A little introspection...

First of all, I'd like to say thank you for reading my blog. 

Thanks for the very nice comments. You make me feel really good! 

Lately I've been thinking a lot about becoming a mom...obviously.

I've also been thinking about social media and how we all now have "online personas," separate from our real selves. 

I was reading OC Family magazine after school one day, and came across an article that really resonated with me. It's called "The Myth of the Supermom." Here's a few snippets:

“We tend to get fooled by social media – seeing other moms’ highlight reels online,” says Ciaran Blumenfeld of Momfluential Media. “But that’s the edited version."

"Trying to live up to supermom status is like trying to achieve Barbie’s body type. It’s an unattainable, plastic fantasy.”  

It's so fun and meaningful for me to keep a record of our lives and share it with people I love. I'm thankful for the technology. It's crazy - so many more people know about my life from what they see online than what they see in person. Even my family!

I'll be the first to admit, when I post things online for all the world to see, I choose carefully. I'm in total control of what is on my Facebook and blog. My blog is exactly what Blumenfeld says - a "highlight reel." It doesn't show the days I go all day with no make up, stretchy pants, and then make frozen pizza for dinner. It doesn't show my grumpy moments or the weekends we just run errands and go to bed early. 

I don't want to pretend like my life is perfect or that I look good all the time. I'm not and I don't.

Those who know me in real life know that's the truth!

So here's to putting our best online foot forward, while remembering that everyone else is doing the same. 

The acticle has a happy ending:

“At the end of the day, the only ones who decide whether we are supermoms are our own kids,” says Blumenfeld. “To them, family is not a competition where the shiniest mom with the best party favors wins.”  

Here's a link to the full article. It's a good one.

http://www.ocfamily.com/t-Smart-Mom-supermoms-unrealistic-expectations-5-12.aspx

Puerto Rico Babymoon!!!

Wikipedia defines Babymoon as: "a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to allow the couple to enjoy a final trip together before the many sleepless nights that usually accompany a newborn baby. Babymoons usually take place at a resort that offers appropriate services like prenatal massage."

My version of a prenatal massage at a resort: snorkeling, surfing, kayaking, and hiking!

The two summers before I met Shane, he spent half of both of them in Puerto Rico. He managed the San Juan office of a Provo security system company and explored the island with his buddies. He actually met my brother Brian there, and Brian introduced us back in Provo. Shane's been telling me how incredible Puerto Rico is since we met. So when I was bugging to plan a babymoon, and there was a sweet deal for Puerto Rico, it only made sense. It's truly a magical island.

Shane was so awesome and planned all our activities beforehand. He had a lot to show me, and he knows I like to pack the fun in tight. We didn't waste ANY time:) 

Our fist day we got up early and caught a ferry to another little island off the main island, called Culebra. We caught a rickety taxi over to Flameco Beach, ranked #2 on the top 10 most exotic beach in the world! White, sand, few people, amazingly clear warm water, awesome reef snorkeling. In true islander fashion, Shane even grabbed a coconut, broke it open and we feasted on the beach!

Some locals told us about a lesser known, even more amazing spot. We climbed through a gate with a no trespassing sign, and hiked to our own private cove! It was so cool to be alone out there on this tropical island, snorkeling in such a crazy beautiful place. We felt like we were in a movie.

Shane knew I wanted to surf, so the next morning we drove to the local surf spot. We rented some junky boards and hit the waves with NO wetsuits! We're not used to that. The average air temp in PR is 82 degrees, and the average water temp is 80! Soooooo nice. Look behind us and check out that spot we're in! Tropical jungle, white beach surfing. 

 We made it home just in time to catch our shuttle to our kayak tour of the bioluminescent bay!

A bio bay is a body of water that contains millions of micro-organisms that glow in the dark (neon blue) for a second when agitated. 

To get to the bay we paddled through a long, skinny, jungle river, covered by a canopy of trees. Soooo cool. When we made it to the bay and our paddles started making the water glow in the dark! We hopped in and when we moved around, our bodies made glowing water angels. It was one of the more spectacular things I've seen in my 26 years of life. (Our camera wouldn't capture the glow, dangit.)

For our next adventure, we made our way to the rain forest! Yes, it's the real deal rain forest. And let me tell you, these pictures don't do it justice. It was TOTALLY incredible. 

As we got further into the rain forest we started seeing waterfalls everywhere. 

We stopped at an old tower, and at the top discovered the some of the most beautiful views we've ever seen.

Next, we hiked 30 mintues deep into the forest to a huge waterfall. The hike was so cool- the sights, sounds, and smells were exactly what you'd think they would be in the rain forest. It even started raining while we were hiking, which made it that much of a real rain forest experience! When we got to the waterfall, I climbed around and even took a dip in the pool at the bottom. I seriously loved every minute of this experience. It was so rad.

 Our last day, we finally took some time to check out our hotel!
Our hotel turned out to be super nice and right on the water. It had had some awesome pools and even a private beach.
I felt like one lucky gal. I mean, look at this view from our room!!

Before heading to the airport we took some time to check out Old San Juan, the historic colonial section of San Juan. The city is "characterized by its narrow, blue cobblestone streets and colorful flat-roofed brick and stone buildings dating back to the 16th and 17th century when Puerto Rico was a Spanish possession." It was such a rad place. We enjoyed the afternoon walking around, going in shops, taking pictures, eating treats, and admiring the awesomeness of the town. 

Way fun and the perfect way to cap off an amazing babymoon!!

I can't say enough about my bomb husband, and how sweet he was to take me on this trip. He knew it meant a lot to me and he did A TON to make it happen. He spent a lot of time, money, thought, planning, and effort into making this something we'll always look back on with huge smiles. He made it such a fun trip for us and we had a total blast, thanks to him. I'm SO lucky to have him as a husband and best friend. Our daughter is lucky to have him as a DADDY!! We just may have to take her back to Puerto Rico someday:)

We took a ton more pics. Check them out here: https://plus.google.com/photos/104396866593957854377/albums/5741316304834684273

Husband & wife surf team.

Shane and I have been ansty to go on a surf weekend getaway for a while now and finally made it happen! 

We headed to San Onofre Friday afternoon and had a fun 2 hour surf sesh. 

(Yes, I can still surf just fine with my belly...we'll see how many more weeks I can last! And yes, the doctor says I can surf. 

And yes, I'm being extra careful.)

Then we drove to our motel (camping spots were all booked!) in Carlsbad.

It was the cheapest one we could find, and it was perfectly grubby and awesome. 

We slept in, then walked next door to a radical surf cafe for breakfast. It was almost like a surf museum- way cool. We ate delicious crunchy, banana french toast. (french toast coated with Honey Bunches of Oats. I'm going to try it at home- it was SO good!)

Then we surfed some big waves in Oceanside. We got worked! We're still pretty amateur surfers, trying to learn as we go. But it was fun to be in a new place. I like new places.

Next we walked the Encinidas street fair. Fun.

We had to make our weekend really count, so we headed back to San Onofre for a Saturday evening surf. 

Needless to say we were hungry and tired and happy. 

Stopped at Cafe Rio on the way home and BOOM. Perfect surf weekend accomplished. 

We are lucky. 

Ragnar Relay Radness

What is Ragnar?

Ragnar is the overnight running relay race that makes testing your limits a team sport. A 
team is made up of 12 individuals; each individual runs 3 legs. The legs of the race vary in difficulty and distance, from 3-8 miles, allowing elite and novice runners to run together. Over 2 days and 1 night, teams run across 200 miles of the country’s most scenic terrain. Pair that with crazy costumes, inside jokes, a great finish line party and unforgettable stories. Some call it a slumber party without sleep, pillows or deodorant. We call it Ragnar.

Our race started in Huntington Beach and ended on Coronado Island, San Diego. 

Some friends from my ward recruited me to their team, and it was a total BLAST. 

It was pretty funny being pregnant doing this crazy thing. I made a sign so everyone would know I'm wasn't just bloated.  

Here were my runs:

Friday at  2pm: 2.5miles up a steep, long hill in 97 degree heat! Fun.

Saturday at 1am: 6 miles in the dark mist, slightly downhill most of the time. Waaaaay fun and awesome conditions.

Saturday at 10am: 7.5 miles up a looooong hill in Torrey Pines, San Diego. Ended this one with a victory dive into the ocean! 

This is in Lake Elsinor after my first hot, sweaty run. We had to get in! 

It was so much fun running at night and hanging out in between runs with everyone. The vibe of the race was so laid back, fun, and low pressure. It was all about goofing around with and cheering for friends, trying to sleep in crazy places at crazy times, figuring out where and when to be to the next hand off, and meeting/laughing at all the crazy people you meet along the way. It was such a fun change from what I'm used to.

Above: The crew in van #1

Below: The whole team! Featuring my belly. 

Thanks to my mom, for giving me the push I needed to do this. (Side note: My parents ran a half marathon without training this same day in Albuquerque and killed it! 2:04 and my mom got 2nd in her age group! She's legit.). 

I'm FOR SURE doing Ragnar again. If you want to join me next year, hit me up!