Baby Shower

On Sunday Tahna & Jacque threw me my very first baby shower! Everything was amazing from the personalized invitations to the delicious food.
I was so happy to see lots of my close friends and some family. Chevy was interested in the first few gifts but I think once she realized there was nothing for her she gave up.
Tahna made me this adorable Diaper Cake with tons of diapers, an adorable blanket, an awesome hooded towel that she made and other cute gifts for the baby :)I LOVE IT!!! It is still sitting in the nursery until I have the heart to take it all apart.
Thanks to everyone was able to make it (even in the snow storm) and THANK YOU to Tahna & Jacque. I am so lucky to have wonderful friends that are so thoughtful and love me and this baby SO much! THANK YOU GUYS!!!

19 Weeks

I am 19 Weeks along today and we had out ultrasound.It was amazing to see how much the baby has grown since our last little peek at her over 2 months ago. We decided to go ahead and leave the sex of the baby a secret because we think it'll make the birth that much more special for us.Everything looked great and measured normally. I thought his legs looked long (which wouldn't surprise me) but the tech said they measure just right.The baby moved around a lot! We saw her kicking and rubbing her eyes. He likes to have his hands by his face and we even saw him sucking his thumb.
It was exciting to see the baby and we are looking forward to meeting him/her in a few more months.

Northwest Trip-Hood River

On Thursday Denice left her kids with a babysitter and took Marq & I hiking to Triple Falls. Look how beautiful! It's like a whole different world deep in the forest with all the huge old trees, crazy moss, ferns and water. I love the Northwest because it is so lush, fertile and nurturing. It's a totally different beauty than the bareness we both grew up with in Utah.
It's a definitely a different energy that Marq & I both seem drawn to.

Northwest Trip-Train Ride

On Tuesday we left Seattle about 11:30am and took a train to Portland which took a little over 3 hours. The train was fun, a little cramped, but they showed a movie and had a little cafe car where you could get drinks and food and walk around a little bit. It was a cold rainy day so it was fun to cuddle up on the train and relax after a long weekend. I don't know whether the baby liked the train or hated it but it was definitely moving around a lot.

We arrived in Portland around 3pm and headed into downtown for lunch. We found a great little cafe and had a nice lunch. We hurried back to the station and nearly missed our train!

The second train was MUCH nicer than the first. It was a double-decker with TONS of leg room even for Marq! The seats reclined and even had foot rests. The people on the train were so nice and it was so comfortable I could have spent the night on the train. I have to admit I was a little disappointed that our train ride to Bingen, OR was only an hour long.

Shopping in Downtown Seattle

On Monday we took the light-rail into downtown and did some shopping in Pioneer Square (old Seattle).That is a bus behind us but we are in the train station. Check out the cool clock above us, the trains run underground and overhead in a lot of places which is nice because you don't have to deal with the traffic.

Northwest Trip-Seattle

Saturday Marq and I flew into Seattle to stay with some friends and check out the area. Marq's friend Sean and his wife Shoko live in Southern Seattle and were nice enough to show us around for a few days. Marq did his undergrad studies with Sean at the U and Shoko graduated at the same time as a Chemical Engineer.

4 Months

I am now 17 weeks pregnant and feeling really good. I still haven't thrown up with really bothers some people :) We have decided not to find out the sex of the baby, which also really bothers some people :) I'm still working out, sleeping like a baby and feeling good. I haven't had any crazy cravings mostly I'm just very suggestive, I have to avoid food commercials on TV. I did crave bananas one night after a hard workout at the gym and I think I ate an entire bunch of bananas over the next couple of days. Overall I'm feeling really good, Marq has been very supportive and helpful and we hope this pregnancy continues to be such a breeze :)

First Photo

This week was supposed to be our first prenatal appointment however due to insurance discrepancies we are now looking for another midwife. The appointment wasn't a complete loss, we did get to see our little one for the first time on the screen. I know the picture is blurry but there's a baby in there :)

4th of July

For the 4th of July weekend we packed up and went camping with my Brother Nick, his family and inlaws. We went to Miller Flats Reservoir and it was a beautiful weekend in the mountains. We decided to leave on Fri. night at the last minute so when we got up onto the mountain it was dark and they were not expecting us. After an hour of driving around looking for our camp we decided to pull of the road and camp for the night. As soon as we started to turn around our headlights lit up our camp and we were there at about midnight. That was a bit of an adventure.
Our little family hasn't been camping all year so we were all excited to get out and sleep in the great outdoors. I got to take a nap everyday (which I loved!) and we had lots of great food and great company. We tried a little fishing a couple times with no luck. My nephew Brig doesn't like to leave the pole in the water long enough to catch anything, he wants to keep casting.
My adorable niece Sophia & I sat back and watched while we ate Goldfish :) Poor Sophia is allergic to mosquitos so she was swelled up the entire weekend the poor thing :(
We got the worm on the hook!
Here's Brigham getting ready for ANOTHER cast.

There was a hole in the ground behind our camper that Chevy discovered the very first day. I'm not sure if she saw a rodent run down it or if she just smelled them in there but she definitely knew exactly what it was for. Anytime she was missing we'd look around the camper and there she would sit, a few feet back from the hole, just waiting patiently. She never caught anything but I got some great shots of her watchin' the hole.
Koda had a blast running around, smelling everything and playing with the other dogs and the kids. Noelle's parents have a HUGE mastiff that outweighs Koda by at least 75 pounds but she did not intimidate our little Bear. He played and wrestled until he got tired and then he curled up in a blanket on mommies lap by the campfire. We know our dogs are spoiled, we just like em' that way :)
It was fun to camp but mostly fun to hang out with family. We don't get to see Nick & his family as much as we would like because we live kinda far away. Their kids are both at really fun ages and we love to hang out with them all. On Sunday it rained and then snowed so while Noelle tried to put Sophia down for a nap Nick & Brig came and hung out in our camper with us. We taught Brig how to play Go Fish and ate cookies and gummy worms.

Thanks for all the fun memories Nick, Noelle, Brigham, Sophia, Sox, Oscar and Taylor Family!!! We can't wait to do it again soon.

Happy Fathers Day

Fathers Day was the day we chose to announce our news to our families. It was earlier than we had hoped but we had to find a time when everyone was in town. Tahna and I spent an entire night making Fathers Day cards. Marq and I made each of our dads onesies, my dad's with a Y (for BYU) and Bob's with a U (Go Utes!).


My family was very excited, especially my nieces. They quickly gave me a list of acceptable baby names.
Marq's family was very excited too. I think maybe they were starting to give up on us ;) Bob hugged me so tight he brought tears to my eyes and Kae and Grandma Razz both teared up as well.
It was a really fun day sharing the news with our families and we both agree that now that everyone knows, it is starting to feel a little more real.

Surprise!

The morning after we returned from our trip to St. George (also Marq's mom's birthday) we found out that we are having a baby! I had been feeling awful the week before but I took a test on Friday before we left town that was negative. I took the test on Tuesday morning before Marq left for work and this time it was positive. We were both excited and I think Marq was in total shock. I felt a huge wave of happiness and relief followed by excitement.
We are very excited and we hope that we are ready. We've waited a long time for Marq to finish school and to be in a place where we felt ready to enter this new chapter of our lives. We had some very specific goals and despite everyone's advice and warnings, we made it. Our dogs are still in denial but they will come around in time and we're sure they'll be a great big sister & brother. Chevy has always been really good with kids, Koda will be a bit of a challenge.

*I took the other two tests throughout the week just to be sure :)

Memorial Day Weekend

Marq & I spent Memorial Day Weekend in St. George with his parents. We had a great time laying by the pool, visiting Marq's sister Kim & her family and of course... doing a little hiking.
This is a hike we did in Zions.
More pics to come.

Devil's Garden Trail

On Sunday we headed back into the park and hiked the Devil's Garden trail. Here we are at Landscape Arch. The weather was perfect, warm but a little breezy. This is me on the spine of the trail, there are huge drops on both sides.
Here's Marq on the spine.
This is the Double O Arch. We are the 2 tiny specs in the lower arch. Marq in the lower O.
That's me, look closely.
Marq on the other side of the arches.
As usual we had a lot of fun spending time together and exploring. We are so lucky to live in a place with so much natural beauty. I love that Marq & I share a love of the outdoors and that we're able to do these things together. It was a wonderful weekend of reconnecting. Happy Anniversary Marq, I love you more & more each day.

Desert Bistro

Saturday night, after hiking, we found a great little restaurant called the Desert Bistro. The food was fantastic and it was a very serene, relaxing end to the day. I didn't get any photos but I had to mention it because we are still talking about the food! You can view pics and the menu and www.desertbistro.com. Marq had an awesome smoked buffalo steak and I had a chicken breast stuffed with Gorgonzola cheese. Next time you're in Moab check it out!

4-years already?

Last weekend we celebrated our 4-Year Wedding Anniversary with a trip to Moab, UT. I had never been to Arches National Park and we thought this was a good opportunity to ditch our dogs (not allowed in Arches) and check it out.
I have seen a million pictures of Delicate Arch but until you see it in person you cannot possibly appreciate it's wonder. You can't see the arch from the trail until the very end when you come up over the rock formation and suddenly the arch comes into view. It is spectacular!
This is definitely one of the wonders of the word that everyone should see! I am grateful that I finally made it there with Marq.
Our "classic Denice & Chico shot".
One more great adventure together down.... MANY more to go!

Mother's Day

In celebration of Mother's Day my adorable doggies took me for a hike :) We headed up Millcreek Canyon and hiked for a few hours. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. We got to see both of our mom's and almost all of our grandmas. I am so grateful to be surrounded by so many amazing women and mothers who are all an example to me in their own ways. Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers who have raised us, loved us, taught us and been examples to us in one way or another.

GRADUATION!!!

May 7th, 2010 was one of the greatest, most anticipated days of our lives here at the Rasmussen residence. Marq graduated from grad school earning his Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Utah. The day began early, especially for Marq who had been up until 2:30am finishing a paper the night before. We attended a very nice Commencement Ceremony that morning with some of Marq's family, where former Gov. Huntsman spoke.
After the ceremony we hurried home to finish getting ready. Marq mowed the lawns while Tahna and I took care of some last minute details. We ran to the store to get balloons for my cute centerpieces. When we got back we were unloading the truck when Tahna realized the balloons were flying away!!! I had left the front door open and they all escaped! Marq laughed but I was bummed because my centerpieces weren't nearly as cute without them. Luckily Tahna (being the best friend that she is) loves me enough to go get more balloons while I showered and got ready. THANKS TAHNA!!!We had both our families over for a big celebration BBQ. I think we ended up with about 30 people and it was nice to have everyone here with us to celebrate this huge accomplishment. We had 6 of our 7 nephews here (along with 3 of our nieces)and they managed to get along for the most part and tried to share all of the cars/toys. No one got punched in the nose that I'm aware of so I guess that's a success. They did manage to find the only dirt pile in our yard and I think they all ended up a little muddy :) After the BBQ we headed back up to the University for the College of Engineering Convocation Ceremony where we got to watch Marq walk. He is now the most highly educated member in either of our immediate families :) Way to go! Words cannot describe how proud I am of this man. He is the most determined, focused, brilliant, ambitious, hardworking person I know. He knows what he wants and is willing to do what it takes to get there. He has such a passion for learning that is inspirational to me. I love that despite the time restraints of school and a full time job he still makes time to be here and be a an amazing husband. I am thankful to be by his side and I look forward to seeing the amazing things he will accomplish.
We are also very thankful for all the support of both of our awesome families. We couldn't have done it without them. Marq has amazing parents that have always encouraged him to follow his dreams. They obviously did a fantastic job!
After the last ceremony it was time for the final celebration. Lots of our friends stop by to congratulate Marq and help celebrate. Thank you to all our good friends for all of their support and patience :) Hopefully now we'll be free to hang out with them all a lot more!