Our First Pacific Northwest Adventure

Thursday night John and I made our way to the airport anxious to catch a flight to Virginia Beach to visit our close friends Kitty & Jeff for their baby shower/party... we were very disappointed to find out that our flight was delayed which would cause us to miss our connection... and all other flights out were booked solid.
Stuck here for the weekend, we decided to make the most of our first beautiful (and somewhat hot) weather!

• Friday we took a 3 minute ferry ride over to Guemes Island and enjoyed exploring by bike. We plan to go back often as it is so convenient and enjoyable!

• Saturday we went to La Conner to have lunch and stroll around the Arts Festival. La Conner is only about 15 minutes away and is a cute little town with a lot of charm. We look forward to returning in September for a wedding.
• Sunday was a perfect convertible day, so we decided to take a real trip... we drove through Whidbey Island (exploring Coupville etc.) and took the ferry over to Port Townsend. Once there, we drove through the town to admire the beautiful old Victorians. Then we continued about an hour and half to the Olympic National Park/Hurricane Ridge and WOW... It is beautiful! I couldn't believe the snow capped mountains on an 80 degree day! There we had a picnic lunch and enjoyed a short hike before having to leave it all behind to catch the ferry in time home. It is definitely a place we plan to return to truly hike (maybe with our daughter on John's back soon) :)

Here are a few pictures we took:

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

Good thing I love pink!
We were excited and surprised to find out we are having a girl!
I am still worried the doctor isn't right b/c I was convinced I was having a boy, but the Dr. said he is 95% sure it's a girl! (I guess they can never say for sure it's a girl)
Here's a picture of our precious little daughter... we can't wait to meet her.
We are hoping obviously for a healthy baby! After that I hope she gets John's eyelashes! ha ha. Looks like she may get my overbite, as she is already a thumb sucker.

Today's The Day!

We will find if we will be blessed w/ a baby BOY or a baby GIRL.
Check back to hear the news!
Also, here are the latest pictures of me at 5 months! I can't believe I'm officially half way through!












John also wanted to share his progress.

It's starting to feel real!

So, I am almost 5 months pregnant and I think it is finally setting in that John and I are going to be parents soon! A week from today we will hopefully leave the doctors office knowing if we will be having a little boy or a little girl. I wish this week would fly by! Of course, it would probably be best for our pocket book if we didn't find out the sex... what's going to stop me now from buying all things baby?? :)

Anyways, on email last week a bunch of family and a few friends were emailing back and forth about what they thought John and I were most likely to have. So, I thought it would be fun to see what everyone's opinion is.
Please cast your vote to the left (on the left side bar survey) but also please leave a comment (option at the end of this posting) with your thoughts on boy vs. girl, due date (my original due date is Nov. 15), time weight and length etc. etc.


Whoever gets closest will be getting a little something special from the proud parents in November. Also, we'll see who was right about the sex on Monday the 23rd and will think of something cool for the winners too! So cast your vote!!

Here are a few belly shots so far...The ones at the top are from week 17 and the ones below are about week 19 (right now) Enjoy watching me get fatter and fatter through the months. HA!

Our New House

So, John and I bought an old 1900 Victorian in Anacortes. We are getting settled although anxiously awaiting the start of our renovations! Hopefully, we'll get the last quote in the next couple of days so we can share some before and after pictures.
For now, here are a few pics of what it is like today.... and Yes, it is Pink... we'd love to paint it, we've added that to our LONG list of things to do to it. (Below are before & after shots of the living room, dining room and master bedroom. The major renovations come soon)

Our trip to WA

I wanted to write a quick entry about our trip from JAX to WA b/c a portion of it is one that I hope all of you have done or plan to do at some point. John drove most of the way and I met him in CA to begin the fun. We started in Hanford, CA to visit our friends Mike & Kat and then continued on a week long adventure up the CA and Oregon Coast. We went to Big Sur, Carmel, Monterey, Sonoma and Napa, Redwood Forests, Bandon, OR and Cannon Beach OR. If you ever get the opportunity you should take full advantage to do it! Annee & Lauren it's a MUST for when you make your way to Whidbey!!


Oregon was so beautiful... makes me wonder why CA gets all the hype! Don't get my wrong, CA was awesome too... my fav was Carmel... I'd love to move there one day... yah, one day after we've made our first trillion! :)

Our Family Continues to Grow

The Hilburn/Rhynerson family continues to grow!
- In June of 2004 John and I were very excited to find out we had become uncle Cha Chi and aunt Cee Cee to a little nephew - Austin Peter!
- Then in November of 2005, I was lucky to gain another wonderful brother-in-law when Liz married Fred O'Brien!
- Since then, Jay & Deanne had another little boy, Jack Presley in July of 2007 and just a month later, Liz and Fred welcomed their first born, Liam Kenneth to the world!
- I've added a picture of all the newest family members below! (plus another group shot of our family (sans J, D, Austin, Jack & Liam :( - Maybe one day we'll get one of EVERYONE together)

To Catch You Up

Since we are finally starting a blog I should probably try to catch everyone up on what's happened the last 5 years. Here's a quick summary:
After getting married, John and I lived in Meridian, MS for a year while he finished up Navy flight training. Then off to our favorite place - San Diego where John then learned to fly the S-3 Viking. We spent one year in paradise, living in PB, spending beach weekends with our dear friends Brent & Stacie, Kathleen, Esther, Sarah, Andrea etc. but sadly had to say our good-byes and leave for Jacksonville, FL. We settled into life in Jacksonville, where we bought our first house (an adorable 1922 bungalow). John joined his first fleet squadron in the S-3 and served two 6 month deployments on the U.S.S. Enterprise. Although he was away a lot, I had some wonderful times in Jacksonville, mainly because of the amazing group of friends I made there. (The Jax Fab 5 - Annee, Kitty, Lauren & Patsy). As one learns quickly in the Navy though, you shouldn't get too comfortable in any one place.... That brings us to today.... We just moved to Anacortes, WA because John will be transitioning to fly the Prowler/Growler. Although adjusting to the weather, we are sure we will learn to love this place! We have a lot to look forward to... family near by (Jay, Deanne, Austin & Jack are in Seattle and Mom & Dad H will be moving to the Pacific N.W. shortly), the arrival of our new baby this November and tons of adventures in the Pacific Northwest! :)