They Say It's Your Birthday.

The past couple weekends, Mike & I have helped celebrate some birthdays... we first helped my mother celebrate her 50th...well officially not 50 for a couple more days...but the celebration has already taken place. Yeah mom, I outted your age in my blog. Sorry =) A band helped us ring in the new age down at the country club in Holstein. And being the Sober Sally that I was, I had some prime time entertainment with the dancing, singing & being merry! Mom's friends even got her up on stage to sing 'Mustang Sally'...one of mom's favorite pasttimes when a band is around =) It was a lot of fun...Happy Birthday Mom & Grandma!

This last weekend we were up in Sioux Falls & helped Mike's brother-in-law, Jolin, celebrate his 30th. Liz had some planning up her sleeve & pulled off a surprise party for her man...complete with munchies, spirits, balloons, cake, great company & yard games. And when I say yard games, I mean giant inflatable bouncy thingy for the kids to play in. Oh wait...it wasn't only for the kids =) Big kids had their fun too...& they continued their fun well into the night...& although I obviously continued my role as Sober Sally, I had a lot of fun...mostly laughing hysterically at those drinking (or keg standing) the spirits! There definitely was no lack of dancing & story telling with this crew! Kudos Liz on a great party & Happy Birthday Jolin!

PS...Michael...good job on the cake!!! I know you told me not to tell anyone...but you did a great job making the cake & frosting by scratch. Betty Crocker better watch herself...oh & you're going to be in charge of Baby's Birthday cakes now you've proven success around the Kitchen Aid Mixer. Plus I burn most things I put in the oven. =) And speaking of birthdays...we continue to just keep trucking along in the pregnancy. The excitement level is growing of course, along with my belly & the movement within. It's helping the antcipation along for sure...that & the new babies that are popping out all over the place. Congrats to those friends that have welcomed their new babies! Pretty soon...it's going to be my turn...ahhhhh! Baby & I go in this week for another regular checkup. After that...we start heading back every 2 weeks!

Cyclones Even The Score.

Bibs...that will be puked all over on...fine w/ me =) Michael picked these out for Baby & he was rather proud of them. I am not promoting this phrase, but I will support our son if he makes this horrible decision =)

While we were camping, Mike's parents were on vacation in Colorado for a week & brought back Baby a little souvenir & I had Mike model =) Thanks Gma & Gpa Schweitzberger!

Earning My Pregnant Camper Badge.

I'll admit that I have been a bit of skeptic when it came to camping. I don't know if I blame that on the fact that as a kid we never did the camping thing or if I find camping at campgrounds a bit lame...I don't know exactly! Because don't get me wrong, I enjoy nature (with the exception of birds) & being a part of it. But, notice I put that in the past tense, because I overcame my skepticism last week when Michael & I decided to spend 4 nights & 5 days camping...in a tent...in South Dakota...for 4 nights & 5 days (Oh did I already mention that?!) =) I had a great time considering the whole drive there all that was running through my head was 'why in the world would anyone remove themselves from AC & running water & soft pillows to sleep in a tent, wash there dishes among bugs & feel like a complete dirtball every second of your day'. Well...apparently I do. And I proved to some people...well mostly to Mike & my mom (who seemed very concerned of the trek I was embarking on)...that I could do it.

We had a great time. We arrived later on Thursday night, set up camp & checked out our surroundings. We were nestled right on Lake Yankton down from the Dam in a well shaded, breezy area. Kudos on the location b/c the temp was less than steller for someone toting a child inside of them! What did we do...well I did a lot of laying around =) & it was awesome! Mike did some fishing, chopped wood and started a lot of fires. He fit the bill 'to a T' given he still had a massive beard & looked like he wandered down the mountain to check out civilians. We rode bikes & grilled & took a lot of photos. Thanks to weather.com, we were prepared for the ferocious storm that insued on early Saturday morning. The wind was outrageous & I about reached my threshold at that point for enduring nature up close & personal. We survived & woke the next morning to find we just dodged a giant branch that fell just yards away from our tent. Saturday started off damp but it was clear...until about mid afternoon ...while fishing & then the downpouring began. From that point on we were pretty much confined to the tent for the remainder of the day into the night. Sunday & Monday cleared up & we finished our trip strong. And despite my original thoughts that one of us probably wouldn't be coming back in one piece because I would go violent at some point during our time there...I didn't...& it was a success.

I should also mention that I OD'd on S'mores our last night there, had the worse sugar crash & have now sworn off S'mores from here on...well at least for the rest of the pregnancy. Here are some photos from the excursion!

He's Gonna Rock Out w/ his Hawk Out.

Hawkeye Gear: 1 Cyclone Gear: 0

In true Hawkeye form...we're ahead. Aunt Hillary decided it's time to start getting serious about this & with football season right around the corner...I agree =) And Baby's arrival will be just in time for the Hawks to win their bowl game!

Nice Day for a Hot Wedding.

It's a bit of a relief to look out the window this morning & see rain & clouds. Yeah I said it. It was nice to have the great weather this weekend though. Mike & I spent the weekend hitting up the Holstein Golf Course. It was a bit of a challenge for me to make it all 9 holes I'm not gonna lie...it's not so much the weird shifting of a baby & whatever else when I swing...it was more so that I had to hit the ball every 25 yards. I haven't been out golfing as often as I would like to, as the story always goes, so needless to say...I was a bit rusty. I think it only took me halfway through Hole 1 to go ahead & announce we would be playing a 'Best Ball'. So, despite my efforts to stay hydrated on the H20, it was a draining activity to say the least. We also celebrated my sister's birthday Friday night at my parents house. Her being 2 years older than I am, it keeps me in check on how fast I, myself, am creeping towards 30 =) It's all good though.

We attended a wedding of some close friends from Holstein Saturday evening...take note this was after a day of golfing also, so it was hard to keep the good times rolling, but I think we managed...for a while. Everything was beautiful, but of course, as luck & irony would have it, there were some electrical problems that took out a portion of Main Street businesses (small towns!) & caused the entire reception to exit out onto the street for a while as all power was shut off from the building. Poor newlyweds! I believe they were in good spirits about it, because, I mean...what are ya gonna do?! It sure will be a memory for them to talk about! Congrats Joe & Renee - you looked gorgeous. I will leave you with the one photo that seemed postable...Michael decided he was going to be unphotogenic =) so, greetings from Leyna & His Beardness.

Quick Update.

Life is just rolling right along at a steady pace...it keeps me pretty busy & it's something to do so that's good =) All is about the same...job searching & looking for places to live & getting fat. Baby is moving around a lot. We were playing back & forth the other day, as I would push on my stomach & he would respond w/ a kick back...over & over until he lodged some extremity up into my rib & that ended the fun. Haha so cool.

Grandma Joni (haha it's funny to write that), was all excited to show me that she had gotten an infant carrier & car seat for Baby to use in her & Grandpa Auggie's (I love it) vehicle. The beginning of many baby items that will start to accumulate I'm sure. I love seeing how excited they get about being grandparents...well, mom gets excited like I do about things like miniature baby shoes & dad's usually laughing & commenting on how big my belly's getting! It's fun to share my, although some they probaby could do w/out, "pregnancy moments" with them!

Michael & I went to a Canaries baseball game up in Sioux Falls last Saturday evening. I was happily greeted w/ a ballpark hotdog as I entered the stadium - yes!!! Ok, I don't care if it's sick processed miscellanous meat...it was great! And the concession stand lady took a liking to us & was drilling me about how pregnant I was, she even asked if I was miserable yet (nice touch)?! Anyway, the game was fun & it was concluded w/ the best up-close fireworks show we'd ever witnessed. Unfortunately, I didn't have the blog on my mind, so I didn't have my camera w/ me. I know I have failed you all...what do you want...my brain has shrunk by 8%, I can't think of everything all the time! I used to find offense in this little gem of a pregnancy fact...but now I'm using it as my excuse to validate everything I forget, can't figure out, make a decision on or reason I run into the mirrors of my vehicle everyday!

Mike helped me move some of my stuff back from Ames at the beginning of this week. I use the phrase 'help me' lightly, as he did most of the work...THANK YOU MICHAEL!!! I know he loved it. We are contemplating a move & finding jobs in this area as well now. We're hoping we might have better luck w/ knowing people & openings that become available in Holstein or the area. We'll see...I guess it never hurts to have more options.

Michael his helping one of his uncles out with some work this week...one of his tasks included chopping down some trees on his uncle's property...Mike was pretty stoked about getting to be a "lumberjack" for the next couple of days. After we dropped him off, Baby & I went up to Sioux City to meet our new doctor for our monthly checkup. After next months visit, we will begin doctor visits every 2 weeks already...ahhh gulp! All checked out normal again...we are healthy & active (both of us). We are very grateful to be having such a healthy pregnancy!