The Japanese Bowling Baby Shower

I am always in the mood for a unique type of shower, and this one did not disappoint in being unique!

Boys vs Girls... 

the girls won with style and charm

the boys won with speed

neither team had real skill but we had fun!

The baby didn't even mind that I ate food that was on fire! 

Must be I should have eaten more Japanese food throughout my pregnancy... maybe I would have had less heartburn. 

How much Sake can you fit in your mouth?... or on your shirt?

Not enough.

Trisha: "Ummm... what is this? And I have to do what?... without gloves?!"

Kurt: "Uhh... I had hoped not to open that... and have it be intended for my wife."

Ready or not, 4 more weeks and this monkey is coming out!

Year Two!

Year Two! Click Here!

Well, I know the video is a little bit late, but better late than never.  Click on the "Year Two! Click Here" and you'll be redirected to youtube to see some of our best pictures from our second year traveling.  As usual, turn it up!

Yeah, That's My Wife

So, we were looking through some old family photos and look what we stumbled across.  Guys, you know how you always tell your wives how pretty they are, and that they could be a beauty queen?  That's right, I married an actual beauty queen.

 Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that 2003 was the last year of the "Miss Martin" competition, so.....she is still the reigning "Miss Martin."

33 Weeks and Counting....

 

For those of you who are keeping tabs on how soon until our bomb drops....well, here ya go.  She's beautiful, isn't she?

I've been gaining weight too.

Winter Wonderland

Kurt and I went to Lake Michigan to go cross country skiing. Surprisingly, there was not an ounce of wind... a rare thing for winters on Lake Michigan.

 

In the summer, the water goes to about that rock to the left of Kurt. 

 

Kurt was humoring me to take another picture of him...

...then he fell because I wanted him to reposition himself further away from me...

...Kurt resigned. He broke his pole when he fell... and all for a picture!!

Thanks for trying babe!

 

A picture of the Felt Mansion, which is where we got married. 

We love this little house!!

Birds, bacon, and babies

We have moved back to Michigan and have been very busy adjusting to the new job, new house, new baby on the way, and the idea of staying in one spot for more than 3 months.

Interestingly enough, I don't have many pictures to show all of those new ideas!

 

One constant in our life: Kurt eating bacon!

How do you get Estelle to want to take a picture? ... You don't!

Me Gusta Chicharrones

What happens when you have a week off and the desire to be warm? You go to Mexico!! 

 

Technically we can term this vacation as our last minute escape before the baby comes... 

"a baby moon"

This is proof that Kurt can read... and finish a book!

Kurt was able to surf. It was funny how most of my pictures had Kurt falling... NOT surfing! (I just had to make a collage of just some of the bad pics!)

 

Ok, one good one!

What else do you do in Mexico but read books, go for walks, and watch sunsets? That pretty much sums up our activities for the week.

 

After a week of sun rays, we are ready to go back home and face the cold weather. (Ok, we would rather stay in Mexico but you can't be on vacation forever)

 

Baby Bump Update

26 weeks

One thing I realized... I don't like shopping to begin with and I REALLY don't like shopping for maternity clothes. Think of the ugliest thing you have seen, and they probably made it into a maternity shirt.

Sunny Days

Sunny days are a frequent part of Colorado's weather. It can get really cold and then it is in the 50's. 

I do love warm weather...

A hike with Vickie and Rocky. 

You aren't a true resident of Colorado unless you have a dog!!

A visitor!

My mom came to visit me this past week.

 

True to most of her visits, I make her go exploring with me and try new things. 

 

The new thing this time: snowshoeing... at 10,000 feet!!

 

It was an amazingly sunny and calm day in Rocky Mountain National Park.  The views made all the hard work of snowshoeing uphill worth it.

 

Our lunch spot.

Trying to get some sun while giving the baby a stretch. Good thing I was hiking with my mom! We are about the same pace.

Cameron Pass

Thanks to one of our co-workers that let us stay in her cabin, we were able to escape civilization for a while and reconnect... no cell phone, no internet... just the two of us!

We tried out snowshoeing for the first time and decided it is a lot of work!! We were huffing and puffing but didn't blow any houses down... we just tried to breathe to stay alive.

Our first hike of the day we went to Zimmerman Lake. It was a cold day but the typical Colorado sunshine makes anything bearable.

Michigan Ditch was next in line for our hiking.  We really enjoyed the flatness of this hike!

 

A view of the Nokhu Crags

 The next day, our hike had not even begun and I was looking for a place to pee... perks of being pregnant.  At least my jacket hides me well!!

We tried snowshoeing to Lake Agnes, but Lake Agnes still remains a mystery because we never found it!  But, we had some pretty good views along the way.

Steamboat Springs

 

We have had a few days off in a row so we thought we would take the opportunity to explore Colorado a bit more.  Little did we know before we arrived, but Steamboat Springs had just been dumped on with 5 feet of snow!

It was amazingly beautiful and fun to be in the snow!

Strawberry Hot springs is near Steamboat. Since we didn't have our skiing gear (much to our dismay) we went hot tubbing in the wild.  

Clothing was optional...