Moving and Saying Goodbye to Friends

Amidst work and school and preparing to have a baby, Mat and I decided to make life interesting and decided to move. We spent the last week packing up our apartment, putting our stuff in storage, and saying goodbye to friends. In the process, I was able to say goodbye to...

some mission friends...

the volleyball wives club...

some dear friends from the ward...

and many other people. It has been a little strange to pack up and not really know where we'll be in 6 months, but we are excited for the adventure. It'll be a good experience to be out on our own and try to make a name for ourselves. Goodbye to all those who we were unable to get together with and thank you for your friendship. We love you all!

Pregnancy

As baby has been growing, I have conveniently tried not to take pictures, in hopes that I'd have one day late in pregnancy where I could say, "Wait! Take a picture--I actually look good today!" Ha! Yeah right. For me, that day never came. But, regardless, here are a few pictures of what Jr. and I look like: (No judging please...)

28 weeks:

32 weeks:

36 weeks: (I don't have any standing pics of me at this stage, but you can see my huge belly in this picture...)

38 weeks:

As you can see, I hardly gained weight until about 33 weeks, at which time the baby finally decided to start growing... into my face, arms and legs. But we're so happy about our little boy that will be coming in 2 weeks (or so).

Hard Work and Dedication

Hey Everyone! Mat and I watched this video about Tyler Haws on lds.org for part of Family Home Evening this week (it's just the two of us so we struggle coming up with lessons), and thought you'd enjoy it too. I was close to tears, but then again, I'm pregnant, so that's not saying much. Check it out.

Skiing in Blizzards

Mat and I spent a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Taylor side of the family up at Snowbird this year. The Tuesday before thanksgiving, a blizzard warning was sent out, in which all schools closed down early and all businesses were heeded to close and go home and get inside. Indeed, the blizzard did come, which confined us to the condo we were in for a week. Despite the snow, however, we did get a chance to get out skiing. We took the four oldest boys out to teach them how. Take a look:

The men also went out skiing one day just for fun. The outdoor temperature: 6 degrees. Windchill on top of the mountain: -40 degrees. Needless to say, Mat came home with minor frost bite, and couldn’t feel his toes or nose for a bit, but all that is left is a mark on his face. (I think it makes him look handsome though. J )

During the week, we also made shirts, one of which Kaysie made for our new baby which looked something like this:

For thanksgiving, we answered the age-old question “What do vegetarians do on thanksgiving?” and went to Chuck-a-rama! Sadly, the meal was less than delightful, so we spent the rest of the vacation eating delectable food to make up for it. J

Then, upon our return, some friends invited us to go snowshoeing! I highly suggest this as a hobby to anyone who is looking for a good time!

My New Hobby

Since we have been married, Mat and I try our hardest to be frugal. We are nowhere near perfect, but I have become addicted to coupon clipping. This was one of my greatest feats the other day. (Granted, in sharing this I realize that there are others who will scoff at my savings, but I was impressed with myself, so away with you and your 4-wisdom-tooth-tale.)

Included in my purchase: 1 jumbo laundry detergent, I jumbo ketchup bottle, 1 dishwasher detergent, 5 tubes of Crest, 2 Old Spice Deodorant s, 2 Secret Deodorants, 1 package of Women’s razors, 2 bottles of Dawn dishwashing soap, 1 Neutrogena Face Wash, 1 Herbal Essence Mousse, 1 Herbal Essence Hair Spray, 1 Herbal Essence Shampoo and Conditioner, 1 mascara, 1 jumbo pack of Q-tips, 1 carton of ice cream, 4 bottles of Old Spice body wash, 1 roll of paper towels, 2 boxes of Kleenex, 2 cans of pineapple, 2 cans of mandarin oranges, and 1 package of pasta.

Total price: $104.08

Price after store discounts and coupons: $42.39

Savings: $61.69

Percent Saved: 59.27%

It was a good moment. Then, just a month later, Mat came up with this one:

Included in Mat’s purchase: 10 boxes of life cereal, 1 bag of Malt-O-Meal, and 1 loaf of bread.

Total Price: $41.22

Price after discounts and coupons: $16.53

Savings: $24.69

Percent Saved: 59.89%

We’ll let you be the judge of who did better. J

"P.S. This IS NOT an announcement"

For the last year and a half, Mat and I have felt compelled to remind people that we are not expecting whenever comments were made about what our children might be like. Most comments started or ended with the phrase, “This is not an announcement.”

Finally, we’d like to apologize formally to all those to whom we lied within the last 4 months about me not being pregnant and tell you, wholeheartedly…

“THIS IS AN ANNOUNCEMENT!”

And… IT’S A BOY!

Fall, Fun and Families

The last few months have been nothing but vacations and family excursions (although if you ask Mat he may mention the 15 grad credits he took… minor detail…) But it’s been an adventure.

In October, my mother, sister, and niece Emma came down to see General Conference and we had so much fun having an 8-year-old around. We introduced Emma to Travis and Kelly’s chickens, ate more candy and ice cream than I care to admit to, and had late night sleepovers.

Watching Emma at conference was by far the best part. I was humbled to realize that not everyone gets the experience to ever see a prophet of God, let alone be in the same room as him and hear him speak. Mat held Emma up as the Prophet walked in and it was amazing to see this newly baptized little member of the church light up and feel and see that the Prophet is a real person.

September, October and November brought 7 Medical School interviews for Mat, sufficiently putting a dent in our bank account and our weekends. But it seems that it paid off, as he has been accepted to four of the seven schools and we are still waiting to hear from the other 3. As of now, our top choice is most likely TCOM in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, but we’ll see what the next few months bring.

At Halloween, we spent lots of time with friends, carving pumpkins and doing cornmazes. We even won an award for the scariest pumpkin at our ward party. (I wish I had a picture of it… but alas, it died before I got around to it.)

In November we went down to Vegas for an interview, and to meet our new niece, Teagan Elizabeth Richards. Isn’t she cute?

I also flew to Spokane to spend a weekend with my sisters and mother to shop for Christmas. It was the first time my mom had been with her 3 daughters alone for years—we had a blast. Needless to say, there was much rejoicing in the form of Mexican food, Krispee Kreams and Blizzards.