Welcome To The World Little Piper!

My due date was August 10th. I went to my doctor's appointment that day to see if there was any progress and there wasn't so my Doctor scheduled me for an induction a week later. I really thought I had a whole week ahead of me to get ready for the baby, but I was wrong.

That night I couldn't sleep very well because I was having severe back pain, but I just brushed it off as Piper pressing on my sciatic nerve. The next day I was driving Troy to go pick up his Dad's truck and on the way there I started feeling a little cramping and Troy could tell I was uncomfortable and asked if I was ok. I said ya, just some cramps and Troy proceeds to say "You're getting pretty ripe aren't you." I laughed and said ya I guess. Well right he was! After I dropped him off I was heading home in his car and felt a little trickle down under. The thought crossed my mind that my water may have just broke, but I passed it off as one of my regular tinkling episodes I'd gotten used to throughout my pregnancy. I decided to stop by the mail box before going home and right as I was unlocking the box I felt a big rush of water and quickly grabbed the mail and wobbled back to the car while trying to cross my legs. I put down some flyers on the seat so I wouldn't get it wet and quickly drove home. I knew Troy was about to walk into an important meeting and so I called him and told him I thought my water had broke, but I thought I had a lot of time so I told him to just go into the meeting and I'd keep him posted. I called my doctor's office and they told me I needed to come into the hospital as soon as possible so I texted Troy and he told me he would meet me there after his meeting. Nice... hahaha! I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to drive while you're in labor and so I told him I would have to find a ride and at that point he told me he was on his way home. Apparently he got up in the middle of the meeting and told them his wife was in labor and he needed to go. One of the clients said "The things you kids come up with these days." Haha!

Well Troy came home to me frantically trying to keep it together while I packed up a bag and thought of all the things I felt like I needed to get done before we left. I realized there was wet laundry in the washing machine, dishes in the sink and meanwhile I was being struck with minor contractions. Troy finally grabbed me and told me I was being crazy and that we NEEDED to go the hospital, NOW. So off we went! I was feeling pretty excited and nervous at the same time.

We got to the hospital and checked in and I thought I would have a while before I really had to get to work, but they had me get into a hospital gown right away and checked to make sure the right kind of fluid was coming out. The discovered some meconium (baby's first poo) and decided to set me up to petocin to speed things up. I found out after they hooked me up that I wasn't going to be able to eat until after the baby was born. I was actually really hungry so that was a big motivation for me to get that girl out of me! I just kept talking about when I was going to be able to eat... haha food is clearly a big priority for me. All I was allowed to eat was some ice chips with snow cone syrup on it which was actually pretty awesome.

Troy and I really didn't know what to expect, but my sister Charity soon came to our rescue and really helped us relax by explaining things to us and offered us a lot of comical relief. We also had some awesome nurses helping us out and I really appreciated them.

When the time came for my epidural I was starting to get pretty uncomfortable, but I was still really nervous about the giant needle that was about to enter my spine... Turns out the doctor had to do it twice because he couldn't get it in my spine properly. Definitely not pleasant! I felt relief for a little while but then I started getting really bad pain in my back and ribs and it started to make me throw up so the doctor came back and increased the pain medicine a little bit so the numbing would go a little higher. After that I felt awesome! Turns out the pain was due to the fact that I had gone from a 2 to an 8 within 2 hours. It wasn't too much later that I started pushing little miss Piper out! All everyone kept saying was how much hair she had. I didn't push for long before Piper literally came flying out! The doctor almost didn't catch her and just like that we were officially parents! The whole labor was not nearly as bad as I was anticipating and the time seemed to fly by! We went into the hospital around 3 p.m. and piper was born at 12:00 a.m. plus 9 seconds on August 12th.

When Piper was FINALLY brought over to me after getting her lungs suctioned out due to the meconium I was in heaven! Snuggling up to this sweet little baby was like a dream come true and I couldn't have been happier. At that point I was absolutely exhausted! We got wheeled up to our room and I was really looking forward to a little sleep, but the nurses had other plans. They gave Piper a bath and went through all kinds of paperwork and information with me until 3 O'CLOCK IN THE FREAKING MORNING!!! I was so tired! They finally left Troy and I alone and took Piper with them so we could get a few hours of much needed sleep.

Well turns out the labor was the easy part and I was really terrified for what was ahead of me! I was suddenly a mom to the sweetest little angel, but I really felt like I had NO idea what I was doing!! All I can say is that Piper is now nearly 6 months and thankfully still alive and healthy!

My Graduation

Well it's been a lonely week at home with Troy being away on a hunting trip and I figured it was about time that I post some seriously needed updates.

So it's a little sad that this big event took place all the way back in April and I'm only writing about it now, but I really wanted to document my feelings from my graduation day... well what I can remember 7 months later.

My last semester of college seemed to have sped by. I was super lucky to have made it through the whole semester without my pregnancy really getting in the way of my school work, although I'll admit that I threw out the pregnancy card once or twice. By the time my graduation date had crept up on me I couldn't believe the day had finally come!

It was an awesome day! I was so happy that my parents made the arrangements to be there for the ceremonies and really appreciated their support. Another huge highlight was not only having the Prophet there, but the entire first presidency! I actually got two thumbs up from Pres. Uchtdorf, or Uncle Dieter as I like to call him ;). Hearing from President Monson at the convocation and shaking his hand afterward was seriously a dream come true for me. I felt like the whole thing made up for me not graduating from BYU-Idaho and it was really special. A couple of days before the big day I needed to take a break from my studies and turned on the TV. I happened to come across the biography of Pres. Monson and watched as story after story was shared about all the individual lives Pres. Monson touched through his continuous acts of service. I was struck by all the good he's done in his life by just doing simple kind and thoughtful things for people. He was always so in tune with the spirit and always followed through with the promptings he received. I realized that I could easily follow his example and become more service oriented. After having that experience I was even more excited to hear him speak at my graduation. I remember feeling the spirit really strongly testifying to me of how proud Heavenly Father was of me for sticking it through and getting my degree. I got pretty emotional as I sat and listened to the prophet's encouraging words and felt my sweet little baby girl kicking away inside of me. I thought about how I hoped this accomplishment of mine would better the lives of my children and I again felt a waive of the spirit confirming that it would and that I had done what the Lord wanted me to. I know that I received a lot of help from above throughout my time at school and I'm so grateful for that. My time in college was a time of serious growth, I learned so much more about myself and what I can accomplish. My confidence soared and I realized that I had been cheating myself for many years. It was definitely not always easy and I was often pushed to my limits, but I'm so grateful for all the experiences I had and for all the fun I had in the process. It's still crazy to think that it's over and I don't have to worry about that paper I've procrastinated doing or the test that's looming around the corner! I thought it was pretty classic that on the day of my graduation I was worrying about a late project I still needed to hand in. I will never learn. Well anyways, I hope that even though I don't have to worry about deadlines anymore I will still push myself to continue to learn and grow.

So long college. Thank you for some of the funnest times of my life. Thank you for helping me find myself. Thank you for helping me find my husband. Thank you for your challenges, life lessons, failures and accomplishments. Thank you for great friends and great memories. I'll miss you, well most parts of you at least.

My first semester at BYU-Idaho - Winter 2006

Fall Semester 2006

Winter Semester 2007

Fall Semester 2007

Winter Semester 2008 - My Last Semester at BYU-I :(

Troy's Grad - Summer 2008

My Graduation from Weber State - April 2010

Baby Update

Well there's 4 days left until my due date and I thought I'd fill people in on my progress... or the lack thereof. I am currently not dilated at all and my doctor says this baby is showing no signs of coming out anytime soon. I suppose that's ok because I haven't made it to my due date yet, but I don't know how much longer my body can put up with this! I have had such an awesome pregnancy and so I shouldn't complain, but I really feel like my body is starting to shut down. My back is giving me some grief and by the end of the day my feet are unrecognizable and HUGE! I am also suffering from a serious lack of energy, just a trip to the grocery store takes it right out of me! The truth is I'd be willing to put up with this discomfort and WAY more if it means a healthy sweet little baby girl, but I would not be disappointed if she decided to make her appearance! My next appointment is on Tuesday which happens to be my due date. My Doctor says that if I haven't made any progress by then that we'll start looking at scheduling an induction. I like knowing that there's an end in sight by scheduling something, but I'd prefer her to come on her own so.... HURRY UP BABY!!! Oh by the way, we're naming her Pyper. The jury is still out on her middle name though.

Girl Time!

How is it possible that it's been 3 months since I last posted on my blog! Wow! There's a lot that's happened. I'll start with where I left off. As most of you know by now, it turns out we're having a little girl. I am beyond excited!! I can't wait to have a little mini side kick to hang out with and dress in adorable girly clothes.

We thought there was a chance we weren't going to be able to find out the sex of the baby at my doctor's appointment because she was tucked down nice and deep in my uterus . She was all snuggled up down there pretty much bent in half with her legs tucked in underneath her blocking the view of her ... cha cha. Anyways the doctor starts shaking my belly and jabbing and poking me right above my pelvic bone trying to make the baby move to higher ground, but it wasn't working. I had to roll onto my side for a while in hopes that she would shift a little. She was too comfortable and didn't really move, but the doctor still managed to get a view of her ... hoo ha ... and confirmed she was a girl. I was so excited! I think it took Troy a minute to get excited about it. He had initially wanted a girl, but then we came across a boy name that we really liked and he got his heart set on a boy. Don't worry though, he's back on team girl and very excited.

There were a few things the doctor couldn't get a great angle of because of our baby's position so I had to head back for another ultrasound two weeks later. I was kind of happy it worked out that way because I honestly don't think there's anything cooler in the world than getting to take a peak at that little growing baby! When we went back we caught a glimpse of her holding onto her feet, how cute is that!

It seems like we just found out what we were having and now I'm just about 6 weeks away from my due date! This is all happening a little too fast! I'm excited, but also terrified! First of all I'm freaking out just thinking about what I have to go through in order to welcome this baby into the world and then I'm scared about how I really have no idea what I'm doing as a mother! I guess there's no turning back now so bring on the adventure!

I had a doctor's appointment this week and they gave me some information to pre-register for my delivery and a list of things I should pack to bring to the hospital. I also had to schedule all my remaining appointments. I have one in two weeks and then it will be weekly visits from that point on. It all really hit me that this baby girl is getting ready to make her debut. I'm scared!!

Boy or Girl??!!

As I just mentioned in my previous post, we finally find out the sex of our baby on Wednesday. I feel like I might be overtaken by the anticipation I'm feeling. I just really want to know... RIGHT NOW!!! I don't know how couples wait to find out, I'm just not that patient. I'm really excited to know what it is so that I can really start to prepare and get SHOPPIN! I'd also like to stop referring to my baby as an "it." It makes it sound like it's not human.

People have been asking what I think it is, or what I hope it will be. I've been telling people I really don't care and that's mostly true because I'll be ecstatic with a boy or a girl, I mean, it's my baby so who really cares. But I'll be honest, whenever I walk by anything that has to do with little girls my heart completely melts. I was over at a friend's place the other night and her little girl pulled out all of her little toy hair styling tools and started doing my hair for me. I could have died it was so cute. Now on the other hand little boys are pretty dang cute too and a lot of fun and the thought of my other kids having a big brother to take care of them is pretty awesome too. Not to mention if I have a boy then he will be exactly one year younger than my sister's little boy and she has said his cute clothes would be passed on to me. BONUS! Also all of my baby's cousin's who will be close to it's age are all boys so if it's a boy then he will have a bunch of friends. So needless to say there are pros to both sides. Troy says he has no preference and that he likes the fact that we have no choice in the matter.

Well, just 4 more days and we'll know. Let's just hope they go by quickly and that our baby will be willing to cooperate during the ultrasound. If it's anything like it's mama, it'll have no shame.

Until Wednesday....

OH! P.S. - I've been feeling the baby move a little bit over the last two weeks and last night I was feeling all kinds of activity going on in there so I quickly grabbed Troy's hand and pushed it down hard on my belly and he felt it move for the first time!! So exciting!

Spring Break Coming To An End

Well tomorrow is my last day of spring break before I have to head back to school. It's been a well needed break and I have seriously hardly thought of school the entire week. As nice as it's been, this could mean trouble. I really needed to do some school work over the break, but I just couldn't bring myself to doing it. I'm now about to embark on the last stretch of my college career. I only have 4 more weeks of school left until I graduate! I can't even believe it! It's going to be a wild 4 weeks trying to get everything done.

I'm so excited for the summer! I pretty much plan to sit by my in-laws pool all summer long, but I've got some other fun things planned in between.

Things to look forward to:

A trip to Calgary for Falisha's Wedding (one of my very best friends)

Getting a lawn and planting a delicious garden (can't wait)

Getting a nursery ready for our little baby (we find out what it is on Wednesday!!)

Young Women's Camp

The Manti Pageant

A trip to Kelowna to party with my whole family

Youth Conference

A trip to Lake Powell

Oh ya and HAVING A BABY!!!

I'm sure there will be some more adventures included as the summer goes on so I have a feeling it's going to be a pretty exciting one! I can't wait to be done with school and to let the fun begin!

Goodbye Spring Break, now bring on the SUMMER!!

Back To Young Womens

Well I've been put in as the first counselor in the young women's in my ward. It was pretty unexpected because three weeks before that I had been called into the relief society activities committee. I went to one planning meeting and the next thing I knew I was being released and put into young womens! When I found out I immediately felt overwhelmed, seeing that I'm still fairly new in the ward I really didn't know any of the young women or any of the other leaders. I also felt a huge responsibility to these girls. It's a tough world out there for teenagers right now and there's a lot working against them being strong and active members of the church. I really hope that I can be a great friend and leader to them. Another overwhelming thought was me hitting up girls camp this summer considering I'll be about 7 and half months pregnant haha! It's been really fun so far though and the girls are super sweet and welcoming. There's only about 8 of them in total that are active and I think about 4 more who aren't so it's a pretty small group. They all seem pretty close which is nice. I'm still trying to get a handle on what my responsibilities are and I'm just kind of coasting along trying to keep up with what's going on, but I'm loving it! I'm planning a lesson right now and we have an activity planning meeting coming up and I'm just trying to figure out what resources are out there for fun ideas and lesson aides. To the ladies out there who are currently in young women's or have been in the past, do you know of any cool websites or other ideas to help me out? Let me know!

Why am I such a Psycho?

Alright, I'd like to say that for the most part I've kept pretty sane throughout this pregnancy thus far. I don't think I've turned into a comeplete pregzilla (I just made that up, funny right?) and I hope my husband still feels like he's married to the same person. But, I'll be honest, I have had my crazy moments... and I'm not proud of them. For some reason there are just times where something triggers some wild emotion in me and I've reacted a lot more drastically then I think I normally would have. I suppose by putting them out in the open that I hope to receive some kind of liberation from the guilt I'm feeling. Plus, I think these will be somewhat entertaining for me to look back on one day.

Towards the very beginning of my pregnancy I was feeling extremely emotional and I experienced a few outbursts. One took place after I had returned from an annual shopping trip with the girls in the Salmon family back in November. Troy's dad was sweet enough to surprise us all with some cash to go shopping with (I was so excited I started crying of course) and when I got home Troy thought it would be a good idea to throw the extra money I hadn't spent into our little savings jar for a new couch. It made total sense, I really wanted a new couch and Troy had been putting the extra money that he came across into it so why shouldn't I? The truth is I really wanted to keep it for myself, but I put on a brave face and handed over the cash. Afterwards I went upstairs into my closet, and naturally laid on the floor hiding underneath all my hanging clothes and literally BAWLED my eyes out!! Like I mean, gasping for air, body shaking, snot dripping kind of bawling. A little dramatic? Yes, yes it was. After a while Troy came to find me and would have probably had a hard time finding me behind all my clothes had it not been for the sobs that gave my hiding spot away. The poor guy had no idea what to do with me, he told me I could have the money back and that it wasn't a big deal which made me cry even harder because now I felt like a selfish brat. He tried to coax me out from under the clothes, but I wouldn't budge so he came in after me and tried to console me. Haha he looked really scared and confused. I finally came out with mascara smeared all over my spotty red face and once I had regained my sanity I decided the money should go into savings for the couch. I held on to a grudge about it for a while though. Haha! Poor Troy boy. I'm really sorry I went crazy on you honey. At least we can laugh about it now, but I'm still sorry.

The next outburst happened a couple nights later. I was having a rough day and for some reason I was really irritated with Troy that night, I can't remember why. Later on we were getting ready for bed and troy finished before me and climbed into bed. When I came out of the bathroom all the lights were off in our bedroom and suddenly my irritation doubled. As I tried to find my way to my side of the bed I ran into the wooden chest we have at the end of the bed and then as I was trying to find my phone that I had on my night stand and I ended up knocking over a glass of water that I had left there the night before. I lost it. I collapsed on the bed and once again began to bawl my eyes out. I really didn't even know why. Poor Troy had no idea what to do with himself and leaned over and tried to rub my back and ask if I was ok. I screamed "DON'T TOUCH ME!!" Evil pregnant Jemaica was clearly making an appearance and Troy decided it would be best to just back away. It didn't take long for my next mood to swing into place and before he knew it I was skooching over to be cuddled and consoled. I can only imagine what was going through his mind. "COO-COO!!"

My latest outburst took place a little over a week ago. I was running late for class because I had been waiting in the parking lot for a spot for a good 15 min. The technique for getting a spot at Weber State is not to keep driving up and down the aisles (who decided on the spelling for that word anyways) but to stay put at the end of one of them until a student walks down it and goes to their car. It's common knowledge that if you've been parked waiting there then you get first dibs on the spot. Well I had done this exact thing and after waiting for those 15 min a guy finally walked down my lane and so I pulled up closer and put on my blinker. After waiting there for a few seconds this girl turns down the other end of the aisle and stops and begins to wait also. This is the same girl who had passed me about 5 times in search for a spot. Amateur. I began to wonder what the heck she was waiting for because the spot was clearly mine because not only had I claimed the aisle by waiting there for so long, but I had my freaking blinker on. THAT SPOT WAS MINE! Anyways the guy pulls out of the spot in my direction blocking me and suddenly that sneaky girl pulls right in! Oh boy was I ticked. I laid on the horn and pulled up behind her and rolled down my window. I began yelling at her as she got out of her car and told her that was clearly my spot and that she ought to get right back into her car and pull out if she knew what was good for her. She proceeded to say "M'am, (yes she called me M'am, what am I, 40?) you should have been faster, I'm late for class." and she starts walking away from her car. This REALLY set me off! How could I have been faster, I was being blocked!! This girl obviously had no kind driving/parking etiquette and I felt an immense need to teach her a lesson. I decided it would be a good idea to speed up as she crossed in front of my car and then slam on my breaks just to give her a little scare. I know, I know, I'm a psycho! Let's just blame it on my raging hormones ok. Anyways I started yelling at her again telling her that I was late for class too and then I said something stupid along the lines of "you better learn the system around here if you plan to survive girl!!" Who even says that? She continued to walk away and I was left there helpless, without a spot and even more late for class. After another few minutes I finally found a place to park and really felt like I needed revenge. At that point I remembered I had a banana in my backpack and so I went and smeared banana all over her door handles and windshield. Don't worry, I used a plastic baggie to make sure my hands stayed clean. I'll admit that for the first little while it felt really good and I was pretty proud of myself for showing that girl a thing or two, but as time went on I was a little ashamed of myself. I realized I had totally pulled a crazy one. I started to think of better ways to have handled the situation and then I thought about how my baby's hearing has developed and it heard it's mommy going off like a psycho person. I guess I could have done worse to her car, but it still wasn't right and I wish I had more control over my emotions than that. So to the dumb girl who stole my parking spot, if by some slight chance you come across this blog post and realize that this story is about you, I'm sorry for losing my temper and smearing banana all over your car. (But if you ever pull a move like that on me again, I will kill you.) Just kidding!

Well anyways, I'm sure by now I've scared everyone and you are all planning on staying away from me until I deliver this child in August. I promise that I will do better at controlling myself in the future and I've really tried to learn from these outbursts of mine. Heaven help me during these last 20 weeks.

P.s. Turns out I'm not as creative as I thought I was. The whole pregzilla thing already exists.

Update # 4 - Graduation

I started my very last semester of college in January and I'm happy to say that the semester is just about half way through! I will be graduating on April 23rd and guess who will be speaking at my graduation... only PRESIDENT THOMAS S. MONSON!! I nearly cried when I found that out this week! It felt like a little tender mercy for me! I was pretty heartbroken to not be able to finish my education at BYU-Idaho and it was a struggle to motivate myself to finish my degree at Weber State. But I decided it was important to me and that I needed to do it. While at Weber State I have definitely missed the enlightenment I received at BYU-I and the unique environment that's there, but I feel the fact that the prophet will be speaking at MY graduation makes up for everything and is almost like a little reward for me for pushing through and finishing what I started. I am SO excited for April 23rd!

Update # 3 - Big News

So Troy and I have taken the plunge, we've got a Salmon in the oven. I am currently 3 months and 2 weeks pregnant! The 3 pregnancy tests that I took all said positive and all the symptoms have been there, but it wasn't until yesterday that all doubt was wiped from my mind. Yesterday was my first doctor's appointment and we were able to have an ultrasound and hear the baby's heartbeat. It was one of the coolest most sweetest moments of my life. We watched this little human on the screen having a little dance party in my belly. It was so cute to see it's tiny arms and legs kicking and waving around. We could see it's heart beating away in it's chest like crazy and I just couldn't believe that was inside me! It was pretty incredible. I can't wait for my next appointment.

So far I have been pretty lucky with my pregnancy. I haven't been too sick and I've been able to carry on with life like normal for the most part. The only time I feel really nauseous is when I am hungry so it's been pretty important for me to keep something in my stomach at all times. This means I have snacks with me where ever I go. I have several classes with some of the same people and I swear they must think I eat 24 hours of the day. I do have a pretty trigger happy gag reflex at the moment, but thankfully I haven't thrown up once. Those of you who know me well know that I have a ridiculously sensitive sense of smell. Well that sense of smell has been times by a hundred with my pregnancy, it's a little out of control and it doesn't help the gagging situation. Truthfully I really can't complain. I have been very blessed and thankfully it has not interfered with my classes and I am able to easily finish up my last semester.

So mark your calendar's for August 10th because that's when little baby Salmon should arrive. Look out world!

P.s. I'll post a picture of my ultrasound when I get it scanned

Update #2 - The Cat

About 3 weeks ago Troy called me and told me he was going to be late getting home that night. When he got home he walked into the family room holding something behind his back, I asked him what he had and suddenly I stinky bag of cat food was shoved in my face and Troy told me to come out to the car. I couldn't believe what was happening!

You need to understand that I have a small obsession with cats and even when Troy and I were just friends we clashed on the subject. I remember going on a road trip with a group of friends, Troy being one of them, and while we were stopped at a gas station I noticed a little cat hanging out by the front door so I knelt down and started petting it. Troy was utterly disgusted by my actions! Haha he made me go and wash my hands as he explained to me that cats are filthy diseased animals. There have been several arguments throughout our marriage over whether or not we would ever have a cat and Troy insisted that it would NEVER happen! I may or may not have threatened to leave him if he wouldn't let it happen someday...

Next thing I know he is walking me to the car and there is a teeny Siamese kitten sitting in the front seat! I was shocked! You'd think I would have been so excited, and I was, but I have to admit that I was also a little worried about whether I was ready to take care of a cat at this point in my life. I always assumed that IF a cat ever came into the picture it would be when we had a bunch of kids running around so they could play with it and both the cat and the kids could be entertained. Then I started to think about how awesome Troy was for actually giving in and getting me a cat. It was one of the sweetest gifts I've ever gotten, mostly because I know what a sacrifice it was for Troy. He really must love me. I found out that he had been searching for the perfect cat for a couple months which made my heart melt even more. So of course the cat was staying.

I named him Sushi and he's a pretty cute cat. I'll admit that I have had my moments of pure frustration with him though. As I type this he insists on licking my hands which gets pretty dang annoying after a while and your skin begins to feel raw from his rough tongue. I have never seen a more needy cat in my life. This little guy follows me everywhere and if you are sitting down he NEEDS to be sitting on you begging for attention. This usually includes getting in my face, clawing at my hands and arms, or trying to eat my hair. He is usually just a ball of energy and runs all over the place jumping from couch to chair to coffee table. He loves to attack my plants and my feet as I walk by. There are those moments where he just likes to snuggle up and sleep on your lap and keep you warm. Those sweet moments often get interrupted by a horrible stench that takes over the room. It's amazing that such a small little thing can smell so rancid. I do like how he greets me each time I come home and it is pretty hilarious watching him play with his toys sometimes or chase his tail. Let's just say that Sushi and I currently have what they call a "Love-Hate" relationship. I expected cats to be a lot less high maintenance, because that's how I remember my old cat being, but then again I don't remember him as a kitten because I was just a baby. So I'm just waiting for Sushi to grow out of his annoying needy/crazy kitten stage and hopefully we will form a beautiful relationship! At least he loves people and he's a pretty friendly cat, I suppose I shouldn't hate him just because he loves me so much. OK..... he seriously just farted on me! Maybe I'm not such a cat person after all!! Heaven help me.

Update #1 - Christmas

Well it's time for some updates! It has been a while since I've written on here!

Christmas has come and gone and I loved every minute of it. We hosted the annual "Nog Fest" at our house this year and we were able to celebrate with a bunch of great friends and keep the Rexburg tradition alive. It was a lot of fun and there were some serious outfits worn. I think the winners of the evening were Trevor and April, check out those suits!

Yes, that is a moose head on our wall. We borrowed it from Troy's office and as cool as it was for the party I was not not intending it to be a permanent decoration. Unfortunately the thing is STILL hanging on my wall and it's pretty much the first thing you notice when you walk into out house. Charming...

Here's an awkward shot of Troy and I with the moosey

Another highlight of the Christmas season was the fact that nearly my entire family was together here in Utah except for my brother Noah who couldn't make it. It was such a blast and it was so nice to spend some quality time with everyone. I got to meet my baby nephew Crew for the first time and I got to see two of my nieces who we don't get to see very often. It was great! Hopefully I'll be able to see everyone again really soon.