Hennrich Happenings

Adventures

2011-11-12T19:43:00.001-07:00

Okay, not adventures. Excursions. Not adventurous excursions, mind you. Plain jane, simple, low key excursions, cuz that's how we roll. But at least we finally got out of the house and did something for a change. It seems like there are always so many festivals and fairs and concerts, etc going on around here but we always find a reason (aka lame excuse) not to go. When we moved here to Austin I was so excited to go out exploring and do all the different stuff there is to do here but every time the weekend finally rolled around we were too lazy to do anything. I'm not really sure why we do that to ourselves or why I'm admitting our laziness to you but there you have it. Thanks goodness for Aspen (Preston's sister) coming into town last weekend to visit us and motivate us to get off our butts for a change.

We decided to go to this little town called Wimberley up in the hill country. In my head I was picturing kind of a quaint little historic town but it was actually a little on the eccentric side. It was still cute though and had some good looking restaurants I'd like to go back and try one day. Especially the pie place. Mmmm, pie. Anyways, I guess every month they have this big Market Days thing that we decided to go to. It was a much bigger deal than I was expecting. There were TONS of people there. I thought it would be like a basic little farmers market type setup but it was so huge. It had 450 vendors and it was laid out with little streets (with animal names) and shops (actual wooden stalls and buildings-not tents) and took a good couple of hours to walk through. It had everything from candied nuts and homemade jams to cowboy apparel to jewelry to handcarved stuff to furniture to toys and everything in between. I would say that 80% of the stuff was your typical kitschy souveniers/homemade crafts but there was a lot of fun stuff to look at. We didn't buy anything because we are tightwads and hate over paying for stuff we don't really need but it seemed like such a shame to walk away empty handed. Maybe next time.

Then our friends the Dunnings told us about a festival called Wurstfest down in New Braunfels. This area was settled pretty heavily by Germans and Czechs back in the day and you can still see a lot of that influence everywhere. New Braunfels is a good 1.5 hrs away but we decided to go check it out. We love all things German. We want to live there someday and we are even attempting to learn the German language. We had a lot of good food in Germany when we visited there so we were excited to go the Wurstfest and maybe eat some authentic German food again. I sadly have to report that we were slightly disappointed. Not that it wasn't cool, but for how cool everyone says it is and for how much money we had to spend (things there, including admission, were a little pricey) it actually wasn't very big and didn't have all that much to do. Well, that's a lie. There is a lot to do at a German festival if you drink beer. Since we don't drink our activities were a little limited. :) It had rides but they cost more than we were willing to spend on them, especially since we had Cohen and he was too small for most of them anyway. There was a huge building with a zillion little Bavarian looking stalls selling food and trinkets. There were a few authentic things but not as much as we were hoping. I mean, there was only one stand that sold schnitzel, and they only sold it as a sandwich. Sad day. There were a lot of sausages and some sauerkraut and apple strudel but one could also delight in some tamales, German tacos (whatever those are), nachos, and even deep fried oreos. I was tempted to try that one but I refrained. We got to eat with Jon and Merideth and Cole in a giant dining hall with live music and guys dressed in lederhosen so it wasn't a total bust. Plus, it was a gorgeous day, it was in a nice setting with trees and actual water (we don't see much of that here these days with the draught) and it renewed our motivation to save money and go back to the real Germany and eat real German food someday.

Just a shot of downtown Austin on the way down.

Cohen looks thrilled, doesn't he? He was so ready for a nap and then he proceeded to stay awake the whole hour and a half ride home until about 10 minutes before we got there. Figures.

For those of you who are still waiting for pictures of our new house I'm sorry. I haven't gotten to actually do anything to the house since we moved in so I haven't been able to justify pictures yet. Soon, I promise!

Becoming Texans

2011-08-16T10:35:00.000-06:00

So we have only been here for two months but we are slowly starting to become official Texans. I'm not sure how I feel about that quite yet, to be honest with you. I mean, we all know that Preston and I are Coloradans for life-no matter where we live. But since we are probably going to be here for a little while, I figure we might as well enjoy the experience right? After all, like they say (and I concur so far), Texas really is like it's own country. Plus I feel so far removed from everyone we know, we might as well be in a different country!

This is the progress we have made so far in our Texanization...

We have Texas driver's licenses. It took me like five years before I finally succumbed and I gave up my Colorado license for a Utah license and it was a sad day indeed. However, my Utah license was about to expire when we moved here so I didn't have much of a choice but to get a Texas one right away. And let me just tell you, it was a pain in the butt. Talk about Texas doing things their own way! In Utah I just walked up to the counter, handed them my CO license, filled out a little form and I was done. Here you have to get your car inspected, get it registered, and switch your car insurance to a Texas policy before you can go wait in line for ten years to get your license. It doesn't sound like a big deal I guess but we weren't expecting to do all that so I barely got my new license with one day to spare before I would have had to take all the tests all over again and I wasn't thrilled about it!
Our truck has Texas plates (thanks to the requirements for getting a license!). But don't worry, I still have my Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, and Colorado Avalanche stickers on the back window of my truck, lest anyone wonder where my loyalties truly lie.
We ate at Chuy's and we liked it. Quite a bit actually. Food is one of the things we have been most excited about down here since there is so much food awesomeness. EVERY SINGLE person we have asked for recommendations for a good mexican or tex-mex place has said you HAVE to eat at Chuy's. The people here love their Chuy's. So of course we checked it out and we really liked it. I'm already looking up copycat recipes to try to make some of their stuff at home.
We have also eaten at the Salt Lick, another local favorite that everyone has said we must try. I have to admit though, it didn't quite live up to all the hype for me. The meat was pretty good, but not magical and better than all other BBQ on the planet, and the sides were only mediocre. I'm almost afraid to make these confessions so publicly because Texans are pretty passionate about their BBQ.
I made Chicken Fried Steak and mashed potatoes with cream gravy for dinner the other night. This is one of my favorite meals so it suits me just fine that it's like the state meal of Texas. I've never attempted to make it on my own before. It didn't turn out as good as I had hoped and I am going to have to spend some time perfecting it but it was still fairly delicious. Mmmm... fried, creamy goodness.
We have learned the correct "Texas" pronunciation for local things. Burnet is BURN-it. Del Valle is dell valley. Llano is LAN-o. Manchaca is MAN-shack. Manor is MAY-ner. And Guadalupe is GUADA-loop. For being so close to Mexico, these Texans have no concept of Spanish pronunciation.
We are about to be Texas homeowners (and pay really high Texas property taxes!). We close on our house in two days and move in the beginning of September and I can't even tell you how excited I am. On a side note, there was a brush fire about a mile from our new house yesterday that destroyed 15 homes. Needless to say, I was freaking out a little but the fire is out now, thank goodness!
H-E-B is my new favorite grocery store ever. And even better, they have an H-E-B Plus like 3 minutes from our new house. I've found that grocery shopping is slightly less tedious when you really like the store you shop at.
I've accepted my sweaty fate. Literally. Within 30 seconds of walking outside my face is dripping. It has been 106 here the last week, plus humidity, which makes it feel more like 110. We have come to terms with the fact that summers here are not for hiking and biking and playing. They are for drenching yourself with cold water or staying inside where there is AC. The rest of the year can be spent biking and taking leisurely walks and being outside without risking a total meltdown.

Does it ever bug anyone else when you make a list and it ends on an odd number. It bugs me. I guess that's my OCD coming out. I'm really stretching right now to think of a number ten but I can't so I guess we will leave it at nine (enter nervous tick here). We don't say "y'all" yet and we haven't tried fried okra so I can't say we are official yet, but we are getting close.

Of course, it would probably help if I stopped reminiscing of places like these:

*Sniff sniff* Think Texas, think Texas, think Texas...

About a boy...

2011-08-08T10:35:00.000-06:00

I don't know how the heck this happened already but Cohen somehow turned ONE last week. Man, time really does fly, doesn't it? It's such a bittersweet thing. I LOVE the phase he is in right now and how interactive he is and how fun he is to play with, but it's so sad at the same time that he is not my tiny, innocent, helpless little baby anymore. I guess maybe this is why people start to get baby hungry about this time. I'm not quite there yet, in case you are wondering. :) We didn't do anything super exciting for Cohen's birthday. First of all, we don't have any friends here yet and our family is all so far away, it makes for a pretty small party. Preston's sister, Aspen came over from Midland for the weekend to celebrate it with us so at least we had someone here! I really wanted it to be a fun, special day for him but let's face it..the kid has the attention span of a gnat. Nothing amuses him for more than 20 minutes, and even that's only if it's really great. So really all we did was take him to one of the local splash pads and let him run around in the water. It always takes him a couple of minutes but he soon loves it. I made him a little dog cake, which is another story in and of itself. (I totally screwed up the frosting. How do you even screw up frosting for Pete's sake?? I have serious cooking/baking issues.) Then we opened presents, which he totally could have cared less about. And on top of it all, I came down with a dazzling case of food poisoning that left me totally worthless for most of the evening. It wasn't exactly the super special day I had in mind but luckily for me, I don't think he cared one bit. Here are some pictures of his birthday:

So here are some bits and pieces about our cute boy:

He learned how to walk at 10 months but still chooses to crawl most of the time.
He now gives kisses, which I LOVE.
He doesn't give Preston kisses very often but instead he gives him "head-bonks" which I think is his way of showing affection for his dad. :)
He knows exactly what "no" means and he will stop what he's doing when you say it. BUT then he will look at you with a mischievous grin and stare at you while he continues doing whatever you told him not to do anymore. Little stinker.
He definitely has the feisty stubbornness of a red head.
His hair is actually starting to turn dark in the back so I'm not sure he is going to keep the red that we love so much.
He doesn't stand behind his push toys and push them, he stands next to them and drags them along behind him.
The boy loves to eat. And if you don't get food to him fast enough, watch out.
He loves to stuff as much food as humanly possible in his mouth when he eats.
He loves baths, especially bubble baths. He kisses the bubbles and it's so cute.
He doesn't say any words yet but he responds to yes and no questions with grunts.
He loves Tank. Loves to pull on Tank's ears (good thing Tank is patient), loves to eat Tank's dog food (gross!), loves to push Tank's dog food dish around the kitchen getting food and water everywhere, loves to give Tank his toys that I'm constantly trying to tell Tank he isn't allowed to have, and loves to feed Tank from his high chair.
He is a total daddy's boy. In the evening I can tell him that daddy will be home soon and he immediately looks towards the door and gets all excited.
He finally learned how to drink out of a straw.
He already has eleven teeth!
He randomly just started bear crawling for some reason.
He LOVES being chased around and squeals and laughs the whole time. It's his favorite game.
He could care less about most of his toys but he loves his little cars and always has one in his hand.
He is stubborn but super sweet and overall a really great kid.
We honest to goodness cannot take him anywhere without getting 500 compliments on him and I love it. :)

We love this little boy sooo much and can't imagine life without him. We are so lucky to be his parents. :)

And to reminisce:

I honestly can't even believe it's the same kid, can you?

Updates And A Touch Of Random

2011-07-29T16:23:00.000-06:00

So I just realized I never came back and did a "part 3" of our move to Austin. I don't even remember what I was going to write about. Oh well.

Life has been so slow and yet so fast at the same time. On the one hand, Cohen and I are stuck here in our little apartment all day every day without a car and most days it's too hot to be outside except for to go to the pool. It makes for some very long days. I think poor Cohen is getting even more bored than I am. One nice thing though, is that Preston having a normal 8:30-5:00 job and not having school makes life so much less hectic. I'm a very non-spontaneous creature of habit so I love that we have a fairly normal, predictable schedule. It's nice that he can come home at night and play with Cohen and we can all eat dinner together and just relax. I think we all appreciate the amount of time we've been able to spend together since moving here.

On the other hand though the pace of life has picked up a bit because we found a house we really love and decided to buy it. Our house in Provo should be closing any day now and we close on our house here August 18th. We are so excited to finally be able to truly settle in and not be in limbo anymore. No more realizing something we need is in a box buried somewhere in storage. No more being stuck without a car all day every day (we will be living 3 minutes from Preston's work!). No more 3rd story hikes with groceries. And, living so close to Preston's work gives us another hour together every day! Anyways, I've bought a house before (plus I worked in real estate for a hundred years) so I know the drill, but for some reason this has been such a stressful process for us. There have just been so many things here and there that we have had to deal with and fortunately for us it has all worked out beautifully, but I'm definitely ready to be done and moved in and settled.

We really love the house we are buying! It has just about everything I could ask for in a house and plenty of room to grow for our little family. It's a 5 bedroom, 3 bath house with a huge kitchen (with an island and granite counters), a breakfast nook with huge windows, a formal dining room, a bonus room, a patio the length of the house, a nice yard, a huge master suite (with a huge walk in closet that has it's own window), and it's located on a cul-de-sac in a neighborhood with a community park and pool. The best part about it is the extremely low price tag. I won't tell you how much it is but I guarantee it's not as much as you're probably thinking! :) I love Texas housing prices. Anyways, I have so many ideas already of what I plan to do to decorate our new house and make it ours. Here are a couple pictures of the house.

Preston is loving his job. He gets to work with his hands a lot and has already been put in charge of several projects. He likes the people he works with and it makes me so happy that he enjoys going to work every day because I think that is so important. I am so grateful for everything he does for our family!

Cohen is growing up so fast it is not even funny. He is going to be turning ONE next week. I can't even believe it. It's like he's still a baby but not at the same time. He is becoming this adorable little boy. I will write more about him later and post some pics but let's just say I'm starting to get weepy just thinking about how fast this year has gone and how much I've taken for granted with this beautiful boy of mine.

Random side note of the day: I've been thinking so much about Europe lately. Preston and I love it there and decided a long time ago that some day we plan to live there for a little while. That will probably be a long ways down the road but until then I sit here pining for it. I am obsessed with all things European. We have a friend currently in Germany, and two more friends moving to Germany and Finland and I'm so envious! The cobblestone streets, the sidewalk cafes, the beautiful gardens, the markets filled with fresh breads and cheeses and herbs and flowers, the charming country villages, the random castles and church steeples dotting the hillsides, the history, the architecture, everything. Anyways, one of the things we loved about Europe was all of the different delicious cheeses they use. Dishes that are exactly the same as what you could get here were a hundred times better just because of the different cheeses they used. We are cheapskates and so we always used to just get the boring processed cheese at the store. But since Europe we have decided it's worth it to splurge for the real stuff and now I'm obsessed with becoming a cheese connoisseur. I'm going to learn all about the different kinds of cheeses and how to cook with them. I know what you're all thinking. "Umm, Amber, don't you have to actually learn how to cook first?". Well, yes, that would probably help...but don't worry, I'm working on it. :) Who knows, maybe someday I will even turn this into a temporary "Cheese Blog" and tell you everything I've discovered about which ones are good and the yummy things you can make with them. I know...I'm a nerd. I've come to terms with it...so can you. :)

And until next time, here are some pictures from our trip to Europe, just cuz I'm feeling nostalgic...

Can you see why we love it so much!?!

Moving Saga: Part 2

2011-07-08T12:58:00.001-06:00

Ok so the move is over, all of our boxes are FINALLY unpacked (although most of our stuff is in storage still), and we are slowly getting settled in. So, this is Austin, the city we now call home:

This area is in the middle of a horrible draught right now so it's a little dry but not nearly as bad as I was expecting. There is a lot more green and there are a lot more trees than I had imagined. I mean, it's not Colorado or anything, but on a scale of New Mexico to Colorado, it's probably like a 7. So here are a few of my observations since settling in:

It's hot. Like the low at night is around 82. I sweat withing seconds of walking outside. I have never appreciated air conditioning so much.
It's humid. Which makes the hotness feel even hotter. Although, I have to admit, it's not AS hot and humid as I had mentally prepared myself for, so that's good. Also, this humidity has done wonders for my skin, and ironically, even my hair. I don't think I'll ever have to use lotion again. Even my chapstick addiction is slowly decreasing.
People are super friendly. Even the waiters and cashiers and mechanics are super cheerful and happy to strike up a friendly conversation or answer silly questions.
I don't know if it's because Austin is such a mix of people from everywhere but I don't hear that thick southern drawl nearly as much as I expected. Except yesterday a lady said hi and it took me a second to realize it because it came out as Hah. I'd like to say I will never succumb to the "ya'll" thing but it really is a handy little word and I look forward to the day when I've been here long enough to justify using it without sounding like an idiot.
I honestly expected to see giant bugs and reptiles everywhere we go but I have yet to see even one. I really really dread the day that I find a scorpion, snake, tarantula, or 6 inch cockroach in my home. I will probably scream, panic a little, call Preston to have him come home, get told no because we are too far from his work, panic some more, and then leave and not come back til Preston gets home to take care of it. You might think I'm joking but believe me, I'm pretty sure that's how it will go down. I may enjoy power tools and changing my own oil but I don't do bugs and reptiles. Yuck.
There are parks, pools, splashpads, and waterparks everywhere. I've never been a big water person but I have already come to appreciate it a lot with this heat. I just wish Cohen was old enough to enjoy it a little more.
Austin is a super dog-friendly city. I bet 85% of the people in our apartment complex have a dog. And our complex lets dogs come in the lobby where they have a water bowl and free treats, as well as a big fenced dog park where you can be off-leash and run around and play. Tank loves it.
Everywhere we go we pass at least ten restaurants that we decide we want to try someday. We have already been getting lots of recommendations for awesome bbq and tex-mex places. I'm pretty sure Texas is not going to be good for my already round waistline.
On the subject of food, Austin has a few restaurants that we either didn't have in Utah or were too far away to go to often. One is Chipotle, which is one of my favorites, and we have one 4 minutes away. Also, they have Schlotzky's here which Preston and I both love. And there is a Cheesecake Factory down the street, which everyone knows I could eat at weekly.
The main grocery store here is H-E-B and we LOVE it. It has the hugest produce section I've ever seen in a store, with fruits and veggies I've never even heard of before. The store has tons of selection for everything, really good prices, and the generic store brand is delicious.
One of the things we always hated in Colorado was Texas drivers. Turns out Texans don't just drive horribly in Colorado. They drive horribly in Texas too, and always at least ten UNDER the speed limit. It's so annoying.
My UT driver's license expires tomorrow but I didn't want to renew it since I was moving to TX and decided that getting a TX driver's license would have to be a priority upon arriving here so it didn't expire. It took a WEEK because we had to get our truck inspected, get it registered with the county, switch our car insurance to a Texas policy, and fill out a bunch of paperwork just to get a stinking driver's license. It was so ridiculous and I only got it done with one day to spare.
The people of Texas adore our chunky red-headed baby as much as people everywhere else so they must have good taste. :)

So we are living temporarily in a little 2 bedroom apartment while we wait for our house in UT to sell. It is actually under contract and scheduled to close the end of this month. We are crossing our fingers that nothing falls through. It sold a lot faster than we were expecting and are so excited to not have to make double payments for a long time. We will probably stay here for a few more months just to save up a little more for a down payment on a house here and then we will hopefully buy and be able to settle in for real. I feel kind of in limbo living in this apt. Even if we had the room for it, I wouldn't want to completely unpack and decorate just to have to pack it all up and patch up all the walls a couple of months later. After the move here, I want the next one to be as little work as humanly possible. Everything is currently in storage in the garage. I have never lived in an apartment before in my life so I'm constantly paranoid that our neighbors below us are going to hate us for the screaming baby and the giant dog. It seems pretty soundproof so far though because we would never even know we have neighbors, it's always so quiet. It's actually a really cute apartment and pretty spacious. It has lots of big windows and natural light, a good sized kitchen, and more closet space than our house in Provo. The complex itself is nice too, fairly upscale with good people, a nice pool and lots of other things. The thing I hate the most I think is that we live on the 3rd floor. It's nice not to have people above us but hauling your groceries up 3 flights of stairs with a kid in your arms or having to take Tank out to go to the bathroom several times a day gets old real fast. You would think between the multiple trips up and down 3 flights of stairs and all of the sweating I would have lost ten pounds by now but alas, it is not so. Here are some pics of our apartment:

This right here is the best part of our entire apt. I haven't had a dishwasher in ten years!!!

You can't tell from the picture but this tub is ginormous and I love it.

So that's our little apartment. I am so anxious to be able to buy a house here and be able to really feel truly at home again! Until then, if anyone wants to come visit, we have a nice little living room floor for you to sleep on. :) Part 3 of this saga coming soon....

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

2011-07-08T10:20:00.000-06:00

WARNING: Long Post Ahead

I seriously do not even know where to start. So much has happened in the three months since I last updated this blog. First things first, I'm sure almost everyone knows this by now, but for anyone who doesn't, we now live in Austin, TX. Preston got offered a job with a biofuel company called Joule and they needed him to start less than 3 weeks after the offer. We were so excited he got the job but needless to say it was a bit on the stressful side trying to fix up the house, get it on the market, pack, clean, find a place to live, plan a move, have a garage sale, take stuff to DI and the dump, and say goodbye to friends all in just 3 weeks. I may have been a bit of a crazy woman, I'm not gonna lie. (On that note, for any of you who I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to before we left, I am so sorry and I promise it wasn't anything personal).

Moving to Austin wasn't a huge surprise. We had never stepped foot in Texas before coming here but we were looking for jobs here on purpose. The more we talked about it and researched it and prayed about it, the more we felt that Austin is the place for our little family right now. We had always expected to move back to our beloved Colorado after graduation so it was a little unexpected, but we both feel that we are in the right place for us right now. We have heard nothing but good positive things about Austin from EVERYONE we have talked to and we are excited to be here. It will have it's pros and cons for us but so far we like it a lot.

Anyways, so Preston's Mom came down from Idaho before we left and helped pack a ton of stuff for us, as well as keeping Cohen occupied so I could actually get stuff done. It was such a huge help. Then, the night before we left, Preston's Aunt Lisa and Uncle Carl (and kids) and so many of our awesome friends came and helped us clean and do last minute stuff and it was such a blessing. Preston's dad, his wife Marilyn, and his little brothers drove all the way down from Wyoming with a big horse trailer to help us move all the way to Texas. Austin is at least 20 hours from Provo so we stopped in Farmington, NM to stay with Preston's sister Saren and her family, and then again in Midland, TX to stay with his other sister Aspen. It was nice to spend time with his family and be able to do the trip in smaller chunks. Prestn's little brothers rode with us in the truck and were such a HUGE help in entertaining Cohen and giving him snacks and toys, etc during the whole trip and it made things so much easier. Cohen was great the whole time. I'm pretty sure he only cried for a grand total of thirty minutes on a 3 day trip. I was amazed. We couldn't help but realize just how amazingly blessed we are with family and amazing wonderful friends in our life. A special shout out to Becky, Bobbi, Amy, Ashton and Gen, Marie, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Carl, Aunt Marva, Curtis and Marilyn for all of your help! We honestly couldn't have done all of this without you!

P.S. a couple of years ago I wrote a post describing an ongoing argument between Preston and I on which state is uglier. I always said Wyoming, Preston said New Mexico. After driving from one corner of NM to the other, I have conceded that New Mexico is, in fact, the uglier of the two states. Without question. It's just dirt, dirt, and more dirt. And wind. And dirt. Here are some pics of the move down.

This is an actual neighborhood in New Mexico. How would you like a yard like this?

Cohen with Preston's Grandma

Cohen with Preston's Grandpa

Cohen's first time at a splash pad. When the water shot up it freaked him out.

Ugly

More ugly. What we looked at all day every day on the drive.

Good ol' Roswell, NM

Finally in Texas-but still a good 8 hours from Austin. And yes, Cohen is obsessed with ripping glasses off peoples faces and chucking them on the ground. It's fun for all.

Green! Entering the hill country getting closer to Austin

Finally in Austin-cool little park down the street from our apt. With trees. I'd missed those the last few days.

After several attempt to eat the gravel at the playground...

Our new apartment-well temporarily

Preston's family before they left to head back for Wyoming.

So that was our big move. Don't worry, more posts to follow. :)

He Done Gradjumatated

2011-04-26T12:44:00.000-06:00

It's true what they say...the older you get, the faster time goes by. When we first got married Preston still had three years left of school and it felt like it was going to be forever! Now, here we are, three years and one cute baby later and he's all done. It's almost a little unreal still. No more having him come home for dinner just to go back to school to work on a group project or take a 3 hour exam. No more spending the evenings and weekends trying not distract him while he does hours of homework. No more spending hundreds of dollars on books every semester. I think it's still a little unreal for him too. He's been going to school for so long. He served a two year mission for our church when he was 19 so he went to a semester of college before he left, took a two year break, and then came back and jumped back in. So overall from start to finish, he has been a college student for a really long time. I just want to give a little shout out to Preston for everything he has accomplished over the last few years. I know it's nothing rare or special to get a college degree, but I feel he has accomplished a lot and here is why...

He took (and got A's) in classes with names I can't even pronounce, let alone know what they mean.
He was never satisfied unless he knew he had done his best or tried his hardest.
Every time he thought he bombed a test, it turned out that he still got one of the highest grades in the class on it.
He actually enjoys learning and took his education very seriously. (in contrast, I skipped class all the time in college and spent most of my time playing.)
He was always responsible, self-disciplined, and determined to do well.
He managed to do all of this while being married for most of his college career. (And let's face it, I'm clingy and distracting.)
Not only was he married, but unlike most college students he was a homeowner and shared all the responsibilities that go along with that such as paying a mortgage, mowing the lawn, fixing things, taking out the trash, etc. and he never once complained about it or failed to help out, no matter how much homework he had.
Not only did he have a needy wife and an old house to take care of, but for the last year of school he had a baby to help take care of and spend time with. Even when he was getting only a few hours of sleep every night he would still help with getting up with Cohen. He has changed his fair share of diapers, given his fair share of baths, and packed his share of diaper bags. His only chance to sleep in was on weekends but he got up with Cohen so I could sleep in and have a break. He was amazing.
Not only did he have a needy wife, an old house, and a cranky baby to take care of but he now had a wife who went from being the sugar mama to a stay at home mama and our income was cut by 2/3. He somehow managed to work two jobs and go to school full time so that I could stay home with Cohen. He was gone from 6am til 10pm or midnight almost every day. He got very little sleep at night, had no social life or time to do things he enjoyed, and he barely ever got to see his new son. He sacrificed so much!
Now not only was he taking care of a needy, non-income producing wife, an old house, and a cranky baby but he literally never had a second to himself to catch his breath or relax and somehow he managed to graduate in a difficult major (mechanical engineering), in the top 10% of his class, with a 3.88 GPA

I know for a fact that Preston (who is way too hard on himself most of the time) feels that he has not accomplished any of the things he had hoped to by this stage of his life but I am truly amazed at what he has done. I never would have had the ambition to choose such a difficult major to begin with, let alone had the self-discipline and motivation to actually succeed---no, excel at it. Especially with so many other things going on in life. He would have been completely justified in taking some time off of school or taking out lots of loans so he wouldn't have to work, or slacking off a little in classes to lighten his burden. But he didn't. If I know Preston, I'm sure the thought never even crossed his mind. He's just not like that, and that's one of the things I admire most about him. I love him so much, and regardless of how little he feels he has done, I am SO proud of him and so grateful for all of his selfless sacrifices for our little family. If only I could be even half the person he is!

Pink

2011-04-21T13:47:00.000-06:00

Most of you who know me know that I don't own very many pink or purple things. Especially clothes. Especially clothes that I actually wear. Preston sometimes mocks me because the majority of clothes that I wear are black or brown (which is true) and that I need to add some color to my wardrobe. I had to dress professionally for 8 years so of course most of my clothes are dark. And now that I'm not working, I don't want to spend money buying a bunch of new, non-professional, bright colored clothes. So now that I'm learning how to sew, I thought I would experiment a little. I have a whole bunch of shirts, skirts and dresses that are either too big or too small and never get worn so I decided maybe it's time for me to learn how to alter or "re-purpose" some of them. I have a very pink dress that was given to me by my lovely friend Rebekah that needed to be taken in a little so in the spirit of trying to "brighten" my wardrobe, I decided to give it a shot.

This is what it looked like before: (PS. there's no way you will catch me modeling these in pictures so you will just have to imagine what they look like on real people).

I needed to add some length to it too so I found this pink polka dot shirt in my closet (which I also never wore) and cut it up to add it to the dress. The pinks matched perfectly. I also added some black trim to the bottom and a black flower up top and this is what I ended up with:

Sorry for the ultra bright picture. Oh and ps I'm not even close to being that skinny. I just tied the ribbon tighter around the middle so I could pretend for a minute that I don't still have a hundred million pounds to lose. :) Anyways, if you could see it up close you would totally laugh because there are so many parts where I screwed up and it is visibly obvious but I was too lazy to fix it. Come to think of it, I'm too lazy to fix a lot of things. I should work on that. Anyways, all in all, I'm pretty proud of myself for how it turned out considering it was my first time EVER attempting to do anything involving a needle and thread and clothing. Now the hard part will be convincing myself to wear something bright pink with pink polka dots and a flower. :)

A Touch of Color

2011-04-14T21:36:00.009-06:00

I'm almost finished with the living room, finally. For the last 8 years that I've lived here this living room has been pretty much the same. It wasn't bad, but it was really, ummm...neutral. Everything in it is cream, brown, sage green, and a touch of black. I decided it was time to add some color. Not in the repainting the whole room sense, just in adding some accessories. I love color. I swoon over bright colors in magazines and pictures. I'm just always so conservative when it comes to actually using it my own house. I really need to get over that. In my last post I showed you the new curtains I made which have some turquoise, blue, green, and brown in them. I decided I really liked the turquoise so I took an old, rickety, drawn on and carved on little desk from our garage and turned it into this:

I love the color! I think I am going to find some cute baskets to put on the shelves.

Then I decided to recover our couch pillows and now they look like this:

P.S. I made all of these from old sheets we don't use anymore so they were totally free. Preston lovingly told me that the pleated pillows (which by the way, aren't perfect but I'm pretty proud of them considering sewing is still so new to me) look like something he would find in his grandma's house. I'm sure he meant it as a compliment. :) Don't worry, he followed it up with "well, it's cool that YOU made them..." Hahaha. Boys. I only share this because I thought it was funny. He has actually been very complimentary about everything I have done around the house lately.

Anyhoo, I decided I needed some new wall decor for above the loveseat. I googled diy wall decor and found this:

http://www.thenester.com/2011/01/how-to-make-a-sunburst-mirror.html

Would you believe this was made out of posterboard? Yeah, posterboard. You can get that for 2/$1 at the dollar store. So, needless to say, I decided I needed to make one. I had an old mirror sitting around in the basement that I thought would be perfect so I got some posterboard and went for it. It doesn't look as good as the one she did (I like the shape of hers better) but I still like the way it turned out. And so far I have gotten a lot of compliments so the $2 that I spent on it was worth it. Here she is:

So basically, that wall of my living room went from looking like this:

To this:

Maybe it doesn't even look that great to other people but when you've had a room look exactly the same for so many years, any change seems to make it look better to me. Now I need to do some more pillows for the big couch (probably not more pleated ones because apparently that will make it a "grandma" living room), and next I get to tackle the basement kitchen/laundry room.

P.S. I know this stuff is probably really boring to most of you, (if any of you actually even still read my blog) so thanks for putting up with my craft reports and room makeovers. :)

Bits and Pieces

2011-04-07T09:44:00.007-06:00

Life has been a bit on the busy side lately between making major life decisions, getting Preston ready to graduate, working on the house, and Cohen starting to get more mobile. It's a good kind of busy but I will be glad when Preston is officially done with school and we can have more time for fun.

A lot of people have been wondering what our plans are after graduation so here is the scoop. Preston really wants to go to grad school at the University of Texas in Austin. It has the exact program he wants, a great reputation, lower tuition than most grad schools, and it is in a good area with a low cost of living. We have been praying about it for months now and we feel really good about moving to that area, at least temporarily. Unfortunately, because of the bad economy, the engineering program had an unusually high 1,100 applicants for less than 200 open slots and they had to turn away tons of qualified people that would have otherwise been selected. We were one of them. We were really disappointed and not sure what to do but after more consideration and discussion and prayer, we decided that for whatever reason, we still feel good about moving to Austin. We love Colorado and we have always talked about going back but for some reason it just doesn't feel quite right to do it right now. Hopefully someday. So the plan is to look for jobs in the Austin area and when/if Preston gets hired we will move down there. We will establish Texas residency and try again for grad school at UT next year. His second choice school is Texas A&M so if he doesn't get into UT and gets accepted there, it would be an easy move and we would still have in-state tuition. I guess we will see what happens. I have always mocked all things Texan, (including people, I admit) so it is odd that I am so excited about this.

So basically, we still don't have any definite plans. If he finds a job there it could be next month or six months or next year. He still has a job here as a backup, thank goodness, so there is really no huge rush to get down there. In the meantime, we have decided that we are going to sell the house when we move. We thought about renting it out but we would really rather not deal with that if we don't have to. We are slowly trying to fix things up around the house here and there before we put it on the market. A lot of it is just cosmetic, but hopefully it will compete well with other houses like ours when people walk through it. With Preston working and finishing up school, I have been doing most of the work so far...which is fine by me. Anyone who knows me knows I love to do stuff like that. Plus, a lot of the stuff I have been doing has involved being crafty and finding frugal ways to make our house look nicer and more updated.

PS. just a little disclosure (as in, don't have a heart attack when you read this)....I, Amber Hennrich, actually SEWED. Yes, you read that right. I sewed. As in, sat down with a sewing machine (I had to learn how to use it first) and sewed. I, along with most people, never thought that would actually happen, but it has and I have to admit I actually kinda like it. Well, I get really frustrated with it too sometimes, but for the most part, it has been fun learning something new.

I don't have any of the rooms completely done but when I do I will show you before and after shots because I LOVE the changes. But for now, here are some snippets of what I've been up to.

Kitchen Wall and Window Before

Kitchen Window After

Kitchen Wall After (made this from stuff laying around the house)

Other Kitchen Window Before

Other Kitchen Window After

I even made the tie-backs. I love them!

New Curtains I Made for the Living Room-anything beats the black ones I had there before. What was I thinking??? Oh, and I made these out of canvas drop cloths from Lowe's for $9 ($4,50 per window actually)

Fireplace Screen Before-(Please ignore the trash waiting to burned, how embarrassing!

Fireplace Screen After

Amazing what you can do with a little black spray paint and some wire hangers!

Area Rug Before (The black spots are from tank walking on it with black paint on his paws...long story). And yes, that's March Madness basketball on the TV. :)

Area Rug After-Yep, I painted it

Mantle Before

Mantle After-Still a work in progress but at least it has more color

None of these things is really a huge deal but sometimes it's nice to have a change. Once you see the whole room before and after shots of the upstairs kitchen, downstairs kitchen, and living room, it will all come together more. Today I am refinishing a desk (which I am sooo excited about-I'm going bold!) and attempting to slipcover our couch (yeah, I know, good luck right?)

Oh, and just in case this post isn't long enough already, here are a couple pics of Cohen, just cuz he's cute. :)

Isn't he getting so big!?! He's 8 months already!

PS. I dropped our camera in the tub after this shot. Talented, I know.

He can scoot around in circles and go backwards but hasn't figured out forward crawling yet.

He can't crawl but he can pull himself into standing position with no problem and he loves it!

Okay, well that's our life for now. More to come soon!

All About the Babe

2011-03-02T09:31:00.007-07:00

I've realized lately that I haven't done any recent posts about Cohen so I need to fix that asap! He is growing up so fast, I can't even believe it. It's like he's still a baby but kinda not. I mean, he's not really a little boy quite yet, but he isn't this tiny little innocent child who stares at the wall and needs my help with everything. He is seven months old now (well, he will be on Friday), and I am enjoying being with him more and more every day. I love this age and watching him learn things and figure things out on his own. I love that we can interact more and laugh together. And this kid's smile can change my day, no matter how rough it may have seemed before. It's impossible to not smile when I hear him laugh. He really does bring so much joy to our lives. I've added pictures of him to the end of this post.

Here are some random facts about our growing boy:
1. He makes all of his cutest/most interesting noises when he is getting frustrated and about to throw a fit. (I always know it's coming but I leave him there just so I can listen to his funny noises....is that wrong?)
2. He is 17 lbs 11 oz and about 27 inches. Still kinda short but getting better!
3. He loves to spit and has learned how to do it with food in his mouth.
4. He has been feeding himself (with a bottle of course, not with a spoon yet) for a couple months now. (He has huge hands!)
5. He drinks out of a sippy cup on his own and also loves to drink out of our normal cups.
6. He now eats baby food and so far there is nothing he refuses to eat. He, surprisingly, even gets excited about peas and green beans. I know I wouldn't.
7. Whenever I go to get him out of his crib he has randomly pushed himself up into the corner of it and is covered with his stuffed animals.
8. 9 out 10 times when Preston changes his diaper, he lets loose and pees all over himself. He has only ever done it with me once...for some reason Preston just brings that out in him I guess. Male bonding, perhaps?
9. He LOVES Tank. He is always reaching for him and trying to pet him and letting him lick his hands (don't worry I try to clean them off) and he gets all excited to see him. It's cute.
10. He is finally sleeping through the night again. Hallelujah!
11. He has two teeth and is working on another one.
12. He LOVES his daddy. Smiles pretty much every time he sees him. I get kinda jealous but I can't really blame him. I love his daddy too. :)
13. He continues to have the best pouty lip I have ever seen on a kid.
14. His hair is still red but changing from fiery orange to more of an auburn and we get compliments on it everywhere we go, without fail.
15. He loves being upside down, he loves riding on Preston's shoulders, and he loves peek-a-boo.
16. He cocks his head but only to the left, slaps his knee with only his left hand, and kicks with only his right foot. Kinda quirky but cute.
17. He's a typical red-head...stubborn, feisty, and determined. With us as parents, could you expect anything less?
18. He is an angel in public. I have never had him throw a fit while in a restaurant or store or ward activity. He just sits quietly and looks around at everything wide-eyed.
19. He's not much of a cuddler, which makes me sad. Maybe one day...
20. He knows how to roll over but refuses to do it. He rolled over for two weeks straight then decided he didn't want to anymore and now he just lays there and throws a fit until I pick him up. Frustrates the heck out of us but oh well.
21. Not crawling yet but slowly getting closer to figuring out the hands and knees thing.
22. Loves being outside and going for walks.
23. Has more facial expressions than I've ever seen on such a tiny person and can change to five different ones in 2 seconds. No exaggeration. I can't get my videos to upload to my blog but I would show you if I could. It's hilarious.
24. I can give him ten different toys, including an old cell phone that no longer works and without fail, the one thing he wants to play with is MY phone. He is obsessed with my phone, the tv remote, and the laptop. In a brief moment of non-supervision (he was on my lap but I was on the phone), he managed to bookmark a random page, open an excel spreadsheet, and perform a search. LOL.
25. He is pretty much the Cutest. Kid. Ever.

I could go on forever but I won't for your sake. I'm just so grateful for this beautiful boy and that his very existence inspires and pushes me to be a better mother and a better person. It's amazing how much a child can help you learn patience, compassion, charity, selflessness, and love.

In other news, still no word from grad schools (specifically the University of TX in Austin, our number one choice) but we are hoping to hear back anyday.

I can't believe Preston finally graduates in just a few weeks. When we first got married it seemed like it would be forever and now here we are. I am so proud of him.

I can't remember if I have mentioned this before but we want to/plan to live abroad someday (temporarily of course, for just a few years) and all the places we prefer to live are German speaking so we have decided to learn German. I am actually really enjoying it. It's something fun we can do together. If you come over, please ignore the random sticky notes all over our house with German words on them. :)

I think that's all that's new with us but hopefully we will have grad school news to post soon! Here are the pictures of Cohen I promised...watch out, there are a lot!

Photo Clocks

2011-02-22T15:00:00.004-07:00

We do not have a single clock up in our entire house (unless you count the microwave!). So I was looking at craft blogs one day and ran across this at http://rosyredbuttons.blogspot.com/

Of course I decided we needed one and that I was going to make it myself. I originally narrowed it down to five pictures but had such a hard time deciding I ended up making two clocks, one for the living room and one for our bedroom.

I have to say I really like how they turned out. Definitely better than I thought they would! What do you guys think?

Craft Blog Overload

2011-02-14T15:52:00.004-07:00

So ever since I decided I wanted to try to be more crafty, I've become obsessed. I really love the concept of making your home look cute or nice for as little money as possible. I love re-purposing items or making masterpieces out of old yard sale finds. It's something I've always enjoyed and wanted to do but I haven't done it much because we don't plan to stay in this house for long and I don't want extra stuff to have to move. We already have way more junk than we need as it is. Preston is one of those get-rid-of-everything type people and I'm a total pack-rat. I think we find a pretty good balance...most of the time. :) But I like being able to dig through stuff in the garage or basement and use something that I haven't touched in months. Okay, years, who am I kidding?

Anyways, so in this new quest for craftiness I've started looking at craft blogs. The problem is that I find a blog I like that fits my style and has stuff I want to try and then I look at the list of blogs that THEY like and I find ten more websites that have cool stuff I want to try, and then each of them has links to sites that end up being cool and so on and so forth. It's never ending. I've had to force myself to stop looking at new sites. As it is, I already have like forty websites bookmarked on my computer. It's almost ridiculous. Okay, not almost. It IS ridiculous. It's just that they all have things I want to remember. I mean, I'm coming up on thirty, my memory just isn't what it used to be and there's no way I'm going to get to ALL of these projects anytime soon.

It's just so addicting for some reason. I've never so much as learned how to properly sew a button on my shirt but some of these blogs have me wanting to buy a sewing machine so I can make cute aprons and baby shoes and drapes and re-purposed old clothes. Preston is a little hesitant to let me buy a sewing machine, which is understandable. Especially considering he had a pair of sweats with a hole in it that I told him I would stitch for him like two years ago. A couple of weeks ago I found him sewing it himself. Oops. I should probably work on my being-a-good-wife skills but to be honest he probably did a much better job than I would have anyway. :) So yes, his hesitation is understandable. Maybe I will give it a few weeks and see if this ends up being another "phase" where I get excited about things and then never do anything about it. Yeah, I know, I have problems. I'm working on it. Kind of.

I've never been one to decorate my house for any holidays besides Christmas but I'm giving it a shot this year. I even got a little cutesie with it. P.S. I should probably give due credit to the different blogs where I got all of these ideas, but I don't really have time to look through each of those forty bookmarked blogs I told you about to find which ones I used.

Everything on this mantle cost me a total of $4

An old picture matting I found and backed with the bottom of a christmas box, then lettered with tissue paper rosettes.

Tissue paper rosette topiary with a metal pail I got at DI years ago, and a candlestick my friend Ashley brought me from Denmark ages ago.

Picture frame for $0.50 at DI, backed with an old Victoria's Secret gift bag, and covered with soap roses from the dollar store for $1.

Wood blocks for $2 (for the whole pkg) that I painted, glittered, and covered with sticky letters I already had.

My magnet board from Christmas where I added a couple of wood hearts from Robert's for a few cents each. A $1 styrofoam ball covered with red tissue paper and pearl pins and another DI picture frame I painted, backed with an old gift bag, and covered with tissue paper roses and a real flower.

You probably can't read this but it says Always Kiss Me Goodnight. I hung it above our bed. They are $1 platters from the dollar tree that I spray painted and the vinyl was from
the dollar store as well. I already had one platter so this cost me $3 total.

I'm working on another project right now for Preston's Valentines day present that I may put pictures of later...if it actually turns out!

Well, I have a baby to feed, a floor to vacuum, a dog to brush, and a sink full of dishes to wash (all in the 45 minutes until Preston comes home, LOL) but next time I have a minute I will finally post a Cohen update with some cute pictures so stay tuned.

Project Central

2010-12-20T13:57:00.006-07:00

I LOVE being a mom. Cohen is seriously the cutest kid ever and I have so much fun with him every day. The first three months or so were pretty rough for us...he wasn't the easiest baby, but even then I couldn't imagine not being able to be home with him every day. He laughs and plays and reaches and grabs and gets excited and talks a ton. He rolled over once but I missed it and I haven't gotten him to do it again. He is almost sitting up on his own and he eats rice cereal like a pro. His hair gets more and more red every day and it has actually grown on me a lot. I think it's cute. He has a giant swirly cowlick in the middle of his forehead that I'm sure he is going to hate one day but I think it is adorable. His little personality is emerging and we are having so much fun with it.

However, going from being a full-time career woman for the last ten years to being a stay at home mom has been a bit of an adjustment for me. I know, and strongly believe, that being a mom is the most important job in the world and every little mundane task you do every day is important and shows how much you love your baby. But sometimes, day after day of doing nothing but feeding, changing, burping, rocking, bathing and getting spit up/thrown up/peed on can sometimes make you feel like your contribution to society is somewhat minimal and you've sort of lost your identity a little. Well, maybe others don't feel that way, but I have.

My solution to this problem...I desperately need a hobby. The problem is, I have no idea what I would do for a hobby that is both affordable and something I can do with a baby right next to me. I've thought about learning to knit or crochet. I see all the cute little hats and scarves and flowers that other people make and I love them, but for some reason I just don't get that excited about making them myself. So then I thought about learning to sew. Slightly more interesting to me, but still not very exciting. Maybe if learned to do something cool I would find it enjoyable. Who knows. But I don't have a sewing maching, nor the money to buy one at the moment, so I guess that option has to be on hold for now. Unless someone out there has an old one they are wanting to get rid of?? I have started to enjoy cooking more but it's kind of hard to make great meals with such a young baby who needs constant attention. I know every other woman on the planet is capable of doing it but I haven't quite figured it out yet. I've still been trying, but I don't think it is going to become an art form anytime soon. Something I actually do get excited about is refinishing old furniture and turning old stuff into nice, new-looking stuff. Unfortunately, being outside in the garage in the middle of winter working with power tools, turpentine, and paint isn't really the best atmosphere for a four-month old. Guess that one is going to have to wait awhile too. So the only thing left that I could think of is getting crafty in my home decor. I'm not a real crafty person but I do love decorating so it's a good compromise. I'm terrible at being creative enough to come up with stuff on my own but I'm decent at taking inspiration from other people's ideas and making them my own.

So I decided I really need a project to work on and with Christmas around the corner I decided that decorating my house for Christmas would be the perfect place to start. I wanted to put up some different decorations than usual and use different colors than the typical red and green. I received most of my inspiration from a really cute blog that my friend Michele told me about, http://houseofsmiths.blogspot.com. I did my kitchen in silver, white, and different shades of blue. I did my living room in silver, pearl, and different shades of sage green. Here is the inspiration picture on the houseofsmiths blog:

Mine doesn't look nearly as cool but here is what I ended up with:

This is made out of 4 paper napkins, believe it or not. Probably one of the cheapest crafts you can make.

This is a magnet board I bought on sale at Roberts, as well as a pack of wooden letters, a pack of small magnets, and a wooden tree for like $0.79. I like this because I can change it up for different holidays or occasions and put whatever I want on it.

You probably can't read it because I didn't buy big enough letters, and I should have used all blue ornaments, but this spells out Merry and is hung right above the Christmas sign.

This picture is blurry but it's just a vase from my wedding with silver tinsel, blue tissue paper, and a string of silver beads.

This is the centerpiece for my table. nothing super fancy but it works.

The letters are still small but I learned my lesson about using all blue ornaments so you can read it better.

These next few are just old vases filled with branches from our yard that I spray painted white, and covered with green beads and silver ornaments from the dollar store. Then I took some silver picture frames, also from the dollar store, and printed out pictures of Cohen from our computer and hung them on as well. Sorry for the bad lighting in these pictures.

My $30 garage sale village. I made the little pond out of aluminum foil. I know, very innovative. I'm a genious.

Not a very good picture but I used champagne type glasses and put tea lights in them to make candles and then just put some greenery and some silver ornaments to give it some color. Again, nothing fancy. I'm thinking about getting some silver colored candlesticks and doing then napkin snowball flower things like I did in the kitchen.

And our tree that contains some unique ornaments we got from Salzburg, Prague, Venice, and Switzerland. Preston mostly loves playing with the train. Same with Tank.

So, that's basically it. Nothing big but it gave me something to do and helped me feel at least somewhat accomplished for the time being. Anyone have any suggestions for other good hobbies to take up??

Decisions Decisions

2010-11-01T11:06:00.004-06:00

The time has come. The time when Preston is months away from graduation and we have to decide if we want to go straight to grad school or get a real job (and money) and settle down for a bit. We've heard from a few people now that trying to work full time as an engineer and get a masters in engineering concurrently is absolutely miserable so I think we've decided it's one or the other right now. Then once we decide that we have to decide where.

Grad school pros-President Hinckley encouraged us to get as much education as we possibly can, and it's something we both believe is very important. If Preston can get some sort of assistantship we could get tuition help and a monthly stipend so we don't have to live in poverty for two years. Once he has his masters we would officially be done with school and not have to worry about going back later. Plus it may be able to open up different job opportunities for him and he would start out at a higher pay which is always nice.

Grad school cons-If Preston doesn't get some sort of assistantship we either have to live in poverty for two years or take out tons of student loans and go into tons of debt. (We have never had to take out a student loan and really enjoy being debt-free). It puts the settling down/stability thing off for a couple of years which is hard now that we have started our family. Preston is getting burnt out of school and could use a break.

Job pros-Well, these pros are obvious...stay out of debt, have some stability, move from Utah and settle down somewhere new, sell our current house and buy a new one that's not a million years old, not be poor for the next two years, Preston gets a break from school, we get health insurance, we have enough money to be able to save more and start working towards some of our long term goals. Oh, and if he decided to go to school later, whichever company he works for would most likely pay for it.

Job cons-Preston wouldn't get to continue his education as he would like...or if he does he would have to do it later while working, probably at a school that wouldn't be his first choice.

If we go to grad school it would either be Purdue, Cornell, Univ of Texas at Austin, or possibly CU.
If we get a job we are hoping for something in CO or WA, maybe MT or TX or OR.

Last week the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, WA flew Preston up there for a 2nd interview. Everything about it is perfect except the job itself. It's a government job so it's stable, has good pay and benefits, it's in an area that we love and it's absolutely gorgeous. And one of my very best friends lives up there and I would get to see her all the time which would be awesome. But the job itself is mostly sitting at a desk doing paperwork and Preston hates the thought of doing that. He chose to go into engineering because he wants to actually do engineering, not paperwork. On the one hand we wonder if we would be silly to pass up such a good job opportunity when there are so many people who can't find work. But on the other hand I want Preston to enjoy going to work every day, or at least not dread it. I firmly believe if you aren't happy in your work it affects all other aspects of your life. I want him to be happy. Especially after how hard he has worked. He deserves something that he will enjoy. I guess we will continue with plans to apply for grad school and continue looking for jobs as well. Then we can look at all our options and decide what is best for us.

Anyways, that's what's weighing on our mind these days. Here are some pictures of our trip up there.

I love this picture. His smile looks so cute!

He was a little horse for Halloween. I love this kid!

The view from our hotel room.

Cohen's first flight! He did such a great job. I was sure he would scream the whole time but he didn't make a peep. And everyone LOVED him everywhere we went. Can you blame them? :)

Short and Fat

2010-10-09T18:41:00.005-06:00

I can't believe it's been two months already since I had this cute little boy. Time really does fly! He looks older than two months though...this kid is getting big! The first words out of anyone's mouth when they see him are "He sure is healthy, isn't he?" or "Oooh, look at those chubby cheeks!" or "Wow, he is going to be a linebacker isn't he?" Hahaha, I'd be offended but at what other time in your life is it so socially ok to be chubby? In fact, it's considered cute. Everyone loves a chubby baby. I just wish that applied to me. Why isn't my chub considered cute? Sheesh! :) He had his two month appointment this week and he is in the 90th percentile in weight and only the 40th percentile in height. When I told Preston he was like, "so basically he is short and fat?" Yep. Just like his mother. Poor kid. :)

The last month has gone by so fast. Our cute baby smiles and coos and gets excited about things all the time and for the life of me I can't get him to do it for the camera. He has been smiling for weeks now and I don't have a single picture of it. Every time I get the camera out he stops smiling and just stares. It makes me a little crazy but I will get one someday! Here are some recent pictures of our cute little guy.

A couple of weeks ago we went for a little family drive up in the mountains to see the fall colors. It was so nice to get out and get some fresh air. We brought Tank along for the ride so he could get some much needed exercise. Like the rest of us, he too is getting fat. Poor thing doesn't get as many walks now that we have a baby taking so much of our time. He rides in the bed of our truck and for some reason on that particular ride he really wanted to be inside with us. When we stopped the car at Cascade Springs our 110 lb dog seriously climbed into our truck through the tiny little window on the back of the cab. I have no idea how he did or what would even possess him to attempt it but it was hilarious. And he even managed to do it without stepping on the baby who was in the middle of the back seat. Crazy dog. I managed to spill an entire bottle of water in my lap so I was soaking wet all the way home. Then we saw a couple of moose which was cool. Then we saw a spider so big in the middle of the street that we could see it in the road from the truck while we were driving. That was not so cool. Yuck. It was a fun little family outing though! And even though they are nowhere near the beauty of my Colorado mountains, it was still nice to be in mountains, period.

Preston is working his butt off so that I can stay home with Cohen. I never get to see him and I feel so bad for how much stuff he is having to juggle right now but bless his heart, he never complains. I love him so much. He recently had 3 interviews, all with government programs (naval bases and air force bases) where he would get to do cool engineering jobs working on missiles and stuff, but I think we have officially decided just to go straight to grad school when he graduates in April. I think we are applying to Purdue, Cornell, Univ. of Texas, Texas A&M, Univ. of CO and Univ. of WA, as well as a couple of schools in Europe. By this time next year we really could be anywhere. It's all kind of up in the air but it will be a fun little adventure and I'm excited to get out of Provo and start off new somewhere.

I have been blessed to be able to physically attend at least once session of every General Conference for the last 9 years that I have lived in Utah. I thought this year would end that tradition but my friend had some extra tickets she was kind enough to give us and Preston's Aunt and Uncle in Salt Lake were kind enough to watch Cohen for us so we could go. It made for a nice little date for Preston and I since we don't get out much these days and we really enjoyed ourselves. Plus I also got to see Bekah, one of my very best friends who I never get to see anymore. I hate being so far away from all of my closest friends. It's so hard living in Provo because at some point almost everyone moves away. That will be us though soon!

Blessed in More Ways than One

2010-09-08T10:06:00.003-06:00

This past Sunday we had little Cohen blessed at church. Most of Preston's family came into town for the occasion and it was a fun weekend. Preston did a great job with the blessing and later bore a sweet testimony which made me cry...as in sobbing, not just teary-eyed. I haven't done that in a long time, especially publicly. I am so grateful for such a sweet, tender, supportive husband who loves his family so much. A few years ago, before I met Preston, I was faced with the decision of staying in Provo a bit longer, or moving back to Colorado, which I missed terribly. I was so torn about it and spent a lot of time on my knees. I knew that no matter which choice I made, my life would move forward and I eventually would find someone to marry and start a family, etc. I knew that my Heavenly Father could see the bigger picture for my life, and knew me better than I knew myself and knew what was best for me. I prayed that I would be able to make the choice that would eventually lead me to the greatest happiness. I ended up choosing to stay in Provo (against my better judgment of course) and hoped for the best. Within 6 months I had met the man who would be my best friend and eternal companion and here we are two years later with an amazing marriage, a beautiful son, and a wonderful life filled with so many blessings every day. I am convinced that my Heavenly Father knew this is where I would find the most happiness, because I can't imagine having a life that would make me more happy than the one I've got. I am so grateful for a God who wants us to be happy and who not only hears our prayers, but loves us enough to answer them.

Me with my little man on his blessing day

A little family picture (and a good reminder of why I should wear makeup!)

Three generations of Hennrich men

Saren, Preston's sister, was nice enough to watch Cohen for us so we could go on a much needed date. We went golfing and I finally got to use my new clubs I got LAST Christmas. We both sucked bad enough that we opted not to keep score but it was fun to get some fresh air, some exercise and some quality time with my awesome hubby.

This isn't the best picture but everyone always asks how Tank does with the baby and the answer is that Tank LOVES the baby. If anything we have to keep him from licking the baby and waking the baby up by sticking his nose into the car seat, swing, etc. He hates it when the baby cries. Last night we were bathing Cohen and he was screaming, as usual, and Tank was whining outside the bathroom door because he was so worried.

Cohen, bless his cute little heart, has not been the easiest baby and I often feel like I might go crazy...but the good news is that it is getting better every week. I am slowly feeling more adjusted and more competent as a mother, thank goodness! I think he is going to smile (on purpose) any day now. It's funny how excited you get about the little things once you have a baby!

Anyways, that's the latest scoop on our happy little family. =)

He's Here!!!

2010-08-22T22:31:00.007-06:00

So I'm almost 3 weeks late in getting to this but let's be honest...I've been slightly preoccupied with cuter and more important things. :) We finally had our baby on August 4th at 1:30am. His name is Cohen Crowley Hennrich. He was 8lbs 7oz, 20 inches tall. I won't bore you with all the details but here is a quick run-down: We went into the hospital at 6:15am on August 3rd to be induced. I was already dilated to a 4 but the pitocin did absolutely nothing. I couldn't even feel the contractions, even though they were steady and really close together. I finally went into active labor sometime around 2:00pm, didn't dilate all the way until about 10:30pm, and pushed for 3 hours. I was so exhausted! He came out looking perfect...not all wrinkly and bruised and battered like a lot of newborns...even though they had to use a vacuum to get him out. He was adorable and we were instantly in love!

The last couple of weeks have been quite the adjustment. I knew it would be hard but I don't think I realized how difficult it would be. It gets a little easier every day though, especially now that we are getting past those first couple of weeks. It helps that I have an absolutely amazing husband who is so supportive and involved and selfless. I definitely couldn't do this without him! I think Cohen is going to be a daddy's boy for sure. He and Preston are inseparable and Preston loves every minute of it. He is such a proud dad!

Cohen is beautiful and sweet and we are so anxious to start seeing more of his little personality come out. He is already so alert and curious. I have a feeling he is going to be smart like his dad, and have a similar demeanor. I admit my days have been somewhat monotonous. I struggle with not having structure in my life and I often feel like I belong in a dairy barn...but I know that it's totally worth it! I look forward to the next few weeks when he starts getting into more of a routine and I can have structure again.

We have so many cute pictures I couldn't pick just a few so there are a lot on here but oh well!

I'm sure there will be much more to come but I wanted to at least announce his arrival before he turns five! Apparently even ten minute tasks are difficult for me to get around to these days (aka, he doesn't sleep much...and when he is awake, he doesn't sit quietly by himself for very long). Hopefully that part gets better because I am terribly unproductive lately!

Birthday Fun

2010-07-13T11:23:00.003-06:00

I turned 29 on Friday. I think in and of itself, 29 wouldn't be so bad. It's that my husband is only 25 that suddenly makes 29 feel ancient. (Yes, I was a cradle robber, but I'm ok with that). Anyways, thanks to Preston I had a great birthday and I just wanted to post a few pictures. We got to eat breakfast together, he came home for lunch, and later he had beautiful flowers delivered to me at the house. I forgot to take pictures of the flowers but they were really pretty. That night he took me to dinner at PF Changs. I guess he really was listening all those times that I casually mentioned I was craving it. :) As mentioned before we are trying not to spend a lot of money on unnecessary things with the baby coming so soon, so I wasn't really sure what he would get me for my birthday. To my surprise at dinner he handed me a box from a jewelry store. Inside was a beautiful diamond pendant necklace. I don't actually own any nice jewelry so it was a pleasant surprise. When we were dating Preston got me a heart-shaped cubic zirconium necklace from walmart. I actually really hate heart-shaped stuff but I wore it every day for almost 3 years because I love him and it was the thought that counted. ;) It was super sweet of him to get me a new one, especially right now, and I love it.
I probably could have gotten a better shot if I had taken it off first, but freckles add such a nice touch, right?

Physically I'm not good for much these days so we didn't do anything super exciting after dinner. We went to Barnes & Noble to buy some books for our coming little one and then we went home and watched a movie. It was a perfect day and I love just getting to spend time with my husband. I think I cherish it more lately because I know that soon we won't get that opportunity quite as often. Thanks for a great birthday, babe!

This one is just because I realized we hadn't taken a picture together in a long time.

I am at 37 weeks now! It is so crazy to think that this kid could literally come at any time. I'm still nervous and terrified but slowly starting to feel more ready. It's funny how when it's you, it is such a huge deal. People go through this every day and you see them a few days later and all you see is a cute baby and smiling parents like it was nothing. It almost makes me feel dumb for making such a huge deal about it but it's such a huge life-changing event! I went in for my first weekly checkup last week (which by the way, is one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever experienced.) As of last Thursday I was dilated 1.5 cm and 50% effaced and he is head down. He hasn't dropped yet though. Hopefully when I go back in a couple of days there will have been some progress. Here are a couple of pictures of me at 37 weeks.

Until next time...

Summer Fun

2010-07-07T11:02:00.004-06:00

Well, I'm almost 37 weeks now and I've kind of gotten to that point where I can't do a whole lot, but we are trying to have at least a little bit of fun before this baby comes. I love camping. LOVE it. I start getting itchy every year around February for summer to come just so I can go camping. We knew I would be super pregnant this summer but decided we wanted to try to go at least once anyway. An entire summer without camping just wouldn't be right. So we planned a two-day camping trip, packed up the tent, the food, and of course the dog, and headed up into the mountains. We went to a place called Tinney Flat, not even an hour away from our house, and it was beautiful. To me, camping is best when there are pine trees, aspen trees, and some water...and this had it all. The sad truth is that I am huge and uncomfortable, I can't walk for more than 10 minutes without getting horrible pains in my belly, my feet are swollen like crazy, and I get tired super fast. This means hiking, and well, pretty much every other typical camping activity were out of the question for me. So we mostly just sat around the fire looking at stars, eating roasted marshmallows, and breathing that beautifully fresh mountain air. It was so relaxing and refreshing just being up in the mountains! We live 2 minutes away from the mountains but for some reason we don't make it up there very often. Two deer even walked right into our campsite and got pretty close to us. Then Tank realized they were there and that was the end of that.

So anyways, I felt fine all night, no sickness, no nausea, nothing...then we went to bed. I laid down and literally 2 minutes later I randomly felt like I was going to hurl. Which I did. Repeatedly-for the next couple of hours. Normally this would not be so terrible but when you feel it coming you are kind of in a hurry-so trying to get out of my sleeping bag, finding my flip flops, rolling off the air mattress, unzipping the tent door, trying to squeeze my hugeness out of it, and getting far enough away from the tent in the pitch black before losing it-became quite the ordeal. At about 1am my wonderful, amazing husband decided I shouldn't have to do that anymore so he struck camp and took me home. I was so sad about it because I really REALLY wanted to be camping, but I was secretly grateful to be home because I ended up being really sick all night and it would have been pretty miserable if we had stayed. I know he wasn't thrilled about it either but it's just one more thing that shows how much he loves me and I really appreciated it.

Later the next day I felt better so we took Tank back up to the lake so we could teach him how to swim and be a real mountain dog. At first Preston would go in the water and gently pull his leash but Tank would grab the leash in his mouth and try to pull Preston back to shore instead. it was kind of cute.

The first time we got him to actually go in, he was so scared he clawed the heck out of Preston.
But finally we got him to do it. I think he even enjoyed it a little. This picture made me laugh.
In other exciting news...drum roll please....I FINALLY finished the nursery. I don't know why but it took forever for the "nesting" thing to kick in for me, and then when it did I went crazy. I'm not really the cutesy, theme type person so the nursery isn't super cute and exciting but it's done. Mostly. It still needs some stuff on the walls so it's not so boring. We had extra furniture in the garage that I decided I would refinish, rather than spending a million dollars buying matching stuff. Unfortunately, I never quite got ambitious enough to do it, so the furniture doesn't match. Oh well, it still works and the kid will never know, right? So even though it's not perfect yet, here are some pics of the nursery.

P.S. I made the stencils for this myself. We didn't want to spend money ordering vinyl lettering, or buying 4 different types of stencils from the store (to get all the different fonts and sizes I wanted) so I made them myself. It took me a couple of days but I'm pretty proud of how it turned out!

This side of the room isn't as exciting or pretty but it works.

It is such a relief to finally have things organized and know that we have all of the basic stuff we will need. I feel so much more at ease now. I'm probably jinxing us by saying this but both Preston and I kind of feel like this little guy might just come a little early. I guess we will see. Now I just need to pack a hospital bag and we will be set!

Surprising Myself

2010-06-30T11:06:00.006-06:00

...And everyone else, I'm sure. So all of my big ambitions and intentions I had of being crafty and becoming a better housewife came to a screeching halt with my 3rd trimester. I almost never make dinner anymore. Cooking is the last thing in the world that I want to do everyday. By the time evening rolls around I'm exhausted, have no appetite, and my house is 1,000 degrees (we have no AC.) I'm so grateful for a husband who, a) knows how to cook, b) likes doing it, c) is good at it, and d) does it without complaint. He really is so good to me. Not to be all mushy or cheesy but I really do have an amazing husband and I am so lucky every day. Preston, if you read this...thanks for everything!

Regardless of my recent lack of ambition, I have managed to accomplish a couple of things. For starters, I made my very first made-from-scratch pie ever. (I've only ever attempted pie like twice in my life and both times I used store bought crust. I'm lazy like that.) But this time I even made my own crust so I was proud of myself. So here is a picture of my strawberry-rhubarb pie. It doesn't look that pretty but it turned out pretty good!

The next thing I did was decide to become a "coupon user". Preston and I are tightwads and already live super frugally but with a baby coming we wanted to find other ways we could cut back on our budget. We decided we could possibly cut our food spending down if I start learning how to use coupons the right way. I was a little hesitant at first because I was afraid I would have to be obsessive in order for it to make a difference. I am pleased to announce, however, that in spending maybe half an hour of my time each week, I have been able to save us almost $200 just in the last month. I'm pretty proud of myself, I'm not gonna lie. I love saving money. I've felt really bad since losing my job so this is a way I can still feel like I'm kind of contributing, if that makes any sense.

The other thing I finally accomplished was clearing out the room we want to use for the nursery and painting it. We went through 3 different bedding sets and 3 different paint colors before I was finally satisfied. (Did I mention I have a really patient husband? I love you Preston!) I don't have pictures of it yet because I still need to paint a couple more things and then arrange furniture and organize stuff. It's taken me awhile but I think I'm finally nesting. It's driving me nuts that it isn't perfect yet! Not to mention the fact that I have only 5 weeks til the due date. If this kid decides to come early I will probably have a panic attack because of my lack of readiness! Anyways, moral of the story is that I will get my butt in gear, finish the nursery, and THEN post some pictures.

Our garden and flowers are all doing well this year. I feel like it is such a blessing to have a house with a yard that we can take care of and grow things in. It's something we both really enjoy and that we can do together. My handy little husband built some nice looking fences to keep our ginormous dog from digging in the garden and flowers. It turned out really nice, as things usually do when made by Preston.

I love Columbines

P.S. I know most people don't really care about all this stuff but I'm bored so I'm putting it on here anyway. :) Also, our dog isn't nearly as interesting to you as he is to us but until we have an actual kid to post pictures of, I feel somewhat entitled to post pictures of our dog. We think he is pretty funny. For some reason completely unknown to us, he is terrified of the hose. Yes, our 110 lb dog is scared of water. If we get the hose out to water our plants he runs and hides either behind the grill, under a chair, or in the house.

One of the reasons we got a dog like Tank was because we want a cool dog we can take camping who will romp around in the mountains with us and jump in the lake. We can't have a dog afraid of water! Plus we need to be able to bathe him. So we went and bought a little kiddie pool (as much for me as for the dog...I am a walking furnace these days!), and have been trying to slowly get him over his fear. It took us 45 minutes to get him to even step in it. Once he was in all he would do is paw at the water, creating bubbles, and then try to bite at the bubbles. He refused to lay down or sit in the water, but at least he was playing in it right? I tried to post a video of Tank in the pool but I couldn't get it to work so here is just a boring picture.

And just because I think these are funny too, here are some pics of how our random dog chooses to sleep. He's so weird but we love him.

Okay, now that you've vowed never to read our blog again, I will finally end. Since I only blog every few weeks anyway, maybe next time it will be about our kid!

Where Does The Time Go?

2010-06-14T11:23:00.004-06:00

Is it just me or is time flying by lately? I guess summer usually does that, unfortunately. In a way I guess it's good that time is not dragging by now that I'm this close to having a baby, but part of me isn't ready yet so it's freaking me out a little. So far everything is continuing to go well with the pregnancy. I'm definitely starting to get more uncomfortable but it hasn't become intolerable yet. I seriously am getting bigger every day though. I noticed yesterday that if I'm standing straight at the sink I have a hard time reaching the handles to turn the water on. I have to turn sideways so my belly doesn't make me so far away. Preston used to mock me and say that when I attempt to roll over in bed at night, it's like I have to make a 4 point turn. The last week or two it's become more of a 6 point turn. Preston has to help me out of the couch. A couple of weeks ago I could still go outside and pull weeds but not so much anymore. I have completely lost my appetite (so sad, since we all know how much I love food) and I NEVER feel like cooking anymore. Poor Preston. Anyways, here are some recent pictures, then I will stop complaining and move on to other things. Oh and P.S. thank you so much to all of you who commented on my last post. It honestly was a huge help and gave me a lot of good information!

So this was me only 3 weeks ago at 30 Weeks:

The next two are pics of me just yesterday at 33 weeks. I am so much bigger! If I keep growing at this rate I'm not going to be able to move by the time I hit 40 weeks!

I'm getting more and more nervous that I'm going to have a ginormous baby. (I was a pretty big baby myself so my fears are legitimate). I guess we will see soon!

So onto other things that probably aren't very exciting to anyone but us...Preston's cute little brother, Holton, got baptized last weekend and asked Preston to confirm him, so we took a little trip up to Rexburg for the baptism. It was fun to get away from Provo, even if just for a couple of days, and it was good to see his family. Holton is a hilarious kid so we always enjoy spending time with him. Here are some pics from that trip.

So when Preston and I first got married we traveled all the time. Literally it averaged out to like one trip a month. I think even now, having been married for just over 2 years, we have been on like 20 trips together. I love it. Sadly, the last year has been much busier than usual, and especially with the pregnancy and me losing my job, we just haven't had a chance to do any cool stuff. I wanted so badly to have one last little getaway with just Preston before this baby comes but it just wasn't going to happen. Sometimes I get so itchy to get out of Provo for a bit. Can you blame me? Anyways, Preston knew I was bummed about this so on our way home from Rexburg we stopped and stayed the night at a B&B in Lava Hot Springs so we could have one more night away from Provo and spend a little time together with no responsibilities or projects, etc. We didn't do anything grand or exciting but it was so nice to just be able to talk and relax and be somewhere else. I honestly had such a great time with him. Bless my wonderful husband! I love him so much. ( I just realized we didn't take a single picture of our getaway. Sad.)

Okay, so I have just one more thing. Preston and I have been terrible at trying to come up with a name for this baby. Boy names are hard for some reason! We really want something that is unique enough that he won't have the same name as half the kids in his class, but not so unique that he gets made fun of for the rest of his life. There have been names that I have liked but none that I have totally loved. Anyways, there are 2 names that we have been considering but we can't seem to agree on how we would spell them. I would like some opinions on that. Here are the 2 names and their various spellings:

a. Brayden
b. Braydon
c. Braeden
d. Braedon
e. Braden
(also, is this name more popular than I realize? I keep hearing it more and more.)

a. Trevin
b. Treven
c. Trevon
d. Trevan

Anyways, I'd love to hear your thoughts. And if any of you have any other grand ideas for unique but still cool baby boy names, I'd love to hear those too!

Feedback

2010-05-21T12:13:00.002-06:00

Ok, so I am the first person to admit that I have never been a great decision maker. Not in the sense that I don't have the ability to make good decisions. More in the sense that I over analyze every little detail of every decision until it becomes much more complicated than it ever needed to be, then becoming a ridiculous and completely unnecessary source of stress in my life. Why do I do this to myself? No one really knows. The sad thing is that I think it has gotten worse since I have been pregnant. I keep stressing myself out about these stupid little details that don't matter at all. I'm pretty sure poor Preston thinks I have gone off the deep end. I watch him try really hard not to smile too big or break out in laughter when I relate these "issues" to him. I'm lucky to be with such a nice boy who will not only put up with my quirks, but makes the effort to not make me feel bad about them. :) I'll be honest though, sometimes my worries are so ridiculous he can't help but look at me with the "ok, you've officially lost it" look on his face. Can you blame him?

So I'm slowly becoming more aware of the fact that I am having this baby in like 10 weeks and I have done nothing to prepare. Well, that's not entirely true. I finally ordered a crib and Preston bought me this cute bedding I really wanted for our Anniversary last weekend. But that's it. No shopping done. No names picked out. Finally decided on a date for the baby shower but haven't registered yet, nor decided where I even want to register. Babies R Us is so expensive and overpriced but it has such a better selection. Decisions, decisions. It's a miracle that I'm even letting someone throw me a baby shower. If you know me at all you know that bridal and baby showers are the bane of my existence. If I have shown up to a shower for you (or missed it with a legitimate excuse), know that you are very loved and should feel incredibly special.

Anyways...one of the reasons that I have put off shopping is that, well, I'm a tightwad. Losing my job has made it even worse. The thought of spending money, especially as much money as baby stuff costs, makes me cringe. I do need to suck it up and start getting ready though, so I thought I would ask for some help from all you experienced mothers out there.

First thing I want to know is...what things do you really actually use and love and are glad you have vs. things that just end up sitting in a closet somewhere? I don't want to buy more stuff than is necessary. For example, a lot of people say don't bother with a changing table because you end up just changing them on the floor or bed or wherever you are anyway. Makes sense. Some people say don't bother with a little bathtub thing. I want to hear what you all have to say about what you can't live without, and what has been a waste for you.

Second, as I begin my shopping/registering, I want to get some advice on which products you like best. Obviously we want to keep things inexpensive but we are also not willing to sacrifice on safety, durability or sturdiness. If there are certain brands that are cheap and flimsy that we should avoid, feel free to tell me!

I want to start stocking up on diapers. Most women I talk to prefer Huggies hands down, a couple have said Pampers, and one or two have said the Target brand. Which have worked best for you?

Strollers. I think I am leaning towards a jogging stroller. Any thoughts on regular vs jogging or which brand seems to be the best value? Is it worth it to get a whole travel system, or just get a stroller that is compatible with a carseat if you want to use it like that?

Carseats. Safety is obviously my first priority and I've researched this one a lot. Other than safety I've wondered which handle type is most convenient. The regular bowed handle, the bowed handle with a vertical bar down the middle, or the new triangle shaped handle?

Rocking Chair/Glider. How much does it really get used?

Pack N' Play/Playard things-Worth it to have around? We travel a lot because all of our family live out of state. Seems like it would be nice but....just one more thing to buy. Is it gross to buy one of these used?

Breast pump. I've heard the dual electronic ones are best. There are just so many options out there and some are so expensive! Any recommendations on ones you've loved/hated?

Bottles. Does it really make a difference what kind you get? Do the curved neck ones really reduce gas and stuff like they claim? I've heard people talk about the different nipples being better on some than others. Any preferences?

Diaper Genie/Diaper Champ type things. Yes, no? I hate walking into a house that perpetually smells like diapers. I know myself well enough to know that I'm not going to take each dirty diaper out to the outside trash all the time. Do these really hide the smell? What other solutions do people use?

We have been given a swing but I've also heard that some babies love those little vibrating chair things. (I have no idea what they are called). Is one of those worth getting?

On-Body Carrier things. Baby Bjorns, backpack thingies, Moby Wraps...what do you find works best or is safest for the baby?

P.S. after years of hearing the word "bumbo chair" I finally got up the guts to tell my friends I had no idea what they were talking about and asked what it was. Hahaha, I feel so much better not having to pretend anymore!

I have also suddenly spawned a million questions like, "how the heck do you get poo stains out of clothes and sheets?" I can barely get food stains out of my own clothes (which happens at pretty much every meal now, by the way). Also, I am currently reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child because it has been highly recommended by a lot of people. Any other book suggestions that have been helpful to you?

I can't think of any other specific questions right now but feel free to offer any advice you have! As you can see, I know nothing. Now, logically I realize that all kids are different and what works for one may not work for another. I also realize that all the things I don't know now are things that I will learn as I go, and that if I'm lucky, might even kick in instinctively when I become a mother. However, all logic aside, I am a semi-panicked pregnant woman so please humor me. :)

Thanks all! If you don't want to post your comments on here you can email me your thoughts at crowley.amber@gmail.com.

Ah, to be domestic....

2010-05-07T10:39:00.004-06:00

I wonder what that would be like. I have to confess, there is a small, secret part of me that wishes I could be one of those amazing women who knows how to do all things crafty and then accomplish it like it required no effort whatsoever. Don't act modest, you all know who you are. I guess the good news is that even though it may be small, at least I'm starting to have a desire right? I mean, if you've known me at all throughout my life, you know that's progress. I guess it also helps that I have nothing to do all day, not to mention the fact that I'm finally starting to get the nesting bug. Preston suggested I make a quilt for our baby. Ha. Cute boy. Does he not know me at all? So precious. :) The last time I made a quilt was my senior year of high school and they had to tear it apart and start over because I messed it up so bad.

Anyways, the point of this rambling is that in my last post I proclaimed that I was going to use this time off work, pre-baby, to at least attempt learning to like things like baking and being crafty. I am pleased to report that while I didn't do much, I did make the effort.

Yep, living proof that I actually baked something. It is such a rare occasion around here, Preston felt he had to document it. :)
The finished product. Sadly, this is probably the easiest cake in the world to make but hey, I made it right!? And Preston loved it so that's all that matters!

Next was a project I've been wanting to do almost since we got married. When we went to Europe last year we specifically took pictures of all the letters found in HENNRICH from hotels, street signs, etc. I found an old shelf in the garage, cut it down, sanded and painted it, drilled holes and added knobs. (Let's face it, if you want to motivate me to do a "craft" include things like drills and saws). Too bad it took me a year to get around to finally putting it all together but here is the finished product!

P.S. It's about time I put some wedding pictures up too. Sheesh, I suck. And the middle picture is an oil painting of the Prague skyline that we bought there and I love it! I am so happy to finally have it up.

This is a random side note and totally unrelated to anything but we have been taking Tank to obedience classes and last week we had him weighed. 108 lbs. Yep, that's right...we have a dog that weighs 108 lbs! We knew he was a big dog but my goodness! He is such a gentle giant though. He seriously is the sweetest, friendliest, people loving dog (almost too much sometimes) and he loves to cuddle. I joke not when I say he still tries to sit on my lap. He is so pretty and we always get so many compliments on him.
In other recent news, Aspen, Preston's sister who has been living with us, just graduated from college. The whole family came into town and we threw her a graduation party. Here are some family pictures from the weekend.

Here are most of the siblings with the graduate.

Us with all of Preston's siblings, our brother-in-law Eddie and our nephew Aceson.

All of Preston's family, well, mostly his mom's side, at the graduation party.

Well, that's the extent of the excitement around here these days. My pregnancy is going well so far. I have actually been fairly comfortable and feeling really well the last little while. Preston still has to help me tie my shoes sometimes and I feel like a beached whale when I try to roll over in bed at night but other than that I'm good! My first glucose test came back borderline so they made me come back in for a 3 hour test to see if I had gestational diabetes. I am pleased to report that the test came back negative, thank goodness. One less thing to worry about. I did however have a panic attack the other day when I realized that I'm having a baby. I mean, I've known all along that I'm having one, obviously, but the reality of it suddenly hit me. Not to mention I'm in my third trimester now and time is flying by. I have less than three months to prepare myself to be a parent and to have my life change FOREVER. Yeah, panic. I am so incredibly excited and yet so incredibly nervous at the same time! Anyways, here are a couple of recent belly pics. Actually they were from almost a month ago so I'm quite a big bigger now but we don't have any updated pics. Sorry!

Expanding Everywhere

2010-03-25T10:35:00.004-06:00

So I feel kind of bad because pregnancy, especially your first pregnancy, is something that should be really fun to document and have tons of pictures of. However, I find myself rarely feeling cute enough to LET someone take a picture, and even when I do have a day where I think I'm actually somewhat cute, I see the picture and realize that I am in fact, not cute at all, ending in me deleting said picture. I know pregnant women are supposed to be beautiful but let's face it, I have never felt less attractive in my life. Well, my face is finally clear for a change so that's one perk...but other than that I am expanding everywhere. And when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE. And the fact that I'm short doesn't help because any weight that I gain looks like twice what it would be on a normal person. In all reality, at my last appointment my doctor told me that at halfway through my pregnancy I've only gained like 10 lbs. I was thrilled until I looked in the mirror and thought, I think she meant 10 lbs in my arms, 10 lbs in each thigh, 10 lbs in my butt, 10 lbs in my chest (which really ticks me off-don't get me started) and 10 lbs in my face!!! I'm usually grateful for my Italian family genes and the curves that come with it but this is just ridiculous. Enough already!

Not to mention the fact that I have to change positions every 20 minutes (including sleep) because my old lady hips hurt so bad. Oh, and what they say about pregnant women being forgetful is true. I went to the store the other day to get four things. Four. I went there, got the first thing, then stood there for 20 minutes trying to remember the other three things I needed to get. I finally had to walk around the store hoping the sight of things would spark my memory. I finally got them all but my goodness!

In other exciting news, I got laid off last week. It was kind of a mutual thing because it's real estate and the market sucks and my boss just didn't have enough work for me to do anymore. I always looked forward to the day when I wouldn't have to work anymore but I didn't expect it to come so soon. It's not exactly the best timing, what with a baby on the way and all. I have several more months before this baby is born but it's close enough that no one else is going to hire me. I've decided I want to use this new free time to develop some good habits and routines for myself, be a better housewife, and learn to actually enjoy cooking and baking. Well, I have to learn how to bake, then I'll work on learning to enjoy it. I might even get super domestic and attempt to sew my own curtains. Plus the nursery will be a huge project in and of itself so that will help keep me busy. It just feels so weird to work full time for the last 12 years of my life and then all the sudden be at home all day. It is a daily struggle already to not be a lazy bum and watch movies all day. I'm working on it. :)

Preston is working harder than ever, juggling his classes, projects, exams, internship and new calling as Executive Secretary in our ward. He is such a great example to me of dedication and self-discipline. I have a lot to learn from him. It makes me feel even worse that now I am at home all day while he is gone from like 5:30 am til who knows when working his butt off. I'm so lucky to have such a great guy.

Oh, and I just realized I don't think we ever announced on here that we finally had our first ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and we are having a boy!! I was the only one who thought it was a girl, which means I was the only one who was wrong, which means my pride was a little hurt...but it's all for the best since Preston has been calling it his son for months now. :) He would have loved a girl just as much but he is thrilled to be having a boy. I loved seeing his excitement during the ultrasound as he got to physically see the baby inside of me. He was so enthralled and I loved it. When he got home he made copies of the ultrasound pictures and carried them around with him. He is going to be such a great dad, and a super involved one. I'm really grateful for that.

Anyways, below is a new pregnancy pic of me. I'll have you know it was very depressing and took a lot of will power to post this where people can actually see it. Feel free to feel special.

And here are the first pictures of our son. P.S. since every person I ever talk to every day of my life asks if we have a name yet, the answer is no.

Growing Ever Larger

2010-02-11T12:21:00.003-07:00

I don't have much to say this time around. Lucky for you! I am 16 weeks now and finally starting to feel better. I still have my days but they are fewer and farther between which is nice. Unfortunately I still haven't regained my love for food but all in due time, right? We officially find out what we are having on March 9th so I will keep you posted. Preston thinks it's a boy and I think it's a girl so I guess we will see!

Anyways, everyone keeps bugging me for pregnancy pictures so they can see my "cute belly". Ha. Cute. Large. To each their own I guess. :) I feel like I'm really big for only 16 weeks but I admit it's fun to feel like I am starting to look more pregnant, rather than looking like I've totally let myself go. It's a good thing my butt is protruding at an equally fast rate so they can balance each other out. It would be a real shame if I was one of those people who only gained weight in the belly. Lucky me.

This may be wrong of me but I kind of enjoy watching people's discomfort when they look at my stomach and you know in their minds they are like, I think she might be pregnant but I don't want to risk saying anything because what if she's just gotten really fat. Haha. I usually don't say anything and just watch them squirm. It's great. And everyone keeps telling me I need to announce it at church but I refuse. Announcing your pregnancy in the Relief Society "good news minute" kind of loses it's magic when you live in the heart of Provo in a ward where there are like 5 babies born every month. I'm pretty sure everyone will figure it out eventually without me stooping to the cliche utah mormon cultureness. No offense to anyone who announced it at church! Okay, enough talking. Here are the "belly pictures".

I Hate It When People Don't Update Their Blog for Months....Oh Wait...

2010-01-18T14:23:00.006-07:00

Yeah, that's me. Sorry about that. The worst part is that the last 3 months have been filled with so many great things to blog about! I've just been so darn lazy. And I mean LAZY, cuz how much energy does it really take to sit on my couch with a computer on my lap and my favorite show on in the background? Man, I suck!

Well, for a quick recap we spent Thanksgiving in Colorado with my family. I got to see my mom, my grandparents, my favorite Uncle, and my cousins Alissa and Angela (and their awesome families) whom I hadn't seen in twenty long years. It was a perfect holiday and we had a great time.

I couldn't pass up a chance to post a shot of my lovely Colorado mountains that I dearly miss.

Preston got through a tough semester alive and having done well. He was very ready for a break though, poor thing. We spent a nice quiet Christmas here just the two of us and then my mom came in to town for the weekend. It was actually kind of nice to not travel for a change.

This is our living room decorated for Christmas.

Yep, I got a brand new set of awesome golf clubs from my hubby. I am so excited to use them!

Our awesome dog Tank keeps us entertained and is really huge now. Two of Preston's sisters, Aspen and Lauren, have moved into our basement. Lauren brought a puppy with her so we kind of have 2 dogs now. Lauren's puppy is like the size of Tank's head but she is feisty and holds her own.

This is actually a couple months old. He is even bigger now.

This is cute little Yeager.

I cut my hair shorter than it has been in like twenty years. I liked it for a minute but now I'm tired of having to do it in order to look good and now it usually ends up in stupid boy pony tail most of the time. There's that laziness again, in case you were wondering.

This is what my haircut looked like when I actually used to do it.

The sad part about living in Provo is that for the most people it is a temporary stop on the way to somewhere else. It will be for us too, in April of 2011, which couldn't come too soon for me. But anyways, you make friends with people and then they graduate or get jobs out of state and they move away. I feel like most of the cool people we have become good friends with have all moved away in the last few months. It has been kind of a bummer, though we are really excited for all of them!

Last but not least, the BIGGEST news of all...drum roll please...is that we are expecting our first baby!!!! I am a little over 12 weeks along and our official due date is August 2nd. We find out what we are having sometime the beginning of March. I have a feeling it might be a girl but Preston is sure it's a boy. I guess we will see. Either way, we are so excited! Preston couldn't be more thrilled. He loves kids so much. I'm excited but as it becomes more real, excited sometimes gives way to terrified. I'm already fed up with not feeling well. I'm nautious 90% of the time and though I don't puke constantly, I feel like I spend most of my time and energy trying not to. And I have come to hate all food. I just want to like food again, is that so much to ask?!? Everytime I think I'm starting to feel better it comes back with a vengeance so I've quit getting my hopes up, but I also try to remind myeslf it could be so much worse. Then again, all these women keep feeling the need to tell me that they were NEVER sick when they were pregnant and I'm secretly like, why are you talking to me right now? And then there are the girls who are like, I didn't even have a bump until I was like 5 months. Yeah, so I'm twelve weeks and already showing and I've been rubber banding my pants for a month now...get off my back! Hahaha. Anyways,I'm hoping to be better soon so I can get back to normal. Well, as normal as one can be with a human being growing inside them!

This is the night we found out we were pregnant.

Anyways, that's what's going on with us. Sorry for the novels that always follow my extreme bouts of laziness! I will make at least a somewhat feeble attempt to not be so lazy in the future.

Yet Another Trip

2009-09-28T20:25:00.013-06:00

So Preston and I have known each other for just over 2 years now and the other day we counted that we have been on 18 trips since we have first met. 18 trips in 24 months. And most of those are during the summer months. No wonder I feel like I'm never home and we never have enough weekends to get stuff done!!! I love it though. Every once in a while I get a little stir- crazy here in Provo so I enjoy being able to get out as often as we do.

Our latest adventure was with Lauren and Aspen (Preston's sisters) to go visit Saren, his other sister, down in New Mexico. Our nephew, Aceson, was turning one and they were having a big birthday party for him so we decided to go. Here is a run down of the trip.

For those of you who have never been to New Mexico, you're not missing much. It's pretty much mostly just dirt. Everything is brown and covered with dirt. Half of the streets aren't even paved. Just dirt. Most people don't have lawns. Just dirt. Wow, my feet look tan...no, wait...just dirt. I took this picture to try to show people the boringness of New Mexico but I it doesn't make it look as bad as I was hoping. Don't be decieved. The only reason you see trees is because we were close to a river.

This is all of us on our road trip.

Here is Aceson knowing just the right way to eat cake. :)

Here is the birthday boy opening his presents with his mom.

This is both sets of Preston's grandparents, Saren, Eddie & Aceson, Lauren and Aspen, and of course Preston and I.

Here is Aceson enjoying his birthday presents. He is seriously such a cute kid!

This was tank trying to climb into the truck through the back window. He kind of looks like he is about to eat Aspen.

Well, that's about the end of that. The other news I wanted to share is that I switched companies and I don't have to commute to Salt Lake for work anymore. Hallelujah!!!!!!! I can't tell you how much happier my life is when I work only ten minutes from home. The best part is, I get to see a little bit more of my husband now! Yay for that...I've missed him!

Seattle Trip

2009-09-17T20:31:00.011-06:00

One of my very best friends, Rebekah, lives in Bremerton, WA with her wonderful husband and 4 adorable kids. It has become one of my favorite places to visit and I usually end up going at least once a year. Well, that's what Preston and I did for Labor Day weekend and we had such a great time, as always! I can never just pick one or two pictures to put up so sorry for the millions of pictures!

Here are some pictures of downtown from Seattle from the ferry. I love Seattle. I think it's such a cool city. And I especially loved that we had sunshine and blue skies for at least part of the time we were there!

And here was a great shot of Mt. Ranier. It's not every day you get a view like this in Seattle!

And here is my cute husband doing homework on the ferry. I love riding the ferry. It's such a beautiful, relaxing ride.

This is the Puget Sound Naval Museum and Shipyard as you come into Bremerton.

Some of you probably don't know this but Bremerton was where Preston originally proposed to me and we got engaged. Well, it was a place called Scenic Beach State Park right on the hood canal with beautiful views of the Olympic Mountains. We weren't able to get good pictures of it on our engagement day because of crappy weather so we decided to go back there on this trip.

This is where he proposed. Isn't it beautiful? I love it!

We took a few pictures of us while we were there but they didn't turn out too hot either cuz we couldn't figure out our new camera. =)
This is me reading "The Hungry Caterpillar" with Eli and Taylor. We read it about 100 times so I pretty much have it memorized now but I loved every minute of it!

Here are some cute pictures of the kids. This is Abby with her cute crooked smile.

This is Taylor. He is seriously one of the cutest, funniest kids I have ever known.

This is Preston entertaining the kids in the car. I love how Eli snuck into the picture.

We went out on the Lake while we were there so Nate and his brother could do some waterskiing. This is my favorite picture of Nate. He looks so GQ. =)

Rebekah and I on the boat

We drove out to Olympic National Park which is the only actual rainforest in the US. This is Lake Crescent which was really beautiful.

I love the color of the water.You can't tell but the water right here was probably at least 12 feet deep but that's how clear the water was.
We also went hiking up to some waterfalls and the entire forest looks like this..covered with moss. It made it look so...I don't know...fuzzy? I love hiking and the mountains and I've been in lots of different forests but this one was so different and really pretty.

Us at the falls.

The really pretty falls we hiked up to. I can't remember the name of them.

Me and lovely Rebekah.
So my maiden name is Crowley and it's not a very common name but as we were riding the ferry Preston noticed this boat out on the water. I thought it was awesome so I took a picture.
We did other fun stuff that we didn't get any pictures of. Preston and I picked blackberries in the rain and Rebekah made awesome homemade berry cobbler with it. We also went on a date with Nate and Rebekah to a little restaurant on the beach near a light house and it was so pretty there. Anyways, that wraps up our trip in a very long nutshell. Thanks Bek and Nate for a really fun weekend!

Lucky In Love

2009-08-20T16:02:00.002-06:00

So I realize that several of my more recent blogs have contained apologies for un-intended mushiness/sappiness, as if it's a rare thing for me. Well, I'm throwing in the towel...raising the white flag. I give up. Once upon a time I took pride in the fact that I was completely devoid of all feeling and/or emotion. Apparently in my old age I am becoming a mushy, sappy person. I'm not exactly sure when or how this happened and I'm still a little embarassed about it, but I think it's about time I come to terms with it.

On that note, I've been thinking a lot lately about how lucky I am to have married such a great guy. I know, I know, we've only been married a little over a year...but I never realized how much I was missing when I was single. I had myself convinced that I was this super independent, strong-minded woman who didn't need help from anyone, let alone some stupid boy. I was so wrong. It has been so nice to have someone to lean on, someone to face things with, someone to work next to, someone to complain to when I'm frustrated or have had a bad day. (And someone who will kill giant spiders for me!) What's even nicer is being with someone who is so willing and happy to do those things for me.

With how busy everything is and especially with my longer commute from work, I rarely feel like making a real meal. He patiently comes home from work and helps me with dinner or just makes it for me. When I hit the snooze button a few too many times (which is pretty much every morning), he makes me breakfast AND packs me a lunch, even though he himself has to go to work as well. He does the laundry more than I ever do and if it weren't for him our yard would never get watered. He compliments me often and is so supportive of everything going on in my life. And even in the midst of his own busy-ness and everything he does for me, he never fails to say yes when someone else needs help. He is selfless and kind. He really is amazing.

When I stop and think about how much he does for me and how much he sacrifices for me, it really makes me realize how much I need to improve and how much harder I need to be striving to develop those Christlike attributes and qualities that seem to come so naturally to him.

In short, I am really grateful to Preston for everything he teaches me and does for me and especially for putting up with me. I now realize that boys really aren't so bad to have around after all. :)

ROAD TRIP!!!!

2009-08-10T19:58:00.012-06:00

So I love how no matter how long you are gone from it, home is always home. I have lived in Provo now for like 8 years and I still refer to Colorado as home. Don't get me wrong, Provo is home too in the sense that this is where my wonderful husband, and our wonderful life together is...and wherever we are together will always be home...but so will good ol' Arvada, Colorado.

So this last weekend the Arvada Stake had it's 50th Anniversary and to celebrate it they had a big country fair/jubilee. There were hundreds of people there. I got to see so many people that I hadn't seen in years. It reminded me of just how much I loved growing up there, the great friends that I had, the many people who always made sure I was taken care of, and the amazing mentors and examples I had (and still have!) I felt so blessed to be able to see so many of those people again. I wish I would have had more time to tell them just how much they have meant to me through the years and how much admiration and respect I have for all of them. For any of those people who actually read this blog I just want to say how good it was to see you and how much it made my day!!

This is me with Rachel, Amy, and Jen...3 incredible girls who put up with me for so many years and who I think are so beautiful and amazing.
Preston and I also got to spend a lot of time with my Uncle Pat, including going golfing which was super fun. Most of you know about my Uncle but he is my dad's brother and has been like a second father to me ever since my dad died almost 16 years ago. He and I are very close and he is so good to me. He is battling cancer right now and has had to endure so much. I admire his strength and courage and enjoy any time I am able to spend with him.

Another highlight of this trip was that my mom decided to go to church for the first time in almost 15 years. We went with her to her new ward and it tugged at my heartstrings a little more than I expected to have my mom sitting next to me at church. I really want her to be happy and I feel like this will help her a lot. We also got to spend some time with my wonderful grandparents. My cute, sweet grandpa will be 97 years old soon, and my grandparents have been married for 66 years. They have such a great story and have lived such amazing lives and I am grateful I had a chance to sit down and get to know them a little better. When I think of the things they had to go through it makes me so grateful for what I have...and so sorry for future generations that won't get to hear about those things first hand and really develop an appreciation for how easy their lives really are.

On a funnier note, this was Tank's first road trip. (Okay, side note...when we decided to get a dog everyone kept teasing me about it being a replacement for actual kids and I would get so annoyed and tell people that was not true. But it's hilarious how Tank really has become our "kid". Don't get me wrong, he is not a replacement, we totally plan to have real kids...it's just funny how we have become THOSE people, the ones who are obsessed with their dog and talk about him to people like he is one of their kids. It's so embarrassing.)

Anyway, Tank literally slept the whole way to Colorado and we were bragging to each other about what a great dog he is and how he is always so good. Then on the way home, well, he hardly slept at all and spent most of the trip trying to find his way into the front seat to sit with us. We brought a couch home in the bed of the truck (p.s. thanks again Mom!) so we had to pile up all our bags and stuff in the back seat. It gave him a nice little step ladder to assist in his shenanigans. Here are some pictures of it.

Silly Tank. He makes us laugh pretty hard. But I'm pretty sure it's one of those things where you have to be there. We realize that the antics of other people's pets really aren't that interesting to most people, so sorry about that. =)

Sorry this has been such a long, sentimental post! It appears as though, the older I get, the more mushy I get. Again, embarrassing. Oh well, I'm sure I'm not the only one, right? Right??? =)

Where Does The Summer Go???

2009-08-02T21:58:00.005-06:00

Summer always goes by super fast but this one seems worse than usual. We have been so busy and have had so much going on. Preston is doing an engineering internship and taking summer classes and I am currently commuting to Salt Lake for work (which sucks...but hey, at least I have a job, right?). On top of that I was called as the Relief Society President in our ward and Preston is currently the acting Elder's Quorum President of our ward so needless to say we haven't had as much spare time as we would have liked this summer. Anyways here is a run-down of our summer so far.

Our very first garden is doing great. This is actually an old picture before everything grew in but we are so proud! It has been so nice eating fresh veggies from the garden whenever we want and it has cut down on the grocery bill. We grossly over-estimated how much we needed to plant and as a result we have a plethera (I love that word) of extra vegetables that we have to keep giving away so they don't go to waste.

As some of you may know, we got a new puppy at the beginning of July. His name is Tank and he is a yellow lab/golden retriever mix. He is about 3 months old now and he is so much fun! He is super smart and makes us laugh on a regular basis. He has already doubled in size since we got him and his paws are huge so I'm pretty sure he is going to end up being a pretty big dog, which we are excited about.
His ears are so huge for his little head still. When he lays on his back he looks like a bat. Sometimes we do this while he is sleeping.Speaking of sleeping, herein is the source of much of our laughter when it comes to Tank. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. I just didn't want to bore you with the 20 other pictures we have of him sleeping in odd positions.
So shortly after we got back from Europe we went to visit Preston's family in Wyoming, which was fun. A couple weeks later for the 4th of July his family came to our house and we all went camping. This is Saren, Aspen, Kelton and Holton on a paddle boat on Payson Lake.

These are my little brothers-in-law Kelton and Holton. They were fighting but we made them take a picture anyway. I love how Holton didn't even try to hide the anger. Cute kid.

The week after that was my birthday, as well as the week I found out my Provo office was closing down and I would have to start driving to Salt Lake. Preston was creative and made me a huge homemade birthday card, as well as a tres leches birthday cake. It was really good! The week after that my dear Uncle Pat came into town to visit us and we had a great time with him. I love him so much! He is battling cancer right now and I don't get to see him much so I was really glad he came out.

A week after that was Pioneer Day and we both had it off work so we decided to do something fun. We were originally going to go to Aspen for the weekend but decided we had too much to do here so opted to stay in Park City for the night and try out some local fun. I have to admit I thought Park City was overrated. I mean, it's cool...but nothing compared to some of my favorite Colorado mountain towns. (P.S. I was told recently that I am coming dangerously close to crossing the line of becoming like a Californian in the way I view my state as superior to all others. I promptly informed them without shame that I crossed that line a long time ago and that Colorado is in fact superior to all other places. ) Anyways, I'm sure there are fun things to do if you feel like spending a lot of money, which we didn't. We walked main street, went out to dinner and rode the scenic chair lift ride.
One of the reasons we stayed at the hotel we did was that we found a package deal for a one night stay and 18 holes of golf at the Homestead golf course in Midway. We haven't played golf once this summer so we were super excited. It was our first time ever playing a whole 18 holes on a real course with a golf cart and everything. We stopped keeping score after like the 4th hole because we were both so out of practice it was useless! We had a great time though!! We are considering making golf one of our hobbies in the future.All in all it has been a fun summer. I wish we had more time to do fun things before it ends but oh well. We are actually going to Colorado this weekend to visit my family so that will be fun. Hopefully we can squeeze in another camping trip or two as well. Oh yeah, and Aspen, Preston's sister just moved into our basement. Hopefully she can stand living with a boring married couple! Well, that just about sums it up. I'll try not to take another 2 months to write again!

Tired of Waiting Yet?

2009-06-19T10:09:00.005-06:00

You may have been wondering if we are still alive. Well, the answer is yes! We have been back from Europe for almost a month now, sadly. Well, we were tired and ready to come back, but now that we are back I wish we were there again already! Anyways, so we took literally about a thousand pictures on our 3 week trip. It took us awhile to upload them to the computer, sort through them all, get rid of the blurry ones, put captions on them so we would remember what they are all of, then upload them onto our travel blog that we have created. Sad part is, we were almost done with our travel blog when the computer died and now it is in the shop. However, people have been bugging me daily about wanting to see pictures so I am going to post the link to our travel blog even though it isn't all the way finished yet. You will just have to check back next week if you want to see the rest.

Here are a couple of important disclaimers you may want to read before looking at our travel blog: Disclaimer #1: Preston's camera had an unfortunate meeting with the Vlatva River so we had to use mine for the remainder of the trip. Mine has a crack in the lens so if you are wondering why 85% of our pictures have a dark line through them, that is why. Disclaimer #2: Almost everywhere we went, everything, especially all of the cool buildings, were under construction. Churches, cathedrals, museums, castles...you name it. You will notice many of our pictures are of scaffolding. Disclaimer #3: Europe's freeways often do not have shoulders on the side of the road where you can pull over if you decide you want to take a picture. Thus, many of our pictures are blurry from being in a moving car, and some even show the bug splats on the windshield or reflections of whatever was sitting on the dashboard at the time. Sorry about that. Disclaimer #4: We each kept a travel journal each day of our trip, which is what is written on each day of our blog. We realize it is long so you don't have to read it if you don't want to. We won't be too offended if you would rather just look at pictures. Disclaimer #5: Make sure to check if there is more than one page of pictures per blog entry. Disclaimer #6: Last but not least...PICTURES DO NOT DO JUSTICE TO ANY OF THE THINGS WE SAW!! (especially with my terrible camera and photography skills). Just know that everything we saw was 10 times prettier or cooler in real life.

Anyways, that being said, here is the link to our travel blog: http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Amber-and-Preston/Trips/2754 I am also going to post this on the sidebar of this blog in case you want to go back and check it again later when it is finished.

Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen, Sbohem, Arrivederci!!

2009-05-06T00:38:00.003-06:00

I'm pretty sure everyone who knows us probably knows by now that we are going on a 3 week trip to Europe. As a matter of fact, people are probably getting pretty dang sick of us talking about it all the time. We are not trying to rub it in, I promise! We are just so stinking excited that it is actually happening.

Anyways, the time has finally come!! Our plane to Frankfurt leaves in a just a few hours. We really are so blessed and I am so grateful for this opportunity. And the best part is that I get to be there with my best friend. =)

I don't have anything exciting or new to talk about, other than my excitement for this trip and/or details of it, but that would probably make you all gag, so I will just end by saying wish us luck and see you in 3 weeks!

Don't Get Too Excited

2009-04-29T22:31:00.005-06:00

I know you are all glad that we are finally updating our blog again, but I wouldn't get too excited. Our life is fairly uneventful so what is exciting to us will probably put you to sleep. You know what's exciting to us? Yard work. Yes, you heard me...yard work. And that's exactly what I am going to write about today so you can go ahead and move on to bigger and better things if you like. =)

So all the years that I've owned this house I've done lots of stuff to fix up the house and absolutely nothing to the yard. It slowly (along with the garage of course) turned into my own personal junkyard. Then came Preston. Wonderful Preston who takes pride in things and likes to make them nice. I'm so grateful for that quality in him. And I'm also so grateful that he is a real guy...you know, the kind who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty or work hard. He smelled like gasoline for 2 days because he was determined to fix the weed whacker but I love that about him. My kind of guy!

Anyways, we landscaped the yard, added some timber and flower beds, planted some lilac and hydrangea bushes and planted a real actual vegetable garden. I wish I had some before pictures because none of you will appreciate how good it looks now if you didn't know how ugly it was before. It's funny, it's like even the grass has magically come back to life. (Maybe that's because with Preston around it actually gets watered.) Anyways, thanks Preston for being such a good "man of the house". =)

This last one isn't exactly a before picture but it was in the process and you can kind of get a feel for the former yard ugliness.

I had to throw some pictures of Sadie in because she is cute and I get more attached to her every day. She hadn't been spayed yet when we started puppy-sitting so when she went into heat we did everything to keep dogs away from her. They were digging under our fence to get in the yard so we had to lock her inside. She was a hot commodity! I felt like we were parents locking our teenage daughter up! Anyways, it appears that our protective efforts were in vain and we are pretty sure she is going to have puppies. Sadly, it will probably be while we are in Europe so hopefully she will be okay!

Oh yeah, and did I mention that this time next week we will be on a plane to Europe!?!?!? Woohoo!!

And The Winner Is......

2009-04-10T09:29:00.005-06:00

ME!!! Yeah, so this company did a NCAA bracket tournament and offered prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. There were about 500 people in the competition so we didn't think we stood much of a chance but we joined anyway. Turns out I came in 3rd out of 500 people. Preston (Mr. Basketball himself) came in....well, I don't want to embarrass him so I won't say a number, but let's just say i beat him by a lot! =) So pretty much I rock! And I won $50 for it, which we get to spend where ever I want. Cheesecake Factory, here we come!!! Mmmmm.

So last weekend we had the opportunity to attend a General Conference for our church. I feel like I am surrounded by gloom and worry and stress and negativity every day because of the economy and mass killings and everything else that goes on in the world today. There was a big Newsweek article about the decline of Christianity in our country, which broke my heart. I can't even tell you how comforting it is to have the gospel of Jesus Christ as the foundation of my life. It is such a source of peace and strength and it is especially uplifting to be able to listen to the leaders of our church and be gathered together with so many people who share my beliefs. I always leave with such a feeling of hope. Hope that there are still good things and people in the world, hope that if I live my life the best I can I will be blessed, hope that I can be with my husband and family for eternity, and most importantly, hope-no, absolute knowledge-that there is a God who knows each of us individually and loves us so much more than we can possibly understand. I just wish that everyone I knew could know that for themselves because I know it would change their life.

The best part about conference was being there with my husband and best friend. It doesn't get much better than that.

I love the conference center...it is such a beautiful building. P.S. Bekah, I still think about you every time I go there. =)

Other than that, not much excitement around here. If it ever stops raining and snowing (so much for spring time) we will rototill our yard and plant a garden which I am really excited about. Oh, and we reserved our rental car for our Europe trip. Only 26 days til we leave!!!

Preston's PS

2009-03-22T21:30:00.002-06:00

You know, I greatly enjoy reading my wife's blogs about our life... I always get a good chuckle! She's so cute and concerned about every single word, and then she goes on for half a page about how soccer stinks and isn't fun... oh girls... she's fun and I love her!!

I Love Spring Time!!!

2009-03-22T21:00:00.004-06:00

I know I complain about Utah a lot but I have to admit...I love spring time in Utah. It doesn't last long but it is probably the most beautiful time of year here. It hasn't hit in full force yet, and we will probably get more snow (ugh), but it's definitely in the air. My daffodils are blooming and our fruit trees are starting to blossom. The grass is getting green, the sun stays out longer (yay!), and I am starting to go into project mode (always a sure sign of spring). For some reason I get more ambitious this time of year. I have a desk to refinish, a garden to plant, a garage to clean out, and closets to organize. Oddly enough, these are things I am actually excited about. =)

So to enjoy the beautiful weather yesterday Preston and I went to a Real Salt Lake game. (That's Salt Lake's Major League Soccer team, for those who don't live here). I actually have a confession to make. Preston and I are both avid sports fans. We love a good game of just about anything, however, neither of us are huge soccer fans. I kind of thought if we went to a professional game in person, we might get more excited about it. Plus, it was free and we are cheap. =) So we went to the game and the verdict was........we still don't like soccer. No offense to those of you who do. I know it is one of the most popular sports in the world but it just doesn't do anything for us. We had fun...but we didn't really have FUN, if you know what I mean. It was cool to be hanging out with friends outside in the beautiful weather, soaking up some sunshine, but that's where the fun ended. The game itself was really boring. I mean, in football you have awesome hard hits and sweet interceptions, in basketball you have awesome slam dunks and sweet 3 pointers at the buzzer. Even hockey is fun even if it's just for the great hits and the fights. P.S. there was more flopping going on in that soccer game than I have ever seen in the NBA, and that is just pathetic. I mean seriously, nobody likes a flopper. Plus, I'm pretty sure the refs make up their own rules as they go. I mean, how do you get to just decide to add 2 minutes onto the end of the game for no apparent reason??? I guess maybe we have a lot to learn about soccer but I'm pretty sure it will never happen because we just don't care.

Speaking of basketball, Preston's family came into town and we all went to a Jazz vs. Nuggets game. Unfortunately for my pride, the Nugs were a total disappointment. They played awesome in the first half but came out in the second half and apparently forgot they were playing a real game. It was ridiculous. But guess what, unlike soccer, whether my team won or not, it was still so much FUN and definitely not boring.

Catching Up!

2009-02-26T21:14:00.001-07:00

Hey, guess what?!? I'm finally updating our blog!!! Yes, this is Amber, the lazy slacker who never keeps people updated about our life. Preston told you about a couple of the things that are going on but I will try to fill you in on the details, and maybe even add some pictures. P.S. my blog writing is just like my journal writing...the entries are so few and far between that I have to go back to months before and catch up on everything since then. First let's start with our trip to New Mexico in January. We went for 2 reasons. One was to visit Preston's sister, Saren, and our nephew Aceson. He is such a cute, happy kid and Saren was gorgeous, as always! Preston was so crazy about Aceson, he just couldn't get enough of him. The second reason was to visit Preston's grandparents and spend some time with them. We took along a tape recorder and got a personal history from them. It was so great to listen to their cool stories, and the amazing things they have experienced and endured in their lives. Hopefully soon we will have time to type it up and make a little book or something out of it. Here are some pictures from our visit:

We discovered that we have been on at least one trip every single month since we have known each other, which is a lot of trips. We have been to Seattle, California, Mexico, Idaho, Wyoming, Denver, Southwest Colorado, Estes Park Colorado, and New Mexico. Most of those we have been to several times. On the way home from New Mexico we spent a good half hour arguing over which is uglier, Wyoming or New Mexico. Preston thinks there is nowhere uglier than New Mexico. I think that even though New Mexico is very ugly, Wyoming is still uglier. I have yet to find anything pretty in Wyoming besides Yellowstone. I hate Wyoming. With a passion. Not sure why. Just do. Preston's dad lives in Wyoming now so I guess I better learn to like it!

Anyways, the next thing that happened was Preston's birthday. I bought him a new watch and the Band of Brothers DVD set. I was super excited because the DVD set is usually like $60 in the store but I got it on EBay for $18 and it was in great condition. I love being a bargain shopper!! We spent pretty much all of the next 3 days watching the whole thing. It was really good! I actually really liked it a lot.

Preston got to choose where we went for his birthday dinner and he chose Tucano's, which I was happy about because I love Tucano's. For those of you who have never been there; Tucanos is a Brazilian bbq place where they come by your table every few minutes with a different kind of meat you can try, as well as grilled pineapple, which is delicious. We like it a lot, so it was fun. For dessert I told Preston I would make whatever cake he wanted. He LOVES raspberry cheesecake so I told him I would make it. As we all know, I am not the most domestic girl in the world but it turned out pretty good if I do say so myself!

A couple of days later was Valentines Day. We were going to go cross country skiing but decided to be lazy and hang out at the house instead (watching Band of Brothers, of course). We went to Chilis for dinner cuz we had a gift card and we love free dinner. =) Preston didn't do much for me on Valentines because we were attached at the hip all day and he had no way of being able to surprise me. A couple of days later I came home from work and he had candles lit all over the house and beautiful Tulips (my all-time favorite flower) on the table, a fire in the fireplace (which is one of my favorite things) and our wedding CD playing in the background. We danced in the living room for a few minutes and then he presented me with a jar full of paper slips. The jar is labeled "Reasons why I love you, why I miss you when you are gone, and why I am glad you married me". It is filled with little strips of paper. I'm only allowed to read 2 a day but they have all been great! Some examples of things he wrote are: "you love trucks and refuse to drive anything else", "You like and know how to build things", "You are so competitive", "You call the Utah Jazz gay because of their purple uniforms", "You're just so cute and short without shoes on", "You hate girly stuff, especially cheerleaders", "You're a sucker for baby animals", and "you are so cute when you get excited about something". Some others he wrote were about me being so OCD, my obsession with making lists for everything, and that I love camping and the outdoors. The reason this meant so much to me is because I am not your typical girl and all through my single years I used to remind myself that someday I would find someone who would love me for all of those things and find them endearing....lo and behold, here I am with an amazing husband who loves all of my weird quirkiness. I am so lucky!!

Another new thing is that we have a dog, well, temporarily. Aspen, Preston's sister, moved to a new place that doesn't allow pets so we are keeping her here for awhile. It has actually been really fun having her around. She has a fun and crazy personality that keeps us entertained. Her pictures don't really do justice to how cute she is in real life.

Preston officially got accepted to the Engineering Program here at BYU. He is doing great in all of his courses and just found out he is in the top 1/8 of his class. He studies hard and is so self-disciplined. I really admire him for that. He has also decided recently that he plans to pursue a masters degree in Aerospace Engineering. I'm excited for him that he knows what direction he wants to go in. I really am so proud and grateful to have such an ambitious, intelligent husband.

Next weekend Preston's brother and Dad are coming down from Wyoming and Saren and Eddie are coming up from New Mexico. We, along with Aspen and Aunt Lisa and Uncle Carl and their kids, are all going to the Nuggets v. Jazz game in Salt Lake. I am super excited cuz I haven't been to a Nuggets game in forever! I am pretty sure I will be the only one cheering for the Nuggets but you better believe that's not going to stop me!!! Go Nuggets!!

These are pictures from when the Nuggets stomped on the Jazz a couple of months ago. Take that stupid pansy Jazz!!!

So here is the most exciting of all of our news! Preston already touched on this but I'm going to say it anyway. We are going to Europe in May for almost 3 weeks and we are soooo excited! When we first started looking at tickets they were almost $1,000 a piece. We ended up getting really lucky and finding them on sale for $600 a piece, round trip from Salt Lake to Frankfurt, Germany. The sale ended literally within a couple of hours of us buying it so we consider it a huge blessing. That saved us $800!!! So we are going to Germany, The Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, and Northern Italy. I have been trying to learn the basics of German and I sound terrible and ridiculous. Hahah. It's fun though. So anyways, we are going to rent a car (brave, I know) and drive through all of those countries. It will be a lot of stuff to fit into 3 weeks but we don't care. Who knows when we will have this opportunity again!! Here are some pictures of some of the places we are going:

Preston is mocking me for putting up all these pictures even though we haven't been there yet. I don't care though because I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!

Anyways, that's what's going on in our lives. Sorry this is so long and boring because I had to catch up on so much. Maybe next time I will be better! Hahaha, yeah right. =)

Miscellaneous comments

2009-02-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Well she noticed... you can see how much good it did though! Probably the biggest thing that has happened was our purchasing two tickets from Salt Lake to Frankfurt, Germany for May 6- 25. We were way excited this morning when after watching prices for almost a month, we got the tickets for a grand total of $1200!! It turned out to be quite a deal!

Valentines Day was great. Amber got me some candy!! We went out to eat at Tucano's the night before to celebrate my birthday, and boy did we enjoy that!! Two big thumbs-up for Brazilian BBQ!!! Since I'm lame, I didn't do much, until Monday evening!! It was nice being able to convince Amber that she really did make a good decision in marrying me (for like the 20th time since we've been married!! It's amazing the lengths I go to in order to keep her blinded and convinced she wants to be with me!! She's the best!!!).

I apologize if I always end up writing when I don't have my camera. I promise we'll get more pictures on here soon (a lot sooner than it would take just Amber!).

I hope everyone who reads this had a fantastic Valentine's Day and a wonderful weekend!

Still Nothing...

2009-01-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

Amber still hasn't looked... shows how much she gets on here. I would like to apologize in proxy to all of Amber's friends who would really like to hear what she has to say on her blog. You might try facebook... texting... snail mail... or bug her about writing on our blog. Personally, I really like getting on here and writing a bunch of stuff that doesn't have much to do with anything... If I only had my camera I could add new pictures. But alas, it isn't to be. Oh, and to Serene... HI to you too!! And for anyone else who gets on to comment, say hi, tell me I should stop writing stuff about my sweet, wonderful wife... I'll say hi back!! Oh, and I'll let you know what happens when she finally gets on here. May the force be with you... I guess... nevermind. ;o)

Behind Her Back

2009-01-23T11:21:00.001-07:00

Well, I'm at school with a few minutes, and Amber has been mentioning doing SOMETHING with our blog, so I decided it would be good time to surprise her... surprise honey!! Amber is finally feeling better after a decade of being under the weather (not really that long, but a while!) so that is sure nice. Last night we stayed up a little bit and watched "Iron Man" with our new tv and surround sound system... you'll have to ask Amber what the best part of the whole experience was... we had a good laugh for a while! After the movie we cuddled... awww! I've been ahead on my homework for a couple days and preparing for a math exam and other exams that start the beginning of this next week... fun stuff! My wonderful wife is still dropping me off and picking me up from school, along with continuing to be my sugar-momma... she's great. Well, I'm trying to guess how long it will take Amber to figure out that I've written... and who knows! But we'll have to see!!

Christmas and New Year's

2009-01-15T21:34:00.000-07:00

So apparently we are horrible and updating our blog on a regular basis...especially considering we have been married for 8 months and our last blog was about our honeymoon! Our lives aren't super exciting so there isn't much to write about but we did a little traveling over the holidays. Our flight to Denver was delayed so we didn't get there until Christmas Eve. Christmas day I came down with some sort of flu and it didn't go away for like 11 days. It was ridiculous!

This is my cute nephew holding the really cool remote control monster truck we gave him.

Honeymoon Pics

2008-10-16T23:01:00.001-06:00

The First One

2008-10-16T22:14:00.000-06:00

Well, all our friends are doing it, so we figured we'd jump on the band wagon and let as many people into our lives as possible... you know, my wife is going to revoke my blogging privileges if I'm not careful... before we even start too!!! But we'll see how this goes!! Maybe we'll end up with more friends!!