So we decided to go on a little hike

Just like every other Saturday, Derek and I spent the first couple of hours trying to figure out what we were going to do that day. After going through a list of things, we decided to drive to a new place that had some hiking trails along with a little history. When we got there we noticed that we were the only ones there and that's when I came to the conclusion that it seems like people in Kansas just don't like to get out and enjoy the outdoors. Well, after we finished our little hike I completely understand why! Just hold on though, and I'll get to that.

We got out of the car and were immediately hit with the mid 90 degree temperature and the humidity as we started our little walk down the path. Derek was acting as the tour guide as he was informing me on all of the historical aspects. It was going real well, even though we were probably only 50 feet into our walk. I just love being in the outdoors and seeing new things. However, we didn't get too far before we realized that the trail probably hadn't been walked on for awhile. The not so beaten path and the massive spider webs clinging to our sweaty faces kinda gave that away! That's when I made Derek take the lead!

The spider webs got thicker and thicker as we continued our little hike through the trail. Poor Derek was just getting hit one right after another. I have never seen him jump around or squirm so much! Not to mention, the map that the place had must have been as old as all the historical stuff because it was pretty inaccurate and didn't help much. Yeah, we ended up getting a little lost, but not too bad. The trails were pretty random and it looked like some of them went right through the backyards of homes. We even came across a horse right in the middle of our walk who was just chillin. Derek went a head and gave it some attention and then we decided to continue. I think the thing that completely terminated our walk was when Derek came across a humongous spider web with a huge spider right in the middle of it! That pretty much freaked the both of us out and we decided to call it quits. Yes, we got more then our fill of nature for one day! Luckily it happened right at the end of the trail where we, or at least Derek, knew where we were again.

I finally saw the car and made a quick beeline for it still feeling like I had things crawling all over me! I can't imagine what Derek was feeling, but I checked him over to make sure that the spider wasn't going for a ride on his shoulder or something. He was clear! Derek still had the useless map in his hands so we walked over to one of the garbage cans so he could throw it away and all of a sudden we heard screams and hisses like some animal was going crazy. That did it for me, I was gone! Derek took the camera and reached it out over the garbage can so we could see what was in there. To find, we had disturbed a raccoon feasting on some garbage.

So now I see why we seem to be the only ones out and about in the great outdoors over here. The trails just aren't maintained, and it is way too hot!! I don't know if we are ever going to let this register considering we continue to keep trying even after our very hot camping trip to Missouri with a sleepless summer night in a tent and the worries of poison ivy! We are determined to find someplace nice to go outside here!!!

Im Gonna be an Aunt!!

My sister-in-law Kori and my brother Matt have announced to the family that they are going to be having a baby! Kori is 10 weeks along and is expecting on March 4, 2008. I am very excited for the two of them! My family was having a BBQ Saturday afternoon that included my parents, Jenny, Matt, Kori, my Uncle Dave, and Aunt Ann. When I heard the story about how Ann figured it out I thought it was kinda funny. Kori was getting ready to enjoy her dessert of cheesecake when she asked Matt if he would get her some chocolate syrup to put on it because she really wanted chocolate syrup. Ann was sitting there and immediately said, "Oh my gosh! Have you told your mom yet!?" Kori and Matt looked at each other and then asked if they had told mom what. Knowing my mom and Ann I really wish I could have been there to see the reactions and hear all the squealing (mostly by my mom). Now that I think about it, Kori doesn't even like sweets all that much, everyone in the family knows that! Kori, I think the weird cravings are starting!! Also, Kori and Matt: If you're reading this then I want to say again, "CONGRATULATIONS!!!" Kori and Matt are going to be two great parents without a doubt. They are the most selfless, nurturing, and loving people I know. The whole family is extremely excited and happy! This baby is going to make two new pairs of grandparents! The first grandbaby for both sides of the family.

My New Job

I (Derek) thought that once I accepted a job I would not need to still look for a job. To my utter dismay consulting is about "networking" which is definitely a loaded word which includes the ever present need to look for your next project. Having no network within the company I was in project limbo for about two weeks, with the hope of finding a project outside of KC so that we could travel more, but that has finally come to an end. Oh, for those of you that don't know, I accepted a position with Accenture as a business consultant. The role that I accepted is at Sprint helping a high level manager that is being hit hard by the Sprint/Nextel merger. I will essentially be doing 1/2 of her job. I am quite excited for the role considering it will give me a lot of high level exposure and experience in a very difficult and demanding time at a large company.

A Pet Store MUST SUCK!

As we have been updating the blog we have been entertained by Gunther, our rabbit, running around and jumping all over the place. We have decided that he must be learning that rabbits are made for jumping. We love our little thumper...

Groundhogs Day will forever be special!!!

You may be asking how it is so special, considering it's a holiday about a stupid groundhog looking at it's shadow. In 2008 and forever after it will always be known as the day that Derek and I tied the knot!

That's right people! After months of trying to figure out the date we have finally come to the conclusion that February 2, 2008 would be a good time. However I will apologize ahead of time if you are all sweating at the wedding because I have the heat blasting because it is soo cold and rainy out!

The wedding will take place in Everett, WA at Floral Hall in Forest Park. It took us a while to find the perfect place to get married, and then one weekend after checking out a couple of halls we came across a retired park ranger that told us about a place in the park. Starting to feel a little desperate we decided to go check out the place and absolutely fell in love! This place brings out both of our personalities as it has a woodsy cabin like feel to it, and not to mention the place is beautiful!

Even though the wedding is still six months away, not actually being in Washington to plan it makes me a little nervous. There is still quite a bit to do and I'm afraid that it is going to creep up on us a month before. However, I have great family and friends that are helping with the whole planning process so I'm not too worried about it. I don't think Derek is losing sleep over it either!

We will keep you updated on the whole wedding planning thing!

The Addition to Our Family

One of the most difficult things about moving to a new place is finding and making good friends. Being people that grew up with animals we always had the luxury of having man's best friend always there and not feeling a dire need to gain friends quickly. We about six weeks without gaining close friends in Kansas and decided that we should probably turn to the guaranteed friend that comes with a pet. The big debate was what kind of furry friend we should get. We both love labs but our apartment has a 45 lb weight limit on animals (if you use Jon and Karen's dogs as a gauge, labs weigh 90 lbs) which eliminated the possibility of our favourite dog. We thought about a little dog but $800 for a dog that couldn't go running with you seemed like about $700 too much. The thought of a bird came and went as quick as possible. Neither one of us had a desire to own a cat. Fish aren't really pets. We pretty much found ourselves in a bit of a conundrum.

We were sitting in the living room one day and Lacie saw a rabbit hop by our patio and said "I want a rabbit." We kind of laughed initially but after doing some research (a few of Derek's friends in Seattle probably aren't surprised about the dinner research) we found that dwarf rabbits can make good pets.

One week ago today Derek took us both to a pet store to "look around" which ended up being a surprise for one of us because they actually had 2 baby dwarf bunnies there (we had called around the previous day and couldn't find them anywhere). Derek said to pick one and we both settled on the same rabbit.

After getting home we couldn't decide what to name him so we started with the letter "A" and started listing names. After about 5 names Derek blurted out "Gunther" (he is a bit special and sometimes forgets that the prescribed process...Gunther doesn't start with "A") and we both agreed that he was definitely a Gunther (Derek liked it because it was really just a random name and Lacie liked it because of the guy named Gunther on the TV show Friends).

Initially Gunther just pooped everywhere and we were a bit leery about trying to house train him but he quickly chose two spots to "take care of business" and so we put litter boxes in each place (one in his cage and one in the corner of the dining room). Since then he has only peed on the carpet one time and that was because he peed in the right spot but Lacie had the litter box in the bathroom to clean it out...this is when we learned that rabbits are creatures of habit.

Let us back up briefly... Although Gunther liked to cuddle, you had to first chase and catch him before he would be cuddling. We both expressed the desire to have him get used to us. As it turns out he was probably skittish for two reasons: he was probably handled by tons of people at the pet store and he didn't really know/trust us. Now when we reach down to touch him he doesn't feel the need to run off. He cuddles with us every morning (Derek gets him out of the cage right after getting up) for about 15 minutes. He has gotten used to Derek feeding him and so now when Derek puts his hand down he always runs over to check for food and sometimes runs right into his hand. Despite these good things he has learned about bed time which means that he will be put into his cage and so he starts to hide around those hours...this could get fun when he gets better at hide and seek.

What we've learned:

1. Rabbits poo a lot


2. Pet stores are freaky for animals


3. Animals hate being locked up for bed time (Our pet is FAR better than Matt and Kori's dang cat considering it won't attack you when trying to put him to bed and he doesn't make any sound at all)


4. Rabbits eat ALL the time!


5. Rabbits are great about "trimming" the dead branches on plants as they fall...and they even help the live branches to fall by chewing them down


6. Those of you that think that a rabbit is a weird pet are definitely wrong!


7. From now on we will write the blog in first person and just note who is speaking

Why we started a blog

Many of our friends may be asking "why did you start a blog" but many others are probably saying "it's about stinking time!" Ultimately we decided to start a blog as a convenient way to keep everyone up to date on our lives since we are living in Kansas (hopefully only until Christmas) and will be moving around a bit after that.

We will add posts to this blog as new and exciting, what we deem to be exciting, things come up. Although we hope to be somewhat regular on the posts, we make no promises!

We are glad that you have decided to check out this blog and look forward to hearing from all of you soon!