One last hike and some news

 We took the dogs on their last hike here in sunny California over the weekend.  Next Sunday Orson and I start the long drive home to Texas where the dogs will take up residency with my brother.  I am excited that Nate has offered to take them, we just can't give them the attention they really need with Orson in the house.  Anyway, the hike was along the Yuba river and the views and wildflowers were beautiful.  It was a lovely day and we all had a great time.

In other Ewalt news, Orson has a cool new shirt he wanted to show off.....

That's right a new Ewalt should be joining the fun here sometime in October.  We are all really excited.  Orson has taken to rubbing my belly, making noises at the baby, and  trying to "see it" by looking through my belly button...pretty dare cute.  Unlike with Orson I have felt pretty sick all day everyday with this one, maybe that means it will be a girl :)  We are going to go for a home-birth with some great midwives that Matt and I already like a lot.  After our experiences at the hospital last time, we just know that we will do better and have a more positive experience birthing at home.  

Behind and lazy

Well I know I have been taking my time about keeping this blog up and I can only apologize and offer that I am lazy as an excuse. There just doesn't seem to be a lot going on in my life but I figured I could talk about a couple of things this week.

The most exciting news is that my gardenia has decided that it likes Sacramento and has actually re-bloomed in the back yard. The smell is amazing and reminds me of home. Also making an unexpected appearance in its pot...the crapemerytle that I thought was a goner after it lost most of its leaves during the drive over. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to plant anything in the ground since moving here but Matt and I have been looking into native gardening and can't wait to get our hands dirty this fall. Of course that will depend on whether or not we ever get the nursery put together.

Speaking of, we finally have unpacked all the boxes in the house (we cheated and moved a few to the garage, don't tell). Now we just have to find a place for everything. That could take awhile since the dogs are starting to get a little more demanding of our time now that they have settled in to the wonderful weather. We have been taking them to various parks on the weekend and both Matt and I enjoy the excuse to get out and explore. Most recently we have been wandering up and down the American river park system with the girls. They really have loved the ability to jump in the river and cool off (we have too).
I guess the only other bits of news are; Matt made his last trip to Louisiana before the baby is born last week, I am off to see Anne for her 30th birthday next week, Pat and Pat are going to visit for the first time this weekend and my stomach just keeps getting bigger and bigger (daily it seems).

I am so glad and thankful that all of our friends and family made it through Ike safely. For those of you wondering, the family home escaped without damage although a tree fell on the fence in the backyard a day after the storm.

Yesterday (well actually Wednesday)

Wednesday was just one of those days. It started out as normal (groaning as I was kissed awake by my husband to go to work) but then it just got better. First we drove down the driveway on the way to work and there in a glory by my front door, the Gardenia was in bloom. We had to stop the car and go smell it....so heavenly. And then I looked to the right and the Jasmine that my Mom bought me on her first visit here was in bloom. This is a true miracle because not long after we got it Baton Rouge had a freak freeze and we thought it was lost for good.
Work was as boring as usual but we went out to lunch with Matt's coworkers and it took much more time then planned so I didn't have to spend too much time in the office. Then we took the dogs on a walk and Chiquita got so dirty that we decided that she needed to rinse off in the golf pond. Well Chuggles are both afraid of water, so we actually have to throw them in to get them to even acknowledge that it is there and Chiquita decided that she liked it and actually swam half way across and back her tail wagging the entire time (I wish I had had my camera with me).
Then that night just as Matt and I were getting bored, the weather changed and we watched the most spectacular lighting show that I have seen in a long, long time.
Chicken hiding from the thunderstorm:
For some reason it was just one of those good days even though everything we did was normal and everyday. Go figure :)