First comes love then comes marriage then comes...

(picture compliments of our nephew Jacob, he posted
this Thanksgiving day after finding out)

That's right folks... we're having a baby! We are due June 17th, I am 13 1/2 weeks along! The first trimester flew by it seemed like, without any trace of morning sickness thank goodness! At first all I wanted to eat were hamburgers and anything unhealthy but my aversion to salads is finally gone and I'm back to eating any (and every) genre of food! We've seen our babe twice and heard the heartbeat just at our last appointment. Our next appt is January 3rd! We live for these appointments! I'm staring to get a belly on me.. though I don't think its the baby just yet..maybe just my insides reorganizing themselves? Here's a pic of me from this last Sunday:






Yay!!!

Chicago 2010

Yes, we went to Chicago in August. And yes, I feel like I will never be up-to-date on blogging! But nonetheless I wanted to make a post for our trip (memories and all :-)!)

We spent a few days (too short of a trip!) in Chicago visiting with the Blackhams. This was my first time going to Chicago in the summer and it was a blast! (It's great in the winter too, but its nice to see things at different times of the year). We got to watch Kristen practice her marching band skills, visit downtown Chicago (Navy Pier fireworks show), downtown Naperville (the rowboats), and go to a Cubs game! We can't wait to go back again!




Funny story about the above and below picture. I am intent on watching the game and it is getting near the end of the last inning. I see the kids sitting below us wearing their hats in ways I've never seen so I turn to my left to ask Justin, "Hey why are these kids wearing their hats that way?" and below is the image I see, much to my surprise! Apparently in baseball, or at least at the Cubs games, there is something called a 'rally hat' that you do when you want your team to rally with runs. Now I'm in the know but at the time I was wondering who is this man I married...

Mr. and Mrs. Blackham go to Washington

We just got back from a week-long trip back east! Justin and I spent 5 days in D.C. then 2 days in Virginia Beach visiting my parents. The east is so gorgeous this time of year! When I think back to this trip I know I will remember the feel of the crisp Autumn air with the smell of dried leaves (and the sound of them crunching underfoot). We loved the up-close view of our nation's history and learning more about our government. I think Justin's highlight of the trip was the personal tour of the Capital building by a staff member from Utah's congressman's office. My highlight was the beautiful scenery and the incredible US Botanical Gardens, they had every imaginable type of orchid! Oh and the yummy cupcakes we got to try! Yes we tried the famous Georgetown cupcake but for as long as the lines were the cupcakes weren't all that impressive. We say go to Baked and Wired.. now those were yummy cupcakes!! We also had a wonderful stay (though too short!) with my parents. We visited the Jamestown settlement and the beach while there (and had some great seafood!). Here are just a few pictures from our getaway:

What's that on your nose?

Last Sunday we have the Whitmer's down for family pictures. (The last time we had pictures taken of us was... 2.5 years ago...at our wedding). We'll maybe get some of those pictures on here in a little bit but in the meantime this picture was too cute to pass up. My nephew, Matt, found a chestnut. When Justin asked him to hold it up, mind you, this was past Matt's naptime and he was getting very sleepy, this was the resulting shot:

Out with the old... In with the new (to us)!

So our (Justin's) trusty little Honda is finally starting to go. Rather than waiting for it to quit on the freeway (since that's how we commute the most), we have been searching everywhere possible to find a new car. Long story short - we found exactly what we wanted (color & all) down in Las Vegas. It was going to save us enough compared to buying it in UT that we made a quick trip down there to look at it and buy it. We ended up getting a 2008 Toyota Highlander. We love all the space/quietness/functionality that it has. While we did technically lose money in Vegas like most people do, at least we came back with something (which is more than what most people can say!). So here are some of the pics!

July 2010

So far July has been lots of fun! Can I just say how wonderful it was to start the month with a three day weekend!? Over the 4th weekend, we spent time in Kaysville (BBQ) and Provo (shopping, EFY) with the Blackhams. I didn't get any pics of this time unfortunately but we had fun!

Our recent adventures in July... purchasing a chair for our study (spurring a whole new campaign for updated home decor).
Then almost simultaneously we decided we should probably invest in a new computer (just the computer, already had a monitor). So far it's worked beautifully!

Then last Saturday was the Allred Family Reunion in Logan. We were celebrating with an Allred Amazing Race. Along the way we made stops at Grandpa Allred's favorite and most frequented places in Logan. Among them: Bluebirds chocolates, Aggie Creamery, Logan Temple & Tabernacle, Logan Lanes (bowling) and the Utah State football stadium. Afterwards we enjoyed a lunch in the park! It was a very fun day!! Here are some pics from our race:

And then finally the most exciting part of the month really for me... we have vegetables!! Aren't they so cute?? And they taste good too!!

June 2010

At the beginning of June we planted out first garden! Our stake was kind enough to divvy a portion of the land just north of our ward building out as garden plots for the families in our stake (since most everyone lives in apartment complexes). Justin and I have absolutely zero gardening experience BUT I am glad to say we are actually growing vegetables! We planted: green beans, peas, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, onions, green peppers, watermelon, pumpkin, cilantro and basil. Pictures will be coming soon!

In other news, June 11th my sister gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl: Emma Claire. I was there for the process, my sis treated it like a walk in the park! If all births were that easy I'm sure the world would be much more populated! But she is very cute...don't you think??

My parents and niece came out shortly thereafter to help take care of Heather and the babe. It was fun having them out here! We played mini-golf, saw Toy Story 2, attended my softball games, had a fun time eating a lot of food lol... it's always fun to be with family!

Overlapping in time, my sister-in-law, Amanda, had her 4th child, a cute and healthy baby boy, Nathan, on June 28th. My mother-in-law and other sis-in-law, Kristen came out around this time too to help Amanda. So we got to spend some good time at the end of June with the Blackhams!

June was the most hectic month we've had in quite a while! whew!

Playing catch up-May 2010

I fell off the edge of the blogging world but I am back, or I just got the motivation to sit in front of a computer screen after doing it for 8 hours already for my job.

We'll go back to May! Which I am pretty sure was uneventful OTHER than the barrage of events we celebrated with my sister. In April, they celebrate my nephew's birthday, my brother-in-law's birthday, their wedding anniversary and at the beginning of May is my sister's birthday. So we attended several birthday parties during this time.

On a more exciting front (for us at least), we did plan a 3-day weekend to Vegas, as per our annual ritual. This time we stayed off the strip, J.W. Marriott, and frequented the strip only once. Although we do go every year we try to switch it up every time. We apparently didn't find much worth photographing so our pictures are few..

Our typical shot outside of the Bellagio..

My favorite part of Las Vegas, the Bellagio Conservatory-this snell is made of flowers!The view from our hotel balcony...

How well do you know your city?

Justin and I, thoroughly enjoying the warm weather as of late, decided to go for a Sunday evening drive yesterday. We have lived in Pleasant Grove for 9 months now. I was initially quite drawn to the small town, country feeling with all the amenities I need close at hand. The library was cute and quaint. The local grocery store and (Justin's favorite store ever) Walgreens are just a stone's throw away. We have the Strawberry Days rodeo ground literally just down the road (can't wait for that this summer). I have recently become a member of the Pleasant Grove rec center which is a lovely facility. All in all I love the charm that Pleasant Grove offers and I love living here (for right now at least).

Here are some of the beautiful sights my city offers: