Whitewater

This post is long over due . . . we took this trip in July (and I had the best of intentions in writing about it back then), but it was so fun I that it is still worth writing about, even a couple months late.

My sister Jenni and her husband Dustin planned a kayaking trip down the Snake River from Jackson to Idaho Falls. They paddled the whole stretch in about a week. Joe and I were able to join them for part of their trip.

The first day of the trip started with rain, hail, and horribly cold weather. I missed this day (oh so sad) but the rest of the group paddled through. The second day I joined the group and we covered about 20 miles (Jenni and Dustin correct me if I am wrong). It was leisurely paddling on a bright sunny day, with the Rocky Mountains serving as backdrop. It was so peaceful and beautiful.

On the third day we covered another 7 miles of peaceful, mostly serene river. Then, we took on the 8 mile stretch of white water that Jackson is famous for. It was my first ever attempt at paddling white water. It was amazing!!! I have to admit that I did flip my kayak on the first 2 major rapids that we encountered (and I was feeling pretty sheepish) but after suffering a very steep learning curve, I stayed in my boat for the rest of the trip (even when some of the more experienced kayakers did not). We had so much fun. Thank you so much, Jenni and Dustin, for an amazing trip!

Changes

Wow, I guess life is crazy. Sometimes it sneaks up on you and then runs away really, really fast. I don't even know what to talk about first because so many things have happened since the last post. But I guess first things first . . .

Joe and I are expecting our first baby. I am about 15 1/2 weeks pregnant, making our due date April 21. In honor of the newest Webb-to-be, here is a clip from The Office.



Joe and I have joked about the whole pregnancy vomiting thing . . . at first he was so sympathetic and sweet whenever I, well, you know . . . now, he has become so accustomed to watching me throw up that he doesn't even pause mid-story. He just keeps talking (as if I keep listening :)

Really though, we are very grateful for the opportunity to be growing a family. Here are our earliest pictures of the little munchkin. Not much to look at, but it was amazing to be able to see all the little fingers and toes, even this early on.

On to other big news in our lives . . . we now live in Santa Monica, California. Joe got a job working for an engineering firm, named CDM (Camp, Dresser, and McKee) in downtown L.A. It is a fantastic job. He is getting involved in some amazing water/environmental engineering projects, doing exactly what he wanted to be doing.

We have definitely felt the hand of the Lord in our lives as everything has just fallen into place for us. We found an awesome apartment (just 12 blocks from the beach . . . calling all family and friends to come and visit!!) and the manager talked the owner down about $300/month in rent. I don't have a job yet, but have started my search in earnest, so hopefully sooner than later something will turn up. Here are a couple of pics from our Sunday evening walk on the beach (just to further lure you out to our new home.)

Here are a few pictures from our early days in Santa Monica. We went mountain biking in Crystal Cove in Orange County (which, by the way, nearly killed pregnant, tired, me) (p.s. thanks again for the bike Diane!!!!!) and we went hiking up to the Griffith Observatory (see Dean, James). We have also been lucky enough to have both my brother Jeff, with his buddy Matt, and Mindy, Nick, and Tabs, out to stay with us.

It is always fun to have new adventures, explore new places, and meet new people, but it is also very hard to say goodbye. Provo has been our home now for several years, and there are many things that I am going to miss . . . just to list a few . . . BYU football, finding a soccer game anywhere and anytime I wanted it, the weather (yes I know I just moved to Southern Cali, but I love the seasons), the mountains, Provo River Parkway Trail (the most beautiful running trail in the world), and ESPECIALLY family and friends. Thanks so much to everyone whom we have been close to and had so much fun with over the last few years. We love you! Here are just a few pics from our last few weeks in Provo.

2 months and lots of stuff later

Wow, time flies. I will try to briefly summarize our last 2 months, but they have been fun and busy, so this post may turn out to be a short novel, with the chapters somewhat in or out of order and TONS of pictures.

Chapter 1: Shingle Springs
I drove out to Shingle Springs, CA (near Sacramento) with my parents to visit my sister Jenni and her husband Dustin. The area is beautiful and peaceful, dense with trees and past
ure land for horses. We went horseback riding, hiking by the river, had a hot dog roast over a bonfire, and most importantly, . . . Jenni is pregnant. She is scheduled to have a baby girl on Dec 21. I can't wait! Jenni and Dustin will be awesome parents!

Chapter 2: Good Old Friends.
My old buddy Kris was in town for work. It is to Kris that I owe my love for mountain biking because he is the one who convinced me to take a mountain biking class when I had never even contemplated the sport before. Appropriately, we attempted to go biking on the Ridge Trail, my favorite trail of all time. Unfortunately the road to the trail head was still closed, my bike decided to brake (meaning that I rode with the brakes on for the entire hour and a half ride), and our ride ended up somewhat in shambles. Luckily we were still able to bike up the canyon road and enjoy the beauty of the mountains in the spring.

Chapter 3: Congratulations Joe!
Joe finished and defended his thesis. After ridiculous amounts of ridiculous formatting changes, Joe was finally given the okay . . . you can be done now. Although he technically doesn't graduate until August, he has received his letter of completion and has been on the job hunt ever since. We had a fun dinner and ice cream with family and friends celebrating the completion of his work.

Chapter 4: American Fork Canyon
We had a weinee/mallow roast up AF canyon with Joe's family. His parents, brother, sister, and their families (including 9 nieces and nephews) were all there. It is always fun to enjoy the beauty and peace of the mountains. The proximity of the mountains is absolutely my favorite thing about living in Utah.

Chapter 5: Happy Anniversary!
Joe and I have been happily married now for 4 years. I love you babe!!!

Chapter 6: Havasupai
We made a last minute decision to go to Havasupai with our friends Jared and Rachel. I think pictures speak louder than words in describing this trip. It was a beautiful and exhausting hike, followed by the great reward of beautiful waterfalls, swimming, cliff jumping and camping out in what we somewhat affectionately named hobo village.

Chapter 7: Happy Independence Day!
We traveled to Idaho Falls for the biggest fire work display west of the Mississippi. We ran the customary Fireworks 5K, watched the oh so impressive IF parade, and then really enjoyed the fireworks, all the while looking forward to the next week because . . .

Chapter 8: Welcome Home Jeffrey!!

My little bro returned from his mission to Brisbane Australia. We met him at the airport, teased him about his Aussie accent, and spent a wonderful week in Idaho with my family, playing frisbee golf, eating good food, listening to Jeff play his didgeridoo, and staying up all night talking. One evening we drove to Jackson, WY and ate at Bar J Wranglers. Basically, it was just awesome to have everyone together for a week (I guess the last time that happened, was oh, about 2 years ago).

Chapter 9: Kayaking
Jenni and Dustin brought 8 kayaks to Idaho with them from California; we had a couple of fun kayaking trips while we were up in Idaho. The first was out to Rirey Reservoir to shore up our kayaking skills. We were able to find some rocks to jump from had a fun, relaxing day, soaking up some sun (which was very much needed as you may surmise from our overly white bodies) and practicing with the paddles.

For the second trip, we paddled 10 miles of the Snake River, found more jumping rocks, and had some more fun, still practicing for the real trip (which I will just have to write about next time, because this novel is coming to a close).

Finally, after tons of fun (with more yet to come, of course) and for better or worse, we are back in Provo with life continuing pretty much as normal.

A Fun Hike and Super Awesome Friends

We love our friends! Joe and I have been so blessed with great friends throughout our years in Provo. We are so happy that our friend Jared has moved back to Salt Lake; so happy in fact, that we had to go hiking up Cottonwood Canyon to celebrate; pics to follow (of course . . . anyone who has spent more that a day with me is sure to know that I take way too many pictures).

The hikers


It was so green and beautiful!

A geography/water hydraulics lesson

They made fun of me for taking this pic . . . "you want a picture of me standing on a rock?" I think it turned our pretty good though. The sky looked so beautiful.

One of the bitter sweet things about college is that you make so many wonderful friends and then they all move away (all ya'll guilty people--you know who you are . . . most recently Melissa and Jeff: our scuba diving, dirt bike riding, church attending, mustache wearing, super awesome friends moved to Texas . . . we will miss you guys!) We have so many amazing friends living in so many different places; friendships that all started here. And, most recently, Joe and I learned that if you hang around long enough your friends might actually start moving back. I guess Jared just couldn't do without us :)

Confessions . . .

When Joe is out of town and I am really lonely for him, I wear his clothes. . . sweatshirts, sweatpants, etc. etc. It always seems to make me feel a little better.

What do you do when you are missing someone?

San Antonio

I had my first ever business trip, to San Antonio, TX and I felt ever so special. I stayed at a Marriott on The Riverwalk (which makes San Antonio famous and a popular honeymoon spot) and attended an oncology nursing conference. My mother-in-law lives only 3 hours away, in Houston, and she came to stay with me. It was pretty fun, but there was definitely something missing . . . oh ya, . . . Joe wasn't there. Anyway, here are a couple of pics from the trip:

The beautiful Alamo


The Riverwalk


Cathi at The Riverwalk




Feeding ducks while eating dinner . . . pretty awesome.


San Antonio from our balcony. Notice the church about half way down, to the right side of the picture (surrounded on 3 sides by a commercial building). A company wanted to buy the land and tear down the church, but the church refused to sell, forcing the company to be a little creative with their building design.


A very peaceful section of The Riverwalk, near my hotel and me =)

GO ROCKETS!

I'm guessing that most of you who actually read this blog will not care, but I (Joe this time) must post this since it is quite important to me. Since I have been working like crazy the last few weeks, I've had no time to watch one of the more lauded NBA Playoff series in recent memory: Chicago vs. Boston, though I have made it home in time for the final minute or so 3 or 4 of the games. I have however, had the opportunity to watch two games of the Houston Rockets vs. Portland Trailblazers series, including the deciding 6th game last night (well, at least the majority of the 2nd half, anyway). Both of the games I watched were Houston blowouts (108-81 and 92-76), which proves to me that as long as I watch all of the remaining games, we will not suffer another loss.

I invite all caring individuals who read this blog: Help me convince Steffany and my professor that my missing any of the remaining Houston Rocket playoff games would affect irreparable harm on the world as a whole, and that nothing should stand in the way of my service to mankind, not even finding a job or completing my Master's Degree.

Also, GO ROCKETS! and BEAT L.A.!