Bumpdates.

Week 16.

Here I am looking not pregnant at all, if you ask me. Consider this a before picture.

Week 18.

Again, not much going on. I remember thinking there was some belly I couldn't suck in anymore and I was DEF bloated :)

Week 19.

Comparing bumps. Coming right along!

Week 20.

Little guy hiding under my baggy shirt! It's funny how this shirt is like way tight on me now....

Week 21.

Ready for dance camp! So excited to find out the gender!

Week 23.

Taught the daddy-daughter halftime routine this day. I remember feeling like people could tell I was pregnant now.....in reality this is the "Is she fat or pregnant?" phase.

Week 25.

Hey momma! Ok, now it popped.

Week 26.

R.I.P. skinny ankles, you won't last much longer!

Week 28.

Thank goodness for a job that kept me active. Round 2 is gonna be a whole 'nother story!

Week 29.

You shoulda seen me try to do pike stretches with this guy. I could touch my toes, but it was not cute.

Week 30.

So proud of my bump. Thank heavens for maxi dresses!

Week 32.

Oh boy! Maternity shirts became a MUST everyday at this point.

Week 35.

Again, thank heavens for maxi dresses. And heyyyyy chubby cheeks :)

Week 36.

Tired dance teacher face. Back pain was no joke at this point. Only at night, though, but who's to say if that's really a plus?

Week 37.

Maternity pics. That baby is poppin! Loved these pictures. Looking back, I can see him all curled up in there!

Week 38.

I can't help but laugh at this picture. Costumes everywhere. Red face. Swollen feet. AND THAT BELLY. One week til concert and praying everyday he didn't come early!

Week 39.

Concert week! Don't worry I cropped my HUGE bum out of this pic. It was ridiculous. Love these beautiful dancers! They will always hold a special place in my heart for being my team the year we started our family <3 They put up with a lot of craziness from me and made me smile everyday!

Week 40.

Basketball vs. baby bump. Merry Christmas! The day before I went into labor.

Spring 2015.

March.

The winter was super mild this year. Thank goodness! The sun already started coming out in March, and we loved it! We were able to spend a lot of time with our good friends Tyler, Dani, Braeden, Sierra, and little Owen. We also loved Sunday dinners with Mark and Danielle.

For Jake's birthday I planned an outdoor party over at Rock Canyon Park. We had chips and salsa, chicken salad croissants, wiffle ball, and tons of friends and family!

April. 

Almost done! Jake kicked this semester's butt. He is so studious and, honestly, kind of a nerd. I'm not complaining! He works so hard. Jake also took me country dancing this month with Danielle and Dayne. I easily fall 80 times more in love with him when we go country dancing. 

I was super pumped for spring break. My mom came down for General Conference and Mark and Danielle also came over for breakfast and to watch with us! Then I headed up to Idaho to spend the week with my mom. I ended up chopping off about 9 inches of hair that week. Kind of regret it, but it's nice to switch it up, I guess! I've had long hair since I was 14, so I figured 10 years was long enough. After the break, one of my students asked if I cut my hair because I was pregnant. I told her no, but it turns out she might have had some sort of wacky strong intuition about that....I also held dance auditions in April. It's like I'm a real high school dance teacher or something. Weird. Jake finished up finals with awesome grades and became my housewife for a few weeks. He really is good at it. Nobody folds towels and keeps the kitchen clean quite like Jake Tarabilda. 

May. 

What a fun month! So much happened. My birthday was awesome. Jake took me to an Aaron Watson Concert the week before and he actually loved the music! Let me tell ya, there's nothing more attractive than your man randomly singing an Aaron Watson song as he's driving down the road or taking out the trash. They just pop into his head now! And I love it. So much fun to get to share that part of growing up with him :)

He even posed for this picture for me! I about died. 

The funny thing was my back and feet were KILLING me this night....I wonder why. Later the next week, Jake helped me and some of my dancers lay the marley flooring on our stage for our concert the next week. After working on that, I convinced Jake to let me go buy a pregnancy test. I had been wanting to take one for about a week, but I didn't want to take it too soon and be wrong, ya know?

Well, we all know how this one ends. Jake was sitting in bed patiently waiting for me to come out. Meanwhile, I'm in the bathroom FREAKING out. I couldn't believe it. It was really positive? Really? Maybe it was wrong. There's no way it's positive. Really? Don't get me wrong, I was SO excited. I was just afraid to believe it because what if it was wrong? I slowly walked out of the bathroom with big eyes and my hand over my mouth. Poor Jake wasn't 100% sure what that meant, but I quickly told him. We hugged and hugged and he said I was shaking. I was! We were so excited. Our lives were going to change SO much and two minutes before it was just the two of us! What a great start to a crazy month. And a great end to a crazy school year!

Luckily, I didn't get too sick during May. My concert went really well. Sarah and my mom even came down to see it! Jake left Mother's Day weekend for California to start his internship! I finished out the school year with minor back pain, tons of hunger, some picky eating, and LOTS of naps. As soon as I could, I made my way to be with my cutie out in CA. We were so happy to be together again!

Winter 2015.

January.

It was so fun to spend our first married Christmas and New Year's Eve together. It even snowed a lot in Murrieta! It was freaky seeing snow in Southern California, but everybody had a blast playing in it.

Bryce and Jake playing after the random 6 inch snowfall!

After a nice break from school and work, we were back to the grind! The trip I planned for my Dance Company went great! The girls and I got to stay in a cabin, go indoor skydiving, do aerial dance, ballet, contemporary, African dance, Hula, go ice skating, and visit Park City! It was a packed weekend. Jake got to join us for the skydiving and it was AWESOME. I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance. Wish we had gotten pics!

Here I am on the silks!

February.

This month, Jake flew out to California to meet some managers for his Boeing internship. That's where it was decided that he would be working at the Huntington Beach site as a Project Manager! We were already so excited for the semester to be over and to get out to California! I had a three day weekend and spent it up in Idaho with my mom, sisters, and Miss Emmy Rae! We sure love that sweet girl. 

At Grandma Schiess's house with the girls!

Our First Christmas Letter

Hello! In case you haven't noticed, it's a been a good four months since we've updated our blog. We've decided to send out a virtual Christmas card this year. That way, we are updating our blog at the same time!

Being busy is just part of life, right? There's something about being a first-year teacher family, newlyweds, applying to internships, taking 17.5 credits, and working 20 hour weeks that makes me think....we're a little busier than average. But then I see all the ways that we've been blessed this year and I'm grateful we are "busy."

In October 2012, President Uchtdorf said this of being busy:

 "Isn’t it true that we often get so busy? And, sad to say, we even wear our busyness as a badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself, was an accomplishment or sign of a superior life."

He goes on to describe how the Savior dealt with being busy:

"Instead I see the compassionate and caring Son of God purposefully living each day. When He interacted with those around Him, they felt important and loved. He knew the infinite value of the people He met. He blessed them, ministered to them. He lifted them up, healed them. He gave them the precious gift of His time."

This year, being busy meant we got to travel to Idaho to visit my mom and both grandmas, Montana to see Sarah direct and star in two musicals, California for Danielle's last Dance Production and Mark's homecoming, Texas to get MARRIED, Mexico for our honeymoon, and Memphis to visit Cory and Sean and meet our new baby niece, Emmy Rae!

It's been an amazing year! The best yet, I'd say. We got engaged in February, married in June, I graduated in August, and we started a new semester living in our sweet basement apartment in the foothills of Provo. We love it! Jake is still studying Facility and Property Management at BYU. He probably has 5 semesters left and is considering changing to study Finance. We will see what the next year brings with that. Finals are this week and he is studying away on the couch as I type this. His work and school schedule has been completely packed this semester, but he still finds time to:

1. Keep the house clean.
2. Score an internship with Boeing this coming summer in Southern California.
3. Win an Intramural Championship for 3 on 3 basketball.
4. Be an awesome Sunday School President in our ward.
5. Take care of me when I'm sick.

I have started my first year of teaching dance at Provo High School! They say the first year is always hard, and they are right. I'm trying to stay positive and tell myself it will only get easier! I've been so lucky to have such awesome students! Yes, some might sluff my class more than I like, but most of my students are excited to be in a dance class, want to get better, and enjoy my humor. My most fulfilling moments have been making my students laugh, blowing their minds with creative ideas, and watching them perform for others. While this new job can consume your whole life, I've still tried to find time to:

1. Go to all of Jake's intramural games (I only missed one flag football game because it was freezing and I was sick).
2. Win 1st place with our dance ensemble at this year's Shakespeare Competition in Cedar City.
3. Get a root canal.
4. Lose my voice twice (for 5 days each time) and only miss an hour and a half of school.
5. Put on my first high school dance concert ever!

I'd say we've had a great year. None of these accomplishments would be possible without all the support and prayers from our families. We strive to be good people and do good things, but we are lucky to be surrounded by such good examples. Throughout the year and especially at Christmas time, we remember our most perfect example; the Savior Jesus Christ, and resolve to be more like Him in all we do.

And lastly, today is our 6 month anniversary, so.....

  HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

School starts on Tuesday!

Since we got home from our honeymoon, I've been keeping busy by getting ready for my senior project showcase and for school to start. My mom and Sarah, and Jake's family came out for my senior project. It was pretty much only made for my mom to appreciate and I think I blew it out of the water. She loved it! It was a dance about the relationships that influence us throughout our lives and how they can mold us into who we want to be. The focus was on sisters, mothers, and friends. The music was the lullaby she would sing us growing up, composed by my oldest sister, Sarah. My dancers were five girls who will be on my Dance Company at Provo High this year!

 My hardworking dancers backstage!

Silly pic. They are goofs. Wish me luck!

While Jake's parents were in town, they painted my dance room! For free! They worked so hard all day for two days straight while I was in training. I couldn't believe how fast they did it and how perfect it turned out. Before, the dance room was dark, felt small, and had lots of random colors as decoration. 

Here is the before:

And here is the gorgeous, bright, huge, clean after!

Don't worry, I haven't finished my bulletin boards yet. There will be more color and pictures before school starts. Maybe I will make a post about that and my new, clean office, too!

We did it.

A few weeks ago, Jake got this strong craving to be outdoors. Might have something to do with the fact that he has been busy with school and work and we haven't seen the sun since the fourth. So he planned a week full of fun activities for us!

 Activity #1: Hiking the Y!

This was Jake's first time. Does the view remind you of Lord of the Rings, or what? 

No, seriously, tell us. We've never seen Lord of the Rings....

At the top! We weren't even sweaty or winded like at all....

Activity #2: On Wednesday evening we headed out to the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days Rodeo! This was Jake's first rodeo and he loved it. He didn't want to leave and right as we were walking out he heard them announce bull riding, so we had to run back in and see some of that, too. I loved the beginning when they had all the rodeo queens carry different flags that had flown over our country. They told about each flag as the girls booked it around the arena on their horses. So patriotic! My favorite event was mutton busting. I was surprised how many kids stayed on the whole way across the arena! Pretty sure Jake loved it all! Especially team roping. So fun! They even had girls perform equestrian vaulting which is like gymnastics on horseback. It was crazy! 

He we are in front of a huge bull with the big arena behind us.

Activity #3: That same night at about 12:45 AM, we started our hike to the top of Mt. Timpanogos! It took about 4 hours to get to the top. The younger boys who were leading the way basically power walked the whole way up. It was pretty much the most aerobic thing I've done in my life. Power walking uphill for 4 hours? No thanks. But we did it! We got to the top super early, so we waited about 2 hours for the sun to rise. It was so windy and cold at the top! Every once in a while there would be freezing cold mists and crazy loud thunder. The lightning was so close that all the girls' hair was sticking straight out from their heads. It was so freaky! But finally, it died down. We all snuggled up, ate some snacks, and some of us fell asleep, but it was awesome to finally see the sun come up over the mountains! What an awesome view of the valley on one side and the mountain range and valleys on the other side. 

Here we are freezing our buns off!

The view on the way down.

The funniest picture of my life. Jake snapped this on our way down the mountain.

We got down the mountain in about 3 1/2 hours. Making our trip a total of 9 1/2 hours! We hurried back to Provo so I could be there in time for my Senior Project rehearsal. Jake and I couldn't walk right for at least two days. I did zero dancing at rehearsal that day. But we recovered and now we can say we hiked Timp! Woohoo! Never again :) Our advice: pace yourself, bring lots of snacks and water, and dress warm!

Our Wedding Album

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