Sugar and spice & everything nice....

Baby girl was being modestly shy all morning but finally gave up the goods after some jiggles and pokes. We're having a girl and we're over the moon!

She is "baking" ahead of schedule and is perfectly healthy. She's already got her daddy whooped and we are eagerly counting down the days until we get to meet her.

A light....

I think I'm finally getting a glimpse of the light at the end of this first trimester tunnel! I'm starting to feel better. While there are bad days, hours, and moments there are quite a few good ones too!

In the last week I've noticed some of my energy coming back. I was able to get up and do chores and laundry and only took a small nap in between! I think that is the part of pregnancy thus far that has surprised me the most. I can't believe how tired I've been and continue to be, apparently growing a human is tough.

The 16 week update is that everything continues to look fabulous. The baby's heart rate is at 152 and we set the appointment for our 20 week Ultrasound! We find out if Baby Woodward will be a studly little man or a juicy little girl on November 11th. Just in time for some major holiday shopping!

Cheese!

Baby Woodward had the first of many pictures taken today!! After much squirming we finally got a few good shots. We also got to just watch for a while and see the little monkey move all around. The baby even did a special little dance for us! It was so funny to watch! We've got a little ham on our hands.

In this picture you can see the baby's head right in the middle and the body is going downward to the left. The baby is looking directly at us, so that little alien shaped head is the face! The doctor says everything looks perfect! The baby is measuring correctly and the heartbeat is strong! Can't really ask for more than that!!

A "Little" News...

I've been MIA in the blog world the last few weeks but for good reason! I've been busy resting, eating saltines, attempting to diffuse the nausea, and catching a few extra Zzz's whenever I can. I'd heard that pregnancy will do that to you.. and I can testify, it's the truth!!

That's right, we're expecting Baby Woodward early April 2010!!

Banks and I are over the moon.. and super nervous. Banks is CONVINCED that it is a boy and while some women have that "motherly instinct" telling them what they are having... I DO NOT! haha I have no idea! We're going to be crazy excited either way.

We are super thankful for all of our wonderfully supportive family who have been so amazing and excited! Especially my mom and dad who help me calm down when I go over to their house and cry about being sick AND hungry. ;) Thanks to everyone else, including the special few (You know who you are!) for the kind words, notes, support and excitement you generate! We're grateful to have you all!

My Favorite Holiday!

We had an excellent July 4th weekend. I wasn't very good about having my camera with me... having too much fun I guess!

Here is what we did...

BBQ'ed!! We ate way too much, we had lots of BBQ's to go to and ate at every one! Here is Banks enjoying a little time with "Pap" his grandfather from Arkansas.

More family time, Jes and Izzy on the the swings. Izzy is a girl after my own heart, she loves lipgloss and makeup! We're good friends.
I'd be lying if I didn't tell you we spent most of our time laying by the pool! Here is Lola enjoying some time with "Aunt" Liz.
Our dogs are spoiled...
Banks horsing around in the pool with the boys.
We rounded out the day by going to the fireworks and having a picnic with the whole family. It was a wonderful and relaxing holiday, hope yours was too!!

Lake Powell

I love the lake.. any lake. I especially love Lake Powell. I love the sun and boating and just everything about being on the lake... Here are a few pics from out trip. It was a blast! We camped about 30 minutes boat ride out of Wahweap in a gorgeous canyon. We had a hell of a time getting going, but once we did it was all worth it. Due to various issues we got a late, LATE start so we were leaving the marina just before dusk. Basically, once night set in we were going 5 miles an hour with the flashlights out searching for our canyon and campground! It was a hoot, everyone probably thought we were crazy floating around through the various canyons trying to figure out where we were... Like I said the work was well worth it, and it's a great memory! We camped on a little island so the dogs ran around off leash the whole time and had the time of their life. All in all, we had 6 adults, 6 kids and 6 dogs. That is my kind of trip. :)

Sun setting over our camp spot

The view from our tent... I couldn't ask for better scenery!

Banks and everyone swimming up Cathedral... It's a canyon that gets REALLY narrow and the boat can't go all the way up, so we jumped out and swam the rest of the way. GORGEOUS. Banks looks really happy huh...

Pixie and Boris.. They had a ball! They didn't LOVE the lake, but they loved the boat rides.

I have to throw this pic on here, because I love it. This is my Aunt Holly with her dog Chewie. They both just looked so cute.

All in all it was a fabulous get away. We LOVE spending time with my Aunt and her family (The Lyman's) and enjoyed meeting their neighbors who also came. Can't wait to head back!

Ahhh Vacation.....

My favorite picture from paradise..... This was across the street from our condo.

We just got back from an amazing week in the Florida Keys. It was perfect weather the whole time and we had an absolute blast. We got a condo and went with The Carlings. We rented bikes and rode all around the island, we parasailed, snorkeled, ate good food, worshipped the sun, and most importantly spent time laughing and relaxing.


Not the best picture, but this is the four of us waiting to board our plane.


This is Banks and I on our super small plan, I think it sat a total of 18 people. This is the Plane we took from Ft. Lauderdale down to Key West. It was a nasty bumpy ride that made us all sick, but I did get some really cool pictures of the clouds and sun! (Below)




YAY! We made it!! Key West is the Conch Republic, so I had to take a picture of that upon our arrival!

We went and checked into our condo and then immediately went out to eat. After a crazy cab ride it was getting late so we went to the first restaurant that we drove past... Luckily it was an amazing little Mexican place, I got the fish tacos. They were so pretty I had to take a picture.


All the places we ate had such great food, but the best part was the beautiful scenery. This was our view from the table we had Sunday Morning Brunch at. It doesn't get better than this!


The next morning we set out on our first bike ride around the island. It was so gorgeous and riding bikes was such a fun way to get around!


Rachelle and Jes as we are about to board the boat for our day on the ocean.
Here we are getting ready to go parasailing.


The view was AMAZING!
Boys will be boys - Banks and Kody out jumping on the water trampoline... Kody has a REALLY funny story about the floating rock wall... I still laugh hysterically when I think about this day.
Relaxing after a full day on the boat.
Random photo-op. I LOVED all the green. I guess I'm just too used to being in the desert?
On our last night we went to downtown Key West and had dinner and messed around. The whole Island is beautiful, but I really like all the buildings, everything looks so fresh and clean.All of us during sunset.

Final picture! Isn't the sunset gorgeous?
We had SO much fun. We can't wait for our next trip, we hope we can convince the Carlings to go with us again, because we couldn't ask for better travel buddies!

We've been busy.....

Tap.. Tap.. Tap.. Anyone still out there??

Did everyone think we were dead? Yeah, we've been so busy I haven't had a moment to think, let alone do any blogging...I'm so behind. So please don't mind the looooong post.

In February, yes February I TOLD you I was behind! Banks' Dad and Step-Mother came for a visit. It was a short visit but we made the most of our time together. We picked them up and headed straight to one of our favorite Mexican place, The Red Iguana. I think that Bill and Ellen were a little nervous when we drove up since it looks like a shack, but they LOVED the food. Here are some pics of our "short and sweet" time together.Banks and his Dad with the dogs.
I love this picture because this is how Bill and Ellen always look. They are a lot like Banks and me, always picking at and irritating each other because it's fun!
Bill with Lola.. I love this picture.Ellen and I went down to Primrose Retreat for pedicures while the boys did whatever they wanted to do....
We got the Gelato Pedicures, so they served us some yummy Gelato while we were being pampered. After that we headed out and got massages. It doesn't get better than that!Then we rounded out the visit with some good eats at Outback. It was a great little trip and we cherish our time with them since we don't get to see them as often as we'd like to.

March was my Birthday and Banks did SUCH a good job. He took me out to the Cheesecake Factory and bought me a new Juicy Purse. I get compliments on it all the time! (Even my dentist told me it was nice... that's saying something!!) I have to tell everyone what a good husband he is to get me such a perfect gift!
Lastly, I headed to Las Vegas with my mom and sister for a quick trip. My cousin was graduating from dental school and my other cousin is getting married so we threw her a bridal shower down there. It was a wild fun weekend. Here are some pictures to document the madness!The start of the roadtrip.. Cheese!
Good thing I was driving...We did some shopping, of course! The Three Musketeers (Jes, Jonathan, Cecelia) with Deke.

The girls, getting ready for the shower - Britt, Ali, Becca and me.

The Hot Seat- It was so fun, big thanks to Stephanie and Stacia who put the whole thing together!The Blindfolded Bride-To-Be!Fast forward to the end of the scandalous shower... ;) The bride with her Line of Lingere!

It was a fabulous WARM weekend with lots of laughs and good times.

A Little Shout Out....

My husband applied to graduate school a few months ago. In his usual style he did the majority of everything last minute. I tried to stay out of it because I can't stand it when he does that! In the end, he turned everything in and we just had the awful task of WAITING. I wasn't expecting any sort of answer until April 15th, but he just received an e-mail informing him that he's been accepted!!

University of Utah, Here we come!

To make this all a little sweeter, he has a group of guys that he's been taking classes with and they also got accepted and are going to try and have the same schedules so they can continue together. They work really well together so we are super excited about all the possibilities.

Best of all, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! The program he got accepted to is a year long accelerated Masters Degree of Accounting (M.Acc.). So, this time next year all he will have left to do is his CPA Exam. Hallelujah!!

Congrats to my super husband who is working so hard to juggle heavy loads at school and at work! I'm so proud of you!

The Tax Season Blues

It's March which means one thing for me. The Tax Season Blues. The main reason for my serious lack of posting is my serious lack of a life. You'd think I'd be used to this by now coming from a family of accountants but I'm not. I don't think I ever will. Bottom line, I can only take so much of my husband coming home at late hours completely exhausted mentally and physically. This may sound selfish, but it's totally boring. I eventally resort to lots of reading and lots of shopping and lots of cleaning. Unfortunately, the urge to clean hasn't hit me yet as it doesn't feel like spring here in Utah. It snowed last night. One popular ski resort received a heaping 16 inches last night! A radio announcer commented on this and said we'll probably be able to ski there into July. JULY!!! That fact does nothing for my case of the blues. Anyway, I digress. Here are some of the things I've been up to while my husband is away, a slave to our future.

BOOKS! I recently saw this on another blog and found it really interesting. It is BBC's list of the top 100 books. The BBC estimates that on average, most people will have likely read about six of these works. So, I scanned the list and was glad I had read more than six, but depressed with how many I HAVEN'T read. So I've started to reread some of my favorites, and gear up to read some new ones. I'm currently on Persuasion by Jane Austen, I have read and love this book, but it sounded the best when I started out on this venture. I'm slowly working through the rest of the list! I've bolded the ones I've read and starred the new ones I've purchased to read.

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (some, not all)
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Bible Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Great Expectations - Charles Dickens Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
Complete Works of Shakespeare (I've read most, I went through an obsession stage in highschool)
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
Middlemarch - George Eliot
*Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell*
The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
Bleak House - Charles Dickens
*War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy*
The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
*Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy*
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis Emma - Jane Austen
Persuasion - Jane Austen The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Berniere
*Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden*
Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
Animal Farm - George Orwell
*The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown*
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Atonement - Ian McEwan
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Dune - Frank Herbert
Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
*Brave New World - Aldous Huxley*
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
*Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez*
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
*Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov*
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
On The Road - Jack Kerouac
Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
*Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding*
Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
Moby Dick - Herman Melville
Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
Dracula - Bram Stoker
The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
Ulysses - James Joyce
*The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath*
Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
Germinal - Emile Zola
Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
Possession - AS Byatt
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
*Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert*
A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
Charlotte’s Web - EB White
*The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom*
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
Watership Down - Richard Adams
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
Hamlet - William Shakespeare Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I'm also getting so excited for summer, so I'm buying summer/tropical fragrances for my house, sunglasses and of course sandals! My next purchase will be a pair of these fabulous gladiators by Sam Edelman.Seriously, how cute are those? Have I ever mentioned how much I love summer?

And lastly, Banks and I are getting ready to move again. We are trying to figure out if we should sell the house or just rent it. If any of you have any opinions on that please let me know as we need all the help we can get on this particular decision!!