Joy

I am filled with joy. Life is really quite wonderful and I wanted to share with everyone why.

1.Baby. There is a little one on the way and this is a fun and exciting time for us. Alot of new and different changes are taking place. Pregnancy is a little weird and can suck at times but overall it is a wonderful time. We have waited a few years to have a baby but wait has been worth it. I can't wait to know if it is a boy or girl, who the baby will look and get to know the babies personality.
2. Moving. If you read my last post we are moving into a larger apartment and well, that would make any women happy.
3. Christmas. It is coming soo soon and I am super excited. I love the Christmas lights, trees, parties, nativites, everything. It is a special time and I love it.
4. Trip to Cali. We are going home to Benicia for Christmas. We have missed the last 3 Christmas' at my parents and I can't wait to be there this year. I am excited to see all of my family, see friends who I haven't seen in years, and enjoy Christmas in Cali. I can't wait.
5. Time off. I know my job isn't super strenuous but I still am excited to have a whole 9 days off from work for our Christmas vacation.
6. Paying things off. Brodie and I have set a goal to pay a few debts off and it is going great! It feels so good when a debt is gone. We have def been frugal the past few months and are on a tight budget but it is worth it when you can cut up that credit card and not have to worry about it again.
7. Brodie. He has been so wonderful. Ever since I have gotten pregnant it has brought us together even more. He has been so helpful especially when I was vomiting all the time and constantly sleeping. He stepped up and has been so helpful and sweet. He will be such a great dad!
8. Christmas Bonus. So not expecting one and boom, there it was one day on my desk. Oh happy day.
9. Good Job. I know it isn't a glamorous job but it has been great to me. I can usually take off time when I need it, it is fairly easy, and it pays the bills. With so many people out of work I am glad I have a job that is good to me.

Moving!

I am so excited I have to let you all know. We are moving apartments. Yay! I am so excited. We will finally have enough room in our apartment to bring all of our junk from Idaho here. I will have my couch, my comfortable bed, and all of my junk that has been stored at our house in Rexburg. The new apt isn't anything grand for all you people that live in fancy places but it will be perfect for us and we will have a lot more space for us and our new addition that will be coming soon. So there it is. Hip hip hoorah!

Thanksgiving Was Fun and now it's FREEZING!

Ashley and I drove down to Idaho for Thanksgiving. We enjoy seeing the family, especially the niece and nephews because they grow so fast. Derek's little family is doing good; he is a good hard working guy who treats his wife and daughter really good. We ate like there was no tomorrow and just lounged around on Thursday. It was nice to have a weekend off.

We had announced the news to the family that we were having a baby, but this was the first time they have seen Ashley since they heard the news. She really isn't showing that much. You can see that I am already really excited.

Jenntry is getting bigger. She will be a year old in February of next year. She is even getting a little attitude. She was really cute, and she put on a show for us after dinner.

Derek with his first muzzleloader kill.
Dad and Derek drew late buck muzzleloader tags in Howe, ID this year. They went out a couple times before Thanksgiving, but really hadn't seen that many bucks. We talked each other into going deer hunting on Friday. We started by driving to a spot they had seen a buck the trip before, and sure enough we spotted a nice buck, 27 in. 4 point, up the hill in the morning. He probably had 10 does with him. They were on the move, but we decided to try to get within range before they went into the trees; we even had fresh snow to track. We chased them around for half the day, but never saw the buck again once they went into the trees. We were good and tired by the time we got back to the truck and had some lunch.

We headed for home over a different road looking for something from the truck. We probably had 45 minutes of daylight left when I spotted two buck at the top of the hill. We knew they weren't huge, but it was the end of the last day of the hunt. Dad said we could go after the bucks, but he was going to stay in the truck. Derek talked me into it. We basically had to run up the hill. I was a little out of shape and told Darlo to go ahead of me. It felt like my chest was going to explode, but I kept moving. I actually was able to catch up to him at the top, because he had to slow down to not scare the bucks. We got to the top, and we figured that the deer had to be around this rock pile on top. We crept around the rocks, all the time losing daylight. We were just trying to spot something. Right at dark we caught a glimpse of the larger buck walking out from behind the rocks. He was only about 80 yards away. It couldn't have been a more perfect setup. Derek leaned on his shooting sticks and squeezed the trigger. I was trying to keep my binoculors on the deer to see if it was hit, but lost him admidst the fire and smoke from the blackpowder rifle. While he was reloading, I caught a glimpse of the deer moving down the hill; it looked like he was hit. Derek ran to the top of the hill, peeked over and got another shot. We just didn't know if he hit the deer again, and then darkness came.

We tried to find the deer that night, but we only had two small flashlights. We definitely had the adrenaline flowing from everything going on. We thought we heard the buck in the sagebrush, but didn't want to scare him off. We were forced to go back to the truck and come back later. Luckily, we found the buck the next day. He was a small 5x5 and not too much work to get out. It was a fun trip.

Ashley, How do you feel about the weather now?

So I have to mention the weather. This whole fall has been pretty warm up here in Missoula. We hadn't had any real snow and the weather was fairly warm, until now. This past weekend the winter weather finally came and it is freezing! High for today was 0 degrees. Yes I said 0. When I got to work in the morning it was -3 deg. It is sooooo cold. I can barely start my car anytime of the day, and it is painful to be outside. Just walking to my car from my apt puts me in a bad mood. Hopefully it doesn't last long even though we checked the weather and it is supposed to last for the next 2 weeks. boo. My real concern is Brodie. He installs satellite internet and to do that he has to be inside and outside peoples houses for a few hours. I worry something horrible will happen to him like a finger or nose falling off. We will see. I think he will postpone his jobs for a little while, hopefully it will warm up for his nose's sake. The other pain is that the roads are covered in snow/ice and it is way to cold to melt. People are driving soo slow and it takes for ever to get anywhere. It took me about 23 min to drive 4 miles home for lunch today. Oh well. I guess summer can't last forever. Hopefully we will survive.

Thomas Family Photos

Thomas Family Photos. Here are a few of my family photos we took last year on vacation in Las Vegas. Unfortunately Brodie was unable to make the trip due to work. So besides Brodie missing this is the whole Thomas Clan, that's including 2 bro-in-laws. It was pretty funny using my tripod and the camera's timer and then running into every photo. Exhausting but it seemed to work. By the way Mom my co-worker thought you were my sister and not my Mom. What a complement!

After the indoor shots we took a trip outdoors for more pics. I don't like them as much. It was realy bright and there was a lot of squinting going on. I did love these jumping photos though. We were all laughing really hard by the end of it all.

Tag Time

It's time for another tag. Gives me something to do on the slow days at work, so here we go.

8 Favorite TV Shows
1. The Office
2. Law and Order- fav SVU
3. 30 Rock
4. That 70's Show
5. Scrubs
6. So You Think You Can Dance
7. My Name is Earl
8. so far I like Kath and Kim alot to.

8 Things I did Yesterday
1. Threw up
2. Went to work
3. At a slice of Costco pizza with Brodie for lunch
4. Went to the bank to sign papers for a HSA account.
5. Took a nap
6. Ate dinner Brodie made while I was napping, I love that man.
7. Threw up
8. Went to bed too early.

8 Things I am looking forward to
1. Seeing our new baby!
2. Thanksgiving, family and good food, yum.
3. Christmas in Cali, I am sooo excited to see the fam and HS friends.
4. Buying a new house.
5. Getting out of debt.
6. Moving into a bigger apartment.
7. Buying baby clothes and accessories.
8. Getting my hair done.

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Cheescake Factory- my fav, yum!
2. Olive Garden
3. Wingers
4. El Diable
5. Famous Dave's
6. Bajio
7. Any Good Chinese Restaurant
8. Can't do this anymore, I am getting too hungry.

8 Things on My Wish List
1. Healthy and happy baby.
2. Get out of debt sooner than planned.
3. Make more money.
4. Work as a commercial photographer.
5. Have Brodie not be allergic to dogs- and get one.
6. Have my family move closer to us, or us to them.
7. A shopping spree, that would be so fun!
8. A beautiful new home.

8 People I Tag
Anyone and everyone. Alot the people I know already got tagged and some don't like them, so if you do I love learning about what you all like and dislike. So tag it up y'all.

Official Announcement!!!! And the big news is...

Well for those of you who don't know, it is time to make an official announcement. I am pregnant! Yes it is true my eggo is definately prego. We are sooo super excited! The baby is due May 27. I just had my first Dr appt on friday and there is a heartbeat. The appt went smoothly, dr said everything looked normal. So it is out there! Yay.

It's All Over Now...

Well its finally over. All of the drama. It's done for and I am thouroughly disappointed. I knew Obama had a really good chance of winning but I didn't really believe it. Last night I was totally bummed when we found out Obama won. So here we go. Can't wait to see where this oboma-nation takes us. This should be an interesting ride.

On good news. Marriage won again. I am glad to know Prop 8 passed! There are still people in California with morals! Yay for that.

Another Tag, Random Facts About Me

So I guess I am supposed to share 7 weird/random things about me. So here we go.

1. I have addictions. Here they are. Chapstick, lotion, flip-flops in the summer, and comfy clothes. I addmitted it. If I don't have these things I kind of freak out. If my lips are chapped, I have dry hands, hot feet, or am simply uncomfortable I go crazy! So I am a little bit of a freak but who didn't know that.

2. Everything has to have a place. I like to be organized, not that I always am, but I like to be. For example on a desk everything needs to have a place and be in its place or it drives me crazy. Like pencils, paper, I want things organized. Also, if things aren't in a place and it has been sitting around for awhile, well I tend to throw it away or move it. This can bother Brodie quite a bit when he can't find things. Oh well.

3. I love my sleep. I need my sleep. I can be a bit moody without enough sleep. This will be interesting when our first baby comes. I am a bit scarred about this. Hope I can handle it.

4. I am always late. Sorry Brodie. I try to be on time but I really think I have no sense of time.

5. I love shopping. I can go shopping for hours and just look and never buy. For one because I am picky about how clothes fit so I have to spend a lot of time trying on clothes to find what I am looking for and because I just like to be out and looking around. Brodie hates this so I am usually by myself which I don't mind. Ahh, shopping.

6. I like to have a plan and be prepared for upcoming events. For example if I am mentally prepared for big events or something bad I tend to handle things better. If something is unexpected I tend to freak out at first. I like to have a life plan even though it changes. My plan includes when we will buy a house, what jobs we will be working, where we will live, etc. I like to be ready.

7. It takes me a long to make a decision. When we go out to dinner it can take me awhile to decide what I want to eat. I usually end up being forced to order because everyone else in the group has ordered. I think this is why I like to have a plan. Because if I need to make a decision fast I will be ready. Now I just need a plan for eating out.

Now for tagging... I tag Heidi, Brittani Hamilton, Sister Brittany, and anyone who wants to.

My Favorites Tag

Got my first tag. Here we go.

3 Favorite Last Purchases

1. Jessica Simpson High Heels. Brown. Peep Toe. Love them.
2. Our bikes! We have so much fun riding everywhere this summer.
3. A blinging ring. Big and ridiculously fake but I love it.

3 Fears

1. Heights, but only on high rollercoasters.
2. Q tip being shoved in my ear. I know weird.
3. Spiders

3 Favorite Movies

Always changing but for now...
1. Nacho Libre
2. Batman Returns
3. 27 Dresses

3 Facts About Me

1. Graduated last December with a BFA in Photography
2. Love Mexico and love to travel.
3. I want to be a commercial photographer for magazines like Martha Stewart or Home Mags.

3 Things I haven't done yet

1. Been on a motorcycle or scooter
2. Rode in a hot air balloon
3. Had a baby

3 Things I cannot live without

1. Brodie
2. Makeup
3. Chapstick

3 Things on Today's list

1. Go to the grociery store
2. Hang out with friends, eat pizza, and watch a movie
3. Exercise

3 Favorite Dishes

1. Cheescake Factory- Chicken Madera
2. Pork Burrito at El Diablo or Fish Burrito
3. Lemon Chicken

3 Places I have lived

1. Rexburg, Idaho
2. Arlington, Texas
3. Turlock, Ca

3 Favorite TV Shows

1. Law and Order- SVU is my fav
2. The Office- of course. who doesn't love it?
3. Scrubs, 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, those are all tied on my fav list.

3 Last Places I Travled

1. Blackfoot/ Rexburg Idaho
2. All over Montana. Glacier, Flathead, Bozeman...
3. Zion, UT

3 Favorite Desserts

1. Hot Fudge Sundays
2. Chocolate Cake with Strawberries
3. Chocolate Milkshakes

3 Things I would buy if Money weren't an issue

1. A beautiful House
2. A bunch of puppies
3. A baby- well adopt. but you need money to do that.

3 Wishes

1. Be financially set so I can donate money and help others
2. Travel to other countries and do service
3. To get prego and have a baby

3 People I tag

1. Brittany Meyer
2. Briannia Ball
3. Sarah Roberts

Glacier National Park and Canada

Still trying to catch up on posts of all of our summer fun. At the end of June Brodie's parents came up to Missoula for a weekend vaca with us. We had a blast. First we headed up to Canada, eh. Too bad nobody said that to me while I was there. Bummer. Anyway, we went up to the Cardston, Alberta Canada Temple for a session. It was beautiful and very unique. Next we headed to Waterton. Waterton is the Canada side of Glacier National Park. It was beautiful. A cute, little town right on the lake. We explored there for a day or two and my favorite part was the deer! There were deer everywhere throughout the town. They are so used to people you can get really close. I stood by this deer for about 15 min taking pics. She then decided she didn't like me anymore and kind of, nicely charged me. Pretty much said, "back off lady." And so I did. It freaked me out but it was hilarious. Brodie got a pic right when it happened. I love it. Next we went to Glacier National Park. We went on a 10 mile hike. It was very long, tiring, and there were warning signs for bears everywhere. Oh ya and there was snow we trudged through. Yes I said snow in June/July. I guess that is why they call it glacier. Anyway, by the end we were all real tired especially Melanie, Brodie's Mom. We were so proud of here for going the whole way on such a long hike. She did great even though she was in alot of pain afterwards. Then we headed home. It was a great trip and we had a lot of fun with the parents. Glacier and Waterton are beautiful places and I would recommend them to everyone. Of course you have to visit us on the way up!

waterfall in glacier
Cardston, Alberta Temple

Baby Deer

Me and My deer friend's butt

My deer friend attack!

Glacier Hike

No Bears, but Bear Poo!

Boat ride in Waterton, Canada

Double Bike Fun!