The Davis Daily...

A lot has happened...

2009-07-28T14:22:00.001-07:00

So, it's been forever since I've written and I have GOT to get back in the swing of things...

Let's play catch up...After trying for a year, Baker and I got pregnant in August 2008. We were super ecstatic of course and couldn't wait until April 23, 2009....the due date! Our families were all so excited...and to make the pot even sweeter, my brother and his wife Angela found out they were pregnant and due just a month before us! The next exciting news came from my sister Lacey, as she and Michael got engaged in October! WOW...a lot was going on! Lacey and Michael planned their wedding for June 6, 2009. Needless to say, the Sullivan family had tons to be happy about!

My pregnancy went well. I tried to exercise several times a week to off set the pizza I constantly craved! :) We found out a couple of days before Thanksgiving that we were going to have a GIRL!! Baker and I both knew in our gut it was going to be a girl and we couldn't be happier! Her name would be Maryn Kate Davis! My brother and Sis-in-law also found out they were having a girl...Ava Grace!! Estrogen central! Lacey was busy planning her wedding and I was busy planning the nursery for Maryn. Betty, Baker's mom, is a professional seamstress (she made my wedding dress) and made all of Maryn's custom bedding, room decor, etc. I went with something super girly...not my usual style...but fitting. Pale pink, cream, and chocolate. Everything turned out beautifully! Thank you Betty!

I found out in January that I had gestational diabetes..ugghh...and would have to be on a diabetic diet and check my blood sugar 4 times a day!! I was NOT happy! The diet is not bad at all...I liked it in fact. The pricking your finger part, however, is not fun! I did really well and did not have to take insulin shots or anything...just controlled it with my diet. I excercised 5 days a week to help with weight gain....I didn't want Maryn to be too big!

My wonderful friends and family threw me two showers...one in Birmingham and one in Orange
Beach. I got tons of great stuff and am so appreciative! Then the waiting began...

At 37 weeks I went to Dr. Wells for my weekly checkup on Monday, April 6 and had an ultrasound...my amniotic fluid was low...so low that the technician asked me if I had been on bed rest. I said, "No, I've worked out every day this week!" She said, "Well, you're going to have a baby early then." I didn't know what she meant by "early"...I figured maybe a week or so early.

I went into the room to see Dr. Wells. He came in and asked me if I had any questions. I said , "yeah, the technician said my fluid was low." He said, with a serious expression, "Yes, you're going to have a baby Friday." I said, "WHAT?!?" He said that my fluid was too low and that he needed to go ahead and take the baby. I would go into the hospital Thursday night, April 9, and be induced Friday, April 10...Good Friday. WOW...I was in shock...I wasn't prepared at all. I wasn't prepared at home and definitley not prepared at work. But we were excited! And since I was being induced it gave our families time to prepare to come down.

Alaska Days 6-9

2008-12-16T06:36:00.000-08:00

Thursday we all went salmon fishing at Ms. Ruby's. She lives on a river there in Willow...I forget the name, Katishna, or something like that. We fished in waders out in the water for a while...no one was catching anything but it was a beautiful day and the water was so clear and green. Corban and Collin had a lot of fun playing in the mud! We took a break to go into Ms. Ruby's house to eat dinner and it was great. Shanna made taco soup..one of my favorites! After dinner, since it doesn't get dark until 10:00 pm, we went back out to fish some more. Still no luck so after awhile Shanna and I decided to go "exploring". "Exploring" in Alaska doesn't mean the same as it does here...you still are out in the woods lookin around, but in Alaska, you have to carry a gun! It was kind of scary! We kept hearing noises in the woods...they were probably all in our heads, but still, those noises kept our adrenaline pumping! We saw a lot of moose poop while we were out there...but no moose. We came back to the fishing site and Corban was trying his hand at fishing, since none of us were doing any good. All of a sudden, as we were packing up, Corban starts yelling, "I got one, I got one!" Sure enough, Corban caught his first, and our only fish of the day. He was so proud. It was a little rainbow trout. What a great ending to a wonderful day!

Friday morning Baker and I got up and got ready to go to Talkeetna to fly to Mt. McKinley. We were so excited but the weather wasn't looking so good. We got there and they told us a glacier landing would not be possible to do at that time but that we could come back at 1:00 and try again. We shopped around Talkeetna and had lunch at a cool little restaurant. Talkeetna is the base camp for climbers going to Mt. McKinley and is super small. You walk up and down it's one street...no need to drive. We went back to the airport and still no luck. We could go up but we still couldn't land on the glacier. The glacier landing is the one thing I really wanted to do so we decided to postpone our trip until the next day, hoping for better weather! We went back to Willow and got ready to go into Wasilla for the the Alaska State Fair. We watched a logging competition and walked around the tons of booths they had set up to sell merchandise. The boys rode all the fair rides and had a blast. One of the coolest parts of the fair is the gigantic vegetable competition. They had cabbages, pumpkins, squashes, you name it, that were absolutely huge!! They also had tons of barnyard animals competing against one another so the barn was pretty loud! We closed the fair down and headed back home...long day!

Saturday morning we drove back out to Talkeetna to try to fly again. The weather was looking a lot better and we were hopeful. We got there and it was a go! We were so excited! We climbed aboard a plane with 8 other passengers. The flight was beautiful and we filmed and took pictures the entire time. It's crazy how the terrain changes from green to frozen ice so quickly! We flew all in the mountains and up in front of Mt. McKinley. We saw the base camp for climbers, although the season had already ended. We then landed on a glacier in front of Mt. McKinley and got out of the plane to take pictures. Surprisingly, the temperature was not as cold up there as you might think it would be. It was so awesome to see God's magnificent creation so up close and personal. It was truly the flight of a lifetime. Sadly, we headed back to the airport. Baker and I were so glad to have had the opportunity to do something so spectacular and we can't wait for Merrill, Shanna, Corban, and Collin to get the same opportunity!

Sunday after church we headed back to Anchorage to catch our flight home. It was so sad to leave the boys but we kept telling ourselves that we would see them at Christmas! We had a wonderful time in Alaska and can't wait to go back when we can ski at Alyeska! Thank you Merrill, Shanna, Corban, and Collin for making out trip so unbelievably wonderful! We love you!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2270712&l=f4576&id=7029754
Here is a link to some pictures from the trip.

AK Days 3-5

2008-11-12T09:43:00.001-08:00

So Monday Shanna, the boys, Baker and I drove down to Seward, which is about 3 or so hours south of their house. It was a beautiful drive along the coast and we stopped multiple times to take pictures, etc. First we stopped at Beluga Point, and to our surprise the Beluga whales were migrating in! It was so cool to see...there were tons of them..and they are so white! They kind of look like manatees. We were so lucky to have witnessed that! We went on down and stopped to picnic at an overlook. It was beautiful of course but we ate quickly because of the "beware of the bears" signs everywhere!! The weather was cool and the wind was whipping! The drive took us down through the mountains and pretty much followed the Alaskan Railroad. We saw Dahl sheep way up on the cliffs and the rivers flowing through the valleys were crystal clear green/blue and gorgeous! I wouldn't want to fall in...they were freezing!! You can raft those rivers too...

Further into the trip we drove over a small bridge. I was in the back seat and looked down to see "something red" in the water. Shanna turned around and we drove back over the bridge...it was the Salmon spawning! This was by far the coolest thing we'd seen so far! They were beautiful and there were thousands of them swimming upstream!! We pulled into a little park area and got out to go get a closer look. The boys were amazed and so were we! There were people wading in the water fishing too!

We finally made it down to Seward and went to check into our cabin on the water. Our cabin was rustic, to say the least, no bathroom or running water. It did have a refrigerator and microwave though. It was so cute and quaint. We built fire in the cast iron stove and built one outside. We roasted hot dogs and made smores, which was a lot of fun for the boys. We watched the sea lions play in the bay and watched the bald eagles sitting in the trees at the campsite. It was really a cool experience. We went to bed and woke up the next morning early. It was really cold outside and I was not looking forward to kayaking in that wind. Shanna took the boys to a sea life museum in town and Baker and I went to check in to kayak. We were supposed to have 2 other people with us but it turned out to be just us...which was cool. We took a ferry ride with our kayaks across the bay to be dropped off. Our guide was really cool...he was from Montana and had just gotten married on Saturday. The water was like glass and crystal clear. We were out in the middle of nowhere and it was great. We saw starfish, salmon, tons of eagles, and jellyfish on the trip. It was so beautiful and peaceful. We were looking up at the mountains with the glaciers on them the whole time, which was really unbelievable that we were right there by a glacier. Our kayak trip lasted about 2 hours and by that time we were ready to go because we were a little wet and had to use the bathroom. A ferry came back to pick us up and it was back to the camp. Shanna and the boys were waiting on us there. We were all tired as we started back to Willow. The trip back was faster of course because we had already done all of our sight seeing. We did stop at Alyeska ski resort though to scope it out. We want to go back and go skiing the next time we visit.

Wednesday was a chill day. Baker and I went into Wasilla to go to the Iditarod Trail Headquarters. It was interesting place. We went and ate lunch at the best Chinese place we've ever eaten then went back to Merrill and Shanna's. End of Day 5.

ALASKA- Day 1 and 2

2008-11-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

So, we went to see Merrill, Shanna, Corban, and Collin on Friday, August 22. The flight took forever and we didn't get there until 1:00 am Alaska time, which was actually 4:00 am our time. We barely slept on the plane so needless to say we were exhausted! Merrill came to pick us up then it's an hour and half drive to their house in Willow. I slept the whole way back while Baker kept Merrill company. Shanna woke up when we got there and we got to kiss the boys "goodnight". We slept late the next morning, to be awoken by Corban and Collin wanting to see their Aunt Jana and Uncle Baker! It was so good to see them! They'd both gotten so much taller! We planned to drive around the Willow/Wasilla area to get a feel for AK.

AK is beautiful, but strange. Some people live in shacks...with no running water and no electricity. It's crazy! No one really cares about their yards or upkeep on their houses, but I guess I can't blame them since it snows more than 6 months out of the year. There are not many "neighborhoods" per say, just random housed stuck everywhere. And there are definitely not building codes!

In Willow, the "area" where Merrill and Shanna live, there is really not much going on. They have a couple of gas stations, a bank, post office, general store, and an espresso shack. Alaskans love their espresso! Willow is not a "town", but a community. They live right beside the church where Merrill preaches so that is very convenient, and they can walk or ride bikes to the post office, library, or general store. It's very quaint. They live right off the main highway to Mt McKinley, Denali National Park, and Fairbanks. In fact, you can see Mt McKinley from their house on a clear day!The temperature was cool...50s during the day and 40s at night. It did get up in the 60s a couple of days and it was only sunny the last 2 days we were there!

Wasilla is bigger and is actually more of a city, complete with a Target, Lowe's, Chili's, and Carl's Jr. Little did we know at the time, this is where Sarah Palin is from! After driving around Wasilla and getting something to eat, we decided to drive east up into the Hatcher Pass Mountains. They were not huge mountains, but definitely bigger than anything in the south! They had beautiful mountains streams (rivers) flowing through them and the air got colder and colder as we went up. At first we didn't think we would go all the way over Hatcher Pass, since the road becomes very rough, but we kept on driving! At the top was a volcanic crater filled with water, called Crater Lake. We got out and took pictures and then continued our way down the other side. Further down was the old mine that is still up and running. You could look halfway up the mountain and see the holes where the men were mining for gold. I would never want to be in that claustrophobic space! It was really cool though. We hoped we would see a moose or bear on our way down but we didn't. When we got home we boiled halibut for dinner...it is so good! You dip it in melted butter...mmm!

After dinner Merrill, Baker and I went to the state park down the road from their house to look for animals. It didn't get dark until 10:00 pm so we were definitely tired by this time. We saw several moose and a porcupine! It was great!

April-July

2008-09-11T15:28:00.000-07:00

The first of April is when Merrill, Shanna, Corban, and Collin moved to Alaska. We had one last weekend in Andalusia with them before they left. It was a sad weekend but it was good to spend that family time together.

April, May and June were spent mostly at the beach. Baker and I promised ourselves that we would stop going out of town so much and spending so much money on gas! We did a pretty good job of staying home and enjoying where we live. Lauren, Lacey, Casey, and Heather all came to stay with us a couple of weekends so it was fun having friends in town. Baker's birthday was also in June and we celebrated by having all of our friends over to grill out.

I've been trying to get Mom to come down to visit forever so she finally decided to come and she brought Mamim and Uncle Phil with her (they both had never been to our house). We had a great weekend...we drove around Fairhope and showed Mamim all the cute shops and houses and then we took Mamim down to the beach! We rented a beach wheelchair for her and it was awesome. She really enjoyed the day!

At the end of July I went on a work convention trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I had absolutely no expectations of Pittsburgh but it turned out to be an awesome city! We got to go to Pirates baseball game, my first MLB game ever, and we got to go to Heinz field where the Steelers play. We also took a trip to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater house and it was amazing.

Amanda and Will's Wedding

2008-09-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

Only a few weeks after we got back from Colorado, it was time for Amanda and Will's wedding. The wedding turned out great and it was so good to get to spend time with all of Baker's extended family.

So, it's been awhile...

2008-09-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I know, it's been 7 months since I've posted on my blog. I just never seem to have time...excuses excuses! So, a lot has happened since I posted last. We went on 2 awesome vacations....Colorado skiing in February for my birthday and Alaska a couple of weeks ago. Skiing was great...as skiing always is to me. I really think I could ski every day of my life. There's just something about being up there on the mountain breathing the clean cool air and then flying down it in a matter of minutes, only to go right back up and do it all over again. Complete bliss...

We stayed at Keystone and skiied Key, Breckenridge, Vail, and Beaver Creek. Vail was by far my favorite. Clarissa and Drew went with us and that was tons of fun. Here are some pictures...

More Christmas

2008-01-16T10:58:00.001-08:00

Christmas afternoon we went to Andalusia to do Christmas with Baker's family. Corban and Collin were SO ready to open presents! We had a lot of fun! Here are pics from that day:

Christmas 2007

2008-01-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm behind on blogging. Let me try to catch up. Here is our Christmas tree for this year. Last year I bought a bunch of teal, brown, gold, and cream ornaments after Christmas and I think they turned out great on the tree! We also had a smaller fake tree in the kitchen with all of our ornaments we had growing up on it. We really didn't get to enjoy our tree too much though...we're so busy all the time!

We went to Birmingham for Christmas...well, the first part of it anyway. It was really good to be home for a few days....although they fly by. Saturday we went to see my grandmother in Athens. She was in the hospital...which wasn't fun...but she enjoyed us being there. That night Baker and I went to dinner at PF Changs...our favorite....with Lindsey O'Dell, my best friend from high school. We met some other high school friends, including Beth who lives in New York City now. I haven't seen her since high school!! It was a great mini reunion and we had tons of fun! Here is a pic from that night...

Christmas was great. As usual, we went to Matt (my brother) and Angela's for Christmas Eve. Erica, Ryan, and Bradley (our cousins) were there too! Here are some pics...

Me and Bake

My family
We did something different on Christmas morning. Since Baker and I had to leave that morning to go to Andalusia, we decided to do Christmas Breakfast! What a great idea! We loved it. Mom made all kinds of stuff and we completely enjoyed it. It sure beats turkey and dressing!!

Christmas shopping...

2007-12-11T07:18:00.001-08:00

Saturday morning Lindsey, Clarissa, and I went shopping. This was my first time to get to Christmas shop this year so I was excited. It was great...people bustling around with packages, bad traffic, no parking places...except for one thing: Everyone is in shorts and t-shirts!! Ok, so I know we live at the beach....but does it have to be 80 degrees in December?!? I can't remotely seem to get in the Christmas spirit because I'm still wearing my summer clothes! It's really unbelievable. The cold weather is definitely one thing I miss about Birmingham...but right now they are even having hot spells.Anyway, we got a lot of things accomplished and I feel better having bought most of my Christmas presents.

Well I never...

2007-12-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

thought I would have a blog...but here I am. This is my first post so it will be short and sweet. I'll have more to say next week. I'm having a girls weekend while the boys are gone hunting in Selma. There will be a sleepover, baking, and shopping! FUN!