Hello all!!
I know that many of you will be shocked and amazed that I am updating on this blog! I would apologize again but by this point, I figure that you are probably more surprised when I actually blog than when I dont!:)
things are going great here in Minnesota. We are gearing up to head home in a few weeks and I have to honestly say that Im pretty excited to be coming home. I miss you guys ALOT! traveling has been incredibly awesome though and I wouldnt trade it for anything. It has really been great for us and we have had alot of fun. I cant believe that our time here in Minnesota is coming to an end already (and we even extended 6 weeks longer than usual). The people here are really nice and we've made alot of great friends. The time here has been alot different than our other trips though. We have spent more time working and less time playing since we are trying to prepare for Baby Deyton to get here. Our schedules have really conflicted with each other so we've not gotten to do as many scenic things like we normaly do. We have ventured out in the past few weeks though (mainly because we realize that our time here is almost up.). We went to the Mall of America (and yes girls, it was fabulous!). Although I realized just how pregnant I was that day. This girl who could shop nonstop for hours and hours was exhausted after just an hour of walking around. It kinda surprised me. We did have a good time though. We also took a day and went to New Ulm which is a German town about 30 min from us. It was a cute little town. We had alot of fun there to. We toured Shells brewery which is the second oldest family owned and operated brewery in the country ( and yes, I did go with my pregnant belly sticking out!) Im sure we looked pretty funny walking around that place. i got a few strange looks!LOL But not to worry, root beer is the strongest thing I had to drink! On our way back, we stopped at a winery hoping to see vineyards since I love pictures of vineyards and grapes. Apparently however, Minnesota's weather does not mix well with growing grapes so we didnt get to see any. we did get pictures outside of a barn and in a field.
we also took a day and went to a waterfall which is only 10 minutes away and it was really pretty there. we enjoyed being outside on a gorgeous day and just spending time together.
Below are some pictures of those days and a few other things. Several of you have asked to see pictures of me pregnant so several of them are below. Baby d is doing good. We still dont know if its a he or a she, but we really dont want to know. That just adds to the excitedment of January. I cant believe that I am almost 30 weeks and I could be a Mommy in less than 10 weeks. Its amazing to think about it. Knowing that there is a little person growing inside of me is truly a special and weird kind of thing. Its amazing to know how much I love this little guy/girl already. I just cant wait to meet him/her. He/She is really quite the wiggle worm. We love to sit and watch the baby wiggle around in my belly. Its really kinda funny to watch. It looks like my belly has an alien in it or something. He/She really loves the sound of its Daddys voice. It gets really active when he talks to it or is standing nearby talking to me. Its like the little one is saying "hey Daddy, Im here! Lets go play!!" I get tickeld at it. I love watching his face when that happend to. He will be such a great Daddy. I cant wait to see them together. I have to be honest though and tell you that I am married to the best man ever and that he deserves a medal for putting up with me through all of this. I try not to complain because I am so thrilled to be pregnant, but sometimes there is nothing I can do to stop from being emotional. Usually its not that bad, but two seperate days this week, I have started crying out of nowhere. Its really kinda funny at times. One time was because I was trying on maternity clothes and well, lets face it . . . . pregnancy is not a time when you feel you look your best! The other time was because I couldnt sleep and Samson went and hid under the bed and I couldnt get him out and just burst into tears! Shane has been fabulous through it all though. Im sure that there is more to come in the next two months. At least we will be home then though so that alone will perk me up!!
I hope you are all doing well. I cant wait to see you guys at home. Only 2 weeks left! YAY!!

these first two were at the winery/vineyard that had no vines!

Here's me with Baby D in the belly and the waterfall




Schells brewery and a pretty pumpkin patch we passed on the way


shane at the waterfall

a pretty tree outside our apartment and Shane at the brewery mansion



Here it is girls! Mall of America!!

Below are preggo pics! Its grown quite a bit!!

5 weeks

18 weeks


21 weeks

23 weeks


25 weeks


27 weeks

29 weeks

Hello again!!!!

Hey guys! Sorry its been a while. Things are great here. We are now in Mankato, Minnesota and are doing well. My job is going good. The people here are really nice which is an added bonus. Shane got a job and is working at Target. His hours are a little crazy (4am - 12:30pm), so it is taking us some time to get used to. Im pretty sure you all know, but we are HAVING A BABY!!!! YAY!!!!! We are SUPER excited!!!! We are due at the end of January and couldnt be happier. It is truly a answered prayer and a dream come true. The baby is doing well. We are 18 weeks along at this point so we are almost to the halfway point. I have started feeling it move around which is awesome, although it is a little wierd to think that there is an actual human in there!! We go for an ultrasound in about 2 weeks so hopefully all will be well. We arent finding out the gender though, unless the baby has other plans for us and just wants us to know without a doubt!!
Below are some pictures from our roadtrip from California. The trip was awesome and we had a great time. We drove up through Napa Valley, the Redwood forest, Crater Lake in Oregon, the Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone NP, and the Badlands NP in South Dakota. We also went to see Mount Rushmore. The sights were BEAUTIFUL!!!! We got ALOT of great pictures, so here are a few.



















AND HERE IT IS!!!! BEAUTIFUL BABY D!!!!! ISNT IT A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE BLACK AND WHITE FUZZY PICTURE???? This pic was taken at 11weeks. LIke I said before, we go in a few weeks for our next ultrasound, so Im anxious to see how the little bean has grown!

Finishing up here in California

Hey guys!!!

Here are the pics I promised you a while back! These are pics from San Francisco, Monterey, Carmel, Big Sur, and the coast of California. We have been having a great time. We are finishing up here and will be heading to Mankato, Minnesota next. I start there on July 31. We thought it would be fun to try the Midwest and see how things are different there. We are getting pretty excited, even though we are a little sad to leave the friends that we have made here.

We have tried to make the most of our last weeks here. We have made 2 trips to San Francisco which were really fun. We did alot of sightseeing the first day. We went to Fisherman's Warf, Coit Tower, Haight-Ashbury (where we saw some interesting things including the house where Charles Manson recruited his followers. That was a little creepy), Chinatown, Alcatraz, Lombard street (the crookedest street in the world) and other really cool things. The second time, we went back to Fishermans Warf, rode a cable car, and biked across the Golden Gate bridge!! Yep, thats right, we biked a total of about 10 miles (up and down hills!). It was pretty awesome. One of the cool things was that the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer was going on along the same trail and so we passed the women who were walking. There were people dressed up as all kinds of crazy people to encourage the walkers. It looked like a really fun event. FYI: the boobs you see in the picture are plastic fake boobs! Noone was flashing anyone! There were over 2400 men and women walking. They walked 26 miles on Saturday and then another 14 on Sunday. It was incredible. One thing I did learn is that San Fancisco is VERY hilly!!!!! Im talking BIG hills to!!! But i did it!YAY!! Here are some pics of those trips. You will notice in the bike pics that I am the responsible one who wore a helmet! (Points for me! Of course, Im still a little nervous about any activity that revolves around moving vehicles!)) Anyone who would like to lecture Shane on the importance of NOT having your head cracked open by the pavement is more than welcome! LOL

These next pictures are from the road trip we took to Monterey, Carmel, and Big Sur. We drove Highway 1 down the coast line which was amazing! We also took the 17 mile drive which goes to Pebble Beach (for those of you who are clueless like me, that is a famous golf course). We also saw the Lone Cypress which is a tree that has remained on rocks by the water for over 200 years and is the trademark for many things. You see it alot in movies and such. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful drive. Here are the pics!

So there you go! (Yes, DJ and Julie you FINALLY get an update, LOL!) We really miss everyone back home and cannot wait to get home and spend time with you all (unfortunately that will be November for many of you) :( very sad, i know.

Pray for us. we will start a very long road trip to MN next week. I will update when we get there!!