The name is Alisa... Aunt Alisa.

I think many know of my obsession of being an aunt. Oh my goodness, it's my greatest pride and joy!!! I never thought I'd be like this with my siblings children, but I totally am. I love my Imogen, Ryan, and Madilyn (Mads) SO much. And because of my adoration, here are some cute pictures of "my" little ones taken in the past couple of months!

Carl's candid shot of Imogen
He took it and said, "Look how cute she is!"

I love how she lights up when she loves something!
You should see her outside! It's like she belongs there!

This is Mad's famous picture.
Rock on.

Ryan doesn't know that Captain America is actually beardless.

I just love the little joys in life, especially these little ones! :) I can't believe I'll have my own little one in 3 months!! I am so blessed by family!

Fall General Conference

Who doesn't enjoy General Conference?? One of my favorite things about General Conference is that millions of people are listening to the same thing, but get different messages that apply to their own life. I love talking to people about what they thought the "theme" was because odds are you're going to get a variety of answer. And I think that is a good thing!! As an education major, I firmly believe that a great teacher can reach out to different types of learners simultaneously. And as we all know, Jesus Christ is the master teacher. It just goes to show that the speakers chosen for Conference are in tune with what they need to teach and how to teach it.

So, you are now probably wondering what I got out of Conference, yes? ;) I loved each and every one of the speakers, but the ones I'll highlight brought out my personal theme: being a converted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here are just a few speakers and quotes that stuck out to me:

Quentin L. Cook's talk

• "In one of the most profound verses in all of scripture, Alma proclaims, 'If ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?' ... With all that we have received in this dispensation... Alma’s challenge has never been more important."
• "Immersion in the scriptures is essential for spiritual nourishment... When our commitment is diminished for any reason, part of the solution is repentance. Commitment and repentance are closely intertwined."

 M. Russell Ballard's talk

• "Great things are brought about and burdens are lightened through the efforts of many hands 'anxiously engaged in a good cause'” (D&C 58:27). 
• "We are to love God and to love and care for our neighbors as ourselves. Imagine what good we can do in the world if we all join together, united as followers of Christ, anxiously and busily responding to the needs of others and serving those around us—our families, our friends, our neighbors, our fellow citizens."
• "There is one simple daily practice that can make a difference... In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve." Then stay focused.

Neil L. Andersen's talk

• "Like the intense fire that transforms iron into steel, as we remain faithful during the fiery trial of our faith, we are spiritually refined and strengthened."

Jeffrey R. Holland's talk

• There is so much I could put for his talk, but simply enough, "We have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord."

Russell T. Osguthorpe's talk

• "Conversion is the goal of all gospel learning and teaching. Conversion is not a onetime event. It is a lifelong quest to become more like the Savior."

David A. Bednar's talk

• "Typically, we treat the topics of testimony and conversion separately and independently. However, we gain precious perspective and greater spiritual conviction as we consider these two important subjects together." (Side note: I always love his unique perspectives! It makes me think, 'Why haven't I thought of that before??')
• "Conversion is an enlarging, a deepening, and a broadening of the undergirding base of testimony. It is the result of revelation from God, accompanied by individual repentance, obedience, and diligence."
• "Testimony alone is not and will not be enough to protect us in the latter-day storm of darkness and evil in which we are living. Testimony is important and necessary but not sufficient to provide the spiritual strength and protection we need."
• "I now want to use one of many possible interpretations of the parable of the ten virgins to highlight the relationship between testimony and conversion. Ten virgins, five who were wise and five who were foolish, took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Please think of the lamps used by the virgins as the lamps of testimony. The foolish virgins took their lamps of testimony but took no oil with them. Consider the oil to be the oil of conversion." (LOVED THIS.)

I could go on and on, but alas you can read or listen to these and other talks for yourself! :) I hope you each found your personal message in this General Conference and use the concepts you have learned (or, like me, relearned) to better you life. Until spring 2013!!

Slugger

Only during our tour of the Louisville Bat Museum did I realize why their bats are called "Louisville sluggers:" because you slug a baseball! Ha! You learn something new every day ;)

Freebie.com had an amazing offer for this past Saturday! You could get into any museum listed in your state for free! Needless to say Carl and I grabbed a hold of that offer pretty quick! We were planning on going to the Louisville Slugger Museum and the Fraizer History Museum, but I was being sluggish that morning and decided we'd just visit one. Carl really enjoys baseball; that was the sport he and his brothers played most growing up. Carl was pretty excited to go, and we had a really good time!

$1 for 10 pitches! Carl was a pro :)

Batting with Derek Jeter's replica bat!

Holding Cal Ripken, Jr.'s REAL bat from 1986!!

I liked this quote.
It's baseball-y.

I was really afraid of the mannequins! But I liked this dude's pose! 

Waiting in the dugout!
With my baby :)

Love this man of mine!!

In front of the six-story tall baseball bat!

You're only 3 once!

Ryan Phenix is the cutest boy in the world. We put puzzles together ("Match it up!"), build domino structures in different shapes, play monster truck, and dance. Every dance move I do, he imitates. He's going to be the slickest dance in the world when I'm done ;) Ashley and Ben had a family party for his third birthday (which is September 24) yesterday, and he was living in the moment yelling, "Happy birthday!" to every one. I think by the end of the night he realized it was his happy birthday :) I love him so much!!

I can't help but to take 5 million pictures of her!!

Annie & the birthday boy!

A manly gift from Adam & Brianna!

He received a lot of puzzles.

His current love: Helicopters

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

He seriously waited like this for 5 minutes while Ben took out his new helicopter toy! So darling!

Our balloon was a big hit with Imogen!

Silly Tim!

Mi madre and padre <3

Ben & Ryan intently lighting 3 candles.

He sang "Happy Birthday" along with us!

I wish I got a better picture of this!
He was clapping along with everyone after he blew out the candles!

Mads & Ashley!

Nakey baby & Tim!

Enjoying his birthday treat! :)

And the baby is a lady...

This Sunday we had our gender reveal party for my family! It was so much fun! During the week it was so hard not to tell my mom!! I thought time and again that this party was a dumb idea, that I just wanted to burst with the good news, but all in all I'm glad I had the par-tay!

We first divided the fam into two teams: Mustaches (boy) or Hair bows (girl). For some reason it's a lot more fun to play with a mustache than a hair bow ;) We played a Baby Trivia game, and then had each team create our future baby out of magazine clippings. Finally, we revealed our baby's gender! I took many pictures throughout the evening, so here are a few to highlight. Enjoy!! :)

Boy or Girl? ;)

What's not to love? :)

Baby trivia game (Team Hair bow minus Angela)

Team Mustache!

Team Mustache creating our future baby!

Team Hair bow creating our future baby!

Team Mustache: We love the arms!

Team Hair bow

We love the bum ;)

Shadow is trying to sniff out what color the balloons are!

Carl: "And the baby is a lady..."

"...lady killer!" AKA A BOY! :)

Just kidding. We're having a Ryan ;)

He really loved this box!

A mustache for all! :)

Angela celebrating!

Blue or Pink?

Carl and I will find out the gender of our baby THIS Tuesday, September 11!! We could not be more excited. Throughout the pregnancy, we have both gone back and forth between what gender we would prefer, but honestly we are just excited to have a baby :) We thought it would be super fun to dig into some old wives tales and see what they say the gender of our baby will be. We're adventurous like that ;) We have some experimental predictions mixed in with the basics (i.e. how you carry the baby, etc.) so you are in for a treat!! Here was the run down:


Monday, September 3
BAKING SODA TEST
Thanks to Adrienne for telling me about this old wives tale! Here's the run down: Measure out a tablespoon of baking soda and add some of your urine. If the baking soda bubbles a lot, it's supposed to be a boy; if it doesn't bubble a lot or at all is supposed to be a girl.
Our verdict?

Initial pouring of the liquid, there was no bubbling. It kind of bubbled in the corner, but really, there was no bubbling to be found! 
Results: GIRL

Tuesday, September 4
SWEET OR SALTY?
This is a tough test for me. The rule is if you crave sweet foods, it's a girl, and if you crave salty or sour things, it's a boy. I could seriously go either way. Here are my reasons why:
-- In my first trimester, all I really ate were potato-like substances: potato soup, potato salad, and especially potato chips! No crackers for me; it was potato chips all the way!
-- Currently, I am LOVING my sweets! I perk up if anybody says the words ice cream, cookie, chocolate chips, cheesecake... you name it, I will want it! I think my body thinks it needs sweets!
-- I love love love graham crackers with crunchy peanut butter and loaded with chocolate chips. That is sweet and salty!
However, here is the tie breaker:
I am obsessed with sour or vinegar-y foods. Pickles, lemons, BBQ sauce, a tart Granny Smith apple literally make my mouth water. Just thinking about it my mouth is watering!! I've always liked a lemon wedge in my water, but if we go out to eat I ask the waiter to bring out a bowl of lemons. Seriously. My family can verify my pickle craving. And Carl can testify to my constant desire to go to a BBQ restaurant.
To top it off, today I bought one of mine and Carl's favorite treats. I had a real hankering for it!

Oh, yeah :)

Results: BOY         
**If you think about it, shouldn't my baking soda in the previous test have bubbled since my urine is supposedly more acidic due to my cravings? Food for thought :)

Wednesday, September 5 (Happy birthday, Erin Stolworthy!)
STRING THEORY
I know you have heard of this one! Directions are to put a ring on a string and have someone else hang the ring over your belly. If the ring moves in a circle, it's a girl; if it moves back and forth it's a boy.

We used some thread since there was no string to be found (our other option would have been twine!), and we used Carl's ring since mine obviously has a diamond at one end. I didn't know if the unbalanced weight would effect our outcome. The ring moved back and forth for us! After awhile, Carl purposely moved it in a circle and gasped, "Oh no! What's it doing? It's switching!" Haha! Such a kidder ;)
Results: BOY

Thursday, September 6
CARRYING THE BABY
This is an old wives tale I had heard about but found it has two parts: if you carry high, then it's a girl; and if you carry low, it's a boy. If your most of your weight is in the middle, then you're having a girl; if most of your weight is in front, then you are having a boy.

K. So here's the deal. I'm carrying the baby normal. (Is that even possible? Judge for yourself.) Carl and I consulted my mom and Ashley and they also agree. If we had to choose--which for this post we must--we're going to go with high. And Carl and I are both in accord that I am carrying my weight in the middle. That's two for two on this old wives tale for a...
Results: GIRL

Friday, September 7
RED CABBAGE TEST
Oooo, I was SO excited to do this old wives tale because of how quirky is sounded! Have any of you even heard of this one?? It's a great find for sure! And what an awesome way to spend your Friday night ;) Here is the how to:
1. Buy a head of cabbage
2. Urinate in a cup.
3. Chop half of the cabbage
4. Put the cabbage in a large saucepan and cover with cold water.
5. Place the pan over high heat until it reaches a rolling boil.
6. Remove the pan for the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
7.  Mix one part cabbage water with one part urine.
8. Scrutinize the urine/cabbage water. If the liquid is pink to red, you're having a boy. It the color is more purple, it's a girl.

This is truly my concoction haha!
Looks kind of purple-y to us...

Here's a better view.

Results: GIRL

Saturday, September 8
MORNING SICKNESS
This is an old wives tale that I semi-believe in simply because it was true for my mom and Ashley. And my pregnancy is supposed to be kind of like theirs, right? The guideline is if you did not have much morning sickness, it's a boy; however, if you did experience a good deal of morning sickness, it's a girl.

I am one blessed pregnant lady. The only time I have thrown up during this pregnancy was at my first doctor's appointment after they drew five million tubes of my blood. (Okay, I'm exaggerating. I'm really bad when it comes to my own blood. I'm a big wimp.) That's not to say I didn't feel sickly or nauseous periodically for these past 5 months, but I have never felt sick enough to make a trip to the white porcelain.
Results: BOY

Sunday, September 9
CHINESE CALENDAR
You know what they say, save the best for last! The Chinese Calendar is known to be 90% accurate when it comes to determining the sex of your baby. Pretty sweet, huh? Adrienne said this calendar was spot on for her two boys; however, Caroline said this method of predicting was wrong for her little Charlie. (Just so you are aware of the odds!) It's a simple chart: Plug in your age (23) and month of conception (April), and you have your gender.

Results: BOY
We were tied up until this last test, so we are 60% sure our ultrasound technician will reveal our baby to be a boy ;)

So what will it REALLY be?? :) We trust the ultrasound a lot more than these fun, but silly, wives tales. I mean, they can actually see the baby haha! We had so much fun doing these tests though. Your predictions and comments are welcome, of course!