Shumway 3

Cutest. Baby. Ever.

2012-01-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

I just don't know what we did before this girl came around. She is the best! We love watching her grow and learn new things.

She loves straws! She ends up adding more liquid to the cup than she gets out, but it's fun to watch.

Everything...

...Goes...

...In the mouth!

She has started blowing bubbles with her mouth. I love it. Except for when she's eating. Then it's just messy...

Crawling!! She gets up like this but then just falls forward. It's adorable. She does get around just probably not as fast as she would like.

She recognizes cameras now and knows what to do!

What a face!

She waves when people say "hi." She does it backwards, which only makes it more cute!

Christmas Fun!

2012-01-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

December was a BLAST! We started with Preston's birthday. We decided to give Ruby an intro to present opening in preparation for the big day. She helped dad open the best birthday gifts ever! I was pretty impressed with myself for coming up with so many good ideas this year, but it blew up in my face when Christmas came around and I had nothing left. Bummer.

We drove down to Texas for Christmas. I was a little nervous as Ruby has become more mobile lately and is less content in her carseat, but she travelled amazingly well! Texas was great. We looked at some houses, watched movies, played games, made gingerbread houses, and opened presents. It was wonderful to spend so much time together as a family!
We made a michigan/BYU house that included NO RED (as both our rivals are red). Preston fought me on this the whole time and snuck in some red and white mints at the end! Stinker.

Our attempt at a snowman...we kept adding marshmallows and it kept getting worse...

These trees wouldn't stand up so I suggested we leave 'em down and add a guy with a chainsaw!

Angie cannot be distracted from her flawless swoopy roof while Doug offers us some treats!

Amber rockin it like she does.

Ruby enjoys some time with grandmama

Ruby gets some texas wear!

We returned home to spend new years with all of my family. Highlights include the "casey surprise," double eats on new years eve, seeing old footage of my dad crawling, chuck e cheese, michigan winning, and poison cookie.

There is nothing better than being with family, eating delicious food, and celebrating the birth of our Savior. yeah for december!

Merry Christmas!

2012-01-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Every year Annette does an amazing job with our Christmas newsletter. This year was no exception...

As I read through our blog in search of material for this newsletter I realized that nothing we’ve done seems nearly as interesting as our little Ruby! As easy as it would be to fill the whole page with cute stories about our sweet daughter I’ll try to refrain from being THAT new mom!

In March Preston joined forces with guys from church and my dad to win a dodgeball tournament! Who knew I was married to such a dodgeball master? We also had a water pipe 2 floors above us burst, which led to WEEKS of dehumidifiers, industrial fans, holes in the walls, carpets being pulled up, new paint, etc.... Nightmare.

In April Ruby made her debut! The labor and recovery were less than ideal and those first few weeks were BRUTAL! I mean WOW! Wow wow wow. After a few days of very little sleep I turned to Preston with a tear or two in my eye (ok, ok I was sobbing) and whispered, “life will never be the same again, huh?”

LOTS of things have changed, but our adventures have continued. When Ruby was just 6 weeks old we took a trip out to Texas for Preston to interview in Tyler where his family lives. They loved him (of course) and we’ll be moving there in June when he finishes residency (wahoo - or should I say yee haw)! In the next few months Ruby survived 2 road trips out West for a Sugiyama family reunion and education week.

We were lucky enough to get some tickets to several michigan football games this year. They were all excellent but NOTHING can compare with seeing the maize and blue conquer the buckeyes in person. INCREDIBLE! I tried to take Ruby into the Big House for a game, but apparently ALL wolverine fans need a ticket to get in. Lame.

Ruby is just 7 months old and has already been camping, blueberry picking, and black friday shopping! She is the cutest, sleepiest, sweetest, easiest, calmest, hungriest, smiliest baby ever. She loves bubbles, mirrors, and eating paper. She has mastered pulling down zippers, turning off lights, and hanging up the iphone while I’m talking. Currently she scoots around doing something that resembles an army crawl. She makes us smile everyday.

Preston is busy as ever, adding to his regular work schedule the rigors of being chief and picking up some extra shifts at a nearby hospital. He even joined the Kalamazoo Ultimate Disc League for a few months and had games every week which Ruby and I loved watching. It amazes me how well he can juggle being a dad with all of his professional and church responsibilities. He’s my hero.

Right now I’m just learning how to be a mom - and LOVING it! Ruby is easily the best full time job I’ve ever had. It’s amazing to see her exploring the world and learning new skills. It seems like she changes every single day and I’m grateful that I’m not missing a single moment of it! Sometimes she makes me crazy, but every night we give thanks for having THE best baby in the world.

We send our love to all of you this Christmas season!

Preston, Annette, and Ruby

I'm a Mormon.

2011-12-14T13:06:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Preston didn't have to work (which is a special occasion) and I was excited to spend every moment of a full day with him, so I was shocked when he told me to leave the house so that he could work on my Christmas present. I objected at first but he offered to keep Ruby with him and told me to go out and do whatever I wanted! Wahoo! I went to the movie store and parked a little close to the car next to me. I was sitting there snacking on some haribo gummy bears (so chewy and delicious) and enjoying some me time when I noticed that the owner of the other car was waiting for me to get out so that he could get in. I opened my door and apologized. The following conversation ensued:

"I see you have this sticker on your car (pointing to the BYU window decal)."
"Yup."
"Does that mean your mormon?"
"yup."
"Really?" - spoken in a surprised tone.
"yup."
"Currently?" - again with the surprised tone.
"Yup."
"So how's that going for you?"
"Awesome. I really like it."
"huh. ok. Well good luck with that."

It was a very odd conversation and I turned around and walked into the video store with the following thoughts in my head...

1. Wow. That was odd.
2. Is it shocking that I'm Mormon. Do I not LOOK mormon? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
3. Oh crud...was that the missionary opportunity that I've been praying for and I just blew it?
4. Who says "awesome I really like it" when asked about being Mormon. Probably could have/should have come up with something better than that.
5. Wow that was really odd.

After renting Super 8 (which was a fun movie) I got back in my car and couldn't help but continue ruminating over the conversation. I started to ask myself, "so how is it going for me? This whole being a mormon thing?" I'm not sure what intentions the gentleman had who started this conversation, but for me at least it was a very thought provoking experience as I've considered how I'm doing as a mormon and how I can improve.

Having a baby has taught me to CHERISH every moment of "free" time. I have less time to do what I want when I want. This has been a blessing and a challenge. It's helped me prioritize, but I'm not so sure I've been putting the MOST important things first. I'm thankful that I had this strange encounter which reminded me that I am a mormon and it is awesome, but it's also a lot of work and I need to turn it up a notch.

***Just because she's so darn cute and posts without pictures are boring***

'Tis the season!

2011-12-05T20:07:00.000-08:00

On December 1st (aka - Preston's birthday) we drove out to our favorite tree farm to kick off the Christmas season! It was a perfect day - chilly, sunny, with snow on the ground. Ruby LOVED the whole ordeal! Preston would have liked a better saw and some snow pants - but in the end he was victorious and we loaded up the best tree on the lot!

They shook and wrapped it for us and with a little finagling we got it into the back of our car. Before we left we hit up the Christmas barn for some fresh popcorn and hot cider.

Game #4 (aka: THE game) - UM vs. the other guys...

2011-12-05T19:46:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend was fantastic. It all started with the ward turkey bowl which was well attended! They broke into 4 teams and Preston (naturally) rocked it.

Then we drove up to GR for an incredibly delicious thanksgiving meal. Wow. All of the food was amazing and we ate ourselves silly as usual. We survived another year of black friday shopping. We almost died at Walmart - both inside and outside of the store. Despite the total chaos we were able to get out faster than anticipated. Ruby decided she didn't want to miss out on all the action and refused to sleep so we ended up bringing a 7 month old, bright eyed girl out to Kohls for her first midnight shopping experience! We got a lot of great deals and I got a few horrified "you are a terrible mother" looks - totally worth it! We shopped around all day long including 3 trips to meijer, a quick stop at JC Penny, and a LONG wait at JoAnn's. The day ended with a delicious batch of pocki!
***Sugi-Mania***
***ESPN camera man...BOOOO....***
***3 BIGGEST fans***
Saturday was easily the THIRD best day of my life (Preston informed me that it's offensive to rate a win over the buckeyes above the birth of your child or wedding day...). The weather was PERFECT and the game was GLORIOUS! Our seats made it a LITTLE hard for us to see the action, as did the very unpopular camera guy, but nothing could dampen our spirits when the final buzzer rang and we rushed the field screaming HAIL TO THE VICTORS! Literally my face hurt from smiling so much! BEST DAY EVER!!!
***Denard's bum was on this bench! What up!!***
***Even got Dad down on the sidelines***
***COMPLETE CHAOS on the field - TOTALLY AWESOME***

Family Pictures

2011-11-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

We'd been wanting to do it for sometime, but yesterday we finally did it. Photos courtesy of Kasey Hunt Photography.

Mirrors and Bubbles = FUN!

2011-11-14T17:57:00.000-08:00

This girl could look at herself in the mirror for HOURS and it would never get old. She can't help but crack a grin when she sees that "other" cute baby smiling back!

Grammy Sugi also discovered that this girl LOVES bubbles! We all tried to replicate this, but only grammy could get the laughs.

Also...not the most flattering...but this is the first picture that Ruby shot of herself using my phone. We may need to add a third line to our plan - this girl is DYING to get an iPhone!

My 2 favorite peeps....

2011-11-14T15:17:00.001-08:00

This girl LOVES to touch anything breakable or expensive! I love to see Preston interact with sweet little Ruby. He is so patient and even lets her touch his computer screen! I grabbed my iPhone and caught these moments on camera because I just love the faces of these two cuties!

peas and NO thank you!

2011-11-06T17:35:00.000-08:00

While Lori was here we found that little Rubes pretty much likes to eat anything you put in her mouth...and her auntie really did provide her with a variety of yummy firsts - chocolate, apple crisp, possibly steak. You can see how badly this girl wants to eat ANYTHING she can get her hands on. yes that is her giant tongue trying SO hard to get just a sip of that water.

But I found an exception! I tried to feed her peas recently and it did NOT go well. Poor thing...I couldn't stop laughing but she was clearly NOT amused!

In contrast - Dad fed her some carrots the other day and she was LOVING it! I'm not sure which part she liked more - the food or the sound effects.

Game #3: UM vs. Purdue

2011-11-06T16:44:00.001-08:00

It was homecoming and we were lucky enough to have LORI come into town! She always brings a party - literally her carry on was FULL of goodies. She brought one outfit and a bunch of treats! Love it!

I think the homecoming theme had something to do with space so before the game started we heard a VERY loud noise above our heads and looked up as a ROCKETMAN came flying down with a jetpack! It was basically totally awesome! He had a wolverine helmet on and the game ball. Sweet.

We got real nervous when the boilermakers marched down the field and scored in the first 2 minutes. Luckily they weren't able to score again until the very end. Just how we like it! The rain started falling towards the end of the game - but it couldn't dampen our spirits! The only sad part is that we're down to just one game left - fortunately it should hopefully be the best game of all. BRING IT YOU NUTS FROM THE SOUTH!!

YOUR car

2011-11-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

So when we got a second car we differentiated by saying, "the white car" or "the red car" since they're both hyundai's. We do usually name them, but for some reason we never actually call them by their names. At any rate, somewhere along the line I started using the white car more. So when preston would take it I would say, "why'd you take MY car today?" To which he would respond, "when did it become YOUR car?!" Well, the other day I got into the red car, which I NEVER drive anymore since Ruby's seat base is in the white car, and I found this......yup. That is fingernail clippings, an apple core, and a banana peel in the cup holders. That is when I officially announced to Preston - "The red car is YOUR car!"

Looks like it's time to childproof our house...

2011-11-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

Our Little Jedi

2011-11-03T13:38:00.000-07:00

When Ruby was born, I was a little concerned about her floppy ears. I would make sure hats didn't fold them over or when she was laying in bed that her ears were laying flat. These efforts were to no avail and at six months old, she has ears that stick out. Don't get me wrong, I love them and think they suit her very well.

When Halloween was coming and we were trying to decide on a costume, the answer was obvious. Annette crocheted a green hat and Lori made some felt ears and voila... Yoda.

I also love how Annette's hair turned out. I wish we had some better pictures...

SERIOUSLY?!

2011-10-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

Is it possible that this girl is already 6 months?
She is super obedient. Dad told her to hold onto his papers and she took the job very seriously.
She is sitting up all on her own!
She LOVES other babies (including the super cute baby she sees in the mirror :) Her newest favorite friend is the pampers baby!

gym soapbox and mullet removal

2011-10-21T07:41:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to get to the gym more lately as Ruby is nearing her 6 month birthday I feel like this belly has got to go (mine, not hers - although her chub cheeks are starting to rival her belly - LOVE IT)! But every time I go I get bugged about something...call them excuses, but it's starting to make me want to stay home, sit in a comfy chair, read a good book, and eat ice cream :)

1. What's with all the make up and cute hair at the gym...it's a gym...wipe off your fatty eye liner, put your hair in a pony and start sweating! For real...

2. Do NOT be dousing yourself in your favorite floral scent before you get on a treadmill...it's a gym people...when I'm breathing heavy (and I always am) I don't want to be taking in big inhales of lavender...seriously....

3. At the same time if you are going somewhere that you KNOW you will be sweating maybe you should bust out some deodorant...it's a gym people...it's smelly, but let's not make it worse

4. There are various forms of entertainment while workin it on the elliptical: you can listen to music, watch tv, chat with your neighbor, read a magazine - but you can't do all of them! For the love people, don't try to listen to your vulgar rap music AND hold a conversation with the person running next to you - it's a gym people - we don't all want to hear your business.

5. I also have issues with people in jeans, fans blowing on me, and the guy with the long hair who can't keep his head still and needs a sweat band....but that's enough for now...

And since I obviously have no pictures regarding the above text I will tag on this little number. I am very sad to say that we didn't get a good picture of Ruby's amazing mullet before I eliminated it (well technically it was more Preston's doing...). I just couldn't take it anymore so when we were in GR I busted out my mom's haircutting kit and started hacking away with the thinning shears - that ended up looking really really awful...so preston said, no no no you just need to use the clippers. I was terrified when he started buzzing the mullet but it turned out looking much better. NO actual pictures of either the before or after - but I do have this great video which showcases the mullet and also Ruby's newest attempts to crawl. She does this leg motion on the ground or when you are trying to hold her. I can feel how badly she wants to move around, but she's just not quite there...

Game #2: UM vs. Minnesota

2011-10-14T20:13:00.001-07:00

It was the battle for the little brown jug...although it didn't end up being much of a battle, but we were ok with that! We got to Ann Arbor without any traffic issues, but had a little trouble with parking. The cheapest parking was $15 but you had to "jump the curb" to get to it...not ideal. We drove a little further and found a place for $20. We drove in and then down into a bowl which ended up being quite muddy because of recent rain. Basically Tim's BMW got stuck, there was pushing, there was sliding, and then there was more pushing. We finally decided to back it into a spot as it maneuvered better in reverse. People were joking that the $20 better cover towing expenses...seriously. Well, Tim got nervous that we wouldn't be able to get out because the climb out of the bowl was pretty steep and muddy and he knew he'd have to get a "running" start in order to get up it, which he wouldn't be able to get with 100 cars all trying to get out of the bowl so we found a spot up top and Tim made the magic happen.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day! The air was crisp, but the sun was shining! We had great seats again, in row 10. I think I may wear heels to the next game though as when you are that close the difference between rows is like 6 inches and newsflash - we are shorties!

I wasn't trying to get an artistic shot or anything, I was trying to get the touchdown throw, but the guys in front of me both stood up and threw their arms in the air which totally obstructed my view with their maize and blue jackets.

The "nard" dog runnin' it. woot woot.

3 happy Sugis after a major Minnesota slaughter.

GO BLUE!

She's a Sugi!

2011-10-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is growing fast and she is HUNGRY! I tried feeding her carrots the other day. It was semi-successful, but mostly just messy. Ruby has become fascinated with food. She will salivate and "chew" while she watches the fork go from you plate to your mouth over and over and over again - as if it's the most incredible thing she's ever seen! She will also try to put ANYTHING that is within arms reach into her mouth :) NO doubt about it. She's a sugi!
Preston, just finishing up a crazy delicious gull meadows doughnut, goes to get a sip of cider but finds that someone has beat him to it!

ooh...a freshly picked apple...yes please!

Having picked blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries this year I must say that picking apples is my favorite! They are SO easy and you finish so quickly! Awesome. Now we just have to figure out what to do with a whole peck of apples!

Art Prize!

2011-10-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Grand Rapids started doing a really neat festival of sorts a few years back and we finally made it out to see all the unique art that is scattered in 164 outdoor and indoor venues in downtown GR. Unfortunately we didn't have the nicest day, but we enjoyed seeing some really neat pieces and spending the day as a family! Here's us with some of the Top 10 pieces:

This one was spinning and obviously I didn't snap the pic at a very good time, but it's a giant octopus with a bunch of other animals and what not all mingled in it's tentacles.

Ruby was obviously loving it!

This was a "tree of knowledge" so to speak as the limbs were all made of encyclopedia pages:

I liked this one because even though I'm only the mother of one I am already feeling what it's like to juggle being a wife, a mother, primary chorister, a visiting teacher, a sister, a daughter, a friend, etc... It made me think about all that women today have to manage while still staying on their feet! I have MANY friends who AMAZE me with what they are able to juggle. You ladies are incredible!

There were also some pretty strange pieces that I wish I had gotten pictures of :) One of my favorites was a piece of wood in the shape of a seal that had barbie arms and legs sticking out of it and kayak paddles acting as tail and fins. Wow. It was very bizarre, but also fun to look at and I don't claim to be an art critic of ANY kind so who am I to judge.

I also saw a neat exhibit about birth. It was photographs of a variety of different women at different stages of childbirth. There were home births, C-sections, and hospital vaginal deliveries. Some people expressed fear, sorrow, disappointment, exhaustion, and surprise - but the end result was always joy and a new beautiful baby. Did I cry? you betcha!

Game #1: UM vs EMU

2011-09-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday, Happy anniversary, Merry Christmas to me! This year I decided to cash in all of my presents and buy a pack of Michigan football tickets! It's our last fall in michigan and the first time in 7 years that we've got a shot at beating those "nuts" from down south. Our first game was last saturday.

We were in row 3 - I am NOT zooming at all. awesome.

We were in the CrAzY section with the cow bell guy
And this guy who led us in the MICHIGAN cheer
It was a beautiful day for football! I was a little annoyed when I found out that even with Ruby in a bjorn carrier I still needed a ticket to bring her in...seriously!? I did my homework online and knew that I couldn't bring our camera with the detachable lens or a purse - so I borrowed a small point and shoot camera - case and all it fit in the palm of my hand. They told me at the gate that I couldn't bring in the 4 inch x 3 inch case, but that if I took the camera out and put the case in my pocket that would be ok. WHAT?! Do my liquids and gels need to be 3 oz or less in a quart sized ziplock bag...oh my gosh I felt like these guys were TSA instead of stadium guards...sheesh. Next weekend look for my dad, brother,and me when we play Minnesota! Don't look for Ruby or my camera case :) WOW.

WARNING: THIS VIDEO IS EXTREMELY ADORABLE AND HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS

2011-09-22T19:40:00.000-07:00

I use to wonder why EVERYONE feels the need to post videos of their kid laughing...they all seem the same...now I understand! It's so freaking adorable when it's your own :)

Holy Crap!

2011-09-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

So I've been looking back and realizing that a LOT of our posts are centered around little Ruby's poo. And I'm thinking someday she'll be looking through the books that we make of our blog and feel MORTIFIED by how much we publicly discussed her bowel movements! But she had one yesterday that was definitely blog worthy :)

She was sitting in the bumbo on the table when I heard it - and I knew right away that it was no ordinary poo so I immediately grabbed her out of the bumbo. While I was surveying the damage she started leaking :) I panicked! How do I get her to the changing table without leaving a trail?! I grabbed a washcloth, held it under her, and made a run for it!

I was wishing that Preston was home partially because he always seems to miss the big blowouts, but mostly because it's near impossible to keep her hands out of the poo when it's EVERYWHERE. And as she likes to stick everything in her mouth these days I was especially paranoid. In trying to get the onesie off without her getting her hands in it I officially got poo everywhere - shoulders, arms, back of the head, etc...

I finally get her cleaned off enough to take her to the shower, I stand her up and...you guessed it. She starts peeing. I just stood there, holding her, letting the washcloth soak it up, LAUGHING my head off. It was awesome.

I know what some of you are thinking - "really Annette, do you always have to include PICTURES of the mess? Gross." My reply - yes, absolutely! Who wants to read a post without pictures?! What I'm wondering is if this is normal. I've tried just about every diaper - target, walgreens, meijer, pampers, huggies...I've tried keeping her in smaller ones, using the right size, getting them larger - but it seems like EVERY poo is a blowout! I know you staunch cloth diaper people preach that you rarely have blowouts and I'm about ready to convert. At least with a cloth diaper I wouldn't have to clean my kitchen table in addition to her clothes :) I'm also thinking I maybe should buy stock in oxiclean as it has become my new best friend!

****If Rollie is reading this, please note that I didn't see any poo in YOUR bumbo, but I still cleaned it thoroughly :) *****

We recently put together this exersaucer and at first I think Ruby was a little leery about it, but after a few minutes she warmed up to it. These must really be a workout for babies because that girl is TIRED when she gets out.

At first I thought, what a wuss (I know, I'm such a kind mother)! But then I realized that when you normally just lay around all day, standing up might be pretty darn exhausting. Not to mention she has to hold up that noggin.

Two weeks ago college football officially started! For me it's a day that ranks up there with Christmas, my wedding day, the birth of my child... Yes, I love it that much. What a glorious time of year! We got little Rubes all decked out with her Michigan onesie and BYU headband. I can already tell she's gonna be a major football fan!

****And to anyone who caught the end of the michigan game last week....CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! Without a doubt THE most exciting finish to a football game I've ever seen!

Parenting is painful!

2011-09-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

Currently I am letting this little cutie cry it out...

...and despite what my husband might say I do have a heart :) I'm just tired of the 20+ minute bedtime routine of swinging and shushing. He's a major softy and today after 20 seconds of crying he was like, "has it been 15 minutes yet?!" Hopefully this works soon because I can only take a few more nights of this...

Education Week 2011!!!

2011-09-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

I had such an amazing experience last year at BYU's education week so I made Preston promise last year that he would take off work and go with me this year. It was a little different this time with Ruby but we had a great time! I drove out with my mom, dad, and little Ruby. She was a little less cooperative this time, but he still did well. Poor girl wanted so badly to get out of this car seat, even in her sleep she tried to escape.
On sunday we all got together at the hotel for a big family fun night! Lori made some DELICIOUS food and of course there was lots of Bang! We even got Dad to play a round!
On monday classes started but we skipped out early to hit up the genealogy library for mom's birthday present! Naturally we had a BLAST searching the database and scouring microfilm for our ancestors. Only the Sugi's could make this semi-lame sounding activity a real riot! Actually it really was a good experience with some new info found and a lot of laughs. Even Ruby enjoyed it!
Not sure how much work Taki actually did...
I love Dad's face as he exclaimed, "Nothin!"

We followed it up with some CAFE RIO! So yummy.

Ruby had a major blowout...not so yummy...but the blazer came through again as a changing table!
We introduced Preston to Tucanos (aka: meat fest)! Obviously he loved it!

We even found time to hike the Y!

We visited with the Rindlisbachers and explored the bean museum.

Naturally we couldn't leave without a quick trip to WINCO! Such a beautiful place. They sell everything you can think of in bulk...candy, nuts, spices, pasta, dried fruit, oatmeal, rice, EVERYTHING!

We took a minor detour on the way home to visit our favorite friends in Colorado.

Yes even with all of that we still squeezed in a few classes thanks to the help of Ruby's favorite aunts, uncles, and grandparents! Everyone was so helpful and it was an awesome trip!

Camping - take 2!

2011-08-29T23:55:00.000-07:00

We thought it'd be cute to put a head lamp on baby Ruby...
...we were right. It was!

Camping with the Rubes!

2011-08-07T20:48:00.001-07:00

Ever since I promised Preston last summer that we would go camping and then backed out he's been begging to go. You would think having a 3 month old would be excuse enough to get through another summer without going, but alas.

We were going to do a 3 night camping extravaganza through the UP and everything, but decided to just do one night in Ludington instead. Boy am I glad we scaled back as one night was more than enough. We got up there a little late and Preston got right to work on getting camp set up and a fire going. Unfortunately we forgot a few very important items including the baby bjorn! Biggest mistake ever. When Ruby couldn't handle being put down we had to improvise. Being outside on the hottest day of the year, near a fire, with a baby strapped to you is NOT the greatest, but the food put a smile back on my face. Nothing beats tin foil dinners and smores! After dinner we chilled by the fire and then went for a walk to the beach. It was a beautiful night and we enjoyed some relief from the heat as we soaked our feet in the cold lake michigan water.

It was a long night that didn't involve much sleep on our part. It was crazy hot and I seem to have spidey hearing when we go camping. I struggle to sleep because I hear every snapped twig and worry that we're going to have a bear attack! Little Ruby did amazing. She woke up once in the night but was super quiet and all of our neighbors said that they didn't hear a thing. First successful campout with a kid! Not bad.

Michigan U Pick!

2011-08-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

Is there anything better than fresh blueberries?! Last year we picked what we thought was a ridiculous amount that would last us a year and we ran out after 3 weeks! So this year I decided to pick more.

We went with the medical spouses group to a farm that requires you to pay for a bucket instead of paying by the pound. So if you don't fill the bucket, too bad for you, you already paid for the whole thing. It seems like an ok system, except if you have a crazy 3 month old with you that decides to sabotage the day. I was going to buy one bucket and then buy another if I finished the first quickly, but I only had a check and I didn't want to have to write 2 checks, so I paid for 2 buckets. BIG MISTAKE.

About 10 minutes in she realizes that she's hungry. I consider going back to the car and feeding her, but I have these 2 big buckets to fill so I decide to go for it in the fields! I'm finishing up on one side and....she poops...and it's everywhere! Dripping down her leg and onto my pants. fantastic. So back to the car I go to change her clothes. We get it all taken care of and I go back out. Immediately she starts freaking out again so I feed her on the other side while I continue grabbing frantically at berries. She quickly falls asleep and I pick like a mad woman.

After 2 hours I only have one bucket full and the rain starts falling. I laughed because I could hear kids all over the field saying, "I want to go home. I'm getting wet." And then you would hear their moms say, "we aren't leaving until that bucket is full! I paid for all these buckets and we need to fill them!" As the rain starts coming down harder I give up and head back to the car with an empty bucket. I see the sign up that says "no refunds" and I decide to not even ask, but then a wonderful thing happens...lightning! Because of this they had to close the farm and so I decided to ask and see if I could get my money back. The first girl I asked said no and that I could wait out the storm if I wanted to. yeah. Like I'm interested in doing that with a 3 month old...no. So I asked someone else who told me I could come back later that day if the rain let up. Just before leaving I saw an elderly couple getting an IOU and so I asked for one as well. Got it. yes!

I made Preston go with me the next day. The fields were SUPER muddy from all the rain and it was crazy hot so we picked as fast as possible, but we got our bucket filled and we've been enjoying pies, pancakes, and handfuls of delicousness ever since!

She gets it!

2011-08-07T20:07:00.000-07:00

Whenever we do something that older kids think is fun (ie: bounce her on the knee, zerberts, peek a boo, etc...) and she doesn't smile we say "she just doesn't get it yet..." But she is starting to do new things which is exciting.

She has started grabbing at things. She loves to grab her dresses and pull them up. She's also started reaching out to toys and grabbing her feet.

The other day she rolled over from back to front. It took her a while to get there and she still hasn't figured out how to get her arm out from underneath her after the roll over. Now we have to keep a closer eye on her, which isn't a problem as she is my favorite little cutie to watch!

Here she is a few days before she actually made it all the way over. She's sleeping in this picture...must be having a good dream.

The first time she did it. I think she even surprised herself!

That darn arm!

I had to do it.

2011-08-07T20:01:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist when I found this at a garage sale. Pretty much the cutest tax deduction I've ever seen!

All growed up!

2011-07-16T09:53:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe it, but on monday our little Ruby will be 3 months old! I put her in this little outfit (which is newborn size, but I'm thinking they might have mislabeled it...). I think she looks like a little girl, no longer a little baby! I'm not sure how I feel about that...but she definitely is stinkin cute!

Kindleberger!

2011-07-16T09:30:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the annual kindleberger festival here in the small town of Parchment! There are tons of activities and everything is free! They had musical productions, an art fair, farmers market, a car show, parade, live band, etc... We decided to run there, which always seems like a good idea until you realize that you have to run BACK as well! Anyhow, we had a good time and didn't pay a dime!
The parade was a little noisy...
...but Ruby was totally into it.
The "cruisin" car show (not so much cruisin as just sittin there, so I decided to do some cruisin myself). Ruby again was obviously impressed...
Preston and I don't know ANYTHING about cars, but they were still cool to look at.

Before we left we decided to stop in and see the live band. It was interesting because they were a rock band and the lead singer was really screamin into the mic...but they still had the scenery up for the "Sound of Music" production, so the band's backdrop was a beautiful mountain scene- complete with flowers and puffy white clouds :) We didn't get a good pic of the band, but I think Ruby's face says it all...
Clearly this was the highlight of her week :)

The Best.

2011-07-09T15:21:00.000-07:00

Last night this little cutie slept from 9-5! Is it possible to have the cutest and BEST baby in the world?!
I am so lucky.

She's a fish!

2011-07-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

Last saturday we hit up the annual rockin' Independence Day party at the Hunt house! It was incredible as always.

Preston did some practice laps with her at home.
We decided to introduce Ruby to the pool....things went well at first...
And then she freaked :)
Preston volunteered me for the watermelon eating contest. Megan and I were all talk before things got started.
But we ended up with 2 of the largest slices...
And by the end we weren't laughin...
As you can see it looks like I got off to a slow start, but in my defense the slice was so thick! I started out just trying to eat the back half...it was rough.

We got a second chance on monday for Ruby to do some swimming when we went and visited more friends! Preston dropped her down into the water a little deeper and she seemed to do great. I wouldn't say she enjoyed it...but she definitely didn't HATE it, so that's progress!
Ruby was just lovin' all the attention!
What a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

Ruby's Blessing

2011-07-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

This post has been waiting for pictures! Ruby was actually blessed on Mother's day when she was less than 2 weeks old. We hadn't planned on it being that early, so grammy Sugiyama was still finishing the dress that morning and drove it down so we could change her in the car.

It was so wonderful to have my parents and brother there along with Preston's parents and some good friends. It was a very special day and we were happy to share it with so many people we love.

Unfortunately Ruby had a blow out during sacrament meeting, so we didn't get any good pictures of her in the dress. And sadly it took me a long time to get around to taking pictures of her, but it actually fits better now, even though my mom made the smallest size.

At any rate, it's a beautiful dress, I love how it turned out - simple, vintage, and not wierdly long ( I just don't get why blessing dresses are normally 4 ft long when babies are like 20 inches...).

Halfway through the photo shoot she grabbed her dress and started showin' some leg...oh boy...we've got trouble on our hands!

Political Plug.

2011-06-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

For the 3 people who read this blog, I just wanted to suggest supporting Ron Paul. He's been a consistent force for liberty in Congress for over 20 years. Plus if you donate you get your name to show up on the site...

Everybody poos...

2011-06-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

but sometimes it's hilarious - and blog worthy.

In Ruby's 2 short months of life she has already graced us with some very memorable poops. You may recall the 3 outfits we went through at the texas airport and the blessing dress that only lasted 30 minutes, but there have also been a few others that we'd like to highlight here.

poo #1 - Ruby was only 10 days old and we were driving to GR to pick up Preston's mom from the airport. We had some extra time so we stopped at Target to pick up a few things. While we were inside Ruby started pooin up a storm. I checked out while Preston took her to the car for a diaper change. As I'm coming out of the store I see Preston in the car shaking his head. Little miss Ruby had her first blow out and it was everywhere. When I got into the car preston asked me to grab the back up outfit from the diaper bag. I was like, "wow you thought to pack a back up, good for you!" and he was all, "no I didn't pack one, I just assumed you'd put one in there." Unfortunately for all of us I learned this important lesson the hard way. Although at least we had diapers and a diaper bag, which is more than I can say for our first doctor's appointment when she pooed there and the pediatrician looked at us like, "hello, how do you not have a diaper bag?!"
However the story doesn't end there. As Preston is trying to get the new diaper on Ruby decides to teach us another lesson and BAM she lets another squirt fly right onto her unsuspecting dad :) So now we had two people in need of new outfits! I felt bad because I couldn't stop laughing long enough to help Preston. Even now I've had to stop several times because I'm laughing too hard to type. Ever since Preston has always been sure to place the new diaper under the dirty one before he gets started.

poo #2 - this one requires very little explanation. Our little Ruby somehow managed to do this one afternoon...I swear sometimes there is more out of the diaper than in! Yes that is poo running down her leg and yes I am a bad parent for making her lay there while I laughed and took pictures...

Roadtrippin with Rubes!

2011-06-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

We couldn't believe how good Ruby did when we traveled to Texas, so I decided to press my luck and do a roadtrip to Utah with my mom. Thankfully the trip was uneventful! Ruby was a champ, she only really cried a few times and we were able to calm her down quickly. Amazing. I was really nervous that the trip would be horrific but it ended up being an absolute blast! We left on tuesday and got to Utah thursday night. Of course we met up with Lori and Tad for some BAJIO! On the way there Ruby had a MAJOR blow out and Lori offered to change her but Bajio did NOT have a changing table. SHOCKER! What restaurant in Utah doesn't have a baby changing station. Luckily Tad had just cleaned out the back of the blazer. It worked perfectly.

Friday morning my family left for Vegas but I stuck around. In the afternoon Preston flew into Utah for his brother's wedding. We had one day together in Utah so we decided to do the most important thing - introduce Ruby to BYU! We took her to meet my old intramural boss Phil (basically the best boss ever), raided the bookstore and got some creamery ice cream!
Then we drove back up to Salt Lake for the wedding BBQ! It was wonderful to meet Tommy's fiancee and to see the fam. We had a great time chatting with everyone and introducing them to little Ruby. She is so lucky to have the best aunts, uncles, and cousins!
The next morning I flew to Vegas for the big Sugiyama reunion. We arrived in time to gorge ourselves at the breakfast buffet, afterwards we hit the city! It was so fun to explore the beautiful hotels with a pack of Sugi's! Ruby's uncles couldn't get enough of her and offered (practically begged) to carry her around in the bjorn. We found a secluded bench at Caesar's Palace for a quick feeding. Ruby decided to have a blow out and I was thrilled to find some of her poo made it out onto my shorts.

That night we all met up and had a wonderful evening. We played a game that required us to match baby pictures with current pictures of everyone. There were 35 people and amazingly Lori got 30 matches right! She was the big winner! It was great for Ruby Anne to meet my Aunt Ruby and Auntie Anne. They are truly wonderful and talented women who have lived extraordinary lives! Unfortunately Ruby was pretty grumpy the whole night so we all took turns taking her out while she screamed. Even with the screaming it was still a great night. I only wish we did these reunions more than once a decade.

Ruby got way too much attention from all of her aunts and uncles and she misses them for sure! We all live too far apart!

On sunday dad and I flew out of vegas back home to GR and Ruby did wonderfully. This little girl is a born traveler!

4 planes, 3 outfits, 2 tired parents, and one totally clueless flight attendant

2011-06-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we took little Ruby on her first plane ride to TEXAS and the Lord answered my prayers! Ruby was a little angel and was perfectly quiet during both flights. What a champ!

Texas was great fun, especially since the hospital interviewing Preston bought our plane tickets, flew us into TYLER and rented us a car! How awesome is that?! We stayed with family and I couldn't believe how great the kids were with Ruby. The boys were so loving and excited to hold her. Some were a little TOO excited and we had to play defense to avoid eye pokes and suffocation from kisses!

We had lots of fun eating out with family, staying up late chatting and BBQing at the lakehouse. We had a tour of tyler with a local realtor and did some house hunting of our own. I felt bad when the realtor asked what I'm looking for in a home and I mentioned that I'm not a huge fan of brick. As we looked around I realized that 90% of the homes in Tyler are 100% brick :) Preston's interview went well...all 9 hours of it! He came home with a great job offer and a delicious basket of goodies.

The trip home was not so perfect. We got to Dallas just fine (although during the trip from Tyler Ruby decided to have a blow out so we quick changed her clothes and diaper in Dallas and scarfed down a piece of pizza as they were quick to board the plane. But after 20 minutes of sitting in our plane the captain announced that the lavatory was clogged and we needed maintenance to come and fix it (I guess we didn't need to hammer that pizza so fast...bummer). After another 20 minutes they announced that the plane could not be fixed and we needed to de-plane. Fairly quickly they found us a new plane. We got on board, but after another 20 minute wait we found out that the plane had problems with the AC. Maintenance was called, the problem couldn't be fixed, we all got off again. I was trying to wait to feed Ruby until our plane was taking off and I apparently waited too long as I needed a shirt change after failed flight number 2 :)

At this point we're wishing we had gotten more pizza because it's getting late, so Preston buys us a smoothie and I take Ruby to the bathroom to change a wet diaper. Unfortunately I still haven't learned that there ALWAYS needs to be a diaper under the baby. Right after I pulled off the old one Ruby let the flood gates open. I tried to grab her off the table before urine got everywhere, but I was too late, her onesie was already soaked up the back AND apparently I scared her a little when I picked her up so quick because she then proceeded to poop on her blanket :) yikes. Luckily we had a 3rd outfit packed, but it was our last, so we hoped that plane 3 would come through for us.

It didn't. We were on the plane for a while and they kept announcing that we were all set and just waiting on final confirmation from who knows who. Then the flight attendant came on the PA again and said "would someone else like to come up and make this announcement?" Turns out this one had the same AC problem and was leaking fluid. Having given up on maintenance actually doing anything helpful, they decided not to call and just to have us all de-plane...again.

Wow. At this point we've given up on being annoyed as the situation is almost comical. I was surprised to see most of the passengers in good spirits and making jokes. It reminded me that there's no situation that can't be made worse by complaining. We were told that a plane would be coming in at 5:10 and we would be able to take that one (note that when it landed it was 6:10 in GR and we were suppose to be home at 5:05. Awesome.

As we board plane number 4 a flight attendant (who earlier had asked how old our baby was) asked if I was "expecting again." REALLY!? So you know that I have a 1 month old baby and you know that I'm about to get on my 4th plane and you ask me that?! wow. They announced that the first round of drinks were on the house to compensate us for our troubles. I didn't want a beer, I wanted some peanuts or pretzels...but those were $4.

We ended up arriving in GR after 10:00 and Ruby, who did so super great all day, finally lost it. Mom and dad brought us our car and said a quick hello to our screaming baby before we took off for home.

Ultimate?

2011-06-14T08:55:00.000-07:00

After months of honing his ultimate skills with regular saturday morning games he decided it was time to join KUDL (Kzoo ultimate disc league). But what we saw when we got to the fields didn't look like ultimate. Things were very organized with positions and rhythm. Preston was able to keep up with even the best of them and even score several points without getting discouraged by all the new stuff.

Yup, he's fast!

Preston is the "first cut"

The stack, the cutters, the handlers...

Goooooooo team canary!

P diddy throws a touchdown!

Coachin' it up on the sidelines.

They use all their limbs to try and stop him...but he's too good!

Bring it!

We're not sure that it's ultimate...but it sure is fun!

The long awaited horror story...

2011-05-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

The quick and clean version (for those of you that don't know me that well or don't want to know me TOO well)...

8:20 Sunday morning we arrive at the hospital
678 the room number of our labor suite
140/96 blood pressure is high, they won't let me leave until I've had a baby!
2 IV's blown before they got one in right
4 & 80 dilation and effacement upon arrival
zillions of laps around the tiny OB floor to try and get things going
7 hours later I'm still at 4 & 80
1 poker thingy to break my water
3 hours later still no progress
2 mU/min Pitocin started
5 mg Magnesium because of high liver enzymes
2 mg Stadol
1 hour of altered mental status
millions of lego men coming after me
One GLORIOUS epidural
2:00 AM MAYBE dilated to a 5
5 & 80 After ANOTHER 5 1/2 hours with pitocin there is still no progress
7 and 7 dilated to a 7 after another 7 hours with pitocin at highest dose
9 and 2 dilated to a 9 after just 2 hours!
33 hours after arrival it's time to push!
3 hours of pushing with little success
Four different positions tried to help baby move into canal
30 extra minutes to see if I can progress at all or time for C-section
2 small tugs with the forceps and she's OUT!
2 HUGE eyes WIDE open soaking in the world
TEN fingers and toes - she's beautiful!
9 and 3 9 different nurses and 3 doctors participated in her birth

THE UNRATED DIRECTOR'S CUT VERSION:

I went into the hospital on wednesday morning for some concerns and was told that I was dilated to a 3 and the doctor said that if I lived further away he wouldn't let me go home and expected that I would be back the next day or later that night. I started to feel some contractions on Friday, they were random and not very strong. Saturday night was similar with contractions becoming a bit more regular and slightly stronger. Sunday morning the contractions continued to come so we headed into the hospital. Of course as soon as we were checked in I noticed that the contractions were slowing down and we asked if we could go home and come back once things picked up again. Unfortunately my blood pressure was high and because I was already overdue the doctor decided that I needed to stay.
So we got to work. We started taking laps, sitting on the birth ball, and practicing relaxation with each contraction. They decided to place an IV just in case, the first 2 times they didn't get it right, leaving me with 2 beautiful bruises, but 3rd time was a charm.
9:45 - The doctor checks me and I'm dilated to a 4, 80% effaced. We continued walking and bouncing on the ball in hopes that the contractions would pick up.
3:00 - the doctor checks again and there is NO change. We feel discouraged and the doctor says that it's time to break the water. There's a little bit of meconium, but they don't seem concerned. I'm surprised when very little water comes out...
4:30 - WHOOSH...as I'm walking around the flood gates finally open and I have a large puddle of amniotic fluid at my feet :)
5:30 - STILL a 4 and 80%. The doc wants to start pitocin, we ask for some time and start taking laps.
6:15 - no change. Pitocin started with smallest dose (2) - #1 on my list of things to avoid at all cost.
11:00 - Pitocin upped to 4, contractions are stronger and more regular, but still not consistent enough to progress.

11:40 - lab results show liver enzymes are elevated. This combined with the high blood pressure worries the doc that I might be developing HELLP, which could cause seizures. To prevent this they must give me magnesium. Unfortunately this will SLOW my progress (as if it could be any slower). So they will have to ramp up the pitocin to counter the magnesium. Doc suggests epidural. I decide to try Stadol, hoping that we can avoid the epidural.
11:43 - I start to see millions of legos and lego men in the room. I feel nauseous and insanely hot. The magnesium burns as it goes into my IV.
12:00 - things take a terrible turn. I completely lose it and start screaming:
"Something in my head is hot!"
"I can't do this!"
"Make it stop"
"Get me out of here."
Preston and my mom do everything they can to get me calmed down, but I am completely out of control. I complain that I am hot and thirsty, but when Preston tries to give me a drink I tell him that I don't remember how to swallow and I will choke if I drink. My oxygen levels drop and Preston has to coach me to breathe. They check my cervix again and do an ultrasound to be sure the baby has not turned transverse. Head is still down, but cannot be felt. Preston suggests they administer Narcan to reverse the effects of the stadol.
1:45 - calming down, but still not coherent. Preston gives them permission to start the epidural as I am not able to answer any of the anesthesiologists questions. She is the chief of anesthesia and accidentally flicks out the epidural (which she says has NEVER happened to her in 25 years). She gets the second one in place and all is well - #2 on my list of things to avoid at all cost.

2:15 - Calm, but still a little fuzzy. After ALL of this the doc says, "she might be at a 5." Not encouraging...
2:45 - I wake up and ask "where's Ruby." Imagine my dismay when Preston responds, "she's still in your belly."

Day 2
7:30 am - Still at a 5 and 80% I order a liquid breakfast and Preston feeds me broth, juice, italian ice, and jello. Pitocin will be increased by one every 30 minutes until contractions start to be productive. Contractions are inconsistent. I'll have 3 that all come one minute apart and then 4 minutes of nothing.
11:00 - New doctor. He thinks that pelvic opening might be too small for baby to fit through, which could be causing the stall in my labor. Pitocin is now at highest dose (20) and Lori gives my uterus a stern talking to.

12:00 - Nurse scolds Lori for doing foot massage to help progression. After she leaves we keep doing it :)
2:40 - GOOD NEWS! Dilated to a 7!!
4:40 - Dilated to a 9!!!
5:40 - READY TO PUSH! The nurse tells me to give her 2 practice pushes and says that they are good and strong. Unfortunately because of the epidural I cannot feel the contractions at all so I don't know WHEN to push. For the first hour or so I am most likely pushing at the wrong time. Finally Preston and the nurse show me how to feel the contractions on my belly as it tightens. I use this to decide when to push.
8:45 - After 3 hours I am EXHAUSTED, not only from all the pushing, but also because of the magnesium. The doctor says that the baby hasn't moved and my pushes are no longer effective. He suggests a c-section. We ask for a little more time and he says we can have another 30 minutes to see if we can get anything happening. We try EVERYTHING. Sitting up, on my side, backwards on the bed kneeling, squat bar. The nurse (shaun) is REALLY great, encouraging me to try all sorts of different things hoping to avoid the c-section.

9:30 - NO PROGRESS. They prep me for surgery, but doc says that he is willing to try forceps. He has been specially trained and feels confident in his ability to use them safely. He is only willing to give one small tug while I give my strongest push. If she doesn't move into the canal we must go right to surgery. We agree to do this - I didn't even think to have this on my list of things to avoid because I just didn't imagine it becoming necessary...but it wasn't part of my ideal birth. I'm wheeled down to the OR and they increase the epidural in preparation for a possible c-section.
10:00 - I arrive in the OR which is full of strangers ready for a surgery. At this point I am REALLY struggling to stay awake and the epidural is stronger than ever. I can't feel anything.
10:26 pm - The doc gets the forceps in place and tells me to go ahead and push on my next contraction. I look at Preston and Shaun for help since I'm super tired and can't feel anything. They both tell me when to push and I give it everything I've got. EVERYONE In the room is cheering me on "you can do it! Push her out!" The doc performs an episiotomy - #3 on my list of things to avoid at all cost. He says that Ruby just needs one more push and then...SHE'S OUT! Her eyes are WIDE open, but she's not breathing. I about fall asleep, but tell Preston to go check on her. After some deep suction she is breathing and crying. She's placed on my chest, but I'm barely awake. It isn't until the next day when I'm off all of the meds that I cry, realizing that our beautiful/perfect little Ruby has finally arrived.

Post birth:
The doc informs me that I've lost about as much blood as I would have with a c-section and he's glad to see my color coming back.
I keep telling the nurse and doctor that I feel like I really need to pee. They keep telling me that I have a foley catheter and the bag is empty so I obviously don't need to pee. After several hours I convince them to take it out and let me try going to the bathroom. They give me a "hat" to put in the toilet to measure my output. I proceed to fill the one liter hat 3 times in the next hour :) Yeah I guess the catheter wasn't working.
4 days after I went home my pain intensifies until I can no longer sit down without crying. Preston does a quick exam and confirms that I have an infection. I spend 2.5 hours at the ER getting the infection drained. My doctor informs me that this type of thing only happens every 2 years or so...lucky me.

Obviously NOT my ideal birth, but the end goal was accomplished :) Ruby has already brought us so much joy and we love her to pieces (can you tell?! I take about 50 pictures a day)!

Photo Shoot.

2011-05-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

With a week of lazing around the house, I made Annette and baby get dressed up today and took some MORE pictures of them. (Will it ever end? Probably not.)

LOTS of RUBY!!

2011-05-02T13:05:00.000-07:00

It's official, our blog will now almost exclusively contain pictures of our child and you will have no idea of anything else going on in our lives.

Really, though, we want to thank everyone who has helped us out so much over the last week since Ruby's birth. We wouldn't have made it without you!! So, enjoy some more pictures of the beautiful Ruby taken in the 1 week since her birth.

p.s. Annette tells me she'll post the birthing story soon...

Mom and baby at the hospital.

Babyface!

Leaving the hospital

Home at Last!

Happy in Grammy's arms

Grandpa's turn

Ruby's Favorite Aunt

Daddy daughter time

The dreaded first fingernail clipping

Snug as a bug on a rug

Ruby is born!

2011-04-25T22:36:00.000-07:00

7 pounds 2 oz
21 inches
Horrifying story to follow...

Clean Kalamazoo

2011-04-22T18:42:00.001-07:00

****WARNING: This may be the last post of our lives that does not include a dozen photos of a child. Enjoy.****

We're three days past due and no baby yet, so Annette signed us up for some community service. Yesterday, it was sunny and 60s, tomorrow should be the same, but today.... raining and 40s. We met up at the local pub, saw a family from our ward and got free aqua colored t-shirts (who doesn't love aqua?!). They handed us some work gloves and a map and we headed out to clean up the streets. Before too long we were drenched and had picked up over a hundred cigarette butts. We would get really excited when there were other large trash to pick up instead of cigarette butts. Annette was a real trooper though, she did great in spite of her giant weight on her belly.

****Click on the image below to get into the action of the clean up*****

Bodies REVEALED!

2011-04-22T18:40:00.000-07:00

NOT false advertising...it WAS both fascinating AND real! Twice now Preston and I have had the chance to go see a "bodies" exhibit, but we've always skipped it because of the price. But, when we heard that the GR museum had an exhibit we finally decided it was time to bite the bullet and check it out.

Having both completed anatomy courses (one of us a few more than the other) we were excited to see an exhibit that many might find gross or uninteresting. I was disappointed to find that I've forgotten MOST of what I learned, but I had a great guide :) The human body is absolutely incredible, so intricate and beautiful. When you learn about and see the body in depth you realize that there truly must be a God that created us all.

Our ticket also got us a free ride on the carousel. At first it was great fun, Ruby was lovin it and I was whippin' the horses...but it was quite possibly the longest ride of my life and towards the end my zeal faded.

Family Memories

2011-04-22T17:08:00.001-07:00

Annette recently posted this to her family website, I thought some of you might get a kick out of it....

I recently brought my baby book home from mom and dads house and one night when I couldn't sleep I started reading through our old Christmas newsletters. Folks, let me just say that there are some SERIOUSLY hilarious little gems in these old letters that I felt needed to be shared...I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

Most of my favorites come from the newsletter where mom started things out "I had everyone write their own section this year..." I knew it was going to be good and I wasn't disappointed:

Tim: "My brothers and sisters drive me nuts. WE bought a new IBM Compatable and I am the only one who knows how to use it."

Lori: "In the 8th game of our season I managed to foul out in the 4th quarter (after the referee couldn't decide who fouled the girl, I was the lucky one to be chosen to take the foul).

Taki: "I am Taki, I am 10 years old. I am the hottest person in school. I don't make messes and I have to pick up after by brothers and sisters. I like to swim and bug Tim."

Annette: "I am Annette. I am cute. I eat, drink, play and more. My techr is Miss Stuart. She is the most boringist techr in the world. Well I am out of time, but next year I will write more."

Tad: "My name is Taddy. I like to hug my teacher. I like to do my journal. I like to ride my bike. I like to play with my friends. I like to say prayers. I like to cut my pumpkin. I like to play in the leaves."

Toshi: "A few weeks ago he put 2 plastic guns in the oven and melted them. His favorite event is feeding the ducks. He runs to the water with fistfuls of bread yelling, 'Hey guys - eat bread!'"

Some other special memories that I forgot about from other newsletters:

TIM:
"The tunes that roar out of Tim's cornet are now recognizable, but he still has only 2 volume settings - loud and louder."

"I'll have to begin Tim's achievements for the year with a description of the potato gun he manufactured from plastic PVC pipe and a valve. Powered by hairspray, it will blow potatoes several hundred feet in the air (literally)."

Lori:
"The following is Lori's summary of her life: I am in the 8th grade, I babysit a lot, I am short, I am not growing."

"Lori now admits that she just marched last year, but was able to both march and play this year."

Taki:
"Taki is our thinnest child - maybe because he would rather starve than fix himself a lunch."

"His favorite thing to do in band is appear to be playing, but not be. And to be chewing gum, but appear not to be."

"Taki enjoys annoying other skiiers by spraying them with snow and skiing as fast as possible."

Annette:
"She can't wait to grow up and drive a red ferrari."

"Annette has always wanted glasses, last year she even bought a fake pair. When I finally took her in for an exam I whispered to the doctor, 'I think she's faking.' She now wears glasses with a very strong prescription."

Tad:
"On the 2nd day of school Tad's best friend accidentally slammed his finger in the classroom door and cut the end off. This instantly made him the "hero" of the first grade."

"he has become almost as good as Taki was at manipulating a later bedtime."

"after years of begging to be in Suzuki Violin he finally got in. He hates the lessons and is now begging to get out."

Tosh:
"His brothers taught him to put his hands on his cheeks and do a perfect imitation of the "home alone" scream."

"He gets a gruff voice when he becomes a Ninja Turtle and knows how to 'fall dead' when playing guns and swords."

Blues and Chocolate

2011-04-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

One night last month, Annette and I wanted to get out with our last weeks of pure freedom winding down. Our neighbor had told us about the Kalamazoo Fretboard Festival which featured local talent. The Friday night opening featured a band called "Papa's Front Porch Blues" who actually only played one real blues song all night. They played everything from folk music to Ella Fitzgergald, from the Beatles to Cake and from gospel to They Might Be Giants. They even threw in their own originals including one about Harry Potter and another about a monster eating a kid in bed. Really quite entertaining all in all, and it was free!

Our good friends the Greens moved to Fort Wayne a couple months ago and we thought we'd pay them a visit. We had brought our fondue pot to melt some chocolate and have a delicious dessert. Well as it turns out, the Greens had their own chocolate fountain that they had attempted to use many years ago without success. With this challenge and no directions of how to make chocolate for a chocolate fountain we embarked on more than an hour attempt to make the chocolate flow. From going from too thick to too thin, to just right then to thick again, we did snap a couple pictures of the 2-3 minutes of consistent flow that we got. We were all very proud.

Ready when you are Ruby!

2011-04-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

For starters I did NOT support the freaky widget of the floating baby....it really freaks me out...seriously.

With 9 days to go until the due date I often whisper to my continuously growing belly....we're ready for you! I know you can hear me in there...come out soon! Although a friend of mine, who is also pregnant, mentioned to me that babies are significantly easier while they are IN the womb. Easier perhaps, but I think I'll prefer her OUT!

I just realized the other day that I forgot to post about my AMAZINGLY AWESOME, STUPENDOUSLY SUPERB baby shower! Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for the work that went into planning this, for the talented and generous people that are part of our lives, and for the adorable gifts! Ruby is very blessed to have so many people that already love her!

Yes I'm ready to pop myself...and this was 5 weeks ago :)

Some of my gorgeous friends!

I sure hope not...

OINK!

grandma :)

Can't wait to take her "fwimmin" (which is what I called it).

The incredibly talented and amazingly beautiful women that planned it all!

It was a wonderful day and I'm glad I could spend it with all my favorite kalamazoo pals!

Disaster.

2011-03-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

I got home from work late a couple weeks ago and as I was sitting in our living room I heard the shower go on upstairs. I thought "That's interesting, I wonder who is taking a shower at 2:30 in the morning." After a little while longer, I hear a strange tinkling noise that sounded even closer than the upstairs, but obviously it couldn't be in our apartment. Well, I was wrong. About ten minutes later I finally look around to see a steady stream of water pouring from our kitchen light fixture and a pool of water on the the floor.

I jump up, grab our trash and a bucket and try to catch the major leak only to look around and see water leaking from everywhere.

Then I hear a knock on our door, it's our upstairs neighbor and he is frantic. "Do you know the number for maintenance?!" he says breathlessly only to turn and run back upstairs yelling something about saving his electronics. Annette is up by this point and we get a hold of the maintenance guy to come and shut off the water but not before we've collected well over 20 gallons of water from the main leak not to mention everything we missed.

Annette made a few videos to help visualize the shear destruction.
***Click on the picture below to see the videos.***
Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

We ended up having about 8 fans going around the clock for 5 or 6 days and well over 100 holes made in the walls throughout our living room and kitchen.

Two weeks later they've filled the holes, sanded and got the first coat of paint on, but still much more to do. The night this happened, I told Annette that this is one of the few benefits of being a renter. Freak accident happens, someone else is taking care of it! So, although it's been very inconvenient keeping everything in disarray, there is something to be thankful for!

Winter Games.

2011-03-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

About a year and a half ago, we started playing frisbee every Saturday with a handful of people. This group became more determined and even with freezing weather and feet of snow, people still showed up to play frisbee. A couple weeks ago on an especially cold morning in a couple of feet of fresh snow, we again tossed around the frisbee in heated competition. Hilarity and fun ensued.

The Dodgeball Master.

2011-03-07T06:58:00.000-08:00

Listen up ya'll. I know that it doesn't need to be said, but last weekend confirmed it....I HAVE THE COOLEST DAD EVER! Preston recruited my dad for a little dodgeball tournament held in battle creek as a fundraiser for a local boy scout troop. As you can imagine dad basically TORE IT UP and was declared the unofficial MVP. A little pregame stretch.
The MASTER at catching (just look at the awe on his teammates faces).The last face people saw before they left the court.CATLIKE reflexes!INTENSE (aka openmouth) concentration (I have about 10 pictures of this exact face).The catch people just can't stop talking about.Pretty sure dad's target just left the court to change his pants :)Literally it was the highlight of my month. My dad was SO FREAKING AWESOME!! I found myself yelling, on multiple occasions, "that's MY dad!" He saved his team SEVERAL times by catching a ball when he was the last person on the court which brought a teammate back in. I could hear teams strategizing on how to get him out and do it quick. Unfortunately (for them) they could not contain the ASIAN WONDER! Preston's team took first place in the adult category and Preston basically credits that entirely to MY DAD!

Hibachi!

2011-03-03T10:39:00.000-08:00

Preston and I decided to splurge in celebration of him finishing his inservice exam (we like to call it the $40,000 test because if he does well enough he can moonlight next year and potentially double his salary). Needless to say there was a LOT of studying involved and he really deserved a fun night out.

We decided on hibachi and we weren't disappointed! Chef Gregory was basically THE MAN and kept us laughing the whole time. Preston got a crunchy roll which he clearly enjoyed! When the chef told us that everything in the roll was cooked I had NO excuse and had to try it. I completely embarrassed myself as an Asian who doesn't know how to eat sushi :) The roll seemed really big so I tried to bite it in half and Preston was yelling, "what are you doing?" And Chef Gregory just laughed and said, "no no! The whole thing in the mouth!" I was half laughing, half gagging with half a sushi roll hanging out of my mouth.

There are a few tricks you can always plan on when you hit up a hibachi restaurant - the onion ring volcano, the fake soy sauce squirt at some unsuspecting girls face (yes it got me again), and the shrimp throwing. When the grill was basically all cleared off I thought maybe we had escaped the shrimp throw, but I spotted some broccoli on the grill's edge and the fun began!

The chef started with Preston and if I had known that it was going to be rapid fire speed throwing I would have made a video. Everyone at the table was cheering for Preston who bobbed his head ALL OVER the place to catch broccoli after broccoli after broccoli. It was pretty amazing and I'm bummed that I don't have a single good picture of his skillz.

It surprised both of us that the chef took no mercy on me, his speed didn't change at all as a piece hit me in the eye, landed in my hair, another one practically down my shirt. I finally started catching them with my hand as the whole mouth catch clearly wasn't going to happen and the chef was apparently on auto fire.

Roarin' and freezin'

2011-03-03T09:57:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago our friend turned 29 and to celebrate her last year of 20's she decided to have a roarin 20's party and it was AWESOME! I picked up some fringe at hobby lobby, criss-crossed it on a tank top, and had preston throw a piece of gorilla tape down the side. Not fancy - but functional :) It was decided that if you have long hair the headband really makes you look more like Pocahontas than a flapper :)

The birthday woman's hubby, who is clearly VERY talented, made this "standee" which was SUPER fun.

We also had a CRAZY ice storm here in kzoo and Preston had a chance to get out and take some pics. I LOVE how these in front of Borgess hospital turned out!

Photo Club!

2011-03-02T16:36:00.000-08:00

So, the first meeting of the Kalamazoo Photography Club was held a couple of days ago and the subject was pregnancy. Annette was asked to be a model for them and the photos turned out GREAT!! Have a look and tell me she's not the cutest pregnant girl you've ever seen!

My true beauty!

2011-02-22T21:25:00.000-08:00

Tonight Preston said, "I'm so glad we got this camera. I feel like it really captures how beautiful you are!"

Well folks...you be the judge...

Gettin' eager

2011-02-22T19:43:00.000-08:00

Since this torpedo has started jutting out of my mid section there are a few things that I've had to get use to...

1. Feeling good about a 15 minute mile.
2. Leaning over more to spit toothpaste (still struggling to have it hit the sink before the belly)
3. Watching old men in short shorts and tall socks pass me on the track
4. Having random people in public strike up conversations with me about my weight, diet, vomiting patterns, etc...
5. Preparing to move the weight on the manual scale at the gym from the 100 spot over to the 150 - yikes!
6. Having 65 year old arthritic women offer to carry things for me. 7. Having BIG hair - it's always been a little thicker, but with the lack of shedding it's getting a little unruly!
8. Hearing the old lady grunts come out of me when I bend, squat, reach, stand, move...

Per Shumway tradition I decided it was time to make a countdown chain for the baby. It wasn't until I finished it and saw how long it is that I regretted not waiting longer to make it. 55 days and counting!

New camera...

2011-02-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

can you tell...

Preston's a little better with it...

(check out those asian eyebrows! wow).

2011-02-09T11:44:00.001-08:00

I'm reading These is My Words right now by Nancy E. Turner and the main character has just experienced the beautiful wonder of childbirth and here are some of my favorite quotes regarding her experience:

"If it was possible for me to have chose to die rather than go through that childbirth, I am sure many times during it I would have gladly died. How anyone would go on to have another baby, I am sure I do not know."

"Savannah said, try to work with it. But there is no working with something that feels as if your legs are being torn off by the roots and your insides are being cut with axe blades. I don't know how any woman could give up and make herself surrender everything to what feels like being torn in half by teams of horses."

"I quit begging them to kill me when I thought I was really dying..."

"Lord, tell me this is the last one I will ever have, and I will be forever grateful. If I had had any idea I would have never married as long as I lived."

"Childbirth is not an enemy you can fight or conquer or outrun, it takes you and tears you apart from the inside out and you have to just submit to it. I never understood why a girl would choose to be an old maid, but now I do."

What better way to end 9+ months of nausea, achiness, and exhaustion?! We are getting VERY anxious for baby shumway to arrive, but don't be fooled by the giant belly. We still have more than 2 months!

Classy

2011-01-16T17:37:00.001-08:00

A few days ago my brother was talking about how much he enjoys the orchestra. I was shocked! Being the uncultured/ignorant person that I am my first thought was, "there are people that actually ENJOY the orchestra?" I was even more surprised when Preston said, "yeah, I'd like to go see a symphony but annette's not really interested." of course I'm not! Who WANTS to sit and watch 2 50-minute long songs without any singing, dancing, or acting?! On Thursday at work someone mentioned that the president gave our office 4 tickets to see the kzoo symphony orchestra on Saturday. I got the e-mail saying that they were first come first serve about 24 hours after everyone else but...SHOCKER... All 4 tickets were still available :)
After finding out that not only do people pay to see a concert, but they pay big bucks I decided that I may as well go to something I'm not excited about for free rather than pay for it, right?
Saturday my parents came down and we went out shopping. Being at Kohls with a 30% off coupon tends to lead to more shopping than expected. Realizing that we didn't have enough time to get back home and eat and get to the concert Preston agreed to drive out and meet us with clothes for me to change into. After a sub-par dinner at Bilbos we got in our car and I changed on the way.
You may remember this skirt from a previous post. Preston didn't realize that I had gotten a NEW STRETCHIER black skirt and brought me this one. I wedged myself into it but when I sat down I said to Preston, "I am literally NOT going to make it through this concert in this skirt!" The last small split in the side seam my mom sewed up nicely, however it had since split again :) I thought, "maybe if I just split it a little more..." Preston joined in to help and I ended up letting out a sigh of relief when he finally pulled apart the top seam. FREEDOM! We both chuckled as we were surrounded by some very distinguished looking people with little opera binocular thingys. I think it may finally be time to retire this black shredded mess.
I must admit that the performance was VERY excellent and I was surprised to find myself enjoying it quite a bit. It was Verdi's Requium and they had brought in a VERY talented quarttet to sing. It was a great opportunity to sit back and appreciate the skills that others have beautifully cultivated.

Scripture Sharing.

2011-01-16T17:24:00.001-08:00

In senior primary today, one of the CTR 8 boys was assigned to share a scripture. He sat excitedly awaiting his turn, but as he got up to read his scripture Annette heard him mumbling something under his breath about forgetting to prepare a scripture and then opened his Book of Mormon randomly. The verse he happened to land on was quite an unfortunate one...

"And the husbands and fathers of those women and children they have slain; and they feed the women upon the flesh of their husbands and the children upon the flesh of their fathers; and no water, save a little, do they give unto them"

All the adults in primary sat wide-eyed, some of us barely holding in our laughter at the unlucky choice of scripture! Of course, the children, not paying attention as usual, seemed not to notice.

GI-GAN-TIC

2011-01-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

I may have a short torso and all women may carry babies differently, but there's no way around it folks (literally) - I'm HUGE!

The following are ACTUAL responses from me in the last few weeks to comments that others have made:

1. Yes there is only ONE baby in there.
2. Yes I'm fairly certain of my dates.
3. No I didn't swallow an entire turkey.

Honestly, it doesn't bother me one bit, I LOVE MY BELLY!

Merry Christmas ya'll!

2011-01-07T22:19:00.000-08:00

Our Christmas holiday started with a 16.5 hour drive down to TEXAS! Lucky for us the roads were clear and I kept all my food down. Even with several extra bathroom stops and a trip to the pizza hut buffet we made good time and got to Tyler around midnight.

Our trip was short but fantastic! We packed a lot of fun into a few days. Unfortunately our camera was lost in the abyss that is Grandmama's house so we only have pictures of the first few days. Fun included a DELICIOUS Christmas eve FEAST which involved TWO deliciously moist turkeys, a fantastically glazed ham and a variety of tasty salads and sides.

This was followed by the traditional nativity re-enactment which included some very creative animal costumes. The night ended with the singing of some Christmas carols. Christmas morning was full of presents, smiles, and JOY :)

Preston was excited to acquire several new Blue Rays bringing our total up to SIX! I got a bunch of kitchen gadgets which I am VERY excited about. Preston and I thought that it might be worth having 17 kids when his mom and dad got a trip to Europe for Christmas from all their children. About .000003 seconds later I decided that it really isn't worth it.

Preston with his screen cleaner.

Preston spent a lot of time pushing ultimate frisbee on people and with enough persistence he was able to get a group together one morning. It was brisk, but we had a good time playing ultimate frisbee AND ultimate football.

Before we left the ladies surprised me with a baby shower! We went to a cute little diner that had delicious food and I was blessed to spend the morning with great company. The sisters gave me some advice and lots of GREAT gifts. Baby clothes are so stinkin cute I just can't get enough of them and they got us a really neat travel crib that also serves as a bassinet and baby changing station.

A LOT of time was allotted to figuring out how to play Puerto Rico! Preston and I bought the game for his sister and their family LAST Christmas but we never heard if they liked it or not. Turns out that they weren't sure because they hadn't been able to figure out HOW to play it! Preston accepted the challenge and sat with 4 of the nieces and nephews for HOURS reading through the instruction manual/novel. They were victorious and were able to play 2 games before we left.

The 5 days we spent there were filled with great food, movies, late night chats, games, and visiting with family we don't see often enough. It was great to meet little baby Jane and to see how big all the other kids are getting.

Soooooooo tiny!

2011-01-07T21:54:00.000-08:00

Baby clothes are so totally freaking adorable! Before I even got pregnant Preston would have to drag me out of the infant section at kohls because I just couldn't get enough. I finally gave in to the temptation and started stocking the closet :)

My first purchase was actually made before we knew the gender of the baby. I figured either way we need to start 'em young!

Bangs.

2010-12-06T19:38:00.000-08:00

The exact same day I decided to quit my grad program I got an e-mail from my old boss letting all of the employees know that they were looking for someone to fill a temporary, part-time position (interestingly I had e-mailed her several times to take me off her mass e-mail list, but luckily she had failed to do so). I called Preston to see what he thought about it and he said one word. Bangs.
EVERY SINGLE time I go to get a haircut I toy with the idea of bangs and sometimes I decide to try them. But EVERY SINGLE time I do it I IMMEDIATELY regret it and say to Preston, "why didn't you stop me from doing this?! Don't you remember how much I hated bangs last time?!" (He does always remind me that I hated bangs the last time and just barely got them to grow out, but I usually say, "I didn't hate them THAT much last time, did I?" or "I'm going to try DIFFERENT bangs this time").
Well, there is one thing I've learned. There are NO bang styles that look good on me and I ALWAYS regret them. So when I suggested going back to my old work Preston just said "bangs." And I knew exactly what he meant.
But...SHOCKER - I went back! And it is actually going quite well. I just work until we run out of stuff and then I head home. Some days I only work 2 or 3 hours and never more than 7. The work isn't bad and it gets me out of the house a little each day. The job runs until March which is perfect since our little baby GIRL should be arriving in April.
Since every post should include a picture I thought people might be interested to see these...

It's a BIRTHDAY miracle!

2010-12-06T18:03:00.000-08:00

For Preston's 31st I decided to go BIG! I called in some favors and got Kalamazoo to cover the ground with a blanket of beautiful SNOW! Unfortunately our parking lot doesn't do it justice.

I told Preston I didn't want to get our tree until it was a "winter wonderland" outside, so when we woke up to this we decided to officially start Christmas! Buying our tree at Home Depot 2 days before Christmas (which is what we did last year) was pretty much LAME! We took it up a notch this year and drove out to MOTT FARMS! There were some closer "farms" in Kalamazoo, but we made the drive to southern Vicksburg to really set the mood and we were not disappointed!

After picking up our saw and wheely-tree carrier-thing we headed out to make our pick. I ran around like a giddy child yelling "how about this one?!" There were SO many good ones, but when we found an abandoned bird's nest in this one we knew we had a winner! According to Preston, "If it's good enough for the birds, it's good enough for me!" After I told Preston that he HAD to lay on the ground to saw the tree and after his coat and pants and gloves were covered in mud he discovered that it was actually easier to do while kneeling :)
We hauled it back and had it shaken and bailed! IT WAS AWESOME!!

We went into the Christmas barn to pay for the tree and found free hot cider and popcorn. We also found the warmth and joy and merriness of Christmas. What a barn!

On black friday I got a bunch of DVD's at Meijer for $3 each and gave some to Preston for his birthday. So after we got the tree decorated we snuggled up and watched Die Another Day. Halfway through we couldn't take the suckiness of it any longer and went to bed. I felt like my lame present really put a damper on the birthday festivities (not to mention pretty much all of my gifts were bombs), so I called in back up and the following day we had a wonderful dinner and GREAT company with some good friends.

Goin' Postal!

2010-12-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

Ok...really....

Come ON!

Goooooo COUGARS!

2010-12-06T17:28:00.000-08:00

Last year Preston did everything possible to convince people here to get direct TV so that he could see the BYU games. This year the most wonderful thing happened...WE MET THE JOHNSONS! Not only are they the greatest, but they're also INSANE BYU fans. When Preston found out that they got the Mountain he took it upon himself to invite ALL other fans to the Johnson home each and every Saturday in the fall :)

We never got a good pic of the gang, but if you combine these 2 you get a great shot of our wonderful hosts!

Pie month was pretty pathetic this year, but we did make this beauty!

I love me some peanut butter...

2010-11-20T07:51:00.000-08:00

especially when it's CHUNKY JIF (and my husband)! I can't take credit for this stroke of genius, it was all Preston's idea and I basically think it turned out perfectly us...fun, quirky, and lip smackin good! We had a great time at our ward's trunk or treat and a halloween party at a friend's house.

RIBBIT!

2010-11-16T05:47:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago my parents came to visit and when they left our good-bye's must have lasted a little too long because this little green guy got in. A FROG!! And not the tap dancing hippity hoppity kind...

Grad School drop out

2010-11-06T19:12:00.001-07:00

I thought that the shame of being a college drop out for 3 years would keep me in grad school until the sound of pomp and circumstance, but alas. Now that we've gone public with the baby news I can explain what has been going on with us for the last few months. We found out I was pregnant a few weeks before grad school started and right about when the nausea was hitting. Things were manageable at first, but the projects and homework and clients were starting to stack up and my "morning" sickness, which lasted all day everyday, was getting worse. After a few weeks of intense suckiness I told Preston that I didn't feel like I could keep up. I met with my advisor about slowing things down a bit, but realized that even minimal changes would most likely add at least an additional year. Preston was extremely supportive and hopeful that I would make it work, but after a lot of prayer and tears I decided to leave the program. It was a very difficult decision, not only because the faculty was amazing and extremely accommodating, but also because it felt like I was closing a very fantastic door that most likely won't open again. But, another door is about to open for us and I couldn't bear the thought of missing any of our first's firsts.

BA-BOOM!

2010-11-04T18:45:00.000-07:00

I tried to think of a really creative, funny, smart, quirky way to announce this, but I think the belly says it all. I know what some of you are thinking...."Annette, why did you wait until you were 7 months before you decided to post this." Well, despite the story the belly may tell I'm actually only 16 weeks, but I am definitely PREGNANT!

***FYI - Yes my skirt split at the seam this morning, yes I duct taped it, and yes I am aware that they make maternity clothes.

Grad Student!

2010-09-10T06:44:00.000-07:00

Annette started grad school this week and is loving every minute! One of the people during orientation just kept saying, "Enjoy this time, you'll never get to read all day every day again!" What an opportunity!

Happy Valley Rally 2010!

2010-08-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

Family reunions are the best! Our days included a lot of delicious food, games, fun, swimming, more delicious food, and an outdoor movie on a bed sheet. Jealous? You should be.
kids in life jackets. LOVE IT.
Noodle fight!

Gettin some love for saving the tube.

Deer Creek was SUPER great with a jet ski and a boat and the cutest kids ever! Unfortunately the entire event was stress mania for me as there were a number of rescues that had to take place, both of kids and water toys. Don't ask me why I jumped in with all my clothes on to "save" a tube, but it happened.

French toast breakfast with magelby's syrup and fresh strawberries...is there anything better?
I love this kid.

Movie night!
Everyone vs. tommy!

Yes there were adults there too, but kids are more fun to take pictures of!

Mother brain, mother tough, and mother frickin delicious chicken!

2010-08-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

After snowmass we headed to Denver for a visit with Kimmy and Jeff! Preston was thrilled to discover that they had metroid on their wii. Thus began the pursuit to beat the game fast enough for the chick to rip off her helmet and expose her leotard. It was a team effort, with Kim directing Preston using a map she found online and me screaming, "kill that mother brain!" For our anniversary Kim took us to their neighborhood pool which was TOTALLY awesome. It had 2 water slides and after some tips from the locals we were cruisin down them at record speeds. We ended the night at a DELICIOUS indian buffet. After a bunch of smack talk about how much we can put down Preston and I were both put to shame by pregnant kim that out ate us.
My favorite part of the trip was seeing Preston get into his bike ridin gear. I didn't think anything could be better than seeing him in biker shorts but then the helmet and gloves went on and I was on cloud nine. What a tough lookin hottie!
The trip ended with Chik-fil-a. HELLO! So delicious.

YEEEEEE HAWWWW!

2010-08-27T13:32:00.000-07:00

After hiking the second highest mountain in America nothing sounded better than some BBQ at my first RODEO! I didn't realize rodeo's were a real thing outside of Texas, but apparently they have them all over. I felt a little out of place without a hat or boots or a big belt buckle. We were thrilled to find that the meal was "help yourself" and we piled it on. The meal was DELICIOUS and we even had some live entertainment. A friendly old cowboy moseyed around playing requests on the guitar. I asked Preston if it had to be a country song and he looked at me like I was a crazy person. I took that as a yes and left the request up to him. The rodeo itself was a little too violent for me, but it was a great experience. Unfortunately about 5 minutes before it started the rain came POURING down, we're talkin buckets. Apparently cowboys aren't afraid of the rain. My favorite parts were when the kids were involved. They sent them running around to catch an animal with a bow on it's tail. Kids were falling and losing shoes. It was awesome. We had to stand under a tent to keep dry, which was sort of killer after our day of hiking, but it was definitely an experience I won't soon forget!

Hiking, rafting, and flying 1st class!

2010-08-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

Preston signed up for a wilderness medicine conference in Snowmass Colorado and I figured that I might as well go along with him (mostly because that meant I could quit my job a little earlier....WAHOOOOOOO).
The trip started out a little rough. We got to the GR airport and saw our friends from Kzoo waiting there for the same plane as us. Unfortunately they informed us that it was late and might not make it. After waiting for close to an hour we realized that there was no way we would make our connection, so we were rebooked for the next day. MAJOR PLUS - we found ourselves rebooked in the FIRST CLASS SECTION of the plane. HELLO! I couldn't stop myself from taking a picture of this breakfast they served us. I tried to be stealthy about it because it didn't seem like a very first class thing to do :)
Even though I've spent a lot of time out west, I've never been to colorado. I couldn't stop taking pictures along the way to our hotel, the views were amazing.

The conference was fine, but our side excursions were better! We took several short hikes around the hotel to build up our stamina for the hike up Mt. Elbert. Preston learned why you should always wear pants when hiking after he found a friend burrowed into his leg!
After that I wore long pants, tall socks, a hat, and a long sleeve hoodie with the hood up! As an anniversary present to ourselves we booked a white water rafting adventure! I'd never done it before and was a little nervous but it ended up being awesome! We were a little bummed to find out that the rapids were only rapid for the first couple miles and then the last 10 miles was just a semi-swift current, but the beginning was AWESOME and we were able to enjoy the scenery and take a few dips in the freezing cold Colorado River. Preston was in the front and I was behind him and to the right. Some people took off their helmets after the rapids were over, but my motto is always, "better safe than dead," so I left mine on the whole time!
After dip number 2 Preston noticed that his ring was missing. I had a good laugh about it, but Preston was inconsolable. poor guy. We drove into the lovely but uber expensive town of Aspen a few times and found the cheapest but oh so delicious restaurant, "The Big Wrap." We also ordered a massive amount of gelato (how could we not). The kid scooping our gelato couldn't help but laugh when we kept requesting all sorts of flavors for the same cup and commented, "I've never seen that done before."

We were told that Maroon Bells is one of the most photographed places so we went to see for ourselves and it was beautiful. There were about a gazillion little bugs, but we did get to see a beaver swimming with a branch in his mouth to his dam. We also discovered the macro feature on our camera during this trip and went a little crazy with it.

The highlight of the trip was definitely hiking up Mt. Elbert. Preston really wanted to do a "14er" but after our last 2 mountain climbs (both of which included tears) I was less than enthusiastic. We picked Mt. Elbert because it was a class 1 mountain (ie the least scary), but it's also the 2nd highest peak in the nation! We got an early start, and I mean EARLY! Preston wanted to be climbing by 5 am and with a 2 hour drive we had to be up at 3! Upon arrival I figured it best to use the restroom since I generally prefer sitting on a toilet. Upon entering the dark and smelly porter john house I found that there was no TP (just what you want to find at 5 am before you start an 8 hour hike :) After borrowing some toilet paper from strangers in the parking lot we were finally ready to tackle the beast.
The skill level was just a class 1, but it was marked as "difficult" and we quickly discovered why. Essentially the ENTIRE hike up the mountain was just that, a hike STRAIGHT up the mountain. There were very few switchbacks and the trail was STEEP! We started out at a crazy brisk pace and we passed by some more experienced hikers that later passed by us as we sat huffing and puffing. We learned from our first trip that the only thing that makes me crankier than hiking up a steep mountain is doing it when I'm hungry! So we had plenty of food and water. Towards the top we started to lose steam and pushed ourselves to just take 30 steps at a time. At a moment of weakness preston reminded me that we had packed some Haribo gummies and we could have some after another 30 steps. This gave me new strength! Imagine our disappointment when we hurriedly opened the package and found one massive melted gummy.
After pushing past 2 false summits we finally made it to the top and were surprised to find that we'd done it faster than most sites estimated. We were also surprised when Preston's phone rang! iphones rule! The view was incredible, but the sun wasn't quite out yet and it was pretty cold. I had an extra sweater in my backpack that we bought at walmart just in case, but I was determined to NOT wear it so that I could return it and save some money. After about 10 minutes I was ready to head back. The trip down was just as daunting. The only pants either of us had brought on the trip were jeans and we all know what happens to jeans when you get hot - they expand! Preston finally fashioned this little number to keep his pants up!
About 15 minutes from the parking lot we saw a large group that was just setting out. We felt bad for them because they were teenage kids with HUGE packs and it was starting to get quite warm. The worst part was when we passed the tail end of the group and they were already breathing hard and sweating. One kid said, "is it much farther?" And I about cried for him.

We somehow got lost at the very end, luckily we hit a small stream that I did not remember passing before, so we found our way out to the road and got back to the parking lot. All in all a very successful climb, although we both agreed that we should do big climbs more than once every 2 years - our stiff bodies agreed the next day!

Our ward is delicious!

2010-08-25T09:47:00.001-07:00

We are majorly spoiled by the awesomeness of this ward! Here's just a sweet little peek at our cherry almond recipe exchange night. With more than a dozen gals there we all went home with leftovers and belly aches, but it was totally worth it!

Michigan Blues!

2010-08-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

What's more delicious than michigan blueberries freshly picked?

Nothing.

We were so glad when our friends from church invited us to pick with them. We probably could have left with more berries, but one of us at his weight in berries and the other is so OCD that she could only pick one berry at a time after a careful 360 degree inspection... I'll let you decide who's who.

We worked up a serious appetite so we headed back for some treats from McDonalds. One of us got a little more refreshment than the other....SUCKA!

Five Amazing Years!

2010-07-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

We did it! We've now been married 5 years and what wonderful years they've been! When we were first married at each "anniversary" (every month is an anniversary during your first year), I would ask Annette, "What was your favorite part?!" (after a couple times she just started rolling her eyes at me). We'd think back on all the great times we had in our short marriage and realize how blessed we are to have each other. So I thought, I could post some of my "favorite parts" on our anniversary in the form of pictures. Enjoy.

Fudge Island!

2010-07-24T17:46:00.000-07:00

We found ourselves both free for an entire weekend and decided to make the most of it with a trip to MACKINAC! On our way up we stopped at a rest area and found this delightful message :) We decided to stop into traverse city and check out the cherry festival. It was kind of a big deal and we had a lot of fun wandering around seeing all of the things you can do with cherries! Our favorite part was the pit spit contest.

Some of the contestants were AMAZING! I'm fairly certain there was some training involved. We saw a guy spit a pit 69 feet! WE had fun watching the "sweeper" run around and calling out the pit distance. And when a pit rolled off the mat we got to do the "pit spit dance."

Preston almost shot out a star and we discovered that we are TERRIBLE at BINGO!

Then it was off to the island! Saturday morning we hit the dock and caught the ferry over. We made the trip to visit with a good friend of mine from high school and his fiancee. She was able to get us some serious hook-ups on the island. They loaned us their bikes for a BEAUTIFUL ride around the island. I took about a thousand pictures, but none do it justice.
We took the "hike" up to see arch rock. We were told it was strenuous and saw people stopping for a breath on the way up. So we were quite surprised when we arrived there after 4.5 minutes! While I was ooh-ing and ahh-ing the arch Preston said, "that's it!? Apparently these people have never been to utah!"

We stopped a few times to check out some historic sites and dip our feet in the cool water. Preston also discovered that mack island is COVERED with PERFECT rocks for skipping. Apparently they have a contest every year. The bike ride worked up a serious appetite, so we headed to the Pink Pony where Matt and Katie (the friends we were visiting) work. I then proceeded to gorge myself to the point of nausea and pain. The food was delicious!

We waddled over to Fort Mackinac just in time to see the rifle demonstration. It was neat to see the british vs. the american troops. The Fort ended up being WAY cooler than I imagined. Katie got us tickets from her dad who runs the fort. We saw some really neat exhibits, and particularly enjoyed the section discussing the medical issues and techniques of the day.
After almost running over a bride with my bike we headed up to the GRAND HOTEL to sit on the world's largest porch! I felt a little like a fish out of water but Preston kept saying, "just pretend like this is our hotel." I'm not sure anyone bought it, but we didn't have to pay the 10 dollar fee for visitors.

After that we were able to meet up with our friends and had a nice dinner out with her family. We were still quite full so we shared a plate of nachos, which was a good call since it was more like a platter. We had a WONDERFUL time with Katie's family. They were incredibly friendly AND talented. We enjoyed a family sing-a-long before heading back to town to grab some fudge and catch the ferry back.

There's something magical about an island where everywhere you looks is a perfect picture, everyone rides bikes or horses, and every other shop sells fudge!

Happy 25th Nettie!

2010-07-08T08:44:00.001-07:00

Yes, Annette has reached a quarter of a century old and has never been more beautiful. I love you wife!

Art in the Park!

2010-07-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

We were lucky enough to have Taki and Connie come down to Kzoo for a weekend visit! Things started out rough with a pork loin completely engulfed in flames on the grill. But things got better as we watched "Armored" in blue ray, played ultimate frisbee, threw around some bocce balls, and hit up ART IN THE PARK! I was pleasantly surprised at the talent that came to kalamazoo michigan! We saw booth after booth of jewelry and crafts; homemade salad dressing, beef jerky, and dips; ingenious inventions like the nut cracker that kept us awed and entertained; and of courses - snow cones!
Our last night together was spent at Monaco Bay, a restaurant with dueling pianos on weekends. It was quite loud, but at least one of us enjoyed it :)

BANG!

2010-07-04T16:18:00.001-07:00

While Taki and Connie were in town they introduced us to the wildly complex card game, BANG! It took us a while to catch on, but once everything clicked things really got crazy! When Billy the Kid and Slab the Killer came to town things got ugly and everyone prayed they wouldn't get stuck with El Gringo. Naturally guns were unholstered and there were frequent random outbursts of "I shot the sheriff!"

FEST-I-VAL!

2010-07-04T16:02:00.000-07:00

Growing up in GR, the summer festival was a not to miss event full of random entertainers and over priced food booths! Naturally, Taki and I wanted our spouses to experience it! For days we chanted "meat on a stick!" and looked forward to seeing Mr. Colley's last performance after several decades as the high school band director. Things weren't quite as we remembered, but what childhood experience is?

swings, monkey bars, and fences OH MY!

2010-07-04T15:42:00.000-07:00

I've become quite good at volunteering my husband to help with things! Most recently a couple in the ward found an awesome play set for free. All they needed to do was transport it from point A to point B. Simple enough. Well, we got together for a delicious BBQ, then the men went to work and the women sat and gabbed :) There was only one slight snag (well, at least it was the only one WE saw, they were gone for several hours so who knows what happened at point A). Thank goodness I was there to catch it all on tape and even offer a snicker or two for support!

A good time was had by all (well at least by the ladies)! The night also included these great shots which couldn't be left out!

Pomp and Circumstance!

2010-07-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

The weekend after our cruise ended I headed off to maryland with the folks to see my big brother Taki graduate from dental school! It's a big accomplishment and I wanted to be there to cheer and take pics (plus after a week away from work, 5 days seemed like a LONG work week)! We had a GREAT time which naturally, included large quantities of delicious food! We were welcomed by Taki and Connie who introduced us to "the big cheese." A delicious local pizzeria. Friday was the big day! Taki was NOT thrilled about attending (he skipped his BYU graduation) but he was a good sport and even agreed to go to the SECOND ceremony after a delicious meal in downtown little italy! We also had a chance to go to the DC temple, which was awesome. I know we did a bunch of other great things, but seeing as how it was over a month ago I only remember what we have pictures of!

Several weeks later Preston had his own "graduation." I gave him a hard time about the validity of this event, but the truth is I am VERY proud of him for finishing his internship year! I regularly (as in hourly) complain about my job, but Preston rarely (as in never) complains about working 30 hour shifts, working 80 hour weeks, or getting 2 hours of sleep in 30 minute intervals :) He's my hero and I'm VERY proud of him!

2 seconds of fame.

2010-06-17T18:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.wwmt.com/articles/style-1377862-margin-span.html

Watch for my face at about 1:45 on the left side of the screen.

Cruise Finale!

2010-05-29T11:58:00.000-07:00

Here it is, the last two days of our cruise...

May 14

Feeling guilty about all the money we had spent so far we decided to cancel our shore excursion in Cozumel. So, with no plans for the day we slept in. big time. When we finally dragged out lazy butts off the boat the first thing I noticed was how blue the water was! Beautiful.
We wandered through the mass loads of people by the dock (there were 4 cruise ships there) and Preston with his hawk eye for danger spotted a guy standing around with a raggedy old sign: Rent a Scooter. Next thing I know we’re cruisin along on a Mexican Scooter!

We had no idea how fast we were going (the speedometer was completely busted), but there seemed to be speed bumps (topes) EVERY WHERE so we never got going too too fast (although it sure hurt when you got smacked in the face by a bug). We enjoyed some scenic views and I become a pro at taking pics on the go. We finally stopped at a beach and started walking around when Preston asked if I had the key to the scooter. We frantically retraced our steps and found it in the sand. LUCKY! The beach had big blow up toys in the water and they offered parasailing and snorkeling but we were too cheap to do any of it so Preston looked around with the goggles and I chilled in a beach chair.

As we prepared to leave I panicked when I noticed that my boat pass was missing (you need to show it to get out of Mexico)! Preston said not to worry that we’d keep riding, turn the scooter in at 5, which would leave us 1 1/2 hours to figure it out before the boat left. But I knew it’d ruin the rest of my day if we didn’t get it figured out right away so we drove back to the port. We bumped into the scooter rental guy who thought we were ready to return the bike and Preston explained why we had come back. He said, “no no, I keep for deposit.” Apparently they kept it for collateral but failed to tell us that!

So with peace of mind we headed out again to do some shopping in Mexico! When we found ourselves going the wrong way on a one way street we decided to park. We pulled up right in front of Burrito King and Preston asked if I was hungry. I had decided that no matter how starving I was there was NO WAY that I would eat ANYTHING in Mexico. But the homemade Guacamole was too much to resist and it was quite delicious.

The rest of the day (and for a few days afterward) I worried that I had a parasite, but it turns out I don’t. We started checking out the shops and noticed that all of the locals had learned the same phrases: “small shop, small prices” and “practically free.” If you did look in their shop they’d follow you around like a shadow showing you variations of everything you picked up, talked about, or looked at. We decided to get some Vanilla since apparently that’s the thing to get there. We stopped at the first place and they had it for $12. Having learned a thing or two since the camera fiasco I decided not to buy it at the first store. A few more places offered it for $12 as well, but we finally found a place selling it for $11. Thinking we had found a great deal I went for it! Later we groaned when someone offered us another bottle for $10. However we were even more disappointed when we got back to the dock and found all the shops there selling them for only $8!

I should have realized that there’s no such thing as a set price in Mexico when I picked up a ceramic spoon rest and the man said, “it is $25.” I set it down and walked away and then heard, “ok, 18.” I kindly said no thanks and so he yelled back, “ok ok, 15.” I was amused, but still didn’t want it. “alright, alright, 12 I can give it for 12, but no less.” I just smiled. As we exited the store I heard him yell “10 dollars, you give me 10 right now and take it!” You’ve got to admire their determination! We also had a man selling t-shirts 3/$15. Preston asked if he would take $10 for 3 and he said that he couldn’t because it was a promotion and that was as low as he could go. He kept apologizing and saying he was sorry, but he just couldn’t. Preston said, “alright.” And the man responded, “ok ok, 3 for 10.”

After realizing that every shop was selling the same crap we decided to get back on the road and see some more sights. We asked the burrito king guy where to go. We had a “map” of the island but it only had 2 streets on it and neither was labeled. He suggested San Gervasio, a place with some ancient ruins. I figured there was no way we would find it, but Preston was determined. He drove all around and with victory we shouted “SAN GERVASIO!” when we finally saw a sign. The victory cry rang out every time we saw a sign after that and we entered with great excitement.

It quickly ended when we got to the front gate and realized that we only had $4 left! It was 8 to get in. Preston tried to barter with them, but apparently that’s one place that they won’t lower the price :) We took a few pictures of little ruins type looking things that were on the 4 mile road that led to the entrance and we even saw an iguana. Preston wanted to get off the bike and get closer but I told him that if he got off and that iguana moved towards me it was NOT going to be pretty. We drove along the coast and saw some really nice homes and resorts. On our way back to the boat we spent our last 4 bucks getting ice cream and then said “adios” to Mexico!

We showered and went to dinner! Preston got super excited when the waiter led us to a table by the window. We enjoyed another delicious meal and then we were off! We caught the end of a HILARIOUS comedian’s act and then hit up the “fright night dance party.” Warmed up with the electric slide and moved on to a novice version of the “thriller” dance. I showed Preston some excellent scary faces and he stole one for the final dance. Using my tips and his sweet dance moves/convulsions, Preston won! A woman ran out and handed us a bottle of champagne! Perfect.

Next we were chosen to do a mummy wrap contest. There were 3 couples and the girls were wrapping the guys in toilet paper. We only had 2 minutes and it was hard because you got too fast and it breaks, too tight and it breaks, too loose and it just falls to the ground. We started to get a rhythm going and with the other 2 groups TOTALLY sucking it up we ended up with ANOTHER bottle of champagne. The dance party continued and we tore it up for a while, but we had both gotten pretty red on our scooter adventures and it was causing us to over heat quickly. So we handed out our booty to couples on the way out and headed to see the comedy juggler. His jokes were terribly lame, but we were both quite impressed by his fire/pin/egg/bowling ball juggling skills. Afterwards we were too tired and burnt to do anymore dancing so we headed back to our room and hit the sack!

Cruise Part 4: Grand Cayman and Scuba.

2010-05-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

***Updated with Scuba Pictures!!

May 13

We slept in a little later than anticipated and ate a quick breakfast before getting off at Grand Cayman! The port here seemed significantly nicer than Jamaica so we strolled around in search of an underwater camera to document our scuba adventures. We quickly found “the camera store” and assumed that they would have the perfect and best camera. We found one for 15 bucks that could go as deep as 30 feet. Pleased with ourselves for finding one so quickly we stepped into the next shop and found one for the same price but it could go 50 feet down. We went back, returned the first and bought the second only the find another camera three stores down that was re-usable with a depth of 100 feet. It was pricier, but we had to laugh at ourselves for not thinking to wait and check our options.

Preston wanted to pass by all the shops and see the less touristy areas. I of course got frustrated as we seemed to be wandering aimlessly into nowheresville when we happened upon a glass blowing store. I conceded that Preston was in fact right in suggesting that we wander off the beaten path and we enjoyed seeing these island men work wonders with glass. After watching for a while we felt obligated to buy something and with most things costing a good 90 dollars or so we opted for a 20 dollar necklace which I promised to take apart and make into a prettier necklace and earrings. Will I really do it? Only time will tell.

We quickly headed back into town to meet our group for DISCOVER SCUBA!! On our way back into town, we picked up the long-sought-for watch, saw some crabs (can you see it blending in?), a lot flip-flops and some fresh fish. Once our group had gathered I asked the leader if she knew our chances of survival. She laughed, but I was mostly serious. We got in a bus and rode over to Don Foster’s Scuba shop. We were were greeted by English and Scottish accents and taught the fine art of scuba! I had a mini panic attack when they discussed how our lungs are like balloons and if we ascended while holding our breath we would end up in the hospital. yikes. After being fitted with weight belts we got into the pool and suited up with our air tanks. We learned several skills such as how to re-insert a mouth piece under water, how to clear water out of your mask, and how to sink lower or move higher. I must say that having never done any snorkel or scuba type activity the first time I took a breath of air under water was incredible. After more or less mastering the skills we headed into the water for the real deal.

It was like swimming in an aquarium surrounded by fish and coral. We saw a barracuda and those cool plants that disappear when you get close to them. Lots of different color fish. We dove as deep as 35 feet and enjoyed exploring the ocean floor.

Our scuba guide pointed out many cool things. Sometimes he would point 5 or 6 times and I wouldn’t see anything but would finally give him the “that is so cool” look because I felt stupid. Preston started with the camera and apparently went a little crazy with it because by the time he handed it over there were only about 9 shots left. I had read a quick sign about taking good underwater pics and was so concerned with getting the perfect pic that I only ended up taking 7!

I never quite mastered the technique for moving up and down, for some reason my brain was telling me to release air when I wanted to go up and as I sank lower and lower I would remember that I needed to inflate my vest. For some reason I never got it right. Preston mastered the art of filling his lungs when he wanted to go up and breaking out to descent. The pressure bothered us a little but we were just so amazed to be underwater swimming with the fish.

At one point Preston looked over at me and did a face that said, “right?! this is so fricking awesome!” I knew when we got back he would want to get certified. When the instructor did the sign for, “let’s ascend” I thought we were just going to take a break, but we were back and it was over! When I finally took the mouthpiece out I realized that I had been biting down REAL hard the whole time and it took several hours for my jaw to relax.

Having completed the best experience of our lives up to this point we weren’t sure what to do with ourselves! We decided to walk back into town instead of taking the bus and picked up a few souvenirs on our way back to the ship. We got back ate a late lunch at the buffet and then with full/gorged bellies we went back to our room for a nap. We got ready for the night but weren’t yet hungry for dinner so we went to see “Blind Side” at the outdoor theatre. We both actually liked it (though Preston had really dragged his feet as he’s NOT a sandra fan). On the way to the movie we saw people in fancy dresses and tuxedos and realized that it was the second of the formal nights.

After the movie we ran back to the room, threw on our nice clothes and headed to dinner. The restaurant closes at 10 and we showed up just after 9:30. Our waiter was apparently having a rough night and was not happy to see us shlums stroll in just before closing. But we sat down and quickly inhaled one of the most delicious meals of my life. It began with an INCREDIBLE appetizer that I will not soon forget. We both ordered the asparagus which came with cooked/seasoned/chopped tomatoes, real bits of bacon and a MIND BLOWING sauce! I told Preston that if my entrees (yes I ordered 2) weren’t good that I was going to send them back and just oder 2 more asparagus plates. Preston was slightly annoyed when I continued to gush over the asparagus and it’s delectableness. He was especially bugged when I told him that it came close to beating out the scuba as the best part of the trip. But seriously. It was THAT good. Seriously.

After that we went to see another emerald dancer performance “I got the music.” Which featured songs form famous and infamous performers such as: Neil Diamond, Cher, Barbara Streisand, Brittany spears (boo), and Tom Jones. It was a great show and we were also amused by the obviously drunk woman behind us that laughed at EVERYTHING.

Cruise Part 3: Ocho Rios, Jamaica!

2010-05-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

May 12

We got off the boat in Jamaica with no shore excursion planned. Upon leaving the fenced off area we were hounded by taxi drivers and were convinced by Luchiano that we needed a Taxi driver to show us the sights. When we agreed he ran to get his van and then drove us up “fern gully.” Ocho Rios means 8 rivers, but Luchiano, being the all knowing tour guide, informed us that there was an earthquake the destroyed one of the rivers and it’s now a road with lush green foliage on both sides known as Fern Gully. He told us that it was where they filmed the moving Cool Runnings and we found out that John Candy is basically a superstar to the Jamaican people, they have streets named after him and everything. Luchiano compared him to Abraham Lincoln! There were a few small shops along the drive and Luchiano pointed out several “ready freddy” statues (prepare to be offended). yikes. When we got towards the top we found protestors and police directing traffic around numerous “road blocks” that were created by angry people who wanted water from the government. They threw rocks, trash, even broken down cars without wheels into the streets in protest.

We turned around at the top and drove back down the scenic path and ended at Dunn’s River Falls. It’s a 600 ft river flowing down a hill of rocks that form steps. Luchiano warned us that people would try to sell us things here but that we should decline and wait until he took us to a shopping area with better prices. He specifically said that people would offer to carve our names into stuff but we should say no. Immediately after getting out of the van a man came up to us and thrust a wooden figurine into my hand and said it was free for the pretty lady. Flattered I said thank you but then he offered to carve my name into it (this is where we should have walked away). Then he asked for Preston’s name and after he had carved both he THEN told us that mine was free but he needed some compensation for Preston’s. I handed him 5 bucks. He said it was a 45 dollar value so I gave him 3 more. Still not satisfied he demanded at least 10, which I regretfully handed over. Yeah we got hustled.

We made the climb with our trusty guide, Big Belly Gibbs, who offered to hold our camera and took some great shots. We were in a group of about 20 and held hands most of the way up while the fearless guides would run barefoot. There were areas where we fell backwards into deeper pools of water and areas where you could stand under the falls or slide down the rocks. We were glad that we purchased water shoes before we went because it was pretty slick. There was also an area to observe the falls and a sign at the top congratulating us for making it. It truly was a unique experience.

After the hike we got comfortable saying no thanks to the shop owners as the people there were extremely aggressive. About every 5 feet there was someone pulling you into their shop or thrusting items into your face. Not awesome. Luchiano was suppose to meet us back at the parking lot around 11. At 11:20 I started to think that we’d been scammed again, but a few minutes later he pulled up claiming that he had already driven through twice looking for us.

On our way into town for some shopping we saw a familiar sign “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.” He dropped us off at his buddies shop and told us that those were the best prices, we were suppose to meet him there later to drive us back to the dock, but instead we left a tip with his buddy and finished on our own. We hope that he got the tip, but even if he didn’t he still did fine for himself. We checked out the shops searching for a bathing suit cover up dress for me and a watch for Preston (yes, when you go on a trip with set meeting times each day in foreign countries where you will be left behind if you’re late you should bring a watch). We checked out the shops, were harassed at every turn, found some decent deals and happily made our way back to the boat. Overall it was a beautiful island with a neat experience, but in talking with experienced cruisers we found that some don’t even get off the boat at Ocho Rios.

We got back and washed up for another delicious dinner. We chose a shared table again and had the pleasure of meeting Rose and Kathy, 2 very experienced cruisers who were fairly excitable (and perhaps slightly tipsy). They were sisters from New Orleans and they were a riot. They boasted the Saints super bowl win and hailed Drew Brees. They also introduced us to the idea of ordering mroe than one entree without feeling ashamed. We watched Kathy eat an appetizer, soup, salad, 2 entrees, and a dessert. Girlfriend was not scrd. Preston got some delicious shrimp while I ordered Chicken and pot roast. Afterwards we saw part 2 of the stand up comedian who’s act was all about marriage and relationships. It was pretty funny. We ended the night with some live music on deckduring an island themed party.

Cruise Part 2: Princess Cays

2010-05-19T04:28:00.000-07:00

May 10

After a surprisingly good night sleep on our bed made of 2 twins pushed together we got ready in our incredibly “cozy” bathroom with a toilet that would suck you to kingdom come and a 2’ diameter cylindrical shower. The rest of our cabin included our bed with 1 1/2 feet on either side and a desk at the foot. Not exactly the lap of luxury, but our room attendant Christian was sure to clean up after us twice a day! We’d come back to the room after a day of frolicking to find our bed made, our junk neatly stacked, fresh towels and chocolates!

The ship made it’s first stop which required a “tender” meaning the boat anchored at sea and we had to ride in a smaller boat (significantly smaller) to get to the island. Princess Cays is privately owned by the cruise line so we had it all to ourselves. It included a few shops and locals selling touristy items at booths, cabana huts for rent, a “lookout tower” which was 3 stories high, and many activities (ie: kayaking, snorkeling, and gigantic tricycle looking paddle boats). After seeing the “view” from the “lookout tower” we stopped at a dock where we noticed quite a few fish below us. Being the cheapo’s that we are we decided to purchase some goggles from the shop to get a better look instead of renting the snorkel gear. Preston opted for the slightly more expensive goggles which ended up breaking during their first use, while I went with the cheapest children’s size goggles that are still going strong! My flat nose and large cheeks are ideal for goggle wear, while Preston’s shnoz made things more difficult, but we both got a good look! It was a little freaky to see how close the fish would get and when a 2 inch fish would swim straight at me I’d panic and swim to the top.

Preston did his due diligence in applying sunscreen several times during the day, while I relied solely on my asian heritage and immunity to sun burn - SECOND mistake! Less than 24 hours into our trip I had managed to get a severe burn which put a damper on the rest of our trip. The water was amazingly clear and we went for multiple swims throughout the day. Our lounge chairs were near the sand volleyball pit that was vacant for most of the day but when a scraggily group got together, Preston was quick to join in. It was an odd group attracting a skinny asian, an african american family, a very rotund and burnt white guy, and a drunk German. There was very little skill amongst them, but a good time was had by all.

Lunch was served on the island and included hamburgers, hot dogs, and fresh fruit. We picked up a photo album and magnet on our way out.

We got back and Annette generously began applying layer after layer of aloe vera (apparently it was a little too liberally because we ran out on my first burn and there were more to follow). We then went down and enjoyed some gelato and a performance by a string quartet in the piazza. We went to see a performance by the comedian that we’d seen the night before who was quite funny and then headed to the dining room for our first DELICIOUS dinner.

Highlights of the first meal included: a chilled mango/peach and ginger soup, salmon, fajitas, pineapple creme brule, and a warm cookie with ice cream (**** please note that most of the menu options were unrecognizable to us common folk and most of the words we couldn’t even pronounce, so the majority of my ordering was done by pointing). Afterwards we went outside for “movies under the stars” which was showing “when in Rome.” We got their late and all the good seats were taken, we ended up on the far left where the sound was mostly drowned out by boat engine/fan type noises. We spent most of the time saying, “what did he say?” The movie was sub par but the cool breeze felt great on my burn!

May 11

Tuesday was a full day at sea. We started by sleeping in and stuffing ourselves at the morning buffet. By now I had already consumed 3 whole pineapples in addition to waffles, sausage, eggs, omelets, oatmeal, yogurt, and egg mcMuffins. Preston then went to exercise and got side tracked listening to a guy talk about detoxing and how anti-perspirant causes breast cancer while I went to an art demonstration which I hoped would be like the “happy trees” show but was more like a humanities class. We met back up and headed out for the pool. I layed down and covered myself with a towel, only to wake up 30 minutes later sweating like a banchie mother. We went back inside to find people milling around in tuxedos and realized it was the first “formal” night. We headed back to get dolled up. Our dinner was again fantastic including: escargot, duck, shrimp, and a pear w/ cream pastry. yum.

We quickly changed out of our formals and headed to the first big performance by the emerald dancers - MOTOWN! Not only do I LOVE anything that involves singing and dancing but a show with all oldies that I know and love - totally rockin awesome! Afterwards we went to see the magician/comedian that we had passed by the night before. His act was strange and oddly enjoyable. It concluded with him ripping off a gangster suit and prancing around in a pink tu-tu. wow.

Caribbean Cruise!

2010-05-18T17:14:00.001-07:00

We still haven't finished writing up about our cruise and since posting about the whole thing would be a bit long anyway, we'll take it in bite-sized pieces to add to the suspense and keep you coming back for more!

May 9

We woke up early sunday morning ready for some cruising. We had a 2 hour drive to Detroit, or as annette likes to call it - D-Tizzle. We left a little earlier than necessary and ended up at the terminal 2 hours early. “Better early than sorry,” Annette always says. We snoozed most of our flight and arrived at Fort Lauderdale on time. We got near the baggage claim and saw cruise people holding up signs. Annette was worried they would leave without us so she kept one eye on them as we claimed our bag, but they ended up just pointing us to our designated waiting area. A slightly less than friendly Princess employee demanded to see our documentation and we waited until a bus load of people arrived before we left to the ship. We did strike up a nice conversation with a woman from another country and we soon came to find this a common trend as we never met a crew member from the United States.

We took the bus to the dock and saw the behemoth ship we would spend the next week on. As the cruise director pointed out, it was the largest building in any ports we stopped at. We checked in and made our way to our stateroom, only to find our luggage (which was on the same shuttle as us) had not yet arrived. So in pants and tennis shoes we ventured out to explore through the Florida heat.

The ship was 16 decks with the longest hallways we’d ever seen. 3400 passengers and 1100 crew members were on board. We strolled past the piazza which was a 3 story open area including a spiral staircase, several eateries and an open area for performing. We saw the 3 pools on the top deck, one with an outdoor theatre above it and an indoor theatre that holds over 800 people. We passed through the art gallery and found our way to the Horizon Court which served a buffet style lunch and Annette discovered an unlimited supply of pineapple (which she did her best to deplete each day we were there).

A safety drill was scheduled for 4:15 and upon arriving to our room we found our luggage waiting and changed into our swim suits in record time. We then raced to our muster station, life jackets in hand. A british voice came over the load speaker and described to us the appropriate way to abandon ship! Upon successful completion of our mock boat sinking we were excused and headed straight for the pool. We watched some beyonce, christina aguilera, and U2 music videos on the big screen as we set sail!

We enjoyed discovering what our cruise ship had to offer and attended the Welcome performance that included a taste of the “emerald dancers,” a comedian, and an intro to our cruise director. We also saw a “street performer” in the piazza that was doing some incredible stuff with hula hoops - it was mind blowing. seriously.

The dress code for the dining rooms was “smart casual” meaning skirts for girls and a collared shirt for gents. This is where we made a HUGE mistake. Being too lazy to change and thinking we’d have to tip the waiter we decided to settle for dinner at the buffet instead. COLOSSAL mistake! We learned the following evening that dinner includes 4 scrumptious courses and tipping the waiter is all included in the mandatory $10.50/person/day cost to cover all the tips for all the people waiting on us hand and foot during the week. NIGHTMARE! Needless to say we grumbled all week about the meal that was missed! After a long day we hit the sack in preparation for our first stop at Princess Cays!

curiously un-plump lips?

2010-05-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

A while back I received a "free" clinique gift (I say "free" because first I had to pay $50 for eye shadow, liner, and lipstick). The woman encouraged me to buy a bigger lip gloss as the "free" sample was only a 2 week supply. Approximately 51 weeks later I find myself with this:

Take that clinique lady!

The Cookie Fiasco

2010-05-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

Annette came home from work the other day telling me that she needed to exercise because there had been some girl scout cookies brought in to work and she had eaten some. The next evening I notice in the top of our our pantry some girl scout cookie boxes. I say, "Hey, I didn't realize we had bought any girl scout cookies!" She said that she had told me several weeks before, but I must have forgotten. I picked up a box to discover it was much lighter than I had anticipated. I opened the box to find this....

Taking a closer look...

Yes, two cookies left in the box in a little over a day. The same was found in the other box. Very impressive work.

Contra dancing

2010-04-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

Our friends, the Greens, had been trying to get us to go dancing with them for a few months. Something called "contra dancing" which I had never heard of. Christian described it as, "You know in those old movies where the rich people got all dressed up and did those group dances. Well, this is kind of like that, only with a very odd group of people including men wearing skirts." Not the best selling job, but we were curious enough to check it out.

We had to drive out of town to the "Ostemo Grange Hall" (still not sure what that means) which looked like an old church turned old dance hall. We walked in to see two lines of people, varying from couples in their 70s to teenagers in somberos (no men in skirts unfortunately). There was a caller on the stage calling out the different moves that would be done. We watched in awe as everyone in sync twirled, turned and do-si-doed. The Greens reassured us that it is not as bad as it looks, so when the next song started we got in line.

Fortunately an older couple saw our bewilderment and stepped into help us. I danced with the older woman and Nets with the older man, each of them talking us through the appropriate steps and what each thing that was called out meant. Within a few dances we were starting to get it and actually have a lot of fun!

(The above picture, borrowed from another blog, was taken in a much nicer dance hall than the Grange.)

Typically, the caller would explain the order of steps before the dance started which would involve you and your partner moving up or down the line of people to wind up on the end and then to come back in again. Most moves involved the people right in front of you or next to you. On one dance, the caller added diagonals into the mix. I was already trying to reach back to my geometry days to figure out how all this movement was working out the first place, but the diagonals were a bit much. Half of our line by the middle of the dance was wandering aimlessly, but with a little persistence and some more help from experienced old couples, Nets and I got back in there and finished the dance right.

We both had a great time, but Annette got asked to dance by older men a couple times (one was a professor in the Audiology department at Western Michigan that she had met on the interview trail) and she didn't really like that. She also didn't like a move called the "gypsy" where you circled your neighbor gazing into their eyes the whole time. Made her a bit uncomfortable. We also had a middle-aged man approach us about weekly ballroom dancing that goes on elsewhere in Kalamazoo. He called us "fresh prey" to join the group of 60 or so that show up each Monday. We will have to check it out sometime.

All in all a fairly unique experience we would probably try again. Next time we go we'll have to take some pictures.