Finally an update!...Part 2

#8- My Best Friend's Wedding...

My very best friend Krys (the best friend that will always hold the title of being "the best friend" but I hardly ever see!) finally got married!! Krys and I have been BFF's since Junior High and even though life has taken us in many different directions over the years I still love her to death and she is and will always be My Munkin! (inside joke)
Over the years Krys and I have helped each other through A LOT. One thing we could never agree on was BOYS!! I never really approved of the guys she dated and she never really approved of any guy I dated. No matter what we were always there for each other and waited patiently for the relationship to fail (which it always did) then we'd move on. When very first met my husband I had no intentions of seriously dating him. On our second date that all changed. We went to a party and had a lot of time to chat together. We had so much in common and I really felt like I connected with him. I was so comfortable with him and it felt really nice to be around him. That night I went home and the next morning I woke up panicked because I had a dream that we got married! It's a long story so I won't go into too much detail but needless to say I was a little freaked out because I was dreaming about marrying a guy that I barely knew!
Krys was the first person I called and talked to about my dream. Ever since I can remember with Krys we have always been able to "interpret" each others dreams. I called her right away to see what she had to say. She recognized right off that I had really deep feelings for him and encouraged me to go for it. I took Daniel to meet her at her mom's house a little while later when she came for a visit and she immediately approved of him!!! This was a huge thing for me and I knew I had found my perfect match.
When Krys got engaged to her husband Michael she was living in Texas and I somehow knew just from how she talked about him and the tone of her voice that she really cared about him and he really cared about her. We were both going to be visiting Utah at the same time so we arranged for all of us to get together so I could finally meet this mystery man of hers. However Michael got sick right before the trip and wasn't able to come. So the first time I actually met him was after landing in the Tyler, Texas airport where my so called best friend completely forgot about me and I sat there waiting forever...jerk!! hehehe Michael was the one to come and pick me up and we were able to talk one on one with each other from the airport to the restaurant where we were meeting up with Krys. He is such a sweet guy! I was so impressed with how lovingly he talked about Krys. Even with all the stress and craziness of the wedding he only had positive things to say about her and about how things were going. He was such a sweetheart and I approved instantly!
The wedding turned out nice even though there was a lot of crazy stuff that happened. The day of the wedding we woke up to rain. We all prayed it would stop especially because it was an outdoor ceremony. They set up for an indoor just in case but Krys really really wanted it outside. We were all suppose to be there at 11:00 to get ready and start pictures at noon. The ceremony was scheduled to start at 1pm so we figured everything would be fine if we arrived at 11. The maid of honor gave me a ride up there and was busy finishing up some stuff so we ended up getting on the road a little later than we thought. We arrived at about 11:30 but all we had to do was put our dresses on and we would be ready. When we arrived NO ONE ELSE WAS THERE!!! There were a few people there including the photographers but none of the rest of the bridesmaids or groomsmen or even family were there. Krys arrived at about 11:45 with her hair and makeup done. All she needed was to get into her dress....her dress hadn't even arrived yet. The lady in charge of bringing the dress was late. The flowers didn't even show up until after 12 and the boutineers didn't get packed with everything. They had to scramble to get that situation all figured out at the same time we were trying to figure out where the rest of the bridesmaids were and the dress. The dress finally came at 12:30 and the rest of the bridesmaids showed up at 12:40...20 min before the ceremony was suppose to begin! At 1:00 Krys had her father-in-law announce to all of the guests that they were going to start the ceremony at 1:20 because the dress was late and she needed some extra time to get ready. Then it started to rain! At 1:20 her father-in-law came back and told us the guests wanted to know if they should move inside because they were all getting rained on. Krys burst into tears and after lots of pep talks from us supportive bridesmaids she finally decided to just get out there and have the wedding rain or shine. A horse-drawn carriage took her and her parents over to the spot where she was suppose to walk in. The music started and it was still sprinkling a bit. The moment the bridesmaids started walking down the aisle the clouds parted and it instantly became 90 degrees! It was gorgeous weather and the ceremony was perfect. We all had a blast at the reception as well and everything ran so smoothly. It turned out to be a perfect day!

#9- Cosi Fan Tutte...
As most of you know my husband is an Opera singer. He's working on his Masters Degree right now which we have 1 year left of. This year for UCSB's Opera they performed Cosi Fan Tutte. It was a hilarious show and I'm so proud of my husband. Essentially (in a nutshell) this Opera is about these three guys shown in the picture above. The older gentleman is telling Daniel's character and the other guy that all women are the same and they are all unfaithful. The guys try to debate with him and they make a bet that if their fiance's were put in a situation they would stay faithful. The guy accepts the bet and says they have to do everything he says and he will prove to them that all women are the same.
They pretend to be called on a permanent business trip to Dubai and make the girls think they will most likely never come back. The girls are sad but say their love is strong and they will always love them. The guys go off stage and come back dressed as pool boys. The older gentleman tries to convince the girls that these pool boys are fantastic choices for them and they needed to forget about their fiance's and take up with these pool boys.
Their maid/personal assistant got in on it and tries to sway the girls in the direction of the pools boys as well. I loved their costumes! Daniel looks so weird with that crazy facial hair :) (Sidenote: each guy is trying to get with the other guys girl...so they switch girls to prove that they would never cheat)

At first the girls resist and the guys are all proud of them...


Then eventually the girls succumb and fall into temptation!


At the end the guys are so furious they want to find a way to punish their fiance's for being unfaithful and the older gentlemen tells them that they should just marry them and deal with the fact that all women are the same. They trick the girls at the end and finally come clean that they were actually the pool boys and they were way disappointed in them for cheating and they end up all breaking up and being mad at each other and the older gentleman and the girl come out with the winnings of the bet and they all live happily ever after....well, sort of!!!

#10-No more Eli...
This little guy is John's BFF! I have been babysitting this kid since he was 6 weeks old and I was still pregnant with John. He's almost 2 years old now. He has been on a waiting list for the university daycare since before he was born and finally he made it into one of their full-time spots. This is a huge deal and I'm really excited for them to finally get this oportunity...HOWEVER! I am also very sad by this because I will no longer watch Eli on a regular basis. Oh well, I'll just have to set up play dates for these boys so they will still be able to play together.

#11-26 wks...

This is my 26 wks picture in my pretty blue dress I bought for the wedding. This pregnancy is so different from my first but so amazing. This little boy moves 10 times more than John ever did. He is constantly doing backflips, frontflips, sideflips and his favorite thing to do is wedge himself in my side or ribs and kick as hard and as fast as he can! He literally gets on my nerves...to the point where I'll be walking and he hits one and I fall to the ground!! It's a pretty hilarious sight if you're around when he does it. The doctor says I'm measuring 28wks and is sure this one will be a big baby too just like John was. Sometimes I feel so huge and other times I look down and think "oh this is nothing!". I've learned that it's not a good idea to look at myself in the mirror right before I take a shower because all I can think of is how big of a HUGE fatty I'm becoming!!! hehehe. When I was pregnant with John I craved a lot of different things but mostly I craved plums, nectarines, and waffles. This pregnancy I can't seem to stop wanting rice crispy treats, marshmallows, and turkey Subway sandwiches! I was so sad when the day finally came a little while ago that the footlong turkey subs were no longer $5. They are now $6.25. It's only a dollar 25 more but still it was a sad day for me. I love the fact that I live in Santa Barbara where the weather is practically perfect everyday. I'm not concerned at all that I still have 3 months left and they are all in the middle of the summer.

#12-Pirate Birthday Party...
This cute little guy with the pirate hat and sword had a birthday party yesterday that was a lot of fun for us to go to.


My friend Jacquie made this AMAZING pirate treasure chest birthday cake. It was so cool. She even stuck ring pops on it which was so clever to me. It was so cute and it tasted great too.


As you can see John had a really fun time getting messy and trying to steal everyone's cake. When I finally offered him a piece of his own he shoved the whole thing in his mouth at once, handed me the plate then took a handful of carrots and strawberries with him as he went and played. I guess I should be proud of that! I'm sure it was a fluke but I hope he will always choose the healthy over the sweet.....here's hoping!!

Finally an update!...Part 1

Um...yeah. I totally realize it's been a month and 2 days since I have updated my blog. It's extremely unfortunate especially because I'm really bad at keeping an actual journal so this is pretty much one of the only ways I'm keeping record of my family. Sad but true.
Here are a few things that have been going on that I don't want to forget about...

#1- The Rats Nest

At the end of last summer Daniel built this tool box/ outdoor stuff box for us. We bought spray paint for it but never got around to doing it once school started up again. During Spring Break last month I asked Daniel to paint it. I don't have any pictures of it but it is a forest green color now with a black top. (I think it looks really nice now) We were getting ready to pull it away from the wall and I noticed there were some rat dropping around the side of it. When we pulled it away from the wall this is what we found... We found an actual RATS NEST behind it!!

This is a picture of how high the pile of literal crap was!

My knight in shinning armor cleaning up the enormous pile while I sat comfortably on the couch taking pictures of process. We sprayed down the entire porch and bleached the spot just to be sure. Thank goodness John took a particularly long nap that day so he wasn't "trying to help" while this was going on.

#2-The BAT who came to church
The week we had our Easter Program was a very memorable Sunday. The program was great and the songs sounded fantastic. Right in the middle of the last song the Choir sang a BAT flew into the chapel and started circling our heads. Of course it had to be during the last song which was a very beautiful touching testimony of the Savior. I really don't think ANYONE was paying attention to it at all! I don't blame them. If I had been in the congregation instead of singing on stage I probably would have noticed it sooner and lost all focus on anything going on. I noticed it right at the very end of the song but didn't realize it was an actual bat until we sat down and got ready to sing the closing song. I don't ever remember a closing song lasting so long!! It seemed to go on forever as this bat continued to circle around and around everyone's heads. A few times I thought for sure it was going to hit right into the person leading the song because it kept swooping lower and lower. Many primary kids took it upon themselves to try and catch it each time it flew over their heads. After the song ended and it got quiet for the prayer the bat landed and stayed put. I'm pretty sure everyone had at least 1 eye open during the closing prayer just to make sure it didn't dive at them before they could say "amen".
The man on the right holding the bag was everyone's hero that day when he was the one that finally caught the bat and took it outside. I'm so glad I had my camera with me that day!

#3-John's first (official) day of Nursery

The same day as the awesome bat experience John went to his first day of Nursery. He has been going for a little bit here and there for the past few weeks but this was his first official day. He absolutely loved it :) We'll see how long that will last.

This is John and his BFF Eli eating their snack.

#4- Our long-awaited trip to the temple...
We were finally able to make it down to the LA temple to do a session. Daniel's mom and older brother "Big John" came to help us watch Johnny while we did a session. It was so nice to be able to spend a little bit of time together in such a wonderful peaceful place. When we came out this is how we found them. Daniel's mom was sitting on a bench in the shade and Big John was sound asleep with little Johnny sound asleep on top of him! They randomly found a wheelchair to sit in which was pretty funny. It was really nice of them to come and help us out so we could spend a little time together.
Afterward we made our traditional stop at a delicious Indonesian food restaurant not too far from the temple. Mmmm... just thinking about it makes me hungry!

#5- My Beautiful Garden...

Last week I FINALLY was able to get my garden planted. I'm really hopeful this year about all of the things I planted. If I can just keep the gofers away from my pepper plants I should be in good shape. I'll let you know when it starts to sprout. I love having my own plot!

#6- Monkey Cupcakes...
On April 15th I hosted a baby shower (along with my friend Jo) for my neighbor and friend Camile. It was really fun and the best part I must say were these super cute monkey cupcakes I made for the party. We had lots of yummy food, fun games, and everyone got to take home Easter Lilies. I was super proud of how my monkey cupcakes turned out.
#7- Shingles Baby...

On Friday April 16th John woke up not feeling good at all. He cried all night and continued crying after he got up. I knew something was wrong and made an appointment for him. When we went in the doctor looked in his ears and said John had a bad ear infection in one ear and the start of an ear infection in the other (his first time getting ear infections). While we were at the doctors I asked her about a rash I had noticed on his leg the night before while giving him his bath. The doctor didn't know what it was and told us not to worry unless it got worse. Over the weekend the rash spread all over his leg and then eventually started swelling and getting little bumps on it. I had no idea what it was and kept asking everyone. Lots of people thought it was from the antibiotics he was on for his ear infection. I knew it couldn't be that because the rash started before we even found out he had an ear infection. Finally on Sunday night I decided to Skype my mom and see what see said. Her first reaction was that he had the Chicken Pox but decided against that because it was only on one leg and in clusters. She told me to be careful with it because it was definitely something contagious and to take him into the doctor first thing in the morning.
When we went to see the doctor she looked at it and the first thing she said was "That looks like Shingles". Unsure because of how young he is she decided to get the opinion of 2 other doctors at the clinic. They both came in and check it out and immediately said "That's Shingles". I couldn't believe it. I didn't think kids could get Shingles. I thought it was an adult thing. Apparently Shingles is a different strand of Chicken Pox which you can get over and over. The same appointment I started coughing and the doctor checked me out and said I had Bronchitis....again? are you serious?? This all happened right before I left for my best friend's wedding in Texas. Because of John's Shingles we couldn't let Daniel's mom come up to watch him for the week while I was gone (and Daniel was performing in an Opera) so we had to scramble to find new babysitters who weren't scared of getting exposed to a contagious disease all while I'm sick in bed with Bronchitis. Very stressful week!! He's all better now but he still has some scaring on his leg from the Shingles.

Ok, that's all the energy I have for tonight. There still is a lot that I want and need to record before my pregnant brain forgets so I'll continue hopefully tomorrow!!

I have an 18 month old!!

John is officially 18 months old today. He is such a good little boy and I love him so much. Happy 18 month birthday little Johnny-cakes!! You're the best kid in the world :)

April Fools!!!

Daniel decided last night (with the help from some friends) to play a little April Fools trick on his office mates.



They decided to scavenge around campus to find all of the "old" newspapers from earlier that day. The stack didn't seem that big until they started the process of the setting up their glorious prank....

This is a Before shot of the office....

And this is what it looked like when they were finished!!

The process:
John was so excited and confused at the same time why he was allowed to make such a big mess!

They asked BFOM (Daniel's all guy accapella group) to come help create the masterpiece. They had way too much fun with the project!

....by the way can anyone see where John went?!

Caught red handed....or in this case black ink handed!

The final pose of the culprits. They were all so proud of themselves because right when they finished the clock struck midnight officially setting off a wonderful April Fools joke.

How did the girls react when they opened the door this morning? Tune in next time to see their reactions!!

Happy April Fools Everyone!

Playgroup Easter Egg Hunt

Today we had an Easter Egg hunt at playgroup. It was really fun and the kids were so excited to find the Easter eggs. John couldn't care less and just wanted to shake them and then kept throwing them all over the place. He finally found an egg filled with Raisins and he was content the rest of the time. I managed to get a few really cute pictures but I was really sad once I got home and realized that I never got a picture with John. Oh well! We have another one coming up in a week for our apartment complex so I'll make sure to get a picture with him.

It's A Boy!!!

Update

Here are my 16 wk pictures. When I was pregnant with John I took pictures of myself every month so I had a log of how big I was getting. So far I've been pretty good at doing the same thing! This time I have a little boy trying to climb up on top of me when I'm getting a picture taken.


He likes to hug my belly and play it like a drum. I'm pretty sure he has no idea there's an actual baby inside of there but it's still pretty cute. Soon enough I will have my ultrasound to find out what we're having. Here's looking forward to St. Patricks Day!!!