My Cowboy Returns

This morning the temperature outside was in the low 60s! It feels incredible outside and makes me happy. :) Ryan celebrated by pulling out his jeans and cowboy shirt... and even his BOOTS! That must mean it's fall. He refuses to have cowboy days unless it's nice and cool outside.

I won't mention how silly, yet cute, he looked with his pants tucked into his boots to avoid getting caught in his bike. ;)

I love my cowboy.

A Recipe to Share

I tried this new recipe lastnight and it was really yummy! Ryan wasn't too thrilled when I told him I was trying a quiche recipe... he was convinced he didn't like quiche. But I proved him wrong. :) It was really easy to make too! We will definitely be making this again soon.

BROCCOLI RICE QUICHE

1 1/2 cups milk

3 eggs

1 T dijon mustard

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

3/4 cup grated swiss cheese

1 (2-oz) jar diced pimientos, drained

1 1/2 cups chopped fresh broccoli

3/4 cup instant brown or white rice, uncooked

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray. In a large saucepan, heat milk until very hot but not boiling. In a small bowl, beat eggs and mustard until well blended. Add onion, cheese, and pimientos to eggs (I also added some shredded deli ham). Mix well. Stir broccoli and rice into hot milk. Slowly add egg mixture, stirring constantly. Pour into pie pan. Bake 30-35 mins, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

THANK YOU LINDSEY!

My sister, Lindsey, was super sweet and offered to sew Grace's quilt for us. I couldn't find a set I liked at the stores, so we found material to make a shag quilt instead! This is the finished product:
Isn't it so cute?!! I can't WAIT to pick it up in Salt Lake in a couple weeks and get everything else for the crib and the walls. 

Ryan and I finally got rid of the guest bed today. We've been trashing and organizing everything else, and the nursery is starting to emerge...

Thanks again, Linds, for making Gracie's quilt! We love it. :)

Baby Stuff

The belly at 28 1/2 weeks

I can't believe it's going to get even bigger than it already is.

I also can't believe that I'm going to be counting down from

10 weeks soon. Craaaazy!

Making bows for Baby Gracie

I've had a really good time creating these clips for my

baby girl. Thank you to my friends who have shown me

how to make them. 

Nursery colors

My sister helped me pick out these patterns/colors while I

was in Utah a couple weeks ago. She is helping me by sewing

the "shag quilt" together with this fabric. I'm so excited to see

the finished product and see it in Grace's crib!

Wall paint

Ryan and I found these paint colors at Home Depot and have

chosen the green one for one (maybe two) of the walls. 

It's fun to have color on the walls but it makes me nervous too.

I'm no interior decorator and I really hope I can make all

the different pieces and colors tie in tastefully. I'm hoping

to find wall decals, bumper pad, crib skirt, etc that match 

these colors (which match the quilt, of course).

Loving music

This baby girl seems to like music a lot! When I sit down

to the piano, she will wiggle, stretch and kick like crazy -

usually whenever the music pauses or stops. Same goes 

for when I'm singing during church. She'll stay pretty still 

until the music ends. Music is important to me so I like 

the idea that she enjoys it - even now!

FYI: This is not a picture of me... it was found online. Not sure if it's real or photoshopped but it's a cute image!

Reading about pregnancy

Last year I read Breaking Dawn and I never have

re-read it since then. I didn't think I liked it much 

the first time. But I decided to read it again now and

I actually really liked it this time around! I was able

to relate a little bit with Bella in her pregnancy and 

in that wonderful blessing of having a true "family".

However, I have to say that reading about the baby 

kicking Bella so hard that her bones (and spine) broke

didn't give me very pleasant images of labor. haha

Nah, but really, I have been able to read some ACTUAL 

pregnancy books and it's fun to learn about all the 

new development and changes happening each week.

Prenatal yoga

LOVE IT! I have been able to attend a couple of 

prenatal yoga sessions that are held at a local women's

center. It's not a hard work out, of course, but is 

specifically geared towards women and our pregnant 

bodies that can't move or stretch much. When I finish

the classes and go through the rest of my day, I feel 

SO much more mobile and comfortable. It gives me

energy and makes me feel so great! I highly recommend

it to anyone who has access to a prenatal yoga 

class near you.

80 DAYS LEFT! 

We can't wait to meet you, baby girl.

Thoughts on Football

(picture from fall of 2005, during the dating days!)

What a great football weekend we had! Utah and BYU both won, so everyone in our household is happy. :) I was able to keep up with the Utah game on ESPN's gamecast ... it's better than nothing, but of course I would have loved the ability to watch on TV. The BYU game was available on cable here, and we could have watched it at our friend's house, but it didn't work out with the studying/birthday dinner schedule that night. But of course Ryan listened to it ... while studying ... Sounds productive, eh? What a multi-tasker he is!

As I said, I'm happy for both teams, including BYU. I do respect the school and am happy for them when they do well (unless they beat Utah, of course). However, I find myself a bit annoyed when I go to church and one of our teachers ties BYU's winning game into furthering the Gospel in the world. haha. Don't get me wrong - I love and respect this teacher - by far the best one I've ever had! But I'm sorry ... football games and the gospel aren't tied together like that. I laughed right out loud when he said this in class. On that note, when certain BYU fans have made comments to me about the UofU being satanic or immoral, it really annoys me. The school/team you follow has nothing to do with your righteousness! haha. (p.s. I know there are select few BYU fans who are THAT in your face... but I've met more like that here in Henderson than I ever did in Salt Lake)

Please excuse my short rant. :) I don't mean to be rude but I thought it was too funny not to share what was said at church. But aside from all that, congratulations to both teams on their great games! We're lucky enough to be able to attend both the BYU v. UNLV game and the Utah v. UNLV game next month and I can hardly wait. 

We sure love college football season!

Baby Shower!

My high school friends threw a shower for me on saturday. It was so fun to see everyone!
Mary Brosnahan and Jamie Vanorden were the party planners. Thanks girls!

Isn't baby stuff so much fun?!
We had a crepe bar, heavy on the Nutella. Mmmm...

What a fun shower! Thanks everyone for the great gifts and all the packages of diapers. 

Family Time

Last weekend I was able to fly up to Salt Lake while Ryan stayed home to study. Or maybe I should say... while Ryan could stay at school to study. He hardly took any breaks while I was gone. Poor guy...

The weekend was full of baby quilt fabric shopping, celebrating birthdays, eating, cooking, baby shower with my friends, eating some more, and hanging out with my family before Thomas left on his mission. I had such a great time and loved taking a break from work and Ryan's crazy school schedule!

On friday night, my family celebrating Tom's 19th birthday by having a cookout up Millcreek Canyon. TIP OF THE DAY: Try s'mores with Nutella spread on the graham cracker instead of a chocolate bar! Mmmmm, it was good. 
Josh helped Grandpa with the firewood.

Our nephew on the Turner side celebrated his FIRST B-DAY! Happy Birthday Jonas. :)
Me with my two cousins Jesse Goates and Allie Goates Venema. The three of us are the same age and had a good time catching up after Thomas' farewell! Jesse just returned from a mission and Allie is just 12 days behind me in her pregnancy. Don't mind my bellybutton... how embarrassing. :(
I was sad to have to leave ... but when is that ever not the case?! It was hard saying goodbye to my brother and I was really enjoying doing baby stuff with my mom and sister. I'm excited to be up there again for general conference weekend! It will be our only taste of fall this year. :)

p.s. Our baby is due in exactly 3 months from today!

Elder Thomas Goates

My baby brother is leaving tomorrow for the MTC! Ryan and I will miss him SO MUCH but we know he will be a wonderful tool in the hands of the Lord while he serves his companions and the people of Argentina.

Unfortunately he will be missing the birth of his two neices (currently in bellies pictured below). But they'll of course see his picture everywhere and will be excited to meet their uncle thomas!
His nephews will miss their buddy so much! He has always been their favorite uncle (considering he was the one who taught them to say it).
There are so many things that I'll miss about Thomas while he's gone...
-He is such a spiritual person who embraces his testimony and the priesthood he holds. He has never been confused about what is right and wrong and has always had very high standards.
-His friends really love him and they know that he supports them.
-Thomas loves to spend time with his family and will even be the one to put together a game night or make the plan to go out to lunch with his siblings or parents (sometimes it's his treat...). He doesn't cause dramas or problems in our family, and each of us knows how much he loves us and wants to be involved in our lives.
-He can make anyone laugh... whether it's with his story-telling skills (including amazing reenactments of experiences he has), his funny facial expressions, or his ability to quote movies.
-Tom is also an incredible musician. He writes his own songs and picks up many other songs he hears by just listening to them. Our family loves it when we can sit around and be serenaded by him. He isn't embarrassed or afraid to share his talents with us and that's more than most of us can say!

We love you and will miss you so much Thomas!

We're so proud of your choice to serve a mission. :)