Daniel and Sarah Spillman

Where to begin? How about a VACATION?!

2011-05-18T22:57:00.000-06:00

It's been a long time. Too long. I've been sitting here for the last hour trying to figure out where to begin. And I can't! So instead of wasting more time trying to figure it out and eventually getting to the point where I don't blog anything, I'm just going to focus on the big events.

Lets start with our vacation to Florida. We took Oscar to meet his Great Mimi. They bonded instantly he didn't need any time to warm up to her!

Then it was off to the beach for Oscar's first time. (This entire trip was full of "firsts" for our baby boy!)

I couldn't believe how many strangers came up to Oscar and just loved him. He ate up all the attention too, he just loves it. He would smile and pour on the charm for anyone that would look at him. And we figured out that when he started to get fussy, all we needed to do was have Mimi pull out her camera and this would happen...

We went to Lake Alice to see if we could see an alligator this time. (We didn't get to see one on our honeymoon.) Sure enough there was not only one but two!

And Oscar slept the entire time we were looking at the gators.

We stayed with Mimi for a few days, then Daniels parents met up with us there. They stayed for a night and off to Siesta Key. We could not have planned the timing of the weather any better. The day we drove in the car all day was the day it rained like crazy. The rest of the vacations was beautiful!

Oscar really loved the ocean. He would swing his arms around like crazy just splashing away! The water was really warm and the beach was beautiful.

I told Daniel that I wanted to go parasailing...so we did. It was TONS of fun, and something I wouldn't normally do. I wanted there to be a "first" for me too!

We had an amazing time and Oscar was such a little trooper. He is such a happy lil fella! He traveled like a champ, that is until the plane ride home. About 10 minutes before we landed in SLC he puked about 7 gallons of vomit...all over me. Daniel and I tried to clean it up and sop up as much as we could with Oscar's blanket but it just wasn't big enough. Luckily we had wipes and cleaned it up but I was completely mortified. Everyone on the plane was so comforting and sweet to us about it though. At least he did it 10 minutes before we landed and not 10 minuted after we took off!

Promise

2011-04-23T19:56:00.002-06:00

I will update this...one day. Until next time, LOVES to you all!

First Christmas

2010-12-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

Christmas was a little different in our house this year. It didn't really "feel" like Christmas to me or Daniel. I suppose it's because we have a totally different perspective of it now, we are looking at it as parents now not children. Don't get me wrong, everything about it was magical! We are truly blessed with the best family and friends ever! Love you all so, so much!!!

Life as I know it

2010-11-18T13:23:00.000-07:00

Has changed dramatically. I have made some major changes in the last year that I never imagined myself doing. The biggest change of all is becoming a mother. I still wonder if this is real, it's hard to believe sometimes. As some of you know I have gone back to work part time. My first day back was on Nov. 4...my last day will be on Nov. 24. That's right, I'm quiting. It's hard to accept that I'm giving up all that I have known and built my life around but I have more important things to attend to now. Besides, how can I leave this face everyday?

I can't wait for all of the adventures awaiting us! I must say that I am one lucky girl! I love my family so so much and I'm so thankful everyday for them!

Pumpkin Walk

2010-11-01T23:29:00.000-06:00

What were you expecting? Pictures of the amazing pumpkins? I think not!

Oscar's First Halloween

2010-11-01T22:11:00.000-06:00

Daniel dressed up as Kyle Beckerman. We already had a lion costume for Oscar, so I figured we might as well put on Oscar's Real jersey (even though it's for a 12 month old) so he can be Loe the Lion, Real's mascot.

Here are some pics of the "real" Kyle Beckerman and Leo the Lion.

And here is my Kyle and Leo (Way cuter if you ask me!)

Like Father Like Son

2010-11-01T19:54:00.000-06:00

Need I say more?

Blessing

2010-11-01T18:54:00.000-06:00

On Oct. 17, Oscar was blessed. We had a double blessing with his cousin John. Thank you to all who came and shared such a special day with us!

The many faces of Oscar

2010-11-01T18:49:00.000-06:00

Here we are almost 12 weeks later and my little boy is still alive, so we must be doing something right! ;) This top pic is how he looks most of the time, very concerned about something...either that or he thinks his mom is a bit crazy!?!

He is getting so big. I have to go back to work on Nov. 4, but it's only part time. Nana and Poppy will be watching Oscar which makes going to work easier knowing he will be with family.

Here are some videos of Oscar (just for you Mimi! He is sort of camera shy and whenever I pull out the camera to get video of him, he always stops doing what he was doing and the minute I turn off the camera he's hamming it up again!)

Well there you have it. My sweet little boy who has mom wrapped around his finger!

Update on our busy life

2010-09-22T17:46:00.001-06:00

So you all need to forgive me...our internet at home has been acting up and not working EVER. We have had someone come out and try to fix it, but it doesn't seem like they can do anything about it. So I haven't been updating this like I should be...SO SORRY!
Oscar rolled over at 3 weeks. Yeah, I didn't believe it either when Daniel was watching him in the living room doing some tummy time with him and I was in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. Daniel says to me "Umm, he just rolled over." My first reaction was "no way, he's way too young." When we told Daniel's mom, she said the same thing. So we got some video of it for proof.

You have to be a little patient, he doesn't actually roll over until the end of the video.
Oscar is also starting to smile. I happen to get the very first smile with a picture. This happened on Aug. 17 2010.

This smile is what I look forward to every day now! I just love being a mom and having such a cutie to care for!

Oscar's cousin John was welcomed to the world on Sept. 12. Cathy and Micah had a healthy big baby boy weighing in at 9 lbs. 1 oz. We went to visit them when they got home from the hospital. John and Oscar are the same size and Oscar is a month older than John.

(Oscar is on the left and John is on the right.)

And here is Dad and Oscar just chillin'

My Beautiful Family

2010-09-06T20:13:00.000-06:00

Pics done by Memories by Sheena

You Are My Sunshine

2010-09-06T20:03:00.000-06:00

The only lullaby I know is You Are My Sunshine and it's the only one I sing to Oscar. I think it's what my mom sung to me too. (Perfect pics done by Memories by Sheena)

NICU

2010-09-06T19:41:00.000-06:00

Okay, I think I'm emotionally okay to talk about this now. (I say this as my eyes start to tear up)

The first night in the hospital was a really rough one for us, especially Oscar. We had decided that for the first night in the hospital we would have Oscar stay in the nursery so we could get some good rest. It's a good thing because at about 4am a nurse came in and told me that they had admitted him to the NICU because his oxygen level was low, he had fluid in his lungs and he was not eating. I didn't know what to think, I was so drugged up on pain meds from the surgery that I think I just went back to sleep with the news not really sinking in. When I finally woke up is when the news sunk in and I was so confused. They told us we could go see him whenever we wanted so we made the trip to the NICU. (Now remember I'm recovering from a c-section so it took a lot of energy just to get out of bed and into the wheelchair.) No one could prepare themselves for what we walked into...

We were not prepared to see him with all these tubes hooked up to him and coming from him. It broke our hearts. They wouldn't let us hold him, because they were not sure how long he was going to be in the NICU and hooked up to all the machines and they didn't want to have to train us on how to hold him with all of the tubes. Turns out he was in there for the entire 3 days that I was in the hospital so eventually they did let us hold him.

This was only the second time that I was able to hold my son. We were up in our room and I was having a really hard time dealing with the fact that I just had a baby and I couldn't hold, cuddle and love on him. So we went back to the NICU. We got there 10 minutes before shift change. They make everyone leave so that when they do have the shift change it goes smoothly. When we got to Oscar's room, the nurse could tell I was having a really hard time emotionally and that I needed my son in my arms. Without saying a word she went over and picked him up and placed him in my arms and I immediately felt complete. Needless to say they did not make us leave for the shift change.

For the next 3 days, they would come and get me every 4 hours to go to the NICU for Oscars feedings. This was so hard physically but I knew I had to do it and I have an amazing husband who helped me every time!

When they finally released him from the NICU (he was released the day I was able to leave the hospital) they brought him up to us just in time for him to go under the lights for his jaundice.

It was so bittersweet because I finally had my son with me in the room, but now I couldn't hold him. We had to rent a billibed from Intermountain Health Care to take home with us where he was under the lights for the next 2 days. We were so relieved when we were finally able to return the lights!

Welcome to the world

2010-09-03T17:34:00.000-06:00

Well, as you all probably know, baby Oscar made his appearance 3 weeks early. He just couldn't wait any longer! So after days and days of holding my brand new baby boy Oscar and loving him, I finally decided to lay him down and update you all on his birth.

Now for the story of my labor. On Tues. Aug 10, I went into work feeling pretty good. About the moment I got to work is when my contractions started and (sorry for all the details) I had my bloody show. I called my doctor and they told me not to worry about anything, just to keep track and time the contractions, once they are 5 minutes apart lasting 1 minute each then I needed to go to the hospital. I timed them at work and they were about 20 minutes apart. I was really uncomfortable at work, so I decided to leave half a day early. I went home around noon and passed out on the couch for about 3 hours. (Later I was SO glad I did that!) That night was our last Preparing for Childbirth class so we decided to go (even though I was having some pretty intense contractions). It was really hard to pay attention in class. Me and Daniel just timed my contractions the entire time, they were 9 minutes apart and lasting about 30-40 seconds. After class we went to meet our cousin Mark (who was visiting from NM) for dinner. I didn't have much of an appetite, so my last meal before becoming a mom was a chef salad. I had a feeling that I was going to be having the baby really soon, I just didn't think it would be so soon. We had Mark help us install the base of the car seat after dinner because we made it out to be a LOT harder than it really is! We headed home and I could tell that my contractions were getting more and more intense and closer together. So around 11pm we started timing them again. By midnight they were at 5 minutes apart and lasting 1 minute each and the pain was getting worse. So I decided to call Labor and Delivery because I think I was in a bit of denial, and I had not been checked at the doctors yet. That appointment was scheduled for the next day, Aug 11. They told me I could come in and they would check to see how far I was dilated and keep me for an hour, than check again, if I hadn't progressed they would send me home. So we got to the hospital at 12:30am and they checked me and I was at 2cm and almost 100% effaced, so they decided to keep me!

My contractions kept getting stronger and stronger and I was completely pooped so by about 3:30am I asked for my epidural so I could get some sleep. After I received it (I wished I would have asked for it earlier!) I was able to get a little rest and sleep through the contractions. Poor Daniel slept on a hard couch (that was more like a bench) that he couldn't even stretch his legs out on. A little later they came in and broke my water. By 1:30pm I was ready to push. So I pushed, and pushed and pushed and pushed and pushed! About an hour after pushing my Doctor came in to check my progress and I was the same as when I first started pushing. He said that Oscar was laying a little transverse and that it was a little like trying to push a square through a circle. So he gave us two options. He said that we could either try pushing for another hour and if he hadn't been born by then we would have to do a c-section or we could skip the hour of pushing and go right in for the c-section. They left and let me and Daniel talk it over and we both decided that the c-section would be the best for everyone. (Especially me, I was so exhausted!)

So at 3:37pm we welcomed our little prince to the world!

Oscar Daniel Spillman

6lbs 15 oz

19 inches

And just for proof that I did push and push and really did try...check out his cone head!

Poor kid!

36 weeks

2010-08-05T13:31:00.002-06:00

So here we are, another 2 weeks have passed. Time seems to be holding still now, I'm starting to get anxious to meet Oscar! We've been attending our Preparing for Childbirth classes (only one more to go) which have been ok. The instructor gets on our nerves...she's very opinionated about natural childbirth and nursing and I think in a class like that she should keep it to herself because there are people in there who have already made up their minds about how they want to raise their children. Anyway, we did get a tour of the labor and delivery in the hospital the other day. I think that's going to be very helpful just knowing where I'm going when the big day finally arrives!
We should be finding out on Aug. 11 the date of when I will be induced! That's less than 1 week away!! Here's what mom and baby are up to this week.

Your Pregnancy: Week 36

Baby should soon descend into your pelvis, which will give your lungs a little room to breathe (literally). The bad news: This puts the brunt of baby's weight on your hips and pelvis, and will make them pretty sore. Add in your ever-loosening ligaments, and you may soon be taking on that oh-so-adorable pregnancy waddle.

Baby's still the size of a honeydew!

Baby's skin is getting smooth and soft, her gums are rigid, her liver and kidneys are in working order, and her circulation and immune system are basically good to go. Her lungs are the only organs that still need to fully mature, but every day she gets a little closer to breathing on her own.

I can't believe I'm still posting these pictures of me as I get bigger and BIGGER! But here I am.

And this is just for fun...

When I saw these 2 pictures side by side, I couldn't believe how much of a difference 2 weeks made...and I still have 4 more to go.........AAAHHH!!

It is SOOO worth it!

2010-08-01T21:36:00.005-06:00

Our precious baby boy! This is at 35 weeks (07/29/10). I had a doctors appointment on 07/28/10, just for a regular check up. Everything was just fine, blood pressure was perfect, weight gain right on track...then Dr. Horsley measured me. He then felt where Oscar's head is, and he says "well he feels a bit big, I want you to go in and get ultrasound testing, then we can figure out if we will need to schedule a c-section or if we will be scheduling you to be induced." He also ordered more blood testing to see where my platelet count is. That is the reason to schedule me to be induced, so they can keep track of my count in case they need to give me steroids so I can have the epidural. So the following morning we went in for the ultrasound and Oscar is just fine. He measures average and he even got "extra credit points" for practicing his breathing so well! So come Aug. 11 (my next doctors appt.) I will be checked to see if I'm progressing and looks like we will be setting a date to have the baby!
I am so thankful we got these pictures when we did. I am starting to have a really hard time moving around and with my swollen feet and ankles, they just hurt all the time now. But every time I start feeling down, I just look at the pics of my baby boy and just think to myself, "he is soooo worth all this and more!" I can't believe how much I love him already, I can't imagine the feelings I'll be having when he is actually in my arms...my heart already feels like it's going to burst.

34 weeks

2010-07-22T10:47:00.000-06:00

I think we are as ready as we can be for Oscar. I had a fabulous baby shower from my bestest friends Brandy and Trish on the 17th. They went above and beyond anything I could have expected! They are truly the best friends a girl could ask for! Thanks you guys! I love you both so much. (I will do a post with the pics from the shower later, I have to figure out how to use my new camera first!)

On the 20th Daniel and I started the "Preparing for Childbirth" classes. They basically went over everything that we have already gone through with pregnancy up to this point. Then we learned some relaxing techniques, which included the coaches (Daniel) to give massages to the moms to be...heavenly! I tried telling him that we had to go home and practice for at least 2 hours every night...he wouldn't go for it! We have 3 more classes and I think that they are going to be very good for me and Daniel. It's gonna help me and Daniel to know what to expect when I go into labor.

So lately I have had really, really swollen feet and ankles. Last night my right foot got so bad that I was limping when I walked because it hurt so bad. I put my feet up for about an hour and a half and iced them the entire time, then Daniel rubbed them for a bit. They felt better after that but they were still swollen. I can't believe I'm going to post a pic of this...but here is a pic of my right foot AFTER I iced and Daniel rubbed them

It doesn't look like I have an ankle. And my poor toes look like sausages. I can't wear any shoes except for my flip flops...it's a good thing they are so comfy! So last night we decide to experiment. We some 2 by 4's and put 2 under each leg at the foot of the bed to see if that would help the swelling go down. I got up this morning and looked down at my feet........I had ankles again!!!!!! It wasn't the most comfortable sleep in the world (my head was smashed up against the head board most of the night) but I think it's worth it for the relief in my ankles and feet!

Here is what baby and mom are up to at 34 weeks.

Your Pregnancy: Week 34

No, it's not (just) the lack of sleep that's making your vision fuzzy. Pregnancy hormones and fluid buildup can affect your eyes' curvature and tear production, making them extra-itchy and sensitive. No matter what your vision's like, take a look toward the light -- less than two months to go!

Baby's now the size of a honeydew!

Baby can recognize and react to simple songs...time to start practicing your lullabies! In fact, baby will recognize frequently sung tunes after birth and probably find them soothing. Less cute news: She now urinates about one pint per day. Get the diapers ready!

Only 6 more weeks to go! Here I am with my growing belly!

Oscar's Nursery

2010-07-15T14:42:00.000-06:00

Well, I think it is finally done. All but new bedding for the full size bed, I'm having a hard time deciding what to do with it. Any advice is very welcomed! I'll post the pics of the nursery first, then I will show you some of the bedding I have been looking at.

Well there you have it, we didn't really have a theme to go with so we kinda just threw some stuff together and stuck with the blue and green colors. I really like the way it turned out!

Here are the pics of what I have been looking at for the full size bed...please help me decide!!!

Option A

Option B

Option C

Option D

I'm really having a hard time deciding. The ones with the patterns, I wonder if that would be way to much going on in the room. But if I go with the dark blue, would that make it seem too dark and dreary in there? I really need help!!!!

32 weeks

2010-07-12T09:38:00.000-06:00

I know, I know, I'm late posting this. But I do have a really good excuse (if any excuse is ever good enough?) My in-laws treated all the girls to a spa treatment vacation in Carlsbad, California for the last 4 days. We all had such a good time, it was nice to be pampered, shop like crazy, spend a day in Disneyland, eat great food and get to know everyone better.

Your Pregnancy: Week 32

Was that a contraction? Yup, but it's just for practice. Those strengthening Braxton Hicks contractions are just your body's way of prepping for the real deal.

Baby's now the size of a squash!

Ready or not, baby's getting ready to emerge. She's probably in the head-down position by now, with her bottom facing up. This is the comfiest way for her body to fit in your increasingly cramped womb and will make her eventual exit (only a few months away now!) much easier. (If she's still head-up, don't panic -- there's still time for a flip before birth.)

And here I am at 32 weeks. I can't believe how big I am. It is getting harder to breath and walk. I'm a lot slower moving around than I use to be. Oscar's movements aren't really kicks anymore, he seems to just slide across my belly now. It is the strangest thing to watch! I have noticed that he's getting hiccups more often now too! Well here I am belly and all!

Baby Shower (06/26/10)

2010-06-29T10:20:00.002-06:00

My mom and Kathy put together a baby shower honoring Oscar! Everything turned out to be perfect, we all had a lot of fun! Thanks to all who came and spoiled my little boy, I love you all!

Can you believe these? They are so stickin' cute and Kathy made them all from scratch! Even the bottom of them are aluminum just like Oscar's trash can! So Creative!

The decorations were adorable. This was way more then I was expecting.

And the food was so so good!

Oscar is definitely one spoiled boy. He is so loved already, I can't wait to actually be able to show and express my love for him. And I know that everyone else feels the same way. Here are just a few examples of how spoiled he is.

Even his Great Mimi (grandma) sent a gift from Florida!

And of course, Daniel couldn't be left out! Thanks for the laugh Sheena...very creative gift!

I just want to say thanks again to all that came, I love you all!

30 weeks

2010-06-24T09:52:00.001-06:00

10 more weeks, 10 more weeks! Hooray!!! Ok, I say that now, but inside I'm kinda freaking out. I think it's mostly the though of labor. But we did sign us up for a prenatal class called Prepared Childbirth. It's a 4 week course. It teaches you about breathing and relaxation, labor and delivery, medications during labor, the postpartum period, and newborn care. It also includes a tour of the hospital. I think that will help put my mind at ease.

I'm feeling Oscar move more frequently now and his kicks are getting way stronger. He moves around a lot! It's funny because almost every time he kicks now my belly moves, it's kinda creepy looking but I love it!

Your Pregnancy: Week 30

Your massive belly and nighttime heartburn might be making sleep difficult to come by. If you are able to drift off, you're probably having some strange and vivid dreams -- your subconscious is no less anxious than your waking mind.

Baby's now the size of a squash!

As baby's skin smoothes out, her brain just keeps getting more wrinkled. All those grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh-so-essential brain tissue. She's also adding some brawn -- her grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger.

And here I am with my "massive" belly!

My MUST HAVES during pregnancy

2010-06-22T10:43:00.001-06:00

Here are a few things that I couldn't imagine living without during my pregnancy.

#1. Sanuk Flip Flops. They are made out of yoga mats and they feel like you are walking on pillows. (thanks Trish!) Without these beauties I would not have made it through Lagoon day last weekend.

#2. Simply Orange Orange Juice. I had to give up my morning coffee, so I started drink oj every morning. I think I get just as ornery if I don't get my oj as I did when I had to go without my coffee!

#3. Colby Jack Cheese. I have to eat it every morning for breakfast. I have ate it every morning from the beginning of my pregnancy. I just love it!

#4. Ding Dongs. I have Katie to thank for this one. The cravings started not to long ago, but once they did you will always find a box in my fridge. Mmmmm ding dongs!

#5. Maternity Belt. I originally wanted one to relieve some pressure on my lower abs. When I tried one on for the first time, I didn't realize how bad my lower back was hurting until I got it on. It's wonderful to come home from work and slap this baby on! It may not be pretty but it's well worth it!

#6. Fresca. This has taken the place of my coke-a-cola addiction for the time being. It is so refreshing and an extra bonus with there being NO calories!!

#7. and last but not least...Daniel. He has been so patient and loving with me. I do have to say that the first 6 months he had it pretty easy just because I had it so easy. But now that I'm in the third trimester things have gotten harder and more uncomfortable. He absolutely hates feet and lotion with a passion, but anytime I ask him to rub lotion on my feet (only because it's hard for me to reach) he does it without complaining. He's always asking me if I need anything and takes care of me in every possible way. He is going to be the most amazing dad. I must admit, I'm a bit spoiled! So thank you babe for everything! I couldn't do this without you by my side!

FYI

2010-06-15T10:49:00.000-06:00

I had another doctors appointment yesterday. I am at 28 1/2 weeks. The last appointment I went to I had my gestational diabetes testing, which came back fine. I did however, have a low platelet count so they wanted me to come back and have some more lab work done so they could keep there eyes on it. I found out yesterday that the count had come back up. It was at 139,000 the second time it was at 145,000. Dr. Horsley said that the reason they watch it is for a condition called thrombocytopenia. It is common during pregnancy. However, if the count falls below 100,000 then they will not give you an epidural. The good news is that they will keep an eye on the count as I get closer to my due date. If it does fall below the 100,000 then they will just shoot me up with steroids and that should help the platelet count come up therefore I will be able to get the epidural. Which is good for everyone...because I DO NOT have a very high tolerance for pain!
Oscar is no longer breech. Hooray! I even got to feel the outline of his head yesterday...it was incredible, although my reaction would have you think differently. Dr. Horsley asked it I wanted to feel where his head was, so he took my hands and placed them on my very lower belly and pushed my hands down and sure enough, it was there. My eyes got really wide and all I could manage to say was "oh, crap!" and Dr. Horsley asked if my first thought was "how in the hell am I gonna get that outta me?" Spot on! Must be a pretty common response!
Anyway, mom and Oscar are doing awesome!

28 weeks

2010-06-10T11:44:00.000-06:00

Well, 28 weeks down, 12 more to go. We are finally starting to put the finishing touches on the nursery and it is lookin' cu'ute! (pics soon to come!) Now I'm just looking forward to my baby showers coming up. My mom and Kathy will be doing one for me in June, then Trish and Brandy are doing one for me in July! I just know that they are going to be so much fun!
Anyway, as I said before in my previous post I'm now in the 3rd trimester and starting to feel that way :)
I feel like I have to pee 24/7, and I can't ever pee enough. It has even been kinda painful/uncomfortable at times. I think lil' Oscar is sitting in the absolute wrong spot...because I don't have that feeling all the time. He still hasn't got the hiccups. I'm starting to wonder if he will, it was something that I have wanted to experience because everyone who has says it's a really neat feeling! I think it is the coolest thing when he kicks and I can see my belly move from the outside, it still seems so weird to me!
Last week I had to break down and buy me a maternity belt. I had a lot of pressure at the bottom of my belly and I felt like, if I could just get something to hold this thing (my belly) up I would feel way better. So I went and tried on a belt and it was amazing! I didn't realize how bad my lower back was hurting until I put that thing on. The second I got that thing on I was sold!
Here is what Oscar is up to right now. (He is still the size of an eggplant - so no picture this week - see week 26 for that)

Your Pregnancy: Week 28

Baby's lungs are mature enough that, if born right now, she has a pretty good chance of surviving (with help from medical technology). Her skin is still pretty wrinkly (one byproduct of living in amniotic fluid) but will smoothen as fat continues to deposit.

And here I am...getting bigger and bigger!

Time is flying by!

2010-06-03T10:00:00.000-06:00

Today I am officially in my third trimester. Only 3 more months until we get to meet our baby boy Oscar. How exciting to finally put a face to the little man that has been kicking the crap out of me! 3 months???!!? W-O-W that snuck up on me, time is flying by! Some days I feel like I am completely ready, and others I start freaking out cause I need to get this and that done. It's a good thing I have Daniel around to keep me sane.
So far my biggest symptom is my feet keep swelling up. Early in the day I'm fine but by the time I get home, that's when it really gets annoying and I can start to feel the pressure. I did have to buy me a fake wedding ring because my real one was getting tighter and tighter by the day. I have had a lot of growing pains in my belly for the last few days but that seems to be getting better. Other than that, everything is going great and we are super excited to become "Mom and Dad"!

26 weeks

2010-05-27T23:54:00.000-06:00

Well here we are, 2 weeks past...I can't believe how fast time is going. Oscar is wiggling like crazy now. He is still breech and dancing on my bladder. (I can't believe how much I have to pee now!) Not much new going on right now. I go in to have more blood tests on June 1st to check my platelet count...but I'm not all that worried about it. Here is what Oscar is up to lately.

Baby's now the size of an eggplant!

Baby's soaking up your antibodies, getting his immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and he'll soon be practicing the blink...perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

And here I am at 26 weeks...sometimes I think to myself "how am I suppose to get any bigger?" I feel like I am already stretched to the max! At least I'm still feeling really good!

World Cup Awesomeness

2010-05-21T09:42:00.002-06:00

This is for you Daniel!

I loved every minute of this...except of course the part with Kobe, could have done without that!

Weekend full of fun, doctors appt. and lots of kicking

2010-05-21T08:58:00.000-06:00

It all started off with a fabulous dinner Friday night at Le Nonnes with our marvelous friends the Cooks for Krista's birthday! Oh, and we can't forget the ice cream at Coldstone. (Sheena - I got the cake mix with cookie dough and waffle cone, thought of you the entire time I was eating it!)

Brandy and I had made plans last week to have a much needed (for both of us) girls day. So on Saturday, we went to the Farmers Market early in the morning. (Well early for me, Brandy is use to getting up before 9am!) I made sure to leave all my cash at home because I knew that I would want to buy one of everything for baby boys. Brandy bought some amazing bread and bread dip. Now that I have tried it, that's all I'm craving...jalapeno bread and dip, yummmm! I may have to make a trip this Saturday to get me some! After the Farmers Market we went to go get our toes done. We both got glitter toes for the first time...it was a lot of fun. We went to Maxium beauty school, and leave it to me and Brandy to get the two most white trash girls there. (sorry, I'm not trying to be mean...they were really nice and did an awesome job with our glitter toes!) It's just funny to hear all of the beauty school drama and the girls bickering back and forth. Not to mention that my toes really did need some attention, it's getting really hard for me to bend over and paint my own toes like I use to do. And they say that the glitter toes can last up to 2 months. (we'll see!) Afterwards we went to Logans Heros for lunch then a little shopping at Old Navy...they have the cutest sandals there!
Daniel really wanted to go swimming at his parents house. It was about 75 or 80 degrees outside so I thought "what the heck?" Boy was I wrong...the pool was still pretty chilly and there is always a breeze coming off of Hyrum dam. I didn't want to get in, so I sat on the side with my feet in the water soaking up some sun. Daniel stood on the diving board for EVER before he finally decided to jump in. But it wasn't that simple, he thought it would be hilarious if he splashed me, so he jumped towards me (while I wasn't looking) and did a cannon ball and DRENCHED me with water. I was so so so MAD! So I stood up, grabbed his towel and threw it in the pool and said "that's yours" I eventually got over it and let him use my dry towel...I'm just too nice!

On Sunday (May 16) I went over to my mom's house while Daniel went golfing. We potted a bunch of flowers in the beautiful sun! While I was sitting on the back porch soaking up the sun, I lifted my shirt to expose my belly so Oscar could get some vitamin D. I was sitting there staring down at my belly and then next thing I know, I see the entire right side of my belly move. It was the first time I really felt him KICK (hard) and I got to see my belly move at the same time! It was incredible! Then it was off to Daniel's soccer game, (they won 4-0) more fun in the sun! It was a beautiful spring weekend!

I had my doctors appt. on Monday (May 17). It was probably the worst one yet. I had to do the gestational diabetes testing. My appt. wasn't until 4pm so I had to watch what I ate all day long. No sugar for Sarah :( That was so hard, I can't believe how much sugar is in everything we eat...I went to drink a milk chug and looked at the ingredients and even that had 13g of sugar per serving. An hour before my appt. I had to drink an orange glucose drink, and I had to drink it within 5 minutes. (the pressure!) The first drink wasn't too bad, I drank half of it in one gulp. Then the after taste hit and I almost threw up and I still had half the bottle to drink. The drink reminded me of otter-pops, only not frozen, like some one took a bunch of the orange ones and poured them into a bottle for us poor pregnant women to drink. It did NOT agree with my belly either. The next day I was so sick, the thought of eating made me cringe. (and I'm still not feeling 100%) At the docs, they took my blood (the lady who does it is amazing at it...I could barely see a pin prick in my arm afterwards). Then it was in to see Dr. Horsley. We got to hear the heartbeat again (I absolutely love hearing that sound!!) Oscar is currently breech, but not to worry, he still has plenty of time to flip!

On Tuesday (May 18) me and Daniel were sitting on the couch watching TV when Oscar starting kicking me like crazy. I made Daniel put his hand on my belly, like I had done a thousand times before...and continued with the "did you feel that?" and the "no's" I have wanted nothing more the last few weeks for Daniel to feel his son kicking and moving around in there. So this day he finally did! I didn't even have to ask if he felt it, he just looked over at me with his eyes so wide and said "I felt that one!!!!" It was super exciting that he finally got to feel Oscar moving around!!!
I received a call from the doctors office, they said that I didn't have gestational diabetes, but my platlete count was really low, so now I have to go in on Jun 1st and have my blood drawn again so they can keep their eyes on it. From everything I have read, I don't think it's too much to worry about...I'll keep you all updated.

24 Weeks

2010-05-13T14:32:00.001-06:00

So the other day I was talking to Daniel and I said "holy crap...I'm 6 months pregnant" and his mouth just dropped. Where did time go? This has gone by so quick for both of us! Only 3 more months and we will be parents...I can't wait, and neither can he!!!
Last Sunday was Mothers (to be) Day and I had an absolutely wonderful day thanks to the best husband ever! We went over to Daniel's parents house and had an early dinner and talk to Tom (who is currently on his mission in Canada) it was good to hear from him. He only has 9 more months and he gets to come home. Things will be slightly different when he gets home. In the time he has been gone, Micah and Cathy got married. Sara and Kristi both had little boys and me and Cathy will have new babies. The family just keeps getting bigger and bigger! After that we headed home so Daniel could get ready for his soccer game. I went to watch him and soak up some sun. Then it was off to my mom's, spent some time with her then back home. Daniel put together the crib for me (which I have been wanting him to do for months now!) I told him that was all I wanted for Mothers Day and that's what I got! So now we have the crib up, the bedding washed and his bed made...we just about have the nursery ready to go!
According to the bump.com baby Oscar is still about the size of a papaya, and they didn't have an update for week 24. So here is an update from babycenter.com.

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

My next doctors appt. is on May 17th. This is the fun one where I have to drink that orange sugar drink and they take my blood and test for gestational diabetes. Wish me luck! And in the tradition of my 2 weeks...here is a picture of me at 24 weeks...

22 Weeks

2010-04-29T11:18:00.001-06:00

So here we are, another 2 weeks later. Time seems to be flying by. Daniel has 1 more day of this horrendous semester then he finally gets a break. (That is until May 10th when he starts his summer internship) It will be nice to have a husband again, I think this last month I have seen him about a total of 3 hours a day. I guess that's the life of a grad student. After this summer internship, he has one more semester and he will graduate with a Masters in MIS! I am so very proud of him and all of his hard work he is putting in so that he will be able to provide for his family. I love him so much and don't know where I would be with out him. I would just like to say, Thank you honey for all that you do and have done for me (and our baby!) I love your guts!
Here is what baby is up to this week.

Weeks 21-24 (Month 5): Papaya:

Watch what you say -- baby is now able to hear outside noise from down in the womb. Studies show that baby finds gentle music and your own voice most soothing. Nipples are starting to sprout, and that little face is fully formed. And, baby's starting to settle into sleep cycles, snoozing about 12 to 14 hours a day. It shouldn't be hard to figure out when -- just pay attention to those kicks as they start and stop.

I haven't felt very much movement...I have a hard time believing that when I do feel something moving that it is Oscar. Then there are times that I just know it's him squirming around in there. I try to get Daniel to feel him moving, but every time he puts his hand on my belly Oscar seems to stop moving, either that or he's just not kicking hard enough yet. Well, here is the biweekly picture of my belly. I don't think I have changed that much from week 20. Here ya go!

2010 Spillman Reunion

2010-04-28T12:30:00.000-06:00

Over the weekend we took the long drive out to Wendover for the yearly Spillman reunion. We had a lot of fun. When we got there on Friday, we didn't have much planned so we went to Grandma Rocket's house and visited with a some family then off to the hotel room. We ordered pizza that night and sat in the room and watched the Jazz game. Pretty low key for the night. Then Saturday rolled in and that is when the activities started! We had a lunch at the park with everyone then it was off to the Community Center where we had the rest of the days events. We started with bingo and had tons of prizes! Then it was onto the talent show...and boy is there talent in the Spillman Family!! Here is a pic of all of the sisters, dancing and singing away.

I didn't get a lot of pics, but I did get video of "Ethem and the Spillmans" which is epic! (that will come later in this post!)

After the festivities we went out to dinner, then it was off to The Fab Four concert.

This was an awesome concert! They sounded, acted and looked just like the Beatles, I was amazed! At first I wasn't going to go to the concert but decided I would probably miss out if I didn't so I changed my mind...boy am I glad!

After the concert is was off to the salt flats for the famous Spillman fireworks which were better than ever! (Thanks Richard and the "pyro boys") And that was it: bingo, raffle, trivia game, talent show, concert and fireworks all in one day. I was exhausted. Sunday morning we had to get up early so we could get home in time to go to church with Daniels family. His dad got a new calling...he was called to Bishop. It was a long, fun, exhausting weekend full of great family and friends!

As promised here is the videos of "Ethem and the Spillmans" playing Neil Diamond's Brother Love's Travelling Salvation Show, Third Eye Blind's Semi Charmed Life and Metalica's Enter Sandman. ENJOY!!

Metalica.AVI

2010-04-28T12:21:00.001-06:00

Third Eye Blind.AVI

2010-04-28T12:21:00.000-06:00

Neil Diamond.avi

2010-04-28T12:20:00.000-06:00

20 Weeks

2010-04-15T09:06:00.000-06:00

It's that time again. Time seems to be flying by for me! I have reached a milestone...I'm halfway there!!! It's kinda scary thinking that I'm gonna be a mom in 20 more weeks...aaahhhh!!! I catch myself daydreaming a lot! Mostly about what my boy is going to look like, I sure hope he takes after his dad...he is so handsome.
Here's some info on baby Oscar and what he is up to.

Your Pregnancy: Week 20

Baby's now the size of a cantaloupe!

Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies respond best to tastes they've already had via amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you'd like your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch.

And here I am at 20 weeks.

So they say this is where the weight gain begins...if so, I'm in for a world of hurt! So far, I'm still feeling really good except for the occasional growing pains and my lower back is starting to ache a bit. I can't sit in the same position for very long if I do then I have a hard time standing up straight. Call me crazy, but I'm still enjoying all of the little aches and pains!

Memories by Sheena/ Doctors appt.

2010-04-14T09:03:00.000-06:00

A couple of days before my appt. to find out the sex of our baby, Sheena came up for a photo shot with me. We did some pictures with a pink ribbon and some with a blue so I would have some of each...just in case! As you all know, it's a BOY which turned out perfect because the bow with the blue ribbon turned out perfect and the pink bow was not cooperating at all!

Lots of fun and I'm so glad we did this for our little one to look back to and see what his mom looked like when I was pregnant with him. Check out some of Sheena's work here.

The doctors appt. was incredible! It made everything seem so real. Now our little one has an identity and instead of calling him "it" we can start saying he, him and his. Best of all, we can start calling him by his rightful name, Oscar Daniel Spillman.
Everything looked perfect. Mom and baby are doing very well. He measured at 20 weeks, which is only 3 days later than I thought I was. So they kept my due date the same (Sept. 2) but if they were to change it, it would be Aug. 30th (Daniels birthday). Unfortunately we weren't able to see his little face. He had his hands in front of it the entire time. And no matter how much shaking of mom's belly to try to get him to move, he wouldn't. Stubborn little fella...that or he is just really camera shy! I can't help but think about how thankful I am that he was covering his face and not his wiener!

Boy or Girl?

2010-04-12T12:43:00.001-06:00

We couldn't be happier! And Daniel, well I have never seen him more proud in his life!

A bit late

2010-04-09T16:12:00.000-06:00

I know this is a bit late...but I hope everyone had a wonderful and happy Easter! We did...

Even if he doesn't look like it! (Daniel feels really bad for Monty sometimes, I just can't help myself!)

18 weeks

2010-04-01T12:20:00.000-06:00

Well here I am, almost half way through my pregnancy and I feel amazing! But these last few weeks feel like they are creeping by. . . slowly!!! On April 12 we get to find out if we will be having a boy or girl and I CAN'T WAIT! I want to go shopping so, so, so bad! I did schedule a facial for after the doctors appointment that day so I'm looking forward to that as well!

April is a BIG month for us. April 8th marks my 2 year anniversary of quitting smoking. April 12 is my doc appt, as I mentioned above. And April 23 is the huge Spillman family reunion in Wendover!
Here is what baby is up to lately.

Your Baby: Week 18

Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.

(Yeah, that's a sweet potato. . . looks kinda gross to me!) Oh, and here is the pic of me!

On another note. Today is April Fools day and Mother Nature played the meanest joke of all.

We got more snow in one day than we did in the last two months. Gotta love Cache Valley spring time!

16 weeks

2010-03-18T10:08:00.000-06:00

I can't believe how fast time is flying by. It seems like just yesterday I found out I was pregnant. That's a story I will never ever forget (but just in case, I think I better write it down somewhere!) so I'll share with you all.
We found out I was pregnant on Christmas Eve. It was the best Christmas present EVER! I cried the happiest tears I have ever cried in my life.

*Rewind*

For about 2 weeks before I found out I had been feeling awful. I thought that I was just getting a cold or something. I had headaches, my nose was constantly clogged and I kept getting these really strange dizzy spells and every time I would get a dizzy spell my cheeks would start to tingle. Then the weekend before Christmas Daniel agreed to go shopping with me (which was a miracle in itself) to finish up our Christmas shopping. We went to the mall and decided to head over to Cal Ranch, then after that we were going to pick something up for lunch, by the time we got to Cal Ranch we were starving! While inside I got really, really REALLY sick. You know, it was that feeling you get before you throw up. I got sweaty and felt so freakin hot. I told Daniel "We have to get out of here NOW" (which is not like me...when I get the chance to shop, and Daniel is with me, I take full advantage!) We got out to the car and I told him that I didn't even think I could stop anywhere for lunch, "JUST GET ME HOME!" By the time we got home, I thought I was going to die. I ran to the bathroom and lost it. After that I was feeling a little better and after I ate I felt fine. (Still had a small headache and stuffy nose and still getting the dizzy spells)
I went to work the next day and threw up there first thing, so I decided to take the rest of the day off. I went home and slept and slept. On the next day, which was a Tuesday, I decide to take a pregnancy test...it came back negative. So after that I just knew I was sick and maybe coming down with the flu or something. For the next week or so I continued to throw up and feel sick and extremely tired and getting my dizzy spells. The spells scared me because they would just happen, it didn't matter what I was doing they just started out of the blue. Then add my tingling cheeks with the spells and that made it even scarier. I was just about to make a doctors appt. to find out what was wrong with me, I wasn't pregnant so something was terribly wrong.
Then came Christmas break. We went over to the in-laws for Christmas Eve dinner like we do every year. Normally I just love Jane's home cooking. But for that night nothing sounded, looked or smelled good at all. I had to force myself to eat just a tiny bit of everything. And that's when I knew I was pregnant. I just didn't want to admit it to myself yet, because I didn't want to get my hopes up just to be let down again. I pulled Daniel aside and told him I was not feeling well at all and that we need to leave early so we could stop at Wal-Mart and get a test. And just like that, we were outta there! I went home, took the test and sure enough it was POSITIVE! I yelled for Daniel to come in and showed him and we just hugged and cried together for what seemed like forever.
I decided I HAD to tell our parents. And the next day was Christmas. So I got some small boxes and taped a note to the bottom inside of them that said "we are having a baby" and wrapped them up. I was so excided that night I could not sleep, I think I got about 3 hours total. I don't remember being that excited for Christmas sence I was a little girl. Of course our parents were delighted!
And that's how it happened!

Here is an update to how the baby is developing at 16 weeks (again courtesy of thebump.com)

Your Baby: Week 16

Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming. And, if you're interested, an ultrasound might be able to determine gender.

And here is my bi-weekly picture of my baby bump!

Week 14

2010-03-09T09:23:00.001-07:00

Well, I actually hit week 14 on March 4. (Here's to posting late!!) The reason this post is late is because I wanted to wait so I could update you all on my 2nd doctors appt. as well. Nothing too exciting, we got to hear the heartbeat again...which will amaze me every time. Doctor said our little nugget has a strong healthy heartbeat. So baby and mama are doing AWESOME!

Your Baby: Week 14

Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, and (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over the body for warmth. (thebump.com)

So far the sickness is gone and I absolutely love the second trimester. I have so much more energy! I started working out again. I've been doing a toning routine, swimming, walking and pregnancy yoga. I love the yoga, it really helps with stretching out my growing belly and (this may sound dumb) to connect with my baby still in the womb.

I decided to do bi-weekly pictures of my belly...so here is me at week 14.

Oh, an after thought...I was reading a paper the doctor gave me about what to expect in the second tri. There was one part that said "most women start showing at 20 weeks" Well how about 12 weeks?..that's when I started to show. I feel like I hit that 3 months and I just exploded! I guess that's what you get for being short, I have no where to go but OUT!!!

3 months and counting

2010-02-18T10:34:00.004-07:00

Today I officially hit the 3 month mark in my pregnancy!! Here's a little info of what me and baby are going through. (courtesy of the bump.com)

Your Pregnancy: Week 12
Baby's now the size of a plum!

First trimester: Check! The nausea, fatigue, mood swings, and bathroom dashes should soon fade, but (sorry!) headaches and dizziness will probably get more intense. The good news: You're about to embark on the second trimester, when mood and energy levels generally peak.

As you move into the second trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development stage, almost all of her systems are fully formed.

My next doctors appt. in on March 8th. Not much goes on at this one from what I'm told...it's the following month that we get to find out the gender!!!

It's my Birthday!

2010-02-17T21:28:00.001-07:00

So this morning was like any other morning. The only difference is that it's my BIRTHDAY! We got up like we normally would. I expected Daniel to wish me a happy birthday first thing...but this didn't happen. I was thinking "well that's just weird, because birthdays are such a big deal to him, oh well" So I go on about my morning and get ready for work, walk out to the kitchen and he's there reading the paper enjoying his cup of coffee. I start getting my breakfast ready and my snacks to take to work, go start my car and come back in...still nothing. So I finally ask him, "are you forgetting something?" He says, "no, I don't think so" and I say "are you suuure?" and he says "well, obviously I am...what is it?" And all I have to say is "birth....." and I could see his face wash over with complete shame and humiliation. He was so so so sorry. But it really didn't bother me. I knew he was very tired and had a lot on his mind with school. Anyway, he brought me flowers and a balloon to work today, which was completely unexpected and made me cry (happy tears) a little. So I just want to take a minute to let everyone know how lucky I am! Daniel is such a thoughtful, caring person and I just love him to death! Thank you for everything you do for me babe!

Sorry to get all mushy on you all! It's funny how this birthday seems so insignificant to me...I have so much "other" stuff on my mind right now that it just doesn't seem like that big of a deal to me. This is the first birthday I have ever worked and ya know, it wasn't all that bad!

Well in the spirit of my Birthday, I thought I would share some flashback pictures of me on my first bday, so enjoy!!!

Well there you have it! As you can tell, I've always had a sweet tooth and I will always love cake!!! I really did have a wonderful day. Thank you to all for the gifts and thoughtful wishes! I love you all!!!

A Special Announcement.

2010-02-08T08:29:00.007-07:00

I have racked my brain trying to come up with a clever way to tell the world this, but I can't come up with a thing. I guess I'll blame it on "pregnancy brain"!..That's right, me and Daniel are having a baby! I am 11 weeks (well technically 10 weeks and 4 days). Our due date is set for Sept. 2 2010.

We had our first ultrasound on Feb. 01 2010. Everything was perfect. I've always heard that hearing the heartbeat is the best part of that first appointment. Boy is that an under statement. When I heard that little heart pumping away, it took my breath away. Me and Daniel were completely stunned. After the first initial shock of the hearing heartbeat, let the waterworks begin. Daniel and I lost it! It's an experience that can not be explained...just completely amazing. It made the pregnancy seem real!

This is the picture of our little nugget with the heartbeat across the bottom. And if you look close, you can see where the Doc. outlined the tiny little heart.I always heard stories about people going into the first ultrasound and not being able to tell where the baby is or what they are looking at. Not the story with us. At first glance we could totally tell we were looking at our child.

So far I have LOVED being pregnant. The first month was hard. I was sick every day all day. But this second month has been good. Some days are worse than others, but I have more good days than bad! I'm still really, really tired. All I want to do is sleep the day away. I have to go home on my lunches and take a half hour nap just to make it through the rest of the afternoon. Then I'm in bed by about 9pm. My clothes are starting to get tighter and tighter. I had to go buy me a bunch of "fat clothes" to get me through this awkward stage. I can't wait to be able to wear maternity clothes, they all look so comfortable, I'm just not quit that far yet.

Well, I will be sure to keep you all updated on everything. I have my next appt. in March, and then in April we get to find out what the gender is!

Ugly Sweater Party

2009-12-22T10:28:00.002-07:00

Enjoy a few pics from our Ugly Sweater Party!

Bummer

2009-12-18T08:47:00.002-07:00

Violet was sold to someone else yesterday. *tear*

Keep your fingers crossed!

2009-12-16T09:20:00.003-07:00

I finally talked Daniel into getting a puppy friend for Monty. I found one that I really, really want (and so does he). I contacted the seller this morning and she said that she has a lady going to look at the pup on Thursday. We can't make it to SLC until Saturday. So we hope that the lady will back out! I fell in love with her at first glance.
Her name is Violet, she is a French Bulldog mixed with a Boston Terrier. Oh, I hope we can get her! I will keep you all updated!

Ole, Ole, Ole, Real Salt Lake!!!

2009-11-23T10:07:00.003-07:00

2009 MLS Champions!!!

(BTW...Beckham, you are overrated.)

Bad Habits.

2009-11-18T08:43:00.002-07:00

Good dog!

GOOOOOOOOOO TEAM!!!

2009-11-16T12:35:00.003-07:00

REAL SALT LAKE... Eastern Cup Champs!

and good luck at the MLS cup in Seatle!!!

Halloween Party

2009-11-16T09:02:00.013-07:00

I'm finally getting around to posting about our Halloween party! It was so much fun and everyone dressed up! Let me start by showing you some of the creepy food.

This is the cake I made for Bobby's Birthday!

Here are some "Blood Worms" we made

They are actually made from jello...boy were they a hit!!

Even Monty dressed up, although he looks more like a sad clown.

Me and Daniel

Ryan and Stacey

Clint and Staci

Joel as Megaman (don't worry, I had know idea who it was either!)

Humberto

Trish and Jill

Jason, Chris and Krista

Julie and Dan

Cathy and Micah (Micah as the Wolfman won best costume)

Tana and Ryan

Casey

Brandy and Anders

Bunce

Blayzen and Sheena

Me and Hailey

Levi (who won 2nd place)

So, that was a TON of pictures!!! The night was a blast and all the preparing was well worth it!!

Too much fun @ work..!

2009-10-30T12:41:00.003-06:00

Let the festivities begin!!!
More to come for our costume party! Oh, I can't wait! I absolutely LOVE Halloween!

Fun "times"!

2009-10-20T08:53:00.005-06:00

Here's a fun and easy project to spice up a plain ol' $4 clock! All you need is some paper with fun print on it!
This is what I started with. All you have to do is pop off the plastic cover and pull out the hands. Then on the paper you picked out, cut a circle out of it to fit inside the clock. You can put numbers on it if you want or just leave it as is, it's cute both ways. Here is my final project.Fun, crafty project for cheap!!

Party!

2009-10-14T15:32:00.004-06:00

For those of you that I may have missed sending an invite to on facebook...come, have fun!
BYOB...and snacks if you please.
Prize will be given for best costume!

VACATION!!

2009-10-13T15:33:00.007-06:00

Yep, that's right we went to Disneyland! I had a BLAST, it was my first time there and I fell in love with the place! So much fun. We went with Daniel's parents, his sister Sara, her husband and their 3 kids. I don't think I would have had as much fun without the kids there. Belle (our niece) was connected at my hip the entire time! I rode on a total of 2 roller coasters with Daniel, the rest of the time I was right next to Belle.
So with it being Oct. they had all the characters dressed up in their costumes and everything decorated for Halloween. The weather was perfect, between 70 and 75 everyday. And it wasn't very crowded. The longest we had to wait in line was about 30 minutes and that was for the more popular roller coasters like Space Mountain.Belle and Seth with their Halloween Minnie and Mickey ears! So freakin' CUTE!We spent 2 days in Disneyland. I wish we could have stayed longer, I fell in love with the place! But 2 days was all the hubby could handle! ;) We also went to Universal Studios, which was AWESOME!Some one tell me, how is it that Daniel gets his picture with a beautiful movie star and I get mine with Shrek??? Oh, and when I try and give a kiss to the man I have the biggest crush on (besides my husband!) he acts all disgusted? Geez, some guys have all the luck!Universal Studios was packed. We got "front of the line" passes so we didn't have to wait for anything! So cool!!! I can't wait til I have kids old enough to take to Disneyland, it definitely brought out the kid in me!

I feel so loved!

2009-10-05T08:29:00.002-06:00

So I have to admit, I'm not the best at keeping in touch with my friends. I get so wrapped up with my life -- not to mention Daniel's. That man always has something planned (whether he tells me a week in advance or the day of is another story!). Being married to him can be very exhausting!!

Anyhow, on Saturday I got a phone call from Sheena. She called out of the blue because she was making the long drive home from Logan and she said she just started thinking of me. She told me how proud she is of me and the choices I have made to better my life (ie. quiting smoking) and how proud she was that I "conquered" the Wellsvilles.

Then on Sunday morning I got a call from Brandy. She called because she was driving and heard a song with my name in it so she just had to call her Sarah!

I just want them to know how much that meant to me that they both called like that because I was having a bad weekend and feeling down on myself and thinking "nobody likes me" (just typical pouting before "that time of the month"!!) It's amazing how just a simple phone call makes your day. So thank you girls and I love you both dearly! (you too Trish, you're just lucky enough to spend 8 hours a day with me!!)

On another note, Daniel and I went shopping for our Halloween party. It's going to be the best party of the year! I'll update you on the planning as I figure more out!

Who's ready to Picnik?

2009-09-23T11:44:00.003-06:00

So my dear friend Brandy opened my eyes to a whole new world! She told me about a website where you pay $25 to edit all the photos you want...and get this...it's $25 PER YEAR!!! So after looking into it, about 5 minutes into playing on the website I had to sign up! Here are some of the photos I've done so far. (Oh, and the collage is also a feature on picnik.com)

Our latest adventure...

2009-09-15T09:11:00.007-06:00

was to hike the Wellsville Mountains...we made it...barely, here's the proof!
Some how we (and by we I mean I) talked Bobby and his girlfriend Lxcee into going with us. (So sorry guys!)Here's me and Lex before we knew what we were getting ourselves into. (should have gotten an after pic, crap!)

I thought that the views were absolutely amazing. Especially the one over looking Sardine Canyon, I have never seen it from this angle before.
After 10 long hours of hiking, we finally made it off the mountain. That was the longest, hardest hike I have ever been on. The hike was around 12 miles (straight up the mountain, then straight down). And this is what 10 hours of hiking does to your feet...
We were all completely filthy when we got done. I do recommend for anyone that is planning on this hike (to not go!) to take plenty of water. All four of us had camel packs with 3 liters of water each and all of us ran out. And not to take your dog, poor Monty was completely exhausted. So much that Daniel and Bobby had to carry him for a while. He slept for 2 days after the hike. Now he's back to normal! Oh, and wear pants. Rattlesnake trail is not kept up on very well, so it was very overgrown and I have scratches all over my legs now. This was also the first hike I have been on that I actually fell down on. I fell twice, the first time plopped right down onto my butt (poor Lex was behind me and got a dust cloud in her face) and the second time I fell, I took my eyes off the trail for just a moment and stepped off of the trail and fell onto my left knee and scraped it all up. Ugh. Well at least we can now say we have hiked the Wellsvilles (all the way) and I know I will NEVER have to do that again!!!

Daniel's Birthday celebration

2009-09-10T10:01:00.004-06:00

Okay, so we didn't do the "Birthuation". Daniel did graduate with a dual bachelors degree in Spanish and Business. (he then searched for 2 mths for a job, found nothing and decided to go back to school. He is now going for his Masters of Science in MIS -- I am SO proud of him!) For his bday, he had a poker game on the 28th. He had quite the turn out for it. He kicked me out of the house so I went and hung out with one of the other wives, my dear friend Krista. (I laughed so hard with her...my cheeks and belly hurt for days after!) The next day we went shopping to get him some new clothes, and he used the BG (birthday-guy) rules on me and "forced" me to get something for myself!! What a sweetheart! After that I took him out to dinner at the Beehive Grill (of course) then we went and picked up Bobby and Lxcee, went to La Tienda got lottery tickets and booze went home and partied the night away! On Daniels actual bday he wanted to go golfing so he used the BG rules again and I had to go with him..at least it was a beautiful day to be outside! All weekend was all about Daniel and we had so much fun together. Happy Birthday sweetheart, I love your guts!!!

Labor Day Weekend...best weekend EVER!

2009-09-10T09:22:00.009-06:00

On Sept. 4, Daniel and I went to the Creedence Clearwater Revival concert in Wendover. We took my dad for his birthday and his wife Trixie. I have to say, my favorite memory is watching my dad rock out. You could definitely tell he loved every minute of it. (oh, and I really enjoyed listening to my husband scream every song...he had a blast too!)The day after the concert we went to Sandy to hang out so we could meet Daniels family for the soccer game. We ended up going to Ikea and I bought out the entire stock of dark wood frames that they had. Thank you Daniel for putting up with Ikea, and you are welcome for running in and out and not spending an entire day in there! (Now that took restraint!)

That night we met the in-laws and went to dinner then went to the Fifa World Cup Qualifying match USA vs. El Salvador at the Rio Tinto stadium. I have never been to a more exciting soccer game in my life...my eyes have been opened! I have to thank my in-laws for the most incredible experience ever! We sat right behind the El Salvador team, so we heckled them all game! I screamed so hard and loud (I didn't know I had that in me!) So that coupled with the Creedence Clearwater Revival concert the night before, I lost my voice for about 2 days. So worth it though!!! BTW. USA 2 El Salvador 1.

Story for the day

2009-09-02T08:38:00.002-06:00

So not last night but the night before, Daniel woke me up saying that I was kicking the bed and rolling around like crazy. He said that I would roll over right next to him then the next second roll completely over to the other side, he said that a few times he was scared that I was going to roll right off the bed. He woke me up a few times (I don't remember) to see if he could get me to quit. I guess one time he woke me up by saying,
D: Are you ok?
Me: Ugh
D: You keep kicking the bed, are you ok?
Me: Yeah, I'm just playing soccer.
D: Soccer?
Me: I'm just trying to make you proud of me.
Thats when Daniel realized I was still asleep. I guess it ended up getting really bad after that because he got up and went to the other room so he could get some sleep. (sorry babe!)
Then last night about an hour before I had to wake up, he said I was kicking the bed again. Only this time it was way worse because I was lifting my leg all the way up and slamming it down onto the bed. I really don't remember any of this. Could I be getting restless leg syndrome?..Oh, for Daniels sanity I hope not.

Why I love Cache Valley

2009-08-26T20:32:00.005-06:00

Need I say more? I'm so blessed to be surrounded by such beauty!

08/16/09

2009-08-19T09:59:00.008-06:00

The 16th Daniel and I celebrated our one year anniversary. (Already made it longer than my first marriage ;) ) We had a very low key celebration. That morning I got up to go hike Mnt. Naomi (while Daniel went to his soccer game). It was my first time on that trail. What a beautiful hike! The wildflowers where out like crazy, if I didn't know better I would have thought it was the middle of June not the middle of August. Enjoy some pics I took...

After the hike, I went home and got ready to spend the night out with Daniel. He took me out to eat at Beehive (I can't get enough!). Then we went home and watched a movie. Like I said, very low key...very us! We agreed not to get each other anything because we are going to the CCR concert on Sept. 4th, so we figure that is our gifts for us! (yeah, can't wait!!!)

I can't believe it's been a year already, boy did that fly by! I guess it's cause we have so much fun together. Daniel is truly my best friend and I love just being near him. I've never felt so safe and secure in some ones arms. It is such a blessing to have him as my husband. What an awesome 1st year anniversary and I can't wait to celebrate a lifetime of anniversaries with him!

08/13/09

2009-08-19T09:48:00.004-06:00

Monty is now 1 year old. It's so sad that I can't call him a puppy anymore...but he is still just as cute and even more cuddly!
Adding Monty to our small family was one of the best things we ever did! Daniel and I have so much fun with him and can be entertained for hours by him. He has the sweetest heart, always wanting to be everyones friend. To put if best (as my mom says) his theme song should be "Come On Get Happy" by the Partridge Family!

2009-08-10T19:17:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to share some photos I got of the sunset on the sixth of August. And that night was a full moon, so I decided to try the night mode on my camera. (I really need to invest in a tripod!)

My Aug. so far

2009-08-10T18:22:00.003-06:00

Well my August hasn't started out so great. On the 4th I had surgery done on my gums. On the front bottom of my mouth, I have (had) receding gums and was starting to have some bone loss on my two front bottom teeth so I figured it was time to fix that! WARNING: those with weak stomachs, do not view photos below!

This is right after the surgery

You can't see very well in this pic, but there on the top left (or my right side) of my mouth you can see a black spot...that is where they took the gums from to attach to bottom gums.

(another embarrassing pic!) this is me the day after surgery...not doing (or looking) so hot!

Looks like fun huh? Anyway, I'm doing way better now. After I realized that I had an infection which caused the left side of my face to completely swell and it hurt oh-so-bad. I think that the infection was also causing excruciating headaches. I ended up calling my doctor on his cell phone on a Saturday because I couldn't handle the pain any more. He called in a prescription for me and by the next day I was felling 95% better. It has been quite an ordeal. Thank goodness for my wonderful husband! He waited on me hand and foot for about 4 days straight. He is such a patient man and absolutely love his guts!
Thank you to everyone for the calls and well wishes! I think I'm finally starting to show improvement! HOORAY!!! (lets all hope that the rest of my Aug. won't be as traumatizing!)

July round-up

2009-08-07T10:58:00.010-06:00

July is over already? and we're almost into the 2nd week of August? Aaaah. Well let me catch you up on some of our (or rather my) recent adventures. I went hiking up to the waterfall up High Creek (can't remember when...just that it was sometime in July) Here are some pics of that hike.
The hike was beautiful and so was the waterfall. The most amazing part was when we hiked up to the top of the fall we saw that all that water was coming straight from the mountain...breath taking!
On the 24th of July, we went up crimson again because I heard that there were a ton of Sego Lillies out and I have never seen them. So of course I had to go get some pics of the state flower! (and naturally I got pics of others!)

After the hike we went over to my mom's for a bbq. We had tons of food and fun. After we all ate (btw Daniel makes a mean hamburger!!!) we all took our chairs out the the street and watched the fireworks. We had a ton of fun. Daniel got drunk enough to say to me and my mom that he was "blowing bubbles with my talk!" Oh I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard!

Well, somewhere in between we took a ride to right hand fork and went up to the hobbit caves. I wanted to try using my camera in manual mode and take some photos of the river. I really need to invest in a tripod. But for my first time taking these types if pics, I don't think they turned out that bad. I guess practice makes perfect.

I love long weekends!

2009-07-17T12:17:00.014-06:00

Oh, we had such a blast over the 4th of July weekend. July 3rd we went hiking all day. We went up to the old Steam Mill and Steam Mill Lake. What a beautiful hike. I can't believe the different scenery on this one hike, you go through meadows and forest then a come to a lake. (It's a good thing it was so beautiful because it was a very strenuous hike.) Of course we took Monty with us and he loved it, as always!

Here is the old Steam Mill

Steam Mill LakeI went boot skiing for the first time. I figured that it's something I've never tried so why not? Here is why...(BTW, I can't believe I'm posting this 'cause it's a little embarrassing! Oh, and be sure to listen closely to the commentary!)

Monty always manages to get dirty...I guess that just means he's having fun!More glorious viewsI think this is how we all felt after that hike! Pooped!!!And of course I have more wildflower pictures to share with everyone. Enjoy!

Wow, that was a ton of pics...sorry to bore you all, I seem to have some sort of fascination with wildflowers! BTW on Aug. 04 I'm scheduled to have my surgery for my gum graft. Not looking forward to it however, I think I will have plenty of time to sit around and identify the flowers in my pics. (I know, I know, I'm kind of a nerd!!!)

On July 4, it was Daniel's day to decide everything we did. So we went to the Hyrum parade with Ryan and Stacy and James. It was my first time to the parade but I loved the atmosphere and all the kids running around laughing and chasing candy. Then it was off to the Hyrum square for lunch. After that we went out to my in-laws and swam for the rest of the day. I think it was one of the best days ever!!

The next day was baby Anders baby blessing and the little guy looked just adorable in his baby tux! I can't believe how big he is getting...I'm sure his mama feels the same! Everything at the lunch after the blessing was so tastey and it turned out to be a truly special day!

Most of all I just enjoyed the long weekend with my husband and being able to sleep in every morning. We both had a lot of fun being with family and friends and each other.

Independence Day

2009-07-17T12:07:00.005-06:00

Yes, this is a bit late but I just had to share...This is what I saw driving through my neighborhood.
I have to say that seeing this overwhelmed me with pride. I couldn't be more proud to be here. And I just want to express how thankful I am to all those fighting for my freedom.

Awesome new background!

2009-07-15T11:43:00.003-06:00

If you notice my blog background has now changed! The pictures are ones that I took. The best part is if you hit the refresh button a new pic will load and every time you log on to read my blog, a new pic will load then too. How cool is that??!?
Now I know you are all thinking "that is way too high tech for Sarah to figure out" and you are absolutely right! I have a friend from work that put this together for me. And in the future he may be making it available to others. I will keep you updated!

Jardine Juniper Tree

2009-06-09T14:38:00.018-06:00

On June 6 2009 my older brother (Jeff) and I went hiking. We went up to the Jardine Juniper Tree. We both decided that since neither of us have seen it that it was time. (Growing up in Cache Valley and all!)

Now for the boring stuff! The Jardine Juniper tree is thought to be about 3200 years old. (According to a sign right next to the tree -- however, I have also heard that it is 1500 years old) It is one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever been on. Not only was the scenery amazing but the smells and sounds were astonishing. This is the perfect time of year to go on this hike, I couldn't believe how much water there was! I would definitely recommend it for anyone! It's about 10 miles round trip but it's not very strenuous.

The views are incredible!

You can see at the top of the tree where it is still alive.

My handsome brother Jeff!

Don't worry...Monty's just sitting on a rock, it's not a cliff! BTW he loves the mountains just as much as I do!

This is me, proud I finished the hike! SUPERWOMAN! (heh.)
Looky there, another reptile friend...at least it wasn't a snake, I don't think I could have handled another run in with another snake!

Now I just want to share some photos I took of some of the glorious wildflowers I saw on the hike. ENJOY!

Yes! I was finally able to put my new camera to the true test...and if you ask me it definitely passed! I think the pictures turned out better than I could have hoped for!

I just want Jeff to know what a good time I had with him. We don't get to do things together very often, so I truly cherish the time we do get to hang. I know we have had our differences in the past, but I feel that this experience has brought us closer and I love being your little sis! I love you Jeffy!

Memorial weekend

2009-05-26T15:11:00.013-06:00

So, my husband had me all pumped up to go to the condo in Bear Lake over Memorial weekend. I even got half a day off on Friday so we could get an early start and miss all of the traffic in the canyon. So on the Wednesday before the weekend I casually asked Daniel, "now are you sure we have the condo THIS weekend?..because it is such a big weekend and it surprises me that no one else claimed it." He says to me, "I know, I know, that's what I thought but it is this weekend for sure."

So now it's Thursday and I'm just getting home from work and Daniel says to me, "now don't kill me or be mad at me, but apparently I was wrong about the date and we have the condo the weekend AFTER Memorial weekend." Ugh. I was so pumped and ready for a get-away and now what? Oh well, I can't be mad at him (he's just too darn cute!) so we decided to spend all weekend just being together and having fun.

I decided that since I already had one let down for the week that I wasn't going to have another so I still took half day off on Friday. When I got home, Daniel took me out to lunch at Sizzler to get the salad bar (YUM!). Then we went out to his parents and went swimming. Monty jumped into the pool all on his own, I don't think he liked having the water in his ears and he wouldn't get back in. (I wonder if Monty thinks they just look like floating heads in the water?)

So after swimming we just played fetch with Monty in the back yard and tuckered the poor fella out!

When we got home I still had a TON of energy, so we went for a run. I didn't run the mile as fast as I wanted to...but at least I still did it! When we got home and cleaned up, we decided that grilling some hot dogs and hamburgers would be the perfect end to the day.

On Saturday, we went to Al's for their huge Memorial day sale. Daniel and I got new hiking shoes. He got a new camel back and I got some more hiking clothes. (I love shopping!) By the time we were done it was about noon 30 so we grabbed some lunch at Grist Mill went home got our crap together and headed up Crimson trail. So, so, so pretty right now!

Here are some pics of wildflowers I took while hiking.It was a perfect day to hike. It did rain on us just a little but it was definitely welcomed...cooled us down just right and then stopped. Awesome time! Well except for this...

Seriously? This guy scared the CRAP out of us! (Brandy, how many times have we hiked Crimson or any trail for that matter, and seen a rattlesnake? Umm. Never.) We did however learn a very valuable lesson from him. We came so close to loosing our puppy Monty to him. We were just walking along, Monty leading the way when we hit a switchback and Monty stopped, he had stepped right over the snake that was stretched out across the trail, so the snake was right under Monty's belly. (No warning from the snake at all.) When I looked down I saw it on the trail, not moving at all. My first thought was "is that a dead snake?" Then I realized what it was and jumped back and called for Monty, just as I did that the snake coiled up and started rattling its tail (all while under Monty's belly) then I called for Monty again...it almost looked like he wanted to play with the snake and couldn't figure out why I was trying to get him away from it...but he finally came to me! Anyway, we waited a while for the snake to retreat off the trail but he never really backed off far enough for us to pass by. (BTW the sound of a rattlesnake is the CREEPIEST noise EVER - still gives me the chills just thinking about it.) We ended up making our own trail to get by. And we all made it out without a snake bite! For the rest of the hike Daniel was in front (on lookout), then Monty and then me. I think it will be that way anytime we go hiking now. Also, there is a vaccination for dogs for rattlesnake bites that I am looking into. I'm going to call my vet and get more info because hiking is something we all enjoy doing and I don't ever want to be in that situation again. I have never been so scared, I really thought that poor little Monty was going to die at that moment.

Now for Sunday. We were going to go golfing (well, he was going to golf and I was wanting to soak up some sun) but the weather was awful and rainy. He attempted to go while I stayed home and deep cleaned the house. He ended up getting a "rain" check because of the rain and came home early to help me. We ended up re-arranging our bedroom and that prompted me to go get a new bedspread and shams! I love them and I love TJ Max!

Next, curtains! On Memorial day, we went to Heber for a family reunion for Daniels moms side. We ate lots of good food, socialized, and sat in the sun! Later that night I finally got to meat my friend Sheena's baby boy Blayzen, and I had so much fun with him! What an adorable baby! And mad props to Sheena for everything she has been through...!
We stayed busy all weekend and still found time to relax! I had a ton of fun and I really enjoy being with my husband, he is truly my best friend!

Playing catch up.

2009-05-23T09:07:00.013-06:00

There has been a lot going on that I haven't gotten around to blogging about. Some not so exciting news and others, well for lack of a better word, HUGE news! I'm going to start with the RSL game from 04/25/09. Me, Daniel, Micah, Joel, my father-in-law, his brother Bob, and his son Ty all went. In my opinion, it was the best game EVER! They played New England and kick butt! RSL shut them out 6 to (a big fat) 0!!!I loved it! I don't think I have ever screamed so much in my life. My throat was sore for 2 days after the game and I nearly lost my voice. (Which kinda sucked, cause the following Monday was when all the media coverage about the "swine flu" started. So me sounding all horse, everyone kept asking if I had swine flu...got old, real fast!)

Now onto more exciting news...My friends Brandy and Cam welcomed their first child into the world on April 30, 2009. He is a healthy, beautiful baby boy named Anders.

Both mom and dad are so proud of this little boy...as they should be, he is amazing. I love watching Brandy be a mom, I can only hope that when it's my turn I will be as natural at it as she is!

I LOVE SPRING!!! The colors, everything coming back to life, planting flowers, the yard work, and yes even the spring cleaning! We got our very first lawn mower. Nothing special, we decided that since we didn't have a very big yard all we needed was a push one with blades. (Monty kinda makes everything a little harder to do, he thought the mower was a new toy. If we're not careful he may loose an ear...)

We decided that the back yard was in need of some TLC. So we spent an entire day cleaning, mowing, planting and putting stuff together...but the outcome was SO worth the effort!

I can't wait to host tons of BBQ's! Next on the list (keeping my fingers crossed!) patio furniture!

Mothers day. We had a beautiful day. We first went over to my mom's house and had breakfast with her. Spent most of the morning and first half of the afternoon over there. Then we went over to Daniel's parents and the boys cooked dinner for her and everyone else. We didn't have a lot of money to spend on their gifts this year. So I ordered personalized notepads for each of them, got them each a framed (wedding) picture of us and I made carnation flowers out of tissue paper...but I used one on a pen (as the stem) to go with the notepads.

Recently I have taken up a new hobby. Running. Yes, me running! I know it's crazy. But ever since I got married last Aug. I have put on about 15lbs. and I am not happy about it. So in Jan. I decided to go to the gym. I was going 4 days a week, every week. I lost 5 lbs. and plateaued. So I thought I would add in more cardio and started running. I ran my first my mile (since high school, which was almost 10 years ago) in 10 minutes (and I didn't walk at all...so proud of myself). My second go at it, I made it in 9 minutes. I'm thinking of setting a goal for myself of running in a 5k, but I'm not so sure yet! Well I'm off to go hiking now, we're going up Crimson! Hooray!!!

Birthuation...?

2009-05-14T08:56:00.002-06:00

So that's an idea I'm playing around with. As some of you know Daniels birthday is at the end of the summer and he will be graduating (yes it's actually happening!) at the end of the summer as well. He was trying to decide if he wanted a party for his birthday or one for graduation. So I'm thinking we will just combine the two and have a "Birthuation"! Sounds fun, huh?

New toy!

2009-04-28T15:54:00.003-06:00

This is my newest toy! I'm learning all I can about it...can't wait to go hiking and put it to the true test!

First Hike of the Season!

2009-04-23T09:12:00.003-06:00

On 4/19/09 we went on our first hike for the season...hopefully plenty more to come! We went up to the wind caves and took Monty on his very first hike ever! He did very well, however he is so recklessly in love with everyone and he thinks that everyone loves him...We still have a lot more training to go!

Brandy's baby shower

2009-04-21T14:40:00.011-06:00

About a month ago Trish and I planned a baby shower for Brandy. I'll start by showing you the invitation.We found the design on etsy.com from westwillow.etsy.com. She was awesome to work with and designed exactly what we had in mind. (just ignore the blank spots - I took out the personal info)

We decided to do more of an open house but we still wanted games, food and fun for everyone. So our menu was chicken salad croissants, italian pasta salad, chips, grapes, a fabulous drink (consisting of white grape juice and sprite) and of course "poop diaper" cookies. (see here for pic of cookies)

For games we had a table set up with all sorts of decorations.We did an attributes game where everyone had to guess who Brandy hoped baby Anders will take after, whoever guessed closest to Brandy's answers got a prize! We also had a guess how many buttons are in the baby bottle, and whoever was closest also won a prize. Then we just had an advice journal for Brandy that everyone wrote in. As for the decorations, the planet mobile was a gift from Trish to Brandy for her bday. I made the rocket ships and play cubes and Trish made the quilt.

Then we set up a table for everyone to decorate a onesie for baby Anders. This turned out to be so much fun and it proved to be worth the time of putting it all together!

I want to add that I think this little boy is by far the most spoiled baby ever! (and he's not even here yet!)

And that's just the beginning of the gifts...

I just thought I would pat myself (and Trish) on the back for the great job we did in planning this! Brandy, we love you and can't wait to meet Anders. You deserved every bit of this shower and more! I wish the best for you, Cam and Anders!

Happy Friday!

2009-04-03T12:25:00.003-06:00

Thought I would share a "smile" with everyone!

She's Crafty

2009-04-02T10:24:00.010-06:00

So we (being me and Trish) threw a baby shower for Brandy back on March 28. It was a ton of fun to plan and we had a lot of fun activities at the shower. (more on that in a later post...) As for now, I wanted to share with you the onesies that I painted and created!
I have to say that I am very proud of my creations! I made/drew the stencils for all but the "Oh Spit" one. Loads of fun and in my opinion, it's the best baby shower activity EVER! Click here to see Trish's creations.

Still trying to decorate my house.

2009-03-26T12:13:00.004-06:00

So I talked Daniel into going shopping with me to see if we could find a picture to hang over the hallway table that we got for Christmas. I've been keeping my eye out for one, but I haven't found one that I just had to have. Until I saw this beauty!

I figured I might as well take advantage of the fact that Daniel was actually shopping with me and we went to see if we could find a frame for the picture he brought home from Guadalajara, Mexico (from his study abroad program). We ended up finding one that we both really liked, and bonus...it was 50% off!!!

Now our house is finally starting to come together...it's only taken me 8 months! (and I'm still not even close to being done) It's just hard to put money into decorating when I don't know if this is where we will be after he graduates or if we will have to move. I guess only time will tell!

I'm hooked!

2009-03-25T10:16:00.002-06:00

Introducing baby Spillman!

Okay, so this is so addicting! Thank you Trish for showing me this completely awesome site! I just hope that we have better luck with our "real" children when we decide to have them, and they turn out a little cuter!!!

Honest Scrap

2009-03-23T11:31:00.010-06:00

It is called the honest scrap award and these are the rules...A) First list 10 honest things about yourself--and make it interesting even if you have to dig deep.B) Pass the award on to 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of Honest Scrap...

I figured it's about time that I do this considering I've been tagged more then once...so here goes...

1. I have a half brother...that I met when I was 18 and a half sister that I met when I was 23. Pretty sure that is all of them...?

2. I used to be able to sleep whenever, where ever. I could get off work at 3, go home and nap till 7, get up do what I needed, then be in bed and asleep at 11. My friends knew that if they were calling me there was a 75% chance that they were going to wake me up. Now, I'm lucky to get 5 hours a night.

3. I can't make it through my day with out my morning coffee. It's probably a good idea not to talk to me until I have at least 1 cup in me.

4. Daniel and I beat the odds...we met at a bar and still got married!

5. This is probably the most embarrassing...my house was once raided by the police. My ex was into meth and I had no idea -- yeah, I was that naive.

6. As I get older it seems that my anxiety is getting worse. Maybe that's why I'm loosing so much sleep???!?!

7. My husband will graduate after this summer, and that scares the crap out of me (don't get me wrong...I am SOOO proud of him) because it's likely that with his degree we will have to relocate in order for him to find a job. I've been in cache valley my entire life, my friends and family are here...it's gonna be hard to leave.

8. I recently started taking piano lessons. It's like learning a new language. It's hard and challenging, yet I love it!

9. My in-laws are completely amazed at the movies that I have NOT seen. (i.e. Karate Kid, Back to the Future, Teen Wolf ect.) I'm surprised they allowed me into their family! :)

10. I'm a people pleaser. I love making people happy. ~~I think it's a curse.~~

As far as tagging 7 people, I don't think there are 7 different people that read my blog, and the 2 people that I know I could tag already beat me to it. So if you want to do this then I tag you!

Getting older. ugh.

2009-02-19T12:22:00.009-07:00

Yup. That's right, I just got older. My birthday was on Tues. It was an awesome day. My mom took me and Daniel out to lunch. Then Daniel went to get a new car for us...yes we finally got rid of that P.O.S. Jag. (I think we paid more in repairs on that thing than we did to buy it) YA-HOO!!!

Ta-da! That's our new car. I really, really like it and we got a killer deal on it. It's a Nissan Versa and we got pretty much every upgrade you would want in a car. So lets just pray that I won't get laid off work anytime soon!

After Daniel got home with the new ride, we went out to dinner with his parents. Then I wanted to show off the new car (of course!) so we went out to Brandy's and showed her and Cam. By this time it was getting late and I was worn out so we went home, I did some laundry while Daniel studied. All-in-all I would have to say that it was a pretty good day! And I just want to thank everyone for all the gifts and well wishes! For my favorite gift click here. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Just a thought.

2009-02-06T10:33:00.007-07:00

Why is it OK for the Utah State Legislature to go out and spend about $20,000 for new office furniture (and that's for each office...so a total of about 2 MILLION DOLLARS) when I (and all other USU employees) have to take a mandatory 5 days off with out pay for budget cuts? Screwy. They say they got the furniture from prisoners that built it so, in my opinion, they over-payed. Sounds to me like they are just pushing money around. Not to mention that they all got a "moderate" sized flat screen t.v. (when did prisoners start building flat screen t.v.'s?) They justify it by saying it was approved over 2 years ago...??

Want to know more? Read this.

Practice

2009-01-30T22:54:00.004-07:00

~~I just learned how to put a line though the middle of my sentence and wanted to practice!~~

~~Happy Weekend!~~

Namesake...

2009-01-14T15:16:00.003-07:00

Just thought that I owed him at the very least this...Ricardo Montalban passed today and without him my puppy would not have a name!

Just a quick story

2009-01-13T18:19:00.002-07:00

So over the weekend Daniel and I went to the Bodyworks museum in SLC. It was astounding, I loved the entire thing (that is except for the 2 hour wait to get in. ugh.) We got done with about 2/3 of the museum and found us some seats to sit on. (we have been on our feet for about 5 hours now) Then Daniels parents finally catch up to us and the conversations goes as follows...

Daniel: So, what did you think of all those fetuses?

Dad: (looking really, really confused) Yeeeaaahhh??? What about them?

(Blank stares at each other...confusion all around)

Dad: Wait, what did you say?

Daniel: Well, I can tell you that I didn't say penises!

I thought is was hilarious and it's probably one of those things that you just had to be there but I am still thinking about it and laughing. It made everyone kinda feel uncomfortable for a few moments but I couldn't help but laugh out loud!!!

New backgrounds...

2009-01-13T18:09:00.005-07:00

I found this awesome web sight with some really cute backgrounds. Check it out at http://www.simplychicblogs.blogspot.com/. I thought it was fairly simple to apply, try it out!!!

Traditions

2008-12-30T10:14:00.008-07:00

Every Christmas my family gets together for a Christmas breakfast. We don't exchange gifts, we just get together and enj0y every ones company. This year was EXTRA special because my older brother Jeff and his wife Amy drove all the way from Cali! AND my aunt Kodi came from Denver with her baby boy Noah, who I met for the very first time! (We also had a few friends stop by...Linda and Brandy!) It was so great to see everyone and spend time with the entire fam!!! This is us...aren't we a great looking bunch!

After our breakfast with my family, we went over to Daniels parents house. We hung out there for a bit, then it was off to my Dad's house. 3 families in one day?!..we had enough at that point! So off we went back home. As soon as we walked in the house we all decided that it was a good time to have a few drinks! What a wonderful way to wind down on Christmas night!

just have to add that without those "few" drinks I WOULD NOT have done this snow angel! BURR!

I just want to share with everyone some of the best, cutest and easiest Christmas cookies EVER! I made the reindeer ones for a pot luck lunch for work, then I just did the others for fun!

Both are just the Betty Crocker peanut butter mix. So easy and delicious!!! The reindeer cookies have broken pretzels for the antlers, mini chocolate chips for eyes, and m&m's for the noses! I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! This will be one that I remember for a long time!

How I celebrate...

2008-12-23T14:19:00.005-07:00

EAT, EAT, EAT! Under no circumstance should you turn any kind of food offered to you away. I have consumed everything from cheeseballs and crackers to hotdogs to anything with chocolate! (and it's no where close to being over!) So I have decided that under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food! Have fun eat tons and I hope everyone will be surrounded by the ones they love and care most about.

My family came to us this year. My Aunt Kodi is here with her baby boy (who is just over a year old) whom I have never seen. And my brother Jeff and his wife Amy drove from Cali. They all got here on Friday and we all met at my mom's house and watched home videos which was a ton of fun! (I don't think me or Bobby have changed a bit...he is still a handful and I'm still a snot!)

My Christmas Tree

2008-12-19T11:48:00.004-07:00

While I was making my wreath that I am so proud of, Monty would not leave me or the lights alone...so I decide to try the torture method and wrapped him all up in them and he just sat there looking so pitiful yet adorable! The entire time he was wrapped in them he just sat still not moving...what a good pup we have, we definitely lucked out with him! And I just wanted to wish everyone a very

MERRY CHRISTMAS

(it's the best time of the year)

'Tis the season

2008-12-18T10:05:00.009-07:00

Just 6 more days??!!?! (I think I might puke!) I thought I would share some of my decorations with you before I get way too busy and forget. I love being married and having a house of my own to decorate...as some of you know I use to be a Scrooge and wasn't not into Christmas at all. However, after celebrating with Daniel and his family the last couple of years I have grown to LOVE it! (BTW. please excuse the pics, I know they are not the best and I was going to wait and do this post so I could get some better ones...but that just isn't going to happen!) (These are hanging right above my dining table)
I'm really proud of this wreath...I made it all myself for under $6! And it goes perfect right above my fireplace! (yes we are missing stockings...give me a break, it's my first year in this house!)

***soon to come, my version of Christmas trees!!!

I can't wait anymore...

2008-12-04T21:08:00.008-07:00

So, I originally wanted to do this post WAY earlier...BUT when I went to do it and get all of my pictures in order I noticed I didn't have all of them from the party on the computer...somehow when Daniel put the pics on the computer they didn't all transfer (and of course he deleted the memory card and I can't find them anywhere...boo.)

Anyway WAY back on Nov. 15 I threw a baby shower for my friend Sheena. I have never been in charge of hosting such a large party before but everything seemed to turn out just right! We had a large turnout of people! And her baby defiantly got spoiled!!!

My dear friend Trish took some of the pressure off and offered to make her delicious chicken salad (THANKS) and I had a couple of cheese balls and punch and "poopy diapers" (which is just a no-bake cookie in a napkin folded into a diaper)

(and I was super excited to get to use my very cute dishes for the first time!) Well, Sheena...I hope you enjoyed it and had a TON of fun with all of your friends...you truly are blessed to be surrounded by so many caring and loving people!

Thanksgiving is over...already?

2008-12-01T10:32:00.004-07:00

Wow, that went by way too fast! Here it is the first of December and I didn't post anything about Thanksgiving. I guess it's never to late!

We went to Daniel's parents house this year (we probably will every year!) we had a total of 17 people there. There was a few who said they were going to come that didn't make it (which was fine with me, that just meant more leftovers for us!!!). It was really nice of them to invite my mom and my little brother over for dinner. We don't have much for family here, so I know that they were both extremely thankful to have a place to go enjoy a feast!!! My mom and I made pies the day before. Me, Daniel, and my little brother (Brandy also came to visit!) all went over to my ma's house and had pizza for dinner while we made the pies.

After Thanksgiving dinner we all sat around and chatted and looked at ads for "black Friday". Thanksgiving night we went to see Twilight for the 2nd time. Hope this doesn't ruin it for anyone...but it's WAY better the 2nd time! (I won't say why!)

I told myself after working retail for 7 years, I would never go shopping on that day...well I lied! We got up at 6am, which is way better than 4am when most of the stores opened up for business!!??! We went to 1 store, spent about 2 hours there then decided we had to eat, waited about 25 minutes for a table, ate, then went shopping some more!

(Have to throw in a horror story about shopping)

We were at the lovely Cache Valley Mall looking at some aprons for my mother-in-law. Me and Becky decided to go half-sies on one for her so we picked out the apron and took it over to the kiosk thingy to pay for it. Apparently aprons and flat irons go hand-in-hand because there was a lady (at the same kiosk) trying to sell flat irons. For some reason she decided to harass me...I told her (very politely) "No thanks" but she wasn't having any of that (she really wanted to style my hair) so she grabbed my arm and started pulling and yanking me over to the chair...UMM...REALLY??!?!? I decided that fighting against her was completely useless, so I stopped looked at her dead in the eyes and said "You need to let go of me RIGHT NOW." (I should have added "before I punch your guts out"!) She let go and I had to walk away, I was so PISSED!

After the mall, I met up with Brandy and we went over to the November-fest. I got home at 1pm and was EXHAUSTED so I took a nap and woke up at 4:30pm. Ready for more shopping? I was! So I went out for round 2!

No spoilers here...

2008-11-24T09:36:00.006-07:00

So I went to the Twilight movie, I don't know what I was thinking when I thought I could stay up 'til 3am and go to work the next day at 8am. (Not to mention that my stomach DID NOT agree with all the JUNK food I ate at the movie) It just made me realize that I'm getting old! I am extremely happy that I went to a private showing...I don't think I could have handled the screaming 13 year old girls!!!

Welcome to the Coven

2008-11-20T13:42:00.009-07:00

Twilight premiere is tonight at midnight and YES I will be there. Call me CRAZY but my father-in-law rented out the theatre. Now how could a girl turn that down? (even though it starts at midnight...and I have to be to work at 8am the next day!) All I have to say is that the movie BETTER be as good as the book! (who am I kidding??!!?)

B-Day wishes

2008-11-19T20:35:00.006-07:00

At the beginning of the month, a fabulous friend of mine celebrated her 28th birthday. It was a very surreal birthday for her (and those close to her), having to celebrate her birth and mourn on the same day. So I wanted to do something very special for her. After a lot of thought, I decided that I would get her something that was warm and cozy (with the weather getting bitter) and something that she could do to escape from her thoughts.
That's her gift. A very soft blanket, aloe infused socks and a book (along with a homemade card). I really hope that she enjoys it as much as I think she will! (The best part is that I get to borrow the book when she's done reading it :) Happy Birthday!!!

Nobody’s perfect!

2008-11-19T11:57:00.006-07:00

I just had to share with everyone my favorite physical feature about my dog...
Yes, that is his bum. To be more specific, I'm talking about his tail. If you look closely it's crooked...it goes off to the right and I absolutely love it because he is so stinkin' cute...but not quite perfect, but that makes him perfect for me and Daniel! It was hilarious when he first started to wag his tail, because it was just a short stumpy thing that isn't centered and it barely moved! (Yes, I realize I need to get a life and not focus so much on my dog...I just can't help it!) Not to mention that my dog is going through an "awkward" phase...kinda like a teenager..........

You see his ears? One has started to stand up on it's own, the other? Who knows what it is going to do???!?

Montalban Brutus

2008-11-11T09:36:00.014-07:00

My dog lives here, he's here to stay.

you don't like pets, be on your way.

he shares my home, my food, my space

this is his home, this is his place.

You will find dog hair on the floor,

he will alert you're at the door.

he may request a little pat,

a simple "no" will settle that.

It gripes me when I hear you say

"just how is it you live this way?

he smells, he sheds, he's in the way"..

"WHO ASKED YOU?" is all I can say..

He loves me more than anyone,

my voice is like the rising sun,

he merely has to hear me say

"C'mon boy, time to go and play"

then his tail wags and faces grin,

he bounces and hops and make a din.

he never says "no time for you",

he's always there, to GO and DO.

and if I'm sad? he's by my side

and if I'm mad? he circles wide

and if I laugh, he laughs with me

he understands, he always sees.

so once again, I say to you

come visit me, but know this too..

My dog lives here, he's here to stay.

you don't like pets, be on your way.

he shares my home, my food, my space

this is his home, this is his place..

-anonymous

(CHEESY as it may be...my mom e-mailed me this poem and I just had to share!)

Tommy boy

2008-11-07T19:45:00.006-07:00

So yesterday Daniel started indoor soccer again. It's nice to have an excuse to get out of the house. We've become quite the home bodies lately (which is just fine with me!).Then right after his game we headed over to the in-laws because Tom (Daniel's little bro) was opening his mission calling and we didn't want to miss that! Daniel thought that he would be going to either Russia or Argentina, my guess was either Nepal or Canada...AND THE WINNER IS..............
MEEEEEE! He received his calling to the East Toronto Canadian Mission. Wow I'm good! Or just extremely competitive about everything! Anyway, Tom leaves on Feb. 4 2009 and he will be missed!