merry christmas to us.

Well, there's a baby in my belly.  We are soon-to-be parents!!  How scary does that sound?? ha ha  We are literally over the moon excited!!  I'm 13 weeks along and I'm due December 22nd.  We like to keep things interesting and live on the edge I guess.  When the doctor pulled out his tool to figure out my due date, his first words were "Cutting it close." ha ha and cutting close we are.  With my luck, the baby will be born on Christmas Day but let's start praying now that that won't happen.  I haven't felt any different with my pregnancy other than being tired and taking outrageously long naps here and there but hey, I'd say that was pretty normal already! ha ha I am soooo grateful I haven't been sick at all and it's probably because Heavenly Father knows just how badly I hate throwing up and being nauseous.  There is literally nothing I hate more.  

Oh, did you notice the adorable pictures above?  The credit goes to the adorable and glorious Alexa Zurcher over at He and I blog.  She is adorable in every sense of the word!  She was so willing to help us with whatever we needed.  She was a necessity to the announcement so I am so glad she was available. Thanks again Ms. Alexa, we owe you big time!

insert an acceptable excuse here.

I am absolutely horrible.  My birthday was on March 12th.  Obviously, I'm awful at playing catch up.

What this special day entailed:

//Sharing a tub of our favorite ice cream at our favorite look out.

// A long drive to the mystery location which turned out to be...

// A to-die-for dinner at Carvers.  Absolute BEST steak I've ever had in my life.

// A blindfolded trip back home.  He lost me pretty quick.

// A piggy-back ride back into the house where all our family and friends were waiting.

I was so excited that of course I forgot to take pictures.  It doesn't take much for me to forget these days.  I also have this knack for crying at surprise parties.  I'm psycho, I know.  When everyone yells surprise, it's like my body gets confused and thinks crying is the best option to show my emotion.  Good one.  It was lot more embarrassing when it happened when I was 12.  All my friends thought I was crazy.

Well, here's to being one year older and smarter too.  I still have not gone out and bought a beer yet.  I figured it wouldn't be as cool when I whip out my temporary paper license.  As soon as my real one arrives, I'll tell you how it goes.  (For those of you that didn't read the last post about this, I'm not going to drink it. Phew!  I know what you were thinking.)

heart strings.

Dall is going to make the most amazing father.  I cannot help but picture the moment when we get to hold our baby in our arms for the very first time.  I get chills even thinking about it.  Lately, I have been getting the impression that maybe children are not in the cards for us right now.  I feel quite confused considering our prompting was so vivid back in July but at this point I'm not getting directed either way.  As of right now, it's just a waiting game.  We're not necessarily trying but we're not preventing either.  It's all on the Lord now so we'll see what happens.  (It's usually right about the time you decide you don't want to get pregnant, that it actually happens.)  This will be the case with us I'm sure, because I have been known to have the worst luck on the planet.  During this  baby-less time of our lives, we gladly fill our time snuggling the babes of our friends and family... and we are perfectly content with that.

Let's play catch up.

I forgot to share our trip to sunny St. George we took over spring break. We went last March as well without realizing it.  Apparently it has become a slight tradition in the Naulu household.  We took our camera but only took pictures hiking.  You can blame our bad memories.

Our trip consisted of:

An eight hour drive down because of car trouble.

A free stay in my uncle's condo

Breakfast at The Egg & I (I literally look forward to it every trip down there)

A day spent hiking in Leeds

Hours spent in the sunny rays watching baseball and softball games

Fine dining with some of our closest couple friends

A glorious temple trip for these two first timers over here (absolutely beautiful!)
A trip or two to the legendary Nielsen's Frozen Custard. (silky smooth heaven in a cup)

An evening spent visiting with some of Dall's family

A fun filled quality drive home where one of us was zonked the whole time

Thanks S.G.  We'll be back soon.

Today the hubs and I had a pre-birthday celebration.   Sparks were flying everywhere.  Pun intended.  Oh how I wish I was witty.  We look for any excuse to eat out.  It's a problem really.  You don't realize how detrimental it is to the bank account until you add them all up.  Yee...  We have spent wayyyy too much money on eating out since January.  We'll just say it could have paid our rent next month. Harsh reality.

I'm the girl who forgets it's her birthday until someone wishes me a happy birthday.  Classy right?  I told Dall that this is the only birthday for quite sometime that I want him to go all out for.  I'm not quite sure why I feel like turning 21 is such a big deal.  It's not like I'm going to go raid the nearest bar.  I do want to go buy a beer though.  Just because I can.  Then I'll go dump it in the gutter.  It sounds so thrilling right?  Just another one of those weird random things that has made its way on my life check list.

Well, tomorrow I'll be a year older.  and happier too.

Happy Tuesday to you, and you, and you.

//He has already developed his hobby for retirement life of taking pictures of wildlife (birds) and nature.

//His unmistakable quality of being amazing with children.  I anxiously await the day we can call him dad.

//His firm, unshakeable testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He will forever be a righteous example to me and our family.

//He will do everything in his power to love and support our family in all aspects of life.

//He is the most patient, trusting, loyal, generous, thoughtful, kind hearted man I have ever met.

I'd say I'm a little more than fortunate.

I love you Dallin Ray.

oh thank you kitty hines. meow.

The filter is officially off.  I am about to give all the dirty details of our mini Valentine's getaway.  Okay, not really because that would make Dall blush...or faint... and it would most likely make you nauseous.  I'm inappropriate.  It comes with marriage.

First things first, the gifts.  I always get super excited to watch Dall open his gifts.  (Hence there is only one picture of my gift (which I absolutely LOVED and jumped up and down when I saw it) which I am not in because I snatched the camera and forced Dall to open his.  I do apologize for the slightly inappropriate things but not really because it's Valentines Day so what do you expect?  Of course there is going to be some love making on the holiday of love.  It only makes sense.

Breakdown:

My Gift:  Flowers, (which apparently the florist totally messed up on, oops.  They were still great) candy, and pictures he blew up and MOD PODGED onto wood.  He even painted the edges.  He is impressive, I know.

His Gift:  A book, (he's a reader.), some risque lingerie, some purchased and homemade coupons, (you get creative when you're poor) and some other funny fillers. (I always buy unnecessary things.)

Moving on.  Dall being as glorious as always let us book a stay at a bed and breakfast because I have always wanted to stay in one.  Boy will we go back!  I seriously loved every single thing about our experience!  We got online and started looking in Salt Lake but found this cute gem in our neighbor town of Provo.  Win.  What is this glorious place you're wondering? (as if the picture didn't already give it away)  It's the Hines Mansion. Go check it out.  The pictures on the website don't do it justice.  Our room has definitely been updated since the picture on there was taken.

We stayed in the Kitty Hines room and we loved everything about it!  It's quaint, romantic, clean, cozy, and absolutely perfect.  All of the rooms at the mansion have a giant jacuzzi tub in them which is a big plus.  We haven't enjoyed the luxury of having a bath tub since we've been married.  We have been cursed with coffin showers.  Ya know, the ones where you have to stand up in a coffin like space where you hit your elbows anytime you move.  Yeah those ones.

Next up, they have a lot of old movies you can choose from to take up and watch in your room and while you're at it, you might as well grab some of the fresh homemade cookies they have set out for you.  Yeah, I know, it keeps getting better.  We just grabbed some cookies because we brought The Holiday from home to watch.  Oh, I forgot to tell you the thrill factor I experienced upon my arrival.  I walked up the stairs into a room showered with rose petals and sparkling cider waiting for me. (The sparkling cider comes with your purchase, the rose petals are extra.  Dall, what a charmer.)

When you wake up in the morning, you head to the dining room to eat a home cooked breakfast.  It was yummy, let me tell you because I'm sure you were afraid I would leave out some details.  It started with some yogurt with fresh berries and granola.  Next up was a plate full of fresh fruit.  Lastly, was french toast topped with strawberries served with bacon.  I was overly full but it was well worth the weight gain.

I would seriously recommend this place to anyone whether it be for Valentine's, an anniversary, or even just a night to get away and relax.  My opinion may be slightly biased because I love anything old, antique, or vintage but still.  Sorry for all of the unnecessary commentary but we never go all out, and go all out we did so I feel it vital to express my excitement.  Whoo!!

I hope you all had a glorious Valentine's Day because I know we did!  (I used to hate Valentine's day before being married.  Marriage does a real number on the day of love.  Maybe because I actually have a love for it now.  So for you single ladies, it gets better, I promise.)