Pictures, pictures, pictures

We've done so much in the last month or so, and I keep meaning to blog about our activities, but have been, well, lazy. So this is a MASSIVE slideshow with pictures from various things, mainly our Memorial Day trip to Philadelphia, our trip to UT, and my day trip into the city today to go to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the National Gallery of Art. I met Mike for lunch in the middle of the day, and we had a scrumptious meal at the cafeteria in his office building. And, it's subsidized, so it was the cheapest lunch you could possibly get in downtown D.C.

There are of course things that pictures can't tell, but the pregnancy has made my memory pretty weak, so I can't remember most of them :). I've been keeping busy lately with doing some volunteer stuff. I worked registration at the National Science Olympiad Tournament for a few days, which was a little dull but fun because I was on the Science team as a teenager and went to several of these competitions. I even got the meet the head-dude of Science Olympiad, a man I'd seen from a distance many times as a kid (yes, I'm a geek). I've also been spending a few hours a day at the local library working on a magazine reordering project for them; this helps me to have interaction with other people during the day and give my day some structure, both of which are really nice! And the other thing I've been doing is helping out with a free cooking class at a medical clinic in this Hispanic neighborhood in DC. Basically I do my best to translate what the cook and nutritionists are saying. This has been pretty fun, albeit challenging; there are simply some things I don't know how to say in Spanish like "cut it using this method called dicing" or "the best kind of knives to buy have such and such a type of blade . . ". It's pretty fun though, and I enjoy the good humor of the participants.

Mike's doing well! The firm is keeping him busy during the day and at least one evening a week, but it's all good. He seems to have met some nice, down-to-earth people and has interesting, albeit very in-depth, projects to work on. I don't think he's ever eaten this well in his life, and it probably won't happen again either - at least until next summer. Every day he comes home and tells me where he went out to lunch that day (on the firm's tab of course) and what exquisite dish he had. There are some truly amazing restaurants here! I'm so glad he gets to be exposed to so much; luckily I'm not too jealous, since my digestive system is really sensitive right now, and the idea of eating out each day is not that appealing. We keep thinking maybe all of this eating out will make him gain weight, but no such luck so far . . . :)

Ok, I'm almost done. I just have to share a few prego things. First, this kid moves A LOT. I swear it's a circus in there sometimes, and he's using my lungs as a trampoline. Second, people see a very pregnant belly and see it as a topic open for discussion. Just today I had 4-5 randomly start talking to me about the baby. They're all very nice and concerned for my welfare, even though I'm a complete stranger. I've been so amazed at people's kindness and thoughtfulness. I almost always get a seat on the Metro, once someone sees me standing. One time there was no seat to be had, but a man offered to let me lean up against the wall that he was leaning up against, if that would be more comfortable for me. So sweet! Anyway, lastly, today a man was making small talk about the baby and asked if I was having one or two . . . I told my mom this, and she said "After you slapped him, then what did you do?" No, he was actually a really nice guy, so I hold no hard feelings for him, but it was definitely a first!

Alright, enough for now. I hope all is well with everyone reading. Forgive me for pushing what should have been several posts into one big long one with a big slideshow!