Hope you all had a very merry holiday!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Baby Bump Pictures & An Update
I'm giving in... Here are some baby bump pictures. You've already seen one (my friend Julie and I--I'm about 24 weeks in that picture). This one (below) is from our office Halloween party. It was 80's-themed, but I couldn't find anything that would work with my, er, delicate condition, so I opted for the Jack-o-lantern tummy instead.
My co-worker Liz and I (26 weeks).
Now fast forward to 33 weeks:
In other news, the Tolman's threw us a baby shower right before Thanksgiving. Thanks Amy, Marie and Annette, my sisters-in-law, for putting it all together! It was a great party. Annette put a few pictures up on her blog if any of you are interested. We received so many things that we needed for the baby. I've been really amazed by how generous people have been. I mean, people have babies everyday--what makes us so special?
Our baby seems to be doing well. All our check-ups have me measuring right on schedule, and her heartbeat is always good and strong--just what these anxious first-timers like to hear! Lately she's been getting hiccups a lot. It seems like it's always just when I'm about to fall asleep... Maybe she's trying to break me in now so the post-delivery sleep deprivation won't seem so bad. What a thoughtful daughter.
We're taking a prepared childbirth class through our hospital. We were really excited to learn that University Hospital is a certified Baby Friendly hospital. Just goes to show that the U of U, despite what we've always thought, isn't so bad after all. Even though we're BYU fans, I think we'll be in good hands there. Our tour of Labor and Delivery is tomorrow night.
We hope all of you out there in cyberworld have a very Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year! We love you all and have you in our thoughts and prayers.
My co-worker Liz and I (26 weeks).Now fast forward to 33 weeks:
In other news, the Tolman's threw us a baby shower right before Thanksgiving. Thanks Amy, Marie and Annette, my sisters-in-law, for putting it all together! It was a great party. Annette put a few pictures up on her blog if any of you are interested. We received so many things that we needed for the baby. I've been really amazed by how generous people have been. I mean, people have babies everyday--what makes us so special?
Our baby seems to be doing well. All our check-ups have me measuring right on schedule, and her heartbeat is always good and strong--just what these anxious first-timers like to hear! Lately she's been getting hiccups a lot. It seems like it's always just when I'm about to fall asleep... Maybe she's trying to break me in now so the post-delivery sleep deprivation won't seem so bad. What a thoughtful daughter.
We're taking a prepared childbirth class through our hospital. We were really excited to learn that University Hospital is a certified Baby Friendly hospital. Just goes to show that the U of U, despite what we've always thought, isn't so bad after all. Even though we're BYU fans, I think we'll be in good hands there. Our tour of Labor and Delivery is tomorrow night.
We hope all of you out there in cyberworld have a very Merry Christmas and a joyful New Year! We love you all and have you in our thoughts and prayers.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
More from October 2008
Ben finished that last post up for me (thanks, sweetheart!). Here are some more pictures we wanted to share from this month.
Translation Area of the Conference Center
This is the outside of our booth. One or two people sit there and prepare for their talks while two people sit inside and interpret. The headsets there are so we can listen to what the interpreters in our booth are saying.
Here's the inside of our booth. There's room for two people to sit with their headsets. You can't see them in this picture, but they're hanging on the wall on either side of the chairs. The monitor is the same feed you see when you watch Conference. We watch the speaker and listen to what he/she is saying in one ear, and then we hear ourselves in the other ear. It's important to see the speakers so we can keep up with them, pause when they make a joke, use the right inflection if they're getting emotional, and stuff like that.
Here's a better shot of the inside of the booth.
This is the other side of our booth, where another language is set up. I think the Serbian team is set up here. I took this so you can see how many booths there are. This isn't all of them in the translation area. I think there are about 60 all together. Not all the interpreting is done in this area of the Conference Center, or even in the Conference Center. American Sign Language is in a different part of the building that has screens and cameras, and some languages do their interpreting in their home countries. I think they told us Saturday morning's session was being interpreted into 85 languages. The Conference Center has a server that can handle 100 languages simultaneously, which is more than they do at the United Nations.
Zucchini Time!
Before the freak snowstorm we got this month, Ben went to out to our garden to gather anything left before it froze. He found a lot of volunteer tomatoes (volunteer because we didn't plant any) and this huge zucchini. He peeled it up, grated it, and made lots of delicious zucchini bread, all of which we ate immediately. Thanks, honey! It was delicious! That same weekend he also dug up the rest our potatoes. It took some doing since the weeds got pretty tall, but they're worth it. They are sure good eating.
Invasion of the Pregnant Ladies
Our dear friends the Baldwin's came over for Family Home Evening one Monday this month. Julie is due to deliver any minute now. We're so excited for you and can't wait to meet Anna!
Translation Area of the Conference Center
This is the outside of our booth. One or two people sit there and prepare for their talks while two people sit inside and interpret. The headsets there are so we can listen to what the interpreters in our booth are saying.
Here's the inside of our booth. There's room for two people to sit with their headsets. You can't see them in this picture, but they're hanging on the wall on either side of the chairs. The monitor is the same feed you see when you watch Conference. We watch the speaker and listen to what he/she is saying in one ear, and then we hear ourselves in the other ear. It's important to see the speakers so we can keep up with them, pause when they make a joke, use the right inflection if they're getting emotional, and stuff like that.
Here's a better shot of the inside of the booth.
This is the other side of our booth, where another language is set up. I think the Serbian team is set up here. I took this so you can see how many booths there are. This isn't all of them in the translation area. I think there are about 60 all together. Not all the interpreting is done in this area of the Conference Center, or even in the Conference Center. American Sign Language is in a different part of the building that has screens and cameras, and some languages do their interpreting in their home countries. I think they told us Saturday morning's session was being interpreted into 85 languages. The Conference Center has a server that can handle 100 languages simultaneously, which is more than they do at the United Nations.Zucchini Time!
Before the freak snowstorm we got this month, Ben went to out to our garden to gather anything left before it froze. He found a lot of volunteer tomatoes (volunteer because we didn't plant any) and this huge zucchini. He peeled it up, grated it, and made lots of delicious zucchini bread, all of which we ate immediately. Thanks, honey! It was delicious! That same weekend he also dug up the rest our potatoes. It took some doing since the weeds got pretty tall, but they're worth it. They are sure good eating.Invasion of the Pregnant Ladies
Our dear friends the Baldwin's came over for Family Home Evening one Monday this month. Julie is due to deliver any minute now. We're so excited for you and can't wait to meet Anna!
Friday, October 24, 2008
October 2008
Here's a picture of us at General Conference. We went to the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference. It was really neat to be in the conference center and see all those people there. The primary children were singing at this session and it was fun to watch them because they were so cute and funny.
Megan spent the morning session of Saturdays conference translating the speakers talks into the Slovenian language. Here is a link to that session in Slovenian.
http://broadcast.lds.org/genconf/2008/10/10/GC_2008_10_100_Complete_SaturdayMorningSession_04903_slv_.mp3
Megan translated Sister Silvia H. Allred and Elder Marcos A. Aidukaitis talks (the middle speakers)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
And the winner is...
...Ben! He was at a technology fair on campus today and WON A NEW LAPTOP! Woohoo! I was so excited when he told me--not because we needed a new computer (we don't), but because he, and therefore I, won a prize. I mean really, I never win anything. Wait, I have to take that back because once a long, long time ago I won a free fanny pack or something from a Snapple lid. But I never sent away for it. Who wants a fanny pack?
Now, this isn't to say that the Brenner family is immune to receiving prizes. Back when the first Xbox came out, Dad won one from Taco Bell. This was a big deal since we still had the original 8-bit Nintendo plugged in to the ol' console TV. And we could now get on the DVD wagon. But since Dad had probably put an Xbox's worth of money into that fine Taco Bell franchise on Tudor in Anchorage, we counted it more as a wash than a win. In fact, I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that he was more excited about the extra hot sauce than the Xbox, but then again, I don't know since I wasn't living at home at the time.
How did this turn into Snapple and salsa? I don't know. Back to the point: my wicked awesome husband crumpled up his entry slip and won us a new little computer. Hooray! For our technologically-inclined readers, it's an HP 2133 Mini-Note. It's itsy bitsy. But it's all ours!
Now, this isn't to say that the Brenner family is immune to receiving prizes. Back when the first Xbox came out, Dad won one from Taco Bell. This was a big deal since we still had the original 8-bit Nintendo plugged in to the ol' console TV. And we could now get on the DVD wagon. But since Dad had probably put an Xbox's worth of money into that fine Taco Bell franchise on Tudor in Anchorage, we counted it more as a wash than a win. In fact, I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that he was more excited about the extra hot sauce than the Xbox, but then again, I don't know since I wasn't living at home at the time.
How did this turn into Snapple and salsa? I don't know. Back to the point: my wicked awesome husband crumpled up his entry slip and won us a new little computer. Hooray! For our technologically-inclined readers, it's an HP 2133 Mini-Note. It's itsy bitsy. But it's all ours!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Ultrasound Pictures
Here are the ultrasound pictures we got from our appointment on Friday. I think the first page is the best, quality-wise, but they're all nice to look at!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Updated: Stay tuned for big news!
It's a girl! The ultrasound technician said everything looks healthy and beautiful, which is just about the best news ever. We'll try to post ultrasound pictures soon.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Stay tuned for big news!
This coming Friday, September 19, is a big deal for two reasons. First off, it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day. "But Megan," you might ask, "how could this day possibly get any better?" The answer, my friends, is that also on Friday we're scheduled for an ultrasound to see the sex of our baby! Hopefully s/he doesn't cop any pirattitude--we'd really like to find out what kind of bun is in the oven. So come back sometime Friday to get the scoop!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Sorry it's been so long...
I've been slacking off in the blogging department, sorry friends. I hope this next entry makes up for it.
Alaska Trip
Last month we went up to see my mom, dad, sister Emma and Aunt Debbie in Alaska. We had a great time. We left Utah when it was still in the 90's, so we froze the whole time in Kenai's "warm" 60's, but it was great. Here are some pictures.
Dad and Emma picked us up in Anchorage. Before we left town, we stopped at New Sagaya Market to look around and get a bite to eat. We did NOT eat the Feet, Chicken shown above, even though they appeared to be a good price.
Ben was really, really hungry and decided to try an oyster.
On the way out of Anchorage we stopped by the temple. Small grounds, but still beautiful!
This is Beluga Point, where sometimes you can see, go figure, Beluga whales. Dad and Em said they saw some on their way up to get us that morning, so we were optimistic. But, the tide was on its way out and the whales were gone.
The next day we went with Dad and Emma on a sightseeing cruise out of Seward. We were sure hoping to see whales that day!
We saw lots of pretty scenery, jellyfish, eagles, puffins...
and harbor seals, but no whales. Oh well (oh whale?).
The next day Dad, Ben and I went fishing for silvers on the Kenai River. Dad still has those pictures (hint, hint, Padre), so we can't show you all how big the fish were that we caught. But trust me, they were thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis big. I, of course, caught the most. :)
The rest of our time was spent just hanging around Mom and Dad's house. We saw the other wildlife we'd been dying to see, moose, just down the street.
Here's a cow moose and her twin calves looking for food.
This is the beach near Mom and Dad's house. We took a nice long walk there and found lots of cool rocks and seashells.
Our last night there we played croquet in the backyard. In true Brenner family tradition, it turned in to an all out war: everyone versus Dad. He turned in to poison first and killed me immediately, followed by Debbie. Then things got really intense for a few minutes when Mom turned in to poison next and they played a little game of cat and mouse. Mom was able to kill Dad (hip hip hooray!) before killing herself by going through a wicket (boo!).
In the end, it was between Ben and Emma. As you can see, it got a little intense. Ben was the winner. Huzzah!
We sure had a great time there! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for letting us stay with you and driving us around everywhere. You're the best and we love you!
Dad and Emma picked us up in Anchorage. Before we left town, we stopped at New Sagaya Market to look around and get a bite to eat. We did NOT eat the Feet, Chicken shown above, even though they appeared to be a good price.
Ben was really, really hungry and decided to try an oyster. 
On the way out of Anchorage we stopped by the temple. Small grounds, but still beautiful!
This is Beluga Point, where sometimes you can see, go figure, Beluga whales. Dad and Em said they saw some on their way up to get us that morning, so we were optimistic. But, the tide was on its way out and the whales were gone. 
The next day we went with Dad and Emma on a sightseeing cruise out of Seward. We were sure hoping to see whales that day!
We saw lots of pretty scenery, jellyfish, eagles, puffins...
and harbor seals, but no whales. Oh well (oh whale?).The next day Dad, Ben and I went fishing for silvers on the Kenai River. Dad still has those pictures (hint, hint, Padre), so we can't show you all how big the fish were that we caught. But trust me, they were thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis big. I, of course, caught the most. :)
The rest of our time was spent just hanging around Mom and Dad's house. We saw the other wildlife we'd been dying to see, moose, just down the street.
Here's a cow moose and her twin calves looking for food.
This is the beach near Mom and Dad's house. We took a nice long walk there and found lots of cool rocks and seashells. 
Our last night there we played croquet in the backyard. In true Brenner family tradition, it turned in to an all out war: everyone versus Dad. He turned in to poison first and killed me immediately, followed by Debbie. Then things got really intense for a few minutes when Mom turned in to poison next and they played a little game of cat and mouse. Mom was able to kill Dad (hip hip hooray!) before killing herself by going through a wicket (boo!). 
In the end, it was between Ben and Emma. As you can see, it got a little intense. Ben was the winner. Huzzah!
We sure had a great time there! Thanks, Mom and Dad, for letting us stay with you and driving us around everywhere. You're the best and we love you!
Friday, July 18, 2008
The Sweetest Sound in the World!
I was talking with my friend Lisa the other day about her adorable little girl, Autumn, and she told me that hearing Autumn's fetal heartbeat for the first time was the most magical experience in the world. Well, Ben and I heard our little baby's heartbeat yesterday and I have to agree! It was simply amazing. Yes, we're having a baby! I'm due February 1, 2009. We're just rooting for a healthy child, but check out this slideshow with a recording of the heartbeat (expertly made by Ben) and feel free to offer your guesses on what we're having.
Hooray! Hooray for families!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Brother's BYU Graduation
My brother Jared graduated from BYU back in April. We had my whole family stay with us at the ol' homestead for the festivities. Here are lots and lots of pictures, including ones of my super-cute nephew John. Enjoy!
Waiting in the Marriott Center--Grandpa & Grandma Brenner in the back row, Aunt Marie, Emma, Grandma & Grandpa Rackham, Katie and John in the middle, and Dad in the front.
Proud graduate looking to the future...
Mom, Jared and Dad after the big graduation.
GrandPaul and Baby John, waiting for the second graduation to start early in the morning at the Marriott Center.
At least one of us was happy to be there at 7 am! John looking all sorts of cute, as usual.
Grandpa & Grandma Brenner, Grandpa Rackham, Jared and diploma. Hooray!
The Brenner Bunch outside the Marriott Center. Aren't we cute?
Huzzah!
And now for some proud auntie and uncle pictures...
Uncle Jared at our house
Auntie Megan at the Marriott Center
Auntie Emma at our house
Chubby cheeks! We couldn't resist.
Blogging, Take 2
Well clearly I'm not the best blogger in the world, but hey--I'm writing a lot sooner here than I am in my real journal. My sister just started one of her own, and since I can't be outdone by my younger sibling, we're giving this another try. So, enjoy the picture from Ben and stay tuned!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Our First Post!
Hello everyone out there in cyberworld! This is the first post on our blog. I'm not the greatest journaler in the world, so we'll see how long I can keep this up. Stay tuned!
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