Gender Predictor

So this post is long overdue. The night before we found out our baby's gender, we did some of the little tests you can find online to predict the gender. Although I realize most of these are totally inaccurate, I still thought it would be fun. As you can see, the results were very mixed. This is something fun I just wanted to blog about so I can remember it. Here are some of the tests we did and the results:

Chinese (conception date and my birthdate):
Boy

Heart Rate (140 and above =girl, below 140=boy):
Girl (166bpm)

Mayan Legend (Even age- 26/odd year-2013):
Boy

Key (This was something to do with how you pick up a key-this one was the most obscure one to me):
Boy

Breaking Out (more zits=girl) Luckily my zits didn't get any worse!:
Boy

Ring Test (This one was weird too, the ring turned both ways, so we decided it was inconclusive):
Didn't count

Sickness (Apparently girls make you sick- well our little guy has given me plenty of nausea and barfs):
Girl

My New Hobby

I have developed a new obsession over the past few months. I guess it started a few years ago - around the time I met Janet. I have always said that if I got into fishing I would be most into fly fishing because it seems so much more involved. Around the time I met Janet I started to look more into fly fishing, but decided to back off because of how expensive it is. When Janet and I got married, her dad gave me an old spinner rod and bit by bit I started figuring out how to fish. I went to a river in town several times and tried my luck with night-crawlers and such. No luck. Soon I started buying lures and still no luck. I tried fishing when we went to the outer banks - and alas - no luck! I mentioned this to our bishop who decided to take me fishing on the lake by his house one morning, and promised me we would catch fish. We fished for about two hours and finally decided to head back. When we finally got into his cove, I finally caught one! It was a beauty!

I've tried fishing so many times since to no avail. I've been to local ponds and lakes, ponds and lakes out near Janet's parent's house, again at the Outer Banks -- nothin'. I was starting to be discouraged and think that all fish had conspired against me since people I go fishing with don't catch anything either. Well... there was one time that Janet's cousin Max caught a little fishie much like the beauty featured above when we were fishing together at the outer banks. But yeah - my morale was down, yet I kept trying.

Maximus Prime and Michaela

I mentioned not too long a go to a friend in the ward that I had been interested in eventually learning to fly fish, and he said he had some gear that he hasn't used in years, but refuses to get rid of. He told me he would love to let me borrow his stuff to see how I like it before I go and start spending money on it. I tried it several times and still not even a bite - though I was still super fascinated by it. I started to look up videos on how to cast, how to tie lines, what flies to pick etc. Soon I began watching plain old videos of people fishing. Janet started teasing me at that: "You're NOT EVEN fishing!" and so forth.

In October I went up to South Mountains to hike with some of my students in the Outdoor Club. We finished our hike about half an hour early and had time to look around the "river" near the picnic area and I saw several people fly fishing. I was kicking myself for not bringing the gear I had borrowed! They stock the streams there so there were trout EVERYWHERE! I resolved to return ASAP, and soon found an excuse going up for a picnic with Janet and a family that we are very close to. It was a gorgeous day, and we had some glorious food, but I quickly ran back out to the creek to scout out the trout and start casting. We let our friend's daughter Carmen take pictures with the fancy camera.

I caught a tree bass on first cast!

Carmen had a lot of fun taking pictures of nature and the happenings on. She did a great job! She was pretty happy to catch me snagging that tree, and my frustration at doing so.

If you look closely you can see several trout.

After about half an hour I caught one! It is so awesome to see the fish surface to gulp down your fly! I held it for a few minutes waiting for Carmen to come and take a picture, but when she got there, I tried to hoist it out of the water and it got away!!! I was so upset! I guess that's why they use nets to pull them out of the water. I have witnesses however that I did indeed catch an 8-10 inch trout which is a descent size for the area.

The crew at the creek.

Poor Janet got bored and laid down while we explored and fished.

Numero Dos

For our 2nd Anniversary Jon and I went to Charleston, SC. It was the first time we had ever been there. It is one of those places that everyone talks about so we planned to go for our "babymoon." We loved it! We left Thursday evening and arrived in our lakeside cabin late that night. We stayed at a KOA Campground which sounds ghetto to me but it was so nice and beautiful there.  We woke up to crazy sugar ants invading our food. We had to throw out most of us, which was very sad for this pregnant momma but we survived. We then took a freezing cold shower, planned our day, and off we went. First stop was Boone Hall Plantation. We learned about the history there. We toured the house, the gardens, the plantation, the slave cabins, and watched a performance about the Gullah culture. We absolutely loved it. Our favorite part was the amazingly beautiful oak trees that are very famous and this plantation has appeared in movies like the Notebook. After the plantation we went back to the cabin to rest up.

That evening we headed downtown to see the historic sites and go to the pier (The Battery). We planned to rent a tandem bike we didn't have much time before the shop closed and we didn't want to rush it so we hoofed it. We walked FOREVER past tons of fancy stops then switched over to another street. At first we were not too impressed but then we saw lots of old houses and buildings. The houses were SO fancy and all had gates around then. We kept peeping through the fences at the gardens and they were gorgeous. Jon and I love us some plants...seriously, it was incredible. We tried to get on a trolley but we walked so far that we passed all of the stops. Finally we made it to The Battery and it was so lovely. The sun was beginning to set and the water was so peaceful. It was gorgeous. We didn't stay there too long because we were hungry and I had to go potty. We walked back down the street with all the fancy shops in search of food. Jon picked a winner! We ate at this amazing BBQ place with mouth-watering cheddar biscuits and Mac The Cheese (as they call it.) For days Jon and I could not stop talking about those biscuits and that mac. When Jon first bit into the biscuit he practically threw the other one at me and said, "taste this!" It was so good he wanted me to experience it right with him. It literally melted in my mouth...yum. Ok anyway, we ate walked the long haul back to our car and headed home. It was a really fun day.
 




The next day we took another cold shower, packed up and headed to the beach. We planned to go to Sullivan's Island but it was a dinky place that said no swimming so we headed back to Isle of the Palms. It was pretty crowded for October but it was a gorgeous clear day- 80 degrees and sunny. We layed out, walked the beach, and got wet. I just put my feet in but Jon went all the way in. I was pretty uncomfortable due to my belly and back so we didn't stay too long. We got some lunch (and my meal was free because they ran out of what I ordered and didn't tell me until after Jon got his food). I wasn't upset at all but they told me my meal would be free....sweet! Then we looked at a tourist shop, got some yummy Ben and Jerry's- (7 Layer Bar) the same stuff we had our second date on Pearl Street. We headed to see Angel Oak tree, a crazy old oak tree that is unreal. It is pretty famous but pictures do not do it justice. It was really cool to see and of course all Jon wanted to do was climb it- but the signs said he couldn't. The tree was supported by braces all over because it is so old. After this we loaded up and headed on home.

It was a pretty quick trip but it was so nice to spend those two solid days together. We have not had a vacation alone since our honeymoon, as we normally vacation with family. We LOVE spending time with family but it was nice to have some us time, especially before baby boy comes. Jon worked hard preparing this trip and it was much needed. I cannot wait to go back someday. I cannot even believe it has been 2 years of marriage to Jon. It has flown by but at the same time I feel like he has been in my life forever. Sometimes I feel as if I cannot remember a day without him. He is my best friend, my soul mate, my rock. He is patient, caring, and so thoughtful. I cannot imagine life without him.

A story that warms my heart every time I think of it: Last year around Halloween time I kept talking about going to a Pumpkin Patch. It was something I wanted to do very much with Jon. Well we were busy and hadn't made it and I don't remember much but I know I was a little sad about it. I for some reason felt we had to go and we hadn't. We couldn't find a patch nearby that worked with our schedules. Well a church in town had pumpkins for sale on their lawn. Jon's car was in the shop and I was working late one night. Jon rode my bike down our crazy busy road, down another crazy busy road and picked up two huge pumpkins, stuffed them in a duffel bag, and road home. When I got home and he told me what he had done and I cried. I felt stupid that I made a big deal out of it yet at the same time overwhelmed by how much he was trying to do to make me happy. I still get emotional thinking about this. Jon always tries so hard to make me happy and I know he would do anything for me, although I definitely don't expect it. He is so hard-working and supportive. I love him more than I ever can say or show.