our latest project

This is what we've been working on since the last time we posted anything here. Sorry for the absence but we think its worth the wait.

Leaving the house on the way to the hospital.

Our son arrived at 9:38 am on February 16, 2012. Sara had to have a c-section because his heart rate had dropped too low. It was so great to hear his first cry to know everything was ok.

He came out with a bunch of dark (and what we thought was curly) hair. He weighed in at 6 pounds, 12 ounces and measured 19 inches.

Sara finally got to meet our son when she got into the recovery room. He seemed so content and promptly fell asleep.

I got to hold him while they did some tests on Sara and while they got our room ready.

When we got to the room, he finally got his first cleaning. They also washed out his curly hair. He has straight hair about an inch long.

We had decided to wait and see what he looked like and what his personality was like before we chose his name. With all the commotion throughout the day, we didn't get a chance alone to discuss it until later that evening. Plus, he had been sleeping throughout most of the day.

We finally decided his name would be Austin James Riley.

Its been a day and half and we still love it. And we love Austin. I can't even express the joy we feel to have him here at last. He is such a cutie. He rarely cries except when his diaper gets changed and when he isn't swaddled up tight. It doesn't matter how tight I wrap him, he always manages to get his hands loose. He likes having them up around his face (just like in his ultrasounds). When he's awake he is either eating (which he is a pro at) or just very content to look around his new surroundings.

Dear God --

just got back from yosemite and saw some of your handiwork...


wow...

thanks for letting us get up close and personal, too.

and mostly for getting to spend some time with my best friend.

-k

salsa harvest

We are finally starting to see the fruits (or vegetables..as it were) of our labor. We have been enjoying our cilantro for some time now, and even had a few green beans and strawberries (not together, of course). This week is when we finally had enough stuff to harvest for our first batch of salsa. This was our main impetus in starting a garden.

As I was walking back to the house after gathering up the goods, I thought to myself, "Self...this salsa better taste good or gardening just isn't worth the hassle when you can get some excellent salsa at Ralph's for $2.99." I think we had put a little more than $2.99 into our garden. So we basically threw all of these ingredients, as is, into our little salsa maker -- thanks, grandma w -- and VOILA!

It doesn't look like much, but it sure was good. There might be hope for our garden after all. In addition to the above veggies, some of our other plants seem to be doing well. We've got plenty of tomatoes still on the way, a few ears of corn; we picked a couple of squash and there's one more that's just about ready. We also have a bunch of carrots and garlic that seem to be doing well, but have no idea when to pick them. Hopefully there will be at least enough for another batch of salsa.

8 little known facts about bicycles

If you thought that the above image was legendary major league pitcher Rollie Fingers, you are mistaken. It's actually a picture of Mac, our helpful bicycle salesman that we met yesterday. Mac works at a specialty bike store, not the sporting goods department of your local department store, so he knows what he's talking about. Mac not only had a replica of Mr. Fingers signature 'stache, he also helped us learn that:

1) Bicycling is a lot more complicated than we ever imagined.

2) Bicycles are like shoes...as in "What size shoe do you wear...small, medium or large?"

3) The best way to pick out a bicycle is: find someone that you want to look like while riding a bike...and ask them.

4) People in million dollar mansions in Mill Valley know that biking is the preferred mode of travel.

5) Mac pays only $200 per year for auto insurance with Wawanesa because he bikes everywhere.

6) The best way to make money is to not spend it (excellent advice if you are trying to get someone to shell out hundreds of dollars for a bike).

7) They don't make bicycles for what we told him we would want to use them for.

8) Even if they did make a bike for us, it wouldn't matter because we'd probably want a different bike a year from now anyways.


The result of this enlightening conversation: we still don't have bicycles.

We almost forgot we had a blog!

But don't worry...we remembered! We are both very blessed to have jobs we enjoy but that are keeping us very busy as of late. Here are some updates:

Another day, another Padres loss. My favorite part of the game is when Jorge Cantu comes up to bat. You know how they sometimes play a clip of music chosen by the player when he comes up to bat? Well, his is Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan, a sweet little mexican tune that makes you want to put on a sombrero and dance around . Its about the best thing the Padres have going right now. And he rocks a sweet mustache. Enough said.

Moving along to memorial day weekend, lots of fun to be had! We got to take our two little nephews to the Midway aircraft carrier museum on San Diego bay.
I was really impressed with how smart a 4 year old can be. Did you know that fish live in school? (That's why they are so smart according to K) Or that cement trucks spin cement? Well, those are both things we were informed of in the first few minutes of the car ride there.

We had an absolute blast with them, they are adorable. It was so much fun to watch them run around and climb on things (we may or may not have gotten in a little bit of trouble for the amount of running and climbing that happened on our watch)

L made it through the doorways all by himself!

P got comfortable with the controls

look I've got the whole rockin the backpack full of water/snacks/diapers/wipes/hand sanitizer...down pat.

By the end of the day anyone under the age of 5 apparently couldn't stand to walk another step and got to be carried through half the aircraft carrier while we tried to locate an exit. Its like a maze in there!

All tuckered out. Although when ice cream was offered they perked right up. funny how that works. We love these little guys!

We finished off the long weekend with a few BBQ's with wonderful friends, lots of fun, and plenty of laughter. But the weekend had to come to a close and we returned to the real world of work, and trying to kill gophers. More on that later.

it's a jungle out there

Lately I've been noticing our little friends from the animal kingdom a lot more....or maybe they have been noticing me. Seems like every job I work on I find some little creature stopping by to check out my handiwork. And I'm not talking about your run of the mill dogs and cats here. I've managed to catch a few of these critters on camera.

I was less than a foot away from stepping on this gopher snake before I saw him blocking my pathway

This baby rattlesnake was inches away from my hand as picked up some decking

I'm always keeping an eye out for hawks...they are among my most favorite animals. And I like to think they are keeping an eye out for me too. I just wish they'd keep a better eye out for the gophers in our yard.

I found this guy staring at me from our back patio when I woke up one morning.

I caught this lizard listening to my radio, and then I caught him by the tail...

Another baby rattlesnake that I nearly stepped on...I had to put him in a bucket to make sure he stayed out of my way.

This little bugger was inches away from my face when I found him.
I don't mind if you pray for me, just don't scare the crap out me like that.

And then there's this bicho raro I found hiding behind a cabinet. I don't even know what it is but I'm pretty sure its an alien.

P.S. No animals were hurt in the creation of this post (the alien doesn't count)