The weather this last weekend was PERFECT for spending time outdoors! Friday we helped some friends work on their pool by draining and refilling it. We rented a sump pump from Home Depot and drained it down to a few inches before scrubbing the sides and filling it back up over the weekend.
Saturday we headed to Avondale to hang with Greg & Nico and some friends. It was great to hit the grill and play in their salt water pool for the afternoon. It was nice to see them while Greg had a brief break between spring/summer semesters! We capped off the night with a solid round of bags and some good chats...:)
Sunday we hung out with some climbing friends in Phoenix at our friend Sean's house. Rohan had a blast with their dogs and picking up the ping pong ball after beer pong...:) Sean christened his new grill with tons of burgers, brats, etc, and we got some great recipes for foods we normally wouldn't have thought of! Really fun night.
Monday we hit up the gym for some climbing with Jeanette and her friend Jen, followed by some awesome corn on the cob on the grill, along with some steaks and pork burgers.
Rohan has been doing awesome with potty training, and from what I heard, went the whole day at daycare without an accident!!! He has been so excited to tell people when he goes. Although we don't have a potty dance like Jackson did (:P), we have one full poster of reward stickers and another on started already. That has definitely been a motivator for him. He even does great out in public and on the go.
This week I'll be in Grand Rapids & Thompsonville, MI for a Van Andel Research Institute (VARI)/Translational Genomics (TGen) retreat. Should be a lot of fun to hear some of the research going on at our sister company (VARI)! I'll be heading home on June 3rd (my birthday) and I am looking forward to some hugs and kisses from Mara & Rohan.
Enjoy the pics!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Thawing out
I think we are just not thawing out from our trip to IA last weekend! The weather here has been great, and we've been taking advantage of it. It even rained a little here, but it was a warm rain, with a warm breeze, not at all like what we had for Mara's graduation party! :)
We are getting to the time we have to start saying goodbye to friends who have been rotating in Phoenix, but have residency elsewhere. Last week we met up with Chris & Janae, and their kids Kasen & Carter at the rock gym. The kids were very eager to climb, and they both made it to the top of the routes! Chris got a great workout belaying the boys and finding time to climb. He'll probably be rappelling into volcanoes over the next 4 years while he's in Hawai'i...:)
We also found a chance to catch up with Greg, Nico, & Mila, as well as meet Sasha & Tim before their trip to Puerto Rico, and then Sasha moves to San Antonio. We met up at Delhi Palace and had a great time catching up!
Other than that, not much else happened last week. We were all recovering from our whirlwind trip, and happy to be back in the warm AZ sun! :)
Rohan loves the video Jeanette Posted (Baby Monkey...):
Rohan still having troubles winking one eye...especially after eating strawberries:
We are getting to the time we have to start saying goodbye to friends who have been rotating in Phoenix, but have residency elsewhere. Last week we met up with Chris & Janae, and their kids Kasen & Carter at the rock gym. The kids were very eager to climb, and they both made it to the top of the routes! Chris got a great workout belaying the boys and finding time to climb. He'll probably be rappelling into volcanoes over the next 4 years while he's in Hawai'i...:)
We also found a chance to catch up with Greg, Nico, & Mila, as well as meet Sasha & Tim before their trip to Puerto Rico, and then Sasha moves to San Antonio. We met up at Delhi Palace and had a great time catching up!
Other than that, not much else happened last week. We were all recovering from our whirlwind trip, and happy to be back in the warm AZ sun! :)
Rohan loves the video Jeanette Posted (Baby Monkey...):
Rohan still having troubles winking one eye...especially after eating strawberries:
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
WE HAVE A DR.!!!!
The last couple weeks have been an absolute blur for us. Between prepping to buy a house to prepping for graduation, we've neglected the blog a little, opting for mostly Facebook posts and pictures.
Long story short...WE HAVE A DR.! Mara graduated May 14th, and we couldn't be more proud of her! Our trip started with some turbulent flights from AZ to Denver to IA, flying into tornado warnings in Des Moines. Rohan didn't even seem phased by it, just chanting "Bump, Bump" every time we hit turbulence. He even asked to use the potty in the middle of some nasty turbulence, but you can't tell a boy "No" when he's potty training. Our week with Tim, Allison, Nate & Cameron was mostly centered around getting the boys together (which they played awesome!), occasionally getting out between raindrops for some golf and relaxing, and sampling drinks from Tim's vast liquor cabinet...:) Tim & Allison bought Mara a massage on Friday from a friend of theirs so we babysat her kid, Wyatt. All the boys played great together (not that Tim would know...lol).
Saturday we headed to Kirksville bright and early (THANKS FOR THE CAR NATE!), and met the Syring, Stokes, Bacon, & Aho families, with a surprise visit from Mara's brother, Josh, from Germany. It was great that everyone was able to come support Mara. The ceremony was nice, followed by some quick pictures outside before the rain came back, and we were headed back to Des Moines for the party.
The party was at a GREAT park, Village Park, in Altoona. We didn't know it ahead of time, but it had a 3 story playground, which was great for the kids! The weather wasn't so nice. It was a high of 50°F, with winds at 15 MPH, and gusts up to 30 MPH! Not really picnic weather, but we had a good turnout of family and friends who braved the weather. It was great to see everyone, and of course, there's never enough time together...:( We capped Saturday off bar hopping across Des Moines with Tim, Nate, Josh, Sally, & Scott. G&G Bacon watched all the boys that night (THANK YOU!!!), and from the looks of Grandma in the morning...it was a long night...:)
Sunday we met up with the Stokes & Syrings in Newton and ate breakfast before they headed back to WI. Rohan and Jackson played awesome together as usual, and we ended the visit with a pretty ruckus game of Duck Duck Goose...:)
The trip home was long, but uneventful. We were exhausted from the trip, but it was worth it to see many of the family and friends who have supported Mara over the last 4 years. We are always grateful for their support and forgiving us when we fall out of touch for months at a time...:)
Prior to our travelling we headed up North to Jack's Canyon to camp and climb with Sasha & Tim. It was great to spend time with them since Sasha is leaving soon for San Antonio...:( Climbing was a BLAST and Rohan did so good (as usual!). Can't wait to get back up there when the heat hits PHX this summer.
I love that our "Countdown to Dr. Mara", on the upper left of the blog says "Now!". When we started that 4 years ago, it was over 1300 days! Another testament to the long road Mara has endured to reach her goal!
Thanks again to everyone who helped us out this last weekend, made the trip down, and supported us over the last couple years! We really appreciated everything that everyone has done for us, and we sincerely mean that.
Mara's Hooding:
The CamRoh Experience:
Long story short...WE HAVE A DR.! Mara graduated May 14th, and we couldn't be more proud of her! Our trip started with some turbulent flights from AZ to Denver to IA, flying into tornado warnings in Des Moines. Rohan didn't even seem phased by it, just chanting "Bump, Bump" every time we hit turbulence. He even asked to use the potty in the middle of some nasty turbulence, but you can't tell a boy "No" when he's potty training. Our week with Tim, Allison, Nate & Cameron was mostly centered around getting the boys together (which they played awesome!), occasionally getting out between raindrops for some golf and relaxing, and sampling drinks from Tim's vast liquor cabinet...:) Tim & Allison bought Mara a massage on Friday from a friend of theirs so we babysat her kid, Wyatt. All the boys played great together (not that Tim would know...lol).
Saturday we headed to Kirksville bright and early (THANKS FOR THE CAR NATE!), and met the Syring, Stokes, Bacon, & Aho families, with a surprise visit from Mara's brother, Josh, from Germany. It was great that everyone was able to come support Mara. The ceremony was nice, followed by some quick pictures outside before the rain came back, and we were headed back to Des Moines for the party.
The party was at a GREAT park, Village Park, in Altoona. We didn't know it ahead of time, but it had a 3 story playground, which was great for the kids! The weather wasn't so nice. It was a high of 50°F, with winds at 15 MPH, and gusts up to 30 MPH! Not really picnic weather, but we had a good turnout of family and friends who braved the weather. It was great to see everyone, and of course, there's never enough time together...:( We capped Saturday off bar hopping across Des Moines with Tim, Nate, Josh, Sally, & Scott. G&G Bacon watched all the boys that night (THANK YOU!!!), and from the looks of Grandma in the morning...it was a long night...:)
Sunday we met up with the Stokes & Syrings in Newton and ate breakfast before they headed back to WI. Rohan and Jackson played awesome together as usual, and we ended the visit with a pretty ruckus game of Duck Duck Goose...:)
The trip home was long, but uneventful. We were exhausted from the trip, but it was worth it to see many of the family and friends who have supported Mara over the last 4 years. We are always grateful for their support and forgiving us when we fall out of touch for months at a time...:)
Prior to our travelling we headed up North to Jack's Canyon to camp and climb with Sasha & Tim. It was great to spend time with them since Sasha is leaving soon for San Antonio...:( Climbing was a BLAST and Rohan did so good (as usual!). Can't wait to get back up there when the heat hits PHX this summer.
I love that our "Countdown to Dr. Mara", on the upper left of the blog says "Now!". When we started that 4 years ago, it was over 1300 days! Another testament to the long road Mara has endured to reach her goal!
Thanks again to everyone who helped us out this last weekend, made the trip down, and supported us over the last couple years! We really appreciated everything that everyone has done for us, and we sincerely mean that.
Mara's Hooding:
The CamRoh Experience:
Monday, May 2, 2011
Playing Catch-Up
So I missed a post last week...oops...:) We've actually been very busy, which is funny since Mara is done with rotations until June. We've been getting outside a lot and enjoying the days the most we can with the looming summer scorch on the horizon. We're usually pretty exhausted at night so the blog kept getting pushed until "the next day".
We've pretty much been doing the same things as always; running, climbing, baseball games, house stuff, and packing a little. Last week we hit our first Diamondback's game (against the Cubs). Rohan was pretty in to it the whole time. They had fireworks afterwards which he was a little freaked out by. He usually LOVES them, but it was almost 10pm and he was pretty tired. After they were done he cried a little because they were gone...go figure!
Saturday was the highlight since our last post. We met Heather, and John, and their friends Brad & Debbie for the Warrior Dash in Florance, AZ. It was a 3.4mi run with several obstacles throughout. It was an absolute BLAST! The mud pit at the end was epic! We didn't get as many pics as we'd like, but there are some good ones, and maybe some race-photo people got some along the way, we'll find out later. We tailgated with the crew and made a nice day of it (and got a great tan too!).
I took advantage of our free FlipVideo camera I got from work and took it along on our race. I wanted to get video of us doing the obstacles. The video is a little choppy, but it gives a first person perspective...also...it was a lot of fun...:) I really like the end where I jump over the fire and then enter the mud. We watched a few people, waiting for Heather to finish, and some entered very weakly. I felt I needed to enter with style. The girls in front of me were taking there time getting in, so I picked up the speed and jumped over them (and the first set of flags!) and cannonballed into the mud; I caught some awesome air...:) The video shows the pit, the sky, then the mud...pretty awesome fun...:) The 6min video is at the bottom of the post.
Not much else planned this week other than the normal stuff we mentioned above. In less than 2 weeks we'll be in IA/MO for Mara's graduation! We are crazy excite to see all our friends and family!!! Not so excited about the trip to MO, but the few days at T-N-A's will be awesome! We can't wait to get Cam-Ro reunited!
Enjoy the plethora of pics & vids from the last 2 weeks!:
Rohan Bouldering:
Rohan being 2...or something...
Rohan reading Mom to sleep:
Rohan & Mom playing with chair...easy entertainment:
Warrior Dash Videos!
1.) Pre-Race & The 11:30 Wave:
2.) Our race video of all the obstacles...good times!!!
We've pretty much been doing the same things as always; running, climbing, baseball games, house stuff, and packing a little. Last week we hit our first Diamondback's game (against the Cubs). Rohan was pretty in to it the whole time. They had fireworks afterwards which he was a little freaked out by. He usually LOVES them, but it was almost 10pm and he was pretty tired. After they were done he cried a little because they were gone...go figure!
Saturday was the highlight since our last post. We met Heather, and John, and their friends Brad & Debbie for the Warrior Dash in Florance, AZ. It was a 3.4mi run with several obstacles throughout. It was an absolute BLAST! The mud pit at the end was epic! We didn't get as many pics as we'd like, but there are some good ones, and maybe some race-photo people got some along the way, we'll find out later. We tailgated with the crew and made a nice day of it (and got a great tan too!).
I took advantage of our free FlipVideo camera I got from work and took it along on our race. I wanted to get video of us doing the obstacles. The video is a little choppy, but it gives a first person perspective...also...it was a lot of fun...:) I really like the end where I jump over the fire and then enter the mud. We watched a few people, waiting for Heather to finish, and some entered very weakly. I felt I needed to enter with style. The girls in front of me were taking there time getting in, so I picked up the speed and jumped over them (and the first set of flags!) and cannonballed into the mud; I caught some awesome air...:) The video shows the pit, the sky, then the mud...pretty awesome fun...:) The 6min video is at the bottom of the post.
Not much else planned this week other than the normal stuff we mentioned above. In less than 2 weeks we'll be in IA/MO for Mara's graduation! We are crazy excite to see all our friends and family!!! Not so excited about the trip to MO, but the few days at T-N-A's will be awesome! We can't wait to get Cam-Ro reunited!
Enjoy the plethora of pics & vids from the last 2 weeks!:
Rohan Bouldering:
Rohan being 2...or something...
Rohan reading Mom to sleep:
Rohan & Mom playing with chair...easy entertainment:
Warrior Dash Videos!
1.) Pre-Race & The 11:30 Wave:
2.) Our race video of all the obstacles...good times!!!
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