Baby Showers, New Car, and More!

On Sept. 11th, the Kimball gals all got together for lunch at Garcia's, a yummy Mexican restaurant in Layton. It was fun, all the local sisters/sisters-in-law (7 out of 10) and my mother-in-law were able to come, as well as my cousin-in-law! It was fun to have an excuse to talk and eat good food together! Their generous gift (a cash pool) will be WONDERFUL in purchasing a carseat/stroller soon!

On a funny note, we all caught a glimpse of a yellow-bellied marmot (I kid you not) that had climbed into the engine of one of our cars and refused to leave! It was hours later when a somewhat inexperienced animal control worker sedated and removed him. Mean little bugger!

This weekend, my best friend Sunni threw me a baby shower at her place. It was fun to have a couple of good friends and my mom/sisters show up and once again have an excuse to talk and have lots of fun! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera out, but I know pictures were taken and those might be up later. Among the activities were a book to write down the "virtues" each guest wanted to "bestow" on my baby (like Sleeping Beauty!), guessing the girth of my tummy with lengths of yarn, and eating goodies! There were prizes, treats, a "cake" made of diapers, blue decorations, many cute/useful baby gifts, and lots of talking and laughing. I had a great time!

On another happy note, we have made our biggest purchase yet and bought a new car! (Well....new to us!) After several weeks of research and looking into a couple of duds, we found what we think is a great fit for us as well as a good deal. It's a 2006 Saturn VUE. It is a small SUV with a 4-cyl. engine (less power, but better gas mileage), has 53,000 miles, and is in great shape! Also, we bought it from a nice couple that just wanted out of the payments, so we had a lot less hassle. So far, we really like it!

Recently, I was able to help my mother-in-law can some peaches from her tree (delicious!) and she let me keep some. It's fun to learn the trade from someone with all the equipment and a lot of experience.

This is the most recent picture of my preggo belly, I thought some of you from far away might like to see. :) As of today, I only have 3 weeks until my duedate! I'm still attending a childbirth class and getting the baby things ready... I'm anxious, excited, and nervous!

Hopefully we can keep up with all the things going on--errands, school, work, cleaning, preparations, etc.--while getting ready for the start of this new phase in our lives with the coming of our little Kimball kid!

Once Again Catching Up...

So it has been a busy summer and once again time has gotten away from me. I resolve to briefly catch up and then hopefully STAY caught up... Although I have a handwritten journal as well, this makes for a fun semi-public digital journal with picture/video capabilities. :)

Since my last post, obviously a lot has happened. In case you were not aware, I am now about 8 months pregnant with a baby boy due to arrive October 11th....and yes, that's our 2-year anniversary. (I wouldn't mind if the little guy was a bit early...) I've finally gotten a belly! We have recently gotten a lot of the baby supplies (crib, clothes, lotion, diapers, changing table, etc.), which makes me feel a lot more at ease. Still not 100% sure on a name, but we like the sound of Thomas and Jackson. He sure is kicking/stretching a lot and making mommy uncomfortable!

Since finishing up school, we have done our best to soak up the summer rays and the time we had alone together. We've been fishing and hiking up Logan canyon several times, we went to Lake Powell fishing with my dad/brothers, we visited my sis Christine and her fam in Idaho for a weekend, we visited Corinne and her family in Washington a few times, we went to John's cabin several times, we had fun in Seattle after John's training when I drove to pick him up, we moved to a bigger/nicer apartment in North Logan, we went to John's family reunion that we helped plan up at his cabin, we went to Procupine Reservoir with some friends, we went river rafting (7 1/2 months pregnant!) down the Snake River, we went camping/fishing/canoeing at Causey Dam with some friends, we went camping at Oneida Lake with some friends, we went to Idaho for Vaughn's baby's blessing, we visited home multiple times and gone boating, etc. We've also read many books including the entire Fablehaven series as well as watched movies and gone for walks and gotten errands done. We also made a small batch of delicious apricot jam! It's been a fun, busy summer! although 6 weeks of our summertime fun together was gone because of John's training, I feel lucky for all that we did get to do. Here are a few pictures from our adventures:

So now it is mid-September already and we have started to try to get into the swing of things. John is back in school and working (he sells a program from anxiety/depression) and doing the military and maybe debate...though we're figuring out how busy that is and he may have to cut back. I am keeping myself busy cooking, cleaning, reading, and trying to get things ready for baby. I also have to try to catch up on sleep that I frequently miss out on during the normal hours. I know--just a sign of what's to come. :S

Well, that's about it....hopefully regular updates will be easier now that I've got some time and now that we're all caught up! :)