Labor Day

We spent Labor Day out at Ketchum dove hunting, swimming, shooting, and having a generally good time outdoors!  No one knew I was pregnant yet so that was a little interesting… I was still having a difficult time not throwing up and almost lost it a time or two but with Gunnar's help we hid it pretty well.  I'm pretty sure Jonathan suspected something as we were with him all day but he was smart and kept his thoughts to himself!  It was the first time I had been out doing something and even though I made sure to drink lots of water, stayed in the truck a lot and was careful to not overdo it, I was still exhausted at the end of the day and took a day or so to recover… pregnancy turns ya into a wimp I tell ya!  

After hunting that morning, we built a fire and cooked hot dogs.   I managed to not throw up long enough to eat beans and the nausea went away temporarily.  Pretty sure Penny was rather skeptical as to why I had brought beans to begin with but like Jonathan was smart enough to keep her mouth shut.  haha

We helped Jonathan sight in his rifle.  

After Jonathan took Penny back to her car, Gunnar Jonathan, and I headed to a tank to swim and cool off.  Not sure why J wanted to climb a windmill in his bare feet but hey more power to him.

Its hard to tell because of the shadow but this is one of the windmill legs with all the notes written by Mr. Martin over the years.  Mr. Eddie Martin is a windmill man around Mertzon and has probably worked on every windmill and well on every ranch and farm in Irion County!  He's older now and can't do it as much so seeing all of his notes written with a pencil and always including his initials, E.C.M. is rather like watching something become a piece of history.

Had to build another fire for a mid afternoon snack.  

Jonathan showing us where a lightning strike had caused a tree to completely burn down.  Jonathan and Gunnar walked to river to see if they could jump some pigs but it was too hot for me so I drove the truck and picked them up on the other end.  

That evening we hunted dove again.  It was too hot for me again and I was really starting to not feel well so I went back to the truck and cooled off in the AC!  Later in the evening after it cooled off some I walked back and took pictures of the hunters.

While walking back I saw an animal run across the road in front of me.  I thought it was Jonathan's red heeler because it was really close to where I could hear them shooting.  It was actually a late born fawn.  It was not more than 50 yards from Jonathan and Gunnar who had been repeatedly shooting shot guns and talking.  Why it wasn't scared I have no idea.

Mom and Dad came out and hunted that evening too but I didn't get any pics of them :(

All in all it was a pretty great day!!

Coming Soon to a Nursery Near You, April 2015

"We're having a baby, my baby and me."

Please everyone tell me you all know where that is from!  If not, you are not a true American, although I've been told that I'm not a true American seeing as I've never seen the Star Wars movies so I guess I can let it slide this time.  BUT only this time!!




We are expecting our first little one early April/possibly late March 2015!  We are super excited!  We kept it a secret for a while and honestly it was so fun having our own little secret!  While we were still keeping it under wraps, we got asked directly AT LEAST 7 times when we were going to have kids… Sorry for whatever lies we came up with, you who asked.

I've been asked how I've been feeling and I have to say that "morning" aka "all day" sickness has kinda kicked my butt! Poor Gunnar! He's been so wonderful! I'm pretty sure that I finally cooked an actual meal for the first time in a month the other night.  He's done extra dishes, gone to HEB after a full days work, cooked me food, held me when I was crying, forgiven me for being extra cranky a time or two, and been wonderfully understanding about the more than usual messy house.  He's a keeper!

Here's a couple pics…

5 weeks! 

I had given Gunnar a Father's Day card on Father's Day letting him know that I believed he would make a great dad and was looking forward to starting a family with him.  When he got home from work on the day I found out, I re-gave him the same card with an added note inside telling him we were pregnant!  

We had an ice cream date to celebrate!  

8 weeks! 

(Such a terrible pic but it shows the starting little baby bump! How do y'all like that coral on red?!)

Here's how we announced it to our extended family! 

I must say that this first trimester has been rather tough.  I used to think I was tough HA!  But I'm already starting to get more energy back and seem to have the throwing up somewhat controlled, better than it was at first anyway!  Gunnar has been wonderful, but when he's working he's gone by 6:00 am and not home til 6:30 -8:00 at night so I've been grateful to have some family and woman to talk to now that we let the cat out of the bag.  Women treat you like super heroes when you're pregnant! haha

July 4th

So I just realized I never posted these pics or even wrote anything about them but they're already uploaded into a draft so why not publish them? I mean 5 years from now I'll be glad I did!  So here's all the fun that was had at the Diamond K over July 4th weekend!

Jake and Amanda's Wedding

So I was inspired to be a better (more frequent) blogger this weekend!  Thanks Whitney!  So here it goes...

Gunnar's cousin Jake married the beautiful Amanda this weekend.  It was a beautiful wedding and I'm so glad Gunnar was off this weekend so we could attend!  I married into a pretty darn wonderful family!!  Unfortunately I didn't do so well at taking pictures and don't have one of the beautiful couple! :(

Gunnar looks so handsome dressed up! Maybe we should dress up more often….HA! yeah right! 

 With Mimi (Ann's mom) 

 I had only met this clan of the family at our wedding (which doesn't really count) so I really enjoyed getting to know them better.  We were seated with Whitney and Taylor, and Ben and Alyssa so I actually got to get to know them!

Mimi and her second cousin Gudrun, from Germany.  She is here visiting for 4 weeks.  I sat with her at breakfast and learned a lot about her past and the family connection.  Her dad and Mimi's dad were cousins (I think)   She was born near the Czech border during WWII.  After the war, her family was in East Germany for about 11 years.  She and her siblings had to go to a communist school and it upset her dad so much that his kids were forced to go to a communist school and wear uniforms.  They finally snuck across the wall to West Germany, claiming they were "visiting" family but never returned.    They had to go in pairs so it took a while for all of them to get back together.     

She remembers a lot about being a child in post war Germany and has been told stories about the things that she was too young to remember.  When she was in her young 20s she was a masseuse in a hotel in Germany and met a lady from New York who told her that if she ever came to the US to come to her first and she would help her.  So at 24, not speaking a word of English, she came to New York on a boat.  When she landed she handed a cab driver the address of her friend.  Later she came to Texas and stayed and met all her family and has visited many times now.  She now speaks English and so interesting to talk to!  She now lives in Munich and told me that the part of Germany she lives in (I don't remember what it was called) is to Germany what Texas is to America.  haha

Jake's groom's cake!! Pretty awesome!  Ha! 

Congratulations to Jake and Amanda!! The wedding was so fun!  We (yes Gunnar too) danced so much!! Even Sid danced!  We had fun getting to see all the family and cousins since we missed the annual family river trip this year!  I really did marry into a wonderful family!  

#HappilyEthridgeAfter