Patience is a virtue..

Too bad I don't have any.

I am making myself crazy thinking about our little one. I could literally go right now and find out the gender. The catch? Fetal foto is kind of expensive. And why would I pay extra money when my own doctor will tell me the gender in about a month? It's just not worth it....right?

yeah, try telling that to yourself when you are staring at your little baby bump, not knowing if you should call it a he or a she. I have heard of many women who have that "mother's intuition" and somehow just "know" the gender of their unborn children. Hmm... not me! I don't have a clue!

As of today, I am 16 weeks along! I started my last semester of college, and it's going to be a fun one. Thank goodness I have school and work, it makes time go by very fast. I am still impatient though..

Here are some pregnancy updates:

Still sick. I take my drugs, and feel pretty good though. Last week I decided not to take my pill, cause I felt unusually good. Big mistake! My poor neighbor got to see me lose my dinner in our parking lot because I couldn't make it inside. oops :)

Along with my belly, the rest of my body seems to be expanding. Yikes. I no longer fit into any of my normal shirts, so I wear my baggy (well, they used to be baggy!) BYU t-shirts every day. I am putting off buying maternity clothes as long as possible!

Smells don't bother me as much anymore, and I have actually started cooking again. Jonny is definitely happy about this :)

Baby Kats is now 4 1/2 inches long! Now, if I only knew if it was a boy or girl..

Big News!!

I'm sure most people know this by now, due to my extreme sickness, but....

I'm pregnant!!!!!!

We are soo excited to be welcoming a new addition to our little family! I am due on February 25th, and am a little over 12 weeks along. We had our first ultrasound a month ago and got to hear the heartbeat and see the baby :) We heard the heartbeat again today, and it is just so wonderful. It makes it feel a lot more real.

I was so sick at first and couldn't keep a thing down. Thank goodness for modern medicine! As long as I take my drugs and get a good night's sleep, I don't throw up and actually feel pretty good. I crave cheeseburgers all of the time, but just about every other kind of food tastes pretty bleh. I miss enjoying food, and can't wait for it to taste good again. Hopefully this won't last too much longer!

Jonny and I have always said we were going to go on a big trip before we have kids, so this put the pressure on to plan something. We just booked a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean, and can't wait.

Also, Jonny just graduated from BYU! I walked with him in convocation, but I still have one more semester left. He's just going to work for now, and apply for grad schools at the end of the year for fall 2011.

Life is pretty crazy, and will only get crazier.. We couldn't be happier about it though!

Alaska-Where the real fishermen go!

I recently took a trip with some of the guys in Alli's family up to Alaska. All in all, we were up there for 10 days, and all we did was fish. It was so much fun. Alaska is one of the most beautiful places I have been to. This picture was taken around 10:00 PM. We went during the time of the year when thesun stays out for the longest amount of time, the summer solstice. It stayed out for about 20 hours. Although Alaska is a two hour difference, calculating in the hours of the sun it turns out to be a 5-7 hour difference in time.

This was taken at about 1:30 AM

Combat Fishing.

We went during spawning season. This means that all of Alaska will go out and fish. All the way down the river this is what it looks like. Fishermen 10 feet to the left and right of you. Also there is unwritten protocol as to how to go about fishing, combat style. Seeing how I was really just a beginner fisherman, I was a little nervous at first. But eventually I got the hang of it. Most fishermen are very respectful and courteous when it comes to personal space during combat fishing.

Deep Sea Fishing

Our Halibut Catch

Mark caught the biggest fish which weighed in at 63 pounds. It was an interesting experience out there on the sea trying to catch these Halibut. They are bottom feeders, meaning that they are all the way at the bottom of the ocean floor. We were catching these at a depth of 12o feet. When you finally catch one it feels like you are trying to pull up a small car, that is fighting to stay back down. It can be very exhausting.

On our last day we went 4-wheeling up towards this glacier. It was an incredible sight to see in person. The closer you got to it the more rivers and streams there were to cross.

Drew and I were forunate enough to ride the smaller 4 wheelers with a little lower ground clearance. Because of this we both managed to stall our machines in one of the crossings. Luckily there were some locals there watching us, and laughing at us as we tried to cross. They eventually pulled us in and helped us out. This man became my superhero of the day.

In the end it was probably one of my greatest vacations. The fishing was unbelievable, the scenery out of this world, and I came back with about 55 pounds of Halibut and Salmon. Although there are a lot of hidden costs in Alaska, the money spent was well worth it. If the chance ever arrives for a person to go on a fishing trip in Alaska, it is a no brainer. GO!!

Happy Father's Day!

SO, I'm a day late, but it's ok because my dad is in Alaska and won't see this for a while anyways :)

Here are some things to know about my daddy, Mark Lords:

He is in love with the song "Cupid" and will sing it, off-key, at the top of his lungs. Anytime. Anywhere. (Including on the ski lift, with way too many people in earshot..)

On his 50th birthday, his front teeth fell out. Priceless.

Back in Vermont, he would come home from church every Sunday and get into comfy clothes. This would mean he wore his dress shirt, dress socks, and WHITE MICKEY MOUSE SWEATPANTS. But the best part is that he would TUCK his dress shirt INTO his sweatpants. Why? We have no idea. We made fun of him every time, but he always did it.



He has called me a "zit on the butt of life" more than once. Thanks Dad, I love you too.

As a mission president, he told all of his missionaries that he wanted them to have sex. Many people would have pretended that awkward moment did not happen, and just move on. Not my dad. He said "woah, I don't want you to have SEX! I want you to have SUCCESS!" I don't think anyone will forget that Zone Conference...

When I was little, he gave me a candy bar in exchange for being allowed to pick out my future husband. (He didn't pick Jonny out, but he definitely approved, so close enough!)


He is such a marshmallow. I love it.

I still remember writing him a letter when I was younger that said "I hope the man I marry is 1-tenth as amazing as you." Because yes, he is just that amazing.


Jonny thinks it's silly, but I still call my dad "daddy." And I'm pretty sure I always will.

He just melts whenever I would say "Daddy...please?" and give him a smile. I could get almost anything :)

(Spelunking in Mammoth Caves)

He's a family man, through and through.

He is such a hard worker, probably more than anyone I know.

(digging a giant hole in the sand with Lexi, just because she wanted to)

He is an amazing speaker. Whenever I traveled with him when he spoke in other stakes, people would always come up to me and say "Wow, your Dad is just wonderful. He is just as good as everyone says!"

He is so full of love, especially towards my mom. He is so romantic, even after so many years! He is such a good husband to her :)

He has such a strong testimony of Jesus Christ, and is a wonderful example of Him. His love of the gospel is evident in everything he does.

He is the best dad ever!


Happy Father's Day, Daddy! I love you!

(Now hurry back from Alaska and bring me my hubby in one piece!)

Blast From the Past

I have a PDBio test to study for, so naturally, I needed to find some way to procrastinate.. I've been going through pictures from our wedding slideshow. I just LOVE Jonny's baby pictures. He was (and still is) so cute! Here is a glimpse of Jonny and I growing up...

His bath.

Her bath.

All boy.

All girl.

All smiles.

All.... weird :)

A cheerleader.

A golfer.

In love :)

Trust...

That's what needs to exist in a marriage where the husband comes home from work and the wife says: "Hey honey, I bought a 3-piece couch set tonight. We're picking it up on Monday."

Well... that's what happened! On Saturday night while Jonny was I work I went to my parents house. We stopped at Smith's to get some things and I saw a beautiful microfiber couch set. I fell in love. I couldn't call Jonny because he was at work, so I just made a quick decision and bought it. To be fair, it was over 1/2 off!

The problem is that we live in a cozy little apartment, so they don't all fit :) We left the recliner chair at my parents house, where it will stay til we move. We just have the couches, but even that is still a tight fit!

But it's ok, because we love them! They are so comfy!

Now I just need some cute decorative pillows!

Oh, and don't worry. Jonny was really excited when I told him, and was very proud of me for making a decision on my own, which I hate to do :)

Mommy Dude

Yep, that's the nickname my brother gave my mom, however many years ago. We call her "MD" for short. Well, Drew does, at least...

There are a few things everyone should know about Gwen Lords.


She is a sucker for a good head rub. It was the only thing I could offer to delay my bed time when I was little. It worked every time.

She is a goofball. She finds the most random things hilarious, and they never get old to her. To this day, Drew can say "Ashley used to have a big head... but then she grew into it" and my mom will laugh even though she's heard it a million times. (Only a select few of you will understand this joke. Consider yourselves lucky)


When we go shopping together and I try on something super cute, she just has to buy it for me. I can't tell you how many times I was told "Don't tell your father"

She has a comeback for everything, and they usually involve inflicting pain upon her children (don't worry, she hasn't followed through on any of them...yet :) )

She is one of the only women I know who will make the whole family sleep over in a parking lot just to be first in line to get beanie babies. True story.

(we told her to "pull a face." She pulled 2...)

She is an awesome crafter. She used to do craft shows, but now is into scrapbooking and card-making. She is dang good at it.

She provides the family with some seriously funny memories... (her famous "bum shake" when she gets up to bat at family baseball, doing leg lifts against the counter..all day long, quoting "did a dingo eat your baby?", during an FHE for investigators Tanner turned on the stereo on accident. My mom's ACDC CD came blasting out of it. Priceless.)

(This is her listening to my dad sing "American Pie" in the car. It was painful for everyone.)

She has the magic touch when it comes to children. They are all drawn to her. Out of all of the wonderful callings she has had, I think the calling she has now is her favorite, and most fitting. She is in the nursery :)

She will do anything in the world for her children. Her life is devoted to family.


She is the greatest example of service. She has such a kind heart, and is constantly blessing the lives of others.

She is completely in tune with the spirit. We know to never question her on things, because she is always right. She always knows what is best for us.

She can always tell when something is wrong, even when we think we are hiding it so well! And she always knows exactly what to say or do to make it better.

She is beautiful. Inside and out.


Happy Mother's Day! I love you mom :)