Meet me in St. Louis, and Kansas City and Omaha!

We took advantage of Bryce's week off last week to do some sight seeing and family visiting in the Midwest.
______
First stop: St Louis, MO where we saw a Cardinals game,

Went to the zoo and the World's fair sight,
Visited the famous arch, and walked along the river where we could see the steam boats going up and down,
And went to the Temple.Next stop, Kansas. We got to spend a couple of days visiting with Bryce's brother Kyle and his wife Kristin. Their little girl is stinking cute, but I didn't get any pictures of her.
_______

We went to a Kansas City Royals game. The team pretty much stinks, but I think Kauffman Stadium is my favorite of all the ball parks we've been to so far.Then we hit up the church history sites in the area: Independence, MO, Liberty Jail, Far West and Adam ondi-Ahman. I loved the visitor's center at Indepedence. Their presentation about families was so touching, and the video segment of President Monson's talk on Finding Joy in the Journey Now was super inspiring.
We were the only ones at Adam ondi-Ahman when we visited. Incredibly beautiful and peaceful! (there was a shocking rainbow behind me, but you can't really see it)

And finally we stopped for one day in Omaha, NE to visit Bryce's sister Becky and her family. They took us to the Mormon Trail center and Winter Quarters temple. Another great visitor's center! I think my favorite part of this visit was while walking home from church, Charlie (four-year-old in the yellow shirt) asked me, "So what do you like about plants?" We discussed the subject all the way home. He likes trees and grass the best.

These kids are so well-behaved! I hope that's a trait all Fortner children are born with, and not just a result of Becky and Justin's superior parenting skills.

We didn't really get our fill of Bryce's siblings, but luckily we will see them in Seattle in a few weeks for a family wedding!

For our next summer trip we are going a little more exotic. Jamaica, I will see you in a few days!

You know you're a nerd when...

This is Bryce's current mouth wash of choice. It has fluoride, so it's better than all the other mouthwashes we have in our bathroom cupboard.

A few days ago he wakes up and has to tell me about a dream he had...

adsd

"I dreamt that I was really excited because Listerine came out with a new CINNAMON flavor, and I couldn't wait to try it! But then I found out it doesn't have fluoride so I was super disappointed."

ADSad

I guess you know you're a nerd, or maybe you just know your husband is a nerd when he dreams about the excitement and disappointment associated with new oral hygiene products!

But the good news is, Dental School is halfway done!

asdgf

Here are the friends and classmates that Bryce has made it through with: Matt, Ryan, Eric, Rich, Brad, Rick and Trent.(Not pictured: Scott, Brett and Jonathan)

The support staff. The wives that have made it through together: Jenna, Lindsey, Brooke, Rachel, Melissa, Christie and Kimberly. (Not pictured- Kim, Jamie and Candace
I sure am grateful for all these people and how fun they have made this Indiana experience so far!
asfdF
And of course, our growing family. And I mean growing!
sdfADF

Oh yeah, and Hazel as decided she would like to follow in Bryce's footsteps...

ITCHY!!!

I itch all over and I think it's going to drive me crazy! For the last 2 and a 1/2 weeks I have been getting patches of hives all over my body that itch continually.

It's not bug bites or poison ivy, it's not an allergic reaction to a new laundry detergent or bath soap. It's also not PUPPS or any of those syndromes associated with pregnancy that make you itch. So, nothing diagnosable so far. All my OB gave me was a recommendation to see a dermatologist.

And the dermatologist can't get me in until July 2nd.

I can only slather my entire body with Benadryl cream so many times a day! Has this ever happened to anyone else while pregnant?

And, how do I make it stop?

Unemployed!

And 100% happy about it.

I didn't believe the end of this school year would ever truly come.

But it came, I survived and now on with life. I'm so happy I'll be getting to stay home with our little girl. However, I'm kind of overwhelmed at what I'm going to do with myself for the 11 hours a day I used to be at work each day until she comes...

I do have lots of projects on my to-list, such as

Refinishing this dresser,

turning this stack of fabric into bedding, curtains, etc. for the nursery,

replanting our little garden that got washed away in heavy rains,

cleaning out my garage

using my gym membership

knocking some books off my summer reading list

nagging Bryce about getting a fence put up

and on and on.

Oh, and to all my friends in the Indianapolis area, I am free to hang out now, ANY TIME!

Yes, I think I am going to like being job-free.

That's right folks!

We're having a girl!
Ruffles and bows, YAY! And, no need for me start pretending I'm interested in sports just yet.

Our little missy is looking good and healthy, due September 18th.

I'm so excited, I can't stand it.

Wedding

This past weekend I got to go out to Denver, Colorado for my little cousin Mindy's wedding.

Mindy is just about one of the sweetest people I know. Always happy, always loving and always serving. She and her new husband are definitely destined for eternal bliss.

Besides the sealing itself, highlights included hanging out with all the zany Daines women...

(Anna, Aunt Mickey, Aunt Marsha, Aunt Diane, Aunt Suzanne, Randi, Mom, Aunt Gail and Grandma at Sweet Tomatoes, a favorite lunch spot when these ladies get together)

Seeing my mom, and seeing her tear up while patting my tummy because, "That's my grandbaby in there!"

And of course, my beloved snister.

Highlights not pictured: playing speed scrabble with Grandma (and yes she beat me,) all the amazing food at the family dinner and reception and seeing the Rocky Mountains again. I've missed them!

Birthday Present

Our birthday was last week. Ours meaning mine and Bryce's. Yep. On the same day. It was a fantastic birthday. We were joined in celebrating by lots of our good friends here in Indiana and turning 25 didn't feel quite as bad as I had expected.

We got a joint b-day present this year, a new camera!

I don't post pictures very often because our previous camera was
A. kind of broken,
B. took forever to upload pictures to the computer and
C. didn't even take nice looking images.

Now, I don't purport to have any kind of photography skill or know-how, but this new camera does take a nice picture!

Here's to lots of future picture posting!