A Birthday Shower

For Evan's birthday I "showered" him with compliments, quite literally.

And his favorite candy, of course.

Click here to view my source of inspiration and to find many more fun and creative ideas.

Ayla

It's was SO FUN to see Ayla in the ultrasound yesterday. She was folded in half like a taco, and she kept squirming around and waving her little hand. It filled me with all sorts of motherly love. I already think she has my lips and Evan's nose. Haha. She will be a beauty. We can't wait for March!

I [heart] U print

Once upon a time, I designed this baby nursery print. 

...And then I forgot about it. 

...And then, today I rediscovered it!

It was perfect timing because I'm obsessing about babies today. Not only is today the day that we learn the gender of our baby. It's also my brothers birthday, and guess what he's getting as a gift? TWO baby boys! His wife's water broke this morning.

Best day ever.

If any of you would like this file for print, just leave a comment :)

March 28!

So I guess when I wrote THIS POST...

...I lied.

I was, in fact, pregnant (though I didn't know it at the time).

We are beyond thrilled to be having a baby! I am at 14 weeks, and our baby is about 3 1/2 inches long. We just had our first real OB appointment last week and got a few pictures from the ultrasound :) Notice the typo: "Heather BeLong" Bahahaha!

(Jenny said she had a hard time knowing what was what, so I have added extra labels for your viewing pleasure).

And my favorite...

Wigga Wha?!! (Kinda Creepy)

HAhahaha, I'm so funny (I think) ;)

Okay, but seriously, how can you go wrong with this combo?

Our baby is gonna be awesome.

As far as pregnancy goes... I have had it pretty easy. I was one of the lucky ones who got through the first trimester without any morning sickness. In fact, before I had an ultrasound, I was having a hard time believing I was actually pregnant, because through these first 14 weeks, I have felt so normal. Hallelujah! If all my pregnancies are like this, I might just have to have a million babies.

Sometimes I feel like March 28th can't come soon enough! I want to hold my little baby in my arms! But most the time I think I'd better just enjoy the easy, quiet, go-and-do-as-I-please lifestyle while I still can.

Wrapping it up. Packing it up.

I know I said this before, but our time in Vegas is REALLY winding down now. One week from today we'll pack it up and hit the road. That is... pack up what's left.

Remember the aforementioned car troubles? Well, since we lack confidence in the Subaru's ability to go the "extra mile," we hired a guy to haul it home, with 70% of our things inside of it. It leaves today, so we had to pick and choose what we could and couldn't live without for a week.

Here you can see that while we CAN live without a desk, we CAN'T live without our computer/TV.

And while I'm packing it up at home, Evan's wrapping it up at work.

Today he gives his final presentation (a review of his internship) to his superiors. He left this morning looking very handsome and professional and I know he will do an awesome job!

I helped him design his power point, and it reminded me... We are in this together! And we really do make a great team. His successes are my successes, his failures my failures, and vice versa. Marriage is the best! Especially when you have a husband who is as wonderful as mine. I'm super proud of him for all his hard work this summer. He really made a positive impact on the company, and I know they would love to have him come back and work for them after graduation. This internship really was a huge blessing. The experience Evan had, and the relationships/connections he made will benefit him long after this Summer is over.

So, Vegas. I really hate you. But I kind of love you. And I know I'll never forget you. Thanks for a happy, hot, successful summer, filled with good friends and lots of fun :)

A glimpse into the life of poor, newly-wed students

I was making bread the other day, and when I pulled out our "rolling pin" (aka: plastic wrap) to roll out the dough, I had to laugh a little bit about the way our apartment bears witness of our poor, newly-wed lifestyle. I have gotten used to the ways things are around here, and sometimes I forget that some of these things aren't necessarily "normal." But hey, whatever works, works.

We'll never forget the summer we spent in Vegas, and the 140 nights we slept on the little air-mattress that hugged our bedroom floor...

(Don't worry! We DO have sheets and pillowcases. They were in the wash.) 

Or that nasty wooden box I used for my bedside table...

And lets not forget that classy dining table that doubled as heather's desk!

...There's more...but I think you get the idea.

You know, I'm glad that Ev and I are a low-maintenance kind of couple. We don't need fancy things to be happy. We have so much love for each other and are continually amazed by the blessings we receive each day. We seriously have an ENDLESS list of things to be grateful for...

...including a saran-wrap rolling pin, a card table in the dinning room, a bed to sleep in, and even our ugly wooden box.

Rita, my love

Rita's Italian Ice (primarily found on the East coast) came to Las Vegas this summer! And I must say, it came just in time! Last summer, in PA, Rita's was one of my favorite treats! You might remember me mentioning this when I wrote about my fun-filled birthday. It's a little pricey, and more than a 40 minute drive from where we live, so I assumed that this birthday treat was a one-time deal. But on Saturday, after spending some time at the Family History Center in down-town Vegas,  Evan suggested that we make a day of it and head on down to Rita's!

Yay!

The manager was there (both time's we've been) and he is the friendliest little man! You can tell he loves his job! We asked him about the franchising process and he said it took three years to bring Rita's to Las Vegas. He explained "out here, their version of real ice is a snow cone or shaved ice, and I just got fed up with it!" Haha. I don't know how they do it, but there's nothing "icy" about Rita's Italian Ice. It's sooo smooth and creamy and PERFECT! And they always have fabulous flavors like Swedish fish, black raspberry, or my personal favorite, coconut cream! YUM!

Thanks to you, Rita... and thanks to you, "friendly man who got fed up with snow cones"...

...Now I have one less reason to hate Vegas!

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Hats & bangs

Strawberry CheeseQuake Blizzards

Hanging out with my best friend

Stronger Every Day

This morning I woke up and found this: 

"My... love... for... you... grows... stronger... every... day"

...which led me around the corner to this:

:) :) :) I LOVE that husband of mine!

The Cutest Boy

Disclaimer: I'm not pregnant...

But sometimes when I look at these pictures of Evan...

.... I wish I was. 

Sometimes I seriously can't wait to have a houseful of mini-Evans to love and to look after. And if they grow up to be just like their daddy, I will consider my mothering career a success.

Those Rainy Nights

It was way past our bedtime, but we couldn't resist. We slipped into some sandals and stepped out onto the balcony, watching the lightning set the sky on fire, reminiscing about those rainy nights in Pennsylvania... I shivered as I felt the mist blow in from the waterfall that poured down from an unseen rooftop. Evan wrapped his arms around me and I wished for the rain to never end. I needed some time to soak it all in.

Pillow Talk

Evan and I had a major pillow talk session last night (love him)! For hours, we discussed a variety of random things that have been on our minds. We laughed... I cried... and, eventually, we fell asleep.

Not to get all serious on you or anything, but I thought I might blog about one of the things we discussed: 


Friendship.


You know those people who just emit energy and awesomeness? It's like they have some kind of giant magnetic force-field around them that sucks people in? They are always happy and bubbly, and oh, so nice? Everybody wants to be their best friend? 


Well... I am not one of those people.


Here I sit, almost 22 years old, and the only CLOSE friends I have are the ones I am related to and the one I am married to! Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying "woe is me, the friendless loser." I mean, according to Facebook, I have plenty of friends! ;) I am grateful for those people, but I wish that I had more of those really deep, meaningful relationships, the ones that last even when it's no longer convenient. Unfortunately, I feel like I am the socially-awkward type, and I can't seem to establish (and sustain) REAL friendships. Ev and I tossed some ideas back and forth to try and figure out why that is. Eventually, we came to this conclusion:

I am a perfectionist. I would have the world believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong with me (ha...ha)! For that reason, I tend to be cautious when I interact with others. It's difficult to loosen up, let go of my fear, and be myself. I'm afraid that if I show my weird, quirky, dorky side that people will judge me and won't want to be my friend anymore. Silly, right? I know deep down that exactly the OPPOSITE is true! Great friendships are forged when you get to know and see someone as they really are (flaws, quirks and all) and still love them. Of course, not everyone is going to like me, and not everyone is going to be a "kindred spirit" and forever friend, but how would ever I find out if they were unless I put myself out there a little? 


So, to those of you who I have closed myself off to, I'm sorry. Chances are I've observed your awesomeness and thought to myself: "I wish I could get to know her better...maybe we would be really good friends..." I'm sorry that I kept to myself, and denied us both the opportunity to start what could have been an amazing friendship. I hope that someday I'll get another chance.


FYI: Tara is responsible for the picture above. She is amazing, and a link to her blog can be found right over there -->

Mr. Chapman

Evan and I are reading The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I've known about the book for quite some time but have never actually read it, so I borrowed a copy from my Mom when I went home to visit.
The second chapter is titled "Keeping the Love Tank Full." And in it, Mr. Chapman explains:

"At the heart of mankind's existence is the desire to be intimate and to be loved by another. Marriage is designed to meet that need for intimacy and love." 

He then introduces the "love tank" idea, explaining that marriages that are full of withdrawal, misbehavior, harsh words and a critical spirit may simply be the result of an empty love tank, waiting to be filled. He said:

"I'm convinced that keeping the emotional love tank full is as important to a marriage as maintaining the proper oil level is to an automobile"

The rest of the book (though we haven't read it yet) supposedly centers around this idea, explaining that there are five basic love languages, and when we speak the language of our spouse, we will be able to fill their emotional love tank and improve the quality of our marriage.


Ev and I have only been married for a year (+2 months!) but I think it's safe to say we're past twitterpation. We're not strangers to some of the "hard stuff" in marriage and the whole love tank idea struck a chord with us. You might as well know now that we are suckers for this kind of thing. We have always been quite open with each other. We are not "too cool" to share our feelings. We are both sensitive and emotional, and though it may be both a blessing and a curse, I love it! And frankly, I think that is a huge part of the reason I fell in love with Evan. He is one in a million.


SO. We decided to make our own little love tanks to hang on the frig! :)

Cute, right? Or maybe just corny. Oh well, I love it. And I think Mr. Chapman would be proud ;)

Home = Heavan

I can't believe how quickly my time in Utah flew by. Ten days felt like two, and I found myself on an airplane, glaring down at Vegas, willing the plane to turn around and take me back home again. But when Evan picked me up at the airport, I had to admit that being with him feels more like home than anything else. And I was content.

As a side note, the flight from SLC to Vegas was saaaweet! We were only in the air for 45 minutes, I got pretzels and a drink, AND my whole row was empty, so I moved from my assigned aisle seat to the window seat to enjoy the view :) Not bad. Not bad at all.

Home Sweet Home

Have I ever mentioned that Evan is pretty much the greatest husband of all time!? Somehow, he came to know of my deep and utter loathing of Vegas... I mean, I may have mentioned it... briefly... on occasion. Anyway, he was kind enough to let me leave him there, all by his lonesome, while I ventured home to be with my family for a while.

I love him :)

I made a list of things I wanted to do when I got home and THIS was first on the list:

#1. Hike to blue rock. (a favorite pastime from my childhood) 

I love the feeling of home.