More Easter and House

The other day when it was nice and beautiful I went outside of our apartment and the house across the street had about 6 big beautiful trees with pink blossoms. I thought to myself that I really wanted one of those trees at my house one day. Later that same day we had to go over to the new house for some reason and this is what I discovered we had in our front yard. I was so happy. Unfortunately a few days later we got a nasty snow storm and broke a few of the branches off but it's still bright and beautiful. This was taken after the storm so as you can see, everything will be okay. It still just needs a little shaping and pruning.
Pictures of the front of the house like I promised.

We were going to celebrate Easter last Saturday with my family but the weather was horrible and it was freezing. We postponed it until yesterday. The weather was perfect and Jules did so well. Brett walked around with her but she would get the eggs and place them in her bag.



My dad took Jules on a four wheeler ride on Saturday and she loved it. He got it out again yesterday for a minute and took her out again with my nephew but he went a lot faster and she was terrified. Good old uncle Sterling took her around again a lot slower so she wouldn't be so scared for the future.
We also did the traditional money toss for Easter. My dad stands on a ladder and throws crisp one dollar bills in the air and we all fight for the money. It's not as easy as it sounds. It works perfectly if there is a slight breeze and there was yesterday. It does get pretty violent but I still participated being 7 1/2 months pregnant. I did it when I was pregnant with Jules and she turned out okay so I figured "why not". We were too busy catching money to take any pictures of it, but just know that we had fun.
Yesterday was also my birthday and for my birthday we get to move into our house this week...yay! Ok, it's not for my birthday, it just happens to fall close to it so I am a very happy birthday girl. I did have a great day, thanks to Brett for changing all the diapers yesterday and having a wonderful meal with all my family and a yummy dessert and best of all it was perfect weather. Having a spring birthday and living in Utah you never know how the weather is going to turn out. Brett and I did get to go out to a nice dinner on Friday also so that was fun. Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone. I'm still trying to decide how to spend my birthday money.

Easter and House

Jules looking through her Easter basket.
We didn't do candy this time because Jules has been sick. So she got a princess dress up and LOVED it.
This is just a classic blackmail picture for her teenage years. Thanks for the idea Lou. I think she walks better in high heels than I do.
Jules eating a cupcake like a dog.
This is the house we are in the process of getting. It was raining really bad today and I totally forgot to get a picture of the outside so stay tuned. This is the kitchen.
Living room/Front room
Master bath. It's tiny but at least we have one.
Huge family room downstairs
Like I said, more pictures to come.

What? A House?

So some of you may have noticed a comment or two on facebook regarding us having a house and have been all questions since. We actually don't have the house for sure yet. We did submit our offer today but it was a price that they told us they would accept and it's people we know. I don't have any pictures and can't send you to a link because they never even put it on the market. It's in one of our old wards in Orem which is really nice because we know almost all of people. It will be especially nice knowing the people because 3-4 weeks after we move in, this little baby will be coming and the ward is super supportive and great. Jules was born in this ward and we always loved it. Out of the 3 years we have been married, we have lived in 5 different places. We lived in this ward for the longest amount of time which was 1 year and 4 months. The house is a rambler with 5 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. It is a little older, built in 1980 but is freshly remodeled. I actually worked in the nursery with the lady that lived there. She was just renting the place and moved, so now the owners who are also in the ward hired another guy from the ward to update everything and the house looks great. It's not perfect but good enough and it will give us a few projects to work on which is always kind of fun. It has everything we have been looking for in a house so we can't complain. So there you have it. I will post pictures as soon as I get some.
Speaking of pictures, I have been so bad about taking them lately. Here are a few we took a couple of weeks ago when my sister was in town. We went to Jump-On-It here in Lindon. It is a place with a bunch of trampolines lined up close together and you just jump your little heart out. I decided not to participate being prego and all. I actually jumped on a trampoline a few days before Jules was born trying to get her to come out. It didn't work so I wasn't super scared this time but since there were others to entertain Jules I decided to sit back and take some pictures. She had a blast most of the time.

Here she is with Aunt Cheryl. She loves Cheryl and would ask for her every day that she was here...even after she left she kept asking for her and all her kids my name. She has finally stopped asking about them but had a great time with them while it lasted.

Here she is with Sydney. (top and bottom pictures)


This picture is Jules with some of the arcades. I showed her this car one and she kept going to it. If we couldn't find her, she was there driving the car.
The funniest part was that Jules was terrified of the big blow up trampolines and slides. We tried to force her because we knew she would like it if she just tried it; but she is a determined little girl and wouldn't let go of us. That's okay though, maybe next time.

Do you want to play?!!!

So, here's how this game works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a handmade gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well. Before you leave your comment, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going (or be lazy and copy and paste like I did). Then come back, let me know you're going to play and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift!

Won't this be fun?

Christmas 2007

I got tagged a while ago to post the 6th picture from my 6th folder and here it is. Jules at Christmas 2007. She had not quite mastered the art of sitting on her own until a few days later. She is actually in the process of falling over in this picture. I am choosing not to tag anyone but if you read this and feel like doing it, go for it. It's an easy update to your blog.

3 Year Anniversary

It has been 3 years today that Brett and I got sealed in the temple. I can't believe how much our lives have changed in that short amount of time. Our plan was to wait 2 years to have kids so that Brett could finish school and have a good job. I was going to work that whole time and we would be in a house shortly after baby #1 came along. Well, things don't always work out that way. We got pregnant after 6 short months and life has not been the same. It is so much better, and the joy Jules brings into our lives could never make up for the other things we had in mind. Now we are 2 1/2 months away from baby #2 with the hopes of a house in the near future. I get to stay at home and play mom and life is good. We are all healthy and happy and Brett has a great job that is not only secure (knock on wood) but that he loves. Brett has been a great husband and a wonderful father and I could not ask for any better. What can I say...he deals with me and that's not an easy job.
I still love the little story our invitation tells.

$3,000?...Anyone, Anyone

Does anyone have $3,000 we can have/borrow? We are $3K short of getting the house that we have been searching 6 months to find. So I figure, if all my followers put in about $200 then we can have this house. Come on, I know you want to. I will babysit for free, I will clean your house, I will cook for you. You name it and I'll do it if you can just get us $3K....ready go.

28 Weeks!

I got sick of waiting to look cute for a picture so by popular demand here is a picture of me taken right before starting this ever so long post. I will be 28 weeks on Thursday so I cheated an extra day saying that I'm 28 weeks. Like I said, my belly is showing and I am pregnant and showing it off to the world.

On a side note, my flat iron decided to stop working a couple weeks ago. Luckily it has a lifetime warranty on it and I saved myself $100 by not having to buy a new one. So in the mean time as I wait for them to fix it, my hair is stuck looking ugly and in a ponytail.
So I'm not HUGE but there are 2 parts of me that get HUGE while I'm pregnant and where some people love that about pregnancy, I HATE it...or should I say "them". Sadly they just don't make bras cheap enough and big enough with the support that I like so it really sucks while I'm pregnant and nursing. My belly is finally bigger than "them" though and that's what I call "success".

Poor Jules is already "well endowed". Just kidding, it's just really funny that she has cleavage in this picture. Any kid does at this age but I just had to show this cute picture.
I was telling a friend that I still had not taken a single picture of me being pregnant with this child. I always doubted that I was really my mom's daughter because she never had any proof that I was. I am the youngest of 5 and they just stopped taking pictures by the time I came around. Not only that, but have you seen my family? We look nothing alike and I especially look nothing like my mom. I think that's why I've really wanted my daughters to look like me...so they would never doubt that I was their mom. Jules is a good combination of us both so she should have no questions about where she came from. Now what will this little baby look like?
We do have a name picked out but we are not going to tell people. We just don't want people to ruin it for us by their reactions, before the baby is even born. I also kinda feel weird calling her by the name before she's born. Things can change once you actually see the baby. So yes, we have a name...another "success".

We are still on the house search. We found a house that we LOVE and it has everything we want, including a nice swing set in the back yard. When we went to look at the house, Jules walked outside and just said "wow". We have been going back and forth with offers and counter-offers and we are just to the point that we are both at our limits and unwilling to budge. It's rough after looking for 6 months. This was only the beginning of my horrible day. It was a for sure "Tuesday" for me. If you don't know what I mean by that, refer to my "25 things about me" post. Now the rest of this post may bore you all so please stop reading now if you want some sanity.

We got the sort of final counter-offer on the house late last night. This caused me to not sleep. I ended up going to the couch around 1:30 to have the TV put me to sleep. We live with Mrs. Obsessive upstairs who does not sleep and walks like an elephant above us. This causes me to stay awake at night on the couch for even longer and with many disturbances. I am pregnant and need my sleep and when I don't get it...watch out.

Brett and I went to do sealings at the temple this morning for a ward assignment. It was great and I felt the spirit really strong at times but my belly kept hitting the alter and making me nauseous. We got home and I ran over to "movie and munchies" with the old ladies in our ward. This is normally a lot of fun and we watch a good movie and eat. Today it was a dumb movie and I was tired. We left early so I could take a nap before going to my doctor appointment. We got home and I slept for a while but it's never long enough. Luckily today the people upstairs did not start playing their baby grand piano right above me (which ticks me off) about every other day. Hence me wanting to get a house!

So anyway, we got to the doctor a little late but no big deal. The lady that signed in right before me was just as late and she got right in. I sat for about 45 minutes with out them calling my name. Finally the lady who arrived right before me left and was completely done with her appointment and I was still sitting there watching people get called and finish before me. I finally asked them what was going on and the dumb receptionist lady put my file in the wrong pile with a sly little "oops". I'm normally fine with waiting...as long as everyone else is waiting. So I sat down and watched 2 more people get called up before me still. With the lack of sleep and the lack of food I had in my stomach seeing as I put sleep before food today, I was on the verge of tears; I'm pregnant remember, it's okay to cry over dumb things. They called me back and I did the peeing and weighing thing and waited again for about 15 minutes seeing several more people called before me. Finally I get called back and the nurse was great and played with Jules and Jules heard the heart beat and loved it. Then I waited some more. I heard my doctor outside the door with other girls talking and laughing as I waited for about 20 more minutes. I was irate at this point. I went to change Jules' diaper and seriously contemplated doing what my friend did at her doctor's appointment and leaving a really stinky diaper in the room for them. For the first time ever, I was disappointed that what I smelt was Jules farting and not poop. I did not have any questions for the doctor and just wanted to leave. She came in, measured me, asked me if I needed anything and left. Good news is that I'm measuring perfectly and right on track with everything and feeling good other than the fact that I still hate being pregnant. I was there for 1:45 minutes and starving from the beginning.

I left and just wanted to go spend money and not care about anything. Lucky for Brett, I didn't. I was starving and went to Costco and got a cooked chicken for dinner and bananas and that's all I bought. I did get a slice of pizza and a big ice cream just to eat out my frustrations. But I was still on the verge of tears. I started backing out of my parking spot and the guy behind me decided to do it at the same time. Luckily we both realized each other at the same time. I pulled forward for him to get out first and he pulled out ever so slowly that I just wanted to back up and hit him just for being dumb and slow. Then I start to back out and another car decided to drive past at the same time...ever so slowly. I almost hit 2 cars within seconds. This time, I could not hold back the tears and I just let it out the whole drive home.

I got home and there was a plate for treats and a card that someone brought me. I'm so grateful for people who are in tune with the spirit and act on those instincts. I cried more when I saw them because I needed the thoughtfulness from someone. It really does not sound all that bad as I type this now but let me just tell you again...I'm pregnant and running on little sleep. I got home and vented to Brett about it and he made me look like the bad person here for being mad at the doctor's office. I was a little rude to them too and that's what he was making me feel bad about. I still didn't feel bad, does that make me a bad person? I just wanted a little sympathy from him and I didn't get it. I finally got over it by exercising and watching "Biggest Loser". I'm all good now but just wanted to share my horrible day. Thank you for having me.

BYU game/Valentine's/Random Pictures

I guess it's about time to update my blog. There are a lot of pictures so I hope you enjoy and don't get too bored. These are pictures of the BYU game where Brett and his group, Hangtime, sang. They did a great job and it was estimated that about 16,000 people were actually at that game. It was kind of cool because we got to be right up close to the players while we were waiting for half time. They are really tall.

At first the crowd wasn't too excited about a barbershop group singing. I mean honestly, who likes barbershop? (don't tell Brett I said that) By the end of their first song they were really cheering them on and wanted more. His group was actually on channel 2 news at noon Thursday so that was pretty cool. This is their 2nd time on the news.
Jules loves dogs. She isn't even afraid of big ones. This is not good news to me. I never really wanted a dog because I hate dog hair everywhere and hate dog kisses. Seeing her love for dogs, I am pretty sure we will have one sooner rather than later. We just need to find a house first.
This is Jules as my little Cinderella. She actually kept this "bonnet" thing on for all of church. She looks so stinking cute in it.
She also loves to get her picture taken. She usually ends up saying "cheese" after the picture has been taken but we we are doing better.
For the President's Day/Valentine's Day weekend, we headed down to good ol St. George. This is how we tried to keep Jules entertained. She has this sudden love for "toons" or rather cartoons. She looked so cute in her car seat and head phones. We were hit with some pretty nasty weather but made it down safely with some detours.
Friday night we headed down to Mesquite for a seafood buffet. This was our "Valentine's dinner". Not too romantic with a kid and a buffet but it sure was good. We usually end up going to Panda Express because 1) We love(d) it, 2) We don't have to fight any crowds, and 3) I don't have to cook. Jules got her first ice cream cone at the buffet and LOVED it.
We went down with Brett's parents and planned on meeting his uncle down there. He ended up canceling on us last minute so there was an extra room. They thought that maybe there was a small chance that Brett's brother, Matt, and his family from Arizona could come up. With a little faith and lots of hope we called and they dropped everything and came. We rarely get to see them because it is such a long drive and they now have 5 kids. Not fun in a small van for 10 hours. They figured 7 hours wasn't as bad. We were able to enjoy the weekend even more than we thought. We got less sleep but it was well worth it. This is Megan aka "Mae Mae" with Brett. She is so funny, she loves to suck her thumb and hold someone else's ear. She is very good about asking you if she can hold it though. It's the funniest thing I've ever seen. It actually ends up putting me to sleep.
This is our future All-Star basketball player.
Some of the other kids watching a movie. Jules loved all the attention she got from her older cousins. Although there were times that she was a little overwhelmed and got a little jealous because she didn't get ALL the attention. It was good for her though.
We went to the St. George temple to watch a new movie they were showing. Jules loves Jesus so it was kind of fun for her to see a big version of him rather than the little ones we have around the house.

This is baby Elie. Jules loves babies and has been pretty good when I hold one. It was a little too much for her at times, but they were able to have some fun.
Jules loves Papa. Ross got to spend some time with his little grand babies on the patio swing. I don't know who enjoyed it more, the kids, grandpa, or the moms.
Jules doesn't have a backpack but found Megan's and loved it. She just looks so grown up.
The car ride home.
Brett has taught Jules to pull faces. She now looks in the mirror and pulls her cheeks down to make her eyes look funny. She will also hold her nose up and pull her mouth apart. It is the funniest thing.
We went swimming the other day and she insisted on wearing the diaper cover over her pants. Where do these kids get these crazy ideas?
I am now almost 25 weeks and getting a bulge in my stomach and starting to really look pregnant; seeing as I have gained about 18 pounds now. I just had an appointment today and things are looking right on schedule and the baby looks healthy. Sorry, still no pregnant pictures of me. I'll try to remember.

We are still looking for a house. We have one we could get and like, but it needs a lot of work so we are trying to decide if it's worth it or not. In the meantime we will keep on looking.

Hangtime Sings at BYU

Hey folks, my little group Hangtime, will be singing at the BYU mens basketball half time show. If you happen to be there, cheer us on! It'll be our biggest crowd yet.