4 Years Ago Today...

Greg and I were married.

Some days it feels like just yesterday we walked out of the temple doors expecting to feel... "different."  We didn't.  Still don't.  I guess marriage is more of what you make of it than what it makes of you.  In these past four years I have come to realize that I've really lucked out.  Despite what the media and stereotypes would have you believe, being married makes me feel limitless not limited.  I feel like I can do so much more because of him and with him.  I love that amidst life's chaos, I know I always have his arms to run into.  He understand me and the longer we're together it seems the less we have to say because we just get each other.  He gives me butterflies. Yeah... still.  In fact, I get them more now that I ever did when I was dating anyone... even Greg.  He knows me better than I know myself.  He knows how to surprise me, he knows what my dreams are, he finishes my sentences, laughs at my lame jokes, gives me amazing massages... yeah, really.  He understands that he married the messiest eater ever and even helps me clean my pregnant stomach off... I swear this pregnant belly is a landing pad for anything that comes near my mouth.  He makes me feel hotter in this post-baby body than I ever felt before I even thought about having Haven or this little man on the way.  He does dishes, and LOVES to vacuum.  Honestly.  He leaves the toilet seat down... always.  (Growing up with 2 brothers there were many-a-nights I got booty dunked when I didn't realize they'd left it up... not anymore!  Their wives can have fun with that one...)  He loves spoiling me with things (that are sometimes really meant for himself) but I love that about him... except for the Harry Potter Quintillogy set... (sorry babe, still don't know how you rationalized that one. :)  The gameboy with the Tetris... (although you've played it more than me... was thoughtful... and now you just try to steal my phone I play it on now.)  Just a side note... the other night in the hospital was priceless... when we both waited for the doctor for an hour playing on our phones and you begging to play my Tetris.  I caved... after all you were there for me... that's cute.  So basically we're nerds, who fight over playing Tetris.  I even love that about us.  (Just wait till we get a game when we can play against each other though babe... I'm gunna' rock your world.)  I love that you go to all the doctor's appointments that you can during my pregnancies and how well you (& my mom) have been taking care of my prego mug while I've been on Bed Arrest.  You've been so awesome.  Sorry your son in here keeps wanting to bail early.  You should really have a talk with him about that.  This past month has seriously not been cool... but thanks for making me feel beautiful even when you've come home to me just about everyday in lounge-gear/PJs.  (Growing Belly+Jeans+Bed arREST=NOT COOL.)  Thanks for understanding that.  You don't mind that I fall asleep mid-sentence, at a Jimmy Eat World concert, during a movie... or shhhh I hate to say it but during one of your beloved Suns games, despite all your hollering.  You're always so cute with me when I do though... I'll wake up to find that you've created a make shift pillow out of your arm or whatever.  I love that you're the same way with Haven... seems like that's one of the few things she got from me; my low-grade narcolepsy :)  It's been the most beautiful thing to watch you love our daughter.  Even during this sleep-separation-anxiety she's had lately.  You've been so patient.  Even at random hours.  You are the best "daddy" she could ever hope for... especially at 3 in the morning.  I love that you bring me "My Sugar's Donuts," where you are friends with all the cute little old ladies there and bring me my favorite plain glazed with Chocolate Milk to dunk them in.  Mmmm.  I love that we have our favorite places like Carrabba's and Nevoli's and that we like the same things... well mostly.  I still have a cow when  you expect me to eat a cow that's not even dead it's so rare.  Ugh... but still you've compromised with Medium Well.  I eat the outsides you eat the middle.  It's a symbiotic relationship :)  Thanks for the cute text messages you send me on ordinary days... I love those little surprises.  The kisses on the forehead... the drives just so we can get Maggie Moo's, and the fact that you're not jealous of the other two man-loves of my life; Ben & Jerry.  In fact you share my love of ice cream... it's pretty amazing.  I love how this started out in 3rd person and is now in 2nd... but that's another thing I love that you love: my QUIRKINESS.  I'm pretty random... and you love it.  So here they are babe.  Our wedding photos that we don't have copies of outside of our wedding book... so they're pictures of pictures.  I'm over it if you are.  Just thought this would be fun to look at and would be easier to reminisce by looking on here than lugging that priceless but HUGE book around.  I love you SO SO SO much.  Thanks for still giving me those butterflies, for kissing me every chance you get, telling me how much you love me and still being so creative in showing me.  You are still the man of my dreams... four years later.  Happy Anniversary.  And no... I'm the luckiest.  I win.

Los Hermanos Con Mi Familia

Here we all are:

(Haven, Greg, sister Sky, My cute Momma & Dad, brother Blake, Me, brother Tyler, his son Thatcher, and his wife Adrienne.)

After their amazing deep-fried ice cream... this is pretty much how we all looked :)

Waving to Dada...

Blowing window kisses

Getting a shoulder ride from Papa Pittson...

and loved every second of it.

Logan's Birthday at the Maren & Seth's

We were invited to celebrate Logan's 24th over at Maren & Seth's.  Maren and I laughed when coming up with the menu; as was comprised of all of Logan's favorites.  In other words it was a smorgasbord of juvenile food.  Classic Logan.  Anyone who knows him knows... he's pretty much the pickiest eater.  Ever.  (Minus the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches...) Haven, Wade and Wyatt were in heaven.  From Mac & Cheese... to chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes and gravy.  Mmmm.  Leave it to Maren & Seth to make a fabulous meal out of those staples... but it was WONDERFUL... topped off with Logan's favorite, HUGE CHOCOLATE CAKE from Costco... where Logan works.  

Here's Haven enjoying the meal and the company of her favorite boys... Wade... Wyatt and Zeke who she calls "Seek."  Just a little memory from this year- When I put out a nativity on the sofa table she couldn't get enough of the "baby," and when asked who it was for the first time... she called him "BABY SEEK!!!"  Pretty cute.  (She now knows all the main characters in the nativity scene, P.S.)  She can't get enough of baby Zeke... hopefully the feeling will be mutual when we have our own "baby" boy in this house.

Here we all are... (so Maren feel free to "gank" this pic since your guys' camera didn't catch everyone.)

My favorite chocolate covered faces in the world.

Here's Wyatt, Haven and Wade... she wasn't much into the Ben Ten they were watching but she loved whatever book that was that she was reading.  She loves books and "reading" which consists of her scanning through clumps of pages and pointing out objects she knows and stating the obvious things that are going on.  It's my favorite thing to listen to.  She's a "reading" riot.

Hospitalized Halloween

Journal Moment:

The day ended on a better note than it had began... in the hospital... in AZ.  Fun stuff.  Here are Greg and I after a fun overnight stay with the lovely hospital accommodations... 10 Terbutaline shots... 6 bags of random antibiotics... 2 steroid shots (to beef up little man's lungs)... my RH- shot & a few others that I still have no clue what they were for... a zillion bags of saline solution... needless to say I was a puffy marshmallow of a pin cushion (with bruises for weeks from the IVs on both arms...)  I swear I'm pregnant with the next Jack Bauer... who apparently thinks he's too tough for this whole "utero" stage of life as he's trying to make his debut WAY too early.  I was with my mother and sister-in-law when I kept having pain but didn't want to be dramatic so I just tried to ignore the pain that would take my breath away and was killing my back.  We were out on a busy "errand" running day... and I didn't think it was labor pains because I was only 27 weeks along.  They subsided and then came back FOR REAL the next day when I was driving with Haven, thankfully I was able to drive to the hospital where my mother and sister-in-law's amazing doctor was able to see me.  I realized it was something more serious when I couldn't stand or sit and it was getting to be pretty unbearable.  (Having a Bicornuate uterus makes my labor pains a little different than most apparently, as the pains I was describing as lower back pain that shot forward along the right side of my stomach, which is the side I've carried both babies on now due to my "functified" uterus were mistaken for something else.   I guess to ere on the side of caution this description of my pain led to an ultrasound of my kidneys and other precautionary measures to treat a kidney infection... as opposed to them seeing labor signs.)  Soon after Haven and I were wheeled to the hospital my mom and mother-in-law were able to be there with me and to help take care of Haven.  Now if I could just be guaranteed that I'll be able to have them BOTH here for the REAL LABOR that would be amazing.  It took a MILLION shots of Terbutaline to stop the contractions & pain.  I've since been switched to Nifedipine which works a lot better with way fewer side effects, as the Terb. didn't really work for me.  Due to my one-sided pregnancies and the fact that I was only 27 weeks along they also didn't think I was having as hard of contractions as I was because my "whole stomach wasn't tightening" with each contraction... hmmm... probably because my uterus is only blown up on one side... just a thought :)  After being discharged we headed straight over to Jeff & Heather's where we met the rest of Greg's family.  We had so much fun and it was pretty much the "hot-spot" on the block because Jim & Sarah, Jeff & Heather, Grammy & Papa Updike, Jared & Reb and a  couple other friends of theirs all brought they candy they would have given out at their own houses... so basically by hitting the Updike's house... they really hit the trick-or-treating JACKPOT as it was a 6 in 1er.  (+ the fact that all of my mother-in-law's candies are the FULL SIZED candy... there were some happy little kids that night.)  It was so fun to see all the kids dressed up.  Here's a picture of Haven & Papa Updike on the golf cart giving all the kids a ride.

Here's Jameson, Haven, Gracey & Cassie.  

We've got some beautiful nieces and nephews... they're all so fun.

CORNBELLY'S ROCKS!

The sign on the chair says it all.

We spent Greg's birthday (in what felt like subzero temperatures) at Cornbelly's Corn Maze.  

Weeeeeee.  They went down the slide twice and she just kept saying, "Again?  Again!?  AGAIN!!"

It was so cold that pumpkin picking from the car didn't sound so bad.

We finished the night off right at Carrabbas!  MMmmmm!!!

Greg's Birthday

Happy Birthday to Greg...

This is one of Haven's favorite things in the world:

a golf cart ride with Sam, Grammy, & Papa Updike!

Her other favorite: snuggle time with Papa.

I bought a Carmel Apple kit at Crate and Barrel, brought it over to Summer & Phil's, and as I had hoped it was a huge hit with the kids!

Here's cute lil' Madison (showing us what appears to be a piece of toffee that fell off of her carmel apple.)

Haven just eating it up.  She loves apples.  (Appo's)

Here's beautiful little Brooklyn.

Studly little Boston.  

Here's Paris with a classic caramel filled grin!  I love this picture.  

Carmel-Apple-Making-Day at Summer's Continued...

Here's a couple pics I stole from Summer's Blog to complete our Carmel-Apple-Making Memories.

They turned out to be oh so golden delicious. Ha!  I'm lame.

Our Walk to Remember

"When the sun shines... we shine together

told you I'll be here forever..."

"... said I'll always be your friend,

took an oath, I'm gunna' stick it out 'till the end..."

"... now that it's raining more than ever,

know that we still have each other.

You can stand under my umbrella."

Greg and I had been so excited to continue our tradition of driving the Alpine loop as the leaves are turning.  We figured that it probably wouldn't be too busy being conference weekend and a rainy one at that.  We were wrong.  Greg was so adorable he had the car packed with 2 umbrellas and a cooler filled with some ammo for Haven, and for himself as well :)  My brother Blake was able to drive up with us before he had to go to work and was able to snap some shots of us.  (So next time you talk to him... tell him what a great photographer he is :)  

It was pouring rain but we bundled up and went for a walk.  It was SO much fun.  The smells and sights were unbelievable.  Utah is such a beautiful place.  We're so lucky to have this within a 25 minute drive from where we live.  We were in heaven just taking it all in.

Just to give you an idea of the gorgeous scenery I took the following 3 pictures from the same spot just turning around.  Breathtaking.  Pictures just didn't do the view justice.

The rain brought the most gorgeous mountain-hugging clouds.

Here's me and our little Mr. Man.

She LOVED her Baby Bjorn front pack.  

We haven't used it in forever, 

so we were unsure of how she'd feel about it... 

I think it's safe to say she loved every minute of being in it

 because it just meant one long perma-hug from Daddy.  

A classic photo at arms' length taken on our walk in the rain.

My favorite

Driving the loop

Her face in this one is too priceless.

Thanks for lending your skills Brock.

So much more fun than being stuck inside on a day like this... 

who'd have thought?  You rock Greg.  You definately made this 

Our Walk To Remember

09.04.08