Here's a first person perspective video of Emilee's belly with our little wiggle worm practicing her gymnastics. Although this is by no means the first time Emilee has felt our baby moving inside her, this is the best video we've captured of the phenomenon. We've been trying to take a video of it for a while. And here is our best take. Enjoy :)

In other news: Last Friday I defended my research proposition and passed!! I've been working on this assignment since I joined my lab back in August. It was basically a mini grant proposal. Equivalent to a qualifying exam in many other graduate programs. In the which I had to describe and justify all the research I'll be performing for the remainder of my time as a PhD student. After writing the proposal I then had to present it and defend it in front of a committee of professors (some of which were world renowned experts on the topic) . They could ask me any question they felt I should know the answer to. Not only about my research, but about biomedical science in general. I've been stressed out about this exam for months, and now that it is over I feel very relieved. I was asked a few tough questions, but it could have been much worse. Once Emilee finishes up her online classes (and bachelor's degree) this Thursday we are celebrating!!! and focusing on getting ready for the arrival of our baby.

Our Non-Traditional Traditional Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year we were planning to go up to Utah for my Grandma Ellsworth's 90th birthday celebration but Cody had too much to do to take off for the long weekend. We decided to stay here and just celebrate Thanksgiving our own way-- doing homework, watching movies, going to Sea World and eating ribs and doing lots and lots of homework. I was pretty bummed I would not be able to go and see family. To make it up to ourselves we went to Sea World. It was great! There were not very many people and we leisurely walked around the lovely park while our ribs cooked in the crock pot at home. After Sea World we came home and had a somewhat traditional Thanksgiving meal (except for the fact that there was no Turkey). We made mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, green beans, pumpkin pie and BBQ ribs. We enjoyed it even though it was really weird not being surrounded by family. I think that if I had not served a mission this would have been the end of the world because I have always spent Thanksgiving with tons of family. On my mission I realized that my birthday, Christmas and Thanksgiving and all the other holidays were really just days on the calendar and that if I didn't open a present or eat a turkey the world would not end, the sun would still rise and set. It is nice to have a day to remember to give thanks and to remember Christ but shouldn't we really do that every day. Amen. The best part about holidays is being with friends and family--the people you love. And Cody and I had a great time together.

The poster boy for Sea World... his name is not really Shamu, sorry to burst your bubble, I think it is Corky.

The penguins.

Cody's favorite part of Sea World. The turtles. Just for the record, I liked turtles way before 'Finding Nemo' personified them as gnarly surfer dudes. I think they're just cool.
The beluga whales. "They call me Ishmael."
My favorite part. The big and beautiful Clydesdale. Wow! Okay this part deserves a story. Ever since we decided we weren't going to Salt Lake for Thanksgiving we have been talking about going to Sea World on Thanksgiving day. We were excited and there had been quite a build up for this little outing. After walking through the gates, guess what the first thing Emilee wanted to go see? ...Shamu?...the penguins? ...the acrobatic dolphins? Nope! She wanted to go see the Budweiser horses. I couldn't believe it. This wife of mine truly does come from a horse family.
Mom Diehl sent us an early Christmas present. When Cody was removing the paper I saw "Willow Tree" and started to jump up and down in my seat hoping it really was what I thought it was. She gave us this beautiful nativity set (which was what Emilee was hoping it was). I love it and oooed and awed over it for a while. This is our first nativity set. Thank you Mom and Dad Diehl!!!!

P.S. The first song on the playlist is kind of a joke for any of you who spent Christmas with Dad and Ted last year. Wow! I have never listened to a song more or at that many decibels in my life. It is a beautiful song but listening to it Ted and Dad style was...wow.

Busy, Busy, Busy

Holy cow! October is gone. We have been incredibly busy. We have been so preoccupied with Prop 8 stuff, school, work, callings and moving in the middle of it all that the month of October slipped by. On election day we will have just 3 months until our little wiggle worm is due to make her appearance. Yikes! We have a baby room and currently it has a desk, an office chair and a few tubs of stuff in it. I am freaking out about this! But I am trying to remain calm and finish school first. Halloween came and went and we are lame-o! We went to the ward trunk-or-treat for the dinner and then after dinner ran to the store to get candy. We sat in the back of our undecorated truck and passed out candy from the bowl we brought the salad for the dinner in. Lame, lame, lame. I think you have to have kids to appreciate some of the holidays. One of my 10-week courses ended on Halloween so up until then I was stressing out about the 15 page research paper and final project that was looming over my head. Thankfully it is over but I started another class to replace it. I will be so glad to be done in 6 weeks!! On Halloween I did not have any pressing assignments so I put up some fake spiderwebs and got some candy and we actually got some trick-or-treaters. A few days before Halloween we also carved some pumpkins. So maybe we are not completely lame-o.

Cody had a birthday!!! Shout hurray! I made him a chocolate cheesecake, it was very rich and extremely tastey. I got him a dremmel and a sweet thumb drive, cool huh. I remind of the video Emilee posted of me singing "happy birthday" back in February. We took a similar video of Emilee singing 'happy birthday" for my birthday but for some reason Emilee didn't want to post it. Weird eh?

Our ward had a family pinewood derby. It rocked! Our little #4 truck did pretty well. We lost to an uncarved block of wood and a little girl. I'm humbled.


This is our first look into our new apartment. We were excited to move because the rent is so much cheaper.

Our Jack-o-lanterns. Take a guess at who carved which pumpkin. The winner gets a sticker.




My beautiful peace lily bloomed!!!

The belly! We went without costumes to the Trunk-or-Treat, which was combined with the other ward that we split from back in June. A sister from the other ward, who hasn't seen Emilee in a while, thought that Emilee was dressed up as a pregnant woman. It was pretty funny, this sister asked Emilee if that was her costume or if she really was pregnant.



I've been meaning to post this video since June, when it was taken. Near our apartment there is an obstacle course. This large teeter-totter is part of it. Enjoy the short video and don't worry no one was permanetly injured in the filming of this video.

Fantastic video!

This is an interview on KUSI News with Bishop Cordileone. He rocks!

And here is a letter he wrote to the City Council that decided to pass a resolution saying the city of San Diego is opposed to Prop 8 without polling or listening to any of the citizens. We flooded city council with so many letters and phone calls that they secretly moved the meeting to an earlier date to get it over with. Those sly dogs! What is happening to our democracy?!

And here is another article about stoning mormons.

What is a bigot?

The definition of a bigot according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary:
"a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices ; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group (as a racial or ethnic group) with hatred and intolerance"

I was standing on the street corner today holding signs with other prop 8 supporters in an effort to raise awareness about prop 8. We stood peacefully with smiles on our faces appreciating the supporting honks of passers-by, and waving and smiling at those who were rude. As we were standing there exercising our God-given and fought-for right to voice our opinion, a girl walked by on the very edge of the sidewalk as far away from us as she could without walking in the street. She stalked angrily by muttering loudly with brow furrowed and spit flying words full of hate, "Bigots! You're all a bunch of bigots!" I wish I had a video camera so I could show her how much she resembled that liar we all know who is filled with hate. Anyway, I do not know who she was but I do not hate her. I do not hate homosexuals, I just know that homosexuality is not ordained of God but I do not hate them. They can do whatever they want, I just don't want them to ruin it for the rest of us.

I know that the sacred union of a man and a woman is essential for the welfare of our society and it is God's law. Prop 8 is not anti-homosexuals; it is not about hate or taking away anyone's rights. With prop 8 Homosexual couples will still be able to form civil unions, it just won't be called marriage. Prop 8 is about preserving something sacred, protecting churches' rights, preserving our rights as parents to teach our children about gay marriage or not and it is about preserving justice (in other words, not letting rogue judges overturn something that had already been passed). Most importantly it is about protecting the family--mother, father, children. I have been reflecting a lot about Christ and how he was able to hate the sin but love the sinner with a love we can hardly comprehend. He showed love to everyone without condoning sin and was and still is the ultimate example of love, justice and mercy. Maybe this is our lesson on true charity.

And a scripture reference or two to cap it off....

Moroni 7: 44-47

2 Nephi 15:20.

Going Viral in the Fight for Marriage Between a Man and a Woman

As you all may already know California is in the middle of a battle for traditional marriage. On May 15, 2008 some rebel California judges legislated from the bench and struck down the 2000 initiative called the California Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage between a man and a woman that was passed by a 61% majority. So now in November Californians will have the opportunity to vote again on a proposition that will be an amendment to the constitution and this time no rebel judges can strike it down. Proposition 8 is an amendment to the state constitution that will define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The people have a voice and in order for justice and for our society to continue functioning it cannot be ignored. Please if you live in a state where propositions that protect traditional marriage are on the ballot, register to vote and vote to protect marriage! Or visit ProtectMarriage.com to donate to the cause.

Here are some reasons why you should:

The Divine Institution of Marriage
"'...marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children . . . The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity.'"

Protecting Marriage to Protect Children
"In this sense, marriage is a gift that society bestows on its next generation. Marriage (and only marriage) unites the three core dimensions of parenthood -- biological, social and legal -- into one pro-child form: the married couple. Marriage says to a child: The man and the woman whose sexual union made you will also be there to love and raise you. Marriage says to society as a whole: For every child born, there is a recognized mother and a father, accountable to the child and to each other."

Religious Freedom
"...same-sex couples are beginning to challenge policies of religious organizations that exclude them, claiming that a religious group's view that homosexual marriage is a sin cannot be used to violate their right to equal treatment. Now parochial schools, "parachurch" organizations such as Catholic Charities and businesses that refuse to serve gay couples are being sued — and so far, the religious groups are losing."

More to come later....

2 Lincolns

Right now there is a deal at the Sheraton here in San Diego and it is pretty sweet: 2 Lincolns ($5.01) per week night until the end of September. So if you were dying to come to San Diego, call and make a reservation and tell them you want the 2 Lincolns deal. And then you can come and hang out with your favorite San Diegans.

Girls just wanna have fun

Look at that cute profile! The ultrasound tech told us our baby looks like a girl!

One Year!!!!

One year ago yesterday we were married for time and eternity. Wow. It has been a great year!

To celebrate the special occasion we had a candlelit picnic on the beach. I made some killer salsa (I think I finally got the proportions right.) and some chicken tacos, it's a tradition. It was so romantic!

August Fun!

When we got back from Brasil and Uruaguay, I got a call from the Bishop and then a member of the stake presidency within about an hour. They were looking for Cody. I learned on my mission that your leaders never want to just chit-chat, they always call for a reason, so I knew something was up. That evening Cody was called to be in the bishopric and then sustained that Sunday...nice welcome home gift. My dad and Cody's parents came over to San Diego for the occasion and we had a good time together. (Dad just came over on Sunday.) So now I sit all alone in church...sniff, sniff.

For Labor Day weekend our great friends from Tucson came to visit. We had a blast. Oh, and I got a haircut...it was the worst experience of my life and I am not ready to talk about it. I'll just say that I am glad I still have some hair and I am never getting my haircut again...by a man. Anyway, back to the fun weekend. All 7 of us stayed in our apt and I think it was comfortable for everyone. We made the terrible mistake of getting the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie (if I saw that in the theater I would have walked out and demanded a refund...I strongly disliked it, except for the cute little boy.) the week before and we were thinking that our bed is so big we could probably all sleep in our bed like Uncle Joe, Aunt Josephine, Uncle George and Aunt Georgina...just kidding.

We went kayaking and saw some sea lions (see Janny's blog for pictures). We saw the tide pools (unfortunately the tide was really high so we only saw a bunch of crabs and anemones) and just enjoyed being together in the lovely weather of San Diego.

It was so much fun we were sad to see them go.

On Monday right before our friends left we went to downtown San Diego and then to Old Town and ate at this Mexican Cafe. A word about the Mexican food in California: terrible. We have been sorely disappointed almost every time, except La Salsa was decent and this other Cotixan place was good. It is so unfortunate. Maybe pregnancy makes me dramatic and exaggerative but the food at this cafe was not good. In the front windows there were Mexican ladies making tortillas and all those yummy looking tortillas makes your mouth water. I was so excited about eating there and then we order this carnitas plate...the meat was cold and hard, too salty and the dressings were flavorless. I liked the tortillas though so I took the extra tortilla home and put my own fajita meat in it and it was delicious. I don't know how carnitas are supposed to taste but I didn't like it and I made a stink about it... Anyway, we have yet to find some decent Mexican food. Maybe we are used to the Arizona/Sonoran Mexican food and the Mexicans here are from the Baja...but I have been to the Baja numerous times and have thoroughly enjoyed the food there so that can't be it.

Days 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 in Brasil!!!

On Sunday we traveled by car to the bus station in Sao Paulo to catch our bus to Belo Horizonte. We were all sad to leave the Vendraminis but this time we knew we would see them again the next week. The bus ride was supposed to be only 8 1/2 hours, but it ended up being a couple of hours longer because the bus broke. We waited on the side of the road for a while for a new bus. This is a picture of us in the luxury bus on our way to BH and a glimpse of the city of Sao Paulo out the window. Don't worry we eventually made it to BH.

The next morning we got up and caught a bus to Ouro Preto, a historic town with several large Catholic churches and shops that have been maintained beautifully. It is a pretty place with really cool architecture and style.

Minas Gerais (the state) is all hills and Ouro Preto was built up and down all of the hills. This is us climbing one of the steep roads.

A classic Catholic church (think these were built in the 16th century). Unfortuantely for us we picked the only day of the week that all of the churches are closed for cleaning...so we did not get to see the gold-plated interiors :(

When we got back from Ouro Preto, we stopped by my mission president's home. It was so fun to see them again!

On Tuesday afternoon we went to Lafaiete, my last area. This is one of the church buildings in Lafaiete. How do you like Dad's hat? He got in Lafaiete...
And this is Elizabeth and Rosa. I was teaching them along with their respective families right before I came home. These two along with Elizabeth's sister were baptized and confirmed a couple of weeks after I got home. They were actually confirmed the very Sunday I gave my homecoming talk in sacrament meeting. They are sweet girls, it was fun to see them again.


A couple of friends from Congonhas (another one of my areas) came over and met us as well--Renata and Armando. Renata did divisions with me almost every afternoon and evening for 4 weeks. She will be a great missionary. Dad treated us all to ice cream.


On Wednesday we flew back to Sao Paulo where one of my companions met us at the airport. Our flight was delayed so we didn't get to see eachother for that long but it was soooo good to see her again. She is a special person who has had a hard life, but she is strong and has a vibrant testimony. She is hilarious too, I just love her!


Thursday morning Cody and I flew to Uruguay while Dad spent the day with the Vendraminis and then flew out that night. This time we were very sad to say good-bye...they are so kind and it was so fun to be with them. I will get Cody to write about our trip to Uruguay... soon.

Day 4: The Wedding!

The wedding was beautiful. I was so happy that we got to be there. The pictures speak for themselves and there are tons of them so have fun. I included a video of the dance at the bottom. Pat was so nervous about it. I was most amazed at how Pat has changed, I have always known him as the obnoxious brother that was always so horrible to me.
Marlene gave us a copy of all of the pictures the photographer at the wedding took so I downloaded them to picassa in two albums.


Album 1

Pat and Pat(ricia)'s Wedding

Album 2

Pat and Pat(ricia)'s Wedding

And here are our pictures of the wedding and the whole trip.

2008-08-13 Brazil Trip

Our Trip to Brazil and Uruguay!! Days 1, 2, and 3

Our trip to Brazil started very early Wednesday morning. We left our house at 3:50 am to meet Jarom at the temple where we left our truck. We also met Dad there and he drove us to the airport bus stop just down the street. There were tons of people at LAX which made check-in a little crazy. We finally got on the plane and flew to Newark Airport in New Jersey. I was expecting lunch on this 5 hour flight but guess what, no lunch was served. I was hungry. We landed in Newark and had to get our bags and go to JFK Airport in New York. Crazy, I know, but they were the cheapest tickets I could find. I figured out how to use the trains and subways on the internet months ago in preparation. They normally have a van that goes between the two airports, but I saw somewhere that the van would not be available when we would need it so that is why I planned to use the train and subway. Cody asked someone how to get to the train and explained that we were going to JFK and she told us to go down to the ground transport counter and just use the van. We went down there and there were only two seats available. So the van ended up working out after all and we didn't have to brave the train and subway. It worked out well. We made it to JFK (the picture above is of us at the JFK airport) and flew all the way to Brazil.
It was a long flight and very cramped, I did not sleep very well. We got to Sao Paulo Thursday morning to meet Miguel and Patrick and Dad. We drove out to Botucatu and met Marlene and Patricia. I just loved Marlene, she is very sweet and so fun. She made some great meals. Thurs was a blur to me because I was soooo tired. We only got 3 hours of sleep Tues night before we left and then spent Wed night on the blasted plane. I went to bed at about 7 pm and could hardly sleep I was so tired. Anyway. We all recovered eventually.
On Friday Miguel took us around Botucatu and showed us around while Marlene prepared Feijoada for lunch (mmmmmm....a very tasty traditional Brazilian dish).
Feijoada inlcudes black beans with all kinds of pork parts (bacon, sausage, skins, pork meat and beef), rice, couve (kind of like cale or collard greens) steamed, farofa (a floury mix but the flour is of mandioca which kind of looks like yucca root), and fresh orange slices. It is delicious!! Jarom I think you would really like Brazilian food and you could eat it because there is no wheat!

The picture below is from the top of a hill overlooking the city of Botucatu.
And this is Thor; the Vendramini's huge English Mastiff. He is the protector and giant baby of the family. Also in the picture is Marlene, she is lovingly petting and baby-talking Thor.
Up next: The Wedding!
I will include a link to picassa but I need to write little descriptions first.

Oh Baby!

We made a Diehl. Cody and I are going to be parents! We are a bit nervous and scared but excited. It was very cool seeing him wiggle around on the monitor in the doctor’s office; he was being very photogenic and waving to the camera the whole time. The midwife said he had a big head and I told her that my husband had a big head and was 9 lbs. She laughed and said those should be dating questions.

He looks so developed already with a head and hands and feet and a little heart beating away, it’s hard to believe he is only 30 millimeters!! I am calling the baby a he because I think it will be a boy but I will not be sad if I am wrong...I just don’t want to say “it”. ETA is 4 February. Maybe we’ll share a birthday.

Gotta love Mission Beach

After I posted the last post about fourth of July, for some reason we had a ton of visitors from all over the world. I guess "fourth of July" is a popular search phrase...

Last weekend Erin and Matt came to visit. They went to Sea World on Friday and then on Saturday we all went to the beach (Marti was in town too so she met us there.) We had a really good time playing in the waves and relaxing on the beach, but we all got roasted in the sun. I was so stupid and did not apply sunscreen to my legs or shoulders. And Cody did not apply any to his stomach. Ouch! We still hurt! After the beach we went home and showered and then went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. It was really fun!

Holy snail!
This picture was taken by Emilee on temple grounds. While we were all admiring one of the most beautiful temples in the world Emilee was busy taking pictures of a snail! Sounds like something I'd do.

We didn't take many pictures...so this is all you get, sorry. For more on our fun weekend refer to Whitmer Matters.

Fourth of July

The weather did not cooperate too well for the fourth of July weekend. As you can see it was cloudy and foggy and the ocean was very turbulent. I doubt our guests noticed that the weather wasn't ideal, they couldn't stop mentioning how nice it was outside. We only got to see a few seals swimming in the water. Usually the beaches and rocks have several seals and sea lions laying out and basking in the sun.

Polar bears eat lettuce??? Apparently. After watching them devour whole heads of romaine lettuce, the only conclusion I could come to was that it must be light and tasty (and tasteless?) to them. Maybe that is how they stand the heat... a nice and light no blubber diet.

Lazy days for the world-famous panda bears at the San Diego Zoo. This is kind of how I feel these days...by the way I got a job! I am so excited!

Here kitty, kitty, kitty.

Gotta love those giraffes! Don't we look excited.

Spencer!

Kori and John came to visit over the long 4th of July weekend. We went to La Jolla shores and the zoo. We saw animals in the wild and behind bars, we ate some really good pizza that I still sometimes think about (mmmm...), we hung out, played games, and watched fireworks from the top of our parking garage. Fun, fun.

Family Reunion, Diehl Style

The Diehl family campout took place in the beautiful mountains near Flagstaff. We saw lots of elk, ate good food, got lost in the wilderness (good thing Cody has a homing device built into his noggin and got us home after hiking about 10 miles.), played Scum with a 7-year-old who kicked all of our tail-ends, went potty in the woods or the trailer, got chiggers that are still itching (thanks to the "death walk"), ate dirt (just some of us), went on the quad (that was my favorite part), and had a good time!

Here is a picture of some of the elk we saw. See the bull?
The group of hikers on a little hike. This was before Cody, Marti and I separated from the group to find Oak Creek Canyon which was always just over the next ridge...

Charlie!

Spencer and Lia. And this is after their baths.

The white rabbit (aka Oak Creek Canyon).

The kiddos! (All of the Diehl grandchildren)
Minus Shawanda, who is still in Erin's belly.

Oops don't know how that photo slipped onto our blog.