my california baby shower

Although wedding week in California was crazy busy,

my sisters were so amazing and took time to throw me a beautiful shower.

The theme was The Very Hungry Caterpillar: there was so much color,

the music was perfect, and the food even went with the theme.

It was so nice to see close friends and family, we laughed a lot and had a blast!

Thank you soooo much Kari and Lauryn for putting the whole thing together.

With both of their minds combined, it was creative and beautiful and i felt so loved:)

Thanks Madi for helping them out even when I know you had homework!

And thank you momma for all the food and letting us have it at your lovely home.

Our little boy is so blessed to already have such loving Aunties and Grandma.

All of my friends that came gave such sweet advice and thoughtful gifts.

Thanks everyone! All 3 of us love you mucho muchisimo!! xo

Mr and Mrs David Stephan...

Derrick and I went to California for a week to spend time with the Stephan family and to get ready for

my brother's wedding!

It was such a busy week. A beautiful wedding takes work! But it was well worth it. Their day was perfect. Being in the temple and seeing my brother get married made me shed a couple of tears,

but happy tears of course:)

David and Rebecca were married on August 13, 2011 at the San Diego temple at 10:26am to be exact.

They make a beautiful couple. I am so happy for them and happy to have a new sister too:)

Baby Bump Update : 30 weeks!

Dear Baby Boy...

Although you aren't born yet, we love you so much!

We talk about you a lot already and wonder things like: What should we call you? Who will you look more like? What kind of things will you like to do? Will you be fussy or calm? Will you like taking trips and meeting new people? Will we know how to hold you and how to keep you happy? Who will change your diapers the most? (well.. it'll probably mostly be me since your dad will be hard at work and school for us everyday. He's the best.)

You are already a very active little boy in the womb. You like to have your feet right in my ribs, usually on the right side. It doesn't make sitting very comfortable so I have to sit arched back and stretch out my arms a lot. But I am glad I can feel you moving so much even though sometimes I think you are getting to big for me already!

Your dad and I sometimes feel my belly and wonder what body part of yours we are feeling. It's a fun game, and we'll never know if we are right about our guesses. One of your dad's favorite things to do is to involve you in our decision making. He'll ask you a question, put his hand on my belly and then say "Okay baby, kick once for yes or twice for no" or he'll say, "Kick once if you agree with mom, or twice if you agree with me". You're usually on my side:)

These are some pics from our first family photo shoot, can you tell how excited we are that you are on your way?

We love you baby boy! See you in less than 10 weeks:) xoxo Mom

(Thank you Tara for your amazing photography skills! Check out her blog )

Bear Lake

Last weekend we drove out to one of my fave little lakes

(mainly my fave bc here we stay in a condo and heaven knows this belly wont allow

me to comfortably sleep anywhere other than a bed).

In the summer Derrick's family loves going to all sorts of lakes.

It's all about waterskiing, wakeboarding, kneeboarding, tubing, riding jetskis etc.

As for me and my current belly situation..

I was perfectly content reading a mag, chugging lotsa H2O, and catching some rays:)

The weather was perfect all day

and afterwards we went back to the hotel and dipped in the pool and jacuzzi.

(ps: do you see my baby belly in that tankini?! 3 more months to go.. oh boy.)

3 preggos and a half

Lunch with the gals!

Can you believe three of us are pregnant and due less than 30 days apart?!

We didn't even plan it, I promise!

It's pretty exciting. Brandee who was also the birthday girl that day, isn't pregnant,

but she had twins a year and a half ago, so she's paid her dues (hence the "half" part of my title).

Anywho I just love these gals. It's nice that we get to be fat and happy together:)

The Fourth

1. We're not sure what this hollowed star was for but Lauryn and Alex foundsome shade in it, it was a hot day in IF!

2. Cousins! Alex, Lauryn, Kacie, and Chelsey (with the temple in the background:)

3. Revolutionary Berry! So delish.

4. Elote Loco:) Besides the fireworks and American pride.. this is one thing we look forward to most on the fourth.

5. It's raspberry lemonade.. but whatever it is we are drinking or doing, we always tend to look a little party hardy.

6. Funnel Cake is like a festival/fair necessity, right? right.

7. Hubby and I cuddled on a picnic blanket while watching the fireworks. It was lovely.

8. Baby boy enjoyed the show too, he was kicking like crazy. Next year we'll have to take him to see them for real!

9. My cousin Courtney is preggers with a boy too! Isn't she cute? I wish I would've gotten a pic of her and her hubby together! He made some bomb-diggity hamburgers for us! (thanks again guys!!)

10-12. Sparklers!!! We love these! Lovely Laura, my adorable hubby, and the cute couple:)

The RM

"We are the Lord's hands here upon the earth, with the mandate to serve and to lift His children. He is dependent upon each of us.”

Last Friday Derrick's brother, Tehren got home from his mission. He served in The Everett Washington Mission and he loved it. When he and Derrick hugged I had to capture the moment.

I love the glow that returned missionaries have. It's one that I think a lot of us strive to have everyday.

Seeing others leave or return for their missions makes me miss those days so much!

I met so many people that I don't think I will ever forget.

Today I talked to a girl who is leaving for her mission to the West Indies next month.

I told her to savor and live in every moment and not wish she was anywhere else.

Don't we all do that? Life gets hard and we say, "Well I cant wait until..."

Whether on a mission or not, I think we all need to live in today and not wish for tomorrow.

We can always prepare for what's to come, but living now will make us so much happier and grateful for the little things. I'm grateful I got a chance to serve full time, but I know my service to Lord isn't over.

I still have lots to do in this world and I hope take time to love everyday and make the most of it.