Prego Picture

So I've been feeling a little better the last couple of weeks and I am SOOOO grateful to be passing that phase! I can't imagine the women who are sick the whole pregnancy; it would be just awful! Anyways, here is a picture of me at 12 weeks. I feel like I'm so much bigger than I'm supposed to be but the doctor said I'm fine so I guess I'm fine. I'm just a little afraid of what I'm going to look like at 35+ weeks if I keep going at this rate!

Coming Soon...

First of all, let's start with what has passed: my birthday. Chris surprised me with a candle-lit cupcake and sang me "Happy Birthday" all by his lonesome! It was very sweet and I know Chris went out of his comfort zone to actually sing to me! Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes!

Now, onto things to come...

#1. So the holiday season is fast approaching and I am loving it! Fall is definitely the best time of the year, with all of the changes in the air and the trees changing colors (vividly here in Ohio). Not to mention, Thanksgiving and Christmas! I'm a fan of eggnog, pecan pie, hot chocolate, Christmas punch, and poker and the holidays provide all 5 and more! But I LOVE these 2 holidays mostly because it means spending time with family. And when Garrett's or Hansen's get together things get a little crazy!

#2. The day is not far off when we will be done paying off Chris's medical bills and we'll hopefully be able to use the money to buy a new car, since our Accord now has over 220,000 miles on it (way to go Honda)!

#3. Hopefully soon I will post about when my mom came to visit in AUGUST (yeah, I know, I'm a bad blogger) and pictures of our apartment, which looks oodles better since my mom visited!

#4. Movie time! The holiday season is always jam-packed with good, heartfelt movies and I can't wait to get the ball rolling on the Polar Express, ELF, Annabelle's wish, etc.!

#5. And last, but certainly not least, coming soon...

Yes...we are expecting our first baby in May of next year! We are oh so excited to begin this chapter of our lives. I can't say it's been an easy road getting here, but I know the outcome will be spectacular!

What I've dealt with thus far:
*constant nausea (I have to eat every 2-3 hours, even during the night)
*vomitting
*sleeplessness at night
*crazy, vivid dreams
*awful taste in my mouth after I eat or drink anything (so I brush my teeth after I eat everytime and now my toothpaste and mouthwash make me sick, I also can't stand the taste of my mouthguard so my mouth is, therefore, unguarded every night)
*sensitivity to smells (no more scented candles or wall plug-ins, even the drains in the sink make me gag)
*bloating and some indigestion
*distaste for many a foods (no cravings yet though, just eat what doesn't sound gross)
*headaches
*dizziness/clumsiness
*extra oily face and scalp (as if I needed any extra oil...)
*ears being plugged (usually the same ear)
*frequent forgetfulness and interrupted thoughts
*irritability, of course (Chris is so patient with me)

Hopefully with the year coming to an end some of my symptoms will come to an end as well. Chris has been great throughout this whole feeling-sick-and-not-getting-a-lot-done phase! He'll kill me for telling this, but he likes to pat my belly and call our baby by name (one of two since we don't know what it is yet). It is the sweetest thing ever!

We had our first real ultrasound last week and it calmed a lot of my nerves, knowing that there really is a baby in there and that everything looks fine. The doctor said my levels of hcg were so high from the blood work that she thought it might be twins. Yeah, that freaked us out a little! But we only saw one baby, so Chris is extremely relieved! But now that the news is out I'll be sure to update when I can!

P.S. For those of you who don't know, Brutus is the Ohio State University mascot.

All Over the Place!

So this post is going to be a mash up of all of the things we've been up to for the last couple of months. Back in July Chris and I went to a really big car show in Dublin, OH. We really enjoyed it and afterwards we tried Steak 'n Shake, which we both really liked!

The Batmobile!

Chris and the Corvette ZR1

Dodge Charger

Nissan GTR

We then went "Back to the Future" when we saw this Delorean!

I thought the inside of this one was pretty sweet

This is for Rachel...or maybe Annabelle hahaha!

It's amazing to see how far we've come with cars!

Towards the end of July Chris and I celebrated our 4th anniversary! We went to eat at Outback Steakhouse (I LOVE their pumpernickel bread) and planned to go see HP #7.2. The movie fell through that evening, but we were able to go a few weeks later.

I can't believe it's been 4 years! That's all of high school!

This was after we saw HP. I wasn't happy we couldn't get a good picture!

The first week of August I was able to go to Arizona for Natalie's little boy's baby blessing. I had a lot of fun being with my sisters and mom and dad (we missed you Gordon)! I can never seem to get enough family in! And can I just say that Rylie and Jude are the cutest things ever? I love those 2 kids to death and can't wait to see them again! And thank you, David, for putting up with all of us and our endless demands! And Natalie, you are a beautiful mother and person!

Gpa and Rylie

Gma with her sun hat

Jude sleeping (what he does best)!

David, Natalie, Rachel, and Annabelle

Jude and his momma

Rylie and Jude

Rylie and Jude--so cute!

Rylie's pretty swimsuit

Natalie and her 2 kiddos

Trying to be like gma!

Rylie and Aunt Rachel

Rylie and Aunt Annabelle (her favorite)

Wake up, sleepy-head!

The Reheis Family

While I was in Arizona, Chris whiled away his time by going to an American Leman's race where fancy cars raced (Ferrari's, Porsche's, etc.). Chris was in automobile paradise, need I say more?

Ferrari Italia 458

Porsche GT3

For roughly 3 weeks, Chris's sister Jenny and her 3 kids were out in Ohio, along with Maria (back from BYU-Idaho) and DeDee. We had fun seeing them and catching up on all we've missed since we've been here in Ohio. We enjoy the fun times and are able to laugh off the rough times (due to tantrums and lack of naps) when the whole family gets together!

The other day Marysville had its annual hot air ballon festival. They've been holding it since 1976 and each year more and more hot air balloons are shown. We didn't pay to go in, but we could see the ballons flying over us and snapped a few shots. We kept waiting for the legendary Darth Vader hot air balloon, but I guess you have to go inside to see all the really cool ones! Around the time it gets dark they light up the balloons in sync with music and we could see a little of that too. I think next year we'll pay to go inside and give you a real blog post about Marysville's hot air balloon festival!

Lately, Chris has been uber busy with work. He says every day is challenging and he's been working LOTS of overtime to show it! I was recently called to help out in Activity Days and I am so excited to get to know all the girls! As summer begins to wind down, Chris is anxiously awaiting cooler weather and I am sad to see warm weather go. But as always, we'll just keep on keepin' on!

The Fourth and Furniture!

So I almost missed fireworks this year. Yeah, I know, that would've been awful. But things are done a little differently back here and I'd better learn the ropes or I'll probably miss out on a lot. Columbus does a really big fireworks show called "Red, White, and Boom" (clever, right?), but they had it on Friday, July 1st. Not clever. That seemed to be a pattern everywhere I turned; no city appeared to be having a fireworks show on the actual 4th of July. What is up with that?! Well, we planned on going to Chris's parents on Saturday to go boating and spend time with his family so an early fireworks show was in the books. However, things didn't work out to allow us to go and we missed the fireworks show in that area. I frantically searched city web pages for surrounding areas doing shows on the 4th and lo-and-behold Dublin (a city which Chris isn't very fond of) was going to fulfill my hopes. I was stoked!

We arrived about 90 minutes prior to the start of the fireworks and laid out our spot on the grass. We had to park really far away and literally hiked to get close enough to not be blocked by trees. As the fireworks started, Chris and I looked at each other in surprise because we were in a perfect spot--right below the fireworks. I could feel the pounding in my chest as each firework went off and I was in Independence Day heaven! I kept feeling bugs land on me and wondered why they were attacking me and hoped they didn't ruin the show I had worked so diligently to attend. And then Chris, being the wise man he is, stated that ash was raining down on us because we were so close to the fireworks! I didn't like it, but I was appreciative that it wasn't a bug infestation. A little girl behind us kept shrieking out that things were landing on her and I wanted to reassure her that it wasn't bugs, just ash, but I couldn't stop laughing everytime she burst out in cries of shock. They played music in time with the fireworks and the finale was awesome! You know when the finale comes and you're not quite sure if it is the finale? That was so not the case. Chris and I left the show in awe and amazement and will definitely be going to Dublin again next year for the 4th of July fireworks show.



In other news, Chris and I FINALLY have somewhere to sit! We bought couches for our apartment last weekend and they were delivered today. They look so nice and new I hesitated to sit on them! We are so glad and so grateful for the things that we have, but it is nice every once in a while to get something new!

Far and Away

So I know it's been FOREVER since I last posted, but so many things have happened in the last 6 months that posting just wasn't an option! After graduation I went down to Moab to stay with my family while Chris went out to Ohio for job interviews. After 6 weeks apart--yes, 6 weeks--Chris and I finally reunited after he secured a job working for Honda. We headed back up to Rexburg to get our stuff out of storage and move it out to Ohio but when we got there our storage unit was frozen shut. What a "welcome back" from the coldest place on earth! Chris worked his magic with a blow torch and we eventually got our stuff loaded up (thanks Rob and Kaylyn). We then headed out to Ohio travelling around 14 hours a day and I absolutely loathed it! We arrived in Ohio on Valentine's Day.

In March I was able to fly out west and be there when Gordon got home from his mission. I flew into Arizona and rode up and back with Krystle and Natalie. He looked so handsome and it was such a spiritual experience for me! I could tell right away that Gordon had matured in the gospel and had grown so much from his mission experience. I have to say, though, some things never change! All of the brotherly qualities Gordon had when he left were still present when he got home! I had so much fun and that trip was probably one of the best I've had with my family yet! It's a big change to live so far away from my family, and it's been hard for me, but the older I get the more I realize that I need to cherish those times because they will come fewer and farther between.

Once we got to Ohio we stayed with Chris's parents for a few months and we are so grateful to them for their hospitality and pateince in putting up with us! We are now living in Marysville so Chris can be close to work. After many episodes of experiencing life in Ohio (humid weather, LOTS of bugs, 4-wheeler accidents, etc.) we are finally adjusting. We like our ward and have met lots of friendly people and can foresee our life here.

Graduation and the New Year

So...Chris and I are BYU-Idaho graduates! It's been a long, trying, stressful road, but it was oh-so worth it! Did I mention it's been long? Chris used to always joke that if I would've been graduated when we got married I could have been making money these last 3-and-a-half years! He knows I don't think it's funny. But we are official graduates now and are in the process of moving on. After graduation, we spent Christmas with Chris's sister Jenny and her family. It was fun to be around little kids again during this time and watch their excitement as they opened gifts.

After Christmas, Chris and I went our separate ways--me to Moab with my family and him to Ohio and Indiana for job interviews. He had his first in-person interview with Honda on Thursday and he thinks it went well. Hopefully we have good news in the next couple of weeks. I am so proud of him and his determination to find a job. He is the best husband and we are so excited to begin this new chapter in our lives!

P.S. These pictures came from my parents camera so there aren't any of Chris's side of the family. I will try to post those when I get them!

Mom Garrett, Nicole, Chris, Dad Garrett









We sure enjoyed getting to know the Robby Garrett family better while living in Rexburg

Nicole, Rachel, Annabelle

My dad has a picture just like this from his graduation, with him and his parents



Garrett Family

Chris receiving his diploma

Nicole receiving her diploma

Chris, Granna Duke, Nicole