Run, Run, Ragnar

So the infamous Ragnar Relay was a week and a half ago. I've been wanting to write about it for a little while now, but we seem to have misplaced our camera. Hopefully it turns up soon. So I will just have to use the few pictures that I took with my phone.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with what the Ragnar is (aka "non-runners"), I will explain. The Ragnar is a relay race, and this particular one that we ran, the Wasatch Back, goes from Logan to Park City. There are 12 runners on a team (or if you're really crazy, 6), split up into two vans. You all take turns running and as you run, your van drives along and cheers you on and provides you with water and snacks as needed (just as Ben and Lisa are doing for Lora below).

Our team name was "Go Fish" and we all had matching shirts, not to mention matching capes. Ben still wears his around the house.

We also decorated our van and had blow up props.

Our van started early--we had to be at the starting line to check in at 5:30. But we were lucky because the times lined up that we were actually able to sleep that night. The poor runners in the other van did not have as much luck, since they had to run through the night.

Most of the time that we were running, we were in the middle of nowhere. But it was gorgeous and green--not at all like the Utah that most of us are used to on the other side of the mountains.

Even though we weren't the fastest runners (we finished in a little over 36 hours), I'd say we did pretty well--especially considering how much training some of us did . A little shoutout to Kim, who ran the entire Ragnar Hill--without stopping to walk once (of course she was one of the few who was diligent in her training, so obviously that paid off). We were all pretty sore afterwards though--there was a lot of limping that weekend. It was definitely fun, and I'm really glad we did it, but I'm also glad it's over. I did hear talk of doing it again in 3 years. I think by then I'll have been in the family long enough to be able to say no. Hopefully....

Trimester Numero Dos

I know it was not very long ago that we posted our last picture, but that picture is almost a month old, and there has been quite a bit of growth in my abdominal area. Plus, today marks a great day because I am 14 weeks. No more first trimester! Not that mine was particularly difficult.

So it's time for a new photo (mostly for the benefit of my parents). I'm always frustrated with pregnant women who only take one or two pictures throughout their pregnancy. Fat, pregnant bellies are one of the most beautiful things in the world. I talk about mine all the time. I'm sure there will be many updates over the next 5 1/2 months.

I'm also slightly weirded out by those awkward profile shots where you just stand and smile uncomfortably with your hands at your side. I decided to go with more of an action shot--yes, I had just gotten back from running. See, much less awkward.

Also, in case you noticed that knee brace, I had a stressful week because of a sudden onset of knee pain that only allowed me to run about a mile. With Ragnar only two weeks away, the time for finding a replacement has pretty much passed. I didn't want to let the family down, especially since I'm pretty sure the main reason certain Fishers have welcomed me so enthusiastically is because I complete the running team. But my doctor was brilliant enough to suggest a knee brace, and it worked!

In other updates, Ben is almost done with his second-to-last term of his undergraduate career. Since next term he's taking poetry and intro to ceramics, I'm pretty sure it's all downhill from here. He's also working as a research assistant and he gets to research Central Asia and all that good stuff. The best part is that he gets to work at home.

Happy New Baby

That's right, this is the much-anticipated announcement of the newest addition to our family. We're expecting baby to come at the beginning of December, and so far everything has gone very well. We got to hear the hearbeat a couple of weeks ago and it was strong, loud and amazing. I'm growing more and more each week, and I'm very excited about entering the second trimester with the prospect of enjoying food again.

Ben has been very supportive and is excited about being a Dad. I'm just a little nervous about raising a child with his energy level. Oh, and in case you were wondering what our baby will look like, we couldn't wait the six months to find out, so we did a little techno-magic and this is what we found.

Happy Birthday Nathan Jacob Fernquist!

Today is my youngest brother's birthday, and I thought I'd take a page out of Kelly's (blog) book and do a little spotlight on this 90 pounds of pure sunshine.

About Nate:

Today is his 15th birthday.
He was born in Bozeman, MT. I was there. My parents made me go to school when it was done, which was pretty lame. And I was really hoping for a sister.

Sometimes has to share his birthday with Mother's Day.

Is a freshman in high school and is about to get his driver's permit. I don't think he'll be any worse than Geoff was when he started to drive.

He now sounds exactly like Josh on the phone--they even mumble the same. He thinks it's funny if you can't tell who he is.

Loves tennis. Is not afraid to smack talk about his abilities to beat you.

On Facebook: He has 374 friends. That's almost as much as me.

For college: He wants to go to BYU (which is an excellent choice).

Special skills: He makes the best oreo shakes. He can also dance.

Social skills: He is probably the coolest of the Fernquist children. He's the most social (note the number of Facebook friends) and has the best style (the only time I compliment Geoff's wardrobe is when he's wearing one of Nate's shirts). However, no one thinks Nate is as cool as he does.

Year 1

Yesterday was our first anniversary. It's hard to believe how quickly this past year flew by. One thing I know for sure is that it was the best year of my life. I feel incredibly lucky every day to be married to such an amazing man. We've had a lot of great adventures together in the past year and there's no one I would have rather shared them with. He brought roses to my work yesterday morning--always the romantic. I admit, I liked having the flowers there partially because it allowed me to tell everyone that it was our anniversary. For dinner, he took me to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Salt Lake which completely lived up to its reputation. We had a great time there and the food was excellent. The whole time we were out I kept thinking, I have such a wonderful life, and it's all because of this cute, goofy redhead across the table. I'm excited to get to spend dozens more anniversaries with him.

New Job!

I received the most wonderful call today telling me that I no longer have to work in the call center! It's a good department with great people, but not at all the job for me. Getting yelled over the phone at regularly and having to make conversation with strangers who do not want to talk to me are not two things that I enjoy doing. But now, I get to be a receptionist! This may not sound like much of a step up for most people, but I actually really enjoy being a receptionist. It's true, I love doing spreadsheets and paperwork and having little projects to do. I'll still be working for Tahitian Noni, which is good, because they really are a great company. I highly recommend working with TNI to anyone, because they take great care of their employees.  I start at the receptionist position tomorrow and will be working in their American Fork warehouse. The people I've met over there so far seem very nice, and I'm excited to get started. Hopefully my days of dreading going to work will be over.

Spring has Sprung

For our most recent project/FHE activity, Ben and I decided to get some plants. Luckily, we have a small balcony, so that leaves us open to quite a few possibilities. We decided to go simple--some flowers and a few herbs. After wandering around Home Depot for well over an hour, we landed on four different types of flowers (including one I've always wanted to have--snap dragons). Ben's only request was that we get some white ones. We found a nice planter box and this is the result:

We also took home basil, rosemary and dill, which are probably our favorites to cook with. I used some of the dill in dinner tonight, and it was pretty delicious.

We were going to try tomatoes too, but we decided to try that once we've had success with these plants (not to mention a bit more money, since gardening is expensive--I won't even tell you what we spent today). We do have an abundance of potting soil, so if anyone in the area needs some, please take ours.