Thank You!

Katie
(Wish I could take credit for this picture,
but I could never get a good one.
The flowers had awesome huge blooms)

Lindsey
(The cutest shoes ever)

Emily
(pick-me up package for the whole family)

We've had lots more good mail days lately as you can see. It's funny when the mail comes at just the right time when I need it the most! But seriously, thanks for being so thoughtful. It makes me want to pass it on! (the thoughtfulness that is, not my gifts :)

Garbage & PJ's

Owen, you're not trash I promise.

If Gap pajamas are on sale for $5 I buy them. I don't even care what they look like cause they're so soft and cozy. But Justin you should like these ones!

(If you can't deciper they say, "I love Dad")

Surprise!

Q&A With Myself

When are you due? March 5, 2008.

How many weeks are you? 10.

When is Justin due home? Feb 15, 2008 (approximately).

Was this a planned pregnancy? Can't say that it was!

Are you & Justin excited? Now we are. A little shocked at first.

When did you find out? June 30. I remember cause it's my parents' anniversary.

How did you tell Justin? I didn't. Owen delivered this to him:

Did you clean it before Owen handled it? Yes. I promise!

How do you feel about your husband coming home to you being hugely 9 months pregnant? Not so excited.

How far apart will Drew and #3 be? 2 years (Drew's birthday is March 13).

Are you hoping for a girl? Justin definitely is.

How are you feeling? Tired all the time but I haven't thrown up yet!

Do you have anything else you'd like to add? We really are excited... today I heard the heartbeat and that made it real all of a sudden. Also, you're nosy!

It Finally Came!

Justin has been waiting for this diploma to come for oh... about a year now! Of course it got here right after he left. But either way.... yay!

Monday was a great mail day because look what else came!
Cinnamon bears from Robyn. I had to get a picture before they were all gone. They're so special because they don't sell them here ANYWHERE. I check everywhere I go from grocery stores to gas stations to ummm you name it. Lindsey got me hooked on these things a long time ago. Man they're good.

You know what else they don't have here... those Mother's Circus Animals cookies. Hint hint.

Despite all my junk food addictions, I had a cavity-free check-up at the dentist today! That's 2 in a row. I'm on a roll.

A New Friend

We went to Sally & Aric's for dinner tonight. I don't know if Owen had more fun playing with Aric or Addie. I'm pretty sure the motorcycle ride made his week, though. When we left he was waving bye to Aric out the window until he was out of sight. Oh and I don't normally dress my kid in tight shirts, he's wearing his pj shirt cause his other one got wet.

Lately

I got totally burned out of pictures after vacation. The new camera didn't even help. The thought of more pictures was giving me gag reflexes. But I think I'm over it now.

A few things we've done since being home from Utah:

If you haven't tried blueberry jam, you should.
My job was squshing (not squishing) the blueberries by hand. Kelli did the rest.

We met Justin's brother Paul, his wife Robyn & son Tristan in Wilmington at Chuck E. Cheese.

They presented Justin with this picture a few of his family members went in on as a pre-deployment/thank-you gift. So thoughtful. It's called "Sweet Hour of Prayer."

Our ward had a Pioneer Activity. I'm pretty sure pioneers bobbed for apples and had slip'n slides, right?

Justin & I went to the Temple to help with the YM/YW baptism trip. After passing like 15 Temples in Utah, we never made it inside one. We like to wait until it's 2 hours away from home to go.

I finished "New Moon" and went into mourning that it was over. I had the new Harry Potter sitting on my nightstand but didn't want to start another book relationship so soon. I'm now in the middle of it, though.

Speaking of Harry Potter, the Dunn's babysat Justin's last weekend so we could finally see the new movie. Loved it.


A few things I'm grateful for:

- Justin went through his closet with me BEFORE he left. I love throwing stuff away.

- Justin cleaned out his vehicle also before he left. Last time I tackled that a month later and found some nastiness.

- Owens prayers. I pray for Justin in our blessings on the food now. After I had finished a food prayer on Wednesday morning, Owen said, "Wait. I want to tell something else in the prayer." And he prayed for Justin himself.


Just in case you're wondering...

Justin is in Kuwait now. He leave for Fallujah tomorrow. That's where he'll be the rest of the time. I've talked to him once a day and he's doing okay, just bored out his mind waiting for their plane.

Thanks for all your nice notes & thoughts!

Today

Remember that time Justin came home from work early and said he was leaving for Iraq the next day?

Well that was yesterday.

(the trucks they loaded their bags into)

Last family picture for awhile

I'm doing okay now, glad the hardest part of good-bye is over. Goodbye was HARD. Owen has been keeping Justin & I happy the last couple days whenever we get sad, so I didn't see his reaction coming. He was SO sad when Justin walked away from the car. And was saying, "My daddy! My daddy! I don't want him to get on the airplane" for about 10 minutes. He calmed down though and when I asked if he felt better, he said yes, that he got his crying out. But he was wanting to go pick Justin up all night. Please let the next 7 months go fast!

The Last Person To Do This

Seven Random Things

That you might not know about me…

1. I handle the money in the house.
2. I’m 28 and I still get zits. And I have gray hairs. Those 2 things shouldn’t be present at the same time.
3. My favorite movie isn’t “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” anymore. It’s “The Sound of Music.” I LOVE it.
4. Whenever I’m in the soup aisle I can never find the Cream of Chicken soup. I can find Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Chicken & Mushroom, 99% Fat Free Cream of Chicken but not just plain old full fat Cream of Chicken soup. I think they move it every time just to make me crazy.
5. I want to be a really good cook. I have to have a recipe to cook anything. I want to be one of those people that can add a little bit of this and a little bit of that and it turns out awesome. I liked what my cousin Jessica said when someone asked if she was a good cook: “I can follow a recipe but sometimes there are bad recipes. That’s not my fault.” That’s me. Except sometimes it IS my fault.
6. I would rather pay a babysitter than trade babysitting with someone (i.e., not a big fan of babysitting). Maybe it has something to do with being the oldest of 8 kids.
7. I like black licorice.
   

Family Pictures

Just when you thought I was done talking about our vacation... I got the rest of our family pictures in the mail. So if you want to see some more click on the picture above. I'll never know if you don't look!

We got them taken the morning before we checked in for the reunion. We met Kelly at a duck pond on the BYU campus. She took our pics but then Drew was getting fussy and Owen just wanted to be chasing the ducks so I asked her if she knew where the Provo Bakery was. She did and thought that sounded good, too, so we followed her there and she took some more pics. They were both a lot more happy eating donuts.

And ya that place is good. Just a little rinky-dink shop. They were out of the orange rolls I had heard about but they had raspberry rolls that were delish. My mom and Justin liked the apple fritters the best.

Vacation Finale

Finally you're saying huh?

After we checked out of the mansion we went to Bridal Veil Falls. So pretty. Justin & Rachel hiked to the mid-level and Justin made it up one more level but not to the very top.

Can you see them?

The rest of us watched.



And then Dad treated us to shaved ice. We began and ended our trip with that stuff :)

Then we drove up to Sundance and rode the ski lift. I keep saying everything was so pretty but this place was my favorite as far as prettinness goes.

Brent and Errin were ahead of us.

Mom, Dad, and Rachel behind us.

And us! We were both scared Owen & Drew were gonna fall down so we couldn't totally relax but it was still cool. My dad took this video of Drew saying hi on the lift. I tried to count how many times he said it but I got bored. It was nonstop!

After we finished at Sundance we were off to the airport. So sad! Ashley & Jared met us there to pick up their car. Then we got to wait forever cause the SLC airport is a lot smaller than Phoenix so we got through lines fast. We had a red-eye with 2 layovers. And it was rough! Owen & Drew slept most of the time but once Owen woke up cause he was uncomfortable and was screaming for like 20 minutes. This was around 2AM. We got into Jacksonville at 9AM and made it to church at 1 cause Elder Bednar was going to be there! He was vacationing with his family at Topsail Beach and so lucky us got to hear from him. He spoke most of Sacrament Meeting and it was so cool. We couldn't last all of church though - I conducted Primary Opening Exercises then we went home to rest. I think Owen & Drew slept 13 hours that night and I got 12. Ahhhhhh.

Vacation Part 4: Reunion in Provo

Day 1
Check in to Northgate Mansion.

The place is huge and sleeps like 50 people... has an indoor play castle w/slide, theater room, pool table, etc.

Lots of pool time

We helped my family with dinner that night.

And then Melanie (my cousin) and her husband put on The Price is Right. Owen was a Barker's Beauty in his undies.

Day 2
20 of us hiked the Mt. Timpanogas Caves. Ya I hiked, are you impressed? Burned off some of that food. I definitely brought up the rear, though. Justin was pulling me by the end. It was such a pretty hike.

And the caves were cool. Literally. As in they were cold. And cool.

We stopped by Bajios on the way back to the mansion just so I could replenish any calories I'd burned. Mom & Dad kept Owen & Drew which was such a good thing. They would not have enjoyed that hike. Here we are playing with grandpas while we were gone.

The rest of the day was spent being sore. Brent & Errin arrived that evening. They were the only other married siblings to come. Tami's kids decided to get pink-eye. Karen & Derek are losers.

Day 3
I took Tami's place in Leisel's card-making class.

(Rachel and cousin Jamie)

Owen did Aunt Suzanne's cooking class for kids.

They made pita pizzas,

apple smiles,

and hedgies (hedgehogs based on a book Suzanne read while they were baking). So cute!
Water-balloon fight/games/activities in the afternoon. Justin didn't win this high jump. But he did win the long jump!

That night we had a family talent show. Rachel represented the Martindale's by singing a song from "Little Shop of Horrors." All my Grandpa's living siblings came for the program. This is Owen and Owen, my Grandpa's oldest brother (who is named after his dad). Great Uncle Owen has a son named Drew. His son named Drew also has a son named Owen. Family names anyone?

Those famous Utah Creamies (popsicles) for treat.Sam, Jason, and Owen

Jason and Owen were together a lot.
If you ask Jason who his favorite person in the world is he says, "Richard Simmons."
If you ask Owen if it's nice to hit he says, "Yes."

Day 4
Group picture, clean up, and check out!

It was so fun! Good food, no drama, and we got to see lots of long-lost relatives!

Thanks to my mom for being the organizer!

Vacation Part 3: Lagoon

We met my family at Lagoon on Tuesday (July 10). My dad isn't a fan of roller-coasters so Justin and I went on a couple until Justin couldn't handle anymore. He's not a big fan either.

My mom and I loved the Spider Ride...

Justin CAN handle the ferris wheel...

My Space picture!

That's what Rachel calls the ones you take of yourself. We were waiting in the hour-long ride for the new Wicked ride. It was so short but it was awesome.

Kiddie Rides!

Drew fell asleep while my mom was pushing him at Lagoon-A-Beach.