Steak and Corn

We had a lot to celebrate this weekend. Jared completing his first year at Rice, and me getting unexpected praise at work. I got a $500 recognition prize for the work I did on my very first project. That inspires me to work harder!

We bought steaks and corn at Costco, and Jared cooked them up on Saturday. I forgot to take pictures until we were about done with the meal. He stuffed them with mushrooms and blue cheese, and wrapped them in bacon. Delicious!!

Here are Jared's last couple bites of steak.

The oh so delicious corn.

The bubbly

And here are the nachos we had later that night.

Rice Softball

Jared is done with his first year at Rice! Whoopie! They had a softball tournament. I caught the end of the game against the 2nd year students, and Jared and his first years won! He was pretty worn out, and didn't wear enough sunscreen so is now two distinct colors. He hit a homerun where he slid into home. Good times!

Here are the winning first years.

One of the second years brought her dog, Korbel. I should have brought my pups, but they are a bit more obnoxious that Korbel.

Here is Jared after sliding into home.

New Camera

We finally got a new digital camera. My old Olympus was almost 10 years old, and the dogs ate the piece that holds the battery in. Jared's old camera was a bit nicer, but I don't even know where it is. We got an Olympus Stylus 1050 SW, the blue one. It's a great little camera, and it's shockproof and waterproof. Perfect for us!

The camera has a image stabilization feature. Jared was waving his hand quickly, and I took the first picture in auto, and the second picture with the stabilization feature on. It works!
I also tried out the portrait feature with Kirsche. Jared folder her ears back for fun. The first picture was in auto, the second picture is in portrait mode. It works for those close ups!

Domi and the Nates

Domi, her boyfriend Nate, and their friend Nate spent a week with us in January. They were here for my birthday, it was such a great time! I can't wait for their next visit.

Domi gets a kiss from Kirsche.














Nate finds a friend in Sundog.























Sundog finds a friend in Domi.















Kirsche and Tancred go at it.














We have waffles for breakfast. The waffle maker was a wedding gift from Jared's uncle.














Domi sits with Tancred.
























Sundog yawns while hanging with Nate.
























I get the special plate for my birthday. The pork chops were delicious!














Kirsche and Sundog take a nap.

Day 1: Bangkok

The Trip Out

This is Mount McKinley in Alaska. We had one heck of a view from our airplane!














This valley is cut by the flow of a glacier.














This video is before the plane took off from Chicago to Tokyo. This is a 12 hour flight.


This video was taken when we landed in Bangkok. I look pretty different! I really didn't mind flying that long, but it did take its toll.


These are our airport snacks.

Getting Ready for the Big Day

Guests arrive while we get ready. You can see the entire set-up from this view. We had 85 people attend the wedding.












Mom helps lace me up.

















I put some blush on Domi.














I look into the mirror of the future.





















Mom continues to lace the dress.






















Still lacing up the dress.


























Mom helps me put on my veil.















I put on Mom's neckalce. It is my "something borrowed".













Perfume!















We do a sparkling water toast.







I pose at the window right before the ceremony.

The Ceremony

Josienne's walk.




















Jared's walk.

The hand off.

















The twins.

















At the alter.

















I do!


















The kiss.

























Jared and Josienne's walk.



















Making it legal.

Here is my friend Chris and his dog Elwood. Elwood lived at the Humane Society for about 6 months. He an 8 - 10 year old beagle/bassett hound mix.

If anyone is thinking about getting a dog, please adopt. There is no reason not to unless you need a dog that can hunt, herd, etc. Family dogs should be picked by the personality of the dog, not the breed.

Chris told me what he liked and disliked about dogs, and I found the perfect match. He is very happy, and Elwood is doing so much better now that he has a home.

Here is the art work we put up this week.

This one Jared ordered from China through ebay.


This one is also from ebay. And you can see Jared putting the milk away.


I love this one. Jared got it off of ebay as well.


This is one of my favaorite paintings Yvette has done. It was a birthday present in 2004.


Jared got this while he was in Asia back in 2003.


My mom found this cute metal dog in Door County.

Here is our good luck New Year's dinner. Black eyed peas with chirizo and rye bread on the side. The rye bread is a recipe my mom has taken years to master. Most excellent!