So Proud...

This last weekend we went to St. George so Kuso and his cousins could dance at a wedding. Sorry. No pics because I was busy recording video! YEAH! We finally caught up with the rest of the world and have a video camera. Anyway...while they were performing, there were people sitting on the other end of the table from where I was. The one man said, "Wow. These guys are good!" The other man said, "They're the best I've ever seen." Those comments coming from people in attendance at a polynesian wedding mean a little more to me than people attending a palagi (white) wedding. No offense to any of my fellow palagi's...Later in the performance, the mother-in-law of one of the guys in the group leaned over and said "Your husband is REALLY good." Yeah...I'm pretty proud when the boys dance because I get to hear all the side comments about how well they do, especially Kuso.

While at the wedding, Kuso ran into one of his brother's childhood friends. Mandy invited us to her house later that night. We ended up staying until 2 am! It's so fun for me to visit with people that Kuso grew up with because I learn so much about him and his family.

I don't know why I like to think I can stay up and party like when I was in college. Friday night we didn't go to sleep until around 3 am and Saturday night it was nearly 2:30 am. We slept in late both days, but it's not the same kind of sleep. It will probably take me a few days to recoop!

LASTLY...Friday was the 3 month mark to Leila's due date! We are getting SO excited to meet our daughter. I've had dreams about what she looks like. I'm anxious to see if any of it is even close to what she will really be like. At the wedding, there were a TON of little girls, many of them afatasi (half/half) like what Leila will be. If she is as cute as some of the girls we saw, we won't be disappointed! The last few weeks Kuso has been able to see and feel her move. This is so exciting for him, and it makes me so happy to see the excitement on his face. Kuso uses her name more regularly, while I still feel wierd calling her "Leila." I still say "baby" or something like that.

It's been funny because in the pregnancy books and websites, it says that at this stage, poking the stomach likely won't simulate movement. But the other night, Kuso kept moving my stomach and saying "Leeeeeiiiiillllllaaaaa...." And then she would kick so strong. It was funny. Then he would do it again, and within seconds of him stopping the movement, she would start moving. Not just small movements. It felt like she was playing with him!

I'll post another picture soon, but I guess I'm really looking prego now, because people who don't even know me will ask when I'm due. Some may feel that these comments are inappropriate, but I'd rather look pregnant, than in that fat stage where no one dares say anything. And Kuso's cousins told me "you look really good in your pregnancy." They started talking about how big their wives were by the time they were as far along as I am now. I love nice comments.

Bees Game

June 1st started Air Force appreciation week. The Bees game honored the men and women who serve in the Air Force. Since my dad works at Hill Air Force Base, he got us tickets for $5 each.

Before the game, there were sidewalk displays of cool vehicles

and stuff with Air Force insignia on it.

Two guys repelled off the side of the stadium.

Before the gates opened, the Air Force Drill Team performed. They use fully functional rifles with bayonets on the end. They walk and flip their guns in different formations with "precision."

At the end, they line up twirling their guns toward the person across from them. One of the guys walks from the front of the line to the back, then back to the front all while the other guys are twirling their guns.

Kind of scary, but mostly amazing.

While inside the stadium, four parachuters entered the stadium carrying different flags.

The 4th jumper carried the flag of the United States. It was gathered before it hit the ground and the four jumpers held it out in center field while the rest of the pregame stuff happened.

Right at the end of the National Anthem, these jets flew over the stadium.

It was pretty awesome.

The weather started out nice, but then by about the 2nd inning, the rain came. It started a pretty good downpour and a lot of fans left. We were able to move up under a covered part of the stadium. The covered part along with our blankets kept us dry and warm enough to enjoy the game.

The Bees ended up winning the game 6-5. It turned out to be an exciting game and made it more enjoyable to be there.

NOTE: The following picture depicts a great idea for a Halloween Costume.

Devoted Sports Fan.

All it takes is your favorite outside sports clothing,

a garbage bag as a rain coat, a pizza box as a visor and a popcorn bucket as a hat.

Accessorize with your favorite beverage.

Feelin' It

Yesterday after church, Kuso and I went to take a nap. Leila was quite active so I had him lay with his hand across my stomach. He finally had the chance to feel her move! It was awesome. That was his first physical touch experience to know that she is alive! He's seen the ultrasound, and seen my body get bigger, but for him to actually feel the movement was great! Along with more movement has come other pregnancy related issues....stretch marks. The first faint ones showed themselves over the weekend...guess it's time to get serious about keeping my skin moisturized.

On a side note...he is hurt. He hurt his back on Memorial Day. He's not quite sure how. Probably just playing volleyball too long after not being able to play at that level for several months. Anyway, his back is just sore. Extremely sore. He moves like an old man getting in and out of the car. He walks around okay, but we know his back is hurting because he admits that he shouldn't play rugby or volleyball or work for at least a week or two...maybe longer. (For any of you that know him, that is AMAZING for him to give up his games and to miss work.) He worked about 3 days last week and said it was so painful it wasn't even worth going back. He found a guy who does the Samoan Style massages. He's hoping that with a few sessions of that, he will get feeling better much sooner!

24 Weeks

Here it is. The first of several sideways-showing-off-my-roundness pictures. Wish I could blame the chubby face on being prego...no such luck. It's a permanent fixture. :) This was taken on Saturday, which is the "official" 24 week mark. Kuso was out while I took a shower and got ready. When he came home, he said, "Hon...I really like that shirt." (it's not like him to comment on something so simple.) He continued with "It shows your stomach. I like that. I've been waiting to see that." How cute is he? Forget the guys that worry about their ladies getting big. HE LOVES IT!!! Which makes me LOVE IT! After he took this picture, I looked at it and said "wow...fatty bo-batty." He smiled at me and said "I know. I like it."

I also decided it was appropriate to finally post a picture because of a comment I had received earlier in the week. My work partner and I were out checking on kids at home. I used to work with a boy who lived at one particular home, and my partner now has his cousin. Their older female cousin is kind of like a guardian since the mom doesn't speak English well. So she has known me for years. Anyway, we meet with the 15 year old boy on the porch and go back to get in the car. The older cousin comes running out "Lisa! Are you pregnant?" I laughed and told her I was. She was SO excited. She said "yeah, he came inside and said I think Lisa is having a baby. I asked him why he said that and he said because she's not skinny anymore." So I took that as one of the most positive things for two reasons. 1) I guess I look more prego than fat now (even to a 15 year old boy who doesn't know me well) and 2) at some point, they thought I was skinny!

Goodbye Newlyweds!

Yep...we made it to our 2 year mark, which means we are no longer newlyweds! As most of you can relate, in looking back over the past 2 years, sometimes it seems like the time flew past and other times it seems like we've been through so much that there is no way it only took 2 years for it all to happen! One thing is for sure, as time passes, our love, appreciation, and understanding of each other definitely grows.

As mentioned in my birthday blog, Kuso is in Wyoming working. Yep...every year I'll get to go to Wyoming to celebrate my birthday and anniversary. So I headed up after work on Friday (the day OF my birthday.) It works out well that by the time I get off work, go to the bank and fill up the car, I get to the hotel about the same time he gets back to his room. This weekend did not work out that way.

I'm cruising along I-80 eastbound (well, not cruising as my cruise control is broken which is vital information for this story.) I look in my rear view and see the red and blues. Crap. I pull to the side HOPING he would pass me. No such luck...he pulls right up behind me.
Cop: "Do you know how fast you were going?"
Me: "Nope." (I know....stupid answer.)
Cop: "Where you headed?"
Me: "Rock Springs."
Cop: "What takes you there?"
Me: "My husband works out of town so I'm going to visit him for my birthday." (Bonus! I got to throw in that my husband is out of town AND it's my birthday...he should feel bad for me right?)
Cop proceeds to take my license, insurance, and registration and comes back.

WITH A TICKET! Apparently I was going 88 in a 75. Well, when you are driving through the straights of Wyoming with broken cruise control and the only other vehicles on the road are semis, it's hard to gauge how fast you are really going without staring at your speedometer... which if you did, your eyes wouldn't be on the road. I wasn't darting in and out of traffic to get around people...I was just driving in a straight line. Ok...I'll be accountable for my actions and admit that I was speeding, but come on...he can't even drop it down? NOPE. Got the full price 10+ over the speed limit ticket...ON MY BIRTHDAY!

After he left I thought I should have thrown the pregnancy card at him and told him I was trying to get to the next rest stop (25 miles away) because I had to use the bathroom...oh well.

THEN...I get to Rock Springs a little after 7:30 pm. Kuso usually gets to his room around 7:30. I didn't see the work van, so I called his phone to make sure he wasn't in his room. No answer. I sit. I call back 20 minutes later. No answer. I sit. I proceed to call his phone every 10 minutes for the next hour and 20 minutes. FINALLY at 9:05 pm he calls. They had just got off work. By this time I was steaming mad. I was SO irritated. He gets back to the hotel at 9:25ish. (I couldn't go relax in the room because we were going to use his work assigned room, so I didn't have a key.) I had been sitting in my car an additional 2 hours after I had made the drive from Salt Lake....on my birthday.

Anyway, he finally gets a chance to explain that he didn't call to let me know they were working late because he can't take his phone in the plant with them, and they didn't even take a break. They just kept working. So I start to simmer down. We were supposed to go out to dinner to celebrate my birthday. I look into his eyes and the poor guy is so exhausted his eyes are bloodshot red. I had brought him a plate of food so I told him to just take a shower and eat that while I went to Burger King drive thru. To top it all...the food was old and chewy. Gross. So, yeah, it was a fun birthday.

Then Saturday we "celebrated" our anniversary by going to eat at the fine dining establishment of Golden Corral. We were going to take in a movie, but again, he was so wiped out, it wasn't worth it. I think we will put more emphasis on celebrating our "temple anniversary" than our civil anniversary...it's in August when he isn't so busy!

Despite all the "hiccups" over the weekend, it was worth it to be able to spend a few hours together.

29!!!

Happy Birthday to Me! I'm officially 29 and holding...okay, not holding. I'm not worried about getting older. In fact, I'm excited. Age brings so many opportunities that wouldn't come if we just stayed 29 forever.

Not a lot of big plans, but I'll be heading to Rock Springs, Wyoming after work. Kuso is working there...12 hour days, 7 days a week until the job is done. He's been there for a couple weeks, and will be there for a couple more without coming home at all. SO...I take advantage of being "free" and go visit him on the weekends. Although it's not the most exciting trip, I've succumbed to the fact that I will be spending Mother's Day, my Birthday, and our Anniversary in Wyoming every year! It's not where one is at, but who one is with that makes an occasion special...

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

4 Months and Counting

So Leila's due date is exactly 4 months from today! We could be practicing parents in 4 months (give or take a few days). I'm super excited to meet our little girl.

Sometimes it all seems so far away and almost unreal. Then other moments the reality of the situation comes to light and all my emotions of fear and excitement come rushing back. People look at me funny when I tell them I'm scared or nervous. I am. But I'm WAY MORE excited than any of the nervous feelings that come up.

I can't wait to bring our firstborn home and begin that large chapter of our life.