Reality

Well, we just got back from our hospital tour. We know our root to the hospital, where to park the car (so we don't get a ridiculously large parking ticket), how to register, and most importantly all those little details one never thinks of...like bring a toothbrush and your favorite pillow. However, on our ride back home we were both deep in thought. I was contemplating the reality that there is really only one way this baby is coming out and Andrew was pondering whether or not he would pass out trying to cut the umbilical cord. All the while wondering what happened to the good old days when the father just waited in the lobby. So here's good luck to us both!

We finally decided it was time for an official belly shot (or as official as you can get taking a picture in an apartment). I'm 33 weeks along and still happy with the fact our little one is safely tucked away in my belly.

Family, water skiing, tootsie rolls, and swimming

Well we just got back from our four days of Utah fun! It's sad to be back to real life. Andrew had to get up this morning and, for me, another quarter of school is just around the corner. So, it was most certainly nice not to think about the daily routine, if only for a few days. The highlight of course was being able to see family, but second to that (for Andrew) was getting some watering skiing in. It was beautiful and we were the only boat on the lake! Translation: Andrew was the only person crazy enough to go water skiing at Lake Jordenelle near the end of September. Besides the cold, it was perfect glass and very relaxing.

The second highlight for me, of course, was being able to stock up on flavored tootsie rolls (why do they not sell them in California!?) and orange rolls. (Strange they both have roll in the title.) I just happened to discover the orange rolls while we were having dinner with Andrew's Aunt Darlene and Uncle Ray. They used to live in CA and taught us how to smuggle the frozen rolls home. All it took was a box lined with newspaper and some dry ice! I'll have to let everyone know if I am even able to get these pre-made rolls to rise!

Another highlight I would have to say was using Andrew's parents indoor lap pool! It was fun to see Andrew swim and I'm sure Andrew enjoyed seeing me attempt to swim. I'm positive the wheels were just spinning in his head on how I could improve my technique. Andrew was so excited he smelled like chlorine again that he could not stop smelling himself afterward! The pool was a ton of fun and it is now our goal to convince my parents to put one in their garage! I'd be willing to drive ten minutes up the road for a good swim! Anyways, all in all it was a very fun and relaxing trip!

Things you forgot to tell your mother

Andrew just got off the phone with his mom and was trying to think of events/stories to tell her. . . he just happened to forget to tell her about our weekend trip to Hearst Castle! Details are just not one of his strong points. My favorite forgotten detail was when we landed in Hawaii for our honeymoon and Andrew could not remember the name of our hotel.

Anyway, we have been wanting to take a little trip to see Hearst Castle for a while and last Thursday we decided to just go. So, Andrew booked a cute hotel room and late Friday afternoon we were off! Off to a glamorous freeway crawl. We probably could have waited another hour to leave and still arrived at the same time. Rotten Bay Area traffic. Luckily we stopped for dinner along the way and had a nice break from the car.

When we woke up on Saturday we realized our hotel was literally right next to the beach (we arrived at 10pm the night before and could not see a thing). So, we took a walk along the boardwalk, enjoying the beach, and then we drove the remaining five miles to Hearst Castle. It was a fun tour and we highly recommend it to anyone in the area. Too bad they have about four tours, each showing different sections of the "castle." Great tactic for increasing business earnings, but sad for all the tour goers. I am also little bitter because we got all these pictures of us at the beach and then our camera battery died after one shot at Hearst Castle! I tried to blame Andrew for it, but really we're both at fault. We were just so infatuated with this one little bird and were compelled to take multiple pictures of it. After our little wildlife-photographer kick we realized there was not much battery power left. We were resolved to save the battery for the castle, but then we spotted this strange jelly thing on the beach. . .We couldn't decide if it was a Jelly Fish or some sort of mutated, evil, supernatural, silcon blob. We were afraid to touch it in case it would devour our arm, but, naturally, we took a picture. Luckily the one shot we did get of Andrew at Hearst Castle turned out. So at least there's some sort of proof we were there!

Storage Close

With a little one on the way and a one bedroom apartment, we realized we would need a little more space around here. The problem seemed easy enough to solve. We figured we'd throw up some shelves in our garage, close it off, and put up some doors. A trip to Home Depot, a Saturday afternoon, some whiz bang, and presto, a new storage closet! Of course, it never happens as quickly and as easily as you think. After a Saturday afternoon and four evenings of work, not to mention a few more trips to the hardware store, we finally have our new storage closet. There are a few flaws, but at least it is nice and big. We are still working on moving our boxes out to the garage, but we've got ~11 weeks and counting!

"I'm pretty good at this!"

This is for all those loyal Andrew fans out there. Sunday night we were playing the wii fit with my family and we discovered a hula hoop game. It was an instant hit! For those who are unfamiliar with the wii fit, it's this little board you stand on that senses your movements. For the hula hoop game you have to swing your hips as if you are really hula hooping. The object is to keep the hula hoop going while you catch additional hoops being thrown at you. The person with the most rotations and hula hoops wins.

It just so happens Andrew has some major hula hoopin' skills...maybe it's because he has 3 sisters. The best part was watching him swing his hips to keep the hula hoop going, it's the closest I've seen him to dancing. I hope you enjoy the video. Andrew was unaware I was recording him. You have to listen quite carefully, and maybe it's only me that thinks this is hilarious, but he proudly states at the beginning, "I'm pretty good at this!" Unfortunately, the lighting is bad and my recording skills worse, but you can still his hips swinging enough to get a taste of his mad hula hooping skills!

Another bust!

Homemade bread was always one of life's mysteries to me. Growing up, the closest encounter I had to fresh baked bread was driving past The Rainbow Bread factory off the 980. Somewhat pathetic, but it would always smell so wonderful, especially in the early evening hours. On Thanksgiving, my mom would go all out and buy the ready to bake rolls, which were always a treat for us. The point is, we were not really a bread making family.

For our first Thanksgiving, Andrew and I were on our own and decided it would be fun if we did the whole Thanksgiving spread. We each had requests of what we wanted to have for dinner and one of Andrew's was homemade rolls. Since I was tackling my first turkey (stuffing and all), Andrew was in charge of the home made rolls. His rolls turned out beautifully. So light and fluffy.

It seemed easy enough, so a little while later, I started a series of sad attempts at making homemade rolls. I have tried four times and each time time was a slight variation on disaster. Now, four times may not sound like I've given it much effort, but I can assure you that each attempt has been given calculated concentration and the old college try on my part. At first, I thought maybe it was our apartment that was the problem, (our first apartment was quite cold and damp and I came to the conclusion this is why my rolls would not rise). After all, I followed the recipe to a T. Considering that our new apartment is not cold or damp, I was excited that somewhere down the line I could finally make rolls that would rise. However, this past weekend I attempted making rolls again with the same unfruitful result, flat as pancakes. Quite the opposite of light and fluffy. Here are some pics to prove it. Unless anyone has some tips that will solve all my bread making problems , I think I'm about to throw in the kitchen towel. I'll just have to make sure I drive my kids by a bread factory so they know how wonderful the smell of freshly made bread is.

Cal Shakes

While commuting to school, along the freeway I always pass this sign that says, 'California Shakespeare Festival.' I have been curious about it for years. Mostly thinking as I quickly pass by, 'that'd be fun to go to sometime.' All I really knew about it was that it is an open air theater and you can bring a picnic to eat before hand. Well, Andrew and I are still on our old single ward's emailing list and about a week ago we got an email stating they would be playing An Ideal Husband that week. I love that play! I should make the disclaimer that I have never actually read the play, but I've seen the movie and it is hilarious! I mentioned the idea of going to Andrew and he quickly made the disclaimer he has been wanting to go for a while now. Allegedly, he has even mentioned it several times to me. I can't believe I missed the opportunity to go earlier! I swear I'm a good listener; isn't that suppose to be the number one trait of a therapist?! Anyways, we ended up getting tickets, packing a tasty picnic, and heading off to the play with my parents.

If you're gonna eat some calories, I suggest this treat!

Years ago, my sister Melanie came up with this REALLY great tart recipe. Besides being with family, we all loved it when we got together because she would usually make some tarts. It was kind of this big mystery how she did it. One day, while I was having a pregnancy induced craving, I needed some tart! So, I called her up and got the recipe and she was very glad to pass it on. And truthfully it is not that hard! It is just a two step process. As a warning, it does call for a lot of egg!

CRUST (this makes two 9 inch crusts)
-1 cup butter room temperature
-1 cup sugar
-1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
-4 egg yolks
-2 3/4 cup floor
-1/8 teaspoon salt

*you mix the butter and sugar together for about 3 minutes. add vanilla and one egg yolk at a time, mixing together in-between. add salt and floor all at once and mix together (it will be crumbly). divide the dough into two and you can immediately roll it out to make two crusts or you can freeze one portion of the dough or both and save till later. I find it easiest to roll out the dough on some wax paper. It makes it easier when flipping the dough into the pan.

FILLING (this only makes filling for ONE tart. What you can do, since the dough recipe makes two crusts is, freeze one portion of crust dough and save it for later or just double the filling recipe if you want two tarts)
-1 cup milk
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1/2 cup sugar
-3 egg yolks
-1 tablespoon cornstarch
-1 tablespoon floor
-1 teaspoon butter
-1/2 cup un-whipped heavy whipping cream

*Take dry ingredients and mix. add milk and cook over stove top until boiling. take part of boiling mixture and put into a separate bowl and add egg yolks. mix egg mixture with a fork quickly. then add egg mixture back to stove top mixture and boil. take off heat and add vanilla and butter. place in fridge until cooled completely. then whip 1/2 cup whipping cream and add to filling mixture when it is completely cooled (if not you're whipping cream will melt and the filling will be runny).

*Then of course you put the filling into the crust and decorate with whatever fruits you love! It works best if you have a tart pan, but you can do it with a pie pan. If you use a pie pan, the crust won't go all the way up the pie pan edges. It will probably only go up about halfway, which is fine because there isn't enough filling to fill a whole pie pan. Tart pans are much shorter. ENJOY (and if you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them)!

We're not getting bigger, the room is getting smaller!

Here's a conversation Andrew and I had today. I was talking about this pregnancy book I've been reading and how they described an expectant mother's weight gain. For 2nd trimester it is described as, "gains weight easily" and for 3rd trimester it is, "starts to pack on the pounds." Not too encouraging word choice for someone who is about to launch into their 3rd trimester.

Then I said, "You know, my shirts are getting smaller."

Andrew replied, "I . . . uh . . . don't think that's the case. There is another explanation."

It was actually quite funny. Of course my shirts are not getting smaller...I'm just getting bigger. Only when I'm pregnant is Andrew allowed to say such things!

From DC to Oakland

So my sister and her family came to visit this past week. We had loads of fun and ended up going all over the bay area. We hiked in the red woods, well took a stroll, after all the kidlets aren't that old, went to San Fran, had some tasty pizza, visited the trolley museum, shopped in China Town, went to Marine World Six Flags, and had plenty of family dinners and game nights. Here are some pics, mostly of Marine World. That was the only day I remembered my camera. I also find it interesting we've gone to three amusement parks since I've been pregnant. What's the deal with that?! Not that I don't love dolphin and whale shows, but I find it somewhat ironic that as soon as I can't go on any rides we go to all the parks.


This is Andrew and my nephew David. It was his first roller coaster and he barely made the height requirement (David that is)...we think he liked it.


This is my Dad and David on another child appropriate ride. David said he couldn't look up at the camera because he was too busy driving the car. He was pretty excited about this one.


My Mom and I relaxing while we wait for others to go on a ride.

Andrew and I with George in the background.


And finally this is my niece, Abigail and I at our slumber party! After her pedicure, we stayed up late watching a movie and eating way too much ice cream. We're going for favorite Aunt and Uncle!