Good try

So I was telling Reuben yesterday that it's hard to get the Christmas spirit until I'm home and done with the semester. Also we just moved, have plain walls and no Christmas decorations. So....

My thoughtful husband got a Christmas tree and borrowed lights from his sister. It's really too bad that the lights were the icicle lights that they normally use on their house! ... and that icicle lights with a white cord really don't go on Christmas trees! Hahahah. We'll have to try this one more time:) It sure was funny.

Thanksgiving in Irvine

While we were home, we went to the Newport Beach temple. First time we have been back since we got married.

It was a nice 74 degrees on Thanksgiving and we had it outside. Here is my whole family.

Shelli and I whipped up some Christmas magic and decorated this gingerbread house. One of the best I've made.

The backside

A close up.

We went to Fashion Island to see the BIG Christmas tree. Which was real yet not as big as I remembered- must be budget cuts.

If we're ever homeless, this is where I'm going to set up shop. I already told Reuben the plan.

Nice picture at sunset even if I'm leaning over, feeling a little top heavy these days.

The camera is blurry because of the lighting but nonetheless- it was NICE!

Shelli and I

Another one of us, I couldn't get the angle right. I guess there is no hiding my now jolly figure:)

It's a.....

This will be the first to carry the Cook name :)

I've done p90x, sit ups, push ups, ran, and biked and it looks like it's just straight out for me. This is 5 months.

This is my uniform these days. That whole jeans idea got shot to pieces.

Here he is. He's got such a cute little face. They say that he's measuring a little bigger than what they expected. I love chubby babies, just probably not giving birth to them. We'll see how it goes:)

A few updates

This summer the only thing I managed to get done was another class at BYU and I took a CNA class. What I really got out of it was a yellow stethoscope, scrubs, and certified skills in bum wiping.

Later I had a birthday and turned 26, we carved pumpkins and ate until we were sick. Reuben also had a birthday and turned 28. We don't have pictures to document that, but I promise it happened.

Reuben made his lemonade pie, YUMMM!

Later dad came to visit and we took a drive through the canyon, even though the leaves were somewhat gone we still had a good time.

Reuben had a costume party at work and was balloon boy, he won for being "most creative."

He makes me laugh:)

Pregnant Women 101

In behalf of all men with a pregnant wife, and men with a prospective pregnant wife, I offer a few warnings or simple observations for you as you enter into this new stage of your marriage.

Top Six Things You Need to Know

6. Don't tell your wife that she is getting bigger--even if she really is getting bigger. For some reason she will take offense. I tried to use the word "thicker" with Kira. That didn't work either.

5. So remember how your wife is always cold and wants you to turn the heat up, and uses a blanket every time she is on the couch, and forces you to use a bigger comforter than you want on your bed. Well, now it's the complete opposite. She might just cause your teeth to chatter. Since being pregnant, Kira has decided that she needs the 40 degree air coming directly onto our bed from the window, and to top it off, we need a fan on our faces as well. Then she wakes up and says it's cold. Some things can't be explained.

4. Please keep in mind that all five human senses are enhanced ten-fold. This means she will not get near you unless you have gum in your mouth. I tried to kiss Kira once without gum in my mouth. I think my attempt ended with her dry heaving, and asking me to get away.

3. Hormones. They change often. Smile. Growl. Smile. Growl.

2. Be Peepared. That's intentionally spelled wrong. It comes often. Don't go on long road trips.

1. With reference to number 4, her sense of smell enhances more than her ability to smell your breath. Don't even try to burp, or anything worse than that. She will smell it from three rooms away. As David Nibley once said, we should be putting pregnant women at the Mexican border sniffing for drugs. One day we were driving down state street and Kira was getting sick--not from driving--but of the smell coming from the fast-food restaurants we were passing. Yes, the windows were closed, and no, I couldn't smell a thing.

Okay, so I must explain myself since mostly just girls read this thing anyway. I didn't call Kira thick. We were both trying to think of a word to explain the bigger belly. I mentioned "thick", and we both laughed about it. She knew I was joking.

In all fairness, as well, Kira hasn't been cranky either. I am amazed at what women go through. I will make sure our child knows that momma was throwing up, always too hot, always nauseous, and constantly in pain. I can safely say I completely respect what they endure during those 9 months. It's not an easy task, and all mothers should be commended for it. ... although, I keep telling Kira ... I don't feel sick. I don't see the problem. It's just a baby.

-Reuben Cook is from Provo, Utah, and is a semi-annual contributor to this blog.

Halloween ideas

Since we are moving I think the only decorating that I have time to do is perhaps something quick with pumpkins.. here are some of Martha's ideas (http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/pumpkins) enjoy!

Thought you should know!

We met last year about this time,

Got married in May and have been saving every dime.

Our first house is close to done and we’re ready to move in,

Just the thought of our own home makes us grin.

We thought that since we’ve been having so much fun,

Why wait, we’ll add just one!

So needless to say there’s a baby on the way,

Baby comes in April and will be ready to playJ

Almost there

Okay there is so much to update but we'll start with the house! The drywall is going up this week and we should be moving in, the last week of October. I'll finish this blog tomorrow:) Lots of things to tell!

Movin on up!

This is going to be a quick blog but it looks like we are making progress. Look at those windows- I LOVE THEM! There will be more blogs to come soon- I'm just trying to figure out how to do physics and for that reason I have no time for other thoughts.

We've got a hole!

Most of you know that we are building a home out in Daybreak which is in South Jordan. Sure it's far from school and work but once you see these pictures you'll see why we couldn't resist.

This is what you see when you first drive up the hill.

We'll be saving up our money so that we can get some beach cruisers and go out exploring.

Minus the waves this will act as my new beach during the summers. It's got sand and it's just down the street!

We're going to get some paddle boats so we can entice people to hang out with us.

This is also down the street.

This is our little sign during Christmas time

Oh and the parks here would entertain us for a good hour. Each park has a theme and there are many to choose from.

Here are some of the houses. We liked them because they're all fun colors and different styles. Our house is going to be red- we didn't choose that but we don't mind.

They did tell us that our house was supposed to be done in August, but just to make us happy they dug us a hole to tell us that they're "starting." We'll let you know if we end up moving in to a van down by the river due to the miscalculation of our finished house.

Utah's Finest

This weekend Reuben and I went to the demolition derby in South Jordan with a bunch of friends.

But it doesn't matter because here is a man with a mullet picking his nose.

Then there was some smashing of cars.

Funny that we cheer this on:)

But it doesn't matter because here is another mullet.

The trucks crashing was the best part. There was a "909" truck and, of course, one with the confederate flag. I didn't know which one to cheer for.

This was cool.

But it doesn't matter because this was the best mullet of the night. Thanks Utah!

Two Years... single tear!

Two years ago today- my family picked me up from the airport after spending 19 months on a mission in Georgia and Tennessee for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Here are some high lights. I wont say too much, just because reliving all of it makes me miss the great people and the south too much.

This is the road to my trailer in Loudon, Tennessee

This would be the trailer with the cows around us to keep us company.

We were very welcomed in the South

But we met a lot of GREAT people who made all the difference

The Ramsey family

Let's not comment about the roundness of my face- it was part of the deal

These people have the coolest stories

I love this family- well I love all of the families we taught

And then all of a sudden my president said it was time to go home, I've never cried so hard in my life:(

There are a lot more pictures but I'll save those for Reuben and my missionaries at the MTC that wouldn't mind looking at mission pictures for a few hours!