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!