 weeks today and I’m barely sitting down tonight to write about the last 3 weeks! So, here we have week 35:

· I started having a lot of painful, intense contractions halfway through this week, due to the stressors that seemed to all pile on at once. The first stressor that hit was from Tilly. She started urinating blood Monday of this week (the 28^th, I think). It was A LOT of blood! I took her into the vet, where I paid over $50 to have him tell me that he had no idea what was wrong, and wouldn’t know unless I paid over $600 for some testing. After 2 big car repairs and an emergency road trip to AZ in the last month, this was NOT the news that I wanted to hear. I told him we would wait to see if the problem fixed itself, and thankfully it cleared up about a week later.

· Tuesday the 29^th, I got a call from a friend who was petsitting another friend’s Pomeranian. Unfortunately her dog attacked the pom-pom and he was at the animal hospital having emergency surgery. She couldn’t bring the pom-pom back to her house and asked if I could watch him after he was discharged. I said yes, of course, but I had no idea how physically taxing taking care of a recovering dog would be!

The first couple of days he was in so much pain that he would bite me if I got near him and he didn’t have any control over his bladder and bowels. He also had drains put in around the stitches that leaked out bloody discharge wherever he sat/laid down. This meant that I was following him around all day with carpet cleaner making sure we didn’t get any stains. I imagine it would be like having a crawling baby in a non-babyproof house! He also stayed up during the night in his kennel crying from the pain, and would only stop if I was with him. This meant a few sleepless nights for me. Not good when you’re 8 months pregnant! By Friday I started having some stabbing contractions, and Saturday they kept coming and coming. I got to the point where I thought I should probably go into the hospital, but decided to take a nap first to see if it would help. By the time I woke up the contractions had calmed down. I’ve had to stop walking and have put myself on a sort of “bed rest” and they’ve stayed away for the most part.

· Where was Levi while I was taking care of this dog, you ask? Well, he was sort of O.O.C.

Also on Tuesday the 29^th, I got a call from Levi at roughly 9:00pm saying that he hurt his foot playing indoor soccer and that he couldn’t drive his (stick shift) car home. When we got him home, he showed me the damage.

We iced it and I gave him some nighttime NSAIDs, but the next morning it looked just as bad, if not worse. So we went to an urgent care clinic before we had to go pick up the pom-pom to get it looked at. The doctor said there wasn’t a break and gave him a compression brace and crutches, which he used for a week and a half. So amidst having one sick dog that needed to be put on a leash to go potty every few hours (including during the night) and another sick dog messing up my carpets and keeping me awake for several hours every night, I had a hurt husband who needed me to get his food, ice, medicine, etc. and couldn’t help out with the dogs or run errands or help with the household chore stuff. I’m completely amazed at how moms of 3 kids can do it!

· Stressor #4 was actually a good stressor. I had a cyber Monday sale for my Etsy shop that I extended through the end of November (Wednesday the 30^th). I got a ton of orders, and I’m so grateful that complete strangers paid money for the things that I make! The downside, though, is that every sale was a custom order. It ended up being about 75 hours worth of work, starting Monday the 28^th, spread out over a week and a half. That alone would have kept me plenty busy, but added on top of the other things I had to do it was pretty overwhelming.

· To pour salt on the wound of week 35, I had tested positive for Group B Strep and was on antibiotics all week. These made my stomach hurt and left me pretty nauseous all week.

Week 36 got much better.

Tilly stopped urinating blood.

The pom-pom had the drains removed and regained control of his bladder. He also stopped having diarrhea (not mentioned above, but noteworthy). He started having more energy and was in less pain, which was nice to see. With him feeling better, though, came A LOT of barking. This guy’s bark is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. It literally made my ears hurt! It’s kind of like a shrill, blood-curdling scream in both volume and pitch. It was so bad that I could feel the baby get startled then tense up like he was trying to get away from the sound. That did NOT make me very happy!

Levi was feeling so bad about all that I was doing that he started hopping around the house sans crutches and put a lot of effort into helping me take care of things. He also arranged with his co-worker to take care of the pom-pom until his owner gets back mid-January. So at the end of week 36 we said good-bye to little T and went back to a more peaceful lifestyle.

· We went on a harbor dinner cruise on the 10^th for Levi’s work party and I got to meet so many of the people that he works with. They are wonderful! I had such a good time getting to know all these people that he talks about! He really works in such a great office.

Week 37 was wonderful!

Another co-worker of Levi’s gave us her beautiful glider and ottoman that she used when she was nursing. Her husband let us have it on one condition: we had to take a box of baby dvds and a barely used jogging stroller off of their hands, too. Um…..YES! I’ve been amazed at how wonderful his co-workers have been. I’ve sincerely liked every single one of them that I’ve met, and Levi has too. We couldn’t be happier that we are here in San Diego with such great people around us.

We decided that this was the week that we would get all of our Christmas festivities done. To start off the week we went to our stake’s Christmas concert. For just being local church singers/musicians, the concert was very impressive! We were glad we went and will probably go back next year.

We went to the Mormon Battalion Center for a concert and tour. The tour was really cool! We both learned a lot of new things about the men and women who were in the Mormon Battalion. I highly recommend it for anyone who plans on coming to the area.

We also went out to SeaWorld for their Christmas celebration. They had a snow world where we made snowballs and watched some kids go sledding.

They also had a couple of reindeer in a corral to look at and pet. There was a slight creepy factor about it, though. The reindeer had their left antlers chopped off and the workers in the corral were each holding an antler for people to pet. You just had to not think about it.

· After SeaWorld we headed out to the temple to see the pretty lights. We loved the palm tree lights!

Can you tell I was exhausted by this point?

We've been really busy lately getting the apartment ready for baby C. We still have a lot to do but are well on our way to having everything set for his arrival. We couldn't be more excited about this little guy coming into the world!

33 Weeks

2011-11-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

I completely forgot to take a picture last week! Oh well, here's the belly at 33 weeks:

When I had the ultrasound below ( a couple of weeks ago) we found out the baby was breech. Scary! Thankfully he's flipped down and is in the perfect position. What I'm not thankful for, though, is that his head is deep down in my pelvis and it does NOT feel good! Imagine what it feels like the day after a long horseback ride. You know what I mean?
At the same ultrasound, he was just under 4 lbs. If he's growing at the normal rate, he should be around 5 lbs already, and will be about 8.5 lbs by my due date. If he's growing at the Jaco rate, he should be a good 9-10 lbs by the time he's ready to come out. We'll have to see!
It's getting harder for me to exercise. A lot of it is due to the pure discomfort of having his head wedged between my pelvic bones. Plus, exercise brings on pretty steady Braxton Hicks contractions (um, going at it on an elliptical while contracting? No thanks.) I know exercise will help when the delivery day comes, though, so I keep doing it. It'll be nice to *hopefully* have an easier/quicker delivery and to have gotten used to working through pain when that time comes.
Levi and I are heading out to AZ for the weekend for a funeral. After this I'd like to be done with roadtrips for a long time!
In preparing for the baby to come, I'm writing up crochet patterns to sell on Etsy. I need people to test out the patterns (so far they're all at beginner-ish levels) so if you know how to crochet or know someone who does, let me know either here or on facebook. The patterns themselves are copywrited but come with permission to sell finished items. Just let me know!

Enamored

2011-11-08T13:03:00.000-08:00

I know these 4D ultrasounds are really creepy looking. Honestly, I do. After seeing my own baby, though, I understand why parents can look at them and say "oh he's so cute!" or "she looks just like her sister!". I stare at these pictures ALL the time! I love looking at him and picking apart his features (my nose and lips, Levi's chin, hybrid eyes, etc). And...do I dare say it?

I think he's really cute. And not creepy looking at all.

Yes. I, the ultimate advocate of how creepy 4D ultrasounds are, think these pictures are cute. Take a look:

Infertility Etiquette

2011-10-31T16:13:00.000-07:00

I realize it's super awkward to post this right after putting up my 30 week picture, but I read this on a family friend's blog a couple of years ago, and it has stuck with me ever since. For some reason I'm really feeling like I need to post it on here today.

Infertility Etiquette
by Vita Alligood

Chances are, you know someone who is struggling with infertility. More than five million people of childbearing age in the United States experience infertility. Yet, as a society, we are woefully uninformed about how to best provide emotional support for our loved ones during this painful time.

Infertility is, indeed, a very painful struggle. The pain is similar to the grief over losing a loved one, but it is unique because it is a recurring grief. When a loved one dies, he isn't coming back. There is no hope that he will come back from the dead. You must work through the stages of grief, accept that you will never see that person again, and move on with your life.

The grief of infertility is not so cut and dry. Infertile people grieve the loss of the baby that they may never know. They grieve the loss of that baby who would have had Mommy's nose and Daddy's eyes. But, each month, there is the hope that maybe that baby will be conceived after all. No matter how hard they try to prepare themselves for bad news, they still hope that this month will be different. Then, the bad news comes again, and the grief washes over the infertile couple anew. This process happens month after month, year after year. It is like having a deep cut that keeps getting opened right when it starts to heal.

As the couple moves into infertility treatments, the pain increases while the bank account depletes. Most infertility treatments involve using hormones, which alter the user's moods. (This statement is like calling a lion a cat - my husband would tell you that the side effect is insanity!) The tests are invasive and embarrassing to both parties, and you feel like the doctor has taken over your bedroom. And for all of this discomfort, you pay a lot of money. Infertility treatments are expensive and most insurance companies do not cover the costs. So in addition to the pain of not conceiving a baby each month, the couple pays out anywhere from $300 to five figures, depending on the treatment used.

A couple will eventually resolve the infertility problem in one of three ways:

They will eventually conceive a baby.
They will stop the infertility treatments and choose to live without children.
They will find an alternative way to parent, such as by adopting a child or becoming a foster parent.

Reaching a resolution can take years, so your infertile loved ones need your emotional support during this journey. Most people don't know what to say, so they wind up saying the wrong thing, which only makes the journey so much harder for their loved ones. Knowing what to say is half the battle to providing support.

Don't Tell Them to Relax
Everyone knows someone who had trouble conceiving but then finally became pregnant once she "relaxed." Couples who are able to conceive after a few months of "relaxing" are not infertile. By definition, a couple is not diagnosed as "infertile" until they have tried unsuccessfully to become pregnant for a full year. In fact, most infertility specialists will not treat a couple for infertility until they have tried to become pregnant for a year. This year weeds out the people who aren't infertile but just need to "relax." Those that remain are truly infertile.
Comments such as "just relax" or "try going on a cruise" create even more stress for the infertile couple, particularly the woman. The woman feels like she is doing something wrong when, in fact, there is a good chance there is a physical problem preventing her from becoming pregnant.
These comments can also reach the point of absurdity. As a couple, my husband and I underwent two surgeries, numerous inseminations, hormone treatments, and four years of poking and prodding by doctors. Yet, people still continued to say things like, "If you just relaxed on a cruise..." Infertility is a diagnosable medical problem that must be treated by a doctor, and even with treatment, many couples will NEVER successfully conceive a child. Relaxation itself does not cure medical infertility.

Don't Minimize the Problem
Failure to conceive a baby is a very painful journey. Infertile couples are surrounded by families with children. These couples watch their friends give birth to two or three children, and they watch those children grow while the couple goes home to the silence of an empty house. These couples see all of the joy that a child brings into someone's life, and they feel the emptiness of not being able to experience the same joy.
Comments like, "Just enjoy being able to sleep late . . . .travel . . etc.," do not offer comfort. Instead, these comments make infertile people feel like you are minimizing their pain. You wouldn't tell someone whose parent just died to be thankful that he no longer has to buy Father's Day or Mother's Day cards. Losing that one obligation doesn't even begin to compensate for the incredible loss of losing a parent. In the same vein, being able to sleep late or travel does not provide comfort to somebody who desperately wants a child.

Don't Say There Are Worse Things That Could Happen
Along the same lines, don't tell your friend that there are worse things that she could be going through. Who is the final authority on what is the "worst" things that could happen to someone? Is it going through a divorce? Watching a loved one die? Getting raped? Losing a job?
Different people react to different life experiences in different ways. To someone who has trained his whole life for the Olympics, the "worst" things might be experiencing an injury the week before the event. To someone who has walked away from her career to become a stay-at-home wife for 40 years, watching her husband leave her for a younger woman might be the "worst" thing. And, to a woman whose sole goal in life has been to love and nurture a child, infertility may indeed be the "worst" thing that could happen.
People wouldn't dream of telling someone whose parent just died, "It could be worse: both of your parents could be dead." Such a comment would be considered cruel rather than comforting. In the same vein, don't tell your friend that she could be going through worse things than infertility.

Don't Say They Aren't Meant to Be Parents
One of the cruelest things anyone ever said to me is, "Maybe God doesn't intend for you to be a mother." How incredibly insensitive to imply that I would be such a bad mother that God felt the need to divinely sterilize me. If God were in the business of divinely sterilizing women, don't you think he would prevent the pregnancies that end in abortions? Or wouldn't he sterilize the women who wind up neglecting and abusing their children? Even if you aren't religious, the "maybe it's not meant to be" comments are not comforting. Infertility is a medical condition, not a punishment from God or Mother Nature.

Don't Ask Why They Aren't Trying IVF
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a method in which the woman harvests multiple eggs, which are then combined with the man's sperm in a petri dish. This is the method that can produce multiple births. People frequently ask, "Why don't you just try IVF?" in the same casual tone they would use to ask, "Why don't you try shopping at another store?"
There are many reasons why a couple would choose not to pursue this option. Here are a few of them.
IVF is Expensive with Low Odds
One cycle of IVF is very expensive. With all of the hype in the news, many people assume that IVF is a sure thing when, in fact, the odds of success for each cycle are low. Most couples cannot afford to try for one month, much less for multiple times. Considering that it also costs a significant amount of money to adopt a baby, many couples opt for the "sure thing" rather than risking their money on much lower odds.
IVF is Physically Taxing
Undergoing IVF Treatments is very rigorous. The woman must inject shots into her thigh daily to cause her ovaries to superovulate. The drugs used are very taxing on the woman, and they can cause her to become extremely emotional.
IVF Raises Ethical Issues
Ironically, couples who undergo IVF to become parents may have to selectively abort one or more fetuses if multiple eggs are fertilized. Many couples cannot bring themselves to abort a baby when they have worked so hard to become parents. If the couple chooses not to selectively abort, they run the risk of multiple births.

Don't Offer Unsolicited Opinions If They Are Trying IVF
On the flip side of the coin, don't offer unsolicited advice to your friends who choose to try IVF. For many couples, IVF is the only way they will ever give birth to a baby. This is a huge decision for them to make, for all of the reasons I outlined above.
If the couple has resolved any ethical issues, don't muddy the waters. IVF is a gray area in many ethical circles, and many of our moral leaders don't yet know how to answer the ethical questions that have arisen from this new technology. If the couple has resolved these issues already, you only make it harder by raising the ethical questions again. Respect their decision, and offer your support. If you can't offer your support due to ethical differences of opinion, then say nothing.
A couple who chooses the IVF route has a hard, expensive road ahead, and they need your support more than ever. The hormones are no cakewalk, and the financial cost is enormous. Your friend would not be going this route if there were an easier way, and the fact that she is willing to endure so much is further proof of how much she truly wants to parent a child. The hormones will make her more emotional, so offer her your support and keep your questions to yourself.

Don't Play Doctor
Once your infertile friends are under a doctor's care, the doctor will run them through numerous tests to determine why they aren't able to conceive. There are numerous reasons that a couple may not be able to conceive. Here are a few of them:

Blocked fallopian tubes
Cysts
Endometriosis
Low hormone levels
Low "normal form" sperm count
Low progesterone level
Low sperm count
Low sperm motility
Thin uterine walls

Infertility is a complicated problem to diagnose, and reading an article or book on infertility will not make you an "expert" on the subject. Let your friends work with their doctor to diagnose and treat the problem. Your friends probably already know more about the causes and solutions of infertility than you will ever know.
You may feel like you are being helpful by reading up on infertility, and there is nothing wrong with learning more about the subject. The problem comes when you try to "play doctor" with your friends. They already have a doctor with years of experience in diagnosing and treating the problem. They need to work with and trust their doctor to treat the problem. You only complicate the issue when you throw out other ideas that you have read about. The doctor knows more about the causes and solutions; let your friends work with their doctor to solve the problem.

Don't Be Crude
It is appalling that I even have to include this paragraph, but some of you need to hear this - Don't make crude jokes about your friends vulnerable position. Crude comments like "I'll donate the sperm" or "Make sure the doctor uses your sperm for the insemination" are not funny, and they only irritate your friends.

Don't Complain About Your Pregnancy
This message is for pregnant women - Just being around you is painful for your infertile friends. Seeing your belly grow is a constant reminder of what your infertile friend cannot have. Unless an infertile woman plans to spend her life in a cave, she has to find a way to interact with pregnant women. However, there are things you can do as her friend to make it easier.
The number one rule is DON'T COMPLAIN ABOUT YOUR PREGNANCY. I understand from my friends that, when you are pregnant, your hormones are going crazy and you experience a lot of discomfort, such as queasiness, stretch marks, and fatigue. You have every right to vent about the discomforts to any one else in your life, but don't put your infertile friend in the position of comforting you.
Your infertile friend would give anything to experience the discomforts you are enduring because those discomforts come from a baby growing inside of you. When I heard a pregnant woman complaining about morning sickness, I would think, "I'd gladly throw up for nine straight months if it meant I could have a baby." When a pregnant woman would complain about her weight gain, I would think, "I would cut off my arm if I could be in your shoes."
I managed to go to baby showers and hospitals to welcome my friends' new babies, but it was hard. Without exception, it was hard. Stay sensitive to your infertile friend's emotions, and give her the leeway that she needs to be happy for you while she cries for herself. If she can't bring herself to hold your new baby, give her time. She isn't rejecting you or your new baby; she is just trying to work her way through her pain to show sincere joy for you. The fact that she is willing to endure such pain in order to celebrate your new baby with you speaks volumes about how much your friends means to her.

Don't Treat Them Like They Are Ignorant
For some reason, some people seem to think that infertility causes a person to become unrealistic about the responsibilities of parenthood. I don't follow the logic, but several people told me that I wouldn't ache for a baby so much if I appreciated how much responsibility was involved in parenting.
Let's face it - no one can fully appreciate the responsibilities involved in parenting until they are, themselves, parents. That is true whether you successfully conceived after one month or after 10 years. The length of time you spend waiting for the baby does not factor into your appreciation of responsibility. If anything, people who have been trying to become pregnant longer have had more time to think about those responsibilities. They have also probably been around lots of babies as their friends started their families.
Perhaps part of what fuels this perception is that infertile couples have a longer time to "dream" about what being a parent will be like. Like every other couple, we have our fantasies - my child will sleep through the night, would never have a tantrum in public, and will always eat his vegetables. Let us have our fantasies. Those fantasies are some of the few parent-to-be perks that we have - let us have them. You can give us your knowing looks when we discover the truth later.

Don't Gossip About Your Friend's Condition
Infertility treatments are very private and embarrassing, which is why many couples choose to undergo these treatments in secret. Men especially are very sensitive to letting people know about infertility testing, such as sperm counts. Gossiping about infertility is not usually done in a malicious manner. The gossipers are usually well-meaning people who are only trying to find out more about infertility so they can help their loved ones.
Regardless of why you are sharing this information with someone else, it hurts and embarrasses your friend to find out that Madge the bank teller knows what your husband's sperm count is and when your next period is expected. Infertility is something that should be kept as private as your friend wants to keep it. Respect your friend's privacy, and don't share any information that your friend hasn't authorized.

Don't Push Adoption (Yet)
Adoption is a wonderful way for infertile people to become parents. (As an adoptive parent, I can fully vouch for this!) However, the couple needs to work through many issues before they will be ready to make an adoption decision. Before they can make the decision to love a "stranger's baby," they must first grieve the loss of that baby with Daddy's eyes and Mommy's nose. Adoption social workers recognize the importance of the grieving process. When my husband and I went for our initial adoption interview, we expected the first question to be, "Why do you want to adopt a baby?" Instead, the question was, "Have you grieved the loss of your biological child yet?" Our social worker emphasized how important it is to shut one door before you open another.
You do, indeed, need to grieve this loss before you are ready to start the adoption process. The adoption process is very long and expensive, and it is not an easy road. So, the couple needs to be very sure that they can let go of the hope of a biological child and that they can love an adopted baby. This takes time, and some couples are never able to reach this point. If your friend cannot love a baby that isn't her "own," then adoption isn't the right decision for her, and it is certainly not what is best for the baby.
Mentioning adoption in passing can be a comfort to some couples. (The only words that ever offered me comfort were from my sister, who said, "Whether through pregnancy or adoption, you will be a mother one day.") However, "pushing" the issue can frustrate your friend. So, mention the idea in passing if it seems appropriate, and then drop it. When your friend is ready to talk about adoption, she will raise the issue herself.
So, what can you say to your infertile friends? Unless you say, "I am giving you this baby," there is nothing you can say that will erase their pain. So, take that pressure off of yourself. It isn't your job to erase their pain, but there is a lot you can do to lessen the load. Here are a few ideas.

Let Them Know That You Care
The best thin you can do is let your infertile friends know that you care. Send them cards. Let them cry on your shoulder. If they are religious, let them know you are praying for them. Offer the same support you would offer a friend who has lost a loved one. Just knowing they can count on you to be there for them lightens the load and lets them know that they aren't going through this alone.

Remember Them on Mother's Day
With all of the activity on Mother's Day, people tend to forget about women who cannot become mothers. Mother's Day is an incredibly painful time for infertile women. You cannot get away from it - There are ads on the TV, posters at the stores, church sermons devoted to celebrating motherhood, and all of the plans for celebrating with your own mother and mother-in-law.
Mother's Day is an important celebration and one that I relish now that I am a mother. However, it was very painful while I was waiting for my baby. Remember your infertile friends on Mother's Day, and send them a card to let them know you are thinking of them. They will appreciate knowing that you haven't "forgotten" them.

Support Their Decision to Stop Treatments
No couple can endure infertility treatments forever. At some point, they will stop. This is an agonizing decision to make, and it involves even more grief. Even if the couple chooses to adopt a baby, they must still first grieve the loss of that baby who would have had Mommy's nose and Daddy's eyes.
Once the couple has made the decision to stop treatments, support their decision. Don't encourage them to try again, and don't discourage them from adopting, if that is their choice. Once the couple has reached resolution (whether to live without children, adopt a child, or become foster parents,) they can finally put that chapter of their lives behind them. Don't try to open that chapter again.

30 Weeks (a few days late)

2011-10-31T16:10:00.000-07:00

30 weeks + 2 days

I'm loving the new haircut!
Things were going pretty well until last Friday, when I got a sore throat, runny nose and a cough. It's just a cold, but not being able to take much medicine for it hasn't been fun. For the most part I've just been staying at home in my pj's and Levi has been wonderful as always, helping around the house and snuggling with me. :)
At my 30 week appointment my midwife told me that the baby has an enlarged right kidney. This was found on my targeted ultrasound a few weeks ago (I don't know why I just found out about it, but oh well). I'm going in tomorrow for another ultrasound to check it out again. My MW said it probably won't be a big deal, but hopefully everything is okay!
My uterus measuring 2 cm (a.k.a. 2 weeks) big. My midwife didn't want to change my due date though, since measurements within 2 cm either way are normal. It'll be interesting to see if I keep measuring big and end up delivering early. (Early deliveries...actually MOST deliveries...don't happen in my family without Pitocin.) Levi would be ECSTATIC if I had this baby in 2011!
Our trip to Utah was wonderful! I read somewhere to not underestimate others' generosity when it comes to baby gifts, and our families were no exception to this rule! We've got most of the essentials now, and are slowly buying the rest of the things off our registry. I'm feeling much better about being prepared for this baby to come now!

28 Weeks

2011-10-13T18:19:00.000-07:00

This is the first picture where I've actually gotten ready for the day before snapping the photo. (Usually I take it first thing in the morning before I go exercise.) I kind of like looking nice for pictures, so I think I'll do this more!
My hair has been uncontrollably frizzy since moving down to San Diego. I have a ton of products and a flat iron, but within a few hours my hair looks like a lion's mane. I'm hoping it's part of the pregnancy hormones and such, but for now I'm just letting my hair go pretty natural (like in the pic).
I still don't have any discomfort complaints. I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying that!
The baby now likes to head butt my bladder.
Levi loves my belly! He likes to talk to the baby and kiss my belly a lot. I'm so glad he's been such a dream!
On Tuesday we're heading off to our babymoon! We'll be driving up to St. George to see The Little Mermaid. (I guess a guy from our ward is playing Prince Eric. Pretty cool!) Then we'll be heading up to Layton for the rest of the week to see friends and family and to have a baby shower!

Catching Up: Graduation(s)

2011-10-11T14:39:00.000-07:00

In May Levi and I both kind of graduated! We both weren't done with school when we walked, but no matter. My graduation was first, on Sunday, May 15th. (Hated that it was on a Sunday, but what can you do?) My school is located in beautiful downtown Denver and is kind of a commuter school, so there wasn't an arena big enough to hold all of the people who attended. We ended up having it outside, on the softball field, in the rain, and 40-ish degree temps. Thankfully the people running the show had a good sense of humor about it and cut some things out of the program to make it shorter. They also told the graduates that once we walked we could leave! It was by far the most casual graduation I've ever attended! Here's a pic from that day:

After my graduation, we headed over to church for sacrament, then home so I could pack up my car and drive out to Utah to start my internship the next day. The following Friday, I drove back to Denver with my parents for Levi's graduation on Saturday, May 21st. He graduated from University of Denver Sturm College of Law with his J.D. and an L.L.M. in Tax. (An LLM is basically a legal Master's degree). I was so proud of him! We both went through a lot of heartache and hardships over the 3 years he was in law school. I got kind of teary-eyed when he walked across the stage.

Here we are in front of the law school building. Doesn't that outfit remind you of Professor Quirrell?

26 Weeks

2011-10-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

I tried to smile for this one so I wouldn't look so angry. Smiling to yourself while taking a picture is super awkward!
I finally got to see my midwife for the first time yesterday (Friday the 30th) after a pretty hectic experience of trying to transfer my records from Utah to an office here. It only took calling 3 different offices to decide on this one, then 3 weeks after that to get an appointment scheduled, then another week and a half after THAT to actually see the midwife! Ridiculous!! Anyway, things are settled down now and we can start getting excited about a baby coming, instead of stressing about who is going to deliver it.
Levi and I went to a "Meet the Midwives" night at the hospital where I'm going to deliver. Since whoever is on call will be the one delivering the baby, it was nice to get to know all of them beforehand. They all seem like a great bunch of people.
When I'm lying down with a blanket around me, you can see the baby kick the blanket around. It cracks me up!
I watch a lot of Disney movies during the day while I work and I like to sing along with them. This week I discovered that the baby has a pretty keen ear for music. He'll be perfectly still while I'm singing, but if I hit a note wrong he kicks me. Hard. Then when I stop singing he stomps his feet until I start again. Maybe he'll be the next Jon Schmidt???
Levi has been wonderful throughout this whole pregnancy. I love how involved he is! He likes to kiss my belly when he can and keeps his arm around me a lot all the time. I love it!
No complaints about discomfort or anything. I feel great!

2011-09-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

Here are my belly shots so far. It's funny how just over a week ago I told somebody I was 5 months pregnant and she had no idea, but now there's no guessing! I've definitely popped out over the last 10 days or so. It's pretty weird to think that I'm almost done with my second trimester already. I feel like we haven't done anything to prepare for the bambino to get here. (Ok, we...I...HAVE been preparing. We just have a long ways to go before we're ready.)

12 Weeks. Fresh out of the shower and clearly thrilled.

Headless 14 weeks

16 Weeks

18 Weeks

20 Week refresher

22 Weeks

24 Weeks

So there you have it. I'm going to steal my friend Crystal's idea and keep these up on the sidebar. I thought it was really fun to be able to see the progression all at once. (Thanks Crystal!)

So I'm Knocked Up

2011-08-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

Due Date: January 4th, 2012

Found out: April 28th-ish

Sick? Yes, through about the 17th week

Cravings: None, really. Just my liking for my favorite foods is amplified.

Food Aversions: Ground beef (can't even stand the smell of it), sugary foods, creamy pasta, ice cream, anything with a lot of flavor.

Hormone reactions: Lots of crying, especially over anything that involves kids and/or princesses. Disney movies kill me. No major mood swings or yelling though, and for some reason my skin has gotten clearer.

Baby kicks: I started feeling them during week 17, and seeing them around the week 20 mark. Levi felt him for the first time last night. He was rewarded for his patience with a cute little high five!

I just got home from spending a few days on the perinatal unit at the hospital. I was having severe back pains on the right side for several days that were coming in waves and getting worse and worse each time (they came about every 15-30 minutes). By last Sunday night, I wasn't able to move when the pain would come and my muscles surrounding the area were insanely sore, causing even more pain. I drove myself to the ER Monday and was immediately admitted and checked for contractions (scary!). There was some movement on the monitor but it wasn't anything strong enough to be considered a contraction (probably my muscles spasming when the pain hit), so I was diagnosed with a kidney infection. Apparently that's a big deal when you're pregnant, so I had to spend four days lying in a hospital bed with heavy antibiotics being pumped in me and getting knocked out with Vicodin so I could sleep.

The pain from my kidney is now gone, but my muscles are still super sore from all the spasms. I have to move pretty carefully so I don't irritate them. I dug my thumb in to feel for knots earlier today, but what I felt was more like shredded meat or spaghetti. No bueno! (For those who know anatomy, my external obliques, transverse abdominis and illiocostalis are the culprits.) Needless to say, I'm taking it SUPER easy to give these muscles as much time to heal as possible before my uterus stretches them out.

Other than this week's scare, the pregnancy has been pretty textbook so far. It was hard being away from Levi for the first trimester sickness, but now that we're together and somewhat settled into our apartment, I feel like I've never been happier! We're pretty stoked about the idea of having a little Levi around. :)

Here is a 20 week picture (taken when we went out for our 4 year anniversary!)

And He Needs A Manicure

2011-07-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

I've been showing this to all my family and still laugh every time I watch it. Trust me, it's worth 2 minutes and 33 seconds of you're time to view this hilarity. (Scroll down and stop the music on the sidebar before you start it.)

Catching up: New Wheels

2011-07-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Back in January, Levi got a temp job doing tax returns out in Lakewood. We had survived the first 2.5 years in Denver with just one car and free public transportation, but for times sake, he needed a car to take him from school to work, work to home, etc. (Oh, and to the other THREE jobs he had.) So onto Craigslist he went, and found a perfect car for the commute:

It's a 1992 Honda Civic and it has become a lifesaver! I think we really underestimated the freedom of having 2 cars would bring us. It not only allowed Levi to get to everywhere he needed to be this last semester, but has allowed me to come to Utah for my internship while Levi stays in Colorado for bar prep. It will also make the move down to San Diego much smoother (I'm moving down about 3 weeks after Levi does).
So we are now a 2 car family! I guess this is what it feels like to move up in the world!

Catching up: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

2011-07-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

At the end of January Levi and I went down to Orlando for a few days to make my life time dream come true: Be in Harry Potter world.

It was magical! Everything was detailed perfectly so that it looked like you were inside the movies. Even most of the employees spoke with British accents! Hogwarts castle was ginormous and had everything the real one does, including holograms of Dumbledore in his office and Harry, Hermione and Ron on a balcony. Because of when we went, there were almost no lines too!

Dumbledore, you know, just chillin'

The best shot I could get. Holograms don't turn out very well on camera.

Fish 'n' chips and iced butterbeer. Yum!

The family friendly roller coaster ride I was terrified to go on, but ended up loving. Hagrid's hut was right behind us when we took this picture.

Ollivander's, where I bought my own Hermione wand!

Bad photo. Awesome wand.

We did other things at Universal Orlando other than meander around Hogsmeade. We were able to go on all the rides we wanted to in both parks during the time we were there.

Dr. Seuss Land. My second favorite part of the park. It was so cute!

Chillin' with the Simpsons

Explanation: We were in the Jurrasic Park part of Universal, and there was one watery ride there. It looked kind of cool, so we went on it. Nobody told me, nor did I see any signs, that at the end of the ride there is almost a vertical drop that reaches 45 mph (Levi showed me the sign after). I don't do falling. At all. I hate everything about falling. So this is me pathetically trying to show the camera that my frog stayed dry while I got soaked. I was still a bit shaken up.

Explanation numero dos: This is part of the Men In Black ride where you are in a 6 person cart equipped with laser guns, and throughout the ride you have to shoot the aliens' eyes to get points. At the end, a screen showed us what the average score from our cart was. With 5 other men and me, we averaged 55,000 points. This was my score. :D

Last explanation: Levi wanted to ride a ginormous roller coaster that spanned the entire park from front to back. If you want to know how I felt about that, go back to 2 pictures up and read. So while he was falling like crazy on the roller coaster, I watched an animal show. This was the actual dog used on Men In Black.

Our souvenirs

Catching up: Mexico Pictures

2011-06-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

I guess Levi really wants me to get this blog updated! He had all my pictures on his laptop and was able to put them on my msn account, so I could download them onto my computer. So, here are some of the pictures:

Headed down to Mexico!

Me, Lauren, Stephanie, Bethany, Blake
These guys were awesome!

Made it to the hotel

Picacho Peak, for anyone who has read "The Host"

At the Roadhouse

Brandon and his amazing outfit!

The girls' room. This is my sexy face. Be jealous.

This is what Swedish Twister looks like...sideways.

Woody holding his murder weapon...sideways (sorry I can't rotate these pics).

Bethany taking a stab at Woody. Literally.

Blake finished him off!

Divvying up Woody's insides

At the colonies

A typical house. See the cardboard and scraps they used to build this?

Bethany handing out candy to the kids

I found a midget!

They will probably try to sell these stuffed animals so they can eat, but whatever helps!

Sweet Stephanie and Lauren rode in the back so we would have enough room!

Working

If you thought, "hey, they're in Mexico! It must be super warm!" Well, you're super WRONG! It was freezing the entire time except for the first day (like, around 20 degrees most days).

Ready to go to work!

What's a trip to Mexico without a Chihuahua sighting?

Roofing. Probably my favorite thing that we got to do.

This is the sweet abuela we built the house for. She built a fire using all the scrap wood from the house and brought out hot dogs and mallows for us to roast.

The Dance

(I forgot to post about this previously. It was a stake dance that they look forward to every year. The girls were especially dressed up and looked very beautiful for the American boys. Bethany got a new admirer, too.)

The girls. We were excited to look nice after a few days of being covered in dirt!

The Americans had to start things off.

Then an apparently popular latin song came on and we cleared the floor for the locals.

Mingling!

Bethany and her man of the night, Omar.

Saying Goodbye

Us with our favorite girl, Bernice (pronounced Bear-eh-NEE-say). She was devastated when we told her we were leaving the next day and tried to jump in the car with us. She kept telling me that I was her mother. :)

Having a dance party the night before we left.

One of the houses we helped with.

Catching up: Mexico Service Trip

2011-06-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

I've been getting gentle hints that I need to update the blog. So here's the first post in a series of updates. I have pictures from this trip, but they are on my family's password protected computer, and only my mom knows the password, aaaaaaaand she's out of town right now. So a little description of what we did will have to suffice for now:

The day after Christmas, Bethany and I packed our bags and started our drive down to Agua Prieta, Mexico! We drove down to Kanab and stayed in a cute little hotel down there, then drove the rest of the way down on Monday the 27th. We spent the week sharing a place called "The Roadhouse" with another volunteer group from Manti. The Roadhouse was a pretty interesting place, but we were grateful to have showers and flushing toilets (even if we couldn't flush toilet paper and had to put it into the garbage, and in the shower we had to keep the water turned off unless we were rinsing!). Oh, and it was next door to a prison.

We had such a fun time! The people we met from the other group were a blast to be with, and the people who lived down there were just so sweet and humble. We just loved them! Our group's leader/builder was sick and couldn't drive down with us, so we started out the week helping the other group with their house and tamale stand they were building. Once Stuart (our leader) arrived, we started on our project: building a little one-bedroom home for a member's abuela (grandma) who was living with them but needed her own space. She was such a sweetheart and was so grateful for the work we were doing for her! Everyday she cooked us breakfast, lunch and dinner plus 2 snacks in between. We ate these in addition to the breakfast and dinner back at The Roadhouse, so we were definitely well fed down there!

We spent New Years Eve playing Catch Phrase and Sweedish Twister, and even added a pinata to the mix! Once midnight hit we ran outside and yelled "happy new year!" There were plenty of fireworks and things going off everywhere.

Throughout the week we helped out with three houses. Two were completed, and the other one just had the foundation started. Some ward members down there helped out everyday so they could learn the ropes and be able to finish the third house on their own (if you teach a man to fish...).

Us girls also drove around a lot to the "colonies" where the houses were made of cardboard and scraps of wood and metal to hand out clothes and toys to the people there. It was pretty sad to see how dirty the children were. How the babies didn't even have diapers and everybody looked like they were starving. When we drove up people (kids) would run from blocks away with their too-big pants falling down just to see what we could give them, even if it was just a piece of candy.

We found out from one 14 year old boy who was helping us that people down there are so desperate for money, the boys in each family are forced by the people on their street to join the gang, and fight boys from other gangs for money every Friday night. They are initiated at 14 or 15, and they are threatened with their lives and the safety of their families if they refuse. This boy's mom also talked about it and she hates it, but doesn't have a choice but to let her son participate when the gang comes for him. That's just the way things are down there. Sure makes me glad to live in America!

The drive back home was so long! We were all pretty tired from the week and just ready to be home again. And I was ready to see Levi and my Tilly! It went alright until the Wendy's we ate for dinner in Nephi made me very sick, and we had to pull over ASAP. Thank goodness there were only a couple of hours left in the car after that! Anyway, that's all for now. Watch for pictures!

Anniversary!

2011-04-10T22:13:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow (Monday) is the 1 year anniversary of my Etsy shop! To celebrate, use coupon code ONEYEARSALE to get 40% off any item in my shop! This is the biggest discount I will likely ever give on a sale, and makes the prices even lower than my friends/family prices!

This sale will only be from midnight to midnight, on Monday, April 11th.

I need to get rid of my huge pile of yarn before I move (in a month!) so please help spread the word!

True Love

2011-03-09T19:22:00.000-08:00

Happy belated 27th birthday sweetie!
Nice wig.

What Should I Do?

2011-02-19T22:29:00.000-08:00

I bought the pattern for this flower back in early December, with the intention of making things with it to sell on Etsy. I mean, who wouldn't want something with that flower? It's so cool!

Anyway, before I bought it, I made sure to read the seller's policies very carefully on selling items made from her patterns. The policies didn't say anything specific about selling things made from the pattern, just that I couldn't sell or give away the pattern itself. I bought the pattern and the copyright that came with it said the same thing.

I thought I was in the clear, and made about 20 items with this flower (10 headwraps and 10 headbands with an altered pattern I made up) in late December/early January. I started posting the headbands, when 2 days later, I came across a craft blog with a picture of the flower on a headwrap (made by the girl who manages the blog). On the blog she said the seller won't allow her to sell the headwrap on Etsy, but that she would be selling it locally.

I freaked out, went back to the Etsy shop where I purchased the pattern, and as clear as anything the seller had changed her policies so that you cannot sell ANYTHING made from her patterns unless she gives you specific permission to do so.

So I have my dilemma. I am still posting the headbands (I DID alter the pattern to be smaller and have less sections), but I don't know what to do about the headwraps. Even though I made up the actual "headwrap" portion, they look almost identical to what this seller has in her shop. I have so many pre-made ones and I don't want to have wasted my time because I was under the impression that I could sell them. Then again, I definitely respect creativity and if this woman doesn't want online competition, I don't want to "defy" her policy.

What should I do?

Christmas 2010

2011-02-18T09:28:00.000-08:00

I think I've waited too long to write this post. I can't remember anything that we did! Hopefully I'll remember once I start downloading the pictures from our trip to Utah.

Oh Levi. What a silly guy. This is my mom's (real human hair) hairpiece from when she was in high school. I cut bangs in it when I was little because I wanted it to be a wig. Now it looks like an 80s mullet!

Here we are Christmas morning. I was so happy Danika and Dan were there with Luke and Layna! Christmas morning is just so much better with little kids around.

Levi gave me this tote to lug my crochet projects around in. The quote on it is SO true!

Can't beat $4 movies from Target's black Friday sale!

Now Levi can take his Coke cans everywhere!

Here is Layna playing with the cell phone I gave her

Bethany got her princess coloring book!

Levi looks stoned

We're switching from Broncos territory to Chargers territory this summer. My mom wanted us (or at least Levi) to fit in.

Don't be fooled by the surprised look on his face. He knew what was coming. :)

My biggest surprise gifts! I told my mom a couple of days earlier that I wanted to start collecting these books, and, voila!

We tried getting a good picture of the headwraps I made them. This was the best we got.

I don't think Cambridge likes having stuff on her head

Kason: "Go Utes!"

Jared: "That's my boy!"

Mike: "Whatever."

After a little accident where Tilly knocked Cambridge over, we decided that this was the safest way for them to play together.

Opening up the pillows I made. (Watch for a tutorial on how to make the ruffle ones!)

I finally have a Costco membership!

(Ask me how long I held Londyn. Hint: I set a new personal baby holding record!)

One of Jared's gifts to Levi. The other gifts? A green golf ball and $15

Levi's grandma holding my baby

Those are all the pictures I have, and they're all of Christmas morning/afternoon! Later that afternoon I dropped Levi off at the airport so he could overnight himself to Switzerland (another post). Then I went back to my family's house for a fancy dinner and to talk to my brother Colton (who is coming home in less than 3 weeks!).
The next day Bethany and I took off for Mexico (also another post) to build houses. We spent a week down there smashing our thumbs with hammers in 20 degree weather, while Levi spent 5 days in 5 star hotels touring chocolate factories, shopping, and going to museums in Switzerland and Italy.
What was that? I sound bitter and jealous?? What an erroneous accusation!

Chicken

2011-02-14T02:07:00.000-08:00

Why did the chicken cross the road?

SARAH PALIN: Before it got to the other side, I shot the chicken, cleaned and dressed it, and had chicken burgers for lunch.

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn’t about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don’t really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where’s my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken’s intentions. I am not for it now and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken doesn’t realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he’s acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I’m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he’s guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer’s Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I’ve not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn’t ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn’t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart-warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

23rd Birthday

2011-02-11T11:38:00.000-08:00

I'm 23! I finally feel like I can tell people my age and that I'm married and NOT be embarrassed about it! Anyway, on the 18th we had a little get together with some friends here in Denver before driving out to Utah the next morning. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures. :( Thanks to all who came, though!

We were in Utah on my actual birthday (the 22nd) and we celebrated with my family by going out to lunch up in Logan. I can't remember what the place is called, but the food was delicious! If you're in Logan ask around about a Mexican restaurant that's in an old train station, and I'm sure someone will be able to tell you where to go.

Here's a picture of me eating my lunch with little miss Layna

After lunch we went to my sister's house to open presents. Luke, Layna, and Gage were all SO excited for present time, as you can see in these pictures:

This was my (real) reaction when I opened up my mom's present...a gift card to JoAnn's

Levi went a little crazy and got me a Kindle!

This seriously has to be the GREATEST invention of all time. I love it!

Of course, my birthday isn't complete without a cake loaded with fruit:

Yummy!

I'm pretty excited to see what happens during my 23rd year. So far I've got graduation (mine and Levi's), moving to a new city, and starting an actual career. So many huge changes! I have a feeling this year will be a huge whirlwind filled with growth and opportunity. (Insert cheesy cliche post ending here.)

Pretty Purses

2011-01-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

My friend Alana started up an Etsy shop where she sells her very own purse designs! Her bags are so cute and so affordable, their definitely worth checking out!

I've got to get myself one of her non-slip headbands.

Click here to go to the shop!

P.s. I'm so behind on posting. All our pictures are going onto Levi's laptop which I hardly ever see, so the progress has been slow. Posts on my birthday, Christmas, Mexico and a NEW ADDITION are coming soon!

We're Moving.....

2010-12-07T19:47:00.000-08:00

...to San Diego!

Levi accepted a job offer and will be starting on August 1st. We're really sad to be leaving Denver and all of the great friendships we have here, but excited at the same time to 1) have a job and 2) move somewhere that's warm year round! We're not sure when exactly we'll move down there. Levi has to take the bar at the end of July (and study for it starting 2 days after he graduates) so we figure the move will be crammed into the last few days of July. As for our house, we're leaning towards trying to rent it out. In January we're going to go to an HOA board meeting and try to convince them to let us be landlords, and if that goes well we will probably start looking for renters sometime next summer.

The Death of a Computer

2010-12-04T13:00:00.000-08:00

My laptop is broken. I broke it back on November 19th after a long and frustrating day. All my pictures, school papers, recipes, patterns, EVERYTHING is gone. I took it to Best Buy to have the info extracted onto an external hard drive, but the cost is going to be much more than just buying a new laptop, and I just can't justify it. So for now I probably won't be posting very often, and likely won't be putting up any pictures. Our home desktop computer has a million viruses and I don't really want to take the risk of sticking my SD card in it and having all the pictures wiped clean.

It's a sad, sad time indeed in the Kendall household.

The Little Pea

2010-11-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

There's a new online children's boutique called The Little Pea that sells the CUTEST accessories! They custom make all kinds of things and specialize in original photo props. The creator of the website (and several of the items on it) contacted me and asked if she could sell some of my items! OF COURSE I said yes!! She got my items listed up today and I must say, there are a lot of adorable things on her website that are definitely worth checking out!

Click on the picture to visit The Little Pea!

We're back

2010-11-06T17:39:00.001-07:00

After 5-ish weeks of having a private blog, I decided I hated it and changed it back to public.

Halloween

2010-11-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

Halloween weekend was pretty packed this year! I started out doing a little volunteer thing at The Wildlife Experience down in Parker. It was kind of boring and I more or less just wanted to leave the whole time, so I never took out my camera to take pictures. I worked at a station where kids colored stickers. That's it. No candy or anything. At least I was just around the corner from the Melting Pot stand, where they were handing out free samples. Yum!

After that, I went to our ward's Trunk or Treat, and helped out with the apple race. The racers had to push the apple across the finish line with their noses.

Then after THAT (I told you, busy weekend) I went to our friends' house for a mac 'n' cheese potluck dinner. (Levi went the Utah vs Colorado State football game, so I was flying solo all day. It's ok, though, he had a lot of fun!) Thanks Amanda and Truman for hosting it!

Tilly and Olivia showing off their costumes

Yip Yips! (the best costume of the night, in my opinion)

Tiger, his caddy, and whore #13-ish

Danny and Sandy

The only picture I got of Levi and I. This was after going to another friend's party on Sunday. Levi wasn't feeling very good.

Here are better pictures of our costumes

Napoleon Dynamite

Deb (and a bumblebee)

Weekend in Utah

2010-11-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

My mom got to be in her stake's production of "Savior of the World." They've been rehearsing for several months and performed the show over the weekend of 10/23-10/24. My mom was so excited about the show that she flew me out for the weekend (thanks mom!) so I could see her and a few old high school friends in it. My sisters and I went to the Saturday matinee and loved it!

Me, Danika, Mom, Bethany, Tawni

Bethany brought home a kitten a couple of months ago, much to my parents' dismay (we're a dog family). She ended up getting to keep it, though, and while I was there I decided to teach Kitty some healthy habits:

She actually ate all of those veggies and wanted more!

My mom and I took a trip up to Logan to visit Tawni and Danika, and visit the pumpkin walk with Danika's cute kids, Luke and Layna

The pumpkin walk was awesome! The theme was animated movies/TV shows. Every character on the display was made out of pumpkins, gourds, squash, and maybe a little bit of hay for stuffing.

Here's the Toy Story display

Winnie the Pooh

The Pixar short before the movie "UP." I don't remember what it's called.

Polar Express part 1

Polar Express part 2. This was my favorite display and even made my eyes tear up a tiny bit. I really really really love the movie. :)

101 Dalmations

Spongebob

Monsters Inc part 1

Monsters Inc part 2

Madagascar. This one was SO well done!

Dr. Seuss part 1, Green Eggs and Ham

Dr. Seuss part 2, Cat in the Hat

UP!

Little miss Layna loved this slide

Yoda Luke

Because I can

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-05T10:37:00.000-07:00

I'm ashamed to say, as much as I love Halloween (it's my favorite holiday), Levi and I have not gotten pumpkins or done any kind of Halloween activities since we've been married. And this is our 4th Halloween as a married couple!! I wanted to start a tradition of going to a pumpkin patch, so this year we headed up to Boulder to a pumpkin patch who's name I forgot.

I started out the day by posing as a clown

They were doing hayrides that looked pretty fun. We didn't want to spend the money to go on it, though. Maybe next year!

They had a free (and small) corn maze! I hated corn mazes when I was a teenager because I hated getting lost, but this one was really nice. And I loved being in there with Levi :)

There's a country song where the chorus goes, "I'll take you for a ride on my big green tractor..." Levi had to get a picture of me by the big green tractor :)

I had to shove a few kids aside to be able to pet the black sheep. It tried to eat my watch.

All ready to get some pumpkin!

Levi took the wagon when I tipped it and the pumpkins fell out

Can you guess what my pumpkin is?

Voldemort! Voldemort! Voldemort! (Think "The Office")

Levi's pumpkin. Arrgghh Matey!

Levi's not going to like this...

2010-09-29T16:46:00.000-07:00

...but really, how could I resist?

I LOVE Halloween!!

This week so far

2010-09-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

Read all 3 Hunger Games books...in 3 days
Couldn't sleep for 3 days because the Hunger Games books scared me
Wrote a 12 page paper on a study I got to do (that was actually pretty fun!)
Studied for a test
Went to take the test at 5:30 on Wednesday only to realize that it had to be taken by 5:00...meaning I get a big fat ZERO (good thing the lowest score gets dropped!)
Studied for another test
Took that test...and aced it :)
Turned in the big fatty study paper
Recorded Chuck, The Biggest Loser, and Glee
Watched Glee and The Biggest Loser (which I don't think I'll watch anymore. I don't know if I can handle anymore whiny obese people. It was getting pretty annoying.)

Still to do

Record The Office and Project Runway
Watch Chuck and The Office with Levi, and Project Runway with myself
Make hats, hats, and more hats (cute new designs are coming...)
Run 6 miles (on Saturday. Thinking about it makes me want to take a nap)
Convince husband and dog that I know they still exist
Eat ice cream. Lots and lots of ice cream.

Since I'm not one to do a post without a picture. Here's one. It's called "Levi's Co-pilot."

Urban Navigator 2010

2010-09-12T16:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to be a volunteer in Denver's Urban Navigator race, and it was a blast! The Urban Navigator was sort of an "Amazing Race," where 42 teams of 2-4 people raced around Denver via public transit and had to complete 12 different challenges. The participants had to pay a decent amount of money, which all went to a place here called Brent's House, which houses family members of out-of-state children who are being treated for cancer here in Denver.
I was assigned, with 4 others and a leader, to set up, take down, and run the obstacle course. It was located at the University of Denver (where Levi is going to school) on the lacrosse field. This obstacle course was HUGE! It ran around the entire perimeter of the field and the obstacles themselves were sometimes pretty strenuous. Below is the best picture I could get. The giant ball right in front was the beginning of the course.

Here's a group shot of the volunteer team

The course wasn't exactly self explanatory, so we would run around with the participants and instruct them on how to do each obstacle. I think by the end of the race I had run around the field about 30 times! Sometime in the middle of the race, a couple of the coordinators came by to look at the course and wanted to get a video of somebody doing the obstacles. Another volunteer (whose name I was never able to remember) and I volunteered to do the course, and that's when I found out just how strenuous it actually was!

Here I am jumping over the giant ball

And going over the wall

Dragging myself with the rope. The other volunteer wouldn't do it because it is HARD! Plus the friction makes your butt really hot!

Doing belly-busters. You basically had to do a push-up and touch your belly to the ball. After 1 hour of carrying heavy equipment onto the field+pulling myself along the turf on with the rope I could barely do these!

Ugh, such an unflattering picture! Oh well.

Doing the bunny hop

Jumping on the discs and bosu balls. This was really difficult too and I had to start over a few times because I kept flying out sideways!

Box-jumping

After the box-jumping we had the hurdles. Yes, those tall ones are REALLY tall (like up-to-my-chest tall), but we just had to go under them, then over the short ones.

Here you had to get from one end of the parallel bars to the other however you wanted without touching the ground. I wanted to make it as easy as possible!

After the parallel bars we had to climb over this pyramid and we were done!

All in all, it was a great experience and it went to a great cause. I'll definitely be coming back next year! I think I'll be requesting a less strenuous activity to man; hopefully one that's inside!

Give Said The Little Stream, Give Oh Give Away!

2010-09-07T16:26:00.000-07:00

All right, now that the Labor Day sale is over (which was fantastic by the way! Thanks to all who helped spread the word!) a "deal" blog based out of SLC is sponsoring a give away for my shop!
The prize is a $20 credit that can be used towards any item in my shop!
(Insider's note: there will be future sales between now and Christmas, so that $20 might go a LOOOONG way, if ya know what I mean.)

Here's how you enter:

Pick out your favorite item from the shop
Go to the My Deal Friends Blog and leave a comment letting Liz know what your favorite item is
That's it!

There are some more options on the blog for more ways to enter, but I'll let you look at those over there. You can enter as many times as you want through 11:59pm September 14th.

Good luck!

Labor Day Weekend Sale!

2010-09-05T13:34:00.000-07:00

Just a heads up, all the items in my etsy shop are on sale today and tomorrow for 15% off! Click here to go take a look! Here are a few of the items available:

We're Official

2010-09-03T19:31:00.000-07:00

We have Colorado license plates on our car now. That added to our Colorado driver's licenses, the fact that we bought a house a year ago, and the fact that I've been getting in-state tuition for the 2nd year now, we have nothing left to tie us to Utah. We're official Coloradoans! (sp?) I guess we won't be leaving any time soon!

40 Handmade Flower Tutorials

2010-08-31T22:02:00.000-07:00

Do you want to learn how to make cute flowers for hair or clothing? I found this on one of the craft blogs that I follow. It's a list of 40 different tutorials for flowers, mostly fabric. They're really cute and there are a lot of really unique ones!

Just click on this link for the tutorials!

Mount Rushmore!

2010-08-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to go to Mount Rushmore with a bunch of friends from our ward. It was a blast! After a little drama with the sleeping arrangements, we ended up in a gigantic mansion cabin that easily slept us 15 adults and 2 kids. The place was probably around 8,000 square feet and was completely gorgeous! I didn't get a picture of the entire cabin but here's a group shot of us on one of the balconies

This picture maybe shows 1/2 of the cabin. It was seriously huge!

We spent the first evening playing the game "Guesstures" with everyone. Here are Levi and I in all our Guesstures glory:

Saturday, we started off the day with a tour of Rushmore Cave. It was a perfect 58 degrees throughout the whole thing (which was perfect, considering it was so hot over the weekend). It was a neat experience to learn about the history of the cave and look at all the different components of it.

See how tired I look? I was so so so sick all week leading up to this trip and was still feeling kind of crappy through the weekend. :(

I just love him!

Some funky rocks. These form by the water dripping down into the cave.

Taking a breather in a hole

After the cave all the other girls went into the cute little town we were by, while I went back to the cabin and took a 3 hour(!) nap to recover from climbing around a cave. Yeah, I wasn't kidding when I said I still felt kind of sick!

That evening we went out to Mount Rushmore. We arrived about an hour before their special lighting ceremony, and it ended up being perfect timing!

Our first glimpse of the mountain

This men's choir serenaded us with patriotic songs while we walked around the Presidential Trail.

The 4 law school boys pretending to be the presidents. This picture is my favorite!

The group
Back Row: Josh O, Rob, Levi, Josh H, Vance, Dane, and Ryan holding Mia
Front Row: Alana, Alexandria, Me, Ashley, Debbie, Mary Lynn, and Rachel holding Lydia

Old Georgy-taken on the Presidential Trail

George and Abe, also taken on the Presidential Trail

At the end of the lighting ceremony, they asked all veterans to come stand on the stage and asked 6 of them to take down the flag. It was really neat to see how many veterans were there. They just kept coming and coming!

Taking down the flag.

It was such a fun weekend! Thanks everyone for making this trip so great!

THREE!!!

2010-08-26T21:19:00.000-07:00

Levi and I had our 3rd anniversary on Saturday the 14th! We were both very excited for the day and had a lot of fun things planned. We both woke up super late and took off to our first activity: mini-golf. We went to a fun place called Colorado Journey. It has a bunch of sights and places in Colorado as the themes for the holes.

Taking my first shot

Sizing up his shot. With a pencil in his mouth. That pencil never left his mouth the entire game. I think it helped him concentrate.

These were some pretend ruins. The real ones are in southern Colorado somewhere.

Part of the old pioneer/mining town

The tepee/last hole. I love this picture of us!

After mini-golf we went across the street to a little authentic Mexican restaurant called Mi Cocina. My former co-worker used to go there all the time (as in, everyday for lunch) and just raved about it! We weren't disappointed. The food was delicious and didn't cost very much either.

My lunch

Levi's lunch

Yum!

My lunch literally 10 minutes after I got it. It was so good!

After lunch, we went to visit our friends, the Glovers, and their new baby Eli. I had made a boppy tummy pillow thing for him, so we decided to test it out.

He was crying before and instantly stopped when Jason put him on it.

Look at how peaceful he looks! I think he liked it. :)

After chatting with the Glovers for awhile, we made our way into downtown and went to a Rockies game! It was so fun and we took a ton of snacks in with us. Our dinner was made up of Reeces Pieces, powdered donuts and Ranch Corn Nuts. Yum!!

All in all, it was probably the best anniversary we've had so far. Thanks for a great 3 years sweetie!

Go Mormons!

2010-08-01T17:38:00.000-07:00

This girl blew the judges away on America's Got Talent. She goes to BYU and played her "rock 'n' roll" violin on the streets of NYC when she was serving her mission there. Watch the video. It's awesome.

Some People Have WAY Too Much Time on Their Hands

2010-07-31T03:07:00.000-07:00

I can't sleep. At all.

About an hour ago I quit trying and got online to find some new hat patterns. I found a site with lots of free ones (yay!) and ended up laughing quite hysterically at some of the things people have come up with.

I present you with exhibit A:

The Gollum Hat

That was only the beginning. Here are some more:

The Mohawk Hat

The Mustache Hat

The Shark Hat

The Harry Potter Hat (ok, maybe I kinda thought this one was cool...)

The Pointy Hat (I'm not making these names up)

And last but not least, my personal favorite:

The Flying Spaghetti Hat

I think I'm actually starting to get a little tired. Maybe I'll be able to sleep now!

Do You Have...

2010-07-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

...a little bit of scrap fabric and a couple hours? If so, you should try making one of these

This clutch was the easiest thing I've ever made, and I just used some leftover fabric that I had from making diaper bags! It's got a divider down the middle to create 2 sections, as well as 2 card holder pockets on one side. You can go look at the (awesome and very detailed) tutorial here

Love Affair

2010-07-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

I was tagged for this by my friend Katie, and thought it looked pretty fun! Here's a list of all the things I have a love affair with:

My Sewing Machine. Seriously. In the past couple of months I've fallen completely in love with sewing, and my little machine has produced some pretty cute things! (Note: this isn't my actual sewing machine. I found it on the internet and thought it was pretty cool looking. It looks like a dustbuster!)

Workout Clothes. These are the only kind of clothes that I buy when I go shopping. I honestly didn't own real workout clothes until a couple of years ago and I used to just wear pajamas to gym and my aerobics classes (I even still wore my pj's as an exercise science major for 2 years. FAIL!) I love cute workout outfits because it makes me feel cool and legit when I go to the gym. Even on the days when I have extra flab hanging out, I feel like it goes semi-unnoticed if I'm wearing a nice outfit when I hit the treadmill.

Popsicles. I've always loved these and during the summer have at least 2-3 everyday.

Harry Potter. I get all giddy whenever I get to go to one of the movies. If I see a Harry Potter display at a store (like FAO Schwartz in NYC. AWESOME!!) I have to go look at everything and dream about owning it all! I'm a nerd, I know. :)

While I'm on the subject of being a nerd, here's another nerdy-ish thing I love. The (inside of a) human body. Seriously, the human body fascinates me! All the systems and little components and how everything works together is just flat out amazing! If I didn't mind sacrificing 9 years of my life (and my husband's life), I would go to medical school to become a surgeon in a heartbeat!

Traveling. I LOVE to travel! I hate the thought that my life might end without me getting to see all these things in the world that we learn about in geography and social studies classes. I'm so thankful I married someone who feels the same way. :)

That's about everything that I can think of right now. Thanks for tagging me Katie! I'm not sure who to tag, so whoever wants to do it can.

Best Music Video EVER!

2010-07-17T19:38:00.000-07:00

Just For Laughs

2010-07-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

I felt like laughing tonight, so I went back through my sister's blog posts to find her "Dan-isms." Her husband Dan talks in his sleep and says incredibly funny things! Every time I read the following post it makes me laugh so hard that I have tears all over my face. I know some things are only funny in context or if you know the person who says it, but I think this one can be funny for pretty much anyone. :)

(Sorry if this embarrasses Dan, Danika. It's just too funny to keep to myself.)

Dan-isms
Haven't had one of these for awhile, I think Dan is usually too tired to talk in his sleep. I guess last night must have been a better nights sleep.

Here's how this morning went:

4:30 am: I wake up b/c I have too many covers on and I am burning hot. I realize Layna has been in bed since 10:30 without waking up. I wonder if she's still alive and her baby monitor tells me that she is.

4:35 am: For unknown reasons, Luke starts kicking the wall, then yells. I go into his room, pull his crib away from the wall, give him his blanket. Then I laid back down.

4:50 am: Layna wakes up to eat.

5:07 am: I am back in bed.

5:10 am: Dan's alarm goes off

Danika: "Hurry, turn it off," (sure did not want the kids to wake back up).

Dan: Obviously very confused reaches over and starts hitting the alarm clock, "I don't know how to shut this thing off." (He really does). Finally hits a button that shuts it off.

Danika: Worried that he just hit the snooze button and not the off button asks, "Did you turn it off or just hit snooze?"

Dan: "Don't worry, I squarshed it."

Danika: Decides she better reach over and turn it off just in case. While leaning over Dan, he gets up on his hands and knees, which lifts Danika into the air.

Dan: "Are you trying to squarsh me."

Danika: (laughing). "No, I'm just making sure your alarm is off."

We both lay back down.

Dan: "Marp, larp."

Danika: "What is that supposed to mean?"

Dan: "Left anterior, Right posterior." (medical lingo).

Danika: "Did you need to get up to study?"

Dan: "I am studying."

Danika: "No, you're not."

Dan: "I am clinically studying."

Danika: "I don't think so."

Dan: Hisses at Danika

Danika: laughs

Dan: Sits up and touches the time display on the alarm clock, "I haven't quite figured it out, but I think I know what this thing does." Lays back down.

Danika: laughs

Dan: "Horse manure."

Danika: "What does that mean."

Dan: "My breath smells like horse manure." Leans over to breathe on Danika, "horse manure."

Danika: Covers her nose and doesn't breathe for several seconds.

Dan: Sits up and looks at the clock, "why did I set my alarm for 5:10, I meant to set it for 7:10?"

Go figure.

I don't usually blog at 6:30 in the morning, but now you know why I did. Who can sleep after all that?

The Racoon

2010-07-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

For the second half of the week last week, we went camping with a few in-laws from Levi's family. When we got there my FIL told us to make sure all of our food was in the car or thrown away in the dumpster by the end of the evening, or racoons and skunks would come into our campground at night. He also warned us to make sure we took care of the dog food, too, since racoons apparently love it.

The first night we stuck the bag with Tilly's dog food and treats in our vestibule so we wouldn't have to smell it in our tent. The vestibule is almost like a covered porch in the front of our tent. It has a small plastic window and zips closed down the side, but not on the bottom. Levi and I were staying up late to watch Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince on my laptop when we heard some rustling and ripping just outside our tent in the vestibule. I kicked the tent wall to scare away the animal until we didn't hear anything anymore. Levi then opened up the front door that opens up into the vestibule and sure enough, found a big hole ripped open in the bag that held Tilly's dog food. Luckily we had a plastic tub with us that we were able to stick it in, so Levi didn't have to venture out to the car with a racoon on the loose somewhere in our campsite.

We went back to watching our movie, but a few minutes later we heard a crunching noise just outside our tent. It sounded just like Tilly eating her dog food! Levi and I looked at each other and realized that we had forgotten to put Tilly's food dish, which was half full, in the car! We had just left it on the ground on the other side of the campsite! We both snuck out to the vestibule and peeked out the window while Levi lifted up the bottom of the vestibule wall to shine a really bright light out. Right in front of us was the biggest racoon either of us had ever seen! He was standing on his hind legs, picking up one piece of dog food at a time and just chomping it down like he hadn't a care in the world.

We definitely made sure to keep the dog food in the car after that. A question that I keep asking myself, though, is why didn't the racoon just eat that food in the first place, instead of sneaking into our tent and ripping open a bag of food first? Wouldn't that have taken a lot less effort?

Stenquist Family Campout

2010-07-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

On Monday the 5th, we went to my sister's in-laws, the Gronemans, for their annual 4th of July breakfast and to the parade. Afterwards, we headed up to Pineview for three days for our family campout/boating trip that we have every year with my mom's siblings and families. It was a blast, and after doing this trip for 12 years, I FINALLY got up on the water skis!!! It took 6 tries with Levi coaching me, and sadly we left the camera at our campsite, but I did it! My sister's husband was studying for his boards and unfortunately couldn't come, so Levi and I tried to help out with her kids as much as we could.

I played with Layna

And Levi played with Luke

A lot

Like, all day

This is the only non-beach picture I got. Check out that gigantic marshmallow!

(The one on the left is a normal "jumbo" marshmallow)

Woodruff

2010-07-13T21:36:00.000-07:00

Levi and I went back to Utah for the 4th of July weekend and got to do a bunch of camping with our families! Luckily, when the 4th of July falls on a Sunday some cities in Utah celebrate on the 3rd and some celebrate on the 5th, so we got to celebrate all weekend! We arrived on Friday the 2nd, then took a day trip up to Woodruff, UT on the 3rd to see the parade Levi's sister and bro-in-law put together. Woodruff is a tiny town just inside Utah about 20 minutes north of Evanston. When I say tiny I mean tiny! The population is maybe...250? The 4th of July is great though because it's sort of a big "homecoming" for those who grew up there, so there were actually quite a few people both in the parade and as spectators.

Me, Tilly and my MIL Linda ready to watch the parade

Our niece Bentlee rode her bike as the Statue of Liberty

Levi's bro-in-law Jared riding his "Cowboy Hot Tub" float. Unfortunately he didn't get a picture of the actual hot tub. It looked like something you would bathe pigs in.

My FIL Dip got to pull the Cowboy Hot Tub in his truck. He was stoked.

Jared's dad owns somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 acres of perfect hunting land and runs a guide business for deer hunters. This was his float.

Pretty cool, huh?

Jared had seen the diaper bags that I make when I posted them on Facebook, and he asked me to make one for his wife (my sis-in-law) Jenni for her birthday in August (her baby is due in November). I brought it to him that Saturday and he was so excited that he gave it to her right then. It was really funny to watch her open it because she doesn't like it when Jared spends money on her.

"What? You got me something? Why did you get me something?"

"Where did you get this? Old Navy? When did you get it? Where did you get the money from?"

(Notice Jared is getting really excited and pointing to me with his middle finger)

"Oh, Kaley made it? Wow, thanks Kaley!"

(Your welcome! Glad you like it!)

After the parade we went to Jared's parents' house for a big family BBQ. Jared brought the pony he gave to their 4 year old boy for his birthday (yeah, every kids' dream come true) and let all the kids have a ride. When the kids were done, he had me hop onto it. It was a little awkward at first, since my feet almost touched the ground and he didn't have a saddle, but it was really fun!

Then Levi gave it a go. I hope we didn't hurt it!

Jared's parents rigged up a hick slip 'n' slide for the kids with vinyl and baby shampoo to make it extra slippery. Levi spent almost the entire time on that thing playing with the kids. It was cute. :)

Pictures from our camping trip

2010-06-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

Chillin' out on my lap on the drive up

This was the beautiful sky that greeted us when we arrived (that was sarcastic, btw)

Going fishing!

Complete peace

She was so afraid of the water

Efficiently cooking the hot dogs and Rhodes Bake 'n' Serve rolls (see previous post for how that turned out)

I guess we were the only ones who felt like "roughing it"

She immediately settled into the very center of the air mattress when we walked in to go to bed. She knows her place. :)

So pretty!

Cowering behind my legs. She was afraid of the fire and trembled really badly whenever we had one going.

Things I've Learned From Camping

2010-06-27T22:04:00.000-07:00

1. Being out in the wilderness is proof that God exists. I don't understand how anyone could be atheist when face to face with all of His amazing creations
2. Fishing is fun, even if you don't catch anything
3. If you break a fishing pole, it's not a big deal as long as the spinny thing is still intact
4. My dog is afraid of water
5. My dog is afraid of fire
6. My dog is afraid of rain
7. Mummy bags are amazing
8. While cooking Rhodes Bake 'n' Serve rolls on a stick over the fire may SOUND like a good idea, it doesn't really work (but it was a good try!)
9. Whole wheat hot dog buns are delicious
10. Pine cones start fires better than FireStarters
11. Our air mattress is a MAGNET for dog hair
12. Cabelas makes amazing tents
13. Chipmunks live in the ground
14. My dog is slower than a squirrel, but faster than a baby chipmunk
15. Wathing my dog catch a baby chipmunk in her mouth, hearing it squeal in pain, and watching it die is extremely traumatizing and has the potential to ruin the rest of my day
16. You can never have too much water on hand

Baby Bucket List

2010-06-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling that when I go back to Utah in a couple weeks and tell people that I've been married for almost 3 years, the next question will likely be, "When are you going to have kids??" Seriously, in Utah, not having at least one kid or being pregnant by your 3rd anniversary is practically unheard of! I realize that we're not the only Utah couple in the world who is waiting several years to have kids, but I think most people can agree that, for Utah, I've been on the ol' BC for longer than most married girls.

Anyway, if anybody has been wondering why we're not planning on having kids anytime soon, it's because there are a few things that I've been planning on doing before popping out a baby. I typed up these things on a cute piece of paper and stuck them on the fridge this evening to make them more concrete. It's called "Kaley's Baby Bucket List" and includes the following list:

1-Go Skydiving
2-Ride a Rollercoaster Through Hogwarts (This one was added after seeing the commercials for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. That park is essentially all of my fantasies becoming reality)
3-Run a 1/2 Marathon (I'm saving the goal of a full marathon for after to help get off the baby weight)
4-Finish My Degree
5-Wear Size 2 Pants
6-Study Abroad*

*Although this has been my life-long dream, it may be substituted by moving to another country for a few years for Levi's job.

So that's it. If anyone wants to get a Kendall baby here any faster, you are more than welcome to help me out with this list. And by "help me" I mean take me to Orlando. Just kidding...not really. :)

Since I hate posting something without any pictures, here's one for you. It's an old picture that I found from my 20th birthday, 2 1/2 years ago. We were at The Cheesecake Factory and though the waiters were singing their little song to me, I was to distracted by the delicious looking cheesecake to pay attention to them. Look at that short hair!

My First (official) Sale!

2010-06-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

Even though I've had my fair share of business from my local Denver friends, none of my items were selling on Etsy. Well, that streak is over! When I posted my first diaper bag, I received an email from a REALLY nice woman in Idaho asking if I could custom make a bag for her, with a few tweaks, and if she could just send the materials and pay me less for just making the bag for her. I was SOOOO excited that somebody (who didn't even know me) wanted something that I made! Of course I agreed to make her bag with the changes she wanted (bigger width and depth, no elastic in the pockets and an adjustable strap). I sent the bag back, listed it, and she "purchased" the bag and wrote the most WONDERFUL review!

firecrackersparks says:
I absolutely LOVE my bag!!! It is exactly what I wanted and made to order in a short time! It fits everything I need and I can't wait to load it with my baby girl's essentials! Laptop/Diaper Bag/Purse all in one! Perfect perfect PERFECT!!!! Thank you doll! I will indeed send all the complimenters your way!!! You were wonderful to work with, accomodating all of my wishes!!! You are going to do tremendous with your Etsy shop!!!

Isn't that SO nice? I'm all giddy and bubbly right now! Here's a picture of the finished bag for those who are curious (love the zebra ribbon)

Goings on as of late

2010-06-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed, my last 2 posts weren't updates on what we're doing, but merely just fun little posts that I did because I was bored. We haven't really had very many things going on during the past few weeks. Both Levi and I haven't had a break from school, Levi because he's in the graduate tax program which is on the quarter system which means his tax finals overlapped with his first week of summer law classes, and me because I had a 2 week "Maymester" class starting the week after finals.

We have definitely been loving being able to spend more time together, though. I think I'm enjoying it a little more because I've had such a drastic change in my schedule: from working 10 hour days at a job I greatly disliked to working whenever I want at a job I love. It's been wonderful and the feeling in our home has changed so much for the better. Now when Levi gets home, I'm able to have laundry and dishes already done, and a few nights I've even had dinner going! This is versus having to do all the household chores during the few precious hours we had together every week because it was the only time I was home. Now we get to do FUN things when we're together!

Last Saturday we went on our first hike of the summer, and we were able to take Tilly with us! (That's something that I LOVE about Colorado as opposed to Utah. Dogs are allowed pretty much everywhere.) It was a beautiful hike in Castlewood Canyon State Park down by Castlerock. A good portion of the hike was spent next to a little creek, so we decided to test Tilly's liking for water. She was a bit hesitant at first, but eventually loved it! She actually tried to lay down in the creek at one point and didn't want to come out of the water when we decided to keep going! I can't WAIT to take her fishing with us! We didn't take the camera on this little trip, so unfortunately there are no pictures.

A few weeks ago I decided to do the 4th of July (well, technically 5th of July) 5k back in Utah. My training has been going really well and I'm already so close to running the full 3.1 miles without taking walking breaks! This week I've been adding a different kind of strength training routine to my workouts. I used to spend 1/2 hour a couple times a week trying to get in a lift for every body area, just so I could say I did SOME kind of weight training. Needless to say I never got any results. I read about a woman who is constantly traveling for her job and has pretty much no time to workout, so her trainer gave her a plan that I'd never heard of before: split your body into 3 parts and spend 1/2 hour 1 day a week working one specific part (for a total of 3 days/week). I was pretty intrigued by that so I decided to try it. My lifting plan is:

Mondays: arms, shoulders and chest
Wednesdays: back and abs
Fridays: butt, hips and legs

Normally I would find lifting for one part of your body only one day a week kind of crazy, but spending 1/2 hour targeting just those muscles is pretty intense, and you really need more than a couple days to recover! So far I'm loving it, and I think visible results will be showing themselves soon. :)

That's pretty much all that's going on in our lives right now: school, a little bit of work, and gym time. I feel bad about doing a big long blog without any pictures, so here's one of the most BEAUTIFUL pictures I've ever seen for your eyes to feast upon.

It's from a national park in Croatia. I refuse to die before seeing this waterfall in person.

Everytime I watch this I can't stop crying

2010-06-08T09:59:00.000-07:00