My Baby Shower

BABY SHOWER RECAP

Last week I traveled back to the US for my baby shower, hosted by my wonderful Momma, Aunt Lana, cousin Tiffani and Jessy and Krista—two friends I’ve known since elementary school (or is it kindergarten?!).  To say the day was special is a huge understatement!  I felt so loved and blessed to be celebrated as a new momma-to-be. 

It was very important to me to celebrate in my hometown and I was so happy that the majority of my guests could make it to celebrate with me.  My Great Aunt Debbie gets the “biggest surprise award”.  She showed up with my Great Aunt Lynnda without telling anybody.  It was a wonderful surprise and filled my heart that she made such an effort to be there with me. 

After being addicted to Pintrest and sending my Mom gobs and gobs of ideas, we decided on an “Island Baby” theme—pretty appropriate, I think!  We had the cutest cupcakes ever: shark fins, bikinis, board shorts, flip-flops and surfboards.  There was not one but two (!!!!) 4 foot tall “coconut trees” constructed out of pineapples, and a monkey happened to be hanging out in one.  There was the cutest clothesline ever with the most adorable baby swimsuits hanging from it.  My cousin and her boyfriend made super cute “Baby Young” chalkboard signs. 

Throughout the day I kept thinking about my Gram, of course, and how much I wished she could be there to celebrate with us.  Debbie and Lynnda reminded me that she was in fact with us and that she already knows and loves our little Cupcake.   I was also thinking about how lucky I am to be celebrating such an amazing and wondrous occasion.  For a long time Ev and I did not think this was going to happen for us, so thoughts of a baby shower were nonexistent.  Because of this, my day was even more special and I feel even more grateful to have had so many family and friends around me.    

Thank you to everyone who came and to those who could not make it and sent along a gift.  We are fortunate to have such generous family and friends.  Our little Cupcake is already so loved (and quite spoiled!).   And thank you to Tamara for taking beautiful pictures!  I was so happy to have you there to celebrate and document this special day. 

 

My hostesses were wonderful, the decorations were gorgeous, the food was delicious and the weather was amazing.  In all, I could not have asked for a better day! 

Love,

J & Cupcake 

An Adventure

An Adventure

When we decided to move to Ambergris Caye the one word that kept coming up was adventure.  We kept saying things like "we are starting a new adventure together" or "think of what an adventure this is going to be".  Well in typical Evan & Jentri fashion, we are now having an adventure on top of our adventure.  Drum roll please…..

We are expecting an island baby in June!  

Although we had been "trying" for almost two years, we were still shocked when two weeks after moving to a foreign county--surprise!--our little test came back with a big ol' positive.  That sucker lit up like a Christmas tree.  While back in Phoenix over the week of Thanksgiving it was confirmed.  We got to hear our baby's heartbeat for the very first time and then a few days later got to see the tiny little cupcake squirming around all over the place.  We announced our big surprise to our family on Thanksgiving with the help of our kiddies and big sister Elway.  It was a very special day!  

We were back in the states for Christmas and found out that we are having a girl.  Even though the hubby wanted a wild island boy he could call Tarzan, I think he is pretty excited about having a little girl that will surely have him wrapped around her tiny finger in no time.  My father-in-law suggested calling her Tarzana, as well as the super unique (and complicated!) Peytonia Elwaynia.  Pretty sure we won't let him be in charge of names.  

After feeling not-so-great for a few weeks (we lovingly referred to Baby Young as "the spawn" during those days), I am happy to report I am feeling pretty much back to normal.  You know normal except for this belly that is slowly hiding my feet from my view day-by-day.  So nowadays when she is behaving we call her "cupcake".  

Although the last thing we expected when making this move, we are very excited for our new adventure!  It is so fun to think about what a unique experience and life our little cupcake will get to have being in our much loved Belize.  We are blessed.  

Love,

J&E and the Cupcake

How is it January already?!

So very first off, let me just get it out there and acknowledge it--I suck.  It is now halfway through January and my last blog was in October.  Oh and that was like the second post.  Yikes.  I'm horrible, I know.

Now, let's all move on along, shall we?!  I will be better in this new year!  I will, dang it.  My plan is to do a "first three month wrap-up" and then keep the blog current.  (novel idea, right?)

Our first three months in paradise were…well there's really not just one or two words to describe them.  So much has happened it's hard to believe we have already been here for three months.  Every day I think "OMG I have to remember this/write that down" etc. to share with everyone.  Like for example, it is ah-maze-ing just how much a black plastic bag floating on the canal behind your house really truly DOES look like a crocodile.  No, no takers?  Yeah, my hubby wasn't impressed either when he came running out of the shower for our very first croc sighting...only to be disappointed.

Rainy might be a good word.  Somehow mother nature did not get the memo that rainy season ends in October so we have had quite a bit of rain.  The silver lining here is coming up with a super fun way of getting the rain off the roof of the golf cart so your wife doesn't scream when she gets a second shower for the day.

Different is another good word.  We're definitely not in Kansas anymore, Toto!  It seems like everyday I look at Ev and say, "Did you just see that?" or my personal favorite "Where did you move us to dude?"  These questions usually happen after the following types of situations: passing a golf cart with no windshield, no roof and the body completely wrapped in layer after layer of saran wrap--you know, to hold it together so it can still be driven…on public streets; or seeing local Belizean entrepreneurs selling candy and other treats to school children…through the fence…that's there to keep them out; or watching in awe as a taxi passes a golf cart that is passing the tractor and trailer hauling beverages around town that is trying to creep past the dump truck that has three Belizeans on top to keep the trash from falling off, and don't forget the motorcycles flying by or the bicycles and pedestrians too.  It's all normal for down here people, trust me.

Hilarious is another word.  One of our favorite new Belize sayings is "Probly something happened!"  As in having the mechanic look at your Rhino because the wheel just fell off the axle and he calmly replies "Probly something happened."  Bill Engval would love to live here: "Here's your sign!".

Amazing would be another word.  It's still hard to believe we get to live here.  Sure there have been difficulties.  Having your golf cart break down in a torrential rain storm is never fun.  Being further away from our families is hard.  But we are getting a whole new taste of something that is pretty cool and unique.  We are fortunate.  We are lucky.  I need to do a better job of realizing that and savoring this time while we have it.  So that is part of my vow in addition to keeping the blog up to date.

We wish you all a very happy and prosperous 2014!
J&E

Belize Baby! Week 1

Well, we made it!  After only six weeks between decision and move, we are living in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize.  The last week in Phoenix was an absolute blur of activity--waaaaaay too much activity!  There was simply not enough time to do everything on the to-do list.  Packing to live in a foreign country was stressful enough--especially when you consider we were pretty much making educated guesses on what we would need.  On top of that, we were trying to pack up our house (gee, it seems like we just did that like a little over a year ago!)  while deciding what went where (still not sure where some stuff ended up from the last move!) and getting the house ready to (hopefully!) be rented.  All-in-all, it was a bit stressful for all those involved.  My parents and little brother were a HUGE help!  It would have been a lot worse without them.  

The day of departure arrived far quicker than I expected.  I knew six weeks would fly but that was just a whole new meaning to the word “fast”.  Saying “see you later”--no goodbyes here--to the kiddies was absolutely heart-wrenching.  My sis-in-law and I both bawled like babies, which made the kiddies start crying, which brought tears to Dingo The Dog’s eyes, and on and on it went.  It was not a pretty situation.  After seeing this, my husband was understandably concerned about my parents dropping us off at the airport.  He was afraid it was going to be, oh how should we put it--a massacre.  After a very tearful see-you-later to our boxer/daughter Elway, we were off to the airport.  And I’m proud to say that while, yes, there were a number of tears shed, my mom and I held it together pretty darn well.  Jamal, the United curbside guy, also provided some much needed comic relief.  I now know they are not tears, just airport dust!  

We arrived on the island with no major hiccups and have been settling into our new digs over the last few days.  There was pretty minor panic attack episode on my part our first night.  I believe it consisted mainly of “oh my god I can’t believe we really did this” and “wow we are really living on an island, in a third world country”.  Again, I’m proud to say no tears were shed and I quickly got my perspective back in line.  This is an ADVENTURE!  This is something not everyone gets to do everyday!  It’s time to buck up and take advantage of this opportunity, not dwell on being out of my comfort zone!  So that was my pep talk and so far it’s sticking.  

Our cell phones are useless right now, which has been oh-so-difficult.  We have no internet access at the house yet, which has been like losing our right arms.  And probably the left leg as well, as long as we’re being honest here.  But on the plus side, we stumbled across the most delicious and absolute best ceviche in town while scoping free wifi.  So pros and cons...pretty even in the end!  We also got to meet Henry, the young entrepreneur making his living selling pirated dvd’s.  He’s got a pretty cool little racket going.  The Hangover III with Chinese subtitles was interesting (and I’m thinking it couldn’t have made that movie any better with or without the subtitles.)  After numerous trips into town on our borrowed golf cart, we are still giggling to each other about where we now live.  It’s still hilarious to see nine people crammed onto a four seater golf cart or to see men riding bikes you can’t believe still roll while carrying 12 foot PVC pipes to a job site.  I told my husband last night “Imagine when this is normal to us!”  It is definitely a life less ordinary.  

Our house is awesome, beautiful and very nice.  Although lacking some storage (underwear and socks don’t hang very well), we are super spoiled getting to stay here.  Yes, we are living in a construction zone.  However, it is one of the quietest construction zones I’ve ever been on.  I guess far less power tools and machinery will have that effect.  

We will be working this weekend and then the project is set to officially open for public sales November 1st.  I know we are both really looking forward to getting started.  This is a crazy place, a crazy opportunity and we are thrilled to take advantage of both!  

Miss & love you all!

J&E

Belize Bound!

We are moving to Belize!  It's so crazy/exciting/unbelievable....let me say it again.... 

WE ARE MOVING TO BELIZE!  

We have told our parents/family/friends, given notice at work, announced it on Facebook (which is what really makes it official!).  Even after living with the decision for a few days now I still find it hard to believe.  I still find myself thinking "holy cow is this for real?!"  We have talked about it, thought about it, dreamt about it for a long time.  It's hard to comprehend it is actually happening!  

The timing, although fast, is actually pretty perfect.  When October was first mentioned I myself got a slightly bug-eyed look.  But after we sat down and thought about it, yeah October is more than do-able.  That gives us about six weeks.  After our two weeks notice, we decided to take four weeks to spend with our family.  Last night we planned out our schedule and road trip plans.  This will be a very special road trip.  

Countdown Clock

Now we have more to get done than we can even think of.  The to-do list has been created, and it is already long.  The planning has started--anyone want to buy a beautiful house in Anthem, AZ?!  Little details like "do I need a whole new wardrobe" to big ones like "how are we going to get our beautiful boxer-daughter Elway to the island" are the topics at hand.  I still keep talking about using my cell phone down there and my husband keeps (patiently-ish) reminding me that I won't have use of my cell phone down there.  Oh.  Well, that's a pretty big deal.  

I told my husband when we made this decision there were a few things I wanted to do before we left.  First, and most importantly for that matter, was making a list of restaurants I wanted to eat at "one last time".  Of course Elway's in Denver was number one!  After getting food off my mind, I told him I wanted to create a blog.  My idea is that this will be a kind of diary for us as we set off on this adventure together.  It will be a way to keep our loved ones in the loop.  More than that though, I hope to be able to read it one day and look back at what we were doing, feeling, experiencing and really remember.  This is something special and it's important to document it.  

So for now we are beyond excited to start our adventure!  I'd better get back to my to-do list.....

xoxo,
J