Isla Ann

Born 11/6/08 @ 7:17 pm
7lbs 3oz
19 3/4 in

And finally...

The requests have come pouring in for a picture of pregnant Lindsay! Here is an artist's rendition of pregnant Lindsay (drawn by my grandpa) and the real thing!

The day I knew Lindsay was pregnant

I came home to this....(hindsight is 20/20)

Documenting a birth

This is a great sample of what my Grandpa sends me in the mail once a month. Anyone that has ever talked to me for an extended period of time knows that I have a Grandma and Grandpa that are unforgettable. I have some very early memories of my grandparents, most taking place either at their home or McDonalds. It seems that my Grandpa has earlier memories, however, as I recieved an excerpt from his diary dated August 14th, 1980, the day of my birth.



Linds and I are in baby mode. We are ready for this little girl to stop kicking her mommy and start crying and pooping! (Probably won't be saying that in December) We were talking about memories tonight and how far back one another can remember. I think I can only go back to age 3 or 4...maybe 2 if I got some help from my parents on what was a dream and what wasn't (was I really picked up by a long horned cow and tossed around like a paper doll or was that a dream?)





In any case, when I received this diary entry, I was really astonished to know how much was really going on in the world when I entered it. As my grandpa points out,

Thursday, August 14th! Little Luke Armstrong Rumohr born in E. Lansing Mich. It happened very fast this am-her water broke in shower-baby born 1145-we are so relieved and happy-all well w/ everyone-how blessed we are-to think we were just 2 of us in Sept/43-and now 19 in all! Office so busy--home to mowing and convention--the Demo are so critical of R. Reagan and all it sounds hateful-John B still campaigning strong. At 6 to Chinese dinner--great time. Home to TV Mondale-Carter/lousy speeches. Jill called-holding Luke and so thrilled-so happy.

So my birthday didn't escape politics, which was also a theme for my 28th today! I am thankful that my grandpa wrote an account of that day, even if it was several hundred miles away with a couple of phone calls from my mom. I am happy today to celebrate (after coaching a couple of high school soccer practices) with my wife and Mom and Dad Brown. Another birthday and many more memories to come.

I'M SAILING!

Have you ever been sailing? Lindsay and I sailed with a couple of friends last week and it was awesome! There was no wind, so we just ended up chugging up the coast of Lake Michigan with a two and a half horse powered motor, but it was SAILING!

Across the Country

Although it wasn't a true Griswald experience, Lindsay and I logged some miles across our great country a short time ago. Starting in Boise, we traveled through Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and finally home to Cadillac. The sights and scenery were magnificent. Sadly, we were unable to stop at most spots due to time constraints!

There are few things I like better than cruising in the mountains, and Montana was no exception. Among the highlights were The Lewis and Clark Trail, the Yellowstone River, and the Madison River.

Two of my favorite pictures from this summer!

I love hiking. I love it so much that I have logged about 90 miles of trail hiking this spring and summer. My friend Bryant did a nice job documenting one of these trips on his blog. I may comment on it later...

I love my wife! One of the reasons that I love her is because she likes the outdoors just like I do (though I don't think as much). This summer we had an awesome opportunity to go on a back country hiking trip with some Young Life kids to Colorado.

Any other time in our married life, I don't think anyone would have blinked at us going on this hike. However, if you noticed in the above picture and previous posts, Lindsay is quite pregnant (just starting 5 months in the picture). I recieved quite a bit of flak from people when I announced that my wife was going to go on a "wilderness trip", but Lindsay barely hesitated and really saw it as a chance to hang out with some high school girls for an awesome week of back country hiking and God's beauty!

I knew at once that Lindsay was going to be able to complete this trip, mainly because it was in her Idahoian blood. Not commonly known or acknowledged, Sacagawea was also native to what is now Idaho, and she carried a baby across North Dakota, through the Rockies and onward to the Pacific Ocean and back with Lewis and Clark! So with that in mind, and the consent of our doctors, we embarked on this incredible journey.

In short, the hiking trip was REALLY challenging. In all we covered 41 miles in four and a half days. Our main elevations ranged from 9,000 feet to 12,000 feet, and our longest day was a bruising 6:30 am to 10:30 pm (16 hours) hike that left us exhausted--but healthy.

With a steady supply of Snickers and Cliff Bars, and plenty of prayer from tons of people, Lindsay did great! I was so proud of her the whole time--and I love the fact that we can tell our little girl that Lindsay carried her up to beautiful Goose Lake (pictured above). I would love to even take the little one back there (the much shorter route to the lake) someday. What a tough mommy!