May you live in exciting times

My father apparently said at the beginning of March that is was going to be an exciting month for our family: my brother was going to find out what he is doing and where he is going post-Japan (this summer), my brother and sister-in-law were going to find out if they are having a boy or a girl, Kyler and I were going to find out if we're having a boy or a girl, and Kyler and I were going to decide where we are going to be and what we will be doing this fall. Exciting!
But, exciting times are both a blessing and a curse.

Of course, we did find out we are having a girl, and we couldn't be more thrilled (although we would've been happy with a boy, too). Jill also finally got her ultrasound the other day, and she and my brother are having a girl, as well! We are going to have three little girl cousins in my side of the family, two of them (due) within a week or so of each other. Very exciting, and very good news!

My brother also found out (probably) what he is doing post-Japan... but because of the earthquakes and tsunamis (I'm sure you all heard of that), Jill has officially left Japan, most probably permanently, and is in Atlanta. I'm glad she and Lilia are safe, but I know it was hard and a bit of a disappointment to leave the way they did. My brother is still in Japan, and I could not be more proud of him. As is mentioned in this article about the ship he is on, he and his shipmates are dropping off supplies, including their own clothes and blankets.
Exciting times in Japan, but not really of the good kind.

Kyler and I were a little disappointed to hear that some of the schools we really wanted to go to in the fall rejected him... but we did get good news, too.So people did like Kyler, and his dreams of going to grad school can be fulfilled. However... it will be expensive, tedious, and frustrating not only moving, not only moving with a one-month-old, but moving to a different country (home for Kyler!) requiring him to probably give up his residency here in the States, and requiring me to get residency in Canada... not an easy or simple process. Oh, nor is it cheap. Moving, residency, and Calgary in general... not cheap.
Moving to Calgary is more difficult for me than for Kyler, obviously. But at least we will be relatively close to family, close enough to maybe actually be a good aunt and uncle to our nieces and nephews...

I realize in comparison to some other things, this month of excitement hasn't been that bad. But it has still felt very emotionally trying and draining.
One of the biggest blessings I've really come to appreciate the last few weeks is Kyler's seemingly unending patience, love, and support of me. Kyler and I are in this together, and I am so grateful for all he does.

Happiness is... breakfast.

So, last Saturday, when we were planning meals for the coming week, Kyler and I decided we want to have breakfast-for-dinner one of the nights. "Kyler," I say to him, "do you want pancakes, french toast, waffles, breakfast burritos, breakfast casserole, or something else?" He pauses, thinking, and then answers, "All of them!" So, we decided to have breakfast every day this last week for dinner... and it was fantastic! I think my personal favorite were the waffles, because we bought fresh strawberries to put on them. YUM.
What you should learn from reading this: Kyler is a genius, and breakfast is tasty!

Any other theme meal ideas that would be fun?

Roll Call!

So, it's official. The following schools have offered Kyler a spot in their programs this fall:

Once Kyler and I have decided for sure where we are going to move in August (with an approximately one-month-old baby, are we insane?), we will let everyone know.

Me, I was hoping for a lizard.

We had our ultrasound, and the results are in...

Melon appears to be healthy. Two arms, two legs, a nice four-chambered heart, kidneys, bladder, spine, nose, eyes... all sorts of goodness in baby form.

Oh, what? Did you want to hear if Melon is a she-Melon or a he-Melon? Well... how about I let the Tillamook Cheese Factory announce it for me?

If anyone actually wants to buy us this one piece... Go here. It'd be awesome. I wouldn't say no to the blue one, either.

Bienvenido a Miami!

Welcome to Miami, everyone! I know, I know, it's been basically a full month since Kyler and I went to Miami, but it takes a lot of effort to organize all my pictures! Give me a little bit of a break...

So, for those of you that don't know, this:

is why we went to Miami. Kyler's grandfather! I had never met him, and Kyler hadn't seen him in ten years. Definitely time to take a trip out to Florida. We went at this exact time because of this:

Kyler's brother and his whole family were coming out to Miami at the same time. Once we decided to join them, so did Kyler's mom and aunt (though I have no pictures to prove it, sorry).

Of course, this didn't hurt, either:

Instead of being in Utah for the first week in February, we were on Miami beach (the pictures above and below are at sunrise). So much warmer!

See the shorts and the short sleeves? Yeah, no complaints here.

This is the hotel we stayed at. It was cheap, but clean and close to the beach and grandpa's condo.

Plus, every morning, we ate the continental breakfast out on the balcony in front. So nice.

We spent most of our time at grandpa's condo, and the pool at grandpa's condo, or at the beach.

This is the view from the balcony of the condo. Not too shabby, eh?

The girls loved the pool, and we had to convince them to go to the beach, too. Here are some nice pool and beach shots:

Ivory and Lily in the pool, either not looking at us, or squinting in the sun. Oh well. They're still cute.

Bryce poolside. He liked the water, and quickly learned to splash... and that he didn't like the water quite as much when it was in his eyes.

Me, poolside, eating a kiwi! I'm at the stage of pregnancy (and life in general...) that I need to eat every couple of hours. I ate a lot of kiwi in Miami... and I loved it!

Just hanging out for a bit in the hot tube: Ivory, Bryce, me, Lily, and Rachel.

And, for good measure, a "belly" picture of me, in my swimsuit no less. This is at 15 weeks... yeah, not really much going on. Sorry.

I really like this picture of me on the beach. It's right after Kyler and I ate breakfast one morning, so my hair is still a little wet from the shower and I'm squinting... but I like it. Plus, the beach was beautiful.

We made sand castles with the girls.

When Kyler and I left the beach for the afternoon, we left Lily in charge of this set. She put a little while shell on the top of every single castle tower. Lily was a good one to leave in charge.

I made a sand angel.

Honestly, it was Lily's idea. Not quite a distinct as a snow angel, but still fun. And yes, I got sand in the pockets of my pants.

We also buried Scarlett in the sand!

Just beginning the process, Ivory and I are working on her knees at this point... though she kept wiggling them free.

The finished product! Doesn't Scarlett look cute as a disembodied head?

We also took a whole bunch of family pictures, like the of all of us up there, and like these ones.

The chitlins. Scarlett was being a bit of a brat and didn't want to join us (hence why she doesn't have a solo shot below) but oh well. Here we have Lily, Ivory, Bryce, and Scarlett.

Kyler and me.

Rachel and Kirk.

Kirk and Bryce. Bryce looks kind of funny, but Kirk looks good, and what else do you expect from a seven-month-old anyway?

Lily being silly.

Ivory in her new dress, cooperating quite well.

Kyler in a tree, because why not?

Lily cooperating slightly better later that night, showing me her creation, Mr. Quackers.

We also went around Miami and saw random things, like this:

Good to know that there is somewhere to go to wait for a bus during a hurricane.

Kyler and I ate here. We couldn't pass up a place that had Cuban and Thai, now could we?

Rachel, a very tall man, and Ivory. I think they line up rather well.

One of the last things we did was go to the zoo. How much more Miami can you get than pink flamingos?

The girls really wanted to go see this guy:

It's Diego, Dora the Explorer's cousin! They were very excited.

I wanted to go and see this guy:

Because, you know, I am in Florida!

Since we saw both, everyone was happy.

Pretty tiger.

Reminds me so much of my own cats! Except much, much bigger!

Ahhh! The snake is going to eat Ivory, Scarlett, Kyler and Lily! Oh noes!

With the snake man. He let us actually touch (pet?) the snake!

The mommy rhino and the baby rhino! Yeah, my baby had better not be that big!

Lily, Ivory and Scarlett on the fake rhino. The mean adults in the group wouldn't let them climb on top of the real rhino. Sounds like the girls are being mistreated for sure, aren't they?

These pictures are kind of funny. Lily kept picking up leaves and giving them to the rest of us to carry, so all the girls have leaves in their hands. The little monkeys must've thought the leaves were food.

They came over to the window, trying to get at the leaves! Lily, Ivory and Scarlett thought it was so fun! Well, so did the rest of us, except Bryce. He was taking a nap.

Ivory and the elephant. They are her favorite animal.

A very slow, very large, tortoise that Kyler took a picture of.

The girls weren't being so good at posing in front of the giraffe.

At least, not in a group.

Lily did much better when her uncle Kyler took her picture without everyone else getting in the way.

On top of the water buffalo. The girls begged me to join them, so I did. What can I say? I'm a sucker who likes to see cute pictures of herself.

And, last but not least,

Kyler in an elephant behind.

That's all, folks! That's it for the Miami pictures! We had a ton of fun and enjoyed the family, sun, and warmth... though we all got sick after Kyler and I left. Such is life.