:: Rock star moments ::

This week has been full of what I like to call "rock star moments". I have been feeling GREAT and having tons of fun. We have been here for 4 weeks now and I already feel like I have made wonderful friends. Just one of many reasons why I love the church so much - it's a WONDERFUL social network. Not only have I made great girlfriends who love to hangout all day while our hubbies are at school but today at stake conference I reconnected with 2 people from home that are in our stake. What a small world.

I know I know it has been a while since I posted a belly picture. Here you have it 36 1/2 weeks but who is really counting right?!?!? I have felt like Ryker's bum has gotten HUGE this week. It is pushing up on my ribs and I now officially understand what it means to be uncomfortable. We finally got our car seat and it is installed in the car - I now feel like I am ready for this baby to come. But at the same time I am not dying for him to come out either - at least not yet.

Amazing buy of the week = FREE blueberries. Yes you did just read that correct FREE! A friend of mine told me about this coupon for a $1.50 off of a 1 pint container of berries and the store had them on sale for $1.50. I love FREE. I can't ever remember eating fresh blueberries before so this has been a wonderful tasty treat in our house this week. Fruit is priced VERY well here so we have been eating TONS of it and I think Ryker just might come out part watermelon or pineapple. I can't seem to eat enough of either fruit. Brady will come home and be shocked that I ate almost an entire watermelon or an entire pineapple earlier that day. But hey it's better than eating unhealthy stuff right?

Second AMAZING buy of the week.... $1.00 fabric. I know you are thinking Free blueberries, $1.oo fabric - WOW I am packing my bags and moving to Atlanta today!

I never envisioned myself to be one for LOVING to sew but it is a new hobby I am really enjoying right now. Mom it's OK breathe. Yes, me loving to sew. I am going to make drapes for our living room out of the green and gray fabrics. I am not really sure how or what to do for them but I have an idea and I think it will be really cool if I can pull it off.

All of these fabrics ... I'm not really sure what I am going to do with yet but I fell in love with them and hey you can go wrong when it's so cheap - right?! I do think I am going to make an apron out of the cute French fabric and a skirt out of one of the gray fabrics. The rest I think I can use to make some flowers and ruffle things to add onto some of my shirts and cardigans to jazz them up and make them feel new. My girlfriend Erin is the one who took me to this AMAZING fabric store and we had so much fun giving each other fun ideas of what we can make. Needless to say we have many projects to keep us busy for the new few weeks. Now we just need to help motivate each other to get it done so our hubbies are OK with the whopping $19 I spent on all of this. I am still in AWW at how much I got for so little.

:: Savannah Georgia ::

This past weekend I took Brady on a trip to Savannah for father's day. It was one of the most spontaneous trips I have taken. We didn't have a hotel reservation, I had not even looked at how to get there (we just entered it into the GPS and hit the road), and the Internet was not being my friend on Friday so I didn't even have an itinerary planned. It took us about 45 minuets just to get to the freeway because we hit Friday afternoon traffic. Much to my surprise the 4 hour drive went by fast. We arrived to Savannah after 9pm on a Friday night with no hotel reservations at the busiest time of year. We pulled into the first hotel we saw and sadly we were told they were sold out for the weekend. Much to our luck the the gentleman gave us a list of all the hotels and phone numbers in town. We got in the car and just started calling down the list. He was right most of them were sold out also. I was beginning to worry that our weekend of fun was not going to be so much fun sleeping in the car. But we were able to find a great place downtown within walking distance of everything. Putting all of that aside it all worked out and we had a blast. As we were walking down the Savannah river I saw this staircase and it totally reminded me of Paris. I have not been to a city this old and with so much charter and charm in a long time.
Seeing this restaurant actually reminded me of one in New Orleans that we used to go to with my mom on half days of school. I can't remember the name of that place but I do remember eating peanuts and throwing the shells on the ground and thinking it was great.

We got to take a ferry ride across the Savannah river and it was so wonderful to have the breeze on us. It was so hot and humid after being outside walking around for 10 minuets we were already soaked in sweat. Good thing I don't wear makeup very often because my eyelids were even sweating.

We thought this bridge was pretty cool. I love how Brady has gotten into enjoying just walking around looking at all of the neat architecture with me. One of our favorite things to do here in Atlanta is drive around and look at houses together.

After walking around Savannah for a few hours we were so hot we decided to head out to Tybee Island (about 15 miles away) to see the light house and beach.

We got to climb 187 steps to the top of the light house. This is the view from the top looking over the island. It was breath taking - on more than one level. We learned that Tybee Island was the playground for the rich before they built the road from Savannah. You could only travel here by boat. From the looks of these HUGE beach houses we would have to say only the rich could afford to stay out here even today.

This is the view of the light house from the beach. Oh and a wedding that was about to start as we were leaving. By the look of the clouds I'm not so sure it was ideal beach wedding weather.

Our first beach trip together and Brady's 2nd time ever swimming in the ocean. We were also luckily enough to have 2 dolphins swimming about 50 feet from us for about 15 minuets. It was one of the coolest things we have ever seen. They were showing off and jumping like crazy. We were pretty sure there must have been lots of fish right around there to keep them so close to shore for so long.

Savannah is supposed to be one of the most haunted cities in the US. We are not so sure how much of the ghost stories we believe but it was fun to ride around in a hearse and hear them all and learn a lot of history. This house is the Pirate house that never really had any Pirates live in it. It is known to be the most haunted house in Savannah.

I mostly found these next few pictures interesting because they look like they could have some ghostly figures moving in them... really I think it is just because they were taken from a moving car. But who knows maybe the stories ARE true.....

This was the hearse we got to ride in around the city for our ghost tour. Is he not just the cutest living guy you have ever seen hanging out next to a hearse.

What a charming city. It is a big busy city with a lot of people everywhere yet you can still hear the crickets cricking and feel the southern charm.

On our way out of town we just happened to drive past this street - Brady. How could we not take a picture of Brady with the sign and this is the first time I have ever been able to convince Brady to take a jumping picture. It took a lot of tries to get my timing just right but I think he is one BIG stud!

I love you Brady and thanks for such a fun weekend. I can't wait to have many more adventures with you!!

:: Crafts for Ryker ::

It feels good to be Lindsay this week not the crazy woman I have turned into the past few weeks. I got things put together enough to breakout one of my many sewing projects I planned to help make these last 4 1/2 weeks of my pregnancy go by faster. I needed some more burp clothes for our little Ryker guy and I have been unsuccessful at finding any cute ones I could buy. Good thing I have a good friend Lashel who likes to sew and gave me the great idea of just adding ribbon (and I even went one step further and added some bling bling) to a plain white cloth diaper. I think they turned out super cute and I'm sure the will be used a lot if our baby is anything like any of our nieces or nephews.
I went to the doctor today and got to hear Ryker's heartbeat and the doc says he is doing great. I am now feeling like there is no more room in my tummy for this guy to keep growing but I am sure he will somehow make the room he needs. I can't believe how it's almost time for him to be done cooking. I guess you could say we are ready for this little guy to arrive. We have everything set up and waiting for his grand arrival - that is all but his car seat. I know minor detail. The one I really want has been out of stock (just our luck) since we got to Atlanta. So good thing he is not coming for a few more weeks so we can get that here so we will actually be able to bring our baby home from the hospital.

Hopefully next week I will get pictures of our cute little apartment posted. I have been holding out on ya'll because I can't seem to decide where I want to hang the last few things in Ryker's room and I want you to see the finished product.

{surprise father's day weekend trip}

Brady and I are pretty much unable to keep secrets and I have been dying to tell someone about my BIG surprise for this weekend (and Brady almost never reads our blog so he wont see this). I am going to pick Brady up from school tomorrow and have the car all packed and ready to hit the road for 3 hours to Savannah. We hear it is a super fun city with lots to do and I figure we better go before school gets too demanding. I have been debating the idea in my head all week if I really wanted it be in the car for the long but I am glad I decided we should just do it. So I will have lots to show and tell you next week about our adventure.

Happy Father's Day!!

To my Ryker's father to be.

Brady is so excited to be a daddy and I know he will make a great one. When we first got married my sweets was the one who was baby hungry. He was dying to be a daddy. Since the day we found out we were having a baby he has been thrilled. He loves putting his hand on my tummy and let Ryker show off for him.

Brady is always so good at watching out for me and my needs. He has given me a million back rubs to try and make my broken back feel better. Even when he is dead tired.

He always helps me around the house and even helps me cook when I really don't feel like it.

I am so grateful for my Brady Michael and LOVE him so much. He is my prince charming who found me when I was least expecting him. I love our life together and can't imagine life with out him. Thanks for always being such a great guy Brady. I love you!!

And thank you Pappy for being such a wonderful dad and teaching me so much. You were so much help to us with our big move and we can't thank you enough for that. We love you so much and can't wait to see you soon!!

:: Back to School ::

Yesterday was Brady's first day of school at Emory School of Medicine (Physical Therapy program). He is one of 19 men in the class of 65. Who would have guessed more women go into this program. This is actually the most men they have had in the program at one time in years. Brady has already made friends and is very excited to learn about what he loves. They did a good job in orientation yesterday scaring them that the program only accepts the best and if you get below 80% you will fail and be kicked out of the program. They do this so their students have better job placement because they really know their stuff. It is going to be challenging but Brady is a smart guy and I know he will do great. The night before school started Brady was so cute and like a little kid getting ready for his first day of school. He went and got his hair cut - mind you I normally have to beg for weeks for this to happen and he decided to get it done all on his own. Then when we got home he said he wanted to dye his hair darker and cover up all of his gray hairs. He said "You don't want Ryker's dad to have gray hair do you?" So I laughed a bit and said ok lets go buy a box. This was my first time dying someones hair. Most of you know I don't do anything to any ones hair other than style it. But I did this for my sweets and I think it turned out great. Its just a dash darker than normal.
Oh and we went swimming on Tuesday and Brady would not put sunscreen on. His poor little chest and back are fried! I hope this burn goes away fast so we can go swimming again. It was so fun and relaxing. I love playing at the pool with Brady.

Yesterday I went out and ran some errands all by myself and didn't even get lost. I love you GPS! We love gas prices here. I was even more excited because gas by our house is 2.53 and we thought that was a good deal (we were paying 3.09 in St. George before the move) but hey I will take 2.48 any day. I can't even remember the last time gas was this cheap in Utah.

Every Wednesday night they do FREE concerts at Centennial Olympic Park down town. We decided to head down and enjoy some Atlanta culture. The park was packed and yup you guessed it right were about the only white ones there. We have really enjoyed going to events like this because everyone is singing and dancing and all just having a good time no matter their age. It is very entertaining to just lay on our blanket and watch everyone around us.

It was so hot and it was 7pm. Oh we love you humidity! Actually its not too bad other than right before or after rain. That is when it is the most sticky.

This was our first experience with Atlanta traffic. We are very grateful that we don't have to drive downtown during rush hour very often. No one enjoys sitting in bumper to bumper traffic.

{Baby note}

Ryker is just growing like crazy. He is totally on my right side - my stomach is a lopsided basketball now. I will have Brady take a belly picture tonight I know its been awhile since I have posted one. Brady is so sweet he keeps asking me if he wants me to have him take one because its been so long but I have not been feeling too cute this past week.

We got Ryker's crib all put together last night and I love the bedding. I was a bit nervous since I had not seen it on an actual crib. Tonight we are going to hang the paintings and then I will post photos. We are just about ready for this guy to get here. We are just waiting for the car seat that we want to come back in stock so we can order it. So this little guy better not come until we get that so we will actually be able to bring him home. But don't worry I don't think he will arrive until July 21 (his due date is July 20) but Brady thinks he is going to come on July 7. So we will see when Ryker actually decides to come. I am hoping he comes on time so my Mom can be here when I deliver him.

:: Alive in Atlanta ::

boxes boxes and more boxes. we finally have all of the boxes unpacked and our house 98% put together. Normally I would have had everything done faster but with this move I have had no desire to kill myself over getting it all set up. Brady thought it was pretty funny that he was the one motivating me to get it done. Under normal circumstances our kitchen would have been the first room set up and organized but that was not the case at all. I started there but was very easily discouraged by the odd shaped cabinets and pantry. I didn't have the patients to figure out where I wanted everything to go. So we were eating whatever we could find in an open box all last week. At last on Sunday I found my motivation to finish the kitchen and today we went to the store and we actually have food so I can make a real dinner. It felt nice to cook meat tonight.
Last week we made an Ikea trip which = a lot of building for Brady. He was such a trooper and did a great job at putting together all of our new furniture. He also decided that we are never taking any of it apart again. It takes WAY too long to put together.

This is how happy we were that everything made it here and that nothing was broken along the 2000 mile journey. Our book cases got a few scratches but nothing to worry over. Thanks again to all who helped with the loading and unloading of our truck.

Also thank you Pappy for making the long trip across the country with Brady. We are very thankful to have had your help and all of your hard work. I am most grateful that I didn't have to make that long drive with ya'll. The flights were plenty long for my back.

You cant see Brady because he was back behind the dryer hooking it up. These two were sure good troopers. When I got here on Monday they were dead after 3 days of driving and I was ready to unpack. Mind you that was the only day I had that kind of motivation.

Our washer and dryer are a very tight squeeze but Brady made it work. We had to take off the doors because the closet is not deep enough for them but we got some nice drapes to hide them.

Brady was so happy to be on the last piece of furniture to build. We have had our crib since December and just not unboxed it and come to find out that was a bad idea. One of the ends is cracked and it has been past 90 days so JC Penny is not helping us get it fixed. We are still unsure what we are going to do about it. It makes me sad but I am sure we will figure something out with it. Now we just need to buy the mattress so we can put his cute bedding in it. I am excited to see my master piece all up and in his crib.

Yesterday we decided to leave the house and have some fun. Brady picked the Body's exhibit to go do downtown. We had wanted to go to this when it was in SLC last year and never made it. So it was nice that we had the chance to go here. It was very interesting leaning how the body is all put together and it was fun hearing Brady explain thing in even more detail. It was a good refresher for Brady and his anatomy. I remember when Brady and I were dating he impressed me with all of his anatomy jargon and I thought "wow this guy is super smart and has it together".

Don't mind our outfits. Yes we know we match. Well we didn't realise until we were walking out the door and we didn't care enough to go and change. The lady at the bookstore made fun of us for it.

Ummm... yeah we thought this was a funny fact. We thought it was common knowledge that birth and labor went hand in hand but I guess not.

{Stone Mountain}

Last night Brady and I decided to head to the great outdoors at Stone Mountain. It is a private park. It felt nice to be outside in the woods surrounded by all of the tall green trees and fresh air.

Brady was just enjoying his camping chair as we relaxed and talked while the sun began to set and we prepared for the laser light show. I think we picked a perfect time to head out to the show because it was a pretty cool night and not too many bugs. I HATE bugs and would be OK without them flying in my face and crawling on my body - ewww!

In case you have no clue what Stone Mountain is here you go (and don't feel bad we didn't know what it was either - I had only heard of it). It is this HUGE flat stone or "mountain" that has this carving of the civil war soldiers on it. The best way to describe it is think of the largest bolder you have ever seen and times that by about 500 and that is what this rock looks like. Flat on all sides and very few trees on the top. I am sure rock climbers love to come here.

We were so excited the show was about to start!

We were not sure what to expect with this laser light show but it was oh so fun! We learned a lot about Georgia and its history while singing and dancing to the music. Ryker must have enjoyed it also because he was wiggling like crazy the entire time. There are tons of hiking trails that will be fun to explore once this little guy is here and I can walk longer without being winded.

We are starting to feel more comfortable and familiar already. Hey I even braved my fear and have driven 3 times! I know I know who would have thought me of all people would be nervous here. I think it must be my motherly instincts kicking in or something because I have shocked myself. It will be all good I am concurring my fears and will enjoy this fun city while we are here.

Church on Sunday was wonderful. We love our ward already. So many people came up to us and introduced them selves to us. I don't remember many names but that will come with time I am sure of it. It was also fun to finally meet Shannon and Erin who helped me so much over the phone with the move. I can already tell that we are going to be good friends and have many adventures together. There are a lot of young families in our ward and the moms do lots of park days and pool days that I am excited to join them on next week once Brady starts school. They have already informed me that these play dates are just as much if not more so for me than the kids.

Brady starts school on Thursday and have mixed emotions about this. It has been so much fun to have him all to myself for the past 3 weeks. I think this time together was needed before he starts school and before this little Ryker guy arrives.

We met our new doctor and he seems pretty nice. It has been very different to be the only white girl around. I am sure I will adjust to that quickly. The people here seem very nice and helpful. We were out for our nightly walk and it was raining and a gal stopped to see if we needed a ride. We said "no thank you" because the summer rains here are so nice to walk in. I am already a fan of them and looking forward to the storms that are supposed to hit us this weekend.

:: missing liam ::

as much as i don't like the idea of megan and her family living far away in another country must admit i do LOVE skype! this morning i got to see megan, weston, lyra, and liam. it was so fun!! but i must say it did make me cry when this little guy got on and said "hi linds!" and then he looked at megan and said "can we go to linds house?" sadly i don't know when this little friend of mine will come to visit me again. at least he has not forgotten me yet and still remembers fun times playing with me and brady at our house.

last year when i was not working megan, liam and i became even better friends than ever and got to hangout daily. it was really hard for me to move to st. george and not have their constant companionship. but i did survive and i will learn how to make this work also. i am so grateful for the Internet and it making communication so easy from one country to another.

i love you lime guy!

:: a holy calling next to angels ::

Is he not just the cutest guy in a pink apron? Yesterday for Mothers Day Brady made me a yummy dinner (steak, shrimp, potato crisps, and jello salad) and he made it all by himself and did all of the dishes. He even got out the cook book and found the recipes on his own. I have the BEST hubby EVER! It was fun to see him so proud of his master piece. Thanks sweets!!!

My first (hey I'm close enough right?) Mothers Day as a mom!

I think that moms are the best! I would not be who I am today if it weren't for my mom. She is always looking out for me and so willing to help me. As I have grown up I understand more and more why my mom stuck to her guns and am so grateful that she did. She is an amazing example to me and I love how smart she is. I can ask her just about anything and she know the answer and if she doesn't know it off the top of her head she always finds out the answer for me. She is my best friend. I love talking to her daily and some days multiple times a day. We love to cook, sew, watch movies, eat, talk about books, plant flowers, sit out in the back yard and relax in the sunshine, go to museums, travel, and play games together. I hope I can live up to her example. I love you mom and thanks for all that you do for us!

I know you have all been dying to see some baby bedding. When I started this project I never would have thought it would have taken me 2 months to complete it. This past weekend I FINALLY finished it!!!! Even though it took me forever to find the time and energy to complete it I am truly glad I made it myself. Because I absolutely LOVE it!! I cant wait to get to our new little apartment and get our nursery all set up.

Not only am I happy that the bedding is done and packed away I am THRILLED that I have my sewing mess cleaned up. As most of you know I HATE clutter and have to clean my house before we go to bed every night. Well lets just say this project mess of mine did not get put away daily and was always driving me crazy in the back of my head. So yeah for a clean house (for a few days until the boxes take over).

And the boxing has begins. Tonight Brady and I started boxing up our house. Wow did I forget how long this takes. We worked on it for about 3 hours tonight and our spare room doesn't even look like we made a dent in it. Thank you everyone who has asked us the question "have you started packing yet?" I had in my mind that it was not going to take us very long to get this done and we could do it all the week we are going to move. Well I am very grateful we caved in tonight and started because right now it seems like it will take us the next 2 weeks just to get it all done. Oh the joys of moving.

:: questions on my mind ::

This week I have had some weird questions on my mind. I guess I have had a lot of "thinking" time.

1. Why do some women think it is cool to brag about not showing that they are pregnant? Isn't being married and pregnant a good/happy thing? Don't you want everyone to know and share in your exciting news/time in your life?
2. Why do some women proud to not wear maternity pants during pregnancy? Do you like being uncomfortable? The day I decided to start wearing maternity pants I thought WOW why did I wait this long - I thought they were amazing and it was not until now that I am over all pants and have converted to only dresses and skirts. My belly likes that!
3. Why do they call it "heart burn" when its not your heart that hurts? I think I have been having "heart burn" but it just feels like yucky acid in my throat and makes me want to vomit. Oh the joys!
   Today our good friends Trevor and Lashel blessed their baby Kolman. Trevor gave him such a beautiful blessing and I think that our bambino really enjoyed it because he was kicking like crazy during the whole thing.

They had the luncheon at the park and it was CRAZY windy and cold. I kept thinking the wind was going to take my plate of food away from me and it would end up in someones hair or face. Good thing I was able to keep a tight hold on it.

It was so fun to be able to see Tom and Amanda one last time before our move also.

29 week basketball tummy. I love watching my stomach move around as Ryker wiggles. It is the coolest feeling. I also am loving my baby bump. Oh and in the background you can see the baby's crib bedding. I know its not the best picture but I don't have a crib up so you will have to wait for a better shot once we get settled into our new place in ATL.

Life is crazy as ever but I am finally feeling like I have things under control for this move and baby. We have been able to get a lot done this week and Brady has been wonderful at helping me.