Okay, so we haven't written in awhile...and a lot has happened! Since we last wrote... we are having a baby boy...due November 12, 2009. I am about 23 weeks pregnant right now, and it has definitely been a struggle. The pregnancy has definitely NOT been fun so far...severe morning sickness (all-day sickness) for 3 and a half months, heart arrhythmias and heart racings, a trip to the emergency room, low blood sugar and low blood pressure and lots of interesting aches and pains. BUT throughout it all, I am so thankful that the baby is super healthy and that God has gotten me through every bit of it!!! I am feeling him move every day now...sometimes really hard kicks and flips! He is about 1 pound now, and on the ultrasound we got to see his cute little profile, his hands, his little feet, AND...it was VERY clear he is a boy, if you know what I mean. We have a picture of right between the legs, so we have no doubt. hehe. So, we are now in the process of picking out baby things and registering at baby stores. It is SO overwhelming. We are so excited because Missy, my sister in law, and my mom are planning us a baby shower for July 19th in Redwood City. We would love any of you to come!!!
Kevin is still working at his LucasFilm editing job...and he still loves it. He has almost been there a whole year now!! It is hard for us to believe we have really been in the Bay Area for almost 1 year! We got to go to his work-party at Skywalker Ranch for a 4th of July party(pics below)
and it was a lot of fun. I am DONE with my counseling job in San Francisco and NEVER going back, thank God. I am on a leave right now from the district and am so thankful that I had doctors who were willing to write me notes so that I didn't have to finish out the last month or so of school because of the problems I was having with my heart. For next year, I am planning to stay home and take care of the baby full-time and then after that, I will see what God has in store for me. By the way...Kev and my 3rd anniversary was yesterday on July 15th (see pics below)!!!
Alrighty, the next news... we just got back from Europe (Italy, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland) a week ago! So, I was about 4 and a half months pregnant when we left and in just two weeks, my stomach got huge! The trip was amazing, but also very hard at times...I was struggling with anxiety and jet-lag and just being plain tired from the pregnancy and traveling somewhere new every day or two. We had a EuRail pass for the first week while we were in Italy, so we rode on the train. Then we rented a car in Austria and drove through Germany and into Switzerland! It was very busy! So, this was the trip breakdown.
Rome for 3 days: We stayed in this cute B&B a block away from the Colosseum...and thank goodness we had air conditioning! We went on a Colosseum tour in the heat...and we were SOOO hot! We also saw the Trevi Fountain, the fountain of the 4 Rivers, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, the Cat Sanctuary, the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, and much more! We were so jet-lagged that we would wake up at like 4 or 5 in the morning and get up and walk around when it wasn't too hot. That was nice. We had lots of good Italian food too. One thing I loved: coming back to our hotel room and having our nice hostess from Chicago offer us glasses of juice and water WITH ICE IN THEM!!! There is NO ice over there... so it was truly truly wonderful to stay with someone originally from America.
Italian Riviera (Vernazza) for 1 day: This was such a drastic change from Rome...we loved it. Vernazza is a cute little fishing village in Cinque Terre. There are really no cars in the village... and the whole village is on a hill overlooking the Sea. We felt the water and it was so warm! We stayed in an adorable B&B high up in the little town...we had to walk up tons of stairs to get there, winding in little cobblestone streets...and it was adorable. The place had a beautiful balcony overlooking the ocean and the cliffs. It was just so RELAXING...especially after hot Rome. If we ever go back, we want to stay in the Italian Riviera at least for a week or so and do nothing but relax and swim and eat and sleep. So while we were there, I was just so tired that Kevin went to a really good Italian restaurant and got us food to go...and they even gave us a free bottle of wine (although Kev had to drink it all because of me being prego...hehe). That was a very delicious meal...sitting out on the balcony overlooking the ocean. Also, there are TONS of cats just wandering around the town...and they loved to be petted. That was fun.
Florence for 2 days: Next we went to Florence and unfortunately it was VERY HOT again. We stayed in a B&B that had air conditioning again, which was great... and the host and hostess were so nice. Most of the people we stayed with spoke English very well, which was also nice. The lady of this place is also a cook and gives cooking classes...so we had a HUGE meal on the first night we were there...with traditional Italian cooking. It was SOOO much food...we thought we were going to explode. The first course had appetizer things: mushroom and fennil puree with cheese and stuffed eggplants and tomatoes. The second course was a big plate of homemade pesto pasta which was delicious. The third course was a salad with chicken made with homemade balsamic vinegar...and by this time... I could only eat one bite of chicken. Kevin was struggling too. I was scared to see what was for dessert cause I could barely eat one more bite, but it was nice and refreshing: fresh berries with a little chocolate. SOOO...we were stuffed, but it was definitely a fun experience. She also cooked us breakfast and really good fresh pastries with fresh marmalade.
So, in Florence, we went to the Duomo and walked inside... had gelato...yum yum... (we had a lot in Rome too), we went to the Accademia Galleria where we saw the David statue by Michelangelo... and it was truly amazing! It was so much HUGER than I imagined...and for anyone going there, I would definitely recommend you reading the Agony and the Ecstasy before you go... it helps you realize so much more about Michelangelo. The David was one of my favorite things on the trip...you can even see the veins in his legs. It is amazing. We also went to the Pitti Palace and walked the gardens there and got to see a beautiful view of Florence.
Venice for 1 day: Next was Venice. I loved Venice. It was definitely one of my favorites. We were lucky because the day we went, they had just had a storm...so it was so fresh and cool. It was pretty windy down by the water, but it was so nice after being so hot! We stayed in yet another cute B&B that was right off one of the canals. It was really cute. We ate at a restaurant right off another canal and were shocked to find out you had to pay around 13 dollars just to SIT next to the canal. We did a lot of shopping in Venice too... and loved the Venetian glass. I loved being able to take the ferry around the city. It was great.
Salzburg, Austria for 2 days: Next we had our long train-travel day to Salzburg. It was often hard traveling on the train, because even though we tried to pack light, we still had to lug our bags around on and off the trains..and we had to carry a whole small bag of food for me so I wouldn't get low blood sugar. BUT...we finally made it to Salzburg, and it was like a breath of fresh air, after Italy. Italy is wonderful, but also way hotter in the summer and also dirtier...more graffiti and trash everywhere. Austria was so clean and so GREEN and pretty. Also, our hotel was adorable... in a tiny town right outside Austria...and we got huge down comforters. We also had a wonderful view of a little stream and pretty Austrian houses and trees. It was adorable. Also, there was a bathtub...which we didn't have the whole time in Italy...they always just had tiny showers.
So, while we were there, we went on the Sound of Music bus tour all over Austria and the surrounding lake villages. We went to the Pavilion where they filmed the song "Sixteen going on Seventeen" and had our picture in front of it. We also went to the site where they filmed the back of their house and the lake where the kids all fell out of the boat. We saw the lane where they climbed the trees and also the gardens where they filmed the "Do Re Me" song. Finally we ended up in a small town where we got to go in the church where they filmed the wedding scene and where the REAL Maria and Captain got married. We had apple streudel and ice cream at a tiny shop there...it was delicious. So, that was very beautiful and very fun. We also got to walk around Salzburg which was very pretty and fun. It was raining part of the time too. Kevin got to eat wienerschnitzel and it was interesting to find out that it is NOT sausage...but like a breaded steak.
From Salzburg, we rented a car (a very nice Volvo with leather seats) and started out for Switzerland. We drove ALL DAY long...throughout Germany. It was very beautiful...very very green with cute little houses with shutters and flowers in the windowsills. We had lunch in Munich, where my mom recommended that we go to the famous Haufbrahaus restaurant. It was very fun and huge. They serve HUGE things of beer (Kevin got 1 liter!!!!...and almost finished it)...and have an umpa-band. Kevin got their famous veal sausages and a warm pretzel and I got a pork loin steak. It was really good. From there, we drove to Switzerland....and I am grateful to say stopped at many wonderful McDonalds to go to the bathroom...and the McDonalds are definitely NOT like the ones here. They are NICE and have all sorts of interesting foods like shrimp and other things...including high-tech tvs and fireplaces and little cafes with cakes and pastries.
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland for 2 nights: Switzerland is just so gorgeous that it surpasses any expectations... it is unbelievable! We stayed in Hotel Staubbach, right underneath Staubbach Falls, in the middle of the Alps in this tiny village. We could see the famous 3 peaks of Switzerland... and from our balcony we could see at least 3-4 waterfalls. There was a little church right next door and they ring their bell every 15 minutes...and for some reason at noon and 4:00, they ring the bell for like 5-10 minutes!!! It did get a little annoying, but it was also sort of charming. There were tons of back-packers and we loved to watch the hang-gliders and parachutes cascading down towards us in the valley. So, while we were here, we were able to rest a lot and drive around to the other neighboring towns and cities. We went to Interlaken where we took a horse carriage ride in the city. That was very fun. We also drove through Thun, which was ADORABLE... I would love to go back there. Lake Thun and Lake Brienz are just goregous, with alps all around and clear blue-green water. We also drove out to Grindlewald, another small village surrounded by Alps. Very beautiful. Let me tell you...any cows you see...they really do wear the BIG bells from their necks. It was funny. We had some really good cheese and bread one night in our room too.
1 night in Wengen, Switzerland. Next we went from Lauterbrunnen up on a little cogwheel train to the resort village of Wengen, high in the Alps. There are no cars in Wengen, so the only way to get there is by cable car or the small train. An electric car came and picked us up at the train station and took us to our hotel. It was an adorable little hotel and we had a balcony overlooking the hills and Alps. That night, we had a thunderstorm...and it was AMAZING. It was also scary...we were soooo high up and you could hear the thunder RIGHT above us and see the lightning too. It rained buckets and buckets. The town of Wengen is a cute ski village and in the winter there are tons of winter sports things to do.
1 night in Weggis, Switzerland, on Lake Lucerne: This was a great place to stay on our last night. We stayed at this hotel overlooking the beautiful lake...with a balcony. We were able to go swimming in a heated pool IN THE RAIN right next to Lake Lucerne. They also had an indoor whirlpool and chairs overlooking the lake and a herbal steam room. So, we got to relax in the spa and pool for awhile. Then we had dinner in their restaurant right on the lake and they had real swans right there. We got up early the next morning and drove our car to the Zurich airport, where we flew back to San Francisco....traveling for almost 24 hours with NO sleep!
We were very glad to get home...but we had a wonderful trip. It was beautiful and so much fun! We thank all of you for all your prayers! We would LOVE to see any of you that are in the area. Just give us a call!! We love and miss you!
