Sprinkled with Love

Some friends in my ward threw me a baby "sprinkle." If you're unfamiliar with this term, basically it's like a baby shower, but it's not for your first child. (It's typically for your first child of a different gender.)

My friend Kristee and I both were celebrated at the baby sprinkle. It was nice to share the attention with her. I consider her to be one of my closest friends. Lucky Kristee, she had her baby about a month ago! I have about a month until mine comes.

I walked in to see pizza which was perfect and so thoughtful. I ate at least 4 pieces. All the food was divine including a yummy salad and a swig sugar cookie knockoff recipe that I can't seem to replicate. 

I felt so spoiled and loved being surrounded by so many friends. Also, girl clothes and accessories are so cute. It's quite different than purchasing for a boy. My budget might be in trouble...

Flash forward ahead a month or so and I had a family shower. Jessica made darling invitations. I can't get over how cute they were. 

I walked in to Olive Garden to find a table full of presents and cupcakes. Nothing beats that. Also, there were some leftover Reeses Peanut Butter Cupcakes and I enjoyed those thoroughly for a few days afterword. 

Jill was in charge of the game at the baby shower. She has been to her fair share of baby showers that include cheesy games that nobody likes. Jill took a different approach which was refreshing. She asked each person that came to the shower beforehand 2 things: 1) A memory have with me. 2) A trait of mine they hope my baby girl inherits. 

People were so kind with their responses. The "game" part was that Jill read a response and I had to guess who said what. This was surprisingly hard and I didn't do very well. Jill even drew little illustrations to go along with the responses which I have on my fridge.

What a relief that the baby shower game didn't include tasting various types of baby food and guessing the flavor or practicing changing diapers filled with chocolate (to resemble food). I'm not making these games up people.

I decided to go all out at Olive Garden and ordered my favorite entree called Tour of Italy. I'm so bad at deciding what I want to order, but this large entree includes lasagna, fettuccine, and chicken parmesan. Jessica paid for my meal which was so generous. I definitely felt bad ordering such a pricey item. 

Grandma Lynda, Jessica, Me, Jill, Esther, Lindsey, Diane, Grandma Langlois, Mom, Lori

Baby girl was spoiled once again at this shower. I have some talented relatives. Grandma Lynda made a fabulous quilt and my mom crocheted a soft blanket in the perfect color. I can't wait to snuggle our little one in these. I didn't take a picture of all the clothes and accessories I got, but I came home feeling like, "what did I do to deserve all of this?" 

Unfortunately, I didn't inherit Grandma's amazing sewing skills

My super long, detailed list of chores I want to finish before baby comes is getting shorter and shorter. All that's left is really just for the baby to join us. The nursery is ready to go now that James is out of the crib and sleeping in a big-boy bed and the new pink curtains add a nice touch to her room. I'm also feeling better and more confident about our name of choice and am no longer having nightmares about it. Now if only time didn't seem to be moving at a stand-still. We are all so anxious to meet her. July 23 can't come soon enough! Also, for being such a planner, I wish I knew if she was going to arrive early like her brother. This waiting game is really testing my patience, but what can I do?

Here's to enjoying the last little bit of pregnancy. Who am I kidding?

Hawaii Part 3

How was the food?

The picture above is the answer. Pizza was one of our meals, so I was completely satisfied. There was a Round Table Pizza about a mile away from where we stayed. They don't have these in UT, so we took full advantage. 

For another meal, we had some delicious, authentic ramen. We went to a huge mall in Honolulu called the Ala Moana Center. There is a little village food court called the Japanese walk which is where we had this tasty meal. Andrew and I ate every bite. (My brother in law served his mission in Japan and knows where to find the good stuff.)

My dad's colleague invited us to a fancy dinner. It was requested that we wear aloha attire. Who knew that was a thing? We had unlimited prime rib, although for most of us that just meant 1 helping. Thanks Rob, for taking one for the team and getting the meat sweats.

We had a scrumptious cherry dessert to top off our prime rib and Simon was in heaven because he got to help make the fire. It was like magic.

I can't gloss over these quotes my mom made at Mahaloha Burger. "I would come back to Hawaii just for these! These fries are the best I've ever had." My mom ordered the Parmaroni fries and clearly had no regrets. The burgers were juicy too.

Popsicle's were a staple in our freezer for the duration of the trip. I've learned that they sell these popsicles at Costco. They're called melona bars and I'm in trouble having them so close to me. There are a variety of flavors: mango, strawberry, banana, melon, coconut. I think my favorite was the banana with melon coming in a close second.

Esther had her fair share of these popsicles and the back porch was quite sticky by the time we left.

We didn't take pictures at every meal, but clearly we were starving the whole trip. Andrew got to have some seafood (and I happily declined the invitation), so I think we were all content.  

What are some things you want to remember?

Andrew is a huge Jack in the Box fan and made going there a priority. After snorkeling, we had a second breakfast at Jack in the Box. We realized that all of our fries were forgotten and had to turn around. This took quite sometime. Andrew told everyone in the car that he was going to ask the employees to make him a shake for the inconvenience. Sure enough, Andrew walked out giddy with an extra order of fries (on-top of our 3) and a large shake. I didn't realize that I had been craving a shake, but it was oh so good and I was no longer upset about the long detour the turnaround caused.

We got leis at the Polynesian Cultural Center and James heard the word, "Aloha." He says "Hello Ha" and its adorable. We brought some leis home as souvenirs and he often puts one around my head while saying, "Hello Ha." One of his new favorite things to pretend to do is fly on an airplane to Hawaii. 

At the PCC, we were taught the traditional New Zealand nose greeting and told to try it out with our neighbor. My dad loudly told the woman sitting next to him, "my wife is over there" and refused to do it. I can't stop laughing about this.

In the car, we had a conversation about DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) and my dad made some pretty drastic statements. Basically, I think we all know what he wants if he's ever put in that situation.

A few days after returning from Hawaii, my brother sent us a link to this article: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/Dr-Beach-2019-List-Names-Hawaii-Oahu-Kailua-Best-Beach-in-US-510319541.html

See, we aren't making it up. The beach was heavenly.

Can I see some more pictures?

I didn't think you'd ask.

The timing of this trip wasn't ideal for us financially. We're trying to save up for baby girl and weren't planning on doing much (if any traveling) this year. My parents were generous and helped cover a lot of the trip. (James' airfare--he is no longer free, housing, and some meals.) We really appreciate them for making this trip possible!

Here is a short video of our experience (thanks mom!): https://drive.google.com/file/d/15kYEey34DbQYwKTZIbS1bUfB_mggqzqDqQ/view?ts=5d114375

In the words of my mom, "I could go on and on..." But really, what a wonderful experience we had in Hawaii. (I'll spare you from more Hawaii posts, but know that I have enough material to write a book about it.) There is talk of going to Maui next and I fully support that idea!