The Owen's

I have not updated the blog in quite some time. I promise, we are alive and well. The last three months have been a bit of a blur. We have had so many fun and exciting things going on. I hope I can remember everything.

July
- We found out we are expecting baby number two (little noodle). Yes, this was planned and yes, we are very excited. It has been interesting for me because I have compared this pregnancy with my pregnancy with Peyton. This one is definitely harder! I don't have "horrible" pregnancies so I am grateful, but it is difficult dealing with the symptoms I do have as well as a busy toddler.

- Dave and I spent a weekend in Park City for a marriage retreat the Air National Guard put together for spouses. It was SO nice and relaxing. They paid for our hotel, breakfast and lunch and all we had to do was attend an awesome seminar in the mornings on how to strengthen our marriage. It was full of nice reminders for Dave and I. I like to think that we have a pretty great marriage, but things always come up and you have to make the decision to work through them together. I love my hubby. While we were there we worked on some family history at the Family Tree Museum (I think it is called). President Hinckley had this building built before the olympics so that people from around the world could find out about their family history. It was SO awesome and Dave and I were both touched by the spirit we felt there. We were also able to do some shopping at the the outlet mall, zip line down one of the mountains and ride the slide thingy down. ( I can't remember the name)

- Dave left for Guam the last week of July. He was gone for 3.5 weeks, but it felt like so much longer to me. I know it was due to that time frame being the absolute worst for me with the pregnancy. Thankfully we are able to talk every day via wi-fi on our phones and skype while he was at work. He had SO much fun, but was glad to get away from the heat and humidity.
This is a picture we took when Peyton and I picked him up at the base. We were all so excited to see each other! I love that my family can be separated, but when we come back together it is as if we were never apart.

-Peyton is growing up so quickly! We have started introducing her to 'big girl' things like the potty and using utensils while eating at every meal. She is getting so good at using the spoon to eat her oatmeal and cottage cheese and actually gets SUPER excited when I ask her if she wants one or the other. She squeals and says, "omeal" or "codcheese". It is pretty adorable. She still needs some practice with the fork, but she is catching on. I am not a huge fan of the potties that sit on the floor because I think they are gross... so I bought a little seat that fits right on the toilet and fits her bum perfectly. She really likes to play while she is on it. Play meaning, do everything mommy does, sit and wipe. She hasn't caught on that you actually do stuff on the potty. She has had two fluk pees, which Dave and I celebrated, but the sound of the tinkle scared her and she looked around like what-was-that?!

August
- Dave returned from Guam. Yay.
- Dave started another sememster at WSU
- We took a road trip to Chandler, AZ so Dave could attend a level 1 CrossFit training. So let me start out with saying this, sometimes it is MUCH cheaper to drive somewhere rather than fly. We considered having Dave fly down to AZ, but when we looked at the cost of the place ticket ($450), Car rental (about $200), hotel ($155-$250) and food ($50-60) we decided to take a family vacation for half that price.
We left on a Thursday night and spent the night at my grandma's house in central Utah.
Day 1- FREE
We woke up really early Friday morning, ate breakfast and started our trek south. On our way we stopped at the Grand Canyon because neither of us had ever been. While there we ate a lunch that we had packed. After our detour we drove strait to Chandler only to stop for gas, bathroom breaks and dinner in Flagstaff. Once we got to Chandler we checked into our SUPER NICE hotel suite and then took a drive to find Dave's class.

Day 2- $30 on dinner at a very yummy Thai restaurant. $101.73 on Gas
The next day Dave attended his class while Peyton and I visited one of the malls in AZ. We did a little shopping, but I don't count the money we spent on our goodies because it wasn't part of the trip :) We went to dinner at TGI Friday's that night
Day 3- $39.02 on gas. $26 on dinner
The next day was Sunday. We checked out of our hotel, dropped Dave off at class and then Peyton and I attended Sacrament meeting in one of the wards. After church we headed to the Mesa, Arizona temple. It was beautiful!! We headed back to the mall after this because we had no where else to go and we couldn't stay in the van (112 degrees outside). I had to buy some food for lunch and some snacks to stay cool while we were there. I got REALLY tired of the mall so about an hour and a half before Dave's class finished Peyton and I parked the car in the parking lot and took naps. Sorry atmosphere... we kept the car going. Once Dave's class was done we started our trek home. Dave drove all the way to Page, AZ that night. We parked the car in the Wal-Mart parking lot and layed ut our blankets and pillows and slept in the van.
Day 4- $155.50 hotel stay for two nights in our queen suite. $51.58 on gas. $15 on food for lunch, snacks and dinner.

Monday (Labor Day) we packed up the van around 5 AM and headed home. We stopped for lunch and made it home before the crazy Labor Day traffic hit!! Yay.
Day 5- $41.64 Gas. $10.63 Lunch.

Total cost for our road trip: Around $475.

September

- CrossFit Race is opening Saturday Sept. 15 in Centerville. This gym is owned by two of Dave's friends from work. He has been working out with them since he landed his full time position at the Guard base and they have asked him to be a trainer there. Dave is super excited to be involved in something he is passionate about. I am excited because they are super family oriented and are letting me train there FOR FREE! I am excited to get back into shape. I have had a very hard time working out with this pregnancy because I make excuses... Now that I am feeling better I can start working out again!

- Dave and I always have fun opportunities come up with his participation in the Air Guard. Our marriage retreat was one of them. This week we were able to participate in another one: a refueling mission for six F-16's. We were able to fly in the KC-135 and sit in the cock pit with the pilots as well as watch as the boom operator work his magic and refuel the jets. It was so awesome to see. A KC-135 is a big plane that also carries cargo. Our seats lined the wall instead of being in rows like a commercial airline plane. It was loud (we had to wear ear plugs) and actually very warm inside (a little too warm for my taste). We flew over Northern Nevada for the mission and before we knew it we were back home. On the way home I was feeling a bit queasy, but I was determined NOT to throw up. I made the mistake of turning around in my seat to re-attach my oxygen pack and my stomach turned. I told Dave I was going to be sick and he handed me his empty water cup. Thankfully it was tall and we didn't hit any turbulence...

I am grateful for the experience we are having with Dave's Service in the military. I know a lot of people that have a crummy experience, but we have had nothing but positive to say about it. They are paying for Dave's school 100%, they send us on amazing dates and Dave get's to travel to amazing places for work.

That is all that has happened so far this month. We find out next month what our little Noodle is so I will have to remember to post something at that time. Here are some other pictures from our summer.