What a Crazy Weekend

Either I am getting lazier, tireder (is that a word?) or both, but I feel sort of behind on everything. Oh well. This is a long story, but I want it recorded. I had the awesome experience of attending my first Time Out for Women this last weekend. If you don't know what it is, basically it's put on my Deseret Book and is kind of an EFY/Women's Conference experience. My dad was so thoughtful and bought tickets for me, my mom, and my sisters. My youngest sister came up from St. George and watched Kalia. I was SOOO excited to hear from Sheri Dew, I think she inspires me to be better more than almost anyone else I can think of. She was wonderful, and I gained some really great insights that I will maybe share later. Hilary Weeks was also there- she is wonderful, I love her music, almost as much as my mom does. My mom is hands down the biggest Hilary Weeks fan in the WORLD. We were both excited to find out that a friend that was there with me (MARYLIN!) is her first cousin! Anyway, Hilary sang these songs that just made me bawl, and it felt so good to cry, you know how it goes.

Well, Friday night comes around. I was headed home with Kalia asleep in the car (around 11 p.m.) and Samuel was supposed to be home from riding dirt bikes out in the desert somewhere. I get home, he's not there yet, and somehow, my house keys have fallen off my car key ring, and I'm locked out. Kalia wakes up and wants to play. I call Samuel and he hasn't even left yet, and is about 30 minutes away. We live in a semi-ghetto area, and I was NOT about to sit on our porch and wait with a barefoot toddler in a nightgown. I cried and ranted and raved that he wasn't there to meet me, and then I tried for 15 (unsuccessful) minutes to break in to our apartment, then finally gave up and drove 30 minutes across the city to my aunt's house where other family members were sleeping. It was about midnight by this time.

It was at that moment that I found the keys sitting on the seat next to me. I was really ticked that I hadn't found them the first time I looked. At this point I get a text from Samuel telling me that their truck battery has gone dead, and they will have to ride their dirtbikes 20 miles back into town and get help. I'm too tired and frustrated to offer to help.

I should have offered to help.

But no, I attempted to sleep in the same room with Kalia in a pack and play. She didn't want to go to sleep as long as she could clearly see me laying in the bed. LONG story short, I put her in the bed with me (and put her back in the pack and play) four or five times during the night. She slept for a total of four hours. She screamed for another one or two, as I smushed a pillow over my head and cried in (more) frustration. Oh, and at some point Samuel had texted me saying he'd gotten home. I didn't really pay attention to what time he'd sent it.

At about 7 a.m. I realized she wasn't going back to sleep, and she was close to waking up everyone in the house with her protesting, blood-curdling screams. (I have to add that she is a great night-sleeper at home, so I'm feeling even more upset that she wasn't home in her own bed. I'm still partially blaming Samuel for this, which wasn't fair, I know.) I was so overwhelmed with a hundred negative emotions, I basically ripped her out of the crib, marched her downstairs and buckled her in the car. (She was supposed to stay at this house to get babysat for the day, FYI) Then I drove (sobbing) back to my apartment, and called Samuel, woke him up informing him that I'd just had the worst night of my life (it seemed) and I had a full day of classes ahead of me, and HE was going to solve the problem of what to do with her for the rest of the day, and I was going to sleep for a few hours to try to get some sanity back. I was tempted to skip the whole second day of Time Out for Women... Seriously, I was being COMPLETELY irrational, emotional, illogical, etc. I can admit it. I even comprehended it at the time, but it didn't stop me.

The one thing I could think clearly was, "Wow, the Adversary sure is going to a lot of work to stop me from going to these classes. So there must be something I need." And that made me all the more determined to get there...eventually. Samuel met me at the door, I handed him Kalia, and crawled in bed. Then I slept for three hours. I missed the morning classes of Time Out for Women. I guess Kalia slept for about three hours too.

As Samuel was driving me to the Cashman Center, where the classes were held, I finally asked how he ended up getting home the night before. That's when he told me that they'd been stuck out there most of the night, and he had finally gotten home and into bed around 5 a.m. (So he got a total of 2 hours of sleep.) I felt like a pretty bad wife (and mom) at that moment. I couldn't believe he hadn't ripped into me for being so awful. (Maybe it's something about a sobbing pregnant wife that makes you take pity and forget your own problems? I don't know.)

Here's what I do know. That afternoon session of TOFW was absolutely phenomenal, and I needed every second of it. I'm so glad I didn't give up completely. And I am so grateful to Samuel for whatever compassion overtook him; he didn't end up getting any work done, he took Kalia for the rest of the day, and he survived it all on two hours sleep.

That night, after a two hour nap for ALL of us, we got to go to a Nascar racing event. I didn't want to go, but my dad had won tickets, and Samuel thought it would be fun. The Nascar Speedway is only 10 minutes from our house! IT WAS AWESOME! I couldn't believe how exciting it was to see those trucks (happened to be a truck event) just FLYING around that track. Even Kalia was clapping and waving at the trucks every time they went by. And we got a nice fireworks show at the end.

Moral of the story? I don't know...you can probably deduct your own, but I was reminded that good things are worth fighting for, and that sometimes we just have to persevere when obstacles pop up to keep you from doing something good and uplifting. And give your husband a hug and a kiss for no good reason. They really are good to us, aren't they?

Energizer Bunny Bigler

Sometimes it doesn't seem fair that the kids get all the energy, and parents get the tiredness. Caffeine is getting more and more tempting.

I don't know if it's a naturally-short attention span, or if Kalia feels too cooped up in the apartment, but she is always going-going-going.

If I'm on the computer, she wants to be on my lap (drawing on things or banging on the keyboard.) If I'm on the couch, she wants to climb up and down and all over me. If I'm in the bathroom, she wants to be there so she can wave bye-bye to whatever flushes. And now that she learned the sign for "outside" she asks to go out several times a day, which I try to go along with, but I'm getting a little bored with it to be honest, because we do the same thing over and over again. Climb the stairs. Run. Chase pigeons. Try to open all the mailboxes and car doors with the keys. Run more. Climb more. Then I get too tired and/or hot and take her back up to the cold, small apartment.

I hope life balances itself out a little by sending me a non-energizer bunny for number two.

So, if you're bored, here's a few clips of Kalia's....well, energy. Forgive my messy apartment, but let's be honest, I'm not really in the mood to keep it clean.

The tag you didn't want...

You've seen it going around, right? Take a picture of the following (immediately) with no cleaning. Then you see that you were tagged. So you take your camera and snap away, gulping here (how embarrassing!) or breathing a sigh of relief there (whew...hubby did the dishes recently.) So here we go, and then I'm tagging some of YOU! No worries, I think we're all learning the same thing about each other-- we're not perfect housekeepers, not anywhere near, but oh well!



1. Closet- this is Kalia's (as you might have guessed)-- and luckily I just started boxing up 12 months of clothes that were stacked to the ceiling. Maybe the nesting is beginning.

2. Kitchen Sink
3. Toilet, master bath. Samuel must be cleaning it, cause I don't remember the last time I did.4. Laundry room (the dryer was behind me...it's too small to get both in the pic, just use your imagination.)
5. Kids/pets (with post-piggytail hair). She sure wishes she had a pet...kitty/doggy/fishy/birdie/horsie/... a sister will have to do.
6. Place you want to visit: I'm so homesick for Hawaii. I should have appreciated it more when we lived there.

7. Fridge/Freezer
8. Favorite room: Not many to choose from, but I do get to watch all my favorite shows, and blog, from this room. And Kalia gets to jump off the coffee table onto the couch all day, so she likes it too.
9. Self-portrait. I guess it's a good as time as ever. 30 weeks.
10. Favorite shoes. Got 'em at Charlotte Russe, love 'em, they were only $15. One is missing right now.

So who are the lucky winners to be tagged!??! How about Holly W., Kim B., Natalie I., and Crystal M.? Woohoo!

Ceramic Tile! Never again!

See this tile here? It's the ceramic tile in our kitchen and one of our bathrooms.

I HATE IT!!

I am vowing here and now to NEVER have white ceramic tile in any home EVER.

Why such violent feelings about tile? Well, I'm pregnant, and my feelings about everything are violent, but more importantly, EVERY speck shows up on it, and thus it always looks filthy. The only time it ever looks good is right after I've swept it (three times in a row) and mopped it (twice)...then it only looks good for about one hour. (picture above...still wet from mopping....it takes forever to dry.)

Too much work for not enough pay-off.

I really like my mom's "fake-looking-tile-lineoleum" and my uncle's fake hard-wood floor...I don't know, what else is out there?

I can't wait to build a house someday. I'll try to be very patient, but I'm storing little tidbits away in my head.

"They're not my toys!"

Tonight Samuel requested oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. It's 10:30 p.m. But I was kind of in the mood for them too, so I cleverly said, "I'd love to make some, but the kitchen's a mess, and there's toys all over the living room..." (in a tone that said, too bad, I'll have to do that instead.)


He quickly piped up, "I'll clean the kitchen!" (Just what I was hoping for)

And I prompted him, "and the living room too?" and he goes, "How about just the kitchen?" And so I say, "Honey, it's not even hard to pick up the toys and put them away. But look how hard it is for me to bend over!" (and I demonstrate.)

I don't think he looked up from the game he was playing on his cell phone, but he said,

"They're not my toys."

HA! Can you believe it! I thought it was so funny, and it caught me so off guard. I decided to blog about it instead. Now he's all embarrassed that I'm telling everyone what he said. Too bad, so sad! I'm not trying to embarrass him, he didn't say it rude, and he didn't really mean it. It was a funny comment, that's all. Or maybe I'm just tired and need some sleep.

(half hour later)...the kitchen is clean, so is the living room! Thanks dearest. Hope you didn't do it out of guilt.

I'll make the cookies tomorrow. I think I'm going to use this recipe, but let me know if you have a yummy one.

Follow Up

This picture is funny, huh.

Just a few things to follow-up on:

Cleaning stuff:

*I tried some Electrosol dishwasher tabs from Costco and the dishes are the cleanest they've ever been. Not spotless like the commercials, but so much better, so THANKS for the tips! I am still experimenting with laundry.

Saw the doctor finally...

*Weight gain was 25lbs (not 30), which makes me feel a little better

*I'm measuring 30 cm (at 28 weeks) even though the baby was normal in the ultrasound

*I'm feeling much better after getting better sleep (what a difference the Tylenol PM makes)

Thanks everyone for all your encouragement.

Other questions I've been asked:

*When is my due date? November 15th....so a possible induction around Oct 31st-Nov 2nd (ish)

*What names are we considering?

--Annalise is the only name we both like right now...we'll see.

Kalia Turns 1

On Sunday, August 24, Kalia turned 1! So...get ready for the cliches:

I can't believe it's been a year since Kalia was born!

The time has flown by!

They grow up so fast!

Being a mom is the most rewarding thing ever!

I'm so lucky to have her in my life!

I can't imagine my life without her.

She woke up bright and early, and while Samuel and I were dozing in and out of consciousness, she found a red marker (that did not say washable) to entertain herself with. I wanted to cry (as I choked back the laughter) as I imagined having to take her to church looking like Bozo the Clown. Luckily (using a clorox wipe!) I got most of it off until it looked like a nice rosy flush
She wore her Hawaiian Muumuu to remind us all of that great, long, and crazy day one year ago.

Later that night my Grandma had us over for dinner (Samuel turned 31 the day before, so it was a double celebration.) Kalia's favorite presents were the stuffed doggy and kitty from her Great Grandma Ruth, but the baby doll and her cell phone from cousins M&M came in at a close second.

I baked a little cake for Kalia (my mom kindly did the decorating...I don't have cake decorating skills.)As you can see, she LOVED the eating her cake.

Maddux and Malakai helped too. It was everything I hoped it would be for her.

And birthdays are fun once again!

Complaining

Yes, this is a complaining post. I already feel guilty about it, and I haven't even written it. I feel like I should just keep all these thoughts in my head (or try not to think them at all) as I see others around me having to experience much worse (like my mom finishing up chemo or all the couples out there who are trying to get pregnant.)

I apologize to anyone who reads this and has much bigger problems. I really have been trying to count my blessings. It's just that I have found a lot of comfort in the advice and support of fellow bloggers. Just today I got to go to mother's group/swimming with three of you and you guys were wonderful and helped calm me down a bit.

But now I'm back to worrying again.

I am somewhere between 27 and 28 weeks along. I am most likely going to be induced at 38 weeks, which means I have 10 weeks left. It really has gone fast this second time around. But the "fun part of pregnancy" is offically over.

It seems like I got huge all of a sudden. I don't even want to put a belly picture up. I haven't been to the doctor in two months, making all these trips to St. George and all, so I had no idea how much weight I've gained. (until the other night. boo.)

I will never be one of those, "I wore my same pants the whole pregnancy" girls, as I gain half my weight in my thighs alone. But I was hoping to not gain 45 lbs this time, since I am chasing a hyper-active toddler everywhere.

I was at Walmart the other night, and decided to get on a scale in one of the aisles. Bad idea. It shows that I've already gained 30 lbs. It ruined my week. If that's accurate then I'm on course for a 50-60 lb weight gain this time. What the crap is going on.

To add insult to injury, my mom's sweet, extremely skinny friend asked me if I was SURE it wasn't twins I was having and if I was SURE I had two whole months to go. (This lady has had two kids, I mean, she should REALLY KNOW BETTER than to say something like that to a prego.)

I wish I didn't care about stupid weight, but I do. I've heard it's harder to lose the weight with each kid, so I am even more anxious about it. It just makes it worse when people make their dang comments about my size.

The other bad news is that my ribs have started aching, especially when I eat a big meal. This happened last time, but it didn't seem like it hit until 35 weeks. I just don't understand how they could ache already, when the baby has to get so much bigger.

Sleeping just got much harder too, and so I'm beyond tired during the day. Until 9 p.m., then I'm finally wide awake. It's all messed up.

And on top of it all...I'm really starting to worry. About everything that could go wrong. About maybe having another 27 hour labor and 3 hours of pushing, only to be told the baby is stuck at zero station and it was all in vain, thus, another c-section. As I imagine trying to recover from a c-section with Kalia crawling all over me, it almost makes me want to cry.

How in the world am I going to survive the last 10 weeks??

I'm just having a little pity party here. I know it's all worth it in the end. But like I said. Tonight I just needed to vent it out and move on. Thanks for listening. Good night.

Wicked Story

So, how many Wicked fans are out there?? It's only my favorite musical of all time. My little brother Eric, who is now 20 and on a mission, introduced me to it four years ago. He played the CD for me in the car on our way home from Thanksgiving in Vegas, and I fell in love. Then I got obsessed. Then I decided I had to see it in New York, before Idina Menzel (who played Elphaba) left the show. I was in college, single, and able to talk my little brother into a very spontaneous trip to New York three weeks later.
I found a reasonable price online for tickets to Wicked at Gershwin Theater, I ordered them, and had them shipped to the hotel where we'd be staying. Then we flew to New York city, (our first time in that crazy city! Loved it!) and arrived around 7 a.m. It was December 16th, freezing, and my brother was wearing shorts and flip flops. He got some good heckling from some construction workers. We just laughed. The tickets hadn't arrived by the 16th, or the 17th. (We were supposed to go on the 18th). I called the company and found out they'd cancelled the order for unknown reasons, and we HAD NO TICKETS. I was devastated. The only reason we'd gone to New York was to see that show. Don't get me wrong, we were having a good time, seeing the big tree at Rockefeller center, shopping (Eric was so patient....he'd hold my piles of clothes as I tried them on. Big Big piles of clothes.) and feeling the excitement of Christmas shopping in a big city...that was all fun...

but NO TICKETS TO WICKED??? We even tried waiting in line for hours to get "free tickets" (they do a drawing) but NO LUCK. I just didn't want to let Eric down. If I could just get ONE ticket for him, that would be almost as good.

We rushed to an internet cafe, hanging onto a thread of hope that we could find something. I got on ebay. And this is just another testimony to me that we have a VERY loving Heavenly Father who really does care about those little not-so-important things in our lives. There were two tickets for sale for the show, on the 18th, for $125 each (which was a great deal) and we bought them immediately. Thank goodness it wasn't a scam, the kid met us at the show and gave us our tickets, and we saw that wonderful, amazing, goosebump producing production.
(I videotaped most of the songs, secretly, so that my family could know what it was like...I doubted they'd ever get the chance to see it.) That video is a treasure to me now. Illegal or not. Megan Hilty played Glinda (she was so funny) and Idina Menzel played Elphaba.

It was a wonderful, fabulous time.
I found out that Wicked is coming to Capitol Theater in Salt Lake City next year, only for about 5 weeks. I missed the ticket sales though, and now they're only for sale by ticket brokers who are charging an arm and a leg. I'm bummed, but still determined to find a deal-- luckily I have about 9 months to do it. I can't wait to see it again. And I think I need to go back to New York too. That city is amazing.

Which is Better?

Just curious- but what works better for you?

1. Liquid Dishwasher detergent, or Powder?
2. Liquid Laundry detergent, or Powder?
3. Fabric Softner in the middle tube of the washer, or in a Downy Ball? Or just dryer sheets?

Yay for the Olympics!

I love the summer games! And this is the first time we've ever had cable to enjoy it (I didn't know Handball was an Olympic sport!)

Your favorites are probably my favorites...(gymnastics, diving, swimming, volleyball) but maybe I'll broaden my Olympic horizons a little.

Go Michael Phelps! Hope you can win your 8 (if not 10) gold medals. And good luck to Dara Torres, the amazing 41-year old U.S. swimmer (she has a 2 year-old daughter) and I could go on and on....the athletes are all so inspirational. And the stories (and commericals) are making me cry. Big shocker.

Dreams. Showering. Videos.

So, I have these random thoughts to share. None of them relate to each other at all.

1. My pregnancy dreams have been different this time. With Kalia, I was always dreaming that I was another character (i.e. Sarah from Prison Break or Kate from Lost) trying to hook up with Michael or Jack/Sawyer, respectively. THIS time, I am me in my dreams, but I'm dreaming of all my past boyfriends and loves. And then I wake up missing them, thinking, I am going to send them an e-mail and say hi. then I'm like, Wait...I had the dream, not them. THEY'RE not missing ME!! I wish I would quit dreaming about them so I could quit missing them. I am quite happy with the husband I have.

2. Showering...so, I know some of you have talked about slumps, not getting dressed all day, etc. I am willing to admit to all of you that I am one of those people. Sometimes I don't shower for days, I'd rather use that time to read, blog, or sleep. I usually only wear make-up on Sundays, and I am still struggling to get into a routine of cooking and cleaning. I have a million excuses, and frankly it's just too easy to stay in comfy clothes and eat cereal all day...especially when I usually don't go anywhere or see anyone besides Samuel and Kalia. Most days, I'm fine with it, because I know eventually my life will demand more from me. But every now and then I feel the urge to be better, look better, live better. Recently I discovered that SHOWERING has an amazing effect on me. I don't plan on doing anything else, but once I'm showered I think, "hmm, a little makeup would be nice!" Then some lotion and deoderant. wouldn't hurt. Then I feel so good I think, "I'll just clean this bathroom counter. And this mirror. Well, I might as well mop the floor. And the kitchen floor." Then my whole apartment gets clean. And it all starts with a shower. Samuel is so happy I discovered this.

3. Okay, any advice on home movie clips? I just realized that every video clip that I have of Kalia is on a memory card or the computer. I want to get them on a DVD or somewhere safer. What have you guys done? Is there a website or program that will just mush them all together or what?

Thanks for listening to my random thoughts of the day.

The Venetian

Okay, so better late than never, but we had the GREATEST time at the Venetian Hotel, here in Vegas. I have never stayed in a five-star hotel, and I have to say, A-MAZ-ING. The rooms (their "basic" rooms) were bigger than our apartment in Hawaii. They had a separate living room area, three flat screen TV's (one in the bathroom) and gold trim on everything. And one of my favorite things- Curtains that open and close with a remote!



Living room:


The bed was heavenly-soft...
The marble bathroom with a TV. Loved the bubble baths. And the robes and slippers. I liked how they separated the living area from the sleeping area with the 2 stairs.

The view was Kalia's favorite. And the actual swimming too.

Belly... Big.
And the customer service was incredible, I couldn't believe how accomodating they were. They brought extra pillows, blankets, a humidifier, cleaned the room whenever I wanted it done, and needless to say, it was the best hotel experience of my life. Hope to go back soon.

11 Months

11 months old today! The last month has been so fun. Here's a few new things that Kalia's into:

Bananas (causing some constipation problems) and Mac and Cheese-- she loves them both so much, she literally shovels them into her mouth. I'm giving her high fiber yogurt to counteract the banana problem.

She puts everything over her head or around her neck- leis, necklaces, strings (makes me nervous!) and clothes. She found one of the tops to my G's and managed to wear it like a toga for 15 minutes, I had to laugh.
Signing: I was so surprised when out of the blue she started signing-- I did signs here and there, but didn't think she was paying attention. Now she is signing eat, drink, more, doggy, all done (sometimes) and help (a barely-there version of help, but whatever). It's so nice to know what she wants. She has also started pointing at things to show us what she wants, or where she wants to go (um, outside. Always.) Also helpful.

Dogs: I have no idea where this new fascination with dogs has come with, but HOLY COW, she's obsessed. She says doggy ("doddy") about 100 times a day, pats her little leg, and starts laughing and breathing hard whenever she hears one or sees one. I bought her some books with puppies, because I'm not about to buy her a dog. (yet)

She's started crying every time Samuel leaves the house. She already squeals and runs to him when he comes home, but now she's noticing him leaving. He loves it.

She's increasingly restless at church. Case in point: Last Sunday I caught 20 minutes of Sacrament and 15 minutes of Sunday school. None of relief society. She won't stay on my lap, and she loves to escape into the aisles (or halls) and then she boldly walks onto the stand or into Bishop's offices. Oh well, at least we're there right? (I try to tell myself). Only 8 more months til nursery.

She's in love with the computer, especially the little red light underneath the mouse. She climbs up on the chair in front of the computer and starts banging away on the keyboard, playing with the mouse, or crawling up on the desk, or under it. I pull her off about 10 times a day.

She is getting the "let me do it" attititude and wants to feed herself with a spoon. I caught a funny moment on camera, at about the 30 second mark:

And...she's getting really bored staying indoors all day (but seriously, it is SO hot outside.) If you have any ideas on how to entertain an 11-month old, let me know.

Vaccines and Autism

Disclaimer: NOW--I am not writing this to start an argument. I believe that every person is 100% entitled to their own opinion and to do whatEVER they feel is best for their child.I do NOT like confrontation or arguments at all. I am not trying to open a can of worms (which I sort of did with my post on universal health care)--SO, I just want to say that for awhile I was very stubborn and refused to really look into this whole "is there a connection between vaccines and Autism" thing.

I have a cousin who is autistic, and a roommate from college who has an autistic son, and so it's something I think about a lot, especially lately with Kalia being at that age to get "shots."

I try not to be extreme about anything, but my husband, a real conspiracy theorist, does ask me questions that make me think. Finally, as we mildly battled out our opinions on the subject, I told him that there was just no PROOF that vaccines caused Autism. In fact, to back myself up, I told him I would find a study where UN-VACCINATED children still had Autism.

Well guess what. I couldn't find any study of the kind. I searched all over the web. I kept finding other people asking the same questions I had: WHERE ARE THE STUDIES ON UN-VACCINATED CHILDREN WHO HAVE AUTISM? I couldn't find them!! (If you can find them, LET ME KNOW!) I'm not sure if they are out there, and the government is covering them up (I wouldn't put it past them) or is it really just that there are not very many un-vaccinated kids with autism to study? I did learn of a study of some Amish people, who aren't very big on vaccines, and interestingly enough, their Autism rates are low to non-existent. This is when I started to see a "correlation" that I couldn't deny.

So, currently, I am very leery of vaccines, and while I certainly want my children to be vaccinated, I want to go about it in a different way. When I say that, I mean I would prefer the vaccines to be given one at a time, and not so many at once, and I don't think every single one of those 30 something vaccines is necessary. The following interview makes it pretty clear why.

I just wanted to share this awesome interview from Jenny McCarthy, it's one of the best I've heard from her, and if you don't know, her son was diagnosed as Autistic at age 2 1/2. If any of you are interested in this topic, or this particular opinion about vaccines/autism, I highly encourage that you watch it.

Lake Powell

We had a great time at Lake Powell! We went with about 15 members of my mom's family and stayed on a houseboat. The weather was wonderful, the water perfect, and the food pretty good too. Kalia liked climbing the spiral staircase quite a bit, and also the pancakes. Samuel was in heaven wakeboarding, and we were happy that Kalia loved boating so much. She would wave at other boats as we passed.She and I even had a chance to get out on the taco tube... And as the boat was stopping, the water flooded in on top of us and we toppled in.

My mom was able to make it. She's the one on the left, and that's her only sister on the right. My mom has had 6 (of 8) chemo treatments and she's hanging in there...these last few have really been hard on her, and at this point she's just trying to endure the rest. We were so glad she could join us and have a good time.
Samuel caught some good air on the wakeboard...
And on the tube...(with my little sis Kimberlee)

And on the way down from this cliff. (Not to be outdone, all the younger cousins followed suit, including Kimberlee, who's 14. So my dad jumped off too, because he couldn't let his youngest daughter outdo him either.) I'm just glad they all survived. And here's a little clip of Kalia loving the wind on her face.

Most the family is still out there, and I wish we were too, but I guess we'll just have to wait until next year. Then I won't be pregnant, and I can join in on the ACTION!

It's a......

So sorry to keep you all in suspense! We didn't have a computer at the hotel.

We are super excited to tell you now, though, that we're having a.... Can you tell??

ANOTHER GIRL!!! I was secretly hoping for it, but trying not to want it too much. Sisters! Close in age. We are thrilled. (Okay, Samuel might be a tad disappointed, but trying not to show it. Maybe next time!!)

Tag You're It

It's been a crazy two weeks. Happy 4th of July everyone. Ashely tagged me, and here I go:

20 Years ago...I was 8 years old, recently baptized, and pretty bratty. Growing up in St. George was awesome though.

10 Years ago...I had just finished my junior year of high school, my life revolved around volleyball, basketball, and track, and I was pumped to be a big Senior!

5 Years ago...Serving my mission and sweating in the humidity of Alabama. Loving those Mexicans and their hot spicy food. Trying to lose missionary weight.

3 Years ago...I was doing a summer internship in Honolulu, and falling madly in love with Samuel. We got engaged on August 18th.

1 Year ago...I was 8 months pregnant, hot, uncomfortable, and just quitting my job. Living in Hawaii and loving it, but missing my family.

So far this year I...made my first major move, loving having my family, but missing Hawaii like crazy. The grass is always greener, eh?

Yesterday I.... Witnessed my first live birth, Tara's beautiful baby girl was born (she did a VBAC! She did so awesome!) 13lbs and 8 oz. It was the coolest thing ever.
**CORRECTION** THAT'S 8LBS 13 OZ, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.**

Today I... just got back from church, now we're going to the Venetian for 2 nights to celebrate our anniversary (6 months late). We got a killer rate! $100 a night! I love hotels sooo much.

Tomorrow I... am finding out if we're having a boy or girl!!!

In the next year I...will have two children and hope it's as fun as it sounds (haha)

I tag: Crystal M., Brandi S., Amy J. and Angie S.