Et cetera

We just got back from a whirlwind trip down to the San Bernadino area. We'd originally decided to go because I needed to have an echocardiogram in Loma Linda. My doctor in Mammoth just wants to make sure that, with my heart murmur, I'll be O.K. giving birth at an elevation of 7900 feet. While we were in civilization, we also decided to take care of some necessities that we can't take care of here. And, of course, we did some major shopping. It rained buckets much of the time, and several inches of new snow greeted us upon our arrival home. We dragged poor Jack along with us everywhere, so a highlight of our trip was his reward: a night at Chuck E. Cheese!


Our first day back in town, we had an ultrasound in Mammoth. Sole purpose: to find out whether this thing kicking my tummy incessantly is a boy or a girl! Of course, the hospital is afraid of being sued, so all the technician could say was, "There are no signs to indicate that it would be a boy." Translation: GIRL! Big sigh of relief, especially on Brian's part. I would have been fine with having a brother for Jack, but my poor hubby was itching for a girl! We celebrated with lunch at Carl's, Jr.
On our way home, we spotted a dog sled expedition just off the side of the road. Two teams were readying to depart. It was an amazing sight! Two dozen tails were wagging like crazy, two dozen voices contributing to a cacophony of barking. As soon as a team would take off, their barking would stop, silenced briefly by the strain of pulling the weighty sled. I felt sorry for the half dozen dogs who had to stay behind.

(Please pardon the darkness and graininess of the photos; the only thing we had to take them was Brian's cell phone, and I had to zoom it a bunch to get the shot of the dogs.)