Bambino!

OK, I can FINALLY update this blog without getting yelled at!

Since I've known for the last 3 weeks that I was pregnant, it has been so hard to talk to people! Taylor and I decided to keep the news to ourselves and our close family until we had our first doctor's appointment and things were further along. Wise? Yes. Responsible? Yes. Easy? HECK NO! We have both been dying to tell the world that there's a little Smithlet growing in my belly, but kept mum as best we could.

Hence the lack of updates on the blog. I thought about posting 100 times, but the only thing that felt newsworthy was the one thing I wasn't allowed to tell. But now I can. So tell I will.

I actually realized that I was 'late' because of work. The three girls I work with, and myself, had all synched our cycles pretty fast and when I realized that I had missed my turn on the P-train, I got a little nervous. (Let me preface this with the fact that Taylor and I want nothing more in this world than to be parents, but we are also aware of the fact that our life situation right now is not the best to bring a baby into; but we'll discuss that more later). So I stopped at Publix on the way home from work and bought a pregnancy test (First Response, to be exact, because they claim to detect the slightest amount of pregnancy hormone). I had even debated not telling Taylor that I was going to take the test until I knew the results, but he knew something was up as soon as I got home. It was pretty late by the time I arrived and I had to get up early the next morning, so I decided that no matter how anxious I was, I was going to wait until tomorrow to take the test so I could get a good night's rest. Yeah... that didn't happen. At about 3:45am I had to pee and what better time to take a pregnancy test than when you already have to pee, right? So, me and that funny little stick took a trip to the bathroom and to my absolute shock there were not one, but TWO pink lines! I very calmly (and in a bit of a daze) walked back into our bedroom and turned on the light. Taylor shot up out of bed trying to decide if he had to shoot someone or run from a fire, when I showed him the funny little stick with the TWO pink lines on it. He replies "Sooo.. what does that mean?" After we both realized what was happening I finally said, "Ya know, that second line is pretty faint. I bet it's a fluke. I'll take another test in the morning to be sure." And, sure enough, the rest is history...

I can't tell you how excited I am to be preparing to be a mother. If you know me AT ALL, you know that this is what I have spent my whole life preparing for. Some people are called to this earth to be musicians... or businessmen... or world leaders... I can honestly tell you that I have been called to this earth to raise up a generation of gods and goddesses to serve my Lord in these perilous latter days. I have done everything I can to do that up to this point: being active with the youth in the church, doing my best to be a good example, and being the best darn EFY counselor I knew how to be. But I have been limited, up to this point, in my ability to truly shape and uplift this next generation. Here is where my real task begins. Building a home conducive to raising up a family of righteous, loving, selfless disciples who will be eager and prepared to do the Lord's work.

How blessed I am to be joining the ranks of the most amazing women across the world who are responsible for the raising of the gods. I am honored, nervous, excited, and scared. But, in all things, knowing that my Father in Heaven is mindful of me, of my family, and of this little angel rapidly developing in my body.

On a less "preachy" note, I go to the doctor tomorrow to go over the results of my ultrasound. Little peanut is about 1/2 inch long with a heart rate of 161.. and literally looks like a peanut. Mama has been feeling super gross so far, but some of the nausea is subsiding (at least, for now). We will definitely keep you all updated as things develop and we are so grateful for all the outpouring of well wishes from our family and friends. You are all amazing!

Update? Sure, why not!

So... to answer your question: Yes, we're still alive.

It's been ages since I've blogged. (mostly because of how busy we've been... and a little bit because I'm just that lazy) But allow me to catch you up to speed.

I am currently the Assistant Manager at the Amazing Pictures location in Disney's Hollywood Studios' AFI. I was promoted after only two weeks of working there, with zero experience in their line of business. *Yes, this would be me patting myself on the back.* I LOVE my job. The people I work with are amazing and, short of being the Mouse himself, I'm pretty sure I have the funnest job at Disney. What do I do, you ask? Allow me to show you:

This is me as Moe, Curly, & Larry's "dummies"  (one of my all time fave pics b/c I didn't even know which picture I was being put in and made those faces randomly. awesome, right?)

This is me as (from L to R) Anakin, Padme, Luke, and Leia

This is me and Annette as Jack Sparrow... excuse me, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow (thank you, Taylor)... and his .. uh... wench. ;)

So, yeah. Needless to say, my job is awesome. Taylor does quite the opposite. He has been doing demo on houses and tearing apart sheet rock with his dad's restoration company. He's pretty much like a kid in a candy store... with a sledge hammer. You're jealous, I know. 

Other than work, we have just been living a normal life. We're still residing with Mama and Papa Smith here in Windermere as we save up for our own place. They are awesome to let us mooch off of them while we get on our feet and I could not be more grateful for such amazing in-laws. In recent news, we had some Fourth of July festivities with a family in our ward. The boys shot off a pretty impressive fireworks display while we all watched. Except I got a little more than I bargained for when one of the "shrapnel" from a roman candle landed on the back of neck. (see exhibit A below) It is now beautifully peeling and scabbing and getting in the way of pretty much every daily task from washing my hair to dressing myself. I guess I need to learn to be more patriotic or something... Whatever.

All in all, life is grande in it's own complicated, trial-filled, sorta way. But we are very blessed to have each other, a roof over our heads, and the gospel in our lives. Can't really ask for more. All our love to our family & friends out in cyber space!        

- The Smiths

M-I-C... K-E-Y... Employment here we come!

Sing the title to the tune of the Mickey Mouse Club song... trust me. :P

So allow me to briefly update you on the last month. (There's a reason why I haven't updated) We spent about 4 weeks in Gainesville, in which time: business was EXTREMELY slow, I got attacked by BED BUGS, and we moved hotel rooms 3 times in 36 hours. We had been praying fervently for our situation to improve, and we thought our prayers had been answered: Taylor's manager came into our room one night and asked us if we'd be willing to pack up first thing in the morning and transfer down to Lakeland. They were short on technicians and business was booming. So we eagerly packed and took the 2 hour ride. We were shown to our BEAUTIFUL luxury apartment and I hastily unpacked and revelled in our bug-free home (complete with washer/dryer, patio, and breakfast nook). Taylor even had a job the very first night we were there! Hallelujiah! Sounds great, right? Ready for the curveball? The next day we get a phone call from the manager in Lakeland. It basically goes like this: "We aren't feeling like you're exactly 'Vivint' material. We're going to let you go."

And just like that we were jobless, homeless, and basically hopeless.

After a lot of crying (on my part) and a lot of praying (heaven bless my husband for keeping his cool) we called our parents for some sage advice. Long story, short: we are now residing in the upper room of Motel Smith. Taylor's parents have been so good to us in our time of need and I could not be more grateful to them. They have not only extended to us their home and their kitchen, but their love and support in this mess of a situation.

On the bright side, things are looking up! Both Taylor and I were hired to work in DISNEY WORLD!! We're working for a third-party company called Colorvision who runs Amazing Pictures. The VP of the company actually interviewed us personally and basically told us that if we work hard and pay our dues, she'll see us in management in the very near future. Sounds good to me! So now we're looking for apartments in Orlando and enjoying Florida the best we can. We went to Cocoa Beach this weekend and got some sun!

I am seriously in love with this neon orange nail polish. :)

So, to sum it all up: bed bugs=bad, disney jobs=good, orange polish=awesome.

Welcome to Gator Town!

This sign is not even a joke to people around here. I thought BYU fans were intense, they've got NOTHING on Gators! Everywhere we turn here in Gainesville, there is something blue and orange or a scary gator staring me in the face. Oy!

In case you haven't figured it out yet, we made it to Florida. Unfortunately, I do not have any of the promised road trip photos. (I spent the majority of the time sleeping or playing 20 questions with Taylor) But, I thought I would at least give you a little glimpse into what our trip was like.

First of all, packing up our apartment was, quite possibly, the most fRuStRaTiNg thing I've ever done. But I've decided that if Taylor and I survived that (plus the 3 day drive), then we will be able to conquer anything else in the future of our marriage. So that's good! Hahaha We had some much-needed help from my little brother, Billy Jett. (and he was handsomely rewarded with most of our furniture and all of the food in our fridge that we couldn't take with us) We hit the road at about 2 pm and headed for Taylor's brother Josh's house in Flower Mound, TX (about a 21-hour drive). My husband was on some kind of inexplicable road trip rush and drove for about 19 straight hours before finally giving up the wheel. It was my job to keep him fed and hydrated and play 186472 games of 20-questions to keep him entertained. We finally made it to Josh & Carol's just before dinner time the next day.

While in Texas, we enjoyed the most amazing barbecue you could ever dream of! We went to a place called Hard Eight in Coppell, TX. If you live AnYwHeRe near one of their 3 locations, get your booty there ASAP! Make sure to try the brisket, the ribs, and the jalepeno corn. Mmmm... I'm drooling on my keyboard just thinking about it. We also had some super yummy Tex-Mex for lunch the next day while the kiddies were at school. We stayed for a day to play with our nieces and nephews and boy am I glad that we did! Holden, Hyrum, Hazel, and Harley are the coolest kids I have ever met! Holden played a few rounds of Rock Band with us and was getting so into it that he would close his eyes while he was singing and get down on one knee to belt out Bon Jovi. Hyrum had us all in stitches one night at dinner when his dad gave him a "Thank you Captain Obvious" and he, without missing a beat, retorted "You're welcome, Lieutenant Sarcasm." This kid is a champ! Hazel entertained us with her mime skills. And my heart melted for 5-year-old Harley as we read books together and played with her Zhu-Zhu pets. (what the heck are those things supposed to be, by the way?!) I miss Texas already, and we cannot wait to go back and visit again.

Onward through Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama we went. The south brought us Popeye's Chicken & Biscuits (YUM!),  sweet old lady waitresses, and plenty of people with WoNdErFuL accents. :)

Now that we're in Gainesville, we're "settled in" to our extended stay hotel room. We're gonna be staying here for about a month, maybe a little bit more. I'm going slightly insane since Taylor has my car and there's no pool here. But I'm thinking about checking out an orthodontist office up the street to maybe put a bunch of intern hours on my resume. Heaven knows I'm going to go looney without a project, so I thought that would be the best use of my time right now.

So... That's all the news from Gainesville. OH WAIT! While we were on the road, I got an awesome phone call from my mom.. I'M GOING TO BE AN AUNTIE!!! My brother's bride-to-be has a bun in the oven!!! I'm so excited!! And my cute parents are over the moon to finally be Pop-Pop and MiMi!  So, congrats Nicky and Kate!! And I can't wait to see you for the big day in a week!!

In Transit

So I'm just throwing up a quick update post before everything gets boxed up and I can't even find my sanity.

Taylor and I will be leaving the state of Utah forever in a couple of days! We're moving to sunny Florida for him to pursue his Graphic Design career. I am so excited!! We're going to be way closer to our families and out of this crazy snow. I've spent the last few days staring at all of our personal belongings, hoping they would magically pack themselves. (I definitely had a Harry Potter moment, but my spell didn't work due to my lack of a wand. LAME) But, slowly but surely, things are getting packed.

We also celebrated our first full month of being married!! Even though it feels like we've been married forever.

So, as of Tuesday we'll be on the road. Wednesday we'll be arriving in Flower Mound, TX to visit Taylor's brother and his family. And then Thursday it's on to the Sunshine State!  So please keep us in your prayers over the next couple days and I'll be sure to post some hilarious photos from our 36 hours of being trapped in a car. :P