Wednesday, July 4, 2012

happy 4th of july!

the 4th of july is my favorite holiday next to christmas time!
it has all the best things:
summer,
heat,
water,
swimming,
fireworks,
patriotism,
bbq's,
fireworks,
friends,
family,
and celebration.

we made 4th of july sugar cookies on sunday and have been enjoying them ever since.
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it was actually really fun decorating them together.

sadly, we work today,
not so much of a holiday for us today.
but tonight we will be going to watch the NYC fireworks!
we'll be staying on the new jersey side so we can see the beautiful NYC skyline in the background.
hopefully we figure out a way to miss all the terrible traffic!

happy independence day!

and i've been listening to the 4th of july pandora station all week.
i just love patriotic country music.
and the oldies they throw in there too!

so proud of my country and so proud to be an american!
i love this great nation!

hawaii part 3

so! 
we are on to part 3 of hawaii.
we woke up early again another morning and went snorkeling at hanamua bay!
my wonderful cousin jenny met us there which was so fun!
we're not nifty enough to have a waterproof camera so a disposable waterproof it was.
we have since forgotten that camera in arizona and will one day have those pictures developed.
it really was fun though.
the fish were beautiful.
the water was clear.
and we even got to see a sea turtle in swimming action.
this is also the day we both got burnt SUPER bad.
darn water washed off our sunscreen!!!!!
we paid the price for those burns in all the following days.
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we then raced up north to the polynesian culture center!
they do such a great job with that place.
the students/employees are funny and "visiting" the islands is so fun!
samoa and tonga were by far our favorite islands.
we were definitely mesmerized by the man climbing the coconut tree with his bare feet and nothing else!
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after the polynesian culture center we went and met up with my dear friend nicole!
her and her husband are going to school at BYU-H right now and it was so good to see them again!
we had fun chatting it up and learning all about their time thus far on the island.
they looked so great and so happy.
maybe in 10 years we'll live by each other again...

on a different day we went on a catamaran sail into the ocean.
such a beautiful relaxing ride.
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we then high-tailed it up north and visited the dole plantation.
mainly so we could have the pineapple ice cream.
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we then continues up to the north shore for the infamous matsumoto snowcones.
definitely a different type/flavor than bahama bucks, but still good!
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after our 2 desserts, we thought it'd be a good idea for dinner.
pizza it was because we rock like that.
i just love anything pineapple pizza, i don't think there's anything better.
as we sat waiting for pizza we talked about the best pizzas we'd had in our lives.
mine: 1 had while in rome, brick oven in provo, and casey's aunt and uncle's brick oven pizzas they made us last summer (these are all different types of pineapples ones of course:)
casey's: buffalo chicken in PA, las vegas papa john's buffalo chicken, a cheese one in italy.
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to end the evening, we raced over to the north shore pipeline, watched the surfers on the way too big/scary waves (one had a dog on his board with him!), finished our pizza, and watched the gorgeous sunset!
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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

hawaii part 2

onto the next part of our hawaii trip!
don't hate me with all these hawaii trip photos, it's just the way it is...

for our first full day we woke really early our first day to do as much as we possibly could.
we went on 2 hikes
1. diamond head crater.
glad we got there early because even early it was busy
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our 2nd hike was the muddiest thing ever to this really pathetic waterfall.
but the hiking part was pretty.
and they did say lost was all filmed on the trail we were hiking.
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we then went on this trolley/tour ride around waikiki that told us of all the historic/cool places around the city.
it was a nice break off our feet while still being able to do something active!
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then off to hanging out on the beach it was.
man, that main waikiki beach front is busy!
it was mostly all asains though...
we rented some boogie boards, played in the water, admired all the people, and read our books.
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as the evening came around,
we went and got some really yummy pizza, hawaiian of course, and ate it on the beach.
eating pizza on the beach is one of my most favorites parts of the beach.
we watched the sunset, and waited for the fireworks on the beach,
we were unknowingly on a section of the beach where the fireworks could not be seen...boo.
they were behind that tall building you see...
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another night we went to a luau!
so festive and fun.
the food was great as well as the entertainment!
it was really just another fun activity we got to do together!
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Monday, July 2, 2012

hawaii part 1 of millions

so!
3 weeks ago casey and i took the most wonderful vacation together to hawaii!
why?
A. we had a bunch of airfare on southwest we had to use by the end of the summer.
B. we knew we'd be wanting a good break during summer sales.
C. taking a babymoon sounded like a pretty great idea...
D. all the above.

we truly had the best time together.
although it was a "vacation" it was go go go for a week straight.
but who can complain when you're wanting to snorkel, kayak, and hike beautiful mountains all in 1 day?

after almost losing our bags at our stop in AZ due to storms and changing flights,
we got on another plane to hawaii!
half our suitcase was food/snacks.
best decision ever bc the food there is EXPENSIVE!!!
we eat in style...
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some general information about our trip:
1. we bought go oahu cards. anything you see that cost money (other than food) was "free" after we purchased our card! so nice. we abused that card and it helped us do a bunch more really fun stuff that we may not have done because it cost more money.
2. we found a little studio apartment for a great price and location on airbnb. such a good experience.
so much better than staying in a hotel...

so here is part 1!!!!!!!
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hanging out at kailua beach for the day 
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the baby bump at around 16 weeks
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the farmer's market 
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the most delicious shrimp scampi EVER.
so glad my cousin jenny took us over to the farmer's market
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burgers, of course, were to be had at teddy's bigger burgers.
the burger do not let down their name.
they were LARGE
my wonderful cousin, jenny, played with us lots that week!
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Friday, June 29, 2012

more about this little baby!

thank you so much for all your sweet words!
we are so excited for this year(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).
all the changes we have coming our way will be wonderful, but most importantly having a baby and starting our family!
it's been so fun for me all summer looking at people's blogs that have kids.
we just can't wait til the cute kids we play with will be OURS!
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my official due date is nov 30th, i'm measuring a little ahead of that so we will see what happens!
the picture i posted yesterday was me at 17 weeks, i believe.
i'm now about 18 1/2.
me post workout, we don't really have ANY mirrors in our place so this is me on my tippie toes!
 the only way to workout is in tank tops around this area or you DIE of humid hotness!
isn't my facial expression awesome? man, i'm cool when i take pictures of myself in the mirror.
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i've had the easiest pregnancy of mankind, i feel like,
if it weren't for us hoping to be pregnant i probably wouldn't have known a thing til i was 12 weeks along.
nothing about me has changed except that i now am breaking out like the teenage face i never had to experience.
it's been so fun these last 3 weeks starting to see a difference in that belly area!
with my 5'3" frame there's not much vertical room for that baby so out is really all that's left.

i feel our little boy moves TONS whenever i'm working out.
i didn't workout for the week we were in hawaii plus a few days on each end of the trip.
when i came back it felt like i was running with a fanny pack full of water down there!!!!!
i've gotten used to it now but it was the strangest feeling!
 the whole flutter/kicking sensation is also something you gotta get used to.
at first it was like "i think that's the baby moving...eh"
then it was like "i think the babies moving...maybe it could stop for awhile, that feels strange..."
and now it's like "hey i think he's moving!? or is that just me nervous hoping he's moving?"
i'll tell you how my feelings change on that subject in the coming months :)

wondering why we waited so long to share the news?
well, let me tell you, it was quite the complicated process.
i really didn't feel like telling anyone til i was 14 weeks along as it was, because like i said, there was no difference in me whatsoever.
but more importantly we weren't able to have a doctor's appt til i was 18 weeks!
graduating from BYU means no more BYU insurance.
8 weeks=finals week
9 weeks= graduation week
10 weeks=traveling week
11 weeks= settling into new jersey week
12 weeks= still settling into new jersey week
also, if i had gone to the doctor while still on BYU insurance and been officially pregnant,
a new insurance company would not have liked that.
we learned that if there's no officialness of it through a doctor, you're not legally pregnant on forms.
so the waiting began to be accepted onto insurance.
waiting and waiting and waiting.
while we were in hawaii i turned to casey and said, "i don't want to wait for insurance anymore, i just want to go to the doctor!!!"
low and behold the 1st sunday we were back we learned that the insurance was officially approved!!!

so we began looking around at places here in NJ and that whole monday i was a bawling mess of tears.
i must clarify, we have insurance but it does not cover maternity insurance, which we were totally prepared for.
so as we're calling around to places (we as in casey because i couldn't get a grip on myself after the first place i called) telling them our situation (2 months here, no maternity insurance, yada yada) they're giving us quotes.
and the quotes they're giving us are astronomical for 2 visits!
into the thousands, people, and that was all the places
i've had a few siblings who've had to pay for babies and they gave us estimates of what to expect.
and boy were they WAY OFF!
again, there's me crying and crying and crying thinking "why did we go to hawaii! we should have saved the money!" "why didn't my siblings tell me the truth of how much it'd cost?" "why why why!?!?!"

so then casey calls this one place in nebraska asking what kind of blood work i need to get done if we were to come to their office in the fall.
after a half hour of talking to them about pricing, visits, etc, we decided it'd be more cost effective to FLY me to nebraska for my visits!
can you believe that?!?!?!!?!?
also, all the people we talked with on the phone from nebraska were a bajillion time nicer than the new jersians.
i can't begin to tell you how grateful i am that we'll be living in nebraska the next 4 years and not new jersey, ha.
the nebraska prices are crazy lower and exactly what we thought we'd be paying.
i flew to nebraska on tuesday and was able to see that precious baby moving and kicking!
more about our 1st appt/nebraska day for another day!!!!

thank you again for all your sweet wishes!

oh and here's his first and only clothes we have so far!
we picked up a little boy and girl outfit in hawaii!
ps- i FINALLY have gone through my hawaii pictures and will be sharing them next week!
all the little boy ones were so ugly.
i'm pretty sure we looked at every shop at the swap meet but FINALLY found a cute one!
happy we looked so hard because now i can't for him to wear it!!!!!!!!
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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

oh baby, baby!

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we are so excited to finally share with everyone that we are EXPECTING!!

baby boy
will be making his entrance in late November this year!

Thursday, June 21, 2012

7 points of our life lately that i want to remember, the good, bad and ugly

i'm still too lazy to go through our pictures and do a hawaii post,
it will come later.

for now, random things lately.

1. the fireflies are out and beautiful!
they are so magical and wonderful i can't think of anything i like more about NJ

2. speaking of NJ, i officially am done with it.
ha, we came home from our trip and after 2 days i said out loud "i hate this place."
ha, i know pitiful me, but it's true!
mostly just because of the bugs i've been finding lately... ha
i'm just not a fan of the area.
i cannot wait to get ourselves back to the west.
nebraska can't come soon enough!!!!!
enough with my complaining, it has actually treated us really well and i should be more grateful for it.
i'm grateful for the experience and grateful i'm not here the next 4 years :)

3. i finished reading stephanie nielson's heaven is here, it was wonderful.
do read it when you have the chance.
other books of lately the ivy chronicles by karen quinn, very funny and completely crazy.
a book about THE CRAZY RICH people who live in NY and what they'd do to get their 4/5 year old in a good private school, ha, what a joke!!!!!!!
and bloom, by kelle hampton, do you read her blog?
well it was a beautifully written book and so inspiring to love.
next up: these is my words...

4. got an email from shake shack thanking me for my blog post!
what that's, twice in 2 months!
maybe i should keep blogging about places i eat at and they'll find my blog and give me more freebies!!!!!

5. i've decided i'd rather take 118 degree weather over any 90 degree humidity.
dry heat is so much more bearable than humid hot.
like for reals, people.
the last 2 days have been hot hot hot, and stupid me works out outside,
the grass that is shaded is little relief from the direct sun bc it's just more humid on the grass in the shade.
wo is me.
poor, wonderful husband, he works outside during the hottest part of the day :(

6. speaking of hot,
THE POOL AT THIS APARTMENT COMPLEX COSTS MONEY!
what the freak i'm so mad,
firstly, you don't open the pool til june 26
and then secondly, you want me to pay to go the pool ($75 for 1 person!!!!!!!!!) in the complex that i already pay rent for!?!!?!
you have got to be flipping kidding me.
new jersey is not on my good side...

7. lastly, on a happier note, my favorite moments from AZ while we were gone on the trip:
the 6 hours we played with nieces and nephews in AZ, we had such a blast.
i miss being around family, or at least semi close enough to drive to them.
well, the two most memorable moments:
A. casey, phoebe, and annalee in their swimsuits outside in the hot sun.
casey is squatted as low as he can go and the little ones follow because that's just what they do, they follow.
holding the hose.
teaching them how to drink out of it.
probably one of my most favorite moments i've seen thus far in my life.
something about it was just so perfect.
no picture, but i'll forever remember it.
B. we're all inside, trying to get swimsuits and sunscreen on the kiddlings.
casey, phoebe, tristan, and a little boy blair babysits all huddled around an ottoman in the family room.
their attention is completely on casey.
no wiggling, yelling, or anything.
just interested with what casey was doing.
later i came to find out that he was making them each do a "trick" he wanted them to do and then he'd give them a skittle.
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boy i do love that man of mine...

Sunday, June 17, 2012

back again.

we are back.
willingly?...eh...
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we had the most wonderful vacation together.
seriously, beyond anything we could have ever hoped for.
it was splendid.
a complete go go go with a bunch of relax to the max moments.

i shall share more this week...
once i have the will to unpack, clean up my house, actually make dinner, go through photos and blog.
can i do this?
yes.
because my life is actually rather relaxed...
because i would never be able to hold back.