The Hangover.

I'm still dealing with a vacay hangover. You know, when you have a blissful escape from the real world and then all the sudden its over and you are back at work like you never left except you're in a little fog of remembering how you had it so nice there for a while? I had it really bad yesterday; today I'm doing a little better. Enough to get back on the blogosphere, anyway.

We escaped to Indiana for an extended weekend. It was excellent. The night before was the tiny contraction scare, but the nurse said I could still go. We considered staying home, but I'm so glad we didn't. What did we do all weekend? Very little. Just what we wanted. A totally stress-free weekend without extensive plans.

Our first day we did spend some time hanging out on the back porch. Sorry, I uploaded these pictures in the large size but didn't feel like redoing it, so they are definitely large.

Porch time: Chris, Jenny, Chris's mom Lisa

I seriously don't feel this big. When I look down I think I just

look like I ate a big burrito, but in these pictures I look ginormous.

Chris and Sarah having bonding time.

Me and Lori R, the host of our magical Memorial Day weekend.
A boy and his dog.

On the 3rd of July the C girls held a baby shower in Lil's honor. It was wonderful. So wonderful that I'm going to save up and do a big shower post after the other 2 are finished this week. I know you'll all be anxiously awaiting that one.

The 4th of July began with pouring rain, which continued all day. BBQ's around Lafayette were moving indoors, including ours. We had a relaxing morning lounging about. There was excitement in the morning. My mil Lisa had put some dishes in the oven so stash them away during the shower the day before (ok, who hasn't done that?) and forgot about them. So that morning she pre-heated the oven for breakfast and it didn't take long for a small fire and lots of melted plastic to emerge. I slept through the ordeal, but hearing about it made me chuckle because a year ago on the 4th my mom was making fruit pizza and the crust spilled over the edge of the pan, starting a small fire. What a tradition. That afternoon the rain led us to a visit to Target where Chris and I spent extensive time playing around with strollers and carseats. You see, I got a jogging stroller at my shower, which was really exciting, and we have a nice black Graco stroller that was passed on to us from someone in our ward. Now we need a carseat, preferably one that would work with both. But I cannot find a carseat I like that will go with 2 black strollers within a reasonable price range. A Graco one is optimal, but their inexpensive ones come in the jungle animal and Pooh Bear variety, which just isn't my style. And I'd love one what has a black body, to match the strollers. I'm being totally picky, I know, but that's me sometimes. Talk to Chris and you'd know I've actually come a long way in the pickiness of strollers . . . from the $500 Bumbleride to the $300 Chicco set to a black carseat that matches our free stroller. Yes, I'm getting better at frugality. Anyway, I found this one online and am in love. The only black bodied, cute, and affordable carseat in all the land. The single problem? It's half pink. What if #2 is a Lil' Dude? Then we have a problem. We'll see.
Sorry about that tangent. Back to the 4th. That evening we had our delicious indoor BBQ complete with corn on the cob, hot dogs, and baked beans. We had decided already not to trek across town to Purdue to watch the fireworks. A long drive, followed by a long walk, was not what I was in the mood for, especially considering my tiny contraction scare last week. I was a bit disappointed that I wouldn't see a fireworks show, as I totally adore "the BIGGEST SHOW IN IDAHO" that occurs in my hometown every year. After a small Bones marathon (love that show) I went down to start packing my things. Chris came down and said the neighbors were shooting off fireworks. I went to the back deck to find the neighbors shooting off fireworks. I mean real professional fireworks. Big high in the sky booming bright fireworks. For like 20 minutes or more. I can't imagine how much money they spent, but that's fine by me because I got my fireworks show after all.

The C family dog, Sam, hates the 4th of July. It makes her a nervous wreck and she shakes all day and comes really close for you to snuggle and comfort her. Poor pup. After the neighbor's extravagant show, we came inside to find Sam like this. Her only safe haven.
It was a very enjoyable and relaxing 4th. Just thought I'd brag about 1 more thing. At my shower, a bunch of C relatives came down from Chicago. They are all so fun and it was great to see them. Amid my baby gifts, there was a small silver Nordstroms box with a silver ribbon. "Oh! That's your graduation gift!" Chris's aunt said. I opening the silver box to find a Juicy Couture jewelry box. And in that box was a Juicy Couture necklace. "A horse shoe, for good luck". I love it. Its gorgeous. I don't really have any fancy-brand jewelry and my wedding ring is really the only "nice jewelry" I have. It was a very pleasant and fun surprise. Chris calls it my "Peyton Manning necklace" because he says it looks like the Colts symbol. Such a man.
Finally, on the way back to Tennessee we stopped off in Cincinnati and had lunch with our friends Matt and Allie, who we hadn't seen since they left Provo over a year ago. It was so good to see them. Can we just say Allie is due with a boy 10 weeks behind me and she looks totally amazing? Yeah . . . Oh, and its pretty obvious Chris and Matt are pinching each others' rear-ends in this picture, too. What are friends for?

So that was our weekend. Chris and I mark time by things we look forward too. This spring/summer it has been a trip to Idaho/Utah . . . weekend in Cincinnati . . . 4th of July in Indiana . . . . and next? Birth of our baby. Wow, that's next.