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!

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.

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!!!!!!!!

oh baby, baby!

 

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!

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.

boy i do love that man of mine...

back again.

we are back.

willingly?...eh...

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.

otter pops

otter pops are the epitome of summer.

i here now vow to always have lots of otter pops in my freezer every summer for the rest of my life.

they're the perfect little treat.

they're colorful.

they're yummy.

they're easy.

they're cheap.

they're awesome.

we bought ourselves the ECONOMY size box at costco a few weeks ago and have been loving it.

casey has about 5 a day.

i range from 1-2.

then i got the most perfect text from my brother of my cute little niece:

girlfriend knows the way to get out every last drop.
you go girl.

otter pops rock.




 speaking of otter pops, summer, and things that rock,
just so ya know, by the time this blog post goes up,
we will be on our way for a great little trip...
to hawaii :)

see you in a week!!!

bahama bucks

what in the world am i doing posting about bahama bucks when we live in new jersey?

well i will share!

a few weeks ago i got an email from a lady which said something like:

"hi kimber, i'm with bahama bucks franchise headquarters in texas. we ran across your blog and love that you guys love buck's so much! what's your address so we can send you some buck's goodies?"

not kidding you, when i read the email i was tearing up over pure joy and excitement!

i called casey and told him about the email and he could barely understand me because i was squealing the info at him.

we called and told some family and were just SO EXCITED over the whole ordeal!

bahama bucks knows that we exist!!!!!!

 seriously, we just couldn't contain our excitement.

about a week later our box of goodies came and we were just so crazy excited to see it all!

i now present, our bahama buck's treasure:

 
apron
lanyard
playing cards
the awesome magic spoons
a carribeaner
BB decals
s squishy toy for our future children
pencils.
pens.
a girl hat
a beanie
a back pack

and a nice note, hand written  from the bahama bucks president saying he liked our blog.
WE WERE STUNNED AND SO STOKED!

we will actually be in az for a half day in a week and a half and will definitely be going over and having some of our favorite shaved ice!
this time i'm going to get the sweetart flavor!!!!


so people, if you;re in az this summer, please go, please think of me, and please email/text me a picture of yourself.
it will just make my day.

there ARE such things as FREE things in life

we've learned new jersians pretty much just throw good stuff away.

ALL THE TIME.

since we're only out here a little over 3 months,

we really didn't bring much with us nor are we wanting to buy stuff out here in fear we won't be able to fit it in our car.

but if something is free,

WELLLLLLL,

that is a different story!

i present to you our free stuff (thus far) in new jersey:

 

1. a really large (and heavy) wonderful working TV
2. a cute little TV stand
3. a decent sized area rug that was in really great condition
4. a desk that i'll be sewing for my sewing machine!
not pictured:
5. a microwave
6. a new 5 pound weight for me to workout with
and things we've gotten to sell on craigslist:
7. a double stroller
8. a brand new baby car seat
 and other little things!
savage?
yes.
smart and frugal?
yes.

speaking of our little apartment,
i did that whole print out a ginormo picture of yourself idea on pinterest the other day.
if we were going to be here more than 2 moreish months, i'd have done the mounting part,
but we're not.
so i just straight up tacked it to the wall.
it's fun.
and HUGE.
(and it's only like $5 people so go do it!)

 

speaking of free things,
see that iPad?
...
casey's doing way awesome this summer and sometimes gets free things for being really good at his job.
thanks vantage, you rock.

our day at central park.

after church, we scrounged up food and packed up ourselves to play in central park for the afternoon. this has been our cheapest new york excursion yet.

$3.50 toll to get through the Lincoln tunnel (because we finally had our easy pass)

and that's it!

after driving around the same few blocks for almost a half hour, casey FINALLY found a wonderful parking spot!

hallelujiah!

that first night when we went to shake shack we must have just been lucky bc we found one within 1 minute.
and since it was sunday we spent no money buying anything, yayyyyyy.

of our time spent in new york thus far, we've realized there are two kinds of people:

1. stereotypical new yorkers who aren't helpful when you ask questions and scoff at you like you're a bafoon.

2. crazy nice people 

example 1: that taxi driver 2 weeks ago who said "don't park in a parking garage, every where is free parking in NY after 7 pm saturday nights

example 2: we began parking somewhere we finally thought was legal, we were about to walk away from the car and guy in a car stops at the stop light next to us and says "hey, you're going to get a ticket there bc A, B and C

example 3: when in central park we went looking for a bathroom this one lady gives us the most detailed directions ever to get there to make sure we get there and don't miss it.

so yeah, we've been pleasantly surprised over some of the kindness found in NY.

so, we spent about 3 1/2 hours just lounging in central park for an afternoon.

it was wonderful.

it wasn't way too overly crowded.

the weather was beautiful.

and there were tons of fun people around us playing around.

we had lots of yummy snacks.

it was just a great time to sit out in the sun, relax, and laugh and not feel rushed to go do anything.

we then walked around some of the park for an hour or so.

visiting the turtle pond (those turtles are savages),

seeing bellvadere castle,

and walking past more dogs than i've seen in ages.

there were also quite a few gentleman in their full uniforms walking around memorial day weekend.

we also saw more yammacas (however you spell that word) than i'd ever seen in 1 place before.

we had such a wonderful, relaxing time in central park.

our sunday was perfect.