What have I been doing the last 11 months?
The last 11 months...where to begin? Kristen and I went to NYC in December 2009. We went to Alaska in May 2010. We went to Steven and Stephanie's wedding in San Jose. We are expecting an LB to be born to us in Feb 2011. I started running races. I love teaching the high school class at church.
Alaska
We took a cruise from Vancouver, BC to Seward, AK on Holland America. We stopped in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. In Ketchikan we we snorkeling(it was cold, but we wore thick wetsuits) and we saw tons of fish and kelp forests and colorful starfish. In Juneau, we went on a zipline course that was super fun and we explored the area. In Skagway, we learned the history of the city and had a good time there. I gained 15 lbs on the cruise b/c I ate so much food. Room service was included, dinners had multiple courses, and it was fantastic! The ship went into Glacier Bay and Kenai Fjords National Parks. Those places blew my mind! We saw a glacier calve. That glacier appeared to be maybe 200 yards wide...it was over a mile! Beautiful everything everywhere you look!
Once we got off the boat, we explored Seward (church-the preacher had killed a bear the day before, Exit Glacier) with the preacher's wife who Luke Matthews hooked us up with. We met an awesome couple on the cruise and they came to church with us. We left Seward on a train going to Anchorage, where we rented a car for the rest of our trip.
We drove up to Denali NP, where Mt. McKinley is located-which is the highest point in North America at 20,320ft! We stopped at the hippie town of Talkeetna and on the way, we got our best look at "Denali" the Great One. I was driving about 100 miles away from the mountain and when I saw it, my mouth dropped and I couldn't close it. I got chills all over my body. It was such a majestic peak and it looked enormous from 100 miles away! We stayed in a cabin near a creek before going into the park. We went on a bus tour of the Nat'l Park and we saw snowshoe hares, grizzly bears, dall sheep, caribou, moose(outside the park), and bald eagles. The whole trip was totally amazing-best trip ever! The sun set at midnight-ish and came up around 4:30am. If you ever have the chance, I recommend visiting any and all of Alaska. The people were the most rational people I've ever been around.
Baby-Making
My beautiful wife and I are expanding our family by one! We find out in 1.5 more weeks if it'll be a boy or girl and we are so excited. Kristen has had some "morning(and night) sickness." She is barely showing at 16 weeks. Becoming a father is a little daunting. I had a great dad and now that I'm almost a dad, it is apparent that he taught me a lot I hadn't considered. He included us kids in so many things for OUR benefit. Whether it was riding to the dump or mowing the yard or fishing. He showed us kids what it means to be a father.
Running Races
I'm still not sure what got me started. It could be a sermon coupled with a visit from Rosemary. I ran a 5K on 8/21 and a 10K on 9/11. Now I'm training to run a Half Marathon in December at the St. Jude's race in Memphis. So far I have lost about 5 pounds and I wouldn't mind losing 10-15 more.
I never thought I'd see the day when I rarely check on pleonast. I found my pleo shirt from the Pleo Bash in Tampa, which I didn't even go to. I hope everyone who reads this is doing great and serving the Lord with all you've got.
Alaska
We took a cruise from Vancouver, BC to Seward, AK on Holland America. We stopped in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. In Ketchikan we we snorkeling(it was cold, but we wore thick wetsuits) and we saw tons of fish and kelp forests and colorful starfish. In Juneau, we went on a zipline course that was super fun and we explored the area. In Skagway, we learned the history of the city and had a good time there. I gained 15 lbs on the cruise b/c I ate so much food. Room service was included, dinners had multiple courses, and it was fantastic! The ship went into Glacier Bay and Kenai Fjords National Parks. Those places blew my mind! We saw a glacier calve. That glacier appeared to be maybe 200 yards wide...it was over a mile! Beautiful everything everywhere you look!
Once we got off the boat, we explored Seward (church-the preacher had killed a bear the day before, Exit Glacier) with the preacher's wife who Luke Matthews hooked us up with. We met an awesome couple on the cruise and they came to church with us. We left Seward on a train going to Anchorage, where we rented a car for the rest of our trip.
We drove up to Denali NP, where Mt. McKinley is located-which is the highest point in North America at 20,320ft! We stopped at the hippie town of Talkeetna and on the way, we got our best look at "Denali" the Great One. I was driving about 100 miles away from the mountain and when I saw it, my mouth dropped and I couldn't close it. I got chills all over my body. It was such a majestic peak and it looked enormous from 100 miles away! We stayed in a cabin near a creek before going into the park. We went on a bus tour of the Nat'l Park and we saw snowshoe hares, grizzly bears, dall sheep, caribou, moose(outside the park), and bald eagles. The whole trip was totally amazing-best trip ever! The sun set at midnight-ish and came up around 4:30am. If you ever have the chance, I recommend visiting any and all of Alaska. The people were the most rational people I've ever been around.
Baby-Making
My beautiful wife and I are expanding our family by one! We find out in 1.5 more weeks if it'll be a boy or girl and we are so excited. Kristen has had some "morning(and night) sickness." She is barely showing at 16 weeks. Becoming a father is a little daunting. I had a great dad and now that I'm almost a dad, it is apparent that he taught me a lot I hadn't considered. He included us kids in so many things for OUR benefit. Whether it was riding to the dump or mowing the yard or fishing. He showed us kids what it means to be a father.
Running Races
I'm still not sure what got me started. It could be a sermon coupled with a visit from Rosemary. I ran a 5K on 8/21 and a 10K on 9/11. Now I'm training to run a Half Marathon in December at the St. Jude's race in Memphis. So far I have lost about 5 pounds and I wouldn't mind losing 10-15 more.
I never thought I'd see the day when I rarely check on pleonast. I found my pleo shirt from the Pleo Bash in Tampa, which I didn't even go to. I hope everyone who reads this is doing great and serving the Lord with all you've got.
What all did you get to do in NYC. I went in 2002 and would love to go back.
Congrats on the baby, so exciting!