Bryce and Jessica Meet Chicago.

It all started when Nora was born and Mitch and Colleen came out to visit us. I was in a little bit of a fog (understandably, no?) Anyway, Mitch, in an effort to get me excited said, "I get time off in October for UEA, let's go on a trip together." Shows how well that father-in-law of mine knows me, because basically all I need is something to look forward too and I am good to go. Anywho, 10 months really does fly. We decided on Chicago, and I have to say, I loved it. 

Chicago has everything a big city should have, but with less garbage, more flowers, and the most beautiful skyline you've ever seen. I constantly was blown away by how gorgeous the whole city is. I mean, the river flowing through downtown?? Perfection. Every single building is exquisite and unique and you can tell that Chicago-ans take pride in their city. I don't blame them. 

Our weekend was jam packed full of everything you could possibly fit into four days in the city. It is safe to say that Mitch and Colleen are basically the best tour guides (and all around in-laws) ever. I'm not sure how I got so blessed with them as my second parents. I don't want to sound redundant with how amazing they are and how much fun we had and how delicious every single thing we ate was. So, I am going to just write the basics so I can always remember the details. Below is my valiant effort at remembering everything noteworthy we did while we were there. 

Just Kidding...

We're back!

Long story short, I missed this little blog. I have failed again and again at old fashioned journaling and even though I can be inconsistent, I am grateful for the little moments that I have recorded on this blog.

So, I decided that I am going to try to keep you up to date on our going on's. Luke is growing up so fast it's unbelievable. He is such a smart and curious little man.

Here are a few things that have happened since I last wrote:

-Lukey had his first birthday!

-Bryce turned 27, and he's even more handsome than ever.

-We bought another house. It's out in Washington Fields and we absolutely love it. I have so many projects in mind (poor Bryce), you should all come visit us.

-We are pregnant, with baby #2 and it's a girl. Due December 30th. We love her so much already. Lauren is pregnant too and we are so excited for Luke to get a sister and a cousin in the same month!

-Bryce is currently serving as the secretary in the Elder's quorum presidency and I am serving as the 1st counselor in the primary presidency. We are both loving our different opportunities and I am learning so much from the sweet kiddos in our ward.

-We were just able to go on a week long beach vacation with my family to Oceanside, California. It was Luke's first time seeing the beach, and he completely loved spending time with his grandparents and aunts and uncles.

 

-I set Lizzie up with my friend Pam's little brother Justin and they are getting married on the 22nd! I am so excited for them. I can't wait to have the Bailey fam altogether again, it has been too long.

We will definitely post pictures of the marriage celebration.

-xoxo

Jessica

Going Private

Yep... it's happening. We would LOVE for you to continue to read our blog though and keep up on our personal lives. If you would like to, shoot me a comment with your email and we'll set it up.

Love you all :).

Jessica, Bryce & Luke

Catching Up

This past month has been so crazy! I honestly can't believe its only been a month since we moved here. For some reason it feels way longer. I have a few things that I feel like I need to quickly catch the blog world up on. We we first got here we stayed with my adorable Grandpa & Grandma Bickmore, I know i've mentioned that before but I just had to share one pic of the time with them!

It was so much fun to hang out with them all the time & especially for them to get to know Luke & Bryce better. I am SO grateful they are here in St. George for us to hang out with.

Our first weekend here was Halloween. Luke was the cutest little tiger I ever saw, but i'll let you see for yourself. The Kiser's were SO sweet to have us over for the most delicious soup ever. After that Luke went trick-or-treating at Grandma & Grandpa's & Kent & Leesa's. It was so funny because Uncle Kent gave Luke a little snickers bar when we rang the doorbell & he WOULD NOT let it go. So funny. Couldn't eat it yet, but didn't want anyone to take it. :)

We were with them for about two weeks & then we spent about a week moving & settling into our new place. It is in what they call Washington Fields and we have really loved the area so far. We have the cutest little backyard. I will take some pictures to post eventually.

After that week my mom & Kelsey came on Friday, and then the whole rest of the family came on Tuesday for Thanksgiving. It was SO much fun to have them all here, I was seriously counting down the days. Jordan even came down the Friday after Thanksgiving to spend a few days. We had so much fun shopping, going out to eat, arcade, going for walks, bumper cars, mani/pedis, mini golf, real golf & the boys played ALOT of basketball which is Bryce's favorite part. Me and Bryce also took advantage of the babysitters and went on a few wonderful & much needed dates. We miss them already & are so excited that Christmas is around the corner. Here are a couple photos from Thanksgiving. I've been really bad at taking pictures as you can see.

Thanksgiving:

Here are a few other random pics (mostly of Luke bug) that I haven't posted yet. I have lots more that aren't uploaded to the comp. yet so hopefully someday I will post some other cute ones. It is crazy how much he is growing & changing. Every day he gets stronger, smarter, cuter & funnier. I love being able to spend time with him every day.

Hope all is well with all of you!

Day 19

Today I am so thankful for weekends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love having Bryce to myself for two whole days out of every seven. Me and Luke count down together each day of the week. When Bryce is home we are complete.

Day 13

I am grateful for my warm house. It is funny because we have had so many issues with our new place in St. George. The biggest one being that Bryce is allergic to our house. Really he is allergic to cats, but the landlords say there have never been cats blah blah blah. Anyway Bryce gets asthma whenever he is home because his asthma is allergy induced. We have tried everything to make it go away..So many times since we have moved in I have found myself feeling bitter because of these bumps in the road. It doesn't take long for me to realize how spoiled I am. There are so many people in the world without a roof over their heads or protection from life's storms and I am complaining because my big cozy house has some bugs to work out (literally...) if worse comes to worse, we will have to move again, and while that will not be fun how can I complain about moving from one nice place to another? I am grateful for this house, and I think eventually we will love it here.

30 Week Update :)

I really can't believe we have less than ten weeks to go! This whole experience is going by so fast! Here's to the next ten weeks going smoothly & a family picture where we can see the cute little guy in real life!

Me on Sunday, the 30 Week Mark!

Our Little Family

Les Mis, Mom's Concert, Some Random Bowling

My beautiful mother sings in a choir & every spring (& every Christmas) they put on wonderful shows. It was so fun to go down with the fam & see her sing at temple square. Also awesome was that we got to meet up with Ab, Greg & Riggs for awhile before the show but I didn't get a picture darnit! She was a rock star, & the little guy LOVED the concert. He would not stop dancin around, except when grandma Kim was not on stage...of course.

...The Chorale...

...Bryce & I seem to struggle to take a good picture at the same time. It's becoming a joke in my family :)...

...The best one...

We also had a recent bowling adventure with my family over Memorial Day weekend, would you like to see some pictures??

...Jess & Bryce...

...Paige & Jordan...

...Mom & Dad...

...Tanner & Jeff, you can always count on Tanner for a weird face...

...Mom & Tanner in action...

...Jess & Daddy...

...I gutterballed it...

...Bryce & his crazy spin move...

...The ladies...

& I've saved the best for last...

For Christmas, my parents gave us all tickets to Les Mis (the traveling broadway company). I grew up listening to this, I have every song memorized & have ALWAYS wanted to see it live. We were all looking forward to it soo much & let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The only bummer is that we really missed Kels & Ryan who couldn't come because of their little summer adventure. My parents took us to Tucanos first which was so yummy, & our seats were litterally 2nd row, best seats in the house. Bryce & I are still listening to the cd's everyday & I am still losing sleep pondering on the incredible messages & questions that the production inspires. Here's a few pics!

...We didn't match on purpose...

...At dinner...

...On the way in to the theater Paiges heel broke off & we stuck it back on with chewed gum...hahahaha...

...The whole crew outside the theater...

...I love him...

...This pic of the stage was literally taken from my seat!...

St. George for Easter

St. George has always been somewhat of a haven for me. It was so nice to have two days off work to enjoy the wonderful sun (oh how i'd missed it!) and some great family time. I love my Grandma & Grandpa Bickmore so much & it was so good to see them as well as the Kent & Lisa clan. We had tons of fun laying by the pool, shopping, going out to dinner & the theaters & of course playing aggrivation! The boys, however, spent the majority of their time either on the basketball court, kicking a soccer ball, or hitting golf balls. I am so mad that I only took my camera out for like fifteen minutes, but here is what I had to show for it.

As far as other news, not too much is going on! Mostly Bryce & I are both busy working! Bryce is also studying for a big test & that is stressful & takes up a lot of his time so it will be nice when it's over! The little guy is doing well as far as we know, he is getting big & he is definatly a wiggle worm! We have also been really trying to live on our new budget which is based on Bryce's salary alone since I will be quitting my job when the little guy comes around. It has been really hard, but we can do it! I am so grateful for such a good husband who works SO hard to provide for our family. We are so blessed in every way, & I feel so indebted to the Lord. So what if we can no longer eat out, etc?! I am trying really hard to get into this coupon thing & be a better meal planner as well, so i'll let you know how it goes... I can't believe that I am almost 26 weeks along! I feel like time is going by really fast & i'm excited to start getting stuff ready for the little guy. Sorry this is so scattered but that is what is going on with us! Love you all & hope you're all enjoying this nice spring weather we're having :).