Family Reunion in Missouri

What kept me going through all my classes, exams, and recitals was knowing that soon I would be lounging around lazily with family in wonderful Missouri. So... Missouri is kinda hot, which isn't my thing, but what IS my thing is tons of people to talk to, games to play, dinners to make and a good book to read. I enjoyed all of this and more for two weeks at Megan and Ben's!

We took our third drive there in our less than two years of marriage (what can I say, we love these people!). It's a good 18 hour drive, so we broke it up into two days. The worst part of the drive was the fact that I had horrible pain in my lower ribs/side area. I had exercised a few days before, and I think I did something to my back when I tried to do a really slow job... (I have this bad habit of forgetting there are things I PROBABLY shouldn't do pregnant...). So whenever I would breath deeply/yawn, it was pretty painful. By the time we got to the hotel the first night, I was in pretty major pain where I couldn't get comfortable and it was painful to just turn around in my bed. The pain went away by itself after a few days, so no worries, the baby and I are just fine!

Road trips with Jordan are the best. They really are just never boring. We can talk, and listen to music and overall just have a grand time.

The reunion itself was so great. There were a ton of kids (22, I think?), a bunch of adults, and lots of space. It was so nice getting to talk to all my in-laws, I really just lucked out in the family part when I married Jordan. We spent a fair amount of time talking about babies and different views and thoughts on childbirth and having an infant, which was so helpful. I have a great support system when I have this baby. We also guessed at what gender our baby will be... I was really tempted to take the ultrasound video with me to see if Ben could tell us what we were having (Ben's a doctor), but I was strong and just left it in Provo so I wouldn't be tempted.

When we weren't playing games or talking, I was usually reading a new book called the Hunger Games. AWESOME. I really liked reading it and then going and discussing my thoughts with Kelly. I can't wait for the next book (due in August). I highly recommend it.

The trip home was fun with no problems. We went through Colorado, which is so beautiful! It was really hard to leave Missouri, though. I kept telling people I was too pregnant to say goodbye, because I would just cry at night missing everyone. The good news is that I have high hopes that we'll see everyone before the reunion next year, and we hope move close to SOME family somewhere (I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for Connecticut, Kelly!). I like them all too much just see them once a year!