Adios

Well, we're off to experience beautiful Central America and points beyond. Our primary goal is to learn Español and to find volunteer positions. We will post photos and updates here so our Moms know that we're still alive and for everyone else to see and comment on. See you soon!


Love, Mark & Michelle

Mark hit a home run; Michelle's on deck

Mark swears he'll update this blog soon and put up all our Christmas photos. He just finished the GRE (Mark rocks!) and is getting to a list a mile long of 'Things Postponed Until After the GRE' and I think the blog is pretty low on that list. I'm studying myself for Friday the 13th so wish me luck. Then it's off to meet the new niece! I can't wait to find out her name!

Study, Study, Study whilst celebrating a new President!

Our noses are buried in books--Mark's for the GRE and mine for the NCLEX--but we came up for air on Tuesday to celebrate our new President. On day one in the White House Obama has already made important changes and has again reaffirmed our trust and hope in him.

Obama stated, "I will also hold myself, as president, to a new standard of openness," as he signed the Presidential Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government. President Obama also stated: "For a long time now there's been too much secrecy in this city. The old rules said that if there was a defensible argument for not disclosing something to the American people, then it should not be disclosed. That era is now over. Starting today, every agency and department should know that this administration stands on the side not of those who seek to withhold information, but those who seek to make it known."

I love our President's ethics and values. Here is my favorite part of the Inaugural Address:

"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it."

Back to studying.

Happy New Year

We're home but we're self quarantined due to some crazy virulent cold virus. Utah for Christmas was a ball. Chris joined us and we all had fun with the Morris family. What a Christmas! The drive to and from Utah was sunny and clear but most of the days in Utah were incredibly snowy. The valley was pristine and chilly. Mark and Chris spent a day in snowshoes up American Fork canyon. We all got sick but we kept going and going and going. There were many late, late nights playing games--mainly Mexican train and golf; it was a blast.

We are currently studying for our respective tests: Mark for the GRE and Michelle for the NCLEX. The quarantine has some benefits--we are studying a lot more. We celebrated the New Year together on our front and back porches, watching the fireworks and clutching a box of tissue paper.

Happy New Year to all our friends and family. We love you and hope to go outside and play with you all as often as possible in 2009!

Bella

We just watched the film Bella and all we have to say is WOW! What a poignant film. It really touched both of us deeply. The soundtrack, the cinematography, the storyline.... touching and beautiful. Besides the fantastic movie which we recommend wholeheartedly, we also loved the following musicians in the film: Nina Simone (obviously that goes without saying--we already have about everything she's ever sung and if you don't then WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?), and some new folks who we'll have to hunt down for Christmas named Rachael Yamagata and Jon Foreman (totally separate musicians who have nothing to do with each other except for the fact that their songs were chosen for the film/credits). Maybe they're not new but we've never heard of them until this film and they're awesome!

By the way, you might be wondering why we're watching a film. Well, I'll tell you. . . We're watching a film because I just took my final final. Oh yeah baby! That's right, my final final. Woo Hoo! That's what I'm talking about. Four and one-half years after quitting my job and I'm DONE (for now) baby! Yes! I guess I'll start answering the phone now so go ahead and call.

Ooooh, I just found a youtube video for a song in the movie called Meet Me By the Water by Rachael Yamagata. Turns out she must have sung for the film Pride & Prejudice also. Hmmm. The video consists of cheesy Pride & Prejudice clips but the song is beautiful so just shut your eyes and crank the tunes.

Okay Heather. . . You caught up now? I'd love to know how you are except YOU don't have a BLOG that I can check. Shame. . .

Yes We Can!

Remarks of President-Elect Barack Obama : Election Night (Link to the live speech)

Chicago, IL | November 04, 2008

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.
It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.
It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.
It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.
I just received a very gracious call from

Go Barack!

Happy Voting Day Eve!
Don't forget to vote.
Mark is in Colorado right now working like mad to get Obama elected.

Go Obama!

Meet & Greet

Where do I start? I'm holding off on any catch up blogs to give a current update. This is a big one. . .

Mark and I drove to San Francisco over the weekend to meet my beautiful 19 year old birth daughter Mary Angeline. She is 19 years old and is absolutely the most brilliant and charming young woman I have ever met. She came with her awesome Dad Kirk who treated us all to a luxurious and fun weekend.

There is no way I could begin to describe our amazing meet & greet on this blog--it's so personal. But I can say that meeting Mary Angeline and getting reacquainted with Kirk seemed to be the most natural thing in the world. Mark said it best as we were driving home. He said,

Wedding

Our great friends Dave & Leona got married this evening. What a beautiful and FUN wedding. They wed on a train in McCloud, California. We're getting photos via email so we'll post them as we get them. Meanwhile, here is one which shows Cato's beard in all its glory. . . Enjoy!

Moab & Arches

I can't believe how few photos we took in Moab! We both LOVE Moab so much. It was my first time there and I thought it would be all desert & grit but it was amazing. Neither of us wanted to leave and we can't wait to go back.

Glenwood Springs

Glenwood Springs, Colorado is famous for the hot springs spa located on the outskirts of town.

We found it to be a bit commercialized for our tastes so we searched out the secret hot springs on the other side of town instead. We enjoyed them by ourselves for a spell and then had an adventure meeting a couple of locals who were as different from each other as two people could possibly be. That was an interesting conversation, let me tell you.
We camped east of town at another fantastic site alongside another river ($free-fifty, of course).
In the morning we headed to a popular attraction called hanging lake.

Aspen to Glenwood Springs

The Rio Grande Trail from Aspen to Glenwood Springs was finished only one or two days before we rolled into town. We were so lucky! I was especially lucky because I got to ride it the whole way. Mark took a turn shuttling.

Thank you Mark!

Mark rode with me for the first 15 miles or so of the 44 miles total. It was fantastic!
He rode back to get the car so he could meet me in Glenwood Springs.
The usual midday storm came during the middle of my ride. Wow! The rain came down SO hard and the lightning cracked like mad. I put on my jacket and thoroughly enjoyed myself while singing along to Wicked with my iPod the whole way. It was awesome.

I rolled into Glenwood Springs and found a farmers market where I bought us some fresh bread. Afterwards I rode to the local brewery where Mark met me and we had lunch.
What a perfect day!

On to Aspen

After Fraser we headed toward Aspen, Colorado. Mark had been there ages ago and wanted to see if it was as amazing as he remembered. We drove the back way along Highway 82. It was stunning and there was surprisingly little traffic. On our way we encountered one of Colorado's infamous afternoon storms. Let me tell you, it goes against every survival instinct to drive straight towards black, black clouds. . .

. . .but, that is exactly what we did.

Fraser Hike

While we were in Fraser Michelle went hiking and Mark went mountain biking. I got the camera that day. Fraser was amazing in all directions despite the damaged trees from the Mountain Pine Beetle.I saw an otter swimming at the edge of this beautiful pristine lake on the way up to the trailhead.

Fraser and Winter Park

After Rocky Mountain National Park we cruised to Fraser and Winter Park, Colorado.
Of course the first thing we spotted as we rolled into town was a Thai restaurant.
What a treat while camping!

Top of the World!

Mark and I absolutely loved the Rockies. On our way out we traveled Trail Ridge Road which crests at 12,183 feet!

Rocky Mountain National Park

We cruised to Boulder, CO after Fort Collins. We were there for all of one afternoon before heading west toward a unique alpine village called Nederland. We camped nearby in a

Ft. Collins Rocks!

Horsetooth Park Wildflowers

Chris has chosen to live in a very beautiful area of the country. He was teasing us about how hot it gets in Redding by the time we left. I was hiking to the "waterfall" so I got dibs on the camera that day

New Belgium Brewery

Ahhhh. Fort Collins, Colorado. What a beautiful place.

All of us--Mark, Chris, and Michelle--have been meandering this way for over a week. We left home and have spent the last week or so in Utah. Unfortunately, we're pretty sporadic picture takers who can take a vacation and not shoot a photo for two weeks and then can turn around and take thirty-two self portraits in front of the same beautiful lake, mountain, or tree. So, needless to say, we don't have any photos of my family from this leg of the journey.
During the drive through Wyoming and Colorado before we hit Fort Collins, Chris was beside himself wondering when we were going to "get there." He was so excited to see his aunt, uncle, and cousins. But when we got to Fort Collins Mark and I simply weren't ready to take him to his aunt's house yet. So, we took him to. . . Yep, you guessed it--the New Belgium Brewery. Chris has already toured the Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon and we thought it would be nice for him to see this brewery as well. It is quite a part of the city of Fort Collins and we weren't sure he'd have another opportunity; plus, he's a lot of fun to hang out with. At the end of the tour when the group had broken up we asked our tour guide if we could slide down this narrow, steep, and twisty slide they had in the building and she let us! As fun as it all was I think Chris was relieved that we headed straight to his aunt's house the moment we finished the tour.

Clean out the fridge

This was the vegan goodness we cooked up right before we left. I call it the "cook up all the veggies in the fridge 'cuz we're going on a road trip" dinner. It was tasty and I discovered a food setting on our camera. Cool.