Hospital and Baby Shower at the Same Time :)

 Well, it was a crazy afternoon. I went to Good Earth and Costco to get some groceries and towards the end of my Costco shopping I started having pretty regular contractions. In the car on the way home I had probably 5 or so (and for a 15 min car ride I knew that seemed like a lot). They started getting more painful and I had back labor with each one. So I came in and asked Tammy if she and the girls could put away groceries while I went to lay down. My friend had been texting me and asked if I had drunk lots of water that day (that hadn't even crossed my mind). I called Boose and she came over to be with me in case I had to go to the hospital. Even laying down and drinking all I could they were every 3 minutes consistently for almost 2 hours and were getting more painful. So Boose and I went to the hospital when my own baby shower was supposed to be starting in 30 minutes. They monitored me and the baby and ran a test to see if I had a UTI. Luckily I did not AND I was not dilating at the moment so that was all good news! But I was dehydrated. I had no idea dehydration could put your body in labor but now I know! They gave me a shot to stop the contractions and pumped a bag of IV fluid into me to rehydrate me. After that Boose and I headed to my baby shower over 2 hours late :). Kristen and Steph were so nice to do all the decorations and it was SO CUTE! The food was all things I love- salads, sweets and rolls! Jennie and Faith couldn't wait for me to get there so they opened the gifts without me there so they could show each other and then wrapped them back up- hahaha. So funny. I was super sad to make them wait but I am glad I ended up going to the hospital and getting the help I needed. From now on I am drinking TONS of water and keeping this baby growing for as long as possible. When I went in I was 32 weeks and now I am almost 34 weeks so its the final countdown! Can't wait for baby boy in just a short amount of weeks!

Lucy Graduates from Preschool

 Lucy lives for preschool and social events with friends. She is such a social bug and every night when I would tuck her in bed she would ask me, "do I get to go to school when I wake up??" She is going to love going every day to Kindergarten in the fall (and I kind of wish there was a full-day option for her sake). She had some friends in preschool with her- Olive and Sadie and got to know lots of other friends. Ms. Angie made it so fun and Lucy is going to go through withdrawals through the summer now!

Guys Cubs Trip to St. Louis

 It was a great idea having the girls trip and guys trips back to back. The guys trip was a little more spur-of-the-moment but ended up being an amazing trip (from what I've heard :)). Cade and Andrew both got to have their dads there and so everyone had their dads! They went to 2 Cubs games, went to batting cages, played pickle ball, ate yummy food, and visited sports museums and monuments. Cade said it was one of the best trips he's been on and just loved every minute. He is often a dad and husband and worker but never just get to be a son and brother. I'm so glad he got to go!

I am also grateful to have had Grandma and Grandpa Close at our home for 2 WEEKS!! They were troopers to come spend so much time helping us and spending time with their grandkids. The girls had so much fun with them!

Girls Trip to Newport 2021! SOOOO fun!!!

 

Two Christmas's ago, my Mom gifted all of us girls a trip! We were supposed to do it last May but with covid it got postponed. Timing wasn't ideal with Jennie and Sisten having babies and me being 31 weeks pregnant but we are soooo glad we still did it!! 

We flew into Santa Ana and stayed at a condo near Balboa Peninsula just one block from the beach. It was our first girls trip that was more than just one night somewhere outside of Utah. It was amazing and the best trip EVER!! We can't wait to do it again in a couple years! 

We flew in Wednesday evening and just walked along the beach, walked to a taco place for dinner, walked to get donuts for dessert and walked to the grocery store. LOTS of walking...and I worried if I would be over-doing it too much on the trip with pregnancy. In the end it was just fine. 

The first full day (Thursday) we went on a "Whale watching tour". I put it in parenthesis because we didnt actually see ANYTHING except birds :). So...we got half our money back. But the boat ride itself was pretty fun. I am not a huge boating/water fan like everyone else but I'm glad we still did it. Then we ate at a super yummy seafood place right on the Harbor called Harborside Grill. The coconut shrimp and orange crusted salmon were amazing. In the afternoon we drove to Balboa Island and drove around the super cute homes, walked around shops and then went back to the condo for games and treats and talking (which was a nightly thing!).

On Friday, we didn't have too much on the schedule but we spent some time at Crystal Cove State Park. We walked to the tide pools and explored there for a while. We drove around some more areas for fun and ate yummy food before and after Crystal Cove (Wild Strawberry Cafe for lunch and Ruby's diner for dinner- which was just okay). We watched some surfers and saw some dolphins in the distance. 

Saturday was the first day we actually made a plan the night before and fit a LOT of things in in the day! The morning, everyone except Mom and I went on a Segway "tour" (mainly just a ride around the city/beach). They said it was tons of fun. Since I am pregnant, I was not allowed to go. Then we went to Sancho's Tacos (super yummy!) and then headed to the harbor for kayak rentals. It was probably the highlight of the trip as far as activities go. I just love kayaking so much and it was fun to do it somewhere totally new. We kayaked around the harbor and it was fun to see the millions of dollars put into the homes and boats/yachts around there. So many cute homes to look at. We kayaked for about an hour and then headed to Laguna Beach. Laguna was SOOOO busy so we didn't have tons of time there but we went into an art store and saw the cutest ally way which led us to the worlds best gelato called Gelato Paradiso. It was SO good. Then we went to a late reservation at an Italian place called Spaghetti Bender and I ordered WAY too much food. Of course we ended the night with more games and talking and going to bed way too late. 

On Sunday, we had to wake up earlier than normal (8:30 am haha) and get packed and out the doors by 10:00 am. We spent some time near the beach before heading to lunch at Flower Child (amazing salads and healthy food- my kind of place!). After lunch we went to Sacrament Meeting near the Newport temple and walked around the temple for a while. The temple grounds were incredibly gorgeous and if it weren't for me being with my sisters, I may have had a spiritual time there :)! They are so great. We had the best trip!!! It was hard going home but I am so grateful for the time we were able to all spend together. Over the last year and bit I have become so much closer to them and love them more and more all the time. \

I am also grateful for my wonderful husband who allowed me to go and my girls who were troopers and my in-laws for being here and helping take care of the girls. I think Jane had a good time and wasn't too scarred because Grandma and Grandpa were here to give her attention. It was a wonderful time!!!