Kickin' It

This picture was taken about 6 weeks ago and it documents the first time David felt our baby kicking. Unfortunately it's also been the only time. Since then he has not been able to feel her at all. It's not that he hasn't tried and in fact her movements are much stronger and more obvious, but whenever he is around she doesn't move. Amy said it's because she is listening to his voice.

So, for the last six weeks or so he's been trying to feel her move. Last night we were sitting down together and she starting kicking. You could even see my shirt go up because she was pushing hard enough. When David went to go put her hand on her she stopped. We waiting for awhile, but she didn't move again. Then when he finally gave up and took his hand off she started up again. David looked at me exclaiming in frustration, "What a tease!"

Now, it had become my mission to see if I can get her to move so he can feel her. She is actually quite squirmy during the day. It's quite fun to watch. Oops, there she goes again! :)

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

Whew! What a heat wave we've been having! It basically started last week, but we had a few days in the middle of the week that was cooler so we had a bit of a chance to recover. Then Friday came and the heat was cranked back up and has not stopped! In fact, today is a record breaking 103 degrees with 30% humidity. Last night at midnight it was still 95 degrees!
We don't have AC so we had to be clever with the timing of the day and have strategic placement with the fans.

John and Nancy came down this past weekend to visit and I felt terrible that they would have to be suffering this with us. Fortunately we had Dave Hammerstrom and his boat to the rescue!

Here comes Dave with the boat! He generously took us out Saturday and Sunday.

The two chicas!

First stop: The rope swing!

David

John

Nancy

Splash!

What a cutie! :)

Next: Wake boarding!

Go Nancy!

She had a little trouble getting back into the boat...

Dave is a skier.

John holds up the flag to let other boats around know we have a person in the water.

Time for a break!

Let's go swimming!

This was after they finally coaxed me into the river. I don't like the idea there being living things (collectively called "Sturgeon" though it's not limited to them) in that can nibble at my toes swimming with me. Also, I was afraid it was going to be too cold (as the river usually is), but it was actually perfect. This was my "I'm still not sure about this" face. :)

Snack time!

We went out to the McMenimins by the Columbia River for dinner on Saturday.

Good times had by all!

Belknap

I made it to week 30!!! Yikes, time is flying by fast and I feel like I hardly have anything ready!

Last weekend my mom, sister and I went on our (usually) annual camping getaway to Belknap Hotsprings. Last year the dates we had booked ended being the same time as our church's young girls retreat, Women of HOPE, which Masha, Mom and I were all involved in. We canceled our reservations with Belknap and could not reschedule due to the camp being booked for the rest of the summer (usually you have to make reservations a year in advance for the summer season). Unfortunately, Women of HOPE also got canceled. We had tried to get our reservations back, but it was too late. :( I was pretty disappointed so I made reservations for this year.
I really should distinguish that this is not a typical camping site that you might picture. It's actually a resort that has everything from a lodge to housing rentals to RV and tent sites. Most of the tent sites are located across the river and you have to walk your stuff across a bridge. There are a few that you are able to drive to and those are the ones we opt for. :) It's locations is actually a natural hotspring, so the their pools are naturally heated (in fact they have to actually put cold water in them to keep them from getting to hot). The grounds are full of beautifully manicured gardens and hidden trails. It may not be a favorite for people who want to go "camping." :)
This year my mom and I went on ahead and my sister was going to follow us the next day. There was a wedding that same weekend so the entire camp was booked! The site I had reserved did not have electricity or water (I thought it did), so we asked our next site neighbors if we could use their electricity and they agreed graciously. When we got to the camp it was 90 degrees and HUMID! We set up our tent and kitchenette area rather quickly, but it just seemed so long because of the weather. These past few weeks I've finally began to feel pregnant and notice my limitations more, so that didn't help either. :) It started to cool down about an hour after we arrived and we treated ourselves to an ice cream bar at the lodge and walked around the gardens. The river looked absolutely gorgeous this year. I wanted to go rafting so badly! (Which they offer there.) Mom decided to go swimming and I went with her, but since the water was so warm I only put my legs in the water.
That night I had the tent all to myself (Mom slept in her SUV) which was nice except my air mattress sprung a leak and I basically slept on the hard ground. We ended up going into Eugene the next day to buy a new one.
The next morning Masha arrived early. I had asked her if she wouldn't mid taking some "Preggo Pics" of me since the area was so scenic. We got started on that, but the sun was so bright that it was hard to get the lighting right and I could barely get my eyes to open. :) We got a few good ones (It helps that Masha is kind of an expert at Photoshop ;D):

We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and just resting up. It was really nice to not have to worry about any kind of agenda to get done. The other two nights were not so easy though. The second night it was a bit of an adjustment to share a mattress with my sister and it was really cold! The night after we could hear animals (I'm pretty sure it was a raccoon) outside our test so that kept me up for awhile.
Overall I had a really good time and I'm looking forward to going next year (though I'll have a 9 month old, so that will be a new experience all on it's own).
I thought I would post some pictures of years past at Belknap for your enjoyment.

2007 (These ones are actually Masha's pictures):

The backside of the lodge with the pool and garden alongside the river.

Pretty flowers from the various gardens...

This is called the "Secret Garden"

2006

Funky sculpture. David said he thinks he could restore that piano... :)

Captain Jack even made an appearance.

(See I told you Masha was a whiz at Photoshop...this is my before picture. :D)

Lovely.

The pretty sister in-law

BANZAI!!!

Grace waiting for her revenge.

Hmmm... where is she?

Gotcha!