Alabama, Arkansas..Home is wherever I'm with you

Tyler lived in Arkansas for 7 weeks in a hotel & I was there for only the last 2 weeks.

Living in a hotel is sort of a drag but it sure beats being apart from one another!

Arkansas was a curious place. I wasn't there long enough to get a good feel for it but it was definitely 

a lot different from anywhere else I've been. 

 It included a lot of eating out on my part, pool time, and just lounging. 

There is not a lot to do in a hotel besides watching movies and reading. 

Tyler & Dillan rescued an abandoned puppy. They named her Nala. 

So cute. I was so proud of them for taking care of her. 

Arkansas treated us well, but needless to say, we are glad to be in Louisiana now. 

Music Monday

Half Of It {Yes You} 

Wide Awake {Katy Perry}

The A Team {Ed Sheeran}

Waterfalls {Something Radical} 

Titanium {David Guetta}

Music Monday 

Skinny Love

Back in April, we went to a Bon Iver concert in Vegas and hung out with our dear friends, 

Brandon & Amanda. We had so much fun checking out their new place, eating at BJ's & reconnecting.

We met up with my brothers, cousin, and some other friends at the concert.  

The concert was so fun & I was so relieved it was so mellow because it took place during my sick days.

We spent the rest of the weekend in St. George celebrating Brock's birthday, having breakfast with the  Winget's, & getting Neilsen's frozen custard with the Munson's & the Price's.

Grizzlies VS Clippers

As a work incentive the guys went to one of the 

Grizzlies VS Clippers playoff games in Tennessee.

As you can tell, they loved it. I know Tyler and Dillan were so excited.

Clippers came back from being down by 28 points and won.

The guys wore matching shirts and had a good time! 

{b}U{m}PDate: 19 weeks

Well I am posting this a little late cause I'll be 20 weeks tomorrow. yay!

I am really excited for the 20 week appointment. 

The bump is growing slowly but surely.  I noticed my clothes fitting tighter this week. 

I still haven't had any unusual cravings that I would relate to pregnancy.

I have been craving beignets, but I'm pretty sure that is just cause we moved back to Louisiana.

I must not be craving them that bad cause I still haven't gone out to get them. 

Maybe I am not far enough along yet, but I don't understand the craving thing everyone talks about. 

I am always thirsty though. 

In the beginning I couldn't drink water cause it made me want to throw up,

 but now it's all I want to drink. 

I felt sick a couple times this week and I had to sit down to take a break.

I need to be better about eating more often. As long as I stay on top of it I feel great.

I exercised just about everyday this week. I even jogged a little. 

My left rib has been hurting, it started around 17 weeks. 

I thought I did something weird to it maybe during packing and moving, but it hasn't stopped

so I am thinking it might be from pregnancy instead?

I just don't think I am big enough yet for it to be hurting my ribs? I guess I'll ask my doc about it.

So far, I am still loving pregnancy. I guess that's easy right now while I feel good.

Can't wait to see our babe on the ultrasound this Wednesday!  

Kansas

On my way out to meet my husband for the summer my mom and I stopped to visit our family in Kansas.
We stayed at my grandparent's house {mom's parents} for five days & had such a lovely time.
I miss it. I wish we were still there.
We got to visit with my Great Grandma Betty almost everyday at her nursing home.  It was so good to see her. We know it meant a lot to her.
We looked through a bunch of Grandma Betty's possessions from the years like vintage cards, stamps, and pictures.
We also saw a lot of my cousin Emily and her darling family, along with Aunt Karen and cousin Stacia.
We enjoyed a nice memorial day BBQ and played lots of games the whole weekend.  I forgot how fun dominos can be.
Razz sure loved playing in grandma and grandpa's backyard. He is such an outside dog.
A highlight was definitely eating at Jose Pepper's. I crave it all the time.
But, what I enjoyed most of all was hanging with family. I wish we could see each other more often.
So grateful for this sweet little trip. We had such a blast!

Music Monday

Ho Hey {The Lumineers}

Down By The Water {The Drums}

Corner {Allie Moss} 

Don't Ever {Missy Higgins}

Sparklers {Rocky Votolato}

Music Monday 

{b}U{m}PDATE: 18 Weeks

Well, I can finally say I am out of the sick zone. 

I was so sick from about week 5 till week 16. 

I had a bad case of morning sickness, all day long. 

I must admit, there were a handful of days during that time period where it would let up

& I would actually be able to get out of bed and feel some what normal. 

I cannot express to you how grateful I was for those days. 

Those good days were my little piece of heaven.

The bad days, I  just can't feel the same about. They were really hard for me.

In the beginning, I swore to Tyler this was the only child we were having. 

I hate throwing up and it felt like it would never end. 

Majority of the time I would get really dehydrated as well because I couldn't keep anything down.  

& when I wasn't throwing up I had really bad nausea.   

I was loosing so much weight and it was making me really nervous. I just felt like death. 

I'm really not good at being sick.

I just had to keep telling myself "I can do hard things" & it really helped me through it.   

I lost about 12 pounds and didn't start gaining it back till about week 14.

Before I got pregnant I weighed the least I have ever weighed before, 

so loosing that additional weight just really took everything out of me.

Tyler's mom was always calling me an Ethiopian, ha!  

I was really weak and didn't have much energy. 

I wasn't expecting to get sick like I did. I don't know why I didn't.

My mom, grandma, and great grandma,were all so sick during their pregnancies.

I should have known better.   

I have been taking zofran from the very beginning & thank goodness for it. 

I can't imagine how much worse I would have been if I hadn't been taking it.

I still need to take it, but there have been a few days lately where I've felt good enough to go without it.

I'm trying to ween myself off of it.

I only got and IV once while I was really sick. It helped me recover so much faster. 

I would recommend it to anyone that can't keep anything down. 

The only downfall was the ER bill. We haven't actually gotten it yet, but I'm scared to.

Some doctor's offices will do it in office, mine unfortunately doesn't. 

While I was really sick I had terrible aversions to food. NOTHING sounded good. 

On a rare occasion Arby's and Taco Bell did. Weird, I know. 

If something sounded good I ate it. I would do anything to get some food in my belly.

I completely stopped cooking, my poor husband.

I honestly don't know what he ate. I don't think he did.

Now that I am  feeling better my appetite is back and I can eat most anything, as long as  it is substantial. 

If I just eat snacks when I should be eating a meal I feel sick.

Sweets have also fallen off my radar for the most part. Normally I LOVE sweets.

If things are too sweet I just can't eat or drink them.

I have officially switched from Coke to Diet Coke for that reason.

Oh and I love carbs. They just always make me feel good.

I haven't had too many cravings. 

The only thing I can think of is salad with ranch or olive garden salad and breadsticks. 

I am really looking forward to cooking again once we are in Louisiana. 

Once that 16th week hit, it was like magic. 

I felt like a new person. I have had so much energy and I want to do things that I love again.

I have been feeling so good I have even started exercising a little.

 It feels good to be back.

I am so grateful to be feeling healthy and full of life again.

Despite the struggle I had in the beginning, I am really loving pregnancy.

I can't even describe my gratitude for the privilege of being able to carry a child.

I am so thankful for this experience.

It really is just the most beautiful thing. 

11.5.12

11.5.12 can't come sooner.

we are beyond excited to meet our babe.

Friends Reunited

Ali recently returned from living in Paris for 7 months {so jealous} & we were finally reunited! 

We have been best friends since the sixth grade and it was so wonderful to reconnect with her.

I feel like we picked up right were we left off. We had so much fun swimming and listening to prince, 

catching up, looking through old pictures, and laughing about old times. She will be moving back to Salt Lake in the fall to start a Master's program {so proud of her} and I am so excited she will be a short 45 minutes away again. I just love her and I'm so happy she had such a great experience in Paris! 

Graduates

Jen & Brock's graduation was on the same day in different town's so there was no way I was making it to both, so I went to Jen's seminary graduation and Brock's actual graduation. 

So glad I got to celebrate with the both of them.

Can't believe our baby brother and sister are graduated!

& Can't believe it's been five years for me and ten years for Tyler.

We are so proud of Jen and Brock and couldn't be more excited for them to begin their college adventure!

They both are amazing young people and we know they will succeed in all they put their mind to. 

Mother's Day Weekend

We celebrated the whole weekend in the pool and sun. 

It was so much fun, relaxing, and very needed. 

Something has gotten into my brother, Brock, because he was pampering away all weekend.

He was giving out pedicures left & right.

He was always serving me and making me plates of food before he made one for himself.

& I'm not even a mom. 

He was being so nice and sweet all weekend.

There is definitely a new Brock in town. 

His darling girlfriend just may have something to do with it. 

13.1

Bubba & Flanders ran a half marathon & now they are training for a full marathon!

Talk about inspiring. I should have no excuse. 

We had so much fun cheering them on and waiting for them at the finish line!

Music Monday

Joy Williams {What can I Do} 

Marla Hansen {Hollow and Bold}

Kim Taylor {Days Like This}

Sara Haze {Lovely}

Sara Bareilles {Many The Miles}

Music Monday 

Baby Nathan

We have a new nephew & we just adore him.

He was born on April 9, 2012.

He weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces and was 21 inches long. 

Hawaii: Sand, Sun, & Other Fun

It rained majority of the time we were in Hawaii this time but we still managed to catch a few rays and have a lot of fun. We spent a lot of our time in Honolulu this trip because of the rain. It was fun to explore the city a little more. We went the the Honolulu festival, had snow cones, visited the Dole plantation again, lounged on the beach, and hung out with Scott, Ashley, and Matt, and my cousin Maggie. Big thanks to Scott and Ash for letting us crash with them. We had so much fun!! 

Hawaii: PCC

This trip we decided to visit the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was our first time and besides the rain it was pretty great.  We had a luau and then went to the night show called HA: Breath of Life. It was cool to learn more about the Polynesian culture. I was sad we didn't get to tour the different villages but there is always next time.