Our yard rocks!!!

Did you get the pun?! Man, I am ridiculously clever. Dangerously witty. Watch out.

This is the South side of the yard. We are planning on putting a few large trees along the fence that is now just right of these rocks. Then the rest will be xeriscaped. We are going to have very little grass in our yard...it will be all rocks, plants, a playground, and a garden...and gorgeous.

I am standing in the second level that will be filled with a vegetable garden in planter boxes, with paths around them. You can see the stairs to my right, they are really cool.


This is me sitting on a wall looking like humpty dumpty. I just think this picture is funny. But you can see the walls from the first pic in the background...a little different perspective. Oh, and the stairs.



Here is the view from our upstairs window. You can see the stairs and the levels. The top part, in the bottom right corner, will be trails and xeriscaping, with the stairs leading to the garden. The bottom level is pretty small and we aren't sure what we are going to do with that. Maybe a fire pit or something...who knows.


This is the other corner and you can see the fence is going up. Also, you can see how the rocks in the top right corner create smooth path that flows into all three levels. There will be a tree between the walls on the right side, and two more on top of the rocks as you look towards the bottom right.

This is a RIDICULOUS amount of work that is going to take years to finish...if it ever really is finished. I really think Camille and I will be working on this, little by little, for decades.

Yeah for yards!

motherhood

Yesterday we did some major baby stuff shopping.
I haven't ever been a fan of anything pink but I have to admit it's growing on me. As Matt and I looked at bedding, I surprised myself by liking a lot more of the old fashioned very traditional pink stuff as opposed to the more modern stuff. (Then again the more modern stuff was organic and much more expensive).
It's hard to believe in just a little over a month there will be a little baby wearing all these cute clothes, sleeping in the newly decorated crib (thanks again for the crib Jeff & Jenn), and using all the diapers we have been stocking up on for months. Even with the constant kicking of this little person inside me, it still seems surreal that I will be a mom soon. I think about motherhood a lot.
It was 6 years ago yesterday that my mom passed away. So shopping for baby stuff and preparing to be a mom yesterday seemed especially significant. In the last 7 months I have learned to appreciate my mom on a whole different level. The morning sickness, the leg cramps, the long nights of tossing and turning searching for a position that will be comfortable for more than 5 minutes, the baby kicking, little feet and legs inserting themselves beneath my ribs, the decreased bladder control, the anticipation of this little person has all heighten my love for my own mother. I am sure an even deeper level of love and adoration will develop after our little baby is born. But for now I am just in awe of my mother and all the mothers out there who go through so much to bring these little people into the world.
Woman are amazing! There are so many woman I admire and my mom tops that list. My mom was amazing. Her death was completely unexpected and hasn't been easy to deal with. She was one of those people who makes you feel so comfortable and like you're her best friend. She was my best friend. Even through those teen years where most teens are embarrassed and hate their moms, I loved hanging out with my mom. I really could go on and on about the amazing woman she is but it's getting too hard to type with the tears streaming down my face (darn pregnancy hormones), so in closing when I start getting too worried about motherhood I just think about what a good example I had and if I can be half the mother she was, I think our baby will be alright. Thanks mom!

pics of new york

here we are at the Joseph Smith farm with the Palymra temple in the background





walking out of the Sacred Grove








Matt wishing for an IMAC

Here we are at West Point overlooking the Hudson river.On sunday evenings in the summer they have free concerts. The night we went the band did a tribute to Glenn Miller. Incredible!




Matt being the handyman
















driving in the Hudson Valley








in front of Matt's house

the best fish fry in New York













Matt's parents at Skaneateles lake







the Sacred Grove















Matt and his parents all patiently waiting for the Hill Cumorah pageant to start

New York!!!!!

Wow technology is amazing! I am sitting in the car with Matt and his parents, driving through the countryside of New York, enjoying the air conditioning and blogging. Amazing!
We got to New York late late wednesday night/early early Thursday morning. The flight was fine but we ended up having to sit on the plane for an hour after we landed..not fine. Our baby did not want to be on the plane anymore. Then due to some miscommunication Matt's mom was waiting for us at the wrong airport...oops. So we waited for her to drive across the city. Thank heavens for GPS!!
Thursday was Matt's birthday and we enjoyed a pretty quiet day with Matt showing me all the sights of his childhood and then a homecooked meal from his mom. She made the most amazing manacotti and chessecake......yummy yummy!!!
Today we are on our way to the Hill Cumorah pageant in Palmyra. The drive has been spectacular!! Pictures to come-

the last scottish festival

Saturday was the Payson Scottish Festival. The park had lots of shade which made the day actually "enjoyable". (Enjoyable considering I was wearing 6 yards of wool, wool hat, wool socks and 7 months pregnant etc)

This will probably be the last pics of the pregnant bagpiper :(
The band still has 2 major competitions but I won't be going.
-one in Seattle the end of July (the DR said no)
-one near San Fransisco the end of Aug (exact day our baby is expected to be joining the fam)

I am pretty sad about not going to these competitions, but piping has become pretty hard with the lack of energy, loss of lung capacity and losing feeling in my fingers and arms. So it's probably for the best.

Chris & Miranda's wedding!!

On Friday my younger bro got hitched! They were the cutest couple just glowing with love & happiness. His beautiful bride is Miranda Gabrielle from Rhode Island. They met in Logan at Utah State & will continue to live there as they finish their studies.
















Me and my "younger" siblings (not really that much younger, there is only five years difference between me & Tonya who is the youngest)

our yard

Before














after













before














after














We weren't planning on developing our backyard at all this year however, since the neighbors behind us are putting in their fence that means we are putting in fence :)
But before all this fence goes in we need to do our landscaping: a- because the fence will be easier to put in if it's not on all crazy slopes and b- once the fences are up we can't get big dump trucks or giant rocks in to do any landscaping. Thus our summer project has become our backyard.
Don't get too excited, the only work we personally are doing is writing out the checks. This yard is WAY too rocky, odd shaped, rocky, and well, rocky for us to do the work ourselves. So we have a landscaper with lots of big trucks and tractors doing the work.
We won't be doing the grass or plant part this year but even still, our yard is going to look pretty sweet!!
Here is what has been done so far-
-When we moved in most of our property lines were on slopes. Now those slopes have been pushed back and flattened out making the space more functional and the fences easier to put in.
-Our house is set up on a hill. Instead of having our yard be one giant hill, it is now tiered off into three levels.
It's hard to describe but in the end we will have several rock walls separating the yard levels and will have lots of planter box areas and paths. oh and a fire pit and a large area for a garden. By the end of the month the walls and fencing will all be done. It's going to be amazing!!

more from the 4th

For the evening of the 4th we had a bbq with the Hein side of the fam, in our "beautiful" backyard. It was a blast! A fun evening complete with brats, fireworks, wind, & cupcakes.





















*Note our homemade fire pit (which has since been destroyed due to the construction and landscaping of our yard)

fairfield picnic

What a wonderful holiday we had!! The first of two family picnics was in Fairfield (a small town near Cedar Fort.)





It was once a stop along the Pony Express.


























Great food and great company!!




























After the picnic, Matt and I went and explored the old cemetery. We saw several old gravestones marked "killed by indians". Matt, my New Yorker, was amazed once again to be living in the wild wild west!

baby shower

An overview of the adorable clothes in which our baby will be featured-






A gift for Matt :)
(We have already ordered the ants.)









The adorable customed designed onesies from Rikki

Ugliest Fish on Earth

So about a week ago we found out you can fish at Utak Lake, right off the pier, for enormous catfish. Well...it took three tries to catch one. A few days ago the efforts finally paid off. This thing was huge, and as ugly as anything I have ever seen. It was distgusting. But that certainly won't stop me from catching more...and more...and more...but don't worry, we won't be eating any of these nasty delights.

What happened!?

I am sitting in my little Mini Cooper in the Smith's parking lot in American Fork. I have been here for about an hour because I am scared to go to Camille's baby shower...or our baby shower. Really, I'm not quite sure whose shower it is, because I think the baby is as much mine as hers. Isn't it? I guess I can allow for our daughter to be more Camille's than mine for these 9 months because our daughter will be more mine for the rest of her life! He he.

Waiting, alone in my tiny car, for my pregnant Camille is quite the opportunity to think about my odd new world. It's so strange where life has brought be in one year. Camille and I have known each other for 372 days. In that time we dated, skipped the engagement and got married, decided to have a baby quickly, bought a house in UT county, and here I sit in my car because I prefer to pick Camille up at the shower if that means I get to see her 20 minutes sooner. All I can say is, "What happened!?" Some how Camille makes me feel so comfortable with all of these changes. She has calmed my wild nerves and taught me to commit to something, someone, unconditionally. I couldn't be happier. No matter what happens, I have love to look forward to. I need nothing else. I have learned to love.

So why wouldn't I decide to write in our blog to pass the time? I don't really want to talk about politics, or religion, or social inconsistencies and hypocrisies...I just want to talk about Camille. And I already tried calling my mom but she didn't answer. I'm left with just our blog. I'm just sorry that none of you that read this get to spend as much time with my wife as I do. I am willing to share though...on weekdays...from about 9 to 5.

Feel free to comment on how wonderful Camille is. She deserves to hear it from everyone.

It's 8:10...the shower ends at 8:30...I think it's safe now.