In a Nutshell ~ February

February brought our missionary home, and that was almost the most exciting thing that happened that month. I must say that introducing my brother to my husband was sort of a strange experience, but I knew they would be great friends right away. 

Nothing sweeter than an RM and his mom!

But I have to say, the highlight of the month (and quite possibly my life to that point) was seeing that little plus sign! I had been on a business trip when I started to suspect that something was off so it was a couple days of anticipation before I could confirm what I was hoping for.  I wanted to surprise Chance in some cute way, but he already knew I was suspecting we were pregnant and he was just as anxious to know as I was.

With those little blue lines our lives were changed forever. Morning sickness started right away - probably about a week after I had found out.  It stuck around for a solid 4 months.  I began to worry I would be sick the entire time.  I also began to wonder how anyone could do this more than once, let alone 7 times like my mom.  I'm glad to say that I now have a much deeper perspective of pregnancy, the sacrifice and the AMAZING reward!

It was so fun to be able to tell our parents our exciting news and see their responses. It was less fun to try to hide the morning sickness at work, especially because the bathroom on our floor was under construction.  That meant that I had to run down two flights of stairs every time I thought I was going to be sick. A somewhat nerve-wracking experience. But since i'm writing this post 9 months later, I can say that it was totally worth it and really not all that bad considering the amazing little girl I got from it all!  If I had been writing this post in the moment, I have a feeling I would not have been so optimistic.

I'm sure there were other awesome February events, but this is it for now.

In a Nutshell ~ January

Ok, so its been a while.  Don't judge, or do... i'm fine with it.  I'm actually judging myself right now.  I'm one of those that has a hard time blogging about what happened this week if I missed something important last week.  And thus we find ourselves 10 months behind.  

So here it is - the past 10 months in a nutshell.  Since I don't keep a journal these days either, i'm just going off of what pictures I have and trying to remember the highlights of each month. We'll start clear back in January. :) 

We of course went to the much anticipated ward party at Classic Fun Center.  Chance got his fill of roller hockey (without hurting himself this time) and my mom surprised me and strapped on a pair of skates herself! We were glad she opted for the little walker to help her along.  I have to say i'm actually very impressed with her skill!

The main highlight of the month was that it was finally time to count down the days till Landen came home from his mission! The paper chain was longer than William and Jaden, but it was exciting to watch it get shorter and shorter.

Christmas 2013

So... Christmas happened... & though you didn't hear from us, we want to wish you a 

Merry {LATE} Christmas... 

I hope this blog post finds you happy and healthy, and that you'll count this as my Christmas card this year.  Don't take me off your Christmas card list quite yet - one year I might just send out an official card by snail mail and everything.

This year I found out that my husband is a candy maker.  Pretty impressive. If you didn't get a little bag of sweets from us, i'm sorry.  But like I said earlier, there is always next year. ;)

We were lucky to celebrate Christmas Eve with my mom's family this year - complete with the Christmas pageant.  And of course it wouldn't be an official Christmas story without the wonderful costumes and script provided by Grandma Judy, oh ya, and the Bible.

Santa... Oh my gosh, I KNOW HIM!

We had a visit at our ward Christmas party from the Big Man himself - who also happens to be my uncle Dale.  He was so darn cute, and the kiddos LOVED him.

Christmas morning was wonderful - there were lots of fun gifts exchanged, yummy food eaten and we even took the opportunity to go sing Christmas songs with some of the sweet people at a local care center who weren't able to be with their families.

Oh and I guess while i'm at it... Happy {LATE} New Years as well.

1st Anniversary!

It's been 1 year since Chance and I tied the knot! And what a wonderful year it has been! I've spent the past couple of days thinking about what a wonderful wedding day we had.  I feel so blessed to have had such a fairy tale wedding and especially blessed to have found a true prince!

Thank you to all of you who were a part of our special day and continue to be an important part of our lives!

To celebrate, my sweet man took me to the Cheesecake Factory and to the Nutcracker (which by the way was Fabulous - all new costumes and even some new choreography in a newly renovated Capital Theater).  He even had a special little surprise photo shoot arranged - a very selfless gift since I Love pictures and he really really dislikes them. :)

For his gift.... along the same 'picture theme' I had some art framed that we bought on our honeymoon.  I'm a little embarrassed it took me a year to do it, but Chance was excited, so I guess it worked out. 

Here's to may many more anniversaries in years to come! Sure do love this man of mine and can't wait for the wonderful adventures to come.

Love you Chance!

Our Trip to Lovely D.C.

Anyone can go to DC when the government is open, but it takes particularly good timing to get there when the government is all shut down.  Trust me to be able to time it just right. ;)

When most people go to DC they spend their time at stuffy museums in old buildings filled with a bunch of old stuff like bones from animals that don't even exist anymore, or 300 year-old paintings, or jewelry that is so old it was actually on the Titanic... luckily all those free places were closed.  This allowed for Chance and I to open our minds {and our wallets} to other slightly more expensive museums in DC.

The picture on the right is of the antenna from one of the towers and behind it is an entire wall of newspapers from 9/12.  The bottom picture is chance trying out his news anchor skills - I think it's best he keep his focus on PA school. 

Our first stop was the Newseum.  Even though it's price was a bit of a deterrent, there was still a line out the door and half way down the block.  Private museums in DC LOVE it when the government closes down.  Can't say I blame them. 

It was a rather cool museum that documented news over the past few hundred years. They had a Berlin wall exhibit that actually had pieces of the wall there for us to touch.  My favorite exhibit was a tribute to 9/11 and the individuals who brought the story into our individual homes around the world. They also had a large exhibit about JFK - it's been 50 years since his death.  The only thing more interesting than that exhibit were the cute old people taking it in who could remember the day it happened.  I think they related to the JFK exhibit the way we related to the 9/11 exhibit. 

Another exciting museum that we never would have found if all the museums within the first three subway stops were open was The Phillips Collection.  We got to experience an interesting collection of Van Gogh's art.  Though to be honest, after looking at the entire collection, the only picture that really took my breath away was one of Degas! Maybe I just understand his obsession with ballet.  And as usual, I could look at Monet for hours! 

We were lucky to meet up with some friends from SLC while in DC - amazing that they could have as good of timing as we did!

It was fun to have them along for part of our adventure... we were particularly excited when Chris almost fit through the fence to the White House.

After we spent all our money, we decided to check out the monuments of DC even if we had to admire from afar.  Luckily, all the war monuments were open.  As a note -  that does not mean the bathrooms were open... obviously that job is considered 'unnecessary', though I would definitely disagree! 

The Lincoln memorial was closed which was a real shame... and there were a lot of people there to voice their similar opinion.  I understand that DC has quite a few 'crazies' on a normal day, however I can't help but believe that the government shutdown caused a few more to come to town... and in force.


The Korean War memorial was a favorite - Chance pointed out the very real expressions on the soldiers faces. They represent a spectrum of different and moving emotions.

The other monuments we were able to visit were very nice, and made me feel so very grateful for the selfless men and women who had sacrificed so much so that I could have the opportunity to spend my holiday weekend free and safe.

One of my very favorite experiences in our short little visit was Arlington Cemetery.  We were able to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as well as a change of the flower wreath in front of it.  It was very touching as family members of men and women who had sacrificed everything were able to pay tribute in a very beautiful and solemn ceremony.  

  

All things considered, i'm so glad we had an opportunity to explore this town, eat at some of Chance's favorite restaurants, visit dear friends (so sad we didn't get pictures with you guys), and enjoy a fun little adventure with my handsome hubby! Even with the government closed, we still had a great time... but next time I think we'll try to go when the government is open. ;)

Do I look like a terrorist to you?

I have a slight problem... every time I go to the airport I end up being that person who 'randomly' gets chosen to have my hands swabbed to test for drugs, or get a pat-down after the metal detector, or have a random bag check. 

When I was younger and traveling with the family I was a nanny for, I sort of got it. I looked different from the family I was traveling with and it was tricky to know why I was there.. so there must be some kind of foul play, right?  And I guess when I travel with my friends, I am the only redhead so that must mean something.  And when I was traveling in Africa I was the person who looked the most out of place and didn't have a visa, so fine, pull me aside and try to get me to pay a bribe, oh I mean an extra "fee" to let me out of "airport security". 

But seriously, people - why is it always me who is the recipient of the 'random' safety check.  It's so bad that my coworkers even know to expect it.  While traveling to DC today my boss was asking me if I got stopped in security.  I proudly told him I didn't and he joked about me always holding them up in the airport on work trips. 

Fast forward to us waiting in the boarding line at our gate.  I get about half-way up the line when a TSA agent walks up to me and says they are doing random bag checks and asks if I will please come with him... SERIOUSLY? My boss just started laughing as I walked over to their little table and opened my purse for someone to go through before I could board the plane. 

I don't know what i'm doing that screams dangerous person trying to board plane, but whatever it is, I think i've perfected it!

Conference time...

It's almost that time of the year again!

I just love Conference weekend. I so look forward to hearing our church leaders give us guidance in our troubled world - plus you get to have church in your PJ's! 

{an advantage of living in Utah where they play it on your local television stations}

Do any of you have fun conference weekend traditions with your family? How do you make the most out of your weekend?