Vanessa's Blessing & Venice Beach

Last minute we (... I mean, I...) decided to drive to Los Angeles to visit Jeff & Jackie and to see their new baby girl, Vanessa. The blessing was on the 7th of June. My parents came as well. We don't get to see my side of the family very often so it was a nice trip and we had fun. We went to Venice Beach & also ate at Red Lobster... yum... which I much appreciated since Jesse is not a big fan of (I mean doesn't like) seafood. Here are a few pictures from the trip (thanks, Mom for supplying most of them).

Vanessa Marcely - so precious!

Jackie's mom holding her new granddaughter

Jesse played this game with David the whole trip and he never got tired of it.
Jackie's dad & brother in the background with Veronica, David & Jesse in front.

Jackie & David

My parents (Craig & Mary) with David & Veronica (such adorable kids!!)

Jackie & David on the beach

Jeff & Vanessa

Jesse, me, David, Jeff & Vanessa

Thanks for inviting us to come! We had a great time and look forward to seeing you again soon!!!

I Passed!!

So I took the nursing state boards (NCLEX) last Friday and I found out today that I PASSED!!! So I am an official Registered Nurse (RN) now... but I won't be getting a job anytime soon due to baby arriving soon...

What a RELIEF! I am DONE with SCHOOL!!!

Summer Reading

In case you were interested... Jesse is reading "The Blade Itself" and I am reading "The Hunger Games" at the moment. Natalie recommended this book to me and so far I like it. We'll see how it turns out...

Baby Vanessa!

Jeff & Jackie had a baby girl last Monday - Vanessa! She's so precious! Congratulations!!!

Here she is with big sister Veronica holding her and big brother David

Baby Update

I am 6 months today! Baby is kicking a lot and still doing great. My last doctor appointment was a couple weeks ago and everything looks good - baby's heartbeat was 143 bpm. I thought I'd update you on how my belly is growing, too.

4 months - 5 months - 6 months

Brian Regan Live at Tuacahn

A group of us got to go to a comedy show at Tuacahn (the outdoor amphitheater) here in St. George. Brian Regan is so funny! He originally was supposed to do one show tonight, but it sold out so quickly they opened up Saturday. That also sold out quickly, so they opened up Thursday. Here's a little clip of some of his comedy:

Kiwi Mango Salsa

I came across this recipe, changed it a little bit, and I loved it! Jesse even liked it. The only drawback to making it is cutting up the mango (maybe it's just me, but I still haven't figured out how to make the most of one...). I even used fresh cilantro from my garden! Here's the recipe:

Yum!

Kiwi Mango Salsa

• serves three; prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 medium kiwifruit
• 3/4 cups peeled and chopped mango
• 1 tbsp minced jalapeno (it is very mild if you remove all the seeds first)
• 1 tbsp minced red onion (more or less to taste)
• 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp fresh lime juice (one large lime is what you'll need)
  
• 1 1/2 tsp honey
• 3 tbsp cilantro
• 1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

• Peel the kiwifruit, cut lengthwise into quarters, then slice (I would have liked them cut a little smaller, I think).
• Put the kiwifruit into a medium bowl and add all the remaining ingredients.
• Mix gently.
• Serve with tortilla chips or over cooked fish or chicken.
  

Graduation!

I am officially not a college student anymore! Last night we had a nursing pinning (mini ceremony for nursing graduates only). It went only an hour, thank goodness for Jesse... All I need to do now is pass the state board test, the NCLEX, and then I will be a Registered Nurse. Tonight is the official graduation... but I wasn't interested in walking so the pinning ceremony was perfect.

The invitation/announcement

Some pictures afterwards...
Jesse & me

Jon, Jenn, Me, Jesse

Just because ....

Because the world needs more spontaneous singing and dancing....

Rachel & Darrin's Wedding

My baby sister got married this weekend! They were sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple on Friday, the 24th of April. Jesse and I were able to come, which I was glad for. Here are a few pictures from the days spent up in (cold!) Idaho Falls.

Angela's girls- Hannah & Hailey being silly

Angela & I threw Rachel a bridal shower the day before she got married.
Here is the invitation:

... and the dessert we made... mmmm

Angela reading a quiz about "How well do you know Rachel & Darrin?"

An embarrassed Rachel... I had to get her something...

My mom, Rachel, & Eileen Heath

Darrin & Rachel coming out of the temple

Rachel & Darrin

Rachel looked beautiful!

My handsome Jesse :)

My brother Jeff with Angela's 2 girls Hailey & Hannah

The Idaho Falls Temple

And the Reception...

Jesse holding Matthew (Angela's baby ~9 months)

Hailey feeling like a princess got her own flowers!

Cutting the cake

Throwing the bouquet... The lady in red, Melanie, who caught Rachel's bouquet is engaged to marry Darrin's dad. You can see Darrin's dad in the background pretty excited that Melanie caught it!

Connie did an amazing job with the flowers - she is a high school friend of my dad's and they have kept in touch throughout the years. She is the one sitting down clapping (white shirt, green skirt).

Congratulations, Rachel & Darrin!

Dixie Kite Festival

Last Saturday was the annual Dixie Escalante Kite Festival at the Sun River golf course. We had never been.. so I somehow convinced Jesse to come out and enjoy some time in the beautiful weather!! It has finally warmed up down here (last Thursday I was hiking while it was snowing! Snow & St. George & April do not go together...)

Here are some pictures of the Kite Festival:

It wasn't very windy, but plenty of kites were flying.

Here's Lily enjoying her treat her 2 aunts got her

Adam & Lily

Here I am trying to show Lily how to hold the kite string

Lily had more fun playing with the string than anything to do with the kite

Audrey was having a hard time getting her kite to fly..

Nate got it up for a little while..

Here's Audrey with Ella

Matt & Lindsay brought a Dora kite and a Spiderman kite... Matt had a fun time flying them! Their kids... not so much. They had more fun in the bounce houses you can see in the distance.

Here's Matt

Nate (left), Lindsay & Kash (middle), and Jesse

Jesse had a fun time flying the Spiderman kite, too. The kite I got (on accident) was a stunt kite... which requires good wind (that we didn't have) and it takes a while to get used to.

Here's Jesse flying the Spiderman kite and Ella flying her Dora kite

Jackson seemed to feel better today - he had been pretty sick. He sure loves to smile for you when you get his attention!

Here's Jesse trying to get Lily to fly a kite..

..but she was more interested in treat #2!
This is Adam, Sabrina, and Lily.

The winds picked up for 5-10 minutes, so Jesse was finally able to get our stunt kite to stay in the air for a little bit!

I thought the kite festival was pretty fun - it definitely would have been better with more wind. And it probably would have been more fun if Jesse and I had a few kids of our own! But it was fun to hang out with friends and family. :)

Baby Clothes

So if you read this post... I'll know you are pretty bored because you're reading it in spite of the title. I went shopping with Jenn today because we had some extra time... and it is always more fun to shop when you are with someone! I was already in town, so I thought I'd look.. and of course I found some really cute things for our future baby boy!

0-3 months

3-6 months

6-12 months

Everything I bought can be returned, so if he's a big baby... no worries. I have to say though... the little girl section looks like a lot more fun to shop through. But it was still fun to finally buy something for the little guy. All the clothes kind of remind me of what I would buy for Jesse... except maybe the crab & piranha shirts... and the pj's. :)

How To Make Your Man Happy

1. Let him go out with a bunch of other guys paintballing/jeeping.
   
2. Don't be upset when he spends money on a paintball gun & supplies.
3. He comes home hungry but holds Cafe Rio in his hands.
4. He's dirty from rolling around in the dirt pretending he is a character in a video game all day.

The Result:

Real Financial Heroes

The world needs a few more Real Financial Heroes!

I caved... Jesse was right...

I had another prenatal appointment today... and it was the one they do an ultrasound for and measure everything to make sure baby is growing like he is supposed to... THAT'S RIGHT! We're having a baby boy!! I thought I could do it and wait until delivery day, but I had been thinking about the appointment all week and all day and.. I decided last minute I couldn't wait!

Everything still looks really good and baby is doing great! Heartbeat was 140 bpm. Now we just need to come up with a few boy names.

Here is a 4D ultrasound picture -
you can see his face, his fist up by his face, the umbilical cord
up around his head and down by his neck, and that's all I know.

(I've always thought these ultrasound pictures look a little weird...)