A Random Review of the last couple weeks

Everyone with kids tells us, "Do everything you can now, before you have kids!" I think we're living up to that advice and have had a very fun, eventful summer. It's funny though because this summer whenever we have done something fun I've thought about how fun it would be to do that with kids also, although I know nothing will ever be quite as easy to do. With that in mind we took off on a spontaneous getaway (after dealing with a towed car which is a whole other story in and of itself that I'll skip for now) Decided only minutes before getting in the car, we started driving towards Logan Canyon & planned to go to Bear Lake, but first Brett talked to his old friend Jess who lives in Smithfield near Logan (Jess is the one who told Weston's birthmom about us) and since we got a late start she invited us to stay there on Friday night, which I gladfully accepted because A) I really wanted to meet her finally and B) I didn't want to put the tent up in the dark.


We had a blast! Their family is so cute! Brett and Colin talked about their book ideas and planted trees and played with Kenner. I had fun talking with Jess and playing catch with Kenner and actually getting Lilly to let me hold her! Thanks to Colin, Jess, Kenner and Lilly who gave us a great weekend! They even took us to the Gossner Cheese factory (Brett's favorite food in the world is cheese!) Then we headed up to Bear Lake and camped. It was really nice!

The big boys

This was the view from our tent. Our tent has big netted windows so we can lie our back and look at the stars. WE LOVED LOOKING AT THE STARS! Our next door camp neighbors were playing Mexican music and you can't tell in this picture, but there were boats sailing with lights on them, and you could see little lights on the other side of the lake. It kind of felt like we were in Mexico and overlooking the ocean. Brett skipping rocks in the morning
Our kissing reflection in the clear lake water.
We had the best pizza and a bear lake raspberry shake! Mmmm, it's making me hungry thinking about it!

No lie, we went snorkeling in Bear Lake. There was a sign where we were camped that said people come there year round for scuba diving, so we thought we'd be adventurous and try out the clear blue water. We almost hyperventilated getting in, but after that it was super refreshing because it was such a hot day. I didn't have my contacts on, so I really couldn't see anything, but Brett did see one school of fish. I thought Brett was crazy when he packed our snorkel gear, but I must admit, it was pretty fun.

On Sunday we visited my parents. This is the new 3 yr old horse Shammy that lives in my parent's field (Someone else owns her but my parents let her live in their field because she helps the field from being overgrown and they get the benefits of having a horse without owning one) She loves Dad and follows him around him around everywhere like a puppy, it's so funny. She's good with kids and has such a cute personality.

Nicky's first ride on Shammy

On Tuesday, Brett turned 28!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HONEY! To be honest, that sounds kind of old. I mean, we met when you were 22- how could we have possibly gotten 6 years older since then? Ha,ha, But, I do know you are more wonderful than the day I met you! I planned a short notice birthday dinner at Marie Calendar's and we had the private room and a nice turnout thanks to Brett's family and a couple of his best friends who showed. We are so good at last minute in this family!



My work took us out to the Bees game! It was a great summer night for a ball game.


Brett with Aiden at Andres's Birthday party. It was Equadorian style fun with a BBQ, (of course) and dancing (of course!)



So, we were sitting at our brother in law, Anderes's Birthday party after food and dancing when Brett gets a call and the world seemed to stop as I heard his side of the conversation with things like, "Are you serious? No way! You're going to the hospital? Her water broke?!" and I immediately filled with panic and excitement all at once, only to find out he was talking to his brother, not Weston's birthmom. Still very exciting news, but not quite as exciting as I was thinking as my heart stopped that second when I assumed it was *J! We went to church only to make sure the sunday school class Brett was preparing to teach was covered, then headed to the hospital. Juni was born at 5AM and weighed only 5lbs 2oz. but is healthy and doing very well even though she came a month early and surprised everybody! So, all the sarcastuc banter between Brett and Jarod about who will beat whom to be a first time parent, first since we were expecting around the same time- Jarod and Christy win- CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Unfortunately Brett's mom wasn't doing well enough to make it and Christy's mom's airplane ticket wasn't scheduled until Sept 10th, and Christy's sister was out of town. Lucky for us though, we got to be the first visitors and Nicky got to hold Juni for a long time at the hospital while Christy attempted to get some sleep.

(Jarod and Christy's new baby, Juni: SHE IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!!)



After we left the hospital, we went on a walk in the mountains and went to Bridal Veil Falls where we cooled off by wading around in the water that felt like freshly melted snow.



And tomorrow: it's back to school for Brett. He's taking "just" 2 classes at the U. Hope he's a smarty pants like he usually is at school and can get away with missing as much school as he needs to when the baby comes.

On Monday, my friend Kelsy and I attempted to go to Raging Waters but it was closed because shcool has started! So, we decided to go to the rec center pool... which was closed for cleaning! We finally gave up and just went to Chili's and I ate Chicken Enchilada soup (so good!) and Kelsy bought us Chocolate Molten Lava Cake (sooo good!) It was fun to have a girls night anyway.

34 Weeks Along...BABY WESTON IS COMING SOON!!!

How your baby's growing:Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.See what your baby looks like this week.Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

Well, the dates have been set for 2 different showers in honor of Weston's coming!!! I am so excited to be having a baby shower- it will be so much fun!

33 weeks along [49 days or less to go!]

ALOHA! The little boy should be about as big as a pineapple right now! The birth mom says he's growing big and she and the Dr. would not be surprised if he comes early and estimate he will probably be about 8 lbs!

How your baby's growing:This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal. (The pressure on the head during birth is so intense that many babies are born with a conehead-like appearance.) These bones don't entirely fuse until early adulthood, so they can grow as his brain and other tissue expands during infancy and childhood.

National Families Supporting Adoption Confrence

This weekend was an adventure. We had a series of unfortunate events followed by a series of fortunate events. Car troubles fell into the mix, but we were still able to make it to the FSA confrence in Layton thanks to my new visiting teaching partner and her husband who are considering adoption and just so happened to be going to the confrence and live in our same complex, so we hitched a ride with them. We also got to stay at the Marriott in Layton- we hot tubbed and slept in a very comfortable bed.
The confrence was great! This was our 3rd confrence and we love to go because there's such a great spirit there of people who understand the heart of adoption- how it really is about love and what a spiritual journey it can be and how evident God's hand is in every adoption as I've heard many people share their story. It's one of those things that's hard to explain and kind of hard to really get unless you've experienced it. We LOVE being among and hearing from the incredible birth parent's, as well as adoptive parents and adoptees. We met lots of friends and saw old ones. And best of all, we loved being able to share our good news this time around that we have a baby boy due Oct 1st!!! There are so many fantastic couples out there waiting to adopt, we feel so lucky we'll get to be Weston's parents when he comes.


*If you or someone you know is considering placing their baby for adoption, www.itsaboutlove.org or www.parentprofiles.com is a good place to begin your search.