the latest

I'm a fairly predictable gal and I like things to go a certain way. When plans change I'm either 1.) frustrated or 2.) grateful. Last year was filled with heartache as we experienced two miscarriages. Three total miscarriages and only one baby? I felt like I was against all the odds. I feel silly to even complain, I know people go through hard things each and every day. I know my situation is no harder/easier than others. I spent many days and nights on my knees praying to Heavenly Father for answers and comfort only to feel like my requests were bouncing off the ceiling and landing back on the floor. David and I tried to just focus on other things than the thought of having more kids, closing that gap between Grant and the next, explaining why we'd been married "so long" with "only one child".

We moved down to Phoenix for the summer and a few weeks later found out we were expecting! I quickly made an appt with a random OB down there. She was as sweet as could be and in my mind a true godsend. She put me on all sorts of meds/vitamins and wanted me to come in for an ultrasound the next week. As I sat there the ultrasound tech informed me that "sorry, you're not 8 weeks like you thought, you are only 6." Isn't that the worst news to hear at those appts? She then looked over at the NP and said "Do you see this?!" I immediately started to worry. No heartbeat? Abnormal growth? She kindly looked at me and said "There are TWO heartbeats there!" WHAT???? I rested my head on the pillow and tried to soak in what I had just heard. Both the tech and nurse said "You must be making up for lost time." We're poor college students so I guess my BOGO coupon works for babies too:)

I started feeling guilty about not trusting Heavenly Father, about not having faith in his timing. I'm so grateful for the blessings these little babies have already brought in to my life. Obviously I'm going to be worried and concerned for them but I already feel so much comfort from friends, family, strangers. It's been a pretty overwhelming experience that I can't even explain.

I'll answer the basic questions I get asked about a million times a day:)

-no, I was not on any fertility treatments
-no, twins don't really run in the family. David has a couple twin cousins but twins usually need to run on the mother's side and identical twins (which they think our's are) are completely random
-no, I am not running
-no, I am not working
-yes, we will find out the genders
-no, I don't think they are a boy and girl, especially if they are identical.....
-yes, I am a afraid of my body just splitting in half and the babies falling right out....thanks for asking
-no, I wasn't "twice as sick". I was sick for a little while at the beginning but still not too bad compared to most women. I was on progesterone for 12 weeks and that made me throw up every other day or so.
-yes, I'm seeing an OB AND a high risk doctor
-i don't know, if we will get a minivan right away:)
-yes, being pregnant with twins is completely different than singletons (not to say it's harder, just different.)
-no, we will not do rhyming names
-yes, if they are girls we will most likely have a tv show like Tia and Tamera or the Olsen twins

So, there ya have it! Stay tuned, about 8 more days and we should know the gender! Woohoo!

vacation from our vacation

Warning: lots of pics, and yes some are blurry since they are taken with my phone.

It's been really hard to just sit around and have people cook and clean for us while we relax by the pool. It's just too stressful, Grant and I needed a vacation from it. We packed in the car with my sister and her four kids and headed back to Utah. My parents and brother's family met us there too. It was SO nice for Grant and I to be back in our house at Provo. We were able to visit neighbors, eat at the Provo bakery and Grant enjoyed playing with his friends which was fun for me to watch. The first day there we toured Temple Square. If there was ever a time that I wanted pack up my family and move to Salt Lake it was that day. It was so lush and green compared to the desert and I just loved looking at the beautiful mountains.

The next day we went to Lagoon. I wasn't sure how Grant would do but he really enjoyed all the rides. He didn't quite master the bumper cars, unless you consider spinning around in circles and occasionally getting smashed into, mastering the cars. It was fun having all the cousins (besides Jordan) there with us.

The next day my parents took the older grandkids to Mount Rushmore and the rest of us headed to Colorado. We stayed a day or two there just hanging out at Grandma's and enjoying the cool weather. Just your normal 'wearing wigs and not pants' kind of day.

Then we drove down to southern Colorado to see my extended family and meet back up with my parents/kids. I hadn't been there since 2007 so it was wonderful to be back in the valley. This was probably the highlight of Grant's trip, this kid was in heaven. My family is all potato farmers and live right by each other so we'd just swim at one house and go ride tractors at another etc.

Climbing the potato hill

helicopter ride

working hard

After that my sister and I drove Heber AZ to spend the 4th with her family. David and my brother in-law drove up and met us. We were tired from traveling and just wanted our own beds but it was fun to spend the 4th in a new area and watch an amazing firework show.

Now we're back and trying to take advantage of what little time we have left here. This summer has flown by as usual.

long overdo

You know those blog posts that you just dread writing? The update on a new baby that is now 3? Christmas...which was 8 months ago? You just feel too overwhelmed to even begin. That's how this has been. Heaven knows I have the time to blog these days but I've just been too lazy I suppose.....

So we moved to Phoenix the beginning of June. Perfect timing right?!?! We're just here until the beginning of August, David is doing an internship at PetSmart's corporate office. He is really enjoying the experience and it's nice to not have him worry about studying. 

What do Grant and I think of it? I'm not going to lie, it's a little slice of heaven most days. Unless it's super crazy hot than it's basically the opposite of heaven! Honestly though, PetSmart hooked us up in a Hilton Homewood Suite. Sounds kind of miserable at first but when you really think about it it's pretty awesome. The most cleaning I do everyday is put my dirty towel on the floor! Done. I don't have to worry about utilities and can crank that ac way up. They make dinner for us Mon-Thurs, sure it's your typical large group Costco type food but hey it's free, and they have a decent breakfast everyday too. Grant and I hangout at the hotel gym and swim almost everyday. We've made friends with the staff and also another intern wife and child. How many opportunities do mothers have to just spend 100% of their day with their children? No cooking, no cleaning, no job. I'll admit some days we get bored and wish it wasn't so hot out but I'm trying to just take advantage of this time with Grant. 

My sister lives on the other side of the valley but I've probably visited her more times in one week that in a whole year! I love having little cousins around for Grant. One of my best friends from high school lives here too so I've been able to spend time with her as well as friends from WI. 

This is how we spend most of our days. He's turned in to quite the little fish and has a pretty sweet tan line. It's been a fun summer.

Day out with Thomas

Grant's days are pretty predictable. He wakes up, changes into Thomas underwear, asks to watch Thomas and then asks to build a train track for Thomas and his friends. Repeat, repeat, repeat....

Last year we had decided that we were going to take Grant to the 'Day out with Thomas' in Heber, UT when it came. We quickly bought our tickets and tried to explain to Grant that he was actually going to see AND RIDE Thomas. He didn't quite understand because he "sees Thomas" almost everyday, he likes to tell little fibs that Thomas (and Santa, or a monster) are outside or flying in the sky or whatever. Once we actually pulled up to the train station and he could see the real Thomas there, oh man he was excited. You know he loves something when he just stares in awe. He was speechless, just a huge surprised smile on his face. 

We were one of the first ones there, thank goodness! No lines! They had different booths to play at and he even met and shook hands with Sir Topham Hatt.  His favorite part was of course the train ride, he listened to the conductor and loved waving at other passengers. Oh this little boy and his trains! 

MBASA!!!

If you happen to be reading my blog and you also happen to be searching for an MBA program and you also happen to be considering BYU let me assure you, you will not regret coming here! I'll be honest I wasn't overly excited to return to Provo. I felt too old, too "mom-ish", I've never ran Ragnar and I don't have fake eyelashes. Now I'll be honest and tell you that I want to live in Provo for the rest of my life. What???

Why do I love being here so much? Maybe it's the gorgeous mountains that I never get tired of looking at. Maybe it's my neighborhood and home. Maybe it's the clear sunny skies. Maybe it's MBASA. What in the world is MBASA?! Master of Business Administration Spouse Association. It's basically a glorified Relief Society program. Just because the MBA students are meeting new people and developing relationships doesn't mean the spouses can't right?

Some of the things we've done over the last year include (sadly I was at work most night so I didn't attend everything...next year, next year)

-book club
-hikes
-park days
-guest speakers, including Richard and Linda Eyre and their daughter Saran, Sheri Dew, BYU professors
-running group
-I taught a few aerobics classes
-girls nights
-fondue night
-music and sports classes for kids
-a HUGE yard sale where everything is FREE
-international cooking classes
-cake decorating
-lots of service projects, especially for each other-meals, babysitting, helping new Utahans adjust
-seminars on nutrition, home decor, hair cutting, budgeting, parenting etc.

Two of my favorite activities included the overnight girls trip. A few weeks before graduation we went up to Aspen Grove and had a nice catered dinner and then just hung out without kids for the night! It was so nice to just spend time with friends.

We also had a family field day that was complete with drumroll.....COSMO!!! Grant was beyond thrilled. He just stood in awe as Cosmo entered. He was the first to give him a high five and man alive that boy was excited. It was wonderful to have Cosmo to ourselves for a few hours. Later that night we went to the BYU baseball game and had another fill of Cosmo!

I seriously love the MBA program and how it's helped shape our family. If you ever need convincing to scoot on over this way, just give me a call. I really feel so lucky to be here right now and to be part of such a worth while association.

all aboard the birthday train!

As of April 22nd, my sweet baby Grant is no longer a baby :( Growing up is such a weird emotion for me. I love all the new tricks and skills he is learning but I just wish I could keep him a baby and have him snuggle up all day.

This kid has been talking about a Thomas cake for the last, who knows how many, weeks! Anytime we'd mention his birthday he would just respond that all he wanted was a Thomas cake and to blow out the candles. Easy enough for me! Every time I'd think about decorations or who we were going to invite the focus immediately shifted from Grant. I really hope that I can keep his parties about him and not all the fancy pinterest ideas, but man that's hard! We were originally going to be in St.George for his birthday so I figured we'd just do something fun down there. Well...we ended up staying in Colorado longer which turned out to be great, that way we were able to celebrate with extra family.

I attempted a Thomas party but it looked pretty homemade:) Grant loved it though and that's all that matters. My dad made this toy Thomas and he was obsessed with it that night. My mom even found the theme song to play on the piano, that was a hit too.

I love his "birthday faces", this kid kills me.

For my own purposes, Grant received: a doctor kit, train whistle, books, sleeping bag, basketball hoop, train tracks, catching game, and tools. Lucky duck! We played our annual "Grant trivia" game and to keep with traditions, we took him to deposit his piggy bank. Would he really know the difference if a few Benjamin's were missing?! Tempting, tempting.

I took him in for his 3 year check up, other than the possibility of starting speech again everything came back great. He was so cute during the appointment and loved all of her tools. I don't remember the exact height number but it's 50-55% and he's 26 lbs, which is 6%. Still a little tyke, but we love him nonetheless!

Grant facts:
-He always reminds us that he's Grant. "No I'm not a big boy, I'm Grant." , "No I'm not tired, I'm Grant."
-He totally caves to peer pressure, thankfully his friends are a good influence. All I have to say is "Simon likes to brush his teeth." This could be problematic in the future!
-Speaking of friends, he claims (about a million times a day) that he NEEDS to play with friends. Currently he wants to do everything with our neighbor Simon and even prays for him occasionally.
-Is OBSESSED with Thomas. Like crazy obsessed. He knows all the songs and words to most movies. All the numbers and colors of the trains. The other day we were walking around the store, I just hear this soft whisper..."5-James, 6-Percy, 7-Toby" as we passed each aisle number. Thomas is mentioned in prayers most evenings.
-He is very concerned for others and doesn't like when someone is hurt or sad
-If I ask him for something/to do something he'll respond, "just a second mom, k, just a second." or sometimes he'll say "that sounds good."
-"Maybe Papa Joe will fix it" , "Maybe when daddy gets home." Are quoted frequently.
-Still eats every fruit under the sun, he'll down a pound of strawberries in one sitting and ask for more.

Love you baby Grant!

catch up

I know you all have been missing the play by play of our exciting lives. Let me give you the 'I'm too lazy to post about every detail, and you'd probably rather me do a quick post instead' post. David finished his first year of the MBA program! Woohoo! I'll be honest, this was a fairly stressful year for us. Two moves, two miscarriages, starting school, interviews for internships, me starting at 24 Hour Fitness (which then I ended up quitting for the summer and will most likely not be going back), finals, potty training, etc. It's nice to just have one year under our belts and to kind of relax this summer. If you consider 120 degree weather relaxing!

David and his dad caught the fishing bug last summer and it seems to still be hanging around. As long as Grant accompanies David on his fishing adventures I'm totally fine with this hobby. Grant enjoys fishing, being outside and mainly just being with David.

Oh and who can forget Easter? This year the silly Easter Bunny left a crazy trail through the house for Grant to find his basket, which of course was filled with Thomas paraphernalia. Since Grant gets up before us the smart Easter Bunny left the basket in our room. Unfortunately he left the chocolate doughnuts in the kitchen and Grant spotted them bright and early:)

Well I'm too tired to write more....until we meet again.