Megan and Thayne

Camp Pendleton, CA

2012-02-03T20:17:00.006-07:00

Aisling and I were finally able to join Thayne in California. (Short version of the very long story, after I had Aisling, I had major complications, so we were reassigned to Camp Pendleton.)

One of our first days here, we took Aisling to the beach.

Daddy throwing Aisling!

Here are a few more pictures of what we've been up to lately:
Learning to eat

And drink from a cup!

Dressing up with Tate, her cousin

And developing a keen fashion sense

Beautiful Baby

2011-11-11T11:33:00.005-07:00

Looks like a rosebud. . . Sleeps like a rock. . . Eats like a pig. . . Farts like a man. . . And Burps like her mother!

And yes, the purple fairy threw up on her this morning. Mommy was a little tired as she was getting her dressed. . .

All dressed up for Daddy for Veterans' Day

Aisling is three months old!

2011-10-31T13:48:00.008-06:00

Stinky Baby (who is living up to her name) is three months old now. I could say that the time has gone by fast, haha, but it hasn't really. We have had some crazy stuff go on in the past few months. I will write more about that eventually, once things settle down. Meanwhile, enjoy the pictures!

Ballerina for Halloween

And one more, obviously not Aisling, but I think it is pretty self explanatory.

Bathtime!

2011-10-17T18:18:00.001-06:00

Tuckered Out

2011-08-14T22:57:00.002-06:00

One minute tummy time. . .
Two stories. . .
Three songs. . .
Five minutes while Mommy uses the restroom. . .

And this is what I came back to!

Thayne snapped this one after a long night of Aisling and I trying to get some sleep around feedings.

For Time and All Eternity

2011-08-07T17:17:00.004-06:00

Yesterday we had Fast and Testimony meeting at church. I was nursing Aisling for most of it, in the mother's lounge, good thing because I was fairly emotional.

One of the testimonies I was extremely thankful for was a girl who was talking about how Heavenly Father will give us trials to help us grow, and he won't give us trials that we can't make it through. The trials may seem very hard at the time, but he will always be with us, helping us. Our learning experience comes as we learn to rely on him for help. I feel like that is exactly what I needed to hear. No one could ever have told me how hard it is to have a newborn baby. I'm never known exhaustion like this in my life. Or such a range of emotions. Last week sometime I broke down and decided I needed to give up. Send her back, I'm done. (How embarrassing, I feel so guilty). Obviously, there is no "give up" option in this. I need to change my attitude. I am not doing this on my own. I have a very loving helpful husband, a wonderful ward, a family that is super supportive, and a very loving Heavenly Father who is just waiting for me to reach out and ask for help! Hopefully I can remember this a little better when times are hard.

As Thayne and I were driving home from church we discussed this. I broke down crying (again). He said he was sad that our little baby is growing up. I started to laugh and said she's only 10 days old! He laughed and said, yeah, but she's so much bigger already. Then I felt REALLY guilty, because I feel like I'm waiting for some magical six week number or something, when I start feeling like I'll have somewhat of a better grasp on things. So basically I want her to grow up quickly! Then we started discussing Heavenly Father's help some more, and how I feel like I'm not doing anything right and is this all really worth it? He asked me to please remember this conversation when we get to see our little baby being sealed in the temple. Because then I will know that it WAS all worth it. Or when she goes on a mission. Or receives her endowments, or even bears her testimony in church.

The second testimony I was thankful for was an older missionary couple, the man was talking about how hard it was to be on a mission and to be with only his wife 24-7! I was laughing to myself because right at that moment I had started wishing she could eat a little faster so that I could go sit with Thayne. I'm so spoiled, I had Thayne completely to myself for almost five years! We are cuddlers, those people that other people hate at church because we are holding hands, or I'm leaning on his shoulder. And I'm really missing him lately. I haven't gotten to sleep in the same bed with him for more than an hour or two since she was born. And forget any sort of cuddling while we are at home, I'm sort of camped out in my "nursing chair." So, what I'm thankful for again is that he and I are sealed to each other, for time and all eternity. I know that for the next (lots!) of years we won't be able to be like we were before, it will be awhile before we get back to the cuddling in church, but we will be able to--FOREVER!

And yes, I'm all weepy again. . .

Glowing blue prison of hell

2011-07-31T01:38:00.004-06:00

Aisling came home from the hospital last Thursday. On Friday we had to go in for a 24-hour checkup. Unfortunately, she was showing medium to high risk for jaundice, and she had lost too much of her birth weight. We were sent home with a baby tanning bed, and instructions to keep her in the tanning bed in only a diaper for the next 24 hours. . . solid. The only time we were allowed to take her out was to feed her. Feeding and the blue lights were top priorities.

We started her on the regimen around 3:30pm on Friday. It worked for a few hours, but unfortunately by 1:45 am Saturday she wanted nothing to do with the bed. She is strictly a clothed and swaddled sort of baby. I fought with her for about an hour, went into Thayne in tears, (he was sleeping, or trying to), and then we both fought with her until 5am. By then I had decided that we were done with the bilibed. I put her in a nice comfy sleeper, swaddled her and in TWO MINUTES she was out like a light. By then the sun was coming up, so I took her out on the balcony and she and I hung out there for a few hours, I was hoping I could cheat the test. . .

We went in on Saturday morning, and were the 11th couple (out of 13) that the poor doctor had to see for this exact issue. Luckily, we showed signs of improvement. The good ole doc sent us home with instructions to keep up the feeding regimen, put her in ambient light and not worry about the dreaded bilibed. We had a checkup today (Sunday) and things are looking even better (and she is gaining weight!) So we got to send that nasty bed back, I could have kicked it down the hall, except they made us sign a paper saying that we would pay for it if anything happened to it, ($2500).

Here she is in the bed

And here she is now, super cute baby with a super cute daddy on a Sunday afternoon!

The Birth Story

2011-07-29T01:04:00.006-06:00

This will be a long post, but I will add pictures at the end, so if you don't care to read through, scroll down.

Last Thursday was Thayne's birthday. We spent a quiet evening together, dinner, b-day cake with some friends. My birthday was Saturday, we went out and got curry (YUM). Then cake with friends again (see a pattern here. . . ) Late Saturday night, well, early Sunday morning, I woke up with contractions. I figured it was just the "practice" contractions, at my last doctor appointment I wasn't showing any opening at all. Those contractions continued throughout the day on Sunday, they weren't terribly bad, but obviously not terribly comfortable!

Sunday night (early Monday morning) the contractions got bad. I think I woke up at 1am in tears, and moaning. Poor Thayne was freaking out! He had a huge week starting that morning so I told him to go back to sleep. I went out to the living area and dealt with it on my own. At about 5:30 I called L&D because the contractions were coming regularly about five minutes apart and had been for 2-3 hours. The nurse I spoke to was talking to me through one of the contractions and informed me that they weren't strong enough for me to come in yet. I was so depressed--it hurt! For whatever reason though, they grew further apart and I was finally able to get some sleep. Thayne had gone to work and found out that the class he was supposed to take that week had been cancelled. So he came home and caught up on a little bit of sleep with me.

For the rest of the day Monday I tried to act as though life was normal, except I'd double over in pain every few minutes due to the contractions. At 9:00 that night I decided we were ready to go again. Contractions were 5-8 minutes apart, were pretty much taking my breath away and I couldn't handle it anymore. We drove to L&D. The nurse checked me and. . . I still wasn't even open. Nothing. Nada. I started to bawl in the triage room. It hurt so bad and I couldn't imagine going through with it again! The really sad part is that I didn't even think it was labor--I still though it was the practice stuff, because that's sort of what she implied! We went home, Thayne went to bed. Why make him hang out with me if it's not the real thing yet?!?

I spent the rest of that night alternating between tears, screaming into a pillow, taking a shower or a bath and cursing all creation. I also called my mom a few times, who kept telling me to go to the hospital, and a sister who said the same thing. The end finally came for me when my mom told me at 5:30 am to finally get to the hospital. She pointed out that I was exhausted and in pain and the baby was probably getting a little stressed. So we loaded the car up and headed to the hospital, again!

This time I was obviously in MUCH more discomfort. Thayne dropped me at the entrance and went to park the car (we got there about 8am). I went and waited for him on the quarter deck. As I was sitting there another contraction came along, I started breathing through it, tears streaming down my cheeks and looked up to find THREE navy corpsmen standing around me. They literally lifted me into a waiting wheelchair and headed for L&D. I wonder how they knew where I was going? That was an interesting ride--L&D is on the 5th floor, and the elevators there are TERRIBLE! It was just after 8am so everyone was getting to work. As we made our way to the one set of elevators, the crowd literally parted. We got on the elevator with a group of people and NO ONE would touch the button. The corpsman that had me said "thanks guys", pushed five and away we went. The elevator stopped once on 2, and the doors opened. As the person out peeped in, one of the passengers on the elevator snapped the doors shut by hitting the "close" button multiple times. They definitely took good care of me.

We got up to L&D about the same time Thayne did (he must have taken the stairs). They put me in a triage room and started monitoring me again. I was having serious back labor and so laying on the bed with the monitors strapped to me was a nightmare--luckily they let me just stand up and lean over the bed. At some point the nurse checked me, I was saying how I figured we hadn't made any progress, and she said I was at a four, and 75% effaced! My mood lifted, my face brightened and I almost cried tears of relief. That means they would be admitting me and I could get the epidural. Unfortunately. . . they didn't have any L&D rooms open yet. They did say one would open up in an hour, so we could either go walk around or just hang out in triage. We chose to walk around, a different nurse ended up telling me to come back in 2 hours. By then it was 9am. So we went to get some breakfast. My lovely breakfast that morning was a yoohoo (I didn't realize it wasn't actually milk!) and a little package of granola bites. Thayne had a sandwich from subway (limited choices). Then we walked around. You can tell that hospital is used to having preggo ladies walk around a lot, there is stuff placed strategically EVERYWHERE so you can lean over, sit down as needed for your contractions!

At 11am we headed back and they admitted me to triage. (room wasn't quite ready) I turned into "the woman that just wants the epidural". Every time they had to do some sort of procedure they'd tell me and I'd follow up with, great, and how much longer, or how close does this get me to my epidural? They put me in a gown (so when does the epidural come? now?) They drew some blood, (great, one step closer). Here is your room! So how's that epidural coming?

Grr. We're so sorry ma'am, the lab lost your blood so we have to do another draw. Eek! Luckily it took only ten minutes to do the draw, get it to the lab and get the results back. Unfortunately, at that time they also decided that I needed to lay down again on the bed. The monitor I was wearing wouldn't pick up the contractions while I was leaning over the bed. (Up until then, I had been leaning over the bed during a contraction with Thayne massaging my back and lower back as needed.) I laid down on the bed and as soon as the first contraction hit I sat up and started sobbing/yelling "i can't do it, it hurts too much!" I don't know how many contractions I had to go through on the bed, maybe 3, for a total of 12-15 minutes, but it was AGONY. Then THE ANESTHESIOLOGIST SHOWED UP. I don't think I've ever been so happy to see someone I don't know come into a room where I am half naked. We started the process of the epidural. It really wasn't bad, except that it took him awhile to get the needle in. He had to numb my back three different times. At the end he said he really had to work for it, but I didn't care. It hit so quickly that I could barely feel anything.

I've never had an epidural before. I've never had surgery before, or even a cavity. So I have no idea what real pain or real medication feels like. I have NO TOLERANCE for pain. I'm a wussbag weenie, and I don't care. I loved the epidural. It made life bearable. I think they put it in and I fell asleep almost immediately (it had now been since Saturday night that I hadn't slept). I slept on and off for the next few hours (they got the epidural in at 13:13). Unfortunately I wasn't making any progress so they decided to give me some pitocin. That seemed to help, for the next few hours they monitored everything. At one point, Aisling's heart rate dropped quickly, very quickly. Thayne and I both heard it and figured it out before the sensors went off. As soon as the sensors went off, we had four people in the room around us trying to figure out what happened. They got her back, I think they had decided that she moved too far away from the monitor. They also decided that she was getting a bit stressed so they pulled the pitocin back a little bit. They put me on oxygen at this time too. The doctor checked me around this time and decided that was ok because I was at a 7. Then the doctor went to a meeting and I think everyone forgot about me. . . I say that because they had a shift change with the nurses, and right around this time I started feeling some pressure in my bum. I mentioned it to the corpsman when he came in and he said he would tell the nurse. I mentioned it to the corpsman four to five times over the next hour to hour and a half and he kept saying he'd tell the nurse. Finally, the dr came back from her meeting and decided to check things out. She checked me and looked up with a look of surprise "she's completely open and I can feel the head!" Seriously? I tried to tell you that a while ago!

So they decided it was time to try a push. (By now it is a little after 2200.) And push we did. For 35 minutes. And out came baby Aisling!

Some funny things of note. I had some 22-year-old navy corpsman holding one of my legs through the pushing. I don't imagine a lot of 22-year-old guys get to do that very often. . .

Another thing, Thayne proved he is indeed his father's son. Before the labor I had asked him if he wanted to look at her head coming out, and he usually gave an emphatic "no". Well, at some point he changed his mind. And watched the entire pushing process. And asked if I wanted a mirror. No thank you. Then he watched the placenta come out (while going back and forth between me and Aisling). THEN at one point I thought he was going to go pick it up! And lastly, I tore, so he watched the entire stitch-up process too! I think the dr was impressed at how interested he was in everything, she showed us the placenta in detail at the end.

Stinky Baby is here!

2011-07-28T00:10:00.003-06:00

I will write the birthing story out later. We are at the hospital right now waiting on a few more things before we get discharged--yay! I am looking at going home with mixed feelings. I really want to get home and introduce stinky baby to our lives, but it's also really nice having room service, full service, a nurse who will take care of the baby and answer any questions right at my fingertips!

Onto what I know everyone would rather see--

I think this is going to be one of my favorite pictures ever!

And lastly, the obligatory, "this woman looks like she's been through hell and back and she probably has, but look how cute that darn baby is"!

Oh, and yes we do call her Aisling. . . sometimes.

38+ weeks

2011-07-21T23:42:00.002-06:00

I know it is a little early, but with the heat and my many, many other complaints (poor Thayne!) I'm ready for this kiddo to come. Although Thayne has specifically asked her to not come until at least next Friday evening because he has a really big week next week that would be fairly hard to reschedule. . .

We went to the doctor a few days ago and no changes whatsoever, so I think it may still be awhile!

Anyway, vote above and let me know when you think she will be coming!

~Megan

New week, new activities

2011-07-20T05:11:00.004-06:00

This week feels exhausting and it is only Wednesday!

Last Saturday we went to a little hole in the wall restaurant with some friends. It was pretty good. We will definitely go again. I loved the fish, squid and veggie tempura, and the soba noodles.

This is a picture of a tractor sale that was going on near the restaurant. These are the larger of the tractors being sold!
After lunch we went to the little beach here on base. The sea conditions were at "caution", which is a bit funner to play in than "all clear". Unless you are a super pregnant lady and you lose your footing. At one point I fell over into the water and for the next few minutes got rolled around by the waves (I was careful, I promise). My friend Kammie and Thayne were both very nearby, I wasn't worried. And they both just stood there and watched because I was laughing the whole time.

Thayne trying to even out his farmer's tan! For the first time in our marriage, I am ALMOST as dark as he is. Just kidding, that's wishful thinking!

Sunday we relaxed, went to church, then went to play a game with our next door neighbors. They always laugh about how nerdy they are, and after playing some of their games, we agree! In a good way. Because we loved the games. We are planning on buying one of them very soon.

Monday Thayne worked and I pretended to clean the house. Then we had FHE. We're getting pretty good at doing that regularly, especially if we can have treats afterwards! (banana smoothies)

Tuesday was CRAZY. I went grocery shopping, to the post office (thank you Kelly for FOUR boxes!), visiting teaching, to a pregnancy class and then enrichment. We learned to make the yummiest salsa! Some of it was very spicy and I was hoping it would "help" the labor process along, no luck.
This is our church building, from the back! It was too hot and I was too lazy to walk around to the front.

Today (wednesday), I had a DR appointment. Everything looks good, but I'm not dilated AT ALL. I mentioned that my left hand has been feeling a bit numb lately and the doctor said that many pregnant women get carpal tunnel towards the end. Another symptom I didn't know about! Thayne also told stinky baby that she isn't allowed to come until next Friday afternoon. He has two classes to take at work next week. I'm fine with that, but I am definitely slowing down. I may be getting lots of movies from the library. .

Oh, and on a funny side note, a few days ago Thayne had a 7.5 minute conversation with stinky baby. In an english accent. He asked her to please plan on being toilet trained in a few weeks. I was laughing so hard I was crying. And there may have been a little bit of pee that snuck out. Now he asks every once in a while how it is going.

And lastly, me 38 weeks pregnant (or have I just eaten too many candy bars and banana smoothies ;) )

MilSpouse Fill-in (taken from Kara)

2011-07-18T22:47:00.003-06:00

(I don't know how to link to your blog Kara, I'm really illiterate on blogging. . .)

1. If you could have a private concert with any singer, who would it be?

No idea. I don't really like any ONE in particular, more I like one or two pieces of their work.

2. Is there anything you do to supplement your family's income?

Not right now, but I'd really like to get into tutoring.

3. During your pregnancy (whether past, present, or future) what did you nickname your unborn baby before you knew the sex?

At first we called her "The Kumquat". Now she is "Stinky Baby"

4. Have you ever won a blog giveaway? If so, what did you win?

Nope :(

5. If I looked into your refridgerator right now, what would I find?

I just got back from the commissary and haven't organized anything. So you would find a big huge mess of stuff, milk, yogurt, eggs, veggies, etc. Eventually I will organize it. Yeah, right.

Thursday and Friday

2011-07-15T05:40:00.005-06:00

Thursday I went to work at the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, this is the view from one of the bases. This was also our view while we were homeless (or should have been our view, but we couldn't actually see the ocean, it was too cloudy during that time, rainy season!)

Friday I went to the commissary, post office and home store. It was 10:30am. I was sweating like a pig. This is the "farming" area that we live in. I have no idea what they are growing here.

(this picture is also from Thursday but gives a better idea of the farming. the blue car in front of me is Thayne driving like a madman on these tiny Japanese streets!)

july

2011-07-13T04:33:00.006-06:00

Some days I get homesick. Terribly homesick. I didn't want to admit it to many people at first, but now I'm coming clean. Some days I just want to lay on my bed and cry and miss seeing words written in English, missing being able to talk to my sisters (ok, and the rest of you!) more than just between the hours of 7am and 10am. And gulp, I miss walmart. And target, sunflower market and king soopers!

I'm trying to be positive about living here. Some days are up, some are down. I'm trying to come up with ideas on how to be more positive about things. One was to start another blog. Anonymously. At first I'd whine and whine about how much it sucks here, but I'd finish every post with something positive. I'd hope that eventually the whining would stop and it would turn into a great time! I'm terrible at blogging though, so that hasn't happened yet.

I think poor Thayne worries about me sometimes. Some days he'll come home and ask if I've been out of the house at all. No. Definitely not. I look out the windows a lot though. One wall in our dining room is a window. The ENTIRE wall. And our view is sort of pretty.

I'm not lazy. I do keep myself very busy indoors. And I really WANT to go outside sometimes, but I just can't face the heat!

Sorry, I know that was terribly rambling. And I am getting better. I set a new goal last week. I've started taking my camera with me wherever I go, and trying to get outside at least five times a week, and taking a random picture of something. It is going to take some work. I felt like I was doing well last week, and then this week, well, I started swelling. Seriously. Can't get my wedding ring on and off without some work, my watch is the same and even my FLIP FLOPS are starting to have issues! I've decided that to help myself get out, get to know my surroundings and enjoy this hell-hole (sort of kidding. . . ) I will try to post my pictures.

There are some caveats.
-I'm 37 weeks pregnant. Some days are just going to be a no-go. Some pictures will be from the balcony of our apartment building.
-It is freaking hot here. 95 degrees in the morning with very high humidity--black flag conditions!
-Did I mention I'm 37 weeks pregnant? I reserve all rights that as soon as this baby comes that I can cut back to 1-2 days a week, and those may be balcony shots. Or maybe baby shots, in front of the balcony window?
-I probably won't post everyday, but will try to do a catch-up weekly.

I'm not a fan of typing out long rambling posts, so onto the pictures!

Tuesday, this car is called a Wit. Car names here are awesome, Thayne is assembling his favorites (which include the scrum and I'm not kidding, the spanish word for uh, lady of the night. . . )

Wednesday, fill'er up baby! This is a picture after I filled the gas tank on my car. The gas gauge was around 1/8 tank. Yep, I have an 8 gallon tank on my car.

Thursday, a picture on my drive to the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, where I volunteer once a week.

Saturday we went to see some castle ruins and a nature center. Then to lunch and ran some errands. Here are my sausage toes and cankles as a result!

And swollen hands. . .

Today's picture. I went to a local farmer's market with a friend and we had these little pastries. I've had the not so fancy version before. It tastes like a pancake and has bean paste in the middle. This was the super fancy version, according to the lady selling them "mushed beans and custard, you like try?"

Enough for now. Thayne and I are going to go take a waddle. It's a nice day today because it rained, so even though it is crazy humid it is only 79 outside.

OH yeah, and also, please in reading this, don't freak out about us. We are having a great time. And we KNOW that Heavenly Father has a reason for being here. I have faith it will get better and I will love it here as much as everyone else does!

Shurijo Castle

2011-06-25T19:50:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago we visited this castle in the southern area of Okinawa.
Outside views.

Throne room and crown.

Queen's receiving area.

For you, Shannon!

2011-06-15T04:28:00.003-06:00

Here I am at 32 weeks. It's not a very cute picture, but then again I think I am one of those people who rarely takes a cute picture!

Thayne

2011-06-13T01:16:00.002-06:00

So this is how Thayne spends quality time with me when he gets home after a very long day at work. Our kitchen has ample cupboard space and he enjoys laying on this counter to take a quick nap while I am cooking dinner!

Two Baby Tour

2011-05-08T16:41:00.003-06:00

(I'm working on a longer post with pictures, this was funny so we thought we'd share.)

Last week as we sat through a five hour long "newcomer's brief," one of the presenters mentioned that Okinawa is frequently referred to as the "Two baby tour." He thought it must be something in the water.

Yesterday as we were sitting in church, the births of two babies were announced. One was a little boy weighing in at 9 lbs 7 oz. The other was a little girl coming in at 11 lbs 14 oz. EEEKKKK!

There definitely must be something in the water here!

Our World's Edges

2011-05-07T18:32:00.006-06:00

Well, two of them anyway, and only for now, we'll get further out than this particular island.

Saturday Thayne and I were fortunate enough to borrow a car from a friend and went exploring. We first went and looked at our new house. Typical military apartment building, but YAY, it is a home of our own. We greatly appreciate the family that has put up with us for the past almost SEVEN months. I can't wait to get a place of our own. With a kitchen, specifically an oven and a fridge larger than a dorm room fridge.

After we saw our new apartment we stopped at a few beaches. We started out on the eastern side of the island, here is a beach on the Kin-Wan Bay. The eastern side of the island is bordered by the Philippine Sea.

Next we stopped at Thayne's assignment, currently Camp Hansen. This is a park there.

Here are a few pictures of the northern area of the island where we will be living. (Most are taken from the freeway).

Lastly we went to what is called "American Village". It reminds me of a touristy place in America (haha), lots of shopping and restaurants.

This is the other side of the island, now we are at the East China Sea. We think this is called Sunset Beach.

We made it . . . finally!

2011-05-01T14:17:00.003-06:00

Here is a recap of our trip.

Monday: We flew from Denver to St. Louis with very few problems. The St. Louis airport had been hit by a tornado a few days before and was completely shut down. You could see major damage. Thank heavens it opened in time! We spent the night in the USO lounge--it was super nice.

Windows in St Louis airport replaced with plywood.

Tuesday-Wednesday: We flew from St. Louis to Chicago. Our flight left 1:15 minutes late. We had a 50 minute delay between that flight and the next one that was supposed to go to Tokyo. Unfortunately, we landed 11 minutes after the Tokyo flight left. So we stayed the night in Chicago, ate at a terrible restaurant, met a nice little Serbian lady and I about had a meltdown in the airport the next morning due to the check-in and security issues. We boarded the plane for Tokyo. Then we deboarded the plane for Tokyo. We waited another two hours and then took off.

View of mountains in Alaska

Wednesday-Thursday: We landed in Tokyo and ran through customs. Our flight to Okinawa took off while we were in customs. The airline rebooked us for TWO flights instead of just one (ugh) and gave us a hotel and food voucher. The hotel had a nice bidet (get used to that one!), single twin beds near the floor, and not yummy food. I started getting culture shock.

Warning signs in the garden of our hotel in Tokyo

Thursday-Friday: We checked in at the Tokyo airport (the biggest airport I've ever seen!) Unfortunately, because my name is so long, it took the check-in guy 35 minutes to get us checked in. By now I had tears in my eyes and I just kept my head down while Thayne dealt with everything (thanks babe!) Our flight to Fukuoka was uneventful, but very warm. In Fukuoka no one spoke English. We had a very interesting lunch (which I can't describe because I will hurl). FINALLY we boarded the plane for Okinawa.

View of Mt. Fuji from the airplane

Friday night: We landed in Okinawa. It was a little unnerving to look out one window of the plane and see ocean, a tiny strip of land and a runway. Out the other window was just. . . ocean. That's how little this island is in some parts.

I feel like we've been planning this trip forever, (oh wait, we have), and we looked at it with mixed feelings. Now that we are here I think the culture shock is easing a bit and I am getting a better attitude. For the first few days I was really not happy with this assignment. Apparently this is a very common feeling and will go away soon. Luckily I have Thayne with me, and we both know without a doubt that this is where Heavenly Father wants us to be.

I also decided that the hellacious trip we just took was to keep me from jumping on a plane every few months and flying back home! Oh boy and wait until we've got some kids. . . By the way, I think she enjoyed the trip better than either Thayne or me.

Right now we live in a hotel. Later today we should have a better idea of where we will live and when we get to move in. Our belongings come at the end of May, so I can't decide if I want to stay in the hotel for awhile or if I'd rather move into a completely empty apartment!

We will keep everyone posted on how our new adventure unfolds!

Nine months in the making

2011-04-10T18:34:00.004-06:00

Last August Thayne and I received our next set of PCS orders. We were VERY surprised to learn that we were going to Okinawa, Japan. It has been a long nine months, and it is almost time to go.

Thayne had a school to go to in Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri. This school was just short enough that I was not allowed to go with him. Instead of me staying in Virginia by myself, we packed all of our belongings into a storage unit there and I went to live with my parents in Alamosa. So while he was learning how to arrest people and work with the army :) , I was being a teenager again. This time it was fun, no curfew, I had money and a car and my parents didn't really give me chores. . .

Thayne graduated from his school at the end of March and then we immediately left for Virginia. We spent a few days there with some friends and worked with two different moving companies to get our belongings taken care of. The first day they packed up and sent all of our household goods that will go to Okinawa with us. The second day they packed up the rest of our lives and put them into long term storage. (See you later beloved piano.) The joke in the family right now is that EVERYONE owns a house except us, all of our stuff is on wheels somewhere!

Right now we are spending our last few weeks with Thayne's family in Arvada and my family in Alamosa. I just can't wait for our 13 hour flight to Tokyo (just kidding). I also can't wait for the month (maybe longer) it will take for our household goods to catch up with us. By the time we get our stuff back we won't have seen it for nine months, you could have a baby in that time!

Ok, enough for now, we will keep everyone posted.

Ten months in the making

2011-04-10T18:20:00.003-06:00

(Or as Thayne said it should be titled "I'm a stinky person")
Haha, so yes, we are having a baby. Our little girl will be born the beginning of August in Okinawa.

Here are some fun things we've found out about pregnancy:
*I can get heartburn from anything, a tic-tac, lemon water, I think that sometimes when I smell certain things I get heartburn
*Drinking an entire glass of prune juice at once does not give the outcome you'd think it would give (that's where the smelly part from Thayne comes in)
*By the time our baby is born, she will have been in 17 of the US states and at least three different countries. She won't have set foot on American soil yet though.
*When you are climbing around a mountain of furniture in a storage unit and the movers find out that you are pregnant they get pretty mad at you (not terribly mad, more concerned)

Here she is!

What do you think, does she look like Megan or Thayne?

Virginia Beach

2011-02-14T12:48:00.004-07:00

Last September Thayne had a little nicer school schedule (meaning he left at 5:45am and got home at 5:45pm) so we took a quick trip to Virginia Beach. We didn't realize there was a huge sand castle festival going on, so we were lucky to get a hotel.

Here are some pictures of our trip (we forgot our camera, so we had to buy a disposable from a tourist shop, sorry about the poor quality).

View of the beach "strip"

Various sand castles

When we saw this picture I said "King Titan!" Thayne said "No, Neptune." I realize now that he is right, because we were there for the "Neptune Festival!"

This is at another beach a few miles down the coast, called Sandbridge Beach. We preferred this one because there were a lot less people.

Sorry I am so slow in posting our activities on the blog. I am sure by the time we get to Japan and have a kid that I will have us all caught up!

A Guest In My Husband's Home

2010-11-25T17:55:00.004-07:00

I am visiting Thayne in Fort Leonard Wood (Fort Lost in the Woods), Missouri. He is at work most of the time so I am trying to find something to keep me busy. So far I'm doing pretty well with the jogging track near our (his) hotel/dorm room, there is a library right across the street and I'm making him a Christmas present.

This is a picture of me and our monkey child in the room.

Halloween Costume

2010-10-06T18:53:00.002-06:00

Tonight Thayne was cleaning up his stuff from the BOQ (graduation tomorrow!). He helped me with my Halloween costume, what do you think?

Would I make a good drill instructor?

Virginia Beach

2010-09-25T06:26:00.003-06:00

We're in Virginia Beach for a few days. The "Neptune Festival" is going on right now. Some sort of world event--a sand castle building contest. These sand castles are very good! But. . . we forgot the camera! We're going to try to find a disposable at the store today, wish us luck!

Hahaha

2010-08-29T18:42:00.001-06:00

How you know it's time to lose weight:

When you are sprinkling a cinnamon sugar mix onto a buttered homemade tortilla for Sunday evening dessert and in your peripheral vision you can see your arm doing the Relief Society wave.

You can take the girl out of the country . . .

2010-08-22T06:59:00.003-06:00

but you can't take the country out of the girl!

Thayne and I were laughing last night as we realized that we live just outside of one of the most populated areas in the country, and where do we go on the weekends? The Prince William County Fair! In our funnest night in Virginia so far, we rode the bumper cars, ate a turkey leg, and saw an Elvis impersonator. Wait, when did those guys start showing up at the county fair?

Also, we got to walk through the handicrafts areas. Thayne was very impressed with the embroidery, I've never actually seen it done that well, most of it looked more like paintings or photographs than needle and thread. We also walked through all of the animal barns.

The highlight of the night was watching the freestyle moto-cross jump contest. I've never seen that live and was super impressed, and scared sometimes too that the guys weren't going to land their jumps. There was an older couple next to us (as in they were probably in their 70s at least) that were really enjoying it too. The first time a rider pulled a back flip I thought the lady was going to have a heart attack, but then she really got into it with the crowd.

We had a great time and are very thankful that we live in an area where we can visit the nations capital, but also feel at home and enjoy the smell of the cow barn. And yes, I really did enjoy that, it made me homesick.

Speaking of taking the girl out of the country, we got orders for our next duty station! We'll be going to JAPAN! Stay tuned. . .

How to Keep Cool in Washington DC

2010-08-01T05:42:00.003-06:00

Put your feet in the water. . .

Walk in the water. . .

Drink the water. . . (although I'd recommend a different trough than this one)

Also, here are a few of the pictures of the DC temple. Thanks for coming Shannon, we had a ton of fun!

A few thoughts for the day

2010-07-22T06:48:00.005-06:00

1.) I went for a little jog today. After spending 6 weeks in Colorado with Shannon (my personal trainer/sister, who sorta kicks my butt), a jog here at sea level wasn't bad at all. After two miles I wasn't breathing hard at all. But oh my the sweat, dripping down my forehead, into my eyes (that stings), into my mouth (gross), and my clothes feel like they are soaking wet.

2.) We like oatmeal. I think I've mentioned that before. Last week I took stock of our cupboards, breakfast choices here include (and are basically limited to): oatmeal, steel cut oats, granola (nutty), granola (molasses and maple flavored), quaker oatmeal squares (maple flavor), and lucky charms (you guessed it, the first ingredient is oat flour).

A comfy bed

2010-05-04T09:22:00.004-06:00

This is where my roommate for this week has been sleeping. It is the drawer from her dresser. Notice the comfy-ness of the doll bed next to hers. . .

I'm in Colorado-Monte Vista-for the week, helping Kelly out with her two older kids.

Another long post and pictures

2010-04-07T15:31:00.017-06:00

I finally got unpacked enough to find the camera cord. Here is a very long post about our trip here (sorry, again, but this time with pictures!)

I've made a basic little list here of what has happened in our lives for the few "weeks" it took us to move:

7,202 pounds of household goods
1,756 miles
80 dollars a night (on average for our hotels)
18 days (from the day the movers picked up our stuff to the day it was delivered
12 different beds slept in (by either me or Thayne, we were apart for about a week)
3 days total travel time (give or take a few hours)
2 doggies
1 Marine
and me

Guess where this was taken . . .

Jesus is real, Kansas!

Missouri, note, unfortunately all of our pictures are taken at rest stops or in a car, we didn't leave any time for "touring"

Very good travelers, Loki
. . . And Simon

More good travelers, they were watching Thayne bring 'home' dinner

Indiana, pretty, it was very cold and humid

Kentucky, very near a thoroughbred race horse retirement community (for the horses, not people)

Beautiful mountains in West Virginia

We made it!

This was the first few hours--extremely rainy and foggy

This was nearing the end of the trip, rolling hills, green grass, white fences and people driving like maniacs. Oh wait, that was the husband in front of me (I'm totally kidding, he was keeping up with traffic!)

Total trip mileage

View from our front door

And one more just for fun

Stay tuned for a post on our trip to the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC this weekend!

Survival

2010-03-29T18:22:00.002-06:00

We are finally in Virginia. The last legs of our trip, West Virginia and Virginia were beautiful!

We went to Church in West Virginia, that was a trip in itself. It took us about 35 minutes to get to church, needless to say we missed most of sacrament meeting. The ward was really nice, it was testimony meeting. It was interesting to hear the different dialects, one woman said she was thankful she was born a hillbilly, and another woman was telling a story about a man that lived in the "holler" down the way from her.

When we first got to Virginia it was so foggy that we could only see the tailights of the cars in front of us. That was interesting (my car doesn't have ABS brakes right now, so I was a little worried.) At one point our directions had us exit the interstate and take a highway through some winding farm areas. The only way I can describe it is a very "Gone with the Wind" feel, before the war. Huge plantation like areas, huge houses, rolling green hills and white fences.

We got into our townhouse today, around 2:00 pm. I had tears in my eyes I was so happy to be done with the driving. We got a lot of comments about how long it took us, but really, we left at noon on Thursday and got here at 3pm on Sunday, so not really more than three days. And with two dogs, losing two hours, and apparently a wife with the bladder the size of a pea I think we did pretty good!

We are now in survival mode because we 1) have none of our possessions yet, those come friday, 2) don't have any hot water. Poor Thayne needed to shower and shave before reporting tomorrow, so I used a few saucepans (bought at goodwill) to boil water for him, he's taking a spit bath right now. (He'll probably kill me for announcing that :) ! )

Hopefully I can find the camera cord and start uploading some pictures.

West Virginia

2010-03-27T19:50:00.002-06:00

I don't like super long wordy blog posts (I'm more about the pictures), so sorry this one is long.

We are in West Virginia, we have 4.5 hours left to get to Stafford. It will be so nice to not be sitting in a car for 9-10 hours anymore, YEA! We won't be able to get into our townhome until Monday, maybe Tuesday, and unfortunately, our household goods won't get to our house until Friday! That will be interesting. (We haven't had any household stuff for so long, that I'm beginning to wonder if we even need dishes, CDs, pillows, etc. of our own. . . )

The majority of Thursday was spent in eastern Colorado and western Kansas. We stayed in Salina, KS, with about 700 basketball FANS! The town was fairly small, and no restaurants were open by the time we checked into our hotel. We ended up eating cold sandwiches and deviled eggs (uh, yuck) in our hotel room.

Friday, we drove through:
Kansas--whoever said that state is flat is a lyin', I loved the rolling hills!
Misouri--so pretty, more rolling hills, a ton of wineries. But no signs of vineyards. . .
Illinois--I don't remember much of this state, it was pretty, but we were trying to get through it as quickly as possible. The interstate ran through a lot of swampy forest. Very humid, very cold!
Indiana--even prettier, green rolling hills, lots of hunters! (As we were leaving in the morning we saw a dad and his 6 or 7 year old daughter all decked out in camo and ready to roll!)

As we were driving through these areas, I noticed tons of churches, and lots of religious signs, i.e., JESUS, JESUS SAVES, anti-abortion/pro life. The best one though was a giant "JESUS RESTORES AND HEALS-PORNOGRAPHY DESTROYS" billboard right next to the "ADULT VIDEO" billboard and store.

Saturday we left the hotel at 9:30. We decided to take it a little easier today. Thayne took the dogs for a jog before we left (the dogs are GREAT travelers, thank heavens.) We drove through the rest of Indiana and Kentucky. Both states are BEAUTIFUL! Kentucky has green rolling hills, with the cute black or white fences, and tons of horses. We passed through Kentucky Bourbon country, and also past the "Kentucky Thoroughbred Retirement Community" for horses. We've now crossed the Missouri River, Mississippi River, Ohio River, and a few more.

Right now we are at a hotel in West Virginia. As we came into town, I was using the scan function on my car radio to find some music. Every other station (I'm not kidding) was playing some sort of basketball game. Anyone heard of Mizzou? And these West Virginians really like their sports too!

I will try to get some pictures posted in a little bit (however, most of them have been taken from the car.)

(Sorry for the long post, eek~!)

We're moving!

2010-03-15T13:36:00.000-06:00

A quick update, Thayne got orders to report to Quantico, VA at the end of March. We'll be there for at least six months. Hopefully by August/September we will know where we are going next, and that assignment will be for 3 years (I think. . . )

Right now the packers are at our house. It is really weird for me to not do anything to help while these two really nice ladies are working their rears off packing up all of my stuff! (They said we have a lot of stuff for being married for only two years, and for only two of us. . . I'm going to have to work on that one!)

Tomorrow the moving truck will come and pick up all of our stuff. Then we will be homeless. Ok, not homeless, but neither of us are really all that excited to live in a house that doesn't have any furniture or food.

I've found that food storage and a moving company moving all of your stuff across the country do not go well together. I'm going to have to figure out some other way to get everything in order.

Also, no opened foods (dry or wet) can go with us, so if anyone needs any flour, sugar, beans or rice, crisco or oil, let me know!

The next few weeks are going to be crazy for us, we'll keep everyone posted.

Oatmeal and Peanut Butter

2010-03-03T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today Nezhone and I were discussing oatmeal. Specifically, we were talking about how most people are totally grossed out when we mention that we put peanut butter in our oatmeal. Until they try it, and then most people are hooked--like my husband!

We thought it would be interesting to take a poll, so please leave a comment (all two of you~!) on whether or not this sounds gross to you, and if you've had it, if you like it or not.

Here is my recipe for oatmeal (I've been eating this for breakfast every weekday morning for 3+ years):

1 cup water
1/2 cup oatmeal (not the quick cooking kind)
cinnamon to taste
nutmeg to taste
1-2 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbs peanut butter (not the natural stuff), and I like crunch, but either works

Boil the water, add the cinnamon, nutmeg and then oatmeal. Remove from heat immediately. Put cinnamon and brown sugar in the bottom of your bowl, and pour the oatmeal over the top (the heat of the oatmeal helps melt the peanut butter for easier stirring).

*I like my oatmeal a little runny, if you don't like it runny, cut the water down.

Yucky Face

2010-01-04T15:58:00.000-07:00

I am a klutz. Big-time. My body is covered with scars (see a few of our previous posts). Here is the latest:

In my defense, this time I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

This is two stitches later, we had to go to the emergency room in Del Norte.

(sorry about really bad pictures, they were taken from my phone.)

USMC

2009-09-27T07:12:00.000-06:00

After much prayer, fasting and long nights, Thayne (and I) made the decision to join the Marine Corps. Here are a few pictures of the ceremony.

Reading of the warrant.

Taking the oath.

Me pinning his bars, his parents did the other side but we don't have a very good picture of that. We are both almost laughing because he was so much taller than me that day that he had to squat down for me to reach his shoulder.

First salute.

I'm not pregnant, I've just gained some weight . . .

Future Marine?

I'm so proud of you!

Our first orders will be at Quantico in VA. Thayne will attend TBS there for six months. After that we have no idea where we will be stationed. We look forward to this new adventure in our life!

Friday afternoons are rough

2009-08-14T16:19:00.000-06:00

Today I counted seven people working on my floor. That is out of 35. So I'm a bit lonely.

Here is what I did for a few minutes this afternoon (yes, I did get some work done, quite a lot.)

This is my office:

This is the view from my office:

BUT. . .

This is the office I'd like:

Or this:

I'd even take this:

And yeah, I know that my office is a mess, let's just say creative genius at work!

Poor Thayne

2009-07-09T08:25:00.003-06:00

While Thayne is here today

I will be here.

At least this weekend we get to be together here.

I said HIMOT . . .

2009-05-18T11:44:00.000-06:00

Last week Thayne worked at the cannery a few days for a service project for school. On the last day he came home at about 10:30 with a truck loaded with miscellaneous items from the cannery, and a trailer loaded with two HUGE cabinets. Because we were worried about rain we were trying to get the cabinets unloaded and in the garage. Unfortunately, since it was 10:30 at night he had the help of his wimpy-ish wife, who was in her pajamas and flip-flops (and a tad grumpy.)

I had already made a space in the garage for the cabinets. (Sorry, a tangent to the story, we live in a rental-house that our in-laws bought from a lady who liked to keep stuff. So our garage is fairly full. Thayne and I also have a ton of stuff out there too, including a pan of oil from the last oil change.)

Did I mention the cabinets were huge? As we were tipping one of them out of the trailer I was in a squat position supporting the cabinet. I kept getting closer and closer to the ground and then realized that my bum was not dry anymore.

And then it hit me.

And then I said it.

"Oh, himot"

I tried to say it really quietly, and as soon as it came out of my mouth I looked up to see if Thayne had heard. He did. Whoops.

I had sat in the oil pan! As soon as we got that cabinet safely on the ground I ran inside to change clothes. Poor pajama pants.

In my defense, I NEVER swear!

Please don't judge me.

(Oh, and if you are wondering, h-i-m-o-t is how we spelled a swear word when we were kids.)

My summer job

2009-05-13T11:55:00.000-06:00

This summer I'll be wearing these:

(no, my boots don't look exactly like this)

(nice hat!)

<-- and plenty of this!

And carrying this.

And this is my view, aren't you jealous?

Vacation to Oregon

2009-05-08T15:57:00.000-06:00

Over Thayne's spring break (yeah, I'm super slow) we went to Oregon to visit his grandma and cousins. It was a blast, here are a few pictures:

The first day we went to see the carousel in Salem with Thayne's grandma, Lois

I looked not great the entire trip, due to the humidity and my hair. So we have very few pictures of me :)

The entire trip was fairly cold, wet and windy. Here are some pictures from the beach (I mean coast, apparently if it is warm it is a beach, if it is cold it is a coast!)

Thayne was much more brave (or crazy)than I was, I didn't get into the water (and then only to my knees) until the 2nd day.

We also went to the aquarium, it was awesome.

Thayne liked this picture because he said that as soon as I sat down the crab made his way toward me and put his claw around me.

Augh! Looks like we're this guy's lunch!

Right before we went to the airport Grandma Lois took us to see Multnomah Falls.

Oldies but Goodies

2009-03-17T09:34:00.000-06:00

I was going through a bunch of old pictures and found some that were so good (I think) that I had to share:

Tyler's new haircut

Sterling and Valarie's first new car after they got married

I have no idea what this was for, some FHE activity in the singles ward where apparently Thayne and I were being made into a prince and princess?

The many faces of Thayngler!

And my favorite, this was the car ride on the way back from our first snowboarding trip to Wolf Creek--and he still married me!

Compressor Station

2009-02-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I moved groups in my company at the beginning of this year. I am not a reservoir engineer anymore, my new title is facilities engineer. I love this job. My days consist of designing pipelines and working on compressor stations, going to Silt, CO (a few miles west of Glenwood Springs) and taking random trips. Oh yeah, and with the rough times right now there are a lot of salespeople taking me out to lunch (which isn't so bad, except I'm starting to freak out about my weight.)

Last week I went to Casper for two days to see a compressor run-out. We had a new compressor that had just been assembled so we went to watch them turn it on for the first time. So for two days last week I was driving (not so fun) and wandering around this HUGE facility that builds compressors and all of the components that go on it. I love it all except that the traveling keeps me away from Thayne :(

This the facility where they were building the compressors.

This is "our" compressor. It was too big to get a picture of with my phone. It is enormous.. .

Pay It Forward

2009-02-18T07:48:00.000-07:00

Pay it Forward

1. Be one of the first THREE or FIVE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me (yeah for handmade!).

2. Winners must post this challenge on their own blog, meaning that you will pay it forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember it’s the spirit and the thought that count!

4. When you receive your gift, blog about it! If you are not one of the first three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! It's all about paying it forward.

(Original post from Valerie Witte) I will probably pick all 5 people so go ahead and sign up! :)

Calgary

2009-01-28T21:15:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you know, the week I fly to Calgary for work and I FORGET MY CAMERA! Not to mention that I've walked all over this bloody city looking for a drugstore that sells the disposable type, not a one in sight. So no pictures this time. Bummer.

Christmas

2008-12-22T09:13:00.001-07:00

Here is another reason our dogs might not like us (hey, at least we're not taking pictures of them nekkid in the bathtub or something, right?

We went with Shannon and Tyler and took Deena and Shelby to see some Christmas lights--it was really cold!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

Here is Julia, our niece at Thanksgiving.

We figured this is cheaper than a car seat . . .

Why Our Dogs Don't Like Us!

2008-12-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

One morning we were cleaning our room and I had taken the sheets off the bed to wash. I found that it is a pretty funny sight to try to watch the dogs get out of them. We also made a little music video of us lip syncing to some song about "Let Me Be Your Hero" (sorry, can't remember the singer or name of song). I really wanted to post that one but Thayne threatened divorce. . .

2008-12-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

1,2,3...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch-hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (does calculus count?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chicken pox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

And this is my 100th post!!!

(not really, that is just part of the tag)

Picture Tag

2008-11-20T08:24:00.000-07:00

(I copied this from Valarie, third folder, third picture:)

This is when Sarah,Nezhone and I went to New York City in 2006. In this picture we are at the not Brooklyn end of the Brooklyn Bridge. (I obviously have no idea where we were, just not in Brooklyn!)

An addition to the family!

2008-10-20T13:44:00.001-06:00

But first, pictures of my haircut. . . .
When I signed up to do the triathlon I decided that after it was over I was going to chop my hair and donate it to "locks of love". I made the appointment for about four days after the triathlon.
I LOVE that I don't have to wait forever to dry my hair anymore, I can use way less conditioner and it takes much less time to fix. But I definitely miss my hair, and I think I like it longer.

And now, the family. Thayne and I had been talking about "expanding" our family for a few weeks and we got surprised with it quite a bit faster than we were thinking. Carol (Thayne's mom) had a friend at work who knew of someone who needed to adopt out his two husky mix dogs. . . so here they are. . .

(Sorry about the terrible picture). Simon is in the front and Loki is at the rear.

Triathlon!

2008-09-23T08:35:00.001-06:00

On Saturday I did my first triathlon. It was pretty fun (well, now it was, if you had asked me during it I'm not sure what my answer would have been!) Anyway, I was really nervous beforehand and on the drive to the park, there was only one other car on the road, his license plate said "PUKE", which I really felt the need to do!

Here are some pictures of the race, enjoy.

Here are a few of the professional photographs the

bike ride (link) and run (link)

So not the most flattering pictures of me, but I guess in this case we all can't look our best! (note, my loving husband just pointed out that the original pic of the bike ride wasn't me, so i've updated the link!)

One last picture

2008-09-09T08:16:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I know that everyone else has already blogged a little bit about the adventure we had on Sunday. This is a picture from a different view of where the truck was stuck. . . just to get some perspective. (To see the truck stuck see Kelly and Yael's and Shannon and Tyler's blog)

(If you look closely you can see where I've drawn in Dad's truck, also if you click on the picture you'll get a better view)

A few more pics of vacation

2008-09-09T07:39:00.000-06:00

Sorry, this one is a bit long. . . These are the pictures (ok, a choice few!) of our trip to Alamosa and Lake City a few weeks ago. Most of the pictures have captions but you have to scroll over the picture to see the caption.

Vacation!

2008-09-02T16:45:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday we rode our bikes over some mountain (no idea what it is called), we ended up looking over Happy Valley (can you see why it is called that?)

The rest of the day was spent four-wheeling to a ghost town called "Carson City"

Some pictures of us (for some reason we have a lot of shots of my rear)

After Carson we went a bit higher up on the hill (I don't know if Thayne's dad realizes where we took his truck. . . )

The view from the top

The last guys who couldn't make it down. . .

And lastly, a picture of Umcompaghre Peak at night

MORE TO COME IN A FEW DAYS!

Thayne is Home! (and Megan's visit to Quantico, VA)

2008-08-20T07:42:00.000-06:00

For those of you who don't know, Thayne did OCS in Quantico for the Marines this summer. This made for a very long hot summer for both of us!

Here are some of the pictures I took the weekend I visited (be sure to cursor over the slideshow to get the captions):

(one funny note, Thayne had a good friend there who he always referred to as St. Cyr, so I still can't remember the guy's first name (I think it is Devon, but we can just call him Candidate St. Cyr). . . )

And finally. . . I got to see Thayne!

For Jikky Jack (Elder Holman)

2008-07-27T08:41:00.000-06:00

So Jack has this funny thing he does when we are driving and he is in the passenger seat. He likes to look out the window with a dumb-ish look on his face, we have been planning on doing this for almost two years, and he is coming home soon, so here we all are, imitating Jack!

To Thayne

2008-07-27T08:38:00.001-06:00

I love you so much and I'm so proud of you!

A Marine!

2008-07-22T07:43:00.000-06:00

Sorry, this post is quite late in coming, I just wanted to let you all know that in April Thayne joined the Marines! He is at Officer Candidate School in Quantico, VA for the summer. I'm including some pictures of the activities there (he is only in one picture though, bummer!)

He will be gone for ten and a half weeks this summer. Then he will come back for one more year of school, and then six more months next summer in Quantico. (This is the current plan, right now he doesn't have to go back next summer if we decide it is not something we want to do.)

If you would like to send him a letter or a card please let me know and I will get you his address.

Waterfalls

2008-06-09T17:38:00.000-06:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we spent some time in Alamosa with our friends Amy and Nate. We went to Zapata Falls and here are some of the pictures.

Notice the pictures at the end show me getting from one side of the creek (or as Dad Holman would say, the crick) to Thayne, and sitting on his lap, and then him trying to throw me in the water. . .

NEW HOUSE!

2008-05-06T08:25:00.000-06:00

Thayne's parents bought a house to use as a rental property. As you can see from the pictures we will be helping them to fix it up. . .

Let me know if you are interested in the cow, or if you would like to help paint the garage door!

2008-05-06T08:22:00.000-06:00

Thayne's brother Dave needed some help fixing his hair (I'm not even going to comment on that part), this is the outcome

2008-05-06T08:21:00.000-06:00

If you've seen Shannon's post you may have seen a few motorcycle pictures. Here are a few more, I'm glad I didn't go!

Thayne got beat up!

2008-04-16T12:01:00.000-06:00

No, it was't a domestic quarrel. In the past few months Thayne has got a few black eyes.

Also, yesterday while at work I received a text message from him saying "on way to doctor". When I called, he informed me that a piece of a mixer had fallen on his head and he had to get a few stitches. I used to think I had a strong stomach, but not so anymore!

Thayne

2008-04-16T11:52:00.000-06:00

A few weeks (ok, months) ago Thayne and his brother and dad climbed a 14-er. (I can't remember the name right now. . )

Here is a 360 view of where they were . . .

. . . Oh, and the crazy brother-in-law. . .

Honeymoon!

2008-04-16T11:46:00.000-06:00

We went to Glenwood Springs and Salt Lake City for the honeymoon, here are a few pics we took along the way.

Also, Thayne was so good and did all of the booking for the lodging beforehand. This is where we stayed the first few nights--next time we'll definitely ask for pictures first!

Wedding Pictures!

2008-01-16T08:29:00.001-07:00

Great thanks to Yael who did an awesome job on the pictures! I love them.

We had the perfect day for the wedding, hope everyone enjoys!

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2008-01-10T09:01:00.000-07:00

So I am trying to keep up with this, I figure if I log in once every two months I am doing ok for now. We got married in December, on the 15th, here are some pictures.

It was the most beautiful day, we wanted enough snow to make it beautiful but not so much that family couldn't get there and we feel we were completely blessed with exactly what we wanted! Thank you all so much for your help!

2007-11-02T10:18:00.000-06:00

Oi, this is harder than I thought (no jokes about the stupid engineer and the computer here please!) This is one of the first pictures Thayne and I took together . . .uh, in December of 2005! His family tried to kill me snowboarding, apparently that was test number one--I must have passed that one and all of the rest since, because we are getting married!

2007-11-02T10:17:00.001-06:00

So Thayne and I were starting to feel left out, we only have a photo link on everyone else's blog! Hopefully I can keep up with this.. .. we'll see!