"Only" 195 Days

Seriously ... "ONLY" 195 Days to Go? The little ticker to the right is kinda bothering me right now. I don't think it should be allowed to use the word "only" until it's less than 100 days to go. 195 sounds a little much at the moment. I've still got over 6 months.

Amazingly, the past 3 days I've eaten a regular lunch -- a big task for me. The only thing I will eat is turkey and cheddar cheese slices on saltine crackers with some fruit on the side. And of course it only tastes good if Tyler prepares it :-) What a good husband I have. Luckily he's home all week.

And so far, so good with Zofran!

BYU Game & A Beating Heart

I haven't updated for a while ... mostly because I wanted Tyler to post about his experience at the BYU/Oklahoma game last week. I don't think that's going to happen so I'll do my best to relay his experience...

As soon as this epic game was announced (sometime last year) he was determined that he would go. How could he pass up the chance to see Max lead BYU to play a top three team in the new Cowboys Stadium?? It all came to reality when the Munns family (our adopted family in Orlando) decided to roadtrip out to Texas and invited Tyler and I to come along. When they invited us, I was about 8 weeks pregnant and was not feeling well at all. The thought of a 16 hour road trip to a football game didn't sound all too appealing to me. At first Tyler decided he should stay home with me, but I told him that he should just go! He left the decision up to me ... and LUCKILY I told him he could go, or else I would have felt guilty the rest of my life!

He had the time of his life, and obviously the Cougars pulled out the win! He was lucky enough to get a seat on the 4th row so he had an amazing experience in the new Cowboys Stadium (which he says everyone should go see, even if not for a game - just go take a tour if you're in Dallas)

Here are some pictures from his experience (via his iPhone so not that great of quality...)

It worked out great for Tyler because he was able to meet up with a lot of friends from BYU, even got to see his favorite aunt and uncle Karen & Sherm, and got to officially meet his new brother-in-law to be Mr. Ben Lewis!

But as much as I'm sooo happy for him and his experience and I know that everyone at the game just loved it, and it would have been so great to see everyone ... I am SO glad I didn't go.

I didn't realize that being pregnant was going to affect my body as much as it has! Before this summer, I NEVER got sick. Tyler had never seen me sick. I never missed a day of work, college, or high school due to illness. I'm just healthy! So when I found out I was pregnant, I honestly felt that I would be immune to the "morning sickness thing."

Well, I guess I shouldn't be too dramatic because it hasn't been THAT bad, but I've definitely experienced quite a bit more discomfort than I expected. For the past month I've had all the normal symptoms: Nausea, No appetite, Exhausted all the time, Can't sleep at night, Sensitive to Smells etc etc. Some days I laid in bed all day and ate saltines. But, I'm starting to have more good days, and my appetite is coming back, so I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Tyler really wasn't expecting me to get so sick either, but he has been amazing. Since I can't stand the smell of food, he's done all the cooking and grocery shopping this past month. He's taken care of me better than I could have ever hoped for!

We went to the doctor yesterday and I found that after 12 weeks of pregnancy, I've lost 7 pounds... I really was NOT expecting that, I was hoping I had gained a couple honestly. I guess it just proves I'm not eating enough. But my doctor was not too concerned and he prescribed me some medicine (Zofran ... anybody tried it?) that I can start to take. BUT the best part of the appointment is that we heard the heartbeat! We weren't able to hear it that long because the baby was moving around alot, but when we heard it, it was so incredible! And it's also incredible to think there is a baby the size of a lime really moving around inside me!

I've been really hesitant to believe that this was really going to happen, that there really was a baby inside, and that we're really going to be parents in March. For the past 2 months I've told Tyler that when I hear the heartbeat, then I KNOW it will be real. The chance of miscarriage goes down dramatically once you've heard the heartbeat, so at that point I could truly accept it. Well, that time is now. This really is happening! I'm so excited, and now I can let it sink in more fully. I think a trip to Babies'R'Us may be in store this weekend...

You may have been wondering...

It's September!! Most of the country is now gearing up for autumn to arrive, bringing with it the chilly nights, colorful trees, and a change in wardrobes. Here in Orlando however, we’re getting ready for comfortable weather again! I’ve been told that the best time to live in Orlando is October – March so I’m getting excited to experience that for the first time! August has been a super humid month with all the hurricane activity nearby AND we even got 7 inches of rain – that’s more than it rains yearly in Mesa! I’m excited to experience this fall and winter in Orlando, but sadly my UGG boots, gloves, scarves, and Pea Coats won’t be a part of it.

Anyways, I’m realizing that this past month was way more boring than May, June and July had been. Back then our blog was pretty exciting with a new trip each week! During August I didn’t even leave the state, and I only spent one night away from home, (in July I only spent 10 nights at home). For the past few weeks, Tyler has been spending his time working locally in Orlando, and has taken day trips to Tampa, Gainesville, and Clearwater. But other than that we’ve just been here at home (with a few trips to Disney of course)!

Also, I still don’t have a job so, “WHAT has Rachel been doing,” you may ask??

Well mostly I’ve been reading this …

It's true, I'm pregnant!!!

I’m due the end of March, so we’ve still got a while to wait, but we’re really excited and the timing is perfect! Tyler is going to be a great dad and it's been fun to see him so excited. I’m now entering my 11th week of pregnancy and I’m really excited to get out of the first trimester…


Here is a picture of the little seed taken a couple weeks ago.

Here comes the "From Tyler" section...

I couldn't be more excited!! It's so amazing to see that little picture above.. So much fun at this point in our lives! Rach has been so great! I love her so much - and it's crazy to realize there are now 2 heartbeats in her body! The reality is that our life as the Jennings Family will now be changing dramatically - no more trips on a whim, or date nights every other night - but I'm so ready to be a Dad!

With a little more research...

**Still no update on previous post... yet**

However I do have another correction to make about something I recently blogged about. When mentioning that certain restaurants did not exist in Florida, I mentioned Bajio ... however we have learned that there ARE Bajios here!! There are actually FOUR on the west coast, the closest one being in Tampa. Tyler drove past one last week and couldn't believe his eyes. He even took a picture on his iPhone to show me the proof. Sadly he wasn't able to stop by, since he had a tight schedule that day, but we're hoping to stop by soon and just HOPE it tastes the same as the Jennings used to make! I haven't decided yet if I want the Chicken Green Chili Salad or the Pineapple Shrimp Salad ...

Since I learned I was wrong about Bajio, I've been doing some research (aka googling) and have been looking into some others of my favorite restaurants. While there is some good news, there's also quite a bit of bad news...

Paradise Bakery - definitely NONE, but there are 6 in Texas. So maybe it's coming east?? And when I went to their website, I noticed a small Panera Bread logo in the corner of the page... I'm not sure who owns who ... but I'm assuming they're related.
Costa Vida - none in Florida, but there is one in Maine! Seriously, how random is that?
Rubios - OK, I guess I'm really obsessed with Mexican food because it seems like all my favorite places are Mexican. But I grew really attached to their Fish Tacos in my last few months living in SLC because there was one right by my office and we went there at least once a week for lunch. Sadly...there are NONE in Florida.
Jamba - lately I've been craving a Jamba Breakfast smoothie, Chunky Strawberry (the one with the chunky peanut butter and the slices of banana on top) :-) but sadly there are NONE in the Orlando area!! The closest one is in Tampa, and then they're all over the Miami area. So sad...I got spoiled with Jamba in the Wilk and on late starts in Junior High, but no more. PS When I was on their website I saw that they now serve salads and wraps?? are they good?
Wendys - Yes of course Wendys are here, but the closest one is 15 minutes away, and not really on the way to anything... Goodbye late night JBC, Frosty, and 5 piece nugget runs...
Sonic - OK, there are only 5 Sonics in the Orlando area and the closest one to our house is 25 mins away. I've actually driven past it, it's in a nasty neighborhood so ... I will realllly have to be craving a banana cream pie shake in order to go over there!

OK and I'll wrap up with some positive news

Chipotle - Yes, they are here! There's one right by our house and we may or may not have been there at least 10 times already...
Five Guys - Yep, there's one right next to the Chipotle, sadly since we don't get the Jennings discount anymore ... we haven't been going as often as we used to - but at least it's there!
Gandolfos - I don't think I ever went there for lunch or dinner, but Tyler and I have some good memories getting Gandolfos breakfast sandwiches. It all started when we were dating, we went there on my 21st birthday and I really loved it. We had a tradition of getting them on General Conference before the Saturday Morning Session. We thought that tradition was over. Well, we just found out that they just opened ONE in Florida, and it's 10 minutes away! We haven't been yet, but maybe this Saturday we'll have to try it out for Breakfast.

OK ... now you can totally see that I need to get a life (or a job) since I just did an entire post about restaurants!

**Correction**

So remember when I said, "One Down, One To Go" in reference to weddings this year?? Well, I will need to change that to "TWO to go"... Who would have guessed! Paige and Ben will still bring up the rear with December 30th, but there will be one more wedding we'll be traveling to earlier than that... Stay tuned for details and the OFFICIAL announcement.

What I've learned

Some things I like about living in Orlando...

* It will NEVER snow

* You can go swimming year round

* One hour drive to the Beach / Atlantic Ocean

* One hour drive to the Beach / Gulf Coast

* Thousands of amazing restaurants within a 20 minute drive

* Even though it's CRAZY hot during the summer days, the evenings are cooler than those in AZ

* Great Shopping, 2 HUGE Outlets Malls, Upscale Shopping Malls all within 20 minute drive

* Tiger Woods, Shaq, Patrick Ewing, Jonny Damon and others have houses in our neighborhood

* Publix. It's the local grocery store here 5 tiers above Smiths or Albertsons, it reminds us of the Harmons in Draper where we shopped in Draper* Panera Bread - It's Paradise Bakery meets Kneaders with a hint of Zupas, they're all over Florida and the east, I've been to at least 6 different locations already* There are direct flights to pretty much every major city in the country

Some things I Don't like about living in Orlando, Florida...

~~Warning: Most of this list will be removed once the summer ends~~

*There are no mountains, which also means there's no where to go to escape from the heat

*During the summer, it pours rain almost every day, sometime between 3 - 7 pm

*We never know exactly when it will rain, so you always have to be prepared, or just don't go grocery shopping unless you are ok getting soaked

*Gas Pumps - they don't have those little locks on the handle, so you have to hold the dirty pump in your hand the whole time you're pumping - even in the rain and heat*It really is pretty humid here

* No Cafe Rio, Costa Vida, Bajio, Tia Rosas, Oreganos, Gurus, Paradise Bakery

Oh and one other thing that I like about living in Orlando ...

Him.

One Down ... One to Go!

The wedding has come and gone! I'm so glad I was able to be in SLC for the big event. I sadly didn't take too many pictures at the wedding though... I think when I'm there with Ashley Swapp, knowing that she's taking amazing pictures right next to me, I just let her take them all. But ... I'll see them soon on her blog! Here are some of the dinner and reception though...

I was also able to spend an evening with the Jennings family down in American Fork at CAFE RIO! Vicki, Kristi & Reese, Nick & Jamie, Troy & I enjoyed the Utah Classic together.

And last but not least ... on Thursday night my sister Paige got engaged! She will be marrying Ben Lewis on December 30th in the Mesa, AZ Temple.

They have a unique story as they've been dating long distance for most of their relationship. Ben graduated from BYU and now is going to Cornell in Ithica, NY. They met last Christmas break in Mesa and then both went their separate ways in January for school. They got to know each other better over the phone that semester, Ben took a couple trips to Utah, and now have been together in Mesa most of the summer - and now are planning a wedding! Ben goes back to New York in the fall, and Paige will go to Utah for her last semester at BYU. So after they get married, Paige will be moving out to New York to live as Ben finishes his last few years in his doctorate program. Quite a big change in her life but we're all excited. They are really happy together and make a great couple.

And this wedding finishes off the Year of Weddings for me this year! ... Unless Ashley or Troy decide to get married in the next few months that is...