30 Weeks

Wow I probably will look huge to all of you in this picture since it has been a very long time since I posted one, so don't judge too harshly ;)

Tomorrow I will be offically 30 weeks, and some days it feels like I have forever left and other days I feel like I am almost done being pregnant. I went to my first doctors appointment today with my new doctor. I really liked the office and feel so much calmer now that I have gone and met my doctor. It had been six weeks since my last appointment and I was starting to dream up all sorts of things that could be happening. But all was well. (thank heavens) I am so happy with the way that things have gone thus far with my pregnancy and I really don't have major complaints (hopefully things will continue to go well). Just feel very blessed that McKay and I have the opportunity to be parents. Well that is all from me today, have a good day!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy birthday Dad! We love you! We won't talk about how old you are now, but it is still less than 50 :) Such a young grandpa :) We feel very blessed to have you in our lives and thank you for all of your efforts in helping keep our freedom.

Thank you for your service to our country and family. I know that it was through yours and mom's amazing examples and support that I am the woman that I am today. I thank you for always putting your family first, even if you were not always able to be there. We always felt your support.

And especially on this day, thank you for teaching us the importance of respecting and honoring those that have gone on before us to preserve our freedoms. I will always remember the many memorial days of visiting graves and hearing their heroic stories. Hopefully we can pass them on to our children too. Thank you again! And thank you to all the men and women who have fought, continue to fight, and will fight in defending this great nation that we live in.

-Love, your daughter Kajsa

Home Projects

So before I get into this post I just want to let you know that this weekend I set a new goal to be a better blogger. I usually don't know what to blog about and so I just avoid doing it but I am really going to try to be better at documenting our lives. So come back soon and hopefully I will have written more. :)

But moving on, here are the pictures that I promised of our recent home projects. All I ask is that you please ignore the picture frames without any pictures in them. I was going to attempt to fill them before I took the pictures but it was just taking too long. So here you go, empty picture frames and all.

Our first project was building our entertainment center. I got this idea from a neighbor in our last ward, thanks Paula if you are reading this. It is kind of hard to explain but hopefully with the picture you will understand. Originally our neighbor used one large book shelf and turned in on its side, rearranged the shelves inside and then put their TV on top with decorations on the shelves. I told McKay about this idea and he liked it, but he didn't want to spend money on a book shelf so instead we took two smaller book shelves that we already had and put them together to create our entertainment center. So here is what the shelves looked like before (we had two of these)
Then we turned them on their sides so that they were horizontal and changed the direction of their shelves so that they were usable. After we finished that we decided that we would like some extra storage on them so McKay built some custom boxes to go on the shelves and we added handles to them. This way we will have a place to store baby toys and other things. So here is the finished product...

And here are more pictures of our living room. This is McKay's favorite room, I think he is just really proud of his entertainment center so you should all probably oh and ahh over it :) and just ingnore my lack of photography skills




After the entertainment center we moved on to a head board for our bedroom. Back when we were preparing to move we started looking around for a new bedroom set because we only had one dresser, it was free when we got it, and it is now sitting in our garage as McKay's tool container. If that tells you anything about its condition. :) So we found some that we liked and for a pretty good price but they didn't come with a head board and I really wanted one. So one day I was watching a home staging show and I saw them make this type of head board and it actually didn't look too hard. So we decided to try it. Here is how we made it,

step 1: Buy a simple door (not solid wood, they are too heavy, just the cheapest one you can find)
step 2: Turn the door horizontal and cut it to the length of your bed (ours was 5 feet) This is the back of your headboard
step 3: Get some foam for padding between your head and the door/soon to be headboard. We bought a memory foam pad that was on clearance at Big Lots. On the show they used the egg foam sleeping pads but we discovered that nobody really sells these anymore. The memory foam worked wonderfully and it was easy to cut to the size of the door.
step 4: After the foam and the door are cut to the same length, cover it with your choice of fabric. We were going to use suade (is that how it is spelled?) but once we were at the fabric store we fell in love with this pattern that is chocolate brown and blue. Then we just wrapped it around the door and foam and staple gunned it to the back.
step 5: since we are renting our apartment we couldn't just drill huge holes into our wall to instal it. So we just attatched two pieces of wood to the back to help it stand up on the ground.
And there you go folks, I really wish that I had taken pictures throughout the whole process but I didn't, so here is the final product. Hopefully that wasn't too confusing!
And here are other pictures of the the whole bedroom... One of my favorite things in our house right now (the baby room isn't done so that might top this) is the mirror above our bed. I LOVE it! Actually I really like how our whole bed ensemble turned out.




Another project that we did was the dining room wall. And basically we made a huge picture frame out of molding and painted it black then put some more picture frames on the inside. It was purely for decoration purposes but I still love it. And sorry I didn't take anymore pictures of the dining room it was not complete today because McKay resurfaced our kitchen table yesterday and it was still out in the garage drying. So all you get is the wall. What do you think? Lame? actually don't tell me if you don't like it...

We did all of these projects in the one week before McKay started work (he is a machine!) while we unpacked everything. By the end of the week I was projected out and didn't even want to look at another peice of wood and McKay was more excited about things than ever. Atleast I had pregnancy as an excuse for my laziness. lol Well that is all for tonight. Sweet Dreams everyone and have a happy Memorial Day tomorrow!

Random Thoughts

Hey everyone, I just thought that I would stop by real fast and give a quick update. Since we just moved I don't know a whole lot of people and McKay is gone for 12 hours a day without too much communication abilities between us I thought that I would "talk" on here instead... So enjoy reading my random thoughts of the day...
-We just got back from a fun weekend in Utah with the family. I needed it and it was sure nice to be able to talk to someone else other than my husband for a few days. (though I love him dearly and he has been a huge support)

-I had a fun baby shower on Saturday and I am AMAZED at peoples generosity, we got tons of cute things for our little girl! Thank you Thank you! Can't wait till I can start setting it all up in her room

-The drive from Draper to Our house is actually less than 4 hours and didn't feel too bad last night. I was pleasantly surprised :)

-Pregnancy wise I have really felt my body start to change in the last week or so and I am WAY behind on a updated belly picture but my camera is having some technical difficulties and I don't know where McKay's camera is so we will have to wait on that.

-She (as in the baby) is moving around a ton! And I love feeling her even if it hurts sometimes.

-Sadly (I am scared to admit this) unlike EVERYONE else I am not very excited for the warm weather because I don't look pretty when it is hot I just swell. Thanks McKay for buying a window air conditioner for our bedroom, I might actually be able to sleep now It was a $35 dollars well spent. :) Happy wife, happy life right?

-Really REALLY trying to not be a cranky pregnant lady but I think I fail more often than not. :(

-Trying to gear up and go camping. And not be too crabby about it. He just loves it too much!

-Today I am SUPER busy with finishing up all of my CDA stuff and get ready for my final test tomorrow. Don't even remember the last time that I had to take a test? don't really know if I will ever put this certification to use (like get a job teaching preschool) But at least I was able to finish something even if it wasn't my degree.

-The test is in Logan so I get to go back to Utah for the second time this week.

-The hairbows that I order an eternity ago should be here today but it is raining and I don't feel like bending over to put my shoes on to go check the mail box.

-I promise I will post about our weekend later this week, just no time today. Sorry!

-(promise this is almost the last thing) I can't decide what to make for dinner and I am trying to suppress the desire to just go out to eat because I REALLY don't want to spend the money. We will see which one wins...

-Debating about whether I should buy a body pillow to help me sleep better but don't know if it will really help.

-Well I should get back to CDA stuff and studying for my test. Hope you are all having a good day! Thanks for listening to me ramble!

Graduation Gift

So a couple weeks ago I started asking McKay what he wanted for a graduation gift. Since it was probably going to be a big/expensive item I decided to just ask him what he wanted instead of trying to guess and hope that I got it right. Like typical McKay he didn't really answer because he HATES spending money on himself (that is why I now just buy all of his clothes for him, because he REFUSES to). FINALLY after much debate and a few therapy sessions with me about how it is ok to spend money on ourselves occasionally, he came up with a bike. Not a new bike, way too expensive for him (and I have to agree that a $1500 bike was probably out of the question), but he wanted to fix up his old mission bike that was a pretty nice bike back in its time. So he looked around for parts and found out how much it would cost and was ready to order the parts when he got the time.

Meanwhile (we are kind of changing subjects here so just bare with me) I had just finished work and started (ok not really started more like continued because I always have little things in my head) day dreaming and planning on how we were going to redecorate our new apartment. I was really excited that they were actual walls this time instead of cinder block. I came up with some projects but I would need McKay's help in building them. He quickly agreed to all of my ideas and was getting just as excited as I was about them.

*Tangent: If McKay was going to have a hobby outside of working and hanging out with me, it would probably be woodworking. I am just saying this to prove that he really does like these kinds of projects and it is not just a figment of my imagination because I really wanted his help :)

So we FINALLY moved to our new apartment and he had one week before he started work. So while I unloaded the essentials he got started on our projects (which projects I will explain in further detail in another blog post). Well we quickly discovered that the tools that he had were just not up for a job of this size (we were constructing an entertainment center, a headboard, and a frame. His saw couldn't cut straight (and it was SOOOO loud when it attempted to cut, I was sure the neighbors hated us already) and his drill wouldn't spin. but he loved building things so we didn't want to just give up, SO that is when he came up with a new graduation gift...

He decided to get a saw, it has a name, but I don't remember it and I had to hold his hand while he spent the money :)...But here it is...
He LOVES it and is still like a kid on Christmas. It worked wonderfully and our projects were able get finished. Thanks McKay for all of your help our house is looking great!

P.S. When I asked him what he wanted for his birthday in a few weeks he said he wants me to come up with a new project for him to do, was this a gift for me or him? haha love him!

2011 Graduate

Hey everyone! sorry it has been forever, we have been nonstop packing and unpacking the last few weeks. But don't worry I have lots to share and will try to update things as soon as possible!
But first off we must start with the biggest event of all, McKay's college graduation from Utah State University! I am so proud of him and amazed at how dedicated he was through all of his classes and projects. His major was perfect for him (I had never met anyone else who loved studying and doing homework as much as he did) though hard at times he stuck to it:) Studying for his LAST FINAL EVER among all of our boxes

Graduation day was on Saturday, May 7, 2011 and the engineering program was at noon. The actual graduation was not too long (good thing since we were moving that day too) and it was beautiful program. To celebrate we had a brunch at our empty apartment before hand with all the family who came up and then we all headed over to the graduation. Here are a few family photos... typical graduation picture...pregnant wife. Yep we are one of "those" people. :)

And thank you again to all of the family who have supported McKay through the last 5 years of school! We love you! The Pace Family:
The Cannon Family:
McKay with his parents:

McKay at the graduation cerimony:
Congrats McKay we are so proud of you!

A Blessing and a Good bye party

Yesterday we went to my aunt and uncles house for the blessing of their youngest son. The blessing was beautiful and he is just darling (looks just like his older brothers). After the blessing we went back to their house for some yummy food. Also I just have to say my aunt has been VERY helpful in the pregnancy department and has answered all of my crazy questions. :) Thank you aunt Kristen! We are so excited to have a new little cousin!


I think he likes the camera :) Very photogenic!

Also during the blessing celebration we had a little going away/baby shower for my cousins who just graduated from BYU and are now heading half way across the country for a new job. We are so excited for them that they found a new job, but sad that they have to move so far away. :( She is due about four weeks after me and is having TWIN boys. So CUTE!!! We are sad that our babies wont get to play together. Here we are showing off the bellies....
And here are the proud parents opening their gifts (of course, two of everything)

Congrats Holly and Brian we know you will make great parents! and Good luck with the job! Well that is about it from us, I am just living, breathing, and dreaming about packing so I am excited for this week to be over so that we can move on with life, yet I am pretty nervous about moving even if it is only a few hours away. We are just praying that all goes well. Oh and I have decided that I DO NOT LIKE TO PACK so we will not be moving again for 5 years. :) ya I wish...