So Glad They Don't Look Alike!

My Trip to Corpus Christi

This past Friday, I headed down to Corpus Christi, Texas to visit my friends, Dan and Stacey Gaines and Tim McGraw. (Like me, Tim was just in town visiting.) Stacey picked me up from the airport around 4:00pm, then we drove back to her house to drop off my suitcase before going to dinner and the Tim McGraw concert. We ended up eating at the original Whataburger in downtown Corpus which was great since we didn't have a chance to try Whataburger last time we were in town. Tim's opening acts were The Band Perry and Luke Bryan (somehow that combination ended up Luke Perry in some of our conversations). A few years ago, we went to Tim's concert in Chicago where some girl named Taylor Swift was his opening act. I decided that getting to the concert early enough to catch that opening act wasn't necessary, because really, who goes to hear the opening act? Well, needless to say, I could kick myself because I love Taylor Swift, so now I try to be more open-minded about any opening act. I actually liked The Band Perry. They were really pretty good... I'd even buy an album. Luke Bryan, on the other hand, was a different story. YUCK! Not a fan, not buying an album, no, no, NO! He seems to have both an ego and drinking problem. And then there was Tim... aahhh. He was great as always. Actually, it may have been the best Tim concert I have ever been to. He did a wide variety of his music. It was the closest I've ever been to him (the stage was in two sections). It was the first stop on this year's tour. And he even did a Lionel Richie song (those who know me know I also love Lionel Richie). I loved every minute of it! Funny thing during the concert: about a dozen people tripped on the steps right next to our aisle seats (three of which were out and out falls). I have no idea what was causing a problem for all those people because the steps next to us were no different than any of the others! Also, Stacey and I had a bit of a communication problem while waiting in line for the bathroom. I said I wanted some boots, she thought I said something else, and we had a good laugh. :-)

Saturday morning, we slept in which was absolutely glorious! Stace made some muffins and coffee for breakfast, then we went to spend some time at the beach. It was a perfect beach day: about 90 degrees but the wind was blowing off the water to keep us cool. There was not a cloud in the sky the whole time. We sat, watched the ocean, talked and read. Perfect. However, I apparently didn't get good coverage with my sunscreen and now have a very painful, very weird (stupid and splotchy) sunburn. Saturday evening we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant called La Playa. (Dan skipped out on Tim and the beach, but he did join us for dinner and a movie.) We three split a yummy chicken and cheese stuffed avocado (fried). So good! I also had some delicious chicken fajitas. After dinner, we went to see the movie Soul Surfer. It was SO good, but Stacey and I cried though the whole movie (sorry, Dan)... then I cried telling Jason about it when I got home. So, you may want to take Kleenex if you go to see it.

Today, Stacey drove me to the airport to catch a 7:00am flight out of Corpus to start my trek back to Indy. I am so grateful that I was able to go visit, and if it were not for Jason's encouragement I probably would not have gone. I had such a wonderful time, and I am so glad that I went. Thanks bunches, Dan and Stacey, for your wonderful hospitality!

I was also very excited to see Jay and my girls again! :-)

Here are some pictures from my trip:

The original Whataburger

Stacey and me at the concert

They're the Band Perry... and they play country music.

Luke Bryan... blech.

Tim McGraw... he was SO close!

And so good!

I took a little bit of video on my camera while we were at the concert too:

A few more photos:

Me and Stacey at the beach... I think maybe the humidity caused the lens to be cloudy.

A beach picture of my little, pregnant belly (again, the humidity must have caused a problem).

Our only non self-portrait: thanks Dan!

21 Week Appointment

Today was my routine prenatal check-up:

Weight gain: gulp... 14 pounds so far
Blood pressure: 112/80
Fundal height: 21 cm
Baby's heart rate: 145 bpm

P.U.S.H.

Pray Until Something Happens

I recently needed the reminder and thought maybe someone else might too!

The End of Spring Break

Today, we went to Chick-fil-A for breakfast and to let girls play in the play area (I think Chloe may technically be too big now... oh well). When we arrived back home, we decided to make most of the sunny, if cool and windy, weather and rode our bikes over to the library. The girls played for a while and picked out a few books to take home. Thanks to Brian and Raendra for letting us use their bike trailer for Charlotte!

(Sorry about the quality of my iPod pics. It was the only camera I had with me!)

Fun With Cousins

Thursday morning, Jason took the day off of work and Audrey and Ruby arrived at our house at 7:30. They had the task of waking up Chloe and Sophie for me (Charlotte woke up as soon as they arrived). The girls spent the morning playing and watching Tangled. We ate lunch at home, then headed to the zoo around noon. It was such a great day to go! It wasn't busy. It wasn't too hot or too cold. It was sunny and beautiful. The animals were much more active than they are in the heat of summer because of the cooler temperatures. The lions and cheetahs were pacing. The African wild dogs were up running around. We also got to see the new bats and warthogs. We had a wonderful time together! Here are some pictures from our day:

Sophie, Chloe, Audrey and Charlotte

Ruby fell asleep in the car and stayed asleep in the stroller for a while.

I love the gibbons! The one with the black fur was not too friendly...

...but this little blond guy was right up front!

All the girls! Ruby woke up during our visit with the gibbons.

Bats (not my favorite)

Bald Eagle

Ruby was content to sit with me and watch the kids on the playground.

One of the white rhinos: they were as inactive in the cool weather as they are in the heat.

A lioness pacing at the side of the fence: she was really close!

The female cheetahs were much more active than this male (the guys and gals are kept in separate areas).

The girls were checking out a duck that had come up out of the pond. Notice that it got warm enough to shed any coats or jackets!