Family Visit

My sister Carolyn had her baby girl Hazel on May 1st. I was able to go visit them yesterday on my day off and see her for the first time. She is adorable! She is a very calm baby (unless she is getting a bath or she is hungry). She is so sweet.

It was great to see Carolyn, Jacob, Nicole, Alex, Scott, Analee, Madison, Mylie, and my parents. It was a mini-reunion! We had a nice visit and enjoyed taking turns holding Hazel. Please excuse the happy shiny faces of Carolyn and myself in the picture. It was getting warm in that room with all those people!

Also, I was able to play a little Mario Kart with Alex and Nicole... and I came in first a few times! I guess all my practice is paying off a little.

The Host

I bought this book last Friday. You know it's a good book when I actually buy it... I am a die-hard library card holder and usually don't buy books. It helped that I had a 40% off coupon, too.

I started the book Saturday night and finished reading it on my day off on Wednesday. It was great! The whole tenor of the book was very different from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series (all of which I own, too, and have pre-ordered the 4th book that comes out August 2nd!), but it was really well written, and I loved the story!

I won't write anything else about the story because I don't want to give away any of the plot. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read!

The Chair

Zak and I have been looking for a recliner due to the impending arrival of our baby. We have a couch and we have kitchen chairs, but I was interested in finding a chair that was more comfy for feeding the child. The La-Z-Boy plant in our area is closing down very soon, so all the furniture stores were advertising a close-out on their La-Z-Boy recliners. We thought this was a perfect opportunity to find what we wanted... until we got to the first store and realized that a close-out is not the same as a sale. It just means that they want to get rid of their stock.
I found an extremely comfy chair that I really, really loved -- for $563. That wasn't really the price range we were looking for, so we decided to wait a while. We still have a couple of months before the child makes his debut, anyway.
Last week my co-worker announced that she has a La-Z-Boy recliner that she wanted to get rid of, as her sons are moving and she didn't have room at her place for their furniture. I jumped on that!
So yeah, it's a little worn and has a slip cover, and the part that you put your feet on (can't remember what you'd call that -- pregnancy brain) caves a little in the middle -- but it was FREE! All we had to do was pick it up and take it home! The best part of all, next to the chair being free, is that it is soooooo comfortable. I sat down in it last night after working all day, then cooking dinner, then going to the grocery store, then doing the dishes... and I didn't want to get up. Ah, bliss. I love our free chair!

My Husband, the Model

This is the poster created by Rhett and Burke in honor of Zak's graduation. I should've just had them e-mail me a digital copy instead of taking a picture of it myself, but I didn't.
In case you can't read what it says, I'll post it here:

ONE MAN.
ONE EXTRA VERTEBRAE.
ONE GRADUATION AT LAST.

LET THE CHAOS BEGIN...

There were lots of Jack Bauer quotes on the wall, too, the day of the graduation celebration. What a handsome guy!

Crazy 8’s

I was tagged by Dave, Cheryl, and Wendy. This was a tough one because I really had to think about my answers, but it was fun to do, and fun to read others' responses to the tag.

8 things I’m passionate about:
My family
Reading
Being a good and productive member of society
Keeping my house clean and uncluttered
The Gospel of Jesus Christ
Good spelling, good grammar, and good punctuation
Jazz basketball
Enjoying scooter and bike rides (although not so much currently, since I’m 7 months pregnant)

8 books I've read recently:
Eclipse (currently reading for the second time)
Animal Farm (currently reading)
New Moon
Twilight
Someday
Dawn’s Light
Tawny Man Series
Farseer Trilogy
**Disclaimer: I do not read for education purposes. I probably should, but reading is my main escape, hence, I read a LOT of sci-fi/fantasy. One day I will read non-fiction on a regular basis. Maybe.

8 things I often say:
“Loan Department, this is Sarah. May I help you?”
“For the love…”
“Give me strength!”
“Maybe you didn’t hear me correctly…” (Zak can explain this one.)
"I think so. I think that's what I said..." (Zak can also explain this one.)
“I love you.”
“Have a good day, see you later!”
“No way. No dang way!” (You get at least 10 cool points if you know where this phrase comes from.)

8 things I look for in a friend:
Sincerity
Sense of humor
Interesting to talk to
Genuinely caring
A sense of adventure (to help bolster my very weak sense of adventure)
Strong values and morals
Common interests
Trustworthiness

8 things I want to do before I die:
Go to England, France, Germany, and various other European countries
Plant a vegetable garden
Have fruit trees
Become a gardener (of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and other plants)
Have a washer and dryer inside my house so that I don’t have to go outside to change loads of laundry around
Raise a happy, healthy family
Learn how to sew really well, instead of just sort of knowing how to sew
Read non-fiction books (maybe)

8 things I have learned this past year:
I really love to exercise. It’s much harder to do when you’re 7 months pregnant, but still feels great when you’re all done!
High school kids are just as mean as they were when I was in high school, and possibly much lazier than when I was in high school.
I’ve learned all kinds of things about pregnancy through experience, but especially that I would do anything at all for my baby, no matter what it is or how it makes me feel. Even go through sinus infections, cold, and the flu with no medication. Not to mention the impending labor and delivery… though that will not be without medication. Sorry, baby. You've got to draw the line somewhere.
There were two Catholic saints and one Catholic archbishop named Peregrine. And the peregrine falcon is the fastest creature on the planet. They can fly at speeds from 99-273 miles per hour!
1978 was a banner year for catching and/or sentencing serial killers (Ted Bundy, Richard Chase, David Berkowitz—a.k.a. Son of Sam, John Wayne Gacy).
I can sometimes let the house be a little cluttered and my life doesn’t end.
There’s nothing wrong with a little weight on a woman. (Can you name the movie that quote comes from?! Another 10 cool points if you can…)
You can eat an entire quart of ice cream all by yourself…just one spoonful at a time. And that’s completely okay, as long as those spoonfuls are spread out over several days and weeks. (**Another disclaimer: I didn’t say I had actually done this. I just learned that it was possible. Big difference.)

I tag anyone who reads this and wants to do it! Especially you blog lurkers who never comment. Be a sport. And let me know if you take me up on the tag... I want to read your answers!

Or Else!

I just stumbled across this picture on a website and it made me laugh. I assume this sign is in a bathroom based on the pictures around it.

Mario Kart

At long last, Mario Kart for the Wii was released on Sunday. Zak had an exercise in patience over the weekend, because we called Saturday to make sure that our specially ordered copy had come in and it had! Unfortunately, the store couldn't sell it to us until after the release date. We don't shop on Sunday, so the earliest Zak would be able to get it was Monday. So, Zak went first thing Monday morning and picked up his copy before he went to work. He played for a few minutes before he went to work, much to Rhett's dismay. I have to admit, I went home on my lunch break and also played for a little while. I actually won my first two Grand Prix races on the bike! Mario Kart for the Wii is a lot of fun.

Naturally, we had to share the fun with the brothers, so last night after work we gathered together and played on the big screen at the parents'. Barb snapped this picture. Please ignore the slouching pregnant girl in the back. She was trying to hide, as she was feeling frumpy and huge. The verdict: playing Mario Kart for the Wii is pretty fun!

The Update

Zak has officially finished his student teaching!! He went to a "closing of the semester" meeting this morning and has one more meeting this afternoon. Next week he will start the process of applying for his teaching license and will continue to wait for his degree to post to his transcript. It has taken a lot of hard work for him to get to this point. We are so excited and I am so proud of him!

In other news, the Jazz lost (at home!?) to the Rockets last night by two points. It was a really exciting game to watch, but we were very sad that they couldn't pull out the win. We're hoping for a better showing on Saturday night.

Also, we are so happy for Nik and Corey -- they welcomed baby Sofia yesterday. She is just beautiful!

The Book Tag

Karen took Wendy's challenge to do the book tag on her blog yesterday and it reminded me that I haven't done it yet! Shocking, considering my recent post about my library card. So here's my page 123, fifth sentence:

"Since he hadn't been raised by her, the letter was one of the only pieces of her Dayne would ever have."

It's from a book called Someday by Karen Kingsbury. She is one of my favorite Christian authors. I love to read good stories with characters that are interesting, and I can't read all science fiction/fantasy all the time, just most of the time. So when I want a change, I read select Christian authors because I know that there will be no swearing and nothing inappropriate, unlike what you find in most popular authors' books today. Plus, the authors I read talk a lot about faith, quote scriptures from the Bible, and their characters have really good morals, which is just nice to read about.
I really love the three series that Karen Kingsbury has written about the Baxter family. They are the Redemption Series, the Firstborn Series, and the Sunrise Series. Here's the link to her website: http://www.karenkingsbury.com/. I have really enjoyed getting to know her characters and seeing their decisions and struggles in life and would recommend these books to anyone who'd like a good, uplifting read.

On an unrelated and quite sad note, the Jazz lost to the Spurs last night. I guess that the Spurs wanted to return the favor from April 4th. Oh well, at least they're in the playoffs and we'll have more basketball to watch!

Totally Unrelated News

The Jazz beat the Rockets last night in the final home game of the season. We were pretty excited, because that's one step closer to home court advantage for the Jazz when the playoffs begin. Now if they can just beat the Spurs on Wednesday night at San Antonio... Go Jazz!!

I haven't posted in a while and that's mostly because there hasn't been a lot going on. I have been working a lot since one of the loan officers quit recently. Zak is finishing his last full week at Preston and making progress in the job hunt. That's about it!

We are really looking forward to the end of the semester. The last couple of days here have been beautiful -- it's been warm and sunny. We've been able to go outside without jackets. And then just a few minutes ago, my co-worker's husband e-mailed her to say: "It's snowing." I think the whole of Cache Valley has somehow stumbled into Narnia during the reign of the White Witch. This winter is never going to end!

What Once Was Lost

I lost my library card last week.

For anyone who knows me well, they will understand what a tragedy this was in my life. I went to the library on Monday and I thought I put the card back in my wallet where it belongs. I have been rather forgetful lately -- I hear it's very normal for this quality to increase in pregnant women. I thought I'd just misplaced it somewhere in my house or car.

Here's some background information to help you understand how important my library card is to me: when Zak and I arrived in Logan after our wedding and the subsequent cross-country road trip from St. Louis to Logan in July 2004, it was very late at night and we went to his parents' house and crashed on the floor in the family room. The next morning, we drove to our little apartment to start moving in and unpacking. This naturally entailed getting the utilities turned on first thing so that we'd have electricity, which we went to the Logan City offices to do. Right after we paid for the utilities to be turned on, I went to get my library card (now that I had proof of residency), since the library is in the same building as the city offices. This was before we unpacked, before we got our new cell phones, before we went to the grocery store. You get the picture.

So I looked for my library card on Thursday, intending to make a trip to the library after work, and couldn't find it. The horror! I am usually so responsible with my belongings; it really bothers me when I misplace something. I searched my purse, my car, checked all the pockets of my jackets and pants. It was GONE! I even looked over at my in-laws', since I had recently checked out a book for Larry and thought maybe I had left it in the book when I gave it to him. No luck. I assumed that it had fallen out of my jacket pocket as I walked from the library back to the car last Monday.

Imagine my joy this morning when I was getting ready for work and grabbed a pair of pants I thought I had already checked all the pockets on, pulled them on, and found a plastic card in the front right pocket.

I was going to get a new card tomorrow on my day off. But thankfully, I have found my Logan Library card and will not have to pay $2 for a replacement. All is right with the world.


p.s. In case there was ever any question as to my degree of nerdiness, I think I have just removed all doubt. I'm pretty much a total nerd. I had to call Zak immediately just to tell him that I found my card, so great was my joy.

Spurs? What Spurs?

The Jazz beat the Spurs on Friday night in a very fun-to-watch game, with a final score of 90-64. Holy cow, right? The Spurs are a great team, but something just wasn't clicking for them on Friday night. I don't know what the deal was -- I'm just thrilled that the Jazz beat 'em!
I'm hopeful that they'll do well against the Spurs when they play them in San Antonio in another week or so... but let's be honest, folks. The Jazz do not have the best track record when playing away from the Energy Solutions Center. In any case, like I said, I'm hopeful! Maybe they'll beat 'em again! Go Jazz!
So there is snow and rain forecast for today. Is it not April? I'm pretty sure the Vernal Equinox occurred right on schedule on March 20th. Last week we got two inches of snow, which has since melted off. I know that the snow isn't going to stick around if we do get it, but seriously! Can we get a little sunshine and some warmer temperatures? Sheesh.
We enjoyed a great General Conference this weekend, which Zak and I primarily listened to on the radio since we don't have cable and bunny ears do not work in our apartment. There were lots and lots of great talks, and I'm excited to re-listen to several of them online. On Sunday, we had to drive to Preston to pick up the Mustang from Zak's grandpa's place (where he worked very hard to get it fixed this past week - thanks, Dallas!) and ended up staying for lunch with them. It was so fun to visit and talk with them for a while -- we shared and compared some of our travel experiences in San Francisco.
Zak enjoyed an evening of video games with his brothers last night. He returned to Preston High this morning. The official count as of this morning: 9 more classes each with his 9th and 12th grade English students, 7 more classes with his psychology class (all grades). Only 14 days of student teaching left! We are excited.

Go Jazz!

The Jazz beat the Clippers last night 121-101. Hooray! This definitely made up for their poor showing against the Clippers in February.

This win was a result of which of the following:

a) It was Jerry Sloane's birthday yesterday and they were all anxious to get to the "hoe-down" that was being held after the game (Jerry's words, not mine)
b) Boozer and D Will are great ball players
c) President Thomas S. Monson was among the crowd, cheering the Jazz on
d) all of the above

I'll let you decide.

Zak's Quiz Results

This is what Zak came up with:

Which Peanuts Character Are You?
	You are part Schroeder. You are brilliant, ambitious, and brooding; you tackle tasks with extreme focus. People don't always interest you as much as other pursuits, though, so you can come off as aloof.
	You are part Snoopy. You have a vivid imagination and lead a rich inner life. Everyone likes you, but some don't understand that you may just be of another species.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Hogwarts House Would You Be In?
	The Sorting Hat would put you in Gryffindor. You are bold, passionate, and brave. You have a highly-defined sense of right and wrong, and you are not afraid to speak your mind or fight for what you want.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which 24 Character Are You?
	You are Jack Bauer. You are an aggressive and heroic figure. You think rules are only for kids, and try to break them at least once everyday (or hour). You like to get help from others especially your best friends. To complete a task, you are willing to do whatever it takes - be it the right way or the wrong one. Also, you could totally kick Chuck Norris' a**.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Looks like we are pretty closely aligned... except for the Snoopy-other-species thing. Who'd've thunk it? Also, I'm quite impressed that Zak is Jack Bauer. He's the coolest.

More Quizzes

Okay, these are fun. You guys should really try some of them.

Which Hogwarts House Would You Be In?
	The Sorting Hat would put you in Gryffindor. You are bold, passionate, and brave. You have a highly-defined sense of right and wrong, and you are not afraid to speak your mind or fight for what you want.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which Harry Potter Character Are You?
	You are part Hermione. You're a bookworm always in search of answers. When pressed, however, you can always be counted on to put away the books and help your friends.
	You are part Fred and George. You're a joker at heart, but when push comes to shove, you know what's important.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Which 24 Character Are You?
	You are Bill Buchanan. You are a law abiding citizen and in your world, rules are the driving force behind anything and everything. Your leadership charisma is something talked about by others, and instead of doing things differently you do different things. You have an uncanny knack of staying calm in tense situations and your tone is testimony to that. Keep the cool attitude and you will surely overcome the most perilous situations.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

I have to admit... I was hoping for a little more Jack (who wouldn't want to be like Jack Bauer?) or Chloe (she hasn't died yet through six seasons). But Bill is pretty stinkin' cool, too.

Which Peanuts Character Are You?

I saw this on my sister and brother-in-law's blog and thought it was fun. This is me:

Which Peanuts Character Are You?
	You are part Sally Brown. You may not be the most ambitious person, but life isn't supposed to be hard! You are relaxed and easy-going, but you can hold your ground when you want, too.
	You are part Schroeder. You are brilliant, ambitious, and brooding; you tackle tasks with extreme focus. People don't always interest you as much as other pursuits, though, so you can come off as aloof.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Thanks to Dave for helping me figure out how to put it on my blog!!

Our Saturday Getaway

Zak and I decided to get out of Logan on Saturday and go see my grandma in Murray. We met my sisters Carolyn and Nicole at our grandma's place and had a nice visit with her. She gave all of us hugs as we walked into her room and when it was Zak's turn to hug her, she said something like, "Oh, now here's the one I like!" What a cute grandma. At the end of the visit, we gave hugs again and she asked Zak, "Do I get another one?" I thought it was very sweet. And he's such a cute boy that I had to include the second picture!
After our visit with Grandma, during which we covered the basics of Jazz basketball, the impending remodeling of her assisted living center, and how everyone else in the family is doing, Zak, Carolyn, Nicole, and I went to Taco Bell. It's the one thing that could possibly qualify as a pregnancy craving, although I think that's overstating the matter. I don't crave it really, it just always sounds good. Gross, I know. But I have heard of grosser cravings.
Anyway, here is a funny story about our Taco Bell visit. We all ordered and went to sit down. Carolyn and I immediately decided we needed to use the restroom (can't imagine why), so we were gone when the food came. I ordered two Baja steak gorditas because they are the best thing I've had there. I unwrapped my first gordita, added some mild sauce, and dug in. In between the conversation, I made it through the first one and went to unwrap the second one. As I opened the the wrapper, I noticed that half of it was missing! It looked like someone had taken a couple of bites out of the gordita. I looked at it and said, "What in the world?" as I looked around the table at my sisters and husband. I was beginning to feel a little grossed out that someone behind the counter might've been snacking on my food before putting it on my tray. I was debating on whether or not to march up to the counter and ask for a new gordita when Zak started laughing. He had taken a couple of bites and re-wrapped the gordita because he wanted to try what I was having -- he has never eaten a Baja steak gordita before. When I realized that it was fine before he got his hands on it, I felt much better. For a minute there, I wondered if there had been something wrong with the other gordita I had just eaten and wondered if I just hadn't noticed it. Whew! A narrow escape. Zak makes me laugh!
After lunch, we went to the Gateway Mall to check out the maternity section at Old Navy. This is the only observation I have to make about that: I don't think that people should wear tube tops as a general rule. What in the world makes anyone think that a tube top during pregnancy is a good idea? I shudder to envision all the many mishaps that could ensue....
After our quick stop at the mall, we went to Layton and visited Zak's sister Britt and her husband Kurt. We got to see their son Ethan, who is so very cute and getting bigger all the time. He'll be crawling pretty soon, which is exciting! He is such a happy little boy and smiles a lot. We also got to see their new pug, Remy. He's pretty darn cute, too. It was nice to hang out and talk with Britt and Kurt, and also very nice of them to take us to dinner at Lee's Mongolian BBQ in Ogden. It was a great little place and Zak and I loved it! It is definitely a place we'd like to eat at again. We headed home after dinner, fully satisfied with our fun Saturday getaway.

I Love Music

Sometimes you're just having one of those days, you know? I'm having one of those days today, and I needed cheering up. So I plugged in my headphones and set the player on shuffle. It's amazing how much better I feel after listening to some great songs. So thanks, U2, Neil, Fleetwood Mac, and so many others... Styx, John Denver, the Beatles, Keane, Paul Simon, Chris Isaak, Guster... I could go on forever. I'm glad talented people have made and continue to make good music for the rest of us to enjoy.
Maybe it makes me feel better just because it takes my mind off of things. Or maybe it reminds me of happy times. It doesn't really matter to me -- as long as it keeps working!

Big Muscles and Squished Bread

I love that life with Zak is never dull. He always knows how to cheer me up. A few nights ago, he was sitting on the side of the bed flexing his muscles for me. He wanted me to admire how huge his biceps are, which I obligingly did. To be even more macho, he flexed and then punched his biceps. He did this several times until I was suitably impressed, and then we went on with getting ready for bed. He finally admitted a little later that his arms both really hurt after hitting them so hard. What a funny kid!

Last night Zak was having a few slices of bread, again just before bed. He could live on white bread and water. I know white bread isn't very good for you, but he hates wheat bread. So what're you going to do? Give the man his white bread, I say. Anyway, he likes to crush it up into a hard ball and then sort of nibble on it. I'm not sure why there's the fascination with squishing the bread up first... whatever. Anyway, he thought it would be funny to see if it bounced off my forehead. Answer: It did. Several times.

I wish that I had some pictures to share with you on this post... but I don't. We have purchased rechargeable batteries for our camera and have even used them in the camera to take some pictures, but Taylor is now borrowing our camera for a school project, so it'll be a bit before we have it back and will be taking pictures to post.

In Case You are Wondering

There will be no nudie pictures (or any other kind of pictures on this post)…but to the satisfaction of all, our baby is a boy! Yep, for those of you who didn’t already know, I am pregnant and we found out on Thursday that our little baking bun is definitely a boy. We are both really happy and excited about the news.
I feel a need to explain the first line of the post a little bit. Zak and I co-authored this post and that was one of his contributions. He really doesn’t like naked baby pictures. And technically, since the baby is naked in the ultrasound pictures, Zak didn’t want to post any of them. He has vowed that there will be no naked baby pictures of our children.
According to Barb, our little guy looks like me. Zak says, “Hopefully it’s okay for him to have a girl face on a dude body.” I think our baby has a great profile. Very cute. And that’s enough said about that.
The current due date is August 1st, but at the ultrasound we found out that we are probably one week further along than previously thought, so that date might be moving up just slightly. In any case, we are hoping that our baby doesn’t take after me in that regard. I was due on September 28th and born on October 13th.
Zak is really looking forward to having someone he can wrestle with. I am not much fun anymore now that I fall asleep at 8:30 or 9:00 most nights. He says he’ll give our baby a break for the first few days after birth, but then he’d better be ready to rumble. I’m thinking there may be some maternal intervention should Zak try to wrestle with our newborn. (I’m just kidding, I know he wouldn’t do that.)
We wanted to share the news with everyone – have a great weekend!