35 Weeks

35 weeks today~this is happening so fast. I cant believe we are going to be parents-I am definitely getting bigger and more and more uncomfortable. She is head down and getting ready for descent-I feel as though my ribs are bruised from her kicking me. The past two days she has been moving like crazy--little Miss Busy-Body; I have to say she is starting out like me. They say you are usually late for your first baby~I have a feeling this little anxious being is going to be early or right on time. I guess we will see I only have maximum of 6 weeks to go. We are still trying to figure out what we are going to name her; we are down to 7 names (well I am anyways) Chris has his number one pick--I just don't know if I love it and I don't know if it will fit her. Christopher mentioned getting our hospital bag together--just in case--having 10 months to prepare seems like a long time, but when it starts getting closer, the more nervous I get. I am excited to meet her, but at the same time, nervous about being a good parent.

Getting you up to date....

Well...its been a long time since I have kept you all updated, so where to begin~
After Labor Day Weekend at the Dave Matthews Concert with the VanDorstons Christopher and I headed on our road trip across the country to North Carolina. We started out of Tacoma headed down 5 to the 101 highway towards Cali. We did the Oregon Coast right into the Redwood National Forest (beautiful)~we took Kaya hiking, saw the gigantic Redwood trees and kept going.
We continued 101 down towards Napa; however, being pregnant we were unable to enjoy the Napa Valley as planned and headed inland towards Tahoe. On the way we did come across a winery called Ceago (delicious wines) and yes I did sample my husbands glasses. We ended up buying 3 bottles and I am looking forward to delivery day when I can put down a delicious glass of red wine :) After Ceago we continued towards Lake Tahoe, where we had a very eventful evening. We got in late, decided to pitch a tent and had way too much food to store in the "keep away bear container", so at 4 AM we were visited by a rather large 7 ft 600 lb Brown Bear! I thought I was going to die and I prayed like crazy that we would be ok--after he walked in front of our tent, jumped on Chris' truck and tried numerous times to get into the bed, he wasn't lucky and got bored and meandered on towards another campsite. The next day we headed down to a overlook and checked out the sites~I had Chris book a hotel for the next evening, so I didn't have to fret over the bear incident. We took Kaya to the beach, went swimming and then drove around to check out the scene. Tahoe is beautiful, no doubt about it! After Tahoe we packed up the car and moved towards the Grand Canyon--this trip is one I would love to do again.
The Grand Canyon was magnificent! We probably would've both liked to have seen more, but due to time and having Kaya we were somewhat limited on what we could do. We were able to get some great pics though--On our way out of town we hit up Route 66 and ate at the Roadkill Cafe; they had excellent Bison burgers! Onward bound to Albuquerque--we went into old town here and got a few keepsakes and then made our way East, continuing 40 thru Amarillo and Oklahoma City.
We made our way to Memphis where we stopped to eat ribs at the famous Rendezvous Cafe~ can we say finger licking good!! They were delicious, there is a reason they are on the top of restaurant must sees. We bought BBQ sauce and dry rub from here (you can get it online as well) and I know we will be stocking up on more to come. If ever in Memphis...
From Memphis we headed down to the Coleman's home in Mississippi and visited the family for a few days. It was great to see family and be somewhere we could just relax. Kaya enjoyed swimming in the pond, we had some great thunderstorms and got good meals :) After a few days in MS, we headed over to ATL to visit Jessi and James. I was glad Kaya got along with their dog, Barley and we really enjoyed our stay. We went out to eat with good friends of theirs and had a blast, had game night one evening and then as we were about to head to beloved Fayettenaum, we were informed we didn't need to report until a later date, so we made the trip to Ohio and visited more family!
In Ohio Kaya met a new boyfriend, Carson and hung out with O'dell to play, we had a great time and then once we were due to report we made our way down south to check into our lovely Lodge. We were in the lodge for maximum days (30) and were trying to figure out what to do as far as living arrangements. Our house was not closing as easy as anticipated, we were tired of living out of suitcases and we had no where to go. So, thanks to our good friends Nate and Tiff and Heather and Brent we bounced during the week at the Hoags and made weekend trips to the Lee's. Chris had to head off to San Antonio for a class for 5 weeks, so I was fortunate to make it home and spend quality time with the family.

Fantastic Weekend

What an amazing weekend; Christopher and I were able to see all of our friends in one fantastic weekend! Our journey started with a missing wallet and someone, not to mention any names--Christopher--missed his flight due to a scheduling error, but after everything got situated we were on our way to Moline, IA. We started off with a fun adventure on a country road trip out to Sam and Samantha's in Illinois City, IL. We had a fun day sitting around catching up, drinking some beers and wrapping up the evening with a bon fire. Samantha has an amazing garden and has inspired me to buy property in NC and start my own garden :) We had a great time and can't wait to do it again.

The next morning we woke up and headed North to Galena, IL--a really cute city! I met up with Abby and Momma Cates to run some errands, got a much needed pedicure, got ready for the Rehearsal Dinner and caught up with Heather and Brent. 5:30 the Rehearsal started at the church (it gave me goosebumps just thinking about how much Abby and Luke have been through), then we headed over to Vinny Vanucchi's for dinner (delicious!), we made our way over to Gobbies for drinks and a fun evening. We ended up getting our taxi driver a ticket by driving the wrong way to pick us up :) Chad and Terri (Luke's brother and sister in law), Heather and Brent and Chris and i ended our evening at the Ramada on the back deck smoking cigars and having a few beers. Fun times.

Saturday, June 6th Abby's Big Day!
The morning consisted of getting ready, writing a little speech for the reception (that i freaked out about) and taking lots of pictures. Abby was so beautiful in her gown and made a beautiful bride--We jumped on the trolley and headed off to the church. The ceremony was wonderful...tears. It was so awesome being a part of their big day. I got to ring the church bell and then we were off in the trolley to take pictures around Galena. We had a party trolley that took us to different parts of the town to take pictures and then went to a little Irish Pub to take a congratulations shot! Off to the reception--it was fantastic! The room was beautiful, the people were a blast and we just got after it. I was able to spend time with my parents, dance with Heather, give a speech and tell a friend how much she means to me and just see two people grow over the past four years has been a blessing.

What is new in the life of Dawn Coleman

Well, to be quite frank a lot has been going on in my life--from waiting on orders, to work (economic downturn), Miss Bailey Anne having her last moments of life, and just really trying to get my butt in gear for a better body/lifestyle. It has been a while since I have written and I really need to get better at this whole thing.

We are currently waiting on orders to see when we have to report to the Carolinas; don't get me wrong I am really excited--but i am really nervous as well. There are a lot of questions that have been circling around my head--do i transfer w/ my job, do i take some time off, where are we going to live, what are we going to do w/ our home now, when do we have to leave, the friends i will be leaving behind (but keeping in touch with)...oh thoughts :) love them. The best part is my husband will be with me for four years and we can hang out everyday--:) i know he loves that part :) but no more deployments (for the time being), closer to family and friends and just an entirely new life.

Work...don't wanna gripe.

Miss Bailey (pictures to follow) a Labrador that was a true family member. A true Marley & Me real life story---
She was the best dog, next to Kaya--
Things I will miss about that girl
-She always made me smile.
-When we first got her I would pick her up like a baby and place her on the floor off my bed. (she did this until she was full grown!)
-She would steal the napkin off your lap at the dinner table.
-She taught my dog how to destroy her toys and rip them up!
-If you had food, don't look away--it would be gone.
-She romped, like a fat girl, she romped...
-She would sit in my lap for back massages.
-She kept us on our toes.
-She had an annoying high pitch bark when she wanted something.
-She has eaten loaves of bread, entire plates of desserts and right before the guests arrived.
-She ate things she shouldn't have and we had to wait for the digestive system to give us back our money
-She was Smart. She was a very smart dog.
-She was a love.
-She would take things she knew she couldn't have so we would pay her attention.
-She was happy.
-She was loved.

So much for New Years Resolutions...

Well, for New Years I had planned to keep my family and friends up to date on our blog--but so far as you have noticed I have not yet written one time this year--so here goes, you have start somewhere, right? Well, since the New Year Christopher has turned 29 and was lucky enough to head out for a five day guys get-a-way to Whistler (lucky him!!!) He gets home tomorrow, so lucky me. Although I missed him while he was gone having fun, it was kind of nice to have the house to myself. :) Speaking of new years resolutions--the one I stated bout getting my butt to the gym hasn't kicked in yet either, but I have started soccer back up and that seems to be a really good workout especially when we don't have enough players. As for the gym this week, I take Mondays off and Tuesday is my birthday and maybe I will get there on Wednesday-- we will have to wait on see. :) The fun thing for Chris and I has been that he is home! He has been home since October 30th and up until the Whistler trip was the longest period of time in almost 4.5 years that we have EVER spent together!!! So almost 3 months...and we are still getting along :) We do have some things in the works with his job and we will see where this takes us, possibly back to the Carolina's by mid-year. We will have to wait and see...a lot of changes. I am off to bed for an early night b/c last night kicked my butt!!!

Back to work for 2 days and off for 5!

Well, I am back to the office for a few days, while Christopher is hitting up the slopes (it is luke's birthday after all) and having a play day. We had a crazy weekend, that ended up putting me on the couch with a pathetic headache until 9 PM! Ridiculous. Double Margaritas and Coronas--get ya everytime. We are planning on heading to Crystal Mountain for New Years Eve to ski during the day and then hang out with our friends, Callie and Kevin, we even get to stay in the winebago for the night! fun times-- :) I am planning on taking a 1000 pictures so i can capture every moment. Have a Happy New Years! and stay safe.

Couple days after Christmas

Its the Saturday after Christmas and what a Christmas it was; we enjoyed having our first Christmas with just the two of us. Usually we are fighting the traffic, traveling across the country to see our families and getting back late to only return early to work. Don't get me wrong I love my family, but traveling has become such a hassle anymore and not too mention we got so much snow the Seattle airport ran out of de-icer and no flights were leaving, so our flight may have canceled anyways. So we enjoyed a nice day out on the slopes of Crystal Mountain with our friends, Luke, Abby, Callie and Kevin. I was feeling a lot better to the start of this season then how I ended last year, but then again I have a great, patient teacher. ;) We exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve, shhh....don't tell the family and just had a day in the snow for Christmas. For Christmas Eve we had the future Van Dorstons over for dinner and drinks; it was good times as always. Friday we headed out for all you can eat sushi at Sushi Town and then hit the movies, only to laugh our butts off at Four Christmases--if you haven't seen it, I would recommend it for a good laugh. We were going to try and attempt the mall today, but we all know how I am in busy places, so we made a quick trip to return a few things and then headed home to lounge. We are getting ready for soccer season to begin and have a game tomorrow; we will see how things go--hopefully no broken bones this year! Lets keep our fingers crossed :) Things are going well for us, now all we have to worry about is what to plan for our fun New Years Eve! Wow, such a hard life we live...Happy Holidays to all, we hope you enjoyed your Christmas as much as we did.