38 Weeks!

While in New York two weeks ago, we took some head shots of our team to use on the ONA website, and while I wasn't thrilled to be taking mine at 9 months pregnant, it was nice to have this final stage of pregnancy documented. I've been pretty terrible about making updates here, but I figured I'd post at least one more since I'm now considered full-term (aka baby can come ANY day now...eek). My overall feeling these days is that I'm ready to not be pregnant anymore, but still not quite ready for the baby to come. It's a very strange tension to be in. We still have some pretty key things to prepare (like installing the car seat, packing our hospital bags, finishing the nursery), but at the same time I've done almost all there is to do to prepare for the actual labor and delivery. It's the after delivery part that I'm most nervous about at this point because then we just HAVE A BABY. Aaron and I were joking the other day that we hope the hospital shows us how to change a diaper - it's been so long since either of us has changed one! I'm also a bit nervous about leaving behind work for 3 months, but my hope is that it'll be a sweet time of bonding with our baby and filled with fun adventures with our new little family member.

A Charlottesville Getaway.

Last week we took off to the Charlottesville area for one last getaway together before we welcome a little babe in a few short weeks. After a several busy weeks at work for both of us, it was so nice to escape to the mountains for two days and explore a new place together. While we'd both been to Charlottesville before, we did a bit more research this time to make the most of our visit and had such a sweet few days. We arrived on Sunday night and stayed at The Graduate near the university which was just the cutest boutique hotel. We spent the next morning walking the outdoor pedestrian mall and gathering food from Feast for our picnic later on.

Our next stop was the inspiration for the whole trip - an adorable A frame lodge we found on Airbnb. On our way out to the lodge, we detoured to a peach farm that also happened to have a field of colorful zinnias and sunflowers - basically my version of heaven. After a good frolic in the flowers and purchasing some peaches, we arrived at our Airbnb and pretty much died of cuteness. That evening we drove out to Skyline Drive and found an overlook to enjoy our picnic dinner. While it had been SO hot during the day, the extra elevation and mountain air made for the perfect temperature. The combination of views, food, and company (obviously!) made this meal a contender for one of our most memorable together. We're already looking forward to our next Charlottesville visit at the end of September - this time for a wedding - with our little one in tow!

Iceland. Part 4.

While I have so many more pictures I haven't posted, I finally picked through our last day to give you the final installment of our Iceland vacation! Looking back through these is making me so nostalgic for this trip. It was such a good adventure together and it still feels surreal that we got to see these things in real life. I'll never forget the feeling when we turned the corner of a huge mountain range and saw Skogafoss in the distance, or how fresh the air was as we hiked alongside of Fjadrargljufur and felt like we were in Narnia. This trip was a bucket list item fulfilled and so much more. It was so sweet to spend these days driving and laughing with Aaron and enjoying this country just the two of us. While I know we'll be intentional about family adventures after our baby arrives (we already have Yosemite booked for November!), this will be one I cherish for a long time.

Sunflowers.

If you're wondering what heaven on earth looks like to me, this is pretty darn close.

Sailing with ONA!

I took a whirlwind trip to New York yesterday for some bonding on the water with my co-workers. Back in the original days of ONA, our first monthly field trip was sailing so we recreated that yesterday with the current team. It was an idyllic summer day and such good time spent together sailing around a city we all love so much. Bonus, after we sailed I introduced my co-workers to Christine and her new pug puppy, Gertie! So very grateful for my job and the opportunity to be back in New York so frequently because of it.

Iceland. Part 3.

Back to Iceland pictures! I still have so much to share and next up is from the amazing day driving to our second hotel. We stayed at Hotel Lambafell which literally sits at the foot of a huge mountain that erupted a few years ago! It's about 30 minutes east of Vik and put us in a perfect location for easy access to some of Iceland's most incredible sights. We spent most of the day driving in that direction and stopping along the road anytime there was something beautiful... basically every few minutes. We stopped at Seljalandsfoss on the way, and we both agreed it was a life highlight getting to walk behind such a huge waterfall. Later that evening, we hiked out to Seljavallalaug (one of Iceland's oldest swimming pools) for a dip in the warm water. We lucked out because it was just a quick hike from our hotel which made it easy to come back and round out the day with some wine and cheese.