In the Life of the Schow Family

2012-02-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

For years I wrote in my journal, nightly...so why is it so hard for me update my blog even monthly? I think it might be because when I finally sit at the computer to browse around for my self and read everyone else's blog...I don't have any interest in thinking through what to say to document my own life. So here it is...my most recent blog update. I won't even try to fill you in on what has happened in our lives since...well...I opened up my preschool last fall (I think that was my last update...ugh!)

I have the time to update the blog right now, because I am being forced to sit down chill out these last couple of days. I had a minor surgery on Monday. Now I have to take it easy and relax on the couch (which is impossible to do with a 1 1/2 year old). The surgery was to take out my I.U.D. You might think to yourself..."you don't need surgery to take that out". My I.U.D actually made its way through my uterus and was resting behind my left hip bone. So in this case, we did need surgery to take it out. The surgery went totally fine though. The incisions were kept very small and so I am healing fast! The number 1 question that I have been repeatedly asked is if I will ever get an I.U.D. again. For me...no. It feels pretty silly to have to go get the thing removed through surgery and then later, put one back in. This is supposed to be pretty rare, so I am not telling anyone else what would be smart or not. I used to swear by it, but I will have to find a new kind of birth control.

My goodness...Ainsley is almost a year and a half and she is the funniest, most adorable little girl to us. This is more for myself than for anyone else, but a little bit about her right now...
she will eat almost anything, anytime...
she calls both Trevor and I, Dad...
she LOVES shoes, phones, laptops, ipads, etc.. and cars!
she LOVES the wind in her face and insists on having windows rolled down in the car..
she wears her jacket around all day, just hoping to go outside or in the car...
she sleeps with her Kiss,Kiss Bear...
she can't get enough of books...
she can spot Sesame Street characters in EVERY store we go in...
she can now say, Dad, shoes, there it is, uh-oh, please, car...
she signs milk, again, music, lay down, change diaper, thank you, sorry...
she wants me to sing 24/7 in the car, usually the same song over and over...
she is bossy when she plays house...
she will sit on uncles and grandpas laps for longer than she ever does for Mom or Dad
she will never tire of playing Hide and Seek...
she is a wonderful helper when it comes to cleaning up the house...

We love her so much! There is an endless amount of patience, frustration, joy and love when it comes to having kids...at least for us! Thanks for checking in.

P.S. Pictures always make a post more fun, so I picked 5 of our recent-ish pictures, in hopes that it would help to summarize our life a little bit.

Here I am after surgery...a very loopy day for me.

Our family trip to visit Temple Square:

Oh yeah, Trevor brought me along on a business trip he had to New York...awesome vacation! Here we are on the top of the Empire State Building. This site was by far, Trevor's FAVORITE!

Ainsley, just being cute with her little mischievous face.

This was awhile ago, I guess just long enough to out grow those clothes that she is in.

Preschool Opening

2011-07-08T08:52:00.001-07:00

I know I need to update our blog about our life...but I just can't wait to tell everyone about how we are actually going through with my Preschool plan! I have been planning and contemplating this for a long time, and we have almost finished our basement in hopes that it would all work out, I was just waiting for the city's approval for my preschool business license. It was finally approved last night and so Trevor and I are putting on the finishing touches of the basement and gathering the rest of the supplies that I need to start out the preschool with. I have butterflies in my stomach!!! Anyways, if you know of anyone looking for a preschool for their 3 to 5 year old, in the Herriman/Riverton area. Send them my way! Thanks so much!

2011-06-03T10:43:00.001-07:00

Last night Trevor and I made a trip to Costco. Man, we can never walk out of there without spending a few hundred dollars. Anyways, look what Ainsley found!

We were such the sight to see, walking around Costco. Of course our cart was filled to the brim already, so the bear sat in the cart, like a baby would...only it took up the entire cart, even while sitting. Ainsley was completely giddy about the whole thing. We got so many looks as we lug around this huge bear, sitting upright in our cart, with our baby clinging to its arms, belly, legs, nose, ears. She was all smiles and giggles the whole time. Trevor and I started feeling very conspicuous because we couldn't pass by anyone without them laughing, whispering to themselves, making a comment, or even having some others' kids cry because now they wanted one too. Just so that you know, even though Ainsley would love to think this bear is hers, we really bought the bear for the reading nook we are putting in our basement for my preschool.

Which reminds me, I need to show pictures of before and after, as we finish up our basement. I have been getting more and more furniture for the preschool. I am getting really excited. I just have to wait for the letter from the city saying that the zoning is okay. Then I can start enrolling for this next year. Any day now...I can't wait! If you know of anyone that is out on this west side of the valley, that is looking for a preschool...I would love to have them!

Our Latest and Greatest

2011-04-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Well Trevor and I finally feel settled in our new home! All of the boxes are unpacked and we only have 3 things left to hang on the walls. Here are some pictures of the day we were moving in. I wish I had some final shots of the house all put together, but I haven't taken any yet. We absolutely love our new house, our new neighbors, our new ward...we feel very blessed. I know that we have family that feels like we are on the edge of the world, but Trevor and I are starting to really enjoy a little bit of a longer drive to our parents (it used to be 10 minutes and now its 30), because we get into some of the best conversations when we have a little bit more time. The view out here is beautiful. We can see so much of the mountain range, and we are able to see 3 of the temples in the valley,very clearly. I love the sight that we get to see at night from our upstairs windows...the lights of the city are wonderful.

Here is Ainsley in our backyard, squinting into the sunlight, and putting up with me weeding for as long as she'll let me.

Ainsley is all bundled up to take a walk around our new neighborhood.

I know that I should have posted all of the wonderful things that Ainsley was up to at her 6 month checkpoint, but moving kind of got in the way of that. She is now a little over 7 months. She seems to be getting happier and happier all of the time. She LOVES the fact that she is more mobile. What a wiggle worm! She is always on to the new thing...well as long as we are at home she is. Whenever we are out and about at other places she likes to sit and take everything in for awhile. She is getting faster at her army crawl. She goes from laying down to sitting up all the time, and when she does she looks at us and claps for the praise that she knows she deserves. The latest accomplishment is pulling herself up to standing next to our ottoman. She is not shy about showing us how proud she is of herself...you should see that grin! She is in the 60 to 70th percentile on weight, height and head circumference. She loves bananas and eating anything that she sees me eating. Toys that have lights and noises are her favorites (which is bad news for Dad who has an Ipad, Motorola Xoom, Evo Phone, 2 laptops, xbox controllers, and several remote controls). Ainsley thinks Dad is the funnest person. When he comes home from work she gets a big grin on her face and if he doesn't come over to her quick enough, she starts her whining until she gets a big hug from Daddy. My favorite thing is when she wakes up from her naps, she pulls down her bumper pads and looks through her crib bars, searching for me, until I come for her. I know that I taught her this, after playing peek-a-boo constantly through her crib. I just love to see her PATIENTLY looking for me. Thats a lot about Ainsley...props to you if you made it through that whole explanation!

Here is Ainsley trying to peek out at me through her crib bars. So cute!

I wanted to also say congratulations to a couple of my brothers. Aaron graduated from the Fire and Rescue Academy at UVU. He is working and going to school like a mad man and we are so proud of him! He is going to be fighting wild fires this summer. What an exciting job! I'll post about this again later, but my older brother, Paul, is also graduating with his JD from the law school at the University of Utah. Between them and Trevor graduating, I feel like I belong to a very productive family these days.

Trevor sitting with Ainsley in one of the fire trucks.

Here is the building that the students would practice putting out fires in, or practice falling out of buildings, or practice ventilating roofs, and the list goes on...

Ainsley and I

Aaron and his girlfriend, Katie

Another news of excitement...Jiffer (Jennifer) is prego! I'm so excited for my little sister to have another baby. Right now I can't even think about having a second child. Ainsley has me busy enough, but I know that she is so excited for this next member of her family. We are happy for her!

This is Ainsley and her cousin Lydia trying to play together. I think it will take some more time!

Trevor and I took Ainsley to a park to see if she liked the slides...she did!

Ainsley is laughing at me here. I was giving her a binkie...which she refused to take at about 3 months old. She thinks the binkie is hilarious now. Its almost as if she is laughing at me for giving her a "baby" toy. She puts it to the side of her mouth, and laughs before spitting it out. Silly little sprite!

Tata for now!

Woohoo!

2011-02-25T23:30:00.000-08:00

Yeah!!!! After what feels like a long time coming...but really it isn't...Trevor and I will close on our house sometime between the 2nd and 7th of March. We will most likely move in a week or so after that. We went and saw the house again today for our inspection, and we fell in love with the house all over again. We are both so excited to move into our new home. Right now we are looking forward to all of the projects that we have started making for ourselves...building stairs off the kitchen, finishing the basement, just a little bit of paint, setting up the pre-school to be...and the list goes on and on, but gets more mundane after this. I'm sure it will reach a point that we won't be excited about projects, but as of right now I think Trevor and I are just excited because all of the projects will be for OUR HOUSE! I can stay excited about the house, as long as we don't start talking about all of the expense that comes along with the house. I don't know if I have ever met someone as much as a penny pincher as I seem to be. Spending ANY money gets my stomach churning...so I guess I need to buckle up for an extensive stomach ache. Well, the house is in Herriman...about 4 minutes away from where Trevor's office is. The top reasons I love the house are

-front porch

-landscaped yard

-adorable gables

-kitchenette by entertaining area

-nice looking wood trim/flooring/cabinets EVERYWHERE

-super cute room for Ainsley

-play room just for Ainsley (and future kids)

-big enough area for a preschool

-it is MY HOUSE!

Now, there is a large part of me that will miss several things about where we are living now...which is in the basement of Trevor's parents. We have continually commented about how blessed we have been, to be able to live in this basement to start our family and get through school. We would not be buying the house that we have now, if it weren't for the opportunity that we've had to live here. Now, my top reasons for missing our current home...

-late night talks with family

-we are 10 minutes away from almost ALL of both our families...except for our wonderful sister Suzie in Iowa

-saving money

-being able to borrow (mooch) milk, eggs, spices, soda, buttons, internet, satellite, netflix, etc...at the blink of an eye

-closer to the University of Utah for Trevor's commute (going to end soon!!)

-having someone to talk to when Trevor is away at school for the week

-being able to know my niece and nephews that live above us so well

-its close to our sons graves

-Its been our home for the past 3 years

Thank you Mom and Dad Schow for letting us have 1/3 of your house for 3 years. We are excited that you will finally have it back in a few weeks, you deserve the space. Not that your excited for it. :) Not like you have already bought ALL of the furniture to fill it up.

One Handed

2011-02-19T22:33:00.000-08:00

Because our little Miss Ainsley loves to be held when she gets bored or tired, I have become proficient at many things with one hand...usually my right hand while Ainsley is in my left. I am sure lots of mothers get used to performing one handed but here is my list off the top of my head...

Changing loads of laundry
Cooking
Putting on make-up
Making the bed
Cleaning the house, in general
Looking up things online
Getting dressed
Packing our home in boxes
Putting on jewelry
Cleaning drool off my face/hair/clothes
Scrubbing drool/spit-up off of the floor
Balancing books/dishes/groceries/miscellaneous items on one side of me for various reasons
Blogging...

Although I realize I am not unique in having these abilities, I nevertheless find that each day I impress myself with the clever abilities that I now realize I can do.

One another note! Trevor got an iPad because of his work...And I have gotten to play on it a lot so far. I thoroughly enjoy the iPad. It is now on my Christmas list, along with my jogging stroller. I have to admit that I have had more time than lately to fool around on the iPad because my little family has been a basket case of head colds and stomach bugs for the last week. I haven't wanted to do much but sit on the couch and waist the time away. Let's hope this next week brings us health and energy.

Little by Little

2011-02-04T14:52:00.000-08:00

It's about time I post something for 2011. The year has been great so far. Trevor is back in school, in his last BUSY semester. He does have one semester after this one, but not nearly as busy. He is only taking 2 classes next semester...and then he will graduate with his masters! I can't tell you how ready I am for that day! He will definitely deserve that proud feeling you get when you accomplish what you set out to do. I am so proud of Trevor. I've said that a lot on here, but it is VERY hard and trying to go through school without being able to see your new baby girl, because she hasn't woken up before you go to work, and has gone to bed before you get home from school. Ainsley and I definitely miss Trevor during the week as well. But thats not what I came to blog about...

Ainsley is SO fun to have in our family. She is my personal playmate all day. She gets more and more giggly all the time. She loves being tickled on her feet, under her ribs, and on the inside of her thigh. She knows how to roll over now, but I don't think she sees a purpose in doing it very much yet. She thinks Daddy is hilarious. He doesn't even have to do anything, and she'll be beaming at him for minutes at a time. She really enjoys sucking and gumming anything she can get her hands on. Oh, and the latest...she LOVES solid food. I gave her sweet potatoes for the first time last week and after the first bite she stuck her arms out towards the food and started shaking them with anticipation, with her mouth open wide and puckered for the next bite. The first couple of times I fed her, she would get upset as soon as she finished the food in her mouth, because she didn't like having to wait at all for the next spoon full. She has learned by now that the food will come, and she doesn't need to whine about it. I have learned that she gets fairly bored being inside the same house all day. She has a much better day when we have an excuse to get out of the house and go somewhere. For that reason, I can't wait until it warms up so that we can just go walk outside! At her 4 month check up she weighed 14 lbs. 10 oz., she is 2 feet tall and is as healthy as ever. Some of you might know that she has had blood in her stool, since about 2 weeks after birth. We have been trying to figure out why for awhile now. We finally were able to go see a gastro-intestinal doctor about it. She diagnosed it as neo-natal colitis and the good news is, she will outgrow it, probably by the time she is a year old. If you ever want the details, I'm happy to share, but that could get a little boring on here.

Here are some pictures of our little baby girl:

Here she is eating her sweet potatoes for the first time.

She LOVES to suck on the bird's hair in this picture...I want to figure out how to take the thing off and wash it!

Trevor and I took her to Wheeler Farm and looked at all of the animals...

This is a toy that will always put a smile on Ainsley's face: her monkey

Ainsley is beginning to like being on her tummy for longer periods of time, finally.

Like I said, everything goes in the mouth...

The latest trick she knows...she can play with her feet!

2010-12-10T10:18:00.000-08:00

I want to start with the bad news first, so that we can get on with the good stuff. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, Trevor and I had a house that sort of fell into our laps. We LOVED it and put an offer on it right away, we checked everything out about it that we could, the offer was accepted, we had our loan going through and then a little ways into it we found out that the city of Riverton was building a FREEWAY in our backyard!!! We had asked about what they were using the land for behind our house and we were told, "Riverton city doesn't have any plans for that land yet". BUT when you go online to UDOT you can see that this freeway has been planned for a long time. Maybe you have heard of it. Its called the Mountain View Corridor. Anyways, we spent a weekend trying to decide if it was worth buying the house still or not, and we came to the decision to walk away. Now that its over, Trevor and I both feel good about it. We feel like we dodged a bullet. Oh well....on to better news.

Trevor is almost done with this semester!!! One more semester like this one and Trevor will be in the clear to GRADUATE! I can't wait! This semester, while working full time and going to school full time, I have gotten to see Trevor Wednesday evenings and then the weekend. He keeps telling me that I have been a single mom - and some times it feels like that, but I really can't complain. Trevor is working so hard to get through school as fast as he can. I don't know if I'd be able to do what he is doing. He comes home, just exhausted. The other night, after I got dinner ready, (Wednesday, of course...if he is eating dinner with me) I dish up my food and then look over to Trevor and find him sleeping! He couldn't stay awake even to start eating dinner. Poor guy. He wants so much for our little family. I am very proud of him. But we are both looking forward to when he is done and has his masters.

Our little girl is doing wonderfully. She has this looks that she gets on her face when she is trying to study or concentrate on something. She furrows her eyebrows and it looks like she is scowling. Anytime we go out anywhere, she spends a lot of time concentrating on everything new around her, so a lot of people get to see her "scowling face" - which she has become known for. It is really funny, because Trevor and I only see that face once in awhile around our house. We definitely get to enjoy the more giggly and smiley Ainsley. I could not praise her more for how well she is sleeping. And I LOVE getting her up in the morning, because she just doesn't stop smiling. Here is a picture of her laughing at a reflection of herself in one of her favorite places...her swing.

I went to the festival of trees with some of the family from the Schow side. There are always VERY creative people involved with the Festival of Trees. Here is one pretty creative idea. The picture below is 4 trees covered in blue stuff, and ocean creatures. The trees bend over to make them all look like a giant wave that Santa is surfing underneath. A lot of time is spent making all of this happen. I can't help visit this Festival with gratitude for all of these donations that help Primary Childrens Hospital. I know that miracles do happen there. I have a niece that is living today because of the work that goes on at that hospital. I really enjoyed our visit.

As many of you know, Trevor and I graduated from rival schools. I represent the blue down south and Trevor has extreme pride in his Utah degree. We are very cordial with each other and can even appreciate each other's school for the good things that both have, but on GAME DAY, there is no question for who we both route for. So, this last game day, we made sure that Ainsley was equally cheering for both teams. We end up looking very patriotic as a family. You can see our fan spirit below...I can't say that I was very happy with the outcome of the game...

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We were able to spend a little bit of time with Trevor's side of extended family. We had delicious home-made rolls! Then we went over to my side of the family. Several of my syblings agreed that this years Thanksgiving was the most delicious one we've had! I think we are just getting to the point, where we all have had practice making our specific dish for Thanksgiving. Really, everything tasted so wonderful! My spares no expense on this meal. We had a huge smoked turkey and a ham! Theres no harm making too much food for Thanksgiving because the leftovers make the best part! My mother-in-law actually made a miniature Thanksgiving meal several days later, just so that she could have leftovers.

I also need to say Thank you for several friends coming to Ainsley's Baby Blessing. The blessing was beautiful, our little girl was beautiful...and it was great for us to get together with family and friends that day. We are extremely grateful to have Ainsley in our lives. Nothing has ever made us happier, then our little daughter.

Another little tid bit

2010-10-17T13:15:00.002-07:00

I forgot to tell about a few cool events in our lives the last time I posted on here.

After several months of trying to schedule it, Trevor was finally able to go para-gliding! He loved it. He went tandem at the point of the mountain with a company called "Cloud 9". It was fantastic. Ainsley and I watched him from below. He said that they started out nice and slow and hugged the side of the mountain. As soon as the guy that was taking Trevor up could tell that Trevor was comfortable, he went faster, did the flips in the sky and headed out further away from the mountain. When Trevor landed he had a big grin on his face. If he had all the money and time in the world, I am sure that he would have already gone out and bought the equipment and the lessons to start doing para-gliding on his own.

I failed to mention before about how my grandparents got to be here for Ainsley's birth and a few weeks afterwards. They live in Texas, and are unable to come to a lot of big family events. I was so blessed to have my grandparents around for when Ainsley was born. We were able to get this 4 generational picture of us girls. In the picture is Ainsley and I, my sister Jennifer and her baby girl Lydia, my Mom and my Grandma Roark.

2010-10-13T12:14:00.001-07:00

Well, tomorrow Ainsley will be 1 month old. I can't believe how long a month felt when I was pregnant and waiting for our little girl to come, and now a month passed by so quickly. It feels like we just brought her home from the hospital. Since it has been a month I figured it a good time to record our impressions of Ainsley and our life as parents. First I have to thank Trevor's boss for giving him a free extra week off to spend with Ainsley and I, right after she was born. I appreciated that gesture SO much. It was the best gift that anyone could have given us for her birth! Especially because the first few days after coming home from the hospital felt like we were constantly catching up on sleep and trying to figure out the ins and outs of being parents. It wasn't until that next week that I think we REALLY got to just be on vacation with our new little daughter.

A little bit about Ainsley...So far we have figured out that Ainsley likes to be moved and rocked whenever possible. She hates cold wipes. She likes to be massaged (especially on her butt). If she can't be held, she loves her swing! She calms down faster for Daddy. Her favorite spot to sleep is on top of Mommy. She is enjoying her bath a little more every time we give it to her. She is beginning to laugh and smile a little more and she is following rattles and her parents voices around with her eyes. She LOVES FOOD! We think she is very photogenic and beautiful!

Trevor is loving having his daughter here. He has already said how he'll be excited for the next one to come along...when its time. (Not going to happen anytime soon.) He misses her all day while at school and work. His Masters program is keeping him busy, but he has still been able to find time to play with Ainsley and I when he is at home. He has been known to get a smile out of Ainsley, just by asking. She loves her Dad.

I couldn't love being Ainsley's mom more! It is very true that everything takes longer now, than it used to. I am very happy if I am able to work out, eat and get in a shower before noon! I'm sure I'll get faster with time. I think it is also because I can't resist playing with her and talking to her while she is awake. We are doing great as a family. Thank you everyone, for your warm wishes to us when she was born! Thats all for now!

Ainsley Lucile Schow

2010-09-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update. We have officially named our baby girl Ainsley Lucile Schow! She is still doing great and is still adorable. Here are a few videos of her immediately after she was born.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIwq6No7g8g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebxu0UA95ss

It's a Girl!!

2010-09-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

"First Moments with Mommy"

So we went into the hospital this morning around 7:45 to be induced. Kristine could hardly sleep, she only got 2 1/2 hours... I however slept great! I have been trained to sleep through anything from Kristine's constant runs to the bathroom in the middle of the night. We will see how I deal with baby cries!! Anyway, so we check in and get the process going around 8:30. By about 10 to 10:30 Kristine was already on Pitocin, her water broke, and she had her Epidural. We felt great and excited. I LOVE EPIDURALS!!! Kristine says they are "painless" and she is extremely surprised how relaxing the whole labor process is, including contractions. I know...doesn't sound too typical for a woman in labor!

I can't believe how good Kristine looks during the "Transition Stage" of labor. She is totally making it look easy, I was way proud of her.

Our baby girl was born at 5:30 P.M. on Tuesday the 14th of September, 2010. She is adorable! I know that everybody says that their own baby is the cutest baby in the world, but she is truly adorable! She was 6 lbs 13 oz and 19 inches long. She looked like she had a big head to me, but ANY head would have looked big from my perspective! She is a good baby (well...she has been for the last 5 1/2 hours and we don't really have anything to compare her to). She cries for about 15 seconds every time she is moved around too much, but then she settles down pretty quick. She is extremely silent while she sleeps, which I guess is a good thing but it freaks me out! I like to hear her breathing and she is too quite most of the time for me. I am sure that is a feature I will love of hers in the coming weeks.

We are so excited to have our little girl. It was really nice to have her and to think about our 3 children, 2 of which are in heaven already. We couldn't help but think about our 2 boys being around us during the labor and while we were alone with our little girl! We are sure that the 3 of them have a great relationship and we feel blessed to be the parents of such beautiful children.

It was nice to have the family come in to see our little girl. After waiting hours in the waiting room, our family was able to come in and celebrate the birth of our healthy baby girl. Many others came throughout the night and it was so nice to have visitors to show her off to. We are excited to keep showing her off as she continues to meet the aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and great-grand parents!

Sadly, we are not 100% positive of the name of our beautiful little girl just yet... I know...it is me that has commitment issues. Kristine is sure, she is just waiting for me to get on board completely with it. As of right now, our little girls name is Ainsley Lucile Schow. We both simply think that Ainsley is a beautiful name, and Lucile is the name of my wonderful grandmother. The more I see our little girl (not crying) the more I think the name fits and she is Ainsley!

(I would have had this blog post up earlier, but Ainsley decided to have a poopy diaper! Awesome, sticky, and disgusting all wrapped up in a tiny little package! So far I love being a Daddy)

Does Summer Have to End?

2010-08-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

I had been looking forward to a trip out with my family all summer long. Sadly, that trip has now come and gone. It was so much fun to be with my family in Bear Lake for a long weekend. I kept telling myself that this trip was at the end of summer. Now the trip is over and Trevor has to return to school again soon. He is starting his Masters Program. We have one final push during this next year and then he will really be done with school! The good part of summer coming to a close is, the anticipation of our baby coming doesn't have to last that much longer...We have 4 more weeks left...I can't wait! I'm having dreams all the time of going into labor. I have done up most of her bedroom. I am going to pack the hospital bag on Monday. I'm just soooo ready for her to be here!

This post started out as a brief synopsis of our family trip. So we all started off the trip with great intentions of getting to Bear Lake as early in the day on Friday as possible. Those intentions didn't get us too far. After we were all packed and ready to go we realize that the connectors from our trailer hitch and our camper trailer don't match up. We spend the next few hours trying to track down the adapter that we need. In the end we settle on splicing the wires ourselves and making a home made version of the adapter. There always has to be a set back in a trip, right? At least we got ours out of the way at the beginning. On Friday we still got to go on a boat ride for a bit, after camp was set up and settled. The water in Bear Lake was cold...but not too cold. I expected it to be worse. After I rolled myself into the water, I had to wait about 30 seconds and then the water felt wonderful! There is nothing like swimming around to ease the pressure off of a pregnant back. Trevor and I love being out on the water. Thank you to Katie for letting us borrow her family boat!

The next day we went on more boat runs. My family found a great beach to lay out a miniature camp on. Jamon, my brother in law, borrowed his family lake toys. We had a lake trampoline (that had a slow leak in it, so that didn't last long) and a SWEET lake lounger that held at least 7 people on it at once. It was perfect for the whole set up. The beach that we got on was shallow for a LONG ways out. The kids got to play in the water safely, we all got to sun bathe and most of us ended up burned somewhat. We had a canopy for shade, Amber's delicious pasta salad, and a whole 2 days to do nothing but relax on such a perfect beach! The water was so clear too!

On the third day up there, we set up a morning run to try to get the good water on the lake. It was definitely the best water we had up there the whole time. Jamon, Trevor and Katie showed off their skiing skills. Most of the family had a go at getting up on the wake board or skis. We again, played on the beach, collected little shells, played bochee, cards, flew kites, swam, boated, lounged, and got the famous RASPBERRY SHAKES from Bear Lake. I have to give my mom a big Thank You for all of the delicious dinners and dutch oven desserts. I wanted the vacation to last at least 1 day longer, but we had to come back home to be responsible adults. For my own self, I need to list a couple of the funny moments that happened on the trip...the ones that make a family vacation fun!

-We found out how much the family loves Sun Chips
-Jiffer's appendages out of the water
-Max giggling with the bubbles from Eva and Grace
-Trevor waking up others in the camper because he was laughing DURING his dream
-eating our dinners with no light
-John's karate grunts during Egyptian Rat Skrew
-Katie's speed at ANY card game
-Being soaked TWICE in the front of the boat
-Motion sickness
-Watching 2 trucks with their boats get stuck trying to launch from the sandy beach
-The Idiot jet skier too close to shore (not so funny)
-"Thats not a banana, thats my nose" - Daddy Fuller
-Grace falling out of the side of the camper (again, more scary than funny)
-Eva sitting in the lake, asking if it was too cold...
-Learning how to drive a boat and pull someone behind the boat

Pictures are to come...

Summer 2010

2010-07-13T11:10:00.002-07:00

It is a little late, but happy 4th of July!

Trevor and I have been enjoying this summer so much. It feels like a lot has gone on and its only half way through the summer. I figured I would just put up some of the activities Trevor and I have gotten to be a part of so far this summer. There is definitely more to come, but for now here is what we've been up to...

First, Trevor started complaining one morning that his stomach wasn't feeling very well. He went to work and he said by lunch time he felt pretty sick. He stuck it out though and made it through the day. He ate dinner, hoping that would help out, but it didn't. Things just got worse. His pain progressively got worse right over where his appendix is at. We started looking up what could be causing this pain and we kept reading symptoms for appendicitis that matched exactly what he was feeling. So finally we went in to the E.R. and Trevor definitely had appendicitis. They gave him pain killers for the night and then operated on him the following morning. He was in so much pain before the surgery, I was relieved when they brought him out of surgery and he looked at me and said, "I feel like I could get up and do jumping jacks." We spent the rest of the day in the hospital recovering. Trevor has been great ever since. We'll see how much of a scar he'll have. Right now the scars are still pretty bright. It is amazing what the medical world can do these days though. Trevor has his appendix removed and all there is to show for it are 3 small incisions, no longer than 2 inches long. Amazing!

I have been able to talk different family members into going swimming with me as much as possible. The pool feels great these days...especially for my back. My sister has been great to swim with me most of the time.

We've gone to several campfire evenings. You can't ever get enough of those though! I love being up in the canyon. It has been so green and the rivers have been really high! It is beautiful. Trevor went rock climbing outdoors for the first time, with our brother in law, Jamon. He loved it! When he was finished he decided we needed to buy him his own rock climbing shoes. (He has several toys right now that he would LOVE to go out and buy... para-gliding gear, rock climbing shoes, a boat, 4-wheelers, a dirt bike and the list goes on...Not to mention he just got a whole new set of golf-clubs for Father's Day.) Anything Trevor can do to be outside, he'll jump at the chance to go!We also got to go camping over night with our friends, Danny, Amelia and Hannah Morgan. (Thanks for bringing us along on that guys!) Trevor and I had a blast! It was a great experience to realize what we do and don't have for camping trips. Maybe we'll start making a Christmas list...

Here is my sister trying to roast marshmallows while the guys rock climb.

My little brother graduated from Skyline High School. He was very anxious for that. I remember the feeling of being excited to move on with my life, but not being able to until high school was finished. I believe he has been feeling like that since before his senior year. He is in that stage of trying to figure out what direction he is going to go in for his career, schooling and all of those major decisions that start to creep up after high school. I'm proud of him though. He has got a very level head and wants to do things the smart way!

My Dad had his birthday on June 30! Happy Birthday Dad! I have always been impressed with the ambition that my father has. I don't believe that he'll ever let age stop him from doing the things that he loves. He talks about how he is turning into an older man, but I don't see him like that at all. He has enough desire to be on the move and experiencing things...especially with the family. We all love him and look up to him so much! For his birthday we had a big bbq at my parent's house. Afterwards we watched a movie on a projector, against the side of the house. I think we'll do that more often, now that we know how much fun it can be! Trevor proved his cooking skills once again at the birthday. I think he stood by the grill for over an hour, bbq-ing the entire dinner!

Trevor had to re-paint the baby's room. It was a little painful, having to paint over the room that we painted for our little boys. It was so cute too! I made sure to get a lot of pictures before we painted over our blue room. Now it is ivory-yellowish and I think it is looking more and more ready for our little girl to come! Speaking of which, I have had some requests to post some belly pictures on here. So you get to see my prego-belly at about 28 weeks. Now I am 31 weeks, so I should get some more photos. Trevor is telling all of his nieces and nephews that my belly button sticking out is actually just the baby's nose pressing against the inside of my stomach. They always look up at him with a look that asks, "Are you serious or is this a joke?"

We've also been lucky enough to go boating this summer...and we have some plans for the future weeks ahead to go boating again. But the Morgan family was nice enough to bring us along, again, on their boat! The best boating trips are with the Morgans. Trevor so desperately wants a boat. He watches for anything he can to learn about keeping good maintenance up on a boat. Steve Morgan said at one point that Trevor was "trying to be the crew" on the boat. Really, Trevor's great passion is to be out on the lake! Thank you, thank you for bringing us with you! I have to fight back my jealousy on these boating trips though. I want to get behind the boat so bad, but there is no chance that I'd even be able to sneak a small ride on the wake board. I have too many people looking out for the baby's and my well-being. The water was freezing and choppy, but we wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else! Tiffany and Mark Frogley were able to come along also, with their baby girl, Ashlyn. I was impressed that Tiffany was able to get up and wake board, after healing from a broken tail bone! Way to go!

And lastly, this last week we were able to spend some much needed time with Trevor's sister, Suzy and her family Brent, Megan, Joseph, Sarah and Daniel. They live in Iowa and they drove 2 days to get to Utah for a visit. We went to the aquarium and to the visitor's center downtown. We had s'mores and taught the grandkids how to play some night games. We ended their last evening here by watching as many comedian clips as we could fit in. The most fun part of it all was having the whole family here to hang out and catch up! We miss you guys!

Here the kids are at the temple square visitor's center.

Well, our summer adventures will continue, I'm sure. Until then...I hope you enjoyed this long post!

2010-05-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

There are two major things that I needed to update the blog with. Major to Trevor and I, at least.

First, Trevor has graduated with his bachelors in Information Systems from the University of Utah. It is a strange feeling for both of us, not to have to think or worry about his homework or study schedule. He loves what he has learned in his education, loves his job and is actually excited to go into his Masters program in the fall. He is burned out from school, but he figures he'll be doing and learning more about what he really loves while in his masters program. I'm so glad that he has the summer off though. I am so proud of his determination and work ethic while in school. He has really shown me how much of a foundation he wants for his family these last few years with his efforts in school. Even when it has been stressful and he has had to sacrifice in order to get through school, he has had his mind set on a goal... and he has made it! He even graduated Cum Laude in his class. Way to go sweetheart! You can see below the kite he bought for his own graduation present. It is 2.1 meters (about 7 ft. long) and has been just the thing to bring on that summer, outside, playful feel. Even though the weather has been crappy recently, we've been able to get out to the park and fly this baby several times. It can pull me across the park with not very much wind. We are just having fun going outside these days!

Second item, we celebrated our 3rd anniversary on the 16th of May! Three years has definitely gone by fast. But at the same time, Trevor and I feel like its been so much longer than three years. That may be because we have known each other for more than 8 years. I have to go pretty far back in my memory to remember a time that Trevor wasn't a crucial person in my life. I know for certain that having Trevor strengthens me in times of hardships and makes my times of joy that much more full of elation!

Baby Girl

2010-04-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Today was our 20 week appointment! I think it is amazing all of the things doctors can see these days with technology. The doctor can answer so many questions by just looking at an ultra-sound machine...its incredible! Everything is looking healthy and right on target. I'm getting more and more excited to pass by the date that we lost our little boys by. It will just be that much more relaxed, not worrying as much about how our little girl is doing. We are sure it is a girl. Confidant enough to pick out clothes, names and colors. We had a gender check done a few weeks ago and the ultra-sound tech was positive it was a girl. Then today we asked the doctor to double check, and we got some great 'girl' photos. Trevor and I are so excited to meet our little girl! So far this pregnancy has been really easy. Last time I was pregnant I got through the nauseous stage and pretty much jumped to the third trimester stage. I grew so fast that I was dealing with all of the uncomforts of being big and stretching everywhere - with lots of pressure! I didn't know the difference then. Now I feel like I am really small and this second trimester is great! I hardly feel pregnant sometimes...but I have the reassurance of a little pregnant belly and those tiny kicks and movements. Trevor and I are having so much fun!

We are confidant that she won't come out looking like a monkey...even though her profile looks somewhat like that...

The GIRL shot!

This one I think is really cute. On the left side of the picture are her hands covering up her eyes and forehead. If you look close you can see her little nose and mouth underneath her hands, more in the middle of the picture. She is such a cutie!

Besides the baby stuff....I can't wait for Trevor to graduate next week! Every day is that much closer!!!!!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

Easter weekend was fun! First of all, I was on Spring Break, so I have been in a really good mood. I have gone back to work by now, but I think the break gave both the kids and I a chance to rejuvenate for the next long haul. They are happy which means I am happy, which means they are definitely happy =) I spent Friday making an easter basket for Trevor. I thought I was creative and had reason to be proud of what I put in his basket (Well, our basket. I was told that if I was going to make him one, I had to make myself one..."of equal quantity, quality and monetary value"). So I made "us" a basket. It had things that made me think of fun spring activities Trevor and I will finally get to go outside and do, soon I hope. It had some religious items that made us realize why Trevor and I have so much of a reason to celebrate Easter. And it had candy.

Friday night I pretty much spent on our friend's parent's couch (Thank You Morgans!)and slept while my husband and Danny Morgan got to re-live what it felt like to be in high school. Apart from the fact that the boys had a pregnant wife and a nursing mother asleep behind them on the couch, they were able to stay up late...I won't say until what time...without a care in the world, to "hang-out". Thank you, thank you, thank you Danny and Amelia!

We loved conference. We enjoyed watching it with my Dad on Saturday. We went house hunting between sessions on Saturday and dyed eggs between sessions on Sunday. I think we do a fairly good job at egg dying.

There is always a major Easter Egg Hunt on the Schow side. If I remember correctly, there were 150 eggs hidden somewhere in the house. We also had a fabulous dinner on the Fuller side - with many guests included. We had my oldest brother with his family of 4, my younger sister with her family of 3, my youngest brother and girlfriend, two happy grandparents, my sister-in-laws family from California of 4, a son of a friend of my parents from when we lived in Kansas, Trevor and me! Nothing celebrates holidays like big family evenings! We ended the weekend satisfied, relaxed and feeling blessed.

Sorry Ryan...it is just cute to see father and son on their hands and knees looking for Easter eggs.

A wonderful grandmother, willing to go to all of the work for a great Easter hunt.

He'll be a great Dad, don't you think?

Photo Tag

2010-03-25T18:57:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Amelia and Jen on the photo tag. The rules go as follows:

Rules:
1. Open your first photo folder
2. Scroll to the 10th photo
3. Post the photo and the story behind it
4. Tag 5 or more people

So this photo was taken back when Trevor and I celebrated our first anniversary together - May 16th! (its coming up again) We actually did save part of the top of our wedding cake to eat on our anniversary. We had eaten small bits of it throughout the first year - because it was just so dang good! I've really never had a cake that good! Surprisingly it still tasted good and rich a year later. I know that sounds gross, but we had a lot of fun with it! We went back up to Park City where we had our honeymoon. Marrying Trevor was, without a doubt, the best decision that I have ever made!

I now tag Heather Richards, Chrisy Keddington, Ennlee Fuller, Suzy Bean and Haley Summerhays. Have fun girls!

Jan., Feb. and March...

2010-03-15T16:34:00.000-07:00

So I am trying to procrastinate a school project that I really do need to get done for my kids in class, but instead I decided to update the blog. We have actually had a lot happen in the last little bit. For the sake of simplicity I'll start from further back and then move forward into our current lives.

So we have this chinchilla named Opie (or O.P. for Optimus Prime). We are pretty sure that he started becoming addicted to the plastic in his cage. He is supposed to chew on wood and things that will grind his teeth down, but for the life of us we couldn't figure out how to stop him from chewing on the plastic instead of the wood stuff that he is supposed to. So one weekend Trevor and I set out on a plan to reconstruct Opie's cage. We took out nearly all the plastic and bought the expensive wood that chinchillas are apparently allowed to chew on, and rebuilt his cage. (I guess regular woods would've killed him.) It took a good 4 to 5 hours of our weekend, and now our chinchilla is having to go through withdrawals. Here are the before and after photos:

A week or two later Trevor got a letter in the mail telling him that his Scholarship program had "found" (does that seem odd to anyone else?) more money available and decided to add on to his scholarship money. Blessing #1 for the day! Then he gets a call telling him that he had been offered a job, for a full time position with the LDS church in their Information and Communications Systems Department (ICS). This was the job that he was hoping for, and went through several interviews for. We were so thrilled to have his career going forth, at a place he will love, doing something that is intriguing to him. Everything we kept finding out about the job kept getting better and better! He took me out to dinner before he told me the good news. Blessing #2 for the day! Here are some pictures of our yummy sushi dinner (well Trevor got sushi, I like to stick to the cooked foods.) We went a little bit overboard, but I didn't care after I heard the good news.

Then we went home that night to discover:

So, our third child is on the way! I am now right at the beginning of the second trimester. I've been feeling nauseous, but compared to what other women go through in pregnancy, its not bad at all. It has been a lot like the first pregnancy so far. I don't throw up. I get sick at a regular time of 9:50 every night. Then I wake up needing to eat within 5 minutes. As long as I take care of the eating part, then I'm great. Which is a huge blessing when teaching. My kids just laugh when I snack on crackers during the day. We'll find out if its a girl/boy next week. Any guesses? Every thing is going smooth so far. It is just one baby this time. That is a really good thing for my sanity! We are due on Sept. 16th.

Anyways, that day was a wonderful day in our lives. Blessings, blessings and more blessings!

A few days later we went to celebrate our Grandpa Higgins 80th birthday. Have you ever had a surprise party for an 80 year old man? His reaction was priceless. I don't think anyone has ever enjoyed their party more than he did. He is such a sweet, caring man. Here are pictures of that as well:

For anyone that didn't know, my little sister, Jennifer had her first baby! She had a little girl, 8 lbs and 5 oz. She is very, very cute and likes to snort like a cute little piglet. I couldn't stop giggling when I held her. I am so excited and thrilled to see my little sister become a mother. Their little girl came to a mother and a father ready to give so much love to her. What a blessed baby! We had a baby shower for her a couple of weeks past. A few pictures from that event as well. The family is so excited that she is finally here!

And still more babies...my sister-in-law, Chrisy Keddington and her family, had their third child, Kyler a few weeks ago. He is healthy and adorable. He dealt with a broken clavicle for the first little while - but we are sure the pain is gone now. Trevor and I got the treat of being at the hospital while his older brother and sister saw him for the first time. This was really sweet to watch their little, joyful reactions.

And finally for the latest news, I got a china hutch! I kept seeing it at RCWilley and whenever I saw it I would stop and tell Trevor that that was what I wanted someday. Well we found it at the 'scratch and dent' in almost perfect condition for LOTS off the price - and I have my china hutch. My great grandmother gave me TONS of her china dishes and I finally have a place to display them at. I think its gorgeous! You don't have to agree, but I love it!

Christmas - 2009

2009-12-27T20:41:00.000-08:00

I'm finally updating our blog. I might be better again, because I got a new camera for Christmas. Since I have a new camera, I'm more excited to put some pictures up on the blog. I have thoroughly enjoyed Christmas break. My grandparents from Texas flew in and because of that my parents have wanted to plan everyday with something fun to do. I did bring home grading to do over the break...but that's the life of a teacher...no getting around it! I think Trevor is also enjoying his LONG break from classes. He almost gets a month! Was school break always only a week and 1/2 long when I was in school? I swear our school breaks felt a lot longer growing up.

Well the last week has consisted of Trevor's Birthday,school getting out before the break, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, the Nutcracker, eating out, and playing lots of games.

We went out to eat with Danny and Amelia and their baby Hannah Morgan for Trevor's birthday. Alex and Eva and their baby Lily Morgan met up with us later that night. There is nothing like hanging out with friends that you can totally relax with. It was exactly what Trevor wanted and was very fun! He, of course, got a couple of parties between both sides of the family... and a beautiful, delicious birthday meal of a shrimp, chicken and pasta medley.

The week before Christmas we had our extended family party for Trevor's side of the family. Don't even ask me how many people were there...too many to count. Even Santa showed up.

The kids at school were very anxious for the Christmas break, but they worked as hard as I hoped for up until the bell rang for them to leave for the break. Nothing makes you feel quite the same way as a classroom full of excited kids for Christmas. The break gives me a little bit of time to start missing and appreciating them!

Amber, my sister-in-law, made a great tri-tip steak dinner for Christmas Eve. She is an awesome cook. I have always wanted her overnight salad recipe and her home-made salsa recipe. And...if you've ever had the chance to try her Sheepherder's spice, you have had a real treat! We spent one night this Christmas break mixing up this spice in home-depot buckets with a drill! It is quite a project for a present for the neighbors. Anyway, we got our traditional pajamas on Christmas Eve, which you can see pictures of below.

Trevor and I woke up at 6:00 a.m. on Christmas to have our own, little, personal Christmas. Then we were at my parents at 7:00 a.m. for the Fuller Christmas. If you are fans of "The Office" you probably would have enjoyed our Christmas morning. We gave my niece, Grace, the uni-corn barbie (the one and only that Dwight horded one Christmas) and we gave my brother-in-law his present presented in jell-o. I got a great pressure cooker. Can you believe I steamed carrots later that evening, in my pressure cooker, and it only took a total of 4 minutes? I'm going to love my pressure cooker. So will Trevor, because he won't have to wait as long for dinner! Look at my Grandpa in the back of the picture. I have so many memories of him dressing up as Santa...its a real beard!

We had to make it back to the Schow's house by 4:00 for another Christmas celebration. There is never a dull celebration when the Schow's get together. Jan (Trevor's mom)got a total of about 60 kitchen glasses for Christmas (thats what she gets when all she asks for, for Christmas, is kitchen glasses). There were 6 of us that got her kitchen glasses! It was a very fun day. And we ended the night playing a game called, "Quelf". The game was invented to create a fool out of every person playing. As you can see below, I ended the game wearing a bike helmet, mummifying my face, and wearing Christmas bows as jewelery.

The next day we were at the Nutcracker. I dragged Trevor along by telling him that if he went, it would count as a Christmas present to me. It wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be...but I think that was because he sat with my niece, Gracie, on his lap. They entertained each other during the show. I thought the Nutcracker was beautiful though.

We also brought my grandparents to see our sons grave. It was such a sweet sight to show up and find that someone else had left a gift for them at their grave. Sweet enough to bring tears to my eyes. They have been in our thoughts non-stop. Their due date was Christmas Eve. What a blessing to know that our little family is loved so much! Trevor and I love to know that we have an eternal family.

We are still having a wonderful Christmas season. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Kyson and Timothy on Aug. 1, 2009

2009-08-05T09:18:00.000-07:00

Trevor and I are proud and extremely privileged parents of Timothy Trevor Schow and Kyson Gary Schow. They were born on Aug. 1, 2009. Unfortunately they didn't have the ability to survive on their own, outside of the womb. They were born and passed away around 3:00 pm on Saturday. Trevor and I are experiencing the feelings of losing our little boys - but we are only saddened because we know we have to wait longer than a few months now to raise and hold our sons. We have to wait years, instead of months. We know for a surety that we will be able to do everything parents are privileged to do, only we will get to do them after we are resurrected with our sons. We know that they will be helping our family as it grows for years to come. Trevor and I feel extremely blessed to know them as we did. We felt their strong personalities early on in pregnancy and we have felt extremely close to them during and since these events have happened. We know that they have been put hard to work on an important mission together for our Heavenly Father. We are so proud that they are called to work in the greatest cause and are needed for the work and glory of our Heavenly Father. We love them with all our heart. It is amazing to realize how fast and automatic the feelings of parenthood come while we were able to hold our babies. The pride, the protection, the love is more than I can ever explain or have ever felt before. I expect that love and these feelings to grow stronger for them over the years and expand as our family eventually grows even more. The plan of salvation has never meant so much to our souls. Our testimony of that has grown tremendously. Thank you all for the support and love and prayers that we feel.

My Growth...

2009-07-30T18:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have several pregnancy shots that need to be put on here. I am overwhelmed at how big I've gotten so fast. I know...there are two babies growing inside of me that are now about 6 inches long - so I should expect to feel large, to have to hold my breath whenever I bend over, to not be able to lift myself onto the bed or to roll over easily for that matter. I know that I knew this kind of stuff would come with a pregnancy. It just seems to have come on so fast. I'm afraid that I will soon be out of a cute pregnant belly phase and onto whale-ish looking. Oh well...Trevor tells me, "you asked for this", which I did. Actually doing it is a little different than talking though. No, we still couldn't be more excited to be planning for our little boys. Trevor laughs a lot at my daily realizations of things I have trouble doing or can't do at all. He loves to see that the boys are getting bigger. He rubs them and talks to them as if I can't hear anything he is saying to them. Hopefully those are the times I will remember about pregnancy and not the back pains. My cousin, Angie, has given me some maternity tops which have saved my life the last couple of weeks because I haven't brought myself to buy maternity clothes yet. I'm sure we'll be going out this weekend to get some - because I really don't have much I can fit in. My mother-in-law has spent hours picking out bedding with me and my mother is coming over several days out of the week to paint the nursery with me. We are so so so blessed to have family so close by. They are the biggest support to us with all of our decisions and I love to be able to go through these times of our lives with them. Alright the pictures...

These pictures are of me at about 14 weeks:

The funny thing is when Trevor took these pictures he thought I looked "more pregnant than I was" - we didn't put them on the blog at first because we thought the pictures made me look bigger than what was really there - little did we know...

These are me at about 16 1/2 weeks:

That is where I would have liked to stay for awhile longer, but here is me at 18 weeks (1 1/2 weeks later):

Maybe you don't see the largeness of the belly that I see, but nevertheless, it is expanding quickly. The nursery is still in progress, but here are a few photos of it in the process:

We love you all!

Trevor was right!

2009-07-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

Just so that any followers of the blog will know. Trevor and I had the appointment with the doctor today to find out if we were having girls or boys. We saw two very cute boys bouncing around inside!!! Trevor had been talking to them as if they were boys for quite some time - and it turns out he was spot on! They were standing on their head, doing somersaults and were quite shy for a little bit. I will be putting up pictures in the next day or two and filling you in on the other things we've been up to. But that's the news for now...

4th of July Weekend!

2009-07-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

Oh, Trevor and I were so reluctant to have this week start again. We had so much fun this last weekend. He knew he was going to have to do homework and study for a few tests he has this week. But there are just weeks left to summer semester and then he'll get a few off before fall semester starts again. I was just loving having him available to play with all weekend instead of waiting until all his homework is done.

Trevor had work off on Friday. We slept in and then went out in the backyard to help/watch his family build a major swing-set. We went to lunch with them and then had a pretty relaxing day spent outside and shopping around - mostly browsing around. On the 4th we woke up to have breakfast at my parent's ward. My dad and sister-in-law, Amber, ran in a 5k race right before it. It was fun to catch up and see old and familiar faces. We go every year and the breakfast seems to get more and more people coming to it every year. There are some wonderful chefs in that ward! Then we headed towards the Granite Stake Parade. My nieces, McKinley and Mollie rode their bikes in the parade. All of the other grandchildren had a hay-day trying to catch the candy that flew everywhere, while trying to stay clear of the water-fight going on next to us. After the parade, my side of the family joined us at the Schow's house for a bar-b-que (which Bob cooked up deliciously). The guys went to our apartment in the basement and held a ping-pong tournament. I'm still not sure if Paul or Bob is the champion of that...The kids played in the bounce-house (well the kids along with Trevor and Jamon). We took turns driving and riding in the go-cart. This go-cart is getting old, but it is still running. Trevor got it for his 10th or 11th birthday! Grandpa Schow made cotton candy that was massive. I'm sure we sent everyone home tired and on a sugar high. After taking a nap we got to go out to eat at Panda Express (the only place we could find that was open on the 4th of July) with Danny and Amelia Morgan. The four of us went to Murray park for the fireworks show. Before the show Trevor got to show off his pull-up abilities, we discovered how nasty the bathrooms at that park are, we talked about babies (because Amelia's Hannah is coming pretty soon!), tried to start up a game of soccer but that mostly failed, and we ate lots of chips when my family arrived. The show was awesome. The night was late and fun! But there's more...Sunday we woke up early to celebrate my dad's birthday, went to church and then went back to my parent's house for a bar-b-que. We all chipped in to get my dad a new grill. It has some new technology of cooking the meat and it worked. It was such a good texture and so tasty! I want my dad to grill us dinner more often. Yum! It was a fun, tiring, family filled weekend. Next year I think Trevor and I will want to get together with friends and put off our own fireworks show.

Trevor relaxing at the bar-b-que. The thought of that is making me hungry (but then again I'm always hungry these days.)

Eva's bright pink cotton candy - a mouthful!

Trevor enjoying the parade.

McKinley and Mollie in the parade with their bikes.

The original Bumblebee!

My parents relaxing at the breakfast, after the run.

Other updates...I'm having to wear my "belly band" more often now. My pants are digging into my stomach and making it really uncomfortable. So that stage of pregnancy has begun. And two weeks more until we find out if we are having girls or boys. Also, if you are looking for a good read, I would recommend Where the Wind Sings by Robyn M. Schow. Its the first book of a series and it is a very entertaining novel. It doesn't take a long time to read. I would highly encourage you to read it. You will love the main character. I love stories that have an element of fantasy and this one fits in perfectly. I can't wait for even more to be published by her! I've also been reading a series that begins with a book called Poison Study. The plot is really thick and it is well written, but it is pretty graphic throughout a lot of it...(rape, killing, etc...)I know I can be kind of sensitive to that stuff but anyhow, there's my opinion for you.

BIG Update

2009-06-23T14:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, I thought that besides only talking about the babies I should fill you in with our daily lives as well.

I am at home a lot more than I am used to these days, since school got out. I clean, read, cook, visit people, get online and create projects to work on to keep myself busy. I'm working on organizing this next year's lesson plans for school...I figure that when school starts again is probably when I'll be getting tired and uncomfortable again, so why not do a lot of the work right now, when I have the time? During the school year I never want to work on school stuff at home, but during the summer I actually really enjoy it. It makes me excited to teach again. I've also been making 'my baby book'. I know...its overdoing it, but I just keep ideas I like or coupons in it so I'll remember to use them. Everyone is telling us to stock up on diapers and baby stuff right now because we'll constantly be buying them when the two babies are outside of my tummy and here for us to hold. It is a good idea, I just need to start doing it. But we actually get sent a lot of coupons for maternity and baby stores - its nice right now, I don't know how long that usually lasts! Well, if you have time and want to meet up, I've got the time right now...so don't hesitate to call.

Trevor is the busier one. He wakes up to go to the gym, studies, does homework, goes to class, goes to work, is trying to sell our car and does anything he can to please and make me comfortable. I know, he has a full plate to juggle around. He is enjoying the summer semester though. He really likes 'Information Systems' which is what he is going into. Every semester he gets deeper and deeper into what he really likes to do and he doesn't have to pay attention to those general classes anymore. He can see the light at the end of the tunnel. He'll graduate with his bachelors next May. That sounds like awhile but its only two semesters after this one is over. His plan is to go on another year to get his Master's Degree. I am definitely proud of him. He has a business law class that is a lot to study for, but he enjoys discussing it. I think he likes all of the history that is in it. His least favorite is a database class. Which is good to know so that he knows what direction in school he wants to go into with Info Sys.

And for the babies...we went to the doctor's today. Everything is great!!! That was a relief for both of us. After the last appointment we were really shocked and then really excited and then that was mixed with a little bit of worry. People started pointing out to us all the risks that are involved with twins. We wanted this appointment, at the end of the third trimester, to confirm that one of them didn't disappear or one wasn't taking all of the nutrients for itself or anything like that. They both look great. Baby B is laying on top of Baby A. Baby B was moving around a ton during the ultra-sound, so amazing!!!! I kept thinking that it was kicking the other baby around, but they are in their own sacks, they are totally protected. Baby A is laying with its head towards my belly and its feet towards my back right now. I figure that is what is causing my left back aches once in awhile. They are about three inches long and they look like real babies now. You can see in the picture of the ultra sound below a little human silhoute. Below the baby there is a round ball, that is the top of Baby A's head. That one was being stubborn and wouldn't move around for a good body shot. So that's all we get right now. I'm so excited that everything is going great! In 4 weeks we'll know if they are boys or girls. Trevor would like to think he saw some boy parts but I'm pretty sure it was just the umbilical cord because the doctor couldn't see anything. This is a long entry...but there you have it!

These other two photos are from the first ultrasound. This was them at 9 1/2 weeks. They were only an inch here. The two different pictures are the two seperate babies.

What Our Future Kids Will Look Like

2009-06-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

Ok...tomorrow we go in for our doctor's appointment to see how the twins are doing. We are nervous and excited! We have some scary news though...we put our pictures together online to see what our children will look like...and now Trevor thinks we should never again have children...hahaha. No, they better not look like this but it should give you a laugh!

2009-06-03T18:50:00.001-07:00

2009-06-03T18:39:00.000-07:00

Well...news is getting around. Trevor and I are now expecting twins! We are completely shocked, overwhelmed, excited, blessed and have no idea what to expect! But we are still very excited. We don't know if they are boys or girls yet - but they are identical - so either two boys or two girls are coming on their way! Don't ask me what our plans are for the next year, because I really don't know - we are going to take it how it comes. I'm feeling pretty good, as long as I eat and sleep... Trevor is putting up with a lot and accepting a dirtier house for a little bit. I hope that the dirty house will change when school gets out in 2 days!!!!! He has been a huge help and is still squeezing in work and classes. We are both excited about the new car we bought yesterday (one of the many unexpected changes we need to accomodate for with 2 on the way). Anyways, the picture above is me at 10 1/2 weeks along. If we can figure out a way to put the ultra-sounds on here, we will. And maybe we'll get around to taking a picture of the SUV!

Not unless you are really interested...

2009-04-11T10:13:00.001-07:00

So I realized that we still have a video that was made for our wedding, which was never actually shown at our wedding. It is a cheesy wedding video - so be warned, but enjoy if you want to watch it! It has no sound for some reason.

Opie

2009-04-11T09:46:00.000-07:00

You needed to see a picture of our baby, for now...Opie - our chinchilla! (His actual name is Optimas Prime - but we shortened that to O.P.)

2009-04-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

Well, not a whole lot to mention...but I promised myself I'd be better about updating this. This last week was a busy one. I think there might have been one night where Trevor wasn't studying until bed time. I am loving this weekend because Trevor hasn't studied at all and we've been able to play! Watching conference has been really relaxing.

I finished the 4th grade Science fair on Friday and this next week we have our big 4th grade pioneer program. Once we are done with that I am home free for my own spring break! During the break I need to figure out what Trevor and I will do for our anniversary coming up in May - 2 years!

I did do better this week at going to the gym, thanks to Jennie Schow motivating me! I could hardly walk yesterday after the legs work out and today I can't straighten my arms. I better see the pay off this next week after the gym. Man, I'm so bummed that I stopped working out for 3 months because I lost everything I had before!

One last piece of good news - Trevor has 14 more classes to take before he graduates with his bachelors degree! I might be counting down semesters more than he is...I dunno.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2008-12-31T13:39:00.000-08:00

I'm going to be better about our blog - you can see I haven't touched it since we were first married. I just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year!!! I want to see more of everyone this coming year.

Summer of 2007

2007-08-01T14:07:00.001-07:00

Wow, it has been a blast of a summer for Trevor and I. We've gone 4-wheeling, boating a few times, we rode horses and there is still more to come. The pictures are of our outdoor adventures. Kenny Rice and his family were nice enough to invite us to camp out in their motor home to go 4-wheeling. Christy and Steve took us boating first and then Mark Fiedler took us and then when Alex Morgan came home from his mission in Canada, his family took us out boating as well. We've just had so much fun this summer between work and school. It is so nice to get away with family and friends sometimes. But we still have a few more weeks of summer and we still have more plans...

2007-07-11T18:44:00.000-07:00

Hi family and friends,

We thought this was a good way for you to see what we are up to. It is hard to keep in touch with everybody all of the time so just in case you want to know whats going on with us we've created this blog page!