Amulek

Happy Anniversary/Fathers Day!

To the greatest guy I know:

Happy Fathers Day! To answer your question I would still say "yes" if I had to do it all over again. I love you more now than I did a year ago and I hope that we can have many more happy years together.

Great Finds

Ali & Toumani.

This album is exactly my type of instrumental "chill" music. I love it!

Click here for a preview!

Labor Pains

I was awakened in the middle of the night:

Lamoni: Amy! Wake up! You're having contractions!

Amy: Wha? Oh yeah, I am. Ok, good night.

Later.....

Lamoni: Amy! You're having another contraction. We better go to the hospital!

Amy: Um...I'm sleeping. I will let you know when we need to go to the hospital.

Ah, the joys of a concerned husband:)

Food Dilemma

If you haven't checked out our cooking blog yet, see this post here to help me with a pasta sauce dilemma! :)

Went to the doctor....

...and he said he would be surprised if I made it to my due date since I'm already effaced and dilating. We're pretty nervous!

Dear Mr. Jerk-face Driver,

• Please do not roll down your windows to yell and scream at men while they are driving.
• Don't try to intimidate them by trying to ram your truck into their little cars.
  
• Perhaps you just had a little too much to drink as you pulled a bandanna over your face and threw some metal at my husband through the open car window?
  
• Try to remember that the man you almost killed is someone's husband and soon-to-be father. His little family needs him to stick around for a long time yet.
  
• And, Mr. Jerk-Face, keep an eye out for this woman while you're on the road because if she sees you again things might get ugly.

Regards,

Angry Wife and Future Mother

P.S. You owe us for the scratch you inflicted on our car.

Memorial Day Carne Asada

We celebrated the holiday and our friend's birthday with a Mexican carne asada (BBQ). There was so much food and we had a good time.

What happens at the Scandinavian Festival....

...stays at the Scandinavian Festival.

The home-made root beer and cream soda in a decorative flask was just too irresistible. We even went for refills. Then we ran into the missionaries and they gave me some odd looks as I taking a swig while patting my round pregnant belly.


We enjoyed seeing Sarah working hard at her booth. She was awesome and made us our very own adorable souvenir! She is so talented.

Lamoni especially enjoyed the electric tricycle demos. He wants them to market around BYU as these would be great for students (a bit pricey though).

After we stopped by the Main St thrift store since they were having a Memorial Day sale. We enjoyed looking at all the antique stuff!

Horses, horses, horses

Lamoni loves horses so we in the middle of a horse movie marathon.

Here's our list!





Any suggestions?

Cars, BBQ, & Cut Grass...Must be Summer

This Saturday we made a spontaneous decision to head to Thanksgiving Point for the Auto Expo and Swap Meet. I figured Lamoni and I needed to do some manly activities for a change and he absolutely loved it.

Lamoni and the giant jeep.

I loved the hood ornament. Don't ask me what the car is....

We got a kick out of this VW bus. It was the ultimate surf-mobile, complete with surf racks on top.

Lamoni wanted to pose with just about every car.

The cars were fun but this was probably Lamoni's favorite part. The tri-tip sandwiches sold here were to die for. They grill the meat, slice it, and then soak it in broth until it's tender and juicy. They then serve it on garlic toasted buns and it is just heavenly. We shared a sandwich and then almost immediately after Lamoni wanted another one. So we got one for the ride home. Delicious!

The rest of the day we went down to visit Mom on her scrapbook retreat and Grandma S. Lamoni had another manly good time trimming and mowing Grandma's lawn. He loved riding the "mini-tractor" riding lawn mower. We also stopped by to see our new friends Steve & Tina to grab more raw milk from their ranch. Lamoni has been making cheese non-stop all week and we're planning to make more.

Lamoni and I are enjoying what little time we have left as just the two of us but we're excited for Baby Limon to come soon (35 more days!)

I hope your weekend was as grand as ours!

Saturday Adventure

I can't believe I forgot my camera!

And believe me there was plenty of opportunity for good photo documentation.

Today we had an adventure.

First we cleaned house (I know, not very adventurous).

Then we dressed up and went with Abby to her friend's wedding reception. It was outside and the decorations were so pretty! There were white and teal puffy decorative balls from the trees, beautiful mirror centerpieces with flowers, and peacock feathers popping up in all sorts of places.

After the reception we parted ways with Abby and then decided to drive to the Bountiful temple. It was such a beautiful day to visit the temple grounds. Then we went to eat at a place called No Bettah! Steaks, Hawaiin BBQ. Pretty tasty!

Then we drove down hghway 89, and after a brief and exciting incident where Lamoni decided to drive the wrong way on a one-way street we made it safely to temple square in Salt Lake. I mentioned that I had never been to the capital building before so we parked and set off to explore the grand edifice. We loved the dome and the intricate marble columns inside.

Then we drove down to the side of the capital hill just to see the beautiful grounds of Memorial Park. If you've never been - go there.

All the time, I kept asking where The Gateway was because I kept thinking we were getting close but apparently we weren't (my sense of direction is not too keen these days). So, to set me straight Lamoni drove us to The Gateway. We walked around the shops for a while and especially enjoyed playing with apps and games in the Apple store and admiring the beautiful dresses of what was apparently prom night. We even saw about 20 teenagers pile out of a stretch hummer limo. Very cool.

We ended our Gateway experience with the Clark Planetarium (yes, I'm a nerd). We didn't see any shows but we played with the cool science stuff set up and wandered around the gift shop.

Then we rushed back to Provo just in time to watch the live broadcast of Manny Pacquiao vs. Sugar Shawn Mosby at a friend's house. Unfortunately (sort of), I became super tired and slept through the first 7 rounds. I did wake up in time to see Mosby step on Pacquiao's foot and push him over. Pacquiao finished him off after that but it was overall a disappointing match for all fans involved. On a side note, our friend gave us a telescope that he no longer uses so we rushed home after the game to try it out.

After looking at the moon for a while we sat on our front porch and enjoyed the evening air. Finally, we went to bed and crashed. Thanks Lamoni for a wonderful adventure:)

Updates...

I've been going through old files and trying to clear out memory space and I happened upon several photos that had not been posted! Enjoy:)

2010

• A video addition to last year's Great Easter Egg Hunt. Sydney is so cute:)
• Scandinavian Festival!
• A summer yard sale.

2011

• Grandpa Sargeant's Birthday Celebration!
• A Trip to Nelson
  

The last hurrah!

Thanks to the generosity of my amazing parents Lamoni and I had the opportunity to take one last vacation before the baby arrives. And it wasn't just any vacation - it was Disneyland and the Beach! We went with my parents, Maddie, Sydney, Brian, Susan, Tyler, and Aubrey. It was so much fun to be with the kids, especially since it Tyler and Aubrey don't remember their first Disneyland trips! Lamoni and I have been quoting moments from the trip all week. Here are some of my favs:

Aubrey, preparing to brush Syd's hair with a fork at the diner: "Sydney. Whatever you do - don't cry."

Tyler hopping out of the truck at the beach: "Hey! I sneaked a snail to the beach!"

Tyler: "Yeah Sydney. If you were a snail I would poke your eyes all day too."

Sydney, nonstop in the car: "Oh my gosh, I see a big bush. I see another big bush! And another one. I see a big tree. Oh my gosh! We are going to Disneyland TOMORROW!"

Aubrey, in response to someone mentioning that she and Aubrey are cousins: "I'm not her cousin! I'm her friend!"

(any that I missed?)

The first day we spend in Disneyland with the little kids. We enjoyed Fantasyland rides with Sydney, then met up with Tyler and Aubrey to go on some more rides. Afterward we met Mom and Dad and had fun around the park.



(The picture on the left was from this trip. I had to compare it to Lamoni's face on the right, from our first Disneyland trip. Priceless.)

The second day Lamoni, Maddie and I hung out in California Adventures all day. Lamoni's favorite parts of the park this time were the Aladdin show and the World of Color.


The third day was beach day (although my dad went to the beach every day I think...) We packed it up and headed on down to Newport where we built a sandcastle, looked in some tidepools, saw a dead seal, and even caught some waves. Lamoni and I got sunburned and very sandy. My poor dryer is filled with beach sand now.....


Then they broke out the shovels and started making an ultimate sand castle/fort, complete with moat. However, it didn't really get finished and ended up being a trampled mound. Still cool.

Dad paddle boarded. A lot. I felt huge and sunburned.

We also had some beautiful mermaids (merpeople?) wash ashore.

So farewell for now Disneyland and the beach! I will return someday after Baby Limon arrives. Thanks again Mom and Dad!

Books Read in April 2011

6. The Life of Pi by Yann Martel


7. The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman

Preparing for Fatherhood...

First of all, we had a great Easter weekend and I will post about that later. I forgot my camera card adapter but hopefully tomorrow we will have some good Easter pics:)

Right now I just wanted to share a cute thing that happened yesterday. As I was working on a custom order for this my husband came out into the living room with a twinkle in his eye and smiling, waiting for me to notice.

"What is it?" I asked.

He replied in a super excited voice, "Can we please take out all the baby clothes and look at them?!"

I think he's a little bit excited for the baby, how about you?

The Best Baby Shower Ever!

Guess who had the best baby shower ever:

Me!

Seriously, it was so much fun and there was so much work put in to it. A HUGE thank you to all who made it possible and all who attended. I loved it!

The food was so fun! There was chocolate mousse, fish-shaped cucumber sandwiches, delicious crusty french bread with artichoke dip, and beautiful chocolate shells and candy pearls. There was also a beautiful fruit salad and a sublime pasta salad. Also included were lime water, fish bowls with fishy crackers, otter pops and more! My family is amazing!


The "shower" of gifts! I am so grateful because I felt like I didn't have anything for my baby and now I have so much! I received a two beautiful blankets, handmade by cousins, plenty of nautical/beachy onesies and outfits, a "mommy survival kit," lots of diapers, some cute stuffed animals and much much more.

The much celebrated balloon fish. My cousin is so clever:)

The games were a lot of fun too. There was a door prize and a fill-in-the-blank of children book titles and authors. There was also a matching the sea animal with the name of its baby game (ie, a baby crab is called a megalops. Who knew?). There was also a name suggestion box and a wall of "advice fish."


I just had to share these cute pics of some peeps!

Fail...

I failed the initial glucose test for gestational diabetes. Now I have to go in for the 3-hour test in which they draw blood 4 times. Vampires.

I'm really really hoping that I don't have it :(

Doubts....

Over the weekend, I held an infant in my arms.
He was fussy. He was tired. He was hungry but didn't want to eat.
After a few minutes of this my brother-in-law came in and took the baby telling me to go away. The poor little guy calmed down instantly and starting taking the bottle. I left the room and cried. Am I going to be a good parent? What am I going to do when my own baby comes? Is my family going to judge me and my parenting skills? My husband was a huge comfort as he told me that things would be different with our own baby - that no one would have more right and ability to take care of him than me. I know I'm pregnant and emotional but that whole experience has scared me out of my mind. How am I going to get through this? Surely this is something every new mother experiences right before birth right?

A Weekend of Parties!

It was a party-like-it's-your-birthday weekend. I attended two awesome birthday parties!

First was Abby's girls' night out for her 21st birthday celebration. We ate pizza, went shopping at Savers (and had a blast modeling outfits for each other), then played guitar hero, did our nails, gave ourselves stick-on tattoos, and had a sleepover. (we took some pictures but I

The next morning it was time to head to the beach with Isabel's Island Princess Karaoke party! All the little girls were dressed as princesses and we enjoyed singing to princess songs. I really enjoyed visiting with everyone and watching Isabel open her pretty princess presents. But the cake took...the cake (I know, you all wish you were as clever as me)

Manda made the cake and decorated it. When I asked her how long it took she said, "Actually, not as long as you would expect." I laughed. Whatever, Manda.

Anyway, Isabel requested an island cake with a lobster. She also requested that it be strawberry cake with lime icing and raspberry filling. It was a beautiful cake inside and out! Manda used chocolate seashells and rocks and candy pearls for the ocean scene and graham cracker crumbs for the sand. It was so cute! (plus the lobster was some sort of coconut-chocolate mix. It was delish)

New Layout

Check out the new features on the right hand side! There is a link to my two other blogs. Expect a few more layout changes soon. Enjoy!

In case you missed it....

Here are some recent posts that you may have missed:

It's a Lemonhead (a boy one)

Afternoon About Town

Good Friends and Good Food

Soccer Saturday

It's a Lemonhead (a boy one)

Ok, I am a slacker. The ultrasound was over a month ago and I am finally getting around to posting the pictures. My favorite is the one of his little feet. And...apologies for the graphic shot. Lamoni insisted it be there. Enjoy!

Afternoon About Town

Yesterday I spent time running errands around town. Here are some of the things that happened. Enjoy:)

Upper Left: I was in the Macey's parking lot and loved the site of the American flag snapping in the wind. That is always my favorite site upon arriving home from a foreign country.

Upper Right & Lower Left: As I sat at a stop light on my way to pick up Lamoni, I noticed this little boy. He would run to the top of the hill then throw himself down and roll to the bottom. I think he did it 5 or 6 times while I was at the light. It was hilarious!

Lower Right: I have only seen this once before in my life. If you look closely you can see steam (fog? mist?) rising from the parking lot surface. The sun was out and very bright but there were snowflakes falling from the sky. The result was this steam or mist rolling across the ground. It was amazing!

Good Friends and Good Food

Today was a special day in that we were able to attend a birthday celebration for our good friend Maritza. We ate delicious pozole and cake and had a good time talking with friends!

(Oh my photography skills have a long ways to go...)


The yummy fixings for pozole.

Scrumptious dessert! Fruit and jello in a sweet creamy sauce. I love Mexican parties.

Soccer Saturday

I love Saturday mornings. Lamoni and I get to sleep in and make delicious breakfasts. Then we clean a bit and do some laundry.

This Saturday was special because it was the first time we got to go play soccer! Lamoni used to go to the park to play soccer every week during the summer and fall. However, the weather may not have been quite ready for us...


(I realize that it is a horrible picture of both of us but it was SO cold!)

The Bad with the Good.

A sale on Etsy I was really hoping would work out did not go through. However, my boss notified my that I got a raise today. It may be a super frustrating job that drives me nuts, but I sure am glad I have it!

Diaper Bags

Here is an Etsy treasury featuring totes that I think would make good diaper bags. I realize that it is not the best matching collection but I ordered then from most to least favorite, with accessories on the end (don't forget to check out our Frills & Bils blog here!)

Treasury

Here is an Etsy treasury featuring totes that I think would make good diaper bags. I realize that it is not the best matching collection but I ordered then from most to least favorite, with accessories on the end.

But Still...

Ok, now that I ranted, there were definitely good points about yesterday:

1. I shipped my first order for Etsy! While it didn't make too much profit it was a good learning experience.
2. I had to parallel park our car and did an AWESOME job. Quite full of myself, I told Lamoni I was ready for the city-life. Maybe not Mexico City.....
   
3. We got free dinner on campus.
   
4. I got to relax for a few minutes and read a book outside in the warm weather. It was nice.
   
5. I realized how needed I am at work. If I'm not there, things fall apart. I guess this is a blessing, right?
6. Lamoni made delicious icy pineapple drinks for dessert.
   
7. We fell asleep watching North & South. We still have to finish it but we like it so far.
   
8. Not only did I sell some items from my shop on Etsy, one of my masks in our artisanmaskers shop sold too. :D
9. At one point I was mean and said hurtful things to my husband. He was very quick to forgive and forget, like always.
   

All in all, everything balances out. Just another day in the life:)

One of THOSE days....

Do you ever have just one of those days? Where everything seems to go wrong? Let's start from the beginning (don't worry, I'll write a post about what I'm grateful for later)

1. I woke up sick and called in to work, telling them I wouldn't be there.
2. I went with Lamoni to school. He was very grumpy because he had to take a test and needed my help to study.
   
3. During the class my phone rang 3 times because apparently the office blows up if I'm not there to keep things together.
4. I spent an hour on the phone with various people from work in order to put out fires.
5. I shipped the orders from my Etsy site and realized that I did not charge nearly enough for shipping. Stupid postal fees.
6. While Lamoni took his test I went to a meeting in which an immigration lawyer came to talk about the residency through marriage process. It was very informative and very daunting. I came out in tears, certain that a tiny mistake in Lamoni's visa is going to get him deported.
   
7. After the meeting I walked to the testing center to meet Lamoni. As he would not be done for another hour, I decided to write him a cute note and stick it in the stairwell where people leave notes for their friends who have just come out of tests. I ALWAYS wanted to get one when I was in school, but as I had no friends and was a loser, I never did. So I thought it would be nice to write one for my husband. When he finished his test, he walked right by it and didn't see it. Unfortunately, you cannot go back in once you've left the door. It was sad.
8. I dropped Lamoni off for work, then went back to campus to check my email and ended up helping Lamoni's brother do his homework (more like doing his homework for him....)
9. I picked up Lamoni and we went to another meeting about a business competition that made me feel small and insignificant.
   

Date Survey

Apparently the Limon house has got survey fever! Lamoni has to do a business survey for one of his classes. If you would, please take a few minutes to complete it. I promise it's not super boring, as it is about dating:) Thanks, we appreciate everyone's help.

The survey can be found here or just fill it out below.

My husband is hilarious sometimes.....

Here is a snapshot of a question Lamoni answered on a midterm exam for his financing class.

In case you can't make it out the question reads "write a brief description of the following terms:malfeasance and nonfeasance."

Lamoni does not know so he breaks up the word into Spanish syllables. For example:

"Mal = bad, fea = ugly, sance = a name"

Therefore, he concludes that the word must mean "a bad ugly lady named Sance."

Amazingly, his teacher still gave him 5 out of ten points! :)

Lover Diaries

My friend Diana Smith is doing a "Lover Diaries" series on her blog in which she asked people to send in cute stories about their relationships. I feel honored because I was the first one she featured! Check out "Lover Diaries: Amy and Lamoni" here!

Diana's blog is so cute and fun, just like her! She always makes people feel welcome and comfortable and she has a great sense of humor. She also has a beautiful Etsy shop here.

New Blog!

Hey all. Take a look at our new blog for our Etsy shop, Frills & Bils. We are still in the design phase so bear with us as it may go through some changes. However, there is a survey on there about one of our products. It would help us out immensely if you could fill that out. Enjoy!

"We're gonna need a bigger boat..."

Ok, I am the first to admit it. I have an obsession with sharks. It's kind of a love-hate relationship. Shark Week on the Discovery channel is one of the highlights of my summer. I check out shark films from the library and have to hide them from my husband because he is convinced they give me nightmares. According to him I recently yelled "Shark Attack!" in my sleep during the middle of the night. I've seen Jaws a million times and simultaneously love and hate it every time I watch it. I'm even considering doing a shark theme for the nursery of my first child. It's that bad.

Books Read in February 2011

4. Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm (2/1/11

5. Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool (2/26/11)

"For Bitty Bumsty" by Abby

Abby did this awesome treasury on etsy, inspired by my nursery theme for our new baby boy, aka: "Bitty Bumsty." It is so adorable!

"Dreamy White" by Bniche

Here is a beautiful black and white treasury of items on Etsy. The maker was kind enough to include my rolled paper roses. Check it out!

JAM Productions

My two oldest nieces and my little sister are joining the ranks of amateur filmmakers! They are officially making a sequel to their awesome movie they made a few years ago and this time they are including the public and their adoring fans through a blog! The title of their film is Reign of Leonora. Click here to read about the process.

I just want everyone to be aware of their soundtrack contest. They are getting together music for the soundtrack and need suggestions. All you have to do is leave a comment with at least one suggestion and you'll be entered to win.... an official Reign of Leonora movie poster! So click here to enter now!

Smashed Potatoes

Hopefully after this post, no one will think I'm a super dork.

In the last few weeks this guy has frequented my dreams. Once he was delivering my baby, once he was flirting with every girl in the room except me, and once we were locked in a supply room together. According to my husband this means I have a secret crush on Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce. According to me however, it means that we have been watching too much "Smashed Potatoes."

I own every season and every episode of one of my favorite shows, M*A*S*H. A few months ago I started watching them again. Lamoni resisted at first but he was soon hooked. He loves Radar the best and laughs at Klinger's crazy antics and even cries during touching scenes. For a few weeks, almost every day after dinner he would turn to me and ask excitedly, "Smashed Potatoes?" (apparently the word Mash is just not good enough). Lamoni and I have since watched every M*A*S*H episode together.

While it's been fun, I'm ready to throw the TV out the window. This week we are on a TV Fast. We did ok yesterday. Hopefully we'll be able to hold up today.

Hockey Game

This past Friday Lamoni and I went to a BYU hockey game. It was quite the event because not only was it last game of the season but it was against our biggest sports rival - Utah! We dressed in our BYU t-shirts and hoodies and headed out. We were told to get there very early as they were expecting a big crowd. The game started at 7:30pm so we got there at 6pm...and were the first BYU students there. The BYU ticket people hadn't even shown up yet. So we enjoyed some concession stand hot-dogs and watched a little-league (or whatever you call them) hockey players and cheered for the zamboni guy as he went over the ice two or three times. However, around 7:15-ish the crowds started pouring in and we were glad we got good seats.

We have never been to a hockey game before and it was so intense! Lamoni recognized his single's ward 2nd counselor on the ice and he was MVP for the team. But man, was he brutal! That sweet member of the bishopric turned into a body-slamming, face-punching ice warrior down there! There were several tense moments between the UofU and BYU players but the most intense was when a full on fight broke out. I would like to say that our gentle BYU players had nothing to do with it...but they started it. The fistfight lasted about a minute and the referees let them fight it out. I was surprised by the refs and how little padding they wear. They were dodging players left and right to avoid being flattened against the walls.

We very much enjoyed the halftime events, the rowdy crowd, the tension among the players, and the final score: BYU 4, Utah 2. Go Cougars! Lamoni took pictures and video but they're on his ipod so as soon as I get those, I'll post some on here.

Some Baby Nursery Ideas

We don't know what we're having yet but I decided that whether the baby is a boy or a girl, I wanted to have a tropical beach themed nursery. Click on the picture above to see some color schemes and ideas I had in mind :)