ReAL MLS cup!

So today we got the chance to finally go see the MLS Cup in person! ReAL won the championship clear back in November and they have been traveling around Utah with the cup letting the fans check it out. So we were excited when we finally had the opportunity to go see it. So anyway.. here is the picture of the beautiful cup and a picture of us holding the cup as well as standing by their mascot Leo the Lion! If you haven't had the chance to go see it, you should!

Playing the waiting game!

Well just as we have done the past 2 months, we are still playing the waiting game for our house. I think we are both there mentally, but physically we still have a lot to do before we can move into the house. First of all we have been waiting for this past week to come so we could see if we were going to get enough back from taxes, and finally be sure that we can put the down payment down without borrowing money from anyone. Looks like we made it, so now we are just waiting for the tax returns to come! Steven and I finally packed up a few boxes the other night and still have soo many more to pack. We are extremely excited to finally have a house of our own, even if it gives us that extra responsibility. There are so many things I love about this house and one of the main things is the back yard! It is a good size, flat, with fruit trees and plenty of room to run around. It also has a big covered patio for many BBQ's we will be having as well as a warm place for Jimmy (our dog) to lay when he is outside.

I also love the neighborhood and we are extremely excited that we are moving about 3 blocks away from Steven's parents, as well as both his sisters. We have such high hopes this summer and plan to do a lot of family activities.


So if everything continues to go well we will be in our new house the first of March! Yay!! We are also going to rent out our basement, so if you know of anyone that needs a place to live we are going to rent it for $550 a month plus half utilities. The basement is newly carpeted, new tiles, new paint. 2 bedroom, 1 bath, living room, kitchen, plus a washer and dryer. Its a really good deal if you ask me! So if you know of anyone that would make for good renters, send them our way!

Baby Rounds..

Well our doctors appointment was last night and for the first time since I have been going, we actually had to wait a few minutes.. which was a problem for me because I really needed to go to the bathroom!! But we got in, I got my blood taken for Spinabifida (which Steven claims he has lol, but he doesn't) and then we headed for the ultrasound. I love that we get to see our little baby every time we go in! It makes things more real for us and nothing feels better then when we actually get to hear it's heartbeat. That is usually when I let out a HUGE sigh and smile. Yay the baby is doing good!! Sometimes I wish I could take one of those ultrasound machines home and just check up on our baby everyday! I never thought I would be this paranoid about a baby inside me, but not knowing if it's okay kills me! Anyway, our lil baby is doing good! The baby's head is the normal (big) size and I got to see it's little spine and big belly. The doc says everything looks good and the baby is the normal size (which I was worried about because I am barely barely showing at 4 months!).. I looked at the scale when they weighed me and noticed that I am still 1 lb shy of my starting weight.. I guess that morning sickness did a few wonders on me, because somehow my pants don't fit anymore and I have some "fat" in the tummy region, but I still weigh less then I did when we first went in. Anyway, the doc didn't seem too concerned so I guess I shouldn't be either. I keep reminding myself that I should just be happy Im not huge and cant move around already! So I have yet to make it a full week without throwing up.. it is quite annoying! And the odd thing is.. most of the time it is on a Monday.. maybe the baby feels the same way I do about Monday's and that they suck! ha ha
Okay so enough about what I think.. here is what happened in the ultrasound.. the doc had a little bit of a hard time at first because our little rascal decided that it wanted to be modest and cross it's legs. Well anyway, we finally got to where she could determine what it is and... almost all of you were WRONG!!!!! It is a wonderful baby BOY!!! We are sooo excited because that is what we have both hoped for! Now all my boy clothes and crib set can actually be put to good use! Anyway, so we are excited.. I think my dad is extremely excited for another boy. He has 2 grandboys and now another one on the way. So we are all excited and we hope that everything continues to go well for the baby! I will post some belly pictures one day when I am actually showing!
Thanks for all your support and love, it's exciting to have so many great people to help us along the way!

Nueromuscular conditioning

This semester of school is going about how I expected. My health promotion class is easy enough, but also interesting at the same time. My Kinesiology class is brutally difficult, and I think there should be some introductory classes before people take it. You have to know every bone, muscle, and peice of hair on the entire human body... and the scientific term for those. My first test I studied harder than any point of my College career (not saying much), and ended up getting 68%! That's not going to get the job done.
My third class is Nueromuscular Conditioning. I figured this class would be good for me. We get to learn about all kinds of weight lifting and other conditioning techniques. I plan to be a high school coach someday so this will certainly be relevant to me. I will know how to organize specific training routines for each individual person.
So far we've just been doing in class bookwork. BORING stuff to me. The teacher is explaining how muscle movement works and blah blah blah blaaaaaaah!!! I just want to see how it's done. I have the basic idea how muscles work, I don't need a Sheldon Cooper explanation for every little detail. I'm already getting that in my Kinesiology class.
So today we started the "fun" stuff. We did some fitness testing to see where we're at individually. The four test we took were: T-test, Vertical jump, standing long jump, and push-up test. Let me just say that my results were depressing. I consider myself to be in fairly decent shape. I am fairly good at a variety of sports. I found out today that I'm muscularly challenged!
Here are my test results and the accompanying feedback that I got out of my book:
T-test- (This test is completed by setting up one cone. Then about 15 feet away there is a line of three cones. Each of those cones is about 8-10 feet apart. The cones form a T! You sprint from the single cone to the middle cone, then side step to the left cone, sidestep to the right cone, sidestep back tot he middle cone, and run backwards to the starting cone. You must touch the base of each cone as you go.... and it's timed. It's designed to test a person's agility)
I got this done in 9.97 seconds. In case you're wondering that's WELL below the expected time for my age. A few guys were getting in the 8's. My book said I performed at the level of a 17 year old boy, or a womens college basketball player.

Push-ups- I maxed out at 15 which put me in the "Needs improvement" category. I could have squeezed out a few more but it wouldn't have improved my feedback much.

Vertical Jump- You have to stand flat footed under this measuring stick and jump as high as you can. I got 23 Inches, which actually wasn't horrible. The feedback said it was at the level of a Div. one college baseball player.

Standing Long Jump- I jumped about 8 feet. Sounds good, but it isn't! Well below the expected level once again.

I would like to point out that I was wearing skater shoes while doing these tasks. I didn't know we'd be running or jumping so I wasn't prepared. The point is that I'm a weakling. I have no muscles, speed, power, agility, ect. ect. ect. I guess what I've had all these years in sports is a drive to win! I don't take losing lightly, and I don't ever play a sport half assed. I've been mistaking myself for the athletic guy all these years, but it turns out I'm the Matt Harpring! I'm the guy that just tries harder than everybody else.
So I've decided to try to work on the muscles a little bit. Hopefully by the end of the semester I'll improve some of these tests and I won't be a 17 year old boy anymore.