Videos from Macinac

Mackinac Island

We just spent a lovely few days in Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island. Keith had a research presentation to give at the M.A.P.S. conference (which by the way he won a prize for best presentation). So it was all paid for and we were lucky to be able to stay at the historic Grand Hotel. The best part about this Island is that there are no cars at all! Only horses & bikes. This absence of engines left a sort of dreamy peaceful energy in the air. The whole island town was uber cute with Victorian style houses, darling manicured gardens, and super quaint shops. Did I mention the fudge shops? there were as many as well, think Starbucks in Seattle.

Highlights:

• Renting a tandem bike with a trailer in back for Dakota.
• Early morning walks to explore before anything opened.
• Room service
• Keith winning
  
• Horse ride to a fancy cookout
• Ferry boat ride
• Throwing rocks into the lake
• When the kid finally fell asleep

(Videos failed to upload - will try again later.....)

12 weeks

Yesterday was the first day in over 2 months that I didn't feel a debilitating nauseated feeling. (mine lasts all day and gets progressivly worse throughout the day unlike it's misleading name of "morning sickness")
Is 12 weeks really going to be that magical of a number? I sure hope so! I can't tell you how many times in this trimester I have said that I just wanted to die!




























Fortunately I didn't because looks whats growing!









Isn't it amazing how something so small can cause so much trouble? Which brings me to another question. How come my belly has so quickly expanded this time to accommodate something so small? I guess this one demands a 5 star luxury suite...

How many times do I have to tell you, Dakota?

Stop eating the dirt!!!!

4th of July

My brother and his beautiful new bride just drove across country from Seattle and stopped to see us for one night before heading on to Ohio. Unfortunately my camera died and this is the only shot I have of Saskia & me. Eventually I hope to get more plus the wedding pix to share but meanwhile behold our independence day squints. They sadly had to leave first thing in the morning but what a thrill to meet my fabulous new sister. She is absolutely a doll and I adore her :)

Later that day we met up at the park for our lil' ol' ward party. Don't look too excited Keith....

Dakota loved every minute of course because there was dirt!

Dad perked up once he saw watermelon.

And the kid played his first game of all-American baseball.

That night we kept things simple with just a few sparklers out front.

Maybe he'll be more into it next year... Oh well, Happy Birthday to our Nation! Go America!

My Big Feet

When I was a kid, I remember playing outside in the sprinklers with friends. When we went from grass to cement all my palls left the prettiest little crescent shaped footprints. Mine were more like big wet ovals. I was embarrassed by them so I would walk on the sides of my feet like a weird-o just in case someone noticed my prints.

But now the horrible has happened. The unthinkable. It's Positively Inconceivable!
That flat feet can get even flatter and at 30 years old one's shoe size goes up!
Do you people know just how many pairs of shoes a woman can collect in three decades? And now to have out-grown 98% of them in one year. It's all because of childbearing I tell you! Damn pregnancy and the havoc it wrecks to a woman's body!

I have just gone through my entire shoe wardrobe only to discover that it was not just a fluke on a couple pairs not fitting anymore. I am now practically shoe-less. Even my hiking boots are completely cramped. It became apparently clear to me when I had ordered about 10 running shoes from Zappos (thank goodness for their free shipping both ways) only to discover the reality of my new size.

I remember when Keith & I were newly married and he said that he once dated someone with really big feet. A size 10. Did he not realize that mine were a 9? Just one step down from that. In essence he was calling my feet pretty big, just not really big.

I have definitely without a doubt gone up 1/2 a shoe size to 9.5. I always thought that 9 was the biggest a girl could be before she became freakish foot-lady. But that's not all. I have always had "foot issues" and recently things were getting worse so I saw an orthopedic surgeon and was fitted for custom insoles. Now that half-size bigger shoe is a little tight and I should be getting future shoes in a "really big" 10!!!! I am so embarrassed. Thank goodness nobody looks at this blog anymore. I now have 3 shoes that fit. Running shoes, casual sneaks, and Earth flip flops (no support there). I can squeeze into a pair of summer heels and thats it. What do I do now? I have a glorious box of fabulous shoes the poor will love. My big freakish feet are snobs and require expensive shoes with a good fit. Replacing them however is not an easy task during a poor residency. How many shoes does a woman really need? What about winter and all those fancy events? Oh feet, I shake my fist at you.