The New Digs

More space!!

Out of sheer necessity, Chris and I have upgraded to a two bedroom apartment, and we couldn't be happier. We came home from the Christmas break thinking that perhaps we should start looking for a new place and plan on moving out in February or March. Yep. 5 days later we were living in a new spot. We both absolutely love it! It's in south Provo, so a little off the beaten path for us, but it's nice to live in a neighborhood instead of a complex for a change.

So, here is the grand tour. It's kind of set up in a circular form...just keep that in mind.

The front door, along with our massive book collection

Living room and adjoining kitchen

The rest of the kitchen and venturing down the hall.

Our room, and the girls' room...aka the war zone. It was organized, but then I decided to start sorting through the thousand pounds of baby clothes we have been given...and voilà!

He's Ready

Chris and I often talk about what kind of parents we want to be, what our goals are when it comes to raising children, to what age we think they will each survive considering their unfortunate genetics, and so on. And it is in these same conversations that our natural doubts come to the surface. Chris wonders if he'll make a good dad...I wonder if I'll make a good mom. Well, I still can't say that I'm at all reassured about my own parenting skills, but I think I can say without hesitation that Chris will make a GREAT dad. Combined, Chris and I have a total of 1 billion nieces and nephews...give or take a few, and I have watched him tirelessly give of his time, love, and devotion to all those chillins. No, I have no fear about his abilities. He's ready.

Practically hog-tied with a purple scarf and bedecked with bows, clips, and beads

What stamina!

Preparing the world's best leaf pile

Road trip break

Water fight!

Movie time

And of course...tea parties!

How lucky am I?

It's a girls!

For those of you who actually suffer through reading this blog, you are no doubt aware of my definite lack of blogging skills. One post a month at best seems pretty shabby, but I hope to get better at it. An unofficially declared New Year's resolution you might say.

Well, in any case, Chris and I do have a bit of news...although most of you already know. Half way through my pregnancy we went in for our first ultrasound. So exciting! A boy or a girl? What's it going to be? It turns out it's a girls! And so, in record breaking time...Chris and I became the future parents of not one, but two little girls. What a way to end the year. As for my due date...who knows. Anytime after the beginning of March is pretty much fair game as far as these babies are concerned. We just moved into a new apartment with adequate space for our now family of four, so from here on out it's just about waiting.

In the meantime, the girls are happily karate chopping each other into oblivion whilst I, their mother, pray for March to hurry up!

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!!!