California

Marcus and I kept talking about going to California one last time with just the two of us.  We finally decided to make it happen and went for a quick trip this last week.  We decided to go back to La Jolla, which is where we went on our honeymoon, and it was perfect.  The weather was gorgeous and we had so much fun just spending time together, lounging in the warm sun, and eating delicious foods.  

Some highlights from the trip:

-Shopping at the Outlets.

-Catching handfuls of mini baby crabs in the sand while the sun set. We'd scoop up handfuls of sand and it seriously felt like the sand was alive there were so many little crabs crawling around in our hands.

-Me getting pooped on by a Seagull (maybe not a highlight, but certainly memorable).

-Driving around all the beautiful areas of La Jolla and San Diego and talking about where we would live if we were rich.  And which houses we would pick.

-THE BEST dessert I have ever eaten in my life:  chocolate tortina with Banana gelato, almonds and fresh fruit from Barbarellas.

-Getting to revisit so many of our favorite places from our honeymoon.

-$4 organic cupcakes from Cups.  I think Marcus and I just didn't appreciate the organic-ness of them.  They tasted organic, and overpriced.  We were disappointed.   

-Setting up and trying out all of the beach chairs at Walmart late the first night we got there.  

-So much delicious food.  SO MUCH!   Sammy's Woodfired Pizza, Spice and Rice Thai Kitchen, Bibby's Crepes and The Spot.

-Lots of walking, window shopping, and loving the warm, sunny weather and just laying out at the beach or the pool.  

-Wi-fi and cookies at the pool.

-and probably the best part of it all was just getting to spend hours and hours of time alone with Marcus, without any interruption from work or anything else. 

Girls Night Out

Monday night we met at Olive Garden for a little girl time.  I love these girls so much and was so happy to see everyone.  It was fun to celebrate Jessie's birthday, hear about what's going on with everyone and just spend time together. 

And me and Jamie are due 6 days apart.  Such a fun night!

To Whom it May Concern

I am joining in on the little letters I have seen going on.  

Dear baby in my belly, you are pressing on my lungs and I am feeling short of breath.  I don't care though and love you oh so much.

Dear summer sun, please, please, please hurry up.

Dear aisle after aisle of Easter candy, you are so hard for me to pass up.  Something about all of the pastel colors make you even more appealing than regular candy.

 Dear gchat, I am so very grateful for you.

Dear baby carrots, I wish I had some hummus to dip you in.

Dear emergency preparedness drill, I wish I was not assigned to be in charge of a small part of you, and have to wake up before the pretend earthquake at 7:57 on my Saturday.

Dear girlfriends, I miss you and wish I saw you more often.

Dear time, please go by faster during the hours of 8 and 5.  Then S-L-O-W down.  Way down.  Especially on the weekends.

 Dear husband, I love you.

Dear weatherman, please be wrong about the snow forecasted tomorrow.  I don't think I can handle it!

Dear Biggest Loser, please stop sending home my favorite people.  Get rid of some of the others that I don't care about.  Or even better, the one I do not like.  Don't worry though, you are still my favorite and I look forward to you all week long. 

That is all.

24 Weeks

Time just keeps passing.  I've heard from a lot of people that the first six months go by quickly and then the last three crawl slowly by, and so far I agree that it is flying by, so we will see how the rest of this pregnancy goes.

Things have still been going well.  Right at 21 weeks I finally felt this little guy move.  It really is such an incredible feeling.  I have felt him every single day since then and now he is so active.  I feel him move a ton usually early afternoon and then always when I go to bed.

Around week 22 I could just tell I was growing a lot, and it actually was quite painful.  My back and stomach muscles are not used to being stretched this way!  Luckily the pain hasn't lasted and I am feeling a lot more comfortable again.

It is really amazing watching your body change this way and knowing it is because there is another whole person inside of you, just growing and developing.

My bump is starting to get in the way of everyday things and I can only imagine how that is going to get worse and worse.  I am feeling really limited as to what I can do at the gym, but I still like to go and get whatever work out I can a couple of times a week.

Here is my picture at 24 weeks:

I am definitely to the point where people can tell I am pregnant.  This week at church I had several people coming up to me asking if I was pregnant.  It is fun now that I really look pregnant and I don't feel like I have to hide my growing stomach.  

Marcus and I are both getting so excited for our little baby to join our family.  We have finished painting the nursery and have all of our furniture set up and ready to go.  Marcus was a trooper this weekend and also installed the ceiling fan all by himself while I took a long nap.  Lately it seems like that's really how things go at our house and I know I'm lucky to have him.

{Part} Family Dinner

Last week we went to Settebellos for dinner with the part of my family that live close by.  (Boo that Logan is so far away.)  If you have not been here before you have got to go.  I am totally not a pizza kind of person, but the pizza here is seriously incredible.  Their gelato is also so delicious and eating here takes us back to the few days that we spent in Italy a few years ago.  We were happy to spend the night eating amazing food and hanging out with my mom and dad, T and Joe.

  
My mom seriously loves this gelato more than anyone in the world.  I mean, I love this gelato, and Marcus definitely loves this gelato, and I'm pretty sure that anyone who ever tries this gelato loves it.  But I would dare say my cute mom loves it the most.

Lately I've just been so grateful for both of our families and for having them so close to us.  I've been reminded the last little while how fragile life is and how quickly things can change, and I'm just so grateful to be here with our families.

Sunny {or not so sunny} St. George

Marcus and I were excited to spend another weekend relaxing and enjoying the warm weather down in St. George.  Sadly it was cooler and rainy for most of the weekend, but we made the best of it by watching lots of basketball and a few movies, eating delicious food, and doing some shopping.  It was a pretty typical St. George trip minus the warm weather and spending time at the pool. 

We have been hearing good things about the Egg & I so we headed there for breakfast one morning and really liked it.  It must be pretty popular because it was packed and there was quite a wait.  Our food.  It's funny how different my food always is from Marcus'. 

 Can you tell which is who's meal?  Raspberry and granola whole wheat pancake, or a cheesy, meaty, potato and egg skillet.  Delicious.

We loved our amazingly relaxing and chill weekend and at least managed to miss the snow that hit here at home this weekend.

Goodbye Little Car

Yesterday we said goodbye to my car and I had such mixed emotions.  I've had this little car for almost 6 years and it has been such a good car for me.  We've been talking about selling it for awhile now, but when we put it up for sale on Friday I had no clue it would go so quickly.  This was the first and only car that I found, bought, and paid for all by myself.  It went to BYU with me and now has been with me for almost four years of marriage.  I have a lot of memories with this little car and am sad to see it go. 

I am sad that I won't get to experience Marcus' teasing about my little go cart, golf cart, bumper car  or whatever else he was calling it on any particular day.  Deep down I know Marcus will miss it too.