Emerson

Ward Campout

On June 24 we had our annual ward campout. We got there just as they started serving dinner. For dinner they served Navajo Tacos, chips, some fruit, and pop. Jeff really enjoyed the Navajo Tacos, and I think he had four or five. For dessert there were about about 10 different types of dutch oven pies. After dinner we made bottle rockets and had a frisbee golf tournament. Our bottle rocket was the only one that didn't fall apart from the impact of the landing. Even though our rocket was virtually indestructible it didn't fly very high. Jeff made a serious mistake in the construction of the rocket, he put everything on backwards. That meant that all of the weight was at the top of the rocket instead of the bottom. It still flew about 100 feet in the air. The best thing about the rocket is that the kids in the ward could launch it as many times as they wanted since it couldn't be destroyed. Below is a picture from the first hole of the frisbee golf tournament. There were 5 holes, and the top score was 8. Jeff and I both got 10.

We played in groups of 4 (usually 2 couples). The top scorer in each group got some laffy taffy. The guy who took 2nd overall was in our group (also pictured above).

I was trying to take some taffy while I thought nobody was looking. Jeff happened to be looking, and tried to get a picture of me in the act.

Free Fishing Day

Every year on the first Saturday of June Jeff and I go fishing for free fishing day in Utah. In the past we have gone to lakes and rivers, but with no success. This year we decided to try out a stocked pond to see if we would have better luck.

This is a picture of the stocked pond in Salem, Utah. We saw a few fish jump, and people all around us we catching fish. We were sure that this was going to be the year that we would finally catch a fish.

I started getting bored and impatient with fish. I tried for at least 10 minutes! I should have caught a fish already. Since our second fishing pole broke we had to switch off every 10 or 15 minutes.

Jeff was determined to catch a fish. He tried for a few hours. After a while we decided to try a different lure. All of the fishing reports online had said that they had a lot of success with minnows at this pond, so Jeff had bought a rappala that mimicked a wounded minnow. A few minutes after we started fishing with this lure we almost caught something...

...a hungry seagull. As I was casting the seagull flew in and almost snatched the lure out of the air. From then on the seagull stayed close by, and every time we tried casting the minnow the seagull would try to get it.

Overall we did better this year. We almost caught something (even though it was a bird and not a fish), and we didn't lose any lures. In the past we generally lose about five or six lures per free fishing day, so we considered this year to be a success.

NuMoM2b Study

So I decided since I am pregnant for the first time, I might as well help research along. The study is called NuMoM2b and it's looking for tests that can help identify women who might run into problems or complications during their first pregnancy (since they don't know how to predict first time mothers' complications or problems since they don't have a history with pregnancies yet). So what does this mean for me? Well, I have a bunch of samples, answered lots of questions about the foods I eat, and get three in-depth ultrasounds for my baby (measuring parts of the baby, calculating things, and measuring parts of my body inside). I wasn't sure if I was going to do it (even when it came down to the day of my appointment), but I decided to do it--partially because Jeff and I had a scare two days before that. Jeff and I are on an intramural kickball team together (I gave up being on the intramural soccer team because that's a more high risk game to be playing while pregnant) and during our last game, at the very last play of the game, as I was throwing the ball at someone to get them out, I slipped and fell--right on my stomach. My hands and legs were out, so my stomach got the full impact of the fall. I was really nervous for the next two days about baby, so I decided to go to the study for the ultrasound to make sure the baby was ok. Well, turns out the kid is really tough--didn't make him skip a beat. The baby wasn't doing as many somersaults this time, but baby was still kicking out and punching really hard. The baby is still on the most active side of the scale that you can be on--right now the normal heart beat for a baby is supposed to be between 120 and 160. Our baby, to no surprise, has a heart beat currently of 160. Every nurse and doctor that I've seen has said that it's one of the most active babies they have seen--and they ALL have warned me that this kid is so active that it might hurt more than other women's pregnancies once I start getting a little bigger (and the kid can kick even harder). Well, at least I know that our kid is all right. I have decided that I need to be extra careful, and less competitive, to prevent another scare like that. So here are some pictures from the ultrasound.

The baby has grown almost an inch over the last week. It is very apparent when you compare this week's ultrasound to last week's.
They conveniently labeled the foot just in case you have no idea what it is. It is the bottom of the right foot crossing over the left leg. You can see the femur and tibia of the left leg before it goes behind the right leg.The baby is waving.

Hello Baby!!!

Jeff and I went to my second appointment today (with our new doctor--I love him!) and we got to see the little tyke for the first time. Our doctor said that it would only take about 2 minutes to do the ultrasound, but it ended up lasting 10 minutes since our little baby is so active doing somersaults that it took a while for the doctor to get the full image of the baby to measure. Doc said that it's an extremely active baby! (must have Jeff's genes...). Turns out the baby is a little ahead of schedule, by an average of 5 days, so it may not be a Pearl Harbor baby after all.