Chicago!

I think I need to pinch myself because time is going by so fast! It seems like Spring would never come, let alone Spring Break. And now, our break is almost gone! We got back from Chicago yesterday and it was a blast! It is only a 5 hour drive or so from Des Moines, so we decided to try it out. We wanted to go have a little fun (meaning sleeping, eating, and going with the flow) one last time before the little guy comes into our lives.

The first night we stayed at the Wyndham hotel near the Magnificent Mile. We wanted the downtown experience, and it was great and fancy...except we've decided that fancy isn't always better. We sort of felt like we had to tip-toe around--never knowing when to tip, never knowing if we were doing the right thing. The vallet parking was a bit weird. Our room was really comfy. The breakfast buffet was to die for. The pool and hot tub were fun. But the fancy fru-fru just isn't our style. (Except for the linens on the bed...where did they get those?! I want some!)

Here's a picture of Bradley lounging on the really comfy bed. Yeah, he's enjoying himself ;-)

And California Pizza Kitchen was a block away...hello yummy.


Our second day in Chicago was whirls of fun. We went to Shedd's Aquarium and walked along the lake. It was such a beautiful day! I got to see my first dolphin, whale, and shark! The lines were long, the crowds were crazy, but we found ways to get around it and do our own thing. We even went to one of those 4D movies where they spray you with water, scare you, and fill the room with bubbles. I didn't really like it when they sprayed water on my face--I thought it was gross. But Bradley seemed to love every minute of it!
Here's us along the lake and by the skyline.

And me being silly rubbing my belly.

The lake is HUGE!

That's Navy Pier behind me.

It was almost like the ocean, but I'm still a loser and haven't seen it. So I pretended.

Holy Giant Anaconda!!!! It could probably eat Bradley like a little wanton.

Holy Giant Amazon Fish!!!

And us together outside the aquarium(it was difficult taking pictures together!)


The next day, we were at our AWESOME Holiday Inn which was just as nice as the Wyndham (in my opinion, that is. It had a fridge and microwave haha). Plus we didn't have to deal with the fluff. We decided to go to Alice in Wonderland at a very old theatre called the Pickwick. It was really fun! We also ate at an amazing sandwich place called the Potbelly. I thought it was funny considering the circumstances.



The last day we wanted to go to the Chicago temple and do some family sealings. It was a neat experience! Our little break was so fun even though I'm sad it went by so fast! Bradley and I both agree that we are happy to see Winter go! Finally!

25 Weeks and Minnesota Madness

This past weekend Bradley had a fairly easy schedule in terms of studying, so I got the idea...let's go somewhere! And what better place to be than with family! It was a really spur of the moment thing, and it was so much fun! We went to Kris and Chuck's house and they totally spoiled us and showed us such a fun time! We ate so much good food and got a chance to catch up. So relaxing! We also had a chance to go to Mall of America. Although I couldn't ride any of the rides, I still had so much fun watching them and eating fun treats (Dip n' Dots, anyone?). Bradley was so excited to be on all the roller coasters like a "little two year old" as he just said to me. Haha. Here is a picture of the indoor theme park and a new/old picture of Kris, Chuck, Jessica, and little Rachel. We love how Rachel talks! So cute! And Jessica is so grown up and gorgeous! And, here's the ever-growing bump. I know, I look beyond tired and a little scarey--but look at that tummy! Honestly, it looks a little big to me like I just popped right out there! But I love being pregnant and feeling our little one kick and flop around. It makes me smile. And I think I might've got my first stretch mark today...haha. Bradley said its not one, but we'll see. Also, I know it sounds crazy, but I have been in a major nesting mood. All I can think about is organizing, cleaning, and getting things for the baby! Gah! I am so glad that Bradley is enjoying school and doing so well. He really has a knack for study skills. I see him so much every day! It is such a blessing. I was really scared that medical school would turn our relationship upside-down, but it is awesome! He's so excited to be a dad too. He likes to talk to my stomach, which I'm sure is more amusing to me than to our little guy haha. But it makes us laugh.

Our FHE Discovery

While doing family history, this is what Bradley and I discovered...(click on the image for a bigger picture).




I don't know about you, but I thought that was...neat. And sorta...creepy?!!! Haha.

23 Weeks!

Well, 23 weeks will be here tomorrow so I thought I'd post a new sassy side shot for the family (uh, but they are embarrassing)! I was going to wait until 24 weeks, but I think I grew! And thanks Mom for the maternity shirts! Totally sweeeeet!


Here is also my favorite ultrasound picture (so far). I just love the profile shots! It is totally fun to guess whose ears, eyes, nose, etc. he has! What do you think?! I think he might look like a little Bradley, but time will tell. He's also been kicking me like crazy and it is the best feeling in the world! I think he might be a chocolate lover like me. Everytime I eat it, he goes nuts!


Also, I know it is SUPER early but here is some of our nursery furniture (thanks Stokes!) You know who you are! I think it's soooo cute and fun and the best is that it was such a good deal! I decided to get white furniture because the room is so dark and tiny and I wanted to brighten it up.




So fun! I will try and update more often! One last thing...here is (finally) the Bennion family picture. I just figured out how to scan (no joke!) so here it is. We took this picture at the same place Nathan (my brother) and I used to feed the ducks when we were very tiny. At least I think that's what my parents said.

Boy, Broadway, and Bling!

As most everyone knows, Bradley and I are expecting a BOY in June! We are so thrilled. For some reason, I just couldn't picture our first baby being a girl and we constantly referred to the baby as "he" even before we found out. Most of the people in our family also thought it might be a boy, so I guess its just meant to be! Everything looked fine on the ultrasound, so I'm hoping he'll come to us healthy and happy! We already have a name picked out, but we aren't going to share it until he gets here! I'll have to be careful though. I'm saying his name all the time I'm afraid it might slip!
As far as the pregnancy has gone, the first trimester (up until about 16 weeks) was pretty special. I felt really lousy and sick. It was hard not to get frustrated by the fact that I was drained of all energy and didn't like any food that Bradley suggested. But then 17 weeks came...and I felt amazing! It was like magic! Now I eat all the time and EVERYTHING sounds good! Here is a 20 week shot (although I'm 22 weeks). I haven't really grown that much since then so I think I'll wait until 24 weeks to post a new one.

On another note, Bradley and I went to the Lion King a few weeks ago! It was so fun! Des Moines is pretty unique in that its downtown is pretty much dead all the time, so traffic and parking were great! What a great Christmas present from my sweetie!

And finally, last night we went to DMU's Winter Gala. It was so exciting to have an excuse to dress up! Especially with the best date in the world, my husband!We went to dinner at Bravo Cucina Italiano and it was very scrumptious! The actual dance was kinda funny because everything was so fancy but then you had all of the non-LDS students drinking and dancing to the loudest band in the world and dancing very...uniquely. It felt like prom all over again except the drinks made everyone around us VERY happy haha. When we walked outside Bradley and I both thought our ears had completely shot, but it was fun to observe the craziness. The best part was the dessert bar and chocolate fountain and hanging out with our friends Dana and Brodi!




And here are the massive icicles that Iowa's winter brought us. I want Spring to come! And pronto! Loves!

One Million Bazillion Calories of Festiveness!

Well, we're home after two weeks of being in Colorado for the holidays and boy is it cold here in Iowa! At times it is -30 and our apartment is freezing! I thought Rexburg got cold, but this is really burrrrrrr!

We sure did have a PARTAY in Colorado. And by that, I mean that it consisted of eating a lot of food. (Not solely, but I DO love to eat...naturally.) We hit up Yakitori, Smash Burger, Qdoba, Wild Wings, Schlotzskys (twice), etc. etc. etc. Basically it was awesome!!! In between gorging ourselves on the delicacies of America's saturated fat warehouse, we played a lot of board games like scrabble, boggle, Rook (which the Ladies roundhouse kicked the boys on), and a bunch of other fun ones.

One of my favorite things we did one night was make a huge fire in the brick fireplace outside. We roasted a ton of marshmallows which meant a lot of s'mores. I don't think I've ever seen a kid (aka Claire) eat so many burnt marshmallows in one hour. She had those things cranking out of the fire and into her mouth like a shooting rocket.

Christmas eve was awesome! We had our usual almond in the pudding and clam chowder. Bradley got the almond in his pudding this year which meant he won the prize! It was a "Worst Case Scenario" board game, and holy moly is that a crazy game! I now know how to dismantle a caterpillar's head in case I need to eat it on a desert island. Man vs. Wild anyone? The pajama elf also made his usual rounds to our house and dropped off some warm and fuzzy sleeping duds. Anyways, one of the best parts of Christmas eve was that Matt called from Aussie land! He had a lot of good and funny things to say to us! Go Matt!

Christmas morning (drum roll, please) we all woke up at 4:30 in the morning! Yeah, it's a tradition at our house to go through stocking and present goodness in the dark morning hours. And we open presents one by one...youngest to oldest...

My head hurts just thinking about it now, but wow! And yawn!

We had such a nice Christmas! It was fun to see everyone open presents (especially Claire) because she still is in that believing state. I don't know how she's still doing it with all of us older kids around, but Santa still lives at my house people! One of my favorite gifts was the fullsized keyboard my parents got for us. I have really been wanting to play the piano and now both Bradley and I can! Everything thing we got was so nice and fun! Thanks a bunch!

New Years was a blast too. And guess what we did? Eat. The usual wantans and mountains of bubbly and chips and every horribly delicious and heart wrenching thing. Now we are back home after a terribly long drive. Our next task is to get our apartment up to a decent degree so we can ring in 2010 with some energy!

Life or Something Like It!

Everyone! I am SO sorry that I haven't updated this is 1,000 years! I totally could've, I just plain forgot that we had a blog! What! So, let me catch everyone up on a few things...plus a few funny photos that I'm sure the closest friends and family will get a kick out of. (Everyone else will probably just think..."hmmm, weird.")

Anyways, life is awesome and we are gearing up to fly to Idaho for Thanksgiving! We are so blessed to be together! This past month has been great. Some of the Bennion bunch joined us for Halloween. I think Claire was just WAY more excited about that candy than anything else. If you know Claire, you'll understand! ;-) Love her! Also, Sam and Bradley decided to wear disturbing teeth (as you can see). I thought they were totally disgusting, but hey, guys apparently love that stuff?!

But WAY before Thanksgiving, Nathan and Shaleena got married and it was so awesome! It is strange to think that they used to be great friends in high school and now look at them all grown up! Here is a picture of us ladies holding up the groom! Check out the look on his face! He's a happy camper.

Bradley's doing super good in school. Lucky duck. Somedays I wish I had his brain! Hehe! But I count my lucky stars everyday that I was able to earn my degree in something that I am absolutely passionate about and will hopefully be able to use! Right now, I am trying to figure out which is the best option right now! But as everyone says, "You've got time." Well, I hope that's true! We love you all! Even you crazies who I haven't seen forever! Take care and remind me to update soon. I'm sure I'll have stories about pie.