I passed!

Whew! Thank you to everyone who lent their thoughts and prayers regarding thesis defense. Friday, March 5th, was a little stressful on that count, so I really appreciate it! My professors strolled in a few minutes late, which put me at ease a little. They were seeming pretty lax, so I ought to feel the same, right? They grilled me for an hour-and-a-half, poking holes and pointing out insufficiencies, until I thought I might have been in trouble.

But not to worry. In the end, they said that I "passed with minor revisions." Yee-haw! Do the happy dance! So this past week was filled with those revisions (the 'minor' revisions came out to 15-16 hours worth...), and I've passed it on to the final checkers. The most they'll tell me to do now is something like "fix the page numbers" or "this part should be single spaced, not double." And THAT'S IT!

You know what the best part was? Travis came and sat through the whole thing. It must have bored him silly, but he cheerfully came, and it meant the world to me :) So very sweet. See? See what I mean? He's great.

Now the final checkers have to finish with it by Friday, and I have one more form to turn in. Then I will officially declare it done.

Mom and Dad, I can't wait to see you this week. And for those who have asked for belly pictures--I'm sure some will get taken while the family is here. They'll make their way up here soon. :)

I used to think belly buttons were cute...

...But then, mine never used to stare at me. :) As my belly grows, my belly button points more up at my face, so that every time I look at my belly--there it is. Having taken the opportunity to become reaquainted with my belly button I can definitively say: belly buttons are not as cute as I once thought.

In other news, my Thesis Defense is now officially on the books for Friday, March 5th from 12-2 pm. I'm feeling a little nervous, but I think Trav will be there for moral support. :) And not that we planned it this way, but it's hard to be too tough on a pregnant woman, right? Wish me luck!

Travis is gritting his teeth and pulling through the last 6 weeks of his educational career. He told me yesterday that he was feeling trunky. Can't blame him. Hang in there, honey!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweet Travis emailed me on Tuesday, 5 days ago, and formally requested that I go on a formal date with him for Valentines. He wouldn't tell me where, but he said there would be dinner and dressing up. I felt all giddy and girlish all week as I was waiting for my big date with my honey!

So, on Saturday while I'm getting ready to go, Travis ducks out of the apartment a few moments later, I hear a ring of the doorbell...I go to open it, and there is Travis with chocolates and flowers! Purple lilies no less--some of my favorite! Awwww. He was here to 'pick me up' for our date. (I'm grinning wider now just remembering it than here in this picture). :)

Dressed and ready to go out

We had a lovely dinner out and went to a piano recital on campus at BYU. We haven't gone to a concert together in a long time. I tell you--it was perfect!

For Trav, I decided to do what Shannon had posted earlier about fortune cookies. So I did some homemade fortune cookies with little love notes inside, then dipped in chocolate and decorated with Valentine sprinkles. :) It was a good learning experience making them! I was hoping that he would like them, and I got my Valentine's wish!

Thanks for a wonderful Valentines, honey!

Happy Birthday, Trav!

I have made a new goal to update this blog every Sunday. We'll see how long I can keep it up for!

Travis's birthday was on Friday (5 Feb). For weeks before hand, I had so much fun teasing him--Every time I bought a present or one would arrive in the mail, I would tell him, "I shopped for you birthday today," or "A package came in the mail for you, but you can't open it 'till your birthday!" He retorted then when my birthday comes, he would start shopping months in advance for me and tease me back about it. :) Sounds delightful to me!

Here's a picture of Travis blowing out his 28 candles on the the ice cream cake I made for him.


Thank you to everyone for the cards and presents, well wishes and phone calls. It was wonderful to see Trav's phone ringing all day long with loving people wishing him birthday cheer. Thanks, everyone! I think we made it a special day for Travis.

Halloween and Hogwarts fun!

For Halloween this year, Travis and I decided to go as Hagrid and Hermione from the Harry Potter books. Trav has worn this costume on several occasions before and he says that every time he does, people who he's never talked to before are immediately friendly to him. Hagrid and Travis both are such lovable characters!

As it turns out, the members of our ward loved it so much, that they awarded us first prize in the constume contest. I was totally suprised! And honestly, we all know it was Trav's costume that did it. :) And here's the perk: it came with a gift certificate to Cold Stone. Yum!

As a side note (though this is my favorite part), this is the way Travis was dressed when I very first met him. So, that night I was also celebrating 2 years of knowing my dear Trav. I love you, honey!

Mommy, wow! I'm a big kid now!

Do you remember that old jingle? Well, that is how I felt on Wednesday after we sent off our taxes. See, my dad had always sailed those perilous waters for me in years past. He just brought me a piece of paper and said, "Sign here, please."

Dad, you are SO great! I never understood what a TASK it is to do taxes. I now understand how other people can make a living doing other people's taxes.

But I tell you what--sending them in, I felt like a little kid who just tied her shoes for the first time!

"Look what I can do, lookie lookie!"

Here's to growing up!

A Beautiful Reminder About Temples

As always, when something about the church is in danger of being misunderstood, they bring something beautiful to light about it. Here is this week's message on the church's YouTube channel, MormonMessages:

Why Mormons Build Temples

:)