Here's What's Going on in Our Neck of the Woods

Here's a peak at what's been happening lately in our neck of the woods.

1. Our high school friend Dallin came to visit us for a few days.

Sean and Dallin had lots of fun hiking the Y.
We all went out to lunch once and while we were waiting for our table we found this quaint little area. We did not match on purpose and weren't planning a photo shoot but this is what we got. Bad lighting I know.

We went goofy golfing at sunset and the weather was perfect.

2. Sean and I celebrated our second anniversary!!!

It's been a wonderful two years and I look forward to many more. To celebrate we went to an adorable bed and breakfast up north. It was great to get away and relax.

3. We had a play date with our favorite family from Michigan. Mary and the boys were in town so we had a picnic and played at the park.

4. My birthday

Unfortunately I had to work a 12 hour shift on my birthday which was a bummer but I came home to a delicious dinner on the table. Then we opened presents, got free birthday ice cream at coldstone, rented a movie, and crashed on the couch. It was a good birthday.

Inside that large green box (in the last picture) was this present. Sean made me a beautiful wooden jewelry box!! He did all this without a garage or power tools and kept it all a secret from me in our tiny apartment. That's impressive. I love it Sean, thanks.

5. Our baby is growing well.

We had our official 20 week ultrasound and everything looks great. It's still a boy!! He's measuring a little small for my dates but not enough to switch the due date.

Me at 19 weeks. I feel bigger than I look.

Pure Michigan

Have you seen those commercials advertising the great lake state of Michigan? They want you to come and boost their economy and see what "pure Michigan" has to offer. Well about a month ago we did just that--although it was to visit family we haven't seen in 2 years, not to boost their economy. =)

We had a terrific time and did not want to leave. Here are some of the adventures we enjoyed.

1. Canoeing on the beautiful Huron River
2. Swimming lessons for two very excited boys, Caleb and Andrew

3. Adoring our beautiful nephew Aaron whom we had never met even though he is 1.5 years old

4. Walking the trails of the metro parks and seeing the scenery

5. Listening to the outdoor concert at the park on a cool Friday evening

6. Gardening in the backyard

7. Good old-fashioned family time (Mary, Aaron, Matt, Caleb, & Andrew)

Thanks Matt and Mary for such a great trip. It was wonderful to see you guys after a long 2 years. (The last time we saw them was at our wedding.) Michigan is so beautiful, at least in the summer.

Today was a good day

We woke up, got ready, and were at our ultrasound appointment by 8am. The ultrasonographer checked out our little baby from head to toe and things seem to be looking great. We heard that beautiful little heart beating away and saw our babe sucking it's thumb. Baby was kicking and moving all over but I can't feel a thing. Maybe in the next few weeks I'll be able to tell when the baby moves. We are so grateful things are looking good and our little peanut is growing well. The tech asked us if we'd like to find out the gender and I quickly said, "yes, please." Baby wasn't cooperating at first and the position made it a little hard.

Finally we saw one leg, then another leg, and a bum. Well folks, it's a boy!! We're thrilled, especially Sean. =) I love knowing what's inside me. It makes me feel like I can bond so much more with our child. I can talk to him and refer to him as "my son". I love it.

Here's me at 17 weeks.

Just kidding. Here's me at 16 weeks with a playground ball stuffed under my shirt.

Here's me at 17 weeks. Not nearly as exciting as the last picture. =)

I always liked seeing "belly pictures" of other gals throughout their pregnancies and wondered why people didn't post more of them. Now I realize why. You feel kind of stupid showing the world how your clothes are fitting tighter, your tummy is getting rounder, and the numbers on the scale are increasing. Oh well, years from now I'll probably be glad for the silly "belly pics" right?

A boy or a girl?

We have our premonitions but what do you think? Is our baby a boy or a girl? We have an appointment on Tuesday, July 28th to find out the gender of our little bundle of joy. We're so excited and will be happy either way. I don't know how people can be patient enough to have it be a surprise at delivery. That amazes me. I guess I'm not very patient or not into surprises very much. As long as baby cooperates, we're finding out the gender.

Ohio!

Since Sean has been gone for an internship, I decided to make good use of my time and travel. I flew to Ohio to visit my sister and her family. It was so terrific to see everyone and meet my beautiful new nephew William. We went hiking, had picnics, visited a museum, played at parks, shopped, and had a blast.

The two Elizabeths posing for a pic before begining our hike down to the river.

Laura, baby William, and me down at the bottom of the canyon. At only 3 weeks old, William loves nature and didn't make a peep the whole time we hiked. =)

These kids make me laugh so much. Dallin and Elizabeth playing shoe dress up from mom's closet. The thigh-high boots look great with just a swimsuit don't you think?

Adoring my beautiful nephew William David

I could just hold him all day long.

It was hard to say goodbye to these faces. I was sad to leave them for sure. When I left, Elizabeth said, "I don't want you to go. You're my best friend." Then that night (after I was gone) she said she prayed that I would come back to their house. How sweet. It was a terrific visit and I can't wait to see them again, whenever that may be.

Our Big News!!

I can't think of a creative way to announce it so here it is. Sean and I are expecting a baby!!! I'm 12.5 weeks along and things are looking great. I've had multiple ultrasounds and everything is progressing well. We're thrilled with our growing family and hope and pray each day that things will continue to go smoothly. I'm so grateful for this little baby inside of me. Working in labor and delivery has its perks for pregnant nurses--I can ultrasound myself and see my baby whenever I want. Last night he or she was moving all over (of course I can't feel it) and last week he/she had the hiccups. It was so cute to watch. We're thrilled and nervous for the adventure of parenthood to come our way.

A Week in Paradise

A couple of weeks ago Sean and I and his family met in Puerto Rico to begin our Caribbean cruise. It was such a nice, relaxing week and was a perfect break from work and school. Spending time with family is so much fun--especially when you don't get to see each other very often and you live hundreds and miles apart.

We cruised with Royal Caribbean to the islands of Aruba (which I was amazed to find out is only about 30 miles off the coast of Venezuela), Curacao, Dominica, St. Thomas, and back to San Juan. It was an active week filled with swimming, snorkeling, river rafting, shopping, basketball, volleyball, ice skating, rock climbing, beach hopping, and of course, EATING!! Here is a glimpse of our adventures.

Excited to see each other after 10 days apart, we met up in Dallas and flew to Puerto Rico all together.

Our huge ship "Adventure of the Seas"

Sean, Glenn, and Eric playing in a basketball tournament on board

Sailing on a catamaran boat off the coast of Aruba

Our favorite beach, great snorkeling here!

This ship is one of 8 in the world that have an ice skating rink on board.

Sean and Eric also played in a volleyball tournament. The Puerto Ricans are pretty good at this game.

Sailing away from Dominica we saw rainbows everywhere and it was beautiful.

We thoroughly enjoyed our week in paradise. We made such great memories and loved the time we had to spend together.

Now it's back to real life. I've returned to work at the hospital and Sean is interning at an accounting firm. Life is good.