1100 miles in Five Days

For the past three Christmases Craig has been very specific that all he really wants are tickets to see his beloved Phoenix Suns play. Since we live in Idaho this inevitably involves travel. In 2010 and 2011 we traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah to see the Suns play the Jazz and had a ton of fun spending a couple of days downtown. This year, it proved trickier. Because of the NBA lockout the schedules changed and the only date to see the Suns play the Jazz in Utah would be a couple of weeks before I am due to have this little baby. Naturally I nixed that idea right away. Craig then had the brilliant idea to travel to Portland  and go see the Suns there, explore a bit, and then drive the 2.5 hours to the Seattle area to see my parents.

So...that is exactly what we did!

Keegan is a fabulous traveler

We left early in the morning on Thursday the 26th of January. It was an easy drive and very scenic along the Columbia River. We arrived in Portland a little after lunch time and checked into the Crowne Plaza Hotel across the street from the Rose Garden Arena.

We lazed around for a bit and then hopped on the MAX to do a bit of exploring nearby. We ended up at a local mall where I was very excited to go to Charlotte Russe (there are none in Idaho) and I bought a pair of sweet orange shoes for the game. The mall had a really cool indoor ice rink and Craig took Keegan skating for the first time. I was a very proud Canadian Mama! Slightly bummed I couldn't skate due to being super pregnant but I was happy to photograph the experience. 

Learning to skate at the Lloyd Center

I think Keegan's favorite part of the trip was riding the train

That night we had an amazing supper at Russell  Street BBQ and got Keegan some really cool orange Nikes to go with his Suns shirt. We decided to really represent Suns colors by all having orange shoes.

  

Friday the 27th was the game. We started the day by meeting up with a good family friend who was in town on business and had breakfast with him at a nearby IHOP. I love any chance for waffles!

Afterwards we decided to explore downtown Portland for a few hours before getting ready for the game.

Highlights:

• Keegan getting to ride the MAX once again
• Seeing fantastic architecture
• Getting to shop at Nordstrom's (yet another store we do not have)
• Powell's City of Books! I had an amazing time and could have spent hours and hours there. Keegan and I each chose some books and were in bibliophile heaven.
• Seeing Alvin Gentry, head coach of the Phoenix Suns downtown and getting to talk to him!

At Powell's!

We went back to the hotel and took Keegan to the pool for awhile and then got ready for the game. It was a really short walk from the hotel to the arena which was really nice. 

This trip was a bit of a challenge for me as I have developed a weird complication of pregnancy. My pelvic bone is displaced/dislocated until after the baby is born so that makes it a bit harder to walk around or to even sit or stand for very long. Craig had called the Rose Garden earlier in the week to ask about any accommodations as going up the many flight of stairs would probably be really painful for me. We went to the ticket office and explained the situation to them and they upgraded us to a sky box with a private elevator so I didn't have to walk. It was amazing!!!! 

 

Despite a devastating loss by 38 points we had a really good time and enjoyed getting a chance to have some family time. This was our first real vacation in a year and we were so grateful for the opportunity. We left Portland Saturday morning and spent the next couple of days relaxing with my family. Laughing, enjoying Mom's delicious meals, church, and an impromptu surprise belated birthday party for Dad topped off a fabulous trip. 

We are really looking forward to our next trip-this June to see my brother Jacob graduate from high school and bring our new Little Man to his grandparents house for the first time. Hopefully on that trip Craig and I will be able to pop up to Vancouver, British Columbia for a day to celebrate our very happy fourth wedding anniversary.  I will be especially excited for a trip that doesn't involve a hundred stops to search for a bathroom!

Keegan had a blast playing with the tissue paper from the presents and chasing the "Over the Hill" balloons

For the next 12-13 weeks I'll be taking it pretty easy and waiting to have this baby! 

Happy New Year (I'm a blogging slacker!)

Wow. I was sitting on the couch with Craig last night and he turns to me and says "So, what ever happened to our blog? Are you still doing that?" Umm yes! The answer is yes! I am 5 months way overdue in posting an update but here's a New Year's Resolution: be better at blogging!

Since I don't really keep a journal I had decided  like a year ago to blog because you can print these off and turn them into these cool books. I guess I should do better so it is a decent looking book!

So I guess I will try to sum up the last 5 months in a nutshell: insane!


I am five and a half months pregnant so there is one glaring answer for why I have been such a slacker.

I had truly horrible morning sickness that lasted all fall and just when we were hopeful it would go away it got worse. It turns out I have a condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarum that causes extreme and persistent nausea, vomiting, and malnutrition throughout an entire pregnancy. It affects about 1-2% of pregnant women and lucky me it is genetic and runs in our family. I spent almost 2 months on a PICC line that ran from above my elbow, up my arm and into the Vena Cava at my heart.

 It hurt going in but was way better than having the nurse come to my house and insert IV's everyday. After a week of tenderness I hardly noticed it. If you have ever been really dehydrated and had an IV placed you know those suckers hurt especially if they have to keep sticking you. So, I was glad not to be stuck constantly.

I had a nurse that came out a couple of times a week to check on everything and bring supplies. But my favorite nurse was my very sweet and handsome husband! They taught him how to do everything for me if I was too sick to do it myself and he took it very seriously. At least he looks serious in the picture but I think he was enjoying himself. Since he studies Bio-mechanics he was fascinated by everything.

I ran IV bags about 8 hours a day with vitamins and various anti nausea meds to keep me from continuing losing weight and it did help a lot. Unfortunately, right before Christmas my line became infected and the doctors caught it just in time before anything truly scary or serious could happen to me or the baby. So from here on out I am taking special meds around the clock and if I get too dehydrated I go to labor and delivery for hydration. It is too risky to put another line in me as I still have some residual infection in my heart.

In fantastic news though, the baby is measuring on track and weighs almost a pound and despite my weight loss (I weigh less 5.5 months pregnant than I did before getting pregnant!) they are feeling really good about his size and growth and he doesn't seem to have suffered from this condition. I am eternally grateful for that.

Did you catch that?! It's another BOY!!! We are absolutely thrilled. Keegan is so excited to have a little brother. Every night he kisses my tummy and says "Night, night baby!"

Needless to say, school has been shelved for the time being and we are just focusing on Craig getting through these last couple of semesters before we figure out where he is going to go for Graduate school and I will finish my degree at whatever fine institution that turns out to be.

Speaking of my awesome husband, he has been absolutely amazing  through all of  this and has been juggling so much. I am so proud of him and thankful for his hard work and sacrifice. 2011 was full of the most difficult challenges we have ever faced but we got through it and continue to face them side by side and as full of love as ever.

Keegan is a huge ray of light in our lives and it was wonderful seeing him understand Christmas this year. He loved the lights, the music, the lessons at church, and thought giving and receiving presents was the greatest thing ever. Thanks to many kind and loving angels he received everything he had asked for.



Things have been tight with only one income coming in right now since I have been ill and we were concerned how we would pay our bills and still be able to get anything for Keegan let alone ourselves for Christmas. Well, all I can say is that there are angels in our lives. So many family members from all over were extremely generous to us this Christmas as well as some who chose to be anonymous and rang our doorbell at night leaving money and treats behind. I was so overwhelmed by the spirit of giving that we received. It makes me choke up every time I think about it. If you were one of those people and you are reading this, know that we hold so much love and gratitude towards you for lifting a burden and making ours and our little boy's Christmas truly magical.

We look forward to this New Year, a fresh start, a brand new child to welcome into our family, and many more adventures. I promise I will try my best to be better about this blog!

To end with, here are a few photos from our special Christmas.

With Sophie the Miniature horse at a free holiday party

St. Alphonsus Festival of Trees- this was my favorite based on Van Gogh

He was so nervous about meeting Santa he kicked off his shoes!