22 weeks....Just keep waiting.....

22 weeks out of 40....less then 18 more to go and we will hold our sweet baby in our arms!! I am so excited and get overwhelmed with happiness and being a little scared daily :) I found out I was pregnant at the earliest possible day, about 4 weeks.  That night Brandon goes "When can we find out if its a boy or girl" I laughed and said "in about 4 months" he was really bummed.  Time has really gone fast though and I knew I would be 20 weeks before I knew it.  My doctors office wouldn't do the ultrasound until I was 20 weeks but my midwife said I could come in the DAY I hit 20 weeks so thats what I had been planning on.  I had another appointment and they said well we'll just do it when you come in for your every 4 weeks...which put me at 21 weeks.  I was a little bummed but thought "its only a week I can do it."

Heres where it got emotionally taxing and draining for my little pregnant, hormonal self.  Our appointment was set for April 3rd.  Friday March 22nd we knew Brandon would most likely get called to a different job so I changed my appointment to March 27th so I could see my doctor one last time before we moved. "whoohooo a whole week early!!"  A few hours after I changed my appointment we found out we were being moved to Sterling which was still close enough for me to drive so I changed it back to April 3rd. "dang, back to the original date, I'll just forget that I COULD HAVE found out a week early"  Then we found out Brandon works half days on Fridays so I changed the appointment to April 5th so Brandon could go. "Its only two days, I can make it two days"   The doctors office cancelled on me on Thursday because the Ultrasound tech was sick and being how I can only go on in Fridays for Brandon, we had to schedule it for an entire week out and here we are at April 12th and I'm 22 weeks along. "Enter sobbing and heartbeak here, a WHOLE WEEK?!?"  When I got that call, I seriously felt like my world was coming down.  The receptionist was so casual about it and acted like it was no big deal (she's obviously never been pregnant!!)  I explained my situation, asked if I could go anywhere else, see anyone else, go to the hospital ect so I could go earlier and she said no.  I had that lump in my throat and was trying so hard not to cry on the phone.  She told me I could leave a message for a midwife and explain and they might let me see someone else so I did, somehow I got through the message without bawling but I think my voice cracked a few times.  I cried for a good two hours straight.  I had been waiting for this appointment for so l long and then it was just gone!  The midwife called me back and said they only had those slots available for emergencies and although I felt like this was an emergency...it was not.  "gee thanks for being so sensitive!" I called other doctors offices in town to try to get in and no one was open.  I looked into an elective ultrasound place but it didn't work out either so my only option was to wait...and it sucked!

Then comes the week of the 12th, I was feeling better and knew I just had to get through a few more days to get to Friday.  Monday a huge winter storm hit Colorado (right after we had just gone through all our winter clothes on Sunday and put them in storage) and we had several inches of snow and ice.  To make matters worse we were froze up.  No water....our heated hose was on so we're thinking it might have been frozen in the ground but who knows.  I was out of water for 2 full days.  Tuesday Brandon's crew called it early and came home about 10 because the wind was blowing so bad and it was a wind-chill of -9.  Then he tells me he thinks he's going to have to work a full day friday to make up for Tuesday and doesn't think he can go to the appointment.  So I called the office and they didn't have any openings, Brandon called the office and explained what happened and they didn't care and STILL didn't have any openings.  I called a few places in town to see if they had any last minute cancellations with the storm and they didn't.  So my options were to wait another week or go alone.  I knew I couldn't wait another week so I started brain storming on how I could get through this alone and how I could still make it special.  I decided I would just have the lady write down the sex and we would find out together that night.  Needless to say I was heartbroken and I just kept thinking "I knew having a baby on the road would be hard but I didn't know it would be THIS hard".  Thursday Brandon told me his foreman said he can take off early so I get to pick him up at noon and he gets to go!! I cried tears of happiness this time when I got that text, thank goodness!!! All I need is this appointment with him, then he can miss the others thats ok, but not this one!

To say the least, today has been a very long and emotional time coming.  I am glad its finally here and now I just need the next two hours to go by quickly so I can go pick up Brandon and we can be on our way!

Today is the day, we get to finally see your sweet face baby and you will become our little girl or little boy.  I am excited to see all your changes you've gone through in the last 13 weeks.  The feeling of getting to see you at 9 weeks was indescribable.  You were flipping around and so tiny.  I am trying to prepare myself for how today will go but I just cant, its going to be amazing and I thank God it worked out that daddy gets to be there too.  There are so many people anxiously awaiting to see pictures (maybe video) and find out if you are a girl or boy.  You are so loved by so many all over the country!

Halfway there!!

Dear Baby,
Its hard to believe as I sit here that I am 20 weeks 4 days along! We are over halfway there!! Gosh your daddy and I are so excited to meet you! I've been really lucky and didn't get sick at all in the beginning part of the pregnancy.  I was tired a lot and needed to nap at least once a day for an hour or two but other than that I felt great!  A few mornings ago I woke up the most nauseas I have ever been in my life!! I didn't know if I could make it to the bathroom but I laid there for about 15 minutes and it went away. I'm hoping it was just a fluke!  I've been waiting to feel you moving around in there but hadn't felt much from you yet.  Two weeks ago when your daddy and I were coming back from Salt Lake, I was driving over a pass and it was snowing and I felt 3 little bumps right in a row.  I said "I think I just felt baby!! Your daddy was laying down and he sat up so fast and put his hand on my stomach but we didn't feel anything again.  In fact I didn't really feel anything again for a couple more weeks until last night! It was probably part of the chocolate easter bunny I ate that got you squirming, at about 9:30 I felt all these little bumps right after another.  I grabbed your daddys hand and he felt it too! Gosh it was the coolest feeling!
Your daddy started with a new company last week so we had to change your appointment to Friday instead of Wednesday.  We cannot wait to find out what you are and get to see you on the big screen! Last time we saw you were 9 weeks and you were such a little jelly bean, you are going to look so grown up now! 4 more days and we will know if you are our little princess or little man!

~Mommy and Daddy

Life is so crazy how everything works out! We've been in Sterling for a week now and love it! The town is so much nicer and cleaner than Greeley, despite the fact I can see the largest prison in the state of Colorado from our 5th wheel! We've never lived somewhere with friends before and it truly makes all the difference in the world! We're about an hour and a half from Greeley so we can't go to church and small group every week but we're going to try to go once a month.  We went on Sunday with our friends Justin and Kelli and baby Easton and it was such a fun day! The service was wonderful as always and such a fun treat! Then we all decided to go to Estes Park and drive through the mountains.  Its so beautiful up there! We didn't see too much wildlife but saw a huge herd of elk.  It was such a fun day!! We had a campfire Friday and Saturday night and those were so fun, just sitting around talking.  Its funny I remember when we first got told we were moving to Colorado Kelli said they were so excited to have friends in Colorado.  Flash forward 3 1/2 months and now Brandon and Justin are working on the same crew and Kelli and I are neighbors! Its truly just the best feeling in the world to know God always has your back and is looking out for you.  He knows what you need when you need and it.  Last week Kelli and I took the guys some sonic drinks and caught them at a time they could take a break.  It was really nice to meet Brandon's whole crew.  His foreman is so nice! Its so nice not having to worry or even think twice when sending Brandon out the door each morning.  I know he is on a great crew and they will take care of him and thats all I could ever want.  He's really happy with this crew and job.  This apprenticeship can take its toll on you but I truly feel like we've caught a break this time.  Brandon is on a great, safe crew and I get to live right next door to Kelli and still be within driving distance to my doctor! Life is GREAT!!

Salt Lake City and Sterling, CO

To say these last few days have been stressful is somewhat of an understatement!! Tuesday we left for Salt Lake and the drive was pretty nice.  It was a clear day and the roads were dry.  It was about an 8 hour drive for us and we got in around 6:30, grabbed some dinner and crashed.  I didn't sleep well at all cause of the bed and constant noise outside all night long.  Wednesday night we got to meet up with our friend Chance... soon to be Uncle Chance :)  The guys were drinking beers and I was drinking lemonade, which I paid for later with horrible heartburn!  It was pretty funny when the conversation turned from linework to baby names :)  Thursday afternoon our Friends Mike and Cayla got to town, so they could pick up Mikes Journeyman ticket!!!!!!  We got to see them for a bit on Thursday and then Friday morning we met up again.  We all went to breakfast as we waited for the call that he could go pick up his ticket from local 57.  I got the most amazing french toast at breakfast, and I'll probably be craving it for the rest of my pregnancy now! We went to the hall with the McBrides and it was such a crazy feeling.  This apprenticeship is so hard dealing with the unknown, and having what you do know change all the time.  Getting to see one of our good friends get that hard earned ticket and listening to the union director congratulate him and talk about the work was so cool! It makes it all worth it, all the tears, frantic moves, unknowns about the jobs, moving from company to company and crew to crew.  In about 16 months we'll get to experience that....not that I am counting or anything! Its crazy how similar we are to the McBrides.  Little Wesson is 11 months and thats when Mike topped out.  Well Baby Underdown should be about 11 months when Brandon tops out, how cool!!   We left salt lake about 11 and I was in tears as I hugged Cayla goodbye.  I cried for over an hour, blame it on the hormones or lack of girlfriends on the road but goodbyes are getting harder and harder for me.

At 11:45 Brandon got a call from Mountain States that said we were moving.  He was going to start at Hooper in Sterling, CO on Monday.  Thankfully we mapped it out and it was only about an hour drive.  We were so excited because we have friends there and Brandon will actually be working with a good friend on the same crew! We were also stoked because it was by far the shortest move we have made at this point, our other moves were 15+ hours and trying to do that in one day would have been CRAZY!! Granted it was our shortest move yet, it was by far the WORST move we've made! We got home to Greeley about 7 and I started mentally planning what I needed to do to get Piper ready for the move.  We woke up Saturday and looked at the temps and they were negative and it was a blizzard out. Perfect day to move :( I got everything done inside and Brandon started on the outside.  About two hours later we were ready to hook onto Piper.  I was frozen solid because it was so cold.  The snow and wind was blowing so hard it would just sting your face when it hit you.  I was in my car warming up and I looked up and saw Brandon backing up to the Piper.  Its my job to make sure he's lined up, tell him how close he is ect. So I jumped out of my car and started running over to help.  I had my head down and my hand on my hat cause I was so cold and trying to avoid the pelting snow.  Next thing I know, I am dropped to my knees. Yeah, I did it, I ran right into the 5th wheel hitch!! I looked up and saw brandon getting out of the truck as fast as he could with a look of terror on his face. I tried to get up and said I am ok, I am ok. SOMEHOW I did not knock myself out or split my head open, I honestly don't know how. I ran right into that thing so hard! All I did was scrap my finger a bit. Brandon and I both agreed I'll be wearing a hardhat next time we move!

20...feels like 2! oh it was sooo cold!! 

All that happened in "Astra vs 5th wheel hitch"

Poor Piper, having to move in these conditions :( 

The Drive to Sterling was terrible, the roads were complete ice and Piper even started to fishtail at one point.  What should have been about an hour drive of course turned into 2+.  We made it to the RV park though and got all checked in.  Made it to our spot and we are only 4 spaces up from Justin and Kelli so thats super exciting! I have to say I LOVE this RV park so much!  I haven't slept so good since December! There are no trains, jake brakes or anything in here! In fact since Saturday I haven't even seen another vehicle driving through the park! Its wonderful! Brandon starts on his new crew today, I am so excited to hear how it goes!! I am so thankful to be in Sterling because I can still go to my doctor, my hair lady, our church and small group.  Granted its an hour drive but I'll take it rather than having to start over completely! Maybe we'll get lucky and one of my midwives WILL get to Deliver baby U! Brandon only works half days on Fridays so I am going to call today and see if they can get us in on a Friday (maybe this one!) because I really want him there when we find out, so we'll see!

Our spot....a little cramped but we love it!

A little piece of HOME

I know I've said this a hundred times so far and I'll probably say it a hundred more throughout the years because its true: Being on the road comes with great sacrifice.  One of the great things about being home is the life you have.  You have your friends and family, but more special is you have "your things" with your special someone.  A great Sunday for Brandon and I would be to go to Church at Lake City Community Church, then Bakery by the Lake followed by a hike on Tubbs Hills with a walk through the park along the lake and a date night at Bardenays.  These are just a few of our favorite spots but they are ours.  We don't have to use navigation to get to them, or read yelp reviews to know if they are a good place to go.  We just know because we LIVE there.  In my last post I talked about getting settled here in Greeley and we have.  We found a great church and a fun coffee shop.  Now we're trying to find entertaining things to do.

One of our favorite things to do is going to small concerts at intimate venues.  Our favorites are Tyrone Wells and Brett Hite, we have been going to their shows since we met and I had been going for years before that.  I was so lucky Brandon had Brett Hite play at our proposal, check it out here:
Astra and Brandon Proposal 4-17-11 It was one of the best days of my life!

Both of these artists are from Spokane, WA.  Its kinda hard to find artists like these unless you go to their shows.  We always love who Brett Hite and Tyrone Wells has open for them because we always find new artist to follow like Anthony Hall, Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers and Hot Bodies in Motion, just to name a few.  We haven't been to a show on the road yet and we just figured we wouldn't unless we got lucky and they were playing back home when we happened to be there.  It was pretty bittersweet when I knew Tyrone was playing at the Knitting Factory and we weren't there and when Brett Hite was playing at Gonzaga and we weren't there.  Those were "our things", we would have been there in a heartbeat!

I found out Tyrone Wells would be playing TWO nights in Denver in March and I wanted to buy tickets so bad.  With the apprenticeship though you can't commit to anything because as soon as you do, you'll get moved.  So I waited until the Monday before the shows and bought our tickets, hoping they hadn't sold out.  Luckily enough they hadn't and we got to go! We decided to make a day of it and spend the day in Denver.  I was so excited, I had had my outfit picked out for a week, with the perfect shoes! Its March in Colorado, its supposed to be spring now.  Wednesday I was running in 55 degree weather and it was 70 in Denver! Saturday morning we wake up to a blizzard and inches of snow.  Brandon says to me "if we had ANYTHING else planned we would not be going, we should not be on the roads" but he knew we had to go so we did.  I had to change my outfit a little....mainly my shoe choice, but I made do and still got to wear heels :)

Always sneaking pictures of me! 

We went to lunch in Denver and did some shopping.  Brandon bought me some new maternity clothes since I'm starting to get a little bump, I swear he is more excited about my new clothes than I am! I am so lucky to have such a supportive husband.  Poor guy has had to take on the role of girlfriend a few times lately because he's all I have here.  Don't get me wrong, I spent a couple hours in the 4 wheel parts store yesterday with him so its not all one sided :) I've really been craving a bloody mary, virgin of course, the kind that has a whole salad in the drink! I found a place on google that had pictures of their bloody marys and they were EXACTLY what I was wanting: asparagus, shrimp, green bean, celery, carrot stick, you name it! It was awesome! We made our way downtown, parked (which is a feat of its own if you've ever tried to find parking downtown denver) and walked the block and a half to this place to have some drinks.  We get there and there is a sign on the door that says "we had to close early today due to no power" REALLY?!?! go figure.... so we made our way to the venue and had a couple drinks there before the show, but there was NO salad in my bloody mary so we'll have to try that again another day.

Brett Young

The concert was amazing.  Once again Tyrone wells had outstanding openers and we've found two more artists to watch for in our Travels.  Brett Young was the first opener and he was so great.  He had a raw raspy type sound to his voice and his lyrics were so spot on.  I've already bought his album on iTunes and Love it, check him out on Facebook and iTunes and show him some love.
The second opener was Brendan James and he was a completely different sound then Brett and Tyrone but had a wonderful voice too. He played his whole set at the keyboard and he is so good!! He was very funny in his story telling and his lyrics were so real.  They were about real life, things you can truly relate to.  He had a passion and a love in his songs that is unique.  We will definitely be watching out for him too.

Brendan James

Tyrone was wonderful as well.  It was different not seeing Mark Chipello on the drums anymore but life happens and people move on.  Tyrone had a really fun and entertaining set as always and it brought back so many memories.  Each song sparks a memory and it was so special getting to do "our thing" with my love in a new city.  Now we have new memories to attach to those songs as well.

Tyrone Wells

17 Weeks 2 Days and baby can hear outside sounds! 1st concert:) 

Starting to get settled :)

I've discovered that one of the hardest parts about being on the road and constantly moving from town to town is you never really feel at home.  Thats the biggest reason I wanted our 5th wheel to feel so homey because its the only sense of home we have.  It can get really frustrating every time we are in a new town trying to find grocery stores, churches, doctors, dentists, rv parks, walking / running trails, coffee shops, things you take for granted when you know right where they are when you have lived in a certain place for years.  In Carlsbad, NM there was not much to get to know, or want to know.  It was very small with nothing around it and I was 20 miles from town so I didn't really commit to getting settled.

We've been in Greeley for about 10 weeks now and I can finally say I am feeling good here.  The RV park is not the greatest by any means but other than that I like it.  I think after awhile you start to get used to the trains that blow their horns all through the night, the 18 wheelers that use their jake breaks right outside your trailer 24 hours a day and crazy wind that threatens to blow you over.

I hardly have to use my navigation now to get around.  We've found a great church that we love and have been going to every sunday since the first of the year.  They have 4 services on Sundays, 3 in the morning and 1 at night so even when Brandon has class we can still go to the evening service and we love it there.  They were SO welcoming from the second we walked in the door.  We were greeted by a gentleman who promptly introduced us to the pastor.  He asked Brandon what he does and he said "I work on power lines". Its kinda what we have learned to tell people because if you say "I'm a lineman" they ask "for what team" haha.  Well the pastor goes "oh is that the same thing as a lineman" Brandon and I were blown away and he said yes and the pastor quickly introduced us to another member of the church that is a lineman.  It was such a great feeling from the start and we feel so at home there.

We found a dentist and got our teeth cleaned, found a few parks to go walking at and even found some tennis courts and played a round or two :) ( I totally killed brandon in our match ups!) We've found a couple cute coffee shops that are relaxing and also very popular, sometimes hard to even find a seat!

The greatest find of all though is my doctor.  The two big things that were keeping me from wanting to have a baby on the road was not getting to have a nursery and not having MY doctor back home.  I love my doctor back home so much and felt very comfortable with him but I decided I could be flexible and find someone new wherever we went.  I had my first appointment back in January and did not like the doctor at all.  I was pretty upset thinking what have I done, this is going to be so hard.  I decided to look at other doctors in the office and found a midwife there and scheduled my next appointment with her.  I got to see her a couple weeks ago and Brandon and I both LOVE her!! She is so sweet and very informative, which is exactly what I was looking for.  She is very open to my birth plan and said she'll do anything she can to help me.  She is also so understanding of us moving around and doesn't make us feel bad about it or give us any less care just because we might not be here the whole time.

I know I am jinxing us by writing this post.  I know we'll probably get called to somewhere new next week and I'll have to adjust all over again but I am ok with that.  I am just so happy that I have been able to really enjoy it here and learn how to live in a new city in a short time.  I feel like I am not just "living" though, I've made a life here.  I am going to do that in every town we go to so I always feel at home :)

Being Healthy for Two

So I always thought I would be that pregnant woman that ate all the right things and would be known as "that pregnant lady that is always exercising".  Well reality has hit and I do not feel like I am doing a good job.  There are so many emotional highs and lows you go through when you are pregnant that no one ever tells you about. I don't think anyone tells you because women don't understand it as they are going through it and certainly don't want to remember it when its over.

Prior to getting pregnant I had made some healthy life choices to be in the best shape for a baby.  I was exercising at least 5 times a week, eating lots of fruits and veggies and had stopped drinking alcohol unless for a special occasion (like our honeymoon!) I planned on keeping all this up when I got pregnant and I have tried, but probably not as hard as I should.  I did not expect the exhaustion that hits you like 5 freight trains one after another and stays for well....12 weeks so far.  I sleep in way too late most days and then I am ready for a nap two hours later.  I have to take at least one nap a day, even if its only a half hour.   Moving to Colorado has been great and for the better but the elevation here is so  high it makes it very hard for me to breath.  Not to mention its freezing cold, going from the warm climate of New Mexico to the freezing temps of Northern Colorado has made it difficult to feel great when I am on my runs.  I was running up to 7 miles before I got pregnant and now I am struggling to get through 3 miles.  That brings me to my next point.  Eating.  Although I have been very lucky and did not experience much sickness I have lost my appetite completely.  For the first week after being pregnant I couldn't stop eating, everything and anything sounded good and I was eating every 45 minutes.  That has been gone for weeks now and I am struggling every day to get enough calories (clean calories) in each day.  Running is great and makes me feel wonderful (when I'm done) but I'm burning 400-600 calories which doesn't help when I am already having a difficult time eating enough.  I feel so bad for Brandon, I haven't been making dinners because nothing sounds good or tastes good.  The things that sound good are Candy, waffles, taquitos, CRAP CRAP CRAP! This is by far the most frustrating "symptom" so far this pregnancy and I didn't even know it would happen.

I weighed myself a few weeks ago and I had gained 10 pounds, 10 pounds in a few weeks! I instantly started crying.  I read online it may be water weight so I drank more water then I have ever drank in my life and weighed myself two days later.  I had lost 8 pounds! The things the woman's body does when pregnant is so strange.  No one else can gain and lose that much weight in a matter of days.  Every woman is different.  Some don't gain a pound until well into their second trimester.  Some gain all their weight in the first trimester and don't gain again until the third.  Others lose weight during their pregnancy! Its all so different and its very emotional on the woman going through it. I had an emotional break down a few mornings ago.  Crying to my husband that I am huge and I don't know how quick I'll be able to lose the weight after the baby is here.  I am upset because I feel like any weight I gain will be my fault.  I am NOT eating as best I should and I am not exercising daily.  I am tired and frustrated.   I am trying to remember there is no right or wrong to weight gain.  At 12 weeks I have now gained 3 pounds and I am ok with that and I am working on accepting the changes my body is going through.

Along with the hormones that make even the smallest things huge, there is all the media that tells you what you should look like pregnant, feel like, and what to eat and NOT eat.  As much as I wish I could, I really don't think I will be one of those Fit Pregnancy models that have toothpick thin legs and arms and are all belly.  Nope, in fact I am sure my face will gain weight and my legs will get a little bigger, and who knows what will happen to my butt! For some reason though, you NEVER see those pictures on the magazines or online.  I get emails daily from various sites I have signed up to, that say "watch what you eat", "Don't eat for two", "Eat this healthy alternative rather then the junk you really want".  Yeah I've tried the healthy alternative and you know what, 3 days later I STILL want the junk. I feel like I am constantly googling things to make sure its ok to eat or drink.  "No lunchmeat, no coffee, no chai, no herbal teas, no soft cheeses, no hot dogs, no raw fish, nothing that has sat out for two hours, no artificial sweeteners" and the list goes on.  I feel like my head is going to explode, I had to ask my husband to try to help me remember what I can't eat so I don't accidentally eat something bad! Then the guilt that comes from having that ONE bite of a hot dog because you forgot and googling it to see what damage you might have done.....I seriously might go crazy!!!

As I head into the second trimester my goal is to be healthier but not focus on the scale so much or what I am "not" doing.  I need to focus on the positive choices I am making every day.  My body is changing and it is going to gain or lose what it needs for a healthy baby.  If I want a starburst I will have one, maybe even a couple but NOT a whole bag.  I don't want to treat my pregnancy as a reason to be a human garbage disposal but maybe I need to cut myself a little slack and realize eating clean pregnant is not as easy as I thought it might be.
Thanks for hanging in there on this whiney post!!

Catching Up!!

I am so sorry it took me so long to write this post.  I have been exhausted since I started growing a baby and I can just barely get through the day doing the things I am supposed to do each day.  Honestly, I am failing at that too! I don't make the bed every day, because some days I don't GET OUT OF IT! I let the dishes pile up for a few days at a time and then I am upset that I have so many dishes to do.  And Dinner....oh my poor husband! I think I've only made a full dinner a handful of times in the last two months.  Nothing sounds good and I honestly just don't have the energy to decide what to make and then make it! I haven't been sick thank goodness but I have just been so so so tired!! Its all I can do every day to get some sort of exercise in so I can try to stay healthy! Luckily it is getting so nice here in Greeley.  It was 61 yesterday and a high of 65 today, in January!!

We got to go home for Christmas and that was really fun, we hadn't been home since our wedding! We got home in the EARLY morning of Saturday the 22nd.  We didn't plan on telling our parents our exciting news of Baby Underdown until Christmas morning and didn't want to tell our friends until our get together on Friday the 28th so we had A LOT of time to try to avoid the big question.  My mom asked me and was BEGGING me to go snowboarding the whole time, and I avoided it like crazy and Brandon couldn't look her in the eye.  We didn't dare go to his parents house until Christmas cause we knew he couldn't keep it in.  We had my mom open her christmas present on christmas morning and she cried and was shocked and then it hit her WHY I wasn't committing to going snowboarding :) We went to Brandon's parents and gave them their present and they cried and were very excited! That felt better getting to tell our parents, then we just had to wait until friday to get to tell all our friends.

The picture frame we gave Brandon's parents :) 

The picture frame we gave my mom :) 

We wanted to be able to tell as many people in person as possible and it was sooo worth the long wait! We got to have all of our closets friends at our friends Shannon and Tyson's house and as soon as the last guest arrived I had to spill the beans.  Brandon almost did earlier, we had gotten there early to help them set up and visit and Shannon wanted to go to Sushi, I said oh yeah I am dying for Sushi and Brandon pipes up and goes "Can you have that hun?" I go "of course I can sweetie, WHY wouldn't I?" as I am glaring at him for almost blowing it after we had waited so long! He goes "Oh I just thought cause of your diet you were on"..... Good cover up Brandon! Shannon and Tyson offered me a glass of wine a couple times and I kept saying, yeah I'll wait til everyone gets here! I seriously thought I couldn't hold it in, if one of them would have asked if I was pregnant I would have blown it right then and there!  As soon as everyone was there I got everyones attention and thanked them all for making time for us during the crazy holiday times, then I said,  "and guess what.....we're pregnant!!!" Everyones jaws dropped and it was the best feeling in the whole wide world.  Then I said "It has come to my attention someone else in this room is pregnant" and all the girls nervously looked around at each other like "its not me" haha it was awesome! It was AMANDA!! She got to tell everyone she is pregnant too, 2 weeks ahead of me! Oh it was just the best night and a memory I will cherish FOREVER! How lucky are we to have so many friends that can pack a kitchen full and be so genuinely happy for us.  I love our friends so much and we are so beyond blessed to have such GREAT people in our lives!

Mommies to be! :) 

Some of the girls *LOVE* 

Proud Daddies to be!! :) 

 Not all of our special friends were able to be there, some were busy with holidays and others were not in town.  We got to tell them before hand and they were just as happy for us.  On our way home to Colorado, we got to meet up with the McBrides and I got to FINALLY meet baby Wes! We got to have lunch together and catch up about this crazy life.  It was so nice talking in person (since Cayla and I text every day!) and know that the things we are going through in this apprenticeship is not unique or because of anything we've done, its just part of the apprenticeship.

Love Love Love!!!!

We are so lucky to have so many friends all over the country, friends really are your family, I have never felt so loved than I have in the past few years.