SNOW DAY!

Thanksgiving weekend for Kristin and I was such a great time. We spent the majority of Thursday at some of our good friends' parents' house. They were gracious enough to invite us to spend the day with both sides of their family. We played a little street football, watched the Cowboys, and ate lots of good food. It is hard to beat a day like this. I missed home and my grandma's amazing stuffing but it was fun to have a relaxing day with friends since we aren't able to travel.
The rest of the weekend was filled with relaxing time together, running errands, making some tasty food, and getting our house ready for an addition to our family. On Saturday morning, We woke up to a beautiful morning. It was the first major snow of the year. Kristin and I went for a long walk around the neighborhood to a nearby park and enjoyed having a little snowball fight and walking through the snow. Below are a few pictures.

I'm HUGE!!!

That's right, some more prego pictures for you guys. I know alot of you are requesting more, so here you go! Oh, I am going to start talking in weeks. So from what I have learned, you are really prego for 10 months/40 weeks, so right now I am just over 8 months/32 weeks (crazy!!), but I still have just under 8 more weeks to go. I feel huge right now with my belly, but overall I feel really great which is such a blessing. Paul and I are getting more and more excited as time gets closer, we can't wait to meet her! Anyway, enjoy the pics!

24 weeks



28 weeks



32 weeks

Fun Project

Sorry it has been so long since we have posted on our blog, but we have alot of posts coming. This first one is a fun project Paul and I decided to take on a month or so ago. We had a grape vine that was falling over, so we decided to make an arbor for the grape vine. It was a really fun project for us to do together and it turned our better than I thought it would. The arbor is the entrance to our backyard.

Belize Part 2:

So after the trip to Western Belize we traveled back to Belize City. This time we were able to get on an express bus after 2 1/2 hours waiting that took us to Belize City much quicker than the first bus we took. Once dropped off in Belize City we took a ferry over to Ambergris Caye, the largest island off the coast. We stayed in the biggest city on the island called San Pedro. By big I don't mean that big. There are limited cars on the island and the major mode of transportation was golf carts with off-road tires and bicycles. After getting settled into our hotel we explored a bit and relaxed in the pool. A much different experience than the first three nights in a tree house.
The first day on the island was a day of relaxing and finding a fun place to snorkel and swim. We walked for a bit up and down the beach and found a fun dock to swim from. The beaches aren't like the beaches of Cancun with long stretches of white sand. The reef doesn't allow surf to take the seaweed back out so the best swimming is off piers that extend in the clear water.
When we got to the dock there were some local boys and girls swimming and jumping off the pier into the water. Krisitn and I swam for a bit and snorkeled around. Then I took the opportunity to play with the local kids and let one of them snorkel with our equipment for a bit. Then I started showing some of the younger kids some fun stuff my dad did for us when we would go swimming when I was younger. I had this little boy curl up in a ball and I would throw him high in the air. He loved it! I next had him stand on my shoulders and hold my thumbs as I went under water. I would count to 3 with my fingers and jump and the little boy would shoot of my shoulders. He loved this one as well. It was such a fun time. Below are some pictures of us having some fun. He wanted me to move up to throwing him off the pier. The pictures show the fun!





Every night we would walk through town and look for a fun local place to have dinner. Most tourists would eat at the more expensive places on the beach which we had to try once but we were always looking for some locals to recommend a good place to eat. The first night we ran into a guy that asked what we were looking for. We told him and he recommended some great places. This guy also took the opportunity to see if we needed any weed for the week. We politely told him no as Kristin was pregnant. As we left to go to the restaurant he recommended he told us to tell them that the 'Rasta-man' sent us. The rest of the week we began to see just how big of an island we were on. We saw 'Rasta-man' everywhere we went. Every night he would see us out somewhere and recognize us and chat for a bit. Such a friendly guy. I finally told Kristin that we had to get a picture with this guy so the last day we were on the island we saw him riding his bike on the beach and took the opportunity to grap a photo for our memories.



Our first trip we planned on the island was a half-day snorkeling trip to Hol Chan Marine Reserve and Shark Ray Alley. We snorkeled just on the inside of the reef at a break in the reef that is a natural highway for marine life. We saw so much life. Eels, sharks, spotted sting rays, turtles, and tons of beautiful fish. It was so amazing. The next stop was Shark Ray alley where they chum the water for nurse sharks and sting rays. We were in such close proximity to the rays and sharks. It was so cool.


Less and less hair daily.



Along the way back to Belize city from the west we met a couple from New York who we kept in touch with on the island and met up with periodically during the week. We decided to charter a boat with a guy name Chito. We got connected with him through a random connection of someone we met at the Rio On Pools in Western Belize. Chito picked us up at our hotel in his boat named Bianca Michelle and we traveled for some time to the north part of the island. We proceeded to cast nets in the shallow water to catch minnows and other fish as we were going deep sea fishing for the first part of the day. After catching our bait for the day we drove outside the reef into the deep waters. The water was rough but on this day calm compared to usual. The morning of fishing was amazing. We caught multiple fish. The first fish I caught was a horse-eye tuna. Put up a fight and was fun to get in the boat. Kristin caught a yellow-tail snapper and was the first time she ever had been fishing. Unfortunately the waves were a bit much for her so she didn't get to do as much fishing as she wanted. Below are a couple pics.





The next events were extremely fun. The first big fish that our friend Glen hooked was a large barracuda. He was trying to work the fish in as it pulled some line out and then he would bring it in a ways. This went on for a minute or two and then it got a little harder to reel in. The fish kept fighting and fighting pulling more and more line out. Then it got really easy. Glen thought he lost the fish. When he finally pulled the hook all the way to the boat we saw something rather crazy.



Only the head of the fish was left. Apparently the reef sharks are so abundant that if you are fishing off the reef and don't get the fish up to the boat fast enough you are left with the entrails. It was entertaining anyway.

The next fish I hooked was a fighter. I was using a bigger real with the last bonefish we had as bait. A foot long bonefish had to bring in something big. A big hit and I heard the line run out. He finally stopped running and I began the fight. It was a tough fight, nothing compared to my marlin, but a big fish. I would bring him in and he would pull line out multiple times. I fought him for 15 or 20 minutes and finally wore him out. As he got closer to the boat we realized what kind of fish I had hooked. It was a reef shark. It was about 4 or 5 feet long and was such a fun catch. It was definitely one of the highlights of the day.







We finished fishing about 3 o'clock and moved back inside the reef. Chito took us to a snorkeling spot with some amazing coral. We spent a little bit of time swimming around and looking at some different formations. The reef is so beautiful. After we got back in the boat, Chito took us to a random house on the far north side of the island near where we had been snorkeling. We docked the boat and went ashore. Chito went and talked with a local woman who lived here. She had to be 20 miles out of town. Chito started a fire and cooked 3 of the yellow-tail snappers we had caught that day with vegetables and spices. When it was done we all sat around a picnic table at the lady's house and had fish tacos with fresh tortillas and homemade salsa. Some of the best food we had all week. Kristin absolutely loved the tacos and she typically doesn't care for seafood. It doesn't get any fresher than this.


The dinner feast.


A picture of us and Chito, our guide.

This day was one of the best days and a perfect way to cap off our trip to Belize. The food, people, and company were amazing in Belize. This is just a glimpse.

I can't wait until our next adventure. We are planning one that starts on December 17th. We'll keep you posted!

Here are some other fun pictures to leave you with. Enjoy!

Belize Part 1:

Kristin and I got back from an 8 day vacation to Central America. We visited the country of Belize and had an amazing trip. The first part of the trip we went to Western Belize and stayed 4 miles from the Guatemala border in a tree house. The adventure began right away as we took local transportation for 3 hours to Western Belize. We read that many tourists would take these buses to this part of the country but we were the only Gringos on the bus. We got nervous as we rode at the back of the bus with our bags and had some interesting characters getting on and off the bus through the door in the back. This was a great ride and 3 hours Kristin and I won't forget.

We spent 3 nights outside of the town called San Ignacio in an area called Bullet Tree. A small community that hosted some crazy parties, at least the noise coming from across the river seemed vibrant.
Here are a couple of pictures of our tree house.





The first full day we were in the west we rented a trusty 4wd Suzuki which we took to the Mountain Pine Ridge Region of Belize. We drove through multiple small villages as we traveled through jungle on our way to caves, river pools, swimming holes, and waterfalls. We first stopped at the Rio Frio Cave. We hiked around the cave and grabbed some quick pictures. There are multiple army soldiers in this area as in the years past thieves from Guatemala would come and attack tourists. Two of the guards asked for a ride back to town. It was great getting to visit with the soldiers on the way back but was a little uncomfortable at first with the rifles they were holding. It made Kristin a little nervous to say the least.
Below is a picture of the Rio Frio Cave



The next stop we went to the Rio On Pools. It is a river system with a series of small pools and swimming holes. It was a great place to relax and swim a bit. We met some really nice people having a picnic and talked with them for a while. The gentleman was a pilot who lived in Belize and commuted to fly. He was generous enough to offer us a Coke which never tasted so good. There was something about the old fashioned glass bottle and a foreign country that made it that much tastier.



We then went to one of neatest waterfalls I've seen named Big Rock falls. It was so cool in that it had great swimming areas leading up to the falls and then a deep swimming hole just at the base. It made for a nice landing pad for some cliff jumping. Unfortunately Kristin couldn't partake. We were the only ones at the falls for some time. Almost unheard of here in the states. This was the highlight of the day along with just hanging out exploring another country.







In the evenings we would hang out in San Ignacio and eat at a local restaurant and enjoy a nice Belikin beer. They own a monopoly and is the only beer served in Belize. The food was amazing and we enjoyed the Belizean staple which is coconut rice and beans with stew chicken. We also got to try Sri Lankan food which I thought was great as I had a neighbor from Sri Lanka growing up. Great food!

The next day we went on an excursion where we rode a tractor from the outdoor adventure lodge and took inner tubes down a river through a series of 5 caves. We were in and out of caves as we drifted down the river with head lamps on. There were natural breaks in the caves where light would pierce through. It was beautiful. We stopped for lunch on the river bank and I found a natural rope swing. It was a tree root that was hanging down from the caves top. It was perfect and made for fun entertainment during our lunch stop. The local guide and I also found a rock to jump and flip off of into the river. Kristin and I had a blast experiencing this together. We also hiked for a ways through intense jungle through an impassable section of the river. Our guide cracked some Cohune palm nuts from the Cohune palm. It was fun to try some things the local kids would do growing up.

Some other fun pics:








Kristin and I had an amazing time experiencing a glimpse of the culture from Western Belize and after three and a half days we were ready to head to the beach.

to be continued....

It's a girl

That's right, we found out last Monday that we are going to be having a girl! I was 95% sure it was going to be a boy, but Paul and like everyone else thought it was going to be a girl. I was way off. We are both soooo excited to have a baby girl and can't wait to see her.

I have to tell a funny story about what Paul said. So pretty much the first thing that Paul thought of and said was that we have to find other friends having babies now that are having boys and we can set-up our daughter with them. He is already worried about our daughter dating. Haha, isn't that cute! She's going to be a daddy's girl for sure!


The belly

Since Paul and I live away from a lot of our friends and family some of you may wonder what I look like as a pregnant lady. Here is a glimpse.

4 months prego



5 months prego

Kevin and Ginna's Wedding-August 2nd

Last weekend, Paul and I went back to Houston for my brother's wedding. Friday night was the Rehearsal dinner and it was so special for me to hear all of Kevin's and Ginna's friends/family stand up and say what they mean to them. It was hard not being around to see their relationship progress, but it was a great weekend of seeing how much they compliment each other and how the Lord is truly the center of their relationship. We had a great weekend with my family and Paul's family. It was hard to come back to Denver. We miss our families so much!

The cute couple at the rehearsal dinner



Paul's parents at Rehearsal Dinner



My Brother and I before the wedding



My family





The Groom's cake was awesome (my brother's boat). Ginna looked so beautiful!

4th of July Weekend -

So I know it is past the fourth of July, but I wanted to post what we did over the long weekend. Paul and I along with Carolyn and Matt took 10 high school students out to Buena Vista for what we called "Mountain Madness". I know what you are thinking, sounds fun! The name suites it well, it was a blast! We camped about 10 miles outside of Buena Vista. It only rained a little bit on Saturday which was perfect because we did crafts in the tent and took naps. For me, it was more of taking a nap the whole time. Having a person growing inside of you really wears you out:)

Anyway, Friday was the white water rafting day, we went through Noah's Ark. I was not going to go, but then last minute I felt okay about going. They put me in the front middle which was the safest place for me to be; however, not the driest. I got soaked on every rapid. It was a great day of rafting. We ended up staying in town the rest of the night so we could watch the fireworks show. We ate at this place that was so interesting. When you sit down and order all you have to say is "I will have the dinner". They only have one thing every night and it is usually steak. It was really great food though.

The next day was our hiking day. Carolyn and Matt did the research and bought a hiking book to find a great place to go. We got to the trailhead and started up the path. At first, everything the book said we thought we were passing and going up the right trail. It ended up being completely wrong. We were following a trail, but we have no idea where it went or if it was really a hiking trail at all. When we got back down to the bottom, we asked someone about the trail we thought we were on and sure enough behind a truck was a trailhead for the trail that we completely missed. It was hilarious, but we still had a great time. That night we cooked at the camp and then we went to some natural hot springs. The hot springs were awesome and a relaxing time. They had different temperature pools, depending on were you were from the main feed.

The next morning we woke up, had quiet time, worship, and our last group time before we cleaned up and left. The weekend was focused on the characteristics of Jesus and falling in love with him, not focusing on all the things we feel we have to do to follow him. It led to some great conversations with the students and it was great for me to hear too. I definitely felt like I came out of the weekend looking at Jesus in a new way that I have not before. We love getting to spend time away from the city on retreats with our students. It is a great time to connect and get to know them even better. Below are some pics from the weekend. Enjoy!

The Secret

So as many of you know by now, Kristin and I are expecting our first addition to the family. Some start with plants. Others with dogs. We wanted to jump right in a get our feet wet with a new little person. Kristin and I are so excited to experience this new phase of our life. The tentative due date is December 17th. We will have our 20 week appointment on Monday, August 4th. This is when we will get to find out whether we will be having a boy or a girl. We will keep everyone posted.

Although this came as a big surprise at first, we have found ourselves becoming more and more anxious as the date approaches. It is amazing the amount of information that is available to parents-to-be. Just this past week as I spoke with various people, I began to realize that everyone has their own story about their pregnancy and parenting experiences. Some good and some startling. One conversation has made me realized what a miracle a child is. I have seen a glimpse of the miracle that is already occurring. Just the other day I felt the coolest thing. A little foot or elbow bumping my hand as I touched Kristin's stomach. Just miraculous. I see now that as a parent and going through this pregnancy that there is every opportunity to begin to worry and attempt to keep your wife and child-to-be free of anything that could even remotely cause injury or complication. As I seek to become more like Christ I realize that no amount of worry or preparation can take the place of the hope we have in walking with Him. A precarious life is sometimes the best in that it calls us to a state of dependency on that hope. This is just a small glimpse of what I have walked through this last week.

Moonlight Classic

Last night a bunch of our friends got together to ride in the Moonlight Classic. The Moonlight Classic is a bike tour that starts at the capital building in downtown Denver at midnight and meanders through 15 miles of Denver. Many people dress up in costumes and deck out their bikes with all kinds of crazy stuff. The streets are closed to car traffic by local police along the route which makes it fun to just cruise through town. Below are a few pics of Kristin and I and some of our crazy friends.


This is the group of riders that we went with. A crazy group of friends. Especially the guy in the speedo who received plenty of hilarious comments along the way.


One of my friends mounted a charcoal grill on the back of his bike and we grilled brats while we rode the 15 miles. Brats never tasted so good at 1 in the morning. This is when we lit it the grill on the way downtown. We were in front of a lady's house that almost called the cops because the fire got a little out of control. We also had an ipod with speakers mounted to another bike for some fun tunes as we rode.


Kristin and I at the last rest stop. We were getting a little tired at 1:30am but had so much fun on the ride.


This was the group of guys that went.