23 Weeks

I'm not ashamed of my belly, I just don't feel like I have really had one until last week.  I just started to slowly pop out!  Just in time for school to start :)

Many people have asked how I have been feeling and the answer is GREAT! I feel that I have been very lucky in my pregnancy to have been feeling like my normal self 95% of the time. I really hope that continues to my 3rd trimester.  Of course I hate waking up early to get to work, but that is how I have always been.  Nothing new there!

School started last Wednesday and it has been a lot of fun so far.  I love the classes I'm teaching and I am actually ready and prepared for them- what a difference that makes!  Last year I was only 1-2 days ahead of the students and always felt rushed and stressed.  This time it is more fun and relaxed knowing that everyday is already taken care of.  What a difference that makes!  I did tell my student that I am pregnant so when they see my belly getting bigger and bigger each day, they won't be alarmed.  I had a student ask, "Are you going to be all hormonal on us?!"  Ha ha ha.  I told him that so far I haven't been, but if I go crazy they are welcome to politely tell me :)

I made one more craft item for our little girls room that I wanted to show off.  I wanted a place to put her ultrasound photos but couldn't think of a frame that would fit it right.  So, I bought this from wood connection and I am really pleased with how it turned out!

This is a bad picture of it, so in case you can't read the writing on the bottom, it says Love at First Sight.  We cannot wait to meet this little one.  We talk to her often and I dance around to try and get her to move.  The name we have settled on is Elise (NOT A-lise).  We are thinking of using Noelle as a middle name but still aren't 100% sure on it.  But for now were sticking with Elise Noelle until we find something better!

So it begins...

No, not school.  Although my first half week went great!  I LOVE high school :)  But back to the real point of this post....

Zack was away with some friends this weekend soaking up every last minute of his summer.  So what's a girl to do?  More girly stuff!!  My sister Nicole posted some bows she made for her girls the other day and I chastised her for not waiting for me!  So, I made her give up her Saturday and spend it with me making more!  It was great to learn all the in's and out's of bow making so my little one can be stylin'!  Our baby is already so spoiled-  I guess that's how you are with your first!  Thanks Nicole for all your help!  I had a blast :)  Here is what I accomplished:

I love them!  Now I just need a baby to put them on.....

Don't you just love Fall?

"Don't you just love...fall? It makes me want to shop for back to school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."
-Tom Hanks, You've Got Mail

As the beginning of school is quickly approaching I can't help but think of this quote!  Probably because I am getting my classroom ready and I have all my school supplies- I hope!  I agree with him though.  I do love fall.  I love that you can wear jackets again.  I love that orange and brown come into fashion once more.  I love the smells- apple cider, pie, peach cobbler, pumpkins!  If you asked my husband he would say that his favorite thing about Fall is football season.  He says it is better than Christmas morning!  Ah-crazy!  To each their own I suppose.  What are some things you love about Fall?

To update all of you on what is going on with me; I'll enlighten you!  I will teach at Westlake High School in Saratoga Springs UT.  It is about a 30 minute commute from my house.  I'll be teaching: Foods 1, Clothing 1 & 2, Interior Design 1 & 2, and Financial Literacy.  I am at least ready for the first week!  After that....wish me luck!  My classroom is nice and new :)  However, my clothing 1 class has an enrollment of 41 students and I only have 30 sewing machines.  That no work!  So, I get to convince them to get out of my class :)  School starts on August 25th, but my contract days begin on Monday.  I am nervous/excited about the new year!  I know it will all go by so fast!  Christmas break will be here before I know it, and so will a bouncing baby girl!  Life for the Pugh's is crazy and fun!

SuGaR and sPiCe

That's what little girls are made of!  This morning Zack and I had our ultrasound and it was a very fun experience.  Before telling us the gender of our little baby, the ultrasound tech made sure that the heart, brain, and spine were all as they should be.  Great news is that they were :)  Our little girl is growing just as she should be and is doing well!  It was really fun to see her little hands moving in there and be able to confirm what I thought was her moving around in there!  The tech did say that my placenta right now is very low so they will keep a close eye on that to see if it will turn into placenta previa.  The great news from that means that at about 28 weeks I will get to have another ultrasound!  I'm not worried about it at all right now.  Just getting more and more excited about getting to meet my little girl!

Zack and I with our photos as we left the Doctors office.

Profile.

Cute little footprint.

It's a girl!

After we found out the great news we headed up to Park City for the day to begin spoiling our daughter!  We had so much fun shopping for cute clothes :)  Little girls are so fun to dress up!  Zack and I are really excited to be having a little girl!  Bring on the bows, tutu's, and jewelry!  If you voted for a girl on my poll- great job!

He's applied himself....

to medical school, that is.  The application process is finally complete and Zack couldn't be happier :) Zack has applied to 22 different medical schools (seems like SO many but the av. is 18) scattered throughout the country and we hope that at least one of them will accept us!  It is exciting and a little nerve wracking- but we're ready to go. 

For those of you who don't know much about the medical school application process, let me enlighten you.  First are the primary applications, which is what Zack has just finished.  After that almost every school will reply back to you and have you submit a secondary application which is basically asking you to write an essay on a topic the school chooses.  If they like your secondary application, you are invited to the school for the interview. Everything comes down to the interview!  After an interview it could still be 2-3 months before you hear anything- so, here's to months of waiting!  Wish us luck and keeps us in your prayers :) Every bit helps!

Cloud Croft, NM

Zack's family and my family tend to be very similar! So of course, when my family planned a vacation mid-July, so did his!!  So, we flew out a day early from my family's vacation in Palm Desert to make it to Zack's family reunion in Cloud Croft New Mexico.  Never heard of it?  Neither had we :)

Cloud Croft is in the mountains of New Mexico and is nice and cool.  This is a place his grandmother used to travel to when she was younger to escape the hot hot heat of El Paso.  His entire family was there!  We had a fun time roughing it in cabins.

 We were bunk mates with Zack's sister Nina.  She is a HUGE Utah fan so we thought it was pretty fun we both sported these shirts one day.  See- - we can still be friends :)

 The hilarious part of this camp is that it is owned by the Community of Christ (aka The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).  So all over were were pictures of their gospel and strange sayings and prayers.  We would walk by this pillar on our way to the dining hall and didn't realized until 2 days later that this side, is only one of TWO sides!  We were so happy that the message finally made some sense.  Its pretty funny to only read this half though!

Amongst all the family games of ultimate frisbee, basketball, and get to know you activities, we still found time to play some of our favorite games.  Here is Zack and his sister Alicia playing Lost Cities.

 Zack's mothers side of the family is from the colonies in Mexico called Dublan.  That is where his Mom grew up so she is fluent in English and in Spanish. So although his mom is technically not a mexican, she definitely has the heritage.  Here is some of the family singing around the piano their favorite songs in Spanish. 

 Here is a perfect example of what I meant when I said weird artwork.  Funny.  We loved it!  It was great to be able to meet and finally put faces with names of Zack's family.  We had a great time even though it rained 80% of the time! 

Palm Desert

This year for our family vacation my parents took us all to stay at the Marriot resort in Palm Desert, CA.  All of my siblings and their kids were able to come except for Todd.  We had a great time watching movies together, laying by the pool, going to disneyland, and of course eating fabulous meals!

Here we are relaxing out at the pool trying to work on our tans!  We also visited another pool nearby that had water slides and a splash pad for all the nieces and nephews to play on.  We had a blast.

Zack and Molly hanging out watching some Disney movies to get ready for the park the next day.

My mom and Becky preparing a delicious meal for the entire crew!  The food was definitely one of the best parts of this trip.

We had and 'un' birthday party for my nieces Lexie and Shay since they live out of state and we won't be able to be there on their real special day.  All the kids had a great time!  We also said we were singing and celebrating Zack since he got his MCAT scores back that day and did AWESOME!!  I am so proud of him :)  He got the exact score he wanted and is feeling much better about applying to med schools now.  Way to go babe!!!

The next morning we left EARLY to drive to Disneyland!  We had a great time and it was fun to go with little kids and see their excitement of all the characters and the rides.  Here we are with good old Pooh Bear :)

What trip to Disneyland can be complete without a churro?!

I wasn't able to go on all the rides I normally would have since I'm pregnant but we still had an awesome time!  I'm glad my siblings were there so Zack could at least go on those rides I couldn't, with them.  Here we are with our goggles for Toy Story Mania!  Awesome ride and lots of fun!

And of course, before we left the park we had to stop by the Gibson Girl ice cream parlor for a treat!  We woke up around 5:30am and didn't leave the park until 10:30 so we were exhausted!

I think it is safe to say a good time was had by all!  Thanks Mom and Dad :)