Luke and Kristin

pictures up of the wee little one

2009-08-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

http://bittyb.blogspot.com

new post!

2009-05-19T17:20:00.001-07:00

http://bittyb.blogspot.com

3D Ultrasound pictures

2009-05-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

We went and had a 3D/4D ultrasound done yesterday while we were in Las Vegas - and this just served to prove what we already knew to expect - our little girl is sassy. We spent a REALLY long time watching her suck on her feet (yes her feet) and her hands... and a whole lot of time watching her cover her face with all 4 of her appendages. Basically, she knew we wanted to see her, so she made it difficult, I'm pretty sure of it. But what we DID get to see of her was cute (if I do say so myself... but I may be a little biased) The ultrasound tech could not get over how big her feet were, how long her legs were, and how stinkin' long her fingers were (maybe she will break the curse of fat little flintstone fingers in our family) she seriously commented on them probably 50 times.
Fair warning - there are a million pictures (only 42 actually, but that may as well be a million) and a lot of them (and I do mean a lot) aren't good - but who has time to organize and go through pictures these days... i decided to just put the whole lot up here, and let you chose which ones to look at.

Oh also, the large elfish looking ear that you will see on her right side (the left side looking at the pictures) is actually her fist - (trust me, I was worried myself) - but i was assured (a few times) that she just had her arm up (again) and that it wasn't an abnormally large terrible ear.
All in all - it was a lot of fun, even though we didn't get many good pictures. It was fun to WATCH her kick as I felt and.. and to have proof that she spazzes out constantly (the tech even commented on how busy she is constantly compared to most, she slept for about 2 minutes of the appointment) It was just fun to have a little glimpse into her world, and see her do all of the things that I feel all of the time. bottom line.. 3 months is a long time to still wait for her!
We have a DVD too, but I can't find a free program to convert it to AVI - so I'm not sure I'm going to be able to post any of the video.... we shall see...

This is her heartbeat, not that exciting

alien?? no, her turning her back on us so we couldn't see her face... look at all those ribs..

this is kind of like one of those trick pictures.. where you have to stare at it really hard to figure out what you're looking at.. it's actually her face, on it's side... cuddling with the placenta (the other way she didn't cooperate, she was constantly cuddling with something so we couldn't get a full shot)

Just a fist... not a large ear...

Both arms tucked behind her head.. those are her elbows sticking out either side

Sucking her thumb..

again.. just a fist.. not a large elf ear...

See both those hands on either side of her face and elbows out in front?? (I do this when I have a headache.. but my mom and I are believing that she won't get migraines like the rest of us.. so I think she was just showing us how annoyed she was with us)

Hand in front of the face... toes up touching her hand... talent really..

If I remember correctly, these are either both of her feet or both of her hands crossed together

Sucking her thumb.. are they supposed to start that this early?

We needed confirmation (now that the nursery is almost done, and we have a ton of girl clothes) that we were indeed having a girl.. i was terrified that she was going to find a little pee pee.. but this is the really obvious between the leg shot.

Sucking on both hands at once.. how about that?!

I'm number 1?? or is she scolding us?? or is she simply trying to figure out how to get it back into her mouth??

In case you can't tell what this is... her head (half of it anyway) is to the right.. and then she is all curled up in a little ball. that left hump is her little butt and the right one is her shoulders, arms and legs tucked under.

NEWWWWWWWWWWWWW

2009-05-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

http://bittyb.blogspot.com

see.. I update every now and again...

new new new

2009-04-27T09:12:00.000-07:00

http://bittyb.blogspot.com

new post post post

2009-03-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

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new post new post new post

2009-03-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

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Ultrasound pictures

2009-03-17T15:18:00.001-07:00

The digital ultrasound pictures are up at bittyb.blogspot.com

ULTRASOUND NEWS

2009-03-17T09:19:00.000-07:00

Ultrasound news is posted on bittyb.blogspot.com

I need your help on the baby blog

2009-03-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

I just posted a new blog on bittyb.blogspot.com and I need your feedback on the content.. pleeeeaaaassssee

a little over 17 weeks - and baby's first trip to Vegas!

2009-03-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

NEW POST AT BITTYB.BLOGSPOT.COM

I dont know why I bother

2009-03-05T09:28:00.000-08:00

I don't even know why I still bother with this blog. But I think most people have this one as their link, so they see when I update this one, but not the baby one (I wouldn't have to post on this one if you would just add the baby site to your list)

but I updated

bittyb.blogspot.com

I really did.

and I have another client submitting an offer today on property, we might actually be able to afford these medical bills after all :-)

new post on the baby site

2009-02-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

I am a good blogger.. see I really am..
I just updated www.bittyb.blogspot.com instead of this one.

such a bad blogger...

2009-02-11T10:56:00.001-08:00

I haven't been a good blogger.. I admit it.

I still haven't posted pictures of our trip to Mexico...

but I did update the baby blog that's a good start right?

Better picture

2008-12-23T10:36:00.000-08:00

I posted this picture on the baby's blog too.. I think it's a nicer image of a 5/6 week old embryo.

New blog - good stuff

2008-12-20T09:10:00.000-08:00

We have a new blog (and we don't update this one very often, so maybe we'll be better about that one) and it has some new news.

www.bittyb.blogspot.com

Change of plans?

2008-10-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Found some better tile for our wall colors..
now... 1x1s or bricks?

Glorious Tile

2008-10-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

I think this one is the winner for our backsplash.

This is what it looks like installed (it's the tile on the bottom, not the solid brown one)

This was the runner up.. I still like it, but it's about $100 more.. and I don't think I like it that much more. What do you think?

Zucchini Gratin Recipe

2008-09-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe for Zucchini & Yellow Squash Gratin a few years ago in a magazine. I made it a couple of time for family and friends, and it was a big hit.

Everyone always asks me for a copy of it, problem is.. I lost the magazine page.
Then I found it, and lost it again...

so I have been dedicatedly searching the internet ever since, trying to find this particular recipe (there are plenty of recipes out there for Zucchini Gratin - they're not the same, and not nearly as easy)

I finally found the recipe. and so that i dont lose it again I have decided to post it on my blog, where I can refer back to it anytime I lose the hard copy (why don't i just put it in my recipe book?)

Plus, now you can all find enjoyment from this wonderful gem.

(and Grandma, now you can stop hasseling me about finding the recipe for you)

Zucchini Gratin

2 Tbsp. butter
3 medium zucchini, sliced crosswise
3 medium yellow squash
2 shallots, minced (***have tried it with and without the shallots, didn't really matter either way)
2 garlic cloves, minced (***I use the stuff already minced from Costco, you should invest in it)
Course salt and pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add zucchini, shallots and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until zucchini is crisp-tender.

Add cream and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 cup panko and 1/4 cup parmesan. Spoon mixture into a prepared 2 quart pan. Sprinkle with remaining panko and parmesan, season with salt and pepper. Bake until top is golden, 8 to 10 minutes.

Update

2008-09-19T11:40:00.003-07:00

So, apparently it's been a long time since I updated.

here's a little review of recent excursions:
(they are all completely out of order because blogger does things backwards, and I wasn't about to take the time to fix them all.. so sorry)

First: Katie's wedding to Nels

Then, Maupin for rafting and Nicolette's birthday:

Then, kayaking with all the little turds:

3rd Time's a Charm

2008-09-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

WATER FEATURE

2008-08-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

I'm at the Reserve at Broken Top holding an open house.. that no one has been to all day..

so.. might as well update the blog (since it's been about a month and a half)

and this is going to be a short one.. but Luke just sent me 3 pictures of the water feature, that is now running.. not finished.. but a WHOLE lot closer than it was before..

This is taken from the middle pond down the stream to the lower pond. Some changes have been made since this picture was taken, but you get the gist.

This is the middle pond (the little one) where the waterfall spills in from the upper pond (not pictured) through the retaining wall. - this isn't how the water will spill in once it's finished, it's temporarily just a PVC pipe until we have a copper fitting made

this is from the bottom pond, looking up the stream

Um...

2008-07-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

So I went from 2 posts in one day to.. no posts in a long time.
I have actually been a faithful Blogger, but when you have 3 blogs its really hard to stay on top of ALL of them, and me and my silly priorities decided to focus on the one for work.
If you HAVEN'T been checking that one, then let me update you on life as of late.
I quit my job.
I started selling real estate full-time.
I took a part-time job as an Interior Design Assistant.
Now, clearly it doesn't take much math skill to see 1 Full-time job + 1 Part-time job = a lot of job

Pretty much, I get up and get to Total Property Resources by 8:00 or 8:30.. work on real estate (which includes updating my real estate blog)
Then I go to Perry Jones designs from 1:00-5:00(ish)
In the evenings I usually continue some sort of real estate related business.
then - Friday, Saturday and Sunday I've been up at the Reserve at Broken Top For the Tour of Homes. (You really ought to come see me this weekend)

I have 2 lot listings up at the Reserve (so if you want a piece of land to build on in the future in a KILLER neighborhood give me a call) and I will be up there in 1 of 2 model homes pretty much every weekend until the end of time holding open houses.

Here are some photos of the Tour of Homes house in the Reserve at Broken Top (built by Pacwest, so you know it's good)

Sorry about the picture quality - I'll buy a better camera after I sell a house.

Dining Area

View of Kitchen from Dining Area

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Master Bath (well the sinks anyway)

Master Shower

Powder Bath (I actually think this is my favorite room in the house)

2nd Master Suite

Bath of 2nd Master Suite

Wood-burning Fireplace with gas starter

Laundry/Mud room.. I wish I had this laundry room.. it's big

I wish I could have gotten a good picture of the Great Room. It's the part of the house that made people "ooh" and "ahh" it's really pretty spectacular right when you come in.

K.. so.. come see it next weekend.

2 posts in one day.. AMAZING

2008-06-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

The planter box is (pretty much) finished!!

Lots of dirt...
Seriously.. so much freaking dirt...
YAY!

This flower is a big deal.. because we tend to kill things.. so I was ecstatic to discover that this day lily had bloomed since we bought it (usually they already have blooms when we buy them.. and then they don't after a few days in our possession).. and I just think it's a really pretty flower.

Trees and sunsets (we've had a lot of great sunsets lately).. well either that or we've actually been awake for them lately.. :-)

6 Steps to Plant Sod

2008-06-25T09:05:00.000-07:00

Step #1 - Tear up the sod that you planted LAST year (which your "adorable" puppies peed on and killed) ... this isn't actually a picture of our yard, it's a picture of the vacant backyard next door to us, but it gets the point across.

Step #2 - Call Lower Valley Turf to place your order, then leave early in the morning to make it to Terrebonne before they close... While on the way, make sure you drive a REALLY old pickup truck so that the transmission will go out somewhere just short of Sisters..
This will give your sod-laying a much needed element of "adventure" (and marital bliss)
After the truck breaks down call your parents (who lent you the God-forsaken automobile) and have your mom drive the 45 minute trip to pick you and take you to the Turf company to pick up your sod (after they've closed.. so they're happy happy people). Have the old truck towed home and travel in exhausted silence. (there are a lot of very good reasons why there are no pictures of this step...)

Step #3 - Start unloading the heavy sod from the (new) pickup.. this job sucks, so I recommend having a husband for it.

Step #4 - Make sure when you're digging that you hit an irrigation pipe from the sprinkler system (this leads into Step #5)

Step #5 - Pull up a chair and enjoy the view of your husband laying the rest of the sod.. because clearly you can't be trusted to do any more work after breaking the sprinkler system ;-)
Step #6 - (this one is my favorite...) ENJOY your new grass!! Ok, so it's not that enjoyable to watch the dogs like a paranoid freak because you're afraid they're going to pee on it or dig a little hole in it.. But it's better if I catch them before Luke sees it.. He's not as compassionate when it comes to the grass... :-/

That's all for the steps.. but the sunset was really pretty while we were laying the sod, so I thought I'd include some of the pictures of that.

Landscaping..

2008-06-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well.. we're still in the process of landscaping our backyard (and relandscaping our backyard in some places)
Most recently, we tore up the crappy benderboard that we used last year to outline our gravel path.. and put in paver stones instead (which match the new cinderblock raised planter box that we put in) - you can see along the right side of the 2nd photo.

We are also a little bit closer to getting some water moving in our water feature.. ok.. still a ways away.. but we're making strides.. we did find the column rocks that we are going to use in the top pond (the biggest of the 3 ponds.. ) They're obviously not in a pond in this picture.. so you have to use your imagination..
And we planted a whole booty-load of Burning bushes:

(this is what they look like in the Fall - they're green right now)

Luke's New Job

2008-06-18T09:10:00.000-07:00

Well for those of you who don't know yet, Luke got a new job. He starts tomorrow (Thursday) in Sisters at Rescue Response Gear.
There really is no other explanation for this career change than Jesus.
Luke leads worship out in Sisters once a month, one of the guys that is on his team owns Rescue Response Gear. He came up to Luke after service last month and basically said, "My wife and I were praying about who to hire for this opening we have in the company and your name kept coming up, what exactly is your work experience, and what are your goals/dreams?"
After Luke explained to him what he has been doing in Outside Sales for CED, and told him where he wanted to go with it, etc. Lance got a smile on his face and said "apparently God does know what he's doing because that's exactly what we need at RRG"
So Luke went out to meet with him at the company (all the while, not looking for a new job) just to see what exactly he was offering.
He gets there and finds 6 employees (6 employees for a company that is the 4th largest of it's kind in the world) who all love Jesus and are filled with the Holy Spirit.
He fell in love with the work atmosphere (not hard to do after working for CED for over 5 years..)
The job that Lance offered him is a significantly higher salary than CEDs, and he will eventually be traveling internationally (and I will be going with him) which is something that we have really wanted to do, but it just doesn't work into the plan when you both work full-time... but having someone else pay for the trip AND getting paid to be there definitely helps out that situation!

So he starts on Thursday, and he's really excited.

Basically he will be doing Research & Development, Sales & Marketing and customer service. He'll be going to the occasional trade show to market their products, and he'll be going out to the "mountain" to try out new product and write up articles/reviews on the products he tries.

This job ties in really well with his Firefighter experience too, since he used a lot of this gear back in the day..

oh.. a bit on the company (or you can click on the picture at the top that will take you to their website) Rescue Response Gear specializes in technical rescue and rope access equipment; they work with Fire Departments and Training Facilities, Federal, State and County Agencies (needing rescue and rope access equipment and training), Public Utility Companies, Tower Erector Companies, Public and Private Industry (needing rescue and rope access equipment and training), as well as Search and Rescue Organizations. (the company that cleans Mount Rushmore is one of their clients.. because they have to repel down the side of the mountain and set up scaffolding to be able to clean it)

so all in all.. Luke's excited, and I'm excited to have a husband that is actually excited to go to work in the mornings (but not excited that he will be all the way in sisters, and not be able to stop by my office all the time)

Kayaks, Injuries, Drugs & Houses...

2008-06-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

.... so... our life...

Kayaks

As promised, here are pictures from an actual camera (thanks Elisa) of the boys (I mean "men") afternoon kayaking..

Getting back in the kayaks after a brief Red Robin "refuel" break... I thought I had more than 2 pictures.. but.. nope, that's all.

This really doesn't fit in the post, but it got imported with the rest of the pictures. I mostly think it's funny to see a whole herd (and yes I am aware that geese don't travel in "herds") of geese outside your office window. There are very few places (Bend being one of them) where you can look out your office window and see geese. And there are even fewer places where you can pull up to work and have to "shoo" geese away from the doorway before you can ENTER your office. Which is especially funny when you work in a busy commercial area of town. (I did get a picture of those geese, but I don't know where that photo went, so you just have to imagine it)

Injuries

Bailey basically ripped out one of her dew claws (the claw that is like their thumb, farther up their leg).. It was a traumatic experience, because the vet that we took her to (it was a Saturday and our vet was closed) has big windows that allow you to see back into what they're doing, and they had her muzzled and basically just held her down while they ripped the rest of it out. It was terrible to watch, but I couldn't look away, I felt so terrible for her. My mom pointed out how much more difficult it will be when we have to take our baby in to the doctor... so I decided that we just won't ever take our baby to the doctor, because it's just too hard to watch.
She was really drugged up after...

Drugged up and a bit of a wuss.. bad combination.. but Luke loved on her.

Drugs

And he took some of the drugs himself.. just for fun.. as you can see..

Bentley did not like this day.. he lost his play buddy.. and we were focusing most of our attention on Bailey.. 2 things that don't go over well for Golden Retrievers..

This was the little kennel we set up so Bailey could sleep without Bentley harassing her.

But.. she didn't want to be in there alone.. so.... I slept with her.

And Luke thought it was funny.. and took a picture..

Houses

lastly, this is the dog house that we had made to match our house. I think I posted about our backyard earlier, but if not.. here's the nutshell version. We turned the side of our house into a dog run, so that we could start relandscaping, and have it NOT be destroyed by dogs this time..
since they don't have access to the garage for shelter anymore, we had this dog house made.. and it's really big..

Luke and I actually got in it (it's brand new, so it's clean) and hung out for awhile talking about how if we ever became homeless we had shelter from the elements, it's actually pretty cozy in there.

So Seth.. we've decided to drive down to Mexico and live in the dog house for awhile so we can be closer to you.

An Ode to You and Your Birthday

2008-05-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

you already heard all of my fabulous birthday songs. Some that I made up, some that I borrowed, some that I altered, all that were "sung" in love.. :-)
so now you are 25 years old.. you have hit the peak of your 20s and are slowly rolling downhill to 30..................................... 30!
I'm glad you got your first grey hair, it makes you seem so grown up
and I'm glad that it's in one of your side burns because that means one less red hair.. because we know how we feel about those.
You're 25 now, but you got your present back in March, so you have very little to look forward to.
So basically it's just another day that I love you.

(I realize this isn't in poem format.. but in my mind it is very poetic.. so that makes it an "ode".. OK?!?)

For the Record

2008-05-20T16:38:00.000-07:00

Sassy one.. who shall remain nameless (*cough* Elisa Earwicker *uncough*) those pictures were actually taken on my blackberry (yes the very same one that you said WOULDN'T take good pictures).. I haven't uploaded the ones you took yet...

and.. for the rest of you SASSES (not to be confused with the similar word that is short one "S") I will update soon, life has been busy.. and we rarely take pictures...

The story with those kayaking pictures is that the guys decided to have a boys day kayaking the river. We mostly sat and laughed as they "raced" down to Red Robin and back... and by "and back" I mean they called us when they got there and had gotten out of the river and ordered food.. they wanted us to drive down and meet them.. seeing as none of them had their wallets on them.

Ridiculous really.

More to come

2008-04-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

I have more pictures, but believe it or not, the real estate market is picking up, and work has been really busy.. so this is all I have time for right now.

KAYAKING IN THE SNOW

2008-04-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

We finally got the kayak that we have been researching and shopping around for (and by "we" I mean "me".. Luke didn't really care WHAT kayak we got, or what kind of deal we received on it, he just wanted a kayak)

But, as would be the case with any long-awaited purchase, we weren't about to let the weather get in the way of testing it out..

So we dealt with the mockery of people in the parking lot.. and the weird looks we got from people.. and we went kayaking in the snow!

We just took turns using this one kayak, because REI only stocks one color of the one that we wanted, and clearly we can't have matching kayaks, that would be lame.. so the color that I'm getting has to be ordered.. won't be here for awhile..

I didn't realize this picture was going the wrong way until it was too late, and I wasn't about to spend the time to go back and edit it.. so.. uh.. tilt your head?? This is on the way to Prineville Reservoir.. he looks like a kayaker huh?

Um.. same here?? These are the fancy warm wet-suit type pants that we got on clearance.. we were rejoicing over this purchase once we got out on the water.. they kept us very warm.

Bentley was the biggest focus of the day... we got him as a little bitty puppy after it was already cold and snowy.. so he has never swam... so it was our goal to get him to swim.

The maiden voyage.. check out that outfit!!

Bailey LOVES to swim.. she was in heaven.. never mind the fact that the water was about 10 degrees..

This ball didn't make it home.. Prineville Reservoir is one plastic ball richer..

Here is the moment we've all been waiting for.. When Luke was in the kayak he would paddle out and call Bentley, trying to get him to swim.. but Bentley just paced the shore crying and barking..

But even cold, deep water is not a great enough barrier to keep him away from his mom.. he couldn't handle me being that far away.. so....

HE SWAM!! He looked terrified with his little eyes sticking out of the water.. so I pet him (and pushed him away since he was very near tipping me over trying to get into the boat) and then paddled back to the shore so that he didn't drown..

So proud..

They were filthy.. wet, cold and filthy.. so we took them to the self-service dog wash at Pet Express.. a little expensive, but worth not having to get them up the stairs and through our house to the shower..

See the snow falling?

That is snow on our bumper..

His teeth were chattering, it was pretty sad and pathetic..

Way too much snow on the ground for the end of April..

We actually did get a little bit of good weather, basically it was snowing when we first arrived.. and the boat ramp is closed at the Prineville Reservoir because they completely rebuilt it.. so we had to carry the kayak all the way down.. (which I thought sucked, Luke, of course, said it wasn't that bad).. then we had blue skies and sun for about 45 minutes, and then when we got the boat all packed back up and started the long walk back to the car it started snowing harder..
all in all, not a bad day!

For Phil

2008-04-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this video is to prove Phil wrong.. who claimed that I didn't have the skills to have embedded video on my blog.. what he doesn't realize is that I am a genius.
(this was the first video I could find.. and Bailey's cute enough to be blogworthy.. but you don't have to bother watching it)

Dysfunctional Madness

2008-04-11T09:26:00.000-07:00

We had yet another painful reminder that babies would be easier at this point...
I don't have any pictures of the following stories (but after you read it, you'll thank me)

so..
I took a little side job doing Home Inspections on Foreclosures, Bankruptcy, missed payments, etc..
so anyway..
Luke has decided that for safety purposes (one of the first ones I did was a little sketch) he was going to accompany me, so we chose to take the dogs with us last night..
well, as some of you may remember, Bailey has had a little trouble with car sickness, but she has been doing better, so we thought she was over the hump..

well.. we were wrong.. Basically the evening went like this..
Inspect a house, pull over & clean up puke...
inspect another house, pull over and clean up more puke..
Inspect another house, pull over and clean up even MORE puke (where this girl manages to pull stomach contents from is beyond me...)

So, we're down to a few houses left to go.. and the sun is setting quickly, so we need to get them done quickly (because nighttime doesn't work very well for photos)..
so we're driving along when we both start sniffing the air, we look at each other and both ask the same question "what's that smell?"
well.. it didn't take long to figure out that "that smell" was the contents of BENTLEY'S stomach (who has been having some tummy issues later).. came out the opposite end of Bailey's..

At that, I made the executive decision to postpone the remaining houses and head home.

So we pull in to the driveway, and I go around the back of the car to let them out...
what I didn't anticipate was what happened next..

I opened the backdoor and the dogs jumped out.. but when they jumped out the poo (which was covering them) came flying out with them.... all over my face.. and arms.. and clothes..

That's when I gave up (Luke was laughing) I just said "I'm done." "I don't even know where to go from here"

Basically we wrapped Bailey in an old sheet and luke carried her straight up to the shower (she was MORTIFIED because she HATES being even a little dirty.. so to be covered in poop was beyond her)
Luke bathed her while I cleaned out the car.. (meanwhile Bentley is screaming in the backyard because we locked him back there alone, and he has never been alone a minute of his life)

Luke and I switch places while Bailey dries off and Luke carried Bentley upstairs (all 80 pounds of him)...

It was quite a night...

I swear babies would be easier..

Forget headaches, and being tired.. nothing ruins the mood like being covered in dog poop..

Nothing Exciting

2008-04-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

There really hasn't been anything blogworthy going on in our lives, so I just decided to upload the photos from my blackberry: sorry it's not really entertaining.

Bentley

Sleeping

Really early birthday morning...

I love his eyes..

One of my favorite pictures..

He's our little sock mongrel.. and if you take it away and hide it.. he'll find it.. he's JUST that good..

CORRECTION

2008-04-07T12:07:00.001-07:00

Katie Scott deserves the credit for the video in the previous post..
she's the comic genius.. Nicolette was just a pawn.

OH MAN

2008-03-27T10:18:00.001-07:00

This is some funny stuff (I have to give credit where credit is due.. I got it from Nicolette)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

BIRTHDAY Time

2008-03-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

For my 23rd birthday (Wednesday) I got off work at 3:30 and went next door to Fireside Red for Happy Hour with Gina and Nicolette. (I don't have any pictures of this excursion) then I went over to Ernestos for dinner with my parents and Luke's parents. After that Nicolette and I went back to Fireside Red and met up with 2.5 of my coworkers (one of them works for a company that's affiliated with us.. long story.. anyway..) all-in-all it was a fun day. here are a few pictures.

My birthday flowers (I actually got these the day before my birthday -there's 23 of them- and my favorite dinner waiting for me in the fridge, meticulously thought-out just how I like it) I have a great husband!

At Ernestos...

For some reason I couldn't get a picture of Luke where he WASN'T yawning..

Larry and Leanna Bryan

My mom trying to figure out the bill (she struggles with numbers..) and Nicolette pretending like she doesn't know she's in the shot..

Turns out.. Nicolette is like taking a 5 year old to dinner.. she made her spoon into a spikey-haired man..

Oh man, she'd kill me if she saw this picture..

We're so cute................. or something...........

Don't be fooled.. those are our actual smiles..

mmm.. Tiramisu..

It was a great birthday.. 23 is not really a cool number.. it's not even divisible by anything.. so I suppose that KINDA makes it cool.. it's a "Prime Number Birthday".. I don't think that counts for much though..

A little update..

2008-03-24T08:33:00.000-07:00

We haven't actually taken any pictures since we last posted (which is why we haven't posted)
because who likes a blog with no pictures?
But I'm going to Corvallis next weekend, so maybe I'll take my camera.
My sister was offered the job as Assistant Coach for the OSU women's golf team (ironic that our whole family are Duck fans, but I graduated from OSU and my sister is now employed by them)
so my mom and I are headed up this weekend to help her look for apartments and buy furniture (because turns out, living out of your car on Tour for a year and half doesn't allow you to own any furniture)
She's stoked to be a little closer to home, and the timing really is perfect for her to be closer to us.
Crazy how God always knows what He's doing ;-)
OSU Women's Golf Team

Also, regarding my sister.. (if you know nothing about golf, or CARE nothing about golf you can disregard this next part) she also won her first professional tournament down in Pheonix, AZ.. with scores of ... (drum roll please..) 68, 62, 69 ... Par was 71.. again if you don't know anything about golf, this won't be anything spectacular to you.. but they're incredible scores (or "ridiculous" as I stated it to her) and the 62 actually beat the Course Record, so her name is hanging on the wall at that golf course somewhere.
The Cactus Tour-Event #8

So.. I promise pictures someday.

Oh, and Luke got his birthday present early (if he hasn't already told you, because he's REAL pumped about it..and I do realize it's a little silly to buy his birthday present when mine is the one that is 2 days away..) but it was an Imac G5 that I found for a killer deal.. but I wanted to take this time to apologize to Phil.. because I beat him to it.. and even the sob-story about his laptop getting stolen couldn't convince me not to buy it.. MUHAHA (oh man.. that was not a very sincere apology was it..)

Luke's new hair

2008-02-24T18:29:00.000-08:00

And I know many of you haven't seen him in awhile.. so I thought I would update you on his appearance..
He decided to try growing out his hair (even past the point that it was at when we started dating - and he washes it now)
but we're trying to figure out if it's a keeper, or if it's time for a cut..
we're open to your suggestions.
Thanks for your help!

Glorious Photo Booth

2008-02-24T17:55:00.000-08:00

With a new Macbook comes PhotoBooth... Additionally, with a slow slow job comes lots of nonsensical pictures.

Here are a few of the ones that make Luke proud to call me his own..

Botched face lift?

SpongeBob square wife

mmm....

After a couple kids?

We said FOOEY on this 2 become 1 thing.. we live by the 2 become 4 theory

Unbelievably Amusing Amusement

2008-02-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

http://www.theonion.com/content/atlas/

I can't claim any of the criticism that this post might receive from people offended by this link.

I CAN, however, claim that it is gloriously funny and entertaining.

I can't condone mockery of other countries and their people.

I CAN, however, condone the mockery of ALL countries and their people (including the US) because if it's EQUAL mockery, its totally fair.. and totally funny..

Oh Small Talk, You Are So Silly...

2008-02-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

When It Rains It Pours...

2008-02-19T10:07:00.000-08:00

That statement has summed up our life the past couple of days...

Luke has been sick for a number of weeks now, he kept telling me that it was seasonal allergies, but then I got sick.. and I called him a liar.
Luke is STILL sick. and getting worse. He has gotten to the point numerous times in the past couple of days where you can barely breath. He is coughing fluid up from his lungs, and due to the trouble breathing, is having trouble sleeping.
Trouble sleeping is no good when you share a bed, and trouble sleeping for one means trouble sleeping for the other.
Not to mention the fact that "barely breathing" is a loud wheezy experience.. quite annoying to listen to, probably more annoying to experience first-hand.
So we've been trying to figure out his really confusing health insurance and find him a doctor.
In the midst of this, I found one of Luke's razor blades chewed up on the floor - all 5 blades MIA.
At first I wasn't concerned, because I found them in the possession of Bailey, who chews things, but doesn't swallow things.
I drove to work, and then starting considering the possibility that Bentley had been the original culprit, and Bailey merely found the already chewed up casing... this posed a problem, because Bentley swallows everything.
I made a quick call to the vet who instructed me to bring him in ASAP.
I had the work phones transferred to my cell phone and set off to take the dogs in to the vet.
about an hour (and $150) later, I get a call that they DID indeed find 2 of the blades in Bentley's intestines.
I did a thorough search of our carpet and found the other 3 blades (good news for the soles of our feet)
I was instructed to watch him closely throughout the rest of the day, and alter his diet to "enhance" his bowel movements (gross I know)
and he has to go back into the vet on Wednesday for a follow up xray (goodbye additional $70)
So THEN I get a call from Luke around 4:00 informing me that his mom is in the Emergency Room having pain in her chest.
He gets home to pick me up so we can go to the hospital, we go down the stairs (in the dark now) and step into a pool of liquid at the base of our stairs...
Apparently Bentley is in too much pain to go potty outside.
WILL THIS DAY EVER END?!?!?!?!

Valentines Day

2008-02-15T16:50:00.000-08:00

In my opinion: Valentines Day is a stupid holiday.

I didn't like it when I was single, and I don't like it now that I'm married. Obligatory romance just seems silly to me. Plus, the poor guys can't win either way. If they do something sweet and romantic for their "significant other" than some of the sweetness is lost because they "had" to do something since it was Valentines Day. But if they do nothing, then they are big old jerks.
I feel like it's an unfair holiday for men. One of those holidays that sets them up to fail. Also, if you try and go out to dinner you pay WAY more than you normally would because the restaurants jack up their prices, and you have to deal with hefty crowds.
In conclusion, I don't like Valentines Day.
So when Luke asked me what I wanted to do for Valentines Day, and I told him "nothing", and he wouldn't take "nothing" for an answer, we compromised.

We started out at Dilusso downtown

Luke got us coffee, and then we set off on a walk downtown. It has been a long time since I walked downtown, I work in the Old Mill District, so I have driven through downtown a ton, but there are a lot of new little shops and restaurants that you miss when you're driving, so it was nice to get to see all of it.

Then we walked down to Drake Park. I took this picture of Luke in the little courtyard before you get the park, then I looked at the picture and announced to him that he looked homeless..... only to discover that there was an actual homeless man sitting behind me... awkward... I promptly placed my foot in my mouth and we set off.

This was the bench that we sat at, and decided to take pictures on... oh man, what a joke.

The following pictures, are just a few of our attempts, turns out... Dogs don't cooperate for pictures, and setting a self-timer in the dark without anything to set the camera on doesn't work.

Done with our Valentines Day walk.. making a pit stop at Wild Oats for some groceries.

This clock says 6:57 (I realize it's blurry) it was taken on our way out of downtown. But I wanted to prove to the masses that we could stay out after 7:00...
it was almost EIGHT OCLOCK by the time we got home!

Pre-Valentines Day in Review:

2008-02-14T08:57:00.001-08:00

I'll start with a tribute to my new computer which is making this post possible. I love it!

Luke has class on Wednesdays, so I got home from work, saddled up the puppies and went off on an adventure.
There is actually an indescribably vast number of reasons why it is gloriously amazing that our builder stopped making money and therefore stopped building houses. To list a few:
1. We still have full mountain views
2. We have no neighbors directly by us
3. We have a full empty lot across the street from us
4. We have 3 empty driveways to park cars in (in case we decide to go out and buy 6 cars)
And finally, the one that had the most importance on our little adventure:
#5. There are 2 streets and 2 cul-de-sacs which no one lives on... which means that basically no one drives on them.. which means they're perfect for puppy excursions.

I took the dogs to one of the empty cul-de-sacs and let them off their leashes. I also took their tennis ball flinger (in case that isn't self-explanatory.. it flings the tennis ball really far... farther than I could ever throw it.. because Bailey mocks my pitiful little throws) and let them run until their little hearts couldn't take it anymore. (Bentley is a beefy little fella.. so he tires much quicker, and after basically doing nothing..)

Well turns out.. this makes puppies tired.. Here is a rundown of the rest of the nights events:

This is where the dogs crawled under the blanket I had over me and slept on one another.

Luke thought this was really cute.

Cute enough to take lots of pictures of..

This is the front end... to the left of my legs..

This is the butt end.. sticking out the right side of my legs... (notice that Bailey is wrapped up in not one, but TWO different blankets)

I got up to take their picture.. Bailey slept right through...

...She opened her eyes... but was too tired to care...

... Bentley, on the other hand, can't sleep unless some part of him is touching either Luke or I, so while I was kneeling to take Bailey's picture, he squeezed up to my legs and fell asleep against me.

He is MILDLY ashamed to be such a mommas boy..

Bailey didn't even get up to explore Luke's dinner (of Triscuits and bacon).. apparently this is what he considers dinner when I don't cook for him...
oh man.

In Response to Joann and Cassie

2008-02-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

Joann:
here are my mental images of WEEK and YEAR:

I have actually decided since the time that I posted this that I, in fact, visualize the week more like Joann was referring to with the five work days in a straight line and the weekend on top of them.. but I visualize them in the direction of the half circle I drew.. just flatten it out

OUR 2ND WEDDING

2008-02-05T16:36:00.000-08:00

We finally got married (for real this time)

It looked a little different this time.. I didn't even wear mascara for this ceremony..
and the pictures are wonderful.. just you wait and see...

MEXICO

2008-01-28T11:27:00.000-08:00

Second new post in 1 day.. some might say that makes me AWESOME.. I tend to agree.

this is a whole lot of pictures... so be prepared.. and they're all out of order.. sorry..
my parents were chosen to compete in a Mexican Hat Dance competition... they won a bottle of tequila (I have a video I'll post later)

my sister and I in the hotel room

Just me in the hotel room.. haha

Luke and I.. sick of my the camera..

Mazatlan airport waiting for our flight

My mom and sister

Cab ride.. being cool apparently

Some of the crew.. but not even close to all of it

It was a little cold this day.. but somehow its the day that i got burnt

Family pictures

At Ponchos for lunch.. girls afternoon out while the boys were hunting..

Virgin Chiquita Banana.. MAN that's good stuff!

Haha.. hunting buddies??

Oops.. apparently I forgot to rotate this one..

More Mexican Hat Dancing

At La Casa Country for dinner

Muoy Frio

Angie, Me & Amy

Snowy Dog Park Day

2008-01-28T09:15:00.001-08:00

The 6 or so inches of snow that we got on Sunday was a dog's dream come true. So we decided to take them out to Big Sky where they could run around off their leashes.

This is what our backyard looked like.. that's a lot of snow for one day.

Bentley...

Bailey..

She looks like a retriever.. but don't be fooled... (the stories later in the post will reveal the truth)

This video really isn't that exciting.. they never do the funny things when the camera is on...

On our way to Big Sky...

Bundled up.. it was freaking cold!

Our Golden "Retrievers" apparently missed the part about being "retrievers"... they would chase after the ball or frisbee.. dig it out.. throw it around.. and then proudly jog back to us with nothing in their mouths...

So our evening pretty much consisted of throwing the ball or frisbee.. watching them play with it.. then retrieving it ourselves.. then repeating the whole process.
I think this makes us Human Retrievers (and/or Suckers)

Turns out... tennis balls get lost in 6 inches of snow... This was not a good plan. The only redeeming aspect to the tennis ball experience is that Bailey is smarter than we give her credit for, and she could find the tennis ball buried in snow even when she didn't see where it was thrown (a nice trait to save us the $0.50 to buy a new tennis ball).
Moral of the story.. Don't throw tennis balls in the snow, and make sure your dogs understand the meaning of "retrieve" before you venture into the snowy unknown.

Real Estate Market / Home Values

2008-01-22T10:57:00.000-08:00

If you own a home, are thinking about buying, are thinking about selling, or are just interested in all of the media hype that the "plummeting real estate market" is getting please read the following post from a colleague of mine:
http://buyinbend.wordpress.com/2008/01/14/its-time-to-get-real/
Let me know if you have any questions.

Christmas and such

2008-01-09T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ok MOLLY, here are some pictures from Christmas....

I thought this was a good way to start off this post... Christmas is no longer a time for giving.. it is a time for taking... violently (apparently)

The dreaded (and mandatory) Christmas Eve hunting trip... in all honesty it's not so bad anymore, because we complain so much that my dad gets sick of hearing it, and we don't have to stay out very long.

Hot huh??

This was in with the other pictures.. and wasn't supposed to make this post.. but it's real cute, so I left it on. This is Harley when he was a puppy with Nicolette.. he slept all the time, and was the cuddliest/neediest dog in the world. Now he's a hunting dog and all he cares about are birds (and lizards).. he chases them NONSTOP all day long, you can't get him to stand still for more than 30 seconds at a time. crazy.

Another mandatory Christmas experience... Picture with Santa... we're SERIOUSLY too old for this..

I don't know what day this is.. but I know we look hot...

My dad's birthday, which falls under the heading christmas and SUCH, he has the unfortunate birthday of December 22nd.

Here is the context for that first picture (see Demon Dogs). We, in an excusable act of animal cruelty, tied the ribbons from my dad's presents around Bailey's neck and let Bentley attack her for them... all I'm saying is, if Michael Vick can do it....

There's the guilty party...

Viva la Mexico!!!

2008-01-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

4 days until this change of scenery WOO!!

picture that didn't post before..

2007-12-31T10:30:00.001-08:00

I got a lot of angry (outraged even) comments about the fact that the picture didn't load on my previous post...
here was the picture that went with "Crazy College Kids and Their Dorm Doors"
It looks like the door is open, but it's not.. this is the outside of their closed dorm door... Proof positive that college kids have way too much time on their hands (I can attest) and that some of quite creative.. ingenious really.

Our new bed

2007-12-31T09:25:00.000-08:00

This is the new bed that we just bought from Randall and Thomas Furniture. We went there because I was so impressed with their marketing philosophy (kind of a nerdy reason, I know.. but stuff like that catches your interest when you have to research marketing techniques) and they're great. we highly recommend them.

Awesome dorm room door

2007-12-18T16:00:00.001-08:00

The door is actually closed. Awesome effect. really funny. clever boys.

read more | digg story

Home Improvements

2007-11-29T09:14:00.000-08:00

We got a little bit bored with our house already.
There was a whole lot of brushed nickel, and we really like the oil-rubbed bronze look better.
So we changed it!
well.. we changed the downstairs anyway.. baby steps.
Here are a few pictures. (and maybe a few of the dogs thrown in)

New Faucet

New Faucet closer

New cabinet hardware

New mushroom light (also known by other names that I won't repeat)

New chandelier and chandelier shades

Picture I took by accident while I was walking, but it shows the chandelier

Bentley (dog's eyes get creepy when the flash goes off)

Bailey

The new addition to our family.. ROBO.. he's our robot.. he vacuums our house.. and for that, he is my FAVORITE member of the family :-D

We also put solar lights in the backyard... but they're hard to show through pictures.. this gives you an idea. haha

I also found a new chew toy for the dogs the other day that I thought seemed fitting in our house. I like the hamburger.. Luke likes the guitar. We also had a hotdog, but it got ripped from the bun... and we decided it needed be thrown away to keep our home Holy and decent. :-D

Sin City

2007-11-28T09:21:00.001-08:00

LAS VEGAS!!
I'm not very good about getting my camera out, so I don't have that many pictures, and I don't actually have ANY pictures of the wedding (the reason that we went to Vegas) but I DO have lots of stories.. let me tell you.. first Mormon wedding.

Joe's crab shack

Kailin in the hotel. Hot huh? :-)

My $5.99 sunglasses.

Kailin and Josephine.. she's from Germany

This is us with 6 people and 7 people's luggage all packed into the KIA because someone got trashed and never made it back to the hotel room with the other car... let me tell you how much we all liked said person at this moment.

JR Booth with the crazy visor-wig on. This is one funny man.

Checking in at Circus Circus (always a long process.. but worth it for $35 rooms and $3 blackjack minimums)

Riviera Comedy Club

Still at the Riviera Comedy Club

Craig and Josephine... oh wait.. is that said person??? I think it IS!

Kailin and I at the Riviera Comedy Club

It was a great show. Complete with someone in the audience getting arrested right behind us... lucky for us because he was a big dude, and smelled really bad, so it made the show more enjoyable... and leave it up to comedians to make it really funny!

Home Improvements/Maupin/Thanksgiving/Las Vegas

2007-11-21T11:55:00.001-08:00

Here is what is coming up:
we leave tonight right after work to go to Maupin for Thanksgiving.
Then on Friday, Luke will bring Nicolette back to Bend, while I drive to Portland to depart for Las Vegas...
I'll be there from Friday until Monday for a wedding (and naturally, some blackjack)
we have been doing a little home improvements.
We finally painted the guest bedroom, and got to decorating it (so it's ready for anyone that needs/wants to come stay.... until it turns into a nursery...)
we re-hardwared the kitchen cabinets in oil-rubbed tuscan bronze, and installed a new kitchen faucet in the same oil-rubbed bronze, got a few new lighting fixtures in matching fashion, and just recently put up a new dining chandelier that matches. The chandelier shades should be delivered today, so we'll put up pictures as soon as we get that finished.
So expect a lot of pictures to come later.

what else is new... um.. Bailey got fixed, and got her stitches out.. so she's a big girl now.. but a big girl that will never procreate (and never go into heat PRAISE THE LORD)
Bentley should be getting fixed within a month or two... we'll wait until after his last shots.. and we don't have to worry about him going into heat (PRAISE THE LORD) so there isn't as big of a rush.

They're getting big... not really babies anymore (Bentley still kind of is...) so I think we need real babies now...
Luke doesn't agree.
I'm working on him.

... updates later...
:-)

It's a boy!!! (pictures)

2007-10-02T14:19:00.000-07:00

It's a boy!!!

2007-10-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

shameless ploy to get those of you that ignore my lovingly sent emails about my blog.

It IS in fact a boy.. but he's canine.

We got a new puppy!!

Pictures to follow

The Coast

2007-09-21T11:43:00.000-07:00

We drove down to Waldport, OR last weekend to celebrate my grandma's birthday with all of my mom's brothers (there's 4 of them) and all the cousins.

Bailey Update

2007-09-12T14:11:00.001-07:00

She's getting so big, so fast.

Here is a before-and-after. her size when we first got her.. and now..

And these are all just "nows"...

Honeymoon (Location mostly)

2007-09-12T13:54:00.001-07:00

This post is mostly for Corey Parnell who apparently wasn't impressed with all of our self-portraits from our honeymoon..
This is where we stayed. (These are taken from Luke's camera.. and it leaves a lot to be desired.. but you get the gist)

Cunningham/Rucker Wedding

2007-08-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

We went up to West Linn (the wedding was actually at the Aurora Airport) to Kimi Cunningham and Casey Rucker's wedding.
Here are some pictures:

Maid of Honor

The Bride and Groom

Honeymoon Pictures (finally)

2007-08-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

Well.. it took a long time to get them up here but here are some of the pictures from our honeymoon in Mazatlan.
The digital camera I bought before the wedding is seriously stupid, and it makes everything really really bright, so a lot of times it looks like we don't have noses and stuff... I did the best I could in Picasa, but somethings just aren't fixable..
you can get the idea anyway..

La Casa Country (country western restaurant.. it was great, we went twice)

Last night.. at the Citrus Ocean.. this restaurant was INCREDIBLE, if you ever go to Mazatlan you have to go.

Citrus Ocean still

Taking picture on our last day (trying to fill the time between when we had to check out and when the shuttle came to take us to the airport)

On the shuttle bus (most of our pictures are)

Morning devotions

At Angelos (Italian restaurant)

Outside of the Marinera restaurant

Luke on the beach

At the restaurant Ponchos on the beach by the Golden Zone

Crazy taxi driver = scary ride

At the water park Mazagua (we were the only americans.. and nothing was in English.. and the REALLY big water slides were really sketchy.. I thought we were going to die.. wouldn't recommend visiting Mazagua)

This is the last day also (sorry they aren't in order)

Also on the last day, our faces aren't as goofy as the last one.. but its so bright you can hardly see it (maybe that's the ticket.. if you can't SEE our faces.. then we can't make stupid ones)

On the airplane on the way back :-( sad.. but we did get upgrades to first class (we still don't know how, so if you are the one that upgraded us.. THANK YOU)

Explanation..

2007-08-09T14:39:00.000-07:00

Ok, I don't know why it wouldn't let me add anything but those videos to that last post...
but here's the explanation of them:
1. the first video is of Bailey doing a somersault (which she actually does a lot.. I don't know why.. or what's wrong with her.. but she thinks it's fun)
2. the second video is of her carrying around her "Lobby" which is a Lobster chew toy.. it's the same size as she is.. but she's up to the challenge..

Also, here's some pictures..

This is Bailey sleeping last night (yeah, we're softies.. she sleeps with us..) Luke keeps saying "Kristin I feel like something has come between us lately" I don't think it's that funny.. but.. i did tell him "Just wait until she's full grown and weighs like 90 lbs and still sleeps between us".. hehe

But how could you say "no" to that face?

That's our girl

This is the artistic Sepia one

Ah, which toy to chose? You notice the top is off of her crate.. she REFUSES to be in there.. so we're getting her used to it before it's a prison...

Mid-day Ciesta

There's a lobster attacking my puppy!! (it seemed really funny and clever when I had just spent an hour with no human contact...)

Oh good, she freed herself from the grips of "Lobby"

And then showed him who's boss.. that's right.. take THAT Lobby!

New pictures and videos

2007-08-09T14:10:00.001-07:00

Miss Bailey

2007-08-09T09:05:00.001-07:00

This picture was taken the day before we got her. She is cuter now (and not wearing a stupid blue collar... she's a girl, so she has a pink and brown polka dotted collar now.. that is way too big for her actually)
Anyway, we've had a lot going on, so I keep forgetting to get my camera cord out before I come to work to upload some of the pictures that we have taken of her in her new home.

But here's the update:
-Bailey went potty for the first time yesterday (big achievement) and has gone like 8 times since.. now, I don't mean that she went potty OUTSIDE for the first time.. she just hadn't gone at ALL since we got her.. there was way too many new things to discover, not enough time to stop and relieve herself.

-Her personality really started to come out yesterday... my mom took her out to their house to play with the "big dogs" and she sassed to her little hearts content (we wouldn't have it any other way, naturally). She would bare her teeth, and bark and bark and bark at the other dogs (mostly Hank) she's a sassy little thing, and we're PROUD of her. :-)

-She finally got interested in chew toys (and chewing on things that AREN'T toys)

-She learned the joys of retrieving (oddly enough, it took longer than expected for a Golden RETRIEVER) she now proudly pounces down the little chew ball, and then pounces ON the chew ball. We think it's pretty much the cutest thing in the world to watch..

-Bailey is an experienced "walker" she has been on at least 3 walks a day every day so far.. she gets tired fast, but she loves experiencing all of the construction noise, and joyfully greeting all of the construction workers who she THINKS should naturally be her friends.

-She ran herself ragged yesterday trying to keep up with the big dogs (who my mom refers to as her "cousins" which is quite silly since they would actually be her uncles.. but.. it's a little creepy to assign the dogs human titles anyway.. plus that makes her my parents' grandpuppy.. and that's just funny)

-Because of that exhausting play time.. she slept completely through the night last night (GLORY) she went to sleep at 9:00, Luke and I watched an episode of Lost and went to sleep around 10:30 (we were in bed though, because she would have never gone to sleep without us) and she didn't get up until 4:00 when I got up to go to the bathroom. She felt me get out of bed, and was overjoyed that she got to get up and play.. Luke took her directly outside, she walked out the door, made it about 3 feet, peed on the sidewalk, and RAN back inside and up the stairs (or 3/4 of the way, stopped to catch her breath THEN continued up the stairs) was placed back on the bed, tormented me until she was thoroughly convinced that I wasn't going to get up and play with her.. then settled back in and slept until 6:45 when Luke got up and took her downstairs for breakfast.

-And now she's out in my car sleeping soundly, until around 11:00 when I'll take her home for her lunch and another walk. Until then, she barks at everyone that gets close to her.. hoping they'll come pay attention to her.. she really loves attention!

We love her a whole bunch, and included one additional picture of her at her old home with her brothers and sisters.. she's the one on the far right (same blue collar).. she's waving at you (or begging to be released.. one of the two...)
and these are her parents.. the light one is her mom.. the dark one is her dad...
oh.. and this is just funny.. the following picture is of one of her brothers, who they endearingly nicknamed Chubs.. is it any question why???
Actually, we chose Bailey because she was the only one in the litter that WASN'T a tub-o. (because Hank had enough puppy fat for any one family...)
That's all for now..

New Addition to the Family...

2007-08-08T12:55:00.000-07:00

... No, I'm not pregnant.. but we DID get a puppy!!! And we love her as if we had conceived her ourselves (although, that would be a sick, scary thing)
Her name is Bailey.. she's a golden retriever.. she's 8 weeks old..and she is incredibly needy.
We caved, and let her sleep in bed with us.. sadly, I think that might have ruined our chances of ever having the bed to ourselves again.. she HOWLS when we even walk out of her sight.. and she HATES being in her kennel.
She figured out how to climb over the child-gate we put up to keep her in the bathroom that has been transformed into her own bedroom (she puts her front paws up on it, and then shimmies her way up with her back legs.. until she reaches the top, and then lets herself fall over the side).. So this poses a problem... I ordered a large crate that is made for a large dog, so she'll have room to move in it, and it has a top, (for those rotten climbing dogs) so we'll probably set that up for her, and move her out of the bathroom. For now, I have to close the door to the bathroom, which is both sad, because she's shut off from the world, and REALLY hard on our door, seeing as she throws a fit and jumps and scratches it...
We were up pretty much every half hour last night to let her out to go potty (which she never did).. so we're a little sleep deprived.. but she's WELL worth it.
We'll post pictures later.. because we already have quite a few ;-)
stop by and see her if you want!

Wedding Pictures

2007-07-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the Wedding.. they're not in any particular order because that would require a lot more time from me... and I frankly don't care about the order.
we have LOTS more pictures.. but.. i got bored.. so here is some...

Casey and Luke

Seth is... secure in his manhood...

The boys..

Brodie and Shelbi Blok

Parker Blok.. not a big fan of his tux.. maybe clothes in general..

Keri Ann.. speeching it up

Scott Gentry.. also speeching it up

Greg Kooistra, MC, quite good I might add

The girls

Nicolette and Andy

Best Man and Maid of Honor, Seth and Kailin

Parker and Emma

Yep.. enough said...

Mother and Father of the groom

Ew sick. we don't kiss. this was staged for the picture

Luke with his parents

Casey and Stephenie

Dancing madness...

It looks really crowded.. did it FEEL that crowded??

WEENA!!! or TURD!!!! or WEEN... whichever you prefer

My only tall bridesmaid... gorgeous too (but she's not the only gorgeous one)

She's praying.. she wasn't THAT emotional

Miss Keri Ann

My sister.. Kaka Cacita

more dance madness

Deb Gentry (mama Deb) praying for us

Shelbi Blok

Just getting ready..

Now THAT table was crowded

Funny speeches

He's a hottie

Hey that's my foot.. how did my foot get on here?

Us with the boys

all the attendants

Classic jumping shot

Ew, kissing again.

I think that this picture was already on here.. but i don't remember

We just got married.. stepping on to the deck.....

...and the deck was really hot and burned my feet

I love my mom (her comment on the last post made me cry)

I love my dad too (he made me cry a WHOLE lot that day)

Rings

I swear this picture was already on here too....

Me and my Pooternelly (Nicolette)

Seth and Luke

Wedding Rehearsal

2007-07-23T12:14:00.001-07:00

Finally, we have some pictures for all of you.. this post will be dedicated to pictures from the Rehearsal, and Rehearsal Dinner.. Wedding and Honeymoon pictures will be in subsequent posts.

Parker - Ringbearer extraordinare (notice the stunning new way to hold the pillow)

Mother of the Bride & Carol (fabulous wedding coordinator)

Me talking to Clif, the sound guy (who everyone said did a great job, by the way)

Mother & Father of the bride (looking sassy)

Oh.. that's so cute

Pastor Steve (Officiant)

Clif- the sound guy

Parker and Emma - Ringbearer & Flowergirl respectively

Parker & Emma again

We practiced this numerous times... and still cried nearly every time

one practice done.. many more to go

Brodie & Shelbi Blok

Lindsay and her first fill-in groomsman Jesse (he was actually an usher)

Scott & Gina

Casey & Stephenie

Andy & Nicolette

Jesse and Kailin (apparently Jesse is filling in for Seth this time.. or maybe Kailin is filling in for Grandma Delores.. I don't know for sure.. but I DO know that they weren't supposed to walk together)

Dave and Grandma Marilyn

Adam and Mother of the Bride (also known as Debi)

Our wedding coordinator is CRAZY

Spencer (guest book attendant) showing off his crazy dance skills

Me and that crazy coordinator (Carol)

Pre-marital counselors, and MC's (we also got rave reviews about Greg, and how well he did at the reception) This is Greg and Angie Kooistra by the way

Greg and Angie again (we like em a lot)

Dave Blok (how much of a "Dave face" is this?)

Adam and Luke

Me and Nicolette (I love her)

mmm.. pizza and cookies

hehe... i really love him.. especially this face...

people eating and socializing

leaving mexico :-(

2007-07-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Well,
we're sitting in the lobby of our resort, waiting for our ride to take us to the airport. Only 14 more minutes left here. (well.. plus the 3.5 hours at the airport).
We're sad and somehow excited at the same time.
We're sad to be saying goodbye to the pool.
Excited to be out of the humidity.
Sad to have to go back to work.
Excited to start a new job (Kristin).
Sad to go back to a house with no airconditioning.
Excited to be in our house.. even if it is stupid hot inside.
Sad to leave the orphans that we fell in love with.
Excited to pray for them, and trust God to meet them a whole country away from us.
Sad to have to cook our own meals, clean our own place, make our own bed, clean our own toilets.
Excited to not shell out over 100 dollars a day to live.
Sad to wake up early, and get out of bed before noon (yep, we stayed in bed until noon on NUMEROUS occasions)
Excited to have REAL coffee.. no more of this mexican crap coffee
Sad to close another chapter of our life.
Excited to start "real" life together.

I've run out of time.. so I'll post some pictures when we get back.
love you guys
-Luke and Kristin

Wedding Preparations

2007-07-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of Tuesday night, stuff candy for favors. Thanks Tara and Nicolette!
Seth and Luke were... um.. moral support?

Wedding/Honeymoon

2007-06-20T10:39:00.001-07:00

For those of you who don't know:
Luke and I have a wedding website with all of the details
www.LukeandKristin.com

We will also be going to Mazatlan, Mexico for our honeymoon from July 9th-16th.

That's actually mostly all the updates that we have. Life's exciting :-D

Our House BEFORE

2007-06-20T10:26:00.001-07:00

These are pictures of our house before we bought it and painted, and moved our stuff in.
Maybe we'll take some pictures soon of what it looks like now, because it looks quite different-

I figured you didn't need captions, since it's pretty self-explanatory

2007-06-20T09:51:00.000-07:00

We've had this blog for a really long time. and have never done anything with it. (I can't imagine why.. seeing as we have a wedding coming up and all.. it's not like we're busy)

But. We're starting it off.