5th Anniversary & Babymoon

We've had five years together. A perfect time to celebrate each other, our marriage, and the upcoming arrival of our little girl. We really wanted to have a get-away, so on Black Friday morning we hopped into the car and drove 3 hours to Omaha, where we attended the Winter Quarter's Temple, visited the Pioneer Museum, meandered around downtown Omaha, and ate a three course meal at Dario's Brasserie, a candlelit European style restaurant with a French flair. That night we stayed at the cozy Crescent View Bed & Breakfast , just 15 minutes northeast from downtown Omaha. On Saturday we played at the Omaha Zoo and ate lunch at Block 16, a foodie location for mouthwatering decadent sandwiches. From all of the good food we ate during this weekend, I never felt my stomach grumble once. That's pretty impressive for a pregnant gal.

Our beautiful meal at Dario's consisted of a shared appetizer of cevapcici (grilled flatbread with tender mini sausages and two dipping sauces), two entrees, and two desserts...because we couldn't decide on one to share. ha.

Roasted half pheasant, savory bread pudding, butternut squash, pickled shiitake, cognac jus

Mushroom risotto with seared scallops, arugula, pickled shiitake

Apple croustade with in-house made vanilla gelato

Chocolate mousse with burnt cream

I can't say enough about the difference staying at a B&B instead of a hotel makes. At our B&B, we got all the comforts of a hotel, plus the special additions such as a hot breakfast made just for us, and served in the breakfast room with a view of the valley, right outside our room. Marshall got hot cookies delivered to our room on Friday night, but I was too stuffed from dinner to even think about eating a cookie. Our breakfast started off with pumpkin muffins, then warm cran-apple crisp, and finally a plate of one bacon, a ham slice, crispy potatoes, and an onion-bell pepper and cheese omelet. Marshall had a cup of peach herb tea and I had a cup of mint chamomile tea. The best part was the price for the stay was perfect and generous. We were grateful.

As our anniversary tradition to pick a song that commemorates the year, this year's song is One Call Away by Charlie Puth. This one was the pick because I have had so many nightmares this past year about Marshall leaving me, especially since being pregnant. I think it has to do with the range of emotions that come with this stage of life, and the primal thought that I need my husband by my side supporting me as we raise our daughter. Anyway, whenever I have these dreams, I either call out in the middle of the night in a dreamlike state and he reaches over immediately to comfort me, or I call him on the phone upon waking up since he leaves the house early, before I wake up. I even had to Facebook call him while I was in Austria so that he could ease my worries from the bad dreams I had had while thousands of miles away. Each time I call, my worries are immediately subsided. He really is my superman. He is my strength when I am weak.

We are grateful for the many smiles we shared this weekend, and are looking forward to year 6 together!

We loved the zoo! It was a cool, beautiful day with a warm sun. The animals were fairly active and the crowds were minimal. What a perfect combination.

Trying to be as chill as the ape next to me

Hoping for a Rainbow

I'm really not sure if I ever thought this day would come. The day that I made it past 13 weeks pregnant without losing the baby. #miracle. I know I am not out of the woods yet, and honestly, when are we really? I am just trying to live every day with gratitude for the life inside of me, living with hope for the future. Part of me wanted to wait until next week, when I was past 14 weeks and officially in the 2nd trimester, but I couldn't wait any longer. I've been getting a little thick in the middle, which is getting more difficult to hide, and I feel like I haven't been able to be completely honest with friends when they would ask, "how are you doing?" All I wanted to talk about was how nauseous I was or how nervous I felt. So now, the news is out, whether or not you already suspected something was up. Seriously though, the 1st trimester is not for the faint of heart! There were many instances when I thought I would lose the baby, but dee...

Grandpa is Always Right | Gender Reveal |

I was hanging out in our rental apartment in Salzburg, Austria with my sister when my dad walked out of his bedroom and announced that I was having a girl. I was only 11 weeks along at that point and while I was wishfully hoping for a girl, I was preparing myself for a boy. His strong conviction of the gender of our child without any hints from an ultrasound surprised me. My dad seems to always be right about things, so I secretly hoped he was right this time too. Today during my scan, my favorite sonographer announced that we were having a girl. Grandpa is always right. I never imagined our family starting with a baby boy. I don't know why, but a baby girl seems to fit just perfectly. Now I just have to keep calm and stay healthy for 19 more weeks.

Learning to Speak Like an Alaskan

Denali in the background No one wants to feel like a newbie, so a common practice before traveling to a new city or country is to learn the language of that particular place. Well, when my Aunt Joan picked me up from the airport last December when I first arrived in Alaska, one of the first things she told me was if I didn't want to sound like a tourist, I needed to refer to Mt. Mckinley (the tallest mountain in North America, located some 120 miles south of Fairbanks) as Denali . Denali is the native Athabaskan name for the mountain, and means "The High One." So, from day number one in Alaska, I refered to that majestic mountain as Denali instead of the name I had learned growing up. This is just about what it looked like yesterday morning! Another thing I learned recently is how to say the temperature. I was saying "Gosh it's cold outside because it's negative 30 degrees." But luckily, a kind skating mom...

Tender Mercies

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