Blur of Updates

I know I've been bad about updating the blog with our life happenings, but the past two months have been absolutely crazy for us. We are just now getting back into the pace of life and catching our breaths. Here are some of the major happenings:

Digilent to National Instruments
I don't know if I've even mentioned it on the blog, but long story short, the company I work for, Digilent, was recently bought by National Instruments.  The deal closed at the end of last year, but changes didn't start happening until April.  Despite all the prep work we supplied NI (mountains of paperwork: benefits, employee stock plan, life insurance, 401(k), etc), they still haven't gotten everything completely figured out and squared away.  It has been very frustrating.  We are supposed to be getting access to their intranet this month, but that's debatable.  I still love my job, though, and am finally feeling confident in my position and have undertaken more responsibilities that will hope my advancement in the company.  Also, I'm getting a new chair soon, so that's great.

Zak's new job
Zak recently started a new job as a laborer for the WSU grounds crew.  He is already enjoying it; he gets to ride on the 4-wheeler, spend time outside, do physical work, and get paid decent money for it.  I am also thrilled because we get to carpool to and from work together!  This job will last until mid-August, and then he will return to his school-year job at UI.   


Rachel the semi-runner
I decided to give the Couch to 5k program another shot, once the ice had gone away.  For the first few weeks, Zak and Penny came along with me, but eventually I went at it on my own.  Not that I didn't want their company, but Zak had several other obligations and priorities, and running by myself with Penny still isn't something I like to do (she's so strong! and there was too much for me to focus on), so I went rogue.  Last week I finished the program!  Today was my first 'free run', and it was my best time yet.  I can now run 2.65 miles in 30 minutes and to me, that is HUGE!  I am going to work on improving my time, and I would love to do a local 5k run by the end of the year.  I have been surprised with how much I've enjoyed getting up early and running through our neighborhood.

First emergency
First off, everything is fine and we are all ok.  On the second day of Zak's 2-week camping trip for school, I got a call from him from the hospital in McCall, ID.  I quickly left work (everyone was so kind and supportive throughout all of this) and Jenna and I drove to pick Zak up.  It was an 8-hour round-trip and I would not have been able to survive that day if my sister wasn't with me.  Zak had an urethral stricture and was prescribed 2 types of antibiotics, Vicodin, and had a catheter in for the next week until his surgery day.  For a week he basically laid or sat on the couch, depending on what was comfortable, and took his pills and tried not to complain too much.  The day Jenna flew back to CA was the same day as Zak's surgery at 6am.  Jenna's flight was at 6:40, so after our farewell, I rushed back to Moscow to wait until the surgery was over.  It was successful and Zak woke up in the recovery room talking about how his head felt like macaroni & cheese.  We actually had a very pleasant experience with everyone at the hospital.  The nurses laughed at Zak's jokes, were funny and personable.  After an hour or two after the surgery, I took him home and took care of him.  He had to have a catheter in until Friday, and once he took that out, everything has been great.  He has a follow-up appointment on Wednesday, but he feels great, so we should be good to go. 

My sincere thanks for our family and friends for all their help and support with this.  Special shout-outs to:
-Reilly parents, who took care of getting the truck fixed (it stopped working 2 days before Zak left), it helped so much to know that was taken care of
-Gabe, for lending us the Jeep for a week
-Jenna, for being incredibly helpful, sweet and supportive.  She is truly the best sister anyone could ask for, and I'm so so glad she's mine :)

Jenna's visit
Jenna spent 2 weeks with us!  It was a great trip, with lots of fun adventures and food.  I was lucky to get several days off, or work 1/2 days when she was here.  I especially loved having our friends meet Jenna, who have heard about her for 2 years but have not met her.  Likewise, she was excited to meet our friends (& their pets); all the times spent together with friends were fun and I'm so happy everyone loved her/she loved them!  She was thrilled to meet Hampton the pig, who is now a PIG (he's so big!) as well.  We played games, had a marathon of Daniel Craig as James Bond, went camping, made food, and rode roller coasters at Silverwood.  It was really fun for me to have her around, because she is such a delight and always willing to help.  After driving almost 9 hours in Gabe's Jeep to get Zak, I collapsed once we got home.  She made us dinner and it was amazing.  Penny loved her, and loved snuggling with her on the couch.  We all loved having her here and can't wait for her next visit!

Wedding season
There are 3 big weddings this summer!  Zak's sister Delaney is getting married in Boston in August and a few days later, my brother Kenny is getting married in California.  We are still trying to finalize flights and trip details, but it's an exciting time!  Our great friends Chad & Bryan will be getting married here at the end of July, and we are both in the wedding party.  I will also be helping Chad's best friend Emily with her wedding at the beginning on September--I am going to be in charge of the food, etc.  We are so excited to be a part of these weddings, as we love all the people involved! 

General/Penny
Penny is about a year old!  We still love the crap out of her and she still loves us!  With all the chaos in our lives lately, she probably has been acting out a little.  We have come home more than once to find a hole (or two) she's dug while waiting for us to return.  We've been told it's probably separation anxiety, so we are taking actions to fix that.  Now that the weather is nice, we leave her out in the yard on a tether.  The cord is long enough that she can rest in the shade by the bushes or the shed and get to her toys, etc.  So far it's been a bit of trial and error; we came home one day to her waiting for us at the gate...which is NOT accessible if she's on the tether.  She had dug it up.  Of course.  We've also come home to her wrapped around the bushes or poles by the patio.  It's funny because she's a very smart dog, but she can't figure out how to unwrap herself?  We have also been working on some new tricks, like balancing a treat on her nose.  She has not gained the composure yet to accomplish that, but she is getting good at waiting until we say a command. 

Most nights she sleeps with us, sometimes she leaves in the middle of the night to go to her bed.  I usually go to bed earlier and will read until I get tired.  It's very cute because she will watch me pull and rearranged the blankets and wait until I get into bed and then she hops up on and cuddles with me.  She loves to sit/lay next to me, but it's better if she can have most of her butt on me in someway.  It's really silly, but sweet.  She is getting really good at jumping to catch the Frisbee, it's so fun to watch her!  It doesn't seem like her leg is bugging her at all.  She runs, jumps, plays just fine.  She's a very happy, loving dog.

Other general updates...we are currently working on some ideas for the yard.  A few weeks ago I acquired some heirloom tomato seedlings.  I was on a run and there was a sign saying they were free, so I ran home with two of them...and then drove back to get a few more.  They are in a big pot inside, but we are about to transplant them to the window box by our bedroom.  I have seeds for squash, cucumber and lettuce, and while I have hopes for all of them to do well, I'm most concerned about the tomatoes.  I have some flower seeds that I'd like to plant in a different section of that yard.  Zak wants to build a little stone patio, we have started to look around to get ideas on what will work the best.

I apologize for the lack of pictures.  I have a bunch from Jenna's visit, but they are also on Facebook, so you can view them there.  I think that's everything for now! 

Thanksgiving Break

the poster that Zak finished the day after they got here

We had a very fun, food-filled, family-oriented Thanksgiving break.  My brother Kenny & Zak's sister Delaney drove up from Rexburg to stay with us for the week.  We were expecting them by midnight on Tuesday, but they showed up at 9.  The posters we had for them weren't done, Zak wasn't even home yet!  But it was ok, the roads were clear and fine and we were happy they were finally in Moscow.  We stayed up and talked for awhile, and Kenny fixed our wifi that he had broke, haha. 

yes, there are 3 laptops there..he was trying to fix mine

yummy cinnamon rolls!

I had cinnamon rolls in the fridge, so the next morning we got up and had them with some cocoa.  Zak had the day off on Wednesday, so we took them to the mall and the bagel shop.  Then we just relaxed and watched some t.v., and had lasagna for dinner.  Delaney and I made the pies for Thanksgiving: pumpkin & lemon meringue.  We also introduced the game Guillotine to Delaney and started our tournament.  We had helped Chad & Bryan move into their new place on Tuesday, so Chad came over after work on Wednesday to pick up Hampton.  It was so sad to say good-bye to him, after a month of him living with us!  But we will visit them often and get to play with our favorite pig.

We got up early on Thursday and drove a few hours to Moses Lake for Thanksgiving at Aunt Ronda's.  We arrived a few hours early so we could hang out and socialize with the family.  Kenny and I got our hands on a puzzle and, like the pros we are, finished it quickly.  Everyone was so impressed, haha.  We had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner/lunch.  Everything was so tasty and it was nice to be able to spend some time with Zak's side of the family.  But we had to leave so Zak could get home and get to sleep for Black Friday. 

siblings

spouses

siblings, sigh

nicer one

family!

Black Friday was a decent one.  Zak was very tired after his shift ended at 1 (he got to work at 4 AM), but stayed away long enough to watch a movie and eat lunch with us.  While he napped, I got dinner prepped: teriyaki chicken with vegetable and shrimp tempura.  After dinner, we played some more Guillotine and watched some t.v.  Zak opened on Saturday, so once Kenny and Delaney were up and showered, we went to get him for lunch and walked around downtown.  There's not a whole lot to do in town, but we had a good time.  We took them to Winco and they were so excited about the bulk candy, so they got a fair amount of it for $3 apiece.  We had leftovers for dinner and played some more Guillotine.  Zak ended up winning the tournament, I came in second, with Delaney placing third and Kenny ended up in last place (a rarity in our family).

Delaney VERY excited about getting all of the leftover jello salad

Since they had to leave Sunday, we decided to treat them to the Old European breakfast house before they took off.  It was worth it and everything was delicious.  Kenny & Delaney both got the Scandinavian breakfast plate [German potato pancakes, buttermilk pancakes, Swedish strawberry cream pancakes, stuffed sausage & harvati Danish aebleskivers].  Zak got the goulash with potato pancakes (his favorite) and I had sausage eggs Benedict.  Everything was fantastic and we left very, very full.  Then it was time to say good-bye.  I sent them back to Rexburg each with a loaf of bread from our bread machine, some freezer jam, and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. 

scarily excited about breakfast

pleasantly excited

appropriately excited

It was so nice to have them around all week.  They are fun to have around and it's easy to cook for four.  Thanks for visiting, guys!

Glenda/Liv's Visit + Kyle/Amanda's Wedding [Reader be Warned: Several Pictures Await You]

Last week Zak's mom Glenda & 11 year old sister Liv came out West. Their purpose was Zak's cousin Kyle's wedding last weekend but were able to stay with us for a few days in our humble abode. It was a very nice visit and fun was had by all.

They arrived mid-afternoon on Wednesday, and after fooling around at the mall with me and Zak, came home to briefly rest up from their travels. We had Chinese sundaes and fruit and enjoyed talking for several hours. Glenda brought us some goodies from CT, including (but not limited to) this 'amazing' green monster clown shirt Zak bought years ago and wore during our initial dating period. Needless to say, I was so excited that it is back in his possession. We made an agreement, however: I won't wear sweatpants outside (an intense rule of his) and he won't wear that shirt in public (maybe one day I'll post the picture for you all to see and judge for yourselves).

some of his old pieces of clothing; that ski mask will sure come in handy...for scaring me, I'm sure

The next day we got up, ate some breakfast and made our way down to Lewiston. Glenda had found some points of interest and once we got the GPS loaded up, off we went. Some fun facts about Lewiston: it is the only seaport in Idaho (the Snake River is accessible to some sea-faring crafts), it is the lowest point in ID AND it has a huge, freaking hill. I heard it was a size-able hill, but dang! I was not expecting that! At one point it has a 7% grade or something? There are several run-away truck ramps as well. Zak and I had to quickly run down there the day before and I was super nervous, because it was very rainy and yucky, but it was beautiful when we went down with Glenda and Liv. I got some pictures, at least.

cows just hanging out

looking back at the hill off in the distance...

While in Lewiston, we went to the Lewis-Clark college art gallery, which was pretty neat. It had a high school art show, I think, so that was fun to see. We also wandered around in some fun shops along main street. We went into a few vintage/consignment type shops. For the wedding, we were instructed to dress up in 'old-fashioned' clothes, so we were trying to at least get a hat each for me and Zak. I did end up finding a pretty sweet floral one that was cheap, so why not? Liv also found a cute hat that would match her outfit.

we decided no on this one

The coolest store was this gem store that had a TON of stuff. It was so cute to watch Zak in the store, and talking about this and that and the other thing. Glenda had brought out this Eyewitness book of gems & stones that he had when he was little and it's funny how his interests and work have kind of come full-circle. The guy running the shop was really cool, he talked to us about all kinds of gems and mining. He and the other owner I think, run digs (for a fee), since the area is so plentiful in gems (opal, garnet), so we might end up doing that this summer if we can afford it! We picked out a piece of quartz, an aquamarine piece, some raw, small peridot (one of my favorites) and some lapis lazuli. The price? Under $10, sweet!

peridot, aquamarine, lapis lazuli, quartz, lapis

We had lunch at a very good Thai place, and once we were stuffed from lunch, made our way back home. Along the way we stopped at this barn in Uniontown, WA (about 14 miles SW from us, just off the highway down to Lewiston) with local folk art. It was actually really neat. Each artist had a little room with their work-stuff for sale, or what they were currently working on, and if they were available, would be able to talk to, etc. There were two full levels of different items-watercolors, pottery, quilts, clay models, photography and illustrations. It was cool that it was in this random little town, too. We briefly stopped at the local thrift stores to see if we could get something for Zak for the wedding (Lewiston was not prosperous for him in that department), and sure enough, found suspenders & a hat for him! Glenda also picked up a skirt that would go with her outfit. We just then came home and bummed around for awhile.

Liv playing with the zen garden

The next morning we got up around 6:30 and got all ready for the wedding (let's just say that I am not the best with hair, and throwing a hat into the mix got me quite frustrated really fast, but with Zak & Glenda's help, a major crisis was more or less averted). We left by 7:45, positive that the 3.5 hour drive would be fine and that we would arrive on time; we were requested to arrive by 11:30am for the 12pm wedding. Zak and I took Liv in our car and we met up with Glenda in Spokane to all carpool together with her.

all ready for the wedding!
the back of my rad hat
somewhere along the road

We drove up to Kettle Falls, WA (decently near the Canadian border, about an hour+ out north of Spokane), and it was a very scenic, pretty drive. But 3.5 hours on our butts was starting to disenchant us. We arrived at the tine historical center in Kettle Falls and met up with everyone. I was glad to see that we weren't the only ones who had dressed up! It was nice to see Zak's grandparents and cousins again. And some people we had never met or had no idea who they were started talking to us, just because. It was sure to be an interesting wedding.

entertaining ourselves
the ceremony wasn't held here, but the reception was
what was called a 'mission' (it just had...windows); I haughtily denied any such claims, they don't even know!
Zak is cute

And then the bride's mother arrived....2+ hours later. We tried to keep ourselves occupied, the little museum there had some displays about the frontier settles and Indians, and the woods in the area were nice. But I was in a dress and wasn't up for exploring. And then we got hungry, since we had eaten several hours previous. But once the mother got there, the ceremony followed. It was actually quite a lovely, short little ceremony, out in the woods. The bride, Amanda, had a pretty vintage gown and a wreath of wildflowers, and the groom, Kyle (Zak's cousin) had an old-fashioned three-piece suit and a matching hat. They looked very happy together.

so Zak & his cousin went down to explore while we waited, only to have the ceremony start pretty soon; I called for them, hoping they wouldn't miss it, and the whole time I was worried that they were going to come up the same way they went down (right behind where the bride & groom were), but they had come up a back path and didn't miss a thing
exchanging rings
cutting the cake, mmm
Liv caught the bouquet, and then took a goofy picture...it must run in the family!

The reception following was nice, even with the slight threat of rain that eventually went away. But the real adventure was visiting their property, a few miles away. Kyle bought 20 acres about a year and a half ago and is essentially THE wilderness/frontier man. He lives on the land and does everything by hand. Zak and I drove up the (VERY) bumpy, windy road with a neighbor in a truck (thank heavens for that!), so we got a lot of information about the neighbors, land, etc. It's a very beautiful piece of land, near the Columbia River, and I was simply fascinated by what they've done with it. Well, for starter, Kyle built by hand their more winter residence, the 'mud hut', and it took him about 3 - 4 months. I was very impressed with it; it was very well constructed, the logs were uniform and it was well insulated. It was about 10 degrees cooler inside than it was outside! Their 'summer' residence is in a tent a ways off, and I guess he wants to start working on a more permanent place of residence (a log cabin, perhaps?) soon, so it'll be ready for the fall. They have some gardens, and an orchard and lots and lots of land. It was definitely an experience! And I'll give them full credit for living the way the want, but I was never more happier to sleep in my bed than I was that night!!

driving to their place, I was so glad we were in a truck!
the 'mud hut'
a close-up for all of you curious readers
inside
inside again
you can see their tent + tarp on the right
one of their gardens

little cousin Savannah was very interested in the baby chicks, she was waving and laughing at them
cousin picture [Brianna, Liv, Zak, Kyle & Brian (brothers)]
crossing the Columbia River

After that adventure, we loaded back up in the car (I forgot to mention, we all changed into jeans after the reception, so we weren't all hiking around their property in dresses, etc.) and headed back to Spokane. We said good-bye to Glenda & Liv, who then headed off to her parents' place a few hours away. Zak and I noticed a Cost Plus World Market (our favorite store, for future reference!) and enjoyed wandering about in there. And buying a few treats, too. We arrived back home around 10 and were supremely happy and thankful for our heat, running water, and comfy bed!