A wonderful week!!

What a wonderful week!! Wednesday I got to go to Idaho for my cousin Andrea’s wedding! The Rexburg temple was beautiful, and so was Andrea! It was also fun to see my cousin Heidi, and her cute baby Blake (picture of him playing with my dad). It was also my mom’s birthday, and my sister had a yummy dinner for us. Later that night Darin, Heather, Rick, Annie, mom,--MY AWESOME BROTHER BEN, and I went over to the fireworks at Mueller Park!

Thursday, Mom, Dad, and I went on a hike up Mueller Park Canyon. It was really fun. That night Darin and I went with his parents to the Bees’ game! Darin even caught a baseball there! The fireworks that night were spectacular!

Yesterday we spent the day up at the Cabin. We had an intense game of horseshoes! Uncle Al was my partner, and if uncle Bob didn’t have to take off, I think we could have won the whole thing!! (But, Darin thinks that he and James would have won). I think we need a rematch! It was really fun to see everyone, but the funniest part was that even though we haven’t seen each other for a long time, we felt like we knew what was going on with everyone because of blogs (with an exception of Tiffany and Wendy—ha ha). Then, last night we went to Doug and Erika’s wedding/reception. A busy week, but a good one! Here are a few of the pictures!

Baby Update!!!

First off, thanks to everyone that commented when we made the big announcement! Your enthusiasm made me a little less scared, and more excited!! Also, thanks for all the advice! Keep it coming! I went to the doctor yesterday and I got to hear the heart beat! It was amazing!! It is so weird to think that there is actually a little person inside of me! The doctor said that I haven't gained any weight yet, but that is ok. He said that my uterus is now the size of a grapefruit, and the baby is doing well. Oh, and for those of you that go for the "heartbeat gender rumor" our baby's heartbeat was 160--which means a girl!--but our doctor said that is just an old wife’s tale.

So, here is the best news!!! All of my friends have to wait to find out gender until 19, 20, 22+ weeks to find out the gender. I knew my doctor looks earlier than most but I thought he was going to tell me to come back in 4 weeks to find out the gender, but he said to come back in 3 weeks!! I will be 16 weeks then when I get to find out!! WAHOO!!! Hurry and make your votes on a girl or a boy! Darin and I are hoping for a boy, but would be thrilled with either!! I am just so excited to start a baby room!!! We are so excited to be parents!!

Shower Fun

My friend Lara is getting married, so I decided to throw her a shower. It was really fun to see everyone, and to hear more about Lara and Dave. The shower went well, I was just sad that I forgot to take pictures of the people!! DUH!! But, here is the 2nd best thing, pictures of the food!

These are the nutmeg rum cookies I made. I couldn’t remember what tip to use when frosting the cookies. This was the 3rd tip I tried, and I know it still wasn’t right, but it worked. They look even cuter with the right tip.

This is the Amish friendship bread I made. It was really yummy. I also made banana bread, but it got a little over cooked, so I didn’t serve it. I also did the ivy and ribbon on the basket—got that idea from a cooking show.

These are the yummy quiche I made (well, what was left of them). I got this recipe from my friend Megan’s sister. (http://cuposugar.blogspot.com/) I was supposed to use store bought pie crust (but I am too cheep—so I made my own). Next time I make these, I will roll the crust a little thinner. But, they were still very tasty!

Here is a picture of the fruit kabobs. I also got this idea of stabbing it into the watermelon from my friend Megan. My friend Shauna did most of the work on these, helping cut fruit and assemble. Thanks Shauna!!

These are the wraps we had. They are very easy and really good! It has cream cheese, green onion, green pepper, spinach, turkey, and ham. I got this recipe from my friend Jana, but I just made a few changes of my own. These were probably my favorite.

Happy one year...and a week anniversary!

Well, as you can see from our last post, we had a LOT to eat for our anniversary! When we came home we were so full that we couldn't eat the cake from our wedding. So, last night we did! Out of the freezer into our belly! It was still good! For those who don't know, my sister made my cake! She did a WONDERFUL job!! It was the cake of my dreams, that I ate with the man of my dreams!!!

Happy 1 Year Anniversary!!! HOORAY!

Yup! We are still married! What a wonderful year it has been! The best year of my entire life!!! I LOVE being married! Darin is the man of my dreams!! Last night was so fun! It was the perfect night (except for I forgot to wear mascara!! Who does that!!?) Darin made reservations at the Melting Pot! It was super yummy!! We started off with the cheese, then our salad. Our servers pepper grinder broke while he was doing my salad and the peppercorns went everywhere! It was so funny!! Then we had our amazing meat!!

Then we had our delicious dessert! Mmmm!! Flaming Turtle!!

We had thought about going back to "Jungle Safari Room" at Anniversary Inn for our anniversary (because that is where we went on our 1st honeymoon night), but we decided to save the money. So, I surprised Darin, and turned our bedroom into the Jungle Safari room!



Then we drank a little "bubbly" from our Anniversary Inn glassess!

It was a great day! Happy Anniversary Darin! I love you!!!

Exciting News...for those who don't know

Yes! We are pregnant!! We found out on May 19th, and we were going to wait until the end of July to make the announcement, but the news got out of the bag a little early. We went to the doctor last week and everything looks good. There is only one baby in there, and we got to see the heart beat. I can't tell you much about the ultra sound picture, he is pretty small in there, but it is fun to post a picture!! My next doctor’s appointment is on July 21st so we will keep you posted! The due date is January 29th and we are really excited and nervous! Now if only we can find a house so I can start decorating the baby room!!! YEAH!! I am so excited! And the doctor said I should only be sick for 1 more month!! Being sick hasn't been fun, but Darin has been so nice to do extra help around the house, make dinner (because food always seems to have a weird smell), and he even holds my hair back when I barf! What a guy! Wish us luck! (Advice is freely accepted!)

Work Day at the Cabin

This weekend we went up to the cabin. We started by going on a nice walk. These are a few of the pictures from our walk on Friday early evening. (Notice the beautiful weather and the yellow flowers). Now, look at the pictures Darin took the next mornining. Yes, this picture was taken in June, and yes, that white stuff is snow!!!!





PS- A shout-out thank you to Aunt Vicky! (I didn't think I would need those ziplock bags for the ride home, but I was wrong! thanks!)

Back to the Beginning...The Story of Darin and Haylee

Aug 6, 2006
I met with Bishop Hammond on this day. He asked me if I was interested in any boys in the ward. I quickly answered no, and I informed him of my “no dating boys in the ward” rule. He said I didn’t have to date any boys, unless Darin Gunnerson asked me out because he was so impressed with Darin. About 3 minutes later I was looking through the Sunday school door staring at the incredibly good looking teacher. I thought to myself “I could marry that guy, and if I do I will always remember looking at him through the door.” Then, I thought “Wow! That was weird! I have never had a thought like that before. But, I do hope that is the Darin Gunnerson the bishop was talking about, because I would like to go out with him!!




Aug 26, 2006
The first time we “met”—we met at the church spice factory on a service project. We shared the same scaffold, and had a really good time together. Then we went bowling and I got the “crush.” I had about 6 people ask me that night how long we had been dating, and they were all shocked when they found out that we had only met that day.



Sept 1, 2006
Our first date! He took me to snowbird for steak and a star show. It was pretty fun, but my first impressions were that his was a “big spender” and I was worried because he “couldn’t keep his hands off me.” (As recorded in my journal).

Nov. 4, 2006
Our third date. We went to Stake Conference together, but came back to his condo, watched Monster house, ate ice cream, and held hands!




Nov. 25, 2006
The famous date at the Melting Pot!!! OUR FIRST KISS!!! I know, I know!! Our first kiss was PDA, but I am pretty sure that no one saw!

---So at this point, things are going really pretty well in our relationship. Liking him more and more! But then, on February 10th (yes 4 days before Valentines day) Darin broke up with me (tear). But don’t worry, on the 17th we were back together—he even took me out for Valentine’s day.

April 9, 2007
I decided that Darin and I should probably break up on this day. However, in my attempt to break up with him he said, “Why don’t we just get married?” To which I replied, “OK.” Now, you need to understand that this “ok,” was in general, but the next day he said, “So I think that we should get you a ring and get engaged this week.”
Imagine my reaction!! I started freaking out! I told him I wasn’t ready and that I needed more time, and he gave me an ultimatum of 3 weeks! Eeek!! I spent the next 24 hours rereading every journal page, talking to friends (mainly Bridget, Lindsay, and Beth) praying, pondering etc. I finally received my answer, and I was excited to tell Darin.
We were over at Mueller Park flying kites. And here is how I recorded the experience in my journal, “As we were flying the kite, I was holding the string and he was holding me. I thought “ya, I could do this for the eternities.” Then, in all my excitement [and thinking this was going to be the most romantic moment in my life] I said, “Ok, lets get married!!” Then he gave me a little squeeze and said something to the effect of “you probably should let a little more kite string out.” Not the most romantic line I was looking for, but it worked!



April 11, 2007
So, this story could get really long, but in a nutshell, Darin got me the ring I had always dreamed of, took me up to Snowbird (where our first date was), had me sit on a rock, he got down on one knee and purposed!







July 10, 2007
Married in the Bountiful Temple. The rest is History!

Cookies make Haylee Cry

The other day I was feeling a little down. I didn't really say anything, and I tried not to show it, but I was feeling "bummed." The house hunt has been a long unsuccessful process. It seems like every time we find a house we like it is either on a busy street, too small, too expensive, or in an area we don't like. I thought we had finally found "the house" but Darin (bless his heart) noticed that it had a poor roof. Turns out it would be very expensive to fix, and with that cost added to what they were asking, put it out of our price range again. A few other things happened throughout the day, slowly raising my blood pressure/stress level.

I went out to go do some things, which took longer than I was planning, which made me more stressed--but then I came home to my favorite things!!! My first favorite thing--I came home to my wonderful husband. Second, I came home to a clean home, which Darin had done while I was away. Third, I came home to some beautiful flowers. So, at this point, I was feeling pretty emotional, but I was holding it together until he said, “I also got you these because I know you like them” and he brought them out--those pink and white Animal Cookies. I lost it! I started bawling (not usually like me) I thought that was so nice! I felt silly that something like that would make me so emotional! I am just glad that I have Darin! He didn't even make me feel dumb that I cried! He always seems to do the right things at the right times! What a guy!

The Dramatic Cut!!

BEFORE:



AFTER:



The hair being donated to locks of love



I cut like one foot off my hair!! I would have never done it without the example of my student donating her hair, her mom, and Breanna! Then, I wouldn't have gone through it without Lara and Amanda's encouragement--and Amanda's expertise! Great job Amanda!

Happy, yummy FHE

On Sunday I made my yummy homemade, whole wheat bread which looked and smelled pretty good. We gave loafs to our mothers and grandmothers for Mother's Day, so we didn't have any leftovers for ourselves. I told Darin I would make more on Monday, but then he came up with a great idea.

Instead of making regular wheat bread, he thought it would be fun to find a bread from a different country that we never had tasted before and make that. So, right after work, we came home and each chose a bread. We wrote down what we needed (including things I had never heard of befor--ghee and a weird spice) and went to the grocery store.

Here is a picture of Darin's Greek Olive Bread, before he cooked it-



Here is a picture of my Missi Rotis



And here are the finish products




I thought that my Missi Rotis was a fun idea--it had onion, coriander, turmeric, and ghee, but I think everyone who tried them would agree that Darin's Greek Olive Bread was the best. Probably a recipe I would even save! It was delicious, and a fun FHE!

Happy cinco de mayo!

Here are the pictures from our fun cinco de mayo! It was complete with Mexican food, red, green, and white decor, and to top it off a little mariachi music! Oh yeah, not to mention our fake margaritas!

Litterally Cheesy!

Lately, Darin and I have been loving the weather. Definitely getting excited for spring! We are big movie watchers, but every time we rent or return a video, or getting groceries, we have just walked instead of driving because the weather has been so nice! Well, for our date this weekend, we went on a little picnic. Darin is a big "romancer" and what he did on our picnic was cute, but very "cheesy"...literally. As part of our dinner we had cheese and crackers, and Darin carved the cheese to say "I love u." We have fun!

Friends + Food = Good times

A few weeks ago, we had a little shower to celebrate the growing belling of my friend Cami! It was so fun to see everyone, and have everyone together again. We played fun games, and I was glad that the food went well. But, as good as my friends are, I have to say the best part was Darin! He was so wonderful to help me with last minute cleaning, decorating, and he actually made one of the salads all by himself! What a guy!

Huge apology!!!

I am so sorry for anyone who has been to my blog lately. I just noticed that the slideshow had music with it. I promise I didn't choose the songs! They must have come automatically, but I the lyrics were TERRIBLE, so if you heard them I am sorry, and I think I have fixed it!