BraceFace

IT'S OFFICIAL! I'M 12 AGAIN! Thanks to my Momma Mia, who insisted she come to my appointment with me, I have a plethora of pictures for remembrance.

BEFORE

DURING (and my favorite for obvious reasons)


AFTER -
I had to get a pic next to the board with my name on it! My mom actually got a pic of me AND Duncan (my fellow BraceFace). He was arriving as I was leaving. I made sure to wish him luck :)

I'm quickly remembering what braces were like. Wax is my new best friend as well as anything of an edible nature that is smooth, soft, and creamy. Really, the only downside of all this is having everyone I know see me and say "Why did you get braces? Your teeth are straight!"... I don't have a short/easy answer so instead I think I'll start saying "It's part of my Halloween costume."

Redefining Beautiful

I heard about these girls on the news this morning (not this exact video, but very similar)

"Too often in our celebrity-driven culture, beauty is defined by the products a woman puts on her face. But a group of teenage girls in Texas has set out to change that idea, one makeup-free face at a time. "

I LOVE this! Way to go girls!

A Series of Unexpected (but not unfortunate) Events

1.
My retainer no longer fits correctly despite religious wear-age from the day my braces came off
2.
I found out that my insurance covers (and has covered) orthodontia
3.
I found out that my insurance cuts off coverage at the age of 24 (Happy 24th Birthday to me on December 1st)
4.
I was squeezed in today for what I thought was a consultation to discuss my options to fix the problems I have with my teeth/jaw
5.
The secretary apparently scheduled me for a retainer fitting...
6.
Consequently, over the course of 3 hours the Dr. who, granted, was very nice, knowledgeable, and did not make me feel rushed, flitted from other patients, to me, to other patients to me (luckily I had an open schedule today)
7.
I'm getting braces...again...oh, and that is just prep for the jaw surgery I need...

I can't believe it! First of all I walked into that appointment thinking "Ladi-da, I'll just get Invisaline and that will fix everything, ho-hum" Apparently I was a little naive. It shouldn't surprise me that I have this structural defect - my mom had the exact same problem and surgery I'm needing and my original braces were in effort to avoid this step. I guess it was so long ago that I had braces or talked to anyone about this that I thought the problem was gone *magic*

Second, I feel like I'm reverting back to age 12. You would think that being older and more "mature" ;) would keep a person from feeling insecure about getting the dreaded braces, but I can't help myself - the feelings are all coming back to me.

So not only is this happening, but it's happening quick. I got a workup done then and there at the office today. Then I got spacers placed to get ready for the braces that I will be getting *drum-roll* next Wednesday! Ahhhhh! I thought for sure I was going to have a breakdown when I got in the car, but I didn't (still don't know how I avoided that).

Of course the biggest stress-er is the money issue ~ I don't need to go into it too much, but anyone who has had/paid for braces knows they are expensive and even with insurance the cost definitely won't go unnoticed. Luckily since my problem is a functional problem (the doctor says I'm probably only using maybe 1/2 my teeth right now) insurance SHOULD cover the surgery portion when the time comes. The definitive "will cover" won't be ultimately approved until I get closer to the actual surgical event.

So these have been the events of my day. I'm still stunned, questioning myself about the triviality of it all. Luckily have a wonderful husband who is supporting this decision ~ thanks Sweetie <3

PHOTOGRAPHY

So my brother in-law (Skyler's brother) and sister-in-law who live in Baltimore just got there family photos. I can't help but rave about this woman's talent! I saw these pictures and decided I want to have a child and move to Baltimore right now, just so Katie Ash can be our photographer.

Look at this adorable family! We sure miss you guys :)

I can't get enough of cute Brooklynn's Smile

Unfortunately Baltimore is the key here, but check out these other photos, if for no other reason but for the "awwww" factor

http://katiesphotogblog.blogspot.com/

Las Vegas

Skyler and I were able to take an awesome and much needed vacation between summer and fall semesters. We went with 2 other couples in our ward, Marta/Andrew and Rick/Brittni.

In our rented Suburban we began our trip which first led us to Las Vegas.

The ceiling at the Venetian

INSIDE THE VENETIAN: I've never seen the real thing, but this place was pretty amazing. I actually got this pic from online, but it looked exactly like this. We walked through at about midnight and it looked like midday.

If you've ever been to Las Vegas you can imagine what it looked like on a Saturday night. Although it was fun to see MOST of the sights, I told Skyler that I think we experienced enough Las Vegas for ourselves as well as our future children's lifetime.

The ceiling at the Bellagio is made up of 2,000 hand blown glass flowers. It was gorgeous.

We managed to keep our eyes open (mostly) for one last pic that night before we went to bed.