This year we started our summer fun off with a family reunion in Edmonton. It was with my Dad's parents and their posterity. I was really excited because I hadn't seen my grandparents and a lot of my cousins for a while. It was held over the Canada Day holiday and Jeff took the next day off work. There were lots of fun activities including a talent show, swimming, lots of games and crafts for the kids (including a bouncy house), and games such as Family Feud for the adults. I especially enjoyed swimming in the "lazy river" part of the pool and going down the water slide with Bentley who giggled the whole way. We also ate lots of great food and had fun catching up with everyone. We made sure to take a group picture as well as family photos. It was so fun to see everyone and catch up on how many new kids and babies are in the family, as well as see my cousins Janae and Nicole who used to be my roommates and best friends in University. Jordan and Melanie were the ones in charge who put everything together and I so appreciate their hard work in making this happen. My grandparents really enjoyed it and were very thankful as well.
My next venture was actually a last minute decision. Being in the first trimester of pregnancy I wasn't feeling great and thought it would be nice to go to the cabin as much as possible because being outside makes me feel a little better. So I asked my mom if I could come an extra week than planned and she was happy to have Bentley and I. Right after the reunion I went to the cabin and was there for the 4th of July. I was happy to be there with Tamara and Lee and family and glad they didn't mind me there! This was the week that I broke out in a crazy rash (as mentioned in my last post) so I wasn't the happiest of people to be around. I was glad, nonetheless, to have my family there to help me through it and keep Bentley happy. It was so great to see Tamara's kids take a liking to Bentley and think she was really cute. Scarlett even ended up loving Bentley and sharing her toys with her, although in the beginning she wasn't so sure she liked having a younger kid around. Dakota had to be the best with Bentley, though, and I even paid her one day to watch Bentley for a few hours while I played cards. Thank you Tamara for letting me borrow your daughter! I did ski a couple of times that trip, but not very often, as my skin hurt whenever it got wet. I still had fun being in the boat and watching the kids do their thing! We had lots of campfires and played lots of games. They did buy fireworks, but weren't able to use them because of a firework ban which was a bummer.
The next trip was to Echo Lake, this time with Jeff! It was so nice to have a full week with Jeff around. We shared the cabin with Don and Cindy and Scott and Kellie and kids. Brent also came up on both weekends. This year we split Jeff's 2 weeks of vacation time and put a week in between them at home. That way we put the 5 work days together with 2 weekends each time so it was longer! We enjoyed our time at the cabin relaxing and boating a little, although the weather was a little windy that week. We also went into town for shopping, a movie, and the guys went golfing numerous times. It was also fun to see Jeff's grandparents a couple of times, who have a cabin not far from theirs. Bentley enjoyed seeing Brek and Emri, although they of course had their moments of trying to "share." They were all pretty cute though and sure loved being outside!
After going home for 5 days, I returned to my parents cabin on Ashley Lake, this time with Jeff! This week we were there with Jeff and Joce and kids. Bentley has really enjoyed seeing all of her cousins this summer! I felt a lot better this week and was actually able to enjoy myself and go skiing lots, along with wake surfing and whatever else. I debated if I wanted to waterski at all this year, being pregnant. But Tamara convinced me that it was okay because she did it when she was that pregnant too. So, wanting to waterski so badly, I decided I would be fine as well! I made sure I didn't cut too hard though so I could avoid any bad falls. I love skiing every year and there really is nothing like going out first thing in the morning and skiing on some glassy water! Jeff worked at his skiing this year and became really good. We had fun playing on the lily pad, going on walks, playing Mexican horseshoes, having paddleboat competitions, and many other things. My mom even agreed to watch Bentley one night while Jeff and I went into town for a date night. We did dinner and a movie and had a blast! We did some shopping as well. I may have spent a little too much at Target, but since the one in Calgary is gone now, I made sure to get my fix!
We had an awesome time this summer in Montana and Bentley was great through it all. It was a lot of traveling for her, which at times was hard, but well worth what we got to do when we got there. It was very hard to come home knowing there are no more vacations planned! It will be nice to get back into a routine though, and I'm also really happy to be back in my ward. I missed 6 Sundays in a row and today I went back again, back to conducting music, and it felt really good! Also Bentley is finally able to go to nursery. We took her in for the first time today and she did pretty good. Got a little sad at the end of the first hour, but Jeff took her back in and she was happy again for some more of it. I really hope she will be in there full time when I have the next baby!
To finish this post off on a funny note...my mom wanted my dad to learn how to french braid her hair, so he ordered this mannequin online to practice. Haha oh how I love him!
Jeff and I have enjoyed Bentley SO much this past year that we decided it was time to have another! Baby #2 is due February 2, 2016.
We've always discussed having our kids about 2 years apart, although we didn't think we'd get it quite so on the dot of 2 years. We are just thrilled and we think Bentley so desperately needs a sibling to play with! Bentley will be such a great big sister, although it may be a struggle at first when she realizes she no longer gets ALL the attention.
Since becoming pregnant I've had many emotions but a part of me is a little sad and nervous for Bentley that it won't ever be just the two of us anymore! We've become two peas in a pod and right now I can't imagine there being another to take care of. I've also felt super excited to see Bentley love her sibling and be a great sister. I know, in the end, she will thank me for giving her a close friend. Girl or boy, she will love her sibling. After feeling this way, I decided to do a mommy daughter photo shoot to have something to remember the time when it was only the two of us. I wasn't trying to leave my husband out because I love him and we both desperately wait for him to come home each day! But, these pictures portray the majority of my time at the moment. We've become very close!
We are so blessed to have an amazing daughter. I honestly couldn't have asked for a more perfect child. She is the happiest little girl I have ever met and we spend a lot of time laughing together! Most everyone I socialize with will tell you she is the easiest person to make laugh. She seems to find everything funny, and that is my favorite thing about her! It sure cheers me up each day. It also amazes me how easy she is to entertain. She finds joy in the little things in life and loves to go on walks so she can see nature and animals. I think if she had it her way she would be outside all day. She also loves other kids. Groups of kids, especially her cousins, seem to get her going and make her happy. She loves to socialize. She loves her Dad too, and runs to him when he gets home from work. I love watching Jeff with Bentley, it almost makes me tear up. He is such an amazing Dad to her and thinking about life with him and building a bigger family just makes me smile. Bentley has been amazing and Jeff and I often joke that the next one has a lot to live up to!!
While I'm on the topic, this next baby has already given me some trouble! I've had a much harder pregnancy so far, compared to the breeze it was the first time. I've been a lot sicker which has made it really hard to keep Bentley entertained. I've been taking pills for the nausea which made me even more tired than I was. I literally felt like I could just sleep ALL day. Along with this I also had some bad pain in my stomach that I was worried about so, after getting an ultrasound and other tests the doctor thought it was an infection and gave me antibiotics. When the results came back she didn't think it was an infection after all and never determined what it was. However, I reacted to the antibiotics and got a major rash. This was the worst of it all! I looked awful and was so itchy I couldn't sleep or even enjoy myself at all. This happened when I was in Montana so I actually went to a doctor there who didn't feel comfortable giving me any meds. I waited until I got home and decided I couldn't live one more day with this rash. My doctor, however, told me there definitely was a lotion I could use. This lotion was pretty much magic!! I put it on and within a few hours it literally all cleared up! I had never felt better in my entire life. Since then, I still get small rashes here and there and my skin is so dry, but it's nothing like it was, and the lotion seems to clear it up pretty good. Anyways, I had many days when I would just cry because I felt like I could barely take care of myself, let alone my daughter. Thank goodness for family who saved me during these times and swiped Bentley away for a few hours. I honestly can't thank my parents enough for all that they have done for me in the past few months!! My siblings and sister-in-law Kellie have also taken Bentley in times when I wasn't doing well and I am SO thankful for that. Well after all the trouble I've had, I can at least say now that I am starting to feel less nauseous and have more energy, and that the baby is healthy!!
We just came back from our first trip away from our little Bentley! Jeff had a business trip to Santa Barbara, California so I decided to come along for a little vacation myself. Although Jeff had speakers to listen to and work to do, there was still a lot of time when we were together and we ended up having a really good time. It was nice to go away and be myself for a while away from my little sidekick, although it was also super hard. I was so thankful to have my parents watching after her though! It made it a lot easier to know she was in such good hands. Jeff and I enjoyed some time alone together to be husband and wife again.
We left bright and early on Thursday, May.28. It was about a 3 1/2 hour flight to Santa Barbara, with a layover in San Francisco. The flight seemed to go really fast and it was relaxing to just sit and read a book. We checked in at Bacara Resort & Spa and had several hours to do our own thing before meeting up with everyone for dinner at 7. We started to take a walk along the beach until we saw a lady putting flags on some rocks and telling us to wipe the tar off our shoes once we left. As we continued walking we noticed a group of people in full white suits scraping the tar off the rocks. We then decided that maybe we were in the wrong place! There had been an oil spill so we didn't want to be harmed or anything. So we found a nice path to walk along instead. The weather definitely wasn't smoldering hot as I had kind of pictured, but it was nice enough the first couple of days to suntan in a swim suit. So we sat by the pool for a while after that and actually got a bit of a sunburn. Then we headed to our room to get showered and ready for dinner. The dinner was by the pool that night and I often felt bad for anyone who wasn't apart of the "Dynamic Funds" group because we seemed to be taking over the hotel! It was a Black and White Party so everyone wore black and white, which was pretty fun. They had lots of different tables of food but my favorite was the sushi table! Buffet sushi is one of the best things ever created, I could've eaten the whole table of it. They also had some synchronized swimmers putting on a show for us which I thought was really fun! We had a good time eating but started to freeze as the night went on so we huddled under heat lamps and blankets and chatted with different people, but mostly Shemez and Zharha who came as well. Jeff works with Shemez and it was great to have Zharha there to hang out with when they were in meetings.
The next few days Jeff would listen to speakers from 8-12pm, and one of the days was until 2:30pm. Then he'd hang out with me afterwards, so it wasn't too bad. On the longer day I went shopping and spent way too much, but had such a blast! They had a shuttle bus that took me downtown Santa Barbara to a really cute outdoor mall. Another day I went biking with some of the other wives who came along. Let's just say that it wasn't a beginner trail, and I soon realized how little I've been biking since I was a kid! I had to re-learn how to use the gears and at times it was nerve racking going down and up big hills, but I got through it and actually had a lot of fun! The trail was absolutely gorgeous, going along the coast most of the way so we could look out over the ocean. Another day I decided to relax all morning. I took a bath, read a book, and went to the spa to get a massage - it was amazing! Jeff and I got to enjoy an activity together as well so we picked whale watching. We took a bus a little ways and then hopped on a boat which took us out to search for whales. It was a beautiful beach and so much fun to ride on the boat in the ocean. We didn't have to go far before we saw hundreds of dolphins! It was such a cool thing to see - all the dolphins jumping along. When we were moving they would swim and surf in our waves. It was unreal! We did spot 6 whales and they were really cool to see as well. They are so big, but don't jump around like the dolphins do so it wasn't quite as entertaining. I did get a fairly good picture of one though. We also saw some seals and sea lions.
Jeff and I had mostly all of our meals together and the food was really good. Breakfast and lunch were always buffet style, including fruit, yogourt, eggs, potatoes, waffles, crepes, etc., and lunches were always different but really delicious! Dinner took place in different areas each night. Friday was my favorite dinner and I took pictures of some of the courses that night. On Saturday we took a bus to the vineyard and the experience was based on different types of wine, so the food wasn't quite as good. Jeff and I obviously felt a little out of place that night since we didn't drink. Other than that, we always enjoyed the food and ate too much. By the time we left we felt like we didn't need to eat for days!
The people were so great to us, and they would provide us with "anything we wanted!" Jeff would joke with our friend Mike that we wanted fireworks one night, or that he wanted this other guys jacket that he though was cool. Everyone had a great sense of humour and we really enjoyed them. Yes, at times, I wished it could be just Jeff and I, but it was still a lot of fun. By the last day, though, we were ready to be done with small talk!
The day we flew home I couldn't wait to get back to Bentley. All day I was just awaiting the moment I could hold her again and give her a hug and kiss. We finally arrived home and I ran up to find Bentley who was in the bath. When I saw her she looked at me and her face slowly turned to a big smile. She looked at me like she didn't know if I was real or not! I grabbed her out of the tub and she said "mama" and gave me a big hug. It was honestly the cutest thing ever and I couldn't help but cry! Jeff had told me not to cry when I saw her and I had responded "why would I cry??" But I couldn't hold it in! Holy moly did I miss her!!! My parents were so fabulous with her, though, and had sent me videos and pictures. We also did face time with her a couple of times, which helped me know she was okay. I'm so thankful Jeff and I could go enjoy ourselves for 5 days though, it was well worth it!
