Keeping Up With the Allens

Hello Third Trimester!

Holy cow… The third trimester has arrived! I have a feeling time is going to start FLYING. We’ve got lots of plans coming up and lots we still need to do to get ready for the arrival of baby Allen, but here’s what’s happening now.

{Here I am at 26 weeks...} — {Here I am at 26 weeks… belly is growing, growing, growing!}

Seven Month Stats:

“How are you feeling?”: Just fine!
Food cravings: None – I eat a lot, but it’s all standard fare.
Weight gain: 19 pounds. Supposedly weight gain tapers off a little bit in the third trimester, so I’m hoping to keep this to a minimum.
Baby’s heart rate: 132 beats per minute today.
Pregnancy symptoms: I’d say the worst are heartburn and nosebleeds. I also sound like I ran up 70 flights of stairs when I walk up a hill, thanks to the babe squishing my lungs. I’ve been getting a bit of a sore back lately after walking too far, and I’m definitely starting to tire more easily. I’ve still been sleeping really well and hoping that keeps up for as long as possible!
Doctor’s appointments: I had my 28-week visit today. Babe is doing well and is measuring on the small side at this point. I need to go back in within the next week for my Tdap shot, as well as my Rhogam shot {special shot because of my blood type} and have to get tested for gestational diabetes. For the next month and a half I will have appointments every two weeks, then around 34 weeks I’ll switch to weekly appointments. At my last doctor’s visit I was informed that the clinic is moving to a new location, which I am less than pleased with. It’s extremely inconvenient for me, so I’m really disappointed.
Medical concerns: None.
Exercise: Prenatal Pilates once a week and prenatal yoga at least once a week, along with two dog walks each day. Contemplating going for a short run this week!? The weather has been gorgeous so I’ve been walking to Pilates and yoga, which offers a nice added hilly walk.
Highlights at this point: Putting together the nursery has been really fun. We’ve done a lot to get ready for the kid this last month – each month it seems like it’s something different. Separately, I really enjoy feeling the little flutter in my belly when the babe is wiggling around in there.
What I’m excited for: Getting the nursery completed and our house ready for the babe, having both my family and Alex’s family coming out in just over a week for my baby shower, and getting closer to my due date…
Downsides at this point: See pregnancy symptoms.
Things I miss: I’ve been wanting more than my allotted one cup of coffee each day lately, so I do miss being able to drink as much coffee as I want. I also miss sleeping on my back, but I have been sleeping really well lately, which has been amazing. As much as I enjoy shopping, I miss not feeling like I always “need” something new, like a pair of shorts because I don’t have any maternity shorts, or a pair of maternity leggings for working out in, etc.
Things we’ve done to prepare for baby: Lots this month! We signed up for a PEPS group {parent education/social group for new parents} and have been continuing to read and talk about how to raise this blessed child. The big stuff in the nursery is almost complete – we just need to hang the decor on the walls once we get everything in place.
Name ideas: My lips are sealed but we have two top choices for a name and at this point we may wait to make the final choice until we meet him. My favorite changes each week!
Nursery ideas: Our nursery will be a modern mountain theme with soft grays and blues. It’s coming together quite nicely.

{Fun shot of the rocker and crib, along with our newest Glassybaby, in the shade of "Little Boy Blue" for our little boy.} — {Fun shot of the rocker and crib, along with our newest Glassybaby, in the shade of “Little Boy Blue” for our little boy.}

{Some fun prints I ordered for the nursery. The decor is coming along nicely.} — {Some fun prints and floating shelves I ordered for the nursery. The decor is coming along nicely.}

{Hello from Jackson and me today! Hanging out in my new comfy preggo outfit... Comfy is the theme these days!} — {Hello from Jackson and me today! Hanging out in my new comfy preggo outfit… Comfy is the theme these days!}

Minnesota Trip

Realizing this would probably be my last shot to go to Minnesota and see friends and family before baby Allen arrives, I decided to take a little trip back to my hometown this past weekend. My visits back to Minnesota lately have been jam packed full of weddings and/or events, but this one was on my terms and I set my own schedule, which made it feel more relaxing and more like it was my own trip.

{I unintentionally started a "Minnesota book" theme for the kiddo while I was back...} — {I unintentionally started a “Minnesota book” theme for the kiddo while I was back…}

I arrived on Wednesday evening after an uneventful travel day. The weather in Minnesota was wonderful and slated to be better as each day passed. Spring was just arriving there so it was not quite as green and lush as the town I left. For my first evening I enjoyed hors d’oeuvres on my mom’s deck with my brother and my friend Kelsey. Eventually we made our way inside for dinner once the sun went down. As has been the case for many, many years, Kelsey is an extension of my family and my mom fondly refers to her as her “other” daughter. Kelsey and I were on the diving team together in high school and our friendship goes way back to middle school. She fits in quite well with my family, too. She’s hilarious and extremely genuine and I wish I could spend more time with her, and I wish I would have thought to get a photo together!

Thursday came early and I was able to sneak in a quick breakfast with my brother before he set off on his busy day and before I headed over to my dad’s house for our day together. It’s quite convenient – my parents live 2 blocks from each other so I can easily bounce between their houses when I come to town. My dad and I had a nice leisurely afternoon together – we had lunch in White Bear Lake, then took a long walk along the lake. I accompanied him on an errand and then we eventually went out to dinner. He is undergoing a whole house renovation and it was fun to see the progress he had made since my last visit. I only wish I could have spent more time with him during my stay!

My Friday was a bit busy – I had lunch in downtown Stillwater with my aunt Sarah and we did a little bit of shopping as well. From there I had time to squeeze in a quick walk with my mom before getting picked up by a friend. I met up with my girlfriends from high school to go out to dinner, but a couple of us stopped by Sarah’s parent’s house for a quick visit with her mom, and of course to enjoy some of her famous blue ribbon cookies.

We went out to dinner in Stillwater, which is the town next to where I grew up, and had a great time catching up. Three of the seven of us girls are pregnant right now and we’re due within five weeks of each other, so it’s a lot of fun to go through that together. As always, it was really fun to catch up with the girls.

{Friends since middle school - or longer in some cases!} — {Friends since middle school – or longer in some cases!}

Saturday was my day with my mom. We headed into White Bear mid-morning to go get my nails done and have some lunch. From there we did some shopping in St. Paul and took a nice walk together. My mom got me the “original” princess torte cake that I grew up having on my birthday, so it was fun to have some birthday cake and compare the cake that Alex just found out here. There are some subtle differences but both cakes are delicious! We had a great evening chatting back at her place and before I knew it, my trip was coming to an end.

{The "original" princess torte cake from Wuollett's bakery in Minnesota.} — {The “original” princess torte cake from Wuollet Bakery in Minnesota.}

I flew out early Sunday morning and made it back to Seattle with plenty of time to enjoy the absolutely gorgeous day, as well as pick up Jackson and get settled in for the week ahead. My trip went by so fast, as it always does, but I know I’ll look back on the time I was able to spend with my family and friends and remember this “last trip before baby” quite fondly. Oh, and I apologize, family, for my lack of photos with you! 🙁

Anniversary Weekend “Getaway”

We’ve got lots of celebrations this spring with both of us turning 30, celebrating the impending arrival of our baby via a few baby showers, and our fifth anniversary. This last weekend was focused on celebrating being married for five years. Our celebration led us to Woodinville, a nearby town, to stay the night at Willows Lodge and dine at the only five diamond restaurant in Washington, The Herbfarm.

I think that having a staycation or a local “getaway” can be just as much fun as hopping on a plane and going somewhere out of state. This experience proved that point quite nicely. Willows Lodge is an exceptional hotel – it’s a mountain modern style of architecture with very beautiful rooms, giant soaking tubs and gorgeous grounds to stroll through. The bonus is that it’s across the parking lot from The Herbfarm, so we didn’t have far to go after our nine-course dinner {I should also mention that a wine pairing is included too! Of course I had the non-alcoholic pairing option.}.

{Our lovely little place setting...} — {Our lovely little place setting…}

The experience of our dinner was certainly a highlight. The service truly was impeccable. The restaurant had one seating, at 7 p.m., so all tables were seated at the exact same time. The servers had memorized which tables were for which groups and we had a cute little “happy anniversary” sign at our seat. I have a few dietary limitations and one of the owners came to discuss the menu with me to assure me that they were aware and had made other arrangements. Throughout the meal one of the servers was in charge of filling up water and she memorized which diners had a preference for ice and which did not. Another lovely touch was that they had thick, cozy wraps available on hand for if anyone got chilly, which I inevitably did. Other than the food, one of the best parts was that the restaurant wasn’t fancy – it felt like we were going over to grandma’s house for dinner. It was quite comfortable and we didn’t feel like we had to be prim and proper. We could relax and enjoy ourselves.

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Since its beginning in the late 1990s, the restaurant focused on very locally sourced and seasonal foods, which now is of course a trend, and almost a requirement here in the Seattle area, but they were well ahead of the curve. Each month the restaurant comes up with a different theme and the theme for our dinner was “Super Cattle” – perfect for us steak lovers! The whole menu was centered around cows…

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My personal favorites were the Japanese Waygu steak – it was absolute perfection. The steak tasted exactly how a steak should taste. It was really interesting comparing it side-by-side with an Oregon Waygu. Kind of similar to trying the same wine varietal but grown in a different region. Additionally, my other favorite was the pasta, which was the third course. Because of my shellfish allergy they omitted the clams and instead replaced them with pancetta and black truffles – pretty sure I was eating a bowl of pasta sent straight from heaven.

{This was "Tin of Tartar" which had a layer of beef tartare topped with foie gras, covered with these little bubbles of worcestershire sauce. Because I can't have raw meat or foie gras, I got a delicious bison slider with little baby pickles, my own worcestershire caviar and crunchy fried onions. So good!} — {This was “Tin of Tartar” which had a layer of beef tartare topped with foie gras, covered with these little bubbles of worcestershire sauce. Because I can’t have raw meat or foie gras, I got a delicious bison slider with little baby pickles, my own worcestershire caviar and crunchy fried onions. So good!}

At the end of the evening we waddled across the street to our hotel room with full, happy bellies, though not before being greeted at the door with my jacket and a little doggie bag of bread. Alex happened to mention how much he loved the bread so they sent us home with some to enjoy at a later time. The little details all evening were so lovely.

All in all, it was a most wonderful experience that we’ll both remember for a long time, I’m sure. After our wonderful breakfast at one of my favorite Woodinville restaurants, Barking Frog, we did some exploring and headed back home.

Room Transformations

For the last couple months Alex and I have been planning out how we were going to transition the media room into the nursery and combine the office and media room into one space. We managed to create a solid plan of things that needed to happen in order for the transition to take place and we scheduled it out quite perfectly, if I do say so, and we officially have a “nursery” and a “den” now!

{My same old desk in the office - the only change here will be new things on the walls and a nicer table for the printer. Oh, and a pillow for my chair!} — {My same old desk in the office – the only change here will be new things on the walls and a nicer table for the printer. Oh, and a pillow for my chair and sore back!}

Other than the not-so-simple feat of moving around all of the furniture with a strong husband and his pregnant wife, the last big thing we needed to do to get prepare for the room transition was get the den painted. We took care of that last week and had the den and stairwell painted, along with the ceiling and a couple walls downstairs in the hallway. The colors we went with are really similar to what they were to start with but it’s amazing how much cleaner and brighter it looks down there.

Once Saturday morning came, Alex got straight to work and we started moving furniture from the media room down to the den to clear the upstairs bedroom to become the nursery. Last weekend we had sold the loveseat that was in the office previously and that made space in the new den for the sofa from upstairs.

{This is now officially the den! The TV is on the wall opposite the sofa.}

I was a little skeptical about how the new den space would look because our sofa from the media room is a little bulky and big. Turns out it feels super cozy in the new den and we really love it! I love the combo of the office/TV area and it’s a very comfortable work space for me too. Of course we still need to hang things on the wall, and that will come soon enough.

The nursery is very much a work in progress, but we were excited to get the crib set up and we also managed to schedule the delivery of our rocker for Saturday, so we’ve got that too!

{The proud dad-to-be testing out the rocker... it passes the comfort test for sure!} — {The proud dad-to-be testing out the rocker… it passes the comfort test for sure!}

It took a little bit of playing around with the configurations, but I think the crib and rocker will stay where they are. We had an extra bookshelf from the office that would have fit with the nursery furniture, but it seems to be too big for the not big room, so we’ll be doing without that. Right now it’s acting as a placeholder for the dresser, which will be delivered in late April or early May.

{True to form, Henry and Jackson both played the role of curious big brothers when we got everything set up.}

Once the furniture was in place we decided on decor for the nursery and got most of that ordered. We’re opting for a mountain-theme nursery using soft blues, grays and whites. Now all that’s left is ordering the rug and some storage solutions, along with a side table for the rocker and probably 100 things I haven’t thought of yet, and the nursery will be more put-together.

{Already protective of the crib! He's going to be such a good big brother to this little boy.} — {Already protective of the crib! He’s going to be such a good big brother to this little boy. And dear goodness this rug is not staying – in fact, it has overstayed its welcome if you ask me.}

The nursery is such a bright room – we absolutely love it! We’ve got some floating shelves to hang to the right of the window to store books, then over the crib will be a mountain garland I found on Etsy. On the wall above the dresser will be some cute framed outdoor-themed prints. I’m on the hunt for some fun storage baskets for baby toys, blankets and gear, then we’ll find a small side table for next to the rocker. I also found a cute mountain print pillow for the rocker, and we’ll eventually get a throw in there for once it’s chilly in the fall. Once we make some more progress I’ll share updated photos.

Things are starting to come together in this little old house! Other than having diapers and clothes on-hand, I think we could safely house a baby here at this point…

Birthday Celebrations!

We’ve had three birthdays in our house over the last two weeks – Henry’s, Jackson’s and mine! Henry turned 5 back in mid-March, then a couple days before my birthday Jackson turned 3. It’s hard to spoil Henry with birthday treats because he’s so temperamental and really doesn’t care, but food is the way to Jackson’s heart, so it’s a little easier with him. Either way, both boys are healthy and happy and absolutely loving the sunny spring weather – that’s the best birthday gift for them!

20160329_020043026_iOS — {Alex took a big scoop of peanut butter and formed it into the shape of a bone, then put bacon on the outside and that was Jackson’s special treat!}

Last week I turned 30! It’s hard to believe I’ve already been around for 3 decades. Being pregnant and turning 30 makes it feel like a bigger milestone, I think, since I’m naturally starting a new chapter. I am certainly looking forward to the road ahead – I have a feeling it will be full of excitement and new adventures.

One of the best birthday gifts for me, too, was the weather we were fortunate enough to have last week in Seattle. It was extraordinary! I enjoyed my birthday lunch on the front porch and had some time in the sun later that afternoon, too.

{Me and the belly getting some much needed sun!}

Alex and I are big on having experiences instead of tangible gifts, particularly for birthdays and anniversaries. We feel that experiences are more meaningful and memorable and we can look back and recall how we celebrated various occasions. For my birthday this year he took me to dinner at the chef’s counter at Vendemmia, a newer restaurant in our neighborhood.

We had a terrific time and a fantastic dinner. It was really fun to sit up at the counter next to the chef and watch him carefully assemble each piece of every dish he made for his guests. He is a really friendly guy and he spent a lot of time chatting with us and explained some of his processes. We had 4 appetizers, a pasta, a main dish and a dessert and everything tasted wonderful and probably 3/4 of the plates were things we would not have selected on our own, which was one of the best parts. We love trying new foods!

Over the weekend we met up with Mary and Ryan for lunch and a wine tasting in Woodinville. I’m counting this as part of my birthday celebration because sweet Alex tracked down a bakery that makes a particular kind of cake {Princess Torte Cake} that I loved having on my birthday as a late teen/in my early 20s and brought it to lunch with us. Mary’s birthday was also last week, so it was a nice way for us to celebrate both occasions. We had a really nice time with the Millers and it was an awesome weekend and birthday celebration all around!

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Spring Skiing!

I think it’s safe to say that our ski season is officially over. We had one final glorious day on skis to close out the year, but now it’s time to say farewell…

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Despite being pregnant for the whole ski season and enduring another “el nino” year, we really had a great winter and filled it with as much skiing as we could. Winter started out being cold and wet, which of course creates perfect ski conditions! We had several December powder days to remember. Sadly it warmed up in the Pacific Northwest after the new year and we’ve hardly skied in Washington since the holidays.

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Our trip to Deer Valley with Alex’s parents, then Alex’s cat skiing trip and my trip to Whistler were perfect mid-season stints that carried us through. Alex managed to get about 16 ski days in this year, while I got 13.

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For our last ski day of the season it really was just what we were hoping for! Perfect spring-skiing conditions – bluebird skies and soft groomers. We had cheeseburgers out on the patio for lunch and loved feeling the sun soak into our skin. Somehow I managed to still zip my ski coat {though just barely!}, but this growing baby made it a little harder to comfortably sit on the chairlift and properly position myself when going downhill, so our day was fairly short-lived, but that’s okay! We had a great time in the sun and enjoyed the time together. I’ll always look back fondly and with much appreciation on this ski season.

Spring Projects

Someone asked me recently if I’ve gotten the “nesting bug” yet. I don’t think I have, rather, I think I’m just in normal spring cleaning mode at this point. Each spring {and usually fall, too} Alex and I create a massive list of things to clean and projects to complete and this year is no different.

Over the last month or so we have completely re-designed and modified three of our four bedroom closets. It has allowed us to become better organized and store more of our things appropriately. This project has been a long time coming and has been paying off enormously.

{Guest room closet before was a total free-for-all with only one shelf - makes it kind of hard to stay organized!} — {Guest room closet before was a total free-for-all with only one shelf – makes it kind of hard to stay organized!}

{Now our guests can actually use the closet to hang their clothes if they want. It's so handy that the extra blankets are nicely displayed now. And hopefully after this weekend we'll get the outdoor cushions and pillows outdoors instead of in this closet.} — {Now our guests can actually use the closet to hang their clothes if they want. It’s so handy that the extra blankets are nicely displayed now. And hopefully after this weekend we’ll get the outdoor cushions and pillows outdoors instead of in this closet.}

{The office closet was probably the biggest transformation. I work from home and have a TON of work stuff in the closet - these cardboard shelves were great for storing educational resources, but they were falling apart and there was a vast need for better shelving.} — {The office closet was probably the biggest transformation. I work from home and have a TON of work stuff in the closet – these cardboard shelves were great for storing educational resources, but they were falling apart and there was a vast need for better shelving that didn’t bend and break.}

{We added 5 rows of shelves across the whole closet and this allowed us to use about 1/3 for personal storage and the rest for my work stuff.}

{Far from cute or beautiful, but definitely functional and more organized.}

One of Alex’s recent projects has been the ceiling repair from the water damage we had from our bathroom leak. That’s been a learning experience for him, but he loves trying to fix things around the house first before just calling in someone to do it for us.

{Turns out the ceiling sagged so much because there was 28" between studs in the ceiling and the drywall in the ceiling was installed with nails instead of screws. Oops!} — {Turns out the ceiling sagged so much because there was a 28″ gap between studs in the ceiling and the drywall in the ceiling was installed with nails instead of screws. Oops!}

{Now we've got a flush ceiling and all it needs is some sanding before the texture and paint get applied.} — {Now we’ve got a flush ceiling and all it needs is some sanding before the texture and paint get applied.}

Last week I took on the project of cleaning out the kitchen cabinets. I got rid of quite a lot of stuff and installed some new shelf liners. It always feels SO good to scrub the kitchen spotless! And now we have more space to fill it with baby bottles and kid stuff… hurrah!

Our next big projects include:

Preparing for the painters to come this week – we’ve got to get rid of some furniture and do some moving of other furniture to get ready for the office and downstairs to be painted and transformed. After that is done, we’ll move the TV and stuff from the media room down to the office and start working on getting the nursery set up. I expect we’ll get some new furniture in the new space, perhaps this summer.
Getting the outside areas ready for spring! We need to clean off our chairs and tables and set out the pillows/cushions to get our outdoor seating spaces ready to sit in once the weather turns {next week!?!?!?!!!!!}.
Paint/stain the front and back steps – this is becoming an annual occurrence with all of the traction, claws/paws, and mud that gets brought up the front and back stairs.
The yard…. I’m not quite sure what this will entail, but certainly some crabgrass elimination at a minimum. At a maximum it will include the building of a new patio. We’ll see what reality looks like down the road…

{As much as Alex and I love our new closet, the biggest fan of it is Henry cat. We made a special space for him on the shelf after noticing he was interested in that spot when there was a box there.}

Six Months and Counting!

I can officially say “I’m six months pregnant!” now, which certainly sounds real! Now that I’ve reached that point, the most exciting thing is that the baby has reached the point of being viable outside of the womb. Hopefully he still won’t make his arrival until July!

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Six Month Stats:

“How are you feeling?”: Still just fine… 🙂 I’ve been sleeping really well the last week or two and that has been amazing. I know that’s not going to last forever so I’m enjoying it while it does!
Food cravings: I feel like I eat constantly but I really haven’t ever gotten a major craving for anything. Cottage cheese is still my go-to snack.
Weight gain:12 pounds
Baby’s heart rate: 132 beats per minute
Pregnancy symptoms: A growing belly is about the biggest “symptom” I’m experiencing right now! I’ve had acid reflux for a while and I get REALLY winded walking up a hill or up the stairs, but otherwise, I feel great!
Doctor’s appointments: Had one today and my next one shouldn’t be until 28 weeks {so 4 weeks from now}.
Medical concerns: No concerns. I got my Zika test results yesterday and, as expected, they were negative. Around 28 weeks I’ll transition to having appointments every 2 weeks and I’ll have another ultrasound, get my Tdap and RhoGam shots and get tested for gestational diabetes, so I’ve got that to look forward to.
Exercise: I take Jackson for 2 walks a day, which is fantastic. In addition, I’ve been going to a prenatal yoga class once a week and a prenatal Pilates class once a week. I’d like to go to yoga more often but it’s hard to work it into my schedule. Once it stops raining I plan on walking to/from my classes for some extra cardio {a very hilly mile to both!}.
Highlights at this point: It’s been fun to start receiving gifts and things for our little man. It has been amazing to still being able to ski while being pregnant – I don’t feel pregnant while skiing {until I bend over!} and that’s nice. I love feeling the baby move – he’s been a wiggle worm lately. The first time I felt him move with certainty {around 21 weeks} I had the computer on my lap and was listening to Taylor Swift and felt him kick. I think we’ve got a future Swiftie on our hands!
What I’m excited for: Right now I’m really looking forward to putting the nursery together soon.
Downsides at this point: Really can’t think of anything?!
Things I miss: runny eggs, medium rare steak and drinking as much coffee as I want.
Things we’ve done to prepare for baby: We signed up for a birth class, which takes place in June. I bought an adorable onesie for him, but otherwise have been restraining. I just finished reading “Bringing up Bebe” and loved it. Now onto the next book…
Name ideas: My lips are sealed but we have two top choices for a name and at this point we may wait to make the final choice until we meet him.
Nursery ideas: Our nursery will be a modern mountain theme with soft grays and blues. We’ve got our crib and bookshelf and have ordered our rocker, so we’re making progress. Painting in our house should start next week and after that’s done we can start to transition the media room into the nursery and get things set up!
PSA: Per my doctor, if you are planning on spending time with this child once he arrives, please make sure that you’re up-to-date on your vaccines, particularly the Tdap! Consider this your warning 🙂

{Finally at 24 weeks I fit into my maternity workout jacket... headed to Pilates!} — {Finally at 24 weeks I fit into my maternity workout jacket… headed to Pilates!}

Sarah’s Seattle Trip

My longtime friend Sarah was out for an impromptu visit last weekend. This trip in particular was a bit more special and unusual than her typical visits, as we are both pregnant right now {and due a day apart!}. While we talk multiple times every day, we hadn’t seen each other yet since finding out {on the same day} that we were both going to be mamas, so it was extra fun to catch up and see each other in person.

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We really didn’t do a whole lot during Sarah’s visit – we ended up going to prenatal yoga dressed nearly identically {oops!}, and we enjoyed some delicious restaurants and took a few walks. One of the things I’ve learned is that whenever Sarah comes to Seattle, the weather is going to be miserable, and boy did that hold true.

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Going through our pregnancy together has been really exciting – our due dates are a day apart, so we’re experiencing a lot of the same pregnancy symptoms at the same time. But either way, we’re both at the same point in our pregnancy and it’s an incredible experience to go through that with your best friend.

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Sarah and I have known each other and been friends since the summer before 6th grade. I moved to Mahtomedi that year and we were in the same swimming lessons class that summer. She was one of my first friends at my new school! Since the days of middle school, our group of friends has changed a little bit, but remained constant at the core.

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We endured the challenges and drama of being teenagers and got to grow up together. I am very fortunate for Sarah’s friendship, but also for my whole group of girl friends from high school. Most of us are still really close today. Throughout high school, Sarah and I were on the swim team together {though I was a diver}, we taught swimming lessons at the YMCA and then eventually worked at the golf course together in college.

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Graduating from high school and selecting different colleges was the beginning of our long-distance friendship, which has now survived more than 11 years. Sarah was always really good at coming down to visit me in Ames, which was about a 2ish hour drive from her school in St. Peter, Minnesota. We both changed a lot in college and had really different experiences and built whole new networks of friends, but we were able to maintain our close friendship and chat as often as possible.

{Selfies before selfies were a thing ;) } — {Selfies before selfies were a thing 😉 }

Summers were the best for us, though, because we saw each other most days, if I recall correctly, particularly when we were working at the golf course together. At some point, I want to say at the golf course, we were introducing ourselves to someone and they decided to combine our names into “Sali” and somehow that stuck.

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Moving 1500 miles away from Sarah after graduating from college hasn’t put a damper on our friendship, either! Sarah has come to visit or we’ve met somewhere just about every year since I moved to Seattle. Somehow she keeps coming even though the weather is never nice! Sarah does owe me a big one, though, because while on her way to come visit me in 2010, she ended up meeting the man who is now her husband and baby daddy. They were seated next to each other on the plane and hit it off!

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1381590_10101444174634420_1735318024_n We were each other’s maid of honor in our weddings.

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And since then, not much has changed, except for the fact that we’re both preparing to be mamas. While it would still be special to simply be pregnant, it makes it all the more fun to go through it all with my other half of Sali.

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Here’s to starting the next chapter of our friendship as mamas…

Cat Skiing Rossland, BC

While Ali and her dad were off skiing Whistler, my friend Patrick and I packed up and headed North as well. We were aiming for Rossland, BC a town just across the Canadian border. We chose Rossland for its proximity to Washington as well as its access to several resorts and (more importantly) several Cat Skiing operations.

What is Cat Skiing you ask? Well, imagine a giant snowmobile with a box on the back that can fit you, two guides, and 10 of your closest friends (or strangers, in our case). These cats can access great skiing far from anyone else, and we had our fingers crossed that conditions would be good.

This is the cat - a magic box that takes you into great terrain. — This is the cat – a magic box that takes you into great terrain.

We arrived in Rossland on a Saturday and things did not look great. It was warm, raining, and the locals were wandering around the quaint little ski town rather than up at the mountain skiing. Still, we woke up Sunday morning and headed up to Red Mountain Resort for some skiing. Unfortunately conditions were not great. Lets just say Patrick and I usually avoid groomed ski runs, and on Sunday we were seeking them out. Still, there was snow in the forecast so we again went to bed with visions of powder skiing in our heads.

Monday morning Patrick and I woke up and headed up to another resort nearby, called Whitewater. We didn’t know much about Whitewater other than the tree skiing was good, but rumor had it that they got some good snow Sunday night. This turned out to be more than true. When we arrived at around 11 AM, we were greeting with no lift lines, lots of new snow, and the best tree skiing I’ve ever experienced. The runs were mostly open glades, with the spaces between the trees filled with nice light powder snow.

Patrick in the trees, wondering where everyone else is.

With tired legs and faces sore from smiling, we prepped for our first day of Cat Skiing at Valhalla Powder Cats.

The Valhalla office, complete with transportation. — The Valhalla office, complete with ski bum transportation.

Having never been Cat Skiing before, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I was prepared for a hard day of skiing as I knew it had snowed a lot more overnight and that Valhalla had a reputation for excellent terrain – it seems to be the choice of pro skiers. I was a little intimidated, but luckily we were set for another excellent day of skiing.

Our guide, showing us the ropes before we drop in.

Our day started with an avalanche briefing and a long bus ride up to Valhalla Pass. Once there, we did some rescue drills and loaded up into the cat for our first run. After a few turns all concerns about being over my head were replaced with the feeling one gets when they are over their head in powder. Turns were deep, terrain was great, and our guide kept us moving and safe all day. Needless to say, it was excellent.

The face of a man who just skied untouched powder and is about to do it again.

It snowed hard all day, and everyone in our group was having a blast. We ended up being paired with a group of German tourists who came to BC specifically for powder skiing. I think they timed it quite well. We slowly developed into a rhythm – ski one at a time up top with a buddy keeping an eye on you. Once out of the steep terrain, we would dip into trees together (again, keeping an eye on each other) and find our way down to a road where the cat would be waiting to pick us up and do it all over again. The guides were constantly re-assessing conditions and safety and making changes to the plan along the way. From top to bottom we skiing untouched powder in great steep terrain.

At the end of the day we had developed a great group and tired legs. Luckily, we had another day of Cat Skiing ahead of us the very next day. Even more luckily, we realized that even though we were going with a different company we would actually spend the day skiing with the German group as well as our guide from Valhalla.

Day two - tired legs but big smiles. — Day two – tired legs but big smiles (and the sun even came out).

Day two found us at Big Red Cats, a different cat operation with the same group and same guide. The day progressed mostly the same – meet at the office, load up into a bus, load up a cat, safety briefing, and then of course powder skiing.

Resting the legs after skiing powder for 3 days straight.

We once again found excellent conditions, great terrain, and a really fun day. The sun even came out for a bit, allowing us to get a sense of what we were skiing and the vastness of the terrain. Its hard to complain when you have a large section of a mountain range to yourself and the snow is soft, but by the end we were definitely feeling our tired legs.

Rossland BC-8 — Looking up at our tracks coming out of the forest.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. As this was the last Cat Skiing day, I took the next day off to rest up my legs so they could be fresh for Friday’s attempt to ski Red Mountain in better conditions.

While there wasn’t much new snow Friday, the sun did come out allowing us to ski Red Mountain in Spring-like conditions. It also gave us a chance to glance at their abundant (and steep!) terrain. We scoped out a few named in-bound runs that would put Jackson Hole to shame. Needless to say, I will be back.

After a hard week of skiing, the only thing left to do was head to our favorite ski town bar and drink a few beers to celebrate. We packed up the car Saturday morning and hit the road just as the rain came back. Somehow we managed to time this trip just right. Given the terrain, the snow, and the fun we had I can’t help but think we will need to make this trip something of a tradition.