I’m going to do this post in a photo essayish style. Mostly because going through our pics there were just so many good ones. And, all worked so well to tell the story of our recent getaway to…

Located on the Oregon Coast, about twenty miles north of Tillamook, Rockaway is a typical small beach town. It is home two two campgrounds often rented out for large parties. Camp MacGruder is where I spent five consecutive Mother’s Day weekends as a Girl Scout and Twin Rocks is the site of Gladstone School Districts annual Outdoor School, where the sixth grade spends one week studying birds, tidepools, ponds, beaches, plants and survival. Of course, my real affinity for Rockaway is my parents beack house. Purchased in 1998, we began vacationing there the summer before I went into eighth grade. Through the years this house has been opened up to more people then I’ve even met, most notably the Gladstone Boys Varsity Soccer Team for five or six years running.

We left Edmonds about 11am last Friday and arrived around 4pm. The trip was dreary, as it poured the whole way there, but our timing was pretty good considering I didn’t have to stop once! Saturday the weather was more or less the same. Tony snapped this picture on the beach…I think while I was in the shower? 

Between Tony and I, my parents, Trista and her friend Gabby (juniors who are almost seventeen), Alyssa and her friend Kristi (eighth graders who are almost fourteen) and our golden retriever lab, Squeaker, we had a full house and some antsy teenagers. We did a lot of puzzles:

In the afternoon we ventured to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Nothing new for anyone except Tony…but free cheese samples, ice cream and a chance to get out of the house appealled even the girls.

Being Spring Break in Oregon, the place was packed and cheese production was on hiatus! Still, Tony attempted to snap a good photo of us in front of the production line.

He didn’t have much luck. My mom stocked up on some specialty cheeses that made Tony very happy. Weird things like Black Pepper Chili Cheese Cheddar and others I don’t even remember. We all had ice cream, I had Marionberry Pie, my mom had Mango Sorbet, Tony had a Strawberry Cone and I think all the girls has chocolate chip cookie dough. Actually, Trista didn’t, she had a massive pepperoni stick (which we also brough home to my dad). The rest of the day was spent altogether consuming copious amounts of the first season of Project Runway. tony and I were avid watchers of the third season but no one else had seen the show before. I think this was the first time my mom has ever watched a full reality show! Below is how we spent a good ten or so hours

Sunday was absolutely gorgeous! Tony and I started the day taking Squeaker for a walk on the beach.

Poor dog is really struggling and my mom almost put her down before the weekend, but after giving her a nice bath decided she should have one last visit to what is probably her favorite place.

Either thirteen of fourteen years old, it’s hard for Squeaker to get into the back of the car and she’s too large for my dad to help her. She’s constantly too hot and pants non-stop as if unable to breathe properly. Plus she has arthritis. I got worried we’d walked her too far when she got kinda weezy and wanted to just stand in all the muddy puddles as we made our way back through town.

The sun brought everyone out, from our beach house as well as the campground. One lady flagged us down (I swear just because I’m pregnant everyone thinks I’m who they should tell all their business to) to remark on the weather and how happy the couple getting married back at the campground was. Taking into consideration the weather at the rehearsal the day before, we were not surprised!

I found this sea plant that he was using as a whip. I don’t know the scientific name but Tony does…part of growing up in a marine biology lab. It’s fascinating to walk on the beach with him as he explains everything both from a scientific perspective and from that of a little boy who knows nothing else. Look at this pose my boy struck for the camera!

While I did spend some time exploring the beach and even walked down to put my feet in the surf, I will admit the majority of the my time was spent here. In my defense, Sunday marked my official entrance into the third trimester!

Before long Alyssa and Kristi came down to visit us. Alyssa is at the age where she hates all photos of herself but I love this action shot and am sure she’ll appreciate the pictures later. Perhaps much later…

Tony followed the girls down to the water to show them the tiny jellyfish I found…he was familiar with them and said sometimes they light up at night and were the basis for flourescent lightbulbs. I wanted to take them back and see them light up in the bathroom but Tony said they follow the lunar cycle. Note from Tony: I couldn’t tell which jelly larvae they were in particular, but figured aequorea was as good a guess as any and at least I knew a bit about them. The flourescent lightbulb stuff was what remained of my attempts to explain GFP and I don’t think the lunar cycle is true (?) but the cute little fellas seemed happier on the beach. Nice to see Ashley absorbed some of it. We also saw reams of velella, which I was unfamiliar with but at least recognized as a cousin of the portugese man-o-war.

The following is a little series I snapped on Tony running back up the beach…to his girls. In the first, he is the one off to the right.

Later my dad made an appearance. He had been at the house tending to my mom who, having an entire week off of both work and school, had finally allowed herself to get sick. She slept until noon which I have no memory of her ever doing. we were all glad she had the opportunity to just stay in bed and have people cater to her for awhile. And by awhile, I mean a[little]while. By dinner she was us helping Alyssa and Kristi cook us a spaghetti dinner…that she wouldn’t yet be able to eat.

My dad ventured down to deliver Kristi’s cell phone, which had apparently been ringing off the hook.

If you’re wondering where Trista and Gabby were all weekend, it’s because they spent a lot of time napping on the couches. Of course, this could have something to do with the fact they shared a room with Tony and I who both snore. Mine, I swear, is pregnancy related. Right?

This last picture was taken Monday morning and I have to include it just because Alyssa is my kid sister and who else loves her enough to embarass her so. Anyways, she knows this is much better than the one I took of her still in bed! Plus, it captures that teenage attitude she’s perfected so well.

Monday we attempted to leave at 11:30. The first we went back after four or so block because I forgot my birth certificate my mom had brought for me. The second we got almost a mile away before we passed Trista and Gabby trekking back from somewhere they wouldn’t admit to going (my dad informed us a boy from school was staying at nearby Lytle Lake) and gave them a ride back to the house. We finally got on the road at twelve. In Seaside we stopped to get some salt water taffy from this place called The Buzz. Seriously, it’s the best, most flavorful taffy you’ve ever had. I strongly recommend Caramel Popcorn and Cinnamon Roll. We made it home about six thirty…after stopping at Tony’s work, the bank and Fred Meyers. It was a wonderful weekend and so nice to spend some time with my family for the first time since Christmas. For those wondering, or not aware, there was one missing member. My brother Jordan, recently turned twenty, was home with his car getting a new transmission (and I’m sure enjoying having the house to himself).

I was going to write about what I’ve been up to since then, but this post took forever! After our site was somehow (perhaps even maliciously) deleted either yesterday or this morning, I am just grateful this post was still possible and all our others were able to be resurrected. I’m also borderline elated to have those island pictures gone from the top. Not exactly what I’d consider flattering…especially the first one.

Dunno if anyone made it this far, but kudos if you did!

There are a wealth of people visiting from san juan update, so i’d like to say thanks to all of you for making our quick trip to san juan island this weekend a big success. I hadn’t been up there in a year or so and it was Ashley’s (and Ali’s) first visits to Friday Harbor. Special thanks to everyone in the hardware store Sunday morning as we searched for a replacement tire to get us back to the mainland. The can of fix-a-flat did the trick!

We didn’t have a ton of time, but mom and I showed Ashley as much goodness as we could pack in… king’s, roche harbor for donuts, english camp in all its muddiness, alpacas, lime kiln, baby sheep, pelindaba, hungry clam, and the aforementioned hardware store.

So thanks again to everyone who made us feel at home. See you again when the little one is born!

these two are for angela (mine’s the bunny):

Today my goals were to make put a roast in the slow cooker for dinner and clean the bathroom. I’ve been working on setting the bar low so as not to overwhelm myself and fall into the all or nothing thinking to which I am so prone. By eleven I had dinner cooking, the bathroom clean (shower, toilet, mirrors and all) as well as the kitchen floor swept and mopped. And two loads of laundry done. I guess this is typical mom/wife stuff…but that’s not where I am yet so I’m feeling very accomplished. And my back is very sore

This week Tony is working long hours again so he can take Friday and Monday off for us to go to Rockaway. That leaves me a lot of free, alone, time on my hands and no excuse not to attack my to do list. Or at least make one. Right now it’s raining so I’m off the hook for cleaning my car but the first hint of sun and I’m determined to get my butt out there. I always forget how energizing and therapuetic cleaning can be and how calming a clean environment feels. Oddly, making a bed can feel like organizing your whole life!

oh no, not i. i will survive.

as ashley mentioned, this week was a long one. she didn’t drop linkage though, so support the cause and visit ironmaster.com. we made it to the island, and settled into my ma’s cozy apartment at the friday harbor labs. we looked in the seatables for a bit so ali got her first in utero exposure to all the lovely animals.

the ferry ride was fun, albeit a bit rainy:

and a bonus for balyssa:

spring is almost upon us here in the northwest; the days are getting (what seems to be) exponentially longer and we’ve been glimpsing the sun in ever increasing doses. gone are the days of snowstorms and windstorms (knock on fallen wood), and some evenings the smell of back porch grillings lingers in the air. summer, oh beacon of light and warmth, we anticipate you.

in other news, march madness and the $270 prize a winning bracket brings. i’ve got kansas over ohio state, ash has ohio state over kansas, and ali has oregon over north carolina. we’ve all lost a final four team already (wsu for me n ash, duke[?!?] for ali).

oh yea, and we redesigned. we’ve gone the wordpress route because of the wealth of plugins and whatnot. this look is based on a template called beast-blog with some massive css and png work by yours truly. as usual, it looks best in firefox but if you’re using ie7 it shouldn’t be too bad. for those of you still using ie6, (we see the logs, we know who you are…) get a new browser. windows update should take care of it.

hope all is well in your neck of the proverbial woods. much love.

Green has been my favorite color for a number of years. Even as a child (or, what they now refer to as "tween") I was told how good green looked on me. My eyes are hazel but when I wear green they tend to match. I also went throguh a "Green M&M" phase at fourteen. I think it had something to do with what particular candy coated chocolate was supposed to do "to" you, but I think it had more to do with being in junior high. Anyway, St. Patrick’s day is a holiday I’ve gone all out for in the past. This year I’m just thankful to have something green to wear. My mom sent me this shirt for Valentine’s Day and I was so happy it fit and was super comfortable and shows I’m pregnant without that whole "maternity" look. Then I found it the shirt was picked out by Ms. Alyssa Lewis. So much thanks to them both for this new addition to my lacking wardrobe. Please excuse the bad lighting, etc. of the pic. Tony and I are hurrying out the door to catch a ferry to San Juan Island and he’s getting antsy at me as I type this!

Belly (ugh, stretch marks…)

This is Tony’s favorite shirt!

Christmas 1986: I am two years and two and a half months. My dad is twenty-five.

I’m not sure when this is, but I know I was washing the car so probably summertime…of ‘87?

I woke up really early this morning for no apparent reason…like 6:45. Ali was up and busting around though, which she usually isn’t in the morning so maybe that was it. I took out the garbage, something Tony usually does but forgot to last night (when he came to bed at 2:30). I can’t open the garage door so I’m sure I was quite the site lugging the garbage can out the front door at 7:15 in Tony’s sweatpants and t-shirt. It was nice to be up and somewhat "about" for that early time of the day. I’ve forgotten how much I enjoy and, to a degree, thrive off that quiet peacefulness. It reminds me of getting up at five for Subway the last year and a half. Getting there by six, and having to use the bus system to do so, was often a trial (especially through a Seattle winter) but I know I’m a stronger person because of it. There’s also a very specific sense of calm that comes at 10am knowing you’ve already logged four hours of hard days work. And that you will get off before the dreaded darkness sets in!

So now it’s almost noon and I resent the world joining me with all their noise and bustle. I am, however, happy that it’s Friday, that Tony is finishing Ironmaster today and that he can de-stress for a couple days. I’m also hoping the clouds burn off soon so maybe I can clean my car. I spilled a smoothie I made with ice, yogurt, chocolate Carnation breakfast mix and a banana in there….um, a week and a half ago? I wiped it up with a towel but was late to class and it’s been grossing me out ever since. It’s stuff like that, when I’m not exactly sure HOW to clean it, WHAT to do that a) I tend to ignore the problem and b) feel very inadequate and childish. When did I become a grown-up? Eighteen? Twenty-one? When I left for college? When I began supporting myself? When I got my own apartment? When that stick read positive?

Twenty-six weeks on Sunday

That title is kind a of joke to Tony, who’s been struggling all week keeping the days straight. There is good reason for the boy’s confusion though. To alleviate some of our money struggles he took on an extra project at work, updating a site called Ironmaster. For the last week or so he’s been working almost non-stop…and since his work tends to take place on the world wide web in the first place, it’s hard enough to separate him from it. There’s continuous emails alerting him to bugs or tests in need of fixing or running….RIGHT NOW. His boss has a tendency to send emails anywhere from midnight to four am. If awakened this crazy kid will not only make a point to check his email, he will even go so far as to do the work. This makes for one a tired boy and a confused girl…constantly waking up to either an empty bed or a boy quietly sneaking in and out. The most used phrases in our bedroom are "Where are you going?" "Where were you?" "Buddy, what are you doing?" and "What time did you go to sleep?" Then again, my need for sleep has grown exponentially, so I tend to find anyone’s ability to go without rather incredulous. Bottom line, what a great daddy Ali has and partner I have found. His ability to abstain will no doubt come in quite handy very soon.

In other news, I am very glad to be done with school for the moment. Still waiting on two of my grades, but was happily surprised to get a 4.0 in my ethics class. This afternoon I am going to see my nutritionist in Kenmore. At the start of my pregnancy/recovery I was seeing her once a week but now only go monthly and it’s more of a check-in. As eating is something I’ve struggled greatly with, this support has been phenomenal (and necessary). I’m very grateful this service was something Tony was able to allow me to continue when I stopped working. 

I’m going to go walk on the treadmill now, finish watching The View and then maybe see what was on Tyra this morning. After I get dressed I’m going to try to take some new pics to add to this post. Just this last week I’ve gotten much bigger and suddenly can no longer see below/past my belly. A couple nights ago Tony cut and painted my toenails, because I really can’t get near them these days. And he did a good job!

Lastly, I’d just like to pass word on about a 14-part documentary series starting on HBO tonight. It’s titled Addiction: Why Can’t They Stop? and airs at 9pm. The series is going to continue all weeked and I have heard, though not confirmed, that HBO will be free to all this weekend only. The series will also be available on HBO OnDemand, as will as iTunes. To learn more click here

[Edit: Photos taken and uploaded...check out all of our pics.]

So it’s finals week and I am so glad to just be getting this done and over with. I started out taking seventeen credit hours this term, but about halfway through downgraded to twelve. I just turned in a fifteen page research paper on, fittingly, parenting students. Very interesting topic. I have a final in just over an hour, for my Drug and Alcohol Survey class but already feel about fifteen pounds lighter having the paper that’s been hanging over my head all term out of the way! And "feeling lighter" begins to carry a lot more meaning when you’re six and a half months pregnant. Tomorrow I have a presentation for my Ethics class. Luckily, I’m pretty blessed as far as public speaking is concerned and have been able to wing such assignments in the past quite successfully. All I need to do tongiht is find a clip of therapy gone wrong. Anyone know of any good movies/scenes? Tony and I brainstormed and came up with What About Bob? (No good clips on YouTube) and Tobias from Arrested Development. Also either Analyze This or That.

After tomorrow I’m free as a bird until the second of April. I’m taking thirteen credits spring quarter. A little wiser this time around, I’m taking one course online, and three seminar style classes (all early in the term to avoid to much in the last moth or two of pregnancy). I should only have to spend one afternoon a week on campus.

Over the break Tony and I are going to Rockaway in Oregon to spend a weekend with my family at our beach house. We are also probably going to visit his mom, Billie, at the Friday Harbor Marine Labs next weekend. My other goals include: cleaning my car both inside and out, clean/organize the house, finish registering and decide what we actually want/need versus what we just thought was cute at the moment, finish organizing all my clothes and hiding away the ones that I don’t anticipate wearing for quite awhile, get some clothes to wear for the warmer weather/larger months, take more pictures, spend time OUTSIDE, write more in this blog as well as in general. Specifically, a gratitude list I’ve been working out in my head for this pregnancy. For example, that fact that looooong shirts are back in again and I can hopefully continue to wear normal[ish] clothes through June.

Alright, gotta go do some last minute refreshing for this test. Or maybe just have a snack….  

well, ali was doing a diver’s pose (the legs straight up towards the head one) so we couldn’t get a 3d shot of her face. we did get some good shots of her strong legs and her little butt as well as this gem:

that’s our little girl’s heart, trucking away. more to come…

hopefully tomorrow we get some good 3d views of ali to share.

and hopefully she’s not turned into a grape. or a jersey mikes sub.