last but not least

38 and a half weeks
we spent our last day in CA visiting s + j of barelyblogging fame. actually, before she was barely blogging, s. was my running partner/confidante extraordinaire. since meeting 4 years ago in durham, we have shared many miles together. i would also say that we have much more in common than our slightly obsessive running tendendies. there are differences, though, in that she now has a REAL job (her own lab!) and a 38-week gestation. also, s + j are canadian, which just makes them extra cool.

we had SUCH a good time seeing them! none of our activities were labor-inducing like s. was hoping, although she did keep having contractions which totally freaked me out! even though it was almost sad because it made me miss them more, it was a great day, which will be evident from the photo montage to come. as an aside, apparently, s. has banned her husband from posting any more pregnant pics on their blog, but she said it was okay to post here! in this vein, i just wanted to add that i think she looked fantastic — not at all uncomfortable, and alllll baby. from the back she looked completely normal, yet the side view was baby-licious. the human body is pretty amazing.

we arrived with a box of baby gifts! i bought girly stuff at gap because i couldn’t help myself (even though the sex is TBD), but the best present was baby overalls hand-crocheted by my talented sister.

we reunited with rolf, their wheaten terrier who is in love with me. he blends right into the rug!

see, really, he loves me.

dr. s. outside of her office (i have such office envy!).

i have no idea what this means, but s. approves!

you never know what you will find in a lab . . .

from the lab tour, we headed to the davis arboretum! beautiful even though i think it tipped josh’s allergies over the edge (more on that later!)

these flowers looked like tissues!

beautiful redwood grove

josh decided that he NEEDED to have some in & out burger while in CA, so he and j. split an animal style as an ‘appetizer.’ reportedly, it was excellent.

we made dinner with the help of my favorite doin’ time cookbook! martha was consulted for her shredded beet and carrot salad recipe.

j. manning the grill with a beer: very manly.

our summery grilled results! admittedly, josh did have to help me with that slab o’ beef.

SUCH a great day.

going out with a bang
josh has horrendous allergies and dermatographia (you can write words on his skin and the words will show up as not-so-secret messages just minutes later!). he also has asthma, but only mild and very rarely — ie, he hasn’t used an inhaler in several years. unfortunately, i think the thriving plant life in davis must have overwhelmed his bronchioles because he woke up at 1:30 AM last night basically unable to breathe. well, not quite that dramatic, but headed in that direction.

so, off we headed to the napa ER — just hours before we needed to leave to catch today’s flight! luckily it was less than 2 miles from our b&b and he was treated very efficiently. we were in and out within the hour with sweet, sweet albuterol to go. so that is how we ended our vacation, and we did make our flight and are home safely.

whew. what a trip — even with that ending, it was really an amazing time. we loved it.