Sisters

I will post more pictures later but this is one of the only ones I kind of approve of myself. I still look huge! Sara and Tracey look so cute. I loved spending time with my sisters and I wish we could see each other more often. We have a lake weekend planned in late August which I am very excited about. I am sure the dogs are excited too because they don't get to see each other very often either. Bert misses his cousin Dulce even if she is a bad influence on him!

I lost it!

We had an amazing time in St. John. It did not get off to the best start though. We were all flying standby because the flight prices were ridiculous. The Crawford's were leaving on Friday and the King's on Saturday to give everyone a better chance of making the flights. Erik's parents made it on the first flight, barely. Erik then made it on the second flight although I was not so lucky. There was a good 5 hours between the second and third flights. I had some lunch, went to the airport spa for a mani/pedi and read my book. It was actually kind of relaxing.

The last flight was not looking good but I ended up making it. We flew into some bad weather near San Juan. The pilot announced that we were getting ready to land in St. Thomas. I could see the rain and lightening out the window which was kind of scary. We made our decent and then all of a sudden the nose of the plane pulled up. We increased speed and gained altitude really quickly. I have never been on a plane that has done that before. The pilot came on the speaker and said he was not able to land due to visibility. He could not see the runway! We had to circle around in a holding pattern for 45 minutes waiting for the weather to clear.

The pilot came back on and said he was going to try again. You could still not see anything outside due to the rain and fog so this was cause for concern. He said if we could not land we would fly to San Juan, refuel and try again. I was quite tired at this point from being at the airport since 7:30am and it was now 9pm. I just prayed that we would be able to land in St. Thomas. We made our decent again but could still see nothing. All of a sudden we hit the ground. There must have been a ton of water on the runway because it sprayed on the plane and outwards when we hit. Then we began to fishtail and I realized that we were hydroplaning. The pilot slammed on the brakes and eventually got control of the plane.

Once I started breathing again, I realized the entire plane was clapping and cheering. It was by far the scariest landing I have ever had on a plane. I do not want to repeat that one again. Anyway, Erik was waiting for me at the airport. We got in a taxi and told him we wanted to make the 11pm ferry to St. John. He stood outside talking for a good 20 minutes (after the cab was full of people) and then decided to drive us the 45 minute drive to the dock. That was a scary drive being on the hills of St. Thomas with wet roads and a fast driver. We saw the ferry at the dock so we ran off the taxi only to discover we had just missed it by about 15 seconds.

I lost it! I started going off on the taxi driver. I used some very foul language and called him several bad names. After I felt a little better, I just ran into the women's bathroom and cried. I cried for a good ten minutes just letting out all of the frustrations of the day. I was tired, hungry and angry. Luckily, there was one more ferry at midnight. If that had been the last ferry and we were stuck on St. Thomas, that taxi driver would have been paying for my hotel room.

I will continue my story tomorrow and hopefully post some pictures of the trip. Happy Tuesday!

Off to Paradise!

I have been so incredibly busy the past week. Erik went to Denver to hang out with the guys and watch the start of the World Cup. I had a long, three set match in tennis in 100 degree on Sunday. At least we won! Work has been overwhelming but that means deals which equals money.

Anyway, we are off to St. John in the morning through next Saturday. I am so ready for a break. Unfortunately, I don't completely get one since I have to keep tracking deals that are in progress. But at least I will be doing that from a villa on a hilltop with a gorgeous view of Great Cruz Bay. I will try and post some pictures from my iphone since I have the blogger app. Have a great week!

Doctor Update - 24 Weeks

I went to the doctor today for my 24 week checkup. I saw one of the other women in the practice and she was nice. I only gained 3 pounds since last time. Yay! My blood pressure was normal which is great. The baby's heartbeat was 150 bpm. Every time the doctor would move the Doppler, the baby would kick it and move away. It was pretty funny!

I have to drink the nasty stuff before my next visit for the glucose screening. I am pretty sure it can't be as gross as the stuff the gastroenterologist had me drink when they were running Crohn's tests. The Barium chalk test was the worst. At least this stuff is pink and not so thick.

Any suggestions on pillows are devises to keep me from sleeping on my back? I am a stomach sleeper but have reverted to my back during pregnancy. I have been trying to sleep on my side for the past few months but I always wake up on my back. I have tons of pillows on the bed to create a barrier but they are not working.

Rocker vs. Recliner

Erik and I have been back and forth on what type of chair to get for the nursery. I like the feel of the wooden rockers with some fabric. They have a higher back and the ottoman has the ability to rock with you. But I like to look of an upholstered recliner much better and it would be easier to use in a living room later on. After looking at several stores and sitting in many chairs, we finally decided to get a glider recliner. I love this chair. The recliner handle is inside the arm rest so you don't have to lean down to recline. It rocks, swivels and locks when you lean forward to get up. It is really comfortable and I know we can find a use for it after the nursery. We picked a neutral coffee color that we can accent with bright pillows. I can't wait to see how all of the furniture looks in the nursery.

Crazy Busy

It has been a long time since I have had time to post. Oops! Quick recap. I headed to Vegas early in the morning on Sunday, May 23. We attend the ICSC ReCon convention every year. My flight was awful and I really thought I was going to get sick a few times. Vegas was a little different experience this year being pregnant. I still had to attend the dinners and late night parties. I was exhausted after being on my feet from 7am until 6pm and then out until midnight. It was a long couple of days but we had some great meetings so I think it will definitely benefit our business.

On Wednesday, I rented a car and headed out on the open road from Vegas to Bakersfield. I stayed with my Aunt Linda and Uncle Walt. We got to visit with my Grandmother, cousin Laura, her husband Shem and their adorable children Anna, Nathan and Lucy. My other cousin Liz drove from San Francisco Thursday evening with her hubby Paul and their precious newborn Ronan. It was so great to spend time with family that I don't get to see too often.

Paul & Nathan

Smiling Lucy

Laura, Anna, Linda, Liz and Gigi

Adorable Ronan

I flew back to Atlanta late Saturday evening. Erik was at a soccer tournament in Columbus so I decided to head up to the lake with the family. Sara and Bert were already there enjoying the nice weather. We got a little bit of rain but plenty of sunshine. Bert absolutely loves the water! I thought he might jump in off the dock. We are going to work on getting him a ramp so he can swim with us.

I will get back on track with posting now that I am more caught up on work and everything at home. The baby has been kicking more and more frequently. Erik has not been able to feel it. I am sure as Lentil continues to grow over the next few weeks, he will get a chance. I go back to the doctor next Wednesday so we will see how everything is progressing. Have a great weekend!