Conner's Blessing

So I went to Conner's blessing last Sunday and somehow didn't wind up with a single picture of him. The only time I even saw him was in Sacrament when Matt brought him to me. And I couldn't really whip out my camera then. With all of the Martins and the Whipples there must have been 50 or 60 people at the luncheon afterwards trying to get their hands on the little guy. But I did get a few cute pictures of Olivia and my dad in a staring contest.

I think Rhett is a little stressed about the blessing of our baby. He doesn't like to talk or pray in church, so blessing a baby is causing a bit of anxiety. Luckily we've had 5 babies blessed in our ward since I've been pregnant, so he at least gets to hear them and kind of plan on what he wants to say.

Baby Shower

Last weekend my mom and I made a real quick trip up to Utah to visit friends and family. My cousin threw me a great little shower that turned out marvelously. Great food, great decorations, and great company. I don't get to see my Utah friends and family all too often, so it's always a treat when I get up there. I wish I could have stayed longer, but for only being there one full day, I was able to see a lot of people.

I'm so glad that Hollie and Heather made it. After the shower we were able to bum around Gardner Village for awhile. I love that place. They need to build one closer to home.

For those of you asking to see the baby bump...these are probably the best two pictures that I have. I thought I would take more...but it just never seems to happen.

Chad and Julia's Reception

Last weekend was CRAZY! Friday night we had a dinner in Vegas to help set up my brother-in-law's reception. Of course there were hurricane strength winds, so we couldn't get a lot done. Then Saturday morning we drove in to Vegas early to help set up the baby shower. Then the baby shower then we helped set up the rest of the reception, then the reception all night. And of course I was the one taking pictures, so you guessed it, I was on my feet all night long. I took off my shoes and felt just fine as I was doing it. But afterwards, yowzer...did my feet have some issues. Sometimes I forget that I'm carrying an extra 20+ pounds and that my body doesn't quite respond like it normally does. Here are a few pictures from the evening:

The happy couple: Julia and Chad

Rhett's mom and Elaina.

Julia getting a bit carried away smashing the cake in Chad's face.

Alison with her newest aunt.

The tossing of the bouquet.

Alison having fun dancing around.

Wendy and Kyle

The wedding cake with the groom's cake in the background.

Chad is officially the last one in both of our families to get married. We're excited for them and hope all the best.

Conner Eli

I have the cutest new nephew. He is so precious and adorable. He came in to the world February 26, 2010 weighing just an ounce shy of 8 pounds and was 20.5 inches long.

I was sitting in the hospital chair holding him and realizing that I have the very same thing developing in me right now. I've had this thought quite a few times...but to be holding a newborn and seeing how big he is and knowing that he has to fit inside my belly was a visual of this realization. I can't wait to meet my little guy!

When I got there he was in the middle of a hearing test. It was so cute. It looked like he had headphones on and was rocking out.

I was trying to play with my new lens and I'm having the darndest time. This is one of the very few that was actually in focus.

This guy loves his binky! If he didn't have his binky he was sucking on his fingers. Here he is all wrapped up ready to go home.

Welcome Conner! You're one cutie patootie!

Julia's Bridal Shower

So tomorrow I'm gaining a new sister. How cool is that? Chad (Rhett's youngest brother) is getting married in the Nauvoo temple tomorrow and he's the last one to get married. So I guess she'll be the last sister I gain.

Last week we had a bridal shower for her and despite her being constantly embarrassed by the games and lingerie...I think she enjoyed herself.

She's a huge fan of orange...try finding lingerie in orange...it's not easy! After three stores I found this buried beneath a heap of other little treats. It's seriously the only orange I found.

Here's Julia in her TP wedding dress:

And Allison getting attacked by the friendly dog.

Tres fun!

President's Day Weekend

For President's Day weekend we went to Dumont. The weather was absolutely gorgeous. Seriously. Couldn't have been better. Which is good, 'cuz our heater broke and if it were any colder at night I couldn't have handled it. Luckily being preggo I like it much cooler. While Rhett slept with three blankets I had one, and put a second one on in the middle of the night.

Although the weather was perfect, the sand dunes were all tore up from the rain we had earlier in the week. That means I didn't go on a single ride. Not cool. But I was still surrounded by great friends and we chilled outside in the gorgeous weather.

Here's a picture of my friend Krista, who came out for a couple of days, holding Bolt.

Isn't he cute?

Rhett sportin' a purple balloon:

Caden with a sucker:

And my favorite...Dave makin' bubbles. I was taking pictures of the kids hitting the pinata and noticed half way through that Dave was over there making bubbles...for nobody but himself. It was the funniest thing. He was totally in his own little world.

Ha Ha Ha...he cracks me up.

Random Ramblings

There have been a few random thoughts floating around my head lately and I thought I'd get them out today:

Driving with your Headlights
I just wanted to write a quick memo and let all the drivers out there know that it's OK to turn your headlights on even if YOU can see okay. Just because you can see okay, doesn't mean that others can see you. I've noticed this a lot lately, mainly because it's been unusually rainy and overcast. I can see just fine and I don't need my lights on to see what is going on. But I still turn them on. I've noticed that the cars that don't have their headlights on start to blend in to the road and it's very difficult to see them. So...spread the word. At dusk and dawn and rainy conditions, TURN YOUR LIGHTS ON! Even if you can see just fine. You might as well be safe and make sure that everyone can see YOU just fine.

Life Lessons
Have you ever noticed that when life lessons are being shared, either at church or work or socially, the person who needs the life lesson the most doesn't get a thing from it and just identifies others who need it? And everyone around thinks, "Man, that was intended for them", but they're totally oblivious!? I noticed this at church on Sunday (kinda). We were having a great lesson in RS and I was thinking, "Man, Suzie Q over there needs to pay attention!" And then I realized, everyone always does that. And then nobody gets the lesson for themselves and they always try to make it about someone else. So I decided to start applying these lessons to me. After all, if we really truly start listening to others we would be so much better off.

Church
The last week or two I've been thinking about the reason behind going to church every week. I know, it sounds silly, but I actually think about these things. It all started with a comment I heard about someone in my ward and how they're like every other Mormon. They go to church every Sunday, but they live far from the gospel principles throughout the week. That kind of perturbed me. I know it's easy to judge others and think that they're not as good as they're trying to portray, but really, what is the purpose of church? Is it for a bunch of perfect people to sit around and preach to each other? Definitely not. I think it's a place we can get support from friends to inspire us to become better. If we hear a particularly moving lesson or talk and we feel the spirit and are motivated to better our behavior, then church has accomplished its purpose. So then that got me thinking about those who have been offended by someone at church and no longer go. And for the first time I actually understood that concept. If we go to church and feel contention and judging and hear people talking negatively about us, we're not accomplishing anything by going. At times in my life I have felt this and have had a difficult time attending. Luckily I didn't totally drop out and I got over it and now things are great. But it made me realize how each person at church is individual in their feelings and testimony and how fragile people can be. We can't treat everyone the same. I know, DUH! I knew that. I guess I just didn't realize how many different things people could be going through and you never know if the person you're walking right by without saying hi to HATES coming to church because nobody ever talks to her. You just don't know. I don't even know where I'm going with this. Just something I've been thinking about and know that I need to work on.