Last night I had a few friends over for dinner, and it was just what I needed. We ate, laughed and chatted the night away. Meleana and Darah brought their new baby boys who are 5 and 7 weeks old. It was so fun to hold them, and I can't wait for them to meet my little guy.
Kahiki, Meleana and Darah:
Kahiki holding her new little nephew:
Here are a few of the camera phone pictures I've recently received from the homefront~
Cute little girls:
Ready for Myrtle Beach:
Enjoying the Shoney's buffet:
You'll have to click on the picture to really see it, but I'll fill you in.
I'm currently ranked 353 in the nation in the 2009 Drive to the Finals NBA Fantasy Basketball league. I have 660 points so far and am in the 98% overall percentile. Funny thing is...I don't really like NBA basketball all that much. I don't follow the games or the players. In fact if my co-workers didn't tell me that being ranked 353 in the nation was good...I would have no clue. My player picks are mere guesses (with some guidance from a co-worker), but I seem to be on a roll. Hey...maybe I'll actually win the $25,000 towards the car!
I had my 37 week check up this week, and learned I am 50% effaced, but have not started to dilate yet. The baby is at a -2 station. I was a bit disappointed to not be dilated at all, but at least I'm effacing. I'm trying to appreciate the final weeks of this pregnancy and feel guilty when I complain about it. I really have had it easy. I love feeling his movements, even when his hiccups keep me awake at night, or when I feel like he is pushing against my skin so hard that he may actually thrash his way out of me. I love talking to him when no one else is around. I'm constantly praying for his well being. I'm feeling really great for being this far along, but am growing more and more anxious to meet him. I’m consumed with how life will be in a few weeks from now, and I love to just stand in the nursery and look at all of the baby stuff. I day dream about holding him, dressing him, feeding him, rocking him and even changing all of those inevitable diapers. It's amazing how much I already love him.
So funny story....
On Wednesday night I was at our church for a youth activity. At the end of the night a bunch of the kids started a game of full-court basketball in the gym, and I can't stand missing out on a fun game of ball. I slipped off my clogs and started playing in my socks. I'll let you watch the video to get a better idea of what happened next, but be aware of a few differences/similarities....
1) The guy in the video is not pregnant - I am 6 1/2 months pregnant
2) The guy yelled profanities - I kept my profanities to myself and smiled
3)The guy didn't have an audience - About 30 people witnessed me fall
4) The guy slipped on ice - I slipped on a slippery gym floor, wearing socks
5)The guy thought he was really cool - I thought I was really cool
6) The guy landed flat on his back - I landed flat on my back
7) It's funny to watch this guy eat it - I'm sure the entire youth group thought it was funny to watch me eat it
It’s no surprise that we have a ton of snow and that is cold here; I live in Utah. But, even I was shocked when I fed the horses this morning. I was outside of my toasty car for maybe 5 minutes, just long enough to throw some hay and check on the water, and when I got back into my car I realized my hair was completely frozen. Granted, my hair was still wet from the shower, but I looked like Medusa….instead of snakes coming from my scalp, I had rock hard strands of frozen hair. It was weird. I wish I had a picture of my frozen locks, but instead you get a picture of my frozen pony.
Note to self…..blow drying my hair is mandatory when it is below 32 degrees. 
So when does one realize that they are in fact going to be a parent? I always thought it was when the pregnancy test comes up positive, but I'm finding that our minds can't actually wrap our brains around the concept all at once. The three positive pregnancy tests were just the beginning. All of the physical symptoms, the 3ultra sounds I've watched, and the tiny movements I'm starting to feel are helping reality set in. In fact, I just made my first post-birth dentist appointment and the hygienist actually asked me "so what time do you think will work best for you and your baby?" Me and my what!? Oh yeah that.
I haven't been this excited since Kevin asked me to marry him! I've also never been more nervous in all of my life. There is a tiny person growing inside of me, and it's the most exhilarating feeling in the world!
I found out I was pregnant September 17th and time is flying by. The last 10 weeks seem more like a month. Yesterday was the first day that it hurt to button my pants, and I’m currently sitting here with my pants unzipped enjoying the much needed breathing room. It’s official….I’m getting bigger. I’ll spare my 2 blog readers of all my pregnancy “ailments” and focus on how exciting it is to be in my “condition.” Most days I forget that there is really a baby in me, but every once in a while I have these intense realizations that make my heart skip a beat and the blood rush to my head. I’m so thankful to be blessed with this experience in my life right now. I love having so much to look forward to.
Kahiki hosted a girls' night at her super cute house last month, and here are a few pictures of her, Ana, Wendy and me embarrassing ourselves. Kahiki made an awesome "clean" dinner, gave us cute candles and we played Dance Dance Revolution and Rock Band. 
One of my favorite nights in SC, we decided to have a gathering on my parent farm. We had a bonfire, Pop grilled up some delicious burgers, we roasted marshmallows over an awesome flyer, and the kids had a blast riding around on their Gators and the golf cart. 
While in SC I had the chance to go and watch 4 of my nieces and nephews play soccer. AC and Blake played on one team and Hailey and Ben played on the other. Here is a picture of AC and Blake after their game:
Action shot of AC and Blake
AC makes a break away
Hailey and me waiting for her turn to go back into the game. 
Ben was so cute playing goalie. He would look at us after every one of his plays, to make sure we saw him. In this picture he was waving to all of his fans.
I recently flew to SC to surprise my family. It was fun to see all of their reactions when they first saw me. Here are some pictures from Halloween night.
Stevie, Steven, Melanie, Reid
Jeremy and Lexi
AC
Cameron and Ben
Julie, Dad, David, Steve
Me and Emily Jo
Hailey, Steven, Landon 
Blake
Lexi
Natalie and Nicholas
Camille
Karson and Lainee
With our garden in full swing, I've had tomatoes, squash, zucchini and jalapeño peppers coming out my ears. When we planted the garden, I insisted on lots of tomato plants so that I could can them and use them throughout the winter for chili and soups.
Here is what I've learned about gardening/canning:
-14 tomato plants is insane. 4 would have been plenty.
-8 jalapeño plants is insane. 1 would have been plenty.
- 14 squash and zucchini plants is insane. 2 of each would have been plenty.
- When canning, the jars don't come out of the water bath sealed already. You have to let them sit for hours. (This was the most devastating mistake of them all)
- You do need to boil the tomatoes after you blanch and peel them.
- At first I put all of the snails in a bucket and let them go free across the street....now I throw them against our house or smash them with rocks.
- Squash bugs all deserve to die miserable deaths
- One pumpkin plant needs A LOT of room!!!
- It's fun to throw the rotten tomatoes
- Weeding is overrated. My garden is full of weeds and still produces more food than I know what to do with. 
