, ,

Sunday Afternoons in August

I spent most Sundays in August driving and walking through the Provo Canyon.
I can’t get enough of those beautiful mountains!

Turn on the Gabe Dixon Band while you drive through the canyon. Bliss.

/0 Comments/by
,

An Afternoon with Eva

On Saturday, Eva and I went to Seven Peaks together. It was the first time I had gone without someone else and I was a little concerned if I’d enjoy myself or if I could handle Eva without any help. For the most part, it turned out to be great. We sat in the shallow part of the wave pool for most of the time while Eva splashed and crawled in the water.

We then got a tube and tried to venture out to the deeper end of the pool to enjoy the waves. First of all, if anyone was watching me trying to get on that tube while holding Eva, they were probably laughing out loud at me. It took about four attempts, but I finally got on it. Then, while holding Eva in one arm, I paddled out to the deep end with one hand. It took a good five minutes (and gave me a good one-arm workout), but we finally got there. Once the waves turned on, more and more tubes filled the pool and Eva and I enjoyed ourselves for quite some time. But then I started worrying how I would ever get back to the shallow end. There were so many people and we were getting farther and farther out. Once the waves ended I even said a prayer that somehow I’d make it back because it seemed so unlikely. I’d make some progress but then people would push me back. A man saw me struggling and asked if I needed a push! Desperately I replied saying, “YES, PLEASE!” We made it back safe and sound and I thought it was interesting that I prayed for some help, and I literally had someone push me. Pretty cool.

Needless to say, I probably won’t do that again without someone else being there. So, Hannah… COME BACK TO PROVO! And Mom, yes, I know I probably shouldn’t have done that with Eva in retrospect. Bad parenting award goes to ME!

/2 Comments/by
,

Mid-July!

My flight back to Utah was originally supposed to depart on June 29th but we have moved it back to July 14th for a couple of reasons. Most of all, while I have been here, I have helped my Dad with his video shoots. Usually he has to hire someone to help him or he does the job as a one-man show. But it’s a lot of work so I’m glad I can help.

After my Dad asked if I could stay to continue helping him, the reasons of postponing my departure kept coming. As much as I miss my friends and family back in Utah, I rarely get to visit my parents (especially for this long of a period), I won’t be back until Christmas, my parents can continue getting to know Eva, the extra help from my parents with Eva is amazing, we’re saving money here, and it feels like a vacation which makes the time away from T.J. go a lot faster.

So, it looks like I’ll be in my ol’ Kentucky home a little bit longer!

/0 Comments/by
, ,

Butterfly Show

/0 Comments/by
,

Pass of all Passes

Last Saturday, Eva and I went to 7 Peaks for an hour with our buddy Erin. At first, she didn’t even want her feet to be in the water, but by the end, she was sitting in the water! Hopefully we’ll have a little water bug with us by the end of the summer.

/1 Comment/by
,

A Trip to the Zoo

Last Wednesday, Eva and I went to the zoo with my in-laws. It was a perfect day. The weather was beautiful, it wasn’t too crowded and Eva did wonderfully in her stroller the entire time.

Usually my favorite animal to see is the elephant, and they were as cute as ever (especially the little baby). But I’m not the only one who loves elephants… it was pretty busy near their area. So this trip to the zoo, my favorite animal was the giraffe. I couldn’t get over how different each of their skins were.

Eva loved the orange monkeys, I don’t really know what they’re called. But they made her smile, it was pretty cute. I was holding her inside this building with a lot of different animals, one of which was a rooster. We stopped to watch the roosters because they were being so noisy. Eva just stared at them, when all of a sudden Eva let out a HUGE scream and held me really tight. I had to hold back my laughter… alligators she liked, monkeys she liked, tigers she liked. But the rooster… scared her to death!

/0 Comments/by
, , , ,

Instagram Eyes

I really need to start pulling out my camera more often because my iPhone pics aren’t as high quality. But, here are snapshots of my life lately, according to Instagram. Sorry there are so many!

Saying goodbye to T.J.

Eva is trying lots of new foods. Bananas are not her favorite.

Hannah had these beautiful flowers and delicious candy for me after I dropped T.J. off at the airport.

First snow cone of the season!

We saw The Pirates! before T.J. left. One of my favorites! It was so funny!

Just “hanging” out.

Almost every night we walk to the elementary school a couple blocks away and swing.

Why buy toys when spoons work just as well? We went through about five of those because she kept dropping them on the ground!

Saw these cute little boys feeding a horse on my Sunday walk. They were so excited they would just laugh uncontrollably.

I went to T.J.’s grandma’s house last night for a Family Home Evening. More than thirty people showed up… it was so fun! We heard about her and her granddaughter’s Mediterranean Cruise, which sounded amazing!

I’m trying to eat a little healthier… so instead of eating goldfish last night as my snack (as usual), I ate asparagus and mushrooms with balsamic vinegar. Mom, you’d be proud.

T.J. started work today at Johnson & Johnson! What a cutie!

/0 Comments/by
,

Double Par

Saturday Night, we met up with three other couples for a night of Trafalga fun (free for us because of our amazing pass of all passes). I got two or three hole-in-one’s so I thought there was no way I’d get last, but there were a couple of rough holes… who would believe that I played golf in high school? Well, I never played much better than that back then anyway.

Oh, and T.J. did even worse than me. What a good husband!

 

/0 Comments/by
,

Friday Night

On Friday, we met up with T.J.’s old roommates and their wives in Sandy and headed up the canyon for a firepit and dinner. I’d never been up this particular canyon, and although the road getting to the park was extremely windy , the beauty weighed out the nauseousness it created.

The best part of the night was seeing the boys get together and try to break a big piece of wood. They all wanted to take turns lifting the rock and trying out their different ideas to break it. It was our entertainment for the night.

/0 Comments/by
, , ,

Hello, Sunshine

  1. I have been getting photo requests of the baby bump, so here’s a current one at 18 weeks. There’s not much going on, but there’s definitely something. I hold/rub/feel my belly almost all day long because it makes me feel close to the baby (is that weird? it sounds weird now that I write it down).
  2. That being said, I think I felt her kick last night while laying on the hammock. It’s really hard for me to say, but it felt unlike anything I had felt and was like a little fluttering. Who knows, maybe it was nothing. But, it made me cry, so we’re just going to stick with it being an actual kick and not some strange bodily function.
  3. I found a pair of capris that still fit me. Miracle? Yes.
  4. I went to Seven Peaks with two coworkers/besties last night and it was an absolute blast. I’ve already used this pass four times, far surpassing it’s worth. What a deal. Plus, I treaded water, so it was practically a workout. Yep, I’m counting it as an official workout.
  5. Also about Seven Peaks, I’ve got the WHOLE system figured out for maximum enjoyment. What was an embarrassing breakdown has now turned into a blessing, because I just tell the security guy I’m pregnant, they let me bring in food. I bring in a water bottle and the food people fill it up with ice water, I don’t bring in my wallet so we don’t have to rent a locker, and we park on the street so we don’t have to pay for parking AND I get an extra walk in. Next on the list is how to use a tube for free.
  6. I can’t wait for the 4th of July and for the Freedom Festival on Center Street this weekend. BTOML.
  7. Will someone PLEASE go camping with us on Friday night? Or how about you just come to our house for s’mores and tin foil dinners instead?
  8. T.J. has been calling me “sweetheart” lately. Although, part of me likes it only because it reminds me of my maiden name, “Swainhart,” most of me hates it. I’ve already told him this, so it’s not like I’m going behind my husband’s back here. But now, he has been calling me sweetheart and sweet pea ALL the time. He thinks it’s funny/precious or whatever, but I think we should just stick to calling the baby those terms of endearment, and not me.
  9. I’ve got to make this list an even ten since I already thought of eight items. Oh, I’ve been trying to lift a bit, working out my arms, so then when the big babe comes I actually have enough muscle to carry her.
  10. I {kind of} apologize for talking about my pregnancy so much. I will try to hold back, but as you know, and my mom has pointed out dozens of times, I just can’t hold anything back and want to share everything with everyone. That being said, a little fact about me is that I am not exactly the best secret-holder.
/1 Comment/by