Does Summer Have to End?

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

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!

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

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

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

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...

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!