Sunday Snapshot...

Logan and Kaylee getting ready for bed. So precious.

Also, I'm trying to win a blog giveaway. It's for some high-value coupons at ThriftyNorthwestMom. I really love this site and all the free stuff she tells you about. I even got 24 free digital prints at Walgreens because of one of her posts. It was great...I sent them from my computer to a Walgreens in New York and had my parents pick them up so now they have some new hard copies of their favorite grandbabies :-)

Happy Accidents...

This weekend we had Stake Conference and while we didn't plan on attending the two-hour session this morning (with a million other people in an extremely uncomfortable place with a crazy two-year-old for two hours), I had every intention of attending the adult session last night with Zac. However, this is what went down...

3:19 p.m.- Texted wonderful sister-in-law, Rosie, who is in town visiting from New York and asked if she wanted to spend some quality time with her nephew while we went to church. She gladly obliged.

3:40 p.m.- While doing laundry, asked several neighbors where and when I could expect the session to be held since the only info on our RS calendar for August 29th was "Stake Conference.". The general consensus was 7-9 at the Provo Tabernacle.

6:00 p.m.- Made dinner and got dressed while Zac picked Rosie up from Liz's.

6:43 p.m.- Left Logan in the capable hands of his "Aunt Losie" and headed out the door with Kaylee.

6:58 p.m.- Parked in the parking garage we THOUGHT was the free one behind the tabernacle. Turns out it was neither free NOR behind the tabernacle.

7:09 p.m.- After circling the block and realizing we had no idea where the building was, headed back to the car and called best buddy Chris to confirm the location of the tabernacle. We were three block too far north.

7:11 p.m.- Realized neither one of us had the $2 cash it required to get out of the garage. Zac prepared to walk the 6 blocks to our bank to use the ATM. I was close to a breakdown. Then a very kind and wonderful gentleman overheard us talking about what to do to get out of the garage and gave us the $2. He said it was because our daughter was cute.

7:14 p.m.- Exited the garage and drove to the one that was in fact free and behind the tabernacle.

7:18 p.m.- Arrived at the tabernacle doors behind a family dressed in t-shirts and shorts (suspicious clue #1) and ahead of a good thirty other people (suspicious clue #2...18 minutes late is late even for Mormons).

7:19 p.m.- Zac forgot to leave his huge glass of diet Pepsi in the car, so he took it back. Meanwhile, I waited just inside the doors, surrounded by a lot of middle-aged men in black pants and white shirts with no ties (suspicious clue #3).

7:20 p.m.- A ton of middle-aged women came pouring out of the bathroom in all black. Something years of experience had taught me as "concert black." (Suspicious clue #4.)

7:21 p.m.- Finally asked one of the concert-attired guys, "So...funny question...what are you here for tonight?" He responded with a smile and, "What are YOU here for tonight?" I said, "The adult session of the Provo Stake conference?" And he chuckled while handing me two tickets (free tickets, but still...the gesture was appreciated) to the concert being performed at 7:30.

7:23 p.m.- Walked out to meet Zac on his way back from the car to inform him that the event being held at the tabernacle was, in fact, the Utah South Area adult choir's summer concert entitled "The Lullaby of Broadway," and not Stake Conference.

7:24 p.m.- Shrugged our shoulders and walked in to find our seats and proceeded to enjoy an hour and a half of Broadway numbers.

Sure, it wasn't Stake Conference, but we had a nice little spontaneous date night. Hooray for "Happy Accidents."

Rants and Raves...

Dear BYU Financial Aid department,
You suck. I have never experienced more problems with financial aid processing than I have with you over the last 4 months with Zac's stuff. First it was the incompetence of someone there who entered the aid year as 2006-2007 instead of 2008-2009. That delayed us getting loan money for THREE MONTHS. We had to take out a short-term loan form BYU that wasn't paid until 3 weeks AFTER it was due. Not our fault, YOURS. And now we have been presented with $5,000 of Stafford Loan money which we will gladly accept, but we are also entitled to receive $2,500 in Grant money (according to the FEDERAL WEBSITE!) and yet there is no mention of a Pell Grant anywhere on YOUR website. My frustrations with you do not end there, but since I find myself becoming increasingly agitated just writing about this, I am going to stop before I throw something.
-Sarah

Dear Costco,
Thanks for making shopping fun and economical. Even if you do take way more of my money than I intend to let you take every time I enter your glorious threshold.
-Sarah

Dear People that always park in our spot,
I know we don't have assigned parking spots in out complex, but I think it is generally assumed that you park in front of your own door. Not OUR door that is seven parking spots down from yours. I don't care if you have a huge truck that you find impossible to park in the right spot instead of the left spot and when all the other left spots are taken you feel entitled to ours. YOU AREN'T. IT'S OURS. And I'm only writing this to let off some steam so I don't key the side of your vehicle next time I have to park anywhere but MY spot in front of MY door.
-Sarah

Dear Cafe Rio,
Thank you for existing and making the thought of eating at your fine establishment tomorrow reason to make it through this last week.
-Sarah

Dear BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications,
Please hire Zac for the job he applied for. Our whole family would be eternally grateful if he had a job that did not require him to work until 1:00 a.m. every night of the week.
-The Steele Family

Dear Creator of our bodies who came up with the concept of breastfeeding,
Why? I'm soooo over it.
-Sarah

Dear Kaylee,
I love you. And I really appreciate the fact that you slept from midnight until 7:30 this morning...only to wake up and eat and go back to sleep until 9! And even though I know posting about it will cause it to never happen again, I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed seven hours of uninterrupted sleep. I love you!
Love, Mommy

Dear Logan,
I love you. Thanks for collaborating with your sister and sleeping in until 8:30 this morning. And a BIG thank you for sleeping in your own bed the whole time! I "lu you much!"
Love, Mommy.

Dear Creators of High School Musicals 1 and 2,
I find your movies entertaining. And I really appreciate how much my son loves the numbers "Getcha Head in the Game" and "I Don't Dance." So thank you for airing both movies on Disney Channel the other night so I could record them and get good quality copies on DVD. We watch those two "music videos" about 10 times a day and they are catchy enough that I don't hate them :-)
-Sarah

Dear BYU Webmasters,
Why is your website in a continual state of retardedness? I swear it is next to impossible to navigate, not to mention full of broken links and script errors that have prevented me from being able to do a million things, such as waiving the INSANELY expensive student health plan. Please stop sucking.
-Sarah

Dear Spell-check,
"Retardedness" should be a word.
-"Srah"

Dear US Post Office,
Thank you for getting packages from my parents in a timely fashion this week. And for delivering Kaylee's birth announcements promptly last week. You have escaped a rant this time around. But beware...you've been known to screw up in the past and I will not hold back when you do so again.
-Sarah Steele
1115 E 1140 S #4

Dear Inventor of the Teleporter,
Hurry up and invent a teleporter already. I would very much like a device that would transport me and my children instantaneously to various parts of the country (i.e. New York, San Antonio, Disney Land, etc). Oh, and if you could make it free to use, that would be friggin' sweet. Thanks in advance.
-Sarah

Dear Zac,
I love you.
Love, Whife.

Dear Disney Channel,
Thanks for keeping Logan entertained so I could write this. But I feel your magic has worn off for now. See you again around nap time.
-Sarah

Fun In The Sun...

It is freaking hot today. Our outdoor thermometer says 96. And that's in the shade. So we decided our family activity for the day would be to wash the car. We have the car wash soap, so we took that and some other car washing supplies over to our old apartment complex that has a car wash area equipped with hoses and a vacuum. The water was nice and cold so it was a fun little family activity...and productive to boot!


Zac hosing down the Sube



Logan being such a good helper! (Before we started chasing him with the hose...)



And Kaylee watching all of the activities from the comfort of her car seat and a shady tree.

Sunday Snapshot and Stats...

First order of business, the pictures:




I tried to snap one of Logan kissing Kaylee, but I got the before and after.

Second order of business, Miss K's 2 week check-up. Babies are expected to be back to their birth weight by two weeks. This ensures they are eating enough and you're producing enough, etc. Well, if you recall, she was 7 lbs 4 oz. And at her doctor's appointment, she was a whopping 8 lbs 7 oz!!! That put her into the 55th percentile for weight. She also measured 21 inches in length which put her in the 70th percentile. And her head is 37.5 cm, in the 80th percentile. Whereas Logan's ginormous head was 41 cm at 2 weeks and put him above the 100th percentile.

In other baby news, I think Kaylee is having the same dairy issues Logan did. When I eat/drink dairy, she screams her head off after eating. Logan seemed most affected (effected? I don't remember...) after I would eat chocolate, but dairy did a number on his tummy, too. Knowing that, I gave up chocolate for the last three days, seeing if it would help Kaylee at all. It didn't. So now I'm off dairy for the next three days and we'll see how that goes. It won't be easy for me, I'll tell you that. I love cheese and yogurt. And recently, we've been having milkshakes for dessert. And though I can't have the shakes without a Lactaid pill, I will still miss them dearly. Oh well. I guess a happy baby will be worth it.

Sunday Snapshot...

I have a feeling this is what most of my Sunday Snapshots are going to look like for a while...

Baby Kaylee's Birth Day...

Ok, both kids are asleep and I'm waiting for the husband to get home from work so I thought I'd finally sit down and write out all of the gory details of my little princess' birth last Tuesday. So, for those of you that are interested, here goes:

My doctor agreed to induce me on Tuesday the 21st (even though it was her day off) because Monday night was when my WONDERFUL mother-in-law, Jaylene, flew in from New York to help out around the house after I had the baby. My sister-in-law, Savannah, also flew back here from New York the same day after having been gone for three weeks. So Tuesday the 21st seemed like the best idea, knowing I would have someone to watch Logan and knowing that I could get full use out of my mother-in-law for the week that she was here. So Zac left work early Monday night to drive to Salt Lake to get his mom and sister. There were some construction issues which detoured them for an extra 45 minutes in Salt Lake, but when they finally got back here to Provo (about 12:30 a.m.), we visited for all of 20 minutes before everyone went to bed. After all, we were expecting an action-packed Tuesday and wanted to get our rest.

Well you can guess how well I slept. I think I fell asleep around 2:30 but woke back up when Logan came into our room at 4:15. So I got him his juice and decided I would sleep better on the couch. Which I did. For an hour and a half. When the hospital called.

Me: Hello?
Nurse: Hi Sarah, this is so-and-so from Utah Valley Regional. We have you as the first on our list of six inductions for this morning. How early can you be here?
Me: Um...
Nurse: Is quarter after six going to work?
Me: Um...maybe. What time is it?
Nurse: 5:40.
Me: Um...
Nurse: Would 6:30 be better?
Me: Um...yeah, sure.
Nurse: Great! See you soon!

So I rolled out of bed...er...couch, and made myself a bowl of oatmeal before rousing the rest of the house and calling Savannah to come watch Logan. We made it to the hospital by 6:37 (I may have gone to mother/baby on the 4th floor instead of labor/delivery on the 5th floor) and got everything situated. I was in my room and getting the heck poked out of my veins by 7:00. The nurse blew the vein in my left hand (the same thing happened with Logan) and then tried for the vein in my right hand. And blew that one, too. I still have bruises ten days later. So I asked Zac to punch her after she left to find someone else to try the third time. A few minutes later she came back with two other nurses, one of which was able to get a vein below my thumb on my right hand. So the pitocin was started at 7:30.

The contractions were about how I remembered with Logan...just really bad menstrual cramp-like feelings. So I put up with them while lying in the bed for a few hours while chatting with Zac and Jaylene. After a while I made them leave to go eat some food and when they got back I got out of bed to use the bathroom and pretty much refused to get back in bed. The contractions were getting harder and being in bed was not making it any easier to deal with them. But when I was standing and swaying a little, they were tolerable. But all good things must come to an end and the nurse really wanted me back in bed to monitor the baby. So I complied. And when she checked me, I was at a 3 1/2. I wasn't impressed.


A few more hours went by and we watched TV while we waited for everything to progress enough for them to break my water. My doctor was monitoring me from home (since it was her day off) so her intern came in to break my water around noon when I hit a 5. His name was Dr. Kirk. He also put on an internal monitor so I could move around. But I was really starting to feel some Pain (with a capital P) so I wasn't planning on moving too much anyways.
*side note: I was on oxygen at this point, too, because the baby's heart rate would dip during contractions*
So I was lying on the bed, really feeling the contractions, considering my options. As previously stated, I really wanted to avoid the epidural. And though Jaylene knew right where to rub my back during a contraction to relieve some of the pain, it was still AWFUL. So I asked for some drugs to "take the edge off."
Nurse: Ok, I've got the Fentanyl. Did you want a whole dose or the half dose?
Me: Whole?
Nurse: Ok, but the whole dose might make you dizzy.
Me: Then just half.
Three contractions later
Me: I need the whole dose. Now.

So here I am, doped up with something 100 times more potent then Morphine (source: Wikipedia) and still crying "Ow, ow, ow" through every contraction. And only at a 5. I started weighing my options and thought to myself, If I'm only at a 5, this could go on for another few hours. So I begged for the epidural and started crying, "I can't do this." Zac called the nurse and told her I needed the epidural and she bumped me right to the top of the list. Then a few minutes later, enter Nurse.

Nurse: Ok, you were at the top of the list, but the anesthesiologist had to go to an emergency C-section. But he will be here as soon as he's done.
Me: I can't do this, I can't do this!
Jaylene: crying
Me: Thinking: There is NO WAY I am going to be able to sit still through an epidural. No EFFING way!

So my contractions were right on top of each other and I wanted to die. And then two minutes passed with no contractions. It was the best two minutes of my life. And I justified getting the epidural if I would be able to go through the rest of my labor feeling like that with no pain. It sounded glorious. And then I had three contractions where one wouldn't go away completely before the next would start. And I was back to wanting to die. And at some point, I flipped over on my hands and knees which seemed to freak everyone out. Mainly because my doctor wasn't even at the hospital yet.

Nurse: Sarah, you don't feel like pushing, do you?
Me: Thinking: I don't know, I just need the pain to stop!!!
Nurse: Ok, I'm going to check you again.
Me: Thinking: Ok, well, you're going to feel a head.
Nurse: Alright, there's the head. Sarah, don't push.
Jaylene/Zac/Everyone else in the room: Don't push, just breathe, breathe through the contraction, etc, etc.
Me: (After breathing through one contraction) Thinking: Who is in the room? Zac, Jaylene, my nurse, I think one or two other medical personnel...screw it. I'm pushing.

So I started to flip over on my back again but while I was still on my side, I pushed. And the head was out. And again everyone started telling me not to push...but this time they had good reason. They wanted to ease the shoulders out so I didn't tear. Good plan. However, it was still painful to have half a body in me so I may have flipped out a little. At this point, my doctor was pulling into the staff parking lot and was ready to rush up to my room so she called the nurses station to let them know.


Dr. Harrison: This is Heather Harrison and I'm on my way to Sarah Steele's delivery. Would you patch me through to her room so I can hear how she's doing?
Nurse: Well I just heard her scream, "Get it out of me NOW," so I think you might be too late.

So that was a bit embarrassing to find out later. And it was a little sad that my doctor didn't make it, but it was the first time my nurse ever had to deliver a baby. At lest it was memorable for her!

So I went from 5 cm dilated and 80% effaced to complete delivery in 26 minutes. Kaylee Faye Steele was born at 12:26 p.m. (the exact time predicted by Dani!) and was a petite 7 lbs 4 oz and 18 inches long. Or 18 and a half...there is some dispute over what was heard. But now looking at this picture, I see that 18 1/2 was recorded. And though there was some meconium when they broke my water, she didn't have any problems. And since she came out so fast, her head was even normal-shaped...she is just perfect!



Oh, and some people are wondering about her name. Kaylee doesn't have any real significance. It just happened to be in both mine and Zac's top five names and was the only one we agreed on. And the Faye is after my Grandma Shelia who's middle name is Faye. My grandma is really special to me and I wanted both her and my daughter to know it :-)

So will I do it without an epidural again? Probably, but I'm not positive yet. Having done it both ways, there are pros and cons. I loved the recovery without it. I literally hopped right out of bed minutes after Kaylee was born. And painful as it was, the feeling of giving birth to your child is pretty cool. And indescribable. However, it really freaking hurt. Not so much the birth, but the contractions at the end (and during transition...okay mainly during transition). So if you're going to get an epidural, you should do it the second you get to the hospital and not feel any pain. But if you're going to sit through contractions for a few hours to see how much you can handle, you might as well go all the way without it because it was amazing.


And yes, Logan loves her!

Happy Birthday, Mon-ga!!!

Birth story still forthcoming...thought a birthday wish to my fabulous mother-in-law was more important. And faster.

I Know You're All Hoping For The Birth Story...

...but you're not going to get it just yet. I'm too tired. But while you're waiting, check out some giveaways I'm trying to win from blogs I follow:

Jones Soda from Thrifty Northwest Mom

and a super cute Down East Basics dress from Sweet Life in the Valley.

And I'll post pictures and stuff soon. I'm just really tired. Love you all! Thanks for the patience!!!

Happy Birthday, Honey!!!

Hehe...his tush is still cute :-)


Zac's Birthday 19 years ago...when he was 5!


My wonderful husband turned 24 today! I'm excited because we're the same age now and it will say that on the new baby's birth certificate. When Logan was born, I was all self-conscious because the line with "mother's age" was 22 and the one with "father's age" was 21. I know it's only a 6 month difference, but I don't like being older.

ANYWAYS, for Zac's birthday, it was pretty low-key. Sorry, babe. But Logan and I made him blueberry muffins and took him breakfast in bed...but we let him sleep in till 11. So it was more like brunch in bed :-) We also took him a card that Logan made (since the one I bought last week went missing...), but I think Zac liked the one Logan made better anyways. Since it was like 100 today, we spent the majority of the afternoon inside enjoying our newly repaired A/C, but later in the evening, we ventured down to Spanish Fork and went to the "beach." It's really a reservoir, but it was clean and sandy (-ish...more like fine gravel, but whatever) and the water was really pretty. So we set up our beach blanket, ate cheeseburgers (I decided against the steak...not really a beach food), and played in the water. Logan was pretty exhausted when we got home, so he cuddled with his daddy before heading up to bed. And to finish out the day in typical Zac style, he went to the lab on campus to work on his film. So just after he left, I made cupcakes and hopefully I'll be awake enough to surprise him with them when he gets home :-)

And just in case you were wondering, yes I'm still pregnant. My due date officially passed 6 minutes ago. But that's ok. I'll be induced on Tuesday, which is conveniently the morning after Jaylene and Savannah fly in from New York. So whatever. I'll have a baby in 3 days. Eeek!

OH HAPPY DAY!!!

(no, no baby yet. sorry if that's what you thought I meant...)


OUR AIR CONDITIONING WORKS!!!!!!!!!

7-Day Forecast...

Tuesday: Got a cute haircut from my neighbor, Heidi. It's a little on the short side, but refreshing. High: 92 degrees.


Logan and Heidi's daughter, Renee.

Wednesday: Going to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince with my hunny. It's our last movie we're going to see in the theater while being parents of only one child. High: 92 degrees.

Thursday: Getting my eyebrows waxed...FOR FREE! A day spa in Provo has relocated to a bigger place in Orem and they're having a Grand Re-opening so they're giving away free services. I tried to snag a free pedicure since I can't reach my feet and all, but I called a little too late. But a free brow wax will still be welcome!!! High: 94 degrees.

Friday: My last baby appointment! Also, payday. Also, meat sale at Buy Low Markets, which goes well with payday. High: 97 degrees.

Saturday: Zac's birthday!!!! (And my due date.) I'm trying to plan something, but it seems most of what I have in mind concerns food. His favorites, of course, but you'd think I could be a LITTLE more creative than blueberry muffins for breakfast, sushi for lunch, steak with salt potatoes for dinner, and cake. High: 99 degrees.

Sunday: Church. Probably clean up the house a little. Nothing else really planned. High: 94 with scattered thunderstorms.

Monday: Savannah and Jaylene fly in from NY!!!! High: 92.

Tuesday: Induction day!!!!!!!!! High: 92.

In summary: our swamp cooler better be fixed by this weekend.

GRRRRRRR...

warning: this post is a total rant about how pissed I am at this very moment. I make no excuses for it.


IF YOU WERE AN APARTMENT MANAGER AND YOU HAD AN 8 AND 3/4 MONTH PREGNANT WOMAN (WHO IS A FAITHFUL PAYING TENANT) COME INTO YOUR OFFICE AND PLEAD WITH YOU TO HAVE SOMEONE COME LOOK AT HER BUSTED A/C UNIT, WOULD YOU? WOULD YOU? I BELIEVE MOST PEOPLE WOULD!!!! ESPECIALLY WHEN SHE PUT IN AN EFFING WORK ORDER FOR IT 5 EFFING DAYS AGO!!!! ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU KNEW THE MOTOR WAS HAVING ISSUES WHEN YOU HOOKED IT UP NEARLY 2 MONTHS AGO!!!!!!!!!!!

AND THE KICKER? I'VE TALKED WITH THREE OTHER PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS THAT DID NOT FILL OUT WORK ORDERS THAT HAVE CALLED THE EMERGENCY MAINTENANCE NUMBER AND HAVE HAD THEM FIXED AND WORKING WONDERFULLY WITHIN 24 HOURS!!!! ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME???????? DAMMIT!!!!!!!

I guess I'll be calling the emergency number bright and early tomorrow...

...OR SOMEONE IS GOING TO DIE!!!!!!

2 Year Check-Up...

First, I have to say that I LOVE going to a family practice. My OB is also Logan's (and the baby's) pediatrician. I remember being so irritated that I went to the same doctor my whole pregnancy and then once Logan was born it was like, "Ok, nice working with you, now go find another doctor to trust." But this time around, it's like, "Your uterus is great. How is Logan doing? Any concerns?" and I absolutely LOVE it. So last Friday, I had my weekly appointment and was able to schedule Logan's well baby visit for the same time. Because he was there, I opted to skip the internal exam, so I don't know what my cervix is up to these days, but here's the skinny...or not so much...on Logan:

Height: 85th percentile
Weight: 50th percentile
Head Circumference: 100th percentile (a little over, but they just put him in the 100th)


So he's tall and skinny with a huge head. And he's doing all the things a normal two-year-old should. Except when the doctor asked if he knew his shapes. He doesn't. We've been working on colors and numbers and letters so much that I have neglected shapes. My bad. But I never really liked geometry, so maybe we'll leave that one up to Aunt Savannah. When she decides to come back to Utah. In two LONG weeks. With "Mee-gah Jaylene." Which is how Logan pronounces "Grandma" these days. It's cute. Which is making me think of other things he says that are funny. So while my brain is going along, let's formulate a "Logan's Pronunciation Guide":

Bake-eek: Blanket
Basey Ball: Basketball
Basey Hewp: Basketball hoop
Daddy's Bit: Our bed, which is apparently Daddy's, and the only place he will fall asleep willingly and eagerly
Duce: Juice
Eese-eese: "This," referring to something specific he wants (see also "Wanna")
Mee-gah: Grandma
Nucks: Chicken nuggets
Oger: Yogurt
Pepeese: Pepsi or any carbonated beverage, not to be confused with "Puppies" which is usually intended to be singular
Pun-gah: Grandpa
Teese: Cheese, in string form
Touch: Catch (which involves a specific tennis ball and the person catching to sit on the floor on a pillow)
Tindy: Candy
Wanna: Thanks to Aunt Savannah, this is something specific he wants. I can't stand it.

Well, that's all I can really think of right now, but it makes me smile.

Fourth Festivities and Sunday Snapshots...

How about that for alliteration? So yesterday was the 4th of July and we lived it up Provo-Style. There is a huge "Freedom Festival" parade that goes through two of the main streets in Provo every year and apparently it's a big deal. The last few years, the police department has even had to set time restrictions as to how early you can camp out to reserve seats because people were doing it DAYS in advance. So now the first main leg of the parade route (University Avenue) cannot be staked out until 3:00 am the day of the parade. And the second half of the parade can't be reserved until 5:00 am the day of. And the parade doesn't start until 9:00 am. I told you, it's crazy. So we knew this, but weren't about to go sit 4-6 hours waiting for a freaking parade to start. We ended up leaving the house at 8:50. We didn't get a close parking spot (we still had to walk a good 6 blocks), but that turned out to work in our favor because we didn't hit any traffic when we left. So the parade was fun...but I don't think it would be worth camping out for. Unless you're like 20 and single with no kids and don't care about sleeping. But Logan really liked it. He loved waving at all the princesses and people in cars and fire trucks and LOVED clapping for the vets, and was ECSTATIC about the marching bands. It was really cute.

Fireworks are also a big deal here (not only for the 4th, but for Utah's statehood day or "Pioneer Day" as it is fondly known). I posted about it last year. "The Stadium of Fire." Only this year instead of Miley Cirus it was the Jonas Brothers. And also this year, we don't live 2 blocks away so we knew we would have to drive and deal with traffic afterward. So on our way to the stadium (we were going to lie in the street like we did last year), I mentioned to Zac that maybe we could drive up the mountain. We'd be further away, but the traffic probably wouldn't be as bad and the noise wouldn't scare the crap out of Logan. He agreed so we turned east and headed up the mountain by all the rich, swanky houses. We eventually found a fairly clear spot near a really nice house with a gated driveway, pulled over, got out our blanket, and sat on the shoulder of the road overlooking Provo. There were a few other families there (4 maybe) and we were just sitting there waiting for the fireworks to start. Then a guy came down to the end of the driveway and opened the gate and said, "You don't have to sit on the road. Come on in and watch with us." These people had a HUGE yard with a drop-off that looked right out onto the city...and the stadium! It was the nice guy, his wife, his 3 sons and daughter and their families. It was awesome...we were just far enough away that you still got the "boom" effect from the fireworks (and heard it reverberating off the mountains behind us), but it wasn't so loud that it shook your organs. Logan was amazed and when the show was over, he was kind of upset that we couldn't get them to do more. So we did some sparklers with some neighbors when we got home and then sent the little boy off to bed. After all, it was a LONG day for him! But a fun one, I'm sure.

Speaking of fun days, we had another family fun day last Monday. We went up to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. Before temples are dedicated by our church president, they are open to the general public so people of all faiths and ages can walk through and see the beautiful buildings and find out what exactly happens there. It was an amazing experience to be able to go to a house of the Lord with not only my husband, but with my son. He is too young (you can't get a recommend to go inside the temple until you're 12 years old) so we don't take him when Zac and I go. But it was a special reminder to me that because of the temple and because I was sealed to my wonderful husband for time and all eternity, I get to be with my family forever. So that was a fun day all around, too. And that time, I took pictures! So here are your Sunday snapshots of the Steele family :-)




And yes, I'm huge. But only 13 days till my due date! And 16 until my induction date!!! Or as Zac's friend Matt calls it, "the impending day of pain." Yay!