So, my mother is being “bossy.”  (That is a direct quote from her).  Apparently, when I point people towards a blog for a baby registry, it is social protocol to make sure said blog has been updated to the present time.  This particular blog about these particular chickens, has not been updated in almost, oh I don’t know, a year?!  So, yeah mom, I guess it is time to post something exciting.

And what’s more exciting than our baby boy!  Our baby is due on December 26th (apparently we are really bad at math)! But, none the less, we are super excited to welcome our first baby to the Wright family during the upcoming Christmas season.  I am hoping he will come a little early, so we can enjoy Christmas with him, but as long as he is here before January, I am happy (i.e. for a better tax return – I promise I’m not having a child for the tax return, it is just an added bonus).  But, My grandfather has informed me that there are already 3 people in the Suggett family born on January 4th.  We could have lucky number 4 on the 4th!  He also highly encouraged me to name him Charles or Edwin (my Papa’s first and middle name).  Duly noted Pop!

In other news, baby appears to be super healthy! He has all the proper appendages, and he is kicking me like crazy.  Don’t get me wrong, the kicking is pretty cool, but a swift and timely kick to the bladder is not that pleasant.

So, I hope to be posting a few more posts this week, since I’ve dropped the ball for the last 10 months, but for now, enjoy these pictures of Baby Wright!

Baby boy at about 10 weeks

15 weeks

19 weeks

And a creepy one of him looking straight at us!  This was at 20 weeks.  Doesn’t he look like the skeleton monkey on Pirates of the Caribbean?  HAHA!

Well, this past Monday, November 7th, was our one year anniversary.  We both can’t believe how fast the past year has flown by.  We’ve enjoyed life, learned a lot, endured difficulties, and have made it through one full year of marriage.  And we can honestly say, we are happy.  We are in love with each other, kept busy by work, entertained by Lucy, and saved by God’s grace.  What more can these chickens ask for?!

So back to Monday, we decided to spend our anniversary/my 24th birthday in San Diego.  We couldn’t have been blessed with better weather.  It was 62 degrees and not a cloud in the sky the whole day.  We spent the majority of the day at the San Diego Zoo.  Brandon took me to the zoo for our 4th anniversary of dating (at least I think it was the 4th year)  and that was my first visit.  And after this second visit, I must say that it is becoming one of my favorite places.  We had so much fun, and so did the animals!  Take a look =)

Brandon named this guy “One-Hump Harry.”  Haha!!

This is a polar bear charging the glass, because evidently he doesn’t like me taking pictures of him.  Sadly, immediately following this picture, I jumped back for fear of being ran over.  So, just use your imagination and pretend that you are now looking at a top class shot of a polar bear’s nose smushed against the glass.

I love this panda.  He is just so photogenic.

munch munch munch…

The guy in the middle did not like Brandon.  He stared him down and then jumped up and started hitting the glass.  Crazy monkeys.

After a fantastic day at the zoo, we headed to downtown San Diego and had dinner while watching the sunset.

And lastly, what’s a one year anniversary without a frozen cake?  It still looked just as pretty as it did last year =)

In my next post, I’ll tell ya all about my birthday backyard makeover!  Trust me, you should be excited.

Well, this is a hard blog to write, but I figured it’s the best way to let everyone know and to avoid confrontation.  I won’t lie, that’s my goal.

I guess I’ll just get right down to it.  I miscarried this week.  I went to have a dating ultrasound on Tuesday night to confirm my due date of April 20th.  The doctor thought it was strange that the baby measured 2 weeks smaller than he or she was supposed to.  I was supposed to be 11 weeks.  So after 2 hours of waiting I had the ultrasound and it was strange because they wouldn’t show me the screen or let Brandon in the room.  They told me that something wasn’t routine and they needed a doctor to read the results.  But all the doctors were in the OR and they sent me home.  They called at 10:30 that night and told me to go to my normal doctor the next day.  So, full of hope, Brandon and I went, excited to see our little baby, since the mean lady last night wouldn’t even show us a picture.  Turns out, the baby had not grown in a couple weeks and there was no longer a heart beat.

I’ll spare you the details on how my heart hurts, as I’m sure you can imagine it does.  But I’ll leave you with one thought of comfort.  I have this Bible verse stuck on my fridge:

I felt kinda silly when I first printed it out, since it’s one of those verses that everyone quotes in every circumstance.  But today God really gave me comfort through this verse.  I spend so much time trying to figure out what God’s thoughts are toward me, but in reality, I don’t need to know what they are, because I already know that they are good.

Well, did you hear we are expecting?!!  Yep! We’ve got a little chicken on the way.  Yes, I know, we’ve only been married for about a year, but we dated for 6 years, so I think it evens out =).  Anyway, we are currently 7 weeks along and the baby is the size of a blueberry.

We met with the doctor today and our due date is set for about April 20.  Have a look!

Brandon calls the baby Itsy, because it’s itsy bitsy and as far as we know, it’s an it.  So Itsy is that little blur in between the 2 x’s.  Here’s another:

So, It’s just a dot right now, but we were super happy to be able to see the heart beat today!  This little chicken was thumping away!

I have another ultrasound in 3 weeks, so maybe we will be able to see something that might even resemble a human.  That would be fun =)

But for now, we love you little Itsy!  Now please stop making me nauseous.

So, we did it, and we survived =)  We have driven from Illinois, through Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and back to California.  All for our new Subaru.  Some people probably think we are crazy, but that’s ok.  We are so happy with this purchase and are so excited with the condition the car is in.  And it’s fast!  It definitely has much more ‘umph’ than my civic.  Luckily the speed limit in some of those states is 80mph =).  So here are some pics:

And a summary of our vacation:

Illinois was hot and humid, very green, and had very nice people (actually all the people are nice through the Midwest states).

Wisconsin was gorgeous.  Very green with rolling hills, rocks covered in moss, it actually reminded me of Ireland.  That is until we saw the billboards for cheese and firework shops.  Classic =).  It was scary too when we came around a corner and realized that Amish people are allowed to drive their horse and buggy on the highway.  Luckily, the speed limit is not 80 in that state.

Minnesota, from what we saw, was just about the same as Wisconsin.  Green and beautiful.

South Dakota, as described by Brandon’s cousin Jeff, is the land of the walking dead.  I agree.  The highway is straight, all around you is flat, and you might pass a car every 15 minutes or so.  The people there seemed a little less happy too, understandably.  But we stayed in Brandon, SD so that was cool.  Oh, and Mt. Rushmore.  It was neat, but a little underwhelming.  It would be cooler if you could hike to the top of it or something.

Wyoming was my favorite state that we passed through.  Green and mountainy!  It reminded me of the Sierras but much greener.  We drove through the Grand Tetons, which had like 10 feet of snow.  And the road on the way down was under construction, aka taken out completely and replaced with gravel and patches of asphalt. Let’s just say that we saw the scubie’s true colors and it was the driving highlight of the vacation =).

We stayed in Cody, Wy,  in the Cody Cowboy Village.  It is such a cute little town with it’s cowboy theme.  Our hotel room was actually a little log cabin!  At this point, it really started feeling like a vacation =) We ate a bison burger at one of the local restaurants too!

The next day we were off to Yellowstone.  The way to the park gate was filled with “I could live there, oh and I could live there, and OOOOooo look at that house!”  So gorgeous!  Yellowstone was awesome!  We got to see Old Faithful (faithful yes, but not too eventful), and all the pools were mostly frozen, but still pretty.  My favorite part though was driving real slow next to a bunch of bison and watching them cross the street in front of the cars.  They are huge!!  And I was like 4 feet away from them!

We drove through Montana for about 15 minutes while exiting Yellowstone.  It was beautiful and one day we will go back.

Idaho was rainy and flooded.  I can’t say much because I slept most the way through this state, but Brandon did say that homes and shops had water covering the bottom half of the buildings!  Luckily the highway is higher up so we were able to get through.

Utah was the only place we got pulled over for not have license plates.  The temporary one was behind a tinted window.  This is where the drive started looking more deserty, but the speed limit was 80 =).  We stayed in St. George and got In-N-Out for dinner =).  And then woke up in the morning for a breakfast at Cracker Barrel. My first time there and I rather enjoyed it!

Nevada was a nice relaxing day because we only drove 2 hours as opposed to 14 on the rest of the trip.  We stayed with Brandon’s cousins, Jeff and Jackie, and had a great time hanging out.  Thanks Jeff and Jackie!

Arizona and California- the drive home!  It was so good to see little Lucy again!  Aunt Amanda fed her like crazy and she gained 5 pounds.  Little girls a chunk!

It is so good to be home, and I am suggesting to Brandon that we stay at a hotel in Laguna for our Anniversary.  I’m into the 30 minute drive =).

Last month we were planning a camping trip to Yosemite.  We were just so excited for this new adventure.  Camping with just Brandon and I.  We had bought all the equipment, packed our Civic beyond its capacity, and took off for the south entrance to Yosemite.

To sum it up in one, run on sentence: Our camp site ended up being right next to the road and the camp ranger station, the camp ranger told us we cannot use our very exciting fire pit that we cut out of the inside of an old washer (it’s very cool, I promise), we had to be holding the 6 foot dog leash at all times (try setting up camp like that!), and last but not least, it snowed and our tent leaked.

So we came back home after one night.

But, we had an excellent couple of hours driving through a beautiful, snow covered Yosemite Valley.

Which brings us to Little Lucy.

She had this look on her face the whole time.  And we made fun of her for being a wimp of a dog.

Then we felt terrible because the next day she wouldn’t eat or drink and couldn’t even stand up or move, and she had a 105 temperature (106 is fatal).  Poor little poochie was just so sad.  We rushed her to the vet who then sent us to an advanced critical care hospital.  They kept her for 4 days and ran countless numbers of tests all to find out that she has immune mediated poly-arthritis.  Basically since they can’t find any cause to her sickness, they have decided that her immune system is overactive and it has decided to fight against her joint tissue.

A very happy Little Lucy came home with swollen paws, shaved legs, and a doggy bag full of 6 types of medication (hehe, doggy bag).  Almost 4 weeks later she is down to only 2 types of medication and she is doing GREAT!  The little girl even got into the trash yesterday.  She’s starting to act like herself again, running and pouncing and playing with her favorite toy, Violet Squeakerton (It’s purple and it squeaks, naturally).

The vet’s hope is that since she is only 9 months old, her immune system will mature and all the problems will go away.  Our hope is to never have to take this pup to an “advanced critical care” hospital ever again.  I have never seen more Vets in my life than in this last month.  Sheesh!

In other news!

We are now finally getting a vacation!  After much pursuit, Brandon has found the perfect Subaru, and we are traveling next week to Illinois to seal the deal. Conveniently, we will then drive home through Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and back to California.  Thankfully we are just driving one way.  The highlights of the trip should include but are not limited to Mount Rushmore, The Crazy Horse Memorial, and Yellowstone National Park.  See ya when we get back!

So, this is our blog!  I (Stephanie) have decided that we need to have a blog.  I don’t necessarily think people will read it, but I think it will help Brandon and I slow down, concentrate on enjoying life, and take more photos in the process.  And if you happen to enjoy it, even better!

As you see, it’s called ‘Just Us Chickens.’  If you spend a little bit of time with us, you will most definitely hear a ‘chicken’ or two escape from our lips.  Yes, we call each other chicken.  I’m not sure how exactly the whole thing started, but chicken it is, and chicken it has been for the last, almost 6 years now.

This year has been the year of new things!  Lots has changed, but most of it has been for the better.  I have spent most of my life avoiding change of any sort, but this year, I have decided, change is good.

First Change: We are married!  A long awaited change!  On November 7, 2010, these Chickens tied the knot.

Second Change: Our Home!  We live in a cute little 2 bedroom town home which we quite enjoy =)

Third Change: Lucy Petunia!  For Christmas we got a boxer puppy.  She is such a good little girl.  Isn’t she cute?!

And here is the mess that she made.  Don’t worry, it only happened once.  She got a hold of the mail and a vase of reeds.

We love being married, we love our home, and we really love Lucy! (how could you not? Did you see that face?!)

More changes to come in our next post.  Thanks for reading!

-The Chickens