23 WEEKS

9/13: We are at 23 weeks!! I feel like my belly grows by the minute!!! Also, today, I could actually SEE the movements on my belly!!! So far, I had only felt the movements from the inside but today while I was just being quiet (rare moment) I felt a kick/movement and then I saw my belly jump!! It's pretty amazing!! Makes me get teary!! Today is Saturday and one of the last that I will actually be able to enjoy because I will be on restricted bed rest soon. So, we started the day early with Saturday garage sales. We don't normally buy too much but we like searching for hidden treasures!! The find of the day was for Rob. He found a Makita grinder whatever that means...(diamond blade- I hear that's important too)....and that it was a bargain at $30! I have no clue if that is a bargain or why we need a grinder but he was very happy to find it. I found a couple of Halloween items...yay, it's candy corn season and you better believe that there is a dish of it on our table already. (Covered dish---or the Hawaiian ants will invade us!) We met up with our friends Steve and Issis and their clan and enjoyed the morning!! We also had a beach day planned for today. It has been raining quite a bit and we were not sure if the beach thing would pan out but Rob assured us that it would. (secret life as a meterologist!) Anyway, so after garage sales we went home and everybody changed into bathing suits---including me! Yes, my first experience with a maternity bathing suit. FUN! Rob smiled when he saw me and said, "yep, no denying that you're pregnant!" Was that supposed to be funny? So, we headed to North Shore---destination, SUNSET BEACH. As we were driving up we had lots of rain. We almost turned around but Rob's nature would not allow us. I was laughing because as I said let's turn around because it was raining cats and dogs by now it started raining even harder but he said no....So, we continued on our way and low and behold as we neared the town of Haleiwa, it was not raining at all. Rob, of course, was smiling with the "I told you so eyes!". So, our first stop was in Haleiwa at Macky's Shrimp Truck. The best shrimp scampi!! So, good!!! Everyone enjoyed the shrimp and the kids enjoyed chasing the wild chickens in the area. We packed up again and headed North again! To our or MY surprise---nothing but sunshine!! So, we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon at the beach with no sign of rain!! Rob was right!!! The Betts clan all enjoyed snorkeling and spending the day at the beach! The evening brought more entertainment as they had us over for dinner and Steve prepared his famous southwest eggrolls. They were yummy and I probably indulged in one too many but it was worth it!! Rob got his day's worth of exercise challenging Xander (6 years old) at Tennis, golf and baseball on the WII. Rob had a blast and now really wants a WII but I told him he will have to talk to SANTA about that!! The day came to a close and I was exhausted but happy that we had fit so much in one Saturday!!! What great fun we all had!!