A little late but better than never. Karl and I drove to Jerome the Saturday before Thanksgiving. The plan was to get our snow tires on, spend a few days at the Higley Home and then all of us head to Island Park for the week. I was really excited to show Karl our long time standing tradition and even bought a preggo swimsuit so I could swim in the pool with everyone. Jon and Lucinda drove up saturday and got snowed in. We had lots of blizzardy weather and really nasty roads with many of the main roads closing due to weather. We never made it up there and Jon and Lucinda ended up driving back for Thanksgiving. We had a very relaxing vacation, Karl enjoyed the plethora of movies and the treadmill at my parents, and also helped with the snow removal. I spent alot of time just talking with my mom and enjoying being with family. One thing about being at the Higley Home is you always eat really well, it is amazing how much yummy food they have and all the ingredients to make whatever you desire. As we waited for the turkey to cook, Karl played with Brayden and Gage, Dad read a book and Josiah and Jon shopped through the ads. I guess the girls were all in the kitchen cooking.. :)

Our beautiful dinner set up. I love that my mom has elegant plates, chargers, glasses and cloth napkins. It is always fun to set the table at the Higley home, a tradition I am starting at Karl and Mines home, though I don't know how it will work with a baby....

Baby Shower

My Awesome Utah Baby Shower!!

My sister in law Lucinda was sweet enough to throw me a really cute jungle theme baby shower and drove all the way to Utah to do it! My other sister in law Heidi and her daughter Jadee also came down to support and help celebrate. We had an awesome turn out but sadly didn't take any pictures once the people got there. Amy surprised me and came, which was really neat, she had told me she had too much homework and wouldn't be able to come but then surprised me at Kneaders before the shower. So enjoy the cute decorations and imagine the friends and family that came. :)I was blessed with many wonderful gifts that will really help us out as we prepare for baby James to come.

A diaper cake.. cute and useful!

For dessert we had animal crackers, cute sherbert soda drinks and apples with yummy dip. We played a few simple games, see who had the closest birthday to James due date. Also Lucinda had everyone write advice and guess the date, time, weight and size that James would be. Of course we don't know yet so the winner guessed the closest to Lucinda's guess.

I went to my doctor today 31 weeks and 5 days. I measure 31.5 inches. I definately have a tummy that is hard to keep covered! James is moving and his heart sounds good 130-140 heartbeats per minute. The doctor keeps talking about delivery and what point I need to get to the hospital... it is crazy that the time is coming to an end! I now meet with the doctor every two weeks. Karl is adorable!! I have had a few minor braxton hicks contractions and he has asked me to pack the hospital bag and make sure the hospital is programmed in our gps so that he can just drive straight there without having to think. He is getting excited and a little nervous I think. We will soon be a family of three!! I have been unemployed for a week and a half. Last week I thought I was going to die of boredom! None of my neighbors were home and Karl was working. But starting saturday when our neighbor gave us tickets to the BYU game life started picking up!! I have the best ward and friends!! This week I feel like I've packed so much in and it's only wednesday! I am sad though my temple is closed for two weeks for cleaning. I was going to go everyweek until James came before I lose that freedom, so I'm currently deciding which one I should go to now.. so many OPTIONS!! Life is going really well!

Fall 2010

Vineyard Garden Crew and Spouses

So my current job of the past two months has been working at my fAVORITE garden center in orem. I came back right at produce harvest time and have spent many an hour sorting countless tomatoes. The season of produce has slowed down greatly with the cooler weather but surprisingly we are still getting tomatoes it is the longest season in a long time! But we also have an awesome thing in October Called PUMPKINLAND that invites tons of young school groups and families. We have been pretty busy but not too busy to take an evening for some of the employees to enjoy the pumpkins, light alley and bounce houses without any children around and just enjoy the great benefits of PUMPKINLAND. It was fun, I love the people I work with! :)

TOmAtOeS!! Our employees pick about 25 baskets a day!!

Look more tomatoes and also beautiful peppers, squash and other yummy food! Karl and I have eaten so healthy the past month!! And were also able to can and freeze quite a bit too.

My "beautiful" lilacs... or shall we say weed mess..

My wonderful husband digging up the weed mess so that we could plant a beautiful new lilac bush that I got at Vineyard 50% off. The greatest perk is our landlord said we can take it out of our rent money.

I love love love having a yard to enjoy, the fall colors are fun, and having a lawn mower and being able to plant pansies and maintain a few rose bushes I am in Heaven!! Karl doesn't quite enjoy it like i do but he is willing to help and is awesome about helping water and is the number one mower!!

A new thing introduced to me last year we call it pumpkin chili. It is yummy! We made homemade chili on the stove. Karl gutted the pumpkin and we stuffed it full of chili and then baked it until the pumpkin was soft. When you eat it you scoop out some pumpkin with the soup. hmm mmm good. Karl really likes it! :)

My little boo monsters I can't get them to turn right side up. :( We were left these cute little guys on our porch.

Life is going well! I am having a harder time bending over, i think my James is growing. My job is ending in just 5 days which is great timing because I am running out of energy quickly. Karl is just starting his job as a financial planner. He just conquered the tests and is learning how to sell. We love our ward and our calling as primary teachers. The primary program is tomorrow.. wish us luck! :)

I went to the doctor today, all by myself. That was the first pregnancy appointment that Karl couldn't make it to. :( My stomach growth measures normal and the heart beat sounds good. I am 25 weeks. I never did find my camera but Karl won a new one with Living Scriptures this past week, that means I can now make my blog lots more exciting!! First picture is of the baby belly..He..he I really didn't like my face in that picture..so I cut it off! I love being able to do that :) The baby is definately stretching my rib cage, every few days I get a sharp pain that doesn't want to go away, and then I look down and my stomach is bigger!! We had an awesome experience of having the in depth ultrasound a few weeks back. Karl and Amy (my sister) were able to be there to see HIM. Yup we found out he is an active little boy. Which is a good thing because alot of the things I made this summer are more boy than girl. A few cute ultrasound pictures..

James' profile - Stomach and Heart beat and Foot

By the way, his name is James. Life is going well. I love working at Vineyard Garden Center; being surrounded by produce and good people. Pumpkinland starts next week with fun fallness. I love our ward, we just got a calling to teach the 5-6 year olds. Our first lesson is on talents, I thought it is a great first lesson, Karl called all the parents to find out the different talents that their children have. Since we found out we will have some challenging kids, what better way to meet them then having heard the gifts that Heavenly Father has given them and their parents have shared with us. :) We live in such a friendly cul-de-sac and life is good. :)

Sept 14

I am really sick of looking at my latest blog post! We finally got the Internet set up at our new home and I have a few minutes to add to it. That post brings back the awful memories of how sick I was for two months this past summer at the beginning of the pregnancy. I feel so so so much better now! I am working part time at Vineyard Garden Center for the next two months to keep me busy. I love it there, I worked there last year also.

Life is going really well, Karl and I feel so blessed. He is using this month to study and take the state insurance tests, and hopefully will begin work next month. We bought our first washer and dryer and lawn mower. It's fun to invest in our home appliances instead of college tuition.

I have lots I want to take pictures of but I can't find the camera :( So be patient and hopefully it will turn up soon.

Our time in Idaho is coming to a close :(

I just found this in my drafts and thought it should still be posted :)

In just two days, we are packing up, cleaning up and moving back to Utah. I found a cute duplex in American Fork that we are excited to be moving into. It is a nice spacious two bedroom, one bath with a nice kitchen, living room and a yard that we get to maintain. (A landscapers dream after living in apartments)I drove by multiple times to check out the neighborhood and when I walked in I could visualize it as our next home to bring our baby into. I am really excited for our own home again with just Karl and I. We will get my favorite couch out of the storage unit and our furniture and my wonderful goblets that I love. Karl will begin his next job adventure and I will enjoy moving in and creating our home and trying to work on sewing projects without my moms help. AHHH

This summer has been wonderful being so close to my parents and brothers little family. They have been the highlight of the summer and it will be quite an adjustment not having them all just around the corner. My mom has helped me with lots of sewing projects. When I can find my camera again I will take some pictures of them

Guess who's going to have a baby?!

Karl and I are proud to announce that we are Pregnant with our first child! It has proven an interesting adventure thus far and it has only been 8 weeks.

Lessons learned:

Pregnancy tests... if a dominant line and then a really really faint line shows up you could most likely be pregnant.

Saltine crackers really are a pregnant girls best friend.. tried others and too buttery; don't settle well

Ginger Ale supposedly settles stomachs.. not mine!

Ginger root boiled in water also supposed to settle stomachs.. again it had the opposite effect

Little things about me that have changed...

I am a stomach side sleeper and have learned it is possible to sleep on my back to prevent the nausea that comes from being on my side and stomach.. i miss my tummy sleeping!!

Going to the bathroom at 2 am and 5 am has become a common occurence

Eating every 3 hours is a must!

Eating too much is now a possibility.. before I could eat eat eat..

Brushing teeth is a daring gag challenge

Our baby is soo little and yet is already making a pretty big difference in our life. Pregnancy isn't quite what I thought it would be. But the thing that keeps me feeling like it's not just the flu but an actual baby growing is reading a pregnancy book that walks me through what is going on with our baby each week, that helps me focus on the miracle that it truly is!

Here I go Blogging!!

I have decided to succumb to the world of blogging, realizing that facebook isn't really my thing being married now and having enjoyed so many others blogs. It appears to me that it is a combination of scrapbooking and journaling neither which I am very good at. But I do enjoy sharing life highlights with friends and this is a fun way to do that.


Karl and I have been married for a year and a little bit. Wahoo that is exciting to say at least a year, not as much newlyweds. Karl graduated from BYU with a bachelor's degree in Economics and Business. He was so excited to be done!! Words cannot capture the joy he has had! No more college for awhile now to join the grown up world. The future is exciting and a little nerve racking for me not sure what it will hold.

We are doing Living Scripture sales for one more summer and are blessed to be selling in the Twin Falls, Idaho area, which is close to my family. Lots of fun things will be happening this summer my sister in law just had a beautiful baby girl that I have had fun holding. My brother got his mission call to Manchester, England and will be receiving his endowments in the next few months.

I tried to find a job at a garden center or nursing home but neither were hiring. I have decided to become a blogger, read good books, have lots of sewing projects and utiltize my moms garden.