More Mountain Fun

Back in August we went to the mountains (NC) with Ty and Dana. We love taking Kate on hikes plus it’s so pretty there and was a way to escape the insane August heat. It was a fun trip considering Dana was 7 months pregnant and I was around 9 weeks and sick all the time!  Something about mountain air really makes me feel better because I wasn’t as sick there just like when we were in WY. Dana even managed to do all the hikes with no problem!  I forgot my camera but Dana took a ton of pictures for us with her fancy camera.

 

Too cute

 

 

Pre-Hadley Picture! Such a cute family :)

We’re already planning our retirement to be somewhere in North GA or NC

Making S’mores

Had a little trouble convincing Ty to get in the water

A Day at the Zoo

Our friends, Greg and Lara, told us about this fantastic promotion Bank of America was having. If you’re a Bank of America customer you could go to the zoo for free this particular Saturday, which is totally worth it since it’s $20 a person to go to the zoo and there’s no way I’d pay that much to see caged animals. (On a side note – zoos really are kind of sad when you think about it)

This was Kate’s first time and she had fun. I don’t know how interested she was in all the animals but she liked the lions and the monkeys were her favorite. She mainly just liked being outside and watching all the people/ looking for babies. I really liked the kid area of the zoo. The have a playground, petting zoo, train, and other kid friendly animals. Except there was a worker dressed as a pumpkin head and he kept following us around even though he was obviously creeping Kate out!

We had a lot of fun and it was really nice to hang out with Greg and Lara since we don’t get to see them as often since they moved.

Kate was pretty nervous at first to touch the animals

She really liked the pigs

Kate, Jason, Greg, and Lara looking at the elephants

The giraffes were my favorite

Our little monkey trying to escape :)

Survival

During my first trimester I had a concern that I called my Doctors office about. I was talking to the nurse and she said, “Honey, the first trimester is all about survival.” How true!

I survived the constant worry of miscarriage. I was fortunate that I was able to hear the heartbeat at 7 weeks then again at 10 weeks. Even though I was extremely relieved after hearing the heartbeat the first time I still couldn’t help but worry. I don’t think of myself as a pessimist or even extreme worrier, except when it comes to being pregnant. I don’t know why but I worry about something wrong happening. I know it still could and even now there’s no guarantee but my worry seems to be mainly focused during the first trimester.

I survived the “morning” sickness, which for me means 24hr a day sickness. Literally, I would wake up during the middle of the night and it would take forever to fall back asleep because I was so sick. I was really sick with Katherine, but this was even worse. It’s hard when you never get a break. I had a few weeks straight of not even having a minute of feeling good. Then I got about an hour each morning and I loved that hour. It was still hard though because there was nothing I could do and I tried everything! You know how even when you feel horrible it still feels good to lay on the couch under a blanket, watch a movie, and have someone take care of you? Even when I was lying around, which I did A LOT of, I still felt miserable!  Plus you don’t want to complain because you want this baby more than anything and would suffer as much as possible if it means a healthy baby.  Luckily I’m not one of those few who are sick their entire pregnancy. I really don’t know how they do it!

So, I’m excited to be in this stage of the pregnancy. I’m still sick but it’s only in the evenings and it’s getting better every day! I can be more active with Kate and the house is no longer falling apart. I can actually cook dinner so we’re not surviving off quesadillas, cereal, fast food, or whatever Jason could find in the pantry for him and Kate to eat.  I should add that Jason was very patient with me during my “sickness” and really helped out with cleaning and playing with Kate. I know he’s glad for that stage to be over though :) And so am I since we definitely have different definitions of clean!

It’s Official

We’re having a

BABY GIRL!!!!

We’re so excited! I really really wanted Katherine to have a sister. Plus, I don’t have to change the awesome nursery or buy new bedding or new blankets or new clothes… This baby will be born in the same season as Kate was so the majority of the clothes should work. And, they get to share a room now.

I kind of thought it was a girl but wasn’t positive and Jason had no idea. It took the technician forever to officially say it was a girl because she would not stop moving! It looks like we’re going to have another very active baby girl :)

It was also hard to get pictures of her being still since she literally would not stop moving. We have a couple where she’s looking straight at you but I think it’s hard to tell on the computer so here’s a profile one of her perfect little spine :)

Day 5 Yellowstone

Our last day we left the Tetons and went to Yellowstone.  We were spoiled by being practically the only people hiking around the Tetons so it took us back a little by how crowded Yellowstone was, and this wasn’t even during the peak season! We only saw the southern half of the park and what we saw was definitely pretty.

My favorite was the canyons.

 

  Jason’s favorite was West Thumb, the geysers. 

The geysers were boiling hot and crystal clear, going down farther than you could see.

The waterfalls were really pretty too. 

Neither of us get the fascination with Old Faithful.  It was okay, nothing spectacular.  I figured the last day would be a good one to try and get some pregnant pictures.  

We spent the entire day there, saw some more Bison and then headed back to get ready for our flight the next day.    We would like to come back and spend some more time in Yellowstone some day.  You just can’t even scratch the surface of everything there in 1 day.

I couldn’t wait to get home and hug and kiss Kate.  I’m so thankful I was able to leave her with my parents. It’s nice leaving her with people you know love her and will keep her safe. 

This was the best trip ever (besides Cozumel).  Everything was better than we planned and was just so beautiful. I don’t know if we’ll ever go back since we kind of like to go to new places but I highly recommend you go.  And you must go in September, the weather was amazing and it never rained.

Day 3 - Taggart and Bradley Lake

Total Miles Hiked: 4

We spent the third day doing a short hike that was supposed to be only 2 miles but accidently turned out to be 4 miles when we made a wrong turn. We took it easy, still recovering from our 20 mile hike the day before. After that hike we drove into Jackson Hole and bought some t-shirts and a cute little stuffed dog and sweatshirt for Kate.

Here is a panoramic of the Tetons we stitched together.

The weather was perfect and the hike was mostly over level terrain, so it made a perfect “rest hike” between our big ones.

And as with every other lake we hiked to, Jason had to get in.

Jason’s Solo Hike

Lupine Meadows – Garnet Canyon - Middle Teton    Total Miles: 15

I did this hike alone on my birthday.  My goal was to summit the Middle Teton at 12,800 ft and over 7 miles in.  Since Emily was 3 months pregnant, I figured it wouldn’t be a good idea for her to come along.  The picture above was a panoramic I stitched together looking over the saddle looking into Idaho over Ice Flow Lake.

I started the hike at 6:30 am.  Since I was alone, I set a time limit on when I would turn around.  If I wasn’t eating lunch on the summit by noon, then I would turn around.  The picture above is at the mouth of Garnet canyon after I had hiked about 3.5 miles.

The peak above was my destination, the hiking trail ends and it is nothing but steep uphill and boulder fields from here on up to the saddle (a ridge between the Middle and Lower Teton), this is where it got really hard (and really dangerous to do alone).

The hike was real pretty, scrambling over the boulders I encountered a few problems with loose footings and some slippery spots.  There is no established trail, if you don’t know the “route” then you just have to stop every so often, look ahead and see the best way to get to your destination.  This slowed me down quite a bit along with the fatigue of already ascending thousands of feet in one morning.  I would have felt better about doing it alone if I had seen anyone along the way, but the entire morning I didn’t see a soul.

I made it to the saddle exhausted.  Having been born and raised at or below sea level my entire life, the high altitude of 10,000+ ft had taken its toll on me.  From the saddle you can see Ice Flow Lake, it was real pretty and REAL far below me.  It is a shear drop down to the lake, with cold winds rushing over the saddle.  All of that made it kind of creepy and cool all at the same time. I sat here for about 20 minutes and ate an apple before continuing on.

It was about 11:00 and you can see the summit there.  I knew I was a few hours from the summit and being as exhausted as I was, along with the fact that I was alone, I made the hard decision to turn around.  I guess this was the now “30” year old in me making a “responsible” decision.  Had I still been in my 20’s I would have most likely pushed on (and might have possibly gotten into some trouble).

On my way down I made a few bad turns and lost the route twice ending up on huge cliffs with no possible way to get down.  I had to retrace my steps (uphill) to find the correct routes.  Being as tired as I was, this was very discouraging.  The boulders had also taken a toll on my knees and my feet were sore from the 40+ miles I had already hiked that week.  The picture above I took after I had safely made it back to the established trail at the mouth of Garnet Canyon.

Were I to do this hike again, I would do many things differently.  First I wouldn’t do it alone.  A climb this big should never be tried alone, it only takes a small slip to get yourself into some serious trouble.  Second I wouldn’t try it in 1 day.  Most of the people that do this summit, break it up into an over-nighter.  This gives you that extra energy you need to push for the summit which I had burned up on the hike in.  Third, I would make sure the person I was with had hiked it before.  This would have saved me a lot of time and energy not having to guess and try my way up (and down) finding viable routes.  And fourth, I wouldn’t have tried it after doing so much hiking earlier in the week.  My legs and feet were just a little too worn from our hikes the previous 3 days.

All in all it was a good hike though.  I don’t regret my decision to turn around, and feel it was the right one to make.  It was a beautiful hike which pushed me to my limit and I felt good about myself for getting as far as I did in my “30’s”.  It’s kind of weird to say that.

Emily’s Day

While Jason did his solo hike I went sight seeing. First I went and bought the Christmas ornament we had picked out earlier and then I went to Mormon Row.  On this road in an old farm building and some barns that were built in the late 1800s/early 1900s when the Mormons settled there.  

Since I was by myself and didn’t really know where to go I traveled down this random dirt road after looking at the old structures and saw some wild bison on the side of the road. Again, very neat.