Port Aransas 2011

Our last hoorah before we attempt to be responsible parents was a uber fun trip to the beach with some friends. We spend 4 days in Port Aransas, it was awesome. We are so blessed to have such an amazing group of friends, live 4 hours from the beach, and be able to do fun stuff like this. Now I was going to post some really funny pictures of my ginormous self on the beach not because they are cute but because they make me laugh at how very pregnant I look. I now think the reason you aren't suppose to travel at a certain point in your pregnancy isn't for safety but because no one wants to see a 32 week pregnant lady in a bathing suit. It ain't pretty.

So here's the crew:
Rachel and Paul

Becky and James

Peter and Brandie

Ryan and Elana

And us


Hanging out! And yes, I know, my hat is awesome ;) Not really, but after a scare of what I thought were contractions the day before and the doctor telling me to stay out of the heat and well hydrated I wasn't taking any chances.


Ate some delicious sea food of course!


Woo Hoo- look at those hotties on the beach!


Can't remember the name of this game, just know it got pretty intense!


One morning we got up early to walk the beach and then sat and watch sea turtles and dolphins in the water.


The dogs loved the beach!


Peter totally won the He-Man award, while out in the ocean he got a shark hook through his leg! Like it went in him and back out- he got "caught"! It was so scary! As crazy as it was, the crazier part is that the boys just took him to hardware store to get pliers and they clipped the ends off the hook and pulled it right out of him! The moral of that story is that Paul and Ryan and an apparently really rough looking fisherman in the parking lot of a tiny hardware store can really save you some money and time by performing medical procedures ;)



A trip to Port Aransas without a picture in the shark's mouth well, it just isn't a trip at all. Doing our vacation duty of a group shot in the shark's mouth


Sunburned, exhausted, and happy- last group shot just hanging out at the house


Our last night there the boys treated us by shopping for and making one super awesome meal while we laid on the couch and watch Legally Blonde- doesn't get much better than that!



So, yeah it was great and just the perfect last trip of the summer. No more traveling for us for a while. Weird to think our next trip will be with a teeny tiny in the back seat!

Goodbye Job.

So today is my last day of work. It is bitter sweet, mostly sweet, like 95% sweet because as most of you know my job was draining me, but it is like 5% sad because I think one of my callings is to help those in need- and people trying to quit smoking are absolutely in need. I wanted to write about my job so I don't just look back on it as the soul-sucking job that wore me out.

I started August of 2007 at American Cancer Society where I worked with an awesome group of people. It was super social, nearly everyone in my same boat- mid twenties with a psychology degree just trying to figure out what we wanted to do with our lives (and what seems to be a relatively useless degree). When I first started we had lots of free time so it was a lot like sitting around for 8 hours with a bunch of friends. We would just hang out, take long walks around the building, scope out who was having the best pot lucks in the building and crash their party. I made some really good friends that I plan on keeping around for a very long time (Yes, I am talking to you, Kim, Dinah, and John) Then things started to pick up, not as much free time, I began working from home. Working from home is amazing. I mean, come on, no make-up, no shower, no problem. I was in slob heaven. But it was really hard to go from a super social environment to my only social outlet during the day was Molly, and although she is cute, she's not so good with carrying a conversation.

So then I got the phone call that while I was on vacation in Las Vegas in 2009 there was a big fancy meeting to tell everyone ACS Quitline was no more and we would all be laid off. Yikes. We had an opportunity to interview with our competitor company who had basically bought us out. So I got a job doing the exact same thing for a company called Free and Clear based out of Seattle. Yeah for not being unemployed!

So I've been with Free and Clear now for nearly 2 years. It is a business, and the difference in working for a business and a non-profit company are very clear. It is very numbers-driven and a big focus of productivity and my little bleeding heart just simply doesn't do so hot in that environment. That is why I haven't been very passionate about my job for a while and it's been really hard to stick with it this long.

So I have been writing this all through today and now I have 30 minutes left of my shift. I probably could squeeze in one more call but the last lady I spoke with was great. Our main focus of the call was talking about she had quit smoking and not because the medication she was on. Building her confidence up so she could remain smoke free after she stopped using the medication. She ended the call by saying "This was a great session." For those that work in any kind of social work field you know it's not often you get that kind of positive reinforcement so I think I am going to end my coaching career remembering that and not some of the less positive (okay, I will say it, down right mean and nasty) clients I get to deal with.

Yeaaa for having a job I met amazing friends, could work from home, help people, but most importantly my heart is swollen with happiness that we have work and planned and God has blessed us so that my job is now going to be to take care of my daughter.

Oklahoma City Baby Shower!

This weekend we drove to Oklahoma City to stay with one of my best friends, Sara and her husband Drew. Sara is definitely the hostess with the mostess and she took good care of us all weekend. Also, she threw me a baby shower. It was just perfect and I just felt so loved. I've said it before and I will say it again, I am just so blessed with wonderful friends in my life. When I got back to Oklahoma it is especially nice because I am surrounded by people that have been in my life for a very very long time and there just isn't anything like a 10+ year friendship.

Here are my amazing hostesses- Sara, Holly, Marie, Lisa


Sara with her masterpiece of a spread...


What a sweet and beautiful group of ladies!


Cutest diaper cake I've ever seen!

Bubble bath punch!

And of course we played a few games!

So much cute stuff!


Of course she got some Sooner gear!


Everyone was so generous and I got so much cute stuff!



So it was a wonderful weekend with even more wonderful people and weird to think that our next trip to Oklahoma will be with little miss Ruby. Thank you to everyone who came and made the day so special!!!! Love you all!

Maternity Pictures

My friend Jennifer Weeks took these pictures and I would definitely recommend her if anyone is looking for a good photographer. Her email is JWeeksphotography.com. Thanks Jenn!

Third trimester!

Holy Moley, the count down is on like donkey kong! I am 28 weeks, about 7 months! She will be here before we know it, especially since we have something planned every single weekend from now till the end of August! Lots of fun trips we are trying to squeeze in before my "do not travel far" 32 week suggestion- in which I will be laying on the beach in Port Aransas at 32 weeks. Yeah, I'm such a rebel ;) So I just wanted to update of getting ready for little Miss Ruby (finally picked a name!)...

She is a dancing queen and I can feel her move all throughout the day, which has still not lost it's novelty. Best.thing.ever. Now she is kicking strong enough that you can see movement on the outside of my stomach which is freeeaky and reminds me a little too much of a certain scene from Aliens...

Bump shot!


The nursery is coming along. Got the crib ready and everything else is close enough I feel good about it. Still have to finish the art work, figure out what I'm going to do for a changing table, and organize the closet. The room will be pretty empty because the closet is ginormous so I'm just going to have most everything in there.
It's not done, but here's what we got so far...



One if the pieces of art I made her, the other wall has a bunch of frames on it with some art we are working on slowly but surely. It's been really fun to come up with stuff and work on it together.


We talk about Ruby every single day and how excited we are to meet her. It has been so fun just fantasizing about what she will look like and her personality. We've been feeling like uber responsible adults lately, bought a super practical family car (yeah, that 1 car family business made me nervous-in case of emergency Andy needs more than his bike), got ourselves some life insurance, and lots of research on like every baby product out there. Whew! Lots of preparation to keep us busy but we are also trying to do lots of fun stuff and hang out with our friends a lot and soak up our last child-less summer.

Can't wait to love on our sweet little girl.

Weirdness

So I doubted I would ever be able to say these words but I say them with great pleasure- We are a one car family.

Now for most people that wouldn't be a big deal but our drive way has basically been a car lot since we moved here. At one point we were up to 5 cars. Yes, we are those trashy neighbors that you hate and are junking up the neighborhood. I always felt bad about it. Well, one by one we sold the cars. Now we are down to my Mazda! Now, we do still have the Nova, but I am not counting it since it is barely even recognizable as a car. No floor, motor, suspension, steering, seats, it is a metal shell. And with our baby girl coming the Nova probably won't get much attention for awhile.
Poor neglected Nova...


We were down to the Mazda and the truck. The truck was ginormous, old, and not much to look at but boy how we loved that truck. It made many a project possible, it helped move more people than I can count, and was just an awesome reliable truck. We felt okay about selling it though because we don't have any more big house projects planned any time soon, gas is so expensive, and Andy sold it for more than he bought it for 4 years ago which is pretty awesome.

Good bye truck, you will truly be missed!


So eventually Andy will buy a more family friendly car but for now he has been taking the bus and riding his bike to work which he oddly loves. Times are a changin that's for sure and I'm loving it!

Visit from the fam!

What a fun weekend we had hanging out with my whole family. My brother came down early and spent the week with us. It was really nice because I hardly ever get to spend time with him. Then Friday my parents drove down so we were all together and did lots of fun activities.

Saturday morning we rented a boat and spent some time of Lake Travis, it was perfect.




Even Miss Molly came with us!

This was with two applications of sun screen too! Eek! We both got burned pretty badly. Totally worth it though....


Then Sunday we went bowling!




So it was a great weekend and I always love spending any time I can with my family since they are so far away. Love you guys!