Jam Packed Labor Day Weekend

Always one of my favorite weekends of the year.... Labor Day Weekend did not disappoint this year. I am not sure if the C*K*J's could have packed in any more fun if we had tried...

It started with the annual girls trip to Swiss Days. This year we stayed in a beautiful condo at the Canyons and had more fun than should be allowed. We ate, laughed, played games, stayed up too late and collectively decided that we just might have to make an entire week of it next year. I love spending time with my family... especially when it's just the girls!

Thanks Mom for making it happen!

After a long day of shopping and battling the swiss days crowds, it was time to meet the mister and the boys for the season opener BYU game. Always much anticipated and it did not disappoint this year. I was worried that I would be miserable and unable to sit that long... but I made it until the very end, when we snuck out just a few minutes early.

(to be perfectly honest, I asked CJ if he was ready to go after halftime, but after he whispered to the littlemiss in my giant belly that I was being a quitter... I had to stick it out, and I'm glad I did)

Sunday started off with the beautiful baby blessing of my amazing niece's baby, Ryder. It was such a sweet blessing and we loved being able to be a part of their special day.

We capped off Sunday with another fun party and more delicious food at my parents house to celebrate their fiftythird wedding anniversary!!! Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures.... I was getting too tired at this point!
But it was really great to have everyone together this weekend, especially with so much to celebrate.

Monday started off with CJ getting up early to go golfing with my brothers, something he hasn't had nearly enough time this summer to do.
We then spent a few hours at the baseball game soaking in every minute of the 70 degree day before heading off to yet another party... this time it was CJ's niece Megan's 14th birthday. Once again, I'm sad that I didn't get any pictures, but her party was adorable with a polka dot theme, delicious dinner, swimming and an incredible birthday cake!!

Whew! I better start resting up for next year.

(still to come... details on yet another amazing spoiledrottenshower)

AN EVENING WITH MY BESTIES...

Spoiled Rotten - Shower #2

was an evening spent with my longest and bestest friends!

delicious dinner

amazing gifts & treasures

lots of great advice from some of the best moms I know

fun & funny conversations

cute crafts

&

staying out past my bed-time

Can you believe that this group of hotties is mother to nearly 30 kiddos, ranging in age from nursery to dorm room...

True experts and women that I love and admire so much!

I feel so blessed to have friends that have known and loved me since I was just a baby myself. (akward tween, is more accurate)

Kari and I are due the very same day... She's having a boy and I, a girl.

I'm so excited to have little ones so close in age!

Ladies--- Thank you for all the love and support you give me...

I love you to the moon and back!

Spoiled Rotten - Shower #1

Does it get any better than a garden tea party to celebrate a new little girl?

I think not.

My amazing mom, incredible sisters and fabulous nieces went all out to make this night special for me. It was amazing and of course, made me cry like a baby.


My cute niece, Bree, who is due just less than 3 weeks before me. These two little girls are going to be the best of friends!

The back yard was lit with twinkling lights and lanterns in the trees. The tables were set with beautiful linens and vintage teapots and tea cups lit with tea lights. It was so beautiful. Can you even believe those incredible teapot fresh flower arrangements on the tables. That's my sister....amazing!



The setting couldn't have been better. It sort of took my breath away as the sun was setting.


Ummm... these girls know how to throw a party. Light Dinner and Tea? How about more amazing, fancy, homemade food than I've ever seen in my life.

homemade tea sandwiches
amazing salads
fresh fruit skewers
homemade chocolate eclairs
brownie bites with fresh strawberries
fancy english crumpets, made from scratch
mom's shortbread tea cookies
fresh fruit tarts
lemon bars
cucumber limeade
strawberry slush

It was seriously unbelieveable.

I love them all so much.



Pretty little vintage tea sets adorned the yard. The details were amazing. I am still in awe of how much work they all went to.


And the crafts....

Each of the guests got to make a personalized onesie, especially for the little miss. The turned out so cute. I ended up with nearly 30 special onesies in sizes from newborn to 24mos. And the best part is that they are all signed with love by the artist. I can't wait for her to be snuggled up and clothed in such incredible love.



Can you believe all this for little old me and my sweet little Leah?

Spoiled Rotten, indeed!

Once Upon A Time...

there was a girl.

who loved a boy.

and was lucky enough to get to be a mamma to that boy's baby.

(i'm still waiting for the ending... but all signs point to a happily ever after.)


I can count on my fingers the weeks that I have remaining until the official estimated due date of Little Miss and I almost only need one hand to count the weeks until her exit is cleared and the roadblock removed, meaning she could arrive anytime soon after. It is surreal. I have never been happier, more uncomfortable, more terrified or excited or felt more blessed than I do at this very moment of my life.

I have tried incredibly hard not to take one single second of this pregnancy for granted. I learned, like many that I know, that making a baby isn't as easy as many people make it look. And I'm not quite sure if I'll ever get another chance to experience this.

For the most part, I have loved being pregnant and have had it pretty easy... however, here are just a few things that I am looking forward to after her arrival...

...sleeping on my stomach, waking up six times a night for something other than the 4 drops of urine that make it seem like I'm going to explode, wearing real shoes again, losing the muffin top rolls that surround my feet and ankles (and ensuring that my ankle bones ARE in fact, still there), not feeling out of breath after standing up, sitting in a hot tub, eating sushi, wearing my wedding ring again, feeling the sensation of being chilly, drinking diet coke (oh wait... I didn't actually give THAT up, afterall), snuggling with my husband at night instead of all those jacked up pillows, crossing my legs and sitting like an actual lady, wearing jeans and not having to use so many public restrooms.... among many other things.


On the flip-side, some of the things that I'm going to miss...

...my husband rubbing my feet (oh wait, he doesn't do even do that), blaming my eating habits on the little miss ("I'm probably ok, but the baby seems to want another cookie, please") and most of all the feeling of life within, there is nothing as strange or amazing than the feeling of a human being moving and wiggling and living, nestled within my body. I hope to never forget just how humbling and awesome it is.

________________

Other FYI facts...

she's big. At my last appointment, she was 3.75lbs. Dr M. predicted that if she goes full-term, she will be between 8.5 and 9lbs. Pray for us. :)

we still don't know whether she'll come the old fashioned way or the sectioned way. tbd

i had another ultrasound last week, and she still appears to be a girl.

she has a name. leah. after my beautiful grandmother.

i have cankles, but i've been told it will be worth it.

Girls Camp 2010...

Another year of Girls Camp has come and gone...

Here are just a few of my highlights...

* This year it was "pixie hollow" style. We were in the lap of luxury. It was beyond cabin style, we were accomodated in an amazing lodge!

* We crafted like crazy and had an amazing time doing it. It was so nice to have hours on end with our amazing girls just to talk and catch up without interuption. We had a whole craft studio and it rocked....

*Campfires and Smores...

*And even better... banana boats! (quite possibly my best one EVER)

*Our sleeping accomodations were plush, literally. Look at the size of that stuffed bear.

* I got to sleep in a bed, and couldn't have been more thankful. (it made it a little easier to get up 12 times a night to pee)

*Getting my swollen, enormous feet rubbed and massaged by a true saint. (I can't even get CJ to do that at home) Thanks D!

* Two of my heroes took the girls on the coolest hike ever, and let the chubby pregnant girl stay behind and drink diet cokes.

* The stories of the raft and the Huck Finn adventures they had actually made me sad. I hate missing cool stuff.

*Beautiful Stone Showers with Heat Lamps

* Yummy food and tasty baked goods

*Cold Diet Cokes

*Spending time with some of my favorite people in the world.

*Being dry and cozy inside while it was pouring rain outside.

* The girls catching not one, but two snakes. Their squeals and screams and pride was the best.

*Atleast until they got brave enough to hold them. THAT was the best!

*And one of my most favorite parts was realizing that our Bishop is a legitimate snake charmer. I couldn't believe how that thing just snuggled up against him. Although I'm actually not suprised, this man is amazing and I can't imagine anyone or anything that wouldn't love and adore him.


The snake just re-affirmed to us just how lucky we are!



And although I am glad to now be on this side of it,

LUCKY is definately how I felt these few days!

FYI...

It's the much anticipated Foothill Village Sidewalk Sale this weekend. If you happen to be in my neck of the woods... mark your calendars and come by and check it out (and visit me, I'll be working a lot this week)...

Look who came to visit...

... my dear friend Amy and her precious little Hope.

Gahw... I wanted to eat her up.

She's beautiful and amazing and I was thankful for all the practice I got nuzzling a new baby girl!

Look at those lips!
Adorable!

I can't wait for these 2 little girls to be the littlest of girlfriends!

my babydaddy...

IS HAVING A BIRTHDAY!!!!

and I couldn't love him more!


Happy Birthday CJ!

I love you to the moon and back!

Maybe we can celebrate with some chocolate & lemon gelato?

One of the many, many reasons I love you! :)

XOXO

From Empty to Blank Canvas

Remember this charming bedroom that we have left empty for 2+ years? From the moment that we first walked through the house, we knew that it would be the perfect nursery for a little one. However, when that didn't come quickly or easily, we were stumped as to what else to do with the room. And so it sat, empty and sad... a symbolic example of our "elephant in the room".

Well... it's empty no more....

I get a little giddy (and to be honest, a little teary-eyed and choked up) when I walk past and look in to see that it now houses the shell of a nursery, a real nursery, our nursery. We officially have furniture for our little peanut and now the fun stuff begins!!!! I'm having a hard time gathering all of the thoughts in my head as I dream of the possibilities..... It still seems surreal!

A little girl's nursery...

all ready to be decorated with all the special treasures & trimmings to welcome her to our home.

Stay tuned...

Awesome. Not Awesome.

I can't seem to keep up on blogging... so here's our recent highlights:

Awesome: Youth Conference. We love being lucky enough to spend time with these great kids every week and it's even better when we get them out of there element and away from cell phones, ipods, etc. This year was especially fun, because we weren't in charge, all we had to do was be there and keep our youth out of trouble. It was a great few days, starting with an all day service project at the Utah Food Bank. We were then off to Snow College for plenty of outdoor fun, an evening at the Manti Pageant and some of the best testimony meetings and devotionals that I have ever been a part of. Definately awesome.

NOT Awesome: 3 hour hot sweaty bus rides and sleeping in a twin size dorm bed.

Awesome: Summertime, sunshine and warm temperatures. Sno-cone anyone?
Also Awesome: Being lucky enough to be pregnant. Such an amazing and magical time in our lives. I absolutely love feeling her move and kick and squirm and I don't take one single minute of it for granted.

NOT Awesome or always easy: Being pregnant in the hot, sunny summertime. Another sno-cone, please!

Awesome: 4th of July Traditions. I love that we live in a neighborhood that has strong, patriotic traditions. Our neighborhood has been hosting this annual "breakfast in the park" and party for everyone throughout our area for decades and it seems to get better every year. Not only is an amazing pancake breakfast served, but the kids go all out for the traditional bike parade, we have the ridiculously fun slip-n-slide with the water courtesy of the amazing firefighters that join us, this year also included a bouncy house and most importantly, the amazing opportunity to stand with hundreds of friends and neighbors to salute our flag and sing the national anthem and recite the pledge of allegiance. It is especially awesome when the adorable old lady who is leading us in the national anthem at the top of her lungs into the microphone messes up all the words but still keeps proudly singing random mumbled words, still at the top of her lungs. It might have been my favorite part this year. Yep, it was! Awesome, indeed!

NOT awesome: The fact that the youth of our ward are in charge of setting everything up at 6 o'clock in the morning. That means loading every single table and chair from the church over to the park and then making it all look pretty. Just so you know... 6am is early, really early, but did they all show up, work hard and have a blast doing it? Of course they did. Love them.

Also NOT awesome: Having to go straight to work after the party. Working on your feet all day until evening, after waking up at 5:15am to start the day working hard...definately not awesome. Needless to say, the C*K*J's were in bed, long before the lights in the sky started exploding!!

Awesome: Getting to babysit my boss and good friends' dog, Coco for the weekend. We've had her before and couldn't love her more. She's teeny tiny and so low maintenance. We pretty much love ooing and ahhing over her and having a little lap dog to snuggle with.

NOT awesome: having to give her back tonight. :(


And a little about what's coming up this month:

* Starting to set up the nursery (awesome)

* Paying for it all (not awesome)

* CJ's birthday (awesome)

* CJ being another year closer to over the hill (not awesome)

* Finishing our storage room and finally being able to organize and feel settled (awesome)

* Being out of excuses and having to think about and pay for food storage (not awesome)

* Getting closer and closer to welcoming our baby girl to our family (AWESOME!)

* Getting bigger and bigger and more and more uncomfortable (not so awesome)

All in all... our "awesomes" far outweigh our "not awesomes" and it's all worth it!