tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17138376272893218312024-02-21T04:30:43.705-08:00En RouteMichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-27624621503703982662012-03-22T23:33:00.000-07:002012-03-22T23:35:54.469-07:00True Beauty<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do you know what is beautiful?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'll tell you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Those early morning hours, holding my sweet baby and rocking him back to sleep- as only his mother can, I'll have you know, and knowing that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing, what I was always meant to do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I saw this the other day on <a href="http://pinterest.com/michellesteele/">Pinterest</a>, and loved it so much.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 0px; padding-bottom: 2px;">
<a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/63965257177492848/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://media-cache8.pinterest.com/upload/56435801550566573_HzKmr77H_c.jpg" width="457" /></span></a></div>
<div style="float: left; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Source: <a href="http://spirituallythinking.blogspot.com/" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;">spirituallythinking.blogspot.com</a> via <a href="http://pinterest.com/michellesteele/" style="color: #76838b; font-size: 10px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Michelle</a> on <a href="http://pinterest.com/" style="color: #76838b; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a></span></div>
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">President Hinckley always puts it so beautifully. It's seems like such a fundamental truth, that motherhood is a <i>birthright</i>. I am more and more grateful every day for choosing this path over some "bauble of passing value."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had some acquaintances who had a hard time understanding why I worked so hard in school and completed internship after grueling internship, if I knew all along that I wanted to "just" be a mom. Before Isaac, I knew this was the right choice for me, but now I am strongly reminded every day when I look into his sweet face that this baby boy was meant to come to our family, that he is <i>ours; </i>and I firmly know with everything that I have that if I live my whole life through, and the only thing I can say for myself is I was "just" a mom, I will have lived a most fulfilling and happy life, and that my influence through this decision will extend far greater than any other choice I could have made for myself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am so lucky, and I am so grateful.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUcYBNWqIi7pvS_WZ0735Hv9EWWOUgBKWPyISiDoik7b0CQvvB1ZxPgX15JPgPmQZY0BwADZAI0__o1jVtAzsmhI7_5sv8Yn-IR3S8hCkRvbmvLj-H9K17ffNMbna3q1Es0YYbCZUAqE4/s1600/IMG_4116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUcYBNWqIi7pvS_WZ0735Hv9EWWOUgBKWPyISiDoik7b0CQvvB1ZxPgX15JPgPmQZY0BwADZAI0__o1jVtAzsmhI7_5sv8Yn-IR3S8hCkRvbmvLj-H9K17ffNMbna3q1Es0YYbCZUAqE4/s640/IMG_4116.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<br />Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-62491470651326738432012-02-27T12:55:00.001-08:002012-02-27T13:01:44.624-08:00Alphabet Games<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
Last weekend we headed up to Blake's family's cabin in Idaho. It was momentous for a few occasions, first it marked Isaac's first time out of state, first long car ride,
and first time on a snowmobile... yes, really. But before you judge
me, there is too much snow to drive up to the cabin in the winter and
we have to snowmobile up to it. So I held on to Isaac's car seat with
a death grip as we took the slowest snowmobile ride ever recorded up to
the cabin.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
It also marked the first time I played the alphabet game since I was in kindergarten. I was <i>wasting </i>Blake. Big time. Until he told me that the official rules for the alphabet game say you can only use letters that appear at the beginning of the word.<br />
<br />
To which I replied, <i>I haven't played this game in 18 years, can you just give me this?</i><br />
<br />
And also, <i>are you sure</i>?<br />
<br />
And another thing, <i>I'm at J, and you are just </i>now<i> noticing that I haven't been playing the right way this whole time??? </i></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
The cabin is huge and was built Blake's dad and uncles. In the summer it's for four-wheeling, swimming in the Lava Hot Springs swimming pool, playing in the pond, going to the hot-pots, and cooking outside. In the winter, it's a snowmobile and sledding paradise. </div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGDZLI1IMnxtM2KrBIagNLbbdW1O5VUVWjUl-is-t2g8368oaoZHpZ7yiXHyQ9EzmpflXJ1xApxS9ZrTSYAsElRAgUAwI4AK3EV8n6r68K8bTsdN9XxKEQZ1La_DyfDtTkNDFGOu2wzEI/s1600/IMG_0939.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGDZLI1IMnxtM2KrBIagNLbbdW1O5VUVWjUl-is-t2g8368oaoZHpZ7yiXHyQ9EzmpflXJ1xApxS9ZrTSYAsElRAgUAwI4AK3EV8n6r68K8bTsdN9XxKEQZ1La_DyfDtTkNDFGOu2wzEI/s640/IMG_0939.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUYJDtpBsaMnHccmYVlW6x9QhhvM0mlRzCCFlRKrxOeq3GCU7g3y6O9c5a_YaT0L01WxH9p7_NQwqt2O5QQTLvDpy1KstWI_vAOE3r3LHad2gQUjB30wMxwTVKFT88DHWLH80tb2vK4-2q/s1600/IMG_0940.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUYJDtpBsaMnHccmYVlW6x9QhhvM0mlRzCCFlRKrxOeq3GCU7g3y6O9c5a_YaT0L01WxH9p7_NQwqt2O5QQTLvDpy1KstWI_vAOE3r3LHad2gQUjB30wMxwTVKFT88DHWLH80tb2vK4-2q/s640/IMG_0940.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Packed to the brim, ready to go. There's a baby in there somewhere I think. </div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivEff52uk_iBXgGMiV27_FWm-yFcIhBpYyKAOuPGXrOg9hxTD4XiolTsyg8rTm3l3agaEHOLeuiiZgicTOSfdU4vNsfnfIAGdQI-8cFev3NVQVdF-qAzMhPjoVqWaCqnQd-F6_JIPgywbJ/s1600/IMG_0942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivEff52uk_iBXgGMiV27_FWm-yFcIhBpYyKAOuPGXrOg9hxTD4XiolTsyg8rTm3l3agaEHOLeuiiZgicTOSfdU4vNsfnfIAGdQI-8cFev3NVQVdF-qAzMhPjoVqWaCqnQd-F6_JIPgywbJ/s640/IMG_0942.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoD1HlsUWEziTF6kt-eAXtk4dpg3waSb0bEfIzTJB58E4_7-9i-tjmuP_aRD4yyS0wLt9U6EjqyX1wh-H4OL2R7CGbS1Sbjq7ou2OQun5kt4xFGVkJsbokKXC2zZ2G0MCJoKdVbUoFzKU/s1600/IMG_0968.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPoD1HlsUWEziTF6kt-eAXtk4dpg3waSb0bEfIzTJB58E4_7-9i-tjmuP_aRD4yyS0wLt9U6EjqyX1wh-H4OL2R7CGbS1Sbjq7ou2OQun5kt4xFGVkJsbokKXC2zZ2G0MCJoKdVbUoFzKU/s640/IMG_0968.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiojWIprpdjWEPQ3lpF_uEor5p1NR7VqWB8un5-JNzlNubqqSeNRKAXnRXwHK3cDEuyzfzWm6jY5BHGPsRUROACFGoRUaO0Fr2hsOk_NRw5ktnSCHUSJwdx7zHvqtkOT-qiQ_BVKKDRCOsN/s1600/IMG_0970.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiojWIprpdjWEPQ3lpF_uEor5p1NR7VqWB8un5-JNzlNubqqSeNRKAXnRXwHK3cDEuyzfzWm6jY5BHGPsRUROACFGoRUaO0Fr2hsOk_NRw5ktnSCHUSJwdx7zHvqtkOT-qiQ_BVKKDRCOsN/s640/IMG_0970.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
I have since learned that despite what Blake may tell me in my moments of intense panic; bears, cougars, and possibly sasquatches, do indeed exist in these mountains. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqB9Pdp2VR0qUMbGZVmQDjvZqcth19X20UVNkdwH5LQK5JRh39kzV677-MYRINvHy2L4CvbwV4bptlWc3GK0gOa6erHsHPkv3aOqhjmHbznqNoctQ872wtGCfGW59tYAxlSsDYT60anZB/s1600/IMG_0952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqB9Pdp2VR0qUMbGZVmQDjvZqcth19X20UVNkdwH5LQK5JRh39kzV677-MYRINvHy2L4CvbwV4bptlWc3GK0gOa6erHsHPkv3aOqhjmHbznqNoctQ872wtGCfGW59tYAxlSsDYT60anZB/s640/IMG_0952.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Please allow me to introduce you to Blake's all-time favorite hat ever.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHqB9Pdp2VR0qUMbGZVmQDjvZqcth19X20UVNkdwH5LQK5JRh39kzV677-MYRINvHy2L4CvbwV4bptlWc3GK0gOa6erHsHPkv3aOqhjmHbznqNoctQ872wtGCfGW59tYAxlSsDYT60anZB/s1600/IMG_0952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAfXnleCOPrH3NwGE6e48HocTUhZxVNsczfLoUkuUl4TwVUL7JxSnyDJ3znF_jSotJwwHuhQ0k8dtuJPNUeT2syzkRJA42mmfZatnzShCDMgjwlohknMR5GgGyJig8ARldon6lXr95Kvg/s1600/IMG_0954.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSAfXnleCOPrH3NwGE6e48HocTUhZxVNsczfLoUkuUl4TwVUL7JxSnyDJ3znF_jSotJwwHuhQ0k8dtuJPNUeT2syzkRJA42mmfZatnzShCDMgjwlohknMR5GgGyJig8ARldon6lXr95Kvg/s640/IMG_0954.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Here are some of the boys playing a very intense game of Risk. Blake has the smug look on his face of someone who has the WMD's to take out all of Europe. Or something. I forgot how to play this game. Long games bore me to death. After many hard-fought battles and bloody wars, Blake and his cousin Reuben were the only ones still standing. They decided to call a cease-fire for the sake of preserving humanity and enlightening generations to come with the story of how their ancestors put down their weapons and decided to live peacefully side-by-side. Or maybe it was because we started watching <i>Cinderella Man </i>in the next room and they had already been playing for like 3 hours. </div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9G6WDYhiWjt613yeO7ZfdnlhhUWVH0QjgroVp7hoW3vI3HbTc_cBbX6bV9D6wpPlTC9sbLwpnj18XMaA2ttBNrQ8DfVn1VTohmlpZGfg8ORqDUdeVgCWc8r3FxFqLVyEwhHM2eUlUWKy2/s1600/IMG_0958.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9G6WDYhiWjt613yeO7ZfdnlhhUWVH0QjgroVp7hoW3vI3HbTc_cBbX6bV9D6wpPlTC9sbLwpnj18XMaA2ttBNrQ8DfVn1VTohmlpZGfg8ORqDUdeVgCWc8r3FxFqLVyEwhHM2eUlUWKy2/s640/IMG_0958.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Blake's dad can get Isaac to sleep in about 30 seconds. Every time. </div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmCJezH-_r_nUExT3gDUYD8mpDPe9hXGIWhg6gijTKaxLpg6uIF479FPinOV09nQVlDmmcH4PQPAFHB02nf_VKSnG0AqazukqOgZg6z-BSn2vDepd8q4fxzyf5izcRciM9N48boPRMkyT/s1600/IMG_0962.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTmCJezH-_r_nUExT3gDUYD8mpDPe9hXGIWhg6gijTKaxLpg6uIF479FPinOV09nQVlDmmcH4PQPAFHB02nf_VKSnG0AqazukqOgZg6z-BSn2vDepd8q4fxzyf5izcRciM9N48boPRMkyT/s640/IMG_0962.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Now this impressive specimen is the elk that Blake shot when he was about 14 I think? I asked him if it worries him that the creature he brutally killed is residing within the confines of his own cabin, silently watching, biding his time, waiting until the perfect moment to seek his bloody revenge. </div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
He said no. </div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Really though, this thing is huuuuuge.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1G0PbiNKG9RIu3ZE7dMvOKLWZtY2wDxhwNW0ItgveLUr-Y-RN-1ruGLW9eBX-acnw4FEr7ZmPbNU-T37v9zH9zoPzOWd6aLyn-vLHeD-o_Ar6KRswNtu8kQLbvHlDys7O7JzGCSd4uMJK/s1600/IMG_0975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1G0PbiNKG9RIu3ZE7dMvOKLWZtY2wDxhwNW0ItgveLUr-Y-RN-1ruGLW9eBX-acnw4FEr7ZmPbNU-T37v9zH9zoPzOWd6aLyn-vLHeD-o_Ar6KRswNtu8kQLbvHlDys7O7JzGCSd4uMJK/s640/IMG_0975.JPG" width="482" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
When we got home, we gave Isaac a bath and wrapped him in his very own bathrobe. Because I firmly believe that all babies should be entitled to owning their own cuddly bathrobes. Really, it is the basic right of a mother to cuddle her freshly washed and lotioned baby in a little ducky robe.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspMQ3Wjawo-Hp8RpFBWcgnnolkmZM_ksKrFypNb91klxIXhtHFT01luW4a_b66O7Wdb9uL11NMX8FI6UcmSjeU3c2yJLbmYFJjc5vF1eebNhhEA5_40a4xO8HAZjLgx75WAqw1VFALOlL/s1600/IMG_0981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjspMQ3Wjawo-Hp8RpFBWcgnnolkmZM_ksKrFypNb91klxIXhtHFT01luW4a_b66O7Wdb9uL11NMX8FI6UcmSjeU3c2yJLbmYFJjc5vF1eebNhhEA5_40a4xO8HAZjLgx75WAqw1VFALOlL/s640/IMG_0981.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And now, just because... But can you blame me?? </span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dXp9mzLqf56nOjLTvW1Hr-NhI90ruWMj5qPcnQoWqCfpeOLzCZdQBbAfnoHI474U4dRIYo87rSB7JgbsR4LxY7E3iot84W01ID2yPV0vr8hRY5LFvItJm8vGKbW7NvGataEV8xNTUWwS/s1600/IMG_0991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7dXp9mzLqf56nOjLTvW1Hr-NhI90ruWMj5qPcnQoWqCfpeOLzCZdQBbAfnoHI474U4dRIYo87rSB7JgbsR4LxY7E3iot84W01ID2yPV0vr8hRY5LFvItJm8vGKbW7NvGataEV8xNTUWwS/s400/IMG_0991.jpg" width="300" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPMm7UMAvxDj3FK10myqvpkn4ak_cQaLvknlyvI0ZaS-4QOppAc1HNFaXEtwuaayA6bqLeWtCk1hPcVjxak8rWWwmiTcW2CatA0CF7WIar_rmggJnfS7-CVzcnvQnfiy-PfjC_K_b6AfI/s1600/IMG_0974.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPMm7UMAvxDj3FK10myqvpkn4ak_cQaLvknlyvI0ZaS-4QOppAc1HNFaXEtwuaayA6bqLeWtCk1hPcVjxak8rWWwmiTcW2CatA0CF7WIar_rmggJnfS7-CVzcnvQnfiy-PfjC_K_b6AfI/s400/IMG_0974.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2J_ZdOX0jWpbJC-5giqC6gdoEJ1Bt13r2kFRZvuJzhOgAr04CFtCeDIiuDGZMxAUYmhbhkdQ25t1HaYVmc87TYehmVgUC_1AYCoRS8IlsOyMYtjBCvatXMwxVpGAOBMTbecK2tg-HYCYT/s1600/IMG_0992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2J_ZdOX0jWpbJC-5giqC6gdoEJ1Bt13r2kFRZvuJzhOgAr04CFtCeDIiuDGZMxAUYmhbhkdQ25t1HaYVmc87TYehmVgUC_1AYCoRS8IlsOyMYtjBCvatXMwxVpGAOBMTbecK2tg-HYCYT/s320/IMG_0992.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaj8Gxw-XfUCMDJ-oaYgAaaRHzrb3zV7KziYH9o6uEP7bekLhz5YQ0T5fKBpHLJIzqegtterkMK6Ly5JTRPiqyFNEdU4e6gRJNxV2P3bjamtL0gdjqlCBt9cJ2tD8zLUlbctByt4-Xx1LV/s1600/IMG_0948.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaj8Gxw-XfUCMDJ-oaYgAaaRHzrb3zV7KziYH9o6uEP7bekLhz5YQ0T5fKBpHLJIzqegtterkMK6Ly5JTRPiqyFNEdU4e6gRJNxV2P3bjamtL0gdjqlCBt9cJ2tD8zLUlbctByt4-Xx1LV/s320/IMG_0948.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-18963671575040602542012-02-16T00:25:00.000-08:002012-02-27T12:56:55.025-08:00A Day in the Life<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
I'm back in the saddle. I gave myself some time to block out everything and just enjoy my baby. I didn't realize that this "me" time would turn into nearly 3 months, but you win some you lose some. </div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
I have had the most blissful time just holding, smiling at, playing with, kissing, and loving my little baby boy. I also spent some time transitioning from a full-time student and employee to a mother. I got my diploma in the mail a few weeks ago, (!) and it forced me to step back and realize just how different my life has become these last few months, and how wonderful this kind of "different" is. I loved school, I really did, but now I have time to get back to the other things I love as well. For instance, I started reading again. I used to be a <i>huge</i> reader. Growing up my parents had to resort to taking my books away as punishment instead of grounding me, and believe me that was much more effective. I've read four books in the last week and a half, and it feels so good!</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
Yes, my days are very different now, and it is wonderful. </div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
I wake up every morning and see:</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KjJEy6ipQdNIzeq2U-g_jWf4CR7Fas6azSF6VfOY3CJtVESlV1Dx583jnlagMFwpdE0cIL8ogsRwq9AkDwb7-H9h17T5Nyc1QKJwjl8DRSsE9Ly9TQhuX5KJf50amZpHVXhvWxcZ66yj/s1600/IMG_0834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KjJEy6ipQdNIzeq2U-g_jWf4CR7Fas6azSF6VfOY3CJtVESlV1Dx583jnlagMFwpdE0cIL8ogsRwq9AkDwb7-H9h17T5Nyc1QKJwjl8DRSsE9Ly9TQhuX5KJf50amZpHVXhvWxcZ66yj/s640/IMG_0834.JPG" width="640" /> </a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Or sometimes it's more like this:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJ2WIQwy82urX1N-QwmTzEPlNVxxhlVOlncrdlikoRKCFpdwSVgmcp8AKIvC-Kin4q-3gkYj_qXaBfqH3F5YsyKL3Z9V6i2Sys3sT_456rzmW2sguAhabrUZLmA_kAmUoV20WYrXrEoXb/s1600/IMG_0680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJ2WIQwy82urX1N-QwmTzEPlNVxxhlVOlncrdlikoRKCFpdwSVgmcp8AKIvC-Kin4q-3gkYj_qXaBfqH3F5YsyKL3Z9V6i2Sys3sT_456rzmW2sguAhabrUZLmA_kAmUoV20WYrXrEoXb/s640/IMG_0680.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Then we get up and read some stories, maybe throw in a little tummy-time if we're feeling really crazy, and then: </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RIrfHHZ29uTNsc_FJ27EZXNjMJLKKda0HMSJgQ5Urkfx5EPJMiIWvbOKEwiFVGql9_6_FnPL7_nhVhkb6P2vwdDSVNWrb6SWXx2reTE_7IGOoGnd1R5lMpJ7MXqa1ZDwFvwmgmjoVB9C/s1600/IMG_0874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RIrfHHZ29uTNsc_FJ27EZXNjMJLKKda0HMSJgQ5Urkfx5EPJMiIWvbOKEwiFVGql9_6_FnPL7_nhVhkb6P2vwdDSVNWrb6SWXx2reTE_7IGOoGnd1R5lMpJ7MXqa1ZDwFvwmgmjoVB9C/s640/IMG_0874.JPG" width="640" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhF6gQ5Z7-Tw-kS8FqUTegRvSIlt12q2958pNdMO_IKEEYJiTfppdsvejogYEvpjEHkje8n6yhYbisJxpRFLSfpHkHSKeAMSnQddU4Zu3LOYmQzYsaPTLi8fo7fBGW00hOI9Rd6ELnY4t9/s1600/IMG_0780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO44uUYT6s49QoDf1qKKnWRINanX1m6XbevoFhacGzImqngK-eshAV9CnmIdsbQ9U7599gQiv3hJX4I5SB7wVMpgp4lDesUjv9sD4rP0qvyGQp_UIyT2IZu5pBkjjkAFCXtMSq1OfDgNF3/s1600/IMG_0782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO44uUYT6s49QoDf1qKKnWRINanX1m6XbevoFhacGzImqngK-eshAV9CnmIdsbQ9U7599gQiv3hJX4I5SB7wVMpgp4lDesUjv9sD4rP0qvyGQp_UIyT2IZu5pBkjjkAFCXtMSq1OfDgNF3/s640/IMG_0782.jpg" width="480" /></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Baby waits patiently while his mom gets ready for the day.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO44uUYT6s49QoDf1qKKnWRINanX1m6XbevoFhacGzImqngK-eshAV9CnmIdsbQ9U7599gQiv3hJX4I5SB7wVMpgp4lDesUjv9sD4rP0qvyGQp_UIyT2IZu5pBkjjkAFCXtMSq1OfDgNF3/s1600/IMG_0782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbrn6hk6a1-r_tFMwHn6Jl496X0Ef8nzJ4aQPIQR1uDWJjkgmtbiYSe_nOacggXmKDAN0Tb673Q0d7WMOJtgWDUKX7ZskQcJVMjHoIgtlJ8bUjFSI7dXdZeAgqr6514MCTQsRIgm_V7mW/s1600/IMG_0758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbrn6hk6a1-r_tFMwHn6Jl496X0Ef8nzJ4aQPIQR1uDWJjkgmtbiYSe_nOacggXmKDAN0Tb673Q0d7WMOJtgWDUKX7ZskQcJVMjHoIgtlJ8bUjFSI7dXdZeAgqr6514MCTQsRIgm_V7mW/s640/IMG_0758.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hga8kiDgYjgYaSGB6nrlbt7d2_Wh9plqa3PzwtoLL5g852FMK2bFbpER6MOGBuQmvN1OtEBG-K2G84sRUVkZXUJ1ZAYZZaZ8nXcdFMDOH8eDW4hOzFujUJGqYarklK1KwSQcdnsjMWRA/s1600/IMG_0637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hga8kiDgYjgYaSGB6nrlbt7d2_Wh9plqa3PzwtoLL5g852FMK2bFbpER6MOGBuQmvN1OtEBG-K2G84sRUVkZXUJ1ZAYZZaZ8nXcdFMDOH8eDW4hOzFujUJGqYarklK1KwSQcdnsjMWRA/s640/IMG_0637.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Then we run some errands</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkzhS-z58cOd0S4DTr4FvwP-nt91t0yXM7VYc9AJTkzu86PDPCkGaFWMM0C4Ez9c6RZsEH2TH_YEJsbpuAcVcZQ2GyY__sZ_xQLw4tt_6WyzNcAJJaR-Fq6gjjqvXsMS3AtYCjJAumL5C/s1600/IMG_0713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqkzhS-z58cOd0S4DTr4FvwP-nt91t0yXM7VYc9AJTkzu86PDPCkGaFWMM0C4Ez9c6RZsEH2TH_YEJsbpuAcVcZQ2GyY__sZ_xQLw4tt_6WyzNcAJJaR-Fq6gjjqvXsMS3AtYCjJAumL5C/s640/IMG_0713.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNt4ego2M3hYmguJUTfUZNGiOomjCtGYukTD5opPdbsN0km7MVxYJKgOkXt0XzbIStwN63NcWA_AqdFMGTsVSCN0gZInmO3A8cQRFIrttFu-SKsrlGEFbiLLPFFDbANooarEV1wK7IZ9a/s1600/IMG_0714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVNt4ego2M3hYmguJUTfUZNGiOomjCtGYukTD5opPdbsN0km7MVxYJKgOkXt0XzbIStwN63NcWA_AqdFMGTsVSCN0gZInmO3A8cQRFIrttFu-SKsrlGEFbiLLPFFDbANooarEV1wK7IZ9a/s640/IMG_0714.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br />
And take adorable pictures wearing adorable outfits. (According to Blake, boys don't wear "outfits." I think I'm just supposed to say "clothes," or maybe even "clothing" if the situation really lends itself to that.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYAA1Rbqdmyi_CEnYsC_Tiri5MY8E3IfUielYzHZmJBOCXeU9wSPyzoUahljuUdnxjfGCOtw_Lc3u38iAAh04et5dviLjeXUrbjWaMKDJOYjmZnv1zWDeLURInLHkDkjaruXKMQlF7Osa/s1600/IMG_0813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYAA1Rbqdmyi_CEnYsC_Tiri5MY8E3IfUielYzHZmJBOCXeU9wSPyzoUahljuUdnxjfGCOtw_Lc3u38iAAh04et5dviLjeXUrbjWaMKDJOYjmZnv1zWDeLURInLHkDkjaruXKMQlF7Osa/s400/IMG_0813.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJl6OK_tTC1MqNo71gErogHkYGmD0tkSEPbYh8ulHnHKA6eHCYCCv259I1Vfe5hDFzJ0w7E4bRp3O5LtY_2hr72IHVT-kMBMsCF3F2-UqOtH9umeJThkY58Ut4qCJZ8wyUjlCMKRaMUwm/s1600/IMG_0769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJl6OK_tTC1MqNo71gErogHkYGmD0tkSEPbYh8ulHnHKA6eHCYCCv259I1Vfe5hDFzJ0w7E4bRp3O5LtY_2hr72IHVT-kMBMsCF3F2-UqOtH9umeJThkY58Ut4qCJZ8wyUjlCMKRaMUwm/s640/IMG_0769.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br />
We scatter a few naps throughout the day</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcTWqo5J_PeFP-VWpH00cmdT8cqn2kdOgqYn2DpVM9ASnQicCzFr_g4JjcyT3EJyhifhtXhDDfqfoSaonWaSYEQafrHx2Su7zotNtfViCHM9azO5SLb4atMUJU7zcSF6oITeMPfrCdM3e/s1600/IMG_0661.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcTWqo5J_PeFP-VWpH00cmdT8cqn2kdOgqYn2DpVM9ASnQicCzFr_g4JjcyT3EJyhifhtXhDDfqfoSaonWaSYEQafrHx2Su7zotNtfViCHM9azO5SLb4atMUJU7zcSF6oITeMPfrCdM3e/s640/IMG_0661.jpg" width="480" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghgO4eYcuLE5SWkQSLXwd_j32w2R0ncKg-ZR-m0dV33-qNLaPsk5UAF_iuwcJTVUuQHPYUdx4NpvP5UAhLfUwSA9HwLH8WB3qWee7PZN4pujtsCAuLe0YY85b_hmhnLEqipB-XwSRTy1R/s1600/IMG_0829.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghgO4eYcuLE5SWkQSLXwd_j32w2R0ncKg-ZR-m0dV33-qNLaPsk5UAF_iuwcJTVUuQHPYUdx4NpvP5UAhLfUwSA9HwLH8WB3qWee7PZN4pujtsCAuLe0YY85b_hmhnLEqipB-XwSRTy1R/s640/IMG_0829.jpg" width="480" /> </a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyi6sF7GMic8Q_0O8WmhR17K7xoXdiVr2ZGAP_dkEZszFeVQKd6XDxJkYCGVMVLGyeCx1ijgRDhIgPuiXFcy9_VM_rIWfs65C8mTvNb0tiv7bwnuXmuwRLPWxzvBOqVPeAD6B8h2Quw93/s1600/IMG_0868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyi6sF7GMic8Q_0O8WmhR17K7xoXdiVr2ZGAP_dkEZszFeVQKd6XDxJkYCGVMVLGyeCx1ijgRDhIgPuiXFcy9_VM_rIWfs65C8mTvNb0tiv7bwnuXmuwRLPWxzvBOqVPeAD6B8h2Quw93/s640/IMG_0868.JPG" width="426" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmyi6sF7GMic8Q_0O8WmhR17K7xoXdiVr2ZGAP_dkEZszFeVQKd6XDxJkYCGVMVLGyeCx1ijgRDhIgPuiXFcy9_VM_rIWfs65C8mTvNb0tiv7bwnuXmuwRLPWxzvBOqVPeAD6B8h2Quw93/s1600/IMG_0868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Then once we get home-and this is a very important step- Isaac makes sure to cuddle with his mom.</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOW6wzbeHzDm5HfGzzfUmFS6jOQ3U1E4K2SkU6UgbZCySKxqoN24gCPS9euPNSRK4S_tVp9B7gb8zkQPAv0HRcizKgcQHEtfF9q12VDhfP99xvfg6aYRjMuLuOIKjq6sywEHHYdI5zLwE/s1600/IMG_0622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOW6wzbeHzDm5HfGzzfUmFS6jOQ3U1E4K2SkU6UgbZCySKxqoN24gCPS9euPNSRK4S_tVp9B7gb8zkQPAv0HRcizKgcQHEtfF9q12VDhfP99xvfg6aYRjMuLuOIKjq6sywEHHYdI5zLwE/s640/IMG_0622.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaC_ez_7rcJPB_rvACc3rTrTL2HoUHtWVwRJK0FRh0ShJ0u4WXH2UHKfPoS_C7K2u17z-nObXBjM_JbJbrkXtTfkTI41dReMHuR7ykrAIKahLFyrE8B_PwKQSFdxOJ8ntHvgjO2zD74wP1/s1600/IMG_0624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaC_ez_7rcJPB_rvACc3rTrTL2HoUHtWVwRJK0FRh0ShJ0u4WXH2UHKfPoS_C7K2u17z-nObXBjM_JbJbrkXtTfkTI41dReMHuR7ykrAIKahLFyrE8B_PwKQSFdxOJ8ntHvgjO2zD74wP1/s640/IMG_0624.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
Some nights he gets a bath, and if he's really good, he gets to watch a little upside down TV.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5n3W-mgm6ThMTgU1MWiqm-_pZAXLzpmjJXU4IHqSjUUe4I9JjGFsNvxlMjfmP0po6uYMC2aVRe9WOJzy2fWh4T-6PnPnCIRqbqrjsnJF2AG8HCYl5m5D7htfyK_CFyyBynfqCXrKynIK2/s1600/IMG_0842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5n3W-mgm6ThMTgU1MWiqm-_pZAXLzpmjJXU4IHqSjUUe4I9JjGFsNvxlMjfmP0po6uYMC2aVRe9WOJzy2fWh4T-6PnPnCIRqbqrjsnJF2AG8HCYl5m5D7htfyK_CFyyBynfqCXrKynIK2/s400/IMG_0842.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hga8kiDgYjgYaSGB6nrlbt7d2_Wh9plqa3PzwtoLL5g852FMK2bFbpER6MOGBuQmvN1OtEBG-K2G84sRUVkZXUJ1ZAYZZaZ8nXcdFMDOH8eDW4hOzFujUJGqYarklK1KwSQcdnsjMWRA/s1600/IMG_0637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
By the end of the day, he is pretty wiped out and begging his mother, <i>please, no more pictures.</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6Ui1VuuOoVxM89yJuZ4dT6wANZuxb2LjtrUqjremlC-zIsApa7aoPYhk_QbCbqyGgNNOV7jUEGExa0MSyaq_YfFbGmDRlWn_Ax5N_VmQj2RnyKEV-iHjQDYX7XN6Fm6kxUVvmcxu5mFi/s1600/IMG_0704.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi6Ui1VuuOoVxM89yJuZ4dT6wANZuxb2LjtrUqjremlC-zIsApa7aoPYhk_QbCbqyGgNNOV7jUEGExa0MSyaq_YfFbGmDRlWn_Ax5N_VmQj2RnyKEV-iHjQDYX7XN6Fm6kxUVvmcxu5mFi/s640/IMG_0704.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheJl6OK_tTC1MqNo71gErogHkYGmD0tkSEPbYh8ulHnHKA6eHCYCCv259I1Vfe5hDFzJ0w7E4bRp3O5LtY_2hr72IHVT-kMBMsCF3F2-UqOtH9umeJThkY58Ut4qCJZ8wyUjlCMKRaMUwm/s1600/IMG_0769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
And there you have a day in the life of little Isaac Denzel and his mother. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbrn6hk6a1-r_tFMwHn6Jl496X0Ef8nzJ4aQPIQR1uDWJjkgmtbiYSe_nOacggXmKDAN0Tb673Q0d7WMOJtgWDUKX7ZskQcJVMjHoIgtlJ8bUjFSI7dXdZeAgqr6514MCTQsRIgm_V7mW/s1600/IMG_0758.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhF6gQ5Z7-Tw-kS8FqUTegRvSIlt12q2958pNdMO_IKEEYJiTfppdsvejogYEvpjEHkje8n6yhYbisJxpRFLSfpHkHSKeAMSnQddU4Zu3LOYmQzYsaPTLi8fo7fBGW00hOI9Rd6ELnY4t9/s1600/IMG_0780.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7C8ZWwObdU5kNa2-2AF9bTCrWEC6dzUajslTHPD1PnF9WuxtykjF76KRmBO1nb-WCAel_sbZ-vXu0o3Ze_b6cgfZ_GLgXoGwGdP8h48kVsixY4DSEJED2U1kx41hbYB-2fburLumMzUnG/s1600/IMG_0731.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7C8ZWwObdU5kNa2-2AF9bTCrWEC6dzUajslTHPD1PnF9WuxtykjF76KRmBO1nb-WCAel_sbZ-vXu0o3Ze_b6cgfZ_GLgXoGwGdP8h48kVsixY4DSEJED2U1kx41hbYB-2fburLumMzUnG/s320/IMG_0731.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<i>fin</i> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJ2WIQwy82urX1N-QwmTzEPlNVxxhlVOlncrdlikoRKCFpdwSVgmcp8AKIvC-Kin4q-3gkYj_qXaBfqH3F5YsyKL3Z9V6i2Sys3sT_456rzmW2sguAhabrUZLmA_kAmUoV20WYrXrEoXb/s1600/IMG_0680.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<br />Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-5913622363212385332011-12-12T23:46:00.000-08:002011-12-13T01:22:42.445-08:00It's about time<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I introduced you to Mr. Isaac Denzel Steele</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_qmsM8j5CdKmm0MeMEA-mGLpeNuN78O_3M-hnGWTsimrJxuKVRUu-Dhr3I084eG0u72t10PSe5T9KTnwrOiltUZ409BJY4ldSyEHSm4OtKQzsuZ9xOpNhqJiN2Pj0o7pS6SUNEcRC-_E/s1600/382589_10150505216480622_516225621_11141340_1359511341_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_qmsM8j5CdKmm0MeMEA-mGLpeNuN78O_3M-hnGWTsimrJxuKVRUu-Dhr3I084eG0u72t10PSe5T9KTnwrOiltUZ409BJY4ldSyEHSm4OtKQzsuZ9xOpNhqJiN2Pj0o7pS6SUNEcRC-_E/s320/382589_10150505216480622_516225621_11141340_1359511341_n.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been selfishly keeping him to myself for 3 and a half weeks now, and enough is enough. It's been so hard to blog (or do laundry, or dishes, or vacuum for that matter) for these past few weeks because I can't justify putting this perfect little baby down for any reason. I have been spending an uncharacteristically low amount of time on my computer lately, and a very large amount of time smiling into the face of my sweet little boy. He's incredible, he's finally here, and he's <i>mine! </i> I still can't believe it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every second of it, the 4 a.m. feedings, the dirty diapers, the sore post-labor body, is amazing and I am so grateful for it! </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the morning of November 18, we headed to the hospital for my scheduled induction. Isaac was adamant about making an entrance, and insisted on making us wait a week past his due date of 11.11.11. We got to the hospital at 7:30. At this point, I was surprisingly sane. I've never been someone who does well with medical things. Okay fine, I'm <i>that </i>person, you know, the one who passed out in health class every year from junior high on up, the one who won't tell you if there's something in your contact because the sight of you tugging at the bottom half of your eyelid makes her faint, the one who swore she would become a nun because the thought of enduring childbirth was just too much... (no offense to the nuns, but I'm glad I didn't end up following through on that one.)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blake and I got to the hospital and rode the elevator up to the labor and delivery floor with a very tired looking new father who had rushed to his car to get his new baby's car seat so he and his wife could take their son home. My nerves started to subside a little and the excitement of meeting my new baby grew.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">...Until we checked in to our room and the nurse handed me a hospital gown and shut the door. Blake and I looked at each other and finally it all became real. We were about to be parents. I was going to have a baby, <i>me</i> of all people! We were going to leave this hospital with our son! After the initial mini-breakdown fueled by the fear of it all, I put on the hospital gown and declared myself ready to have a baby. (Because having a baby is such a monumental occurrence in the first place, in my mind it is worthy of being declared.)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The nurse came in and put my IV in, which, ouch! She messed up, she even admitted it. I'll spare you all of the details. The doctor came and broke my water. I wanted to feel contractions for a while before I asked for an epidural. Looking back... why? Anyway, I waited a couple hours in to the contractions before they became pretty unbearable. After the epidural, I was a much more pleasant person to be around I'm sure. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">True to Peterson woman fashion, I dilated pretty quickly and was ready to push around 4:45 p.m. After about a half hour of pushing, Isaac was born at 5:11.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504065935/" title="IMG_3158 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3158" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6504065935_991f302113_z.jpg" width="427" /></span></a><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8 lbs. 1 oz.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">21.5 inches long</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">dark hair</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">dark eyes</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">big hands and feet</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">my little Isaac.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Literally the second he was born, the nurse laid him on my chest and he reached up and touched my face. It was the most amazing experience to finally get to see my baby. This was the baby I had been thinking about, praying for, and waiting to hold for a lot longer than the past 9 months. I finally had him. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think what shocked me the most was how much I felt like I knew him. I recognized him. He was so familiar to me, immediately. It was incredible. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And now, please enjoy this display of a million pictures:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504062663/" title="IMG_2872 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_2872" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6504062663_3e283ba46d_z.jpg" width="427" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The day before my due date, my sister took these last-minute maternity pictures</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504062399/" title="IMG_2831 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_2831" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6504062399_d5f05519b2_z.jpg" width="427" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504065037/" title="IMG_3080 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3080" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6504065037_4a9b4ecc94_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Looking a little rough before the epidural. Those things are a miracle I tell you!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504064443/" title="IMG_3007 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3007" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7164/6504064443_03302aba90_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504063841/" title="IMG_2936 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_2936" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6504063841_d882e8a11f_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Such a crazy feeling. So many emotions, but mainly just so excited!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504063599/" title="IMG_2933 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_2933" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6504063599_e1852bf13a_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504063505/" title="IMG_2931 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_2931" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6504063505_4c698ef893_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504064077/" title="IMG_2944 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_2944" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6504064077_97bdf3fd66_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504063293/" title="IMG_2922 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_2922" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7024/6504063293_e9878c9a8b_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504064251/" title="IMG_2980 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_2980" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7019/6504064251_d0516dc42b_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504064623/" title="IMG_3036 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3036" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6504064623_674226df67_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My sister Stephanie drew a picture of what she thought Isaac would look like on the hospital whiteboard, and my niece Lily drew pictures of "mermaid ghosts," because, what else?</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504064821/" title="IMG_3035 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3035" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7171/6504064821_573732e88b_z.jpg" width="427" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Post-epidural, and life is beautiful once again</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504065199/" title="IMG_3124 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3124" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6504065199_32a9b7887b_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was the view outside my hospital room. It just can't get better than this.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504065541/" title="IMG_3157 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3157" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6504065541_ba3b125f20_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh look, it just did! This is Isaac just a few minutes old.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504065729/" title="IMG_3153 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3153" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7016/6504065729_612a9e1bf5_z.jpg" width="427" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504066205/" title="IMG_3184 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3184" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6504066205_16854041f2_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504066791/" title="IMG_3205 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3205" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6504066791_97dcd05591_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504066597/" title="IMG_3191 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3191" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6504066597_1cce0e1894_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504061399/" title="IMG_0139 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_0139" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7142/6504061399_0e437f6e37_z.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hours old, this was our first night in the hospital.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504061547/" title="IMG_0155 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_0155" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7034/6504061547_f323325896_z.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One day old, much less swollen and extremely adorable!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504061457/" title="IMG_0144 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_0144" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6504061457_170ae05b27_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504061781/" title="IMG_0194 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_0194" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7035/6504061781_dc4c99d579_z.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So tired. Our first day home from the hospital</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504067145/" title="IMG_3457 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3457" height="427" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6504067145_9776d7cbba_z.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And here's a few pictures of Isaac when he was a week old.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504061849/" title="IMG_0226 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_0226" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7012/6504061849_c1d7b7a83d_z.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504061963/" title="Isaac by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Isaac" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7157/6504061963_34eec4038a_z.jpg" width="480" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6504067475/" title="IMG_3763 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="IMG_3763" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7033/6504067475_a2a6764646_z.jpg" width="427" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are so grateful for a safe delivery, a healthy baby, and our new little family of three. Throughout these past few weeks of new motherhood, my testimony of a Heavenly Father who loves us all eternally has grown so much. I am so grateful for this little person that I get to raise. It's hard to explain, but Isaac already has such a calm countenance. He is a very calm and contemplative little baby. I can't wait to watch his personality develop and to be the person who gets to help him cultivate his good qualities. I feel so lucky to get to have this little guy. I keep saying <i>I can't believe he's mine!</i> I just hope I can be the type of mother that this sweet little boy deserves. </span></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-1020527490105937112011-11-04T13:09:00.000-07:002011-11-04T23:43:59.817-07:007 Days...<br />
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
I slept for about 3 1/2
hours last night. Is this what the end of pregnancy feels like?
Great. However, I did manage to shave my legs this morning, so, you
know, there's that. If you don't know why this is incredible, then you
have never been 39 weeks pregnant.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
It
hit me a few weeks ago while I was making the trek from campus to my
trusty parking spot next to the car with eyelashes in the Marriott
Center parking lot, (have you seen that car? It's so funny!) that I'm
not only having a baby, but I'm also graduating. I always thought I
would be more excited. I mean, of course I'm excited, but I'm also
really going to miss school. I loved every second of being a BYU
student. I really, really did. I even loved the seconds cramming for
those awful American Heritage tests. Even those excruciating seconds I
loved deep down because I love BYU, and I love learning, and I love
school. </div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
About
a year ago, my sister Natalie told me to enjoy every moment of being in
college, because it is the only time in your whole life where your <i>main</i>
focus can be on making yourself a better, smarter person. Of course,
you can always improve, but in college, the whole time you get to have
your #1 focus be on becoming a more knowledgeable person. When you
think about it, it's kind of selfish, and it is wonderful.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
I only have <b>ONE </b>week left until my due date, and <b>FIVE</b>
weeks until I'm an official college graduate. I'm going to miss
school, but I'm very excited to move on to this next adventure.</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
</div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br />
Our
little guy is constantly moving and reminding us that he's coming
soon. I like to think that I have a lot more time left than I really
do. Most of my sisters have had to be induced a week after their due
dates, so I'm not very hopeful that he'll come on his awesome due date
of 11.11.11. My sister asked me if I've packed my hospital bag, and I
found myself answering, "no, I'll probably just do that the night
before..." then I realized that I don't know when the night before will
be... which is still a very hard concept for me- the perpetual planner-
to wrap my head around. </div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We
are VERY excited around here. Blake and I love to look at the baby
swing that now occupies the space next to our TV in our living room,
and I love to do my homework in the baby's room and just spend time in
there. At least I know that at the very most I'll be holding my baby in
14 days!</span>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-11646675583705927552011-10-05T22:06:00.000-07:002011-10-05T22:06:59.919-07:00Forgetting Stuff<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">You know how people say that pregnancy makes you forgetful? Well I always scoffed at that idea (yes, that's right, I said scoffed). How could being pregnant possibly make you forgetful? What correlation do the two have? In fact, about a month ago I told Blake quite smugly-you see, I get smug when I think generalizations don't apply to myself- that even though people claim that pregnancy causes forgetfulness, I was living proof that it does not. My memory was just as sharp as ever. And by sharp, I mean really sharp, because I have always prided myself on my memory. You're allowed to pride yourself on at least <i>one</i> thing, right?</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Well a few days after this very conversation took place, I was getting ready to leave for work in the morning. Blake was already in class. I grabbed my laptop, my cellphone, my lunch, my water bottle, and then I stepped onto our porch and shut the door to my apartment. In that very second that the door clicked shut, I realized with sinking hopes of getting to work on time that my car and apartment keys were locked inside, as was our spare key. Great. So what does my rational brain think to do? Oh maybe just start to walk to work...about 3 miles away... in the late morning sun...8 months pregnant...in heels. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I walked for about 5 minutes before I even thought to stop and think, "what the heck am I doing?" So I called my dad, who in typical dad fashion came to my rescue by picking me up and taking me to work. Once in the car I thought, what just happened? I don't forget things, I really don't! Or maybe I do, I can't remember.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Last weekend, I went up to my parents' house in Midway to watch <a href="http://lds.org/general-conference?lang=eng">General Conference</a> with my family. Blake was going to come up the next day. I got in the car and drove all the way up to Midway. Once I got there, I opened up my back door to get my bag out, only it wasn't there. So I called Blake, "yeah, it's right here in our apartment by the door." What is happening to me!? That night, I went up to the Park City outlets with my mom and sister. While drooling over the delicious baby boy polos and corduroy pants at the Ralph Lauren store, I suddenly realized: My phone is gone! </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I ran (yes, you heard me, I actually ran in this current state of mine) up to Baby Gap to hopefully retrieve my phone. In retrospect, why did I run? I don't have an iPhone (woe is me) so who would even want to steal my relic of a cellphone? I ran in the doors and asked the very hairy teenager behind the counter if he found a phone. "Yes, can you describe it?" Seriously? I was just in there like 15 minutes ago. "Okay, it's black and old, and not cool, and not a smart phone." "Yeah, here it is. I actually saw you leave it on the counter before you left." .....Really? And you didn't think to say, "Hey lady, you left your phone???"</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, aside from feeling like a complete moron when my boss asks me a question at work and I completely forget the answer to it mid-sentence, having a 10 second short-term memory span has its perks. For instance I have completely stopped depending on myself. See? No pressure. Also, I'm getting really good at not feeling dumb when I start to tell a story and then suddenly remember that I can't remember the ending. Like water off a duck's back I tell ya.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">However, its still a very small price to pay in exchange for a sweet little baby boy in 5 weeks. I hear that your memory never fully comes back, but when I'm holding my little baby, and Blake asks me what the capital of Uganda is, and I can't remember? Who cares. (Kampala! Only I really do still remember that, I didn't even look it up, I promise.)</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">P.S., I don't have any pictures yet, but my mother-in-law threw me a really fun shower last Saturday. It was a blast, and I'm so grateful to everyone who came. Thank you!</span>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-51796429571296351442011-09-28T22:01:00.000-07:002011-09-28T22:42:01.158-07:00The secret code<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I made eye contact with another pregnant girl on campus today. There's a certain camaraderie that exists between pregnant women, especially third-trimester pregnant women on college campuses. Like a secret code. We communicated to each other with our brief eye contact and friendly little smile and half-nod. It was like we both said, "You're having a baby a few weeks before finals too? That stinks. Good luck." Or maybe like, "Do you also have to pause to catch your breath every 30 steps?" or "So how do you enjoy being a classic BYU stereotype?"</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I remember one of my first days of school my freshman year. I had class in the SWKT, in one of those big auditorium classrooms. The first thing I noticed was how many married people were in my class. It was so weird! I thought, <i>I can't possibly be old enough to go to school with married people. This is too weird.</i> I remember sitting in a seat and realizing the guy sitting next to me had a wedding ring on. The whole class all I could think about was, <i>am I not supposed to sit here? Is there some unwritten rule that you don't sit next to married people? Does he think it's weird that I sat next to him? It wasn't on purpose! It's the first seat I saw!</i> The other thing I noticed was how many pregnant women were waddling about on campus. I distinctly remember thinking: that will not be me. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Not that I wasn't excited about marriage and kids, but just watching some of those women shuffle to their classes with their heavy backpacks and largely protruding bellies didn't look ideal. I almost feel bad telling this story because I think about how happy I am to have my own protruding belly, heavy backpack, and yes, very distinct waddle. I definitely didn't think I would be here while I was still in college, but I feel so lucky that I am!</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6187421607/" title="DSC04636 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04636" height="640" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6172/6187421607_66a81c8ab9_z.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">At 34 weeks I am:</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">-Sleeping about 1 1/2 hours at a time</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">-Going through Tums like they're sour cream and onion Pringles</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">-Always craving sour cream and onion Pringles</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">-Unable to eat anything citrus (it burns my throat too bad and makes my ever-present heartburn increase to an unbearable level)</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">-Reading about a page every couple days out the book "What To Expect When You're Expecting," and then getting too scared, having a little breakdown, and making Blake read the rest.....only to repeat this cycle every 3-4 days.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">-Stressing out over not having a name yet.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">-Using three very strategically placed pillows to sit comfortably at a chair and avoid the constant stabbing pain in the middle of my back. (Middle of my back? That is the weirdest spot to have back pain. How does that even happen?)</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">-Nesting like a crazy person (read: the inside of my fridge is seriously SO CLEAN!) </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">-Getting a lot of funny stares from freshmen on campus</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">-Hoping that the non-maternity shirts and pants I've been wearing will shrink back to normal after this pregnancy. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6187938712/" title="DSC04630 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04630" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6154/6187938712_3db481ab6d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And another picture, because every time someone pulls a camera out, I instinctively turn to the side to give them the classic pregnancy shot. Sign #432 that pregnancies last too long. Six more weeks, come on baby!</span></span><br />
<br />Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-28791606476076360112011-09-22T22:18:00.000-07:002011-09-22T22:18:03.708-07:00Little Brother<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHOvNEfVhcQ-lSdm8qVdIyZQVLkKXIeKc4zKzOexVUOfsyW_GdETNlzWpQ3CrXzHCS4SVDBmKd63cypCjgIPX4Dt9nirO2QB2B9Evf7LS-9OckQ1cofCoxleqo6VAfNkrkpKZurlOFuZI/s1600/Sean" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">I miss my brother. My darling <strike>little</strike> younger brother Sean is serving in the Spain, Malaga <a href="http://mormon.org/missionary-work/">mission.</a> I miss him so much! It's pretty cool he's in Malaga because Blake served in Barcelona, and the church has since changed the mission boundaries so Sean gets to serve in a few of Blake's old areas. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sean's emails are always so uplifting. It is such a neat experience to hear his stories illustrating how the Spirit of God works through his servants to answer prayers and provide help to people who need it. The gospel is just so amazing. There are simply too many amazing "coincidences" that happen in our lives to not be attributed to Heavenly Father. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In his last letter, he sent home some pictures of his most recent baptism. A little 8 year old boy in his ward asked Sean to baptize him. When I saw this picture, I could not stop laughing. Sean is 6'6". While his awesome height served him very well in his basketball career, and is not out of the ordinary for our very tall family, or even for America, it seems the people in Spain aren't used to it. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">This is a picture the father of the baptized boy took of the baptism:</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHOvNEfVhcQ-lSdm8qVdIyZQVLkKXIeKc4zKzOexVUOfsyW_GdETNlzWpQ3CrXzHCS4SVDBmKd63cypCjgIPX4Dt9nirO2QB2B9Evf7LS-9OckQ1cofCoxleqo6VAfNkrkpKZurlOFuZI/s1600/Sean" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHHOvNEfVhcQ-lSdm8qVdIyZQVLkKXIeKc4zKzOexVUOfsyW_GdETNlzWpQ3CrXzHCS4SVDBmKd63cypCjgIPX4Dt9nirO2QB2B9Evf7LS-9OckQ1cofCoxleqo6VAfNkrkpKZurlOFuZI/s640/Sean" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Sean looks great, doesn't he? Really happy and healthy. Love that haircut. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Oh poor Sean, but this is the world's best picture. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">He let us know that somebody else took this next picture:</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMqX1hqs4Gde_QCiRpO0knq7jVkWEZpDL9jYXk1-yS22Z_s5xI3epW7aOapQukz6Qh7zrfVp28FFFj5xB51HU8XVrCmwYYR0RI3Pvok7Ombb0_K0rfpKOb7Ln6pYQdEjw-Ea9kMzkj5zZ/s1600/Sean+baptism" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTMqX1hqs4Gde_QCiRpO0knq7jVkWEZpDL9jYXk1-yS22Z_s5xI3epW7aOapQukz6Qh7zrfVp28FFFj5xB51HU8XVrCmwYYR0RI3Pvok7Ombb0_K0rfpKOb7Ln6pYQdEjw-Ea9kMzkj5zZ/s640/Sean+baptism" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Oh I miss my cute little brother. Sean is a great missionary and he's working really hard. I miss him to death but I'm so grateful for his decision to serve a mission. His example of selfless service influences me every day.</span></span><br />
<br />Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-18978369475633158182011-09-14T16:18:00.000-07:002011-09-14T16:19:31.339-07:00Football, Basketball, Baseball...<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was organizing some of our baby clothes a few nights ago, (Oh my goodness! There are SO MANY adorable little boy clothes! I am so excited!) and it reminded me of something that happened after my baby shower a few weeks ago.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was opening my present from my sweet friend Jennica, and she got me the cutest little sports outfits. Most of the onesies had footballs on it, and Jennica said, </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"I bought all these outfits with Blake in mind. I made sure they had footballs on them so they could be Blake-approved." </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I told Blake about it when I brought all my cute presents home and was telling him what was from who. When I told him what my friend said, Blake said,</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Well he doesn't have to have ALL football stuff..." just as I was wondering what happened to Blake, and when did he suffer a personality-altering head injury, he said "He can have baseball and basketball stuff too."</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">That's more like it. I was worried there for a minute! </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We are getting so excited! Our little guy squirms around all day long and every time I see my alien belly morph, I get even more excited to see him in about 8 1/2 weeks. (8 1/2 weeks! How did this happen so fast?)</span></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-77914823874775212842011-09-10T11:22:00.000-07:002011-09-29T22:00:50.225-07:00blondes vs. brunettes<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">A little story: </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">There are six girls in my family, including my mom, and five of us are blonde. Stephanie was born with beautiful dark brown hair, which, although stunning, also caused her to be mistaken for a neighbor child most of her life. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">"Now who are you?" </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">"I'm Stephanie, I'm one of the Petersons." </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">"Oh no you're not, the Peterson girls are blonde!" </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Or</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">"Now when did you dye your hair?"</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Stephanie's hair is gorgeous, and she loves that it's one of the attributes that makes her look the most like our beautiful grandma; but I'm sure this conversation she has on repeat with every distant relative and former ward members gets old.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6197198608/" title="DSC04381 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04381" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6001/6197198608_b13ef667ca_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6197180938/" title="200499_5375855621_516225621_24449_3334_n by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="200499_5375855621_516225621_24449_3334_n" height="403" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6165/6197180938_b6000dd379_z.jpg" width="604" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6197189468/" title="PS-415 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="PS-415" height="426" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6175/6197189468_c263952df4_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">When Blake and I were engaged, Steph realized I would be the only blonde in a family of brunettes. She thought it was so funny that someone else was finally going to experience a fraction of the case of mistaken identity she went through her whole life.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Steeles took family pictures a few weeks ago... can you spot the blonde? I showed this to Steph at my baby shower. She felt vindicated.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6196675039/" title="Image-4894406-135716512-2-Web_0_4ac8aea15fb47ffa262470a1a7c2c76c_1 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="Image-4894406-135716512-2-Web_0_4ac8aea15fb47ffa262470a1a7c2c76c_1" height="426" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6176/6196675039_136651dbaa_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In other news, I'm now 31 weeks pregnant. I can't believe I only have 9 weeks left. We're getting so excited! It's really crazy to watch this active little boy distort my stomach all day long. He doesn't stop moving for a minute, (and if he does, then he gets the hiccups) which makes my stomach look like something out of <i>Alien</i>. We're having a blast getting his room ready. Now if anyone has any name suggestions, go ahead and send them our way. We are really struggling here!</span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-83270554953557198992011-09-01T22:56:00.000-07:002011-09-01T23:02:35.640-07:00Showers!First of all, my new blog design is courtesy of the great Darrian Watts, one of my co-workers and web designer extraordinaire. She designs blogs and websites as part of her business, so if you're in the market, look her up and see some of her work. You can find her <a href="http://www.shortycursive.com/">here</a>. She is amazing and extremely talented. Also, since she's still a student, her rates are incredibly low. <br />
<br />
The last few weeks have been so much fun. Blake and I have been focusing on getting ready for mini-Blake to arrive. We've been painting, cleaning, organizing, and preparing and we're getting so excited! I, of course, am so nervous about the labor, (have you <i>met</i> me? I can't believe I've remained conscious the last few times I've had to get my blood drawn.) So thank heavens for epidurals, in fact, I think I'll go ahead and get one now if you don't mind--you know, just to be safe and make sure it kicks in in time... ten weeks early.<br />
<br />
Part of our preparation included baby showers! One of my best friends Jennica threw me a really fun shower, and then my mom and sisters threw me another one a few days later. I have such great friends and family, I had the best time at my showers!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6105398776/" title="DSC04623 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04623" height="640" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6071/6105398776_c1155bed41_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6105399152/" title="DSC04621 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04621" height="640" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6087/6105399152_97f68f2754_z.jpg" width="480" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6105383596/" title="DSC04615 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04615" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6182/6105383596_82f4f3a568_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6104843187/" title="IMG_2010 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_2010" height="427" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6062/6104843187_e4bbce870d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6104842457/" title="IMG_2008 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_2008" height="427" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6061/6104842457_8988781f52_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6105386216/" title="IMG_2006 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_2006" height="427" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6074/6105386216_10ab84b0b5_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6104847285/" title="IMG_2014 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_2014" height="427" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6203/6104847285_b5f52e5317_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
<br />
All the Peterson girls with Mom and Honey<br />
<br />
I had a blast, thank you so much everyone!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/67052926@N07/6105396254/" title="DSC04606 by shellesteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04606" height="640" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6205/6105396254_5433e3372c_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
And a blurry 30 week picture for your viewing pleasure.<br />
<br />
Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-25956799139726545342011-08-14T01:59:00.000-07:002011-08-14T02:06:40.044-07:00One year later.<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This is a hard post to write, but at the same time, it's the easiest thing in the world to talk about my grandpa.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I blogged about Papa's funeral last year. I can't believe it's been a year. He was sick, especially near the end, and I know he is so happy now. That knowledge that he's happy and that he's where he deserves to be is the only bright beam when we lose a loved one. That and the sweet peaceful knowledge that we'll see him again. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When Papa passed away and we were preparing for the funeral, one thing that kept popping into all our minds was, "we loved him because he first loved us." </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Honey and Papa made it a priority to be a big part of our lives. They loved spending time with their grandchildren. Growing up, I always knew they loved us, not just because they told us so frequently, but by how they treated us. Papa walked my little brother Sean and I to the bus stop almost every day in elementary school, and he was always there when we got home. The bus would pull up and Papa would be standing there with our golden Labrador, Cougar, waving with his ever-present happy smile waiting for us. We would get off the bus and run to give Papa a hug. All our friends loved our grandparents, and many of my friends knew my grandparents better than they knew their own. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Papa was Mr. Fix-it. He could fix anything! With 12 grandkids, it seems like every day Papa was fixing someone's bike chain, or pumping up someone else's tires. He also loved cars. He taught Drivers' Ed at Orem for years, and had a passion for cars. Most kids have to struggle to get all their roading hours in with their parents to qualify for their drivers' licenses, but Papa would call me and ask me if I wanted to go for a drive to practice. He made sure I got plenty of hours driving in the dark and during rain storms too so I could be extra-prepared. (When I took my actual driving test, the woman who tested me said I was the only 100% she'd ever given. Thanks, Papa!)</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I could tell stories about him all day. One of my favorite of Papa's qualities was his ability to be happy in any circumstance. You'd never know it by his attitude, but he had a lot of hard times in his life. People very close to him didn't treat him like they should. But Papa was always happy, always smiling, and never held any grudges. He was an amazing example of not being a victim of circumstance. When he was dealt a difficult hand, he didn't dwell on it. He chose happiness. He made a conscious choice every day to be happy. It wasn't always easy for him-- how could that ever be easy for anyone? But he did it. Always smiling, usually whistling, and never dwelling on the negative. He was a very forgiving man. Yet another lesson Papa inadvertently taught me by the way he lived his life. People who forgive live the happiest lives. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There have been definite times since his passing when I've been able to feel Papa nearby. I am so grateful for those peaceful moments when I can feel his presence. Tears instantly spring to my eyes and I'm filled with so much warmth as I think about the wonderful lessons I learned from my amazing grandpa. Little reminders about not being in such a rush. Taking time to appreciate the little things, and choosing to be happy. He was a wonderful man, and together with my equally wonderful grandma, succeeded in accomplishing much good in this world. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's hard, and we miss him, but I am forever grateful that I was able to know him. My heart goes out to the people who never had the opportunity--or worse, had the opportunity but disregarded it-- to know their grandparents. Especially with grandparents as wonderful as mine, there would be few greater tragedies.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">July 31, 2011- One year later</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6025702629/" title="DSC04508 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04508" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6187/6025702629_19978d777d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6025703227/" title="DSC04509 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04509" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6187/6025703227_9fdea635ea_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If there's one thing to be known about the Peterson women, it's our uncanny and often hilarious ability to dress almost identical on a daily basis. Inadvertently, of course. Repeating color patters, and even complete outfits, as demonstrated by my mom and Steph, more fully illustrate this point. We're just missing Tiff in this picture, but I'd bet my life she was wearing a pink shirt that totally matched Lisa's.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6026260174/" title="DSC04511 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04511" height="640" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6139/6026260174_53b063b8f2_z.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I looked over and noticed Blake was wearing Papa's socks.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6025701629/" title="DSC04506 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04506" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6078/6025701629_51ed9f4eef_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6026255368/" title="DSC04503 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04503" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6189/6026255368_6b044aa83e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Honey and Spencer watching the rest of the grandkids racing.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6025700151/" title="DSC04504 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04504" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6189/6025700151_5d138c7047_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6025700965/" title="DSC04505 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04505" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6200/6025700965_21a116b5cb_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6026253996/" title="DSC04501 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04501" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6061/6026253996_1566b42939_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6026250604/" title="DSC04495 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04495" height="640" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6149/6026250604_8df51948a9_z.jpg" width="480" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6025689979/" title="DSC04487 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04487" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6193/6025689979_1bb88a68f8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Telling our favorite Papa stories. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6026249306/" title="DSC04493 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04493" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6181/6026249306_134a6ca449_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Yellow was Papa's favorite color. So fitting for a man who lived such a happy and bright life. We released yellow balloons into the air, just like we did at his funeral. Here are my parents watching the balloons.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6026247628/" title="DSC04490 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04490" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6069/6026247628_440565dd5e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6026247122/" title="DSC04489 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04489" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6083/6026247122_94d8b08fe3_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<br />
We love you, Papa! Thanks for all the trips to the creamery to get ice cream, all the times you loaded us in the back of your blue truck to go fishing, all the trips to rock canyon park to go sledding, all the jokes you told, all the love you shared, and all the lessons you taught. You are one of a kind. Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-23368947730724513032011-08-09T19:35:00.000-07:002011-08-09T19:41:09.707-07:00Steele Reunion<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">July was a month of family reunions for us. We had a Peterson reunion in Lava Hot Springs where my grandma is from, and a Steele reunion with Blake's immediate family. Next week we're going to a Taylor reunion in good old Wayne County, Utah.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Steele reunion was a blast. Blake's sister and brother-in-law came in from Virgina, and we hadn't seen them for a year. We had a "stay-cation" type of reunion where we did all sorts of fun things around Utah Valley. There was a temple trip, a hike to Timp Cave (I couldn't go because being pregnant apparently for me means you can no longer participate in normal physical activities. This little boy is draining all my energy already), a dutch oven cookout up the canyon, a game day, family pictures, a trip to Lagoon, and golfing! It was quite the reunion.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6025683193/" title="DSC04477 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04477" height="375" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6064/6025683193_16cfefafe3.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Laurel and I were on baby patrol since we couldn't do most of the rides. Clearly I'm doing a great job. No picture is complete with a Steele boy making a face in there somewhere! Thanks Tom. Usually its Luke.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6025684403/" title="DSC04479 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04479" height="375" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6071/6025684403_f7ce632ee1.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">All the Steele boys. Blake, his two brothers and his two brothers-in-law.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6025682657/" title="DSC04476 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04476" height="375" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6123/6025682657_1c992c50b8.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blake, Tom, and Luke</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6026236990/" title="DSC04474 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04474" height="500" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6141/6026236990_0956ba8603.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here's Laurel and Steele. Blake's sister named her little boy Steele, how cool is that?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6025679035/" title="DSC04470 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04470" height="500" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6082/6025679035_fbab486fe2.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/6026233870/" title="DSC04468 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04468" height="375" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6191/6026233870_decb5cb41a.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blake's nieces and nephews listening intently to Grammy's instructions for when we take them on the little kid rides</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We had a blast. Thanks again Robert and Laurel!</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-34994178050949589342011-08-03T23:06:00.000-07:002011-08-03T23:06:22.447-07:00Wrong Number<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A few weeks ago, Blake and I went to the Lehi rodeo with my family. I texted my sister before to ask her what time it started and exactly how to get there. She usually texts back pretty quickly, but she didn't respond for a little while. About a half hour later, I got a phone call from a phone number that was one digit off from my sister's. Realizing I just texted the wrong number, I answered the phone:</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Me: Hello?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Stranger: (In a very demanding voice) Who is this?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Me: Michelle, who is this?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Stranger: Shannon. You texted me.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Me: Oh sorry, I just realized I typed in the wrong number when I saw your number on my caller ID.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Stranger: Do you need to know how to get to the Lehi rodeo?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Me:... yes?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Stranger: Ok, you take main street, turn right after the roundabout, there's parking on the west side of the arena, and if you drive north a few streets you'll find more parking. It starts at eight. Walk in the west doors, there's better seating. I went last night and had a blast. Have fun!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Me: Oh my gosh, thank you so much!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I was laughing so hard. What a nice person to call and make sure I had the right directions, especially since I texted her on accident and she was a complete stranger. I made sure to text her after and tell her thanks and that we had a lot of fun. </div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-78527245585335105242011-07-12T11:52:00.000-07:002011-07-12T11:52:14.273-07:00An Open Letter<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To all participants of any BYU intramural flag football league:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you rip one more of my husband's shirts while going for his flag, I'mma kill you. Not like "oh my gosh, I can't believe you just did that, I'm going to kill you!" No, literally, I will kill you. Blake has lost way too many shirts playing flag football, and is only allowed to wear the already-ripped ones to games from now on.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sidenote: Hey refs, when they grab and tear a shirt literally in half, it's called holding. Blow your whistle, and I will stop yelling at you. That is how our relationship will work.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Blake's in the middle of his intramural season, a.k.a the happiest time of his life. The only hard thing about this pregnancy is not being able to play any co-ed intramurals with him. It's kind of sad that last year was our last chance for that, but we got to play on a basketball and softball team together, which was so much fun! You really don't want to mess with our basketball team. Really, you don't. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Other than intramurals, Blake's in the process of submitting his secondary applications to medical school. The process is, first you send out primary's, and then from that the schools decide whether or not to send you a secondary, and then after you turn those in, the schools contact you to come for an interview, and then you wait in agonizing anticipation to see if they have accepted you. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We've also been having a lot of fun with our <a href="http://www.mormon.org/">ward. </a>Right before I left for New York, Blake got called to be in the bishopric of a singles' ward. I was able to go to our new ward once before I left for my internship, and Blake stayed behind and attended a singles' ward... by himself... for two months. Hilarious. By the way, I forgot how many activities singles' wards have! We are having the best time! Pool parties, dutch oven dinners, bonfires up the canyon, breakfasts, and that's just the start. We really miss our old ward, but we are having so much fun with this new one. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-81308525510028261022011-07-08T22:42:00.000-07:002011-07-08T22:42:53.223-07:004th of July!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Fourth of July is favorite holiday- even topping Christmas! Can you believe that?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My mom is one of the Vice Presidents of the Freedom Festival so for our family, the Fourth of July is a combination of really exciting patriotic events mixed with barbecues and the biggest firework show in the country. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/5913685079/" title="DSC04349 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04349" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6021/5913685079_464043098c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Our holiday started out with the annual Patriotic Service in the Marriott Center. Last year, Steve Young was the keynote speaker and I interviewed him for </span><a href="http://universe2.byu.edu/node/9302"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">this article</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, (last year I also pulled double duty as a stage manager? Stage worker? Theatrical friends, what is this called? My mom volunteered my 5 month pregnant sister and myself to dress in black and move the sets on and off the stage during scene changes... good times Mom.)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This year, there was no keynote speaker, it was more of a program. It was really incredible. All you who live in Provo and have never been, you are missing out! Oh that's a picture of my cute parents afterward</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/5913687451/" title="DSC04352 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04352" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5079/5913687451_d37bb094b2_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is my parents with my niece Lily and Miss United Nations and Miss Africa Utah. Miss United Nations is from Tajikistan. This was pretty cool because I got to spend the day with the ambassador of Tajikistan when they came for an ambassador's picnic on Governor's Island, NY hosted by the LDS Public and International Affairs office. I told you there was still a lot I wanted to blog about New York.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/5913704065/" title="DSC04368 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04368" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5120/5913704065_401952364c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My parents gave us tickets to a Mark Wills/Mark Chesnutt concert, which was awesome. We sat next to Miss America, who I'm sorry to tell you, wears a wig. But she wears it well! We were able to go to a meet and greet before the concert, and they were really funny. Especially Mark Wills, you can tell he loves his fans.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/5913710507/" title="DSC04376 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04376" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5035/5913710507_5bf088563b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is my cute mom and Blake.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One of my favorite parts of our annual Fourth of July celebration is the Freedom Awards Gala. It's a formal dinner where 3-4ish people are awarded each year for their outstanding contributions to promoting freedom. F. Enzio Busche, an emeritus member of the Quorum of the Seventy was one of the people awarded this year. It's always a great celebration for freedom, as well as a strong reminder to be grateful for the freedoms we all experience each day living in America. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/5914272268/" title="DSC04377 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04377" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6047/5914272268_99dd099174_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/5914275180/" title="DSC04381 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04381" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6043/5914275180_9f3b57fa6a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Honey wore one of my high school dance dresses! She looked gorgeous, and could definitely zip it up easier than I could.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/5914270012/" title="DSC04374 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04374" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6005/5914270012_95514e0c37_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In the middle of our celebrations, Natalie had her adorable baby, Eliza Clawson! She's gorgeous, and Natalie is such a rockstar. She definitely didn't look like she just had a baby. Peterson grandbaby #9. That is crazy!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/5913706557/" title="DSC04371 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04371" height="480" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6025/5913706557_111b3990dc_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Blake came to the hospital to help watch kids in the lobby during the delivery. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/5914291536/" title="DSC04413 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04413" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5077/5914291536_ed6ce365fd_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then, of course, we finished up with the Stadium of Fire! (Blake politely informed me that he might kill me if I sing the song one more time.) We were able to go backstage to the pre-show and post-show and hang out with the performers. Good times!</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/5913733423/" title="DSC04417 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04417" height="480" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5075/5913733423_7eea0cec46_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/m-steele/5914307132/" title="DSC04412 by shellsteele, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC04412" height="640" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5151/5914307132_0a1c6358e1_z.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's Chad Lewis at the pre-show, He went to my elementary school, junior high, and high school. I'm sure he remembers coming to my elementary school for an assembly to encourage us all to read when I was in fourth grade. I'm sure that had just as strong of an impact on him as it did on me. :)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We finished off the week by going to the festival in Provo and buying matching ties for our little guy and Blake. Oh adorable! We had such a great time! Thanks mom and dad :) </span>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-89241946216055644022011-06-26T11:14:00.000-07:002011-06-26T11:14:41.406-07:00It's a BOY!!!!<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If you are my Facebook friend, which you probably are, then you know we're having a boy! I thought it was a boy all along, and Blake started to think so too. I was SO EXCITED when the doctor confirmed our would-be parental instincts (or lucky guess). It is so fun being able to concentrate on getting ready for mini-Blake to arrive.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We went to the doctor on Tuesday and got to see our little guy on the screen. He's so cute already. I have never been one to like ultrasound pictures (some are just so creepy looking!) But he is adorable. The more we are able to get ready for him, the more excited we get. Blake and I love to say "our son." It's my favorite thing. Example, "Blake, <i>our son </i>is kicking a lot right now." </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><strike>We</strike> Blake has been painting the crib:</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6Xu7iUKcTjCzq934QAKtzDA_CoWXySxLNuH0mcoiQ8iSDy2Coly2Q0ndRlqJ83uVFA0NzCvX6NHFSd-H1FLwTsxr1dpdDrodUBxQ4_h1A_TJ1NolpAwKrFouoSX23x7WBss6o4RG-dRF/s1600/DSC04339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs6Xu7iUKcTjCzq934QAKtzDA_CoWXySxLNuH0mcoiQ8iSDy2Coly2Q0ndRlqJ83uVFA0NzCvX6NHFSd-H1FLwTsxr1dpdDrodUBxQ4_h1A_TJ1NolpAwKrFouoSX23x7WBss6o4RG-dRF/s400/DSC04339.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLr89WAvrkn63ufA0rIk1mTPTU8Uc1xrZGKGUdcZegnBMrxLEOLsnuB4CoiE1uHsBGMBh5VlV0LFmoOAh2SZ1z-l2pyTufhzJKcHoG9XBdIvk57kHCvOoWbcA0xhbIkNWDnp_qnzzi7AMC/s1600/DSC04341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLr89WAvrkn63ufA0rIk1mTPTU8Uc1xrZGKGUdcZegnBMrxLEOLsnuB4CoiE1uHsBGMBh5VlV0LFmoOAh2SZ1z-l2pyTufhzJKcHoG9XBdIvk57kHCvOoWbcA0xhbIkNWDnp_qnzzi7AMC/s400/DSC04341.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">With a little help. Blake's nephew Will has been our little buddy the last few days. He comes to visit us a lot and has been telling me what kinds of toys little boys like to play with so I can be prepared.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sdIzrfirNWa9KY2ywAdynO_9irrQS6qBFuII2_xw290r9i3dfvV_3sHZfd8suHVZW1-Yoma4ZXaM64ux3j1s2HX1lQZIZGwazi2ZiGPsIONWjrt1pOfIbspF_CSV4OIfwU9e3FLUFMIJ/s1600/DSC04344.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6sdIzrfirNWa9KY2ywAdynO_9irrQS6qBFuII2_xw290r9i3dfvV_3sHZfd8suHVZW1-Yoma4ZXaM64ux3j1s2HX1lQZIZGwazi2ZiGPsIONWjrt1pOfIbspF_CSV4OIfwU9e3FLUFMIJ/s400/DSC04344.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjje35uk0JLJXjwxu6Z2SSEyu4PBjCgoeaQXaibItV0mkwEwe63rCjBYrDAVzdLD2sEcOuDAHN3Q4oN-FNDSLV8U_ENvcs18p_FchgbjZl0k5mAmzfrCJBfSJrUUM16WQq4zcqZNNhUickp/s1600/DSC04288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjje35uk0JLJXjwxu6Z2SSEyu4PBjCgoeaQXaibItV0mkwEwe63rCjBYrDAVzdLD2sEcOuDAHN3Q4oN-FNDSLV8U_ENvcs18p_FchgbjZl0k5mAmzfrCJBfSJrUUM16WQq4zcqZNNhUickp/s400/DSC04288.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And here's a 20 week picture. Half-way there! So far I've been feeling awesome. The first trimester was tough. It was near the end of a tough semester, and I was running out of classes to go throw up. Luckily I had very understanding professors and bosses, (plus I go to BYU, they're used to pregnant students.)</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Once I started the second trimester, I felt so good. Which was a huge blessing because I was already in New York and it was hard enough being away from Blake. I had some pretty killer headaches, but other than that I felt amazing. My joints hurt now, and I feel like I'm 100 years old when my back and hips ache so bad that I'm hobbling around. And there there's the heartburn, oh the heartburn! But I look at how hard some other people's pregnancies are and I feel really lucky. I've felt really good. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I haven't really had weird cravings, I just want the food I already love<i> all the time.</i> I ALWAYS want a burger, and I will never say no to ice cream, but that is pretty standard. </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i> </i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg607YIKmAvUGWc0yR6Wiv51NxdQA44vkT0m7RsDfifKsvSD07zKczmZOqtRsrwiIdPJqzSePv3miAxqcyOPTDis4Y2fliDhwn5CQCFMbrQTqEHodcdYEt3CTOIDML0pjKhMczQxOAXX1_8/s1600/DSC04346.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg607YIKmAvUGWc0yR6Wiv51NxdQA44vkT0m7RsDfifKsvSD07zKczmZOqtRsrwiIdPJqzSePv3miAxqcyOPTDis4Y2fliDhwn5CQCFMbrQTqEHodcdYEt3CTOIDML0pjKhMczQxOAXX1_8/s400/DSC04346.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i> </i></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blake and I at the Lehi Rodeo Friday night. By the way, finally a stranger asked me how far along I was! I was SO excited because that means I'm getting out of the "is that girl just chubby" stage to the "I think she's pregnant"stage. Sweet!</span>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-35095743644938617362011-06-26T10:20:00.000-07:002011-06-26T10:22:29.824-07:00Babies Everywhere!<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">There's still so much I want to blog about New York, but for now, I'm home!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Our really good friends, Garrett and Andrea, had their beautiful baby girl last week. They let us come to the hospital and see them, which got Blake and I even more excited for our own. Here's some pictures of some of our pre-baby hijinx:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzUjy1Ly3GrZEzHgK3bS7pL6J5fe3iQwvFQJIF6PL9lMjv9ZnUIfbXjD0gZPHNUYASCE2F1KtLE8dRvmkpabbCvyceC-ylBuZef4uBf2qSlN4QXkksJ6mw-YWV1D_Q_JshMtKnf7ntY8a/s1600/DSC03945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYzUjy1Ly3GrZEzHgK3bS7pL6J5fe3iQwvFQJIF6PL9lMjv9ZnUIfbXjD0gZPHNUYASCE2F1KtLE8dRvmkpabbCvyceC-ylBuZef4uBf2qSlN4QXkksJ6mw-YWV1D_Q_JshMtKnf7ntY8a/s400/DSC03945.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Bodines</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRUfH7ppYH3n5m6ghSzQtoMPdQwLla5wm5qNz2EG_lmrVJXcSvg0yrLnvk2NMXL4HX_NtTdIcYGJLVRSQxd0YFPwHH2ntSfGlL7OX2M7TE_s20s3SzGMP7zE9nYN1SS5b4btGTv_d6z8gZ/s1600/DSC03953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRUfH7ppYH3n5m6ghSzQtoMPdQwLla5wm5qNz2EG_lmrVJXcSvg0yrLnvk2NMXL4HX_NtTdIcYGJLVRSQxd0YFPwHH2ntSfGlL7OX2M7TE_s20s3SzGMP7zE9nYN1SS5b4btGTv_d6z8gZ/s400/DSC03953.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">BYU's YBALL (Basically prom for married people, don't make fun), it was so fun to just attend the event and not be in charge of the event like 2 years ago....STRESSFUL! Last year I had absolutely nothing to do with it. It was awesome :)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdRcFn6vovm0imi78T0kZ2ORTF97Mx-LCK5spQH7GFQ7OBIS8M5Rk2WuF_RFZjQXgcAwnIz3i7Ae_9gz9voEshgnuovBn0XQxVN-oY4kPN8ZpsimMncKbIqfxMbKEtf1XXULHoyuo66uF/s1600/DSC02908_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdRcFn6vovm0imi78T0kZ2ORTF97Mx-LCK5spQH7GFQ7OBIS8M5Rk2WuF_RFZjQXgcAwnIz3i7Ae_9gz9voEshgnuovBn0XQxVN-oY4kPN8ZpsimMncKbIqfxMbKEtf1XXULHoyuo66uF/s400/DSC02908_2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Guys, we do a lot of things that require us dress up. Next time lets hang out in sweats.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGDIx99Aax4_HYZyvvfpP2YYgoRpcmZiEzHkxGxD1TGhtWt2CrLg6xGnC7aCuyKgzSHk4bMB_lrs9gi0ssyc0apP5wEbOJL4PHhT9GvU33oGEckTSYff2JXBLLaUbIxBDKBlmZAwh9LBq/s1600/DSC04336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhGDIx99Aax4_HYZyvvfpP2YYgoRpcmZiEzHkxGxD1TGhtWt2CrLg6xGnC7aCuyKgzSHk4bMB_lrs9gi0ssyc0apP5wEbOJL4PHhT9GvU33oGEckTSYff2JXBLLaUbIxBDKBlmZAwh9LBq/s400/DSC04336.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nyf9b74yY20/Tgdo48u8vNI/AAAAAAAAAuk/7sikM1Mhj2w/s1600/DSC04337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nyf9b74yY20/Tgdo48u8vNI/AAAAAAAAAuk/7sikM1Mhj2w/s400/DSC04337.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Beautiful Callie Jane Bodine!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Blake's sister Lindsey had her baby, Steele, (sweet name, huh?) about 4 weeks ago. They're coming to Utah in a few weeks so we can meet hi<span style="font-size: small;">m! My sister Natalie</span> was due with a girl last week, she's scheduled to be induced on Tuesday. So exciting! Our baby is going to be grandbaby #7 on the Steele side and #10 on the Peterson side.</span></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-65567887550593950332011-06-08T20:53:00.000-07:002011-06-08T20:55:38.668-07:00Pressure and Equilibrium<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Blake has been known to say- in the most positive way possible- that all those chemistry and physics classes he's taken have completely ruined his life. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Not that he hasn't loved them, he is extremely interested in those topics, but because he has learned so much that they have completely changed the way that thinks about things. He can hardly drive in a car without it sparking a thought on velocity, and the power of acceleration, yada yada yada...</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">While we were together in New York, I got up one morning to go to the bathroom at 5:00 am-because that's what you do when you're pregnant-and when I opened the door to our room, I heard something fall. I turned around and asked a very groggy Blake what happened. He responded, still half asleep, </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Blake: "well when you opened the door, the pressure in the room changed. Before the door was opened, the room was at equilibrium, and because the window is open..." </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Me: "Oh my gosh, Blake, what happened?"</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Blake: "The bag fell off the windowsill."</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">....Thank you. </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
This is a variation of basically the exact same conversation that we have almost daily. I love it, I have learned quite a bit since we've been married. Never mind the fact that the only science class I took in college was Bio 100, ask me about buoyancy. (I got this lesson on the Staten Island Ferry going to see the Statue of Liberty.)<br />
<br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Never a dull moment. </div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-76104230888803322322011-06-06T22:29:00.000-07:002011-06-06T22:39:11.402-07:00Let's Hear it for New York!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WtH9GIOK27_yt7JZcGOMZLyNrtdniGqOhp1gfSSY5-fx-xe4OW8A_IpLeQp-SVB0q8KYAbTC1twmxV2n6npMtXV078AG-mS_vYXOCrVX_XNs9CXx_lox0xJ5IJ4XWeSWX_RcF7acT0Zt/s1600/DSC04163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh902SI0PBMRzgdygiFW1FFx9qNqFb_w3SmOD3hyphenhyphenW9fOkxogNa-Zk_zdK85u1YMgQf8NJkLRiNXMxAV4WJ2oOzNh0Osjz-fPZEx2tXqdhsgs-ODIcWl-a82EbziBgrcC5YurpsqRJURdUFG/s1600/DSC04272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh902SI0PBMRzgdygiFW1FFx9qNqFb_w3SmOD3hyphenhyphenW9fOkxogNa-Zk_zdK85u1YMgQf8NJkLRiNXMxAV4WJ2oOzNh0Osjz-fPZEx2tXqdhsgs-ODIcWl-a82EbziBgrcC5YurpsqRJURdUFG/s640/DSC04272.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I took a little blogging hiatus for a few weeks because Blake came to visit! We had the best time! We hadn't seen each other in 4 weeks, which, if you're wondering, is 4 weeks too long.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We:</div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiK0QXVQKQsWd3LqjwzjdU2JxA7LV0ZcKFNG3jdnSFx0WbCW6oj9KQ_DgKEbp6ZxtVOjtwxukPu2FCbmXGkHf9QtHmAoQAdW76MBGh0WxZsDo8PBw1gzRUvK7Aj8ZDcPScFhU7HYzBgc9u/s1600/DSC04142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiK0QXVQKQsWd3LqjwzjdU2JxA7LV0ZcKFNG3jdnSFx0WbCW6oj9KQ_DgKEbp6ZxtVOjtwxukPu2FCbmXGkHf9QtHmAoQAdW76MBGh0WxZsDo8PBw1gzRUvK7Aj8ZDcPScFhU7HYzBgc9u/s400/DSC04142.JPG" width="400" /></a>
<li>Went to a Yankees Game, Yankees v. Blue Jays, even though they played Toronto, it was still the most exciting Major League Baseball game I've ever seen. </li>
<li> Rented a row boat in Central Park and rowed around the lake for an hour. That was one of my favorite things we did, it was gorgeous. We saw turtles everywhere! It was such a fun afternoon.</li>
</ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqOaO5Exhbxu2cbw_zzcLwLhQXWc261hpXs1ftf1TypkrAhHPJUUViX_Dq9iJNUhlLY7euo8xCgQpE_KOB8gooTLi-ZN8aGwnTXITPHCc1boKPskgHxZQMnuYH3-FhGPcbNUpEsHh1lro/s1600/DSC04152.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKqOaO5Exhbxu2cbw_zzcLwLhQXWc261hpXs1ftf1TypkrAhHPJUUViX_Dq9iJNUhlLY7euo8xCgQpE_KOB8gooTLi-ZN8aGwnTXITPHCc1boKPskgHxZQMnuYH3-FhGPcbNUpEsHh1lro/s400/DSC04152.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-lZ0jWxUnxQwFSAwoS4er26yQBuBMy6ZrBGIaEyTXcIugn9H9iB2jAL4zKeSUuENUAk62JIb6O0V4GP5yVvwHNGZG-EkkMiHUm-w_5uY4dsYz1rpdQ7aiGI57K67s9o7VOclYpusB5tM/s1600/DSC04265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx-lZ0jWxUnxQwFSAwoS4er26yQBuBMy6ZrBGIaEyTXcIugn9H9iB2jAL4zKeSUuENUAk62JIb6O0V4GP5yVvwHNGZG-EkkMiHUm-w_5uY4dsYz1rpdQ7aiGI57K67s9o7VOclYpusB5tM/s400/DSC04265.JPG" width="400" /></a>
<li>Went to Bethesda Fountain</li>
<li>Visited Rockefeller Center</li>
<li>Magnolia's Bakery</li>
</ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiJ3KFEmHdhRkwcPWNagSf5Tq4H-5dohsefslftEuj1aOTTZIqJDAoK-u7UueqYMuJz_ZhyphenhyphenSa3ImnZf-heF6jePb3pwm3suVncg56DZyuCNUT0cRKjKPzvwNLnle388Anve_anGGyMUfzJ/s1600/DSC04211.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiJ3KFEmHdhRkwcPWNagSf5Tq4H-5dohsefslftEuj1aOTTZIqJDAoK-u7UueqYMuJz_ZhyphenhyphenSa3ImnZf-heF6jePb3pwm3suVncg56DZyuCNUT0cRKjKPzvwNLnle388Anve_anGGyMUfzJ/s320/DSC04211.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Serendipity</li>
<li><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFV6h2S-ZzKAl5XzDBL2s7FMnIX86tyQp01BnM611EBrwcKq6kaa44WGkIvVz2rwf6G4_ieTUAPFdaAICYA3D2mtIn0jEVTz4L3bIFI0Z9FCIOpnZKS3vdXY4eFEMHO_89y6j7Ddt7qNqX/s1600/DSC04266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFV6h2S-ZzKAl5XzDBL2s7FMnIX86tyQp01BnM611EBrwcKq6kaa44WGkIvVz2rwf6G4_ieTUAPFdaAICYA3D2mtIn0jEVTz4L3bIFI0Z9FCIOpnZKS3vdXY4eFEMHO_89y6j7Ddt7qNqX/s320/DSC04266.JPG" width="320" /></a> </li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>...and many more ice cream stands on the streets that my pregnant self dragged Blake along to</li>
<li>Shopped at a few local street fairs</li>
<li>Watched Top Gun on the top deck of the U.S.S Intrepid that's docked in NY Harbor. (This ship has since been converted to a museum)</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKcWVsWZRnq9LHmU0yr2iLxiSKtARh4ZiN-9wMA0cqLhs7LWGcYm-AgQpYBK4eXjRU9HUs6Wo6KKOQaT2-AY43JDPJ9RKfcUnDWTNfPd-sMa8I-CSrkgywbkTqV762rDDeK3y_WGEOGaG0/s1600/DSC04168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKcWVsWZRnq9LHmU0yr2iLxiSKtARh4ZiN-9wMA0cqLhs7LWGcYm-AgQpYBK4eXjRU9HUs6Wo6KKOQaT2-AY43JDPJ9RKfcUnDWTNfPd-sMa8I-CSrkgywbkTqV762rDDeK3y_WGEOGaG0/s400/DSC04168.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8KWqYrT3dbNH0Losd-GZO_4BUDxnhp2JnBLn4KYhlmkJSG-OiTy6RD-cLrJfUX0uFlXP5Lqrto5D9qfeqwkne11foEVEHTfIwZe-03irqYmMuD8SqYEVSKZLpX_CePLKOeiUVKiN_rPN/s1600/DSC04170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8KWqYrT3dbNH0Losd-GZO_4BUDxnhp2JnBLn4KYhlmkJSG-OiTy6RD-cLrJfUX0uFlXP5Lqrto5D9qfeqwkne11foEVEHTfIwZe-03irqYmMuD8SqYEVSKZLpX_CePLKOeiUVKiN_rPN/s320/DSC04170.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishOeyuW2KvaeMGmtuXZTt_HAP9IsH-vaen7IT0xL27VE9r5xsLXoxlr4mKZ5gY3rSgXWA8MnxMHAQ40GH8M4BnhQW7AKXSqXisrKyWWH3r6c-cH2P8yzM3E3P_gax7Z9q_pp35cT61EP5/s1600/DSC04176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEishOeyuW2KvaeMGmtuXZTt_HAP9IsH-vaen7IT0xL27VE9r5xsLXoxlr4mKZ5gY3rSgXWA8MnxMHAQ40GH8M4BnhQW7AKXSqXisrKyWWH3r6c-cH2P8yzM3E3P_gax7Z9q_pp35cT61EP5/s320/DSC04176.JPG" width="320" /></a> <br />
<ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Times Square, this is about two weeks old, but I think I'm 16 weeks in this picture. Officially 4 months!</li>
</ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WtH9GIOK27_yt7JZcGOMZLyNrtdniGqOhp1gfSSY5-fx-xe4OW8A_IpLeQp-SVB0q8KYAbTC1twmxV2n6npMtXV078AG-mS_vYXOCrVX_XNs9CXx_lox0xJ5IJ4XWeSWX_RcF7acT0Zt/s1600/DSC04163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2WtH9GIOK27_yt7JZcGOMZLyNrtdniGqOhp1gfSSY5-fx-xe4OW8A_IpLeQp-SVB0q8KYAbTC1twmxV2n6npMtXV078AG-mS_vYXOCrVX_XNs9CXx_lox0xJ5IJ4XWeSWX_RcF7acT0Zt/s320/DSC04163.jpg" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtmm3eD2SCG8FkIu-PaJT-hC0o3_5itBoc1RJQ-v1Jmx9G5KBgbP5b_RcExwJ3D4hq9mdpIluWLPzLKEV8J_FVEB2QZ0v7tqrw2M-SRrNEtLx7LFju120r49T2_P8jbiQYojD2tdNMmFHm/s1600/DSC04162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_MBImIpthh2kb0fjRCTjKLuMwuGZifcC_UwSn9-WDMvvePNw11naP_iOPnq0hAqAa-sdalqEW6fR56XiRlBrny_g9lmEZRQ_KDD-ALoLyIelktR1zl9xUn7mMtrcg2V8yQTd6sIg1e8dc/s1600/DSC04177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_MBImIpthh2kb0fjRCTjKLuMwuGZifcC_UwSn9-WDMvvePNw11naP_iOPnq0hAqAa-sdalqEW6fR56XiRlBrny_g9lmEZRQ_KDD-ALoLyIelktR1zl9xUn7mMtrcg2V8yQTd6sIg1e8dc/s320/DSC04177.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Went to Grimaldi's Pizza...twice. It was worth the 1 hour and 45 minute wait, seriously, it was.</li>
</ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKZc8Hy8_c5Mp5G-BiBU7tVkyC90E2aS9eEVM3UT4KQFVQH9JUHT6NFwHwUEG6zS7C-X2wy4pssziVXjdi18CiTHkO7gGzxMiTL1GBKeMn34f5UXVV380VH6fRWuHRY8fvk8C45nG6JY9/s1600/DSC04206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjma2lH3w9uVDkqaIbSEY9EicS5NKN2_GMmqRS1VnO7Z7Hmlxk4aWC6EShRftVQ13gLNvh0fA1DlvgfgAcVz3LyJ7IbFb3XByOytvQPIi8KoNg4A7htN2XwLtFV6_e_A6JsAwRZtdKw-zAF/s1600/DSC04189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjma2lH3w9uVDkqaIbSEY9EicS5NKN2_GMmqRS1VnO7Z7Hmlxk4aWC6EShRftVQ13gLNvh0fA1DlvgfgAcVz3LyJ7IbFb3XByOytvQPIi8KoNg4A7htN2XwLtFV6_e_A6JsAwRZtdKw-zAF/s400/DSC04189.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6yjtYKM4I-eUmAIX2q1ER0ImEmZOY4ELplmQ3fPQrx3V24zHKmWOkjKiMoRH4TBPtRjDibyb34jJ7ImaRjdmVbBqI3ve-QGnWbIxjZ83QM9z247l1JCVCG6qmZhUf42NUdi260VtauLc/s1600/DSC04256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh6yjtYKM4I-eUmAIX2q1ER0ImEmZOY4ELplmQ3fPQrx3V24zHKmWOkjKiMoRH4TBPtRjDibyb34jJ7ImaRjdmVbBqI3ve-QGnWbIxjZ83QM9z247l1JCVCG6qmZhUf42NUdi260VtauLc/s400/DSC04256.jpg" width="300" /></a> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUXIN4ErhrIC162jQsclRew8qfUKy8yZxmQ_X5-5wIhmvyOGqClDCzz9HnUXAn4PBkiyYapSBR1xIfv5iYxnpMUzFJy8ePXRPopGy9qodUnBE2DcO0T6mWBe8kxLZ7myVh4DtOaTJIeoj/s1600/DSC04259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigUXIN4ErhrIC162jQsclRew8qfUKy8yZxmQ_X5-5wIhmvyOGqClDCzz9HnUXAn4PBkiyYapSBR1xIfv5iYxnpMUzFJy8ePXRPopGy9qodUnBE2DcO0T6mWBe8kxLZ7myVh4DtOaTJIeoj/s400/DSC04259.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQEzDqiXfjOf7CD_QdhkxalcgHVyO8d05NuX6IW5dxKCrOsYwIHPI83wcwjDra4EsGrEEkgFtxxB7EROYPmwl-6qTOIaUBINXssSyzG7e0myEHUTPpqKjDc7qMvP4Qsap-CwXAdt2TjMb/s1600/DSC04261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQEzDqiXfjOf7CD_QdhkxalcgHVyO8d05NuX6IW5dxKCrOsYwIHPI83wcwjDra4EsGrEEkgFtxxB7EROYPmwl-6qTOIaUBINXssSyzG7e0myEHUTPpqKjDc7qMvP4Qsap-CwXAdt2TjMb/s400/DSC04261.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> (sidenote: the definition of anxiety is wearing white pants in NYC.)</div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Took a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty (please excuse my shoes, too much walking!)</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-zo1GBBXn1COAwZfy5F2uLHk-82uuZiIxMPZr0CgbKRVDDU-jbGiK3M7P9LJH3UuP7hMsZ0BaQ8aaX0WSxTSVJaS1flZDpon2PlxNhtOE8t5fvkH5GdIf8kypnQkoZG6jtwKXdX2_tJx/s1600/DSC04220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ-zo1GBBXn1COAwZfy5F2uLHk-82uuZiIxMPZr0CgbKRVDDU-jbGiK3M7P9LJH3UuP7hMsZ0BaQ8aaX0WSxTSVJaS1flZDpon2PlxNhtOE8t5fvkH5GdIf8kypnQkoZG6jtwKXdX2_tJx/s400/DSC04220.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAFERt5EHyg_jUTcK3yq39zvEQsm6I4J6MOwRiMwCEMzvFivSWEhjCvsyIjmAXOmVqK-A6-MfS-5usmh7-JptS6HlpluySSySt-l36vZwzPiGxy-XrQJ3hoLqgNkck5KHru-ngW5YLc2XL/s1600/DSC04223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAFERt5EHyg_jUTcK3yq39zvEQsm6I4J6MOwRiMwCEMzvFivSWEhjCvsyIjmAXOmVqK-A6-MfS-5usmh7-JptS6HlpluySSySt-l36vZwzPiGxy-XrQJ3hoLqgNkck5KHru-ngW5YLc2XL/s320/DSC04223.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><ul><li>Went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and even saw the Alexander McQueen exhibit</li>
</ul><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKZc8Hy8_c5Mp5G-BiBU7tVkyC90E2aS9eEVM3UT4KQFVQH9JUHT6NFwHwUEG6zS7C-X2wy4pssziVXjdi18CiTHkO7gGzxMiTL1GBKeMn34f5UXVV380VH6fRWuHRY8fvk8C45nG6JY9/s1600/DSC04206.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicKZc8Hy8_c5Mp5G-BiBU7tVkyC90E2aS9eEVM3UT4KQFVQH9JUHT6NFwHwUEG6zS7C-X2wy4pssziVXjdi18CiTHkO7gGzxMiTL1GBKeMn34f5UXVV380VH6fRWuHRY8fvk8C45nG6JY9/s400/DSC04206.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYbff1h6ScPFi4lW9Yc4UebMxQMI6n8HB4Q9xzz_OsE4u5YhuO0Mr4jtH4jWgb5e7fEiG_bnkG19vDPKsib8mmTNBRP95zfTMzT1wp_wMylxYVPHylc72hDkSGTkW35z86mk5Exzy_yHn/s1600/DSC04198.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTYbff1h6ScPFi4lW9Yc4UebMxQMI6n8HB4Q9xzz_OsE4u5YhuO0Mr4jtH4jWgb5e7fEiG_bnkG19vDPKsib8mmTNBRP95zfTMzT1wp_wMylxYVPHylc72hDkSGTkW35z86mk5Exzy_yHn/s400/DSC04198.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8au0dzIDXso3zuEq48lAlu8wwHjMtfWxDh6vBCK0ycItKbJv8zmrEnr2nzCgoqv_aacB7G7Ar7fYOfKV_AX4ide6caiNfiqeSm90z363iqQHHObo_RZFQ7MZgIvyYOWtxCnQ7bMVL7U4U/s1600/DSC04200.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8au0dzIDXso3zuEq48lAlu8wwHjMtfWxDh6vBCK0ycItKbJv8zmrEnr2nzCgoqv_aacB7G7Ar7fYOfKV_AX4ide6caiNfiqeSm90z363iqQHHObo_RZFQ7MZgIvyYOWtxCnQ7bMVL7U4U/s400/DSC04200.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqLD8e31wdV76vDlood3cqYN9d2PD-3UDLsHndFFomwcc7qWtOkxBvHGl9r0eApFOQfmarrtHvI2hDYf8MVfEitkSmVlWtiBjwVipjUfnbizNOjimmwSu4gqZlpmP97OjPl0RcjKc4Ddd/s1600/DSC04208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqLD8e31wdV76vDlood3cqYN9d2PD-3UDLsHndFFomwcc7qWtOkxBvHGl9r0eApFOQfmarrtHvI2hDYf8MVfEitkSmVlWtiBjwVipjUfnbizNOjimmwSu4gqZlpmP97OjPl0RcjKc4Ddd/s400/DSC04208.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Went to the Natural History Museum (where we saw the one and only Mr. Feeny from Boy Meets World, oh and Tony Hawk, but come on, Mr. Feeny!!)</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic82kpxJhkkqQ3FJtprof0B1RQsFfP8OP6r5JdKgPqoQLlg9wGqyL-j00vmDJjC4BaX3qle9LUwVK6MFd5sBSoaN_O_g4JrxrAlktqUhDiFxCIafP0Qe68eOirxwLgy7XIC9UUZ3OARQIG/s1600/DSC04181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic82kpxJhkkqQ3FJtprof0B1RQsFfP8OP6r5JdKgPqoQLlg9wGqyL-j00vmDJjC4BaX3qle9LUwVK6MFd5sBSoaN_O_g4JrxrAlktqUhDiFxCIafP0Qe68eOirxwLgy7XIC9UUZ3OARQIG/s320/DSC04181.JPG" width="320" /></a>Blake did a good job fake posing for this picture. I'm so mad that i didn't take a picture with Mr. Feeny! </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_snMGcl8IcAozgxqajJpzXy241NVqEHu_PwPH_IU1k_TgHX-iZs2LpzPhCViErtaG8Q_zwGRQLk83VoIuRcVgbRzimJJ2ZwjkgryvU4KashLNuyYdjY4C0qdYW9H-ETgtmeyoxhwYkkt/s1600/DSC04185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh_snMGcl8IcAozgxqajJpzXy241NVqEHu_PwPH_IU1k_TgHX-iZs2LpzPhCViErtaG8Q_zwGRQLk83VoIuRcVgbRzimJJ2ZwjkgryvU4KashLNuyYdjY4C0qdYW9H-ETgtmeyoxhwYkkt/s320/DSC04185.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Visited Ground Zero. This little chapel, St. Paul's Church, I think, is directly across the street from Ground Zero. It's been turned into a reverent memorial for the events of that day. It is beautiful inside, and very sobering. Firefighters napped on the benches before getting called back into "the pit," and their boots and helmets left deep scuff marks on the benches. Rather than replace them, the church preserved them as a memento of the sacrifices made. This is also one of the oldest churches in America. Immediately after George Washington was inaugurated, he came here to pray. </li>
</ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCn3gxIZsn9glPZoa2udrvuEDn1tjotNYUMNRqX_1dg4bqV0CxB78R1OqCJ28ctVWKe9-m64_hBIFDXieTOEymUHYjIBdN6fWsV4K8z6cMeJClys4B1XbuJBFQGnte3ntm9yU5ePrQEn6L/s1600/DSC04217.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCn3gxIZsn9glPZoa2udrvuEDn1tjotNYUMNRqX_1dg4bqV0CxB78R1OqCJ28ctVWKe9-m64_hBIFDXieTOEymUHYjIBdN6fWsV4K8z6cMeJClys4B1XbuJBFQGnte3ntm9yU5ePrQEn6L/s320/DSC04217.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Soho</li>
</ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpPqbm0McBUhodIYHyjtghZmmJx9dM8PWDkN-N_2i7_NqfNBVIlTiRBVdnY1FkcUrfZXQT0feRF2bJlN3k8iDheTsoRps49lLgmaL9502NfvQCarmOwQyK3eDSBELm4_Lmsafck7CCKVp/s1600/DSC04234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpPqbm0McBUhodIYHyjtghZmmJx9dM8PWDkN-N_2i7_NqfNBVIlTiRBVdnY1FkcUrfZXQT0feRF2bJlN3k8iDheTsoRps49lLgmaL9502NfvQCarmOwQyK3eDSBELm4_Lmsafck7CCKVp/s320/DSC04234.jpg" width="240" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li> Greenwich Village, my favorite area for sure</li>
</ul><br />
<ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Took a tour of the U.N., and sat in the General Assembly room (17 weeks pregnant, here comes the bump!)</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-IIZpDFVCSmCg8wNNkxxmGnQrPaMc3I4nxAgfodkrK-8YtE2F29UZOlsgA5aO7R6vwYcOOHXpr32L2iiD5uTq32e225zg71hmYAOy0g3aOvg9QYLmevmT-8fW6v6f8KlLvev2iEBsRi6/s1600/DSC04239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-IIZpDFVCSmCg8wNNkxxmGnQrPaMc3I4nxAgfodkrK-8YtE2F29UZOlsgA5aO7R6vwYcOOHXpr32L2iiD5uTq32e225zg71hmYAOy0g3aOvg9QYLmevmT-8fW6v6f8KlLvev2iEBsRi6/s400/DSC04239.JPG" width="400" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvv-c8yfu4rtf29bkP-bZpVfZNdB_rXmaqjOnnDQ4NkYNuxU3m1bwQquc2kYkq1HFqjPYeKhGJ5yLcOl9cSbZOLcg_FOtZt2BlThhmfMpDFwPs-R4Z4c9aYhMdlnH2PRYqlRhDvHtvxdN/s1600/DSC04245.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggvv-c8yfu4rtf29bkP-bZpVfZNdB_rXmaqjOnnDQ4NkYNuxU3m1bwQquc2kYkq1HFqjPYeKhGJ5yLcOl9cSbZOLcg_FOtZt2BlThhmfMpDFwPs-R4Z4c9aYhMdlnH2PRYqlRhDvHtvxdN/s400/DSC04245.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Saw "How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying" on Broadway. We sat fourth row, and Daniel Radcliffe is the lead performer. He was awesome! We loved it!</li>
</ul><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTckU6rWMS34vtWeGwOgU61Sx1P3rDTi1POhfoSNETCB9BphVlKHne_kDDoR9WQCF1J9noZbTWm7uT6FwwcGGJxWKvhC5p3SfLDQfD_UFxCpS0IwwRdLubEwhA9ynk8vFEwcumcW73eOHD/s1600/DSC04248.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTckU6rWMS34vtWeGwOgU61Sx1P3rDTi1POhfoSNETCB9BphVlKHne_kDDoR9WQCF1J9noZbTWm7uT6FwwcGGJxWKvhC5p3SfLDQfD_UFxCpS0IwwRdLubEwhA9ynk8vFEwcumcW73eOHD/s400/DSC04248.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
<ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><li>Went to the Apollo Theater, and cringed as the rest of the audience boo-ed people off the stage</li>
<li>Went to Roxy's in Time Square</li>
<li>China town/Little Italy </li>
<li>and did lots, and lots of walking</li>
</ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaeEyBknZN-954RR148CH7ir0H_dy_w6rBO1n8gUJGuEtrkL3TcWvv8jwxtxHeuTNzmNJDHeQn9-853FloMQW7uXA8zM6pHM7erewDHYQR5ca5p1YpQ_71bg-PjZc-r-6fu1FoZ4CS76a/s1600/DSC04194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlaeEyBknZN-954RR148CH7ir0H_dy_w6rBO1n8gUJGuEtrkL3TcWvv8jwxtxHeuTNzmNJDHeQn9-853FloMQW7uXA8zM6pHM7erewDHYQR5ca5p1YpQ_71bg-PjZc-r-6fu1FoZ4CS76a/s400/DSC04194.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div><ul style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></ul><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">He just left today, but I already miss him so much! We had the best time together, and even though it's been really tough being so far away from Blake and our families, I know I'm going to look back on this experience and be glad I came. I've learned so much in this internship, and I can't write too much about it because there are strict privacy rules, but I really love it. I've met great people and New York in the Spring is tough to argue with. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">By the way, we've been feeling our little baby kick! And he/she is very strong already! I'd write more about it, but I think our peanut deserves its own post later on. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh902SI0PBMRzgdygiFW1FFx9qNqFb_w3SmOD3hyphenhyphenW9fOkxogNa-Zk_zdK85u1YMgQf8NJkLRiNXMxAV4WJ2oOzNh0Osjz-fPZEx2tXqdhsgs-ODIcWl-a82EbziBgrcC5YurpsqRJURdUFG/s1600/DSC04272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><br />
<span id="goog_1781713556"></span><span id="goog_1781713557"></span>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-64715976576407685812011-05-21T22:56:00.000-07:002011-05-21T23:01:32.983-07:00Little Italy, plus some ramblings.<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I am way behind on documenting my time in NYC. I've made a lot of great friends here, and we've done some really fun stuff. The funny thing is, most of the friends I've made have all been people who go to BYU, who I just didn't know beforehand. It's funny how I had to come all the way to New York to meet fellow BYU Comms majors.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">It's pretty cool how awesome BYU is. There are probably about 30 of us here, and everyone is interning at some pretty big name places. There are print journalists interning at some major newspapers and magazines, broadcast journalists at some of the most-watched morning shows, advertising students at top ad agencies, and public relations students at corporate in-house internships and agencies. At the end of our long days, we all come back to the same apartment complex and eat dinner together. It's a really fun experience.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Last weekend, we went to Little Italy. It reminded me so much of Boston. When I lived in Boston (I interned on Mitt Romney's campaign in 2008), I worked in the heart of the Italian district. It was gorgeous, and I really loved it there. It was fun to be in Little Italy and get a slight feel for Boston again. We also did some light shopping, (I said LIGHT shopping, Blake :) and then went to the Guggenheim Museum. The Guggenheim was cool because I'm fresh off my interior design/architecture class at BYU and it's one of Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings. The art inside was different though. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I used to really love that sort of modern cubism style, so I recognized a lot of the Marc Chagall and Kandinsky paintings, but the rest of it, not so much. They did have a huge impressionist section, with Monet, Degas, and old school Picasso's (back when he painted and drew people as they are, not in the cubism forms he created later) and that was by far my favorite. I've always loved Degas.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I think it goes back to fifth grade. My mom coached the knowledge bowl at my elementary school. The knowledge bowl was for overachieving, ahem, nerdy elementary school kids who wanted to learn in-depth about a certain subject, and would study year long before school and then compete against other elementary schools at the end of the year. <br />
<br />
I remember we had an all-girl team, and the topic was art. That was the best year of my elementary school life, (and that's saying something, because I LOVED elementary school!) My mom spent forever making flash cards for all of us, and quizzing us in the mornings at the school library. Most of what I know now about different types of art, and different artists came from what my mom spent hours countless hours helping me learn in elementary school, and not from my advanced art classes in junior high and high school. Good thing it paid off, because who took home the gold in our matching Old Navy shirts my mom bought us? Only the Hillcrest Hawks. Don't mess...</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">After that I really wanted to be an art history major, but then I when I got to college I decided on English, then French, then political science, then finally, public relations. (I think I'm starting to figure out why I haven't graduated yet...) But I still love art history, as more of a hobby.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here are some pictures of what we've been up to, I'm a few weeks behind on this, but here's a start. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IUc10etFF_U/TdiYPU9DVzI/AAAAAAAAArA/o_yUv5bEZwo/s1600/DSC04077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IUc10etFF_U/TdiYPU9DVzI/AAAAAAAAArA/o_yUv5bEZwo/s320/DSC04077.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> This is a really cool vintage store we found. We weren't allowed to touch the clothes without assistance because some were over 100 years old. My first thought was "cool," which was quickly replaced with "sick, I don't want to buy some nasty 100 year old old lady outfits, I'd rather buy something that looks vintage, rather than actual vintage, there is probably still dead old lady skin cells on those things."</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Sidenote: Living here, I've quickly realized that if left unchecked, I could easily develop a debilitating case of OCD. I have to hand-sanitize every 5 seconds, and when people breathe on my arm on the subway (Do not breathe on me, it grosses me out so bad. Especially when it's nose-breath), I have to hurry and sanitize my arm. Everything is so dirty here!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> NYC is beautiful, and the people are some of the most talented, successful, and interesting in the world, but with that often comes eclectic, crazy lifestyles, and often complete disregard for all things civility when it comes to public transportation. I am constantly amazed at how awful and selfish people on the subway can be, but once we're out of the dark underground free for all, and back on the streets, they return to smiley, helpful individuals. I somehow remember Boston being so much cleaner and friendlier than it is here.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> A few weeks ago, I was on a packed subway headed into work. An old feeble woman got on and slowly made her way through the crowd. There was one empty seat and she had almost reached it when a young guy ran behind her and sat down about 5 seconds before she could. I was shocked. I was standing, or I would have let her sit in my seat. Nobody seemed to notice or care. I wish I said something, but I think I just watch too much Law and Order because I thought maybe he would stab me or something. (That being said, everyone I have met at work and outside of the subway have been extremely nice and helpful people. It's just something about those tunnels, I tell ya.)</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-exOWX5bB8pUo2pQIAeupUvOdTcegKiUN8U0PW9qgkhNStmTmb83mk_LWejeF366-VHuGVpzPw37lLVdtR6gv0vRH2MPjMlHXmy0YY_MjkK09giJ0ZtOK7YZ5acWK5ZFjbCzCw7tfWJY/s1600/DSC04078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-exOWX5bB8pUo2pQIAeupUvOdTcegKiUN8U0PW9qgkhNStmTmb83mk_LWejeF366-VHuGVpzPw37lLVdtR6gv0vRH2MPjMlHXmy0YY_MjkK09giJ0ZtOK7YZ5acWK5ZFjbCzCw7tfWJY/s400/DSC04078.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"> Little Italy</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LSYAPlx0G4J5zH4fUnMD90bou4-ptB2Rg5P2WA4_RXDvtPJrADYOAhjHri1_dUn7g5qPzdnaruNNcjTD5Hc5ldo5u8FUzXS_bxcoBCn6fQuK7G0ZWAo_PSnARmdYrzaBY3gyKVJ9idEp/s1600/DSC04079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1LSYAPlx0G4J5zH4fUnMD90bou4-ptB2Rg5P2WA4_RXDvtPJrADYOAhjHri1_dUn7g5qPzdnaruNNcjTD5Hc5ldo5u8FUzXS_bxcoBCn6fQuK7G0ZWAo_PSnARmdYrzaBY3gyKVJ9idEp/s400/DSC04079.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"> Tori and I by the Italian flag inspired fire hydrant, with our ever-present H&M bags. Hey, when there's one on every corner...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHAPKgq6ab7RIrp5FZJlFZ6X5R7AMX8L8vXMAgBYGQmO1p7vYPhrdeY76_3BhgM8-9-FCYSA-yGqv-hmTMjg2DJTdQ0BUsUajOdhPtzD32_NOOH0RWbpPwsChQ2aJhAMLfydgE4DJuWir/s1600/DSC04080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHAPKgq6ab7RIrp5FZJlFZ6X5R7AMX8L8vXMAgBYGQmO1p7vYPhrdeY76_3BhgM8-9-FCYSA-yGqv-hmTMjg2DJTdQ0BUsUajOdhPtzD32_NOOH0RWbpPwsChQ2aJhAMLfydgE4DJuWir/s320/DSC04080.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"> This reminded me so much of Boston</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXS_k3rxWWe1AZVL_SqCnCmngLeTpdLdKfLqDb_Hv9TciwyV9zw7mM2UX9XgHYChb1Jl-iqOnVgQdw_nNBU8mWx5_jo-MRkg8mdkq45yLbnL_D2lYEfyKINXtirloRdZhyphenhyphenUI3sEIo7FfI/s1600/DSC04082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXS_k3rxWWe1AZVL_SqCnCmngLeTpdLdKfLqDb_Hv9TciwyV9zw7mM2UX9XgHYChb1Jl-iqOnVgQdw_nNBU8mWx5_jo-MRkg8mdkq45yLbnL_D2lYEfyKINXtirloRdZhyphenhyphenUI3sEIo7FfI/s320/DSC04082.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"> And a 14 week pregnant picture, in front of the Guggenheim. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;">Also, Blake comes Monday night. I can't wait!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-67066031942801442202011-05-16T20:42:00.000-07:002011-05-17T09:42:15.739-07:00Looking up<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">First off, thanks for the comments on my last post. Blogger deleted my post (as it did to many of you) and along with it, the original comments, but I think I read most of them before they were lost forever! I'm 14 weeks pregnant now and feeling great. We are extremely excited!</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My parents came to New York last weekend. I had only been here a week and a half when they came. I like to think their sole purpose in coming was to visit me, and that my dad conveniently had meetings scheduled out here the same time. Yes, that's how I'll view it. We had a blast. I was pretty homesick the first week, (something about moving into the world's smallest, smelliest glorified nasty dorm room will probably do that to you) and when I saw them I felt like I hadn't seen family in 20 years. Alright, maybe I can blame a little bit of that on the pregnancy hormones, but still, I was really happy to see them.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I got to leave my gross little apartment and stay with them at the Waldorf-Astoria for a few nights. My bed felt like I was sleeping on a cloud sprinkled with fairy dust compared to the little bricks they call mattresses at my apartment. I felt like pretty woman, you know, the non-prostitute, Mormon, watered down, weekend version of pretty woman. So I guess maybe that analogy doesn't work at all..</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
Is it possible that I am being slightly overly dramatic when it comes to my apartment? No. I'm sorry, it's not. It is just simply that gross.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Anyway, back to the weekend. On Saturday we went shopping and saw a bunch of fun sights. We went to FAO Schwarz to see the famous Piano floor, of course, and then everything from Bergdorf Goodman to McKenzie Childs (which is adorable, by the way), I had the best time with my parents. They are so much fun to be with. As I get older, and now especially as I'm going to be a parent myself, I start to realize more and more how incredible they are, and I am finally able to see more clearly the sacrifices that they make so frequently and without a second thought, things I didn't realize before.</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDfF2G0V5kUE9cHmcE4PTHx2AOXvKIy43XDDvEAbcsaMWyTHAmGi_tyliYNz6S0JLoZzctIsgx6_3nQ1Oocsg0W7YwRYuWyuN2ReNxO9NkAMl3Xpqq66dPPWtaqh_nsBBoyrvM7bJ0HwX/s1600/DSC04024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDfF2G0V5kUE9cHmcE4PTHx2AOXvKIy43XDDvEAbcsaMWyTHAmGi_tyliYNz6S0JLoZzctIsgx6_3nQ1Oocsg0W7YwRYuWyuN2ReNxO9NkAMl3Xpqq66dPPWtaqh_nsBBoyrvM7bJ0HwX/s400/DSC04024.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtYn638eFSOy-W4zl6eZufGkp1lZSs6t_ODO-r46eFLe3MWU1eMuBAifrGhbnTub8EkyuDzYSD7bLxxpt1QiD-yezWkEi-Lidfd1v68tAMdMbeCjakQSGCv057eZJVK-50RCzmGe43LBMu/s1600/DSC04026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtYn638eFSOy-W4zl6eZufGkp1lZSs6t_ODO-r46eFLe3MWU1eMuBAifrGhbnTub8EkyuDzYSD7bLxxpt1QiD-yezWkEi-Lidfd1v68tAMdMbeCjakQSGCv057eZJVK-50RCzmGe43LBMu/s400/DSC04026.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGp_zBYZq5pfFhKxwUgRxnjNx5XnPM9nuKS6HuPd0Unf26dzw2GFBYE2neAuOCpYj5uPDVknF5IEcqaT7RjWg3Bus8wsuRSpvZ7Jy7j2dAat5hXCVk_0kzSLfAaoNl2oO4bcipQty32Th/s1600/DSC04029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGp_zBYZq5pfFhKxwUgRxnjNx5XnPM9nuKS6HuPd0Unf26dzw2GFBYE2neAuOCpYj5uPDVknF5IEcqaT7RjWg3Bus8wsuRSpvZ7Jy7j2dAat5hXCVk_0kzSLfAaoNl2oO4bcipQty32Th/s400/DSC04029.jpg" width="300" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">This is a Barbie Foosball table at FAO Schwarz </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZw2erM4Yq5cC15UDGa01Suas1ojeCLsaBMXIla_mu2RNu0V5h7FjoToB9Lm9w76H2dA92H87hGhpYRTK3Asfr7nzsXEV3vah93tFipgJmLPCavAH7am1QVlUqzgLEABMpvHSbgqVDcC1/s1600/DSC04032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZw2erM4Yq5cC15UDGa01Suas1ojeCLsaBMXIla_mu2RNu0V5h7FjoToB9Lm9w76H2dA92H87hGhpYRTK3Asfr7nzsXEV3vah93tFipgJmLPCavAH7am1QVlUqzgLEABMpvHSbgqVDcC1/s400/DSC04032.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This guy told my mom he would pay her $5 if he could take a picture with her</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchHRh5roG39kH4hxdGrHbaWEP_kZpAbOI2sepEQA55RwJb91OHs1LOcPAHExpCckkNGRZJgP7_1XEGL_IO_rU_uyji1MiUtVlRx7sPDNT2vqW-LnZ1yWObRbeqlnytNzJoptlsJ-3cYFt/s1600/DSC04031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhchHRh5roG39kH4hxdGrHbaWEP_kZpAbOI2sepEQA55RwJb91OHs1LOcPAHExpCckkNGRZJgP7_1XEGL_IO_rU_uyji1MiUtVlRx7sPDNT2vqW-LnZ1yWObRbeqlnytNzJoptlsJ-3cYFt/s400/DSC04031.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">I received no such offer</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pU3qpBJwpYzg1CKSIIHCgJRXsxNtMfPlFfwwSd6vQNCJR8gWAEB1PnImpln8gyz6XHQP3-TmwltEReQjU6jbIlttMdx39qZOeTFUBDyyJAd_-taVhQpVFHSFlZte4mrgEyUMwXOw0Xoo/s1600/DSC04033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_pU3qpBJwpYzg1CKSIIHCgJRXsxNtMfPlFfwwSd6vQNCJR8gWAEB1PnImpln8gyz6XHQP3-TmwltEReQjU6jbIlttMdx39qZOeTFUBDyyJAd_-taVhQpVFHSFlZte4mrgEyUMwXOw0Xoo/s320/DSC04033.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"> My cute mom in the elevator at McKenzie Childs, the most adorable store in the world</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9ptDHNEoX1Pxnfqjj2W5yhbpCDihJkf4nUqK2CYvBCHOspWh-hu6rFZja7FPTszrlcje9JB3Xa1xSjJ3bpevtyGnAXTjYFQ5dL58hi-caPeAwrTOAqnLhhe8zmXW2Jdm4LZQ8-Z6q50D/s1600/DSC04035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9ptDHNEoX1Pxnfqjj2W5yhbpCDihJkf4nUqK2CYvBCHOspWh-hu6rFZja7FPTszrlcje9JB3Xa1xSjJ3bpevtyGnAXTjYFQ5dL58hi-caPeAwrTOAqnLhhe8zmXW2Jdm4LZQ8-Z6q50D/s640/DSC04035.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s4W8zg7ihKo/TdHra4rqE7I/AAAAAAAAAqc/EXpm7kptEcw/s1600/DSC04036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s4W8zg7ihKo/TdHra4rqE7I/AAAAAAAAAqc/EXpm7kptEcw/s320/DSC04036.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvg4NILFJmVyeAfbZ_xhYdN5vj1aXxd203Z9BzG_yxcC0z3lva9eWWgCgHCL3stsK2w0S9oMm_Zk7QoI0JoAngOPCEbGaDKjbwB_c-wkJ4HVPsopf3PDAOGd3ZRDTCSuis1AwDVGF9gbov/s1600/DSC04038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvg4NILFJmVyeAfbZ_xhYdN5vj1aXxd203Z9BzG_yxcC0z3lva9eWWgCgHCL3stsK2w0S9oMm_Zk7QoI0JoAngOPCEbGaDKjbwB_c-wkJ4HVPsopf3PDAOGd3ZRDTCSuis1AwDVGF9gbov/s320/DSC04038.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"> Blake, I know you are hard-core and a hunter and everything, and I know you have killed giant elk and mounted their heads on the wall of your family's cabin, but I'm sorry, this is the only way I will let wild game be on display on our home. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eWvC2Zwhdr6iZsEQZz8DJeKA8cclvOzYrv3MCnQXg11472CE-p2ffl_GopbP0YiqRWekWMG56Yro-QNUlF4MneqsYZBzoW6R79dbfE5kNudYW2N-pSDukXYPS3iEm_izv9DJ2m3l8jeB/s1600/DSC04043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eWvC2Zwhdr6iZsEQZz8DJeKA8cclvOzYrv3MCnQXg11472CE-p2ffl_GopbP0YiqRWekWMG56Yro-QNUlF4MneqsYZBzoW6R79dbfE5kNudYW2N-pSDukXYPS3iEm_izv9DJ2m3l8jeB/s400/DSC04043.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xcdwg6b2KC0/TdHriU0rmuI/AAAAAAAAAqo/ImcV0yQ_UyI/s1600/DSC04042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xcdwg6b2KC0/TdHriU0rmuI/AAAAAAAAAqo/ImcV0yQ_UyI/s320/DSC04042.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISptX_u1lgUlCQ8Q9Kt8lPgjIOxn7HAEthKX92bcA7ku7mHdE_aw7RC6xwWlBfO6Gusk_cpEJMBNHZDO2ycy0LVLXw4WbHosUphVTOaCWtgRFCPsdaJ1rKoCXfY7_tPCJenmGT7c9G30P/s1600/DSC04044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgISptX_u1lgUlCQ8Q9Kt8lPgjIOxn7HAEthKX92bcA7ku7mHdE_aw7RC6xwWlBfO6Gusk_cpEJMBNHZDO2ycy0LVLXw4WbHosUphVTOaCWtgRFCPsdaJ1rKoCXfY7_tPCJenmGT7c9G30P/s320/DSC04044.JPG" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;">30 Rock! (Liz Lemon lives on Riverside Drive, and so do I... but strangely enough we have yet to run into each other in the elevator. I'll let you know...) </div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EyO9XV_0Cr_n6kVgYvRr5Hg26CCTwinhvfw_fTpWlAj9fLrxujffIlQ3kvd7H-szjUAGqnoYQsqORT-soOq9Ja4XOClHHPgVvke70w64kg2cRrXPLap-d2ZqXujw-wQHK52kKiUk5yD2/s1600/DSC04046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-EyO9XV_0Cr_n6kVgYvRr5Hg26CCTwinhvfw_fTpWlAj9fLrxujffIlQ3kvd7H-szjUAGqnoYQsqORT-soOq9Ja4XOClHHPgVvke70w64kg2cRrXPLap-d2ZqXujw-wQHK52kKiUk5yD2/s320/DSC04046.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"> And we saw Mary Poppins on Broadway</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrji1ONrHetzyCpUZ_hIhIkvGj6S7VLb284xxaXyxxT2yvQuZeBSareK7dnws_9w8JFezoQ3QpcFbb4yuG2v4YQENhsrp-yZc99aO24dZs8pUFGVtpVTvEw3TSTKDd_KtfbfVGxPwYQJIf/s1600/DSC04056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrji1ONrHetzyCpUZ_hIhIkvGj6S7VLb284xxaXyxxT2yvQuZeBSareK7dnws_9w8JFezoQ3QpcFbb4yuG2v4YQENhsrp-yZc99aO24dZs8pUFGVtpVTvEw3TSTKDd_KtfbfVGxPwYQJIf/s400/DSC04056.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"> My niece Emma can probably do this. We had to take this picture in honor of how crazy flexible that little girl is!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2-fW5PYe0n_lHuDkXQwvusY76BckUQIvW_vWTsCBVjGeBkdZvYv_l_-9_Nw4WLm9OqLr6M5RowHLumlq-x2bXtekR0oFYcZ23xemBuRmOSdGNDekfay2nhc3KuB1TwLKBNGDn3JM_e9C/s1600/DSC04062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2-fW5PYe0n_lHuDkXQwvusY76BckUQIvW_vWTsCBVjGeBkdZvYv_l_-9_Nw4WLm9OqLr6M5RowHLumlq-x2bXtekR0oFYcZ23xemBuRmOSdGNDekfay2nhc3KuB1TwLKBNGDn3JM_e9C/s400/DSC04062.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-pRUG1quE0n_lDwC2hJB1iNz-FV_pZpsJevRlg2NwAGZVn4nk_Y-u0e0B_5SUdTbmNBxyQNHTXpCUgni5uoAAzV3xCx6JocD-3qVUGQhExnNm-66eJdwdrV1DCcR0qlFksHU5yFNl_EV/s1600/DSC04064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL-pRUG1quE0n_lDwC2hJB1iNz-FV_pZpsJevRlg2NwAGZVn4nk_Y-u0e0B_5SUdTbmNBxyQNHTXpCUgni5uoAAzV3xCx6JocD-3qVUGQhExnNm-66eJdwdrV1DCcR0qlFksHU5yFNl_EV/s400/DSC04064.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Central Park. I miss you already Mom and Dad!</span></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-68052155031197520192011-05-11T21:32:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:47:10.105-07:00Thought You'd Like to Know<div style="text-align: center;">We're expecting!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We are ecstatic.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We find out what we're having next month. (The latest: Blake thinks it's a girl, and I keep thinking it's a boy.)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Yes, it is hard to be so far away from Blake, but it's only for a short time, and soon we'll be together and planning for this new arrival.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I still can't believe there's a baby in there. I just feel like I ate a <i>really</i> big lunch. But when I think that there's a tiny person in there with hands and feet and hair (can you believe our baby already has hair for crying out loud???) I just can't believe it. I can't wait until I can actually start to feel him/her moving.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVEsP_UjihT4I2MtymcnM7lzkvkcot5bkmEd41lLgWZJzzQe4XRM9xkyuh2FTPmE4etzC3uUk3vPW0qwSNBQ80TocUpUYvr15qXz6-SFc1yRD5FzSAkbzp7D18tr6DR1xZN2F-Wz9QwVW/s1600/DSC04058.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyVEsP_UjihT4I2MtymcnM7lzkvkcot5bkmEd41lLgWZJzzQe4XRM9xkyuh2FTPmE4etzC3uUk3vPW0qwSNBQ80TocUpUYvr15qXz6-SFc1yRD5FzSAkbzp7D18tr6DR1xZN2F-Wz9QwVW/s400/DSC04058.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Picture from last week. 13 weeks. This is in front of the Rockefeller Center at night.</div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-74286788763455248402011-05-04T20:46:00.000-07:002011-05-04T20:46:47.012-07:00A little tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ6WSIz8DEqK3WRWdND7lJEENyYJkEMZtwluMKCwEH-47PFN4a_ZG-dJiZo9u63tt0pallqpW5ZERj9khROY7CM69SWihxj5fq1mmnUBfSGC5JOm23hxbUE4U4e9qnypwjkF8kJhl_c8c/s1600/DSC04021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOJ6WSIz8DEqK3WRWdND7lJEENyYJkEMZtwluMKCwEH-47PFN4a_ZG-dJiZo9u63tt0pallqpW5ZERj9khROY7CM69SWihxj5fq1mmnUBfSGC5JOm23hxbUE4U4e9qnypwjkF8kJhl_c8c/s320/DSC04021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Skyping with Blake. He's coming to visit in 3 weeks! I can't wait!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNMVqa4gCeuhGIIZqGzz_K1BjV9Kmzcx0eoHR0jeMSCDbZNPxMUJ1hSgWlU-68ri9Dp4btrTT2KGeTTGzwnJOOzKiuUoUYH6hbHrCHmEz856s0w2_P19d-JMxA7-a4Vx_sgVfwPD-yteo/s1600/DSC03982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNMVqa4gCeuhGIIZqGzz_K1BjV9Kmzcx0eoHR0jeMSCDbZNPxMUJ1hSgWlU-68ri9Dp4btrTT2KGeTTGzwnJOOzKiuUoUYH6hbHrCHmEz856s0w2_P19d-JMxA7-a4Vx_sgVfwPD-yteo/s320/DSC03982.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the view outside my window</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25AZBFggwg9Bcjx5NrTc8FMV0EVUKT2YGqMquQ241x-xKIdaa9s_3lAbXRBjBHAnxlnUqYIX8I4HLBHk3IGLk33ZmELpP7wzLZT19ZfdYnllcXzf1dkiNsrUXsoE2V667bRQlP8L6uVLD/s1600/DSC03985.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25AZBFggwg9Bcjx5NrTc8FMV0EVUKT2YGqMquQ241x-xKIdaa9s_3lAbXRBjBHAnxlnUqYIX8I4HLBHk3IGLk33ZmELpP7wzLZT19ZfdYnllcXzf1dkiNsrUXsoE2V667bRQlP8L6uVLD/s320/DSC03985.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is across the street from where I work. I'm in that big black building right behind the sculpture. I work on Madison Avenue. It is AWESOME! This is Madison Square Park, I get to walk through it every morning. Every few months they have a different local artist's work displayed in the park. I am in love with this face. It's the coolest thing in person. It is so beautiful! I'm excited to see what they have next month.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FWrjiAkoeZuL9b4wFDfh_AdJp16u1wjlVZgxBej7MbSztqRAwFMf2l6RRYsgJPC6MSITWVgzrnd7gXa-rVtBo29pyaivjLXnhGkMY2LXPT43PoVu3arRq9pt1brL08bD1SibTQ1qFdsZ/s1600/DSC03987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-FWrjiAkoeZuL9b4wFDfh_AdJp16u1wjlVZgxBej7MbSztqRAwFMf2l6RRYsgJPC6MSITWVgzrnd7gXa-rVtBo29pyaivjLXnhGkMY2LXPT43PoVu3arRq9pt1brL08bD1SibTQ1qFdsZ/s320/DSC03987.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Across the street in the other direction is the Flat Iron building. How cool is this area? I love stepping off the subway every morning and seeing how beautiful my surroundings are.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy8UERHAwXK0vNUEX6mGfb95qJfn6PifOAwgjZ_VkyPVtILRGWQRTZfp33C69MxLHdxWMEB9nM2Z4Rdge3DIgT6t8LrAy4T3NSZG6HcaR8sP4INRsnZfuR1md3CqSwvOhx7B-bwYEPU9Qh/s1600/DSC03988.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy8UERHAwXK0vNUEX6mGfb95qJfn6PifOAwgjZ_VkyPVtILRGWQRTZfp33C69MxLHdxWMEB9nM2Z4Rdge3DIgT6t8LrAy4T3NSZG6HcaR8sP4INRsnZfuR1md3CqSwvOhx7B-bwYEPU9Qh/s320/DSC03988.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The first Saturday we were here, a few of us went to the<a href="http://mormon.org/faq/use-of-temples/"> temple.</a> I forgot for a minute that we're not in Utah anymore and the only session we made it to was in Spanish. It was so beautiful. It's amazing how much peace the sight of the temple can bring. It's right in the heart of Manhattan, across from the Lincoln Center, and even though it's surrounded by huge skyscrapers, it seems as though it stands alone. It is a beautiful building. Our ward meets here as well. It's really cool to go to church in the temple! They have a chapel on the second floor. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6JgZDl_OQyvwPnZ7a6S90erUjkkV0KdjTfw5xZWPMXmLdpxlqK3b42cTOTOSG5sDFcg_qMnjCMYhS9rMczjKXHCc4okOoIvOu7kaxhJCj8bnDCvH6-3CMX4cfCuihn-IEu_wMwj0uV7q/s1600/DSC03993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6JgZDl_OQyvwPnZ7a6S90erUjkkV0KdjTfw5xZWPMXmLdpxlqK3b42cTOTOSG5sDFcg_qMnjCMYhS9rMczjKXHCc4okOoIvOu7kaxhJCj8bnDCvH6-3CMX4cfCuihn-IEu_wMwj0uV7q/s320/DSC03993.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEuw-VUrBXQyiLb-nk8PDXByuRoZ0MyEertMIPsnzG2PVJwvTMgv54_CqbDZNGue3YbAh1bIe8-VLakZP1qy1pDbX6ETsmx9XPCSmbJLrkbMdbumhUJh-lkIPojfzsbhGX2Hj3WRP_5_S_/s1600/DSC03995.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEuw-VUrBXQyiLb-nk8PDXByuRoZ0MyEertMIPsnzG2PVJwvTMgv54_CqbDZNGue3YbAh1bIe8-VLakZP1qy1pDbX6ETsmx9XPCSmbJLrkbMdbumhUJh-lkIPojfzsbhGX2Hj3WRP_5_S_/s320/DSC03995.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvzHTqEiQpp5_CG6y2uBWWvPWCeFqrSspC9syequR3hJaRhZ0kI6odFC3oSd7wLM0MXIihX1WspEgG-6SmFf9RsgLYNsQlVen-3W56umc7p3Jr95t0WeGljr4bJozVF3uIA24spw3wqNg/s1600/DSC03991.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIvzHTqEiQpp5_CG6y2uBWWvPWCeFqrSspC9syequR3hJaRhZ0kI6odFC3oSd7wLM0MXIihX1WspEgG-6SmFf9RsgLYNsQlVen-3W56umc7p3Jr95t0WeGljr4bJozVF3uIA24spw3wqNg/s320/DSC03991.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinI8d33Fhriic26nXAl6ApipcB1MiPRwHAkrNUn23SYQCuodmX8Nf6fXMBUQb3pvTU6ez38Rcn1gMW_01ttBHfaWLGbwtCLNeJsWF_9XAzcXAv01wmkVO1unsJ3lUmEPVuc_gCrqVss9Nf/s1600/DSC03998.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinI8d33Fhriic26nXAl6ApipcB1MiPRwHAkrNUn23SYQCuodmX8Nf6fXMBUQb3pvTU6ez38Rcn1gMW_01ttBHfaWLGbwtCLNeJsWF_9XAzcXAv01wmkVO1unsJ3lUmEPVuc_gCrqVss9Nf/s640/DSC03998.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1713837627289321831.post-87289264850712026632011-05-04T20:32:00.000-07:002011-05-04T20:34:29.776-07:00More pictures from Ground Zero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is a continuation of the last post:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2JgMrnt0zy5m207tLD2GjNpbB95R4Bm2kfF4mSFeBE0Ba12jBWTlEwfdfqpqgpk8RmNqI3vq_rSRJ1KnBsOqK8-csmdmx1q2TukDdWYkPqtDeqNbrsZqYWAj5jgJLaQSqn7Fgnf7_pRG5/s1600/DSC04007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2JgMrnt0zy5m207tLD2GjNpbB95R4Bm2kfF4mSFeBE0Ba12jBWTlEwfdfqpqgpk8RmNqI3vq_rSRJ1KnBsOqK8-csmdmx1q2TukDdWYkPqtDeqNbrsZqYWAj5jgJLaQSqn7Fgnf7_pRG5/s320/DSC04007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">See the guys standing on the traffic light? Ground Zero is immediately to my right.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XiX9sIcPksX8py_wzAsD6TrCh2GLYmG2zRLgXThlFehG9ks6R3L_rAE7WM8kwII9U3jbvqam5b_iLmSQzdK264kuvq3cz4FHk-RTHNM61tsieIsKNFxmLTFoXnVVB6Gybv_EcVEYcYhi/s1600/DSC04009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5XiX9sIcPksX8py_wzAsD6TrCh2GLYmG2zRLgXThlFehG9ks6R3L_rAE7WM8kwII9U3jbvqam5b_iLmSQzdK264kuvq3cz4FHk-RTHNM61tsieIsKNFxmLTFoXnVVB6Gybv_EcVEYcYhi/s320/DSC04009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Seriously? An American Flag with Marilyn Monroe on it? Ugh don't even get me started on how much I hate Marilyn Monroe, and how grossly she is misrepresented as an icon and sometimes as an idol for young girls. Tangent...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08nSqFFRkN0-z9jYcnU1xlOVV2BcIr834k4y-9_sqUmn1EQqrAf_LZb4cWE_YkpbyG02w93_penEEHOtKWPYh3Eqa5ek4HM6MNvTC3fbwmdJ2isa4WwahCdpNplC1mXSGrx7XUAXfEWT6/s1600/DSC04010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi08nSqFFRkN0-z9jYcnU1xlOVV2BcIr834k4y-9_sqUmn1EQqrAf_LZb4cWE_YkpbyG02w93_penEEHOtKWPYh3Eqa5ek4HM6MNvTC3fbwmdJ2isa4WwahCdpNplC1mXSGrx7XUAXfEWT6/s320/DSC04010.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I think this is so funny. This is my friend Tiffany on some unidentified man's shoulders, her BYU sweatshirt and all. This is her being interviewed by the CNN reporter right before she interviewed me. Right when we got there, a guy turned to her and said, "want a boost?" I thought is was so funny that she, without hesitation, got on his shoulders. I'm glad she did though because she got this shot for me: </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJtmhXY_QN14Irf8lViDxgoPNyqmF7Jsyhu1iTPP3o2EcYi7kasy1XqnGcGNqL2URPKWED0zyyX-1ZjGFKTH1aYJNmY813gFJ4J-yUzG9JnEYwIGlgu1xCUN7rEo7bhp0XFFvY5IdGha1/s1600/DSC04011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwJtmhXY_QN14Irf8lViDxgoPNyqmF7Jsyhu1iTPP3o2EcYi7kasy1XqnGcGNqL2URPKWED0zyyX-1ZjGFKTH1aYJNmY813gFJ4J-yUzG9JnEYwIGlgu1xCUN7rEo7bhp0XFFvY5IdGha1/s640/DSC04011.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzY6bNFOQ8crlRw0eOTp17N1zDKj-A6irJ01QvgT_K_XoxAuFACDQhyphenhyphenpH6K2xQ6SpbBYOk32ZI9Ae07RXecmczmorB2I-T9_Tb6xK_ye2r33hqTcUOFkPFsnXnQia16y3LwBRD0SloQUuH/s1600/DSC04013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzY6bNFOQ8crlRw0eOTp17N1zDKj-A6irJ01QvgT_K_XoxAuFACDQhyphenhyphenpH6K2xQ6SpbBYOk32ZI9Ae07RXecmczmorB2I-T9_Tb6xK_ye2r33hqTcUOFkPFsnXnQia16y3LwBRD0SloQUuH/s400/DSC04013.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QjQy6lTF6aClMpu7hRrX0Zq3Ky136Cbk8Y32no8bW15PtVPnok51oFC2EC-nc_DGdvk7_nfZlUet23zHEimlSEp7RuZFDqqQmCDYELnhVvViaHr2EyZBIkzz32Ci4QZe4fJQ091rF6In/s1600/DSC04017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QjQy6lTF6aClMpu7hRrX0Zq3Ky136Cbk8Y32no8bW15PtVPnok51oFC2EC-nc_DGdvk7_nfZlUet23zHEimlSEp7RuZFDqqQmCDYELnhVvViaHr2EyZBIkzz32Ci4QZe4fJQ091rF6In/s320/DSC04017.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbkrByqvP3ZOfU0nuGr2X46_qE39eypc14R9xvFq8XU5g3EGfPVhdOvMP6Qq56gj2lJ1ZZ2ORn-T7VhcWqy9px0iM2mk2dJahX4NGGuGbBenERZZaIIVHQKMkYi_p2I3Av7DfSV8ADX7p/s1600/DSC04019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAbkrByqvP3ZOfU0nuGr2X46_qE39eypc14R9xvFq8XU5g3EGfPVhdOvMP6Qq56gj2lJ1ZZ2ORn-T7VhcWqy9px0iM2mk2dJahX4NGGuGbBenERZZaIIVHQKMkYi_p2I3Av7DfSV8ADX7p/s320/DSC04019.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1FF-MI6C9NTz8h6uMF5qI74ixXP7iLfIFattzBv26ddMJEA0IUpgRiseNnGUoHAZL50eNN4oMKoyAu3XLyUq4UE_Oaqk2dwritjEUYhWw25KB57erVdJn-NF_uH8plSxFUP8tvJaGOVv/s1600/DSC04020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1FF-MI6C9NTz8h6uMF5qI74ixXP7iLfIFattzBv26ddMJEA0IUpgRiseNnGUoHAZL50eNN4oMKoyAu3XLyUq4UE_Oaqk2dwritjEUYhWw25KB57erVdJn-NF_uH8plSxFUP8tvJaGOVv/s320/DSC04020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Angela and Whitney. These are some great friends I've made out here. Keep in mind at this point it was probably 3:30 a.m. and we all had to be at work in the morning. Finding a subway car that didn't have a sleeping homeless person in it was an adventure, I'm pretty sure we managed to score the only one.Michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08896300474804743670noreply@blogger.com0