How does she do that?

For those of you who don't know, Chris and I have a cat. Yes, our lives really are THAT exciting. Her name is Mille (Mee-la) which is Danish for "dear one" (although why we thought she deserved that title I'll never know.) She is grey with beautiful green eyes, and a temperament somewhat akin to that of a ping-pong ball hopped up on acid.

Some of her stranger qualities stem from the fact that she hasn't truly figured out what her station in life is. She is a cat, but I just don't think she knows it. She plays fetch like a dog, sleeps like a human, climbs legs like a monkey, and attacks feet like a nuclear war-head.

She can't be close enough to you...or me rather. If I'm reading on the couch, she will analyze the situation and then follow these precise steps: 1) jumps up onto the couch and lies at the far end 2) scoots to the middle and resumes nap 3) stretches out until her front paws are touching me and then scoots her lower half up closer 4) snuggles as close as possible to my thigh 5) inches half of her body up and over into my lap 5) sheds all pretense as she stands, walks onto my lap and lays right on the book.

Of all her quirkiness, however, there is one thing that simply baffles me...and that is the plastic milk ring. Mille has never placed great value on regular cat toys. Instead she prefers twist ties, leaves, pens, moving appendages, and the plastic ring you rip off of the milk lid to open a new gallon. This last toy seems to be the favorite. It doesn't matter where she is in the house, as soon as we open the fridge and grab hold of the new gallon, something calls to her. She stalks into the kitchen and stares at you as though she knows exactly what you have. It has gotten to the point where Chris and I will open the milk as fast as we can and then hide the ring, but she still seems to know. She jumps up onto the stool next to us and just stares at the table...and she will continue to do this until we produce the coveted plastic ring. It's simply ridiculous. In the end, we always give in and toss it to her. With glee she leaps off the stool, usually knocking it over, and proceeds to ravage the house with the new toy. The milk ring sixth sense...what will she do next?

And Then There Were Three...

Congratulations! It's an it!

Yes, ladies and gents...Chris and I are having a baby! It is due April 21st 2010, and boy is there a lot to do between now and then. Next week we go into the doctor to hear the little heartbeat. We are all sorts of nervous and excited. We won't find out the baby's gender for another 8 weeks, so we'll just have to bite our nails til then. Chris is hoping for a baby girl so he can go on Daddy-Daughter dates as soon as she's born. I, on the other hand, do not have a preference at the moment. Maybe I will eventually, but for now I'm just hoping for the correct number of fingers and toes!

At times it has been a bumpy ride, but every day brings hope for a positive and rewarding future. I'm especially looking forward to the holidays so that I can start teaching the baby early on about what is truly important about this time of year...the FOOD of course!

Seattle...well, technically Bothell

Yes, yes, I know...the moment you've all been waiting for. What in the world have we been up to for the past month??

The first few days we spent our time settling in and getting our bearings. Bothell is beautiful! The McDonald's house is happily situated right smack dab in the middle of a forest. Okay, so it's not technically a forest, but you can't help but think it when you look out the windows. There are trees and shrubs EVERYWHERE!! All of the houses on the street were built 'into' the environment instead of what typically happens. You know, that thing where people knock down all exsisting forms of natural life in order to make room for a bunch of cookie cutter houses that all look exactly the same. And then they plant those little dinky trees out near the sidewalk (the ones that look like two foot toothpicks) as if that will make up for the demolition of all previous growth. I swear to you I'm not a tree hugger...I just like having to actually look up to see the tops of the trees sometimes. Anyway, the area is gorgeous. We're nestled just off the road, and surrounded by huge rhododendron bushes of all colors. It's wonderful.

Chris started his job at CWB a few days later and has absolutely fallen in love with it. Nothing but wakeboarding could make that guy work 9-5, mon-fri for free. I've been looking into jobs as well as volunteer work. Nothing to report thus far, but I don't mind. I'm enjoying the time to do all those little projects I never have time for normally. I've also been able to catch up on leisure reading, which is something unheard of during the school year. And...believe it or not...I'm learning to cook! Celia has taken pity on me and is teaching me things here and there. I'm also taking the time to practice my piano. All in all, I think Chris and I are both quite content with where we are and what we're doing.

We've made it a goal to do as much as we can this summer as far as taking advantage of the surrounding area. We've been into Seattle a few times as well as Bellevue for shows, farmer's markets, and just general exploring. This weekend we hope to go camping on the penninsula, and since that will put us near Forks anyway...I mean...shoot. We might as well visit. Pathetic, I know. The second weekend in July we are heading over to Spokane and Chewelah! We are going over for the annual fair, Chataqua, and I am so excited. I haven't been back there since my mom and I moved to Utah when I was 12. It will be good to go back and drag Chris all over the town I grew up in. Granted, it should only take about 5 minutes to see the the whole town, but then we'll play at the fair. The biggest trip of the summer will be our Oregon coast trip. We plan on taking 3 or 4 days to go down through Portland to Depoe Bay and then camp our way back up the 101. It should be a blast...if it all works out.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures to post at the moment, but I hope to have some soon. Then you can all ooh and aah over the area with me.

Plans for the Summer

We finally know!!!! After weeks of waiting, we have finally found out what in the world we're doing with ourselves this summer. SEATTLE!!!! Chris accepted the internship offered by CWB up in Washington. We'll be leaving in two weeks and will be living with some friends of Chris' family while we're there. I can't believe it. We're sad to leave friends and family around here, but it is an exciting prospect to be leaving Provo for an extended period of time. Wish us luck!!!

California

The moment my last final was over I jumped in the car and Chris and I headed out for California. 10 days in the California sun was a definite must after the semester. We carpooled down with Chris' sister Laurel and her two little girls. The days were filled with family, fun, and large amounts of really good food. We spent a day in San Francisco, as well as a day in Berkeley/Oakland, and a day in Santa Cruz. FUN FUN FUN!!! My favorite day was Berkely/Oakland. We roamed around UC Berkely  for awhile trying to blend in and found that it is an awesome campus. Aside from getting lost in the library, we also tried to sneak into a class. Our thinking was something along the lines of "okay, out of the thousands of classes that are no doubt offered in any one of these sweet looking buildings, we're bound to stumble upon something good, right?" So, we picked a building at random, found a classroom, and went in. As we settled in, we were too excited to notice exactly what the professor was saying, but pretty soon we realized that we have had the misfortune of stepping in on probably the highest level math class...ever. It was a completely different language with a lot of deltas, betas, and parenthesis. It also didn't help that the professor was a fierce looking, older, shorter, Russian woman with a very thick accent. After about 35 seconds, Chris and I looked at each  other, stood up, and walked out. Don't get me wrong, math is great, but I can only handle so many Russian betas. 

Later that day we went to Fenton's, a kind of posh ice cream parlor. Chris, the wonderful guy that he is, convinced me that getting one of their classic banana splits would be a good idea. Ha. 

After that, we went to Chabot Space Museum for their Friday night telescope viewing. We got to see Saturn, rings included! After that we played around in the museum for awhile.

My other favorite day was the one spent in Santa Cruz. Chris and I spent most of the day getting sunburned feet while flying trick kites. It was actually the first time I can remember flying a kite, and I recommend it to everyone. Then, we finished up with some great middle eastern food at the local Falafel House.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip.

If at First You Don't Succeed

So that was a pretty poor first attempt. I suppose it's a good thing nobody even knew it existed until now. Hey, if at first you don't succeed...try...try...try...try again. 

Chris and I are enjoying the warm-ish weather and the end of the school year freedom. It's so nice to simply sit back after dinner and think that we can do whatever we want. If we want to go for a walk we can. If we want to play a game we can. If we want to laze about like the lazy bums we are...WE CAN! No more evenings of "Sorry honey, I have a 20 page soul-sucking paper to write." It's so nice to have the time to do those things you always tell yourself you're going to do as soon as life slows down. Take for example, organizing a recipe book that is practically exploding with cards and papers bearing scribbles of cup measurements and sticking out at every angle. Mind you, it's not like I actually USE these recipes. I just collect them in the hopes of someday becoming blessed with the gift of cookery. Until that day comes, however, I'll at least have an organized recipe book. 

While we sit back and enjoy the beginning of summer, we are also sitting back and biting our nails in anticipation for what the next couple of months have in store. Chris has been applying for internships here and there. We're mostly waiting to hear back from a couple of wakeboarding companies, one in Washington state and the other in St. George. I'm hoping for the one in St. George. Not that the prospect of roasting slowly to death in the desert sun has much of a pull, but it seems to be the best fit. It's a small company called Company Wake that was started up earlier this year by a professional wakeboarder. Thus, it is small and laid back and simply perfect for that husband of mine. Updates to come...as long as it doesn't take me another 7 months to get back around to this.