Life Lately

Life has been a mixture of fast and slow moments lately. The weekends for example go by in the blink of an eye and the 90 degree days which are just beginning are painfully slow to get through with a pregnant body. No matter what, I am trying so hard to soak up every single day of summer and the short time Nic and I have left with just Liam. 

We've been really lucky lately with the time Nic has gotten to take off work. I feel like just about every other week for the past couple of months he has had a 3 day weekend to spend with us, one of which was at the beginning of May on a Friday. We spent it at the Idaho Falls Temple Open House! The building has been closed for renovations for the past year and half so we went to see the changes that have been made during that time. We didn't notice as many changes as we thought we would but I know there was some pretty extensive electrical, wiring, etc. that was replaced so not all of it was visible. It was just as beautiful as ever though! Liam quietly walked hand-in-hand with us throughout the entire tour (he did SO great!) and then happily hopped on the bus ride at the end to go back to our car (his favorite part and first time on a bus! haha). A sweet girl offered to take our picture before we left but the sun was so incredibly bright that this was the best we could get ...

While I mentioned the couple of 90 degree days this first week of June, it rained for the better part of May. We spent most mornings doing what we do best, bath time! All three of us (Liam, baby sister, and I)! haha

On the sunny days, we've spent a lot of our time right here ...

We put in this sandbox for Liam last summer but he didn't love as much as he does this year! He begs me to go play in it now and it is filled with endless buckets, shovels, and beep beeps (what Liam likes to call his tractors/trucks). It is so cute how much he has loved wearing sunglasses lately too!

Before the splash pad opened, our evening walk would end with time at the playground. As we would get closer to the park, Liam would point and yell "WEE" (his word for slide). He always has to inspect the slide for bugs (which he is freaked out by) or bark before he can ever go down it. haha This usually requires one or both of us cleaning it off because rarely is it ever up to his appropriate slide standards. 

Most of the time, Rue comes outside with us too. She LOVES the backyard and has been so adventurous out there. She eats dandelions, chews on bark, and hides from Liam. haha We haven't taken her out there in the last few days though because we found a few patches of mushrooms we had to get rid of that were growing in our grass from the darn canal water. 

Pushing her around as usual and yelling, "Rue, that way!"...

On the first night we took her outside, Liam naturally chased her without shoes on right into the bark. He walked on it for only a minute or two but all of us paid for it big time when we had to hand pick about 30 splinters out of each foot. Lesson learned! He's worn shoes ever since.

On our walk last night Liam kept acquiring new sticks whenever he saw one along the path. The small ones he would generously give to Nic and I and the giant ones he would keep for himself. The one in his right hand closely resembled Gandalf's staff and he about took me out with it several different times!

Nearing the end of fall last year, we could not get our patio umbrella out of the holder that sits below the center of the table so we left it in there hoping that it would still be okay come spring. After all the wind storms we've had, I honestly wasn't sure it had survived but Nic was finally able to get it out this weekend and repair it! Of course Liam noticed right away that daddy had a fun "tool" out and wanted to try it too. Nic promised to give it to him after finishing the umbrella. Liam happily carried it around with him all evening long "fixing" things! Nic snuck away for a few minutes and came back with this piece of wood and a few nails to teach Liam how to screw them in. Most incredible dad of the year award!!

Over the weekend we also got our garden planted. I planted sugar snap peas, snow peas, spinach, and romaine lettuce again this year because they turned out so great last year! I'm trying carrots, cucumber, and green beans from seed for the first time so we'll see how they turn out. I was also so happy that my strawberry and raspberry plants survived the winter and are already thriving!!

Other than that, I ordered a little pool for the backyard and it is supposed to be showing up in the mail mid-week! I can hardly wait to get it set up and hope it helps make those 90 degree days just a bit more bearable! Hope you have a great week! XO

this summer

... is going very quickly. I keep blinking and two weeks go by but such is time. With the end of July last week and only a few weeks left before I head back to school I thought I'd share a few of our summer highlights so far.

My mom came to visit us at the last minute for a long weekend in June and she came at the perfect because it turned out Nic had a big launch at work and spent most of the weekend slaving away. If she hadn't come, it definitely would have left something to be desired. We got to have lots of girl time to spend just the two of us. We spent Friday shopping around Pocatello and getting pedicures together. Saturday we took a day trip up to Idaho Falls. We got to experience their Saturday market which is right along the actual falls which are gorgeous. So glad she made the trip, it was a blast!

We of course, had our first ultrasound and found out the gender of baby Williamson. The very next weekend, Nic and I took the drive back up to Idaho Falls and registered for a couple of showers coming up. It was SO fun but also a tad bit overwhelming too. It was a good thing I had been given tons of advice and did quite a bit of research to create a list of things to register for, otherwise I'm sure I would have forgot something. Nic was in charge of the gun while we registered so he was a happy camper and left most of the picking and choosing to me.

Of course this summer has brought a whole lotta baby around here. Talk of a baby, time spent feeling baby kicks, and definitely quite a bit of nesting. There for a few weeks, it seemed there was a once a week delivery of a big item that came in a big box for the nursery (crib, mattress, dresser, shelves) and you would have thought it has been Rue's birthday. She has had a hay day partying in these ginormous boxes and providing endless entertainment for us. :) Our recycling bin however has not been a party. They really need to switch the pick up system around and pick up recycling once a week and garbage every other. Who's with me?! The summer has also been consumed with baby craft projects. The shower my mom is having for me in Meridian has a bow tie theme so I have been making bow tie centerpieces and bow tie onesies. As well as, I have been working on a pre-baby book with updates and letters to the baby. It has been really fun!

This last week our best friend's who are now living in Arizona came to town to visit! We hadn't seen them since last July so it felt like we had tons to catch up on and it was fun being able to show them our new house. They have a 2 year old daughter who is seriously adorable! She of course was too small to remember us from the last time we saw her but it didn't matter because she acted like she had known us forever she was so outgoing. She would grab my hand and say "Meagan come" and want to take me with her wherever she went. I loved seeing her interact with Rue too and give her a taste of what she can expect her home life to be like not too long from a now with a little boy around here. haha They gave us a couple of outfits for the baby before they left and I mean, how cute are they?! We love the Bradley's and wish they lived right next door. Maybe someday.

Perhaps the most liberating of all things this summer is a finished yard! It feels great to finally be able to say that! Nic and I have put so much of our time this summer into our yard and it has really paid off. We got motivated one last time and put the finishes touches on the front yard before planting grass seed. Now comes the divine break we have desperately hoped for. We plan to just sit back on our front porch and cheer on those little seeds while we watch them grow in. Then we will add bushes, tulip bulbs, and trees in the Fall. I seriously feel proud of what we accomplished together and my almost 7 month pregnant body is equally happy to take a break now.

As for the rest of our summer shenanigans not pictured are the endless Tastee Treat swirl ice cream cones enjoyed on our front porch and long walks around our neighborhood as the sun is going down late at night. The weekly date nights to the movies (trying to get as much of that in as possible before the baby comes) and the house projects we have finished on top of the yard. This summer is sure treating us right around here!
 

the month of november :: in instagram pictures

November is for...







First snowfalls, fun and festive table settings complete with baby pumpkins and homemade burlap table runners, and homemade pumpkin pies!

Hosting my very first Thanksgiving! I kept it to a party of 3 just in case things went very badly. ;) Which, they didn't. But darn those mashed potatoes. I underestimated how long those puppies would take to cook. Rookie mistake!

Trying new braided hairstyles on a Sunday afternoon, ranting about pencil companies and their inability to put the lead in the center of a pencil or including lead at all so that I don't have to throw away brand new ones (teacher probs), and loving watching my little Rue sleep.

Last minute trips to Boise to visit family! We bought those ridiculously huge stuffed animals for our nieces for Christmas. They are going to love them! Also, I was completely blown away by how much my hometown has grown just in the last year. They have a brand new outdoor mall complete with a movie theatre with dinner seating, shopping, and fountain shows that are synced to music. So much fun!

a reason for the silence + the month of october in instagram pictures

The reason for the silence reallly... school. I graduated back in May and thought to myself then, I will have SO much free time on my hands now. HA Oh Meagan, how silly. I adore my job though so the extra time I spend in my classroom in the evenings is worth it. The good news is, I've heard that this is completely normal for a first year teacher. :) The perfectionist in me had my doubts. If I let a week of not posting go by, it quickly turns into two, and then pretty soon, a couple months have blown by without even realizing it. One of my goals for 2014 is to be better at keeping this space updated regularly and making it more of a priority. Especially because I am dying to share all of the plans I have for our beautiful new home as they become a reality in the new year!

And because I am still catching up... a few updates from October!








We may not have dressed up for Halloween or even carved a pumpkin for that matter, but we visited a local pumpkin patch for the first time and it was fun to fill our new front porch with them! Rue quickly learned where our refrigerator is located in our new house and jumps her little paws right on top of the first drawer where she knows the apples await her. Cutest!

We celebrated Nic finally getting the title to a job promotion that had been in the works for him for a while. Proud of that Operations Manager of the Medical Practice Division. We celebrated with extra sticky finger sauce at Wingers for dinner. ;)

My brother was featured on ESPN as a senior for the Navy Sprint Football team. I'm really proud of the accomplishments he has made and it was fun to watch him do his thing.

Red Ribbon Week also makes school life in October extra fun! I dressed up as a "Super Teacher" for Super Hero Day. Wearing those glasses for a day made me want to go out and find a cute pair to wear every day, even though I have great vision. Insert, the fun date night excursion to Claire's to try on some silly ones.

the month of september :: in instagram pictures

Happy November {almost December}! Here I am giving updates from back in September. ;) Better late than never huh? September was THE craziest weather month in Pocatello I have ever seen. We had serious rainstorms and flooding all over town for multiple days. Nic and I live about 10 minutes away from our places of employment yet one night, it took us almost an hour to get home because every street we came down was closed down. Here is a video I took on that particular day during our drive home....

Seriously, that man was at least waste deep in water at that intersection! Craziest thing I've ever seen in Idaho!











On a random Tuesday evening, I was surprised by a group of young women that I served in my last ward for my church. They brought sweet, hand-written notes and cookies. They really know how to make a girl's day.

My little Emilee, a girl I have babysat for several years and now tutor, got pneumonia and ended up in the hospital for a few days. I went to visit her and couldn't believe what a trooper she was. She was even sitting up and smiling!

Don't ask me when, but I managed to find the time to decorate my classroom for fall. :) and now it is about time to take that down! HA Time flies these days.

the month of august :: in instagram pictures

Happy Tuesday! Unfortunately it is not too peppy around these parts as it seems I have caught my second bug this school year. That and the pile of grading are the main reasons for the lack of updates around here. Yeesh, I'm behind! Anyway, here we are with the month of August...























August was seriously the perfect month to say goodbye to the fleeting moments of summer. So many life changes happened. All really big ones and all really wonderful ones as well. It started out with an apartment full of boxes and a fluffy little bunny who managed to squeeze her way through a bathroom door and hop herself right on in to the bathtub. Silly rabbit. I ended up getting a little ahead of myself on the packing and we ended up eating off of paper plates for a good two weeks. oops. We said goodbye to our first home as a married couple, apartment #3, and spent the next week or so unpacking. Rue made herself RIIIIGHT at home in her new favorite spot next to the vent. Oh central air conditioning, what a luxury!!

The last week of August happened to be my first week of school as a brand new teacher with her own classroom full of third graders. LOOK OUT! It was crazy times and many late nights pulled to get that classroom put together but it turned out perfect. My classroom has an owl theme. :) Owl addiction, what's new around here. I am a very detail oriented person so what probably could have taken someone a day to complete took me a whole week. haha But I love how it turned out, cute owl welcome tree, curtains, and all.

Rue went on her first road trip to Boise for my step brother's wedding between the transition from apartment to new house. Needless to say, she was FREAKED the whole time and shaking like a leaf but made it in one piece. Within the first few days of living in our new neighborhood, we met SO many sweet neighbors who brought us the most thoughtful notes and treats.

The final weekend in August we went to the fair! I seriously hadn't been since late elementary school, early middle school. How lame am I?! I also had never been with a boy before. ;) haha We had so much fun together. The pronto pup and elephant ear eating was probably my favorite part. That and the bunny barn! Biggest bunny of my life. Rue looked like a dwarf compared to that big brown bun. At the end of the evening, we had tickets to see the bull riding event. I had never been to one before and it was terrifying! I don't know how those mom's sit in the stands and watch as their sons almost get trampled to death! Needless to say, I was more than freaking out for all 50 of them. One boy's stomach got stomped on and an ambulance had to come. Eeep! I can't even think about it. We also got to see these hardcore women called the Axe Women of Maine compete against each other in various events like log rolling and cutting through stumps. It was a really fun day. My one regret was not riding and getting a kiss on the Ferris wheel. It is on my August bucket list for next year. :)

the month of july :: in instagram pictures

Man is this summer going quickly or what?! I can hardly believe that I only have a week left of summer vacation before I start my first year of teaching, eep! Lots of emotions over here.

We celebrated the fourth of July just the two of us, walking to the fair grounds for the fireworks and playing Uno before the sun went down. It was a perfect day.

Of course I took a million and one more pictures of Rue this month because she is adorable. She turned six months old and had to get spayed. It was NOT a fun a day for either of us. I felt so terrible that she was in pain and she wanted nothing to do with me. haha

My mom came into town for a couple days on a work trip. I got to watch her do her thang. She works for Idaho Power and they are getting ready to celebrate 100 years soon and so she is in charge of a project where she has been interviewing retirees about their funny and memorable experiences with the company to share at that event. This sweet couple I watched her interview in Pocatello were so kind and incredibly involved in our community even after retirement. It was really cool. And my mom is awesome at what she does!

We made an offer on our first home and couldn't be more excited to move in!!! We went fridge shopping for our new home and realized you are definitely a grown up when fridge shopping is exciting! HA

I spent a couple of days starting to get my classroom put together. Four large blank walls are very intimidating for a person who has a hard time with decision making! While most everything is organized and in its proper place, I still have yet to hang anything up on the walls.

Late one evening, Nic found a spider on our living room wall. Naturally, it required whipping up what he called the "spider slayer 500" {a.k.a. a knife sharpener wrapped in a paper towel}. Ha Distance is key with this one. Can you tell he has just a little bit of arachnophobia?! In fact, you've GOT to hear the rest of the story! After making this large stabbing utensil, he lunged at it with the quickest stab you ever did see and the spider dropped straight to the ground... alive. He spent the next 20 minutes trying to scout out the perimeter {from a far distance} but could not find the spider again. In order to calm him down, I vacuumed the area where it had supposedly fallen. He still wasn't convinced it was gone but I finally got him to give up and call it a night. As we were walking out of the room, he reaches up to shut off the light and the spider was sitting on the light switch and touched his hand. Cue COMPLETE hysteria in my living room! It was truly hilarious!

I tried washi tape for the first time and I can seriously see how people get addicted to that stuff. I probably spent a good hour getting lost in various etsy shops trying to choose my favorite patterns and colors. There are just SO MANY options to choose from, it is insane! You can do so many things with it. I used it to color code labels for files in my classroom.

I made a day trip up to Idaho Falls to visit one of my best friends Alli who I met while going to school at ISU and her adorable newborn baby Henry. I just wanted to scoop him up and take him right on home with me! ;) We had a yummy lunch at a local restaurant. Then she gave me a tour of the elementary school where she just got hired. Wish we were teaching together! It was a great day!

And saving the best news for last {just kidding} but seriously!!! Kate Middleton and Prince William had baby George! Oh, you already knew that?! Well... just thought I'd keep you caught up on the royal news because I think it is fun to hear about their love story and new family. And I think she is so gorgeous.

See ya next year July!!