Surprise!

So we had another doctors appointment today and got some exciting news we weren't expecting! I'm only 16 weeks (and 4 days) along and we knew that you don't usually get to find out the gender until 20 weeks, so we weren't hopeful we were going to get another ultrasound today. We were planning on doing some begging though. So, when the doctor came in to see us, he had his med student check the heartbeat and then said "hmmm, I wonder if that's a boy or a girl heartbeat." We both looked at each other hopefully thinking, "here's our chance to ask him!" and one of us said "that's what we're wondering!" So then, a miracle happened and the doctor said "well, do you want to take a look?" and we both said "YES!" So we headed over to the ultrasound room and got all set up. He prefaced by telling us that circumstances would have to be just right to be able to tell and so not to get our hopes up. So he started looking around, couldn't really see anything, and then all of a sudden got a good shot of the baby from underneath and told us "well, it's a boy!" We were so excited. He then rewound the ultrasound and replayed the moment when the baby lifted his leg and gave the doctor a perfect view (which is what we got the picture of). He then pointed out, "see, there's the scrotum, and there's the wiener!" Very technical terms, I know. So yeah, we're both really excited (though I was convinced it was going to be a girl) to have a little boy in 5 months. We were so excited that TJ decided to go and buy him his first outfit, but then we ended up getting two :) So here are some pictures!

First Baby Present!!

So I already have something to update the blog with! My awesome friend Andi from the social work program (she's now living in Idaho Falls working) came to visit me and TJ this weekend which was so much fun! I'm definitely a little lonely here and miss my friends so much! Anyway, so when she got here, she had a surprise for me! A diaper bag! It's so pretty too. We had looked at them last time she was here and she told me she was going to get it for me but I didn't know it would be so soon! It's by Vera Bradley, totally washable (and lined on the inside too so it's easy to wipe out), full of pockets to store things in, and came with a changing pad too! Anyway, I was so excited and grateful to Andi. She's great :)

Long Time!!

Wow, so it's been so long since our last post. I'm obviously not as good at this blogging thing as I hoped. Well, I'll try to catch everyone up as fast as possible. I'm sure I'll miss a lot, but I'll do my best.


TJ got accepted to BYU in Provo! After much preparation and doing well at his audition, he found out that he had gotten accepted to the school of music, and then to the university itself! We were so excited and very happy to know what to plan on for the fall semester.


I graduated from college!! On July 23rd, I graduated with my bachelors in social work. It was so exciting, but also a little scary. I had to accept the fact that I was about to enter the "real world" and had to grow up. I also was a little sad because I really enjoy school and was sad I wouldn't be going back (until the hopeful day I can go back and get my masters). My parents were able to be there for it too. The day before graduation and the next two days afterwards were spent packing up our apartment to prepare for the big move to Provo. Finally, on the Monday after graduation, we put the finishing touches on our moving truck, finished cleaning the apartement, checked out, and drove to Provo. When we got to Provo, we spent the rest of the afternoon (in 100 degree weather) unpacking the truck into a storage unit. But then we were done (at least for a month)! We definitely couldn't have done it all without my parents.... Thanks for your help! We love you!

Next, we headed to Minnesota for the first Rands Family reunion. It was tons of fun! We borrowed some RVs from people so there were enough beds for people to sleep in and the Wharton's were amazing hosts, especially with 22 of us! We did lots of fun stuff like have a corn-on-the-cob eating contest (which later turned into a pizza eating contest for the boys where TJ got 2nd place by eating 73 pieces), go to a historical farm with lots of animals, go to the pool, go on a family bike ride, and play fun games! It was so much fun and so good to be with my whole family, especially since I hadn't even met some of them (Olive and the twins) yet! After we were done with the reunion, we headed to the Peper's house for a fun visit with them. It was so nice to spend time with the Pepers and the Warrens and was pretty low key (so the opposite of the week before), so we got the best of both worlds! After visiting with them, we headed back to Macomb to spend some time with just my parents (and give them their car back they had let us borrow!) and give TJ some time to practice. I had talked to my band director from high school and gotten permission for him to use their equipment. Then, after being there for a little while, we got in the car one more time and went to St. Louis to visit the Wilsons. While we were there we had the privilege to witness Brynn's first day of Kindergarten, draw and color some animals for Dylan's birthday party the next week, visit Scott Air Force base where PJ works, and even go bowling! Then, on the last day we were there we even made a trip to the infamous arch! Since Kelly and TJ are a little scared of heights, they didn't have the best time at the top, but Tyler and I had fun!! Then, it was time to go home... So Kelly took us to the airport, and after about a month away, we headed back to Utah.

So, that's where we are now! We're living at Wymount Terrace (in the same building my parents lived in) and it's not as nice as the village (mostly because of the lack of storage space) but it's not as bad as I expected. TJ's liking school, though it is harder than BYU-I, but that's what he wanted! I'm working and the restaurant is getting ready to open in about a week (oh, and it's now called Pizza Pie Cafe, not Craigo's) so it's been BUSY! We've been loving BYU football, and I even went to my very first college football game two weeks ago. It was so fun!

So, I guess all that leaves is the news that I'm.... PREGNANT. Our families already know, but for anyone who didn't, there ya go! We had our first doctors appointment about a month ago and got to see our BABY! So here he/she is....

So cute right? Well, now that we're settled, found the cord to our camera, and have some important stuff to write about, hopefully I'll be much better at this. Sorry this was such a long post, but hopefully you got all the important stuff :) Love you all!

SUPER BUNNY!!!

We found out this past week that we have a thrill-seeking bunny. We have been keeping her out on our little patio during the day to give her some fresh air and a little more room to run around in. We bought a couple of baby gates and wrapped them in a sheet and placed them in front of the railing so she couldn't escape through the bars. For the first week or so this set up worked great. She had a couple of boxes out there to play and nap in. But after a while the little patio was getting too small and boring for her. She needed something more. She had to know what was outside this little world she had come to know. We noticed she began to get on top of the boxes and would even poke her head over the side of the gates. One day, this seemed to be her favorite activity. Julia was outside on the patio reading and noticed she climbed on top of her boxes multiple times. When Steve came over, however, and said that he was worried she would jump, we both scoffed at the idea and assured him our bunny was not that stupid, remembering how scared she was to even jump off the couch. As Steve was leaving, however, the unthikable happened. Her curiosity apparently got the best of her and she jumped - THREE STORIES! Steve was the fist to act, rushing downstairs to check on her. TJ was close behind and Julia was frozen, staring into the darkness below where her bunny lay. We called Randy immediately for directions on what to do. Luckily she had landed on the grass, just inches from another concrete patio. Steve tried to examine her for any broken bones, especially on her back. She wasn't moving much and we were totally unsure of what was wrong and were thinking the worst. Randy said the best thing to do was to put her in her tub and try and keep her as still as possible. We did that, carried her upstairs, and waited.
Steve had to leave and we had to get ready for bed. So we brought her into our room to sleep for the night so we could keep an eye on her. We checked on her one more time before falling asleep and noticed that she was starting to move around more. That was also when we noticed that she wasn't using her right, front leg. We were hoping it was just sore from the fall, but at this point, she's still not using it so we're a little skeptical. Overall, I'd say shes doing pretty well, though. She's back to her normal self, although not as quiet when she hops around since she's only using 3 legs. Aren't cats the ones who are supposed to have nine lives...

We tried to get a picture of her bum right leg. I guess you can't really tell with this picture. You can, however, see how big she is getting. I mean check out that foot!
Here is a picture of her flight plan. She jumped from our patio (the one with the light on) and landed three stories later on the grass not inches from the concrete.

ne with We tried get a video of her hopping around on one foot. It was a pretty unsuccessful shot. You can briefly see her right front leg curled up as she turns to the side.

Easter Bunny!!!

We'd like to present you with the newest addition to our family! BUNNY!! I know, that's not really a name... That's why we need your help! TJ surprised me on Tuesday with my very own bunny. She's so cute!! (and yes, after an extensive examination by Dr Steve, we came to the conclusion she is, in fact, a she) We are having a little bit of trouble, however, deciding on a name for her. I like the name Ebony ('cause she's black and we can call her Bony for short) but TJ wants to go with something a little more ethnic like Shaniqua or Shanaynay. So please tell us what you think!!
We also had lots of fun on easter with Steve and Lizzie. We had a yummy lunch and many easter festivities followed. Here are some pictures of the bunny and easter food.







So to explain this picture, we went on an easter-egg hunt in the park on Sunday afternoon and we really wanted to bring bunny with us. So, we tried concocting some sort of leash. In the end we decided it wasn't such a good plan....

So this Christmas was great for us, though a little bit of an adjustment. It was our first Christmas as a married couple, and we spent it alone. It was a little lonelier than we were used to. Still, it was lots of fun. We got some great presents from each other and from other family. A couple cool experiences were picking out our tree and making some ornaments for it. :) Also, Julia had a good time making stockings (with some big help from her mom) for us. Also, we had a yummy yummy dinner that night. All in all, it was a great holiday, and we're looking forward to many more together!

Finally Europe!

So I'm finally updating our blog... I think I've been putting it off for so long because it's seemed just a little daunting. I didn't know how to write about my experience in Europe without it being way too long to keep anyone's attention. So, I finally decided to just sit down and do it. I think the best way to do it though is to just put the best pictures on here with captions that can be read if you have the time, or if you don't, just enjoy the pretty pictures. Let me just start out by saying that it was one of the best experiences ever, though. The only bad thing, of course, was not having TJ there to share it with me. My biggest wish now is to go back some day with him! Anyway, here it is!!

So this is the place where I spent probably half of my time in Europe. We initially flew into Rome but then rode on this wonderful bus between each amazing place we visited. At first, it was a little uncomfortable, but we all figured out how to fall asleep after not to long. Our bus driver, Pader, tried his best to be entertaining, but we usually tuned him out. It gave us all some great bonding time though!!

So this was the AMAZING view from the top of
St. Peter's Basilica inside the Vatican in Rome. The vatican, and especially St. Peter's was one of my favorite places on the trip. It was beautiful and had so much history! This view is a pretty famous on of the Colonnade which was designed by Bernini. I had to work hard for this view, though! I think is was around 600 stairs to the top... I'm glad I was still breathing when I got there!

This is a picture of the inside of St. Peter's. I know you probably can't tell from this picture, but it was amazing on the inside. I can't even explain it... And it was massive!! The gold lettering near the top of the picture is 7 feet tall and the altar in the middle is about 3 stories tall.




This is an illegal picture I took in the Sistine Chapel. I could have spent hours in here, except that every 30 second, the quiet was interrupted by a guard yelling "QUIET!" and "NO PHOTO!" I obviously didn't follow all of their advice. I just had to get one picture of this masterpiece.


This was Venice! It was a gorgeous place. We did all the musts - a gondola ride, a visit to St. Mark's cathedral, and a trip to the glass factory. It was great. The people there weren't as nice as other places in Italy, but I think they were used to dealing with a higher class of tourists, not humble students like us.


This is outside the gazebo from the Sound of Music! We went on a tour of all the sites from the movie while we were in Saltzburg, Austria. It was so much fun! My friend in this picture had basically the entire movie memorized, so of course we reenacted as much as we could!


This is a kind of sad picture... It's from the concentration camp we visited called Mauthausen. It was a depressing, but powerful. It was something I was really glad I got to see.




This band was SO COOL. They were performing on the Charles Bridge in Prague. They made me miss TJ even more... oh, and watch the singer's eyes. He's hilarious!

These are the doors in Wittenburg, Germany where Martin Luther posted his 95 Thesis. A lot of what we learned about on this trip had to do with the protestant reformation and so this site was especially important. It was so cool to go to a place where something so important happened. It really helped my testimony grow. I realized that God really does guide people to do things in their life that will help the gospel grow, even if they don't realize it.


This was a wonderous place in Munich called the Haufbraghaus. It's the largest beer hall in the world, and highly recommended by the trip director (a religion teacher) who eats there every year at least once. It was the place where I first experiences Wiener Schnitzel, and had my largest glass of Fanta. It was great! They had an umpa-band and people in the traditional german get-up. It was quite the experience...


This was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been in my life. It was a lake below Neuschwanstein Castle (the disney castle). The fall colors were amazing and this man decided to take a nice little spin in his canoe just in time for a Photo opp. The whole area was breathtaking, but this picture captured it the best, I think.


This is, well, THE EIFFEL TOWER!!! I really didn't think I would be as excited to see it as I was. On our first night in Paris, though, as we walked around the corner and I saw it, I might admit I screamed a little... It was amazing. The ride to the top was also phenomenal. I don't this TJ would have liked the glass elevator, but I thought it was great! You could see all of Paris from the top, and I'm so glad I experienced it.

This was the place I was probably the most excited to see going into this tour. The Louvre was overwhelming, but had some things in it that I always wanted to see. After we were done at the Louvre (where I could probably spend a week without seeing everything) we headed over to the Musee d'Orsay where most of the impressionist art is. Though there wasn't as much to see, I was just as blown away. This was basically one of the best days of my life :)


So this is the Tower Bridge outside of the tower of London. This was something else I was really excited for. I've always had this strange obsession with English history, especially Henry the Eighth and the Elizabethan era. So, the tower of London was kind of a jack-pot. This was where Ann Boleyn (Henry's second wife) was executed, where the crowned jewels are kept, and lots of other awesome history took place. I could have spent all day there, but unfortunately, I got about 2 hours.


And this is inside WICKED!!! It was the second time I'd seen it, but just as amazing. It was kinda fun too because all the actors had english accents. I think that was one of the parts that was the most fun about London... the accents :) The play made me miss TJ even more though. I'm glad this was our last stop...



And last of all, here is some of the food that saved my life on this trip...




Starbucks saved my life when I needed some good comfort food






And these are Kabobs. Yum. That's all I have to say

Last of all, but most importantly would be gilatto, but I don't have a picture of that....


Well, that's it! I know it was a lot, but believe me, this is after taking lots out. I hope you liked it! I hope you can all have an experience like this some day if you haven't already :)