Baby Vineyard

I have been wanting to post about our little nugget for ages, but couldn't get around to it for the following reasons:

1. This kid wears me out! I seriously come home from work and lay in bed until I have to get up the next morning. 
2. I am still working 50ish hours a week and the thought of coming home and being on my computer again makes me shudder. 
3. I was afraid I would jinx it if I announced it too soon, that somehow blogging about it would make me not pregnant anymore. 

#3 was the main thing holding me back. Who knew starting this phase of our life would be the most terrifying/exciting/exhausting thing EVER. Oy, it has been an interesting roller coaster to say the least. I guess I should start from the beginning. Be warned that this is not going to be all gum drops and roses. I want to document things the way that they really are so I can either hold it over the kids head later in life or just take credit for how awesome he turns out. 

I know my cycle like clock work. If I don't get a certain present by 11 o'clock am on a certain Friday, something is wrong. 12 o'clock rolled on, so I automatically texted Michael telling him I thought we were preggers. All day I would go to the bathroom expecting to be proven wrong, but it didn't happen. I had to work late, due to super considerate clients who obviously don't have a life outside of work, and for some reason I didn't have a car, so I walked to the Lambson's house all by myself. It was interesting to have that 45 minute time to just think about what could be happening inside my body at that very moment. I remember  thinking about how beautiful the day was and how amazing our Heavenly Father is. I finally got to the Lambson's where Michael was watching Mama Christy. We discussed the possibility of what was happening and decided we would take a pregnancy test if needed in a few days. 

Needless to say, we grabbed one on the way home at one o'clock in the morning and took it right away. 

It was positive. I shrugged my shoulder and told Michael that we were pregnant. He said we would take another test in the morning to see if we were REALLY pregnant.

A whole 6 hours later, the new test was again positive. Michael's first question was if he could tell his mom who was heading over that moment. I can't remember why she was coming over so early on a Saturday, but it was Conference weekend. We both went down and met her in her car and told her our news, and reminded her multiple times how early it was. She cried and told us that she had had a dream about a baby the night before (dreams are a big deal in the Vineyard Casa) who she thought was Jonathan and Nicki's baby, but it had to have been ours. It was a sweet moment. 

We then got ready for the day and headed over to Mom and Jerry's for the morning session of conference. Carlie met us at our house before to drive up with us, and I showed her my pee sticks, which she thought was disgusting and did not believe. She also teased me for not being able to keep anything to myself. At Mooder's, we had yummy old school breakfast of cheese eggs with onions, OJ, and toast. As soon as we walked in I told Mooder as she cooked breakfast. She cried and gave me a hug and then told Jerry. When she blessed the food, she also thanked Heavenly Father for the potential of another grandchild. The more we told people, the less real it seemed. It seemed as if I was just having a Catie moment, getting too excited over something and sharing it with the world, only to have it disappear before it happened. We called Padre and shared the news with him as well. 

Later that day we went to Callie's where most of the siblings were and blabbed it right after we went through the door. There was much jumping and screaming from the women folk, which caused the men folk to wonder what was going on. Another pregnancy test followed because Callie has fool proof tests. It again was positive. We did the ring test and it said our baby was a boy. Sunday we had a google hangout with the Vineyards who lived out of the state and told them our news. Remember, we are about 3 weeks along at this point, probably not the best time to tell those you love who have a billion questions. 

The funny thing is whenever something big happens in our life, we usually do a mini announcement. Before we got engaged, we told everyone for months and months that we were going to get engaged. It was the same thing with the baby, we told everyone we might be pregnant. We like to ease people, and mostly ourselves, into things I guess. 

Oh man, this is already like a novel and it is only about the first 24 hours. I might be posting more later, just to ease you into it....

Vacay Time

Man, this kid is cute. 

Hi from Kentucky. 

Comfort Food

My Boss brought me this doughnut today at work. 

I am proud to say I did not eat one bite of it because I am on the Paleo diet with my husband babes(pretty sure I just goggled it and this was the first site that came up. Don't knock it till you try it).

We both have lost weight and feel great! (even though this picture doesn't look like it and I never noticed how big the bags were under my eyes.... I am getting old) It is crazy how big of a difference we can tell in our bodies by its reaction to the food we are eating.

One big part of the diet is giving up bread. You read that right, I CAN'T EAT BREAD. Or any sorts of carbs except for natural ones. 

I love carbs so much that my family, mainly Sue, threw me a surprise birthday party featuring all of my favorite foods. See above photo. 

We are only about a month into it, but I am really excited about the long term aspect of eating healthier. I am really proud of how well we are doing. I actually had a roll the other day (we are allowed cheat days) and it was gross; so gross that I spit it out. 

Fact: People can change. 

The End.

Ragnar 2012

Once upon a time, not too long ago, I ran in the 2012 Wasatch Ragnar Relay. It was crazy awesome and fun. Be prepared for a long play by play because this is something I don't ever want to forget. 

Thursday I took the day off of work to "prepare" for Ragnar that weekend. My selfish clients however did not care that I was on "vacaction" and all decided to contact me with ginormous issues that were out of my control.  I then went to pick up Beal from girls camp up at the very tip top of a mountain that I had never been to and was fortunate enough to have my gas light come on. This was not helping my stress levels. Lets just say I was super worried that we would get stranded at the top of a mountain and would miss Ragnar.  (I was about to start my period, thus the worry and the stress. And ya, that is gross, especially after not being able to shower for two days.)

The time finally came where we made the voyage up to our hotel in Logan. We stopped by Mimi's on the way and had one of the most unusual waitress experiences of my life. We hoped back in the van and went to meet our team mate at her hotel. I had never met Suzy before, so I was kind of nervous about having her on the team. She ended up saving my trash though with her fast pace and quick times. I hope to be like her when I am older. 

After a grocery run, we finally headed to our hotel and slept for the night, mind you that means we slept from about 11 pm to 3 am. We met up and went to the check in. After getting our packets and shirts, we waited for the race to start. Beal was runner #1 for our team and she kicked booty. It was so fun sending her off and then hopping back in the van to support her if she needed it. The first exchange went smoothly and now Callie was running leg 2. She made it look so easy! It was fun being able to meet up with our runners along the way and offer support and encouragement. Hilary and Suzy ran next, both proving that they were much more hard core runners than I am. Then it was Nicki's turn. She ran UPHILL 6 miles on a dirt road, and had to follow a man running in a speedo the majority of the time. Ew. My nerves were driving me crazy as my leg was the next one coming up and I had no idea what to expect. It was downhill for the most part, but it was a soft, dirt road. I was not prepared for it and overall was just happy when the dang thing was over. 

Oh, did I mention that Michael was our driver and drove the majority of the time? He is the best. I was so happy that he was able to enjoy Ragnar with us and to have his support. I am kind of a baby and have to be with him whenever I can be, because he is just that awesome. It would have been a long booty weekend if he had not been there. 

Being as I was runner #6, at my exchange we switched over to our Van 2 runners. I was so worried that I would miss the girl I was supposed to hand off to and I would ruin the race for everyone. Thankfully, I found her and we were able to go get some food at a yummy restaurant Michael and I had tried up in Wolf Creek for our anniversary. We then drove to the next exchange and rested up. I got heat stroke and threw up quite a bit and had the worst headache. A kind nurse runner came and gave me an alcohol wipe to help settle my stomach. It worked wonders and I was able to rest some more. 

Beal had a non support leg so once she started we drove straight to the next exchange. Then Callie, Suzy, Hilary, and Nicki ran their legs. By this time we were probably in Ogden County and it was GORGEOUS. Ya, who knew that Ogden could be pretty. I was getting ready for my leg coming up. I was playing it cool, just telling myself I needed to finish. I am not a competitive runner... Let me rephrase that. I am selectively competitive and it is not something I can just switch on and off. I either am going to kill the run or just get it over with. I knew this was going to be my harder leg being as it was 8.2 miles uphill. Nicki slapped the wrist thing on me and I was off. I felt great. I decided that this run was going to be a good one, even though I had to run in dorky night guard stuff. I ran the first few miles without stopping, which is a huge deal because I don't run for time, I run to say I went running. I then saw my support van and walked while I had a drink. I repeated that every other mile, run until I got to my peeps, start walking so I could digest my drink and use my inhaler (I am cool and have exercise induced asthma.) It was probably around mile 6 that I met up with my van and was screaming with glee about how well my run was going. I may have said that I wanted to have that runs babies, it was that good. (Why do I say weird things?) I had never felt so pumped or proud of myself as I did at the end of that run. At the very end, probably mile 7.5 there was this crazy hill, and I killed it with the help of 50 cent. I got to the exchange and actually ended up getting there before Van 2 was ready. It ended up being the best run of my life. 

This is why I love running so much. It proves that anyone can do anything they put their mind to. Most importantly it reminds me that we can all do hard things; that I can do hard things and come out a better person in the end after learning through the trial. Life takes dedication and preparation, just like running. If we are not willing to put in the work, how on earth do we expect to be blessed and better our situation? DAH! The church is true.

Anyway, we went to some podunk town and had some mexican food before heading over to the local highschool to sleep for the night. By this time, the lack of sleep and stinkiness was getting to all of us, and I think we were ready for it to be over. We finished our last legs eventually (I may have gone super slow for my really long 2.5 miler....) When I finished, it was shower time in Heber. Even though that was the coldest shower of my life and I saw more boobies than I ever wanted to see in my lifetime, that shower was heavenly. 

We waited for our Van 2 at the finish line in Park City. Mooder and Jerry came to cheer us on; so did Micah and Jon. I ran into my old young womens leader from our Orem ward and it was great to catch up. We met right outside the finish line to meet up with our runner 12 to cross the finish line together as a team. That was one of the coolest feelings of the whole race. There we were, finishing this amazing feat together. Once we crossed the finish line, it was time for pictures and medals, which come on, that is the whole reason you run races. I was so worried that we would get disqualified for some reason. There was a 3 strikes and you are out policy, and some of the rules were a bit silly. Who knows if someone on the other team was a Nazi and made up stuff to get other teams disqualified. 

We finished! We completed the Ragnar Relay! What makes it even better is that we got 10th in our division! Yahoo.

There was talk of our family doing the San Francisco Ragnar this September, but that fell through. Instead, our entire family is doing the Wasatch one next year. I cannot wait to do it with all of my siblings and their spouses.  It is going to be EPIC.

The End.

(Funny story: Every morning we have a team meeting at work to go over what everyone is working on that day. I always say my little blurb and then finish with The End to make it so there is not that awkward silence while they wait for the next person to start. Needless to say, everyone makes fun of me now for it BUT they themselves say it as well. I am a trend setter.)

 

Making a List

...... and checking it twice.

I am going to list things that I NEED to blog about for our posterity. Hopefully this will motivate me to actually blog about them. Wish me luck!

-Ragnar 2012
-Fourth of July
-Paleo Diet
-My awesome husband
-New Callings
-Upcoming Events
-Baby Addi
-Nashville

July 4th

This year for the 4th, we slept in and went on a hike up Big Spring Trail. 

T'was fun. 

Pure talent right there ladies and gents. Be jealous. 

Then we went to the Stadium of Fire Concert with the Beach Boys. The guy's face behind us pretty much sums up how fun that was. But, Michael is hot and it was fun to go with the fam bam. 

We've Got Some Catching Up To Do

Oy, it has been some time since we last posted. This post may be ginormous, so be warned. 

I will start with the most recent since it is still on my mind. 

This past weekend was crazy busy. Friday night I ran 10 miles with Beal and Nicki as a part of our Ragnar training. I was pooped and exhausted after that; normally we do our long runs on Saturday mornings, but I had to go to San Diego for a convention on Saturday and would not be able to run. So Friday night it was. It really was a great run, especially  considering my shuffle died 4 miles in. 

Anyway, we had a long run and did not get home until late. I had to get up super early to get to the airport on time for above mentioned convention, and on top of that, I had to get up at 3 in the freaking morning on Sunday to fly home. To say the least it was a quick trip. I prayed so hard that night that I would have help getting through the weekend alive. It was just thing after thing after thing. Prayer works.....

 Not to belittle the power of prayer, but I also discovered that caffeine pills also work..... after getting home from the airport and being reunited with my love, he could tell I was pooped and offered to make me a gatorade. It was not until after I had chugged it down that he told me he had crushed some caffeine pills into it so I would stay awake. He drugged me! Never in my life had I felt so violated, but it as pretty dang funny. Let's just say that they pills sure worked, I was antsy all during church and my legs would not stop twitching. It is definitely not something I will be doing again anytime soon, both taking caffeine pills or drinks from my husband.

Speaking of church, we had the opportunity to go to the baby blessing of Scott Parish Covey. Covey's and Anderson's live in the same ward, so we get to visit it often. I LOVE THEIR WARD! Each and every time we go, we leave feeling the spirit so strongly. It reminds me of Merced 1st ward. Yes the church is true across the board, but I definitely have my favorites. The blessing was beautiful. Scotty was blessed with guidance and direction in his life, along with the foundation of where he comes from. He was named after really great men who are in his life, my dad being one of them. It is crazy to think about where we come from and how we have our ancestors to thank for where we are. I felt Grandma Ila so strongly during the blessing. I felt the power of the priesthood and the love of our Heavenly Father for each and every one of us. 

Being as it was the first Sunday of the month, it was Fast and Testimony meeting. There were several great testimonies shared, but the very last one is what hit me the most. A woman spoke about how a testimony is something worth fighting for, even though it may be hard sometimes. There have been instances in my life where if I did not rely on my testimony, I know for a fact that I would not be enjoying the blessings I am now. We have the agency to decide what path we take when faced with trials, and whichever path we choose determines the rest of our life, not to mention our children and our children's children. If life were peachy and we weren't faced with adversity, we would miss out on valuable lessons that would help us grow and our testimony to mature. So when trials come that make you doubt your testimony, fight for it. DO NOT let go of your testimony, no matter how easy it is to give up and stop trying. DAH! I wish you all could have been there and felt the spirit in the room. 

On that note, let's see what else has been going on. Michael has finally finished his 6 week field camp where he got to prove how great of a geologist he is. It was a long 6 weeks to say the least, but I am so proud of him and all of his hard work. I know he is going to do great things with his degree and that we are so blessed that he was able to study something he loves so much. It sucked having him gone, I am a big blob of sobs and pity parties when he is gone, especially for so long at a time. I was lucky enough to go down to St. George and visit him for the weekend during one of his longer trips. We stayed with Grandma and Grandpa McCombs and enjoyed their hospitality. Family is the best.

I am teaching with Strengthening Families again this summer and am loving it. I was basically offered a job to work with the people who run Strengthening Families, which would be like a dream job for me. Due to our current situation, now is not the time for me to work there, but the fact that it was an unsolicited offer just tickled me pink. 

Enjoy some pictures from our recent adventures... and when I say our, I really mean Michael's trip to Hawaii, because that is cooler than anything I have been up to.

 Michael picking up some lava from an active volcano.

 The aftermath of falling on dried lava, which apparently is like falling onto a bunch of broken glass.

 Cool trees. 

 My uber attractive husband. Dang. 

 Pretty sure I just got goofball pictures like this while he was gone. That silly bum. 

 Aloha!

 Mr. Geologist Michael Scott

 Best grocery store ever. 

 View from Michael's hostel where apparently the night before there was a cat fight between some ladies. 

 A few days after he fell on the lava. His scar now is pretty dang cool. 

View from the helicopter ride.  

Isn't She Pretty?

Thank goodness for Mother's Day coming up. Not only am I blessed with an amazing Mooder, Mama, and Nancy, but Mother's Day also means I get to talk to Sister Davis. 

Woot Woot!

Curse You Hawaii

This is the only time in my life I will disrespect Hawaii. 

Hawaii, I hate you. Bring my dang husband home already. It is only day 3 of 8 and I am dying over here. 

Curse Michael for having a degree where he gets to go to all of these fun places and look at rocks. 

Okay, now that I vented I feel a little bit better.

I still very much love Hawaii and still very, very much love Michael. I am so happy he has a degree that he loves so much and gets to experience all of these cool things. I just am a no body without him and miss him a lot a lot.

Quote of the Day

"When I met Cate, she was this tall and crazier than a damn squirrel!"

Oh Grandpa Rey, how I love you.

Don't Tell Anyone....

But I may be in love with Utah.

Gasp.

It is pretty hard not to love a place as with all of its beautiful landscapes and warm sunshine.

Go Utah. 

Don't worry though, I still remember where I came from.

2 Years Baby

Michael and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary last weekend! My how time has flown. I feel like it was just yesterday we got married, but then on the other hand, I feel as if we have always been married. 

Canlas' were kind enough to let us use their timeshare up in Wolf Creek. It was the perfect little get away and I was so spoiled having Michael all to myself for a whole weekend. I love him. Happy Anniversary babes! You make me a better person and I would be nothing without you by my side. 

P.S. I totes still fit in my wedding dress, without even tying the corset mind you. Granted, I couldn't lift my arms at all and my bubs were too big for it (no complaints here, and I sure hope my dad doesn't read that) but still, I got that thing on all by myself. Yahoo!

24th Birthday

Be warned, when you turn 24, you are officially old. Not that it is a bad thing mind you. I feel as if I am officially a grown up. My cute husband threw a surprise birthday dinner for me of yummy pasta and bread. He loves me. Our family on both sides came over for dinner and it was so fun being around those that we love, with food that we (mostly me) love as well. 

Funny story. I found this cake on Pinterest the night before my birthday, and I had to make it. 

So, after having a fun lunch with Mooder, Beal, Tiney, and the kiddos, I headed home to make my cake. After having the house almost burn down because we put the condensed milk in the crock pot to boil all day, without it being in the can mind you, I pressed forward and started to do it on the stove instead. It took me two hours to make and bake that dang cake (ha, that kind of rhymed). Then came the part where you take it out of the bundt pan, and lets just say the pan won. Top it off the cake wasn't even good! I was so bummed so I threw it away and headed to Magleby's to get my cake. Defiantly  worth it people. 

Lesson learned. Don't try and make your own birthday cake. 

I was smothered with love by my family and friends. It was a great day and I am glad to be a grown up now.

Ramblings

This post is titled Ramblings, so be warned. 

I have been toying with the idea of making my blog private. I use this mostly as a journal for Michael and I, so I want to write about things that impact us, both big and small. Having said that, sometimes I feel like I need to filter what I write here because it is out there for the world to see. So..... don't be surprised if this baby goes private sometime soon.

We are moving forward here in the Vineyard household with work, school, and play time. Today we welcome a new nephew. Henry William Vineyard. He is pretty dang cute and if things go as planned, we get to meet him in June for his baby blessing and then we get to visit him in August. I can't wait to hold him and love him. Being an aunt is definitely the best thing for me right now. I am super baby hungry, but for the cute and fluffy things about babies, not the hard set reality of having a baby. Playing with my nieces and nephews help curb that hunger and I love every minute of it.

Yesterday I went over to the Andersons and Nigel was genuinely excited that I was there. It made my day. It got even better when he had me pick him up and he asked where my baby in my belly was, because my belly was getting bigger. Nigel and Johnny then went on for 5 minutes about the baby in my belly. You would've had to have been there, but it was seriously the funniest thing ever. I have to wonder what it is their moms say about Aunt Teetee is not around...

Michael is a stud. Seriously, I am the luckiest girl in the world to be married to such and amazing man. He loves me through all of my faults (and lets be honest, he loves me through my menstrual cycles, because heaven knows if I were in his shoes, I would shoot myself). He is kind. He is loving. He is fun and makes me laugh. He is such a hard worker. I appreciate all of his dedication in school and towards our future. I am married to my best friend! How awesome is that?

Work has been challenging, but in a good way. It is helping me grow and develop as a person. I have been under a lot of stress recently with the new position and the transition. For those of you who know me, you probably know that I turn red when I am nervous or uncomfortable, and when I say red, I mean like a big, blotchy tomato.(This also happens if I eat something with too many preservatives in it. Woe is me.)  I happened to be preparing for my Relief Society lesson on the Priesthood, so I asked Michael for a blessing.  I was instructed very specific things to help me with my job. Remember how I turn red when I am nervous or uncomfortable? Well, being at a job where I left feeling like an idiot each and everyday for a month straight, you can imagine how blotchy I got while at work, in front of my coworkers and clients. The simple little things I was told in that blessing have boosted my confidence and self esteem tremendously. When I feel that burning nervousness start, I sing a hymn or say a prayer and BOOM! I am no longer red. BENDICIONES! These little things, along with other reminders have brought me closer to my Heavenly Father and reminds me on a daily basis how much He loves and cares for all of His children. Slowly but surely, I am getting the hang of my job and I am pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. It is all due to a loving Heavenly Father.

Um, I don't get what the hype is about the new City Creek Center. Isn't it exactly like the Gateway? I know I hate shopping, so I will probably never fully appreciate how amazing it is, but come on, there are people starving in the world, why not focus on that or things that actually matter?

Ragnar is coming up... oy. Going to the gym with Michael has been fun though, so I can't complain. I can now hold my own in tickle wars, so they have become less entertaining. Booyah.

I will finally end with my excitement for the Hunger Games movie we are going to tomorrow with Eric and Christy. It better be good or Hunger Games and I will be in a fight.

The church is true. Say your prayers and pay your tithing. Peace.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

So, we had been baby sitting the Covey's California King Sized bed and recently they needed it back. I was somewhat worried about going back down to just our full sized bed after having lived in luxury for six months. I couldn't go back though. Heaven only knows how we both fit on that small thing. I was willing to go into thousands of dollars of debt to get a bed that had not been used but was huge, and I never go into debt for anything. That shows how needy I was. Isn't it funny how wants and needs can get switched sometimes? I was convinced we had to have a big bed. So the search began.

Tiney had purchased hers five years ago at DownEast for $50. Yes, you read that right, 50 bucks for a California King with a pillow top. (It seriously is the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on.) Naturally, I started there and explained my situation. I learned that DownEast no longer had such said beds, but I was more than welcomed to come look at their new fancy schmancy bedline. 

But then, the girl on the phone said she thought she had a bed for me. Turns out they had a King sized bed for $44 on the floor, and it was mine if I could pick it up by the end of the day. It only took one call to get my new bed, and at a ridiculously low price. Bendiciones!

So now we have our very first bed that is all our own. Previously we had just been mooching from our generous family. It feels great to be all grown up and independent, not to mention thrifty, all at the same time. Go us. However, we just have the mattress now and it sits on the floor. I think it is romantic though. We will only be poor college students once in our life, might as well live it up though, right? Right?

Anywho, about every six months, I feel the deep need to change our house completely. Since space and moola is limited, this usually means I just rearrange the furniture. During my most recent itch to rearrange, I redid our office/guest bedroom, which lead me to our dreaded junk closet that just had, well... a bunch of junk in it. Amiss the junk, I found cards from our wedding day and from my bridal shower. I was reminded of the amazing people that I am privileged to know and how lucky we are! We are so loved! Sometimes I forget that, so it was a much needed reminder, which is why I am blogging about it so I can do that for other people more often. Yay for blogging. 

More Life Changes

We have officially decided that we are no longer going to do the Peace Corps anytime soon. We are going to focus on school and then onto grad school. 

We were a bit sad that something we had been looking forward to since we were dating was not something we were supposed to do. The plan now is to have Michael graduate in December and then start applying for grad school. Our options are endless and we are so exciting for what the future holds. 

There is a light at the end of the tunnel. YAY!

Hi Monkey!

Holidays 2011

I still cannot believe that it is almost February. The end of last year went by so fast. It all started out with celebrating Thanksgiving with the Vineyards. It was my first Thanksgiving with them ever and turned out to be pretty nice with all of the new traditions. 

Lexi and I started out Thanksgiving day to run our Turkey Trot at the Rec Center. I am not sure how this tradition began, but it is one of my favorites. We go to the Turkey Trot and run, more like walk, the 5k. We don't register though, and we usually don't end up doing the whole 5k because we get bored and cheat. This year was no exception with not registering which became a huge disadvantage. We thought the event started at 7  when in reality it started at 8. So we began our run/walk and made it through the whole 5k. Woot Woot. It was pretty funny, you'd probably have to be there to appreciate it though. 

After the run, I went back to Mama's and we had McMuffins for breakfast and proceeded to get all of the food ready for later that day. Then we headed to the Lambson's where the boys attempted to play football, but that was short lived since Michael gave Lee a bloody nose. Later on we also took Luke on his first motorcycle ride. 

The next day we had the annual Matheson Day After Thanksgiving Celebration at Noah's. Even though most of the family bailed last minute, it was great to get with them and just have fun over food and games. We did a potluck and of course had way too much food. Grandma and I ended up making the same main dish which was pretty fun, hers, being the original, were way better than mine. Sad day.

Michael didn't go because he was sicker than a dog. I came home and took him to the hospital, only to find that the doctor would not give him anything and told him just to go home and rest. It wasn't until about a month later when we finally got our insurance all straightened out were we able to go to his doctor that he has had since he was a kid and find out he had a sinus infection. He had been suffering for months. It was a great day he finally got some antibiotics, until the next week that I came down with the same thing. Oh the joys of modern medicine. 

After work Christmas parties and finals, we were finally able to celebrate Thanksmas and Christmas. Thanksmas was so fun this year with Padre, Nancy, and Kaylie coming to Utah. We had lots of fun and were so grateful they were able to come out. Christmas Eve we spent with the Vineyards and had a nice celebration with just our immediate family. That night we went over to the Anderson's and slept in the back of the truck outside. I saw this thing on pinterst where you put your mattress in the bed of your truck and sleep under the stars nice and cozy. I showed Michael and he decided that Christmas Eve was the day we would do it. I am proud to say I made it outside the entire night, we were actually the last ones to get up Christmas morning.

The kiddos were so cute opening up their Christmas presents. It was fun having the magic of Christmas back. We had our traditional breakfast and then headed off to Beal's ward for an hour of church. Then we came home and got to talk to our Sister Davis! She is just so beautiful and is doing so great. A fun surprise was that Padre got too come be with us  too because he had  a layover in Salt Lake. It was great having the whole family together on a day to celebrate Christ's birth.

Life Changes

I was recently offered a promotion at my job with Icentris which will allow me to quit working at Noah's and still be able to help out our family while Michael is still in school. 

Words cannot describe what a blessing this will be. The financial aspect, though awesome, is only half of what makes this so amazing. The biggest blessing from it is the time I will now be able to spend with Michael! No more late nights on a regular basis. No more running after working 8 hours at one job onto the next to work another 8 hours. To say the least, I am very excited about this change.

The last few weeks have been pretty dang stressful however, with taking on some of the new responsibilities with my Project Manager position and transitioning out of my old position, and still having to work at Noah's on top of that. Not that Noah's is necessarily hard, but it can be draining not leaving there until 2:30 in the morning after a huge, dumb Utah Valley party where 30 year old men are trying to chase down 19 year old girls. (Gag me, I am so grateful not to be single anymore) Where, at the same party, the cops had to come because thousands of dollars worth of damage was done to the building, and not to mention the jerk face who grabbed my butt and actually got offended that I told him to keep his hands of me, as if I was the one doing the inappropriate thing. 

Ya, there are some things about Noah's I am not going to miss. 

 I will however miss the girls who I worked with. It was fun starting out somewhere new and trying to push myself not to be shy or intimidated. I loved seeing  myself become more comfortable being me, rather than someone I thought others wanted me to be.

I am grateful that I never have to work another quince again, or another high school birthday party. This week will be my last week at Noah's and it was such a great job to have and a really needed blessing when I started there in July.

 Noah's, you will be missed. Michael will especially miss your giant theater room that he would have all to himself to play his Xbox or watch Ghost Adventures. 

As for my new position, I now have a real grown up job, yahoo. I am a Project Manger for about three of our clients and basically am in charge of finding out what it is the client wants, and then getting that to the developers to get it done. I am excited about the new opportunity and how it will make my resume look. I am also excited about my new laptop and cell phone that I should be getting with it. 

Heavenly Father loves us and wants to bless us. It has been humbling and exciting learning to tell Him our wants and seeing how He chooses to bless us with something greater than what we could have hoped for ourselves.. None of this would be possible without Him.

Alumni Battle for the Paddle

New Years Eve was pretty awesome for us this year. 

We were in bed by 9 o'clock. We party hard. 

(I did have one of the worst headaches known to man that night though, which is why I was in bed so early and Michael apparently woke me up at midnight to give me a kiss, which I have absolutely no recollection of at all.)

But, earlier that morning is what made it awesome. We went to the 1st Annual Alumni Battle for the Paddle, where all of the alumni from Mountain View and Orem got to swim against each other. It was a fundraiser for the current swim teams, so we wanted to support them.

Twas fun. 

Nicki was the only person  to swim from Mountain View, but Lexi and I were there to cheer. 

Michael got first place in the breast stroke and pretty much kicked booty in the other events as well. It was so  fun being at a swim meet again! Technically that pool is where Michael and I first saw each other, so it was fun to reminisce.

 It was also fun to see all of our old swim buddies. My oh my, how things have changed since high school. Most of us were out of shape and fat (which is why I didn't swim.) Is it sad that it was comforting that most of us had gone downhill since our high school days? It was a reality check for sure. Good thing I have Ragnar coming up huh?

Yes, I pretended to take a picture of Lexi so I could really take a picture of this adorable old man. 

Go Tigers and Bruins!