You betta Belize it!

Now onto the middle part of December... First on December 10, we had an ultrasound, sorry I would have scanned in pictures but I left them at my parent's house, and found out we are having a GIRL! Eric is excited that he doesn't have to participate in scouts with her and I am just so excited at the sight of all things girly.

Then, two days later, we were off on a relaxing getaway to 5 days in Caye Caulker, Belize. We called this trip our "Babymoon". It is officially our last big trip anywhere without any parental responsibility. Well, that isn't entirely true. I mean I did have to refuse alcohol several times, cevichy made with raw Conche, several different kinds of seafood and any strenuous activities, so physically I have definitely felt the constraint of parental responsibility. Although the first two things I listed weren't really difficult to refuse, I was kind of glad to have such a good excuse because it scared me to eat raw Conche that was prepared by Jose. (And I'm not being stereotypical, that was really his name.)


Here I am, 20 weeks pregnant. We took a sideview of me standing up but I posted this one because it shows our cute beds in our cabana. If you are ever staying on Caye Caulker, I do recommend the Maxhapan Cabanas. The owner, Louise is very nice and helpful, the rooms are clean and nice. Eric thinks he may have gotten bed bug bites but I didn't really have any problems so who knows? He may have confused them with mosquito bites because I got several of those. The only real annoyance is that in Belize it is customary to wake up at 7:00 am and play all sorts of rap music at full volume capacity from your home. In fact, if you are not listening to some kind of beatalicious reggae or rap music at all times, you can consider yourself completely unbelizean! Here is our first sighting of a "wild" starfish. We were actually standing on the dock about 10 yards away from this starfish but the water is so clear you can see right through to the bottom!And what would a trip to the beach be without seashells? We found these while snorkeling right off the beach. There are tons of really pretty and big seashells. I even saw several conche shells right there but when I went to pick them up I saw lots of little ocean inhabitants on them so I didn't want to disturb them. On Sunday we took a snorkeling tour on a sailboat with Ragamuffin tours to Hol Chan marine reserve, Shark Ray Alley and Coral Gardens. Neither of us had ever been on a sailboat before and it was nice. Jose needed me to hold the rope while he was taking the sails down. "I'm sailing! I sailed! I'm a sailor! Ahoy!"These are our guides, Jose was the first mate and Jerry in the white shirt is the captain. He was born on Caye Caulker so we talked to him about the island quite a bit. The island is very small, so small that Eric and rode bikes around basically the entire island and it took about 30 minutes. There isn't a whole lot to do other than lounge, sleep, lay out (which they only have what they call "natural" beaches so finding a good spot to lay out can be a little difficult), eat, walk around or bike around on the island. Unless you leave the island, that is pretty much what you will be doing. It was perfect for what we wanted at that time but I don't think I could have possibly taken another day with nothing to do and I cannot fathom how the locals live there. Here's a picture of Eric while we were sailing off. Caye Caulker is behind him.The food was great and very inexpensive in Caye Caulker. The nicest restaurants, like the Bamboo Grill, had lobster dinners for 25 belize dollars, which is equal to $12.50 US! The fun thing about this restaurant is that the chairs are swings! Our other most favorite places to eat were Amore y Cafe and The Sandbox Grill. Avoid Sobres Las Olas and if you go to Latinos, try not to make friends with the owner because then you have to avoid walking past him for the rest of the trip.
Look, you can even see a bump when I'm laying down! Crazy! You should see me now though, I literally have popped out over the last two weeks! But anyway, this is the "natural" beach I was talking about, not bad and once you stirred up the sand it was really nice but it doesn't even compare to some caribbean beaches I've been to.
Here is Eric's sunburn. This poor boy cannot apply sunscreen to save his life! I think the Bear Lake sunburn from earlier this year was worse, but still, he does this unintentionally! I love the little circle in the middle of his chest that was missed due to the fact that apparently Eric can only contact surfaces on a flat plane and this concavity was just too deep for him to reach. This picture was taken with Stephanie in mind. Eric is covering his "underarm" to aviod offending her.

This is the outside view of our cabana. Cute, huh?And this boat may as well be the official mascot for Caye Caulker, it sums it up in one picture! Unbelizeable!

Refinished!

Yeah! I am finally catching up on blogging and here is why we've been so busy the past month. First, we had Eric's cousin Alex refinish our hardwood floors in our front room and hallway. Remember when Frankie ripped up the carpet? Well you can compare and contrast if you'd like here. I am so happy that it is done. It was quite the process... after all when you are family and you get such a good deal, you have to deal with being put at the end of the list so the whole process took four total moves and two visits to Kent and Ann's house which pretty much took up the first part of December for me.

This is Halloween!

Boo!

Hope everybody had the kind of Halloween that dreams and treats are made of! I love Halloween and I think that as far as decorations go in our house, Halloween is pretty much tied with Christmas as far as quantity goes. Its always been one of my favorite holidays to decorate for, make treats, watch scary movies, I even really do love dressing up when I have a reason to! This Halloween Eric and I enjoyed many classics including the original "House on Haunted Hill", the original "The Haunting", "The Witches", "Hocus Pocus", and "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken". Next year we'll have to make sure and get the ones we missed like, "The Changeling", "Watcher in the Woods", and "Nightmare before Christmas". I had nightmares about the remake of "House on Haunted Hill" and the original "The Haunting".
Roscoe and Frankie enjoyed their first Halloween with us, they dressed up as a devil and bat, respectively.

This picture speaks for itself!
This is Eric carving pumpkins. He did 2 and I did 1. He was only wearing his underwear though so I made him put this blanket on for the picture.

Eric's first pumpkin. You can barely see it in the picture, it says Trick at the top in the hat.

My pumpkin, this one took awhile!

Eric's second pumpkin. There's two drops of blood coming off of one of the fangs you can't see in the picture either.

I hope this is the only spider I see at my house!

Now the countdown to Thanksgiving begins!!

This is what the last month or so has been like.

So time is flying by and I am pretty excited about it. While I know I should be enjoying Eric and I's last 6 months or so of "alone" time, I feel like I have so much to look forward to in the future. It makes it a little difficult to enjoy each day by itself. I find myself treating each work week like an advent calendar. Check off another week, that makes it approximately 28 more weeks of work until baby is here. And then there's the countdown to when we get to find out what we're having so it's about 8 weeks to that event. Also there's the countdown to the end of the first trimester. I'm almost there on that one but I hear the nausea may not get better for even a few more weeks after that, if it does get better. I also have days where I am content to do almost nothing but rest, watch tv, movies, eat and sleep and then days where I feel like I can't do enough and oh my gosh, what am I going to do with the nursery?! Anyway, Eric keeps me grounded. Sure we have a lot to do, but we really do still have time to do it. And he's got his hands full with other projects at the moment anyway...

Like dressing Frankie up in his tie.

You can see how the boys have been effected by the pregnancy... not so much!

Here is Eric's real labor of love for me. It is part of my birthday present this year and so he is doing all he can to get it done by then. Here is the last picture of our hallway with carpet.

And here is our hallway halfway through the removal of carpet and molding.

And here is what it looks like currently. This is why I am hoping we can get the hardwood sanded and refinished (it was painted white. Weird, I know!) in the next couple of weeks.

And here's the fetus at 10 1/2 weeks. Dr. Froerer said that "he" (I am just picking that pronoun for right now because I think we are having a boy, and I don't want to say "it") looked like about 11 weeks in size, so he's growing right on track. Eric thinks we are having a boy because he confused the umbilical cord for something else!

I can almost guarantee that this is the only time you will see me butchering elk meat. At least, I hope that is true! My dad got this elk on Saturday while hunting in Wyoming and he cut off the shoulder and part of the leg for us to give our dogs. Well, it was huge so we brought it home and then I finished cutting it up into small serving size portions to freeze. Eric took the leg bone out, lit a fire in the firepit and roasted it then gave it to the dogs that night. They did enjoy it, but Frankie was vomiting all night and didn't make it out of bed for one of the episodes and Roscoe had diaherria last night! I'm thinking it was just because they ate way too much so we'll try giving them one of the smaller portions next time and see if they do any better. If not, the elk meat is up for grabs... but probably not for human consumption.

Wry baby!

My bff Meg has given me a gift that has lightened up my whole pregnancy... and its funny because on the back of it it says "It'll make waiting for baby a blast!" Anyway, its a book called "Safe Baby Pregnancy Tips". It makes a great gift for anyone expecting and the website http://www.wrybaby.com/detail.aspx?ID=72 has a plethora of additional products that will make raising a funny baby a sure thing. Here's just a sampling:

Good luck to all you pregos!

Free handbags!

Click here for a chance to win a free handbag! Next week, on October 15th this website is giving away several free handbags and all you have to do is register. Thanks Erin for the idea!

A love song for fetus Jones

Well, it has been awhile since I've posted and I can now officially announce that I am 10 weeks pregnant. Also, my sister and I get to experience our joys together because she has announced that she is also expecting and is due about a week before me. In answer to many questions about the previous post, we didn't know if we were pregnant when we were tested for life insurance but did find out a couple of days after!

Also, we went to Bodyworld's a couple of weeks ago and except for the nausea, which I hesitantly broke the "no food or drink" rule to eat some crackers, it was astonishing! I thought that the most interesting part was a display of fetal development that featured fetus's starting at 5 weeks all the way up to 36 or 38 weeks. It was amazing to actually see what my little embryo looked like at about 8 weeks (when I was there) and to see how fast they grow. If you need an anti-abortion campaign, this is it! At 9 weeks the fetus looks just like one of these tiny plastic babies (without hair and a binkie). Its about that size, you can see individual fingers and toes, eyes, lips, joints that are fully functioning, a heart that's beating, I just don't see how anyone can say that life at this point isn't meaningful or worth saving. Although, the thought did cross my mind that it is more than likely that the actual fetus I was viewing was aborted. It was disturbing, just wondering what happened to all those little fetus's because they were all so perfect. I guess it reminded me of what a miracle life is and how, for all the millions of times that this miracle is performed without a hitch, there are many ways in which things can, and sometimes do, go wrong.

So even now, as a sit here completely fatigued, still struggling with a cold, trying to stave off bouts of nausea, and burping and farting "like a construction worker" in Eric's words, I still can't really complain because I know that what is happening right now is completely miraculous and deserves a sense of appreciation and reverence that I don't really think I will fully comprehend for another 30 weeks or so.

Tagged

So I was tagged to share 7 random things about myself and so...
1. I love popcorn and watermelon they are my quintessential "rice and beans", although they definitely don't constitute a complete protein.
2. Chocolate couldn't sound more disgusting now that I'm pregnant
3. I am much more analytically driven than emotionally driven, I am definitely a nerd at the core.
4. I am a PC, I don't buy into the trendy MAC campaign. Sure, they're great computers, but honestly I got so frustrated with my iPod and dealing with iTunes and all the crappy restrictions they impose upon people that I said, "enough is enough"! The world is about compatability and MAC's do not fit that bill.
5. I love McDonald's. They have delicious ice cream cones, orange soda (100% vitamin C), french fries, sweet & sour sauce and will forever be associated with many memories of childhood and skipping class in middle school.
6. I can't pass up a good bargain. "20 magnets for $1?! What do I need 20 magnets for? I don't know, but I'm getting them!"
7. I wish I were more involved in service opportunities.

A couple of very exciting announcements!

Well, yesterday morning I woke up with a terrible sore throat and felt so worn down but because it was my last work day of the week, I made it through and rested up all of last night because I knew today held many exciting things for me!! I woke up first thing this morning so excited and even though I still feel a little sick, a sore throat wasn't going to ruin my day. First of all, we started off the day with a urine test... you all know where this is going... that's right we got our blood and urine tested for life insurance! Life insurance! It's weird, I'm really starting to feel like an adult. Well, since adulthood is coming head-on, Eric and I decided it was time to get a real "adult" vehicle. So, on my brother's recommendation, we went to Murdock Hyundai and got one fantastic deal on a 2009 Hyundai Sonata. It is so nice, rides as velvety smooth as a Buick, and was only $16,000! Our salesman, Ren'e was very nice but said that the deal is supposed to end tomorrow unless they decide to extend it, so if you are interested in a great car with 5-star safety ratings, Consumer Reports recommended, MP3/CD player, Ipod/USB input, XM radio, fold-down rear seats and a trunk that is larger than the Toyota Camry's, all at a price you can't afford to miss, then you'd better act fast! Especially if you are in the mafia, you could use the extra trunk space. Well, since I'm a little run-down, I didn't get enough motivation yet to actually take a picture of our car so I'm just posting this photo I got on the internet.
Well, since we were on such a roll for the day, I got online and purchased our tickets for the upcoming Body Worlds 3 & The Story of the Heart exhibition that is coming to Salt Lake City on September 19th. If anyone else is interested and wants to go with us, let us know! More information can be found at http://theleonardo.org/bodyworlds/.
This is the kind of thing you can expect to see. Real human cadavers that have been essentially preserved for eternity through a process called plastination. Then they pose them and have them cured. I am completely fascinated and have wanted to see this exhibit since I was introduced to it through a video we watched in an anatomy class in college. I can't wait! And better yet, I'll be arriving in comfort and style in our new car (Said in true "Price is Right" enthusiasm)!

Eric and Jenny's olympics

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The happiest place on earth!

Eric, Zach, Meg & I set off to fabulous Disneyland Resort on Wednesday July 23rd, 2008. Our plan was to leave by 7:00 and drive all night. Which we did successfully. I think everyone was so excited and hopped up on caffeine to even think about sleep. Although I do not recommend doing this kind of driving regularly. This was the official first picture of the trip. Zach & Eric, California dreamin'.


Here I am at about, oh I'd say 2:00 a.m. or so. Just getting my fluids replenished at a quick stop in Jean, NV. Notice my hat, M-I-C-K-E-Y!
Here's Eric and I at our first stop in California. I don't know why we're shaking hands but at 4:30 a.m., crazier things have happened, I am sure!
Yeah, we made it to Disneyland after a 4 hour sleep stop at the Travelodge. The first ride of the day, after getting a fast pass for Splash Mountain was Pirates of the Caribbean! We then rode this ride a total of 5 or 6 times before the end of the trip.
Zach & Meg, just falling in love in front of the castle.

Me & Eric enjoying Mr. Potato Head's entertainment while waiting in line for Toy Story 2: Midway Mania! This ride was voted best new ride of the trip. We loved it! Too bad the line was so long.
Just livin' it up California style in California Adventure.
This lady was in front of us in line for Space Mountain. She was wearing the craziest outfit I've ever seen, as depicted in the picture above. Also, you have to consider that it is July in California and she is covered head to toe.

We took another stab at Toy Story Midway Mania that night! Its a 3-D action adventure game that you shoot at arcade style targets with a spring action shooter. Pretty awesome!
The next day we had one goal in mind- find classic Mickey. We headed to toon town to see what characters we could find and Meg insisted that Eric and I pose like this and there is a little 3-year old girl in the background that just looks very confused. It was pretty awkward!
Ah ha! After waiting in line for what seemed like hours, we finally found classic Mickey! A dream come true!

Then we were off to Princess Faire to find us some princesses. In all, we saw Jasmine, Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty & (surprise!) the Fairy Godmother!

Then we went back to Tomorrowland to get some lunch at Pizza Port (which is delicious by the way!) and found Buzz Lightyear. I went with the classic, "hey Buzz, to infinite and beyond!" He gave me thumbs up, I think he really liked us!
My favorite ride, The Hollywood Tower of Terror! Of course, we didn't buy the pic so you have to settle for this picture of the picture displayed on the screen! Tricked you, Disneyland!

Now, here's probably the best story of the whole trip (maybe tied with Eric yelling out at Meg & I, "Get a room Lesbos!" not noticing that he was walking right next to a couple walking hand in hand!) but anyway, Zach REALLY wanted to meet Donald Duck. From the get go, it was all he talked about. So, fatefully, the last night as we entered The Magic Kingdom, Eric went to ask one of the workers if she'd seen him or knew where we could see him when, he actually spotted him not far away. So we ran to get in line and waited for about 10 minutes until out comes Mickey to replace him!
Goodbye Donald! Anyway, Eric chased after him and took this picture and I was trying to contemplate running up and attacking him to get him to stay long enough to get a picture with Zach. But alas, he was gone.
Zach was completely destroyed and sat on the curb to try and cool down. In the meantime, we walked around, rode some more rides and lived up our last night in D-town. Anyway, as the evening came to a close and we walked down Main street, what to our wondering eyes should appear but Donald himself!

What luck?! Anyway, Zach got his coveted picture with Donald! Aren't they a perfect pair?

Day 3 was spent at Newport beach. It was somewhat cool & cloudy but we didn't get rained on and really I'd say it was close to perfect. Meg & I had fun posing like beach beauties.
Then I pretended to be pregnant in my new Modbe swimsuit and Eric is showing everyone how such a thing may have occurred. Not real!! I repeat, this is a posed picture. Smoke and mirrors, that's all it is!

And back at the hotel, Eric is not afraid to let it all hang out!

As we headed home Sunday, Zach actually shed a single tear for the end of such a magical adventure.

And Eric was just plum tuckered out! We really can't wait to go back, even knowing that next time around we'll probably have a little tike to share it with.