Since we only wanted to take one car down the mountain, the day before we left for Humboldt, we loaded up the Fit and Steve, Ramsey, Tippy, and I went to drop Steve off for his evening shift. With all our gear and two big dogs, it was a bit cramped, but still managable. Poor Ramsey loves the car, but he gets horribly carsick. He threw up a couple of times going down the mountain, even though we were going slow and trying to take the turns easy. The third time he threw up, we were almost at Steve's office, and Tippy had decided she had had enough of trying to keep her paws out of Ramsey's messes. She managed to climb up into the front seat with us, and refused to move. I kept telling her to get into the back because she was leaning on Steve (who was driving), but she would not budge. Her foot kept hitting my seat belt release and I'd put it back in, only to have her step on it again. I couldn't really have her sit on my lap because of my belly, and Steve kept trying to push her off so he could drive. She leaned into the console and took the car out of gear (we have a manual) and undid my seat belt. By this point, Steve and I were laughing so hard he could barely keep the car on the road and I just about peed my pants. Ramsey was in the back licking up his vomit, oblivious to the shinanigans of his sister. About a minute later, we pulled into Steve's office parking lot. He couldn't set the emergency brake because Tippy was sitting right on it. She still would not move into the back. I actually had to get out of the car so she could have my seat and he could park the car. She stayed in the front the rest of the drive to Tami and Ira's. It's amazing how much more room there was with one less person. I think that was the most exciting thing for the dogs that whole trip, but I'm not sure since they stayed with Tami and Ira.

    Early the next morning, Steve and I snuck out of the house (so as not to upset the dogs) and hit the road. We had stayed the night with Steve's parents so we had a little less of a drive. We drove straight to Eureka, which is about 13 hours from Oceanside. Needless to say, we were pretty happy to get there by the end. It wasn't as difficult for me as I thought it might be, though. I really didn't have any problems on the drive, and that alone felt like much cause for celebration. We had a great time in Humboldt, visiting with Harry and Christa. They took us all over, showing us all the best places, nice little hikes, good restaurants, and the all important places of work. Steve and I really gave Harry a hard time because he kept telling us what to expect about certain things, and they were never what he said. "All the hippies and potheads congregate in Arcata and Eureka, there's hundreds of 'em; it's always overcast and cloudy here; we see a lot of elk all the time, no matter where we go; there are two deer who live in this little field, I see them everyday on my way home." Guess what? It was sunny and clear pretty much the whole time we were there. Arcata and Eureka really didn't have a population unlike anywhere else. We had to go out of our way to see just a couple of elk. We never saw hide nor hair of the two deer. But nevertheless, we did have a great time.

   Will is doing well. I'm pretty sure he went through a growth spurt last week. I was starving all the time and ate just about anything in front of me. By the way, Harry, if you're missing a fish or two.... sorry. They just looked so tempting. :D Just kidding. I put on six pounds since my last doctors visit two weeks ago, and it all went to my belly. I finally look like I'm in my third trimester. He's become a lot more active. He kicks and punches more often, and shifts around a lot. I guess I'm used to it by now, because I don't even notice it when he's really active and I'm asleep. Steve had his arm around my belly the other night, and Will kept kicking him away. "No, my mommy!" I snored happily through the whole thing. Some thing new that's been a little less than fun lately is I've been having some really mild cramping low in my belly early each morning. It's consistant, lasting for about 20 minutes, then it's totally done. I'm pretty sure it's just Will pressing on my nerves, but it makes me a bit nervous every time it happens. I just keep thinking "I'm so not ready to have him yet! Don't let this be contractions!" We're now 30 weeks, so he could survive on his own more than likely if we did have him early, but I'd rather he wait a bit longer. I know I said I really wanted him to be born this year, but I was thinking more like December. I have a lot to do between now and then! I guess I better get off my butt and get to it, then, right? :D