Spring Break in Portland

I was spoiled rotten this past week when I flew out to spend the spring break with my family in Oregon. We drove up to Portland together and spent 5 days partying "whitney" style.  :) Hard core, I know. But, really, it was a week I'll never forget. I just wish Austin could have skipped a week of classes and joined us. But, being the responsible, hard-working, and dedicated genius he is (don't tell him I complimented him on the internet or he'll be terribly embarrassed) he stayed behind to push through and finish up his degree with good grades. :) What a man. And, what a lucky woman I am to be married to him.

Anyway, we had so much fun going to the Portland Zoo, seeing "Wicked", visiting the "OMSI" and seeing a movie in the "Omniplex theater", laser-tagging with the Pedersen family, swimming in the hotel every single day (and sometimes twice a day), eating out at new places, ice-skating, shopping, etc.

But, instead of describing each day and it's events, here are some pictures which are supposed to be worth a thousand words each anyway, right? So, there ya have it. A novel worth of material that I don't have to write out for you. :)

PORTLAND ZOO

THE OMSI

This is a real baby at 24 weeks that has been preserved in this special exhibit at the OMSI. It was cool to see how big my little guy is and how much he'll continue to grow.

The lego exhibit was probably my favorite. 

All of the art pieces in this exhibit are made completely out of legos

WICKED

Seeing "Wicked" on our last night in Portland

Oregon Baby Shower!

My Mama is amazing!!!! She was the hostess of this beautiful baby shower in Medford, Oregon and it turned out to be SO fun... and also very delicious.

The Menu:
Cafe Rio style burritos (rice, black beans, shredded pork, etc.)
Cupcakes
Chocolate-dipped pretzel sticks
Fruit tarts
Fruit platters with fruit dip

Oliver and I were simply spoiled. Every single gift was darling and much appreciated (since I am literally starting with nothing. haha) and it was so nice to catch up with so many old friends.

THANKS, MAMA!!!

 

Oliver Update

23-ish weeks and counting....

I think our baby must be the calm, snuggly type. Last time I had an ultrasound he wouldn't move enough to get all the measurements we needed and to see his facial profile. So, the technician told me to eat something sugary before my next appointment. Well, yesterday I was all prepared for the appointment and loaded myself up with 2 chocolate chip cookies and a Dr. Pepper.  Even with all that sugar in his system he still wouldn't wake up for the ultra-sound. I kept thinking, "come on little Oliver! I ruined my balanced diet for this!" But, alas, he still didn't cooperate.

The technician shook my stomach, rolled me over to my side, and even had me come BACK in again for the 3rd try.... but he wouldn't budge his little head. The technician just kept laughing and saying how funny and stubborn he is. That reminds me of a certain someone I know who happens to be my husband and the dad to this cute guy. Hmmm... imagine that. :)

Limbo Land

LIMBO. That's the state we've been going through these days.  As we're pushing through this last month or two of living in Utah I feel like we're always looking forward to something that we "can't wait for". We're in this transitionary state where we feel like we shouldn't be here anymore but we can't leave yet. 

We always catch ourselves saying, "I can't wait to graduate", "I can't wait to...." etc. We have some major changes coming our way, so I guess it's only natural that we get excited and anxious. 

• We're graduating from BYU and moving to Billings, Montana in less than six weeks. 
• About two months later, we're having a BABY BOY (that's a HUGE change! Holy cow!). 
• One month after he's born we're moving AGAIN to Ann Arbor, Michigan to start Austin's P.H.d program....

Is that enough change to make your brain go a little crazY? 

So, one day I was talking about all of these things to look forward to when we both agreed we should stop focusing so much on the future and start enjoying the phase we're in NOW. So, to do this I've been documenting the little, everyday things that are going on in our lives. That's made me realize how blessed we are and how happy we are NOW even without any of the cool things we have to look forward to. :)

Visiting Austin's amazing Auntie Lez. We will miss her so much!

Randy and Aust playing frisbee at a small BBQ we had with some friends.

Darrell and Randy playing "keep away from Juneau". haha

Suzie joined us for a bit. Goodness, do I love this girl!

Juneau was spayed this week and has to wear the "cone of shame" for at least 10 days until her incision heals.  Since she wasn't used to walking with the cone yet AND she was on major pain meds, she was running into walls and tripping all over. It was so sad. 

It broke my heart to see her this way. She looks pretty out of it from the pain killers! haha. She's doing a lot better now and seems so much more like herself. 

Kim and Jesse come over every Monday night for "game night". Juneau was happy to have visitors! :)

What a Nerd

Austin was accepted to and received offers from schools across the nation. But, after taking a trip out to visit The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI... he was hooked. He absolutely loved the campus, his advisor, the research, etc. and we both felt really good about it. :) So, he accepted the offer and now it's official!!!! We're gonna be U of M Wolverines living just outside of Detroit for the next 5-ish years until he finishes his P.H.d. We couldn't be happier!!!!

To celebrate this amazing-ness and to congratulate Aust, I threw him a "Nerd" party with his family. He hates surprises so I kept it simple. But, we all had fun. :)

Prep for the Little Guy

I know it's a bit early, but when I saw this cradle for so cheap on ksl I couldn't pass it up! Isn't this the most adorable thing? I wanted a rocking cradle instead of a bassinet because they are just so simple and classic. Now it's just 4-ish more months until I can lay our little guy down in this. :)

Oh, and as I was posting this I couldn't help but realize how weird my choice of snacks were. I was craving so many different things and couldn't decide. So, I ate them all: chocolate pudding, a pickle, a slice of banana bread and a few strawberries. I also wanted cold cereal and gold fish but there are limits, ya know? Enough is enough. :)

The Pupster

Our puppy is 4 months old and I can't even believe it. Just to celebrate this and to show you all how much she's grown I thought I'd give you a "before" and "after".

Here she  is at about 2 months, still chubby and wrinkly. 

And here she is at 4 months, much taller, thinner and more athletic.

This is her favorite laying position. Weird, huh? She usually stretches like this after a nap and then just stays in this position for a while. It's so funny!