Almost there...

We'll be leaving for Utah on July 29th. My heart keeps assuring me that there's plenty of time to do things...but then my mind makes me look at the calendar and I realize, "Oh. That's in like, a week and a half." We are going with Penske, because basically they are the best. We were going to have a moving company come in because we weren't sure where we would be living, but now that we have a place (see blog below), Penske it is. Gotta love those big yellow trucks!

I've been thinking about things we will miss here in Texas when we leave...(I'm sure I'll add to this list a few times after this initial post):
*having Chris's family so close. Man, we've had some GOOD laughs, good times with the Killion house. I will miss our Sundays with them.
*the little black dog who pokes its head through the blinds of his first story apartment, as we walk up the stairs to our apartment. Happens every time without fail!
*the HORRIBLE traffic on 820, that gets blocked up at Rufe Snow EVERY TIME WE ARE ON 820; it doesn't matter what time of day it is--that road will be backed up.
*BBQ. Honest-to-goodness, real, true Texas BBQ. Riscky's, Dickey's, Colter's, Pizza Patrole, Up-N-Smoke...
*having the mall and other great stores so close. (Yes, Utah shopping is also relatively close to where we will live, and this I understand. However, I will never, ever forget driving 40 minutes up the parkway to get to the Hamilton Mall back home. I just won't!)
*Texas high school football. These people take their football seriously--it's refreshing (and sometimes annoying) to be in the thick of it.
*Dallas Texas Temple. Beautiful temple. Always saw someone we knew when we went!
*Park Glen 1st Ward and everyone in it. Especially the Scouts!
*walking to QuikTrip at 11pm on a Saturday night for some caf-free Coke with cherry flavoring.
*Our apartment! We will miss our first apartment as a married couple. It has had its share of problems (aka garbage disposal, AC leakage) but it has been a great starter place for us.
*driving Chris out to White Settlement for work. (I don't drive him out every day, only when I need the car.) I will miss the big, brick, windowless building that is Lockheed Martin.
*uh, FLEX TIME. Lockheed is great about this. If Chris had to leave work early or be somewhere else, he could do it. No questions asked. He simply had to make up the time later in the week. There was also no set time to start his day. He could go in at 4 am if he really wanted to, or 11 am for that matter--he just had to work nine hours that day. Oh Flex Time, I will miss thee.
*Chris having every other Friday off, which allowed us to get to the temple 2x a month. Thanks again, Lockheed!
*DOWNTOWN FORT WORTH. Man, we love it! It's bright and clean and full of good times.
*Saturday morning movies downtown at the AMC Palace 9. $4 before noon! That's how we've seen movies when they actually come out haha.

Well, that's all I can think of right now...but like I said, there will be more added!

UPDATE: We have a home in Provo!

It's really awesome. It's a lower unit apartment off of Bulldog, close to the hospital (Utah Valley Regional), and down the street from campus. What else...
*2 bedroom, 1 bath: 850 sq. feet
*New carpet, new windows, new appliances (the stove hasn't even been put in yet!)
*Driveway for our beloved gas-guzzler, White Chocolate
*WASHER AND DRYER in the apartment! That was a big selling point for us.
*CABLE INCLUDED! That was a big selling point for Chris ;)
*Basically it's amazing. When everything is set up, we'll be having you over for dinner!

Other good news--
I have a OB/GYN up in Provo, too! And he's right next door to the hospital. Hooray!
I received a full-tuition scholarship from MSS--what a blessing they have been for me these past four years!

We are very excited (and relieved) to have a place up there. Now we just have to GET there! :)
We are planning to arrive August 2nd; get ready Utah--Texas is on its way!

Stubborn Baby!

Yesterday was my official ultrasound appointment, so naturally we went, only to discover that Baby was facing downward, like this: (Check out that spine, though!)
It made for a very difficult prognosis...but they're still saying girl. My doctor scheduled us for another ultrasound in two weeks, just to see if we can discover anything concrete. LOVE that woman! We'll miss having her as my doc when we leave.
Here are some others...she's become way more developed in such a short amount of time! Unbelievable. In this one, I like to think she's laughing at us: "Haha! Not today, Mom and Dad!"
Maybe she's taking a little breather right here: "Stop moving me around. I'm tired!"
Some ladies at Chris's work suggested eating a cookie or something sugary before we go--maybe it'll get her going! We hope so!

Chris has accepted a position with NovaRad up in American Fork. We are so grateful that he now has a job up there; this takes a large amount of stress of our shoulders. Our movers are scheduled to arrive on July 25th--they will load everything and drive it up to Provo and stick it in storage. We will stay here for a few more days as Chris finishes up his last few days of work--we will then leave on August 1st! Chris starts work on the 4th, so we're hoping to get up there somewhat timely so Chris can relax before jumping into his new job.
We're just looking for a place to live at this point, no big deal. HAHA No seriously, we are homeless in Provo. I've spread the word on facebook, so I'll spread it here, too: if you know of any vacancies anywhere in town, let us know! We need all the help we can get.

Nothing really...

On the 4th, we registered at Target and Babies R'Us for Baby Killion! Very fun. We had a blast! Chris and I agreed that wedding registering was more overwhelming for us (in part because we did it on the next weekend after I got my tonsils out, and when Chris had five major reports to finish). Add to that the fact that each of us had never lived in an off-campus apartment while we were at school! You didn't need pots and pans and the like when you were at DT (although you could have them if you wanted to have them). Anyways, at Babies 'Us, we went with a frog theme--too cute! It will be very cheery in the midst of what is sure to be a FRIGID winter in Utah. At Target we loved the Classic Pooh collections and the Jungle play-stuff. All in all, it was a great day! I must say, one thing we thing we kept talking about was the reality that there are SO many things available for babies nowadays that our parents never even dreamed about. Can you imagine when our kids will get married and have kids of their own? What will be around then?
Chris also did a lot of packing this weekend (no, we didn't get up to AR). He's amazing. He pretty much cleared out and packed up all of the knick-knacks, china, and winter clothes we had around the apartment. I felt kinda useless because I can't do any heavy lifting or anything, so I threw myself into my school assignments. He also packed nine boxes of books. Yep, nine! Ahhh gotta love it. I am now forced to concentrate solely on my History 202 textbooks...I admit I have a habit of going to the shelf and picking up random novels and polishing them off in an extended afternoon. Chris teases me about it often, but now he doesn't because all the books are gone! Haha.
Well, I've been released as a Relief Society instructor here in our ward, and both Chris and I have been released as Webleos leaders. This means Chris will be released as an Elder Quorum instructor soon...we're sad that we're leaving this ward because we love it very much. Our releases hit us like a sack of bricks which shouted, "Hey--you guys are leaving pretty soon!" Although it's always been in our minds, it's really starting to sink in. We'll be in Utah in a month! Crazy. Time to start conditioning myself to slather lotion on my arms, legs, and elbows every five minutes...and to prevent my heels from cracking.
Personal favorites: Pink Grapefruit, Mango Mandarin, Midnight Pomegranate, and Exotic Coconut from Bath and Body Works...I love fruits!

July!?! Really!?!

I can't believe it is July! I was on the phone with my mom last week, and we were discussing my sister's summer job, and I remarked, "Oh she'll get a lot of work in." I was thinking it was early June, that the kids just got out of school. I was wrong! (FYI: My family is going to drive out to Utah to drop Bill off at the MTC! So everyone will be taking a good two weeks off his or her job at home...well, except for Bill. He'll take a good two years off!)

July is a good month. My favorite holiday is July 4th: Independence Day. No doubt. It has always been my favorite. I'm a summer girl, so it just made perfect sense for me. It's at the height of the summer:
BBQs galore, full of burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, grilled FRESH FISH from the Atlantic...
parades, with the Elks Lodge, Miss North Wildwood, all the decorated kids' bikes...
fireworks on the beach, which you watch from the boardwalk...ahhhh, bliss. I'm totally with my friend Alita, who says she still gets choked up when she is in the midst of something patriotic. I'm like that, too. I just swell up with pride. I love the red, white, and blue. I love being an American! My love for my country will only get stronger as I get older.

Well, we are going to Arkansas for the holiday weekend. And NO, we aren't going there for the pure heck of it (haha Ashley). Grandma Killion lives right outside of Little Rock, so we will stay with her for a few days. *Disclaimer: I must admit Arkansas is actually very pretty. When Chris told me he lived there (also graduated high school there), I scoffed. My mind was full of dry, brittle grass, trailer parks, and toothless old men. Not so, my friends! Arkansas (at least where Grandma lives, and where Chris's family used to live) is very beautiful. I was properly impressed when we made a stop last summer on our drive from Jersey to Texas. Everything was a lush, vibrant green, bright and colorful...civilization does exist there! :)