a report on how our marriage is faring

The other night, Nate and I went to the grocery store for a few needed groceries, and of course we ended up buying a Blu-ray that was on sale. After checking out, Nate noticed that right after the receipt listed the Blu-ray, it listed "Smooth CD." This perturbed him to the point of taking the receipt to customer service. "I didn't buy a smooth CD," he told her. "I don't even know what that would be." I offered that maybe it was a bonus CD that came with the DVD... maybe? Might I mention that the movie was Jet Li's "Fearless?" We then stood there like idiots as the woman at customer service counted our items and explained that "smooth CD is the conditioner for smooth hair" that we had bought. "Um... yeeeeaaah... thanks!" I said sheepishly. So now, any time Nate does anything dumb, he says, "I did not buy the smooth CD" in a voice that throws me into wild laughter.

I had always hoped that I would marry someone funny, and while Nate doesn't always show that side of himself to everyone else, I get to experience it daily... and man, he kills me. I'm happy to say that after a year and 3 months of marriage, not only do I love my husband, I still really like him.

Sunday Morning, Early Dawnin'

Before heading out on Sunday morning, we stopped by a final time to see Baby Isaac. He's a cute kid, and we can't wait for he and Max to meet.






Sending the grandparents to church...


On the drive home...


And we're back!

bon fire appetit

This was the longest trip to Snowflake we'd had together, so we were able to spend a little time with most of the relatives. The grandparents, Sandy, Kara, Justin, Nate and I ate at Eva's (Mexican food!) one night. Sandy had us all over for a crepe, peaches, and cream breakfast. Rikki and Kara gave me tons of advice on giving birth. Kara took Grandma, Nate, and me on a "Pepsi run" and drove us around some pretty parts of Snowflake. We stopped by to see Gary and Sara for a bit. Danny and his two youngest kids were in town as well, so we invited them out to a bonfire on Grandpa's orchard our last night. While Danny and the kids picked apples, Grandpa and Nate got the fire ready. Greg came with his dog, Gus, and Aaron and Jasmine met us there as well. We made hot dogs and s'mores while chatting around the cedar fire for a couple hours. Once the sun goes down, you can see a billion stars... and the air was crisp and our bellies full. Perfect night.

Pumpkins in Snowflake

Wednesday was spent lazing about at Hazel and Daryl's house in Snowflake. Of course Nate's grandma was making bread, so we slathered on some creamed honey and had ourselves a warm piece. The weather was much cooler than in Phoenix, so I got in an Autumn mood. That evening we carved pumpkins with Aaron and Jasmine (Baby Isaac slept quietly in his carrier). Nate's grandpa made me some hot cocoa with vanilla ice cream - a new treat for me. I thought our pumpkin turned out pretty darn cool. It was inspired by our having watched 4 seasons of the X-files. We let the seeds dry for a day or so before I cleaned and baked them in butter, sugar, and cinnamon. It was a new treat for the grandparents. Give and take.

Meteor Crater

For years, Nate has been wanting to go to this meteor crater near Winslow. It was more impressive than I thought it would be, and I realized the significance of what it was we were seeing after having touched a piece of the meteor... THAT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE! Instead of taking the hour long guided tour, we took a walk by ourselves out the back door to some look-out points. Nate was a happy camper.

Sedona

Nate took me to Tlaquepaque where we walked around on cobble stone streets in slow-mo and took in the sounds of soft guitar music and fountains. We visited a music box store and a toy store before we headed over to a bridge overlooking a stream coming down from the mountains. As the sun started to set, we ate dinner on a balcony with a perfect view of the red rock. The whole evening was enchanting.









After dinner, we drove to Flagstaff for the night. We don't have TV at home, so we immediately turned on the TV in our hotel room and stretched out on the bed after a long day. We ended up watching Chopped on the Food Network channel until midnight. Sure, we love the show, but seriously? We agreed that we have no self-control and don't deserve to get TV... ever. We're sticking to Netflix.

Montezuma's Well

Nate and I just got back from a little vacation during Nate's Fall break. We left Tuesday morning (the day after my trip to the emergency room) and drove up to Sedona. On the way, we stopped at Montezuma's Well, the hub of life for the Sinagua Indians. We hiked down some stone steps to see remains of their dwellings and saw some graffiti dating back to the 1800's. Despite Nate's ankle and my huge belly, we got around pretty well... pretty well. Ba duh dum.

piERna

There aren't enough posts on our blog about injuries and health complications, so here's another one.



Sunday night while watching a movie, I was running my hand down the back of my leg when I felt a lump in my varicose vein, a vein I have had since my mission in 2004-2005. I called my midwife around noon on Monday to let her know about the lump. She told me to go to the emergency room right away. I wasn't expecting that, but I'm considered "high risk" because I'm pregnant. After an ultrasound of my leg checking for blood clots in my deeper veins, the ER doctor told me I was fine and sent me home.

The whole thing took about three hours, but I'm glad it happened. I had never been to the hospital for myself and didn't know what to expect. Now I feel less anxious about being admitted to give birth. The hospital itself wasn't inviting at all, but the staff were really friendly. I'll do what I can to control the atmosphere in the labor and delivery room (dim lights, soft music and voices, minimal checks and monitoring), and here's hoping the staff are as great in a few weeks as they were the other day.

Pretty Purplish

ankle update

There you have it.

Pepin De Nuevo

Nate and I went to Pepin again tonight, only this time we BOTH got the Pollo Don Quijote dish and then topped it off with flan. Wowza. They set up a stage for a flamenco guitarist and dancer. It was a satisfying way to end a long day after work.

Nate has found loads of deals on restaurant.com, and we decided tonight while sitting at our dimly lit table that we are going to celebrate our last days of total freedom by using a coupon every Friday night until Max comes. We're calling it the "Tour de Gluttony."

camera shy

Max wasn't as active as normal during this little video, but I did get a good shot of his knee sticking out. Or maybe it was his tiny fetus bum. One thing is for sure, that is a linea negra on my belly. Yep. I got one.

say what you mean, or mean what you say

The chain in one of our toilets hasn't been working right, so we've had to wiggle the handle to get the plug to drop so the water will stop flowing. Nate just told me to go "jingle" the handle, so I went and wiggled the handle while singing, "I don't want to grow up, 'cause I'm a Toys R Us kid."

It's ok. I once told him I was ravishing while staring blankly into the fridge. He agreed with me.

feileB dnoyeB deroB

I found these photos the other day.


Liz and I once lived together in a house on University in Provo. Also living with us was Sara. She was a kook, and we loved her. She encouraged us to make fools of ourselves. For example, she announced to our church ward that I was "a pro figure skater training for the Olympics." One of the activities planned for our FHE group was to go ice skating one evening. "This probably seems silly to you, huh?" one guy asked. "Yeah, no. It's cool. I forgot to bring my own skates, but I can still show you guys how to do a triple axle." Luckily the rink was too crowded, so I didn't have to eat my words.

Some days, like today, when I don't have to work and Nate is gone and the day seems long, I kinda wish I had the guts or the pals to do something totally dumb... just to entertain myself. I'm excited to have kids so that I have an excuse to instigate and participate in some good ol' silliness. I'll get to be a kid again. "Come on, Max. Let's go find a photo booth. Mommie's bored."

Skin, Ankles, Ligaments & Father Time

I decided to write in trebuchet font because "trebuchet" is a cool word. They haven't appeared in warfare in a few hundred years but it would be fun to make one to see how far it can throw boulders. I remember making a tower out of balsa wood for my wood shop class in high school. The tower that could hold the most weight got a prize. I think I got third place and an A. It would be fun to make a trebuchet out of balsa wood with Max when he gets a little older. (for some reason it didn't post in trebuchet font)

So, this week has been interesting. On Saturday morning at about 2:00 AM I woke up feeling the familiar uncomfortable blisters that accompany a cold sore. Luckily I still had some Valtrex and some Novitra (an ointment that dries the blisters out and gets the ordeal over more quickly). I literally jumped to my feet and turned on the light to rummage through our cabinets to find my herpes averters. Em asked me what I was doing (with a bit of an impatient tone) and I mumbled something intelligible back to her. She asked again and I said, "Gosh Em, you aren't being very nice right now. I have a cold sore." I can't expect someone to be completely Christ-like when half awake. I guess I can't be expected to speak English when half awake either. Unawakedness definitely complicates communication.

So I should have known that the cold sore was a harbinger of further pain and discomfort to come. On Monday nights I play in a softball league with some of my law school buddies and we play a double header against the same team. It was our 4th Monday playing and we started off kind of slowly - losing 10-3. The other team was definitely cocky and confident, but our team has won all of our games by a combined score of 125-50. We ended up winning 17-13 by scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning. During the inning I slid into second (safe) and even though I wear knee high socks I somehow got a pretty decent raspberry on my left leg. After our games I washed it out and put some Aquaphor on it, but it burned all night. The next day, it began oozing dirt - I have had these things before and that has never happened. It woke me up again last night at 12:30 in the morning because it was inflamed and I couldn't sleep. I washed it out again and ended up getting around 4 hours of sleep.

So today, the same group of law school friends usually play pick up basketball at the student rec center. I had planned to play, but because I didn't sleep very well I told them I wasn't going to play. At the last minute and on the way out the door I decided that if I felt up for it I should play so I grabbed my hoop gear and went to school. I eventually decided to play, but because I was afraid that the raspberry would get hit or kicked I wrapped it up with an ACE bandage. No problems there. After playing for about two hours, I was on my last game and getting tired. On a rebound I landed on a guys foot and rolled my right ankle. There wasn't a snap, but definitely a crackle and a pop. I felt the ligaments go and crumpled to the floor in screams. It has been 5 years since I last sprained an ankle - I was doing so well! A physical therapist in Utah did a great job with therapy and I haven't had any problems since. Well 5 years was a good long time, now I need to find a new therapist. The pain of a sprained ankle where existing scar tissue exists is terribly painful and I had forgotten just how bad it is.

So now I am hobbling around, having Em help me with the things that I can't do. The timing really couldn't be worse. We are going to Sedona and San Diego next week for Fall Break and my softball league games will have to wait, but I don't think that I will be playing basketball for the next three months. I am just not 18 anymore. I don't feel old - I can run with the coeds just fine, but with work and school it might not be worth it to play pickup basketball.

In the pic you can see my skinned left leg and my swollen right ankle. It is going to be a fun night!

better than chocolate

I'm at work trying not to eat all the chocolate that one of the therapists put on display as an early Halloween treat for patients. I've been here an hour and have already had three pieces. Don't even ask me how much I ate yesterday. You'll tell me I'm a bad mom for feeding my baby so much sugar. In my defense, I have no self control. Hmm... is that any sort of defense? Probably not. But I'll tell you this... I'd much rather be sitting at home with Nate watching General Conference than munching on chocolate here at the front desk.