Think Pink!

Good news!! We (think) we know the sex of our newest little bambino set to arrive in November, and drumroll please...It's a GIRL!!

She was very, very uncooperative throughout the ultrasound (Jon says she was just being modest)-- super wiggly moving up and down and side to side etc., plus she was twisted up like a pretzel for most of it, so the ultrasound tech had a hard time getting good pics (they're all blurry or I would post one). At one point she had her legs, feet, and arms crossed which made it hard to see anything, but the best news of all is that she looks perfectly healthy. 10 fingers, 10 toes, cute little nose and lips, and measuring right on schedule (about a week ahead, actually). A wiggly, big baby?? Why should that surprise me?? Sounds like Lucy!!

As my lovely baby bump continues to expand (promise I'll post a picture soon!) I decided I need to get this shirt for teaching my class at the gym. I finally announced I was expecting, so it was nice to set the record straight, that as the instructor I wasn't just getting a little chubby around the midsection, I was actually growing a baby. I think some people had already guessed that, but lots were surprised. I never know if to take that as a compliment-- that maybe I always just look 20 weeks pregnant?:)

We are flying out tomorrow to spend the month visiting family between Idaho and Washington, so our blog will be on summer hiatus for about month, but I'm sure we'll be back with a monster post to describe all of our fun experiences as we head back West!

A Wonderful Week of Whit-it!

Well, our summer is really starting to heat up as our visitors and vacations start coming to fruition! First up, we had my sister Whitney fly in from Utah (where she recently graduated from BYU and was teaching elementary school) to stay with us for a week. We drove up to the airport Monday evening and captured our first prize of the summer! After a late night for the kids who "helped" Whitney unpack and in return got some fun new presents, we spent the morning sleeping in late and relaxing. Then we took Whitney to Olive Garden for lunch, which was Lucy's dream come true! Both my kids love getting to go to restaurants, including this little stinker; you give him some chocolate milk and he'll sit still anywhere. Then we went to the brand new Hobby Lobby, and headed back home for some more play time. Whitney then got us addicted to the new BBC mini-series of Sherlock Holmes and we stayed up waaaaay too late watching season 1! Wednesday we met some friends for lunch at Sonic and played on the playground, Whitney made treats with the kids, helped Lucy build some beautiful tangram desgins, rocked the choo-choos with Zach, and then pumped it up at my Body Pump class that night. Oh yeah, she also cooked us a totally incredible meal of banh mi as well. I love having this girl around! Thursday we decided to venture up into Raleigh and visit the famous "Pit" restaurant for lunch. Best authentic Southern BBQ in North Carolina! Then we drove over to "Marbles" which is a really great children's museum. Both my kids were SO excited to be there, that while Whitney and I went to pay our admission, Zach made a b-line for the museum and we couldn't find him for like 5 panic-inducing minutes because it's a BIG place, and he is SO fast! Naturally he was wandering around looking for us near the train table. Uggghh! Heart attack city. Lucy enjoying being in a "simulated" aquarium and bouncing on the bubbles! After spending a couple of hours there we found our way to an AWESOME cupcake store called "Gigi's." I couldn't find my camera while we were inside, but they were some of the biggest, yummiest, prettiest cupcakes I've ever had. Since it's right by Costco, I'm sure we'll be back. It was such a fun day! Friday we splurged and took the kids to "Madagascar 3" at the movie theater. My kids LOVE going to the movies since we hardly ever take them-- and they really liked this one. There were a couple of parts where Zach busted up laughing out loud-- he loved it! That night Whitney watched the kids so Jon and I could go on a date. We tried the Bonefish Grill in honor of my birthday next week and it was so good! Saturday was the day Zach had been looking forward to ALL week. He has been begging to go back to beach ever since the last time we went, and this time was even better because we got to take Whitney, as well as meet Devin and Sarah and their kids. Yea! This time we went to Ocean Isle Beach (just north of Myrtle Beach), and this girl loved the water! She had so much fun playing in the waves with Eva and came home with about a pound of sand in her swimsuit. Monster trucking in the dirt! We had to wait for me to teach my Body Pump class Saturday morning so we couldn't leave until noon, which got us there around 2:30 p.m. We tried to squeeze as much sand and surf in as we could before it got too late. For dinner we hit another Southern BBQ gem on the way home. Thanks to Whitney's iPhone she found "Bart's BBQ" which had great online reviews. Zach loved his hot dog and the hush puppies were AMAZING! I LOVE THIS GIRL!!! She is nannying in Richmond this summer and I am so glad she's on this side of the country for a change, even if I'll be gone for half of it. Guh! We also read that the banana pudding was to die for, but I wouldn't really know... This guy got to it first and never let go. I think it must have been pretty good. It was an awesome week with Whit-it! I'd tell her to come back soon, but since I already bought her a bus ticket for this weekend, there's no need.:) YES!

It's a Cupcake World...

A few weeks ago I finally was making cupcakes with my little sous chef Zach (he begs at least once a day to be able to do this), and he got so excited he started singing, "It's a cupcake world!" which definitely got a laugh out of me. Cupcakes are by far his ultimate idea of the perfect treat. In a new effort to embrace all things Pinehurst--it's a diamond in the rough, right?--imagine my elation at discovering a fairly new cupcakery in downtown Southern Pines, just a few miles from our house, called Cups Cupcakery. I took the kids for a special treat Friday afternoon to try these little delights out, and they were actually really delish. So good in fact, we went back the next day with Jonathan and bought a half dozen. There was a such a plethora of flavors we had to try as many as we could! Red Velvet of course, The Blondie (all vanilla), The Best Friend (double chocolate with chocolate truffle frosting), Miami Key Lime, Cookies 'n' Cream, and Salted Caramel, to name a few. Zach interestingly enough opted for a cake pop instead of a cupcake (the traitor!), but it was also super yummy. Lucy enjoying her Red Velvet. It's definitely becoming more of a cupcake world now that we've found this place!

Beach or Bust!

Jonathan's office has been preparing for an HSI Inspection basically since we moved here, and it was finally completed last week. He's had to stay late, work through many of his lunch breaks, and complete projects that had nothing to do with him just 'cause the boss said to, so in many ways it's felt like the residency all over again. As a "reward" the clinic was given Monday off, and we decided to FINALLY make our way to the beach. A major reason we were excited to move out here was because of the close proximity to the beach...needless to say, it hasn't panned out for us much since 10 months later this is our FIRST trip. Better late than never! The day kind of started out like a bust because I had to be back in town to teach my Body Pump class by 5 p.m., so when the GPS was saying it would take 4 HOURS to drive approximately 140 miles to Wrightsville beach, I sorta freaked out, but Jon convinced me we could find a faster way (our GPS is 5 years old and STINKS) and he was right. Two hours and twenty minutes later we were there. These two beach bums were in absolute heaven. Lucy kept asking, "Can't we build a house right here?!?" Even though the weather was less than desirable (75 degrees and rainy), we had a good time. We couldn't keep this girl out of the water. She watched some of the surfers and decided she'd like to try it, so Jon took her out on the boogie board and she actually did catch some waves and did awesome! She has absolutely no fear of the water and even though she got dunked a couple of times she begged to get right back on. The rain really picked up about an hour into our stay so we had to picnic under Jon's makeshift shelter, which was a little cramped but kept the rain off, but not the sand out of the sandwiches.:) While Jon and Lucy spent most (if not all) of their time playing in the water, Zach and I remained on the beach, where eventually Zach was buried in the sand. He found it hilarious to be up to his neck in sand! There are many times I wish I could bury him in the sand when he's being naughty at home... The Sand Monster! He was COVERED head to toe in sand, and enjoyed chasing Lucy all over the beach flinging sand at her. Right before we had to leave Jon took both kiddos out for one last rinse off and tried to catch a couple more waves, which Luce loved and Zach HATED. He's not much for cold water, and I'd have to agree! We'll definitely be spending some more quality time here.

A Memorable Memorial Day

Well, this Memorial Day was memorable for a number of reasons, so we'd better start at the beginning. A few weeks ago we decided to spend Memorial weekend up in DC, and made arrangements with my brother Devin and his wife Sarah (who live in Richmond) to babysit our kids for 2 nights/3 days so we could enjoy the city kid-free. Pretty sweet, right? Well, as luck would have it all that week I'd been dealing with a pretty bad migraine, which when you're preggo there aren't many good pain management options and so they last for days...and days...and days. I was able to take some Tylenol 3 I'd been prescribed, but unless I took a LOT of it, it wasn't really doing much but taking the edge off. By Thursday morning I had completely run out, and we were set to leave for Richmond right after Lucy's preschool concert that evening. I figured I'd tough it out like I did with Lucy's pregnancy (I had migraines for weeks but was too afraid to take any painkillers) and try and make the best of our kid-free weekend. But by Friday morning I literally couldn't stand for longer than a minute without feeling like I was going to pass out because my head was THROBBING, and I couldn't see out of my left eye (the side the migraine was on). I was starting to freak out because I just knew the weekend was going to be ruined if I couldn't get my poor head some help, so I luckily narrowly avoided having to sit in the ER when Sarah suggested I see a PA friend of hers who could see me that morning. She prescribed me some Percocet and within a few hours Jon and I kissed the kiddos good bye and were finally on our way (only a few hours behind schedule)!

I really don't remember much about the drive up to DC because I spent most of it in a drug induced stupor, but I DO remember arriving at the Cafe Rio in Manassas. Hello! That woke me up. I have been craving that pork salad constantly the last 4 months!

After one of my all-time favorite lunches we headed just a mile up the road to the Manassas battlefield. I've always been fascinated by the Civil War, so any time we can squeeze in a visit to one of the historical sights, we do. This one is just a few miles outside of DC and was where it all began at the first Battle of Bull Run. Such history!

The setting today looks much like it did back then, and it was easy to picture the picnickers from DC coming to see the first run-in between North and South and thinking it would be the first (and last) battle of the war. Little did they know it would last 4 long years and consume thousands of lives.

By that time with all the heat and walking around my head was pounding again, so we decided to drive up to our hotel in the DC suburb of Silver Springs. After another round of Percocet (hope no one thinks I'm an addict!) we hopped on the Metro and headed downtown to a restaurant featured on Foodnetwork's "Kid in a Candy Store," called Co Co Sala.

EVERYTHING is chocolate, or features chocolate somehow. We weren't too hungry for dinner (although they feature things like mac and cheese with chocolate covered bacon on top), so we opted to try a couple of desserts. First a chocolate mousse cake with passion fruit ice cream, and second a chocolate toffee cake with ginger ice cream. Both were AMAZING, and for the price I would definitely go back.

With my head finally feeling oodles better we decided to walk around downtown and see some of the monuments lit at night. This is Jon in front of the FBI building, which we felt was appropriate since he was wearing a Batman shirt (that elicited many comments from drunk guys).

After a good night's rest, and some more Percocet (ahhh, sweet, sweet opiates!), we were ready to attack day 2. First we got breakfast at Whole Foods right around the corner from out hotel. Yum!

We hopped on the Metro and found Ford's Theater where I'd reserved some tickets for us to do a tour. We've been to DC several times but never visited Ford's theater, but I just recently read a biography about Mary Todd Lincoln and knew I couldn't pass up another chance to see it in person.

There's the presidential box (decorated as it would have been that night) where Lincoln was shot in the back of the head just a few days after the end of the Civil War. It was SO sobering to picture the scene unfold as news of the president's assassination spread across DC.

Approximately where the the park ranger is standing is where John Wilkes Booth leapt from Lincoln's box (and consequently broke his leg), and yelled "Sic semper tyrannus" ("Thus always to tyrants").

We then headed across the street to the boarding house where President Lincoln was taken. It was amazing to me that at such close range Lincoln wasn't immediately killed, but instead remained in a coma for 9 more hours.

This is the parlor where Mary Todd was required to sit and wait-- she wasn't allowed in to see her husband because she was so hysterical with grief. I can't even imagine being just a room away and not being allowed to see my dying husband!

This is obviously the room where Lincoln was taken after he was shot, and because of his abnormal height for the time period, was lain sideways on the bed so he could fit. The doctors knew the wound was fatal, so all they could do was sit and wait for him to die. I was so glad I'd recently read that biography because not only did it make me appreciate his wife more, but it also made me appreciate even more what an extraordinary husband, father, and president he truly was and the sacrifices he made for this country.

Underneath the boarding house they've made a really nice museum detailing the assassination and subsequent manhunt for John Wilkes Booth. I thought it was interesting that although he felt the South would immortalize him and hold him as a hero, they didn't even like him after what he'd done.

We then headed over to Capitol Hill to check out Spike Mendelsohn's restaurant the "Good Stuff Eatery" which features all farm fresh ingredients. Many of you know my guilty pleasure for years has been watching Bravo's Top Chef competition, and Spike (from season 4) has a couple DC restaurants that have gotten rave reviews.

The place was PACKED but the line moved fast so Jon got the "Obama Burger" which had BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, and applewood smoked bacon. I got the "Michelle Melt" which was a turkey burger with carmelized onions and swiss cheese. YUMMY!! We also tried the hand cut "Village Fries" with fresh rosemary and sea salt which were to die for! Best part of the meal.

We also got the Toasted Marshmallow Shake for dessert, and it was sooooo good. They roast a bunch of marshmallows and then blend them with homemade vanilla ice cream, so there's this crazy toasty flavor throughout the whole milkshake. The drugged look I'm sporting could be from the awesome food...or the Percocet. Not sure...

His prices were totally cheap for it being downtown DC ($6-$7 for the huge burgers, $5 for the shake), so I would DEFINITELY recommend it. Nice one, Spike!

To finish our time downtown we checked out the International Spy Museum, which has the largest collection of spy and espionage gadgets in the world. Picture lipstick tube pistols, disguise kits, and shoe bombs. You weren't allowed to take pictures inside the museum since most of the gadgets are real CIA artifacts, but it was pretty cool. And since DC apparently has more spies than any other city in the world, definitely a museum worth checking off the list.

Sunday was our last day in the city, so we decided to attend church at the stake center next to the Washington DC temple. It brought back lots of memories of trying to babysit kids while moms and dads squeezed in sessions at the temple back during our Philly days when that was our temple. And predictably, I had to squeeze one more visit to Cafe Rio for lunch, since during the first one I was so sick I couldn't really enjoy it.:) Hopefully I got enough of a fix that I won't need it for another couple of months!

And then a quick drive back to the kiddos, who apparently (according to Devin and Sarah who could just be nice) did great. SO grateful to them for watching our kids so we could get some much appreciated alone time!! It was a great, great, trip up to DC and ended much better than it began.:)

Monday morning we got packed up and then headed to Peter Chang's for lunch. Peter Chang is an award winning Szechwan chef with several restaurants in DC and around the South. He just recently opened a new restaurant in Richmond which has been the talk of the town. Devin and Sarah said we had to try the Dry Fried Eggplant which was SUPER spicy and had these crazy tongue-numbing peppercorns and floral spices. I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food, but this was a very different culinary experience! After lunch we headed down South back home to North Carolina. We had a BLAST this weekend and can't wait to go back soon!