August Showers

Much to my surprise (well, there were several attempts to ruin it, but luckily for all I am generally totally clueless...) several friends got together and threw a baby shower for me the day after Jason's parents and niece arrived for their visit. Here I am on the way to the party (I was under the impression we were on our way to the grocery store to get BBQ supplies):

Several days later we were off on our last pre-baby adventure with J's family, first to Rome and then to Barcelona. There was way more to see than we ever could have crammed into seven days, but that didn't stop us from trying to see everything anyway.

Here we are nearing the top of the cupola on St. Peter's Basilica (271 steps down, only 322 to go!) On the way up we encountered several middle-age women that had had enough and were attempting to make their way (against traffic) back down the narrow winding staircase. When they saw that I was pregnant, they chimed in with "Oh, bless your heart!" and "She really shouldn't be up here." I was tempted to tell them that if an 8-months pregnant lady could make it to the top, then they certainly had no excuse, but I held my tongue!

Some of you may recognize this lovely lady--while in Barcelona we had the chance to see my old friend from high school, Elisenda!! She's currently working on her PhD in international law, and was married last September. It was so wonderful to see her after so many years (has it really been a decade?!) We had a great time catching up and she showed us some really cool spots in Barcelona (such as this cafe on a mountain overlooking the whole city--very nice!)

Here's a parting shot of Jason with his mom from on top of the cupola at St. Peter's.