3 years...

Yesterday, Gabe and I celebrated 3 years together as Husband and Wife. I love this picture of us on our wedding day. Look at our smiles. We were sure excited to be married. Today I smile way bigger. I am married to the man of my dreams. He makes me happier than I could have ever imagined. Last night he wrote me a letter about all the adventures we've been on and how much he loves me. It took me a while to read it through all my tears... I'm such a baby. Such a sweetheart I married. He makes life fun and exciting. He makes everyday happy. I love being his girl. Happy Anniversary Babe! Yesterday was perfect, I loved reminiscing with you about our fun wedding day. I love you so so much. Can't wait to spend forevers with you!

A Christmas Tradition...

A couple weeks ago, we made the trek out to Mesa to see the Mesa temple christmas lights with The Blands. We went last year at about the same time and decided this year to keep the tradition going. We started the night out with a little Cafe Rio (the only one in the state) and then hit the temple to see the lights. It was awesome. It had actually been raining all night. We questioned whether or not we should actually drive the 45 minutes out there, but we couldn't mess with tradition. :) It rained the whole time we were driving and the whole time we were at dinner. Then as soon as we got to the temple, it stopped. It was a beautiful night! Well, Gabe was freezing. I on the other hand was perfectly content with my little toaster baby keeping me warm. And... nobody was there. It was awesome. We could take all the pics we wanted without any random eddies in the background. Loved it.

The lights were BEAUTIFUL! Where else can you get a lighted orange tree other than AZ?!

The manger scene with that awesome star.

The classic "red lit" tree

Seriously. How beautiful is the Mesa temple?

Meg and I

And our baby bellies... We've grown a little bit since last year!

Thank you Blands for the fun fun night. I think it was the end of our tradition at the Mesa temple lights. This next year will be a big year for both our little families and will probably take us away from Arizona. But we'll never forget our amazing friends The Blands and our fun dinners and outings! Love you guys!

A look back at our little tradition...

We came in 2009 with Kreig and Brittany Lewis, looking for a house and getting excited to move to Arizona!

Last year in 2010 we came with the Blands. Meg and I were then running buddies, running up to 15 miles on the weekends. Gabe and I were deciding on MBA school.

And this year, 2011 with the Blands. Meg and I, no longer running, just baking little babies in our bellies. And Gabe and I loving our life in Arizona. Looking forward to 2012... Baby Londyn Bell, Graduating, and moving forward with the next steps of life. We're so blessed!

What a fun tradition we've started!

Thankful for Family....

We are so blessed. We had so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. And what an awesome Thanksgiving it was! My parents planned a trip out to Cali to see Wes and Ash and the kids and invited us along for the ride. It was so so so fun to spend the holiday with my fam. Since Wes and I don't live in Utah, we only get to be with the whole fam about once a year. It breaks my heart to know that my little niece and nephew are growing big without me! We usually are in Utah for a family get together so it was such a treat to go on vacation to California. I know for Wes and Ash it is there home town, but my parents splurged and took us all to San Diego to "get away" for a couple of days. We started the trip with a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner at Weston's in-laws. What amazing food! Shauna was so gracious to host everybody.

(P.s.... get ready for picture overload... it was so much easier to just load them on then to put them into collages)

Then we headed to Orange county to spend the night at the Ayres Hotel. It was so nice! And it was so fun to drive through the neighborhood that Gabe and I used to live in and where Wes and Ash live now. Seriously. I forget how BEAUTIFUL it is where we used to live. It was amazing. And my favorite part... with the fresh flowers, the palm trees, and the smell of the ocean so close... it smells like Disney Land. Now who wouldn't want to live there?!

In fron of the Ayers Hotel

The next morning we headed to Weston's house, picked 'em up and drove down to San Diego for the rest of the weekend.

Laur got my best belly pic of the pregnancy so far. :)

We got to San Diego, checked in the Hotel and hit Sea World. It was awesome. I haven't been since I was little and we loved it. It was so fun to be with the kids and watch their faces as the dolphins and whales flipped out of the water. Gabe and I are still talking about how in the world you would even start training a whale.

The cute kiddos and Ash waiting for the whales... In the "splash zone"

Wes, Dad, Gabe and I opted for a "dryer" area.

Then Gabe and my mama took the kids on the twisty "barf-a-rama" ride. I tell ya, this guy is going to be the best dad. He and Colty were best buddies the whole trip.

The crew, (and the other guy to my right...??) waiting for Gabe, Mom, Colty and Hays to finish the ride.

And do I not have the CUTEST niece and nephew on the planet?!!! Ah, it kills me that we don't live close. I can't get enough of these two!

Here is the BEAUTIFUL hotel we checked into. Gabe and I got a "sweet" suite in the tower. The rest of the fam were in the bigger suites down below. Such a fun night. We ordered pizza, watched Elf and gave the kids Christmas presents from Gabe and I. It was so fun to see them open their presents. We're never around to see them open what we get them, I always send. SOOO fun to watch a kid open a present. Brings back the magic of Christmas.

The view from our room.

The next morning we played at the pool. Everyone loved the slides. Colton was a little hesitant until Uncle Gabe rode with him. The whole gang tried it out. And I took the pics ;)

Then after a bit, he braved it by himself!

This is my favorite pic of my dad with his feet... classic.

Laur tried out the paddle boards. It looked so fun. Wish I could have given it a try. Next time... when I'm a little less top heavy.

We spent the rest of the day doing a little shopping and checking out the dental office that my bro works in in La Jolla. This is JUST down the street from his office. Can you believe how beautiful. Yes, I will be getting my teeth drilled here from now on. :)

And one last family pic. Such a fun fun trip. It went by WAY too fast!!! Thank you so so much mamma and dad for the trip. We can't wait to be all together again soon! And we'll add Londyn Bell to the mix! My fam is so awesome. I am so Thankful for them!

Almost 31 weeks...

I am 7 months along! I am 2 weeks and 2 days into my third trimester! Only 68 days left! And I am almost 31 weeks!!!! Not that I'm counting or anything....

I seriously have an issue with keeping track of this pregnancy. I am counting down the days till this little gal gets here. I've set myself up an account on babycenter.com and every monday it tells me how many weeks I am along. On monday I will say that I am 30 weeks (or what ever week I am on) but as soon as Tuesday hits, I will tell people that I am ALMOST 31 weeks... (or what ever the next week is). I don't know why I think that helps me to pass the time... but it does.

So... How's it going? This whole pregnancy thing at this point in time? How am I feeling? I get asked these questions on a daily basis, so I thought, maybe I should document it, for my self. And seeing as how I don't keep a journal, this is the next best thing. To be honest... I really cannot complain about my pregnancy. I think that I could write the book on the most average pregnancy in the history of all pregnancies. I swear things happen to the day that they are supposed to. On baby center.com they send me emails of things I should be expecting at that point in my pregnancy. Yep. They are dead on. Every time. About 3 days after we found out we were expecting, morning sickness and fatigue set in. But not excessive... average. About 2 days after I hit the second trimester, I felt like a million bucks. I got my energy back... I hear thats normal. And the day that my third trimester hit... swollen feet. Lovely. The only thing I was hoping to dodge in pregnancy. Sausage feet. But, lo and behold, I am average. It's really cute when I wear my Toms (ok, knock off Toms) and my feet plump up over the edge. I'm also getting restless leg syndrome at night. I sit on the couch and kick my legs like I'm riding a invisible bike. I'm sure its really entertaining to watch. My fingers are starting to swell a bit. I'm appreciating my wedding ring and hoping I can wear it for a few more weeks :) How am I sleeping? Reasonable. Its not bad yet. I hear it gets bad. I have lost all tact though in asking my cute husband to move over and forget about snuggling for the next couple months. My nesting is kicking in a little bit. I have this urge to get all my Christmas shopping done weeks and weeks in advance, like back in October. Of course my problem with procrastination hasn't been wiped out with pregnancy. Her room isn't done yet. We finished her cute changing table and have the crib set up. But now the room is bombarded with christmas boxes. That was a task, getting out all my Christmas decor. I'm dreading putting it all away when I'm twice as big. I'm hoping the elves do that. Clumsiness? Yes. While putting up the tree, the whole thing fell right on top of me. I am always stumbling over things and at all meals I look down and have crumbs on my belly... like a 4 year old. Gabe says I'm getting mommy powers. Or in other words, I'm a bit more feisty and I don't take people's crap like I used to. I'm not sure that's a good thing. I'm really not mean though. Still sweet... I think. The scale is crawling up. That's really fun, and that's all I'm going to say about that. I am feeling huge. Like elephant big, but I guess I'm not excessive. I am a little nervous though for the next couple of months. Oh well... You're only big and pregnant once plus three more times right? I am getting more and more excited about her coming, yet I still feel like its surreal. I don't think it has hit me that I'm actually going to have a baby... a real life baby!! I can feel her kicking though all the time, and occasionally I'll feel her little hard foot from the outside. I can't even wait until she is on the outside of me and not on the inside. But stay in there Little Londyn! We want you to finish cooking! I just can't wait to hug and kiss her and love her. She's going to be so cute! We try and imagine what she'll look like and act like. What a fun thing it is to have your first baby, and I really am cherishing this. She is such a blessing to us. We are getting close! Only 9 and a little bit more weeks!

For my Grandpa

Claron Chipman Spencer

1930 ~ 2011

On November 15, my Grandpa Spencer returned home to our Heavenly Father and was reunited with my grandma. What a happy day it was. I was filled with feelings of gratitude for the knowledge I had of Heavenly Father's plan for us. I knew that he was home with his family. I knew that on the night that he passed that he was free from his pain and welcomed to a better place.

I flew home a couple of days later to go to the funeral. Unfortunately Gabe couldn't be with me due to school. It was good to be with my family and to see my cousins and aunts and uncles. It was an amazing funeral. My grandpa was always a teacher, always a missionary. Even in his passing, he taught me about the gospel and the plan of salvation. He taught me to pray everyday. He taught me to read the Book of Mormon everyday. He taught me to attend the temple. And he taught me that if I have a relationship with my Savior, everything else will fall into place. Thank you Grandpa for your example. Until we meet again...

The Pallbearers

The fam on a beautiful Salt Lake Saturday

After my grandma passed eight years ago, my grandpa's siblings came and put chimes up in the trees above her grave. They still chime today :)

Chimes for my grandparents

A little more about my grandpa:

Beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Claron Chipman Spencer, died November 15, 2011 in Salt Lake City. He was born March 26, 1930 in Salt Lake City, the eldest of five children born to Claron Ostler and Bertha Chipman Spencer. Claron married Joan Blackhurst on September 10, 1952 and they moved to Washington, D.C. shortly thereafter, where he earned his law degree from George Washington University and they became the parents of five children. Upon returning to Salt Lake City to live, Claron introduced the family to skiing and every Saturday morning provided a ride to Alta to catch the first lift. Missionary work was always Claron's greatest passion, and he and Joan went on to serve three missions together, first in Florida, Tallahassee, as a mission president, then as missionaries in East Malaysia and New Zealand. In their last years together, they served as temple workers at the Washington D.C. temple. Claron's second wife was Virginia Taylor, and they served a mission together in London, England. After Virginia's passing, Claron married Bonnie Evans and they were very active together working at the Salt Lake Temple and Conference Center. Bonnie provided love and care during Claron's later years. Claron was a respected attorney and active member of the Utah State Bar from 1966 until 1993. He is survived by his wife Bonnie; children Claron B. (Chip)(Caroline), Salt Lake City, Shauna, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stephen B. (Wendy), Salt Lake City, Timothy B., Munich, Germany, Mary Jane Snyder (Michael), Salt Lake City; 11 grandchildren, Weston (Ashley), Abigail (Gabe), Max, Lauren, Sam, Daniel, Wolfgang, Truman, Tao, Roxanna and Alicia; two great-grandchildren Hailey and Colton; sisters Drew Timpson and Claudia Sadler and brother Edward C. Spencer. Funeral services will be held Saturday, November 19, 2011, 12 noon at the Forestview Ward, 1111 East Charlton (2818 South). Friends and family may call at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 East 1300 South, Friday evening from 6-8 pm and at 11:00 am, one hour prior to services at the ward. Interment at Salt Lake City Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent to the family atwww.larkincares.com.

Caught on Camera!

We just got back from the Doctor's office! Maybe the best appointment yet! Here's our little gummy bear caught on camera. She was a little bit of a stinker in the way that she never moved her little hand away from her face. Its ok though, I loved seeing her little fingers. And the tongue shot... Love it! Grandmas... Eat your hearts out! The tech said she's dainty. Gabe said that she gets that from him. :) When the doc came in, he said it was the cutest baby he'd seen all morning. I'm pretty sure he says that to every patient, but I gave him cookies anyway. I love my doctor!

As cute as she is as a little orange blob... I can't wait to see her in real life! The doctor said everything is perfect. Her heart rate is perfect. Right now she weighs 2 pounds and 5 ounces. Everything is measuring out right on time. My due date is still Feb. 6 and we're counting down the days! I'm start seeing my doc every 2 weeks now, and then every week starting in January. I'm hoping with the holidays coming that time will fly. I try to imagine our life with our little baby. It'll be awesome. But I am also enjoying every day I get with Gabe, just the two of us. We're so blessed, we have such a wonderful little life.

Alright, here she is...

Presenting our Little Gummy Bear!

Her First Package!

Baby Londyn got her first package in the mail today!!! My cute and bestest friend Teddy sent Londyn this darling blanket she made. Let me tell you, it is AMAZING! She showed it off on her blog a couple of weeks ago and I was blown away then at the detail of this blanket. I can't believe she sent it to ME!! The detail is even more amazing in person! Teddy, I so am not deserving of your hours and hours at the sewing machine, but baby Londyn and I are so so grateful!!! Thank you thank you my darling friend!! I can't wait to snuggle her in it!

A pic of the front and the back. You can't see it on here, but up close you can see all the detail. Gabe calls Teddy the master sewer.

Love love love the owls!

And the back... amazing.

Did I mention we are naming her Londyn? At least that's what it is for now. We love it though. I think that name's a keeper.