Baby's Here

So our baby is here! Kathleen woke up having contractions at about 3:00AM this morning and the contractions were about 5 minutes apart. She got up and moving and they got closer together (2-3 min.) but were half as long. We weren't sure what it meant but Kathleen was in a lot of pain during the contractions. So we got all ready and left at about 7:15AM. We were admitted in the hospital at about 7:45AM and She was dialated to a 4+. Her contractions were getting really painful and she got the epidural at about 9:00AM. We were getting ready for a day long of contractions. But an hour later they checked Kathleen again and she was dialated to a 10! The doctor came in and broke her water. The nurses started to have her push at that time. She pushed for about 5 contractions (around 15 minutes) and then the baby was about out and the doctor wasn't even there yet. We had to tell her not to push but the contractions started to push his head out. Luckily the Doctor got there and everything went well, but we were glad to have a quick labor. There isn't a name yet, but we'll get it on the next update.

Baby Update

So I thought I would give a little update on the status of Bryce Jr. We are now under two weeks until the due date, which means we are just waiting... He could come anytime I guess, but we are predicting that he will take his time and probably won't come until after October 8th. I am guessing he will come right during the BYU vs. New Mexico game because it would probably be the most incovenient time...for Bryce anyway. =)

We haven't gotten everything settled in his little room yet but we are getting close. We do have a car seat so we can bring him home from the hospital and a cradle (thanks to my sister Jessica) so he has a place to sleep. We figured those were the most important things.

Other than just waiting for the baby not much else has been happening. Bryce's school is keeping him busy and I am trying to stay busy. We were able to go to the temple yesterday with Bryce's cousin Nicole who is getting married in 2 weeks! It was so nice and we were glad we could go.

I decided to make a little collage of my progression through pregnancy. It really is amazing how large your tummy can get. I thought I was getting pretty big at the 15 weeks picture!! Yeah, I know...look at me now.

And hopefully we will have some exciting news to share in the near future!

Back in Provo!

We are finally back in Provo! Actually, we've been back a few weeks now, but...you know. The drive from Philadelphia was very long but wasn't as bad as I thought. We left and split the trip up into 3 days of driving so that we could get back in time for the first BYU home game! Bryce went to the game and I am sure loved every minute of it. I decided to just go shopping and get a pedicure (since painting them myself is getting a little difficult these days) with my sister Chelsea.

Bryce is starting his third week of school now and is having a pretty good semester so far. He is taking a basketball and golf class which gives him a break between his classes and homework. And we are finally getting settled into our apartment. The painting wasn't done when we got here so our landlord said she would pay us if we just did it ourselves. So we decided to do a little painting since we could probably do a better job and get it done for sure before the baby comes. We finished it last week, all thanks to my mom. She was here for a week helping my brother and his wife with their new twins and she helped us A LOT with the painting. We are really glad it's over too. Painting isn't as fun as it might seem.

Besides getting settled in our apartment and starting school we have had a few baby showers since we got back. My friends from Ponca City (Katie, Crystal, and Kyla) threw one for me last Saturday and then I had another one that Bryce's mom, stepmom, and sisters did this past Saturday. They were both so nice and I think we're just about ready for the baby to come! I didn't take any pictures though, which I am a little upset about...I'm not even sure where our camera is right now! But thanks to everyone to helped and who came.

Since we haven't taken any pictures recently, I figured I'd add a few from our trip to New York City that I never posted.




Trying to take a picture with the Statue of Liberty. There were sooo many people, it was pretty difficult to get a good pic. That's why Bryce was making a funny face...he was getting a little upset.


At the top of the Empire State Building


Times Square!


In Brooklyn with the New York skyline in the background. It was beautiful at night!


I saw this homeless man and thought he was so cute, so I took a picture of him! just kidding, this is Bryce. It was a long day of walking so I guess he was cooling his feet off or something. This was while we waited in line for like an hour to get pizza at some famous place...I can't remember the name though.

So there are a few highlights from our trip to New York a while ago. It was a long day, I don't think my feet have ever hurt as bad as they did that night, but it was a lot of fun.

So there is an update on us. Only about 3 weeks left until the baby is supposed to be here! And we still haven't decided on a name...

Two Year Anniversary!

Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary! It's hard to believe it has been that long! But at the same time it's weird that it hasn't been longer...I can't really remember life without Bryce. It has been a great two years and we are ready for the excitement and challenges that lie ahead of us.


It was great that our anniversary landed on a Sunday this year too because we got to spend the whole day together. If it had been any other day Bryce would've been working all day. So after church we decided to drive down to Washington DC. Bryce is in love with that city and we didn't have a chance to stop by the temple last time we went down there. We figured the temple was a perfect place to go and visit on our anniversary! So that was our first stop. And probably our favorite. We went into the visitors center. One of the missionaries put a video on for us about families. I am pretty sure it's because she noticed I am pregnant. But it was really good. Then we walked around for a while and took a few pictures.



Bryce in front of the temple



Bryce had to lay down on the ground to get this shot...pretty cool though eh?


Bryce with the beautiful flowers behind the temple! They apparently are redoing things back there, but it was still a beautiful walk.

After our visit to the temple we drove to the Capitol, the White House, and the Lincoln Memorial. We took our time looking at everything. It was a good anniversary!


Bryce by the Capitol


In front of the Lincoln Memorial. (I was on the phone with my mom and dad)


In front of the White House - Bryce wasn't ready for the picture yet I guess...but I thought it was still a cute picture.


Bryce and Abe



Both of us in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It was really pretty at night.



I would also like to mention that my brother Paul and his wife Molly had their babies last week on August 22! And, I did say babies...they have twin girls! We are excited to go back to Utah and see them. Here is a picture of them together. Congratulations Paul and Molly!!




Aislee and Olivia


We are down to our last few days here in Philadelphia. It has been a good summer, but we are ready to get back to Provo and get everything settled in our new apartment before school starts!

Sister Trip! (minus two sisters)

My two youngest sisters, Jenny and Sarah, came to visit us here in Philadelphia for a week. And what a busy week it was! We went to New York City for two days, saw Longwood Gardens, went to Washington D.C., downtown Philadelphia, and ended the trip by visiting Amish country. It was a lot of fun and it's kind of sad to come home from work to an empty apartment again. But I do have to say that although I am fairly pregnant, I kept up pretty well with the girls. We did a lot of walking!
Now we'll have to plan a trip that all five of us sisters can go on together.

New York City and Longwood Gardens

So our first trip was to New York City. And I was kind of dreading it. I am not a big city person. I was so nervous that we would get mugged or kidnapped or something. I told Bryce before we left that it may be the last time he would ever see me alive. The night before we left for New York I had the hardest time sleeping too because I was having all these dreams, or nightmares I guess, about getting lost and stuff! So I was really glad that everything went well while we were there. We did get lost driving...which really was to be expected. I am the worst with directions and even get confused driving in downtown Bartlesville, which is pretty sad. But we made it to our hotel in one piece and didn't get lost on the subway once!

We went to Times Square, Central Park, saw the Manhattan temple, went to a broadway show (Phantom of the Opera), rode in a taxi with a fingerless driver, took a ferry by the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, walked by Ground Zero, took a tour of the NBC studios, went to the Empire State Building, and got to all of these places on the subway!

Here are some of the pictures we took. They are mostly of Jenny and Sarah, because it was their vacation and I don't really like pictures too much. I decided to try making a collage of them because we had quite a few. Hopefully it works out okay. I guess I should also mention that Sarah broke her arm playing soccer again a few weeks ago, and that is why she has on a bright orange cast.


1- Jenny and Sarah in the subway 2 - At the top of the Empire State Building 3 - Sarah with a peanut M&M 4 - Times Square at night 5 - J Dawg, S Kid, and P Diddy 6 - Central Park 7 - This one is for mom, Jenny drinking straight from the bottle 8 - By the Manhattan LDS Temple 9 - Jen and Sar in the M&M store 10 - In the Hershey store, aka heaven on earth =)


1 - Sarah looking out over Ground Zero 2 - Palm trees in New York! 3 - Jenny at Ground Zero 4 - Jen with the Statue of Liberty 5 - The girls on the ferry 6 - Sar with the Statue of Liberty 7 - on the ferry with the New York skyline in the background 8 - So this is on here twice, but I don't want to redo the collage, so Jen and Sar at the top of the Empire State Building 9 - New York from the ferry!

We had a lot of fun in New York and were very glad to make it back to our apartment with no problems. We slept in the next day and decided to visit Longwood Gardens that evening. We walked around, took some pictures, and happened upon a Celtic Concert where the Hunt Family Fiddlers were performing! They are really good and we were glad we went when we did so that we could see them. It is a family of 7 kids, 2 girls and 5 boys, that all play the fiddle and dance!


Here are some of the glamour shots we took in the gardens. We were just getting Jenny ready for taking senior pictures. By the end she was pretty sick of me and the camera, but we got some great shots!

Washington D.C. and Philly

We then drove down to Washington D.C. for a day. My mom and dad found a tour bus for us to go on which worked out perfectly. It was air-conditioned and we had the best tour guide ever! We ended up getting lost on our way there again (big surprise) and missed our 10:00am tour, but luckily they had another one at 11:00am that we were able to go on. We had to park far away and take a taxi to make it to the 11:00am tour, but we did make it.


1 - At the Jefferson Monument 2 - On the stairs of the Jefferson Monument 3 - Lincoln Monumnet 4 - Outside the White House gates 5 & 6 - Washington Monument 7 - In front of the White House 8 - WWII Memorial in front of the Oklahoma pillar


1 & 2 - Good times on the tour bus 3 - Jenny in front of a shrine, apparently there is no other building like it in the western hemisphere 4 - Sarah got some sort of prize or certificate from the Environmental Protection Agency for her science fair project last year, so we thought she should take a pic by their building

On Sunday we went to Philadelphia with Bryce. I'd had enough driving and getting lost, so we planned it so Bryce could drive us to our last big city on his one day off. We probably took the most pictures while we were in Philly, which is funny because we were there for the shortest amount of time.


1 - Jen by the Liberty Bell 2 - Sarah in front of Independence Hall 3 - Jenny with her new whistle in front of Independence Hall 4 - Sar and the Liberty Bell


1 - Bryce in front of George Washington 2 - Bryce and Independence Hall 3 - Bryce and Kathleen in front of Independence Hall 4 - Jenny and Sarah by George Washington


We decided to try a philly cheesesteak from both Pat and Geno's. They are right across the street from each other and we heard that Pat's is better. So we tried one from each and decided that although they are basically the same...


Geno's is the better choice!

After eating a philly cheesesteak we went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (or the Rocky stairs). Bryce, Jenny, and Sarah had a race to the top and we took tons of pictures.


Running to the top and celebrating once they got up there!


By the Rocky statue. Bryce and I from the top of the stairs. Bryce stopping to take a drink after running to the top of the stairs. (he didn't actually drink this water, just pretended to)