Recapping Weeks 15-19

We have a little mango baby!

We just hit 19 weeks today. Its crazy and awesome and I am getting really excited. Next week we get to find out if you are a boy or a girl in there. I CAN'T wait! I think it might really start to make it real... It still hasn't really hit me.. I'm not sure if it really will until I have to go push baby out of me and then get to take you him/her home! AH

I can't wait to be a mom though. I have wanted to be a mom my whole life and it is finally becoming real. Thank you baby, it is all because of you.

We have had a pretty good week, a little more lax for me which has been nice but a little rough for Andrew getting back into the swing of things in school. Last week on Wednesday I got off work at 2pm and then headed straight to St. George. I had never driven that far by myself and I was actually pretty nervous about it. The length of it, the boringness of it and the being pregnant part. But it turned out okay. Definitely long, my butt and legs were sore and achy by the time I got there but I found things to listen to and people to talk on the phone so that helped!

I went down because Lisa and I signed up for a serging conference for the weekend. The conference was awesome!! I was expecting to get a little sleepy and have a hard time being in class all day but it really was great. I loved learning old and new things and working on AMAZING sergers! They were to die for. It was also really fun hanging out and bonding with Lisa for the weekend. We had a lot of fun talking sewing, crafting, and fabrics!

The week before (aka the first week of September) Andrew and I went to California for the week. It was the BEST! Such a good trip, full of relaxation but also adventure and seeing new things. We were there during our anniversary so we got a chance to spend the day together exploring LA.

We first headed to the California Science Center to mainly see the space shuttle Endeavour, that was just put there and they are building a million dollar facility for. It is HUGE! and awesome. You can't even comprehend the fact that it has been to space and back multiple times! We got to learn all about it and then walk around it and see it in all its hugeness.

We then headed to the Santa Monica Pier. I absolutely love that place. and it holds so many good memories for us. I have always loved ferris wheels and this one is just perfection. You have the beach, the ocean, the sunset, the city, and not to mention the amazing man that was sitting next to me! The day before our wedding we took wedding pictures all day long. One spot that I had to have pictures done at was the pier, on the ferris wheel. So on our anniversary I thought it would be fun to go ride the ferris wheel again, since we had not ridden it since our wedding. Oh my what four years has brought us to!

Then we headed to our favorite restaurant, Gladstones.  I am not a fish loving person but I LOVE clam chowder and they have the BEST clam chowder you will ever eat. and you get this delicious bread to dip in it so I was a pretty happy girl. Not to mention the view of the ocean that is absolutely stunning. Andrew likes to get a yummy fish and I am pretty sure he leaves drooling still because of how good it is.

Of course we then had to go get some dessert so we headed to BJ's where they have the yummiest pazookies (pizza cookies). We were stuffed and exhausted by the time we were done and heading home. It was a perfect day together.

On the other days we were in California we did a little shopping both clothing and fabric, we went to the beach and did a little body boarding, we went to a Dodger's baseball game and saw some amazing fireworks, and just relaxed and hung out with family. What better way to spend a week!

Since being back I am just working working working. and Andrew is back into the grind of things at school. I think it is going to be a crazy semester for him. He has also been working at the straw maze and helping get things ready before they opened and now helping at night. He is SO excited to start haunting next weekend! He got his new mask in yesterday and I am not sure he is going to be able to wait a week to scare with it. The mask is pretty awesome.. it is VERY real looking which makes it really creepy. He is going to do an awesome job. He made a video for the haunted forest and it turned out really good! He is just so talented in so many things. I am so proud of him and all the hard work he does.

The MASK! 

Ryder didn't know what to think..
our poor children. haha

I just love that guy. even in a creepy mask.

I have been feeling great. Still just tired and more sciatic nerve and lower back pain. I am pretty sure that is going to last forever. I feel that the sciatic nerve pain is just getting worse. Now just standing I can feel it hurting. and then bending and moving a lot just makes it worse. I'm finding ways to make it better, so far it is just lots and lots of stretching. But I feel really lucky with how easy pregnancy has been.

I am definitely popping more, however now I feel that it just looks like I have gained weight in the belly, not that there is a baby in there. I am enjoying the smaller belly while I can because I know soon enough I will be huge. Keep growing healthy and strong in there little one! We love you so so so much.

Hopefully I can start updating more and keep a good record of this amazing, beautiful process we get to go through. Stay tuned for more!

love,alex&andrew

P.S- We met Youtube stars, icons, and role models Shay Carl and Colette. We have watched them for five years and he is the one who inspired me to start my own channel! We were shocked we ran into them and a little star struck.

A little catching up

Obviously I haven't posted in a while. It was nice cutting out things that weren't necessary in my life but now I don't get to look back and see what we did the past few months and my thoughts on it all. And that makes me kinda sad. Which is why I think I am going to start posting again. I have had the ache for it the past couple weeks and just never have. So here we go.

It has been a weird past two months. Not being a full-time student and not working full-time or even part time, err kinda... I have felt pretty lazy. Like I need to be doing more and accomplishing more to fill satisfied with my days. Some days it has been amazing to have no set responsibilities and to sleep in until whenever I feel like getting up and other days it has felt very unsatisfying and depressing.

Last semester being a full time student was hard. The first two months of school I thought I was going to mentally break down. and lets be honest all I really had to do was pass my classes and I would be fine so really there was nothing to stress about. But when I get all the information of what I am supposed to do in a three month period it kinda freaks me out. Okay maybe it freaks me out a lot. and I panic. and its super annoying when you have no idea what the teacher is asking of you or how they grade so you are just trying to figure it all out... Yea thats how September and October went.

Then when the assignments were graded and tests were taken I felt like, ok I can do this. what was I freaking out about? and it turned out to be an awesome semester. The class that I started out hating turned out to be one of my favorite classes.

I learned a ton about families and a little about art and sewed like crazy.

We also traveled a lot... Is that a surprise to anyone? thats kinda what we do.

Andrew's brother Aaron went to BYU-Idaho for his first semester. Lisa, their mom took him up there so naturally we thought we would tag along and see how it went.

The next weekend was Anna's baby shower so of course we had to go to that as well.

When October hit it was time for haunting season. I am pretty sure that is the only thing Andrew misses about Idaho, being able to haunt at the straw maze for the whole month of October. Luckily the past two years the owners have welcomed him back whenever he wants because he is just that good. and trust me I have had enough experience to know that he is really good at scaring people. So we went two more times in October. Hanging out with Anna, Jordan, Justina, Curtis, Taeden, and Caleb, along the way. We even went to the Apple orchard and picked apples.

Andrew was pretty excited about his costume this year!
I think it turned out pretty awesome. 

In October we also welcomed home our dear friend Clayton who was on a mission in New Zealand and we had to say goodbye to our dear friend Chris who left on his mission to Peru. What great guys and awesome examples of leading a Christ like life and having Christ like love. I'm so proud of both of them and glad to call them as our friends.

Of course we went to a ton of BYU Football games. Andrew waited in lines hours before the doors opened to get us a good seat. And he sure did do a great job. Every game we had awesome seats! The BYU vs. Texas game was probably the most crazy game. Andrew waited in line for a few hours and it was pretty hot out. I got there before the gates opened and waited with him. A little before the game started this HUGE and pretty scary looking storm cloud came rolling in. It started pouring and lightning and thunder. It was CRAZY. All the students were dancing in the stands. Then we decided it would be best to seek cover so we hung out under the bleachers for a while. When the rain finally did stop we took our seats and we were freezing and the game was delayed! Our friends Logan and Alex went and got warm clothes so we had them pick us up some. But it was still a pretty cold game BUT BYU did awesome! and we ended up winning the game! YAY. Afterwords, Andrew and I went to our favorite little run down Mexican place. We were riding the scooter home and all of the sudden the tire blew out! Luckily Andrew stomped his foot down saving us from falling over and probably getting very hurt and a lot of road rash! (I sure am grateful for that guy!) We ended up parking the scooter in a lot and walking home.. still being a little wet and cold! Andrew did something to his foot, he never went to the doctor, just wrapped it and was really careful for the next few days. That was such a crazy day though!

Before the game.. notice how clear the sky is! 

The storm coming in! 

After the game! We WON! 

In November our first nephew on Andrew's side of the family was born! Ryder Jay Parson, on November 4th 2013! So of course we had to make a trip to Idaho to see him right away! He is the cutest little guy. I am obssesed with him. We got lots of snuggles in with him that first week of his life and then again during Thanksgiving time when all the Sorensen's went to Idaho for the week. We had a great time relaxing, playing with the dogs, snuggling the baby, snowboarding, skinning a deer and eating lots of food!

Then on the way home we HIT a deer! AH! I actually had no idea what happened, I was looking down at my phone and just heard a clunk and saw some things fly up over our hood. I thought maybe it was a small animal but not a deer! Well we pulled over and it was definitely a deer. Andrew said he saw it coming across the road and we barely hit it. The poor thing was almost out of the road and then it hit the corner of the passenger side of the car. We couldn't even find it afterwords! I am glad though that we could still drive the car and that Andrew handled it so well. He didn't swerve or do anything crazy but he was very safe about it. Luckily his parents were right behind us as well so they pulled over and the guys made it so we could still drive the car and not ruin our tire.

In December of course I was crazy with finals and finishing school. We also celebrated Andrew's 24 birthday! We went shopping, saw Frozen, and ate delicious food at Tucano's. That week we also saw Marilee and went to Savior of the World with her and her kids. It was a beautiful performance!! I would love to go every year if we live here!

The end of December we spent with my Family in Kansas. We celebrated Christmas and the New Year by playing games, eating lots of food, shopping, going to a KU game and exploring Kansas. It was a wonderful time seeing family and making life long memories.

Nowadays Andrew is working full time as a property manager, which right now includes helping to move a 16,000 sq ft house. Needless to say he is a busy, hard working guy. I am being a little house wife, cooking, cleaning, blogging, and pinteresting (thats in the description right?). I have been making lots of YouTube videos and trying to start a children's swimsuit business! (I'll talk more about those two later) We are going to all the last basketball games of the season and watching as much of the Olympics as possible, or that I can stand ;) I am also taking an intro to entrepreneurship class. It is wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone! It is inspiring and really opens my mind to the possibilities that are before me.

For Valentines weekend we went to St. George with Richard and Lisa and our friends Logan and Alex to relax and enjoy a little warmer weather. We were shopping, riding, watching the olympics, of course eating lots of good food, and visiting family.

It has been a great past few months. Busy but wonderful! We are certainly looking forward to more traveling and warmer weather!

and if you read all of this good job. That was a long one!

love, alex&andrew

Awesome Thursday!

Awesome-

• Andrew did the laundry. and the dishes. and made the bed. 
• Seeing friends I haven't seen in two weeks and feeling like it has been years. yea it makes me sad they are so far away from us. 
• not being behind in my advanced sewing class. I am making andrew a shirt.. a plaid shirt at that. yea its hard but going great. I actually love it so so much. thank you teacher for letting me hang out at your house for three hours. ha thank you x factor for being on in the background
• doctor giving me an allergy shot. they make me happy. and feel so so so much better
• General Conference is this weekend. 
• Did I mention General Conference
• Did you guys hear President Utchdorf's talk. it was incredible. more than I could have ever asked for. I need that talk more than anything. I love him. I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. God is wonderful. 
• Coldstone. end of story. 
• Andrew got a job at the Straw Maze haunting. Can you say every mans dream? ha he is so excited and I know he will be amazing.. really I know. He scares me on a daily basis. 
• BYU football games where they do good. I can not wait to go to school there. i love school spirit.
• Reading Stephine Neilsons blog. Seriously if you haven't watched her mormon message you are missing out. You will bawl your eyes out and then think you have the easiest life in the world. She is such an inspiration to me. 
• I AM SOOOOOO EXCITED FOR GENERAL CONFERENCE. YAY

Aren't you guys excited too??? Andrew starts work tomorrow. then we get to watch conference. and I will do lots of homework. and then catch up on my sleep. I really need to. Good thing tomorrow is Friday. 

Hope you all have a great weekend. Go watch conference. We love you all. Thank you for being in our life. 

love, alex&andrew 

p.s- enjoy the rando pictures :)