Big news!

William decided to help me share the big news!

Baby Dorius should arrive sometime next June. We are all so excited.

Halloween Fun 2012

Drew came for a long weekend. While she was here, and since it is almost Halloween, did a lot of fun Halloween-inspired things. On Thursday, we went and saw "Hotel Transylvania". It was a super cute movie that we all enjoyed. On Friday, Christian and the kids had a scary movie-thon while I was at work. On Saturday, I helped the kids make cookies before I went to work and then Christian carved pumpkins with them. Before we knew it, the weekend was over!

Halloween 2012

Halloween is easily our family's favorite time of the year. We started a Halloween party tradition a few years ago and it has become one of the highlights of our year. We love to have our friends and their families over! This year, working to get the decking down so people could walk outside was one of our biggest priorities. With only a couple of hours left until the party, we finally got enough finished so that people could walk outside.

My friend Teresa's children

My sister Stefanie and I. I was a 1980's aerobics instructor!

Gracie was obsessed with getting in the kennel with Charles!

I think Aspen has a great future in costume design. She collected all the materials for this costume over the course of a year.

Katie was the character Mia Winslow from the movie Pulp Fiction. I think she has the part down pretty well.

The girls and I doing the Time Warp!

Cutting Back

I am trying to cut back on my expenses so I can cut back on work and make it through the rest of school. I'm looking for a new car that will cost less for me to own and operate. Specifically, I'm looking for a Subaru Outback or a Hyundai Santa Fe under $9,000. As it turns out, everyone in the area is looking for the same thing. Every time I call on one, the sales person tells me that it just sold. Blerg!! Let's hope I find something soon!

Graduate school is not for sissies!

As most of you know, I'm in graduate school right now studying to become a Nurse Practitioner. This semester is by far the hardest I've had yet. It feels like I'm trying to stuff way more knowledge into my brain than will actually fit. My closest classmate is in Meridian, Idaho (which happens to be where Christian's parents live!) and I feel like I'm basically all on my own. There is so much studying, reading, and memorization. Ugh. If I get through all of this, it will be a miracle!!

Dealing with loss

For 11 days, Christian and I were over the moon. We were finally pregnant after tubal reversal surgery last October. Friday afternoon, that all changed. I started bleeding, called my doctor, had a rushed ultrasound, and found out that our little Speck (as we had taken to calling it) hadn't implanted properly. There were tears, so many tears, and a lot of questions. Why had this happened to us? We will never know. It's amazing how much you can love someone, even just a tiny little someone, in just 11 days. However, if there is a silver lining in this, it is that we know that the surgery was successful. We have already been given the all clear to try again. Try we will! I can't wait until our house is filled with the sound of a new baby. Until then, we carry on.

Timpanogos Caves!

 We took Drew and William up to Timpanogos Caves today. It was beautiful and totally worth the 1.5 mile hike STRAIGHT UP the mountain side.