Shop Till You Drop

Over the past summer, Joseph and I have done a lot of shopping for various items. We've learned a lot from our recent purchases.

In May, we started to look for a second car. We've been a one car family since we met and it has worked for us. However, with Joseph gone at work all day and me at home, we felt it was time to look for another car. At first, we were set on buying a used car. Then, we started looking around our area and Lake Jackson doesn't have as many used cars as places such as Provo/Orem. So our market was limited. We talked to a few dealerships and ended up buying a BRAND NEW car! The deal was too hard to pass up and the price we paid was very close to the going rate of a slightly used car. We bought a 2013 Hyundai Elantra. I drive it mostly and I love it. It gets about 35 mpg, which is much better than our Ford Taurus! Also, the car came with Bluetooth connection to our phone, which seems over the top to me but I guess it's nice. So far, it has been a wonderful addition to our car family. With this purchase, I learned that Joseph is a much better haggler than I am and I let him handle all of that.

This isn't our car but it looks the same.

This is the color of our car.

We've also done some shopping for the new addition joining our family this fall. Babies don't require a ton of stuff but they still need the basics like clothes, a bed, and a car seat. I've been fortunate to find really good garage sales and consignment stores in the area. Lake Jackson has a consignment store that frequently holds sales such as 20% or even 40% off the entire store! While I know our baby will go through clothes quickly, I am happy buying clothes when they only cost a dollar or two. When I go to Target, I am appalled at the prices! The best find at the consignment store has been the baby swing. We didn't want to spend tons of money on some fancy schmancy swing, especially if our baby ends up hating it. So the store had a Graco swing that is normally 80-100 dollars on sale for 35 and it was never used! The last big thing we need to get is a glider/rocker and I am against paying full price for that. So the hunt is on for a nice quality rocker. I've learned that baby items are cute but definitely not worth paying the market value. Babies are expensive to begin with and store prices don't help one bit.

Here's our swing. I don't get the point of the stars because they're so high the baby will never reach them. Even if she gets Joseph's height gene. But I guess she can stare at them.

 Here are some other random pictures from the last week or so.

Joseph finds it funny that my stomach now acts as a table. I like it. The picture isn't the best representation of how I look all the time. I do try to look nicer. Also, I don't always eat so healthy (strawberries). If you notice, the little Tupperware I'm holding in my hand is sugar to dip my strawberries into.

This is the finished dresser in our second bedroom! So proud of Joseph!

Joseph and I at the Houston Temple. The little girl was running to her dad right as the picture went off.

Texas History

On a recent date, Joseph and I went to the George Ranch Historical Park in Richmond, Texas. It is similar to Nauvoo in that the people interact in costumes and place themselves in a certain time period. The park includes four homes that the family had while they lived on the ranch. The ranch was passed down for four generations so each home highlights a different generation/era. It was fun to learn some more about Texas history. However, only two buildings were air conditioned so it was hot in the other homes and we went in the middle of the afternoon.

The newest home from the early 1900s. Had a cool lighthouse feature.

A fun patio/deck that was built for entertaining around an oak tree.

The first generation's barn

A dining room from the late 1800's.

Pantry from the late 1800's

Then we went to the beach near our house the next day with a family from our church. I didn't take any pictures so just use your imagination. We did not see any sharks, despite the recent shark attack that happened there. We had fun trying out our new beach equipment like our beach tent and chairs.

We've also been busy re-staining a dresser. We received a crib from my parents and I want a dresser that matches. It is one thing I really care about. I also want a nice hardwood dresser as opposed to the store bought ones that are made of MDF boards and cheaply made. So this meant we either spend hundreds of dollars buying a brand new all-wood dresser or I scour garage sales until I found one. Luckily, I found one at a garage sale that came with a matching nightstand. However, the wood is mahogany so not quite the dark stain to match our crib. Joseph nicely volunteered (meaning I used my big brown eyes and begged him) to re-stain the dresser. Here are some pictures of the project so far. The drawers and nightstand are done and now he's working on the dresser. I am unable to help with it due to the fumes of the stain so he really has been spending a lot of time on it. We'll show pictures of the completed project hopefully this weekend.

The beginning of the drawers before staining. Joseph hadn't sanded them yet either

Picture of a drawer that is done. We had a difficult time drilling new holes for the drawer pulls but we figured it out.

Joseph busy sanding in Houston summer.

Visiting the Badger State

One of the conditions of our move to Texas was that I was able to visit my family once a year. We made this compromise as I am used to being in the same city as my entire family. I took my trip to Wisconsin this month. We also planned to have our baby shower while I was there.

During my first weekend in Wisconsin, we went up north to my family's cottage. We enjoyed sitting by the lake, soaking up the sun. Molly, my parent's dog, loved chasing the waves and trying to eat  flies. My aunt, uncles, and sister were able to come as well. While up north, we went to the Minocqua Water Ski Show. We also went shopping in Minocqua and test drove a boat.

Four bare-footers (I think) behind a boat.

Dog waterskiing too!

A pyramid. And to think I once was the top of a pyramid.

Molly protecting her toys

During the week in Wausau, we celebrated my mom's birthday by going to Texas Roadhouse. Then my brother and his fiance came to town. We enjoyed walking downtown and visiting the 400 Block. Our grandma came to lunch with us too. Lots of time was spent visiting relatives.

Saturday, we had our baby shower. My mom and sister did so much work planning it. It was a wonderful time to see family and friends. Here are some pictures.

The cup tower my brother and sister designed.

Cupcakes done by a family friend. If you want to know who, email me! They were delicious!

My grandma, siblings, and myself.

Then, we just hung out around the house with family. My sister came up for the weekend so we spent some quality time reminiscing about our childhood. We ate lots of yummy food and enjoyed the weather.

The biggest accomplishment I made during the trip was not having to use an airplane bathroom. I have never used an airplane bathroom; not due to fear but rather just never needed to. Well, being pregnant on a 3 hour flight is tricky but I made it!

And for the baby update, I'm 30 weeks along now. Just ten more to go (unless our baby arrives late). She's kicking much, MUCH more lately! I had to take the gestational diabetes test this week and for that, you drink a very sugary drink. Well, she loved it because she would not stop moving for hours after the test. Here's a picture of me at 30 weeks. I feel like I grew a lot bigger over the past two weeks but I haven't gained weight so not sure what's going on.

4th of July Celebrations

For the 4th of July, we drove to Austin to visit Joseph's family. His brother and sister-in-law from Utah came to visit as well. We went to the neighborhood 4th of July parade and later went to the fireworks show. We also went bowling (Joseph beat me pretty good) and swimming. We spent lots of time eating great food and playing games. The weather was perfect in Austin. It wasn't too hot or too humid. Here are some highlights:

Cupcakes I made for the celebration

Made red, white, and blue ones!

Joseph and I waiting for the fireworks to start

And because I realized I never showed a picture from Joseph's graduation back in April, here you go. He graduated with honors and I am so proud of him. His parents came up for the graduation and we got to meet many of his professors.

Joseph with some of his Chemical Engineering friends

Walking across the stage. We've been waiting for this moment for many years!

After the ceremony.

Lastly, we're officially in the last trimester of the pregnancy! Baby is doing well and kicking a lot. I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and all looked good. We're working on getting ready for her arrival. We couldn't be more excited to welcome a little one into our family!

Here I am at 28 weeks.

Drills, Cakes, and Baby

Joseph got a drill last Christmas but we had no reason to use it until now. We got some curtains and needed to hang some curtain rods. Here's Joseph using a drill. He felt like a real man.

 I've been working slowly but surely on making some cool things for our baby. This is one I finished last week. It's a crib mobile. I doubt our baby will like it very much but I think it is fun. It was pretty easy to make and cheap too. Just used some ribbon, a wooden hoop, and felt.

 We celebrated Father's Day with some friends from Church. It was fun to have a reason to decorate a cake again. It tasted pretty good too. We had dinner at a friend's house and then played some fun games like Farkle.

For those who care, here's an update on the baby/me. There is definitely no way to hide the fact that I have a baby inside me. No longer can I squeeze through small areas. I forget that I can't just "suck it in" and pass through small/narrow areas. My current cravings include Kool-Aid (I know, not the healthiest thing in the world. I try to limit it to one glass a day) and crackers. We've gone through so many Ritz Cracker boxes since we've moved to Texas. Our baby has a tendency to keep me up at night so my day often consists of a nap. Other than the normal aches and discomfort, I've been feeling alright. Hoping our baby stays healthy and strong for another few months!

Lessons Learned

We've learned a few things about Texas since we moved here. In case any of you have the strong desire to move to Texas, let me offer some helpful advice.

1) Even if you have gone through the hassle of changing your married name over two years ago, Texas doesn't care. You still need to prove you're married when you want to get a Texas driver's license. Even if you have a new Social Security card and a current license with your married name on it. So bring your marriage certificate with you wherever you go.
2) You need to have your car registered in Texas BEFORE getting your driver's license. AND... you cannot do both of these at the same office so be prepared to drive four lights down to the tax office only after waiting in the DMV line for an hour.
3) The DMV is so small that the line goes outside. You'd think that in the hottest state, they would think about this when building DMVs. Thankfully they put some chairs inside for pregnant women.
4) The GPS doesn't work the best in Texas because of frontage roads. The GPS gets very confused, which means you get confused. Now, you could pay to update your GPS but it's doubtful that will help.
5) Mosquitoes come out in full force roughly 6-7 days after a rain storm. They like to hang out by the front door. Buy Cutter Mosquito repellant BEFORE this happens or else you have dozens of mosquitoes inside your house.
6) Always carry an umbrella with you. Random storms come when you least expect them, or at least at an outdoor volleyball tournament where there is one tree in the entire park.
7) In Texas, you can either enroll in a driver's education class or be "Parent-Taught." This fully explains why Texas drivers are crazy. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Enroll your children in drivers education for my sanity please.
8) Buy the energy efficient, room-darkening curtains. The price at the store makes you think twice. But then when you hang them, you realize how useful they really are.

You can tell what we've been up to based on the lessons we've learned. Good luck if you decide to move to Texas anytime soon.

Happenings of May

We continue to settle down in Lake Jackson. We like the town. When we asked some teenagers at our church what they do for fun, their first answer was "Go to Walmart." So obviously, the town lacks some sources of quality entertainment. But, we can still have lots of fun. Joseph and I went to the beach last weekend and enjoyed just sitting on the sand, watching the waves come in. The town is getting a Texas Roadhouse, which opens sometime this month. I'm very excited to go there! We also found a fun park on Saturday.

For Memorial Day, we drove to Austin and enjoyed seeing Joseph's brother and his family. We met our nephew, Oliver and were there for his baby blessing. He's about five months old and we had fun playing with him and his big brother, Caleb.

Joseph looks like he is doing a ballet move with his foot pointed.

 Also, we found out the gender of our baby. So we went for our ultrasound and it was awesome to see the baby for the first time. I didn't have an ultrasound in the first trimester because there were no concerns with the baby. The ultrasound tech was pretty nice and explained a lot of things. Having taken anatomy at BYU, it was cool to see the vertebrae and different organs. The baby was is an odd position for the ultrasound so the tech pushed on my stomach a bunch to get the baby to move. But the baby is just like me, STUBBORN, and wouldn't move. The tech made her best guess and said our baby is most likely a little GIRL! I will believe it more when I actually see our baby this fall.

Her hands

Other than that, I finally don't fit into my normal clothes so I had to buy some maternity clothes. We have also felt the baby kick a bunch lately, which is always fun. She hates it when I lie on my back because she will kick non stop until I move. I think she feels crunched when I do that. I went shopping for baby clothes finally. One morning after going to a few garage sales and here is what I have:

I hit a jack pot at one place. The mom had a little girl and was selling all of her baby clothes. For about 30 dollars, I got over 40 outfits of all different sizes.

We bought this at Target right after we found out we're having a baby girl.