Christmas Vacation

We got back late last night from our 16-day Christmas vacation. It's good to be back, but it was a really good trip and I was actually a little sad to leave. On our last blog, Cort told you about our new little guy- yes, I'm very excited. The night before the ultrasound I was thinking about what sex I wanted the baby to be and I kept thinking about how great Cort had been thus far in the pregnancy and frankly how great he's been for me in every possible way since we've met and I couldn't help but think that I needed a little guy, like him, to hang out with after everything that I've been through this pregnancy. No drama, no strings attached, just a happy little guy to hang out with and laugh with. So yes, we're very pleased and very excited. And don't worry-his name won't be related to BYU football.

The day after the ultrasound, we flew to San Diego. This was the first real travel that I have done while pregnant and boy, was I nervous! Since I seem to get sick at the drop of a hat these past few months, throwing motion into a motion-sick prone girl made for high nerves. I downed 2 Dramamine before the flight and was able to sleep for most of it, but didn't, unfortunately, get to skip out on tossing my cookies right before the flight and praying that I wouldn't have to use one of those bags that are in the seat in front of you with the whole flight being incredibly grossed out and avoiding me like the plague.

We spent a few days in CA before flying up to Utah for the week. Thinking that 5 days would be plenty of time was a mistake because after we got there it seemed that we had a list of people we wanted to visit, but didn't have nearly enough time to see all of them. All apologies to those that we didn't get to see or didn't spend very much time with. We also celebrated our first anniversary while we were there! I can't believe a year has gone by already! Best year of my life, best decision I've ever made, and love that boy more than I can say. Thanks for a great year sweetheart!

We left UT to drive to Las Vegas for the Vegas Bowl on Saturday... an hour into the drive I started throwing up out of nowhere and didn't stop until long after we arrived in Vegas. My sweet dad-in-law paid a small fortune for all of us to go to the bowl game as a Christmas present and I ended up staying in the hotel room puking my guts out. Lame. But what can you do, right? Luckily everything worked out and I felt a little better the next day and we were able to drive to CA and my dad pumped me full of IV's when I got there.

The next week we spent in CA for Christmas and I spent a ton of time with my mom, which hardly ever happens, and that was really nice. We made all of the bedding for the crib and I think the last time we did a sewing project together was when I was in junior high. My dad somehow got tickets to the Monday Night Football Charger game on Christmas Eve and that was really fun to go to. These guys that were sitting behind us (who were very involved in the game) asked Cortney why I wasn't standing up tp cheer on the 3rd down and Cort told them that I was pregnant and not feeling well. On the next third down, they yelled at Cort, "Get up man! you ain't pregnant!" Haha!! Half the fun of sports are watching the people around you.

Cortney and I spent another great day at the beach and did our Christmas shopping for each other on our limited budgets at our favorite outlets (sweater for him, maternity outfit for me) and had a really fun time. My mom and sisters-in-law threw me a baby shower while we were there and I got so many great things that I couldn't even bring it all home. We made it home late last night, made a trip to the grocery store so we wouldn't starve today, and now we're just chillin' for another week together before Cort goes back to school on Friday for the next quarter.

As far as the belly goes, I am 23 weeks today and barely starting to show. My regular pants are getting a little tight, and I choose everyday whether I'll try to squeeze in them another day or succumb to maternity clothes. I think I just entered the "I wonder if she might be pregnant" stage. Before, if you didn't know I was pregnant, it would never even enter your mind. But now that my waistline in expanding a little, I either ate too much of my mom's cherry bars (fabulous!!!) or I got another life in there. I feel him move around all the time and he's an active little guy. Cort feels him all the time too and he gets the biggest, cutest grin on him face when he rubs my belly. And again, he takes such good care of me and always offers to sit on the floor so I can lay down on the couch:) I hope everyone had a great Christmas and holiday season with many fun memories!

The World's Next McAllister

Hey everyone,

Amy and I had our ultrasound today, and we're having a boy. He kinda looks like an alien right now, but he's definitely a male alien. His measurements are all normal and he's looking healthy. We knew he would be because he had a strong heartbeat at 9 weeks, so we feel VERY blessed and fortunate that he and Amy are still intact after everything we've gone through. We don't have any names yet, mostly because Amy won't let me name him Bronco Jimmy Page McAllister. I'm still hoping to get the green light on Harvey Unga McAllister, and will probably resort to unrighteous dominion if Amy won't budge. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers the past few months. We wouldn't have made it this far without you. We'll be in Utah from the 17th to the 22nd, so we're hoping we get to see most of you. If not, have a wonderful Christmas.

Love,

Cort, Amy, and Bronco Jimmy Page/Harvey Unga McAllister

School's Out!!

Cortney's last final was yesterday afternoon! We made it through the first quarter of graduate school! It has only been 3 months, but I can't believe how much has happened in those 3 months! Our lives have had plenty of action- to say the least. Cort is now school-free for the next month! Cort has done everything for both of us this past quarter and I'm so thankful for all of his help, but at the same time completely amazed at how much he has done in the past months. Way to go, Babe!

We now have a week to do whatever we want (it feels so weird to say that) before we leave for CA and UT. We love Columbus more and more all the time. Almost everyday, one of us says, "Babe, I love Columbus!" New additions on our "reasons we love Columbus so much" list are: rain storms, school systems, and the library system. Quite a combination, I know. I'll explain... The rain... who doesn't love a good rainstorm? A nice downpour you hear against the windows. They happen about once a week here. Enough said. School systems... Columbus is known for having a very good public school system, but the area in which we live, Upper Arlington, is even a few notches above that. All of the schools in Upper Arlington are some of the best in the state, and it wouldn't surprise me if they were in the upper quarter of the national list as well. For instance, while all of the schools are great, each elementary school uses different teaching methods, so you as the parent can choose the school that is the best fit for how your child learns and that is how all school districts should be in my opinion. The library system... for starters, they feel more like walking into a Barnes and Noble (complete with a reading fireplace and massive over-stuffed chairs), than a public library. Everything is so well taken care of. Computers everywhere and a very large circulation of materials. All of the public libraries in Columbus are connected and you can look at the whole catalog online and make a 'wish list' and all of the items on that list will be taken to the library closest to you for pick-up. And probably the best part- a DVD collection that puts Blockbuster to shame. Seriously. Every movie and every TV show series. And it's free! Needless to say, we have been thoroughly enjoying catching up on 'The Office'.

For all of our UT friends, none of our plans are cemented yet, but all things working out, we should be there the better part of the week of December 17th and we'll leave that Saturday to head back to CA. Can't wait to see all of you!

Thank You, Secret Santa

In my last post, I mentioned that I wanted to get a digital camcorder before the buckeye came... well, 4 days later a digital camcorder showed up on my doorstep from an anonymous person. Cortney and I were completely shocked. There was no return address on the UPS package- no contact information whatsoever. This also, might I add, was a very nice camera- it's on sale right now for $300. My favorite feature about it is that you can record straight on a DVD or onto a memory card.

We called around to all of our family and asked them if they knew anything about this, but no one fessed up. So whoever you are, its obvious that you wanted to stay secret, and we totally respect that. But we also couldn't go without telling you how much we think about you and pray for you. That was such a wonderful random act of kindness that we will be forever thankful for. This past week has been an incredibly hard one in the morning sickness department (hence, no recent posts) and getting your package totally brightened my day. And now to think that we have all the equipment necessary to document all of our family's milestones!

Thank you Secret Santa. You mean a lot to us. May all of your Christmas wishes come true this year, too. You have been a perfect example of service at this special time of year.

Love,
Cort and Amy

Buy, Buy Baby!

I've been reading a book called Buy, Buy Baby by Susan Gregory Thomas and if I had a must-read list, it would be very near the top, if not the top (and I've read a lot of books in my time!). I wish I had enough money to buy a copy for every parent I know (yeah, its that good). Since our house is entirely consumed by business, economic, and organizational behavior books, I have not been exempt from that equation. I actually really like reading business books, but that's probably a whole 'nother blog entry. Anyways, so this book... its about how companies market for kids' toys and baby products. If you think there aren't some quadratic functions, light-year equations, and some serious algorithms behind the marketing of your kids toys', you got another thing coming. I used to think that marketing was primarily creativity, but since Cortney's been in school, I've learned that good marketing is an equation. Creativity is a by-product of a good equation and the science of marketing. What the book primarily focuses on is the marketing of 'learning' or 'development' toys. Very, very interesting- even if you aren't a parent.

Now fast forward to today- black Friday. Biggest shopping day of the year. And from now until Christmas is the most heavily marketed time of the year. Being the person that I am and especially at this stage in our lives, our Christmas list consists of things that we need way more than we want- a vacuum and a book shelf (how boring is that??). And those are just things that are on the 'wish' list. We really just asked our families for baby stuff. But we only need the bare necessities in that department- babies don't need hardly anything and even if they did, we don't really have anywhere to put it.

But being that it is Black Friday, my mom calls me to see what we wrote to Santa this year and I can't help but tell her that I really want a digital camcorder. And being that this blog entry is about marketing, I am confessing that even with my business-minded background, I have fallen a victim of holiday marketing. I see those commercials with the families opening their presents and the dad is recording the whole thing. Or worse yet, when they show the baby taking it's first step and the security of knowing that they got it on film and they can enjoy it for years to come. I was calculated in that algorithm for that ad! They were targeting me! A pregnant mom! "What happens when the baby comes and we don't have a camcorder to document everything- coming home from the hospital, first bath, first laugh, etc..?" goes through my mind and secretly wishing that I could rewind the clock and look at all of those lame adds that come in the mail about their door-buster deals that are undoubtedly all sold out by this time in the day because I refuse to wake up at be surrounded by all those other crazy ladies at 4 in the morning. I have never ever wanted a camcorder before in my lifetime, but now that we're having a buckeye its suddenly a must-have item, and there it is again...marketing.

It always seems that at this time of the year, we find a lot more things that we 'need' than at every other time of the year. Reason: marketing. With so many ads sent to you in the mail, more commercials on tv, radio, etc. and all of them having a 'one time only' 'lowest of the year' prices, we figure now is as good as any and we're dreadfully afraid we'll miss out if we don't take advantage of this incredible 'midnight madness' deal.

All that being said, and confessing that I am a victim, I'll try not to think about my camcorder too much this season because the chance of us getting one or the money tree on the porch providing one for us are slim to none. But, at this time, I also can't deny that I have thought about the 'after Christmas clearances' and my beloved camcorder magically fitting together somehow.

Blessed.

I know it's so cliche' this time of year, but I'm so thankful! I know I've written a few times about how much we love Columbus, but I really can't tell you how much I love this place. Its probably a regular city, just like every other city, to most of you, but to me its so much much more. This next part is hard to explain without it sounding weird, but I'll do my best, so hear me out. Cortney and I have always had a very strong friendship, and before husband and wife, we've always been friends first and I think we have a really great marriage because of that. When we lived in Utah, we worked all day and when we got home, we usually always had something to do- hang out with family and friends, run errands, church callings, school applications, studying, etc. And we loved it! We were surrounded by such great friends and family! But with the decision to go back to school, a little nervous and mostly excited, we looked forward to starting off on our little adventure. And that we did.

Starting from the drive out here, every day has been an adventure-the best one of our lives. Again, I really think we had a great life in Utah and it didn't lack anything, but I can't even begin to describe how happy we are here! I feel like our lives are so much more simple here and we get to concentrate so much more on 'our family' since it is growing and all:) And I really feel like we are our own family now- with our own traditions and history. My favorite parts of the day are when Cortney gets home from school, we usually find ourselves just talking for an hour-just laughing and enjoying being together. How many times can you say that you 'just talked' with your husband for an hour and had a great conversation? Most days, I meet Cortney to walk home from school with him and we look at the fall leaves the whole way. We eat grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner and eat oreos and milk for dessert. On days that we feel like splurging, we head down to Don Pablos and devour the steak fajitas for $13. We rent a movie every Saturday night and watch it until I fall asleep and then we watch the rest Sunday after church. I know our lives sound so boring and lame, but we love every second of it.

And we have met so many WONDERFUL people here and from all over the world. I had dinner the other night with 4 of Cort's classmates (from Korea, India, Pittsburgh, and Indiana). How many places can you be surrounded by so many cultures? More than 30% of Cortney's class are foreign students and we absolutely love that! Columbus is a melting pot for freakishly nice people. I mean it- everyone is SO nice here. Not to mention just how blessed we feel in general to be able to go back to school and everyday we are amazed at the doors that are opened to us because of that blessing.

I was telling my mom the other day that I feel like moving to Columbus 'saved us'. And I never felt that I or we needed to be rescued in any way. It has just been such a welcome part of our lives that we weren't expecting. I've heard a few people say that when they had their first kid, their lives were so much happier then they ever thought possible before they were parents. I think it might be something like that- completely happy before, but life is so much richer now. Does that make sense at all? I know, I told you it was hard to explain.

So here's to you Columbus- 'our town' and everything you've given us. A very unexpected, but well received blessing that we will forever be thankful for. You've changed our lives.

Tagged

My cousin-in-law (sounds complicated, huh) tagged me, which means I have to write 6 things about myself. This isn't one of my 6 things, but I was given a part-time position for the MBA program reading the incoming student applications to give them the initial 'red light' or 'green light' (I basically just make sure they would be eligible for admission) and I'm supposed to be finishing those right now because I have to turn them in tomorrow, but I decided to just take a break (I'm such a procrastinator!) and check the blogs. My time on the computer is incredibly precious and Cort is studyng at the clubhouse, so I have it all to myself and I intend on taking full advantage of it.

Oh, ok, but my cousin-in-law, the other Amy McAllister, it has to be said... she's one of my favorite people in the entire world. I love, love, love being around her and she's such a great example to me of a woman and a mother with tons of ambition. Full-time mom, full-time nurse, writer, and getting her bachelor's on top of that. Way to go Amy! I think about her a lot when I get really scared about being a mom. She is the one who tagged me and I'd pretty much do anything for her. So here it goes...

1. I LOVE news shows like 20/20, Nightline, 60 minutes etc. I think it started when I was babysitting on Friday nights in Jr. High and High School. I'd put the kids to bed and then surf the channels and I'd always end up watching one of those shows, totally gripped.

2. I've been known to be a brownie fudge sundae addict. I talk about them so often that I refer to them as "B.F.S" to make it a little shorter and speaking-friendly. I haven't had one in a while because of being sick, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. I know the name of the brownie fudge sundae at every restaurant. Outback- Chocolate Thunder Down Under. TGIF- Brownie Obsession. Applebees- Blue Ribbon Brownie. I rest my case.

3. My dream job is to be a columnist. That's probably why I started a blog- so I could make believe that I was writing a witty, sassy column that loads of people looked forward to reading each day. Unfortunately, I don't have the time (remember precious computer time) and health quite yet to devote sitting in front of the computer to write something that I felt really good about. So for now, I'll just write what I can.

4. Someday when I have a little more money, ok, a lot more money, I'm going to pay for my whole family to go to race car driving school for a few days. I come from a very car savvy family and I would make a lot of dreams come true if I did this.

5. I am the youngest of 4 kids and the only girl. That being said, I never had any desire to play with Barbies. I was given them as gifts all the time and I never ever played with them. I had a whole drawer full of them even, and they just sat there. What Barbies I didn't play with, I made up for with GI-Joe's. My brother and I used to take them in the backyard and melt off plastic limbs with a magnifying glass to show that they were 'injured in war'.

6. I have somewhat of a guilty pleasure of getting on people's nerves. Not annoying them, but just not doing things in a conventional way, enough so that I know it gets under their skin a little. For instance, I didn't tell anyone I was getting married until 3 weeks before the wedding day. I told my parents 5 weeks before, and I did that because I knew they would have to make travel plans. I really wanted to not tell anyone and have them be totally surprised when they got a note in the mail that said "Meet us at the temple on December 19th". We decided to not take it quite to that level, but I'm sure that 3 weeks notice was plenty annoying for some of the people there. And when we found out I was pregnant, I didn't want to tall anyone until Christmas and put the ultrasound picture in our Christmas card. That one didn't quite work out so well and you all understand why. But if I ever have a normal pregnancy, which I'm not counting on at this point, don't be surprised if nobody knows for a long while. I hate the fact that because you're pregnant, all of a sudden that's all that anybody talks to you about. Believe it or not, I have other interests besides being pregnant! And I understand that a baby is exciting and everything, but everyone gets a little too excited about it if you ask me and all the questions, "How far along are you?" "Is it a boy or a girl" "What are you going to name him/her?" blah, blah, blah, blah, and I suddenly feel like I'm in an interrogation in the mother's lounge at church. That being said, I usually like to just keep those to myself and revel in the fact that everyone wants to know and they're a little peeved that I didn't tell them.

Alright, so I guess that's 6... Hope you all enjoyed reading a few little quirks about me, and believe me there are plenty more.

More Fall Pics

Hey ya'all, I'm pretty new to this blogging thing, and frankly I haven't figured out how to upload images and format them to look nice in less than 45 minutes. So, I'm just posting a bunch of our other pictures from fall in Ohio. Fall has always been my favorite time of year, and fall is beyond amazing out here. These pictures don't do justice to the fall scenery.

McAllister Family Vacation

Cortney and I just got back from a weekend getaway to Cleveland! We had wanted to do this for my birthday, but I was still way too sick for that much excitement. Since Cleveland is only 2 hours away, its a great place to feel like you're on vacation without having to go too far. The Slusser Family has a long history of stopping at cheese factories we pass on road trips. We always go in, try all the cheese, go to the bathroom, and get back in the car for the rest of the journey. We loved the cheese, but I think part of the plan for us stopping at these cheese factories was so we could get a free snack and so our parents could get a break from us fighting in the car. My dad is the most 'thrifty' person I know and looking back on it, although we all enjoyed the free samples, I don't remember my dad ever buying anything at those roadside stands and those are the kinds of things that my brothers and I laugh about all the time now. Anyway, back to the McAllister family vacation...we saw a sign for 'Grandpa's Cheesebarn' and I told Cortney that we needed to stop. We did, we partook, and both decided that we loved cheese factories and needed to continue the tradition of always stopping for them.

Once we got to Cleveland, we went straight for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You could really spend all day in there if you wanted-there is so much to see. We were exhausted after a few hours and decided we were ready to get to our hotel and veg out for the night. One of the many benefits of graduating in Hospitality Management is you have friends that can always get you great deals when you travel! I have quite a few friends that work for Marriott and they can reserve any Marriott hotel in the world for me at half price(and most of the time even more)! We stayed at a Residence Inn for only $45 and the regular rate was $175. I will be so sad if/when my friends leave Marriott and I can't get those discounts anymore. Traveling is so much more fun when it is that much more affordable.

We enjoyed a very lazy morning and made 2 trips down to the free breakfast buffet. Then, we headed over to Kirtland. I went to Kirtland when I was in high school and although I remember going to the church sites, I don't remember too much about the area. Kirtland is such a charming little town! And better yet, there were still tons of fall colors there. We spent an hour just driving into the country because it was so beautiful. So many trees, meadows, cute houses. In my opinion, one of the best things about the midwest are the trees, but I have a lot of appreciation for the pioneers and early settlers of America who had to clear out the trees to make good farmland. And with no power farming equipment! Quite a difficult and enduring task.

I've had a few people ask me about the football culture here, so I'll give you the run down. It's amazing. I consider myself an average sports fan, but the devotion everyone has for the buckeyes here is truly amazing. We live close to a mile away from the Horseshoe (football stadium) and the police shut down all of the streets within a 1 mile radius of the stadium on game day. That entire closed off area is filled to the brim with tailgaters. Every single person- little kids to old grandmas- are covered in red, every one of them wearing a necklace made of buckeyes. They tailgate all day before the game and all day after the game. All of them set up their tents and bring out their bbq's and they play games while they get ready for the game to start. Many of them even bring their satellite dishes and tv's to watch the other games going on that day. I went to the hospital for some IV's the day before a football game and there wasn't a single nurse in the whole hospital not wearing OSU scrubs (this hospital is not sponsored by OSU in any way, and I can only imagine what the actual OSU hospital is like). The horseshoe holds 105,000 people (LaVelle Edwards stadium holds 65,000) and its that many people cheering their guts out for their team. There is a long list of songs that are sung at every game by the fans, and you can even buy cds of all the songs at pretty much any store in and around Columbus. We miss the Cougs very much and our hearts belong to them, but Cortney and I both laugh when we think about the difference between 'game days' in Columbus and Provo. Its unfortunate that Bronco even had to come out and say, let alone start a marketing campaign for people to wear blue to the games. Even if you aren't a sportsfan, it's still an incredible sight to see so many people come together for one thing. OSU was ranked was undefeated and was ranked number 1 and all anyone could talk about out here was the National Championship. We listened to the end of the OSU v. Illinois game on the way home from Kirtland and were very very sad to see them lose when they were so close! But, being the social observers that we are, we're anxious to see how everyone reacts to it here in the next few days.

Bob Evans is my friend

If anyone has been to the midwest, they have heard of a little place called "Bob Evans". It's like a Denny's (they serve breakfast all day:) but it's nicer (you don't have to be worried about eating there). I'm really afraid our buckeye is going to be a carb-addict because I really only eat bagels at this point. But the other night, I thought that pancakes sounded good and we thought we'd try Bob's. GOOD MOVE! Honestly, best pancakes (excuse me, hotcakes- we're in the midwest) I've ever had. Better, even, than our trusty IHOP. I get them with raspberries and whipped cream on top and the buckeye seems to really like that. Those will now be in the pregnancy rotation.

And another thing I've noticed since I've become a hopeless blogger, how do you link your blog with your friends' blogs? Anyone wanting to leave a comment, feel free to share that wisdom with me.

Update...

Hello Everyone!


We haven't done a very good job of keeping this up to date... sorry about that. We have one laptop between the two of us and Cortney has it at school all day and by the time he gets home, I'm usually not feeling well, so hence the lack of blog entries.

So since my infamous hospital stay, I've had to go back 2 more times for IV's to help keep me hydrated. I love IV's! I know that sounds totally weird, but they make me feel SO much better. I swear whatever substance is in those IV's is half medicine/half crack. And, yes, I really did lose 20 lbs and it didn't look pretty. Since the hospital stay noted above, I've only been able to gain back 10 of those 20 lbs, but seeing as how my diet consists of bagels, cereal, graham crackers, and orange juice, that might be why. My stomach is still very weak and I stick with things that I know will stay down. I still take my medications religiously, but I am doing much better. I still have some very bad days (yesterday), but I usually I can at least take Cortney to school each morning.

I've been labeled as a "high risk" pregnancy, but oddly enough it has nothing to do with the buckeye's health. It's just me that can't hack it! Ironically, the worse your morning sickness is, the healthier your baby and pregnancy are. But because of that status, we get ultrasounds more frequently and one day I was really sick when we were going to the doctor and in the stress of the moment, Cortney said under his breath, "that baby better be doing the Cougar Fight song when we see it on that ultrasound today." I think that's my favorite pregnancy moment to date.

Fall is amazing out here and we love Columbus more and more everyday. We came here thinking that Columbus would be a very temporary place for us while we were in school, but we've grown to love it so much that neither one of us would be disappointed at all if we got to stay here for a while. We took some pictures of all the fall colors that I'll have Cortney post because I don't know how. We are so happy here and we talk almost every day about how glad we are that we made the decision to go back to school and to experience a new place for a while.

Cortney loves school-most of the time. Every few weeks it gets really busy and he gets stressed and wonders why he wanted to go back to school, but then tests are over and he loves it again. We love OSU and have both been so impressed with the quality of the MBA program there. One third of Cortney's class are international students and a good handful from China and Taiwan and they love that Cortney speaks Chinese. Over the summer, all of the MBA's do an internship (most of them not in Columbus) and it's kind of a big deal because where you do your internship is most likely where you work after you graduate. Cortney is being flown out to Chicago in a few weeks for an internship interview and we are both very excited! He has a few other companies that he's looking at, but this is his first 'big' interview opportunity.

Not sure if the word has gotten out to everyone, but we're coming back for Christmas. We're flying in and out of San Diego December 13-29 and will be renting a car to come visit Utah during that stay. Cortney has the whole month of December off from school and since I don't work, it makes long Christmas vacations convenient.

Promise we'll be better about keeping in touch now that I can usually stand sitting at the computer for a few minutes without puking:)

Amy Loses 20 Pounds!!!

I once saw an early clip of Dave Letterman's standup comedy, and he said he was in line at a grocery store and saw a tabloid headline that read "Woman loses 100 pounds without exercise or diet" to which Dave replied "That pretty much leaves disease, doesn't it?" Thankfully Amy doesn't have any diseases, but our beloved fetus is already sucking the life out of her. We're hoping that this isn't a preview to parenting, but I've joked with Amy that when this kid is 16 and doing things 16 year olds do, we'll miss the days where Amy puked and slept all day.

We finally got in to see our OB, and he was great. We told him that Amy called and hoped to get an appointment ASAP because she couldn't eat, and we were told there was nothing that could be done because we hadn't been seen at that office yet. Dr. Jones was upset when he heard this was how we were treated, and said that they should have bumped us up. When we told him that Amy had lost about 20 pounds over 3 weeks, he took some tests to make sure Amy was ok. Turns out her body was digesting itself, and he ordered her to spend a few days at the hospital to get her feeling better and to clean out the damage her body had done to itself. We had a good time at Riverside Methodist. Amy got all kinds of cool drugs, and managed to choked down her first real meal in almost a month. I missed not having her here those two nights, but she came home feeling 100% better so it was worth it.

In addition to all of that, at our first OB appointment, the Dr. did an ultrasound, and we got to see the baby's heartbeat! According to Dr. L. Fred Barker, heartbeats at 9 weeks is a very good sign. Not only did we see the heartbeat, but the little guy/girl moved when it was in the ultrasound spotlight. We get the feeling that this baby is coming into this world no matter how much Amy eats or doesn't.

School has been going good. I really enjoy my classes...except for the night I was up until 4am doing accounting homework. The leaves are starting to change here, and once they peak, I will get some photos up. We are still loving Columbus but we miss everyone back home. We will keep everyone up to date on everything.

It's a ... Buckeye

Many of you have heard the big news, but for those that haven't Amy is pregnant, and I'm pretty sure I'm the father. We found out about a month ago; Amy took the pregnancy test while we were living at Buck's. We were going to try and keep it under the radar until the morning we left for Ohio. We were at my Dad and Jodi's and as I was in the living room talking to them, Amy could be heard in the bathroom puking her guts out. I was sitting there thinking 'it's gonna be hard to keep this quiet'. So she came out and said 'let's just tell them,' so we've been telling everyone. Until we know what we're having, we're just calling our unborn child 'The Buckeye'.

Because of the pregnancy, Amy has become the first one to throw up in our marriage. She has been exceedingly sick the past three weeks. It's the worst feeling watching the one you love wretch and heave and all you can do is stand there and watch. Amy has been a champ though. She gets down from time to time, but I think she knows that it'll all be worth it (call it mother's intuition).

We were fortunate to have Amy's parents come out here for a few days and help us get completely moved in. I joked with them that after I am retired, my kids are on their own. I will be too busy doing other things to fly half way across America just to help unpack and hang pictures. They are wonderful in-laws, and we loved having them here.

Orientation finished this week, and it was a cool experience. My main feeling after orientation is that I'm pretty sure I'm going to get my money's worth out of business school because I don't know very much. I met my first year group today, and I couldn't have asked for a better group. There are five of us total; Kailas (from India), Tom (from Pittsburgh), TS (from Korea), and Leighann (from Indiana, who was a pitcher for Purdue in her undergrad years). From the moment we met, we all got along really well. Although we'll see how chummy we all are at the end of the year.

I'm posting a few pictures here from a team building activity we had during our orientation week. We visited a ropes course site, and it was actually a lot of fun. More to come in the future.

Alive and Well in Columbus

Taking a cue from Tamber, I decided I would set up a blog so that everyone back home and everywhere else can keep up with what we're up to out here. I'll try and update this blog every week, and once I dig out my camera I'll post some pictures.



Our trek out here was a long one. We got a late start on Monday, but managed to make it to Kearney NE at about 2 am (which was nice because Wyoming is much easier to handle when you don't have to look at it). We left around noon on Tuesday and made it to Champaign IL, then went the rest of the way on Wednesday and pulled into Columbus around 3:30 pm. We already havea few connections out here, so later that night, the Elders Quorum President from our ward, one of my old mission buddies who is in the orthodontic program, and the Dean of the Business School here at Ohio State came over to help us unpack. Unloading our trailer would have been better if it weren't for the humidity. And this being my first major move in my life, I'm realizing quickly that unpacking is 100x worse than unloading. If we're all settled and unpacked by next week, I'll be shocked.



Our place is really nice. It's smaller than our place in Orem, but it's much nicer. You can see OSU campus and some of downtown Columbus from our bedroom window. If it weren't for a few trees, The Horseshoe would also be visible (for those of you who don't know, The Horseshoe is where OSU plays football). Our apartment is less than a mile away from The Horseshoe, the Schottenstein Center (basketball arena), and the business building. So most of everything that we will need or want is under our fingertips here.



The campus at OSU is gigantic. With all the undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs here, total student enrollment is 55,000+. All of the buildings are made out of red brick, and the campus feels like a small city. It's a very cool place, and we haven't even seen all of it yet. The people here are really nice and friendly.

I was able to scalp a few tickets to the Akron vs OSU game, and that was amazing. It was awkward sitting in a stadium wearing red for a change. The Horseshoe is unreal. I was looking around trying to figure out a comparison with the Horseshoe and the Ed (LaVell Edwards Stadium), and the best way I can explain it is to imagine if they were to put another layer of seating from the Ed on top of the exisiting seats. Buckeye fans are insane too. Football is all anyone cares about here. I asked a student sitting next to me about basketball season, and he said basketball is gaining popularity. Gaining popularity? They were the top seed in the Big Dance last spring, and they have a brand new building. He said that no more than 100 students show up to the games. Needless to say, Amy and I will be there most games we can get to.

This post is pretty disjointed, but I wanted to update everyone on how we're doing. We miss everyone back home, but we love it here so far, and anticipate it being a great place to live for a while. Orientation starts Monday September 10, and school starts on the 19th. Come back for more updates and pictures.