The Last Eight Months

I looked at the blog and realized that we haven't posted anything in almost eight months. The honest truth, I forgot the password to login and was too lazy to recover it. More honest is that from the middle of August until the middle of December I was throwing up multiple times a day, raising a two year old practically by myself while Michael managed running his business and his course work for the MBA program at the University of Utah, and I worked at least 45-50 hours a week outside of the home. Needless to say the last eight months have been hectic, there have been many times when tears were shed. I think both Michael and I are looking forward to this Summer when some of the things we have had going on will have calmed down.

Baby #2

If you haven't heard, Michael and I are expecting our second child the end of April. We couldn't be happier. We found out in early October that we were having a girl. We are planning to name her Savannah Jane. We gave Remington the big boy job of picking the name--Savannah Jane or Isabella Grace. I am so glad he picked Savannah, it has been a name I have loved since I was a little girl. Turns out Remington also has a little girl in his class at school with the name Savannah and the teacher says that they are boyfriend/girlfriend. (Maybe that is why he picked the name.)

Going into this pregancy Michael was extremely optimistic that I wouldn't be sick and that it would be easy. I was a little more hesitant knowing what I went through with Remington's pregnancy. Needless to say this pregnancy hasn't been a walk in the park. Almost immediately after we found out that I was expecting the throwing up began. And when I say throwing up I don't mean once a day or once a week. I mean every day and multiple times a day. I hardly ate and lost weight. I tried three different types of medication to ease the nausea, nothing really relieved it. Even zofran (the medication they give to chemo patients to relieve nausea) didn't really work, in fact it caused other health problems. Imagine not being able to have a poop for 16 days!

Through it all the one constant companion by my side was Remington. He may only be two--but he is filled with compassion, love and a tender spirit. I can't begin to tell you the amount of times he would stand by my side as I hugged the toliet or he would lay on the floor with me when I was too weak to walk from the bathroom back to the bedroom. Most two year old kids would run the other way and go destroy the house, but not Remington. He is such a blessing in our life. What an amazing opportunity the Lord has given Michael and I to learn from watching our little boy.

Innovative Motors

This past summer the dealership that Michael is partners with moved to a new location in Lindon. The location is a lot bigger and looks like a log cabin. Michael's business has been doing really well in this new location and we are so blessed that he works with amazing people. We are thankful for the individuals who have helped make this goal of Michael's a reality. While Michael has only been in business for himself for a little over a year, we see great potential in this business venture and we are looking forward to the future.

Michael already has found a little helper in Remington who loves to go to work with him. What a wonderful opportunity being an entrepreneur provides for our family. Unlike a traditional 9-5 job, Michael is able to have Remington come visit often and learn a good work ethic.

Cleaning Lady

Please do not be jealous or judge us, but Michael and I have a cleaning lady. With our busy schedules it got to the point this Fall where either we were going to live in mold or we had to find someone to help clean. Can I tell you that it is the best investment we have made. Coming home to a clean house is one of the best feelings in the world.

Girl's Trip to Vegas

In September, I spent a few days in Vegas with my girlfriends from college. Vanessa Rozo Jackson, Emily Jones Rusch and Amanda Gleaves Jolly were all able to take a break from their busy schedules and make the trip. We stayed at the MGM Grand, saw Cirque Du Soleil, shopped, went to a wax museum and laid by the pool. Downside of the trip was nausea--I didn't feel good the whole trip, so I felt like the party pooper. It was fun to be around my college roomies again. It is amazing that even though we have our seperate lives and we do not talk on the phone for hours like we used to that we are able to fall back into sync the minute we see each other. You know you have lifelong friends when distance, time and new life experiences do not change how much fun you have when you get together. We are thinking our next gathering should include the husband's. I am thinking somewhere warm and tropical.

Disney on Ice

Remington has a love of Disney characters and when Disney on Ice came to Salt Lake we decided to take him. Some of the characters in the show he didn't know and others he went bonkers over. Here he is with his Dad watching the show with his new Mickey Mouse toy.

Snovember

Our first big snow of the season happened in November and this year was the first time that Remington was actually old enough to enjoy playing in it. It actually snowed on a Sunday morning, so before church we went outside and built a snowman and let Remington jump in the snow piles.

Bringing Sexy Back

Michael started working out with a personal trainer towards the end of last year. Turns out the personal trainer is a family friend from Michigan--Ann Carluccio. She works at the gym we have a membership at and when Michael decided he wanted to "get his sexy back" he turned to Ann for help. I must say and I am a little bias because he is my husband, but he looks amazing. Hopefully Ann can do a number on my post pregnancy body after our little one is born. I am so proud of Michael. With everything he has on his plate--not getting home till 10:30 or 11:00 at night--he gets up at 6:30 to go work out. I do not have that discipline.

The Polar Express & Temple Square & Baking Cookies

Before Christmas the church that we attend had a wonderful Christmas program and did a Polar Express theme, which was great for the little ones. You were encouraged to wear your pajamas and come ride the imaginary Polar Express while you had breakfast.
We also were able to go to Temple Square and see the lights. We went with Michael's family and had such a great time. Below are a few pcitures from the evening. It was so cold.

Remington and I baked cookies for all of our neighbors--Danish Wedding cookies without the nuts.


Four Years

Michael and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary in December. To celebrate we went out to dinner and then spent the evening at The Grand America. My lovely step-sister Brandi and her husband offered to watch Remington.

Spreading Christmas Cheer

For Christmas, we had several special guests from North Carolina join us. My mom, my brother Dustin and my nephew Dylan were able to come out for a week and spend time with us. I have to tell you it was weird to have a house bubbling with noise and people. One fun thing we did while they were here was go to Disneyland. We piled in the car and drove down to Southern California--what a fun ride it was pregnant! We just happened to go to Disneyland on one of the days that they literally closed the park because it was too full. While we had fun, I must say I enjoy Disneyland a lot more when there are less people. Disneyland employees were having to do traffic control during daylight--it was insane to walk anywhere and it was insane to ride any rides. I think we stood in line for at least an hour to ride Dumbo and that was at 8:45 in the morning. To ride Space Mountain, Michael and Dylan waited about three hours. Overall memories were made and it was an experience to see my Mom out and about with all of those people, she usually likes to stick close to home.