Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Well it is the end of August and I am just now posting something to give an update on what's been going on this summer.

I was very excited to go home for a week to see my family. Cathryn, Teresa, and I all decided to make a vacation back home at the same time to see everyone, so it was extra fun. What I thought was going to be a cool relaxing week at home turned out to be a scorcher! Yes, Seattle was experiencing a very unusual heat wave the week I decided to go up there. When my plane landed the pilot announced a record-breaking 103 degrees for Seattle that day. Most may say big deal it's summer... but not in Seattle when only 15% of the population have A/C, and my parents aren't in that population. Needless to say at 7 1/2 months pregnant I was quite uncomfortable, but really the heat can't stop the fun.


It was great to be home and do my favorites... ferry rides, site seeing in Seattle, Iver's Fish & Chips, The Blue Angels, Mt Rainier, and cards with the family!


When Jared arrived for the weekend, I took him up to Mt. Rainier. I spent many weekends hiking around Mt Rainier growing up. It was a lot of fun showing him around. I wish I could have hiked more. We went up to Paradise where there is a visitor's lodge and short little trail heads around the parking lot. We can't wait to go back and do some hiking.







While at home, my sisters, Aunt Sue, and good friend, Laura, took me out to lunch and showered Jared and me with some fun baby gifts! It was so fun to be around all these wise ladies and hear the good advice that I need plenty of.








As fun as it was to be home with family, it was great to get back to the cooler temperatures of life by the beach:) The next couple of weeks were hectic as I wrapped things up at work, but August 17th was a great day to transition all my responsibilities to a new HR manager. I haven't had too many withdrawals of giving up working yet... and I don't really expect to. I had a great career for 10 years and now I'm focusing on new and better things!

This past week I went in for a 37 week appointment and all is looking well for our arrival of our little boy. The doctor did another ultra sound to find him head down and ready to go. The doctor doesn't think he'll change positions again... unfortunately for me because he is sitting heavy on my sciatic nerve, which makes walking VERY difficult, but he should be here shortly.

4th of July means... Company!!!

This 4th of July we were able to celebrate with Jared's mom, Shauna! We were so excited to have company--especially Shauna--come visit for the weekend.

We picked Shauna up from the airport on Thursday and went out to Coronado for lunch at the Hotel Del. The weather was finally nice and sunny for us here in Southern California and we enjoyed touring around Coronado and then up to my favorite shopping mall--Fashion Place:) They have every store you could possibly need except for Pottery Barn Kids, which we specifically went to the mall for. So of course we made our chauffeur (I mean Jared) take us up to the mall in La Jolla so we could look at some nursery decor:)

The next day we stopped at Babies R Us for some more shopping. Shauna was great and bought us a stroller and pack-n-play for junior coming soon. Jared was great and put both together right away so I could see how they looked.... I'm so ready for our little bundle to come!

After shopping we attempted the San Diego County Fair (The Puyallup doesn't hold candle to this county fair)! The lines to get into the fair were hours long and so we decided to go with our back up plans and hit a few other tourist spots.

First up, the Cabrillo Monument. The Cabrillo National Monument is located at the southern tip of the Point Loma Peninsula. This is where the explorer San Juan Cabrillo landed and discovered San Diego Bay in 1542. Up on this point are great views of San Diego.

On the other side of the point are tide pools with some more spectacular views. Up above the tide pools in the rocks are artillery batteries built to protect the harbor of San Diego from enemy warships.

We then hit Balboa Park and saw the Bodies exhibit. This was amazing. I especially liked the part about the babies:) Fascinating!!

It was fun to tour the park again, as this was were Jared and I had our engagement pictures taken. I thought I would let Shauan pose with Jared this time around:)-

We had worked up an appetite to eat at Miguel's Cocina! This is a great Mexican restaurant in Point Loma for anyone coming to visit. It has an amazing white cheese sauce to dip chips in... I know it doesn't sound very Mexican, but man is it tasty!

The next day we decided to attempt the fair again, and this time it was a lot less popular for everyone else in San Diego. I love the fair... the pigs, the cows, the crazy people and of course the food... the funnel cakes, corn dogs, kettle corn, and lots of other fatty fried food.

It was a great weekend of lots of walking and eating! We were able to cure our feet with a little R&R at a local nail spa!

Memorial Day Weekend

This past weekend Jared and I spent the holiday in Bear Bear Lake, CA.  This was a much needed getaway to the great outdoors!  Big Bear is a quaint resort town east of Los Angeles about 7000 ft up in the mountains.  It is beautiful landscape with plenty of water sports, fishing, and hiking to keep you busy.

Scenic shot from the road.

Touring around the lake on our very expensive rental for an hour speedboat... now Jared wants his very own.

Fishing bright and early in the morning... you should see the size of those trout!

This was our hike up to "The Grand View".  You should also check out Jared's mad video skills at the following link:) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R4g1I76bQ8

It was a great weekend away from the city.  

It's a Boy!

Sorry to all you who voted for a girl... and that was the majority.  We found out yesterday that we are having healthy baby boy!

This was by far the most exciting visit. The technician was able to point out all his little body parts and put our minds at ease that everything was developing normally.  I loved going through the details of counting legs, arms, toes, and fingers and watching his little heart beat. 

Some have asked what our reaction was to a boy or what did we want.  Jared and I both agreed we were so caught up in going through the body parts that finding out the gender was just an afterthought and we were so grateful that we have a healthy baby.  Now the excitement begins, and I can't wait to hit the mall this weekend for some clothes and furnishings for the nursery:)

The technician printed some pictures for us to bring home.  Now that I'm home and I'm my own, I don't recognize anything anymore:)  

Baby Poll Now Open

The baby poll is open and will close shortly.  If you want to be part of the action you have to cast your vote for a boy or girl before Tuesday, April 28th--despite the poll saying it will be open for a week.  On Tuesday, April 28th, Jared and I will have our second ultrasound which will hopefully disclose the gender of our baby.

There hasn't been much to update on the blog lately. Jared and I have been spending our weekends finishing decorating our new home.  We really like our new neighborhood and new ward.  This past Sunday they asked me to be the Primary secretary.  Jared is still awaiting his calling... which I think will probably be Scouts.  

The pregnancy continues to be pretty smooth for me.  My belly keeps growing, and we are taking that as a great sign these days that all is well since I still haven't felt any movement yet.  

Life is a Marathon not a Sprint...

For some life may be a marathon and not a sprint, but not for Jared and me! It was just one short year ago that we met at an Angels game. Since then we have married, moved twice, and started our family:)

We celebrated our one year anniversary this past weekend at an Angels game. I guess the biggest evolution is my wearing pink to a baseball game instead of my traditional blue (go Mariners). Jared is pretty adamant that we will raise Angel fans and not little Mariners. I think I will give them a choice with the exception of no Yankees.

Actually I am not that much of a die hard fan. I definitely like to go to the games but for me the best part is the food--peanuts, hot dogs, popcorn, red vines, ice cream, coke... . We really do buy all that too!

So hopefully we will start our marathon soon and start pacing ourselves for many more life events. Every day we both are reminded that we are the luckiest people alive to have finally after so many years found each other. I guess good things really come to those who wait!



April 19, 2008 (Angels vs Mariners)

April 11, 2009 (Angels vs Red Sox)

Check up - 2

It's interesting how I can't remember anything lately except for how many weeks pregnant I am and what is developing in our little baby. Pregnancy consumes every thought of me.

This last week I was 16 weeks pregnant and that meant it was time for our second doctor's visit. The visit itself was pretty uneventful to others but for me was a great reassurance that everything is coming along fine. We saw Dr Jones for about 15 minutes and he asked us a few questions and then asked if we had any questions--which we didn't. I guess we need to read more! He then listened for the heart beat, which was loud and strong and very fast. That is such a relief to hear. Up until this week I felt so great and noticed little changes in my body that I of course began to worry just a little. So far everything is going well though, and we have a healthy little baby on the way.

After our doctor's appointment on Monday, I noticed that my pants were extremely tight... I couldn't even zip them without laying down on the bed. I was pretty puzzled by this since I had just worn the very same jeans earlier that week to my doctor's visit and hadn't gained any weight since the previous visit. I walked downstairs and asked Jared if he noticed I gained weight over the past few days. He laughed at my extremely tight jeans and made a confession, "I accidentally washed all your jeans in hot water and dried them". I guess we now know what house hold chores are off limits to Jared, which I am sure he doesn't mind.

But every mistake always has a silver lining... right? No jeans to wear forced us to go to the mall to buy some new clothes... which I never object to. So now I have clothes that show I am pregnant instead of clothes that I stuff myself into that make me look fat:)