Oh yeah.....Breaking Dawn!!!!

Some of you maybe wondering why and how I already have a copy of Breaking Dawn. I am really starting to believe that Nick is my lucky charm especially when it comes to finding me books. We went to Publix tonight to refill my prenatal prescription, I just went grocery shopping earlier that day, so we really didn't need anything. As we were waiting I went to the bathroom and Nick wandered down the book isle.....well......Nick happened to stumble upon Breaking Dawn. I am not sure if Publix put the book out early by mistake or what. But I came out of the bathroom with Nick waiting for me holding a copy of it in his hands.....I couldn't believe it!!! I still really didn't believe it and I made Nick take me down the book isle where I saw for myself some copies of Breaking Dawn sitting on the shelf. And the perk was it was actually on sale..... I didn't even pay regular price for it!!! So, maybe your Publix by you has the copy already out as well.... go check it out!!!! You know what I will be doing for the next couple of days so don't expect any posts.......

Toe in the Road

Alright, I told some of you this story over the phone yesterday. But here's the story for everyone else. I'm driving home trying to get there before it gets too late b/c we're having friends over for dinner and I had to help clean up and all that good stuff. Well I'm driving right on this guy's tail and have been on his tail for a while. I wouldn't have driven this way if he at least went the speed limit but since he was going so slow I couldn't help myself. Due to driving so close to him i was unable to swurve out of the way of an ice cooler that the car in front of me barely missed. Since I didn't swurve the cooler became stuck underneath the car and I ended up dragging it until I pulled over. It takes a bit but I'm able to yank it out from under the car and then I open a human toe packed in ice!! It was absolutely disgusting!!!! The gross thing was, I couldn't quite tell what it was so I opened up the zip lock bag that it was in and touched it. By that point I figured it out!!! But it was too late, I had touched a human toe that someone was probably taking to the hosptial or something????!!!!! Anyway, that was my crazy story for yesterday!!!! I took a picture of it on my phone but Jess told me not to post it.

Bug bites....Ouch!!!

There are people in our ward that put together a Family Home Evening night at a park that is close by our house and they have a fire pit where you can make smores and roast marsh mellows, the men play soccer, the woman sit around and talk and watch the kids. They do it every other Monday and we have never been to it so at the last minute last night after dinner we decided to go. Besides the heat, it was pretty fun....I couldn't go anywhere near the fire because when it is 90 degrees out and you start a fire.... you can imagine what happens!!!

So, by the time the evening was coming to an end for us..... Davis was soaking wet in sweat. I mean his whole entire head was wet, his legs were covered in dirt and his feet were black from something..... probably rolling around in some dirt somewhere!! Davis had the time of his life yesterday.....he LOVED it!!!


Once we got home and threw him in the bathtub after washing off all of the dirt and sweat I noticed these HUGE red bumps all over his legs, feet and a few bites on his arms. They already were swollen quite a bit since we had been home. So we jumped in the car and went to Publix and bought some kids bug anti-itch medicine. At this time he was already itching his bites like crazy!! When we got home I smeared the cream all over his poor little itchy legs and thought to myself he is going to be up all night itching.....and of course he was!!! He itched all night long and in the middle of the night I put more cream on him but it didn't do any good....he itched and itched and itched!!! He scratched them so much that they are swollen and they even look a little bruised and it looks like someone has taken a ruler and has beaten his legs with it!! He is still itching them like crazy today..... I wished that I would have thought to put bugs spray on him before we went last night because poor Davis got bitten alive!! At least I will know for next time.....

As you can see I took some pictures but they do not do justice at all to his HUGE bug bites!!

Another Weekend Getaway!!

This weekend we went and visited family and friends down in Columbus we had a lot of fun. We were planning on coming back home Sat. night but every time we go down to Columbus there are so many people that we want to visit with and we always just end up staying through the whole weekend and ended up coming home late last night.

Friday we went to our nephew Tucker's birthday party which was on the lake. Nick always enjoys anything that consists of water and a boat. Nick loves the lake and I just know that one day he will follow in his brother's footsteps and either own a boat or jet skis!!! Davis for some reason wasn't enjoying the boat this time so Davis and I stayed in the house pretty much the entire time!!!

Friday night and Saturday we visited with our friends John and Angie. I know that you guys hear so much about them all the time but what can I say we have known and been friends with them since Nick and I have been married!! And for Nick and John even longer since they grew up together.....I can't forget to mention the steaks that John cooked for us....YUMMY!!!! Angie and I were nice enough to let them go on a date and go to the movies while we stayed at the house and took naps!!!

Nick and John were playing with the camera and this is the outcome of their picture taking!!

Sunday we went and visited with Mimi, Papa and Mark and ended up staying pretty much the entire day with them. Papa and Davis picked tomatoes out of the garden...Davis loved this!! Papa and Davis also enjoyed a watermelon from the garden. Then more family showed up and it was nice to visit with them. Davis and Abby had a BLAST playing together!! I am a little sad that my camera died and I didn't get any pictures of them. They were so funny together.....running around chasing each other......so there you have it our weekend in a nutshell!!

What a post would've looked like 6 years ago....

Ok, so John Haralson and I were talking about life as newlyweds and how we acted with our wife. We used to be so corny and goofy and cheesy and everything else. At least I know I was!! i would never leave Jess's side and I swore I never would. Hanging out with friends was a burden and I would only long to be with Jess again as soon as possible. Honestly, that is still partly true but I do enjoy playing some basketball or going to a movie that Jess doesn't want to see or whatever else. But then John brought up the idea, what would we have said if we blog'd back during that time. And to tell you the truth, I think I would've said a little something like this:

How did I find you when you were so far away from me,
What led me to you when we were separated by a country,
When I prayed at night that my loneliness would come to an end,
Was someone listening ready to show us His plan,

It seemed each day was filled with meaningless endeavor,
But working in the background was that plan meant to bring us together.
Too bad I didn’t know as I continued to say my prayer each night,
Too bad I didn’t know and that I didn’t have that bit of insight,

But let’s say I did know those things I wanted to know,
Would I have prayed as hard for my girl out in West Yellowstone,
To keep her happy, and close to God and safe wherever she may be,
Would I have prayed as hard that this girl that I did not know would know me on the day we would meet,

Would I have prayed as hard that she would be prepared to be the wife that I know I need,
Or that she would love the gospel and would want children who she would teach,
Would I have prayed as hard that we would be best friends and love each other until no end,
Or that we would laugh and stay up late and talk until the next day would begin,

There are so many things I pleaded for each night as I went through this time of loneliness and frustration,
And I know that I would not want to take a chance of not praying with such determination,
And that I do not care to ever find out the answers to these questions,
It’s something that cannot be denied that prayers have been answered by just a glance at this beautiful creation.



Alright, so there you go!! A post that I would’ve left 6 years ago!! We’ve known each other for just over 7 years and I’m still amazed at how lucky I am to have Jessie as my wife. And although I do not claim to be a poet, I do claim that what I said (even if some of it doesn’t make sense due to trying to rhyme and all that) is true!! I know I should say corny stuff more often and be more romantic but for some reason time makes us get lazy and you start to actual care if people think you’re whipped or whatever!! But I decided today that I’m going to go back a few years and turn into a newlywed again! So Jess, I love you!!

Did I swallow a butterfly?

Nick took this picture of me when we were in Tennessee....I feel enormous already for only being 17 weeks along!!

Nah....I didn't swallow a butterfly and hopefully if I did my stomach would not look like that!! It is just the baby letting me know that it is there!! So, for the past couple of days I have felt the baby move a little bit not a lot but just a little. I totally forgot about this feeling and how at first it feels like butterfly flutters in your stomach like you swallowed a butterfly....really, the coolest feeling EVER!!! It is totally awesome to experience it again.....I know that you start showing a lot sooner with your second but I am amazed at how fast I am showing with this one.... it took me forever to show with Davis!!

So, in just 3 more weeks we will be having our 20 week ultrasound. We tossed up the idea of letting it be a surprise. But, I think that we will find out what we are having because I came up with this analogy the other day when we were trying to decide if we wanted to let it be a surprise or not and I am pretty fond of it.
It is like giving Nick and I a million dollars and then locking us up in a mall and telling us that we can't spend any money.....YEAH RIGHT!!! That is what it will be like for us in the ultrasound you know that we won't be able to NOT FIND OUT!!! Even though we both think it would be super fun to let it be a surprise...but I am not sure that I can wait the entire pregnancy and not know what it is!!!

So, we have come up with a different idea...Davis's birthday party is scheduled for the day after the ultrasound and hopefully family will be coming up to help celebrate with us and at the ultrasound we are going to have them put what it is that we are having in an envelope and open it up with all of the family with us the next day!! So, they will be finding out when we find out....that is if we can have self control and not peek in the envelope the night before everyone gets here!!!
As you can tell I have put a lot of thought into this :)

The things you see as you look out your window!!

Today has not been the best day. I was trying to lay down and get in a power nap before Davis woke up from his nap. I get up stairs to our room turn on the TV and close my eyes and all of a sudden someone starts knocking on the door. Just to let you know if I am home alone....I do not answer the door!! I know I am paranoid but I just can't help it. So for future reference if you ever want to pop in on me for a visit you better call ahead of time.
After I don't answer the door they try ringing the door bell, still no answer the they try pounding on the door....finally they give up!!!
Right when I am almost about to fall asleep probably about 5 minutes later here comes another knock on the door. I open my eyes and lay there thinking I wonder who it is, should I go see, nah...a nap sounds way better. That time they gave up really fast after two little knocks.
I close my eyes again and not even 2 minutes later another knock on the door. FINALLY this time I get up unwilling saying good-bye to my desperately needed nap and walk downstairs to the door. Thinking okay what in the world is going on that is so urgent!!
As I look out the window I see my neighbor Kenny on our front porch and right over his head I immediately see this.....



So, there you have it.... go on laugh, you know you want to...but just to let you know it wasn't my fault and I will explain why. I think the first words out of my mouth as I opened the door was "Oh Crap". Nick's car decided to take a little roll down our driveway and into our neighbor's mailbox. So, those of you who have been to our house know that we have a sloped driveway and it totally SUCKS!!! And Yes, I was the one that was driving Nick's car today....but that doesn't mean anything!!
Anyway, I run down to the car to see if there was damaged to the car and to look at the mailbox and I see this......



After I am examining the damage I look in the car and notice that the emergency brake was on and it was in gear, so I am thinking what in the world happened. Nick's car just rolled down our driveway with the brake on and in gear...see... so I am refusing to believe that it was my fault. I pulled the brake up and it was in gear. So, I run back up to the house and call Nick....you know I am emotional these days for some strange reason so am crying a little bit. Nick acts like it is no big deal and tells me to first settle down no reason to get worked up and then instructs me to take pictures and try to move the car and he will be home shortly!!! So, I hang up the phone run outside snap some photos and I get in the car to try to move it however if I move it then the whole bumper is going to rip off of the car because of this......


the cement that was holding down the mailbox came up as well and is right under the bumper. So, Nick gets home they jack up the car and pull the cement out from under the car.

Anyways, Nick is finishing up with the neighbor's mailbox as I am currently typing this and we even have to plant them new flowers and everything. We don't even have flowers around our mailbox I guess I can look over at our neighbor's mailbox and take a little pride in the work that Nick will put into it since he won't even do that for ours!!!
After Nick is finished with that he will be talking with Mazda about a faulty emergency brake....I will keep you posted with the outcome!!

Rest of the trip!!!!

So, here is how the rest of our trip went. On Saturday we went up to Lookout Mountain it is very pretty up there!!! It was really hazy that day so we didn't get that great of views but it was still pretty. We got a good start in the morning trying to avoid some of the heat!! We were able to take some great pictures here are my two favorite. Nick was going crazy taking pictures and I have to give him credit he did most of the photography work that day!!! He took this great family picture of us by setting up the camera and taking it himself. As you can tell we love to take pictures!!! I Love this family picture....who knows maybe it will be in our Christmas cards this year!!

When we were up in Lookout Mountain we went to a place that is called Point Park. It is a nice little park that overlooks the River and such. Davis loved running around and climbing all over the Civil War canons and stuff!!
Then we went to Rock City......well.... by the time we got to this place it was HOT!!! But Rock City is way cool.....I wouldn't recommend going with small children unless you can spend some good hours there and have time to stop and rest. Davis wasn't behaving very well it was his nap time so he was tired. You can't bring in strollers so Davis had to walk he did great at first then once he got tired Nick had to pretty much carry him all the way to the top and back down again!!
There was still a few more things we wanted to do but we were all TIRED at that point!!! After that we let Davis take a nap in the car while we drove to Nick's Mission President's home. They retired and moved to Tennessee a few years ago. It was a nice visit we ate dinner with them and stayed the night. I know that Nick loved reminiscing over his mission. Davis loved it there!! They live on a really beautiful lake and Davis loved the ducks and geese!!

Okay, here comes the bad part and at least it all happened on our last day!! So, I woke up Sunday morning with a migraine so we left the Mission Pres's home shortly after that. We didn't take the interstate back home we drove a different way that was more through the smokies....more of a scenic route, which I didn't get to enjoy at all!!! Well, this was a very very very bad decision because the roads are very whindy. And some of you have been driving with me while being pregnant I get very very car sick. I am not sure why but the car and me when I am pregnant just don't get along!!! Well, it is curve and turn and curve and turn.....nonstop!! I have the air conditioner blowing on me full blast trying to breathe in and out in and out!!! Well, that didn't help much because there was a turn that Nick didn't see coming and he ended swirving way out of the way and that was enough to make me SCREAM PULL OVER!!! And as you can imagine I got out of the car just in time to have all of my breakfast come up on the side of the road!! I know gross......so Nick got Davis out of the car and let him run around while I tried to get myself together. It was terrible on top of it with a headache..... So, we get back in the car a little while longer, thinking this is going to be a long drive back home. Here comes the turns and curves again and again right when I am about ready to tell Nick to pull over again we turn onto a different road that is more straight and I had to just close my eyes and lay back or else more was coming up!!!

Davis and I feel asleep and about 25 miles from home I try laying my seat back more and squish Davis's poor leg and it wakes him up and he is crying and crying and crying!! Davis would not settle down....it wasn't b/c of his leg he just wanted me to hold him so he could fall back asleep. Then our GPS dies and we get lost because again we decided to take some stupid back way!! We are so close to home and we are lost and Davis is crying and I have a HUGE headache!! Nick pulls over to ask for directions, I climb in the back seat with Davis trying to calm him down but he just keeps screaming over and over "mama, mama, mama" with his hands held out to pick him up. It was so sad..... finally like 2 miles from home Davis calms down after not crying but screaming for a half hour. Well, after all that we made it home and is it ever so good to be home!! Here are some more pictures of our trip!!!