Snowed In

Here's a shot of Mt. Olympus on Christmas Day. I forget how spoiled we are to have such beautiful mountains all around us. It seems to be snowing here almost every other day, something that is a nightmare for driving, but fantastic in every other aspect. I love my winters to be snowy, so I'm loving life right now (so is our dog, Mia)!

I'm not sure if Heidi will be thrilled to see that I've posted this or not, but in my opinion, she's a pretty cute pregnant lady! This is here "belly shot" as of December 30th. The reason the title of this blog is "snowed in" is because Heidi has had the truly joyous opportunity to be stuck on bed rest for the past week or so. She just had another doctor appointment today and he said she needs to stay on bed rest for at least another week and a half due to toxemia. Both mom and baby are doing very well, though Heidi does get bored every now and then. As long as I have two good-looking, healthy females in my life come February, I'm happy!





As for my personal update, I'm currently doing real estate full time, Spanish interpreting for Intermountain Medical Center and LDS Hospital part-time, and parenthood prep whenever I can. I also sent in applications to six different universities to go to school for a Masters in Health Administration. One school is the University of Utah, and the other five are out of state (Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Washington, Arizona State). I'm still up in the air as to which school I'll go to (if I get accepted to all of them). Interviews will begin in February, so we'll see what happens! It's a big step that we weren't sure we would take, but we're excited for what the future has in store.

Thanks for all of your well-wishing, etc. We love you all and hope that life is treating you well!

A different way to celebrate 2008

Well, I am sitting here on the 1st day of the new year thinking about 2008 and what is to come. It seems that the baby has already started to make things different and Dave and I have begun the new year off on the wrong (swollen) foot. I have had a lot of swelling lately, my eye sight has decreased and last night I got a horrible MIGRAINE (which I commend those who get them often, because I rarely get them and it was miserable. I had talked to my mom about it and she told me these were signs of PIH or Toxemia and I HAD to rest. She even made me give the phone to Dave and told him the same. So I did.

I started the new year hearing people celebrate while I tried to sleep (but still getting a kiss from my high school sweetheart), then when the party left our home, Dave and I packed up and went to the hospital. We celebrated the first 3 hours of the 2008 listening to our baby on a monitor (that I didn't mind), while I got poked and checked for Toxemia. Well, as it turns out labs showed that I didn't have it (yet), but my doctor is worried that I might be on the beginning stages. So as I type I am on bed rest for the next 3 days until I see my Doctor again. I pray that things will be alright and the baby will be safe!

As far as bed rest goes, I have to admit I am not the best at making myself stop (hence the blog while I am suppose to be resting). But at least I will have time to do the sorts of things I have been wanting to do but haven't made time to sit down and do them. So few things I hope to accomplish in the next few days... 1) loose the numbness in my hands so I can actually type! 2) write thank yous 3) blog about the last year 4) YW calendar 5) read books I have put off. We'll see what I get done if I am not sleeping the whole time.

I am definitely thankful for a supportive and loving husband who has already helped me so much today! He just made me a yummy grilled cheese sandwich. MMMM!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Well we made it to our favorite time of year again and we finally decided TODAY that it feels like CHRISTMAS. I thought we would be more prepared because of all the snow, our HUGE Christmas tree, listening to Christmas songs 24-7, etc. But alas it seems like Christmas comes and leaves so fast! We are excited to spend the next couple of days with our families as we close our last Christmas as just a couple! It is crazy to think we will be shopping for a 10 month old at this time next year. WEIRD!

Yesterday I was lucky to see some of my favorite people. You girls mean so much to me and have truly shaped me to who I am today. Thanks for the "mother-to-be" advice and for the updates! Then we spent the rest of the day shopping, getting home stuff done, and delivering presents to neighbors.

Today was great. The spirit was very strong at Church as we focused the day on our Savior's birth. I played the role of Mary in our YW lesson... I couldn't imagine what Mary went through as she rode a donkey for days while being 9 months pregnant! And I thought the commute home, in the snow, was horrible! I am amazed at Mary's humility and wonder what it would be like to give birth to the Savior of Man! I wonder what went through her thoughts as she prepared. I am thankful for the this time of year and the chance we have to focus on our Savior.

After church our fabulous friends and neighbors came over. Jason helped Dave set up Wireless internet (the actual reason why I am blogging tonight... I can now sit anywhere in my house.) It is fabulous. While the boys were busy Mary and I chatted about preparing for our baby girls.

Then we spent the rest of the night at the Miners for a Danish tradition called "little Christmas Eve." I have to admit I laughed so much tonight I could write novels about the funny things that our family does. One of my favorite is the nativity scene that our family creates. You can see from the pictures that it gets quite chaotic, but it is fun. Dave was even lucky enough to be one of the wise men. He said he was wondering the whole time what they put on him!

We feel very blessed this year. Hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas!

CRAZY TIMES!!!

Wow, as you can see from the missing blogs that life has been a bit insane. For one, Dave has taken on a second "on-call" job as an spanish interpreter for hospitals nearby. It was going to be a few times a week for a couple hours, but he has actually worked 10-15 hours a week! That is on top of the real estate business. I continue to work my normal shifts though picking up toys and running from patient to patient seems to be a bit harder with a bigger belly. I also think I will get so much done each week and the energy is just not there.

We have 10 weeks until the baby's proposed birth day. I am freaking out. I think February sounds far away, but with Christmas and all the things we have to do, she will be here before we know it! Also, because I have a two vessel umbilical cord the baby could come earlier if I am favorable. CRAZY!

We have tried to begin to get the baby's room put together. Dave has to move his office downstairs. He has worked on it quite a bit, but we had a "miner" set back with our dishwasher leaking into our basement. It seems like we just do what we can and know that things will get done when they can.

I love Christmas time! IT makes me so happy, but I haven't felt complete without a Christmas tree. so we finally got one yesterday... though I laugh at it every time I see it. Turns out it was a lot bigger than we thought. It takes up our whole living room. We cannot even see the front door from our couch (that is the front door behind it) or the TV from our other couch. Dave named it Goliath! It was so much work yesterday (especially keeping Mia our "toddler" puppy away from it) that we only got lights on it... It is amazing how little things can wear me out so quickly these days! Though I did make a delicious Turkey dinner yesterday. Perhaps I just try to do too many things! Oh well that is me.

I have so many other things to write about, but time is not my ally today. We are going to visit a new baby, go to a homecoming, go to the miners and then the extended Kinnersley Christmas party. I'll try to post more later!

Our Eastern Caribbean Getaway

We just got back from a wonderful 7-day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, full of beautiful scenery, fun, and TONS of food. We wish we could go back already!


This was our first stop: Half Moon Cay, Bahamas. Yes, the water really is that color (or prettier) and the beach is fine white sand. That's our cruise ship behind us: the Carnival Triumph. We spent most of our time either playing in the water (swimming, snorkeling, etc.) or laying out on the beach trying to tan our obviously white skin!

St. Thomas was our second stop on the tour of the Caribbean. This was our favorite port we visited. We first rode a sky-ride gondola to the top of a mountain in order to get this shot. Below (where our ship is) is the main harbor. The shopping (essentially consisting of a million jewelry stores) lines the harbor in the distance. Here, we enjoyed a free sail and snorkel excursion (thanks to winning a raffle on the ship), where we snorkeled with sea turtles and a bunch of fish in crystal clear water.

Here is a shot at our table with our new friends, Carlos and Kendal. Carlos, the headwaiter (standing) is from Colombia and Kendal (sitting next to Heidi) is from Haiti. They were awesome and served us some of the best food we've ever had. Also at our table (though not shown on our blog) were Mike, Peggy, and Silvia from Kentucky, as well as Rogelio Sr. and Rogelio Jr. from Mexico (yes, I had a great time speaking Spanish with them). It was a lot of fun getting to know each other.




Speaking of food, here is a TINY example of what we were eating all week long. Granted, this was fancier than most of our meals because it was the 'Grand Gala Buffet', but you still get an idea of what we were FORCED to consume while on board. I think I gained around ten pounds and don't regret a single minute of it!

Our next stop after St. Thomas was San Juan, Puerto Rico. This was a totally different atmosphere than the other three ports. San Juan is very historic, with several huge forts, cobblestone roads (in parts) and a lot of old Spanish architecture. This picture is from an excursion we did in San Juan in El Yunque rainforest. We took a shuttle tour throughout the forest and saw all kinds of cool plants, etc. There was also a tower at the very top that gave you a stunning panoramic view.




HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! Aren't we a sexy bunch?!? This was definitely a different Halloween than we were used to, but we couldn't let it pass us by without costumes! We had a blast at night on the ship, partying away with a bunch of other people in costume. I can't begin to describe the discomfort of being in a mask and suit in the middle of the Caribbean (it was just a LITTLE warm), but it was worth it for the memory. I only wish I was this stylin' at home!

Before I get to the next picture, I need to mention that our last stop was in Grand Turk (Turks and Caicos). We didn't have a lot of time there due to a previous medical emergency that forced us to go back to San Juan for a little while, so we don't have the best pictures in Grand Turk. It's another great beach area where we dove for conch shells (we brought two home). We also did our best to brave the really chopped water, sent our way courtesy of tropical storm/hurricane Noel.

I got to hold Snappy!! Once we got off the ship back in the port of Miami, we had all day before we needed to be back at the airport. So, we decided to do an Everglades excursion in Miami to have some fun and pass the time. We flew around on an airboat (the ones with the big fans on the back of them that you see on CSI Miami, etc.). We saw one gator in the water, and then were able to go to a show where they fed about five of them. After the show, I had the chance to hold a baby gator named Snappy (it's about the 20th one they've used, and they always name him Snappy).

NOT SNAPPY!! This was an added bonus to our Miami excursion. Once the show ends (and you hold Snappy), you are able to spend the next half hour or so walking through the park and looking at the alligators and crocidiles that are fenced in, much like a zoo. However, since the park is attached to the Everglades, we were treated to a HUGE wild gator that decided to come say hello. This guy is over 50 years old (the guide guessed) and was by far the largest we saw. In this photo, the gator is no more than fifteen feet or so from the sidewalk we were standing on! Once the guide saw how big and how close the gator was to an all-you-can-eat human buffet, he ran the gator off back into the water. It was intense being so close to such a large and powerful wild animal. I believe the guide estimated this gator at about 13 -15 feet long.

After the Everglades, we headed back to the airport and we're happy to be home safe and sound. It was an incredible experience and we're glad we had the chance to do it. Now, we can focus on recovering from all the food we ate, and we're hoping that we'll stop rocking back and forth in a day or two!

Fabulous weekend

I have to add my "two cents" (I think that is all we will have once I start REALLY baby shopping). First off, I am truly enjoying the "Blogging" world! I have been able to get in touch with so many great people. Thanks to those who have gotten on our blog and commented!

Four Reasons Why I Had a Fabulous Weekend :
#1 Dave and I were able to celebrate his birthday over and over and over again. It is never a "birth-day" in my mind, it is a "birth-week." Many meals and presents were a part of the celebration. My favorite was this Michael Jordan pink baby outfit I found! We get so excited to dress her in it. Dave's birthday wish came true and he had a Mariachi Band sing to him (with the help of my family- see picture).

#2 General Conference. I thought it was amazing this year. Perhaps I haven't really grown up until now, but I think this is the first year I didn't watch the clock or fall asleep (okay, I mean for longer than 2 minutes...blame it on the baby.) My testimony was strengthened and I made a few goals which I hope will help me be happier and stronger. My favorite quote from conference was: (and I quote it with hesitation because I did not write it down) " If you want a relationship with God you need to spend time with him." Elder Wirthlin. I echo Dave in saying I am excited for the next Ensign.

#3 I was blessed to see friends that I haven't seen in a while. These girls and their families basically raised me so it was great to reconnect. I feel like I have always been blessed with a great group of friends.

#4Monday...Monday... ba da ba da da da.... I LOVE MONDAYS!

It is my day off from work and I love sleeping in, getting organized and being with Dave. This Monday, we enjoyed the fall weather while we ran errands. My favorite purchase was a $5.00 special, but has proved to be worth more than I can imagine. Princess Mia (she is way too spoiled) got a new bed, mostly to get her from jumping on the couch. The bed and a bone I think are my favorite purchases thus far! I sat last night for an hour without her jumping up on me... a new record!

Wow, my first true entry in the blog seems to be lengthy... enjoy!!!

Last Week In Review

First off, I'm realizing that it's fun to be part of the blogging world and suddenly reconnect with people that I haven't seen or heard from for years. It's great to hear from friends and family, so keep it coming! I don't have any cool pictures from this past week, so I figured I'd just throw in a cool shot of Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, Idaho. We went and saw this on our summer road trip to Oregon. This was during dry season, so you can imagine what it's like during spring runoff!

I won't go through the every day details of last week in an effort to not bore all of you to tears. In fact, I'll just skip to the important part - my birthday! :) My birthday was last Friday, and the Utes were kind enough to beat Louisville in football, though they did their best to lose at one point. My not-so-important-after-my-16th-birthday was full of great gifts, even better phone calls, and a calorie-induced coma thanks to Outback Steakhouse. Thanks to those of you that called, it meant a lot. For those that didn't, I hate you and don't ever want to talk to you again. Actually, I couldn't care less and would love you to call and say hi any time. For those of you religious types, I hope you had the chance to watch the LDS General Conference over the weekend. I thought it was amazing and was surprisingly easier to sit through the hours and hours of talks than years before. I look forward to re-reading talks and remembering some great advice given (seeing that I forget virtually everything that my feeble brain processes within 10 minutes of having observed it). As for baby progress: she's still in Heidi's belly so that's good! I do believe a recent ultrasound revealed a purse, new shoes that match, and a credit card in hand.