Bomb-Bomb-Bomb

A couple weeks ago I tried to update this thing but my post was all about how monotonous our lives are. It was so boring I deleted. The universe decided to fix that problem by giving us a bomb threat on campus. 

No big, Justin and I are only responsible for about 84 people's safety. 

Just as we got into bed Sunday night we get a text message to stand by we might be going on lockdown and to not let rumors spread. With that vague yet disturbing information we threw on our clothes and proceeded to check on our boys as the message was sent the lockdown had begun. We had to get everyone into their rooms and keep them calm. Which is really hard to do when they say "What is going on?" You reply with "Everything is fine! We just need to make sure everyone is in their rooms to wait for more information" As somebody runs up the stairs and says "Why is there a SWAT team with huge guns all over campus? They told me to go back to my room" We still have no idea what is happening at this point. I say "The authorities are here and they are handling the situation. We just need to make sure everyone is safe in their room to give them further information."

That was a good answer, right? I was super worried and my mind immediately jumped to thoughts of VATech mass murder. It's weird but I felt so relieved that the police were already there and even more relieved when I found out it was a bomb threat. I thought, "I can handle this" 

Justin and I kept super cool the whole time. Some of the boys were prone to panic but we were able to keep everyone calm. A few of the boys thanked me for not being super dramatic or overreactive about it. They said it made them feel better. They all kept coming out of their rooms to be with us. It was like playing wack-a-mole. 

Eventually, we had to evacuate the building. That was the only part where I was a little stressed. People were trying to gather their things and I had a SWAT team behind me helping me push people along. I was super impressed with the SWAT team. They totally just let me do my job and helped me get everybody out. They came from both end of the hall so the people who did not get woken up by me were a little startled. It was about 1:30am at this point. Everybody ended up in the activities center. When I walked in the adrenaline I was not aware of had worn off and my braxton hicks settled in. My RA's made me get water and sit down and one of my boys got me a chair. They were all worried. I was like "If I go into labor because of this stupid bomb threat I will be so mad". I knew that they were fake though so I was not really worried. 

By 3:30am they had our building cleared and we were able to take everyone back and put them to bed. Our RAs and Justin and I had to stay up till lockdown was called off. The RAs told me I had to go to bed and they would handle it. I told them I was not going to go to bed  yet at all. I made it till 5am and Justin forced me to bed. Lockdown was called off at 5:30am. Just incase anyone wants to know last I heard they had a lead but no arrests have been made.

 

It was all very surreal. I have never taken something so seriously yet not been worried at all. Everyone did their job and there was a lot of peace in that for me. I hope the mothers of these boys know how much we worried about their children's safety in those few hours. Talk about stewardship. I feel like you have things you want to experience in life because of who you think it will make you. Like a bucket list. And then you have the things that you never plan for and really shape and build you. I am a huge worry wart but usually do well in a game time situation. I almost felt like I was watching myself and thinking "Wow, you are handling this really well". I am positive I could have handled it better in some ways but I am grateful that I was able to see the effort, love, and care that comes from the administration down through us to the students. I don't think they really understand. I would never have asked to be in that situation (especially being 7 1/2 months pregnant) but I am glad that it was me that got to experience it if someone had to. 

He's Back!

So, my baby brother came home on August 26th and it has been wonderful to have him back! Chris spent the last 2 year (and a few weeks) in the Cali Columbia mission. He speaks spanish and is so happy. It is good to have him home. He is getting use to the whole having a brother-in-law and a niece on the way. It is weird to think that so much has happened in just two years but time moves faster everyday. I am just trying to do as much as possible. Chris started got home on a Friday and started school at Southern Virginia University on Monday. Justin and Chris are both in basketball so they have been bonding. So far the school year is going well for both of them. Chris spends a lot of time in our room chatting with us about everything from girls to panic attacks (usually about girls). Chris and I have always been good friends. Now that all of my friends have deserted me for jobs, marriage, and that whole "moving on with life" thing I have been pretty lonely. I need to talk to someone about a subject 3 times before I have gotten it out of my system and Justin has been pretty tired of hearing me ramble on and on. Chris is a good outlet:) Having the whole family together is interesting. It feels so big and different but it is good. Times are a changing and everyone is growing up. I hope that I stay good friends with all of my siblings even when we are spread about everywhere but for now we can just enjoy things the way they are.

One Year

Justin and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary on August 25th. I would love to say that we had the most romantic day of our lives but alas, we were married during orientation last year and that is still affecting us today. Many special people were unable to come to our wedding because it was such a crazy time but we knew that when we planned it so we just took their presents to calm our disappointment.

The busiest week for an HRA is right during our anniversary. Our day consisted of waking up super early, eating lunch in the cafeteria with other people, checking in new students, making them go to orientation, dealing with parents, running crazy errands, submitting work orders, and going to hang out at the school carnival so we could be cool HRAs that are involved. Justin had never been to the carnival, lovingly referred to as Knight Games so we did that for our date. He had fun riding a mechanical bull and racing non-pregnant people in a giant inflatable obstacle course. I had fun eating cotton candy, otter-pops and popcorn till I almost exploded. After that we went home and I passed out before 9 p.m. of exhaustion from the week and in preparation for the next day of craziness.

We did find a few minutes to exchange a little gift. Justin got me a beautiful necklace with our oh-so-significant rubies. I love it so much. I got him gummy worms and a homemade card. I obviously did not get the memo about gifts but he ate them so I guess he liked them. I was going to get him an ipad 2 but I don't have a million dollars and we are waiting for the ipad 3 anyway. (And a million dollars) Justin's Mom also sent us a super cool anniversary package with goodies and gifts. We also got a few cards which was unexpected but totally cool that people would remember our anniversary.

So pretty!

We have had a pretty great year. We learned and changed a lot. We both learned how to quickly resolve any issue we see approaching before it becomes an issue. I think when you see a potential rough spot headed your way and you do everything in your power to send it the opposite direction that is a big gesture of love. We have learned how to deal and help each other with our weaknesses. It is amazing how much verbalizing weaknesses that you have never put into words can help your spouse instantly understand and help you. Justin has gotten his fair share of crazy in this marriage and bless his heart he still likes me. Being together is so much fun and we are both dreading that work and school have picked back up because we see each other only for like 12 hours during the day. I know rough! I don't know how will handle Justin having a full-time job. Oh well, I guess that is why we have eternity:)

Here is video of Justin riding a bull

Loose Ends

Summer is almost over. Tragic I know, but for some reason I love the fall semester. It is so full of promise and change! I am not technically in school anymore but Justin has his last semester to finish up so that means I will still be doing a lot of homework:) Justin is always more motivated with someone directing his every move and I am just the girl to do it!

Justin dreads school but he has a pretty light semester ahead of him so he should be able to focus on the big task at hand, SENIOR PAPER(Dun Dun DUN!!!). While I enjoy the process of writing a paper I hated writing my senior paper. It was 25 pages on the agricultural benefits of mycorrhizae fungi. Yeah, you would hate it too. The thing is, I picked the topic and hated it. I would rather have someone else pick a topic for me. Give me a paper on the patriot act, censorship, how to repair America's image with Islam, I will put that sucker in the bag. I just don't really care about them so my opinion never plays a factor. I just write whichever position is easiest. Justin, on the other hand, crumbles under the immense boredom that is bound to ensue from a topic his cares nothing about. Let him pick his own and he will research it for weeks, write it early and revise it a million times and then have me revise it a million times again. I guess that is because he has better writing integrity than I do.

Justin also just started taking the basic tax preparers class at H&R Block. He goes twice a week to Staunton (30 mins away) to take the class in hopes that he will be able to work there this spring after graduation. He really likes it so far.

Next week is going to be the busiest week of our lives. We have orientation and check-in. This is where we make our non-existent pay check. I am pretty nervous actually. We have had the football players on our floor but we don't really have a connection with them yet. Saturday, they will all move to their fall assignments and our friendship needs to begin. How do I convince a bunch of 18-20 something young men that this grumpy pregnant lady is cool? We do have a pinata and brownies for them so hopefully that will help. I also start back at being a crossing guard on Monday so that will be super exciting. My tutoring does not start till after labor day and I am so grateful for that. I swear, I am so glad that I don't plan my life because it would not work out at all, Good thing the Lord is handling all that.

We have been prepping Main Hall for all the new students arrival Yay! Painting, moving stuff, fixing stuff. It has been so crazy! I am so grateful for the help of all the RAs and HRAs. I really like these people especially the ones that help me all the time. Justin and I would never get everything done. We have a lot of great people in our lives. This week we said some painful goodbyes. I am now the only person left that lived in Waggery my senior year. Those were the girls I liked best and was closest to. It is so weird how you think a place makes you happy when really it is just who you are with. I guess I will have to make some new (but not as good) friends. Although, I doubt any will compare since these are some of the best I have ever had. Thank goodness for facebook and stalking.

Cha-cha-cha-changes!

Well it is time for an update and this one is a big one. Justin and I found out a couple weeks ago that we are having a baby girl and we are tickled pink! Justin and I had dreams over and over again that we were going to have a girl and I felt a little mother's intuition that it was going to be a girl. I confessed that to no one because I did not want my first round of mother's intuition to be wrong. Prideful? Yes, but my motto has always been its better not to try than to try and fail. It is something I am working at removing from my life with the help of my wonderful husband who point out when I am being crazy ever so gently. 

For those of you who would like to know all the nitty gritty details of the last few months feel free to read on. If you would rather not, pregnancy is so great and stuff. (Feel free to move on)

I found out I was pregnant in April. I was pretty much in denial and thought I was just a little late and since I never keep track of anything like that whose to say I was even late? Apparently I was. Justin and I looked at the positive pregnancy test both feeling a little shell-shocked. Justin recovered much more quickly and was very excited. I, however, was not getting my hopes up until this was confirmed by someone other than a Wal-mart brand test. We called happy parents, excited for grand babies to come. I maintained the mentality that the doctor could still tell us it was a false positive. She, however, did not. Rather, I was welcomed with enthusiasm, given a gift bag full of information and free things, and sent home with a sonogram, having heard the heartbeat of a little stowaway who had been hiding for 8 weeks. Now I could get excited. It really was not my fault that I did not know due to the fact that my pregnancy symptoms have been relatively non-existent. My first trimester I had an intense craving for Now and Laters, Jolly Ranchers, fruit, and vegetables. In that order. Chocolate, not interested. Meat, not really. My most beloved bread, can I just have a cucumber? I was so lucky to not have any sickness. Sometimes I would feel queasy for like 5 minutes in the afternoon but after hearing others horror stories I really should not even mention that. Here is a list of fun pregnancy symptoms with that will hopefully make up for that. 

1. Horrible anxiety-every night I go to sleep worrying about something and how I will deal with the situation when the worst happens. Fun fun

2. Amplification of my already constant joint pain. Sleeping is fun. 

3.Dry hair and even more brittle nails (Is that even possible?)

4. Being ever more emotional than Justin even thought possible. He is a good man. 

5. That 2 weeks that I was more angry than I have ever been in my life and I did not know why. Not understanding the reason why only intensified my anger. Guaranteed to be Justin's favorite 2 weeks of our marriage hands down. 

I think she is so pretty already

Aside from those, it has all been very manageable. Probably because she is going to be a handful. This child is so active. As I type, she is holding a aerobic class in my womb. When we went to hear her heartbeat she was moving so much we could barely catch anything other than static. During our sonogram a couple weeks ago, the sonographer just kept saying "Wow. she is super active", "She is quite the little mover", "I can see why you had such a hard time hearing her heart beat last time, she is so so active". We are going to blame that trait on Justin and just plan on getting a hop-a-roo for her first few hours after she is born. Hey, at least she is healthy right?

Sister Moss told me "We do a lot to get them here" and that is so true. Talk about a lesson in selflessness, who else would I cook my lunch meat for to avoid getting a rare food born illness known as listeria other than my unborn child? It is an adventure but we are so excited to be parents. I hope, this little girl likes glitter, pink, nail polish, mud, baseball, and doing everything we can for Southern Virginia University. I think she might come out ready to lead the spring orientation groups and move some mattresses because that is the life she is being born into. We already love her so much.

God Bless America!

Last weekend, Justin and I were able to go to Ohio on a much needed break. It was so fun! Oliver is huge and starting to become a little toddler. He is trying to walk but really thinks that he needs something to hold on to even though he is practically running when he does. Justin is constantly teasing and bothering him so Oliver thinks he is fun from a distance but does not necessarily want to put his whole trust into Justin holding him. He does like me though and that is what really matters. I taught him to hit his football with a bat and that makes me a cool aunt. If he does not end up being a superstar sports guy I will be shocked. I have him practicing 2 sports incorrectly at the same time. How can he not know his stuff? Thank goodness he only has to see me every so often I guess. 

Great American Ball Park

Justin, Justin's good friend Drew, and I went to the Reds game on Friday night. They lost but a great time was had by all. We did get to see Brandon Philips hit his 1000th hit and it was a HOME RUN! So, that is one for the history books kids. Also, they opened the game with a brass quartet playing the national anthem  but towards the end they released a bald eagle that flew across the field to land at the trainer on the pitchers mound. Holy patriotic! We were all a little misty eyed at the beauty and grander.    

Red, white and blue splendor!

Amber waves of grain

     

Because it was the 4th of July weekend they had an extended fireworks show. We decided to stay for it and boy howdy were we not let down! We were all the way at the top of the stadium and all the way next to the beautiful Ohio river. Meaning our seats were not the best for the game but they were singe your eyebrows off close to the fireworks. It was awesome and it lasted over 30 mins. We thought it was ending and then it kept going. 3 times we were certain the finale was happening but not even close. The whole show was set to a patriotic soundtrack which ended with a stirring rendition of America the Beautiful, complete with corresponding fireworks that looked like amber waves of grain. Then the finale happened. It was so bright and so loud we had to turn away. Justin was certain his heart stopped beating and the soundtrack was lost in the BOOMS. It was one of the most amazing firework shows I have ever seen. When it was done all that I could say was God Bless America! To which Justin responded, and the epileptic! 

So happy together! 

Saturday, we went to the Skinner Family Reunion/ get together since we all live fairly close. We ate a lot, went swimming and watched the Reds. Not a bad day. Oliver is really scared of  all of the uncles. For some reason he cries whenever they approach. He does love kids in goggles and floating in the pool. He is still uncertain about Justin, as is evident from the picture above. After the reunion together, Justin and I were going to go to the drive-in but we were both about to pass out so we opted for a lazy evening eating Dr. Pepper ice pops and Snickers ice cream bars. 

We made our way back to VA on Sunday night. My uncle Dennis had just arrive from Texas to visit my parents with a large load of illegal fireworks from TN. We had a 3rd of July celebration, as is custom in my family, and almost blew the house apart. It was awesome! Maybe all the excitement from 4th of July weekend is what made the past week so dull and boring. Well, it can't always be fireworks and majestic eagles.

A Perfect Trip!

Last weekend Justin and I went to Washington D.C because they were having a law forum and since Justin wants to go to law school we figured we should go talk to all these guys. For those of you who don't know a law forum really just means a big room full of school answering the same 4 questions and throwing brochures at you. Justin has been signed up for this for months so we booked our hotel early. We used Priceline's name your price option which has gotten us some pretty sweet deals in the past. Unfortunately this time the hotel that accepted our $60 a night offer was the Sheraton right by the Reagan airport. Which is great since the room are a few hundred dollars a night and bad because the parking is $20 a night for hotel guests. BOO! Justin tried everything he could to get out of it but to no avail but we thought okay $80 really is not that bad for a hotel right in DC.

A few days before we left, we attempted to have Justin's prescription filled at Costco but we were a couple day to early and they sent us packing but told us to leave the prescription and just let them know when we were coming back and they would have everything ready for us. Well, we set out on our trip to DC and stopped at Costco on our way. They had everything ready for us and we also had a nice pizza lunch. Gas at Costco was 20 cents cheeper than Buena Vista so we filled up and counted our blessings, this trip was starting off pretty well.

We made it to DC in record time in less than 3 hours including the traffic we hit. That also included our stop. First on the list of things to do was to visit the Montgomery county court house to get a certified copy of our marriage license. They form said we could mail it in and wait 4 weeks or we could visit in person. We thought, "Hey! What better way to start a weekend away than by a visit to a State government office?" Turns our it took no time at all. We only had a few minutes wait due to the fact that a couple was getting married and had 50+ relatives with them. Isn't the point of a court house wedding to be cheep, low key, quick, and above all small? Whatever, it was hilarious and made me very grateful for my wedding experience.

After that we set off to the temple. That was awesome and a much needed portion of our trip. We need to go more often! We came out feeling so refreshed and very hungry. We went check in to our hotel and Justin (who is always up for a negotiation after his negotiation class) talked to the guy about the parking situation. The hotel basically told us that the parking was standard and everyone had to pay. Justin asked if there was anything the guy could do and the very nice hotel attendant said nothing and passed Justin a validated parking pass for our stay. Justin was so excited and told me "Everything worked out because we went to the temple!" I guess so.

After that the hunt was on for food! Once we got in to the area we were pretty grateful for that parking garage since we were in the hood. All the restaunts had signs in languages other than ours so we drove for a long time. Finally, after we were both about to lose it I found a Chick-fil-a on my iphone. Not exactly ideal but it would work and we were so hungry at this point we could not think. It started raining and then we saw it, blaring red and white like a red checked heaven, beckoning us to sit have some peanuts while we waited for our order to be ready, FIVE GUYS. Now, I like Five Guys and Justin had only had it once before and was not super impressed but it just seemed like we had to go there. We came in and ordered exactly what we wanted and when we got it it was so so good. I guess hunger is the best spice but man,we sounded like Five Guys sales people as we devoured our burgers. "This is so good!" "This is REALLY good!" "This is the best burger I have ever had!" "I don't want this to ever end" You get the point, it was the ultimate fat kid moment but we were happy. We went bak to the hotel, watched Lockdown, and then passed out.

7:00 am came way to early even with our early bedtime. We got up and headed out to the law forum. We check out but were able to leave our car parked take a free hotel shuttle to the metro and ride down to the Marriot. We arrived at the perfect time and Justin got to go to a seminar while I found a breakfast sandwich to tide me over till lunch. Then we went to talk to all the recruiters. It was super interesting and we found that some of Justin's initial impressions about what was important and what he wants in a school may not be what he ends up wanting. Ohio State, Dayton, W&L, and BYU were all good to talk to but a couple others we talked to just for fun turned out to be really cool too. Stetson Law in St. Petersburg Fl. was awesome. It has smaller class sizes and the liberal arts feel that Justin is thinking about staying with. It is also #1 in advocacy and has 9 practice court rooms. They also host prospective student on campus and would give Justin a day in the life of a law student by letting him go to classes and experience a little of what its like. All we know is they will be getting a visit from the Skinners because if  a free trip to Florida is offered I will spend the day on the beach while Justin lives the life of a law student. So basically, we have all of the options we had before and now just have added a couple more. We find out Justin's LSAT scores next Wednesday and he will decide if he is going to take it again. All we have heard is that they average the scores so it's bad to take it again. Every school we talked to said no one averages it anymore. We just want your highest score. That made Justin feel a lot better.

We took the metro back and arrive right when the shuttle back to the hotel did. Everything goes our way this trip. We got our car and headed out of the city but the city did not want us to leave. We got a little lost and had a tiny meltdown but finally made it to 66 and made it home in one piece. All in all it was a fantastic trip and we learned a lot. Life has so many choices but for right now we just get to worry about finishing Justin's undergrad and then we can go from there.