Sunburns, bumper cars and bellies

On a lovely afternoon last week I spent the day at a small water park/pool with a good friend and her 2 boys. The boys had a blast and it was so fun watching them show off for us in their Spiderman swim trunks and blue and green goggles. There are times when "Hey... Hey...Heyyyyy, watch this!" Can get old but not this day. They were sweet and fun angels. We ate lunch by the pool and my good friend and I gabbed and caught up on life. When I ran out of sun screen I thought nothing of it. I figured I had been in the sun enough recently to be safe with my very light base tan. I was wrong. Within minutes of being in the car I realized I was burnt. I was also tired as the sun has a way of stripping you of all your energy, at least if you are over a certain age it seemed those kids could have gone for hours. I was driving home singing along with the radio, country if anyone was wondering I stopped at a four way and while waiting for my turn BAM! was hit from behind.

In shock and having never been rear ended before I had no idea what to do. There was lots of traffic and people around so I pulled over and got out to meet who ever had the audacity to hit a pregnant women driving her new treasure of an SUV. I wasn't shocked to see the driver of an old beat up Toyota Camary to be a tall 19 or 20 something guy with a completely dazed and shocked look on his face. After surveying what only looked like a couple of scratches on my bumper and his dangling headlight I figured I had won the battle of the SUV vs. the small 2 door sedan and tried to be nice about it. He swore he didn't want to turn it into his insurance he would rather pay for it out of pocket. Assuming a few scratches would only cost a few hundred bucks. Well, we were both wrong an estimate the next morning tells us $1000-1500. Now I feel awful. Do I have his insurance info? No. Just a name and phone number were all I could get out of him. Once we reached him and explained that it would cost that much to fix he was shocked, angry and decided he wanted to turn it into his alleged insurance company. He didn't have the card with him at the time to give us the information but would call us back, 2 days have passed and he will be getting a phone call here shortly requesting such info. I sure hope this works out.

I have learned a valuable lesson. Call the police no matter how big or small the accident before you even exit your car. For a few reasons. I didn't know who I would be meeting when I stepped out of that car for all I knew he could be a psycho killer. Second, if there is a police man handy then you can sit back in shock and not have to worry if you are doing the right thing or the wrong thing or did you get all the information you needed. And lastly, its plain and simple what you are supposed to do whenever you play bumper cars in the real world, report it to the police.

After arriving home I had the realization that something could have happened to my dear sweet boy. I called my doctors office and while waiting for a call baby James got the hiccups and gave me a real strong kick in the gut to alert his crying mother that he would indeed be fine. I managed to pull a muscle in my back and had a migraine for a day or so but as long as baby James was kicking and hiccuping away I couldn't complain. Well I did manage to get a few choice words out about the guy that hit me once the shock wore off and I realized what had happened.

Below are pictures of my growing belly as I promised to post monthly. This one is a few weeks late but here just the same.

Charm & Character

I often hear an old home referred to as having lots of charm or character. Whether that be that the mail is delivered into a slot that can be checked from the living room, beautiful hard wood floors that allow no one the ability to sneak off the rest room, or unique built in cabinetry. Our home while only 11 years old has a bit of character itself. You see a few of our doors happen to gently swing themselves closed with no assistance whatsoever stranding you either in a dark bedroom or an even darker bathroom.

Our 3 year old Golden Retriever, Jemma, has found this characteristic very challenging for her. She has also found that it is very difficult for God to open a window when there isn't one. Jemma is a very loyal and social dog and in an effort to be sure she is with you at all times she will often go searching to find you. The bathroom door posing a problem for her because while not latched shut she can't tell if anyone is in there. So she pushes the door open saunters in and finds no one there then turns around to leave finding the door closing. Soon from some where in the house I will here the door snap shut and know she is locked in our dark bathroom. Now if she hadn't tried to open the door it wouldn't have snapped shut and Duke is waiting on the other side of the door pushing with all his might to free his poor sister who has yet again locked herself in the bathroom. Shortly after I hear the door shut if no has rescued her in her preferred time frame the whining and shrill barks begin. This was funny the first few times but now this happens a few times a night, often in the middle of the night while you are sleeping, leaving one to question her once proven intelligence.

Jemma found the other day that while God had no window to open he was busy orchestrating another door to open. One that led to a large park with a pond, ducks, kids to walk and pet her and a fountain. Now the unfortunate part about this park was that she and Duke had to stay on the leashes so here you see them wishing with all they are that they could chase the ducks and swim in the pond. Later, Duke made friends with Joshua whose family had invited us to come along with them to the park. Joshua decided that he wanted to take Duke's dog walking into his 5 year old little hads so they were off. Duke listening to Joshua's every command and not tugging him along like he does to me. I was very impressed and slightly envious that a 5 year old was better at walking my dog than I was. Just then Duke spots it, the fountain. Full speed ahead with Josh jogging behind Duke pulls Josh up the stairs and plants his whole head and front two paws into the fountain. Joshua quickly decided he didn't want to be responsible for our wet, crazy, water obsessed dog and handed him over. While the six adults discussed whether or not dogs were allowed in the fountain. Deciding that of course dogs, especially our dogs, should be allowed in the fountain Mike and I ditched our shoes and escorted our two dogs into the very cold fountain. Duke put his nose down and sloshed through the water as if this was the only thing to do when faced with a fountain full of cold water and plunged forward demonstrating for Jemma who was too busy daintily pulling each foot completely out of the water before replacing it a few inches in front of her cold wet body.

It turned out to be a great outing with new friends and one in which my dogs throughly enjoyed!P.S. I added a little baby tracker so you can all see how much time we have left till our little bundle joins us in the world.

The James Family Showered with Love!

Martha Stewart and clan descended on my home Friday evening to throw baby and me the most beautiful baby shower EVER! Now of course I am biased but it really was a beautiful shower. Vases of flowers filled my living and dining room and the tastiest treats covered my dining table. My home quickly filled with some of the people I hold closest to my heart. It was a wonderful time and we received some treasures that our little boy will never fully grasp but his parents greatly appreciate. Thank you Courtney, Nicole & Sharon for throwing me a baby shower that I will never forget and always be grateful for and thank you to my friends & family who came from far and wide to attend the shower, it made Mike and I feel loved and supported. We had people come from as far as the west side & Pullman and as close as just across the street. To those who couldn't make it you were missed. Below are just a few pictures of the event.

Nicole, Courtney and I.

Sharon and I.

Mountains of gifts and a room full of friends.

A view from the top of what!

On Monday I set off with my new Envoy loaded up with my Mom, her husband Bruce, my Auntie Liz and cousin Toni as well as all of our must needed items for our adventure to Lake Chelan. We were on our way to 3 lovely days in a beautiful place. Our tour guide Auntie Liz. Now to go anywhere with Liz means you won't see much of the beaten path, so if you do take it in while your there because who knows when you will see it again. So when I was informed about halfway down Highway 2 that I was to look for a cut off to Highway 17 I wasn't surprised. I just laughed and asked who told her about this route the gas station attendant. She never confirmed but I am sure I was right. We were about a half mile onto this new path and I turn to my co-pilot and said "This can't be the scenic route, someone has taken the scene out of scenic and just left us with the IC!" It was a barren dessert fully of nothing. If your car died it would probably be days before anyone found you. Our view was piles of rock. A hand painted sign telling us to beware of bugs that a farmer had released in the name of organic, the biggest crow I had ever seen and dust devils. Out of sheer boredom and because it was fun we started to make up little stories about our sightings. I wanted to know what kind of killer bugs they had released that we should be warned. My Aunt warned me not to stop the car to find out, which I agreed. We decided the crow was so big because he had no other competition and had taken to eating the killer bugs the farmer had released and possibly the ants that were left homeless after their homes were destroyed by the dust devils. Our charades were only enjoyed by Liz and I since the back seat held complete silence and down turned heads while the convenience of technology lulled my passengers with DVDs. Finally, we came around a corner to make our decent to Lake Chelan, only to see the real reason we had taken such a back road. The view from the top was beautiful you could see the Lake for all it was and it made our adventure worth every second.

Soon we make our way through the town and on to Madison just passed Chelan. With 3 car sick passengers (could it have anything to do with watching a movie while we drove up and down winding roads) we had lunch on a blueberry farm called Blueberry Hills. It was a great way to wind down and start our trip. So far our guide hadn't led us astray. We continued around a loop that was to take us through fruit orchards and past some small lakes. Again as we wondered aimlessly along roads for which I saw no other cars I wondered what lay ahead. Soon we stopped at a Winery where those who were able to drink wine did by doing a wine tasting. I enjoyed the lavender garden planted out front with my cousin. Soon we were headed to our hotel to check in and then we were off again to enjoy the main street shops.

The next day we took a looong boat ride all the way across the lake. Liz kept trying to tell me that over half of the lake had no roads to it. The town we were on our way to see was only accessible by boat. I wasn't buying it. There were homes built out on the lake miles from anything and I couldn't find a road to save my life. Just mountains, trees and water. Finally, we pull into a marina and are greeted by a small town with a small road that only leads us around the town. We climb aboard a bus to journey us to a waterfall and as our tour begins it sinks in that there are no roads leading to this town, whose name I can't say or spell. It was almost like stepping back in time. As our tour ends I decided that if I was going to get on a boat for 2 1/2 hours I was going to need lunch. Our bus driver made it sound like we had time so I headed up with my Mom and Bruce. After what seemed like forever and major confusion on the staffs part we were told the boat was leaving without us. It was actually moving away from the dock. NOOOOO don't leave me here I can't stay here. It was a great town but I couldn't get stuck. Torn between my need for the food we had already paid for and my desire not to stay we hurried the staff into getting our food for us or any food that was ready for that matter and sent Bruce to hold the boat. We come scrambling from the restaurant only to realize they weren't leaving and we weren't the only ones they were waiting for. Phew! We came back to the hotel took naps and played games then headed out for dinner and walk along the water.

Our adventure came to a close on Wednesday and we headed home, the normal way at my request. It was a wonderful weekend with family and I can't wait to take Mike there someday. I might even take him down the IC route.

Where am I?

Last week Thursday Mike and I journeyed over to the west side of the state to join our good friends Ian and Maria as they shared beautiful vows and started their new life together. We spent what time was left with Ian and Nicole and their adorable son Peyton. It was a lot of driving up and down the west side of Washington, which thank God is beautiful. My pregnant body was wondering why I signed up for such a thing as well as the two other road trips I am going on. Thankfully my back held up for the weekend so sitting for long periods of time wasn't so bad. Mike was a groomsman and unfortunately the poor guys were in some pretty hot weather to be wearing penguin suits all day. The church didn't have A/C and there were a few times I looked at Mike and thought he might just pass out. Later I found out he had a few close calls and even had started to think through a strategy of how to catch the two guys in front of him when he saw them start to sway. Wouldn't that have been a seen. Thank you Ian and Maria for letting us share in your special day.

Thank you Ian and Nicole for letting us crash at your place. We had a great time! Now I didn't get great pictures because my battery died. I had started taking pictures with my new camera that my Mom got me for my birthday and realized only after it was dead that I hadn't changed the resolution or brought the charger so it was gone before I had really even started. I created a web album of the pictures I did get at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/emaillaurajames/GreggWeddingWeekend

On Sunday my Mom, Step Dad, Auntie and Cousin come to Spokane and then we will all head off on Monday to Lake Chelan for 3 days. I am very excited to get to spend time with my family. I only wish Mike could come. He will be home working and studying for his big exam in Oct. Please pray for him he is at his limits between work, studying and preparing for a baby, the poor guy is going to explode soon.

Happy Birthday to Me!

It is my birthday today and I haven't posted in forever so here I am to try to catch you up on all our goings ons. I am not even sure that anyone visits my blog anymore since I am so absent on posting new blogs.

We sold our Jeep and bought another Envoy XL. I am so happy to have the Jeep gone and our Envoy back. I know it is a huge gas guzzling SUV but I feel safe, it is safe (for a vehicle) and it is super comfy. I LOVE IT!

Jemma and Duke got a treat for the Fourth of July. After a week with about 3 nights of sleep I took Jemma to the Vet. She started out just scared of fireworks when we first brought her into our family and now she has added lighting, thunder and if she can't see it the lawn mower. She starts by pacing the house searching every window and doorway for the possible "threat" then her whole body begins to shake, the whining shortly follows along with heavy panting. This usually continues all night. Then she tries to get behind our bed. I can't tell you why because she doesn't calm down once she is back there just pants, whines, paces and shakes behind our heads, which is worse if you ask me. The vet prescribed Jemma with doggie tranquilizers. I was thrilled, I know sad but true. We took them home and that night all got a blissful night of sleep. For the Fourth we decided that we would give Jemma a tranquilizer at 8:00 when people would most likely start letting the fireworks off in our neighborhood then we would follow up with another (Vet recommend) second pill around 10:00 when it got dark. Mike went and filled a small cube of cheese with Jemma's special treat. He made her sit and handed her the "special cheese" instead of gulping it down in one swallow like she typically does with cheese she dropped it and Duke swept in to make sure the special cheese didn't go to waste. Boy was he in for a surprise. Jemma took the second peice of special cheese and soon our too typically playful and friendly dogs were lounging around the house barely lifting their heads as friends stopped by to visit with their children and as we came and went from the house. It was quite comical.

I have spent a lot of time this week working on baby's room. It will be very fun when it is done and I can't wait to show you a picture. Courtney came over to help me do some painting and my 13 year old cousin was here to visit for a week and she got to pitch in quite a bit as well. I appreciate both of them so much. While I have been busy painting and taking on way more projects then I need to Mike has been busy with work and studying for his Professional Engineers test in October. He needs something crazy like 300+ study hours. He has been a saint and helped me with my projects on his study breaks but I know between helping me with all these projects at home, dealing with a heavy workload at work and with studying he is going to bust soon.

This weekend we are headed to the west side of the state for a wedding. Mike is one of the groomsmen and we are happy to be a part of our friends special day.

Here are a couple of pics of our dogs (tranquilizer free).

SNAKES & SNAILS & PUPPY DOG TAILS... IT'S A BOY!!!!

After drinking 38 oz of water and holding for 45 minutes because they were behind we finally made it into our appointment. We are so excited to announce we are having a boy. I had thought that it was a boy but one can't be sure without proof. I won't post that specific ultrasound picture on the web because what kind of a mother would I be to put my child's parts for the world to see. Mike is of course ecstatic, but what man wouldn't want a boy. We went straight away to Babies R' US to purchase our first boy item. My Mom was with us so she did the honors. Mike chose the outfit and we all agreed. Below are pictures of the first boy outfit we purchased and then me and our baby boy. Pictures courtesy of my the new camera my Mom bought me for my birthday which isnt' for a couple weeks but I love presents and this one is especially nice. Thanks Mom! Now it's time to play the name game.