Walnut Canyon

Yesterday Dax had the day off so we took advantage of the nice hiking weather and went to Walnut Canyon. The hike down to the Indian Caves is closed because of a landslide, but we hiked a little bit around the rim and had lunch. It was nice to get out and do something.

Yesterday Dax felt the baby move for the first time as well! He was pretty excited. I was surprised because the baby hasn't been kicking really hard, but when Dax put his hand on my stomach the baby kicked really hard, it was funny.

We also found out before we went to bed last night that somehow we got a little hole in our air mattress (hmm...could it be that fact that they probably aren't meant to be slept on every night?) Half-way through the night we woke up without much air in the bed. Dax decided to fill it back up and then sleep on the floor, that way it would stay decently inflated so that I could be more comfortable. In the middle of the night I was so out of it that I didn't think about how sweet that was!

Dax is leaving tomorrow morning to go to Illinois for a competition. He worked on a mini baja car (similar to a little dune buggy) all last school year and he gets to go and compete it against over 150 other schools. He is excited for it because he put A LOT of work into the car. He won't be back until Sunday. My sister Nicole is coming to stay for a couple of days, which will be fun. It will definitely be nice not to have to be alone for all of those days.

The Final Vote

The final vote ended up being 9 to 8 in favor of a girl. Dax said we were having a boy all along, and when I told him lots of people thought we were having a girl he said that he loves being the underdog and then being right. We just try not to let it happen too often.

It's a Boy!

Well today was my 20 week ultrasound, and yes we're having a boy! Dax had the most boyish grin I've seen on his face in a long time. It was a lot of fun, apart from the fact that Dax was late and that the gel got all over my clothes. :) I was called back two times before Dax got there, but they knew that I wanted him to be there so they graciously took other patients ahead of me. The ultrasound technician said everything looks great, which was a big relief. Technology just astounds me. I can't believe that someone outside my body can take a 3D picture of what is going on inside my body. We live in pretty amazing times. The technician also said he's measuring 5 days ahead of my due date, and he weighs nearly a pound! He kept sticking his feet out at us, it was so cute.

This is a picture of his little foot.

It is fun to feel those little kicks every now and then. I try to let Dax feel them, but I don't think they are strong enough quite yet. They are usually so short as well that by the time Dax can try to feel them the baby has stopped kicking.

Here is a picture of the snow we got that I mentioned earlier. Luckily it melts off quickly here, because I was ready to pack my bags and head 2 hours south!

Apart from that we don't have a lot of news to share. My days right now consist of getting up, making Dax breakfast and lunch, seeing him out the door, studying all day, exercising (if I feel ambitious), and making dinner. I'm almost done with my New Testament class, which will be nice. I love studying the scriptures, but reading 20+ chapters a day isn't so fun, although I am learning some interesting things. I finally told Dax last night that until my internship starts I need some major quality conversation time with him when he gets home from work, because I don't say a word all day!

Arizona Again

Well this summer brings us back to Flagstaff, Arizona! Dax did a mechanical engineering internship with W.L. Gore and Associates last summer and we decided to come back for another summer. The summers are very mild compared to the rest of Arizona, considering we are at 7,000 feet! We actually received about 3 inches of snow this morning, which was definitely a surprise. However, it has all melted off and it turned out to be a nice (but windy) day. As you can see from this picture (outside our apartment), Sunday we had a beautiful day!

While Dax does an internship with Gore, I will do an internship with the Children's Health Center at the hospital here in Flagstaff. I am currently looking for a part-time job and is taking 6 other credits online. We will both finish our degrees in April, and then it's off to graduate school (hopefully).

Before heading down here we got to spend 2 weeks in vacation mode between Utah and Washington. My sister Krystal got married on April 22nd in Salt Lake City, so we were in Utah for a week. Then we went to Washington to spend a week with Dax's family, as it was the first time that all of his family had been together in years. We definitely enjoyed our time, even though it went by very quickly.

As most of you know, we are expecting our first baby at the beginning of October, and we are very excited. I am even more excited that morning sickness (or night sickness in her case) is finally starting to subside! We go to the doctor on May 22nd for an ultrasound, and hopefully we'll find out the gender. Dax is set on a boy, but we'll see what happens. :) You'll have to take a guess at what we're having! I am 19 weeks, and as you can see am starting to show.

Well that about wraps it up for now. We'll keep you updated. We are excited for another summer here and hope that some of you will come and visit us!