Did You Hear the News?

Yes, it's true.  I'm due on June 7.  We're excited to have this new little addition to our family.

Does this explain a little bit of why our lives have been so crazy lately?  Pregnancy itself hasn't been too bad (minus some complications), but I've had a recurring infection that mimics food poisoning except it lasts a lot longer.  Combine that with morning sickness and I've been very, very sick.  As in going into the ER to get rehydrated sick.  We think that I am finally over it and I'm feeling much better.

The only upside to being so sick is that we've had lots of ultrasounds (I think about 6 or 7) and have been able to see baby a lot.  Baby is quite the squirmer!  It's quite exciting to see baby's heartbeat and growing strong.  We'll find out next month if it's a girl or boy, but we will be happy with either!

A Longwood Christmas

One side effect of our lives being so beyond crazy lately is that Brad and I haven't really had any time together, but a few weeks ago Brad got out of class a few hours earlier than usual.  We've been wanting go to see the Christmas displays at Longwood Gardens and this was our chance.

I know this may sound lame, but our favorite part of the night was Brad treating me to dinner in the park.  We haven't had a good solid hour to sit down and talk together in a while.  And more than just about our crazy lives right now.

They had these awesome water fountain displays put to Christmas music.

You really can't get a scale of how big this tree is.  Those silver ornaments on the tree were as large as bowling balls.

The conservatory was spectacular.  There were Christmas trees everywhere and they had lilies perfuming the air.  It was fun to see all the lights at Longwood since we can't go see the lights at Temple Square anymore.  I think it might become a new Christmas tradition.

Christmastime in the City

On Sunday at church we sang both Joy to the World and Go Tell It On the Mountain in the same meeting.  The ward gospel choir (yes, you read that right, gospel choir) did a number and was moving and a swaying.  There might have been some hallelujahs and amens in there too.  And there was a harp solo.  It was quite the eclectic mix, but it was actually one of my favorite Christmas sacrament meetings ever.  It definetly had a Philadelphian spin on it.

We also had some friends over to enjoy the Packer tradition of French Pancakes at Christmas.  Yes, they heard the story of the dying French solider and why we make ten times the recipe every year.  We also made some gingerbread houses.  Scott and Mikjan made the Eiffel Tower, Nettie the Nativity scene, and Holly the house from Up.  What did we make?  Brad wanted a dental office.  He's funny like that.

You Know You Married a Dental School Student

Brad has these awesome "Lunch and Learn" presentations at dental school.  Basically some dental company/professional provides lunch for the students and then tells them about their product or company.  The great thing is the Brad often gets free lunch 3 or more times a week.  I don't have to remember to pack him a lunch!

Brad gets all sorts of great dental products to try for free this way.  This includes more free tubes of toothpaste then we know what to do with, floss, mouthwash, and even a free professional grade electric toothbrush from Oral B.  Sometime Sonicare is supposed to come and Brad will get another free toothbrush.  Brad also won a $50 gift card to Target.  Thank you, thank you very much.

One day the presentation was by a company who make loupes (special dental magnification glasses.)   These are something you just have to buy even though they are ridiculously expensive.  We're talking about putting down a $1000 on glasses! During the presentation, the presenter showed the class the indestructible material that the loupes are made out of.  She asked Brad to come up to prove that the material was unbreakable.  She gave Brad a hammer and told him to hit it as hard as he could a few times.  She said with confidence that if Brad could get it to break she would give Brad a free pair of loupes.  With Brad's tennis serve prowess he came down on the magnifier and shattered the thing!  The class broke out in cheers while the presenter stood speechless.

Brad received an email from her later saying that in the twenty years she had been doing the presentation no one had been able to break the magnifier, nor had anyone in the testing lab.  She was good to her word though.  Brad only needed to stop by their booth on campus to get fitted and the loupes were his for free.

They came in the mail last week and Brad had to put them on right away.  Don't you love the bug eye look it gives?  I will admit they are pretty cool.  We are so grateful that we didn't have to pay for them!

*If you are feeling at all jealous of our freebies please remember we are paying a way ridiculous amount of tuition and the free perks are nothing in comparison with that.  Even after winning a free $1000 pair of loupes.  But it certainly doesn't hurt!

Thanksgiving 2011

Even though we didn't go anywhere for Thanksgiving, we still had a pretty good spread.  Yeah, that turkey, I made it.  This was the first time I've made turkey and I'm kind of proud that I made it all by myself.  I even brined it overnight.  I also made the stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie.  We had the Downs and the Jacks from from our ward come and they brought the green bean casserole, yams, and apple pie.  We were stuffed!

Nettie also brought one of her family traditions to share, a homemade piñata!  We had a lot of fun trying to break the thing open.  We loved having our friends over to enjoy food and games with us!

Family History Trip

My mom is doing a lot of genealogy right now.  When we told her we were going to University of Pennsylvania the first thing she said was, "Oh, I can visit you and do family history."  Yes that is right.  We just happen to live in a city where my mom goes on family history trips.  Actually, this works out great for us.  We get to see my mom more this way.  About a month ago my mom and my aunt Wendy came on one of these trips.

They did spend their first day with me.  I convinced them that they should buy a Living Social deal with me for 1/2 off tickets to the Philadelphia Museum of Art (#2), i.e. the one with the stairs Rocky climbs.  They had a really cool exhibit called Rembrandt and the Face of Christ that I've been dying to go see.  The exhibit of Rembrandt's paintings was amazing!  And the rest of the museum was the coolest art museum I've ever been too.  They had entire rooms made to reflect rooms from around the world.  We visited China, Japan, India, England, France, and Spain, just to name a few, in a matter of hours.  It was a little breathtaking to see all the detail that went into these rooms.

And any trip to the Art Museum wouldn't be complete without seeing Rocky (#10).

The rest of the trip was mostly spent on family history, eating good food including two Iron Chef restaurants (Garces' Distrito and Bobby Flay's Bobby's Burger Palace), and hanging out.  We might let them back for another "family history" trip if they promise to have as much fun with us again.

Visit from a Friend

About a month ago, one of my high school friends, Holly, had an interview at Temple University for medical school.  She was lucky enough to fly in early enough to spend sometime with me and let me show her Philly.  We had quite the adventure.  Valley Forge, Independence Mall, Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Reading Market, City Hall, and Love Park.  And there were cheesesteaks.  She got quite the quick tour of the best of Philadelphia.  I'm so glad Holly could come visit!

We had an extra special tour of Independence Hall.  We were able to see the second story of the building which they don't always let visitors do.  So, so cool!

See all the fun things I can show you in Philly if you come visit!  Our home is always welcome for friends and family!