diary of a discoverer

I'm married!!!

2008-09-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, i am now officially married to Brian Block. The event happened on Sept. 6th, 2008 in Boulder, Colorado! Please check out our couple blog, where i will be posting most of our events together from now on. i will also post some things on this blog, so check both!!!

http://www.vanessaandbrian.blogspot.com

Block Family reunion in July

2008-08-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

Missed putting these pics up before. Here are a few photos from the Block family reunion (Brian's dads family) at the end of July!

First Day of School!!

2008-08-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

My nephew Evan and niece Gaia headed back to school yesterday in grand fashion!! It was Gaia's first year as she is going to Kindergarten and Evan is a big 4th grader!!

Gaia is such a big girl now!!

2008-08-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is Gaia's new kindergarten teacher!!
This is a circle of parents and kids that forms the rose ceremony. First, everyone gathers and sings and then a few grades preform. Then all the teachers are announced and more singing!
But it was this part that was truly touching. All the fifth graders give the Kindergartners roses to welcome them to the school, and at the end of the year, the fifth graders get roses from the Kindergartners as a goodbye for them to leave to middle school!!
Here is G's class walking to the arch of parents!

The bridge of parents!!

2008-08-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the little princess with her rose! She was so excited for her first day and her beautiful new pink dress!!
This is one of the coolest things. So after the rose ceremony and introductions, all the parents form a bridge that the children walk under to "enter into the new year". There are so many parent there that the children have to walk for quiet some time! Here is G passing under all the parents.
Here is a look at how long this line is. While all the children are passing through, the parents and kids are singing a friendship song. Really an amazing sight!
Here is Evan passing under the arch of parents! Have a great school year, guys!!

Amazing You Tube video- Christian the Lion! Love it!

2008-07-31T09:57:00.000-07:00

Ben and Lisa's Wedding Day!

2008-07-21T07:28:00.001-07:00

Ben and Lisa's Wedding!!

It was the summer of weddings! After our good friends Ben and Lisa were married in Tucson, we attended the wedding of Brian's friends George and Katie in Iowa!

Ben and Lisa's Wedding Rehearsal Day!

2008-07-21T06:59:00.000-07:00

Ben and Lisa's wedding weekend-rehearsal day!

Click the pic to view the slideshow!

Pool fun in Houston!

2008-07-21T06:25:00.001-07:00

Pool pics in Houston

Lili's 1st Birthday!

2008-07-21T06:21:00.000-07:00

Lili's 1st Birthday!

4th of July in Houston!

2008-07-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

4th of July in Houston

Click the Photo to see the fun!

Wedding Shower!

2008-07-21T05:48:00.000-07:00

Wedding Shower

On June 14th, my sister in law Karina and my godmother Dorothy threw me a wedding shower! It was so beautiful and well done, thanks ladies! Please click on the picture to see the slideshow.

May/June travel

2008-07-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

May and June were insane, hence the no writing. We were in Colorade for a week, then out to California for our Marmot sales meeting and back to CO again for a bit of work time (and wedding planning!). Then the first week of June we all headed out to the Tetons for our OBoZ sales meeting! It was a blast, we were on a big ranch just over the border in Idaho. Great new product line...thanks guys!

Summer Fun!

2008-07-21T05:36:00.000-07:00

One of the first pool days of summer, Dylan and Brody (Brian's nephews) got out the kiddie pool and splashed around! We all got in the big pool!

OBoZ event in June

2008-07-21T05:32:00.000-07:00

SO, i have not posted in forever, so here is a huge picture montage of the last few months, including some wedding stuff! This was a dealer event that Bryan Gillam and i did in Duluth, MN. A great dealer up there called W-trek hosted an OBoZ event, a new footwear company we are working with!

Our beautiful baby watching the crowds, guarding the event! (yeah right!)

Mother's Day 2008

2008-05-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

Well, i got a chance to see my mom for a nice long lunch a few days before mother's day which was awesome. Thanks for meeting me mom! As for the actual day, we spent it in Adel with Brian's mom and sister. Sunday made an amazing breakfast (i mean, i chopped a few things too!), but she did a great job as you can see here!
Grandma and Brody, hanging out in the kitchen
These pics are cute to me because Dylan, the 3 year old, took them! He did a pretty good job considering my camera is pretty heavy!
Thanks to all the great mom's in my life, you all make such a wonderful difference to me!

And a puppy makes three!

2008-05-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

After much time apart on our clinic tours and travel, we finally reunited (Brian and i, that is:) for the Alpine Shop SWAP the first weekend of May. He got a chance to travel to Brazil in April and i stayed home...in the cold...and cliniced. Needless to say, we both decided that was never going to happen again! Anyway, the event was great and i love nothing more than traveling with my man...so here we are!
We got a chance to use the Snow Peak test kitchen at the event. Snow Peak sent it over and my friend Angie's boyfriend cooked a gourmet meal using 250g cans of IsoButane mix!! little better than i would have done. It was amazing! Thanks, John and Angie!!
Brian's wearing a sweatshirt from a cool new company we just picked up, www.lifeonaboard.com. Check 'em out!
Here is my "little" baby! All 60 lbs. of her!

Wild kids caught smiling!

2008-05-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

in a completely rare and uncharted case, the cuties on 39th street let me capture them in a mother's day shoot and they both smiled! Evan and Gaia...April 2008!

Cool shots for Erika's website!

2008-05-23T21:49:00.000-07:00

New additon to Erika's family!

2008-05-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

i would like to introduce Nicolai...the maltese rescue that Erika recently adopted from the Boulder Animal rescue. Sam, her 3 year old golden, and Tikka are not sure what to make of him, but they still sniff and play! He is a funny little guy that has a handmovment that makes him look like he is praying! Welcome, Nico!
Evan, my nephew, with Nico...nice sweater!
Gaia's beautiful style, compliments of her hair designer...her mom!!
the lovely, sassy lady herself!

Trip to Houston!!

2008-05-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

At the end of April, i got a chance to travel and see my brother's family in Houston for a few days...it was a blast. of course i missed the first few days of pics as my camera card randomly broke, but i did get the rest of the trip on "film". Here is my fun-lovin' nephew in the pool, squirting everyone!
Karina and Lili...so cute!
This kid may actually be a fish...we are not sure yet. But one thing is for sure, she loves the water!
Squirt-rific family time! i had a blast when while i was there, thanks guys!

Golf outing

2008-05-23T21:40:00.000-07:00

Jeremy won a golf day with a few of his guys from the office from his boss for doing such a great job, so we drove with him to shop in Houston!
a pro golfer in the making for sure!

Funny kids shots

2008-05-23T21:21:00.000-07:00

Little princess bow-head at the golf course...what a head of hair!!
Titi and Lili love each other, i get the best faces out of these kids!!

this pic i think is funny because this is a fish tank that plays music when you place anything inside or touch the brim. So princess tippy pants was making it sing by slamming her face on the top and giggling. Super cute!

Birthday Celebration in Texas

2008-05-23T21:19:00.000-07:00

i was lucky to have birthday's with my whole family this year, just at separate times! Karina made a favorite...FUNFETTI!!! i love funfetti!!
Jeremiah, as is tradition, had to help me blow the candles out! YUM!!

Easter baby...

2008-03-28T11:32:00.000-07:00

Here is our little Easter baby, weighing in at right around 50 lbs., Tikka is now a card carrying member of HomeAgain chipping! She just loves this flower hat, can you tell?

Easter Egg Hunt with Uncle Brian!

2008-03-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

Sue set up an easter egg hunt for the boys on Easter Sunday, even though it was not very warm! Of course, Uncle Brian had to have his own basket...so they all worked together to find the eggs (find being used in the loosest sense here!) before we all froze!

Brody and Dylan's B-Day party!!

2008-03-28T11:24:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Brody and Dylan's March birthdays mid March with a family birthday party at the homestead. Sunday made some beautiful cakes and let the boys have at it! It was a blast!!

Brody and Dylan's B-Day party!!

2008-03-28T11:22:00.000-07:00

Time to get serious about cake!!

Brody and Dylan's B-day party!!

2008-03-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

Present time!!!

Brody and Dylan's B-Day parties

2008-03-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is a picture montage of Brody in all of his 1 year old glory!

Weekend in Vegas...Feb. 22-26th

2008-03-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends, Ben and Lisa, are getting married in june and live in Alaska. As such, they wanted to have their bachelor/bachelorette parties in Vegas as a great place to meet and party. We had the good fortune of going on B's birthday, so we had extra reason to party that night!! This picture is the next morning, however, as we were too busy celebrating that night to take pictures!
In Vegas, we met up with Ben, Lisa, our friend Hilary from Hawaii, Amber (lisa's sister) and her husband Ty, Kevin (Ben's friend) and Ken (Ben's dad) and matt (Ben's cousin). It was great fun!

Vegas, baby, Vegas...

2008-03-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

we had the great fortune of having Ben's dad with us...he showed us the finer points of fun and encouraged a great time all over! Thanks, Ken!
Hilary had to leave early, but we had a wonderful time and we were all glad to see her.

Ken, after the Gospel Choir breakfast...awesome!

Red Rocks, NV...Feb. 08

2008-03-23T20:45:00.000-07:00

on our last full day out there, we decided to rent a van and drive to Red Rocks to climb a bit and see the life of beautiful Nevada outside of Las Vegas.
i look like a serious photographist here, yes?
reach matt, reach!!
this is part of the team, hanging and climbing...

Red Rocks...beautiful

2008-03-23T20:06:00.000-07:00

This is B and me watching the sunset...or posing in front of it...after we watched Ken and Matt drive the van backwards down a one way road to get back to the first parking lot in Red Rocks park. Something i did not expect, but made the climbing trip that much better.
i do have to say thank you to matt and ken for going climbing, as they were not going to join us on our trip climbing and it was so worth it to have them along. they gave us the "spider pig" song, the van trip in reverse and many other laughs. THANKS GUYS!!
we were lucky enough to have lisa on our plane to Denver as we was meeting her parents to do a bit more planning. That was great cause we got a bit more time with her!
We all had breakfast and had a great last few hours! Lisa and i got a chance to talk wedding info and that was great. Thanks for the great trip everyone, and i look forward to seeing you at the wedding!

Tikka at 5 months

2008-03-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

Weighing in at a whopping 48 pounds, our little baby keeps growing! She just got the big snip last week, but has healed very well and is out running with Brian again. She loves to tear the stuffing out of stuffed animals and she has a favorite toy: a hedgehog that sounds like a duck quacking when you squeeze it! She eats a ton and love to run. She sometimes is a bit head strong, but overall a big lover!

Tikka at 15 weeks

2008-01-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

i put this picture on the end to show how much snow we had in Ouray when we were there...5 feet!!

Ouray Ice Fest with Marmot

2008-01-19T19:51:00.000-08:00

We spent the second week of February in Ouray, Colorado for the Ice Fest. They have built an amazing ice piped park that hosts the best climbers in the world for 4 days of climbing, slideshows and fun! We also were lucky enough to spend some time with some of our favorite people from Marmot corporate, Andy Meyer and Brian Rashap! We had a great time and will continue to go back!

Quick afternoon climb in Ouray

2008-01-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

Brian took me out for my 3rd climbing trip up ice, but we didn't get started until late in the day, so we had to be quick. The route was way at the end and was a bit tricky to climb up...which made it quite the frustrating issue!
Brian repelling after setting the top rope
Vanessa climbing happy and well...until i smacked myself in the face with the hammer of my ice axe...
This is me telling the story to Brian after my momentary bout of tourettes syndrom!

Ouray Competition

2008-01-19T19:34:00.000-08:00

Tikka and i got a chance to watch part of the competition while Brian went out and climbed with his K2 buddy, Billy. It was a great competition and it was a lot of fun to have Tikka see everyone. She is such a people lover!

Ice Fest Party

2008-01-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

What is the ice fest without a "Dress to Impress" party? Brian takes his role seriously.
Here is the gang. Monkey(in the purple wig) was kind enough to bring up some props so we could participate...
i was placed in a red vinyl skirt...
meow...

Hikin' in the snow!

2008-01-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

We had to take our sweet little baby on one of our favorite hikes on a pretty nice day in Estes. Tikka actually ran the trail around 5 times as Brian would run ahead and then she would run to me and back to him. She LOVED it! And she is getting so big! We are taking her to the vet tomorrow for her 4 month shots, and i am sure that she will be around 35 lbs!!
Momma and baby!!
When the puppy slows down, just give her a lift!
This was a bit of a training session...it went alright, but she is such a dolly!

Christmas 2007

2008-01-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

Brian and i spent Christmas in Adel, IA and we had a wonderful time with his family. It was a lovely relaxing holiday filled with little boy laughter and puppy woofs! In lieu of commenting on each picture, i just posted a group of them. Enjoy!

2008-01-06T11:59:00.000-08:00

2008-01-06T11:57:00.000-08:00

2008-01-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

2008-01-01T20:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning!

2008-01-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

Santa came and so we had to open our GIGANTIC stockings the next morning. Dylan and Brody were especially excited! i got a movie and some tape (a tradition) and some ornaments and Santa left me some money, too! Hooray for Christmas!
This is good ol' underwear Magey!

Brian and Tikka bonding....awwww

2008-01-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

Baby's first wine? i think so!
Isn't my girl beautiful?
We are working on making her "floppy", a.k.a. letting her know she is not the alpha!

Our Engagement Party!!

2008-01-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

Well, it almost didn't happen because of a sick puppy, but we finally made it back at 5am on the morning of Saturday, Dec. 22 to have an engagement party! It also was partly to show off dad's new townhome as well. It was a lot of fun, we got to see all kinds of Sioux Falls friends!
The house looks a lot like his old place, so the furniture fit in perfectly.
The beautiful Christmas tree. Why aren't there pictures of Brian and me? we managed to have the whole party without getting one!
The full goodie table..all calorie free, of course! It was a lot of fun, i am glad we made it.

The Reception Site- 63rd Street Farm

2008-01-01T19:11:00.000-08:00

Once we decided we might want to get married at the church i went through RCIA in and also are doing our marriage prep, then we decided to look for reception sites. It was Erika that knew of this place and man am i glad she did. It is awesome. It is just outside of Boulder and has a huge yard for game playing and a big open room that has tons of windows. Best part is you can bring your own food and alcohol, and so it is just a rental fee! HOORAY!!
This is the big yard that also comes with a fire pit...though we may purchase a few more. It has lights all hanging in the trees and will be so fun for games. Bocce, anyone?
These are just a few shots of the front, LOVE THE GREEN COLOR!!

2008-01-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

Once inside, they have a couple great places to sit and relax. This room is just off of the front door and is a perfect place to relax and unwind. I can see people just chilling in here at the end of the night.
This kitchen is somewhat small, but wraps around and will be perfect for a buffet line.
The main room is a beautifully lit natural room with lots of windows and huge french doors that overlook the large stone deck. We will set up a large tent out here to have either the food or partying separated.
Although buried in snow, the large stone deck and yard will be perfect for games and little kids running around. I LOVE THIS PLACE!!

Reception Site Search!

2008-01-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

Well, we originally wanted to be married in Estes Park as it has come to mean so much to both of us. However, it also is very expensive. I spent the first week of December searching Estes for the perfect site, but ended up finding it in Boulder! This first one is a place called Crags Lodge and is a historic building in Estes. It was lovely.
Mary's Lake lodge is a great choice as well, and a very nice place to have a fancy dinner!
The Stanley was by far my favorite choice, but at $95/head before alcohol, it was not really in the budget, but still a glorious place.
This is the building at the Stanely...

Christmas cards and cookie baking!

2008-01-01T18:48:00.000-08:00

Since Brian and i were out in Colorado for the month of December, we got a chance to hang out with my niece and nephew a bit! Here is the dashing lad himself, posing for a lovely Christmas shot!
Gaia and Evan are so cute by the tree! Though getting this picture out of that head strong little girl was quite something!
Then we got to make Christmas cookies one night. And what kind of chef doesn't wear a hat and apron?
Evan cutting out all of his bells, angels and Santas! We had a blast, so much fun to see them.

a snowy saturday on ice

2008-01-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

We decided one lovely and snowy Saturday in December to go ice climbing in RMNP with Matt Cohen, Brian's good friend from Iowa and his friend Todd. So, i took this first shot to prove that we actually tried to get ready, should it turn out that we did not make it climbing as all of us indulged a bit heavily the night before and had a slow and rough morning. This morning involved some drinking to curb the hangover. So round about noon we actually made it to the storage unit.
We loaded as many things in the car as we could find, except the women's ice boots that i used before. As it turned out, i ended up using Matt's men's size 10! Strap em on and go to town, i say! So that is just what we did.
We started out to find a waterfall we had never been to and along the way met some very nice chaps who told us they had been coming up here for years and didn't know if any water where we were going...interesting. We plodded on anyway and found a waterfall...with people on it. But a few sandwiches and some Bailey's hot cocoa later, they were done.
So we all got our gear on and took turns on the high ice. It was a good climb for me as i am still a very very beginner and i was wearing men's boots!

Icy Adventure

2008-01-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

Ah, the majestic treeline and the silent protector...the belayer! Brian on belay with Todd climbing...
i look cold, i was cold. where is my hot cocoa?
Matt climbing a mixed route up the crack to pull the rope. Notice how dark it is getting?
This was Brian's last climb of the day...a mixed route on the front of the waterfall. We probably should have left a bit sooner, but with such a late start, we all hung out a bit too late. With snow and light falling fast, i actually ran most of the way back because i am the slowest walker! I definitely earned my guiness stew and Dale's beer that night! It was great!

Tikka Latok Block

2007-12-18T22:20:00.000-08:00

We have a new baby! Tikka was born on 9/26/07, just south of Leadville, CO in Twin Lakes. She is a healthy 11.5 weeks and just about 30 lbs. She has a very sweet temperment and a lovely personality. We are very lucky to have her. We also feel like she has had an excellent upbringing and her breeders were top notch. We are very excited to add her to our family.
We did have a bit of a scare today, though, as our girl was very sick...she is recovering though, and we hope all is well. Please give a quick prayer or good thought that she will be alright...we love her already! Thanks

Thanksgiving in Houston!

2007-12-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

Brian and i headed south to Houston for Thanksgiving to see my brother and his family. We finally made it to Houston at around noon on Thankgiving day after delayed flights and a night in Memphis...in a haunted crazy hotel! And, we didn't even get dinner! Oh well...it was worth it!
Karina made such an amazing dinner, there was little talking and a lot of eating!
After dinner, we watched football for a bit and then took a walk around the block to get a bit of exercise after such a carb overload!
This little cutie all snuggled in her sling...so cute!

Hike in the Woods

2007-12-11T14:54:00.000-08:00

The morning after Thanksgiving, we figured we needed to walk off a bit of turkey, so we headed out to the woods for a hike and saw alligators...weird when you are wearing a down jacket!
one bundled baby? Check.
The Hohn family...in their woodsy glory
me and B, sporting our matching jackets!

Christmas Tree hunting!

2007-12-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

After our hike, we decided to find "The Hohn Family Christmas Tree". My brother, as a side note for those who do not know him, LOVES National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and makes it a tradition each year to watch that on Thanksgiving day. So, after that inspiration, we went out to find our own!
Jeremiah, hiding in the trees
Finally we picked one and Brian and Jeremy got it ready for coming in...
After a little coaxing, well, a lot of coaxing and a bit of swearing, the tree was in and ready. Welcome, Christmas!

Houston Aeros Hockey!!!

2007-12-11T14:29:00.000-08:00

To end our busy day on Friday, we all went to the hockey game. It was super fun, mostly because of the cow bell!!
Of course, half of the fun is the fighting!!
Titi and daddy, kickin' it!

Saturday Morning decorating!!

2007-12-11T14:26:00.000-08:00

After getting the tree on Friday, we ran out of time to decorate because of the hockey game...so we waited until Saturday morning.
Titi's little area of the tree was VERY populated with christmas balls, all hanging off of each other and about 2.5 feet off of the ground! Karina and i did a little rearranging!
Lili's sweet hair after a night of piggies! Nice!
Me and Titi, getting to it...so fun. I love Christmas!

Christmas card pictures!

2007-12-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

After church on Sunday, we decided to take some Christmas card pictures...which always means a few hours of fussing to make the best picture possible. Which Jeremy loves, of course. Here are a few good ones,though.
The happy little family!
Brian and i even took one!
i just thought this pictures was priceless...

Ice Skating!!

2007-12-11T13:56:00.000-08:00

We decided to go ice skating on Sunday afternoon. The Woodlands, which Karina calls "the bubble", is a very suburban planned community in Texas and definitely has the cute, tented winter wonderland to match it! Mind you, i am not much of a skater, so it was an interesting experience for me! But Brian and Jeremy are both very accomplised skaters, so when one of them wasn't hanging on to Titi, they were hanging on to me!
Jeremy and Titi hanging out, rinkside on the "boards"...i learned new lingo! Notice the Marmot vest?
Karina and the pretty princess sat out for part of the time, but i got a bit larger skates, so i sent her in after i embarressed everyone with my amazing skills!
Karina and Jeremy skating hand and hand...mostly because Karina remembered being better than she was...

the fall...at the rink...in the bubble

2007-12-11T13:50:00.000-08:00

Titi and Tia enjoying a little snuggle moment as Daddy and Brian skated around the rink. The skills on both the boys was very impressive, but not nearly as great as mine or karina's skill...i mean, who is suprised?
This image is great because Jeremy is a great skater and he was going backwards to try and teach Titi how to push foward...this image taken moments before they both fell. Karina and i were scared because Jeremy did not get up for a minute. We soon found out this was because he was laughing so incredibly hard he could not move!
Brian was there to pick up one of the fallen soldiers...Titi thought it was hilarious!
Karina loves to take these brother/sister shots, so here it is!

Rounding out the trip with a Patriots win!!

2007-12-11T13:44:00.000-08:00

On our last night in Houston, we had the pleasure of watching a Patriots game with Jeremy...always a pleasure! Luckily enough, the Pats won, but it was very tense there for a moment. Of course, part of watching the game is wearing the gear...so all of us had to wear jerseys!
Jeremy and Karina, a loving moment during a tense game!
Vanessa was having a few "maybe they won't win" beers, followed by a few "THEY WON" beers...all of which added up to a few too many beers! Anyway, it was a blast. Thanks guys!

My Engagement Trip to Paris!!

2007-11-10T18:24:00.000-08:00

It was a complete suprise, so i didn't want to know where my mystery trip was going until the gate...and i didn't! Brian kept the trip a secret until we were there in Chicago and then the gate lady told us she was checking our bags through to Paris!!!! I was so excited. After a few hours (8!) on the plane, we arrived in Paris early in the morning and hopped the train to our hotel.
Once we changed a few subways, we got off at the stop that our tourist help desk woman told us to...and we spent a few more minutes (30) looking at the map to find where we were going. We went the wrong way and ended up walking about 40 blocks before we actually found out hotel...and me with new shoes! Me and my 4 blisters made it to the Hotel Eiffel Tower about 2 hours after we started our voyage.
This is my face at the end of this adventure!
Our hotel was beautiful, and even though i was exhausted...i was so excited for our adventure!!!

Thursday, Nov. 1st-the fabulous French cuisine!

2007-11-10T13:29:00.000-08:00

We decided to wander the streets of Paris as November 1st is a HUGE holiday in Paris and a lot was closed. We didn't want to get too far away from our hotel in case the public transportation quit running at some point. We were actually exhausted from the travel the day before, so we slept in, then struck out to find some food. Little did we know we were about to find the most amazing lunch we could have in France.
We stopped here at this place after passing up about 5 that just didn't seem to fit our taste. Here, we commenced to have a 3 course meal that was everything i could expect from a French meal. Lamb with potatoes gratin, a fabulous salad, a pesto Ravioli app and a sparkling atertif! For dessert i had a sorbet trio and Brian had some amazing chocolate slice of heaven! It was a great 3 hour lunch, perfect for our relax first day.
Then we got lost for a few hours on the streets, pausing just long enough to grab a guiness in a local pub. During that time, Brian found the world's largest vending machine!
Me and Jacques...lost.

THE BIG NIGHT!!!!

2007-11-08T21:00:00.000-08:00

After a great day of relaxing and walking around, we passed the back part of the Invalides building (mind you, i have no idea what this is, but that is what it is called and so i went with it!) and we took this shot.
We had an amazing stroll around the streets of Paris and back to our neighborhood, next to the Eiffel Tower. We decided to watch the sparkling tower, so we sat down on a bench off to the side of the Champ de Mars, the main park behind the Tower. The night was cool, so i wrapped up in my wool shawl and Brian has his arms around me sitting on the park bench, facing the tower. It was perfect, sitting in the cool fall night with my love on a bench by the Eiffel Tower...so perfect i started to fall asleep! Little did i know what was about to happen!!
After a little while, Brian asked me if i was sure i wanted to spend the rest of my life with him...to which i replied 99% of the time! Not what he was looking for, so he was about to rethink his next move, when i told him that this was just perfect: the Paris night, the trip, him...he then said "the only thing that would make it more perfect is if you would say you would be my wife". So...the first thing i said was "YOU LIED!" because he said he didn't have the ring with him! Then, of course, i said yes!
It was an amazing night. We got dressed up and celebrated with some good French wine and a wonderful ice cream dessert. Then we watched the Eiffel Tower sparkle again one more time before going back to the hotel. I could not have asked for a more perfect day!

Friday, Nov. 2- The Louvre...a mixed experience

2007-11-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

So, the last time i was in Paris, i visited the Louvre and was disappointed and not finding the paintings, and getting stuck in sculpture area. Of course i told Brian we had to go, it is just one of the things you do while in Paris!
So, hopped a train and went to one of the most famous museums in the world. It could have been great, it could have been exciting and information...it was not exactly what thought. There were a million people there, it was unusually hot and we kept getting stuck in the sculpture!! Brian didn't much care about it, and i was just not enjoying myself...so, we left. We probably should have toughed it out, but we opted to find some wine instead!
However, we had to find the Mona Lisa first, just so Brian could say he had seen it. That is it, in case it is too blurry for you to see!
And this is our reaction to the experience!

2007-11-06T12:44:00.000-08:00

This day was the most walking ever! But so fun...we ended out day trip with a walk down the Champs Elysee. I was really hoping they would light all the trees, but it must not have been close enough to the holiday! It was still amazing. And i was not aware you could acutally go up on top of the Arc de Triomph! But oh, you can! We crossed under the large roundabout and climbed the stairs (just a few:) and the view from the top was amazing!
And this is the view from the top!! We stayed up at the top for awhile, and it was amazing. We also got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle from up here and B shot a great video of me discussing the engagement, but i can not seem to understand how to attach it...so stay tuned. Hopefully i will get that all figured out.
And here is a pic of the beautiful lit Eiffel Tower. We decided to walk back from the Arc to our hotel down the most amazing fashion street in Paris...all the great fashion houses were on it! We meandered along the river, finding the Princess Diana memorial and then stopped by the river for the great shot below. Isn't he great at the self portraits! It was a great day...

Saturday, Nov. 3- Church Day!

2007-11-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

So, we decided to see the two big churches in the city, the Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame. We started our journey north, to the Sacre Coeur as it is quite far by metro. Once we arrived...we had no idea where we were going. Fortunately there was a huge church in front of us called the Abbesses and there was a map! The LUCK! So we started off up the hill.
this church has this overall feeling of beautiful hope with tall white spires, gold plating and amazing imagery throughout the interior. i would rather taken pictures on the inside of this one, but it is prohibited.
On the outside we walked around for a little bit and saw a random concert on the plaza, with this french guy who was singing thing from Bob Marley to Gladis Knight to Cake to much more. So fun.
We sat for a sucre crepe, sugar crepe, and a Heineken before going on to find the Notre Dame. Back on the metro!!

Saturday, Nov. 3rd- Church Day, part 2

2007-11-06T07:14:00.000-08:00

We actually lost the Notre Dame for awhile, which is funny because it is huge! We just got turned around afer taking the metro and had to search for a bit, but man it was amazing. It is incredible the detail on the inside and outside of these old churches. And i love that there are bible stories carved in imagery all over the church.
Brian loved the rose windows most of all, but i was a huge fan of the new and old testement carvings and all of the candles. I always feel like it is just amazing to see all the lighted prayers of people...even if they are not religios. That is truly God's great plan. It was amazing.
Then we came outside and found this guy. The headless accordian player, of course! We walked around the back and viewed all the amazing architechture...this building is truly gorgeous.
Of course, Jacques, being the cheeky devil that he is, had to tell us all about the methods used and how they constructed it. He really is a very intelligent giraffe! This visit ended with hot chocolate and chocolate crepes, followed with some good wine and dinner at our favorite, Iolanda, by the hotel again. What a great last night in the city of love!

Sunday, Nov. 4th...OUR LAST DAY!

2007-11-06T06:52:00.000-08:00

So, we only had a little bit of time in the morning to climb the Eiffel Tower before we had to head out on the train. We got up nice and early, packed and headed down, thinking we were so early and on top of it. 5000 were on top of it too and the lines were crazy!! But we had the short one, as we were doing the stairs, and we made it up to the front quickly.
I was so excited! I had been on the top before, but Brian never had..this was going to be fun. As we neared the front, however, we realized that it was probably an all euro event, and we were short on cash. Would there be enough money to take the elevator at the top? Only time will tell!!! As we neared the front, we had to get our bag checked, and Jacques was inside, of course. Needless to say, when Brian showed the guard his stuffed giraffe, he chuckled a bit.
And we were off. We raced up the first few flights, getting to the first floor at about 234 steps, stopping momentarily to take in the view. Then up to the second. But when we got there we realized that we only had enough money for one of us to go up...and the line was about 2 hours! So, we just looked around, took some pictures of Jacques and came down.
The trip was so amazing, i could not have asked for a better engagement experience. And now for the best part...i get to marry my best friend!

ENGAGED!!!!

2007-11-05T05:50:00.000-08:00

There will be a lot more after this post, but for now, WE'RE ENGAGED!!! Brian suprised me with a trip to Paris and a request to be his forever, i said yes!!! More to follow, stay tuned!

Lame post-upcoming schedule

2007-10-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

i know i have not posted in FOREVER and now it is just a scheudle, but it is all you get today! Sorry!

Oct. 26-29 St. Louis
Oct. 30-Nov. 5- Mystery trip
Nov. 5th-Kansas City for Preshow
Nov. 7th-Marquette, MI for Preshow
Nov. 9th-Fargo, ND for Preshow
Nov. 9-10- Sioux Falls, SD
Nov. 12-14- Chicago, IL for Preshows
Nov. 15-Madison, WI for preshow
Nov. 16-29- Minneapolis, MN for preshows
Nov. 21-26- Houston, TX for Thanksgiving
Nov. 27-DSM for "thanksgiving"
Nov. 28-Dec. 3- Black Hills
Dec. 4th- headed to CO, hooray!!!

Liliana Gisela Hohn

2007-07-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here she is...my beautiful new niece!!! She arrived July 5 at 7:09 am. I am spending the week playing loving, doting tia, and i am very excited about it. More pictures to come at the end of the trip...

Red, white and blue in the rainbow city...

2007-07-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July 2007

Fourth of July in San Francisco, what a blast! And i got to spend it with two of my favorite people, Ben and Lisa! I also had the great fortune of meeting some more of Ben's family and celebrate his cousin's Mat's birthday, as well as his. Just click on the image above to see all the great pictures from the weekend.
We woke up early on the 4th to watch a two town tug o' war over a channel! We were staying in Stinson Beach and it is between that community and the town of Bolinas! So fun. Then we stayed in Bolinas for the morning to watch the parade and the gathering of characters this little funny hippy town attracted.
After that fun morning, we headed off to hike 5 miles on the Dipsea trail, through the old growth red wood forest...so beautiful. It was very warm though, we were ready to be done once the time came.
Then, utilizing the lemon tree in our backyard at the beach house, i made fresh lemon tarts with blackberries to go with the crab boil and birthday cake we had for our celebration dinner. Wow, was that amazing. so good!
After dinner, we all went down to the beach for the sunset and then later for the fireworks...it was an amazing time. Thank you to Mat, Tim, Mandy and the Kriedermans' for a wonderful holiday, i loved it!

Tanner and Jacquee Schieck

2007-06-23T08:19:00.000-07:00

Announcing, the beautiful, the talented, the unemployed (just kidding), Mr. and Mrs. Schieck!!! I had the good fortune of recently attending a wedding of a good friend. And might i just say, Congrats you guys!

Jacquee's Wedding!

2007-06-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

Recently, i found myself back home again to attend the wedding of one of my closest high school friends, Jacquee. I had not met her beloved, Tanner, before the wedding as we had lost close contact for a bit, but it was so good to meet him. It was really just a great event with the most love i have ever seen at a wedding. i was blessed to be able to be a part of it!
And the girls were great! I had not seen many of these lovely ladies since high school and made a few new friends in the course of the weekend. The groomsmen were equally as charming and just aided in the warm, loving environment that the weekend provided. Here are the beautiful ladies before the ceremony.
And for another friend i had not seen forever, Jenna was Jacquee's personal attendant! Jacquee looked gorgeous in her dress and the whole ceremony was beautifully set up. Tanner, of course, cried when he saw his lovely bride, but so did i!
I truly had such a wonderful time and just thank so much the Kolbecks and Schiecks for creating such a great couple for the world to enjoy! (this is not tanner, but the way, it is Jack Kolbeck! Realized the wording was a bit off!)

Calendar of events coming up...

2007-06-13T12:35:00.001-07:00

So, i thought i would put up my calendar for summer as i know my mom would appreciate it! Sorry i haven't put up a post in awhile, i promise to soon!

June 13-GOA in SLC
June 14- Black Hills
June 15-17 Sioux Falls for Jacquee's wedding
June 18- Adel, IA for Preshow Prep
June 19-21- San Diego for Marmot Sales Meeting
June 22-24- Adel/Duluth, MN
June 25- Marquette, MI-Preshow
June 26- Madison, WI-Preshow
June 27-28- Minneapolis, MN-Preshow
June 29-Fargo/Omaha-Preshow
July 2- Des Moines, IA-Preshow
July 3- Iowa City/Davenport- Preshow

July 4th PARTY!!

July 4-12 not totally sure...
July 13-18 St. Louis- Superfeet meetings
July 19-26 Houston or Springfield, MO
July 27-August 1- Colorado
August 2-4 Sioux Falls- Cayl's Wedding
August 5-13 SLC for Outdoor Retailer
August 14-19 Colorado for Leadville 100
August 20-23 Madison for regional trade show

That is all i have for now...i will update as it is relevant. Have a great day!

My birthday!!

2007-04-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

My Birthday 2007

Today i turned a quarter century...I had a pretty good day hanging out with my favorite little man. We colored with chalk, baked cupcakes, swept the sidewalk...well, i guess the last one was mostly him. Anyway, thanks again for all the love and birthday joy, guys! Oh, in case you did not pick up on this from before, these are all web albums, so you need to click on the picture to load the rest of the shots.

Jeremy's a Catholic!!!

2007-04-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

Jeremy's RCIA

Jeremy went through the RCIA program this year and became Catholic. There service was beautiful, although Jeremiah stayed awake THE WHOLE TIME!! He was good though, and even helped bless daddy at the end.

Easter 2007!!!

2007-04-10T19:27:00.000-07:00

Easter 2007

So, i have become lazy with my blogging and since i have not posted FOREVER, i am posting some fun stuff. However, staying with the theme, i am only compiling web albums in this batch. Lots of pictures...I visited my sweet little nephew in Albuquerque for the Easter break. We were going to go to the zoo on Friday, but EVERYONE was at the zoo, so we went to the fish pond instead.

Saturday Jeremiah's playgroup came over for an Easter egg hunt and then we went shopping. That night we went to Jeremy's RCIA Easter Vigil...those pictures are later. Easter day we started the day with a big breakfast and a hike. Then off to the Isotopes baseball game, so fun. They had an easter egg hunt at the game for Titi as well!! We ended the day with a movie. We had a really fun and relaxing couple of days.

Ouray Ice Fest, 2007!

2007-01-16T10:14:00.000-08:00

I have been so busy lately, my world has been upside down! But i did post some new shots on our company blog of the Ouray Ice Fest Brian and i just attended. Check them out, www.aaotalesfromtheroad.blogspot.com. I tried ice climbing for the first time, holy hannah it is fun! i loved it, i am addicted now. Anyway, sorry not to write more about the adventure, i will try to spend some time soon recounting tales. But until then, hope you all are well!

Christmas 2006

2007-01-04T07:25:00.000-08:00

I am somewhat cheating in doing this, but i decided to just upload a bunch of pictures from Christmas to a web gallery so that people could browse that way. Otherwise it would have been a million little posts. Overall, we had a wonderful Christmas together. at my father's wishes, we all came home and all the kids got to meet. What an exciting thing to have cousins!
There was presents and food, christmas trees and family, cookies and wrestling. Though the Christmas season can sometimes be stressful (amazing storm through Denver, TWICE!), this one will be remembered as hectic and loving.

Christmas Album

2007-01-04T07:24:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2006

ALASKA THANKSGIVING

2006-12-06T18:40:00.000-08:00

as a big suprise, brian and i went up to suprise ben and lisa for thanksgiving! it was great, they had no idea. We got in super late the first night, and the next day we had a great, relaxing day. Then that night we went to the Alaska rock gym and then to Beerfest at the Bear's tooth. super funny movie. i highly recommend it.

Thanksgiving 2006

2006-12-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

Such an amazing Thanksgiving in Alaska. We had a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable day with great friends. We started the day with a great breakfast at Andy and Lisa's house. Quiche, fruit and dip, cassarole...so yummy!
Andy and lisa (soon to be two more!)
ben and brian playing cards
the ball won

Turkey day at Nash Circle

2006-12-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

Holy crap, we made a lot of food. Ben and lisa b. made his mom's pumpkin pie, i just wore the crust. we all made so much food, we could have fed 10! IT was great though, so much fun time together. and the turkey? so amazing. Ben made it on the grill...yum!
another "sport mode" shot
crazy cubby in front of the fire
ben's annual turkey shot

the table, in all its glory

2006-12-06T18:17:00.000-08:00

i think all these pictures are funny. Apparently, i am SUPER excited about this...
...and we're eating...
still eating...(kind of reminds you of having to watch people's slideshows of their vacations, eh?)
so, i was wearing a bell sleeved sweater and we were joking about me saving leftovers in the sleeve, so that is what this picture is. The funniest quote about this was from Andy, who was sitting just to the right of me. He looked and me and grabbed his beer quickly and said "Keep your giant sleeve away from my beer". pretty good. great meal.

recreation in the great white north...

2006-12-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

so, many of you know that bowling is not my strong suit. but, when most of the group is ill and outdoor activities are out...next best thing is beer and bowling.
lisa set the camera on "sport mode" and took a ton of shots. this was one of many of ben and i moving.
go lisa!
right before dancing...so fun!

it started with a frozen face...

2006-12-06T18:07:00.000-08:00

we decided to make the trek to Hatcher's Pass, a favorite backcountry playground of ours. As per tradition, i went out the sunroof of the commander again, to take photos on the way to Wasilla. A car driving at 70 miles per hour with a windchill of -10 makes for some pretty frozen tears.

i think i look like an old man in this one. anyone else?

gettin' ready

2006-12-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

ben fastening lisa's snowshoes at the bottom of Hatcher's. little frosty to be without one's mittens for too long

snow and goggles

2006-12-06T16:11:00.000-08:00

brian on a mission up the hill
...still going...
ben must think it is cold. actually, i think it was about 12 degrees, which was quite a bit warmer than what we had been getting
brian gave us an avalanche class halfway up

and...something else

2006-12-06T16:08:00.000-08:00

man down!
snow mouse
three in a row
a mountain shot

one hatch, two hatch, three hatch, four...

2006-12-06T16:05:00.000-08:00

because brian decided not to wear his snowshoes, he was a bit slower then the rest of us. as a result, for the longest time when i turned around i would only see his snowboard bobbing up and down...no brian
lisa and brian, rounding the corner to the top
some tele skiiers on the far mountain
a reward Clementine at the summit

can i get a hatcher's?

2006-12-06T16:02:00.000-08:00

after much post-holing, brian makes his final approach of the top...on all fours
contemplative lisa
joyous ben
a moon to light our way

comin' down

2006-12-06T16:00:00.000-08:00

brian and his fast and fluid descent of hatcher's

Hatch it up!

2006-12-06T15:46:00.000-08:00

and another Hatcher's

2006-12-06T15:43:00.000-08:00

...lisa? are you there?
me and ben, snackin' at the top
um, brian?
aw..the girls, together again