Rough weekend

It was a rough weekend but also fun. McKay was just one last week crying, screaming, I felt like we were back in his colicky days. On Friday Michael spent 2 1/2 hours trying to help me put McKay down for a nap. Friday was a bad day in general.
To start it off Thursday night Michael got down on the floor to play with McKay and he couldn't get back up. He couldn't' bend over. He was in so much pain, I've never seen Michael in so much pain. I really thought I was going to have to make a bed right there on the floor. We finally got him to bed, he told me I wasn't a very nice nurse because I was mean to him. It's because he wasn't laying straight so the ice pack would say on and I tried to move him but he wouldn't. And the McKay kept waking up through the night.

Friday morning Michael still couldn't move. So I helped him get dressed and drove him over to the Midwestern clinic to see if they could OMM back together. Crack his back or something. Unfortunally the Dr. was clueless in what Michael needed. So I took him back home we ate some lunch, In the mean time I tried to put McKay down for a much needed nap. Like I said before Michael tried for 2 1/2 hours. Michael decided he would try to drive myself to school and go to his last two classes. After he left, I loaded McKay in his car seat and starting driving. I drove around for an hour so this kid would sleep. He fell asleep as soon as I started driving the problem was if I stop I knew he would wake up. I went to the mall and of course McKay woke up but at least he wasn't screaming. I made my way home and McKay fell asleep again. Michael and I got home around the same time he helped me carry in McKay. we put him in this room car seat and all. Michael did unbuckle him

Layla Grayce Blanket Set GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Layla Grayce Blanket Set GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

I'm not sure if I did this right!

Some Videos

Hey, all. I finally figured out how to get videos from the cell phone to the computer to the internet. It was not exactly easy, and the video quality is obvious pretty crappy, but here they are! (I'm still not 100% sure it was worth the effort...)

McKay rolls over:


McKay jumping in his bouncer:

One week and counting!!!!!

Next Friday I will be in the car and driving home to see my family that I haven't seen in months!!!

Dangling baby

So I just went to the store to buy another toy for McKay, because I am desperate to keep him calm and quiet for a moment. As some for you might not know McKay screams most of the day, because he suffers from reflux and Colic. And because of those things he doesn't take naps, which leaves me with one cranky baby, which makes for very long days. We have taken him to the doctor without much success. I felt like the doctor didn’t take us seriously. “Oh another parent who can’t handle a little fussy baby. Parents these days, don’t they know baby fuss?” Yes I know babies fuss, I just had no idea it would be this much. And he would scream bloody murder most of the day.

They did put him on something for his reflux, but it hasn’t made much of a difference. We did see a moment of happiness for about 4 days. We have tried other things Mylicon, Gripe water, Tylenol (because we thought maybe he was teething), crazy diets (like not eating dairy, fruits, spaghetti sauce). But nothing seems to help. I really don't like giving him a bunch of junk, but what else can you do?) Hopefully he will just grow out of soon. If anyone has any ideas, I’m game.

But this is beside the point. So I bought a door jumper. I thought he would like it because today he just wanted me to hold him up so he could stand. Well after a while of getting kicked and my arms got tried I had a better idea. He liked it for all of ten minutes. I think Bella thinks it’s really a new toy for her. Luckily it didn't cost too much and I got it at a second hand store.

I put the box under him because the jumper was too high and he doesn't weigh enough to reach the floor, also I couldn't figure out how to lower it. Don't worry it's not like he is going to hang himself. That thought came to me when I was putting the box under him. I feel like I'm setting up for a hanging. Sometimes I don't know what to do with Bella, she is a funny dog. She kept pawing a McKay so it was pushing him. Whatever keeps those two entrained! I think he just liked dangling there.

Halloween

So after Michael got done studying last Saturday, which was Halloween. He took me shooting like he promised, which was so great and very much needed. It had been one of those days with McKay. It's a really big shooting range, (Ben Avery Shooting Facility) even the archery area is huge. Michael not very happy, because his little wifey out shot him. :)

A little rusty, but we haven't been shooting since I was 8 months pregnant. So I was feeling pretty good about my shooting.

Michael shooting!!

Me shooting, I love the saguaro cactus be hide me. I don’t know why, I just think they are so cool!!

McKay slept the whole time, so nice. It had been a hard day. He is also still in his PJ's! Great parents we are!

Michael carried McKay up the mountain in his carseat, the stroller isn't the best for off-road.

We played a little game, who could get in the kill zone first. Michael's arrow in the antler, Mine? Let's just say I was pretty pleased with it. Not the kill zone but It would have a least done some damage. I really think Michael let me win our little game so I would feel better. Because I had another rough day with McKay screaming most of the day. And I really had a great time!!

I was having such a great time I forgot my bow at the last target. Michael thought that was so funny, he just had to take a picture!!We got home at 7 pm and didn't get one trick-or-treaters. Oh well, I guess we just missed them all.

Thanks again dear for letting win. You are the best!!!

Parenting for Dorks

I have decided that being a parent pretty much automatically makes you a dork. All of a sudden, the baby does some little tiny thing, something rather insignificant in the long run, and we come all undone and call everyone we know.

Earlier this week, I was changing McKay's diaper and he reached up and pulled my glasses off. I immediately called for Christina to get the camera and come quick! McKay repeated the stunt once for Christina to see, then kept his hands to himself once the camera came out.

Yesterday, the little bugger rolled over. Yep, went right from his tummy onto his back like it was no problem. I was at school, but the news was important enough to be communicated immediately, so Christina got the feat on her cell phone video camera and sent it on over. I tapped my foot until my class went to break and excused myself into the hall and watched the 40 second video 4 times, beaming with pride each time. I probably watched 10 more times during the day, and it took every ounce of self restraint I had to avoid showing it to everyone in the lunch room. I didn't see the feat in person until tonight, but after a little coaxing and coaching he pulled it off again. In my eyes, he might as well have won an Olympic gold medal.

Dorky, I know. I've come to terms with it.

Some pictures:

Christina had the idea to put him in a pumpkin in respect for the season, and the idea is cute, but unfortunately, our model wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea. The pumpkin was also a little too deep for him, and since he has decided he likes to chew, he immediately leaned forward and grabbed a mouthful of pumpkin. Yummy. Needless to say, the final result wasn't the "Ahhh" inspiring , blue-ribbon winning photos we had in mind. They weren't all bad, so we decided to share anyway.

Here is McKay chewing on the pumpkin!!

Halloween Preview

Here is a little preview of our Halloween costumes! At least for McKay and I... There are some details still forth-coming, and, of course, Christina's and Bella's costumes. We just got this together to go to the ward Trunk-or-Treat party last night. It was a HUGE event with hundreds (not exaggerating) of costumed kids. Apparently everyone in the ward, active or not, and all their neighbors come out. They had a nice Chili-cooking contest, so there was plenty to eat and people in abundance. We handed out more than $10 worth of candy and I didn't eat one piece... Looks like I might have to trick-or-treat on my own...

As a little side note, I wanted to mention that Christina made McKay's costume from scratch. She didn't even use a pattern... Pretty awesome, if you ask me!

Also, McKay turned 3 months old this week, and we had intended to take some nice pictures of McKay, but Father Time has been unforgiving this week. Maybe tomorrow, after church, we'll get something together, but for now, here is a cute one of our little big man asleep in his Bumpo.

An Update and some pictures

I know its been awhile since I posted because I can no longer find our blog on the sidebar of other blogs and especially because my brother called to check on me because the blog hasn't been updated for so long. We definately appreciate the concern and love good conversation for whatever reason.

It has been a busy few weeks down here. I have been in the middle of midterms and trying to keep up with the temporary test increase (instead of one every week, which is normal, I had five in two weeks). Christina is almost always busy with McKay, and if she can catch a breath from that, she is working feverishly to construct Halloween costumes for McKay and Bella. (Yep, Bella.)

We also had my white coat ceremony last week, which added to the general business. The white coat ceremony is where medical students receive their white coats, officially welcoming then into medical education. It is a neat ceremony, sort of like a reverse graduation. Unfortunately, Christina had to care for McKay through most of the ceremony, so we didn't get much for pictures, but I did get a nice one with "The Guys" that I frequently study with.

We have also found some time to explore Phoenix, and we took advantage of Free Musuem Day and went to the Desert Botanical Gardens. This place would definately be worth the price of admission if we went during the day. Unfortunately, because of everything else going on, we didn't get there until just before sunset. We still enjoyed the park, we just couldn't get the beauty to translate into the camera in the dark. We posted a few pictures, still: a nice one of a Monarch butterfly that Christina took a few minutes before the sunset and one of me and a Sahuaro, just to show how massive these things are.

And, of course, McKay is growing like crazy. We have been taking some pictures, and we are always looking around the house for stuff to use to dress it up a little. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't... We thought a couple of these picnic basket pictures came out pretty well, but some others certainly haven't...

Chick-fil-a

So today, well more like yesterday, I'm waiting for little McKay to fall asleep, but a least he's not screaming!

(I'm telling him it's bed time and he is just smiling at me, little bugger.)

Anyways, I would say we had a good labor day nothing exciting by any means and we didn't leave the house until 3:00pm. But we got a free meal. Michael didn't have the enthusiasm like I did. But I was deturmuned to go.

I don't think we spent more then $10 and we went to the mall and Kohl's. We might have gone over due to the sales tax here. 8.5% Yuck!!

Well my little man has finally thrown in the towel, my turn to go to bed, luckily it's only 2:00 am.

Oh the things you find in Arizona

So last night we took Bella to the dog park which we do every other day. And I'm just sitting there with McKay watching Michael play with Bella when I see this thing go running across the yard. I go running to look at it, "It’s a scorpion, hurry come look!!" Michael comes over, I'm trying to get a better look because I really didn't think it was a scorpion, but I had to say it was something cool to get Michael's attention. Bella tried to catch it. Michael counted its legs, 10 legs? Spiders don't have 10 legs. So we came to the conclusion it was either a spider, and one set of legs were not legs or it was a scorpion. Well in my Internet findings it was neither. It's a solpugid. Whatever that is.. It's called a Camel Spider.

(Side note: Where I even got the idea to look up Camel spider was, there was the guy looking at like we were crazies. I told him to come look at the thing. He didn't know what it was, but he was from California and said it looked like the spiders in California that were called camel Spiders.)

P.S. Sorry if you get itchy after reading this post, I was freaking out the whole time writing. I hate spiders. Or whatever it is, creatures with long legs that bite.

Here is some info I find on the nasty thing!! Do I need to cite my info? Well I didn't write this stuff.

Camel spiders top speed - 10 mph. Which is very fast for a such a small creature..
Size: Up to 8 inches, although many of our readers report larger.
Called camel spiders because they live in the desert.
Camel Spiders are solpugids.. Along with spiders, they are members of the class Arachnida. For more camel spider pictures..

Solifugae - Camel SpiderA Solifugid (plural form Solifugae) is an arachnid belonging to the order Solifugae. The name Solifugae comes from Latin and means "flee from the sun", a reference to their nocturnal nature. The order is also known by the names Solpugida, Solifugae, Solpugides, Solpugae, Galeodea, and Mycetophorae. The order includes 900 known species of wind scorpions, sun spiders and camel spiders.Most solifuges live in tropical or semitropical regions, where they inhabit warm and arid habitats. Some species however also live in grassland or forest habitats. The most distinctive features of solifuges is their large chelicerae. Each of the two chelicerae are composed of two articles forming a powerful pincer; each article bears a variable number of teeth. Males in all families but Eremobatidae possess a flagellum on the basal article of the chelicera. Solifuges also have long pedipalps, which function as sense organs similar to the insects antennae. Pedipalps terminate in eversible adhesive organs.Solifuges are carnivorous or omnivorous, with most species feeding on termites, darkling beetles and other small arthropods. Prey is located with the pedipalps and killed and cut into pieces by the chelicerae. The prey is then liquified and the liquid ingested through the pharynx. Reproduction can involve direct or indirect sperm transfer; when indirect, the male emits a spermatophore on the ground and then inserts it with his chelicerae in the female's genital pore.

http://www.camelspiders.net/solifugae.htm

Baby Smiles!

McKay seemed to be unusually happy for about three days this week. We snapped a few pictures of his "ahhh-inducing" grins. Its a good thing we did, because by the weekend, his was back to his old screaming self. Except now that he has learned to smile, he'll scream until you think you can't take any more, than give you a few little smiles to reset the frustration factor... and then its back to screaming!

Oh, well. He is such a blessing in our home and are very happy to have him!

Background info

I changed our blog background to this because, well that what our life is now. School, studying, exams, lunch breaks, and friends (well not so much yet) and will be for the next 4 years! Michael is starting his 3rd week in the morning!

Snake Bread

I would say today has been a pretty good day, other then the fact I've been sick all day.


Anyway, to make a short story long (or a long story short) -- We heard about a family in our ward giving away free bakery bread. Apparently this family goes and collects bread older bread from a bakery. Michael was nice enough to drive me to their house, because if I was looking for the address I would still be looking.


When we found the house, we were walking up to the front door and notice a rather large snake on their front porch. One of the kids answer the door we make sure we are at the right house ant then mention: "Hey you have a snake on your front porch" and starting making our way through the door, not thinking much about it. (I guess we have lived in Blanding too long.) The kid looks out the door yells for his mom, she looks at the snake and screams for her husband.


In the mean time, the snake went into the garage and that's when it became a problem. It was sort of funny because the whole funny started freaking out, "We have never seen a snake around here." I went inside to look at the different kinds of bread and Michael went outside to see how he could help.


It turned into quite an ordeal. The snake crawled up under some shelves were there was plenty of items, including an old couch and some folding tables, in storage. They tried to shoo the snake back out of the garage, but it seemed to keep moving deeper into the garage. Finally, Michael started pulling the stuff out a little at a time. Nearly 40 minutes later, they finally had the snake headed out. Of course, by this time the snake was quite agitated. It would strike at everything that came near it, raising the adrenaline level past rational levels. After pushing the snake back and forth several more times, Michael actually caught a hold of it with a garden rake, and pulled it toward the garage door. It escaped again, and headed back into the garage. In desperation he pinned it down with a flat-nosed shovel. The man of the house came to assist and promptly removed the poor thing's head with another shovel.


Since nobody was sure if it was poisonous and there were kids running all over the place, it seemed like the best thing to do. It turns out it wasn't poisonous, and may have been a Red Coachwhip that are common in this area, but rational thoughts slipped out sometime after the snake starting fighting back. Turns out the poor little guy was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.


We went back into the house and collected our bread and headed home. Turns out it was quite an eventful trip... maybe even better than fighting traffic to get to the grocery store!

Red Coachwhip

The doctor is in

This has nothing to do with Michael's Medical skills, but mine. Ok I guess both, so we have been practicing on Bella. Ok so that’s really not true. If you have been following us the last few days you would know that Bella our dog has hurt herself yet again, ok so it has been awhile but this time she has really done it. She ripped her dew claw well she more like cut it anyways. After spending $150 the first time another $40 for her follow up and they wanted us to come back yet another follow up. We said enough is enough. And all they did at the follow up was unwrap her leg and rewrap it. And charge us lots of money. So we came up with a better plan.
I found the same kind of bandage stuff they use, but in pink for a whole roll for $2.50 and I used a gift card. Thanks Melissa! Came home and looked around the house for some padding like gauze or something better yet, a breast pad.

Their Clinic Vs. My Clinic (I basically could be vet)
They charged us $16.85 for Extra physical restraint( because our 27 lb mean dog Bella, ok so Bella can put up a good fight.) Anyways I charged: Free = Michael holding her down
They charged us $16.73 for bandage extremity. My cost: breast pad .10 cents, some pink wrap .75 cents.
They charged us $5.75 medical waste disposal fee. All for a speck of blood. At my office: Free
Total cost at my clinic less than a $1.00

We have decided that what their motto really means: Treating your pet like family. Well you would spend this much on your kid, so why not the dog too. We do love you Bella, but this is getting out of hand!!

Baby McKay

The Last Four Weeks in a Nutshell

Welcome back to the show, folks! I know the suspense must killing you all... Actually, I'm sure that most of you either know for sure or have concluded: I accepted the offer at Midwestern University, and, now, $45,000 and a histology test later, we thought we should fill you all in on the details in the middle.

After we accepted the offer, the magnitude of the decision came crushing down, and we had at least a thousand small panic attacks. At least. We also decided we better go to Phoenix to find a place to land when we got there for school. We packed up a weekend's worth of clothes and put the 5-day-old baby in the car and headed south. The car had different plans. We made about two hours of the seven-hour drive when the Nissan threw in the towel. We hitched a ride, all three of us, into Kayenta, AZ, where we could get a cell phone signal and figure out what to do next. We spent the next 2 1/2 hours in McDonald's while my parents came to rescue us (thanks, Mom and Dad!).

The next week was spent packing and calling apartments (thanks to Christina's mom and Melissa for all their help!). We couldn't decide on a place over the phone, so when we left for Phoenix on August 3, McKay's two-week birthday and less than two weeks since the call, we fit everything into the car we could fit and set off. After two nights in a hotel and two nights with a fellow first-year medical student and his wife (Thanks Aaron and Jodi!!), we found a place that would do for the next year.

We returned to Blanding on Friday night, and finished packing our stuff into a trailer my dad had agreed to tow to Phoenix (Thanks, again, Dad, and everyone else that helped!). By midday Saturday, we were pointed south again, only this time was permanent.

I started class the very next Monday, and there is not a lot of ease in time. With me diving right into school full time, and Christina doing her best to raise our two-week-old son, our house still hasn't gotten fully unpacked... it took us more than a week to even get it very livable. It has been a wild ride so far, with some extremely frustrating moments, but here are the highlights:

McKay screamed bloody murder immediately after eating and through most of the night for about a week and a half. When we had given up all hope of ever figuring it out, we saw a pediatrician. She said McKay was incredibly healthy and has already gained two pounds since birth, making him 10 pounds, 7 ounces now. She suspects he is having heart burn and gave us a handful of non-medication suggestions, and we have successfully integrated a good share of them, with very good results so far. Last night, he slept from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., woke for feeding, and went right back to sleep until after 5:30 a.m. That is more sleep than we had in three nights combined previously...

Bella is not to outdone. Since she was a puppy, she has had a dew-claw like growth on her back foot. Somehow, she about tore it off last week. It was causing her a lot of pain, got infected and swelled up like a balloon. We finally gave in and took her to the vet. That was a mistake. The vet charged us more than $150 the first visit, then almost $40 for the follow-up. And, the worst part is, we feel like they made the problem worse. They shaved her foot, and nicked her skin and the little dew claw looks awful. We are supposed to go back again, but it's not going to happen. We'll nurse her carefully ourselves at home from now on.

I had my first exam just one week after the start of classes, in histology. I scored 93%, just above the class average. I have my second exam, in biochemistry, tomorrow morning at 7:30.

The temperature is unbelievable here. We've had it as hot as 114 F and never, during day time hours, less than 90 F. Even when its raining (which it has done twice).

Our house is still a mess, at least half our belongings in boxes, Bella is still limping and it's still hot. But, McKay is doing much better, Christina and I are settling in, and we are doing well. We just might make it down here.

Good morning, maybe not so much!

My son decided to start the day off early like 3:30 am early. ( I know babies get up in the middle of the night, but he doesn’t want to go back asleep.) So we are just hanging out. I think he is asleep now in his swing, and I think he will stay there for the rest of the night because if I move him he will wake up. So I will put the monitor on and crawl back into my bed for a few hours. And hope he stays asleep.

McKay's 3rd Week: Life in Phoenix

So this is our 1st week in Phoenix and McKay's 3rd week of life. So far.... I guess he has slept through the night. It's the days that are not so good; he likes to scream -- all day. He doesn't want to sleep, which is fine, but he wants to be held, constantly. That would be OK, too, if I didn't have a house that needs to be found beneath all the moving boxes. So far the master bathroom is put together. Today I'm hoping to get the laundry done.

Moving Again!!

Don't have much time!! But we are moving again!! Today, well finishing moving. We have been in Phoenix all week for Michael's school stuff. We will try to keep everybody posted. We did finally find a place to live in Surprise, AZ. And yes that’s really what the city in called, it's not a surprise.

Career Saga 3: The Call

Well, it has been quite a week. Yesterday was quite a day.

There is nearly no way to describe all the emotions that were coursing through me as we drove McKay home from the hospital -- as we carried him through the front doors as proud new parents.

I am just emotional enough that I could have probably spent several hours on the couch, just trying to absorb all of it. (Weird? Perhaps.) There would be no time for that.

The light on the answering machine was flashing. I pressed play, expecting some nice congratulations for our sweet new baby. Instead: "This message is for Michael. This is Tracy from Midwestern University. I'm calling about your status for the upcoming AZCOM [Arizona College of Medicine] class. We have a few open seats and the dean of admissions has asked me to call and offer you one of these seats. Please call me back as soon as possible."

Wait. What? Did I really just get offered a spot in medical school? Really? The same day I brought my brand new baby home? Yep.

There will be no time to revel in the emotions of fatherhood -- at least not right now. Right now, I have about 24 hours to decide if I really do want medical school; if I really think I can do it; if I really can move my family to a new city (Phoenix) and start a totally new chapter in my life.

It's OK, though. I'm totally comfortable with this decision. No problem. (Yeah, right.) This afternoon, I'll just call Tracy back and report my decision, which is.....

To Be Continued

My Initiation

Well, I have officially been sprinkled in the holy water of parenthood.

McKay's first at home diaper change was also my first-ever diaper change. It was fairly typical. It was his second diaper change that got interesting.

You see, Christina taught me to cover the little boy up with a diaper wipe as soon as I took his diaper off. When I peeled the diaper off, though, and turned to get a wipe, they weren't there. We had moved them into the bathroom for a different job, and they hadn't come back yet.

As soon as I realized this, and started to turn back toward McKay to figure out a different plan, I felt something warm on my hand. My first thought was Bella had come in and was licking at me. I turned to shoo her away, but she wasn't there. When I turned back toward the baby, I felt it again. And it still took a minute to sink in.

That's right. The little guy was sending up an initiation shower that was currently soaking my pants. It also soaked his changing table and even sent a few sprinkles all the way to our bed.

I took time to laugh at myself, especially since I had been warned. The funniest part, however, is that it will probably not be the last time!

Announcing: Michael McKay Nielson

Christina and I are delighted to announce the arrival of our first child, Michael McKay Nielson.

McKay, as he will be known, was born on his due date, July 20, 2009, at 12:37 in the morning. The little bugger weighed 8 lbs. 4 oz. and measured 21 1/4 in. long.

We are unbelievably proud and feel incredibly blessed at how well things have gone so far!

The only thing that's certain is uncertainty

An interesting new development in our "career" saga:

In June, Drexel University contacted me to inform me that I could submit my med school application, which I had already submitted to Drexel's school of medicine, to a Master's of Public Health program with no additional fee. I took them up on their offer, not expecting much to come of it.

I found out this week that Drexel had not only accepted me, but also offered me a scholarship totaling $10,000 per year. That is a pretty substantial chunk of the approximately $27,000 per year in tuition.

This seems like it may be a good opportunity. I will have to wait at least one more year to get into medical school, and I don't know how much I can improve my credentials here in Blanding. The Master's of Public Health could serve as a stepping stone, or it could open new career doors that may be just as exciting. An additional benefit may be the fact that after two years in Pennsylvania, I can gain residency, which may open a lot of doors at one of the 10 medical schools in Pennsylvania (including Drexel itself). (For those less familiar with the med school application process: More spots are given to residents, and in-state tuition is usually substantially less.)

There are also some downsides, of course. The first is the move from Blanding to Philadelphia. Can you imagine a bigger culture change? I have real concerns about moving my wife and brand new baby (we are still waiting for him, by the way) into a place like Philly. Not to mention the move itself -- more than 2,000 miles. I also stop paying off debt and start accumulating it again. And I leave what has become an exceptionally comfortable career-type job, where I have been informed several times that I have the potential of advancing within the company. I make fair money and have good benefits.

Generally, life in Blanding is just comfortable. I work easy, predicatable hours. I am always off on weekends and holidays, and get home by 4 p.m. or earlier every day. I don't spend anytime sitting in traffic. If I have to wait for one car on my way to work, it is an abnormal morning. I love my little pickup and taking off, pretty much whenever I want, on a drive up into the mountains. It is hard to just say goodbye to all that.

In my mind, it comes down to one thing: do I really, I mean REALLY want this medical school thing or not. If I do, this seems like the way to go. If not, there is no point in leaving my career here and high-tailing it across the country.

To be honest, I never thought that a decision like that would even make me hesitate. But now, staring it in the face, I'm having a harder time than I expected.

Right now, I'd say we are about 75% on the packing the truck side of things, but there is a lot still to consider.

I'd love to have feedback from any and all!

Hometown 4th of July (Happy Birthday, Christina!)

As most of you know, Christina's birthday is on the 4th of July. Because of this, we normally spend the Fourth according to her wishes, which normally include a trip to Idaho, or at least Salt Lake City. However, with the baby coming soon, this year didn't seem like a good time for traveling. Additionally, my mom's family was having a family reunion, and I was asked to help with the food, etc., so we got to spend the 4th of July in Blanding. This is actually kind of exciting for me, as I grew up here and actually really enjoy Blanding's festivities.

The morning started at 5 a.m. for me, because I got up early to wrap Christina's presents and to make her a cake. She had requested a store-bought cake to remind her of the days at the West Jordan Rodeo (when her family was too busy to make the cake, and bought one instead). I couldn't justify spending more than $30, so I invented a store-bought cake at home. I simply made some cake mixes and baked them in jelly roll pans and put a layer of raspberry pie filling in between the two layers. Then I frosted it with buttercream frosting using a recipe I found in a cook book. It wasn't a store-bought cake, but it wasn't too bad, either.

Blanding still has a very traditional parade, with lots of candy! We found a nice shady spot and enjoyed the parade while my neice and nephew scooped up the loot by the handful.

The mid-day is filled with a carnival and kid races. Christina and I missed the kids races, choosing to go to photography/quilt show instead, but the kids apparently did quite well (and made the local paper).

We also spent time with the extended family, getting beat at Bocce and horseshoes before spending most the evening cooking a dutch oven dinner for the family reunion.

We did get to finish of our celebrations with a very nice fireworks display. Christina definately enjoyed. Bella: not so much. She spent the show curled up of the floor of the cab of my pickup. Dogs just don't seem to get fireworks...

Happy Fourth all!

We've moved to the love shack!!

So we forgot to post that we have moved. We probably forgot because we've got something else on our minds. It wasn’t a big move (is big the right word?), we just moved across the street -- well like 3 blocks north.

We moved so we could save money and so Bella could have a yard and be an outside dog. Well she doesn't stay in the nice completely fenced in backyard she has, she simply jumps over the 4 1/2 foot fence.

But at least we are saving some money, if we can just look past the bugs, the ivy growing through the wall in the kitchen, and the plain oddness of the place. (And I swear something lives in the rafters of the house because when I'm home by myself I can hear stuff (like something walking around) and for a long time I told myself it's just the tree hinting the top of the house until I realized the tree doesn't come close the roof of the house.) It will be an OK place to live for a bit.

Also by moving to this place got me a brand new washing machine. The duplex it had a washer and dryer included, so when we moved out we had to use our very old set that we were given out of Michael’s uncle’s shed. Well, the old set worked a year ago in Cedar City, but when Michael tried to set them up here at the new place the washer wouldn't work, so he tried to fix and find the problem. He took the whole thing apart, and once he found what was inside he was done fixing it. He was so disgusted that he sort of put it back together and declared it unfixable. Which is fine, because the washer was like 30 years old. So, like I said, I love my new washer that's in my bathroom, even though the dryer is in the garage – yeah, I know: weird.

It's not a very big house. It has two bedrooms, with a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room with a wood burning stove (which I'm not too sure about, but Michael is excited about – I guess it will save us money). As my mom puts it: “Oh. Fun! You’re going to live like a pioneer.” There is also the garage/ Bella's room/ office/ storage room/ the rest of the laundry room. When you live in a place like this, it gives your husband plenty of opportunities to “fix” things.

Some other odd/maybe cool things about our new place:
1. It has really high ceiling. (Michael is happy about that because now he can hang is deer head up. I'm excited for the really tall Christmas tree we can get.)

2. This used to be a auto shop, hence the really tall ceiling.

3. I feel like I live in a fish bowl because we live in the middle of the block, our property touches 8 other backyards; we can see 10. No running around naked.

4. There is only water in a 4 foot radius, which is why the washer is in the bathroom.

5. I almost forgot the title: the Love Shack! We had to move to a different ward, and when I was introducing myself the question “Where do you live?” always comes up. I'm explaining and one of the ladies says: “They live in the love shack.” What? Apparently the man who owns the house rented it to most of his kids for their first year or so of marriage. Hence, it has been dubbed the Love Shack. Kind of like my grandpa's apartments. So we live in the Love Shack!!
Oh, the joys of living frugal!

Pictures to come, I have to clean my house first and it hasn't been easy!

36 weeks and still doing good!

So I finally got to go to the doctor today. Let's just say, it's been kind of wild down here in Blanding . It's been more then a month since my last appointment and I was supposed the be seeing the doctor ever two weeks. Now I'm down to every week.


Anyway, about today: yeah for Strep B test (not) ! As of today, I'm 25 % effaced and 1 cm dilated. I guess that's good. And baby's head is down, but just facing the wrong way as of right now. The problem with that is I get these cute little knees jabbing me in the front and side. Also, since his head is down, I have a lot more pressure which means I feel like I need to pee every 10 minutes, and if I don't go that sec I might pee my pants. And then I barely get an ounce. The joys of carrying a child! But I haven't gained weight for the last two weeks, which is good; I hope it continues.

Hovenweep

Last Saturday, we took advantage of free admission and visited Hovenweep. Christina's first pick was Arches to see Delicate Arch, but I thought the long walk in the heat would be a little too much for Mrs. Nine Months Pregnant. We compromised and went to Hovenweep and ended up walking more than three miles, the estimated round trip hike to Delicate Arch. Oh, well. Hovenweep allowed dogs, so Bella made the journey with us.

It was an interesting time to visit the home of some of Utah's most famous Indian ruins, and we were actually quite careful not to tell anyone we were from Blanding. It seems all citizens of Blanding have been lumped into one group: Disrespectful callous grave diggers who enjoy weekly games of dodge the Indian skull and pay for our oversized Dodge truck with proceeds from our artifact sales. Fun to be stereotyped, huh?


This was actually my first trip to Hovenweep. They claim San Juan County has somewhere around 100,000 Indian ruins (it's a big county). I've been to a lot... maybe 100, but no where near 100,000. And, in all the ruins I've visited, I never taken more than photographs. In fact, I haven't even collected an arrowhead, despite hundreds of hours in the hills, hunting, camping, hiking or just being there. In fact, being outdoors, and occasionally finding a ruin I didn't know was there, or visiting one I'm fond of may be one of my favorite parts of living in Blanding.


Still, in honor of our local week of fame, I included some of the photos I've taken at some ruins through the last year or so, in addition to the pictures from Hovenweep last weekend.

The top photo is an experiment I did to create a panorama from some pictures I took at Hovenweep. The ruins are from the Square Tower Complex in Hovenweep, with the Sleeping Ute mountain range visible in the background.

Square Tower complex in Hovenweep

Horseshoe Complex in Hovenweep

Holly Complex in Hovenweep

Holly Complex again.

And Holly, again.

As an interesting side note, the Hovenweep ruins were all built on the surface, specifically right on the edge of cliffs. Notice the doors come out on the cliff side, not the surface side. There are also ruins on the surface, not near cliffs, and ruins built into the cliff face (the last pictures here are a good example. I don't know if there is a correlation, meaning they started on flat ground, moved to the cliff edge and finally moved into the cliffs (or vice versa). Most of the ruins I have visited have been those built into cliff walls, suggested the peoples that built them were scared and built into the cliffs to help defend themselves. Why? I don't know. I'm not sure any one does.


Non-Hovenweep ruins in San Juan County
Non-Hovenweep ruins in San Juan County


Non-Hovenweep ruins in San Juan County


Non-Hovenweep ruins in San Juan County

Non-Hovenweep ruins in San Juan County