Fall is here!

Fall is one of our favorite times of year and we made sure we got out and enjoyed it. Lindsay went to Hawaii for a week with Ivory, her mom, and her littler sister Paige. Lindsay felt it her duty to drop off Paige at BYUH and show her all the best places to spend time on the North Shore. Big thanks to Quinn who stayed home and worked his butt off (as he did all summer as well). Lindsay ran the inaugural Big Cottonwood Half marathon with her sister Jennifer. With 11 of the 13 miles being downhill, it is a great race to achieve a personal best (which Lindsay did). It is not fall without a trip up to Logan to celebrate USU homecoming weekend. Quinn went golfing and Lindsay went hiking we joined back up on Campus for Quinn's leadership reunion. We finished the evening with a triumphant win at the football game. We took the scenic route home from Logan, a route we would highly suggest. You start in Logan, go up through Bear Lake, past Huntsville, and down Odgen Canyon, what a beautiful way to celebrate the fall. To wrap up the month, we celebrated our belated wedding anniversary. Lindsay's parents took Ivory off our hands for the weekend and we ran off to Deer Valley. We rented a place in Deer Valley, ate a lot of good food and slept in until 9:00! We ended our weekend up at the Olympic Park in Park City and spent the afternoon testing our skills on the high ropes course. Quinn did not love how high up it was, but he could not let Lindsay show him up.

Sumer Round Up

Summer always seems to take forever to get here and passes by way to fast, this summer was no exception. We started June off with Lindsay's little sisters high school graduation up in Logan. We always enjoy and trip up to Logan to see the beautiful mountains and of course enjoy some Aggie Ice Cream. AJ's wedding was a great opportunity to reconnect with family and celebrate Polly and AJ's happy occasion. Lindsay was able to participate in  several races during June, the Ragnar Relay and The Bear Lake Triathlon. It turns out that having  baby and getting back into shape actually makes you faster and Lindsay PR in both races. Our last trip in June was up to Bear Lake where we rented a condo and a boat and enjoyed some relaxation with friends. 

In July we spent the 4th of July in Sugarhouse and enjoyed the amazing fireworks put on at the park on our own front porch. A bonus…Ivory slept through the whole show! The Rappleye family had a reunion in the beautiful Lake Powell! Lindsay went for a full week and Quinn joined for the last few days (someone has to work in this relationship :) We also headed up to Burley Idaho and Twin Falls ID. Lindsay participated in the Spudman Triathlon and we spent the weekend  with Lindsay's sisters family in Twin Falls. 

August brings the summer to a close, but that does not mean we played any less. Lindsay ran a midnight 10K with one of her girlfriends and found out that Cheesecake Factory serves milkshakes until 1:00 am. We ventured up to Bear Lake again and enjoyed Raspberry shakes and beach camping with babies (not as hard as we thought it would be, Ivory is a trooper). We celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss on the 19th. Lindsay was able to go to Wicked with all of her sisters and her mom, for a well deserved girls night out. Ivory turned one on the 23rd and we celebrated with a huge family party complete with a bouncy castle at the park. We rounded out August with a long weekend of camping up in beautiful Fishlake with Lindsay's cousins. A special thanks to Lindsay's mom and dad who lent us their pop-up camper, because we felt our first taste of cooler fall temperatures while in Fishlake. 

Ivory Cleo Millet Birth Story

My due date was August 20^th. It had been a long a hot summer and I had my hospital bag all packed, so I was super excited to get this baby out. However, I had heard one too many times that first babies always come late and I did not want to get my hopes up. That being the case on August 20^th Quinn and I went to a Sugarland (a county music band) concert at USANA. It was great to have something to look forward to on that day besides not having a baby. Turns out the 21^st was not the day to have a baby either so we decided to go to a Brandi Carlile concert at Red Butte Gardens, AMAZING concert and a great way to pass the time when you again, not having a baby. Monday morning the 22^nd rolls around and I got up at 5:45 like any other day and went to my masters swimming group at the pool everyone commented on how amazing it was that I was 2 days past my due date and still swimming with them every morning. Throughout the swim I was feeling a little crampy and extra tired, after swimming 2 miles I showered and headed home. After breakfast and a little computer time, I had a few last minute things to buy and return. I hopped in the car and ran errands for the next 2-3 hours, the whole time I was feeling a little tired and what I thought may be small contractions. I got home and decided to lie down for a while. 3 hours later…I woke up from my nap and Quinn was home from work. We spent the evening together and while we were watching TV I decided to start timing my contractions because at that point they were pretty regular. After timing them for about 30 minutes we found that they were about 4 minutes apart. Quinn started getting nervous and was convinced that we would have the baby that night. I reminded him how long fist time labors are and how if we went to the hospital they would probably send us home and I was not about to be that person. We continued to time the contractions and at about 9:45 Quinn asked for the report, they were 2-3 minutes apart. He told me to get up stairs and get my things, we were going to the hospital whether I liked it or not. It was a really weird feeling leaving the house as two, knowing we would come home as three. I was surprised how calm I felt, I was more excited and determined to have this baby and kick butt at it!

We arrived to the hospital at 11:00 pm and brought us to a room. The nurse said she was not going to check us in until 12:00 so that we could have an extra day in the hospital. So because we did not have a room, we went outside and walked around the hospital grounds. It was such a peaceful summer night (besides having to stop every 2 minutes to breathe through a contraction) and we just enjoyed our last walk as just the two of us. At 12:00 they checked us into our labor and delivery room; at this point we were both starting to feel a little tired and were ready to sleep. Unfortunately for me, sleep was not on the docket for the night. I was hooked up to all my monitors and the nurse checked me, I was dilated to a 2, after being barley a one for the past three weeks, I was super excited. The nurse said she would come back the next hour to check me again. Quinn settled down on his couch and tried to stay awake and keep me company. The nurse came back at 1:30 and checked me again, I was a 2 ½, she informed us that most labors progress a ½ centimeter an hour…at that rate I was not going to have this baby until 4:00 in the afternoon. At that news, we settled in, Quinn made a nice bed for himself and I tried to take my mind off contractions with the TV. I told Quinn to get some rest because it was going to be a long night…little did I know, that was the last I would hear from Quinn until 6:30. The nurse came back in at 3:00; I was in a good amount of pain and really focusing through the contractions. She checked me and this time I was a 4, she asked me if I wanted the epidural and I could not get the words out fast enough…YES bring it on!!

The anesthesiologist came in soon after to give me sweet relief. I have to say that the epidural was by far the most painful part of labor. Luckily he was quick and I was feeling pretty good in no time. All I needed to do now was try and get some rest. I think I was able to sleep a total of 45 minutes all night, but I was so excited that I did not feel that tired, I was just ready to meet my little girl. At 6:30 the nurse came back to check me, I was a 10! She was surprised how quick I progressed and ran off the call my doctor and get things set up. Quinn was wide awake after that…We were going to have this baby in the next hour! My doctor was delivering another baby so it took her about 45 minutes to get to me. In the mean time the nurses got me all set up and were talking to me about pushing. We decided to do a couple of practice pushes to get the rhythm of it down. After two practice pushes the nurses told me to stop or I would have the baby without a doctor there to catch it. At 7:30 my doctor came in and we got started, 3 pushes and 9 minutes later, Ivory Cleo Millet was born. Nothing can describe how I felt while I was pushing fear, excitement, anticipation; I was awe struck. As soon as Ivory came out, my doctor put her on my chest and I saw my baby girl for the very first time. I cannot put into words the immense love I felt for her right then. This tiny little person that Quinn and I had created and I had brought into this world. After a few minutes of awing over our little piece of heaven, they took her away to clean and weigh her. Everyone in the room was amazed that it was my first baby and that everything has happened so quickly and that I had no tears considering she was such a big baby (8lbs 12 oz) I have to say I felt like super women for the rest of the day. We spent the next two days falling at the hospital falling more and more in love with our little girl.

Heading to the hosptialAll hooked up and ready to go
Pure bilssOur big girl

Daddy holing Ivory for the first timeA rare moment of awake time

A new post...yes it is true!

Thanks to my sister-in-law Dixie...I have been forced to write a blog update.

Summer top 10...so far.

1. Lindsay has been gradually packing on the pounds and getting ready for baby. Luckily, it has been a nice hot summer and baby girl has been cooking hot. To keep cool, Lindsay has taken to hiding in the basement, eating a lot of Popsicle and sno cones, and swimming a lot. If she decides to show up on time, she will be here on the 20th.

2. Quinn has been playing a lot of racquetball. He has found a partner that he plays 3 times a week and keep him challenged. The competition keeps him excited to play every time.

3. We have really enjoyed our new house this summer. Lindsay planted a garden in the backyard and we are just beginning to enjoy the fresh tomatoes. Quinn has become quite the porch sitter and has been enjoying the beautiful summer nights on our front porch swing.
4. Quinn went on a weekend fishing trip in Southeastern Utah with some in-laws. He described it as fishing with a little camping on the side, They spent 99% of the time on the water and the other 1% was split between eating, sleeping, and catching up. Needless to say, Quinn learned he is more of a camper with fishing on the side.

5. Quinn's little sister tied the knot! We had a great time seeing all the family and catching up everyone. It was a beautiful day and we are so excited to have Matt in the family and have plans to go out a visit them in Texas...in December :)

6. Lindsay's grandparents live in a small town in Southeast Utah called Richfield. There is no better place to celebrate America's freedom than a small country town. Normally, we participate in the local 5K Freedom run, but Lindsay was a little too pregnant for that...so we slept in instead. We spent the whole weekend down there and did a lot of visiting with Lindsay's extended family. On the 4th we enjoyed the main street parade complete with beauty queens, tractors, and cub scout troop floats. The carnival at the park and the 4th of July would not be complete without the trout grab!

7. We decided to drive back to Salt Lake City on the 4th of July to watch the fireworks at Sugarhouse park. This was probably one of Lindsay's favorite things we have done all summer; there was excellent people watching, love music, great food, and a lot of walking around. The firework show was VERY impressive and better yet, we were able to walk to the park instead of fighting the rest of the city for a parking space.

8. Quinn is scout leader for the 12-13 year olds in the ward and the scouts headed out to Moab for a little camp out. While Quinn was down there, he was able to hike, raft, and sleep under the stars. Their campsite was taken over by mice (they lost a lot of food) and one of the leaders pop-up campers was also a popular hangout for the mice. Luckily Quinn has his own tent and was saved from the scavengers.

9. We were able to spend a beautiful summer evening with Adelia, her kids, and AJ at a Bee's game. Since it was close to the 24th of July, it was also a firework game. Bee's games rarely sell out, but this was a special day; a fire work game and a complete blowout (the Bee's won by 14 runs!) Quinn spent most of the game explaining the intricacies of baseball to Joshua, while everyone else spent their time walking Rachel around (apparently she is not much of a baseball fan).

10. Lindsay's family had a family reunion in Flaming Gorge. It is not often that we can get everyone together, but we had a great time. We rented out 3 campsites and everyone set up their campers/tents for the weekend. Lindsay's dad Kim brought the speedboat from Logan and we spent most of the time out on the lake. We really enjoyed watching the big boys show off on the wake board and forcing the sometimes smiling, mostly screaming nieces and nephews to ski. We also had a chance to raft the Green River, it was crystal clear and stock full of fish. It was
great to get away from the city for the weekend and sleep under the stars.




Here is a photo collage of what we have been up to.
1 & 2: Quinn and I went to Canyonlands and hikes around for a weekend.
3 & 4: Mom, Dad, Paige, and Trevor rafting down the Green River
5: Quinn and I visiting Doug and Katrina in San Fran
6 & 7: Trevor and I hanging out on the boat at Flaming Gorge ( I am 9 1/2 months pregnant here!)
8: Annabelle and Lucas (niece and nephew) catching a nap while the adults wakeboard.
9 & 10: Mom catching some sun on the boat. Quinn guiding me down the Green River.
11& 12: Jen and her girls at my baby shower. Dad doing what he does best.

Keys on Main and Colorado Trip

May 2009

My sister-in-law Dixie decided to enhance her knowledge and move off to D.C. for grad school. Quinn and I wanted to have one last night with her before she left us for the all too alluring EAST COAST. What better way to say goodbye than a live concert at a hip downtown club? The answer...nothing; because this club even threw in free martini glasses and free drinks!

The performer of the night: Eric Hutchinson...Excellent live, I highly recommend him!

Quinn and I enjoyin the good music.

Dixie and Shane. I think Dixie in especially excited in the picture because she had just experienced her first Pina Colda...on the house! (Virgin of course).

Showing off our SWAG...free martini glasses (I think we all ended up leaving them under our chairs at the end of the night; oops!)

Here is the live video of Eric. He had a great stage presence and was really funny. I have not figured out how to flip the video...but I will soon.

Bad Reaction to Flu Shot + Down Time = Blog Update

I have been all but physically assulted by more than a few loving family and friends becuase of my lack luster blogging. I guess it takes angry phone calls and substantial down time (due to side effects of above mentioned flu shot), to get me going. So here it is, it not so many words and lots of pictures....AN UPDATE!

April 2009

I competed in my first triathlon. I ended up doing 3 more throughout the summer and loved it! Safe to say....I am addicted.

This particular race was an Xterra race (meaning you mountain bike instead of road bike) and I did the race with our good friends Jess and Andrew Wood. Race Day ended up being rainy and freezing. It had been raining for several days prior to the race, giving the moutain bike course ample time to get nice and muddy. Special thanks to a supportive Quinn (love you!) for being my photographer/ cheerleader.

Here I am pre-race...cold but excited and ready to take on the competition!
In T1, transition between the swim and the bike.


Ready to face the muddy mountain bike course

Turning the last corner on the run and sprinting to the finish line.

We did it!! Jess and I post-race excited, muddy, and ready for a warm shower.

Lindsay...Lindsay...How does you garden grow??

Great question....I have NO IDEA! Quinn and I are really motivated this year to get our backyard fixed up and functional. Part of fixing it up includes a fully planted veggie garden, raspberries, and strawberries. Ambitious....yes, too ambitious....only time will tell (let's hope not)!

The problem I am running into with planting my garden; minus the snow and frigid temperatures; is a complete lack of knowledge about gardens and how to plant them. See my problem? So, I turn to my good friend GOOGLE and type in Utah Veggie Planting Chart; guess who come to my rescuse? "My Alma mater Utah State, my heart sings out to you". The USU vegetable specialist, Dan Drost, put together a chart outlining the vegetables that grow well in Utah! Not only does it tell you what to plant; but when to plant it, how deep to plant, row spacing, and how long it takes to produce!

Wish me luck on my planting ventures...I can only cross my fingers and wait!