Just One More "Transfer"

We are down to the wire. There are 6 official weeks left until my due date, not that it really means anything to this little guy. He could come early, late, on time... But, at least the only option that doesn't exist is NEVER. John jokingly said it would be great if he could just stay in there for the next 13 years. I about died. I can't even imagine feeling more uncomfortable and stretched out. Another 13 years of this... yipes. We are really excited to meet the baby, but are also anxious and nervous as well. Things are going well with the pregnancy. I feel so much more energized in the morning than in the evening, but I suppose that's probably normal. Maybe we'll actually take a picture of my belly before he's born. Maybe.....

Seattle

John and I recently returned from a lovely trip to Seattle to visit his sister Christine, her husband Jon, their three lovely girls Rachel, Becca, and Eleanor, and of course I can't forget the 2 vizslas Nana and Chai. We loved the time that we had with them to play and see the sites in Seattle. We drove up on a Saturday (take my advice, don't drive a 13 hour drive when you are 6 months pregnant...) and came back on Wednesday of last week.

More on the drive... We learned some VERY interesting things along the way as we made our way through Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.

1) Nobody, and I mean nobody, in Idaho (especially through Boise) speeds. They absolutely do not go above the posted speed of 65, and they do NOT move out of your way if you would like to do so. Someone who is from there or understands Idaho, please, please explain to me this weird "phenomenon".

2) You do not get to pump your own gas in Oregon. Once again, why weren't we warned? It made for one of the most awkward experiences of the trip.

3) Even when it is POURING rain in Washington, you'd better go at least 10 above the speed limit or have people on your tail.

We did enjoy some beautiful scenery along the way as we made our way through Oregon and Washington. I was surprised how much Idaho looked like New Mexico. (interpretation: ugly)







These next few are from our day at Pike's Place Market. We thought it was funny that there was a "smoking" elevator.



We went to the Seattle Sci-Fi Museum and Experience Music Project. Yes, it was a weird mix of things to have in one building. They have an exhibit right now on Nirvana that we enjoyed. These were all guitars and other instruments made into a giant sculpture.



We went to eat in the Space Needle restaurant and had an... interesting experience. Let's just say the food was ... interesting. The view and the company were fabulous. Just in case there were an emergency, don't worry, there are stairs all the way down into oblivion.



This last picture is just a random thing that made Jon, John, Christine, and I laugh so hard. We went to Dairy Queen on our way home from downtown Seattle and apparently the lock either broke or was cut off of a cabinet thing that was along the side of the building. As we drove by in the drive thru, I noticed it and we of course had to take a picture. Maybe this is what we all need to start using to keep unwanted pests/people out of things. Notice the notch that was cut out of it to make it the perfect shape.



Thanks Jon and Christine (and girls and poochies) for a lovely, wonderful trip. We loved our time with you. John misses the dogs a lot.

It's a.....

Turtle. That's what we told our families. My dad then asked which one of the ninja turtles it was. Anyway, moving on to the part of the story that I know you are all dying to know (ha ha), we a expecting a BOY. I was shocked, to say the least. Shocked, but very very happy. He is the cutest little baby ever, which I fully realize every mom says/thinks about their baby's ultrasound pictures.

Laura graduated yesterday and my parents have been in town. It has been fun to have them all here and we miss my other sister Kat and her family. After sitting through 3 BYU graduations (my sister Kat, her husband Jeremy, my own), we finally learned and brought a smorgasbord of treats to help the time and the boredom pass. I will say the speakers at Laura's were by far the most entertaining, but I guess that's probably because she graduated from the college of humanities, not health and human performance like mine, or PDBio like Kat and Jeremy. John took lots of great pictures, and hopefully I will remember to post them one of these days.

Haiku

Being sick is never fun, especially when you're pregnant and cannot take any useful medication. I love, love, love Advil Cold & Sinus and am really wishing I could take it. I know within a maatter of an hour at most my congestion would be all gone and I would feel better, be able to sleep, work, do aything useful, etc. In honor of my pining for my favorite cold medicine, I wrote this haiku:

Oh to be able
To breathe through my nose again
I miss you Advil

In other news, we find out our baby's gender on Tuesday, assuming this little wiggle bug cooperates. We'll keep everyone posted when we find out.

Dear Utah, Part 2

Dear Utah,

It seems we have to have this conversation every year. Why is your weather so bipolar in the months of March through May? I would love to be able to wear flip flops, or even make it a week without it snowing the day after it was 65 outside. If you could please explain yourself, I would really appreciate it.

Love (I guess),
Jen

P.s. My husband is sick of scraping his windows....

I Heart Houndstooth

I love houndstooth. When we moved into our current house, we needed to take off the doors to the laundry closet. I had been scheming to get houndstooth into the kitchen and it worked. I found this fabric that I loved at a fabric store and my mom helped me sew some curtains to cover the holes where the doors had been. When I was checking my friend Annie's blog today, I about died when I saw her post about this:



Let's just say I wish I were done making the quilt I have been working on for the past, oh... FOREVER, so I could justify starting this little beauty.

In other news, our little baby is quite the mover. I am getting nervous for when it completely takes over my belly. I can literally feel it moving around almost all day long. It's been fun to feel it move and kick/punch/do karate what seems to be focused mainly on my bladder. Silly baby.

Bracket Update

Nobody cares about this but me, and I CANNOT stop smiling. After closely following the bracket I am participating in under John's name with our brother-in-law Paul's family, I squeaked my way to the top after yesterday's games. Paul is right behind me with 2 less points, and we have the same Final Four chosen. This will probably get interesting. Thanks to Marquette for being a great sleeper to choose.

While this is great, the crowning glory to my not-so-good day today was when John came home from work and told me that his bracket (translation: my bracket) is in 1st place with his company-wide competition. It brought a smile to my face that will not leave. I guess it is the small things that matter, like having a great husband who lets his wife pick his bracket for him.