Mission Call for Ryan

My awesome little brother Ryan got his mission call on Friday. He is going to the California Los Angeles Spanish speaking mission. He enters the MTC on New Year's Eve.

Congratulations Ryan!

It was exciting to be able to be there in person when he opened his call. Yet another nice thing about living in Utah.

Baby Gone Wild

Thursday night a couple of my college roommates, Kelsey and Emily Jean, threw me a baby shower. The theme was Baby Gone Wild, which definitely lent itself to some great decorations.

Leopard print balloons

Super cute diaper cake

Zebra print prize bags

Wild treat table

The best part of the night was the guest list. I was able to see my mom and sisters and reunite with good friends from the past. I was looking forward to this night for weeks because of who I would see there: Jennifer from high school, Trish from California, Brittany and Suzanne, who were my favorite college next-door neighbors, and freshman roommates Kelsey, Emily, and Theresa. I loved seeing everyone again.

Another freshman roommate, Stephanie, was planning to be there until she ended up with a complication in her pregnancy and was ordered on bedrest for a couple of days. So, when the shower was over, the rest of us roomies headed over to Steph's house and continued the party there. It was such a blast! We were reminiscing on all our crazy times and laughing so hard we were crying. Thanks for letting us crash your house, Steph.

Theresa, me, Kelsey, EJ

I had such a great night. Thanks for planning the party, Kemily!

28 Weeks

This was me last Friday. I'm borrowing someone else's computer/Internet access so I can get this posted before I'm significantly more huge than that. Enjoy!

For a quick update, Todd is in Central California, and I am in Midway, UT. We've got about 2 1/2 weeks apart, and then we'll both be in Sacramento again for a few weeks, living in hotels once again. Can't wait for October 1st! Miss you, Todd.

Sympathy Dreams

So, the book, "What to Expect When You're Expecting" states that husbands may experience symptoms similar like those of their pregnant wives, sympathy pains, so to speak. I've been checking in periodically with Todd to see if he has a sore back, sore feet, etc. Usually, there has been nothing on his end.

However... last week he dreamed that he was pregnant. He was several months behind me, so we were going to end up with two kids about three months apart in age. He wasn't huge yet, just had the little bump. Sadly, he doesn't remember many more details, but we will take what we can get. He hardly ever remembers his dreams at all, so this was quite the special occasion.

Speaking of bumps, my baby loves to move these days, and her favorite spot is right below my right rib. I think I have internal bruising. Seriously, there's tons more space in there to explore - why does she always poke and prod at this same spot? It's been weeks now!

(I try to complain, but truly I love every single movement. It is my favorite part of being pregnant. I love to feel this little girl inside me.)

Update Since We Moved

Well, guys, Todd and I fell off the side of the Internet world, but now we're climbing back in. We haven't been taking pictures, so I'll try to keep this short and sweet since there are no visuals to hold your attention.

On Wednesday, August 20th, Todd graduated from Flight School as an Honor Graduate, one of the top three in his class of 50 students. What can I say, I'm married to a genius. That afternoon, we hopped in the Penske and said goodbye to Alabama. We drove for two and a half days and rolled into Midway, Utah late Friday night.

We spent last week moving into our new house and hanging out with family. Highlights: watching my brother Ryan be ordained to the Melchezedik Priesthood; floating the Provo River; wakeboarding (just Todd); and just being around our families.

On Labor Day, we got in the car again and drove to Sacramento, California. This is the first stage of Todd's pre-mobilization training, and I came with him for the first week and a half - the last ten days I get to live with Todd other than "visits" for the next 13 months. It's a bittersweet time for us. We're so thankful for every day we are still together, but we definitely feel the clock ticking. It bites to be able to count down how many days we have left until we separate. I feel like crying a lot, but then I tell myself to wait - love these days together, and cry later. I'll have plenty of time for that down the road.

Okay, one picture. Here is where we ate lunch yesterday. We were so excited to be back in California so we could taste this deliciousness!