November - Thanksgiving Weekend

Based on my previous post, you all know the general idea of how I spent my November; however, there were a few moments that definitely brought happiness.

Thanksgiving this year was spent with the Grubers, and that always means a great time with amazing food. Sadly, the Spencers and Tuttles could not join us this year, but we still had a great celebration with the rest of the Gruber clan.

The day before Thanksgiving:

 Preparing the stuffing while also working from home...such a multi-tasker

We were able to meet up with my family for our "now-traditional" Pie Night:

Lots of yummy pies!

Thanksgiving Day:

We were in charge of the veggie platter and mashed potatoes.

I love Alex holding the carving knife....hilarious!

It wouldn't be a Gruber holiday without some sort of rocket launching

Pie Time!

Check out all of the deer that were in their back yard!

That weekend, my family was in for a special treat. My mom had been practicing and preparing for months for the "Gloria" Concert by Lex de Azevedo (she even had to audition to be part of the choir). My family has grown up listening to that music around Christmas time; so naturally, I love it! The concert was amazing! The perfect way to bring in the Holiday Season. Great job, Mom!

At the Tabernacle

Me and Aunt Erin

Waiting for the concert to begin

It was also the weekend that the Lights on Temple Square turned out...a double treat!

The Arbon girls

The Fam

Emily Meets Morning Sickness

Before becoming pregnant, I hadn't really heard a whole lot about morning sickness. Yes, I had heard that women often throw up in the morning, but that wasn't anything I couldn't handle.

Boy, was I wrong! I definitely do not feel like I was adequately prepared for what I was about to experience. I imagined the worst and most painful part of the pregnancy would be the actual labor and delivery (which still might be the case); however, I feel like my morning sickness was more intense and hard to handle than that will be.

After returning from Hawaii, I became a completely different person. Even on the return flight, I was battling the urge to vomit. The entire descent I had to close my eyes and repeat to myself, "You're alright, you can make it, almost home...." It was brutal.

For an entire week, I was couch-ridden (is that a word?). All day, everyday, I felt more sick than I have ever felt. I knew my body was hungry and I knew I needed to eat for my growing baby, but I physically could not. The only things I could bring myself to eat were saltine crackers and applesauce. However, it still took me like five minutes to eat each cracker, with gulps of water between each bite. I was throwing up daily (sometimes twice a day), but that wasn't even the bad part. I welcomed the throwing up, because it brought hope of possibly easing my stomach...but it never did. I couldn't wait for nighttime to come each day, because sleep was the only thing that offered me any kind of relief. I was sleeping 10-12 hours every night.

I was a whirlwind of emotions. It was such a blessing that I didn't have a job to attend to. I can't even imagine how I would have fulfilled my duties at Vivint in the condition I was in, and I had no idea how long it would last. On the otherside of things though, I had the growing stress that I knew I needed to find a new job. Another stress was realizing I was pregnant with no insurance (thanks to my timely leave from Vivint). I also had to figure out what doctor to see without really being able to talk to anyone about it...it is recommended you wait until your second trimester before announcing due to the large number of miscarriages in your first trimester.

Somehow I survived...with watching lots of Vampire Diaries and singing along with Karen Carpenter (for some reason, singing to myself helped sooth some of the nausea). Another thing that helped was sucking on candy canes. A candy cane was a necessity if I was driving anywhere.

After a week on the couch in the Gruber's basement, I was able to get out of the house and get some things done. Don't get me wrong, I still felt awful and terrible...I was throwing up probably every other day, but I felt more able than I had that previous week. I was able to interview for a job, thanks to my friend and former co-worker at Vivint, Micah Thayer. Her dad started a new company called Pixingo, and he need an assistant who could also manage the support side of things and online store. Thanks to Micah's glowing recommendation, he hired me on the spot! I was thrilled to work for Pixingo because it is all about customizable photo cards and photo books...which are things I already love to do. Check it out: www.pixingo.com.

Another blessing was the company did not have a Utah office yet, so I was able to work from home for the first month or so. This was perfect! I was able to eat whenever I needed to and was able to be more comfortable during that hard time.

Through mid-November and December I gradually starting feeling less and less sick. Around January is when I started feeling pretty normal, and have felt great ever since.

I don't have any real "cravings", more just things that I don't want to eat. Included in the list of things I avoid are: Olive Garden, Cafe Rio Pork, and grapes. Cafe Rio Pork has been a very sad thing for me to dislike...Jason and I used to get it all the time! I just hope that after Baby is born, I can learn to love it again!

HAWAII - Part V

Monday, October 24
Surfing at V-Land
Lunch at Foodland on North Shore
Swimming at Waimae
Polynesian Cultural Center and Night Show

The waves were really big this day, so their surfing spot was SO crowded!

Checking out the HUGE waves at Waimae:

Love the close-up of his face:

The waves were seriously huge! Kaitlyn and I ventured out for a few minutes...but felt death was on the horizon with each new set of waves, so we kept it short and sweet.

Polynesian Cultural Center:

It was really fun to spend a few hours at the PCC! Jason, Kaitlyn, and I had all worked there at some point while attending BYU-H.

I have to give a special shout out and thank you to my Aunt Erin! She is the one who hooked us up with the sweet tickets to the PPC, a delicious buffet, and the Night Show!

Thank You Thank You!

This was truthfully the icing on the cake!

Delicous and beautiful buffet!

 

Night Show:

Tuesday, October 25

Emily meets morning sickness

Surfing at V-Land

Kaitlyn has phone interviews

Kaitlyn delivers Seasider sandwiches to the beach

Surfing at Gas Chambers

Dinner at Haleiwa Eats

Evening at home

Ducking low!

Haleiwa Eats

Seriously such good food! Our favorite!

Wednesday, October 26 - The Last Day

Surfing at V-Land (one last time)

Swimming/Paddle Boarding/Cliff Jumping at Waimea

Touring Honolulu

Dinner at Cheesecake Factory

Drop-off at Airport

Waimea - with no waves:

Jason

Kaitlyn

 

Such a work out!

I actually paddled a little too far out, got exhausted, and didn't think I would make it back in!

Me

Mike

This is hilarious of Mike!

Dashing up the rock for cliff jumping

Kaitlyn

Jason and Mike

I was fascinated with these trees! Can't remember what they are called, but they were all over the place near Mike and Kait's. I thought, for sure, people would purposely strip them to show more of its color...I got laughted at for that idea...hence the picture.

Cheesecake Factory - Another favorite!

Jason and I are so blessed to have such amazing friends in our lives. We were truly spoiled by Mike and Kaitlyn on this trip. They were such awesome hosts and really made it a dream vacation! I'm shocked looking back and remembering all we were able to do. We couldn't have asked for better. Thanks Mike and Kaitlyn for inviting us to visit you! We will never forget this trip and the memories we made there!

Goodbye Hawaii! Until next time...Mahalo!