Getting Away

And the countdown continues. Tomorrow I will be 35 weeks pregnant which means there only 5 weeks to go until Snow Pea's due date. I can't even begin to tell you how excited, nervous, anxious and generally amazed both Chad and I are that we are going to actually, finally be parents soon. It still feels like a dream I am bound to wake up from at any moment. But before the dream ends I have been doing my best to get everything ready for baby, just in case this really is real life. And that includes taking the time to do things for me and for us as a couple.

A few weeks ago we ventured a few hours away from home to San Luis Obispo, for a long, relaxing weekend together. Chad and I love to travel. Whether it is a day trip to the mountains or a weeks long adventure in Europe we are always going somewhere, doing something. We of course, have every intention of continuing this with our daughter as well, but we also recognized that this is our last opportunity to truly get away just the two of us.

The weekend was everything a "babymoon" should be. We had long dinners, took leisurely strolls around town, enjoyed live theater, talked late into the night while gazing at the stars and probably most importantly, we took advantage of long lazy mornings, sleeping in and enjoying breakfast in bed.

I could go over every detail of our trip but we took a gazillion pictures so I figure it might be more fun to look at a few of those instead.
First stop was a surprise visit to a local brewery. Chad loves microbrews and trying new places so he was excited that I found this place. I can't tell you whether the beer was good but he liked it and they had some refreshing water on tap. After that we headed to downtown SLO and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the evening farmer's market, including some tasty Central Coast bbq.
The next day, after a very lazy morning of sleep, movies and a late breakfast, we ventured out to do some exploring and sightseeing. We paid a visit to Hearst Castle and a few other local sites before enjoying a leisurely creekside dinner together. We finished the night on our hotel room deck, watching the stars and of course talking all about how much our world will change once Snow Pea arrives.
The following day was a lot like the one before. We slept in, enjoyed breakfast in bed, read on the deck, and then headed out for more local sights and experiences. We strolled along the creek, toured an old mission and left our mark on the famous "bubble gum alley". It is gross but also kind of cool to see. Just don't touch anything!
That night after dinner we saw a live show at The Great American Melodrama & Vaudeville theater. It was an original comedic musical and SO much fun to watch. I absolutely love live theater and seeing a show like this probably won't happen easily for quite a while after Snow Pea's grand entrance, so I am glad there was such a great local theater nearby.
Even though it was technically a long weekend, it still came to an end rather quickly but that didn't mean we could still enjoy the day. We had a late checkout Sunday so that we could sleep in yet again, and on our way out we stopped to see the monarch butterfly migration that happens in the area every year. We watched in awe of the several hundred orange and black butterflies fluttering through the trees and along the beach. It was a gorgeous site to see. This is the part where I could be predictable and spout some metaphor about the butterflies transformation from a caterpillar and how it somehow reflects my own life, but really I was just content to watch the pretty bugs fly around my head while I held my husband's hand with the realization that one day soon my other hand will be holding my daughter's.



p.s. I realize I didn't post any good belly shots but I've added a couple new pictures to the baby website if you're interested in seeing more bump http://snowpea.ourbabychannel.com