Flying through the Fall

Crazy. Just when we thought things couldn't get any busier.... This summer and fall feel like they have flown by so fast. My days at the hospital and the OR all blend together. I'm sure for Chrissy her days in class and counseling also seem like one long day. It is nice to look back at some pictures over the past couple of months to remind us that we do occasionally get out and have some fun. Here is a smattering of pictures from our trips to Toronto, NY, Chimney Bluffs State Park, halloween, chrissy's wine and chocolate party, etc.

NYC tea with Lori (Chrissy's cousin)

Duke Pumpkin

witch pumpkin

peach picking

Outer Banks kayaking

OB kayaking

sunset kayaking

sunset kayaking

Kenai on the beach

OB beach (Pea Island)

Andrew, Kate, Cooley at Mendon ponds park

Kenai and Cooley

Mendon Ponds Park

Last year's winners of "Biggest Loser"

Chimney bluffs State Park on lake Ontario

Chimney Bluffs

Bluffs and a sailboat

Berry Picking

Dad at our BBQ party

BBQ party (see the new grill in the background)

Toronto Royal Ontario Museum
Wine and Chocolate party
Chrissy and Carissa (proud party hostesses)

So what is going on this winter?

I have two months of inpatient head and neck cancer service. Starting January I start 6 months of research. (hopefully my project will pan out). I'm looking forward to it, but will miss the OR. Chrissy and I are leading a bible study with our Church. Chrissy is busy being a TA, taking classes, and counseling three clients this semester. She will be taking over as president of the SHA (a spouse/significant other group for residents) this spring. She will be teaching a summer undergraduate course on research methods. Her birthday is coming Nov 14th. She is off in a couple weeks for a psychology conference in NYC. I am working Thanksgiving so Chrissy's parents and some of our friends are coming to our house to celebrate.

Kenai & Sadie: Best Friends Forever

We've mentioned before that Kenai has a BFF: a little Boston Terrier named Sadie. Last week we had the great pleasure of dog sitting for Sadie, so the two girls had a week full of slumber parties, tug of war, barking at everything that moved, sniffing each others' butts constantly, and chasing the cat. Here are some fun photos and videos from the week.

Slumber party at the top of the stairs:

The girls play tug of war.
Sadie's tactic: whip your head around constantly to catch your opponent unawares.
Kenai's tactic: don't let go and when you move, drag your opponent with you.




Here's an absolutely hilarious video of Sadie. We promise, Mark and Carissa, we were not abusive to your dog, but she went wild over the water hose and it would've been kinda wrong not to let her indulge in some fun...right??
For everyone else, pay special attention to the crazy gurgling sound she makes--she's so funny!

Toronto Weekend

This past weekend we took a trip to Toronto to celebrate our 5-year anniversary. Neither of us had ever been to Toronto before and it's on our "list of things to do while we live in the Rochester area," so celebrating our 5-year anniversary seemed like a perfect excuse to visit this new city!

With the help of a Toronto tourbook and a card set of 50 walking tours of Toronto (thanks Michelle and Kate!), we explored the city on foot, by subway, and from the trolley cars.  We kicked off our first night with Dark and Stormies at the hotel bar (thanks to Priceline for a wonderfully cheap stay at the Hilton Toronto!).  The next morning we set out for breakfast.  After a failed first attempt and much tender understanding on Jonathan's part, we ended up at Kalendar Cafe where we enjoyed a delicious brunch of french toast stuffed with bananas and mangos, sausage omelettes, and coffee flavored with cinnamon.  It was oh-so-worth-it!!

We walked through the area near the University of Toronto, which is hedged in by Little Italy and Chinatown.  Then we spent the afternoon exploring the Royal Ontario Museum.

This museum, much like the Museums of Natural History in DC and New York, is filled with cultural, biological, and art exhibits.  It was enormous, but due to the maze-like, modern "Fortress of Solitude" monstrosity attached to the front of the old museum, we saw most of the museum because we got lost several times and had trouble finding the exits.

When we were about ready to leave the museum, the skies opened up and torrential rain poured down (which happened more than once on this whirlwind trip).  So, we wasted some time in the gift shop, looked around in a few more exhibits, and eventually climbed to the top of the museum in order to reach the curiously hidden museum restaurant and bar.  Our drink of choice?  Aptly, Dark and Stormies again.

That evening, upon the recommendation of the bartender at the museum restaurant, we headed to a very bohemian area of town, reminscent of Greenwich Village in NYC or Haight-Ashbury in SF (although not quite as rich...).  We ate dinner at La Palette, a quaint and cozy little French bistro.  Dinner was fantastic, as Jonathan savoured his caribou and Chrissy her roast boar.  The craziest thing about the restaurant was that they served Absinthe!!  Apparently, it's legal in Canada, and is also making a come-back in the U.S.  However, considering that this was a French-inspired bistro, with Renoir and Toulouse-Latrec prints hanging on the wall, it's not all that surprising that this drink was available.

The next morning we tried to find another good breakfast place, but we were foiled again by the torrential downpours.  After waiting out the storm in the hotel lobby and meeting a very nice middle-aged couple from Huntington Beach, CA, we braved the cloudy skies to make it to the Sunset Grill for breakfast.

The breakfast was delicious and filling (although Kalendar Cafe was better), but the best part was that we were sitting next to a friendly Canadian who gave us some advice on the next part of our journey: head to the Distillery District.  The Distillery District is several blocks of old whiskey distilleries whose interiors have been renovated to house artists' shops and boutiques, but which still maintain their old brick and cobblestone facades and charm.  Walking through this district was literally like stepping back in time.  It was such a cool area to explore and discover.

One last unforgettable Canadian tidbit: the museum to hockey.  Thank goodness, Jonathan didn't make me go in there.

One of the best videos ever

At long last, I finally am able to upload this fantastic, hilarious video. This is from my reunion with the OAX (college friends/pseudo-sorority) in Chicago back in April. While in Chicago, we visited "the Bean" and took lots of fun photos, including jump photos for our facebook profile pictures. My friend Amy was the mastermind behind the jump photos and she did a terrific job giving us tips on how to position our bodies and faces, time our jumps, and tuck our legs, as well as being the photographer of most of these photos (the trick is to get down low and click the camera button right before the person reaches the arch of their jump...I think).

Anyhow, the awesome thing about doing these jump photos, besides how cool they look, is that a family who was also visiting Chicago saw us doing them and came over to ask how they could do one too. This video is of Amy directing this family in all the intricacies of jump photos and also playing the role of photographer.

A Smattering of Photos: Feb. thru June

When Chrissy's semesters get going, the blog suffers. Sorry, guys. So here's a bunch of photos from things we've done over the past few months. We'll probably add more, but here's just a taste of what our winter and spring was like.

Visiting our nephew Owen in SF

While visiting Jonathan's dad in Gig Harbor, one of his friends gave us a private tour of the Seattle area...from the air!

From our visit to the Lodge at Sunny Bay.

A walk along the daffodil trail in Rochester, with our friends Mark & Carissa.

Chrissy's Chicago reunion with the OAX

Backpacking trip to the Adirondacks

Visiting the Billy the Kid museum in Hico, TX with our nephew Micah

Our niece Savannah and Meemaw celebrating Meemaw's birthday

Which dog is braver?

Believe it or not, Kenai's BFF is a little Boston Terrier named Sadie. She probably weighs between 10-20 lbs. and she lives a few blocks away from us. We've gone on several trips to local parks with Sadie and her family (Mark, Carissa, and Braeden).

Sadie loves to fetch and is very happy when people throw sticks for her to chase. A month or so ago she had a chance to prove her mettle. While swimming in a little stream, she noticed a branch in the water and simply couldn't let it get away.



Meanwhile, on a recent backpacking trip, our 110 lb. MOUNTAIN dog got stranded in 1-2 ft. of water on a washed out road. Forgetting that she is able to swim, she refused to keep moving through the water until Jonathan came to her rescue.



Oh, and just in case you weren't convinced that Kenai is a complete priss, here's some video of her crying, right before Jonathan came to get her.

Winter Fun

Well I finally got Chrissy to go crosscountry skiing. She did great. It was her first time out and only one near death experience.  (I actually remember it being a few near-death experiences. -C)
Here is a couple videos and pics of our fun.