American Day

Happy Independence Day everyone! I hope you are all having a fun and safe holiday. Our holiday was a lot of fun this year filled to the brim with family. Logan has their fireworks on July 3 so that night we went to our usual spot and had dinner with the gang. We sit around and chat for a few hours before the fireworks and then the big show starts. It was a good time.

On July 4 the Palmers (my in-laws) invite every single family member they know over for a great big omelet breakfast. It seems like everyone looks forward to this annual event and it is always a great turnout. My father in law is probably the best omelet maker ever and he cooks them in his driveway on the grill. The front yard fills with people, most of them I only see once a year at this breakfast so it's always pretty fun. After breakfast we pack up the car with chairs and drinks and head to the parade in Hyrum. Usually it is very very hot but this year we were lucky enough to find me a little patch of shade to sit in and I was feeling pretty good about life until the last twenty minutes or so when my shade disappeared. Then it got hot. But fortunately for everyone there was a slight breeze today- pretty sure it was sent from heaven- just saying. Anyway, after the paraded we headed over to walk around all of the booths. I didn't buy anything but I did get a piece of pizza and breadsticks that were divine. Then it was home for a nap and a cool down in my nice air conditioned home. It was a great fourth and we definitely had a lot of fun with the Palmer clan. Here are some pictures. (My niece kind of stole the attention of my camera cause she was so stinkin' cute!)

34 Weeks

Yesterday I went to my 34 week baby doctor appointment. Everything is still looking good. Baby Boy is growing, his heart sounds good, and all is well! She told me that our goal is to keep him in for at least 2 more weeks and then after that he will be full grown enough to come any time! (gasp!) That seems so fast, but I honestly wouldn't mind too much if he arrived early. Mostly because I am getting pretty dang miserable. This whole pregnancy whenever I tell anyone who already has had kids my due date they just sigh, shake their heads, and tell me how sorry they are for me that I will be pregnant in the heat of the summer. I didn't necessarily think they were lying or making it seem worse than it really was going to be, but holy heck! They were absolutely 100% right when they said that I was going to be HOT and MISERABLE!! I feel like all I do is just sweat buckets. I probably stink 24/7 so you better steer clear for a while! All I can say is that I am thankful for central air in our home because if I had been pregnant in our first apartment in the summer I may have just pulled a Wicked Witch of the West and melted to death! I am also experiencing some contractions, which is completely normal. Baby Doc says that it's my bodies way of practicing for labor (bodies are amazing things aren't they?) Anyway, last night I had such a strong contraction that I pulled a muscle on my side. I told Baby Doc about this and she said that it was normal as well and it is common for the muscles around your lungs to swell when you are pregnant. If my blood pressure were high it would concern her but right now she isn't too worried. So along with the being hot and miserable, having a broken toe, the common back and neck pains, I also have a very sore right rib cage now that hurts every time I move too quickly. Oh the joys of pregnancy! Oh and did I mention that Sunday morning I woke up so swollen that I literally had to pry my wedding ring off? My fingers, ankles, and toes are about double in size. Baby Doc says this is because of the heat and I have been ordered to drink at least 64 oz. of water a day and elevate my feet for an hour a day. I am such a bad drinker so the water thing is going to be hard for me- but I'll do my best!

Okay, so enough of the complaining. On to the happy things. Baby Doc says that Baby Boy should be moving about ten times every two hours and I am pretty sure he surpasses that. He is moving around in me like crazy and I never ever get sick of that feeling. I love it! There really isn't anything like it. Every time I feel this little guy a big smile comes to my face. This whole pregnancy has been really rough, but it's when I feel him move that I feel bad for my husband. Men will never know that amazing feeling of having their children move inside their bodies, and it makes me kind of sad. I already am in love with this kid so much and there is just no way that Justin can feel as connected to our little boy as much as I do now. Fathers are missing out and women are the lucky ones. Yes pregnancy sucks big time sometimes. But the joys it brings far outweigh any of the pains. I feel so blessed to be having this experience with my son. I wouldn't trade it for the world!

And on an end note, last Saturday two of my best friends threw me an awesome Dr. Seuss baby shower (I am decorating the nursery in Dr. Seuss... pictures coming when it's finished). It was a really good turn out with good food, cute decorations, and fun games. I am so grateful for all of the hard work that they put into it and am super grateful for everyone that came! It meant so much to me and I was overjoyed with the turnout. Baby Boy got spoiled of course and I got some amazing presents. It made me even more excited for him to get here so that I can use everything and dress him up in all these cute clothes! Thanks everyone! You rock!

Librarian Life

Sometimes, this is my life at the library.

A Spoonful of Sugar

This last weekend Justin and I were able to go on a mini vacation for the weekend and we had a blast! Here is the play by play.

Thursday:
When Justin got home from work on Thursday morning we hurried and finished packing/cleaning/preparing, dropped Zorro off at my parents house, and hit the road. It is a bloody long drive, but this time we didn't have any AC in the car, so it seemed especially long this time around. We stopped in Nephi for some lunch and then drove straight to Beaver Dam. My grandparents have a second home in Beaver Dam that they just bought and they were kind enough to let us stay there. It doesn't get much better than free lodging! When we got to the house we had a look around (this was our first time seeing their new crib) and then we drove the 8 miles to Mesquite to do some grocery shopping, get gas, and grab some dinner. We ate Little Ceasars while watching a movie and then we crashed- we were both exhausted. Being in the car for six hours in the heat kind of wipes you out.

Friday:
Friday morning we grabbed some breakfast and hit the pool. Justin isn't as big of a fan as the sun and swimming as I am, so it was nice of him to be such a good sport and allow me some pool/tanning time. It felt amazing. I have always been a fish and absolutely loved the water but when you are pregnant swimming is like a million times better. It just feels sooooo good on my heavy, tired out, prego body. After a few hours in the sun we headed home, made some lunch, and then showered and got ready for the Tuacahn. This last Christmas I got some money and I decided that I wanted to spend it on tickets to Marry Poppins at the Tuacahn theater in St. George. This was the fourth play that I have been to and each time I go I fall even more in love with this outdoor theater. Seriously, if you have never been, put it on your bucket list! Everyone needs to experience this amazingness at least once in their lifetime! The show was wonderful of course. My favorite musical number was by far "Step In Time". They had fireworks going off, the dancing was amazing, and there was a part where Burt was tap dancing upside down! It really was incredible. After the play we drove home, had a bowl of ice cream, and went to bed.

Saturday:
On Saturday we did absolutely nothing. Really. We did nothing. And it felt great. Justin and I both took naps that day. We ate a ton of junk food. Watched some movies and TV. I sat out in the sun for a while. Basically we were just lazy bums who vegged out. It was super relaxing and nice to unwind.

Sunday:
On Sunday we cleaned the house, packed up, and hit the road again. We stopped in St. George for some lunch where I proceeded to change from nice clothes to hobo clothes because I was so dang hot already. The drive home was way worse than the drive there. The temperature got up to 102 degrees and I literally felt like I was baking in hell. It was probably the longest most miserable car ride of my life. But its alright cause we had a good weekend and it was totally worth it. On the way home we stopped in Fruit Heights to pick up Zorro and visit my parents. They were kind enough to feed us dinner and it was fun to chat with them for a bit. We didn't get back to Logan until about 10:00 that night which was kind of a bummer seeing as Justin had to be to work at midnight. I don't know how he did it, he is such a trooper!

All in all it was a great long weekend and we had so much fun. It is nice to get out of Cache Valley sometimes but it really is nice being home and in my own bed again. Another great thing about coming home was being able to get back to work on Monday. How many people can say that?! I really do miss my coworkers when I leave and I always really look forward to seeing them again. One of my coworkers, and I hope she doesn't mind we writing this, told me how much she missed me and that she absolutely hates it when I am gone. Not gonna lie, it kind of made my whole day. It's super nice to be missed ya know? I just love my coworkers and I LOVE MY JOB!!! 

I Love Summer Rainy Days

I love rainy days in the summer. Happy summer rainy day everyone!

Outpouring of Thoughts from an Overwhelmed Brain

I was planning on writing this post on Sunday, but my thoughts were so jumbled this past weekend that it has taken me a few days to sort my brain out. It’s still a little jumbled up there so this post has a high potential of being total random ramblings. However, I know that if I don’t put pen to paper (figuratively speaking) soon that my brain may just burst. I’m sure fellow writers can relate. I just need to get all of these thoughts out. I’ve been thinking a lot about mothers, mostly about how I am going to be one in less than three months. THREE MONTHS! Ah!

This Mother’s Day was an especially emotional one for me (THANK YOU HORMONES!) In Relief Society on Sunday the lesson was on ‘Sacred Family Relationships’. I was surprised when a great portion of the lesson was spent on the commandment we have to “multiply and replenish the Earth”. You can imagine how that struck a chord with me as I am in the process of doing just that. The entire lesson my mind kept wandering to the day when there was the shooting in the elementary school. I was just a few weeks pregnant then and when I heard the news I was completely devastated. That was the first day that I actually felt like a mom. My heart was breaking for those mothers who had just lost their precious angels. But more than that, the question of “What kind of world am I bringing my child into?!” kept popping into my head. Sometimes it scares the hell out of me to think what kind of world my son will be living in. It seems to get worse every day. What kind of world do we live in that someone would go murder children in an elementary school in Connecticut? Or shoot up a movie theater in Colorado? Or bomb a marathon in Boston? The day of the elementary shooting I cried and cried to my mom. I told her how I was scared to bring a child into this messed up world. And she gave me the best comfort ever. She told me that there are spirit children in heaven that are waiting to come to this earth to receive their bodies, and that that was basically the whole reason of why I was pregnant. Because my son needs a body, and if I didn’t give it to him someone else would. It seems like such a simple and obvious answer, but it comforted me so much. Anyway, this last Sunday I kept replaying that conversation with my mom in my head. Because after all, isn’t that WHY we have that commandment in the first place? Because the whole point of coming to Earth is to get a body, and there are still spirits who are waiting.

This past year I have had friends who have lost children, had miscarriages, or their babies just came too early. Every single time something like that happens, I feel like a mom. My heart breaks right along with theirs. I am reminded of what a blessing it is to have this little guy growing inside of me. I can’t believe how much I already love him. I lie on my couch and watch my tummy move up and down and just giggle with giddiness. I constantly worry for him. Not a prayer is spoken in our home without mentioning him. I just cannot wait to hold him in my arms and express all of this love. Motherhood is such a strange thing.

Speaking of strange things- let’s talk hormones. They might as well be called HORRORmones! Lately mine have been out of control. OUT. OF. CONTROL. I feel like I am walking on a tightrope, and anything, even just the slightest breeze, is about to push me over the edge. My emotions are always right there on the surface. If you know me, you know that I am probably the most emotional person in the entire universe. My emotions have a direct line to my tear ducts, so basically I cry all of the time. So being pregnant, and having those emotions even more intensified, well, it aint no picnic let me tell you what. My poor, poor husband deals with so much. There are times where I will just be sitting there and all of a sudden tears will just be falling down my face. Justin will ask me what’s wrong and all I can do is shrug and tell him that I have absolutely no idea. Then once the tears stop I am perfectly happy and laughing within minutes after the crying session. WEIRD. And this week I learned that I cannot handle it when Primary children sing to their mothers on Mother’s Day. As soon as the first notes were out of their cute little mouths tears were cascading down my face. It was super embarrassing and Justin just looks at me with an expression like, “I wish I could help you but I know it’s hopeless” kind of face. Grrrr. I hate crying but I REALLY hate crying in public!

I guess the last thing that has been on my mind lately is this quote I found on Pinterest.

 I could go on and on about why this has been on my mind, but I’ll keep it short and sweet and just say that it seems like there is a very clear line of who is on my side and who isn’t lately. There are people who are making the effort and there are people who aren’t. And let’s just say that I am very grateful for the rowers out there. I feel like I need them now more than ever during this time of my life when everything seems to be changing.

It's May! The Lusty Month of May!

Happy month of May everyone! May brings sunshine, flowers, and all things wonderful. It also brings this lovely little number from the musical 'Camelot', which I will have stuck in my head for the rest of the month.

Doesn't it just make you want to frolic?