Temples.

Last week, Alek had to go to St. George for work. We decided to make a little trip out of it and spend the weekend down there. On Friday night we stopped to get some strawberry ice cream at the famous Nielsen's Frozen Custard... mmmmm! Then we decided to go walk around the St. George temple. 

The spirit inside of the Lord's house is indescribable. It's so strong that it radiates and feels the whole temple grounds with a calming spirit.  Just stepping inside the temple gate floods me with so many happy emotions. 

I loved how everything was so green there. It made the whiteness of the temple stand out even more. Seriously,  I could not get over how beautiful everything was! 

The flowers were my favorite part. My dream is to have my flower garden look as perfect as the temple's flowers. Got a LONG way to go. I have always said that my dream job would to be the gardener/care taker for any of the temple grounds. Seriously? How awesome would that job be? Spend all day on the temple grounds planting flowers and making sure everything looked perfect! 

After we walked around the temple we found a bench and sat down. Lately, me and my dad's favorite subject to talk about at work is the second coming. We've talked about being prepared, when its going to happen, what things have to happen first, and just how evil the world is today. I don't like to admit this too often but, I'm a big worrier. I seem to think about things to the extreme and they stay in my head FOREVER! 

 I realized as I sat on this bench, in the middle of all the beautiful flowers, staring up at the temple, that I wasn't worried. Anything could have happened at that exact moment, and I would've been JUST fine. I told Al, "I never want to leave. I want to stay here and feel this way forever." 

Then I decided, if everyone took 10 minutes out of their day, just to spend walking around on the temple grounds, the world would be a different place. I know that's not possible, but, it would give everyone a different perspective. I always feel recharged with strength to be able to go back out into the world, head strong. 

After, sitting on the bench for awhile, and soaking in all the happy feelings I could possibly manage, we decided we should probably get going. I snapped a few more pics and we walked out of the gate and got into our truck. 

Literally, 10 seconds later, we weren't even pulling out of the parking lot yet, when the worldly Lindsie came back. Across the road, there was a bigger/over weight lady driving her motorized cart.... walking her dog. Yes, I still find it comical. But, the comment I made to Alek was not very Christ like. Alek, being the good man he is, pointed this out to me and immediately I felt like jumping out of the truck and running back inside the temple gates. AHH I felt so guilty :( All those happy rainbows and butterfly feelings were gone in an instant because of something I said. 

From that point on, I vowed  I would try and be better about the things I do and say. I want my home to have the spirit in it. In the future, I want my kids to be able to come home and to feel safe and happiness just like the temple! 

Pregnancy Update

15 Weeks

18 Weeks

 20 Weeks

21 Weeks

 23 Weeks

 24 Weeks

27 Weeks

Hello Third trimester! Can't believe I'm already 2/3 of the way done. Its gone by pretty quick! Hopefully these last few weeks do the same! Everyday I get more and MORE excited for this little baby boy.

Movement:
I felt him first move around 18 weeks. I was laying in bed when all of a sudden I felt little bubble-like movements in my belly. They were very light and I had to concentrate really hard. But by 20 weeks I was feeling him kick everyday. It's the COOLEST thing ever! Especially now that he is bigger. I like to just sit and watch my belly move and poke out here and there. It keeps me entertained on my slow days at work :)
It took Alek a little while before he actually could feel him kick with his hand. It was around 22 weeks I believe when the little guy kicked his dad. Alek's expression was PRICELESS! I couldn't help but laugh. Now he moves all the time for his daddy. Yesterday when Alek got home from work, he gave me a nice big hug and the little guy kicked him. Alek jumped back pretty startled. :) This little boy is sure active!

Weight:
So far I've gained 18 pounds. Whoo! I try not to think about it and just know this little guy is gonna be big and healthy :) I can worry about the weight after, right?

Belly:
My belly button is SO close to popping out. It looks really funny. I thought it never popped out until like the last week of pregnancy but I guarantee mine will be sticking out here within a couple weeks. 
The baby is also sitting really high. It's quite uncomfortable on my ribs. I'm guessing (I can't really tell) that his feet are right up in my ribs. That's were most of the pokes and kick come from and my right side ribs are constantly aching. So far that's the only this making me uncomfortable. I just can't sit for long periods on time. Standing feels soo much better than sitting. 

Clothes:
I have ONE pair of pants that still fit me. YAY! Other than that... maxi skirts and dresses have been my life savor!  They are soo comfortable! And they are so light weight that it will be wonderful in the summer! 

Name:
Ha.... where do I begin. Alek and I have COMPLETELY opposite taste when it comes to names. I describe the names he comes up with as... "random letters thrown together" that's how strange they are! I like unique to a point! But, not where it's so off the charts people start to question our sanity. That being said.. Alek says I have a nerdy taste in names and if I name our child he is going to grow up being made fun of for his name.  HAHA But, if you were to ask me if we have decided on a name, I would tell you yes! Because I have a name that I think is absolutely just PERFECT! I'm slowly trying to.... sorta.. brainwash Al into thinking the same.  How evil am I? I think its working though. 
"I can't wait for Baby J to be here."
"Aren't you so excited for Baby J?"
I make these comments and I don't know if Alek just ignores me or what but so far he hasn't stopped me. :) So I plan to keep doing it and hoping the name starts to grow on him. Also, when we do 100% agree on a name finally, we aren't planning on telling anyone until he is born because I don't want to have to deal with listening to people's opinions of why it's a stupid name, or who else has that name. Sure you can tell me your opinion... but I don't really care... ouch, too bold? 

Cravings:
The only food that has stayed consistent through my whole pregnancy has been fruit. Ahh strawberries are to die for!! and watermelon... mmmm :) Other than that, the cravings have changed week to week. Last week was french toast. I swear I made it for dinner every night. The week before that was hot dogs. Weird huh? 

Blood Clot:
The blood clot has been doing great! My leg feels fine. No more pain! I'm very happy about that. It still swells every once in awhile and walking long distances, or stairs are A LOT more tiring than they use to be. Really, the only thing that has been a pain (literally) has been the shots. I dread each morning and night when Alek reminds me he has to inject a needle into me. They hurt! and man do I have some gnarly bruises! I have a Dr. appointment next week so hopefully we will hear good news. Hoping the clot is completely gone! I'm also "wishful thinking" and hoping they let me start doing just one shot a day instead of two. Crossing my fingers!

School's Out!- Part 6

The end of my Jr. year rolled around with the excitement that always comes when summer is near. On the last day of school, well technically the day you go for two hours to sign year books, I was keeping an eye out for Alek. I really wanted him to sign my year book! and... ya okay.. I probably wanted to see and talk to him before summer vacation as well.

Al and I were talking a bit more now but, things were still VERY causal. He was PROBABLY still holding a grudge with me because I turned him down and told him I didn't like him. Do you blame him? And I still could not accept the fact that I was maybe slightly interested in him. I kept telling myself I just wanted to be friends. 

My friends and I spent the morning mingling, signing year books, and talking about Summer. But I was constantly distracted by always keeping an eye out for Al. Where was he?! What if I don't get to see him today?! Finally, people started leaving. I was getting depressed :( I didn't want to leave! I wanted to see Alek!  My friend FINALLY convinced me into texting him. I REALLY hate being the one to send the first text. Guess I'm old school like that. Plus! I had been texting him first A LOT lately because well... I broke his heart and he didn't ever want to text me. But I caved, and tried to send him a nonchalant, casual, "Hey, watcha doin?" text. He responded  with a very short text. "In Gym. Playing basketball."

 So, he IS here! I got all excited with butterflies. Then, I felt all weird because of course, he was being short with me. Ugh. My friend tried to talk me into going and finding him but, I didn't want to look desperate! Was anyone else like this?? Seriously, we made things so difficult! Instead I just replied, with asking him what his plans were that day. Hoping that we could get together and do something fun! It was taking him FOREVER to text me back. Rachel and I sat down in the hallway trying to decide what to do. Most everyone that was there signing year books had left. Wow, did I feel cool? Here I was sitting in the hallway of my empty high school on the first day of Summer. Finally, Al replied and said that him and his friends were going boating at Hyrum Dam. 

"That sounds like SO much fun!!" I replied. I tried to hint that I wanted to go too and was hoping for an invite. One thing I have learned since then is that hinting NEVER EVER works on men. They don't/won't ever pick up on it. But, since I didn't know that back then, I just figured he didn't want me to go with him because he never invited me to go. :( I was pretty sad! 

So, what did Rachel and I do?? We went and sat on the beach of Hyrum Dam and watch all the boats drive passed, wondering which one Al might be on. Yep. Pathetic right? Starting our summer out with a real bang...

A few days later, summer had arrived and so had all the "out of school" parties. I was over at a friends house with a big group of people and all of a sudden I received a text message from Al! I was shocked! 

"Hey, Jeremy and I are bored. Wanna come hang out with us?" 

I felt bad ditching out on the party but was very excited that Alek actually was putting forth effort to hang out again. I couldn't say no! Within 15 minutes, he had drove to the house where the party was at and was picking me up. 

It was a pretty chill night! All we did was just drive around, talking, and listening to music. The two boys, of course, had a good time being goofy and making me laugh. Even though we didn't do anything extravagant, I still had a blast! Hmmm.. there was something intriguing about this boy that maybe I missed at first!

The next night, I was planning on going to another party. I somehow felt very brave and decided to invite Al to come with me! We had a great time! Him and I just hung out the whole time by ourselves. We were surrounded by tons of other people. But, as cheesy as this sounds, it could have been just us 2 there and I wouldn't have noticed the difference! We talked by the fire, roasted marshmallows, and played on the swing set. Then, Al had this idea to climb this tree that was in the back yard. Even though I was in flip flops, I thought it sounded like a fun idea.

By this time the sun had gone down and the only light was from the fire and the movie that most people were watching. Alek gave me a boost to the first branch and we started climbing. At first things stayed pretty casual, about how they had been the whole night. We were just talking and climbing this tree. Then... I started noticing something. We started making eye contact more often and He seemed to be matching my eye level where ever I went. If I went a branch higher, so would he. If I went back down, so would he! Then, He would hold my gaze smiling, before I would awkwardly hurry and look away to find another branch to climb. This went on for awhile!

He wants to kiss me!!!!! I started getting nervous and my hands started sweating. I wasn't sure I was ready...  Did I want to kiss him? I still wasn't sure I liked him in that kind of way! I LOVED hanging out with him. He was great and hilarious and easy to talk to... but.... ahhhh! I was freaking out on the inside.

I wasn't ready. I guess I still needed more time. After awkwardly playing this chasing, eye-gazing game for awhile (Alek was pretty stubborn, and wasn't taking the hint) (Remember what I said about hints?) I decided enough was enough. I jumped out of the tree and suggested we go back to the swings.

As Alek jumped out of the tree to follow me, we ran into the dad of the girl's house we were at.

"You guys find a nice spot to make out?"

I was soooo embarrassed!! Was this guy serious? Ya, sure it MIGHT have looked like that but, to make such a quick assumption.

"Uh... no sir, we were just climbing the tree," stammered Alek.

"Is that what they call it now days?" the dad said as he walked away. I was speechless. Alek just busted up laughing, which made me laugh. The awkwardness lighten and things went back to the chill, casual way they were before.

A couple days later, Alek had a party up at his house! A lot of people were there, but once again, it was like it was just Alek and I at the party. We got along so good. Talking and being around him was so much fun! 

There was one point where Al and I were jumping on the tramp with a few other friends. It was pretty late by this point and started to get a bit cold. Someone suggested we go grab blankets and watch for shooting stars. I started getting nervous.....blankets could only mean one thing... CUDDLING! Sure enough within a few minutes there was a big pile of blankets on the tramp and people started pairing off and getting comfortable. Al, came a sat down next to me and threw a blanket over both of us. I was hugging my knees up close to my chest. My hands were sweating and I was SOO paranoid he was going to grab my hand, so I kept trying to secretly wipe them off on my pants. 

We definitely stuck out among the other couples because everyone else was laying down looking up at the stars and here we were sitting up and I, squeezing the feeling out of my legs. At one point he did put his arm around me and pulled me a bit closer. My heart was racing! Eventually I calmed down, relaxed a little bit and laid my head on his shoulder. It was nice! Man, maybe I did like this boy a little more than I was making myself believe. It was so nice to sit there and look at the pretty view of cache valley and all the stars and snuggle with Al. I wish I could remember all the stuff we talked about! 

After a little bit, He turned and looked me in the eyes and said, "Can I ask you a question?" 

Oh boy. He is going to ask me to kiss him.  I thought to myself.

"Can I take you on a date tomorrow night? Lately we have just been hanging out at all these parties and I really want to take you on a official date again." 

Aww! I thought it was the sweetest thing! It's a good thing it was dark because there's a good chance I blushed. I agreed and snuggled a bit closer to him. 

After a little longer, it was time for me to get going, so I could make it home by curfew. He gave me a hug and told me he would see me tomorrow. Ah the butterflies! I was so twitterpated the whole way home and could hardly sleep that night! Maybe this Summer is going to turn out good after all! :)

Stay tuned for the next post about our date! Its possible it will include the first kiss!

P.S. Unfortunately we never took pics until after we started dating, so all these pics are from our senior year. Just figured I add some older pictures to break up the blog post a bit. I have a hard time reading blogs when there are no pictures!! :)