The last seven days of heartache and sun, road trips and fun!

Well, I may as well start out with the bad, and get to the good. We'll start with last Tuesday...

...Matt and I found out at the end of April that I was pregnant! We've been trying for a few months, so this was really exciting news! Of course, given the outcome of my last pregnancy, we were both pretty nervous and a little apprehensive about telling anyone. Only our immediate families and a few very close friends were privy to our news. After having an ultrasound and seeing a little, beating heart, my fears were lessened slightly, but still...I just wasn't so sure. Well, last Tuesday as I was about 7 1/2 weeks, I miscarried. It's strange to say, but for some reason I just had a feeling...call it intuition, but I just knew. Don't get me wrong, it's still terribly sad and we were devastated...but I think when you're "expecting" it, it definitely lessens the blow. On Thursday I had an ultrasound to "confirm" what I already knew...our little babe was gone. Another little angel to watch over us. (A big thank you to my sister for coming with me to that ultrasound...even though I knew what they were going to say, to see nothing where there had been a very special little something just a week before, was hard to say the least.) Physically speaking, I'm thankful to be getting back to normal. And emotionally, well, we're just going to keep trying. God will bless us with another baby when He's ready...only He knows when that will be, but I sure wouldn't mind a few extra prayers that it will be sooner, rather than later! :)

For the rest of the week(end) we had a lot of fun! Friday night we got a babysitter and Matt and I went and saw Angels and Demons. I read the book a few years ago and was really excited for the movie...it did not disappoint! I highly recommend it! :)

Saturday morning, we got up and hit the road. We headed South into Oregon, then West over to Astoria and down the coast to Cannon Beach. It was a really nice drive...beautiful weather and scenery the whole way...until we got to Seaside, about 20 minutes from Cannon Beach. The temperature dropped about 15 degrees, the sun was gone, the clouds had taken over, and it was really windy! So much for the beach! But, we didn't let the weather dampen our spirits...we hit the beach anyway, and still had a fun time playing and walking in the sand. It would've been a lot nicer and we would've stayed longer had the sun been out, but it was a perfect day for kite flying (not us, but a lot of other people) and there were still tons of dogs (and a few crazy, shirtless, teenage boys) romping and playing in the chilly water. We had fish and chips and chowder at Dooger's and then headed to Portland. We spent the night at the Embassy Suites right downtown, got up, had breakfast, walked around and window shopped for a bit (nothing was open since it was Sunday morning...not even the coffee shops were open!! What?!?!?!), and then we headed over to the Zoo! We had just as much fun as we did the last time we were there, and saw a lot more really cool animals since the weather was warmer! After the Zoo, we had lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings and then headed North for home (after stopping at a little coffee shop that we passed by on the way to the highway...I made Matt turn around so I could grab an iced mocha for the ride home...the baristas were totally rude, but the coffee was great!). Did I mention that Taylor was awake the entire time we were driving?! All the way down to Cannon Beach, and then over to Portland (that's about 5 hours in the truck in one day), and the whole way home...she talked, sang, laughed, counted, played, looked out the window, played hide-n-seek with her blankie over her head, and never complained once! She didn't get a nap either day, and she was an absolute angel the whole time! I still can't believe what a good little traveler she is! :)

After we were home, and after unpacking the truck with what seemed like a week's worth of necessities, Taylor had a great time running through the sprinkler, then had a quick bath and was in dreamland in no time. Matt and I sat outside by the fire with a few beers before we headed off to bed.

Yesterday, we went to Lowe's and got some landscaping bricks and tackled our front flower bed. Matt was literally outside all day long (he even went back out after dinner) trying to get it done. It's not totally finished...I still have some flowers to plant in there that I'll hopefully get to today...but it's looking really good! Taylor played in her new, little swimming pool for a bit and then we BBQ'd burgers for dinner. Perfect!

This was one of the best 3-day weekends I can remember having...the weather was awesome, we spent some really great family-time together, and made some great memories too! It's amazing what a little love and quality time can do for your soul :)

In the truck, on our way to Cannon Beach

Doesn't it look tropical?!
Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock (and Astoria bottom-right)
The Oregon Zoo!
Sprinkler fun!
Loving the sun and her tiny, new pool!Teaching Lambeau to drink from a straw...
...and learning to drink like a doggie! :)

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend, too!!