Camping Adventure - Itasca State Park - August 2009

Last week Uncas, Sammy and I went camping for 4 days/3 nights.  Because Uncas is so smart, he suggested that we drive halfway on the first day and stay at a hotel.  It was a great idea because we were able to get to the campsite at a decent time on Thursday and set up camp.  Here is a picture of our tent - it's huge!

 

We can fit a queen size air mattress in it and all of our bags and still have plenty of room to move around.  And Reid can actually stand up all the way in the middle of it!  It is a great tent!

Thursday we pretty much hung around our campsite.  It was a little misty out, but it never really did rain, so we made a campfire.

 

 

Friday was overcast and windy, so we decided to postpone canoeing for a day and we went hiking and exploring in the park.  We stopped at a few different places, including the headwaters of the Mississippi.  It was really neat to see how small the river is when it starts out compared to how big it is down by us!  Sammy and I crossing the Mississippi River

Sammy and I hiking in the park.

The weather started clearing up on Friday night, so we knew it was going to be a chilly one.  And of course we had another campfire.  Sammy enjoyed chewing on birch bark.

 

Saturday morning was bright and clear and relatively calm, so we had a quick breakfast and headed over to Lake Itasca to canoe in the morning.  Here is Uncas and Sammy at breakfast.

 

 

We weren't sure how Sammy was going to do in the canoe, but he was just fine.  He doesn't like water at all, so we weren't too worried about him trying to jump out of the canoe.  He did prop himself up on the side to look out, but mostly he sat in the floor and enjoyed the ride.  I am happy to say that Uncas and I remembered our skills canoeing from our Boundary Waters trip in 2007, so we were able to move around the lake with ease.  The wind started picking up, so we head back to shore by noon.  It was fun to be out on the lake.  Uncas got a little bit of fishing in, but didn't catch anything. 

 

  

Saturday afternoon we did the wilderness drive in the park.  We saw the tallest Red Pine and White Pine in Minnesota.  I highly recommend this state park - there are so many things to do there.  Lots of trails to hike or bike with varying lengths.  There are plenty of restrooms and they were super clean!  And if you aren't the hardcore camping type, they even have cabins you can rent.  It's such a beautiful park - I can't wait to go back.

Uncas and Sally

 

We took lots of pictures - you can see them all here.  

Sammy really did a great job camping.  The first night he was a little unsure about all the people and dogs around, but he loved exploring the campsite!  In fact, he would go wandering in the woods and get all tangled up, so we would have to go and untangle him time and time again.  I was amazed at how quickly he adjusted to the routine out there.  Last night he slept 12 hours straight and probably would have slept longer, but I woke him up.  Then he spent most of the morning outside in our yard today, which was great because it allowed me to get lots done in the house!

13 Weeks

Wow - I am officially in the 2nd trimester! Wahoo! I am looking forward to feeling better and regaining some energy. I will say that on our camping trip (more about that in another blog post), I didn't feel nauseous at all. Uncas thought for sure it was all the fresh air, but I am really hoping it stays away! I am still quite sleepy and did take at least one nap every day (sometimes, like today - 2!)

I have been taking weekly pictures and up until this week, I haven't noticed much difference. In fact, up until this weekend, all my clothes were still fitting fine. Now I am in that "fat" looking stage. The stage where you look like you have gained weight, but not enough for some random stranger to think you are actually pregnant. I don't mind the weight gain because it's for a good cause, but I think I am going to struggle on finding things to wear in the next couple of weeks.  When I explained to my husband the stage that I was in, he responded with "you look pregnant to me", which was in fact the correct answer - thank you Honey!

But I am sure what you most want to see are the pictures. I am posting ones from 5 weeks and then ones from today.  I am wearing the same pair of pants in the pictures.  I should also point out that I just got out of the shower from the pictures from today and I didn't even do my hair or make-up. 

"Retirement" - Week Two

Well, I am into my second week of "retirement" and so far, I just feel like I am on an extended vacation of sorts.  Because my schedule has been a bit crazy, I don't really feel like I am getting any sort of a routine down.  Yesterday I got up and showered right away.  Today, I was so exhausted from a poor night's sleep (I thought this would happen AFTER the baby came), that it's noon and I am still in my pajamas - not good!

I don't think I am the only one having trouble adjusting to the schedule.  While Sammy loves having me home, I think it's thrown off his schedule too, so there seems to be a bit of adjusting all the way around.  I am hopeful that once school starts it will be easier to maintain more of a routine.  And of course it doesn't help that I still feel like crap 85% of the time, so my motivation to do much around here is limited these days.

But the rest of this week, the whole family will be on vacation.  We are going camping in northern Minnesota and I can't wait.  We got a new tent that is huge, according to Uncas (he set it up while I was out and about with Lisa).  Apparently Sammy likes the tent, so here's hoping he will like camping as well.  My only fear is that he will bark at every little noise.

Now that I have wasted enough time today, I better get moving and head to the store for a coffee pot and lantern!

Best Friend Visiting

This weekend my best friend, Lisa from Seattle is visiting me.  She made the trip by herself, meaning she left her 16 month old son at home with her husband for some daddy/son bonding time.  We are having a wonderful time already.

Sammy and I greeted her at the airport yesterday in the early afternoon.  That was the first time she has met my "baby" Sammy.  He was quite charming for her, which was good (the barking came later on in the day).  First stop was our house.  She also hadn't seen our new house.  I gave her the tour and we had some quick lunch.  Then we decided to go out and get manicures and pedicures! 

Last night after a casual dinner here, we headed out to see the Julie & Julia movie with a couple of my friends.  We all loved the movie.  It was really entertaining and Meryl Streep was amazing.  Of course we left the theater hungry! 

Today we are planning on going to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.  The weather is suppose to be beautiful!  Lisa actually came to visit me years ago and we went to the Renaissance Festival then, so it will be fun to go back.

But now I must get back to those caramel rolls that I am making for breakfast!

Presents!

This is what my dear husband got me for our anniversary yesterday:

 

And I got him tickets to the home opener for the Vikings.  He was quite pleased, just like I am quite pleased with my earrings.

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Today is our third wedding anniversary! It's hard to believe it's already been three years since we got married. It's flown by so fast and yet we have done so many things: Boundary Waters trip; Mexico trip; bought our first house; got our cute little puppy . . . those are just the big highlights that stand out. I think we have come along way since August 19, 2006.

But now it's time for our next adventure. As if quitting my job and going back to school wasn't enough change for one summer, we have one more little announcement to share:

That's right - we are going to have a baby! Below are some commonly asked questions and answers:

1. Was this planned? Yes
2. When are you due? My estimated due date is March 6, 2010
3. Are you going to find out the sex? Yes, when the baby is born
4. How are you feeling? I have been pretty nauseous, but luckily I have yet to actually throw up
5. What about school? I will still be going to school this fall, but will be taking next semester off

So there you have it! We are both super excited and can't wait until March to meet our newest family member!

Last Day!!!!!

It's my last day at work!  I am so excited. As I was getting ready for bed last night, I realized that after today, I was going to start on a path of doing something that I am truly excited about.  And I was thinking about what a great life I already have - wonderful husband, cutest dog ever, a great family and friends, a fabulous house, good health . . . and yet, now it's going to be even better!  I am truly blessed!

8 hours left - I can do this!

Weekend Visitors

This weekend my friend Mike drove up from Chicago with his dog Toby. Friday night we hung out at home. I made some pasta for dinner because on Saturday Reid was doing the running portion of a triathalon. I wanted to make sure he "carbed" up. It was an early night, since we were all up early the next day for the race.

The next morning Mike and I took the dogs to watch Reid run. Unfortunately due to weather conditions (lightening in the distance), they canceled the swim. When Reid started running it wasn't raining, but soon after we saw dark clouds moving in. Mike and I headed to the car and watched for Reid while we stayed nice and dry! Here are some pictures of Reid:



Storm clouds

After the race Mike and I headed to a couple of the art fairs taking place in Minneapolis this weekend.  We met up with Jaron and Josh and my friend Suzaane for awhile.  Later on we came back home and picked up Reid (who hung out with the dogs in the afternoon) to go out to dinner.  We had a nice spot outside and while we were eating dinner the tornado sirens went off!  We quickly finished up and headed home.

Today has been a lazy day.  Sammy really enjoyed playing with Toby this weekend:

 

  

I only have 5 days left of work!!!!  It's hard to believe that this week has finally come.  I hope it goes by quickly!

Thursday, Already?!

Remember when I said I was going to try and post every couple of days? What happened to that?! I can't believe that today is Thursday already! For most of July, the weeks were painfully slow for me. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I had given my notice at work, so no one was giving me much new stuff to work on. As a result, my days just dragged.

Now I am in the 2 week crunch. Even with my ample notice, there are still large portions of my job that I have no idea who will be covering once I leave. Which means I can't train anyone in on the stuff . . . interesting. This week has definitely been busier for me. I love having deadlines. I am much more motivated to get things done when I am racing against the clock.

After today I have exactly 6 days left of work - wahoo! I am so very excited! I tell Sammy every morning how many days are left for him too! I think he will enjoy my three weeks before school, when I am around for most of the day. Although, somehow my time off is quickly filling up!!!

Finished Bathroom

This weekend Uncas painted our downstairs bathroom.  When we first bought the house last year, we took down the wallpaper immediately.  I went through and made sure all the glue was off and with the exception of patching the walls, it was ready to be painted.  But there it sat and we put it off and put it off.  In a way, it was a good thing that we waited until Uncas and his dad did all the other work in the bathroom, because I have a feeling that we would have just ended up repainting it.

Here is a "before" picture (what the bathroom looked like when we bought the house):

Here are the "afters" (the window fan isn't permanent, just to help air out the paint fumes):

 

  

 

Cute Sammy Picture

I know everyone has missed seeing cute pictures of my little guy over the summer.  I must confess that the number of pictures that I have take of him has gone down significantly, especially compared to last summer, but don't fear - I took some cute ones tonight!

 

  

That last one is kind of funny.  He was trying to sleep on the couch, so I called his name to get him to look up.  He posed patiently for a couple of pictures, but in that last one, he was sleeping with his head up.  I left him alone after that!