Dating in Marriage

I never understood why in conference or other church settings the leaders encouraged husbands and wives to take time for themselves and go on dates.  To continue to court and develop their personal relationship.  Never made any sense to me... I figured that since people were married their courtship was a success, so why date?  Oh the innocence and naivety that come with inexperience.  If only I had understood.

Not that I am saying that I fully understand and grasp everything about this concept, but just that that door is now being opened to me and my understanding is becoming enlightened.  Our first child isn't even here yet and already I am looking for ways that Eric and I can spend quality time with one another that doesn't involve our "usual activities".  Don't get me wrong, some times it is nice to spend a relaxing evening at home... but when your date night every time consists of a Redbox movie and leftovers, the magic of "dating" does tend to wain.

I have made it my own personal goal to find inexpensive and fun activities for us to do on a semi-regular basis such that we too can continue our courtship long into our eternities together.  And I am proud to say that with a little bit a research I am coming up with some great dates and am looking forward to creating many more fun memories.  Here are just a few of our fun dates as of late.

1 - Impromptu Late Lunch

One day on a whim after getting off of work around lunch time, and knowing that Eric was at work without food, we decided to do an impromptu lunch date.  It had been quite some time since the last time that we had gone out to eat together and the opportunity was too good to pass up.  It was really fun to just go to lunch together without much forethought and to spend some time in a different surrounding and setting.  It wasn't anything extravagant mind you, we just hit up Rubios for some good Mexican-American food, and then Bahama Bucks for a "filling" dessert.  Sometimes all it takes it some delicious food and good company to make any outing a good date.

2 - Easter Pageant

It is quite a blessing that we live so close to the temple, especially around the Easter Holiday because of the temple's Easter Pageant.  We went on a double date with my brother Nate and his wife Christina last week and it was really enjoyable.

This is their 3rd year of attending and they had it down to an art.  First, pick up some carry-out Cafe Rio. Second, arrive early enough for good parking, but not too ridiculously early to be waiting for a long period of time. Third, bring the blankets, camping chairs and pillows to make it a comfortable sitting arrangement on the south side of the lawn with the perfect view of the entire pageant.  Fourth, consume take-out while waiting for the pageant to start.

Fifth, enjoy the show.  They really were pros at this and Eric and I were able to enjoy the ride as they showed us the ropes.  The pageant was wonderful and the spirit felt there was very powerful.  I am looking forward to attending next year's already.

3 - Dragonboat Festival

In my quest to find other fun activities to do, I stumbled upon the 10th Annual Dragonboat Festival.  Naturally my interest and curiosity were peaked.  The website advertisement seemed enticing enough with an invitation to come watch teams race in hand crafted dragonboats,see all the different vendors and booths with fun activities, eat some delicious food, etc... And best of all, it was free - my favorite word!  So, we decided not to miss out on this Dragonboat Festival.

It ended up being a lot of fun.  We only watched a couple of the races seeing how we weren't tied to any particular team or association.  There were actually quite a number of teams racing - upwards of 70!  It was cool to see everyone rowing in unison to the beat of a drummer.  Reminded me a bit of the Olympics.  Eric and I had heard one of the teams practicing  the previous weekend on another date night as we walked Tempe Townlake.  We couldn't figure out what the drumming noise we coming from till we saw this team of people rowing in a boat across the water with a person sitting at the head of the boat keeping the pace.  Little did we know it was our first introduction to the Dragonboat Festival.  The actual festival itself was very entertaining.  Along with being able to watch the different teams compete, there was also a stage set up with live entertainment.  During the time frame when we were there on the stage was a Polynesian Dance School - and they were performing all the different types of dances that come from the various islands.  Someday I will learn how to shake my hips like the Hawaiian dancers can!  We were also able to walk and see the different vendors - most dealt with activities directly tied to dragonboat racing (racing equipment, different teams, other associations, etc).  And of course, there was food.  Thankfully Eric and I had eaten before attending, otherwise all that funnel cake and grilled chicken would have been too enticing to resist.  It was a great day of fun in the sun for us.

















































4 - Outings with Friends

When we first moved into our ward, people informed us that the ward was one of those "Newly Wed and Nearly Dead" wards.  And the funny thing is, that statement sums up the varying ages of the members in our ward precisely.  Since there are so many other young couples, Eric and I have made it a goal to do double and triple dates with these other members.  It has been slow going, but I am happy to report though that with a bit of effort on my part it is coming to pass.  Doing double dates with other married couples from a family ward certainly has a whole new level of dynamics than from when we were single and would hang out with other young adults in a single's ward.  Even still, making new friends is always fun, especially when you share similar beliefs and standards.  We have really enjoyed being able to create quality memories and friendships with people whether we doing a formal Sunday dinner, having a more casual pizza making double date, or going out on the town for some Italian Ice and Custard.  I know that as we incorporate being friendly and making new friends that we will be successful in this aspect of our lives no matter where the Air Force sends us.

So, even though dating is different from when we were dating, there is not reason why it still cannot be just as fun and memorable.  And, I am going to be a bit cheesy here, but I am glad that I always have someone now with whom I can go on a date anytime I want.  Being married seriously is the best.

Sleeping Nowadays

I found a cartoon on Facebook that cracked me up about husband and wife sleeping territories on the bed.  It seriously made me laugh out loud.

Typically, staying in our designated sleeping areas has never been a problem, until the pregnancy.  Let's just say the bigger I get as Gummi grows, the harder it is to sleep. And I know that any pregnant woman out there can relate.  The thing that really gets to me is that every mom to me always says "Enjoy your sleep now, because once the baby gets here you won't get anymore!"... Yeah well, I am not getting any sleep now anyways, what do you say to that!?!? 

I can say this much though, I read in a pregnancy book this statement and I completely agree: "There is no such thing as too many pillows when you are pregnant" - True dat!!  At one point I was sleeping with 4 pillows and a teddy bear just to get me comfortable.  The only problem was that I had to make about 10 trips to the bathroom each night to relieve my bladder, and each time I came back to the bed I had to reposition all those pillows. 

I finally caved in and bought myself a nice fancy pregnancy pillow.  It is called the Back 'N Belly Pillow by Leacho.  Talk about amazing!!!

From the looks of it the pillow it seems to take up more than half the bed, but it doesn't.  Eric actually still has his half of the bed to sleep on, well, mostly.  Irregardless, my comfort is worth the extra couple of inches, I mean I am giving up my comfort and body to grow his child (and future children). 

 Now, if only we could coordinate the appropriate sleeping temperature.  Darn these raging hormones turning me into a walking furnace.  I am finally starting to recognize the ongoing battle my parents have been having for years.  No wonder my mom only sleeps with a sheet and having 1 of her legs out in the open to keep her cool while my dad has about 5 blankets, fleece pajamas, beenie and thermal socks on each night.  Sorry Eric ;)

Ragnar

Every year here in the valley there is this huge relay marathon that takes place and it is called "Ragnar".  The first time that I heard about it was around Christmas time 2011.  My brother Nate said that he was signed up to do this big running thing in February.  He had to repeat the name to me at least 10 times over the course of the next couple of weeks till the name finally stuck.  I had never heard of it and had no idea what it was and what it consisted of.

Essentially Ragnar is a relay marathon where groups/teams of at least 12 people run over 200 miles over the course of 2 days.  Each person is assigned 3 different "legs" (sections) of the race, varying in length anywhere from 3 miles up to 13.5 miles.

Here is the website so you can check out the specific information: http://www.ragnarrelay.com/.

Well, last year Nate asked for Eric and I to come and hang out with him as he finished up his run at the very end of the race.  We arrived at Tempe Townlake Beach Park to find a huge party with hundreds of people everywhere.  It was pretty awesome I won't lie.

                                                                           Ragnar 2012:

Nate immediately after he finished his last leg at the finish line.

Nate's team last year: "11 Sistas and 3 Mistas"

He did it!

 This year Nate decided that he wanted to do it again, and he got my brother Tyler to join him.  Nate asked if I wanted to participate as a volunteer so I signed right up.  The day of the race I worked at the last exchange site.  This is where the last runner started the very last leg/section of the race which then ended about 5 miles away at the big finish line.  I was in charge of writing down the different teams' arrival/departure times as they checked in.  It was actually a lot of fun and I got to volunteer with them for about 6 hours.  Unfortunately I did not get to see my brothers' team exchange because they came a couple of hours later after I had left.

Me at the exchange site

Eric and I did go to the finish line to cheer on their team and to relish in the spirit of Ragnar.  It really is an awesome party with tons of free giveaways.  We were able to get a lot of fun pictures of the team and everyone with their families.

Nate and Tyler's team: "The Dead Legs"

The whole team running the last 100 yards all together

Back of their t-shirt

 



 

Tyler, AmiCheri and Benson

Nate & Christina, 2 years in a row yeah baby!

Last year we went out to dinner afterwards to celebrate Nate's successful accomplishment of completing the race, so this year we had to keep up with the tradition.  All I can say is that I have never seen both of my brothers look quite so tired/exhausted as they were at that dinner.  But I can't blame them.  I mean shoot, I would be tired after having run almost 20 miles over the course of 2 days with little to no sleep.  So, props to them for doing Ragnar!

                                                                 Hooray for Ragnar!

     

Cousin Baby Blessings

About a month ago my two brothers, Nate and Tyler, did the name blessings for their two family additions: Tatiana Abigail Swiss and Benson Tyler Swiss.  The day they decided to bless the two infants happened to be Stake Conference, so it wasn't your typical baby blessing.  Instead of doing the blessing during the sacrament hour of church all friends and family gathered in the Relief Society room after the entire conference was over.  I would have to say that it was a very sweet opportunity to be a part of.  Because it was only family and friends, it seemed to make the entire experience a lot more personal, at least it felt that way to me.  I am just grateful that I was able to attend and feel the spirit.  The gospel is so wonderful and provides so much peace and comfort to this world of turmoil.  Plus having the power of God on the earth through worthy priesthood holders is just.. wow!  Needless to say, moments like today I am glad to be a member of this true gospel and to partake of all the wonderful blessings that are available to me.  Yeah!

 Here are just a few pictures from that day:

Moms & Babies: AmiCheri w/Benson and Christina w/Tatiana

Dad Tyler and son Benson

Uncle Jason and Tatiana

Families Swiss, Mason & Ririe

 I couldn't resist putting in these last couple of shots of Sawyer (Tatiana's older brother).  They just crack me up!

The sandwich was practically bigger than his face!  But that didn't stop him from enjoying it and eating it up!

Typical little boy, playing in the dirt. 

Cadet "Pilot" Roach?

As many people already know, Eric is participating at Arizona State in the Air Force ROTC program.  This is a full academic commitment for the duration of the undergraduate studies of the student.  Essentially, upon graduation from the university, with successful completion of any ROTC program the student commissions in the military as an officer with a 4 year contract.  With the Air Force the student will commission as a Second Lieutenant.  This is quite an accomplishment.  There are only 3 ways to become an officer in the Air Force: 1)Attend the Air Force Academy in Colorado instead of a regular university; 2)Participate in the ROTC program at a university; or 3)Apply and be accepted to the Officers Training School. 

Choosing the life as a military personnel is not the easiest and not everyone can cut it, that is for sure.  Even participating in the ROTC program weeds out a lot of people who just weren't meant to be military.  At ASU alone, with a student population of over 70,000, only about 120 are involved in the Air Force ROTC, and each year only between 20-30 students make it through all 4 years of training to commission as an officer upon graduation..  Like I said, not for everyone.

Eric said that he leaned towards doing military even back when he was in high school.  Upon returning home from the mission, in his 2nd semester at ASU he joined the ROTC program, and found that he fit right in with the strict schedule and expectations placed upon him. 

This past summer Eric was in Alabama and Mississippi for about 4 weeks at Field Training, which is essentially the boot camp for officers.  He excelled and was award the Distinguished Graduate award; very very prestigious and hard to obtain!  Upon his return, his superior officers were asking him about his plans and what areas he would be interested in working upon commissioning.  He told them of a couple of jobs, including Logistics and Force Support, which had caught his eye and he was kind of leaning towards one of those.  In response his Captain told him that he should not aim so low, and that with all of his accomplishments and high scores in multiple areas, Eric would be a viable candidate for being a pilot.  A pilot?!?!  Wow, not really something Eric had perceived as being achievable for his future.  His captain continued to tell him that people who apply but aren't selected to be pilots become those other positions.  Eric should not sell himself so short when the possibility could be a reality for him.  With the encouragement of his superior officers Eric began to re-think his plans for his future in the Air Force.

At the start of the fall semester of 2012, Eric turned a complete 180 and decided that trying to be selected as a pilot was the position that most appealed to him and that he was going to apply for the position.  Considering that Eric had already done most of the hard work up to this point (taking Air Force aptitude tests, excelling at Field Training, having a good GPA, receiving high ranking marks from his Superior Officers for going above and beyond), all Eric had left to do was to take a test of basic aviation skills and get passing marks on his physical examination and then his application would be complete.  By December all things were completed and now it was time for us to wait to hear.

To be selected as a pilot is a very very difficult thing to accomplish.  I mean, hello, he is in the "Air Force", air as in flying.  So, pretty much a majority of the people want to be pilots.  That is what Air Force is known for.  Eric didn't know what his chances really were for being selected to be a pilot.  He explained it to me that the Air Force determines each year how many "slots" are available for pilots.  They then have to pull every application from every pilot candidate from around the U.S. (from all the ROTC programs at every other university, the Air Force Academy, and the Officers Training School).  Then the slots are assigned based upon the highest scores and going down from there until every slot has been filled.  So, once all things have been calculated, if your score isn't in the top percentage, you don't get selected.  It wasn't just a competition between the other cadets at ASU, but every other applicant from around the country.  Talk about tough competition.

Well, on Valentine's Day, Eric's commanding officers received the official word of which of the ASU applicants had been selected.  Out of the 14 cadets that had applied, 10 were selected to become pilots... and Eric was one of them!  Eric received a pilot's slot!!!  He did it, all his hard work paid off and he has proven that he is one of the best in the United State Air Force (almost)!! 

Now, although we want to start the celebrations, we have to hold back for one more confirmation that this is indeed where Heavenly Father wants for Eric to serve in the military.  I say this because there is the chance the Eric will be disqualified from being a pilot due to medical reasons.  In May Eric will have to fly to Ohio to an Air Force base there for a couple of days for a rigorous physical examination.  They are going to do very intensive tests to determine if Eric is capable physically, mentally, psychologically, and any other "lly" there is of being a pilot.  There have been a number of cadets who have received their pilot's slots who have had them taken away after this medical exam because they were disqualified, and given other positions in the Air Force.  They will be very thorough and intense in these tests.  Needless to say, we are elated at the news of him receiving the pilot's slot, but we are trying not to get our hopes up too much should perhaps it not work out.  We are going to have the trust and faith that whatever is right for Eric and our family will work out as it needs to.  If this means not being a pilot, then so be it.  Eric will excel and do his very best no matter what position he serves in within the Air Force.

With any luck, come end of May we will have even more reason to celebrate with him passing the physical exam.  And if not, well he has until then to wear the flight suit and look the part.  He does look very nice in it, if I do say so myself.

   

Gummi's Gender Reveal Parties

Seeing how I wrote an entire book about my acceptance into the pregnancy world, the time has now come for me to start blogging all about the pregnancy itself.  I figured that the most important thing to mention would be that of how we announced to our family and friends the gender of our little "Gummi".

I suppose before even mentioning that, I better explain where the name "Gummi" came from.  Well, from my previous post you can probably guess that during the months of my first trimester I wasn't the most cheerful about my situation as I learned to cope with the morning sickness.  My morning sickness wasn't just all morning, but it was from about 9 or so in the morning all day long and into the night.  There were some nights that I awoke from a dead sleep because of the nausea.  It wasn't that I threw up a lot, more just the fact that I felt like I was going to all the time.  Yeah, not exactly my particular cup of chocolate milk.  And since I wasn't already in the appropriate state of mind to begin with (gushing with enthusiasm at the prospect of having a baby that is), my attitude wasn't the most appropriate.

Well, one day at an ultrasound appointment, the technician mentioned that the baby was about the size of a gummi bear.  Upon returning home, I realized (a little late perhaps, but better late than never in my book) that perhaps me being so negative to the whole situation was not going to help my attitude and demeanor.  Plus, I didn't want to cause the poor child serious emotional damage because of my lack of affection and love towards it.  So, after thinking about it for a while I decided that I needed to come up with a name for our baby, one that I could use that wouldn't be so negative.  I immediately thought back to the comment of the technician earlier that day and felt that "Gummi" would be just right.  And thus, Gummi became Gummi, until the child is born and we have to name it something for life, which is a whole other nightmare in and of itself yet to be dealt with.  All things in due time.

Anywho, a couple of weeks before we were to find out the gender of Gummi, my brother Nate called me up and suggested that we throw a "Gender Revealing Party" to announce Gummi's gender.

Thanks for the idea Nate!

He and his wife had heard about the idea too late after finding out and announcing the sex of their 2nd child.  So, he wanted the chance to participate with our announcement.  I had been kind of toying around with the idea of how to announce Gummi's sex when Nate called me with this idea.  He said that they knew a cake decorator, and that we could arrange to have her find out the sex such as to decorate a cake appropriately without all the rest of us knowing the sex.
Then, at this party we would cut into the cake revealing to everyone, ourselves included, the sex of our child.  I loved the idea and was immediately sold.

I decided that more than just to cut the cake and have that be the end of the festivities, that I wanted to make this into a full-blown party.  Thanks to Pinterest, Google, and lots of other blogs I found tons of ideas of games to play, food to eat, ways to decorate, and how to announce the sex.  Thank heavens for the internet!

 

We decided that since our condo is so tiny to hold two separate parties, 1 for the family where we would announce the sex by cutting into the cake, and 1 a week later for friends, with the announcement presented in a different way.  At both parties we decided to do the same activities and games because they were too good to pass up.  And thus on January 19th and 25th we held our two Gender Revealing Parties.

At the parties, upon entering the house people were asked to choose what gender they thought our child was going to be and that decision then determined if they were on Team Boy/Blue or Team Girl/Pink.

We had this huge posterboard that people wrote their names on to identify their team placement.

 Afterwards people mingled and socialized one with another.  We asked people to write down their favorite boy and girl names and put them into a jar, which we read out-loud later on during the party.

There were definitely some creative names, that is for sure.  Following this we started the games.  There was a prize at the end of all the games for the winning team, so people were encouraged to do their best.







Game 1 - Guess the amount of Skittles and Whoppers in a Jar
                We had a jar that was full of Skittles and Whoppers and people were asked to guess how much candy was in the jar.  Not just all together, but each of the individual candy types themselves.  It is really surprising to see how much people under guess as a general population.  I would say that over 85% of people guessed on the low side.  Not to worry, there was still plenty for us to munch on afterwards.

Game 2 - What chocolate candy did I used to be?


                 I found this game on a girl's blog and loved it!  Possibly because I have never had a kid before so I wasn't so grossed out.  Essentially, I took 6 different types of chocolate candy bars, melted them in the microwave, and then placed the melted contents into a diaper, simulating...well I don't need to finish that thought, you get the idea.  People were allowed to look, smell and even taste-test the various samples in order to help determine what that brown pile of substance in the diaper used to be.  This game was probably the most entertaining to watch for me.


 
Most moms tended to shy away and couldn't stand getting their faces up into the diapers because of strong resemblances they portrayed.  I can only imagine that after I will have changed a couple hundred diapers I too might shirk away in disgust. Until then though, I will continue to laugh at the memory.

Game 3 - Old Wives' Tales
                  This last game consisted of gathering a number of old wives' tales involving determining the sex of the baby through different means.  Some examples include:  If you are carrying out in front, you are having a boy.  If you carry all around, you are having a girl.  If the pregnant mom is really moody, then it is a girl.  If the mom-to-be is rather cheerful, then it is a boy.  etc...  I gathered about 13 really random tales, and created a quiz, asking people to determine whether according to the tale if it meant the child was going to be a boy or a girl.  After completing the quiz, I then read off what all my own particular pregnancy symptoms were and then read the answers to the quiz.  People then made their own guesses based upon the Old Wives' Tales answers of whether of not I was having a boy or a girl.





People had been asking us for weeks/months what we wanted.  I was trying really hard to have an un-biased opinion on the matter.  Eric had his heart set on having a girl.  Having seen all of our cute little nieces running around with little bows in their hair and wearing cute dresses, being these little princesses, Eric was hooked.  Even though I tried not to be biased, I was leaning a little bit towards having a girl.  I grew up with 4 brothers and the idea of having a little girl was kind of appealing.  But I didn't want to have my hopes dashed though, so I was trying to keep it cool.  The day the cake decorator found out the sex from the technician (keep in mind it was still 2 days before we would find out by cutting into the cake) she texted me saying she knew the sex and that "The technician said there was no doubt what the sex of the baby was".  Well, after hearing that, I immediately thought that it had to be a boy.  Statements like that are only made when talking about a boy baby.  As I thought more about that thought I actually got a bit bummed thinking of the prospect of having a boy.  I asked Eric what he thought that statement meant, and he was still set on it being a girl saying "She could have meant there is no doubt that it is a girl... it could go both ways".  I just couldn't see it, and was bumming.  I talked with a coworker (who also happens to be pregnant, due a week after me) and asked her what sex baby she would like to have.  She immediately responded with an enthusiastic "BOY!"  I didn't understand why she would want a boy so bad, and her response was "Well, everyone needs to have an older brother, so I want a boy for my first."  After hearing that, I was sold and promptly changed my vote of desire to a boy!  I couldn't agree more! Having 4 older brothers, I am a strong advocate of everyone having an older brother.  So, Eric and I waited on pins and needles the next 2 days before we finally found out the sex.

After all the games and activities it was finally time to reveal the sex by cutting into the cake.  The cake decorator did an awesome job of keeping us in suspense.  I won't lie, it was a bit nerve wracking to take that knife, cut it into the cake, knowing that within only a matter of seconds our lives were going to change as we knew it.

With those thoughts in mind, we plunged the knife into the fondant, holding up the piece to reveal a BLUE CAKE!  WE ARE HAVING A BOY!!!

That's right, a boy it is.  Everyone seemed really excited and thrilled, and we of course were elated at the news.  Well, maybe not elated...

Initially at the start of the family party when Nate walked in with the cake, disaster almost prevailed.  Some people sitting in the chairs asked to see what the top of the cake said, so he (Nate) tilted the cake platter to show them, not realizing that the cake decorator had placed the cake on a piece of cardboard and then put that on top of the cake platter.  Cardboard on glass does not stick, so the cake slipped and fell off the cake platter.  The whole world seemed to stop in just that instance as all eyes were on the falling masterpiece.  Thankfully Eric was standing right next to him when this happened and with quick cat like reflexes (which he has gained since we got our cats hehehe) he managed to catch the cake within 6 inches of it hitting the floor.  There was an audible gasp of shock and relief from all present.  Disaster averted.  But, Eric told me within the next couple of seconds, that as some of the pieces of the cake decoration fell to the floor, he got what he thought was a semi-glimpse of what  the cake's color was where the fondant wasn't quite as thick.  So, going into the cake cutting part of the evening wasn't holding as much excitement for him.  And then when we announced it was a boy, I can only imagine his heartbreak since he had his heart set on having a girl.  He felt sure of his guess because of the validity of a pencil test predicting how many kids we would have and their individual sexes (although, how reliable that test is is now proven to not be reliable, darn those superstitious tests).  Needless to say, I cannot say for his part what his exact emotions were at the moment we cut into the cake.  After everyone left and we had a chance to dwell on the reality of the situation, to me it seemed that he was a bit bummed.  I can report though that the next  morning his mood had completely changed and he had accepted and was excited at the prospect of having a son.  He even told me that as he had been pondering about it, he was thinking of how cool it would be to have our son dressed up in camo or military attire on the day that Eric commissions into the Air Force upon his graduation from ASU next May.  I am secure in saying that Eric is now just as elated, excited and happy about becoming a father to a boy as he would have been to a girl.  Someday, Eric will get his little princess.  But until then he has a young prince coming into his life, and will forever have me as his queen to spoil.  :)