Active Baby!

Every time I look at our blog I see this peaceful little baby floating around in a bubble of space, if only that were true! This little girl inside of me is constantly kicking, rolling, stretching, and pushing in all directions. At night, when I want to roll over, I move as slow and smooth as possible trying not to wake her and start the internal beating. Most nights I sleep pretty well and the early bed time has been a much welcomed adjustment for both Tyler and I.

I finally pick the bedding that I liked, and it looks so cute in her crib! I got it off the web at Babysupermall.com, it's the Nojo Chic Blossom design (just incase any of you want to get her some of the accessories)

Today there was one of those backpack carriers on Steepandcheap.com and, of course, being the gear junkies that we are, we had to buy it. My fears of over spoiling this little one are coming to fruition much earlier than I expected. It’s just too hard to tame the excitement! Fortunately, we are blessed with such a great family and beautiful nieces who are willing to share their baby goods. Jeannette, Tyler’s sister, and Jessica, my sister, have pretty much stocked us with most of the “big items”, a crib, car seats, swings, baby baths, clothes, a pack ’n play, and I don’t even know what else. Thank you both so so much!!!

Halloween Party!

We had a great Halloween this year! We invited a few friends from Tyler's medical school class and everyone showed up looking great! Thanks to all of you who made the trip up the canyon to attend our little party, and thanks to everyone who brought treats and drinks! Enjoy the photos! (Sorry if we didn't get everyone's picture!)

Happy Halloween!!!

Question:
If these two mated, what would their offspring look like?

You'd better say "Cute as a button" but if you're thinking Halloween you might say this...

She must love Halloween as much as we do to give us her best Skeleton Face pose!

It's a Girl!

We're so excited for a girl! I'm hoping that means less trouble, however, if you look at our nieces it means more sass!

I’m finally able to feel the kicking and moving around and Tyler can feel her kicks as well, he was so surprised the first time he felt her kicking and now he talks to her all the time. In fact, my whole belly often vibrates when he talks to her.

At 21 weeks I feel like my belly is huge and I simply can not comprehend how much bigger it’s going to get. I’m already having trouble putting my socks on!

We’re starting to think about the nursery and what colors we want to do. Last week we were on a purple and brown theme, but now, I’m liking the brighter colors like the sides of this background (red, orange, green, brown, etc.). I guess I should try to find some bedding that I like first and go with those colors.

I’m still not sure we totally grasp the life adjustment that comes with having a baby, but hopefully we’ll be able to do as we always do… work hard and play harder!

A bun in the oven!

Well, I guess it's about time to spread the word...We're Expecting! As of today I am 18 weeks or 4.5 months along. We were hoping to find out the gender today but we had to make another appointment for the "real" ultrasound. We did get to hear the heart beat though, and we loved it! The Dr. was really surprised at how much the baby was moving around "it's a very active baby, in fact, it won't hold still" she said. I really haven't felt much movement yet or at least I don't think I have, it's kind of hard to tell what's what! I can tell you that I am running out of pants that fit!

As for the "Mother's or Father's instinct" about the gender we've flipped back and forth so tonight we decided to flip a coin, best out of 5, and the winner is... girl. We can't wait to see if this method hold! If this works we may market the theory.

Here's our 12.5 week ultrasound. I wish we had more prints because the baby was moving so much even back then. It would reach down for it's toes, then up to it's head. It would roll over and show it's spine, just so cute play'n around in there!

Ben Lomond Peak

We set a goal this summer to hike a number of peaks and on June 26th we decided to make the trek up to Ben Lomond Peak. We didn’t get going until the afternoon but thought we could tackle it in a few hours. The hike up was amazing! We were all just in awe of the beauty along the hike.

As we approached the peak we could see two white creatures… we watched for awhile noting their agile movements on the steep slope above…Yeti’s! They had to be Yeti’s, what other creatures would survive above the tree line on these slopes. Well, at this point we were too intrigued by the creatures to care that 4 hours had pasted and we still had to scale the final slope, which would take another hour, and then turn around and go back down. We started to climb the final slope and quietly approached the “Yeti’s”, as we came around the face of the slope we saw them…Mountain Goats, majestically roaming the peak of Ben Lomond. It was amazing to see them up there. Here I had grown up my whole life looking up at this peak and never knowing that mountain goats roamed up there. We probably saw 8 goats scattered along the slopes… with the amazing view and satisfaction of reaching the peak the moment was surreal.
The hike down was long, and I forgot to mention that we came sorely ill prepared. We had plenty of water, but we only brought a banana and nectarine for each of us… not enough to go on a 7.5 hour hike! Gratefully, we survived and made if off the mountain before the sun went down. Thankfully, my Mom had hamburgers ready for us at home!

Mowing the "Lawn"

After over a month of constant rain it finally dried up enough to mow the lawn. Tyler tackled it 4 inches at a time. Thanks T!

Taren's Baptism

Tyler had the wonderful opportunity to baptize an amazing little guy this month. Taren is like a nephew to us and we have really grown close to him and the whole Valentine family over the past few years. We are so grateful to be apart of their lives and we were both really proud of Taren and his decision to get baptized.

Ogden Marathon

The Ogden Marathon has become somewhat of a tradition for the whole family. If you're not running in one of the races, you're volunteering at the water station at mile 7, or driving around from place to place to support the runners. The day starts at 4:00am for most of us, and although it's early, you can't help but take in the beauty as the morning hours roll in.
Tyler and my Dad, Kevin, ran the full marathon and Camille, my sister-in-law, and I ran the 1/2 marathon. Having completed the full in 2007 I can tell ya that the 1/2 was wonderful! Tyler signed up for the marathon only a week before the race and probably put in 10 miles of training that week..."10 miles and one week of training is NOT enough" he said, but he made it to the end! Way to go T! Dad has some muscle tightness that he fought the whole way but still completed the race! Camille pushed the pace on the half and came in just over 2 hours, awesome run girl!
Thank you so much to everyone that supported us during the run, it really makes all the difference having you there!

The Biggest Looser

As some of you may know, Tyler and I, are huge fans of the Biggest Looser. We just finding it to be a positive, motivating, and encouraging show that no matter what fitness level you're at it makes you want to do more. WE LOVE IT!
Well, before we took off to China we stayed a night in L.A. after a long walk along the coast we finally reach the Santa Monica Pier and headed in the Bubba Gump Shrimp for dinner. You'll never guess who walked in behind us...




Helen from the current season (7) of the biggest looser!!! Tyler is that one that put it all together and we finally worked up the courage to go tell her congratulations. We ended up talking to her and her husband for at least 20 minutes. They were both so cool, they just had so much to say. The last episode that had aired was the 1/2 marathon, which they said was over Christmas. From what she was able to say, we think we saw her the day after the full marathon. I can't believe she won it all! Way to go Helen!

China Trip Pictures

Hey Everyone,
We have made it to Shuzhou and have seen the famous Tiger Hill and leaning tower. This has been an amazing trip even though we barely have time to sit down and take it all in. We are off this morning to see the Silk factories and the Lingering Garden. Tonight we will be in yet another city and will try to do some real posting there.

Hello from China

Beijing has been wonderful, but the tour group is very fast paced and we are exhausted at the end of each day. We have seen all the temples and tombs here as well as walked on the Great China Wall. It has all be so amazing and we have some really great pictures. But the Internet has not been easy to access so we'll have to try and post some while in Shanghai.
Stay posted...

Powder Day

Well, I decided I'd better enjoy the snow while it's still fall'n. Working in Park City has it's perks to say the least! At the Jack Johnson Company there's a fresh powder day rule so I have to take advantage even though Tyler can't come with me. Actually, I think we have only boarded twice together this season. I have gone 3 or 4 times with co-works and I have to say I'm really improving! I can't wait to go with Tyler before the season ends so I can show off my mad skills!

Spring Fever!

I've been fighting the urge of spring fever this past weekend but with 50 degree weather in Park City today it’s all I can do to resist a bike ride. Tyler got to sneak a ride in yesterday after his exam and I’m a little jealous but it was a nice release for his body and brain from the long hours of studying all weekend.
I know it will still be another month or so but I am really excited to see our daffodils and tulips come up… I just love to watch our flowers grow! I think it’s time to change the house décor to spring to help me through the next month of Utah’s crazy March weather.

Sundance

This was our first year of participation in the Sundance Film Festival and I have to say, it definitely made the week of heavy tourism here in our ski town a little more tolerable. You see typically we'll find any excuse to get out of town while Sundance is going on. But this year we planned ahead, registered for the locals ticket sales, and made it to 3 films.

The first film we caught was Sergio, here's a taste of the films Bio: Based on the biography Chasing the Flame by Samantha Power, Sergio is the story of the United Nation’s go-to guy. A cross between James Bond and Bobby Kennedy, Sergio Vieira de Mello could descend into the most dangerous places, charm the worst war criminals, and somehow protect the lives of the ordinary people to whom he'd devoted his life. After a string of doomed relationships, he was about to finally settle down with the woman he loved. And then came the call: another crisis, and Sergio was the only man for the job. Persuaded by Kofi Anaan, Condoleezza Rice, and Tony Blair, Sergio reluctantly took up his post as U.N. ambassador to Iraq.On August 19, 2003, a bomb struck the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, marking a watershed moment in history. For the first time, the U.N. had become the target of terrorism. The news shocked the world.

The film was very well done, mostly from old footage that the film editors pooled together to tell this mans story. I found it very educational and well done.

The second film was Earth Day, which is a documentary on the US Environmental Movement. This film was also very well done. There was a lot of old footage again and it really laid out the progress and then collapse of the environmental movement that began in the 70's. It included a lot of different perspectives including the presidential involvement, the hippies, and the scientist which made it an easy watch without heavy political undertones. This film will be aired on Earth Day, April 22, this year so if you have a chance to TiVo it I would definitely recommend it!

The last film was called Against the Current, the bio: Paul Thompson, a financial writer struggling with a tragic past, decides to do something special and unique to distinguish himself. Having always wanted to swim the 150 miles of the lower Hudson River, he recruits his best friend, Jeff, and new acquaintance, Liz, to accompany him on a physical and emotional journey exploring friendship, grief, and how we cope when what we lose is greater than what life has to offer.

I think we all like this film for it's "one-liners" it's worth seeing if you get the chance!

If your interested about more of the Sundance films you can check out their site at festival.sundance.org

On another note, in Park City it is tradition to leave your Christmas lights on through the winter. For some, that means right after Sundance, but for a lot of others it can be into March or April as long as the snow hangs around. We have had a few beautiful nights with the fine ice particles in the air this past week. The other night as I was driving home I was amazed at the site of colored beams of light aspiring toward the night sky, I have never seen anything like it... I only wish I had a decent camera that could have captured the scene. The beams were create by the reflection of lights through tiny particles of ice floating in the air... it was simply breath taking! The next night we got hit with heavy snow so I ventured out to take some pictures. Again I don't really have a great camera for night time photos so most of them turned out blurry but this one kind of gives you the feel of a cozy winter night in Park City!

A new year!

Well this year is no different from the past 2 years with our annual "I think I'll run the Ogden Marathon this year" goal. It's a good one to set even if we don't always go through with it... for us it's more about keeping life in balance, and there's no better way to clear the head and body than a little exercise!!! The fact that we can both participate and enjoy the athletic activities has been a real blessing in our lives. I'll still admit that most of our "together time" is catching a few of our favorite shows on TV, but the lasting memories will always be the crazy stories from races and the good conversation during our long runs together.

Here's to 2009!