Thank You Queen Creek Library

I LOVE the library. Always have. Always will. I love to read and what better place can there be than the library? (Almost) Every book you could think of and for free--as long as you remember to turn it in before the due date. This year, though, I love the library for another reason....Christmas movies! I went to the online database and reserved every Christmas movie that I felt like watching. Now before you judge me for stealing all of the Christmas movies from the other residents of QC you have to understand that I have only come up to the top on 3 movies so far so I don't think hoarding will be an issue. One on the list is Polar Express which always puts me in the Christmas spirit so I'm planning on us watching it with the house illuminated by Christmas lights. Tis the Season!

What's Going on in Our Neck of the Woods...

...is a lot since the last post (sorry about that). Did I ever tell you about Jefferson's New Years' Goals in January? They went something like this:

1. Get a New Job (hopefully close to home)-- check!

2. Buy a House-- check!

You read that right! We are the proud owners of our very own house and it is so nice to be out of apartment life and into our very own space. Our Saturday mornings are now filled with housework and yardwork which leads to some much-deserved Saturday afternoon football watching.

3. Have a Baby--almost check

I believe that this was me at 28 weeks. Not the cutest picture but you can see the ever-growing belly and even part of the new kitchen that I love! We are also counting this goal as not checked off even though the due date is January 19 because then we can make it a 2013 goal and check it off the list super early!

I don't know that we'll ever have a year with such big goals or such success in accomplishing them so we are feeling very blessed to have had such a great year so far and we can't believe that it is almost over!

Feeling Crafty

I don't know if it's because of this baby or just the mood I am in but I'm going with it. My mom came over yesterday and we hung out, chatted, and sewed. Well, while I did the sewing my mom did the cutting and pinning and instructing so hopefully I can get the hang of this project on my own. I'm feeling good about it! I won't show/tell about it I don't think in case some of you end up getting this as a gift but we'll see how I feel later. Now that I have finished one I am feeling very inspired and, lucky for me, Joann's is having a fabric sale plus I have a 20% off coupon so fabric aisle here I come!

This is not my fabric but is very inspiring!

Oh and we know whether this little one is a boy or a girl! Stay tuned...

Random Thoughts

Happy 2 Year Anniversary!! Monday Jeff and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary. Crazy how time flies! We've made 3 apartments home, moved twice, lived in two different states, survived school, student teaching, Black Friday, cub scouts, vacations, and loved (almost) every minute of it! We had our 16 week doctor's appointment--everything is going great--and then headed to Oreganos for dinner. If you live anywhere in the area it is so worth the trip. The food is amazing.

Why does it seem like the only sports they show on the Olympics at night are sand volleyball, diving, and either running or swimming? Can't we see some cool/weird sports that everyone mocks but thinks is amazing once they watched? Don't get me wrong, I love the Olympics, but I do like some variety.

Vehicle Emissions Testing. The Phoenix Metro area has 12 locations with 4 lanes each for the ENTIRE PHOENIX METRO area. Enough said.

On a happier note, some baby bump updates...

14 weeks

15 weeks

16 weeks

Have a great weekend!

Coming January 2013

We are beyond excited that we will be welcoming a little baby in January! The "official" due date is January 19, 2013 so we'll see how close we actually come to that. We're 15 weeks today which is crazy that it is going by so fast. We found out that we were pregnant right after we moved into our new apartment. When I say right after I mean we moved in on Wednesday and found out on Friday. No wonder I seemed so moody throughout the whole move. I kept thinking, "What is wrong with me? This is stressful but come on, get it together!" Thank goodness that was not my normal self...maybe...I remember when we moved from Pleasant Grove to Spanish Fork and I was thinking about how I wished I was pregnant so that I didn't have to help move the heavy stuff. I guess it was not in the cards for me to get any easy jobs with this move but maybe with a hopefully soon move into a house I will get a bit of a break.

We went to Filabertos for dinner the night that we found out.

Luckily I wasn't too sick, or at least more sick than I was expecting, but man was I tired. Going to the grocery store would take it out of me for a couple of hours. If I woke up before 8:30 or 9 I felt awful all day no matter if I took a nap or not. I only ate bagels/toast with jam, fruit, fruit snacks, and goldfish for what seemed like forever. And pizza, let me tell you, was the absolute enemy. Really anything with red sauce like that seemed to just not work. I had a couple of dizzy spells, especially if I hadn't had enough water that day.

13 weeks

Now that I'm in the second trimester it seems like things are getting better. I haven't thrown up in a while with one exception. I told my sister in law that I feel like a person again and not just a blob. I actually cook again and I can run a lot of errands at once without feeling awful when I get done. Let me tell you though, no one tells you about this thing called stretching. I obviously realized that stretching takes place but man, not fun. However, with tylenol, rice heating packs, and a very loving husband, I have seemed to survive so far.

...I was going to upload a current week picture that Jeff just took on Saturday but I don't know where the camera is so more to come...

The Most Perfect Weekend

Jefferson somehow managed to surprise me with a weekend vacation this last weekend. I say that because since I don't have a job at the moment, I am home all of the time which makes surprises harder to pull off...or so I thought...I have a pretty sneaky husband. Last week was Jeff's final week of Monday-Thursday schedule. This week he goes back to the normal Monday-Friday so he planned a weekend getaway for the two of us.

Ready to start the journey!

Packing up for the weekend!

On our way to the car! Isn't he so handsome

He got us tickets to see Cirque du Soleil which was absolutely amazing.

They set up the entire tent in the parking lot of Cardinals Stadium. Crazy!

Next came Culver's for dinner. Jeff ate here a lot (especially the ice cream) when he was on his mission in Chicago. We were talking about how good it was the other day and realized that they are all over down here now. Hint: if you join their club online you get a buy one get one free coupon for a meal but you have to use it within 2 weeks of joining. If you have them around you, go. You won't be sorry.

Thank goodness we parked right next to the trailer so that I could get this awesome picture. This boy was excited!

Double bacon butterburger delux did not disappoint.

However the peanut butter with peanut butter cup ice cream topped it all off.

Mine was leaking out the bottom. Still just as delicious. 

After dinner it was time to pick up apple turnovers for breakfast (this tradition started on our honeymoon and has no end in sight) and then headed to the Wigwam for the weekend.

Breakfast the next morning. Proof that we do love those turnovers.

 

 Then we relaxed and finally decided to get ready for the day. First stop, Wendys for lunch.

Then on to see the new Snow White movie. It was awesome! And yes, we did buy our drinks at Wendys and sneak them into the theater in my purse. Good thing no one seemed to hear the clanking of the ice with each step. In the theater's defense, they didn't have much hope of catching us when the movie in each theater was printed on computer paper and taped next to the theater number. 

Then we went swimming. No pictures of that. A storm had just hit and another one was coming so it was a bit chilly which is always weird for July in Phoenix. 

The other night while laying in bed I told Jeff that I really wanted Macayo's mini chimis. In his mostly-asleep voice he said "if you want it, it's yours." Guess where he planned on going to dinner? Funny story. We each ordered our meal and then got a cheese quesadilla to share plus they give you the chips and salsa. Yes that is a lot of food. The waitress got a little confused and thought we were splitting Jeff's meal so she brought it out on 2 plates. Our table was literally completely covered in food. We looked like total pigs but it was so funny!

The next morning it was more apple turnovers and more relaxing. We slept in later than we have in a while. Here's some more pictures for your enjoyment. 

Thank you for planning this whole vacation Jeff. It was perfect and I had such a great time!

From the Mouth of a 14 year old

Did I tell you that we are teaching the 13-14year old Sunday School class? Well we are. It's great and hopefully we're actually teaching them something along the way. The things they say crack me up. Today I was teaching and at the end of every lesson every week Jeff asks them to pick something that they can become perfect at (praying, taking out the trash, etc). We don't get specific and we don't ask them to share what they picked but we like to think they pick something that can actually help them in life. So I started today's lesson asking them what we ask them to do at the end of every lesson. They look at us with blank stares so I finally tell them "remember how we ask you guys to pick something that you can be perfect at?" Then one of them says (totally serious) "I have honestly never heard you say that." We have been teaching for a month so they've heard it 3 or 4 times and we try to emphasize. It's funny and sad all at the same time but that's what you get with 13/14 year old kids.

Life as I Know It Lately

As you know, we plan on buying a house here in the next little bit so we unpacked the minimum which means not putting holes in walls or unpacking a lot of the cute decorations. Believe me, totally fine. I hate packing/unpacking so I'm glad to not have to pack up things again. There's only one problem...

...lack of motivation on my part. It seems like since we aren't totally settling in for the long haul I feel the need to only do the absolute minimum when it comes to house cleaning and I'm finally fed up with it. Today has been a great day full of cleaning, laundry, and a little bit of organizing. Get this, I even washed our mattress pad. I won't even tell you how long it's been since that happened.

I'm not saying that the apartment is spotless but it definitely feels like a much nicer place to be.

...Now if only I was a little even slightly motivated to make dinner tonight. Around this noon time I start thinking about what to make even though very few of my meals require intense prep time. Then I don't think of anything and around 4 I start to rummage through the cupboards or my sweet husband will do a Sonic/Filabertos run. Maybe this will be my goal tomorrow. 

I Should Really Be Better at Updating This Thing

So I'm going to try and update at least once a week with the comings and goings of the Clarks.

The New Apartment-- I don't really have any pictures of the place yet but it is put together pretty well. If you come to stay with us you might be staying on the futon in the family room since we're using our second bedroom as storage but that's what we got it for in the first place. We are lucky enough to have some great amenities like 2 pools that we've been to a few times and a gym that I went to for the first time today. This cute old man walked in and said "hello neighbor!" How fun. It's been way too long since I've worked out but I rode the bike for a good while which was nice.

The New Ward-- The ladies in RS are older but it seems like there are younger families in the ward that just teach so that's why I don't see them. The great thing about an older ward is that the activities actually teach us something. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED the activities in our other ward but this month is on home organization. It is nice to learn new things. Oh, and Jeff and I are teaching the 13 and 14 year old kids in Sunday School. They're a blast.

The New Job-- Can I just say it is sooooo much better than the retail life? Don't get me wrong, I loved my discount on shampoo but that's about all. Now Jeff is working 4-10s for the summer so he has every Friday off until August. And every night and every weekend and every holiday. It's great and we're learning what to do with all of this new time together. With it being this hot it has involved swimming, going to Bahama Bucks, and watching Modern Family. What a life!

Talk to y'all soon!

Oh So Much to Tell

Where to start? Where to start? From the beginning, I guess...

I Graduated! Mom and Dad came out to celebrate and we had a great time! I got my official diploma in the mail a few days ago so it's official now!

Can you guess what this is???

This is Jeff giving Shopko his 2 weeks notice! Want to know why? Because he got a job in GILBERT, AZ! He's working at the Higley School District. And what a crazy 2 weeks it was...



Happy Birthday Jefferson! I still think the best birthday present that he got came the few days before when he was offered the job. 

Saying goodbye to our old place. We absolutely LOVED out ward in Spanish Fork. They are all so amazing and we miss them already.

We just moved into our new place in Gilbert so no pictures yet but it's coming along. We cannot believe how fast all of this happened but we are so excited to be starting this new journey!

Valentines Day

This is a little late but I just have to share the great Valentines Day that I (we) had!

Jeff surprised me the night before Valentines Day by telling me that he switched his schedule so that he could come home at 3 instead of at 10. Then I went into work early so that I could come home early too. It was so nice to spend the afternoon/evening together, especially because it was unexpected!!

Then to make it even better, this......

is what I came home to.

Then we made dinner together...

Delicious!!!

And if the day couldn't get any cuter it was our 3rd Valentines Day as a couple and our second anniversary of dating. It was a great Valentines Day and I really am quite the spoiled girl over here.

I'm Way Too Attached

...to my mascara. Pathetic, I know. However, I feel like I am not necessarily the only female in the universe that feels attached to a certain brand. This is why it was so devastating when, while doing my makeup, i somehow hit my open bottle of mascara off of the counter and into the toilet. Now, if it had been closed I may have thought twice before throwing it away but since it was open there was no way that I was going to use it. Gross.

...to google searching. I google search reviews on almost everything before I buy it, even if it means reading reviews on different brands of mascara. I decided to switch to see if mine was really the best out there and, much like a new haircut that needs a couple of days to get used to, I think this new stuff will be fantastic after a couple of days. And thank goodness, unlike a bad haircut, mascara can be replaced if it ends up not working. I also learned after an unfortunate quick trip to walmart after getting a call from a boy when I was already on my way and practically ran through the store to get the basics, I now always double check to make sure that I am not grabbing the bright blue mascara.

T minus 32 hours

In about 32 hours we will be in the Valley of the Sun and couldn't love that name any more than we do right now. After the snow storm this weekend and the cold, cloudy weather today we cannot get home faster. Isn't it funny how the days before a vacation are more hectic than normal days? Make sure the laundry is done. Do the dishes. Pay the bills. Clean the house. Not to mention switching car insurance. I don't know how you people with kids do it. I may bring a lot of this on myself since the I feel the need to mop the floors and clean the bathrooms the day before we leave even if they have all just been cleaned. Maybe it's because I hate unpacking so I think that maybe if I have a clean house to come home to it will make the unpacking a little less dreadful. Either way, a clean house is much nicer to come home to than a dirty house so maybe the craziness of the days before vacation help make the vacation that much better.

We cannot wait to see...

 and...

I've Been Thinking...

Lately I've been thinking a lot about Emergency Preparedness and the things that we need. Thanks to my mother-in-law we have a pretty good supply of canned/boxed food that we could eat off of for a while. However we don't really have stuff together in a quick way to grab in case we don't have a lot of time to gather everything together or things always in the car in case there is ever an emergency either. Now, if any of you have ever seen the trunk of my car you know that I could probably survive out of there for plenty of time but do I really want to eat ridiculously stale peanut butter crackers or have to layer on all of the clothes that I have been meaning to take to DI for months? No, I'd rather just take some time and put an actual kit together for Jeff and myself in our cars. So what does this all mean?

My goal between now and General Conference is to have a 72-hour kit for each of us in the house and an Emergency Car Kit in each of our cars. That gives me about 3 months to collect and shop the sales. Thank goodness for pinterest and all  of the people out there that have gone before and made awesome lists. I have compiled a list of things from these lists adjusted because let's be honest, I'd rather not eat those tuna from a pouch things.

These are not ours but they're what I hope that they end up looking like.

I wish I could be like this woman so after the Emergency Kits maybe I'll try doing this. She plans all of her 3 month storage into meals in bags with the recipe. Genius!

I'm always up for ideas and suggestions so if you have any, let me know. Oh and I do plan on giving a Christmas/New Years update, maybe today, probably tomorrow.