Baby Webb!

As most people already know due to our family and Facebook announcements, Ry and I are expecting! Baby Webb is due December 20th and we couldn't be more excited. 

We found out we were expecting April 13th while on a trip to St. George with a group of friends. It was hard to not have any alone time to be able to talk about it! St. George has found a special place in my heart. Ry proposed to me while we were on a trip with a group of friends down there. We returned there to celebrate our first and third anniversaries. While visiting the St. George temple during our third anniversary, Ry expressed to me that he felt like it was the right time to expand our family. Three months later we returned to St. George and discovered we were expecting!

I called a couple days after we got home to schedule my first doctors appointment. I was disappointed to learn that my appointment wouldn't happen for nearly seven weeks. Longest seven weeks. Of. My. Life. It was terrifying to not have any clue if everything was going well. I had hardly any signs or symptoms of pregnancy until I was 10 weeks and was terrified that something was going to be wrong. I think I took a total of five or six pregnancy tests over that seven weeks...

FINALLY May 29th came along and we went to our first appointment. We got to meet our doctor and sit down and ask him any questions we had. Afterwards we went into an exam room and he did a mini ultrasound. The second I saw the baby come into view and saw his or her little heart beating, my heart calmed. I could have stayed there for hours. 

Because I'm a worrier, I was only comforted for a couple weeks before I was anxious to get back into the doctors office to listen to my little one's heart. I was too impatient to wait for my appointment so I searched Amazon for a doppler and my sweet Ry bought it for me. It has become one of my favorite possessions very quickly. We listen and count the heartbeat at least every other day :) 

After entering the second trimester and going to the doctor one more time we decided to tell our families and the world. We told our families with mini (aka baby) cupcakes that had "plus" signs on them to represent a positive pregnancy test. It took them a minute to figure it out and one brother-in-law asked if they were "religious cupcakes", thinking they were crosses rather than plus signs :) Ry's family was surprised and very thrilled. My family, on the other hand, saw it coming. I think I gave it away when I had to run out of my brother's wedding to throw up due to "food poisoning" haha. They were also very excited. 

After telling our families we told close friends followed by the world on Facebook. A BIG thank you to my sweet and talented sister-in-law Mel for taking our announcement pictures for us!

We are so thrilled for this journey to begin and can't wait for this baby to come. I am already so in love with our little one and I can't wait until he or she comes into this world!

Love.

Love is an interesting thing...the way it changes, grows, develops, and matures over time. I have been married to the love of my life for three years, two months, and one week. The love I have for Ryan, for this boy that stole my heart and made me the happiest girl alive is overwhelming. Lately I've been searching for the right words to adequately express this thing called love, and I can't seem to find them. Words are just not good enough. 

Early in our marriage I decided the best advice I could live by was to expect nothing and to appreciate everything. Recognizing the importance of this advice is so much easier than applying it in our lives. We set expectations for ourselves, our families, our friends, our coworkers, and especially our spouses. How much happier would we be if we didn't expect our spouse to do this or that? If rather, we noticed all the good in our spouse and all the love, service, compassion, and forgiveness that they offer us? And then to serve them! There is so much joy found in serving the person you love most in this world. 

I love the quote by President Hinckley that describes what happiness in marriage is. He said, "I am satisfied that happiness in marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one's companion." I believe that. I believe that romance is important, but I know that I am truly showing Ry I love him when I am supportive and when I am anxiously concerned for his happiness, his safety, and his comfort. 

My husband is the best thing that ever happened to me and I thank my Heavenly Father for allowing this loving, forgiving, amazing man to be mine for eternity. Although I can't find words strong enough to tell Ry how I feel, I can do my best to show him each and every day. 

I love you Ryan Stevens Webb. Unconditionally. Forever. 

Shortest Update Ever

I can’t believe that I haven’t blogged for over a year. Well…I guess I can believe it, but I’m still disappointed in myself. What an eventful year it has been too! Since my last post so much has happened in our lives. Last January I took the NCLEX and became a Registered Nurse. I got a job at Intermountain Medical Center on the orthopedic floor and have been working there since. In May Ryan graduated and got a job at FLS where he had been working as an intern. We had a great summer playing at the lake a lot with our jet skis and dirt biking whenever we got the chance.  In October Ry quit his job to open Boost/Virgin cell phone stores with his brother. Because their first store was going to be in Ogden and we were currently living in Eagle Mountain we moved into his parents’ basement in Bountiful. When Brad and E’Shell’s basement is done we will move there. In December I graduated with my bachelors. Ry would like me to continue my education, but I think I’ll take a break for a little while. Now Ry is running four stores and I am working full time at IMC. What seems to be like such big changes in our lives I summarized in one paragraph! Now…I hope to be a better journal keeper and blog more often. 

by Melissa Sue Photography

I have an amazing sister-in-law that is a very talented photographer. She was so great to do our engagements and temple pictures and has been so good to take pictures for us at other important events. I don't know if I've expressed to her enough how grateful I am to her for that. So once again, thank you Mel!! I love having all the precious pictures that I have because of you! 

I wanted some updated pictures of us because to be quite honest, its been a while since we've had family pictures and I look completely different. It might be the hair...I'm not quite sure :) So, once again, sweet Mel took the time and talent to take some amazing pictures for us. Enjoy!

and a couple silly ones....

 Thank you Mel! We love the pictures!

Sheesh.

Alright. This is pretty ridiculous. I knew this would happen. I knew that the second I got home I would be too busy to blog…which makes me really sad because although we have been busy with school and work, we have done some really fun things that I wanted to write about! I started a note in my phone that listed all the things I wanted to blog about so that I could do it when I had more time, but that didn’t last too long. Dang. But here is what I do have as a note in my phone:

“Monday night flew home. (Red-eye flights actually aren’t as terrible as I was anticipating. It was nice to have an extra day in Hawaii and then just sleep for most of the flight. AND we didn’t miss any flights! We made it home in a record-setting nine hours.)

Tuesday got home. (My sweet mom surprised me and showed up at the airport to say hello! It was so good to see her and so sweet of her to come. Thank you mom!)

Wednesday went to Lagoon. (So much fun. I’m so glad I made it home for Lagoon day with my family. I was so excited to be able to see Christen and Henry before they left for home. Side note adorable story: While we were at Lagoon I gave Henry $5 for his birthday. We were standing in a gift shop and we looked over and saw Henry handing a giant pencil to the Lagoon worker and digging the $5 out of his pocket to buy the pencil with. So cute! The kid is TWO and he knows that you have to pay for things you want! So cute. Lagoon was a lot of fun and I was so impressed with the kids for being so brave and going on all the big rides. I was expecting to be on little kid rides all day but that was not the case at all.)

Thursday left for Idaho and slept at Grandma Stevens.  (We rode the street bike up and stopped in Logan so that Ry could install a security system in Grandma Stevens house. It was so sweet for her to let us stay the night. She even made us yummy waffles for breakfast. Thank you grandma!)

Friday went four wheeling in St. Charles. (Fun. Always fun.)

Saturday picked millions of raspberries, went boating, and went to the world’s smallest demolition durby. (I now have a million frozen squashed raspberries that I need to make more jam with. Yum! Boating was a blast. I overcame my fear somewhat and went tubing. Dad may have been “nice” to me but I felt like he was going hard! I sure did get a good workout though. The demolition durby was awesome. FOUR cars. Four. Usually there are WAY more! It was still a blast though and I will always love a good demo durby.)

Sunday drove home. (Long ride. Sore butt.)

Monday ran errands and got a hamster. His name is Pepe. (For all of those who are wondering, yes, he is still alive. Although we did have a close call when someone left the cage open. Woops. Good thing we’re smart and put the cage on the ground to see if he would come back at night. He did. And Ry heard him running in his wheel and ran and closed the cage! Close call my friends.)

Tuesday – Friday Ry worked. I did who-knows-what. (This week taught me that I really need to be busy in order to not die of boredom. I guess I should be grateful for school and work.)

Friday visited Emily and her cute new babies. Had a girls night with the Webbs. Played bunco. Lost.

Saturday went dirt biking with pops and Ry. Had a bbq and movie night with Ailin and Jake.

Lupe concert:

2 people I saw pass out.

5 pounds lost by sweating.

1,973 times I checked to make sure my wedding ring was still on my finger.

543 times I checked to make sure my purse was still zipped.

3 times I caught a glimpse of Lupe. Height disadvantage.

0 songs I knew.

2 songs I am now obsessed with.

2 months that my cilia are damaged.

4 hours standing in one spot. Give or take six inches.

7 times my toes got smashed on.

I know I sound like I’m complaining, but I’m not. It was quite the event!

October 5

Lake. Cold! Coat, beanie, wet suits.”

Yup. That’s what I have in my phone! I think that most of it is self-explanatory…except for October 5^th…which was quite hilarious J Ry and I bought a couple lake toys and we decided to ditch school one *sunny* day to take them down to the lake. The funny thing is…no matter how bright that sun is, that has hardly any bearing on how warm it actually is. It was frigid. I’m starting to think that 9 o’clock in the morning is cold no matter what time of year it is. Anyways, I’ll get to the point because heaven knows I do not have time to write and write and write as much as I would love to. SO…we went to the lake, it was freezing cold. I was waiting for Ry on the dock and he comes walking down wearing a half wet suit that is WAY too small for him, a coat, a beanie, and gloves. I was confused as to whether we were going to the lake or to play in the snow! 

Anywhoo….that’s what October 5^th was.

So there are a FEW things that we have done! I’m so sad I’ve done such a terrible job at blogging.

Last semester was a good one. One of the easier ones for me, but unfortunately one of the busier ones for Ry. That’s okay though. He earned a whopping $7 per “A”…AND, he got straight A’s!! That’s right, I snatched a smart one!

The end of last semester was an exciting one for me. It meant that I could take the dreaded test and start working as an RN. One month after graduation and that dreaded test is STILL lingering…torturing me. If anyone reads this, a prayer would be much appreciated! To celebrate surviving the nursing program, we had a pinning ceremony. Kind of like graduation…but just for the students in my class. Thank you to my sweet sister-in-law, Mel, I have pictures to remember this big day.

I want to thank all my friends and family who have been so supportive! You guys rock. I know I’ve been busy and missed important events or just disappeared for weeks on end, but I want you all to know that I appreciate you and love you all so much! (…and miss you!!)

Three weeks of Christmas break seemed to fly by, but it was a nice break. I was able to manipulate my work schedule to have a lot of days off in a row for Christmas and for our Anniversary, which was so nice. Ry was even able to get a week off and we celebrated our 2^nd Anniversary by going to Idaho and going snowmobiling and just RELAXING. It was the best. Thank you mom and dad for a great weekend!

Here is my cheesy blurp because I’m a terrible wife and totally forgot to write a card for Ry for our anniversary…Ry, I love you more than words can express and I am beyond grateful that you are mine FOREVER! I love everything about you and I’m so excited to live life with you and raise a family with you someday (someday does NOT mean in 7 years mister). You’re going to be the quirkiest and BEST dad ever and I’m so excited for that! You have opened my eyes to so many things and have given me the privilege to meet so many wonderful people. Thank you for being the greatest example to me and to everyone around you. You are the most kind, forgiving, considerate, loving, trustworthy, reliable, selfless person I know and I hope that your good example rubs off more on me. You are always serving and giving and it humbles me. You don’t want people to know how you help them, which sometimes kills me because I want everyone to know how pure and GOOD you are. Thank you for always forgiving and forgetting when I do something mean, bratty, or dumb and for always loving me and being willing to hold me when I’m down. I find such comfort in knowing that you are always there for me when I feel that nobody else is. You know me and you know how to make me smile when all I want to do is cry. Thank you for showing me how to live. You’ve showed me that life is SO much more than work. That life is about relationships and memories. Thank you for giving me opportunities to learn something new, even when it means you have to go slow and wait for me. I love you for all your funny little habits – like not putting cups upside-down in the cupboard because you’d rather rinse dust out of your cup than lick the bottom of the cupboard, like licking the top of the toothpaste (and every condiment) so that the lid doesn’t get sticky, taking a bajillion vitamins, criticizing the heck out of movies, making the bed with one pillow in the middle of the bed for your knees, eating a bowl of cereal while you drive to school, and even having me fold your socks in half in a pair rather than rolling them together :) You make me smile Ry guy. I love when you are joking around with someone and they have no idea. I love that I can expect what’s coming (usually) because I know you. I’m so excited to keep getting to know you! I love learning new things about you and about your childhood and about what made you become the man that I am so hopelessly head over heels for. Happy Anniversary love, and here’s to MANY more to come!!

ps: Mel recently took pictures of Ry and I...but I have terrible internet and it took like an hour for the pictures above to load. So...I will put some of those up as soon as I can get access to fast internet!

Our Week With Lil' B

Last week Ry and I got to have Brandon come visit us for a little bit. Because he was here we wanted to do a lot of fun things in the mornings, so we definitely had a busy and fun week!

Saturday

Brandon got here Saturday night and Ry did not want to waste any time. We got home and put a little bit of food in him and then went shell hunting. We found a few cool ones :) they always end up being my most favorite souvenir. I don't have any pictures of them, but I have about a bajillion tiny ones and a good amount of big ones we're bringing home!

Sunday

Sunday we went to our family ward despite Lil B’s insisting that we should go to the singles ward. Sorry bud! Church was really good that week, so I’m glad we went to our ward!

Anywhoo, Sunday we just kind of hung around and showed B a few of the lagoons by our place and then barbequed hamburgers for dinner. With grilled pineapple of course! Mmm. 

We got pictures of B on his camera...and we got pictures of me and Ry on our camera...but we didn't get pictures of all of us on anyone's camera! Oops!

Monday

The adventures really began Monday morning. Waking Lil’ B up wasn’t too terrible, since it was 11am Utah time haha. We first headed to the Maunawilli waterfall hike. The hike went a lot better this year for me…I didn’t fall in any rivers and managed to fall only one time. Success! I got some fun videos of the boys jumping off the cliff.

Ry and B hanging out

This sign always makes me a little nervous to get in the water :) …but it never seems to stop us. Please note that this picture was taken AFTER the hike. 

After Maunawilli we cruised over to our favorite boogie boarding beach – Sherwood. I think B loved it too! We ended up going back again before he left for home. We got to play there for about an hour before we had to leave to get our banana macadamia nut pancakes from the famous Boots and Kimos. Mmm!

Tuesday

Tuesday we decided to take B to (in my opinion the best beach ever) Nanakuli. I didn’t get pictures of us there that day, but Ry and I went again this week and I got some fun videos of Ry skimming and goofing around…so I feel it appropriate to show you these so you can see why I love Nanakuli so dearly.

I do have to say though, that it also can be the most terrifying beach ever. When we went this week the waves were absolutely ginormous. They would hit the beach and then cause a wave to shoot back towards the ocean and then crash into another wave to make a gigantic wave…bah. So scary!

I stayed out of the water and watched most of the time until I got brave enough to go play in it when it calmed down – unfortunately I didn’t get out before a set came in and swam helplessly with Ryan by my side trying to keep me from having a panic attack so I wouldn’t drown. The videos don’t do justice.  I do have to add…you know it’s a rough wave day at the beach when the second you show up the lifeguard hops on his four-wheeler and comes to ask you if you’ve ever been to this beach before. Because you’re white. Gotta love it :)

Regardless, any day at Nanakuli is a good day.

After Nanaku we stopped at what we lovingly call the “turtle beach”. It’s a little lagoon in Ko’Olina that has definitely earned its name. Every time we go there is at least one turtle, and often there are two or three. When we go there we pick seaweed off the rocks and hand feed the turtles. Unfortunately the awesome pictures and videos are on Brandon’s camera. Hopefully I will get to update the blog with them soon!

Wednesday

Wednesday was a very good day. We woke up early and drove to Laie to go to the temple. Beautiful. We were especially excited to go because last year when we lived here the temple was closed for reconstruction. AND, when we went to visit the temple grounds last year Ry had thrown up in the car a couple times and I was super mad that the drivers did not turn around…so it was good to go back when everyone was feeling good and happy and we got to do a session, which is always extremely uplifting and rejuvenating. I love the temple!

After we did a session we walked around the temple grounds and across the street to temple beach. It is such a pretty beach! Ry and I had stopped by there last year at night so it was fun to see is during the day.

After temple beach we started to head home. We did make a couple picture stops and stopped in Haleiwa for lunch at a yummy burger joint that Ry loves.  

 Perfect day!

Thursday

Thursday was our Waikiki day. We did this a couple times last year and loved it so we wanted to make sure B got to do it too! B, Ry, and T-Rah each rented a board. Ry and I learned that it’s best to have someone off a board to help the others catch the waves :) We also learned that is can be dangerous.

This was 100% my fault. I do realize that. Ry warned me multiple times to make sure that the rope wasn’t caught around my ankle or arm. Oops! The crappy thing is…Tarah would have caught the wave had my arm not stopped her board. Dang.

I didn’t get pictures of us with the surfboards (of course), but here are a few Tarah and me with our matching sunglasses!

Take 1

Take 2

Take 3!

Surfing was definitely fun. I got up and rode a few waves all the way in!!

Friday

Friday we kind of slept in and didn’t make a huge effort to wake up early or drive anywhere far to do anything. And it was perfect. We all needed some sleep. We stayed close to home and went spear fishing at we so lovingly call “hidden beach” or “tree beach”. 

A while ago Ry had bought a waterproof bag meant for cameras or phones. Ry decided to use it when we went spear fishing. I’m not going to lie, I was skeptical about the zip lock-looking bag that Ryan was putting his phone into…but it worked great and kept his phone dry! Ry definitely got some awesome pictures and videos!

Can you see the eel?

Saturday 

 Brandon took the bus to Waikiki and Ry and I worked.

Sunday

Church, lounge, and barbeque!

Monday
Sherwood again in the morning and B left that night.


What a great week!