showering

Wednesday my friends from work threw me a baby shower at Olive Garden. I loved it! I was able to see a lot of girls I don't see as often and everyone just chatted and had a great time. Emily and JoAnna were so sweet to put everything together for it. Truly one of the best things about my job is the people I've met and the friendships I've been able to form. I'm so lucky to have worked/be working with so many fun and talented girls. And I'm so lucky that we can all hang out as friends and not just feel like co-workers. They all gave me such cute and generous gifts and it was such a fun night.

Wyoming anni

So Paul and I have this funny goal to spend every anniversary in a different state, so that by our 50th we will have visited all 50 states. Fun huh? Things have been so crazy lately and with my being pregnant and special events and everything, we weren't sure if we were going to make it this year. But we felt so lame already possibly dropping out our 3rd year. So, we took an impromptu trip to..

We spent the night at Paul's grandparent's cabin in Evanston and had a great time. We made treats and spent quality time together. The next morning we made breakfast and ate it out on their porch overlooking the pond and everything is so green and beautiful there right now!


We left Tuesday morning and stopped by the Park City outlets on the way home then came back to Provo. Paul had some work to do so i went to 7 peaks with Shannel and Tate and relaxed chatted and got some sun which was just what i needed. Then that evening we went with Clay and Tiffany to the Hale Center Play: 110 in the shade. It was really good! I loved the music in it.

Here's to another successful and happy Anniversary, and lots more to come!

7.26: happy birthday Mike!

We celebrated Mike's birthday with him and Jenna and the rest of the Bailey family at P.F. Chang's on Monday night. So delicious! Mike has a very exciting 22nd year ahead of him! We love you!

years ago...

...we got married. 3 to be exact. It's been bliss ever since. There's not a day that goes by that I don't feel super lucky and happy to be married to Paul.

Happy Anniversary to us.

she's around...

Cassie has been here for the last 2 weeks by the way. The scarcity of pictures or comments about it has been because #1 We've been way busy with so many other things and #2 so has Cassie. She's been at Young Ambassador's Workshop/Camp singing and dancing her little heart out. Sometimes we would get to see her at night, early in the morning or during the weekend in between. It's been fun when we have! She's had a lot of fun at the camps too. She is so talented and honestly I admire anyone who can get up on a stage and sing and dance, and especially someone who can do it as well as she can. Go Cassie! Just move up here already.

After the Friday night performance 7.23

Click here (MOM) if you want to watch our stealthy camera recording of Cassie's solo performance. She sang "Christmas Lullaby".


3..2..1 Derby! 7.24

july 24th

we had an awesome pioneer day. we honored them by:

*a morning lake run on the Cardon's boat.



Everyone strutted their stuff out on the wakeboard and London was a little darling for her first boating trip.
*The hubbies grilled us lunch
*Then we headed to the:





we witnessed 3 car roll-overs, a very aggressive powder puff driver, and a grudge-match champ win the whole thing. We also got to experience lots of the local Kamas flavor of people/outfits/expressions/gestures. And topped it off with fireworks at the end! It was VERY fun.

today i'm 34 weeks.

I just keep getting bigger and bigger! I went to the doctor on Monday and everything looks good, baby's heart beat is good and I'm measuring right on. Some things I'm noticing lately are:
-I AM ALWAYS HOT! Welcome to my pregnant summer. I am always sweating, it's kind of embarrassing. And then of course it doesn't hurt that the air conditioning at work is broken! It only works well in one part of the store and then we just have fans set up and luke-warm air flowing in the other sections. It's not a comfortable situation since I'm still working 3-4 times a week. ok done venting (no pun intended)
-I'm feeling really big. Like.. REALLY big. It's so weird to have this huge basketball in front of you all the time. A basketball that jiggles and takes on different shapes and gets really hard sometimes. It's a very foreign feeling to describe or experience for anyone who hasn't been pregnant.
-Developed an infection of which type I'd rather not post on the blog. But it' so weird because i went back to my doctor and to try to diagnose me they ask questions like: "Are you experiencing soreness anywhere?" "Do you urinate frequently?" "Do you have back pain?" UMMMMM I'm over 8 months pregnant.. YES! I have all those things! But if you would have asked me 3 months ago i would have still had them. I don't know how to answer these questions.
-my belly button is no more. Instead of being an innie or an outtie it just kind of disappeared! I seriously miss it.
Basically the bottom line is: Pregnancy is weird, but fun.

wedding bells...

Thursday night I threw a bridal shower for Jenna.. soon to be Mrs. Michael Dickson! We ate yummy food at Carrabba's and talked and opened presents. The wedding is coming so soon! Jenna is going to be a really beautiful bride.

Happy Birthday London

One of our favorite little girls is ONE. On Wednesday we went to Londy's birthday party and watched her demolish cake, open presents, refuse to wear party hats, and be adorable as always. We love that little munchkin... she is so cute! Thank goodness for London because before we knew what we were having Paul would say, "I guess it's ok if we have a girl is she's gonna be as cute as London." It's a tall order to fill but I'm glad she could warm him up to the idea. Clay and Tiffany are such great parents and it has been so fun to watch London grow up over the past year. It went by SO fast!

R.I.P. Penelope

We sold my beloved car Saturday morning. That car has gotten me through, and driven me to, a lot during high school and college. The little Mexican man who bought it better listen to some SPICE GIRLS in it to really fully grasp all that Penelope has to offer. That car can jam.

50 days!

Only 50 days left on the baby ticker!! As it gets closer and closer I just can't believe we are actually going to have our little baby soon and get to see her and play with her all the time (not that I'm not already with her 24/7 but you know what I mean).
We've been making some baby steps for the room and getting things ready. Here are some peeks at things I am loving:
--We got our carseat! It's a Chicco keyfit 30. I had to order it online to get this print but i think it's so fun! I also have a cover to go over the top and a snuggly thing for inside to keep her warm.. so that means she is 100% ready to come home from the hospital! crazy! (Paul wants his new truck to be the first car she rides in haha)
--We finished re-finishing the dresser and nightstand down in Texas and had some good friends drive it up for us. (remember this?)

Now it looks like this:

They turned out so cute. I love all the different knobs because i think it makes it eclectic and a little funky since the rest of the room is really girly and proper. And, thanks to wonderful gifts from people, we have a lot of the drawers already full of darling clothes!
--I also snagged this cutest lamp at Target that I LOVE.
--I found a diaper bag!! This is a huge check off the list. I found this one in Spain actually. It's a Spanish store called "desigual" that hasn't hit the U.S. yet but they make kinda funky/earthy/handmade looking clothes and accessories. I like all the colors and all the pockets. I hope it will be perfect.
--Then we hung these three prints above the dresser/changing table. They are Peter Cottontail (Beatrix Potter) prints that I found at Savers forever ago that I re-framed. I love the vintage quality of Beatrix Potter books, and I always liked them when I was little. Probably because I love bunnies. But anyways, we found these and I thought they would be so cute one day for a baby's room so there's a few touches of that theme going on.
--I also just finished these cloth-covered boxes to keep diapers and wipes in by the changing table. I used extra fabric from the bedding to cover them.
And that's where we're at! Still waiting on the bedding, some other wall decor, a nursery chair. Oh and of course then there's bottles and diapers and wipes and all the necessaries...but you know sometimes lamps and such have to take precedence.

little moments

Tonight Paul came home from work and told me to go get in his truck and we were going for a picnic. I was excited because #1 i thought it was cute and #2 i've been feeling like i'm turning into a boring prego girl so i was up for the spontaneous adventure. We stopped by Macey's and got some food and a "king kong" sized ice cream (so HUGE for only a $1.29... pregnant woman/ice cream lover's dream!) Then we drove up into the mountains by rock canyon. We brought blankets and pillows and sat in the back of the truck and enjoyed our food and each other and the views, and we even saw a huge deer which made Paul's night. The mountains were so beautiful and it was the perfect weather. We just talked and hung out for a few hours... no distractions or tv or phone calls. I loved it. I thought to myself: this is what life is really about. I love that after 3 years of marriage we still love just hanging out and talking, and that we have so much to talk about, and that we are both so excited to expand our family. I'm so blessed. It was one of those special little moments.

new wheels

We've done some car swapping around here. With the baby on the way and some little car troubles here and there, we have felt anxious lately to get our car situation figured out.

Scratch that... let's be honest: the real reason is Paul has been wanting-- no, "needing" a truck for as long as we have been married. After countless trips to the Nissan dealership, searching online, looking at auctions, searching KSL... finally he found it. And we decided now was the time to bite the bullet get it when we found this baby:

Paul got his dream truck! And I have to admit, I'm pretty fond of it as well. I have a thing for big trucks, it's the Texas girl in me I guess. And, I didn't make out too bad either on the deal because now me and the babes will be rolling around in the Highlander:

Which I LOVE. I love driving it and i love the size.. not too big but a good family size for the munchkins to come. And it's in great shape.

So, alas... one car has to go:

My beloved Penelope. She's been a great car, and we've had some great times together through high school and college. I wish her the best. (She's posted on KSL right now so we're crossing our fingers someone will snatch her up soon and she will go to a good home).

Happy 16th Birthday Rebekah!!

Sixteen candles: You're first triathlon, driving, dating, becoming an auntie (x3!)... you've got a lot coming for you this year! We love you!

today i'm 32 weeks

Only 8 more weeks! My pregnancy has really gone by so fast so I can't complain much. But I'm definitely getting ready to NOT be preggers anymore. Everything is going well though! We are getting a lot of things done in the baby's room which is really fun for me. And we're starting to buy more and more... bought my first box of diapers the other day!

happy birthday america!

7.3

a.k.a "4th of July celebration day"
-went to the pool with Mike and Jenna which was crowded but fun
-got snow cones from our fave place

-experienced the "freedom festival" in downtown Provo, and almost got talked into buying a huge hammock that this lady makes by hand and went on for about 15 minutes about why they are the best for breastfeeding which was kind of awkward but she may have had a point.
-hung out with friends
-went to Brick Oven with the Lemmons and Taylors
-met up with more friends over at Melissa's grandparent's house by the stadium and got to enjoy Carrie Underwood and the fireworks show from the rooftop! It was a great show and baby Caitlin was going CRAZY inside my tummy during the loud fireworks it was funny. Fireworks are without a doubt my favorite part of 4th of July.

7.2: Webb visit

The Webbs stopped by on their way up to Idaho to say hi the other day and we got to meet little Maggie! We have really missed Joe and Steffany since they moved to California so it was really fun to visit and get caught up and they gave us some great tips from their newfound parenting wisdom. Baby Maggie was so sweet and such a good little baby... even when she basically peed on Steffany. Thanks for stopping by you guys we love you and miss you!

Such a cute little fam.

Austin

After getting back from Spain (and waking up at 4:45 AM thank you jet lag) Paul and I got a nice early start and headed to Austin to be with the Dicksons for a few days. As always, we had a great time down there. Some highlights were:
-We finally got that boating outing and Jeff and Paul and Rebekah wake boarded while the others chilled on the boat. Paul did take Melissa, Rebekah and I out on the tube "really slowly" but it was definitely bouncy out there and i think the baby might have gotten a little more of a ride than she bargained for. If she's anything like me though she will LOVE tubing when she gets out. The weather was lovely and the water felt great.
-Saturday night we had a couples baby shower hosted for us by Christine, Lorraine and Melissa. They did an AMAZING job. It was so fun and everything looked so pretty.. and pink! We had a really good turn out and were able to see lots of great friends and mingle. We had dinner and the food was delicious and we opened lots of presents and I'm so excited to now have pretty much a full wardrobe of the cutest things! Now I'm getting even more excited for her to come out and wear them. Lorraine and my sisters-in-law worked so hard and did so much I'm so grateful to them for putting the whole party together I know it was a lot of work and it turned out fantastic!

-Christine and I spent some time floating around the pool and did some shopping.
-Tuesday morning Christine and Chris found out they are having a baby BOY! We were all DIEING to know and i am so happy. I'm so lucky because now i get a niece AND a nephew. It'll be fun to have a boy in the mix to keep me and Melissa's girls on their toes.

-Tuesday night we saw the midnight showing of Twilight with Rebekah and some of her friends.

-On the 30th I returned back to Dallas, hung out there for awhile and then (finally) flew back to Utah!

Espana

From 1997-2000 my family lived in Bilbao, Spain while my parents were serving as Mission Presidents for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I was ages 10-13 while I lived there. Living there was one of the hardest yet most rewarding experiences of my life. Looking back however, the benefits far outweigh the sacrifices. For Cassie's graduation she chose to take our family trip back to Spain and visit some of the old areas we used to visit and a few new places. We had a great time seeing how things had changed in the last 10 years, and also how things had stayed the same. My parents totally spoiled us the whole time with the best hotels and restaurants and we were just living the high life. It was fun to take Paul and Tyler and show them this part of our family and teach them more about Spain and Europe. Paul and I both loved the trip, and especially the food.
Below is a brief recap of everywhere we went with some of my favorite pictures, the bulk of all my pictures are in a facebook album so click HERE if you really want to look at all of them. (warning: There are A LOT...surprise surprise).

Highlights of Barcelona were: seeing the Sagrada Familia Cathedral and other buildings by Gaudi, going to Los Caracoles restaurant for delicious food and fun old-Spain ambience, visiting and "poble espanyol" to see architecture from all over Spain. Barcelona was a new place for me and I really loved seeing this city.

Monserrat was a stop along the way for us. About an hour outside of Barcelona, it's a big monastery/basilica on the very tip top of a mountain. The views were beautiful as was the basilica.

Paul loved going to Pamplona to see where the "Running of the Bulls" takes place. We walked the route and looked around town a little and also got caught in the rain so we went inside for hot chocolate with churros which no one can understand how good it really is unless you've had it in Spain.

San Sebastian was another stop along the way. It's a beautiful beach town with impressive views and pretty green mountains around a perfect shell-shaped bay.

This is our old house from when we lived here! It was crazy to be able to see it and go inside and walk through it. We visited with the Cleggs who live there now and went to lunch and saw some things around Las Arenas that brought back lots of memories of our old stomping grounds. We also went to church here and it was great to see old friends who even after 10 years remembered us and were so excited to see us.

In Bilbao we: saw and toured the Guggenheim museum, went to "Corte Ingles" ( one of our favorite Spanish stores), got caught in more rain, and saw some pretty views of the city and so many new buildings and updates.

A cool city up in the mountains. Beautiful steep mountains with lots of greenery and waterfalls. This is the Covadonga basilica, famous for being the place where the Spanish stopped the Moors. We loved the hotel we stayed at here-- a converted Monastery with an amazing restaurant.

Gijon: another stop along the way. This city has one of the best park/playgrounds ever. We used to play here whenever we got the chance when we were little so it was fun to get out of the car and stretch our legs and play around for a little while.

Santiago de Compostela is a great old town, full of medieval lore. Pligrims from all over the world still flock here to seek blessings from St. James. It's one of the top three most important and famous religious sites of the Catholic church, plus that cathedral is killer.

Segovia was probably our favorite city of the trip. I just feel like it encompasses all the charm an old European city should have. Plus it's got the triple threat going on: an ancient Roman aqueduct, an old gothic cathedral, and a castle that Disney modeled theirs after. Our hotel was awesome because it had the most amazing views of the city.

In Madrid we: saw the Royal Palace, discovered our first touchscreen-order-kiosk in a McDonalds, went to a wonderful art museum, went for a row-boat ride in this park, and went to the oldest restaurant in the world.

Toledo is another quaint old Spanish city with lots of tiny narrow cobblestone streets. The cathedral here is really something to see, as are a lot of the local artisan work. We had a fun time walking around, getting lost and finding treasures to buy.

Alicante was the closest large city to the beach villa we stayed at so we came into town to shop and do some things. One of which was attending a bull fight. Paul was so stoked to go and it actually ended up being a pretty fun event.

We took a day trip to Valencia and toured the Lladro factory (so amazing) and also visited their aquarium. We ate lunch in a "submarine" restaurant: an underground circular room with fish tanks surrounding you. My favorite animals at the aquarium were the flamingos and the beluga whale.

We rented out a beach villa for the last couple of days in a little suburb called El Campello and got to enjoy looking at this amazing ocean whenever we wanted. It was very relaxing and the perfect place to land at the end of a whirlwind trip.