21 Weeks of Adventure

I’ve been thinking about updating our blog for a long time (about 5 and a half months to be exact), but never got up the gusto to do so; however became inspired when my darling sister-in-law, Jessica, updated hers about her and David’s summer happenings.  Reading their blog helped me reflect back on incredible summer memories, and so, I decided to put them down on paper . . . or cyberspace.

Where do I begin? Last time we updated our blog we were just about to find out the sex of our baby. Well, for those of you that do not yet know, we are having a BOY! There aren’t adequate words to describe our pure joy around this news. I was 15 weeks pregnant last time I blogged and here I am now at 36 weeks—one month until our Prince Luke Philip Paxman arrives.

So what happened in between weeks 15 and 36? A whole heck of a lot . . .

Jeff and I decided to take this summer to relax and vacation with family. We headed down to California the first week of June—3 days after our 20-week ultrasound, which assured us that Luke was right on target developmentally. We took the first couple days to settle in and unpack. And then it started, yes, summer began!

Just two weeks into our trip home, Dave and Jessica were married for time and all eternity. It was a beautiful day and was filled with family, laughter, dancing and fun. It was also my first experience with swelling!  They were married on Friday, June 18. We celebrated with Redlands’ friends and family that night at the Paxman’s home and then traveled to Santa Barbara the next day to party with the Mann clan . . . and a clan they are! Now that’s a family that knows how to get down.

The next day we headed with my family to Mammoth Lakes for the week—a Wicks family tradition. However, it was different than any other trip I can remember. There were NO MOSQUITOS. There was also still snow on the ground! Rest assured, we found a gorgeous campsite right on Lake Mary. We had a blast—typical for the Wicks gang. We canoed, lounged and sang songs around the campfire. The boys took Jeff out for his first adventure in horseback riding. I couldn’t have been more proud of my husband at that time; he was the only one smart enough to wear a helmet! While the boys were out riding horses, my mom and I enjoyed some mother/daughter pampering time. I would expound on this; however, I am afraid we would lose credibility on being the true campers that we are! In our defense, I was 6 months pregnant and my mom is almost 6o—in town pampering was a necessity! We finished off our week with many games of bocce ball, more singing and gourmet campsite meals!

After Mammoth and all the wedding excitement, we were wiped out! We spent the next several days lounging by the pool and thoroughly enjoyed doing nothing at all.

Next up was our baby shower. Redlands had been having an extremely mild summer . . . up until the day of our OUTDOOR baby shower! It was 103 degrees that day. It was HOT, but beautiful and exciting non-the-less. We got so many wonderful things to “feather our nest” for Duker’s arrival. We got two strollers—an everyday stroller/car seat combo and an awesome Jeep jogger! Thank you, Ryan, Peter, Mark and Sage—and I thought the jogger was going to be nothing more than a BIG wish! We also got tons of adorable outfits and beautiful blankets made by Grandma Steph!

After the shower, we geared up for the Paxman’s summer vacation to Newport Beach. The beach was wonderful. It was great having everyone together. Aly even flew down from Utah for a weekend! We spent time lounging by the pool, playing cards, and sleeping in way too late! I became addicted to both Solitaire (on the iPad, of course!) and Dominos. We enjoyed wonderful meals and I learned that leftovers could be turned into completely different dishes than the night before—leave it to Karen and Steph to turn meatloaf into Spaghetti!

After the beach, we had one week left in California. We headed back to Utah the second week of August. We were sad to leave, but also extremely excited for all that awaited us in Utah! I drove down to California with Jeff, but decided I wasn’t up for the 9-hour commute back to Utah. My dad drove back with Jeff and my mom and I flew. My parents spent the week with us in Utah and helped us get completely ready for Luke.  We cannot appropriately express our gratitude for all they have done to help us prepare for our first child. Not only have they supplied us with the necessary (and fun) items, but they have also helped make every step of this journey incredible, memorable and fun.

During their time here in Utah, we did a ton. We put final organizing touches on our apartment for Luke’s arrival, went to movies and even saw the play “Big River” at the Sundance outdoor theatre. We spent one day in Salt Lake City where we visited historical church sites, saw the Joseph Smith movie, and ate at the Garden Café overlooking the majestic Salt Lake Temple. After a wonderful and spirit-filled day, we headed over to our appointment to see Luke in a 3D/4D ultrasound. Luke is seriously perfect. He is beautiful. He touches our heart in different ways each day. To quote a famous song, “I never knew love like this before.”

After my parents left, Jeff and I decided to take the week to relax and enjoy time (just the two of us) together before he started back at school the following Monday. The first couple days went exactly as planned; however, Tuesday afternoon we were thrilled to receive the news that Jeff was invited to his first dental school interview at Loma Linda University! Jeff called Loma Linda first thing Wednesday morning and was on a flight that night for his interview on Thursday. As I am sure it is no surprise to anyone that knows Jeff, his interview went great. I picked him up at the airport Friday morning. We ate a celebratory lunch at one of Jeff’s favorite restaurants, Chiplotle, and then headed back to Provo to spend the rest of the day sleeping!

So here we are, two days before school starts back up and exactly a month away from the arrival of our precious little blessing, Luke. Life couldn’t be better. We couldn’t be happier. Thanks to all those that made this summer all we’d hoped it’d be.