"Oh I need to tell you somethin'...

...I don't got a bellybutton."

At least it is quickly disappearing. I had heard of "innies" becoming "outies" during pregnancy and was mildly concerned about that a few months back. I am partial to my "innie." But Junior had other remodeling plans. Instead of pushing it out, he is spreading it out. What used to be a good sized bellybutton is now a pin prick hole of its former self. It is slowly being stretched until it will vanish all together.

I am glad Veggie Tales understands.

Grad students on the loose

All work and no play makes Keith a dull boy, and makes me one unhappy pregnant lady. Both are situations to be avoided. For that reason we try to sneak out of the lab and away from the computer from time to time. According to my boss and master's adviser I am supposed to be grounding myself until the thesis is done, but like I said, we are trying to avoid the whole crazy pregnant lady thing.

On Labor Day Keith and I joined his folks and some family friends for a little hike up to Broadhead Meadows in the Uintas. We spent a relaxing day exploring the meandering stream and laying in the grass. Ahhh.

My home town is home to the country's 7th largest state fair. Yep, it's a big deal. Especially to us. I never missed a year of it until I moved to college and I miss it. Scones, taffy, animals, the BIG slide, awesome. This year Keith and I went to the Utah State Fair in an effort to satisfy my fair craving and because he had never been (never been to your own state fair! inconceivable!). Admittedly it didn't stand up to "Doin' the Puyallup" but we had a good time.

We met new folks...
Dressed up like a chicken...
Saw AWESOME quilts...
and had a grand 'ol time.

I took a trip to Spokane to get the very last of my field data for my thesis (bitter sweet). Yes technically it was work, but the nice thing about field studies is that they rarely feel like it. The meadow larks were serenading me all day.
A few weeks ago we took a Sunday drive on the Nebo Loop. SO LOVELY! Classical music, vibrant colors, crisp air. It was great.

So that's what we've been up to besides school and growin' a baby. Happy fall!!!

P.S. Last weekend we had another get-away when we went to see the world's largest... well, you will just have to wait and see.

Mind Dump

Canoeing on Bowron Lakes, Canada.
Where I would rather be at times (yes even including mosquitoes) when writing my thesis.

I am more behind on my blog than I am on my "What I must do to deliver my thesis before I deliver my baby" schedule. Which is a good thing, I suppose. The thesis is going well. It is painful at times, but it is coming along.

A few thoughts:
What is it with 90 degree days when it is almost October. Huh? I have a hard time feeling in the autumn mood when it is like this. To remedy the situation Keith and I took a Sunday drive along the Nebo Loop. Blissful. Crisp, clean, autumn-ness in full swing. Pictures will come.

My adviser says not to focus on the stats in my paper. They should go at the end and be described just enough to allow readers to know what I did. They are not the main point of the paper. Will someone tell my stats professor this?

Call me crazy but I want a puppy. I think little boys should have puppies. (And the mothers of little boys for that matter).

We are going to our first childbirth class this evening. I think that is really weird. I never really pictured myself taking a class with a bunch of other pregnant women and I don't know what to expect. On top of that, our class could be termed to be a bit "alternative" (which, to be honest, is part of why I picked it). This could be interesting.

I want to make pumpkin pies and pecan pies for Thanksgiving. I decided this when I woke up at 2am last night.

It's a...

...BOY! Keith and I got our first glimpse at our son last week. It was so fun! I was fascinated by all the organs and detail that we could see. The pictures don't do justice to the clarity of some of the things we saw. The only thing we didn't see was the little guys face no matter how much poking and prodding we did to make him turn over. I guess he is a bit camera shy.

Giving us the "thumbs up." I think that means that all is well in there.

A foot. He is just shy of a pound at this point.

For those of you who asked for it, here is the 20 week baby bump. Junior (as we have started calling him in-utero) seems to get bored in classes. That tends to be his most active time which can be a bit distracting to me as I try my best to focus on things like stats. I had a hard time focusing on stats BEFORE there was something doing kickboxing in my abdomen.

Temus' in the Tetons

We had a little Temus get-together (minus Sarah and Darren *sniff*) last week right before school began again. In a word it was joyous.

We spent all but one night at Jenny Lake. Lovely. It has been a long time since I have been car camping and it felt luxurious. Camping+flushing toilets=wow.
Tuesday we hiked up Garnet Canyon where we spent the night. Talk about a spectacular canyon! Everyone divided up my gear and left me with just a day pack. I was spoiled but not complaining!
A marmot who joined us as we took a water break and enjoyed the view.
Keith with the Middle Teton in the background. This is the peak that the more fit feeling (i.e. not me) of us climbed early the next morning.
Water break amongst the boulders.
The Tetons are Mom and Dad's old stomping grounds. It is where a good portion of their courtship took place, especially on climbs from Garnet Canyon. We enjoyed a lot of trips down memory lane. The stories just get better as the years go on.
Camp. That is the Middle behind though we couldn't see the summit from this vantage point.
Wildflowers along the stream near camp. Mom and I spent Wednesday (before the climbers returned and we hiked out) doing yoga and watching climbers on various peaks and routes through the binoculars. Watching all the fun routes from a distance made my feet itch for a climb. I predict several return trips to the Tetons in my future where I get more rock time.
Back in the valley the brothers found a rock to jump off. Dad and Liz also braved the cold water. Wading was as cold as I wanted to go.
Thursday we took the boat across Jenny Lake to Cascade Canyon to find some rock to climb, and oh was there rock! Gorgeous granite! So great for the climbing. Dad and Mom took some time to review lesson on placing protection and at that pint my camera battery died. So there are no pics of the actual climbing. As a side note: climbing while pregnant is interesting. My balance is a bit off and I am still trying to get a sense of where my new center of gravity is. My new yoga tapes should help...
School was beckoning so we reluctantly had to leave. On the way back to Utah Liz and Joe met up with some of Joe's Rexburg pals and kayaked a bit of the Snake River.

Two of Joe's friends enter to the right of the picture and Joe (small red helmet, kayak under water) enters the bigger wave on the left...
The bottom of Joe's kayak (green). It adds to the spectator excitement level when someone takes a swim.
The bottom of Liz's kayak.
She added to the excitement some more by flipping back over (far right).
Bottom line: family reunions rock.

Strange But Good

I've been feeling a bit odd lately...

I wake up to use the restroom on a nightly basis. When I do sleep I have WEIRD dreams (Star Wars battles in Provo?!?).

My clothes don't fit properly.

I am often extremely hungry even if I just ate a few hours before. Even when crazy hunger hits, however, the smell of our neighbor's Asian cooking makes me feel like I just got off of a roller-coaster (I don't like roller-coasters).

I have super-human olfactory powers. I can smell cheese down wind from me a mile away (yum!!!).

Keith says that I shouldn't worry. It is just because I am pregnant and it will all be worth it come January.

He is probably right.

P.S. Hiking is the BEST cure for morning sickness. Driving to the trail head is not.