Out and Around Yosemite

I took a lot of pictures on my trip, so I'm trying to split them up a bit! My mom, dad and 2 youngest siblings flew into San Francisco and we headed off to Yosemite. We covered A LOT of ground out there. We stayed in Sonora and the first day we drove all through the Stanislaus National Forest, then drove all the way down to Mono Lake, and through Yosemite on Tioga Road back to Sonora. The whole drive was incredibly beautiful, although I think we were in the car about 8 hours! 

 We stopped at a bunch of sites along the way and did a little hiking...

Donnell Vista

 23 weeks^

 Found some big ol' pinecones which my mom decided would make a good souvenir ;) 

Mono Lake 

 In-n-Out stop at 1am. This is why I love America.

 Stopped at some fruit stands along the way to Yosemite. And you bet I stocked up like a mad man!

I think I ate about 50 peaches while I was out there. They were SOOOO good and I can't find them out here! Oh i miss them already!!!

My momma

Erica & Jonathan

And my pops!

 I made my family stop at every Mexican restaurant I saw. My little brother kept saying "We just ate Mexican food!!!" but would later say "good choice Mickelle". (I'm always right ;) ) I basically dictated every food choice on this trip. It was only fair!

I also had to take a picture of this set up. We have too many devices!! I also love that my mom brought a power strip...not a bad idea.

San Francisco

I just got back from a wonderful but seemingly short trip to the States. Love that good ol' US of A! My trip began in San Francisco which was lovely as it was my first time to visit! The weather was such a nice change from the intense humidity and heat here in Okinawa. My first stop after the airport was Whole Foods. As I walked up to the store I couldn't help but have a big old smile on my face. You people in America are spoiled. I was hungry and wanted to stock up on some good fruit I can't get out here. Also, you know you are use to living in Japan when you go to Whole Foods and think, "wow this produce is so cheap!!".  My second stop was Target. Had to get the most important places out of the way first!

I only had about 2 1/2 days in San Francisco before I met my parents to head to Yosemite. So even though I hadn't been there, my main priority was shopping. I spent pretty much the whole first day shopping at Union Square. It was a dream come true.

23 weeks

 The Painted Ladies at night

The next day I did a little sight-seeing. Fisherman's Wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge (which I could barely see through all the fog!!), and hit up some food places. 

 I was all excited to see the seals(/sealions?? I don't know the difference), come to find out they all migrate south for mating season! But there was this one lonely seal! 

 Alcatraz

 The foggy GGB

 Ice cream from Bi-Rite Creamery=scrumptious

It was a fun, very short trip in the city. I hope to make it back with Duke to explore more!

Pregnancy Update

22 weeks

21 weeks

This belly will not stop growing. I suppose that's a good thing, but it is just weirding me out! I haven't done a very good job writing much in my journal or on the blog about my pregnancy, so I thought I'd jot down a few things. Here's a few stats as of today:

How far along: 22 weeks- baby is about 1 lb, 11 inches

Total weight gain: 12 pounds total; 6 lbs since pre pregnancy weight (lost 6 lbs first trimester)

Favorite thing so far: feeling the baby move. I think that is the only thing I will miss from being pregnant. And the ultrasound was pretty awesome too.

Sleep: Overall no complaints, other than waking several times to use the bathroom.

Fitness: I feel out of shape, but have recently started getting to the gym more frequently. I typically do a bunch of stretching, squats, arm weights and then elliptical followed by walking. Haven't run in about a month and last time I tried it hurt, so just making do!

Food: love it. So glad to be out of the first 14 or so weeks! Have not experienced any "cravings" other than what a normal me craves. Have been eating large amounts of mint chocolate chip ice cream lately though....eek!

In general I feel pretty normal right now. Other than this weird beach ball in place of my belly. I do miss my regular old body mostly because of the limits pregnancy can pose on a body. However, pregnancy is such a crazy and awesome thing to experience and I'm grateful for it. And for how well things seem to be going so far. 

I leave for the states tomorrow morning and am so excited to see my family. And to be in the states! I miss that good ol' country. 

Sailing in Okinawa

There is something about sailing that is so dreamy. And picturesque! A couple Saturdays ago we went with some of our good friends here and lucked out with some awesome weather during this gloomy rainy season. I love sailing!!! Especially when I don't have to do any of the work ;)

 2 pregger ladies just along for the ride!

 real life here^

Fun day out on the ocean. Love that guy next to me too.

Baby Girl on the Way

Last week we had our 20 week ultrasound. Which means-I'm halfway! Wahoo. Although my pregnancy symptoms aren't bad right now, I'm already excited not to be pregnant. It's fun, but so weird. Anyways, back to the ultrasound. We were able to find out we are having a girl! I of course was ecstatic. Little boys are great too, but I had been thinking girl this whole time and knew if it was different it would take me a day or so to change gears. Duke is also excited.

I realize that posting a bunch of ultrasound pictures is weird and that most people don't care to see them. But I had to post a couple. Including the scariest picture I've ever seen.

 A couple semi-normal ones..followed by this:

Apparently our baby is a cyborg. Haha, so scary!!! 

A couple pictures from Friday when I hit 20 weeks. The bump really popped out the last couple weeks. Can't believe it!