YIKES, I hope we can make it!

Of course our lives are busy but this afternoon as I look at my calendar and prepare for the next couple of weeks all I can think is YIKES! We're in for a busy couple of weeks! Here's an overview:

• Mike is leaving on Wednesday and will be gone until early October
• Sometime this week I have to get to the DMV to get a copy of my driving record so that I can take care of a little speeding ticket that I got ages ago while visiting my parents in Texas
• Next week is Homecoming Week and thus the busiest week of the entire year for me at work--I have to work late on Thursday, Friday, and come in on Saturday which means finding a babysitter for Olivia
• Olivia's speech teacher is training a new speech teacher so Olivia will get speech therapy twice a week at school instead of just once a week, this is in addition to her private speech therapy appointments once a week
• This weekend Olivia and I are taking Mommy-Daughter-Baby Belly pictures (who knows how these will turn out!)
• This weekend we also have a picnic/playdate at the park
• Next week marks the point where I begin weekly doctor's appointments that will continue until my due date on 11/11/08!
• When Mike returns from his little adventure away his battalion is having a ball and I have to find a formal maternity dress that will fit my 8 month pregnant self and find a baby-sitter for Olivia again
• I have some major catch up to do for my Gamma Phi Beta volunteer activities as a Regional Coordinator (including sending out an electronic newsletter, completing my monthly report, attending various meetings on campus, preparing a short presentation for our monthly conference call)
• I am determined that Olivia will no longer need/want a pacifier by the time Mike gets home (stay tuned for more on how that works out :)
• On top of all these things going on the next couple of weeks are when all of the tv shows I love to watch have new seasons starting. Is it completely wrong that all I want to do is sit at home and watch TV!

The Fair

This weekend we made our second annual trip to the Puyallup Fair. It's crazy to think about how much has changed over the last year! During our last trip we had just arrived in Washington state, Olivia was still very much our little baby and was way too young to really enjoy the fair and I certainly wasn't pregnant! Mike hadn't even officially reported here at Ft. Lewis and we were still in vacation mode. Last year the highlight for us was the beer garden and the giant pumpkins, this year it was seeing Olivia enjoy the rides and fair food!

Olivia's first ride was the giant slide with Mike. They patiently waited in line to get their burlap sacks to slide on and then Mike and Olivia slowly walked up the 4 flights of stairs to the top of the slide (I took the most adorable pictures of this). Then when they got to the top I started filming the experience from the prime spot I'd staked out at the bottom of the line and down they came. It was adorable, Olivia had the biggest grin on her face and was waving the entire way down. I couldn't wait to show Mike the pictures and video and was so irritated to discover that the camera was broken and I didn't actually get any pictures or video. We considered letting them go again so I could get pictures but at $3/each it just wasn't practical (we do have a new baby on the way after all). Fortunately the cell phone has a good, working camera so we did get pictures of the other fair fun. Mike took Olivia on her first big girl ride. At first Olivia wasn't too sure what to think, she was very concerned with making sure the little gate was closed. But she loved it and kept trying to climb back into the ride area to go again. Olivia also went on her first ride solo and while I was worried she'd completely freak out she LOVED it! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

"Make sure that gate is locked Daddy, I dont' want to fall out!"

"More please" Olivia didn't want to leave the ride but we told her big girls don't have temper tantrums so we get the pout instead of a fit.

What's going on here? Why is that car honking at me?

I'm driving!

Update: Hurricane Ike

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers! My parents and grandmother weathered the storm just fine at LexStone Ranch. Many of our friends and family in Houston don't have power and won't for several more days. Thus far it's been a busy hurricane season in the Gulf coast and we all hope the last 2 and a half months of the season are quieter!

Hurricane Ike

A couple weeks ago we were all waiting for news from Louisiana, this weekend it'll be Texas. Hurricane Ike is on it's way to Texas and is projected to hit Galveston and Houston pretty hard. My parents are settling in at LexStone Ranch and my Grandmother is going to "weather the storm" with them.