Savanna + Fetus= 2 little ones around our house soon!

So I am excited and a bit nervous to announce that we are expecting our second little one due to make his or her appearance sometime around April 11th. We are excited and it will be fun for Savanna to have a sibling. When we ask her if she is going to be a big sister, she just yells, "Baby!" She also says that she wants it to be a "girl baby" but also wants it to be a "brother." Hmm, so she seems undecided. I already had two ultrasounds on both appointments which was cool. My doctor always does one on the first visit and then she was having a hard time hearing the heart beat the second appointment with that thingey majiggy so I had another one. The little peanut looks great and has a nice, strong heartbeat. It was also a relief to see that there is only one sack so no twins! (Sorry Katie S. I know that twins are probably really fun but that would have been overwhelming to me. You are super mom and I am sure you are doing awesome!) So I know that having another child will bring me such incredible joy but I also have a few specific concerns about juggling two kids. So all you moms out there of more than one kid or anyone that has some advice, boost me up! I can do it right? Just a couple questions: How do you shower and get ready everyday? How LONG does it take you to get out of the house? DO your kids nap at the same time? If not how do you accomplish all your household responsibilities? It is important for me to exercise everday, how do you fit it in with two kids? I am sure I have other questions but that's what I can think of for now. Again, I am happy and excited. I don't want it to come out like I am not. I am just nervous too. But it's me right, what else could anyone expect?

I'm learning to sew!

So most of you know that I like to express myself through different ways including music, writing, or physical activities but expressing myself through "creating" something visible like a dress or a craft of any kind is just not my thing. I half jokingly call myself the "anti-craft". I am just terrible at it! Other people will try to tell me "No you can't be that bad" but then they do a craft with me and they understand that I am not exaggerating. However, after learning that my neighbor is a sewing expert and is doing sewing classes for the girls in the ward I decided to give it a go and at least learn some basic sewing skills. I am happy to report that I actually sewed something (with assistance of course). I sewed a pillowcase for a pillow of Savanna's. And I was just about to take a picture of it and post it on here and realized she is taking a nap on it right now. Darn, I'll have to do that later. I know, all you sewing gurus out there, a pillow case is like the easiest thing you can sew but it is an accomplishment for me! I managed not to make too many mistakes though I did scream at one point during one sewing lesson when I almost ran over a pin. My friend's sewing machine is super expensive and awesome and I don't want to do anything to it! I am surprised she trusts me to use it. Anyway, I am proud of myself for at least venturing out to learning something that I know is not one of my talents. Next time I think I will try to make a little skirt for Savanna. I'll let you know how it goes!

Ellen?

Ok, so all you American Idol fans out there, I have to ask you-WHAT do you think of Ellen Degeneres replacing Paula as a judge on American Idol? I was actually REALLY surprised by this news and am not sure what to think of it. I mean she is funny but does she have any musical background at all? I don't think so. I am guessing she will be a nice judge like Paula, but let's be honest, the contestants need to hear more than "You look so dazzling in that dress!". And this is so bad but I am really interested to see what Ellen wears on the show. I don't think we will see her in dresses right? I don't think I have ever seen her in a dress just pant suits. Anyway, no disrespect to Ellen, she may do a great job. It was just a bit of a surprise to me. I thought they should take a former winner like Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood to be a judge. I think that would have been way cool and they could give good advice since they have experience competing on the show before. Ahyway, just wondering what you all thought about it!

Florida trip, etc

Ok here is the update from our fun family trip. We had a great time with my family. We started our trip in Orlando. We flew in Thursday evening (September 3rd) and the next day my brother, Jonathan, went through the temple. Here is a picture of our family in front of the temple. (These obviously were taken after we went back to the hotel and changed).

Then we stayed Friday night at my Grandpa's farm in Northern Florida. Savanna had a great time hanging out there and visiting with my Grandpa's horse, Tarvun. The next day we headed up to North Carolina. My Grandpa owns a house there and we would go there every summer as kids. He is selling it and we wanted to see it one last time. Our Nana passed away about five and a half years ago so going back brought back memories of her. We were so close to her and it was hard to lose her and we still miss her. I am so grateful for the wonderful role my Nana and Grandpa played in my childhood. Here are some pictures of us at the cottage in the mountains.

This is my grandparents' old car. Pretty snazzy huh?

That same day we also went ruby mining. We did this a lot as kids. Pretty much you just get a big premade bucket of dirt that has some rubies and other jewels in it. You pour some of the dirt into this screen little by little and then swish it in this dirty water and try to find the rubies and other stones. It is a lot of fun. The next day we went to an amusement park called Ghost Town that we used to love. We enjoyed our time there though it rained for a part of the day. There are chair lifts that you ride up to the park and we were a bit nervous about taking Savanna on them so we were going to do the alternate transportation method which was a bus. She wanted to go on so bad though she was begging us, saying "Please, please!" so we did. She wasn't scared at all. She is one brave girl!

TC, my mom, and Spenser rode this ride. I do not attempt to go on rides that spin because I will throw up everywhere.

Savanna was scared of the guns in the Wild West show.

We went to an Indian dance show and participated in an Indian Friendship Dance. The next day we ended our stay in North Carolina by visiting the Biltmore mansion in Asheville. This is a HUGE home that the Vanderbilts built in the 1800s. It is really cool. We then drove to Jacksonville where TC flew out the next day (he had to go back to work). We met my Grandpa at The Cracker Barrel on the way down to southern Florida where I grew up. We were only able to stay there a couple days but it was a lot of fun. Savanna loved going to the beach and playing with our dog, Isaiah. We had a great time. We drove a total of 1,800 miles. Crazy huh? It has been a long time since our family has taken a road trip together and we are grateful to my parents for making it possible.

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We came back to Utah on Saturday and my parents and brothers joined us (well the one lives here). My brother, Jonathan, went into the MTC yesterday. We are excited for him and know he will be a great missionary. My parents are here until tomorrow morning. Savanna has loved having her Nana and Papa around!

Farewell to Jonathan!

Nursery Success!

Well, Savanna stayed in nursery the whole two hours for the first time yesterday. YEAH! They said that she got sad the last 5 minutes but they endured it. Anyway, that is a lot of progress on her part. And yeah, sorry long time no blog. We were on a family trip in Florida for a little over a week. I will have to update you later and post pictures. I still haven't gotten the pictures off my mom's camera and she has some really good ones so I want to include them. I will hopefully be able to post about that in the next couple days. In other news, TC and I finally got callings in our new ward! TC is on the activities committe and I am...ward organist! BIG SURPRISE! I seriously have been ward organist at some point in every ward I have lived in since coming to Utah (except I think my freshman ward because I didn't know how to play the organ then). I don't mind though-it helps keep my skills up. I am also helping a lot on the activites committee-there is only three people on it-for a ward of 600. Crazy huh? Anyway, we are happy to be home for a bit. My family is out here as well because my little brother, Jonathan, is going into the MTC on Wednesday. Life is busy but good! Stay tuned for more info and pictures coming soon!