Life is an Adventure

Queen Anne Guest House

2009-12-30T15:25:00.000-08:00

During the last week of winter break George and Pam came out to Galena for a visit. We stayed with them at the Queen Anne Guest House for two nights.

http://www.queenanneguesthouse.com/

We enjoyed trying out some new restaurants, strolling around downtown Galena, and taking a hike out to North Point at Chestnut. It was a wonderful way to celebrate with Pam on her birthday, December 30th.

Cross Country Skiing at White Pines State Park

2009-12-12T15:01:00.000-08:00

The first week of winter break a couple of the instructors stayed at Lorado Taft Campus for a few extra days before going home. Claire and I decided to borrow some Taft x-country skis and venture over to White Pines State Park to check out the trails.

Claire Landgren and me at the start of our skiing adventure - still smiling and full of energy.

We had to break our own trail most of the way which included going up and down some pretty steep hills.

Feeling confident, we skied over a frozen section of the river instead of taking our skis off to climb the stairs and cross the bridge....this was my favorite part!
(Don't worry the river is only about 2-3 feet deep at this section.)

We followed the edge of the river and the bluffs....what a beautiful day out in the snow, and a great way to start the winter break!

Pro Patrol

2009-12-03T14:12:00.000-08:00

Winter is here. The snow is finally falling and we are back at Chestnut Mountain in Galena, IL. This ski season is different and special. Jonathan has been hired as a full time pro patroller and lives at Chestnut Mountain Resort working and patrolling during the week. I come over every weekend and volunteer patrol a day or two each weekend. We are enjoying calling Galena and Chestnut home for this winter and are thrilled that Werner is able to stay with Jonathan in his outdoor kennel at Chestnut.

Jonathan, Emily, and Werner on the bank of the Mississippi River

As you can see by our red coats, we passed our exams at the end of last year and are officially auxillary patrollers. This year we will be participating in more ski clinics and learning how to safely transport patients in a toboggan.

Werner is 6 months old now and loves going on hikes and exploring new smells.

He has gotten better at retrieving and loves....

....playing with sticks and carrying things in his mouth.

Even though he is getting bigger, he still loves to be held and is a floppy, soppy puppy.

Thanksgiving in Connecticut

2009-11-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

This year we were able to take the whole week of Thanksgiving off and travel east to Connecticut via the Jetta Sportwagon. It was just our luck that Andrew and Will were spending the entire week with Pam and George, as well, during their school break. We had lots of fun adventures together. We captured a few of them in pictures below.

Andrew and Uncle Jon at the dog park.

Werner traveled with us and we took advantage of the wonderful dog park, Spencer's Run, in Waveny Park several times during the week. The video clip below shows the whole crew entering the dog park.

Werner taking Andrew on a walk after the Thanksgiving parade in Stamford, CT.

Another highlight of the week was going to the New York Botanical Garden to see the Holiday Train Show. There are model buildings and city structures made totally from organic materials.

Uncle Jon and Will pose next to Yankee Stadium.

A biodegradable version of the Statue of Liberty. Everything was done with amazing detail.

We also built a fort near the stream in Pam and George's back yard using fallen logs, an old tarp, and a scrap of plywood. It has a special paint can bathroom, treasure tree, and log seating for 4. We were too busy playing and building to take any pictures. I'll have to take some next time we visit.

Pete, Sarah, and George Thomas joined us for Thanksgiving dinner along with Alice Byrd. We had a wonderful meal and conversation catching up with everyone.

Uncle Jon and George Thomas hanging out on the couch after Thanksgiving dinner.

Lake Monona - Madison, WI

2009-11-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

We made the 2 hour drive up to Madison, WI for the weekend to visit a ski patrol friend's open house at a new condo he purchased near downtown. It also happened to be the last weekend for the Madison Farmers Market to be outside around the Capitol Square.

We took Werner for a walk and swim in Lake Monona which borders the city.

Werner drying off in the sun on the dock with Jonathan.

Our best attempt at a group shot with the timer on the camera.

Werner and me on the shore of Lake Monona.

Fun with the Gray's

2009-09-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

We headed over to Iowa for another weekend at the farm and fun with the Gray family. Vivi, Susie's niece, was celebrating her 3rd birthday that weekend and we joined them up in Cedar Falls for the party and backyard cookout.

Presents for horsing around....Susie found the pink boots with horses on them at the State Fair and I found the pink hat in Texas during our trip to Thea's wedding. What fun!

Vivi wasn't too sure about the hat so Aunt Susie demonstrated how to wear it.

She had it all figured out by the next day at the farm.

In our hats, ready to ride.

Vivi and Jonathan saddled up and ready to go.

We headed out down the hill. Werner came too, but not for long....

....getting into trouble with Monroe (Robin Gray's dog) was much more fun.

We didn't let this go on very long, just enough to capture it on film.

What a pair?!? Werner 3 months, Monroe 9 months.

It helped us realize how big Werner could get to be. Yikes!

Thea and Toby's wedding

2009-09-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

Jonathan, Werner, and I all loaded in the Jetta and headed south to Fredricksburg, Texas for Thea and Toby's wedding on Sept. 5th. As maid of honor I didn't have the opportunity to take any photos, but was able to borrow this nice shot from some friends. It was a joyous occasion in a beautiful location. I'm so glad that I was able to be a part of the ceremony and celebration. Congratulations go out to Thea and Toby!

Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy

Mississippi River Island Camping

2009-08-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

Ever since our first jet ski camping experience this summer we had been wanting to get lots of people together to do a Mississippi River Island Camping weekend. The dates finally worked out in late August. Jonathan and I started a day early and hauled all of the gear out to the island via jet skis, kayak, and "jon boat barge." It was hard work, but well worth it to have it set up early.

Part of our spread included a campfire pit and covered cooking area.

Because there were so many of us we even added a private changing/bathroom tent....

....complete with a luggable loo toilet. I know that a five gallon bucket toilet probably doesn't sound that great, but then maybe you've never tried to squat in the woods before. This was pretty posh. One might even say we were "glamping" instead of camping.

We went kayaking. Susie and Jon Dyck paddled over from the marina in Bellevue, Iowa

We also did some jet skiing and water skiing. Susie towing me (Emily) behind one of the jet skis using a booster ball to keep the rope up out of the water and prevent drag. It was my first time trying this and it was a blast. Can't wait for summer to come so I can try this again!

Jon suited up for jet skiing. He got up extra early and jet skied at sunrise - one of it's prettiest times to be out on the river.

Jen and Erin, some of my co-workers from Taft, also joined us for a night. We picked them up via jet ski at Ferry Landing in Galena, IL. They had all their gear loaded into hiking backpacks which worked great for the jet ski ride.

Werner spent the weekend camping with us too. He loves to ride on our laps on the jet skis. It was his first experience with sand....it got up his nose and made him sneeze. He spent most of the time digging in the sand and harassing two little boys that were trying to fish. He kept sneaking up and taking there cup of bait.....it was pretty funny even though the boys were somewhat distressed about it.

Werner catching some ZZZ's after a swim. I think we all felt like this by the time Sunday rolled around. It was a great weekend that we hope to repeat several times next summer. Stay tuned for an email with upcoming 2010 Island Camping dates.

Iowa State Fair 2009

2009-08-22T12:49:00.000-07:00

We spent a day at the fair again this year. We were really hoping that Werner was going to be able to join us, but we found out at the gate that they don't let dogs in anymore even if they are only 9 weeks old, really cute, and on a leash the whole time.

So Werner hung out in the truck under a shade tree and enjoyed frequent visits from us throughout the day.

We still managed to have a good time giving out the champion ram trophy in memory of my Dad, catching up with old friends, and eating good food. We are holding Hot Beef Sundaes from the Beef tent.....yum! Always a favorite.

Susie and Jon Dyck joined us for walking around the fair. Susie is doctoring her walking taco in the pic above. Another state fair classic. Good times were had by all!

A new addition to the family!

2009-08-18T12:29:00.000-07:00

In celebration of our first wedding anniversary we decided to get a black lab puppy. He is a purebred Labrador Retriever with hunting bloodlines. His registered name is Klein's Maximum Blue Werner (you have to make it long and fancy to fit in). He is only 9 weeks old and has been a great little guy to have around.

His first week with us and he is already happy hanging out in the bed of the truck.

He loves to scoot things around on the ground and hold things in his mouth. So far he has a very soft mouth and has not been destructive at all. We hope he keeps up this good behavior.

Yes! He is named "Werner" after our favorite brand of kayak paddles. We've always thought it would be a great name for a dog and it is really fun to see that idea come to fruition with our first puppy. He's a keeper!

Wreck Diving in Lake Superior

2009-08-02T12:26:00.000-07:00

Jonathan went on a week long tour of wreck dives with the scuba shop that certified him. I got to join him for the weekend and do 2 dives. It is different then tropical dives in Florida, but just as fun and interesting. Especially when it comes to learning the history behind each wreck. There are whole books published on the topic! Pictures coming soon.

RAGBRAI 2009

2009-07-26T12:21:00.000-07:00

Jonathan was a RAGBRAI Virgin this year. We did make him ride the whole thing....it's just something you have to do at least once. Pictures coming soon!

Open Water

2009-07-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

Jonathan is now officially a certified open water scuba diver. Yeah! Finally! It took years of convincing on my part. I'm glad to have a new dive buddy! Pictures coming soon.

Camp Hibbs and The Apostle Islands

2009-06-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

We headed up to WI to visit Camp Hibbs (at least that is what my Dad used to call it when I went to WI to visit my cousins, Aunt Sandy, and Uncle Dan Hibbs). This time around Camp Hibbs had expanded a little. We spend the first night at Tom and Leigh's house. Leigh is my cousin and Jonathan and I had only met her husband Tom briefly at a couple family functions so when he asked us: "Do you like to fly?" we weren't quite sure what he was getting at at first.

We quickly learned that he liked to fly and had every intention of taking us up in his ultralight if we were "up" for it, and of course we were!

Jonathan went first. Tom was a little worried that he would not be able to take off with a big guy like Jonathan in the passenger seat, but they made it up just fine. Jonathan was nervous at first, but loved every minute of it.

I went second and had a blast. It really is the closest thing to flying like a bird with the wind in your face and feet tangling in the air. I reminded me of sky diving only a little more secure and relaxing, not to mention a much softer landing.

The next day we drove north to Bayfield and Lake Superior to meet up with my Uncle Dan and Aunt Sandy (Sandy is my Dad's sister).

We walked on the beach in Apostle Island State Park.

L to R: Tom and Xander, Aunt Sandy, Uncle Dan, and me.

Xander (Tom and Leigh's son) really wanted to go kayaking with us and he would have if the weather had been better, but it was a little too windy and choppy for his first trip out to the Sea Caves, so he stayed back with his grandma (Aunt Sandy).

We paddled for about an hour and made it out to Sand Island (one of the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior) where some of the caves are located in the park. We even got to kayak into the caves. It was so neat!

Uncle Dan being his typical adventurous self decided to get out of his kayak and walk around on some of the ledges inside the caves. I'm sure he got some neat photos.

Uncle Dan back in his kayak. He gets the "tough guy" award for paddling with no skirt (the water was cold splashing into the kayaks), and no rudder (also an extra challenge in the wind and chop that day). What a guy!

Leigh and Tom in their tandem kayak. They had the advantage of a "double engine" which helped them brave the waves with more paddling power.

Once we beached our kayaks on Sand Island we went for a mile hike to the lighthouse. This is a nice pic of me and my cuz out on the trail. Something invisible must be chasing Uncle Dan. He is moving pretty fast.

Playing in waves of Lake Superior.

The kayaking crew before heading back for camp. Little did we know that the wind had picked up and we would have to battle even harder to make it back to shore. Good thing Xander decided to stay back and play with Grandma!

I'm sure there are more pictures from the weekend out there. If any more surface I will post them here. Thanks Leigh for sharing some of your pics!

The next day was too rough, even for us, to kayak so we went for a nice long hike out to some other caves. Then we met up with my cousin Jahn (Leigh's sister) and her family for lunch. Then it was on to Dan and Sandy's to ride the four wheeler, eat venison steaks, and rest up for the night before heading back to IL. It was another great time spent at Camp Hibbs!

Horsing Around

2009-06-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

We headed to Iowa to the Gray Farm for our own mini horse camp. In the end riding horses was just one of the fun things we did. We also went for a ride in canoes in the river, and had a bonfire/cookout up in "Deer Park" near the horse pasture. You can find more photos of our fun by clicking the link to Susie and Jon's blogspot.

The four musketeers L to R: Jon Dyke, Me, Jonathan, and Susie Gray Dyke all riding Jon and Susie's beautiful paints. These four horses are all geldings, brothers, and colts out of Susie's mare Vanna that she rode back in our 4-H days.

Jon riding Rio and Susie riding Ranger leading the way through the farm fields and timber all over the Gray Farm. We rode for about 2 hrs. and covered a lot of ground.

We ended down near the river that was outside it banks from all the recent rain. It was a hot day and it felt good to ride through knee deep water. This is Jonathan riding Chief and I was on Machio. What fun to ride again. I'm sure we will be back for more horsing around soon!

Jet Ski Camping and Kayak Guiding

2009-06-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

For our birthdays in May Jonathan decided that his and hers jet skis would be a good surprise....and it was quite a surprise!

This is Jonathan jet skiing on the Rock River near Taft a couple days after his birthday.

We decided that we should try out the old Miss via jet ski and had heard from some ski patrol friends that you could camp on the islands in the middle of the Mississippi River. So we packed up all the camping gear into dry bags, strapped them to the jet skis, and headed out to claim an island for the weekend.

We stopped at the base of Chestnut Mountain Resort for this shot shown above. It looks a little different with no snow on the ski runs.

We found an island with nice sandy beaches to set up camp. With all the sand and water it hardly felt like we were in the Midwest that weekend. It was a great escape and one that we hope to enjoy often this summer.

The bugs weren't too bad, but we set up the tent inside the screen room just in case. It was a nice extra shelter in the rain that night (once I got the guy lines staked out tight at the corners). We were able to find firewood and had a nice fire going as well.

Don't worry, even though it is fun to go fast (60 mph) on the jet skis, we still enjoy the peaceful glide of a kayak. During the month of June we have guided several kayak trips and worked in the shop on the weekends for Fever River Outfitters in Galena, IL. Check out the website for more info:

http://www.feverriveroutfitters.com/

We were guiding a group of about 12 people on a birding tour in the back waters of the Mississippi River in this pic. We saw lots of birds as well as a few turtles, and a brown water snake.

Kayak buddies from the beginning!

Birthday Weekend 09

2009-05-31T20:47:00.000-07:00

Andrew blew out the candles in honor of all the May birthdays.

They opened presents. We got them puppets: a frog for Will and a squirrel for Andrew. Uncle Jon was really good at making voices for the puppets.

Pam holding our newest nephew, George Thomas.

The New Canaan Memorial Day parade is always a favorite activity.

Andrew watching the parade.....and giving hugs to Uncle Jon.

6 Klein boys....what a handsome crew!

L to R: Jon and Andrew, George (the elder) and Will, and Pete and George Thomas

Time with family in Indiana

2009-05-30T19:58:00.000-07:00

During the month of May we had the chance to head to Indiana and spend time with family on two different occasions. On Mother's Day weekend we celebrated with Rachel, my step sister, as she graduated from nursing school.

Mom and Bob are cutting the coconut cake from Patachou (a favorite cafe nearby). This cake has quickly become a tradition at all our Indiana gatherings when it is time to celebrate.

Rachel in a candid moment on her way up to the stage to receive her diploma.

Later in May, I went to Indiana again to spend some time with Mom. We did a lot of shopping and exploring around Indianapolis. One of our favorite excursions was biking on the Monon Trail.

Mom was pretty sure that the last time she was on a bike was when she was 10 or 12 years old. Well it all came back to her....just like riding a bike :-)

We rode about 5 miles into the Broad Ripple area towards downtown from Carmel. It was a lovely shaded ride. We had lunch outdoors and then headed the 5 miles back to the bike shop where we rented Mom's bike. It was a nice ending to our week together.

Backyard Lumberjacks

2009-04-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

In exchange for letting us collect maple sap on her property we agreed to help clean-up some dead branches and trees around our friend DD's property.

It was fun to dust off the helmet and chaps and do some chainsawing again.

I think I might title this picture "things I won't be able to do once I have children" (not that I'm announcing anything). It wasn't that dangerous, although, it is a bit of an adrenaline rush to run a chainsaw while perched up in a tree.

When Jonathan wasn't taking pictures he was holding the ladder for me.

All done with that one. Now it's time to cut it up into firewood.

Jonathan delimbing. He got a new lightweight saw. Although you can't really see it in this picture he can cut with it one handed.

To aide in the clean-up, and mostly just for fun, he also rented a Toolcat (the cousin to the ever popular Bobcat). It came with several attachments including the grapple seen in the picture above, a bucket, and a wood splitter. What fun! The air conditioned cab and side by side seating was also a plus. Who knew you could hold hands while splitting logs and moving dead trees around the yard.

Easter in Chicago

2009-04-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

We drove into Chicago to spend Easter with Don and Linda Wood (our sister in law, Sarah's parents). It was great day going to church and enjoying Easter dinner with them.

As you can see, Dr. Wood and Jonathan have similar taste in cars....what a pair?!?

Maple Sugaring

2009-03-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

Most of March was consumed by Maple Sugaring this year. We set up a "sugar shack" in our backyard and boiled off several hundred gallons of maple sap. In the end we had lots of jars of yummy homemade syrup to share with family, friends, and co-workers. I'll try to take you through the process step by step with the next few photos.

This was the first year we tried maple sugaring and we certainly learned a lot. Jonathan did research online and surprisingly learned the most from several videos he found on youtube. He tried a few different methods for collecting the sap. Above you see his favorite: a 5 gallon bucket with a lid with a hole drilled in the top with a tube running straight from the hole tapped in the tree to the hole in the bucket lid. This was definitely efficient with almost no debris as long as you don't mind lugging 5 gallon buckets!

He also used some old coffee cans on some of the taps that were running slower. We tapped trees on Taft campus and at a friend's property down the road. All together I think we had about 40-50 trees that we were collecting from.

This is the classic set up used at Taft. The galvanized bucket is hung directly on a tap spout and covered so animals, falling leaves and branches don't get into the sap. These need to be checked once a day sometimes twice if the temperature change is just right and the sap is really flowing.

Here is nice shot of the sap flowing drip, drop. Fun fact: It takes 46,080 of these drops to equal 1 gallon of sap. It takes 40 gallons of sap to yield 1 gallon of syrup. Yikes! Do the math on that one and you can understand why the good stuff is so expensive. I've been told that a gallon of pure maple syrup up in WI often sells for $40-$50 a gallon.

It seems there is always a price to pay. We didn't get through the season injury free. No thumbs were harmed during maple sugaring, just an elbow. Jonathan slipped in the mud while carrying a bucket full of sap down a hill. He managed not to spill any sap but did hit his elbow on a fallen log and split it open. He got 10 stitches and nice infection from all the mud.

His whole hand and arm swelled up pretty bad, but he survived and has a nice scar and story to tell in the end.

Despite my thumb chopping experience earlier this year I decided to get back in the saddle and put myself in charge of splitting wood for the fire. Notice the use of thick leather gloves and a pioneer maul and fro. No more hatchets for me, thank you very much!

The sap went straight from the collection buckets to the pots on the fire. We would get several gallons collected and then do a big night of boiling it all off to a finished product. There were several nights spent boiling off - some lasted into the wee hours of the morning, but it was well worth it.

Once it started to thicken, and there was no more sap to add to the pots on the fire it was time to move things indoors. Because we boiled over an open flame there was some ash and smoke that got into the sap, but it just added to the smokey, homemade flavor. I poured the hot sap off the fire through a double felt filter to get it ready for the oven.

Here you can see two different batches going at once. One batch is from our friend DD's and the other is from Taft.

They boiled inside with the close monitoring of a candy thermometer. Once they started to foam and reached about 220 degrees it was done.

I poured it through a single felt filter to get rid of any sugar sand and remaining floaters.

It is officially syrup at this point and took awhile to drain through the filter.

This is the finished product ready to be poured into jars.

These are photos of some of our smaller first batches. Once we got the process down we started boiling off a lot more at once and would often fill this measuring pitcher twice at the end of a boiling session.

We put most of the syrup in half pint jars to share. I turned the jars upside down to cool, seal, and kill any bacteria that might be lurking on the lid.

Jonathan loved maple sugaring and has definitely found a new winter hobby. He said going to check the trees to see how much sap they had produced was like opening presents on Christmas morning every day.

Snow Shoeing at Taft

2009-02-01T21:51:00.001-08:00

We had an off weekend from ski patrol a couple weeks ago. It was nice to just stay home for a few days. We decided to borrow some of the snow shoes from work and go for hike in the forest around campus.

We started out down by the river delta and followed one of the trails about a mile up the gully to South Field.

This is a picture of Jonathan making his own fresh tracks in South Field.

While we were out, we came across a lot of animal tracks out in the forest. This is picture of my foot next to a set of deer tracks. It was fun to follow the tracks and see where they led.

17 feet of Home Sweet Home

2009-02-01T21:32:00.000-08:00

We found a camper on Ebay to use as our home away from home while we are patrolling at Chestnut Mountain. Let's just say that sleeping separately in the guys and girls dorms with a bunch of rowdy college kids every weekend was getting really old really fast.

It is a gently used 1995 Salem by Cobra. Jonathan drove down to Arkansas to pick it up after we won the Ebay auction. I uploaded a bunch of the photos from the ad on Ebay below. Probably more than you want to look at, but here it goes.....

We especially like the "mountain graphics" on the front window cover.

It came with 2 propane tanks and lots of storage room.

It also has a working air conditioner and a hitch on the back for pulling a second trailer (I'm not sure that we will ever attempt this, but if we want to try it the hitch is there)

A nice view of the dinette and furnace just inside the front door.

The trailer will sleep 6 (4 adults and 2 children). The storage cupboards over the dinette fold down to make a bunk for one. The dinette also folds down to make a full sized bed for two. It will make a nice "guest bed" for any visitors who want stay with us.

There is a nice hanging closet with plenty of room for ski jackets, etc.

A radio, with built in speakers all over the camper, that tunes in some pretty good radio stations.

The storage cupboard above the couch also folds down into a bunk for one. We fold the couch down into a full sized bed that is just perfect for us and our double sleeping bag.

A pantry and big refrigerator.

A shot looking towards the front of the trailer from the couch in the back.

Several pictures of the kitchen and gas range and oven.

It also has a full bath with toilet, sink, shower, and 1/2 tub. For now we are just "dry camping" which means that we aren't hooked up to water or electricity while we are out at Chestnut. We use the propane heater for warmth and the battery for lights. We can still shower, etc. in the dorms or pool area at the resort. We have stayed in it 2 weekends already and it is great!

I did some decorating with outdoor sports posters and ski trail maps. I also made a custom sign/key rack to make it feel more like home. So "Welcome to the Ski Hut." We have decided that is a good name for it.

We have already enjoyed having a place to invite people to come and hangout after the hill closes. Matt (a fellow ski patrol candidate) is pictured with Jonathan above.

Jonathan sleeping soundly. I had to get him back for the puffy coat picture in an earlier post :-)

Record Cold in Illinois

2009-02-01T21:07:00.001-08:00

Below are some pictures taken on some of the coldest days yet this winter. It was a high of -2 with a windchill of -30. Schools in the area were closed for 3 days (that almost never happens). We however, had students that were already here and continued teaching classes. We just had to limit our time outdoors with the students to 10-15 minute intervals.

It really isn't too bad when my commute to the office involves a 2 minute walk across campus. The icicles hanging from the roof of my office building are quite impressive as you can see in the photo above.

We stayed warm and cozy in our house. I'm not sure if you can see in the picture or not, but I shoveled through almost 10 inches of snow in the front yard to cut a path to the front door.

I donned Jonathan's puffy coat to stay nice and cozy while watching a movie that night. I got so comfortable that I fell asleep and Jonathan snapped this photo. It is kind of hard to imagine that about a year ago I was wearing a bikini, snorkeling, and using this same camera to shoot underwater shots in the balmy 80 degree waters of South Florida.

Bum Thumb Update

2009-02-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

A couple of pictures and an update on my "bum thumb" as Jonathan likes to call it.

These photos were taken on January 15th, two months after the incident with the hatchet.

The healing process is going amazingly well and I am hoping that it will continue to grow back as it has been doing thus far. I'll post more pictures later this month on the 15th. I kind of wish that I had taken more pictures....it would have been a neat time lapse of my thumb regenerating itself.

Our Honeymoon in Keystone, CO

2009-02-01T19:51:00.000-08:00

One of our best Christmas surprises this year was the arrival of our new Jetta Sportwagon at the dealership just in time for our honeymoon road trip. We traded in Jonathan's old Jetta and my Jeep. We are down to two vehicles with the truck and the sportwagon.

Jonathan in the driver's seat above. We are all loaded and ready to embark on our Christmas/Honeymoon adventure. We spent two days in Iowa celebrating Christmas with family. Then continued on to Colorado.

We stopped at the Continental Divide for a photo opp.

We skied 3 days at Keystone and 1 day at Copper.

It was sunny and beautiful the whole week.

We also got in some night skiing at Keystone and tried out some "helmet cam" video with the camera on New Year's Eve in the clip below.....

We saw the sunset from the top of the mountains on several nights.

It was a great trip and time together.

Ski Patrol Candidates

2008-12-17T09:11:00.001-08:00

Our latest adventure has been entering a year long training program to serve as Ski Patrol at Chestnut Mountain Resort near Galena, IL located along the Mississippi River. We are pictured below in our patrol candidate vests taking a break from skiing.

We make the 1 1/2 hour drive east to the resort about every other weekend for training classes and ski skills lessons. It will take all of this year and potentially part of next year before we are certified and earn our red parkas. During training, we already get to enjoy a lot of the ski patrol benefits. We don't get a paycheck, but we do get to ski, eat, and stay at the resort for free. Essentially we just have to pay for the gas it takes to get us there....not a bad deal if you like skiing and helping people!

There are 11 candidates in our class this year. Only 2 (including me) are female. Most are skiers. A couple of them snowboard. This is a photo of some of our fellow candidates taking a break from skiing. Jonathan has been having fun with "da boys" as he likes to call them. Above (left to right) Jason, Jonathan (who is borrowing Matt's short ski blades in this photo), Mark (his twin brother Steve is also a candidate), and Jordan. As you can see several of them are quite tall. Some of the older patrolers like to tease Jason, Jonathan, and Jordan about their size. One calls them the "half ton of fun" and another says that it sounds more like we are trying to put together a basketball team with a starting line up of 6' 6", 6' 5", and 6' 6".

You may be able to tell that overall the Chestnut ski patrol has a pretty good sense of humour. All of our class instructors are also patrolers. They keep our classes practical, fun, and light hearted. This is a photo of Kathy (one of our instructors) demonstrating a pressure bandage for a head wound while Jason goofs around for the camera.

Last weekend was all about bandaging wounds and dealing with blood. This is a photo of Jonathan practicing how to take off gloves that are covered in blood (we used ketchup for practice) without contaminating himself.

This is another one of our instructors, Deb, showing us what critical blood loss looks like in the snow with some red cough syrup. We also talked a lot about shock and practiced how to assess injured guests.

This is a picture of the view from the lodge at the top of the hill at Chestnut Mountain Resort. It is looking down on the Mississippi River. You can see this view from all of the ski runs. It is really beautiful. Not a bad way to spend our weekends! You can check out more info at this link: https://www.chestnutmtn.com/

Come and ski with us!

Don't play with hatchets!

2008-12-17T08:40:00.001-08:00

Well, I wasn't really playing with the hatchet. I was making kindling for the hot tub fire, about a month ago, on a Saturday night while Jonathan was at work. I was doing really good for about 30 minutes and then something??? distracted me, I got smoke in my eyes, or I was just getting tired. Whatever it was I ended up chopped off part of my left thumb!

As you can see it was a very clean cut. I managed to miss the bone and my nail bed. It is also on the outside edge of my left hand (I'm right handed) so the emergency room doc didn't think surgery was needed....it will mostly just be a cosmetic scar. I did manage to find the missing piece and bring it with me to the emergency room, but it was so small (it didn't seem small at the time) that they didn't think it would survive reattachment.

As you can see, after a month, it has already started to fill in and "plump out." I have been cleaning it daily and putting neosporin on it. So far no signs of infection etc. It is just a very slow process of growing skin and scar tissue. They say most of it will grow back and I might have to trim my thumbnail a little slanted. Thanks for bearing with the photos. A little gruesome I know, but I thought it would be a good idea to document some of the healing and see how it actually turns out. For now Coban (a.k.a. Vet Wrap) bandages are my friend.

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

Starting December 1st we got our first snow, and it has been a winter wonderland here in Illinois ever since. I forgot how much I enjoyed shoveling the sidewalk. I may feel differently come February....but for now it is still a fun novelty after 6 years of living in warm climates.

This is a random group of students out on the trail. It has been bitterly cold and if it weren't for the snow the students would probably be pretty miserable outside in classes all day. I think the snow ends up being more of a distraction (in a good way) for them then the cold. It also means that we can teach them cross country skiing and snow shoeing as part of their classes. It has been really fun teaching and watching kids try these things for the first time. It reminds me of the first time that I tried them and fell in love with winter sports and playing in the snow.

Backyard Pumpkin Carving Party

2008-11-09T19:40:00.000-08:00

It is tradition on Taft Campus for the assistant coordinators to host a pumpkin carving party every year for the instructors. I gladly followed along with the tradition and invited all the staff over for an evening in mid October before Halloween.

Me with Dominica, Claire, and Hannah carving away.

Natalie and Autumn

We collected a bowl of the pumpkin seeds to roast.

Several of the girls brought over their bathing suits to try out the Hillbilly hot tub.

We had mulled apple cider simmering over the fire, hot chocolate, sliced apples and fresh roasted pumpkin seeds....yum!

Natalie actually got her pumpkin to fit on her head!

We had a fun time carving pumpkings and enjoying the new backyard with several of our "neighbors" from campus.

Autumn on Parade 5K

2008-11-09T19:30:00.001-08:00

The first weekend in October Oregon, IL has a big festival called Autumn on Parade. It involves lots of arts and crafts, good food, and a big parade. It was lots of small town fun. I decided to run in the 5K on Sunday morning with several of my co-workers at Lorado Taft.

Me, Hannah, Erin, and Natalie after the race, back in the Taft Campus parking lot. They are all new Outdoor Educators at Taft this year. It was fun to run again!

Feathering Our Nest

2008-08-25T22:31:00.001-07:00

One of the selling points for me in taking this new job was that we would have a yard and that we were welcome to "do whatever we want." Little did they know that Jonathan and I would take full advantage of that offer and enjoy every minute of it to the fullest. If you haven't heard much from us this fall, now you know why.....we have been working hard inside and out feathering our nest.

Front Yard:

Jonathan cleared a lot of the brush and bushes that had just been "let go" over the past several years. He really wanted to grow grass and have a yard to mow. In order to do that we had to rake everything up and get back to bare ground to plant grass seed. He also did some power washing of the house and front and back stoops. He replaced rotten boards and repainted the stoops along with the bird feeder to match the house. We also had to solve some drainage problems....water ran through 3 areas of the yard during heavy rains and snow melt. I drew on my Agronomy class experience at ISU to tile part of the yard, build a drainage creek bed with a footbridge, and create terraces in the back yard. Here are some pictures of our progress on the front yard:

Side Yard:

How about that green, green grass?!? It really put a smile on our faces to see it come in so well after all our hard work. We cleared and created more yard space in the side yard as well as adding a storage shed to serve as a nice place for Jonathan to build a work bench and shelves to store his tools and work on other projects.

Back Yard:

Believe it or not, we spent most of our time in the back yard working on terracing and several special projects. Jonathan repaired and painted the stoops and built a kayak rack that we staked it into the ground on one of the terrace levels. I dug up two different overgrown brick patio areas, leveled, and layed a new bigger brick patio to create a nice outdoor eating and gathering area around the fire bowl and grill.

Jonathan also planted grass in the backyard. We used big boards to walk on while the grass established its root system. You may be wondering....what is in the box on the upper patio????

Jonathan drove home one day from Blain's Farm and Fleet annoucing that he was going to build a wood burning hot tub. With some internet research he put together a good plan and got to work. You start with a metal stock tank. Build a box around it using 2x4's and T1-11. Line the box and bottom of the tank with pink board for insulation. He used cedar to trim it and tongue and groove to make a cover. We ordered a wood burning hot tub heater from www.cowboyhottubs.com and picked up several feet of stove pipe from Menards. Add water and wood to burn and wah lah......a back yard hot tub that only costs us some time and energy to stoke the fire.

Steam rising from the hot water past the stove pipe.

The heater's fire box. The rest is submerged in water. We've discovered that the fastest way to get the water hot is to start a fire in the fire bowl with big logs and then shovel the hot coals from the fire into the heater adding some small sticks and logs to burn on top.

One website recommended using a canoe paddle to stir the water to help evenly heat the water. It also heats up faster the more we stir it. I used a wood burner to add a fun name on the paddle to double as a sign for the hot tub.

Last night we had the temp up to 105 degrees F. A nice treat on a cold night.

Inside:

We've also been busy inside the house. We have 2 bedrooms and one bath on one side of a duplex on campus. We put up the usual pictures and decorations and worked on several other specials projects as well.

I used the woodburner again to turn this old spare paddle into a welcome sign in the entry way by the front door.

An old white board was used to let people know how to find Emily and Becky (who rotate security duty in the evenings when visitors are staying on campus).

I gave it an upgrade using the woodburner and paint to make a new sign to match the colors of the house.

We put up some IKEA shelves to help us add storage and organization to the kitchen.

Jonathan bought a new TV (a wedding gift to ourselves) and we needed more DVD storage. He found this great corner unit at Bare Wood Furniture. He stained it and added the handles. It works great and gives us 4 drawers full of added DVD storage!

This is our living room.

We have been working to refinish this dining room table and chairs (the table is done, and chairs just need their new seats in this photo). We got the table from Jonathan's old roomate in Florida. He didn't want it any more. It came with 2 chairs (that are now painted blue). I stayed on the lookout for more chairs. I literally picked up two chairs off the side of the road bound for the dump in Florida. They were easy to repair with some clamps and wood glue and are now painted green. While we were in Houston someone put two more chairs out by the dumpster at our apartment; I assume because the seats were covered in pet hair. Those two are now painted red. It was quite a process stripping, sanding, repairing, reapolstering, and repainting, but it was worth it. Eat your heart out Pottery Barn! ;-)

This blog post has been a long process, covering several months worth of work. Thanks for looking at all the pictures and enjoying the fruits of our labor with us through pictures.

Our Wedding Weekend August 16-18

2008-08-25T21:03:00.001-07:00

The wedding pictures should be arriving in the mail this week. We will post more of them as soon as they arrive. We didn't use our camera much during the weekend, but did capture a few pictures and have included some below that were sent to us by family and friends:

Saturday, the day before the wedding, at the Iowa State Fair. Mom, Thea, and I presenting the trophy for the Champion Ram in Dad's memory to Toby Bender and family from Wisconsin. I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else the day before my wedding. It was probably my shortest visit ever to the fair. We left late afternoon to head to the rehearsal dinner.

Rehersal went smoothly, and we had a great meal together at Greenbriar

Grandpa Van Arkel walked down the isle with me.

We had beautiful weather for the ceremony.

I think everyone was very pleased with how everything went..."Anybody have a lighter?"....we did forget to light the unity candles ahead of time, but it was a nice break to laugh and a good story to tell. Thank you to Jonathan's cousin David who came to our rescue.

Cutting the cake: Angelfood with strawberries on top

Mr. and Mrs. Klein enjoying breakfast with everyone the next morning at the hotel.

On the way back to Illinois, Jonathan and I stopped at Dad's grave to leave the flowers from the the wedding. We had enjoyed them throughout all festivities during weekend and it seemed like a fitting way to enjoy them once more.

Feeling at Home in Ogle County

2008-08-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

We made it safely to Illinois and settled into our new house on Lorado Taft Campus near Oregon, Illinois.... still happily engaged and looking forward to our wedding in August.

We moved in just in time to go to the Ogle County Fair and get a feel for the local lifestyle.

Looking at tractors and machinery has become one of Jonathan's favorite things.

This tractor had a sign that made us both laugh:

After six years of expensive plane tickets and weeks of logistical planning just to come home for a visit.... it almost didn't seem real (to Emily) that "home in Iowa" was just a 3 hour car ride away. We took advantage of this a couple times this summer and drove over to Iowa to follow up on wedding plans in person instead of over the phone. Of course we squeezed in some visits with family and friends too.

One of those stops was at Grandma and Grandpa Van Arkel's. Grandpa told us some good stories and Grandma sent us home with a bowl of freshly picked and pitted cherries. I quickly found my recipe for cherry crisp...boy, was it good!

Bob says Illinois is "God's Country" and I have to say that I agree!

On the Road Again in July

2008-08-25T20:08:00.001-07:00

Upon our return from Mom and Bob's wedding weekend in Indiana, we packed up all our belongings for the second time this year to make the move to Oregon, Illinois. Fortunately, we remembered just where everything fit and had the opportunity to make improvements from the last time around.

Here we are in the parking lot across from our apartment saying our last goodbyes to Houston, with Emily very thankful to be headed to a better job and greener pastures.

Mom and Bob's Wedding June 28th

2008-08-25T19:27:00.001-07:00

We headed to Carmel, Indiana the last weekend in June to celebrate Mom and Bob's wedding. Here are some pictures from Bob's farm and the wedding day.

The guys (Jonathan, Toby, and Bob's son Ryan) decided to improve their view by climbing the silo to the top of the barn.

We played bean bag toss in the front yard.

Jonathan and Toby teamed up for a few rounds.

Bob's granddaughter, Anne Louise (fondly "Weezie") took it all in.

Mom and Bob, just married, during the ceremony at the church.

A photo with all the kids: (L to R) Rachel, Thea, Emily, Debbie, Bob, Ryan, and Jennifer

The whole family, significant others included: Ryan and Rachel, Toby and Thea, Jonathan and Emily, Debbie and Bob, Rob and Jennifer with Anne Louise, and Ryan and Vanessa

Last Weekend in Texas in June

2008-08-25T17:52:00.001-07:00

I'm doing some catching up on the blog tonight. It has been a crazy busy summer.

Below are some pictures from our last weekend in Texas.

We decided to go for one last paddle down the San Jacinto River. This is Banana Bend Beach in full summer swing. It was one of our favorite places just east of Houston.

We found a quiet spot to soak in the river and have a little picnic.

The quiet was quickly disturbed by the speed boats racing each other back and forth and back and forth. They have installed car engines on these tiny boats. It is a wonder that they don't tip over and that people are willing to spend that much money on fuel just to go fast for a few seconds.

We ended the weekend hanging out on the riverbank back by the Jeep. Good memories.

One of the highlights of our short time living in Houston.

David Klein's wedding

2008-06-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

Jonathan's cousin, David Klein, got married on June 1st near Columbus, Ohio. All the Klein's got together to celebrate the occasion and spend some time together.

Thank you to George who shared his photos from the wedding. Sorry, some of them are so small! This is a picture of David, the groom, on the move just after the ceremony.

The ceremony was in a beautiful, remote location over the river and through the woods down some of the back roads of Ohio.

We had the place all to ourselves with lots of room to run around! Jonathan's nephews, Andrew and Will, burned off some wedding cake energy on the boardwalk :-)

The two of us all dressed up with a fun place to go.

Jonathan's brother Pete, Sarah, and the boys.

Jonathan's parents George and Pam.

We all stayed at Fort Rapids....a Holiday Inn with a huge, indoor water park.

Andrew and cousin Nate take a break from the action.

Nate and I tried out one of the double tubes on the big slides. It was fun to be a kid again!

Riding this slide was kind of like being flushed down the drain in a giant sink.

Pete and Sarah gave it try.

Will enjoyed the fountains.

Andrew turned 5 on May 31st. We took advantage of the opportunity to celebrate with him and all the other people with birthdays in April and May.

I'll end with a picture of Uncle Jon and Will with his red bag of birthday marbles.

Memorial Day at the Ranch

2008-06-07T10:05:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if you can read the sign or not.....it says:

"Blue Mountain Ranch

John P. McCarthy

Rebecca McCarthy"

This is a great view of the Blue Mountains from the property.

On a clear day you can see 60 miles from the deck of their house.

This a picture of El Hefe himself, Toby's dad, John McCarthy. John doesn't normally look like this....he was just being silly for the camera. He was a lot of fun sharing the history of the area and giving us a personal tour of the properties and the new house they are building up on the mountain.

(Sorry for the tiny pictures. They are from Toby's camera and his online picasa album. This is a big as I can make them)

It was just a few days after Jonathan's birthday and before my golden birthday on 29th. Thea gave us "his and hers" paddling shirts as birthday gifts.

We drove the Jeep and kayaks down to the Llano River, which flows through one of the ranch properties, and spent most of the weekend on the water.

Most of the river crew is pictured above: (L to R) Colin, Thea, Tobias, Jonathan, Emily, and Veronica. Not pictured are Toby's little brother J.P., Kayla, Jesse, and Cody.

Thea is a professional when it comes to lounging on the river -- complete with floppy hat, shades, and her own floating lounger with built in cup holders.

Jonathan caught on quickly, floating with Toby on the giant inflatable fun center.

Jonathan and one of the guys went for a short paddle on the river. We had beautiful weather conditions for being outside all weekend.

Toby wanted a kayak lesson. He watched from the water as I demonstrated all the strokes. He did a great job and even performed a successful self rescue before the day was over. We only came away with a few bruises.

Around one of the bends in the river was an old quarry with really deep water perfect for cliff diving. Of course, we were safe and jumped feet first just in case.

Jonathan is pictured above demonstrating a classic "iron cross" jump.

Tobias and Jonathan use the ladder to climb back up for round two.

Thea jumps in!

The photographer strikes a pose and....

....finally puts down the camera and hat to take the plunge as well.
It was so fun I ended up jumping at least two more times!

It was a great weekend making new friends, seeing more of Texas and where Tobias grew up, and spending time with my sis.

We stopped in San Antonio on the way home and spent an hour walking around downtown so Jonathan could have his own "Remember the Alamo" experience.

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

2008-05-21T19:35:00.000-07:00

Return to Crystal Beach

2008-05-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

This time we brought Rachel and Derk and their dogs Sota and Charlie with us. We set up camp on the beach this past weekend. We did some kayaking, fishing, gourmet camp cooking, and took several long walks on the beach with the dogs.

We had quite the spread staked out along our own little section of the dunes.

Fun in the Sun along the Texas Gulf Coast!

Working Hard in Colorado

2008-05-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of my job is getting to travel. This year's annual Project WILD Coordinator's conference happend to be in Estes Park, Colorado right outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a lot of work helping to plan and prepare for the conference, as well as, making sure that everything ran smoothly throughout the entire week.

Everyone in my office came along. Including our executive director, Josetta Hawthorne.

We took several half day field trips to RMNP during the week. We heard talks from park rangers about fire management, elk population control, and climate change and the effects it is having on wildlife habitat and populations in the park.

The talk that I found most interesting was the discussion about Mountain Pine Beetles and how they are researching and working to control the damage that they are doing to forests. We had similar problems with Southern Pine Beetles in Florida. They bore into the pine trees to the point that the tree is overwhelmed by the destruction that the beetles cause to their vascular system and dies. This creates huge stands of dead trees. One method they are trying is cutting down the dead trees and burning them in a machine like the one pictured above. This hopefully kills any beetles that are in the process of reproducing in that tree and prevents them from infecting any other healthy trees nearby.

I stopped for a picture in the Alluvial Fan with some of my co-workers.

(L to R) Lanese, Maricella, and Grace.

I also got to catch up with Lori Haynes. She is the Project WILD State Coordinator in Florida. I was one of her facilitators when I worked at Pine Jog.

This was the view from our hotel. We held all the meetings at The Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. Yes, this is the hotel where Stephen King wrote "The Shining." The movie version, starring Jack Nicholson, played continuously on channel 42....kinda creepy!

Besides comittee meetings and field trips we also took time to share updates and suggestions for several of the Project WILD activities. Marc, who also works in my office, is trying out an activity involving spiders made out of pipe cleaners....what will environmental educators think of next!

Overall, not a bad week at work. Next year, we head to Portland, Oregon.

Too bad this only happens once a year!

Remember the Alamo

2008-05-19T17:57:00.000-07:00

In April, I was in San Antonio exhibiting at the Texas Water conference for work. I had time each evening to do some exploring in the city. I happened to walk by the Alamo each day from my hotel to the convention center. I also got to explore the San Antonio Riverwalk and take a boat tour. If you are thinking of taking a vacation to San Antonio, Texas -- I'd say go for it!

I give it two thumbs up.

Houston Rodeo 2008

2008-03-20T22:36:00.001-07:00

We went to the Houston Rodeo and Livestock show. It goes on for about a month at Reliant stadium and boasts that it is biggest rodeo in the country.

Jonathan and I went twice to check it all out.

We saw pigs.

Bull riding!

We saw part of the miniature Hereford cattle show.

Chuck wagon racing.

Two great country concerts: Brad Paisley and Dierks Bently.

Barrel racing.

And the craziest of all: Mutton Bustin'

All the contestants were very brave boys and girls that weighed under 50 lbs and had parents that were willing to sign the waiver.

The kids had to hang on for 6 seconds and make it look good. Contestants with the best score make it to the finals and get to compete for the prize money and the glory of a win.

This is how the real cowboys and girls get their start.

And best of all....they had corn on the cob!

Roommate Reunion

2008-03-20T22:16:00.001-07:00

Derk and Rachel Blanset are pictured here with their pups Charlie and Sota. They drove down from Dallas last weekend for a visit. We all went for a walk along the bayou and enjoyed the sunshine. Rachel and Derk also just moved here from Florida for Rachel's new job with Johnson and Johnson. It is nice to have friends not too far away. We all teased that they are following us!

Lauren Hughes was down from Iowa the same weekend for a medical conference. It was a good excuse to go try out a new restaurant in Montrose and have a mini college reunion.

Lauren was my college roommate freshman year and Rachel was my college roommate sophomore and junior year. It was fun to be together again. Go Cyclones!

Buffalo Bayou Regatta

2008-03-11T17:39:00.001-07:00

UPDATE !! The results are in....

Emily got 2nd place in the Women's Solo Unlimited Division with a time of 2:33:36 !

Jonathan finished in 2:29:17 and placed 20th in the Men's Solo Unlimited Division!

Remember that crazy kayak with the cameras pictured below? Here is a link to his YouTube video of the race. You can see us briefly around minute 5 and 6:10 in the video. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5nudsRvkNs

We pulled up along the street with about 200 other canoe and kayak racers to unload our boats last Saturday for the Buffalo Bayou Regatta running, or I guess I should I say paddling, 15 miles through the heart of down town Houston.

After picking up our registration packets we donned our racing numbers and moved to the starting area by the bridge.

We had a great time talking to people and taking in the sights.

Many serious racers came with their long skinny carbon fiber kayaks. The one pictured above had a GPS unit and two digital cameras attached to it. I ended up paddling behind this guy for most of the race. At one point I asked him about the cameras. He shared that they automatically take a picture every five seconds. Yikes, that means he must have about 40 pictures of me gritting my teeth trying to keep up!

We also saw some of the most interesting water shoes I have ever seen.

We bonded with more of our fellow racers standing in the line for the port-a-potty.

Jonathan happened to stand next to a guy named Rob who had just moved to Houston from Shelton, CT....what are the odds? They are pictured here getting ready to head to the starting line. Rob was one of the only other people there in a big yellow sea kayak.

There was an official "Texas Ranger" look alike firing a cannon to start each heat.

This is a shot of the starting line from the bridge. Many people were new to kayaking and canoeing and fell in at the start. It was a little crazy for the first few miles, but then it settled down.

This was the scenery for most of the trip. Jonathan spotted a beaver swimming around while he was paddling. We were warned that there might be alligators, but we didn't see any.

We reached the finish line in just under 2 and half hours. There was live music, lunch, and some free give aways waiting for us at the end. It was a fun day and nice to be out in the sunshine. Eventually our race results will be posted on this website with more info about the race:

http://www.buffalobayou.org/regattabayou.html

First Teacher Workshop

2008-02-22T09:07:00.001-08:00

I facilitated my first WET in the City educator workshop last week in Sugar Land, TX.

It went really well, and I am feeling like I am settling into my new position. I had about 32 teachers representing K-12th grade. They got 6 credit hours towards professional development and a copy of the curriculum guide to take home.

We did several activities from the curriculum. This one is called "Is There Water on Zork?" Participants are given 6 tubes of clear liquid and have to perform several tests using what they know about the properties of water to figure out which sample is water and not vinegar, club soda, rubbing alcohol, etc. This was my first time working with High School Teachers. They were a tough crowd, but seemed impressed in the end.

I also took them outside for several of the activities. We created a mock water cycle with all the different components represented outdoors and went on a short walk to see if we could spot any wildlife in the school yard and figure out where it might find drinking water in an urban setting.

It is nice to get my first workshop done and have one under my belt as I prepare for my next one in Miami at the Miami Museum of Science.

If you want to know more check out the web site:

www.wetcity.org

Super Bowl Sunday

2008-02-21T19:38:00.000-08:00

We had a Super Bowl Party for four at Thea's apartment in Irving. It was our first time meeting Tobias, Thea's boyfriend. He was an offensive lineman for Texas A&M in college. Thea and Toby were rooting for the Giants because the Patriots had put an end to the Cowboy's season just weeks before. Jonathan and I rooted for the Patriots just to keep things interesting.

We had our own version of pre-game down at the Forth Worth Stockyards.

We watched them drive the longhorns down the street....

....and decided to take one for a spin!

Thea thought this might make a nice engagement picture. I'm thinking it needs a tag line like: "We'll be somewhere down in Texas" or "Give me a home where the Longhorns roam"

Camping on Crystal Beach

2008-01-18T13:18:00.000-08:00

The last weekend before Emily started work, we headed down to the Galveston area to do some more exploring and camping. We rode the ferry from Galveston to Port Bolivar. This is a picture of the sunset from the ferry.
Jonathan found out about Crystal Beach by asking around. It wasn't listed in any of the guide books, but we had heard that you could drive, camp, and make your own bonfire on the beach. We were really glad to find out it was all true once we arrived.

We took the kayaks out for a spin. The water was cold, but we were warm in our wetsuits. Jonathan is sporting his new PFD and kayak skirt that he got for Christmas.

I think it is fair to say that so far Texas suits us just fine.
Emily boiled water for dinner just before the sun went down.

We spent 2 nights camping on the beach. With a view like this out our front door every morning, we have plans to come back

Not only was it a great place to relax and camp, it was also a great place to....

....get engaged!
That's right we're engaged! We haven't figured out any of the details yet.

I'm still too busy smiling and looking down at the ring. :-)

Welcome to Texas

2008-01-18T13:05:00.001-08:00

Jonathan is displaying the nice "Welcome to Texas" gifts Thea gave us.

Speaking of Don't Mess With Texas....
....this is the current state of our living room.

You may have been wondering - How are they going to fit 4 vehicles full of stuff into a 1 bedroom/1 bath apartment? Well, this is it folks. We call it our garage/living room. The pile of kayaks make a nice divider down the middle. Hey, I can deal with anything for 6 months (or at least that is what I keep telling myself).

Hauling to Houston

2008-01-17T14:59:00.000-08:00

We snapped this shot moments before pulling out of Pine Jog. It took us about 20 hours, split over 2 days, to pack everything. If we look a little tired in this photo that may be why. As you can see from the open truck we still had a little room to spare ;-)
This was Jonathan's rig
This was Emily's rig
This was the view from The Waffle House across the street at one of our last pit stops somewhere in Louisiana. A man actually saw us parked from the interstate, pulled off, and pulled up next to us to ask if we knew where he could buy some used kayaks locally. Jonathan's reply was "Check down by the water, we're just passing through."

We made it to Houston in 20 hours of driving, split between 2 days. Thea was waiting for us with hugs and welcome to Texas gifts. Those pictures will have to wait until another blog. We split the unpacking over two days, but thankfully with Thea's help it did not take us another 20 hours. She brought along a dolly/cart that made quick work of our boxes. Jonathan and I both agreed that we couldn't have done it without her....Thanks Thea!

Goodbye Gypsy Trailer

2008-01-17T12:55:00.000-08:00

Once we got back from New England, we had 3 days to tie up all our loose ends in Florida and get packed for the move. One of our biggest tasks was getting rid of the old RV hunting trailer, fondly referred to as "The Gypsy Trailer", that we pulled out of the wilderness of Corbett almost a year ago.

Hopefully this video works. It was the first step to dismantling the trailer. It sure is nice to have 4 wheel drive and built in tow hooks on the Jeep.

After a closer examination of the frame, (you may be able to see in this picture that most of the bottom is rusted out) we decided that it was not in good enough condition to be remodeled into our dream RV...ha ha. It has been a source of a good story to tell, free dry storage for some of our things, and $120 in gas money after we took it's various parts to the metal recycling center.

So long Gypsy Trailer!

Christmas in Maine

2008-01-17T11:00:00.000-08:00

Playing "Box" was one of the highlights of Christmas this year.

One or both of the boys climb in and you start counting. They burst out at any time like a jack-in-the-box. Andrew's personal record is 1 minute and 10 seconds. It was great fun!
Santa was pretty good to us this year.
I'm pretty sure this is Sarah opening her very own DVD of Planet Earth in HD.
George got a calendar personalized with family pictures.
Jonathan got a new PFD--personal flotation device :)

Ball Track (blocks and marbles) was a big hit.
So was Andrew's new bike!

I think Will was wondering when he was going to get a chance to ride.
Christmas dinner was followed by Christmas Pudding with Brandy Butter....yum!

We went back to Connecticut for a few days before flying to Florida.

Emily had a chance to go for a hike and try out her new binoculars.

Last Day at Pine Jog

2007-12-20T12:33:00.001-08:00

I taught my last Pine Jog class today with 1st graders and got in one final work lunch at Pete's Place with some of the old crew from the EYCC. I'm going to miss this place and the people I've met along the way.

Apartment in Houston

2007-12-20T12:26:00.001-08:00

We found an apartment in Houston last weekend! It is close to Emily's job and will be a great temporary place to live for the first 6 months while we get a feel for the lay of the land.

(Yes, Emily is wearing a sombraro and feeling festive)

Kayak Camping in Key Biscayne

2007-12-07T12:14:00.000-08:00

Jonathan went overseas to spend Thanksgiving with his mother and brother in England. Emily took advantage of a 4 day weekend and went kayak camping. She invited all the grads from Pine Jog who were staying in WPB for the holiday. Corey was the only brave soul who took her up on the offer.

The challenge with kayak camping is space. If it doesn't fit in the kayak you can't take it with you. We tried a new concept in ultralight backpacking called freezer bag cooking to prepare our meals. Everything is dry or dehydrated and you just have to add boiling water and wait for it to rehydrate. I was very impressed with all receipies I tried. Check it out at: http://www.freezerbagcooking.com/

Corey borrowed Jonathan's gear for the trip. We launched on Friday afternoon from the Dante Fascall Visitor Center and paddled the 7 miles across open water in Key Biscayne National Park to Elliot Key.

It was the first time Corey or I had ever gone on a paddling trip where we couldn't physically see our destination. It was a little scary, but in a good way. We used the map and our orientering skills with the compass. The sun shining through the clouds on the glassy water was amazing!

As we approached Elliot Key, we realized that we were not the only ones who thought it was a good idea to go camping that weekend. We were however, the only ones who arrived via kayak.

After a restless night in the tents filled with mosquito bites and lots of noise from our neighbors it felt good to get back out on the water. We did a day trip north to Boca Chita Key.

During the paddle we came across a green dragonfly frantically looking for a place to land and take a rest. He rode on the back of my jacket for atleast 20 minutes before deciding to try flying again. I'm not sure where he was headed out on the open water, but I wished him a good trip just the same!

Once we arrived on Boca Chita Key, we hiked around to several of the historic buildings made out of limestone and old coral.

We found a palm tree with ripe coconuts. Corey and I each cracked one open and had fresh coconut milk and meat with our lunch....yum!

We paddled the 7 mile round trip back to Elliot Key. We were pleased to find that most of the people had left the campground. The wind had also picked up, which reduced the bugs and temperature to a very pleasent level. We settled in to camp just in time to catch this sunset.

After logging 14 miles in the kayaks we were ready to enjoy a beer. We had room for one big liter bottle of Corona to share over a game of Hearts. Boy did it taste good!

We played Hearts both nights. Corey won the best of five - best of five tournament for the weekend. Check out those nice plastic, waterproof playing cards.

We broke camp on Sunday morning and launched right from our campsite.

We paddled the 7 miles back with wind and 1-2 foot seas. It was hard work, but a nice challenge to end the trip. Corey even had a Loggerhead sea turtle surface for a breath right next to his kayak....very cool!

We returned in record time - 2 hrs and 30 minutes. That was a half an hour quicker than it took us to paddle 7 miles on Friday and Saturday. It probably had something to do with the wind being at our backs. Our fingers were pruned, our bodies were tired, and our souls were satisfied. God's creation is a wonder to behold!

Kayaking Couples

2007-11-25T18:11:00.000-08:00

Yey! We finally got everyone's schedules to coordinate. On Veteran's Day we loaded the gear and headed up to Stuart, FL. We paddled the Cove Road trip (that we've pictured before when the bulldosers were on the beach) with two of Emily's co-workers and their significant others. We had been talking about doing this trip for quite some time.

Elyse and Chris Hill

Awww....the newly weds....Chris and Kristi Moyer

You already know who these two are :-)

Once we paddled through the mangrove trails, we beached the kayaks and hiked this covered trail over the dunes to the beach.

We had a picnic, Chris Hill taught us to play proper English rugby on the beach, and we had time to pose for this picture with the driftwood art before the sun started going down.

Paddling home into the sunset

Rascal Flatts

2007-11-25T18:05:00.000-08:00

Emily's sister, Thea, came to Florida for a visit the first weekend in November. We went to a Rascal Flatts concert on Sat. night. It was lots of fun. We snapped this shot at home on the couch before we left. Good times!

Snorkeling Juniper Springs

2007-10-25T14:58:00.001-07:00

There are many fresh water springs in Ocala National Forest. We stopped at one to swim, snorkel, and test out the underwater abilities of our digital camera once again.

The little cave in this picture is called Juniper Springs. That is where the water is bubbling up from underground. It is a constant 72 degrees Fahrenheit year round.

There wasn't much to see, but it was nice to swim and cool off.

Chris and Jonathan had fun too!

Kayak Festival Groupies

2007-10-25T14:44:00.000-07:00

The weekend before we left for the Kristi and Chris Moyer's wedding we worked at another Adventure Times Kayak festival in West Palm Beach. Once we started talking with the kayak reps we found out that they were working another kayak festival in Ocala the next weekend. We decided to break up our 9 hour drive home from the wedding and stop over for some camping and kayaking. We have become official kayak festival groupies!

Our fellow kayaker and car pooling buddy, Chris Hill, cooked up some spam for breakfast, and shared that canned ham is part of his English heritage (Chris is originally from England about an hour north of London)

It was fun to camp, kayak, and have breakfast on beach towels!

Martin Moyer Wedding

2007-10-25T14:10:00.000-07:00

We car pooled with a friend and co-worker, Chris Hill, the 9 hrs up to Destin, FL in the panhandle, for our friends Kristi Martin and Chris Moyer's wedding last week.

What a trip!We spent several days celebrating together in a couple rental houses near the beach. The first day kicked off with a co-bachelor/bachelorette party that lasted all day long. We raced go carts, played games on the beach, and went out to a piano bar for dinner. Kristi and Chris dressed the part and loved every minute of it!

They had a small beautiful ceremony on the beach.

Instead of lighting a unity candle, they mixed two jars of sand and wrote there own vows.

It was fun to see old friends from Pine Jog, Kate Anderson and Mo Keiffer

There was a hot tub at the reception!

We all ate dinner under a tent in the backyard of one of the rental houses

We danced the night away next to the pool and tiki bar

It was a lot of fun and we are so glad that we were able to go and celebrate with everyone.

Pete and Sarah's in Maine

2007-10-25T13:35:00.000-07:00

Mid October was a great time to visit New England. We spent a weekend at Pete and Sarah Klein's new house in Cumberland, ME. The leaves were changing color and the weather was perfect for hikes and hanging out in the backyard.

Yum, popsicles are good! Will said one of his first words while we were there: "Moo!"

The guys got out their tools and worked on a door frame leading into the garage. They also replaced some windows and skylights. New houses always need some TLC.

The sunroom is a perfect place for reading storys.

Last, but not least, the hot tub in the backyard complete with lights, outdoor speakers, and a beautiful view of the stars framed by tree branches. That's the place to be on a cool fall evening!

Pineapple Farming Update

2007-10-25T13:23:00.000-07:00

These were the pinapples back in July

Here they are in late September

Jonathan has had fun growing them and trying out his green thumb.

Sunday on the Farm

2007-08-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

We posed for this quick pic before we headed for church.

Thea wanted some pictures of the crops growing in the field to take back to Texas. Jonathan is standing in a row of drying hay next to the corn. You can see the soybeans, timber, and beautiful rolling hills in the background.

The corn is looking particularly good this year and is standing tall, well above Jonathan's head.

Iowa State Fair

2007-08-22T10:18:00.001-07:00

The last Saturday of the fair is always the Suffolk Sheep Show and Sale. It used to be one of the main reasons for us to attend the fair. Over the years I think we averaged bringing about 20 head of sheep to exhibit each year. It is a very different experience to just be there as a spectator. This year, it was nice to have Debbie, Thea, and Emily all there to present the Iowa State Fair Grand Champion Ram traveling tropy in memory of Craig Van Arkel (Emily's dad).

The Benda family from Minnesota won this year. Our families have been friends and have done sheep business together for many years. They told us that this ram's grandmother was sired by a Van Arkel ram. So it is very fitting that he was awarded a trophy in Dad's name.

Some other highlights from the fair included:

Big tractors,....

....giant pumkins,....

....and fried dough (a.k.a. elephant ears).

A Day at Disney's EPCOT Center

2007-08-21T14:01:00.000-07:00

Emily's friend Kelley and her mom Terri were staying in Orlando for a week, so we paid them a visit. Emily and Kelley worked as Disney interns at EPCOT back in 2000 during the year-long millennium celebration. They have been great friends ever since!

We took an up close and personal look at the new Finding Nemo ride in the seas display.

Jonathan posed for this pic next to a replica of the famous red phone booths in the UK display.

We topped off the evening with a buffet style meal and entertainment at the Heidelberg Restaurant in Germany.

End of Summer Camp

2007-08-07T10:59:00.001-07:00

Pine Jog summer camp ended last week. Ironically one of the most fun moments with the campers this summer was a day when we were stuck inside because of bad rain and lightening. We built a fort in our classroom with a rain-fly from an old tent, lit some candles, and told ghost stories about each other until the rain stopped. What fun!

Mango Maddness

2007-08-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

There are several wild mango trees growing on the Pine Jog property that have been producing nice fruit the last few weeks of July. Jonathan has been researching mangos online and driving around harvesting the ripe ones at least once a day. It is best to let them ripen on the tree and pick them before they fall on the ground and get nibbled on by all sorts of creatures.

But how do you reach them when they are way up there?

A paint roller extension pole for painting ceilings with a light bulb changer attached to the end works quite nicely.

This is a photo of Jonathan with the biggest mango harvested to date.

We got a whole jeep load that day.

Kayaking the Loxahatchee River

2007-08-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

The weekend after the 4th of July Rachel and Derk came down for a visit with kayaks in tow. We did a day trip down the Loxahatchee River which is famous for being one of the only rivers in Florida that has not had the natural flow altered. It starts inland and flows all the way out to the brackish waters of the intracoastal in Jonathan Dickenson State Park.

It looks pretty calm in these pictures, but it was a pretty exciting trip with periods of heavy rain and thunder, a fast current around the bends, and lots of downed logs and vines blocking our path. We had to stay single file for most sections of the river and get out to portage a lot. The naturalist at the Trapper Nelson interpretive site (where we stopped for lunch) said we were one of the hearty few that had paddled the whole length of the river that week.

It was definitely an adventure!
It is always nice to have a self portrait of the photographer every now and then.

Rachel is all smiles in this shot letting the current take her down river.

Jonathan designated himself the kayak mover and helped everyone lift there kayaks over the logs at each portage.

Derk's kayak is tricked out with all kinds of kayak fishing gear. He even attached a cutting board to the front for prepping bait and holding his GPS fish finder.
It also works well for holding his Heineken :-)

Pineapple Farming

2007-07-05T11:02:00.001-07:00

While the corn in Iowa should be knee high by July, we are knee deep in pineapple down here in Florida. Jonathan has harvested about 20 pinapples from the backyard of the house where he rents a room.

You just pop the top off and replant it. We are far enough south that the growing conditions seem to be just right for pineapple here.

It will take about two years of growing and then these will produce fresh fruit too. Yum!

Fro-tastic

2007-07-05T10:59:00.000-07:00

Summer Camp

2007-07-05T10:16:00.000-07:00

Most of June, for Emily, has been consumed with summer day camp at Pine Jog. Emily is co-leading the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade Eco-Explorers on the topic of Sustainable Practices in Florida Ecosystems. One of the big projects was to harvest invasive exotic plants from several sites on the Pine Jog property. We used them as an art project for the campers. They each get to design, sand, and paint their own walking stick made from an exotic plant that was harming the native slash pine forest ecosystem. We wrapped a hemp grip on each stick and left some extra rope for them to string beads. Throughout the week campers earn a bead for each activity they successfully complete. We also award special beads to campers who pick up trash out on the trail without being asked, and other acts of kindness and responsible behavior.

This is a picture of Corey, Emily's co-leader, using a machete to cut down Tropical Almond.

Each week we have 12-16 new campers. We harvested over 90 walking sticks in early June so we would have enough for each group.

This is a picture of Emily and Corey peeling and whittling the bark off the sticks so they would be ready for the campers.

This was our first group of campers with their walking sticks.

On Tuesdays we go to the beach to study the Barrier Island ecosystem. In the picture above the campers are on a "Quest to Nest". They are pretending to be mother sea turtles and have to dig a 2 ft.(the actual depth of real sea turtle nests) nest in the sand to lay their eggs. Once they reach 2ft they get to run into the ocean as their finish line and swim.

Corey is measuring Ben's nest and telling him he has to dig a few more inches. Those mommy sea turtles deserve some credit....it is hard work digging a nest in the sand.

Birthday Weekend in Connecticut

2007-06-04T13:54:00.001-07:00

Emily took this shot of the whole crew during a break in the New Canaan Memorial Day parade.
Uncle Jon got to change Will's diaper....
....and give Andrew a bird's eye view of the parade.
Jonathan's nephew Will turned one year old in late April. The guys played wiffle ball in the backyard at least once a day. Will kept his eye on the ball while the rest of us took a break for a water fight.Andrew got a big wheel for his 4th birthday. He had a blast racing down Grandma and Grandpa Connecticut's driveway.....

....but playing in the box was fun too!

With 6 birthdays in April and May there were a lot of presents for everyone to open. It was a wonderful weekend together and a time to enjoy family and friends.

Custom Kayak Racks

2007-06-04T13:41:00.001-07:00

Pictured above are Jonathan's 2 kayaks on custom built racks.
Adventure Times Kayaks, the shop that we guide and instruct for, requested sturdy racks so they can work on cockpitted and sit-on-top kayaks in the shop. Jonathan drew up the plans and we both spent several nights constructing and sealing them.
They turned out great! Stephan, the shop owner, liked them so much he put an order in for 6 more. Who knows, we may have the corner on the market for custom kayak racks in west palm beach.

Muddy Buddy

2007-05-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

We had a great time in Orlando last weekend at Muddy Buddy. We finished in 1 hour and 10 minutes. We placed 39th in our combined age group of 56-65. It was hot, muddy, and lots of fun.

Rachel and Derk are in the middle under the towels. The four ladies to the left are friends of Rachel's from the Air Force. We all met for dinner and split a condo the night before. If you want to know more about the race check it out at: www.muddybuddy.com

Big and Rich

2007-05-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday night we went to the Big and Rich concert at Sunfest in downtown West Palm Beach. Big and Rich is famous for their song "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy."

It seemed appropriate to get gussied up in our western wear and take a photo in
front of the truck.
The concert was lots of fun even if we did get rained on.

Wilderness First Aid

2007-05-11T10:54:00.000-07:00

No, Jonathan did not break his arm!
Last weekend we participated in a 2 day certification class in Basic Wilderness First Aid (when help is delayed)

We are looking pretty happy about our pretend injuries in these first 2 pictures.

We practiced the different bandaging techniques inside and then acted out several wilderness scenarios outside.
Jonathan's character in this scene was found unconsious near the water with severe brusing on his leg....and the Oscar goes too...
Emily's character fell down a steep ravine, while hiking in Florida--yeah right, and had badly skinned knees.

If you're ever unconsious near the water or skinned up from a fall we'll know what to do. We can bandage and treat for shock with the best of them.

In Training

2007-05-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

We have been in training for Disney's Muddy Buddy Adventure Race. It is 6 miles long. Every mile you alternate with your buddy between mountain biking and trail running. We went up to Palm Bay to visit and train with our friends Rachel and Derk. Rachel was Emily's college roomate and works at the Patrick Air Force Base Stopping for a break Rachel and Derk Blanset

Long Hair

2007-05-11T10:34:00.000-07:00

It's official....Jonathan's hair is long enough to put it back in a pony tail!

He has been growing it out since Christmas. A very proud moment indeed ;-)

Easter in Texas

2007-04-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

Thea, Debbie, and Emily posed in front of the Texas Longhorn statues outside the Forth Worth Convention Center. We had a fun girl's weekend checking out Thea's new stomping grounds around Dallas and Forth Worth.

Thea invested in a Garmin GPS unit to help her navigate the way to her many new sales clients. We also used it to help us find our way around site seeing. Debbie and Emily must have drove in 3 circles one day before we figured out the street had a different name than the GPS unit. You know you've made a mistake when the GPS announces in a very exasperated voice: "Recalculating"

Debbie and Thea are showing off the delicious Tex-Mex we ate one night.

Emily is seen here at the entrance of the Forth Worth Nature Center. She and Debbie took some time on Fri morning to visit the center. Emily interviewed the nature center manager for a class in leadership in EE organizations that she has been taking at FAU this spring.

They had a small buffalo herd in a natural history display that they use to naturally maintain parts of the property.

We got to see Texas Blue Bells, the state flower, in full bloom.

Thea showed off her new Hormel food prep skills and made us a wonderful Easter dinner of Hormel pork loin, roasted potatoes,Texas style creamed corn, and Aunt Mildred's famous orange salad.

It was delicious!

We went down to the Forth Worth Stockyards and saw the cattle drive renactment. We also visited the Grassy Knoll and saw the "X's" on the road where JFK was shot in Dallas. It was a wonderful weekend getaway and a chance to soak up some of the rich U.S. history that took place in Texas.

Spring Swing

2007-04-02T12:23:00.000-07:00

Pine Jog holds an annual fundraiser at The Harriet in City Place called Spring Swing. There is a silent auction, dinner, and live swing band. It is a lot of fun and a good excuse to get dressed up.

Most people on staff work the event. We were in charge of monitoring the silent auction upstairs and assisting the photographer corral people for photos.

After the auction was over we did get to sip a martini and take some fun photos.

Please ignore the kissing.....it was the only shot of the fun "updo" Emily got done for the event

Here are some silly shots we took out on the veranda

Emily with several of her co-workers Katie, Mo, and Kristi Katie and Corey both work as teaching staff and graduate students at Pine Jog
Soon to be Chris and Kristi Moyer (they are engaged to be married in the fall). Kristi is the land manager at Pine Jog. She coordinates most of the work that we do in exchange for housing.

The totals aren't in yet, but we typically make about $30,000 at this event. It is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year.

Pine Jog Trail Work

2007-04-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

We do 20 hours of work a week in exchange for Emily's housing and storage for most of Jonathan's tools and materials he salvages from his job site. After the lightening storm and brush fires there was lots of trail work to be done. Here are some fun shots of us working together. Jonathan tried his hand at driving a tractor with a hydrolic blade attachment to smooth out the trails where the fire trucks tore it up.

Fun Fact: Emily learned to drive a tractor almost identical to this one long before she started driving cars.
This is the wood chipper attached to the Pine Jog work truck. Our next task was to drive the perimeter trail and chip up any dead trees along the trail that had fallen during the storm.
We had a truck load in less than an hour. Emily is leaning on the truck decked out in her chainsaw helmet and chaps.
We used rakes to spread the chips on another section where trucks had damaged the trail.
Next week we are powerwashing the pool deck and waterproofing it with a sealer to help prevent algae growth.

Smoldering in Florida

2007-03-23T08:43:00.000-07:00

We've had brush fires in the forest all week at Pine Jog. They started naturally last weekend when we got a bad storm with several lightening strikes on the property. Several staff members found the fire while hiking one of the trails. Fortunately, it only burned a little over one acre in an area away from any houses or office buildings. The Fire Dept. and Dept. of Forestry made regular checks all week and cut a furrow/break around the burning area. You can see the furrow in the picture to the right. The fire finally burned itself out yesterday. Below are some more pictures of the area.

No one was hurt and no property was damaged. Fire is actually a good thing in the pine flatwoods. Pine Jog had been avoiding burning for various reasons and this was a much needed burn. One staff member said "The forest has spoken." How true?!?

Kayak Expo

2007-03-15T12:27:00.000-07:00

The first weekend in March was the Adventure Times Kayak Expo at Okeeheelee Park near Pine Jog. It is 3 days of paddling, trying out different kayaks, and mini skills classes. Jonathan works as safety patrol on the water and Emily teaches basic paddling classes all day.

On the right is all the gear that we have to load up from the Riveria Beach Marina outpost and haul to the park. The guys always joke that it looks like we are supplying a third world navy.

Kayak companies send reps with a demo of each kayak they sell for people to try in hopes that they will like it so much they'll want to buy it. At past expos Adventure Times has sold over 70 kayaks in one weekend. It is a pretty lucrative weekend for the business.

Jonathan took the following series of pictures of Emily and Chris Hill (another kayak instructor) teaching a basic paddling course. Below we demonstrate how to perform a T-rescue when you flip over in a cockpitted kayak:

That was some pretty quick photography work by Jonathan....well done!

Emily was soaking wet, but happy to be back in her kayak after a day of teaching and demonstrating various kayak skills.

Adventure Times also does trade-in on used kayaks. Someone traded in this Tarpon 160 earlier in the season. Jonathan bought it used at the expo. It is the perfect sit-on-top for him, complete with rudder system and built-in fishing rod holder. As you can see in the picture on the right he brought his rod along on Sunday....not sure anything was bitting that day.....too many kayaks (and paddlers) in the lake.

Hanza, Jonathan's housemate, was also working safety patrol that weekend. It was fun to kayak with so many familiar faces.

Speaking of fun, we all got a little silly one morning after set-up. We decided to take some of the rental bikes for a spin.

This is Chris (the biggest guy on staff) pulling Paul (the littlest guy on staff) around the parking lot.

Paul thought this purple bike was pretty neat. Those training wheels were smoking by the time he parked it.

Jonathan and Emily took the bicycle built for two for a spin.

Then Jonathan and Chris decided to give it a try.......another fun weekend in the sun!

Everglades National Park

2007-03-01T13:58:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to come down to The Sunshine State and escape the cold up north.

Emily's friend Lauren Hughes was down in Miami for a medical conference last weekend.

We decided to spend a couple hours on Sunday at Everglades National Park. We got rained on during our hike on the famous Anhinga Trail. It is the best place to see wildlife.

This is shot of Lauren taking a close up of cardinal air plants growing on one of the trees along the trail.

This is an Anhinga (the trail's namesake) drying its wings after diving into the water to spear and eat a fish with its pointed beak.

This big beautiful water bird is

the Great Blue Heron.

This alligator had a big smile.

He was one of 27 we saw along the trail that day.

Alligators weren't the only thing out and about. There were many other photographers there capturing the wildlife on film. This guy had a camera lense as big as my left leg!

Another fun adventure logged on the blog!

Biscayne National Underwater Park

2007-03-01T13:09:00.000-08:00

Jonathan's parents George and Pam Klein were down for a visit all last week. We had many fun adventures together. On Friday we drove down to Homestead, FL and went snorkeling in Biscayne National Underwater Park. It was a beautiful day!

Our digital camera is shock and waterproof (a.k.a. Jonathan and Emily proof). This was our first time taking underwater shots with it. We were really impressed and hope you are too. Enjoy!

George and Pam helped each other suit up. The water was around 72 degrees so we all wore wetsuits to stay warm during our hour in the water.

Pam and George both got in the water.

I think they had a great time!

Here is a shot of some of the fish and coral we saw. The deepest spot was about 10-12 ft at our dive site.

Emily did several free dives where she held her breath and swam deeper underwater. Deep down she is truely a SCUBA diver at heart.

On one of her deeper dives Emily managed to capture this shot of a Spotted Ray. It was swimming along the bottom looking for a snack.

Here is a shot of Jonathan under the water.

And coming up to see how far we have to swim to get back to our boat.

Pam and Jonathan were having fun back on the boat. We had fresh cut pinapple waiting for us in our cooler. It sure did taste good and helped get the salt water out of our mouths.

The Captain took this shot for us. What fun in the sun!

Valentines Day

2007-02-21T12:37:00.000-08:00

Valentines Day marks our 1 year anniversary for dating. We went out to eat and celebrated at our favorite burger joint "The Brass Ring" with spicey blue cheese burgers and sweet tea. We also got each other some fun gifts....we both picked out hats for each other (not planned by the way). Jonathan got a western hat and Emily got a chainsaw helmet. Who really needs flowers and chocolate anyway ?!?!

Feeling Crafty

2007-02-21T12:11:00.000-08:00

Several weekends ago Emily was feeling crafty. She found this chalkboard on clearance and decided to transform it to match the nautical colors in Jonathan's bedroom.

First she added a groove to hold the chalk and sanded down the old paint job to prep the surface for it's new colors.

Next came primer. Then then a coat of yellow followed by a generous coat of crackel. She finished it with a top coat of dark blue.

As it dried it cracked to give it an aged finish.

Emily had fun with this. Perhaps she has been watching too many episodes of "This Old House"

Virtual Open House

2007-02-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

We hosted an open house last week for the Pine Jog staff to showcase the improvements we made to the staff house fondly refered to as EM's Lab (nothing to do with Emily's name, just a bizare irony) where Emily is living.

Let's start in the kitchen. That is where the party always ends up and actually never left for most of the evening. We served Frank's Red Hot legs off the grill, homemade artichoke dip, and Em's famous Captain's brownies (secret's in the sauce, "wink", "wink").

It was a rather cool evening for Florida, so we had hot mulled apple cider on tap as well as the usual sodas.

We decided to put in new black appliances to add some class. They cost the same as their white counterparts. Jonathan is a countertop expert through his past job experiences and would have prefered to put in granite, but Pine Jog gave us a shoe string budget, so we went with a composite countertop modeled after granite. It turned out great!

In a previous blog we showed pictures of the closet (which you have to walk through to get to the bathroom....don't ask, it just works).

Another fun feature is the new sink and faucet which we lifted and mounted on a new countertop.

The bedroom and living room are all-in-one as you can see a corner of each in both pictures. The best part about that is if you want to watch TV in bed you just have to rotate the television....pretty nifty!

Wood chip patio by day....

....campfire circle by night. As you can see above, it is definately a house in the middle of the woods.

On the right is Katie and Tracey, two graduate students, pictured here with Pat Welch, Pine Jog's Executive Director.

This is a picture of the door to the back patio with the EM's Lab sign. We use this area as a stage for one of our outdoor programs. It helps create some magic out in the forest.

Jonathan is picutured with Christopher Hill and his wife Elise. Chris is the director of Pine Jog's residential summer camp and was my boss last summer.

No party would be complete without a bucket of Corona's on ice......Cheers!

Thanks for joining us on our virtual tour. Give us a call if you want to come down and visit to experience the real thing.

Kayaking the Coast

2007-01-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we guided a day trip for Adventure Times Kayaks up near Suart, FL in St. Lucie State Park. It is a wonderful paddle across the intracoastal waterway through the mangrove tunnels to the beach.

We tie up the kayaks and hike over the dunes to break for a picnic lunch on the beach and a dip in the ocean.

Emily loves instructing basic kayaking. It's not a bad gig for a weekend job.

We found some neat driftwood sculptures with a built in bench and view of the ocean.

We also found some bulldozers on the beach. Which was a shock! Usually that place is so remote it feels like you are the only people on Earth.

Today it was just us, the workers, their loud equipment, a huge drainage pipe, and the waves crashing on the beach.

Our Newest Project

2007-01-22T11:41:00.000-08:00

Well we certainly aren't bored or lacking in things to do, but when opportunity knocks....

There is a large wild life preserve that is open for hunting season in late fall. All sorts of Florida rednecks gather in hunting camps, drive around on their giant swamp buggies and hunt for wild boar, deer, and ducks. The season ends January 1st and they have to have all their gear out by that date. Anything left is up for grabs or has to be towed out at the preserve's expense.

We heard from a friend of the Youth Camp where Emily was an instructor last summer that he got an abandoned RV after hunting season and fixed it up to use at another hunting camp up north. So we did some post-season hunting of our own and came across this abandoned trailer. As you can see it needs quite a bit of work, but the axels, tires, and frame are still good. A bonus feature is that it has already been partly stripped out inside so part of the work has already been done.

So far we have cleaned out the inside and washed the mud off. Our next step is to get new windows and prime over the lovely graffiti covering the outside. I'm sure it will take us a while to get this fully functioning, but it should be a great Key West camping mobile just in time for the warm summer weather.

Fair Fun Twice A Year!?!?

2007-01-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

The South Florida Fair is a far cry from the Iowa State Fair that we went to last August, but it was still an "oinking" good time!

We got free tickets for working in the Pine Jog booth in the conservation tent for a couple hours last Saturday. Once our work shift was up we went out exploring.

Emily quickly found the 4-H display isle in one of the buildings. It reminded her of her old stomping grounds back in Iowa. She was a 10 year 4-Her and took several projects to the state fair.

Jonathan had a good time feeding carrots to the bunnies in the Rabit Tent.

We also saw baby calves that had just been born in the Mooternity and watched some 4-H and FFA exhibiters auction off their hogs.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

2007-01-22T07:56:00.000-08:00

Jonathan salvaged several mahogany pallettes bound for the dumpster that were used for delivering mahogany doors to one of their job sites at his work. We have put the wood to good "reuse" in the closet.

In this picture you can see one of the pallettes that we took boards from and made a custom fit shoe rack.

We used some of the wood to trim this belt rack. One of the ladies at Emily's work had left over green paint from a remodeling project at her house. It was just the right amount to paint the shelves, belt rack, and drawers in the staff house where Emily lives.

Jonathan also used the wood to trim the closet shelves.

In the end we re-did the entire closet with supplies that normally would have ended up in the landfill. It has turned out to be one of the favorite rooms in the house!

Last Year in Connecticut

2007-01-17T12:04:00.000-08:00

Last year in June we went to Connecticut to visit Jonathan's family and celebrate May birthdays. There are lots of May babies in the group including me, Jonathan, his father George, his brother Pete, and his nephew Andrew. This picture was taken after church on the back deck at George and Pam's. As you can see they have a very beautiful back yard. We had lots of fun hanging out and playing with Jonathan's nephews Andrew and Will. Here is a good picture of Jonathan and Andrew goofing around.

Ski the beautiful Rockies

2007-01-05T11:26:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous time skiing our way into the new year. It was Jonathan's first time to Colorado and he was impressed. Our favorite slopes were the long runs and night skiing at Keystone. We also spent a day at Breckenridge and enjoyed the high altitudes and ridge top vistas from Arapaho Basin.

Reunion at the Gray Farm

2007-01-04T14:05:00.000-08:00

Being with family and friends is definately one of Emily's favorite things in life. The holidays are always a good opportunity to connect with people you don't get to see very often. Below is a great shot of Jonathan, Emily and Thea at Van Arkel Christmas.

Later in the week we had the chance to go over to the Gray Farm and meet up with some friends that Emily grew up with that now live all over the country.

This is what I like to call a "Jon-sandwich". Jon and Susie (Gray) Dyck and Emily and Jonathan posed for this fun shot.

Lauren, Susie, and Emily back together again. Lauren lives in D.C., Susie is in Georgia, and Emily is in Florida.

Susie's sister Jennifer lives in Brazil with her husband Josh and daughter Vivi. We missed seeing them, but got to look at pictures from their blog spot. They are the one's that inspired us to jump on the bandwagon and start blogging to keep in touch.

Farm Lessons

2007-01-04T13:39:00.000-08:00

So this where milk comes from!?!?

Earlier in the trip on our way from Lockie Christmas in Northeast Iowa we stopped at Thea's friend Jackie's dairy farm. When they found out Jonathan had never seen a dairy farm we bundled up and went on a tour.

Later in the week it was shearing time for the ewes at Van Arkel farms. The ewes get shorn several days before they are due to lamb. It helps keep things more sanitary for mother and baby lamb.

There were 3 shearers working hard. They had their work "cut out" for them...they had about 230 ewes to shear that day.

Emily's cousin Zack and several neighbor boys were there helping out.

Jonathan asked lots of questions and probably now knows more about raising sheep than the average person. By the end of the day he even figured out how to catch a sheep on the first try....he's a natural!

A Hike to the Timber

2007-01-04T13:13:00.000-08:00

The day after Christmas we all got cabin fever. We doned some old chore coveralls that we found in the basement and went outside to explore.

Much to Jonathan's dismay the racoons that were terrorizing Debbie in August had taken up residence somewhere else for the winter, so he shot at an old tree stump instead.

Look out! This is one Iowa farm girl you don't want to mess with :-)

After some coaxing, Emily convinced everyone to go for a hike through the pasture to the timber. Here is a nice shot of Thea and Emily with the blue Harvestore in the background. When we were little Dad said we could hike as far as we wanted as long as we could see the Harvestore to find our way home.

Jonathan and Emily tried to pose for a picture on a log across the creek. Needless to say it didn't hold and Emily went for a dip in the drink.

Christmas Morning

2007-01-04T12:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning at Emily's house always starts with presents from Santa and stocking stuffers. We got lots of good stuff this year including Tide to Go, travel coffee mugs, and a much needed change sorter!

After some homemade cinnamon rolls and egg nog we open gifts from each other under the tree. Emily's mom, Debbie, got a warm gift from her daughter Thea this year. We always have to open every gift and try it out right away. Here is Debbie trying out her new gift:

Looks like it will keep her warm during the cold Iowa winter still ahead!

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

2007-01-04T12:02:00.000-08:00

It is a tradition at Emily's house to make homemade cinnamon rolls together on Christmas Eve. This year Jonathan got to be part of the action.

Emily decided to capture part of the process below:

It takes a lot of hard work....

....but those cinnamon rolls sure are good!