Use our washer and dryer for free for a few months!

THANK YOU, HAYLEE! OUR WASHER AND DRYER HAVE A GOOD, SAFE HOME NOW THANKS TO YOU! :)
Hey everybody! Crazy to think that we are moving tomorrow! It's coming along really well, though!

We need to figure out what to do with our washer and dryer ASAP! The townhouse we're moving into comes with a washer and dryer, so we won't be able to use ours, but don't want to get rid of them permanently. So, question for all of you--would you, or someone you know in Rexburg, want to use our washer and dryer for free for a few months? We won't charge or anything! We thought we had someone lined up to use them, but found out today they don't need them afterall. Hopefully we'll find someone that we can help, and not just have to put them in storage!

Let me know asap if you know someone! Comment, or call me at 359-7203.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

P.S. Look, I made eight posts in December! A new record! Half of them were lame and short, but still! :)

Let me know if I missed re-adding your blog!

Good news--I finally finished adding all of your guys' blog URL's back on my list! I don't recommend losing your blog list; it takes forever to build it back. :) I want to make sure I didn't forget anyone, though, so if you don't see your name, please let me know!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. :)

Life is crazy sometimes :)

Re-laid off
So things have been kind of insane. As you all know, Adam has been looking for a job, and one that starts asap, since Dec. 31 would be my last day of work. Well, as if we weren't pressured for time already, my boss called me in on Wednesday and said that some investor funding hadn't come through and that I needed to pack up my things and leave as soon as possible. 60% of the company was laid off. So, I packed up my things and said goodbye to YHS, unexpectedly early. Cody, Adam's brother who also worked at YHS, was laid off as well.
Craigo's happened to be having a special that day, so we (me, Adam, Cody and his wife, Elizabeth) went and drown our sorrows with amazing salad, pasta and pizza, whilst watching the cold, depressing snow through the window--sad picture, huh? :)


We then came home and played Monopoly--even though our real money-making had been cut short that day, we could at least pretend we were rich! It played out perfectly: Adam, who always wins, actually lost; Cody got second place, and I actually won for the first time ever! We then all cuddled up on the couch and watched "It's a Wonderful Life." Depressing day, but we enjoyed ourselves as much as we could. :)


New job
So, more than ever, we were really hoping for the BYU Housing job or the BYU-Idaho Facilities Planner job. Well, on Friday we found out that BYU-Idaho has started a "hiring freeze," putting that job on hold until further notice. :( Then less than an hour later we got a call from BYU telling Adam he didn't get the job. :( It always sucks to not get a job, but it especially stinks when you were in the final round/running for it. So, needless to say, we were pretty unsure what to do next. All of our options were gone. And although Adam's manager job @ UV has been great, we couldn't survive on it alone, with me not working, and with a new baby coming in about a month. Well, thankfully, just a few moments later, Adam called the Housing Office to fill them in on the latest and was offered (and accepted) a Housing Assistant job that had just opened up, which he will begin on Dec. 29. Honestly, it's not an amazing job (pay- and duties-wise), but he will do amazing at it, and we're grateful that it came through in our time of need.

New apartment
Because our apartment is attached with Adam's manager job, and since neither of us are students anymore, we have to move! We were very lucky and blessed to be able to find and sign a contract for a great little townhouse to rent only about a mile away from our place now. But we will still have to move out of our complex/ward, which will be way sad :( , especially in all this snow. :) We'll be moving Jan.1.

Although we'll be sad to leave the ward and complex, it will be fun to start this new chapter in our lives. Isn't it absolutely crazy how much can change in less than a week?

Belly shots @ 34 weeks

My growing belly/baby!

This is the only shot where I don't look huge; I totally prefer this angle. :)


Growing, and growing...


Ok, this picture is gross--I apologize. Adam accused me of trying to hide my belly by wearing black. I totally wasn't! Even if I had been trying to, it's obvious it didn't work very well. :) Anyway, so this is my all-out pregnant belly shot, thanks to Adam. :)

Stupid blogger!

Ok, so I just have to do a little venting. I was getting bored with my blog background and wanted to spice things up for the holidays. I'd heard horror stories about fellow bloggers losing their family/friends blog list when doing this, so I was super careful as I went about the process. I found a cute background, copied the code into my blogger layout HTML thingy, and previewed it. To my disappointment, the preview didn't save any of my gadgets, including my precious blog list. So sadly, I clicked "clear edits" and made sure I did not save the new code. Phew--or so I thought. But, as it would turn out...

IT ERASED MY WHOLE STUPID BLOG LIST ANYWAY! ALL 81 OF THEM!

Thankfully, I prepared for the worst and made a screen shot of all the names on the list beforehand. But now I have to go through for every single name and track down the URL, and enter it in again.

I am grateful for Blogger's free services that help me stay in touch with my favorite people, but this made me so angry! Especially since I never even saved any changes!

Ok, I feel bad having a negative post around the holiday season, but I just couldn't help myself. Please don't judge me. :) Judge Blogger. :) Haha. Happy holidays, everybody! A more cheerful post is hopefully on deck for next time!

Thanks, Erin, for recommending the Cutest Blog on the Block--totally using them from now on instead of Pyzam!

Elf Yourself! :)

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas decor, mini-sized :)

Adam and I always love putting up Christmas decorations right after Thanksgiving, but since this year we don't know if we'll still be living where we are now (see post below), we didn't want to have to take everything down again before Christmas. So, we have done mini decorations on top of our bookshelf! We got a mini tree and a mini tree skirt fom Wal-Mart (adorable!) and I also went all out and cutely wrapped our presents. :) Yay for Christmas!

p.s. Totally didn't plan this, but the layout of this post looks like a Christmas tree! How appropriate. :)

Updates

Baby update: Everything is going well! And we will have our boy here in less than two months! I have my eight-month appointment next week, and after that I start going in for an appointment every two weeks. Crazy! It's gone by really fast, and we hope these last two months go quickly as well. You've probably noticed from the ticker, but the name we have decided on is Beck--we love it.

Job update: I have less than a month left of work now. Although being laid off stinks, at the same time I am excited to have a few weeks to relax and get things ready. Adam has applied and been offered interviews for three jobs; one in Idaho Falls, one here in Rexburg and one in Provo. We feel very blessed that these opportunities have arisen, and hope and pray that one of them works out! So, if one of these does turn into a job, we could be moving within a couple of weeks. :( We don't know anything yet, but it's definitely a possibility. We would be way sad to leave our apartment complex and ward, but excited for a new chapter of our lives. We'll keep you all updated!

Good people

So, this week has been kind of crazy. First, Adam got sick last weekend, then on Monday I started feeling sick. I had a bad cold Tuesday and Wednesday, and by Thursday it was only getting worse. I went to the doctor and he informed me I had a sinus infection and bronchitis. On top of this, I was still throwing up from being pregnant (yes, I still throw up about once a day :( ). And Adam was still sick this whole time too.

On top of all this, I got laid off on Wednesday. My company is undergoing some restructuring and will no longer need my department. Thankfully, they are keeping me on through Dec. 31 to help out with the transition, but after that I am officially unemployed. Needless to say, this definitely has thrown us for a loop. Our plan was for me to work right up until the baby is born, to save as much money as possible as well as be eligible to use my work insurance.

So now Adam is just applying for jobs like crazy. He's been submitting applications for a while now, but now there's a little extra urgency involved. :) If you know of anything (particularly in fraud investigation, administrative work, or even housing management), let us know!

My point of this post wasn't to complain, I promise. :) This rough week has really helped us to realize what is most important. Imagine if work was all we lived for! I am so grateful to know what's important: me and Adam being together no matter where life takes us; our baby boy coming to us in just a few short months; the Gospel knowledge we are blessed to have that really helps put things into perspective; and for all of YOU! We have received so much support, love, kindness (and food!) from our wonderful friends and family, and couldn't be more grateful to have the blessing of good people at this time.

We are both still sick, and I still won't have a job after Dec. 31, but my favorite saying has always been, "Things turn out best for those who make the best out of the way things turn out." Now is one of those times for us to make the best out of the way things have turned out. Thank you to all of you for making this a little bit easier to do. :)

The grossest picture of me ever taken (or at least ever posted), but I thought it added to the post. :)

Cute videos!

Hi everyone! I don't have much time for an update at the moment, but my beanie pics are really getting old. :) So I thought I'd share some of my favorite YouTube videos with you all!











Yes, I have a fetish for cute, squishy animals! Here's one way cute, non-animal video for your viewing pleasure. :)

Beanie fun

Today I stopped by the Bookstore (technically the "University Store" now) and found the cutest beanie ever! And it was only $2.99! I quickly fell in love with it and decided it was worthy of a blog post. :) Unfortunately, I don't even do the beanie justice in the pics--but I had fun in the process!

Belly shots @ 23 weeks!

Well, my belly is growing! I'm still totally in the looking fat stage versus the cute, round belly stage (hopefully it's a stage)--but oh well! I'm grateful for whatever way I'm carrying!

Straight-on shot


Slanted shot


Side shot


Sad to have a belly, but so happy to have a baby inside of it! :)

Ultrasound pics!

Here are some pics from the ultrasound! I can't seem to get the DVD video into a format that will work on here, but here are some pictures!

Hand

Isn't this cute? I totally say he's waving, even if Adam is convinced he's just trying to fight off the instrument that is invading his space. :)

Foot

Cuuute.

Legs


Spine


Profile


Isn't he cute already? :) We are so happy he is healthy and growing! It really is such a miracle.

It's a BOY!!!!!!!

Yes, it's a boy! We are so excited! I'm at work and will post more details and a pic and video later, but I just wanted to let everyone know! For those of you who guessed it was a girl, don't feel bad, I did too--even though it was mainly because Adam was being so cocky about it being a boy. :) Guess it was inspired confidence afterall!

One week to go!

Hello everyone! Thanks so much for all the congratulations, advice and excitement! We find out what we are having in just one week! Tuesday, Sept. 16 @ 11:20 is the big day/time. :) So, we want you all to vote on our little poll and let us know what you think Baby Ririe is going to be!

Guess what?

Yes, I took this picture myself, thank you. :)

"Guess what?" seems to be the theme of our blog this summer! But honestly, nothing compares to this announcement for us: we are having a baby in February!

I seriously just want to cry even thinking about it--we are so happy and grateful. We "haven't been preventing" having kids for almost two years, but because of a few health issues (overactive thyroid, irregular cycle, insulin resistance, etc.) we knew it would be a little while before we got pregnant. So this was a beautiful, pleasant surprise!

Quick facts:
Day we found out: Thursday, June 19
Due date: Monday, February 2
How far along: 17 weeks and two days
Morning sickness? More like all-day sickness, every day. :( I'm four months along and still throwing up every day. So, it's been kinda tough keeping up with work and Church duties, but we're so happy that it's honestly not a big deal and of course it's totally worth it.
Foods I've thrown up: Pretty much everything! (I'll spare the details.) The worst was popcorn--out the mouth and nose. :(
Weird symptoms: When I throw up, it bursts a ton of blood vessels, causing a bunch of purple dots around my eyes. When I was throwing up three or more times a day, I got marks that seriously looked like black eyes.
Still fitting in my clothes: Yes! But probably not for too much longer. :(
First person to know besides us: Cody, Adam's brother (I ran off to a wedding reception and left the pregnancy tests on the table--oops)
Day we told my parents: Saturday, August 9 (we hid it from almost everyone, so don't be sad or offended!)
Boy/girl: We get to find out on September 16--less than three weeks away! Adam is completely convinced it's a boy; I kind of think it's a girl, but I'm not as self-assured as Adam. :)
Names: We totally have them picked out, but I will save that information for a later post. :)

Longer story: :)
We found out on June 19. I had been sick and throwing up for weeks, but Adam had been sick too, so I really didn't think anything of it. It's a constant joke at my work that if any girl isn't feeling well or is gone for the day, they're automatically pregnant--yeah, welcome to Rexburg. :/ I wasn't getting any better from being "sick," and they had jokingly harassed me so much, that I thought it couldn't hurt to take a test. So, I got home from work and took one, but I had thrown away the directions and couldn't remember how to read the stupid thing. I went over to Adam's office across the hall "to check my e-mail" (I didn't want to tell Adam anything until I knew for sure), but really I was trying to look up images on what answer my little test had produced. Well, Adam came in to check on me and I told him what was going on. :) From what I could find online, it looked like it was positive, but we were still skeptical and didn't want to get too excited. So we hurried and drove to Walgreen's while I was chugging water, bought another test and quickly took it once we got home (I had to leave for my friend's wedding reception in like 5 minutes and was not even ready yet). The second one was positive too--we really couldn't believe it, so we called Community Care to see if they could get me in for a blood test. I talked to the nurse and she basically told me I needed to settle down and not waste $50, that the urine tests are 99.999% accurate. So we settled down. :) That's how we found out!

So we've been keeping it a secret for more than two months now. I just wanted to make sure everything was safe and healthy. And I also didn't want to draw a ton of attention to myself, but I figure a blog is a somewhat subtle way of announcing it. :)

We are so happy and excited! I'm probably forgetting to mention a bunch of things! And sorry for such a long post, but this is pretty much the biggest blessing that's ever happened to us. :)

Better late than never! :)

Hello everyone! I've been the worst blogger ever lately! Things have been crazy busy, but so good. Better late than never to post, right? So here are some of the latest happenings in our life. :)

University Village Tenant Appreciation Lunch
Our complex (i.e. Adam and Michelle) put on its second annual Tenant Appreciation Lunch last month. We thought it turned out great! What did you guys think?
The line crew: Greg, Bree (my cousin), Tom, Reyna, Michelle, Me and Adam (behind the camera)

Hungry tenants!

There was such a good turnout, and the food was so yummy, that there wasn't enough for us hard workers. :( We were absolutely starving and exhausted so we went to Arby's afterward. Such sacrifices managers make... :)



Twin cousin visit!
My favorite twin cousin ever came to visit a few weeks ago! Bree and I are twin cousins because we're only three hours apart--cool, huh? :) She had never been to Eastern Idaho before, but she loves us and came to visit, so we tried to show her a good time! On Friday night we went to The Backyard (hittin' the local spots) and hung out. On Saturday, we did the Tenant Appreciation Lunch for like five hours (set-up, during, take-down) and grabbed lunch at Arby's and then we decided we just needed to have some fun girl time! We went to New Image Salon and had pedicures and manicures done. I had Brad and Bree had Lacey--it was so much fun! Then we hit up Hard Hat Steakhouse and stayed up chatting afterwards, of course. :)
Me & flamboyant, funny Brad :)

Bree & Lacey (sorry for the bad focus)

How do we look? :) Getting pampered every once in a while is soooo nice!


Girls' Trip 2008!
I love my family! Every year, all the ladies who are high school grads or older that can come, gather for a weekend of chatting, games, food and bonding. :)
Stocking up on the goods ;)

Just a little crowded on the way there...

The mysterious "lava flow" we drove around for like half an hour to find(the picture doesn't do it justice)!

Let the games begin! We stayed up until 4 a.m. both nights playing games!

Waterballoon volleyball! Funnest. Game. Ever.

Can't help but laugh :)

Williams girls--Elizabeth, Mom (Vicki), Kathryn

More games!

Normal happy face :)

Game face (or at least an attempt at one!)

Sisters forever! Yay for no make-up :)

"The call" #2

Ok, guess what else? Adam was just called and sustained (to be set apart next week) as the second counselor in our bishopric. Crazy, huh? We must both have a lot to learn! :) It will probably be pretty busy around our little apartment, but we are grateful and excited to be able to serve.

Thanks for your support, again!

"The call"

Guess what? I was just set apart as the new Relief Society president in our ward, and I just have to say that I am so grateful and excited. It can be a scary thing, but more than anything, I really am just looking forward to it--mainly thanks to the awesome sisters in our ward who I know will be my friends even though I won't quite know what I'm doing at first. :)

Love you all! Thanks for your support. :)

We still had fun--go American Idol!

I know, it's a little pathetic that I'm averaging every other post being about American Idol, but I had to post a few pics of our awesome Idol parties!

First night


Kelsi and I picking up our cool shirts before the party. :) We were afraid the lady making them would think we were a weirdo (well, she still probably did), but she ended up being a huge Idol fan too and we ended up having like a 20-minute conversation about Idol and how much we love it. :)


Aren't we so cool? :)


The whole gang!


Our American Idol ice cream we drove all over town to find!


Gettin' a little crazy...


Nervous for the show!


He did amazing!


Time to vote! And vote we did--about 1,500 votes combined!

Second night


So nervous for the results! It's all we talked about at work all day. :)


We all had something going on when the finale actually aired, so Kelsi Tivo'd it and we watched it a few hours later. In order to avoid texts and calls giving away the results, we all turned off and abandoned our phones!


The final results being announced--very depressing and wrong. :)

Even though we were sad at the results, we had so much fun!