SeaWorld

You can't just take a fishie- and animal-loving toddler to San Diego without making a stop at SeaWorld, right? Luckily for us, SeaWorld is kind enough to let military members and their families in free once a year, so spending a day with Shamu and friends was a no-brainer.

Jake got a kick out of seeing the killer whales, dolphins, turtles, sharks, etc. -- he was saying "Wow!" all day long -- but if we're being honest, his favorite parts of the day were probably the duckies that visited our table during lunch, climbing up and down the bleachers, and the splashing that took place in Shamu Stadium (we sat way down in the splash zone and were miraculously spared). Jake even liked that Shamu splashing business so much that he took a few pictures to commemorate the event.

A baby killer whale!

He has a camera and he knows how to use it.

"Dutties!!!"

Cute

Very cute (Matt, that is)

Aaaand not really cute at all. You have to wonder what God was thinking when he created the walrus.

I've loved beluga whales for a long, long time. Sing it with me: "Baby beluga in the deep blue sea..."

SeaWorld is located in such a beautiful setting.

Dolphins are clearly the best.

(PS- Here's a post about when we went to SeaWorld with my family in 2010. Pre-baby days sometimes seem like they are a lifetime ago.)

Crazy

Can we talk about last week for a few minutes? Because it was crazy.

On Sunday night (April 28th), we were driving back from our 9-day vacation when Jake came down with the stomach flu and a fever. Luckily, the throwing up episodes happened while we were picking up Matt's bike from Talon & Carolyn's house in Vegas. Unluckily, that meant we still had seven hours left on our drive. We spent a couple extra hours in Vegas to cuddle and comfort our poor baby before hitting the road. It was a rough drive, and we finally pulled into our garage, exhausted, at 4 a.m. To help comfort Jake, I'd sat next to him in the very cramped backseat for those final seven hours, and to avoid upsetting him, I stayed in the car during our gas stops. That didn't agree with my rather-pregnant body. By the time we got home, I was so insanely swollen that my ankles had disappeared entirely and it hurt to move. That was a new experience for me for sure.

My poor, sweet baby resting with his daddy after round one of throwing up.

My shirt after round one (the floor obviously got 95% of it). It's amazing that when you're a mommy, being thrown up on doesn't even phase you -- you just want to love that sick little baby. Which is how I got thrown up on the second time, too :)

The next couple days were spent cuddling a sick toddler and just recovering in general. Then, on Thursday afternoon, Carolyn informed me that she was having consistent contractions 7-10 minutes apart. Obviously not active labor yet, but with her first baby, she had contractions like that all night and it turned into the real deal the following morning. So when the contractions were still coming six hours later, I kissed my boys goodbye and hit the road at 9 p.m., driving alone through the middle of the night to hopefully be there for the birth. By the time I arrived almost seven hours later, the contractions were still coming consistently but hadn't progressed. Talon had to leave for work in an hour, so I climbed into bed with Carolyn and we had a little slumber party.

The next morning, the consistent contractions had gone away and we realized I might just be there for a weekend of play rather than the birth of their baby. We spent the next few days just hanging out, shopping, and enjoying some quality girl time. It was so nice and relaxing! Carolyn's sweet mom spoiled us a bit, her two-year-old daughter Emery kept us fully entertained, and Talon somehow tolerated a house full of girls all weekend. Carolyn continued to have contractions 7-10 minutes apart for a few hours at a time on and off, but they never turned into anything.

Meanwhile, Matt was holding down the fort back home, taking care of Jake, hosting friends and family and somehow finding places for nine (!) people to sleep. My sister Heidi was a huge help, too. Since Matt had to work on Monday and there were no signs of labor after church on Sunday, I started the long drive home with a plan to hop on the first flight to Vegas when the baby really decided to come. Forty minutes down the road, my bumper found itself dragging on the ground and my pregnant little self was stranded on the side of the freeway. My friends came to the rescue with duct tape, and as Talon was reattaching the bumper, Carolyn and I joked it was a sign that I should stay. But with my own baby waiting at home (I'd never been away from him for more than 20 hours, and even then, only twice!), I couldn't camp out indefinitely so we decided I should indeed drive home.

I got home around 11 p.m. and was greeted by the sweetest handmade sign decorated by Jake and a fresh bouquet of tulips from Matt. I missed my boys! So much so that I (quite responsibly) woke Jake up just to cuddle with me. He beamed and said "Mommy!" and then clung and cuddled and read books quite happily for a good long while.

Here comes the craziest part. That broken bumper? Probably a sign. After three whole days of fruitlessly camping out for a birth, just three hours after I arrived at my home, baby Ella arrived at theirs -- quite literally! The real labor came on and progressed so fast that she was born on their bedroom floor. Carolyn was amazing and Talon delivered the baby with 911 on the phone and an ambulance on the way. Both mom and baby are perfectly healthy. (I credit Carolyn's dedication to a healthy pregnancy, preparation for natural childbirth {granted, the plan included a hospital}, and most importantly, lots of blessings from heaven for that calm and safe emergency delivery.) It kills me that I wasn't there to help and that I don't get to cuddle that sweet baby girl, but in the end, I'm just so thrilled that beautiful Ella has finally arrived safe and sound and that my dear friends are so happy.

Aren't they both just beautiful?

And that was our crazy week.

Rage Tri

A year ago, I was visiting Utah for Nicole's bridal shower when I got a phone call from Matt asking if I thought he should train for and compete in a triathlon 10 days later. And I said, "Why not?" And thus began an entire summer (and hopefully a lifetime!) of tri training and racing fun.

We figured it was only fitting for Matt to kick off this summer's tri season where it all started, at the Rage Triathlon at Lake Mead. This time, he figured he'd give the Olympic distance a go (he did a couple sprints and a half ironman last year but totally skipped the middle distance). Matt took off a week of work and we turned the race trip into one last hurrah of a family vacation before our little girl comes. Thanks to a move, a sick & pregnant wife, and the worst winter of our lives, Matt all but took the winter off, so he only had about six weeks of solid training under his belt heading into the race. No matter -- he still rocked it!

Matt finished the super hilly course (the bike ride alone had a 3500 ft elevation gain) in 2:43 and even took third in his super competitive division! He's awesome like that. Go Matt!

You know you like the look of the band from my still-too-big maternity capris showing through my shirt.

We stayed with some of our BFF's who live in Vegas and made a weekend of it. Carolyn was the sweetest and let Jake stay behind to sleep in and play with her daughter Emery while I cheered Matt on (did I mention she is having baby #2 any day now?). Jake was quite enthralled with Daddy and his medals when we got back. He was even more excited to spend the next week straight with that Daddy that he loves so much. It was such a great trip! Plenty more to come.