Best Birthday Ever

I have always been an adrenaline junky. My dad likes to tell the story about the time the family went to Great America. I was about 7, just barely tall enough to ride the rides. This was back before "Drop Zone," when the free-fall ride was a large orange cage that looked like a utility elevator, called, "The Edge." Similar to "Drop Zone," it dropped you straight down and then curved down a ramp to a stop. All 7 of us (4 brothers, two parents, and I) went on the ride. After the ride was finished, and we were waiting to be unstrapped, my dad says that all 4 boys were sheet white and scared to death while I was sitting over in my seat laughing hysterically. Well, that love of adrenaline has never left me.

Skydiving has always intrigued me. If "Drop Zone" is fun, how much more amazing would jumping out of a plane be? Jeremy has known for years how much I wanted to go, but he has always said, "absolutely not!" (He does not share my sentiment that plummeting toward the ground at high speeds is a fun event.) I put it out of my head as best I could, but every time I heard about someone else skydiving, that desire to do it came back. I would beg him to take me, to no avail.

Around rolls my birthday and Jer says to pack a bag, he has a surprise adventure for me. So I pack a bag and we head out. We start down I-5 South and immediately skydiving popped into my head. I asked if I could guess where we were going and he said okay. I said, "Does it have to do with flying things?" I have never seen a more confused look on his face (he is a trained actor after all.) "Flying things?" he says as if he has no idea what I am talking about. "Oh, never mind, I guess I don't know where we are going." I continued to guess and eventually figured out we were going to South Lake Tahoe, one of our favorite overnight getaways. We got there just in time for dinner, had a wonderful night on the town, and headed up to the hotel room. He then tells me, he has one more adventure and we need to leave at about 8:00 in the morning.

The next morning he hands me a birthday card. It says something like this, "If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said you're crazy. If you had asked me 6 months ago I would have said no way, but ask me today what we're doing and you might be very excited!" Inside the card was a picture of people skydiving. As soon as I saw this, I started screaming and jumping around the hotel room (I'm sure our neighbors would have preferred that I open the card in the car.) I was so excited, I couldn't contain myself!

So we hit the road, headed toward Lodi. I think I was smiling the entire 3 hour drive. As we pulled into the parking lot it felt as if it was raining people! The skydivers floating in for a landing pushed my excitement over the edge! I ran into hangar and couldn't wait to get signed up!

Skydiving is a culture unto itself, one I had never experienced. The crowd felt like a mix of gypsies and vagabonds. Crazy clothes, tattoos, piercings, smelly clothing, it was quite a sight to behold! All around the hangar, instructors were busy repacking their chutes, in preparation for their next jump.

We waited outside a bit, watching group after group load into the plane, and a few minutes later, float back to earth. When Dave and Debb arrived, we went to the counter to sign our lives away.

I was not able to convince my friend Jenny to jump, so our group was only 3, Jer, Dave and me. They had us watch a video (which was probably made in the 70's and the volume was so low you couldn't hear a word being spoken). Then you initial a form in a million places saying you won't sue them if you die. After that, they give you a number and tell you to wait until you're called.

I was expecting a long wait, but no sooner did we turn our forms in and go to the bathroom, was it our turn! They bring you to a back room and assign you an instructor. I actually can't remember my instructors name, but he was a nice guy. They get you all hooked in to your harness, most instructors were giving some instructions during this time, but mine was just shooting the breeze with me.

After being hooked in, the whirlwind begins! They shuffle everyone outside, just in time for the plane to pull up. Quickly, you climb into the plane, and just as your butt hits the seat, the plane takes off! What? no pre-flight instructions? Where are the emergency exits? Oh ya, we have parachutes on...

The flight was rather surreal. I kept telling myself I was about to jump out of a plane, but it never quite sunk in. I never once felt scared, but probably the most excited I have ever felt in my entire life. I was the first one in the plane, which meant I was the last one out of the plane. They opened the doors and I saw the first pair jump out..."Here we go!"

My instructor says to me, as we are walking toward the open door, "Hands across your chest and try to kick my butt with your feet." And with that, we jumped!

I tried to convince myself ahead of time that it would not be as fun I had built it up in my head to be; so as to not be disappointed. But that was unnesecary self-talk! It was absolutely the most incredible experience of my life! From the second I jumped out of the plane, to the moment my feet hit the ground, I was beside myself with excitement and enjoyment! The free fall is amazing, it really does feel like you are flying! Then, when the chute opens, everything is calm and quiet. You can't see your instructor or the parachute, it's as if you are floating around in the air all by yourself. I felt euphoric. Maybe heaven will be similar?

I really can't fairly describe how incredible it was, but I would strongly suggest trying it out for yourself! And don't be afraid, you're 20 times more likely to die in a car accident on the way to the place than you are to die skydiving.

To my amazing husband for appeasing your crazy wife and jumping out of a plane with her, THANK YOU! To my father-in-law, who proves to everyone that skydiving is not just for kids, I applaud you! And to all that have always wanted to do it, but just haven't gotten around to it, GO JUMP OUT OF A PLANE!

Quinoa Soup

I absolutely love to cook. Few things bring me more joy than preparing a delicious meal for friends and family. My mom is one of the best cooks I know and I hope to be as talented as she is one day. Another one of my cooking mentors is a life-long family friend of ours, Patte. Patte always has fun new recipes for me, and you can guarantee the meal is healthy and nutritious if it comes from her! One of our absolute favorite recipes came from Patte, African Quinoa Soup. Jeremy and I love this soup because it is extremely healthy, all organic, delicious and filling! The second the weather cooled off, Jeremy started begging me to make a batch of soup. In the past 2 weeks, we have been through three batches! It is great to put in single-size containers as easy-to-grab lunches, and also makes a delicious dinner when paired with a salad and fresh bread. So, give this soup a try and let me know what you think. I doubt you will be disappointed!

African Quinoa Soup

2 tbsp. butter or olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 med. sweet potato
2 zucchini squash
1 med. onion
2 celery stocks with leaves
1 jalapeno pepper
1 med. red bell pepper
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cumin
6 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup quinoa
salt & pepper
1/2 crunchy peanut butter
Dash of cheyenne pepper

Using a food processor, dice all veggies and set aside.
Melt butter (or heat olive oil) in large stock pot. Saute next 9 ingredients until veggies are soft (about 15 minutes). Add next 3 ingredients and cook about 20 minutes. Add PB and cheyenne pepper and cook another 15-20 minutes.

I hope you all enjoy this delicious and nutritious soup as much as we do! I would love some of your recipes! If you have one you would like to share, please post!

Family Photos

This summer my family was so blessed to all be in the same place at the same time for several days. This has not happened since my wedding two years ago; and needless to say I was generally unavailable to visit with them at that time.

To commemorate this momentous occasion, we hired my cousin, an amazing photographer, to capture the crew. It was a bit of a challenge to get everyone in similar outfits, but we pulled it off and the end result was definitely worth it!

I feel so blessed to have a lot of siblings. Though we don't spend nearly enough time together, when we do, it is a total blast.

Thanks Justine for putting up with our unruly bunch, and thanks for the incredible pictures!

Fall is Coming

I know I never finished my series about our DC adventure, but suffice it to say, we had a great time visiting our brother and sis-in-law, and we can't wait to see them again!

I am making a New Year's resolution a little early this year; I have decided to be more dedicated to this blog. This is a great way to stay in touch with family and friends that are not close by.

So, the first piece of news, as most of you know, I went on the show Wipeout a few weeks ago. I don't know why I though that would be a good idea; nevertheless, there I was, face to face with the Big Balls. For those of you that haven't heard of Wipeout, or haven't had the pleasure of watching it, here is a clip from last season.



The obstacles I completed were new, but you get the idea. I can't discuss how I did on the show, but watch for it next summer and find out for yourself! I had such a great time and plenty of bruises to show for it!

The next piece of news, is very exciting! I am starting my own business! I will be doing in-home demonstrations (think Tupperware and Pampered Chef) educating about, and selling, cloth diapers and babywearing. I will also be selling beautiful, modern, hand-made baby accessories. I am so excited about this new adventure! These are things I have always been passionate about and I can't wait to share them with others. I will be having a launch party in November and I hope you can all make it! For those of you that are not in town, I will also have a website where you can order all of my products. The name of the business is...

So between the business, being a television star, and saving the lives of newborn babies, I keep myself pretty busy. Jeremy is busy as ever training for his December marathon, working on the house, playing music at church, being on staff for High School, and holding down a full time job. Abbey is sad the rain is coming, because that means less park time. Rieber is happy we didn't send him off to a barn in Cottonwood.

Wahington, DC

It took me a little while, but I will now begin working on the promised posts about our amazing trip to Washington, DC. I am going to do one day at a time since each day was so packed with excitement!

DAY ONE

Jer and I had been talking about visiting our brother and sister-in-law for a while (ever since they moved to DC actually). When we found out their time in DC would be coming to a close, we cashed in our credit card miles and booked our flight. We were flying out of San Jose, so we went down the night before our flight and stayed in the airport hotel. We had a leisurely morning at the hotel (full breakfast included!) and made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. The flights across the country went very smoothly and we finally made it to DC about 11:00 pm. It was so great to see Jon's smiling face (and new car!) It was too dark to really see any scenery, but we did see the Washington Monument in the distance as we drove to their apartment. The next morning we had Jewish bagels for breakfast and hit the road for Gettysburg.

Very excited to go to Gettysburg!

A little background on this day-trip: I had been very vocal about my "excitement" to go walk around a field out in the middle of nowhere. (Picking up on the bad attitude?) Jer knew I really didn't want to go, but he was very excited about this portion of the trip and I, being a good and supportive wife, was going to appease him. What he didn't know was that I had been planning a birthday/anniversary surprise for him over the months prior.

We arrived at Gettysburg and spent about 4 hours driving the 26 mile loop around the battlefield. To be fair, the experience was quite amazing. The number of men killed in that battle is staggering. It is impossible to stand at one of the look-outs, knowing 200,000 men fought and killed each other directly in front of where you are standing, and not be in awe.

Made it!

Tough guys

Shoot it over there!


No, I can't see it...

This guy was one of the few survivors of the battle.


Many stairs, but worth the climb!

As the tour came to a close Jer requested we stop at just one more point of interest, the house Abraham Lincoln stayed at the night before he gave the Gettysburg Address. As luck would have it, the point of interest was only one block away from the vacation home I had reserved for the night. Jonathan (being in on the plan) was letting Jer believe we were heading to Abe's place, but in reality was listening to my directions toward the vacation rental. We pulled into the driveway of the vacation rental, the three of us telling Jer this was the point of interest. I got out of the car and Jer was desperately trying to convince me this was the wrong house. We talked him into to coming inside (even though he thought we were walking into some stranger's house!) Soon, he realized something was fishy, and I let him in on the surprise. We had the house for the night, and reservations at an historic restaurant.

The house was absolutely adorable! It was built before the war and had since been renovated. It had a bedroom downstairs and a loft-style master suite upstairs. It had a cute little backyard with a huge hot tub inside a gazebo. What a great find! After touring the house and bringing in our stuff, we all got changed and headed out to dinner. (Actually, one of the bags got left behind by mistake so we made a quick stop at Gap on the way to dinner.)

The front of the house:

Kitchen:

Hot Tub:
Unfortunately, dinner was mediocre at best, but the company was great and the building itself was beautiful. As part of the surprise, I had arranged for a local bakery to deliver a birthday cake, which was amazing! After dinner we headed back to the house and spent the evening in the hot tub (where I saw fireflies for the first time!) We played cards for a while and then headed to bed.

At dinner

CAKE!

I couldn't think of a better way to start off our trip. We had a great time seeing the battlefield (yes, I was wrong, it was actually interesting) and an even better time celebrating with family!

The next morning we packed up and hit the road for the monuments and museums. Check bag for the next blog on day two of our trip.

2 Years Later

Walking in the door after a week long vacation is one of the best feelings on earth! Exhausted, dirty, and enjoying the residual excitement and fun experienced on the trip. I love to reflect on a vacation and all the activities (usually ranking them in order of my most favorite on down) after we get home. Jeremy and I had an amazing time in DC visiting our brother and sister-in-law, and I will blog all about the trip throughout this week (I promise!) But before I get to reflecting on the one week trip, I thought I should reflect on the past 2 years of marriage as we celebrate our anniversary today!

July 7, 2007:

The happiest day of my life thus far.

I don't think the day could have been any more perfect, picturesque, or magical. I woke up (well, I wasn't sleeping, but the clock finally gave me permission to get out of bed and get started on the day!) and leisurely headed to breakfast with my favorite four women on earth. As I forced down some scrambled eggs, I felt as though I was in a dream. Was I seriously getting married to my prince charming, today? After 6 years of waiting, hoping, planing, the day was finally here? It seemed completely impossible to believe.

After breakfast we headed over to the location of the wedding. Playing cards, snacking, and laughing, we enjoyed the beautiful weather and I basked in the thought that in 6 hours I would make a promise to the man of my dreams: to stand by him, love and support him the rest of our lives.

We took our time getting ready, enjoying the company and relishing every second of this day, the day I had been waiting for. And then the moment finally came. Standing inside, dressed and ready, I could see the guests arriving through the window, my heart must have been beating 200 times a minute. Everyone was seated, the music started, I took my father's arm and began the most important 3 minute walk of my life.



The ceremony was beyond my wildest dreams. I am not a crier, I am not easily moved to tears by any situation. To be honest, I was a little worried I wouldn't cry during the ceremony and people would think I was heartless. Well, Jeremy quickly laid my fears to rest and I turned into a water works fest the second I saw him.



My dad gave the most moving "giving away" speech I have ever heard, Ryan spoke of God's intention for marriage and the model He gave us in Jesus, Jeremy sang a song he had written that had the entire audience crying, we exchanged hand-written vows, took communion as a married couple, and sealed the deal with a kiss! AMAZING!



The reception was a blast! Good food, lots of dancing and visiting, a constant feeling of euphoria.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the most memorable and magical day of my life. I will never forget it.



After a high like that, I thought anything to follow would be a disappointment, but I was wrong! Jeremy and I flew to Jamaica (following a family golf tournament) and had the best honeymoon anyone could ask for! Unlimited food, drinks, activities, etc.! It was heavenly!



Our first year of marriage was spent in Sacramento. Learning how to live together as a married couple went rather smoothly. Jeremy attending UC Davis full-time, taught as a TA, and worked a part-time job at the Sacramento office of his current employer (NMR). I worked in the NICU at UC Davis full time and expanded my skills in the kitchen. Looking back at that first year I have nothing but positive memories. Our house was adorable, we rode our bikes all over the city, went on small trips to South Lake Tahoe, and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with eachother. We had our first holiday season together, our first set of brithdays together, and our first March Madness together.




After Jeremy finished his Master's, we decided to move home. Almost 6 years away from Redding was plenty, and we wanted to get back to the town we knew and loved! We were fortunate to find a fixer-uper in downtown Redding and we embarked on restoration project that will take us years to complete.



It is incredible to reflect on all that has occured over the past 2 years; all that we have accomplished, all that we have to remember. I am so thankful to have found my prince charming and I feel so blessed that he chose to love me for the rest of my life. God is so good!

If the first two years have been this amazing, I can't begin to imagine what the next 50 hold!

Jeremy, thank you for being an amazing husband. Striving to love me with the perfect love of Christ, and showing me everyday that I am His creation. I could not be more thankful for you and I promise to respect and support you the rest of my life.

Unsuperivsed Puppy + Hot Day =

Swimming and Company

A few weeks ago we were blessed with a preview of summer. The temperature reached the mid 90's, no wind, crystal blue skies. It was beautiful. This will be Abbey's first summer (since she was born in fall of last year) and she has no idea what she is in for. We thought the warm weather would be a perfect opportunity to take Abbey out to the lake and let her swim for the first time and cool off. Very excited for out outing, we load up the car with towels and tennis balls, and Abbey of course. She is absolutely thrilled to be going somewhere, and she is pretty convinced the "somewhere" will be fun. We find the perfect isolated beach at Whiskeytown, I get the camera ready, and Jer throws the inaugural tennis ball in the water. Abbey bolts from the rocks to the shoreline, eye on the ball..... and comes to a dead stop when the water reaches her elbows.




Anxiously running up and down the shore, trying to figure out how to get to the ball, and crying to Jer that she can't get it, we realize the poor puppy doesn't understand she can swim!




Now Jeremy, being the amazing daddy that he is, braves the ice cold water in an effort to demonstrate to the puppy that the water is safe and fun.



It took a lot of convincing (and a little shoving) but Abbey finally figured out she could swim! We were beaming parents :)

Part II:

Anytime that Jeremy and I have to leave Abbey, she goes and stays with her real mommy. She absolutely loves it over there, and always comes home exhausted. This past weekend, we were lucky enough to return the favor by hosting Abbey's mommy Ruby at our house. They had so much fun playing together and Abbey was happy to share her bed. On Sunday afternoon we decided to take them both out for a hike at Whisketown. The girls did so well and really had a great time. Abbey was so honored that all those people would come out to Whiskeytown just to see her!



I actually have an update on the house, if you can believe it! Look back soon for another post.

Long Time Coming

I know my blog updates are becoming quite sporadic, but things have been busy with the puppy and house remodeling is moving very slowly now (since we only have small things left to finish). But... here are the big updates:

Abbey:
Abbey is now 5 months old and weighs 50 pounds...She is so huge and such a huge handful! She has a very energetic spirit, as most Goldens do, and a very stubborn attitude to go along with that energy.

For example: Abbey loves to ride in the car, so the other day I was heading to the paint store to pick up paint (more on that in a second) and I decided to take her with me, just to let her get out of the house for a bit. She had recently had her neutering surgery so had been cooped up for a few days in the house so I thought some fresh air would do her good. We head out to the car and she jumps right in and is excited for the ride. We get to the paint store, and I am planning on just running in and leaving her in the car. So I get out of the car and close the door behind me, only the door doesn't close, it bounces back open like it hit the seat belt and wasn't able to latch. I turn around to see what the problem is and I can't figure out what kept the door from closing. Well then I turn back around to see my puppy frolicking down California street like she is the queen of the world! I panic of course, and have no idea what to do. Just as I am picturing my dog getting obliterated by a car, a woman walks toward the paint store and catches Abbey's attention. Abbey sprints toward the woman, very excited to make her acquaintance, though I do not believe the sentiment was shared. The woman quickly closes the paint store door and tells the social little puppy
"no, no puppy you can't come in here, go away"
"PLEASE LET HER IN!!!" I yell, thinking to myself at least she can't get killed in there (by a car anyway). The woman looks offended and perplexed, but reluctantly obliges. I rush in the store to find Abbey running laps around the counter with a paint brush in her mouth. Completely mortified, I begin chashing after her and calling her name, as sternly and quietly as I possibly can.

"Oh great! I LOVE this game." she thinks "Let's play tag!"

So, after what felt like an hour of "catch me if you can" I finally caught Abbey by the collar and led her back to the car. She of course refused to get in the car, instead decided to lie down in the middle of the sidewalk and threw a big tantrum. So here I am trying to lift this 50 pound puppy into my car while everyone drives by and points...

Needless to say we made it home eventually, and Abbey spent the rest of the afternoon in her crate.

Though she is a handful, Jer and I love her so much and couldn't imagine life with out her. She brings us so much joy and we know that this puppy phase will pass eventually and we will have a sweet, beautiful, loving family dog. All our hard work will be worth it in the end.

And speaking of hard work, Abbey graduated at the top of her class from puppy school. She is really smart! We start "Manners" class in a few weeks.

Here she is on the night of graduation with her graduation bandanna on:



House:
As far as the house goes, we made great progress this week. The two rooms that were needing carpet are finally carpeted! Jeremy worked very hard on getting the family room wired and dry walled. After we had some help texturing, we threw some paint on the wall, just in time for the Lowes truck to show up. There is still work to be done of course (Baseboards, trim, window casing). But it is so great to finally be able to use that room!

These aren't the best pictures, but the work for now to give you an idea. For the best picture, come by and see it for yourself!