When Family Comes to Town

This past weekend some of Taylor's family was able to come into town for a visit. So we packed our schedules full of fun sites to see around the area. On Friday once Taylor got off work, we attempted to cruise out of town. I say attempted because we didn't quite miss the tunnel traffic. We arrived at our Airbnb cabin at around 10'o clock just in time to settle in. As we were all getting ready for bed there was a sudden crash in the kitchen, or should I say crashes. As we all ran in with aquisatory looks, us thinking dad had done it and him thinking we had done it, we found dozens of broken glasses all over the kitchen. And to our surprise no one had done it. The shelf had randomly decided to break, spilling out all of it's contents. It gave us all quite the fright (as Lindsay Lohan in the Parent Trap would put it). We all laughed as we tiptoed around the mess and began cleaning it up. Of course, the people that don't even drink brake all the wine glasses...how ironic. ha. 

 The next morning Taylor and I were pleased to see that our air mattress had stayed inflated the whole night! Has anyone ever had one of those camping incidences when you wake up just to find yourself laying on the floor of the tent, uninflated?! SOOOO not fun. We were very pleased that our mattress did it's job. 

For breakfast we stopped at a local dive in Twain Harte. It was something like the Pine Cone Cafe?  After breakfast we headed into Yosemite National Park. It was absolutely breathtaking driving down into the valley. The height of those rocks is incredible. We drove the loop around the valley and saw all the big Yosemite monuments. El Capitan, the waterfalls, the tunnel view of the whole valley, it was gorgeous. A lot of the time we spent in the car because in the summertime and on a weekend it's absolute madness. But we enjoyed driving around the beautiful valley! 

Arm choreography. 

Our brother Zach lives in San Fransisco so on Sunday he showed us around his city. We started out up at the Twin Peaks overlooking the whole city. From way up on the mountain the small roads and apartments have no dimension. It was weird looking down on those streets thinking, those are the steep streets we were just driving? 

We were glad to have our own little tour guide, or as our family calls it the Fun Captain, to show us around. 

 The rest of the day was spent eating lunch at Alamo Square, walking around a few parks throughout the city, and watching the sun set behind the Golden Gate Bridge. 

Can I say I die over these blooms draping the doorways of the cutest little pastel apartments? 

 Although the feet hurt at the end of the day, all that walking was well worth it! 

ONLY NINE TO GO!

This week i'm officially 31 weeks along. That's pretty absurd. This pregnancy has dragged along and flown by all at the same time! It's crazy to think that we are now in the last home stretch! 

My emotions are all over the place. Excited, anxious, giddy, a little bit nervous, but most of all, filled with an indescribable love for our little boy. I cannot wait to become a mom! 

Week: 31 weeks along! I hit my third trimester about 3 weeks ago and let me tell you, my body has definitely felt it. It's like a light switch. One day your thinking pregnancy is a breeze (second trimester is heaven sent) , then 28 weeks hits. You finally look pregnant (round plump belly), your back begins hurting from the increase in weight, and every time you walk a few feet you sound like an elephant breathing out of a straw. Tay will be in the other room and yell, "Are you okay?!" I yell back, "Of course, why?" To which he responds, "Well your just breathing really hard." hahaha. Nope. Don't be fooled. I didn't just run a marathon, I got up from the couch. Our bodies are truly amazing. Being in the middle of it you don't realize the changes it makes to create a tiny human because they are so gradual, but it really is incredible. I feel so blessed to be a part of this miracle. 

Size of Baby: According to the What to Expect app baby E is the size of a coconut this week. He is around 3 pounds and about 18 inches long. 

Developments in Baby This Week: All of his five senses are fully developed. He can see, hear, smell, touch and taste! 

Weight Gain: The gym at our apartment complex is being redone, so I have not been able to check recently. I guess I will just have to wait till my 32 week appointment next week! 

Maternity Clothes: Those bigger non-maternity clothes are no longer working out for me so well. My belly is growing bigger and bigger and quick. Before I was able to mix a little non-maternity here and there. Of course the bottoms, since about week 18 have had to be maternity. Because of this ever growing belly, maxi skirts and dresses are definitely a favorite. Pants are just getting uncomfortable now.

Sleep: I'm seeping really well. Although I still get weird dreams, and i'm talking really weird dooms day dreams, i'm getting enough sleep.  Which is good because I hear once the baby come there will not be any of that! But I would take our little boy over sleep any day. 

Food Cravings: LOVING AVOCADOS. Avocado sandwiches, burgers, toast... don't get me started. I could put avocados on everything. (Good thing it's a healthy fat) As of recently my breakfast has consisted of avocado toast, eggs, and strawberries. YUMMMM. If we ever go out to eat Taylor can always guess what i'm going to get because it always involves an avocado. I really haven't had a sweet tooth during the pregnancy, which is nice. But if I see it, i've gotta have it. So keep those brownies and double fudge sundaes out of sight. Out of sight, out of mind. 

My Symptoms: Low back pain is killer. Tay is the sweetest and always gives me back rubs. I love him so much! Bathes also help! Pregnancy brain. I will forget what I am saying in the middle of saying it. Or where i'm going in the middle of going there. So please forgive me of all the grammar errors and misspelled things on here, i'm blaming it on pregnancy brain. 

Movement: So this little guy is no longer my Irish dancer. The transition, I have to be honest, freaked me out a little bit. Again with the flip of a switch baby E stopped bumping and kicking and transitioned to slower rolls and jabs. With less and less room in there I can imagine it's getting more difficult to move around. Now instead of the bouncing we are getting rolling and pressure. It's crazy how all of the sudden an area on my stomach will be so hard. THERE HE IS! We are already playing hide and seek. 

There's nothing like the Fourth

First off, I want to say that I LOVE three day weekends. Why? Well, more time with my man of course! Secondly, I love the Fourth of July. All of that being said, this past weekend was exceptionally spectacular. 

When thinking about the Fourth of July family gatherings always come to mind. This year was a little different because we are out here in California. As much as we missed all of our family back in Utah, this lead to new opportunities and memories with some of our new friends! 

We started things off early on Thursday night with some golf with our friends, Dave and Maddie. They are also out here for a summer internship. Everyone golfed but me. My belly would have been in the way anyways. Until this night I really have never had a desire to learn. But something lit a spark in me and next year when the weather is nice again, Tay is going to teach me! 

Taylor had work off on Friday (HALLELUJAH)  and so we went into the city and did the usual touristy stuff. We weren't even ashamed. You got to get to know the city somehow, and the touristy sites are the perfect way to start. We went with our friends Steven and Jarelle and their cute little girl, Evelyn. They also brought some friends along, Hedi and Spencer. Good group. 

We started off at the Pink Ladies. Two of them were under construction (sadly) but I carefully placed the fountain in the way of them. It partially worked. 

There are so many different places to view the Golden Gate Bridge. This trip we visited another site and even walked out on the bridge about half way. One of these days we will get a picture of it with blue skis and zero clouds. ha. In my dreams. 

Ghirardelli square was definitely a must after eating lunch and all the walking. You could have a monkey pick something off the menu and you'd be delighted. You just can't go wrong. Taylor and I decided to share a mint milkshake. I am really surprised he went for the whole sharing thing. He usually gives me a strait up NO. He claims that when we share I just end up eating all of it. Which is somewhat true. I think every girl does it though. With "sharing" you don't feel as guilty. Whose with me? 

 On Saturday morning we went to a local parade in San Jose. A successful Fourth of July has to have a parade in there somewhere. The majority of it was Volvo's and old cars, which are cool, but after about 100 you want to see something new. The parade didn't let us down in the end. We had the bag pipes, the karate class, the Army tanks, the kids on their decorated bikes, all 5 scout troops in the area, and the roller derby girls. I think the most entertaining part was watching a float made of solely balloons try and pass under the drooping trees in front of us. Our Ahhhhh's and OOOOOOO's got the float through in the end. No worries. Everyone wiped the sweat off their brow after they made it out... still inflated. 

 I beat that anyone could guess what happened next. A good old American style BBQ and swimming. 

After everyone left, Taylor and I decided to see a movie. We love the movies and will go at any chance we can. 

The perfect closing to our weekend activities ended with one of the best firework shows i'd ever seen. We arrived and found a spot just minutes before they went off. Although we weren't quite sure which direction they would be going off, we ended up sitting in the perfect spot.

I'm proud to be an American! 

Aloha Part 2

While we were there, we stayed at the Grand Hyatt on the south side of the island. This side of the island is apparently the "dry side" of the island. Who would have thought... because it was still so lush. 

 We went snorkeling with the whole family at Poipu Beach, and saw some pretty amazing things. Seals, turtles, pipe fish, eels, sea urchins. It's really nice having an older brother who knows his fish. All of us would get back to the beach and ask him what everything was. What's amazing is how strong the ocean current is. We'd just be snorkeling along and i'd come up to clear my mask and we'd be clear out from the beach! 

I highly recommend Puka-Dogs. Yes, I do have to say I liked it better than J Dawgs. DELICIOUS! 

 One of the nights we were there we drove up to the Kalalau lookout. It honestly felt like we were in the movies. The views from up there are absolutely breathtaking! At the top there was quite a strong breeze and it was VERY cold. So my sister and law,  Lauren, and I lasted only a few minutes before running back to the car. The boys, well, they had to get all the pictures they could so they stayed out until the sun set. 

 One of the days the family went on a Catamaran up and down the Napoli Coast. After we booked it, they informed us that pregnant people were not aloud on the tour. Hey, i'm pregnant. So my mom and I relaxed by the pool and hung out for that part of the day. 

 Taylor practiced his camera skills while he was away. I do have to say, he is getting pretty good! He was very proud of this picture of my little brothers. 

 This is a gorgeous tree tunnel that we had to drive through every day to get back to our hotel. I'm convinced i've seen it somewhere on Pinterest before. 

The day before we left we did a helicopter tour of the island which was absolutely incredible. It is a must when you come to Kauai! The company that we flew through is the same one that supplied the helicopter for the movie Jurassic World. When our pilot told us this, I got thinking. "You mean the helicopter that crashes?!" He laughed. 

 The last day we went to the North Shore and visited the lighthouse, and Princeville. 

Kauai is an absolutely gorgeous island. It was so fun to be together as a family! Mahalo Hawaii. You were good to us.