You asked for it. You know who you are. July 2009: My life in pictures

Yes, I recognize I'm a blog slacker. And no, there's a not a picture where my mouth isn't wide open. Apparently it's my new picture trademark. I went from peace signs to an open mouth.

July 1, 2009. Premature birthday party in Provo. Yes, I was spoiled rotten.
This is called fruit pizza: sugar cookie crust, cream cheese frosting, fruit toppings. Delicious.


We made cool tie-dye shirts together on the first of July and then wore them for my b-day. I like Maryn's the best. (picture: my mom, me, Seth, and Maryn)

I had to throw in a picture of Stephen and Ashton. After all, it was his birthday too. :) P.S. Ashton is due to have Samuel in ten days. Hooray for babies!

July 2, 2009
It rained on my birthday. What's a better way to spend your birthday other than to dance in the rain? We were making a train for Abigail's enjoyment.

Abby thought we were weird. I completely agree.

Maryn, me, and Sarah. I wish you had seen Sarah that day. OH MY goodness she was hilarious. Sarah, I love you.

July 3, 2009: The zoo with Meghan, Kaitlin, Sarah, Maryn, Abby, and me.

Funny story: we took this picture and two seconds later a lady walked by the same spot and got pooped on by something. It was nasty and she freaked out and I laughed. Close call. :)

Abby was quite petrified of the carousel. Her favorite animals were the lynx, the orangutan, and the peacock.

Maryn in a turtle. Need I say more?

July 4th, 2009.
I love you in sparklers. Way cool.

July something after the 4th, 2009

This is Seth and his girlfriend Megan. Abby has decided that next to Maryn, Megan is her new best friend. So wherever they cuddle, Abby cuddles too.

Eating at Vito's in Bountiful with almost the whole crew. Tasty food. I recommend the italian sausage sub.

Oquirrh Temple Open House. It was a super windy day, but the temple is amazingly beautiful!

July 11, 2009: Cottle Reunion

These are some of my favorite people in the world: the Thompsons! My mom and I helped the women folk make earrings. My mom and sisters and I love to make earrings so we supervised that at the reunion. Note: I'm sporting another tie-dye.

July 16, 2009

Abby had her first taste of a Ding-Dong. She was super concerned about her "sticky hands", but then she proudly showed them to me when the camera came out.

July 18, 2009


Oh, the joys of Otter Pops.

Happy birthday to me!

It's only 10:30 a.m. on my birthday and I've already been incredibly spoiled. I still have The Proposal and hopefully lunch with my husband to look forward to...

Since I share my birthday with my genius brother, we decided to drive down to Provo last night to celebrate. We couldn't do it tonight because Seth is performing in Joseph at Rodgers Memorial tonight and we wanted everyone to be there. So we went to Provo. We celebrated with Cafe Rio for dinner and marble cheesecake and fruit pizza for dessert. We always have two desserts: one for me and one for Stephen.

I was definitely showered with love: clothes, cake pans, and movies from my mom and dad; a book and binder of creative projects to avoid boredom from Stephen and Ashton; and running shoes and pants, a dress, and shoes from Jesse. The BEST gift, however, came from my poetic prodigy sister, Sarah.

That story starts with yesterday morning. Around six in the morning, Abby woke up crying. I crawled into her bed, which is at the foot of my bed, and cuddled up with her to help her fall back asleep. I was still there when Jesse got up to get ready for work. Around eight, Abby woke up and started knocking on the door for someone to let her out. I was still curled up in her bed when Jesse opened the door. He let Abby out then came over to kiss me good morning and said, "Look out the door." Abby's bed looks directly out the door. I peered out the door and struggled to adjust to the light when I saw someone crouched down and petting the dog. I heard Abby say, "Uncle Stephen!" So I was excited to think that's who it was. But wait... Stephen doesn't have long blonde hair... or wear awesome plaid pajama pants...
A high pitched "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" projected from my lungs before I mentally registered I was screaming. I literally flew out of bed and ran at Sarah. Sarah says I screamed like a banshee when I realized who it was. Oh wait, back up. For those who don't know, Sarah doesn't live in Utah. Sarah lives in Chicago. She flew home and got home after midnight--like 30 mins after I went to bed. It was the BEST surprise and birthday present in the whole world. I LOVE my sister and I'm SO excited that she's here! Still confused as to why Abby called her Uncle Stephen, but don't worry, she knows she is Sarah. We're going to make this week amazing. Anyway. Good story.
Loves to all and thank you for the birthday wishes!

Kauai Part Two coming, but in the meantime....

This is without a doubt one of my favorite commercials. I crack up every time the baby starts singing. Oh, I love it.

Kauai Part One

We're running to a store fast, but I wanted to throw some of these on here for Jesse and others. I love you all!! More to come.

A scenic overlook on our way home from 'Anini Beach.

Abby walking in the sand at Tunnels Beach.

The resort pool.

Our resident resort seal.

A room with a view. Yes, this is our view from the balcony.

Okay, sorry this is short and lame and I have no good stories, but I'll add some soon. :)

Infertility

I haven't actually wanted to label this new problem as "infertility", but what else do I call it? The "can't get pregnant" syndrome? I don't know. Jesse and I have been trying to get pregnant for a few months now. I thought it would happen quickly because we got pregnant with Abigail so fast... but that hasn't been the case. I was confused with the first month of negative tests, slightly depressed the second round, numb the third round, in the depths of the despair the fourth month... and then it has cycled through since then. Actually, to be fair, we can throw in a miscarriage before the fourth month. That one almost gave me hope. I apologize to anyone who has announced to me that you're pregnant and I only gave you a half-smile, or if you've talked to me about it and I seem less than interested. I really am truly excited for you. It's just that my heart is breaking at the same time because I want so badly to be in your shoes. After crying for 1 1/2 days, I finally called a doctor today to schedule an appointment. Hoorah. When I was finished crying today, I looked upward and said, "Heavenly Father, I know my trials are nothing compared to what some of my friends are going through... but why did you have to make me such an emotional person that it FEELS like the worst thing in the world?" He just chuckled and said, "I made you that way. So that when you're happy, everyone really knows it. The downside is that when you're sad or upset, everyone knows it." I think He was trying to help me understand that I need to work harder on always being happy. Sorry to the world for seeing me when I'm upset. ;) And thank you to my two girlfriends that have unknowingly been amazing examples to me during this time. I'll tell you who you are later, if you don't already know. I love you dearly. I don't know why I felt the need to post this. I think it's just been going through my head for so long now that I just had to write it down somewhere.
Love to all.