Summer 2014

Once again I find my blog woefully out of date. So much has happened since my last post I won’t be able to give everything justice, but I am going to try. Starting with the summer.

Brent and I set off on our two-day car journey to Seattle. Brent started his summer internship at Minor and James and I was finishing being pregnant (my job was harder ;) )

Mostly what I remember about that trip, beside my first pregnancy ligament pain, was the first day we did not listen to a single book on tape and hardly any music. Fourteen straight hours of talking and playing games like ‘would you rather’ and ‘who would you do?’ (very sophisticated stuff).

We made it safely to Bothell where we stayed with Brent’s aunt and uncle. They were so generous to let us stay the summer. We can say, with certainty, that we spent more time in their house this summer then they did, as their lives are very busy and take them lots of places.  

I spent the time at Kenny and Cathy’s going on walks, doing pregnancy yoga on their beautiful back deck, reading books on how to give birth naturally and waiting for Brent to come home.  Luckily for me I had two good friends to keep me company, their dogs Duke and Bogy. Throwing the tennis ball to Bogy for hours on end were some of the more exciting parts of my day.

Duke stole my shoe and hid them in the bushes!

Brent and I did have some adventures as well. We went to downtown Seattle and to the lakes. Our friends from Minnesota, the Woods, had just moved to Seattle for his fellowship so it was nice to see familiar faces and spend time with them.

One of our Favorite things to do was drive down and get Slurpees

I was lucky enough to spend some time in Utah during the summer. Being away from Brent while pregnant was one of the hardest things I have had to do in my life.  We spent six of the twelve weeks apart. With face time, texting, and Brent’s amazing ability to be self-sufficient we were able to survive. 

I drove down with my parents after they had spent some time in Seattle with us.  I still get that sick feeling when I think about leaving Brent for as long as I did, I love that man and hope we never have to be apart for that long again.  That is until he dies of old age and I spend the last five years of my life as a Cat lady.

We Met up with our super cool cousins that live there! 

Being in Utah was SO much fun! I have really grown to love my life in Minnesota but there is nothing like coming home to the people and places that I love. It was amazing to be with my two sisters who were also pregnant at the same time. Being with them and their kids made me so excited for being a mom.

They gave me the most amazing Baby shower that was well attended. I felt very loved!

My Brother Conner also got married to a wonderful girl named Brooke.  Their wedding was beautiful. Only remind me never to attend a wedding when I am that pregnant!

The Winwards, in a surprising plot twist of their life, moved back to Utah around the same time that Brent and I were spending the last couple of weeks in Utah. We love that family!

I also got to visit with my good friend Kat and meet her beautiful little girl Violet!

We were crazy enough to decided to do the drive home to Minnesota all in one day. All I remember about THAT drive was sad little towns, eating KFC box dinners while driving, and having to pee the whole way there.

We Had SO much to bring home with us Brent packed the car like a pro!

Needless to say this summer was perfect. It taught me so much about being a mom, both with spending time with my nieces and nephews and being alone in a house all day. I truly believe that God blessed me with these experiences before I had my little one so that I could feel confident and happy about my decision to be a mom. Because now, at then end of my pregnancy, that is how I feel- it only took me eight months to get there ;)