Weekend in Austin

Last weekend, Dave & I headed to Austin for our last getaway before Baby Rinn is born in October. Our last weekend in Austin was wonderful, and so we were both looking forward to this a lot. We left as soon as Dave got home on Friday afternoon and headed down 35. Of course, our first stop out of town was Dairy Queen. I was so excited that their featured Blizzard was Girl Scout Thin Mint...but my excitement faded when they were all out of the Thin Mints. (Mint cookie dough sufficed, though.)

On Saturday morning, we rented a tandem bike near downtown Austin and spent nearly the rest of the day riding around Austin's beautiful hike & bike trail. The man at the bike shop told Dave to ring the bell "liberally" to warn other walkers/bikers/runners that we were coming...and Dave took this instruction very seriously. We truly had a blast riding around, & I don't remember the last time either of us laughed that hard! We were so impressed with how well the trails were maintained, and the cool breezes off the water felt so good. Not to say that we weren't hot, though....by the time we returned the bike around 3:30 that afternoon, we were both BEAT! We grabbed some food, headed back to the hotel, and crashed!

Dave had made reservations for us that evening at the Oasis on Lake Travis. We had heard rave reviews from many of our friends of how gorgeous the sunsets are at this restaurant...after all, it is the "Sunset Capital of Texas." We didn't get to see quite a picture-perfect sunset since it was partly cloudy, but the sky did still turn a gorgeous color of pink. We had a great time eating & talking on the decks above Lake Travis....we'd be lying if we didn't say that most of our conversation centered around how excited we are for Baby Rinn to be home with us soon!





The highlight of the weekend (for me, at least) occurred on Sunday when I beat Dave in Scrabble. We played on the decks of Mozart's Coffeehouse on Lake Austin....the coffee & and the view were both wonderful. (If you zoom in, you will see that I only won by 1 point...but a win's a win!)



Now we're on a downward slide until October...and we can't wait! Hope you're all enjoying the final days of summer, too!

Rinn Summer Fun

Wow! It's hard to believe that it's already the middle of August. In some ways, this summer has gone so quickly...but at other times, it seems like we are barely inching our way to October. We have had a lot of fun this summer, though. Here's a quick photo summary of what we've been up to!

We have spent a lot of weekends enjoying Mom & Dad's pool with family & friends.

My cousin Anna was here for a month from Minnesota! We had such a blast with her! In addition to lots of fun in the pool, she also helped my mom & me paint Baby Boy's nursery! After a lot of deliberation on color, we finally decided on "Dancing Green." There were a few moments of sheer panic when we thought it might end up being neon green; but, once it dried, we loved it!



We also went to our first Fort Worth Cat's game with Mom, Dad, Uncle Jon, and Anna. Though we had a lot of fun at the game, the best part of the night was the ice cream sundaes at Braum's after the game!


We spent an afternoon mini-golfing with Anna. Though it might not have been the nicest course we've ever seen (let's just say that their only "landscaping" consisted of overgrown weeds), we still had a lot of fun. The following day, the three of us, along with my cousin (and Anna's brother) Nate, went to Hurricane Harbor for most of the day! We had taken Anna there last year, but this was Nate's first experience, and we all had a blast! We definitely agreed that our favorite ride was the Tornado!




And, Emmy came home for a weeekend from camp! We spent most of the weekend doing what my family does best: eating Swedish pancakes, swimming, and going to Pappasitos. Hope you're all enjoying your summer days as much as we are!

Snore Extinguisher?!?

For about ten days now, Bethany has been running on an average of five hours of sleep per night. The reason, you ask? Me. Involuntarily, of course, because I am a snorer. It used to stop with a little nudge in the night, but we've progressed to all-out midnight warfare. Every night now I don my 'breathe right strips' (rather ineffective) and have a very specific sleeping 'position' in order to promote a peacefully quiet atmosphere (also ineffective).

Today, however, Bethany went on an all-out offensive against her insomnia-source and purchased 'SnoreStop': Throat Spray EXTINGUISHER... And it even looks like a mini extinguisher, though I'm still trying to figure out where the small plastic hose goes. For any of you frequent readers, no, this was not a part of the late night "drug run" to Wal-Mart. Bethany said the advertisement on the top of the package was what sold her on it: "You saved my marriage. Thank You!" (Carol O., a real customer)

Hopefully it saves OUR marriage! :)
(Or at least Bethany's sanity)

Crazy Wife, Crazy Life

Obama's health care plan's got NOTHIN' on my wife! I noticed recently that our 'regular checkups' at various doctors had increased. I even thought it was a great idea when this evening she said, "Tonight at midnight our flex spending account expires. It's use it or lose it, so I'm going to go to wal-mart to pick up a few things." Well, we had some money left over in the account when we decided to stop all fertility treatments and I guess I should have done the math. "A few things"... No big deal!

One patron there asked her if she was going to another COUNTRY with all the medicine, but most just looked at her like she was some crazy Pepto-Bismol-Band-Aid-Thermometer-Cough-Drop FREAK!!! Also needless to say, we have enough 'Desitin' to keep our baby's bottom rash-free through college. The clerk also put a halt on her Delsym which is funny because we're totally teetotalers! Anna, Bethany's cousin, ran to the school supply section to get a calculator to keep a running total as the two of them went through the personal care section throwing things into their cart. After all was said and done, there was a total of 126 items on her receipt... We're going to need a bigger medicine cabinet--maybe a medicine pantry!

Trip to Minnesota--June '09

I've been meaning to blog about my trip to Minnesota ever since I got home 2 weeks ago...but somehow life has just been too busy! I did enjoy a wonderful time in Minnesota, though!

I spent the majority of my time with my Grandma Dolores. The two of us had a fun time at the General Store in Minnetonka, where we had lunch and shopped around. Grandma & I also played many games of Scrabble & UpWords together. I think the funniest moment of all was when my grandma played "sexy." She couldn't figure out why my mom & I were laughing so hard! When we explained that it's funny for an 89 year-old to play that word, she said, "I always play 'sex' or 'sexy' whenever I get the 'x.' " Hilarious!! Also...it's amazing how GOOD she is at these games! I was only able to beat her one time during my whole trip! In addition to playing Scrabble & UpWords, Grandma & I also visited my grandpa's grave & looked at a LOT of picture albums. My favorite thing to do with Grandma is to hear about "the olden days." I love the stories that she shares with me!




My cousin Anna & I also spent a fun day together! We "celebrated" our Swedish heritage at the American Swedish Institute in downtown Minneapolis. I was 8 years old the last time I visited this museum, so it was a lot of fun to go there again! We toured around the museum and saw the life-size picture of our great-grandpa which is displayed on the third floor. We also took pictures on the "life-size" Dala horse...where else, but in Minnesota, could you ride one of these?

My sister is working at Covenant Pines, the Bible camp that we both attended when we were growing up and the camp where I also worked for 2 summers. It was such a blast to be back at camp and remember all the fun memories that I made there! Emily is the Activities Director on staff, so I got a first-hand view of what is involved with being the AD...which mostly involved screaming directions into a megaphone, wearing crazy costumes, and managing groups of chaotic campers! Seriously though, she is doing an awesome job, and I am so glad that she's able to be at camp this summer. When I wasn't assisting her in her AD duties, I spent most of my time reading by the edge of the lake...while wearing a sweatshirt! The sunsets were absolutely gorgeous, and it felt SO good to feel the cool Minnesota breeze--something we definitely don't have in Texas right now where our heat index is 110!!


Another big event that I was able to attend in Minnesota was the wedding of my high school friend, Molly! Molly & I played basketball together, and she's definitely one of the craziest people I've ever known. My sweet friend Audra & I were able to go to Molly's wedding together. It was so fun to catch up with friends & teachers from high school that I don't get to see very often!







Lastly...what would a trip to Minnesota be without Caribou Coffee? (or, more specifically...six trips to Caribou?) ;) Besides friends, family, all things Swedish, & the changing of seasons, I think I miss Mint Conditions more than anything from Minnesota! If you've never tried one, you are missing out! So...in a nutshell, this sums up my wonderful week back in my "homeland." I'm so excited that I'll be able to introduce our sweet little boy to all my Minnesota friends & family the next time I'm up there!

Week 20 Ultrasound Pictures

We received copies of Baby Rinn's 20 week ultrasound in the mail today! (This is the ultrasound that I was able to go to about 3 weeks ago with our birthmother!) It's so fun to look at these pictures and know that this is our little boy! What a miracle!

Here's a sample of the ultrasound pictures. Though I probably shouldn't post this, here's proof that he's really a boy! ;)
Here's a picture of his arms...
...and this picture shows Baby Rinn's beautiful little hands.
Psalm 139:14-16
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be."

Minnesota Baby Shower

While I was in Minnesota, my sweet friend Audra, along with the help of our friend Nicole & my mom, threw me a wonderful baby shower! It was such a sweet time of celebrating Baby Boy Rinn with so many sweet family members & friends! Audra decorated my grandma's house in a construction theme! We have picked out the cutest construction bedding for his nursery...and since Dave is his dad, this was definitely appropriate! My grandma (who is "slightly" hard of hearing) didn't understand why there was "caution" tape everywhere; she thought that my mom & Audra were trying to warn the guests to watch their step when they entered her home! Once she saw the dump trucks, chainsaws, and other little trucks around, though, she figured it out!


If you know me at all, you know that I love games, so I was especially excited for the fun games Audra had planned! We started off with "Nursery Rhyme Jeopardy!" For example--

Q:Little Miss Muffet, a bit of an arachnophobiac, was eating these 2 things before being frightened away.
A: What are curds & whey?

Needless to say, it was a lot of fun...but what made it even more fun is that our friend Nicole (who lives in DC & is due any day with her baby girl!) video taped herself asking all the questions for Jeopardy. Hearing her voice & seeing her on the computer screen almost made it feel like she was there! ;)
We also played a game where everyone had 5 minutes to write a little poem or story about the baby using all different kinds of candy names! Then, I read them aloud & picked a winner, which ended up being Emily's!

When what's in the diaper looks kinda chunky,
And the smell in the air is a little bit funky
Don't get upset or give him a whopper
Just give him a kiss with a whole lot of slobber!

I was absolutely overwhelmed by all the incredible gifts that we received! Baby Boy got his first Covenant Pines t-shirt from Emily...
...and my great-aunt Eunice handmade this beautiful quilt for him! Also, my grandma told Eunice that we are going to use cloth diapers, so Eunice found some of the cloth diapers that she used on her children nearly 45 years ago in her attic! She washed them and gave them to me at the shower! They are just as fresh, soft, & white as the diapers that I saw at the diaper store in Dallas!

My grandma & her sisters are all so talented at making gifts...from my grandma, Baby Boy received a gorgeous blue & white sweater that she crocheted! There was also a matching cap, booties, and afghan. I already can't wait to have his pictures done in this sweater!















My grandma had also put this precious adoption poem in my card! I think it is one of the most sweetest poems/quotes that I have ever heard about adopting, and it's even more special to me since it was given to me by my grandma:

Not flesh of my flesh,
Not bone of my bone
But still miraculously my own
Never forget for a single minute
You didn't grow under my heart
But in it.

Of course, we received so many other wonderful gifts, too! I had so much fun showing them all to Dave when I got home yesterday, and now I really need to start organizing the nursery (which is overflowing!). My mom & I both brought an extra suitcase to Minnesota, and thought it was a tight fit, we managed to get everything home on the plane!

At the end of the shower, Audra led everyone in a prayer time for Baby Rinn. It was absolutely so special and a memory I will cherish! There were so many sweet family & friends at this shower--special people in my life who have supported, loved, and prayed for Dave & me for such a long time!