Our California Adventure

Julia, Nathan's mom (Laurie) and I took a trip last Wednesday to Los Angeles to hunt for apartments. What a nightmare. I'd never driven in LA before, only gone to Disneyland. The traffic and roads are crazy! And there's never anywhere to park. Luckly we were driving Laurie's car that had GPS, or we would probably still be lost in the middle of the city. We found a few apartments that I wouldn't mind living in. The problem is, we will most likely have to rent a one bedroom because of prices, and we have to try back again end of October b/c no one would hold an apartment for us until our move the end of November. The hospital he will be working at is in a very nice area near Beverly Hills, and that's why it was so hard for us. But we don't want to be too far away, b/c even just a twelve mile drive can turn into an hour or more drive in traffic. I was so drained after two days of searching. Luckly, my mother in law was so sweet to take Julia and I to Disneyland the last day of our trip. She even bought me a season pass so that we can go whenever we want once we move :)
The coolest part about Disneyland was that while we were waiting in line, I saw Mark and Gev from the show So You Think You Can Dance. I asked them if I could take a picture and they were so cool. I saw them later on and Courtney from the show was with them, along with another blonde girl I didn't recognize.

Julia was so excited to see Pluto. I can't belive how much more she was into the Disney characters than our trip eight months ago in February.

She has her pirate hat and beads from New Orleans square. Also, Laurie bought her this Cinerella baby that she was absolutely obsessed with. For journaling purposes I need to add that we watched the parade and Julia was just so excited about it and dancing the whole time. At the very end the princess float came and the princesses got out to dance. Julia was beside herself with amazement. Then once they passed, she grabbed my hand to follow behind them while crying, "Wait for me princesses, I'm coming!" But we were unable to keep up b/c of the crouds, and it just broke my heart that she was so serious about it all and very upset they weren't waiting for her. She was ok, though once we distracted her with some more rides :) Dumbo is her favorite still.

At the end of the night I wanted to get one picture of her with the Mickey pumpkin, and she would have nothing to do with it. She was happy until I got out the camera. Why is my daughter so anti pictures???

I'm glad we were able to have a little bit of vacation on our trip, and I really hope we are able to sign a lease with a safe, affordable apartment soon!
Also, good news, Nathan is here this week. Yeah! He was able to sneak a break before he's off to Virginia for another month. We love Daddy!

Stroller

So this is a picture of my #1, and pretty much only, item I want/need for the new baby. It's a Phil and Ted's Sport Stroller Double. This stroller has GREAT reviews, and I've talked to many moms who own the stroller and LOVE it. It is the only tandem jogging stroller out there. I really didn't want a side by side. I think it's pretty amazing. The only problem is, it's gonna run me just under $500. I don't know if Nathan will let me spend that :( I think it's worth the investment, though, and I have read that Phil and Ted's has a great warranty and costumer care. The only place that sells them is Just Juvenile in North Scottsdale, or you have to order online. So I think one of these days I'm going to have to make the treck out there to take a look. I'm trying to decide what color I want. I really like the green, but it also comes in red, navy and black. Is the green too much?

Late Tag

My friend Megan tagged me about two weeks ago, and I've been really bad about completing it. So, since I don't sleep anymore, due to the little boxer living inside of me, I decided now is as good a time as ever. I am supposed to reveal 6 of my quirks. Here goes:

1. I won't wash my hair two days in a row. That's why summer kills me. I have to be really careful not to get it wet when I swim if it's not a wash day. My hair just dries out to easy, so I try not to wash it very often. I still shower, though. So don't worry :)
2. When I check on Julia before I go to sleep, I have to make sure she's breathing. If I can't hear or see her breathing, I put my hand on her chest to feel. I've done this ever since she was a newborn b/c I was terrified of SIDS, and even though she's two and a half, I still freak out a little. Nathan thinks I'm crazy. Probably am.
3. I hate doing dishes. I will shove everything, including pots, pans and my crock pot into the dishwasher to avoid the chore. And if the item simply won't fit, Nathan gets the honor :)
4. I have a habit of pushing on my two front teeth with my tongue or thumb from the front. I got made fun of a lot when I was younger for having big teeth. I never had braces, but kinda grew into them so they aren't so bad now. I'm still self concious though, and absentmindedly try and push them back.
5. I have a bedtime routine of brush my teeth, floss, wash my face, check on Julia and then pray. If I miss any of these things, I'll lay in bed thinking about how I need to do it. So the only way I can sleep, is if I follow the routine. (But currently, nothing can help me sleep)
6. I am addicted to Carmex. I keep a tube in my purse, my swim bag, my bathroom drawer, my nightstand, and my car (when it's not too hot outside). This way, I always have it when I need it. I always have to have a coat on my lips. In fact, Nathan remembers from our first kiss that I tasted like Cramex, so he went and bought a tube to wear so that he would always feel like he just kissed me. Isn't he romantic???

Well, there you have it. I'm sure I have weirder quirks I could share that I'm just not aware of :) I will tag my mom and Alisa Taylor.

Lake fun

Kara invited us to go to the lake with her family Friday. Julia was so excited that she had her life vest on before we even left the house! It was a very hot and sunny day. I wish Julia would have kept her sunglasses on. Every time we stopped the boat to switch wakeboarders, Julia wanted to jump in and swim. She didn't even care who was in the water. She would go to anyone. And it was so funny to watch her swim with that lifevest. Now that she knows how to swim with out one, she was trying to swim with her face in the water at times. She was so brave, too. She would just jump in right from the boat.
Thanks for inviting us Kara! It was a blast! Just wish I could have wakeboarded! :)

Just for Dad

Nathan never really pays attention to our blog. But now that he's off and misses us, he says he likes to check it and look at pictures of his family. So, even though I don't have anything exciting or interesting to post, this one's for Dad. Some pic's of his little girls he misses so much. Julia loves Grandma Jeppesen's puppies. She's actually really good about being nice and soft with them. It's the adult ones that she's mean to!

Julia's new thing is putting a ball under her shirt and saying it's her baby. It's pretty cute :) She wants to be just like Mom.
She rolled off the couch on to a toy and got a pretty heinus goose egg. Where's the doctor when you need him???
Nathan, I know you said you wanted some pictures of me, but seeing as I'm huge and pregnant, I thought I would send you an old one that holds some good memories :) I love you, sweetheart!

Park City & Fish Lake

So a day after we got back from Hawaii, we headed up to Park City Mountainside Resort to spend a week while Nathan worked at the Salt Lake VA. It was fun for Julia and I, but sad that Nathan had to work. We got to spend a lot of time with his parents at the condo, and swim in the fun pool and hot tubs (they have seven!). Also, the resort has a bunch of fun activities for the kids. Nathan played hooky on Thursday so he could have some fun with us.
Julia and Nathan on the Alpine Slide.
Nathan and his Dad on the zip line.


After the week was over, Nathan was able to take us up to his family cabin at Fish Lake. He was so excited to go fishing! I think it's discusting, but whatever makes him happy. The cabin is at almost 10,000 feet, so let's just say I wasn't able to work out the whole weekend we were there. Just walking up and down all the hills almost did me in! Nathan went out fishing by himself the first day. We walked down to see if we could find him, but we couldn't. The lake was too big.
One of the fish Nathan caught. He cought a bunch, but only kept two to eat.
Julia and I decided to go for a ride. She wasn't patient enough to fish, though. She just wanted to keep reeling it in.
We saw a bunch of deer while we were there. Very cool.
Nathan's Grandma and Grandpa Jeppesen.

After we left the cabin, Nathan took us to the airport to fly home. We were so sad. Julia and I probably won't see him until right before the baby's born! Julia keeps asking where her daddy is. We already miss him!

Coconut Bras and Grass Skirts

Nathan and I were so lucky to be able to take a trip to Hawaii last week with some friends of ours. We had so much fun! We left the kids and had ourselves a much needed break. We were on the island of Oahu the whole time. It was so beautiful!
Here is a picture of the USS Arizona memorial at Pearl Harbor. I'm so glad we were able to to see it. It made me so sad, but grateful to all those who serve our country.
Here's the four of us outside our hotel. Zac, Catherine, me and Nathan.
We also got to visit the temple. The grounds were so green and beautiful! Did you know this temple was built before the Mesa temple? I thought that was amazing.
We took a hike through the rain forest to see some waterfalls. The boys thought they were Tarzan and decided to climb the vines up the tree.
(A true belly shot for those of you who have been asking)
We also got to go snorkeling a few times. It was so fun! I was a little scared at first, though. I thought I was going to scrape my belly on the coral. Nathan really got into it and took some awesome pictures. He wasn't afraid of sharks and swam a lot farther than me into the ocean.

Here we are at the luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. That was pretty cool.
I bought this grass skirt costume for Julia. Pretty cute, huh?