Aren't Sunday's Great?

One BIG Belly!

...And the belly keeps growing. Here are the latest pictures.

Mt. Washington

Living in Boston, I rarely get out hiking. The few times I have gone hiking I have been unimpressed. There often is no real destination like a lake or peak... Of late, I have been living vicariously through friends who ARE doing real and challenging hikes and I got an itch to do one too. I figured that once the baby arrives it will be even harder to go out hiking, so last Saturday I escaped while Britney was having a girls day. I drove the ~3 hours into New Hampshire to the hikers parking lot on Base Station road (elevation ~2480 feet) which is 0.3 mi from the Mt. Washington Cog Railway. I lucked out and had good hiking weather, cool and partly sunny.

I was pleasantly surprised at the difficulty and beauty of the hike. I decided to go up the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail which is about 4.5 miles long and climbs about 3800 feet. The first mile was a gentle traverse up the valley then headed up a ravine following a stream. The vegetation reminded me a lot of what I saw in Washington state, ferns, moss, pine trees... Once going up the ravine, it was on the steeper side and included some rock scrambling. Eventually the trail left the tree line and hit the ridge at the Lakes of the Clouds, a few lakes up in the rocks just below the ridge. At that point there is a beat-up old sign that says "THE AREA AHEAD HAS THE WORST WEATHER IN AMERICA. MANY HAVE DIED THERE FROM EXPOSURE EVEN IN THE SUMMER. TURN BACK NOW IF THE WEATHER IS BAD." And with that welcome to the upper part of the mountain, I proceeded undeterred :). The upper part of the mountain was mostly just rocks with the occasional alpine meadow plant. It was more exposed and windy, but fortunately the winds were mild. There were a number of other hikers out, but I don't know if it was my late start or something else, but I didn't feel like it was too crowded until I got to the top and wandered into the FOOD COURT and saw all the bikers and others that drove to the top. There were a surprising number of other hikers (there are at least 4 0r 5 trails that lead to the top) and that helped me feel a bit more comfortable.

After resting, eating, and refilling my water bottles I headed down but took the Jewel Trail. That trail follows a ridge most of the way down so it has better views and is not as steep so its easier on the knees and easier to descend (than some of the rock pitches of the Ammonoosuc ravine). Plus it made for a great loop instead of just an up and down. Going that way you also get a better look at the rest of the mountains in the Presidential Range which is actually pretty impressive. I have generally been unimpressed by the mountains in New England, but these ones were totally legitimate.

One other thing to mention is that as commercialized as Mt. Washington is, I was pleasantly surprised by how secluded the trails felt. These two trails go up the opposite side of the mountain than the road, so you literally don't see or hear any cars until you are on the top. The trails also avoid the cog railroad for the most part so you don't feel like you are hiking up in the shadow of the tracks with the riders watching you as they go by. All in all, I highly recommend climbing it sometime and doing the loop like I did. Click here to see all of the pictures.

And the Belly Keeps Getting Bigger...

Here is the most recent belly shot. The belly is growing but not as big as expected, which isn't so bad. So far Britney has not really had any swelling, or anything too uncomfortable although the heat has bothered her a lot more than it used to.

Two weeks ago we had another ultrasound and they measured the baby as being about average in weight but two weeks ahead in length. It looks like we will probably have a tall baby girl!

Sad Day in Boston

Today was a sad day for the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in Boston. The oldest church building in New England burned to the ground in a dramatic fire today. It was dedicated in 1951 and was the meeting site for many people through the years, and is where Britney and I met. According to one news station, 22 fire trucks responded to the blaze, 7 of which were ladder trucks. In all, around 80 firemen worked to put it out. (Picture courtesy of Natalie W.)

Sadly, the fire spread through the attic unnoticed and by the time the alarms went off, it was too late. Even with all of the fire trucks the building burned to the ground! People believe it was started from an electrical fire based on where it was burning but nobody knows for sure. 

Today we had a session of stake conference church leaders broadcasted talks from Salt Lake City, so there were about 300 people in the building at the time of the fire. Fortunately, the fire alarm went off before anyone was in serious danger, but many members stood outside and watched as the chapel was engulfed in the flames. 

Here is a dramatic video captured of the flames and the collapse of the roof above the chapel section of the building.

Here is a link to a website with more pictures: http://www.tabblo.com/studio/stories/view/1740673/

This video has a firefighter talking about the blaze and interviews of members of the church.

Picking Names

Picking names can be very difficult. You don't want to pick one that doesn't fit or sounds too old and you don't want to regret your decision. To add to that, everyone asks about names and shares their sometimes negative opinions on your ideas. 

We found this while driving around Lake Winnipesaukee.

Did we choose the WRONG name???

Mother's Day

Last Sunday was Mother's Day and being an expecting father I decided to do something for my wonderful wife Britney. We picked up some flowers for her and I gave her the option of a Mother's Day breakfast-in-bed or dinner and she chose a combo: breakfast for dinner. I made her waffles and pulled out all of the fixings (which was great because it was so easy and I still got all the credit). 

If you can't tell, here is the list of toppings I 'prepared':

Fresh Strawberries

Fresh Bananas

Nutella

Whipped Cream

Maple Syrup

Peanut Butter

Apple/Apricot Sauce

It was very tasty.

On a more serious note, Britney is an amazing wife. She is always supporting me even when I come home late from work. Even being pregnant she does more than her share of work around the apartment and keeps on top of groceries and finances. I can't wait to see how wonderful of a mother she is/will be! Just two short months to go!