Found...Engagment Pictures!!!!!

As I was cleaning through some of our random stuff the other day I found a CD full of our engagement pictures!! I was so excited to find them and to relive all the fun we had while we were taking them.


My wonderful little brother, Sam, was ever so kind to be the one who took the pictures. He got a ton of different pictures, so that gave us plenty to choose from when it came to printing them. A huge thank you goes out to Sam for being super great about the whole thing and helping us out!!!

Joseph and I both wanted out-doorsy pictures, with all the trees and the prettiness that nature has to offer, so we decided to take our pictures at the Eau Claire Dells. It was such a perfect kind of day. The sun was shinning, and it wasn't too hot. I feel that everything turned out beautifully for our pictures!!!

So here are some of our more favorites. The one below is my absolute favorite!!! It's super cute, and Sam took it without us even knowing...we were just talking about what kind of pose we wanted to do...and bam...Sam snaps this one!!!

And this next one is Joseph's favorite!!! Neither one of us are super big fans of having to pose for pictures, so I am pretty pleased with how everything turned out and that we actually got some ones that we really liked!!


Oh and here are a couple of fun ones...Joseph just was so excited to be with me that he couldn't help himself!!!

 



Finding these pictures was super fun!!! I am so glad that I did, because the two of use were able to take a walk down memory lane and remember some of those days before we were married.

Coming Soon to a Family Near You...

I figured it was time for me to make a post about our little darling baby that is headed its way within the next 10ish weeks or so...

In late March we found out that we were going to be parents. I was way super excited about the news, and Joseph was too, but he was also kinda nervous about becoming a parent. Understandable...taking on complete responsibility of another human being is a lot to think about and try to digest...thankfully we get 9 months to fret and plan and prep for it :)

We went in for our first appointment in mid April, when I was 9 weeks along. I decided to go with the midwives that are here in town. I wanted a bit more freedom when it came to wanting a more natural birth, and to be completely honest, I wanted to see a female doctor.
The midwives are great by the way, and I feel like I am getting great, personal service with each of my appointments. Anyway, with the visit, we got to see out little baby for the first time and we got to hear his heartbeat.
We also got a huge surprise, was that there were actually two tiny embryos nestled inside my uterus!!! Sadly, only the one had a heart beat and the other was considered a non-viable twin, and I was told that it would dissolve and vanish within a few weeks. I have always wanted twins, so it was sad to have been so close to it. I had my tears, but in the end Joseph and I are grateful that we have the one healthy baby still.

Here are just a couple of the ultrasound pictures that we got with that visit. One is a back view of him, I believe, and the other is a side view of the little guy...I love how you can see his itsy, bitsy foot and hand!!!!

Because of the 'vanishing twin' I needed to go back in for another check up earlier than I normally would. The midwife just wanted to check to see how it was dissolving and how well the other was developing. So here is the ultrasound that we got from that visit. This was at 10 1/2 weeks. I couldn't believe how much he had already grown. In the picture you can see the umbilical cord already up near the top.

I had several other visits, ones that didn't include ultrasounds, sadly :(  Everything continued to go great, and our little guy just kept growing. Joseph and I were just waiting anxiously for the appointment that would tell us what gender our baby was going to be. Both of my parents, and several others thought it was going to be a girl, mostly because the baby was charting higher heartbeats, which apparently is more common for a girl. Joseph and I were happy with whatever, this being our first child and all that, it really didn't matter much to us. I had asked Joseph several times which one he really wanted, and he would always respond the same way, "A girl would be cute, but a boy would be fun."

After so much waiting, the 20 week appointment approached, and we waited anxiously for the news. Here was the magic shot that we were waiting for!!!! IT'S A BOY!!!!!! Way super excited about our little bundle of boy that we are going to be getting!!!!

Along with finding the gender of the baby, the midwife took a million and a half measurements to make sure he was developing on track, and then printed us a ton of the ultrasound shots that she took. Here are some of our favorites. There is a really good profile of his face and upper body...Joseph swears he has my nose...and then there is a frontal view of his face...love the hand up under his chin in the "Thinker" pose!!! We also got a good side shot of his arm and leg, and I love how his leg is all bent and ready to kick...and believe me he does!!! And then, one of my more favorites, the one of his little foot...just so precious!!

We decided on the name Ethan Ervin for our little boy. Ervin is Joseph's Grandpa Huckbody's name, and so we thought it would be nice to use it, and Ethan is just a personal favorite of mine. It was pretty fun to call the parents and siblings and tell them the great news of our little boy. I also am just way happy that I can say he and him and use his name instead of always having to say baby or it.

Since that appointment I have had a couple other visits just to check the heartbeat and make sure that everything is growing properly. My last visit was my glucose test visit. An hour before the appointment I had to drink this nasty tasting glucose stuff and then they took my blood at the appointment. This is done to test for gestational diabetes. Turns out that I don't have to work about that since the numbers were right where they should be, and they also said that I wasn't anemic, so that was good to find out. So far we haven't gotten any more ultrasound pictures since the 20 week appointment, but more should be coming soon...at least I hope so.

With just 10 weeks left now I can't believe how fast the last 30 have flown by. Every week seems like a new adventure with new aches and pains and fatigue like nothing else. Right now Ethan has turned so he is head down so he is putting a little bit of pressure on my lower back which makes it ache most days, but it's survivable. And then there is the fact that my bladder doesn't hold as much as it used to, so the bathroom and I have become very good friends lately. I started feeling him kick or move about around 19 or 20 weeks along. Back then it was just gentle flutters and nudges, but now he pretty much kicks and shoves all of my insides around and has even kicked my ribs a few times. He has also gotten to the stage of stretching, which feels super funny, and looks even funnier when I watch my tummy!!!

Joseph and I are so happy for our little guy and we can't wait to actually get to meet him in a few months. Thanks to all of you that have encouraged me along the way and that have supported us in this amazing adventure of parenthood!!!

Back to School..Yet Again...

Monday started the Fall semester for us out here at BYU-I. Both Joseph and I are taking classes this semester.

Joseph is up to his eyeballs in his accounting and business classes. He thinks he's a little geeky about it sometimes, but he really loves what he's studying and actually looks forward to his classes, even though they are hard work. What he, and many others like him, dislikes is the homework that takes him hours on hours to complete. He keeps pretty positive though by remembering that there is an end in sight and that all the hard work that he puts into his schooling with help him make it in the "real world."
I am only taking one class this semester and the class is only half of the semester. This is way, super beneficial considering our little Ethan is due around the end of November, so having a new baby and trying to finish up a semester strong would be kind of difficult.

We're both hoping that it will be a pretty smooth semester and that we'll both do well in our classes. So bring on the work...we're ready for it!!!!

Lions, Tigers, and Bears...Oh My!!!!

So this past weekend, we decided to visit the zoo in Idaho Falls. I love the zoo, I love getting to see all the fun animals and stuff like that. I'm pretty sure it makes me feel like a kid again. The zoo itself was pretty small, but it was still super fun.

They had penguins, and so that was the first place I wanted to go. Turns out that we were just in time to watch them feed the penguins. It was so funny!! Several minutes before the feeder entered the penguin area, all of the penguins were lined up by the door...they knew what was coming!!!! Then they followed the feeder around, just waddling and chasing each other for the fish she was dishing out. It was so fun!!

We then went and checked out some of the different birds that they had. Joseph got a really good picture of the swans that were there. We also got to see a  colored macaw and a military macaw...such pretty birds!
And, of course, there were the flamingos! I even learned something, that flamingos are pink because of their diet, the different things they eat contain a pink/red pigment in them that changes the flamingos feathers. If they changed their diet, they would really be an unattractive grayish color.






 Wandering over to the Africa area of the zoo, we got to see the lions, and tiger, and also some zebras. I think the lions were Joseph's favorite. He got some really great ones of the lion and his lioness...I'm pretty sure they were posing for him.

The zebras were pretty cool, they had two new baby zebras this year so that was pretty neat.



When we went to look at the tiger, he was sleeping in the sun...not so exciting...but he was huge!!! I'm pretty sure his paw was about the size of a small dinner plate.!!



The last place we visited was the monkey house, where Joseph proceeded to make faces at some of the monkeys. It was kinda fun to watch the monkeys just swing around and play. Some of the monkeys I have never seen before so that was really neat as well. 

While at the zoo we also saw this pretty neat animal that was in one of the habitats...not sure what it is really!!!
We also found some pretty cool cut outs of some animals...so we were excited to see them...but it was more exciting to see the real things.
I also go a ride on a tiger :) hahaha...and Joseph just about lost his head to a lion!!!!
 
Overall, it was a pretty great day out at the zoo!!!!

Is That a Sword??? Why, Yes It Is!!!

So, I have a confession to make...my husband is a nerd! Don't worry, I still love him and all, and I did know this when I married him. He is a super big fan of the Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien. I believe he has read the books several times, and enjoys spending long hours watching the movies of them. He is such a big fan or nerd...which ever you chose to use...that he saved up last year's Christmas money and this year's birthday money so he could buy one of the swords, as seen in the movies.

This is Glamdring, Gandalf the wizard's sword. One is first introduced to Glamdring in the Hobbit actually. It is found in the same cave that Bilbo finds his sword, Sting. So I guess you could say that Glamdring and Sting are sibling swords (there is another sibling to these swords, Orcrist I believe, and I think that is Joseph's next buy).
It was so funny to watch him come home everyday after he ordered the sword. He would run up to the door to see if we had a package sitting outside our apartment. I tell ya, it was just like watching a little kid at Christmas time. When Glamdring finally arrived, he opened it and then just stared at it...it was so funny to watch him. Joseph then promptly got the wall piece mounted on the wall, and now we have about a 5ish foot sword hanging on our wall in our living room.
When the sword first came Joseph carried it all over the apartment with him, I think he felt tough with it...I don't know. He would sit at the table and do his homework with Glamdring resting on his lap. When we would watch the Lord of the Rings movies he would take it down off the wall and just hold it. Sigh...I did have to draw the line with bringing it into the bedroom at night. I told him I would take my chances with any orcs and goblins that might break into the house :) 
My favorite thing is when we have people over to our house that have never been before. We get one of two reactions, they either just stare at it and don't say anything but continue to stare at it, or they ask, "Is that a sword on your wall?" Joseph is always more than happy to get it down from the wall and talk all about it, and he even lets some people hold it.
So, yes, we have a sword hanging on our wall. What can I say...my husband is kind of a nerd. 

The Epic Move To REXBURG, ID

So...just to preface this post...it has been forever since I have put a post up. Reason for this...my computer with all my pictures and all that fun stuff decided it hated me and died...well kinda...the screen died. Since that tragic event, Joseph has recovered most of my stuff off of it and now I can begin to blog once again...muahahahahaha!!!!!

So here we go...

Back in October-ish of last year I had been accepted into BYU-Idaho, and I was super excited to be going back to school. I found out that I would begin classes during January of 2011, and that was when Joseph needed to be back to school as well for his classes. So, shortly after Christmas, and right before New Year's, Joseph and packed up all of our earthly belongings that were in our little apartment and packed what we could into a U-Haul trailer and the back of our car, and what we couldn't fit we sent over to our parents' homes for safe storage.

After saying all of our good-byes...and with one last look at the weather channel...we headed out west. Sadly, we didn't get very far that day. About an hour-ish from the Minnesota-North Dakota border we got caught in a nasty winter storm of ice and snow. After a lot of tears and frayed nerves, we pulled (or rather was kind of towed) off the highway in a little place called Fergus Falls, MN and checked into a hotel, hoping the storm would blow over during the night and that the highways would be clean come morning. Well, we had high hopes, but we were disappointed.

We woke up the next morning and looked out the window to see snow drifts that came to the middle of our hotel window. The wind was nasty, and in watching the news we found that all the roads around us had been closed...so there was no way we were going to be getting out that day. We ended up staying in that hotel for three whole days...with nothing to do but watch TV and wonder when the weather was going to clear up.

Finally, we got to say good-bye to Fergus Falls and were able to continue our journey to Idaho. We made progress that day. We made it all the way through North Dakota. We had to travel slowly becuase of the trailer that we were pulling with our car, so the trip was very slow going.

We were planning to drive straight through that day and pull into Rexburg early the next day, but just as we got to the other side of North Dakota we ran into another snow storm. It was blinding and we couldn't see very clearly, so again we pulled off in a little town called Beach, ND. We stayed at this interesting little motel that seemed to me, very out dated. It was the only place to stay so that is where we stopped for the night.


Needless to say, my nerves were all but gone by now, but that next morning we got up early and hit the road again. We took our time and drove carefully with our car and trailer. That day we passes through all the mountain passes and had quite a few scares with almost running out of gas several times. I can honestly say that I don't know of any other time that I prayed more than that day...I'm pretty sure the whole day was one big, long prayer. Joseph was pretty wonderful, I have to admit. After that first day I refused to drive the car because I had had a panic attack while driving during that first storm. So, Joseph drove the rest of the way...what a trooper!!

By some miracle, Joseph and I pulled into Rexburg late that night. I was so happy that I just about cried. We were at the end of our journey. We had made it to Rexburg, alive, and with all of our stuff. I was so grateful for the safety that we had had during our journey.

Upon arrival at our new apartment, we paid the landlord the first month of rent and then set to unpacking our stuff. Our downstairs neighbor and several other friends that we had in Rexburg showed up to help us get all of our things into our new apartment. It was so nice to be able to crawl into our own bed that night and really, truly sleep. Our epic adventure was done...we had made it!!!

  Over the next couple of days we balanced classes, homework, and the great task of setting up our new place. We finally got that all done, and now we are so happy with our new home!!!