Our Litte Addition!

We are proud to announce that Clark Isaac Roberts arrived on April 10, 2012 at 12:50 pm weighing in at 7 lbs 6 oz and a perfect 19.75 inches long.  We're thrilled to have him in our home!

He's a pro at being a baby.   He likes to eat, be held, snuggle, sleep (sometimes he doesn't like to sleep), poop, listen to static noise (his favorite radio station is the one that makes a constant shushing sound), and ride in the car. 

 

Girls' Night in Denver

When Ben goes out of town, I try to find something interesting to do or check out.  With baby approaching (any day now, seriously), he's been home bound now for about six weeks so this post is way overdue. 

The last time he was gone, a few girlfriends and I got together and headed to downtown Denver to check out a super cool and crafty shop that I've been dying to visit since moving to the area.  The Fancy Tiger. 

Fancy Tiger Facebook photo

I had a great evening with Jenny and Tiffany.  We topped it off by eating a feast at a Thai restaurant. Mmmm!

Springtime, Bridges, and Friendship

I love springtime, especially in DC.  In fact, I've been checking the National Parks Services' Cherry Blossoms webcam on a daily basis.  This is the time of year when the city comes alive and everything feels new again.  I miss it.  Springtime in Denver is beautiful, as it should be, but not quite as vibrant.  I love it regardless.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy the outdoors while I lived in the DC area was by running the "Bridges." The route starts at Roosevelt Island, crosses Key Bridge, drops down along the canal in Georgetown, passes diners on the waterfront, goes past the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Memorial, then crosses the Memorial Bridge (here's where you push yourself - one step per square).  Then it crosses the GW Parkway (yikes!), and the final sprint is done along the Potamac under the trees where the path turns into a wooden one just before Roosevelt Island.  

I've put hundreds of miles in on that route, most of which were enjoyed with my dearest friend, Amber J (a co-founder of the traditional "Bridges"route), and other friends.  I am ever grateful for the times I had on that trail where problems were pounded out, secrets were shared, goals were accomplished, excitements were celebrated, and where, no matter what, life simply felt good for 45 minutes.

The other day, I vicariously enjoyed the Bridges with Amber - she ran it  while we chatted on the phone (heavens knows this prego baby-mama couldn't run a half block right now).  Considering the distance, it was almost like old times.  She sent me a few pics along the way so that I could enjoy the scenery as much as I did the conversation.  I loved every minute of it!

We're Almost There!

When this baby journey started, nine months sounded like FOREVER!  I'm at 36 weeks now and I can't believe how fast it's gone.  This little man is a mover and a shaker!  He loves to stick his feet right under my ribs.  I try to push him out of there, but it only takes a few minutes for him to get back into his favorite position.  At this point, he can come any time and we are SO excited!  Except that he needs to wait until I finish my final reports for my job, which ends this coming Friday.  Wahoo!

 Here's a little picture show of my growing belly.  I should have taken more pics along the way...

36 Weeks (Basketball Season)

32 Weeks (Soccer Ball)

23 Weeks (Still a Little Bump)

 22 Weeks (Little Bump)

 

Ben's Business

I just have to show off a little bit...

Ben started his own business with a couple buddies a year ago, and his software products are now being used in schools!

The company is called Nutrislice and they provide school districts with technology solutions for improving their Nutrition Services. This includes interactive nutrition education and communications tools that allow districts to more effectively work with their customer base (students and parents).  Ultimately, their goal is to help districts improve the image of school lunch and to be in the 21st century when it comes to marketing techniques and publishing menus.

Check out this Fox 31 news story that features students doing a taste testing session at a school in the district that I work for.  Ben's the genius behind the iPod app - watch for it. Kids play role in making school lunches more healthy

I'm so proud!!!

Hair Tie Trick

By far, the best pregnancy advice given to me is the hair tie to button your jeans trick.  It has extended the wear of my regular pants by months.  But now that our little man is coming in about 9 weeks, I just can't pull it off like I used to.  Unless my shirt is long enough, there's no making my favorite pants work anymore.  I finally started using the Boppy maternity belt my mom sent me months ago (I had no idea what it was for or why anyone would possibly want something that tight around them until now) and bought a pair of maternity pants at H&M last week.  I am getting used to the 10 inches of blue elastic fabric around my whole belly.  Good thing we're almost there.

New Skills

I had no idea that when I was done with school that I'd take on learning a new skill right away.  Chillaxing for a while was my main plan.  But that only lasted a couple weeks and now I'm learning how to do graphic design work.  I bought Photoshop CS5 about two years ago, but finally installed it on my computer about 6 months ago.  I haven't touched it since then until recently.  Thank heavens for YouTube and online tutorials because PS is nothing like good ol' Paint.

Here are the projects that have motivated me to learn this new skill:

1. I designed an outdoor banner for the school district I work for.  I don't know what got into me, but I offered to design the project even though I've never done anything like this before.  I'm pleased with how it turned out.

2.  I'm building a website using Wordpress for a friend.  No, I don't know how to build a website, but I'm learning with the help of my computer genius husband.  Here's the logo I designed for her. You can check out the website at www.1000healthyschools.com.
 

Although it's not without moments of frustration, learning to use Photoshop is very rewarding and motivating.

Being back!

I finished my MPH degree in December and was quickly swept away by the holidays.  Now that I'm back, I'm enjoying guiltless television watching and internet surfing.  It's great!  Once the guiltlessness of being quite unproductive in my free time wears off, I think I'll start blogging more.  In other words, you'll hear from me more in 2012!  (My sister keeps reminding me that even in my free time, I'm making a person, which is quite a project indeed.) 

I've been busy!

Ok, ok, so it's been FOREVER since I've blogged and it's high time for an update!  But this is going to be just a quickie since I'm shoulder deep in writing my Capstone project (first draft is due on Monday) - blah.

1.  We spent Fall Break in  Cabo!  It was beautiful there and the snorkeling was incredible!  I'll post some pictures later, promise.

2.  We're expecting our first baby in early April!  We couldn't be more excited about the addition to our little family.  We're at 17 weeks now, so we don't know if we'll be going with blue or pink quite yet.  I'll let you know as soon as we do.  I LOVE BABIES!

3.  I'm currently taking my last class and completing my capstone project for school.  Thank goodness I'll finally be finished with my MPH degree in December.  It seems like I started it forever ago!

4.  My job with the school district has been busy and fun.  My latest big project was to organize a district-wide Flat 14ers Community Walk.  Around 700 people came out for it!  The event started with Zumba, proceeded on to a two mile walk (the equivalent of climbing from the trail head to summit of Mt. Democrat, a real Colorado 14er - hence the Flat 14ers), and it ended with a party hosted by Radio Disney and Channel 4.  I also recently completed the process to update the district's wellness policy.  Now we're on to raising more awareness and compliance with the policy in the schools.  It all ends in March when the grant I'm managing is over.  Just in time for Junior to come!

5.  We moved a few weeks ago.  Just from one apartment to another.  I'll be honest, moving sucks.  But we had great help and are so thankful for it!

6.  We went to Driggs, ID with Ben's family for Labor Day.  God's Country - seriously.  They have a cabin there.  It's a simple old cabin with the most incredible view of the Tetons.  Ahh, I just love it there.

7.  I made a baby quilt for a good friend - pictures to come.

8.  Since my last post, we went to Spicer, MN to enjoy the lake and fireworks, went to an AWESOME Avett Bros concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater, spent some time in Utah, and did a bunch of other things that I can't remember right now.  :)

Once I'm finished with school, I'll add pictures and start posting more often! 
Hope you're all doing well!

More fun :)

We went Canyoneering in Southern Utah this past weekend.  I didn't freak out this time like I did last October (phew!).  Ben's brothers (except for Sam who's on a mission in Des Moines, IA, currently serving in Quincy, IL), and our sister in law and Jake's cool girlfriend came along for the trip.


First, we hiked Zero Gravity, which is on the way from I-70 toward Hanksville, UT:

Then we hiked (and swam) The Black Hole in White Canyon near Lake Powell:

 

What we've been up to lately

We've been doing all sorts of stuff to stay busy and here are a few of the highlights:

Road Biking Denver's Cherry Creek Trail:  

 I got a steal of a deal from Craigslist for my bike.  Some lady bought it last year, rode it twice, and decided she does not like road biking.  So I picked it up for less than half the retail price.  Wahoo!


Visit to Colorado Springs:

 Biking around Garden of the Gods.

(Someone please tell me not to wear those sunglasses anymore!!!)

Touring the chapel at the Air Force Academy.

My dad came for Memorial Day!

And we went hiking in Evergreen and went to the Flying W Ranch for a cowboy dinner and a show with Uncle Gordon and Aunt Pam:

 

We're just having a bunch of fun.  That's all.

Helvetica Coolness

I've always liked fonts and think it's so cool how the design of letters can influence the image and even the meaning of a word. Here is a trailer to a documentary about Helvetica, the font. Looks like a documentary worth seeing at some point, if only for the NYC pics.

Pretty Therapy

Picture from http://www.maleneb.com/showrooms/

I could (and do) spend hours and hours googling over pretty things. There is just something about staring at pretty things online that makes me feel so feminine, international, stylish, and inspired. It's strangely therapeutic.

I have an obsession with a certain kind of style that's hard to define, but you know it when you see it. I love designs that seem to use a palette of the world to create a perfect combination of culture, sophistication, worldliness, organic earthiness, modernity, and fresh class. But it can't be overdone (i.e. Amy Butler).

• Cultural/Worldy/International
• Shabby chic (But not too much. yuck, when it's overdone.)
• Modern vintage
• Contemporary
  
• Antique-ish and Jacobean
  

Perhaps I could define it with one word: Anthropologie. (This also might explain why I like to look, but don't often buy.)

Here are a few highlights from my latest pretty googling therapy session that was motivated by a frustrating trip to the fabric store and started with googling India and fabric, and morphed into kantha, and morphed again into Anthropologie and fabric, and morphed again into....

www.maleneb.com/collections/signature/
www.contemporarycloth.com/
www.etsy.com/shop/theneedleshop?page=1
www.absolutelybeautifulthings.blogspot.com/
www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/good-questions/good-questions-similar-fabric-online-059460
www.justscandinavian.com/
http://kkantha.com/
http://bolefloor.com/

Missing the Cherry Blossoms

The cherry blossoms in DC are a magical DC treat. They ring in the spring like a fashion show, each tree putting on its best blossoms for the new season.

I LOVE the feeling that I get when I think of that beautiful site. I laugh at some of my cherry blossom memories the 5 years I spent in DC. Jogging around the Tidal Basin with Amber, having a DTR with an ex-boyfriend, coercing a crush to join me there (ha!), FHEs on the Jefferson Memorial steps, lunch breaks in the park, the National Kite Festival, visiting the blossoms at 5:30am, taking photos with friends, visiting them with my mom, ahhhh, such good good times. I love spring.


I'm sad to miss it this year, so anyone who's out there, please, give those trees my hello. Amber, maybe you can do the Tidal Basin run for good times sake.

Go Cougs!

The NCAA basketball tournament brought our alma mater to town this past weekend, and we joined friends in cheering on the BYU Cougars! Thanks to our friend Staci's adept negotiation skills our seats were upgraded from the top row of the Pepsi Center to the 10th row in the bottom bowl. Jimmer and the boys look pretty good from there!

Where we sat would typically be the student section at a home game, but as we looked around, it was just a bunch of young professionals reliving their student days. It was great to be part of that crowd, and even better to watch BYU work their way into the Sweet 16 by schooling Gonzaga!

Honeymoon Dreaming

I downloaded Picasa on Ben's new computer today and had so much fun looking at all the pictures it found on our external hard drive. This will make it easier for me to post our pics, which I've been lazy about over the past 6 months. Seeing our honeymoon pictures again was just what I needed on this cool March day. We started our marriage in the right direction with a Mediterranean cruise. If you are thinking about ideas for a honeymoon right now, I highly recommend going all out. It's totally worth it.

Here are a few pics for you to enjoy: