just keep breathing

this is a boring update post- no pictures. no time. sorry

in case you wondered, i'm still here. just very busy and unable to post about any of the fun and exciting things that have happened in the past 2 weeks.

brady is entering crunch time for studying for the MCAT. he has been taking a prep course all summer. monday was his last class, and now its completely up to him to stay focused and continue 6 to 8 hour days of studying until he takes the actual test on aug. 25th. he's been so good at going to class and doing all the "extra" work they've suggested, and has improved his score each time he's taken a practice test. i'm already proud of the hard work he has put into getting ready for this HUGE test. he has mapped out a 'course of action' for the next few weeks up until the test and informed me that its my duty to make sure he sticks to it! this will be a fairly large milestone in his life and for our little family when its finally over!

meanwhile, i have enjoyed slowly easing my work schedule and have hired brady's sister, danee, to take over my position. this is my last full time week, and then i will move to 3 days a week for the first two weeks in aug., and then i'm done FOREVER! don't get too excited for me, though. two weeks after that i'll be starting school, which brings me to why this week has been so busy. i've been doing my independent study public speaking course. I started last monday and i had to be done by today to meet the requirement for DH school, so that meant i was writing a speech and presenting it every night for the past two weeks. we also started our pre-natal classes last week! look at this picture on my book:

everytime i look at that chubby little baby face it makes me want to cry. i can't wait to meet my little baby.

last night we watched the birth video during our class. somehow, even with all the anatomy, physiology, and biology classes i've taken, i've never seen a birth video. i've been told by a countless number of people how disgusting it is and how you want to cover your eyes or make sure you haven't eaten lunch just before seeing that. this was not my experience at all. i must be the only person in the world who gets teary eyed while watching a baby be brought into the world, even with all the blood and fluid. maybe its the pregnancy hormones, or maybe i'm weird, but after the first 2 seconds of being a little shocked it honestly wasn't gross to me but seriously so amazing. it only took those few second to realize that this is how a baby is brought into the world! i want to see this! i am constantly amazed by how my body can grow and nourish a baby, and so thankful that i am able to be a woman and experience this unbelievable blessing.

other exciting things that have been happening and will likely show up in a later blog post:
-baby shower
-24th of july fireworks
-32 week visit (now i go to the doc every 2 weeks for the next month)
-brady took a pic of a wasps nest by our car. this doesn't merit a blog post, but you never know
-our re upholstered retro rocking chair

30 weeks

I know that I'm actually 31 weeks now, but this was taken last week and I'm just now getting around to posting it.

I still don't know how I really feel about posting pics of myself getting larger than life, but people ask for it and I guess I don't have a serious aversion to it, so I will. Sorry to those of you who hate cheesy baby bump pics. This is not really just a bump now. I think I've reached basketball status!

I get sick of looking at the same pose in the same place over and over, I told Brady to do something different.

I actually love this because he caught my reaction to feeling her move! Every pregnant woman says this, but now i know what your talking about- feeling her move is by far the BEST part of pregnancy! Its amazing to think of the little heart that is already pumping, little fists that are already punching, and a little life that has already started inside of me.

Lately we've been spending a lot of time in the baby's room. We bought the crib a few months ago, and since then we've been filling it with blankets, stuffed animals and cute trinkets that we've recieved. We have the tiny little shoes and slippers all in a row on the desk and piles of clothes in a basket and hung in the closet. For some reason we gravitate toward that room and find ourselves having all our conversations in there, whether they are about the baby or not. It has quickly become the favorite room in our little apt. The sun is always shining brightly through that window and we can't help but have good feelings when we enter. It's fun to see the crib in there and think about the day when another sweet spirit will fill that space.

*recently we've added a little rug, an old rocking chair we re-upholstered, and a retro dresser we got for $15! More about those things later.

Roller Skating Babies!!

So, this is probably the first thing we'll teach our baby when she comes out. Does anyone know where we can find baby rollerskates?

fireworks!

This is the last of the 4th of July posts I promise! We just packed so much in that I decided to do multiple posts because I have so many pics.

But in my mind, the 4th of July ain't over til something explodes.

Sidenote: when B and I were dating I told him that the 4th of July and Christmas were equally my favorite holiday. I don't have to explain why I love Christmas because who doesn't? But I think I love the 4th so much because I have such fond memories of going to my grandparents house, being with family, feeling so blessed to be an American, hearing stories about my dad and his brothers, eating good food, and watching my own brothers light fireworks. Watching fireworks makes me happy.

These don't need much of an explanation, but look at that sunset! I have to say it was more beautiful in person.

Eric found a fabulous spot for us to do fireworks. It seemed everyone in the entire community was out. Everywhere we turned there were BIG fireworks going off.

and here's the series of us sisters doing sparklers

it started off pretty calm

then we went crazy with our dancing and waving our arms in the air

It was the perfect ending to my favorite holiday.

4th of July continued...

After we saw the balloons, we packed up and drove up to Sarah and Eric's! The ride up went by so fast. We talked the whole way and enoyed scenery on the way up including wild horses, deer, and mountains!

my nephew Jack and me blowing bubbles

when the willits' got there we all went into town for the festivities

addie bean in her sun hat

nephews jack and griff playing on the playground

nephew colson climbing

griff found this cute little lady bug

enjoying the shade (our camera was doing something weird with the colors)

listening to the choir

eating snow cones

relaxing in the sun

the boys' favorite ride was the train

Afterwards we came home and the little kids and I took a nap. Then it was time for dinner! It was delicious grilled chicken, mom's baked beans, fruit salad, and corn on the cob- all my favorite things! Before we sat down to eat Colson was showing me his fish face:

little boys had a picnic on the lawn

while the big kids ate at the table :) we got to listen to the first annual Aanerud tradition of reading the Declaration of Independence (we might have to copy and make it a tradition of our own)!

and this one just because i like it. he looks so proud that he found that hammer all by himself.

::balloons::

On the morning of the 4th we went to see the hot air balloons at 6am! I've lived here for 5 years now but this was my first time to actually get myself out of bed to go. It was worth it. They played patriotic music and it felt good to be out with the community celebrating our nation's existence and freedom.

balloons being aired up

lovin those pig cheeks

this balloon went up with the flag and we sang the national anthem

all the balloons are ready to go

and they're off!

besides all the patriotic fun, it was also beautiful to see a little bit of the sunrise that morning :)

After our Saturday 4th of July festivities, we spent Sunday at Eric's grandma's trailer in the Uintas. It was beautiful and so refreshing to be spending some time in nature.



Jack riding 'the train' and saying, "little fly get off my thomas"


making a wish!


visiting the provo river falls








we sat and relaxed on the rocks and enjoyed the sun


on the way back we stopped to take in this gorgeous view


once we got back to the trailer we roasted hot dogs for lunch




little cousins hiding from the smoke




making another wish!


eric and brad making a fort for the boys




playing cards


a couple of deer decided to drink some water out of the stream and stroll by


eating tin foil dinners


i love it


and we couldn't leave until we made some s'mores






We had a blast! Thanks, E and S for letting spend the weekend with you guys!