Thanksgiving in Arizona!

Clayton and I flew down to Phoenix to visit his sister Valerie, her husband Sam and their three boys: Caleb, Lucas and Tate. Clayton's brother Tyler and his wife Rachel drove up from San Diego so we had a great time with family. Dinner was great, thanks to Jim and Sharon (Sam's folks) for hosting the big day. It was fun to get to know Val's sisters in law on that side too. We got to spend 6 whole days down there so there is a lot I could blog about, but I'll keep it brief and mainly to the boys. Clayton brought down his Wii and so this is what we saw a good portion of the time. This is Tate, Tyler (a cousin on Sam's side) Lucas and Caleb engrossed in Mario Party.
Here are Lucas and Clayton in a brief reprieve from the wrestling action.
Tate is just about the cutest thing ever. He may be looking a little a bit tired in this shot, but trust me- no one has more energy than him.
On Monday night the boys and Val set up the tree while the rest of us watched. (Too many cooks, you know, alright so we were just lazy.) When you ask anyone in this family to pose, this is what you get.
And here is Clayton with the most lovable dog on the planet. He and his brothers and sisters have gone on for ages about their old dog Scotty. Smartest, nicest, cleanest dog etc...etc... Bear is the same breed and has been well trained. Now, I have never been a huge dog person. I like them, but can do without. Not anymore. I want this dog. He is heaven. He is the only dog I can pet without feeling like I have to wash my hands soon after. He cuddles, he comes when called, he goes outside, he lets Tate give him long and hilariously meaningful hugs. This dog is a joy to be around. They can leave him at home without worrying that he will eat up all the shoes or leave surprises on the carpet. I could go on but I am sure I am boring you all. Bear rules, and someday we will have a dog of this breed. Just hope I can train him as well. By the way, Tate added the cowboy hat. They aren't really the dress up your dog type.
And here is Tate again. He is just so cute. I barely saw Caleb and Lucas the whole week due to the Wii and their other cousins being in town. I love that it took them four days before they stopped in front of me and Lucas said "So, do you have a baby in you or what?" After that Tate was my new best friend, touching and talking to my tummy. Normally I slap away hands that touch me. I'm just not big on the whole touching thing that pregnancy brings. But Tate could do whatever he wanted. I love that I left the room and a few hours later Tate asked if the baby was out yet. I wish little man.
We also got to go see Betsy, Jay and little baby Spencer. He is adorable and freaking rock-star Betsy looks exactly the same as she did pre-pregnancy. I can only dream of looking that good six months post delivery, not two weeks. Wow! Sadly we missed the return of Matt & Melissa from Roatan by a few days, but we hopefully will be seeing them in Provo soon enough. Hope everyone else had such a great holiday!

Things I Heart

This will be my Thanksgiving address of sorts. What I am grateful for right now. Sure, I am grateful for Clayton and our baby and blah blah blah. But these are the little things that have made me happy as of late.

1- Cadburry Chocolate.
So I could act like a snob and say that I prefer the stuff you get in Europe, but to be honest I haven't seen enough of a difference to make it worth the trip. There are other reasons for that. I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to chocolate. Around Easter and Christmas they come out with the hard shell chocolate balls. Here is the Easter version.

Those things.

They rule my world around now. I get panicky on a Saturday night to make sure I have enough to get me through Sunday. As today is Sunday my count is 2/3rds full big-size bag in my purse and an individual sized pack under the front seat of my car. I should be able to make it till the stores open tomorrow.
Sadly around Christmas I lament that there aren't the good old Cadburry Eggs. You know, the ones most grownups can't eat as they are way too sugary and odd?

Ya those.

In one of my pregnancy cravings of late (Uh huh right, blame the pregnancy. I want them all the time.) I have been jonesing for one, wishing I had squirreled some away in my freezer like I have done in years past. Then: Christmas Miracle! Happy happy day! They make them for Christmas now too! Hooray! Next to world peace this ranks pretty high. Anyhow, if you are a fan, just know that there is another reason to be thankful this Thanksgiving.

2-Fabric Shopping.
I love Joanne's. I recently went through all of my fabric and sorted it by color. I thought it would clear out a ton of totes, but alas, no. I am trying to get organized for baby but my results are a bit slow. I have trillions of ideas for blankets and clothes and happy little projects but never quite find the time to complete them. Which is why I love the moment of purchasing the fabric. It's so full of hope and giddiness. Then it sometimes becomes a chore. Where did the love go? Here are some recent purchases that I still adore and have aspirations for.

This will be a dress.

This will be a blanket.

This will be a dress, blanket... possibly cover the whole darn room. Can't decide.

3. Twilight Movie.
Alright, for all you naysayers out there, I don't care. I loved the movie. It was clean which is a refreshing change, and it was very entertaining. What more do you really want from a movie other than a great two hours of diversion? Totally delivers. A lady bought out an entire theater at Thanksgiving point and sold all the tickets to her friends and coworkers, which is where my mom got our tickets. This group had free popcorn and soda for everyone and gave away prizes before the show started. Super fun. Almost as fun as watching 56 year old women in "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" shirts squeal in delight over every scene. My niece Megan won a hat that Clayton is modeling with pride here. Go see it. The movie, not the hat. You have to make special appointments for that honor.

(PS. Like who would be on Team Jacob?)

4. My Visiting Teaching Companion Laura.
She is on the ball and totally motivates me. She's been a sorely needed kick in the pants for me in that department. Which is fantastic. And of course she is moving in three weeks. Hopefully her enthusiasm will stay behind.

5. Alright, Clayton.
Not in the grand "I am so thankful that we found each other..." kind of way. Well, I am. But right now I am thankful because he always lights the pilot light for our furnace. It blows out about five times a day. Very annoying. I technically know how to light it, but hate doing it. He just snuck out to relight it and now I am typing under a glow of warm air. Maybe I should say I am grateful for warm air. And water. And bedding, and socks etc... etc... Hey- I am also grateful that we have had such a lovely warm Autumn season this year. We all have to appreciate that right? It's still sunny and nice out today, November 24th. (I started this blog yesterday.)

6. November 24th, also known as the day that Kirsten joined our lives!!!!! Woo hoo! Happy Birthday Kirstie!
Let me tell you about our niece Kirsten. She is my oldest sister Cassie's oldest daughter and she joined our family when I was six years old. Until then the sun had pretty much revolved around me, so her arrival wasn't noted by me as a good thing until a few years later. As a kid she was an exceptionally bright and motivated little girl. She loved ballet and reading and was a wonderful eldest child to four sisters and her brother Ryan. She still is all of those things. She is classy and responsible and super cute. She does things that most people only talk about doing. Like getting season tickets to Ballet West, or redoing her bedroom walls complete with wood trim and other tricky stuff. She has the most glorious hair you have ever seen, and I can't recall a time in the last three years or more when she just threw it in a pony tail. She is very patient and deals with a lot of crap that would send most people into a tail spin (Mainly her job, I pretend to understand what she does but it is actually way beyond my comprehension.) and always comes out with aplomb. She uses words like aplomb. She runs a great blog. She had to go on a vegetarian diet for a while, her doctor's orders, and did so without becoming self righteous or obnoxious. (I or anyone else couldn't do that without becoming extremely smug.) And she's tiny. That's not a trait that should be applauded per say, due to women's low self esteem issues blah blah blah. But she is just a mite of a thing and I can't help but admire her petite little jeans and shoes. Especially since she really loves good food and treats. No one likes a skinny girl who has no pleasure in food. She makes her own sushi. Hello. Oh, and she dresses like she stepped out of a Banana Republic ad at all times. Yet she's not a credit card loser. She is insanely responsible with her finances. And best of all she is funny. That should maybe be trait #1. She has a good laugh too, it's a cute girly giggle. She is loving and kind to everyone, not just the people she likes. She throws awesome parties. All the cute details of my wedding shower? Kir. She would drop anything to help anyone. She is always the shoulder that her friends turn to cry on. She has good taste in music, hmm maybe that should be trait #2. Well, I could go on and on, but I need to call her and wish her a happy birthday. If you know Kirsten you should too.

Pregnancy is a Magical Time...

...and don't get me wrong. I love it. I have been so blessed and we are so grateful for the chance to start our family. That said, let me tell you about some of the "perks".
1- New Magical IQ Level Hint: it didn't get bigger.
To start, it took me three tries to spell the word 'magical' in the title. I'm not the world's best speller, but lately I feel like I need a dictionary just to spell my name. A few weeks ago I couldn't tell Clayton the fourth President on Mt. Rushmore. And now I can't remember if I had forgotten Roosevelt or Jefferson. I also couldn't tell him the President on the dime. F.D.R. in case you are pregnant too. Clayton wasn't buying the pregnancy brain excuse. Little bits of knowledge that I normally feel secure in, suddenly escape me. It's beyond frustrating. I really hope this scatterbrain feeling goes away after delivery.
2-New Foxy Body Hint: it did get bigger.
I'm not naive about what pregnancy does to a body. I also realize I am the last person on earth (it seems) to experience this. However, it still comes as a shock every time I look in the mirror. I am not disgusted or upset, just a little startled and then I move on. It's bizarre. I wish I could put into words how strange it all is, but as we just learned in topic #1, I'm not the writer I used to be anymore. The only thing I am concerned about would be my belly button. It has gone from innie to flat, and is now on it's way to outie. Bugger. And I know why. Not because a little person is pushing it out from the inside, no. It's punishment. Karma. You see, when I was 14 I was at the mall with my sister Jennifer. We saw a lady who had to be in her 10th month walking around in a very tight and bizarre stretch, stirrup-pant, jumpsuit thing. It was bright teal green, so it caught your attention. Well, she had the most pronounced outie that I had ever seen. So of course I ogled in fascination and horror. I didn't point or laugh, but I doubt I was discreet. Well, the memory is still vivid. More so now because I realize that she probably was at the mall walking around to try and get her labor started. She was wearing the ridiculous outfit because it was the one piece of clothing that still fit. And she was probably extremely annoyed that this stick figure 14 year old girl wouldn't stop staring at her. So now I will have a ridiculous outie because my anorexic looking, idiot 14 year old self made it so.

3-The Fantastic Unsolicited Advice I Get Hint: let's review what unsolicited means.
Let's start with Doreen from work. I flew a trip with Doreen when I was about three months along. Then I flew with her a week ago. She was eager to hear what the gender was and so I told her. The words were barely out of my mouth when she said: "Oh, I could have just told you that you were having a girl. Because with a boy you only gain weight out front, and with a girl you gain a ton of weigh all over." She made a circling motion with her finger pointing at all of me as she said it. Hmmph.
I would say that 95% of all of my co-workers insist that I not quit my job. Not that I asked them. It's just the first thing they seem to want to tell a pregnant flight attendant. Apparently being a stay-at-home mom is now the equivalent of working as a stripper. You really have to defend your notions, only to have them still shake their head in confusion or pity. Don't get me wrong, I think a woman should be able to choose what path she wants in motherhood. And I know way too many awesome women who are single moms or need to work to help the family or just choose to for a million other reasons. But who would of thought that people were so against the old fashioned June Cleaver bit? I've taken to telling people that I will decide when the time comes. Which is true. Never say never right?
People have told me I am carrying high, others that I'm carrying low, but no one just comes up and says: "Wow, you are carrying just right!" It's usually passengers on my plane. They have lots to say to me. Most people are sweet and well-meaning, but a few ask pointed questions like:"How long DO they let you work for on this job?" That's not a bad question, and the answer is- not past 7 months or as long as you still feel ok. But it's the emphasis on the question that implies that I am a freak. Understood. There isn't that much room for me on the plane, and it is rapidly getting smaller.
I also had a guy say he wanted to ask me a huge favor. Ok I say, thinking he needs help with a connection or something. But then he surprises me with: "GET AN EPIDURAL." Apparently he had to suffer through his wife going through some tortuous three day natural thing. No problem strange man, I will take your advice. I am of the "modern medicine is my friend" mindset. Seriously, how bad was it for him that he feels the need to spread the good word on pain killers? Poor guy.
Even my cute mother-in-law had a bit that I hopefully can't use. I told her about the first time I felt the baby kick and she said to "mark her words, that six months from that day is the day I would deliver". She acknowledged that it is an old wives tale, but that it was true for each of her babies. Let's hope she felt extra early. Otherwise I will be delivering a month and a half past my due date.

I have many more things I could say about this. Clumsiness, exhaustion, moodiness, bad sleep, new freaky things I learn everyday that you should NEVER do when pregnant, but I just did etc... etc.. I could also talk about the amazing things that I've experienced. Extra patience (from others towards me, not the other way around) feeling the baby move all day, getting to buy baby clothes... but this is long enough for now. So I will just leave you with this treat.
I wish I could say this was my Halloween costume, but no. This is the maternity treasure that I get to wear to work from here on out. This picture isn't properly conveying the frumpiness. It is apparently made at the Yearning For Zion dress shop. (PS. That's the Warren Jeff's compound.)

Rarrr!

October

Happy Halloween to everyone a few days late! All through October I have barely had any time to sit and blog. Time enough to sit and read blogs, sure. But I am sure we all go through this. So let me catch up. Earlier in the month Clayton's sister Valerina (Autumn's name for her) came to visit with her three boys. We caught up with them while they were at Alison and Clint's house with their three boys and their adorable Autumn. If you read my blog, you already know all about her. We planned to spend just the night but ended up a bit longer as the draw of games, kids and birthday cake is too strong a pull for us to resist. (Happy birthday Jonah!) Clayton spent the time mainly as an improvised bean bag/ punching bag. As seen here.

I also got a shot of the whole group as we headed out for an outing. Autumn is princess ready as usual. It was a great time.
I had a sleepover weekend with Jennifer's three youngest kids: Calvin, Jack Abby, where we did October crafts. Sadly I didn't get a single picture. Boo. We taught them how to play Clue and painted pumpkins. Here are my results. The kid's pumpkins were much cuter.
On the 20th my friends and I held a play-date for our husbands where we carved pumpkins. Here is Heidi's Josh's results. Mine is the star thing in the upper left corner of the photograph. Don't know why I didn't get Josh actually carving. I didn't get a shot of Sterling either. Some friend I am. But isn't his Ernie cute?
Here is Clayton with his masterpiece. The mouth reads "I EAT KIDS". Of course it does.
Here are Heidi and Shauna with their super-Martha pumpkins. So much fun to play together.
Next up is my Birthday! Hooray- not really. None too thrilled about how the numbers are creeping up. Anyhow, I got a great car-seat and base. Love the teal and brown colors. The idea is that it will work for girl and boy babies. As I hope to eventually have both.


Clayton spent a good hour in the bedroom wrapping my next present. I started to wonder what was taking him so long. How long does it take to wrap one present? The next picture should explain it all.
How cute is he? Pretty freaking cute is the answer. I have coveted these galoshes for a while now. Does everyone love them as much as I do? Yes, I believe you do.
Last week I helped Jenni make Halloween cookies for Megan's Young Women event. Allie helped. Here she is posing with Clayton.
And here she is diligently working on another "Barney" cookie.

And finally Halloween. We had a friend's show (Puppetgrinder!) to go to and costumes are a must. Don't need to twist our arms. Clayton and I both love Halloween. What to be when you are over five months along? Pregnant nun and dirty priest of course. My apologies to any Catholic friends out there. We thought about pregnant missionary, but that is actually possible with Mission presidents and families and stuff, so the joke isn't as good. By the way- I am huge, but not that huge. I did stuff an extra blanket in for good effect.

Sadly we waited outside the venue for about 35 minutes before I gave up. Too tired and too many smokers right next to us in line. So we missed Curt's show. Luckily we got to see him the next day for lunch while he was still in town. Thanks Curt!
Happy October everyone. Sadly the best month of the year is now behind us. Rain and snow and blech ahead. At least it means I stay indoors blogging! Or reading yours.

Ultrasound #1

So my original ultrasound is scheduled for the 23rd of October, but I couldn't wait that long. And for $30 you can find out the gender and get some pictures...so duh. Yesterday we went and here are the results! Best $30 I've ever spent. The first one is my favorite as it looks as if the baby is chatting. The last one has the "results" so don't look at that one or read the end if you don't want to know. However I will be blogging about it in the future, so good luck with that.
P.S. My dad doesn't want to know, so everybody keep it from him if you can.

Little alien faces, just in time for Halloween.

Long spine, good, good. Looks normal. I felt the baby for the first time this week too.

Ta da!

I was totally wrong! I could have sworn it was a boy. I originally wanted a girl, but I got so used to the idea of boys that I was excited for either. We even have a whole bunch of boy stuff. Not because we were shopping for a boy, it was just the odds and ends that we found were all blue, sports or robot related. However, I am really stoked to start sewing and planning. And we are always in the market for names. We have a list, but none seem perfect. I like old fashioned or foreign names, Clayton likes funny ones. A good compromise of those three would be "Helga" or "Broomhilda". So we obviously need some help. Anyhow- More as it happens!

Chicago!

Hello! I had a 25 hour layover in Chicago so Clayton flew in to join me in exploring the city. We had a wonderful guide in Clayton's old friend Tosh. He has been living there for over 7 years and knew all the ins and outs. We took the train into town and met up with him at the Art Institute of Chicago. We had about a half hour before the museum opened so Tosh showed us the Millennium Park about a block away. They have some great public art pieces like this giant chrome jelly-bean. You can walk all the way under it, and take some crazy pictures.

Here is my self portrait of Clayton and I.

And here are Tosh and Clayton under the bean. It reminded me of James and the Giant Peach.
Here Clayton and I are in front of the Art Institute's bronze lions.
There are hundreds of notable works here that even the least knowledgeable person would know. Like American Gothic by Grant Wood.

Sadly an entire wing was closed for renovations so we didn't get to see a few key pieces that we were looking forward to. Like The Old Guitarist by Picasso. It is Clayton's favorite piece ever. Oh well, next time. Still there was plenty to enjoy. Like John Singer Sargent, one of my favorite artists. I thought I would take my four month tummy shot next to this one, but we didn't quite get it all in the shot. Um, ya- cuz' it's that big. Sure I'm kidding, but not really. I am getting bigger by the minute. I may just have to blog about my belly button alone... but I digress. Back to the art.

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges-Pierre Seurat. Can you believe he was only 26 when he painted this? Makes me feel like a slacker. Non-art fans may recognize it from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Which is required watching for a trip to Chicago. As is Adventures in Babysitting. Oh wait, is that just me?
Downstairs they have an entire exhibit of about 60 miniature rooms. Like doll houses on acid. These were incredible! Every fabric was hand woven , every chair hand carved. They looked so real. Pictures don't do the least bit of justice, but I included two so you could see the scale next to Clayton's gigantic head. I'm kidding- his head is normal sized, I'm the one that can't find hats that fit.

They had ones done in every major historical style of decorating. Did I mention they were amazing?

After the museum we walked downtown a bit for lunch. We hit the Billy Goat Tavern, a Chicago staple. They serve great burgers. It's a famous place due to the the eccentric former owner Billy Sianis. He actually owned a goat and in 1945 bought seats for himself and his odd pet for the world series at Wrigley field. They denied entrance for the goat, and Mr. Sianis cursed the Cubs that they would never win a championship as long as he lived. And they never did.

After lunch we headed up to the Hancock Center. We decided to go to the top there instead of the Sears Tower as it is almost the same height, and Tosh knew a secret to get us up free. (Completely legal.) They views were astounding. If you are headed to Chicago it is totally worth it to make time in your schedule for this. Here are Tosh and Clayton.
Here is one of the views of Lake Michigan. Note the sand at the bottom of the picture.
Well here we are on that very sand! A beautiful little beach in downtown Chicago. It is such an amazing city. After the Hancock Center we walked along the lake to the Navy Pier.

Here are Tosh and Clayton enjoying the view at the end of the pier.

We took a Ferris Wheel ride on the pier to rest our legs and enjoy the views.
Here I am next to the elevated train (the El). It is loud.
And here are Clayton and his tired, pregnant wife in front of the Sears Tower (sort of). We did it all in about seven hours and I still had to work my flight home that night. We walked our legs off- like we do in any city we are trying to conquer in one day. It's worth it for the experiences, but oh, we hurt today. A million thanks to Tosh for his expertise. We had a great time!
And here is the Sears Tower from the ground. It's a bit tall. You can't even see the top from this angle. We loved Chicago. It's like New York with a Seattle twist. Of course we had the most beautiful fall weather ever. I've heard the winters can bite, so maybe we will have to try it out then to get the whole feel.