Epic Final Weekend

Labor day weekend marked the end of our freedom. Bria started school the day after, and Sam jumped back into what will be a loooong stretch of working every weekend (often both days) until the baby is born. I started school the week before. We toyed with the idea of heading to the beach for the weekend, but then remembered all the baby stuff we have to buy and decided to stay local :)
We did have tickets for the BYU v. UVA game in Charlottesville, so we spent the day down there on Saturday. It was wildly hot before the game, but we chilled in the shaded areas outside the official BYU tailgate with our friends the Fewkeses before the game started. Once it did start, we were not deterred by the insane thunder storms and lightning delays! Bria was such a champ sitting around for so long, hunched in a corner. I'll admit to being pretty miserable by the end of the second rain burst, and had to find a ladder in a utility closet so I could sit down. Luckily people are pretty accommodating when it comes to hugely pregnant women. And I was really impressed by the camaraderie that emerged when both UVA and BYU fans were forced into such tight quarters together for so long. It was a bummer to lose, but still an awesome day.

This picture was taken when it seemed like we were going to win, so uh. yeah. bummer.

Sam had dreams of camping outside, but when he considered the logistics of having to be stuck in the tent from Bria's bedtime (7:30) until his bedtime (3:00am), this became less appealing. Thus we devised a plan to "camp" at home. This included s'mores, a bear hunt, and Sam and Bria sleeping on B's bedroom floor. (Then he was easily able to sneak out once she fell asleep and watch a movie with me.) And I got to experience camping just the way I like it: not at all.

 

 

Last fall Sam and I went paddle boating on Lake Accotink and had so much fun we've been looking for a time to take Bria back with us. Bria was rather disappointed she was too short to pedal, but we still had an awesome time.

And of course Bria got to ride the carousel by the lake, which she may have enjoyed more than the boating.

First Days of School

My first day of school in six years! I started my M.Ed. at George Mason University. So far I absolutely love it, and I am completely exhausted.

And one week later it was Bria's turn! She had been 98% excited, 2% nervous for this day, and it was finally here. After some confusion, we found out just a few days before that she is zoned for the bus. So I had to overcome all my fears before walking her to the stop that first morning. I worried she wouldn't want to get on without me, but she gave me a quick hug and kiss, a "bye, Mom. Love you." and walked right on without looking back. Riding the bus has been the highlight of school so far, which says a lot, because we absolutely love her teacher as well.

I Got All My Sisters With Me

Earlier in the summer my mom called me up and proposed a plan: she and my sisters would like to fly me and Bria out to Utah for a baby shower in August. Was I interested? Ummmm . . . yes, please! So in the very last days before I started school, Bria and I flew westward. We were only there a handful of days, but we jam-packed every second with quality cousin time for Bria and sister time for me (even my sister Amy drove from California with her four kids). I absolutely loved watching Bria pick right up with her sweet cousins. They would disappear sometime during the morning and play all day long; there was a day or two I think I only saw her at mealtimes. And during play breaks there were also knitting lessons with Mimi and tractor rides in the backyard with Papa. It's safe to say Bria was in heaven.
I also soaked up every last drop of the crisp mountain air, going for long walks every morning, gazing at the Wasatch Mountains directly behind my parents' house and tried not to think about the suffocation I sometimes feel under all the Virginia trees. (It's a double-edged sword, really. I love DC and our life out here, but this mountain west girl will never be a true easterner.)
On Saturday we gathered with my extended family and a few Utah-dwelling friends for a baby shower. It was so fun to feel the love for my little boy! The reality is starting to settle that his arrival is just around the corner (two months to go . . . ).

(I took so few pictures on the trip, this is really the only evidence I have of the shower! But it's a good indicator of how much I love my sisters and being with them.)