Name Poll

Thanks, everyone, for voting on the baby name poll. It's been fun to see the names that you like. We still haven't decided on one... we want to wait and see what the little guy looks like (like we did with Nolan).
I had my 36 week appointment yesterday. I've made a little progress (1 cm, 50% effaced) but I know it doesn't mean anything. I've known women to be at 3 or 4 cm for two or three weeks. The disappointing thing is that my doctor is going to be out of town the entire week surrounding my due date. I don't care too much about having another doctor deliver, I'm just worried that another doctor won't schedule an induction and I'll end up going 5 (or more!) days over again, with an even bigger baby. I'm sure it will all work out in the end.

A Camping Story

Last Friday, for the Memorial Day weekend, we packed up to go camping for two nights with some of our ward friends. Just as we were packing the van, we got a call saying the intended camp area was full so we were hoping our friends could find a backup site. Luckily they did, so we headed out! Our previous camping experience in Moab last year wasn't too good, so we were ready to prove that camping can work.

We went to Middle Canyon in Tooele, found our friends, set up camp, and let Nolan loose in the dirt. He was so happy up there with his friends Ella, Cole, and Carter (aka "Cartig"). When we settled in for bed at 9:45 or so, the trailer 75 yards from us decided to fire up their generator. We figured it would only be on for a few minutes, but a few minutes lasted until sometime around 11:30 p.m. Next, they turned on their outside light which shone brightly onto our tent until sometime around 3 a.m. This light was so bright, in fact, that Justin woke up to go to the bathroom at midnight and said to me, "I think I'm the first one up." I said, "There is no way it's morning? Do you feel well rested?!" He thought it was time to get up.

Soon after that, Nolan got a little cold and so we brought him into our double sleeping bag. I was in and out of sleep, but wasn't feeling too uncomfortable considering that I'm trying to camp at 8 months pregnant. Well, at 4 a.m. the back pain started in. I said a little prayer asking that I could doze back off soon. Little did I know that the back pain was nothing in comparison to what was coming.

I no sooner finished this prayer than Nolan kicked me in the back and started in crying and screaming nonsense words. He was tossing around yelling things like, "Mommy bed!", "Cookie!", and "Close it!" It was total chaos and wouldn't you know, by now, that that dang trailer light was finally off. I found the lantern and tried to bring him out of his disoriented fit, even shoving a cookie in his mouth at one point (which didn't work). We counted 1, 2, 3 and nothing would help! Finally Justin grabbed Nolan and the van keys and headed for time out in the car seat. At least it's soundproof for the other campers. We felt so bad disturbing everyone. I settled down and figured they'd be back in a few minutes after Nolan was calm.

Just then, I heard a car alarm go off. It was loud, trust me. Someone nearby yelled, "Shut it off!" When it wouldn't turn off, I figured that the boys had activated our friend's alarm and they hadn't turned it off yet. I crawled out of the tent and saw (to my horror) that it was our van and Nolan and Justin were inside, obviously unable to turn it off. They started slowly driving down the hill, honking all the way, as it echoed throughout the canyon. So much for a soundproof time out! I watched the van come to a stop down the road and finally stop honking. I immediately realized that I did not want to be around when all of our friends woke up the next morning. Oh the shame! We had to get out of there.

I went to the tent, grabbed my pillow and Nolan's puppy and blanket (the essentials), and headed down the highway road in darkness. I got about 200 yards down the road, turned on the flashlight to look for the van, and I couldn't see it. I decided that they may have gone home without me so I decided to turn back. At a nearby campsite a dog started barking near a still-raging fire. His owner told him to shut up and shone his flashlight on me as I walked back up the highway holding my pillow and puppy. It was a low moment. Luckily Justin drove up in the van soon after. I opened the door and said, "Take me home." That's where we headed and enjoyed some wonderful rest until 8 a.m.

Here's what happened to Justin: When he took Nolan to the van, they quickly climbed inside, he locked the doors with the keychain button, and then proceeded to strap Nolan into his seat. Since it was cold, he decided to turn the car on. As soon as he put the key in the ignition, the security system went off. He had no idea why and luckily the car gave him enough power to roll down the hill so that it was quieter for our friends (not the other campsites, though). He was frantically thumbing through the manual when it shut itself off after exactly two minutes of honking. Turns out this is a feature on our new van. Apparantly you cannot lock the car with the keychain and then start the ignition. We don't know why anyone would want this "feature."

We managed to show our faces at camp the next day and apologize to everyone. They were so nice about it. We found that another family had already left at 1 a.m. and another family left an hour after us. Apparantly there were crazy drunk people driving back and forth soon after we headed out. What a night! Our day there was beautiful though, complete with a 3 hour nap for Nolan and me. We're glad the Rustads invited us and that they and the Andersons and Nelsons put up with our noise. We had a good time, but our next camping trip will be Justin and Nolan in the backyard for a dress rehearsal.

And no, we didn't stay that second night.

Birthday Wish

My birthday isn't until November 15th, but I already know what I want: dinner at one of my favorite restaurants and then to see this!!!
I can't wait!

Wheeler Farm

It's been fun having my mom in town watching Ryan and Kendyll (Lacey's girls) while Rob and Lace are on an Alaskan Cruise (jealous!). We thought we'd go check out Wheeler Farm since Nolan was sick when the playgroup went recently. What a fun place! I can't believe we had never been before. Nolan absolutely loved the old tractors that he could ride on. He enjoyed the hay ride and the baby chicks too. It's so great to have places like this where the kiddos can run free!

So Long, Saturn

We've had the Saturn detailed and now we're ready to sell it. We've posted it on KSL so hopefully it won't take too long. Justin is sad about giving it up. He loves driving stick shift. It will be a great car for someone, especially a teenager that might not be able to afford anything fancy. I think he posted it at $1,590.

Here is a picture of our new desk area in the master bedroom. It's finally organized and we actually have room in the cupboard to spare! We made our last D.I run today... it always feels good to get rid of some old stuff. We're actually liking the computer in our room. The only problem might be if the baby needs to sleep in here with us for a while. It would be crowded. Hopefully we'll just start the little guy off in his crib though. It's not far from us.

This morning we were doing a little organizing (it seems that's all we do lately) and Nolan walked in with an ear of leftover corn from the fridge. He was so excited, telling us, "yummy corn!" over and over. It seems fitting that Justin started calling him Chompers when he was only 4 months old. He is quite the eater! He ate the corn and then found a big roll in the fridge to eat too. In the afternoon, Justin found Nolan watching his movie with a chub of frozen ground beef in his hands. He was saying, "meat!" I guess I'll have to keep healthy stuff in reach (and raw meats up high)for my little scavenger.

Done with school!

Today I finally took the final exam for the BYU Independent Study course I've been taking. It was ENGL 220; Personal History. I took it because I'm keeping up my teaching license and need points so that it doesn't expire. I've now taken enough credits and substituted enough hours that I am all finished! No more worries about losing my license. It's nice to have all this done in time for baby to come. The class was actually really good! It gave me a lot of good ideas about how to make personal history writing manageable and more fun. I was able to do a great interview with my grandparents, write several essays, preserve some old photos, and other things that I've been wanting to do anyway. I highly recommend the course if any of you need to take a class or want to know more about personal history.

IKEA Chaos

I always thought I was the one that enjoyed a good visit to IKEA. Now it's Justin. He dropped me off at the aquarium with Nolan's playgroup (very fun!) and headed over there to get the remainder of the desk items that didn't fit in the car two weeks ago. I was feeling the same about the desk as I previously was about the van: "Just make a decision honey; I'm tired of thinking about it." Well it worked out great with the van, but I'm not so sure about the desk. He came home with two desks ("I'm not sure which way we'll like it the best") and several optional extender pieces (like we have the space), and a whole lot of accessories (like 3 mouse pads because he didn't know which color I would want). Needless to say, we are definitely planning on another trip to make some returns! Last night I headed to our Young Women activity so we didn't have a chance to assemble anything. Here's a picture of the chaos I came home to:Aren't I the perfect example of a clean and orderly housekeeper? We've got 7 or 8 weeks until baby comes and by the looks of things, we may need every minute! I'm going a little crazy but I'm confident things will come together.

The good news is that there is one room (seriously, it's the only one) that feels put together. It's Nolan's new big boy room! Here are the official pictures after the paint job weeks ago, and hanging the crafts I made two months ago. The bed goes so cute with the green wall, but I couldn't capture both in one picture like the eye can. You'll get the idea.Here is a close-up of the print on Nolan's wall. It says: I'm Dancin'... and Life is my Music. It's just perfect for our little groovy guy!After much debating about colors and problems with the "linen technique" we chose, we have finished our family room accent wall. I originally wanted a warm, golden yellow but it turned into a cool, happy yellow that seems to work okay. Once again, I'm just glad to have it done!It's actually a little more vibrant than in the picture. Thanks for your patient help on this project, honey!

Almost a Soccer Mom

If Nolan were enrolled in soccer I'd be an official soccer mom because we now have the perfect van for the job! I haven't written much about the extensive research process we've undergone, but we're both glad that it's over. After two months of test driving, dealing with car salesmen, browsing the internet, and reading car reviews, we've finally decided on the Honda Odyssey. (Big surprise, I know.) It's a new white, 2008 that we found for a great deal in Logan. Justin had called around Reno, Las Vegas, St. George, SLC, and Idaho to find as good a deal as this one. He is definitely an engineer when it comes to researching purchases. It has all the trimmings that we never thought we would get (leather, power doors, heated seats, DVD player, sunshades, etc.) but since it had been at the dealership for over a year, we were able to get it for the same price as a new base model 2009. With the economy the way it is, used car prices are up so it was a good time to buy new. I realize this picture doesn't do it justice, but everyone either owns one of their own already or sees about 10 to 20 of them parked in their church parking lot every Sunday. We certainly didn't get this minivan because it is unique! ;-)

Justin was acting very strange the morning of "the buy." He wouldn't let me go with him to see it or anything (though I had test driven a similar one two weeks ago). It turns out that he really wanted to surprise me with the extra features it has. I thought it was going to be the more simple model. What a sneak! He was also afraid I would talk him out of it, I guess. We hope that we don't have to buy any more cars for a very long time. Justin will drive the Mitsubishi Lancer since it was time to give up his 1994 Saturn. What a great car that has been for us! I bet the carpoolers are very disappointed to see the Saturn go! I love the new van, though it seems strange to find myself in this stage of life already. Aren't I too young for a minivan?!

In other news, we're wrapping up moving the computer room into our master bedroom so that each little boy can sleep in their own room. What a fiasco! It all started with a trip to IKEA to get a desk and shelves. Naturally this turned into an all-day event as if we were at Disneyland (but without the rides). That place truly amazes me. After we finally picked out what we want, we realized there was no way it would fit in our car. Justin was so annoyed that we'd have to make another trip there. I think that is what really moved the minivan process along. Needless to say, we'll be picking up the desk tomorrow. Nolan is pretty much settled into his new room though. I'm so glad he adjusted well to the twin size bed. On top of all this transitioning, I just had to paint an accent wall in the living room. It was bad timing, I realize now. It has given us a little grief but I think it will turn out. I'll have to post pictures of our "remodeling" once we've got the house put back together.