Pre-PA Weeks

The weeks leading up to us getting here were so wonderfully busy. It was great to get to see so many friends and family. A few things that happened:

1. Nate had a birthday, and we had a party for him. A Guitar Hero Championship was involved, and Karly beat out the entire bracket, without a single loss. Don't mess with that girl on Miss Murder.

2. We had an ultrasound, and we found out that we're having a little girl. I'd had a dream it was a little boy, and so had Nate. Originally, we were planning on being surprised...but then I went and got curious about a week before. However, since I had been expecting a little boy, finding out that it was a girl was quite surprising. I can only imagine how convinced I would have been that it was a boy by the time she was born. Regardless of expecting it to be a boy, there was no dissapointment. Nate's actually a little relieved. He's got 4

younger sisters, and no brothers. He's at least got some experiences with baby girls. We're really excited. Our due date is right on, so as long as all keeps going well, we'll have a daughter at the end of December. Yay!

3. In conjunction with baby stuff, I got a surprise baby shower Tuesday Night. We had the ultrasound at 4:00, and then around 7 we were going over to Uncle Doug and Aunt Lori's house to play games and hang out. When we got there, I kind of expected the whole family to come, and sort of have a "yay Nate for graduating good luck in PA!" type party. We got in, and everyone yelled "Suprise!" I just picked up the dog and started to walk over to where all the people were. Soon, however, I realized that some of the people in the group were not, in fact, family. There was Krista--a good friend from BYU...and a couple of others.

Then I went from not surprised to really confused, especially as I realized that there weren't any men there either. I was told to go and sit in the chair in the corner, and there were gifts on the hearth of the fireplace, and...huh? Then, Nate said, "Bye Nicole." I was still confused. Then I noticed the sign on the fireplace mantle that said, "Baby Shower." Finally, it dawned on me what was going on. I'm sure a lot of people there were disapointed that I didn't act more surprised, but I can't tell you how surprised I was. I had absolutely no idea whatsoever what was going on, which is why I sat there with a dumb look on my face for the first 10 minutes of the party. I really was so touched and surprised though. The things that we got from

everyone are adorable, and I'm really excited to get to dress up our little girl in them, or to snuggle her in them, or even to burp her with them. To everyone who was there--Thanks a million. You're really sweet.

4. Wednesday we went to see the Dark Knight at the Scera with friends and some family...who are also friends. It was good times.

5. Nate Commenced on Thursday Afternoon. He looked really handsome in his graduation gear--see?

Thursday Night we played some games and ate cookies with Kip and Diana and Kurth and Kathi and Co. It was really fun, and the cookies were quite tasty.

6. Friday Morning Nate Convocated. He was the first one to walk across the stage! The pictures below are half from Thursday afternoon, and half from Friday while Nate was walking. I don't know why, but I don't have pictures from friday after Nate walked--I'll have to get some from others. Ashley and Lance, and Grandma and Grandpa Elison, Savannah, and Grandpa Murray, and Mom and Dad Murray as well as Karly, Abby, Natalie, and Mariel were all there to watch Nate get his diploma holder. Mom and Dad Frost missed the ceremony because Mom Frost was still recovering from surgery the day before. Jared, Emily, and Jordan weren't there because they were in Missouri, and Ryan is on his mission. Thankfully, everyone who was in the state was able to come to the real celebration that night--dinner at Yamato's, which was good...even though our server seemed quite stressed over the number of people in our party. I guess 18 is a lot, but Nate's got a lot of people who love him! :)

Saturday morning is when we took off on our move. I'll have to post more about that later. We're so grateful to have such wonderful families that have been so supportive and caring. We look forward to our new adventure even though we miss you. We'll look forward even more to visiting you all soon-ish.