He Will Work for Food

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!

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

Yes folks, this IS for real...

(As Seen on TV)

Midges vs. Streamers - Battle Royale

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

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...

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

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.