Holiday catch-up :)

I have neglected our blog...sorry little blog :)

And i figured I'd better catch up on the last holiday (Halloween) before this next one (Turkey-Day in Spokane)!

Adam and i had a great Halloween!! We got dressed up...had too much fun doing just that...and then headed to a friend/co-worker or Adam's for a little partay :)

Can you guess what we dressed up as????

* "Peace & Quiet" heehee (a hippy and a mime) *

* the food was delish! And i love Becca's (sister-in-law) little baby bump! (we're so excited for our kiddos to be close cousins! just a couple weeks apart!) *

* Here's the group!! (minus Ben & LaCol, they came a little later) *

* Luke Skywalker (Luke) and Princess Laya (Becca) *

* us! *

* Frankenstein (Jeremy) and his wifey (Camary) *

* The Mad Hatter (LaCol) and the Scarecrow (Ben) *

* The Incredibles!! (Alla & Eli...and little Avin dressed up as Jack-Jack! haha! can you see his orange hair? ;) *

We played Spooky Pictionary and had a blast!!! Girls vs. Guys :)

* Camary depicting a very creepy voodoo doll *

* Adam workin' it! I love how the guys have to crowd around him...they're intense! *

* Becca is up to bat!!...and the girls followed the boys' suit by getting up-close ;) *

* One of my favorites...i love Eli's laugh/smile!! And it's because no one could get what he was drawing...(look below) *

* "TREE!" "BIRD!" "CAT IN TREE!" "BAT!" ....oh no...that's an owl. haHA! *

After the riotous game of pictionary, we watched a scary movie...I haven't watched a scary movie since high school, and I do not think I will watch another any time soon. [I'm turning into my mom ;) they just give me not-so-good feelings! haha]

* This was a "Thank you!" kiss to my lover for being so sweet and patient to dress up and put on sticky face paint :) i love him *

Halloween was great! And I'm such a nerd, but I'm already thinking of costumes for me, Adam, and our little one next year ;)

PS - i loved my fro...a little too much probably :)

We love Halloween time!

Here are a few reasons why:

* Spooky Cupcakes*

* Snacking on orange oreos and chocolate milk...mmmmm! *

* Putting spider webs on everything...i'm wierd, but i love that stuff! *

* Halloween decor and treats *

* Picking the perfect pumpkin(s)! *

* Carving the pumpkins...while watching a DVD on the laptop :) *

* pumpkin GUTS *

* first Eggnog of the season...while carving. Cheers! *

* Getting sweet treats from sweet sister-in-laws!!! (thanks SO much Becca! it was delish) *

And last but not least...going to Walmart and seeing these fellows enjoying All Hallow's Eve a bit too much...LOVE IT!!! hahahaha!

(check out this guys' legs! bow-chica-wowWow!! HA)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

I've been diagnosed...

yep...(don't worry, it's nothing like the Swine Flu). I caught the Egyptian Flu and have had it for the last 5 months actually...luckily I haven't had to deal with the really bad symptoms, I was just really tired for the first bit. And Adam has been so sweet to me the whole time, always asking if I feel okay and if he can get me anything :)

It's not contagious (whew!), but the doctors tell me I will have the Egyptian flu for the next 4 months or so...then comes stage 2...

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...I'LL BE A MUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(heehee!...sorry that was so cheesy. I heard that joke a month ago and couldn't resist...seeing that it is Halloween-time and all ;)

* 7 weeks *

* almost 11 weeks *

And the photos below are from our ultra-sound today :)

20 WEEKS!

Adam and I are SOOOOOOOOO excited we're starting our little family together :) We feel so blessed...and can't wait for our little baby to come to us in March (the 16th)! Like I said, we had our 20-week appointment today and it was amazing!!! We were so relieved to know that the baby is healthy and we were SO happy to get more pictures of our little guy or girl...precious =) We'll keep ya updated!

WE LOVE YOU BABY KJAR!

Comforting words...

A good friend of mine put this on her blog...and I'd thought I'd followed suit :) Mormon Messages are awesome, and think this is my favorite one so far:

The men that spoke are humble servants of our God. I'm so grateful they're willing to serve and share their profound and loving insights...words that our Heavenly Father wants us to hear.

I wrote down a few of the parts that touched me the most:

"Our natures can be changed..." (for the better)

- President Eyring

"We see ourselves in terms of yesterday and today, our Heavenly Father sees us in terms of forever. ...He sees us as glorious beings we are capable of becoming..."

- Elder Wirthlin

"Oh sweet the joy this sentence gives, I know that my Redeemer Lives."

(from the song, I Know That My Redeemer Lives)

- President Monson

PART DOS of our UnBELIZEable trip...

FINALLY!...the second part of our Belize trip from last August!

(I took so many pictures of this half of our adventures, but chose just a "few" to highlight)

This part of our trip was just as amazing as the first, but very different...we were not in the sweet little village of Chunox with orange & avocado trees in our yard, with families always waving from their porch or yard (but we did go back for our last day)...we missed those things :) But things we did NOT miss were having no air conditioning in sweltering/muggy heat and misquitos up the wazoo... We flew to the island of San Pedro and stayed in a nice little hotel...and well, you'll see the rest of our adventures in the pictures!!!

* The morning we left Chunox we had this "little" visitor to bid us farewell...YIKES!!! *

(yes, that is a tarantula!)

* First time on a bi-plane! Just a one-hour flight to the island... *

* Our view from the airplane...gorgeous! As was the rest of Belize :) *

* Me, Becc, and LaCol...smooches for our handsomes!! *

* We were on a dock near our hotel and I just couldn't resist...these are just 2 random, ADORABLE little boys that reminded me of Little Rascals...heehee! They were fishing in about 5 inches of water...

A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E*

* Adam and I on the deck of our hotel! :) *

After getting settle in the hotel, we hit the ocean (that sounds sooooo cool! haha Kinda like "hitting the lake"...) for some snorkeling and scuba diving!!

* Water from a bag/sack...pretty darn satisfying :) *

* SHARK! SHARK! Yep, we swam with sharks!!!! While they are just nurse sharks, it still got my heart rate to double as i got into the water ;) *

* Adam about ready to test out his new scuba skills!!! HE LOVED IT! He, Luke, Ben, and LaCol said it was absolutely amazing...so glad they had a great time! *

* can't get enough kissy-fishy faces!!! *

The snorkeling Becca and I did was fantastic!!!!!! We saw tons of colorful fish, ornate coral, creepy-beyond-all-reason eels, lobsters, manta-rays, and of course the nurse sharks (big ones and babies)!! Becca got some amazing photos on her underwater camera...but sadly, the memory card feel out of her backpack later in the trip...huge bummer...but we still have the awesome memories!!!! :D

* After scuba diving and snorkeling we had a nice walk home...and found this picture perfect opportunity :) *

* The pictures above and below were fun little shots too...I have to say, I'm so lucky to have a hubby that's so patient with me and my little passion for taking photos *

* One of the nights we went to dinner where they had a live band! They were awesome...so we danced :) *

* We went to a scripture study one of the nights and the next day we met up the LDS missionaries and took them out to lunch! We love missionaries!*

Second day of scuba diving also included fishing!!!!!!

* The first fish I've EVER caught!!! How cool is it that it was in the Carribbean?...pretty cool, i think ;) *

After fishing, we headed back to the beach and the men that took us fishing prepared the fish for us...yep, on the deck. haha! But it didn't stop us from enjoying the best and most fresh fish tacos of our lives!!!

* the picture of the open-face taco doesn't give it justice...it was delectable :) And like almost every other meal, we had Fanta to wash it down *

* Enjoying our fish tacos while our feet played in the water...paradise *

* We saw this sign when we got back to mainland Belize (on our way back to Chunox)...it's MY beach!!! (minus the "i"...and the "Muchies and booze"...HAHA!) *

* We were so excited to see our cute little friends!...and they were pretty pumped too...they had built goals and set up their "field" for soccer game that night *

* The kids got us girls stadium seating (the backseat of an old cargo van, which we filled, all nice and snug). They had nothing, yet they figured out a way for us to comfortable while watching the boys play soccer :) SO SWEET! *

* The boys had some warm up drills...JUMPING JACKS (above) and PUSH UPS (below)...how awesome is that???? *

* I love this picture of becca! (yep, us girls joined in...not the original plan, but it was SO fun!) *

* It started to RAIN! (you can see it better if you click on the photo to make it bigger) ...best rain ever...(even better than my Vancouver rain, and that says a lot) It was so hot, and the heavenly precipitation couldn't have come at a better time! *

* Final shot with both teams!! VIVE BELIZE and VIVE AMERICA!!!!!! :) *

The trip was absolutely unforgettable...a most amazing experience. I'm so grateful Adam and I were able to go together! (and we had some awesome travel buddies too) Here's a little recap:

On the trip we:

met some incredible people,

climbed unbelievable ruins,

saw gorgeous sunsets,

ate scrumptious food,

scratched too many misquito bites,

rode buses & bi-planes & troopers & boats,

swam with sharks,

drank refreshing pina coladas,

and soaked up the sun with our very best friends :)

UnBELIZEable!! (part uno)

Adam and I have been out of town for the past week & a half...enjoying green jungle, brightly painted buildings, the beautiful Spanish language, snorkling & scuba diving, eating LOTS of rice & beans, sipping on numerous pina coladas, listening to Latin music, hiking Mayan ruins, getting eaten alive by misquitos (well, we didn't really enjoy those), living out of a backpack, wearing swim-shorts & sundresses almost everyday, meeting the most humble people, and soaking up every minute together :) ...we did all those things, and more, in the little country of Belize.  The trip had been LONG awaited!!! We had planned to head south this past April, but due to the Swine Flu our trip was postponed...which I was pretty disappointed about at first, but that allowed us to take that roadtrip to Disneyland =)

This was my first time out of the country...I was so stoked!!!

I had some ideas of what of might be like, expectations if you will...but they were all surpassed :) We went with Adam's two brothers (Luke & Ben) and their two wives (Becca & LaCol)...they're all so much fun, we loved being with them!!

* The Gang :) about to head out from the SLC Airport.

Ben & LaCol, Luke & Becca, Adam & Haley *

* i LOVED the painted buildings...and the bright flowers, even in the city :) *

* the entryway of a restaurant we ate at in Cancun *

* mmmmm...enjoying the first of many pina coladas *

* went to walk on the beach after dinner *

* A band playing in an open restaurant right on a street...love it :) *

Our original plan was to drive straight from Cancun Belize (we flew to Cancun because it's MUCH cheaper than flying directly to Belize) but luckily Luke knows someone who has a home south of Cancun, and he let us stay there for the night...so it split our 6 hour drive in half :) And the house was gorgeous!

* i love the blue tile...and the painted sink :) *

* playing our new favorite card came: Golf *

* I found this little guy in the shower!! Adam was brave enough to catch it!...then we gave it the flush, sorry mr. scorpion *

* ready for church *

* We took the awesome family that picked us up at the airport to church...and they really enjoyed it! we love missionary work :) *

* Lunch time! *

* the fresh foods market! some food more fresh than others...yep *

* Washington APPLES above (yep, in Mexico:) AND Adam's BANANA goatee *

* Bicycles are very common in both Mexico & Belize :) for work & for transportation *

* On our way to Chunox (pronounced Shunoosh), Belize...we had to take 2 car-ferries...looked questionable, but they worked just great! *

We arrived in Chunox to see homes of all shapes, sizes, and materials...some were made out of sticks & palm leaves, others out of brick, and some out of stucko/cement...which were painted colors from turqoise & lavender (like the photo below), bright pink, yellow, to sky blue...amazing =)

The house below is not a normal house for Chunox...it's actually in the process of being built as an example of future homes that will be built for a humanitarian project...Domes For The World! It's built right by the home of the man (Craig) that Luke is working with to help the project get rolling in that part of Belize.  Honestly, I thought that we were going to actually help build a dome while we were in Belize...but they're still working on the foundation work with the community leaders, and getting land to build on...but the future is looking bright :) 

* This is the house that Luke & a coworker own...gorgeous! We stayed there for about half the trip.  And i can't forget to mention, they have avacado & coconut trees in their yard. sweet *

* Adam enjoyed the fresh coconut milk *

Next was the FUTBOL (soccer) game! We were driving around the village & stopped to check out this little at-home store...and there were these kids playing soccer outside. The guys offered to play with them, & before we knew it they were playing for winnings ;) First team to score 5 got Choco Ice (popcicle). The young boys (ages of 4-9ish) would yell "VIVE BELICE!" which means "Long live Belize!" and of course our men would shout back "VIVE AMERICA!"

* Adam is on the right, about the kick it to high heaven! *

 The young boys were SUCH GOOD sports! Half of them didn't even have shoes...yet they were smiling the whole time...no matter who scored :)

And the winners: BELIZE!!!! The kids won =D

* We bought them their Choco Ice :) and some for ourselves...so refreshing! *

We went back to Craig's house to have dinner :) He has another family living with him because he's in the states most of the time...the sweet mom cooked for us...her name is Diani :) 

* She made the best eggs ever!! And cooked some plantaines (a type of banana)...different, but delicious =) *

* In both Mexico & Belize they have soda with EVERY meal...we're talking breakfast, lunch, and dinner...yowza. The occasional bottled water was like the nectar of life!!! haha (but the orange Fanta is pretty darn tasty, and it's always fun to drink out of a glass bottle) *

* We took a drive to a place called Lamanai...where we hiked through jungle to see Mayan ruins... *

* drinking more Fanta on the drive... ;) *

* We stopped for lunch on our way...for some Taco Smileys ;D *

* mmmmm...these tostados were my favorite...and crunchy tortilla with beans, strong grated cheese, and onions *

* And we got some dessert from the little store below :) ...you can't see very well, but we're smooching in the reflection of the left window :) *

To get to Lamanai you have to get in a boat...so we found a tour guide...but he needed to get gas for his boat...so while he went to town, he let us play on his rope swing!!

SO FUN!!!

* Ben *

* me *

* Adam...walkin' on water :) *

* on the boat ride to Lamanai *

* On our ride, we stopped to see what these local fisherman had caught...in their hand-carved canoe...amazing *

* The jungle was unbelievable!...i mean unbelizeable!! haha *

* Me Tarzan...you Jane *

* Climbing one of the main ruins...SO tall...but worth the hike *

* THE VIEW!!! *

* We even saw a Howler Monkey! (he's in the right corner...kinda blurry...sorry *

* Adam is in the middle at the top of the first set of steps :) We were about a football-field length away and he was talking with his voice barely raised, and we could hear him!! They Mayans somehow built it so that the speaker/leader could speak without straining his voice, & all the people could hear...remind anyone of King Benjamin? :) *

And the trip only gets better! I'll be posting the rest of our adventures tomorrow :)

Life's Soundtrack

...you know how when you watch a movie, there are those parts that make you hold your breath because they're so intense, or grab you sweetheart 'cause you're so scared, or laugh 'til your stomach hurts cause it was so hilarious, or cry because you're heart is breaking for a certain character, or *sigh* because it was just so romantic...well, there's always some sort of music in the background during those parts.  I love that about movies.  

And honestly, I wish that would happen to me in real life.  I'd like that very much actually :)

I'd have a song for when I wake up next to my sweetheart,

and a song playing while I am working out at the gym,

and another playing while I'm driving my car,

a song playing while I was doing dishes with my sweetheart,

and I'd have a song playing when my sweetheart would give me a wink and I'd go in for a ridiculously, long romantic kiss (hey, we're married;)

...and there'd be songs for the others ups & downs of life.  

But for now, I love it when my sweetheart sings softly in my ear...

or loudly from the shower &/or other room ;) He gets the job done quite nicely.

Life is good. VERY good.

Plus, we have much...

PS - My very most favorite (in the whole universe!) movie soundtrack is from The Holiday...Hans Zimmer is the composer, he's brilliant.  Check it out on iTunes, you won't regret it :)