Do What you Like

100 Miles

2011-10-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

Back in January I got this crazy idea that riding a road bike 100 miles sounded like so much fun. Maybe it was cabin fever, but mostly I was sick of sitting on the sidelines as Aaron rode 3 centuries the summer before with my best friend. :) So I convinced my best friends to enter the all-girls Goldilocks Century bike race.

It was quite the epic event. The long late winter made training very limited. And somehow that course felt uphill the whole way. It was crazy windy the entire time (to the point of almost blowing me off my bike a few times). And while we were desperately looking forward to lunch at mile 50, we got there only to be given a few swedish fish and some pretzels and told that lunch wasn't for another 25 miles. Oh, AND their bathrooms were out of order. We had to stop in at a gas station along the way to grab a hot dog to hold us over, and to use the bathroom (which is a miracle I didn't catch hepatitis or some other disease in that disgusting place).

But overall it was an amazing experience. I am constantly amazed at the physical limits one's body is capable of. I wish my other best friend Ashley could have done the entire 100 miles with us, but she had to leave at mile 25 to make her sister's wedding. So Whitney, Lisa, and I had to finish it without her. I will definitely do another one, but probably next time do one with Aaron. I love to ride bikes with him and he always rides along side of me to hand me my water bottle. (Whit had to sub in a couple of times, thanks). But he was there at the finish cheering me on! It was the best sight ever!

This is the pic of Isla waiting at the finish line. This is also what a 1 1/2 year old looks like when daddy gets her ready for the day. :)

Short and Sweet

2011-10-21T13:59:00.000-07:00

One of Aaron's favorite things = chocolate covered gummy bears

One of Lindzi and Isla's favorite things = cooking

See, we really are a match made in heaven. :)

Spring - April/May

2011-10-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

I actually have a good reason for being MIA most of the springtime. My January through April was filled with nothing but STUDYING for the PE Exam. The PE Exam is basically the hardest/most stressful, crappy, (insert your own expletive here), soul crushing, confidence killing, mind boggling, unbearable experience in all existence.
Bless Aaron's heart for not divorcing me (and taking the child with him) during my 5 month hiatus from life.
The PE Exam is a 10 hour test. An engineer will take this test after working 4 years of qualified experience (basically, before the PE exam you are completing the equivalent of a doctor's residency). Then if you pass the exam, you are legit. A registered Professional Engineer. This test is about ALL things engineering, not just one's field of work. AND, it has an average passing rate of 37% YIKES.

So our life went something like this:
I wake up early and go study in my office until Aaron wakes up. Aaron wakes up. We have a brief and distracted breakfast together, I make him lunch, and he goes to work. I work. Isla and I have a distracted lunch of reading textbooks mixed with a few bites of PB&J. I go back to work. Aaron and I meet somewhere off the freeway to hand off Isla. I go study for the night, come home, go to bed. Aaron and Isla are left to scavenge dinner for themselves. Repeat. Occasionally I would try to slip in a run or a bike ride as I was also trying to train for both a century bike race and the Ragnar.

But alas, the day came for the test. Months of stress-induced acne and throwing up would soon be over one way or another. Aaron drove me because I was way too nervous to get myself down to the city at 5:00 am. And I knew once I was done, the last thing I would want to do is drive an hour back up the canyon. 10 hours, a lot of water, and all my stash of chocolate later... I dragged myself to the curb to meet Aaron where he described "a herd of nerds piling out of the convention center".

Then I had to wait. 2 MONTHS of waiting. But finally the news came, I PASSED! I cried. I called Aaron, my parents, my boss, then my grandma, in that order.
It. Was. Awesome.

I could not have done all of this without an amazing support system. Of course Aaron was the most understanding, patient husband of all time. He took on waaay more responsibility to cover for me, acting as both dad AND mom. Then my parents and best friend Whitney were constantly babysitting, bringing me dinner, etc.

Anyway, here is a picture of my books. This is a GIGANTIC rolling bag in real life. Like, I could probably fit inside comfortably. I think there were about 18 or so books in all.

So Far Behind

2011-10-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

I seem to have lost track of my blog. And along with that, my camera for the last half of a year.

But, we have had a great year. I am going to try to catch up on some of the more monumental happenings around here.

Backtracking...

2011-03-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Typically, weather permitting, Isla and I try to spend my lunch hour outside playing and eating a picnic lunch.

Isla LOVES being outside. We recently discovered that she can now open the door all by herself. Coincidentally all of our doors stay locked ALL the time now.

She loves puddles. Mud. Rolling in snow. Eating snow. Riding the longboard down the driveway over, and over, and over (ugh). Riding her bike. Rocks. Bubbles. Jumping off high things. And running from people.

The Problem with Facebook...

2011-02-09T07:32:00.000-08:00

is I have found it makes me a lazy blogger.

Mostly I feel bad because its so quick and easy to post pics on FB. Then when I want to blog about it, I figure anyone interested in my blog has already seen the pics and doesn't want to read the lame stories behind the pics.

So for all of you who saw these pics on FB and now see a repeat here - First of all THANK YOU for caring! haha. Second, sorry. :)

As most of you may know, this winter has been BRUTAL cold.

Cold as in: vehicles won't start.

Cold as in: the furnace can't keep up - resulting in $200+ heating bills

Cold as in: negative temps have become normal and this morning's 3 degrees actually felt like a relief

Cold as in: Aaron actually called in sick last week - sick of the cold weather

Cold as in: You don't even want to eat food because, well I dunno, just because it's too cold

Ohhh and the wind. Ugh the wind. Last week before wind chill, the temp was -23.

But I love it. So weird. It reminds me of growing up in Woodland and feeding the horses in the mornings. When you breathe in and your nostrils stick together. Chopping 12 inch thick ice for the animals. The horses breath steaming so thick it makes a haze of fog. Yes, it is wonderful this cold! And it reminds me of all the little things to be grateful for like snuggling, down comforters, fires, soup, and hot showers.

Unfortunately despite the unusually COLD temps the snow has been less-than-epic. Snowmobilingng has been kept to a minimum so far - hopefully to change soon. Skiing has been hit and miss. We have enjoyed some great skiing with friends. Then Aaron and I enjoyed a powder day together ALONE (something rare for us lately!) which was amazing. It took me back to the winter Aaron and I met when every weekend (and several weekdays) while dating was spent either at Snowbird or Park City, usually accompanied by Aaron's BF Casey. And finally, to take advantage of the winter, we have been out snowshoeing a bunch. It's fun because we can actually take Isla. And she LOVES it.

When we aren't outside we are working on the basement. STILL. Holy cow this is taking forever. But we are doing it all in our down time. And by down time I mean one-hour increments when Isla has gone to bed before we kill over from exhaustion. So 9:00 - 10:00 pm, about 3 days a week. But progress is being made. We are just finishing the trimwork then it's one last touch-up coat of paint on the trim and carpet. I have some pretty cool pics of the process but when the whole thing is finished I will do a whole post solely dedicated to THE BASEMENT (read that with a deep, echoing voice as in the Sunday Football announcement voice).

Now when I went to blog I opened up my pics and realized we have hardly taken ANY pics lately. I remember when Isla was a baby I seriously think I took about 20 pics A DAY. Stupid. But now I am lucky if I have 20 pics for the whole month. I need to get better.

In the meantime, here are a few.

Late night snow shoeing in Big Cottonwood Canyon.

The Pantone boys and their endless entertainment.

Last month we started teaching Isla to ski. I think Aaron was slightly disappointed only because he had this grand vision of her just taking off and ripping down the hill with him frantically chasing after her. I had to remind him that our 17 month old daughter barely learned to WALK two months ago... so expectations should be kept pretty low. But it was so fun. We laughed and laughed and she would ski 10 feet and tip over and we would all laugh some more. Overall, that was the true measurement of success - that we all had smiles and left wanting more. :)

New Do

2010-12-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

As much as mullets fit in around Heber... we decided that it just wasn't the look for Isla anymore.

Isla's first hair cut...

How Do You Choose Just One?

2010-11-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

I have to pick one of these to hang on the wall. I don't know how I am going to decide. (feel free to cast your vote) These are Isla's slightly belated 1-year-old photos by our good friend and awesome photographer Jess. She is amazing. (www.inbleu.com).

I'm on a Boat...

2010-11-19T06:54:00.000-08:00

It's true, Aaron and I come from VERY different backgrounds. When we started dating few people thought this would ever work out. Aaron was a free spirit - skater, studying fashion design/marketing, fresh back from working in New York, cashed his checks and lived until the cash in his pocket ran out, and the ultimate ski bum. I, on the other hand, was the uptight scholarly girl with savings and investment accounts at age 20, wrangler-wearing "redneck" cowgirl, avid hunter with animal heads lining my college apartment room walls, and entirely too dedicated to my job and education.

But there is something we have always had in common... fishing. (Okay, there are a few more, but we will just consider fishing right now for dramatics and in order to tie into the bulk of this post.) Aaron used to love fly fishing ANY river with his dad, and my family always made ANY type of fishing a priority. Most family vacations were usually planned around some sort of fishing excursion.

These are some of our favorite memories as children. And we want the same for Isla. Plus, let's face it, many activities are limited with a 1-year-old. So this year we tried to do as much fishing as we could. We don't get many pictures of fly fishing because I am not allowed to carry a camera since I fall into the river frequently, and Aaron is carrying a baby on his back while flyfishing so his hands are usually full. But on occasion, we are able to convince my parents into taking us out on the lake in their boat. It's seriously our little piece of heaven. Ahhhhhhh.

The first time out we caught NOTHING. Not even a BITE. So the next time we went out we didn't have many expectations. But we did come prepared this time with a bag full of magazines, gourmet food, and a great music lineup. And of course it was because of this that we couldn't STOP catching the fish. Literally, all day long there was at least one fish on at any time. Up to all four of us having fish on the line at one point. It was crazy. I think the total count ended up being over 60 fish caught that day.

We are so fortunate that my parents are willing to share their boat with us. I am grateful for the relationship we have with my parents, which is more like we are all best friends rather than parents/children. We always have such a great time, fishing or whatever adventure we happen to be up to.

Aaron's fish.

The sweet thing about Aaron is he still gets excited, no matter how big or small the fish is.

Most of the time our fishing day turns into some sort of competition. The Bishops are all about competition. Usually it's girls against boys. Judging by our smiles, the girls are winning.

Papa is teaching Isla how to fish. She absolutely loves him and wants to do everything he does.

Good thing the boat has autopilot.

Getting bigger.

The captain.

Isla reeling in.

Isla's first fish.

She would play in this bucket of water all day.

Happy Halloween

2010-11-10T12:37:00.000-08:00

from our sweet ladybug and the wolf-pig.

Give and Get is Here!

2010-11-10T07:16:00.000-08:00

Give and Get is Here!: "Enjoy 30% off from November 11-14 at Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy plus we'll make a 5% donation to a non-profit."

Races

2010-11-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

Upon having a conversation with our neighbors last week that started with "um, you guys like to exercise a lot, huh?" We decided that we have 2 options. Either (A) stop our 11:00 pm basement interval sessions with me on the treadmill and Aaron on the road bike trainer, TV turned up as loud as the volume will go (do you know how LOUD a treadmill and trainer can be in an echoing half-finished basement?), all with the windows wide open for air flow or (B) move to a home in a more remote location where this kind of behavior can't be heard by the neighbors. Ooops. I prefer Option B. Just so ya know.
Aaaaaanyway...
Two weeks ago Aaron and I were eating dinner (I think it was a Thursday night) when we realized that we had BOTH signed up for races the same day, the same time. Not just any ordinary races either. Aaron had his greatly anticipated Heber Century bike race and I had the long-coming Dirty Dash. So we convinced Grandpa to babysit (which really didn't take ALL that much convincing) and parted ways.
I was able to make the start AND finish line of Aaron's race. Because obviously I run faster than he can bike. (ignore the glaring fact of bike race=107 miles, dirty dash=6.4 miles).
A little background info, the Dirty Dash is a 10k race traversing mountain trails covered in deep mud. Oh, and add in some obstacle courses and a massive mud covered slip and slide. Teams of five could help each other along. It was by far the most fun time running I think I have had yet.
These ended up being the last races of the season for us - and what a great way to end. Aaron killed the bike race and mom and I... well the Dirty Dash was more of a race to see who could get muddiest, moreso than finish time. So I would say we were successful as well.

This is at the finish line with our good friend Travis. Travis is his race/riding buddy.

Here is our team pre-race waiting for our start time. Nice and clean. I think there were around 4,000 racers.

Coming up to the finish line. You had to go through this massive mud pit to cross the finish.

After...

Washing off via fire hose.

I also competed in my first triathlon this fall. I used to swim competitively when I was young (I blame my unusually wide shoulders on being a well-versed butterflier at age 5), but I haven't swam since college. That was over 5 years ago. Man I seem OLD. But how hard could it be right? The swimming portion was just in the pool. One of my really good friends did it with me. Even though we didn't find out we were both doing it until a party the night before. I was just doing it for fun, as a goal I guess to prove to myself. But when we left directly after I finished (baby was SOOOO sick, and it was horrible weather) I got a call from Ari saying I placed! Holy Cow!

(I am the one in the 3rd lane up... next to the guy in the red swim cap.)

I'm Isla and I'm ONE!

2010-09-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

My mom is a little slow posting this because she is very busy hanging out with me and working too.

I turned one year old three weeks ago. I had TWO birthday parties. One with all my mom and dad's friends, and one with my awesome family.

I have to say, this birthday was way more awesome that last years.

Luckily for me, well before I came along my dad accustomed my mom to the idea of a "birthday week". Thanks dad. I may not remember much about my first birthday party when I grow up, but I had a great time!

Birthday week started out on Thursday when my mom and mimi took me to Salt Lake for a girls day. We went to lunch with my great-grammy, my aunt Chrissy, and my cousin Addie. Then we went shopping for new clothes for me, then to my favorite store Costco, and to the chocolate store to get some special dark chocolate for my birthday cakes. I really love hanging out with my mom and mimi.

Friday my mom started singing happy birthday to me. I think she is weird. I played with my mom and dad then I went to bed and my mom stayed up late getting things ready for my big party, including making me an awesome shirt to wear.

Saturday evening we had a great party with my "aunts" and "uncles". I had lots of pink decorations because that's my favorite color. We ate yummy cafe-rio style pork salads and burritos and peach cobbler. I got some really cool presents like books, a kite, a new swim suit, a John Deer farm band, some bath toys, and a Cabbage Patch doll!

And of course I had my very own dark chocolate cake that I devoured. I wasn't quite sure what to do at first, my dad had to keep telling me it was okay.

Sunday my family all came over for ANOTHER party! Both of my grandparents and even my great-grandparents came a long way to see me. My uncle and aunt, and 2 of my cousins came too. We had more delicious cake and played and laughed. I got really tired by the end.

So by the time it was my actual birthday I was totally worn out! When I woke up my dad had already gone to work but left me a note. We went to the park and ate some dinner and went to bed.

A few awesome things about me now that I am one:

I love to dance to music

I still crawl. I will occasionally walk along furniture, but if people will carry me, why do I need to walk?

I laugh at myself A LOT. I am pretty funny

I went from being 95% in weight to 25% in weight in 3 months so my doctor wants me eating lots more food I like to eat anything my mom and dad eat, but I especially like scrambled eggs, oranges, hot dogs, cheese, pb&j, crackers, spaghettios, and fat boys (when my mom isn't looking and daddy sneaks them to me)

I like to play in mom's garden. She picks peas and beans and puts them in a bucket and I take them all out again

I can sort of say mama, dada, papa, mimi, baby, bye-bye, and poo

I know who my papa is! He is the only person that I can point to and accurately recite "papa" (grandpa O)

I can whinny like a horse

I sleep so much. Oh I love to sleep. I like my crib but I don't like it when my mom and dad put stuffed animals in my crib with me.

I love books.

I like to crawl on my dog Finn.

I love to be pulled around like royalty in my chariot bike trailer

I am also going through some attachment issues. But they say I'll get over that. Whatever.

Oh yea, and I have mom and dad wrapped around my little finger. :)

Summery Summary

2010-08-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of my title cleverness.

I am easily amused these days. Exhaustion? Being confined to a home office in Heber? Just plain being awesome? Probably.

Whew so where has the time gone? This summer seriously flew by. I have mixed feelings about this. So here are some nonsense ramblings about what we have been up to. They are in no order, have little relevance to anything, and probably don't matter to anyone. But Isla is napping, I just finished the submittal from hell, and I feel like writing. Consider yourself warned.

If you know me very well at all, you can attest that I HATE the heat. I hate being hot. The only thing I hate worse than being hot is not owning a boat to be on a lake when it's too freaking hot. More on that later. But I have never had to be home all day to fully appreciate the sauna affect that a home produces in the blistering 3 - 4 week mid-summer heat wave. Did I mention that we don't have air conditioning? Well we DON'T. Which isn't normally a problem, except during said 3 - 4 week period. So we do the best we can, wear as little as possible, and try to complain as little as possible.

Aaron and I recently realized the magical time-zapping power that babies have. Having Isla around has made our lives seem sooo much busier than we ever realized. I think of the quote from Anchorman when Ron Burgandy is speaking to Baxter who just ate an entire block of cheese, "I'm not even mad, that's incredible". But to get a little sensitive on you here... it really has made us come to appreciate the small and simple things in life. A peaceful shower is nothing short of a miracle. And the days that I actually get to wash/dry/style my hair after said miracles are priceless gems. Days that I don't have to run pushing a jogger are like little presents that Aaron gives me. And there is a lot of improvising and creativity going on with making things possible with Isla. (ie, Aaron mowing the lawn with Isla in a hiking backpack)

This summer has dreadfully and semi-unintentionally been dedicated to home improvements. To sum it up - it is the price of a sweet vacation, but a TON more work and not as much fun. Lame. But many loads of soil, many yards of concrete, countless railroad ties, and buckets of drywall mud later... we are still in the midst of 1,000 projects.

As spring was coming to an end we vowed to each other we would go camping at least twice a month. HAHAHAHA. This weekend will be our first time of the summer. Things just always kept coming up. And that's a stupid excuse.

My garden is my secret passion. I have loved working in there pulling weeds and talking to my plants. (A little tactic I picked up from Sue. She swears by it.) Isla loves to sit out in the garden in a diaper and make muddy messes. And let's be honest, eat the mud. But she loves the garden too. Aaron used be a BIG hater on my garden. But when served fresh produce daily from the backyard he has become very stoked on it.

Now for the fun stuff (and probably the reasons we don't meet our camping goals). Aaron decided that our family didn't have enough hobbies and that we needed to get into road biking, cycling, whatever you call it. You know, what those Euros do in Tour de France. Aaron initially got the ball rolling, but I soon followed in suit as I am not one to sit idly at home and babysit my weekend away. Aaron has been competing in several races including Tour de Park City and he's actually pretty good. I am sure his unexplainable Fat Boy consuming skinny little body plays to his advantage here. With what I call the "equalizer" (a trailer for Isla) hitched on behind Aaron, we are able to pedal around nicely and at a relatively similar pace. I still run avidly and am currently training for the Dirty Dash. A 10k race through pure muddy hills. Yay.

The rest is just jibberish details. We enjoy eating out on the patio most mornings and almost every night. Aaron consumes anywhere between 1 and 4 Fat Boy ice cream sandwiches a day. Aaron and I both have great jobs and bosses/coworkers and we feel so blessed. Isla is just a doll all of the time. We have had some awesome family parties this summer, campouts at the ranch, shooting tournaments, volleyball battles, lots of fishing, boating when possible and of course, all the horse riding we can squeeze in! I got a sewing machine and consequently have about 12 half-finished projects. I am constantly trying to keep the house clean (unsuccessfully) but sometimes that's what summer is all about. What can I say? I LOVE this family of mine.

We celebrated our 5 year anniversary with a wonderful date night ALONE! The first date night we have enjoyed since Isla was born!

One of our favorite things about summer? Lemonade stands. Aaron ALWAYS makes us stop and support the young entrepreneurs.

And that's about it. We have been so busy that we really haven't even been able to take many pictures. Here are a few that I could dig up...

A Little Too Quiet

2010-07-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Today I looked over and found this -

In case you were wondering... I picked every last one up, folded them all back properly, and put them back.

Because I am cheap like that.

Twilight

2010-06-30T16:26:00.000-07:00

Just in time for the new Twilight movie premier (see, I don't even know the name of the ump-teenth sequel - that's how out of the loop I am up in Heber).

To all my Twilight Groupies,

With Love.

Thanks to my sweet BFF Raelyn. You will always make me laugh. :)

Ragnar 2010

2010-06-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

I DID IT! And it was A-MAZ-ING.

One of the best experiences of my life.

191 Miles - 30 continuous hours - running through some of the most beautiful country on earth.

I have trained for this race for months, had ups and downs, and in the end, far exceeded even my own expectations. I even waterskiied the following morning.

My team was incredible. They were flawless runners and even better support when I was on the pavement. There was never a dull moment in the van (how could there be with Sue and Sparky?) and the most sore part of my body after the race was my stomach muscles from laughing too much.

And that's exactly the way it should be.

Things I could not have done it without:

My mom (who was the strongest runner on our team)

Shot Blocks

Support from my friends and family (esp. Aaron, my dad, and Whit)

Bottles of ice water consistently poured over my head

The twangy country remake version of "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" on my teammates iPod after mine failed and had to switch out mid-8-mile stretch in a panic

The best way I can describe the weekend is like Christmas for a kid... you look forward to it for months, the excitement and anticipation builds and builds, then all of the sudden it's over. And you have to wait a whole year for it to be here again. :(

Washington DC

2010-05-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

About a month ago we had the opportunity to go to Washington DC for one of Aaron's good friend's wedding. We figured since neither of us had been back there that we should spend some time and see everything. Well, I am pretty sure that unless you live out there you will never truly be able to see everything. But still... we tried. We absolutely loved all the history and gained a lot deeper respect for our country. It was a beautiful city. However, I wouldn't say this was one of those vacations where you go to relax. The city pace was 100x faster than our little town, traffic was 200x slower, and there were a million things to fit into one short week.

Some stops along the way...

ARLINGTON CEMETARY

THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL & WASHINGTON MONUMEMT

SLEPT THROUGH AN UNEVENTFUL CRAPPY FENCED VIEW OF THE WHITE HOUSE (which was the biggest letdown of the trip)

WENT TO THE SMITHSONIANS

AND THE ZOO

WENT TO THE TEMPLE

AND RAN A RACE IN DOWNTOWN DC

We did and saw so much more than this, but these were just some quick highlights. I would definitely recommend if you haven't ever visited there, YOU SHOULD!

Cloth Diaper Revolution

2010-04-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

It looks like the Union of Bell just rallied an impressive retaliation against the Confederate Forces of Poop in the great and messy Civil War. Liken to the Battle of Gettysburg if you will... the turning point...

Besides the obvious perks of

SAVING TONS OF MONEY,
REDUCING HEINOUS BLOWOUTS,
and getting the warm fuzzies from "SAVING THE PLANET"...

These little geniuses are also SO ADORABLE.

Before you are too overimpressed, console yourself with the fact that I only use them about 50% of the time. We still use good old Huggies for going out and at night. Still, a 50% reduction in diapers is something to shout about around here.

P.S. Thank you Wikipedia for refreshing my American History knowledge base. We will be taking a trip to Washington DC so I have been studying up. Gotta be able to talk the talk if you know what I'm sayin'.

Before I was a Mom...

2010-04-13T07:26:00.000-07:00

This is a poem I received in an email.
Author unknown.
But I loved it, and wanted to share its sweetness.

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

EASTER 2010 - Part 1

2010-04-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

We enjoyed Easter celebration 1 of 3 this weekend. So much fun.

It started out with my best friends coming up and having a cookie/egg/pizza extravaganza. Tripling the cookie recipe was a little too much. At first we were all really creative, then we were over it and just slapped frosting on the rest of them. Dying the eggs was fun for those of us who stayed awake that late.

Then Sunday we had such a great time at my family Easter dinner. Great food, even better company. Isla did pretty good with her first egg hunt. She especially liked to shake the eggs filled with jelly beans and eat the pink grass in her bucket. Ahhh the simply joys - wish it could stay that way.

Isla and her sweet cousin Kiri.

Isla found a special egg that was filled with this fabulous bead necklace that used to belong to her Great Great Grandma Quma.

Cute cousins eyeing their goodies.

My precious darling.

Aaron eating chocolate cheesecake.

Have I ever mentioned my mom should be a professional chef? Mmmm she makes the most wonderful carrot cake ever. It is by far my most favorite dessert she makes. Masterpiece. Not to mention its organic ranch grown carrots and hand-ground flour. She is wonderwoman.

This is Isla's Great Grammy that she is named after. We sure love her.

We are so lucky to have the best family in the world. Our day couldn't have been any better. Stay tuned for Easter Parts 2 and 3.....

Banana Money

2010-03-29T13:16:00.000-07:00

In our house there is something called "Banana Money".

Banana Money is the money that I earn at my second job, Banana Republic. The wonderful thing about Banana Money is that it is 100% responsibility free. I take my paychecks to the bank and hide the cash until I see something that I really want but usually isn't justified. Sometimes Banana Money buys gifts for Aaron, sometimes awesome household items like overpriced vacuums, or luxuries like fancy running shoes.

Before I get too far, let me clarify one thing... Banana Money is never going to make me rich. It's simply a silly little side job mainly for the discount. At 3-4 hours a week on you can imagine the retail cashier hourly rate - I REALLY have to save for things.

So after my last Banana Money splurge, I came up with a new goal... a bedroom set. Our current set is great and I am so grateful for it, but the bed sort of reminds me of a 12 year old girl (oh yes, because it was a gift for my 12th birthday). And a not-so-matching dresser. My goal is to buy a new bedroom set by the time Isla is out of her crib and ready for a big girl bed, then I'll just had our stuff down to her.

I know, she is only 7 1/2 months old. But like I said, it takes a LONG time to save up those wages.

Did I mention the best part about Banana Money? I get total control of Banana Money purchases. No one can say I don't like that color, or that is ugly! It could even be considered a form of therapy.

And without further ado, here it is in all it's glory. My new dream. The only problem... by the time I save enough money to buy it (about 3X what I was anticipating saving) I don't know if it will even be in production anymore. :(

I hate you Restoration Hardware. No, I don't, I love you. Someday.

Feeding Frenzy

2010-03-04T06:54:00.000-08:00

When Isla hit the 6 month mark a couple of weeks ago, we decided it was time to start introducing her to baby food. Like any new parents - this was quite the occasion for us.

High chair - check.
Video camera - check.
Perfect lazy Sunday morning to dedicate to "baby's first feeding" - check.
Organic fancy rice cereal* - check.
*by the way, I am totally not into the whole organic thing usually. well, unless you count shooting your own meat from the mtn range "organic" and growing your own veggies in a garden and canning/bottling them. anyway, it's funny how you get sucked in to feeling like your baby needs organic.

And so it began. We put that adorable little silver spoon up to her mouth and in went a delicious bite of mush. Anticipation builds. And back out it came. Not only did the cereal shoot back out with a force of disgust, but this was followed by the most heartfelt look of horror. She looked at us like "why would you do something like that to me?" It almost broke my heart. Almost.

Thankfully the pediatrician* said this might happen. And to just give it a few days, she will come around.
*by the way, I have an intellectual crush on my pediatrician. he's A.MAZE.ING. funny i used to have harmless crushes on people like pro snowboarder Jeremy Jones or Mark Wahlberg or Jeremy Piven. oh how life changes.

So we tried the next day. Only this time we try to trick her by making the airplane noises and slurping noises and what not. It didn't help. She didn't want to eat. But she did feel like laughing.

Turn up the volume to hear the full giggling effect. Oh, and if you are patient enough to make it to the end, that's the best laughing and a great ending squeal.

When the rice cereal failed its week trial, I decided to try something different. It has always been my dream to be the perfect little mom that makes perfect homemade baby food from the preserved fruits and veggies from my garden. So out came the stock from the freezer. Mooshed up carrots - nope. Pureed sweet potatoes - nope. Whipped squash - nope. Hopeless. She didn't want rice, and she didn't appreciate the intensive labor I had put into her homemade babyfood. We gave in and finally went to the grocery store and bought a plethera of delicous sounding baby foods. Bananas, squash, sweet peas, pears... and so far we haven't tried everything, but she is still not having anything to do with eating. Not only does she not want to try, but she has learned how to clench her jaws closed so you can't even pry the spoon in there. You can't even trick her into smiling and shoving the spoon in anymore, she figured that one out too.

I suppose we will just keep trying and eventually she will have to like something, right? We love this little person!

And these guys too.

Baby It's Cold Outside

2010-02-22T17:12:00.000-08:00

This winter has been odd.

The snow has been sparse, the temperatures will go from -11 to 46 in the same week, and then there's the baby factor. All of this has altered our usually predictable winter season habits. We haven't been snowmobiling and skiing as much as we are used to. But it's okay, we find ways to still enjoy the outdoors and mountains.

Enter SNOWSHOEING. Boo. Yes I said boo. Yes I did it, and yes I will continue to do it. But hear me out on this. We own snowmobiles - why on earth would I want to WALK through DEEP snow to get to the top of a mountain that I could ride to in 3 minutes on my snowmobile...? Let me remind you that watching me walk with snowshoes is like watching a really awkward pregnant chick walk on the Hawaii beach in flippers. (Oh wait, that was me last May.) Still, in a pinch snowshoeing will suffice to get us out of the house and into the beautiful trails that surround us. So I give in.

Isla LOVES being outside. Here she is all bundled up ready to go in her backpack.

This is my best friend Ashley and her boyfriend Casey. Casey is unusually large. And by large I mean TALL. And he broke his walking poles.

This pic does NOT do the hike justice. It was SOOOO steep. And Aaron did the whole thing carrying Isla on his back. He only fell over once - on the way down. Isla thought that was pretty funny.

This is overlooking the Heber Valley. Pay no attention to Isla sitting at a 45 degree angle.

Told you I was uncoordinated. At least I am smiling.

Other outdoor adventures occupying our time include JIBFEST. This is where all our friends come up - we snowmobile them in to an undisclosed mountainous location - build stuff in the woods - and jib. For all the population out there that don't speak this language (myself included) this means haul in rails that Aaron spent all summer making, lumber to build quarter pipes, tools, hatchets, jumps, I don't really know where all this is going. Basically these guys are like little boys in a candy shop. Add lighting a tree on fire and burning up some hot dogs and you have yourself jibfest.

Then there are the Midway Ice Castles. Don't get your tiaras out just yet folks. I was sadly disappointed to learn that these so-called advertised "ice castles" were not like, um, castles. They were just really pretty ice sculpture things. Still fun to check out and take some pics with friends nonetheless. I just have to save my Cinderella costume for another day I suppose.

Starting the ice castle stroll.

My two best friends Ashley and Whit.

This one is really blurry of me doing the Lion King presenting Simba pose - but I thought it was a really pretty view of the ice not-castle.

The ice tunnel. Isla is a very tactile learner. Oops.

All-in-alll we are alive. We have been busy working and playing. We are hoping for a big late winter! Please give us more snow!

Old Friends

2010-02-18T09:27:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I realized that there are few things in life better than simply getting together with your childhood best friends whom you haven't seen in years. Nothing fancy needed. Just a big supply of your favorite beverage, some munchies, and comfy stools to sit around laughing for hours.

My mom once told me you will know a best friend because you can go for a long time without seeing each other and when you do finally reunite, you can seamlessly pick up right where you left off.

What's Better than Finishing a Basement?

2010-01-25T17:15:00.000-08:00

What could be better than Aaron finishing our basement?

Going downstairs to find this...

Aaron hard at work - with Isla intently watching in her Johnny Jump Up - fashionably clad in the most snuggly bear suit (many thanks Treeses!)

Construction extraordinaire, babysitter, Mr. Perfect.

Happy Martin Luther King Day

2010-01-19T19:04:00.000-08:00

To celebrate Martin Luther King Day I am going to post our Christmas pictures.

Don't judge. I'm busy. And a new season of The Bachelor just began.

Christmas was crazy as usual. And having a baby made it 50x more fun. Isla met Santa (twice), we ate way too much delicious food, and partied with just about everyone. Oh, and Isla reveled in the crinkly joy of wrapping paper.

Overall 110% a success.

Santa? Whatever.

Too much partying. Power nap with uncle Logan.

More curious about the dog than Christmas morning.

This is where Isla gets her gorgeous baby blues. Love Grandpa O.

My brother gave Grammy this as a joke... but she was SO stoked on it for real.

Haha I love Isla's eyes in this pic. OOOOH bath toys from cousin Addie!!!

And of course no Christmas Season would be complete without a family picture. Our amazing friend Travis came up and patiently snapped some pics of us in the cold and snow.

Cheers.

Playing Catch Up

2010-01-02T08:11:00.000-08:00

I sat down to blog about a lovely "baby's first" Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, but realized that I have skipped so much.
Backtrack to a year and a half ago... Letting a month and a half go by without posting would not really mean you missed anything. Perhaps a post following a hiatus like that might read "we are still doing well, Aaron is still in Colorado, and I'm still working, we play as often as we can."
But now a month and a half means baby milestones, hundreds of pictures, and memories that we are holding on to as tightly as we can.
So before I get back to the routine blogs, I want to play catch up. And I know it's probably the most overused phrase in blogging... but I'm going to say it anyway... I will try and post more frequently. However, I make no promises. :)

First of all, AARON IS HOME! For the first time in 2 years he lives home again. Yes, for the first time he actually LIVES in the home we bought! Not just the occasional weekend visitor. Now while I love his new presence around the home, and most notably a good night's sleep without fearing for my life and a lower power bill without every light on 24-7, this also comes with a few caveats. You see, apparently living alone for 2 years tends to make people slip into a somewhat selfish lifestyle. Aaron was able to eat whatever he wants for dinner (ice cream and coke), watch whatever he wants on TV (mafia shows or Turner Classic Movies), go to bed whenever and however, come and go as he pleases, not clean the condo, basically live the bachelor life. Now I don't consider myself the type of wife that has the proverbial "chain" on my husband. I would like to think of myself as a very lenient and compassionate type. But take a lifestyle that has been building for 2 years, put them back in the same household (oh, both home full-time, btw) and expect them to mesh seamlessly back to the idealistic married life AND throw a baby in on top of all that transition. Needless to say it is a learning process.
I hate his shows, he hates mine.
I want to make salad and fish for dinner, he wants to grill red meat.
I want him to change ALL the poopy diapers to make up for his missing first 3 months, he doesn't.
I want him to clean, OH WAIT... he wants me to clean more, I just want to play with him and the baby when I am done with work.
I say potato, he says poe-taaa-toe.
You get the picture.
But slowly we are re-adjusting to a co-habitating life again. And we are figuring out how to still be a husband and wife and NOT just Isla's mom and dad. This has by far been the biggest challenge.
Did anyone else deal with that transition?
Anyway, all of that aside, I am constantly overjoyed having my best friend back around. I still lay down every night and think how unbelieveably HAPPY I am to be going to bed next to my husband. It's surreal. And Isla LOVES having her daddy around all the time too. No one can make Isla smile nearly as big as her daddy. It's the sweetest thing to watch.

Moving on.

Recently an opportunity fell into my lap to interview with a new company. Maybe not so much "fell into my lap" as much as someone up above graciously placed this blessing in my lap. I knew this was going to be a good thing when I was unable to find a babysitter the day of the interview and the owner simply told me to bring her in with me. While I absolutley loved my old company and even more my old co-workers, this deal was too good to pass up. To channel my inner Mylie Cyrus, "it's the best of both worlds". I am a full-time stay at home mom, AND a full-time career woman. I work from home designing and occasionaly drop into the office which is 3 blocks from my house. Did I mention on those occasions which require me to be in the office they let me bring Isla with me? In fact, they are sad when she stays home with dad. There have been times where I am changing a diaper while on a conference call with a client, but it really does make me feel like Superwoman. I am so grateful for this opportunity. When my maternity leave was coming to an end I NEVER EVER IMAGINED it would be THAT hard to think about leaving my baby with a babysitter. And I must give props to my angel baby who makes it possible for me to work full time and is content sitting in the Bumbo on my desk helping me calculate hydraulic grade lines and pressure heads. She has become my partner in crime.

Finally, since our last post Isla has discoverd the irrisistable art of giggling. It's the best sound in the whole world.
Better than Brad Paisley.
Better than Snoop Dogg.
Better than waves crashing on the beach in Hawaii.
We pretty much spend all our time trying to make her giggle. And it's never the same stimulant that generates a laugh. Today a duck noise makes her giggle, tomorrow she will look at you like you are sooooo laaaaame if you try to use the same duck tactic. She is so close to sitting up on her own. She loves doing anything outdoors and adventurous. (Another post on that later.) At her last checkup she weighed 15 lbs and was 24 inches long. She is in the 75% percentile for weight and length, and 95% for head size. Big head.

One more thing I forgot to mention. I hope you are all sitting down for this. Are you ready? I have picked up the hobby of... GASP... running. (When I type this I mentally hear the theme song for the original old school nintendo Mario Brothers game when you have to battle Bowser.)
Anyone that knows me knows that I absolutely DESPISE anything that makes me sweat. But I have decided that I hate being flabby even more than I hate sweating. Plus I am not going to lie, my mom motivates me. She is a runner, and somehow makes it seem so appealing. I am training to run the Ragnar race this spring.

Okay, enough of that long overdue, and generally LONG post. Here are some pics to go along with the update because you have all been so patient and made it to this point.

Bathtime is Isla's favorite!

We found my dad's old cowboy hat in the garbage.
So naturally we dug it out and put it on Isla.
Sanitation is overrated anyway.

100% pink.

Isla got a horsey jumper at one of the baby showers. She LOVES it.

Uncle Dan plays baby balance with Isla.

This is what happens when Daddy dresses Isla.
Purple Baby Legs and a Haloween costume.
Months after Haloween.

Favorite past time: eating her hands.

Fair Trade Act

2009-11-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

Despite all the physical havoc aftermath this little angel pie has wreaked on my body... (think hemorrhoids, occasional incontinence, sore breasts, body stretched out, and oh yeah, all that flab) I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Look at this face. What a darling! Still can't believe she is mine.

Isla loves staring contests with her Daddy. As I have mentioned before, she ALWAYS wins.

P.S. Can anyone help me figure out my header thing? Do I just need to make something to those dimensions in photoshop or something? Durrr I tried to make my layout all fancy and it didn't really work out. ooops.

Blessing Day

2009-10-27T14:12:00.000-07:00

Sept. 27 was a very special day for us as Isla received her blessing in our church. Aaron did an amazing job speaking words that will last throughout Isla's life and serve as a compass for her. I was so touched as I thought how grateful I am for my precious little family and that my family will be built upon a firm foundation of our Faith.

The day was perfect and beautiful. Not because of the amazing food that everyone so generously helped with, or because of the perfect weather - but because of our closest friends and family that were able to come share the day with us. We had quite the group here supporting us. Every single day I think about all the love that our baby is surrounded by, from her grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, to perhaps showering her with the most love, of course, the crew.

So to all of you who were here, and also those who wanted to but weren't able to make it, we love you and thanks for all the support. Not only on Isla's blessing day but every day of our lives.

ST. GEORGE MARATHON 2009

2009-10-26T16:27:00.001-07:00

Psyche, I didn't run it. Well, I ran a little bit of it. I jumped in with my mom around mile 25.

My mom ran her FIRST marathon Oct. 3 and she KILLED IT! We are all so so proud of her. She trained so hard - ran it in 3 hrs. 50 min. - and qualified for the Boston Marathon. Not bad for a 49 year old Grandma! haha. She's my inspiration to start running... someday.

Anyway, Aaron and I decided that "supporting her" provided a great excuse to go lay in the sun for a few days. Road Trip! Lots of family and lots of fun. Oh yeah, and lots of pics too.

Here we are en route to St. George. Isla LOVES her carseat and enjoyed finally having company in the back seat with her.

Night before. Getting ready.

KT tape is magical, or so I hear. And Grandma with her 2 sweet grandbabies the night before the race.

We woke up at 5 am to drive up the canyon to Veyo to watch her run by. It was dawn and the sunrise was gorgeous. But it was cooooold.

At the finish line. Notice how Orion is the only "civilian" (non-runner or non-military) beyond the orange fence boundary... yeah he made friends with the security guard, chatted him up, and ended up getting let into the restricted access area. haha, OF COURSE HE DID!

Looking good, eating melon, sporting the medal, and celebrating.

GOOD JOB MUM! WE LOVE YOU!

Adventures

2009-10-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

Having a tiny newborn around has reminded us that the little things in life that happen every day are actually big adventures. I think we really appreciate what we considered our "normal" activities a lot more now, as we experience them with Isla.

We love sharing our life adventures with Isla. Everyone warned us "YOUR LIFE IS ABOUT TO DRAMATICALLY CHANGE" - but we disagree. Life hasn't really changed, it has just been enhanced. We still do the same crazy adventures just with Isla strapped to our chest in the Baby Bjorn! It seems to have brought new life to our activities as we can't wait to introduce Isla to them.

We are so grateful and blessed that we are able to provide her these opportunities in life and can't wait for even more. In her short 9 weeks with us her list rivals even those with many more years on her such as:
Boating
Elk hunting
Camping in the Uintahs
Flyfishing
Bike riding
Road tripping
and tomorrow she will have her first ride on Jack (my horse).

Fishing on Grandpa O's Boat. Isla absolutely LOVED being out on the water!

This life jacket was huge on her, but the smallest there was. It was so cute though!

At elk hunt base camp with dad. SO pretty up there.

Taking a nap in the tent at camp. And yes, she is sucking her thumb. She sucked her thumb in the womb and although we try, we can't always keep it out of her mouth!

All bundled up to go camping in the Uintahs.

Camping at Lily Lake.

Sitting around the campfire making delicious hobo dinners and dutch over cobbler. (Sans utensils haha) Thanks Whit and Brady! So fun.

Road tripping to St. George for mom's marathon. (Blog on that coming soon!)

When Tough Little Boys Grow Up to Be Dads...

2009-09-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

They In To Big Babies Again...

Yes it's a country song. I never thought I would be likening our life to a country song.

Okay I take that back. Come to think of it... our truck has broken down - my horse DID die when we were dating - but at least there's no cheating.

But back to the song. If you have never heard it, you should. It's by Gary Allen. And I love it. I liked it before, but now it's Aaron.

So excuse me for a moment while I blog about the greatest husband and best dad Isla and I could ever want. At risk of sounding wildly cliche, I'm going to say it anyway. He may not be perfect, but he is PERFECT for us.

If I haven't already invited you to my pity party, you may or may not know that Aaron still works in Wendover. We don't get to spend much time with him and it makes ALL 3 OF US very sad. So when Aaron is home we try to make the very most of every moment. Aaron is SUCH a hard worker and sacrifices tremendously for our family. We are so grateful for him.

Isla LOVES her dad. Every day when Aaron calls I will hold the phone up for her to hear him. Her eyes get all BIG and she makes all these little confused faces because she can't actually see him. Okay it's a sad trick. But SOOO cute!

Annnyway, I wouldn't say that any of us ever doubted that Aaron would be a great dad. But we all had our reservations when he HONESTLY thought that babies went through 2 or 3 diapers a day. :) haha.

But to tell you the truth he has morphed into the most amazing dad and managed to remain an outstanding husband at the same time too. Basically he's magical.

I have compiled a list (because I am left brain, and we like lists). This is a list of my top ten favorite things of Aaron as a dad:

10. The Baby Bjorn. He puts her in this ALL the time, even if he is just sitting at the computer. He loves it, and so does Isla!

9. Dressing her. I have to bite my tongue sometimes because I (once again, left brained) like her to be proper and matching, and he (being right brained) thinks that clothes should NOT match.

8. Her holding his finger. Enough said. It's just sweet.

7. Sharing his accessories. He likes to let her try on his neon Volcom sunglasses, his New Era hats, and anything else.

6. Their staring contests. Most of the time she beats him. She's really good at it.

5. Our ongoing household fight whether Pampers or Huggies are better. I just find it funny that he has such a strong opinion about it.

4. Their daddy/daughter naps.

3. When he looks at me like he has NO clue what's going on with her. But we laugh really hard anyway.

2. Him dancing with her. We always have some sort of music playing in the house. And whether its "pausing for a dance break" or full on ballroom style, he's teaching her the moves.

1. When he gets up in the morning with her, lets me sleep in, then they bring me breakfast in bed.

Basically anyone that knows Aaron knows that he does everything. And when I say he does everything, I mean he goes ALL out and does it legit. So it comes as no surprise that fatherhood is no different. We love you!

nap time

elk hunting

staring contest

cuddling

Isla's Birthday Story

2009-08-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

Well it's been long enough, I finally have some time, and I want to write the story down before I forget it.
Also, I am a bit detail oriented - so this will probably be long and descriptive. :)
Here goes...

Isla Sue Bell
August 9, 2009
11:57 am
8 lb 6 oz
21 in.

One day after my due date I went into the dr. to find out I was still "tighter than a ZERO", not dropped at all, and not feeling anything remotely resembling a contraction. I was becoming restless and BEGGED my dr. to start me that day. She said she would start me at 41 weeks, which would be the following Monday. I hung my head in sadness and trodged out of her office. She called me back an hour later to tell me that Monday was FULL at the hospital, so we'd have to wait until Tuesday. I cried. Well, I went back to work and just waited. Finall, Friday the hospital called and said "we are calling to register you for your induction Sunday". I was shocked and confused. I argued with her (although not too hard) that it was supposed to be Tuesday. She said she had just gotten off the phone with my dr. and it was now Sunday. YAY!

Seeing how we'd been prepared with bags and all in the car for weeks, there was really nothing more to get ready. So naturally we decided to spend Saturday at the shooting range. Yes, 41 weeks pregnant shooting in a trap competition with the Lions Club men.
My brother-in-law calls this the poster for "I VOTED SARAH PALIN" ad.

While there I received another phone call from the hospital. The lady on the phone said "we spoke with your dr. and we want you to come in TONIGHT" to start me on a pill that would supposedly make me dilate. And that's how it began...

10:00 pm - we arrived at the hospital. Got registered and into our room - IV's, monitors, all that stuff, checked again, yep still not dilating AT ALL!

1:00 am - they gave me a pill (NOT orally...) that was supposed to help me start to dilate then turned out the lights and told us to get some sleep.  Yeah right, who can sleep at the hospital knowing you are going to be delivering your little girl within a matter of hours?  Aaron slept well.  There was a nice couch in the room that folded out to a bed and he brought his down comforter.  I think the only thing I heard him say all night was "I feel like I'm sleeping in a cloooouuud"
4:00 am - time to check again.  NO dilating.  Now I'm starting to get bugged, thinking this is going to either A. become a 24+ hour labor, or B. end up a C-Section.  So they administered another pill.
4:45 am - contractions started!  They were about every 3-4 min. and were getting pretty hard.  I felt bad waking Aaron up because there was really nothing he could do at this point except listen to me complain.  So I just let him keep sleeping in his "cloud".
7:00 am - nurse change (THANK GOODNESS, the first nurse was new to labor and delivery and having her check me hurt more than a contraction.  Very Bad.  Plus she had bad breath.  AND she forgot to give me my strep B antibiotic.)  And time to check me again.  Contractions were about 1 1/2 - 2 min apart and getting VERY painful.  Still, only dilated to a 2, maybe 3.  At this point Aaron asked the nurse when I could get my epidural.  I didn't want it yet because I was only dilated to a 2 and felt like a total wuss getting it this early.  But, the contractions were getting REALLY bad.
8:00 am - finally Aaron and the nurse convinced me to get the epidural.  AHHH heaven!  Life was good.
9:00 am - dilated to a 4, called my mom and dad and they started heading down.  Dr. was on her way too.  But we were told we have a ways to go still.  We had the music going and reading tabloids, feeling great.
10:00 am - everyone was getting there.  My Dr. came in and I told her I thought my water might have broken or my catheter was leaking.  She checked and it had broken.  Then I heard a "well, you're not going to believe this, but you are dilated to a 9!  I'm going to go change and then we're having a baby!"  Yes, in one hour I had gone from a 4 to a 9.

This was Aaron's completely freaked out face as they were getting the room all set up to push.

Final good luck kiss.

My sweet mom, BEST labor coach on the planet.  I could not have done it without her, NO WAY.

11:00 am - start the pushing!  At this point my Dr. still guessed that Isla was going to be a 6 lb 9 oz baby.  Aaron was amazing.  So supportive and encouraging.  His main tasks: give me water, wipe my face with a cool wet washcloth, and keep the iPod on satisfactory music for my demands.  It was the best birth experience I could have hoped for.  We were all laughing, joking, reciting Saturday Night Live skits in between contractions.
11:57 am - FINALLY Isla arrived!  All I could hear was "HOLY - SHE'S HUGE" "THIS IS A BIG BABY" "I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO OFF ON A BABY'S SIZE IN MY LIFE" I started thinking to myself... could someone please say something else?  Like, is she cute?  Is she a SHE?  Or is she simply just Andre the Giant?  They put her on my chest and I burst into tears.  I knew I would be overwhemed with joy and all that, but Aaron and I are not really criers, so I really didn't expect to cry.  That was the best moment of my life.  She was perfect, and she was mine.  Dr. asked Aaron to cut the cord, and he responded with a pale faint "um, NO".  So she asked me if I wanted to.  OF COURSE!  So I cut the umbillical cord myself while she was laying on my chest!  haha.  In Aaron's defense, he said he was actually considering it until the episiotomy.  But when he heard/saw that he absolutely couldn't handle the cord.   They took her to do all the measuring and stitched me up.  A little mommy/daddy bonding, then family came in to meet her.

Too precious.

Aaron in LOVE.

Such a proud dad.

Me watching Aaron with Isla.  This is my "pure happiness - life is complete" moment.

Grandpa Orion with his newest little girl.

Grandpa Kent.

After a little recovery they took us up to our maternity room.  They took Isla to the nursery for some mandantory testing, Aaron and our parents went out for lunch and I took a nap.  When they got back they did Isla's first bath right in our room.

Getting ready for bath.  I love Aaron's look of "what the heck is going on".

Oooh so cold!

After bath in what Aaron's calls my super-protective-don't-touch-my-baby pose.

Well, that's pretty much the nitty gritty of the event!  Everything went so smoothly it couldn't have been any more perfect.  Isla has been so completely healthy from minute one.  I guess that's what you get when she's late and huge.  We are so happy.

Going Home!

All buckled in and ready to go home.

Isla Sue Bell

2009-08-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

2nd Amendment

2009-08-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

Gotta love Ted Nugent interviews.

P.S. No baby yet. 4 days overdue. I am scheduled for an induction Tues. if nothing happens between now and then... :)

What's Happening This Week...

2009-07-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

At last our bags are all packed, sitting by the back door, and we are just waiting. No pics on this post because the camera is packed up ready to go too. I think we are ready as far as having all the necessities for her. And I KNOW I am ready to have her here. I am so excited!

Last Dr. Appt. was Friday. Nothing spectacular. I was 2 weeks and 1 day from my due date and not dilating at all. But the good news is somehow she managed to flip so she's no longer breech. Hopefully now that she's facing the right way she'll get this show on the road. It's too hot and I'm too big to feel like eating much anymore. And I've been dealing with stomach "issues" which resulted in a 4 lbs loss since my appt. the week before. So currently the goal is to just drink as much water and Gatorade as humanly possibly every day. Because of the holiday I won't go back to see my Dr. until Monday. I'm crossing my fingers for some progress.

We Went on a Tour of the Hospital last weekend. (We will be at the new Intermountain Medical Center down in Salt Lake). It was extremely valuable to know where we are going, what's going to happen where, how it's all going to go down, visitors, etc. I think Aaron loved it too. He stayed very involved, didn't zone out, and even asked questions! (Okay, even if they WERE completely contractor/construction questions such as "why do they have two paralleling power outlets running different colors? Are they different currents?" Our poor little tour guide looked at him like, I have no idea what you just said.)

I'm Reading Up on Natural Labor Induction Methods right now. I know they are probably all old wivestales but most of them couldn't hurt just to try anyway. Last night I got a pedicure hoping the foot massage would stimulate something, and then went for a long brisk walk with the dogs. I know, I know, all the literature barks "she'll come when she's ready". Bah.

p.s. I want to thank everyone for the fabulous baby showers. We got spoiled for sure. I LOVE YOU ALL!

I will try and think of something NON baby related to blog about soon! Sorry for the baby overload!

Nursery Almost Done!

2009-07-13T19:30:00.000-07:00

Finally some pics of the nursery progress. It's pretty much done except for the details- accessories, pictures, side table, stuff like that. I love it! Much thanks to my insanely patient husband who never complained about it.

The Cow...

2009-07-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

My very very best friend in the entire world gave Baby B the SWEETEST gift at my shower Saturday (post about that later).

Check it out:It's a little tiny riding scooter cow. So cute! I can't wait till she can ride it!

Pool Party!

2009-07-13T18:03:00.000-07:00

It's been getting pretty hot around here lately - so as per annual summertime tradition we bought the dogs a pool and now it's a party every day... No matter what time of day.

The Final Month...

2009-07-02T18:02:00.000-07:00

Well as of today we officially have exactly one month until our due date!

Of course I wouldn't object or be surprised to have her come just a little early.

So here are the current stats:

Baby B still has no name. Some days I am okay with this, other days this causes a lot of terror and anxiety for me.
Baby B is still breech. She should have turned on her own by now. But I think there's just not enough room in there. The Dr. will check her one last time next week, and if she's still upside-down she will have to try to turn her manually.
Heartburn and acid indigestion are going to be the death of me. No matter what I eat I have a few nights a week where I am up all night throwing up because of the acid boiling up my esophagus. Sometimes it even wakes the neighbors. For real. They tell me so. I carry Mylanta everywhere and sip it straight from the bottle.
My wedding rings still fit and my belly button still doesn't poke out. (miracles DO happen)
Everyone asks "are you ready?" I hate this question. It's like when we were getting married and everyone asked "are you excited?" What do you think? Of course I'm NOT ready. Is anyone ever ready? What are you supposed to say. But to answer: yes and no. I can't wait to meet her and hold her. I feel like there are still a lot of things we need, but I feel like we have the necessities that we could survive if this happened tomorrow.
We have had one shower already. I was SO incredibly overwhelmed - and I realized just how loved and blessed this baby is already by so many people.
Motivation seems to be dwindling as quickly as my wardrobe choices these days. My best approach currently is to set a daily goal (NO LAUGHING). Examples: "today I will change the sheets" or "today I will unload the laundry basket" yesterday's was "today I will clean out the pantry". But after 9 hours at work the best I could do was the bottom 2 shelves since I could sit down and reach.
Currently the ONLY thing I have a desire to do is sit on the boat and fish.

More exciting news, Baby B had her first experience on a horse on Monday! One of my good friends just graduated college in photography and convinced me we should take some "belly photos" just for fun. So obviously we went up to the ranch. I haven't seen them yet, but she did send me one unedited sneak peek. And since I haven't posted a belly pic in MONTHS, this will have to do. :)

In the meantime, Aaron has been riding Jack for me. They've been trying to go up in the mtns. to start scouting for his big elk hunt this fall. I am SO jealous, but Aaron has fallen in love with Jack and I'm afraid I won't get him back.

Who would have ever thought he'd make a cowboy!

Ragnar-Nar and Other Goodies

2009-06-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

I have to start out by mentioning that my mom is pretty much the coolest person alive and also my hero. Last weekend she rocked the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay Race. If you aren't familiar with this, it's a huge run for teams of 12 people that goes from Logan to Park City - up and down mtns. - about 190 miles. Each runner takes 3 legs of the relay ranging from 3 to 9 miles. She had one of the hardest legs on her whole team, and she averaged less than 8 min. miles the entire race. Basically it's a really big deal. Like I said, she's amazing.

Here are the pics to prove it.

Warming up for her final leg - so cute

Stretching out

You would not believe how she was passing EVERYONE on her route

I ran a few hundred yards along side her to keep her company

Aaron's #1 weakness... Little kids' lemonade stands - he ALWAYS has to stop

Handing off at the finish line of her final leg

Aaron got out and ran along side her too for a while on her run from the top of Snow Basin down to the bottom of Trappers Loop. He was in flip flops and my dad and I got in the truck and left him. He ended up running about a half a mile. He could not walk the next day. Once again, the Bells are NOT runners!

Way to go mom! We are so proud of you!

Besides runner extraordinaire, my mom is also one of the most talented gardeners ever. She, my niece Bug (Melissa), and our cute neighbor Sierra came over to help me get my drip system all set up for my garden. How sweet.

My pretty garden and garden helpers

Mom and Bug setting up the drip hose - and my pretty tomatoes

Bug (the tall one) and Sierra - they are the same age - I know what you are thinking... yes Bug gets her height from me

Pretty tomato plant nice and warm in his wall-o-water

And FINALLY, the weekend before last our friends Casey and Alexis came up to visit. Aaron and Casey fought a rain/hail/wind/thunder storm all day Saturday. But they stuck it out in their float tubes at the lake and also in 2 different rivers. Sunday we got up bright and early and were on the river by 6:30 am. It was one of the prettiest scenes ever with fog laying low on the river and everything was so peaceful. We were finally able to bring in some fish that morning and return back for breakfast by 9:30. What a good time with good friends!

Aaron in heaven

Casey landing his first fish on a fly rod

It turned out to be a monster hahaha (can you even see it there in the picture?) but it didn't matter, we were ALL so happy just to be out there

All This Baby Stuff is Confusing... And Expensive...

2009-06-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

Okay everyone. I know you ALL have experience with babies, either your own or someone you know. (Unless Aaron is reading this, he is the only person I know with ZERO or a negative number baby experience.)

SO, in the midst of gathering/registering/stocking up I have come to realize there is a TON of stuff out there. Most of which I am HOPING is useless or unnecessary. This is where I need your help! What are the BEST things you purchased that you could not have survived baby without? What was absolutely a ripoff or not needed or crap? Include BRANDS! Would you please leave me a comment listing some of your favorites? (Or for the babyless - what you have HEARD are people’s favorites!)

What do I absolutely NEED before Baby B’s arrival? (The books’ lists are pages long, and you can’t possibly need ALL that stuff, right? They must secretly be receiving kickbacks from Babies R Us…)
HELP!

The Really Long One About Hawaii

2009-05-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Well I finally got around to posting some pics from our vacation. I am sorry there are SO MANY. I feel like I left tons out too. Probably because I did. But here are a bunch anyway.
It was seriously the perfect vacation. Except when we had to take poor Whitney to the emergency room for pnemonia and I had to yell at the nurse who got her feelings hurt and went and told the head Dr. whom I also had to yell at. But it all worked out. :)
Too bad I didn't get a picture of Aaron singing Karaoke to Total Eclipse of the Heart. We rocked it.
But enough talking, now for lots and lots of pictures.

Just landing at the HNL airport.

The rental jeep. So Fun.

First stop - the beach.

One of the lagoons at the resort where we stayed.

Bishop Museum.
My great great great uncle Charles married the Princess of Hawaii and this is their museum.
Very cool. They treated Aaron and I like royalty.

All 7 of us would ride this one golf cart from the condo to the lagoon several times a day.
(If you can't tell by the face, Aaron doesn't like being squished.)

I had to take a pic and blog about this because I found out Aaron has been hiding a hidden talent from me all along. Turns out he is an insane hand-stander and can walk unusually long distances on his hands. After 5 years this is the first time I have seen this. Weird.

I also found out that he can throw a football. He has NEVER played football around me before.

However, his palm tree climbing skills didn't surprise me at all.

Oooh pretty sailboat.

Chicken fights.

Playing in the water. That's Aaron floating (or something?) off to the right.

Heading out to surf. This is about 6:30 am.

Aaron and some local guy.

Prettiest sunsets.

Belly profile.

Jumping off the rock at Wiamea.

Aaron jumping. It was so high.

Laie point.

Mmmm Fumis shrimp shack.
Really delicious shrimp from the most unappealing places (like abandoned busses).

Banana Pancakes.

The temple at Laie.
It was closed for renovations so we just walked around the outside and the visitors center.
This cute little sister missionary from Korea pointed at my stomach and said,
"Is that a baby in there?"
hahahaha

Hiking to a waterfall. So LUSH.

The waterfall.

Drying off after snorkeling at Sharks Cove.
Didn't see any sharks but saw two HUGE sea turtles.

K- so the last 2 nights we went camping on the north shore on this private beach that this guy's friend owns. We got there and set up camp in the dark, went to cook our delicious food, but it was frozen. So we had to go down to the coral cliff water and try to thaw our food. We were starving! Did I mention it was pitch black?

Mmmm, thawed steak and shrimp.

Cooking it on the grill. Oh it was so yummy!

Our campsite at about 6:00 am.
Yep, no trees for a 7-month-pregnant girl that pees every hour to squat behind.
Good times.

Polynesian Cultural Center.

Whit, Ash, and me. Awe, best friends.
Ash hooked us up BIG time over there with all her family connections.
We couldn't have done it without her.

Birthday Week Kickoff, Mother's Day, and Nursery Update!

2009-05-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post before I head into work this morning. Memorial Day weekend was very productive. Since we have been out of town for pretty much the entire last 4 weeks we needed to work on house stuff. We got TONS of yardwork done. Aaron's parents came up and helped us weed, get the garden ready, and more. They also kicked off what Aaron likes to refer to as his "BIRTHDAY WEEK CELEBRATION" (this is a large improvement from his old thinking of a "BIRTHDAY MONTH"). We also celebrated Mother's Day, visited graves, and of course played a little bit too.

The way to Aaron's heart... Home Depot Gift Card!

Celebrating Mother's Day: brunch at Market Street Grill.
Mmmm Yummy!

And finally for step 2 of nursery conversion.....
The painting is done and the crib is set up. Thanks to our awesome parents that share all their talent with us. (Aaron's dad painted, my dad makes awesome friends like the guy that gave us this crib for FREE, and my mom handmade the crib bedding.) There is still tons of decorating to do, drapes, glider, and my changing table is still getting it's makeover, but the process continues!

Work Before Play

2009-05-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

The day before we left for Hawaii (I'll be posting that soon, promise! I just have like 400 pics to sort through.) Aaron was sweet enough to go up and help my parents do some ditch work on the ranch. He is so patient and always works so hard up there. I wasn't allowed to help so I just drove the 4-wheeler around, brought drinks out to them, and took pics. Here are some pics of another hard working day on the ranch. Thanks Aaron! We all love you!

Aaron and SuzieQ setting a culvert -

More compacting -

Thinking hard about something...? -

BigO doing what he does best -

Dad loves his tractor -

Finn testing out the culvert improvements -

Good dogs helping check the ditches -

Finn got a little muddy, he LOVES being at the ranch -

True Foresight

2009-04-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

I got home from work today to find a package on my front porch. This could only mean one thing... Aaron had been shopping online again.

However this time it was truly an inspired purchase. I hesitantly opened the box (expecting something to do with flyfishing) to learn he ordered me a "surprise". New shoes.

Bananas.

I am confident that if I am wearing these with my shorts- no one will even notice I'm wearing my TEDS!

Thanks Honey!

BABY B PROGRESS

2009-04-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

Well we have almost exactly 3 months left to go. Things are going perfectly except for the fact that she still has no name. 2nd trimester was a breeze had it not been for my weakened immune system which literally kept me sick for 2 of the 3 months, including 6 different antibiotics. Yuck.

Last week I had to make a 9:00 pm run to the hospital for a fetal non-stress-test. Everything turned out just fine. On the upside I had another ultrasound in which we were able to determine 100% without a doubt that she is definitely a girl. And it was a nice run through of the hospital scene. So not a total bust.

Today I had a routine Dr. appt. and upon evaluation of my rapidly growing and alarmingly protruding varicose veins I got a prescription for these super cool things:
Yep, your grandma's T.E.D hose. I am supposed to wear these things for the remainder of the pregnancy. Seriously. Now, before you scoff, I will say this. They have probably come a long way since your grandma's first pair. They now come in 3 awesome colors to choose from: "wearing rolls of paper white", "trying to be nude but really looks like brown paper sacks brown", and "no light source is getting through these puppies black". Lucky me. If it's any indication of their fashion status, I actually have a prescription to buy them at my pharmacy. Woot.

Other than that, there is nothing new to report at all! I am just trying to figure out what I am going to wear for 9 days in Hawaii. And NOW, how am I going to rock the TED hose on the beach. I guess if you look at them at the right angle they sorta look like lingerie? Nope.

Anyway, here is a belly bump update.

Finally, on a totally unrelated subject... the dogs got a mini makeover by Aaron and a red Sharpie Saturday night. Alta got some new super cool comma shaped eyebrows. And Finn got a gentlemanly Frenchman's mustache. Finn was utterly psyched on his new mustache. He pranced around and even sat on his doghouse which he only does when he is feeling especially spunky. Then Aaron decided to draw a face on my belly. I graciously declined. But he can be very persistent. So i gave him VERY strict guidelines to follow if I were to allow him to draw a smiley face. He didn't follow ANY of them. So Sunday night I sat there scrubbing red permanent marker off along with the top layer of skin using rubbing alcohol because I remembered I had a Dr. appt. today. I will spare you those pics for now because truthfully the face turned out scary looking.

He Will Work for Food

2009-04-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

For a few weeks now I have been stressing out about starting on the baby nursery. However Aaron always has different plans for the ENTIRE weekend, including but not limited to: skiing, fishing, throwing BBQ's, fishing, skating, and, um, NOT working on the nursery. Somehow I either pinned him down or guilt tripped him into doing some work around the house for almost the entire weekend! (Don't feel too sorry for him just yet, he will be on vacation for the next 3 weekends.)

He got the lawn mowed, built a rock retaining wall, and installed wainscoting in the baby's room. All in all it was an extremely productive weekend. We are waiting for his dad to come paint the room this weekend. Here are some before and during pics of the room in progress. Next week hopefully it will look totally different with all the paint done! So exciting.

Before

Hard at work

During

After. Well, for now. There's still tons to be done but hey, it's progress.

And this was my little project when I wasn't helping Aaron. This was my rocking chair when I was little and the idea is to sand and refinish it. It took me almost as long to sand it as it took Aaron to do all this woodwork. Go me.

BIG DEBUT!

2009-03-25T18:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all the incessant whiners out there (love you all) I guess it’s time for a pregnancy post…

First for a quick recap-

Up until about 3 weeks ago we were POSITIVE we were having a little boy. So positive in fact that we really hadn’t even thought of any girl names. Pfft, so much for gut feelings. The 20 week ultrasound shocked us with a resounding GIRL. So a little change of plans and we are thrilled that we’ll be having a baby girl sometime in the vicinity of August 2. (Aaron’s excited because as he puts it… girls have more chance at becoming pro athletes.)

Aaron comes home on the weekends and is always impressed (translates=taken back) by the “changes”. On a good point he reads the What to Expect book section for dads and thinks I am the BEST pregnant wife ever. This is because pretty much the whole section is about moodiness and he says I hardly have any mood swings at all. I tell him he’s right. But lets be honest… he lives in another state and sees me 48 hours/week.

So there you have it. No names as of yet. A few ideas… Feel free to leave a comment if you have any fabulous baby girl names you’d be willing to share!

Little Baby B profile for those not familiar (I DID have to explain this one to Aaron)

Little arm and hand waving HI!

And the belly. It's a horrible angle. But I've decided there are no good angles at this point.
Anyway, 5 month bump.

Now on to more fun facts- (Alexis: I am going to copy your idea of posting things I love right now… I couldn’t come up with anything better no matter how hard I tried to NOT copy you.)

Things I love right now-

Tobasco…. On EVERYTHING. I’m not generally a Tobasco girl, but I have been putting it on everything.

Hot Dogs…. Cooked in any manner- grill, fire, microwave, doesn’t matter.

Babinskis…. The cutest baby boutique on Foothill. I want everything in that store.

My parents…. They are so supportive and patient. They don’t hate when I call them at 10:00 at night crying because someone asks me when I’m due. And they have me up for dinner every Wednesday night.

My friends…. From supplying a daily list of names corresponding to the alphabet letter of the day, to sewing custom maternity clothes, or listening to my boring baby blabber… I have the best friends.

Skiing…. If it weren’t for bright happy sunshine – soft groomers - and Steins Beach – I would be going completely insane on my weekends. I don’t know what I’ll do when the season is over!

My Doctor…. She is the best. I know everyone thinks their dr. is, but mine seriously is.

Jazzercise…. Gotta keep the body in shape still.

Belly Band…. Makes it possible to unbutton the top button on normal pants in public. Need I say more?

MY HUSBAND…. Needs no explanation.

Things I’m not loving so much right now-

Bending over…. This is a very bad sign since I am only 5 months along. I can only imagine it in 3 more months.

Chai Tea…. I used to LOVE Chai Tea. I think I drank it one morning and then got morning sickness now I can’t stand the smell of it.

Sleeping on my Side…. I am typically a back sleeper. Apparently that’s a no-go now.

Maternity Clothes…. I don’t need them yet, but I browsed through a store a week ago and it made me sad. That stuff is horrible. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong places?

Being Sick…. I have had this never-ending cough/cold for the past month and a half. Boo.

Strangers Helping Themselves to Touching my Belly…. In no society should this be acceptable. This is only okay if I know you well and like you.

Whit, me, and little Baby skiing at Deer Valley last weekend! SO GORGEOUS!

The New MUST HAVE Fishing Tool

2009-03-18T20:10:00.000-07:00

Yes folks, this IS for real...

(As Seen on TV)

Midges vs. Streamers - Battle Royale

2009-03-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

Last week Aaron and Dan discovered Blue Lake - a natural hot springs sort of lake 15 miles even more out in the middle of nowhere than Wendover. They have been flyfishing out there practically every night since... sure beats the Red Garter. (Yes, that is actually the name of a casino out there. CLASSY)

But here is a pic Aaron sent me of a Bass caught with a streamer on his flyrod. Yesss, I have finally converted him over to streamers. I knew he'd come around from those lousy, teeny, tiny #22 midges. :)

Keep on fishing Aaron! I'll be home watching DWTS.

Winter Shhh-tuff

2009-02-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

Here are some pics of what we have been up to this winter! Luckily I was able to talk (er, beg) Aaron into putting fly-fishing on hold until temps get at least into the double digits.

Pretty much our weekends are consumed with snowmobiling and playing with the dogs in the snow. We haven't even skied together yet this season! (I have gone, thanks Whit...) But it's so hard when the snowmobiling is as awesome as it has been. Also, I fear the snowmobiling days are numbered and I have to get it all in while I can! After that we can take the mellower approach of skiing. Ahhh I love the snow. And I really REALLY love snowmobiling!

Aaron being cool.

Me being cooler.

This looks like a boy, but it's me.

Orion being coolest.
(Sue is taking all the pics. But she is probably cooler than all of us.)

Alta and Finn, SO happy to be going on a hike!
I actually think they are smiling.

My hot hubby. What Nick, you too good to pose? Oh wait, you ARE.

Alta swimming - Before

Alta swimming - After.
Swim, roll in snow, repeat.

Looks like my awesomeness is scaring Finn.

Farewell to Vegas...

2009-02-05T18:26:00.001-08:00

Every January we take a break from the cold to head down to lovely Las Vegas for the SIA show. Unfortunately this is the last year Vegas will be hosting SIA. Next year it moves to Denver, CO; and seeing how I now have a loathing cold spot in my heart for that place (husband stealer) we will NOT be attending. Looks like we will have to sacrifice and go to San Diego for ASR instead.

The trip was, as always, a fabulous time exceeding all expectations.
Some highlights include:

-Whitney's birthday dinner at Cheesecake Factory with Casey, Alexis, and our new buddies Shane and Kaleo. And to state the obvious for the complainers... can't forget SCHWEPPE, Nichole, WHITNEY, Callie, and Bo.

-Jimmy Dean Sausage Egg McMuffins at the hotel continental breakfast.

-Whit and I wearing all the stolen clothes from Ashley's closet. (just kidding) (well, kinda)

-Experiencing the extreme weather tunnel challenge. (eventually resulting in winning a wii)

-Jalepeno jerky.

-Meeting Robert, our new friend, the dealer at the roulette table at the Hard Rock Casino. He is very cool. And lucky.

-The crazy security guard that followed us along the moving walkway at the Palms. Then putting my foot in my mouth. (what's new)

-Upper 60 degree weather and laying by the pool.

-Push pops.

-Aaron prank calling Whitney at the iTunes store. HAHAHA thanks Whit, I almost forgot.

Thank you Las Vegas we love you and will see you again.

Awwwe.

We may LOOK cold, but we're not.

Gore-Tex rules.

Push-Pops. Classy.

Margaritaville

I think we found the one person skinnier than Schweppe.

Wow. Something I will never be able to do.

Good for luck.

Looking "dapper".

??? Huh?

??? Double-Huh?

Wu

We All Must be Crazy in our Own Way

2009-01-12T19:58:00.000-08:00

In the midst of single digit temperatures when most people are cuddling by the fire or enjoying powder on the slopes (okay, we do that too...) Aaron has decided that fly fishing should no longer be a summer sport in the Bell house.
He has also made friends with a fly fishing guide who has shown him how to tie his own flies. This helps pass the time out in Wendover for him anyway. To be honest I kind of doubted the anticipated effectiveness of his new "skills" when I first heard of this endeavor. But considering flies cost anywhere from $1 to $3 a piece I decided to indulge him anyway.
First time out 2 weekends ago was a disappointment. Picture negative temperature, ice completely filling the eyelets of the rods, and ice sheets floating in the river. There Finn and I sat on the bank huddled next to each other humoring Aaron's adventurous side. Not too long after I stepped up to drop a fly in the water Finn fell through some ice. Long story short we ended up all running soaking wet to the car as fast as we could. Poor Finn's hair was a solid sheet of ice.
Skip to round two... this weekend.
This time we were a little more prepared. Although squeezing 5 layers of long underwear, a down coat, and a ski coat under a pair of waders falls much short of what anyone calls fashion. I think the analogy Aaron used to describe me was "you know those wrestlers that compete for world's strongest man on ESPN that have HUGE upper bodies and tiny legs..." yeah, so sweet honey. Thanks.
But we spent about 4 or 5 hours on the river. Aaron caught 3, and I caught 1, all on flies that Aaron tied himself! Wow. Pretty amazing. Added to that we got to hang out with some cool friends and enjoy some sunshine.
I love that Aaron always manages to keep things interesting.
Not to mention I earned new pink line for being such a trooper.
But now we both have colds.

This One's for Aaron

2008-12-17T20:02:00.000-08:00

1 More Hour Till My Husband is Home and I Won't Have to Blog About My Dogs!!!

2008-12-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

There are few things on this earth I love more than animals. Especially horses and dogs. Particularly MY horses and dogs.
With Aaron being gone lately I have really noticed how my dogs are my companions. Perhaps I talk to them a little more than people would call normal. But I really think they understand it. Well, a few words I know they know for certain: squeaky squid, bedtime, poop, and breakfast.
I even love them when they knock over our 10-ft tall real Christmas tree at 6:30 am making the ornaments fall off and break and gallons of water saturate the carpet. Yes, I even love them then.

Skating, Shooting, and Fishing

2008-11-24T21:19:00.001-08:00

They go together like...
uh. nevermind.
I just felt like posting some more pics of what we have been up to. unlikely combination but that's what makes us who we are. right?

Kirsten learning to longboard and loving it!

Fly fishing with Casey! Best day of fishing this season... even if we didn't catch anything. it was too cold. we did however find bear poo when aaron took us bushwhacking too far from the river.

Spending some quality time at the Heebs Skate Park.

Exercising our God Given American Right to Bear Arms...

WOW! WHERE TO BEGIN!

2008-11-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

Hmmm so when you don't post for almost a month turns out you have a lot to write about.

To start out with, about 2 1/2 weeks ago Aaron went on a kayaking trip to West Water on the Colorado River. Sorry, no pics of that since cameras+river=no good. The trip then resulted in an unspoken obligation on my friends' part to celebrate my bday. And they did.

But perhaps even BIGGER news is the grand unveiling of our FENCE!!!!! In the words of- well we will call her Ms. Anonymous- upon seeing a cell phone pic of the fence Ms. Anonymous' reaction read "Are you effing kidding me? That is the most legit fence I have ever seen. It’s like a medieval fortress wall. Where’s the moat and draw bridge?" Another recipient responded "something tells me you designed this fence in AutoCAD before doing anything". Welll, Mmmmmaaaaybeeeeyessss. What can I say....

This Guy Sums it Up...

2008-11-19T19:55:00.000-08:00

Watch this video! Really really funny but kinda sad cause it's so true.

BANANA FRIENDS AND FAMILY

2008-11-12T11:22:00.000-08:00

Banana Republic's friends and family event is this week

so if anyone wants to use my discount at

Banana, Gap, Baby Gap, Old Navy

any store anywhere, including online

let me know and I will register you on my account

and you will get an email with your coupon codes.

P.S. This isn't a sales pitch or anything.

I don't get anything for you shopping,

it's just like employee appreciaion letting our fam use our discount.

The sale is the 13th - 16th.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

Well I don't DO haunted houses, or haunted forestes, or corn mazes, or anything like that.
But I am pretty sure I could handle this....

7 RANDOMS...

2008-10-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

FIRST TIME TAGEE- Thanks Alexis! I feel like I am finally officially a part of the blogging community.

1. My secret dream job is a cake decorator or a doggy daycare. I would love to work for Duff on Ace of Cakes! It looks like so much fun. And they teach a class on it at the community college. Unfortunately the pay probably isn’t that great. But perhaps more realistically I have thought a great deal about an upscale doggy day care for the Park City clientele. Those people LOVE their dogs. I think almost more than their children.

2. I am scared of the dark. Not just scared, more like horrified. This results in Aaron having to fall asleep to Glenn Beck or Jon and Kate + 8 every night. This problem became particularly daunting when Aaron moved away to Colorado. My solution: weapons under the bed. Any weapon will do. One weekend when Aaron and his friends took the guns and went up to a cabin- I resorted to ski poles. Like I said, any weapon will do.

3. I crave tabloids. I can’t help it. I love to read the celebrity gossip. This makes me feel like I know them somehow. Many times I catch myself referring to celebs on a first name basis as though they are my friends. Example: “Honey I saw Kate got a gorgeous new bag today and I totally want one! But I am sure it’s way too expensive for us.” Aaron’s typical response “what are you talking about? Who is Kate???”

4. I have a thing about my food not touching. If I Williams Sonoma carried divided plates that would have been my wedding china for sure. You know the ones I am talking about. I have to be careful what I order in restaurants purposefully choosing dishes where cross-contamination is least likely. As for the old saying “it all goes to the same place”… although it may be true, I’m not buying it.

5. I want to go back to law school. This is much more serious randomness than the cake-decorating thing or the doggy daycare. If we are ever in a position where my income is not necessary I will apply to go back to law school. The words “shoulda been a lawyer” are spoken often in our home. The two most usual instances include: 1. Aaron blurting it out after an argument because I always win; and 2. Me sighing it half-heartedly to myself after a slow day at work.

6. I fall asleep in movie theaters. I do. I can’t help it. I have a movie start time threshold of about 6:00 pm. Any movie starting after that is a waste of money for me. I will fall asleep in the trailers, no matter how badly I want to see the movie and how hard I try to stay awake. I am an early to bed early to rise girl, but seriously, this is a bit ridiculous. I used to feel SOOO bad on dates. Poor Aaron doesn’t get to see movies in theaters very often. Redbox is a much safer bet for us.

Let’s see, I am only on SIX!?!?! Wow, 7 random things are a lot harder to come up with than I thought. Well, 7 interesting things anyway!

7. I pull out my eyebrows when I am anxious or nervous. This is a BAD nervous tick I developed somewhere along the way. I notice it most often when I am sitting at work working on some big project deadline. I will look down and suddenly realize there is a pile of eyebrow hairs on my desk. Or when I am driving in traffic I will feel a pinch and look at my fingers which are then holding several little hairs. I think I get this from my dad.

So there you go Alexis! And anyone else interested in the inner workings of my mind.
I tag Whitney, of course, Carrie for payback, and Ashley. Have fun! :)

Calculus

2008-10-23T07:52:00.000-07:00

Birthday Party!

2008-10-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had my dad's birthday party at our house. It was our first "family dinner" at the new house. Actually, it was our first family dinner we've hosted ever. Period. I think it went really well!
And the baby didn't destroy anything! THANK GOODNESS!
Nick, Lorena, and Kirsten got here early so we could wrap my dad's HUGE present in old engineering plans from my work which Kirsten helped Aaron color on. -Hey I am just trying to do my part Reduce Reuse and Recycle.-
Kirsten also helped me cut the potatoes. Or is it potatos. Nope, it's definitely potatoes.
All in all it was pretty great. I love my dad SOOOO much and I really don't know what I would do without him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

In completely unrelated news, I decorated my front porch for Halloween on Friday.
We have never lived anywhere that we could decorate before so I was really in the dark on how to go about this.
Adding to my decorative awkwardness was the fact that I am an engineer. We don't DO creative. We do math. That explains why everything is geometric and my spider webs look like equilateral triangles.

To Each His Own

2008-10-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

Anyone who even remotely knows me knows there are two things that I definitely DON'T do...
Read
&
Exercise
The thought of sweating makes me irate.
It's not that I am a lazy non-mobile person either. I get my share of activity through alternate means such as waterskiing, snowmobiling, skiing, riding horses, working on the ranch, etc. But to go to a gym and intentionally sweat... no thank you.
But let me tell you about a breakthrough I recently had. For reasons unbeknownst to even myself I stumbled upon a Jazzercise class that happened to be at 5:30 am. And I LOVE it. Maybe it's the music (Justin Timberlake- yes, Sexy Back-, Leona Lewis, Beyonce, Cheryl Crow, just to name drop a few) or the "older generation" of ladies I groove with, but it is actually awesome. Weird.
And the dogs... well they get their exercise swimming through the current of the Provo River.
I panic every time Aaron throws the stick WAAAAY across the rapids thinking my dogs are going to float away, but they always manage to come back. Er Somehow.

And Aaron. Well, let's be honest. He needs the anti-exercise plan. Mr. Skinny. But hey, did you notice we are FINALLY mowing our lawn?!?!? Oh yay for grass.

"Movin' to the Country. Gonna Eat a Lotta Peaches"

2008-10-10T16:48:00.000-07:00

PEACHES COME FROM A CAN. THEY WERE PUT THERE BY A MAN
Sorry, I just couldn't help it.
Ahhhh I love the fall. The best part is canning and bottling so much awesome food from the garden. (No, not my own yet. Maybe next year.) Most people may think this is a boring lackluster chore, but those people obviously haven't ever canned with me and my mom.
So after day of picking FOUR RUBBERMAID BINS FULL of peaches up in Ogden, and one itchy rash-covered drive home, we went crazy.
By the way, a car full of peaches and two yellow labs smells strangely similar to Pizza Hut.

And thanks to Aaron for the awesome apron which was one of my anniversary gifts this year. I think I pretty much wear it every day.

I think the grand total was 62 quarts of peaches. It only stopped there due to lack of jars and we ended up sharing almost half the peaches with friends. Good thing I have an awesome food storage room in the basement. Too bad our food storage only consists of peaches. Oh, and a few potatoes. Do you win anything at the State Fair for stuff like this? I mean besides a ribbon? Nothing against ribbons or anything...

Legend of the BIG "O"

2008-09-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

So I am still stuck in Colorado finishing up the never ending Burger King. Hopefully I'll be done and driving home this week. Today Lindzi's dad, Orion, decided that his hip wasn't keeping up with his activities and needed a new one. Imagine that a 70 year old who is more active than most of our friends and also snowmobiles better than them too I'm sure. He is at the hospital as I write this undergoing a full hip replacement surgery and should be "back in the saddle" or snowmobile before the snow flies. Anyone that knows him automatically loves him, if you would like to wish him well, call Lindzi or me and we'll pass on his phone number, he loves to hear from people.

Fishing, Fishing, and MORE Fishing!

2008-09-05T12:01:00.001-07:00

Well we decided that now since we live so close to the Provo River (walking distance) we should definately dust off the fly fishing gear. So basically that is what we have been doing the past two weekends. The first weekend the weather was GORGEOUS as you can see in the pics. And let me just say how these pictures DON'T do the swift current justice. Shortly after Aaron and I parted and he had ventured up the river, I decided to move up river to this hole that I was sure had some fish. But first I had to wade through a pass of rapids. Now Aaron seems to think this feat is no big deal, but for whatever reason (hello, skateboarding incident) I am not skilled at walking through a moving river. Surprise, right? I don't know if it's just me... or if it's a girl thing... or most people in general... and Aaron is just some sort of half swamp sloth/half man... but I am HORRIBLE at it! Well long story short I got too deep and the fast river swept my feet out from under me and I got washed down river. I was POSITIVE I was a goner and they would have to come fish me out of Deer Creek. All I could think about was not letting go of my rod. I finally got footing a ways down the river, but I was still stuck in the middle of a fast part and was completely stuck because if I tried to take any weight off of either foot the river tried to sweep me away again, so I couldn't walk to shore. And there I sat. Waders full to my chest of water, completely wet, just wimpering Aaron's name hoping he would hear and come save me. Of course the wimpers grew louder and finally Aaron came all excited thinking I must have a monster fish or something. He laughed really hard. Thinking back now I probably would have laughed too had I been in his situation. But he literally dragged my sorry pathetic butt back to shore and after re-grouping I went back into the river (shallower, this time) with waders still full of water. No pictures of that since Aaron doesn't allow me to carry the camera when I am on the river (and for good reason).

The fishing has been pretty good. Although it's been far better for my parents who outfished us completely in the 45 min. they were there. Maybe it has something to do with my splashing around? Or maybe it's just because quite simply Orion and Sue are amazing at everything. But we are having fun and it is SO beautiful. Last Monday we went out during the storm while it was raining/hailing and it was AWESOME!
As you can see I am a lot better from shore!
Also for Memorial Day the family went boating and fishing at Rockport. Your's truely caught the only fish. (Okay, we will call it a "team effort" with Orion.) And we played on the shore with Kirsten who we found is really fond of uncle Aaron as long as he is holding Goldfish and not wearing the Monster sweatshirt. I will have to post a pic of his new sweatshirt that scared the crap out of the poor girl.

OooH the Garage...

2008-09-04T07:28:00.000-07:00

Yeah Yeah this is delayed quite a bit. But my pictures get delayed since Aaron has the camera and all its equipment in Colorado with him.

Aaannnnnyyyway, a few weeks ago Aaron and I went up to North Ogden to help his parents build a garage.... In two days... Which was a lofty goal considering the size of this building.

It was the last weekend of July and also I am pretty sure it was the HOTTEST weekend of the year. I don't think I have sweat THAT much maybe ever. Well that's probably not true, but it was HOT. So thanks to 12 hour days and Aaron's AMAZING stamina (I swear he is a WORK HORSE) we actually maganed to bang out this thing in that weekend. I was literally in AWE of Aaron. And I was a big fan of the dirty sweaty thing too.

Did I mention how sore I was? I was really sore! But we like to work and we love to be of service, heaven knows we have been the recipients of MUCH generous service this summer so I am glad we could reciprocate.

GRASS UPDATE!!!!

2008-08-26T07:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, as promised, here are some updated grass pics. We had a close call with a slight sprinkler malfunction (user error...) and I wasn't sure if it was going to make it. I was devastated. But all is well. I guess we am going to have to start shopping for a lawn mower pretty soon!