Catch-up

This is a catch up blog post about January and February before the baby came. I am catching up so that we will have a record with pictures and commentary to help us remember some of the fun events in our lives that happened during this time.

First, here is a picture to represent me being 7+ months pregnant - excited and happy, and still feeling good.

Quite a bump I had, wouldn't you say? Hard to believe I would get bigger!

January saw us deciding to get a new car, because our little "old faithful" 2000 toyota corolla was getting on in miles, and was doing pretty well, but needing more major repairs than we thought was worth it. So, we decided to invest in a slightly newer and more fuel efficient car. Here is a picture of me with our "little old faithful" before we traded it in for our new car:

This was momentous - because this car was our very first as a married couple, and it served us well taking us from Provo to Albuquerque, to Wyoming multiple times, and several places in Utah as well. Farewell old faithful!

January also saw Greg and I take a second honeymoon - we went up to Salt Lake to the Anniversary Inn for an overnight stay, and they have the most fun hotel rooms! They have different decor themes, and we chose a wild west suite. It was fun to get away and have some time for just us two before the baby came.

The bed was in a covered wagon - very fun :)

They even gave us breakfast! It was really good :)

In February, a dear friend threw a baby shower for me, themed around the ABC's and literacy - 

she decorated her living room in the most adorable way -  one of my favorite accents was the quote she wrote on her mirror, which said "great readers are born on the laps of their parents" - 

Also in February, Greg built a bookshelf! While we really liked our previous bookshelf, we thought it would be neat to have a bookshelf that was more easily packable/movable, and one that fit our books nicely. So, taking inspiration from Thomas Jefferson of Monticello/Declaration of Independence fame, Greg made shelves which stack and interlock on top of each other, and which fit our books snugly, and will just need a cardboard slat pinned/nailed on top of each "case" - thus we have boxes already built for our books when we move again!

We sure like being creative together - I love my clever husband!

Finally, here is a picture of us on Sunday, February 26th - 8+ months pregnant.

(I am glad you can't see my ankles/lower legs - for they were big too that day!)

That about sums up January and February :)

Christmas in Wyoming Continued

Greg and I sure had a good time with the Teicherts in Wyoming. Some things we did which are not pictured here, are that we took a trip a few days after Christmas to Provo to have a little reunion with all of Greg's siblings, which was really good. A day or so after that, we drove to Cokeville to visit Greg's grandmother, a charming and delightful 92 year old lady who always makes one feel at home.  Greg and I also enjoyed playing Wii games various Teichert family members - and we found that Greg is really good at the ski jump on Wii fit, and has some great coordination when it comes to dancing too :) Greg and I had a great time pickling eggs with E and J Barbuto - that's right - pickling eggs! We are excited to try them in egg salad sandwiches and such :)

Now, on to the things we have pictures for!
Christmas morning, we woke to find that Santa Claus found us in Wyoming! We enjoyed using homemade stockings (Greg crocheted these moccasins when he was a teenager)

Here we are on Christmas morning - in the Teichert family, they have breakfast before opening stockings, and their breakfast tradition is cheese toast and orange juice (because it is the quickest thing to make and eat!), so that is what we had.

This is our third Christmas together!

This is one of the several gifts we received from my family - what a treat that was to have that connection to the Cummings in Virginia! We love the things we received for our little "Thaddeus Archibald."

Greg looked quite happy after we finished opening presents - we were blessed with a great Christmas! Note the apron that Greg is sporting - Greg's sister in law made it for us - the reverse is very feminine, and this side is just right for Greg!

For Christmas day dinner, the Teicherts thought it would be fun to try a Shepherd's meal, similar to something my family does each year around Christmastime. For the meal, we had lamb, flat bread with olive oil for dipping, cucumbers, almonds, raisins, cheese, craisins, pomegranate, and grape juice. We read the Christmas story while we ate, and it was really special to enjoy this simple meal together in this way.

A few days later, we went into the hills again.

Here is a close up of the fort we mentioned finding last time:

Here is a shot of the rabbit stew that J Barbuto so skillfully made from scratch - it was delicious! Don't tell my little sister!

A few days later, we went to the sand dunes to get some sledding in - it was very windy and biting cold, so we only stayed a short time, but we had a great time while we were there. It sure is beautiful in Wyoming!

This is a shot of K, Greg's brother, jumping off of the sand dunes - he got some serious altitude!

Here is Greg sandboarding :)

The hardest part of sledding - especially on sand dunes - is making it up the hill, right? With the wind blowing, sand came with it, so it was necessary to use a shield to get up the hill in the face of the wind.

I really like this picture of Greg and K - they had a good time jumping - and lots of sand pouring out of their shoes and shirts and coats after they were through!

All in all, it was a wild, wonderful time in Wyoming :) We sure love our family!

Christmas in Wyoming

Greg and I spent Christmas in Wyoming with the Teicherts this year, and had some really fun adventures! Here are a few snapshots of what we all did on Christmas eve day:

We all went offroading/hiking/rabbit hunting in the hills outside of Rock Springs on Christmas Eve day, and had a great time. Look at all that snow! It was pretty cold and windy that day, so we were all bundled up. We had a great time!

The Wyoming hills are really quite pretty in their own way - we all enjoyed hiking among the rocks.

E and J (Greg's sister and brother in law) got their very first rabbit! They have been rabbit hunting before, but had not yet shot one. With E as spotter, and each of us trying to follow rabbit tracks, J succeeded in getting off a clean shot and getting himself his first rabbit! He then skinned it and took out its entrails there on the hill (we didn't take pictures of that though).

We found some fort-like places among the hills as we hiked - the one below looks like a good summer hideout, but I don't think I would want to be there in the wintertime!

Greg and I in the wild Wyoming hills

After J got his rabbit, we all did target practice with his shotgun - do I look fearsome? (I don't think I do - the only way I think I could seem fearsome here is if you were on the opposite hill and knew I was holding the gun - I have poor aim!)

Greg, on the other hand, looks like he knows what he is doing - and he made some very good shots too!

Christmas Decor

Here is a look at how we "deck the halls" at our apartment - I love the transformation that takes place when Christmas comes each year, and lights and greenery remind us of beauty and charm and the magic that comes with thinking beyond oneself.  We know that Christmas is about much more than decorations - it is about the hope and life and love that was brought to the world through the birth of Christ. We enjoy having some beautiful things to remind us of that - especially the homemade variety of decor - we hope you enjoy our creations!

Our Christmas "wreath" - made from branches we cut off our Christmas tree

Christmas flower arrangement of sorts - it is red and green, right? So it works :)

I love our Christmas tree! Especially the way it complements the wood of our table and chairs...:)

This is our countdown to Christmas board - (only 17 days from now!)

Greg and I love this beautiful nativity from Germany - when you light the candles, the top spins! We want to save the candles for special occasions, so for now we enjoy seeing the top spin whenever the heat comes on and blows air right over it :)

Snowflakes!

And paper chains and a christmas light bedecked desk round out our Christmas decor. Merry Christmas to you!

Thanksgiving Fun

Here are a few snapshots of the fun we had over Thanksgiving - we got to spend the holiday week at my Grandpa's house in Orem while he was away doing Thanksgiving in California. My sisters were there, and that made it wonderful :) We also got to share the holiday with friends whose families live a ways away, and it was so fun to have them with us as we ate good food, played games, watched good movies, and hiked the Y.

Before the hike - we chose to do it on Thanksgiving day - to work up an appetite and to qualify for pie and goodies later on. H and M wanted it to look like H carried M all the way up the mountain - which H didn't, but is strong enough to make it quite a ways up I am sure!

During the hike at one of our many rest breaks - everyone was so kind to rest often - being 5.5 months pregnant, I was going slower than my usual hike the Y pace (which still isn't very fast). Greg is amazing - he supported me and stayed with me through the whole hike, and practically pulled me up the mountain a number of times when I thought I couldn't make it to the top - hurray for my wonderful husband!

A picture from the top - to prove that we made it!

Greg watching over the mashed potatoes later that night - in my opinion, no one makes mashed potatoes better than Greg does! Greg helped me with the turkey, and everyone pitched in to make the Thanksgiving feast easy and delicious!

Our Thanksgiving family :)

After dinner, H and M decide to break the Turkey's wishbone after picking the meat from the turkey bones. Have you ever heard of this? You make a wish, and then pull, and whoever gets the longer part will have his or her wish come true!

I hope M made a good wish! :)

M and I comparing babies after a full Thanksgiving feast - me, 5.5 months along, and M with a "food baby" (i.e. very full stomach) :)

One of the highlights of the week to me was getting to go to the temple with Greg and my sisters- I love my family! I am so grateful for them!

Below are pictures of our table (sorry they are sideways) - beautifully decorated, with traditional dead flower arrangement from my Grandpa's garden, by M and H and M's friend. We had quite an elegant time, with Grandpa's dishes and such, and thanks to my Dad, who was a founder of our feast. Thank you!