Snips and Snails, and Puppy Dogs Tails...

That's what little BOYS are made of. That's right, we're having a baby boy. Josh got his wish!! All those mornings he left for school and rubbed my tummy saying "think about making boy parts!" must have worked. We are so so thrilled and can't wait to meet our little guy. Here's how it happened....

We went to the ultrasound school again and  the baby was sitting Indian style. He was all curled up with his feet by his head. We couldn’t get a good picture because of how he was positioned. The lady told me my bladder was too full so she let me go to the bathroom. We hoped it would have made the baby move but it didn’t budge. So she tried for a while longer  and had me turn on my sides and wiggle my belly but the baby was very stubborn. She told us to walk around for a bit and get something sweet to eat. We tried a Mexican restaurant next door but we didn’t get service so we just found a vending machine and I ate a twix on the way back. I was jumping and skipping and jiggling my belly to try to get him to move. When we got back he had turned completely around but was in the same position just opposite. She kept trying and got a little bit of a view and she said it was a girl because she could see three distinct lines. She kept trying for different angles and then she wasn’t so sure but still kept seeing lines. Finally right before we gave up, Josh suggested we try it on my side again and WHAM-O! There was his little twig and berries. Plain as day, no denying, he was all BOY! Josh was so excited he let out a whoop and threw his arms in the air and did a little happy dance. He was all smiles, grinning from ear to ear. When we walked out he announced to everyone that we were having a boy! We went to Old Navy and bought a little onesie that said “Local Bad boy, Watch out ladies” . We celebrated with some oreo shakes from Carl’s Jr.( after going to at least 3 other places to try to find good shakes we settled for this).  We called our parents right away to share the excited news. Josh couldn’t wait to tell the world so we took a picture of the onesie with the bedding I bought and posted it on facebook.

                                

And Then There Were Three!

You Guessed it! We're having a baby!! We're expecting our little bundle of Joy on December 2, 2012. We are more than thrilled and can't wait to cuddle our sweet baby. We tried for a year before we were blessed with our little miracle. I'll try to be brief but here's the story...
I had several issues with my cycles growing up and was put on birth control to regulate them and to prevent cysts. I still had problems with cysts while on the pill and almost had to have one surgically removed before we got married. After we got married, I got an IUD and we loved it. Then we started feeling like something was missing and since I was done with school and working and Josh was into his clinicals and finished with the hardest parts of graduate school we decided it was time to start trying. I had my IUD removed in March of 2011. 6 months went by and I feared that there was something wrong especially given my medical history. I went to an OBGYN and had some blood work done and an ultrasound. The blood work was fine but there were 2 cysts on one ovary and I hadn't ovulated. I had been keeping track and though my cycles were now regular, I didn't ovulate every month. The Dr diagnosed me with a slight case of PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). He ordered more tests and it was a nightmare going through everything. One test, the HSG test, requires you to have a catheter inserted into your uterus and a radiopaque die is injected so that they can look for blockages. However, the radiologist was unable to perform this test and my Dr said that he would need to do it in the OR under general anes. I decided that this was too much to deal with right away so we waited. Josh had a semen analysis and it came back that he had a very low sperm count. We were told that we would most likely never be able to conceive on our own. 
   Of course we were devastated but one of my very best friends from middle school was going through the same thing and she was such a support through everything. I started realizing that there were women all around me who had dealt with similar situations and had beautiful children anyway. I still went through the stages of jealousy, frustration, anger, depression and so on. The most difficult thing to deal with was watching people get pregnant that didn't want it or who were unmarried and unprepared or people who had children but abused them. I didn't understand why we couldn't have a baby when we had a stable, loving relationship, a good home, I had a good job and Josh is almost done with school and will have an amazing career.  Once I finally realized that God has a plan and that there is a reason that these other people were blessed with children and I had not. I knew that I would be able to have children some day and I just needed to have faith in the lord that it would happen.
   I went to a different OBGYN and had more extensive blood work done that cost us over $1200 because my insurance doesn't cover infertility. Again, everything was normal and the Dr said that she wouldn't mind giving me clomid, a drug to help me ovulate. She wanted to wait 1 more month before she prescribed it and wanted to have Josh tested one more time. During that month I decided to try acupuncture and herbs to see if that would help. I did it twice a week for 1 month and then decided it was too expensive and time consuming. Josh that I was crazy but I figured it was worth a shot! Josh and I planned a trip for his spring break to go to Bishop, Reno, and Yosemite. We were gone 10 days and I was supposed to have started my cycle while we were camping. I waited for it to come and felt some of the normal symptoms that I would start but never did. While we were hiking I would have strange pains in my side and my body felt different.
    The Monday we got back I was planning to go get the stuff for Josh to do the semen analysis since my dr's appointment was that Friday to get fertility drugs. I still hadn't started so I decided to take a pregnancy test. I ate breakfast and went back to check and to my surprise it said PREGNANT! I was overwhelmed with emotions. I laughed and cried and jumped for joy. I celebrated with GV and then I got on my knees and thanked heavenly father for this tremendous blessing. Josh wasn't going to be home for another couple of hours so I tried to keep myself together while I waited. I decided that I was going to make him lunch and I put a leftover hot dog bun in the oven to announce it to him. When he got home I showed him that I had made him lunch and then i showed him the bun in the oven. He just looked confused and said "Thanks babe!, what is it?" I said "it's a bun...in the oven..." He just said "thanks" again and I laughed and handed him the pregnancy test and the semen analysis request and told him " You don't have to do this anymore!" His eyes got huge and he couldn't believe it. He  swept me up in his arms and we both cried and held each other. We spun and danced around the kitchen and laughed and cried together both feeling a thousand emotions at once.
    We sat down to eat and couldn't focus. We were both so nervous and excited and happy and scared. He burst into tears and cried "what if I'm a bad dad" I hugged him and assured him that he was going to be the best dad in the whole world!
    We announced it to our parents on Easter by playing an Egame. We put together a phrase that said "you are going to be grandparents, yippee!!" We broke it up into 5 parts so that our parents and my grandma could all have one egg to open with a word or 2 in it. They were all supposed to read it together. My dad read his word "going" and blurted out "JOSH AND SARA ARE GOING TO HAVE A BABY!" We shushed him and they read it. everyone was so excited and we tried to get it on camera but josh forgot to hit record. It was hard keeping it a secret from people while we waited for the first ultrasound and for the first trimester to pass. Our families had an even harder time not announcing it to the world because they were so excited. We've had a couple ultrasound and heard the heartbeat a few times and are getting so excited. I've already bought a bedroom set for a boy and a girl just in case and several other items that I found good deals on. Josh thinks I'm crazy but I want to be a little prepared! We will find out what it is on Monday so stay posted!

Boo! Ahh!

Profile. SO cute already!

Irony At It's Finest

Earlier this year Josh was asked to help with screenings at a Kindergarten in Mennifee by a Pediatric Dentist that He's been working with.  He made arrangements with the offsite clinical director and Got all the paperwork he needed to go. However, When it came time to go, the head clinical director did not want Josh to go and wouldn't sign the form. He had told Josh that another student could go but since Josh had an assignment in the Radiology department he couldn't miss. So Josh found a replacement student to take his place during both clinic sessions but still didn't get approval from the dean. So, He decided that he could learn the most and do the most good for the most people if he went to do the screenings. I helped him and it went quickly. The kids were so cute and we had a great time. 

    Then the drama came... When he got back, his clinical instructor asked how it went and he said it was great and told her all about it. She was so proud of him she boasted about it to the other faculty and it came out that Josh had gone without proper permission. He received a letter saying he needed to meet with the dean of student affairs. She is not a very nice person and cares only about her own power and ego. She accused Josh of stealing the form that he needed to go and told him that he was unethical and unprofessional and that he would need to go before the student performance committee. The off site clinical Dean Martinez urged the other 2 deans not to go  forward but they ignored his plea and Josh had to go anyway. He then decided to do a survey to show the administration that the students were unhappy and that there was a problem with the authority. This didn't go over very well and Josh was thrown under the bus by his fellow student government and the survey was thrown out and people were told not to participate. 1/3 of the college had already filled it out and expressed concerns however but no one that mattered would do anything about it.

He and my dad put together a letter stating all the facts of how other students had been allowed to do similar things, the school policy (including the mission statement and promise that all students would be treated as professionals from day 1) and specific times and dates. Apparently the letter wasn't apologetic enough and Josh was given 1 year of professional probation. This meant that he would lose his CDA leadership position and student government position. BUT, If he were to write a letter of apology to everyone on the committee and the 2 deans that he disobeyed, he would be allowed to keep his positions during the probation.

    Meanwhile, the whole thing has pretty much blown over and they just tried to make an example out of Josh. Nothing has really changed, besides the fact that they are inspecting his every move to make sure he doesn't slip up. All of the faculty who actually know and work with Josh on a daily basis adore him, respect him, and feel that he is an excellent student and clinician. Josh is very well respected in the CDA dental community and all who know him are impressed with his talents, skills, abilities and personality. 

   So even though Josh was living up to the school's mission statement and trying to reach out to the community and make a good name for himself and the school and helped over 100 kindergartners, He was punished for being "unethical and unprofessional". A couple of months later there was an honors and awards ceremony and Josh received notification that he would be honored there. So we got dressed up and went to the banquet. He was given the Excellence  in Leadership award for exemplary leadership and professionalism which included $250. Then he was sponsored by the tri-county Dental Society to be their representative at a national new dentist conference in Washington D.C. 

What a Joke!!

    Josh has handled it all with grace and dignity and has upheld his integrity and upbeat, positive spirit. He continues to thrive in his leadership positions and is improving tremendously as a clinician. He is an amazing example of humility and respect and I'm so proud of him and all his accomplishments. He never lets anything get him down and never treats others poorly or holds grudges even when he has been wronged. He does so much for others and I'm so impressed with the man that he is. I'm grateful to be his wife and to know that we are sealed for time and all eternity. I hope that our children will take after him and learn from his incredible example. 

Terrible picture of Josh receiving the award. 

The award. "Excellence in Leadership Award in Recognition of Exemplary Leadership and Professionalisim." 

Spring Break 2012

tunnel tree

grizzly

a huge tree that had fallen over. these are the roots.

a burn spot in a tree

el capitan, clouds rest, half dome, cathedral rock, bridal veil falls

our stuff drying out by the fire after our long waterfall hike. most of it was through slushy snow, melting run off water and huge puddles.

big long tunnel leaving yosemite valley

this is a description of what is in that other picture of all the famous spots. kinda hard to see. i took the picture without being able to see what it looked like cuz it was so bright.

top of vernal falls.

I spotted this little beauty on the way up so we called it Sara's secret falls

Vernal falls

walking up the trail.

Yosemite falls.

lower falls

mirror lake

trees above our campground

we like tunnels. Hold your breath!

our first camp spot aka the river

our new camp spot

driving to yosemite over 88. so pretty.

so much snow!!

then all the green

a lake we saw along the way

view spot right at the beginning of yosemite park

Lunch break at squaw

there is a tram in this picture. can you spot it?

Josh and Zack playing call of duty

Lake Tahoe

Zack and Kendall

At Sand Harbor

The water is so clear. you can see almost 80 feet down! not here of course, its shallow but you get the idea.

Happy St. Patty's day. Shamrock shakes MMMM

Leaving Bishop

Gas was so expensive over the pass between bishop and Reno. This was one of the cheaper places.

way good restaurant we ate at on the way cuz I had to go potty.

For spring break this year we decided to take a road trip. We had whisperings of Guatamala which turned out to be too terrifying and a free trip to Haiti which turned out to not be free... So, while I was getting my taxes done I was chatting with the accountant ( a super cute old man from our ward who I adore) and he told me that Yosemite is only a couple hours from Bishop. Well Josh had planned to work in bishop a couple days during spring break anyway so we called our friends and asked if they would want to go camping. both couples said yes so we planned it all out...

We were going to go work in bishop, drive to reno to visit some old friends that just moved from here and see tahoe and go skiing, then all drive to yosemite and come home. Well the couple who was going to drive with us said they couldn't get a babysitter for that long so they were out. Then after we got to bishop and had already booked the campsite our friends from reno said it was too cold and they didnt want to go anymore.... We left GV with some friends who have 2 big labs and he had a great time.

So our trip started out in Bishop on St. Patricks day. We had a yummy BBQ dinner and then got green shamrock shakes from McDonalds. SO good! We worked in the clinic SATURDAY and I assisted Josh all day. We were able to get out of working on monday so SUNDAY morning we drove to reno. The drive was so pretty with all the snow. We made it to Reno and had a homecooked meal of chicken Parmesan. Josh and Zack played call of duty and madden while they waited for Kendall to get home from work. MONDAY we rented our skis and then went for a drive around lake Tahoe. It was absolutely gorgeous. Completely breath taking. It is hard to deny that there is a creator when you see such beauty. TUESDAY we went skiing at Squaw. they had the olympics there in the 60's I think. We got tickets for 45 and then josh got his free for being in the military so we were able to ski for about $100 including rentals for both of us. thats how much just a regular day lift ticket is for one person! They had 7 feet of new snow but it had been raining also so it was very wet and sticky. I fell a lot and was so scared. I was crawling down the mountain and crying and trying to remember how to turn. Poor Josh followed me all the way making sure I was ok. He would have to push me up hill because I went so slow down that I didn't have the momentum. He would walk up to get me when I couldn't make it down a hill. He held me when I cried and gave me words of encouragement and inspiration as I was attempting my descent. He was so sweet and patient and I'm so grateful that he puts up with me. I decided not to go back up after lunch and just enjoyed the village and the view from the car. It was a miracle I didn't break anything. I was so embarrassed because our friends have been skiing since they were tiny and were even in the ski club. But they were all very kind and patient so Thanks guys! We got home pretty early and took a nap. We went to the movies and saw 21 jump street. It was HILARIOUS. a little raunchy but still funny to us.

WEDNESDAY josh got up early and prepared the breakfast burritos for our camping trip and wrapped them in foil. we had cut up our vegis and planned all our meals out. We got all our stuff loaded up and made some final attempts to get our friends to reconsider. They wouldn't so we headed out. We returned our skis and then stopped by the pharmacy to get josh allergy medicine. They stopped accepting his insurance so we went to walmart. They couldnt find his member number so it took an hour for it to get all figured out. We finally got the prescriptions and got out of town around noon. we stopped in Carson City to buy firewood. It was some crazy people who let their kids play outside in the cold with no clothes or shoes on. so sad.

The road that only takes a couple hours to get to Yosemite was closed for the winter due to snow so we had to go all the way around which would take 6 hours. Again, the scenic route was gorgeous! there was tons of snow on top of the mountain but as we got further down into the valley it was super green. we made it to the park around 5:30 but still had to drive about an hour to the camp ground. we stopped to take pictures along the way and made it to our camp site around 6:30. the attendant had left at 6 and our camp spot was a river. it was meant for RV's but we have a tent so it wouldn't work. we drove to the front and found a list of open spots for that night only. We picked a few and drove around to find a good one. the camp ground was covered in snow and we didn't have a shovel so we needed one that was already clear. We found a perfect one hidden by some big rocks and trees and was already cleared. We quickly set up our tent and unloaded all our stuff into the bear proof locker. Josh got a fire going and we roasted hot dogs for dinner and marshmallows for smores.

THURSDAY: we got up and warmed our burritos in the dutch oven. they were so warm and delicious and we were in good spirts. Yosemite is so pretty and we were happy to be alive. Josh drove to tell the attendant we had moved spots and they said great but you can't stay there because its reserved. So we worried and I was mad and we didn't know what to do but we decided to stay another night there. We went for a walk to mirror lake and then to see yosemite falls. Both hikes were quick and easy but so amazing. We visited the museum and the Ansel Adams gallery. Then for dinner we made dutch oven potatoes and steak burgers. fantastic meal! for desert josh made dutch oven cobbler. We shared with our neighbors and they were super grateful. That night it started pouring rain! we had left out our chairs, the wood and playing cards, my gloves and some other things which were all soaked. also our tent got soaked and started coming through the floor onto our sleeping pads. Josh jumped up as soon as he noticed and got everything covered or moved.

FRIDAY we tried starting a fire with wet wood and actually did a pretty good job. we got our breakfast cooked which was cinnamon rolls and burritos. too yummy! We figured we might as well move since most likely the people would be coming that day and we didn't want to cause any problems. We took all the stuff out of the tent and just picked it up and moved it to the campsite across the way which was available. We set it down and got everything all moved over. we went on a long hike (rougly 8 miles we guessed adding it all up) to see the nevada and vernal falls. we hiked to nearly the top of the cliff and had some phenomenal views. we took a trail that was supposed to be closed but several people were doing it. We had a great time and were happy to be able to spend so much time together just the 2 of us. We got back to find that the snow bank next to the tent was melting and the trenches josh dug were already filled with water. So we had to pick it up and move it again. I was a little annoyed and pretty grumpy but we finally got it all in order again. that night we had left over potatoes and BBQ chicken. and smores for dessert again.

SATURDAY: We got up and had breakfast. then started to pack up all our stuff. We finally got out of the site around 10:30 and drove another hour or so to the Mariposa grove of giant sequoia trees. They were incredible! They are so big its hard to imagine they have been around for thousands of years. one tree was bigger than the empire state building or a 757 jet. it was 1800 years old. the sign said that every 5-20 years there is a fire, which is good for them, so imagine how many things it had been through and was still standing! we had a good walk around the forest and saw some of the more famous trees. Then it was homeward bound. We drove through Fresno and Bakersfield and made it home around 6:30. we got everything unloaded and cleaned up and then went to get GV. He was having way to much fun with those big labs. he would hang on their ears and bite their ankles. Then they would all 3 play tug-a-war with one toy and drag gv around the house. We are so lucky to have suck amazing friends and neighbors(ward members) that we have gotten so close to and that are so willing to help. We are truly blessed and have a wonderful happy life. We are so thankful that we were able to take this fun trip together and to see such natural beauty. Our testimony's were strengthened for sure!