Simple As It Should Be

Baby Blessing, Disney, Christmas, and more!

2012-01-12T17:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2011---We had such a fun Christmas season especially once Nick got done with finals! It was so relaxing and just nice. We roasted marshmallows with the Beauchamps, watched Elf with the Stones, went to a couple of fun Christmas parties, and soaked in a jacuzzi with the Kelly's. The Kelly family was so sweet to let us crash their family festivities on Christmas Eve and Christmas. And...boy do those Kelly's know how to cook! We always eat so well with them. :)

Celebrating the holiday spirit at a Sweater and Mustache Party--need I say more? Nick looks hilarious and won "Best Sweater" award. I was so proud.


Every year for Christmas Eve we go to breakfast. This year we went to the Flying Biscuit after a morning jog. It is strange having 70 degree weather at Christmas time but I am not going to lie...it was pretty nice!

Christmas Eve dinner at the Kelly's


This picture just makes me laugh--Georgia is pretty mad! This is on Christmas Day--the day of Baby June's blessing. Her little outfit with wings was ADORABLE. :)

Georgia had her baby blessing on New Year's Day! It was a really special day and I think that Georgia knew it. She was so happy. I have more details in my journal but I am thankful for Nick to be able to do give her the blessing. I am also thankful that Georgia waited to have a blow out until afterwards! Here are some pics. :)

Georgia looked beautiful on the day of her blessing (January 1st, 2012). She was so happy especially when we got to church. I think she just knew it was her special day.


We were really happy to have Nick's parents come out after Christmas and be there for the baby blessing.

We loved having Nick's parents come. I wish we could rewind time and have everybody come visit us again. I want my mom to come back and my sister and Avery to come back too! It seems like time goes by too fast and their visits don't last long enough! :(

Here are some pictures from Grandpa Bob and Grandma Carol's visit.

We went to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville which was AMAZING! I thought it was worth the $$.

We went down to Charleston and went to the Boone Hall Plantation

Eating dinner at Red Robin

So...Georgia has Hip Dysplasia. (it is actually pretty common... come to find out). She has a really mild case and only has to wear this harness/brace for 6 weeks for 24 hours and then 6 weeks for only 12 hours/day. It is pretty much where the hip hasn't fully formed into the socket the way it is supposed to. The doctor never even found it on the physical examination...and the only way we found it was because I had it when I was a baby and I had mentioned it to the doctor. The doctor then ordered an ultrasound because it is hereditary to see if she had it and sure enough---she has it! I had a really hard time with this because I felt like I gave her this problem and it makes me so sad to see her in this harness with her legs out like a froggie. I just miss snuggling her like normal and wish she didn't have to wear it. But then I realized that it probably bothers me more than it bothers her. I realize there are a lot of things that could be worse--but truth is that it still stinks she has to wear this. Here is a picture of her in it just to prove how happy she is even with the harness on!

Yes...we took Georgia to Disneyworld!! We are a little crazy for doing this but Autumn and Matt Stone were going to run the half marathon so we decided to join them and watch Cooper while they ran on Saturday. We left on Wednesday January 4th and stayed in a hotel by Sea World. We went to Sea World on Thursday and then Disneyworld on Friday. We ended up getting FREE tickets to Disneyworld. Boom! (that was nice---so we didn't feel pressure to get our money's worth or anything). It was so fun to go with friends especially because we could switch off going on rides while one couple watched the babies. The Stones are fun travel buddies and I can't believe they ran a half marathon after walking around Disneyworld the day before.

We took Georgia's picture at the Georgia state line. :) Marci--I thought you would appreciate this.

So glad we got to go to Disneyworld with these three!

Georgia's first slumber party with her buddy Cooper. :)

Sea World-Nick and I under the sea.

Love this girl!! :)

Newborn Photos

2012-01-12T14:50:00.000-08:00

These photos were taken when she was 6 days old. She was such a good little baby during the whole photo shoot and you could just mold her like putty in whatever position you wanted. But...she did pee and poop all over all of the props and even pooped on Nick at the end! Well...here were some of our favorites. I am so glad we captured these. I already miss her being in this newborn stage. She is changing so much everyday it makes me so sad! :(

Updates and more pics

2011-12-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

Okay so I have SO many pictures and so many things to write about Georgia. How do mom's update their blogs so often? Pretty much a quick update...I can't believe she is already 6 weeks now!

I am obsessed with this girl and she is the best thing that has happened to us!! She is so cute and seriously THE BEST baby! I am sure it has nothing to do with our parenting skills---we just got lucky! She sleeps 7-8 hours a night (8 and a half hours last night!) At her one month appointment she was already 2 pounds heavier at 8 pounds, 14 ounces!! She is getting to be a little chunk! She is still in the 10th percentile for height though...a little shorty like her ma and pa. Well here are some pics and other little things I love about her. :)

I love when she eats her fists clench up real tight and she always tucks her thumb between her index and middle fingers.


She is a good study partner for her Dad with law school finals

I LOVE her smiles right after she eats.

She loves to sleep in our bed for a couple of hours in the morning (and I love it too!)

She loves bath time and can't stand it when we take her out of the tub.

Some other things I love about this girl are that she has the prettiest blue eyes and I love seeing them when she is wide awake and they are really big. I love when she smacks her lips after she is done eating (she is very passionate about her food like her momma). She just has the happiest, sweetest demeanor---we couldn't ask for a better or cuter baby!

My sister came to visit and it was amazing!!! But it went by WAY too fast I want her to come back. She brought her cute Avery and I miss Avery so much too!! Avery was such a good helper to get me diapers and wipes. She is an independent girl and the bathroom downstairs was "her bathroom" and she was hilarious about doing everything herself. Here are some pictures of their visit. By the way...Georgia LOVES Aunt Rickie!

I loved Avery's pictures on the windows. :)

Georgia loved being held by her cousin Avery

Georgia will sometimes sleep with her hand floating in the air. It is hilarious.

And I think her hair is "HAIR Lairious!"

Bad picture of me but I needed to throw one in there of myself with her.

My good friend Alena out here in North Carolina! She had her baby a month before me (baby June Bug). It is so fun to have friends with babies all about 6 weeks apart out here. :)

My good friend Autumn out here in North Carolina! She had her baby the day we moved out here (baby Cooper). He just may be Georgia's future husband. :) He is so handsome.

I stole this picture from Autumn but these are all of Georgia's baby friends in North Carolina. I am so lucky to have so many friends that are Georgia's age! It is so fun. We have baby Audrey, Kai, Cooper, and June just hanging out during Craft day at Chelsea's house!

Georgia Jean Hart

2011-11-26T18:19:00.001-08:00

Welcome the newest member of our Family...Georgia Jean Hart

Born November 6th, 2011 at 9:55 p.m.
She was 6 pounds 12 ounces of perfectness and 18 inches of cuteness!

Below is the birth story...kind of long but I am writing it mainly for myself so I won't forget it. :)

Saturday November 5th: Sushi Night with Beauchamps and Stones--I started feeling contractions but didn't think anything of it. :)

Sunday November 6th:
3:30 a.m.: Woke up feeling contractions and it was SO uncomfortable. I woke up Nick at 4:30 a.m. but was in denial that it could be labor. From what I had heard, a contraction felt like it was all around your back and stomach but I was just feeling it down in my lower stomach. Nick started timing contractions and they were like clockwork about 3 minutes apart. I was supposed to teach the Young Women's lesson that day and was just trying to figure out how I would do that having to bend in half every 3 minutes to deal with the pain. I called the doctor and they told us to come to the hospital. Thanks Autumn for teaching the lesson super last minute!!

7:30 a.m.: Arrive at hospital to a really rude nurse who said the baby was just "balling up" down there and making me uncomfortable. I wasn't dilated at all so they sent me home and told me to take Tylenol until my doctor's appointment on Monday. The pain was so bad I couldn't imagine dealing with it until Monday--plus it kept getting worse and worse. We went home and I just laid in bed in the WORST pain ever.

11:30 a.m.: Called the doctor because pain was so bad but since we were told that I wasn't in labor I was worried I would have to deal with this pain for the next day but my pain on a scale of 1-10 was like an 8. I am probably a complete wimp but it was horrible! I felt like my uterus was being twisted and pulled in every direction. :) I never thought I would feel that much pain unless I was dying! (I stole that quote from Shae). We went back to the hospital and I was dilated to a 4. Thank goodness they didn't send me home again!

2:30: They admitted me to the hospital and it felt like the movies---I was like strangling Nick and begging for the epidural. It took about an hour and a half to get the epidural and I was dilated to a 6 by the time I got it. The anesthesiologist told me of the side effects of the epidural and I just thought..."I don't care what happens to me...just give me the medication!!" Thank you modern medicine. The pain of the epidural needle was actually a total relief and the needle poke actually felt good to me just to feel pain somewhere other than labor contractions. I am amazed that people do natural labor. At one point I was hitting myself in the head with a plastic container just to distract myself from the pain. haha (pretty hilarious looking back at it).

4:30: The doctor came in and said I would be ready to push in the next hour and the baby would come by 6:00 p.m. Well....his shift ended and a new doctor came in and looked at the huge baby inside my short torso and just laughed at me and said that I probably wouldn't be able to deliver vaginally because the baby looked too big for me. He wanted me to have a C-section at 6:00 p.m. I was not having that and so I asked if I could try to keep pushing and see if the baby drops. He said that as long as her heart rate is good that was fine but he wasn't too optimistic about it. He came in every hour and there was still no progress! I said so many prayers that we could deliver her vaginally and so did Nick.

9:55 p.m.---Well...after 4 HOURS of pushing we delivered the most beautiful and sweet little girl in the world. The doctor got her out of there with forceps and Georgia didn't even have bad marks on her from them. She looked perfect coming out. Nick even commented on how perfect she looked and how she didn't even look "weird" like typical newborns do. The doctor laughed at his comment. Nick cut the umbilical cord and blood squirted in the nurse practioner's eye. (OOPS). It was the most amazing experience in my live (well..our lives) and I wish I could re-live it all over again! What a miracle to have this baby in our lives and I feel so blessed. We have been waiting for a while for her to come to us and she is everything and more than we could have asked for.

The craziest part is when they let us take her home. I think that is when it really hit us. I also didn't realize how sleep deprived I would be. People say how tired you would be but I had NO idea!! I think those 2 days in the hospital I slept a total of 3 hours. The rest of the time spent was looking at her and if I did fall asleep I would wake right back up two minutes later just to make sure she was breathing.

Cutest Daddy ever! I think Georgia looks just like Nick and they already have a special little bond it is so sweet. :)


I love the cute little birthmark on her leg

My mom came out for a week and it was AMAZING! She was so helpful and did everything for us! We were so sad to see her leave. Georgia loved her and my mom made up a little song and dance for her that always calmed her down. :) It still works now too.

First day at church!

We were so happy to spend Thanksgiving at the Cheney's and catch up with these two!! Mike and Trisha are expecting a little girl and Sam is a riot! We sure love these guys. :)

Ready for Thanksgiving at the Cheney's! I really can't stop taking pictures of her. :) We sure love this girl SO much---how could you not?? We just wish we could be home and see everybody. Having a baby sure makes you homesick for family and friends in Utah!

38 weeks and still going strong...

2011-10-27T09:52:00.000-07:00

So I reached my 38 week mark and am STILL "with child"! For some reason I thought I would have her by now...but now I am starting to think she might come after my due date. Oh and I need to give a shout out to all the cute girls in Charlotte who threw me a baby shower a couple weeks ago! It was so much fun and I can't believe how nice and generous people are!! I am so grateful for all the help and gifts that people have given to us! It really helps so much. :) And I must say we picked the best place to live with the cutest girls for me to get to hang out with here! I love all of them!

Here is the latest picture of me and baby who doesn't want to come just yet I guess...

After Nick's Midterms we went to Asheville, NC and went Apple Picking and to play some Frisbee Golf. It was the most beautiful day and these pictures don't do the fall leaves there any justice! I can't wait to go back there!

Next time Nick and I will spend the money to go to the Biltmore Estate!! I guess it takes an entire day to go through but I hear really good things about it...

Hopefully my next post will be pictures of our baby and not the ever growing belly of myself. :)

You know you're pregnant when...

2011-10-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

...you watch the end of the Utah State vs. BYU game and start crying!! Yes...tears were coming down my face. Utah State deserved to win! I love my Aggies...but crying? Why would I start crying? Hormones. I will be 35 weeks this week!

3 years and Charleston, South Carolina

2011-09-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Nick and I just celebrated our 3rd anniversary this past weekend on September 18th! The years just fly by and they keep getting better and better! Our wedding day was such a special day and I can still say it was the best day of my life!!! So glad I get to spend forever with this hottie.....

To celebrate we went to Charleston, South Carolina y'all! It is about 3.5 hours from Charlotte and was so much fun. We already can't wait to go back and have so many things we want to do that we weren't able to.

Here is what we did....

A carriage ride in downtown Charleston. This place has so much character and we loved this. We had a bunch of teenagers on our carriage with us though that threw something at one of the cars and these ghetto people got out and started yelling and swearing at us. That kind of ruined the mood....but also made it kind of exciting too. Here are some pics of the carriage tour and some of the amazing houses.

We went to Fort Moultrie (for Nick---since he is into history and all of that) and it was pretty cool. I learned fast that sometimes these history facts for me go in one ear and out the other. If I did this tour/activity again it would be like the first time for me again. It was pretty cool and cheaper than Fort Sumter (which was the starting place of the Civil War I guess?) We will go to Fort Sumter next time.

And this will probably be the last picture I send of myself because it is starting to not be a pretty sight seeing the "fat Albert" side of Erica in her pregnancy. :) I am 33 weeks on Wednesday!!! Woo hoo!!

Then we went to Boone Hall...BUT there was this huge Scottish festival that ruined our plans and it was total chaos so we left and did something even cooler. But here are some pics of Boone Hall Plantation while we were there...

Well...what did we do?? Do you remember that scene in the movie the Notebook where they are on the boat with all of those swans? Yes...that is where Nick and I went. They let you just take out a boat and just row around where you want. It was so quiet and calm and it felt like we were the only people there. And...did we see Alligators?? Yes...yes we did!! It was actually kind of scary! Here are some pics of Cypress Gardens...

30 weeks and crazy dreams...

2011-09-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

Just for those of you that are asking to see belly pics...here ya go!!
This one is of me at 30 weeks...I don't mean to complain but baby is seriously all up in my ribs I hope she doesn't get stuck there! It is kind of starting to hurt now. She moves around like crazy and I love it! I love feeling something like a foot or a hand just going from one end of my belly to the other. I had a dream lastnight that I could see through my skin and could see her inside of me and she was THE CUTEST! In my dream she was just giggling inside and smiling. :) And the other night I had a dream that her head came out through my skin on the top of my belly. She threw her arms up and said, "Surprise!" haha. I don't know what these dreams mean but they just make me laugh.

Here are some pictures of our townhouse in North Carolina as well..

I have been feeling a little homesick but each day I get less and less homesick!! My friend Marci was here for 3 days and I LOVED having her with me!! Her husband Adam was in North Carolina to do some training for his work. We got to have Adam and Marci and Lincoln eat Sunday dinner with us and then Marci and Lincoln stayed until Tuesday! I really needed her and realized that with every scary move/transition that Marci has always been there! She was there when I moved to Boston, etc. She came at the perfect time when I was just feeling really lonely out here.

Before I came out here, people kept telling me they were worried I would get bored out here not working. I didn't agree with them but BOY WAS I WRONG! I didn't realize that this "not working" business would be SO boring!! I kept telling people I was so excited to not work before the baby is born and it was great for...ummm.....2 days!! After that I really started getting so bored and was SO sick of being by myself ALL the time. I started losing my social skills too I swear. There is only so much reading, shopping, projects to do to keep you busy until you start going crazy. But I am so happy that I will be able to be home and NOT working when baby girl is born. Plus I won't be by myself all day when she comes--I will be consumed with her and can't wait to just play with her all day actually! Any advice from stay-at-home mommies??

Nick has been working so hard with law school and I don't get to see him as much which is really hard and will take some getting used to. There was a time when I felt like "what am I even doing here in North Carolina?" I felt like more of a distraction to Nick than anything because he has to make sure I am okay and not feeling homesick, etc. But he did tell me that if I wasn't here that he would go crazy and that I am just the thing he needs when he comes home. So I guess that makes me feel a little better. Just lots of crazy adjustments!

On a more positive note though...I have been able to make some new friends too and the ward here is AMAZING! I can't believe how nice people are and they really reach out to you and make sure you know that you are part of their family! I am really so grateful for that and it makes all the difference!!

This cute boy (Lincoln) was seriously smiling ear-to-ear the entire time he was here! I love him and am sad I couldn't get a picture to show-off his smiles!! We love you Adam, Marci, and Lincoln!! Thank you for coming to visit!

We are all still alive and back from outer space...

2011-08-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

From growing a little baby girl in my belly to moving across the country....these past few months have been super busy to say the least! Yes we have moved from our little home in Kaysville, Utah to North Carolina. Nick starts law school next week. If you would like to you can read this post in a southern accent.

I could post so many things but I will keep it simple as far as my thoughts go with all of these changes:

1. It isn't easy leaving your "life as you know it" but can always be a good thing too. I loved my little comfort zone and my usual routine and I was definitely feeling comfortable where I was. It is amazing how you appreciate a place so much more when you know that you have to leave. Sometimes I think people should live their lives like they are going to leave it because you learn to enjoy it more and appreciate everybody in your life even more. I have actually been so excited about moving here though because it felt like it was the right place to go and I was more excited than sad or nervous. I think had it been anywhere else that we were moving I would have been more nervous about it. And I have to keep reminding myself that getting out of my comfort zone is such a good thing and I will grow so much more exploring new places and meeting new people. And it is crazy to think that North Carolina will become my "new comfort zone." It is really just so hard to leave so many people you care about and to go to a new place without those people. I wish I could pack everybody up in my suitcase and take them with me. But thank goodness for modern technology to help me keep in contact with everybody. I know we will make lots of new friends though and I feel like the few people we do know here in North Carolina have already taken such good care of us. It is true what they say about the people out here and their southern hospitality. And by the way...North Carolina feels like a dream world. It is seriously so beautiful and driving around the countryside just looks like it is not even a real place because it is so pretty! I know I will love it here and I already do. :) Yes it really looks like this:

2. For some reason I had a really hard time saying goodbye to our house in Kaysville. It wasn't just walls with a roof....it was our home and it symbolized a really fun chapter in our lives and leaving it felt like we were closing up on that chapter. We are renting our house out while we are gone so that gives me some comfort knowing we aren't leaving that house forever. But it won't be the same when we get back.... Especially because we won't be right next door to Nick and Emily and Jack Jack again. That was such a fun and unique opportunity to have them there and I will always look back and enjoy those memories! Bye Bye Kaysville House...for now! :)

3. We have had such a fun summer in Utah with lots of baby showers and get-togethers! Thank you so much for all of the sweet baby showers from everybody. We loved the "Moab Crew" baby shower, the shower at my mom's house, the Hart Family Shower, the Estate Shower, and the get-together pool party shower at Devrie's with the "townhouse girls." :) Even Nick's work threw him a baby shower that was way fun. The guys Nick worked with even came to the baby shower but I think they were a little bit embarrassed to be at a baby shower...but that was way nice of them to come. Probably the first and last baby shower they will ever attend. :) We are so lucky to have all of our friends and family and all of these showers were great excuses to get together with people to say our "goodbyes" as well. :) Here is what I looked like at 24 weeks.

4. The drive across the country was great! The only glitch was that Nick's air conditioner in his car went out the first day. I was in the car when it went out and I can't help but be a "Negative Nancy" when I am dying of heat and complain so nobody let me ride in the car the rest of the time. I thought that was a good time to pull the pregnancy card and not ride in his car the rest of the trip. :) Nick's parents drove out with us and we took both of our cars while our stuff was taken for us across the country. We had so much fun with Nick's parents and are so glad they came! They are so sweet to do that and we really did enjoy the drive. We got to stop at Liberty Jail which was an awesome church site along the way and it took us about 2 and a half days to get from Utah to North Carolina. Besides Wyoming the drive really was gorgeous. :)

5. And most exciting....There is still a baby growing fast!!! I am 27 weeks along (almost 28 weeks along) and I feel like this baby is so mad at me because there is no room in my belly for her to grow. Sorry for having a 2-inch long torso Baby Girl. I can feel her in my ribs now every once in a while. Seriously though I think she is so cute and I can just tell she really is way sweet. She even makes me laugh sometimes I don't know why...but when she kicks me or moves around it makes me think she is doing it to be funny and she is playing around in there. I love her. Here are some pics of her at 25 weeks. Isn't she the cutest? Well...I know some people don't think these pictures are cute but I sure do. They are on our fridge and I just love them and think she is so cute!

6. We had an amazing summer! Here are some pics:

Alaska Cruise:

So Ashlee and Jason (the newlyweds) moved to Oregon so they met us up in Seattle and it was so much fun. We hung out and went to a bunch of Seattle "hot spots." We shared a hotel room with them and it was so perfect that we got to see them on the west coast where they live. There were some hilarious things that happened with them on this little trip. I don't know what it is but I can't stop laughing when I am with Ashlee. Now we are even further away from them it is so sad. I am sure we would hang out a lot if we lived closer. This picture is a classic at the top of the Space Needle.

In Victoria, Canada
Bald eagles galore! Everywhere!
And yes we saw this bear and we were on BIKES! Yikes! It was so scary and Nick and I were all by ourselves. It really was one of the scariest moments of my life but after we got to town and were safe again I was so glad we saw the bear. For anybody that has read "The Secret" would understand that I really did not want to see a bear and couldn't get out of my mind how much I didn't want to see a bear (while on a bike ride) and of course...that is why I saw the bear!
Our bike ride was beautiful...and way hard for a pregnant girl.
Skagway!
Why are we frowning you might ask? Well when you pay $400 for a fishing charter and don't even get a single bite it really "bites the dust." I could not get over the fact that there were so many other things I could do with $400!

Idaho Summer:
Bear Lake

Getting ready to go to the beach!
Nick and Bob fishin!
I thought my fish was big...
But I was wrong...Nick's was huge!

Campfire up Bloomington Canyon.
The Murrays chillin by the campfire..

I love this pic of Carol, Leah, Jackson, and Emily.

One of my favorites. Avery and "Uncle Nack" at the Kaysville 4th of July Parade.

The Cute Bryner Bunch hanging out with us at the Kaysville Parade. That was one of my favorite parades. The Taco Time float was wild this year!! :) IT was so fun having them the entire month of June to just hang out!

Snow Cones with Jack Jack

Snow Cones with myself. There are no snow cone places here in North Carolina by the way. What a disappointment. Thanks Emily for the snow cone machine. It will come in handy!
And this looks like a picture of me but is actually of a beached whale

20 weeks and Snow Cones....

2011-06-26T08:22:00.000-07:00

First things first...we are having a GIRL!!! I was so nervous for the ultrasound because I really wanted it to be a girl but had a feeling they were going to tell me "boy". Not that I wouldn't be excited for a boy but during this whole pregnancy I couldn't picture it being a boy and could only picture it being a girl! I guess there is such thing as Mother's Intuition right!? :) actually..probably only just a lucky guess! My sister got to come to our ultrasound too and that was really fun to have her in there when they told us what we were having. She even bought me this cute little pink pajama outfit for baby and I kept looking at it everyday after being so excited to put it on her. And...Nick is already such a cute Daddy. He is really excited it is a girl and instead of saying"How are you doing Erica?" he says..."How are my girls doin'? He is going to be the best Daddy ever and this little girl already has him wrapped around her little finger! By the way...I really do think from her ultrasound pictures that she is the cutest little baby in the world! I love seeing her profile pic with her cute nose and little arms and belly!

And I am 20 weeks along and feel great!! I have a ton of energy right now and think I am just in the fun stage of pregnancy where I can feel the baby a lot but it is still comfortable feeling the baby! I love that! And Nick can feel her kick now too which makes it twice as fun! She kicks a lot at night before bed so I look forward to getting everything I need to get done during the day so I can lay there and just have time to feel her for a while. :)

Ummm...yeah---and snow cones---I am a little obsessed this year and I actually don't think it is worse because I am craving them during pregnancy. I have always loved snow cones but it is really taking a hit on our budget this year because I get one almost every day! I was telling Emily that when the baby comes and the doctor tells me what blood type my baby is....it won't be A positive or O negative but will probably just be Tiger's Blood. But baby does move around more when I eat snow cones so she must love them too. :)

In case you're wondering...

2011-06-07T22:23:00.000-07:00

Here is what Baby Hart will look like in about a year and a half. :) haha. Where the red hair came from?? ...I don't know...

Hello there by the way! It has been a few months since I have updated our blog but thought I would post a short message saying that there is a little baby Hart on the way! Baby Hart is due November 11th and we are so excited! We get our next ultrasound on June 14th and will hopefully find out what we are having then. Sorry for the boring post...there will be more to read about soon! But I finally get to put one of those fun Pregnancy gadgets on my blog now! :)

Here is a picture of our 9 week ultrasound and I just loved seeing our little tiny baby and can't wait until next week to see him/her again! I already love him/her SO much. :)

Good things to come

2011-02-11T09:28:00.000-08:00

It seems like Nick and I have had our fair share of disappointments lately and we just keep saying, "We are due for some good news!" I am definitely learning a lot of patience waiting for some good news to come! Not to say life isn't great right now because we are so blessed and have everything we need. I am just learning that sometimes life doesn't go just as we plan it. But if there is one thing I have learned... it is that life always turns out better than you planned. And...good things come to those who wait!

If you know me well...I am not a patient person AT ALL! I am sure the Lord knows this and is testing my patience more than ever before! He has a bigger plan for Nick and me right now and I just can't see the big picture yet. I just have to remember from past experience that sometimes (well let's be honest..MOST of the time) I am SO glad that my life didn't turn out how I initially planned.

For example...when I started college I remember having a plan to get married before I graduated college and then when I graduated college and still wasn't married it was like, "wait a minute...now what??" But once I met Nick and realized he was SO worth the wait FOR SURE and exactly what I wanted and exactly WHEN I wanted I am so glad I didn't get married during college. Plus I got to experience so many things that I wouldn't have if I would have gotten married during college (like moving to Boston for a year, having all four years at Utah State with roommates, and living in a mansion in Salt Lake.) I met so many people that I wouldn't have if I had gotten married during college. So for that...I am so grateful that the Lord knew what was best for me because I wouldn't change anything!

So right now I am just going to remember that there will be good things to come even though I might have to wait a while. Even though I can't see the big picture right now, I have to trust that when things aren't working right now it will be okay in the end. I will look back and be grateful for how they turned out. But for now I just watch this Mormon Message and enjoy a good cry everytime I watch it. I just love it...

Good Things to Come- Mormon Message

Another TV moment

2011-01-23T15:53:00.001-08:00

So I was on the news again with Mary Nickles so if you get bored feel free to check it out. I got to choose my own topic which is how to make realistic and healthy resolutions. Next time I will make my hair look more normal. :)

Click on the link below and choose "Quick and Healthy Alternatives" to check out the video. I will mail anybody an autograph who wants it. :) jk.

http://connect2utah.com/news/noon-video

It's Been a Long Time

2011-01-02T21:05:00.001-08:00

and nothing really significant has happened. We had a great Christmas and New Year! And just because Nick and I don't have kids doesn't mean we didn't have a blast this year. I am loving this time with Nick and spending Christmas together. It just gets better every year.

Some of the highlights were:

Going to Heritage Park (Candlelight Christmas) with Marci and Adam- especially when the lady told us how they moved old houses from their original lots with logs and that is also how to move large hotels (using logs). She had NO idea what she was talking about. Thanks Marci for dealing with the crowds even though you two are small town people now.

Hatch Family Dinner at Sizzler. :)

Having a Christmas Feast with Megan and Aaron (we all had our own birds--yum!)

Going to the Desert Star Theater to see Bi-Polar Christmas. We ordered nachos and reminded our waiter like 4 times about our nachos and he kept saying " oh yeaah....you did order nachos...I will get them for you." ummm...yeah---we FINALLY got them during the VERY last scene (last 2 minutes of the show seriously). So we were snarfing them up before the show ended and missed all of the best parts. And there were some people from my weight loss class there too and they felt like I was judging them while they ate their ice-cream. So I made it a point to order ice-cream too. (NEVER trust a dietitian that doesn't eat ice-cream people!) :)

Mandarin for Hart Family dinner (this was delicious!)

Making sushi with my dad and going to Famous Daves!
Christmas breakfast with my mom and playing Scene-it!
Rickie and Mike and the kids coming to visit. We got to have them sleep over at our house which was way fun. Even Avery Bug warmed up to us and snuggled with us before she went to bed. I got the X-Box Kinect for Christmas and it is Ammazzzing! We love it! So we got to play that with them and eat dinner. I love that Avery pretends to go to the bathroom and just stands in front of the potty pushing on her belly button. I am becoming obsessed with her. And...I can't say enough about those boys (Daven and Logan). Could they be any sweeter? I love them so much--just wish they lived closer. Daven (6 years old) asked me, "is this your's and Nick's first Christmas together?" I can't believe a 6 year old would say that? Could they be any cuter??

Hart Family Christmas Eve and Christmas. It was so fun watching old home movies and playing board games. We laughed so hard playing Loaded Questions (Thanks Trisha and Mike for giving this to us for our wedding). It really is a hit. :) And of course the food is amazing!

Watching the boys (Jack Jack, Carter, and William). Our house was chaos but so much fun. Those boys are hilarious and so cute! I love Charley's face in the background..Pretty much all they would eat was sweets (cookies, candy, and biting into our gingerbread house when I wasn't looking.). Sorry Bethany and Emily...this was their dinner...

and I am obsessed with this Jack Jack.

And of course...2 really fun Sweater Parties!! I loved our sweaters this year. Nick' friends re-created the picture they took at their original sweater party they had in highschool. It took them forever to put everybody in their positions but the result is hilarious. I love it!

REAL Salt Lake Game with Todd and Lish!

Oh yeah---and realized we never posted our Halloween costumes...Thanks Emily for letting us borrow the California Raisin costume and Mr. Peanut. It was a hit!

And I want to mention our hilarious neighbor boys. It was 11:30 at night on a Thursday during a blizzard when our doorbell rings. It kind of scared us because we had no idea. Yeah it was just two 10 year old boys that said, "we are really bored and were wondering if we could shovel your driveway for $5". Well...considering it was still snowing and we would have to shovel in the morning anyway we told them they could shovel our steps for $1. They ended up shoveling the whole driveway it was amazing.

And this is the same kid that rang our doorbell this summer to get rid of a couple of our wasp nests around the house. We paid him $5 extra and he brought a bottle of soap and water and was there ALL day long shooting and running away from wasps. I would look out the window and just see him occasionally throughout the day. Seriously...we saw him at 10 a.m. , noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and 6 p.m. The most dedicated worker and every time I would see him running from wasps I would just chuckle and... soap and water?? haha. It was worth the extra $5---and don't worry---FYI: soap and water is not a good remedy...the wasps were still there the rest of the summer.

Recap of Pictures I Missed

2010-11-07T18:26:00.000-08:00

Fishing with Ben and Mikkal up in Idaho in October. These rainbow trout were beautiful and HUGE! Mikkal caught the first one and Nick caught the second one!

These following pictures with Nick and the horses are from Idaho LAST fall but they were too good to pass up. We love going up to Bloomington in the summer.

Our 2 Year Anniversary Date in Park City. We got to use our ski lift passes during the summer to have a picnic at the top of the mountain. The other time we used our passes this summer was to go mountain biking on advanced terrain in Park City. Yeah---we had the most GHETTO bikes. One with brakes that didn't work and the other with a pedal duct taped on. It was hilarious! We just wanted to get down the mountain. The best is after an hour of strugglin' on our bikes I look over at Nick who jumped off his bike and then I just see his bike rolling down the hill like 20 times. We are nt advanced mountain bikers that is for sure. :) If we ever did that again we would need less ghetto bikes.
And Nick surprised me and took me to the Lion King! It was amazin!
And we saw Heather and her family there. That was a fun surprise. :)

Last ski day of the year at Park City with the Woodsies and Jonny. It was so warm I didn't even need a coat and gloves. That is my kind of skiing weather!

High Fives!

Nick's Backflip at the park!

Getting down and

2010-10-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Dirty.

The Dirty Dash...this is how we decided to spend our Saturday in September. It was wild and there were so many people with funny costumes running in the mud. It was a 10K in Midway doing all of these obstacles and getting way dirty. Keep in mind this wasn't just any mud...but the worst smelling mud ever.
If you can't tell what is on our faces...they are pig noses. Get it? Pigs run in the mud. I thought we were pretty creative but lots of people wore pig noses. Some of the other funny costumes I saw were people running in their wedding dress and tuxedo, a viking, grown men in leotards, and people in their business suits. By the way...I trained for this race and it was still SO hard. Nick didn't even train as much as me but had no problem doing all of the hard obstacles. He was just jumping over haybells no problem, getting his leg stuck in the mud all the way up to his hip and still moving fast. I didn't get it. Why do guys have so much more endurance. I felt like my shoes were heavy pieces of lead because they had so much mud on them. Here is what the race looked like.

And if you are wondering what the filthy finish looked like in the end....here ya go. Everybody kept telling Nick to do a cannonball into the pool of mud and he did. Then he proceeded to the finish line doing backstrokes in the mud. It was pretty hilarious. I loved doing this with Nick and it was a way fun experience. There were a couple of times I couldn't even run because I was laughing so hard at people falling down and just eating it in the mud. Until next year...

A Celebrity on our hands...

2010-10-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

Yes...I am now a TV celebrity. I had my first TV interview this past week and am now on a first name basis with these guys:

I didn't think about how it was probably weird that before I even officially met them I was calling them by name, "Hi Mary...Hi Ron...Hi Bill." But...whatever...they are Utah Celebrities in my opinion.

To check out my TV moment on video go here and you might have to click on "Healthy Halloween Treats from IHC": http://connect2utah.com/news/noon-video

Believe me I am not really proud of this video but since it is my only claim to fame I will share it. You know...it is so hard listening to yourself or watching yourself on video. I was SOO nervous and the video take was live. I met Ron Bird like 20 seconds before we went live and he was asking me questions I didn't think he would ask me. Nick and I role-played what I would say OVER and OVER again and nothing came out how we practiced. When it was over it felt like the interview was only 30 seconds long and it was all a blur but it turned out to be like 4 minutes long. Kind of crazy.

And...yes I am also an IHC icon just in case you haven't seen the website...

www.intermountainhealthcare.org under "Billing and Financial Assistance" at the bottom (of ALL places)

And this has to be THE WORST picture of me...EVER. I get a text/facebook message/e-mail from a different person at least once a week notifying me about my picture on the website. It wouldn't be so bad if it was a better picture of me. So...why am I blogging about it? I don't know. Well maybe just to tell people that I KNOW it is a bad picture of me and I didn't voluntarily put it on the website. The only reason it is up there is because they needed to take a picture of somebody diverse and lucky me... I am 4'11" ...and that makes me a diverse person in Utah I guess. :)

But..I will take what I can get when it comes to being famous.

Just more summer pictures. :)

2010-09-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

We went to the outdoor Red Butte Gardens Concert for Chris Isaak. Here are Nick's cute parents.

The Pink Bandana is to keep the dirt out of his face...that was all I could provide. We went on a way fun but kind of scary (I am a wimp) four-wheeler ride in Idaho up Bloomington Canyon with all the brothers and sisters. It was so pretty. We love Bloomington so much! Part of me wishes we lived there.
Ben and Mikkal stayed the night at our house before they left on their trip. We just love hanging out with them.

This little guy...oh how we love him too. :) Jackson is talking so much now and everything he says is cute.
Nick and I go fishing in Idaho in our little spot. We mostly catch huge and disgusting carp...but this time we pulled off a trout. Grandma Hart cooked this up for us at breakfast the next morning. It was DE---lish! Oh yeah...and we forgot to bring something to put our fish in so we took this guy home on a stick and I held it outside the car window the whole drive home. Yeah...ghetto! But it was pretty funny.
And last but not least (sorry for the gross picture) but Nick's flag football injury. I had to capture this moment because it was a very memorable week. Nick's leg got sliced open by a football cleete (however I am pretty sure it was a baseball cleete..lame) I was just watching the game minding my own business talking to all the cute wives when suddenly he is on the field with all the teams surrounding him. His friend Marcus runs up to me telling me to back my car into the field to take him the the ER! Scary! I am not good in these situations. I wish I had a personal assistant with me at all times to take care of both of us when these things happen.

We took him to the ER...got him stitched up...only to have him the next day spike HIGH fevers and get an infection in the middle of the night! BOO on medical staff for not prescribing antibiotics. So...the next day all the stitches came out and he had to heal with the wound open! After some antibiotic shots for 3 consecutive days due to a rare bacteria worse than staph infection, 2 oral antibiotics, and of course some TLC from me....he is doing much better.

One of the nights that he had high fevers I was so frantic and worried and he told me "well....we will be together forever so everything will be okay." First of all....bad timing to tell a frantic wife this... But...I really am so grateful to know that I will be with Nick forever no matter what happens. It is such a blessing in my life to know this. Such a little thing can help put things into perspective and I think this experience helped me to remember that and count my blessings. I wish this could have happened to me instead. I hate to see Nick get hurt...which happens a little too much. But I love him!

Hatch Family Reunion

2010-08-05T21:20:00.001-07:00

We just got back from my grandpa's 80th birthday party with all of the fam. We went down to Monticello to a really nice place in the mountains with cabins. We had some really good food, a talent show, a slideshow, and lots of fun and games. Here are some of the pictures..

My cute sis!
The Newlyweds! Sarah and Ski-B.
Grandpa teaching Daven to fish!
Cute Daven in the tire swing!
My cute Grandpa---80 years old!
Grandpa's famous tire swing!
Volleyball with the cousins!

Daven just lost his first tooth and looks darling! I can't believe he is getting so old!

Yeah Avery was pretending Nick wasn't holding her. :)

Nick's birthday on Sunday night at the Hart's! 26 years old! Nick blew out the candles in the wildest fashion I have ever seen!

Yeah Nick's fish was so small you could barely see it! haha. But I was just happy he caught one.

Logan's first fish!! The best is when Nick was the only person that hadn't caught a fish and Logan goes, " Nick is never going to catch a fish." Nick caught one later but it was pretty funny that Logan said that out of nowhere.
I can't get enough of this Avery Bug! This is the cutest picture I think!

Nick and I were driving out of the campground and stopped the car for a second and then all the sudden looked over. Yeah---deer just like 2 feet away. We saw SO many deer where we were over that weekend. And lots of baby deer! :) You could find deer so easy and it was way cool.
Okay...and our drive home was a memory I hope to forget! It was wild! We were taking my cousin Jared to the airport (his flight left at 5:15). Well..we left with plenty of time until at 2:45 we realized we had taken the wrong turn 3 hours OUT OF OUR WAY! So...when it said 179 miles to Salt Lake City at 2:45 and my cousin had to catch his flight at 5:15 we booked it! I was sooooo STRESSED! We made it to the airport in record time at 4:30 p.m. I couldn't believe it. We drove in silence at 100 MPH in complete stress. :) But we made it...thankfully!

Garden Before...

2010-08-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

And After.....

Nick and I have worked hard on our yard this summer now that we know more what we are doing. So just thought we should post some pics. Will the summer please last forever!!

Boston Tea Party 2010

2010-07-25T14:50:00.001-07:00

SO....Looks like we have just gone on our last BIG vacation for the year. Time to settle down I guess. :) But we have really been having so much fun this summer! We just got back from Boston this week. It was so much fun to take Nick there and show him some of my favorite things to do there! Here are some pics!

Abby and Adam made us the most delicious dinner. It was so fun to see Abby (my old roomie)! She is darling!
Aren't they a cute couple??
Oh how I miss this river!!
The freedom trail in 95 degree weather and 100% humidity!!

Thanks to our good friends (Lorna and Chris) we ate some really high calorie, but delicious hot pastrami sandwiches.

The swan boats--that was a favorite!

The public garden is beautiful!! If I was homeless I would camp out here.

Charlestown
The Old North Church

These little italian boys in Little Italy got a hold of their dad's shaving cream and were getting it all over. It was really funny to hear a lot of Italiana yelling and seeing those boys get in trouble. :)
Best Canolis ever. :)

My old house (my room was on top). They have actually improved the areas around the house. It was fun to take Nick here.
This is how we felt walking around in the heat. No words can describe it...Nick's face below says it all.
Mount Auburn Cemetary! Nick even said this was one of his favorite things we did!
This was so cool- I have never been here before. But the Adams family is buried in the crypt of the church next door to the visitor center in Quincy. It was so cool! I just love John Adams....probably one of my favorite presidents (if not my favorite). I definitely know more about history now because of Nick.
John Quincy Adams library...amazing. Wish we could take pictures inside but we weren't allowed.

Go Sox!! It rained and they had a rain delay for an hour but then some people left so we got to sit closer and that was way fun!

View of Fenway from the Prudential Center
John Adams house

So we went up to Maine for two days and went camping! It was seriously way fun! We bought a queen size air mattress and inflated it with our own lungs. It was a pain but TOTALLY worth it. I probably slept better camping then in the hotel. (and Marci...we didn't have to set up camp in the Peterson's backyard.) :)

Another highlight=eating lobster close to a lighthouse in Maine. Amazin!

Campsite #2
What about Bob?

Our last stop= Concord---oh I forgot how much I love this place! Every where you turned it was so pretty we took so many pictures but the mental pictures are the best.
Old North Bridge.

Well...our trip was great! We want to go camping in Maine like every other year now. So...if anybody wants to join us let me know. :)

More Pictures!

2010-06-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

Just thought I needed to add more pictures to the blog of our amazing Australia Trip. I hope the Woodsies won't mind me taking their pictures and adding them to our blog. We were so lucky to have a photographer on the trip to take all of these amazing pictures. Seriously...Nick Wood is a way good photographer. So...thanks to Nick and Emily for all of these!

You're CRAZY!!

Driving around all day and looking at scenery like this never gets old....

What the?? Two fish in ONE catch!!

Cool birds in Australia...My favorite comment by Jonny when we get home to the airport is when we saw a little brown bird and he said, "Aren't our birds so dumb here in America?" I would have to agree...the birds are definitely not as cool here in America.

Sydney really is beautiful..

I don't miss seeing these little critters that are not so little...

World's Largest Potato! Nick ate his way to the top.
Near Kangaroo attack---good thing Emily got out of there alive.
The boys cooking all of the fish we caught..
Emily is way too cool now! A shark? Seriously....that was amazin'!

Another plug-in for my pony! She has such a pretty smile and is way photogenic.
Can you believe this picture....a Mama Roo and her Joey! SO CUTE!

Some things I learned from this country:

1. When somebody asks you if you are on "holiday" that it means "vacation." I had a lady on the beach ask me if we were on "holiday" and I said, "no...we are just here on vacation." She looked at me like, "umm...dumb american girl." haha.

2. Don't say "fanny pack"---it is a bad word over there. Weird.

3. Don't be the girl who cries "shark" until you find out they really aren't sharks and are dolphins instead.

4. If a sign says "dangerous waves" in Australia it means the same thing it would in America, "Dangerous Waves"

5. Americans drive on the right side of the road but Australians drive on the "proper" side of the road.

We can't wait to go back to Australia some day soon! It is beautiful and feels like home there. :)

Australia Preview

2010-05-27T19:51:00.000-07:00

G'Day Mates!

There are so many pictures of our trip to Australia. I need time to sort through them. But thought I would post a preview of our adventure down under. It was the most amazing trip and I loved every minute of it! I can't even think of the main highlights because there were so many. But off the top of my head I will give some short summaries of the trip...

1. I don't know why people complain so much about the airplane ride because I LOVED it! Who can complain about getting fed every four hours and millions of movies to choose from. I would do it again in a second.

2. Staying on Mollymook Beach (Southcoast of Australia) and waking up in the morning to watch the sunrise.

3. All of the pretty scenery and beaches

4. Feeding the kangaroos (Yes...We are Kangaroo Whisperers)

5. Emily catching a shark on our fishing boat!!

6. Seeing sharks that ended up becoming dolphins--actually seeing every animal that lives in the ocean (whales, seals, sharks, fish, dolphins)

7. Going to "Wicked" in Sydney

8. Going to the Famous Opera House and seeing the ballet

9. Being with Nick's family was really fun as well. We laughed so much and everything seems so much funnier in Australia. Everything seemed to work out really well with our plans and the weather too.

***Side Note: I feel like this Australian pony and I are sisters. We have really similar hair. "Hey Pony...I like your bangs."

10. And of course being with my cutie Nick for almost two weeks!

There will be more pictures but I am already overwhelmed with how many we took because it is so beautiful there! I can't wait to go back some day!

And we have...

2010-05-09T12:27:00.001-07:00

A College Graduate on our hands!!!
Double Major: History and Political Science. (And on the Dean's List)

Yes...he is a smarty!

We had a little celebration for his graduation at our house! Here are some of the pics.

It was Nick's sister Sarah's birthday as well so we switched the "U" cupcake shape to an "S" and sang to her! And we kept doing the "S" backwards and finally got it right.

Some beautiful ladies at the party (Carol, Grandma Wirthlin, and Emily)

The Murray family
Me...Nick...and my mom after graduation!
Carol, me, Nick, and Robert after the graduation!

I am so happy for Nick to be done with school (well until Law School starts that is). And I am so proud of him. It was a lot of stress, studying, and homework...but is was well worth it. It will be kind of nice for a while to just have both of us working and no studying. We won't know what to do with ourselves. (Except go to Australia on THURSDAY!!) See ya in the down under.

And...last but not least..."For He's A Jolly Good Fellow.":

Lately...

2010-05-02T18:07:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a while. Mostly because lately our days go a little like this...

We wake up and go to work and school
Come home from work/school and make dinner
Nick studies until 1 in the morning
I fall asleep on the couch
Nick carries me to bed
Nick brings me my toothbrush and I brush my teeth in bed

I can't wait for Nick's finals to be OVER! Graduation in 1 week!! Woo Hoo!

PLUS...I think I am losing my mind..

In the past two months I have been occasionally getting into the passenger seat of my car (when I am supposed to be the one driving myself somewhere!) I am just so used to Nick driving when we go places. Hopefully I will get my mind back and my life back in a couple weeks when there is no more studying after work.

Hoppy Easter!!

2010-04-04T18:39:00.000-07:00

Again...more nieces and nephews!! It was really fun watching the kids look for Easter eggs outside. Maybe we need to start having some of our own kids sometime soon.

Here is the entertainment of the party getting the kids to smile. :)

Chocolate-dipped Rice Krispie Treat Easter Eggs. Yum!

The next best thing to having your own kids..

2010-03-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

...Is having nieces and nephews

For Nick's spring break we took a trip down south to get some warm weather! It was some needed Rest and Relaxation...

We went fishing and hiking with my dad..

We went to the grand canyon....

We visited my sis and her family in Arizona... (So the funny thing about this picture below is that my nephew Logan got this ring at his friend Sadie's birthday party. He wears it all the time because he thinks it is just like his dad's graduating class ring.)

Daven looked so sharp in his tee-ball uniform. I am so glad we got to see a game. It was so cute!

And we visited my grandparents in Monticello on our way home. My aunt Joyce, uncle Marty, and cousin Heidi were there visiting too. It was perfect timing to hang out with everybody. We played Rock Band until the late hours and Grandpa Hatch just didn't understand the concept of playing "fake instruments." I thought about it...and it is pretty weird and silly to play a fake guitar and drums (especially from an older generation's standpoint).

It was such a fun trip, but not long enough... It is so hard going back to work after a long vacation.

Not an expert..

2010-02-24T18:56:00.000-08:00

...and Nick took me on a run Saturday at Park City that HONESTLY looked like this!!
To say the least...It was SO not fun for me! The sign said "Expert Terrain Only" and I thought it would be fine. I can usually handle the black diamonds but...had I known "expert" would have been on a completely different level I would have never taken the lift. I am definitely not an expert!!

But Nick and I have SEASON passes to Park City this year FREE of charge (thanks to my mom and the cool new car she bought)..so we are taking advantage of it and it has been WAY fun! (bad quality pictures from the cell phone..sorry!)

Broken Hand

2010-02-11T07:34:00.001-08:00

Nick broke a finger in his hand playing church basketball. Things can get brutal and intense over there!

I also have to give a mention to how proud I was of Nick yesterday for being an advocate for me as a dietitian. Somebody at his work wanted to lose weight really fast before her wedding. So she asked him what I would recommend as a dietitian for her to do. Well...he said EXACTLY what I would have said to her. He told her that it isn't about a "quick fix" but an overall healthy relationship with food (yes...Nick said this!). And he encouraged her to follow the 90/10 rule (meaning to eat healthy 90% of the time..fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and fish..and 10% of the time allowing yourself to indulge in those foods you love.) Of course she didn't want to hear that...but maybe someday it will click for her. But...good job Nick!! Thanks for supporting all my ideas and being a dietitian's ideal husband!

Sushi Night

2010-01-31T14:43:00.000-08:00

Just and FYI...this is not a take-out sushi night...but our very own Sushi made AT OUR HOUSE! (Thank you dad for the sushi making kit for Christmas)

It was way exhausting but totally worth it. :) Just using Nick's perfectionist skills for my own personal advantage. He loves doing stuff like this! And I love that he loves doing stuff like this!

For two little people...

2010-01-24T20:42:00.000-08:00

...and this King size bed...we have never slept so good in our lives!! It was worth every penny!

Thanks for all your encouraging words to make this dream happen!

Christmas is OVER...and Spring needs to come SOON!

2009-12-31T08:19:00.000-08:00

Why does the Christmas season go by TOO fast? I always wish that it would last one more month. But I think we made the best of it this year. This is our new Christmas tree (purchased on Black Friday of course...favorite day of the year). It was fun setting it up in our new house. Except it makes our house look so cute I don't want to take it down! We still are working on filling up the house with new furniture...so it will have to look bare again until next Christmas. :)

Favorite parts of December would include:

Going all the way to Preston, ID and seeing the light show they decided to stop doing THIS year! So much for the long drive. We did buy some lottery tickets though...$2 in the negative when we left.

Seeing all of the family of course and just hanging out!

Seeing old friends that came into town!

Eating like kings and queens every other night at different Christmas Festivities. :)

Going to the Roof (Hart Family Tradition)

Watching home movies

Nick finishing his fall semester finals---(hardest semester so far). One more semester to go before graduation!

Being with Nick of course...2nd Christmas together...they keep getting better!

We cooked up this Christmas Eve, Eve meal together and it was AMAZING! Thanks to my favorite cooking website of all (dietitian approved)....www.eatingwell.com. This website never fails me and makes the house smell AMAZIN'.

Tis the season for

2009-11-21T13:28:00.001-08:00

...Snuggies!

We LOVE our Snuggies and I am proud to admit it. And no..this is not our dog. We borrowed him to dress him up in our doggie snuggie.

Everytime we put on our Snuggies...this happens:

"Snuggie Dance"

One year...lots of events!!

2009-09-28T16:47:00.001-07:00

Lucky I'm in Love with My Best Friend!

It has been one year (on September 18th) since we tied the knot! It has gone by so fast but looking back on the year...a lot has happened!! Here are some long overdue wedding pics!

Nobody could make me happier than Nick. I am a very lucky girl. Here are some pictures from our anniversary!

So after work Nick took me on a surprise little trip around Salt Lake to all of the places we went on our first date! He gave me gifts at every place with a cute note! We talk about that first date all the time because it was the best date both of us have ever had! So..it was fun to re-live our first date on our FIRST anniversary!! Here are some pics!

We ate the top of our wedding cake and it was...ummm....not so good a year old. :) But it was such a cute cake I had a hard time throwing it away! I wish we could get married all over again...it was the perfect day and so much fun!

Nick actually proposed to me on this bench in Salt Lake. We ate lunch here for part of our anniversary celebration. :) I love this place! We go up here from time to time and just hang out.

I had to post this picture of Nick!! I think it is so cute of him! He is the best husband, always makes me laugh, makes me more of a balanced person.... and I am so glad that I get to have even more memories!

Lake Powell..I mean...Birthday parties...I mean...the zoo

2009-09-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday party for Nick Bayba!! It was an amazing birthday cake!

I was WAY impressed with all of the changes at Hogle Zoo. It really was new and improved! I loved it...especially this cute baby giraffe. :)

Leah and Sarah on the Merry-Go-Round. Leah looked really cute with her monkey bag!
Our Lake Powell buddies--they found this cool little "swimming pot" at Lake Powell and after the longest boat ride we jumped in and it was SO refreshing! It was actually pretty funny because we were running out of gas in the boat and we were about a football field away from the Marina and ran COMPLETELY out of gas. It was all windy (of course) so we just drifted away until somebody eventually helped us. It was so hot I thought I had melted into the seats. I love classic Lake Powell adventures though. It wouldn't be Lake Powell if there wasn't some little glitch. :)
There is that Yummy Ice Cream cake again! mmmm...caramel!

Okay...now this has to be one of my favorite pictures...It makes me laugh so hard. My face says it all! Let's just say I wasn't feeling too well that day. oh boy! I always get a chuckle when I see this picture. :) haha.

Nick found this frog and we named it Herbie Hart. :)
Domo Arigato from China Town. :)

Summer Days Aint No Bummer Days

2009-07-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

This is outside the SLC temple after Trisha and Mike got married! It was so good to be there and I just love that these two lovebirds finally bit the bullet and got hitched. They are perfect for eachother!
Here is Nick's cute truck! We get to ride it to church and around the town. It is so fun to ride in it because I feel so cool. People give us thumbs up left and right. Nick just nods his head and gives the little "beep beep".

I know...I know..I am not a photographer but this is a view of our house when our roses were blooming and I wish they could stay around all summer. I tried to soak them up while they were around.

Rachael and the family came over to celebrate her 25th birthday...And Rachael was WAY good at LadderBall (hee hee). It was so fun especially at the end of the night when we found Rachael's bracelet in the grass. Shae, Nick, and I were like little kids again finding a treasure....it was great!

Emme and Charley hiding the bracelet...haha.

This is Nick and Emily's cute little boy and our cute nephew Jackson at his 1st Birthday Partay!!! I am obsessed with this boy!! He loves food and treats so much!

Nick's truck gets to be in the parade!! It was fun when the family drove by and threw otter pops! This kid on the right was so cute and I am so glad we captured him catching something in the air. :)
Patriotic Fourth of July Woods. Salute.

And of course...the summer hit "Ladder Ball". We love this game.
Oh yes...and the summer would be incomplete without the Manti pageant! :) It was a fun surprise that Nick took me. I had never been but it was way fun!

And Cherry Hill was WAY fun! One of my favorite birthday parties! :)

Goodbye Basement Apartment...Hello....

2009-05-31T21:01:00.000-07:00

Hart House!!

It's True...WE bought a house in Kaysville and are loving every little bit about it....

Especially since these guys get to be our next door neighbors! I am sure we will be over to borrow lots of cups of sugar for all those cookies I plan to make in our new kitchen.

Here are a couple more pics of the new pad...

Soon enough when things get settled down we can really start working more on our house and I will put pictures of OUR decorations, etc...

Yardwork here we come!! :) It is on a 0.3 acre lot and we don't know what to do with all of this space now!! Yikes.

And...I don't know anything about flowers. Any tips?

North Carolina

2009-04-19T18:36:00.000-07:00

Nick and I went to North Carolina for my work conference so I could be certified in Adult Weight Management. We made a really fun trip out of it! We loved it there! We had so much good food and the area was gorgeous! There were so many pretty parks and I forget living here in Utah how green it is back there!

Oh and don't worry....there were all these tornado warnings when we were back there! It was freaky!

This picture is pretty funny how Nick placed his hands in his lap...he was being goofy--but you can't really tell...

Carolina Beach...

After a long flight...
Alligator Encounter...

Nick is making a serious face at this Civil War Site--he was in heaven with all of this history he got to learn about while I was at my conference. :)

This last one was a random hike we took by our hotel and we found this gorgeous pond!

Well..that is a rap....As the Ryan Adams song goes.."Oh My Sweet Carolina..." We'll see ya again next time. :)

Rachael had her BABY!

2009-04-19T18:27:00.000-07:00

Rachael had her beautiful baby girl!! They named her Brittana Jyl (a family name!) She is such a beautiful baby!! And I think she looks just like Rachael! We went to visit her in the hospital and I can't believe Rachael and how easy she makes childbirth look easy as cake! She is amazing! They sure do make cute babies!!

I just make the babies cry....

These are her cute girls together! I think they are darling!

Chopped...

2009-04-02T17:31:00.000-07:00

So...Nick and I have our favorite shows, but this one on the Food Network is one of our favorites (EVEN Nick likes it.) It is called "Chopped" and for those that haven't seen this show, they start with four chefs and they start making an appetizer with random surprise ingredients that usually don't go together in twenty minutes, then one gets chopped..aka eliminated.

Then they continue making dinner and dessert. People keep getting "chopped" until there is a final winner! The final winner gets $10,000. I wish I could be a judge so bad! This show makes us so HUNGRY!

Nick and I kind of make our own versions of "Chopped" and make weird food combinations that sometimes taste good. Sometimes when we go out to eat we pretend that we are the judges on chopped and criticize and analyze the meal. :)

Check it out on the FOOD network on Tuesday nights. :)

Little Avery Mae

2009-03-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

So we have a brand new niece! She was born on February 23rd and weighed 6 lb. 10 oz!! I have to say that Rickie and Mike make some darling kids!! Nick and I are going to visit them in Arizona in just over a month! I can't wait to hold Avery and see Daven and Logan! I wish they lived closer so we could see them more. Here are some pictures I just think are so precious!

Top 10 Reasons Why Nick is #1!!

2009-02-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

So Valentines is coming up and I feel so lucky to spend it with the best person I know! This is our first Valentines being married and I have a billion reasons why I love Nick but I will list 10 of them:

10. He is so cute with kids and it is so fun to watch how much kids love him. We teach Primary and our class likes him way more than me that's for sure!

9. He loves sports and is into EVERY team you can think of! I love hearing him talk about a game and he can give me EVERY play by play! He also loves his 1938 Ford Truck!

8. He is a hard worker---he studies and works so hard at work! He will be so good at whatever he chooses to do.

7. He is so good with people and so personable with them. It seems like everybody considers him a good friend.

6. He knows WAY more about the gospel than me and is always teaching me new things! He is such an example and makes me a better person.
5. He is HILARIOUS! I love his goofiness and how he can be so witty. He always says funny puns and his cute smile is the icing on the cake. :)

4. He is SO selfless and is always doing things for me and looking for ways to serve people and make other people's lives easier.
3. He is not a picky eater and will eat anything I make---even if it doesn't taste good. :) Sometimes when we are runing out of milk he will pour the rest into my cereal and he will put water in HIS cereal. (I can't believe he can use water....I would just rather not eat cereal.)haha
2. He cleans the house and helps with the laundry and can fix anything. Sometimes he even brings me my toothbrush and toothpaste with a cup of water when I am laying in bed and don't want to get up to brush my teeth (that has only happened twice--haha).

1. He is the best husband in the whole world and I feel so blessed that he is mine and that I get to spend eternity with him. I am the luckiest girl in the world and I hope he knows that!

I love you Nick Hart!

It's Been A While..The Holidays and More!

2009-01-12T18:11:00.000-08:00

Bringin' in the 2009....Martinelli Style!!

We got to hang out with Ben and Mikkal for New Years and it was one of the best New Years I have had! The countdown to 2009 was WAY exciting...it was hilarious! We drank Martinellis Apple Cider in the hotel room and then played Mad Gab! It was a WILD night! :)

We first went to Park City and ate at our favorite restaurant...Baja Cantina. Then we caught a fireworks show at the Canyons. We got there just in time for the show to start! Then we went in the hot tub at the Park City Resort. It was funny too because last year for New Years Eve, Nick and I wanted to hang out but we didn't...so this was our FIRST New Years and it was the BEST!

Nick's Family goes to the Roof every year and I gotta say...I love this tradition! It was really fun to get all dressed up and hang out with everybody! Not to mention the food was AMAZIN'!!

We also got to go to the ZOO LIGHTS with Heather and Jake! It was seriously so cool! I thought it was cute and we got to see the animals in the night time. Best $6 we spent all December. :)

Christmas is Comin.....

2008-11-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

So now that Nick and I have DVR I feel like we are watching TV a lot lately. We even got it in two rooms so that when Nick is watching sports I can watch something else if I wanted to. The only problem is that Nick ends up using both TV's to record both football games at the same time so I never get to watch what I want. :) So anyway...since Christmas is coming soon, the TV has been taken over by me with recording movies from ABC family's "Christmas Countdown." I love Christmas shows ( I don't know why). I think Nick is starting to even get more into Christmas. We even got festive last Saturday and ran a 5K for Sub for Santa. It was way hilarious for some reason. We got to stretch with Santa before the race (so classic) and whenever I got tired I would look at Santa in a full blown out suit ahead of everybody and it kept me running. Here are some pictures of the day.

Honeymoon to the Dominican Republic

2008-11-07T16:42:00.001-08:00

This was the best vacation after a stressful three months...so perfect!! We both kept thinking, "this is too good to be true." We had a lot of funny inside jokes and were surprised we got back okay...NOBODY SPEAKS ENGLISH THERE. They were pretty hilarious though. :)

Okay so I am pretty new at this bloggin' business so I don't know how to put this picture at the end, but the picture above is when we had to leave and we were "frownie-facing" it. So sad to leave.

We got to play some ball on the beach with the Germans. They were way intense and knew how to play the game. But when Nick and I beat them on the first try they were pretty mad actually. It was funny. I couldn't understand what in the world they were saying.

This was the view of the Caribbean right outside our VIP Honeymoon Suite!! So gorgeous!

Halloween -Squirrel and Acorn 2008

2008-11-07T16:35:00.001-08:00

This Halloween I would say was a total success!! It was kind of like we were little kids again getting dressed up!! And I have to say that our costumes were Nick's idea. If you can't tell we are a squirrel and an acorn.

Our Story...A lot happens in a Year!

2008-10-25T22:34:00.000-07:00

Last year at this time Nick and I were just living the single life . I was living with 10 girls in the avenues and he was living in Pleasant Grove. Until one night I decided to go to Taco Night
and it changed our lives forever. It is crazy how much has happened since last year. Instead of writing every detail I thought I would give a brief timeline of our adventure so far.

October 2007: Taco Tuesday....Nick and I first met. We played ping pong, ate tacos, and got our first impressions. (which were good ones obviously).

November-December 2007: Nick came over to the Estate on the day after Thanksgiving (my favorite day of the year). We played fun games with the roommates and kept trying to sit by eachother. :) That was when I told Jill I had a little crush on Nick.

January 2008: Nick moved to Sugarhouse!!! I was so excited he was moving closer to Salt Lake in hope that he would visit the Estate a little bit more. He says that he moved to salt lake hoping that he could date me. :) Sounds like we both had the same idea... So January 10th we went out on our first date!! It was a major success. We both say how we have never been on a first date like that before.

It was no doubt that we were going on another date....which led to another date...to another date!! Then we decided to be exclusive.

June 2008: Eventually all this exclusive talk led to a marriage talk in June.....this marriage talk let to an engagement!!! We went up to our special bench in the avenues and it was perfect!! I loved my ring and my new husband-to-be.

September 18th, 2008: Nick and Erica Hart....married for time and all eternity in the Bountiful Temple!! Best day of our lives and getting better and better everyday! More pictures of the wedding to come.....