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2 year sacrifice?

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:23:09 -0700

So Kale sent us an e-mail that they were transferring him to a new area. After a year in Jamaica, they thought he was ready for a challenge and transferred him to a really rough area in the mission. Some place called The Bahamas. From what I hear its a real dump and very dangerous. He’s going to have to get by on his strong faith I suppose. Please keep him in your prayers.

Juici Patties

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 20:38:48 -0700

Last set of pics from Jamaica.

Kale’s church is on top of the Jamaica’s answer to McDonalds: JUICI PATTIES!!

Check out the link and enjoy: http://www.juicipatties.com/

More Jamaica Pics

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:57:16 -0700

Jamaica Continued

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:57:19 -0700

Kale sent home his memory card so there are quite a few pics. He is loving his time serving a mission in Jamaica. He writes us all the time about how awesome the people are and how beautiful it is there. Of course he had to add that his bishop has dreads down to his butt, which he thinks makes church on Sunday that much cooler. I can’t believe how fast time has gone by. He only has about 8 months left. We are all very proud of him and excited he is truly loving every minute of his service.

Update from Jamaica

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:36:18 -0700

Kale sent home a bunch of photos, which I’ll probably have to split into 3 or 4 entries. They’re really cool shots and gave us a good feel for what it’s like out there in the world’s toughest mission. Gee, must be rough Elder Darling. Anyway, most of the pics are self explanatory so enjoy.

Again, he receives and can send e-mail every Monday morning so feel free to drop him a line. kalemyles@myldsmail.net

Growing Up

Sun, 9 Aug 2009 02:51:48 -0700

Kind of been slacking on my blogs lately. I’ve just been having so much fun enjoying the new Mommy life I guess. I’ll have to throw a bunch of mini entries up soon to re-cap. For now, here are a bunch of pics of Zoe over the last few months. She’s 5 months today actually (Aug. 9). She really has grown a lot. Unfortunately she lost all her baby hair but its already growing back and surprisingly a bit lighter brown. Also she has become quite the chubby chunk. Tipping the scales at around 15lbs now!! Its so cute. I love squeezing her chubby thighs. Everyday has been so much fun with her. I feel so blessed to have her in my life. She cracks me up constantly with all her baby talk and cute faces she makes. Plus it doesn’t hurt that she sleeps from about 10pm until 11am every night. What’s not to like about that? I think its safe to say we lucked out in the sleep department. Although the compromise is basically no naps during the day but I’ll take it. My absolute favorite part of the day though is when she wakes up in the morning and gives me the biggest smile and kicks her legs like crazy in excitement for the day. It just melts my heart how happy she gets and then I’ll scoop her little body up out of her bassinet and sigh in pure joy. I love her so much.

Ok, enough with the motherly gushing. More updates of the past 2 months to come soon.

Zoe’s baby blessing

Sun, 10 May 2009 11:51:14 -0700

YAY!!! My first Mother’s Day!! I’m so happy to be a mom. Zoe is exactly 2 months old now and I really can’t imagine my life without her. For my first official Mother’s Day we decided to go out to Utah and have Zoe’s baby blessing with all my extended family at my parent’s house. Our Jetta lease recently ended and we sold the car to my brother Wyatt so instead of rushing to buy a new car, we are borrowing Kale’s Tahoe while he is in Jamaica so we can take our time to pick out a car we want rather than have to rush to get another one. We also have a Honda Element and love it, so we’re considering maybe getting another one of those. The only draw back was now that we had the Tahoe in California we found out the registration was up and needed to be registered in Utah for when Kale gets back. So we decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and drive the Tahoe out for the blessing and get it registered. It actually worked out great for us as we were able to load the car up with all of Zoe’s stuff (baby bath, changing pad, stroller etc.) and not have to worry about what we can bring on a plane. The biggest bonus is that Zoe gets hypnotized into a deep sleep when we drive. I don’t know if its the humm of the car engine or the vibrations or what, but she goes right to sleep. She literally did not wake up for the whole 10 hour drive. She even did all her feedings unconscious as we drove. So that was really nice. We’re thinking maybe we’ll have to do the drive to Utah more often if she stays this way.

The weekend was short but very fun. My Dad got the yard all ready for the blessing and a lot of my extended and friends were able to be there. Also a few of Scott’s good friends from college and his mission were able to make it as well. The weather was perfect and Scott gave a really good blessing. He had my Dad, both my Grandpas, Jon Nielsen, Jared Kroff, and Jarond Suman join in the circle and among the few things I recall he blessed her with were health, spiritual strength, patience, happy personality, good sense of humor, desire for knowledge and a love for reading. He had a lot more in there but those were the things that stood out to me. My mom had it tape recorded and we plan to type a copy from that so I can show it to Zoe when she’s older. We actually held the blessing on Saturday the 9th rather than Sunday so everyone we invited wouldn’t have to come on their Mother’s Day. So that worked out well. We had pizza and salad etc. and had a great time hanging out with everyone and watching all our kids play around. It’s surreal to say the least to be at that stage in life where you and your friends all have kids now but I love it. We had a really fun weekend and even though it was short, Scott told me he has a 4 day weekend over Memorial Day so we may be coming back in a few weeks so we can have more time to spend with everyone.

“Bo”rowns

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:19:43 -0700

Our good friends the Browns came out for the week to visit us recently. Jason had an interview for the MBA program at UCI and brought the whole family with him to visit. It was really good to see them again. Norah and Ellis have grown so much. Scott and I were cracking up at how big Ellis was since their visit last year. It was so funny to hold him after holding little Zoe these past few weeks. He seemed so huge in our arms comparatively. It blew me away to think Zoe will be that big in a year. Even funnier was how Ellis has this mysterious density to him. He is so much heavier than he looks, especially compared to how light our newborn is. The best part was that he has the deepest voice. It was so cute coming from this big blonde boy. He would just lounge around our place and when we would say “Boo” to him, he would sit up, look you right in the eye and repeat back in the deepest kid voice...”BO”. I really need to put some video footage of it on here if I can figure it out. It’s priceless. He is such a cute kid. Norah has also grown a bit and is the cutest little girl now. She is so friendly and her dimple smile just warms your heart. She would come up to Zoe and stroke her hair and say “Cue-hoot Bay Bee”. It was really funny. Scott of course always has a blast spoiling Norah by letting her watch Pixar movies and play with his iPhone. That week in between Jason’s interviews at UCI we went to the Montage Beach in Laguna, Disneyland, Claim Jumper, La Sirena and the Original BJ’s Pizza and walked around the art district in Laguna. The rest of the time we walked around the Town Center and hung out at our place in Aliso. It was really fun getting to hang out with them again.
We had a really good time and wish we could see them more often. Ideally Jason would prefer to go to UC Davis if he gets in but we secretly are hoping he gets into UCI and they move down here while he goes to school. Either way we’ll cross our fingers for him to get into either one. Good luck Jason.

UPDATE: Jason was accepted to both schools and has decided to go to UC Davis. Congratulations Jason!! We’re sad you guys won’t be our neighbors down here for the next couple years but we’re excited you were able to get into your first choice school. Can’t wait to see you guys in July.

Montage

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:49:04 -0700

For their last night here, the new grandparents wanted to head back to the Montage to take some pictures with Wyatt and watch another sunset. Apparently it snowed 10 inches in Utah today and is freezing so I think my parents wanted to soak up the sun one last time before going back home. Each day they were here the weather got better. It hit around 82 degrees before they left, so I think they really enjoyed that. This trip we brought Zoe in her new beanie because we thought it was pretty cute. It actually fits alright but doesn’t fit depth wise at all, so it made her look like a cone head, but we thought it was cute and figure we only have so much time to dress her however we want before she stops being helpless and gains a mind of her own, so we might as well take advantage of it. We got some great shots and the weather was so perfect, it was a really good evening to go there.

After we left we headed over to Yogurtland for dessert and then back home. On Saturday, we headed out to LA to see Wyatt’s new place. He recently got a job working for a hospital out there in child protective services and seems to really be enjoying it. The traffic out to LA was so bad we didn’t have too much time to hang out when we got there but we were able to see his place and visit for a little while. We went out to eat at a cafe off Sunset Blvd. and then had to take my parents to the Long Beach airport to make their flight.

Its always sad to say goodbye to my parents, they are so fun to hang out with and I know they love their granddaughter very much and its hard for them to leave her, but we’ll be down there soon in May for the blessing and then they are flying back out here in July for another visit. So that will be something to look forward to for now.

Thanks for all you do for us Grandma and Grandpa Darling. We love you very much.

Love,

Karisa, Scott and Zoe

Grandpa and Grandma Darling

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 16:42:16 -0700

This week my Mom and Dad flew in from Utah to see Zoe for Easter. I was so excited to have them back over with us. They love Zoe so much its really been fun for them to come visit. They already have tickets to come back in July and we’re going to Utah in May for her baby blessing, so we’ll be seeing a lot of them. I’m so grateful that my parents can spend time with their granddaughter and not miss out on her growing up. She has already grown so much. My Dad was cracking up when he got off the plane and saw her because she was so much bigger and chubbier since the last time he saw her just a few weeks ago.

We mainly just hung around our place while my parents doted on Zoe but we went for a few walks through the town to go eat and to the Montage beach resort to walk around and watch the sunset. They leave tomorrow and we plan to go to LA to visit my brother Wyatt and see his new place and then go out eat before we have to take them to the airport. Tonight we’re planning to go back to the Montage because the weather just keeps getting so warm and the skies are so clear lately its hard to pass up going to watch the sunset again. Also Wyatt is coming down to hang with us today and my parents want to get some more pics out there with him in them.

So looks like I’ll have to add another entry with those photos.

1 Month Photo Shoot: Sneak Peek

Thu, 9 Apr 2009 21:43:08 -0700

Zoe is one month old today!! Or as Scott told me (to make me feel better), she is only 5 days old now since she wasn’t due until April 4th. I like that logic better since I don’t want her to get older. Anyway, In celebration of this one month mark, we set up a photo shoot to get a good shot for her birth announcements. Some friends of ours recommended a girl who lives just down the street from us and is justing starting out her photography business. She had great rates and the pictures on her website were amazing so we couldn’t pass her up. Her name is Christie Hobson and here is the link to her website/blog:

http://christiehobson.blogspot.com/

It was a really fun experience. Christie is the baby whisperer. We thought with how fidgety and grunty Zoe is, that there was no way she was going to be able to pull off the shots she wanted. But sure enough, Zoe was like putty in her hands and molded to any pose she wanted. She has this trick of using a heat fan which was amazing. We decided we definitely have to get one. Whenever Zoe got fidgety or moved too much we would just blow some warm air on her and she would just melt into a deep sleep. It was incredible how well it worked. Christie usually likes to take pictures when the babies are only around 1-2 weeks as they are easier to manipulate into positions, but Zoe cooperated very well and since she was a month early she is still pretty small (about 8lbs. now) so that helped. The highlight of the shoot was when Scott was holding Zoe up with his hands for a shot (the one with the black background above) and Christie and I started cracking up and Scott got all excited thinking we were happy because it was such a great shot, and then we broke it to him that Zoe had just pooped all over him. His pants were covered in yellow/green baby poo. It was hilarious. Anyway, after we finished up, Christie was nice enough to throw a few shots up on her blog for us to see and get a sneak preview of photos to come and we already love the few she put up so I’m sure we’re going to love the rest of them.

I’ll have to put them all up when we get them. Now the tough part will be deciding which one to use in our announcement card. I vote for the one at the top for now, but we have many more coming so we’ll see.

Princess Gruntsalot

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 20:59:09 -0700

Our little Zoe is already 3 weeks old!! Time is going too fast for me. It’s kind of making me emotional actually. Her belly button fell off the other day and I started crying like a baby. I don’t want her to get older. She’s just so perfect at this small stage. Scott just told me to think of the fact that she is actually not even due until April 4th so in a way we’re getting a sneak preview of her. He said if it makes me feel better I can start counting her age on April 4th. So that technically makes her negative one week old right now. That makes me feel a little better I guess.
And as far as her being a good baby....well so far I guess we’ve been lucky. Zoe doesn’t cry at all. She usually sleeps about 4 hours at a time and occasionally has even pulled off a few 5 hour sessions. She just wakes up when she gets hungry and we just change her diaper and feed her and she’s back to sleep again. A lot of times she actually can be changed, and fed all while unconscious. Apparently from what I’ve been told, this isn’t very common so I count it as good luck for now. Although I really like when she’s awake. Her eyes are so full of expression and she just becomes a completely different baby when she’s awake. She just seems so aware and I love when she stares at me. However, Zoe does have one big quirk. She grunts like no other. I mean her face will go bright red, fists clenched, abs tight as a drum and just strains and grunts in her sleep like crazy. I feel so bad for her when this happens and want to ease her pain but my doctor and a lot of my friends with kids have all told me it’s just her way of getting the gas and poo going... so I’ll just take their word for it. My doctor just said that if she was really in pain she would be crying and screaming instead of grunting and straining and that her intestinal tubes are just small right now so she’s just getting used to food passing through her. So other than the massive grunts and strains, she has been a dream for us. And in a way I like the grunting because it tells me she is still alive and I don’t have to wonder if she’s breathing. Scott has been really paranoid about that. I swear he checks on her every 5 minutes. So he’s happy she grunts a lot too. She’s our little Princess Gruntsalot. We love you Zoe.

Zoe Darling Mercuro

Mon, 9 Mar 2009 10:55:17 -0700

She is finally here!!! All 6.5lbs and 19.5 inches of her. This is the culprit that just couldn’t wait to come out. Our little Zoe. She was born on March 9, 2009 at 10:55am. It is definitely true what they say, we fell in love immediately when we heard her cries after she came out. She is so precious. It is a truly indescribable feeling. We love her so much. She has really dark brown hair and her Dad’s dark complexion but her face looks a lot like me when I was a newborn. Her eyes are dark grey for now, so we’ll see what they turn out to be. I’m betting she’ll get my brown eyes, but its a toss up since both sides of Scott’s family have blue and green eyes and my Dad’s side has all blue and green as well. Only time will tell.

Shortly after her birth, Scott went out with the nurse to bathe and feed her since I had to get stitched up. As the epidural was wearing off I started having crazy shakes as if I had just came out of a frozen lake only I wasn’t cold. The doctor said it was a normal reaction to the medication and not to worry, but I was shaking so bad and couldn’t even speak so Scott just held onto her until my body calmed down and I could finally hold my sweet Zoe. Holding her in my arms was the best. She is so tiny and makes these cute little noises, it just melts my heart. Time just stands still when I hold her. I could go on for hours but I’ll spare the readers my obsession with my new baby. You get the point I’m sure.

After all the weeks of keeping her in the womb and achieving each new goal from 26 to 28 then to 30 and 32 and onto 35 until now at a little over 36 weeks, it made it seem like she was the oldest baby but we had to remind ourselves that although she was close to the earliest cutoff for a full term baby, she was still technically a month early. So the doctors had her stay in the NICU for monitoring. They gave her an IV to give her a regimen of antibiotics for the Strep B infection I had before she was born. They were doubtful that she caught it, but to be safe they decided to give her a 48 hour treatment of antibiotics. Also early babies tend to sleep more than they should and will fall asleep pretty easily while you try to feed them. The problem there is that they won’t eat enough and their weight will drop. Also it is difficult to get them to latch on for breast feeding because it takes so much energy for them at this stage so I just pumped my colostrum and milk for that week and Scott would go in for every feeding to make sure she got enough to eat. During the week we had a ton of visitors come in to see Zoe. I called my parents when I was going into labor and my mom and dad couldn’t take it and left Utah immediately to drive out to see the baby. The original plan was to just come that night after they got off work but that changed right away. This is my parents first grandkid so I don’t blame them. A lot of Scott’s family and friends came as well. Scott or I would have to escort them into the NICU where they had a sand timer to time each person while they scrubbed their hands with soap and water for 2 minutes followed by a squirt of antibacterial hand gel. There are a lot of fragile babies in the NICU so they want everyone to be germ free.

The day after the birth, Dr. Geirut came by to see the baby and see how we were doing. She was sad she wasn’t there to deliver the baby. The one day she was off work. She was there the day before and the day after. Just our luck, but it all worked out great. I’m going to be sad not being able to not see her as much anymore. We really enjoyed having her as our doctor this whole time. Oh well she will still be my OBGYN so I’ll still see her from time to time.

Throughout the week in the hospital we were treated to some nice meals and the night before we left the hospital they brought us a plate of fresh fruit, cheesecake, Martinelli’s sparkling cider, salad and rolls. Scott even got himself steak and mashed potatoes. We have really been impressed with new Kaiser hospital in Irvine. They treat us really well and my coverage there has been phenomenal. All the many overnight stays and treatments I had were completely covered and they even offer up to 100 nurse visits to my home a year. I am just so impressed with Kaiser, I will never use another carrier.

Oh and by the way, I must say, C-sections are so awesome. I was up walking around within 12 hours. There is obviously a little soreness, but overall I feel great. The incision is so low and small and I didn’t have to squish a baby out of me and potentially tear myself up down there and then deal with the whole going to the bathroom through that swollen area. Plus it was a lot easier on Zoe and she didn’t have to have the whole cone head thing going on. I’m thinking I may request one on the next baby I have.

At the end of the week, the doctors gave us the green light to go home, so we got Zoe dressed up in the only onesie we had that sort of fit her. Scott brought a bunch to choose from but they were all huge. Then we strapped her into her new stroller and wrapped her new blanket over her for the trip home. The nurses wheeled me out while Scott pulled the car around front and loaded Zoe up into her car seat and then loaded me up into the back with her and we were on our way home. When we made our way into Aliso we received a call from my Dad saying that the hospital called and we had left our stroller just sitting outside the hospital at the loading zone. We couldn’t believe it. We were so concerned with making sure Zoe was strapped in and that I was able to get up into the car without hurting myself that we forgot to grab the stroller. So we turned around and headed right back to the hospital. I guess it was a fitting end for me because of all the times I was released from the hospital only to have to come right back over and over again.

When we finally arrived home, my parents were there to greet us and welcome little Zoe into her new home. I must say, my parents are way more obsessed with her than I could have ever imagined. In fact that first night I found my mom in our office purchasing tickets to come back in April already. And if you know my mom, she comes to California maybe once a year if we’re lucky and here she was planning a trip back in only a few more weeks. I love it. The rest of the weekend was spent hanging with Zoe and my parents, giving her her first bath, and taking turns holding her and listening to her little noises. My parents were shocked at how easy of a baby Zoe is. She is just so mellow. Never cries and just sleeps, eats and poops. She even loved her bath. We thought for sure we would see a freak out session when we dipped her into the water but she loved it. She takes after her Dad on that one. She really has been a dream baby so far. So far so good I guess. On Saturday night we took my parents to the airport to say goodbye and it hit me really hard. I started crying because I loved having them here with us and am so grateful for all they do for us. I wish they lived closer and am excited to see them again soon.

When we returned home, it was kind of nice to just have the 3 of us alone for once and we all just took a long nap together while lullaby music played on the computer.

I love our little family.

(Wow...this is probably the most pictures I’ve ever posted in a single blog...but hey, its my baby girl’s internet debut so I think its excusable.)

The BIG Day

Mon, 9 Mar 2009 06:46:21 -0700

So here’s the story of little Zoe’s birth. On Sunday March 8, I had been feeling major tightness in my belly but after last week’s incident I figured it was nothing and didn’t want to jump to conclusions. I have had so many false alarms and contraction scares at this point (over 10 weeks worth) that I decided to just roll with it this time. I told Scott I was feeling small contractions but they would come only every few hours. He told me at this stage it probably was the Braxton Hicks contractions most women get, but that he would take me in again if I felt I needed it. I told him no and that I would be fine. So around midnight I told Scott I was feeling the contractions every few hours still but again not enough to go to the hospital. I then went to the bathroom to get ready for bed and wash off my makeup etc. and I made a comment to Scott that it would be just my luck that I wash my face and get into my sleep clothes and then my water would break...of course I wasn’t thinking this would really happen at the time. So about 2 hours later after I was just getting deep into sleep, sure enough I felt this huge burst in my belly and jumped out of bed only to have fluid pouring out of me. My water had broke!! For real this time :) I called out to Scott who had at this point had just about passed out on the couch and he jumped right up and in his analytical way was trying to make sure it really had broke and was asking if I was sure. But he took one look at all the puddle on the bathroom floor and his question was answered. He ran and grabbed me a towel and then grabbed the bag I had packed and we were off. It actually wasn’t as bad as I thought this scenario was going to go. Especially since driving at around 3am, there is nobody on the roads. Scott of course having just bought a new video camera was trying to film me and get my thoughts while we were driving, which I made him stop immediately so he could watch the road. When we arrived, Scott grabbed me a wheelchair and took me into labor and delivery. The scary part for me at this point was that I had received a call from my doctor the day before to tell me that my last test showed that I had a Strep B infection that about 40% of women have and that I needed to get on a regimen of antibiotics so my baby would not catch it on her way out. So now that my water had broken I needed to get those antibiotics in me. The doctor hooked me up to an IV and administered the antibiotics. The bad part here was that they checked my cervix and I was already dilated to a 10 after only about an hour of my water breaking. For most this would have been good news since this was a very short labor, but because they needed to get the antibiotics in me they told me I needed to not push for 4 more hours!! So not fair, I had made it to a 10 and I felt I needed to push so badly at this point and yet wasn’t allowed to. So that kind of sucked. But surprisingly I wasn’t in much pain at all. The doctor told me that I would be soon enough though so I told them to go ahead and just give me the epidural now. I have heard so many stories where people try to tough it out for hours because they didn’t want to get the epidural and then ended up getting it anyway after hours of pain. So yeah, I decided to just go ahead and not do that and got it early before any of the pain began. I called my mom and dad who originally were just going to come down after they got off work that day since they live all the way out in Utah and would obviously miss the birth anyway, but as soon as I talked to them, my mom couldn’t wait and they left right then. Scott sent out a mass text about the baby coming but it was 3am so nobody was awake anyway. I was actually glad that it was just the 2 of us. I always thought I would want a ton of friends and family there in the waiting room but decided I liked the intimacy of it just being Scott and I bringing our little baby into the world. There would be plenty of time for visitors.
So after the epidural, the 4 hours just flew by and they were ready for me to push. The baby was a month early and I was dilated to a 10 so I figured this shouldn’t take long. So I pushed and pushed until I was blood red in the face but nothing. So we tried again and still nothing. By the third try, Zoe’s heart rate started dropping dramatically and then when I would let up it would recover back to normal. We repeated this for over an hour and every time Zoe’s little heart beat would nose dive and then go back up when I stopped. And after an hour it was taking her longer to recover. At this point the doctor came in and told me that she thought Zoe’s umbilical cord may be wrapped around her neck which is why her heart rate kept going down each time she was being pushed out. So to not put her in danger they opted to give me a C-section to get her out safely. They gave Scott a jumpsuit and hairnet and wheeled me in to prep me. I asked the doctor what I had to do and he said I didn’t have to do anything and they would get my baby out for me. I was like, Sweet, I don’t have to do anything.....I love C-sections. Scott came in at this point and had the camera ready, unfortunately for Scott they did not allow video cameras to be in the room but I was definitely fine with that. He sat next to my head and after about 5 minutes all of a sudden I felt a huge pressure and my jaw dropped open and Scott said it looked like the scene in Braveheart where they draw and quarter William Wallace. It wasn’t painful at all, just a lot of pressure. Then all of a sudden we heard the sweet sounds of little Zoe crying and Scott and I immediately teared up. We were already in love and overcome with emotion just hearing her cries before even seeing her. I couldn’t move but Scott jumped up and started snapping away as they cleaned her off and wrapped her up for us. The doctors then told me what the deal was with the cord. Turns out there was no cord around her neck at all......but the cord itself was only about 12 inches long!!! They said every time I pushed, poor little Zoe was ready to come out, but her cord wasn’t long enough and it kept holding her back. So crazy. So it looks like there was no way around it, this baby was only going to be able to come out through C-section. Once again, never a dull moment with this kid. After wiping her off the doctors handed Zoe over to Scott and he brought her over to me all bundled up like a little glow worm and my heart just melted. I was so in love. It just blew my mind to see her in person. My baby was here and I was so happy. Welcome to the world little Zoe. We love you so much.

Love,
Mom & Dad

Brittney’s Baptism

Sat, 7 Mar 2009 06:43:01 -0800

Wow....I’m getting old. Scott’s niece Brittney just had her baptism and is almost 9 years old!! I remember when I first met Scott she was only a few months old and the only grandkid in the Mercuro family. Now there are 5 grandkids and ours on the way making it soon to be 6. It’s crazy how that happens. Anyway, we went out to the new stake center in San Clemente which is in a really pretty location up on the hill with a gorgeous view overlooking the ocean. Brittney was joined by about 9 other kids getting baptized that same night and the chapel was packed with families. The baptism went really well and Brittney looked really pretty in her baptismal dress. Afterwards we went back to Scott’s brother Matt’s house down the hill and Brittney showed us her new blue dress she got for her baptism. Matt has 4 kids now, Brittney (8), Julia (5), Jeremy (3), and Julian (1). And they all love to play with Scott. He can’t get enough of them either and they wrestled around for a few hours before we had to go. I swear he would stay there all night if he could, he just loves them to death. He’s going to be a really fun dad, I just hope he doesn’t spoil our kids too much.

Puddles.....

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 02:26:59 -0800

So here is an interesting story. I was hesitant to add this into my blog but Scott told me I had to. On Friday I had a doctor's appointment and Dr. Geriut checked my cervix and told me I was staying steady dilated to a 2, 95% effaced etc., which is good but still scary in her words, so she told me to still stay on bed rest but since I had made to the 35 week mark I could treat myself and go out to eat if I wanted. So Scott and I decided to go to IKEA for some items we needed and then head over to South Coast Plaza for some California Pizza Kitchen. After we parked, we headed into the mall through Z Gallerie, and all of a sudden I stopped dead in my tracks and grabbed my belly and all this liquid came pouring out of my pants. I was like...."ohhhh no.....my water broke!!!" Of course, the one night I received permission to get on my feet and go out to eat, my water breaks. So Scott ran and grabbed the car and we took off to the hospital.

Leave it to Scott to be all excited....not necessarily for the upcoming birth of his child, but rather to have an excuse to speed on the freeway. He’s always wanted to get pulled over in a labor situation to have an excuse to make a cop feel super guilty for pulling him over and make him escort us to the hospital....but sadly for him, no cops pulled us over. So then when we arrived at the hospital they prepped a room for delivery and did an ultrasound on me and the doctor said my fluid levels around the baby seemed lower so she was thinking that I did in fact break my water. The only thing that was odd to me was that it wasn't like a gallon of water like I always expected it to be, or you usually hear about. It was like a small juice box worth of liquid, which they said is normal too. We called Wyatt to bring us our camera for the birth etc. and he came down. Also my good friend April came and brought Scott his backpack and laptop. So later they did another ultrasound after filling me with a full IV bag and now Dr. Geirut said it didn't seem like my water had broke and allowed us to leave as long as we came back the next day to double check because she felt it was still possible that it may have broken but 99.9% of her felt it hadn’t from the tests. So strange, I mean there was a puddle that poured out of me...so I thought, what’s the deal?

SO the next day we came back and we were driving through the 133 Laguna Canyon, .......and of course......we got pulled over!!! Scott just turned to me with a big grin and told me to fake like I was in labor and having a lot pain. He was so excited to be able to get mad at the cop. So I started wincing in pain, trying not to be too overdramatic and when the cop walked up, Scott rolled down the window and in a panicked and stern voice was like "Hey man...she's in labor...we gotta get to the hospital NOW!!...." Needless to say, it went over perfectly. The cop went ghost white in the face and freaked out and was like "Oh man...do you want me to call an ambulance?" and Scott said no, and told him we we're close enough to the hospital that waiting for an ambulance would just take longer. he then asked if the cop would escort us but in his panic the cop informed us that they weren’t allowed to do that anymore and just told us to “go, go, go” and told us to try to obey the speed limit on the way. So we just took off. We were laughing the whole way to the hospital, Scott thought it was so awesome. It was a good thing that we were actually headed to the hospital in case in the cop decided to follow us. Anyway, I’m happy Scott’s dream came true, although he wasn’t speeding so we’re not sure why we were pulled over. Oh well, the point is we got out of a ticket on account of my bulging belly. So anyway, we arrived at the hospital and they did the follow up check on me and informed me that I was all clear and that my water didn't break. So basically after all those tests, the end result was that.....I peed my pants in South Coast Plaza and just left the puddle right there. Scott is never going to let me live this one down. The doctors said this is actually pretty common, the baby is getting bigger now, so they said she must have just pushed or stepped on my bladder at just the wrong time when it was full and it caused me to pee my pants right there in Z Gallerie.

So that’s my embarrassing pregnancy moment. Hope you all enjoyed it.

Good times. :)

Johnny’s California Visit

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 02:16:11 -0800

Scott’s younger brother Mark has the cutest little boy named Johnny. He came to visit us recently and we took him to the park with Scott’s mom. Scott ran around with him taking a lot of pictures and got some really great shots so I figured I would make a quick blog about the little guy. We were really impressed with how friendly and well mannered he was for only being 3 years old. Also he has the cutest light brown curly hair and I am really hoping our baby gets those Mercuro curls. We wish we could see him more often. He was so lovable and cute and we had a great time hanging with him.

R.I.P. T.V.

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:21:28 -0800

Of course.......I finally get out of the hospital and our TV breaks. I’m not the biggest fan of watching TV anyway, but since I’ve been stuck on bed rest and couch sitting, it has become the only form of entertainment for me besides the books I’ve been reading. Scott went right to work to see if he could fix it and fortunately was able to get it to come back on but we could never turn it off again or it would break and never turn back on. So his fix bought us a little bit of time to go look for a new TV. Fortunately Scott’s brother Matt has a good friend who runs a business installing high end entertainment systems in people’s homes and he was able to get us a great deal on a new 50” plasma. Apparently its one of the better brands out there and is a 1080p which plays really good quality HD. All that jargon means nothing to me, I have no idea what 1080p means, but that kind of stuff is a big deal to Scott so needles to say he was really excited for his new plasma. It’s funny because I can remember about 10 years ago when Scott bought the Sony TV, which at the time was top of the line and very expensive, he justified his purchase by saying “we’re going to have this TV forever so it’s worth the cost.” Ha ha ha....now here it is broken and already such an antique with it’s huge tube box on the back of it. But I guess 10 years is a pretty long run for a TV so in a way it wasn’t such a bad purchase. We had a lot of good years with it. Plus it still sort of works so we gave it to Scott’s little brother Mark along with the stand. Perhaps he can make it last a while longer.

Aaron and Juliet’s Catalina Wedding

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:06:25 -0800

YAY!!! It’s official....Mr. and Mrs. Ekinaka. Aaron and Juliet were married on Catalina Island. I was set to be in Juliet’s line but sadly I was not able to attend as it would have been to risky to be out on an island and suddenly go into labor. Even Scott was nervous to go because if I did go into labor he would have to get on a helicopter to get off the island and make it for the birth. Fortunately the day went smoothly and I did not go into labor. Scott took a lot of pictures and video for me to see, so in way I felt like I was there. I felt really bad that I had to miss out because Juliet and I had been planning and talking about this big day for a year and now I’m missing everything. Scott had to skip the bachelor party in Vegas out of fear I would go into labor and he would miss the birth. I missed the bachelorette party for the same reason and now here we are missing the wedding. But things happen I guess, nothing I could do about it. At least Scott was able to go so I was happy one of us could attend. I think my baby just didn’t want me to party without her. Scott said it turned out well and was really fun. Juliet is a big fan of Iron Maiden and wanted to have a sort of rocker/pirate wedding style so she had her line wear these cool dresses which featured all of Iron Maiden’s album covers. She also hand painted one of kind Iron Maiden jackets to go over the dresses. Aaron had his line wear limited edition artist series Volcom polo shirts and he wore a really nice Volcom suit. The wedding was officiated by Juliet’s older brother who wore a tuxedo T-shirt. Scott said the wedding was cool because it was just off the main boardwalk and tons of tourists surrounded the event so it looked like a massive crowd attended the wedding along with millions of people taking pictures. After the ceremony the party moved to Steve’s Bar and Grille Restaurant for food and drinks. There were speeches given by the maid of honor (Juliet’s sister) and best man (Aaron’s brother Jason). Afterwards Aaron’s dad lead a cheer of the spelling of Aaron’s last name: E-K-I-N-A-K-A!!!. Scott said it was really funny. Overall it looked like everyone had a great time and I am so excited for our good friends. Congratulations to the happy couple!!!

Valentines..32 weeks!!....no high fives from Zoe

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 02:18:12 -0800

32 weeks!! I made it. I can now officially stay in Irvine if I deliver. Still very early but I’m definitely exceeding the expectations from when I was 26 weeks along. I had to return to the hospital this time because in my doctors appointment, Dr. Geirut checked my cervix and typically when she does this she says the head is right there very low and that I’m still dilated to a 2. But this time she went pale in the face and said she could feel Zoe’s hand on top of her head right at the opening. Apparently Zoe's hand was just up on top of her head and the doctor was afraid that if she extended her arm out she would rip open the bag and my water would break. So yet again it was back to the Irvine Kaiser hospital to do another round of monitoring and do an ultra sound to check on the status of her hand. Never a dull moment with this kid, but can you imagine if she had extended her arm out and tore the bag open? Water breaks and comes gushing out of me and then this baby's arm is just hanging out. That would have been very awkward.

Anyway, we've been here ever since then and have to stay the night again tonight. Scott had a good talk with the baby on Friday night and told her to put her arm down. Then we had the ultrasound last night and sure enough she moved it away from her head and the opening. So its all clear now. Looks like she knows when to mind her old man. Now they just want to monitor me overnight again to be safe and they'll check on me in the morning to say if we can leave. Needless to say its been a very romantic Valentines Day weekend for us. Although Scott did bring me a card, with some magazines and candy for me so that was nice. I also had Wyatt go pick up one of Scott’s favorite steak dinners from Macaroni Grille and bring it to the hospital for him as a surprise. I could tell he was really happy getting that. So it was a somewhat decent Valentines, all things considered.

Julian’s 1st B-day

Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:54:04 -0800

Wow...I can’t believe Julian is already a year old. Time sure flies by fast. Julian had one of the most interesting births I’ve ever heard. When Janelle was about 9 months pregnant she flew out to Costa Rica with some friends to check up on some land she and Scott’s brother Matt purchased out there. Anyway, when she arrived she suddenly went into labor and had to be rushed to a Costa Rican hospital where she gave birth to little Julian. Matt was back here in the states and received the call that his 4th child was born and had to rush and fly out to Costa Rica to see him and bring them back to the states. It was pretty insane at the time, but they all made it back to California safe and sound and now little Julian is already turning one. The other unique part to him being born in Costa Rica is that Julian now has duel citizenship as an American citizen and a Costa Rican citizen. He’s already a jet setter and has almost been more places outside the U.S. in his first year of life than I have in my entire life. Anyway, his birthday party was really cute and he has changed so much already. He used to have really dark hair and dark eyes and now he has shaggy blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He looks a lot like Scott’s brother Matt. Scott picked him up a sock puppet Jack in the Box and a jiggly Yo Gabba Gabba character that is pretty much a doll that has seizures. Julian seemed to really like it. After presents, the party moved out back for a pinata game and trampoline fest. I think Julian had a great 1st birthday and we are happy to have him as our cute little nephew. Happy Birthday Julian.

Hospital stay #5,000,000

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:39:47 -0800

I swear I might as well just stay in the hospital with how often I have to come back. But I’m fine with it now. I’ve become real good friends with all the nursing staff and doctors I’ve seen in my many hospital stays. Plus at this point, whatever they are doing for me seems to be working so I’ll do whatever is necessary to make sure Zoe stays put. I made to 30 weeks now so although I’m back in here, I’m so excited I made it to the first big goal. Although it’s still 10 weeks early, its a far cry from where I started so I’m happy to have made it this far. The new goal is 32 weeks so then I can officially stay in the Irvine hospital and deliver without having to be transferred to Anaheim. Just 2 more weeks to go.

FREEDOM!!!

Fri, 6 Feb 2009 01:42:32 -0800

YAY!! Released again. My contractions stopped and I was allowed to go home again. They have me a regimen of this drug called Terbutaline which stops the contractions. The only bad part is it makes your heart race like you just drank 10 cups of coffee, so I’m not really sleeping at all now, but I’ll do whatever it takes to keep little Zoe in my belly for now. Scott and Wyatt have been very helpful, making me food, doing the laundry, keeping the house clean, taking out the trash etc. I feel so pampered and yet so lazy and rude at the same time. I hate having to have others tend me, it always makes me feel bad. Scott knows this so he jokingly lays it on thick and tries to make me feel like I’m some prima-donna Queen who needs her servants to do everything. He even started bringing me my pre-natal vitamins on a tray, nicely laid out on fancy napkins with little flowers next them. Very funny Scott. My Dad left back to Utah because he had to get back to his job but said he is always on call to come back out should anything happen. I love my Dad and am so thankful for all he does for me. For now I’m just happy to be home again.

Back in the hospital....my second home

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:19:50 -0800

Well that didn’t last very long. I went in for my next doctors appointment and Dr. Geirut checked my cervix and told me I was back to a 2 again. :( The good news she said was that I was almost 28 weeks so I was getting closer to 30 and already much better than where I started at 26 weeks. Its amazing how only 2 weeks can be so much better in terms of the baby’s development. So to be safe the doctor had me go back to the hospital to be monitored at least overnight to make sure they keep the contractions at bay. I was happy my Dad and Wyatt were still around to help out. So here I am again, back in my old room in the hospital going through the motions of keeping this baby in. I just think she knows how much fun she is going to have with all us and wants out early. Thanks to all my friends and family members for your many prayers and all the well wishes and thank you to those who were able to come visit and help us out. I am so grateful for all of you. Just a few more weeks. Gotta keep her in my oven.

From Bad.....to Worse :(

Tue, 13 Jan 2009 01:10:21 -0800

So.....after my baby shower things went from bad to worse. I went in for another checkup hoping that my few days on bed rest would have helped put me back in better shape. However, the doctor checked my cervix again and this time said I was now dilated to a 2!!! A 2?? Already?? They immediately hooked me up to an IV or at least attempted to. The nurse missed my vein and had to give up after about 10 tries. The pain was so bad from the constant poking that I actually threw up. It was really stressful. And to make matters worse, the Irvine hospital we were in did not take pre-term labor patients under 32 weeks along. So they had to wheel in a stretcher for me and put me in an ambulance to ship me down to the Lakeview hospital in Anaheim/Yorba Linda area. Even though they put me in the ambulance as precautionary measure since they are liable for me getting down to the other hospital, it was still scary and it really started to sink in that my situation may be very serious.

Once we arrived at the Lakeview hospital, they gave me a magnesium sulfate drip to stop the contractions. Then the head of the NICU came in and went over the potential effects of having our baby at this early stage. It was awful. They warned us that if she came now, she could have blood hemorrhages in her brain, her lungs would have to be pumped for her because they are not developed and she could be blind or deaf among many other awful potential things she listed. The only positive thing they said was that she was very healthy and doing excellent in the womb, it was just that she is not ready to come out. They compared her to a cake cooking in the oven and if we were to pull it out too early, it would not be fully ready and would have problems. Kind of an odd analogy, so I guess my baby is a cake and I don’t want her to come out early and be runny and gooey. Scott actually knew the head of the NICU. Her name is Erna Wong and she has been a friend of his family since he was a kid.

Anyway, that night Scott gave me a blessing and I called my Dad to come out if he could. He immediately left Utah and drove out to help us. It was quite a long night. The doctors seemed pretty sure the baby would be coming within the next 24 hours. It was really scary. The next morning my Dad arrived and stayed with us for the day before heading back to our place to get some rest. Scott stayed with me every day and night and just slept in the chair/bed they had in the room. Miraculously on day 3 the doctors came in and said the magnesium sulfate seemed to work and stopped my contractions. They then checked my cervix and were shocked to see that it had pretty much closed up again. I still had a short, soft cervix but was no longer dilated. So they kept me one more night for observations and then gave me the green light to go home but to pretty much not move at all if I could help it. So that was not going to be fun, but I didn’t care, I was just so happy that I wasn’t stuck in the hospital and that I wasn’t giving birth yet. They told me each day I keep her in my belly is about 3 days less she would have to stay in the NICU if she was born. So I was determined to keep her in as long as possible.

The sad thing about all this is that I still felt great. My pregnancy had been so easy for the first 6 months. I was working everyday, and even able to go on walks and exercise. Now here I was still feeling good, but the doctors had me stressed out beyond belief that this baby was coming out if I wasn’t careful. Fortunately my Dad and Scott were there for me. And even better, my brother Wyatt heard the news of my situation and decided to quit his job in China (which he was planning to quit anyway, but not for another month) and fly out to live with us so Scott could still go to law school and I would have a live in helper to watch me and be there in case anything went wrong. So I was very thankful I was able to get so much help. I am so grateful for these wonderful men in my life. Hopefully things go well from her on out. The goal now is to make it to 30 weeks. Just a few more weeks to get there.

California Baby Shower..........Contractions??

Fri, 9 Jan 2009 00:42:51 -0800

So this week was very interesting. We had just returned from Utah where we had a great winter break with my family in the snow and now my shoulder was killing me. Scott would try to massage it out every night but it just wouldn’t go away. I had an appointment with my OBGYN coming up but decided to give her a call and ask if it was anything I should be concerned about. She told me to be safe and go to the ER to have them check it out as it could potentially be kidney stones. So we went in the next day and were there forever, I almost wanted to leave because they were taking so long but they finally checked on me and did a bunch of tests and said I must have just pulled a muscle. That made sense because the last week we had been making a snowman and I was bending over rolling huge boulders of snow and that must have pulled a muscle in my shoulder. Before I left the ER doctor decided to just do one more test to be safe. It was an abdomen stress test and after about half an hour they came back in an informed me that I was having contractions every 10 minutes!!! I thought, what?? this can’t be possible, I’m only 26 weeks along and aren’t you supposed to feel contractions? I always thought they were supposed to be painful and noticeable. The doctor informed me that a small percentage of women don’t feel their contractions at all and at most they manifest themselves as slight lower back pain. But they assured that I was in fact having them pretty frequently and since I was so early they checked my cervix to make sure I wasn’t dilating at all. The result was that my cervix was really short and very soft. They said if I wanted to I could push and put myself into labor easily if I wasn’t careful. So sadly they told me I was going to have to go on bed rest at least through the month of January with regular weekly checkups to make sure I wasn’t progressing worse. So that was pretty shocking and stressful. Scott went and picked me up a wheelchair he was able to rent for the month and I cancelled work and was sentenced to my bed and couch. Hopefully not for long as I hate just sitting around. The worst part was the very next day was my baby shower. So i was just praying it did not get worse so I wouldn’t have to cancel.
Anyway, the next night I was doing fine and my friends who were throwing the party took care of all the setup and decorating so I was really grateful for that. I just hate not being able to help out. Scott wheeled me down to the clubhouse and I scooted out onto the couch there and that’s where I pretty much stayed with my feet up for the duration. I felt rude not getting up and walking around to say hi and talk to everyone who came, so if you were there I apologize if I seemed rude just waiting for you to come to me on the couch. I must say though, the shower was really nice. I was so happy so many people were able to attend and the decorations looked really good. Juliet, April and Heather organized and set it all up and it looked amazing. Heather made BBQ, baked macaroni and cheese and lot of other great food for the event. Everyone was raving about how good it all tasted. Juliet organized all the games for the night as well, which were really fun. One of the games was a group of people all had to grab a baby bottle full of apple juice and when Juliet said go, they had to try and drink as much as they could through the nipple and when the time was up, the one who drank the most won a prize. It was hilarious to see all these grown men and women sucking as hard as they could through a bottle nipple. Scott’s little brother Mark ended up the winner of that game and received movie tickets. Other games included the safety pin on the shirts where, if you heard someone say the word “cute” during the night you could take their pin and add it to your shirt. The person with the most pins at the end of the night won the big prize of a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble and $25 to a restaurant. Cathy Moore won second place and received movie tickets I think. It was a close game with Mark winning by one pin. Afterwards we opened presents and cupcakes were served. During the opening of the presents we had a pile of blank baby onesies on a table with a lot of different colored permanent markers for the guests to decorate and make their own unique shirt for the baby. That was perfect because generally people tend to get bored watching others open presents so being able to draw and make their own creative onesies kept them entertained during that time. Overall it was a great shower and so good to see everyone. Thanks to all who came, it was really fun and I’m so grateful to have you in my life. Again, sorry I was stuck on the couch for the most part. :(

Utah (Impromptu) baby shower

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 00:16:22 -0800

So while we were out in Utah for Christmas, my mom and family were feeling bad that they weren’t going to be able to make it out to California for my real baby shower and decided to throw me a last minute small one for my relatives and friends in Utah to come to. For being planned within just a few days, it actually turned out to be really fun. It was cool to hang out with alot of my relatives and good friends and the best part was since we were travelling back to California, everyone just got me gift cards and money, which is all I really want for gifts anyway because its so much easier and this way I don’t have to find a way to pack everything home. We played a lot of fun games and hung out and had a great time. Later that night we went to the new Harley Davidson Restaurant in Pleasant Grove with my Dad, Jentrie and my cousin Tina and her husband Levi. It was really cool. It was built from scraps of the Geneva Steel Plant they tore down recently and inside they had a restaurant and huge museum of Harley motorcycles. Scott and my Dad loved the food, so I have a feeling we’ll be going back there more often when we come to visit in the future. When we got back home that night, Jentrie’s friend Scott Christopherson came over with a magic set he got for Christmas and performed an amazing magic show for us. It was ....uhh....really well performed. Thanks for the great show Scott. The next day we sadly had to say goodbye. It was funny because Scott’s Santa head never broke but instead had slowly managed to completely lay down in the snow. His Santa just went to sleep the day we left, hibernating until next Christmas I guess. After that we packed up the car to head out to the airport. It was an interesting goodbye this time to think that the next time we saw my family we would have a little baby and a family of our own.

Christmas Day

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 22:57:59 -0800

Wow....I have more pictures than I realized. Might have to break up my Christmas break into 4 separate blogs. Anyway Christmas Day my mom took a few belly shots now that I was starting to show, I swear my belly grew twice the size in the short time I came to visit....must be all the love I was feeling being around my family......that and about a million pieces of pie and ice cream and various Christmas dinners may have had a small hand in the growth of the belly. Christmas morning we received a call from Kale in Jamaica. So that was the best gift this year. He says he loves it out there and is having a great time on his mission. He told us his new branch president has dreadlocks past his butt which he thought was really cool.....so I’m sure he’s loving it out there with Rastafarians everywhere and the weather is always around 80 degrees. After talking to Kale we all opened presents together and Scott got me a lot of cute clothes he picked out. I loved all of the stuff he got me....but must say it was a bit depressing because they were all size Large now that I have a big belly :( Oh well, its for a good cause :) After we opened presents, we went to my Grandma’s again to see what all my relatives got for Christmas and have our traditional Christmas brunch together. Later we all decided to go next door to see our old house from when we were first married. My cousin Tina and her husband Levi live there now and we barely recognized the place. They are total cowboys so every inch of the house was decorated cowboy style. Levi has tons of guns everywhere too so Scott was stoked about that. Back when we were dating, Scott and Kale used to drive out to my Dad’s work in Pelican Point to go shoot guns. It was funny how much the place had changed. There were even animal skin rugs on the floor. Scott thought it was awesome and wanted to pose with all the guns on the rug. My favorite picture is the one of he and my mom smiling while Scott holds a .22 next to her. It’s a picture I never thought I would ever see my mom smiling in. Later that night we went to my a party with my Dad’s side of the family, The Darlings, for dinner. I love my Dad’s side of the family. We rarely get to see them but love it when we do. This year they held the dinner at my cousin ‘s new house in Spanish Fork. It was really nice and they had a cool upside down Christmas Tree. I really liked how it looked and am thinking I just might have to get one of those in the future.

SNOW!!!

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 22:13:18 -0800

I had to make a separate blog of the snowman building pics. It snowed so much this year and it was that perfect packing snow for making a snowman. My mom woke us all up to come out and make one. The snow was so perfect you could just roll a ball of snow and it would collect and get bigger and bigger. I love these pictures, but noticed just now that I may have been over exerting myself more than I should have for someone 6 months pregnant. No wonder I went into pre-term labor just a few weeks later :( The best string of pictures is of my sister Jentrie. I love how she is all posed in her shots and never has her eyes open...ha ha ha. Although it came out skinny, I think our snowman looked good. My Dad added his golf clubs for arms and my Grandpa Don made carved a snowman kit for us a few years back so we used that for the face and buttons. There was so much snow that Scott decided to build a giant Santa face in the front yard which came out pretty good. Later we went to visit Jentrie at UVSC (or UVU now) where she works as a tour guide for incoming students. Scott was excited to see how much the campus had changed since he graduated from there. They added an enormous new library and Scott was so jealous because it had tons of new computer rooms and places to study. I guess when he was there they could never find an empty room to study in and the computer labs were always packed with lines waiting outside to get in. After that Jentrie got us free ice cream, soda and T-shirts and as you can see above, Scott really liked that. Later that night we noticed the snowman we made had fallen over...oh well. And Scott’s Santa head was starting to slowly lean as if Santa was getting tired.

Winter Break: Utah 2008

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 17:29:02 -0800

So........I’m just a little behind on the blog......considering its March 2009 as I am putting these Christmas pics up :) Anyway, I guess this is sort of like my online journal so its never too late to catch it up and I don’t want to just skip good months I had. So here we go with Christmas.

We flew out for 2 weeks to Utah again, which Scott wants to make a tradition because its always so much fun and he gets to go snowboarding. I love going to visit my family for Christmas because we get to have that real Christmas feeling with lots of snow. As much as I love Southern California being 75-80 degrees year round, it just doesn’t cut it at Christmas time. Anyway, when we flew out this time the snow was pouring and before we landed the captain came on the loudspeaker and said that apparently a plane flew off the runway and we were not cleared to land for another 45 minutes. So the captain said he planned to just circle above Salt Lake until he received clearance. Then he mentioned one last thing......he said that the plane only has about 20 minutes of fuel left!! So basically we did not have 45 minutes. So the pilot said he would circle for 20 minutes and then if they did not receive clearance to land they would coast to Colorado to land and refuel and then fly back to Salt Lake. Well....20 minutes went by and sure enough we did not receive clearance to land so we had to fly into Colorado. So that was pretty exciting. But to add to it, this lady in front of us was ordering drinks left and right and was pretty wasted by the time we hit Colorado and would wake up in her sleep and start yelling at me to shut up. Scott and I were so confused and so was this other guy sitting next to us. It was awkward but pretty funny, especially since none of us were even talking. Scott eventually just told her she was delusional and to turn around and go back to sleep. I felt bad for all the parents on board because the 3 hour delay of having to fly to Colorado, made it so they did not have enough formula or milk to feed their infants so the plane became a sea of crying babies. I enjoyed it though because it made the drunk lady go nuts but she couldn’t really say anything about other people’s babies so she just had to sit there and be annoyed. Needless to say It was quite an interesting flight.

That first weekend was exciting because I had somehow managed to keep my pregnancy a secret from my extended family and was now 6 months along so I couldn’t wait to surprise them. We went to my Grandma’s house and Scott pulled out his laptop to show them pictures from my birthday and as he went through and showed them what he got me and how he decorated my car etc. he then told them he got me another present and showed them the pictures of the positive pregnancy test and the ultrasound pics. It was really funny because my Grandma just thought he was joking but then I stood up and pulled my sweater back and she could see the bump and was so excited. Scott has played a lot of practical jokes on my grandparents in the past so my Grandma didn’t want to be tricked this time and thought it was just another one of his jokes until she saw my belly. She was really excited as my mom is the only one of her kids left that does not have any grandkids and now she will. After that we went around the neighborhood with my friend Mandee and my family, checking out the Christmas lights. The next night we went to my Grandpa Don and Grandma Gurt’s house to hang with all my relatives for a Christmas Eve party. As we were hanging out talking, all of a sudden Santa Claus showed up!!! For the past few years my grandparent’s neighbor has always come over as Santa Claus for all my nieces and nephews. He has an incredible outfit and really gets into the part so that was fun. My cousin Corrine loves it.

I have way too many good pictures form this trip so I’m going to split them up into more blogs...More Christmas pics in the next blogs.....

?????

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 14:06:54 -0800

Wow....It’s been quite a long 6 months holding this blog back. I’M PREGNANT!!! And we couldn’t be more excited. Our apologies if you’re reading this and we haven’t told you yet. We’ve actually known since July. We decided to start trying for one this past summer and I went in to the doctor to have a check up to make sure we were good to go when I go off birth control. The doctor gave us the green light and sure enough, not more than 4 weeks later I was back in with the doctor.....pregnant. Even my doctor said “Wow....you’ve been busy.” On my way back I bought Scott a cake that said “I’m a Dad” on it and brought it home to him while he was studying. He was pretty shocked but very excited. Scott was like “wow that was fast....I’m sure glad we used birth control before this.” Since then we have been pretty baby obsessed. Scott has found tons of cool outfits and toys online and has found that he really likes Parenting Magazine, it’s pretty funny. We have even picked up a stroller that Scott thinks is the coolest thing ever. He shows it off to everyone that comes over. It’s his new favorite gadget. We waited until around October to tell our immediate families so we could make sure everything looked okay with the pregnancy.

We wanted to surprise my extended family in Utah when we came to visit for Christmas, so in a lot of photos in old blogs since July, I have made my best efforts to hide my belly just in case any of these pictures were seen on our blog or Facebook etc. We didn’t want someone to see them and tell my family before we could. We actually had some close calls with some pictures on Facebook where people were asking questions, so we’ve had to monitor what we put online more closely until after the Holidays. A lot of good angles, hugging in close and strategically placed camera bags and purses, did the trick. It’s pretty obvious in some of the photos from Thanksgiving. I reposted some above from the November blog because I think it’s pretty funny how much I was trying to hide it. Hopefully nobody noticed back home before we could tell them.

Anyway, so far pregnancy has not been as bad as I heard, in fact it’s been pretty easy. I’ve only been sick from taking pre-natal vitamins. For some reason those vitamins are like cyanide pills to my system. I can feel great and then take my vitamin and within 10 minutes be violently throwing up. So that was an adjustment at first, but now I have a more mild dosage of vitamins that my doctor gave me and have felt great ever since. Other than that it’s really been a breeze, so I’m happy about that. It’s also been really fun for me to feel the baby rolling around and kicking in there. It’s one of the coolest, most indescribable sensations. I love it. Scott has been taking pictures of the evolution of the belly so I posted some of those above as well. The ones with the old school “bare midriff” showing are around the 6 month mark. Definitely starting to show a pooch there. The baby is due around the end of March (we’ve been given some conflicting dates), but somewhere around there. And just a few weeks ago we had an ultrasound and found out it’s......A GIRL!!! I am super excited about that, I really wanted to have a girl. Not sure I could say the same for Scott at first, since he only had a list of boy names picked out before we found out what it was, but he has definitely come around and is totally into having a girl. He even picked out a really cool name that I’m sold on and my family loves, but I’ll keep it a secret for now (although I think some of you may already know it). Anyway, that is our big news and it feels really good to get it out there finally. I don’t think I’ve kept a secret for this long before.

November

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:05:38 -0800

This November was pretty busy. At the beginning of the month we went to Lake Forest for a wedding reception for Nate Collins. It was a beautiful reception and really well done. The house is right on the lake and they had an outdoor party tent over the back area with a live band, taco cart, drinks and cake. Scott had a really good time because a lot of his old friends from Irvine were there that he hadn’t seen in years. It was cool to finally meet a lot of the people I had heard so much about over the years. Later in the month, we had a party for Tim and Heather’s son Eamonn who turned 8 years old. Time is sure flying by. I remember when he was 4 when we first moved out here. Seems like it was just yesterday. We had the party in our movie room where all his friends could play Wii games on the big screen and right outside was the pool so they could go swimming. It was really fun and it looked like he and his friends had a great time. At the end of the month, my parents and my sister Jentrie flew out to visit us for Thanksgiving. We ordered Claim Jumper’s Thanksgiving dinner again because it was so good last year. And of course it was just as good as I remembered it. My mom put together a memoir of my Grandpa Don for us too. She interviewed him about his life and typed it all up with pictures and bound a copy for us. It was really cool to read out loud as a family and hear about the interesting life my grandpa had. After that we went for a walk through Aliso and I showed my parents some of the trails Scott and I go for walks on at night. After that we played games all night. Then the rest of the week we did the usual going all over Orange County, shopping and seeing the sites. Overall it was a really nice Thanksgiving and I was happy to be able to spend it with my family. It was bittersweet in a way this year though because Kale and Wyatt were not here. Wyatt is still working in China and traveling all over the place seeing the world and Kale of course is in Jamaica on his mission. Fortunately we were able to iChat with Wyatt in China as a family, so that was fun. Kale will be able to call us in a few weeks for Christmas too, so I’m excited for that.

Halloween 2008

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:47:11 -0700

*So I just realized I had made blogs for October and November and never published them online. Anyway better late than never.

It’s Halloween again. This year we carved a lot of pumpkins. Aaron was away at Rally School and Juliet decided to have everyone over to carve pumpkins, make Carmel apples and watch scary movies. It was really fun and all the pumpkins came out awesome. Later in the week we went by Scott’s brother Matt’s house and carved more pumpkins with his kids and ate too much candy.

Elder Darling in Jamaica

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:20:23 -0700

Finally!! We received some pictures of Kale in Jamaica!!! Kale sent his memory card back with an Elder going home to Utah. My mom picked it up from the return missionary in Utah and mailed it to us to download. Kale has been doing really well in Jamaica and loves it there. A month ago his trainer finished out his mission and Kale received a new Jamaican companion named Elder Richards. However, just last week Kale was already transferred to a new area on the coast into a 4 man house where he will be a senior companion for the first time. He wrote us that he is super excited to go to his new area but sad to leave his first area and all the friends he has made. One thing he is really excited about with this transfer is that the other senior companion in his new area is Elder Figueroa, his MTC companion that he is really good friends with. Here is a quick e-mail he sent us just this past Monday:

Hey family, everything here is way good. I love my new area and my new junior comp. and being with Elder Figueroa again is awesome. My Branch President is a Rasta man with dreads down to his butt. I am right on the ocean and got to see a baptism in the ocean yesterday. I am way excited for this transfer. Love you a lot and thanks for everything.

-Kale

We also received a really cool e-mail from a member in his first area:

Good day Mrs. Darling,

You might be very surprised to get an email form me, however owing to the fact that your son, Elder Kale Darling, said he mentioned me in a previous email, I guess this will not be so much of a shock. Well my name is Nikilie Osbourne and I am a member of the church. I live in the town of Santa Cruz, in the parish of St. Elizabeth. As you know this was your son's first area and he served well. He has a very awesome personality and he always looks for and tries to bring out the best in everyone. He will continue to serve our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ well. He is a blessing to our island.

So it sounds like he is doing great and we are all so proud of him. Keep up the good work Elder Darling.

More Birthday Stuff??

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:07:22 -0700

So after our trip to San Francisco I figured that was it for birthday celebrating. So the following Friday, on my actual birthday, I was totally caught off guard when I went out to my car to go to work. It was completely filled with balloons saying Happy Birthday. Scott used to be notorious for doing this to my car, bedroom, bathroom etc. when we were dating back when he was in college. So it was a surprising blast from the past when he got me again. He came skateboarding out to the garage a few minutes later to see my reaction and help me unload some of the balloons so I could actually drive safely to work. After work we celebrated my birthday with my family through iChat on our computer. It was really cool because we had my parents in Utah up on one side of the monitor and my brother Wyatt who is in China on the other side of the monitor and we could all see each other and talk at the same time. It was weird because it was daytime where Wyatt was and night for us and for my parents. It was cool to see Wyatt’s place as he walked his laptop around and hung it out the window showing his view of Macau, China. The only way the conversation could have been better was if Kale had a laptop in Jamaica and could chat with us. We could have Utah, China, California and Jamaica all up at once. The next morning some good friends of ours took us out to this old town teahouse for brunch in San Juan Capistrano for my birthday. It was really cool, they have all these old time hats for the ladies to wear and they make you these fruit bowls, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and bring you out your choice of tea. They also have super good desserts. There was even a little petting zoo next door. It was really fun. Next time people come out to visit us, I’m taking them there for sure.

San Francisco Part. 3: “Cut - It - Out”

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:52:05 -0700

Final shots of San Fran. I had to throw in the Painted Ladies, otherwise known as the “Full House houses”. If anything my sister Jentrie will appreciate them. She’s a Full House fanatic. So we decided to stop by and take some Tanner family style shots in front of the Full house homes. It was pretty crazy when we arrived at this place because we were thinking we were lame for going there to take pictures there but then we noticed there was tons of other people there taking pictures of it. I realize they are pretty famous homes for other reasons than the just the show Full House, but I’m pretty sure that was the main reason any of those people were there. Especially since we could hear a lot of them singing the theme song from the show. Anyway, it was pretty fun to see. After that we headed to Haight and Ashbury to check out all the shops. It was really cool and there were so many good shops, I wished we had another day. They even had one of my favorites, Buffalo Exchange. Also RVCA had a store there with a backroom open for free creative design. They had tons of tables set up with supplies for anyone who wanted to come in to draw, paint, sew, and even screenprint their artwork. Oh well, I’m sure we’ll go back soon enough. We had a really good time and would love to go visit again.

San Francisco Part. 2: Paparazzi

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 01:00:24 -0700

We had so many pictures I liked, I decided to split them up into separate blogs. So as I was saying in the last entry, Scott and I met up with Jason and Chrissie and their 2 kids in San Francisco. We headed over to the park where the World’s Fair was held and walked around by the giant pond to feed the ducks and hang out. Norah was really excited when she realized that if she threw her crackers into the pond more and more ducks would come to her. Eventually it got kind of out of control with too many ducks crowding her but it was funny to watch how excited she was over this. Anyway, while we were there we noticed there were tons of Chinese tourists who kept looking over at little Norah Brown admiring her as if she was some big movie star. Finally one the tourist asked in broken english, if he could take a picture with Norah and Chrissie. Chrissie was cracking up but agreed to do it. However, as soon as the picture snapped, another tourist woman asked if she could be next. Now we were all starting to laugh as this was getting really strange. Then as soon as we took the picture for the woman, another small group came up for their turn with Chrissie and Norah, then another group, and another group until there was literally a small crowd around them snapping away. It was seriously just like the crackers Norah had thrown to the ducks and more and more just kept coming. We were all cracking up as the cameras flashed away. It was so insane. More and more of these tourist groups just kept coming in for their chance to take a picture with the Mega stars, Chrissie and Norah Brown. Chrissie was laughing so hard she could barely breathe, and Norah was as mellow as can be. It’s pretty apparent in these shots how unreal the moment was for Chrissie, she is totally confused and can’t stop laughing in these shots. It was hilarious. Now there are probably framed pictures of her and Norah in some random people’s homes in China. So funny.

Birthday Month 2008: San Francisco - Part 1

Sun, 21 Sep 2008 22:53:40 -0700

It’s that time again....Scott and I are another year older. This year we decided to go on a trip to San Francisco for a combined birthday weekend. Scott has only been up to San Francisco a few times when he was a kid and I’ve never been before so we were excited to go. It was a really fun trip and we were able to pack a lot into one weekend. We arrived Friday night and our hotel was just outside of Union Square so we were able to go out and walk around and see a lot of the main downtown area. We ate at Morton’s Steakhouse which Scott loved. It was really cool because the waiter brings out a huge tray of the main courses so you can get a glimpse of what you are ordering and how big it is going to be. I’m vegetarian so I wasn’t too into the display of all the huge cuts of meat but Scott was pretty stoked on it and ordered the biggest filet mignon I’ve ever seen. They hooked me up with a huge vegetable and mashed potato dish so I was really happy too. The next morning we took a ferry out to Alcatraz to take the tour of the prison. Scott was pretty excited to see the historical prison and learn about what went on there. His favorite movie is the Shawshank Redemption and after the tour he now he wants to see the old Clint Eastwood movie, Escape From Alcatraz. It was pretty fascinating to walk through the prison with the audio headphone tour guiding you through it. The tour was really well done. They had commentary by former prisoners and guards from Alcatraz and it was as if they were right there with you showing you around and telling all the big stories that went on there. The cells looked so tiny. I could not imagine what it must have been like to be locked up there. We were even put in the “hole” during the tour where they put you in these special cells and then closed you off completely with a door so it was pitch black. It was crazy. Some prisoners were locked up this way for months. I would go insane. After the tour of Alcatraz we met up with our friends from Folsom, Jason and Chrissie and their 2 kids, Norah and Ellis. We met them at some beach near the Golden Gate Bridge and hung out and flew a kite. Although it was super windy, the kite wasn’t the biggest success so we headed over to this park area where the World’s Fair was held. It was really pretty. While we were there Chrissie and Norah were unexpectedly hit by the “Asian paparazzi.” It was so hilarious I decided to make it a separate blog for it, so that will be up shortly, be sure to check it out. After the park we headed over to Pier 39 near Ghiradelli Square and saw all the sea lions/seals hanging out. It was pretty funny to see them all snuggled together, lounging around like a bunch of fat, lazy couch potatoes. We then went over to the Fog City Diner for dinner. It’s the diner they filmed one of the scenes for the movie So I Married an Axe Murder in. They had really good food there as well and the desserts were even better. It was really fun being able to hang out in San Francisco with the Browns, we wish they lived closer. We always have such a great time with them. We were really grateful they were able to meet up with us and show us around. (We had so many good pictures, I decided to split them up so I’ll have a couple more blog entries with just pics soon - This set is Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Beach with the Browns)

Sumans in California

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:00:29 -0700

Scott’s friend Jarond came to visit with his wife Jenny and their 2 kids, Mya and Eli. They also brought along Jenny’s mom, Mercedes. They have super cute kids. It’s funny because Jenny has such dark hair and skin and Eli and Mya have super blonde hair and light skin. They definitely take after Jarond. Eli is his clone. I wasn’t feeling good, so Scott took them down to the Montage beach for the day. I was sad I couldn’t make it, I love going to the Montage. It has an incredible view of the ocean and there aren’t too many people there. Scott doesn’t like it as much because there aren’t any waves there but it’s perfect for kids since the water is so calm. Later that night, we all went over to Ryan and Rachel Phelps’ house for dinner. Scott has been friends with Ryan and Jarond since he was a little kid so he was excited to hang out with them again. It was fun hanging out with everyone and hearing old stories of all the crazy things the 3 of them used to do when they were kids. I don’t think I’ve seen Scott crack up that hard in a long time. We had a great time seeing the Sumans and hope they can make it back down here again soon.

Jentrie and Friends in California

Mon, 1 Sep 2008 14:40:06 -0700

My sister Jentrie and her friends, Scott, Lynde and Trent all came down for the weekend to visit and hang out in California before they start school. They drove in late Thursday night and stayed until Monday morning. They went to LA on Friday and hung out at the Grove shopping center, then went to the Mann’s Chinese Theater and Kodak Theater on Hollywood Blvd. and saw the walk of fame. Then they headed over to the Pantageas Theater to watch the play Wicked. Saturday they went to the Spectrum and then went to Disneyland. We met up with them Saturday night for dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney. On Sunday they went to the beach and relaxed in the sun for the day. It was good to see everyone and we wished we could have seen them more this weekend but we had so much going on. Overall I think they had a good trip with the short time they had. Also I think Jentrie’s friend Scott will be pleased to see he officially made it on the scottandkarisa blog. Congratulations, it’s a very exclusive club :) We don’t just let anybody on here. You should be proud of yourself.

Keely’s 2nd Birthday

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 11:54:04 -0700

Keely is 2!!! Time flies by so fast these days. It seriously seems like yesterday we were all visiting her in the hospital when she was born. Tim and Heather threw her a combined birthday with another couple who have a 2 year girl named Sophie. The party was at the Mission Viejo Lake and it was really cute. They had an outdoor BBQ going and Heather made an Elmo cake and cupcakes. I think Scott ate like 20 of them. It was fun to see everyone and see how much Keely has grown up. She’s a cute little girl now and has a really fun personality. Happy Birthday Keely.

Hanging with the Pynes

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:23:34 -0700

My friends Mandee and Kent Pyne came to visit this past weekend with their son Kenton. Kenton has grown so much. He has the coolest shaggy curls now. Mandee and I took Kenton and went shopping all day in South Coast and headed back to meet up with Scott and Kent later that night. We also met up with one of our high school friends, Nick, who lives in Orange now. We all went down to the Montage to walk around and see the sunset then headed back to eat In N Out and go to our jacuzzi. It was really good to see them in person again. I think they need to take road trips out here more often.

Nielsen’s Cali Trip

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:08:51 -0700

Jon and Kasey Nielsen came out to visit from Las Vegas this past weekend. It was a quick trip before Kasey is due with baby No. 2. Scarlet has grown so much since we last saw her. She was cracking us up the whole trip. She is the funniest. She’s super cute and has so much personality. She can also throw back food like no other. It was really fun to watch her. We went and checked out the view at the Ritz in Dana Point then went to eat at Kasey’s favorite, BJ’s Pizza on main beach in Laguna. Scarlet amazed us by eating tons of hot sauce at the restaurant. Her eyes got super watery and nose was running like crazy but she just kept going back for more. It was hilarious. After we ate we headed back to our place and Jon and Scott rocked out on Rock Band. Saturday we went to IKEA so Jon and Kasey could pick up some furniture for their new house in Vegas, then headed down to the beach at T-Street. We then went to Houston’s restaurant in Irvine to eat and met up with Jon’s sister who lives in L.A. It was really fun hanging out with the Nielsen’s again. We definitely need to do this more often.

Browns Part 2: Iguana Be In Pictures

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:42:02 -0700

There were so many great shots from when the Brown’s came to visit I had to make 2 blogs .

The Browns are in Town

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:49:58 -0700

Jason and Chrissie Brown came to visit us last week with their daughter Norah and their new baby, Ellis. Chrissie’s brother Eric came with them as well. It was really good to see them again. We went to the Montage Beach in Laguna, Disneyland, Huntington Pier and hung out at our place playing Rock Band and going swimming. It was really fun getting to hang out with them again. Norah has really grown up over the past year. She’s a little girl now and it was really cute to see her running around and talking and Ellis is the mellowest baby I’ve ever seen too. He was really cute. We had a really good time and wish we could see them more often.

1st Day of School

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:23:09 -0700

Scott had his first official day of law school today. He showed off his new Burton laptop backpack which he say is going to make him a “big hit” amongst his fellow students. He came home and told me he is the most popular kid in school, and has already been voted Most Likely to Succeed. He told me he is a campus hero and everyone loves him. Later that I night, I found him on our patio with a tear in his eye and he told me the truth. The bullies at school beat him up and stole his lunch money and he has no friends. I told him it will be ok, and that I love him. So he is going to try and make the best of it.

Actually none of that happened, Scott just wanted me to say that. He said it doesn’t seem like it will be too bad and he likes the cases they are reading so far. So I’m happy that he seems to really like school and finds it interesting so far.

The End of the “Summer Kid”

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:22:53 -0700

So, Scott has had the last 2 months off enjoying a nice kick back, relaxing summer before he is off to law school. He’s definitely been living it up, going to the beach, Wild Rivers, Disneyland, Movies, hanging out at the pool and singing songs all night to me about how he’s a “Summer Kid”. Anyway, sadly for him, his “Summer Kid” days are coming to an end as he starts school on the 22nd of this month. He seems to be pretty excited for school though and has everything set to go. He picked up a new laptop, pre-ordered his books, and picked up all his school binder/pencils/etc. Last thing on his list is to get a decent backpack for his books and laptop. But other than that, he is ready to go. This past weekend I decided to go with him to the beach to catch a glimpse of what it has been like for him this summer. We went and picked up Jamba juices and headed down to Thousand Steps beach in Laguna. It was such a perfect day. It was surprisingly not too crowded and It was crystal clear out. The water was perfect, Scott stayed out in the waves for hours. It always makes me laugh because I’m so used to Scott tying his hair back lately that I forget how long it is now, so when he comes in from swimming I’m like, “who is this long haired stranger?” It’s so funny because his hair is so long when he’s out in the water and totally shrinks up when he gets out because it’s so curly. Afterwards we went to one of my favorite places to eat, La Sirena - best bean burritos EVER - and then we headed home. We had a great time and now I see why Scott has been so happy and relaxed every night. I sure could get used to his “Summer Kid” life. I’m glad he has had this time to take it easy, because I know law school is going to be rough and I get the feeling this will be one of his last true “summertimes” for a long time.

Nerd Fest 2008 (Comic Con)

Sat, 9 Aug 2008 13:09:08 -0700

Scott recently went with his friend Danny Gibson to the largest annual nerd convention.....uh I mean Comic Convention in San Diego. He said they had a great time, so I’ll take his word for it. He came home with a huge bag of comic stuff, free t-shirts, posters etc. and was wielding a blow up “He Man - Masters of the Universe” Sword, so I assume it really was a good time. Unfortunately he forgot to bring our camera but he took a bunch of photos with his phone that I posted above. Some of the many highlights he mentioned were seeing full replicas of the Iron Man suit, the Batman mask (as worn by George Clooney) and meeting LeVar Burton from Reading Rainbow. The funniest part for me was that I went to take a shower and when I came out, Scott has passed out on the couch hugging his He Man sword like it was his teddy bear. I had to take a picture. Sorry Scott.....I love you....but you’re a nerd.

Highland: Go Kart Racing

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:06:24 -0700

This week I flew out for a company meeting in Sacramento. I stayed at the Marriot and had a really nice room. After our meetings, my boss Doug was nice enough to take us to this go kart place called RPM Raceway. It was really fun, (even though I took last place :) .......in my defense it wasn’t entirely my fault. I lost my shoe on the first race and everyone had to stop so the workers could go retrieve my shoe from the track (actually maybe that was my fault). Then the next race, I was hit by a certain someone from behind but I won’t name names....(Matthew), and my neck brace flew off. Despite all these mishaps though....I’m pretty sure I would have been in last place anyway. Well, I guess I wasn’t always last place thanks to Kari. She somehow managed to go slower than me on some races. Thanks Kari. So I’m definitely not the best racer, but I had a lot of fun.

The big winners of the day were:
1st place Matthew,
2nd place Christy,
3rd place Doug.

They had these cool trophies they gave to them in gold, silver and bronze. After that we all played pool and Doug showed us his mad pool skills. I think he definitely would have been a pro pool hustler if he didn’t have to run Highland. Overall my first trip to Sacramento was awesome, even if it was for work.

News from Jamaica

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:19:04 -0700

We finally received a few pictures of Kale in Jamaica from the Mission President’s wife. There were only 2 pictures of him in the bunch but it was still nice to see him looking good in Jamaica. We have been receiving e-mails from him every Monday and he seems to really like it out there a lot. His current area is Santa Cruz and his companion is Elder Chaffin from Washington. When he first arrived, he was unable to access his bank account and was roughing it eating some flour and water concoction they call “Dumplin”. He was also able to pick fruit from member’s yards to eat. I guess they flagged the account for security purposes when Kale’s account was trying to be accessed from Jamaica. Fortunately we were able to work it all out with the bank and let them know Kale will be in Jamaica for the next 2 years so they removed the flag on his account. So now Kale has been able to buy a bike to ride and get some decent food. Other than that, he has loved it out there so far. He said the people are super nice and it’s cool to hear their Jamaican accents. He is getting used to the slang they use called Patois (patwa). So far so good.

If you want to send Kale an e-mail, the address is: kalemyles@myldsmail.net
His P-Days are every Monday so that’s when he will be reading his e-mails and writing back, if time permits.

Also there is a new PO Box to send letters and packages to. Supposedly mail will get to him faster this way and has a better chance of getting to him.

MAILING ADDRESS;
PO Box 2316
Kingston 8, Jamaica W.I.

Here are a few e-mails we have received so far:
_______________________________________________________________________________________

Hey Mom and Family!

Yeah that sucks way bad about my bank account because I have needed to buy a lot of stuff here. I need to buy a bike, helmet, lights for it, back up bike parts in case stuff breaks. Money is my main problem here. I guess everything has doubled in price but the money we have received has stayed the same. This week my companion Elder Chaffin and I have bought flour, sugar, cornflower, eggs, powdered milk, fake meat and picked fruit from the church member’s yards. We have just been making what we can and trying to make money last. Most of the time we make stuff called “Dumplin”. It’s just flour and water, then we eat fruit. It’s not bad but definitely not what I'm used to. I am in an area called Santa Cruz. It’s like in the middle of Jamaica, so the food is even more expensive here because we are far inland. It’s the hottest part of Jamaica and now is the hottest time of the year. I don't mind it, I just hate being wet with sweat and smelling bad. Santa Cruz is shaped like a bowl ha ha they call it the armpit of Jamaica. I can see why but I absolutely love it! We are at the lowest part so when we go out for the day it’s always up hill. I'm getting in shape and losing weight because all I do is sweat and eat dumplin. I am very fortunate to even have dumplin though! You wouldn't believe the conditions these people live in. The first house I went to was about as nice as our shed in the backyard, including where we put the wood and lawn mower. The people are beyond amazing I love them so much! There is like 8 people in that house I was talking about. There is a 14 year old boy that is in a wheel chair that the church gave to him. He is really smart. He writes music and always reads the Book of Mormon. I wish I could tell you all about the people and the conditions they live in but I don't have enough time. Right now I'm using a ward members bike who doesn't have much so his bike is not the nicest thing but I'm grateful for it. I would like to return it to him asap because he needs it so please send money for me to get a bike as soon as you can so I can give him his bike back. Sorry I'm expensive but at this point I have no choice. I'm doing my best with what I've been given but I want to be able to focus on the work and not money problems ha ha sorry I am a pain. Once I get settled and they raise the amount we can have for food it won’t be as bad. This is the most foreign, amazing, hard, discouraging, and most rewarding thing I have ever done! 50 percent of the time I want to cry because it’s so hard and the other 50 percent of time I am having the best time of my life and feeling dumb for thinking it’s hard because the people that I'm teaching have it so much harder then I do but are so humble, happy, and thankful. I cant express how wonderful this is. I'm so lucky, thanks for everything. I love you all so so much. I wish I had more time to write you all individually but I have to go finish my laundry. We are doing it all by hand ha ha wow I love Jamaica and I love all of you more then you will ever know. You are the most amazing people I have ever met. I love you.

Love Elder Darling

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:25:20 -0600
Subject: Re: Re: Re: I love you

The Word of Wisdom and Law of Chastity are really big things they need to work on out here. They all grow their own marijuana, its funny. They all know it’s wrong when we talk about it but don't usually change. They also grow amazing fruit. I have so many pineapples. We went through Bamboo Alley to a place called Ginger Hill, the whole place is like a jungle of fruit, it’s the most beautiful, amazing sight I have seen here. The people we taught there were way awesome. There was a Rasta man that loved us and gave us tons of pineapples and sugar cane and pineapple juice drinks, it was sweet. I just need enough money for random stuff. I ripped one of my shirts, so I need one more and I need a brown belt. I can buy that stuff here, it just has to be from my home account. Just check it every once and a while to make sure I'm alright. I will tell you when I buy stuff so you know kinda what’s happening. Everything is “Irie” here, which means “alright”, it’s some Patois (patwa) for ya. Another one is “wogwon” which means “what’s going on”, its pretty crazy but I’m kinda getting it. It’s cool because a lot of people here spell worse then I do, they had a tyer (tire) sale the other day by my apt. Well I love you all, thanks for everything!

Love Elder Darling

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Subject: Hey family!

Yes the bank card finally worked, it took forever and was stressful but the bike was 8500, crazy huh? Actually thats only $118 in U.S. money but the bike started falling apart after I bought it because it’s Jamaican and they don’t care how good it is as long as they can sell it. I put about 7000 in fixing it so I can bike without stopping to fix stuff every 5 min. I had to borrow that money from my comp. because the card situation, but its around $100 in U.S. I’ve already started paying him back though. Just make sure I have money so if anything goes wrong I can fix it. There is still some bike stuff I need so put in like $100 for this month and that should be fine. I don't know exactly how that will be because I haven't been here long enough to know all the stuff I will need but I'm sick of talking about money, stressing about it and dealing with it, so now I will talk about my week. I got one card from Mom but that’s it. I'm in the middle of nowhere so it’s hard to get mail to me. We don't have a mailing address, so if you ask people their address they just say, “just tell people my name and they will show you how to get to my house”, its weird but cool. I’m still having a hard time understanding people if they talk patwa (I dont know how to spell it) but I am teaching cool people. I see marijuana everyday and last week we saw a garden of half normal stuff and the other half was bud plants, the guy is way rasta, I can’t understand him. We teach him once and a while because he lives next to one of the people in the bishopric. The people are awesome and way nice, I love them and I love you all, thanks for everything. I want to write a lot more but I only get one hour a week to e-mail.

I love you all Love Elder Darling

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From: "Kalene Darling" <kalened@provo.edu>
To: <kalemyles@myldsmail.net>
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:08:17 -0600
Subject: I Love You!

Elder Kale Myles Darling

I know you are pressed for time but I was
hoping you would be able to give us a little
more insight on your missionary life.
I am listing questions that people ask me about
your mission, but I do not know how to reply.
You don't have to answer all of them right now,
but when time permits.

1) What are your living conditions like?
We have a small apt, it’s pretty nice actually. There are bars on the windows, running water but freezing and its like 95 degrees usually, plus humidity.

2) Where is your trainer from?
He is from Spokane Washington.

Are their other missionaries serving with you in that area? It’s just us 2.

4) How is the food situation now?

5) What is the church like there?
Like 18 people usually, we are working on getting 40 for a building.

6) And most importantly......How much do you miss your Mom?
Ha ha wow that one caught me off guard. I love you more then I can explain and miss you beyond words.

I Love You
Mom