October.

September

September has come and gone so quickly, I can't even believe it.

Utah football started, and I love it just as much as I ever have. 

This last weekend's game was one we don't need to talk about, but other than that, we've been great.

Riley's girlfriend was in town, from Houston, so we took her along to the Fresno State game. Poor thing had planned to come into town and then it just so happened to be the weekend that our Grandfather died, so she was thrown into the mix REAL quick. Kate kept poking my belly during this game, and the lady in front of us was like, "Uh, why are you touching her stomach?" It was actually kind of hilarious because she totally thought Kati was just patting my fat. 

We found out that baby Lawrence is a GIRL.  We were very surprised, and I think John is still a little disappointed. He really thought that he was going to break the Lawrence trend, and have a boy first. We should have known better. We are super excited though. I can't wait to buy all the cutest outfits that ever existed. We have a couple names picked out that we really love, leaning toward one more than the other. I keep telling people what the name is, and some people's reactions kind of are not very nice, so I don't know if I'll keep telling people.

  I got too antsy to wait for the doctor, so I ended up going to Fetal Foto a week before going to the doctor. John couldn't believe that I couldn't wait another 10 days, but I really couldn't. I was nearly half way through my pregnancy, and I still didn't know what I was having! J didn't end up going with me to Fetal Foto, so I got to tell him what it was. She was so active during that ultrasound! As soon as the tech put the thing on my stomach, she started like flapping her arms. It was hilarious. Even though she was very active, she still didn't want to show us her gender. She kept those little legs closed very tight. Good girl. 

She wasn't as active at the ultrasound with the doctor, so John didn't get to experience that, but we saw all her cute little features, so we loved it nonetheless. Speaking of active, I still can't feel her. Okay, maybe I can, but I have NO idea what I'm feeling for. So maybe she's kicking me all the time, but I sure as heck don't know that it's actually her kicking.

We got a cute new (to us) wardrobe for her. Actually, it's an entertainment center. The second bedroom in our house doesn't have a closet, which is outrageous to me, but it's the truth. So, we had to think on our feet a little bit about how and where we were going to hang up her clothes. So, we bought an entertainment center off KSL, and painted it coral, and we're going to put a bar in the TV portion of it and make it into a little wardrobe! I'm pretty excited about it. It was a great little DIY project.

John and I have been talking about remodeling our kitchen for probably a year now. Slowly accumulating little pieces of the puzzle before we really started to tear things apart. We have most of our supplies now, and so the demolition has begun. We are going to try and do it in pieces, so that we aren't totally without a kitchen for a long period of time. John started with the tile, and will go from there. We have no flooring in our kitchen for a couple of days, and it hurt my feet a lot more than I would have though. He just told me to wear shoes all the time. Thanks babe. He has since put most of the tile in, so at least I have tile to walk on when I need to get from the stairs to the rest of the house. 

Week 19 of pregnancy (last week) was not nice to me. Monday night John and I were watching the new show "Gotham" on TV, because, Batman, duh, and all of a sudden my nose started to burn, and I just gradually got more congested and super tired. All within a single hour. I decided I would go to bed, because sleep is the best cure for everything in my mind, except I couldn't sleep. I slept until about 1AM, and then was up until 5AM, when I had a panic attack because I was so tired, and I couldn't breath, at all, and my poor husband was half asleep and didn't really know what to do with me. Being pregnant, I didn't really know if I could take anything, but I was just so tired I didn't care. I ended up taking some NyQuil so I could sleep. Word to the wise, this is the biggest no-no when you are pregnant. I talked to my OB, and he said NyQuil is pretty much the only cough medicine you should NOT take because of the amount of alcohol in it. Whoops. Unfortunately, I was not getting better as the week went on, so I called my doctor again Thursday. He ended up telling me I needed to be taking these certain medications, and get a humidifier, and be using Vics all the time. By the way, did you know there are Kleenex you can buy with Vics in them? The most amazing thing ever. He told me to page him Saturday morning if things weren't better by then. I kept medicine in me, and was drinking insane amounts of water, and sleeping like I had never slept in my life. Luckily by Saturday morning, I was feeling better so I didn't have to page him. I'm still recovering, and definitely don't feel 100% but I'm getting there. It's hard, because I am constantly worried about baby girl; she's probably so hyped up on medicine, that she doesn't know what's up. I missed almost a whole week of work, and Saturday morning I got pretty flowers delivered to my house with a card that said "Get well soon. We miss your smile and laugh around the office." Super sweet of them.

Saturday night it was raining like crazy, and John decided he was going to see if he could tell what was going on with our rain gutter that has water constantly pouring out of it. He got up on a ladder to look into the rain gutter, and decided removing one of the screws would be the best idea because it would release all the water. What he didn't plan on happening was it gushing out of the gutter, all over him; he thought he would have a second to get out of the way. I unfortunately didn't get to witness the event, but he said it was straight out of a movie. He came inside, drenched in water from head to toe, and said he nearly drowned, and that the rain gutter had water-boarded him. I was laughing so hard, I didn't even know what to say. As you can see, if wasn't really clean water either! He talked about it all night. 

I really can't believe September is over, but I am excited for October. I love fall, and especially love October because it's my birthday month!

Pregnancy Brain

Pregnancy brain is a real thing people. 

Today, I left my office to get lunch.

I have to go at least 15 blocks south to any restaurant out here in the middle of nowhere Utah.

I got all the way to Kneaders, ordered my food (in the drive thru, mind you), got to the window to pay and realized I had left my debit card at my desk with my phone.

Who goes to get food and doesn't remember a form of payment?

A pregnant girl, that's who.

Luckily the nice people at Kneaders held my food for me while I ran back to the office to get my debit card.

Ridiculous.

Russell Eugene Grow

We laid my sweet Grandpa to rest yesterday. 

Grandpa has been struggling for a while, ever since he fell and broke his hip, and then his other hip.

About a month or so ago, he had a stroke and was in the hospital. After breaking both hips, he had experienced the Rehab Facility ordeal, and didn't want to go back, so when he was released form the hospital, he went home. Unfortunately after that, he never got better. He was back in the hospital, and then home again. On Labor Day we had a barbecue at their house, and it was the first time in a long time that we had so many family members at my Grandparents'. Grandpa looked like he was doing better, he had one of his classic smirks on his face, and was eating. The next day, I got a text message from my mom around 3:30 saying that Grandpa was back in the hospital and the doctor had said it could be a couple hours, or a couple days, but that he was on his last leg.

I think I cried about six times before I even made it to the hospital.

When John got home from work, we went up to the U and sat with the family. And just waited. 

He passed away about 9:20 PM. 

It was a hard day.

We had a viewing Sunday night, which I feel are always so awkward. I'm not sure anyone knows really what to do at a viewing. 

The funeral was at the Parleys Stake Center, and I was asked to speak.

Sure...make the pregnant girl with raging hormones get up and speak. 

It wasn't too bad. But, I did cry through the whole thing. 

Friday night my Mom was kind of freaking out because the program wasn't done yet. So, I went home at 11 PM on Friday, put together this program, woke up early on Saturday, got all the information in there, got it to Mom by 10 AM so she could get it to the printer, and it was all done.

Phew. It was hurried, but I feel like I did a good job.

Grandpa was buried at Mt. Olivet. I didn't even know you could still buy burial plots there, but, you can! We had a full military service, which was a first for me, and super cool. I totally jumped while they were doing the 21 gun salute (which was really only 18).

The Roos Family. Minus Boo and lots of children.

The first time all Roos children have been together since before Riley left on his mission. Jeez.

Like I mentioned, I spoke at the funeral. Because this acts as our journal, I decided I would put it on here. You don't have it read it, this post is already wordy.

Who is Russell Grow? A father, a son, a husband, a grandfather, a friend. An avid golfer, bowler, and a man who loved watching the Jazz. While looking through old photos, I came across one that described Grandpa perfectly. In this picture, Grandpa was laying on his stomach on the ground,with one grandchild sitting on his back, and four others surrounding him while he played with a remote control race car. Grandpa was so devoted to his family, especially his grandchildren. He did anything and everything for his family, and was always there to support his grandkids. Whether it be lacrosse, soccer, dance, or basketball, you could always find him in the audience cheering us on. Even toward the end of his life, he made sure he was there to support his grandkids. Elliot's wedding was about a month ago, right after Grandpa had his first stroke. Grandpa had just gotten out of the hospital, and wasn't able to eat solid food, so Elliot wasn't expecting to see him at his wedding dinner. He said it was the best surprise of the night when he saw Grandpa come through that door.

Because of his love for his family, I have decided to share stories and thoughts shared with me by different family members about our Dad and Grandpa.

Grow barbecues have been a tradition for as long as I can remember. I think during the summers growing up, we spent every Sunday in that backyard as a family. Grandpa was the grill master for a long time, always the one to cook the hotdogs and hamburgers for the whole family. His ability to make different foods is something we'll all miss. He made some of the best treats. Kati relayed to me that she remembers, every time she would be at his house, and the recipe for his banana bread was on the refrigerated, she would make a comment about how good banana bread sounded. Without fail, our mom would receive a phone call within a couple of days from Grandpa telling her that he had a loaf of banana bread for our family. His banana bread wasn't his only baked good that we all loved. His cinnamon rolls, and his pull-a-parts are still raved about today, and we all try and fail to make them taste just like his. My favorite was always his raspberry jam. When we would get a jar of that at our house, it was something that you wanted to eat immediately, but didn't want it to end. I think I tried to hoard it at the dinner table so I could have it all to myself.

When asking different families members, a couple different things repeatedly came up. Grandpa had very colorful language, so much so that Steve and Kathy's friends called him Cuss Grow. He had one phrase that he said often. It's not something I will be repeating, but if you knew Russ, you know what it is.

Secondly, everyone told me about Grandpa's farting, especially while golfing. While I never had the opportunity to go golfing with him, I experienced this several times. A time I remember specifically was when I was standing in my Grandparent's kitchen, and my Grandfather walked passed me, stopped, lifted his leg closest to me, farted, and walked away. As flabbergasted as I was, apparently this wasn't abnormal. While golfing, whether he was teeing off, or putting, this was his routine before hitting the ball. As my uncle Kelly put it, "It was like he was getting a little extra oomph to hit his ball"

Grandpa always had a way to keep people smiling, even if it may have been deemed inappropriate by some. Every time I saw him, no matter how he was, he had a smile on his face, and wanted to know how I was doing. He treated everyone around him as his family, whether or not they actually were. Carol Stringham, a friend of my Mom's for years, wrote my parents this sweet card that said all of the things she remembered about Grandpa, including his colorful language, but more importantly, she wrote that she remembered that Grandpa ALWAYS had a place at his table. That is so true, he was always so welcoming to other.When I first introduced my husband to Grandpa, I was more concerned about him liking John than the rest of the family. My grandfather meant so much to me that I wanted him to love John as much as I did. I couldn't have asked for a better response. To see my Grandpa welcome my husband into his family with open arms, and love him as his own grandson meant the world to me. It's since become a joke that Grandpa may have liked John a little more than he liked me. I will never forget dancing with Grandpa at my wedding. He made me laugh the entire time as he told me that he couldn't dance, and melted my heart when he told me that my new husband was a lucky man. I am so grateful that he was healthy enough to dance with me, and that I got the opportunity to do so. I felt so honored when my Mom told me that he would be buried in the tie he wore to my wedding, it made that memory so much more special to me. By the way, he was a great dancer. Even at 83.

As hard as it is to see such an amazing man go, it is comforting to know that he is in a better place and no longer hurting. I see so much of him in my cousins, uncles, and my Mom that I know that he will live through all of us, and is with us every day. We miss him, we love him, and we can't wait to see him again.

Wicked

This last Thursday (the 21st) John and I were so lucky to attend Wicked that was playing at Capitol Theater! When tickets went on sale my mom mentioned that she was going to get tickets for her and my dad, and Riley, Kati, and I all chimed in that we wanted to go, so that they should get tickets for us. So, they did, and we all went! Riley ended up buying two tickets, because he said he would have a date, but, seeing as his girlfriend lives in Houston, she wasn't able to come with us so we offered the ticket to Tom's mom, Drew. She had never seen Wicked before, so she was so thankful that we asked her to come along! We love her, even though she isn't my MIL, she's pretty much a sweetie. 

John had never seen Wicked either, and I was so excited about that. He hadn't really ever been to a big production like this either. We've been to a couple shows and Hale Center Theater, but nothing this big. I have been trying to convince him that we should go to New York, so I was hoping that this would do the trick. 

He loved it! He, like always, was more interested in the mechanics of all of the props, like the giant dragon, and how Capitol was built, but he loved the show. When we got home, I said to him that now we need to go to NYC and he replied with an ugh...does it have to be New York? Can't it be another big city? And I said no. It has to be NY. But he agreed that if, and when it happens, we need to plan on going to at least three shows. Which I am TOTALLY okay with! I've seen Wicked and Les Miserables in NY, but I would gladly see both again. Or Phantom, Mary Poppins, Mama Mia, or about any other show. 

I always get a little emotional when I go to broadway shows because as I tell John, being on broadway was my dream, and I never really even tried. His answer to that is, "You weren't even in musical drama at Highland!" ...I don't think there was a musical drama class at Highland. Just drama. Oh, well. I got married instead, and get to spend every day with my best friend slash crazy husband. 

Ruth's Diner

On the 13th, the girls and I all headed up Emigration to Ruth's diner to have some girl time. I planned the dinner, and told the girls it was for Melissa and Marianne's birthdays, which are both that week, but I was planning (with Melissa) that I would tell them all that night that I was expecting. Except, I got too antsy and told them a week before that because I just couldn't hold it in anymore. So it turned into a celebration for two birthdays and a baby. 

I love these girls so much. We decided that they are all going to be "third degree aunties" to Baby Lawrence, and I couldn't be happier that our baby will have such great examples around them! They all have expressed how excited they are for us, and how they want to come to the hospital to meet the baby as soon as he/she is born. (Btw, we find out the gender at 19 weeks, so 4 more weeks and we'll know if it's a he or she)!
I am so grateful for these six ladies, and am so happy that we keep in touch with each other even though life gets in the way. I know I can always count on them, and I love them all for that.

Baby Lawrence

That's right. BABY LAWRENCE. 

We are expecting our first little one in February. 

Valentine's Day to be exact. Great timing, I know. 

I am currently 15 weeks along, and I am finally feeling like myself again. 

I was extremely sick for about the first 10 weeks, and then it tapered off, and I feel great now!

Being sick all the time was rough for me. The random odors my nose would pick up would instantly make me sick, and when you are work with a lot of people who smoke, the smell in constantly in the air, and it was 100x more strong at the beginning. 

My acne was one of the first signs I got that something was different with my body. It seemed like I woke up every day with a new dot on my face, and I haven't had that problem in like 10 years. 

I found out June 9th that I was pregnant, and I was going to tell J for Father's Day which was that following Sunday but I couldn't hold it in. I ran downstairs at 7AM screaming his name and he thought I was dying. When I told him, he didn't even say a word, just got back in bed and went back to sleep.

We have been trying for a baby since November, so we are both very excited that we finally got a positive test. Our first appointment was the second week of July, and our doctor did an ultrasound to see if we could see the little parasite, and sure enough! Tiny as can be, but we got to see him/her, and even see the pulsing of the heart. Super neat. We heard the heartbeat at our second appointment and it easily is top five coolest things I've ever experienced. Everyone tells me wait until I feel the baby move, but I am still tripping out over hearing the heartbeat. It was so surreal. 

We told my Mom and Dad on my Mom's birthday. (And Riley, Kati, and Tom, because they were there). Her birthday is the last week in June so we told them way early, but as you can hear the video, they all kind of already knew anyway. After we told my mom she goes into her bedroom and comes walking back out with this onesie that she had bought that day while she was at Carters for another reason. She's crazy. 

We told the Lawrence's the Sunday we celebrated Patty and Olivia's birthday, which also happened to be our anniversary. Two of our sisters-in-law are pregnant also, due five days apart from each other at the end of November/beginning of December. So we will have THREE new babies within four months on that side of the family and Patty couldn't be more excited. She has been asking for new babies for what seems like forever, and now she's getting three in a year. 

We couldn't be more excited to be adding a new baby to our family, but it is honestly one of the scariest things! There is so much to do, to buy, before February, and it is overwhelming. Luckily we have amazing families and friends who are around to help! 

Elliot & Lexi

We had another Grow wedding this week. Elliot and Lexi got married on Thursday, the 7th.

Their reception was in Provo, and unfortunately John was stuck working so I was on my own. Lucky for me, Tom was also stuck working so Kate needed a date also and we just went together. 

The Riverside Country Club in Provo is crazy beautiful. Seriously, the view you have when you are outside of that place is so amazing. And there were so many people there, which was impressive seeing as half of us live in SLC! 

Kati told me when we got there, "Okay, let's find Samantha and Rosie, and take a picture." That was her only goal for the night, so we made sure it happened. And we got some pretty dang cute pictures out of it. Probably because we matched quite well. 

Riley was stuck at work also, and feels like we left him out of our photos. But as you can see, Ted is all about being the center of attention. 

We are so excited to have Lexi as part of the family, and so happy that Elliot found someone who is 100% perfect for him. We love you both! 

Five Years

John and I celebrated our five year anniversary in Bear Lake this year. 

No one was going up for the weekend, so we decided that we would!

The carpet was being installed on Saturday so we just kind of hung out around the house that day, made lunch together, took a nap. 

After the carpet was done, we took a trip to beach and played there for a couple of hours. John said I was no fun because I wouldn't get in the water. I still think it's way too cold! 

We went to dinner Saturday night at the Bear Trapper, which is the steak house up there. John described it best when he said it's "The Cowboy Grub of Bear Lake". The food was good, it just definitely wasn't a steak house that you find in the big city. My parents paid for our dinner because we volunteered to go up while the carpet was being installed, which was way nice of them, and totally unnecessary, but appreciated. 

We bought ice cream after dinner and had hot fudge sundaes at the House Cabin. We turned on 20/20, because between Dateline and 20/20, that is my Saturday night. We both fell asleep, with the back door open, so we woke up covered in mosquito bites. Poor J swells up so bad every time he gets a mosquito bite, so his whole leg was swollen. Probably not a good thing. 

We woke up Sunday and hit the road so we could be back in time for family dinner at the Lawrence's to celebrate Patty and Miss Olivia's birthdays. 

There is construction happening on the way home, and at one point it goes down to one lane. 

This Sunday was an extra long drive home because a semi broke down during the one lane only section, and we all sat there for an hour while we waited for it to be towed away. 

We were at a dead stop, and people were turning around, going the wrong way down the emergency lane, and off the most recent freeway entrance. It was insane. 

The two cars in front of us were two women who had just finished riding their bikes for 60 miles and were headed to get lunch when they got stuck. We always have snacks so I offered some goldfish and teddy grahams to them. Ha.

We were very grateful for movies on the iPad, because while we sat there, we watched Dark Knight Returns, obviously not the whole thing, but it kept us entertained for the hour we were stopped.  

Pioneer Day

Working for a global company when it comes to state holidays can result in no fun. 

Especially when your husband works for a family business that is closed, for once. 

Trucking companies don't exactly shut down because the Pioneers settled in Utah, which means I get to work on the 24th while John got to play. 

As much as I didn't like it, it was fine. 

Per tradition, we went to dinner at Dustin and Tacey's and set off fireworks in their cul-de-sac. I took the next day off, because I always hate stressing about going to work after a holiday, especially one where you stay up for fireworks. A very low key night, but it was nice to spend it with the whole family.

S&D

Why is there so much room at the top of this post? It's really bothering me. Oh, well.

Okay, so I'm way far behind, but I am still going to blog about it! SG has been married for over a month now, and even though I intended to blog about her shower before the wedding, it didn't happen. 

Kati, our mom, and myself hosted a shower for the family at Kati's condo complex. We love American Towers, but, we don't love that they wouldn't give back all of her deposit because we didn't mop the floor. Boo. 

Anyway, we had the shower a couple weeks before the wedding, and boy was it a crazy day. I had been sick, trying to help my mom get things ready; food, decorations, etc. Then Samantha and Rosie come into the shower without their mom, and we all find out that Morgs was hit by a car that very same morning! Seriously one of the worst things that can happen to someone while out running. She's mostly okay, but is in the hospital with a broken foot and will be having surgery. So she missed out on the shower, and we missed her, but we did have fun.

My mom secretly called Derek and quizzed him and we made Samantha answer the questions. It was actually way fun because she had no idea that they had spoken. We ate, and opened gifts of course. Grandma insisted that Samantha put all the bows on her head so that "he could kiss them off". She was obviously very oblivious to the fact that he lives in a different state. SG was a good sport though, and played along. Too bad the only picture I have of them together, Norma's eyes are closed. Oops. 

Not quite everyone that was there, but a good chunk of us. 

And then, of course, we have the actual wedding day! J and I were invited to the ceremony, which is my favorite part of any wedding, because it's honestly the only thing that matters. It's always so exciting to see how happy the bride and groom are to be getting married, especially when they know they will be with each other forever. I just love it.

John and I both took the day off, which was so nice, because after the temple we just got to hang out together. Went and got lunch, went and did some different errands, took a nap. It was the best Wednesday ever.

Their reception was at the Salt Lake Country Club, and originally was supposed to be all outside, but it was a little too cold, so most of it ended up being inside. Which was still totally beautiful. The Country Club always has beautiful weddings, and this was no exception.

Jackson fell in love with Samantha that night. He kept saying to his Mom, "She is so pretty. Why is she so pretty?" and he just wanted to give her hugs. It was so cute, and even a week later when I saw him, he was still talking about Samantha. Twitterpated 5 year old.

Once the dancing started, the party really started. They decided to split the crowd into two lines, and it started with Dave wheeling Morgan down the middle, so that she could be a part of the festivities. Then Norma wanted to join in, so Dave went back to the beginning of the line and took Norma down the middle. She was loving life. I honestly haven't seen her move like that in years, and she was just a dancing queen! There are numerous videos among our family members of her dancing, and they are all hilarious. Kati and I were both dying. Mom made Grandpa join in on the fun. He wasn't nearly as thrilled with the idea as Grandma was, but he still did it. Walker and all.

Such a fun and beautiful night for a great couple! Though we really don't know Derek (SG has hidden him from the extended family), I can still tell that he is an amazing person and that he makes her so happy. Which is good, when you live in a different state from everyone else. ;)

Congratulations, you two!

Memphis Belle

On the 1st of June, John and I went out to the South Valley Regional Airport with most of his family to see the Memphis Belle. The plane, that was used in the moving Memphis Belle, not the actual plane was in town just for the weekend, and being a huge part of history, we all figured it would be a kind of cool to go out and see it. We definitely weren't disappointed. I was a little hesitant to go at first, because I didn't think I would enjoy it, but I am so glad I went because it was worth it. For $450 dollars you could take a half hour ride in the plane, around the valley. We all told Mike that they next time it comes into town, he better be prepared to pay for all of us to go. ;)

They were behind on the flights because they had to postpone some from Saturday due to wind, so we ended up hanging out for a couple hours waiting for the flights to end before we could go up to the plane, and through the plane. Miss Olivia is fascinated by everything, and wanted to take pictures of the "plane that goes up in the sky", so I let her hold it (while I kept a hold of the strap) and we showed her where you could see through the camera, and where you can click to take a picture. I'm not sure the latter was a smart idea, seeing as I had over 100 blurry pictures of her feet. But she was so cute with it. 

On the last flight that they did, there was a man who served in the military during WWII, and completed all 25 of his flights/missions. It was kind of amazing to see him come off the plane after he had taken a ride. He has to be at least in his 90s, and he was just the cutest ever. Everyone stood up and applauded him as he got off the plane. I teared up. It was just so great. 

After that last flight had landed, they started lining up people to walk through the plane, and gave everyone permission to pass the yellow tape, and we were all free to walk around the plane, take pictures, look at everything. We thought that the line to go through the plan would move more quickly than it did, so no one stood in line at the beginning. We were there for probably another hour or two before we got in the plane. I think we stood in line for 40 minutes, because after realizing that the line wasn't getting any smaller, John figured someone should go stand in it. I took more pictures than probably necessary, but it was just so cool, I wanted to see every part of it! 

John with his Dad and brothers Dustin and Matt

We finally were able to get up into the plane. It is WAY smaller than you would think. But when you think about how the guys in these planes were 18 and 19 years old, and the average height was like 5'6, then it makes sense why it is so small, and why they needed smaller guys to do this job. We sat and took pictures in the very front, I want to say it's a lead gunner seat, but I could totally be making that up. After we got out of that part of the plane, to head back, the guy directing traffic asked us to put up the net, because people weren't supposed to go in there! Whoops! So, I'm glad we went in when we did, because we got to go in there! 

You can see in some of the pictures how small it really was in there. There was one part where you had to turn sideways and shimmy your body through. Poor Millys is pregnant. She said she could definitely feel the tightness on both sides of her body.

He looks like a giant in that tiny space!

The pilot and co-pilot's seats.

Of course we had to get one of us through the window! 

Shows you how big it really is! 

#roosestakeonarizona

 This little guy graced us with his presence on the 9th of April. Well, graced Arizona with his presence. He is number four for my sister. The parentals, Kate, Riley, and I all headed down the first week of May for his blessing, and also for Noelle's baptism!  It was the first time, probably since I got married, that the five of us were together for an extended period of time without John and Tom.                                                                                      And just like old times, the three of us shared the backseat. We flew out of Ogden, because we chose to fly Allegiant - much cheaper than any other airline. So we drove to Ogden and just left our car parked there. Smallest airport I've ever been in. Even smaller than the Long Beach airport, which I have always thought to be extremely small. Nope, Ogden wins. We flew out Friday night, missing as little work as possible.

We got there and we were starving. We had planned on eating before we went to the airport, but then we were worried about getting there on time, and so we figured we'd just eat airport food. Except, there is no airport food. Just a vending machine. So after getting the rental car, we immediately started searching for food. We're driving around, naming all these places that we see (Kneaders, Texas Roadhouse, Cafe Rio, Chick-Fil-A, etc.) and all of a sudden my mom goes, "There's a Wendy's" The car got silent and I said, "Ma, you think out of all the places we just named, we're going to choose Wendy's?" Laughter ensued. While we were driving around, I was trying to take selfies in the back seat to show the fact that my window was rolled down, on the freeway, and there was nothing I could do about it. Dad had all the windows locked, the whole trip, so he was the only one who could decide whether they should be down or up. In my attempts to take a "normal" selfie, I ended up taking the ugliest picture of myself I have ever seen. No lie. I'm not going to put it anywhere on the internet because it will haunt me for the rest of my life. But seriously, you can ask my siblings. Kati was dying of laughter, and randomly throughout the weekend would just start laughing because she was thinking about the picture. It was so bad.

We ended up eating at Cafe Rio. Who knew that it had only been open for a week and everyone and their dog wanted to eat there? Sheesh. It was craaazy, and it was like 9:30 PM. After we ate we went to the hotel, got everything settled it. Figured out where the five of us were going to sleep. Broozer took one for the team and ended up sleeping on the floor. There was no room to bring in a cot. 

Saturday was the baptism and blessing. I was awake at 6:00. Everyone was actually, except Riley. That kid could sleep for days. I packed gym clothes because I had this bright idea that I was going to work out while I was there, just in the hotel's gym. Well, being with Kati, she held me to it, and we were working out by 6:30 Saturday morning. I did my cardio, and then she was like, okay, now we're going to do THIS! She gave me exercises to do, showed me how to do them, and then took a video of me doing them and posted it online. Okay, she only took a video of me doing burpees, but seriously, I had never done a burpee in my life, I wasn't sure I wanted that for everyone to see. She didn't care. After our workout, we went and got showered, and ready to head over the church. Rebekah had also traveled to AZ for the occasion, along with her mom and step dad, and Boo's parents, so there were quite a few people there from Utah. We all met by the font, like always; Boo's Mom gave a talk about baptism, and then my dad gave a talk about the Holy Ghost. It was all very nice. After everything was done with the baptism and confirmation, Boo blessed the baby. 

This was the most tender moment of the day. Rach was crying during the blessing, so Noelle leaned over and was rubbing her back, and just kept getting closer to Rach. It was seriously the cutest thing I have ever seen, I had to get a picture, even though it was in the middle of the blessing. 

I love this picture of their family, because I think it is explains them so well. Especially love Sis' hand. She has the funniest personality, and wouldn't be serious while they were taking pictures. But it's okay, because it's just who she is. Nicholas LOVES Grandpa and Riley. Seriously. Kati and I were joking how he won't speak two words to us, but it's true. The kid just adores them, and thinks we're chopped liver. It was so cute, afterward, we went to Rach's house for lunch, and my Dad, being the person he is, kept falling asleep on the couch. Nicholas runs up to him and wags his finger in Dad's face and says "No, no, no Grandpa! No sleeping! It's day time." It was so funny, and so cute. 

Nicholas was trying to climb the gate, so Riley joined in. My mom said something to the affect of a scary future, and we said, what, Nicholas and Riley behind bars together? Wouldn't be too funny if you ask me!
The five of us haven't had a picture together that is decent in years, so, we all were pretty happy when we got one that turned out so well! Too bad we're missing people, huh? I guess family pictures are in order! Even though they are nearly impossible with so many people in your family.

After the lunch, we went and changed our clothes, and headed to Chandler to their outlet mall. Loved every second of that! I spent more money than I should have, definitely. We walked into the Coach store and they were offering an additional 50% off to all of their items, so Kate and Mom went crazy. Nothing really caught my eye, so I just helped them. Mom has been looking at the same red bag from Coach for probably a year, and so she finally got that, thanks to a little push from Dad. Happy Mother's Day! At one point Kate had three or four different bags in her hands, and couldn't decide which one she wanted. Mom offered to buy one for her birthday so that she could have two, but she just went with the one. I walked into Michael Kors, but their "sale" prices are still way too expensive, so I just looked. BUT. There was a Kate Spade store and I could have gotten in so much trouble in there. My Mom walked in with me, and had to leave because she was going to buy another purse, and had to stop herself. They had cute clothes in there, and earrings, bags, wallets, everything! Except shoes. But that is probably a good thing. I ended up leaving with a new purse, that is a bright blue color. I love it. And it was super on sale, so I 'm totally fine with it! Saturday night we went and ate at a place called Logan's Roadhosue. Essentially a Texas Roadhouse, minus the delicious cinnamon butter and rolls. It was actually really good food!

Kate left really early Sunday morning, so for Sunday and Monday it was just me Rye, and the parentals. Sunday we went over to the new Gilbert temple. Maybe it's because I haven't been to very many temples, or maybe it is kind of different, but their grounds are closed whenever the temple is closed. Can't walk around it within the fence. And it's not open on Mondays, so we had to settle with looking at through the fence. Which was totally fine. It was still gorgeous. We wanted to do a session, but, closed on Mondays, and we left Monday afternoon! Too bad. Guess we'll have to go back.

I sent this picture to John to show him how amazing this temple is. He wrote me back and told that it looked fake. Ha! It kind of does. It's just so perfectly put together with the palm trees and the water. All framing the Angel Moroni. So awesome!

After the temple we went to Walmart to get a new suitcase because we bought so much stuff, we had to have somewhere to stuff it. That morning we had breakfast at the hotel and Mom ate pork sausage that she thought was turkey sausage. She has been watching what she eats, and apparently eating the pork sausage did not sit well with her. Poor thing ended up getting sick at the Walmart and running outside only to throw up in the flower bed. On Mother's Day. She felt better after ralphing, but still. No matter how many times you go to a grocery store outside of Utah, you still get caught off guard when you see all the hard liquor that they have for sale. Just out in the open. Riley was really worried that I put this picture on Instagram, which I didn't, but now it's on the blog, so I hope he doesn't mind. For the record, he didn't buy either of those. It was just a picture to show how big they both were. We probably looked like fools, but, we are. We spent a couple hours at Rach's house Sunday afternoon, hanging out with everyone. Played Wii bowling, Nicholas had Dad outside playing with his airplane, Mom and Rach just chatted.

Monday was pretty low key. By the time we had breakfast, it was already like 85 degrees outside, so I decided I would go to the pool. I was reading The Giver and it was a great place to finish the book. Mom joined me. It was so nice just to sit in the sun. The afternoon rolled around, so we made our way to the airport. This time we learned our lesson, and ate before we got the airport. It made things much smoother. We ended up running into Rach at the airport dropping off her in-laws, so that was nice to say one final goodbye. It was a great trip, but there is nothing better than your husband holding you, so I was really excited to see my J.