Camping...kinda?

We had big plans to go camping this weekend. Think of the cute pictures of the Gutts in the wild. We were going to bring Chelsey with us and my dad was going to also show up with his giant telescope. We woke up Saturday morning to rain. Pouring rain. But, it was supposed to clear up, become sunny and hot in the afternoon so we kept our options open. But, after scrutinizing the weather forecasts which predicted widespread thunderstorm action in the evening, we eventually decided to call off our adventure in lieu of air conditioning and dry bedding.

We invited my family over to eat some of our camp food with us and played some Apples to Apples. During the game, I noticed our neighbors were all outside in the street staring west. So, we padded out to see what was up. The air was like a thick, wet blanket and the lightning off in the distance was amazing. Sure enough, a minute after returning to the house to continue the cut-throat game, I heard the tornado sirens going off. So, we all piled downstairs.

After watching some radar, my family decided they'd leave and 'beat' the storm home. Shortly after they left, it was reported the storm was headed right towards their house and then headed our way, with reported tornadoes in tow. Greeeeeat. My family ended up stopping half-way to take shelter in one of the Medtronic campuses - good thing my dad had his ID badge! We ended up using our sleeping bags though, as Loran put sleeping bags and blankets on the basement floor for us to lay under. We even slid Ella around the floor on them - earning her the name, Slider Buddy. She was having a ball with everything. She was skipping out on bedtime and getting to play with mom and dad, what could be better? In the end, we only got wet. A little wind, but the tornado stayed west of us. Thankfully. My family had no troubles either. But it was an eventful night.

Daddy and Slider Buddy!

Recreating our camping picture of last year - this time on a camera phone on our basement floor!

We used our extra time at home this weekend to begin the rearrangement of the house. Our playroom is turning into an office again. The office is turning into Ella's big girl room and the bathroom is also getting a face lift. All of this because our house is on the Historic House Tour...and we have a second child on the way. So we have a month to do the bathroom and a few more months before Ella gets booted from her room.

Part of this included moving Ella's playhouse down to her new room. Loran set out to take it down. With quite the struggle and muscle, he managed to get the pieces apart and then realized halfway through, there were screws. The second half of the house came down quicker, with less damage. I assembled it this morning in the bedroom, to save HULK from having to do it after a long day at work. Ella spent about and hour puttering around inside. Her favorite part is opening and closing the door and window shutters.

No soliciting.

Open!

And now, because of baby OCD and Ella's need to have everything shut...

Closed. See ya!

Bearclaw is now 13 weeks. We get a peek at Bearclaw tomorrow with our NT scan! I'm excited to see it! This kiddo is somewhat elusive with the heart doppler. It likes to hide behind other arteries, but I can usually find it, just takes some patience. My arteries sound great though! My energy is back, but I'm already starting to get a little uncomfortable when I sleep on my back. Ahhh...numbness. Then I roll over and get struck with round ligament pain. So begins the battle. I've been wearing more of my maternity clothing. Mostly shirts. Not because I need them per se, but they're just cuter than my normal clothes. And more flattering at this stage where I just look a little chunky.

But, I'm wasting a perfectly good naptime...and I have much to do!