November

Life has been busy as we are approaching the holiday season. One of the biggest accomplishments in our family as of late, is that Jared finished his dissertation for his PhD. He is officially Doctor Jared Underwood now. He will be walking/graduating in Mid December. He bought his official robes and will be "hooded" on the day of graduation. I'm SO happy that it is finally over. Jared has been in school for 10 1/2 years, and luckily I have only been present for 4 1/2 of those school years. I'm so extremely proud of him for accomplishing this HUGE goal. He is truly an example to me, and will continue to be. With 2 months left before baby Cameron comes, we are starting to mentally prepare ourselves for what is to come. Having another child doesn't scare me, but dealing with the changes Brent will be going through will be tough. I have no high expectations for how he will react to another sibling. We will see how it goes! Recently Jared's sister Sarah came out for a visit from Utah. We had so much fun going to the beach, Legoland, walks, shopping, talking, and I enjoyed having a built in friend to do the mommy thing with.

Legoland

This last week, I went to Legoland twice with Brent. They let locals in for free for the last hour of the day. It is so close to our house, (3 minutes) and it is the perfect thing to do at the end of a day with a hyper little boy. On Saturday, Jared came with us, and we rode a couple of the kiddie rides. Then Brent saw one of the roller coasters, and called it the fast train. He wanted to ride it, and Jared and I looked at each other in surprised, and got in line with Brent. Luckily Brent is 36 inches tall now, so he is able to ride about everything at Legoland. However, he doesn't understand that we have to wait in line for things. He gets SOOOO frustrated when he has to wait. I was so surprised that he wanted to ride such a fast ride, but I was very excited to see how he would actually enjoy it. Jared rode with him in the front car and I was right behind him. When we went down the big hill, Jared held on to Brent so he wouldn't slosh around, he is still so tiny! Brent was a little unsure at first, but we were going so fast that he didn't have time to cry. I think he liked it, he wasn't bawling afterwards, he just kept on telling me "too scary momma". I tried to turn it around and talk about how fun it was and what a big boy he was. So, maybe he will want to ride it next time we go. It was alot of fun, and we were ALL tired at the end of the day. Earlier in the day we had spent the afternoon at the beach. The sun, and amusement park took all the energy out of us. Brent was asleep by seven and Jared and I dropped dead at nine.

Train Ride

2 weekends ago, Jared, myself, my sis and Brent went on the train to downtown San Diego. (I have pictures that I will post soon). Brent has been obsessed with trains ever since we moved to Carlsbad, because the tracks are right by the beach. There is also a little trail we walk along next to the train tracks, and he LOVES it. We waited at the train station for the train to come, and Brent was waiting so patiently, making sure he never took his eyes off the tracks in the distance. When the train arrived, he got on, and sat right in the chair. The ride was very picturesque, as we travelled along the coast. Brent was very serious, and calm the whole time. We had taken our bikes, and so when we arrived we got on our bikes and rode to Balboa Park. It is a HUGE park in San Diego with museums and fountains, and random musicians set up everywhere. There was a saxophone player named Mr. P playing....I don't like the saxophone, it reminds me of soap opera's in the the 80's. Brent liked it though, and he was very intrigued. It was so much fun discovering new places, and sharing a "first time" with Brent. Our next family fun will be to Legoland. Legoland is one exit north of us, and they let Carlsbad residents in for free for the last hour of the day. So basically we could go everyday, since it is so close. I'm just waiting for Jared to get work off a little earlier, so that we can all go together for the first time. It should be fun!

Injuries

In the past 2 weeks, Jared and I have both gotten pretty hurt. Jared a couple of weeks ago was out surfing in some big waves. There were alot of people at the surf spot, and he fell into the white wash, and someone else went under the wave, and when they came up, the tip of their board rammed into Jared's cheek like a screwdriver. He at first thought it went all the way through to the inside of his mouth, luckily it didn't. He has since recovered, and has a permanent dimple in his left cheek. I was just glad it wasn't his eyeball....gross I know. Last week, I was making a fresh peach pie, and I have sharp Henkle's knives. I have had these knives for a while now, and I have never cut myself. I was taking out a pit with the knife, because Brent wanted to play with it, and the knife slipped and shaved off the top of m index finger....it hurt sooooooooo bad! I had to go to the doctor because I was bleeding so much. It has almost healed, but has been a pain in the butt. So I really hope the trend of getting injured ends, it's not like we are doing outrageous things. Brent thankfully is fine, but I hesitate to say anything, fearing something has got to happen. Be safe everyone!

Adding to the Family

I have decided to join the "having a boy" club. Yes, we found out we are having another boy, and we are soooooooooooooooooooo excited. It seems like every pregnant person I know is having a boy, I think it is the year of the boy. I must say I'm relieved because I kept everything from Brent, and so all I need are diapers! I'm very excited for Brent to have a brother, I know he will not enjoy it until a couple of years down the road, but it will be fun for both of them. Jared is excited as well, although we seriously would have been happy with either a boy or girl. So now I can start my search for another boy name that Jared and I like. He is very active, and all over the place. He will need it, to keep up with Brenty.

Changes

Our family has lived in San Diego for a week now. We rented a house in south Carlsbad about a mile from the beach. We are still getting to know the area, but we are learning quickly that there is no way we will be able to afford a house of our own in this area. However, we will keep an eye on the market for the next year, maybe the prices will drop even lower. If it is not possible, we will just move a little more south or a little more inland from the beach. Jared is enjoying his new job working for the county of San Diego, and Brent and I have been frequent visitors to the beach (everyday, twice a day). Brent loves his new room, and is in a big boy bed now. We decided to skip the toddler bed and just put him into a twin that we already had. We are determined to not accumulate anymore stuff! I'm anxious for our new insurance to kick in so I can go to the doctors and see how the baby is doing, only a couple more weeks till we find out what we are having. I'm still in the "I look chubby" phase, which totally bites, but last time I didn't start showing until 5 months.
I'm actually really enjoying being a mother right now. Brent is turning into such a sweet, smart, funny little boy. He is talking, and playing pretend games at the beach. I love to hear him talk about things. The other day we were walking and he saw "two white dogs". he actually said it just like that. He counts to 15 on his own, loves triangles and circles, and has some of his colors down. Although I think he might be slightly color blind. :)
Anyways, life is good and ever changing.

Moving to San Diego!!!

Well, it's official! We are moving to San Diego (Encinitas, by La Jolla). Jared got a job working for the county of San Diego as a conservation biologist, and we couldn't be happier. Everything has fallen into place so easily, and we are super excited to live minutes from the beach. Jared starts his job on August 20th, so we will be officially moving there on the 16th of August. It has always been our dream to make it back to the coast, so that we can enjoy the culture that Jared and I love so much. Jared is especially excited to be able to surf as much as he wants, and I'm sooooooo glad to be getting out of the heat so that I can be outside with Brent and future children. We will be living about 40 minutes south of my family, which is the perfect amount of distance. We will be renting a house until we find just the right one for our family, I cannot wait! I feel so blessed how things have come together for us in the last couple of months, and I feel very excited to start a new chapter of our life. Please come visit us!!!!

Another Underwood

I'm finally done with my first trimester, and can officially announce that I'm pregnant with our second child. We are very excited and a little nervous about having 2 kids. I have not had any morning sickness, just tired here and there. Brent doesn't quite get whats going on, but I keep trying to tell him there is a baby in my tummy. In the last month, he has become infatuated with babies, so maybe that is a good thing. I'm sure there will be jealousy, but every family goes through this. I'm due February 3rd, it seems like forever away, but I need the time to prepare mentally. We can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl...we will see!

California

Jared, Brent and I just got back from spending 2 1/2 weeks in San Clemente. Everyday we went to the beach, both in the morning and in the afternoon. I was afraid I was looking a little leathery after being in the sun for 2 1/2 weeks straight. The 4th of July was also fun, but Brent never stays awake for the 9pm fireworks at the beach, so next year he might get a chance to see them. It was awesome spending time with my sister Lana, and doing the mommy thing withe her. Brent had so much fun hanging out with his cousins, he misses them already. Our family is now back in Arizona for week (we are staying with our friends, seeing as we are homeless) and the Brent and I are flying up to Utah to see Grammy and Pa Underwood for 3 weeks. I love going back to Utah for visits, to reminisce about college memories. Many prospects and changes are happening in our family that I don't want to post until they are official, I almost can't wait. Stay tuned to hear more....

Concrete Beach

For the past 2 months, 3 times a week, Jared, Brent and I have been regulars at the water park. We bought season passes for the 3rd year in a row, and we are loving it! There is a HUGE wave pool, with actual beach like waves, and everyday from 4-4:30 they have a body board session. They only allow people with body boards to be in the wave pool, and it has been so fun to be out there as a family. Jared takes Brent on his board, and I ride my own. Brent LOVES it! In a 1/2 hour period we get to catch about 12 waves and when it's over we ride the water slides. Brent is not afraid of any of them, I'm so proud of him! We will miss our concrete beach, seeing as we are moving this weekend, but we are off to a real beach in San Clemente for 2 1/2 weeks!

Hanging out in doors

So, the weather here in Arizona is psycho! I can't believe people actually wanted to settle here, it is SO hot. Brent and I are trying to stay cool by going to the water park everyday, and staying inside with the AC on. I have been procrastinating the packing of our house, even though we are moving in 2 weeks. There is so much to be done, but the heat makes me SOOOOOOO lazy!

The House has SOLD!

YAAAAAAAA! Our house sold! We didn't expect it to happen so suddenly, but it was meant to be. We got an offer on it 2 days after we put it on the market, and everything has fallen into place since then. We are still waiting that 10 day period for the home inspection and stuff, but once that is over, it will really be official. The guy buying our house wants to close in 30 days, so that means Jared, Brent and I have to be be out of the house by the end of the month! There is so much to do, I can't even imagine how many boxes we are going to need. So where are we going? That's the big question everyone is asking. Well, I had already made plans before all the house selling stuff had even occurred, to spend most of the summer not in Arizona. Jared, Brent and I will be going to California to stay with my parents for a couple of weeks in July, to enjoy the beach. After that, Brent and I are going to Utah, to stay with my in-laws while Jared goes to New Mexico for work for 2 weeks. He will then join us for another week in Utah, and then we will finally be home around August 15th! I'm going to live out of a suit case for 2 months! When we come back from Utah, we are renting a house in Anthem, AZ (north Phoenix area) close to Jared's work. Since Jared is planning on graduating in December, we wanted to be able to leave as soon as he gets a job, and not have to worry about selling or renting out a house. So, that is our story, and plans for the summer. I'm going to miss Mesa, and all the friends I have made, but I'm excited for this new phase in our lives.

Getting the house ready to sell

For the past week, Jared and I have been prepping our house to put it up for sale. We have been finishing projects around the house that have been put off for 4 years, and in just a couple of days, Jared has completed them. I'm really excited with the way the house looks, but I'm very frustrated at the same time. It seems as though we have kept putting these projects off for years, and now that they are completed, we won't even get a chance to enjoy them. However, Jared and I think that there is NO WAY that our house will sell, since the market is so bad, but we thought we would try just in case. I don't want to get my hopes up!
This weekend we turned our AC on. This is a monumental moment for our family, seeing as Jared has been putting this off for months, even though we have had a couple of days in the high 90's and I have been complaining for the last month! Summer has officially begun in Arizona!

Brent's unique vocabulary

Brent had his 2 year appointment last week, and he is still in the 75th percentile in height. I announce this because of the great importance Brent's height plays in our family. Jared is convinced that Brent will be forever a "scrawny" midget. I keep on telling him that he should have married someone that wasn't average height for a woman. Anyways, the funny story of the week is that Brent loves helicopters, and he kind of likes the doctor. So,when we ask him to say helicopter, he says "ta-ta's" and when we ask him to say doctors, he says "ta-ta's. Jared and I find it so hilarious how he interprets certain words. Our very favorite word is squishy. When we ask Brent to say squishy, he says, "seecume". What? Where does he get that? I can understand ta-ta's, but seecume? We are enjoying listening to Brent's growing vocabulary, and can't wait to have a full conversation with him.

I'm a new blogger

So, I'm hoping to be cool like all my old roomies and start a blog. Today Jared and I have been working on chores around the house, and chores that have to do with the outside, because it is the last of the coolness before the hellish heat of Arizona comes. It gets so hot, that you have to wake up at 5am in the morning just to mow the lawn, if you even have lawn after the sun scorches it. Brent is attatched to his daddy more than ever, and hates it whe he can't be right near Jared when he is trying to work on projects around the house. Brent and Jared are best friends, however I think Brent's affections are much more strong than Jared's.
The other day, Jared and Brent found a snake in the backyard. It was a small narrow snake, and Brent enjoyed holding it. But, I don't think he quite knew what it was because as he was holding it, he became very rough with it, and was whipping it all around like a wet noodle. It was a funny moment, and Jared was a proud dad.