"Hermano"

Well, baby boy has decided to make a later arrival. My official due date was yesterday, but he must run on the same time frame as his parents--late. :) After some debate, I decided to begin my maternity leave early. It has been a wonderful decision. I am enjoying having time to myself and wrapping up a few loose ends.

A few weeks ago Tom, my brother, came out to help with some projects around the house. I don't think he fully understood what he was getting himself into when he offered his help. We greatly appreciated him coming out. Below are some of the projects and adventures we had while he was out visiting/slaving away.

The first project actually started a few weeks ago when we found a couple of " gems" (cabinets) in the trash. What can I say? We are resourceful. Steven, our neighbor, was kind of enough to help us get our treasures home. Again, we have nothing but class at our house. So much for keeping a low profile in the neighborhood.




Tom and Bryan made quick work finding the perfect locations for the cabinets in our garage.



The second project involved repainting a nightstand that I wanted in the nursery. I thought it would be just slapping a coat of paint on the thing, but Tom took all of it apart and even sanded it down. It received some much needed TLC from Tom and now looks great in the nursery.



The third project was getting a fridge out of the garage and into our basement. To say that we've neglected it would be an understatement. Tom had the misfortune of opening the fridge (after who knows how much time) and experiencing a sensory overload of smells. After a good scrub down, it was off to the basement. Steve came over to help out again, poor guy.



The fourth project (again, Tom had no idea what he was getting himself into) involved doing some decorating in the nursery. The measurements might have been "slightly" off.


The fifth and final project was the biggest of them all. Bryan and Tom painted the master bedroom, put up chair rail and crown molding. I love how it turned out...



We decided that maybe we should let Tom out of the house after he worked so hard. We made it to the Rockies vs. Braves games that just happened to coincide with Tom's visit. Coincidence?? Hardly. This was maybe the best view we had for the first 5 innings due to a rather "difficult" Braves' fan...

There was a slight incident at the game involving the other Braves' fan, but everyone made it home safely. I debated whether or not to post more details, but I'll leave it at that. If your curiosity is killing you, give one of us a call, even better, give Tom a call and he'll give you quite the story. :)

Tom and Bryan also went fly fishing one morning. While they worked the river, I worked on my tan and snapped a photo or two of the action.


We really appreciated Tom coming out and helping us get things done around the house!

First Day of School

I thought it might be few years before we were taking these pictures in our family, but it turns out that that is not the case. Bryan was recently called as an early morning seminary teacher. That's right, early morning. The kids here are dedicated! Bryan and I were very spoiled living in Utah and Idaho and being able to attend released-time seminary. Class starts at 6:30 am everyday that there is school. They hold the class at our stake center, which is only 5 minutes from our house. He has about 15 students, all freshmen. I think he has felt overwhelmed at times, but I know that he is going to be great! Good Luck Brother Nielson! :)

Baby Showers!

'Tis the season for baby showers! I guess when I got to the point that people no longer questioned if I was pregnant, but instead questioned if I was having twins--it is time to have a baby shower and celebrate!

At work, I was told by my manager that I had to come in on my day off for a 7 am mandatory meeting with our head boss. (She later told me that she had to say our head boss, because she thought I would just blow it off otherwise. I guess people can sense that I'm starting to check out of the work scene a little bit.)
I showed up, bright and early Monday morning to find that our staff lounge had been transformed into a party room! The mandatory meeting was a combined baby shower for me and one of my co-workers that is due just 6 weeks after me!

SURPISE!!





We played my favorite baby shower game of "how gigantic are you?" :)
FYI: I am 11 TP squares round.




Martha, my co-worker, that is expecting a little girl. They had a cute cake wishing us both the best. It has been really fun to be preggo together.



My neighbor, Elizabeth, was also very gracious and threw me a neighborhood/ward/friends shower. It was so much fun that we forgot to snap pictures with everyone there! Oops! She has such a talent for decorating and entertaining, maybe I'll be able to pick up on a thing or two from her. She is also the one that let me do some canning with her a few weeks ago. This gal has it together.

Here is part of the spread that she put on...



Everyone was very impressed with the sugar cookies. I loved how they said "BABY LUKE" and "OH BOY."



A quick picture of momma-to-be after the baby shower. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful people in our neighborhood and ward.

Anticipating the Arrival...

I guess the nesting instinct has finally hit, full force. With that nesting instinct, comes very little resting. Maybe it is nature's way of trying to break you in gently when the big moment arrives and you rarely rest (so I hear).
I have loved getting the nursery ready, it still isn't complete, but it is fun to watch it coming together. I decided to do an airplane theme, but very low-key, not a lot of fancy stuff here. Bryan has been very helpful and patient while placing things in "just the right spot" for me. Here are a few sneak peaks of the nursery.

First things first, we decided to paint and put some beadboard on the walls. Bryan recruited some local help, my cousin, Paul. Thankfully, he has some experience in the carpentry area and the beadboard is going straight up and down without any funky angles. He definitely helped make things much easier! Bryan also purchased a few new tools for the project. How could I argue, "It's for the baby"???




I love baskets and have incorporated them throughout the nursery. I'm a believer in being organized, but having a quick and simple way to go about it. My sophisticated organizing system? Clump it all together into "baby things."




Here is the homemade mobile that my "crafty" brain came up with. I'm actually really happy with how it turned out, what do you think??? (hanging sharp, metal objects above an infant is always a good idea, right?)





After the mobile idea, I felt that I was on a roll, so I found a baby quilt pattern online and decided to give it a go. I'm nearing the completion phase of the quilt. I enrolled my Aunt Karen for some help with the actual stitching, but other than that I spent just a "few" late hours putting this together. I will update when the quilt is done.


We sure are excited for the arrival of Little Luke! Only 3 more weeks to go! (roughly)

DORITO

When we went to South Dakota a few months ago I mentioned our friend Dorito, the donkey. Mandy captured the friendliness of Dorito with a short video clip. You can click HERE if you would like a little chuckle. :)

Babymoon

At the end of June we made it to Kauai to celebrate our "babymoon," one last get away for just the two of us until...hmm..well, I guess that is why we went! I think our carefree days of traveling might be slightly more numbered in a few months! I absolutely loved Kauai. We found adventures, beautiful places, romantic beaches and delicious food (I'm prego-I have to include something about the yummy food!).

A rope swing that enticed anyone that found it. Bryan demonstrated his Tarzan skills in the jungles of Kauai. I have to admit, I was a little sad that I had to sit this one out.



Our favorite hike of this trip was the Nepali Coast Trail (Kalalua Trail). The majority of the Nepali Coast can only be seen by taking a helicopter/boat tour or hiking it. Maybe that is why it stays beautiful. We only did the first 2 miles of the 11 mile trail, but still enjoyed what we did see. Hopefully, we'll be able to return and do the full trail at some point in the future. The views that this hike offered were amazing.


On the trail, we overlooked one of our favorite beaches, Ke'e. We saw nearly a dozen sea turtles when we snorkeled there!


The Nepali Coast


The turn-around point was Hanakapaia Beach. As picturesque as it appears, one could easily be deceived by the dangerous tides, refer to the picture after this one.



We stayed nice and dry at this beach, not wanting to become another mark on the board.


We found the hike below in the "adventures" section of our guide book. It was quite the hike, can you spot my hand below? The trail was a little rough and thick in places. The best part of the hike was when we reached the look out spot and realized the view from our car, 2+ miles back, was better than our current view-awesome. There were some laughs about this one, just not in that particular moment.


We were slightly unprepared for that demanding trail-my flip flops didn't quite cut it and my poor feet suffered. Time to find the beaches and waterfalls... :)



Some of our favorite waterfalls and beaches...






Hideaway Beach


Wailua Falls


Donkey Beach

I am sure that there are some of you that are curious how being pregnant and lying on the beaches go together. Let me show you what it looks like...I would be the one laying on a towel. :)







While there, we ate quite a bit of fish. I'm sure I ate more than my allotted 12 oz, but I think that baby boy understands and he enjoyed it as well.

The absolute best fish wrap (and biggest-maybe they go hand in hand) I've ever laid my hands on.


A nice, romantic dinner...


I realize that this post is quite lengthy. I had a hard time cutting things out! It was a wonderful week that we spent together. Our last day there we took a helicopter tour. Bryan thought the only thing missing on our helicopter were some guns...almost the complete vacation. As we made our way out to the helicopter, I couldn't stop singing the M*A*S*H theme song. I was maybe a little over excited. However, I was also quite nervous that between my pregnant body and being prone to motion sickness I might not be able to enjoy the ride or views. Bryan teases me that I get sick when he backs out of the driveway--just sometimes. Needless to say, I was relieved that I didn't have to use the "aloha bag" while enjoying our view of the island.



I'll leave this post with pictures that Bryan snapped from the helicopter. I'm very appreciative of his photography skills and his ability to capture the beauty we saw.


Nepali Coast


Nepali Coast, couldn't get enough of this place!


Recognize this waterfall? Hint: Jurassic Park.


Leaving Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.

Aloha Kauai.

Mt. Rushmore

For Memorial weekend we drove up to Mt. Rushmore. It's only about 5.5-6 hours from our place, not too shabby. My cousin Paul, his wife, Mandy, Stan and Lindsay all joined in for the patriotic weekend.
We started the trip by taking a tour of Custer State Park. Don't be deceived by the name, this is not the place of Custer's Last Stand, that is actually located in Montana-about 500 miles away. However, the park did offer a lot of wild life and life not so wild. We met my favorite animal of the trip in Custer Park.



Introducing....Dorito! Why the name? Dorito liked to eat Dorito chips, it was all over his breath, no joke. Have you ever met a donkey that eats doritos??? He was very friendly and I think he was curious if we had any doritos in our car. We were all smiles and giggles until Dorito became a little too friendly and tried to "nibble" Mandy. It wasn't quite the episode of "When Animals Attack," but Mandy's blood-curdling scream let Dorito and us know that it was time to go.

On to the real wild life...

such as buffalo, deer, sheep, antelope and bunny rabbits-of course.



I believe these are called "The Needles," but I'm not sure, Bryan isn't here to correct me. So, for now, "The Needles" were beautiful.




Mt. Rushmore--little bit smaller than we had anticipated, but still very incredible.




The entire gang at the "Badlands" of South Dakota.
Also, a great profile shot of me at roughly 6 months pregnant-wowzers, this boy might be a linebacker. :)



Another shot of the Badlands. Overall, we thought that the Black Hills of South Dakota and the surrounding area that we made it to was very pretty country.
Thanks to the men and women that make it possible for us to enjoy such scenery and our every day freedom.