extreme couponing

I can't help but get somewhat angry over these extreme couponers. If any of you watched TLC's Extreme Couponing last night, let me tell you why.

First off, this is the Krazy Coupon Lady. I...love...her...blog! If you don't know her background, intentions, etc. of being a couponer, you will definitely get the wrong vibe from her part in the show. BUT, the first lady, I believe from Ohio...she is a hoarder.  She has like a 150 year stockpile of crap. Ok, so maybe good things like body wash, whatever, but 150 years??? Ridiculous. But no, she buys 100+ candy bars - because she-can-get-it-for-free. What's wrong with this picture? Candy bars = NOT healthy, especially in that amount. Most of it will go bad before they even make it through half of them...also the fact that it's being stored away and probably isn't touched much BECAUSE she just likes the thrill of getting them for free.  Her husband even calls her storage "garbage".  Anyway, I could go ON and ON about her and what I don't agree with.  

Another lady, from outside Chicago...she gets up at 6 a.m. everyday and walks 7 miles to go pick up extra inserts from newspapers...from friends that collect them for her, to recycle bins.  Good exercise.  Once at the store, she's constantly helping her fellow shoppers find the best deals, making sure they're using a coupon, etc.  She's been couponing over 35 years! She ONLY buys what she uses! This I like.

Now on the the "dude".  I was a little annoyed by him at first.  He's at the store and "buys" like 100 toothbrushes, 100 deodorants, etc.  One thing I liked though is that he pre-ordered the cereal he bought.  Granted, there were about 1000 boxes :) At the end of his trip though, he told the show that he donates most of the stuff to shelters, etc. which is one of the great points of getting things for free...to help those out in need.  

Ok, my cyber friend, Joanie, aka THE KRAZY COUPON LADY!  Words of mine just can't tell you how great she is of a couponer.  Just visit 16 Questions and Answers that she had during the show. Her blog helps me tremendously and actually got me started with couponing. I can say, that without her help and her blog, I wouldn't be cutting our grocery bill down, or saving a little here or there.  I am no couponer like her, however, I love finding deals on things that I use and can stock up...um, but no more than a year's worth!!! Like hygiene products - I love being able to stock up on body wash, deodorant, because I hate paying full price for those.  Once I'm to the end of my stockpile, I start looking for the sales again.  I have mentioned on here a while ago that I was able to get 50 boxes of cereal...for $4!!! Now some ask WHY the heck do you need that many? Well, first off, I did the calculations.  How much cereal I ate a day, how many boxes I went through a week, and when the next big sale would be.  NONE of the cereal went to waste, some boxes were donated and family was in town so we needed the extra anyway.  RARELY do I ever buy what we don't use.  Even if I can get it for free, it's just going to go to waste if we don't eat it, don't like the brand, etc.  I suppose we could be more flexible.  For example, we only use Crest toothpaste.  For me, it seems like this is the hardest brand to find for free.  I have seen Colgate be free several times, but, we don't like that kind, so why stock up if we won't use it.  Get my drift? Anyway, I hope this helps you couponers out there, or those who have had the misconceptions of it and have procrastinated on jumping the bandwagon that you'll never be able to get off once you get started :) I just thought this was too interesting to not post. Oh, and probably because I have too much time on my hands waiting for this baby to come. :) 2 days until the new year...cross your fingers!

thanksgiving catch up

We "moved" back home the weekend before Thanksgiving, and thankfully, we were invited for a Thanksgiving dinner by the Harrison's!  We had nothing planned and were expecting to spend it alone with a bunch of sparkling cider (like alcohol for me - ha ha) but were blessed with this invitation.  We each joined in and put a dinner together.  I stole Alisa's picture from that day (thanks Alisa:)

It was soooo yummy! I definitely ate way too much pie (go figure) but the rest of the food was absolutely delish! In Minnesota, there was this lady in our ward that won the State Blue Ribbon Bread Making Contest and she shared her recipe with us Relief Society ladies.  Mine surely didn't compare to hers as she also went to Culinary School, but someday I will have it down like her.  They are called Cottage Cheese Dill Rolls.  Yes, doesn't sound appetizing, but oh-my-heck, they were to die for! Better luck next year. 

I wasn't planning on doing any Black Friday shopping because there were no deals I had to have, except I have been wanting these 3 mini trees that Michael's just so happened to have them dirt cheap for sale on Thanksgiving DAY! So, Alisa and I hit the road for Michael's after dinner.  We got there like an hour early and there were only 4 other cars.  No one was getting out of their cars and once someone did for a second, we all got out thinking it would be chaos. Nope. And just our luck, Michael's opened their doors 1/2 hour early so there was no problem getting our trees :) 

Oh, I'm just in love with them! I am dedicating these trees to our baby, so he has his own tree(s) this year! I found these adorable little mitten ornaments at Hallmark so this will be his first ornament and then the Willow Tree ornament with the mom and baby.

Here's a close up of those.  I love them :)

That concludes our Thanksgiving festivities. Hopefully I can catch up on everything else before this baby comes!

mn and id adventures

I'm bummed that I took practically zero pictures while we were traveling so much these last months.  So as I get pictures from others, I'll post them. As for now, here's the (hopefully) short version of our travels.

We left Minnesota a week before Halloween and headed for Rexburg. We had plenty of time to relax with family, visit friends, and for Clay to do his usual work at the house - which he loves doing and can't do here in WA since we aren't the ones who take care of the yard.  Tyler and Caeli came up from Utah the two weekends we were there, so we went to Wingers for dinner.

(Ok, so bad picture. But one of the few that I got. :S )

The first weekend Clay's family/cousin Roy, threw me a baby shower! It was so much fun catching up with old friends and getting advice on what to expect! HA! Thanks so much again Roy! (pictures to come). We also hit Clay's parents' ward Halloween party/dinner and I made these cupcakes for their cupcake walk.  We joined in and won some awesome cupcakes too!

(I saw these on one of the blogs I follow, I think Little Birdie Secrets.)

I was a little bummed that we weren't home for Halloween because, oddly enough, it's one of my favorite holidays.  Someday...someday I will have enough decor to deck our house out and have huge parties :) There's just something about Halloween decor that I absolutely love! Well, that just about does it for Rexburg.  Clay had also been super busy with work and helped for a couple of days with his boss doing interviews at the University for their company for internships.  There was an information seminar one night that he helped speak at, followed by a cazillion boxes of Craigo's pizza! The next day he was doing interviews all day long.  Sunday, Clay and Quinn drove me to Burley to drop me off at my parents.  Clay had to fly back out to MN to finish up his training.  Oh gosh, I hate good-byes/see-ya-laters with that guy.  I probably bawled like a baby for the next few days. And back to Rexburg did they go as Clay flew out the next morning.

Burley, well, that was fun. Ha. I was sad to be away from Clay so really I had no motivation to do anything and was a bum all week long. Jared was going to the Temple for the first time Friday!!!! He finally got his mission call to RUSSIA!!! I'm so excited for him.  He's going to be the coolest Russian missionary :) So Janelle, Tom and Shay met us at the Twin Falls Temple and went through with Jared.  Wow. What an awesome experience.  It truly is the House of the Lord.  You know it just is - you can definitely feel His presence there and know He walks those halls. 

That weekend felt like a time of miracles as I found out more news.  One of my brothers had gone back to church for the first time after 14 years.  He went with Jared, wore a suit, and was welcomed with open arms.  I can't express the gratitude I have for the Gospel and for being able to go to church each week and worship together and renew special covenants.  The church is a place of sinners to be cleansed.  None of us are perfect, therefore none of us have room to judge others.  So I'm so thankful that my brother felt comfortable and was welcomed.  Bro, I doubt you read this, but THANK YOU.  You make me proud.  Stick with it.  The path back to Heavenly Father is hard, but WORTH it.  

Moving on.  The next day, Saturday, Janelle and my mom threw me a little shower while I was in town.  Thank you all for coming! It was so great catching up with you! (Fe, Jaimee:) After that, I was off to Boise with Janelle!  To shorten things up, I stayed with Janelle and her family for about the next few weeks.  I was able to see all my brothers and their family so it was already great!

(Jason, his girlfriend Violet, and the kids came for dinner and a movie:)
 We also got to go over to Jeremy and Brooke's and have dessert and chat!
We had lots of time to hang out, go shopping, do crafts, go to water aerobics at the Y :), watch the Lion King over and over again with Shay, and get some prego shots together! These are my favorites!

(Photos courtesy of my brother, Jordan Byington.)

Well, FINALLY, Clay was able to fly back to Boise! We all went to dinner that night to Texas Roadhouse! Oh how I miss that place.  Washington has ZERO of those restaurants. :( We rented a car and drove back to Tacoma the next morning.  It started snowing that morning in Boise and looked like it was suppose to all the way back, especially through the mountains and passes we had to go through.  We decided to take the less mountainous way back (through Portland, not Snoqualmie Pass :S).  We were so blessed with the weather.  The snow stopped once we hit the Oregon border and only rained off and on for a little bit.  Sun was on our side that day. It was so nice being back home! So this concludes our adventures away from home. Hope you enjoyed the long/short version :) ha ha

slacker

ok. wow. i feel like i'm behind on life. so much has happened these last couple of months. left minnesota, vacay in idaho, clay back to minnesota, finally drive back to washington, thanksgiving, and now trying to catch up on life.  we're going baby shopping tomorrow to get basically everything! but, i've got so much on my plate that i don't even have time to put pictures up yet, so eventually i will get to that. so bear with me. i have ONE more month to go (hopefully a little less) until this baby comes and i'm starting to fReAk out! i've got about 95% of my christmas shopping done so i don't have to worry about that. i'm hoping to sub a few days or so in the next two weeks to get a little bit more dough for the baby bills :S anyway, i'll catch you up soon with the rest of the details!

3 is a good number

 (our very first picture together. after rafting outside boise with my sis' in-laws.  clay knew no one but me and was instantly put on the spot asking if i was 'the one'. 

good thing i was :D)

Today is our 3rd Anniversary!!!  I can't believe how fast time goes by.  It really does seem like yesterday we were newlyweds (although some still call us that).  This has been our best year by far and it's only getting better.  A lot has happened in this past year of our lives but we do expect it to still be crazy busy as time goes on!

*Had Thanksgiving with my family in Boise and also attended a much needed JAZZ game :)

*Spent Christmas alone :( However, Clay's family came up and stayed with us for New Year's!

*Road trip to IDAHO!

*Picked Clay's brother up from SLC airport

from his mission in England

*Clay's older brother, Tyler, married Caeli

in the Draper Temple

*Found out we were expecting our first baby!!!

*Camping trips

*My sis and her family visited for the 4th of July

*Clay's dad and brother came up to go Salmon fishing

out on the ocean

              *Clay's brother stayed with us for a month to work

*Moved to Minneapolis for 6 weeks for Clay's work

Now, Clay's back in MN for a week to finish things up after taking a break in Rexburg and I'm here in Burley with my fam.  So, as you can see, we are apart for our special day :(  However, Clay did spoil me and surprise me with a pre-natal massage in Rexburg! I also sent a package off to him and he got it yesterday when he checked into his hotel :D Oh how it made his day...and mine!

I love Clay so very much though.  He is perfect for me and always pushes me to do better.  He is such a hard worker and sacrifices so much to make our family better and support us.  I have been incredibly lucky to find such a great guy (oh, and lucky to have a friend like Kylie who hooked us up :) - THANKS!). 

 He is the BEST!

Here's to Forever with you!

I LOVE YOU!

what i'm loving most . . .

There's 3 things that I'm loving most right now.

1. This baby boy kicking all around inside of me.
I absolutely love the feeling of him moving around and the fact that I can see him kicking and pushing my stomach out.  This has brought me to the realization that there is a human being growing inside of me, and what an absolute miracle it is! 
2. HGTV!
Our hotel tv is stuck on this channel for most of the day.  I am in love with House Hunters, and oh boy, I can't wait for the day that we will have our own home, give or take 10 years. :)

Last, but definitely not least,

3. CLAY!
This has been a tough situation living out of our suitcases and having no oven to cook in :(, but I'm so proud of my hubby for working so hard during this training session.  It's been great getting to spend every free minute of his with him and being able to explore this part of the country.  I'm one lucky girl!

lake superior

Clay thought it would be awesome to go visit one of the Great Lakes since we were so close to them! So we headed out Saturday for Duluth, MN, which is the mouth of Lake Superior.  

This is what we saw as we drove into town.  It doesn't even seem like it's a lake...more like the ocean with how huge it is!  We were told to eat at a place called Grandma's Saloon, which was yummy! We sat on the rooftop and enjoyed the scenery, as well as this bridge lifting up to let the boats through.

We walked around the boardwalk and through the visitor's center.  Clay was able to re-enact the captain of the Titanic's final moment in his cabin.

It was a fun little place to walk around downtown.  As we were leaving, we drove past a Cold Stone and I immediately told Clay to turn around and park so I could get some ice cream! Oh, it was so delish :) I've been craving sweets like 24/7, especially here in Minnesota.  I've been trying to cut down for the last few days because I go in for my glucose test at the doctor's and am so afraid of getting gestational diabetes.  However, I have heard that mostly those who are overweight or have been gaining too much weight usually get it, which I don't even think I'm at the right weight right now, so I'm a little relieved. But, I have been hungry ALL the time now these last couple days too...so looks like the weight gain will catch up to me now :) ha ha  Anyway, it was a great time in Duluth to spend with Clay and have a gorrrrgeous day to enojoy it on!!!

ideas and opinions needed...

Ok, so I'm going back and forth debating on whether we should get a pack 'n' play or a crib for the baby.  We thought of a pack 'n' play because of moving so much this next year with the baby; however, I definitely like the look and feel of having an actual crib.  Yes, they are more expensive, but I want to be practical too, like being able to take the playard with us too when camping, etc. 

SO...this is where you all come in play.  Give me the pros and cons of having either one of them.  AND...I'm so lost with my list of things I need to get before the baby comes.  I want to wait until Black Friday/Cyber Monday to see if I can get things cheaper, so if you have any experience with buying baby stuff that time of the year, let me know!  So give me your top 5 MUST-HAVE baby items that you can't live without, what you'd pay more to get your bucks worth, and what you use allll the time :D Thanks!

minnehaha park

We have made the move to Minnesota for the next 6 weeks, so we have decided to take advantage of our weekends and go sight-seeing in all our free time.  This last weekend we hit up Minnehaha Park and walked through the park and saw the falls.  It was absolutely gorgeous! It reminded Clay and me of being in Idaho's mountains - the smell, the scenery...!

It was a gorgeous day to explore and then we topped it off by stopping at DQ on the way home to get some ice cream to beat the heat :)

trip to mt. rainier

We had planned out going to see Mt. Rainier last Saturday, but didn't end up going into the park. So, sadly, we never really got a good look at it, as well as a picture :(  However, we did have some great sight seeing along the way. 

 This is Alder Dam.  We drove up to it and looked down.  It was pretty cool, but for some reason, I think Shoshone Falls is way more cool to look at when it's full of water :) ha ha I loved this picture though, seeing it from far away!

This was a steam engine in Elbe. They give rides around the bottom of the mountain and around a lake, but we didn't want to spend $20 a person, so instead, the guys let Clay and Quinn take a look around the driver's booth (or whatever it's called).  It was actually pretty cool to look at.

It was just a nice day drive with plenty of trees, mountains, and greenery! Next time though, we will have to make it through the park and get some awesome pictures of Rainier!

dang raccoons

We just found out the other day that our neighbors have 5 raccoons living in their bushes/trees.  They've been trying to get a hold of the people to come pick them up, but haven't had luck getting them to.  So, we took matters into our own hands.  Clay borrowed some traps from a guy at work and set them up last night.  Everyone was gone and I had come downstairs to the kitchen and heard really weird noises.  I looked out the window and saw raccoons coming into our yard. We caught one!!! Clay was pulling into the garage at the time and I was freaking out, afraid to open our back door.  Well, we put the cage in our trunk and headed for the park.  We dropped it off there and hopefully we'll catch the rest of them.  Oh boy, do they ever freak me out.  I am no big city girl, but I'm no country girl and I've never seen raccoons until here in Washington so go ahead, make fun of me :) They are just ugly little things.

20 weeks

This definitely is not the most flattering picture of my belly.  I was in fact, very lazy this day, but it was on the 20 week mark and I didn't want to put off taking a picture later.  

I purposely had Clay cut my head off. I highly doubt I had my makeup or hair done, and since it's really the belly you look at, hey, why not leave my head shot out :)  I've definitely felt the baby kick, or at least have stronger "flutters", which is just crazy! It makes it more real knowing that something is growing inside of me. 

whale watching

Last year Clay and I went whale watching for our anniversary.  It was a gorgeous day, however, we didn't get to see any whales.  Because of this, they gave us "fluke" passes, letting us come back whenever, with no expiration date.  Anyway, seeing how I didn't do too well even on a plane, I decided to let Quinn take my pass.  So Clay and Quinn went this last weekend.  They were lucky enough to see whales...well, at least the fins of the Minke whales.  Clay was the only one who got to see dolphins, so at least it was a worthwhile trip for them.

They went in the evening this time and Clay captured this beautiful sunset!  Once the boat started heading back in, the captain warned everyone that it was going to get rough, so they might want to get inside.  Well, Clay being himself, went to the very front and all of a sudden there comes this huge wave and pounds Clay and Quinn all over.  They were soaked!  Lucky Clay - he got this twice, so he was soaking wet when he got home.  Glad they could have a good time though.  Maybe someday we'll go on a cruise and be able to see whales and dolphins that way :) I'm just fine with that idea.

my day for venting

Wow, I don't think I've posted this soon after another post...I have been lacking.  I suppose today I just feel like "complaining".  I'll post how our weekend in Nevada went this last weekend once I get pictures, but for now, you can choose to hear me sulk in my misery.  I have been soaking my legs in freezing cold water ever since we got back Sunday night and oh boy, I really don't like the cold even more!  I think I got sick from this weekend and from my sunburn because I have felt like I've gotten the chills, even in 110 degree weather, and I've been nauseous like I was in my first trimester.  Luckily, the soaking has been helping, but I will have an extremely tacky sun tan as a strip down the front of my legs. I also think I was very dehydrated as I almost passed out twice in Nevada - once in the mall while shopping for cute boy clothes, and the second - while on the plane flying out of Vegas.  Um, I think I need to drink more water. Yeah.  I knew I haven't been anyway while being pregnant, so I guess being out in that heat for 4+ hours was the last straw pulled. 

Yesterday, for the first time, I saw what it meant when they say pregnant women get swollen feet.  I don't think this heat is helping me any.  They aren't that bad, but I can see the difference as they are looking more like cankles :S Ugh.  So, in all reality, I guess I don't have that much to complain about...it definitely could get worse.  This pregnancy has treated me very well so far.  I realize that when carrying a boy, it's all out in front - at least for now - so I don't look all that fat...yet. I'll get a picture up here soon because I'm at 20 weeks...HALF WAY baby!!!

Oh, and the last thing...I'm bummed about missing this...

The social event of the year...Cassia County Fair and Rodeo!  I know I haven't even been for a few years, but it's still a part of my roots.  It's always so nice to run into old friends and make new ones, eat the best maple bars, be out in the sun watching the parade, go to the concerts, and just make new memories! Clay has never experienced it, so hopefully one day he will (maybe next year :), but no one knows how great it really is unless you're part of the B-Town Mafia!!!

It's a . . .

The ultrasound we had on Friday pretty much was 

as self-explanatory as this is :D

I was praying that the baby would cooperate so we wouldn't have to wait longer to find out the gender, and within the first five minutes, we got a look at the bum and sure enough, there "it" was!  Clay was betting the whole time that it was a boy, and I suppose I was just being stubborn and went against him and voted for a girl.  Looks like I really lost this bet.  I'm definitely fine with the outcome.  Either way would have been great for our families.  On the Fenton side, Clay's siblings are all boys, his mom was the only girl, there's only one girl (I believe) in his dad's family, etc. etc. etc.  In my family, there's two girls out of eight kids, but two boys and four girls for grandchildren.  So, I wanted a girl for the Fenton's sake, and a boy for the Byington's, so either way, it's a win-win.  What am I saying? 

I don't care...I'm just SO happy we're having a baby!

weeklong 4th of july

My sister and her lovely family came up to visit for the 4th of July weekend! I was so super excited to have family come up here because it had been 6 months since we've had visitors. Janelle, Tom, and Shay flew in Wednesday night and after that, the schedule was jam packed full of F-U-N!

Thursday we headed out for Northwest Trek, which is like a miniature Yellowstone Park and a Zoo.  We took a bus/tram, whatever you call it, around the park, and some of the animals were right on the roadside!  Shay definitely had a blast seeing all the animals.

Friday, our friend was so kind to watch Shay while we all went to watch Eclipse!!!  It was simply amazing :)  Janelle got her and me Team Jacob shirts so it made the whole thing that much better to go watch. ha ha ha  We went for lunch at BJ's after that, came home and crashed, then took them out for some seafood here in the great northwest at Duke's.

Saturday, the sky cleared up so we headed for the beach!  We drove the couple hours to Ocean Shores to play on the beach and the skies were perfect!  It was a little chilly, but the water was surprisingly warm, at least just for wading in it.  Later on, we rented scooters and drove along the beach which was a blast!  I think the guys had way too much fun with those things.  We went to dinner that night at the Spaghetti Factory which was so much fun once again.  

Sunday, we went to church, came home, then headed for Seattle/Burien.  Tom's Aunt and Uncle live there and let us come party for the 4th with them on the waterfront at their gorgeous home!  Well, needless to say, we were the only ones there that didn't drink, and Aunt Andrea was so kind as to have a cooler of water and pop for us.  People started showing up and someone brought jello in these little plastic cups in the colors and formed a flag out of it!  I had to get one of those, they looked so cute!  Well, Andrea warned us that they were alcoholic. :( Bummer.  BUT, there were other ones with mini marshmallows in them that weren't.  Tom didn't get the memo when she told us that, so Clay and I got some and started eating them.  Tom just had this disgusted look on his face, like "what are you guys doing? um, you know there's alcohol in that!"  We just played along saying that the marshmallows counter acted the alcohol or something so it was all good.  Ha, we sure got him. Anyway, it was fun to just lounge around.  Janelle and I were getting cold though so we went inside for a little bit before the fireworks.  I, however, ended up falling asleep through the whole show, which Janelle did too, so I missed the whole 4th of July fireworks show :(  I guess that's what you get when you're pregnant.

We stayed the night there and woke up Monday morning and got ready to go in to Seattle.  Tom and Janelle wanted the ferry adventure, so we parked in West Seattle and took the water taxi over into downtown.  We spent quite some time in Pike's Place, ate some delicious cherries, had lunch at Ivar's, took the bus to the Space Needle, and let Shay ride some of the carnival rides.  So we were trying to get back on the bus so we would make it early enough for the water taxi ride, but caught the bus on the wrong side of the street and started going north again.  We finally realized what we were doing, got off, and had to wait another 15ish minutes to catch the southbound bus, and we caught the same bus with this jerk of a driver that we had earlier.  We missed the water taxi by like 10 minutes, so we just lounged around for 40 minutes while Janelle and Tom went to take more of the Seattle life in.  We got back to Andrea's, ate dinner, and Janelle said bye to Tom as he was flying home that morning and she was staying a couple extra days.  

Tuesday through Thursday was just so nice to be able to relax and chill with my sister!  It seems like the only times we have had together were only for a day or so.  We were able to take Shay to the Tacoma Zoo, do a couple of crafts, and head out to the South Center Mall in Tukwila before she flew out.  It was so nice to spend some extra time with her!  I owe it all to Clay (and Tom for letting me keep her) for letting us be lazy while he slaved away keeping the house clean and doing the dishes.  LOVE YOU BABE!!!

It was such an awesome time spending it with the Lungrens!  Can't wait to see you back up here when baby Fenton arrives :D  Thanks for coming!

hoppin' on the bandwagon

Sometimes I feel like such a horrible wife because of my lack of preparation, especially this Father's Day.  As a little girl, I used to hide notes under my parents' pillows or my siblings for their birthdays or some other special occasion.  I loved celebrating those times and holidays.  Now, it seems like I'm such a slacker when it comes to getting ready for a holiday or even sending off birthday cards.  So, obviously I blew it for Clay on Father's Day (at least at the beginning).  I did get to make him a card at least ;)  We also made candy leis for a Relief Society activity to hand out at church so Clay got one of those.  Well, I suppose the part of the day that made him excited was to change his Facebook status (ha ha ha) and say that he was "officially going to be a daddy!".  So yes, that day has come!

I'm finally about through with my first trimester and I think I've been lucky, most of the time.  I was subbing as much as I could because I knew something would happen and I would have zero energy so it hit mid-May and I was as good as a rug on the floor.  I was nauseous 24/7 and felt like it would be better to just throw up, but it would get worse when I didn't eat anything, and obviously nothing sounded good to me so I was always feeling sick.  That's about how this last month has been, but slowly I'm getting my energy back and can eat a little bit more.  It's funny because when we went to Idaho we went out to dinner with our friends and one of them announced that they were pregnant, so I waited a couple minutes and said that I had news too.  They instantly guessed that I was pregnant too so I said "yes"!  And then I told them the truth.  Well, I guess I really hadn't lied because I was pregnant at that time! Also, my MIL asked me on Mother's Day if I was really a "mother" yet and I told her no (which was SO hard to lie to her), but in reality I was :)  Anyway, it's been so hard to keep this secret so if any of you have asked me if I was prego and I lied, oops, sorry!  So here's our latest ultrasound, well, only one so far.  I'm only mid 12 weeks so I still have plenty a ways to go.  It was so fun though to see that little being that's inside me! I'll admit I teared up at the beginning :) but the little thing was such a squirmer and kicking everywhere - it was so cute!!!

So this has been our recent adventure, seeing how I haven't posted in quite some time, but for a wonderful reason :) ha ha Oh, and about the bandwagon, I sure am hoppin' on with a bunch of you so let's party together!

the hook-ups

I don't even know where to begin! I thought we lost our camera so obviously the lack of posts.  Anyway, yes, found it in another purse that I just threw around. Go figure. So Clay has gotten the hook ups from work with getting tickets to sporting events.  The first one he was told it was a soccer game and I freaked out! He told me where it was, and I knew that's not where the Sounders played (and, not in Seattle). Turns out it was a minor league indoor football team.  It was still cool to go nonetheless, and at least we enjoyed our seats in a suite :)

An enjoyable evening with great company :)

Next, one of Clay's co-workers had tickets he didn't want for a Mariner's game (he has season tickets so it didn't matter giving them up I suppose).  He gave them to another couple first since Clay wasn't around, but they couldn't go so we got them! First off, I know I would be beaten up for saying I don't like baseball, but I think it's one of the most boring sports to watch on TV, except for maybe the world series.  Watching in person, is much, much better.

Our seats were just awesome! 9 rows up from just right off 3rd base!

Ichiro (Ee-chee-Roe) was fun to watch, probably since he was the only one I knew on the team. Yeah, I don't follow baseball as you can tell.

It was just a great experience and one of my "Things to do in Seattle" items to be crossed off my list!

idaho pictures

Our stop in Boise for lunch at Five Guys! Potatoes were from Shoshone that day! Yeah, our neck of the wood, even though it sure wasn't Burley :)

 Dinner at the Mayan, night before the wedding!

 Leland was so cute at the reception!  He was dancing with Caeli's niece, Ashton, practically the whole time and just grabbing her onto the dance floor!

So it may not look all that trashed, but I loved it - it being a last minute idea! The inside was FILLED with balloons from floor to ceiling!

Cake cutting time!

 

Awesome rainbow we saw on the way down to Utah to pick up Quinn!

 

She finally got to see Quinn after having to wait another extra week (which could have been months) for him to come home from the mission.

 

Just disregard the sign...last minute and ugly ;) but it was so great to see Quinn again!

 

Our girls afternoon pedicure at the salon :)  So great being with them!

 

This is what Clay was working on all of his vacation time. It will look even better when there's grass, an old wagon wheel behind the fountain, and flower planted!!!