Fall 2009

I love Fall! It is beautiful here this time of year and we have really enjoyed the weather so far. We went on our annual car drive to see the leaves. We have done this every year since we were dating and it is one of my favorite traditions so far! We went up to Snow Basin and it was gorgeous there! Hopefully we can hold on to this weather for a while because I'm not sure if I'm ready for snow. Here are some of the pictures Bradley took.

It's been forever!

Sorry everyone, I know you have all greatly missed reading about us. Dry your eyes, WE RETURN! Let me start off by sharing our huge news which most of you probably already know. We are having a baby boy! Hooray!! We cannot wait to bring him into our home and are VERY excited and happy for this new stage of life. This news may help some of you (especially women) understand my lack of motivation for pretty much everything, including updating our blog. Some of my good friends have inspired me to get back to blogging to keep them posted, so here we are! I haven't taken any real profile pictures since we've been pregnant so last night I finally had Bradley take a couple so we can document this joyful pregnancy. (Only slight sarcasm there. :) This is me at 5 1/2 months. I am so happy to be at the second half of the pregnancy. Those of you that know me well know how much I dislike winter, but this year it can't come quick enough! I am just counting down the days until Halloween... and then Thanksgiving ...Christmas... and then it will be no time before we have this sweet baby. Can't wait! A few weeks ago we had our big Anatomy ultrasound and I'm happy to report that this baby appears to be a healthy boy, and quite active! We continue to pray and have faith that all will go well as he keeps growing.
One thing that I'm pretty concerned about is the Swine Flu. I watch a lot of news and I keep hearing that pregnant women are number 1 on the list to get the new vaccine because of the risks involved in pregnant women and their unborn child. Honestly I am a little hesitant about getting this vaccine as it has hardly been tested. After doing some research I have learned that there are a lot of natural ways to keep my body healthy and protected from the Swine flu or other illnesses. If anyone has some good information they would like to send our way, we are more than open to it! It may sound crazy or irresponsible that I'd be skeptical about this vaccine but I just want to do what's best for my health and the baby's health. I promise to be better at updating the blog and letting everyone know how all of that is going. :)

In other news, let me give an update on Bradley. Some of you know that he broke his hand about a month and a half ago playing basketball. It was bad enough that he had to have surgery and since then has been slowly recovering. Unfortunately he has lost some movement in his hand and works really hard at therapy so that he can gain as much movement back as possible. A plate was put in his hand temporarily to help the bone grow together normally again. That plate should be taken out in the next few months and at that time they will be able to cut away much of the scar tissue that has attached to his tendon preventing full movement of his fingers and hand. We are really hoping that all goes well there and that his therapy can continue to help. In the mean time he is really missing basketball, a weekly tradition he has been involved in since high school. But I keep reminding me how lucky he is to spend more time with me. :)
Brad continues to work hard at work and around the house always improving things and making life easy and enjoyable. He is currently looking for other job options as the family business continues to suffer in this economy and we have a baby coming and my full time job coming to an end. I know he feels a lot of pressure and responsibility and we are hoping and praying that he can find something that he enjoys and can learn from while we wait for things to pick up.

2nd Anniversary!

When Brad and I got married, a lady in our ward told me that in marriage, the first seven years are the hardest. Haha! Hmm, That's not something a newlywed wants to here! I've also heard that the first year or even two years are the hardest. And while I can totally see how this may be the case for many couples, I'm happy to report that I'm happier than ever after being married to Bradley for two years. Each day brings new opportunities to learn and grow together and truly ENJOY life. Some of the things we like to do together are cooking, playing sports, watching movies and eating treats, going on long walks with our crazy dog, playing games, listening to music, and the list goes on. I'm so thankful to have such a fun, sweet, caring husband who takes such good care of me. Can't wait for many more years together. I can only imagine how I'll feel when we hit our 7th anniversary! :)
This year for our anniversary Brad was the planner. He took me to the Red Iguana for dinner. It was the best! We both love Mexican food, and this is tuly amazing Mexican food. It was delicious. After dinner we went to downtown SLC and Brad surprised me with Salsa Dancing! I was sooo excited! Brad doesn't love dancing, (although deep down he wishes he was really good at breakdancing, NO JOKE) so I thought it was so sweet that he would take me dancing, knowing how much I love to dance. It was such a fun night.

Poor Miss Miya

Our poor Miya lost her womanhood yesterday. We tried to breed her once but after a few days with mean ol' Koda (a stud Cocker who is much bigger than Miya who was, shall we say, "a little too" excited) and no success, we decided that we have a morally chaste dog. We truly felt horrible leaving her there growling and running for her life around Koda's house with him right on her tail. Plus Miya is pretty small for her breed and we were worried about her health should she become pregnant. SO as much as I'd love to have Cocker Spaniel puppies, it's not worth risking her health. I'll just have to go to the pet store and visit some puppies. I am trying to convince my Father in Law to buy a puppy to be a friend for Miya but he hasn't consented yet. Maybe for Fathers Day I'll buy him one... good idea!
Anyway, we set a date to take her in since she would be going into heat in the next month or two and we didn't want to deal with that again. Miya on drugs (Painkillers) is quite hilarious. I wasn't sure if she'd be able to walk, but sure enough when Brad arrived home with her I ran out to the garage to see how she was and she was dizzily walking towards me tripping up the stairs on the way into the house. We then let her go outside to do her job and she was walking sideways with her eyes half open. It took her about 5 minutes to go to the bathroom. Lol, Brad and I were trying not to laugh at her.

Country Roads!

I haven't been loving the Office as much lately but I always get a kick out of Andy and Dwight's musical antics. Check out this clip from one of my recent favorite episodes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcYVfcZkwYk

Zack & Kylee

Look at this adorable couple! This past weekend Zack and Kylee were married in the Mesa, AZ temple. It was a perfect day. I have to say, I am thrilled to have Kylee as a sister! I've known her for a little less than a year but we are already close friends. Spending time in Arizona with my family was wonderful! I haven't been home in so long and it was so good to be together as a family again. While in Arizona I was also able to catch up with Courtney and it was SO good to see her! It has been way too long. It's funny how even though we haven't seen each other forever things are right back to where they left off when I saw her last. I'm so thankful for her lasting friendship all these years. Love ya Court!

Thanks to Erin and Brian, Brad and I were lucky enough to drive down to AZ in an RV! Was it hillarious? Absolutely! Brian entertained us with Red Neck jokes on the way down, and we did feel a little white trash, BUT in all reality it was quite

a comfortable experience and we were very thankful to be able to stretch our legs a bit, watch movies, eat food, play games, and help with the kids. Arizona was beautiful this weekend and we had a great time.

B Rizzle!!

I keep trying to convince Brad that he is part of 'TeamArnell" and to contribute to this blog but have had no success so far! So I thought I'd post a little about what he's up to. He continues to work hard for AHP, as an Architectural Draftsman and truly loves what he does. We're hoping the housing slump will start to end and we can see an improvement in residential construction. He enjoys designing houses more than anything and hopes it will continue to be a success throughout his life. He continues to play basketball every week with his buddies and is VERY good at it though he'll never admit it. :) I love to brag about him... He and I also joined a city volleyball league and we're having a lot of fun with that. Brad is also really good at volleyball and it's great to be on a team together. Bradley continues to be my little handy man. He loves finding projects and stays very busy at keeping things looking great and running well around the house. We're currently making a few changes to the kitchen and he's been working really hard at that. He recently planted spring vegetables in our garden and jokes about how he can already see them sprouting. He's also anxious to see how well the six trees he planted last year have weathered through the winter. A few of the trees have buds on them so that is a good sign! Brad stays very busy and is enjoying life and I'm thankful to have him by my side. Come visit us sometime!