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.