I am finally posting about Fall break from October! For the past few years, Nate & I have gone to St. George for our Fall Break to visit Melissa, Sam, & Jenna. This year Nate had to work (it is sad with him not having all the holiday & school breaks anymore) but he was nice enough to let me go visit with my mom & sisters. He's the best!

My mom & I left Friday right after work & got to St. George at about 10pm. Jenna had called while we were driving & was so cute. We asked what her bedtime was & she said either 6:30, 7:30, 2:30, or 4:30, haha! But she said she probably be awake when we got there because she would stay awake in bed. We visited with Melis & Sam awhile & then went to bed.

Saturday morning Jenna came & woke us up & we went on a long walk, talking Lulu with us(Jenna's puppy). Some runners came by & when they were pretty far away, Melissa set her down. She ran extremely fast & chased them about 1/2 a mile without them knowing while my mom & I were chasing after her! Then we got donuts & had a relaxing breakfast. Afterwards, we headed up to Cedar City to see the fall leaves changing. We went to a pretty lake that we had gone to last year & walked around the lake. I love seeing the fall colors & it almost makes me want to live somewhere cold(for a month), but actually I'd just rather visit it!! Jenna caught a little frog & carried it around in her hood with her jacket on backwards so she could see & talk to it, haha! We went to a park with the most gorgeous,bright yellow trees surrounding it & a little river below. I could not stop looking at all the beautiful leaves, it really was gorgeous. Then we headed to a pizza place where we got some delicious bbq chicken pizza. It had tomato sauce on the crust & then BBQ sauce drizzled on top, genius!! I am going to try & recreate that at home!



Sunday we went to church & it was fun to go to classes with Melis. Afterwards, we relaxed, had dinner, played with Jenna in her amazing fort that Sam built, & visited.

Monday morning Brooke came with Britt (who apparently slept the whole drive as well as each day in the car during her visit... haha!), Rhett, Ethan, & Kade. We met at a pizza place to have lunch & then got some delicious ice cream at the Red Barn. After that we went to the most amazing swimming pool. It was indoors & had a big twisty slide with no line & no monitoring, lily pads, & lots of things for the kids to jump on. We went on the slide about 15 times & then stopped once the boys discovered you could spray hoses at whoever was coming down.. It was so fun all being together!



Tuesday we went hiking in the red rocks & down in some lava tube caves. It was such a pretty hike & amazing weather. The boys were all really good at hiking in the caves & rock climbing up the red rocks. Jenna was brave to & loved the caves! In the evening we went to the pumpkin patch. It was so much fun watching the kids go down the big slides, bounce on the huge trampoline, & just seeing all of the fall decor & cute little animals. We went on a hay ride & then headed back to the house.





Wednesday morning mom & I went to the St. George temple. I had never been inside & that was my favorite temple growing up so it was cool to be able to go inside. Afterwards, we made a picnic & went to the most amazing kids park with everyone. It had all of these crazy park features, waterfalls in the splash pad area, & even a volcano that erupted & had smoke every 45 minutes!! We were a little disappointed there was no lava though, would have expected that at a St. George park.. Brooke was pushing the kids on this big thing where you sit in seats and spin & this little boy came up and asked to get on. Brooke said, "not right now" & then a minute later he was back with his mom & asked to get on. Not seeing his mom, Brooke said, "you need to wait" a little harshly & the boy & mom walked off. We were all cracking up & then a minute later Brooke hoped on the ride with plenty of room, hahaha!! We had a picnic for lunch. Mom had bought rolls, meat, & cheese & as we were eating it Jenna said, "this food is not very good", not impressed. After lunch we headed back to AZ.


Classic party in the pantry with Jenna, haha!


It was such a fun visit. I love my sisters & mom so much & am so thankful for how close we all are!

This post is late & out of order, but I wanted to post about our weekend in Snowflake this summer. We stayed at my Grandma & Grandpa Flake's big house. I love that house, it has so many good memories. Everyone sitting in the big room on couches, chairs, & the ground to talk until everyone starts almost dozing off. Eating fresh baked bread & crab apple jam while visiting with my sweet grandma. Sitting next to grandpa on his recliner & laughing with him, he still always knows how to make everyone laugh. Riding quads in the cedars. When I was little, my dad would take me on the giraffe neck, which was a hill that went up & down & seemed soooo huge. This year I rode on the back of the quad while Nate drove us up & down the giraffe neck & it seemed so little!!! Sitting on the big lawn & watching all the boys play kickball & enjoying the perfect temperature & green everywhere. Swinging under the big willow tree with my sisters. The parade & watching kids get hit with candy & dance to the music. Time visiting with aunts, uncles, & cousins. Getting ice cream from the old fashioned house. Visiting the old Flake house & reading stories of our ancestors. Going to the night rodeo in Taylor, watching the bucking broncos & eating way too much kettlecorn. I celebrated my 29th birthday (can't believe I'm almost 30!! I went the whole year thinking I was 27, turning 28 until Nate corrected me!) & we did fireworks in the field & mom made my favorite chocolate mousse pie. It was a great birthday surrounded by family!!!

My grandpa isn't doing too great & this year, we had a family meeting talking about options. It broke my heart thinking that their big house might be sold. There are so many wonderful memories there & I have always dreamed of bringing my kids there. I am thankful for all of my wonderful memories in Snowflake & with my grandparents & family. We have such an amazing family & I know that the important thing is that my grandma & grandpa are taken care of. They are the best!

A few weeks ago, Nate & I went to slide rock with Mom,Dad, Brooke, Cody, & the boys, Britt, & Matt. When we were younger, we used to go there once a summer. Brooke's boys hadn't ever been though & neither had Nate! We found a Saturday that everyone could go & planned to leave at 6am to get there when it opened. That morning we looked at the weather report & it was stormy & rainy. Brooke & Cody had already woken up & left at 5:45, so we decided we might as well still head down there at the time planned. We drove down with Britt & Matt. We all met up at a restaurant & got hot chocolates & snacks while we watched the pouring rain & hoped it would stop. It was actually really nice & relaxing just being able to visit & watch the storm. After about an hour, the rain suddenly stopped & we headed to Slide Rock. There were hardly any people there so we hurried down & got a prime spot to be by the main rock slide. Half the fun is watching people awkwardly slip and fall and seeing their faces going down the slide, haha!!

The sun came out & even though the water was freezing, we all went down the rock slides over & over again, going in a train with everyone! It was so much fun! We took a break for lunch & then headed back down to slide down some more! It ended up being such a fun day!!!

Slide rock pictures are always the best!!!

Before Pics




After Pics




We renovated our kitchen about a year ago, but I forgot to post pics. First we sanded, primed, & painted the cabinets white. Then we installed the new countertop. Then did the backsplash. Last, Nate made the island with stock cabinets, a marble slab I found on craigslist, & headboard. We added some crystal knobs to the cabinets too, but they weren't on for the picture. Overall, we love how it turned out & it made such a difference & really brightens the whole kitchen/living room area! It took us 6 days to do everything but we were working about 12 hours a day each day & were completely exhausted when we finished! It only cost about $400 to do everything! Between that & painting almost all the walls in the house in 2 days, we took a break from doing home projects for a year!!

Well, the next 2 weeks we will be starting the process of IUI. I called the Fertility Treatment Center yesterday so we could get everything set up. The nurses there are so nice & I feel so grateful that we found out about the FTC, it was just when we needed to & I know that was a blessing from God. I know that I am not pregnant yet, but I can already look back on many things during these past few years & see the Lord's hand. Though it has been hard wanting to have children but not being able to these past few years, I am thankful for the time that Nate & I have had together. I know that this experience has strengthened us. I'm thankful for the trips that we were able to take together & that we could enjoy those times without worrying about infertility & the timing of anything & the procedures to come.

Nowadays, I do spend a lot of time worrying & I try to keep myself busy so that I don't have time to worry. I wish so badly that I wasn't so scared of shots & IV's & that I didn't feel so panicked & worry about it so much lately. I know that overcoming my fears & going through these procedures will be worth it in the end. One of my other fears is public speaking & on Sunday, we were encouraged to come up & bear our testimony if we felt prompted or if it had been a long time. I was sooo nervous but just felt like I needed to bear my testimony to show my love to the Savior. After a few prayers for courage, I went up there & was able to bear my testimony of my love for the Savior & my knowledge that we are given trials because the Lord knows we need them. That we grow closer to our Heavenly Father through trials & can always turn to Him for comfort & peace. Afterwards, I felt thankful that I was able to bear my testimony. I know that my Heavenly Father will help me to get through this procedure & whatever is to come. I have faith in Him & I trust His plan for me.

I will be going into the doctor's office today to have an ultrasound & to pick up the shots. One thing that really is a blessing is that when I called to see about starting the treatment, the nurse asked me if I wanted to do IUI with injections or without. I asked what was recommended by the doctor or her & she said that you always have a better chance with injections, but it does increase your chance of having multiples (especially twins). I asked the cost of the injections since IUI is already going to cost $1,000 & she said they would be about $300 but she would check if they had a sample kit. She came back a minute later & said that she had a sample kit so they would be free if we chose that option. I felt like it was meant to be & such a blessing that we will be able to have a higher chance & not have to pay the extra $300. It also made it easier to make the decision. I am thankful for the Lord & for all He has blessed us with. I'm thankful to know that He is watching over us. I'm trying not to get too much hope up, but I do feel very hopeful & excited to think that we might possibly be pregnant within the next month. How amazing would that be?! When I do get pregnant, I am going to enjoy it as much as I can! I don't want to worry about complications, I just want to feel completely happy & thankful to the Lord.



The cutest cluster of towns, Cinque Terre, where we walked about a million steps last summer! Worth it for the beautiful views!!!

Since the surgery was successful, we will now be able to try up to 3 rounds of IUI. If that does not work, then we will keep saving up for IVF. We are so hopeful that everything will work out. I feel hopeful & excited, but also worried about all of the shots that I need to have. Luckily 2 of my sisters are nurses & can give them to me, but I have still been feeling so stressed & worried about that. Of course, if we are able to have a baby it will all be completely worth it! But then a part of me doesn't want to get excited because there is a possibility that we won't be able to get pregnant & then we will need to save up longer for IVF since we will have used the money we were saving on these procedures. It is so hard to have a balance of having hope but not too much hope in case the procedures don't work & trying not to worry or stress too much & knowing that this could end in disappointment, but trying not to dwell on that, combined with the medicine that messes with my hormones.

Even though I know I shouldn't get my hopes up too much, I am just going to let myself have hope & be excited because I don't want to always feel like I need to think of the negative. I would rather dwell on the positive & then be disappointed for a day than be negative until we have positive results. If the procedure is successful this month, then I would be pregnant over Christmas. That would be such a special Christmas & the best gift. But I know that if the procedure does not work, I will still keep having hope & faith.

Well, I wanted to start out November by a thankful post & I have so much to be thankful for right now. On Friday, October 28th, I went in for a surgery, a Hysteroscopy with a bilateral cannulation to try & unblock my fallopian tubes, to be exact. I was trying not to think to much about the surgery because I didn't want to get more nervous & didn't want to overthink the possibilities if the surgery did or did not work. I also didn't really even research anything about the surgery for that same reason. We had so many family members & friends praying for us & putting our names on prayer rolls at the temple. We were hopeful that, if it was in the Lord's will & was the best thing for our family, that the surgery would be successful.

My sister, Brooke, took me in since Nate had to work. We got to the surgical center & I was so nervous to get an IV. I hate needles so much, they are my worst fear. I can't even type the word needle without cringing & feeling panicked.. Anyways, it was so nice to have Brooke there with me. She even let me squeeze her hand really hard & talked to me to distract me & then it was over! They had put it in while I was sitting in this recliner thing & I kept thinking, how will they carry me into the correct room when I am passed out, then I realized that the IV was in, but they wouldn't put the anesthesia medicine in until I was in the surgery room, haha, blonde moment!!! They brought me to the room where I would be having surgery & put a heated blanket on me, took of my glasses, & I remember feeling warm & comforted. I know that this was my Heavenly Father helping me to feel calm & peaceful because I had prayed for that exact thing. I started saying a prayer for the doctors & nurses & that everything would be okay & fell asleep in the middle of the prayers, as they started the anesthesia. The next thing I remember is groggily half waking up & someone telling me that the surgery had worked & they were able to unblock both tubes for the next 8 months!

It was such a miracle that the surgery worked & that BOTH tubes were able to be cleared. I was & am so incredibly happy!! Brooke came in & I remember crying & not being able to stop the tears because I was so happy. Then we headed home & that hour drive home is some of the most pain I have been in but it was completely worth it & I would take that pain as long as needed to be able to get pregnant! I felt like I was going to throw up & also the most painful cramping I've ever felt. Once I got home & could lay in bed, I started feeling a lot better. Nate was home, he decided to work from home the rest of the day so that he could be there if I needed anything. We were both so incredibly happy & thankful that the surgery worked. We are so excited thinking that I may be able to get pregnant in the next few months!!! If the surgery had not worked, our only option would have been IVF & that is so expensive. We have been saving up for a year, but would need to save up until at least March to be able to have the money for that. It is just so wonderful to know that we won't have to wait that long to be able to have a chance of getting pregnant! Our next step is to do IUI this next month & if that doesn't work, they will do 2 more rounds of IUI. I am so thankful for this miracle from my Heavenly Father & for all the comfort & peace He has given me through this process.

I also feel so blessed for so many friends & family that love & pray & care for us. Brooke was so nice to take me to the doctor to be there almost the whole day & to help me not feel as nervous & scared. Then Brittany came over Friday night & brought homeade chicken noodle soup & the cutest basket full of my favorite things! Then my mom came and kept me company on Saturday & made me lunch & dinner. I also had so many nice texts & phone calls from other family members & friends. I am so thankful for all of these blessings.