A + K = ???

There are so many things I've thought about relating to this baby:

Boy or Girl?
Personality: Outgoing or Introverted?
Attitude towards life: Optimistic or Pessimistic?
... and the most superficial of all: The Looks Factor: Cute or Ugly?

Not that anyone really thinks their own baby is ugly... but what if? You always hear people say there's no such thing as an ugly baby, but we all know those people are liars. What if our baby gets all of our worst features? Poor kid.

Anyway, here are a few pics of me and Alex in our younger years. You can judge for yourselves whether we're bound to produce uglings or cutelings...

Alex:


Me:
(Yes, I was a fatty. I'd like to think I got better with age)


And lastly, here's proof that even as a child Alex liked to COMPLAIN!!

Question of the day: How do you feel?

Always tired, always hungry and extremely HORMONAL!!

It's like having a magnified case of PMS, minus the cramps (and the period). I go from zero to ticked in a matter of seconds. An amazing feat really, but exhausting for me and my victims experiencing it. To be fair, I'm equal opportunity. At any moment, my hormones can and will unleash their fiery rage on anyone and anything that does something I find annoying - people on the road, in stores... and in my home. Who knew one could be so critical? Here are a few things that set me off today (all related to Alex). Prepare for ridiculousness.

* The way Alex chews and plays with his gum. In my opinion, gum is meant to stay in the mouth.

* Alex asking me questions and then saying, "Are you sure?" in a suspicious and distrusting tone once I've given him an answer. He does this almost everytime he asks me a question and my response is always the same, "If you don't want my answer, don't ask!"

* Alex turning the couch into his personal dropping ground for textbooks, binders, scriptures and his backpack. Doesn't he realize the couch has become my personal comfort station?

* Alex questioning my need for Tim's Salt and Vinegar chips. While I realize now they may not have qualified as a "need", they felt like a need at the time.

* Alex arguing with me about the disposition of Golden Retrievers. This was dumb, but I still think I'm right.

The last item was brought up after we saw Marley & Me this afternoon. It is only partially related considering Marley is a Lab!

Moral of the story is: My hormones are out of control. I apologize in advance if I am short, mean or straight up rude. I really don't want offend anyone.


So, about Marley & Me. In a nutshell, we both really liked the movie. It was wholesome, funny and touching. Just one problem: I knew exactly where it was going to go and it went there in the most heart-wrenching manner possible. I wanted to cry uncontrollably. You know, the "ugly" cry. Thankfully it manifested into light tear action without the trembly chin. (Thank you!) Alex cried too, making me feel a little better. If he's crying, I know it's cry-worthy! If you haven't seen the movie and are up for some emotional torment - go check it out. (That means you, Teri).

Can't... wait... any... longer..... must tell secret!

Yes, friends. That IS a positive pregnancy test... and I'm the one that peed on it. YAYYYYY!!!

Assuming everything goes well, our newest addition will make his/her debut around September 20th. Stay tuned.

P.S. We made this "little" discovery last Thursday and it's been killing me not to say anything!

Tubin' U.S.A.

We've spent the last couple weeks settling into life as usual. I've always had a hard time transitioning back to reality. Especially after a wonderful vacation. I usually spend the first week in denial. Then, the responsible part of my brain starts reeling... "Yes, you really do have to go back to work, pay the bills, clean the house and be a responsible member of society." Bummer. Alex on the other hand has been working very hard this semester to balance school, work and home. He's been especially focused on his study habits. From what I can tell he seems to be doing much better than he has in the past (Thank you, Maren for giving him a boost!). All in all we are doing well.

Now for the latest:
This weekend we went tubing! Back in November we went to a charity event for the Boys & Girls Club and bid on some tubing gift certificates with Valerie and Denis. The certificates were each good for 2 hours of tubing at Gorgoza Park, near Park City. After a long week at work there was no better time to use them. We waited for Alex to get home from work Saturday and then our adventure began. First, we bundled ourselves as best we could. When we finished, we all looked something like this...


Then, after packing ourselves into the car, we were off! We arrived at 3:30, checked in and made our way up the hill via the tow rope (much better than climbing up).


Once we got to the top, we could choose from 4 lanes. The only difference being the number of stoppers they had at the end to slow you down.

We tried going down as a group and individually, each time trying something new - flower formation, the train, superman. Here is Nolan modeling the "Superman".


We had a great time, but after 2 hours our frozen toes and hungry bellies told us it was time to go. That is, AFTER we took a couple more pics... P.S. I promise my face it not that fat in person. I blame the cold + higher altitude combo.


Aside from me practically breaking my ankle and almost punching a 13-year old in the face, it was GREAT!! More on that later... it's Sunday.

"Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

...and everything but delightful"

A lame rendition, but fitting nonetheless...

We have our very own Winter Wonderland here at the house.


While most would find it stunningly beautiful, I see it as a huge inconvenience. Mother nature is trying her darnedest to keep us from doing anything productive this week. Little does she know, we have a secret weapon:


THE SNOW BLOWER!!

The model we have came with an able bodied and attractive 22-year old male! It's wonderful. Don't worry, I'm not completely useless. I learned how to use the snow blower the next day and cleared most of the driveway by myself. I even followed up with some shoveling to get the remaining ice, which I'm paying dearly for today. My whole body aches. Definitely some sore muscle action going on...

After getting the driveway squared away, Alex did some obligatory frolicking in our front yard.


I was curious to see how deep the snow was and asked him to fall back to see if he would sink all the way to the ground.


He didn't.

Once we finished with that, we came in and tended to more important matters - playing the Wii and taking pictures of my new hideously cute shoes. I love them.


This morning I was pleased to see that our efforts were not in vain - our driveway was still fairly desnowed and continued to melt down during the day. We're almost down to the pavement. Yay! Only 3 more months to go until the snow completely goes away... (Bah!)

P.S. For anyone who is living in Utah and continues to pray for the moisture - PLEASE STOP. Thanks.

New Year equals...

New church schedule. 9 am to be exact.


While this is good for most (i.e. my husband) I am so not a morning person. Not only am I not a morning person, I'm extremely cranky when I have to pretend to be a morning person. So there we are at church. Everyone is singing, feeling happy, receiving spiritual enlightenment, etc. And then there's me, crankified, sitting in the back row, still coming to terms with the fact that I've left my warm, comfy bed for the day. I know. Get over it, right? Maybe another day (or never). For now me and my stubborn, non-morning self are going to take a nap. A very, very long nap (think hibernation). G'night!

Beardy

Alex has been enjoying these last couple weeks away from the stresses of BYU. More specifically, he's been enjoying two weeks without the BYU dress code, which requires him to be clean shaven everyday. It's been awhile since he and Beardy have seen each other. Here they are, reunited again for a time...


They have so much fun together...




But alas, the time has come to say goodbye. He admires his friend one last time before they bid farewell.


Beardy doesn't want to go. He revolts and a heartless massacre ensues.
Bye, bye Beardy.


From the mass of destruction an innocent 12-year old emerges.


Time to get serious... **



Okay, maybe not that serious...


It's showtime! Brother Booth is officially back to work.


** New tie courtesy of Gail Hildebrand - Thank you, thank you, thank you!