Is it just me?

This commercial makes me tear up EVERY TIME:

Is it just the pregnancy hormones, or does that grandpa evoke weirdly strong emotions in anyone else?  Is it because that is what Morgan Freeman is going to look like when he's old, and a grandfatherly Morgan Freeman is just too much loveliness for me to handle?

In other news, I am non-pregnancy-related sick, but other than that everything is great.  I love going to doctor appointments (which I did yesterday) because I get so much positive feedback. I leave the office feeling like: I have great blood pressure! My weight is awesome! My sugar levels are phenomenal!  Congratulations to me on not being anemic!  Keep up the good work!  I am awesome at growing a baby!  

Velocity is also doing really well.  She's measuring exactly where she should be, her head is already down, her heartbeat's strong, and all that great stuff.    She made the doctor laugh when she moved around a TON when he pressed on my stomach.  I think it's crazy that she's already about 4 pounds and 18 inches.  That is a weirdly big object to carry around in my stomach.  And she's probably going to double in weight before the end.

Mostly I'm just impatient.  I still have TWO MONTHS LEFT.  Also, if I could stop having a really terrible sore throat, that would be awesome.  It would be nice to be able to speak again.

I know, old news

I believe I was the last person on the planet to see this movie...but I FINALLY did.  I've been dying for weeks but it just kept not working out!  We've been waiting to have a free Saturday so we could see the first showing, which is the cheapest way to do it and we are...you know...trying to be frugal. Paying for a baby and all that.  Anyways, the next million Saturdays are all booked up!  I was getting discouraged.  I mentioned this on the phone to Katy yesterday, and she was a)shocked that I was so lame that I hadn't seen it yet, and b)disgusted that something as pedestrian as money would keep me from such a cinematic masterpiece.  She first berated me for not making the best movie ever more of a priority, and then told me that she'd pay me 20 bucks if we saw it that night.  Sometimes, Katy really pulls through for me :)  While it is funny that I would take money from my younger sister who is saving money for grad school, I still definitely would.  And did.  I texted Kyle and we went as soon as he got home from work.

And OH MY GOSH.  I know everyone already knows this...but it really is incredible.  I had heard that it was freakishly confusing, so I was a little concerned that I wouldn't get it...but that's totally not the case.  I mean, I'd say it's complex, not confusing.  And even if you don't immediately understand every single little detail, it's not like you can't follow what's going on perfectly well.  So don't worry about that.

I love Christopher Nolan.  He makes incredible movies.  And I love the casting.  Is that just because Michael Caine, one of my Favorite Men Ever, has a small role in it?  Probably.  NOT.  I also love Cillian Murphy with most of the fibers of my being.  (I can't say EVERY fiber because...I do understand why people think he's creepy, I certainly used to be terrified of him-- until he was in the BEST ZOMBIE MOVIE EVER and I realized the truth.)  I think Cillian didn't even LOOK creepy in this role--I hope people can start accepting him back into normal humanity :)  He's just a really good actor, I'm sure that's why most of the world is terrified of his face.  OH and Marion Cotillard is breathtakingly gorgeous. Seriously.  And I've always loved Ken Watanabe.  And Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Basically, everyone did a great job, and I love that Leonardo DiCaprio is successful even though he didn't stay hot.  

I think Velocity liked it...she was freaking out the entire time.  So thank you, Katy, for being an awesome sister and buying me movie tickets.  You were right, it is a freakishly awesome movie that I could watch again and again.

Wyoming recap

Wyoming was so fun!  We happened to be in Cheyenne for FRONTIER DAYS, which is a very VERY big deal.  There were about a million people in town--just the quantity of RVs was staggering.  KISS performed the night we got there, which is cool and (to me) surprising--the next night Brooks and Dunn performed, which makes much more sense.  We visited the festivities with Ken and Barbara, although we didn't actually pay to go to a rodeo or carnival--it was really hot and the lines were daunting.  We had fun looking at all the western paraphernalia and walking around.  Kyle and I both have tons of cowboy ancestors, so even though the rest of me didn't fit in, being there made my cowboy blood sing.  I LOVE this sort of thing!

We had a fun time hanging out with Kyle's parents, and one night we even got to have a barbecue with some cousins and Aunt Jeanne, which was a blast (and delicious) .  We loved seeing Ken and Barbara's new house--it is so neat!  Kyle and I love the interesting architecture that some older houses have.  Barbara says that you have to either love or hate the layout of their house--and we love it!  The whole house is built around an open-air atrium in the center--so it's like a square doughnut.  At night, you can look in the front door, through the atrium, and into the living room.  It's very cool.  It also has a HUGE front and back yard.  Mowing that grass takes FOREVER.  And the back patio is so cute.  Velocity is going to love visiting her grandparents in Wyoming!

Kyle stood on one end of the front lawn and took a picture of me on the other end.  Can you even see me?

There's Ken on the other end of the massive driveway.

I love the trees by the patio.

In the awesome atrium. (Great place to hang out in the summer...in the winter, apparently it fills up with snow.)

Kyle had to give Velocity bunny ears.

We spent a good amount of time watching old home videos.  Kyle was hilarious and SO CUTE.  Seriously.  He kills me. (I hope we have kids just like him.  I think I was a pretty cute kid as well [though nothing like Kyle], so I think the combination will make for some awesome little children.  Hopefully they'll be cool when they grow up too).  We also spent one whole evening on family history!  My family is really into it, so I know a ton about my ancestors--but I knew NOTHING about Kyle's family.  It was really interesting and fun to learn more about the Vaughns and Goolsbys.  We may have made a mess in the office with family group sheets, but I think it was well worth it.  Now Velocity can know about BOTH sides of her family, which I think is really important.

Kyle was feeling cheesy.

REALLY cheesy.  I am totally laughing at him in this picture, even though it seems like I'm looking at him lovingly.  Don't be fooled.

That is not what I'm going for

Oh, man.  My current favorite baby name is on the "Hipster Baby Names" list on Babycenter.  Gag me.

Last minute trip

Today we are heading off to Wyoming!  We realized that this is probably our last chance to visit Kyle's parents in their new house before we have to make the drive with a screaming infant, so we're going for it.  We'll see how my nearly-8-months-pregnant body handles the drive.  I think it'll be fine.  Last time Kyle and I went on a road trip together, I read Catching Fire to him and it made the 15ish hours go by SO FAST.  I was all for doing that again, but he doesn't think he needs to hear it again (he's so wrong).  SO I'll be reading the last Harry Potter book--he never did get around to reading it, and with the movie coming out this year, AND with it being so freaking good, I think the drive will be fun.  It's only about 7 hours anyways.

The summer is going by so fast.  Before you know it, it'll be snowing and I'll be a mom. Crazy!  (Calling myself a mom reminds me--I was daydreaming about what Kyle will be like when he's 45 or 50.  SO HOT.)

Gotta go pack the cooler full of string cheese and Sprite. Oh and, you know, clothes in a suitcase.

We're to single digits!

That's right, only 9 weeks left.  It sounds better than 10--still feels like an eternity though.

I've been focusing lately on getting things ready for the baby (um....obviously).  Last month we were all into decorating the baby's room, and I feel pretty done with that.  Now I'm figuring out what we need.  We have been given a TREMENDOUS amount of the baby gear that we need. Stroller, Pack n Play, car seat, etc.  I'm so grateful for hand-me-downs!  I think we have all the big boring expensive things.  Now it's time for the FUN stuff.  Like, I got my nursing cover in the mail and I am very excited about it.  For some reason, that is fun to me.  Maybe because it's pretty.  I was totally going to make mine, but I got lazy and decided to just buy one.  I wanted the same kind I got Celia a year ago--the ridiculously named "Hooter Hider"--but I found a great deal on something similar, the cringe-worthy "Udder Cover"--I can't believe I had to type that.  Awful.  Why can't they be named something more dignified?

Registering.  It's been fun and required many phone calls to Christy for advice. I just did it online at Target, because everyone does it at Target so why not?  There were many decisions to be made--what kind of bottles do I want to use?  What crib sheets will match the decor?  What should be kind of gender-neutral, for future babies to use? Do I really need all these fancy gadgets?  I discovered that I really don't need/want a lot of stuff.  In theory I'm a minimalist--just for the sake of cleanliness. I know that babies come with a lot of accoutrements,  I just don't want to fill every single room of my house with baby stuff.  Kyle and I will be parents, but we still want to look like humans! We'll see if that's possible.  Anyways, Target recommends registering for 75 things--there's no way!  I registered for 22.  Am I missing something?

Fake camping and mass quantities of ice cream

We had a weirdly awesome weekend!  There was very little time spent watching TV or trying to decide what to do.  Usually it takes a while for us to decide something that a)we BOTH want to do, b)isn't too much of a hassle, and c)isn't too much money.  Often we decide to just give up and do nothing!  But for some reason, things just came together this weekend in a way that I liked.

Friday night--after snow cones with CB and Emily, we brought our Smokey Joe to their backyard and used it as a fire pit.  This is because we always have the "Let's go camping!" conversation with them, and then we decide camping is too uncomfortable and a hassle (Kyle decides that at least!)(and then I remember I'm pregnant and don't want to go to the bathroom in the woods 3x in the night) so we decide to just go have a bonfire somewhere, until we remember that it's a hassle to get wood, drive up the canyon, and find a spot where it isn't illegal.  SO the best solution--the Smokey Joe! in the backyard!  And it was perfect.  CB and Emily had the brilliant idea of roasting LIL' SMOKIES.  THE BEST THING TO EAT IN THE WORLD.  It was so funny to have tiny lil' smokies on the ends of our hangers.  And then dipping them in a bowl of barbecue sauce=heaven.  Oh and we roasted marshmallows too of course.

To us, this is the most fun part of camping...but without all the hassle.  We all had so much fun that we decided to do it ALL THE TIME.  We stayed up too late chatting though--maybe next time we will just bring sleeping bags and sleep on the lawn back there.  Now that their neighbors have moved, I don't have to worry about the little chihuahua coming and ripping my face off --which he always wanted to do. That dog and I were mortal enemies.

Saturday (after Kyle went in to work) we drove up to Logan!  We have wanted to for ages, and this weekend there was nothing standing in our way AND Amanda and Jack were free all day.  We had a GREAT TIME!  They just moved into a new apartment so we helped move things in a tiny bit, and then spent about 3 hours figuring out where to hang pictures.  They now have an amazing picture wall which I am very excited about.  We ate dinner at Angie's, Where The Locals Eat.  After our meal we ordered The Kitchen Sink:

We only ordered one for the four of us, FYI.  The pictures make it look like there's two!  Between the four of us, it wasn't too hard to polish off.  Amanda did have to take it for the team and finish it off:

I wish we had taken a picture with the cool bumper sticker they gave us for finishing.  

Amanda and Jack took us around to see the sights of Logan and I felt like I got a pretty good feeling for the city.  We really like it--it's cute and the mountains there are beautiful.  After several more hours of chatting, Kyle and I drove home in crazy construction traffic (at midnight! what the heck).

Sunday was normal and good. Church seems to take up our whole day because our ward doesn't meet until 1:30.  We watched a lot of Lost (two seasons to go!) and sat on our balcony reading.  Our next goal is to get actual patio furniture so we do that more often!

Cleanliness is next to...

Kyle and I are clean people.  Well, okay--Kyle is an exceptionally clean person and his good habits have rubbed off on me, although I was a pretty clean person before we got married.  And our house has been pretty clean ever since, just not spotless.

We realized that having a baby/toddler in our little apartment will certainly double/triple the mess, and we were not okay with that!  THEREFORE we have taken steps to ensure the cleanliness of our home in the future.  Before, we were clean.  Now we are FREAKISHLY clean.  We have enacted a zero tolerance policy when it comes to our house and car.  Chester has been spotless on the inside for a good two months now (no Sonic cups and Taco Bell bags), and it makes us happy every time we get in the car.  Our apartment has been really clean since we started this when I got home from California, so a little over two weeks.  It makes us SO HAPPY.  No dishes in the sink, no mail on the counter, no random junk in the living room, no clothes strewn about our bedroom.  We figure that now, when our mess doubles with a baby around, it will be much easier to manage because of our starting point.

Now, when we "clean" the house, we get straight to the vacuuming/dusting/real stuff, not just moving crap around.  When people come over unexpectedly, it's no big deal, because we're ready for them.  Messes stress me out.  I love waking up and going to sleep in a clean house--it is so relaxing.  I figure this will last another three months, and then we'll have a baby and all bets are off.  That is also true for many, many things that I haven't yet thought of probably.

There is a lot going on right now--not so much with me, but with the rest of my family, including two surgeries just this week (which both went awesomely).  A lot of prayers have been said on their behalf, and I'm grateful.  It sucks to be so far away from all the action, but I know it's worse to be directly involved in the action.  These two videos certainly made me feel like everything was all right.  Thanks to Council Bluffs, who is the king of introducing people to good videos.  The first one is instructional and makes you feel good, the second is emotional and makes you feel good.  Maybe that's just me though--any time Elder Holland gets weepy I LOSE IT.

Elder Enzio Busche

This excerpt from a BYU devotional is just...really really encouraging.  I must be easily overwhelmed, because I often find myself...feeling overwhelmed.  This helps me see things in a positive and simplified way. And I like his German accent.

Elder Holland- Good Things to Come


This is from his talk "An High Priest of Good Things to Come" which has been my absolute favorite talk ever given by anyone since I was a freshman in college.  I love him when he tells this story, and the rest of the talk is absolutely amazing if you ever need encouragement.





See, things really ARE going to be okay!

This pregnancy thing takes FOREVER

 I'm 30 weeks pregnant, which isn't exciting, but I think I'll be excited next week, when the weeks-to-go count drops to the single digits.

PRILOSEC WORKS!  This is my 6th day of being heartburn-free.  It is miraculous and beautiful. I forgot what it was like to not have heartburn every night, and let me tell you, it is wonderful.

While being heartburn-free is AWESOME, I am facing Morning Sickness 2.0: Cruise Control: Tokyo Drift.  I've thrown up for the last couple of days, which I pray doesn't mean I'm going to be throwing up for the next 10 weeks.  I am nauseated...a lot of the time.  And I'm really tired.  But so far it is nowhere NEAR as bad as it was the first 4ish months of the year, so I am at least grateful for that. I can still maintain a mostly normal lifestyle.

Although I feel huge, I know I'm not really.  I can't bend down/roll over/move easily, but I'm not like FREAKISHLY uncomfortable yet.  Unfortunately, and this will probably stay true until she's born, Velocity is too big for the space she's in and therefore DRIVING ME CRAZY.  She doesn't just kick a lot, she kicks CONSTANTLY, and she punches, rolls, does windmills, and who knows what other shenanigans.  It's freaking water aerobics in there, and it's hilarious.  And it's really fast-paced!  And it shakes my entire torso!  And it's freaking me out!  Girlfriend needs some more wiggle room and I'm hoping my body can accommodate.

A pretty good representation of me at 30 weeks:

(Our non-pregnancy-related great news: Kyle just got a raise/promotion! I am very proud of him.  I'm now married to a Microbiologist II.)

Have you SEEN these?

(photo from CJane's blog)

They are absolutely GIGANTIC marshmallows.  Honestly, they are much bigger once part of one is in your mouth.  I could barely finish ONE, and that one made me feel siiiiick.  The boys clearly had no problem and ate several:

On Saturday we had a pretty great day up at Deer Creek Reservoir in Provo Canyon.  I sat and ate cherries/cinnamon bears/Pringles and enjoyed the boys' tomfoolery for hours--it's amazing how they can create entertainment out of thin air.  Eventually Council Bluffs and Emily showed up with a Wave Runner--unfortunately, pregnancy stopped me from participating. It really did look fun.

(Probably the closest these boys have ever been to each other)

We had a fun, relaxing time.  Now that I actually know about this place, we'll probably go back.  Better equipped with, say, swimsuits.

(Oh...Kyle's face.)

Things will be much easier once I'm not pregnant.  Of course, then we'll actually have a baby, which makes life difficult again.  Shoot.  There should be an in-between rest period!

Can't Sleep Fun Times?

Okay, not so fun.  I didn't even try all that long to go to sleep--but I was just laying in bed thinking unpleasant thoughts and I knew that wasn't going to end well.  Rather than wake Kyle up and make him listen to my (probably irrational) thoughts, I got out of bed.  Normally I'd just read, but this morning I finished Gone With the Wind (which Kayla recommended) and can't bring myself to start something new because I'm so devastated that it's over.

Today I had a doctor appt. and did the drink-the-kind-of-nasty-juice-stuff-so-they-can-take-your-blood-and-see-if-you-have-gestational-diabetes test.  It was great!  Actually it really was a great appointment because the doctor told me I could try Prilosec to help with my heartburn.  When I last asked the nurse told me I could only take Zantac, which I've now been using for a month and it has done basically nothing.  My heartburn (which is a daily/nightly occurrence) is only going to get worse from this point on, so I'm excited to try a new medication.  If it works...I will be ECSTATIC.

In other baby-related news, we've at least eliminated one of our baby name possibilities.  Velocity will definitely (ha, who knows) be either Ruby Kay or Abigail Valentine.  There are pros and cons to both.  I'm trying not to agonize about it, or over-analyze.  We have months to decide still (2.75 months actually) and I'm sure we'll make the right choice.  In the meantime, we're having a really good time working on the baby room.  I'm still painting this dang crib, which is taking forever because I get sick of it so easily.  It is going to be perfect when it's done though!  Kyle made adorable curtains for the room and hung them up while I was gone.  He also finished re-covering the chair that I worked on for a million trillion hours--I was so grateful to come home and see that I never had to stick a needle in that thing ever again!  Kyle is great, by the way.  His enthusiasm for this baby has been channeled into decorating the baby room, which is awesome for me because A) now I don't have to do it on my own and B) he has a great eye for decor.

Oh, and today I read an article about how morning sickness is correlated with a lower risk of miscarriage and (later) breast cancer, AND it's linked to higher IQ scores in the baby.  It's probably not true, but it did make me feel a tiny bit better about throwing up for nearly 5 months.  I need SOMETHING to make me want another baby, okay?

Movie Fun Times

Normally I can go months without going to a movie theater, but this month I feel like I've gone a million times. I saw a couple movies in California, and a couple here in Utah when my parents were visiting. I am pretty sick of the Cinemark ads that I now have memorized.

Toy Story 3 was fun and very clever.  Mom and I took Lucy to see it, which she was thrilled about.  Woody continues to bug me, because he isn't funny at all--just kind of lame and warm-hearted, I guess.  I absolutely loved Ken though--he was hilarious.  His passion for clothes just about did me in.  I didn't even notice that he was the voice of Michael Keaton. Totally random.  And Spanish Buzz was REALLY FUNNY.

I think it was a cute movie that was plenty entertaining.  Mom did cry in the end, but that's just because crying is in her genetic makeup.

Okay now.  We all know that Twilight is horrible and literary garbage and shouldn't exist and all that.  As a snobby English major, I do have to say that.  But as a HUMAN FEMALE I also have to say that I get the biggest kick out of it and have read all the books as soon as they come out and have seen the movies multiple times.  Okay and maybe I've read the books multiple times, but I am not ready to admit that yet.

ANYWAYS.  Eclipse was great.  It was technically better than New Moon, which actually meant it wasn't as fun to watch (less mocking and laughing at makeup/dialogue/acting/everything about it), but did mean it's more of a real movie.  The action has improved, the acting is better, and everyone looks more attractive.  It's too bad they're figuring all this stuff out on the THIRD MOVIE, but thats okay.  I was actually shocked that I thought RPattz looked pretty good--I usually think he's pretty freaky looking.  He's less pasty and tortured--more like a real boy who you could actually want to be around.  Jacob looks about the same to me (which is still way more attractive than RPattz).  Bella and Edward kiss more, BUT I don't want to cringe and die every time they kiss, so it works out okay.  Anyways, it was fun and funny and silly and ridiculous and awkward and everything I wanted it to be.  I saw it with my sisters and Mom and Marilyn--Christy (okay and maybe all of us) giggled until she was red in the face in some parts (the tent scene!).  OH and yes Charlie is still my favorite. I find him delightful.  My biggest complaint:  no Michael Sheen.  Very disappointing. He's hysterical and charming as Aro.  As there is basically no story they had to follow in Eclipse anyways, they should have just written him in.

I may or may not have plans to see it tonight with Celia and Ashley.  JUST because I promised I'd see it with them, but then ended up staying in CA a couple extra days and my sisters demanded I see it.  I swear this is not my fault.  (Secretly I'm excited to see it again.) (Can't admit it though.) (And really I'm only paying to see it once, that makes it better right?)  (I am clearly a tortured individual with no sense of self or dignity.)

OKAY LET'S GET PAST THIS.  JUST MOVE ON.

Oh man. I thought The A-Team was hilarious.  It was SO entertaining!  I loved it. We all loved it. It was a silly remake of an old silly show, so it was of course ridiculous, but just so FUN.  And the casting was great.

Instead of making me mad, Bradley Cooper was charming.  His character was awesome.

The guy from District 9 did a great job and was really humorous.  I'm glad he's in this movie, because I didn't like District 9 at all but I really liked him.

The fake Mr. T was perfect, I thought--not too Mr. T, but enough like Mr. T to make it funny.  

And Liam Neeson.  My word, Liam Neeson.  

I almost shouldn't say anything about him because I'm a married woman, BUT luckily my husband loves and worships Liam just about as much as I do. Kyle understands.  If we name our first son Liam, you will all know why.  Anyways, let's just say that DANG he's still got it.  They even dye his hair silver and he looks FANTASTIC.

I guess that's all I have to say about this movie.  Oh and I hate Jessica Biel, but she didn't ruin it.

This was in the dollar theater.  And...meh.  The kid is kind of a wannabe Zac Efron, without being as cute and likable as Zac Efron.  I like that Sean Bean is in it, but he wasn't in it enough to make it worth it.  Oh and the red-haired doctor who I think I like in Grey's Anatomy is in it...but again, not very much. 

It was an okay movie version of a book that is slightly better than okay.  Maybe that isn't fair, the book is...pretty good I guess.  Just not anything I'd get really excited about.

I guess that's just 4...but 4 is a lot to see in just 2 or 3 weeks, for me!

Lucy Fun Times

My week taking care of Lucy was incredibly awesome.

Noteworthy but not pictured: my first trip to the dentist since I got married (whoops), going to the opera in San Francisco with Mom and Katy, seeing Toy Story 3 and Eclipse, and millions of hours spent painting Velocity's crib.