KRISS JOHNSON

Now quite walking....but....

2012-02-02T09:17:00.000-08:00

Who would have thought that Vickie would go so quickly from a crawl to standing on EVERYTHING! She isn't walking on her own yet, but I have a feeling it isn't too far off. The only time she ever crawls is only to get to something she can stand up on :) We have recently started putting up baby gates, locking cabinets and plugging outlets. Only time will tell what she gets into next. P.S...I'm enjoying ever little bit of it!

No more bar access :( You've been cut off baby girl.

Helping Mommy in the kitchen. I am always afraid she's going to close this drawer on her fingers but she hasn't yet.

Someone was a little disappointed that Daddy went snowboarding without her. Perhaps next year :)

I can't remember who passed this little pink stroller down to Vickie, but it is one of her favorite toys. She loves to take her baby doll for walks around the living room.

Vickie's first Snow Day

2012-01-19T12:39:00.001-08:00

Well, we finally got our first good snow of the year. By the time we went to bed on Monday night, there was 10 inches of fresh snow.
When we woke up in the morning, we measured about 13-14 inches. We figured we would go ahead and try to make it to work-what better way to test out our new Subaru in the snow.

We got almost to the highway when the back tire slid off the road. With a little help from our neighbors and Dan's will to succeed, we managed to get the car out and hit the road. We were only a few minutes late to work. We did, however, leave early so we could tackle the driveway again before it got dark.

It's amazing how the snow plows stop right at the county line. As soon as we got through Wickersham, the roads were nearly clear.

We woke up Wednesday morning to another 5-6 inches of snow and decided not to risk it...we promised the G'mas! So, we hung out at home and enjoyed Vickie's first "snow day".

Tuesday night we got a knock on our door from Eric, saying he was stuck. We probably could have pulled him out but decided that he should probably refrain from driving that day too. He was able to enjoy the snow day with us.

My car was SUPER happy that we didn't drive any where.

Dan and Eric decided they needed to build a man cave (snow cave) in the front yard. It didn't take them very long and the thing is huge! I then made them dinner and we called it an early night.

A very exciting day, but now that I've had my snow-fix, I am ready for spring!

Vickie's first Christmas (2011)

2011-12-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

What a busy...and wonderful holiday weekend! We started it off by heading next door to spend Christmas Eve with my dad and Marsha. On Christmas Day, we headed over to my mom's place for lunch followed by dinner at Dan's parent's place. Vickie was so excited about the presents, lights, food and family that we didn't even get a chance to nap. Needless to say, she slept most of Monday in order to catch up. I'll never forget my first Christmas with a little one!!!

On the move!

2011-12-22T12:44:00.000-08:00

8 Months

2011-12-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

This holiday season sure is coming up on us quick...I thought we had another week until Christmas-guess I better start shopping :)

I sent out Christmas cards for the first time ever! Yeah for domesticated me! I managed to get a half-way decent cell phone picture of Vickie and made up 50 cards online...next year I'll have to do 75 because unfortunately I ran out and some people didn't get one. Learn as you go I suppose.

We've been working with Vickie on holding her own bottle. If you put it on the floor between her legs, she'll pick it up and get it into her mouth. She just hasn't figured out how to tilt her head back yet. So, I lay her on a blanket and she does just fine. The second you touch her though, her arms go completely limp...."you feed me now Mom".

For my birthday, I got Vickie an Ergo carrier. Her Baby Bjorn definately got it's use but unfortunately we grew out of it. Dad no longer could carry her on the front...she's the perfect length for a good kicking-LOL. It's so nice to have the weight distributed on my back now. It's quite the challenge to get her in and out of the Ergo, but hey, so was the Bjorn and it became like second nature eventually.

I, of course, could not resist the first mohawk picture!!! Vickie is finally getting some hair!

Well, I'm calling it as official! Vickie's first words...DaDa.

I should be posting a picture of her crawling really soon. She is up on all fours, doing what we call the "Centipede". She can get all the way across the room in no time at all. Crawling by Christmas is what I've been saying for months now :)

Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

7 Months and counting!

2011-11-28T08:42:00.000-08:00

7 Months...going on 8 really soon! I am enjoying the thought of celebrating the holidays for the first time as a mommy. Vickie has gotten to be such a ham around the camera, very social around family, friends and even strangers, and has such an interest in everything and everyone around her. You can see her brain working every moment...it is the neatest thing in the world. Of course I enjoyed the first 6 months, but she becomes more fun the more interactive and mobile she becomes.

In just a matter of moments, a full toy basket can be completely emptied out. It is neat to watch as she passes toys from one hand to the other, throws them across the room, tries to feed them to the cats or just squeels with joy rediscovering something at the bottom of the pile. The funniest item in this basket is her bunny purse, which she has officially figured out how to put over her shoulder all by herself. Hmmmmm....Daddy must have taught her that one-LOL.

We are still trying our best to get down to the pool every Thursday. Vickie loves to swim and it's good exercise for her mommy too. Jemma insists on coming along. She watches over Vickie in the water like a hawk....either that or waiting for her to drop her rubber duckie :)

Fall is officially here. I couldn't resist getting a few outdoor pics with all of the leaves but turns out Vickie doesn't like the sound they make when you step on them...I'm sure this will pass :) I did however, get her to hang out in her laundry basket instead.

Thanksgiving was absolutely the best yet!!! Our first one with Vickie and many many more to come. We had G'ma Lamb, G'ma & G'pa Johnson, Auntie Gretchie and little cousin Merrick, Aunt Jess & Uncle Eric and our good friend Kevin join us for dinner. Vickie got to try out some mashed potatoes for the first time...which she was iffy about-she likes her carrots much more. I was pretty convinced that someone (like G'pa) must have slipped her some dessert because she didn't want the party to stop. Here's a video of her....at 2am!!! I was told that this is what happens when babies become overstimulated-lol.

She finally passed out but was up every hour until up for good the next morning at 7am. I figured she would be exhausted and cranky all day from lack of sleep...she was fine-that was mom :) After having a wonderful, lazy, 4-day long weekend...we finally were calmed down, tuckered out and ready for our week to begin.

I love it when they fall asleep in your arms :)

Happy Halloween & other things...

2011-11-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone! I'm loving this whole "first holiday" thing...so much fun having a little one to share the enjoyment with-even if she is still too young to understand the concepts. We originally ordered Vickie a monkey costume which ended up being way too big for her, she'll wear it next year. Fortunately, a girl I work with has a daughter only a few months older and had a costume she was trying to find a home for....so, here's my little lamb :)

She has daycare on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays so Dan went and picked her up, got her costume on and brought her by work to show off how cute she was. I'm pretty sure this was the first time she ever saw her mom wearing glasses too.

We had to stop by G'pa and Nanna's house for some trick-or-treating. Surprisingly, she was never afraid of Dan's mask...in fact, the thought it was pretty darn funny!

Our previous stroller just wasn't working out anymore. It was great for the first few months but the car seat fit into it with her facing backwards. She insists on looking forward now and it was all we could do to keep her from climbing out of it to see where she was going. Time to upgrade. We opted for a jogging stroller and she absolutely loves it....and boy is G'ma excited about it too. They typically go for 2 or more walks every day she comes out to watch Vickie.

We had a little get-together one night with G'ma Sue and G'ma & G'pa Johnson. We decided to let Vickie try a little of our baked beans.......OH BOY!!! To this day, I'm pretty sure this is her favorite food yet. There is so much more to try eventually but we couldn't resist getting a video of her :)

Tackling our first cold :(

2011-10-25T15:30:00.000-07:00

Vickie got her first bug...and a pretty bad one at that. She woke up a little stuffy and 2 days later could hardly breathe out her poor little nose. She had no fever and was still relatively in a good mood...so I went ahead and took her to daycare. Around 10am the daycare lady called me concerned because Vickie was having bloody noses and she wasn't sure what to do. I gave the doctor a ring and he told me to go ahead and bring her in. Over the next hour at work I looked online for possible causes and immediately calmed down. From what I read, unless the nose was flowing with blood, it was probably just a broken capilary. Perhaps I got a little too aggressive with the nose sucker. When I picked her up for her doctor's appointment, the amount of blood was definately exagerated but....

The doctor looked her over, no fever, no ear infection, not in her lungs...just wait it out and she'll get over it eventually. I took her home for the weekend. Not only was it her first time being sick, but we were also home alone all weekend while Dan was out of town. All that hoping and praying that I could take her pain away even worked! By Saturday morning, I was sick as well...and by Sunday night when Dan got home-so was he.

We are all feeling a lot better now, still a bit congested but MUCH better. Here is a video of Vickie's latest milestone...singing!!! Every time we get her into the car, she sings for us :) I figured this was the best video for this post considering the wonderful string of snot put on display at the end of it. Enjoy!!!

Happy 1/2 year birthday!!!

2011-10-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

22-25 Weeks....almost 1/2 year old!

2011-10-06T12:45:00.001-07:00

Vickie will be 6 months old next week and we are hoping to do a photo shoot this weekend. Since I plan on making a 6-month blog entry, here are a few pictures I didn't want to forget to share...
I've been holding off on doing much traveling for work. G'pa has been handling all of the IABTI Regional conferences this fall. I do plan on going to Tampa, FL in November though. Last year in Witchita, they had a silent auction. Being as pregnant as I was, no one wanted to outbid me on this pacifier (with the IABTI logo). I was convinced I was going to have a little boy but won it anyways...boys can wear pink right? Well I found it while going through some of her stuff and couldn't resist taking this picture for her G'pa to show off at the trade shows :) And the pink ended up working out perfectly!

I'm loving the babylegs! Had to get a few pair...and have a few more on order :)

Vickie seemed pretty interested in her Dad's motorcycle while visiting him in the garage the other night. What better opportunity to get a picture of her on it. Don't worry, I cropped myself out of the picture and was holding her there.

She is doing so well at sitting up all by herself now. We prop her up with the pillow, not necessarily because she needs it, just because she gets so pissed off if she falls over. She definitely does not want to be on her back while playing anymore. She either rolls over onto her stomache or tries to sit up. I cant wait for her to start crawling which I'm sure she's only a couple of weeks away from doing.

I can't wait to see what we come up with for her 6 month photos. Dan is actually planning on pulling out his camera! I don't think there are any Vickie pictures on it yet. The cell phone camera is nice, but the quality just isn't what I'd like it to be.....

5 Months

2011-09-14T13:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe we are 5 months old already. I'm probably going to find myself saying this every month too :) Here are a few highlights from the last couple of weeks.

The house Dan and I live in is also the house I grew up in as a baby. When I was about 7 or 8, we moved next door into the "new" house and the old mobile stayed as a rental for many years. 7 years ago, my father gave us the option to rent-to-own and a month after Vickie was born, it was finally paid off. Anyways, there has been a notorious "Hot Tub" photo of my sister floating around for 27 years and I thought it was time we duplicate it. Vickie is much bigger then Jess was but I can't wait to duplicate more photos like this. As you can see, not much in the bathroom has changed in over 30 years-lol.

Before Vickie was born, my sister found an inflatable saxophone that I put away and completely forgot about...until this weekend. Couldn't resist this shot! Like mother, like daughter :)

We've been working on sitting up all by ourself. She still has a tendency to fall to one side, but usually only when she gets distracted by "something cool over there". It's amazing how fast she is developing now.

Grandma T has taught her a new trick and she is forever sticking out her tongue at us...she thinks it's pretty darn funny!

Vickie is not just rolling over onto her stomache anymore...she's rolling across the room. You turn your back for a second and she's gone! I give her a few more weeks before she is officially crawling since she can now get up on her knees and scoot a foot or two. Rolling is just so much quicker though.

We have stopped with the midnight feedings and Vickie is doing great with it. I still have to get up a couple times during the night to give her a pacifier, which puts her immediately back to sleep. The problem is that her nursery is on the opposite end of the house and the baby monitor wakes me up so easily. I'm going to make an attempt over the next few nights to just go ahead and turn it off. I know that I will wake up if she is doing more than just a little fussing and it's about time she pacifies herself back to sleep...especially now that we know she isn't waking up starving anymore.

We have also been experimenting with foods. She enjoys her rice cereal and now boiled/mashed carrots. Last night she would much rather had my steak and is reaching for everything on everyone's plate. I let her chew on my eaten corn cob last night and she loved it. I also let her taste some pasta salad, olives and mushrooms. I am going to try introducing a new food (not just a taste) at least once a week, beginning with veggies. After she gets a hang of it, we'll introduce some fruit but as more of a desert to begin with.

Again, it's amazing how fast she is developing at this stage in her life. I just hope I don't miss anything BIG!

19 Weeks

2011-08-23T08:27:00.000-07:00

It seems like every week we have milestones now. Vickie is growing up so fast, I'm beginning to fear I'll miss something. Thank God for cameras!!!

We decided to pull out the high chair. Vickie has been doing great with holding herself up and is very clear that she doesn't NOT like laying down to play. She hasn't tired of her play mat quite yet, but if she can be at eye level or even standing up-she's much happier.

I've been following a blog (Aprill 2011 Mommies) since I was a couple months pregnant. It's fun to hear everyone's experiences, see their baby pictures, get their advice, and see what the latest and greatest new toys are. I think I enjoy the baby toys as much, if not more, than Vickie does. This is the O'Ball and nothing is cuter than her getting a good hold and sticking her tongue through the holes-talk about an entertaining chew toy!

Vickie has been downing a good 6 oz or more during each feeding. She was also sleeping through the night up until recently when she decided she is starving in the middle of the night. I have pretty much given up on breast feeding and we've switched to formula. I really wanted to breast feed until 1 year but am having a really hard time keeping up. I'm lucky if I can pump 4-6 oz during a full day at work and she's eating between 18-24 oz while I'm gone. It's a little disappointing but she's healthy, happy, and getting the cutest little rolls around her ankles. We decided to see how she would handle her first solid foods and started with a little sweet potatoes. I don't think she is quite ready for it yet but she definitely found it interesting. We won't rush the solids, but with the way time is flying by...I'm sure we aren't too far off.

Vickie loves the river bar...heck, she just loves water in general! We like to take the dogs swimming and she loves to squeel in delight as the dogs jump in the water. How exciting!!!

Every thursday for a little over 2 months now, we've been taking Vickie swimming in Aunt Judie's pool next door. The chlorine levels are very low and it's indoor and heated. She loves it and after talking to the doctor during her 4 month appointment, we decided to go ahead and dunk her under water for the first time. She took it like a champ and will be swimming in no time. (p.s....the coughing you hear in the video is actually Trixie in the background, gulping down the pool water...not Vickie choking)-LOL.

The last milestone that has happened over the last couple of weeks is that Vickie can roll over. I keep trying to catch it on video but she isn't wanting to show off for us yet. She gets so upset once she's on her stomache and hasn't quite figured out how to get rolled over onto her back again. Hopefully I'll have another video by next week...too cute to see how mobile she is becoming. She'll be crawling before I know it!

4 MONTHS!!!

2011-08-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

Vickie turned 4 months old yesterday...the 11th. It's amazing how fast time goes by. It seems like just yesterday I was still on my maternity leave. We visited the doctor yesterday too for her 4 month checkup and shots. She weighed in at 13.06 lbs and 24 1/4" long. She is still in the 50th percentile, which according to my mom, is right where I always was as a baby too! She took her shots like a champ-poor little thing. I was waiting for her to get fussy about it later in the evening but jumped on the baby Tylonol and she did just fine. She even slept through the night (3rd time this week). She's been sleeping a straight 9-10 hours and I'm definitely feeling a tad bit more rested because of it...not going to jinx it though!

Our doctor did give us a referral to an optometrist to have her eyes checked out. I've noticed lately that her eyes have been severely crossing whenever she looks at something up close or is tired. Doctor said this is normal at her age as her eyes are adjusting to seeing things a little differently. It freaked me out the first couple of times she did this! What is not normal, however, is the left eye that has always been a little lazy. I didn't even notice a lazy eye until I got curious and looked for it in all the pictures I've ever taken of her. It's not too big of a deal, just better to be safe than sorry and have some reference when she gets a little older. And unfortunately, I am sorry....for the lazy eye runs in my family-and between Dan and I, she is doomed to wear glasses one day whether she likes it or not :)

Vickie Sue's 3 Month Photo Shoot

2011-08-10T10:38:00.000-07:00

A month or so ago I took Vickie into Sweetpea Memories for a photoshoot. I was given a gift certificate from everyone at work and decided it was about time I used it. She was in great spirits and is quite photogenic if I say so myself :)

17 Weeks

2011-08-09T09:16:00.000-07:00

This last week seemed to have just flown by.

We had a diaper explode on us at the swimming pool thursday night...who knew those things were filled with a jelly like substance that stuck to everything. Fortunately I found out that it's just a water base and not harmful to anyone. Needless to say, we ordered a cute new bathing suit with a built in diaper-and tie dye!!! I hope to have it by thursday's swim so I can take some pictures.

This outfit has been hanging in my closet for a few weeks now. Vickie's cousins Sara, Alissa and their mom Vickie Rothenbuhler dropped by for a visit and had a few presents to give. Well, Vic is finally big enough to wear it and I couldn't help myself but to pull out the camera for a mini fashion show. She was being a little ham and having a very smiley morning!

Last night we actually slept through the night! We headed to bed around 8pm after her bath and last feeding. She didn't wake up until 6am-WOW!!! Of course, I was up tossing and turning at 4am just waiting for her to wake up, which she never did. Dan went in to get her and change her diaper-but she wanted to be fed-NOW!!! She threw quite the fit but he brought her to bed and we got her fed and she passed right back out again. Just long enough for me to actually get a morning shower in, get ready for work, and snap a really cute picture of papa's morning time :)

We decided to try out a new girl as a nanny three days a week. She is young (18) but very sweet and very good with Vickie...and Vickie just loves her. Unfortunately she has to go back to school in a couple of weeks but I've got a feeling that we may at least have a local (within walking distance) babysitter for future nights out. I also now have a little more time to research some daycare facilities in Sedro Woolley and get her into a place I know she's gonna be well taken care of.

16 Weeks

2011-08-03T13:21:00.001-07:00

Vickie is now 16 weeks old, only a week away from 4 months. A lot has happened over the last week or so.

I officially killed our television set. I decided to repot a plant that I kept on top of the set and over watered it. Needless to say we were ready for a replacement after that. We finally bit the bullet and got ourselves a 40" flatscreen and it is hard to keep Vickie's eyes from being drawn to it. Here she is sneaking a peak at a Stargate episode while thinking she was passed out in my arms. Yup, she's apparently into sci-fi too.

I have been following an online forum for April 2011 Mommies and I had heard about these Wubbanubs for months. They were apparently designed for premature babies in the hospital and help keep the pacifier from falling out of the baby's mouth. They are kind of like beenie babies as there are so many to choose from. I finally found one online and Vickie absolutely adores it! I'm already looking for a second/backup wubbanub, perhaps a giraffe.

Ta da!!! Vickie is not only taking a bottle, she's now taking one from me. Talk about a little bit of freedom now. I have had to start supplementing a little formula into her day. With 2 15 minute breaks and a 1/2 hour lunch at work, I am only able to pump about half of what she eats during the 8 hours I'm gone. It's a little disappointing not being able to exclusively breast feed, but she is one hungry little girl. The best thing about all of this is that Dan is willing to help out with the early morning wake up/feeds. I have no problem getting up with her at 3-4am, but the 6am is a killer and Dan is always awake anyways. Here's to an extra hour of sleep every morning!!!

This last Sunday we decided to have a girls all you can eat lunch at the Olive Garden. This is where that bottle came in really handy! When Vickie started to get a little fussy (of course right when our food showed up) I was able to ask the waitress for a little warm water and made up a bottle for her right there. She sucked that thing down and was ready for a nice long nap during the ride home. It had been exactly 16 weeks since we last had this lunch together....I went into labor that night :)

All in all, Vickie is doing great! Dan even watched her after work yesterday so I could have myself a much needed break/night out with the girls. It's nice to know that she is able to be a little more independent of her mother and that Dad can now step in and help out more often. She is also rolling onto her sides and has discovered her feet in the last week or so......time flies!

2 More Weeks have flown by...

2011-07-27T14:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe time flies by so fast! I've been back to work now for 3 weeks and it's actually kind of nice being busy-even though my day goes by faster and my evenings at home only include a few hours with Vickie. The babysitting is going great. Grandma T comes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Jasmine comes on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays. Vickie is doing great with both of them and I can't believe I fretted so much over whether or not she'd take that bottle. In fact, I'm having a hard time keeping up with the amount she is eating while I'm at work. We have had to supplement about 4 oz of formula a day just to keep up with this growing girl.

Anyways, here's our week 14 and 15 shots. The last one I couldn't resist-bringing back the duckie theme :)

Week 14

Week 15

Comparison

Victoria Sue Johnson

2011-07-12T15:52:00.000-07:00

Well I'm finally back to work after a 3 month maternity leave. I haven't been able to update my blog since I have no internet access at home. So, quite a lot has happened.

Victoria (Vickie) Sue Johnson was born on April 11th, 2011 at Skagit Valley Hospital. She came into the world at 6:30pm and was 6lbs, 7oz. My water broke along with my first (and very strong) contraction around 11pm on the 10th. I woke up Dan and gave him a chance to shower and wake up a little bit....but then we needed to go, and now! By the time we got to the hospital my contractions were about 2 minutes apart and I was almost 3 cm dialated. We waited for about an hour before they got us into a room and gave me an epidural. From then on out, it was a waiting game. We slept through most of the night quite comfortably. They finally had to induce me around 4pm on the 11th since it had been so long since my water had broken. Around 6pm I started pushing and out she came...a beautiful baby GIRL!!! (we waited to find out the sex-so glad we did!)

We were sent home on the afternoon of the 12th...sore and tired. Come to find out later that her OP birth caused a fractured tailbone and crushed urethra-something that I am still struggling with but slowly getting better every day. These 3 months have gone by so fast, much faster than I ever expected them to go. I'm back to work now and Vickie has been spending the last couple of days with G'ma Johnson and doing great! They both have made the process of returning to work so much easier on me.

Anyways....here's the pictures from the last 13 weeks (4 months)

Day 1Week 1

Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Week 8 Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13

A couple of my favorite pictures

2011-04-05T10:22:00.001-07:00

Here are a couple of my favorite prego pictures that Aimee took after my baby shower earlier last month. I am so grateful to have such talented friends :) I'm also glad to have had the opportunity to have these done. Thank you again Aimee, they turned out beautiful!!!

A few nursery pics

2011-03-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

Well, the nursury is finally ready for our little arrival...only 3 weeks away now (or any day really). We stripped the panelling, reinsulated, put up sheet rock, painted, put up wall paper and got all the furniture. It was a little stressful for me wanting it all done before the baby showers, but Dan was very patient and everything is finally ready to go. I keep popping my head into the room, just to put a quick smile on my face :)

Baby Showers

2011-03-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

I had two of the most amazing baby showers ever. I am so fortunate to have such wonderful family and friends in my life. This baby is definitely going to be surrounded by love and support.

Thank you again everyone!!!

The most AMAZING homemade cake ever!!! Strawberries, cream cheese & chocolate.

Addie's wonderful uturus pinata

Family!!!

Beautiful!

The perfect shirt :)

Getting closer....

2011-03-03T11:23:00.001-08:00

I found this great application for my iPhone called "What to Expect When Your Expecting". Not only do I get weekly updates on the babies progress, a comparison to a fruit or veggie and a count down to my due date, but I also have the option of taking and storing a belly shot every week. So, without further ado, here are week 8-32. Only a few more weeks to go, and boy am I ready!!!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T11:00:00.001-08:00

Here are a few pictures from this year's Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I always love the holidays and the time we get to share with our family. Bring on the New Year!!!

Jess & G'ma Svege

I can tell they want to smile....but they wont!

Yes, this bottle was nearly the same size as Mom :)

Must have been good!!!

Flashlight wars

Steven (Dan's brother)

Dan got a new ice bucket for his bar

Sam & Frannie...cousins from Florida that I only get to see once a year.

A great picture of Aunt Judy....with her eyes open :)

Cousin Evan & girlfriend Marissa

New York City 2010

2010-11-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to spend a couple of days in New York City. This is my second time there, but actually had more than a day to walk around. Note to self....it only take 2 days to see New York-then you're done! I got to travel with my good friend Ross, one of our distributors out of Australia. He flew to the US to attend a few trade shows with me and get his feet a little wet with the Law Enforcement industry. We had a blast and I can't wait to go again, but it looks like I'll packing away my suitcase for a while, at least until the baby is old enough to be looked after by Dad :)

Walkin' across the Brooklyn Bridge. We were taking the subway to Ground Zero but ended up missing our stop. Fortunately, it was a beautiful walk back into the city.

We took a boat tour (3 hours) around Manhatten Island. It was amazing and I'm glad we decided to go on Sunday since the weather turned out a lot nicer than the day before.

Ellis Island

You can see the crane in the background where Ground Zero is located.

The USS Intrepid

Never seen so much pink in one place before :)

Ross and I decided to check out a comedy show Saturday night. This is the same stage you see in the Seinfield episodes.

Wall Street

Ground Zero. Last year when I visited, there was a barrier up preventing anyone to take pictures. Luckily we found a skywalk this time around.

Times Sqare

Mmmmmmm.....Chocolate!!!

If you ever get lost in New York City, just look up and head in this general direction :)

Something cool in Huntsville, AL???

2010-09-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a trade show in Huntsville, AL. It was a week long and not all that bad. This is the first time the venders were allowed in the class with the EOD group and it was really interesting! Other than that, Redstone Arsenal, and the Space Museum, there really wasn't much in Huntsville to check out. We had the day off on Friday and I spent all morning trying to find something to do via Google....We found Harmony State Park. It only took us about 15 minutes to drive through, but at least I got a couple of good pictures. Also, across the street from our hotel was a park with a pond full of Koi!!!

Here's the highlight of my week in Alabama :)

Da Ducks!!!

2010-08-25T14:36:00.000-07:00

So, Dan and I decided to get some ducks. We saw an add for them in the Acme post office for $3 a piece. Turned out there is an 11 year old boy in town who raises them and sells them....we ended up with 8 :)

We initially kept them in the spare bathroom's tub until we could get their pen and house built. They suggest you spend at least the first 2 weeks getting them comfortable with you before letting them go outside. It was a messy job, but you have to admit they are pretty darn cute!

Dan spent the weekend clearing out all of the blackberry bushes behind the house...he actually pulled each one out by the root!!! And guess what....

There was a propane tank back there! LOL (we knew it was there, but it sure was hidden well)

Then it was time to build the house. Luckily the fencing that my parents originally put in when they lived here was still pretty intact. We just moved it around a bit and added some support.
Dan really outdid himself on this one...it looks great! Not only are the ducks growing like crazy, they are also much happier being outdoors, enjoying the rest of the summer sun.

It's official!!!!

2010-08-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

Well, finally, after nearly 2 years of trying.....we're pregnant!!! Well actually, just I am :)

I made an appointment on September 21st for my first ultrasound appointment (8 weeks), in between my Alabama and Denver trade shows. I'm going to be traveling a lot this fall, but I promise to take it easy.

All in all, I feel great. I am 5 weeks along, my due date is 4/20 (appropriately so-Dan's kid afterall), and really don't feel pregnant at all....other than having to run to the bathroom every hour. So far I haven't gotten sick at all. I get a little tired at times and have a few minor cramps but nothing worth complaining about-yet :)

I'll try to keep everyone up to date on what is going on and how I'm feeling. I hope to also post the video Ty and Aleasha took of my Mom finding out the great news....wow!

Thanks for all the congratulations. We couldn't be happier!!!

Where It's Warm-Part II

2010-07-28T14:29:00.001-07:00

Dan and I just got back from a wonderful vacation down to California to spend the weekend with his mom's side of the family. We took off on Thursday morning, myself driving with Dan's parents and him meeting us down there friday night on the motorcycle. We got to spend the entire weekend playing around the pool, spending time with aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. and then left monday morning for a long ride home. We headed from Sacramento over to the coast, but after waking up in Eureka, decided it was too cold and headed east again. We finally made it home wednesday night, sore and tired. It was a wonderful adventure but next time I'll definately plan on both spending more time with the people we love and giving us more time to ride home :)
Here are some great family photos I took.

Les and Makayla, Dan's second cousins. We picked them up in Tulalip and they rode down to California with myself and Dan's parents. They plan on staying a while through the summer.

Sisters....Dan's mom and Aunt Leslie

Dance party around the pool

Monica, G'ma Kit and Uncle Chuck

I loved this statue of Uncle Chuck's....looks just like my aunt Gretchen :)

G'ma Kit....I'm hoping that she'll come spend Thanksgiving with us this year. I've finally got enough air miles for a free round-trip ticket into Bellingham for her. This woman is absolutely amazing :)

Where it's warm!!!

2010-06-02T15:54:00.001-07:00

So I just got back from a trade show in Tucson, AZ. I got back last friday and it hasn't stopped raining since...apparently, it never stopped while I was gone either. I tried to bring the sun home with me...I really did, sorry everyone.

Anyways, here's a few pictures. We flew into Phoenix and drove to Tucson on Saturday. We attended the show at a beautiful resort called the JW Marriott Star Pass Resort until Wednesday when we drove to Albuquerque, NM for a demo with Sandia Labs. We had a chance to travel to the top of Sandia Mt. in one of the largest air trams in the world prior to our meeting. Afterwards, we headed back towards Phoenix for a flight home on friday. Lots of driving but definately worth it. I even got to push the button and blow something up in the field!

Dad and I went for a nice 4-5 mile hike around these hillsides one morning before we had to set up our trade show booth. It was gorgeous!

The pictures above are from my hotel room in Tucson. Below are pictures of our trip up the air tram in New Mexico, overlooking Albuquerque.

I have to say I truely loved the landscape in Arizona and New Mexico. Sure, there isn't a whole lot to looks at-sometimes it seems like you're staring for miles at absolutely nothing...but it definately grows on you. I can't wait to go back-hell, I can't wait to be warm again!

East Coast Trade Show

2010-05-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

I just returned from visiting New Jersey & New York. Dad and I attended the NY Tactical Expo in Verona, had a live demo day with the New Jersey State Police and had the opportunity to spend a day walking around New York City. I thought I'd share a few pictures from our trip with you all. Enjoy!!!

Here's our booth at the trade show.

New Jersey Shore

The ammo (Demo day with NJSP)

The Rothenbuhler 1669 Remote Firing Device

Central Park

Times Square...one day before the car bomb was found!

The Empire State Building

The site of the former World Trade Towers

Rothenbuhler Engineering provides the initiation device for the Texas Stadium implosion!!!

2010-04-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a great shot of Dad (on left), i.e. the president of Rothenbuhler Engineering and Jeremy Stafford (on right) with Ideal Supply. The kid in the center is Casey, who won the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese essay contest to hit the fire button which initiated the blast, bringing down the old Dallas Cowboy Stadium in Irving, TX.

Here is Dad making a video of the stadium before the implosion:

KM&C News...a much speedier version of the stadium coming down:

And last but not least...here is the long, drawn out version...fireworks and all on Fox News4:

What an awsome opportunity for our company and the Remote Firing Device we manufacture!!!

Almost Spring???

2010-04-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

My family keeps harrassing me about keeping my blog updated...so, here are some very random pictures for you all :)I've been so impatient for the weather to start clearing up and getting my garden started...that I decided to get a little ahead of the game this year.
Jemma has definately been enjoying the fact that she can go play with the neighbor dog for a couple of hours after we get home from work. Thank goodness the garden hose is no longer frozen!!!The boyz??? Well, they're cats :) But they did get a couple of new beds from G'ma & G'pa Johnson.
...and sometimes they like to help me out with the laundry.

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY LITTLE BRO!!!

2010-02-22T11:22:00.000-08:00

So for his 21st birthday, Eric wanted us to take him to the Tap House. They have over 160 beers on tap and what better place to take our gradually-becoming-a-beer-snob brother :)

We let him try the sampler, had a great lunch, checked out the only brewery in Bellevue which just happened to be right next door and hopefully gave him a great day to remember. Got to love the parking spot we got right across the street as well.

HAPPY B-DAY ERIC!!!

Ha Ha...caught ya with your mouth full!

The birthday cheer!

MMmmmmmmmmm....great food!!!

Feelin' it :)

The Rock Bottom Brewery, Bellevue WA

Great parking job...and spot-LOL!!!

Our Bedroom Remodel

2010-01-12T13:37:00.000-08:00

Well, Dan finally talked me into remodeling our bedroom. I've been hesitant to start a project this big and have it sit forever unfinished, but he promised me we'd get it done during his winter break-and we did! We started by tearing out all of the old paneling and mouse ridden insulation. We then put up sheet rock, added some neat effects to the corners and window sills, then painted. We were going for a Mexico theme and I think it's turned out great so far. So for those of you who have been hearing so much about it, here are some pictures for you :)

My brother was a big help...especially when it came to the real dirty work...i.e. removing the old stuff!

.....and on to wall number 2, 3 & 4.....

The all the corners in the room were now rounded, including around the window sills.

Next came the texture and the paint. Instead of spraying on the texture, Dan used a roller and it turned out perfectly.

Bright yellow primer prior to the bright orange paint :)

White window sills, power outlets, etc. made a beautiful accent.

The Nutcracker weekend

2009-12-15T10:13:00.001-08:00

So, for my mother's birthday/X-mas, she really wanted to see a ballet. Dan and I decided to get her tickets to see the Nutcracker in Seattle. I got two tickets, a hotel room and a weekend to spend alone with my mom. It was great!!! The view from our hotel room...only a block away from the Seattle Center.
Another view from our hotel room...walking distance from the ballet and easy enough to find.
On sunday morning Mom and I hopped on the monorail and headed down to Pike Place to do some Christmas shopping. We had a great lunch at the Fisherman's Wharf and made it back to the hotel just in time to beat the afternoon traffic and make it home before it got too late.

Another great Thanksgiving hosted :)

2009-12-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

I love hosting Thanksgiving dinner...and every year it gets not only better, but a whole lot less stressful. Oh yeah, and I got my own gravy boat this year - LOL!!!

Dan's mom Teri and myself

My mom Susan and Aunt Gretchen

Jemma did, indeed, get some leftovers...what a good girl and oh so patient!

-Thanks for the great pics sis :)

Some randomness....

2009-11-13T16:21:00.001-08:00

I finally got around to taking some photos off my camera...here are a few cute ones from the last couple of months.

He's gonna kill me for this one! He's always denied ever having a mullet...until my cousin and I put her wig on him-LOL

Dad's new puppy Madie...a few too many???

The day I brought home our boyz Phaedrus and Phineus. They were so small and I can't believe how fast they grow.

Phaedrus catches his first mouse! Soooooo proud :)

Dan's been spending lots of time landscaping around the sauna...and getting the waterfall going again as well.

IABTI mascot tattoo....our trade-show pics from Wichita, KS

Below are the pics from our trade-show trip to Baltimore, MD

Anyways....more to come, I just didn't want everyone to think I've given up on blogging :)

The Boyz

2009-10-13T13:53:00.000-07:00

Well, Dan and I have been talking for some time about getting another kitten. It's been a year now since we lost our Charlie, and even though we could never replace that little dude it was time to fill that empty space. I really wanted to get a pair of sibling kittens...they'd have eachother to play with while we were gone and hopefully keep eachother close to home. I found these guys on Craig's list and unfortunately I ended up having to make a very difficult decision...which 2 of the 3 :(

I ended up chosing the little tabby on the right, he was the runt of the litter and had quite the personality!

Anyways...here's our new additions....

Phineus (white) and Phaedrus (tabby)

Colorado-Part 5

2009-09-08T13:36:00.000-07:00

After our first evening camping in Almont we decided to ride through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. On our way there we stopped to check out Curecanti National Rec Area. They said that this canyon carries some of the oldest rock in the world at over 1 billion years. Needless to say, Dan had to take home a piece. There was also a great display of the Denver & Rio Grande that once passed through the Gunnison.The Canyon was incredible! I must say though that it was difficult to stop at every view point, change out of our riding gear, then put it back on just to ride around the next corner and stop. It definately can become a little fustrating wearing so much gear in such heat. We also rode down East Portal Road into the bottom of the canyon. It was incredibly steep, lots of turns and I do believe Dan enjoyed himself a bit too much :)

The next morning we decided to head towards Vail and find a nice place to stay. Unfortunately, the prices were pretty steep and the two brewerys we were planning on visiting were no longer in existence. We decided to skip Vail and head to Dillon. This was my first experience getting stuck in heavy traffic on the back of the bike. It was hot as hell and the 35 miles we needed to travel took us nearly an hour and a half! We couldn't wait to get to our destination, find a shower and relax!

Dillon was a town very close to Frisco, our first destination when Dan picked me up from the Airport. We knew there were a couple of brewerys in town and fortunately the Super 8 that we checked into was within walking distance. We had an interesting evening walking in the wrong directions, getting a bit lost, getting great directions that really lead us astray but eventually did find what we were looking for. The first brewery was called Pug Ryan's Brewery & Steakhouse. The last was called the Dillon Dam Brewery where we had a great dinner and a few beers.

After Dillon, we decided it was time to check out the town of Breckenridge. Dan and I stopped through for breakfast one morning on our way south to Manitou Springs near the beginning of our trip. We wanted to treat ourselves and check out the town. The first thing we did was hit up the visitor information center to see if we could find a reasonable priced place to stay for the night. She told us of a little Bed & Breakfast/Hostel called the Fireside Inn. It was only a couple blocks from downtown Breckenridge and they just happened to have a room available....for only $88 bucks!!! I will definately be recommending this place to anyone who visits the area. Not only was the room cheap, but we were in a huge loft overlooking the entire town, had a great breakfast and internet access to pay a few bills. They even had a handmade hot tub...I believe out of an old beer cask that was very neat. Check out their site-this couple was incredible!

I really enjoyed Breckenridge. The people seemed very friendly, there is a ton of things to do and see and I can't wait to come back and actually hit the ski slopes some winter.

Colorado-Part 4

2009-08-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

While in Colorado Springs, we were told that we had to pass through Guffey...a very eclectic little town with an interesting history! According to Wikipedia, Guffey is semi-famous for electing animals Mayor, although such an office does not officially exist. According to local folklore, the two main political parties in Guffey are called the "Democats" and the "Repuplicans".
The last known Mayor of Guffey is a cat named Monster (elected in 1998). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guffey,_Colorado

We headed south towards a town called Salida and a brewery called Amicas. While we were there and planning our evening and route to Crested Butte, we started talking to a few locals about hot springs. There were a couple springs that were suggested and one in particular we thought we'd check out. Unfortunately, the resort-type establishment was not as secluded as we hoped and we decided to move on. We were led across Cottonwood Pass and told to be careful due to the gravel coming down from the top. It wasn't nearly as bad as we thought and a beautiful ride! I also got my first taste of taking pictures while on the back of the bike :)

As we were checking out campsites, and desperately looking for one with a shower-we came across a dam. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures considering our good friends Gabe Taylor and Cynthia Park just got married.

We opted to get the first campsite we could find and after unpacking, then head up to Crested Butte for dinner. We were told that there would be a shower at a campground in Almont. When we found it, it was completely deserted and had secluded sites, but it was right on the river. We couldn't pass up how beautiful and reasonably priced it was.

The brewery we had intended to hit up had been closed down for a few years but we found a great pizzeria with a HUGE selection of beers to try out. On our way back to the campsite we spotted a bear running through an alley in town. It was too dark to take any pictures but at least I can finally say I saw one....in the wild???

Colorado-Part 3

2009-08-21T10:11:00.000-07:00

After having a great breakfast with Rachel and Sean and saying our goodbyes, we headed towards Florissant. Since the bluegrass music didn't start until that evening, we decided to check out the Florissant Fossil Bed National Monument. Unfortunately, we didn't stay too long or even take part in the miles of hikes available to us. It was too hot and I think the elevation was starting to take it's toll on both of us. We did manage to see the best parts, the petrified redwoods that were up to 14 feet wide and fossils that painted a picture of a prehistoric Colorado.

As you are coming into the park an old homestead is open up like a museaum for all to see. The story is actually very interesting. "The Hornbek homestead complex, the home of a strong, determined woman who came to the area with her four children in the 1870's. Claiming land under the Homestead Act, Adeline Hornbek defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a prosperous ranch." Here's more of the story: http://www.thefencepost.com/article/20090326/FEATURES/903239994/-1/RSS01That evening we had a wonderful time listening to the bluegrass music. The actual festival itself didn't start until Saturday, but Les was nice enough to invite us for the open mic/practice session the night before. We got to see pretty much the entire show-and didn't have to pay :)

We also had the opportunity to spend the evening drinking with Les & his friends and listening more music around the campfire until all hours of the night. It was difficult to get a picture because it was dark...but perhaps you can see the Santa resemblance I was mentioning in my last blog entry. Check out his band on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Florissant-Fossils-Bluegrass-Band/70606847963?v=wall&viewas=7426646544#

Colorado-Part 2

2009-08-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

So, our next stop was Colorado Springs. We were pushing the limits with the back tire of the motorcycle and were in desperate need of a replacement by the time we got into town. Fortunately, we found a shop, a reasonable priced tire in stock...and didn't have a week long wait to have it put on. We also had a great place to stay that evening.

Thanks to MySpace, I have managed to get back in touch with a lot of old friends. One of them was Rachel Haddock...who just happened to live in Colorado Springs. I sent her a note letting her know that we'd be in town and that I'd love to see her again and she offered to let us pitch our tent in her back yard. It was great getting to meet her husband and little boy Finn, as well as reminisce of days long ago :) Thanks again Rachel for letting us spend a couple of days camped in your back yard...and I promise to continue to keep in touch.

There was a beautiful park next to Rachel's house and there was live bluegrass music there the night we arrived. Unfortunately, about 5 minutes after getting to the park, a huge storm cloud rolled in and the rain hit us hard. It was nice to be walking distance from anything and everything worth seeing in the middle of the city. We were even able to park the bike for an entire day and get a much needed 6+ hours of walking in.

One thing we really wanted to see was the Royal Gorge Bridge in Canyon City which is the world's highest suspension bridge. We rode a half a day there and back just to find out that not only is the bridge kept out of sight by man-made walls, etc. but it is a park charging an unrealistic amount of money just to get through the gate. Even on our way out of Colorado Springs we thought we'd try the south entrance, just to get sight of the bridge from afar and snap a picture....but again, no can do. Here are some pictures that I found online-i.e. what we were hoping to see.

We promised our friends Tom and Steve (the social workers we met in Frisco) that we'd give them a hollar once we got into town and we'd try to get together. Unfortunately, Steve was unavailable but we met up with Tom and his significant other at a great brew pub called the Phantom Canyon Brewery. The food and beer was incredible as was the company. We'll definately have to keep in touch with these guys too. Oh yeah, and thanks for dinner Tom!

Another place we had to see before leaving Colorado Springs was the motorcycle museum. We finally found a little building next to the Harley Davidson shop that definately didn't fit our idea of a museum...that is until we walked in the door.

On our first evenings in town, we walked a few blocks down the street from the house and into a little hole-in-the-wall bar that just happened to be having an open mic. We had ourselves a few drinks and met a musician named Les (he called himself More or Less-lol). He got on stage and played some great old country standards as well as a bit of bluegrass. The man looked just like Santa Claus and had the beaming personality to fit that description. He told us of a bluegrass festival in Florrisant and invited us to come and camp with some of his bandmates and other musicians in a private campground behind a bar called The Thunderbird. It sounded like a great opportunity to meet some new people and hear some great music at the same time...and who can pass up free camping. Dan and I decided that we'd leave Colorado Springs friday morning to arrive in time for the night-before-the-festival open mic and bonfire.

Colorado-Part 1

2009-08-07T12:54:00.001-07:00

I've got lots of pictures to share, so I'll have to break up my posts a bit...enjoy!!!

Dan was fortunate enough to have his vacation roll-over in the middle of July, so he got an additional 2 weeks off. We decided that he would take off a week prior to me, I'd fly to Denver to meet him, fly back two weeks later, and then he'd ride home. Here he is taking off on the morning of the 4th of July.

Between here and when I meet up with him...he's got his own story to tell :) You may have to login, but here is the link to his forum: http://www.yamahafz1oa.com/forum/showthread.php?t=95331

Here's our first campsite together in Colorado. After Dan picked me up from the airport in Denver, we headed to the town of Frisco and set up camp on the lake. We set up next to a couple of guys named Steve and Tom. They were retired social workers having their annual guys weekend and we hung out with them all evening. They were both from Colorado Springs and we made plans to meet up with them again once we got there. Talk about a great, and drunken, evening meeting the locals.

By monday (also our 2nd anniversary) we decided to treat ourselves to a motel in Manitou Springs. There were quite a few things that we wanted to see close by, so we decided to check in for a couple of days. Downtown was definately a tourist trap, but very neat. There were random springs built throughout just like in the two pics you see above. The people were very eclectic, the houses were beautiful, the parks were incredible!!!

The Garden of the Gods (p.s. Addie, I did remember to tell them about the $ owed-lol)

Dan and I both found it kind of funny that we hopped on the bike in order to see the Garden and the Cave Dwellings...in the end, both were probably within walking distance of our motel room. Oh well, gave me practice on how to get my riding gear on and off in 100 degree heat :)

One of the things I loved the most about Colorado were the rain storms. Of course some can be a bit scary, especially while going over a pass or riding up Mt. Evans. What I loved most is that it can be hot as hell, a cloud will come over just to cool you off for a few minutes, and then disappear into nothing. Unlike back here at home where when a cloud rolls in, it stays for weeks at a time. Here's the bike getting washed outside of our motel and a few storm cloud pictures I couldn't help but take.

Here are a few pictures of the Cave Dwellings....and a few more taken around town before we decided to move on.

Great food & beer, interesting shops, a penny arcade with new & old/antique games and Marimont Castle.

4th of July 2009

2009-07-09T09:12:00.000-07:00

This year my cousin Adrianne and I headed out to our good friends Ty and Aleshea's place on Samish Island. We got to their house just in time for the parade to go by. I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures :)

Coming home from California

2009-06-25T12:50:00.001-07:00

It's amazing how quickly your garden can grow while your gone for a couple of days. I got to come home to salad and strawberry beds jammed packed, lilies in the bloom, over-ripe radishes and sod on the roof of the sauna. Yes, we are finally ready to plant our sod roof :)

Dan oviously busted his ass while I was gone....and I thought there was going to be a wall torn out of the house when he said he was working on a project-lol.

Anyways, here's some pictures.

I can't believe how quickly these strawberry starts grew. Thanks Judy!!!

A mix of red romaine, lettuce, swiss chard and spinach

Unfortunately the slugs seem to be really bad this year and my lilies have been suffering from it. Out of 5 zucchini plants, only one has survived :(

We aren't quite sure what we want to plant yet. A little research into shallow rooted, year long living plants and we'll be set. The layers under the dirt include foam, gravel, straw and a lot of dirt. Dan actually carried all this up a ladder with a couple of 5 gallon buckets. Kudos hun!

Joshua Tree National Park

2009-06-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had a chance to explore and Dan convinced me that I had to see a Joshua Tree while I was here...and hell, it was only an hour drive. We got about half way through the park before Dad realized our rental car is on empty and the "out of gas" light is on. We had to turn around and head back out of the park. I did get a few great pictures though. Not only were the trees incredible but the potential for rock climbing were just as inspiring!

IABTI 2009 in La Quinta, CA

2009-06-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I get to spend the next week in a half at this beautiful resort in La Quinta, CA. I'm actually here for work....no, really!

IABTI stands for the International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators. We will have a vendors booth set up for the entire week to display, and hopefully sell a lot of our Remote Firing Devices to the Bomb Techs and Swat Teams from all across the US as well as abroad. Believe it or not, it can at times actually be fun to hang out with cops

Anyways....here are some pictures of the resort. I haven't covered the entire 42 acres that it spans, but then again, I'm not all that much into golf or tennis. Later this evening I will post the pictures I took when we went to Joshua Tree National Park. Gotta enjoy those few days before the show starts.

This is just one of the many beautiful courtyards around the resort. I wish my flower gardens looked this perfect.

I love the cactus gardens around here...and have been getting some great rock garden ideas!

All of the rooms at this resort are a sort of house of thier own. Each building has 2-4 rooms with their own patio and unique look to them.

This little guy actually came into my room when I left the door open....said "beep beep" and ran off-LOL. It wasn't until our trip this morning into Joshua Tree National Park that I found out they are called the Greater Roadrunner.

Weekend planting...

2009-04-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

We hit up Thompson's Nursery on Highway 9 and splurged on some plants for around the pond and my rock garden. I also made some very nice planter boxes to hang on the sauna :)

...and one for Charlie

Dan worked on some landscaping and got the waterfall going again. I love being able to open my bedroom window and hear the water running at night when I sleep, especially now that the weather is nicer. I couldn't resist this beautiful addition to my rock garden...it's called a weeping larch and will eventually become a ground cover as well.
More random plants to finish off my rock garden.

Now I suppose it's time to start thinking about pulling out the lawn mower :(

A BEAUTIFUL WEEKEND!!!

2009-04-06T08:58:00.000-07:00

This weekend was gorgeous! On Saturday, Dan and I took off on the bike for a ride around town. We finished off the evening at my sisters house for chicken curry-yum!

On Sunday, I had this crazy idea that I wanted some raised flower boxes to plant strawberries, lettuce, spinace etc. in. I have been sick and tired of the left over mess from building the sauna and thought...what a perfect place. The grass was dead there anyways and it's one spot in the yard that gets near all day sun. So, since I haven't blogged in a while-I took pictures along the way.

This is what I had to start with and the mess I've been staring at since we finished up the sauna.

After the clean-up. I saved most of the plasic, not sure why, but I'm sure it will come in handy somewhere.

This is my general idea. I found some rotting wood in Dan's shop and played around for about an hour trying to match up pieces and figure out where I would place everything.

Ok, boxes are in, landscaped and one filled and planted with spinache and lettuce. Hmmmm, gravel would look nice and my Dad just happens to have a huge pile of it next door :)

OK....Exhausted! But only one more box to fill. I'm getting a great workout pushing this wheel barrow around.

FINISHED PRODUCT!!!! Yeah! Now it's monday and I am incredibly sore....and....sunburned :)

Feels great to get something so big accomplished on my own, in just a day. I cant wait to see what our next beautiful, sunny weekend will inspire me to do.

Snow & Floods...the sauna survives :)

2009-01-28T08:36:00.000-08:00

We've so far had a pretty exciting winter and fall...between the snow, rain and floods. We're hangin' in there though. My question is whether or not this last week or two have been the calm before another storm or whether we've seen the grunt of it. I guess only time will tell.

Gutters??? Who needs em'

2009-01-05T08:50:00.001-08:00

It's truely been nice to have a white Christmas but I have finally reached the point where I'm looking forward to some warmth. Unfortunately, the weight of the snow and ice on our roof has created a project for us come this spring.

2009!!! BRING IT ON!!!

2008-12-31T14:11:00.001-08:00

Memories of 2008...

Rothenbuhler Family Reunion

Dan's new toy :)

Great friends made....

....and lost :(

New Riverfront Ampitheatre in Sedro Woolley ....and playing with a new group of friends... The Joe Coleman Band
Traveling...even if it has to be for work (Chicago/Vegas/Florida)
And best of all....the sauna!!!

All in all it's been a good year and like many of the last few, have gone by way too fast. I'm looking forward to what 2009 will bring!

A WHITE CHRISTMAS??

2008-12-19T07:40:00.000-08:00

Well the snow has arrived. We have been blessed with about 15 inches of fresh white goodness and I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M STILL COMING INTO WORK!!! Anyways....a few pictures for you :)

A Christmas Tree

2008-12-12T08:41:00.000-08:00

So, Dan and I have never really had a Christmas tree in the years we've been together. I guess since we always go elsewhere for the holidays, it's never really been a priority. This year my Dad decided that the tree he bought was a little small and asked if we'd like to have it. It is a live tree and will be a nice addition to our yard next spring. We found our way down to the Dollar Store for a few lights and tinsel but really didn't have any ornaments to hang on it....that is until Dan got a great idea and pulled out some old toys :) We now have a motorcycle Christmas tree-imagine that! LOL

Jemma wasn't too impressed with the rawhide tennis ball we gave her....or perhaps it was the antlers.

R.I.P. Little Dude!!!

2008-11-11T12:43:00.001-08:00

A little over a week ago I took Charlie into the vet because we could tell he just wasn't feeling very well. He seemed lethargic and wouldn't eat. After hundreds of dollars worth of blood tests we had a probable diagnosis and without a very expensive liver biopsy, all we could do was treat him for Suppurative Cholangiohepatitis.

"This is a syndrome seen primarily in cats and infrequently in dogs. All breeds of cats can be affected, although the incidence is greater in the Himalayan, Persian, and Siamese cat. Cholangiohepatitis usually occurs in middle-aged animals, and males appear to be at higher risk for the suppurative form. Cholangiohepatitis is an inflammatory disorder of the bile ducts and adjacent liver tissue. It is one of the more common liver diseases seen in cats and is recognized only infrequently in dogs."

We were given some high protein cans of food, steroids and an antibiotic. Our only hope was to force feed him enough for his little body to absorb the medications, and recoup enough for him to go into a state of remission.

Charlie just seemed to keep going down hill. The feedings were draining him and he was getting weaker and weaker. On Monday morning he died in Dan's arms. He seemed to have waited for us to wake up so we could all say our goodbyes. We buried him near the pond and sauna and will never forget the wonderful 2 years we got to spend with the little guy. He was too young, and it's not fair....but I would never take back a moment of that time we had with him!

RIP little dude.

View Album

Get your own

FINALLY!!! Fired up for the first time :)

2008-10-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

We finally fired up the sauna for the first time on Sunday night...then again last night :) The benches aren't completely done yet but definately usable.

Dan is putting on the finishing touches of the inside door handle.

Next step came putting in the chiminee. Turned out beautifully, especially the pipes that we found lying out in the woods that were originally a part of our house.

Dan starting our first sauna fire :)

It's a burnin' and ready for some friends....*hint* *hint*

I'm trying to talk Dan into doing a birthday/sauna party at the end of November. Hopefully everyone can join us and enjoy the wonders of SAUNA!!!

Thanks again to everyone who helped us out. I'm sure there will be a few more pictures of finishing touches.

More sauna...

2008-09-19T16:36:00.001-07:00

So Dan's Dad has been making these beautiful baskets. He finds rare wood, cuts each individual piece, sands them down, glues them together-then typically just gives them away. He definately keeps himself busy between coming out to our house to use wood working tools and putting these together. Well, he decided his job would be much easier if he had a planer :)

Here's what the planer can do....can we say "cedar benches for the sauna" YEAH!!!
The cordwood is complete, the river rock wall is complete, and the fireplace has been moved from the garage to the sauna. All that's left now is installing the pipe for the stove and building something to sit on. Oh yeah, and planting a roof...I think I'll wait until next spring to decide what to put along with the sod.

Cordwood Complete!!! ....for the most part.

2008-08-27T11:01:00.000-07:00

So this last weekend, Dan and I finally finished putting the last bit of mortar around the outside sauna walls. We got soaked and muddy in the process. Did we actually ever get a summer this year? We had about 1-3 inches to the roof to complete where we stuffed real insulation in rather than the sawdust/lime mix we had been using. As we were admiring our work we notices a small hole in one corner on the backside of the sauna. Unfortunately a little mouse made his way into the wall and didn't want to be entombed. He even stuck his head out a few times taunting us. In the long run, we left the hole and will return to that ordeal at a later time.

Dan also decided he needed an easier way to park his new motorcycle in the garage. It's a bit of a hassle to pull out the Jeep, then the bike, then repark the Jeep, etc. twice a day. So, he cut a hole in the side of the garage for another door that he can just ride through. Don't worry, the climbing wall is still intact :)

A Few Thank You's!!!

2008-07-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Quite a bit has happened since I last posted a blog and I wanted to send out a word of thanks to a few people.

After 4th of July weekend, on monday, I woke up with a terrible stomache ache...nothing I couldn't get through so I headed to work as usual. By lunchtime I asked Dan to take me home because I wasn't feeling well. We hit the AM-PM for gas and as we were pulling out of the parking lot I just had an instinct and had Dan take me to the doctor instead of home. My physician had me a bed at Skagit Valley Hospital by 4pm that evening for a few blood tests, CAT scan and hopefully some pain medication for my aching belly. I told him I had a few too many drinks perhaps over the weekend and we were hoping it was just intestinal issues. The CAT scan showed my appendix at approx. 8-9mm when it should be 5mm yet I was showing no typical signs of appendicitus. I had no fever, my white blood cell count was normal and the pain in my stomache was up near in my ribs. Needless to say it took nearly 5 days for the two doctors (my PCP and the sergeon at the hospital) to finally decide to take my appendix out, they definately had conflicting ideas. Just when my PCP was giving me my first taste of food in over 3 days and sending me home, the surgeon ordered an ultrasound and a decision was made immediately. I woke from surgery around 2am on friday morning and was released around noon. Luckily my appendix never ruptured and the incisions (3 that look like cat scratches) will leave no scars.

I wanted to thank everyone for the flowers, the visits, the kind words and especially Dan who didn't want to leave my side for a second!

Bergonia from Jim & Terry Johnson (Dan's folks)

Lilly from Dan

Assorted arrangement from Dad, Marsha & Jasmine

Assorted arrangement from Jessica & Ian

Assorted arrangement from Rothenbuhler Engineering....sorry guys but
Jemma got the teddy bear :)

Definately worth it-LOL

A couple more thanks to throw out. This weekend Dan and I worked a little more on the cordwood for the sauna....almost done!!! We wanted to do a little something to recognize those people who went out of their way to help us out.

And, last but not least.....thank you to Skagit PowerSports for talking Dan into spending so much money on the bike of his dreams-I do in fact have the happiest husband in the world right now!

The Sauna Roof & Door

2008-06-23T10:04:00.001-07:00

So this weekend Dan finished the decking for the roof and built a beautiful door. My sister's husband Ian was out to help and made some great looking hinges for the door as well...they sure add a great finishing touch to the overall look and feel of the sauna. Thanks Ian!

With the roof on...even without the snow blocking completely finished....sure helps the light shine through the bottle logs. They really glow now!

Here are a few shots from the sauna roof. You get a great view of the entire yard now.

Here is Dan working on the sauna door.

We had a huge magnifying glass sitting around the house...Dan couldn't resist adding it to the door. It's neat, when you look out on the yard from inside the sauna, everything is upside-down and backwards :)

The door is on. You can see the neat hinges that Ian made and the cool peep hole Dan added.

Nice work guys!!!

A Roof For The Sauna

2008-06-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

Dan spent this last weekend putting up a roof on the sauna. There is actually a bit of an echo in the building now....how cool!!!

The Joe Coleman Band

2008-06-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

We had a great night last friday playing in a neat little place called Paso Del Norte in Blaine, WA. My cousin grabbed my camera and took a ton of pictures that I thought I'd share with everyone. We'll be playing again at the Blue Mountain Grill in Acme on the 21st and a possible gig on the 27th at JazzBones in Oak Harbor. The Joe Coleman band is turning out to be a lot of fun...and the music has really been coming together!!!

More Garden & Sauna

2008-05-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

Dan and I attended to Sedro Woolley Rotary Auction on the 2nd and won this beautiful Chinese Wisteria. It took me a long time to figure out where I was going to put it but found these two trees desperately wanting a friend. A neat addition to my garden and all the procedes from the auction went to different charities throughout Skagit County.

I had a few more round cinder blocks lying around and decided to add another little garden bordering the pond. It will also (hopefully) prevent Jemma from trampling my day lillies to get a drink...too much of an obsticle.
I was extreamly excited to find this plant...I have never heard of it before. The label says it's called Borage. Apparently the entire plant is edible, even the beautiful blue flowers that come back every year. Even better, the entire plant tastes just like cucumber. I can't believe I haven't discovered this one yet and am looking forward to adding that little something to my salads.

So here is how far we've come along with the sauna. I know many of you had the opportunity to see it up close on the 17th...and again....thank's for coming out! I thought I'd take some pictures for you of the bottle logs we've added. We also had to take the canopy down since the walls were actually getting too tall to work around it :)

Charlie has been our little building inspector. He shows up periodically to make sure we aren't breaking any rules and putting the logs where they are supposed to be. He has been curious from day one and will appear from his cat naps about every hour.

Some odds and ends that Dan thought would look neat. The face is glued to a jar so the light illuminates through the eyes very well.

A partially completed bottle log design. The mushrooms came from the cork on a Patron sampler.

Our mountain is finally complete. I loved this idea and the sun in the corner made the finishing touches. Since we got married on top of Lassen, we felt this was a neat design to incorporate.

As you can see we are nearly finished getting the walls to the level of the doorframe. It definately gets more difficult when ladders have to be used. I figure one more weekend before putting on the roof....YEAH!

More of the Sauna

2008-05-02T12:50:00.000-07:00

Another weekend of sauna building...and very little rain. Believe it or not I got sunburned on saturday and then woke up to snow sunday. You've got to love Washington :)

Needless to say...I was all grins when I discovered that Dan added a little

something to the design.

Our pile of logs are definately diminishing. I'm pretty sure we'll have plenty though.

Jemma was too tired out from hunting all morning to harrass us with the ball. She made a good supervisor throughout the day.

At the end of the day we had the walls about shoulder high.

Thanks again Gabe for helping Dan out on Friday!I'm trying my hardest not to ignore my gardens. I even bought a New Zealand Flax and managed to get it into the ground at the corner of the pond about 1 1/2 weeks later.

The Sauna continues...

2008-04-21T12:45:00.000-07:00

Well we finally began building the cord wood walls. It's a lot of work but a lot of fun as well. We are realizing how dificult it is with a short selection of log sizes but we are making it work. Over the last 3 weekends we have finally managed to get a full circle of walls about waist high....YEAH!!!

In between the morter is a mix of lime and sawdust which acts as an insulation throughout the walls of the sauna.

The first logs....all set in place.

I hope we will have enough cedar to finish the job :)

We use a technique called "pointing" to smooth out the morter...accomplished with a slightly bent butter knife and a lot of patience.

Dan's parents (our fan club) keeping us on track. We mixed all the morter this time around in a wheelbarrow rather than the cement mixer. With both Dan and I switching off mixing-it goes pretty quick.

We had a bit of a gap between the door frame and the large rounds we used, so we figured what better use for all the obsidian we brought back from Oregon with us.

Another VERY productive day and 1/2 of the sauna walls on it's way.

This weekend...4/19-4/20 we got to wake up to SNOW!!! Luckily it was completely melted away (about 2 1/2 inches) before noon and we were on our way to starting the other side of the sauna.

Well we've come long way. I can't wait to start adding some decorative bottles, etc. once we get to eye level or so. All in all, it's going pretty quick. I think we got through 5 or 6 wheelbarrow loads worth of morter just yesterday and boy am I feeling the workout this morning. Keep checking in...I'll definately keep everyone updated.

P.S. On Saturday I went to the Whatcom Humane Society and adopted a new addition to our little family out here. Her name is Abby, she's a 6 year old Torti who just can't get enough attention. She doesn't like to be picked up but insists on being in your lap or under the covers cuddled up to you at night. Charlie still isn't too sure about her so he spent most of the day as our building inspector rather than hanging around indoors with her.

The beginning.....A Sauna story

2008-04-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some samples of cordwood structures. I found these pictures on the internet and they seem to shows our basic idea for our sauna, including the sod roof:

Okay then....

So last winter Dan and I started collecting fallen cedars, stripping the bark and cutting them to size. We finally have enough rounds for our cordwood constructed sauna....

Since the sawdust is needed in the morter mix...we salvaged as much as we could while cutting up the logs. I think Dan only put one hole in the tarp...impressive if you ask me.We found a lot of rot in some of the rounds so, those will be cut up and used if needed. We are pretty sure they wont be now that we can see just how many cedar rounds we ended up with. We carried and stacked them all near where the sauna is going to be built.The sauna is going to be located behind our pond...back where there will be plenty of privacy. Dan started off by preparing the area for a foundation. Gabe came out and was nice enough to help spread gravel and dig a drainage hole.
The next step was to create the form and prepare to pour the footing. We borrowed a cement mixer from a coworker and hauled 15-20 bags of concrete a day home until we had enough to complete the task. We mixed and poured one bag at a time. Dan's dad and our friend Jason came out to help but it really ended up being a 2 person job. Our neighbor Derek came out and kept Jemma (our dog) busy with the ball the entire day.
It definately wasn't easy forming a perfect and level circle but the bricks at the end were a huge help and exactly 8".
I'd say it took us about 4 hours to finish things off and luckily the weather held up for us. It didn't rain as expected but boy was it a chilly day.

I just realized that I didn't get Jim (Dan's dad) into our group shot :(

Now....on to the foundation...

Again, Dan's dad, Jason and Derek were there to help. Also, the night before, my friend Terry and her boyfriend came out for the evening and stuck the following day to offer their help as well.
It's amazing how well alcohol and concrete mix!
In all reality....Dan's Dad was the one doing all the work-LOL
So, we have a foundation! We have a huge pile of sand and another of sawdust laying in our front yard covered by tarps. We have the lime, a nice collection of Sky Vodka bottles etc. and all the cedar rounds we'll need to finally start building the structure. Dan also managed to pick up the perfect stand alone wood stove that will fit perfectly. I'll post more pictures as we go. We're getting closer every week to the relaxation offered by A SAUNA!

Spring Yet???

2008-03-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

It's been snowing throughout the county this morning...a week into Spring! I thought I'd take some pictures of buds & blooms throughout my garden....the coming of Spring, ya know? I'm pretty sure most will survive this frosty couple of week-it's the fruit trees I'm a little worried about. I can't wait to get started on the vegetable garden. Warm weather and sun.....please come out and show yourselves!!! MMMmmmm.....Chives!

The first sign of Rubarb

Day Lillies I think....
it is amazing what I'm finding after weeding out this corner of the yard:
Tulips :)

Wildflowers...seeing the light of day for the first time since the clearing.
I had no idea these would come up-beautiful, but not sure what they are yet.

This little tree was buried under about 2 feet of weeds...I think he likes the fresh air but you can tell he'd been sad for a long time :(
And...last but not least...
3 yards of mushroom compost for our soon to be vegetable garden.

Birthdays

2008-03-20T13:33:00.000-07:00

Well I thought I'd try to nab some embarrasing pictures of my Dad and his wife during their birthday parties. We had a nice lunch get-together at my Dad's house for his 53rd birthday and had Marsha's 60th at Lorenzo's in Sedro Woolley....lot's of fun!

Preparing the meal & mixing drinks...

My Dad's sister Judy...and a great picture of her!

Puppy Playground...Max, Riley, Zoe, Rusty & Jemma

I'm not sure what Dad got but he sure seems thrilled!!!

Happy Birthday Marsha!!!

She's gonna kill me when she sees this one :)

New Orleans

2008-03-12T09:24:00.001-07:00

Quite a few people have been asking me how my trip to New Orleans went....so I thought I better share with everyone. I actually visited on business for a trade show: ISEE (International Society of Explosive Engineers). Talk about timing too....Marti Gras!!! I have to say-it's fun but you get burned out on Bourbon Street really quick. Anyways, I also got to spend some time volunteering for Habitat for Humanity and learned how to frame a house. I can't even begin to explain the emotions I felt between being inside city and once I entered the devistated areas. One thing I can say is that for the most part the debris is clearing out, things are being rebuilt and the overall attitude is "IT'S OK-COME BACK" among the locals. Here's some pictures for you.

Our booth at the show...my Dad with Jeff

Some work....lot's of play! My dad definately seems embarrased by something.

A collector of beads....this is about how many I brought home with me. There were about 3-6 parades a day and each float throw beads at you. If you don't want to get hit in the face, you must catch them.

Getting Bourbon faced on Shit Street-LOL

My good friend Jeff....let's get a closer look at his Marti Gras beads: He's gonna kill me when he sees this picture.

Good ol' Bubba Gumps...Dinner with our friends Gary & Susan Jerke

The Metalic Man

The Ninth Ward...the debris (destroyed homes) cleared and a park plan in the works. In the background you can see the dike that has been rebuilt. This is all that is left....for miles!

My day working with Habitat for Humanity

Fish Tank Remodel

2008-03-05T11:31:00.000-08:00

Well, Spring is almost here!!! I can't wait to start digging in the garden, planting veggies and most of all....getting that sauna built. In the meantime, Dan decided it would not only look neat but would also save us a lot of living room space if we mounted our 80 gallon fish tank into the wall. So, here's what we've been working on for the last couple of weeks...my house may be a mess but it is sooooooo worth it!

Here are the before pictures after the paneling has been stripped between the bedroom/closet and the living room.

The fish tank has been moved into the bedroom closet and the framing begins.

Yeah, real walls-no more paneling! I can't wait to get rid of this god awful wood grain throughout the house. One step at a time.

I think we'll just stick to painting the wall white until the whole room is ready to change color.

Gravity Canyon video...The Fox

2008-01-04T10:59:00.000-08:00

Finally, I managed to get the video added of our zipline ride at Gravity Canyon in New Zealand. Hopefully it will work.

Enjoy!!!

12/25/07...Back to the USA

2007-12-31T14:45:00.000-08:00

We got a knock on the door by Crawford around 6am...a little hung over and very tired. We got all of our stuff packed up and set off around 7am for Auckland. Christine and Crawford gave us a Pukakie for our garden and they loved the framed picture of Mt. Rainier we gave them for Christmas. Dan managed to stay awake for half of the drive and I took over the rest. We arrived at the airport in Auckland at 10am with plenty of time to have breakfast, check in, etc.

We ended up with a delayed flight in Sydney that caused us to miss our flight once we reached San Francisco. The next flight available was at 4:30pm which we waited for (due to snow in Denver) until almost 8pm. Needless to say, we should have arrived home around 5pm but didn't until 1am...Merry Christmas to us. But hey-at least it was on the way home and was the only complication we really came across during our entire 2 weeks in New Zealand.

So, since I have no more pictures to show you....here are a few notes I took during the trip:

1. There are 2 buttons on the toilets...one is for half flush, the other for unclogging :)

2. The light switches are backwards...or ours are. On is off, off is on-caught me off guard a few times.

3. You rarely see yellow lines seperating two lanes of traffic...similar to our one-way streets.

4. When ordering coffee: a tall black is not a black coffee...it is a shot of espresso with hot water added to it. A tall white adds milk.

5. "Wh" is pronounced "F" as in Whakarewarewa, Whakapapa, Whakatane but not as in White Island

6. Spa bath...not hot tub

7. French dressing is actually more like a sweet ranch and ketchup is called tomato sauce (also much sweeter).

8. They looked at me funny when ordering a dark beer...they thought I was ordering for Dan who already had a drink. Women don't usually drink dark beer...or beer really.

9. Jandels...not quite sandals, not quite flip flops. I never did get a straight answer to this one.

10. Someone actually said "wicked" to us. I haven't heard this since high school :)

12/24/07...Maori Carvings/X-mas Eve party

2007-12-31T14:14:00.000-08:00

We got to actually sleep in a little bit this morning. We had a small breakfast and hitched a ride into town to finish up the last of our shopping. After walking back to Christine & Crawford's place we got to meet some friends of theirs from Australia. We all headed back downtown and caught a tour boat to take us all out on Lake Taupo. This is actually the same boat that Christine and Crawford got married on. We finally got to see the famouse Maori carvings (which we later found out were carved in 1980 :) It was nice being out on the boat, nice sunny warm day, having a few drinks and enjoying new friends.

Dan & Christine

Crawford and Paneit (spelling?)

Christine & Isaac

That evening was spent sitting around the outside patio drinking a lot and probably being a little too loud for the neighbors. Before we knew it, it was after 1am and Christine came out to remind us that we needed to hit the road in 5 hours for our flight back home. We honestly should have just stayed up all night-it might have been easier. It's been a long time since I've had so much fun with people I have never met before. After leaving I felt like I had known them all for years.

Dan & Garith

I couldn't resist showing them this one :)

Thanks again to everyone for making us feel at home! Our visit ended way to quickly.

12/23/07...The Luge

2007-12-31T13:59:00.000-08:00

We spent today on a road trip with Christine and Crawford. Our first stop was in Rotorua to play around on the luge. First you head up the mountain on a gondola, then you grab a luge, chose 1 of 3 paths, get to the bottom, and then take a chair lift back up to the beginning. It was a lot of fun but I was too chicken to take the pro track. I let Crawford and Dan race down that one. No one came back bloody either.

After the luge we went out to lunch near Mt. Maunganui. It was a prime surfing spot but the weather wasn't really warm enough to go swimming. We also drove through a city called Tauranga. It was a beautiful area.

When we returned to Taupo, Christine's son Isaac and girlfriend showed up for dinner. We hung out, had a few drinks and then Dan and I got to soak in the secret spa tub down in the basement. I wish we had a hot spring under our house.

12/22/07...Gravity Canyon

2007-12-31T13:32:00.000-08:00

This morning we stopped in Paraparauma and had breakfast on our way back towards Taupo. The beach was beautiful and had a great view of Kapiti Island. We walked along the beach a bit and also visited the small farmer's market they had set up in town.

So, while in New Zealand everyone has to at least bungy jump right? Well, we decided to do the Fox Fall at Gravity Canyon instead. You basically get tied up to a cable, thrown down a canyon over Waikato River, connected to a cable at 160km/hr and HAVE A BLAST!!! We ended up getting a dvd of the whole ride so there will be a video added here by the end of the week. You can watch me scream :)

We made it back to Christine and Crawford's house in Taupo around 7:30pm and then were taken to a X-mas BBQ at one of the neighbor's houses. We showed up and actually saw Crawford singing drunken 90's Karaoke songs. Talk about a sight to see. We made it back and crashed out around 11pm. It takes alot out of you to have so much fun in one day :)

I was surprised to hear that no one called to find out if we got caught in the earthquake. I guess it was felt quite a bit even here in Taupo...just not on the South Island where we were staying.

12/21/07...Back to the North Island

2007-12-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

We checked out of our hotel around 10am and had until almost 3pm to get breakfast, do some Christmas shopping and see Picton before catching the ferry to Wellington. While on the ferry we were watching "Dirty Jobs" and they actually had an episode on about Diego's in Bellingham...how cool was that! And what are the chances.

We were planning on staying in Wellington for the evening but practically had a panic attack just trying to get out of the city limits. I swear it was worse than driving in Seattle-add to that, driving on left side of the road. We decided to stay outside of town instead in Porirua which had an Irish pub that actually didn't know how to make an Irish coffee. The food was great though.

12/20/07...Punakaiki

2007-12-31T12:48:00.000-08:00

We headed north out of Greymouth towards Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks). It was beautiful but I couldn't believe how rude and pushy some of the other tourists could be. You'd literally get shoved out of the way while your busy shooting some photos. It was worth it for the sights though.

We stopped at another beach just north looking for penguins. We didn't find any of them but did manage to find a few cat's eye shells. They are green and white and very expensive when sold in the stores and galleries. We were glad to be able to get them home. They are actually attached to the snail and acts as a door that closes up when the snail wants to be left alone.

On the way to Picton we stopped for lunch. I had to take a picture of this hamburger...I should have taken one while Dan was actually eating it LOL!We stayed in a hotel in Picton and had a visitor (we called Charlie 3) who stayed with us all night. It was nice to have a cat sleeping on the bed with us again....felt almost like home and made me realize just how much I miss my animals. Tomorrow we catch the ferry back to the North Island.

12/19/07...Hanmer Springs

2007-12-28T10:57:00.000-08:00

Hanmer Springs was a blast! We went for a 2 hour ride on 4-wheelers across the mountains and got REALLY muddy and wet. After our ride we had lunch, a few beers and then soaked in the springs for another couple of hours. Each pool had a different temperature and they seemed to go on forever-never did sit in each one. Apparently, according to our friends in Taupo, Hanmer used to be a place you'd go to sober up. They laughed because it's odd to hear someone say they visited Hanmer without being a severe alcoholic. Now it's just a hotspring resort-and a very nice one at that.

We were so relaxed after the springs that we both had a hard time staying awake for the drive to the west coast. We stopped for coffee but only made it as far as Greymouth. It is so cool to see the Tazman Sea finally. There is a great little lookout here and I got quite a few pictures of the town.

12/17/07-12/18/07...North or South?

2007-12-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

This morning we got on the road and headed south on Hwy 1 towards the Moeraki Boulders. About 1 1/2 hours into the drive we decided to turn around and head back north. We decided that there were too many things to see north of Christ Church and didn't want to spend our whole time on the South Island driving. So, we headed towards Akaroa. Along the way we stopped at a place called Birdlings flats. It's a beautiful beach, warm and windy! The whole beach seemed to be made of skipping stones. It's well known for its gemstones and of course we had to go look. On our way to Akaroa we stopped at a cute little place called the hilltop Cafe in Little River. The view of the city we were headed to from this cafe was incredible! We took the scenic drive and found ourselves a really nice hotel with a double spa (and a couple bottles of wine-how romantic!). The next morning was spent looking around Akaroa. We visited the Blue Pearl Factory, Fire & Ice Gem Shop, the Akaroa Museum and Naturally Jade. I was hoping to swim with the Hector dolphins but the weather wasn't cooperating with us and the water was way too cold. I thought we had our fill of rock and gem shopping....that is until we left town and decided to stop again at Birdlings Flat. We weren't quite sure if what we found the day before was "green stone" (jade) and jasper but after talking with some of the shop owners found out we threw away some expensive rock.
Not only did I collect an entire box of sea shells along the way but we also saw a baby seal on the rocks. He was a little shy but we managed to get a few pictures of his nose while he was hiding from us. Afterwards we headed towards Hanmer Springs.

Can you see him?

12/16/07...Christ Church

2007-12-27T08:50:00.000-08:00

Well, we made it to Christ Churh. We started out by visiting the botanical gardens. We had only planned on staying for an hour or so but it was so beautiful and big that it took us hours just to get through it.

Cunningham House

Townend House

We also visitied the Canterbury Museum while there and barely scratched the surface of the place. It was huge and we were definately ready to move on (back through the gardens of course). I'm still not sure how much of that museum we actually saw but I don't think 1-2 hours got us through half of it. It was neat seeing the displays for the first Antartic expeditions....equipment used etc. Here's a few more flowers I couldn't pass up taking pictures of.

Peacock Fountain

We drove around town and found a Gondola ride that took you up to the top of a hill overlooking all of the city. It was beautiful and they had a little cafe at the top where we had lunch.

Before the day is over we headed off looking for the Kiwi Wildlife Experience (a flyer we picked up in the giftshop). Willowbank was really neat with a ton of wildlife to see. We had a baby duck follow us all around the park (we called him Charlie 2) and finally got to see a Kiwi. Unfortunately, like the glow worms-we couldn't take any pictures. They were there though-I swear!

A long day and a ton of pictures taken. I can't wait to see what else the South Island has in store for us.

12/15/07...White Island

2007-12-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

We started off again really early this morning...6:30am for White Island. We said our good byes to C & C since we wouldn't be seeing them again for a week. We though we were going to miss our boat because of a damn bike race. I couldn't believe the city of Rotorua would put in all these bike lanes just to have the racers insist on riding in the middle of the lane. Three of them would ride side by side even when a semi was trying to pass them around a corner. Crazy!!! We made it to the boat 5 min late and very stressed but it turned out that everyone was in the same situation so the boat waited.

Leaving the port towards White Island (Lady of the Sea)

White Island was amazing! When you got to the island they handed you a hard hat and a gas mask as precaution. Everything was warm and beautiful. On the way back we got some pictures of some dolphin that were having fun swimming in the boat's wake. To give you a perspective....those are people in the middle of the crater

This is part of the remains from the first mining colony on the Island

We stayed the night in Rotorua and the hotel was not a very pleasant experience. We spent the extra money to have internet and a hot tub. We ended up without a connection, a Christmas party in the pool room until after 12am (I ended up soaking my sore legs in the bathtub in the room)...a broken alarm clock and annoying drunks screaming and hollering in the courtyard all night. We catch a plane at 9am tomorrow for Christchurch....can't wait.

12/14/07...Tongariro Crossing

2007-12-17T13:16:00.000-08:00

We left this morning for Tongariro crossing at 6:30 am. A shuttle bus came and picked us up at the bottom of Christine & Crawford's driveway. We were dropped off at the trailhead at 8am and told we'd be picked up at the other end at 4pm. The first half of the hike was really tough and my legs got incredibly weak.

Slowly and surely I finally made it to the top where we had lunch at Emerald Lakes. There had to be close to a thousand people all doing this hike at the same time. It was about 800 meters of elevation gain-beautiful day (overcast but still hot enough to give me a great sunburn). The rest of the hike was a gradual downhill stroll and we finished the hike by 2:50pm. (17km or 11 1/2 miles long) We took C & C out to dinner at a place called the Mole & Chicken and I discovered that I love mussels!!! They are green here-how cool....yum!

Tomorrow we head off to White Island and then flying to Christchurch. I can't believe how much we've accomplished in just a couple of days.

12/13/07...Waitomo Caves & Etc.

2007-12-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

We left for Waitomo caves around 10am. We stopped at lunch in Te Kuiti and saw a beautiful roadside park with on Oriental theme called Memory Gardens. We began by seeing Aranui cave and finished by seeing the glow worm caves. They were absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately I could not capture any pictures of the glow worms...no cameras allowed. There were these cool bugs all over the cave walls...I cant remember what they were called but they were 3-5 inches long-not including their legs-watch your back!

On our way back to Taupo we stopped off at a Wildlife refuge with some neat birds, some I have never seen before.

We stopped to pick up lunch for tomorrow's hike and then went to bed early to prepare for our Tongario Crossing hike.

12/12/07....Rotorua

2007-12-13T22:10:00.000-08:00

Well we got a bit of a late start this morning...due to our evening of trying to drink Crawford and Christine under the table. We left for Rotorua around 10am and stopped by a little cafe for breakfast. The town smells just like sulfer and you notice this even before driving into the city limits.

After breakfast we decided to be tourists and hit up Whakarewarewa Village. We saw the traditional Maori demonstration, saw the way their people have been living among the hot springs and found some great souvenier before heading back to Taupo.

We stopped again at Huka Falls since the first time over we didn't bring cameras. Talk about beautiful and powerful! There were a couple of other parks we wanted to visit but everything seems to close at exactly 5pm.

Huka Falls

This is a picture of the flax plant growing all over New Zealand. I couldn't resist bringing home some seeds to see if I can grow some here at home. This is also the material the Maori use for most arts and crafts as well as the traditional dress they used in the picture above.

We found a grocery store and decided to cook dinner for everyone tonight....Dan's famous mango chutney burgers. (note: Crawford does not like mushrooms and will not eat a salad if they have touched the lettuce. He also does not like blue cheese which is what makes the burgers so good :)
Our current plan is....
Waitomo caves on the 13th, Tangariro Crossing on the 14th, White Island the 15th then spend the night in Rotorua. On the morning of the 16th we are going to return the car and fly to Christ Church where we will rent another car and drive back to Taupo before Christmas Eve. So, hopefully I will find an internet cafe somewhere on the South Island to keep everyone updated on our adventures.
Till then.....

More Pictures...

2007-12-12T01:06:00.001-08:00

Black swan

Rose garden at the Taupo museum

12/11...First Day in Taupo

2007-12-12T01:06:00.000-08:00

We ended up waking a lot earlier than anyone expected. Must have been all the sleep on the plane (yeah right!). We were able to say good by to our hosts before they headed off for work. e walked about 20 minutes to downtown along the lakefront and found a place to have some coffee and wake up a bit.

We then strolled around, found a book store (had to find a local bird guide for New Zealand), and then headed towards the museum. The rose gardens there were incredible and inspired me to begin a new project in my front yard coming next spring (as Dan's pond continues to grow of course). We also enjoyed part of the museum called Ora-Garden of Wellbeing and it was absolutely beautiful.

After about 3 hours of touring around town we found a pub and enjoyed a few drinks and fries...they serve them with an incredible sauce made of nothing but mayo and garlic....yum! Here are some pictures from the museum and it's rose garden, Ora, black swans in the lake and of course Christine's beautiful garden in her back yard/patio. Enjoy!!!

Hand carved canoe in the museum. They actually had to remove a wall to get it into the building.

After our adventure through Taupo we headed back and picked up a car rental. Once we had some practice driving on the wrong (I mean left) side of the road we did a little more exploring. Christine took us to Huka Falls, Craters of the Moon and a lookout of Wairakei (the thermal energy plant just outside of Taupo). Once Crawford came home they took us out for dinner to a place called Jolly Good Fellows where we had plenty to drink and very ready to finish our day.

12/10...Finally Arrived

2007-12-11T23:00:00.000-08:00

Well, we arrived arund 4:45pm and got through customs without any problems. Of course they did have to search Dan :) After waiting at the wrong luggage claim for another half an hour for our stuff we finally made our way out of the airport to meet up with our friends Christine & Crawford. The flight was long, crowded w/t no room to stretch out. I was just glad our layovers were no longer than 1-2 hours each. At 5:30 we were off to Taupo from Auckland. We took a nice scenic route to the top of a hill overlooking Auckland. Then we went back to Christine & Crawfords, ate some homemade lasagne and crashed!

Unfortunately I don't have access to a very high speed connection at the moment but when I do I'll have a ton of pictures for you all. We have 2 more fun filled days to share. I just wanted to let everyone know we made it here safe and in one piece. Talk to you all soon!

P.S...Good girl Jemma! I see your keeping G'pa busy. Next time roll around in some dead salmon will ya? LOL

This is a picture of Christine & Crawfords beautiful back yard

2007-12-07T09:07:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone...

I have been reading your blogs for over a year now and still have not created my own. I figured that since Dan and I were headed for our New Zealand honeymoon tomorrow evening (12/8/07) I have the perfect opportunity to get started. This will give me the chance to upload the photos I take (with my own camera) and keep a journal of my trip at the same time.
So....here we go....

To begin with, here is what I am forced to leave behind for a whole 18 days. Thanks to my Dad and brother living next door, I know Jemma and Charlie will be in good hands.

The picture below is Jemma in the snow. This picture was taken last weekend and officially shows that we are in the midst of winter. It is freakin' COLD!!!
I can't wait to be in New Zealand where it is the beginning of their summer. Our friends in Taupo said that they are already swimming in the lake. They don't typically do that until the beginning of January. Oh, I can't wait to be warm again :)

So, off we go. I just wanted to again say THANK YOU for everyone who not only took part in our marriage and celebrations...but also those who helped us out finacially to fund this honeymoon. We definately could not have done it all without you!