High School Reunion, Sunriver, and baby update

This last weekend was my 10 year high school reunion. I drove over to my parents house on Friday afternoon and came back home Sunday afternoon. Friday night everyone was supposed to meet up at the bars. Since I'm not a drinker and I'm pregnant I didn't find that appealing. Mary and I went and got ice cream across the street from the bars instead. We some some interesting characters out late at night in Arcata. We had a good time visiting with old friends and seeing people from the past. I was pretty tired by the end of the night though. In the picture above is one of my great friends, Katie, who I still keep in touch with, myself, and Mary.

Brad and I took Dawson back up to Sunriver. We always have so much fun there. Brad's parents also went. It's nice to spend time with them outside of our daily lives. We went the day after I found out I am having a baby girl so Penny (Brad's mom) and I went to a few baby stores. We found a few things that were adorable. I was a bit disappointed in some of the speciality stores with their baby girl clothing. They just didn't have any cute dresses! We took Dawson to the Sunriver mall and let him have an afternoon of fun. We had lunch, rode in bumper cars, jumped in the bounce houses, played mini golf, got a treat, and got to play in the toy store.


Here I am at 21 weeks pregnant. I feel like I wake up bigger and bigger each day. The baby is moving around a lot which I enjoy. Brad has felt her kick a few times. Mary felt her kick once and Dawson has felt her kick as well. I think it kind of freaked Dawson out because he says he doesn't want to feel it again. We are setting up the nursery (I know already!) We had found a crib and amroire that we loved back when I was only 7 weeks pregnant and last summer my mother in law had bought a red changing table and baby girl bedding that was on clearance at a baby store here. We are loving how the room is coming together. It should be complete in the next week or so and I will post a picture. I never got to set up a nursery for Dawson so this has been exciting.

It's a GIRL!

Last Thursday I had my ultrasound at 21 weeks pregnant. Brad, Dawson, and Mary were able to go with me. The whole week before the ultrasound I kept having dreams about it and the equipment not working, the baby not looking like a baby, not knowing for sure what it is, etc. The night before I dreamed twice that it was going to be a boy. I was pretty sure it was a boy and was content with that.
We got to the appointment and had to wait (as usual) for what seemed like forever. I finally got called back and before I knew it my baby was on a 36" screen TV for everyone that went with me to view. There was also a resident doctor there that day so we got a super detailed ultrasound. My Dr. spoke out loud about everything he was looking for, looking at, and had some cool comments. He wasn't able to tell right away if it was a boy or girl but went back later and announced it was a girl. A part of me is still in shock about that because I thought for sure it was a boy. I am SUPER excited as is Brad. Dawson was really bummed because he wanted a brother. He did like seeing the baby on screen though. He loved when they baby yawned and when the baby covered her face with not only her hands but her feet. It made everyone laugh. The 2 pictures we got from the ultrasound are not all that great because of the fact that she kept her hands in front of her face the whole time so I won't be posting it. You really can't tell what anything is.
I have already had the chance to go baby shopping with my amazing mother-in-law. She is so excited to have another granddaughter. There are a lot of really cute baby girl clothes and items out there.
We have decided that we will be naming her Jane Elizabeth. Jane is my middle name as well as my Grandma Betsy and cousin Chelsea. Elizabeth is Mary's middle name as well as my Aunt Suzi's and 2 of my other nieces, Mae and Cora. We LOVE the name and is represents both sides of the family.

Camping at Burney Falls

Brad, Dawson, and I drove up to Burney Falls campground this past Monday and stayed until Thursday. We met my parents, brother and his family, and all my other siblings up there throughout the week. One of my aunts and 2 cousins were also able to go. We had such a great time. I wasn't sure if Dawson would like camping but he LOVED it. He wants to go again. He especially enjoyed making s'mores each night. He even slept in a tent with his cousins with no adults. I was proud of him. Brad and I slept in his parents camp trailer. Dawson could have slept in there with us. It was pretty warm up there all week so we went swimming every day to cool off. The kids all loved going to swim in the lake and building sand castles. Mary and I went up for a day trip on Friday to visit with the family again. We had a nice time again. I was happy to be done with camping. I really appreciate my bed even more and hot showers that are NOT timed.


Dawson after swimming at the lake at Burney Falls. It was SO hot this week.
Brad, Dawson, and I at the trail head to walk down to the falls. Dawson went twice with my brother. I couldn't make it due to a really bad pain in my leg and Brad had a sprained ankle.
The kids went snipe hunting every night. It was hilarious. If you do not know what snipe hunting is it's a non existent bird that you take people out after dark to hunt for. The kids learned a snipe call from my dad and took out a large ziploc bag to catch it. They even set a trap one night. During the day they would look around the campsite for snipe holes.
Dawson on his first hike to the falls. He really loved this hike.

A busy couple of weeks

The last couple weeks have been filled with visiting family. My brother and his 3 ADORABLE kids came out from Utah to visit. They stayed at my house for a couple days before heading to our parents. Brad, Dawson, and I went to visit them more at my parents house for a few days. We had a great time relaxing, going to the beach, eating at some of my favorite places, and just being with the kids. I wish that they didn't live so far away.

For the 4th of July we went to Weaverville. We went there on the 3rd and walked around town and took Dawson to the museums/tourist things to do. On the 3rd they also had their annual fireworks show. We took Dawson to the park so he could walk around and play at the very small carnival. He loved the fireworks. We stayed the night there at a hotel and woke up early Saturday so to go the town's parade. It was a lot of fun (a bit hot but luckily since I'm pregnant was able to sit in one of the few shaded spots and hold the little babies.) After the parade we came back home and Dawson went to visit with his dad. We watched the fireworks in Redding the night of the 4th up at the hospital....it's a pretty good view from there! Mary and Natalie came with us and then Mike, his girlfriend, and Dawson showed up so we got to enjoy the show with them.

Brad and I bought a fetal doppler online so we can listen to the babies heartbeat whenever we want. It's amazing and sounds just as clear as if we were at the doctors office. Dawson loves to listen to the baby and has been talking to it more and rubbing my stomach. He is so excited. We are very excited to be finding out in 2 weeks what we are having. We want to start just being able to look at more gender specific baby stuff.

Tennis, Turtle Bay, Doctor and Family visits

Monday Dawson started back up with Tennis. He LOVES it. Natalie decided she would go too (she didn't want to at first but when she found out she could swim afterwards she decided it was worth it.) She ended up loving it and will continue playing as well.
Yesterday (Tuesday) Brad and I went to my Doctor for our prenatal monthly check up. We waited for about an hour before the Doctor saw us--always a bit annoying, especially when my appointment lasted maybe two minutes. I don't usually have any questions or concerns and the ones I have I usually google online or just know it's normal. We got to hear the babies heartbeat. It was a strong and steady 145bpm. I wanted to just lay there and listen to it all day! I have felt a few other really faint movements but nothing really strong. We go in next month, July 23rd, for the ultrasound and we are DEFINITELY finding out what we are having. I am so anxious to know and wish I already did know.
After my appointment Brad and I went to Mary's. We were sitting around and talking and all the sudden Asher rolled over. It was his first roll over and he acted like it was no big deal. He wasn't angry or crying at all. He rolled over 2 more times and then Mary got the camera out and he decided he was done. It was an exciting moment.
Brad and I took Dawson and Natalie out to Round Table Pizza for lunch, then to Turtle Bay museum, and ice cream. It was a busy afternoon. The kids had a blast at Turtle Bay. They have a bunch of displays that deal with Shasta County history, science, animals, etc. It is super kid friendly and there are a lot of hands on activities. The display we were most looking forward to was the LEGO display. This artist makes sculputres and pictures out of only legos. It was really awesome. They even had a classroom set up where you can make your own lego creation and put it up on display for the week. Dawson and Natalie both LOVED that. I got there and realized I forgot my camera so I didn't get any pictures. That bummed me out a bit.
When we got home my cousin Sarah from Long Beach, her mom, and another cousin, Amy who lives here in town came by to visit. We had a nice visit with them. It's always good to see them and catch up.
My brother will be here tomorrow for a couple of days with his kids. I'm so EXCITED to see them. They will be going to the coast to my parents house after this so we are planning on going over there for a few days to spend more time with them. I wish they lived closer. It's tough to be favorite auntie when I only get to see them once a year.

Aahhhh....Summertime!

I am LOVING summer vacation so far. Dawson gets to stay up late and sleeps in. We have had fun playing many games (go fish, war, i spy, yahtzee, etc.) Dawson is at a fun age to be playing games with. My oldest niece, Kayla, graduated high school last week. Dawson and I went down to Vacaville to celebrate with her. I am so proud of her. It was great visiting with all the family, especially my brother who came out from Utah as a surprise. Lori's daughter, Iris, giggled at me and we had fun playing together. I was pretty tired after those couple of days. My parents stayed at my house that weekend and we had a really great visit as usual.
Last night I was at a church BBQ party. It is always fun to get to visit with people that I never get to see at church because everyone is always teaching or something. Mary went with me and that was a lot of fun. While we were there I am pretty sure I felt the baby fluttering around for a few seconds. It didn't last long but it was defiently something. I got home and was telling Brad about it and wrote it down in my pregnancy book and then it happened again. It was awesome. I hope that it continues to happen more frequently. I can't wait to feel it kicking a lot and to have Brad be able to feel it kick as well. I go to the Dr. next week for a check up.
On Tuesday Mary and I were so lucky to be able to visit with 3 girls who we consider sisters. They lived with us as foster sisters for about 3 years when we lived in Weaverville. We had such a great visit with them and their families. We had a yummy BBQ. The kids all got along great. We don't all get to see each other often--the last time we got to see them all together was at my wedding 2 years ago.
Brad is finishing his last day of his music/art camp today so then he will officially be on vacation too. We are looking forward to a relaxing vacation and going on a couple trips.

The last week of 1st Grade for Dawson and Grandparents 60th Anniversary Party

Dawson finished 1st grade this past Thursday. He has a busy and fun filled week at school. On Tuesday 3 of the 1st grade classes went to the YMCA for a swim/play day. They got to swim and do outdoor play activities as well as have a picnic lunch. Dawson had a great time and I loved being there and getting to talk to other moms before the school year ends. I also had a great talk with Dawson's teacher (who we are going to miss!) She had the nicest things to say about him and was very complimentary on how well we are raising him. On his report card she wrote that he is a memorable child. On the last day of school the 1st graders from Dawson's class and another class rotated classrooms and did fun acitivites at different centers. I was in charge of teaching them how to hopscotch--they all had a great time. They then got a pizza party and ice cream sundaes. Right before leaving the 2 classes did awards. Dawson got 4 awards--the most out of both classes (I was so proud of him!) He got perfect attendnace for 3rd trimester, perfect attendance for the whole school year (the only kid in both classes to get that), collaborative kid award, and outstanding citizenship award (only 6 kids in each class get that a year so it's a big deal.) For earning the citizenship award he got to have lunch with the principal. After school was out Mary and her family and Dawson and I (Brad was still at work) took the kids out to eat at Olive Garden and somehow Dawson manged to eat his 3rd lunch of the day (he did not have dinner that night.) I just can't believe how quickly he is growing up. I am amazed still each day by how much he grows and learns each year. I am blessed to have him and am so proud of him.
Last night we had the opprotunity to travel to Fairfield to celebrate in my grandparents (dad's side) 60th wedding anniversary party. My mom's parents will celebrate their 60th anniversary next summer. We had a great time visiting with all of my dad's family. Instead of just having dancing/music all night they asked that each person in attendance share a talent--anything musical, something that had written, dance, etc. It was great fun seeing all the family share in what their talents were. I was very entertained and the night flew by! We didn't get to bed until 1:30 in the morning. I hope that Brad and I are as fun loving and full of energy like they are when we have been married for 60 years! They are truely a great example to all of us.