Pregnancy Update: 18 weeks!

Happy Monday from Molly and Biscuit - 18 Weeks!

My pregnancy expectations: 

• Weekly belly pictures, taken in the same location and pose each week.
• Monthly blog updates, complete with said pictures
• Weekly journal updates on my trusty pregnancy app, recording current weight and documenting above-mentioned picture
• Flying pigs and unicorns?!? 

Pregnancy actuality:

Life goes on! And life is busy! So here is my very first pregnancy blog, complete with the only 2 bump pictures I've taken, both selfies in front of the bathroom mirror because I had to just take them by myself when I was thinking of it. The only time I open my pregnancy app is to read the weekly update. And really, sometimes I read the week before and current week at the same time! I am having a blast preparing for parenthood, but it has kept me extra busy! This is life, and I wouldn't have it any other way! 

The basics and where we are now:

We are due at the very end of February and hoping baby does not make a Feb 29th appearance. Biscuit (as we lovingly refer to our little one) is currently about 18 and a half weeks, and growing at an amazing rate! I feel like my bump is bigger every day, and it is time for maternity pants now. I just started feeling movement last week and Biscuit is kicking and dancing a lot already! It is an amazing feeling! I am eating a lot of pickles, but not on my ice cream. My next appointment is later this week, and includes our next ultrasound. YES, we will be finding out the sex of the baby, and YES we will share, probably sometime next week! :-) Brian is convinced Biscuit is a boy. I haven't had a real feeling one way or the other, but we will find out soon! The doctors say everything is going well so far - prayers are always appreciated that everything continues to go smoothly! 

Pictures:

Our first ultrasound - Biscuit was moving around like crazy despite only being an inch long!

The first day I noticed a true "bump" - This was at about 14 weeks

Adventures in Utah: Bryce Canyon National Park

We were lucky enough to check 3 National Parks off of our list this year! We took a trip to the Everglades in February, and then took a trip to Utah at the end of June! Our Utah trip started with a long drive, taking us to Bryce Canyon National Park!

Bryce Canyon is a beautiful park! It is a desert, but also has forest. It is at a high elevation, but doesn't feel that way. The rock formations are simply otherworldly. Pictures and descriptions cannot do them justice! If you have a short time at Bryce, here are some must-dos:

• Watch the sun rise over the canyon
• Take a trail down into the amphitheater to explore
• Hike down to/through Wall Street
• Take in a couple look-out views
• Consider checking out a ranger program 

It is a park that can be seen in 2-3 days if you're doing it in combination with other parks, but if we had gone into the backcountry, we also could have easily spent a week. It is a smaller park, nothing like Glacier or the Smokies, but there is still a lot to see, and it is definitely worth the trip!

We chose Bryce Canyon due to its weather, which is generally milder than most of the other Utah parks, staying mostly in the high 70s and low 80s, because of the higher elevation. Other Utah desert parks (Arches, Zion, etc) can be in the 100s this time of year! Unfortunately, we happened to catch this park at a very hot time. We were dealing with temperatures in the 90s every day, which changed some of our plans a bit! We took day hikes, aiming to be done hiking by lunch-time, and decided to scratch our backcountry plans. Our afternoons were spent relaxing, playing games, and trying to stay cool back at the campsite. We really enjoyed being at the North Campground, as it allowed us to hike straight from our campsite to our trail for the day, the general store, or the visitor's center. Here are the hikes we took:

Figure-8 Loop (Queens Garden Trail, Peek-a-Boo Loop, and Navajo Loop through Wall Street)

Let me just start by saying that this is a tough trail, especially in the heat we were dealing with. I think I underestimated it because of its shorter mileage. While backpacking, Brian and I have hiked 10-12 miles in one day, up and down mountains, but this 5-6 miler wore me down! The last path out of Wall Street was a rough way to end things, too! We'll just say we were ready for some ice cream when we were done! If you can only do one thing in the park, this would give you a great overview of the best of the formations! You could also do any part of this figure-8 alone rather than doing it all!

Fairyland Loop Trail

Two of us just took this trail to Tower Bridge and back. Two of us went the whole way around. I am not ashamed to admit I turned around at Tower Bridge. This was another great hike, into a different area of the park. There is a nice area at Tower Bridge for taking a load off and enjoying the shade of some trees. It would be a great lunch hike with a picnic at the bottom!

Mossy Cave Trail

This is a very short trail that is actually right outside of the regular park area. We ended with this hike before leaving the park. There is a waterfall here, as well as a large cave opening. The trail itself is not shaded, but there is a creek running beside the trail, so it would be a great place to allow children (or yourself!) to cool off on a hot day!

Lookouts/Rim Trail

Whether driving or hiking a section of the rim trail, there is a lot to see without ever setting foot down into the amphitheaters. We hiked parts of the rim trail multiple times on our way to other trails, and also drove to each lookout along the road on one day. Here are some of the amazing views you'll see from the rim!

Don't forget that there are some awesome backcountry experiences to be had in Bryce Canyon, as well! While we opted out this time, I have a feeling we might be back to check out this part of the park! Stay tuned for the rest of our Utah trip!