Happy 2.5!

Today is Team Covey's official and exact 2 and a half year anniversary of the day we got married. In my family, my mom and I have birthdays in December. So, since we celebrate our birthdays near Christmas, when people are busy and they always wrap your birthday present in Christmas wrapping paper, mom and I also treat ourselves to celebrations on our half birthdays. Sitting in church today, I realized that today is exactly Johnny and my 2.5 year anniversary. So, it's time to celebrate.

2 and a half years has brought incredible amounts of happiness for us. We have lived in 3 homes together, graduated college together, driven 3 cars and a scooter together and given birth to a child together. Not to sound too cliche, but it has flown by and I can't wait for another 2.5 years.

So here are some pictures of that awesome day. Marriage rocks. Shout out to everyone who works hard enough to stay happily married and to everyone and everything that strengthens marriages.

Block that kick!

The cheerleaders always do this cheer. So this time, BYU really did block the kick. We were at the Las Vegas Bowl game against UCLA and the cougars pulled it off 17-16 with incredible defense in the final seconds. It was amazing. Johnny quattro (because he's John Davis, son of John Felt, son of John Parish, son of John Mack Richards) thoroughly enjoyed his first football game.



Keeping warm at the game.



Cuddling with Papa Covey after driving home from the game.



The field celebration.



You might think he won the lottery, but this is just good ol' celebrating the BYU win.

All dressed up with no where to go

What can I say? Thanks, Nigel, for the outfit!

Party of two isn't a fun party

So this week Johnny was gone to a conference in California. It was really great and he met a lot of people and I'm going with him to the next one in March. But 7 days is a LONG time to be away from someone that you are totally in love with. I'm just about to leave to go the airport to pick him up. I am excited out of my mind to say the least.



Here are Johnny and I without our radical husband and father. We might look happy, but we are really sad. Well, I look happy and Johnny looks like he's ticked because he's got midget arms. Maybe I'm smiling because Jesus is looking over our shoulders...

The cool thing (well, it was actually uncool because Johnny was gone) was that my birthday was Friday and I was SHOWERED with great gifts. My mom and sisters took me to lunch at PF Chang's where I got to eat my favorite - crispy honey shrimp. And their presents were fun to open - it's always a surprise what they get me and they always choose something great.

Then, I spent the night at Mom and Dad Covey's where they served me breakfast in bed - banana bread and eggs - another favorite. Then I opened my presents from them and it's never a surprise because you get to pick out exactly what you want, which is fantastic. Then they wrap it up for you and you unwrap it at your breakfast in bed, even though you know exactly what you're getting. I get the best of all worlds.



Okay, enough typing. We're hopping in the car to pick up big Johnny. He consented last week to be big Johnny and then our son is little Johnny. I can only hope little Johnny will outgrow his dad so that the nicknames will eventually switch and 40 year old Johnny will have to go by little Johnny because 16 year old Johnny will be bigger than him.

Thanksmas Extravaganza

This past weekend was Thanksmas 2007. If you're raising an eyebrow from reading the word "Thanksmas", don't worry, I will explain myself. A few years ago, my sister, Callie, was trying to think of a way that we could spend time with our dad without being stressed out trying to divide time between our mom, our dad, our own families that we are creating as we speak (type), our in-laws and our out-laws.



And Heavenly Father told her to invent Thanksmas. It's a little bit of Thanksgiving mixed with a little bit of Christmas and it's a third winter holiday intended to be celebrated with family. We celebrate it with our dad. It's always scheduled so that it never falls on a day that we can't gather together. My dad always generously flies out so that all of us don't have to fly to him in North Richland Hills, Texas.



This year was especially special because our step-mom, Nancy, came with her grand-daughter, Shandrelle along with our Uncle Bluce (because Callie couldn't say 'Bruce' when she was three), Aunt Robin, Cousin Kinzie, Grandpa Dee and the entire UT gang (along with special guest, Logan Hull - Catie's boyfriend - so special that he even got a family t-shirt - see image and imagine 24 of us in matching red t-shirts with even the babies in matching red onesies).



Thanksmas just keeps getting better and better. It's all about love and family and food and spending time together. At our Thanksmas meal, we each go around the table and tell things that we are grateful for and this year, my favorite was listening to Uncle Bluce talk about the power of love (that phrase is forever ruined by Celine Deon, but allow me to use the phrase without having the song get in the way). He talked about how love had motivated him to change. His love for his family was what brought him to be better and to try to be the best he can be for them. It was so touching.

Shout out for Thanksmas and shout out for families and shout out for love. This is what life is all about.

This boy is an angel - This corn is an angel...

Johnny is such a joy to have in our lives. He truly is an angel. We can't believe how much time we just spend looking at him and loving him. We can't decide who he looks like, but we definitely think that he is handsome. Today, we went to his 2nd cousin's blessing, Joseph Edward Covey, son of Wid and Suzy. He wore a little vest and tie - he looked dapper, for sure.



Here he is at the end of the day, just hanging out in the warm, soft blanket Aunt Suzy gave him.

We are preparing for Thanksmas this weekend. It's an extra holiday with a little blend of Thanksgiving and Christmas that my sister invented so that we could spend time with our dad without the pressure of coordinating schedules during the holidays the rest of the world recognizes. I will shop for the food on Thursday, pick up the T-shirts on Friday and wash all of the bedding and towels to get ready because we're hosting everyone (all 23 of us) at our house. It's going to be a blast.

Cougar Football

BYU beat the University of Utah yesterday. Although we do have siblings attending the U and we have great respect for their medical school, we are glad we beat them on the football field. BYU 17 U of U 10. Way to go, Cougars!



Johnny knit (or crocheted - I'm not really sure about the difference between the two because I don't do a lot of either) these hats as a missionary in Ireland, knowing that one day he would have a son to wear them with. Don't get me wrong. He'll let his daughters wear them too, but it's not his girls that are going to be suiting up on the football field.

Go Cougars!

Welcome to Earth!

John Davis Covey was born at 3:53 pm on Monday, November 12. His stats are 8 pounds 1 ounce, 19.5 inches long with a gorgeous head of hair. Welcome to Team Covey, dude. Tryouts are officially over, for a season or two. Team practice is held daily, with frequent water breaks (some team members prefer milk). Times vary - sometimes in the middle of the night - so far a good predictable pattern of 1 am, 4 am, 7 am - which is much appreciated by one of the team captains.

Here are some of our first team pictures. If you want to see more, go to this website where you'll see how the birth process was captured by my brother, Jon Canlas.


http://canlasphotography.blogspot.com/2007/11/john-davis-covey-11122007-american-fork.html

http://jonathan.instaproofs.com/enterEvent.php?id=35784

The password to view the event is: teamcovey



My fingers are crossed that he will be born with dark hair.


He is so handsome.


We are so happy he is healthy and here!

Barefoot and Pregnant on the putting green...

So last night was our last hoo-rah before we add a third member to Team Covey. We went miniature golfing with our neighbors and their two boys. I am happy to report that if they were giving out free t-shirts, I would have earned this t-shirt.


On the third hole, I lined up, feet shoulder width apart, hands interlocked at the exactly correct position, a little perfect swing and a hole in one. It's obviously my lucky week because I also cracked open a double yolk this morning for breakfast. I remember when we first got pregnant I cracked 2 double yolks in one week and I was certain I was having twins.

Tomorrow is the big day! We are going in to be induced to have our little John Davis Covey welcomed properly to earth. I am so curious how everything is going to happen, what he will look like, if he'll like me or not. Regardless, the next blog will include pictures of the little rascal. The last time I was nine months pregnant was a while ago, so I'm not really sure what's going to happen this time...


(Temple Square Missionaries at their halfway mark of their missionary service. You can see I carried this one like a basketball, too)

Back to School

So I am in my graduate program at Brigham Young University - Youth and Family Recreation. Every class is so interesting and exactly what I want to be studying right now. The timing of Johnny being born has been perfect so that I can prepare to end the semester and get things done in class. It's a 4 semester program and I'm hoping I can graduate April 2009. My plan is to trade baby time with other moms so I can be in class when I need to be and home when I need to be. So far, it's been fantastic. Touch down sign for BYU and for graduating and for studying stuff that you want to be studying.

Graduation from a masters seems far away, but here are pictures of Johnny and I when we each graduated BYU. I was Class of 2005. Johnny was Class of 2006. Johnny, baby to be, will be Class of 2032. Can't wait for that touchdown picture, dude.

Halloween was fun this year. We went with the Nacho Libre theme. Can you tell how much we like to quote it?
Can't you see this woman is a nun?
Get that corn out of my face.
Some people think I don't know anything about the gospel, but I DO.
We lose because you do not believe in God. We lose because you are fat.
Let's get down to the nitty gritty.
Who is this Incarnacion? Well, I love bolleyball and poopies. I love the Lord. No way, everything that you just said is my favorite thing to do too. EVERY DAY.
The boys are just trying to get out their wiggles. Go away, read some books.
Chancho! Can I borrow your sweats?
I know all the wrestlers get the fancy ladies and the free creams and lotions, but my life is good. Really good. I wake up alone in my bed all by myself every day. It's fantastic. I go to the kitchen and make some soup. I love it.

Ramses and Incarnacion. A pregnant nun is sketchy but we pulled it off. The mask came authentico from Mexico on our Corporate Alliance Cruise earlier this year.

Getting hit by a bus and thrown off the baby train...

I have been waiting and waiting to start a blog and I think I've compiled enough reasons on my list to actually make it happen. First things first - We are having a baby. We don't know when, but we are full term 40 weeks on November 16, 2007. We can't wait to meet this cute little boy.

Next on the list - we were going to be induced on Friday, October 26 and our doctor (Uncle Ryan Jones) sent us in for an amniocentesis to make sure Johnny, the baby-to-be, was developed enough to be born at 37 weeks. Johnny, the dad-to-be, was running in to meet me for the amnio (I was on the table, waiting for my husband to come hold my hand so they could put the needle in me) when he dropped his planner and contents scattered everywhere in the round about of the American Fork Hospital. He's leaning over to gather everything up and a school bus hits him from the side as it curves the round about. He gets thrown into the flower bed and looks up to see a very surprised bus driver. Being the sensitive husband that he is, Johnny sacrificed all thoughts of self, hurriedly got the driver's name and phone number, pick up his broken planner and broken phone and ran into the hospital to hold his wife's hand. What a trooper. No broken body parts, just some scrapes and bruising and a stiff neck that will go away with time. However, we were watching a movie and Johnny had to hold my hand during the scene that showed the school buses. Now we know who's going to walk Johnny, kindergardner-to-be, to the bus stop in five years - his mom.



So, the amnio told us that Johnny, baby-to-be, was not developed enough to be born. We're letting him stay in to cook a little bit longer. I just keep telling myself that he'll come by December 1. That way, I'm not disappointed if I have to wait the full 40 weeks like all normal people. We were trying to have him early because I had a blood clot in my leg and I'm taking a blood thinner and it's better for Johnny, baby-to-be, to be born at a controlled time, when I can switch medicines and be ready for him. We will probably have him before November 16 - a little turkey instead of the pumpkin we were expecting. Baby Johnny, if you are reading this, emphasis on the LITTLE part of turkey.



Welcome to the blogging world, Team Covey. I hope all subsequent blogs are not as dramatic. No more getting hit by buses, no more canceling induction dates, just insights into the lives of members of Team Covey - currently accepting applications.