Ultrasound

Today Bill and I went to the twenty week ultrasound.

We found out we are having a boy! :) :) :)

The appointment went very well, he's weighing in at 13 oz right now, and was moving all around. At one point he had the hiccups! We got to see his heart, his kidneys, arms, legs, face, spine, and of course the "boy parts" ;)

I'll try to post a updated picture tomorrow ~ which is also the first day of school ~ so it might be posted at some point by the end of the week.

In other news...
Cinnamon (our cutie pie dog) has been doing great the last few weeks, and is transitioning nicely into our school routine. She loves to be under blankets and loves to hang out on the couch with us. We have been trying to introduce her to all kinds of new people and pets around our neighborhood. She's just soooooo cute!!!

Okay, that's all for now :)

Our trip North day 3 and 4

Friday was our last day with the Patterson's before heading north to the Barton's. We started the day by crossing into Maine and visiting the Nubble Lighthouse.

Before leaving for more driving, we took one last group shot with Scott and Carissa.

We arrived in Bar Harbor, Maine and headed straight to the boat for our whale watching tour. They told us to dress in warm clothes, and I'm glad we did! It got to be about 45 degrees once we were away from land and out in the chilly sea air. We spent the first 40 minutes of our 3 hour tour "driving" out of the harbor and towards where the whales were.

It was worth the wait and the cold temperatures! It was neat to see real whales up close. They were close enough to see well, but not close enough to freak me out! :)

After we were finished whale watching, we drove to Chuck and Gail Barton's house in Trenton, Maine. They had a lovely dinner ready and waiting for us, and we spent the evening catching up with family that we haven't seen in a long time. (Chuck is my dad's cousin)

Saturday we spent the day with Chuck and Gail on Bar Harbor island in Acadia National Park. The picture below is us at the top of Cadillac Mountain.

For lunch, Chuck and Gail treated us at Jordon Pond. They are well known for their 'popovers'. I felt very touristy taking the picture, but I'm glad I did. :)

After lunch, we kept touring the island, including Sandy Beach. There were lots of people at the beach but we thought the water was freezing!!!

This picture is a good one to show how rocky the coast line is. It goes from pine trees and rocks into water ~ and that's what it's like everywhere!

Saturday evening's dinner included a fresh Maine lobster for Bill! The rest of us looked on as he enjoyed his seafood, and we enjoyed our steak dinner.

sorry...

Can you tell school has begun? The past few days (weeks) have been very busy and I know I'm behind in my blog posts about our vacation and the arrival of our new dog Cinnamon.

I promise when Bill gets home tonight and I can have some computer time I'll be posting!!

:)

Laura

Our trip north, day two

Our second day in New Hampshire was spent in the White Mountains. The drive was about an hour away from the Patterson's house. We enjoyed our time there - we had a relaxing day!

The Basin - a big circle area at the bottom part of the mountain that's about 15 ft deep.

Group shot at the Basin area - Tim, Deb, Carissa, Scott, Bill, and me!
Bill and I with our feet in the 'northern waters'

Although the water was bone-chilling cold, Bill embraced the experience and got all the way in!!!

We hiked up the mountain trail - look at all those roots!

Bill and I on the rocks where we stopped to see the view.

We left that area and headed for Cannon Mountain. We took the cable car up to the top (the picture only shows the first 2/3 of the ride... it was longer... a 7 minute ride...) and then hiked the "summit trail". I convinced myself that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and went for it despite my fear of heights (not to mention the slight vertigo that occurs!). I didn't do much looking from the top, but I enjoyed the scenery none the less.

Bill on the other had fun "on the edge". :)

At the peak, there is an observation tower. This is not the top. I didn't go to the top. I made it to the first platform and after this picture was gripping the side rail.

This is the picture for the history books! I'm sitting on the edge!!!! :)

The views were beautiful. :)

After this we went to Mt. Washington... but I didn't have a picture ready to upload yet... it was fun to see the fancy Mt. Washington Hotel, and the peak of the mountain was actually covered in fog... so we can say we saw it, but it wasn't the greatest of views.

Day three is our trip up to Maine!

Our trip North, day one

We left for our week long trip to the New England states on Tuesday August 10th. We drove from Hanover to Pittsfield, NH and it took 9 hours. We enjoyed being welcomed by Tim and Deb Patterson, parents of our friend Scott. We had a steak dinner on Tuesday night and spent the evening talking.

Wednesday morning we woke up early and headed into Boston, Mass. for a day of sightseeing. It is about 1.5-2 hours away from where we were in NH, and we figured it was worth the drive.

Bill and I were very glad to have the chance to see the city, and we were also glad to have a 'tourguide' with us! Tim Patterson knows a lot about the history of the city, and we started at Bunker Hill.

The monument was under construction, but normally you can take stairs/elevator to the top.

Next stop - the naval ship yard. We saw a ship in 'dry dock' and also the USS Constitution, the oldest commissioned sea vessel in the world.

From there, we started to (sort of) follow the Freedom Trail. The trail runs through Boston and there is a brick path or a painted red line all through the city to show where to go. Along the freedom trail are many historical buildings.

This is the State House. (my picture of it's sign didn't upload like I thought it did...)

One stop that Bill and I found interesting was the cemetary where several famous men are buried. It was right in the city, but it was sooooooo old.

These may be a little hard to read... this one is Samuel Adams.

Below is Paul Revere's grave.

This one is John Hanncock's grave.

Although not part of the Freedom trail, we enjoyed some time in the park called Boston Commons. Here's Bill and I on a bridge there, with the city in the background.

The TV show Cheer's is set in Boston, at the bar/restaurant with the same name.

We visted two locations - the 'real' one, and a replica.

While at Cheer's for dinner, we had authentic Boston cream pie for dessert.

After dinner Tim took Bill and I to Paul Revere's house and to see the church where the historic lanterns were ('one if by land, two if by sea'). It was dark by then, so the picture didn't turn out so great...but we were still able to appreciate it!

And that, finally, is the end of our first tourist day in New England.
The next post will be about our trip to the mountains!

Camping and 17 weeks

Camping

This past weekend, we went camping with the Barton family.

We stayed at a campground in the Shawnee State Park, which is near Bedford, PA.

Friday we went on a walking tour of Bedford, and ate at the Jean Bonnet Tavern.

Saturday we enjoyed the lake and then grilled our dinner - yum!

Saturday evening we celebrated our niece Chloe's first birthday, since Bill and I won't be at the birthday party this year. What a cutie pie!

17 weeks

I'm 17 weeks today, which is the last week in the fourth month - so here's a picture for you.

The baby is about 5 inches long and weighs about 5 oz.

:)

The ultrasound appointment to find out if it's a boy or a girl is on the 30th. I can't wait!!!