Working Toward a Tank

Since his birthday almost 2 weeks ago, Chadwick has been diligently working to build the M1A1 tank model. First, the paint, then pain-stakingly removing each piece from its plastic home to glue it into place. It looks pretty good! I think there is still more to come....
When I went home in August for my Nana's birthday, waiting for me in my room was a craft Mom had bought for me to put together for the baby. I've had said craft for, what, at least a month. Here is how far I've gotten:
Yeah, still in the wrapper. Sorry, Mom. It's kind of a running joke that our crafts (mine and Mom's) might be done by the second or third child. I guess we're relying on other people to complete a craft for the first one. Ha!

The Big 3-0

Last Wednesday, 9-9-09, pushed Chadwick (and thus his twin, Stephen) out of the 20's and into the 30's. According the card sent him by my Nana, he only has 10 good years left. Yikes! I guess we'd better make the most out of those years then, eh?

Unfortunately, we didn't do anything extra special for him. Leftovers Wednesday night, dinner with his parents Thursday night, and out to eat at McGrath's Fish House Friday night. He opened several presents and had pretty much a normal week. This is him with his Dairy Queen blizzard oogling over parts to the M1A2 Abrams tank model I bought him for his birthday. He used to drive the M1A1 version, which they didn't have in the hobby shop, but you can make the earlier version of the tank with this model set. Projects!


An update from his fishing trip in Yellowstone - great weather, beautiful country, good company, not so great fishing. They weren't biting well, but the boys had a great time despite the fact.

14 Weeks Down....

And this is me at 14 weeks! I wasn't showing at all until about week 12, and I swear the belly popped out overnight. Hello?! One of my co-workers is convinced that I'm having twins because she thinks it's a little early to be showing so much. Where else is everything going to go?? I'm wearing a poofy shirt, which I pulled up to "show off" my stomach.

And can someone explain why people feel the need to touch the belly? It's weird to have women I don't know well reaching out to touch my abdomen....

As a side note, my husband spent this Labor Day weekend with his dad and brother, James, fly fishing in Yellowstone. Rough life! He spent an evening or two tying flies for the venture. He showed me all of them and asked if I knew what kind of fly they where - "Uh, a bug?" was all I could reply. He'll have some good stories to tell upon his return.

New Branch on the Family Tree

Yes!! We are expecting an addition to our little family - my due date is March 4, 2010. Which puts me at 11 weeks and almost through the first "tri-semester," as Chadwick calls it. We've known for a while but I haven't mustered the energy to sit at the computer and update our blog. This will be the first grandchild on my side of the family and number 12 on his side. One of my
sisters-in-law is due in January, so there will be two new little Hunt additions next year!

In other news, Chadwick enjoyed his time at the veterinary school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is learning the ropes of general medicine at his dad's practice. I have been "kicked" out of the large animal side of things and am now a small animal veterinarian for the remainder of my pregnancy....which will be great as the size of my abdomen continues to expand.

We drove to Idaho Falls at the end of July to attend the wedding of a close friend, Alexis, who of course was a beautiful bride. I also made the trip to Albuquerque for a 4-day visit with my family. My Nana celebrated her 75th birthday and I had to be home for that event! Nana, Mom, and I went to the opera Friday night for the world-premeire of "The Letter," which was quite the cultural experience.
And yes, there are 75 candles on that coffee cake!

I got together with three high school buddies while there - Betsy just had a baby girl in May, and Laurie and I are expecting in February and March! Needless to say, the topic at lunch was pregnancy and babies. =)

Her Favorite Perch

Once the weather was warm enough to allow for open windows, Cleo has been quite taken with the outside world. She will flit from window to window each morning, checking out the birds, looking for bugs flying outside....and always watching. She will occasionally make a little chirping noise when she sees a bird nearby. This cat of ours is really quite entertaining. Last night around 3:30 I felt Chadwick move the bed. I thought he must be twitching in his sleep until the "twitches" progressed to full out kicks. It wasn't until I heard a small "thud" that I realized he was kicking at the cat - who was biting his feet in protest because he tried to rearrange his sleeping position. She didn't return the rest of the night.

And Chadwick has arrived safely to Champagne-Urbana, IL, where he will be spending the next two weeks at the vet school learning about life as an ophthalmology resident and making connections. Thanks to my brother Sean and his girlfriend, Beth, for letting Chadwick crash at their place while in town!

Happy Fourth of July!

We spent Independence Day with Chadwick's family at their cabin north of Boise - his sister, Emily and brother, Stephen and their families came into town for the fun as did one of his cousins and family who now live in Boise. It was a big group! We had a late breakfast Saturday morning, went to the shooting range to put some holes into paper targets, and spent the afternoon canoeing on the Middle Fork of the Payette River. So much fun! I'm not sure the little kids had a good time, but we made it without mishap or capsizing. Saturday night was spent at the Starlight Mountain Theater watching "Joseph's Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." It's an outdoor theater in a town called Crouch - the production was impresive! The lead singers were great and the worst part about the whole evening was the mosquitoes that came out in force once the sun set. A city fireworks display completed the night.









I hope everyone had a great weekend!

On a side note, Chadwick officially finished his internship last Friday - he will be working at WestVet with their ophthalmologist once a week and then working for his Dad 4 days a week while he re-applies for residencies this fall.
And our cat is doing well.

When I Said I Do

Three years ago on June 24, Chadwick and I were sealed in the Albuquerque, NM Temple and I walked down the aisle in a ring ceremony next to my two fathers. It was a wonderful day and amazing to think that it was already three years ago! Time has really gone quickly. Unfortunately, reality set in and we spent our anniversary working. Chadwick worked late that evening so I had dinner alone....even the cat was gone for the night. However, I sent Chadwick flowers at work (pictured above) and made him a little album of words. I got a nice box of chocolates and some polish to care for my leather shoes. Turns out that the "traditional" gift for year three of marriage is leather - I'm not much for leather so he will help me care for the little bit of leather I do own. The "modern" gifts are glass/silver, thus the flower vase and picture album from me.

To celebrate our anniversary early, we went backpacking for the weekend to Blue Lake, north of Boise near Cascade. It was about a mile into the lake - where, by the way, there is still snow on the ground - and we had a very relaxing day. Chadwick was a depressed fisherman as he packed everything but his reel. No reel = no line = no fishing. We went on a hike instead.

View of Blue Lake from above near the trailhead






The evening stillness





This is our "Hubba Hubba," the two-man backpacking tent which was a gift from my step-dad. Apparently, there is a whole "Hubba" family of tents! The one-man tent is the "Hubba," two-man is "Hubba-Hubba," and the three-man tent is appropriately named the "Motha Hubba." I don't know if this is true or if Mark was pulling my leg, but we got a kick out of the name. It's an awesome tent!