The last weekend in August...

Friday and Saturday of last week had blistering temperatures. Yes, 95-100F is blistering for anyone, even me, who prefers the sun over cloud any day. On Saturday afternoon, we headed to the beach along with most of the surrounding population. The drive was slow but the car had a/c so no complaints. The closest beach was packed and had no parking spaces left... let alone grills for BBQ'ing.

We then drove south another 10 miles to another state beach and although it was crowded, there were parking spaces and a few grills open. A dinner of hot-dogs and chips and s'mores was just what we all need to end our last weekend of August. It was 99F at our house and only 69F at the beach:-) The fog started rolling in about 7pm and the temps just dropped after that.

My man:-)

Next weekend is Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. I have really enjoyed this summer since the last two summers were spent in a fog of confusion and sorrow. Here's to an autumn of new beginnings and joy...

Photo Shoot at the Beach

My long time and dear friend Alysun came to visit this past week for a few days. She is gaining notoriety for her photographic work in Oregon and although I don't think she is planning on marketing in California on a permanent basis, we were totally blessed to have her do our shoot.

Once Dan came home from work on Thursday, we headed out to the beach (10 miles away). The weather really was a miracle, because although it routinely is 80-90F in the Bay Area, the coast and the fog remain in the 50-60F range... with no sun. For our photo shoot day, the sunlight was perfect, the winds were calm, and the evening was warm.

Russell kept busy playing in the sand but scampered close by a few times, enough for Alysun's quick shutter lens to capture a few pictures of us together:-)

Thank-you, Alysun, for coming to visit!! Don't worry, I won't ask you to do the infant shots in October... you'll be busy enough with your own infant;-)

By request...

28 weeks, 30 weeks

(trust me, the scale says I'm definitely bigger!)

One thing I dreamed of doing during the season of all our miscarriages was to have a professional photo shoot of maternity pictures. We never did that during my pregnancy with Russell. I guess I learned that you never know what the future will hold. This season of a woman's life is so fleeting and I wanted to have it captured. I've contacted a photographer in the area whose rates are resonable (i.e. less than $300 per sitting). We're still working on the details with that.

In addition to that, my long time (no, not 'old'...) friend, Alysun, is coming to visit next week. She'll be 35+ weeks pregnant by then. What a friend! As a photographer, I'm sure she'll bring her camera as well:-)

This Year's Trip to Pismo Beach

A Visit from the Folks...

My parents drove down from B.C. two weeks ago and stayed with us for 5 days. Russell and I and my parents spent the week doing 'day trips' in the area, from Oakland to Carmel. Fun times!

Russell at the Carmel Mission fountain. I now need to carry more pennies instead of dimes and quarters so he can optimize his 'tossing' into the waters.

My child- the child who tries the hardest to be the least photogenic... Don't expect a Christmas card this year with all of us smiling and sitting pretty. We'll have to PhotoShop Russell into it somehow.

(Yes, there is a white herse in this picture. There was a funeral in the church and we had to wait until it was over to visit inside the building.)

For lunch, we drove to Monterey and ate at our favorite spot on Cannery Row. Usually, we don't visit Monterey at the height of summer so it was busier than I thought it would be. Russell loved the ocean!

Later in the week, we visited 'Filoli Gardens'- a mini-Butchart Gardens, except that this garden was accompanied by a mansion of a residence.

The last day of the week, Dan took the day off and we drove to Treasure Island and then to Oakland, to tour the USS Pontomac- the 'floating White House' that FDR owned in his day...

Once Russell got over his fear of being on the boat, he really enjoyed the experience. We ate Subway and had Ben & Jerry's ice-cream for dessert. This picture was taken before Russell realized I had the camera in my hand.

Thanks for coming to visit, Mom and Dad!

Yeah! 3rd Trimester!

24 weeks, 26 week, 28 weeks

I don't see a huge change in the pictures, but the fact that I only wear these jeans for pictures now confirms that Baby Girl is indeed growing- or at least my waist is!

I love feeling the baby moving inside and it is so reassuring that everything is fine with her. I (thankfully) haven't had the painful & stiff, claw-like hands I had during my gestation with Russell, although I do wake up during the night with my arms experiencing pins & needles if I sleep on either side. I know I'm not really supposed to sleep on my back but it is the only position I can get a good rest.

So far, belly & baby have added 15 lbs to my body- which is healthy. We're eating as many juicy nectarines and B.C. blueberries that we can stomach right now, because the season is short and I'll miss the fruit once the fall comes:-)

A Temporary Farewell

My dear friend and her family are moving to Colorado today. Over the last few weeks, we've tried to squish in a couple last playdates and meals. It's been almost 5 years since we met and through it all, there have been many laughs, tears, and prayers.

We'll miss our friends so much but we know God will make their paths straight in Colorado. Now, I'm really excited to visit over the Christmas break! We were supposed to visit Dan's sisters and their families in CO for Christmas anyway, and visiting our friends will make it that much more special:-)