We're having a ...

Barbie went in for an ultrasound yesterday. Unfortunately, it was the only time slot available before we skidattle out of Chicago for Utah and I had a school conflict so I wasn't able to make it. But we had the nurse seal the gender image in an envelope so we could find out together! That was probably one of the longest waits in Barbie's life, but I got home eventually and we found out...
We're having a BABY BOY!
We celebrated by buying a cute boy outfit and looking at all the essential baby "stuff" such as cribs and strollers. We're entering a strange new world here, and I've got a steep learning curve ahead of me. Somehow I'll figure it out, and hopefully my child will always know how much I love him and will do anything to provide for and protect him. Let the adventure begin!!!

My Quilt is FINALLY Finished!!

So this is the quilt I started in May!!! Yes, like forever ago. But, today I finally finished it with some wonderful help from my good from Jenny and much encouragement from my husband. I FINISHED!!! HURRAY!! It is now time for me to take my bow and everyone applaud. It is really sad that this took me so long, but I am notorious for starting lots of projects and not finishing any of them! Right now I haw 2 half finished scarves, an afghan and 3 cross-stitch projects sitting in a box unfinished!!! Josh keeps telling me how proud of me he is for finishing this one. HAHA. That is so sad. But, TaDah!! I finished one, and isn't it cute!

Last month we drove to Indiana with some friends to go pick pumkins and apples! We had a blast!

YUMMY! Golden delicious! Josh kept eating them off the tree!

HE was very excited about this pumpkin until he accidently broke the stem off it!

Madsen's and the Croft's! The Thompson's and the other Madsen family in the ward were with us there also, but we just didn't get any pics.

This was my pumpkin. I was so excited that I got to pick it off the stem. We had a great time and can't wait to do it again next year! Our favorite picture of the day and only one of us together is in the header of our blog!

Summer in Review!

As time goes by certainly summarizes our summer, and left little room for updating our blog. Sorry! We have certainly done many things since that camping trip oh so long ago, and pledge to keep a higher standard of blogging.

First things first: WE'RE PREGNANT! Barbie is somewhere past the first trimester, and starting to feel marginally better (depends on the day though). We're simultaneously excited and scared out of our wits to be parents. We both have great families, and hope we can give our kids what our parents gave us. There will certainly be more commentary on THIS important topic in posts to come.

The other highlight of our summer was a trip to England and Scotland. Josh had the opportunity to TA in London, and Barbie just couldn't let him have fun without her (not that it would have been fun without her ;-). Here are some highlights.



Josh and Big Ben!

Barbie on her birthday - Broadway in London!

The famous Tower Bridge.

Oxford.

Hadrian's Wall--Roman ruins that marked the northernmost boundary of the Roman Empire.

William Wallace's monument, overlooking the site of his famous battle.

Well, that was our big summer vacation! How are we going to beat that next year???

Camping!!!

Over 4th of July weekend we went camping with all of Josh's family! We really enjoyed ourselves. We ate really good food, played lots of games and enjoyed nature.

A Lot of this was done as well.... ... so nice to relax.

JOsh and I were in charge of a breakfast... Josh woke up super early to get it started I followed about 30 min. later.

This is what I thought to be the half way mark of a very grueling hike!! Less than half of us decided to go on from here. It was beautiful scenery but my body was not happy!!!

We saw tons of aspens, beautiful creeks, and wildlife. I don't even remember how much elevation we climbed but it was A LOT!!!! We thought the hike was only going to be a little more than 4 miles long. and at the half way point half the people were going to turn around get the car and meet us at the end to pick us up. So i figured well it's only a little bit longer of a hile to keep going than if I were to turn around. So I figured what the heck! During the first of what i thought to be the second half i was litterally running up the steep hills, and going super fast!! Think ok only one maile left. Then after that one mile Sam would look at his GPS and say well actually we still have another half a mile, and once we had had gone a half mile up very steep terrain he would look at his GPS again and say "well actually according to the map on the GPS and the curves of the river we have passed we still have about a mile!!" i wsa definiately the hare in this story. I was not diligent and steady. I was the last one to finish and my body was broken! We had a blast though. the scenery was beautiful and it was great to have that experience with my husband! He is so sweet he kept offering to carry me!! HAHAHa. Neither of us would have made it if I would have taken him up on that offer! But it was extremely sweet. Josh is so selfless. I love him so much. He never gives up on me and is always by side to push me along when things are tough! LOVE YOU BABE!

HURRAY! We made it! from this sign I practically had to be carried the 100 feet to the car! Oh BOY, I was wiped out.

This is what we did while we waited for our food! YIPPEEEEEE!!
This is what Josh did!!! CRAZY!!! This water was so freezing COLD!!

Camping was so much fun. It was great to be with family, considering it's only a couple times a year we get to see eachother!! Miss you guys already!

To My Wife,

I can't believe I'm in Singapore! The University sent me here for a week to TA an MBA accounting class, and while this is a great opportunity it just isn't the same without my wife.

Barbie, I love you so much and really appreciate all the smiles, joy, and laughter you bring into my life. Each day is an adventure with you, and I love all the little things--the wrinkles around your eyes when you smile, the gentle way you hit my hand as we walk side by side, the excitement with which you jump into my arms when I get home... and so much more. I really am such a lucky guy, and love you more than words can say. Thank you so much for completing me and making me a better man.

St. George

We took a trip down to St. george over Father's Day to visit my wonderful Grandad. While we were there we were able to go and see Footloose at the Tuacahn. it was really well done!My Grandad did a huge dutch oven dinner. Lots of family was there! Grandad makes a deal that if you beat him in cribbage he will make you a cribbage board. Now these aren't just any old cribbage boards. They are made out of beautiful wood and hand carved. He made Josh and I both one. We love Grandad.

This is seriously the LARGEST dog I have ever seen!!!! This picture doesn't do it justice!

Baby Shower

A good friend from Utah just had a baby. So while I was in town my mom and I decided to throw her a baby shower! It was so much fun. I should go into the party planning business!Our onesie banner!!! Super Fun!

This Valerie (the mommy)!!!!

Darla, my mom and I stayed up for hours rolling the diapers to make this diaper cake!! It was worth it though it turned out super cute!

Te RE Queiro Hermana Stanfield!!!

So mission compi Stanfield (also known as Camilla) happened to be in Utah the same time as me! With the little amount of time we had together, we had a BLAST!! We laughed our heads off as usual. We were trying to find a restaraunt that happened to only be 2 miles from the south towne mall and we ended up almost driving all the way up to Lagoon!!!!! But as usual she always finds a way to laugh at the situation and make it a great memory!!!! She was my second companion and lets just say I was a pretty intense "newbie" missionary. I would have died without her!!!! I was quite bummed I wasn't able to hook up with some other comps in the area. Hope to see you next time Clari! Te Quiero!!! BESOS!!!!!

IN THE WILD WILD (MID)WEST!

We "roughed" it for a whole night in the Kankakee State Park, and had a lot of fun! This place draws a lot of fishermen, large spiders, camp trailers, and of course us! We borrowed a tent from the Thompsons, grabbed a LOT of blankets for padding, and made an adventure out of it! What a great wife I have--she's a hoot. :)
Tin foil magic: hamburger, potatoes, carrots, onions, seasoning, and some hot coals. Turned out perfect!
It was fun to just sit and talk by the fire. No magic scout liquid needed to start this baby!
See that bump? This is the official waterfall on the Kankakee river. It's on the maps, trail guides, road signs, etc. Not quite on par with Yellowstone or Yosemite, but this is Illinois. I miss my mountains. :(
America's Next Top Model. Watch out.
Don't be decieved. She looks good, but felt miserable. There were a lot of mosquitos and her allergies were going CRAZY. But even then, Barbie is still a lot of fun to be with.

SOMETHING ILLEGAL!!!

So Josh joined an intramural soccer team this fall! He was the only one on the team who wasn't a law student. They didn't win any games but they had fun and Josh even SCORED a goal!! Chelsey, Elise and I had fun "watching" the boys play!
This is Josh showing off that he uses my old highschool cheerleading bag for his soccer game!
This was Jared's battle wound...... You should have seen the other guys!

PS. We failed to mention that "something illegal" was the name of the soccer team. Sorry to all those who read this post expecting an exciting story or a funny joke....

Adorable Abigail

Here's to show we have some awesome dancers in the Family!! This is my niece Abigail. She is so dang cute and really knows how to work a crowd.

Green Green Green

The Saturday before St. Patrick's Day the city of Chicago turns into a violent green mess. I'm guessing there are a lot of Irish and Irish wannabe's here, and the parade and river are quite a marvelous site. Enjoy!

This one's for Chausse!

I have such a HOT husband! Dang I'm a lucky girl.

I know all you girls out there are wishing your husbands knew how to clog!

Bonfire!!!

Spring in Chicago is so fun! It's rainy, cold, snows occasionally, great bursts of wind that chill your bones--heck, it's almost utopia here! So we took advantage of all these great elements and decided to heat things up with a bonfire out on the point! For those who've never been, the point is a beautiful park in Hyde Park right on the lake with spectacular views of downtown. No weather could stop us, or the other couples who braved the fierce wind (and their kids!). In reality, I don't think a smore has tasted so good in a long time...mmmmmThe Bratt'sThe Meier'sThe Hall'sThe Robert's

Violet loved the sticky messy chocolaty smore!

The Madsen's!

And Barbie saw a rabbit. Two actually.