The End of Another Season

Sad to report, we took our last camping trip over Labor Day weekend. I am sure we would go again if we could, but there is no more time off, and it is getting a little too cold now.

We had a lovely Sat-Tues retreat in the Boulder Mountain Range. (Sunday we went down to Loa for Church in the coolest church building ever! It was an old building where you walk up the stairs right into the chapel - which had a balcony just like the original tabernacle. We went upstairs for Sacrament to enjoy things from up there. It was really cool because the Decons came upstairs and after they had finished passing the bread/water they stood at the top of balcony where the Priests could see them, stand, and signal for them to come back down. Anyway, it was really really cool!)

So here are some pictures from the trip. It was very beautiful and relaxing. The fish were huge and beautiful too!


My first Cutthroat Trout. Pretty awesome, right?!

A freaky bug Ryan encountered. Cool coloring... but still freaky.


Look at these beautiful pictures Ryan took! There is nothing like being up in the mountains away from the city lights to appreciate the magnificence of the stars.


Our faithful little pooch. He loves fishing/camping almost more than life itself. Although sadly on the way up he found probably the only cactus out there and had mini cacti stuck to his arms and legs which were quite painful to remove. Thankfully they didn't do any permanent damage. Poor guy.

I did a lot of reading. A lot. About a book and a half.


Dodger begging Ryan to let him help with the fish from his beaver home point of view.


Ryan with a couple gorgeous fish. The coloring really is amazing! And Ryan is an amazing fisherman. I don't know how he does it. Maybe it's that whole "be one with the fish" mentality.

Our brother-in-law Cameron came up for a couple days. Dodger took advantage of his left over can of ravioli. He got his head stuck in there once or twice.

Gorgeous sunset.




25 weeks pregnant and backpacking. I was pretty proud of myself, even if it was done at a turtle pace.

Amazing Mr. Ryan. I love this guy so much. We had an incredible trip and it was great to get away. It's too bad we have to wait for summer of next year to go again! It's going to be a long winter.

It Begins

I wouldn't call it nesting. In fact, I won't call it nesting. I have moments of it, of course, but those moments come in spurts of anxiety - absolute overwhelming feelings of, "Oh my heck... there is so much to do. So much I don't even know where to begin." So I usually just go to bed. And then I feel much better.

I had a discussion with some co-workers the other day about the definition of "overwhelmed." The prefix, if you can call it that, "over" obviously implies that there is an ample amount. More than intended. Too much. But if that's the case, is there an "under"whelmed? And if so, what would I give for that? How about just "whelmed?" Now that would really be ideal. Not too much, not too little. I will admit, that on a typical day I probably lean more towards the "over" than the "under," but so long as nothing crazy pops up, I think I can manage to find a "whelmed" balance. Yes, full time work, 14 piano students, two church callings, and literally not a day off in the week while being two days away from 7 months pregnant is a bit much. And I have been feeling it. But as is evidence of our loving Lord's awareness of us, I was just released from Activity Days. I actually enjoyed the calling, and I loved my companion, but I am very grateful for the break. There is still a lot on my plate, but I can manage. I have never been one to have too much time on my hands, and as time is ticking down, I figure I better make the most of it.

So as Ryan and I have been preparing for baby and gathering items here and there, we realized we really don't have anywhere to put it yet. We do have a couple spare bedrooms, but as this apt was originally used as a college girl's apt, those rooms were already filled with twin size beds, big nice frames, head boards, and other random things like a cedar chest and multiple broken vacuums. I couldn't tell you why we still have those... The furniture never bothered us before, but seeing as we actually have things to put in there instead, it was time.

Ryan, my studly husband, did all the moving while I was gone at piano and the gym. I told him I would help, but I think he was excited to get started and just went at it. Truthfully, I don't know how much use I would have been anyway since I can't really lift anything. But it was way impressive! He moved everything out of the rooms and into the living room. Together we took a desk we had in the living room that served no other purpose than to catch our junk as we walked in the door, and moved it back to his "man cave" to serve as a real desk. Then with all the major lifting out of the way, I set to work cleaning up those dreaded piles of "stuff."


It has now been a couple of weeks since the furniture has been in our living room, but the moving crew - aka, Ryan's dad, is coming this weekend to help us move it down to Ryan's grandparents for storage. It's a little crowded now, but the difference in those back rooms is already amazing! As soon as this other stuff is gone, we will really be able to get organized. And then I will take another picture to show you how awesome it is. :)

I don't feel pressured or worried about it. I am not in panic mode. Everything will get done. Just one project at a time. Later, when I start feeling that overwhelming need to scrub everything in sight, and get that crib set up NOW even though baby still has a while... then I will call it nesting. For now, it's just normal projects.

The funny thing is that I just added that little count down ticker to my blog and made Ryan come out and see it. Ryan took a look at it and read the note that says "about 86 days left." His eyes grew wide.

"Holy crap, Dodger," he said. "86 days! Let's go back to the man cave..." And with that he ran away.

So yeah, there is some panic in there, but we will get it all done and it will be fantastic.

Seeds and Things

Today I was reading in Alma 32 about seeds of faith. This is a very well known and loved chapter for most people. And though I have read it dozens of times, today I was struck by something.

Alma 32:33-35

33. And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good.

34. And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand.

35. O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good...


I think what stood out to me most was in verse 34, where it says "Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing." I don't think I had ever noticed the transition here. Faith starts small, as a seed, and as it is planted and as it grows, so does our faith and knowledge. This I understand, but I love that it comes in degrees. It starts in little incriments. Here, he is specifically talking about how our knowledge is perfect in relation to the experiment on his word. If we plant the seed of faith, and it grows, then we know that it is good. We know that it is true. It is no longer a matter of faith. As he says our "faith is dormant." He likens it unto the light "because it is discernible." I love that. So many say that religion and science do not co-exist, but this illustration is so beautiful - a scientific experiment on religious principles. If we feel the seed begin to swell, then we have our proof that it is a good seed and we can know that it is true - just as we know light is discernible from darkness.

But that doesn't mean we have to understand everything yet. In fact, at the end of verse 35 he asks if our knowledge is perfect, to which he answers in verse 36 that no, it is not. We cannot lay aside our faith. We have our proof - our knowledge - that the seed is good, but we do not stop there. It is beginning point of a long relationship with that seed. We must continue to nurture and to take care of it - and eventually as it grows, so will our knowledge and understanding.

Again, this is nothing new to me - but I just loved the idea that we can have a perfect knowledge of small things - pieces of a puzzle, links in a chain, all pulling together with faith, work, and prayer to help us gain a more perfect state. It is a journey, just like growing a garden. It doesn't just happen. It take time, and work, and patience. But we do have those moments, those pieces of absolute knowledge. We build our blocks of knowledge along with our mortar of faith until one day...

This gospel is amazing. It is, for me, the definition of peace and purpose. I know that it is true. I don't understand everything yet. I have a long way to go for that. Life times. Eternities. But the seed is growing, and I can say without any doubt, that the seed is good.

Dodger Tested and Approved

This last week my boss gave me a coupon she found for a free baby carrier sling using a promo code. You pay shipping and handling.

I went to the website, www.sevenslings.com, and looked through the designs. I laughed at all the pictures - these tiny little models that have probably never had kids - sporting little tots they have likely never seen before the day of the shoot.


I mean look at those girls! That is not normal...

Anyway, I decided I would try it out. Shipping plus their return insurance came to about $15. Still kind of pricey for shipping - but it looked pretty cool, and a lot better than $48 plus shipping which is what they normally run. The idea is that it works for tiny kids up to 6+ months. You just change the way you carry them.

The sling arrived within a couple of days. Since I had purchase the return/exchange insurance, I figured I should probably figure out if it would work. It was a little difficult since the baby is still inside and my belly is kind of in the way, but Ryan had a genius idea of how to figure out if it would work...


Enter Dodger - about 10 pounds, about as wiggly as a real child, and just as thrilled to try it out too. Hahaha. He said his modeling price has recently gone up and wasn't sure if we could afford him... but a few milk bones sweetened the deal. :)

See, I think I can pull off that pose from the website too.


Hands free. Dodger was clearly wondering when the ordeal would be over.

And he even managed to worm his way into the side-hip 6+ month pose. Well done, Dodger. You were an excellent model.

My impression? Well, the return insurance won't be necessary because we got the right size. I think they are pretty neat. The coupon said that the promo might end at any point without warning, but just in case you want to try it out, the code is VP9. You can use the same one at www.uddercovers.com for a free nursing cover, or the code "seven." No guarantee how long it will last. I didn't get one of the nursing covers because I bought fabric to make my own for a fraction of the price.

I am pretty excited to use my hip new baby carrier. And Dodger is thrilled that soon it won't be him being carted around the kitchen for kicks and giggles.

According To A 4-Year-Old

Yesterday I had a surprisingly frank baby discussion with my 4-year-old nephew, Preston. (The one that has been convinced for months now that I am growing a baby dinosaur.

He approached my belly cautiously and gave it a very soft pat. (This is great improvement over his typical over-zealous punch-to-the-gut welcome.)

"Your baby's growing!" he said.

"Yes, it is! He is getting bigger, huh?"

"It get bigger and bigger?"

"Yup. It will keep getting bigger and bigger."
"Then it pop?" He made a great whooshing motion with his hands and arms - like a dam breaking.

"Yes, then it will pop." Technically it's true - even if his visual was something like this:

"It make you dead?" he asked.

"No, it won't make me dead."

He seemed to consider how it was possible that I could survive something like my stomach popping. The next question was a perfectly logical next step.

"Then you swallow it again?" He mimicked popping something small, like a seed, into his mouth and swallowed. He mentioned something similar to this the day I announced I was pregnant. He was quite convinced the only way the baby could have shown up in my stomach in the first place was if I had swallowed it and allowed it to grow. It appears I am growing a watermelon after all.

"No," I answered, "I won't swallow it. The baby will grow and grow and when it's big enough it will come out and go, 'Whah! Whah!'"

At that he giggled hysterically like there couldn't possibly be anything more absurd and walked away.

Surprise! Suprise! A Pretty Surprise for Cinderelli!

My favorite movie to quote when it comes to birthdays is from Cinderella.

"Dah, dah... Happy Birthday!" - Gus, the fat mouse. It's not much of a quote. It's mostly in how he says it...

So this is now a month late - but I am officially wishing myself a belated happy birthday. Truthfully, this post is late because I was waiting for the perfect picture to go along with it. I had it all planned out in my mind, but the opportunity never presented itself. Oh well.

My actual birthday was on a Wednesday and I had to work. (Well, I think if I had really tried I might have been able to find someone to work, but Ryan had to work anyway and what was I going to do all day without him? Better to get paid on your birthday, right?)

So we had a joint celebration for James and myself on Sunday since our birthdays are 5 days apart. We also celebrated two of my nieces birthdays, but they just turned 2 and didn't really know the difference.


As always, it was fun to hang out with the family and enjoy some delicious birthday cake, ice cream and unwrap some wonderful gifts. Thanks family!

Wednesday before work, Ryan and I went to the gym and then went to celebrate my birthday with Denny's. Yum!!! They just so happened to have a tropical theme going on so I was able to get some pancakes with coconut whipped topping, macadamia nuts and pineapple chunks along with my bacon and eggs. So good!

Work was fairly normal. I was lucky enough to only have to work a 6 hour shift instead of 12. When I got off I hung out with Ryan for a while and then took myself window shopping and then off to clean the car. By the time I got around to washing the car it was almost 9 pm and totally dark. The whole time I was scrubbing away frantically at one of those outdoor do-it-yourself joints, I was praying, "Please don't let anyone mug me! Please don't let anyone hurt me! This is by far the stupidest thing I have done in a long time. I promise I will never do it again. Please let me make it out alive!" Thankfully that prayer was answered and no strange men decided to attack a lone blond chick cleaning her car in the dark. Lesson learned. Funny thing was, in the morning I noticed what a horrible job I had done. There were still bugs plastered to the front. It didn't even look like I had done anything. Well - that's another reason not to was the car alone at night.

Anyway, the following day I had a few piano lessons in the morning. When I returned I noticed a present sitting in the middle of the living room. It was a 14 inch Lodge Dutch Oven! Ryan and I have both been wanting a bigger dutch oven for a while now - and a birthday was a perfect excuse. Ryan had filled the inside with candy and a gift card to Joann's Fabric! Is that boy sweet or what?! Something for our outdoorsiness and something for my feminine side (and sweet tooth too). I love him so much! Which, I think that if anyone wants to come over before the weather gets too cold, we should make some cobbler in the dutch oven and enjoy the deliciousness!



We also went out to eat at our favorite place - Mi Ranchito! Seriously so good. Get #6. Two Beef Tacos. Sounds simple - and it is, but there is just something about it... Fantastic stuff. And get the strawberry daiquiri (non-alcoholic of course) to go along with it if you can. :)

It was a very chill, but good birthday.

Now, going back for a minute, you may be wondering why, on my birthday, I would choose to wash the car at 9 pm by myself. Well, it all goes back to that desire for the perfect picture. The one that still doesn't exist...

A couple weeks before my birthday I decided to "buy" myself a gift. I came home one day and forced a worried confession look onto my face. I told Ryan that I had bought myself a gift. A big one. An expensive one. He looked at me curious - not at all upset, but the wheels were certainly spinning. I told him it was in the car - too big for me to bring in. I took him upstairs and outside. As we approached the car I jumped into my cheerleader presentation stance with my arms showcasing the car. He looked at me, and then the car, and then back to me as realization dawned,

"You paid off the car?!" he asked.

"Yup! I paid it off! Happy birthday to me!!!"

At that he threw his arms around me and gave me a big hug. We had planned to pay it off before baby came, but I was going to draw it out a few more months and pay it in smaller chunks. But I decided to just pay it off as a birthday present.

The title arrived later that week. It was for this reason that I wanted the car to be all cleaned and spiffy so I could take a picture with the title. Maybe I still will. But I don't want to put of posting any longer. I am so very far behind as it is.

So here it is - our 2008 Toyota Highlander, purchased Sept of 2009. This picture was taken the day we bought it. It has been the best purchase ever. I love the way that it drives. It gets great gas mileage. Plenty of room. And it has been amazing for all of our trips. Certainly big enough for our new 14 inch dutch oven and baby on the way cause you better believe we will be taking this little guy camping and fishing. :)

I suppose it is appropriate that I postponed this post for a while because I had a funny experience this week. Wednesday night I ordered a book off Amazon. Friday night I had a package from Amazon in the mail. I was very much surprised, but also very impressed. I thought to myself, "I have got to give them a 5 star rating!" I opened the package and found that the book inside was not the book I had ordered at all, but instead 'The Hiding Place' that I had read earlier this year. I looked for a shipping slip, but there was none. The outside had a returned mailing address in Nevada, but no explanation. I was immensely confused. I had looked at buying that book months ago - right after I read it. I loved it so much it was one I really wanted to own. But I never bought it. In fact, I never even put it in my shopping cart or on my wish list on the time. Just looked. I simply didn't know what to do. I checked my credit cards and emails and couldn't find anything related to the purchase. I decided to leave it sitting on my desk for a few days while I tried to decide what course of action to take.

Finally today I sent a text to my sister and to my best friend Nicia to explain the situation. My sister said it was certainly bizarre, but maybe someone had sent it to me. Nicia responded almost right after that said, "Hmm... no packing slip huh? So there was no note that said losa - happy birthday (a month late!) I love you. - Nicia in there? Because if there was one in there that is what it would have said! :) (which p.s. it was suppose to!)

Hahahaha. Oh my Nicia. How well she knows me. And to think that I fretted about it for days trying to decide what to do when all along it was a birthday gift! Well thanks Nicia! And if anyone still hasn't read it yet - what are you waiting for?! Read it!