Last night after work we needed to run some errands at Walmart.

I had to do my frequent run to the restroom. On my way out I passed a teenage girl who looked at me so sheepishly & said "You're really pretty!" It caught me so off guard. I smiled and thanked her. Wow, what a difference that made to my evening. I was tired and feeling haggard after pulling 10 hour days at work so that I can attend Weston's graduation on Friday.  Overall, I am tired & a little worn out from the exhausting months and with the anticipation of a lot of responsibilities coming up. I did not feel pretty. But wow, did that girl boost my mood! Thank heaven the world has sweet people like her to buoy us up!

People are so kind!

Attack of the tracker jackers.

This morning as we were leaving for work/school, I asked Weston to take a picture of my pregnant self.

I noticed that there was a wasp circling him. I ignored it thinking it was just hanging out on the driveway. It kept just buzzing around his legs & looked like it was about to fly up his shorts. I tried kicking it & Weston looked at me confused. I told him how there's a wasp that's been sniffing around his body while he was taking my picture. Then the wasp started chasing me. We were both running in circles like hyenas. 

We finally escaped him, jumped in the car & started driving off. I noticed there was a fly in our car when we got in & I was bugged. 

I swear the flies down there ride into our house & car on my shoulder.

I have a very "keep the door shut" policy at our casa to prevent bugs coming in. Simply bc if it is a flying bug, it likes to fly circles around my head all the time. I swear bugs are out to get me.

Back to my story. I'm driving  notice a buzzing sound in the car and just assume it was that dumb fly.

I look back & it was the wasp!! It was in the car w/ us!

Such a determined sucker. I have no idea how it hopped in with us. I rolled down the window & he was happy to leave.

This reminds me of the time that we were managers at an apartment complex in Provo. The apartments came furnished & when we moved in our furniture was a little worn down. SO, when it was a semester change, we went to the apartment above ours & switched out some of the furniture!  Well, when we were carrying down blinds, YES blinds. Our blinds did not cover our window all the way & we lived on the first floor. Talk about feeling vulnerable.  So while we were carrying down these full sized patio blinds a wasp started chasing us. It was going for blood.

Weston took off running like I've NEVER seen before. I was laughing so hard, because the wasp chased him down. Those are territorial flying things.  The only problem is they like to build their home attached to ours. Then they attack us as though they were there first. They were so not there first.

By the way we're 23 weeks along! I'm so very happy. This girl is STRONG too, even a few weeks ago I felt her pushing against my stomach & I could feel her back or bum with my hand! Last night she did it again, but she's MUCH bigger this time.

Another boring life update post!

Well this summer has been eventful! I like to call it the summer of weddings!

My sister got Married in June, my best friend in July & my sister in law in August!

I took pictures for all 3 of them as well as quite a few more this summer! It has been a blast & absolutely exhausting!

We sold the Geo this month! We were so excited & our buyers (Hi, Knotts!) were thrilled, too! We were happy to have one less car insurance bill & they were happy to have the college car for their daughter!

Since then we've been down to one car, which is fine, because we're really good at sharing. I have to admit, though. This week on Tuesday when I took 3 trips to Salt Lake in one day, I was ready to pull my hair out & was on the verge of tears at the end of the day from pure exhaustion.

Weston is a good sport & is very understanding & I appreciate his patience with me!

Last week was jam packed with lots of events! Most of them fun!

My aunt & uncle were in town to take my cousin to the MTC!

They came to church with me last Sunday & I loved it!

It was so fun to have family there in town & even more fun to not have to go to all 3 meetings by myself! Weston & I have been together to church I think once this summer. He has worked every Sunday.

Here is us at James' 'last supper' at Brick Oven. 

He was impersonating something here, he normally has a sweet shy smile on his face!

It was such a fun meal & I haven't laughed that hard or eaten that much atleast since I was home in TN a few weeks ago! hahah!

Jenna got married on Thursday! Wow, it was beautiful! I'm so sad because my phone died before the reception, so I was unable to take pictures, but it was GORGEOUS!

Isn't her dress stunning?

And it begins... swollen feet!

Weston was supposed to be at the fire station until this morning at 7am in SLC.

I dropped him off on Saturday morning & then Sunday morning I got a text from him that said that the ambulance's engine had caught on fire. hmmmm

So, I got to get him early.

Saturday I had a photo shoot & I was so wiped afterwards that I went home & showered & then slept all day long with my towel on my head. & my back hurt so bad later that I left the couch only for necessity after that!

I went to pick up Weston & figured I'd just wait in the car, but as

I pulled up, one of the firefighters invited me into the station, because it would be a minute.

I went inside & hung out with everyone forgetting about my bush head. When Weston came out from his room after he'd finished packing he said, "Oh, whoa, hi babe! Your hair is....huge."

hahahah I'd totally forgotten about my mane.

  I took this picture one day last week. It was a 4a.m. wake-up day. I wanted to die. Seriously.

BUT we survived the week & I slept every second I could this weekend! 

 Wes was a good little minion at all the fire stations this summer, just like an intern should be!

Here he's doing the dishes while we waited to get his final paperwork signed & head on our way!

He was so excited, this was his last clinical shift for his paramedic program. It's been an extremely taxing & very rewarding summer for him. He is such a hard worker. While averaging 100 hrs/wk he also was taking two other classes this summer. Do not ask me how he does it. I got tired just having to wake up early to TAKE him to these shifts...not even having to work the shifts also.

Also, we finally bought our baby a suitable dresser :) We have had all of her clothes collecting in a cardboard box. As we get nearer to due date we are figuring we need to start making space for our little bean!

We've made some good plans of where we'll put everything & I'm excited, because Weston's dresser that we dumpster dove for with Sydney a few years ago, that my mom refinished for us, will now be an awesome changing table! I am so excited! It's the perfect height. I daydream about those future times coming up. 

A few thoughts on our new awesome life that's about to come.

I was talking to Weston about how happy I am that I have so much experience with children. Starting when I was 12ish I was babysitting almost every Friday & Saturday nights for different families. Neighbors, ward members, etc. It was my pocket change that funded my movie nights with my friends, or generally, started my college saving fund.

As I got into high school, I started nannying during the summers & after school. I was so blessed to be able to nanny the world's sweetest children from great families. They had such structured lives that the children handled bed time very well & they were really sweet kids. They still had tantrums, health issues & cried during different times, but they were great children.  I told Weston how happy I am for getting that experience & being very familiar with babies/toddlers/children.

I do get nerves of the permanence of having a child, though. I feel guilty because we have wanted her so bad. I have known she was meant to come to our family & has been waiting in heaven for us. Yet, I still get nervous thinking, 'WOW, this is our last time together alone. FOREVER.'  But then I remember that this is how families begin, this is the starting process & it's a part of life. I am reminded that this is what life is all about; family. I have LOVED my family & even though I was an accident child, I love being so close in age to my sister. I am excited to hopefully give our children a great childhood like I was able to have.

 I am so excited to meet our little one & care for her. I know I can handle it & that I will grow to handle motherhood. I know the part I will struggle with most is the lack of sleep. I have never been a pleasant person on low sleep. That will be a challenge, but we will cope! :)

Those are just some thoughts on life & our peanut that's about to come.

We found out we were pregnant at about 4 weeks. Seriously, I thought it was going to be the slowest nine months of my life. Honestly, it's flown by. 

July is almost over...huh?

Don't ask me where time has gone. I am so glad it's passed quickly, though, because this has been a very challenging summer. Weston didn't have an income, yet was almost gone from the house as much has he was during fire seasons.

We were stretched thin on finances, yet, ends were always met. We have always been blessed that way. Now we're down to 4 months until our due date & possibly 3 or less until she comes. We're hoping she stays in the oven that long!

We have started feeling a little more frantic about preparations as we're about 23 weeks & my doctor gave us a good scare of preterm labor last week. We need to start prepping a little more seriously!

When did you pack a hospital bag? Also, when did you have your car-seat snapped in & ready to go?

These are things we have realized we need to start figuring out!

Also, I've asked a few people, but how do you feel about bumper pads on cradles/cribs?

I'm calling for any & all newborn gear/prep advice! 

Also, affordable jogging strollers? We've narrowed down to a few of our favorites, but I'd like your feedback!

Baby carriers? I'm all for being able to hold my baby with me, but be able to use my arms, too! What's your favorite baby carrier? Moby Wrap? Ergo carrier?

Any other suggestions feel free to shoot them my way.

Any favorite baby items you couldn't do without?

We only want to buy what's necessary, but not miss out on a secret life saver!

Weston has his paramedic graduation on Friday. WOW, I am so proud of him! He is so excited & I know he'll feel elated after being done. He still has to take his class finals for his paramedic courses & take his national certification test, but he's hoping to take the national certification test before Friday so graduation is THAT much sweeter.

Then he has his math final next week.

Wow, he'll be able to breathe before starting it all up another 20 credit hour semester for the fall!

He is cranking it out hard to graduate in December, a semester early!

Oh happy happy!

I had another doctor's appointment today! After a stressful few weeks we had a check-up last week at the perinatologist's office that was nothing but good!

Today we had an OB check-up & happiness was just floating through the air! For the first time this pregnancy I could tell my OB was REALLY really happy about how things were going. I always sensed a nervousness coming from him. Today he was really happy & said that he is very excited with how she is progressing!  He also informed us he will be shocked if she stays inside until 36 weeks even... Anyone up for a Halloween party? Ah, crazy. He was optimistic that she'll be developed though & may need to be in the NICU for a bit, but that she should be fine! Uh, if that's the case we need to start prepping our hospital bag just to make sure we're prepared!  Going to that visit today was so reassuring & just has me happy as can be! We are so excited to meet our girl & cannot wait for her to come, except we can wait until she's healthy, though!  Time is just passing so quickly & I cannot believe that we only  have 4 months left until our due date...meaning if she comes AT 36 weeks, we have 3 months until go time. Wow, that's surreal.

It has been so exciting, she started kicking hard enough for me to feel it on the outside & she kicks/punches ALL the time. She's an active little bugger. I cannot wait to meet her.  Spencer said he's so excited because she's already practicing her soccer skills...uh oh, be careful child, your uncles are very eager to teach you their ways...

I am now getting heartburn/indigestion regularly!  Those kicks & punches are worth every second of discomfort, though. It's incredible & truly miraculous!

Every marriage needs someone to play the girly part.

No one knows how to have a good time quite like avocados.

Baby Update

 We had another perinatology appointment yesterday which means more ultrasounds! Happyhappyhappy!

 She was in a really tough position to get a profile shot!

Her head is down (hooray) & her head is SUPER low the u/s tech said, making it really hard to try to get a picture of her face.

Here she is though!

Her head is arched all the way back!

She has grown so much since last time & is so so cute!

She is now over a pound!

Her head is about 80 percentile. She's got a Stolworthy noggin!

Her femur length was average at 50 percentile

& her tummy diameter is over 90 percentile! 

Looks like a cute little pot-bellied baby!

I can't wait to kiss that little belly!

I've labeled the U/S to assist with any confusion :)

It helped me if I held the picture upside down and looked at her face that way! She's sucking on her bottom lip!

It's so awesome to see her on the sonogram TV. She was so active and flipping all over the place, the tech had a hard time trying to get the measurement pictures.  They checked her for all sorts of malformations and ailments & as far as the ultrasound showed, she looks GREAT! Her brain, heart, kidneys, stomach, bladder and other major organs are functioning properly, her legs/feet and arms/hands are all developing normally. We could not be more thrilled.

We will take her any way she comes and love her to death, but it calms our minds to know she is doing well and is healthy.

She had her hands up by her face and just looks cozy and can be!

We love our girl!

So many people have asked about names. We are having a hard time narrowing it down (I'm actually the one being fickle). We will be going to the hospital with a list of top favorites and, when we see her, I'm hoping one of the names will jump out!

We also got word, for the first time, that if she doesn't come earlier they are going to induce me at 39 weeks.

We have loved all of our doctors and they are all very caring and sit with us and answer every question we have without giving a feeling of urgency or rush.

So, at the latest, little girl Brinkerhoff will be born the week before Thanksgiving!  I'm so so so in love!

Kickboxer Material

The little bun in the oven has been jumping/kicking/punching for joy over watermelon! At least after I eat it. I love feeling her move! Weston would put his hands on my belly every night that we were together & try so hard to feel her little kicks. No avail, they weren't strong enough yet at 19 weeks! Then I get to TN & literally the 2nd or 3rd night I was there I felt her kicking & thought "Those are really strong kicks!" I put my hands over her & there it was! I could feel it from the outside! I called Weston & told him! He was so excited, but also so bummed that he had to wait about 10 more days to feel it! Poor guy!  He's been working at a fire department since I got back from TN so I won't get to see him till tonight, but he is so excited to feel her kicking & moving! Monday night during The Bachelorette I was laying there w/ my hands on my belly & all of a sudden everything inside felt very tight, I pushed over her & rubbed my hands around & realized it was her bum or back pressing against the front of my stomach! It was the mos amazing feeling! I was so excited! Also freaked out with how strong that was & we still have almost half of the pregnancy left...she's only going to get bigger! I think she was pressing to tell me that Zak is a lot better than we thought & that he should probably be the next Bachelor!

Anyway, there's just a little fetal update for you.

Our little bean is growing like a weed & we get to see her tomorrow on the sonogram again! I can't wait!!

Picasso

One of the clubs I was in during high school years worked a booth at the Mainstreet Festival in downtown Franklin. We were doing face painting.

I painted lots of butterflies, cats, dogs, dragons, etc on cheeks!

One kid came up to me and asked for a hamster.

"A what?"

"A hamster."

He was probably 6 years old.

Uhm.... okay.... if you want it!

So, I proceeded to paint my best depiction of a hamster on his face.

This was my interpretation.

I really contemplated whether a tail would be anatomically correct.

When I was finished he looked stressed and displeased.

"Is that not the kind of hamster you were wanting?"

He continued to explain what he was wanting.

I was not following at all.

Then he points at a kid next to him that just had a cat or dog face painted on him that essentially looked like this:

"That is the kind of hamster face I want!"

hahaahahah whoops.

So,  we started over again & he left very pleased with his hamster face painting.

One time I got a new iPhone and wanted to send Wes a picture of what I was doing w/ my family & the flash went off. For an entire second. Twice. This picture was totally worth it. Who knew phones had flashes?

 I melted into my chair and got lots of looks. Luckily, the Bellevue theater was pretty empty.

GOOD OL' ROCKY TOP!

Nothing quite like a reality check when pulling back into town & working the same day!  

I need a day of rest to recover, I think! :)

My parents got me a flight to be able to go home for my sister's wedding reception in TN. Because of the cheapness of flights I had to fly out on the 6th & stay till the 15th. It was a long & LOVED stay. I love being home. I feel so bad leaving Weston behind, but I lived up every second. By living it up, I mean I stayed in my sweats & played games w/ my family from sun up to sun down. Gaming is a way of life.

I also got LOTS of puppy time which I can never seem to soak up enough of. I love those dogs so much! I had never met my mom's dog Maisey that she got in March, but oh my goodness she's a sweet little dog!

I really had a hard time leaving TN, if it weren't for Weston not being with me, I probably would have just set up camp & stayed. I love the green out there. My parents live in the middle of the woods & it's gorgeous. They built their house 4 years ago & I just love visiting! Even though I have no childhood/growing up memories in that house, it's totally home now. My parents are such generous hosts & the reception that they put on was beautiful! A lot of the decorations were made by my mom. It was just gorgeous & a lot of good old friends showed up! I love how at home I still feel when I go back. No matter where I live in life Franklin, TN will always be home.  

Anyways, now that I've blurbed enough about all of this, I will put up some pictures! 

I took this picture on my birthday! Weston & I had dinner at home & then went out & up to the movies to see Despicable Me 2! 

I loved it.

Weston is the sweetest & was so nice to let me skip out of town for a week. He is such a great husband & honestly I really lucked out getting such a loving, sweet man!

He is doing shifts at the fire department until Wednesday, so I won't see him until Wednesday night, but he can hardly stand the excitement to see me...I think mostly because I was able to start feeling the baby kick from the OUTSIDE of my stomach while I was in TN!  He has been counting down till that will happen. Even though he couldn't feel it from the outside he'd always try to feel it.

But now her kicks are bigger & stronger & even just this week they've gotten so much stronger, we have just under half way left to go still...I'm in so much trouble with this little kicker!

The next morning he had a shift at an ER in Salt Lake. He dropped me off at the airport first where I waited for 6 hours till my flight took off! :) It was a fun time to start learning how to use my iPhone, though.

 WHICH he gave me for Christmas! Thank you upgrade for falling on my birthday month.

I'm in love with it & don't know how I functioned with out it.

You could kind of say I've become dependent in the past 10 days....

I was there for 8 whole days & maybe changed out of sweats 4 or 5 times. It was amazing.

I got lots of rest, just like a good compliant patient following doctor's orders.

I got lots of Bella time.

 I gave the dogs some love while everyone did some more intensive wedding set-up stuff....

I'm on "take it easy" orders remember.

It was really tough to not be able to move furniture & mop, getting having to hold puppies instead....

 The reception was gorgeous. I didn't take table display pictures after the food was put out. I'm seriously kicking myself for forgetting to do that.

 Popcorn buckets my mom made.

She made a million of these for the TN & AZ reception.

She stamped, cut & assembled all of them.

This picture is blurry, I'll try to find a clearer one!

Unpictured: amazing cupcakes made by Emma Widman & ice cream sandwiches catered from Cold Stone Creamery & gourmet popcorn from the popcorn shoppe. They were all amazing.

Here's a nice off centered picture of the popcorn table.

 I got to see my bff Syd! I took this picture the morning after the reception. 

Total babe w/ no sleep & no makeup.

She came, in true girlfriend fashion, with a duffle for clothes to wear to the reception & jammies.

Love her. We are one in the same, I swear.

We decided a sleepover is in order.

Lucky for me, her hubby had left for a business trip, so we had a sleepover on the couches & talked until some absurd hour until we passed out.
I cannot wait to live close to her again!

 We played lots & lots of games.

 Bella & her trusty ball were at my feet the whole time. I love that puppy!

 Settlers of Catan is our current addiction.

We did give Imaginiff, Golf, & trains some air-time though.

 Punky boy.

I say boy, except he's 6'4 now.

My 16 yo brother is not allowed to be 6'4".

 We went & saw Despicable Me 2 as a family & it was even better the second time! We all laughed so hard! 

We were also greeted afterwards by a great thunderstorm! It wasn't as epic as most, but the sky was amazing!

I'm still dying over this picture.

Plus, I'm still dying that they're married. I'm so happy. I'm also so happy Sean joined the family & meshes so well. I haven't even scared him off yet.

 My mom's such a good sport! She still came & played a few games through a migraine!

She looks tired, but she was still a blast to be with! She loves her little puppy!

 More Bella.

 Sean served a mission in Korea & wanted to make the family a Korean dinner while we were all together. It was amazing.

 More puppy time.

I'd be embarrassed that I love these dogs so much, except I'm not embarrassed about it at all.

They're so photogenic.

 My parents showing me how to use FaceTime.

A low point in your life is having to be shown how to use FaceTime by your parents.

Plus, they're just really awesome, obviously.

 Bella wasn't feeling well for the last part of the week so she enjoyed using the baby bump as a pillow as we all chatted about baby names!

We like to party like it's 1999 with homemade ice cream & settlers. 

 This was also before the reception.

Our little stacking russian dogs.

 Bella & her ball again.

I don't think I've written on my blog about how much this girl loves her tennis balls. Seriously, I laugh so hard when I think about it. She's been that way since she was a brand new puppy. When she was a month old she'd grab the huge tennis ball in her teeth & throw it for herself. She still does that.

 The bridge right by where my parents live.

Have I mentioned TN is gorgeous?

 My parents' back yard. It's grown out a little bit here, but my little brother does the most amazing mow jobs for them. he likes to mow diagonal designs into the yard. It's pretty cool & fancy!

 Bug man ready to take over the world.

With his trusty sidekick.

Maisey is always begging for me to take a picture of us. I maybe have 100 on my phone.

She is the cutest little thing!

  Saturday we left for Louisville for my cousins' mission farewell. It was so good to get more time with my Uncle Ron & Aunt Julie & cousins, too! James is serving a mission in California! We're so proud of him!

It was a gorgeous drive. I-65 drives through gorgeous parts of the country!  On our way up we stopped in town for some Venetian Salad Rolls at Pei Wei! 

Thank you Mom & Dad for being so sweet & treating me!

We were stuffed afterwards! Also, I have a terrible track record w/ car/plane motion-sickness since I've been pregnant. I did not lose my Venetian salad roll on the side of I-65 & I did not feel miserably sick the whole time! I was happy happy happy.

 Also, that baby continued growing while I was gone. I'm freaking out a little with how fast she's growing. HELP!

It's so exciting, but HELP! She's going to run out of womb!

I love my mom!

It was an amazing trip & I had so much fun getting such great time with my family!  Grandmother wasn't pictured, but she was there for all the games/partying as well! I love her!

I am happy to be back in Utah solely because Weston is here. I might not have come back if I didn't have a husband here right now! hahah! I'm only half kidding.

I am counting down til I get to move back.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just painting a "grass is greener" picture in my mind & remind myself that I need to love my time in Utah, too. I really do enjoy living here now that we've moved to Salem & I enjoy being surrounded by Weston's family, but it's not a "grass is greener" situation in my mind...it really is greener & I cannot wait til the day to live close to my family again. Now that my sister has left Utah & I'm the last one right here, I am feeling homesick & missing them more than ever.  I cannot wait to move there. It seriously feels like Christmas being able to actually live near my family again. I told Weston on our first date that I do not plan on staying in Utah (I had found that Utahans don't really leave here & I always told the guys that I dated that were from Utah that I don't plan on staying here, just so it's fair that if we got married that I fully intend to move back to TN still!) Luckily for me, Weston loves the green & tolerates his in-laws (:D) & is excited for our new chapter as well. Of course, he'll miss his family & the mountains, though. I am just so excited it's actually happening.

Weston asked me about how I'm feeling about moving back to TN after visiting again & if I'm still as excited to move back. I told him I couldn't believe I could get more excited, but that trip just sealed the deal for me. I am so ready to move back & excited to be back in my stomping grounds with familiar faces & places!

This wasn't meant to be a post all about my excitement to move back, but honestly, I can't wait.