6 Months...Time is Flying!

I'm finally "obviously" pregnant enough that people no longer hesitate to ask or comment about it...and I'm getting to experience some nice little "perks of pregnancy" as well...people go out of their way to be nice to pregnant women! This weekend, a woman gave me her cart in front of Target so I didn't have to wrestle my own from the bunch, then a guy gave me his elevator to go down even though he was waiting to go up, and last night at the bar and entire line of girls let me go ahead of them in the ladies room! The baby is moving around like crazy these days - it's pretty awesome...yesterday, Tony said he had a dream that there was a little window on my belly and we could actually watch the baby...now wouldn't THAT be cool...! : )

Girls' Weekend

Fun girls' weekend in LA with Monika, Melanie, and Julie... poolside during the day and dinner at the SLS Hotel and late night at Voyeur in West Hollywood! Man, I miss these girls!

Del Mar Opening Day

This year was such a fun Opening Day because Cat and Stephanie came down on the train to join me! Tony scored us all Turf Club passes and even though it was quite the madhouse, we thoroughly enjoyed the people-watching and excitement of the day...

Catherine made a $5 exacta bet on an LMU/Math hunch with horses named

"Derive" and "Lion's Story" and won $63.50! Hmm, I don't know how I feel about how much cuter Stephanie looks in my own hat than I did when I wore it ; )

Baby's First Dodger Game

Cat, Brent, Keith and I spent a fun Friday night together at the Dodger game (sorry, Kurt!) to watch the Boys in Blue beat the Cubs! I've tried to be very good about not eating foods on my "Do Not Eat While Pregnant" list like alcohol, sushi, unpasteurized cheeses, etc. Unfortunately, on this list is also hot dogs. Ordinarily, this is not a food I crave, so it is hardly a sacrifice, BUT...a DODGER GAME without a DODGER DOG?! No way! I caved... Doug had the best line: "Yeah, 'cuz that's worth the kid having a 6th finger...!"

Holiday Wedding Weekend

Mom, Dad, Greg and I enjoyed a fun mini-family-vacation to Rapid City, South Dakota for Tim Collin's wedding. Kathy planned a fun and festive rehearsal dinner at a "Shack-like" venue in town and the wedding was beautiful, in the town's cathedral. The Collins family should rent themselves out as wedding guests because they really know how to have fun!

The day after the wedding was July 4th and what better way to spend it than visiting nearby Mount Rushmore! There were even actors in character walking the grounds as the memorialized forefathers. We learned that the four presidents were chosen to symbolize the nation's: Founding (Washington), Expansion (Jefferson), Preservation (Lincoln), and Conservation (Roosevelt).

We also visited the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial, the Native Americans' attempt to show the white men that the red men have heroes, too. This monument, modeled to the left, will utterly dwarf the presidents - however, while it took less than 15 years to build Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, which relies on public donations rather than government funding, is over 60 years in the making and not even close to completion...!

We capped off the weekend with fireworks in the park right outside our hotel!

For all pictures, click HERE