Dan Graduates!

I am back from Idaho and have so much to blog about, but before I get into that I have to blog about a big event that happened right before I left for two weeks. DAN GRADUATED!!!!

No more school!! We are both very happy about that!

Dan actually finished school back in May when we moved up to Dallas for his internship with Pioneer. (A natural gas company) It was a little scary knowing that it was just an internship and not an actual job, but it could lead to an actual job so we packed up and headed to Dallas for 3 months.

Dan finished his internship last week and they offered him a full time position as a Geologist in the company. We are so happy and feel so blessed. Dan was pretty stoked too! Things are falling into place so well and we are so grateful for our prayers being answered!

So we drove to Waco to celebrate Dan graduating. Our families weren't able to make it since they will be coming down in such a short time for the baby, but we are so lucky to have our friends who are pretty much like family that helped me celebrate Dan graduating.

Pictures of the auditorium, Some random guy speaking, and Dan on the BIG SCREEN!

The after pictures with me and Stephen. Stephen was a classmate who obviously graduated with Dan. ha ha

Dan being all graduationesqe! Don't mind his short robe, ha ha Master students and bachelor students get different robes and they gave him a Bachelor robe, so when we got to graduation he had to get a new robe and they only had smalls! ha ha he looks good still though, its just cute!

Afterword our friends gathered together at George's to celebrate with us!

Lauren, Robert, Lindsay, Brett, Jeff, Krista, Dan and myself. (I'm taking the picture)

We then headed to Robert and Lauren's house for some cake and ice-cream. They were so nice and got Dan his very own graduation cake! It was super good!!

It was so much fun watching Dan graduate and finish something that he has worked so hard for. His Thesis is finished and published. It's amazing to look at even though I have no clue at what its talking about! ha ha

I love you Daniel Scott Lancaster and I am so proud of you!!

10 Weeks & Counting!

Thats it!! Thats all we have left is 10 weeks and it still feels like forever.

Here is a pregnancy update.....

ME:

• I am officially 30 weeks and some.. I am happy to be in the third trimester and on the down slope!
• My pregnancy has gone by pretty fast and has been pretty easy. I have felt great and just recently have felt tired and wanting to take a nap in the middle of the day.
• Sleeping has been getting more difficult. I toss and turn and get up about 2 or 3 times a night to either eat because I'm always hungry or to go to the bathroom.
• I have proudly gained 19 pounds up to this point and I'm sure it wont stop there.
• I now feel fat and feel like nothing fits.
• My cravings have been pretty minimal. I eat LOTS of cereal, gummy bears, and toast with honey.
• Its getting difficult to do the regular things I used to do. Like shaving my legs or simply just bending over. My legs are getting farther and farther apart every time I bend down.
• I'm getting really tired of peeing in a cup, but I admit I am getting really good at my aim!
• I am super jealous of everyone having their babies right now. August has already been a popular month to pop out the little things and it makes me so mad I have to wait another 2 months!
• I truly have been so blessed with my pregnancy and feel so grateful for this amazing little miracle thats coming in October.

30 WEEKS PREGNANT!

BABY GIRL LANCASTER

I'm sorry no recent update pictures for her... but I will update you on her progress.

• First of all I am worried that she isn't a girl. Dan laughs at me but its a true concern and I'm always so scared they are going to be like oh there is a little something there....
• According to "What to expect when your expecting" and my 100 apps I have on my phone about pregnancy, she is the size of a butternut squash. About 17 inches and weighing at 3 lbs.
• Thats what the average is. According to my doctor my stomach is measuring a bit small so we are keeping watch on her to make sure that she is continuing to grow. Dr. Hoffman said to try to not worry to much about it because I am taller than average and have a long torso so that could have something to do with it. It doesn't make me worry any less though!
• She is super strong and kicks, kicks, kicks! Dan saw my stomach move for the first time this week and the look on his face was priceless. I love watching my stomach go up and down from all her action.
• We do have a name picked out, as long as she stays a girl... See I am very concerned with that.
• She is already the highlight of our lives. Its so amazing how much we can love this little girl without even meeting her yet. WE CANNOT WAIT!!!

THINGS WE'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT...

• We really haven't gotten all that prepared and the time is ticking away. We have a crib...
• We debated whether to do a birthing class, but decided against it. Our hospital provides the service, but I don't know, I feel weird pretending to push a baby out of my hotcha. I don't think Dan and I would take it very seriously, we don't take much very seriously... so we are just doing the CPR safety class.
• Ranger is still a big concern. We have talked to our vet and she just said the complete opposite of what articles have said about introducing dogs to new babies.... He just is my baby and I want the transition for him to be smooth.
• We are a little worried about how to work out the situation with when my mom should come... any suggestions? Do you plan on the due date to buy plane tickets? What happens if she comes early? I am really going to need my mom there.

Everything has been going great! We are Beyond excited to get this little girl here. I am pleased with how everything has been going and I am so grateful for my mom and sisters who are willing to answer any questions!

Dan is rocking it at being a future dad, I simply just love the man!

Lancaster Family Reunion

A Lancaster Family Reunion finally took place in British Columbia!! Its been 15 years since the last reunion so I would say its about time.

It was such a quick trip that it was over in a blink of an eye. It was such a mad blur of fun and craziness that when we landed in Dallas Sunday night Dan and I both looked over at each other and said were we really just in Canada... It was worth it even if it was for just a few days!

Dan and I left Thursday night after Dan was off work and flew over to British Columbia. The flight was about 4 hours which wasn't to bad but being six months pregnant the legs got a little tired after a while.

Once we landed we went through customs, got our rental car and drove the hour to Salmon Arm. We pulled into the hotel about 1:30 am. 3:30 our body time so we were super tired..

Friday we woke up and had breakfast with Dan's family. I LOVE hotel breakfasts its just a never ending food supply.

The family reunion didn't really start until later that night so the immediate Lancaster family were able to hangout during the day and get some quality family time. It was super nice since the last time we saw them was a year and a half ago. WAY TO LONG!!

We went and played some miniature golf and went grocery shopping for some more food!

My Face is getting larger and larger. I swear everyday my cheeks just get that much more round. Maybe I should stop eating so much....

This is little Isis. She got a HOLE IN ONE and for being a 3 year old thats awesome, but she was super sad because her ball went in on the first try. She wanted to keep hitting her ball. It was hard not to laugh but she was so sad about it!

All of us just doing our thing.

Later in the afternoon we went up to Dan's Aunt Michelle's house. Her home is beautiful with the most amazing view of the lake and the mountains. We went swimming in their pool and ate pretty much all the raspberries growing in their garden. Luckily we would just send the little kids to get them for us.

Gracie picking some raspberries

Swimming in the pool

Us watching. Dan is holding the newest addition to the Lancaster Family.

Brianna Lynn Lancaster.

Later that night the family reunion kicked off with great food and great conversation. I love Dan's extended family. I am actually good friends with some of them since they roomed with Dan at BYU-Idaho. So it was so good to see them and catch up on life. For some reason I don't have many photos of that night except for me. ha ha ya I'm that selfish....

I was super pumped because we all got name tags and even baby Lancaster got one. It was awesome! (Like I said my face is getting huge!)

Saturday we got up, had some awesome hotel breakfast and headed to the lake. Our lakes here in Texas are like bath water and I guess I forgot how cold lakes are in the north coming straight from glacier mountains. IT WAS FREEZING!!!

Gracie and Isis playing in the water

We were able to go out on Canoes and enjoy the view for a while. I'm not sure why we had life jackets on in a lake but the family was persistent on me wearing one, I guess the massiveness of my body might cause me to sink, so Dan was a good sport and put one on too! I just love that man.

I sucked. I kept spinning in circles and crashing into Dan and his cousins. It took forever for me to just get back to the shore. I was really worn out by the time we got back, but it was totally worth it.

That night we all headed over to the church for some pizza and games. They played the newlywed game with all the aunts and uncles. After 35 years + they knew each other pretty well but it was still super funny to watch some of their responses! I can't wait to grow old with Dan.

Sunday was our last day there. We woke up and went to Dan's Aunt's ward for church and then took some family shots. Here is one of all the cousins. Everyone is super friendly and its amazing that after not seeing each other for so long how the conversation just seems to pick up where it was left off!

Dan and I drove the hour back to the airport and flew home. For some reason our seats got bumped to the VERY BACK OF THE PLANE!! the worst place to be. We got to hear flushing toilets for 4 hours straight and smell some things that seemed to not have sat right with some pretty heavy dudes. Customs was awesome this go around. Dan finally got his permanent green card so going back and forth through the boarder is so much easier now! Next step citizenship!!

We got home about 1:00am and super tired but the next day was Monday so we were up at 6:00am ready to start another busy week.

I was so happy to go pick Range up from the kennel and get life back to normal!!

I hope you enjoyed this adventure through the Lancaster family reunion!

Stroller Experts Please

We need some advice about strollers.....

Here is where we are confused.

We are of course wanting the best for our little bean sprout but we also don't want to get her things that may not be necessary, so please help!!

The first stroller that we have been looking at is the basic massive stroller with the connected car seat. Four wheels with the whole package. Our fear is that it might be to big and we really don't know how much we would use it. People have said that they rarely use there large strollers because it takes forever to get in and out of cars and its big ha ha. So thats our 1st option

OR

We were thinking about doing a more runner type stroller with the connected car seat. 3 wheels, but how well does it work inside... This is sort of like the first option but if we are getting a large stroller we might at well get the running stroller since I see me using that a lot more. But is it going to be a pain to have a running stroller all of the time... Not so sure

OR

Some people have told us to not waste our money on such a massive stroller and just get the car seat, and a small push around stroller. My only concern is, is that a small push stroller might not be comfortable enough for a baby. So it might be worth getting the bigger strollers.

Dan and I have been doing so good with other baby decisions but this one seems to be on hold so I am asking for your opinion, advice, and experience. We just want what's best for the baby and for us as well!!!

THANKS FOR YOUR THOUGHTS!!!

5th 4th of July

This is our 5th Fourth of July together! A few things have changed here and there but we still find eachother entertaining so we keep sticking around.

Just so you know I was having a bit of fun with black and white photos.

Range and me... We were waiting for Dan to get off work on Friday. I know I don't have to say how much I love this little guy.

Our 4th was spent in the grand city of Dallas. I'm loving it here more and more and there is just so much shopping! Let's hope Pioneer decides to keep Dan around so he can afford my spending habits. I believe I am turning into a shopaholic and I just learned they are opening an H&M!! MY FAVORITE STORE!

We went to the Science exhibit and just walked around the fair grounds. I of course had to take a belly picture. It's her first 4th of July after all. :)

Dan and I waiting for the fireworks. I'm really proud for Dan wearing so much Red, White, and Blue. He is becoming more and more American everyday. In Fact he just received his permanent green card, and can apply for citizenship in February.

He makes it a point to tell me every now and then that I will be the only one in our Family that won't have duel citizenship.

The Dallas Fire works. We were worried we wouldn't get fireworks this year because Texas is on a MAJOR FIRE BAN.. but low and behold the sky was lit up everywhere. NOTHING STOPS TEXANS!!

The next night we had tickets to "Taking Back Sunday" at the House of Blues... But for some reason we decided to not go and put the crib together. Dan says its the end of an era even though it was HIS IDEA!!

I helped out as much as I could but I think Dan felt all Father like and put it all together. He gave me the job to put the drawers together. He told me like 5 times just read the instructions. I don't have patience to read instructions. When we went to put the drawers in they wouldn't fit. I screwed the wrong sides together. Dan just laughed and rebuilt the drawers.

So really he built the whole thing and I watched.

He kinda looks stoned or something in this picture... Not sure...

The Finished Product! I am so excited to get going on this Nursery. I'm doing most of the room by scratch. There is no bedding that really suits what I want to do so I'm making my own when I go home in August!! The rest of the room will also be created by yours truly.

It could turn out really ugly.....

I just want her here now! We are about 90% on a name. Dan is 100% but I am still working on the last 10.

They Call it Puppy Love

Ranger.

• He loves toys that are larger than he is and his little blue ball
• His favorite treats are milk bones and leftovers of any kind
• One ear hangs lower than the other
• I worry how he will act with a baby around
• He loves chasing big dogs but is scared of dogs smaller than him
• I talk to him, and ask him questions. He doesn't respond
• Dan and I fight for his affection, He loves Dan more
• He's overweight at 6 pounds. The Vet called him plump for his breed, we point and laugh at him
• I leave for 5 seconds, but he always acts like I have been gone for years
• He is my best friend

Ya I re-did it

I have decided that my life needs more craftiness in it. That I want to keep the creative juices flowing all the time. Dan asks me if I am going to be one of those moms that goes way over the top and bedazzles her daughters brown paper bag lunches. To be honest I can't give him an answer because I just don't know yet. ha ha

Well I decided to get started on my craftiness and refinish a desk we found for super cheap at a garage sale! It was actually kind of hard taking off all the varnish and getting it to bare wood and all that crap. I was so tired after like 5 minutes, ha ha I suck. I finished it though and we finally got it moved upstairs to the main level.

I'm pretty proud.

I had to drill new holes for the handles because the other holes didn't fit any hardware and breaking Dan's drill bit in the process!!

I had to strip the varnish and then I had to strip the varnish remover

Then paint.

It turned out pretty good!!

This is just the beginning! I want to do the whole nursery. I haven't found any particular theme/design I liked for her room, so I am doing my own thing. I'm pretty excited and it will keep me busy during the summer! I will keep you updated once that project begins, but until then stay creative my friends.