And so it begins...

So last Saturday, the 8th, we finally got enough snow to go skiing! My friends up at Sundance told me that even the Wednesday before the back mountain was completely bare with no snow. A huge storm rolled in over the weekend so some friends from work and I headed up early Saturday morning. We ended up waiting in line for two hours because overnight a tree had fallen on the lift and derailed it. When it did open we were about the 6th chair up but they hadn't yet opened the back mountain. As we neared the summit where others were getting off they announced that they had opened it so we were the second chair up. Our first run of the day we were skiing fresh tracks in about 3 feet of powder all the way down Bishop's Bowl. Here I am loving life:

I was so anxious to start the season and when it finally came it was one of the better ski days I've had. The resort was empty because most people weren't expecting the snow so we were skiing fresh tracks all day long. Here's Brian loving life as well:

We went again this last Saturday and with the 5 or 6 new inches of snow the conditions were perfect again. A great way to start the season.

I got my wish

The snow this weekend was beautiful! It finally feels like winter is here. Sorry to all of you that don't like the snow...

This is Dave and Ella playing in the snow Saturday morning. It snowed all day Saturday and we ended up getting about 4-5".

Baby News:

So today I'm 20 weeks along, half way there!!! Its really exciting and kind of frightening. Just 20 more weeks and we'll have our little bundle of joy. :) Here are some updates or observations i've made in the last few weeks...

- I'm starting to look pregnant, kind of. There still quite a few people at work that haven't heard the news and I think right now they're trying to figure it out. People look at me and then look at my belly and then at me. They don't say anything, they dare not ask, but by the expression on their face they're pretty much asking. I want to say "By the way, I AM pregnant" just so they don't have to wonder.

- I've started to feel the baby kick! Its sooo cool! It's very subtle and at first I only felt it every few days, but now its starting to be more consistent. At first he only kicked me on the right side of my belly button but now he's kicking on both sides.

- In the last week I've noticed that I can't quite bend over because there's something there. And it's not moving.

- Maternity jeans fit a million times better when you get big enough to wear them. Thank goodness!

I'll upload a belly picture soon! Here's a link to what's happening with the baby this week:
http://www.babycenter.com/6_your-pregnancy-20-weeks_1109.bc

If you have nothing else to talk about, talk about the weather...

Utah Valley weather is pathetic. I have to vent. I realize it's been a particularly dry year and that normally we have a few snow storms hit by now, but I'm continually envious of those that live even an hour north because they actually have weather. I realize that because of how Utah Valley is positioned we're not prone to getting hit with as much as those that live right by the Great Salt Lake or even in SLC. I understand the logical reasons why weather is the way it is down here, but my frustration is really coming to a head. Maybe its the pregnancy hormones.

We were supposed to have snow from yesterday afternoon through the night. I was so excited for winter to finally show itself. I couldn't wait to wake up and see a winter wonderland! I think we got maybe a disappointing 20 minutes of snow that melted when it hit the ground. This morning, nothing. This kind of pattern repeats itself all year round. In the summer big dark thunderstorm clouds will roll in, the winds will blow like crazy, and then we'll get 10 minutes of rain, and thats it! And those storms only come like twice a summer! Its very disappointing. I find myself craving bad weather. We'll get reports all day of how Salt Lake City is getting pounded with snow or that its pouring rain or in Davis County, but we'll only get a sprinkle down here. I can't take it.

After living in Laramie Wyoming (where they coined the term 'ground blizzards'), Cedar Rapids Iowa (tornado alley and "movie" thunderstorms), Rexburg Idaho (the frozen tundra), and Logan Utah (Canyon Winds mixed with freezing inversions) I realize that I LOVE crazy weather! I love the excitement of it. I love how you feel like all hell is breaking loose outside your window and you get to watch at a close but safe distance. I love having to run to my car to avoid getting soaked by rain or whipped by blizzard winds. I love waking up in the middle of the night to thunder that sounds like its going to knock the house down. I love having to get a running start to make it through the drift that's formed in your drive way. Its exciting! And Utah Valley just plain falls short.

It's a BOY!

Thats right, we're having a boy! We found out last Thursday. We had planned on waiting a little longer to find out (I'm 17 weeks) but we got impatient and decided to give it a try. There is a place in the mall (not a Kiosk ;)) where you can go get an ultrasound to find out the gender of the baby. We weren't going to do our medical ultrasound, the one they typically do at 20 weeks, until early January for insurance reasons, but we knew we couldn't wait that long to find what we're having. It cost $75, which we didn't think was too bad. A certified ultrasound technician does the ultrasound, which Dave was relieved to find out. He was worried it would be some pimply teen age mall worker boy.

During the ultrasound she showed us all of his parts including his face, his brain, his arms legs, fingers and toes. It was so amazing. Initially he was a little shy to show us...everything. At first he had his legs crossed so we moved him around a bit. Then he had his hands clasped right in front of his nether regions. Eventually he relaxed a little and we were able to confirm. In fact we saw it from many angles. No doubt about it - he's a boy!

Honestly, both times we've had an ultrasound its been so incredible. Both times I've been really anxious and uptight before hand. As soon as that little guy comes up on the screen its like a wave of total peace and joy comes over me. It's seriously therapeutic! I could sit and watch him all day. He's such a sweetheart, I can tell already!

Our poll showed most of you thought we were having a girl. For those of you who guessed boy, you get an enthusiastic pat on the back. Way to go!

Void of All Trepidation

Being a Dad-to-be, naturally I've had some worries. All my friends say how kids are amazing and are more than worth every bit of effort you put into them (and that I should get a move on having some). After watching these videos, I think I've lost all apprehensions, enjoy:

Wonderland

Happy Omniween!

Halloween is a big day at Omniture. It's really pretty out of control, which is sweet. KSL even came by and filmed for this story.

Every single department goes for a certain theme and we go all out in our decorating and costumes. This year our department chose to do Disneyland since we just won Disney as a client. Each team was a different ride at Disneyland. Megan's team did Alice in Wonderland and mine was the Finding Nemo submarine.

Here are some pictures (I need to get more pictures and one of us in our costumes from some friends, so I'll post those when I get them):

Cheshire Cat on Megan's team in the Tulgey Wood:Conference room turned into the Finding Nemo aquarium:
My team built the sunken sub for the sharks. It was lit with black lights on the inside and had smoke and bubbles coming out. The kids were really scared of it, it was great:

Some other themes included Star Tours, Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, High School Musical, a Jail, a cemetery with our competitors' names on the headstones, a carn-evil, a petting zoo and more. Here are some random pictures:

Jenga Fett and R2-D2:
The Carn-Evil:

A Pirate Ship:

Cold and Rainy in Oregon? Weird.

Megan and I realized that we didn't have any plans to visit my parents this fall since they're coming to Utah for Christmas, so we decided to go up to Eugene to visit them last week. Luckily we can both work "from home" on our laptops so we just did that on Thursday. That way we could be up there an extra day but not take the time off at work.

On Friday night my Dad and I stayed up until around 4am playing ping-pong (or as the Chinese call it, ping-pong). I thought I was getting pretty good, but he totally killed me.

On Saturday we went on a drive to a cool little town up in the Cascades called Sisters. It looks and feels just like Jackson Hole but it's about half the size. We drove through a big snow storm on the way there and I was excited because it was the first snow we had seen so far this year.

We also stopped at this really cool waterfall:

Lucky for me I was wearing flip flops so my feet weren't freezing at all.

On Sunday we went for another drive to Triangle Lake. The scenery was amazing with all the leaves changing colors.It was really nice to see the fam and spend time with my Dad since we see my Mom about every three weeks anyway (She's even in town right now). Next time we go though we want to spend at least a week.

Baby's 1st Picture

This is our little one's first ultra sound picture. This was taken at 10 weeks (almost 4 weeks ago) so the baby is 3x as big now. The picture is looking at the top of the baby's head so you can't see the body really. You can see his/her little arm on the right. So cute!

Small Victories

This weekend was full of small victories. First off, I'm finally in my last week of my 1st trimester. Hooray!!! I'm supposed to start feeling better for the next few months. I've already started feeling better than I did so fingers crossed.

(NOTE: In the way of baby update, the baby is about the size of a jumbo shrimp this week. Exciting! He/she already has most of her parts, including finger prints. Cool huh?)

I'm starting to show a bit so I took my first belly picture last night. :)

Other victories include:

- New Ikea light fixture installed. This was a great deal, only $20! Yay for Ikea!

- Curtain hung. Its covering an ugly frosted window and some wires in our laundry room.

- Car seat and stroller purchased. Our first real purchase for the new baby. By the way, Ella isn't the stroller, I didn't get a picture of the stroller but its the same color as the car seat.

- We also got to babysit our friend's dog. She's sooo adorable. We had a blast with her.

The Most Amazing Video Of A Girl Playing Star Wars On The Trumpet... EVER.

There are many things that make the following video amazing. For starters, it’s called “Star Wars Trumpet” — that should be enough right there. But no, it gets better. For the trumpeter is a girl named Stacey Hedger, who appears on stage wearing the finest black unitard with silver sparkle-fringed sleeves the 1980’s had to offer. And just when you think you’re about to be blown away by her unbelievable horn skills… she proceeds to pump out the most cacophonous, ear-splitting rendition of the Star Wars theme imaginable. Thankfully, this doesn’t stop her from using her trumpet as a deadly blaster! And doing a sweet Charlie Chaplin impression! This just may be the best video on the net, and it’s thanks to a little friend called COMMITMENT.

Lost in Wonderland

So every year Halloween at Omniture gets bigger and bigger. Those who don't dress up are seriously looked down upon. Departments not only dress up but they now decorate their area like a spook alley, a disco tec, a morgue, etc. Well this year my division of the company has received the direction from our VP that we will be recreating Disneyland, with different parts of the park, rides, characters, the whole 9 yards.

Well my team got assigned to create Alice in Wonderland. Guess who's Alice...yep! Yours truly. Thats not a big deal, I don't mind dressing up as a character. However, because I'm a control freak, (especially when it comes to event planning) I'm also spearheading the decorations (as if its just a little decoration). We're literally re-creating Wonderland, complete with a foggy forest with life size trees, a Queen's garden where kids can play croquet with flamingos, and every character from the story. Its going to be really really cool. Its also going to be a lot of work. But I'm really excited. We're covering the whole area with black paper and then painting it with florescent paint and then replacing all the light bulbs with black lights. Its going to be creepy yet enchanting, at least thats the goal. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes. :)

Worst Music Video Ever

"I Wanna Love You Tender" - This video just really describes how Megan and I feel about each other.

Welcome Welcome!

Hey everyone, welcome to our blog! We're excited to keep you up to date on what is going on in our lives. Just as a little intro, even though you probably already know the story, we have been married for almost 2 1/2 years now and are living in Provo, UT. I just finished up school in September and we both work at Omniture, a web analytics company in Orem. We're expecting a "mini us" in April so we felt we should start sharing our experiences as we prepare to become a "real" family. We have also been lucky enough to see a lot of cool places and make a lot of great friends in the last couple of years. We hope to continue this and felt we should have a place to store all those memories.