Last Minute BABY MOON!!! <3

Friday May 17th we woke up in Colorado, went to sleep in Nebraska and Saturday May 18th went to sleep in FLORIDA!!! It was a pretty crazy 36 hours or so, let me explain :)

We found out a few weeks ago Brandon was going to get a week off work around Memorial Day.  We originally had planned to go home but at this point I had already bought my tickets to fly home June 3rd- 12th.  We went to lunch and wrote out a big pros and cons lists of going home or going on a baby moon! I had to convince Brandon a little about this whole "baby moon" idea but it didn't take much work ;) We decided that with me going home a week after his time off we didn't really need to go home anymore.  Also the thought of an 18 hour car ride one way was NOT appealing to me in the least! We then started to think about things we won't be able to do once baby girl gets here….LAY ON THE BEACH! I talked to my midwife about flying to Florida and she said "GO FOR IT!!" I found this website called lastminutetravel.com and it has great deals! We were able to fly to Fort Lauderdale, FL, stay at a Hilton hotel and have a rental car for 9 days for $700 per person!

We had some warranty work that we have needed to get done on Piper but its hard to get it done when its your HOME! So we thought this was the perfect time to get it done.  I found a Forest River dealer up in Sidney, NE and scheduled the work.  Brandon got off work Mid day Friday and I had Piper pretty much ready for travel.  He hooked up and off we went to the big ole city of Sidney! Kidding….its a very small town with NOTHING to do BUT it is the world headquarters for Cabela's so Brandon was happy about that! We actually stayed at Cabela's campground which was just across the street from the RV dealer.  We had free electric obviously cause it was only a one night stay so I fully enjoyed cranking on the AC and relaxing a bit with my hubby as our vacation was about to get started.  Saturday morning we got up around 7 and dropped Piper off.  You know you are a VERY emotional pregnant woman when you tear up driving away from your 5th wheel!! It just made me sad, Piper goes everywhere with us, we are NOT supposed to just leave her in a unfamiliar place all alone!

Piper at Cabela's Campground :) 

Our flight didn't leave until 3:45 so we had time to stop by REI in Denver and pick up our jogging stroller.  I am SO stinkin excited about this stroller I can hardly wait! I have been reading, watching youtube videos and reading reviews about the BOB since I found out I was pregnant, now I just need baby girl here so we can go for a walk! I may have to take Easton for a few walks before Bashlyn gets here :)

Our "Plum Bob" Brandon is so funny! 

We got to Fort Lauderdale about 10:30, because our flight was delayed from Denver due to lightening. By the time we finally got in and ready for our rental they had no cars.  We walked out to the garage and the guy goes "sorry man all I have is mini vans left" Brandon goes "no you have to be messing with me" haha then it was silent.  The manager tried telling us this was an upgrade and there was another guy there trying to get a car and he goes "upgrade for WHO, does it look like I have 7 kids??" It was pretty funny now that we look back but we did not feel too cool driving away in the mini van that night.  We got to take it back the next day and exchange it for a car.

Brandon had fun doing "hot starts" in the Mini Van! :) 

We got to our hotel and it was beautiful!! It was right on the inter coastal waterway and they upgraded us to a water view room for our whole stay! About 5 minutes away was the beach and a fun little restaurant area we could walk to.  It was fun to sit out on our balcony in the morning and watch all the yatchs and boats go by.

Tuesday it was pouring in Fort Lauderdale so we decided to go to Key Largo, part of the Florida Keys.  I seriously have never seen rain like that before in my life! It was so hard and fast you could hardly see!! They say it only rains like that for 30-45 minutes and then its done but man if you get caught in it,  your soaked!

Rain in Fort Lauderdale!! 

I had seen on instagram my cousin Alex was in the Keys so we got to meet up with him on our way.  We got to hang out for an hour or so and catch up.  It was so crazy seeing him in the Florida Keys of all places! I really wish we could have spent more time together but with everything so last minute for us we didn't really have solid plans.

After we left Alex and I almost cried (again with the EMOTIONS!!) we thought, hey lets go to KEY WEST! So we drove all the way down to Key West.  It was about 2 hours from where we were and really was a gorgeous drive! We got to Key West and drove around a bit before we had lunch. It's just a tiny little island, 2 miles wide and 4 miles long.  We had lunch at the Southernmost Beach Cafe, it was seriously so beautiful and I had Mahi Mahi tacos that was caught that morning! We hung out on the beach a bit and then decided to check out the sunset in Mallory Square.  They have a whole sunset celebration every night in this little area.  There are restaurants, street performers, singers, and lots and lots of people.

Driving on the 7 mile bridge! 

Standing with my wonderful husband watching the sunset in Key West as a street singer sang "Let it be" I was completely overwhelmed.  That is a moment I will never forget in my whole life.  I feel so lucky to have found a partner in life that balances me out.  He encourages me to live life for today instead of always doing the "responsible thing".  In that moment I was so happy we had decided to go on this trip.  It was last minute, it was crazy and it was something we never do but it was absolutely worth it! That ONE moment, watching the sun go down, with Brandons hand on my belly was more special to me then anything.  I feel so grateful to have discovered what life is all about:  Making memories, fill up that memory bank and let it overflow!  We have found a really good balance of having minimal debt WHILE LIVING life. I am thankful my husband has a great career that affords us to be able to go on trips and experience the world.

Oprah has a house on that Island! 

My love!! 

After the beautiful sunset we walked through the little downtown area where there are a lot of bars and restaurants.  Brandon heard a really good county singer and he took me over and started slow dancing with me in the parking lot.  I can't even remember the song now because I was trying not to cry again! We decided to go into the bar and listen for awhile.  We ended up staying for a couple hours and listened to the guys set until he was done! He was so good! It was such a cool bar, it was all open with a tree growing right in the middle of the bar.  Brandon had a few beers and we shared some wings.  I had a virgin pina coloda so I felt like I fit in a bit :) This was my most favorite night of our whole trip!

Haha Daddy had a few beers and was trying to be sweet even though this is a little inappropriate! :) 

After that we went to a restaurant for a snack and I had some delicious crab cakes and we watched the happenings as people walked by.  By this time it was about 11 or so and we decided "lets just stay the night!" so we did, we stayed in "hotel Altima" aka our rental car!! :) It was pretty funny, we didn't sleep much at all but it was so worth it.  We walked on the beach a bit and saw a crane! We slept in the car for a few hours and then got up to see the sun rise.  Then we went and had the best french toast.  It was godiva white chocolate with fresh strawberries!! Then we spent a good portion of our day at the southernmost beach, enjoying the sun! There was a guy renting umbrellas and beach chairs so we got a couple of those and he was so cool.  Throughout the day he would bring us frozen towels and frozen pineapple! I have to go back to Key West.  It is such a beautiful little town and everyone is just there for good clean fun.  Everyone is so nice and happy! We will definitely be back!!

The rest of the time we just experienced the area.  We went to miami and miami beach and that was an experience!! We saw a lot of things you would NEVER see on little ole CDA Beach :) We took a water taxi from our hotel around Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, FL.  We got to see the homes of some of the rich and famous, seriously crazy to think about homes worth 32 million, and its just ONE of their homes! The yatchs are crazy huge but you never see anyone on them!

Its crazy to have less than two weeks to get ready for a trip.  It was nice for me being pregnant because I didn't really have to worry about being "bikini ready"  Lets face it, no abs here! :)  We didn't have a huge buildup or countdown, we just went! It was so fun and so unlike us! We had such a wonderful time and it is a trip I will cherish forever!! Thank you to my amazing husband for taking me on such an awesome baby moon! I love you and I am so lucky to have you in this life!

Happiness is a Journey!

If you would have told my 18 year old self I would be a stay at home wife someday, I wouldn't have believed you.  I never pictured myself in that role.  My mom worked growing up and I got to see her work her way up through a company and have great success.  I always thought thats what I would do.  I have a VERY goal driven personality.  I have sticky notes and lists everywhere.  I put things I've already done on the lists just so I can cross them off.  I like having goals, things to do and achievements I can make.  I enjoyed working very much and enjoyed the relationships I developed in the workplace.
When I joined Brandon on the road, the first few months were pretty hard for me because I didn't know what my purpose was anymore.  I had gone from working at a great company ( and getting recognition for doing a great job) and planning a wedding to poof, nothing to do with my days.  Brandon would say "this is everyones DREAM, why can't you be happy" but it wasn't my dream, it was something I had to work through myself.
After being on the road for about 8 months now I can say I have worked through it and I feel amazing.  I am so incredibly happy and honestly feel like the luckiest girl in the world to be given this opportunity in life.  It just goes to prove that you can have a plan all you want but God really has the ultimate plan for you and he knows what he's doing!  I have found great things to give me purpose to my days and I have learned I don't have to be defined by what I "do".  Since September I've been doing accounting work for a friend back home a couple hours a week.  I love this, I have learned so much, I feel like I'm putting my degree to use and it gives me a little folding cash of my very own! I recently applied and was selected to be the treasurer for the National Sisterhood United for Journeyman Lineman. (http://www.nsujl.org)  What an amazing honor this is.  I handle all the books and keep all the financials straight, again using my degree! This is a volunteer position and a lot of work but its exactly what I wanted.  Its so cool to be a part of an organization in the beginning stages and watch it grow.  NSUJL is a non profit organization that is able to offer financial benefit to IBEW apprentices, journeyman and their families that get injured or pass away on the job.  I love it because its something I can do that is a huge part of Brandon's trade but its not directly related to Brandon.  I don't NEED him to do it. I can do it on my own and support him in just another way, while supporting the whole trade.
I've also really learned to love being a stay at home wife.  I take great pride in keeping a clean house, having the laundry done and cooking good healthy meals.  I love making Brandon's lunch for him, knowing I have provided him with a nutritious meal.
Speaking of doing laundry Brandon got me a new washer and dryer for our 5th wheel!! I decided I really wanted some before Bashlyn gets here because I didn't like the idea of living in the laundry mat when she spits up or worse every 5 seconds on her adorable clothes!! Our 5th wheel already had the washer hookups but it didn't have the dryer vent drilled out.  There is NOTHING worse then having to take a drill to the side of your brand new 5th wheel.  I was watching from inside to tell Brandon if it started splintering or anything and I heard him take a huge deep breath before he started the drill.  Of course it started raining right in the middle of him putting in the hole so he had to finish in the pouring rain, poor guy....but he got it done and it looks amazing!!

Seriously so scary!! I almost cried.  Notice how nice it looks out......half hour later it was pouring!!

Finished product! Love love love!!! 

When Brandon and I were in New Mexico we noticed there were NO roadside coffee stands like back home but there were all these little water stands everywhere.  We were like what are those for?? Well once I got pregnant we decided we would stop drinking the water from the RV parks cause you just never know.  Brandon was still using tap water in his coffee when we were in Greeley and he got sicker then I have ever seen him so after that we said ok no more tap water at all.  Then when we moved to Sterling we found out the whole town is not able to drink the tap water due to salmonella poisoning or something like that....so now I know what those little water stands are for!! :) I go once a week and fill up our water jugs.  The first time I did it I came home soaking wet, I didn't have the hole lined up perfectly and that water comes out so fast! Now I'm a pro!!

Bashlyn has been kicking like crazy the last two weeks.  She kicks all the time, morning, noon and night! I love it because Brandon gets to feel her at least once a day and now you can see my stomach moving when she kicks :) We had our doctor appointment yesterday and they said I am measuring perfectly and her heartbeat was 152.  They found it immediately after putting the doppler on my stomach and then it went fuzzy (because she was moving).  They go does she move a lot and I said oh yes all day! I love love love it, what an awesome feeling! Brandon and I cleaned out every storage cabinet and cubby last weekend so we are totally ready for Bash as far as space goes.  I think she has more storage areas then we do!! :)

Bashlyn's gifts from Bashlin Industries...where she got her name from!! :) 

26 weeks 1 day!