Odds and ends...

We went to a family reunion with Merril's family last weekend. I totally brought my camera in anticipation of taking pictures of all the cousins playing and all I snapped was this picture of a wagon train on the way to the cabin. It has nothing to do with our family but I still thought it was neat. I have never seen a reenactment wagon train so I pulled over so the kids and myself could get a better look. This is just a small section of the wagon train, it was quite long.


Other than that, I'm 23 weeks pregnant (5 months to anybody who needs a translation) and feeling great. We went for a hike on Saturday and I probably hiked a mile.

I know, I'm still small. I've gained 15 pounds so far and am feeling a little apprehensive as the end draws nearer. The only apprehension is that my easy life will become more difficult. My children are very self-sufficient and I do quite a lot without having to worry about diapers, wipes, extra food, baby toys, etc. The days of burp cloths, diaper rash ointment, and high chairs have been behind me for a while. So even though I smile when I feel bambino dance around my insides, I still sigh when I hear a crying infant and see its mother take him or her out because that reality is coming post haste. :)

Apple Orchard...

This is a little out of order but we went to a nearby apple orchard at the beginning of October and I didn't want to forget about it. (I haven't been as diligent about blogging lately and bothers me that our family history isn't as complete.)

So we as we started picking, it started raining. Luckily, we were in Grandma's car and she had a big umbrella.


Jack really liked the umbrella and kept trying to be a ninja.

Juliet disliked her sloshy flip flops and carried them after a while. This picture is a little blurry since I took it quickly as we ran back to the car. I love how Maxine is giving a thumbs up sign. Not quite sure why I was getting the thumbs up. Maybe the trip was a success.

Just a little hike...

So Dan M. thinks it'd be fun to go on a hike to some petroglyphs and talks some suckers into it. After 45 miles of dirt road (16 miles of it being crappy, muddy dirt road) we arrive at said hiking destination out on the Arizona Strip. "The road should be fine!" I should've known better. This coming from a guy who called 911 after getting dehydrated and lost on a mountain not 3 months ago. It's just who Dan is, no point in fighting it.

Seriously, we had a fun time I was just expecting to be back earlier in the day. The weather was perfect for hiking! See me bringing up the rear? I'm in the red shirt way up the hillside. Max and Merril are in the foreground.

The hike was 7 miles round trip, 3.5 miles in and the same back out. Since the whole family went, I anticipated turning around early. Juliet hung in there and hiked with a great attitude. Just over 2 miles, Juliet said she was getting tired. The 2 of us probably hiked around 4.5 miles total. Grandpa, Grandma and Jack probably turned around about the 2.5 mile mark.

Here's Max, cousin Lizzie, cousin Stephanie, Grandpa C. and Jack.

Maxine, after some tears and inner struggles, decided to hike the whole thing and wouldn't give up. She made it all the way to the petroglyphs at Shaman's Gallery.


Juliet and I hiked pleasantly back to the cars and got back about 45 minutes before everyone else. This view is from the top of the hike. It was the end of the day.

I hear the petroglyphs were amazing but I had fun just going for a hike. My calves are sore. Otherwise, I felt great during the hike. It's going to take several more days to get all the clay mud off the Tahoe. It's sooooo very muddy.

Healthy baby...

We had an ultrasound today and the baby is healthy and measures perfectly. It's not twins, despite what my friend Val kept saying. Thankfully, it's just one baby and it looks great. The doctor was unable to tell the gender because the cord and its feet were in the way. Sorry people, even the doctor doesn't know the gender. And here is a generally fuzzy, you won't know what you're really looking at ultrasound pic. It's a picture of its nose and upper lip. Imagine you're looking at someone face to face and their head is tilted back so you can see the two nostrils, mouth open slightly, eyes are blacked out and in the shadow.

She had a hard time getting a look because its arms were both up by its face. All the other pictures look really skeletal. This is the only one that looks like a real face. So anyway, there it is. Factoid for the day: I learned the difference between a miscarriage and a stillborn is 20 weeks old. If you have it before 20 weeks-miscarriage, after 20 weeks-stillborn. And now you know.

Halfway there...

Last Thursday I hit the 20-week mark which means I'm halfway there! All right!! All I can report is that I have an ultrasound on the 6th of October and we won't be finding out the gender of the baby. :) Sorry. Other than that, I feel really good. Sleeping is hard with allergies and I'm not taking anything for the congestion besides saline nasal spray. But I often get a nap in so it all evens out. Ultrasound details to follow, hopefully nothing out of the ordinary.