The Mollers

The Holiday Adventures

2011-12-27T20:33:00.000-08:00

Well, this year we went to Brandon's parent's house in Colorado for Christmas. To prepare ourselves for the trip Brandon was going to work on the breaks, replacing the pads because they were squeaking. When he was going to take off the rotor on one of the back wheels he ended up stripping a screw. No big deal with the stripped screw removal kit. If you know anything about cars, these are super hard metal and shouldn't break. Shouldn't is the key word, because it broke off in the stripped screw, flush with the rotor. GREAT!

Brandon was able to buy a Dremel and take care of that issue. However, we were still unable to get the rotor off. Brandon and I were pounding at it for hours and hours. Finally, he cut the lugs and it popped right off. When it came off we were able to tell that it has the parking break shoes on the back wheels, which prevents the rotor from coming off when the parking break is on. Man, all the hammering for nothing! After we found that out Brandon felt like an idiot but was able to laugh about it.

Once the van was back up and running, we headed out to Colorado: Brandon, Me, Austin, and Gus (our dog). We stopped halfway in Grand Junction to sleep (we left home at 5 pm). Then we got up early and drove the rest of the way. It was snowing that morning and the roads hadn't been plowed yet so it was a slow start. It was also snowing so hard at his parents house that we couldn't see very far in front of us. Luckily, we were about to turn onto their road.

It was so nice to be able to spend a few days together during my break. His family is very sweet and there is never a lack of food. Austin was a big hit, he is just so darn cute that everyone just loved him. He got overheated Christmas Eve and was running a high fever; he could have also had a bug on top of it. He wasn't very happy that night or the next day, which is odd for him. He is usually so happy. Christmas wasn't that fun for him, he was wanting a nap and wasn't feeling good. He couldn't have cared less about opening presents. He would watch us open all of his gifts but he wanted no part of it.

We left on Monday morning and drove the whole way. Austin seemed to be feeling much better. He did such a good job for such a long drive. Halfway through the canyon coming back from Price he started screaming. This canyon is 60 miles long! Needless to say, he screamed for 30 miles. Nothing we did would sooth him. Brandon went back and tried to calm him down but it only made him scream harder. He had been in his car seat for about 7 hours at that point and was done. He ended up falling asleep until we got home. As soon as he was out of the car he was so happy, crawling around like crazy and playing with all of his new toys.

Dinner Show

2011-12-03T13:48:00.001-08:00

Well, I just thought I would share some of the things that I have been experiencing during dinner for the past week.

Right after the prayer, the fun starts. Usually initiated by Brandon. One night we were having noddles and chicken. He thought it would be really funny if when he took a bite, he let some of the noddles hang out of his mouth a little longer. Then, looking at Austin, who is always a captive audience for his dad, Brandon shook his head and the noddles were just flapping back and forth. My reaction was "Wow!" Austin on the other hand burst out laughing and started reaching for the noddles. Brandon happily let Austin take the noddles that were dangling from his face for his own dinner. Mind you, right in front of Austin there was already pasta and chicken. It was just more fun to take it from daddy's mouth then the table.

I could tell that this was an indication of how dinner was going to continue for the night, which it did. Austin sure loves playing with daddy when he gets home, even if that means at the dinner table. All of the sudden, Brandon put a piece of chicken in between his lips, stood up, and Austin just opened his mouth (he knew what was happening). Before I could even react, Brandon fed Austin the piece of chicken directly from his mouth to Austin's. I then said that we weren't birds!

Another night, Austin was the source of entertainment for Brandon and I. He was eating a banana and I had cut it into pieces, but I was going to cut them a little smaller. Before I could even continue cutting the banana, Austin was quickly scooping up each piece before he was done with the previous one. After about 30 seconds, all 4 pieces were gone, resulting in the chubbiest cheeks I have ever seen on my sweet baby boy. Brandon and I were laughing the entire time. Austin never choked, so I just kept the pieces coming and he was done with his entire banana 3 minutes after the prayer!

Even if sometimes I wished Brandon would eat his dinner and let Austin eat, I love seeing those two play together. Brandon doesn't get to see a ton of Austin during the week. Really, only about 1 hour each day. Even with it being a short time period like that, Austin and Brandon take full advantage of it. They will play for pretty much that entire hour. Sometimes, I just sit back and watch instead of doing something else during my free time.

Santa

2011-11-22T19:01:00.000-08:00

We went to Provo/Orem last week. We went to diner at Taco Bell, fine Mexican dining. I wish that we would have had the video camera there. Austin was going crazy! As soon as Brandon started to open up his food Austin was grabbing his hand trying to get the food. He was loving Taco Bell! Austin was so worked up by the time we left that he was laughing and squealing at Brandon as he opened the door to the restaurant to leave.

We went from there to The Riverwood Mall. There is a new toy store there called Brinkenstaff. It was cool, but the ad made it look cooler than it was. However, they do have some of the Melissa & Doug toys that I am wanting to get Austin eventually. As we were walking over to the store we saw that Santa was there. We checked to see if it was free and it was. So, us being the most awesome parents put Austin on Santa's lap.

This was Austin's reaction:

He looked at me like I had betrayed him when I put him down, however, he didn't cry.

9 months!

2011-10-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe that my sweet baby is 9 months old!

I know that I have been A.W.O.L. for the past couple of months, but this is what each day looks like:
Wake up, get ready, get Austin ready, make sure Brandon has a lunch, drop Austin off at the babysitters, go to work. Then, after work I pick up Austin, go home and fed him, then make dinner, eat, get Austin ready for bed, shower, get stuff ready for the next day, and then go to bed. It has been keeping me busy!

Anyway, back to the sweet baby. We had his 9 month check up today. He is a tall, skinny boy!
Length: 29.5 in (90%)
Weight: 21 lbs 7.5 oz (60%)
Head: 46.5 cm (75%)

The doctor said that he is right on track, and even doing things that are advanced like pulling himself up on furniture and walking along it. Here are some things that Austin can do:

-crawl, but he prefers to scoot on his tummy
-climb the stairs
-fed himself crackers and other snacks
-pull himself on pretty much anything
-say mama and dada and mean it
-open the kitchen cabinets
-open drawers
-turn the pages of a book
-walk along the furniture
-hold his own sippy cup while drinking
-pick up a ball and throw it
-roll a ball back and forth
-take bites out of food

Here is a funny video of him scooting. Just ignore me!

He LOVES the dog dish!

Brandon's Job

2011-10-15T13:49:00.000-07:00

Brandon has not been working since the end of April. However, he was spending his time in class, in the Philippines, or watching Austin. However, it was getting to the point that he needed to get a job. Brandon's mom was so nice to come out and help watch Austin during the day while Brandon looked for jobs. What happened next was seriously just blessing being poured out upon us.

On Sunday night Brandon was making his resume and then submitted it to two companies.

Monday Brandon got a call to set up an interview on Tuesday. He submitted his resume to another company at 7:30 pm and they called for a phone interview at 8 pm! Then he had another interview on the phone that night with one of the companies he sent the resume to on Sunday.

By Tuesday, he had interviews set up with all three companies. One offered him a job that day and he told him that he would let them know by Wednesday.

On Wednesday he emailed one of the companies and told them that he had an offer from another company, but he really wanted to work for them so if they could give him an offer that day to let him know. By the time I got home from work that day Brandon had three job offers from all three companies. He took the one with the company he emailed that morning saying he wanted to work for them.

By the next Monday, Brandon had started work. Heavenly Father was just pouring out blessing upon us.

He works for this company called Appigo. They make apps for IOS devices, or Apple products. Brandon is doing customer service and technical support for them. It is a wonderful job, and we couldn't be happier!

Success

2011-08-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

Today has been successful to say the least. Here is why:

25 Composition books
25 pocket folders
25 spiral notebooks
2 packages of notecards
10,000 staples

All for just under $22! I am so excited that I was able to get all of this for so cheap for my new class. I only need to buy a few more things to start the year with.

Scooting

2011-07-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

He scooted himself forward yesterday but I didn't have the video camera. I will try and get a video of it today. For now, enjoy these videos:

6 months

2011-07-18T06:39:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that half a year ago this sweet boy entered my life.

6 month stats:
Length: 28 inches - 90%
Weight: 18 lbs 14 oz. - 75%

Austin is still a BIG boy! Everyone that sees him thinks that he is much older than he truly is.

I also forgot to inform you all that he has teeth! That's right, more than one. His first tooth cut through on June 3rd, just before he turned 5 months. The second one popped right on through three weeks later. When I told the doctor that he already had 2 teeth he was so surprised. Then, he gave me this sweet nugget - "He will probably have 4 more by his next appointment." I don't want to deal with 4 teeth in 3 months! I hope that he is not right.

Also, he can sit completely unsupported! It is so fun to watch him change and grow during this point in life. He also has turned into quite the talker. He just babbles to himself all the time.

He rolls over from his back to his belly, but he won't keep rolling across the room. Instead he prefers to lay on his tummy and try to crawl. Him trying to crawl means flailing his arms and legs at the same time balancing on his big tummy. It is so funny to watch him, but after a while you have to help him or he gets too frustrated.

Here are some other things Austin can do:
- Go to sleep on his own when he is wide awake when you put him in the crib. It also takes less than 5 minutes!
-Eat solid foods twice a day
-Sleep on his tummy
-Sleep for 12 hours straight at night
-give high fives!
-rotate in his crib - however, this can be a disadvantage because he gets stuck on the sides or top or in a corner and can't get unstuck ;)
-stick his feet in his mouth - especially when he is supposed to be sitting up so he just folds in half
-turn the pages of a book if I pull it apart from the other pages
-give kisses
-suck out of a straw
-pick up food with his fingers - almost has the pincher grasp down

I am so lucky that he has been apart of our family for the past six months.

Trip home to see my Grandma

2011-06-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

Over my spring break, yes all the way back in April, Austin and I flew home to Washington to see my Grandma. She recently moved in with my parents because she didn't want to live on her own in California after Grandpa passed away.

I had been so stressed out before we left that I was causing my neck muscles to get knots. I was in such pain but I could stop worrying about traveling on a plane with just Austin and I. Brandon had finals so he was unable to come. I was a one-woman circus going through the airport - especially security! I had to take out all his bottles, put them in bags, take off my coat and shoes, put them in a bin, undo the car seat from the stroller, flip the car seat over onto the belt, fold up the stroller, lift it onto the belt, and keep track of my ID and ticket. Now, that doesn't seem like a lot until you know that I had to do all that while holding Austin who was crying because I woke him up when I pulled him out of the car seat. Then I had to do it all in reverse once I got through security.

After that was over with I was able to breathe a little easier. I was so worried about the plane ride but I said a prayer and just didn't think about it too much. Austin did such a good job! He never cried! He even SLEPT on take off and landing!! Man, that is a good baby. There was someone in front of me that turned around as we were waiting to get off and couldn't believe that there was a baby behind them - they had no clue!

Playing with his Auntie

When he got to my parents house, Austin was so happy that I spent some of the day out with my mom and Amy doing wedding things. He actually slept through the two hours we spent at Joann's, and woke up when we went for the dress fitting.

Sitting in Great Grandma's chair

We had a good trip, and he was able to spend time with his Great Grandma, which was the whole reason why we went. It wasn't a trip to see the whole family, that was a bonus, but instead a trip to see Great Grandma. Also, he got to meet his cousin Seth, whom he loved, and future cousins Carter and Lily. Austin also got to see his cousin Rachel, who is so stinkin' cute!

The two cousins - Seth and Austin - having a great time

It was a fun trip, but quick. On the way back home he did just as great on the plane. They let me take the car seat on this time (for free!) and he just sat in it playing while we descended into Salt Lake. I have heard that babies should suck on something during take offs and landings when on a plane to help their ears pop but Austin didn't want his pacifier. He spit it out each time I tried to put it in his mouth. He instead just happily played with his keys.

Thanks for the fun we had at home Mom, Dad, Grandma, Seth, Amy, Scott, Ashley, Rachel, Carter, and Lily! Can't wait until August for the wedding to see you all again!

Motherhood

2011-06-10T21:08:00.000-07:00

* WARNING * this is a bit sappy!

There is only one thing on the earth that I love more than being a mom and that is Brandon. However, that said we have been so blessed with a very sweet little boy. He is pretty chill most of the time unless he is tired or hungry. Lately, he will start to get really fussy when he is tired and we will put him in the crib and he goes right to sleep.

When school was still in Brandon would watch Austin while I was at work. I would come home to the biggest smiles and a large cuddle from my sweet boy. Then we would spend the next couple hours together and then it was bedtime. I missed him so much while I was at school. In the mornings I would feed him and then put him back down to sleep before I left. There were a few mornings that he would just want to stay awake and play with me. Those mornings were the hardest to leave.

Now school is out and I have spent the last two days just loving on my little boy. We have had a blast playing together. Today, even though he only slept like 2 hours over three naps, each time I walked in his room to get him there would be a smile and a laugh waiting for me. Also, he woke up this morning at about 6:15 played until 6:40 then I feed him, then put him back down to see if he would sleep. He didn't but he just laid in his crib playing and blowing spit bubbles.

Austin is a big cuddler still, which I love. He will just plaster himself to you when you hold him and he often rests his head on my shoulder. I love him more than anything and I can't wait to have all summer to spend with him. He is getting so big, but is still just as sweet as the day he was born. Looking back I loved him the moment that I saw him, but I never realized just how much it has grown since then.

On my way home from work on Tuesday I was not even a mile from the school when I saw a line of probably 15 police cars on the side of the road by the canal. I was worried that something terrible had happened and when I got home there was a story on the news about a little 2-year boy that was at the park with his uncle. The uncle realized the boy was missing and searched everywhere for him. Then he noticed a hole in the fence that separated the park from the irrigation ditch. Realizing the boy fell in he called the police. After about 15 of searching they found him under one of the control wheels. They did CPR and rushed him to the hospital. He died the next day after being taken off of life support. This story just broke by heart. I can't even imagine what those parents must be feeling. Their sweet, 2-year old boy is now gone. I know that this boy was done with his time on earth and that he was perfect. I also know that he is in heaven, but it still must be painful to go through that even knowing that.

This story made me grateful that the doctor induced me when he did. Otherwise, who knows what could have happened to my sweet boy. That cord was wrapped so tightly that he lost a pound in a week. When they cut it, it just shredded into pieces. If the doctor had even waited 1 week Austin probably wouldn't have made it, my doctor even told me that. I am so grateful for each day that we are blessed to be with our sweet boy. I know that I don't know what is going to happen, how life will go, but I know that each day we have with Austin we are both blessed tremendously.

4 Months

2011-05-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here is a cute video of Austin laughing. Ignore me, saying What are you doing like that always gets a laugh.

I can't believe that Austin is already 4 months old. Time is just going so fast. He had is check-up today so here are the stats:

Weight: 15 lbs 15 oz (75%)
Length: 25.5 inches (75%)
Head Circumference: 43 cm (75%)

Playtime noises! He will makes these noises and more for hours at a time.

Now, that is one big kid! He has been so hungry lately that he was wanting to eat every hour, so we bought some rice cereal. He is so funny when he eats it now, he gets all excited and then makes the best face when the spoon goes in his mouth. I can't even describe it!

I know that I haven't updated this in awhile, but life has just been cruising.

Here are a few things that have happened in the past month and a half:
*3 year anniversary
*Spring break
*Finals for Brandon
*Quick trip home to Washington for just Austin and I
*Brandon's mom left (we were sad to see her go)
*Brandon watching Austin while I work
*Austin laughing and rolling
*Jumped out of size 1 and 2 diapers!
*General Conference
*Mother's Day

Here are a some recent pictures of the little man:

Nap time with dad!

So handsome!

He can feed himself, even take the bottle and put it back in

favorite way to sleep

Head control

Look at those leg rolls!

one BIG BELLY

Styling - those shorts are seriously so cute on him

Farmer!

Makes his blue eyes pop!

Well more to come later, but this update is pretty long.


Trying to roll but he got stuck

2 1/2 months

2011-03-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

At Austin's two month check up these were the stats:

Weight: 12 lbs 8 oz (75%)

Length: 23 in (55%)

After his bath, if you look closely you can see his hair sticking up

Since his last appointment, he has put on a little more than 4 lbs. He is very solid. At his blessing, Scott and Ashley came with Rachel. She was so much smaller than him, and at her two month appointment she was 9 lb 3.4 oz. That is a huge difference!

Lately, here are some things that he can do:

*stand up against the couch on his own

*laugh and smile all the time

*He is out of 0-3 month clothing

*make the raspberry sound

*reach for toys

*sit up when up against the boppy pillow

*sleep about 6 hours at night

*found out that he has hands and feet

*Go about 3 hours between feedings

*wake up smiling

*do tummy time for about 10 minutes at a time, sometimes more

Here is a cute video of him that I took today. He was laughing at the raspberry sound.

Cute smiles!


First outfit in the 3-6 month size, cute sock monkeys! 2 1/2 months old	(3/23/11)

Now, I promised some pictures of the dog bite. I took out the stitches earlier this week, but I haven't taken a picture yet. You can see the front of my leg were I got the stitches, and then on the back of my leg you can see the rest of the damage that Belle did to me.

Dog bite

4 stitches!

Back of the leg bites

Long Week

2011-03-06T20:14:00.000-08:00

Well, this has been a very long week for us. I am sorry about my lack of posts, but I have been so busy with going back to work that I just haven't found the time to sit down and update the blog.

Austin is now 8 weeks old! I can't believe how fast time is flying. Two weeks ago I returned to work. It wasn't very fun leaving him, but it has to be done. Brandon's mom is sweet enough to stay with us and watch him while I am at work and Brandon is at school. This past week I had parent teacher conferences. This means that I left for work on Wednesday at 7 and Austin was still in bed, and then I returned home at 7:45 and Austin was in bed for the night. When he woke up around midnight, he just wanted me to hold him for an extra 20 minutes before he would let me put him back to bed. It was just as hard on him to not have me as it was for me.

On Friday, we had to attend the Military Ball for the year. Brandon planned it, and it actually turned out really great. Bronco Mendenhall was the speaker, which was awesome! I had no idea that he wasn't in the top three candidates for the job back when they were looking for a new head coach! He actually only got it because the defensive players told the school to give Bronco the job. Attending meant that another night was spent without our sweet boy! On Saturday morning you could tell that he hadn't had enough mommy time. He was just fussy with anyone else.

Also, this week, we blessed Austin. A ton of family was in town, and are just about gone. We loved seeing everyone, especially because we got to see our new niece! She is just two weeks younger than Austin, and so much smaller! Austin is a chunk compared to her. When I held her for the first time, there was a huge difference, she felt like she weighed nothing because she is so much smaller than him.

This morning I was in the kitchen making dinner for tonight, and we had three dogs in the house. This had caused problems the night before, but nothing too major. However, this morning I was walking toward the dishwasher when a dog fight broke out between Gus and my sister's dog Belle. I was pinned back against the dishwasher, and they were right next to me. I was just about to reach down and pull Gus' back legs to break them apart when I got bit by Belle. It hurt so bad! Then, I see blood coming through my sweatpants. As I am lifting up my pants I see blood running down my leg. It was about 11:30 and church starts at 1, and in my mind I am thinking "This is not how today is supposed to go! We are supposed to be at church in just over one hour to bless our little boy and now I am the one stopping us."

When we looked at my leg, it was pretty deep and Brandon said that we are going to the hospital. Great, just the way I wanted to spend my morning while all the family is in town. At the ER they numbed me up and cleaned it out, then stitched it closed. I have four stitches in my leg. I know that there was nothing that could have prevented it, and that it was not my sister's fault. When we got home it was 2:15 and sacrament was over. However, all the family came in for the blessing and we didn't get to do it at church. Luckily enough, our wonderful Bishop came over and we did it at the house.

I will post pictures later, but right now it is bed time and the camera is down stairs.

Valentines Weekend

2011-02-15T15:02:00.001-08:00

This past weekend Brandon and I were able to spend tons of time together. This can be a rare thing even on the weekends with school demands on Brandon. All day Saturday we spent it cleaning. Now, I know that this doesn't sound like fun, but we love to clean. This included the 4 loads of laundry and all the folding as well. It was nice to be able to do the small things together. This semester has been more hectic than ever for Brandon. I feel like I only see him when we are crawling into bed at the end of the day. Therefore, we haven't been able to clean up the house together since December.

We then headed to Provo to have dinner at Texas Roadhouse with some good friends. We called ahead our seating at 6 and were told to come at about 7:30. When we got there they said that it would be about 25 minutes till we could be seated. However, 90 minutes later we were seated. They give you a paper with your number on it and they have to get it back from you to be put on deck to be seated. At 8:15 we were put on deck and then they proceeded to lose the paper with our number on it. Needless to say, we were a little annoyed when other groups were getting seated before us. Austin was not very happy in the car seat and there was not much I could do about it. Finally, when we got seated Austin was screaming! I pulled him out and handed him to Brandon and instantly he was asleep. All that he needed was to be touching someone familiar in that crazy environment. Dinner was delicious, so that helped make up for the wait. Brandon had also surprised me with candy from See's; totally unexpected, but so nice!

On Sunday, we just had fun relaxing and going to church. We made dinner together, and then spent time playing with Austin. He was so happy and alert, playing a game with his Pluto stuffed animal. I will try to get a video of it.

Over the weekend, Chloe, Brandon's sister had car troubles and so on Monday Brandon helped her fix it. Now, since we had already had a date for Valentine's day I didn't care that it would be "cutting in" to my evening. I made pizza and we had a good time chatting. When Chloe left I made dessert. I thought that doing something low key together would be just the thing that we needed, and it was. The dessert was delicious. I got the recipe here. They were so rich, but sooooo good. I used peanut butter candies, like Reese's for the filling.

I am so happy to have my wonderful husband and beautiful son. Three years ago was our first Valentine's Day and I could have never imagined what my life would be like in three years.

3 weeks

2011-01-31T14:19:00.000-08:00

Austin loves to have toys or stuffed animals next to him to stare at. He was really excited for the bear.

Well, it has been just over three weeks since Austin was born. My recovery is going well and he is eating like crazy! When he was born he was 7 lb 5 oz but leaving the hospital he was 6 lb 11 oz. However, at his two week check up he came in at 8 lb 6 oz! That is quite the growth!

Wrinkled forehead

Two week stats:

Weight: 8 lbs 6 oz - just above the 50th percentile

Height: 21 inches - 50th percentile

Head circumference: 37 cm - 50th percentile

So, all in all he is an average size baby.

We call this his crazy eyes

He is still doing great at sleeping at night. He will sleep for two 3.5 to 4 hour blocks, only waking up to eat. He goes right back to sleep after eating. When he wakes up from the second block it is around 4 or 5 am and after eating he is ready and awake for the next two hours. This will be great when I have to go back to school so I am hoping to keep him waking up around then.

His eyes have lightened up so much.

Two Sundays ago he got done eating about 30 minutes before church started. I was thinking that he would sleep through the first block and wake up during the second. However, he decided to sleep all three hours of church! It was so amazing! Brandon kept him the whole time so I didn't even have him in relief society.

Since Brandon is back in school and working about 20 hours a week, he doesn't see either of us that often. I feel bad when Brandon comes home and Austin is getting tired so he is fussy, eats and then goes to bed. This means that Brandon only really sees him for about an hour each day. Brandon takes him from me on the weekends so that he can have his daddy time.

Below are some videos, especially for the grandparents.

This video was taken just over a week ago.

He used to be scared of the hiccups, but now he just lays there and hiccups peacefully.

You can see his HUGE belly and little shoulders perfectly in that video!

This is from this morning. He was just cooing away and it was too cute to pass up.

Austin Brandon Moller

2011-01-19T12:12:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, January 9th, Austin Brandon was born at 4:46 pm, 7 lbs 5 oz, 20 in long. This is going to be a long post...

Due to the fact that he had been measuring big the doctor decided to induce me as soon as I hit 39 weeks. At the last ultrasound it said that he gotten smaller. This also worried the doctor. So, I was scheduled for induction at 7 am on the 9th. When we got to the hospital I was about 1 cm dilated. The nurse told me that it would probably take more than 24 hours to get me into active labor. They gave me a drug to focus on softening the cervix and put me on the monitors. After awhile, regular contractions started.

Around 10:20, all the sudden five nurses came swarming into the room. They told us that during a contraction his heartbeat would dip down to around 90 bpm. They shot me up with drugs to stop the contractions and had me lye down with the oxygen mask on. His heartbeat returned to normal and they said that they would wait until 4 hours after they gave me the original medicine to start labor to give me potocin. My doctor was called into the hospital and watched us closely for the rest of the day. To be honest, I just wanted them to take him out right then and there so that he could be safe but they have to exhaust all options before a c-section can be done.

Around noon I was put on pitocin. My nurse said that they were all taking bets on how long he would be able to stand it before his heart rate dropped again. The thing with pitocin is that they can stop it at anytime and it would stop working in just about 3 minutes. This way, if anything was to start stressing out Austin, they could stop it immediately. He lasted for a long time on it, and around 2 I was checked by the doctor. I was about 1.5 cm this time, and that was slightly depressing.

There were a few times that his heart rate dropped down, but it wasn't consistent so they didn't stop the drugs. My nurse told me that we would probably be doing a c-section and started to get me ready. Then, the doctor was able to break my water around 4. There was a slight meconium color to the liquid indicating that Austin was under stress. Around 4:30 his heart rate was jumping from 90 to 160 and back to 90. My wonderful nurse rushed in, had me drink this nasty stuff that would make it so if I threw up on the table, my stomach acids would not eat away at my insides! Next thing I know, the doctor and the anesthesiologist were in my room explaining what I needed to do and what was going to happen. At this point I was worried about Austin and I didn't care what they had to do to get him out of me, but that they do it as soon as possible.

I was wheeled down the OR and given my spinal tap (weirdest thing ever!), and prepped. Brandon came in and the anesthesiologist told him that if he gets dizzy to sit down immediately. Then they started the c-section. As I was lying there I could feel this tug-a-war going on inside of me, but of course no pain. Brandon watched the entire procedure and thought it was the coolest thing ever! After maybe 5 minutes, I heard the doctor say "Oh, that is a grumpy face!" and then Austin cried just a little. Apparently, his umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around his shoulder, and would pinch off, stopping blood flow during a contraction, which is why his heart rate would drop. This also is the reason that he lost over a pound in a week and a half. When they cut the cord, it just started to shred into pieces! I am so happy that the doctor decided to do it the day he did, and to take him when he did!

Due to the meconium, they had a respiratory team on stand by in the OR and they quickly took Austin and made sure he was breathing okay, and to get out any meconium that he may have had in him. I just laid there on the table wishing that they would bring him over for me to see. As they were working on him, he was hardly crying. Brandon said that he just laid there quietly. After about 10 minutes, they brought him over and said that he had been having slightly labored breathing, and were going to monitor him downstairs. I got to see him just for a second, and then they took him away.

I was wheeled back into my labor and delivery room, and they wanted to make sure that I was doing okay for an hour before they would take me to Mother and Baby. I was taken downstairs around 6, but I didn't get to see Austin until about 7:30. He is the sweetest little boy! He is very calm and really only cries when he is hungry or needs to be changed. We have been spoiled the past few nights with him sleeping about 3 to 4.5 hours at a time.

The way that he got here was not the way that I had wanted or hoped for, but that doesn't matter to me. All that matters is that he is safe and healthy. I am doing great, I am up walking about and I hardly take the pain meds. I am not 100% better but more than 70% better.

Ultrasound Pictures of a LARGE baby

2010-12-20T10:43:00.000-08:00

Due the fact that I am so far along, they don't even ask if we want 3D pictures of the baby.

It will be interesting to see who he looks like more, and how close to this he looks. He is measuring with an expected due date of Dec. 29th, so we have another ultrasound on the 28th to see how much weight he has put on. He is supposedly already 7.5 pounds! The doctor didn't want to make a rush decision and take him before the next ultrasound because they can be off by a bit on the estimation of the weight. Depending on how much he puts on in the two weeks, will decide whether or not we have a c-section or inducement. There is not really a chance that things will happen naturally unless I go before then, which is very unlikely. Who knows, I could have him in a week or so...

Lately

2010-12-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been feeling like there has been nothing to post for a while now, but I have decided to try and be better about blogging.

About a month ago Brandon went to Costco and found this box of dog toys for a really good price. When we got it home Gus took to just about all the toys right away which was a first. What you must understand about our dog is that he loves toys that have squeakers in them, and most of these toys do. One night Brandon and Gus were playing with one of the toys and Gus decided that it was time to find that squeaker. Next thing we know, the head of the fox toy is completely ripped off the body and Gus is taking out the filling to find that squeaker. I was a little worried that he would eat the filling, but instead he would take a little out and throw it to the side. Eventually, he found the squeaker and this was the result:

Brandon and I couldn't help but laugh at him. Shortly after the video ended Gus punctured the squeaker making it so that it had to be thrown away. I have never seen him more concerned and upset about anything, but he was definitely concerned about why the super fun squeaker was being put in the garbage.

Gus also loves rawhide bones. We just can't afford to have them all the time. Gus can finish a good size bone in just about 2 hours. Therefore, he tends to not get them as often as he would like. However, this past week we went grocery shopping and they had a three foot long rawhide bone. This thing was huge! Brandon however decided that we just had to buy it for him, and so we did. Gus was so excited when we took it out of the package. However, as you can tell from the following pictures that it was as big as him! All he did for the first couple of days was lick it, because he couldn't figure out what else to do. Brandon eventually took the saw to the bone and cut off a piece. Gus was in heaven and has been happily enjoying the monster rawhide since.

The bone was as long and tall as him!

Well, baby Austin should be here anytime. The crib is put together, just need some sheets, and the changing table is together. We have the car seat ready to go. All we need now is the baby! Brandon is so excited to be a dad. I can tell that he is going to be great! Even though he says that we are not Gus' parents, he sure treats him like a kid. We will get to see our baby on Tuesday, so I will try and put up a better picture. The doctor wants to see just how big he is so that we can start making plans according for birth. Brandon was 10 lbs so the doctor wants to make sure that if he is larger, that we know before hand and can have him early.

Oh sleep....

2010-10-19T16:47:00.000-07:00

... where have you gone! It is hard to get to sleep, stay comfortable, and get back to sleep when I wake up to change positions. I know that I am just complaining, but still I would like to have one week of really good sleep.

It is a....

2010-09-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

BOY!!!

We could not be more excited! We even bought a cute outfit for him at Target. It has dinosaurs on it, with the hood to the coat having dino spikes.

This is his profile, he had his hands by his head most of the time.

Summer is over

2010-08-30T16:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it is official. Summer is over for both of us. Today was the first day of school for Brandon, and I got a new batch of kiddos a week ago. It is very hard for both of us to wake up at the very early hours that school demands. This morning was 4:50 and I didn't care, I didn't want to go. However, once Brandon is up and going Gus wants to go on a walk, so that is my job Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Joyful! Needless to say it will be a night to get to bed early...

Oh, and we will find out on Thursday how the baby is doing and the gender. We can't wait!

He's back

2010-08-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

I am happy to say that Brandon was released from Fort Lewis on July 29th! When I saw him I asked him how he was and all he said was "Let's get out of here." I can't blame him. He ate a bunch of MRE's (Meal Ready to Eat) which are not the best cold. Most of the time they didn't have time or were too hungry to wait to heat up the food, so cold it was. It you have never had an MRE and would like one, just let me know, we have plenty in our food storage.

I was able to drive up to Washington with my mom, spend some time with them, and then pick up Brandon at the Fort. My parents, our nephew Seth, and I went on the morning he was being released to watch the graduation. In my opinion it wasn't all that interesting, but to my parents and nephew it was. Seth is 11 almost 12 so this was the first time he had ever been on a base before. He was very impressed with all the accommodations that they had like Burger King and Popeyes, not to mention the movie theater. We told him that it was it's own city and he just kept saying wow! It was very funny to see a child's perspective of a base. I think that the first one on went on was actually the Air Force Academy after we were married. Growing up and having no family in the military limits that, so Seth is one lucky kid.

After the ceremony was over we hopped in the car and headed farther north to Seattle. This was Brandon's first time there so he had a blast. He also proceeded to eat lunch with the family; buy chocolates later (which were almost gone in 30 minutes); and then a chocolate, banana, almond crepe all under 2 hours! I understand that he had been eating food that wasn't the best for a month, but it was still very funny.

We had a grand time in Vancouver with my family but a very glad to be back home. There is just something nice about coming back to your house.

9th Regiment Alpha Company 2nd Platoon

This is Brandon's platoon from Fort Lewis. There were 5 platoons in each company and two companies in each Regiment. With two different regiments that made about 500 Cadets that graduated on the 29th. I am so proud of you Brandon!

On a different note we have our 16 week doctors appointment on Wednesday. Time is just flying! I can't believe that I am almost half way done.

Summertime

2010-06-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

Well, I am loving the summertime! It is so nice to have some time off. Brandon is still working, but as of tomorrow he is leaving for the month of July to do some Army training. It is going to be lonely without him but I am probably going to go to Colorado for a few days and then to see my family at the end of the month. It will be great!

In more exciting new I am 11 weeks and 4 days pregnant! Brandon is floating on a cloud! You would have thought that we won the lottery by his reactions. Well, that is okay. I love him so much and I can't wait for the journey that coming soon! I am due on January 16th!

School is almost out

2010-06-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I have almost finished my first year of teaching. It is crazy to think that at this time last year I was busy buying everything, nervous for the year to start. Now, there are only 6 more days of school and they are going to be a busy six days.

There are many things that I have learned about myself this year. A few of them are:
- I like organization with a little chaos
- Second graders are the best!
- I am good at what I do
- When it comes to the hard days, I can focus on the good to get me through the day
- Sometimes I can be a bit hard on them, but I know that it is going to make them better

That is just a few. The parents that have entrusted their child into my hands for about 7 hours a day are just wonderful. I had each of the students write a big thank you note to all the parents. I was able to recall things that I had forgotten the parents had done to help out. I am so grateful to have wonderful parents that support me and tell me that I have done a great job with their child.

I will miss those wonderful kiddos! However, on days like today, I will not miss all of them. ;) These kids extend love so much, that it will be hard to say goodbye on Tuesday. Many are returning to the school, some are going back to their old ones and I will miss them the most. Well, I guess that is part of being a teacher!

Mister Cupcake...

2010-05-10T20:48:00.000-07:00

Well, over the weekend we went down to Provo to spend some time with the wonderful Taylors. We were so excited to just have fun and relax with each other. It started with a softball game in the early afternoon, which the other team had to forfeit due to the lack of players. Oh intramural games, you are so funny...

After the softball action we head back to the car to head over to the Taylor's apartment. On the way, we noticed this new place called Cocoa Bean - a cupcakery. So, Brandon just had to check it out. If any of you have heard of Sprinkles in Hollywood it is like that. They have big cupcakes, and a cupcake menu that changes based on the day. We purchased 6 cupcakes and were very pleased to show our friends the goods.

After a wonderful grilling session we decided to head to a movie. Did I forget to mention that this whole time we had the dog with us? Well, this is where the story gets interesting. Each couple grabbed one cupcake to split for the road (we were still stuffed from the wonderful burgers). Then, not thinking we left the box of cupcakes on their table. Honestly, I didn't think that he would get into them. But, you can guess the rest of the story. Gus helped himself to the cupcakes, devouring three and licking the frosting off of the fourth! We were so shocked that we didn't know what to do. Of course he ate the cupcake liners as well, so that will be interesting...

When we found him going crazy in the apartment, we didn't have the time to take him home to let his sugar high out. Brandon had a mission reunion; therefore, Gus was passed off on to Brandon's unsuspecting sister. When we got home to him, we asked her how he was. All she could say is that he was unable to walk in a straight line for a while!

Then, tonight we were watching a movie and he started barking at the DVD as I ejected it from the PS3. Oh man! This dog is strange. He was honestly scared of the DVD and would not look at it no matter what Brandon said or did.

Sometimes it feels like I have a kid...

Leaving on a jet plane...

2010-04-29T05:25:00.001-07:00

As of this morning we are making our way to L.A. for Brandon's brother's wedding. Well, okay, we are really not leaving on a jet plane but we are driving. You understand. We are taking the dog with us, so we will see how he does on long car trips.

Yesterday was a blah weather day here, so needless to say I got really excited last night to be going someplace that is sunny and warm. At least, I hope that it is warm. We are going to go to Disneyland with Brandon's whole family tomorrow and then off to San Diego for the wedding. it is going to be a quick trip, but fun!

Of course, this means that I had to get a substitute. I don't like doing that ever because you are not there and I remember as a kid how we would treat a sub. Plus I am getting this one from a substitute service so I have no idea what their experience is. It is very hard to trust some stranger with your class, hoping that they will be fine. It is especially hard for me today because yesterday they were great for me and then they went to P.E. at the end of the day and they treated the P.E. teacher horribly. They had to sit and do nothing because they were just out of control. Then, I didn't see them again because they leave from P.E. for home. Not only am I disappointed in them, but I can't talk to them about it before Monday. Why did they have to be mean to her? Also, does that mean that they will be mean to the sub? The joys of a teacher...

Spring Break!

2010-03-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

So, this week is spring break! I am loving having the time off. However, I still don't get to sleep in. Gus makes sure that I am up by the latest 7 am. Which is sleeping in a little but, not as much as I would like to.

Brandon was out for his field training this past weekend. He has to rush a girl to the medic because she was not taking care of herself. Apparently, she was "dieting" because she is over the weight limit for the Army. SO all she ate all day was snack bread that is 180 calories. She collapsed from the lack of food and started to have an asthma attack. Brandon thought that she was going to pass out and that he would have to give her rescue breaths. Instead, they got a van and took her to the medic but that took like an hour. He yelled at her the entire time to keep her from passing out. Why is it that many girls think that "dieting" consists of not eat at all. I can't believe that people think it is healthy not to eat.

Anyways, life has been wonderful. For all you that have wanted to see a picture of Gus the dog here you go...

House and DOG!!!

2010-03-14T08:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we are officially moved into the house. It is wonderful to have a place that is ours and that we can do whatever we want to it. I love the fact that it has a garage. I don't think I could ever go back to not having one.

Right before we got the keys and signed the papers, we were homeless, living with some wonderful friends. They housed us for just about one week. Then, we were able to sign the papers and move right on in the next day. However, I had to fly to California two days after we got the keys for a funeral. It was nice to be with family, but very sad at the same time.

When I got back, Brandon had of course finished organizing the house. I am so grateful for him.

Yesterday was an exciting day for us. We were up in Salt Lake looking at washers and dryers (since we still don't have them) when we just happened to drive past the Human Society of Utah. Needless to say after about 3 hours we were leaving with our new dog!!!! It was hard to choose but he just so well behaved that we couldn't help ourselves. Plus, we did save his life! He is an Australian Cattle Dog, about 4 years old, and he was already named Gus when we got him so we kept the name. We couldn't be happier!

Sick of it!

2010-02-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

Well I am! I am just sick of being messed around with. One thing after another seems to be ruining our plans of moving into the house this weekend. I can't believe it. Stupid IRS, stupid Title Company. We might be homeless as of Saturday, and now the only question is where are we going to put our stuff. It is one of those time where I needed a good laugh and chocolate to make it through to 5 pm....

Sorry for venting, I am done now!

We are just too nice

2010-02-15T15:38:00.000-08:00

So, we went to the mall a few weeks ago looking for a new hat for Brandon. While we were walking through one of the people working at the Dead Sea booth jumped us. We had just been talking about not looking directly at anyone because we were in a rush and we just always end up telling people no...

We were just too nice to say no, so we stopped. She did the whole spiel, and then tried to get us to buy the product. She even threw in a buy one set get one free just to entice us even more. Brandon had been wondering what to get his mom for her birthday so we bought it for her, but then the girl just kept pushing another set on us for a Valentine's present for me. Finally, we got away and laughed all the way to Macy's.

This whole experience reminded me of a time when my mom was in town and we were in the mall. We got stopped at the same booth and my mom was too nice to say no and ended up purchasing a nail set for her and one for me. She flew home that day and forgot that the set had lotion in it, didn't check her bag, and the lotion was thrown out the same day she bought it.

We are clearly just too nice to tell people no and therefore we end up buying things that we either hadn't planned, in the case of Brandon and I, or didn't need, my mom and I. Oh boy!

House!

2010-01-30T10:17:00.000-08:00

So, we went and had the inspection today. It went great! I am so glad that my brother in law was able to come down and do it. He took precious time out of the cabin he is building for a job, just to come inspect our house. Thanks Brent!

While we were there we were able to take some photos.

The master bath. We are inspecting everything

The guest bath on the main floor.

Fireplace

Shower in the Master, the bath and closet are as big as the bedroom

Kitchen!

Stairs to the unfinished basement

Front room

We are really excited to move in!

Life

2010-01-23T09:12:00.000-08:00

Well, it is about time that I update you all about what we have been up to.

For Christmas Break, we drove to Brandon's parents house in Colorado. It was quite the drive on the way there. I drove through unplowed highways, and behind semis. It was hard to see. Then, Brandon took over and he had problems seeing too because it was just so dark by the time we were about 1 hour from his parents house. We loved spending time with family. It was so nice to just get away. We went sledding one day, went up the Cog railroad up Pike's Peak, spent almost an entire day shopping in Manitou Springs, and went to a four course fondue restaurant. When we got back, Brandon had to help his brother replace the fuel pump on his truck. It took them about 10 hours to do it. It was horrible and I felt so bad for them. Needless to say, I stayed inside the apartment and about every hour to hour and a half I took out hot chocolate.

Brandon surprised me on Christmas morning with a reservation to a bed and breakfast in Provo. Even though we were only 7 blocks from the apartment, it was still nice to just have us time. The Hines Mansion is a wonderful place. The rooms are all themed and we stayed in the Library room. It had a wall that turned to get into the bathroom like a secret passage, and circular stairs up to a jetted tub for two. We also were able to go to Chef's Table (our favorite restaurant) and then to Hale Center Theatre as a part of the package with the room.

Brandon changed his major officially to a Marriage and Family Major. He is really excited because he is taking three major classes this semester and enjoys them. Since he wants to be a Chaplin, they are right what he need to study.

School for me in going well. I have had two new students join my class, and it is very interesting to see the change that those two students bring to the class. I am now at 10 boys and 14 girls. However, most of the time it seems like I have more boys than that. They are the wild ones, and the girls just end up being mean to each other. You would be surprised but 7 and 8 year old girls are mean! I have little girl fights everyday, and most of the time it involves tears.

As for news about the house, our offer was accepted. We are now under contract to by the house, which will be so nice. We can't wait to get out of our apartment. We reached the end of our love with this apartment a while back, and it just will be nice to get out. We went four days without heat, and that is enough to make anyone want out. I will be taking pictures of the house next Saturday, which is the soonest we will get to see the house again.

Long time no post

2010-01-20T17:11:00.000-08:00

I am sorry that I have been so lazy updating this blog. I am trying to be better, but we will see what happens.

So, as of late, we were without heat for 4 days, so that was fun. Also, we put an offer down on a house, and we are just waiting to hear back about all the details. I will post pictures as soon as we have a chance to go see it again. It is out in Eagle Mountain. It will be nice to have a place that is ours and as much as I love Provo, I am ready to be out of here.

Well, I don't mean to cut it short, but I will update again soon about the house and about our holiday break.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T15:17:00.000-08:00

Well this Thanksgiving was wonderful. Brandon's family was able to come into town which was nice because we weren't going to be leaving to see any family. On Tuesday night Aaron and Chloe (Brandon's siblings) and us went out to dinner at Red Robin. Then on Wednesday since there was no school, we went up to Park City. Brandon worked that day from about 9 to 5 so he missed out on the fun, but it was a good time. I love going to the outlets to get some shopping done.

That night Brandon's parents came into town, so we had dinner at Cafe Rio. I love that place. Thursday we spent the day at home, cooking and such. The food was great, and then we just sat around trying to figure out what to do. Chloe wanted to see New Moon really badly, so the parents were going to take us all. Brandon and I didn't want to see it, so we passed. Aaron's girlfriend just returned from her mission and her family just happened to be in Provo too, so he went over there to play games.

Friday, I didn't go shopping at all! I am pretty much done with Christmas shopping so I felt like I didn't have to venture out. Brandon changed the breaks on his car with his dad and brothers help. It was our good friend Cassie's birthday so we went to Village Inn to celebrate. I didn't want any pie, so I ate fruit instead. Brandon of course had pie. No surprise there!

Saturday was game day! First we helped a few friends move down to Springville and realized that we would like to have our own house, but we are not in that position. Then we watched the game. BYU vs. Utah! Legendary! It was a great game. Part way through we went out to dinner to Brick Oven and so the phone was on the table the whole time updating every 30 seconds so we knew what was going on. Then, since Brandon is in the Army ROTC at BYU they have to clean up a section of the stadium after a game. I was nice enough to go help him. We arrived with about 2 minutes on the clock and it was 20-17 BYU leading. I just stood there on the walkway cheering my head off. Brandon told me that we had to get over to the other side. So, when Utah took a timeout, I took off running, not wanting to miss a single second of the game. I watched as Utah tied it up with a field goal. It was wonderful to stand there and watch as overtime played out, and I was freaking out after Andrew George took off running to the end zone. I knew that we had won! I haven't been at the stadium for the past two seasons to see home games because season tickets are so expensive and Brandon doesn't love to watch them. He was laughing at me the entire time we were there watching the last part of the game. I am so proud to be a cougar!!

A long time

2009-10-26T14:20:00.001-07:00

Wow, sorry that it has been a long time since I have updated this. Life is busy, but that is no excuse. Well, let me see what has been going on.

I have been sick! It has been bad because during the week I can tell that I am a little bit sick, but then the weekend comes and bam! I am so sick that I have to stay home all weekend. Luck for me, this spell has ended. It happened two weekends in a row, and those were bad weekends to do it on. The first weekend Brandon's family was in town, so I was kind of a downer on the rest of the group. Then, the next weekend I was home alone all Saturday while Brandon was on a mini FTX (field training exercise). Needless to say, I hate being sick and being home alone. Not fun.

The weekend that Brandon's family was in town was great (minus the sickness of course). We drove the Alpine loop and had a grand time. We even got real silverware, so no more cheap plastic silverware. Well, it is not real real silverware that you have to shine, but still we were very proud. Then on top of that we finally found place mats that we like and nicer dishes that we love! They are red and black and square. They are really beautiful. They also make all my meals look fantastic without me trying to have a nice presentation so that is an extra bonus.

Well, as for Brandon he is doing well. School is keeping him very busy, so I hardly see him, but I understand that he is doing something that is going to be great for us in the future. Also, that mini FTX he went on was ok. He had a good time from what I can tell. However, he had a blister on the bottom of his foot that stuck out like 1/4 inch and was larger around than a quarter. He had to pop it while he was out at Camp Williams for the FTX so it was hurting him a bunch the next day.

Well as many of you know, this past weekend for BYU was not a great one. It actually kind of made us look like fools. However, I knew that we wouldn't win and that it probably would be a bad game to watch, so we instead went to Trafalga. We played mini-golf and had a good time. We were able to go with our good friends Chris and Christina. They are amazing friends and we are lucky to know them.

Other than that, this week is going to be a quite one for me. I have the entire week off from teaching so that is a nice break, but weird because I woke up feeling like I was going to be late but I wasn't since no one is at the school. I don't know what to do with all my time...

What a crazy past couple weeks!

2009-09-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

These past couple weeks have been crazy. As you can tell I survived the first week of school. It was a great week and I wasn't even that stressed. The students in my class are great. I love them all. They say some of the funniest things, and they keep me on my toes. I am grateful for the opportunity that I have to be their teacher. Sometimes I still can't believe that I am in charge of 25 7/8 year olds, but I love it still. They feeling that you get when they finally understand what you are teaching them is rewarding enough.

Brandon also survived his first week of school. He is taking 15.5 credits and working about 15 hours. His classes are hard, but he is great at studying so it won't be a problem. Sometimes, it feels like I never see him, even though we are home together each night, but I am working on school stuff and so is he.

We have been having a wonderful time together. One of our favorite things to do is go on a walk to the place we will eat at. It doesn't happen that often, but when it does, it is great.

For Labor Day weekend we spend time with our friends. Chris and Christina had us over for dinner on Labor day, and it was nice to see them. Then, that night we went over to celebrate our other friend Chris' birthday. It is so nice to have great friends.

Well, that is all for now...

Training and everything else

2009-08-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been having training for school. I have to drive up to Salt Lake for the training. Yesterday I had to drive farther than normal, and thus I got stuck in horrible traffic. I don't know why traffic slows down when there are no accidents. If everyone went the speed limit then yes there will be lots of cars on the road, but it wouldn't be as stressful. At times I was going like 30 mph when the speed limit is 65 mph. Anyways, back to the training. I am excited and nervous for school to start and with all this training it seems like it is never going to come. I know that as soon as school start, everything will be fine.

Brandon is so excited! This week he purchased everything that he needs to build his new computer. He had a nice laptop, but he recently got a tablet that is perfect to take notes on, but he needs something more powerful for his programming classes. I think that everything will arrive late this week so that it is built by Saturday, well that is what he says. I don't know if it is going to be finished by then.

On Saturday, my aunt arrived. She is staying with us during education week. It is really fun to have her here. I love spending time with her. Then on Monday, we had FHE and then we went on a walk. While we were on the walk, I asked Brandon if he knew when your friends the Heits were moving. Brandon said that he didn't know, but why don't we walk over there and ask. On the way over there, I was just walking happily hand in hand with Brandon, and then suddenly BAM! I smacked my foot into a brick. There was just a random brick in the middle of the sidewalk! Seriously, who does that? By the time we got there it was like 9:30. They were surprised to see us, but they were kind enough to let us stay for like an hour. All in all Brandon and I had a great time on our walk. It is always nice to just spend time together and chat!

The past week

2009-07-26T09:34:00.000-07:00

So, this past week has been a good week. I only have one more week of working at Burger King, so that is always nice, and then I was able to see Brandon more. Not much happened Monday - Wednesday, but on Thursday, we rented Knowing off of iTunes, and then invited Chris and Amanda over to watch it with us. That movie started off really good, but the ending was weird. The last scene shows a tree in the middle of a field, and the two kids running towards it. We all just said huh, that is weird. It seemed like the tree of life, and that was just weird to through into a movie that wasn't about religion at all.

On Friday, Aaron (Brandon's brother) came into town for the night and was going to be staying with us. So after I got off work, we grabbed a pizza, then headed to the Nickelcade. After about two hours there, they threw us out because it was midnight and they were closing. We headed home, and then the boys wanted to hit up sonic at about 1 am. I let them go, and went and just laid down on the bed to wait for them to come home. The next thing I know it is 9 am. Needless to say, I didn't just lay down.

Then yesterday (Saturday), I had the whole day off from both jobs. Since we were up late the night before, we all slept in pretty late. Then Brandon and Aaron had to go to Brandon's work so he could make him some sort of CD. At about 2 pm we said goodbye to Aaron, and then started laundry. By five everything was folded and put away.

At about 6 we headed out. Brandon refused to tell me where we were going. He does this from time to time, so the only thing that I asked him was if it was ok that I wear flip flops. He told me to put on real shoes, so I did. He surprised me by taking me to Bridalveil falls in Provo Canyon. It was beautiful and we went on a walk down the trail. After about an hour and a half we left. We came home and made tacos for dinner, and then later went to Coldstone for some ice cream since we had a coupon. All in all it was a good week.

Whirlwind weekend

2009-07-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well, this past weekend Beth and I headed home. Her little sister Brina, and my long time friend, was getting married. We were so excited to be going home that we left at like 6:30 on Thursday. After about 12 hours we arrived at my parents house, and I was excited to be able to move my legs around.

On Friday I went to Target with my dad to meet my mom after she got off work (she works there). While waiting I found some awesome teacher stuff and my dad was sweet enough to buy them for me. So, 26 whiteboards, some bookmarks, caddy's to go on the tables, and puzzles and flashcards later I found my mom. We bought Brina her presents then headed home. I then adventured out on my own to she my friend Shannon. I have know her since I was in the first grade, and now she has two kids. I was so happy that I was able to see her and her new 5 month old baby.

That night we all went out to dinner: my parents, my brother and his wife, and me. We went to Mongolian Grill and it was delicious. I was so full after my first plate that I was unable to go back for more, and had to wait like 20 minutes before I felt like having dessert. Yummy!

The next day started early. We needed to go help them set up for the wedding. Beth picked me up at 7:10, met up with her older sister Amanda and her husband Ryan, then headed over to Portland. First, McDonald's, second to the park to set up. I was so happy to see Brina and meet the man she was going to marry. After about 2 hours or so of setting up we headed to the room to get ready. I did all the girls in her families hair: Amanda, Beth, Mom, Holly the littlest sister, and Brina's. Brina was so beautiful. I am grateful that I was able to be there for that special day. Here are a few photos from the wedding festivities.

Where it all took place.

Setting up for the ceremony.

Mike seeing Brina for the first time! She looks stunning.

The happy couple!

Walking down the aisle with her dad

Close up of her and her dad.

This little girl wanted Brina to get married again and have her be the flower girl. Brina told her that she wouldn't marry just anyone, but to find the man that she had married earlier! It was so cute!

Their first dance.

The girls minus Bri.

Her brothers Teddy and Gilbert. Gilbert is the cute one and Teddy is the one with black hair and a red beard.

Some pictures from the Philippines

2009-07-03T10:14:00.000-07:00

A very old carriage.

This tower is slowly sinking into the ground!

Another picture of the beach. The black spots are heads.

A picture of me with the lush greenery behind me.

Brandon looking nice and hot.

A really amazing family that Brandon and Jason helped bring the gospel to. They had us over for dinner. They are simply amazing.

The BEAUTIFUL beach! There was hardly anyone there.

This is a church that was built in the 1500's.

This is a trike. You sit in the sidecar and the driver takes you to where you need to go for about 10 cents! Well depending on where you are going.

This was the view from our very first hotel. It was so beautiful there.

The Kitchen Sink

2009-06-29T06:50:00.000-07:00

So, the other day I was getting out some chicken for dinner from the freezer. I turned on the kitchen sink so that the water could warm up to help the chicken thaw faster and the next thing I know, the kitchen sink is backed up and filling with water very rapidly. Both sides of the sink were filling up so we knew where the problem was relatively. Later that night we are in the store and we called Brandon's brother to have him check the kitchen sink. He said that there was no water in it so it just is slow on draining. I was so confused because of what had happened earlier that morning.

Later that night, I turn on the sink and what do you know, it backs up again! By this time I am sick of it and tell Brandon that we need Draino. The next morning the same thing happens, so we go out and get some Draino. After having it in the pipes for about an hour or more I turned on the water. The next thing I see is foamy water coming up into the sink! I am so irritated with the sink that I tell Brandon that we must take it apart. However, he told me to just let the water run and fill up in the sink to see if it will help break up the clog.

After about one hour, Brandon sees the need to get this fixed. Without a properly working sink we can't wash dishes by hand or in the dishwasher, and the next day was Sunday. We got to the store to buy something we can drain the water into, come back and get out as much water from the sinks as we can by scooping it out. Then, Brandon with the help from his brother take the sink apart. They got the clog, but they were both being girls about it. If anything from the clog got on them they needed to wash their hands right away! It was so fun. Finally, they got everything out, put it back together, and tested the sink. It works great and I am grateful that they were willing to do it and not make me do it!

On an unrelated matter, yesterday we noticed a bubble forming on our ceiling in our bedroom. Brandon felt it and it was definitely full of water. We knew this was a big problem, popped and drained it, and then called our management. They still haven't got back to us, but we are worried about how they are going to fix it and when! I hope that it doesn't get worse before it gets better. I will keep you posted.

The Philippines

2009-06-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, as many of you know, we just returned from the Philippines. It was so much fun, and we were there for two weeks. When we arrived it was Thursday night, so we hopped into a taxi and went to the hotel. It was a nice hotel, but not the best. Then we adventured out of the hotel to explore that area of Manila. We found a Chow King, which is a restaurant that serves Chinese food. It was so good, and just a block away from the hotel. However, to get there you had to cross two of the busiest roads to get there. Now, in the Philippines, they don't care if you are a pedestrian or not. If you are in their way they won't slow down but will honk at you to get out of their way as fast as possible. Therefore, crossing those roads was an adventure. It was raining as well, and they think that any one without an umbrella is crazy. So, they kept trying to have us buy umbrella after umbrella. Needless to say, we never bought one.

The next day, we were flying up to Laoag, which is where Brandon served his mission. However, the flight was leaving at 6:50 pm and checkout at the hotel was noon. So, we needed to find something to do with all that extra time. We hopped into a taxi, which proceeded on hitting another taxi while trying to pull away, and we headed to the temple. If you thought that driving in L.A. is bad, go to the Philippines. No one follows the rules of the road, and they try and fit into any spot they can on the road, even if they have to push another car out of their way. Even just being in the back of the taxi was scary at times, and this drive to the temple was the scariest of all. We almost got hit more times than I could count, and many of those times it was a big bus versus the little taxi we were in. Brandon was laughing at me the whole time there because he just thought it was fun.

Once we got to the temple we asked the people at the visitor's center if we could leave our luggage there while we did a session. They were more than willing. It was a wonderful experience to be in the Manila temple. The session was in English so I was able to understand everything but it was just simply amazing. After that, we went to the airport and waited for our flight. We had the hotel that we were going to be staying at in Laoag pick us up, and that was so nice after the taxis that day. The hotel we stayed at was amazing. It was so nice and comfortable that I thought I could live here.

We traveled around to so many different places, and were able to see so many awesome things. In one city we were trying to decide whether or not to take a ride in the house drawn carriage. Finally, we decided that we would because we would probably regret it later. The town had cobblestone roads, and old Spanish architecture. It was so amazing to see that town. I am glad that we did it!

After about a week in Laoag, we head back down to Manila. We decided to come home a week earlier, and since the airlines didn't charge us to change our flights, we did. After checking into a different hotel in the Manila area, we hated it. The hotel that is, not Manila. It was so trashy and the room was disgusting. We told hotel management about it, and they said that they would switch us to a new room about 2 pm. After spending the day out, we came back around 5 to find out the new room was not ready yet and wouldn't be for a few more hours. We were sick of that hotel so we called around and found a very nice hotel in the Makati area, which is the nicest part of the Manila area. As soon as we walked into our room we were so happy that we had left the other hotel. It was the most expensive room in the hotel, but not at all expensive to American standards and a massage came with the room. Not just one for the whole stay, but one per day! That was pretty amazing.

When it was time to leave, we were both very sad, but excited to be returning home. The people in the Philippines are just so nice and caring, and they are missed. Brandon suggested going back next year, but we will see what happens...

The End!

2009-04-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

It is finally the end of the semester. It is a reading day, and Brandon is working today. I still have school, but my last day is Friday. I am excited to finish and then graduate. It is going to be great to be an official college graduate. My mom and I have been counting down and we are down to 8 days.

However, the end means that I have to leave the students. They are so stinkin' cute. I can't believe how attached they are to me. Today I had to be the mean teacher and take away recess minutes to make them practice being quiet and walking in the hallway. However, still after that they are so excited when I teach them something or tell them something about my life. They are the sweetest kids in the world. They went to the Cougar Store today and just the smallest things made them happy. It still just blows my mind to see how kind they are. They asked me yesterday if I could come visit every Friday. When I told them that I couldn't come every Friday they then changed their minds to Tuesday. I really love each one of these students, and they are all so different. It is going to be sad to leave on Friday.

Brandon is doing great. he just left for a review. He is so happy to be at the end. He had been working on many different projects at once, and they are done. All that he has left is a couple finals and a research paper.

Lonely Evening

2009-04-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

Well, Brandon is gone on a ROTC FTX, which is a field training exercise. He left yesterday and won't be home until sometime tomorrow. I therefore will be having a lonely Friday night.

Since he was going to be gone yesterday, I just stayed up in the Salt Lake area for a meeting about the school I am going to be working at. It was a meeting about the curriculum, and it seems like it is going to be a great experience. However, that meant that I had to find a way to spend about 3 hours between school and the meeting. I had to go and turn in my new hire paperwork, then after that I went to the Jordan River temple. It was nice to just spend time there, and to get away from life. After a long day at school, that is just what I needed.

School is going good, but I am ready to have my own classroom. The kids have spring break next week, which means they have Thursday, Friday, and then the next Monday off. Not a whole week, but it will be a nice break before the end.

Brandon is getting ready for the grind of end of the semester. He has many assignments left and tests. It seems like he is always doing homework, but that is not a bad thing. However, he is ready to be done with this year. He keeps on telling me that he just can't wait to be done with college in general.

A Job!!!

2009-03-27T12:23:00.001-07:00

I got a job this week! I am so excited and relaxed now. I don't have to worry about having a job or not, just about gathering all the items for my classroom. I am going to be a second grade teacher at Early Light Academy, and I can't wait. This school is in the process of being built, and it should be a great facility. Each of the classrooms is going to have this thing called a SmartBoard, which is an interactive whiteboard. It acts as a whiteboard, and a touch screen for your computer. You just project your computer onto the board, and bam, you can touch the board to click on items on your desktop. I am super excited for this new adventure. Also, I found out that I passed my Teacher Work Sample (final senior project) so that is nice and means that I can graduate. Everything is falling into place so nicely, that I am just amazed by it all.

Brandon is not going to be doing Army related training this summer so that will be nice. However, he is going to take classes during the summer term so that he won't be in school for another 3 years.

It snowed here this week, after about 2 weeks of spring weather and 70 degrees it just had to snow again.

So, graduation is getting closer, about 3 weeks. This means that we get to see some of the family. Brandon's parents are coming and his sister lives here so it will be nice to have them come, and then my parents and my brother, sister-in-law, and their adorable children are coming. It is going to be a party!

Life keeps moving

2009-03-03T12:46:00.000-08:00

So, I know that it has been awhile, but life just keeps moving.

My class assignment was changed. I am in a third grade class now, which is a big change. The students are the sweetest, nicest, and cutest ever. They are always asking me about what I ate for lunch, what I am doing in the back of the room, and other very sweet things. I am excited to be with them, and to get to know them. However, it is going to be tougher than last time. They all come from lower income families, and they need so much more love and teaching from me. I already love each one of them, and it is only the fourth day with them.

Brandon is still very busy, but he is handling it well. He has been responsible for leading PT for Army ROTC for the past few sessions. He has been coming up with good workouts, and comes home sore from them.

We officially are going to the Philippines in May for about 3 weeks. However, right before that we are moving into another apartment. We were lucky to find a person to take over our contract within days of listing it. Brandon is so ready for our summer trip, and is looking forward to it. I am graduating in less than 2 months, and that is so exciting. However, scary at the same time. I am still looking for a teaching job, but I am not that worried.

Oh Snap!

2009-02-03T21:17:00.000-08:00

So, a very, very sad thing happened today. While I (Kerri) was at work, my phone slipped out of my hand and feel into a bucket of water. It was only in there for a little while but still...this could be the end of that phone. :(
Then, Brandon thought that he did really well on a test, but then after when he saw his grade he felt like he got screwed. Let's just say that he didn't get the best score ever.

Other than that, the day was fine. Teaching went well today. I was able to teach almost the whole day since their was a substitute. The kids were well behaved, and they really tried hard all day.

Dinner Out

2009-01-27T14:19:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a great dinner out. It was so nice to spend time together, especially on a weekday. Kerri was called ma'am over and over again by our server and Brandon loved his Chicken and Dumplins. We decided that Cracker Barrel is so great because it is not that expensive, especially since they give you so much food.

We are still very busy, and sometimes it feels like we are going about 100 miles per hour, but we are getting into a groove. Kerri makes smoothies for us every morning, and Brandon cleans it up after she has left. Also, when it snows Brandon shoves the spot for Kerri - how thoughtful of him.

The weather last week spoiled us, it got up into the high 40's, but this week it is back down into the teens and snowing - I don't know if I can take it any more.

Busy Life

2009-01-15T12:35:00.000-08:00

So, it has been a while, and we have both been very busy. Our Christmas break started off with an adventure of a canceled flight and closed airports. We ended up flying into Seattle and then having my dad drive us back down to their house. A two-three hour drive took almost 5 due to the snow. Washington state doesn't believe in real snowplows so none of the roads in Vancouver were clear. Spending time with the family was great, and we got some much needed rest.

We came back to Provo about a week before school started and jumped back into work. Then the semester hit like a bomb. I am student teaching and working about 20 hours a week, and Brandon is taking classes and working as well. It feels like to us that we hardly ever see each other.

Student teaching is going great. I am teaching a sixth grade class in the Jordan/Draper area. I was terrified of the sixth graders at first, but I think that has past. Now, I am just worried that they are going to correct my grammar and know a whole lot more than me. See, they are the advanced class, and are learning seventh and eighth grade material. I am worried that I don't know all that I need to in order to help them learn all they can.

Even though we are crazy busy, we are loving life.

End of a semester

2008-12-16T21:13:00.000-08:00

So, the semester has ended, and we are just finishing up finals. So far everything has gone well, and we are thinking that married life is great for studying. The one thing that we are both really looking forward to is going to Kerri's parents house for a good, long break. We are both so excited for Christmas.

About a week ago we went up to the Holdman house in Lindon where the Christmas lights flash with the music playing on the radio. After that we went to Target, and here is where Brandon got so excited for Christmas. We ended up buying two rope light strings, one clear and the other candy cane. We put them outside around the front door and window to our apartment. It took about a week to complete but we were pleasantly surprised by how good it looks. Pictures to come later!