Jon, Alyssa, & Adalyne

Motor Boat, Motor Boat...

2012-01-31T11:49:00.000-08:00

Isn't this little girl adorable? She has been swimming twice at our awesome gym and absolutely loves it.

You wouldn't know she was happy by her face because it is set in the most serious focus-frown, taking in every little sound and movement, but her little legs are going to town under the water. I swear she's like a little wind-up motor boat under there.

Episode One: The Blessing

2012-01-27T16:32:00.000-08:00

Isn't she adorable?

Adalyne was blessed on July 17, just two and a half weeks after she was born. Since we were moving so far from family, we decided to bless her early so that we could have all of our family and friends present. It was SUCH a wonderful day. We got permission to bless her in my grandparent's home (Mormor and Morfar's) where we were living and it worked out so perfectly because we had so many wonderful family members come support us! It was a crowded home! Thanks Mormor and Morfar for hosting such a special day and setting everything up!

Mormor decided to begin a new tradition in our family with a new baby blessing dress to be handed down through our family from now one. Addie's cousin was blessed in it just a few weeks earlier for the first time and Addie was the first great-grandchild of many to come to be blessed in it. She looked so beautiful and perfect.

Pre-blessing snooze + bib just in case :)

Jon gave Addie a beautiful, beautiful blessing and she was such a doll...slept peacefully through the blessing and through most of the day. We spent the rest of the evening showing off our darling baby, chowing down on Hawaiian Haystacks and numerous goodies, taking a bajillion pictures (which I don't have the majority of, so bear with the few that I do have), and saying our goodbyes to everyone.

Nana and Papa

Grandma and Grandpa Randall

Oh the swollen face of post-pregnancy!

A little post-blessing snuggle with Papa

One of the most special moments was the chance we had to take a Five-Generation photo with Adalyne, me, my mother, my grandmother, and my great-grandmother! It was so awesome to see that generational line and to know that without these three wonderful women, neither I nor Addie would be here.

Thanks to everyone who could come and make it such a special day.

Unsolicited

2012-01-17T20:32:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I had a doctor's appointment. Addie came with me and was of course the hit of the waiting room. Her favorite admirer was an 80 year old grandma who just couldn't get enough. She also couldn't comment enough on my child or my poor mothering skills, even as she handed my baby her disgustingly dirty keys so that Addie could slobber all over them and internalize the millions of germs that called the keys home.

Her favorite comment was the following and was repeated multiple times:

"Well, isn't she such a LARGE child. My babies were all so tiny...it is strange to see such a LARGE baby."

After several comments, the feeling that the woman was calling my baby a ginormous cow finally got the better of me and I gently informed her that Addie was actually one of the smallest babies her age, ranging in the 5th percentile. She looked at me like I was such a whippersnapper to give her sass.

As the waiting room cleared, it was grandma and I and Addie left. Unfortunately, it came time for Addie's nap.

Now, when Addie falls asleep anywhere but her crib, she cannot be cradled in my arms or snuggled in a blanket or any of those normal ways. She has to be held upright so she can look at everything and when she is ready, she will lay her head against my chest and let me know she is ready to sleep. ONLY then will she succumb to sleep. After a half hour of walking Addie around the office, trying to get her to wear down and put her dang head on my chest, grandma spoke up:

"Didn't the doctors ever teach you how to hold a baby?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOO. It was a good thing I was across the room with my arms full.

Christmas 2011

2012-01-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a whirlwind of family, friends, and way too much good food. It was so nice to be able to go home and see everyone!

On our flight to Salt Lake, we learned that Addie is in LOVE with puppies. There were two on our flight and all she wanted to do was put them in her mouth, lol. Thank goodness both my parents and Jon's parents have puppies...I think she had enough for one week.

During our SHORT (and I mean, where the heck did all the time go, short) stay of a week, we did a ton of awesome stuff.

We got some serious Nana and Papi time and awesome uncle time at the Berretts. That little girl was so spoiled with her three uncles fighting over her, plus Nana and Papi.

We also got to see some of our very best friends from our Wymount days and it brought back so many great memories. We love all those guys and miss them so much! It was so fun to see everyone and hopefully we can continue doing it every year! Thanks to the Averyts for hosting!!!

Christmas Eve we got to spend with my Frandsen extended family and it was so much fun! That side of my family is so close and the party is always a blast. My aunt Candy planned a very special event that made this Christmas very memorable. In the last couple years, two of my cousins have lost babies, one who died in uterus a couple weeks before his due date and one who died 40 mins after her birth. To honor to their lives, we all lit floating lanterns and sent them out into the night sky. It was such a wonderful idea and was such a reminder of the true season of Christmas. It especially hit home as I held my baby girl a little tighter and thanked Heavenly Father for the blessing that she is in our lives. The night ended with a very physical game of "Do You Love Your Neighbor?" and a lot of laughing.

Christmas Day we woke up at the Randall's home. Unfortunately, Addie was teething and had a really hard night the night before, which meant I had a really hard night, so while the rest of the family headed to church, Addie and I took advantage of the extra and much needed sleep. When they returned, we had a killer brunch cooked by Krissie and then opened presents. It was so fun to be with so many of the Randall/Ricks family and once again, we got our game on.

Then we headed to my parents' house to open presents with them and even better, we got to talk to both of my brothers on missions. I miss them both so much and it was so fun to talk to them! Seth comes home in just three months! They are both doing so well and are working so hard.

Overall, we were seriously so spoiled by all of our families this year and were so happy to be with them for the holidays. And Addie was the most spoiled of all...her favorite gift was the Baby Einstein Jumperoo which she fell in love with immediately! This toy was built for this baby girl!

On the 26th, we got together with the Heaton family to celebrate Joseph Smith's birthday and it was so fun to see everyone, especially so that Grandma Heaton could meet and hold Addie.

The next morning, we got together with the Brotherhood. Oh, how I love those guys and their wives, and Addie seriously loved all the attention. After a fabulous brunch and hangout at the Moulton's, we sadly had to go. In the car, Jon and I just kept saying how much we missed the Brotherhood. Thanks for a great reunion and to those who couldn't be there, we missed you so much!!!

That night, we had the Frandsen reunion with my mom's brothers and their kids. It was so fun. I love this family and it was so good to hang out and have our traditional Swedish smogasbord. We had missed our beautiful Heber home!

The next morning, we got to see my best friend from high school, Kenzie, and her super cute kids and her cute prego belly!!! And later we got to spend some time with my sweet Grandma Berrett. She was so hilarious! At one point she brought out a couple pairs of shoes that she had just purchased and they were RocketDogs! lol! My grandma is stylin'! I seriously almost bought the exact shoes a few days earlier!

Whew...it was a crazy busy week and now we know that we will need at least two weeks next time we come up! What a great Christmas!

Half Birthday

2012-01-14T14:42:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is 6 months old! That sounds so big and she is just so little still! Seriously...look at her stats:

Height: 25.25 inches, 25%

Weight: 13lbs 12oz, 10%

Head Circumference: 16in, 5%

And her weight is up from her last two appointments when she was still hanging out in the 5th percentile. Addie is a petite little thing, but if anything it makes her more determined. She is the funniest little girl to have around and Jon and I spend most of the day laughing at her antics, her reactions, and her facial expressions. Some of the things I want to remember about her at this age are:

- She LOVES to jump...will she ever get tired of it? Mommy and daddy sure do...thank goodness for her Christmas present, the jumperoo. I don't know what we'd do without it!

- When she's tired, we will give her a binky and then she will immediately lay her head on your chest. This is the only time in the world that she will give snuggles...the rest of the time is just GO GO GO.
- She is one of the happiest babies ever. She is almost always smiling or talking to herself. We love it.

- She has two teeth on the bottom and they are SHARP little daggers. She is still loving to put EVERYTHING in her mouth.

Loving the food!

Who needs expensive toys, when you can have a cup?

First time rock climbing...this is for you, Seth!

-She is loving solid foods. Every time we introduce a new food, I brace myself for the scrunched-up-"this-stuff-is-yucky" face and it never comes. She is such a curious adventurer that she just takes it all in stride. In fact, her favorite food right now is peas, the least liked veggie of babies...go figure.
- She sits by herself all the time and she loves it so much, she has a temper-tantrum almost every time she has to do tummy time!
- She has begun pushing herself up onto her knees and rocking and I know that crawling is just around the corner.
- She has really figured out that toys can make noise and she loves to hit the toys against her legs and stomach to make them rattle.
- She loves to have raspberries blown on her tummy and thighs and is starting to laugh a lot more.
- She can also blow raspberries herself, especially with her tongue sticking out...and her favorite thing is to do it just as I bring her food to her lips. She thinks it is so funny and repeats it over and over while spraying momma with an large array colored food.
- She loves to play patty-cake and do any other song that involves me moving her arms around.
- She is so aware. I am always surprised at how much she knows and recognizes from routine. She knows that when I go to the sink, she is most likely going to get a bottle, and she gets excited. She knows when I set out her high chair that her green peas are on their way, and she starts grinning and getting antsy. She especially knows when it is bath time...when she hears that water running, her legs start pumping in preparation for the splashing that she knows is coming! Haha...she is so cute!

Bathtime in Grandma's sink!

- She LOVES to be outside. On the brief walk to the mailbox everyday, she just grins from ear to ear, just so happy. She used to hate the sun, but now, she can't get enough.
- One of the funniest things lately is that she doesn't want to be held, she just wants attention and praise. She'll start crying from the jumperoo, but all she wants is for me to say, "Good job, Addie" and then gets right back to it, laughing and smiley as always.
- She has also begun to have some serious stranger danger and has become as momma's girl all the way...and I'm not gunna lie, I kinda love knowing that sometimes she just wants me.

Overall, we LOVE this little girl...she keeps us laughing and smiling all day long.

Having the Time of our Lives

2012-01-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

Wow...a whole new year. 2011was fabulous with so many new things like a baby, a move, a job, a new lifestyle, an East Coast adventure, and a million other things. These past six months have been so full of change, it has been hard to keep up with things myself, let alone blog about them. But, we are finally mostly settled and I am feeling the urge to finally document all of the big changes and fun things that have happened to our little family! Especially since Adalyne is growing up so dang fast! As a New Year's resolution, I would like to do better with this blog and make it more of my journal. Jon and I looked through all of my old posts (which are few) the other night and it was such a blast to see photos and reminisce about all of our fun experiences since our marriage. I wished I had done better in my blogging so that we had more to enjoy! So, my goal is to blog once a week and catch up on life since Adalyne was born. Since there is so much to recap, I'm going to try to do some of the most recent things (like Christmas, New Years, Addie's six month mark, etc.) pretty soon and then I will do the last six months in snippets...consider them episodes in the show that is our life. So until then, enjoy this darling photo of Adalyne and stay tuned for some recent Randall events and look out for Episode One: The Blessing.

Addie's Two Week Photoshoot

2011-07-25T00:26:00.000-07:00

Adalyne is a total doll! We just love having her in our family! So much has happened since she was born and I feel like she changes and grows each day.

Week one stats:

Weight: 6 lbs 3 oz (8th percentile)
Height: 19 in (19th percentile)

apparently her cone head was really long cuz she lost an inch between the hospital and her week one check up. :)

Week two stats:

Weight: 7 lbs 2 ozs!
Height: 19 in

We were so proud of Addie (and so relieved) that she gained 15 oz in a week! She was struggling to breastfeed for the first week and since she had low blood sugar levels at the hospital, I had to use a nipple shield, syringe and feeding tube to get her to eat. By the end of week two, I had weaned her off of everything (with some tears on both of our parts), but I wasn't sure if she was getting enough to eat...but 15 oz means that she was gaining 1.5 oz a day! Whoohooo!

Now she is growing and changing like crazy. We love her so much. Some of the things she does at two weeks:

~~She already smiles...big toothless, wide mouthed smiles that have nothing to do with gas and everything to do with mom and dad.
~~She LOVES to sleep with both of her arms straight up by her head, almost like she is riding a rollercoaster.
~~She loves to snuggle into our chests for skin-to-skin time.
~~She is so alert and is already able to follow us around the room with her eyes. One time, after daddy finished changing a diaper, she watched him walk all the way out of the room, craning her head to follow him out the door.~~She hates to be swaddled and her little arms and legs fight like crazy to get out, but she sleeps so much better that way.
~~She loves to have her legs pulled up close to her bum in an Indian-style cross at all times (except when changing a diaper and then she kicks with all her might)
~~She has been able to lift her head since day 4 and has been getting stronger and stronger every day. She can now hold her head up for more than 30 seconds!
~~She has discovered the power of her legs and is using them to move around and position herself already...I think we might have an early crawler.
~~She enjoys tummy time, but is more interested in trying to use her legs to scoot herself around than in lifting her head.
~~She loves to lay horizontally across daddy's tummy - she starts vertically with her head on his left peck, but she uses her legs and she slowly squirms her way down his chest, turning herself until her legs hang off the left side and her head hangs off the right side and then she sighs and goes to sleep...cutest thing ever.
~~She purses her lips into the tiniest "o" and raises her eyebrows to wrinkle her forehead and looks around at the world like, "oh my."
~~She has a serious set of lungs when she is mad...and she can go from a peaceful sleep to a screaming roar in 2 seconds flat.
~~She has what we call "karate hands"...they never sit still (which is why the swaddle is a necessity for bedtime).

Already she has such a little personality. It amazes me to see how quickly she has become a little individual. Thankfully, we got to document her at two weeks...My wonderful sister-in-law, Bethany Ricks, is an amazing photographer and willingly took many hours out of her time to take some fabulous photos of little Addie... I've posted some of my favorites below...there are probably WAY too many, but I just love them all. Thanks so much Bethany! (PS - If any of you are interested in giving her a call to do pictures for you, let me know!)

Also, we finally made it to AZ safely, we are in the process of moving in and organizing...more on that later and I hope to find our mail key soon so that I can post pictures of Adalyne's baby blessing which we got to do before we moved.

Adalyne May: LABOR and Delivery

2011-07-08T14:55:00.000-07:00

Well, little Adalyne is here! She is beautiful and wonderful and we just can't get enough of her. The birth story is below...sorry if it is way too long and there are way too many pictures! Her official birth stats were:

Adalyne May Randall

Born at 10:23pm June 30, 2011

6 lbs 9 oz

20 inches long

Gorgeous beyond belief.

Chapter One: My Body Is In Labor But Won't Dilate

It all started on Tuesday when I began getting pretty painful contractions, but they weren't consistent until that evening when they started getting worse and worse, closer and closer. I seriously had no idea that contractions were so painful...I swear, someone could have warned me :) By 2 am, I was dying...breathing through each contraction, tears on the way. We finally headed down the canyon at 3:30 to Utah Valley hospital to check in. By then, the contractions were 2 -3 minutes apart, 60 - 80 seconds long, and I was sobbing through each one. Unfortunately, despite the extreme pain and being in obvious labor, I was only dilated to a 1 - GRRRRR. They kept me for a long, painful hour (without meds) to see if I would change, but I didn't, so they sent me home with a morphine shot to the hip and said, "If it is real labor, you'll keep contracting, so come back."

We headed to Jon's parent's house where we zonked out for 6 hours (thank you, morphine) but during my entire nap I was still contracting. When I woke up at about 7pm, the contractions had slowed, but they were still just as painful as when we left the hospital. But I had to wait until they built back up in frequency and so began another LONG, PAINFUL night of counting contractions. At about 1 am, we were so exhausted that we stopped counting and by 3 am, I had hit my patience limit. We headed to the hospital when I was only contracting 5 -6 minutes apart, but they were so intense I could have begged for an epidural.

When we got to the hospital, I was only a 2.5! I was so frustrated. Again, they couldn't keep me unless I progressed in an hour, so they told me to walk. And walk I did...I did probably 40 laps around the Utah Valley Maternity floor, stopping in the middle of the hall for each painful contraction. One ornery nurse told me as I walked by for the 20th time, "Honey...if you're not in labor yet, walking won't change anything." I wanted to hit her. And then the hour came and they came to check and I changed!!!! Only .5 cm but it didn't matter! At 7:30, they officially admitted me and got me that epidural within 15 mins. Oh, heavenly bliss. I do not know how any of you have natural births. I am blessed to be born in this age of modern medicine!

Chapter Two: My Body Is In Labor and SLOWLY Dilates

Thus began the waiting period...from 7:30 am to 8:00pm, I slowly but surely progressed. They thought several times about using Pitocin to speed up my progress, but because my body was doing it on its own, they decided against it. Too bad my body takes its own sweet time! From a "5 plus" to a 6, from a 6 to a "6 plus", it was torture, but I used the time to get some MUCH needed sleep, and so did Jon. Poor Jon was such a trooper, staying up with me, counting contractions, making me as comfortable as possible. He has such a difficult time when I am in any sort of pain and I know that this was really hard for him, but he was such a wonderful coach and support!

Chapter Three: I Take Forever to Push This Baby Out

At 8:00pm, I was finally at a 10 and I was allowed to push! Wooohooo! By then, my body was exhausted...almost 50 hours of continuous, painful contractions wore me out! It felt so weird to push, but feel nothing down below...thank goodness for that epidural. After two and a half hours of pushing, she was finally here! They did have to do an episiotomy, but everything went well. Jon watched the whole thing...I couldn't believe it! He coached me through all the pushing and kept me motivated.

When she finally came out, all the nurses exclaimed at how long her umbilical cord was...haha...apparently it was a few FEET long! Unfortunately, it was also wrapped around her neck three times, so she had some difficulty breathing at first. There was no lusty cry when she finally came out and I was so worried. They brought in the respiratory specialists and Jon and I kept asking if she was okay and they would just say, "Oh, she's having a hard time breathing..." Um, okay, isn't that the main source of life here - AIR. But she ended up being just fine and after several minutes with them, I finally got to hold her.

We are SO happy she is here. She is such a blessing in our lives. We think she is absolutely the most beautiful thing in the world. I love cuddling this little girl close to me and hearing her breathe. It still astounds me that just a few days ago, she was in my belly and it is even more insane to think back to when she was just that little poppyseed.

Her first few days were a struggle...she had low bloodsugar levels, I had difficulty breastfeeding her, and she ended up jaundiced. She had to spend the last day in the hospital under the lights and then she had to sleep in a straightjacket billibed to get rid of her jaundice. But we are happy to say that she is now doing VERY well and is super healthy. I will post her two week stats in another post soon to come. Enjoy these last few pictures

So Many Changes

2011-06-07T08:38:00.001-07:00

Well, as is typical, it has been almost another 6 months! So much has happened in these few months and since I don't want to bore the few who read this, I think a good bullet-list will do with our top 6 life changes for the past 6 months. Sorry if this is extra, extra long!!!

First Big Change -- Jon Graduated!

Jon finally graduated from BYU with a major in Construction Management and a Business minor. I am SOOOO proud of him! He worked so hard and performed super well in all of his classes, despite my constant pressure to abandon his homework and play! We spent the day with family and had a wonderful BBQ (thank you, bipolar Utah weather for sunshine). Now, we get to spend our evenings together, rather than spending it with homework! We LOVE this new lifestyle!!! With this big graduation comes our next big change:

Second Big Change -- New Job, New Location

Because Jon is so gosh dang amazing, he was given several job offers. After a lot of stress, prayers, and plenty of pro/con lists, we finally decided to go with Turner Construction in Tempe, Arizona. We are sooo excited and feel so blessed for this job opportunity! The job description is exactly what he wanted and the company is excellent. Jon will be starting down there with them near the end of July. They were nice enough to let him wait for baby girl to arrive in Utah before starting. We are really looking forward to Arizona, as well! Jon has a lot of sisters and brothers down there, so it will be nice to be by family. Not to mention the wonderful HEAT. Utah has done its part in making the move more appealing...I am ready for SUMMER!!! Jon went down last week to check out some prospective apartments and we hope to solidify on a townhome this week! Bring on the palm trees and desert landscaping!

Third Big Change -- Three Year Anniversary

I guess this isn't really a big change, but we got to celebrate our three year anniversary at the end of April. Jon planned a surprise trip (he knows I love surprises) to St. George where we spent an amazing 4 days relaxing. Oh, how it was needed. I really couldn't imagine being married to a more perfect, selfless husband. I am so blessed. Jon is incredible and has really been my source of sanity through this pregnancy. He works so hard and then comes home and somehow keeps our home running amid cleaning and foot massages. I love him so much! What a blessing it is to be married to your best friend. I can't wait for this next wonderful year!

Fourth Big Change -- I Survived.

This was my first year teaching and I survived. Not only did I survive, but I absolutely LOVED it. Orem Junior High was incredbile...my students were fabulous, my department was wonderful, and our administration rocks this world. I couldn't have taught anywhere better! I loved teaching! It is one of the most fulfilling things I could do each day... it never really felt like I was going to "work." There were certainly ups and downs--being pregnant while teaching and coaching is NO FUN--but my students were incredible. I don't know how I got such a wonderful group of kids. They constantly surprised me with their brilliant insights and made me laugh each and every day. 9th graders are seriously the best. Looking back at the year, they grew so much and they taught me so much. They were so funny, too, about the coming baby. Some of my favorite comments are the following:

7th grade Victor: How are you pregnant? You're not fat.
Victor, a week later: Mrs. Randall, you got fat.

9th grade Marilyn: Does your baby have a head? (While poking my 8-month pregnant belly forcefully with her pointer finger)

9th grade Marcos: Will you name your baby Ronaldinho?
Me: It's a girl, Marcos.
Marcos: Oh, then will you name it Jesus?

Hahaha...oh, how I loved this experience! I love those kids! Some of my favorite yearbook comments were the following:

"I'm pretty sure this year of English was my fav! I am going to cry and you will too because you are going to miss me so much!"

"You are literally my favoritist teacher ever! I love your class so much. Its so much funner than any other class!" (Please notice the correct grammar/spelling used, haha. I've done my job well...)

"You completely changed my perspective and attitude about English."

"You are the first English teacher I've had that actually taught me something." (Just a little pretentious, don't you think??)

"Mrs. Randall, I hope your baby looks like a baby. PS - Some day I wanna ride a pig." (Complete with a picture of a flying pig)

Fifth Big Change -- I'm Huge

Baby Girl is officially full term! I have 2 weeks and 4 days left and I am SO counting. She is healthy and quite active!! At our weekly NST (non-stress test), the nurses always exclaim that she is the most active baby they have seen that day. She hates the monitors and always tries to kick them off of her. Last time, she made the nurse jump and squeal because she attacked the monitor so hard. Haha...she makes her mama proud. As of our last ultrasound a week ago, she was weighing 6 pounds flat and sticking to the 5oth percentile.

As for me, this pregnancy really has been fairly easy compared with some of my friends' stories. And it has been a fun past month with several baby showers. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family and such supportive friends! Thanks to all who came, and especially to those who helped to throw the showers. This little girl is already so spoiled!

On Saturday we went to our first pre-natal class (which, by the way, was over 5.5 hours long...with one break...you'd think they would have planned better for pregnant women!). I was worried about Jon since we were going to watch some birthing videos and he doesn't love the blood, but he did great and I was the one that almost passed out (darn epidural shots). haha...I'm sitting there about to black out and yet, thank you pregnancy hormones, I was in tears cause the whole thing was just so gosh darn beautiful when that baby is finally out.

I'm pretty sure that the videos freaked me out more than anything though...I closed my eyes when we watched "The Miracle of Birth" in high school, so this was a little bit more than I could handle. I still can't get the images out of my mind; I DREAM about them...how the HECK am I going to do that? How the HECK did all of you do that? And do it again and again? But despite the fears, we are so excited to have this little girl in our arms! It is so close!

Sixth Big Change -- Heber

Once Jon graduated, we quickly moved out of Wymount. While we loved our almost two year stay and miss our friends greatly, it was time to move on. Mormor and Morfar, my wonderful grandparents, willingly took us into their beautiful home in Heber where we get to stay in their side apartment until after the baby comes. While the commute to school and work was not very fun for a few weeks, it has been absolutely GORGEOUS up here. There is nothing like waking up to this view:

Well, I think that is it for the big news...I hope I covered it all. 2011 has turned out to be a busy and big year for us and I seriously can't wait for the next two months when Jon and I get to start this new life with a new baby girl, a new job, and new home!

SHE is adorable

2011-02-18T21:19:00.000-08:00

It is official...we will be having a beautiful BABY GIRL! We are sooooo excited! We found out on Valentine's Day and it was the best gift ever. We then spread the news to the grandparents. My mother cried when we surprised them with the news and has already pulled out the baby clothes from my past...I am loving it.

I always claimed I would only have boys and that I never wanted girls because I wouldn't know what to do with them (all the brothers made boys sound easier), but I was secretly hoping for a girl the whole time and so was Jon, so we are thrilled. She showed a really stubborn streak in the ultrasound since it took her almost 50 minutes to show us a profile, despite massive shaking by the woman doing the ultrasound. But she was so dang cute! It is amazing that she is really inside of me! This pic is one of my favorites with her cute hands...it's like she's saying, "Please, Mom, stop poking and shaking me!"

Since the pregancy is high risk, we had the chance to see all of it again when the perinatalogist came in for consultation. He seemed pretty cold at first, but then at the very end of our ultrasound, he gave us a quick devious look and switched ultrasound tools and suddenly there was our baby in 4D! We could see so much detail on her little face, it was so unreal. This isn't very good quality since our scanner isn't awesome, but I still love it! We think she might just have my nose!

I love knowing what our little baby is and now I don't have to call her an "it." She has been moving around a TON and distracts me all the time when I am teaching with her powerful kicks. Maybe we have a little soccer player in the making :) The best part of it all is that since we are high risk, we get to do this again in 6 weeks! I love, love, love to see this little girl and can't wait for the chance to see her again!

Enter Randall Family Member #3

2010-12-19T12:48:00.000-08:00

So....we are having A BABY!

Sorry to be so unoriginal, but I think this morning sickness has knocked out all the desire I have to be creative! We are due July 2nd and can't wait to add this little member to our family!

We are so blessed to have this baby in the first place. With the Addison's disease, my doctor told me I'd be lucky to get pregnant and luckier to get through the first trimester. We almost didn't make it, with a close call on a miscarriage. I started bleeding heavily at 7 weeks and the doctors pretty much told me to expect to lose the baby. It was a pretty rough 24 hours filled with prayers and tears before we got in to see the ultrasound specialist, but the baby was there and it's heartbeat was going strong! We are so grateful to all those who had us in their prayers and fasts. We went in a few weeks ago to double check that the baby was still doing fine and that the bleeding had stopped and everything was wonderful. Our little baby has a strong heartbeat and is growing like crazy! Whoohooo!

Oh, Junior High

2010-10-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

A few funny anecdotes from the past few weeks that I know were funnier in the moment, but I don't want to forget them:

A student in one of my math classes had reached the end of her rope when shen looked up at me with exasperation and stated,"You, like, expect us to be math heroes!"

A random intercom announcement from this week: "Please jump down from your perch on the windowsill."

I told a student that he was talking over me and he retorted, "No, I'm not. I'm talking under you..."

A student recently made a comment that sadly denoted the failing struggle the family is having in this modern world: A fellow teacher was married recently and had changed her name. She and a student were discussing her marriage when he said, "Do you live together?"
She laughed and said, "Of course we live together...we're married."
He sadly replied, "Yeah, but lots of people are married and they don't live together..."

Thank You

2010-10-08T07:33:00.001-07:00

Thanks for your comments, those of you who offered advice. And to those who just offered comfort. I feel almost stupid because I hardly know these girls, but again, the affect on my students has been dramatic which directly affects me. Today was the first day that I actually had my own students (I only teach English on B days) and it was very difficult. I prayed for the right words to say. I was so nervous, not knowing how to address the students in my room, some of whom were already sobbing.
Our student body officers were great and in announcements they played the girl's favorite song and then had a moment of silence. I was doing great until that point. Strong, slightly removed, but then they played Josh Groban's "You Raise Me Up." Unfortunately, music has always had a major impact on my emotional status and that powerful song, a song about Heavenly Father's ability to raise us high, resulted in tears. . .just in time for me to get up and address the class. So I went up with tears streaming down my face, hardly able to speak words, and I could see almost every student in my class was crying, even the tough boys in the back. Despite how awful this is, I can see that this event will strengthen our classroom. We all have some sort of bond...something we can connect to. But oh, man...looking at those tear-stained faces, I just didn't know how to help. But then I began to speak and I don't even remember what I said, but I felt so much better, I feel so much better. And I think I might have said the right things too...something about a tragedy, how she will be missed...but I also talked about compassion for the girl driving.
It seems that now that we have addressed the grief straight on, we can go on with life, remembering both girls. But I feel dumb...how do you say, "Okay, now set aside your sadness...we have work to do?" I guess I need to find a balance. We'll see how it goes...their personal writing time is almost up...

Death

2010-10-07T15:12:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I have been MIA in the blogging world. I promise to be better and this weekend I will post a catch-up post. But something happened today and I just needed to get my emotions out. I'm not by my journal so I needed an outlet. You happen to be it. I'm not very eloquent about grief so bear with me as I put my feelings on the page.

This morning, a student from the school where I teach died in a car accident. She was waiting for the bus when another girl, driving a car without permission or driver's license, hit her. Both girls were only 13 years old...13. I didn't know either of them, but the shock to the school, to the students and to the faculty has been dramatic. It feels like a dark, heavy cloud has come over the school and is pressing down on everyone. I couldn't believe how much the loss affected me personally. As I said, I didn't know either girl, but as I watched my own students struggle with this tragedy, I just wanted to wrap them up in a big hug, cry a few tears with them and take away the grief. Instead, I watched as a bystander, not knowing what to do to help, yet wanting to help so badly. As I watched and felt useless, I kept wondering why I felt so awful, so sad. And the more that I thought about the affects of this loss, the more I realized that my school is such a tight-knit community and a loss, no matter how well or little I knew the student, is still a terrible loss for us as a school. It made me recognize and feel grateful for such a wonderful school to be part of.

And yet this was still a major trajedy, a double tragedy. For the family and friends of the girl who died, their pain is intense and their loss very real. But I also feel immense pity for the girl driving the car. From what my fellow teachers have said, this girl was a sweetheart. She made good decisions and treated everyone well. They were shocked to learn that the driver in the accident was this girl. Unfortunately, she made one bad decision, one single moment of irresponsible thinking, that led to an accidental death, a death that she will have to live with for the rest of her life. So not only was today about mourning for a student who passed away, but it was also about a student who just lost the life she knew. She accidentaly took the life of another and consequently will never be the same nor will the lives of those involved ever be the same.

So to sum, today sucks.

The Last Four Months In Pictures

2009-11-29T18:33:00.000-08:00

This past semester has been fairly crazy! It is my last semester at BYU (technically) and in just 2 more weeks I will never have to go to another class or take another final in my life. HOOOOORAAAY! Jon and I are doing great and loving life! See pictures below to see what we have been doing with all of our spare time.

We went to the wedding of Jon's sister, Elyse, early in October. She looked so beautiful and the day was really fun spent with lots of family.

It was also our first trip to the Bountiful temple, which we loved. The weather was perfect and the temple was amazing, as always.

Jon turned 24 on November 14! We had a wonderful day spent shopping for new basketball shoes among other delights. Then we were treated to a weekend long celebration, with parties from his family, my family, and his friends.

Our families spoiled Jon well and it was great to spend time with them and celebrate Jon.

I love Jon more than I can say and am so grateful that he is part of my life! He is such a blessing and he makes everyone around him so happy! I always love birthdays because I get an excuse to spoil him rotten and spend the whole day with him. Happy Birthday, Love!

I know that this is random, but here at Wymount, we have our own wildlife preserve. We have a family of deer that consists of three bucks, three babies, and two mamas. We got to watch the babies grow up from practically newborn and now they hang around in our backyard almost every single day. Sometimes, when we are getting ready, we can feel something watching us...and then we look out the window and see eye to eye with these deer! Jon LOVES it! Haha...one time, he even stalked the deer, crawling on his stomach to get a good picture (with lots of neighbors wondering what the heck he was up to).

Then, last weekend, we took a road trip down to Arizona. Jon's other sister was getting married and we wanted to be there for support. We drove the 10 hour drive in one day, bringing Jon's sister April with us.

I loved this trip because I used to live in Gilbert, AZ for 9 years. I haven't been back since we moved to Utah, so it was a trip down memory lane. This is my old elementary school. The name is changed, but it is the same school. We used to be called the Neely Knights.

This is my old house!!! The people who live there now really trashed the place. They tore out four really beautiful trees, tore out the backyard grass and made room for their 4 rotting cars in the back. But it was still fun to go see....

We got to stop by the Mesa Temple and take some pictures. It is such a beautiful temple and the weather was FABULOUS!!! We wore t-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops to a soccer game and got a tan! We loved it. Especially since we drove home to Utah in a BLIZZARD. I hate snow.

As tradition, my family always stopped at the Lake Powell dam and had lunch and that is what we did on our road trip. Overall, it was so nice to get out of Provo and be somewhere warm. We got to stay with my aunt and uncle and with Jon's sisters. We had a lot of fun spending time with them, soaking up the sun.

When we got back, Jon's brother asked us to watch their two little girls while they went out of town! It was a crash-course in parenthood. We had to think of things to entertain them constantly. One of the items of entertainment was my hair. They thought I looked so beautiful after covering my hair in bows that they did it 4 more times. It was a dangerous game though, I have gouges all over my head from where they scraped me with the clips.

We made a fort and partied all afternoon with candy, cookies, and a Barbie princess movie.

Over the next 48 hours, we went to Kangaroo Zoo, BYU Bowling Alley, and the movie theater. It was a wild ride filled with whining, temper tantrums, and lots of fun. We even got to deal with throw up after the little one bounced too hard on a blow up toy.

They really loved this place and the slides and we spent almost two hours making them tired :) Despite the massive exertion of energy, these kids woke us up at 7:00. It was still dark and it was a holiday. Needless to say, it was an excellent form of birth control :) Jon and I were exhausted after those two days. I can't imagine it full time! Those of you who do it full time, you are incredible! I don't know how you do it!!!

The BEST Halloween Ever!!!!

2009-11-02T19:10:00.000-08:00

This Halloween just happened to be the best Halloween I have ever had. For multiple reasons. But the most incredible part of the day was when Jon and I drove up to Saratoga Springs and were reunited WITH MY KIDS FROM ETHIOPIA!!! Cherish and Kelly are their new parents. This amazing couple adopted 7 of these adorable kids from Africa, ranging from age 2 to age 17!!! And they already had 4 kids of their own! And then Cherish's father adopted 3 more of the kids!!!! The day I got a call from them from America I shed quite a few tears and said a million prayers. I thought that if I was ever going to see them again, I would have to raise thousands of dollars to go back to their remote village. But here they are in UTAH. I cannot believe it still! What amazing, incredible, AMAZING people these two families are and what an incredible, overwhelming blessing it is to be able to see these kids that I lived with for three months (in one of the most poverty stricken countries in the world) be adopted to families that live within 30 minutes of my house into a home where the gospel is loved and taught. Dibabbe, the oldest of the girls, is currently taking the discussions! Her father, Kelly, is also a seminary teacher, and after one of his classes, she text her mom and said, "Daddy is such a good teacher. GOD is LOVE." Incredible. When we got to Saratoga Springs, the kids were already out trick-or-treating, so we snuck up on them from behind. Dibabbe was the first one that saw me and in two seconds she was giving me a life-squeezing hug. And then she cried. I can't explain the incredible feeling of love that I had for this girl and the love that I knew Heavenly Father has for her. I just know that there is something amazing in store for these wonderful kids. Overall, it was one of the best nights of my life, and with a full heart I could tell these kids that I would be back to see them as often as their parents would let me.

These are all of the kids from the Village of Hope the night that I left. Of these kids, TWELVE, have been adopted, plus three more that came after I left. There are 7 in Saratoga Springs, 3 in Spanish Fork, 2 in Salt Lake City, and 3 in Logan!!!!!!

And as a special surprise, Fayisa was there for a 2 week visit!!! He practically made the Village of Hope run while we were there. He helped to teach me the native language and was the only father-figure these kids ever had. They adored him and it was so wonderful to see him again!! Another awesome surprise is that Fayisa is also taking the discussions from the missionaries and on the night that we saw him, Oct. 31, he had begun reading the Book of Mormon!!!!! Steffanie and I always insisted that someday he would become a Bishop. At the time, he didn't know what that meant, but he knows now and laughs. I am so positive that he will accept the gospel. His heart has been ready for a very long time.

Again, what an incredible blessing this weekend has brought! I just want to hug Cherish and Kelly for forever for taking these incredible kids into their home and giving them a real chance at life. I can't imagine the hardships that this merging will bring to their families, but I am sure that they will be blessed tremendously for their outpouring of love. It is such proof that Heavenly Father really hears and answers our prayers and that He knows each of us individually!!!

Well, after those amazing few hours, the rest of Halloween can't quite compare, but it was really fun. Jon was the creative one for this Halloween and we dressed as Lumiere and Babette, from Beauty and The Beast. We had a lot of fun putting together our costumes...

Can you see the resemblance?? Haha...Jon's costume is made solely from women's DI clothing and oatmeal cans and my dress was also a DI addition...with some feathers from some white dusters I bought. Let's just say that when we got home, it looked like we had killed and defeathered a chicken! There were feathers everywhere. And they still are everywhere. Even though we cleaned up, I found at least three lingering feathers on my jeans in the car this morning.

We went over to our friends' house for a good Halloween party where we could show off our costume! By then, Jon was fully into his character. He sat like Lumiere, with his arms at right angles, for the entire party! And occasionally, he would lean forward to "sizzle" a feather on my dress and then apologize for burning me. It was so great! Thanks to the Robertsons for having us over! Afterwards, we went to Jon's parents and raided the candy and talked about their Halloween evening and then we headed to the Low's house. As always, we stayed late and talked, but we had to bolt before Andrew could put on a scary movie or Lord of the Rings or Joe Dirt :) (thanks for veto-ing, Court!). All in all, it was the best Halloween ever.

Blogging Stupor and Hawaii!

2009-08-27T12:49:00.001-07:00

An apology is due. I don't know what happened to me. I hit a blogging wall. But our most recent trip deserves to be blogged because we actually have cool pictures. Jon and I decided, after some discussion with a good friend, that now is the time to enjoy our marriage and the time we have together, before we have kids. So we decided to take a big trip...we first decided to go to Brazil where Jon served his mission, but the flights were insanely pricey. So we thought we'd go to Ethiopia so I could see my kids again, but again, really expensive. So we followed my friend's footsteps and bought tickets to Hawaii!!! Neither of us had ever been, so we were so excited! We went for 9 days, 5 days on Maui and 4 days on the Big Island. It was AWESOME! We just got back and can't think about anything else. Jon dreams about Hawaii every night...no joke. Well, we took a million pictures, so I thought I'd let the pictures tell the story! Sorry for the overwhelming amount!

Snorkeling at Honolua Bay...with a nasty, scary eel.

The eel wound himself into the rocks and would just gape at us with his white mouth. We couldn't see any eyes and it was totally freaky!

Fish at Honolua Bay!

The best part of our trip was snorkeling with these deep sea turtles. We saw ones that weighed over 300 lbs and were almost as long as me! The littlest ones couldn't hold their breath for very long and they would surface every few minutes, which is why they were so close to us. They were incredible!

On our last day, we went to Honaunau and there was an entire family of sea turtles that lived there. They nipped one guy in the butt, but were really friendly to us. This one kept touching my legs with its slimy flippers.

Kona Temple! It was beautiful! We were so glad that we got to go, but we hit a snag. We thought they rented clothes, but they didn't! I had to borrow clothes from the brides' room. And we almost missed the last session of the day!

The amazing beaches in North Maui!

Night out on the town after the temple! We had such amazing food!

Sorry these are kinda blurry. This is where the lava flows on the Big Island meet the ocean, sending off a huge plume of smoke. We had to stay pretty far away because there was an underground river of lava between us and where the actual lava flows into the sea.

This is at Wianapanapa State Park where one of the best black lava beaches exists.

Our favorite night, we stayed in a little cottage in the middle of a 5 acre fruit and flower farm. It was like living in the middle of the most beautiful jungle. We grilled up some salmon and veggies and then relaxed in the jacuzzi while we watched these little geckos crawl all over the house. They were pretty cute!

On one of the days in Maui, we drove the famous Road to Hana. It winds in and out of the coastline and was sometimes incredibly scary because it was so narrow! But the ride was beautiful and we saw and jumped into so many waterfalls along the way. The waterfall above was way too shallow to jump, but was so clear!

In the background you can see the Hana coastline and see the sheer cliffs that we drove along. The sights were amazing!

This is Iao Valley, the remains of the caldera of the Maui volcano. The center of the volcano has eroded away and has left these towering sheer walls that are covered by the jungle.

This was the worst moment of the trip and I am pouting. We went to eat out and I spilled an entire container of BBQ sauce all over my new shorts, my purse, my shirt, and my chair. It was horrible because not only do I hate the taste of BBQ sauce, I also hate the smell and I smelled like that for hours and we were too far from our hotel to get a change of clothes! Grrr to my clumsiness!

Beautiful sunset in Lahaina.

Famous beaches at Ka'anapali.

The great banyan tree in the middle of Lahaina. It was SO HUGE! I don't get how they work...they had branches connecting to other trees and branches shooting straight into the ground. It was pretty sweet.

At the Luau we went to. The food was amazing (I am now a big fan of kalua pork) and the hula and fire dancing was crazy! How anyone can move their hips that fast is beyond me!

Our drive around the Northern side of Maui.

Overall, it was the BEST TRIP EVER. Beaches, snorkeling, waterfall hikes and dips, great food and great company -- what more could you want! We loved spending time together for those 9 days and coming back to reality has been hard because we actually have to say goodbye in the morning. Hopefully we can go back another time! There was so much more to do!

THE BIG ONE!!!

2009-05-03T23:52:00.000-07:00

A bit more than a week ago, it was our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! Hooray!!! I can't believe how quickly time has flown by. I never believed I could love anyone so much or grow as close to someone as I have to Jon. Everyday just seems to get better and better as we learn more about each other. Cheesy, I know, but true. We had both of our parents over for dinner the other night and they asked us what the most surprising thing was about marriage in this first year, and we both answered that everyone told us how incredibly difficult it would be to adjust to one another, to get over the little quirks that we both have, to learn to do things for the other person, and it surprised us how wrong they were, because married life was immediately (and still is) very easy for us. Life with Jon has been amazing...we just seem to fit perfectly! He is incredible in so many ways and I am so wonderfully blessed to be married to the most unselfish, devilishly handsome, sweet, caring, hardworking man! To prove his wonderfulness... Jon surprised me with a weekend getaway to the Zermatt Resort. We got some excellent discounts and they upgraded us to the Honeymoon Suite! It was so fun! The whole weekend was spent in complete relaxation, which was much needed after the long semester and finals.

We got to Zermatt late on Thursday and then Friday we lounged around the resort, ate gelatto (devine), slept in, watched TV (which we don't have and sometimes crave), watched movies...pretty much, it was heaven. Jon also had made some really fun plans to go either hot air ballooning or for a helicopter ride, but they fell through because of the stinky weather. So instead, we went to The Crater. It was pretty sweet. This is a picture from inside the crater, which is actually like 50 ft wide. The water was really warm and Jon and I went snorkling. We watched from above as others below were getting their scuba diving certifications.
The water was so blue it was incredible, and contrary to rumor, the water was really clear and you could see all of the wall formations underwater.

This is us on top of the crater and Zermatt is in the background. Later that evening, we went out to dinner at ClaimJumpers because our favorite restaurant in Seattle was ClaimJumpers. Sadly, Heber ClaimJumpers doesn't quite match up, but we had a really good time and the food was really good. That night, Jon presented me with some really pretty flowers, and a sweet gift certificate for a shopping spree the nest day, and we enjoyed an evening of candy and movies! I gave him a much needed electric razor and a hair clipper kit (and I cut his hair just last week for the first time...I was terrified but it ended up looking okay!) It was a fabulous weekend and a fabulous anniversary!!!

This past weekend was my brother's 17th birthday! I can't believe that Josh is that old. He is the one with the glasses down below. He is currently ranked the #6 best goalie in Utah for lacrosse! Incredible! Anywho...Jon and I decided to put aside other responsibilities to go hang out with my family and we had a great time. My brothers always crack me up and somehow manage to make the oddest comments of all time...they are definitely a generation of TV addicts. Sam is missing from this picture...

This is my dad and my cute grandma who came up for the birthday celebration. My other grandparents were there too and it was so fun to spend time with them.
Unfortunately, we spent too much time and didn't get home until 12:00pm...with the rude realization that both Jon and I had massive amounts of homework...I mean, an eight page paper due by 8 in the morning! It was a LATE night for us both.

So anywho...other than that, the update on life is that Jon and I are pretty much going to be dead this summer. We are trying to work really really hard so that we can save up and get back to Brazil and Ethiopia soon! Jon is working three jobs and going to school full time (he is crazy, but so willing to work hard and sacrifice for us!). I am working two jobs and also going to school full time! I just started waitressing at the Old Spaghetti Factory if anyone wants to come in, please do! I would love a friendly face! To sum up, we will have a very busy summer, but we both feel that it is the right decision and hopefully we can reach our goals. One sad note is that we are being kicked out of our cute, lovely little house. The landlord has decided to sell it to some buyers who want to rent it to their married kids, so we got the boot. Unfortunatley, the house has got me a bit spoiled...it was so nice, so open, so full of light, and SO cheap...I don't think something like that exists south of campus besides our house. Luckily, we got into the newer part of Wymount (you gotta love the "rabbit hutches") for the right time, so I don't think it will be too much of an issue. I just wish we weren't leaving our home, which we have really come to love, and I wish we weren't leaving the ward! We just got called as ward mission leaders and are LOVING the calling. GRRRR to change!
Wow...well this was a novel....hope it makes up for the slacking I have been doing (sorry katie!).

Crutches, School, and Spring...

2009-04-18T15:45:00.000-07:00

It has finally arrived! Spring is here!!!!! I am soooo happy. I just had to post these precious flowers from our backyard because I am so pleased they made it through the snow and crazy weather and now they brighten up our backyard and I get to see them through our huge back window everyday! I can't believe how attached I am to our growing green things! Some of our trees almost toppled this week because of the snow's weight, but they survived (we did have one tree crash down in the middle of the night and hit our bedroom window, but all is well) and are now budding and growing bright green leaves. Oh hooray.

On top of the wonderful spring weather, school is almost over! YES! I only have one more final and Jon has two left. We cannot wait for this week to be over! Our anniversary is also next week and Jon has some kind of sneaky plans going on. All he will mention is that he has rented a U-haul, code-phrase for he has reserved something. Not quite sure what to expect, but I can't wait for a good relaxing weekend.
On some not so good news, I tore the ligaments in my ankle 2 weeks ago playing soccer and have been recovering from that. As I quickly learned (and people have told me over and over again), tearing ligaments is MUCH, MUCH worse than breaking the bone. It hurts much more and heals much slower. GRRRR. For about 8 days I was on crutches, but now I only have to wear a brace and I am so grateful for my legs! It had been a hard week being totally dependent on everyone else, not being able to walk anywhere or hold anything in my hands as I walk. Not to mention the fact that crutches are incredibly painful for the first few days! I couldn't help post some nasty pictures of my ankle from a week after it happened. I look like I have elphantitis or whatever that disease is. I promise my foot and my ankle are not normally that fat, but this is actually my ankle looking GOOD. You should have seen it 5 days earlier.

Prior to all of this, Jon and I and some friends from our ward took a vacation and hit up my grandparents' house in Heber. It was a fabulous getaway and much needed with the upcoming end of school. We actually got to go snowshoeing and it was so much fun!

101 Things

2009-02-18T15:22:00.000-08:00

So in the effort to do better at blogging, I found this on another blog and thought it would be fun to do while I wait for Jon to get out of class. Feel free to copy and paste it and put it on your own blog.

101 Things

At least one of us have done the bolded items:

1. Ridden in a train
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band/orchestra
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disney World
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis - which bit or pinched me
10. Sang a solo - and I cried
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning - this last week we both had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Had a letter to the editor published
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked - In Ethiopia...probably not the best idea
23. Taken a sick day when not really ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Seen the running of the bulls
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors - Sweden!
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Been on a draw-bridge
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Received a traffic ticket -(only Jon)
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Been in a story on the news - for the NBL
50. Seen a wild mustang
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business - Jon and his friends
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Received flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (that would be only Jon)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - my blankie!
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Won a contest
77. Broken a bone - 3 for me
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Been in a cave
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible or other religious book
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating- does fish count?
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone’s life - my brother who has drowning
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Been to the top of the Gateway Arch
99. Been stung by a bee - I HATE bees
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument

I am a terrible blogger...but I am repenting

2009-02-14T12:10:00.000-08:00

Time is just flying by and I am so terrible at blogging. Thankfully, I have some very close friends that keep on top of it and remind me dutifully to update my blog...so this is for Kenz and Katie.
But wow...there is so much to tell in the past 3 months that I haven't written. I think I will just post pics from these past couple months and skip to writing about this week...This week has been a little crazy! Jon and I have both been sick (I don't think Jon ever gets better). He had bronchitis and I just had a little cold, but being sick is so miserable! We just finished our midterms this week, which were terrible, but at least they are done for now.
Oh! I also got a second job so that I can build up my resume for teaching. It is only 6 hours a week and I get fabulous pay. I will be teaching SAT prep for math, reading, and writing at a boarding school. I get excited every time I think about it! I will be teaching lower level students and I am nervous that I will fail miserably at teaching, but I get excited when I think about the good experience it will be!
This past week, we had a a lot of fun because one of our really good friends got married, Matt and Brianna Reynolds (see pics below)! Because of that, the boys had a bachelor party and the girls had a girl's night (dinner, movie, and lots of treats). But after our party ended, the night wasn't so fun because the single guys of the bachelor party group made it into an ALL-NIGHT thing. Us wives tried to be supportive of them having fun, but I was sad. This was the first night away from Jon since our marriage and it was so dumb! I slept on a couch at Courtney's house with my blankie...it was so depressing! Jon came and got me early in the morning and we went home and slept. We have decided that there will be NO more sleep overs with just the boys.

But the actual wedding was so wonderful! Jon and I haven't been to a sealing in almost 8 months, and it was so good to listen to the covenants and promises that we made. I am so excited for them and so excited to have another wife to hang out with!

Matt and Brianna

And today is Valentine's Day! This is our first as a married couple and I am excited. I used to hate Valentine's Day, but I think I am really starting to love it! Jon made me breakfast in bed and has surprise plans for tonight...I LOVE surprises.

Well, here are some more pictures from the wedding and several pictures from earlier in the year! There are a lot of them, but I figure that pictures are the best way to catch up and they are the most fun to look at!

Randalls and Carters at the reception

Jon and Matt

Jon and I professing our love on the temple steps

Jon and I at the wedding reception

The Low's baby, Joiee, the baby I am completely and totally obsessed with

Brotherhood Hugs

Me and Courtney at the wedding

All the boys in line

My family going Christmas tree hunting

Jon and I at the Jazz game

My cute parents and their prize winning tree

Friends playing traveling jenga

The brotherhood and respective wives and friends at Christmas

Updates and Birthdays!!

2008-11-15T09:37:00.000-08:00

Wow...it has been a little bit since I have written. Let's see...Jon got really sick for a couple days this week, which was no fun. I felt so bad! He can usually push through what ever illness he gets, but this flu knocked him out for almost a week! We pretty much slept the entire weekend because he was so exhausted! But he is feeling much better now, thankfully, and just in time! It was his birthday yesterday! Yay! It was definitely a different feeling being his wife and getting ready for his birthday! I loved it because it was the only day that he couldn't escape getting spoiled. I was kinda nervous knowing that I was pretty much in charge of the whole day, but then I got excited. I made breakfast in the morning...and we both learned really quickly that bacon has the most potent smell, and that while it is really nice to wake up to, it is horrible to come home to later when the smell is still just lingering. My clothes smelled like bacon all day....mmmmm. After school and work, we went to dinner at Tucanos, his favorite restaurant and we loaded up on the delicious food! As usual, we ate way too much, but it is so good, we couldn't stop! When we got back, we had a bunch of friends over for cake and ice cream! It was a lot of fun with everyone over and as usual, stories of the Brotherhood were told till all ends of the night! We were so busy all day, that he didn't get to open presents until later that night...at midnight! Along with some candy and iPod accessories, he got some MUCH needed shoes and clothes. I sewed two pairs of pants up a couple days ago, because he had torn completely through the knees! And then, when I went shopping for Jon at the mall for his shoes, I got lost (Provo Towncentre...never been) and somehow managed to walk right past the dumb "Dead Sea Salt" guy, and without Jon, I am hopeless with sales people. The salesman had this terrible accent and he made my nail all shiny, which was cool, but I didn't want his product. All I know is that I somehow went from trying to find Journeys to buying the dang kit! I kept telling the guy that all I wanted was shoes from Journeys and he kept putting products in my hands! AH! He kept trying to sell me on the fact that his nail kit would be a perfect gift for Jon...haha...and he just kept pushing and pushing.... I was so overwhelmed and I am terrible at saying no, so when he dropped his price from $89 to $24, I said yes to just get away. The minute I walked away, I suddenly found my wits again, and I was SO mad I gave in! Pretty sure that I will never go to the mall again without Jon. This is the picture of the stupid kit...a symbol of my weakness. I gave it to Jon as a birthday gift, just like the guy told me too, haha...just so I could tell him the story. All in all, it was a fun day and I loved spoiling him rotten!

Moab and Family!!

2008-11-01T10:14:00.000-07:00

So the men in my family have a tradition every year to go to Moab. I normally couldn't go because of school, and my mom couldn't go because of her health. So this tradition became a "man" only tradition. Until this year, when Jon and I and one of my girl cousins decided to crash. Neither Jon nor I had been to Moab even though we have driven through it a million times to other hiking trails...and we have NEVER been to Arches! How crazy is that! So we were super excited. Except for the fact that day number one was to be spent mountain biking. Bikes and I do not get along. I have no balance, have a slight fear of speed (especially on a bike), and I have no trust in the bike's sturdiness to keep me from falling off of a cliff...which is what we biked on all day. But of course Jon and I stepped up the plate...my little brothers were peer pressuring us so off we went. It was possibly the hardest thing ever, especially for someone who hasn't ridden a bike in forever. We rode all over Moab's slickrock trails...most of the time right on the edges of slanted cliffs. It was steep and hard, but it really was fun. I focused most of my energy on getting up the mountain, while my little brothers ran circles around me and were doing insane tricks off of the cliffs. The day was so fun and being with my brothers was hilarious. These pics were taken at the very top of one of the harder trails.
The only thing we didn't like was that our bottoms were extrememly sore. I thought I could cry when we got back on our bikes for our second trail. Jon and I walked a little bow-legged for a couple days afterwards.
The next day, we went to Arches! Yay! It was so amazing! We didn't have too much time, but we went on some really awesome trails. We look fairly disgusting, since we had been hiking all day, so ignore that. The first pic is of Landscape Arch, which is expected to fall very soon, and the second is on the trail to Double "O" Arch, which was my favorite. The view was incredible!

Tackling Timp!!

2008-10-22T13:49:00.001-07:00

So Jon and I went camping with our friends Steve and Rachel two weekends ago and we decided to tackle Timp! I wanted to post pictures of our triumph so you all get the story behind it. I had done the hike before and it was a terrible experience, complete with blood soaked shoes. So I was hoping this time would be better. We backpacked up to Emerald Lake Friday and camped there overnight, which was way more fun than just straight hiking! We even got a really good fire going! But because we were so close to the glacier (or maybe it was because we only brought one tiny sleeping bag and a blanket for the two of us), Jon and I froze during the night. I was so grateful for the morning sun and the fabulous oatmeal we drank out of lidless waterbottles. We were sore and tired from packing in all of our stuff, so that last bit of the hike to the top was not so fun, but it was worth it! The views were spectacular and my dad went out into the street in Highland and flashed a mirror at us and everyone on the point could see it. I think I thoroughly embarrassed Jon when I said excitedly, "That's my dad! That's my dad making that shiny thing!" I repeated it several times and people were looking at me oddly. But it was really cool and fun to see everything! We tried to slide down the glacier but it was so rocky that Jon and I only made it about 100 feet of the way. By the end, my bum was soaking wet and sore from pointy rocks, and my hands were beyond freezing. But I think the worst part of the trek was hiking down. My knees were practically screaming at me! Overall, Jon and I decided that we would not hike Timp again for at least a year, but that the trip was way worth it and really fun.

THE BLOG...

2008-10-21T21:36:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I gave in. The minute I got married, everyone in the world gave me their blog addresses and told me that I should start mine. I held out for almost half a year! but the pressure got to me. And I guess there is some sort of married blog club that I now officially belong to! Those of you who persuaded me can give themselves a pat on the back. As for being a blogger...I am struggling to figure out how this thing works and am failing miserably at it. I think it hates me...I can't put things where I want them and I can't find a template that I want. I guess this is when it becomes addicting...

So let me give an intro to us...the story is pretty crazy now that I think about it. I first met him in May 2007 when his friend Nate fell asleep in a Sacrament meeting and loudly snored himself awake. Due to our loud laughter at Nate, we started talking. Jon had just gotten back from Florida late the night before, and looked wasted...long shaggy hair, slumped in his seat...and then it turns out that his first kiss was my old roommate! Small world... So my friend Nicole decided that she liked Nate, the kid who snored, so we started to hang out with them. Coincidentally, Jon was part of this famous Brotherhood of the Scooters (all of his friends had scooters in high school), so when I went to be the wingman for Nicole on these scooter rides, I usually ended up on Jon's scooter...I found him to be hilarious and amazingly handsome. So then the scene switched...Nicole came on scooter rides to be my wingman.
So we hit it off on the scooters (he still thinks that is the only reason why I love him), and then one night, I invited him to come watch "Italian Job" and he held my hand...a few short days later we kissed and from then on we were officially dating. It was fast and fun and I loved every minute of it. It felt so natural to be with him and natural that things moved so quickly.
So we dated for the summer and it was the best summer I have ever had. We went on trips with our friends every weekend! We went wakeboarding, boating, camping, hiking, and we even hiked with llamas (we packed them in Jon's dad's van). It was a blast. And then I went to Ethiopia...and he was the biggest support...we talked marriage while I was gone and when I got back, he patiently waited for me to sort out some missionaries...what a great guy.
He proposed very sneakily on Jan 27 2007 using my friends and family to create a web of lies that kept me out of the loop. Anywho, so of course I said yes, and that was that! He is the best man in the world and it amazes me everyday how lucky I am to be married to a man who treats me so well! I love him!