The first post in way too long

So I haven't posted for almost 2 weeks and there is a really good reason for that. Last week I came down with a really bad head cold and I missed quite a bit of work because of that. This is the cold that refuses to go away because I am still dealing with the remnants of it. This past week Brice and I took our annual trip up to the north shore for our anniversary. We drove up on Sunday night after Brice got home from work. We were a little worried about the thunderstorms the weatherman said we were supposed to get that night but ended up driving through clear skies with no rain. Once we got a little farther north we ran into some pretty dense fog but ended up getting to the lodge just fine. On monday there was still quite a bit of fog blowing off of the lake but we ended up doing some sightseeing anyway. The first stop was to Split Rock Lighthouse which is always fun because there are a bunch of little woodpeckers that live up there and I really wanted to get a picture of a couple of them but of course, they were all hiding out! I did end up getting some pictures of the shoreline complete with fog!



I also took this picture of the lighthouse from the base. I think it turned out pretty cool!



On our way from the lighthouse to Gooseberry falls we saw a bald eagle flying around! He landed on a tree top and we were able to pull over and take a picture of him. The camera didn't get zoomed in as much as we would have liked but you can definately see him.




Next stop was the falls - they were really raging! There is a stairway that you can go down to see the lower falls and there was so much water that it was going over one of the paths you can go down.





So the next day we went into Duluth. First stop was the zoo - they actually have a pretty nice zoo there. They have a little area in the main building where you can do some petting. I pet this really cute bunny for a long time - he was so soft!



Then, I found a little wood duck that was in with a bunch of turtles. The poor thing was hungry and kept wining for me to give her some food but I didn't have any to give her. She was too cute not to take a picture.



One of my favorite parts of the zoo are the porcupines - they are so cute! Brice took a picture of me with them.



The next day we took a drive up to Grand Marais thinking that there would be something to do but there wasn't. Pretty much everything there was closed so we ended up finding a little coffee shop and stopped to have a treat. We stopped at Cascade Falls state park and wanted to do some hiking but the winds were so strong and blowing very cold of the lake that I just didn't want to do that. Of course we found out later that the winds were 40mph! They really felt strong enough to bowl you over. While we were driving around we got kind of excited because we saw some moose crossing signs but didn't see any moose. Pretty much all of the critters were staying in the woods because of the wind and I don't blame them. Later that night we decided to drive into Duluth again to have dinner at Fitgers - that place is always really good!

We had to leave on thursday because Brice had to work that evening. It is always sad to leave up there because it is just so relaxing! Brice really wanted to see a ship leave harbor but there wern't very many ships yet so he was really bummed out.

Today I'll have to take another side picture for the scrolling pictures up above. I missed last week but took one the week before. We are now in the 10th week and I'm getting excited to be nearing the end of the first trimester. We have another doctors appointment after easter and I will keep everyone updated!

Well, I believe that is all for now. You can check my Photobucket album for more pictures of our trip.

Thought of the day

A bar of raw steel may be purchased for a few dollars. But when that bar of steel has been thrust into the fires and processed, when it has been tempered and forged and made into tiny watch springs for expensive watches, it is worth thousands of dollars... God through the refining fire of His Spirit performs a thousand miracles a day in the spiritual realm. His regenerating power can take the dull and ordinary things of our lives--even the burned-out ashes of our past--and forge them into something useful, even beautiful, for His purposes.

Baby's first picture

Brice and I had our first prenatal appointment yesterday and ended up getting to have an ultrasound so we got to see the baby for the first time. It was very neat because you could see the little heart beating which was a strong 154 beats per minute. It's a good thing my doc decided to do the ultrasound because baby is measuring 7 weeks instead of the 8 we thought I was at so the due date has now moved to October 26th. At our next appointment we get to actually hear the heart beat! I'm so excited to be able to hear that even though we saw the heart beat yesterday. You should have seen the look on Brice's face....he is definitely going to be the proud papa!

Growing....

So, I have officially grown out of my first pair of pants! Last night I realized that I only had one pair of jeans to wear to work today since it is jeans day. Instead of deciding that I was going to wear them I decided that it was better if I tried them on first. It was a good thing that I did because they were VERY hard to get zipped and buttoned. I had to do the lay on the bed while zipping trick to even get them to close. Needless to say, I did not wear those to work today - I had to wear my maternity jeans for the first time in a setting that was not just lounging around the house. It's a good thing they came in the mail on Wednesday otherwise I would have had to worn the ones that I have to keep pulling up because they are too big yet. And yes, I have had to order all of my maternity pants online which I guess is better than not being able to find any at all! This weekend I'll have to tackle my closet and put away the stuff that I'm not going to be able to wear anymore since it seems like my abdomen really is getting bigger even though it is hard to see.

Week 8

Well, Brice took some pictures of me yesterday as we are now in the 8th week. I am starting to notice some changes in the way my pants fit, especially my jeans. They are starting to get a little tighter than usual and are getting uncomfortable. I don't really need to start wearing the maternity jeans I have but I think that I might just because they are much more comfortable. One thing I could really go without is all of the pimples I have been blessed with. It's like I'm in high school again! I have them everywhere, even places I have never had them before. Of course, my face is the prime spot but they are showing up on my back, my arms, my chest, my neck and behind my ears which end up being pretty painful. I should buy stock in some company that sells pimple products and see if I can make some money off of my own purchases!

Thought of the day

Give, and it will be given to you. Luke 6:38

"Give," Christ commanded. Yet it was more than a command. It was an invitation to glorious and abundant living. If a person gets his attitude toward money right, it will help straighten out almost every other area of his life.... The chief motive of the selfish, unregenerate person is "get." The chief motive of the dedicated Christian should be "give." Jesus said, "Give, and it will be given to you." It's a promise, and we know Jesus never breaks His promises. Getting...or giving? Which is true of you?

Another Long Story

So, the repair man came to look at our dishwasher that hasn't been working on Friday. It turns out that it's pretty much shot because of the hard water we have in Prior Lake. He suggested that we get a water softener and a new dishwasher because we'll spend just as much getting the one we have fixed so we might as well buy a new one. So we took a trip to Lowe's this weekend to check out how much all of this will set us back. While we were there, we decided to get paint and a wallpaper border for the baby's room. Here is a picture of the border we picked out:


The color of the room will be the purple from the rainbow and one of the blue colors that is in there.

So, I got to work today and got an email from my dad that my life insurance policy accidentally got cancelled and they sent my parents a check for the cash value which is over a thousand dollars - that's pretty much exactly what we will need for the water softener and the dishwasher!

Also, a week ago I had a guy come out and look at our couch because part of it is broken. I got a letter to call customer service about it this weekend so I called this morning. Turns out that they are going to give us a brand new couch! Brice and I are going to go after work to pick one out.

It seems I have run into some good luck today - that's kind of nice for once! Hopefully it will rub off on other people too.

We survived the snow

So, it started snowing while I was at work on Thursday and they did not close the office which was really REALLY stupid of them. I ended up leaving about 15 minutes early and the roads were so bad it took me a little longer than an hour and a half to get home. I had to stop for gas in the middle of it as well. In the time it took me to fill my tank I was soaked through and looked like a wet dog. 169 heading south over the river was mostly slushy that had started to freeze which is why I think traffic was crawling. Once I got onto 13, the roads were faster moving but there was more snow. When I pulled onto Main to get home, I was traveling through about 5 or so inches of snow and it just got worse as I turned onto each street because they had not yet plowed the smaller side streets. Absolutely none of the schools were open yesterday and they STILL did not close the office. That was really stupid too because the snow wasn't coming down as hard but it had started to blow. I was watching the news for views from the cameras on the freeways and the roads down in this area looked hideous. I decided not to risk it and stayed home. Brice and I decided to go out for dinner after some of the snow had been cleared and the roads still were pretty snowey and slippery. So, I took some pictures after I got home on Thursday from work - I'll post a few here but for the rest please go to my photobucket album to see the rest.

This is the view from our patio. I shot it at floor level from inside the house so you can see how far up the snow was. It is actually deeper now because yesterday there was blowing snow off of the roof that was falling onto the patio.


This is the view of the sky - you can see how crappy the visibility was.


This is one of the trees next to our garage. You can see how loaded down with snow they already were. Of course, this got worse because we had another 12 hours of snow after I took this picture. Sorry that it's sideways!

Winter weather strikes again

So basically we are all sitting at work waiting for them to close the office so we can get home. It started snowing this morning around 8am and visibility was pretty icky from time to time. The snow has been steady now for about 2 hours or so. It sounds like the worst of it right now is to the north of us in Duluth and to the south of us in Albert Lee where they have already closed I-35 south to Ames, IA. The Duluth office closed today at noon and I am really hoping that our office will follow suit. Pretty much all of the schools today are getting out early or cancelled - Prior Lake actually cancelled classes today. I'll take some pictures of what is going on down by our house when I get home. It actually might turn out kind of treacherous since we are a block from the lake and with the winds blowing we might get some good snow drifts. Too bad I didn't bring the camera to work today, I could be taking some video of the snow from the time it started to later in the day. I'm really looking forward to the blizzard - it's been since high school that I was stuck in one in Grand Forks with my parents and my speech team when we were at state competition (remember that dad?). I'll have to blog that story later - I think I have some pictures at home of the snow that we had in the street when we finally got home. Everyone please drive safe!

New Pictures

I took more pictures last night - I am currently in week 7 of my pregnancy and doing really good. I have no morning sickness at all which I am very happy about.