Family Reunion 2012

I have a lot to catch up on, but I think I will start out with FAMILY! We had an amazing time on a family reunion trip to Beavers Bend, OK. I got to see my Eric's family, with 4 daughters, Heather's family with 3 sons, Holly's family with 5 kids, Valerie and Todd, and ofcoarse, my parents. (24 people!)

The cousins loved getting together and hanging out. From early in the morning, till late at night there always seemed to be an activity going on of some kind. I think the highlight of the trip was the boating. Watching all the kids go tubing was so fun! I think the best part though was watching the grandkids watch GRANDPA go tubing. Haha. What a memory!!! Go dad!!

We also did a lot of swimming, kayaking, horseback riding, smores, hot tubbing, playing games, and our nightly dinners that each family prepared. I love my family so much!!! We can't wait for another reunion, maybe in 2 years! Maybe we will do a skiing trip in Colorado or Utah. YES!!! We will then be able to bring our little addition. :)

                                                                          

Jeffrey, Tess, and Susie about to go boating

Eric's family!

At the dock!

Pregnant woman about to kayak!

Rich with the awesome view from campsite.  

My nieces and nephews floating on the lake

My sisters and mom!! :)

Group picture by our cabin.

What Zoey looked like when we got home....no worries, he's alive! He just likes to sleep in awkward positions. Haha.

Videographer/Editor

So, I decided to edit together a little video for keepsake memory. It shows our cruise from last year with our friends, the Ivies. It was so fun! Pretty much you are in the sun the WHOLE time, everyday. We just ended up staying in our swimsuits all day. :) This year, it will be a little different considering I'm pregnant, and will need to stay in shade more often. :) Don't mind some of the inside jokes in the video, it was made for the four of us, but some family wanted to see the final product, and I decided to share it. Enjoy!

I like to put together videos for weddings/events/vacation, etc. So if you have something coming up, let me know! Or, if you have a ton of video from an event, and just need it to be edited together to make sense, I can do that too!

Our Little Princess!

Yes, it is true!! We are expecting our first little baby. We could not be happier. We just went to my 19 week appointment this week, and found out we are having a girl. **LOVE** We both thought for sure we were having a boy! Partially, because I did a story not too long ago on "The Intelligender Test", and I thought I would try it out. It said I was having a boy!! Haha...it said it's 85% accurate, but we both knew going in, it was a scam. (Especially since I interviewed a doctor in my story, saying so). Nonetheless, we are extremely thrilled to have a little girl. Right after we found out, we went straight to Babies R' Us to buy girl outfits. So expensive!!! So we stayed in the sale section, which is all Spring clothes, which isn't bad, because she is due November 25th. Yay!!! Happy Thanksgiving to us!

So, since this is a blog, and the public eye doesn't read it,(right?), then I thought I would share our experience of how we choose to get pregnant. Around October last year, I was driving home from work and I had a distinct thought come to my mind/heart. It said, "Mom..I'm ready, come on". Wow, it still give me goosebumps just writing it. I, of coarse, said.."um, are you sure?"! Haha. I tried to ignore it, but the thought lingered on for a few days. I just thought, well..it must have just been my imagination. (I know, it's a sign of pride!! Not giving credit to the Spirit, but instead rationalizing that it was my own thought.) Anyhow, as the Spirit has always done with me (Thank you!), it didn't give up. I had the same thought about a month later. !!! I could not deny it! I told Richard, and even shared it with my Momma and my sisters. We all knew it was probably time, especially since we have had a good few years to enjoy just one another.

Then one day, we decided, if it's meant to be, it will happen. :) Sure enough, I found out two long weeks later, we were pregnant. Yay! So yes, the baby was planned, but it was sure a surprise when we found out! :)

We had our first appointment at 7 weeks, when she was just a little bean...but we were just so excited to SEE the great news. Then we just have patiently (ya, right) waited for this week. I went out to lunch with a local constable last week, and he tried to explain to me why it's important and more special to wait on finding out the sex of the baby. Any thoughts? We just decided it was just as special finding out now!

Pregnancy Symptoms: Ugh! People say they loose weight in the first trimester, that's when I gained 5 pounds! I HAD to eat bread, crackers, and more bread, in order to feel better. My doctor gave my nauseous medicine, because otherwise, I would feel so sick to go to work. I couldn't afford to call in sick. The meds helped a ton, as long as I took them diligently. Cravings? Hmm...blueberries, raspberries, and well...ANY kind of fruit. Interesting enough, I couldn't eat anything sweet until about week 18. It made me feel yucky, and chocolate sounded just awful!! I know, crazy right?! But, unfortunately, sweets (especially ice cream) sound good again. My doctor says exercise is great for the baby and I, so I've continued on with my running. Well, after week 14 that is. I only do about 3 or 4 miles a day, and go super slow just to be safe and comfortable. I have a sprint triatholon in September, and the doctor says if I go slow and relax, I should be fine. I had to cancel a marathon in October with my friends in D.C, but that's ok..we're having a baby!!!!!! CRAZY!

We are clearing out Richard's office/my craft room (which was a DISASTER), and getting ready for a nursery. So much to do! As far as babies names...umm...NO IDEA. Ok, well, we have one idea, but just trying to decide still. We will keep you posted!! If I can actually find time to blog again! :)

                                                                         20 Weeks

                                                                            15 Weeks

New Niece!

My sister Holly is having her fifth baby tomorrow! She has three boys, and will now have two girls! Love you Holly! I'm the luckiest aunt in the world, to be blessed with such adorable neices and nephews. 4 from Eric, 3 from Heather, 1 from Valerie, and now 5 from Holly. (and that's just MY side!) :)




Gabriella!!!

Disney Magic

My parents, my sister, my nephew,my husband and I all went to Disneyworld this last fall! I'm a little behind, but better late than never! Didn't want to loose these pictures and have them stuck in the SD card forever! :) We were there for a total of 5 days, and managed to hit all four parks!!! Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Universal Studios, and Hollywood Studios. All of the parks were amazing! Magic Kingdom was a MUST DO...since that is where the history of Disney begins! When we went to Epcot, it was during the food festival...which was awesome! Every hundred feet there was another booth of little taste testings of foods from countries all around the world. We ate SOOO much food from France, Sweden, Spain, The Netherlands, and much more! Universal Studios had some great rides, and Hollywood...well, that one was our least favorite. (IF we had to pick one.) We also got about an hour to go to Animal Kingdom...and had the chance to ride just the biggest rides there. :) My mom had foot surgery just about 5 weeks before, so unfortunatly, she couldn't walk very easily around the parks, but LUCKILY...we all got to go to the front of every ride! Yep...no lines!!! Which, made the trip even more amazing, because we didn't have to stress about long lines!! Woo hoo! :) (Really, the only way to go!) Might I add, my mom rode Space Mountain...and my dad rode every rollar coster!!! So fun!


Getting Ready to hit Magic Kingdom with our matching shirts :)




Not sure what I'm doing with my leg...








I have a picture of my dad and I riding "Dumbo" at Disneyland when I was four...thought this would look good next to it! :)




Dad..I thought you were part of the horse...haha


Us girls...


...and the boys. haha.


Riding Peter Pan


Mom and Dad with Todd


We end the day with the Main Street Parade


Epcot!


Supporting our Rangers during the World Series


The Gypsy stop..with a little dress up! Belly dancing lessons and all! Ha!


My cute little nephew! He LOVED the vacation.


Well said! So tired after days of walking in circles!


So cold that day, and rode 2 water rides. FREEZING!

QUILTING!!!

I'm so excited that I can finally show my quilting adventure that I've had the last four months! I decided to make a king-size quilt for my mom, for Christmas. Let's just say, I found a new hobby! I LOVE quilting. It's one of those projects you can work on for hours, minutes, days, or whatever you have time for, set it aside and know exactly what to do when you pick it back up. My advice: Pace yourself! All you really need is a quilt design/pattern that you like, basic sewing skills, a rotary blade with a cutting mat, access to a quilting machine, and your favorite fabrics! This project took a lot of patience, because it IS such a huge quilt that I had to do a lot of little things OVER and over again. Cutting, cutting, ironing, ironing. I never realized how much you have to iron when you quilt, or sew anything for that matter. It really makes your project more crisp. I felt like a quilt was appropriate for my mom since I know it's something she will treasure, and something I can have part of my family forever! Knowing that someday my grandchildren will have it, will make the memory of my mother (who taught me how to sew) last forever. I love you Mom! Oh..and P.S...for a little project in between I made a rag quilt, which is the black patch blanket, with the pink back. That is an easy one day project, let me know if you want the instructions! (I love super Saturday's!)



Just Getting Started! First, you have to make sure you pre-wash the fabric, then start cutting rows of blocks, to start making a 9-block patch quilt.


I'm always in my pajamas! haha. Quilting is a perfect excuse to get comfy all day!!!


Time to get the batting, since the front is COMPLETELY DONE!














Here is a video of my mom opening her gift... :) I can't wait to make my next quilt! :)

July 4th Celebrations

Rich and I got our share of 4th of July Fireworks! Starting the week before in my hometown of Allen, then shooting off some of our own, and then watching our neighbors shows from our rooftop.

Although all of the shows turned out to be fun, spectacular, and patriotic...one of them was far better than the rest.

Rich and I have been excited about putting on a "Fourth Firework" show since the day we bought our house. We found out we lived within the county lines, not the city. Which meant, we had no firework restrictions!! So we took advice from the Firework salesman on what fireworks were the best. Now, out here in Lindale...a lot of people buy thousands of dollars worth of fireworks, and there is a lot of country season pro's. I don't think the salesman knew we didn't have a lot of land, or a lot of experience to work with. We told him we wanted one box of "a grand finale". Well, by the looks on some of these faces, you can tell, it was QUITE the FINALE! I even restrained posting some of the crazy pics, out of respect. Haha. :) The fireworks were huge! The box lasted for a couple minutes, and the wholetime, they were leveled out with our rooftop. We may reconsider where we shoot them off next year.

All in all, it what was a great 4th of July week. Great company. Great memories.




Our newest member of our family. We found out, she, is now a he. But we are keeping the name still as Zoey! He likes to lay in the sink and watch me get ready in the morning. I know, spoiled, weird, and wrong...but so CUTE!














Rich picking out potatoes from our garden!! Yummy potatoe salad! :)














My cute nephew, Todd. Valerie and I hung out at the mall, and I took him on his first Carasole ride.


















Starting the celebrations! Heather's family and our friends, Tammy and Tyler.