Baseshop Boating Trip 2011

We had our annual boating trip with the Scottorn basehops. We went September 9th, which was a friday and made the day so much smoother. No lines, no other boats and the weather was still perfect. I even have the sunburn to prove it :)

We went to Cherry Creek Reservoir - which is in the smack middle of Denver - its actually a really cool location because you can see the high risers from the lake. Our morning started really early - 5:15 am but it meant Tyson got a ton of time on the tube, knee board and wake board. We were there until 6 pm. My favorite part was just hangin out on the beach and feeling the warm sand. It was sooo relaxing. We got home around 7 pm and we were soo tired. I was burned pretty bad on my shoulder so Tyson had me put vinegar so draw out the pain - it actually worked really well. We were in bed by 9:30 and ready for our early 8 am training the next day.

Birthing Class

Tyson and I attended our 2nd day of Birthing Class. It was really intense but fun. They had us put our hands in water and had our coaches walk us through a minute of pain. I thought I sucked and was a wuss - Tyson said he was so impressed and that they other girls never lasted the full minute like I did. We had 8 stations of different pain management techniques.

I'm so grateful for the education I have available. I can't imagine how my mom or grandma did it. They are sooo amazing. We have two more classes for birthing, then a breastfeeding, CPR and Happiest Baby on the Block class.

32 Weeks

32 weeks are here. I was told that the last two months fly by - I agree. Maybe it's because I am so busy really trying to get our finances ready, getting the last of our stuff ready, paperwork for work and all the birthing classes - its a busy time. It's a fun time too.

I'm feeling bigger and bigger but thankfully I can function. I did my three hour glucose test and the results came back - I'm not diabetic and I'm so happy to know that. I'm still really tired. A couple of days ago I went to bed at 8 pm and slept the full 13 hours - it was amazing. I'm happy to report that I am not swelling but every part of me feels bigger. My appetite goes up and down. Sometimes I'm really hungry, other times I don't want to eat anything.

Food I am loving are: PB&J Sandwiches, fruit, rice and beans, more fruit. I am also loving juices more, although I am still 95% water during the day.

I have gained 29 lbs and should gain 5-6 more by the time Sydney comes. Part of me is mortified by this seemingly huge weight gain - but the other part of me knows I have watched my food intake, continued to walk and do weights and that my body will do what it wants to do. My OB says my weight is great and that I don't need to change a thing.

Labor Day

Labor Day weekend was pretty chill. It started off Saturday with a surprise birthday party for Kristen Johnson in our ward. She is not only an amazing cook - but super intelligent and lived in Japan. Her husband send out an email and arranged for a huge party at the park for her 30th birthday. We had sandwhiches, two types of cakes and chips! It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

After the party Tyson and I had an "after party" with Allyson and Ben Meekem. We watched Unstoppable and talked about babies. Sunday I woke up feeling really sick - the whole week has been pretty bad for me. I honestly laid around in bed and my rocking chair all morning. Tyson made me lunch and we headed off to church. After church we headed to a BBQ for our new recruits. We had a wonderful time with Cheryl and Keith's family. She has such an amazing story.

After the BBQ we headed to the Scottorns and we attempted to go on a walk, but by the time they got dinner ready it was pretty late. Tyson stomach started hurting around 10 so we left soon after. We got home and Tyson took a bath and read outloud to me.

Work today has been pretty slow, so I've had to time to do mundane things - like reorganize my pantry, looking for things to purge and doing coupon sales. Tyson is busy all day getting ready for our SVP Steve Stonebraker to come out and speak to us next week. It's gonna be big! We got our tickets and we are selling out big to it. The Scottorns are also selling out to it - they are great.

30 Weeks

9 weeks to go baby! It's amazing how fast this wonderful time has gone. I did my three hour glucose test this week to see if I have Gestational Diabetes. The results should be in within a week. I'm getting more and more tired. I also have this nasty sour taste in my mouth all the time. I brush my teeth, I drink lots of water, I eat but the taste is still there.

I'm happy to report that my stomach pain has actually died down by 99%. I'm sure my OB thinks shes pretty smart because I told her that taking Tums would not help - but they have helped. ALOT.

I'm feeling huge these days but everyone tells me how little I am. I can still wear most of my pre prego shirts that are really long. The hardest day to get dressed is Sunday - because I feel I wear the same thing over and over. I am still loving accessories - specially bracelets. It's been so fun to use them.

I can't say I have any cravings. In fact I usually can go 6 hours without eating without getting sick. I am trying hard to stay active and walk alot since I know it's the best thing I can do for my body to prepare it for labor. My left butt cheek hurts way bad every couple of hours - sciatic never acts ups now because of the weight. My legs also feel crampy all the time. I have to stretch them every morning and night to prevent charlie horses.

Sydney moves all the time. She loves kicking on the right side of my stomach. Tyson loves to watch my stomach move back and forth. Almost like she's saying "hello world".

Kitchen Remodel Revealed

After 2 days of not being able to cook and our front living room looking like a disaster - we saw the end result. It's amazing because it was not that much of a change but what was changed made a big difference. Here is a recap:

1. Tore our cabinets and put new ones.
2. New laminate counter top
3. Installed hardware
4. Installed new kitchen faucet
5. Built small cabinets about the stove for covered storage

My favorite part is the new counter top. It was so ugly to have the WHITE countertops before and you could see everything. Having the darker countertop keeps the kitchen looking way cleaner. I also love the extended breakfast bar. Before we would be worried to have the laptop fall off and we could not actually eat on it. Now we can.

We made calzones the other night with the Scottorn kids and they happily stayed on the breakfast bar and helped us out. It's been great to have a new fresh kitchen. We are so grateful for our little apartment that ESS gives us.

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Kitchen Part 1

The Before ....

We were lucky enough to have Extra Space redo our kitchen a couple of weeks ago. We got new counter tops, new cabinets, new kitchen gadgets. It was neat to pick out the countertops.

The Construction ....

ABR Construction came and did everything in 2 day - it was really nice that it was quick but also meant we were in complete chaos the entire time. The one good thing is that I was able to take everything and purge some stuff out.

Utah Part 3

We drove three hours to Bear Lake and arrived at 1 am. We slept in until 9:30. We ate breakfast and hung around doing nothing - which is what I loved about Bear Lake - until church at 12:30. We went to sacrament and then got home for lunch. We had a really good chicken, sparagus and lots of fruit for lunch. Debbie was a saint and bought tons of food that I could eat. I went crazy on the fruit!

After lunch we hung out at aunt Nyla's cabin. I read a book and sat in a rocking chair while listening to the sound of the waves. I can't quite describe how much I love this. I could sit out there all day reading in the shade, listening to the waves and just loving the stillness. Tyson , Debbie, Straton and Nyla played two wicked games of Jocker - a big family game.

After I went back to our cabin and laid on a lawn chair next to Gaylan and talked about babies for a while. After we had a slide show from the Gerbers recent trip to Africa - I lasted 15 minutes and then was out taking a nap.

We had dinner around 8 pm -hot dogs, fruit, chips and salad. After the boys played a frisbee game and Steven Clark got hurt really bad and had to be taken down to Logan to get stiches. We decided to head down to Logan that night. We cleaned the cabin, packed our bags and headed home. We got home around 12:30 am. The next day we slept in, had breakfast and played games. We had lunch at Grandma Gerbers house and we were able to pick up our baby blanket and the COOLEST Aggie booties! I'm so thrilled for them. We got a ride back to the airport from Nyla and Dave.

Utah was a blast. It's always too short but we are reminded of how lucky we are to have both families. We adore our families.

Utah Part 2

Saturday we slept in until 9 am. We got up, ate breakfast and really cleaned up more of the kitchen from last nights party. After we relaxed and went shopping a little bit. By 11 am we were all getting ready for the wedding. I packed all my clothes and some of the gifts I left behind from our baby shower.

By 2 pm Jael, Steven and I went to pick up Tyson. We picked up Tyson and headed straight to the temple. We were worried about parking because a big Utah race was going on that day downtown but we were happy to have no problems. We hung out at the temple for 15 minutes and talked to our good friend Catie Jolley - - who had recently broken both of her elbows during a bike ride and shared the funniest story. She is such a hoot!

The ceremony was beautiful. I actually shed some tears. Julio looked very happy and very serious. Reminded me of Tyson on our wedding day :) The sealer was soooo cute and gave them lots of good advice - attend temple often, pray together twice a day, both are equals. It was a great reminder of the journey that marriage really is and how we can really have a happy marriage.

After we headed outside to wait for the bride and groom and take pictures. I lasted 15 minutes in my heels before I had to switch into some cute flip flops. It was really hot but we did not have to wait too long. After the temple we raced to the reception center for sanwhiches and chips.

The reception was fun. We did a money dance, and the DJ played a huge joke on Jael, Jeanettes sister and I by making us have a pregnant dance off - I won of course but I was soo tired after.

Julio and Jeanette left at 10 pm and then Straton picked us up and we headed to Bear Lake.