I'm officially 37 weeks pregnant, and the time can't go by any slower. Although most SLPs in my district took the summer off before resuming work last week, I was one of three SLPs who worked the extended school year summer program. I'm not returning to work for the next school year, so I decided I might as well. But the summer program was only a few hours a week for four weeks of the summer, and then it was over.  So most of my summer consisted of moving to our new apartment, decorating and organizing it, visiting with family members who came in town here and there, and, well, being pregnant. It really does feel like an occupation sometimes, with how much effort it takes just to do simple things. My sleep schedule is WACK. Currently it's a vicious cycle of getting sleepy during the day, falling asleep for a few hours in the late afternoon/early evening, being WIRED at night and not being able to go to bed before 2 AM, then sleeping in till 10:30 or 11:30....and so it continues. Dallin's friends will hear my voice over Discord and be so confused how/why I'm still awake, since usually I go to bed hours before Dallin. But I figure why try to fix my sleep schedule when the baby will have me on an even wackier sleep-wake cycle? 

A few other things have happened this summer:

• My high school friend Hayden got married at an art museum, and it was absolutely lovely.  The next day Hayden toured the rest of us around the local aviary.
  

• I went paddle-boarding with my BYU friend Haylee. It was a very windy day and I was glad I didn't fall off the paddle board, because there is no way I could have climbed back on with my big belly! Afterwards we enjoyed ice cream and were able to talk and catch up on the years we have missed together.
• My cousin Paige had her baby, and now I am SO anxious for my baby to arrive. Some babies are born looking a little squishy from their delivery, but Paige's baby is so cute and perfect.
• Dallin's sister Olivia moved up here, and she has come over a few times.  The Urness parents also fly up a lot to work on rebuilding the house that burned down. Over two years later, it is so close to being done!
• We got a text that Dallin's brother Cooper fell off a ladder and dislocated and broke his wrist. This is within the same year that Cooper had appendicitis AND also tore his knee followed by a really complicated surgical recovery that ended in some level of sepsis.  When we found out about his wrist we were just like, you have to be joking.  

• Dallin and I went to a Tabernacle Choir concert with our friends Kenzie and Connor, who we haven't seen in ages since they moved. 

• My friend Chantel called me about a seriously injured kitty she found on her way to work, likely hit  by a car. He was calm and had no open wounds but had very limited mobility--we were concerned about paralysis. I picked up the kitty from her and took the poor little baby to my house to rest quietly on a soft blanket in my bathroom while called I around multiple rescues and organizations. I tried to assist him in getting water or eating softened food, but he was uninterested.  I was worried a shelter would euthanize without giving him a chance, but after waiting an hour for Best Friends to open at noon, I discovered they only had automated messages on the phone and it took way too long to figure out they don't even typically take animals from the public. It was the same for every other rescue, and I couldn't even get an actual human on the phone to tell me the best place to take him. This poor little guy needed treatment. But of course all the shelters in the valley closed at noon for a 1-2 hour lunch break.  Because of where my friend found the kitty and after being assured by their website that they try to avoid euthanasia whenever they can, I decided to take him to the shelter thirty minutes south of me. I gently placed the kitty in the carrier, trying hard not to jostle him too much even though he never acted in any way to indicate pain. The girl at the front desk of the shelter was very kind and gave me the intake number to call back in case he was able to be treated and adopted by me or a friend.  She said the vet would evaluate him and see what the best thing would be for him. I gave the intake number to Chantel and told her she was welcome to call.   I realized that it was likely not going to be a happy ending, and Chantel realized this too.  We hoped that the injuries weren't as severe as they appeared, and even then we'd both seen Instagram accounts of paralyzed cats going on to live happy lives...but we also knew that these outcomes were unlikely.  The vet ultimately decided to help this sweet little kitty pass over to the next life.  Chantel and I wish there is more we could have done for him, but at the end of the day we are grateful he didn't have to suffer a worse death, which is what would have happened had Chantel not found him. 
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  • My cats don't know it, but they are enjoying their last few weeks of the quiet. Arlo loves laying on my belly and Atticus too has been increasingly snuggly. It could be because he is no longer a kitten, or it could be all my pregnancy pheromones. People keep saying, "Aww, I bet your cats will be so cute with your baby," but honestly I'm just hoping they can tolerate him, haha. I'm aware that babies come with a lot of weird new sounds and smells! 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  We got a cat backpack since the cats are no longer allowed outdoors--the location of our new apartment is not safe for kitties!

  
  

  We got a automatic cat feeder so that the cats would stop waking me up in the mornings, but instead Atticus has learned that if he knocks the feeder over or even drags it around, he can get some extra kibbles out of this. Of course then it doesn't go off because it's unplugged, and he wakes me up anyway.

  
  
  
  
   
   

Saying bye to Rachel

My work baby shower

The last month of summer hasn't all been sunshine, though.  Rachel, my sister who has been my best friend all my life, moved to Alaska with her husband.  For the months leading up to their move we tried our best to hang out regularly. We binged European sci-fi shows together, went on walks, and tagged along with our husbands and their buddies, the only two girls in the group. 

We also encountered a few rescue kitties, including Sako, a young cat found outside the college dorms by our brother's girlfriend  (the same girlfriend who found my Atticus two years ago).  Rachel had thought she would never have a cat, but within ten minutes of meeting Sako her husband Dick decided they should foster him until they found the original family or until they moved to Alaska.  They were living short-term with our friend Mug, who consented to housing the cat.  Sako looked a lot like Dick's childhood cat, and we originally thought he was a purebred Russian Blue, which would make him hypoallergenic for Dick. Unfortunately as Sako matured over those few months, the allergens started to kick in, but alas it was already decided that Sako would be a permanent resident at Mug's.  It wasn't long after taking in Sako that Mug, Rachel and Dick found a pair of 5-week-old kittens and their mama in the backyard under the deck. We contacted a rescue who recommended that we trap the kittens so they could start being socialized.  (The mom ideally would be trapped, spayed and released back to where we found her).  We all took care of the kittens, making sure they were fed and comfortable in the house until another foster family picked them up.  

The evening before the move, my parents flew up. Dick, a hunter, had been saving all of his best meat for a special occasion but now had to grill it all up for the family because it wouldn't save on the trip.  I had spent the whole day with Rachel, helping her pack and going with her for a last bite of food she wouldn't have in Alaska (such as In-N-Out), and finally decided to go to bed and drive back down at 5 in the morning to say my goodbyes.   Dick had a giant trailer packed full of all their belongings, and with my parents helping to drive their other vehicle they were ready for the 52+hour drive to Alaska. 

Dallin and I also moved, albeit only 20 minutes away from where we previously lived.  I wasn't allowed to lift boxes because I was in my late second trimester, but I had started packing a few weeks before the move and meticulously labeled all the boxes so that people would know where to put them on the big day. We had started collecting furniture prior to the move, and combining two big sofas plus baby furniture plus the growing stack of boxes all in one small apartment made me and Dallin (and even the cats) go absolutely bonkers.  We couldn't sell the old sofa until we could clean it, but that would be impossible until the cats and their summer shedding were relocated to the new place.  Moving to our new apartment, which has three bedrooms and a garage, felt like moving into a mansion. It's been almost three weeks since we moved and tonight we finally finished the rest of the decorating! Our wallets are a little sad, but I think it looks really nice! We had help from Dallin's little sister Hannah, who is considering going into interior design. 

Arlo and Atticus have quickly acclimated to the new place and love running up and down the stairs.

Dallin's stepdad is a pilot, and he flew up Dallin's sister Hannah the day Dick and Rachel moved away. I think Dallin wanted to keep me distracted, and Hannah had talked about how much she enjoyed Utah when she stayed with us about 3 years ago. That first night we went to the town carnival, and I bought fancy grilled cheeses for the three of us while Dallin and Hannah rode on the rides.  That week we watched scary movies, went to the aquarium, went on hikes, and drove around rich neighborhoods. To quote Hannah, "I need to be rich so I can have a house like that."  More in the next posts!