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