Still Dancing Strong

This past week Tena had a chance to participate in DanceSport. It is a large dance competition held at BYU twice a year. This semester she competed in the Gold Foxtrot division and did a fantastic job. She made it to the quarterfinals where she competed against members of BYU's touring team. To say the least, she was amazing!!! It's always fun to see the dances she is learning at school and perform them on stage. Posted below is one of the rounds in which she competed. (Doesn't she look pretty? I think so!)

Joe's so nice to come and watch my performances! Thanks to him, I can share these videos with all of you. Another thing that happened this week was that I found out that I am not going to be able to stay at the Y-Be-Fit program for next semester. They are taking on a lot of new interns and there is just not enough slots for all of us. I am kind of disappointed, but I have a couple other options that will be great experiences as well.

New Learning Experiences

I went to the doctor on Tues, and he said that everything is looking good! I also had a presentation to do for one of my classes that evening. I worked on it for about an hour Tues afternoon, our computer decided to freeze up on us, and I lost everything I had just worked on because I forgot to save it. Anyway, I panicked and frantically through it back together. I was a bit late for my class, but it went alright. This is typically how the first half of the week goes at least for me--extremely busy Mon-Wed and then slow down on Thurs-Fri. We also had our first prenatal class at the hospital Tues evening. It was a good review for me (a lot of the same stuff that I had learned from my Women's Health Issue class) and a good eye opener for Joe.

Wed for Halloween, our ward had a Halloween dinner with a chili and cornbread cook-off. It was fun to get together and see the costume themes of some of the families.

Joe got invited to go watch the first home game of the Jazz (he is the biggest Jazz fan you will ever meet--I'll see if I can get him to write and tell you all about it). The game was a lot of fun despite the loss. My friend and I bought a couple tickets and sat on the very top row. It's amazing how loud the arena can get with fireworks, balloons being popped and artificial noisemakers being used by all the fans. We enjoyed the first half and spent some of our time looking for better seats. After one half of scouting out the entire arena we embarked on our journey to get seats on the 10th row. To make a long story short - the second half was a lot more intense than the first half.

Joe felt kind of sad that he was leaving me all alone that night so he cleaned the house and bought me some roses. Isn't he the sweetest thing ever? He's so thoughtful!

Don't feel too sad for me because I was left alone because while Joe was at the game, I got to spend some time shopping! Next Fri night (9th Nov), I will be competing the Foxtrot here at BYU's DanceSport. I didn't think I was going to be able to because everyone I knew had a partner or didn't want to compete for some reason or another. I finally found a partner that was willing to dance with a pregnant lady so of course, I had to go shopping for an outfit to wear. It's nice that the style of the day are suitable for pregnant women, so I found a nice shirt and jewelery to match.

When I finally came home from my little shopping spree, I went into the bedroom and spotted another rose next to the side of the bed. I then went into the living room and saw 5 more roses on the entertainment center and turned around and saw 3 more on the bookshelf! He had bought me a dozen roses and filled all my vases! This definitely made my night and was more fun finding these surprises around the house than it was shopping.

Most of Sat, we spent babysitting 7 month old McKenzie (a niece on Joe's side of the family) while her parents went to the BYU football game. It was an eye opener for how much time a little one takes up. I'm sure glad that I will be done with all of my class work before our little girl comes because I didn't get as much homework done as I planned on while babysitting. She really wasn't too fussy at all, but she wore us right out.

Also, feeding a baby is a bit different than feeding elderly people. I volunteer at a nursing home and sometimes help them feed the residents breakfast. The elderly people will tell you what they want and when they want it but with a baby you have to feed them what you can as quickly as you can before they lose interest or fall asleep. That was my experience with McKenzie anyway. Another thing that I learned from McKenzie was to make sure her mouth was clean of any food before she started to cry (she realized it wasn't mom or dad who was feeding her). She spit her oatmeal cereal all over my face and spotted my glasses. It was kind of funny.

Here is a picture of my cute nieces in their Halloween costumes that their mom made. Aren't these the cutest little ducks you've ever seen?

Halfway Through

Last Tues was the end of the 1st block of classes here at BYU. That means that the semester is halfway over! Joe and I both had 1 block class. He picked up another block class, but I now have one less class to worry about--it's GREAT! I took my final for that block class and got a "Well Done" on the computer screen that shows you your grade after finishing a test. That does not happen very often, so I was pretty excited. My reward for finishing my class and doing well was to put the rest of the crib stuff together. Now all that is needed in this crib is our little baby girl. We are anxiously waiting!

Joe and I finally had the chance and took the opportunity to go to the Provo temple this past weekend. We are lucky and blessed that we live so close to a temple (only a couple miles away). For those of you who have not seen the Provo temple or seen it recently, I hope you enjoy the picture. Last summer, they did a lot of renovations. There are new sidewalks and fountains. I had the opportunity to work on the temple grounds mowing the grass and planting flowers. It was a lot of fun, and it looks beautiful!



We got together with a group of friends and had a Halloween party. We carved pumpkins, frosted Halloween cookies, and watched "Casper." I think our pumpkin turned out pretty well. We did use a stencil so don't hold that against us.

30 Week Mark

Today marks my 30th week of the pregnancy! Everything is going well, and she's still kicking (and dancing) strong.

Joe is busy with all of his classes this semester. The class where he is learning the most is in his educational practicum class. He spends 8-10 hrs a week at Riverton High School (about 30 minutes away from us) where he both observes teachers and teaches a couple classes. He loves it and can't wait until he has a class of his own. Next school year, he will be doing his internship somewhere in the Utah valley (more details to come in January).

We are excited for this week because a couple of our classes will be finished. That also means that school is half way over. Also, I will find out this week if I get to stay at the place where I am currently doing my internship for the following semester. They are hiring new interns and can only have so many returning interns. I hope I get to stay! I've been trying really hard to "brown nose" my way in.

It is an on-campus internship called Y-Be-Fit. I get to do various things to help people have healthier lifestyles. We have a sophisticated machine that tells people their body composition (i.e. total weight, lean body weight, fat weight, and body fat percent). Those who pay for the whole program that we offer, we take them through a series of fitness tests to access their fitness level. Then over the course of the next 3 months, we meet with them one on one and discuss fitness and nutrition trying to educate and motivate to healthier habits. At the end of the 3 months, we again test their fitness level and body composition to see what improvements have been achieved. I love it and have learned a lot already from the experience of working there.

My parents and younger brother (Darin) came down to visit from Washington this weekend. It was fun to spend time with family, but I don't know if the guys had as much fun as my Mom and I did shopping for baby stuff. My Mom and I also got to attend one of my former mission companion's (Sister Freebairn) baby shower. She looks so cute and pregnant! Anyway, there is lots of baby news in our ward each week. We are excited for our little girl to come in the not too distant future (due date is now 2nd of Jan.).

A Series of Events

BATMAN BEGINS

It's never too early to start celebrating the holidays. The movie "Batman Begins" was actually the first movie that Joe took me to go see (this was our 2nd date) so it has some sentimental value to it. Joe drew the outline of the bat on the pumpkin, and I cut it out. I'd have to say that we make a pretty good team. We liked how it turned out. Hopefully it will last another couple weeks so we can put it out for the trick or treaters to enjoy.

We are still trying to come up with ideas for our other pumpkin. Pumpkin carving is one of my favorite things to do for Halloween and is now becoming one of Joe's.

These were our pumpkins from last year (our first Halloween together). A bit traditional, but it was Joe's first time ever carving a pumpkin.



Those of you who know me at all know that I love to dance. And even though I'm now 29 weeks pregnant, I can still dance. Some of you have never seen me dance, so I thought you might enjoy this little video. All the BYU dance classes had a competition against each other on Thurs. the 11th. My partner and I were not flawless, but we did make it to the 2nd round out of 5 and had a fun time.

I failed to take any pictures at the Canada Toronto West Mission reunions that we attending over General Conference weekend (Fri. the 5th), but it was good to see President and Sister Ashton who just returned home as well as President and Sister Sybrowski. They all still have that missionary spirit with them and a deep love for the people in Canada.

Little by little we are getting things ready for our little girl to come. Our crib came earlier than expected (which I was happy about) so we put it together to make sure there were no broken pieces or any other problems. We actually found a small split in the wood of the headboard. We called up the store and asked if we could get a replacement. Luckily, they had another one in the store, we exchanged it, brought it home, and finished setting it up.

Here is Joe being a little handyman and putting the crib together.

And the final product--well, the rest of the crib things are still on its way!

A little back-tracking for a moment: Back in the end of April/beginning of May, I decided to chop my hair and donate it to Locks-of-Love. I have always had long hair and the last time my mom cut my hair short (shoulder length), I cried. Well the above picture is probably the longest my hair has ever been and the picture below is after I donated it and was now the shortest that I had ever had before. It was a very drastic change for me and had it not been for a good cause, I would have cried. I did not like it for a while, but I think now that it has grown back a little, I am starting to be okay with it and like it.

Haworth Get Together

It is not so easy to get all of the family together anymore as many of you know, so we take advantages at the times we get. Darin (second from the left in the back) just returned home from serving a two year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Michigan Lansing Mission. We all came home to Othello, WA, to hear him speak in church and tell of his experiences and what he has learned. It was a fast trip for Joe and I since we left Fri morning (21st Sep) and started our way back on Sun afternoon (23rd Sep) in order to make it back for classes Mon morning.


It was fun to see everyone and
especially to see how much the
two youngest nieces have grown.

Sat we spent the afternoon and evening at Tony and Christina's place. If you were not entertained by the kids, you were entertained by their Wii. I would have to admit that it was pretty fun. We played golf, bowling, and tennis. Dad also barbequed some steaks for a delicious dinner.



Another fun adventure that Joe and I got to experience while on this trip was driving a really nice car. Those student loans have been good to us (just kidding). No really, thanks to Joe's brother (Jeff), we got some free car rental passes. That was probably the nicest car we will ever drive. It was fun!

These next pictures are for those of you who have never taken the exciting drive from Washington State to Salt Lake City, Utah. I think most of these pictures were actually taken somewhere in Idaho along the way.

Here is what it looks like at the 45th Parallel.
And the "Eat Gas" sign makes me laugh every time I see it.

There is beauty all around!

Our family is doing great and the baby is growing every day. Hope everyone remembers about and is able to attend/watch/listen to General Conference this next Sat and Sun.

Joe's 25th Birthday

I had a fun time celebrating Joe's 25th Birthday this past week. I think he enjoyed it too. We like to have what we call a "birth-week" instead of a birth-day! It started Sunday at the Jones' home in West Jordan with a family birthday dinner.

Monday came with dinner at the Brick Oven and
presents from mom and dad Jones. Joe is
usually pretty good at guessing what his
presents are but this year, I think he was
surprised by most.

Thursday night (his actual birthday-Sep. 13th), we went to Cafe Rio and then hit a dollar movie "Surfs Up." Then more presents!



Joe with his "Cosby" shows and his steak seasoning was pretty content. Friday, I finally got around to making him a birthday cake. However, he came home earlier than expected from school, so I had to improvise. He loves cake batter so that was as far as I got before he came home. It was a good laugh!

What is Saturday without Saturday morning cartoons! We watched a "Cosby" episode (or two) while we ate a delicious breakfast of Sweedish Pancakes or some people call them Crepes. Along with a day full of house hold chores and homework, we also enjoyed a little bike-ride together.

Disneyland Trip

The happiest place on earth!

More on this later.