Work Trip

For my job, in January we get to/have to travel in the first two weeks in Anaheim and Orlando. When it is all said and done, it is a ton of hard work but we do get a few minutes to relax and have fun. Here is Russ, Brook, Jared and Ken. I am surprised this picture is good since right before they were joking around with crude symbols. I think a couple of them still made it into the picture. I dont think men ever really grow up :)

Here's the girls after the event. We werent able to fully celebrate since we knew we still had one more event to go in Orlando the next week.

Kevin trying on the women's Taiwan small shirt that Shelley ordered for all the staff to wear. I wish I'd had a video camera because shortly after this photo, he tried to pull an Incredible Hulk and wasnt quite strong enough to get the shirt completely torn. One of those moments you had to be overtired to appreciate how funny it was :)

Nokia Theater. This is us on the Nokia stage where they film the final episode of American Idol and host many awards shows. We had to take a picture of all of us on the stage just because. It was really cool.

The layover in the airport. Who knew we would have to stop in Vegas between Salt Lake and Anaheim. I love Southwest :):)

Little did everyone know, Shelley and I are in line to be the next astronauts to go into space!

Another Quilt

After the quilts I made last year for my parents and my in laws, I wasnt ever going to quilt again. Then my friend Shalayne went and got pregnant and I had to do something. Im actually pretty proud of it so I am posting some pictures now that I finally gave it to her!

Progressive Growth

Well - I never wanted to be the person that posted week by week pictures, but I am posting the last couple of weeks to show how fast I grew! This is week 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30. I feel absolutely huge all the time and I am always hungry so thats no fun! But I am getting more and more excited everyday!

Pole Dancing :)

Ok - not REALLY pole dancing. Our brother in law, Ben, is a lineman apprentice and over Christmas, he brought his hooks to teach Brice and Brian how to climb the telephone poles. As you can see, Ben can get a lot higher than they can but I think Brice and Brian had a lot of fun. I guess it is a lot harder to get down than up so I think they were being a little cautious and not going up too high. This is Ben all the way at the top. To put it into perspective, this pole was about 35 feet high. Ben is used to climbing up 90 foot poles to work on the lines. I dont think I would be able to do it!!

This is Brian taking his turn on the pole.

And my Brice! He did such a good job.

CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas was way different me for this year, being my first year away from my family. I thought I was going to have a really hard time with it, but it actually wasnt that bad. Dont get me wrong, I was sad to not be with my family during the holidays, but I really love Brice's family so it was a ton of fun to spend Christmas with them and experience their traditions. In their house, everyone opens everything under the tree on Christmas Eve and then Santa just leaves his presents for everyone to receive Christmas morning. It was so fun to see his little sisters anticipate Santa's arrival. They got up at 1:30am to make sure he had come already. That's the earliest Christmas I have ever had that's for sure. But it was a lot of fun to spend it in Sanford Here's all the kids by the tree on Christmas Eve before Santa came :)

Brice and I by the tree for our second Christmas as a married couple. So cute :)

Brice with all of his presents. He was so excited about the family pictures I got him. Im pretty sure it was not something he was dying to have but I wanted them and Christmas gave me a good excuse to frame them :)

Me with all my presents. I got a bread maker from Mom Crowther. I am so excited to learn how to use it and make all sorts of delicious goodies. I think Brice is just excited for me to start cooking ANYTHING again although I am pretty sure he could sustain himself on cereal for the rest of his life and be perfectly content.

His Favorite Thing to Do

Little did I know when I married Brice, he LOVES to hunt. Everything about it. So, why am I surprised everytime we get to Sanford and he has snuck at least one gun into the car? I dont know. I am really glad that he loves it so much and I wish that he had time (and money:)) to go more often. Him and his best friend Mitch went early one morning and came back with a coyote and a fox. They claim they shot two more coyotes but couldnt find the bodies...sometimes I wonder though :) Here is a picture of their "trophies."

Baby Shower #1

I got to have my first baby shower this Christmas in Sanford. My mother in law and sister in laws put it all together for me. It was a lot of fun and we got a lot of great stuff. It just made me get even more excited and terrified for the baby to come! Kaley and Grams
Here is a picture of the big belly while I am passing around the gifts.

Here is the stack of gifts that we hauled home. It's a good thing it was just Brice and I going home because I dont think it would have fit otherwise :)

25 Weeks!

Since I am starting to grow a little more steadily, I am going to post a picture every 5 weeks. More for my mom than anything since I never get to see her and she cant see how huge I am getting. The pregnancy is going well. Turns out I have a negative blood type so I have to get a shot in the next couple of weeks so my body doesnt react negatively to the baby. Other than that, there arent too many benchmarks left in the pregnancy other than the birth! I cant believe how fast it is going! This week we are painting the nursery and trying to get all of that set up so it will be ready when the baby comes. I'm so excited!

Carriage Ride with Clyde

For two Christmas's in a row, we have gone on this fun carriage ride in Salem, Utah. I guess you could consider that a tradition right? Our driver, Clyde, takes us in a carriage through this really pretty little town around a pond in the middle. There are beautiful lights and lots of blankets and we sing all of our favorite Christmas carols while on the ride, directed by Clyde of course. It's a lot of fun and I would reccommend it to any one who is looking for something fun to do during the Christmas season.

This is me and Brice in front of one of the horses, Cassie.

Here is our driver/photographer, Clyde. He held the camera backwards so he could get a picture of himself on our camera :)

Here is the whole gang snuggled into the carriage. Everyone decided that Brice and I have been married the longest so we didnt need to sit next to each other anymore.