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4.25.2011

A fun story and some fabulous news

Story Time:
It's finally time for me to tell you about our fun story!  Keep in mind, this is for my own documentation purposes so feel free to skip to the bottom if you don't want to read about the whole thing.  

Our story started two days before we left for our cruise.
I had an appointment with the chiropractor scheduled for that afternoon and sometimes he takes hip x-rays so I started the morning off with a precaution just in case he decided to take more.  I've taken  at-home pregnancy tests several times and even though I have no expectations of it reflecting a positive result for at least another year, it's still slightly disappointing to see the single line in my "window" every time-- I guess it just gets old after a while.
Anyway, there I was going about my morning routine when I remembered that I needed to throw my test away for the umpteenth time.  Just as I went to do so, I saw not one, but two lines.  What the?  I had just recently opened a new kind of pregnancy test kit and I sat there for a while thinking about how confusing it was that they all displayed results so differently.  They should really all collaborate and make things look the same so they don't throw me for a loop like that!
So... I pulled the box out to reread the results portion and it stated clearly that two lines indicated a positive result.  Then I stared at my test for a very long time.  It was early in the morning so chances were pretty high that I was misreading something.
I reread the box, then my test, the box, then my test, multiple times until I finally came to the conclusion that I had just received my first positive result from a pregnancy test!
Instead of coming up with a clever, cute way of telling Tyler, I bounded into the bedroom and jumped on the bed without even thinking about it.  I woke Tyler up to tell him the news and asked him how this was possible.  Tyler responded with a somewhat cheeky explanation of the birds and the bees and just like that it started.
Tyler immediately purchased 3 more tests at Dollar Tree so we could be sure that the positive test result wasn't just a fluke.
3 tests later, the answer was still a resounding yes.  And I'd like to add in a little note here about how differently the Dollar Tree tests work.  First they display a negative result, then the coloring sweeps back to display a positive.  It scared the daylights out of us the first time I took one.
Thank goodness we found out before the cruise because I had plans to soak in hot tubs and eat seafood to my heart's content.  That could have been scary.
This discovery did make the cruise very interesting though since I woke up sick every morning.  And whoever came up with the term "morning sickness" deserves a swift kick in the pants because it is misleading to a first-timer who expects the nausea to simply disappear into the afternoon.  Don't get me wrong, it's totally worth it.  And considering the fact that I never get sick, I feel like this is only fair, but still... it needs a more accurate name.
As you can imagine, I had some serious issues with all of the constant supplies of food on our cruise ship.  Bleck!  Even writing about it makes me feel ill.

Our News:
Just in case you skimmed ahead or were left feeling confused about my story, here is our news:



The Grange household is going to become a family of 3!!  We are expecting our first baby on October 14, 2011 and we are absolutely thrilled!

We are still in shock that things did not take longer but are so thankful for the opportunity.  It has been a truly awesome experience so far and we already feel so blessed.  It has been amazing to see the way things have just sort of worked out so far, what an awesome testament to the fact that this child is meant to be!

P.S.  My advice to all of you who may have reason to announce births in the future: DON'T TELL ANYONE AHEAD OF TIME!  Just pick one day and tell the world.  Otherwise, the beans are inevitably spilled.  Trust me, on our next go-round, we're going to do things much differently :)  Thank you to all those who kept their lips sealed!

4.05.2011

General Conference Weekend

I hope you're all okay with a pictureless post because I stuck to my habits and took zero pictures this past weekend. In my defense, I thought we were without a camera all weekend (it was actually packed away in our trunk). However, the fact remains that I am terrible at this documenting stuff.


Nevertheless, we had a great weekend so I wanted to share some quick thoughts.

1- Was conference this year INCREDIBLE or what?! Seriously! I absolutely loved it!
I had an awesome ah-ha moment on Sunday when my little sister turned to me during one particular talk and asked,

"Doesn't it seem like every talk was written for Jake [my brother]?" My response was something along the lines of, "I was just thinking that every talk was written for me."

Ah ha! Isn't it interesting that if you listen to conference with the right spirit, you'll find something in every single talk that seems as if it was tailored to you personally? I just love it.
Talk about some awesome, inspired men and women who unbeknownst to themselves, deliver exactly the right message for each member of the congregation! You can't tell me that's not a miracle.

2- For conference weekend this spring, we decided to take a much-needed camping trip down to Little Sahara/Cherry Creek/Jericho or as I prefer to call it, the desert.
What an awesome experience! As far as I'm concerned, dirt bikes are the best form of therapy in existence. We were of course able to visit Porter Rockwell's cabin again and that never gets old for me.

The desert may not have the most beautiful scenery in the world, but the terrain is out of this world! Seriously- I don't think you can find anything better.

So... here's our fun story for the weekend:
Saturday night was our last night in the desert (sniff) and it had it out for us. There I was sleeping peacefully, completely oblivious to the world around me, when Tyler pokes me with his elbow.

"We have to get out Sha," he says.
"Why?" I respond.
"Because I'm holding up the tent with my shoulder."

What the?! What the crap is going on? I've become a light sleeper as of late. If something was wrong, I would have woken up, right? Evidently, wrong.

"WHERE AM I?" I shout.
"You're camping in a tent in the desert. Are you okay?"
"I KNOW that! What's going on? Where is the door?"

Apparently it takes a while for me to come to my senses when I am woken up in an enclosed heap of material.

Long story short, after some struggling, we safely made it out of the tent in time for me to nearly collapse into a ball of laughing hysterics. Our tent was piled so high in heavy snow that I couldn't even recognize it! It was hysterical. Together we were able to shovel off the snow with our hands just in time for more to accumulate. We tried multiple times to pop the tent back up, but to no avail. It seems that one of our poles actually split down the middle lengthwise. Great.  Additionally, we were both standing in a snow storm in nothing but sweats, which basically means we became sopping wet in a matter of seconds.

Thankfully my parents had arrived at about midnight that morning so we were able to convince them to make room for us in their trailer after we disassembled the tent and removed several of our soaked belongings.

I've been camping many times before, but never like this. What an adventure!

I hope all of your weekends were filled with wonderfulness as well! 

Until Next Time,
Shaela

Our Wedding

Vwala! Here are our pictures as promised. They're miniscule looking on here, but you should be able to click on the link to enjoy them in a more big and beautiful state.

Temple Day

Temple Day
We took this on the day of my first temple visit

The Great Outdoors

The Great Outdoors
Pre-Marriage Camping trip