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.)

The Cotton is High

Bria starts school on Tuesday, so I'm just gonna call it: summer is over. Here's a recap of some of the fun we had. We didn't get out as much as in year's past mostly because we moved and I'm getting rather pregnant. Excuses, excuses.

Early in the summer our niece Amanda graduated from high school, so we got to help her celebrate with graduation, senior dance recitals, and a graduation party. We also got to hang out with some more of the extended Mangum crew, including making them meet us in DC for Truckeroo and taking them to our rec center spray park.

This coincided with my sensitive skin deciding that pregnancy hormones should initiate an allergic reaction to my makeup. I wore sunglasses everywhere (even indoors) for several days, and my eyes itched so bad I wanted to claw them out even after day four, so I've been completely makeup-free since the initial incident. This doesn't help me not look like a teen mom, but at least my bedtime routine has fewer steps.

We went to a lavender farm to snip lavender stems with friends. Bria mostly hated all the bees, so the highlight was stopping at Red Truck Bakery on our way to the farm and then playing in the playhouse on the farm. Basically everything except picking lavender. (This picture was staged well away from the lavender bushes.)

We moved! To a house!

We went to a Nats game. This was during one of the very few unbearably hot weeks we had this summer. Bria almost threw up she was so hot, but after a bathroom break and guzzling some extra water, she was back to her perky self. Seriously, this summer has been so mild I'm starting to wonder how we're going to have to pay for it . . .

Bria took swimming lessons! This was both disastrous and amazing. It was like two steps forward, eight thousand steps back. She did two back-to-back sessions of swimming every single day for two weeks, and at the end of the month, we needed a break. THEN, a couple weeks later, we went to the pool with friends and it all clicked. Suddenly my girl was swimming! HURRAH!

 We went to Rehoboth Beach. I can't believe we only made it to the beach once this summer (Bria won't stop reminding me how disappointed she is), but at least we tried a new one. The sand and water quality is the same as our regular standby, Ocean City, but the surrounding town is definitely classier.

Bria was dying to have a lemonade stand. I had no idea how it would fare, but she made $7 and was thrilled.

We went to a friend's birthday party at the new National Harbor carousel. That place is awesome! And such a great idea for a party-- unlimited rides, a playground, and snacks. What more could kids want?

Sam and I sneaked away for a babymoon to Virginia Beach. Bria stayed with her cousins while we lounged on the beach, slept in, got massages, and refilled our energy reserves-- just in time for them to be depleted come this November ;)

Sam ran a 5k obstacle race with Jenn, Amanda, and Myles. They rocked it.

We returned to Great Waves with our friends where Bria conquered her fear of water slides. I kept reminding her that two years ago she went down both water slides on her own and she didn't believe me. Last summer she wouldn't do them at all, and this year, she decided only the straight slide was safe. My cautious little girl sure does make my life easier.

We've been watching my friend's little girl twice a week since last November, but once I started school, I had to stop. We'll miss our little buddy!

We have done some exploring of our new neck of the woods. Ok, very minimal exploring. That might be my winter task once the baby is here, Bria is in school, and I am feeling itchy for adventure.

Bria's new school had a couple Welcome Activities throughout the summer, including this where they gathered bugs from the school garden and inspected them with a microscope. Then all the kindergarteners got to ride the school bus around the block. I'm really excited about her school-- it seems like it's a really great one.

Fourth of July

We had another great 4th of July this year. We had just moved into our new house about five days before, so I dug out our pans to make our first real homemade meal: crepes for Sam's birthday breakfast. 

That afternoon we headed out to the middle of nowhere with Sam's brother's family for some patriotic festivities. It was kind of set up like a fair, so we waited in an eternal line for Bria to get her face painted. Obviously this was the highlight of her year.

By the time we finished with the face painting, we were ready to grab some food and wait for the fireworks to start. It was very hot. There was a certain pregnant someone who may have complained a lot about that heat. 

The fireworks were fun, of course, though it was the most random and choppy music compilation I have ever heard to accompany the display. After waiting in the parking lot for an hour or two, we made our way home with this sleepy and spooky gal.

But of course my favorite part of the 4th is always celebrating Sam's birthday.  I'm wild about the guy-- beard and all.

here comes the son

Because I suppose things like this should be documented for the blogs, it's about time to post about our sweet little boy who will be joining the clan in early November.
Of course Bria is so excited for her baby brother to come, and I know she is going to be an excellent sister. And considering the age difference, I think she will be quite the efficient little helper.
I'm closing out the second trimester here in the next couple weeks and am starting to feel huge. It's a scary thought, since I know 26-week hugeness is nothing compared to 40-week hugeness. Yikes.

his sweet face! I can't believe how far ultrasound technology has come even in the last 5 1/2 years

My 24+ week pregnant glory. We McPhie women don't hold back when it comes to creating very comfy and cushy homes for our babies.