Merry Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas Eve! :) I can't believe it is already here. I still have so much to do and I'm afraid there will be no time to do it. I still have four presents unfinished...I'm such a slacker. Especially when you consider I'm laying in bed blogging, researching insurance for the baby and watching the baby kick my stomach and ribs...yes watching. She's currently kicking me so hard that it is starting to hurt and be really uncomfortable. Strangely enough though, she only kicks me in the right rib...never ever the left. In fact, I don't think she ever has kicked me in the left rib...ever. Just FYI if you needed to know.

Christmas Break

I'm so excited and happy I don't have to go to work for the next three weeks. While it sucks to not get a pay check and it will really suck when I go back to work to the piles of emails and voicemails...I am so ready for the break. :)

Since today was the last day before the break and Christmas holiday, several of my coworkers brought cards and gifts. I was given lots of chocolate and cards...even $100 from everyone so I can go get a 3D sonogram (How unnecessary, unexpected and nice is that?!?), but there was one gift that left me laughing hysterically and saying, "What in the crap?!?"

It started out....okay...a little random, but okay.The first thing in the bag is chocolates... Curt was excited. :) Then comes the cup with Hersey's kisses in it and some pens...random...especially since it is kind of covered in saran wrap. It made me smile. Then at the very bottom of the bag is the kicker... What coworker gives another coworker a Lady's Trimmer for your eyebrows and bikini line? I can't believe it... She gave the same bag / gifts to everyone (there are only two boys in our office...I'm assuming they didn't get one). Some people also got a pill organizer...I didn't. Maybe because I'm pregnant and don't take any medications other than my pre-natal pill...or maybe I'm just not special enough...I don't know. Overall, it made my day though. It is just to hilarious that a coworker gave that to me.

Christmas Tag

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Definitely paper...bags are for Birthdays...
2. Real or artificial tree? Artificial. I've never had a real tree.
3. When do you put up the tree? Usually within a week after Thanksgiving.
4. When do you take the tree down? Just after New Years...probably around the 2nd
5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, but about 99 percent of the time I drink it I "water" it down with some milk
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Barbie Car...yep, Heather and I received a Barbie pink convertible PowerWheels one year. That car was loved and loved and loved...to the point where there literally wasn't much of a car even left.
7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad
8. Easiest person to buy for? Curt. I'm pretty much done, but I could easily spend another couple of hundred dollars on him.
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Nope. We have nothing. My mom just gave us her's and my dad's first ever stockings that they used their first Christmas together, but that is all we have.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mailed... I received a Christmas card from my Great-Grandma yesterday and it was so fun to receive.
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't know...Nothing comes to mind really.
12. Favorite Christmas movie? Miracle on 34th St. That is the name, right. I'm having a hard time remembering things lately.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I usually make my Christmas to-buy list in October, but this year I didn't even start thinking about it until right before Thanksgiving.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Pumpkin rolls. It isn't Christmas without them. I also love Christmas breakfast: Homemade cinnamon rolls and breakfast burritos. Yummy! :)
16. This question has disappeared somewhere along the way...
17. Favorite Christmas song? All of Amy Grant's Home for Christmas CD. I think that is the name of it at least.
18. Travel at Christmas, or stay home? Stay at home...
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? I tried and I think I repeated one once.
20. Angel or star at the top of the tree? Angel
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? The only presents we open on Christmas Eve are the ones from the Goodrich family at the Goodrich family party and then at home afterwards we open the "one official" present from our parents (everything else is from Santa): pajamas. We all then get in the pajamas and drink homemade hot chocolate from our Santa mugs right before going to bed.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The extra traffic and lack of money.
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I have one ornament from every year of my life, but my favorite would have to be a precious moments ornament that was originally my Great-Grandma Hansen's. My mom gave it to me after she passed away and it was given to her.
24. Favorite Christmas dinner? I loved when we broke tradition and went with the Mexican theme.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? You know, while I've pointed out what I think is a ton of things to my husband, I can't remember anything at the moment. Oh, I want the 7 gypsies photo carousel I blogged about last year. http://natalieclark.blogspot.com/2007/08/what-amazing-experience.html

Mud Run

On November 8th, Curt ran in a 10K race called the Mud Run. With a name like that, it definitely is not my cup of tea, but Curt really enjoys it. It isn't just a long run in the mud, but it is full of obstacles, mud slides, mud pits and what not... While Curt had done this before and was prepared for the way he would look afterward, I was still surprised. He was disgusting... Mud was everywhere...in his teeth, covering his eyelashes... He even has to rinse off with the fire hose. Which to me is also disgusting...a little bit too much like a locker room communal shower... Yuck! It at least helped with the amount of mud in my car...but I hear it was still covered. Curt wouldn't let me see it...or smell it for that matter. We had to pay quite a bit to get it detailed afterwards. Needless to say, we threw away all his clothes. The bag weighed at least 10 pounds with all the mud. I can't imagine running a 10K anyways, but to do so with that much extra weight on...I really don't know how he enjoys it. Blah!

Oh and as a side note...there were all these gross people who stripped down to their underwear before the hose-down. He is just one of many gross people...and he was old too, which made it worse.

A Healthy Baby

Today Curt and I went to the doctor again. We had a sonogram that took forever. The baby wouldn't stay still at all for the doctor to see everything. I was even accused of feeding the baby sugar and caffeine before the sonogram...which I didn't, I promise. :) We are happy to report that everything looks great and "reassuring" (my doctor doesn't like the term "normal"). He has no worries, which makes me very happy. The baby has all four chambers of the heart and everything else she should have...and oh yeah, she's a girl. :) We are very excited. I'm slightly relieved since I know what to do with baby girls, and haven't got a clue what to do with baby boys. We weren't shocked at all, in fact I was so sure it was a girl that I would have been shocked if it did turn out to be a boy. Overall, it was a very happy and exciting day.

Beautiful Food

In college I lived with an amazing chef for 3 1/2 semesters. Ashley loves food and while living with her I developed a love for beautiful food too. Most times I just loved to watch her cook and eat her newest masterpiece...but sometimes I would put on the apron and help out. Living with Ashley is a different than living with anyone else...not just for the food you eat, but for the materials you read (cook books, food magazines, etc.) and especially what you watch. The number one channel watched in our home was the Food Network. We loved it. There are so many great shows...and a couple boring ones. Even though I loved watching these shows, as soon as I move I stopped watching. Today while Curt was preparing for his 10 K run this afternoon, I watched Everyday Baking on PBS. I love beautiful food. It inspired me to make pretty cakes...but I don't have a mixer. (Hint hint Rachael...) So, I'm left to just look at all the beautiful pictures. :)
http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/baking/recipes/three_layer_apple_cake.html

What are we having???

Curt and I go in for a sonogram on the 10th and we will hopefully be able to find out what gender the baby is. Curt refuses to make a prediction. He says it is because it doesn't matter, it is already decided, but I still have my suspicions... What are yours? Let me know what you think the baby will be and we'll see who's right next Monday. :)

...Packing, Packing and More Packing...

So my friend Jet reminded me that, I shouldn't be creating cute canisters, I should be packing... :) We are moving on Saturday (YAY!!!) and let's face it, that meant we only started packing on Tuesday. Of all our many boxes, I've packed one by myself. I've helped on other boxes, but my sweet husband has really done most of it. It really does surprise me how fast I get worn out. We've also gone through all of our clothes and donated two garbage bags full. We are kind of at a road block though...not really sure what to do with all the miscellaneous items left over. We still have two boxes we can fill, but I don't really know where to begin next.

So Cute

When Curt and I registered for our kitchen canisters I already had a vision in my mind what they would end up looking like. After 6 months, they are finally finished. My parents bought a vinyl cutting machine and so of course my first project was to label my canisters. They are cuter than I even thought they would be...but how could they not be? It is only the cutest font ever! :)

We're Moving

Yay! We are so excited that on October 25th we are going to move to a different apartment. Not that we don't enjoy the super loud music playing late at night and early in the morning, the smell of smoke drifting down from our upstairs neighbor, the bullets and condoms that can be found along the curbs, the sounds our upstairs neighbor makes when he pees, has sex or takes a shower...lets see, do I need to give more reason? How about the ants that attacked my scriptures and the cockroaches that refuse to go away? As you can see, we are super excited to move. Actually saying "super excited" may be an understatement. We are also really excited to move into my parent's ward. Heidi is extremely excited about that...because she'll get to hold the baby during church. Curt's excited for the nice gym that is available 24 hours a day and I'm excited because we can paint...I'm thinking green. I'm also excited that we will have more than one drawer in our kitchen...yes we have one, very small drawer in our kitchen currently. It isn't even big enough to put our silverware in.

Doctor's Appointment Update

Curt and I went to the doctor again today. Everything so far has turned out normal. We heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time. Sometimes it seems really surreal and almost like the whole pregnancy is just a figment of my imagination, but hearing the heartbeat, all 157 beats a minute of it, makes it more real...at least for the next week or so. Then again, my growing belly getting harder and harder makes it pretty real too...oh and that I can barely even get into my pants anymore. :)

Update...

I feel like it has been forever since I posted, but we no longer have a computer, much less the Internet... I went to the doctor 2 1/2 weeks ago. Everything is going well and the baby size is right on schedule. As of today, I'm 11 1/2 weeks. I'm due on April 2. My favorite moment definitely was the sonogram. I think it was Curt's too... For the first time it actually seemed real that I was pregnant. The baby even moved for us...it did a little upside down sit-up thingy. It will be born with great ab muscles...Curt will be jealous. :) My second favorite moment was when the doctor prescribed me nausea medicines. I still get sick every few days, but it has gotten so much better!!

Yep, We're Pregnant...

Curt and I are expecting a baby. The baby is due about April 3...which only makes me 7 1/2 weeks along. I've been sick since week 4, but it feels like forever...and it feels like forever until it will end. We are excited though.

Insane

How in the crap did Michael Phelps win? Seriously! The race was so incredibly insane...I don't even know what to say more than that.

Men's 4X100 Free

Can I just say that last night's Men's 4 X 100 was maybe the best Olympic moment I've ever witnessed! If you missed, find it and watch it. If you recorded, go watch it right know. You have to see it!!

YAY for the Olympics!!

For the past couple of hours I've been figuring out how much time is left until the Olympics start... I just looked at the clock and we have 24 hours and 1 minute until they start!! I'm so super excited I can barely stand it... :)

I did this for my friend, Magen and it was so much fun remembering how crazy things things get when she's around... :) So now its your turn, leave a memory you have of me on my blog. If you do it for me I'll totally do it for you.

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments. EVERYBODY PLAY! I want to see what memories you have!!

The Book of Mormon in 30, well 40, Days...

This summer, Curt's family has undergone the challenge of reading the entire Book of Mormon together in 30 days. Curt and I took it a step further and read it out loud together. Let me tell you...reading it out loud takes so much more time. Some days we would spend and hour or more reading to each other. We didn't exactly finish it in 30 days...it actually took us 40 because our trip to Utah slowed us and actually halted us in the process...especially since we were getting burned out anyways. However, it was absolutely amazing to read it in that short of time. Curt and I enjoyed discussing the topics. It was so easy to keep track of the stories and what was going on. It was so easy to see how bad people went in such short of a time...so sad! It was a truly eye opening experience...and I'm super grateful for it!

The Three Little Girls

On Friday night Curt and I babysat my three cousins Caitlyn, McKenzie and Emily. This is the second time the girls have come to stay the night with us. It is really cute. They bring their blow up mattresses and we blow them up and lay them on each side of our bed. McKenzie and Emily take turns and switch sides of the bed each time they come. They actually go to bed pretty easy and behave pretty well for us. They just love Curt and he is so good with them too. On Saturday we took them swimming at Curt's sister's house. Curt and I both have a good time playing games and throwing them around.

Trip to Utah

This past weekend Curt and I went to Utah for the Clark Family Reunion. We had such a wonderful time. On Friday once we arrived at the reunion in Logan, we set up our tent and ate dinner. That evening we played a game with little known facts about ourselves. There were definitely some hilarious moments and Curt jumped in with both feet and really enjoyed himself. By the time the games ended at 12:30 in the morning, Curt and I were so cold and exhausted that we barely made it through. (It is the Texan in me...I never remember to always take a jacket with me to Utah, even in July.) On Saturday, we played volleyball and went down a water slide my uncles have on their property. Saturday, late afternoon, I took Curt up to the Logan Temple. Since he had never been to Utah, and there is just so much to see, I had a fun time showing him around. Saturday evening we also went boating. Curt and I went on the tube together and then I wake boarded. There wasn't any dish soap in the boat to get our feet into the wakeboard boots, so I ended up using a men's size board and boots, but it turned out okay. On Sunday we went and spent two hours with my great grandma. She is one of the best people ever and I was excited for Curt to meet her. For 94 years old, she still has a lot of spunk in her and she is fun to listen to because she has so many stories. We were also able to spend time with Kelsie and Ashley and Kelsie's new little girl Shayla. She is so little! I loved being able to hold her and spend time with Kelsie and Ashley. We were able to go to Salt Lake on Monday and go to Temple Square and Cafe Rio. Like I said before, Curt has never been to Utah, so I was really looking forward to showing him the temple, the Christus, the Joseph Smith movie, the tabernacle and the museum. We went to the Joseph Smith movie, which is highly emotional, but so wonderful. We had to leave for the airport at 3:30, so we ran around trying to fit everything in, but there is just so much to see. Plus there was the added factor that I wasn't willing to sacrifice lunch at Cafe Rio, so that took some time. Kelsie and Ashley met us there so they could have lunch with us. It was so nice to see them, see family and see so many sights. We are so blessed with our family, our belief in the church and with each other. It was a wonderful weekend, and worth the money!!!

Take a Chill Pill

When I went to work today, I realized how much drama I miss in the mornings. My fellow customer service representative received several phone calls this morning from a crazed parent who was upset because she had $200 in returned check fees. Now, I would be upset too, but it would be my own fault, because I wrote the checks...right? Well, apparently this woman did not feel like it was her fault our checks bounced. From first breath, she started cussing my coworker out, calling several times to harass her and ultimately claimed she was going to come blow her brains out. Seriously?!? While the situation was irritating and slightly scary, it became really scary when someone appeared at the front door and started trying to get in. Subsequently, 911 was called, a cop stayed on patrol outside our building all morning, corporate and legal were called to advise us what to do about our customers who would begin coming in at noon and so on. What an interesting morning to come in to. I just can't get over how worked up this woman got over something that was her own fault anyways. Seriously, woman, take a chill pill!

Congratulations

So, I'm going to take a little break from the wedding blogging so that I can blog about somethings I've been putting on hold. On June 28th, my best friend had her first baby. Her name is Shayla and Kelsie is the cutest little mom. This weekend Curt and I went to Utah, so we were able to spend a little time with Kelsie and Shayla. She is so adorable and so good. She barely ever even starts to cry. I really enjoyed being able to hold her.

Getting Ready

One of the reasons I got married in the evening is, I am not a morning person. I don't think I woke up until 8:45 or 9:00 on my wedding day. I didn’t want to be rushed in the morning to get my hair done and get ready to go. Getting married in the evening did make the day long because I was so anxious and excited. Plus, it was an even longer day because my mom told Curt and I that we couldn't talk to each other, or text message one another, at all until we saw eachother at the temple. At 1:00 Kelsie and Ashley started doing my hair. These girls were so amazing. The whole wedding would not have been nearly as perfect or amazing if they hadn’t have come and helped. Most of my family actually flew in this day so while I was getting my hair done, they would all pop in to say hello. It took a little longer to do my hair than originally planned, so we didn't leave for the temple quite on time, but we still got there early enough to meet Curt's grandparents and buy more garments...thank the stars. :)

The Friends and Family Started to Arrive...

I was very blessed because I had so many people come in for Curt's and my wedding. I have such amazing family on both sides, and it was so exciting to see so many of them make the trek down to Texas from Utah...three uncles, two aunts, my cousin and Grandma.

...the Clarks in Texas, minus Curt and I...

One my mom's side of the family, we only had my cousin Rachel come in from out of town, but we were so greatful to have her. Understandably, my mom's side of the family, located outside of Texas, were all dealing with my uncle Curt's death two days previous and weren't able to make it down.

Curt also had family travel to share with us on our special day. His brother came from Virginia and his grandma and grandpa Whitworth and other aunts, uncles and cousins. We were so grateful to have them.

And certainly not least, my best friends, Kelsie and Ashley came down for the wedding. I seriously don't know what we would have done without them. Kelsie cut and colored my hair and did the up-dos both on Friday and Saturday. Ashley pretty much designed the whole backyard and took charge of the whole reception decorating. She was amazing. They were both so amazing. It wouldn't have been perfect without either of them in the sealing room with us.

Uncle Curtis

So, amid all the wedding planning and the happy event, on April 15th, my uncle Curtis died. (My mom's younger brother.) He found out he had skin cancer in December, and sadly, it just progressed from bad and scary to worse and really sad. Anything I say is not going to do him justice. He was hilarious and always making me laugh and turning family functions into the best time ever. In April 2007, I went camping with him and three of his four girls. We had a great time. We were cold, got stuck in some rain and powerful wind, almost sank the boat and I got horribly car sick, but we were together, having so much fun, having adventures and making memories in the BEAUTIFUL outdoors. I will always remember that trip -- you can even read about it because I've had my blog so long...crazy how time flies... http://natalieclark.blogspot.com/2007/04/my-excursion-to-idaho.html

My Bridal Shower

So on April 12th, Heather and Kristi threw me a great bridal shower. It was a lot of fun -- especially for a bridal shower. Kristi and her husband Kenny made a video of Curt answering questions about me like: "What is Natalie's dream car?" "What is Natalie's favorite color?" For every answer I got right I got to pop a balloon with a gift card in it...for every wrong answer I had to chew two things of bubble gum. Unfortunately some of the questions were hard like, "How many cousins does Natalie have?" and I was chewing a lot of gum by the end... :) It was gross. I had a ton of fun, received some great stuff and really enjoyed myself while my dad and Curt were slaving outside in the backyard (see the previous post).

...receiving some racy gifts...

...opening more presents...
...the pretty layout of all the cupcakes Andy made...
...a close up...
...the table setting with me...

A huge thanks goes out to Kristi and Heather for the shower, Andy for the beautiful cupcakes, my mom for hosting the shower (three hours before the shower we were cleaning up the painter's tape from retexturizing the walls in the dinning room and painting the wall by the bar), Aimee for helping with the food and anyone else who did so, everyone for coming and for the gifts!

Storm Before the Wedding...

To continue on with the happenings before the wedding... :)

Our reception was in my parent's backyard, which during the summer months is beautiful and I absolutely love it back there. However, because we got married in April -- and in Texas, we took a huge risk. Normally tornado season is my favorite season, but we didn't even have a back up plan in case it rained on the day of the reception. Let's just say there were a lot of prayers offered in regards to the weather the whole engagement. We were extremely blessed and had beautiful weather, calm wind and it wasn't even too hot. There was, however, one hick up in the whole plan. The week prior to the wedding we had a major storm blow through that tore up the backyard. In some ways I was so sad to see all the broken trees, but in other ways I felt so blessed. The storm happened on Wednesday night and everyone was scheduled to come over and help clean the creek and yard that Saturday, so we were really grateful it hit before the major clean up and the wedding, but sad to see so much destruction.

Looking at these pictures, it totally amazes me how in a weeks time the yard totally transformed. I huge thanks to my wonderful dad and husband and the others who helped them!!

Engagement Pictures

Since Curt and I have been married almost 2 1/2 months now, I figured I should get on the ball and start blogging about the wedding and the happenings before and after... Plus, I realized I only ever posted one engagement picture... So here are some of my favorites.