Happy Two Years!

'Twas the night before our anniversary trip, when all through the house, I was having the worst day of my life.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear (after a quick trip out for a minute), a dozen pink roses, some peanut butter M&Ms (my fave), and a darling note! "These always look better when you have a bad day. Love you!"

Bryan's brothers and he were at Kimmy & Nick's wedding luncheon and their plates were decorated with great care in hopes that their food would soon be there. (Yes, they used the flowers tied in the napkins and decorated their fancy plates in the manner displayed below. You gotta love it!)

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from our hotel room in Logan to see what was the matter. (It was just rain.) We took this beautiful picture of the Logan temple in the rain.

The next day, Bryan spoke not a word, but went straight to his work. And filled my head with surprises and we were off with a jerk! More rapid than eagles in our car we flew. . .to Park City!

To the top of the mountain! To the top of the wall! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all! We made a trip up to the top of the mountain! Bryan was a little nervous about the chair lifts at some parts.

We had a lot of fun and it was nice to be the only ones at the top of the huge mountain!

Next, Bryan sprang to the car, to his team gave a whistle, and away we flew like the down of a thistle. . .to the Candlewood Suites!

Of course, I had to bring the darling roses on our trip with us.

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and Bryan in his cap, had just settled down for a long winter's nap when we discovered that our bed was pillowtop memory foam and the most comfy bed we'd ever laid our heads on!!!

With a little old (he will be 25 this year) driver, so lively and quick, we were off to our next stop, Raging Waters!!

He was dressed in his suit all ready to roar! And I laughed when I saw him [speeding down the scary slide] in spite of myself! (Sorry that the video is sideways. I couldn't fix it.)

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on The Roof. . .US! We spent one night at the romantic restaurant on temple square. Our table even had a cute little sign that said, "Happy Anniversary," on it!

This is what we were looking at. Bryan took this beautiful picture!

Of course, we had to take a quick walk through Temple Square. (Good job, Sister Missionary with the camera.)

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head, Bryan drove Granny's Oldsmobile Ninety Eight back home like a pimp.

But we were happy to see when we drove into town, our happy Ed Head! Happy Ed Head to all and to all a good night!! (Yes, that is my dad's head on a billboard in Cedar City.)

The best part of this entire anniversary vacation is that Bryan planned it and made all the reservations alone and as a surprise to me! He is truly the best husband in the whole, wide world! Thank you, Bryan, for the best and most romantic vacation ever!

Our actual anniversary was on Monday, August 11 (the big 2 years)!! We celebrated at Navajo Lake on Cedar Mountain. When we pulled up to our picnic spot, we were greeted by the hugest chipmunk/squirrel/unknown creature ever! Meet Buddha, the. . . critter.

We had a quick picnic at the beautiful lake on a log,

and then Bryan tried to teach me how to skip rocks. His form:

My form:

After Bryan composed himself and quit laughing at me and got his breath back, we took a long walk around the entire lake. We even conquered the swamp marsh. And, we saw a Utah Flamingo. (I know that's probably not a real animal, but we saw a huge bird with really long legs, but it wasn't pink. So, what do you call that? A Utah Flamingo.)

Thank you, Bryan, for a wonderful and romantic and perfect anniversary! I am so thankful that I was lucky enough to catch you and marry you and that I get to be with you forever! You are my best friend in the whole wide world and I love everything about you!! I love you so much and can't wait for the many more anniversaries ahead!

Holy Moly!!

It was this:

That caused this:
That caused this:

Picture this: 7:45 PM on a regular weekday evening. I am just driving down Main Street minding my own business, when - - - BAM, BANG, SHEBOOM! I was in a minor car accident! Even though it wasn't a huge accident, I wanted to be sure that baby Zig was okay, so Bryan and I went to the doctor on Friday morning. He was very sweet and sympathetic until. . . he told me to go get my blood drawn that would determine if I should get a shot! Then, I started sweating bullets. Bryan was very supportive and held my hand (while looking out the hall) while they took all of my blood again. A couple hours later, we were back at the hospital where I got a RhoGam shot RIGHT IN MY BUTT!!! Again, I was very brave and didn't even pass out.

The best part of the unexpected doctor visit was that we got to see little Ziggy for the first time! Although we're not scheduled for our ultrasound until the 19th, Dr. G. wanted to do one just to make sure Zig was fine (and to reassure me I'm sure). Well, sure enough, Zig was fine! He/she even gave us a thumbs up! It was so neat to see him/her moving all around like a little fishy inside! Picture #2 is the one where you'll see Ziggy's tiny little arm bent at the elbow with his/her thumb giving us an "I'm okay in here" signal.

We are so thankful that everyone involved in the accident is okay, especially Zig. We are grateful for our wonderful and caring doctor who took the time to reassure us and to show us our little fishy inside of me. We are continually grateful for the opportunity to be parents to sweet little Zig!

Catch Up

Okay, now that the big news is spread, and we've got our heads around the whole idea of having a cutie little baby, we can talk about what else has been going on in our busy lives.

Bryan, my dad, and my brother competed in the Utah Summer Games Hot Shot competition! Bryan won the gold in his age group!

Bryan buzzed his head for a cool summer do, but I had to get a quick mohawk snap before it was all gone.

We went to the Neil Simon Festival here in town and saw, "I Do! I Do!" Fun, fresh, and something new for us to do. Count us as well-rounded theater folk now!
I learned that I am married to a thug. Bryan opened our door that we were locked out of using only his witts and his debit card.

Bryan made a very large after school snack - - not a couple slices, but the entire stem. I know, it's probably not a big deal to most of you, but it was hilarious to me!
The tiny plant that Bryan gave me for Mother's Day is still alive! It's grown big enough to get a bigger pot! This, as well, may not be big news to you, but it sure is to us! Yay!

I have four, count them, four baby books with lots of fun and. . .interesting facts about what's going on inside of me!

Little Zig's Stats at 15 Weeks
Height: 4 Inches Crown to Rump
Weight: 2 1/2 Ounces
Ziggy is already quite spoiled with lots of clothes and even some tiny diapers!

And, to be quite honest, I'm quite spoiled as well! I've inherited (until I'm un-pregnant) some maternity clothes from friends (thank you, Kristen and Wendy) and been given many brand new ones from family! Thanks, Shennie, Mindy, Granny, and Mom!!

Speaking of Mom, she already made this darling neutral-colored quilt by hand! Thank you so much, Mom! Zig will love it and we already do!

My co-worker/friend gave me this awesome Fetal Monitor! When Zig starts moving around and gets a little bit bigger, we can hear his/her tiny little heartbeat and sloshing around when he/she moves! Notice that there's two headphones so we can both listen at the same time!

Bryan and I are very blessed to live in such a beautiful place on earth! We finally got up to the mountain (no hiking involved) and took a couple awesome pics! This one is of Navajo Lake.

We updated our food storage and even had to buy a bigger (pink) container! Although this is just a start, we feel good knowing that we'll survive a week long disaster!

My good friend, Lane stopped by for a visit! Never a dull moment with him!

And now you're in the know with the Allen family! See you again next post! Hugs!

Big News!!!

Surprise!

We're having a little baby Allen! For some of you, this may not be a surprise as you have been doing some of your own detective work. We found out the day before Mother's Day and being the sweet husband that he is, Bryan bought me flowers for my first ever Mother's Day! I "did my business" on the stick and left it and Bryan in the bathroom while I changed my clothes. About ten seconds later, an exclamation of, "Holy [swear word]! It's pregnant!" broke out from the bathroom. Yay!!!

Chandi's Reaction - "Wow. I can't believe it!"

Bryan's Reaction - "Wow. I can't believe it!"
Later that day, we were both still a little bit in shock, so after a little bit of encouragement, we bought another test from the Dollar Store so we could confirm. Not even ten seconds this time. Pee, two lines. Immediate.

Not even shocked any more! Happy first Mother's Day to me and happy baby day to us!!
We kept the secret between only us for a whole month! It was a fun time for us and neat to have the secret just between us for a while. We told both of our immediate families on Father's Day! We sent Bryan's parents a picture text of the test and a message that said, "Happy FATHER'S/grandfather's day!!" After an excited phone call from them, we called Bryan's brother and sister-in-law. After another excited and fun phone call with them, we headed to my parents' house. We wrapped up all three pee tests (yes, I took three) for my dad's Father's Day present. He opened it and thought that we had given him a rectal thermometer.

"Uh. . .thank you. I don't have one of these."
After my mom poked her head in to see what the gift really was and did some explaining there was tears and jumping off the couch and hugs! So exciting! This will be the first grandbaby on both mine and Bryan's side of the family!

Of course my dad had to have his fun and try to wipe the "remnants" from the stick on Mandy.

We had our very first doctor's appointment last Tuesday where we got a party bag full of fun goodies!

Bryan got my some beautiful flowers for "Baby Day!" He was so sweet at the appointment and held my hand through the entire exam and while they took all of my blood. All of it. It was in the doctor's room that we got the best goody of all. . .we got to hear the heartbeat! It was so awesome for both of us and definitely stopped our talking.

And, finally, we told our extended families and friends for the 4th of July! We showed up to the party in these shirts (homemade by us):

Of course, everyone was thrilled! This will be the first great-grandbaby on my mom's side of the family! We are so excited!!! Our due date is January 15, 2009! We feel very blessed to have been given this special priviledge to be parents to a special baby. We can't wait for Ziggy the Zygote's - - Zig for short (as we have affectionately named it) arrival!!!

Happy 4th of July!

We had a wonderful 4th of July this year! It was our first one we were able to spend as a couple in Cedar! We started the day at 5:40 AM when our alarm clock went off after which we put some mismatching clothes on and headed to the Fire Station to meet my dad for some 4th of July fun!!

Explanation: In Cedar, the firemen shoot of LOUD fireworks at 6:00 AM to signify the 4th of July. We have been going with my dad for the past ten years at least and it never gets less fun! In fact, quite the opposite! This year (the third), we lit the fireworks right smack in front of my grandma's house. [Note: This is not one of the designated spots to light fireworks.] Although it's probably not the best thing to do, it sure is fun!!! Thanks, dad, for the 4th of July tradition! We LOVE it!

For our family party that night, I made this "right out of a magazine" fruit pizza! I thought it turned out really cute! And, it was delicious!

We finished the night up by watching the city fireworks in the back of a truck and enjoying time spent visiting and giggling with family. (Luckily, Bryce, Bret, or Jake did not burn off their fingers while making fireworks.) Hope everyone had a happy 4th!

Still Alive

I am happy to report that I am still alive and that the doctor really wasn't that bad. The doctor was very friendly and nice unlike the picture below portrayed him.

One Year

My woman parts are clenched and nervous. Keep me in your thoughts as I have my yearly appointment with the Satan doctor, the Gynocologist and his tool set tomorrow.