Monday, May 11, 2009

Life to the Fullest

We headed East on Friday for our traditional Mother's Day weekend camping trip. This is clearly not my family's tradition, but my very adventurous husband's. Who else would go tent camping in the mountains in May? The idea of sleeping outside in the cold isn't at the top of my list for Mother's Day activities, but it far exceeded my expectations.

We had fantastic weather and I think this was the best camping trip ever. Jeff thinks that I am only saying that because we only spent one night. The nights are the hardest as the temperature dips below freezing and a pregnant lady HAS to go to the bathroom 50 zillion times. I am quite sure there is nothing louder in the whole world than a tent zipper in the dead of night.

We made it through the night and woke up to a clear and beautiful day at the Lake (Twin Lakes near LaPine). Our site was right on the lake and the fire felt fantastic as the sun slowly warmed us. Breakfast by the fire was my favorite part. Why are eggs and sausage so much better when served on paper plates outside?





Emma has been talking about this camping trip for weeks. I bought her the special cereal in the little boxes and you would have thought she won a trip to Disney Land.





The family camping group was small this year as a few stayed in Redmond at the Eagle Crest timeshare with cable tv and microwaves. The diehards at the lake had a great time and we were so thankful for sunny  weather!




Mandy and Grandma warming by the fire.




Emma with her very own fishing pole. She loved the experience, but didn't catch any fish... there is always next year.




Jeff's brother John and 2 older boys were also there to supervise the fun and to fish. The boys each caught fish, but I think most of the fun is in the anticipation.







Hey, there is a picture of me! I was the one taking the pictures for the most part, having a love affair with my new camera. The best Mother's Day present ever!

On Saturday afternoon we drove to Eagle Crest to join the rest of the family who was all rested up from sleeping in real beds and not having tent zipper/potty issues in the middle of the night.





It was warm enough to swim outside and both the girls had a blast.




We stayed 2 nights at the resort and enjoyed Jeff's family. It was such a great time! People came and went and came and went, but at one point, all 18 family members were present. We were busy wrangling 8 children under 4 years old, so no adult group picture. Even the picture above is missing a child! Maybe we'll do better next time or maybe we'll just be happy everyone had fun.

Friday's trip took us down through Eugene and then over the Cascades and we drove home via Portland. The whole trip was amazingly beautiful.

...Now on to the news you've all been waiting for: an ultrasound appointment in Portland. We woke up early this morning to eat breakfast and then drive to Portland. We dropped the girls off at our friend's house and went to the Natural Birth Center and Family Clinic in NE Portland (this is the place my midwife recommended because the ultrasound is done by a dr. and it is about $300 cheaper than the places around here. I was convinced).




I've been having dreams for weeks that the ultrasound couldn't give us a definite answer as to the gender of our child. I told the dr. that and he said, "We'll see about that." He amazingly put the wand down right on THE spot and there was no denying it.... he is a boy! Emma has said from the beginning that she is having a brother. She was right.

Ultrasounds never cease to amaze me as we saw our child dance around on the tv screen. Our son is already a very active guy and I've been feeling him move for about 4 weeks. On the ultrasound we saw him flip and turn and put his arms above his head. Once again I am overwhelmed with God's goodness. All the measurements that are done on the baby came out perfect.

So, all in all it was a fun and full weekend with the beautiful outdoors, good family, and exciting news. Now.... on to do the laundry.

16 comments:

Annie said...

Congratulations! There is something special about a son, but I am definitely biased.

Cooking with Big E said...

Congrats on having a little boy! Watch out because little boys have a way of wrapping their mommies around their little fingers. Trust me, I know.

The camping sounds like fun if not a smidgen cold this time of year. I'm not sure I'm brave enough to tent camp before it's really summer!

Grace said...

Hooray! Congrats on a son!!! I'm still hoping for one someday!

Dan & Hillary said...

Just FYI- I skipped to the bottom of this post since you were getting a little 'wordy' about your weekend and I wanted to see the u/s picture;-) So excited for you!! Poor boy will probably be dressed up by his sisters more than once in his life, I'm sure!

Kari said...

we went camping/rafting when I was 7 months pregnant with #2. I know well the loud zipper to go potty in the middle of the night!!!

congrats on a boy, We never had an ultrasound for either one, so I am a bit jealous!

Sherri said...

We are thrilled with the news of another grandson, we will be referring to him as Remington for the next 20 weeks or so. You got some great pics, wish I could see them all the girls look like they are loving every minute- what precious memories for them (if not for you!)

Lesley said...

Yayyyy!!! A boy! I was hoping you'd have a boy. :) What fun!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I wondered if you knew yet what you were having. How fun to check your blog tonight and see all the good news...new camera, fun camping trip, and a boy! Now we'll have "twin" girls and boys just a couple months apart. How cool is that?! Janelle

Alyce said...

Congratulations! That is so exciting! Thank you for sharing the news with us.

Shawna said...

Oh I am so glad you found out the gender and decided to divulge the information. It is so exciting to know and share in this journey with you. What a wonderful Mother's Day! So can we say Remi for short? HAHA Don't you love it how almost complete strangers come up with lovely nick names? (Although I like it!)

I had a Mandy moment today. I had the bag balm out on the counter (I have been sick and the nose is chapped) and Madison was sitting on the counter to brush her teeth and she picked up the can and said "DO IT". I said "Oh no you don't little miss!". I had to smile and flash on Mandy's hair mess and then I had to log on to share it with you.

Lindsay said...

Alysun! I just read this (after MOPS) darn I didn't know this morning and could have congratulated you! I am so very excited for you!

Peters Family Farms said...

Jamin will be so happy to have a boy cousin so close in age!!! I can't say I'm not jelous, but I can say that we are sooooo happy for you guys!!!

Linds and Manda said...

Congrats on the cute little boy inside! We'll have to continue swapping questions, answers and advice...us knowing a bit about boys and you know lots about girls. I'm so excited for you. Liam has been a joy and blessing.

Cathy said...

Congratulations on finding out you have a son growing inside of you! Woohoo! Great camping pictures too.

Mel said...

Hey Alysun - Phil and I were just talking about you this weekend...wondering how you were doing. It's exciting to hear that you're having a boy!! :) Take care.

Michal said...

can i just say that emma looks so much like you? at least in pictures, as we've never met.:)

congrats on having a boy. as a mom to three of them, i have to say that they are wonderful--in a very different way than girls are wonderful. i'm so glad for you that you get to experience both.

looks like a great camping trip. you are a good sport for doing that on mother's day EVERY YEAR. i don't mind camping, but it's lots of work and hardly qualifies as pampering:)