Boy or Girl? In two weeks we'll know!

I'll admit it, seeing as how my last post was about Halloween, I have been a horrible blogger. But I'm hanging out tonight with Ben at the law school while he tries to get some work done, so it's time for a new blog post! Most of you know that Ben and I are expecting our first baby on July 30th. For those of you who didn't know, now you do. (See pic above for proof) We are so excited and anxious to start this next chapter of our lives and become parents. In two weeks we find out if the baby will be a boy or a girl, but I have had 3 dreams that it's going to be a boy, so I would be very shocked if it was a girl. My mom has also had a dream about us having a baby boy, but we will be happy either way. Today I bought a beautiful crib and dresser/changing table from a lady in my parents' neighborhood, and the more things we start to get, the more real it all starts to seem. I am now 18 weeks pregnant which is about 4 1/2 months for those not familiar with pregnancy timelines. I am starting to poke out a little, but not enough that people are asking if I am pregnant or not yet. I'll admit I have been taking those "weekly" photos, but I may not be posting those for the whole world to see. So far I have had a fairly easy pregnancy, with hardly any sickness. Lately I have been feeling so blessed with so much love and support from family and friends. Last weekend Ben and I went to Midland and saw a lot of his extended family, and his cousins threw me a surprise baby shower! It was so unexpected and wonderful, and it made me realize how lucky we are to have so many awesome people in our lives. :) Thank you. You know who you are.

Time now for guesses! Boy or girl? The day we find out is March 15th! (I'll ask on facebook when it gets closer)

Halloween Photos

The pumpkin Ben and I carved for Halloween this year. If you can't tell who it is, you must not watch Disney movies.

This Halloween my friend Caterine and I threw a Halloween Couples Party. We had such a blast throwing it together, and it could not have turned out more perfectly. We had 9 couples total, which made 18 people at the party. Everyone dressed up in their costumes and got really into it. We carved pumpkins, had a costume contest, ate really awesome food, and played Halloween bingo. For more pictures from the party, go to my facebook page, I've added them all there.

On actual Halloween night, Ben and I went to my parent's house in Buda and all dressed up to walk around the neighborhood. The theme this year was "Clue" characters. Grant dressed up as Professor Plum, but didn't walk around with us. Some people had a hard time telling who we were. Umm...are we the only family that played Clue growing up? I thought it was pretty obvious who we were. Anyway, Halloween night was fun, and now the countdown is on for Thanksgiving!

Anna Marries Handsome Rob

This past weekend, Ben and I went to Queen Creek, Arizona for his cousin Anna's wedding. It was so much fun, and such a nice escape from everyday school and work. It was hot, hot, hot, in Arizona, and for once I was wishing the Texas weather had traveled with us. Despite the hot weather, the wedding was absolutely beautiful.

Waiting for Anna and Rob to come out.
Ben and Jeff hanging out on the temple grounds.

Anna and Rob coming out of the temple!

Ben posing for me at the reception.
Me and Grace taking a picture before the reception started.

It was so wonderful to see all of the Gordons and getting to spend time with Ben's extended family. Ben and I are so thankful to Jeff and Grace for letting us stay at their place during the wedding. As with almost all vacations, it didn't feel long enough!

Alli's Birthday Party

Guess who's turning 12 this month? This girl:

Her birthday's not until August 25th, but we had a little family party this weekend to celebrate before school starts up again. It was Disney-themed, so we all got to dress up! Naturally Alli's costume was awesome:

Us with the birthday girl.

Can you guess who everybody is? My dad was Gaston, but it's kinda hard to tell from the photo. We had a lot of fun and I'm always happy to have an excuse to get in costume!

Dallas Trip Last Weekend

Cynthia took Ben and I to the Genghis Khan Exhibit at the Irving Arts Center. We couldn't take any photos inside the exhibit, so this is all we got. With my IPhone too, so not as good. The exhibit was really beautiful, and I learned so much about the great warlord. There was a video that tested the DNA of men in Asia, and I think something like 3/4 of them are related to Genghis Khan in some way.
After the exhibit, we went to "Genghis Grill." They were giving out coupons at the exhibit, plus it's delicious. They just built one in Austin, so we will get to go more often!

In the evening we went to Chili's for dinner with Daniel and then to the dollar movie to see Thor. It was awesome, and I'm not just saying that. Really, it was probably my favorite superhero movie that came out this year.

Every time I take a picture of Ben and Daniel, I am always blown away by how alike they look. On Sunday we went to hang out with Millie and Dean, Ben's grandparents, and it was fun to visit with them as well. Only a few more weeks of freedom before Ben's second year of law school starts!

Party Boat!

This weekend we went on a party boat with a bunch of people from my family's ward. We had an awesome time.

Best picture of my Dad. EVER.

Zilker Botanical Gardens

It's been a long time since I've been to the Zilker Botanical Gardens, and Ben has never gone, so when Daniel came to Austin to visit us for the weekend, we thought it would be fun. It was fun, but one thing I always forget about Texas is it's always hot, hot, hot.

The Oriental Garden is by far the coolest part of the garden area.

Ben and Daniel chillin' on a bench.

Our cat. Sometimes I just can't help myself. I think she looks majestic in this one.