While Daddy's Away: Day 1

Sam left for India yesterday morning. He got there this morning (12 hour difference from Arizona), and he said he got only a few hours of sleep on the plane so he was exhausted.

These kids are going to miss him like crazy:

(Getting ice cream a few days before he left)

And he will miss them too. So I decided to post on here each day what we are up to... Hopefully he won't miss us too much that way! Or maybe it will make him miss us more?? Who knows?

Today the kids played non-stop. 

Ellie and Eve like to play together, but they are also both so strong-willed that they get on each other's nerves sometimes. It's funny to listen to them talk to each other.

Nathan had a hard day. Lots of his day was spent like ^ this. The poor little boy is getting used to not having his daddy around and to having so many friends around to play with. He absolutely loves Hyrum and Micah though. They taught him to say "fin, noggin, dude." It's pretty much the cutest thing ever.

Jonah continues to charm the pants off of everyone he meets. Not only is he a perfect little chub, he's so content. He's happy to sit in the swing, or in the corner of the couch, or to be carried around. He just enjoys life - especially when people talk to him. He just lights up and "talks" back.

Of course we have been spending lots of time in the pool! Ellie and Nathan started out really cautious, but they are warming up to the pool thing. Ellie even told me today, "I closed my breath, and I put my face under the water!" She's learning how to kick in the water, and she walks all around the shallow part of the pool. Nathan loves to sit on the steps and play with the pool toys. He will also walk around in the shallow part, but the water is up to his chest, so it is hard for him to keep his balance.

Nathan is all about balls and splashing people.

Ellie went in the floatie today and actually had fun. On Saturday she was a little bit afraid, but today she really liked it.

She stayed up late to watch a movie with Hyrum and Evie, and she was out like a light a minute after I put her to bed. Note to self: put a pillow case on that pillow! Yuck! :)

We are so grateful my family is kind enough to let us stay with them for a few weeks. We are really enjoying being here, even though we miss Sam like crazy!

Thanksgiving Break (Sorry for the extremely long post...)

Friday was the last day of school before the week-long Thanksgiving break. Sam and I were really excited for the time off from school - we needed it! Rexburg was supposed to have a snow storm starting on Friday night, so when we walked to the car from our last classes we were excited to see a few flakes starting to fall. We went home and watched a movie, talked, and relaxed. Then at 11:45 that night we decided to go to McDonalds for ice cream... Why not, right?

Mmmm...... Ice cream!!

It didn't snow Saturday or Sunday, but Monday morning we woke up to quite a bit! These are our front stairs.

There was probably 5 or so inches, so Sam had to be manly (well, he's always manly...) and shovel a path so we could get out of the parking lot.

On Tuesday morning we drove to Twin Falls. What is normally a 3 hour trip took us 6 hours because we were driving in a blizzard. We saw probably 18 cars off the road, and at one time the visibility was so bad Sam couldn't see the road... So we stayed right behind a semi that had its hazards on - he kept us on track!

We were dumb on the trip and took few pictures. I'm really bummed about that! So I'll just have to tell about it without pictures... On Tuesday we stayed with Melissa and Maren. We had fun talking and watching a movie. The next morning we went to WinCo to pick up some things, and it was pretty crazy! It was the day before Thanksgiving, what can you expect?

On Wednesday afternoon we got to my grandparents' house, and while Sam helped my grandpa shovel snow, I helped my grandma cut (and eat) caramels and dip pretzels. I wonder who got the better end of that deal... :) My grandma had also made clam chowder for us that night. Mmmmmmm. I ate all the leftovers too. :)

Thursday was Thanksgiving! Sam and I were only in charge of deviled eggs and green bean casserole. Seriously, everything else was taken care of by my aunts and grandma. Crazy. We went over to my aunt Karen's house to help set up. I really didn't do much because every time I would pick something up, somebody would say, "now should you be carrying that?" So I opted for sitting in the living room and watching my cute cousins, Joey and Dylan, play "huskies" and talking to my uncle Matt. Since the roads to California were so bad, Melissa and Maren weren't able to travel. So they came to Thanksgiving dinner with us!!! It was fun to have them - I hope they weren't overwhelmed by us all! We played some games, ate an amazing meal, and talked. Then later that night Sam and I went to "The Last Three Days" with Matt and Alisa. It was a good movie, but I think the end ruined it for me. Bummer when that happens.

Friday Sam and my grandpa watched football. None of the teams they were rooting for won. The Boise State game was especially disappointing. But we don't talk about that anymore around here. ;) I played some games with my grandma, talked with her, and she introduced me to "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." Later that evening Sam and I walked around the mall. I love when the stores are all decorated for Christmas! We even looked at strollers and baby clothes at Sears. That was fun. :)

On Saturday we got to go to the Twin Falls temple for a session! It was so beautiful. I loved it. After that Sam and I went to my Aunt Alisa and Uncle Matt's house. I looked through Alisa's old maternity clothes (thank you!!!), and we talked for a few hours. It was fun to get to know them a little better and to spend some time with their family.

On Sunday we drove home. The roads were much better than Tuesday, so we got home quicker - which was nice. I'm so grateful for a husband that is experienced at driving in the snow!!!

Thank you to all of our Twin Falls family for letting us stay with you, and for feeding us! We had lots of fun with all of you!

In response to several requests, here's another picture of my belly. (Good heavens, when am I going to learn to smile normally in a picture? Sigh...) This was today, at 17 weeks and one day. We went to the doctor on Monday, and after waiting over an hour to see the doctor, we heard the heartbeat (150 bpm) as well as a little kick on the Doppler. That was exciting! :) While we were scheduling our next appointment, the lady at the front desk gave us a brownie because she felt so bad we had to wait so long. Well thanks! We can wait an hour when we don't have anywhere else to be anytime for a brownie! Our next appointment will be December 17th at 3:00. We'll have the ultrasound to make sure the baby is healthy, as well as find out the gender! We're really looking forward to that. :) Also, today I felt the baby move for a solid 10 minutes while I was in my chemistry class!!! That was pretty exciting for me because I've thought I've felt it before, but I've been unsure. There was no doubting it today, though!

There's every kind of holiday Hershey's Kiss in there. Dad and Micah? Be excited.

We got our Christmas tree today! We wish we could have gone to cut one down, but the snow hit at the wrong time! We're excited to put it up and decorate it. It's the first time I've had a real tree, so I'm excited. Hooray for my favorite holiday of the year!!!

Good thing we didn't get pulled over with that thing sticking out the window!

If you read that entire thing, I'm very impressed. Just sayin'.