Christmas is over?!

Yep, I guess its true, Christmas has come and gone...but man-oh-man was it fun. Tyler and I were able to go down to New Orleans for 9 days and spend time with lots of the family, and it was wonderful! One of the highlights was of course seeing this little love bug, Esther. Her and Billy live in KY and it's just not working out...we are not meant to be this far apart..you hear me BILLY?!?! But it was great to get some good quality time in with her..and trying to convince her (well mostly Billy), that it's time they have a baby:)

We started off the trip with a bang and ate at Spahr's, a quaint little seafood place right on da bayou! Tyler lovveess New Orleans food and couldn't wait to sink his teeth into this shrimp po boy..the first of many on this trip. Yum Yum Yum.

My Dad, Levi, and Ty went to a Hornets basketball game and I love when they light up the dome with festive colors...it just seems so cheery....

We took a day and walked around the French Quarter and Jackson Square.

Then we went to Parkway Bakery, which has my favorite po boys, and this shrimp one right here was absolutely delicious..I want one right now, BAD.

One of our favorite things to do when people come in town is go to Preservation Hall. It is a little place in the middle of the French Quarter where you wait and hour+ and pay to listen and watch some real jazz music...but it's totally worth it. It takes you to another place and you can't help but start to tap your feet and smile with the music. Oh and while waiting, some of the family got caught by the balloon man, insisting on making them fancy hats. Oh the interesting things downtown haha.

This is one of my favorite things, hanging in the kitchen, having girl talk, bakin' cookies..My mom and sisters are my BFFS and I wish we could have a whole week with no husbands and just eat and chat and paint nails...wouldn't that be nice?

There were also a few rounds of ping pong to be had...

And lots of fun with some of our favorite munchkins, Jada, Elle, and Mya.

And Cole got some guy time with all of his uncles..

On Christmas night we reenacted the nativity and Sunnie and I got the lucky role of manger animals..so we just got to sit there and make animal noises. 

My Dad was in charge of the stake Christmas party this year and took a lot of time to make a beautiful manger scene. He ordered life size mannequins and made camels and sheep that were incredibly detailed.He tried very hard to make it a lovely and lifelike scene...A neighbor even came to thank him for bringing the Christmas spirit into the neighborhood.  Good Job Pops!! It was awesome.....

We were all excited for Monday Night Football and had steaks for dinner and a wonderful spread of Zapp's and IBC drinks..Go Saints!

And of course, you can't go home and not get beignets..

It was a wonderful trip and I would say it's good to be back to Utah, but I could have spent another week there easy:) We love any excuse to make it to New Orleans, and there is nothing better then quality family time, We missed you LUKE and MEAGAN! I also got to catch up with a few of my high school girlfriends, Tomilee, Donnell, Ashley, and Ashleigh. I got some precious things for baby girl and it was so fun to catch up with them..I love those girls!It was long long long overdue. I didn't have a camera that night so when I get a hold of some pictures I will put some up..

I am One Lucky Girl..

So a few months ago we found out there would be an ice cream parlor opening up about 20 min away that has BLUEBELL ice cream..We were so excited! I hadn't been there with Tyler yet so a few weeks ago we went with my sister and her hubby Brandon, but of course we only walked away with a picture of the ice cream. The flavors were delicious and it just made me feel all warm and homey inside.

Then Thanksgiving was here, and my little brother that I love so much (Levi) came down from BYUI. It was so fun to have him here to play games and hang out and eat food with..And if you know of any cute girls in the Rexburg area, I think he's available right now, but then again maybe not. Tyler and I were up in Layton with his family on Thanksgiving, and Levi and my sister had a big New Orleans type Thanksgiving dinner with some of our New Orleans friends. It was all a blast.

Tyler and I's nephew Gabe turned 4 a few weeks ago so we went out with Nick and Melissa to Texas Roadhouse with the little guy..he is the cutest little 4 year old and we love him lots.. 

Then it was time for our wonderful getaway to Cabo..which was in fact wonderful. Our days consisted of eating breakfast, laying out, drinking fruity drinks( some out of pineapples), playing tennis (which was Tylers first time playing and he now loves it, and I love that we have a new hobby we can do togther), eating more, and relaxing. At night we would have our game time with speed tournaments. It was so nice to be in the warmth, and we loved having fun with Jeremy and Jani. And just FYI, at my recent Dr.'s appt they were glad I had gained a few pounds, which I directly trace back to Thanksgiving and this trip. I'm sure baby went through a huge growth spurt. Thank you Tyler for treating me to this time together, and Jeremy and Jani for all the fun.

And then...last but certainly not least, we found out on Tuesday that we are having a GIRL!! We are both ecstatic and here is her first outfit..that I am obsessed with. And it was on the clearance rack. I of course balled during the appt and Tyler had the biggest grin I've ever seen. It was amazing seeing her profile, and tiny hands and feet..It was just amazing..We were waiting to tell our parents with a surprise, so last night we told Tyler's parents before the family Christmas party..We had a cute little girl onesie that said "Grandma Loves Me"..It was exciting..We were planning on telling my parents on Tuesday when we get down to New Orleans but 2 mornings ago I completely slipped on the phone with my mom and said "she"...I can't believe I did that. But my Dad is still in the dark and he can't wait for the surprise..and I can't wait to tell him.. The past few weeks have been such a dream and I am so grateful for all of it. I can't wait to go to New Orleans to see all my family, I sure do miss them. But it's time to put my stretchy pants on and get down to partying! Here we go!!

Catch-up and Ketchup.

Well well well, time is flying and I'm sure everyone is as shocked as I am that this week is already THANKSGIVING! Tyler and I are spending it with his family in Layton this year because we are going to New Orleans for Christmas. I am so excited to spend time with his family and eat delicious food. So on to the catching up.. A while back Tyler was able to go down to Las Vegas to run the Ragnar with his Dad and sister Megan. It is a 190 something miles that you run as a relay with the other members of your team. I was bummed I couldn't go down to support him, but I heard it was a crazy and interesting 24 hours of running..

I am now into my 2nd trimester and feeling great. I feel very lucky and blessed to be feeling as good as I am..My energy levels are going up, and the crazy cravings and ickyness are going down. A few weeks back was the weirdest so far, my food of choice being KETCHUP. I would bake a bunch of potatoes, only so I could cover them.. no SUBMERGE them in ketchup. One day I was really craving both cottage cheese and ketchup so I took one of said potatoes and covered it in both...only now looking back do I almost gag at how gross that really was. And it really weirded Tyler out haha.

Tylers work treated us to a wonderful day/night at a gorgeous resort in Park City which was wonderful.

  Halloween came and went.. I was also able to go to the Ellen show in L.A. a few weeks ago! One of my good friends Annie had 2 extra tickets so my friend Jani and I jumped on board and had a BLAST! Due to my still missing camera and a very caveman phone I have no pictures of this experience..We are so excited for the next few weeks, Thanksgiving, finding out BOY or GIRL, Christmas, and Tyler surprised me after we found out we were pregnant with a trip to Cabo with our friends Jani and Jeremy. We need to take advantage of the few months left of just him and I and soak it all up. He really is too good to me and I am so lucky to have him. He is an amazing husband and will be an amazing father... I just need to do a better job of telling him that instead of all the other crazy/absurd/sometimes a little mean things that have been coming out...Hormones right?!

May 25th, 2012

So a while back I was at my friend Jani's house...and I ate ALL of her food. I seriously was eating anything she put in front of my face..popcorn, candy, and then she put out these spicy tostitos and I inhaled half the bag. Then a week later I was watching the Kim Kardashian wedding extravaganza and I cried. Then there was another time when I NEEDED a corn dog from JCW..now all these didn't seem too strange at the time....UNTIL everything made sense with the best surprise of my life. I am pregnant!! We are beyond thrilled and feel overwhelmed with so many emotions..Today we had our 10 week appt and got the due date...MAY 25th 2012! I may have already ordered a box of diapers from Costco ( they were having a great deal!!) so I am a little on the crazy lady side.. Ty and I went to Paradise Bakery after to celebrate with some breakfast sandwiches that tasted extra delicious.. We feel so blessed and I can't wait for every milestone ahead..

Long Time No Post

Well Well Well, where do I begin... I will begin with an apology. Because I pretty much suck at blogging. So another summer has come and gone, and it was the craziest yet. As I said before the summer we were headed to Michigan, and we were there, for like a day. Ty started the summer in MI (selling alarm systems for Vivint) and the area was much different/tougher than he first expected. So we moved to Kentucky!!! Which actually turned out to be a fun surprise b/c my lil sis Estie had just moved there with her husband. So we got to see each other often and have some fun times. Yada yada, time went by, August came and we moved BACK to Michigan to try again. We were there for a few weeks and ended the summer by going to Wyoming for the last few weeks. We came back to Utah in time to go to Disneyland with Ty's family the first week of September, which was lots of fun. Then Ty left for the last 3 weeks to work more while I job searched and organized/cleaned house. BTW we bought a house in Lehi, Ut in April and are so grateful and excited to finally be in it together. So here we are and that was our summer. There were other ups and downs and honestly I am so glad it's over. Sorry there are no pictures, I am bad at that too, and didn't have a camera all summer. But more blogging, more pictures, the goal that I always strive for, yet never succeed...

Hot Mess

Hot Mess= Me. I am only writing this because I think it is only women who read this..so anywho, when mother nature brings her lovely gift, I turn into THE Hot Mess, and poor Ty gets the brunt of it all. So as a preface, we just bought a house in Lehi and are in the middle of closing which means tons of meetings and paperwork, and this in itself freaks me out, because I feel way too young to be making such a big commitment. I also have finals coming up and Esther's wedding in a few weeks. And finding someone to take over our contract, and packing up, moving, and cleaning our apt before we can move in. Oh, and Tyler leaves this Saturday to Michigan to start working for the summer. So as he is talking about leaving this morning, I feel the panic and tears welling up from inside my throat. (Am I really about to cry? Like really?) Ohhh yeahh. Not just cry, SOB. Like can't catch my breath, tragedy induced crying. The stress just got the best of me. And while I'm sure Tyler is thinking "What in heaven's name is going on?!", he just kisses my forehead, sits me down, and makes a list of what needs to get done to lessen my stress. Such a man thing to do right? But in all honesty, he is what keeps me sane, especially during "these" weeks. Tyler and chocolate (or a pazookie will do just fine) and the world is o.k. again. I just have to write how much I appreciate him and how he keeps me sane, because he is VERY under-appreciated. And because I could quite possibly rip his head off the next time he walks in the room just "for looking at me wrong"..ya never know.

I would apologize, but it'll probably happen again.

Ok, so, I am really really bad at this whole blogging thing. And I would say it will get better, but let's be honest, it probably won't. The problem is that our camera has been in an unknown box for the better part of the now 2 1/2 years we've been married. We've technically moved 6 times since we've been married and we are about to move again at the end of April, so why the heck am I gonna unpack these boxes? I'm not. We have probably 75% of our wedding gifts still in their original box, and when they will finally be opened is a mystery. Anyywhooo, Tyler has been selling for APX alarm systems (now called Vivant?) the past 2 summers, and will be a manager this summer, so we are really excited about it. Last summer we were in Portland, OR, and then moved around week to week from North Dakota, Wyoming, etc. This summer we are going to be in Michigan, so that will be a fun place to explore. I started back in school this past fall and am actually really liking it. After an almost 3 year hiatus, I thought I should just bust through this thing. So the pictures I have are ones that I have taken on my phone so they aren't great, and they are VERY random, but better than nothing:)

OK explanation of pictures : 1st is sadly one of the few pics of me and Ty, at a park in New Orleans during our trip for Thanksgiving, 2nd is a SERIOUS shoutout to my baby Ty and Amy Gomez. She is an awesome friend who made this UHHmazzingg cake for my birthday. Bottom layer was coconut with bavarian cream filling, Top was chocolate with a caramel buttercream. I had a piece every night for the past week until it was finally gone, and I've missed it ever since. 3rd me and my best big sis Jess, on my bday. 4th, me and my best lil sis Esther, the day after she got engaged!! (wedding in April). Then Jess and her BF Brandon and Ty and I eating beignets in NO. Deliciousss. Me and Ty at Jackson Square in NO. Charlie ready for a Vacay..me too baby boo, me too. Then Ty getting ready for the Brad Paisley concert with his caramel corn and cowboy boots; I laugh every time I look at that picture.. The next 2 are a very common occurrence at our apt. Ty cuddling with the dogs. Serious cuddlefest every day with these 3. Ty, Charlie, and Lola(the tan one), inseparable when he's home. The Last 3 are on one of our many traveling car rides during the summer, and one of the highlights was being able to go to Mount Rushmore, trying to get a bit of history, my pops was so proud:). Well sorry it was long, and disorganized, but maybe one day I'll get the hang of this darn thing. But so far my track record ain't so good. Until next time!!