Hi again!

Congrats Mel! So fun to hear about your pregnancy! You will be the DARLING-EST mommy in the world. That is so cool that you are waiting to find out if it is a boy or a girl - There are only a few things in life that we can be truly surprised by and I think that is one of them! I am glad you haven't gotten too sick and that things are going well. Keep me updated!  Sorry I didn't read this post until now - I would totally have gone to the dinner in Provo to see you! :(  Shoot. Next time I will be there FOR SURE.
As for me, I am still in nursing school, wishing I was graduated haha. But it is going well and I'm enjoying it. Speen is doing his HAKS Backpacks thing and working and we are just loving are little cozy place in Sugarhouse. We went on a fishing trip down to his Uncle's ranch last weekend and it was so fun - we should plan a roommate reunion trip down there or something for next summer! We could have a late baby shower for Mel!
Love all of you so much!
xoxo
Maria

Baby K!

Thanks Maria for getting the ball rolling again and writing a post! I seriously keep meaning to but then I'm like... I have nothing interesting to say haha. I guess this is a pretty good excuse though! I've been documenting my pregnancy so far on my other blog so if you want lots of details you can read them there! I had some nausea in the first trimester that was pretty annoying and I basically hated all foods but I never threw up which was great! I'm almost 16 weeks now and feel great! Baby K is due March 12 and we're not finding out it's sex :) we want a surprise! We'll see how easy it is to play the waiting game...but I just think it will be sooo cool to find out when it's born!

We are actually going to be in Utah this weekend visiting my family! We have kind of a tight schedule so I didn't want to say anything in case we couldn't see you guys, but we are having dinner in Provo at Brick Oven at 7 Saturday night if anybody in the area wants to come! Dan, Brenton, etc (that gang) will be there and so will Shannon and her hubby, who are also expecting! So come if you want/can!

Eric has been traveling a lot these past couple months which isn't super fun but I am getting used to it. Army life rocks sometimes :) I'm just really grateful that he's not like a traveling salesman or something haha. I should start my new job at the Child Development Center that's about 500 yards from our house sometime in October which I'm excited about but also kind of nervous about starting a new job...dealing with children...while preggo. We shall see how it goes! I'm in primary at church which is fun and gives me something to do. That's about all that's happening around here!

So what has been going on with everyone else???

HEY!

So. None of us have written on our little blog for a while. But I think we need to get some more details from a certain future mommy!
Mel! I am so excited for you! Congratulations!!!!!!!!!
Tell me the details - when is Baby Kunz due? Do you know if boy or girl yet? HOW ARE YOU FEELING? Morning sickness??????
I wish you were back in Utah so I could congratulate you in person and give you a BIG hug!
Love you so much. You will be the best mom ever. Seriously.

xoxo, Maria

My5Things

M, your picnic sounds like the cutest little thing! I love celebrating the small things too. If you guys need date ideas, check out thedatingdivas.com they have some really cute ideas for dates or just little things to make your husband happy! Some of them are pretty cheesy but you can put your own spin on them and they are really fun!

Ok here are my 5 things!

1. I secretly like not having a job and getting to do anything I want all day long. You'd be surprised at how busy I feel even when I'm not doing much...an oil change can turn into an all day event haha. I love getting to sleep in. Oh yeah, it's nice having a housekeeper too :) Except sometimes I would just rather do things myself, the way I like to have them done.

2. Some of you know about my miscarriage in Feb (now you all know, but please keep it just between us) and while it is still sad sometimes, I also secretly love the time Eric and I get to spend together without having any other cares or worries! I feel like we are on a 4 month vacation and get to do so many fun things with just the two of us. So maybe it really was a blessing in disguise!

3. I secretly like eating out a couple times a week. I used to never eat out but Eric gets paid an amount each day to cover food costs while he's at this course and it's way more than enough for one person...so sometimes I get to reap the benefits and not cook for one night. I still LOVE cooking, but it is fun to go out to eat with your husband every now and then just "because" and not for a special occasion. So I guess that means I secretly love the Army.

4. I am getting things ready for our move in June to Fort Eustis! (Which is right by the beach so im SO excited!!!) Housing applications are a pain, let me tell you. The Army is so confusing sometimes! There are certain ways you have to go about doing things but nobody ever tells you how to do them. So I guess that means I also secretly hate the Army.

5. I can't WAIT to have a house of our own! (I guess the Army will technically own it, but you get the idea.) I've been thinking of cute ways to decorate and can't wait to be able to do crafts again and furniture shop and things like that! Pinterest is my new best friend.

AND I get to go to NYC this weekend! I'm meeting my friend Alex in DC on Thursday, then Friday we'll take a bus to NYC to stay with our friend Kirstin until Sunday. I'm so excited! Any thoughts on what we should do while I'm there?

Ok so I guess that was more than 5 things but I was just so excited to talk to you guys since I haven't in forever! Sorry, I'll try to do better :) I just feel like our lives arent that exciting here haha but I guess we all feel like that sometimes. Anyways, you all better do this 5 things post cause I want to read them!

XOXO

how fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes

i will never get sick of mumford and sons. they can turn your final-hating, test-taking, i'm-going-to-throw-up days into pure bliss. don't you agree?

well, how is life women? i miss you all! i'm so glad you posted lucy! and yes, those names are darling - poppy and goldie! and way to run a marathon, sheesh! so proud of you. p.s. speaking of marathons, what the boston marathon? shocking and devastating. i can't even count how many times i've asked myself why things like that happen and how do we stop it. it is hard to believe and a scary thing to face. 

life is good here in sugarhouse. we just had our ten month anniversary on friday! It was cold outside so we decided to have an in-house picnic in our bedroom complete with a picnic basket, twinkle lights, stinky cheese, and a bottle of .... pink lemonade. :) i'm weird and since being married, i go all out for celebrating even the smallest things haha, but i really think mainly i find things to celebrate in order to avoid studying. 

i want to hear more about your lives! brooke - how's football treating you and jake? melnash - lady with a new professional job?? melnel - army wife life?? lucy - graduation?? rach - how is work and whats new with the brigster??
so here is my proposal: everyone, write at least 5 facts about your life right now and share it with us! (and FYI, everyone has bragging rights on this blog - it does not count as boasting or being cocky so brag all you want about your amazing lives because you're all amazing)

here are mine:

1. once, speen and i thought we were making chocolate chip cookies, but chocolate chip biscuits came out of the oven instead. #recipiesgonewrongdotcom  #gross
2. i'm not currently taking or using any form of birth control. too lazy for pills. too scared for IUD. condoms are creepy. etc.
3. we have a patchwork quilt on our bed and its my favorite thing ever. i wish i was a good liar so i could tell people i made it. but really its from garnet hill.
4. there is a pigeon's nest and little birdie eggs on our balcony and i have a very intense love/hate relationship with the mother bird.
5. i actually think i will be a pretty darn good nurse. love working in the NICU and labor and delivery. being a life light nurse would be pretty sweet too, but i don't think i'm cut out for that much intensity.

ok. thats all. can't wait to hear yours!
hope all is lovely in your lives.
xoxo, m. 

Senior-ITOUS

Hey ladies!

First off sorry it has taken me so long to get to writing on here. It's been on my to do list forever. Well now that I find myself unable to catch some shut eye tonight I figure it's as good as a time as any. I've loved reading what everyone has written so far. It's so fun to hear updates and feel close with everyone even though we're all over.

Life here in provo is good. With march almost on the way out. I can almost officially say I graduate in one month!! Which currently means for me I am sick with the nastiest case of senioritous. It's seriously bad. That aside it's been a great senior year.
I ran a marathon in September.
Traveled to St. George, Colorado, Arizona and Vegas for Frisbee tournaments. **Currently gearing up for sectionals in salt lake in a few weeks.
Found and fell in love with SLAB pizza-- if your ever back in provo THAT is the place to eat!
I got to meet Elder and Sister Bednar during my stake's most recent Stake conference.
I finally got a BYU intramural champion t-shirt for completing 150 miles of running/cycling/swimming.
Loving the loads of snow we got this winter by spending tons of time on the slopes.
I've been able to sing in choir here at BYU.
I work as a part-time nanny for a family of two girls (Poppy and Goldie--aren't their names so cute!)
I've even managed to pull some decent grades during all of that. I think after 5 years of college I finally got the whole balance between study and social down. It's about time!

My post grad plans are up in the air for the spring/summer but I am hoping a job that I applied for in WA will come through in the Fall. I'd be a great opportunity and would look great on applications for grad school. Something that I hope is in the near future for me.

Anyway  I hope that you all are doing great! I really is wonderful to read how all of you are doing. I'm glad that we have this space to write to one another and share the great things in life and the difficulties that come our ways.

I love you all so much you are such strong examples to me. It's so great to hear from you!

-Lucy

Hey guys! It's so fun to hear from you and find out what's going on! Maria, I'm so jealous of you getting to work in the NICU! I just love babies...haha but who doesn't!

Maria, how do you say your hubs' nickname? Speen? Like Seen? haha every time I see it I wonder that. But YES it does suck having your husband gone! I'm glad Eric hasn't had any trips lately...but the last time he was gone it was for 5 weeks and that totally stunk.

I finally found a friend here! Yes that sounds pathetic but living in a hotel full of men doesn't allow for many friendships. A guy and his wife from BYU ROTC (like Eric) moved here last week and now I can hang out with his wife who's really fun. YAY!

So that's whats going on here. Rach, your journal sounds like a cute idea, I should start one of those!

xoxo,
M. K.