5.19.2009

Porter and Steph's trip

Porter was going on a trip with Chris, his boss, and I got to tag along. It was so nice of them to invite me. We had such a great time!!! We went to Washington D.C., Grand Cayman and to New Orleans. It was a great break from everything - but I was also excited to get home. My wonderful mother watched the kids for me so I was able to go. Here a some pictures from our trip.


This is Chris and Porter in Nebraska where we stopped for gas on our way to D.C.


This is after we landed in D.C. We visited my cousin Mindy and her husband Ricky at their apartment in D.C. It was really fun to see her.
Here we are visiting some of the sites in D.C. There is soooo much to see. We only had a day and a half - so it wasn't too much time - but we saw as much as we could. I swear we walked like 15 miles a day -okay maybe not that much - but I started having contractions and cramping. You would need a month or more to see all of the monuments and museums there. We had a great time with just the two of us.
Natural History museum:


Here are some pictures of all the monuments we went to.
This is the White House.


This is at the World War II monument.




Washington Monument

We are at the WWII monument with the Lincoln Memorial behind us.

After about a mile or so walk, we made it to the Lincoln Memorial.
Vietnam memorial


One of the coolest things we did was go to Arlington Cemetery. We saw the changing of the guard and some other really cool things.


There is an endless sea of headstones.
Here we are at the Capital Building, I was surprised at how close you can get to it. Although, you have to be careful there are armed guards with AK-47's everywhere. I wanted to get my picture next to one of them but I was too afraid to ask.


This is the sunset over Cuba on our way to the Caymans. I was a little nervous flying over Cuba, I didn't want to get shot down!!!

The first day on the Caymans we all went on Chris's boat and he showed us the island. It was a blast!!! It is such a beautiful place. He took us down Dinosaur Ally where these huge Iguana's are swimming in the ocean, he took us snorkeling, we went to this great little restaurant on the other side of the island and he took us to Stingray City. Stingray City is this sandbar far out in the ocean where people can feed stingray's. I guess people have been doing it for 30 years, so everyday 100's of stingray's come and wait on this sandbar. I didn't get any pictures there, but it was amazing!!! I was totally freaked out at first - these huge stingray's 4-6 feet across come up to you and want food. You feed them squid and they suck it right out of your hand. They chase you if they think you have food and swim along your body and in between your legs - creepy! But is was amazing to be so close and touch these huge animals. The female ones were really aggressive, the males were a lot smaller - I even stepped on one - but it didn't sting me.
Porter in heaven - anything that has big engines and goes really fast is right up his ally!

This is where we ate lunch. Porter living it up!
It is paradise there.
Dinosaur Ally - the Iguanas sunbathe on this wall and then jump in and swim to the grove trees on the other side.
We ate at the best restaurants!!! Chris and Melody go there all the time - so they know many of the locals and the best places to eat and shop.

This is Chris and Melody. They were so nice to invite me and so wonderful to us on the trip.



This is looking south - I think- from where we stayed. We are right on 7 mile beach.
This is the Ritz, where we stayed!
This is looking North - I think.
There are two towers at the Ritz Carlton that are homes -or I guess condo's -that people own. Chris and Melody own almost the whole 2nd floor on this tower. You can see the balcony on the very right of this picture and about the next 4 balconies that go back on the left - that is their home. It is beautiful and they were so kind to let us stay there with them.
Porter took this picture for posterity! This is the first time in my life that I ordered seafood at a restaurant. He couldn't believe it. He ordered tuna the night before and it was so good the next night I ordered my own.
This is everyone at dinner for Chris's 50th bday party. There is Porter, me, Melody, Chris, Stephanie and Steve (they are Melody and Chris's best friends that were on the whole trip with us - great people) and Penny and Rafe (Rafe is Chris's cousin that lives on the island and Penny is his wife - also great people).

Leaving the Caymans :(
You can see 7 mile beach where we stayed.
We made a stop in New Orleans on the way home. This is on Bourbon street- I don' recommend going there. It was interesting to see, but not a place I would ever want to go back.
It was a whirlwind of a trip but it was so fun to spend time with Porter. I missed my kids and it was so great to pick them up and hug them when I got back.


















5.08.2009

Hmm....Where to begin?

The biggest news is we are pregnant!!! I am just over 18 weeks and due on October 7th. I have been VERY sick but it is finally starting to ease just a bit. I can at least get off the couch and 1/2 way function. We were hoping for a girl - but it's a boy. Porter told me from day one it would be a boy - I kept hoping for a girl - but it was very clear on ultrasound that it's a boy. I think Heavenly Father knew I could only handle the drama from one girl. :) But we are so excited!!!

These ultrasound pictures are from 15 weeks.
The bum shot!





So, I only had a girl named picked out - of course - so if anyone has any good suggestions - I need help!!!




Let's see, what else has been happening...... Courtney was able to go to state in swimming. She's been doing so well, it is so fun to watch her swim.

Swimming the butterfly
Here she is with one of her coaches and her relay team.
Jake is still playing soccer and busy with all of his friends. Tanner has started soccer and is so excited. He's watched Courtney and Jake do all of their things - and now it's finally his turn to play. He's pretty clueless out there - but he loves it. He gets ready at for soccer at 8 a.m. - even when his game is at 6:30 at night. Courtney was able to go to Florida for almost a week with Grandma Cynde for her birthday. She had a blast! Lucky girl.
Porter and I just got back from a whirlwind trip that was awesome! I was able to tag along on one of his work trips from Washington D.C. to the Caymans to New Orleans and back to California for a week. I will have to post pics in a new post because my computer is being weird and won't let me move the pictures around. My parents watched the kids - bless them- and we had a great trip.
Hopefull I will keep blogging - this preganacy thing is not for me. Sometimes I wish I were a polar bear - sleep through the whole thing!