Ranch-Giving and Thanksgiving

Well it has been awhile since I have written on this blog! Seriously, I am bad but hey you get around to it when you can right?

Live has been crazy, busy as usual....running a business, new baby, school, new house/new projects. But hey that is what makes life exciting right? It is an exciting time to live.

Some things that I have been grateful for not in any particular order:

Capri

Paul

Clean Water

Food

New Home

Technology and skyping with Heather in Italy!

Family

Friends

The Gospel

These are just a few things.

We were extremely lucky this year we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving twice this year! One at the Ranch near the end of October, immediate family members and extended family members were there. We thought, why not make it an early Thanksgiving, also known as Ranch Giving. Sadly, Mr. Paul couldn't make it out, work work work :(

Some of the highlights of the trip were: picking the perfect Christmas trees for my mom, and sister Sandy. I wish we could have brought one home but I don't think the airline would be ok with that :) It was gorgeous. I absolutely loved the white birch trees with the vibrant yellow leaves, simply breathtaking. Another plus was that it wasn't too cold! This is a family tradition we have had over the years and I absolutely love it, it is so refreshing to hike around and pick your own tree from a mountain side so old fashioned but I love it!

Another highlight was eating the yummy dinner of course, seriously such good food, we had what any other person would have except for the fact that my grandma is a secret chef, she would of course never admit to it but everyone and their dog would agree anything my grandma touches is edibly delish! Moist turkey, mashed red potatoes, pear and gorgonzola cheese salad, stuffing, and grandmas famous rolls.

I was so glad that Capri was able to experience the ranch, it is a place of peace and solitude, we had a great time walking around outside and visiting with family of course. I feel so blessed to have my own special buddy to hang out with all of the time, she is such a charming little lady, I love her to pieces!

Also, my super fun sister in-law Danielle, threw an amazing Halloween party in the barn full of cob-webs, halloween treats and flying bats (ok they were fake but were still rad). It was fun to see everyone geared up for Halloween, and wow did Eric and Danielle/Chanel win in the costume department. They were a family of garden gnomes or as we called them "the gnomies", so funny! Here is the pic of their fam. Chanel was already tuckered out and was in bed by this time in the evening

I will be posting about the Halloween party another time but it was pretty amazing, Brittany and her magical hands...she can make anything look good :)

The homey gnomies!
The decked out barn
Papa holding onto miss Capri, so presh!
The palm tress sisters, ha so funny!
Loading on hand-picked trees atop the car
Oh how I love nature
Sista time-Danielle we missed you!
Just mama and Capri, wearing matching sweaters, funny story she Capri actually had a brown/creme blanket. But, since it was deer hunting season, we decided she needed a color that stood out so she didn't get mistaken for a little deer :)

Just lounging around
Ranch view from the window
Feasting!

We also had an amazing time with the Andrew's family, 9 out of the 12 kids were there, it was fun loud and exciting as usual.

I wish we had brought our camera, unfortunately we didn't bring it, so if any family member who is reading this has any pictures send them on over! The food was fantastic, there was like 12 different dishes! Along with 12 different pies, quite an amazingly delicious feast. My favorite dishes was the fresh green bean casserole, the crispy onions on top SO good. The stuffing was next, so incredibly yummy, Marlyce (Paul's mom) used her homemade bread with it and it was absolutely incredible!

It was fun having Miriam home from BYU, she is always so fun to catch up with, we also had some cousins come in from Lancaster, Kathy and Ricardo, it was fun chatting with Kathy she has a new baby that is a couple of months younger than Capri, her name was Anna. It was fun exchanging birth stories and such. We did truly miss Hyrum and Tiffany, Celeste, and Morgan.

Hopefully we can all get together soon!

Well that's a wrap...now onto Christmas season, I can't wait. I am most definitely listening to Christmas music, and have been since Thanksgiving dinner ended!

Sweet Baby Capri

Pregnancy is over, now I can officially blog, just kidding. Well I guess I have more of an incentive to blog now that we have this precious little addition to our family. My oh my does she bring such a sweet, tender spirit into our home!

So I am going to write a little bit about my pregnancy and my labor. Pregnancy first 3 months seemed to drag on forever as I had the lovely morning sickness! I felt so sick I did not want to eat at all. The rest of my pregnancy literally went by in a flash. I know those that say they didn't like being pregnant, for me I absolutely LOVED it. I loved feeling my baby kick and grow even if it did cause MAJOR heartburn. Heartburn to the point where I would eat just a piece of bread and sure enough the burn was there! The funniest thing was whenever I would eat sugar she would kick...kick...kick, just like her momma she loves Sweet things! I loved feeling so connected to something and having an instant love for this new babe to join our family.

I really was hoping Capri would come on July 4th, so she could always have fireworks on her birthday and be around family, but alas she had other plans. The evening of July 8th, I was feeling some painful contractions that were pretty close together for about 4 hours. So Paul and I called in Labor and Delivery and they told us to come in. We walked in and I was so sure I was in labor, however, they monitored my contractions and informed me I was in false labor. Boy was I bummed I was in SO much pain only to find out the labor wasn't real. However, they checked my blood pressure and for some reason or another it had completely spiked. The doctor was concerned that I might have pre-eclampsia so they told me they were going to induce me since I was already one day over my delivery date.

I was so relieved to finally get my baby here! So, they induced me around 10:00 in the morning on July 9th. The Pitocin was super effective, that I was in some pretty bad pain that morning so they gave me some morphine. It was crazy how fast I dilated, I was at a 1 when I came in and by 11:30 I was already at a 3, I was still in some pretty bad pain so I opted for the epidural which couldn't bring relief quick enough. When they put the Pitocin in the IV it really kicked me into gear by 12:00 I was dilated to a 4. It was so crazy because the morphine was still entirely in my system and I was sleeping in-between my contractions every five minutes I would have a 30 second contraction. The rest of the time I was snoozing! The craziest thing is I went from being dilated from a 5 to a 10 in a matter of 20 minutes! By 1:30 it was definitely time to push, and boy oh boy was I ready. Paul was there helping me so much, telling me everything was going to be ok. Holding my hand even though I probably squeezed his hand so hard his circulation stopped pumping through.They had to break my water as it was unable to break on my own and 30 minutes later, Miss Capri Noelle Andrews came. She was as beautiful as ever, when she came out she was Completely clean which I believe was due to drinking raspberry herbal tea for about a week. She was beautiful, the doctor put her right against my chest right when she came out, she sat there with her eyes completely wide open, I was completely overwhelmed with joy and love that I have never experience before in my life, I would jump in front of a bus for her, take a bullet for her, whatever it would take to protect this sweet new life. I looked at Paul and felt so complete as a mother and wife. I feel so incredibly blessed and love being a mom.

I loved having family come and visit. Heather and my mom were there and were such a big help! My mom flew in on the morning of September 9th, the absolute perfect timing! They came in and threw their arms around me and expressed such great enthusiasm for their new niece/granddaughter. They were so funny they reminded me of tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum as they were both wearing identical striped shirts and sporting the same ear to ear grin. So funny! I absolutely loved seeing them interact with Capri!

Paul's family also came to visit, which was so wonderful! Such a fun, and exciting time, Hyrum and Tiffany were there along with Paul's parents, Rachel, Esther, and Miriam. I loved seeing them interact with our sweet baby doll and see Paul, the proud father show her off to them with such excitement. It was so nice to be surrounded by such love from our family.

The first night we had Capri I was a little nervous I would not get any sleep at all, or that breast feeding wouldn't come naturally but to my pleasant surprise I did get a great amount of sleep as Capri would wake up to feed then go right back to sleep or look around without making a peep :) nursing was easy and I felt a major relief as the first night was spectacular.

The following day we were hanging out and all of a sudden my sister Sandy from Utah busted through the door! I was completely unaware they made the trip out to see us. It was probably one of the best surprises of my life! I can't believe my mom and Heather kept it as such a secret. My little nieces Cameron and Kennedy immediately gravitated towards Capri and Mick (1 year old) their youngest was completely enamoured by her and would run over to her and say "MAMA" so funny and cute to see them all interact. It was so great to see Sandy as she has helped me so much along the way answering all of my pregnancy question, such a wealth of knowledge. I loved seeing her with Capri as she was gleaming just looking at her.

We also had some great friends Todd and Brittany drop in and see us, Brit brought us some of the best beef soup I have ever tasted and visited with us, such a treat to have such amazing support from friends and family.

So just be prepared my blog may just have more than one post a year, yea for babies!

Below are some pics of the little Mrs. I will be posting more soon enough!

beach-worthy-sundays

Paul and I have church at 1:00 in the afternoon so we are trying to make a habit of going to the beach to plan our lesson for the kiddos, we teach the 12-13 group. They are awesome.
We bring our beach chairs and go sit and enjoy listening to the beautiful sound of nature mixed in with little squeals of excitement from kids at the beach :) We went to explore the tide pools and it was super low. I have never seen so many crabs at one time! They were all over the place...it kind of creeped me out because they remind me of spiders for some reason or another. How creepy would it be to be at the beach when it is super dark and the crabs start creeping around you...not a pretty sight!
We went to the cove and to the beach where we had our wedding reception, it was fun we took a pic, trying to do this every year for each year we are married take a pic at our wedding reception beach :) Our 3 year anniversary is near approaching...crazy!

The color of the coral was so virbrant since the tide was so low....

These rock formations are so cool looking, I love the texture

I saw this carved into the sandstone and it really made me laugh...when paul is acting like a girl I call him Paulina :)

Also this last weekend, I was able to see my daddy on his birthday I felt so lucky that I was able to share his birthday with him. Paul unfortunately was really sick and was unable to come. It was so fun catching up with my dad he always make me feel like a million bucks, he is so complimentary and has a contagious smile! He is one of the most Christ-like people I know!

My poor sick baby :(

Oh and I have a new nephew, his name is Mick...I wish I could be back in Utah to see the little dude. Sandy and Tim make really cute kiddos :)

Silly Times

Saturday...love this day to pieces. I sleep in, then wake up grab some yummy fruit and Paul and I contemplate what we want to do for the day...
chores are on the list of course.

Organizing my office something I have been trying to get to forever, it is nearing its end which make me happy!

Paul of course has his early morning saturday mountain bike ride which he loves.

Then we decide to go swimming only problem is I can't find my temporary use card for the JCC. So we decide to put on some tennis clothes to play tennis just in case I couldn't get in. Lo and behold we arrive and their is a huge swim meet going on.

So we play tennis and Paul as patient as ever is coaching me with correcting my stroke, what a guy. We rally for a little bit, Paul teaches me to hit against the ball wall. I really need to do this more often, my goal this summer is to practice against the ball wall at least twice a week, then I can be a better match for the hubs!

Last but not least....we hit up costco...making the mad dash around picking up the usuals. We head off to our car and are about to get in and what happens next?!?!

Paul pushes the cart across the parking lot in hopes that the speed bump will catch it...the cart gains more speed than he predicts flys over the bump and is heading for two cars....Paul takes off as I am furious at him....runs fast enough to catch the cart as it goes inbetween the two cars...whew close one! ...he is one lucky man.

We take off to go home and Paul accidentally takes the 52 West so what do we do? Go eat at Wahoo's of course, just what we were planning on right? Ha ha...perfect little mistake :)

I love my Saturdays even though sometimes they are crazy, I have a funny husband who always keeps me on the edge of my seat!

Aloha!

It is embarassing how long it has taken me to write a stinking post but ever since our Kauai getaway I have decided to start fresh and have a goal to post for a little personal journal. I know...i know i have said this before but this time I am going to follow through life is both exciting and dull at times but it is what we write down that really captures the moment.

Can I just say that if I could I would drop everything and move to Kauai with Paul?! I haven't felt this relaxed in my life for awhile, there must be some healing in the warm ocean water! Paul and I hung out with our awesome cousins, grandparents, aunts & uncles, and funtastic friends. I did miss my sisters and mom, I wish they could have joined me!

Most of the time Paul and I would wake up ready for the adventure of the day. Since the Dietlein cousins are quick to get up on their feet and happen to know the island like the back of their hands led us on some of the most amazing and rewarding hikes I have ever been on. I have to say that I am slightly obsessed with waterfalls and since Kauai has the rainiest spot on the earth and what Mark Twain would call "The Grand Canyon of the Pacific", with those two in combination the waterfalls were abundant!

Highlights of the trip:

Playing May I with our amazing grandparents

Shopping at Jungle Girl and getting some fun jewelry and trinkets

The spouting horn and finding "my precious", turquoise necklace $35 probably isn't real but I am in love, thanks sweetie!

Being lazy on the beach

Constantly searching for sea turtles, we saw some from the distance and I was boogey boarding and a fellow boogeyer told me a sea turtle was swimming right by me I was so bummed I missed out on seeing the cute creature...

Petrified sand dunes on the coastline

Keoki's fine dining-super fun atmosphere with some yummy food and

Pauls' favorite dessert hula pie...basically vanilla ice cream, macadamia nuts, and chocolate yum

Eating Madadamia nuts...we probably ate a little too much..

Tubing down some tunnel with headlights...on florescent...barely bouyant rafts to a fun little waterfall then hiking out. Before we floated down the river we had the choice to wear shoes in the water knowing we would have to hike out and wouldn't be able to raft back Paul opted to leave his shoes and said he could tough it out with his little socks, everyone told him he needed his shoes but when Paul is set on an idea, no matter how many people try to convince him of something he sticks with what make sense to him he had a little bit of a rough time with roots everywhere...but he made it, what a champ! Such fun times hanging out with the cousins!

Kayaking up the Wailua river with Adam and his cute girlfriend Megan...they were such a blast...then seeing and frolicking amazing Wailua waterfall...breathtaking! Thanks to Megan we were able to get some great shots!

Hooking up with Scott and Jess to go on a helicopter ride, Jack Harter helicopter to be exact with no doors....we like to live on the edge!! We went all the way around the island 65 minutes of bliss my favorite was the Nepali coastline which I believe is one of the seven wonders of the world, pictures and words cannot give this place justice, I was in awe the entire time. I was really giddy when I saw the waterfall off of Jurassic Park...so neato.

The crazy roosters that were everywhere...highlight for Paul...feeding KFC chicken to the roosters...poor roosters :(

Rope swinging into Kepu falls...so awesome we went there twice...such a rush!

Paddleboarding at Hanalei Bay with Todd, Brittany and Beckham...

Pretending like we were star fish in the water :)

Climbing up trees, acting like we were Tarazn and Jane!

The long windy road up to Waimea Canyon to see yet another amazing site of the Nepali coastline. Breathtaking!

Our wildest hiking adventure yet with adam and the dietlein crew, the tough and rough hike to my favorite waterfall yet Shangrula...it took 6-7 hours it was windy and you literally had to hold onto roots to make it through then on top of that you had to hike through 2 tunnels each about 3/4 of a mile...in the tunnels you had to wear headlights to be able to see on top of having to hunch about half of the time considering the tunnels height was about 5 1/2 feet, crazy poor Paul. Like I said the terrain was nuts I have never had so many scatches from tree branches, lesson learned wear some long sleeved shirt and some long sleeved pants for sure! At the end of the second tunnel we emerged and saw the beautiful cascading Shangrula waterfall....it was by far my favorite waterfall. There were little pockets of waterfalls surrounding us and then the mossy rocks...so serene. It felt so untouched like we were the first ones there, so beautiful. Thanks to our sturdy and strong tour guide cousin Adam we were able to make it through!

Hiking along the Nepali coastline with Todd, Britney, Beckham, Sissy and Jason. It was such a beautiful stretch...can I just say that Brittany is a super trooper with being seven months pregnant she hiked for a good strenuous 30 minutes then finally stopped...Sissy, Jason, Paul and I continued on the trail to arrive at the beach you had to hike into, it was hot, hard, but the view of the coastline was incredible. Just about a 1/4 of the mile in we saw a sign that said not to enter the water at the beach we were going to then it had a tally list of how many people had died because of the unseen rip tides and strong currents...the count was 35...crazy! We finally arrived and next thing I know I see Paul and Jason hopping in boys are crazy that is all there is to say about that. Then Paul and I went exploring a littlle bit more around the beach and we found the cave of wonders! It was hidden you had to walk along the coastline to see it but as you turned a corner you could see water rushing out....so you had to get on all fours to get through the first part of the tunnel then it opened up to this huge cave with a large opening...the view was incredible the water was crashing up against 3 large boulders, it felt like I was on some crazy movie set! Then we hiked back and snorkeled and saw some amazing parrot fish and other little fishies!

I would say up to this point in time it was the greatest adventure I have ever been on. Heavenly Father sure made this earth a beautiful place! Kauai has really helped me feel alive again, I am so greatful for the fun opportunity we had to go to this beautiful place!

Pics to come.....

A Perfect Saturday

Paul and I had such an amazing Saturday yesterday. I slept in while Paul ventured out on a mountain biking ride, then we headed out to the Jewish Community Center played a little tennis swam in the amazing pool and finished off with some fine mexican cuisine with the Jacobsen's.

Fabulous day start to finish. I love my Saturdays and of course my Paulie!

Halloween!

Yes, I'm back...sorry for the delay in posting, I have made a goal to write every Sunday even if it is just a quick thought.
I love Halloween, I don't know if it has to do with the chill in the air, the excuse to dress up, or the sweet treats, decorating, the beautiful foliage...or due to the fact I used to work in a costume shop the greater part of my life and I had an excuse to dress as a different character every day. The costume shop is actually run through The Hale Centre Theatre, a live theatre in Utah. The costumes were authentic and weren't your typical run of the mill superheros, rather real renaissance velvet crushed bodesses, draped with gems along the neckline. Most of the costumes were used in the plays, the reason for their high quality and authenticity. As I used to put the costumes on...I felt transformed back into the empire of Rome, or Camelot.
Now that I live in San Diego I am sure you can all understand why I have a difficult time pulling together a costume somewhat worthy for halloween. But, nevertheless I found something from my very own closet! I decided to be a 1940's lady/flight attendant. Paul as he told me he is a "utilitarian", meaning there is no reason for him to get a different costume each year, rather just wear the same one every halloween. I guess we are kind of opposites in that respect...pretty funny. His mom made him this fun Tiger outfit and he gets so excited to wear it every Halloween, unfortunately this year we were unable to find the tiger cap...the best part of the costume. We had to settle with his tale and los tigres shirt, he's so cute!

On Halloween Eve we spent some great time with friends. The first party we went to was at one of my best friend's home. I was so excited to get there early to help set up for the party. I am a little obsessed with decorating...must have picked that one up from my mom! Jos. and I had so much fun placing decor here and there...preparing yummy artichoke dip and delish desserts....and of course Chef Nat brought some scrumptious ghost cream puffs, yu,! It was such a great turnout. The Gunderson's sure to know how to throw down a mean party!

The drink station, with our favorite friend skeletor!

Joselyn and I, Jos, dressed up as an awesome 80's girl, I wish I had a pic of Gibson and Ryan they were dressed up as the man in the yellow hat and curious george....such a fun idea!

We also went to another fun friend's party, Brittany Gharring, she dressed as Lady Gaga! So funny...she is one creative genius, yes she came up with this costume on her very own. I am bummed though because the pics don't do the costume justice she had the blonde hair, sparkle hat and everything! Tira was the mad hatter, which was so cute , you can't see but she had miniature tea cups on her skirt, hilarious.


For Halloween, Paul and I geared up to go to Chipotle and get our free burrito and then we saw the line, so we settled and went to Croutons for some yummy soup and Salad. Then we met up with Natalie and Adam and another couple in Balboa Park for the infamous Haunted Trail at Balboa Park. It was hilarious, Paul and I were making fun of the supposed "scary people" the entire time! I snapped a couple of shots even though it was not allowed....whoops I didn't know at the time.We then took off to Extraordinary Desserts and I had a raspberry tart that was to die for, seriously it was amazing! I will definitely be craving it again within the next week. It was fun as we all picked away at each other's desserts. What a great way to finish off Halloween.
Oh and last but not least we have to introduce you to our dog...Sparky. and our pumpkin chum chums....