Minnesota & Toronto

It's been awhile since I have blogged, probably because Matt and I have been super busy between little vacations, Matt traveling for work, our jobs, and house projects! We were able to sneak in a little time away to Minnesota during Memorial Day weekend to visit Matt's brother and sister-in law, Andrew & Beth. We had never been to their new house since they made the move out there, so we were looking forward to seeing where they live and all the awesome work they have done to their home.  Their house is beautiful!  They had a really nice little room and bathroom in their basement for guests... we felt like we had our own apartment! They showed us some of the big Lakes and Mall of America.  The whole area where they live is so nice.  There are so many parks and it was fun to see so many people outside enjoying the sun whether it be exercising, walking their dog, or just taking a stroll! The rest of our time was spent around Andrew's awesome fire pit and grill.  Overall, we had a great time and we were glad to visit with them!

Matt & Andrew admiring the grill

 I think they look like twins!

 We saw a lot of awesome parks!

Matt wanted to climb a tree and got scared...big brother to the rescue?

He made it up, after many tries and a boost :)

 Awesome lakes!

Two weeks later and I found myself in Toronto, Canada!  Matt has to work up there for a week and a half as a lead engineer on a project (so proud).  If I understood his engi-nerd talk, he has to test out the equipment HE designed and make sure everything is running correctly. Any changes that need to be done need to be approved by Matt.  My husband is so important!  OKAY, I am done bragging...  Since he will be up there for awhile, we decided that I could come up for the weekend for a mini vacation.  It was soo much fun!  I had never ever flown by myself so I was a bit anxious...but everything went fine at the airport and I eventually ended up in my hubby's arms :)  We went to the Toronto Zoo, CN Tower, City of Toronto, Niagra Falls, Butterfly Conservatory, Hockey Hall of Fame (bore-fest for me), and Casa Loma.

Friday: The Toronto Zoo was...interesting.  The Zoo was pretty much empty of people AND animals!  It seemed like either the animals were sleeping or just not out in their cages.  We did see some animals though.  But, I wore new sneakers (total Karen Sheets move) and they tore up my feet...so I was doomed the rest of the trip.  Anyway, that night we spent time at the CN tower, which was amazing.  It is a huge skyscraper that you can go up in and view all of Toronto and beyond.  I think you could see all the way to NYC and on a clear day you could see the mist from Niagra Falls.  There is a glass floor in the tower that you can walk on...sooo freaky.  We ended the night with a delicious dinner :)

Saturday: We woke up early and headed over to Niagra Falls.  A-W-E-S-O-M-E.  We went on the Maid of the Mist which is a boat that takes you really close to the Falls and you get soaked from the mist.  It was sooo much fun.  Then we went to the "Journey Behind the Falls".  Here you could literally walk behind the falls in a cave and walk right up to the Falls...again, soaked, but well worth it.  We also went to the butterfly conservatory.  THIS WAS SOOO COOL.  You walk into a greenhouse full of butterfly plants and thousands of butterflies all over the place.  It was seriously amazing.  We ended the night with a dinner and a movie- Pirates of the Caribbean (very good).

Sunday:  We slept in a little bit and then headed back to Toronto.  Matt really wanted to see the Hockey Hall of Fame, how could I deny my husband??  He had a wonderful time and really enjoyed seeing all of the Hockey stuff.  Afterwards, we found a cute lunch cafe and then went to a castle named Casa Loma.  Very cool.  Then, I had to leave :(

We had so much fun but, I miss him and can't wait for him to come home on Friday!!  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip.

An emu up close and personal

The Egyptain and his camel!

 A baby...I forget what kind!

 CN Tower

 The glass floor

 Niagra Falls-  this picture doesn't do it justice

 On the Maid of the Mist---so wet!

 Butterfly Conservatory

 Journey Behind the Falls

 The dark mountain looking thing furthest to the right of this picture is actually the water fall!

He is one happy boy

A quick baby update-- everything is going great!  I have really reached the stage of uncomfortable.  After Toronto, I felt miserable.  Soo sore and tired.  I have been feeling a lot of pressure now that the baby is getting big.  She sits on my bladder often which is very uncomfortable.  I also wake up with her back (I think) bulging out of my stomach.  It feels rock hard to the touch, so weird but awesome!  She is also moving around CONSTANTLY.  Many people tell me that if she moves a lot now...wait till she is out of the belly. OH BOY. I am feeling very large and everything I wear looks horrible.  But, loving every second of it!  Here is a belly picture from two weeks ago and then another today at 29 weeks.

27 weeks

 

29 weeks (today)