Summer Happenin's

Here is a quick summary of some of the things we've been up to this summer. I've been such a slacker when it comes to keeping up with my blog that I feel like I need to get it all in here, or it will never be seen! Back in June, my BFF Sara came to visit from West Virginia for a week. It was so awesome to hang out with my best buddy just like the old days! Some of our activities included canoeing with Heidi at Pactola Reservoir, hiking to the face of the Crazy Horse Memorial at the annual Volksmarch, hiking to the top of Harney Peak, touring Custer State Park, hanging out in Deadwood, and cheering Adam on during his first marathon!



I was so proud of my hubby for finishing a full marathon! He ran with his training/running partner Carl, and they met up with their squadron commander near the end of the race. I have pictures of Adam and Carl collapsed on the pavement afterwards, which was pretty humorous to me and Sara...We were pretty tired too though - trying to keep up in a car with two guys while they run 26.2 miles is exhausting! ; )

This last picture is of Heidi in her self-made fort under our bed. She enjoys ripping up the fabric from underneath the boxspring and climbing inside. It took me forever to find her one day because she was sleeping in there and wouldn't come when I called her. I thought it was so funny, I just had to take a picture (or 5)! I love that dog! haha.

I'm Halfway There!

I figure since I haven't posted since MAY, I should probably give some kind of update on how we're doing! My pregnancy has been going really well. I found out I have a negative blood type (I know...I'm 24, and I just found that out), which means I get to have the peanut butter shot in my hiney here pretty soon...so that's exciting. I am now 20 weeks along, so I'm super excited to be halfway through! We'll find out if the baby is a boy or a girl on August 10th (this Monday!!!). Hmm...speaking of, I'll make a little poll to the right of this post, and you let me know what you think we're having! I'm pretty convinced that it's a girl, although I keep referring to the baby as a "he" without thinking. I've also been feeling the baby kicking and moving around every day, which is really cool and reassuring. Adam has felt the baby kick twice, but both times were pretty subtle. The following are my bump pictures at 15 weeks (green shirt), 18 weeks (red shirt), and 20 weeks (pink shirt).
Be sure to vote!!!

Big News

Oh my goodness...I haven't written a post in forever! I apologize. A lot has happened since I wrote last, so I might as well break it down!

First of all, I turned 24 on March 30th (yes it's been that long since I've posted). The night before my birthday we had a huge blizzard, which was bad because everything was closed on my birthday, but good because Adam and I both got out of work! The first pic is of me and Heidi getting ready to play in the snow.


Here's Adam after making me my "blizzard birthday snowman." It was decorated with dog treats so Heidi could eat them when the snowman melted, but all she did was sit outside and bark at it. The treats didn't last til the end of the day.
Adam's family came into town in February, and we visited the Jewel Cave National Monument for the first time. It was a pretty neat cave full of geodes.
Other things have happened too, but I think the most exciting thing is that after 2 years of unsuccessful trying, Adam and I are having a baby! Here it is at almost 11 weeks (where I am now) waving "hello."We call it our miracle baby because we didn't think we were going to be able to get pregnant without medical assistance. However, this little one came as a big, wonderful surprise, and we're very happy!

Peer Pressure

We finally gave in...although I still think I prefer our little TV (pictured in my previous blog posting). Adam's argument was, "I can't see the TV without my glasses. We need a new one." Pshh. LoL.

Our New House!

Adam and I are finally all settled into our new home. To avoid a long story, I'll just say that closing on a home is NOT a fun process. However, everything is all said and done, so we're both really happy!

I forced Adam to smile while I took a picture of him signing our closing papers. You can tell he's really happy signing his name to a whole lot of debt!
Here are some pictures of our new bedroom set. The bedroom is really small, so it's a pretty tight squeeze. We won't be living in a tiny place forever though! Heidi decided to be our bed model at the last second.

The following pictures are of the living room, bathroom, 2nd bedroom/office, and kitchen:

Even Heidi is happy about the new place!

Adam and I installed the hand towel rack and the bath towel rack in the bathroom. We're pretty proud of ourselves. haha. More blogs and pictures to come, as I'm trying to get caught up on what's been going on here in blizzardville! Stay tuned...

I'm Alive!

Sorry I haven't written an entry in SO long! I feel like I've been way too busy (and it takes me at least an hour to write a "good" blog entry). I thought I'd take a few minutes and let everyone know what I've been up to, in case you're interested.

Adam and I are now officially moved in to our new home! We closed on March 9th. We are really enjoying the new place, minus the fact that we don't have a yard, and we are always having to let Heidi out to do her business. How were we supposed to know she pees in the middle of the night?! Oh well. Other than that, we're really enjoying our cozy little place that is actually OURS. Hooray!

Adam has been busy training hard for the Mickelson Trail Marathon that he will be running in June. He ran 12 miles yesterday. I think I could run 2 miles (maybe) if someone was chasing me. Possibly 3 if I thought they were going to kill me. He won a 5k race that the base had last week. He's so competitive and athletic. I'm glad our kids will have influences from multiple angles - sports (Adam) and theater/music (me). Also, I'm participating in a Walk for MS (Multiple Sclerosis) event that is coming up on April 25th. If anyone is interested in participating, you can visit my personal site by clicking HERE. I'm pretty excited about it, considering I feel like I haven't been as involved in health education as I was in college. Heidi will be participating in the walk with me (she supports MS research too...lol).

Other than that, everything is going well! I'll be sure to post pictures of our new place once everything is completely set up. Which reminds me - we finally bought a bedroom set! Goodbye clear, plastic 3-drawer underwear/sock holder and cardboard box nightstands! WOO HOO!

Two Blogs In One

My little puppy Heidi is now a DOG.

A STUMP FOR A TAIL
You can't buy loyalty, they say

I bought it though, the other day;

You can't buy friendship, tried and true,

Well just the same, I bought that too.

I made my bid, and on the spot

Bought love and faith and a whole job lot

Of happiness, so all in all

The purchase price was pretty small.

I bought a single trusting heart,

That gave devotion from the start.

If you think these things are not for sale,

Buy a brown-eyed puppy witha stump for a tail.
--- author unknown ---

Where did my little puppy go? Heidi turned 1 year old today, and I can't believe how much she has changed from when we first brought her home at 8 weeks old. I realize that I blog more about my dog than some people blog about their kids, but she's my baby!














To celebrate her big day, we visited the local pet stores and got Heidi some great birthday treats. And no, I didn't get her a birthday card - the card was from Petsmart, which came with a coupon for a free toy of Heidi's choice! Some of you may think I'm crazy for loving my dog as much as I do, but I know those of you with pets understand where I'm coming from!
Here is a picture that illustrates a bit of her personality. I found her napping on top of her crate, despite the fluffy bed and blanket inside. She's surprisingly rugged despite her somewhat prissy appearance, and she makes me laugh every day! Following is an older video of some of the tricks Heidi has learned over the course of her short life. Happy 1st Birthday, Heidi. You'll always be my puppy!

Rapid City Stock Show and Ranch Rodeo

The bank that I work for is one of the sponsors of the Rapid City Stock Show and Ranch Rodeo that's been going on now for a few days. Adam and I were given tickets to the rodeo finals which took place last night. All we had to do was throw Security First Bank frisbees into the crowd between two of the events. We had a really good time, and it was definitely different from what I was expecting. I guess a "ranch rodeo" is more horse riding than bull riding. One of my favorite events was the first one called "Mutton Bustin', " where kids aged 6-8 tried to hang on to a ewe for as long as possible. It was really cute:

My other favorite was the event where the teams had to saddle a wild horse and ride it around a barrel. I felt kind of bad for the horses, but it was cool to see the cowboys hanging on for dear life.

It's fun to work for a company that provides little perks.

I love free, fun times!