Utah!!

I just got back from a most wonderful, relaxing, rejuvenating 10 day retreat to Utah. By retreat, I mean I kicked it at my house with my family...napping, eating, and laughing. I loved every minute :) Shanam came and joined me for Memorial weekend, skied a bit, and then brought me back to Texas. I could have stayed there for a month, except for the fact that I can't live without Shanam for that long :) So, here we are back in Texas. Don't worry though, we already have our next trip planned for next weekend...camping in our favorite little mountain village of Cloudcroft, NM!

As you can see, my belly is getting larger every day! I love it and Shanam can't stop touching it :) We're getting more and more excited to become parents, and we'll find out at the end of the month if we'll be parents to a little baby boy or girl!

While in Utah, I was able to see my big little brother graduate high school, my other big little brother turn 16, play Mexican Train, visit with both of my amazing grandma's, visit with Bre and her adorable twins, shop for more maternity clothes with mom, walk in the Thanksgiving Point Gardens and see baby owls, see the 3 Musketeers in Salt Lake City after eating at an amazing Italian Pizzeria with Shanam's parents, and went for a nice little hike up in American Fork Canyon. My brother also asked me to photograph him and some of his buddies that graduated with him and we had such a blast! Great trip all in all! Next time we see our family, we'll have a baby!

My bro is the handsome one in the middle

Home Birth Video

The Homebirth of Lucia Mae from Sara Janssen on Vimeo.

I love the sweetness of this video!

Orlando!!

I had two free tickets to Disney World left over from when I worked there 2 years ago, so I decided to invite my Texas bestie, Laura, to come with me as her birthday present! She was more than willing to come :) While in Orlando, I was able to reconnect with all my Florida friends!!! We all met up at Bahama Breeze, since that's my most favorite restaurant ever and had a GREAT time! My cheeks hurt so bad after that night from all the smiling and laughing! I love all of them so much, and it did me much good to see them again! We took this picture right before I spilled the beans that I was pregnant :) That was quite a joyous moment, one that I was so happy to experience in person with all of them! It's just not the same over the phone :)

The next day it was time to hit the parks! Laura and I had a fabulous time at Epcot, especially in my cherished greenhouses. My previous manager and forever friend, Les, was awesome enough to take out 2 hours of his day and take us backstage to see all the improvements!

This is the most recent addition! A beautiful water garden in my Tropics greenhouse! He has been working for years to get the installment of it approved and I think it is just marvelous! I loved seeing how things have changed but also stayed the same. I can't even express how happy it made me to be back there! I literally cried when I had to say goodbye to Les and the greenhouses. I blame it on the hormones :)

Here in Magic Kingdom we had a delicious dinner at Tony's and even got to see the parade go by while we were eating! No better seats than that! Our trip was filled with luck, just like that! From being in the right place at the right time for shows, hardly any wait in lines, getting handed two fast pass tickets from a complete stranger for a ride that was all out, seeing the animals at Animal Kingdom do things I had never seen them do! Every time something would happen we would look at my belly and thank the baby, we attributed all the luck to "him" :) We couldn't have asked for a better weekend! Thanks for the memories, Laura!

p.s. We got free ice cream sundaes for dessert, too. I'm telling ya, it was just a great trip!

Our newest adventure to come...

Well, actually, it's already been quite the adventure...but yes, we're having a baby! I'm 16 weeks along and have definitely enjoyed my fair share of the lovely "morning sickness." But we won't talk about that, because I'm done with it! Whether it's done with me or not, I've had enough :) We are both soooo excited and can't wait to have "Jr" with us. Shanam's positive it's a boy, but no, we're not naming "him" Shanam Jr. :) "He's" due November 1 and we are planning on doing a home birth with a midwife. We'll keep you updated on whether Shanam is right or not :)

Santa Fe!!

For our one year anniversary I told Shanam to pick where we should go and surprise me :) I told him to do that for our honeymoon, too, and he definitely blew my expectations out of the water! So, when he told me that we were going to spend our anniversary camping, I was fine with it, but I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. I do love camping...just not in celebration of our one year together :) We had been wanting to go to Santa Fe for a while, so at least we were going to a cool, new place. And he did tell me that he had already booked an hour message at a spa for me, so I REALLY couldn't complain! We arrived, after our 6 hour road trip, just in time for my appointment. The spa was gorgeous and located in one of the best hotels in Santa Fe. My masseuse was actually telling me about all the famous people she had given messages to :) And I can't even begin to tell you how amazing the message was!! Shanam told me that he would go get things ready during that time, since it would be almost dark by the time I finished. Well, he did go get things ready...but he wasn't setting up any campsite! He was checking us into that same hotel, confirming our dinner reservations, and planning our trip with the concierge :) When he came back to pick me up, I was so relaxed and happy, that I just put my hand in his and followed his lead, not really understanding or caring that we were't going to the car but instead through the hallways into the restaurant. That was a welcome, happy, delicious surprise, but an even greater moment was when he led me up to our room. He walked me into our cozy suite with a beautifully lit fireplace, a big bouquet of roses, and a huge, fluffy king-size bed with the sheets already turned down. And you know what I did?! I started crying! Well, wouldn't you!!

Isn't that purple car so cute! Hotel Santa Fe is run by an Englishman who decided to bring over a few English taxicabs for the hotel. We never got to ride in it, but we did get a lift into town in the huge purple shuttle bus they called Barney :)

There is a surprising amount of French people and French culture in Santa Fe that I had no clue about, so when Shanam and I went to this highly recommended French Pastry Shop for breakfast the next day and I had one bite of my peach filled crepe, I thought I was literally back in France!! Never have I tasted a crepe like that except for on the streets of Paris! That almost made me cry, too :) The owner and the waitresses were French, so it was so much fun speaking with them and listening to them talk with each other. I didn't want to leave! And we weren't gone for long...after checking out a few city sites, we went back for lunch...French Onion Soup!!! I was in heaven!

One of the places we went to was the New Mexico History Museum where we learned all sorts of interesting facts about NM. Just before heading out, though, I saw these colored squares against a back wall, and for the heck of it, decided to get a closer look. Well, I'm glad I did, because the closer I got the clearer the FACES became! How cool is that! The squares were made out of a sort of hard ceramic and molded on the right edge, so that when the light shown a certain way, the faces would appear! Definitely one of the neatest pieces of art I have ever seen!

On our last day, we wanted to get up into the mountains for a little hike. As you can tell, when we started out, it was fine and by the end, it was like we were caught in a huge snow storm! We were laughing so hard because we could barely see as we headed back to our car! Lots of good memories, and once again, Shanam blew my expectations out of the water, and it wasn't just because he set them so low to begin with :) I. love. that. man. exclamation point.

Austin!!

It was time for another trip with the gang! If you remember, last year we went to San Antonio and saw "Wicked." Well, this time we chose to visit Austin to see "The Phantom of the Opera." What an amazing trip! First of all, we drove through the hill country and all of the wildflowers were in bloom! My favorite of course was the Texas state flower, the bluebonnet. This was my first time seeing wild bluebonnets and they were absolutely gorgeous! It looked like carpets of blue all along the side of the road. They were everywhere, along with purple phlox, orange paintbrush, yellow daisies, and white poppies...to name just a few :) I was in heaven!

Before heading downtown we enjoyed the beautiful sunset while eating dinner at The Oasis. This restaurant is three stories high and can seat more than 2000 guests at one time! The view was breathtaking and the food was great. When the sun finally set over the water, the bells rung and the guests clapped :) It was quite the event!

For breakfast the next day we went to the famous hotel Driskill on 6th street. The pastries, which were my favorite part, were delightful :) The food was so good we decided to come back that night for dessert after the show.

Can you believe all these boots! And this was just the aisle that had my boot size!! I had been in Texas for almost a year and had never even tried on cowboy boots, so I decided that was the day to do it! It was hard to choose, but I bypassed the boots with the snake head on them and went for a tradition brown, instead :) I'll have to save up, though...they cost $300.00. Shanam chose his favorite and of course he chose the highest priced boots in the entire store without knowing it...$3000.00!

After shopping on South Congress Street and Guadalupe Street we beelined it over to the state capitol to take a look at where Shanam's future seat in the senator's office would be. (He loves politics and would love to someday make it to that position.)

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner and the show! We ate at an amazing restaurant called Landers and enjoyed meeting up with an old friend of Andrea's. I ordered the most tender and moist fillet of Grouper over potato and leek soup. Sensational!

And here we are in the theatre! We got there a little early, hence the empty seats around us, but it gave us plenty of time to get into the spirit of the play. I tell ya, when those first chords were pounded on the organ, chills rushed through my whole body and tears ran down my cheeks! The first time I saw this play I was about 13 or 14 and I went with dad and grandma. I remember it being so overwhelming and beautiful! This time, it was both those things but with an added understanding. I felt the emotions of the characters and was completely enthralled in every line of every song!

We love the friends we've made in Andrews and can't wait for the next adventure!

Utah Ski Trip!!

It finally came time for our week long ski trip!! Shanam had been looking forward to this trip for a whole year! His ski buddy got married on Sat, March 6 but the skiing began the Monday before. Luckily we were able to leave the weekend before it all started and spend some good ski time with family up in Park City. His parents and my dad and brother were able to come with us to hit up the slopes :)

On Sunday, our friend from Texas, Laura, came out to explore and have fun in the mountains with me while Shanam left with his buddies for the week. She had never been to Utah and had never seen huge snow-capped mountains!! Can you believe it! Our first stop, though, was Salt Lake City. You can't come to Utah and not see Temple Square!

The next day was her first day skiing!! She had a lot of fun and did great for her first time sliding down a snow-covered, icy mountain :)

Then it was off to meet up with the guys for a night in Jackson Hole. The drive was gorgeous and Laura was able to see two more states she had never been to!

We hijacked some snowmobiles from the guys and had some fun riding the trails just outside of Yellowstone.

Then we checked in to our cute little cabin and met the guys for Thai food and dessert pastries. I can honestly say, I've never been disappointed with the food in Jackson! There are so many delicious little restaurants!

I think it's safe to say that Laura enjoyed her stay :) And Shanam...well, after some intense muscle message and some trips to the hot tub, he was as good as new!