Valentine's Day fun!

Last year Neal and I decided to do 2 Valentine's Day dates ... His and Hers. This is our second time doing it, and I would highly recommend it. (Although I hear once you have kids you can never do anything fun again EVER, so who knows!) As most of you probably know, I am a creature of habit. Example:

Neal: So should we try out a new French restaurant for Valentine's Day this year?

Me: I'd probably just rather go to the Melting Pot...

Neal: But we go to the Melting Pot fairly regularly, I thought we might try something different for Valentine's Day to make it extra special.

Me: But extra special to me is the Melting Pot because I know exactly what it will be like....

See what I mean? I would rather go to where I know I love, rather than risking it on something new. (yes, I always order the same thing, too... sue me!) So it won't surprise anyone to know that the "Her" date was the Melting Pot... and it did NOT disappoint!

Neal's date this year was going to the Newseum. He's been wanting to go for a while, but we (mostly me) find it hard to get downtown, even though we live 20 minutes away. But, for a "His" date, I mustered up the motivation to go and we had a lovely time. The baby also loved it, if loving something means kicking me under my ribs nonstop. I think he was trying to shake his pelvis like Elvis, as there is a special Elvis Exhibit right now. The Newseum was a lot of fun, but I did feel a little strange not to get emotional at the 9/11 exhibit... pregnancy has prevented me from crying over truly sad/upsetting/horrific events, and I can only cry for crazy reasons, such as my belly preventing me from lotioning my legs easily, dropping a molten cake on the oven door, or Neal eating more than his fair share of truffles. (Although the last 2 are arguably valid reasons to produce waterworks, now that I think about it....) We didn't take any pictures in the Museum, but this is the view from the top--note the Capitol Building between our heads.

On a side note, this coat is getting a *little too snug..... here I am at 28 weeks (6.5 months)

*and by a little, I mean I'm practically bursting the buttons.... c'est la vie!

On a more spiritual note...

note: this picture was taken SECONDS after we found out we were having a baby. I love it!

My amazing sister Taylor just blogged about this idea, and I loved it so much that I'm doing it too! The idea is to find a theme scripture for 2011. This year, I've chosen Psalms 27:14

"Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord"

I chose this scripture because I've felt pretty anxious about this pregnancy.... I'm always worried something is wrong with me or the baby. (I shouldn't have ever started reading 'What to Expect when You're Expecting!) This scripture will remind me to have faith in the Lord and focus on the positive. I also really like the idea of the Lord strengthening my heart... I could always use a little of that!

Neal's theme scripture is Luke 17:15

"And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God"

Neal wants to work on glorifying God this year (and me, hopefully... joking, joking. I have about the most appreciative husband in existence) and also focus on being grateful.

I love this idea! I tried to find a funny scripture for baby Gideon, but it was taking way too long, so insert funny baby scripture here < > Now I shall leave you with a recent picture of my sixth month belly... I'm still shocked to see how big I look! Luckily I won't get any bigger... oh wait...

Christmas Break and my first blog about being pregnant

Hello friends, it's been a while, I know. Christmas break this year was SO MUCH FUN-- mostly because we got to spend it with family. I've posted loads of pictures on facebook, but here are some highlights for your viewing pleasure:

I'm very proud of these two "artsy" shots..... isn't Utah GORGEOUS!?!?

Very relieved that my second homemade stocking hasn't disappeared yet!

All 4.5 grandchildren!
We mostly spent time with my family, but we did make take a very stressful drive up to Boise to see Neal's Grandpa, parents, and sister. It was a lot of fun, although the driving was STRESSFUL because the roads were pretty awful. We also tried to see as many friends as possible-- if we didn't see you, don't take it personally! No matter how much time we have in Utah, it seems there are always people we didn't get to see. See facebook for friends pictures, I don't have the patience to upload them all here!
Kudos to my husband for surprising me with tickets to go see Yo-Yo Ma at the Kennedy Center-- I was THRILLED!

Okay, so I guess it's time to blog about my pregnancy. I know I surprised quite a few of you with my "It's a boy!!!!" on Facebook since that was the first many of you had heard about it. I found out I was pregnant the very beginning of September. We were THRILLED and also shocked-- this baby was planned, but let's just say he didn't waste ANY time implanting himeself in my uterus! Sheesh! I haven't been sick at all, which has been really nice. This might be TMI, but the reason I waited forever to tell people was because I've been spotting on and off my entire pregnancy, and at the beginning it made me too afraid to tell people. Then, by the time I was ready to tell people, I was almost 20 weeks along, so I just thought I'd wait until I know if it was a boy or a girl. . . and I must say, the reactions I got were pretty awesome! I'd highly recommend waiting 5 months to tell people--the shock value makes it TOTALLY worth it! and here is a pregnant looking picture of me, if you were wondering:
I am 21 weeks along in this picture-- about 5 months along. I'm not HUGE, but I do have to wear maternity pants now, which is a really strange development! Baby boy is due May 7th and we are EXCITED!!!! 'Hope everyone had a great Christmas break!

Truffle Extravaganza 2010

As many of you know, my Aunt Stacey makes gourmet truffles to sell around Christmastime. Family flies out from Utah to help, and we all drove up as well. It was so much fun to be around everyone, and DELICIOUS! These are no ordinary truffles... they are probably the best truffle you will ever eat in your entire life. My French co-teacher, Vèronique, the chocolate snob, was VERY impressed and has asked me to bring in another one every day all week. (yes, that's right, I only gave her one.... they're THAT good!) Anyway, here are some fun pics! Stacey, the chocolate Master herself, hard at work!

My cute grandparents

My darling Aunts

Me teaching Kerri the perfect angle for a self portrait....darling!
boxing up truffles
Shelley got these PJs for the babies.... this might be the cutest picture ever!
Finished product!

My husband is the hottest, I know. We're leaving for UT next Saturday and I'm SOOOOOO excited to see my family! Especially this little one:

CAN'T WAIT!!!! :)

Thanksgiving weekend of amazingness!

Thanksgiving weekend was so RELAXING and amazing! For Thanksgiving Day, we went up to Baltimore to have dinner with Josh's family. It was so much fun and DELICIOUS!!! here's a slightly blurry pic of everyone:

and the Pipster:

Then on Friday, Neal and I went to see Harry Potter (still annoyed about how boring the second half was--it was so obvious they were just drawing it out to have enough for part 2!) then out to Bertucci's, then to the temple, and then got a Christmas tree and decorated our house for Christmas... it was so fun! If you didn't already know this, I REALLY REALLY love Christmas. The music (except for that WRETCHED Christmas Shoe song), the decorations, the baked goods, the smells, the family time, and of course, the presents. :)

On Saturday we went downtown. For some reason, Neal has REALLY been wanting to go the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum. So we went. I wasn't thrilled but I must say, it was pretty awesome.

Now we're relaxing on this beautiful Sunday.... life is GOOD! :) Especially since next weekend we'll be in Delaware spending time with family and making the most delicious truffles of all time. WOOT!

Today I'm grateful for.....

The Melting Pot... Neal and I went there for our 18 month anniversary (I know, cheesy) and it was DELICIOUS as always... AND CHEESY, come to think of it! ;) They even had a card at our table and brought us a candlelit piece of cheesecake.... AMAZING!

My brother Matthias. He's on his mission right now in Florida, and I MISS HIM!!!! I'm so proud of him though. He is one of my favorite people on this earth.

My newest niece-- Lucy Jayne. She is so darling! I can't wait to see her in December! I'm so grateful she's here and healthy. . . I know Kaitie and Logan are going to be great parents (even if it took them a week to name her!!!) ;)

And lastly:

I'm grateful for Thanksgiving! For the holiday, and for the time off of work and with family! WOOT!

I'm grateful for......

Camping with Neal
Gorgeous fall leaves!!!
Breathtaking views
Hikes with Neal
S'MORES!!!! This one was totally cooked to perfection.... YUM!