Quarter of a century!

Yep, that's right. I turned a quarter of a century on Sunday. As I've gotten older, birthday's aren't as a big deal as they used to be.  I prefer more quiet, down to earth celebrations then my crazy ethnic birthday parties I used to throw for myself when I was younger.  

Sunday morning I slept in until 9:00 a.m.  That like never happens in my life.  I woke up and could smell breakfast cooking in the kitchen.  I rolled over to expect to see the other half of the bed empty, to my surprise McKay was right there next to me sleeping. I thought to myself, who in the world is cooking downstairs?  I knew it wasn't Winston!  I woke up McKay and both of us walked downstairs to see our "room mate" Kevin and his girlfriend Shelley cooking breakfast.  As soon as they saw me they started to sing Happy Birthday to me. What a sweet surprise.  They cooked a delicious breakfast with fried hash browns, egg omelet, and healthy blueberry muffins.  It was a beautiful Sunday morning, sunny, and warm.  The most exciting thing about breakfast was I didn't have to clean up!  They were so sweet.  They even gave me a gift.  Thanks Kevin and Shelley for the great birthday gift.

Church was good.  I didn't have to give a lesson, so I could sit back, relax and learn.  I was able to sit with the sunbeams because all of the primary teachers were in a class together.  The entire time I was trying to teach one of the little sunbeams, that lifting her dress over her head wasn't lady like.  

After church we went over to my parents where my Grandpa and Grandma Craig and Auntie Caroline where there.  My Mom made one of her most delicious dishes, I don't know why, but we call it Hearty Polenta. After we stuffed ourselves we sat down together as a family and digested.  I noticed McKay had some evidence left over in his teeth. He looked funny, so I took a picture of him.  

It wasn't long before we were ready for the famous Craig Cake.  It's Angel Food Cake with a whipped cream frosting with strawberries folded into it.  

I opened a few gifts.  I got some maternity pants and a shirt (thank you Mom, you noticed how I was popping out of my clothes during our trip to Oregon).  Thank you Auntie Caroline for the chocolate covered gummy bears.  Caitlin and I ate all of them in one sitting.  They were delicious.                 

Oregon

 What a fun weekend.  My parents, Cameron, McKay and I were able to travel to Oregon to celebrate a momentousness day in my Great Grandpa's life, his 100th Birthday.  I had three agendas for this vacation.  

1. Spend quality time with family.

2. Eat as much seafood as my stomach and baby would allow.

3. Relax and take long strolls on the beach  

We flew in Saturday early morning and met up with both sets of my Grandparents for an early lunch at this Ma and Pa restaurant called Davidson's in Tigard.  My Mom used to work here when she was in high school.  It's funny because whenever we go there she has to tell every worker she comes across how she used to work there and how she's an expert on what food their known for.  I was so excited because last time I visited Oregon (three years ago) I found this vending machine in Davidson's that sells stick on mustaches.  Caitlin and I bought a couple of them and on our way home (16 hour drive from Oregon to Utah) we were bored stiff and thought it would be funny to put on the mustaches.  We put them on and drove a couple hundred miles with them on.  For some reason my Mom was so embarrassed by these mustaches she yelled at us about it.  Caitlin and I laugh about it every time about how funny and weird and  Mom was acting.  I took this picture of the vending machine and got a bought a couple mustaches for old times sake.  

 

After lunch we went over to the country club my Great Grandpa belongs to to help set up for the 100th Birthday party celebration.  I was able to get a snap of a picture of him when he was a young man.  

Thomas Young Emmett 

1930

The thing I love so much about him is that he's always been a very hard worker. When he was 17 he was financially taking care of his Mother and his younger siblings.  He never went to college but always credits his education to what he learned while serving over 60 years in the church.  He's was a bishop at the young age and was so for many years.  He later became a stake president and was so for many years.  The last stretch of his life he was made Temple President for the Portland Temple.  He ran a successful business for many years and now is definitely retired and lives on a golf course.  He is so sharp, he still goes walking every morning and has more energy than I do.  He has friends in high places, even President Monson took time to wish him a Happy Birthday through a card.

Great Grandpa Tom saying thank you to everyone at the party. 

 

Everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to this very special man.

 

The next day the family was able to check out the new Visitor's Center at the Portland Temple where my Grandpa was featured in a couple of videos about the building of the temple and local church history.     

Afterwards we took some pictures of this beautiful temple. Thanks to Instagram and their awesome filters.

 

On the way to the coast the boys wanted to stop and take a picture of the cool airplanes at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville.  Behind this jet we could see the Spruce Goose.  If you don't know what that is, I challenge you to do read up on your aviation history.    

Grabbed some grub at Mo's.  McKay got the Halibut Fish N' Chips

 

I ordered the crab melt.  So yummy and delicious. 

 

Of course we had to take a picture with the voluptuous naked mermaid outside of Mo's.

 

We finally got to the beach house in Gleneden! This house is amazing.  It belongs to my aunt's family and when I say we had a front view of the beach, we really did.  

 

 One of the first things we did when we got to the coast was go walking on the beach.  Stupid blonde moment for Courtney.  Under estimating how cold it gets on the coast in Spring.  Because I'm a nice wife I thought I would pack for McKay.  I do a pretty good job of doing this, but this time I dropped the ball big time.  I forgot to pack a coat, jacket, and an extra pair of pants for McKay and didn't pack anything relatively warm for myself either.  Thank you to all of our family members who let us borrow their warm gear.    

 

 

The next day we visited the Yaquina Light House in Newport Beach.

The light that directs ships

The stairwell that leads up to the top of the lighthouse.  We grabbed lunch at this place called Local Ocean in Newport Beach, and it was so delicious.  I didn't get a beautiful picture of my food, but this is a must stop.    I ordered the Tuna Mignon and it was mouth watering.  I was happy, I did get my seafood fix during this trip.  

A must stop for everyone is the Tillamook Cheese Factory Visitor Center in Tillamook.  We took some pictures, wandered around, ate lots of cheese samples and best saved for last, got delicious ice cream.

Moo!

Overall we had a fun trip. It went by too fast. This was McKay's first time going to Oregon.  He was impressed by its beauty and how wet it was.  I don't know if I could live there, but visiting is sure fun.  Here is a picture of me at 17 weeks, what eye candy I am.  

Beautiful weekend and a loose cannon on a ship

This past week and weekend was stupendous.  It was a busy week, but totally worth it.  Earlier in the week McKay and I were able to attend Jenelle's endowment with the family.  Going to the temple once a month is a real challenge for McKay and I, the sad part is whenever I go I'm so glad I went.  I was so glad that we were able to attend the temple this week, especially when with what we were about to deal with later in the week.   

Thursday was an exciting/tough day.  It was exciting because I was leaving work early so we could head down to St. George.  It was tough because right before I left work I got a phone call from my OB that my test results from my Alpha Feto-protein Test came back abnormal.  This test tests for Down Syndrome, spina bifida, and other genetic problems.  So when the OB told me there's a change there might be something wrong with the baby, I was numb.  My doctor scheduled an appointment at McKay Dee Hospital with a Fetal Maternal Physician where we would meet with a genetic specialist and get a detailed ultrasound.  In tears I called my Mom and told her of the news.  She reassured me that those tests have a lot of false positives and that everything would be OK.  My Mom was so sweet to send a little e-mail to immediate family letting them know about our news and asked everyone to keep us in our prayers over the weekend.  McKay and I decided we wouldn't tell McKay's family because we didn't want to dampen the mood for Jenelle and Mark's wedding.  It was hard not being able to talk about it because we were surrounded by his family the entire weekend.  

Friday came around and it was a beautiful day, because it was a busy day, it helped McKay and I not to focus on the sad news we got the day before.  Jenelle and Mark got married in one of the sealing rooms that's in the Celestial Room, so all of us had to change into our white clothing.  It was special, small, and intimate.  I told McKay if I could redo our wedding again I would opt for a smaller more intimate wedding like theirs.  What a beautiful couple Jenelle and Mark are, they will definitely have beautiful babies.  After the ceremony was a luncheon, and a reception. 

On Saturday the girls spent a extensive amount of time at the D.I. where I found a army green colored leather jacket and two tops that will be very cute once I fix them.  The family decided to go hiking up Snow Canyon.  On our way back from the hike McKay and I both felt it was good time to tell his family of our heavy news.  It felt so good to be able to get it off our chests and be able to talk about it with people who we love.  I feel very blessed to have a family that is supportive, loving, and caring.  Everyone put their arms around us and told us how much they love us and how everything was going to be OK, no matter the outcome of the ultrasound.  We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking, going out to dinner, and watching a movie.

Sunday rolled around too fast and I felt the need to go to church.  I hate admitting this, but I always find it a drag to go to church while on vacation.  That is a terrible attitude and I knew I needed to go.  The speakers talked about faith and I really enjoyed their talk because I could apply it to my life at that very moment.  On the way home we stopped in Orem to drop off McKay's brother and his wife.  Before we departed the family decided to have a family prayer and a priesthood blessing to comfort me and bless the baby.  I could truly feel the love and power of families in that room.  We were really excited to pick up little Winston from my parents house, especially when my Mom would tell me how he had behaved so well and how he was getting along with Molly and Maisie.  My Mom made an authentic Irish corn beef and cabbage dinner with potatoes and carrots, yummy.  It was good to hang out with my 90 year old grandparents.  I heart them.  

Today was the day.  The day we were going to get our ultrasound to find out if there's something wrong with the baby.  I felt very lucky to have McKay there next to me.  I kept thinking to myself, the positive thing about all of this is that I'll be able to find out the sex of the baby sooner.  We met with the genetic specialist that went over my lab results and immediately asked me what my due date was, I told him August 30th, he told McKay and I on the lab results someone wrote in August 13th as my due date.  He told us that having the due date off by that many weeks can make a huge difference whether or not the Alpha Feto-protein test comes back normal or abnormal.  He was pretty sure this was the reason for our abnormal test results.  This relieved us of some of our worry, but he recommended us getting the ultrasound just in case.  We went into the ultrasound room and I got ready and McKay got comfy.  It was amazing seeing the baby and how it was moving all over the place.  I thought to myself, wow this baby acts a lot like me, it can't sit still for very long.  Just like my Mom would tell me when I was young, "Courtney, you're like a loose cannon on a ship!"  We could see its five fingers, feet, hands, brain, heart, and it's face (the face looked kind of scary, because we could only see the skeleton).  Everything looked healthy and normal.  We told the tech we wanted to know the sex of the baby. She looked and said, "we definitely don't see any boy parts, so I'm assuming it's most likely a girl."  We were both really excited, especially me because this entire time I was certain it was a girl and McKay thought it was a boy.  The technician measured the baby and with its measurements the hormone levels the baby was giving off was accurate with my test results.  So the doctor gave us a thumbs up that nothing was wrong with the baby, hearing that made the weight we had been carrying for the entire weekend go away.  I'm so grateful and thankful that our baby girl is normal and healthy.    

Looking forward to Spring

It's been a long time since McKay and I have been on a vacation.  I'm getting really excited because our Spring is filling up fast with some mini vacations and I'm really excited getting out of this joint!  I know during the summer I'm going to be huge, hot, and swollen and won't want to go anywhere.  So here's to Spring traveling!

McKay's sister is getting married this weekend in St. George.  Warm weather, awesome hiking and good company, should be a great weekend. 

My Great Grandpa Emmett is turning a 100 years old on March 17th!  My parents, Cameron, McKay and I are going to Oregon to attend the celebration and were spending some quality time at the beach.  I'm really excited about this trip because McKay has never been to Oregon and has never seen the Oregon Coast.  I haven't been to Oregon for almost three years, and its time to go back.  Can't wait for the fresh sea food, cozy sweaters and flip flops, seeing my extended family, and having a ocean front view from my Aunt's beach house.

Great Grandpa Emmett, this was three years ago when he broke his back while trying to garden in his back yard.  The doctors said he would most likely die; he proved them wrong. Six months later he was walking and jogging every morning.  I swear he has more energy then me :(

A picturesque view of the Oregon Coast 

We had a lot of fun last time we visited. 

In April, McKay is participating in the Century Ride down in St. George.  It should be fun because we'll get see Erin and Tanner and hang out with them in beautiful St. George.  

In May, Andrew is graduating from Medical School and were flying down as a family to see the comencement ceremony and to hang out before they move away from beautiful California.  Can't wait for the sunny weather, 85 F Bakery, Mediternanean Cafe, the beach, and spending time with my sistas.

Cruising with Mel at Newport Beach

Two years ago looking over Coronado Island in San Diego

Mel and I shopping at one of the million awesome malls in California.

McKay and I made it a goal to visit a National Park at least once a year.  Last year it was Bryce Canyon, this year we decided it was time to see Capitol Reef National Park.  So were planning a camping trip to do some hiking and dirt camping during Memorial Day.  Should be really fun.

  

The rest of the summer, we don't have anything planned.  I know we'll be spending lots of time up at the cabin in Park City.  I'm planning on spending lots of time at the pool, floating like a hippo.