As you all know, Aaron and I celebrated Christmas in California with Aaron's family. For both of our families, it is a tradition to open pajamas on Christmas Eve. Aaron's mom, or Mrs. Clause, does matching pj's which makes for fabulous pictures. I just received these pictures from Aaron's older sister yesterday--thanks Sara!
We caught some beautiful views of the ocean and some lazy sea lions and played "500" with a Frisbee. This was entertaining because two of the players were pregnant (Sara and myself). After letting everyone know that we would not be accepting cheap shots to the belly, Sara and I held our own and both won one game. The weather that day was beautiful, we couldn't even wear a light jacket because it was so warm. In the evening we opened gifts from "Mrs. Clause." The gifts were matching pj's for everyone! We took pictures 'cuz we all looked so darn cute, but I'll try to post those pictures later.
and ate chocolate-covered frozen bananas! Mmmmmm! On the beach Aaron found seaweed that looked alien-like. In this picture he is dancing with seaweed.
On day five we called the front desk to find out were the harbor was, and the lady's reply was "look out your window." Oops! Sure enough, 100 yards from our window was the harbor. We decided to go on a three hour whale watching excursion that afternoon. Even though we did not see one single whale, we found two different breeds of dolphins in large "schools." Since I don't remember the bred names we will just call them, "small dolphins" and "large, grayish white dolphins." Here is a picture of the larger dolphins. We had a blast out on the ocean. It was a beautiful and relaxing ride.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone had a blast to kick off the new year. However, I doubt anyone had as much fun as Aaron and I! We spent New Year's Day in Disneyland! Aaron's Mom treated us, along with all of her children, to a week in California. We had a fun filled week, which I will cover in another post. In this post I'll tell you all about Disneyland. We woke up at 5a.m., left our rooms at 6a.m. to drive from San Diego, arrived at the park at 8a.m., and played hard ALL DAY LONG!!! We left the park at about 10:30pm after about 14 hours of being on our feet! I know that doesn't seem like much, but try being 6 months pregnant, it is a little more difficult! I couldn't ride any of the rollar coasters, so I made Aaron ride Space Mountain and Indian Jones while I waited. Luckily most of the rides in Disneyland are for kids so I was able to fill my day with rides like Pirates of the Carribean, Nemo's Submarine ride, 
and the Haunted Mansion. I did, however, ride two rides that pregnant woman are cautioned not to ride. I dared Star Tours and the Thunder Mountain rollar coaster. Star Tours was very mild, but Thunder Mountain was the rockiest rollar coaster I'd ever been on! Oops! All is well though, and it was a fun adventure. The day's events also included a Fantasmic water/light show and fireworks to celebrate the New Year. 
Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause were also there. Aaron and I waited in line to catch a picture with them! There were also several parades but we thought that this would be a good time to eat and catch the short lines while everyone else enjoyed the parades! It was fun to be able to spent time with Aaron's family. We all went to Star Tours and the wild ride Autotopia together. This is a picture Aaron took of the rest of us waiting in line at Star Tours.
My favorite part of the day was just being able to spent time with Aaron and enjoying a beautiful day in California (while it was snowing back home). Aaron and I were surprised at the "magic" of Disneyland. The staff and the atmosphere were wonderful. Thanks Pat for the tickets! We had a great time!
This last Saturday my dad, Aaron, Boa (our dog), and I went hiking. We had a great time and the weather was beautiful. We forgot how lucky we are in Southern Utah to see breathtaking views by just stepping out our door. It was also just great to get out, work off some of that turkey in our bellies, and have a fun family adventure. I was glad that my 5 month, bulging belly didn't slow me down! Plus, Boa loves walks. 
This was her first time in the mountains, she'll probably never be satisfied with just a trip around the block again! Thanks Dad for taking us!
here is a good Internet site that explains everything:
Aaron and I witnessed three live births, seven screws taken out from a leg, tonsils being removed, and surgery on a hiatus hernia. I also saw stitches being sewn into a large gash of a drunken man in the E.R. During the first surgery we saw, the hiatus hernia victim, the doctor was able to show us inside the body cavity. She pointed out the diaphragm, the heart beating against the chest cavity, the stomach, the liver, and the esophagus. Before the first cut even began, Aaron was found passed-out on the floor! He had to step into the other room to get control of himself again. He was really embarrassed. Aaron got very sick from the water or the food, and I found myself sick the whole week as well. However, when I got home I took a pregnancy test and found out that it was because I was about six weeks pregnant! No wonder why I was so sick! Other than spending time in the hospital, we ate, and ate, and ate, hot and spicy (and usually questionable) Mexican food for every meal. I still have yet to eat any thing Mexican in over a month. However, some of the meals were very good. At one outdoor restaurant, overlooking the ocean, we were sung to by an old man with his guitar.
He, of course, asked for a very ridiculous tip afterwords. Everyone just assumed because we were Americans we were super rich. We often found store and restaurant keepers trying, and usually succeeding, to rip us off. During our free time, Aaron and I went swimming and snorkeling in the warmest ocean on the Earth. Hawaii's water would feel cold comparatively! Also we were able to perform service for two of the orphanages in Guaymas by bringing them clothing, hygiene products, and a few hours of our time to play with them.
At the second orphanage we brought a Pinata for the children. After they had beat the Pinata and gathered their candy, they shared the candy with all of us. That was a very humbling and fun experience. The final pictures shown here are of our hotel that sat only a few feet from the ocean's edge.
It seemed like a miracle that something that small could have a beating heart. For the first time it hit me that there was actually something inside there! It was a lot of fun. Then it was off to the lab for blood work and a urine test. Even though I hadn't eaten in a while and felt sick, they took 6 vials of blood. For some reason, the nurse didn't want to pick me up from off the ground, so she thankfully let me lay down! Our next appointment is on October 27th, we will update you then as well. By November's appointment we will also know if we are having a boy or a girl. Since we've had a lot of questions about this, if it is a boy we will name him Anders, and if it is a girl we will call her Eva. So, NO stealing those names! :)
When Aaron and I were dating, I told him that "whoever" proposes to me better make the spot scenic and beautiful because one day I would like to paint a picture of that spot. Well, about eight months after we started dating, Aaron took me to the top of the St. George bluff and proposed to me by saying "will this be a good enough picture?" Aaron and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple on May 26, 2007. 
We enjoyed a honeymoon in Hawaii, moved to Oklahoma, and then moved back to Cedar City, Utah all within the first four months of marriage. 
While in Oklahoma, we were given a purebred Pekineese puppy. When she was given to us her name was Daisy...so we quickly renamed her. Rocky Balboa is her new name, but we call her "Boa" for short. She is "daddy's little girl" and is the reason we get up each morning. No, literally, she will jump on the bed when our alarm goes off, lick us, and pounce on our heads until we get out of bed. We have had lots of fun adventures with Boa.
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