Little Miss Yellowstone

Our little lady has made her way, "in utero" to Yellowstone National Park, WY. Yippie! Way to go :)

We went to Yellowstone with our neighbors yesterday, and we had lots of fun. We left early (that explains the long sleeves), and as the day progressed, so did the heat. Honestly, it was a beautiful day and the heat wasn't that bad, nor were the other tourists.

We started off at the West Entrance of Yellowstone and proceeded south to Old Faithful. There are geysers everywhere, so we took a lot of pit stops along the way for viewing and bathroom breaks. (Pregnancy is AWESOME!) We eventually made our way to Old Faithful around 11am only to find that it had just erupted and the next one was not until around noon. So we walked around the other geysers on the site and stayed to eat our lunch from home...pasta...yum, yum. The timing was just about perfect. We sat on nice comfy benches in the shade and ate lunch while the tourists baked in the sunshine. And when Old Faithful finally erupted around noon, we had a perfect view. (This picture is NOT Old Faithful, but once you've seen one geyser...you've seen 'em all.)

Afterwards, we continued toward the...east? to some of the other geysers where we drove over the Continental Divide and around Yellowstone Lake, then north to some awesome and breathtaking waterfalls! We stopped at the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and Daniel wanted to take pictures on the rocks over the cliff face....yeah, I reminded him the barrier is for people like him :). (In my defense, there was a SWEET rock just beyond the barrier that was BEGGING to have me sit on it! Now, why would they have just left it there? I bet they left it there just for people like me! "If I can see it, I can climb it!")

We made a complete loop, and it took us 8 hours! There were still tons more to see! Yellowstone is huge!

 

Some of you may be wondering if we ran into any rogue bears (as in the kind that eat people) or other wildlife...the answer is no to the first and a yes to the second. We didn't see much, but we figured from the time of year and the major lack of bark on many of the trees that the Rut (mating season) is beginning, and the Bison bulls and Elk stags were loners during this time. The few males we did see were probably looking for some ladies. (Ooh, you didn't tell me she was a lady!) All in all, we saw bison, elk, a coyote, a squirrel, and some little baby cut-throat trout. We did see this really cool Osprey that I had to take a picture of. Daniel wanted to see a bear and had a special call for them. (Think of a really bear-i-fied "suey, suey" pig call.) I wish I could imitate through script, but sadly it was one of those, you-just-had-to-be-there moments. Speaking of Daniel...he was on some kind of special energy kick....maybe it was because it was his first time, or maybe it's because...well, it's just Daniel. Either way, he was a hoot (*ahem* Define "hoot".) the entire time.

Baby girl also had fun...Even  though she didn't see anything, at least she heard her Dad acting like a nut (definition accepted.) :)

Beating the Heat

We thought the "hottest" part of the summer was behind us here in Rexburg, Idaho, but this week is a week of lower to mid nineties. I know, I know...most of the family in Alabama think we're whimps, but being six months pregnant and no air conditioner...IT'S HOT!!! Let's just say I have a routine of putting my feet in cold water to lower my body temp.
Daniel and I found this cool and free swimming spot in a nearby town (St. Anthony). It's only a ten minute drive and its fresh water from the Henry's Fork of the Snake River. The current is strong in some parts, so (I) can't go out that far, but Daniel enjoys pushing the limits...needless to say. You can jump off a homemade diving board or go to their homemade sandbar, but it gets deep fast and also very very very cold. The water temp has to be around 60 degrees...maybe colder, but boy is it refreshing! Also, it takes off all the weight for me and I feel great.
I had been swimming with a friend at the University's indoor pool, but they closed it for two weeks, so this is our next best thing! No water park entries, no chlorine, just pure back woods Idahoan river fun! We plan on going there everyday till the weather cools off or when school starts back...which ever comes first. :)

P.S. Baby girl is kicking and doing well. Measuring on target and her heartbeat is 150bpm!

And PINK is the winner!!!!

Ladies and Gents...family and friends, we are having a Girl!!!
We were both thinking it would be a boy, but when I started having friends say, "I thought my first was a boy (dreams, names, feelings, etc.), but then...BAM, no little wee wee."  So, then I started having doubts.
Needless to say, Daniel stuck to his view that it would be a boy. Then that great and wonderful day came on July 25 and we saw a little acrobat doing yoga stretches and being camera shy...one word. GIRL
She is super active, and sits pretty low. Either that or she's standing up and is kicking low. :) I feel her a lot throughout the day, but more during the night. (Are we going to have a night owl on our hands?) Everything looked great in the ultrasound and she is healthy and kicking. We couldn't get a good 3-D pick cause she moved around too much. We are ok with it, though.
I can't wait to meet her and hold her and play with our growing family.