It’s that time again, to let you all know how we’ve been the last few months and share with you which exotic places our travels have taken us to most recently! First of all, Jacey turned one on June 21st. First birthdays aren’t too eventful in our house, but we did still get some good pictures of her eating her sugar-free, whole wheat corn bread cake and opening her very exciting gifts of a whistle, a bracelet, and a pair of shoes! Then Paul and I went to our first Padres game the following weekend. They were commemorating a military operation during the pre-game activities, which is why Paul wanted to go. We’re not big baseball people, but it’s always good people watching and it was interesting to see the new Petco stadium from the inside. Our friends from Phoenix came to visit us again for July 4th weekend, and we were able to watch fireworks from our bedroom porch (which was very convenient since our kids had already been sleeping for almost 4 hours by the time the fireworks started). We also went to La Jolla Cove to go kayaking and snorkeling with the leopard sharks. It was a beautiful day for the beach and we really enjoyed ourselves. Kade even went kayaking with us and had the pleasure of getting dumped into the ocean with me and my girlfriend when a wave toppled us over just as we were getting back to the beach. The following week I got to have my first overnight without the kids ever!!! I went to the musical Wicked up in LA with a girlfriend of mine, we spent the night in Chinatown, and then we drove up to Magic Mountain for a whole day of riding roller coasters. Now that’s my idea of heaven…a musical and an amusement park all within 24 hours!!!
The end of July we headed home to MN to see both of our families. We went to Worthington to visit with Paul’s family and have the 3rd annual Nystrom slip and slide event. It keeps getting better each year. This year they added a bump that launched the guys about 6 feet out and about 3 feet up into the air. Always makes for good photos. We also went to my parent’s new house on Mille Lacs Lake. While there we went tubing and Kade was able to fish off the dock with his dad and grandpa and catch his first fish! Paul was able to visit most of the hospitals that he is applying to for residency to meet the program directors and hopefully make an impression. We actually just got his application finished and submitted last weekend. What a relief to have that done! Now we just have to wait for interviews to be scheduled.
In mid-August Paul attended a CrossFit seminar to become certified in the thing that has been his obsession since dive school in CT. If you haven’t heard about it, then I’m guessing you haven’t talked to him much lately because it seems to come up in conversations on a very regular basis. He even decided to try the Zone diet for two weeks, since that’s what the “CrossFit gurus” advocate. If that is shocking news to you then I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds it surprising!
And last but certainly not least, on August 30th we were able to catch a free military flight directly to Kodiak Island, AK, to go spend some time at my aunt and uncle’s fish camp. We had a little bit of a problem getting out to their fishing site since a ride on a seaplane is required and the weather was not cooperating, but we did get out there eventually and boy was it worth the wait! We went salmon fishing with a rod and reel and I caught a nice big pink salmon on my first cast. From there the fish catching continued as we each caught 6-7 fish in a matter of an hour. I caught one more fish than Paul did, but he caught the biggest fish (an 18 pound salmon) so I guess we both get bragging rights. We took his biggest fish back and had it for dinner the next night. While at the fish camp we also had the opportunity to see Kodiak brown bears every single day up close and personal. We would go out around 9pm and they would be eating fish at a creek outlet just down the beach. We got so close we could hear them tearing into the fish they were eating. And since we were at a fish camp, we also helped out with the net fishing that my aunt and uncle and their kids do for a living. Paul helped to put the nets into the water, and we both helped to pull the fish out of the nets later in the day. That was definitely an experience not for the faint of heart! After three short days at the fish camp, we took another float plane back to the town of Kodiak where we caught a Coast Guard flight the next morning to Cordova. There we rented a car and drove out to Child’s glacier. It was incredible. We spent one night at Cordova and then took a ferry to Whittier, which is about an hour south of Anchorage. While on the ferry, a woman offered us a ride to Anchorage so that we wouldn’t have to rent a car for over $200 or have to wait for the train that didn’t leave until close to seven that evening. Turns out this random lady we hitched a ride with was a marine toxicologist who was there when the Exxon-Valdez oil spill occurred and has since written two books about it and tours the country talking about the short and long term effects of the spill. Needless to say it was an interesting car ride! Upon arriving in Anchorage, we rented a car and drove an hour north to go see a friend of Paul’s family that runs a wild game farm. They raise elk and bison so we were able to see their herds up close and also catch a glimpse of our first moose in their backyard. That wouldn’t be the only moose we would see, however, as on the way back to Anchorage from their house we encountered three more on the road (one of which decided to hang out about a foot behind our car for a minute or two). The next morning we caught another military flight from Anchorage to the Seattle area, where we spent the afternoon and evening with some friends of ours from VA. Then the following morning we headed back to CA and got there just in time to see the brand new baby of some other friends of ours from VA that just moved out to San Diego a couple months ago.
I am now 25 weeks pregnant, and besides some occasional heartburn and my belly preventing me from being able to sleep on my stomach or back, my pregnancy is treating me well as usual. Kade will be turning 3 in November, and is getting very good at entertaining himself and his sister (in addition to roughing her up from time to time). Jacey stood up on her own a few days before we left for AK and actually took her first steps at my aunt and uncle’s fish camp. Just like Kade was at this age, she is starting to test her boundaries by going around the house and touching everything that she knows she is not supposed to touch. She is slowly learning that I will not stand for that. She just got two new teeth in on the bottom so now she has eight total.
The end of July we headed home to MN to see both of our families. We went to Worthington to visit with Paul’s family and have the 3rd annual Nystrom slip and slide event. It keeps getting better each year. This year they added a bump that launched the guys about 6 feet out and about 3 feet up into the air. Always makes for good photos. We also went to my parent’s new house on Mille Lacs Lake. While there we went tubing and Kade was able to fish off the dock with his dad and grandpa and catch his first fish! Paul was able to visit most of the hospitals that he is applying to for residency to meet the program directors and hopefully make an impression. We actually just got his application finished and submitted last weekend. What a relief to have that done! Now we just have to wait for interviews to be scheduled.
In mid-August Paul attended a CrossFit seminar to become certified in the thing that has been his obsession since dive school in CT. If you haven’t heard about it, then I’m guessing you haven’t talked to him much lately because it seems to come up in conversations on a very regular basis. He even decided to try the Zone diet for two weeks, since that’s what the “CrossFit gurus” advocate. If that is shocking news to you then I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds it surprising!
And last but certainly not least, on August 30th we were able to catch a free military flight directly to Kodiak Island, AK, to go spend some time at my aunt and uncle’s fish camp. We had a little bit of a problem getting out to their fishing site since a ride on a seaplane is required and the weather was not cooperating, but we did get out there eventually and boy was it worth the wait! We went salmon fishing with a rod and reel and I caught a nice big pink salmon on my first cast. From there the fish catching continued as we each caught 6-7 fish in a matter of an hour. I caught one more fish than Paul did, but he caught the biggest fish (an 18 pound salmon) so I guess we both get bragging rights. We took his biggest fish back and had it for dinner the next night. While at the fish camp we also had the opportunity to see Kodiak brown bears every single day up close and personal. We would go out around 9pm and they would be eating fish at a creek outlet just down the beach. We got so close we could hear them tearing into the fish they were eating. And since we were at a fish camp, we also helped out with the net fishing that my aunt and uncle and their kids do for a living. Paul helped to put the nets into the water, and we both helped to pull the fish out of the nets later in the day. That was definitely an experience not for the faint of heart! After three short days at the fish camp, we took another float plane back to the town of Kodiak where we caught a Coast Guard flight the next morning to Cordova. There we rented a car and drove out to Child’s glacier. It was incredible. We spent one night at Cordova and then took a ferry to Whittier, which is about an hour south of Anchorage. While on the ferry, a woman offered us a ride to Anchorage so that we wouldn’t have to rent a car for over $200 or have to wait for the train that didn’t leave until close to seven that evening. Turns out this random lady we hitched a ride with was a marine toxicologist who was there when the Exxon-Valdez oil spill occurred and has since written two books about it and tours the country talking about the short and long term effects of the spill. Needless to say it was an interesting car ride! Upon arriving in Anchorage, we rented a car and drove an hour north to go see a friend of Paul’s family that runs a wild game farm. They raise elk and bison so we were able to see their herds up close and also catch a glimpse of our first moose in their backyard. That wouldn’t be the only moose we would see, however, as on the way back to Anchorage from their house we encountered three more on the road (one of which decided to hang out about a foot behind our car for a minute or two). The next morning we caught another military flight from Anchorage to the Seattle area, where we spent the afternoon and evening with some friends of ours from VA. Then the following morning we headed back to CA and got there just in time to see the brand new baby of some other friends of ours from VA that just moved out to San Diego a couple months ago.
I am now 25 weeks pregnant, and besides some occasional heartburn and my belly preventing me from being able to sleep on my stomach or back, my pregnancy is treating me well as usual. Kade will be turning 3 in November, and is getting very good at entertaining himself and his sister (in addition to roughing her up from time to time). Jacey stood up on her own a few days before we left for AK and actually took her first steps at my aunt and uncle’s fish camp. Just like Kade was at this age, she is starting to test her boundaries by going around the house and touching everything that she knows she is not supposed to touch. She is slowly learning that I will not stand for that. She just got two new teeth in on the bottom so now she has eight total.
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