Snowy Day

Well, I already missed a day of blogging!! Oh well :) Yesterday we had a lot of fun at our play-date! We went up to a church that has an indoor play area and it was FREE! It was really neat. There were plenty of things to play on and slides. Sawyer loved it! We will definitely be using that spot whenever we can!!
Here is a picture of her playing:



Today has been good so far. I got my gym membership! :) I don't think I will be able to move tomorrow, but I still plan to at least go walk and lift at the gym...or I might even test out a class. I ran on the treadmill for 15 minutes, did some leg weights, and ran another 10 minutes on the treadmill. It was nice, not too bad. My legs are already sore though!
We were suppose to go take family pictures this afternoon, but it is snowing :( I'm really bummed beacuse the chances of us finding a time to take FAMILY pictures in the next 3 weeks is slim to none. Hopefully we can figure something out. Nothing we can do about it now. I'm just glad I hadn't spent all that time curling my hair yet! It is really cold outside, and snowing, so I'm sure we will appreciate not sitting out in it for pictures, but I do think we could've managed. It is not icy and the road conditions aren't bad, and it isn't even really sticking yet.
Tonight we are going to some friends' to watch the Cotton Bowl. I'm not sure yet who I want to cheer for. I usually find myself cheering for whoever is on offense in games I don't have a team playing. I guess that comes because Joel coaches offense and I like it better! :) And I never lose that way! I don't know much else, so I'm going to head off now to get some things done! Have a good one!

Just another day....

Today was nice. Joel and I are just enjoying getting to spend time together. After we took Sawyer to daycare we came back to his office. I went to work out while he did some work. Then we came back home and put together Sawyer's slide/basketball hoop/soccer net from her Mamaw (my mom). It is funny how frustrated men get when building stuff over the littlest thing! I just tried to keep from laughing while I handed Joel materials. We got it built, though, and boy did she love it!! We picked her up from daycare and she put away the toys she was playing with before she let us take her home :) - - such a big girl! When we got home she LOVED what she saw sitting in the middle of the living room (her slide)! We're still teaching her how to climb up the side, but she's pretty good at going down the slide on her own. She was so excited and just laughed every time she went down. We then enjoyed chicken and dumplings from the crockpot! We had been smelling it all day and could hardly wait! It is one of Sawyer's favorite meals too. She ate two bowls full (her little kid bowl). We then played some more until it was time for her to go to bed. She's so much fun to play with. She makes the funniest faces and is just a happy little girl. You can't help but smile when you're around her!
Joel put her to bed and then we enjoyed watching some of the Sugar Bowl (Florida is getting their butts kicked!) and watched Chicago Fire - - one of "our shows" we watch together. I love it!
Tomorrow, Sawyer and I have a play-date with a friend from church and her twin girls! We can't wait!! I should have some pictures to post from the playing hopefully! That's it for tonight!! I'm off to surf pinterest for all sorts of little projects I want to do! :) If you don't have an account you should definitely get one! Be warned, though; it is addicting!

New Year 2013!!

Wow - - been over a year since we've posted here!! A lot has happened and a lot has changed! Sawyer is here (obviously!) and she has been a huge blessing in our lives! I hope to do a better job of sharing what's going on in our lives with you guys as well as try to come up with some fun/interesting posts. I'd like to be  "good" blogger! :) We'll see how it goes....

First I'm going to list some of the things I want to accomplish this year. Hopefully I can remember to come back here and post as I accomplish some of this stuff.

1. Work out more - I'm not saying an exact number of days or what exactly I want to do. I want to leave it open. My ultimate goal is to be in better shape and be more active. I plan to join a gym and give that a shot to see if it fits our schedule and doesn't take away too much time from Sawyer. Hopefully I can find a good balance. I like classes so I think if I can find a class I enjoy that fits my schedule, I'll be successful.

2. Eat healthier - Duh..probably on everyone's list. I don't eat horrible. We don't even eat out that much or eat a bunch of junk. I just know I could do better. I would like to give up sodas but I LOVE them! :) I think I'll start with limiting myself to 3 sodas a week. That way I only drink them when I seriously need one. Hopefully I'll wean myself back off of them and not "need" them anymore. (They just taste so darn good!)

3. Photoshoot with Sawyer - I've always wanted to do my own photo shoot. I have a nice camera and see great ideas all the time. I think it'd be fun to try my own shoot with Sawyer. I'd also like to take a photography class so I can learn different techniques and how to use photoshop to enhance pictures. Photography is something I've always been interested in learning more about so this would be a fun project.

4. Play/Story Time with Sawyer - I'd like to create a daily routine with Sawyer for each night. We've tried story time multiple times but she wants to just open and close the book. We'll keep trying and I'm sure one day she'll actually let me read her a story :)

5. Capture Sawyer's many facial expressions - I want to try and capture Sawyer's different expressions. She is hilarious and it'd be fun to make some sort of book or collage for her to look back at one day.

6. Date Nights - I want to do a better job of creating time for Joel and me. We need to pick a night at least each month that is "our" night and create time for us. I've always been told to do this and we enjoy just hanging out together, so I think this can easily be accomplished :) We don't have to actually go and do anything but we can have fun just spending time together.

7. Picnic/Hike - I want to go on a picnic/hike in Palo Duro Canyon. I'd like to go on the Lighthouse trail. We have a carrier for Sawyer so this is very possible!

8. Pictures - I want to do a better job of sending pictures of Sawyer and family pictures to mine and Joel's grandparents. It helps them keep up with us and it is fun to send letters with them!

9. Letters - Speaking of mailing pictures, I'd like to handwrite at least 1 letter a month to someone...an old friend, family member, etc.

10. Little Projects - I hope to come up with little projects or things to create for the house or for Sawyer. I'd like to have at least 1 project per month. I'll post pictures as I go!

Hopefully I can keep up with this and do a better job posting!! :) Happy New Year!!

34 Weeks!

Man have things been busy!! We started volleyball August 1st. I've been blessed to have extra help from one of our middle school coaches, Branda, the last two weeks. I definitely would not have made it through 2-a-days and the past week without her!! To fill you in (in case you didn't know) I'm coaching both freshmen teams right now. Our other freshman coach, Miriam, had her little girl 2 weeks ago. She is beautiful and has a head full of hair!! We hope little Sawyer holds off until Miriam is ready to come back so that there will be someone to coach the teams. I do love my girls this year though! They really are a great group and already a lot of fun coaching. They are very athletic and I expect a lot more wins this season!
Now to Sawyer... :)  Today I am 34 weeks and 3 days.



I wake up a lot in the night..of course, and every time Sawyer wakes up too so it takes a while to fall back asleep. She moves like crazy! I can see my stomach move when she moves. Joel loves getting to feel her and see her too. The gestational diabetes thing is going well. My numbers are almost always good..the doctor says I'm doing perfect and he is very satisfied with how well I'm doing. My next appointment is August 24th. I get to get a sonogram. I start going every week at that point and we get a sonogram every single time! :) I'm pretty excited I get to see Sawyer every week until she is born! They say this is the "up-side" to having gestational diabetes...getting all of the sonograms. I guess I'm lucky in a sense that the doctor said I'm really just borderline and he wanted to put me on the diet and blood-sugar testing just as a precaution. It just stinks to prick my finger 4 times a day and to have to be so aware of what I'm eating and when all the time.
Joel started football last week. He has been so busy! The wives get to go eat with our husbands in the school cafeteria for dinner so we can at least see them for a bit each night. It also saves me from having to cook when I'm so exhausted from coaching too! :) He's already had his hands full with some of the guys but I think it will be a good season. He has some good guys working with him and helping him out and the players I've met seem to be good kids. Hopefully I make it out to watch a practice this week.
The next 5-6 weeks will be full of football, volleyball, and baby appointments!! I don't think things could get any busier or crazier than now! I am resting and taking naps every chance I get. I even slept for 4 hours yesterday afternoon after our volleyball tournament and was still able to go to bed around 10. I'll try to keep everyone updated when I get chances! Love you all!

Time is flying by!

Last week I went back to work. We started working on things for volleyball. 2-a-days start August 1st so we've been running around getting things organized and ready for these girls! It is definitely going to be a crazy, busy season! I also found out last week that I have gestational diabetes. :( I met with a dietitian to learn what to eat and what to lay off of a little more for the rest of my pregnancy. It kind of stinks to not be able to eat whatever you want anyways, but it stinks even more when you're pregnant!!! I do know it is important, though, so that Sawyer can be healthy and so I can be healthy as well. I also have to take my blood sugar 4 times a day. I've only been doing it for 5 days and my fingers are so sore. I meet with the dietitian again on Wednesday to find out how I am doing and ways to tweak what I'm eating.
On a positive side.... :)
Joel and I set up Sawyer's room last week too! It was a lot of work putting together the crib (Joel did such a great job!) and then I put up the decorations. :) Her room will also be the guest room, so things are a little tight in there.



On Friday Mamaw, Papa, and Addyson came up from Waco to visit for the weekend. I'm so glad they were able to make the drive up to see us! We were able to spend a lot of time together too. On Saturday, my good friend and co-worker, Amanda, threw me a baby shower. Mamaw and Addyson were able to come to the shower while Joel and Papa hung out.



The shower was so nice! Amanda did a great job! It was ice-cream themed. There was vanilla ice cream and all kinds of toppings to choose from! I'm lucky to have such a good friend. After the shower we went up to Mamaw's hotel and swam with Addyson. She is pretty scared of the water, but Joel and I worked with her and got her to be not quite as scared. Sunday I worked with her some more and got a her a little more confident in the water. I know she wants to learn to swim; she's just scared of going under right now. We also watched a couple of movies at the hotel and just relaxed. It was so nice seeing all of them for the weekend. I was pretty sad last night after leaving them.
Joel left for coaching school yesterday morning and it was back to work for me today. I can't believe things are getting started for us. Time is just flying by! Sawyer will be here in no time!
That's all for now...I'm sure I've left stuff out! I'm so scatter-brained lately! Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

ATX :)

I got to spend this week with Dad in Austin! :) I got there Monday afternoon. We grabbed lunch at the Posse before heading to my 3D/4D sonogram. Jenn came down for the sonogram too. It was pretty crazy getting to see what Sawyer is going to look like! I can't believe they have technology where you can actually see something like that. Here is one of the pictures from the sonogram:

This made me so excited for her to get here!! I know everyone says to enjoy it while I can (without the baby and being able to sleep) but I just can't wait for Sawyer to get here! I even had my first dream about her that night. She had a dirty diaper and I was having the hardest time cleaning her up! She was rolling around and poop was everywhere! I didn't know what to do! Joel had to help me out. :) haha funny dream....
Tuesday, dad and I went down to San Marcos to the outlet mall. We both found some new clothes and got Joel some stuff too :) Wednesday we relaxed at the pool. It was so nice getting into a pool! We really need to invest in one some day! The water was cool and I got a little bit of a tan! After the pool, we went to the Posse for Trivia Night. Dad has to ask the questions and lots of people show up for it. They have teams and they compete for prizes. I played on the team with the bartenders. It was a lot of fun. The week went by too fast. It was nice spending time with my dad. I don't get to see him enough. I'm glad Jennifer was able to come down for a day too.
Today marks 10 weeks left in the pregnancy. It feels like so far away, but I know it is going to go so fast. We go back to work next week and volleyball starts August 1st so time will fly by.
I can't believe my summer is already coming to an end. I've been so blessed to have gotten to do so much this summer and to spend so much time with family and friends.
I hope everyone else has had a wonderful summer too!

4th of July in Gunnison

We spent the past week in Gunnison, Colorado with Joel's parents visiting Jarrod and Michelle. It was beautiful there! The weather was also perfect! I definitely liked the thought of it not ever really being very hot! We got there Sunday evening. Michelle made us a diaper cake!

We stayed at Three Rivers Resort in Almont. It was a nice cabin and I highly recommend it!



Monday we woke up and went for a 6 mile hike (3 in, 3 out) up to Lamphier Lake. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be but definitely worth the work! :) It was so nice and relaxing (when we took breaks) just being out in nature and enjoying life. We had to cross two small creeks along the way. The dogs did not like crossing on logs very much but we made it across! We stopped at a lower lake along the way to try some fishing. Jesse was the only one to hook into a cutthroat at that time. I just wondered around and relaxed and caught my breath from the hike up. We then continued on to the top, up to Lamphier Lake. It was beautiful up there. We got a little rain storm with some hail, but it did not last long. The boys did some more fishing but did not have much luck up there either. They caught a few. We then headed back down. We had to stop again at the lower lake for Jarrod and Joel to do some fishing. They ended up catching some really nice cutthroats. Jesse, Donna, the dogs, and I began to make our way down while the boys finished up fishing. They caught up to us pretty quickly anyways! It was a very nice hike. I can't wait to go back and do another hike to another beautiful place (when I'm not pregnant!!). This is our "family photo" at the top of the hike:

After the hike we headed back into town for dinner and the fireworks show! We went to a park in Gunnison. Michelle's EMS group was doing a cookout with the police and firefighters at the park for the fireworks. It was one of the best firework shows I've ever seen! We were really close to the fireworks. Ranger would bark at them at the beginning, but then he calmed down and started to enjoy it a little more. Zee was pretty scared and did not look at a single one! She just hid under Joel's legs the whole time. We really enjoyed the show, though.

Everyone was exhausted afterword! We went straight home, showered, and were all wiped out! Tuesday, Joel and Jesse went up to Blue Mesa to kayak and do some fishing. They did not have any luck at all! Donna and I walked around Gunnison checking out all of the little shops and just taking it easy. We then went up to Crested Butte to meet Michelle for an easy wildflower hike. It was a little rainy, but that made it kind of nice and cool for the hike. The flowers were very pretty. Wednesday we went to the Taylor River Reservoir just up the road from our cabin. I relaxed, enjoyed the scenery, and took pictures of Joel fishing and Jesse and Donna on their kayaks. Joel and Jesse both caught quite a few fish up there. I then took my turn out in the kayak. I was a little nervous about my balance and did not want to fall into the freezing water! I did good. I got out to where Jesse was and tossed my line in the water. I hooked a fish! I got so excited I couldn't decide whether to keep reeling it in or to get the camera out so I could get a picture and I lost the fish when he was a couple feet from my kayak! :( Then the wind and clouds rolled in and it got a little too choppy out there for us so Jesse and I headed in to shore. We then went below the dam to the catch-and-release area where the fish were huge! Joel and Jesse worked so hard to catch some of those fish! Jesse caught a couple of nice fish and after a lot of hours of work, Joel caught his nice brown trout too.

We then headed back to the cabin for spaghetti and Jarrod made homemade ice cream for dessert! Yum! :)

After dinner we went to Jarrod's slowpitch softball games. He hit a homerun on his first at-bat. I don't know if his team won either game, though. Thursday morning we woke up pretty early, got packed up, and headed back home to the Texas heat. We had such a wonderful time visiting Jarrod and Michelle. I wish we could get up there more to spend time with them. It is such a nice place. I always tell Joel he is more than welcome to find a good job in Colorado! :)

Friday I spent most of the day just relaxing and catching up from the trip. I had my maternaty-leave meeting at school to find out how much money I will lose for being out once my days are up :( = not fun at all! I know God will take care of us and provide, though, so we are just trusting in Him through it all! Last night for dinner I made mom's crab-crusted tilapia recipe using some of our trout from Roaring River. It was delicious! Joel was very impressed with the feast we had last night! This morning I went to a breastfeeding class. I learned a lot about it and what things you need or don't really need at all. It definitely made me feel a little more confident about breastfeeding once Sawyer gets here. Speaking of Sawyer, she is definitely growing and taking up lots of room in there! I'm getting bigger every day and getting more and more ready for her to get here! She moves like crazy all throughout the day and night. It is one of the weirdest feelings to have something moving around inside of you like that! I heard some of the women talking this morning about how they only got 2 or 3 hours of sleep because their baby was moving so much...I'm not looking forward to that!! I love my sleep! Tonight we're going to have dinner with some good friends, Omar and Miriam. Miriam is due July 26th so I'm interested to see how she is doing! I haven't seen her since the first week of June. Monday I leave for Austin to see dad and to get a 3D/4D sonogram. I'm pretty excited. Joel won't be able to make the trip because he has to work, but it will be nice to spend some time with dad. :) I'm very excited to see Dad and to get to spend some time with him. This summer has been so much fun and full of adventures. I hate to see it coming to an end. I know we have a lot of other, different adventures ahead of us with Sawyer on the way too!

Here is a link to the rest of the photos from our Gunnison vacation on Joel's facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100129414723743.2449613.9205307&l=bc92272deb

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Love yall!