It's Been A While...

So it's been a LONG while since I last posted.... Here are some things that have happened!

* Jake and I were apart from each other for a long time. :( He would go to Nacogdoches for two weeks then come home for one week. So we saw each other for 2 weeks in between 6 weeks of being apart. It was totally stinky :( I recommend living with your spouse. Always. This is us after I got to Texas. We are happy!



* I finished my second year of law school. Despite throwing up WAY past my three months of being pregnant, I was somehow able to study just enough to be able to take my final exams and have a mock trial. And - my grades weren't as bad as I expected. I kept my mediocre class standing.... and didn't get any C's. (p.s. I haven't thrown up in a couple of weeks.... though it is still drug induced non-vomiting....) :)

* My family and ward each threw me an awesome baby shower. I'm usually not a huge fan of baby showers, but they are so helpful! I can't believe how generous people are. We have some awesome stuff for our little offspring! I now call he/she "Sam the Parasite." Sam works because it could be short for Samuel or Samantha. And I like the name Sam. And it is definitely a parasite. It makes me sick. It makes me hungry.... But I love it anyways. So don't think I'm not excited about my little parasite. I am. I promise. :)

* I turned 26! Yeah!

* The movers came (on my birthday) and packed up our whole apartment and moved our stuff down to Nacogdoches for us! It was so great they took care of almost everything (except for cleaning) and I didn't have to pack a box. :)

* My grandma Randall died on Mother's Day. She was really ready to go, but I still can't believe she's gone! She was a cool lady. I didn't get to go to the funeral though :(

* After a week of being out of school - I went back. I did a one week class, and now I'm paying to work at Lone Star Legal Aid. I get a bunch of credit, so that is good... but still. I'm paying through the.. anyways. :) This last week we went to prison. I almost met my first client - but they only allowed one person to talk to the prisoner at a time. :( So I stayed outside.

* I had an ultrasound and I could see my baby! I saw his/her face, arms, legs, four chambers of his/her heart, toes, etc! So the parasite lives on! I still can't really feel Sammy move yet, but since I feel nauseas then I'm sure he/she is still alive. :)

* We went to Nacogdoches Blueberry Days! It was a blast. :) Huge downtown stuff - you know, booths, large turkey legs on a stick, funnel cakes, a petting zoo, the works. We went a picked blueberries for $1.25 per pound. I thought we would get more, but I guess the bulk of them weren't ripe. So we have enough for some good stuff in the mean time. I made fresh blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Wow. Yummers! I think I'm going to start liking blueberries.

This is a picture of the blueberry patch. We are going back in two weeks when more are ripe and we are going to pick a million berries. A million.



* I'm 5 months now. 5 months having something alien living inside me. Isn't that so weird. Hopefully Sammy rocks - then I'll have more kids. Because this "bearing a child" is super weird. I'm sure it's all worth it in the end. People do it all the time. Multiple times. There's got to be something to it.

We went to Nacogdoches! What a trip! 

We flew out last Sunday and came back on Friday. We were SO READY to sleep in our own bed. Holiday Inn's pillows are super weird. 

So..... we'll start out with last Sunday morning. (Somewhat) Lucky me, I hadn't thrown up at all with this pregnancy. (Sometimes I wish I would just throw up if it would make me feel better). But just hours before we catch our plane, I have my first experience throwing up because of the pregnancy. I somehow knew this would happen because it would be just my luck to be in an enclosed space (airplane) with LOTS of people and lose it.... But I was okay... and we caught our plane... 

But - as we were waiting to take off, they guy sitting right across the isle from me... BRINGS IN A BURRITO. I'm sure almost everyone would say: "Yum"! No. Not to a pregnant woman that thinks everything STINKS. I thought I was going to lose it before we even got off the ground. But - a lot of deep breathing (from my mouth, not my nose) helped me get through until the guy ate it all.... And I was pretty good the rest of the flight. 

Then we get to the airport.... and guess what the car rental place has for us? 

Yep. We got a PT Cruiser. Jake HATES PT Cruisers. I tell him it's okay and it will be a "good experience" for us. he he he... :) 

So we drive 2 1/2 hours to Nacogdoches and check into the Holiday Inn with the weird pillows.  

Monday Jake went into work for some training (fire ant training....) and that night we went out to the "Cotton Patch" for dinner with his boss and his boss's wife. 

Let's just say I was up most of the night throwing up dinner. Then most of Tuesday getting rid of anything else in my stomach. Do people really choose to be pregnant AFTER they have already done it once? I can't believe people choose to go through this. Somehow, it must be worth it... I'm just not seeing it right now. 

So I sleep ALL Tuesday. No homework. None. Fail family and con law II? Maybe. 

Wednesday I get a prescription from my doctor that is supposed to help me. I take it while we drive ALL around Nac-Town to find an apartment. We visit everything that doesn't look like it will be infested with college kids (and some that are). Hopefully we have found something we can live with. But after taking the medicine, I am out. I slept for about 14 hours. 

My poor husband. He just hangs out while I sleep. :( 

Again, no homework. 

Thursday we do some of the Touristy Stuff. We go downtown Nacogdoches. Do you know it's the OLDEST TOWN IN TEXAS. But no one could answer Jake and tell him HOW old it is. Here's a picture of the town - with heavy equipment in the road. Gotta love it! 

We also went by "Lone Star Legal Aid." I'm hoping I can put in a LOT of hours with them and get some credit for school. Hopefully everything works out. It's a cute little building downtown. 

We also went to the "Azalea" gardens. I guess they are famous for them. It was pretty. The azalea's don't come out fully until March 21st or something. So we got the preview. 

We also went out to Lake Nacogdoches. He heard there are NO alligators in Lake Nacogdoches. But I will didn't want to get too close. This is crazy. Alligators belong in the zoo. Not in an open lake. But while we were there, Jake asked some guy in a truck where the best fishing was. The guy just kind of looked around... "In the water." he he he.... I loved it. 

And before we headed to Livingston Texas to a new Holiday Inn (with equally weird and uncomfortable pillows) we had to stop by John Deere. We got a free poster and Jake got to sit in the tractors. It made the visit complete.... :) 

He's such a cutie! ;) 

So the flight home was better - and I've been feeling a little better. Still can't imagine why people decide to go through this pregnancy thing more than once, but I'm sure I'll figure it out in October. 

Oh - and I totally chopped my hair. I was really sick of it. So the picture is weird because I probably slept on half my hair AFTER I flipped it out... but.. you get the idea. 

So hopefully I can keep from sleeping on it too much so it will look nice. 

Other random facts about Texas: 

1. People actually go the speed limit. Jake got pulled over going 60 in a 55. The cop told him he was "runnin'." Interesting. Not like on I-15 where you go 80 in a 65 and people are still passing you and treating you like your slowing them down.... 

2. I ventured out of my "white bread and cereal" diet and tried a Subway sandwich. The guy at the counter couldn't believe that someone would get a veggie. (I'm 100% against meat at the moment). I wonder in vegetarians exist in Texas. 

3. Jake couldn't find a BBQ place open for dinner. I guess in Nacogdoches they are only open for lunch. Weird. 

4. Street signs and directions actually tell you to make a U-turn to get to a destination. Like, get off the highway, make a U turn, then you can get to the Holiday Inn with uncomfortable pillows. 

That's all the fun facts I can think of right now. :) 

But we will definitely miss Utah, but we are excited about going someplace new! 

If you have any morning sickness suggestions, please let me know. :) 

 

Bad and Good Good News

So - We have NEWS! 

The bad news: Jake is another victim of the bad economy. He got laid off yesterday. :( 

The good news: His employer offered him another similar job in Nacognoches Texas. 

You are thinking: WHERE IS THAT? We thought the same thing. 

Here it is: You can see Nacogdoches in the Center. Shereveport, Louisiana is close by (about an hour) and Dallas is northwest and Houston is southwest. 

Interesting huh? So we will be moving soon. I will finish school (the year, not the law degree) in May and move down. Jake will be back and forth after the end of March. It's going to be fun. His company will pay for us to move down there, and pay for us to go look for a place to live. It's going to be great. 

So law school - I'm going to apply as a visiting student at some universities down there and transfer the classes up to the U, so I will still be a graduate of the University of Utah! :) YEAH! The closest schools are pretty far away (about a 1 1/2 - 2 hours). So hopefully I can work out a schedule to only have to go two or three times a week.  

MORE GOOD NEWS! 

We are going to have a baby. Or babies. :) I'm due in October. I keep on telling everyone that I don't mind if I have twins, because that means I have to go through this morning sickness one less time. But I'm sure it's a pretty short-sighted comment. Twins would be much more difficult. So that will throw some interesting stuff in the mix with moving to eastern texas, trying to finish school, and have a baby. Good luck us! 

Talk to you all later! 

Steph 

The Funniest Joke Ever!

So Jake and I have different senses of humor. I like sarcasm, and he likes "puns" or whatever. A lot of times, I just don't laugh because I think he's weird. But I think we are trying to make up for the difference and jump over to the other persons' side... 

Anyways - Here is a great joke that I made up. :) 

ENJOY!

Jake: Do you think farmer's drank their cow's milk while they were milking the cow. 

Me; Probably - I would if I mixed chocolate in with it... (this isn't exactly me because I don't like chocolate that much - I would much rather each peanut butter) 

Then I started laughing.... 

Imagine! A farmer is bringing a can of "Ghirardelli's" hot chocolate mix under his arm and yells "get the hot stuff ready Betsy!" Then he puts the hottest milk Betsy can make into his cup and stirs it up with the chocolate, and enjoys milking the rest of the morning with his steaming cup of chocolate milk.... 

I laughed forever... I thought it was awesome. I love my jokes...

But it gets better.....

Jake has been drafting things at work (Mechanical Engineer stuff) and I always tease him he's drawing stick figures for work... Well, this is what he drew, in honor of my funny joke. :) 

This picture is a bit old. It was on our honeymoon over a year ago. We went to Daytona Beach. So here is "US" even though my hair is super wind blown. Maybe next post I will post something where I look a bit better. 

updates: 

1. I never thought it would happen. But it did. Someone stole our 72-hour kit. And my black and orange buckaroo blanket with my name on it. Who would steal that? I guess It's dumb for us to leave our Honda Civic (aren't Honda's the #1 cars that are stolen in the US) unlocked at night. Well, I hope someone is enjoying our (frozen) bottled water, raisins, and first aid kit. :) 

2. School started!!!! I'm back to fitting in studying time whenever I can and trying to not act stressed around Jake. Wow... I keep telling myself it will let up in a year and a half. Wait - then I get to take the bar. :( 

3. I'm getting better at racquetball and am actually getting competitive with Jake. He's getting scared and sweating a lot more now... 

4. I found out the dogs we wanted (short hair and wired hair german pointers) aren't hypo-allergenic. It makes me sad. I guess only poodles are TRULY hypo-allergenic and Jake refuses to get a poodle. 

First Time!

After seeing other blogs (and feeling like a mighty stalker) I decided we needed to jump in head first! A little about us! Jake and I were married a little over a year ago. We both graduated from Utah State although we never met while we were there. Jake is a mechanical engineer, and I am in my second year of law school. Life is crazy. :) Jake and I have recently discovered how much we love racquetball.... and I totally beat him today! (SSShhh... He's not going to like it that I tell people that!). We also love camping, running, backpacking, etc. We just like to get off our little bums (from school and work) and get outside! We are also obsessed with buying a house/condo/anything, but we probably aren't really in the market for it at the moment... but we still dream. And we want a dog. Or two dogs. The top one is a German Pointer (short hair) which is a beautiful dog. It's a good hunting dog, but we aren't really choosing it for it's mad hunting skills. I told Jake the short haired dog will be his, and we will call her Jill. The second picture of the CUTE puppies are German Wirehaired Pointers. These dogs are supposedly "Hypoallergenic" so I can touch them. (I'm really allergic to dogs, but most hypoallergenic dogs are yappers, which Jake HATES). So we want the wirehaired to be Jack. Jake and Jill. Cute dogs.... We'll have a wait for a house... with a lot of lawn... :)