21 Weeks

Good news – Small Fry appears to be a human being and not some parasitic alien species. We confirmed at our 20-week ultrasound (taken at 21 weeks) that everything is going swimmingly in there. Apparently SF measures a gestational age of roughly 22 weeks, but the docs tell us that does mean a whole lot. We’re still on target for a 9/13 date… although I’m convinced we’re gonna welcome him/her a good five(ish) days early. Other than that, we really don’t have much to share. Melissa is now showing, although she’s way tiny compared to her self-perception. We bought a new family car, does that count as news?

Snow on New Year’s Day

Around 3 p.m. on December 31st, we made the decision to get out and play in the snow. Actually, I decided to track down an airbnb rental in the Cascade Mountains so we could have a mini getaway amongst the winter weather. The pickings were thin, but I managed to find a small apartment in the town of Ellensburg, Washington. Early New Year’s Day, we packed up the car for a winter road trip (including shovel and kitty litter… I know) and took off to Steven’s Pass. Long story short, there is no way we were hiking without snowshoes, the “ghost town” we visited was pretty disappointing, and the apartment we’d rented started with frozen pipes, then flooded. The good news the owner notified us before we showed up and she did offer to find us another rental; we declined. Instead we drove a few remote roads, took some pictures, and stopped at Snoqualmie Casino on the way home. We were way over-packed for a day trip and it was a lot of driving for one day, but we enjoyed seeing just how beautiful this state is… even if the dead of winter. Did I mention it was 7°?

Anniversary Week in Austin

In October we took a trip to Austin, Texas to celebrate our twelfth wedding anniversary. The trip was booked to coincide with the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Unfortunately it also coincided with Hurricane Patricia. After most events were cancelled on Saturday, the weather managed to clear up just enough for the Sunday race and the post-event Sir Elton John concert.

After spending the weekend cold and wet, we spent much of the week relaxing. There was plenty of eating, and we also checking out some of the tourist sights such as the Congress Avenue Bridge bats, the Blanton Art Museum at the University of Texas, and the Graffiti Park. We also took bikes to go shopping on South Congress Street and, on Thursday, left the city limits for a small hike in the hill country.