We're having a baby!

As most of you already probably know, we are expecting our first baby! We are really excited about it and I'm almost 13 weeks along now. Due date is December 27th which means we will be having a beautiful Christmas bundle! So far, the morning sickness has probably been the worst part so I'm anxiously waiting for it to wear off--hopefully soon. We can't wait to find out what it will be and have already been thinking of names for both a boy and a girl. We will update you with our final decision later down the road. Other exciting news--we've finally submitted Manuel's residency papers and so far the process is going pretty quickly. He already has his appointment for biometrics (fingerprints) and then we'll likely have our interview before the end of the year. Manuel is also starting a new job doing cancer research in a lab on BYU campus. He's really excited about it, as am I. It should be really good for his experience towards pharmacy school. We have certainly been extremely blessed and are especially excited about our baby on the way. We'll definitely keep updates on how the pregnancy is going and any other future news. Love to all our friends and family!

Between conference sessions...

Well, Manuel and I went to the park between conference sessions today (since we live a block away from it) and had a little picnic to enjoy the sun and wish for spring to come faster! Here are a couple of pictures so you can see my new bangs. Still getting used to them and need to learn how to do them better :)

The Big Bang Theory...

What is up with all the bangs?! Well, I don't know but I want ém too! I thought I had sworn them off when I finally had grown out my childhood bangs 9th grade of high school. However, bangs are coming back. This week I am going to have my sister put highlights in my hair to make me a blond again and then I want to get layers in my hair and finally, get some nice side-swept bangs. So, stay tuned for a posting of my new hairstyle in the next week or so. Can't wait! I really like Jennifer Aniston's new bangs with the layers in her hair but I also liked this picture of Catherine Zeta-Jones' bangs. Feel free to post what you think...


P.S. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day this year was awesome--Manuel made me breakfast in the morning (although I helped a little with the fruit parfaits), we got to hang out a lot and I made him dinner. The day was simple but fun and it was nice to just relax and spend sometime with my wonderful husband. Manuel surprised me with flowers which made my day and I got him (well it's really more for us) a book of date ideas for married couples. Can't wait to use it! Here are some pictures from our Valentine's Day:










I just wanna say I love my husband more than anything in this world! He really makes me so happy, always knows how to make me laugh and would do anything for me. He's the best!

New Year, New Resolutions

Happy New Year to all of our friends and family! I am so excited to start out a new year and make new goals and resolutions. For some reason, after Christmas is over, I am ready for summertime! Although it's still super cold out, I love when the sun comes out and it just feels like a new start. Manuel's back in school for the winter semester and I am still working at the dental office. We've received so many blessings from the opportunities given to us this past year, especially through a tough economic time. I'm excited for a new presidency for this country and hope that things can really get turned around. It's been hard to see the many that have struggled with the pitfalls of what has happened recently and I only hope that we can see a light at the end of the tunnel even if it takes some time. As for my resolutions this year, here is a list of only a handful of things I'd like to work on, not in any particular order:

1. Eat more healthy, natural foods (Most people put losing weight as one of their top goals but I truly just want to have better, overall health in general)
2. Read the Book of Mormon in Spanish
3. Have Family Home Evening night more consistently
4. Attend the temple once a month
5. Make one special date night a week with my husband out of the house
6. Be a better wife, in general
7. Learn yoga
8. Deal with my stress in a positive way (exercise, meditation)
9. Plan a budget, save more, spend less
10. Keep my house cleaner
11. Sew more
12. Play my violin and the piano more, maybe even start teaching some

I could keep going but won't--it does feel good to set new goals though! Hope everyone started off to a good year and hope to also stay on top of this blog! Love to everyone!

Happy Holidays

So, it's been a while and I just thought I'd write to say that we're still here! It is next to impossible to find the time to post new entries and update our blog when I'm busy at work most of the time and Manuel is busy with work & school. Anyways, I promise to be better because I hate coming back to my blog and see that it's been months since I last posted! So, look forward to my next post with updated pictures etc. from my birthday in Vegas, Thanksgiving, and my Christmas decorating! I love this time of year when it gets a little colder, and I can cook all the warm foods I love and decorate the house. I am always sure to remind myself of the true meaning of Christmas but I absolutely love every part of Christmas and the feeling it brings. It's also nice to give a little more thought to the people in your life and take time to remember those that you don't always get to see. I'm so excited to spend our second Christmas together with my husband. He really has worked so hard this semester in school and I'm so proud of him. I'm so glad that we'll have some extra time to spend together over the holidays. Our plans include driving through the Christmas light display in Spanish Fork, building a gingerbread house, cooking lots of warm and delicious food, and watching a ton of Christmas movies--I'm so excited! Until our next post, lots of love to all of our family and friends.

BYU Homecoming Spectacular 2008

For those who don't already know, BYU's Homecoming Spectacular was our first date we ever had. Every year since that first date, we have returned to see the program and it is a big hit each time. This year, we got a little dressier and although we looked a little funny next to all the students in their sweatshirts and jeans, carrying their backpacks and the awkward couples on what seemed to be their first dates, we had a lot of fun. It was special for us and it is sometimes fun to get dressed up and go somewhere. The show was amazing as always and I was personally excited about Jenny Oaks Baker being one of the feature performers. She makes me want to play my violin! We definitely enjoyed being together reliving our first date since we may not have that opportunity again in a very long time. We're also getting ready and excited for pumpkin carving again this year! We'll keep you updated on all of the Halloween festivities.

1st Year Anniversary / Camping Trip

4th of July Weekend

The last week has been a lot of fun for us. My parents came into town for the blessings of my niece and nephew and were also here for the 4th of July and my sister's birthday. It was a lot of fun going to the parade and seeing my niece and nephew watch it for the first time. Well, it was really just fun to hang out with everybody in general and play with the babies. The weekend was nice and relaxing (although super hot) and Manuel and I have been taking advantage of the warm weather and the last few weeks have gone on Saturday picnics at different parks in the canyon. Even though we are super busy during the week at work and everything else that needs to get done, it's been really fun to get outside on the weekends and enjoy the nature while we can. We're also coming up pretty soon on our 1-year anniversary. We are planning a trip to Vegas but we found out that the PCAT Manuel has to take for pharmacy school is the day of our anniversary. We still want to maybe just spend a night in Salt Lake to get away even if it's not that far. It will be nice anyways to be back in Salt Lake where we were married and take a break before school starts back again. We hope that we can also get some more camping in before the summer ends since our first camping experience together was a little crazy and too cold for comfort. (What can we say, we got a little anxious about camping once we bought our tent and stuff.) We'll update again soon and post some recent pictures.

Springtime

I am so excited for this new weather we're having! I never realized how depressing the winters can be here. I love seeing the snow-covered mountains in the winter but this year it seemed to be a never-ending sequence of gloomy days. The sun is finally out and I hope it stays out! I am really looking forward to spring and getting out in nature. I also can't wait for us to start going camping this spring and summer--all we need is a tent! Although I don't think I want to stay in Utah long-term, I'm starting to appreciate all that it has to offer and love experiencing the distinction of the seasons (although the extreme winters and summers are hard). I plan on getting out more and taking more pictures too which I'm also excited about. On another note, I wanted to mention something new that has peaked my interest. The other day, I was reading an article in the school newspaper about sharing the gospel via blogging. I have been thinking about what a great idea that is for more members of the Church to share their thoughts, feelings, and testimonies about the gospel with others. Since there is so much negative material out there about the Church, I thought what a great idea it would be for more members to take advantage of the opportunity to simply share their own beliefs with others. So, Manuel and I will soon be starting a blog where we can do just that. Thank goodness for springtime and the gospel!