The proof is in the pictures.....

It has been requested that I post pictures in which I look MORE pregnant. I admit, my pregnancy growth has not been documented well on this blog - partly because I'm still trying to catch up on our summer travels from earlier in the pregnancy and partly because how pregnant I appear seems to depend on what I'm wearing and the angle of the picture. THUS C and I have tried to take some "pregnancy" pictures lately - because I am definitely more pregnant every day! :)

For someone who loves taking pictures the way I do I've found it highly awkward to pose for above mentioned photos. Do I stand to the side? Do I look forward or back at the camera? Should I just make a funny face or dance?

Seriously....this is hard business. BUT we do want to better document my ever-growing stomach so we will continue to do our best. Here I am at 23 & 24 weeks. I continue to feel good, Baby Whitesides is doing well and we're excited!

Summering in Port Angeles....

What can we say? We love Washington - and were happy to find ourselves heading that way again in mid-July. After a fantastic, but too short, visit in Boise we started our trek toward the Olympic Peninsula. We stopped in Prosser, WA for a little trip down memory lane with Ralph and LeAnn on the phone guiding our way. (They lived in Prosser when they were first married.) Then, before we knew it, we were back in Port Angeles - and I must say - loving our lives.

Prosser, WA - in front of Ralph and LeAnn's old pad!

The main purpose of our trip, like last year, was for C to finish up some dissertation research. The state of the Olympic mountains was slightly different than last year, but C still braved the weather and was able to gather a little needed info.  We enjoyed our brief encounter with winter and then made the most of the rest of our time in Port Angeles since we ended up with more free time on our hands than expected.

C's solo hike for research - I felt bad I didn't go along when he showed me the pictures of the bears he saw on the trail.

The Lone Star came through the trip with flying colors

I am always blown away by the absolute beauty of the area. This year we rented bikes and took advantage of the Olympic Discovery Trail. Our 26-mile ride took us along the coast, through the trees and into the farmland. It. Was. GORGEOUS. Even as the rains came at the end of our ride and the fatigue and soreness set in, it was still absolutely worth it. Easily one of our favorite days of the summer. (As an important side-note, my legs hurt so badly that night and the next day that I sincerely worried I might never be the same! HA!)

Marie said it best when she said to me, "What will you do when you can't summer in Port Angeles?" Good question! I love this place. So beautiful. So quaint. We just love it.

Before bidding farewell to our beloved Washington we hit up the Lavender festival in Sequim and caught another rainstorm or two in the park. :) We finished things off perfectly by spending a night with Cass in Seattle.

C is the master photographer of this beauty

Kickin' it Whitesides style....

It was so good to be home. The first important activity on the itinerary was Maren's baptism. It was so great to be able to be with her on her special day. So proud of her!

Check out these cuties! Nieces and nephews are the best.

After a few days in Logan we headed to the cabin for some much anticipated family-time. The weather and views were as perfect as ever. Canoe rides, fishing, hikes, campfires, badminton, great food, quality family time - the list of the good times just goes on and on.

The family continues to grow. It won't be long until we won't fit between these two pillars for our annual photo!

There is always lots of exploring at the cabin.

Texas pride! C and I had this flag hanging when everyone arrived.

The finding of the lost key!

There's only one problem with time at the cabin....it always passes too quickly!

Traveling north....

People think we're crazy, but we LOVE to drive home in the summer instead of fly. Not only does having our own car give us the flexibility we need with our various destinations for family time and C's research, but we love taking a few days to head home and seeing as much as we can. (See summer 2010)

This summer we had the luxury of driving home in our NEW car. Who knew it could be so relaxing to drive all those miles in a car where the windows could roll down with no oil leaks and no water draining into the backseat. Yes, we have become pretty fancy. Did you know our new ride even has a cd player? Talk about futuristic.

Our first stop was Palo Duro Canyon in north Texas. (After driving for an entire day and STILL being in Texas it was nice to have something fun to stop and see.) Despite our early morning efforts to beat the heat, we still ended up doing the Lighthouse hike in the afternoon due to some flash-flooding that morning. Miles and miles of serious heat, but it was great fun. We then stopped by Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo and got some great grub in the tiny little town of Vega.

The next day we drove through Clayton, NM (and stopped for some awesome pictures for obvious reasons) and then visited Capulin volcano.  We surprised ourselves by driving right by Philmont Scout Ranch, so we pulled over for a quick visit to see what the place was all about. As luck would have it, it was LDS week. Funny stuff. That evening we rolled into Taos - which had long been on my list of places I wanted to visit.

We really enjoyed Taos. It's similar to Santa Fe, but more laid-back since it's a smaller town and prettier, I must say, because it's surrounded by mountains. We had an epic dinner the night we arrived and enjoyed walking around the Plaza. The next day we hit up some historical sights (The Ranchos Church and Taos Pueblo) before continuing our voyage. On our way out of town we stopped at the Rio Grande Gorge and then had a surprise stop at the Earthship (great name, right? Look it up....kind of crazy and kind of cool) Visitor's Center.

Our final stop on our trip home was Great Sand Dunes National Park. I had wondered how the park would compare to this stop on our trip last year. Aside from the mass amounts of sand, they were actually pretty different. The dunes at Great Sand Dunes are massive. From the distance they almost appeared to be another mountain range. We enjoyed a sunset stroll/hike around the dunes and would have loved to have been able to spend more time there if daylight had permitted - and if the wind hadn't already given us some extreme sand-blasting.

The next day we stopped for dinner with Grams in Price and then headed home. We left on Monday morning and rolled into American Fork on Friday night. Not a bad way to spend a week on the road.