Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day became a very special day for me- not quite
for the reason it should be....but exactly two years ago, I came to Honolulu
to do an internship at Shriners Hospital for Children, in the Recreation Therapy department. I met Samuel at Bucca Di Beppo (an italian restaurant) only 6 days after I got on the island.
I was with another guy, whom I soon forgot about. I saw Samuel three times that week, at different activities, and he was so charming and handsome, but I just couldn't figure out why he wouldn't just ask me out when he
acted so much like he wanted to. (Now he says it was because he was sure
he had no chance and that I would break his heart, which I guess is an acceptable answer.)

So, remembering what I'd learned at my "Marriage Prep" class at BYU, I took matters into my own hands. (This professor, Dr. Barlow, actually gave us assignments to ask people out. He didn't like girls sitting around "waiting" for stuff to happen.) So I asked Samuel if he wanted to go out with some people from Shriners, to a sandbar. You have to boat out to it, and it's basically a mini-island of sand a few miles off the shore. Depending on the tide, it's usually covered by a few inches or a few feet of water. It's a fun party place. Well, he agreed. I actually have a picture of this momentous first date,


and you can see how different he looked when I first met him, all scruffy with his curly hair all long(and for some reason I just loved it!) Anyway, it took a few hours for me to break down Samuel's defenses, but persistence is the key!! He decided to extend our date by taking me to Star Wars III which had just come out. That was the end of his resolve, we were together almost every day after that and engaged three months later.

Well, this memorial day we got a special treat. A friend of ours is learning to fly helicopters, he's actually almost done and just needs more flight hours. He was able to take us out on a helicopter ride so we could see our island, and it was amazing. (I've been on one other helicopter ride in Kauai, but it was really special to see our own island-home from the air.) So, I hope you enjoy the pictures of Oahu.

28 Weeks and a New Niece

Aloha friends, I've hit 28 weeks, so we took another picture. One counter says I'm 27 weeks and another says 28, so I'm going with 28, since this baby seems to be further along than we thought. She's having regular dance parties at 11 p.m. every night- I'm glad she's having such a good time in there. I, for one, am not used to my growing belly, and I keep scraping it on things! By the way, can someone tell me if I'm carrying high or low? Some stranger said I was "low" yesterday, but I can't tell. I think I'm carrying straight out in front, with this short torso of mine, where else can she go?? :)

Also, I wanted to say congrats to my sister Krystal on a great delivery of my newest niece, Kyla Collette Trapnell, out in Florida. She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces. Pictures are on Tara's blog.We're glad our baby will have a cousin so close in age. Well, Happy Memorial Day, yay for long weekends, hope everyone has a great time.

Oh good, it really is a girl!

And we got pictures to prove it this time!! We got to do a third ultrasound so the tech could get a good look at the baby's heart. Someone told me to drink a coke or something to have an "awake" baby, so I thought it would be "better" for the baby if I drank this vitamin-packed "energy drink" with anti-oxidants and vitamins (instead of caffeine) that is supposed to be sooo good for you and all natural, you know, to make sure the baby didn't sleep through the ultrasound like last time. But....it was on an empty stomach. And about 30 minutes into the ultrasound I got major cold sweats and came SO close to throwing up. I had to roll over and Samuel was like, blowing on my face cause I was ready to toss!! Embarrassing. But funny too. My bad. (Baby was pretty wiggly, but still, stupid of me!)

Anyway, I've been looking forward to this day for awhile, I love peeking in on my baby. We saw her yawn and suck on her hand, and put her hand under her chin like she was propping it up, it was just so fun. We got a picture of her little girl parts, but I won't put that one up. It was just nice to get the confirmation. Our tech was super nice and took all these extra pictures for us. I know all babies pretty much look the same at this point, but oh well!!! We're too excited to keep them to ourselves. Here's a nice profile shot: (does she have my nose? j/k)

The tech said they were keeping my due date the same, but that August 17th might be a more accurate date (instead of the 26th.) She ALSO said the baby's leg bones are extra long, and our baby might be really tall. Weird!! I never thought my baby might grow up to be taller than me! She does have a tall daddy...anyway, here's a cute little foot shot

and a "hair" shot- the tech thought she had unusally long hair too, which is kind of funny to me too. Those white lines are her (long?) hair on the back of her head.

Anyway, thanks again everyone for all the great advice, seriously, you guys are like a WEALTH of information!!!!

While I'm on the Subject...

Wow, I'm surrounded by great advice and I love it!! I guess there are some benefits to waiting until age 26 to have a baby! So, I was talking with some friends today that are throwing me a baby shower. They wanted to know what I wanted...and I thought I better run to the blog for help. What kinds of things (besides clothes) should I ask for from my friends at the shower?

In your experience, what things are you sooo glad you had, or the things you will make sure to have the next time? Is there a certain brand/kind of nipples that were great? Certain kind of carseat? (I was thinking Graco Snugride). Also, we don't have a rocking chair/glider/recliner. Should we get one?

I (like Jaesi) love craigslist, and I've already started gathering some stuff. Also, some friends have generously just given us some great things. So, on that note, here's what we already have:

Jeep Jogger Stroller
Bjorn Baby carrier
Electric breast pump (one-sided...should I borrow my sister's double sided?)
Baby Tub
Bouncy Chair
Diaper Genie
Nursing/Boppy pillow

So hook me up with your ideas, I'll be so grateful. :)

Crib or Pack-n-play?

Hi girls, I need some advice. A friend of ours is moving, and they offered to give us some baby stuff (nice!). They have a full sized crib and also a pack-n-play. Their 2 year old has been sleeping in the crib and their 8 month old in the pack-n-play, since he was born. So, my question is, if I had to choose one, which should I choose?

Keep in mind: Our apartment is a small one-bedroom, so the baby will either be sleeping in our room or the living room. The pack-n-play would obviously fit better, but the baby will outgrow it by 30 lbs. But I don't have a bassinette or anything, so do any of you have experience putting a newborn in a crib?

Also: We aren't sure how long we'll be living here, we could be leaving in a few months, or maybe staying for a few years. So I can't base my choice on that.

All your thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks everyone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!! She doesn't really get to read this much, but Happy Birthday anyway.

Happy Mothers Day to all of you!

Just wanted to say that I hope you all had a wonderful mother's day, I know you girls are wonderful mothers, and I just wanted to say thanks for the advice in helping me get ready to be one. You guys are great. Also, thanks to Samuel for making the day so special, and for making me the best barbeque ribs EVER!! Love ya!

Spider Bites!

So, before I put up a picture of my spider bites, I have to say two things: 1. I live in Hawaii, but I might as well live in Minnesota with Emma because I'm just as white as she is. (No offense Emma darling, it was the first cold place I thought of.) My first year in Hawaii I laid out religiously, loving my year-round tan. Then, quite suddenly, about a year ago, I started noticing the brown sun-spots and freckles popping up on my face and hands. Some of them were pretty big, and finally I saw the light and stopped toasting my skin all the time. I am now a huge fan of sunscreen and I am trying hard to find products to fade all the damage, but it's taking forever. So, I don't really lay out anymore, and you will notice when you see how white my legs are.
2. This is mostly for my sister, Krystal, in Florida. Don't let Allie (my niece) see this picture or she'll start having spider nightmares again!! (Poor girl actually found a huge spider in a bedroom at her house.)

So, the story, Sunday we had Stake conference, which meant we were done by noon. Nice! What did we do with our lovely sabbath? Took a huge nap of course! I took a shower before bed, and finally noticed the lovely red bites all over my legs. There's about 20 on one leg and 25 on the other (mean spider!). I never felt a thing. I'm not sure if it happened during the nap (spider stuck in the covers?) or later, but now it's Tuesday evening, and the bites are changing a bit...I don't want to go into too much detail, but there's pus involved. They don't itch though, they just hurt a bit. Wow...my legs look oddly disproportioned. Must be the camera angle. Still though, makes me wonder, why am I putting this on my blog again?


Well, that's my fun story of the day, to go along with the cockroach stories from last week!

A few random pics...

On our way to the MTC with Eric, we stopped and did a session at the Manti Temple. It was my first time inside, and wow, it is really beautiful. Here's Eric in the MTC. I didn't even want to put this picture on, I look so awful(but hey, I was sad I wouldn't see him for two years!). So Eric, here's to you, hope you're doing good! So, I'd never heard about this "Wienermobile" but we passed it, driving back to St. George. I guess I need to google that and see what it's all about. All I know is my dad was pretty excited to see it. Love these boys!! Tara and I took them out on a hot Saturday to cool off!! Maddux was a little surprised to find his diaper coming off...Uh-oh!

Then he got a little frustrated when he couldn't get his head through the chair.Nobody can get these guys to smile like Tara can! Well, I think I need to have my baby so I can blog about my own child, huh! Thanks, Tara, for providing all the entertainment in St. George!!

:)

It's only 4:06!!!!

I am at work, and for some reason this day is just DRAGGING ON!!! I go home at five, so just under an hour left, but ARRGH! It feels so far away. My job is really relaxed, but it has some negatives. I just keep telling myself..only 3 more months and I'm done with this place forever!

So, to help pass the time, I'm responding to being tagged again, so Abby, hope you don't mind, I'm borrowing your questions. Thanks.

1. COMICS OR NOVELS? Novels
2. NEAT OR SLOB? I LOVE a spotless home/car, but it just isn't happening..
5. CHOCOLATE OR PEANUT BUTTER? Both, together, forever!
7. COLD OR HOT? Cold...milk....and cold room to sleep in. Hot...days playing in water.
8. TALK OR SLEEP? Sleep of course!...but did you ever stay up all night on the phone with a guy you were totally into?
15. BEING TOLD YOU'RE LOVED, HAVING TIME SPENT WITH YOU, GETTING A PRESENT, HAVING SOMETHING DONE FOR YOU, BEING TOUCHED.WHICH DESCRIBES YOUR GREATEST NEED?
Is this like the 5 Love Languages? Great book. Touch and Being Told...both.
16. WHICH IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE SEASON? Well, there aren't seasons in Hawaii...I've forgotten.
18. DO YOU LIKE YOUR PHOTO BEING TAKEN? Not particularly.
20. HAVE YOU EVER BLABBED A SECRET WHEN YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T? I can't remember, probably.
22. WHO DO YOU THINK HAS THE MOST INTERESTING LIFE IN YOUR SOCIAL(blog) GROUP? All equally interesting to me!
25. DO YOU EVER FANTASIZE ABOUT HAVING A DIFFERENT LIFE? No, just a house and my own car...ahhh.
26. HAVE YOU EVER HAD TO START YOUR LIFE ALL OVER AGAIN? Kind of, when I moved to Hawaii. I had no money, no friends, and only a few outfits. (I was only supposed to be here three months. Two years later...) I guess that works.
27. WHAT ARE THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN A RELATIONSHIP? Equality, commitment, feeling "complete."
26. WORDS, TONE AND DELIVERY, OR BODY LANGUAGE: WHICH DO YOU ABSORB FIRST? WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT? Tone/delivery- so revealing!
30. ARE YOU A GOOD COMMUNICATOR? I thought I was a great communicator til I got married, then I realized I have lots to learn. But I think I'm getting better.
31. DO YOU THINK YOU TALK TOO MUCH? No
32. CAN YOU HANDLE THE TRUTH? Sometimes the truth hurts, but what can ya do.
33. HOW OFTEN DO YOU CRY? At least weekly, because I watch lots of baby deliveries, and I cry most every time. Thanks to A Baby Story on TLC.
36. WHAT SOUND ANNOYS YOU THE MOST? Farts and Belches. And the garbage truck that wakes us up every Monday at 5 a.m. SOO LOUD! I can't even describe it.
44. WOULD YOU RATHER BE SINGLE, DATING, ENGAGED, OR MARRIED? Married for sure
47. SIGNIFICANCE, SELF-WORTH, OR SECURITY. WHICH IS MORE IMPORTANT? Self Worth
48. IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERHERO POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Fly Fly Fly like in my dreams
50. DO YOU THINK YOU'RE A GOOD DRIVER? I am not the best driver, but I have a clean record...
52. WHY DO YOU GO TO WORK:
1. So I can read everyone's blogs all day
2. I would be so bored at home!
3. Money of course
53. WHO WAS YOUR FAVORITE TEACHER? WHATS YOUR FAVORITE SUBJECT? Teacher, Mr. Christensen "Coach C" was so patient with me in my years of high school math...lots of great professors. Subject, I loved Anatomy. And English.
54. WHO'S SURVEY ANSWERS WOULD YOU MOST WANT TO SEE? Everyone who hasn't filled this out yet.

Ahhh...now it's 4:33, I just killed 27 minutes, sweet! I am tagging everyone who has not filled this out yet. You know you want to.

St. George

Okay, so I might have a few more photos than I thought. Here's a funny one of Malakai. My uncle is a professional masseuse, and he brings his massage chair over to our house to give us free massages. (He works wonders on my back.) We thought this was a cute picture of Malakai acting like he wanted a massage.


We had a birthday party for Tara on the 23rd, and a farewell party dinner for Eric (same night) and tons of people came over. I got to see Tara Haynie, some of you know her, she's my longest friend, when I say longest, we've been friends since we were four years old, and we're still great friends now. We used to refer to her as "Big Tara" and my sister as "Little Tara" when we needed to distinguish. Can I just say it was kinda rainy and FREEZING that day? You can see a little of the park that we loved having in our backyard (as Little Tara mentioned in her blog.)
This is the view of the temple from our backyard, my parents bought this lot for the view, and I love it.
And this was after our Pizza Factory lunch, these are my three best friends from high school, Genis, Suzanne, and Katie. We played volleyball and basketball together, now Genis, Katie and I are all having babies within a month of each other, and Suzanne recently had a baby boy. It was fun to get together, and brought back tons of memories. Genis and I worked at Pizza Factory for two years, and we saw all these people we knew. Fun. Love those breadsticks.
Okay, one last thing, we did the free trial of Blockbuster online and Netflix, where you get the movies in the mail, and we LOVED it, now we are subscribing. It saves us a lot of money, renting movies is so expensive these days! We liked Netflix better. They offer a free 2-week trial, but I just got an email offering a free month to my family and friends. (You can get up to three movies/TV series at a time, and get an unlimited amount per month.) And it's totally free. So if anybody wants me to forward the e-mail so you can have a free month of netflix, just let me know.

Back to Business!

Hi everyone! I'm glad to be back! The week was amazing and flew by. I am happy to say that I did get to go to Cafe Rio, Charlie's, the Olive Garden, Pizza Factory, and the Quilted Bear. (Um, now I understand how you can spend $200 on bows, Kristen, they are expensive! Bracelets too! But sooo cute, a must have, and I might as well buy them now while I'm still working, right? That was my excuse for spending $60.)

I'm sorry I didn't get to see a lot of people in St. George and Provo/SLC. We weren't even in Provo for a full 24 hours.

I don't have a lot of pictures, but I will put some on later. Most of them are of Maddux and Malakai, (could they be any cuter? They were the best entertainment all week.) I was especially excited to be there when Malakai started taking his first steps, which by the end of the week, turned into fearless walking wherever he wanted, falling along the way of course. Wow, that's the cutest thing to watch.

The good news is, my flight coming back to Hawaii was overbooked, and they gave me a $400 voucher for a future (Christmas!) flight, and put me up in a hotel in Vegas for the night, for agreeing to come the next day instead. Score! I love free flights! That will especially help us out when we're poor. My boss was kind of mad that I took an extra day, but could I care less? No. I'm quitting soon enought anyway.

So, now I have lots of blog-catching up to do, I'm glad everyone is doing good.