My 3 BIG Countdowns!

Guess what yesterday was? ...September 28, 2010 my "little BIG brothers" 20th birthday! He spent it on his mission in Rio Grande, TX. He only has 10 months left! Can you believe it, where does time go? It seems like he Just left! I am looking so forward to that day we spend waiting in the air port to see our little missionary come walking up to us! That thought puts butterflies in my tummy! Weston and I are extremely close, we have been best friends for the last 5 years. We have a lot of good memories and many more to come. I am so proud of Elder Weston Swanson. He truly is a great missionary. He is different than most young boys serving missions. He has wanted to be a missionary for the last 3 years. I can still remember him coming into my room, sitting on my bed saying, "Shantay, only 23 more months! I just wish that day would come faster, I want to be serving the Lord sooner!" He never stopped his count down. He wanted his mission more than anything! The countdown finally ended when he left August 5th, 2009. I love every letter I get from him. His letters always seem to conceal his sweet and powerful testimony. He also says, "I wish I could press the slow-motion button cause 2 years just isn't enough time!" He truly loves our Heavenly Father and wants nothing but to continue serving him thorough out the rest of his life. He is such a inspiring example of our Savior! I have always looked up to my little big brother! He has taught me many things in my life. I will forever be grateful to him for his righteous example. Now I count down the days until I get to see his bright blue eyes and happy contagious smile! Happy Birthday Elder Swanson!

My other count down has been for my sister-in-law Leah to have her 3rd baby, my newest nephew! ...Well that happened early this morning September 29, 2010 little Rigdon James Martinuea enter this world (7lbs 11oz and 20 inches)! He came 3 days early! Lucky Leah, I know! Thats not what she would say though. She had been dilated to a 3 for the last 2 weeks. Her Doc told her 2 weeks ago that she could have this baby any day...she was literally a ticking time bomb! What pregnant woman would be upset about that wonderful news??? Only Leah haha! She told her Doctor, "No, no He cant come any earlier than October 2nd...he has to come on his due date because I have too much going on through the end of September, so he just has to wait! Oh how I love Leah! She always keeps a smiles on my face! We are so excited to have a new little guy in the family! I can't wait to fly down and meet him next weekend! He is so precious. I just love new borns. They are so fresh from heaven you can just feel their pure, clean and sweet spirit so strong! They are such a blessing in our lives whether they are our own or a friends! ...Which leads me to countdown #3...

Yup, the rumors are true! I am pregnant again for the second time this year!! I surprisingly got pregnant like 3 weeks after I miscarried. I am 10 weeks along and sick, sick, sick! I am SO jealous of Leah...She doesn't get 1 once of sickness, just sleepiness! Which I would take over throwing up any day! But I must say having Bristol continually reminds me how worth it-it really is! When I was pregnant with Bristol I was certain I was done... I knew I wanted 4 or 5 more kids so I decided I would adopt the rest. I just didn't think throwing up every 10 seconds could possibly be worth it! BUT, I must say......IT IS SO WORHT IT, every second of every day! Abe and I are so excited to have a new addition to our family! I am due May 2nd, 2011. Bristol and the baby will be 17 months apart...thats a little better than 15 months! I would like to have my kids 18 months apart but I'm thinking I'll give my body a rest after this next one! We are hoping for a Baby Brother! We only have to wait anxiously for 9 more weeks to find out!! Abe has been the biggest help these last 3 weeks that I have been sick. I literally sleep in until 10am, that means he wakes up at 9 (not really, he actually cant sleep so he really wakes up at 5 or 6 unwillingly) but he gets Bristol out of bed at 9am, changes her diaper (sometimes, only of it's not poopies), feeds her and plays with her! Then he makes me breakfast and brings it to me (so sweet)! He does the dishes, laundry and even vacuums!! I have the best husband ever! I love him every second of every day...even when I'm pregnant, sick and grumpy! He has been a life savor! We are taking a little over night vacation tomorrow! He deserves it :) We are going to Breckenridge, 2 hours away to stay in this cozy lodge up in the mountains (Abes favorite place). The trees are turning yellow and red! We'll be sure to take plenty of pictures don't worry! Off to watch Iorn Man 2 with Abe! Goodnight!

Rocky Mountain National Park!

After camping we drove up to the RM National Park! We didnt see any elk :(

CaMpInG time!

YAY!!! We finally found a camping spot! Me and Adelle are so excited to get the fire going so we can roast twinkies and marshmallows. MMM MMMM!

What a beautiful view! We found the coolest camping spot EVER! It has this slight drop off and when it was dark you could see city lights. It was perfect!

There is a lake off behind us in the distance!

Bristol played in her play pin while we set up and took down camp!

All the guys getting back from shooting! Craig, Abe, Tanner and Chaz!

Oh what a night! Bristol did AWESOME! She slept the whole night in her play pin at the bottom of our feet! But when 6am rolled around and the campers 50 feet from us never went to sleep and were making all sorts of noise it woke Briss and I up! Usually Bristol sleeps in until 8am and then plays in her crib until 9am! I know, IM SO LUCKY!

Wake up daddy! It's time to play!

It was pretty cold but snuggling kept me warm! I love my Bristol and Abe!

Tanner, Abe and Bristol sitting by the fire! We had fun doing fire rockets (not sure if thats the correct wording)! All of the guys tried it out. I think Tanner won... Fire Rockets, for those of you that don't know... is when you fart and hold the lighter up to your butt and it creates a fire ball!!

Peak-a-boo!

Me and my hubby! I love him SO much! He is such a wonderful husband and perfect daddy!

A + S = LOVE

Bristol doesn't always keep her flower on!

She loves her new toy! She stands at it all day laughing at herself in the mirror!

"Ooh Bristol look over her!"

She's just checking out her flower!

Now she is checking out her new shoes!

BAMB! Just like that, she decides she doesn't want her flower on her head any longer!

Our silly little Bristol bug!

Some random pictures and stories of Briss Briss...

This is what Bristol spends 1/2 of her day doing. Yup, standing at the back door, wishing she was outside exploring! She loves watching the trees blow and that cup roll around on the porch. She literally stood at the door for 30 minutes one day, Im not teasing!

This spot is where she stands the other 1/2 of the day! Look at that frown, she hates it! She stands there and pounds her hand screaming to the top of her lungs trying to get our attention.

So guess what Bristol did on the day she turned 9 month... Abe and I were sitting on the computer located just behind the brown couch you see in this picture. All of a sudden i hear bristol crawling and I look over and she is right next to me on the other side of her "cage" We were so shocked and confused. Did she really climb over that little ottoman?? It was still in it's place so she must have! So we put her back in and spied on her to see if she climbed over...sure enough she was climbing head first over it within seconds (with the help of standing on a pillow)!

When we do let her out of her "cage" her FAVORITE place to roam is the kitchen! She loves the sound of her hands on the hard wood floor. She goes back and forth back and forth for as long as I'll let her! She occasionally will find a crumb or two!

Abe always finds it funny to put her clothes on her head! She is still so cute!

BATH TIME!!

Bristol is her mama's girl! She loves her bath time, just like me!!

"Oh hey mom!"

Look... she is a little froggy!

She could seriously crawl around and play in the tub all day if i'd let her. From the second week of her life, Bristol LOVED bath time. If she was ever grumpy or sad we knew it must be bath time. Sure enough the second we set her in the water her mood changed and she was the happiest baby ever!!