The Baby or BYU Football?

Jordan and I just returned from a long roadtrip across the USA, and with that we had LOTS of time to talk. With college football season fast approaching, we talked a lot about BYU football and such. Now, I know Jordan loves BYU football, but the amount of his obsession only recently became clear. On our way there, we had this conversation:

Amanda: "Now, Jordan, you realize that we won't ALWAYS be able to rearrange our schedule every single BYU game day, right?"
Jordan: "Why not?"
Amanda: *shocked* "Um, because you're saying that almost every Saturday from September-December we'll have to work around a football game for the rest of our lives."
Jordan: "And this is a problem because..."
Amanda: "Uh, what if our kids have a soccer game?"
Jordan: "Oh, I'll have a smart phone by then and I'll be able to watch it there."

etc.

Of course, when ever I start getting to involved in talking about baby stuff and when the baby comes, Jordan's favorite change of topic has been to turn it to BYU football.

Here's another we had during our many car rides:
Amanda: "So, Jordan, do you promise that if I go into labor during a BYU football game that you'll come to the hospital with me."
Jordan: "Well, I mean, if you're just 'in labor' with an epidural and it's going to be hours before the baby's born, wouldn't be ok if I went to the game? I mean, if you're going to have the baby RIGHT THEN, then I suppose I'll miss the game..."

The big question came on our trip home, when I asked:
Amanda: "So, Jordan, if BYU went to a BCS Bowl this season, what would be the bigger event of 2010: Our first child being born, or BYU going to a BCS Bowl."
Jordan: *silence*
Amanda: "Did you hear me?"
Jordan: "Yes, I'm thinking about it... that's really hard to say."

....

Amanda: "YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT?"
Jordan: "HA! If BYU goes to a BCS bowl, they won't play until 2011! So, the biggest event of 2010 will be the baby, and the BCS bowl will be a 2011 event!"
Amanda: *stunned silence*

So THAT'S where his priorities are... :) Hahahaha

DISCLAIMER: Of course, Jordan is very excited for the baby, and I'm sure that if I was going into labor, he'd miss the game (but we'd probably watch it in our hospital room... hey, I like BYU football too!), and I'm sure he'll be very happy to have a baby AND have BYU win.

Connecticut!

So, after Mandy and Casey left for Missouri, Jordan and I decided to take our oft rescheduled trip to Connecticut! What a great decision it was, too. The drive was INCREDIBLY long (3 days of driving at least 12 hours... ouch!), but it was fun to drive through states we'd never been in. Jordan and I tend to be pretty happy travelers and we enjoy our time together (although by that last day we were getting a bit short with one another...). The hardest part is my pregnancy, and drinking lots of water and needing to use the bathroom basically once ever 1-2 hours. We soon figured out the best method was to use rest stops instead of stopping at a gas station off the highway every time. On the East Coast, too, they have cool rest stops that have gas stations and McDonalds and stuff, so you don't have to really get off the highway. AWESOME!

My new favorite discovered pregnancy/travel meal? MacDonald's smoothie with a large fry... SO good!

So, we got a Connecticut and proceeded to thoroughly enjoy ourselves just spending time with the Jacobs! I think Kelly was concerned that we weren't out doing enough stuff, but really Jordan and I just enjoyed hanging out at her place, eating out at the GREAT restaurants they took us to, and napping on her couch. I really loved just being able to walk into her kitchen just to talk and such. One day we went swimming, which was super fun in the hot weather, and another day we went to a monster themed miniature golf course (where I beat Jordan!). Kelly is due with her baby in October just a few weeks after me, so we got to complain and talk about babies together, which was SUPER useful for me. If I had a weird symptom, I was just able to ask Kelly who would usually say, "Oh, yeah, that happens all the time!"

The other big thing that happened was Jordan got an interview with a company in Boston, about an hour away from Kelly and Braden. We drove up there and stayed the night for that. The interview went super well, although we still haven't heard back yet. Think good thoughts for us! Boston would be a great place to live.

We drove down to DC to spend some time with Kelly, her girls, Kaitlyn and Jordan's mom. The drive was way interesting, driving through NYC and Baltimore and such. I was utterly TERRIFIED! It was so scary to drive through NYC! Jordan laughed at me the whole time because I found myself clutching my seat belt in anxiety.

The two days in DC were fun, although I was limited in stuff to do because of the pregnancy. The second day we went to the Smithsonian, and on the way we saw the capitol and the Washington Monument from a far, so I feel that I got my "DC sightseeing" in. The Smithsonian was SUPER cool, although by the end I'm pretty sure I was having some contractions and I was totally exhausted. We ate at some really excellent restaurants in DC as well, and overall we had a great time.

Traveling back to Utah, we stopped in Bloomington to visit Mike and Anna for a couple of days. I really enjoyed seeing the Bloomington Library and going to their ward with them (also, Anna makes AMAZING cookies!). We played some games and got lots of chances to talk. We stayed an extra day hoping to hear from some companies about an interview in Michigan, possibly, but no luck. We drove the last two days back to Provo!

Our trip lasted about 3 1/2 weeks! Really, I am so grateful we went, because I would have been so bored just sitting in Provo. Instead, I got out and saw family, Jordan and I were able to feel like we made progress in the job search, and now we're just weeks away from the baby being born! We had so much fun seeing everyone. It was a great way to use our last big of freedom after school, but before work and a baby keep us tied down again.

The Tom-Tom Knows!

While using our new Tom-Tom, we couldn't help but think of this video. "The Tom-Tom Knows!"

WE LOVE IT. It's amazing. As we flew into Idaho Falls and then had to drive to Provo, we used it the whole way. Ok, ok, of course all you have to do between Idaho Falls and Provo is stay on I-15... the whole way... but nonetheless, we did some practice runs where we made up side-trips to Missouri, planned our trip moving to Hartford with a side trip to Missouri and Indiana, found out how long it would take us to driving to Fairbanks (first we had to make a U-turn), and finally I followed its directions faithfully from Kaitlyn's dorm to our apartment, just to see which direction it told us to go (we were very impressed when it suggested we go by the Smith Field house). And, apparently, the Tom-Tom knows a faster way to get from I-15 to Center Street... weird. But awesome.

But, seriously, when we were hungry and I decided I wanted Wendy's, you could go and look up the closest Wendy's. The speaking voice is mildly annoying, but you can turn that off. And now Jordan has something new to play with in the car. What an great Christmas present!