It's a.......

Russ and I went to the Dr. today and found out we are having a baby BOY!! Yahoo! We were both excited and it is so great to stop wondering what it will be. Russ is looking forward to having a "Little Man!"

Max Home!

My little brother, Max got home from his mission on September 9th! He served in the Brazil, Porto Alegre South mission.

(Max with Sophia)

We were so excited to have him home! All of us (except for Molly-she was running her daycare) were there to greet him at the airport with a sign, balloons, treats, and Mtn. Dew. My little nieces Evelyn and Sophie were excited for "Maxie" to come home. Soph even let him pick her up.

After the airport we met to eat lunch, then we all headed up to Logan to spend the weekend. Molly met us later that day. We had fun hearing mission stories and spending the weekend together.

Welcome home Max! We love you!

ZOO

Saturday when we got back from the cabin, Russ and I picked up our niece and nephews and headed to Hogle Zoo. We met my mom, Molly and her girls, and Max there.

The girls

The boys

Sophia with Grandma Kari

(not shown in this picture, but Sophia liked to wear her glasses upside-down. They must be more comfortable that way. Ha ha)

Oliver, Evelyn, and Spencer with the giraffes

We were lucky to have the tigers come so close to the glass!

We took the kids on the carousel

Spencer has the cutest face here! It makes me laugh

What a great day at the zoo!

Cabin

Last weekend we had a little getaway to a place that I love- Stacie Dorius' family cabin, near Kamas. On our way to the cabin we ate at this cute little diner in Oakley. It's called the Rhode Island Diner and it was brought over from across the country.

After a windy, dirt road you come to the lovely cabin in the mountains

After a lovely pancake, egg, and bacon breakfast, thanks to Mitch, we went on a hike Saturday morning. The fall colors were beautiful and the air was crisp. I love love love the fall!

My strong hubbie lifting a trunk out of the way for us

The girls (Ellie, Stacie, and me)

A trip to the cabin wouldn't be complete without Russ' giant cowboy hat

(I couldn't get the picture straight)

Thanks Mitch and Stacie for a great trip to the cabin! Love it up there!

16 Weeks

Here is my first sideways pregnant belly picture. Here I am at 16 weeks

Labor Day weekend

The weekend before Labor Day we were invited to stay over at our friend, Kiera's family's summer home near Eden. It was a great place. It's from the 1900's. The other guests were Mitch, Stacie, baby Ellie, Ryan, and Diane. We had a great time eating dutch oven, playing games, chatting, freaking Russ out (he doesn't love old houses), and picking fresh veggies from the garden.

Funny Stacie trying on some chaps

The boys moved the picnic table and we played Scattergories around it.

Russ just decided to climb up this pole

After we left the cabin, we ate at a nearby restaurant and spent some time at Pineview Reservoir. Thanks Matt & Kiera for the invite! We had a good time:)

Sushi Date

Russell had an awesome date idea! He previously watched a how-to video online, then we made sushi! We thought I had to stay away from sushi, being pregnant, but he made sure I was okay with California rolls. They turned out so yummy! We actually made them again the next night with Russ' sister, Katrina and her husband, Chris.

The supplies

Look how pretty it turned out! Thanks for the great idea Russ!

I'm 25!

I celebrated my 25th birthday on August 10th! I can hardly believe I'm in my mid-twenties. Russ made my birthday special, like he usually does.

I got home from work and he had decorated with crepe paper throughout the kitchen area. He also had presents sitting out for me on the counter and we went out to eat.

Russ took me shopping for a new purse... I came home with 2! Do you like them??

Kirschman Family Weekend

In August we had a Kirschman family get together. We went to Sundance to see "Big River", which was a great show and we stayed a couple of nights at a cabin in Hobblecreek Canyon.

A game of RISK

Mom brought cute fabric for us to quilt!

We found these little helicopter leaves which fall off the trees. I used to stick them on my nose when I was little! (I love this picture)

The girls had fun swinging on the tire swing. I love my fam!

California Wedding

In July Russ and I flew out to California for our friends' wedding-Ryan and Diane. We flew into Long Beach and the wedding was in LA. We stayed near Santa Monica with 4 other friends: Mitch & Stacie Dorius with their baby, Ellie and Matt & Kiera Dorius. Russ was asked to be a groomsman. We were only in Cali for a few days, but we still had some free time and enjoyed ourselves!

We found this pretty beach on Friday.. it was just too bad the weather was cold!

The cool weather didn't stop these boys from jumping in the water! Brrr!

Mitch brought some boogie boards and they had a good time. (Meanwhile us girls stayed on the beach)

Russ decided to upgrade at the car rental booth and got a red Mustang. Don't the zebra shorts go great??

Ryan and Diane got married in the L.A. temple. It was a beautiful wedding!

The happy couple

Outside the temple

After the ceremony we had some free time, so we again went to the beach! We went to Venice Beach, which is a crazy place). We got lunch, walked around, then layed about on the beach. The weather was warmer, which we were happy about!

After the beach, we got dressed up again and went to the reception. It was in the backyard of Diane's old seminary teacher. It was beautiful! There were booths with mini doughnuts, icecream bars, shrimp cocktail, cotton candy. There was a full dinner: BBQ and Asian take out boxes. (It was based off of a market in Washington, where Diane served her mission). There was a picture booth, dancing, and even outdoor heaters for when it cooled off.

Russ loves him some shrimp cocktail! He kept going back for more.

The crew