Ryan and Whitney

Karen Comes to Visit...September 2010

2011-02-08T16:00:00.001-05:00

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge

Taking in the skyline and heading in to Brooklyn for Pizza at Grimaldi's

I eat my pizza like a real New Yorker

Carlo's Bakery, Hoboken New Jersey

The "Cake Boss"

We turned the corner to see a huge line of people and waits up to an hour and a half. We didn't let that scare us away though, we waited patiently with one thing on our minds: Chocolate covered cannoli's

Getting our numbers was like holding the gold ticket!! It was MASS CHAOS in there, and the most stressful bakery ordering I've ever experienced!

note: Yes, it was worth it!!!

Visiting the family in Long Island

Taking a boat ride captained by Rick and Karma

The September 11th Memorial in Babylon

Goofing around on the playground

Karma was exhausted after 2 days of fun in LI

It was so nice to show Karen a little bit of what our life is like here in the city. By the end of her trip she no longer trusted my "its not that far" and "its just a few blocks". Apparently I'm an exhausting tour guide!!

Kat's Visit in September

2011-02-04T16:30:00.006-05:00

Out and About... West Village and Chelsea

note: I was wearing really cute heels but ended up in my flip flops about half way through the night.

You can take the girl out of California but you can't take the California out of the girl!

Picnic in Central Park

Out and About... Brooklyn, Williamsburg, Upper West Side

note: (top left picture) All the different clothes we tried on for one night out!

Playing around at The Plaza Hotel and FAO Schwarz

New York TV and Movie Bus Tour: A 3 hour tour covering sights in the Flatiron District, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, SoHo, Meatpacking District, Tribeca, Lower East Side, and Midtown. We had an awesome guide (who has even made an appearance in SNL digital shorts with Andy Samberg!)

Times Square, Washington Square Park, Brownstone from the Cosby Show, Fire Station from Ghostbusters,
and black & white cookies

We kinda have a thing for Will Smith...

Ben's Pizza from Men in Black and his apartment from Hitch

And the best part of all... FRIENDS!!!!!

note: Kat is an avid Friends fan....she falls asleep every night watching the DVD's and knows trivia that would surprise Jennifer Aniston herself ...so this was kind of a big deal!

Out to Dinner with Ryan

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

I always love my time spent with Kat..just wish we didn't live so far away!! We had so much fun the week she was here, so glad she came but sad it was over so quickly!

Playing in the city and Long Island... August

2010-12-07T14:00:00.001-05:00

Ryan's cousin Trina was in town from Georgia so her and his Aunt Michelle came into the city one rainy afternoon

Learning how to eat a crab...but mostly just playing with our food!

At Gilgo enjoying the beach and even winning an intense game of buck dice!

Chelsea Pier in August

2010-12-05T14:25:00.000-05:00

Someone that Ryan worked with told him that he should go to Chelsea Piers so for weeks whenever we were trying to think of something to do he would always suggest that. He didn't actually know what was there he just knew he needed to go. I had to work on a Saturday so he came and met me after work and we walked from Murray Hill towards Chelsea

Sights along the walk

We finally made it!!! It is a pretty cool spot--lots of activities to do including the four story driving range

Taking Karma to the dog park one afternoon

Panama City Beach, Florida

2010-12-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

We started out August with a trip down to PCB to visit Karen while she was fixing up the house down there. Ryan grew up spending his summers down in Florida so he was excited for my first trip to the beach house.

Kayaking in the bay behind the house

Crabing--another first for me--after a day at the beach! I was so excited when I caught one

Out to dinner at Pier Park at Margaritaville

Photo shoot on the dock

A very stormy day at the beach

Last day in Florida soaking up all the sun and sand we could

New York in July

2010-12-03T00:42:00.002-05:00

We came back home from California in July to a hot sticky summer! I was pretty miserable until we got air conditioning in our apartment (our living room got up to 93 degrees!) Once we had a place to escape the heat we had fun exploring the city and heading out on the LIRR to Long Island for beach days.

The bottom left picture is from one night when we had run out to the store around the corner...when we left our doorman told us that there was a storm coming and that we should probably stay in. I really wanted an orange and we had to walk karma anyway so we decided to go quickly before it started raining. I had no idea how quick storms move out here! It didn't take long for the thunder and lighting to give way to pouring rain. Needless to say our doorman didn't look to happy with us when we ran back through the door looking like we had just jumped out of the pool!

Ryan's old room mate Brandon and his wife Brittany came and stayed with us for a few days. I had time off while they were in town so I got to show them around a site see along with them during the day. We went to ground zero, saw the stock exchange, walked across the brooklyn bridge, ate good New York pizza, rode the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island..just to name a few things! It was so fun having them here, we love visitors!

DUBLIN, IRELAND-TAKE 2

2010-07-30T10:31:00.000-04:00

We were pretty exhausted by the time we got back to Dublin but we had a few more sights to see and one last night to have fun

On our flight back to Dublin, we needed to spend our last Pounds since Ireland uses Euros so we both decided we had to pick out a candy bar that we couldn't get at home

The classic Dublin photo...

You almost have to take this picture just to prove that you really did go to Dublin!

We each had to get one out front of the Guinness Storehouse

Kilmainham Gaol

Kind of the Irish equivalent of Alcatraz. They only way to go in and see the jail is by tour so we headed over and waited for our group tour to start

Checking out the jail cells. The jail part was neat, the stories were interesting, but the crazy history lesson was just dragging on!

At this point we were very ready for the tour to be over. Our tour was only supposed to be an hour. Here we are hitting hour TWO!!!!

We actually were trying to figure out if there was a way to escape. We didn't realize that part of the tour was to actually feel like a prisoner too!!!!! The warden is in the top right corner...

After our prison sentence was over we headed back to our hotel, relaxed for a bit then headed back out for dinner. We found a cute little pizza place to sit and enjoy good food and the "football" game. We flew out the next afternoon and amazingly were upgraded to 1st class again! We had such a great trip and saw so many amazing things. We made it home Tuesday afternoon, unpacked, did laundry, repacked, and headed to California on Wednesday! By the time we got there neither of us had any clue what time zone we were on, or whether we were coming or going!

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

2010-07-28T12:00:00.002-04:00

We had a great few days in Edinburgh enjoying the sites, food, people, and history. Oh and not to mention the World Cup craziness going on everywhere during our whole trip!

Edinburgh Castle from below

Walking through the city to the Castle and Royal Mile

The Royal Mile

While walking down the Royal Mile we came across the Heart of Midlothian which marks the spot of the old gallows that were in front of the old prison. You stand on the edge of the heart and try to spit into the center loop; if you make it in its good luck.

As we were walking towards the statue on the far right Ryan told me that if I could tell him who the statue was of then he would take a picture of me with it (this is going back to him hating how people take pictures with any statue and me deciding that I have to!) Luckily I had already read all about the Royal Mile in our guide book so I quickly responded "Sir William Scott"

The Hub (church), Edinburgh Castle, and the site of the last public execution in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle

The next morning we made our way back over to Edinburgh Castle to tour around. It was really neat to go here because it gave you an idea of what they castles really were like. Most of the castles that we had seen on our trip were ruins or empty castles. This, however, still had everything there including the roofs, windows, interiors, and so much more. They also have the Scottish Crown Jewels which was awesome to see, along with the "Stone of Scone" which was recently returned from England but must be taken back for any coronation.

This guy was amazing on the bagpipe, while he was playing you could hear him almost everywhere around the grounds

We got the audio guide to take around with us-- it made everything so much more interesting!

Boys and their weapons! The top cannon is Mons Meg and actually used to be drug around the battlefield at a whopping speed of 3 miles a day! It weighed 6.6 tons...I can't imagine being one of the many men whose job it was to get this monster from point A to point B

Leaving the Castle

The bottom right picture is the plaque that commemorates the 300 witches that were burned in Edinburgh

That night we did a haunted ghost tour of Edinburgh. It was so much fun! They walked us around the Royal Mile and told us true stories of horrible things that happened, and of the ghosts that were now present in Edinburgh. Our next stop was 4 stories under neath the Royal Mile in the vaults
Left: We were only in the 3rd scariest room and I was already freaked out!
Middle: Ryan wasn't scared at all, he thought it was funny how I didn't want to get left behind the group
Top Right: Thats where one of the ghosts likes to chill...
Bottom Right: I was a volunteer for showing how they used to do the hangings

Around the city

The top right photo is Ryan holding a replica of the Death Mask

Back at our hotel we ordered room service...just for a bucket of ice!!

We headed out early the next morning for our last day in Dublin...

RITA & NEIL'S WEDDING: INVERNESS, SCOTLAND

2010-07-27T09:32:00.001-04:00

It was a beautiful ceremony full of bagpipes, kilts, and tears

Mr. & Mrs.

The beautiful bride

Catching up with everyone I haven't seen in years

The garter & bouquet toss

Enjoying the wedding

LET THE DANCING BEGIN!

Being taught how to dance by a "true Scotsman"

This was a workout! He was flinging me around the dance floor, but I did pick up on the dance!

Definition of a "true Scotsman": Wearing the kilt with nothin' underneath. I discovered why only women wear skirts and dresses...its just too much for guys to handle!!!

Rita and Ryan trying to figure out the dances. It was kind of the blind leading the blind! By the end of the song they almost had it down! I love the picture in the top right corner that shows them doing something totally different than everyone else!

Dancing the night away! We even tried to teach the Scot's how American's dance...line dancing!!!

We had so much fun at the wedding. The reason for the trip ended up also being the highlight of the trip! The Scottish people are so friendly and welcoming. The night was full of great food, laughs, and lots of dancing! By the end of the night Ryan and I were even partnered up doing Scottish dancing together! We were so glad to be a part of the happy couples special day!

INVERNESS, SCOTLAND

2010-07-26T09:40:00.000-04:00

Inverness is in the Highlands of Scotland and is absolutely beautiful. We loved our B&B we stayed in for 3 nights, our host was so friendly and loved to talk! We were up here for my friend Rita’s wedding, which was on Friday. We were so excited to see them and go to a Scottish wedding. We got up Thursday morning and had a great breakfast before heading out for the day.

Our first stop was the Culloden Battlefield. This was where the final battle between the Jacobite Highlanders and British took place in 1746. The battle only lasted an hour but during that time 1,500 Jacobites were killed and about 50 from the British side. Because of the massive numbers they were actually all buried on the battlefield with their Clans. After this battle all Scottish culture was outlawed, no more bagpipes, kilts, clans, or tartans.

Ryan standing on the mass Clan Mackintosh grave, which is about 77 yards long

The building that was used as a hospital for the lucky few who made it out alive

The outside wall of the amazing new visitors center has 1,500 bricks jetting out as a memorial to the lives lost. At the far end there is a gap and then 50 bricks to represent those who died from the British side

Awkwardly standing with our tour guide! He kept saying that it was too hot for him to be in his full kilt and I thought he was kidding around until I realized that the Scottish people were roasting because it was "too hot" for them!

Clan MacLaren

Walking down an alley looking for an internet café

Relaxing in a throne at the haunted Tulloch Castle

Waiting for everyone else to arrive to celebrate the night before the wedding

All the girls

Strikin’ a pose

Attempting to lift Neil like the guy’s did with Rita!

Loch Ness

We headed over to Loch Ness the morning of the wedding to see for ourselves if the legend was true!

Inside the “Monster Exhibit” it was pretty funny to hear all of the stories and theories. People have spent their entire lives trying to solve the mystery!!!

The Loch Ness, even without the lour of the Loch Ness Monster it was really a beautiful place

In search of Nessie

“Oh look—there she is!!”

“I don’t know, maybe she’s out there”

I’m a believer

After our intense search we made our way back to our B&B to get ready for the wedding

DUBLIN, IRELAND

2010-07-25T09:21:00.012-04:00

We arrived in Dublin Tuesday night and checked into our hotel before hitting the city. We went out to a fun little Italian restaurant and walked around before heading back to our hotel. We had a 6am flight the next morning for Edinbourgh, Scotland so we made sure we were all packed up and ready.

Wednesday morning we got up at 4am to show up at the airport and were immediately thrown into total mayhem! We got in line for the Ryan Air desk and waited, and waited, and waited. We finally made it up to the desk and the extremely rude employee informed us that our bags were over weight and they were going to charge us 200 euros for them! I was trying to rearrange a few things in our bags to get them to the right weight while she was telling us that we had waited in the wrong line. There was no posting anywhere about what line to get into!! So after her taking about 10 minutes or so she said, “oh your gate closed 7 minutes ago.” That was it, no “I’m sorry” no “let me see what I can do”. Just told us to go stand in another line and we could try to change our tickets…for a fee of coarse. So we get in the other line and the lady tells us that she can get us on the next flight at 8am but we have to get back in line and then she’ll help us. So Ryan goes to the back of the huge line while I run around trying to find a place we can leave one of our suitcases. After finding a place I go back to the line fling open both of our suitcases and am madly sorting what we need and what we can leave behind.

While doing that Ryan gets to the front of the line and the same girl says that that flight was actually at 8 that night. All that for nothing!!! We got our flight worked out but we were so bummed because we had a whole day of activities planned in Scotland and a 3 hour drive from Edinbourgh to Inverness. We decided we had to make the best of our few hours in Dublin so we called the Hilton we were going to be staying at when we got back to Dublin the next week and they were nice enough to hold our luggage so we could enjoy the city. By the time we got into Dublin we were exhausted, hungry, and a little grumpy from dealing with Ryan Air.

Walking around Grafton Street looking for a place to eat

We headed into T.K. Maxx for this tiny little suitcase to avoid being charged at the airport later that night.

On the bus tour of Dublin, it gave us a good layout of this city while being able to sit down

The throne inside the Dublin Castle, they had to cut the legs down and add a foot stool so that Queen Elizabeth’s legs didn’t dangle while she sits in the chair!

The lookout tower at Dublin Castle, Ryan looks like he’s going to fall over!

Underground chambers where the dungeons used to be

The entrance gate to Dublin Castle

Driving past St. Patrick’s Cathedral

In the fields over looking St. Patrick’s

Eating lunch above the main street

Ryan looking like a total tourist

Finally getting on the plane…We can’t even describe how awful Ryan Air is!!!!

After a long exhausting day we arrived in Edinbourgh, got our rental car, and started the long drive to Inverness. Had we arrived that morning we had a few places we were going to stop along the way but since we got there at 10pm there was no where to go! Luckily with the summer solstice being so close it didn’t get too dark and we could see where we were going and all the deer on the side of the road. We made it to our B&B a little after 1 where our great host was nice enough to wait up for us to let us in. We were so glad we were there!

We got some rest so that on Thursday we could go enjoy Inverness

DINGLE, IRELAND -PART 2

2010-07-24T09:30:00.002-04:00

We continued our tour of the Dingle loop (Dingle Peninsula) at the Bee Hive huts from 2000 BC

The walk up to the huts

What is so impressive about these huts is that there is no mortar holding them together. It is just simply rocks stacked on top of one another that have stood for over 4,000 years!

Here we are inside one of the huts that is missing its roof

Such an amazing view

Just before Ryan mooned me...he wouldn’t let me post that picture though!!

Taking in all the beauty

Down the road a little bit over looking the beach

Walking up to the Gallarus Oratory

The Gallarus Oratory is an early Christian church that was built around 1,300 years ago

Ryan acting like Vanna White

The graveyard next to the Oratory

Ryan making a total Jon face

At the ruins of the Kilmalkedar church built in the 12^th century

An early Christian cross that has been made oddly proportionate due to the rising graves, kinda creepy that they're rising up!

Also in the graveyard of the Kilmalkedar church is a much older ogham stone. The stone stood here 900 years before the church and is the reason that the church was built at this location.

The stones age is unknown but centuries ago a hole was drilled into the top so people could come to seal a deal or renew your vows.

While standing on the graves of your ancestors and in front of the house of God, you swear to god by touching thumbs through this stone.

Being respectful of the dead. I was also pretty sure there was a rattle snake in there!

“BAM”

After finishing the Dingle loop we were off to Dublin, but not without having to ask for directions of coarse!

DINGLE PENINSULA, IREALND

2010-07-23T00:21:00.002-04:00

The Dingle Peninsula is the westernmost tip of Ireland, but it was well worth the drive. The town is small but full of pubs, shops, and the hustle and bustle of the harbor. The pubs are packed at night with musicians playing traditional Irish music while the crowds drink their Guinness and sing along. Dingle feels so traditionally Irish in part because the government subsidizes the survival of the Irish culture and Gaelic. The signs are all posted first in Gaelic and then in English and you would even walk past people in the streets speaking this mostly unused language.

The stretch of beach just before entering Dingle Town

I absolutely love the patchwork look of the hills

Walking through the town after checking into our B&B

Ryan feeling the chilly waters of Dingle Bay

Out side of our B&B we had our own little farm. There were a few chickens, a goat and some sheep, but by far our favorite was the mini pony and the sheepherding dog. The dog would stalk the poor pony and then pounce at him chasing and trying to herd him; it was so funny to watch!

The Dingle Harbor

As we were walking up to the statue Fungie (the dolphin that lives in the harbor) Ryan was making fun of people for stopping a taking a picture with any statue or sculpture that they see. I then know exactly what I was going to do. I sat on his back and refused to leave until Ryan took the picture, mostly just to embarrass him!

One of the stone walls in the town

I loved the rows of brightly colored homes

We loved the architecture and feel of the small town

Pub food: Traditional Irish Stew & Potatoes…so delicious!

Listening to the traditional music in one of the pubs we checked out

Our adorable Bed & Breakfast we stayed in for two nights

At the breakfast table enjoying our view while waiting for our Irish Fry

After breakfast we headed out to drive the loop around the peninsula. It was full of beautiful views and historic sights. We started it out by hiking around the beach. Here is me loving my new 5 finger shoes Ryan got me for my birthday

Nicole gave me the GorillaPod a few Christmas’s ago and it is AMAZING!! This thing goes anywhere and can handle my big SLR which is impressive. Its sometimes hard ask people to take a picture for us because they are totally thrown off by our camera. This way, we get the shot that we want and both get to be in it! This trip it was wrapped around wooden fence posts, a cross in a graveyard, balanced on rocks, trashcans, the hood of our car, walls, and so much more.

Testing out the GorillaPod

This donkey was awesome, loudest hee-haw I’ve ever heard!

The fields next to the roads were scattered with sheep

So proud of our awesome Suzuki Splash

Breathtaking views all along the coast

We couldn’t have asked for a prettier day to enjoy the cliffs

The rest of the loop will be continued in the next post..(I had too many pictures from Dingle for one post!)

BLARNEY, IRELAND

2010-07-21T22:40:00.002-04:00

The 15th century Blarney Castle is famous for the "Blarney Stone" which is set in the top of the castle. The origin of the stone has many myths, but the two most popular are that it was either brought back from the Holy Land by crusaders, or it could have been part of Scotland's royal Stone of Scone. It is now a place of pilgrimage for tourist who climb the steps to receive "the gift of gab" by kissing the stone. The tradition goes back to the late 16th century when Queen Elizabeth I declared that the words of Cormac MacCarthy, Lord of Blarney Castle, were nothing but "blarney"

I've wanted to kiss the Blarney stone for quite a while now. Last year when I went to Northern Ireland I was bummed I couldn't go because it was just too far away. So this time around we were definitely making a stop! I couldn't wait! Ryan, however, claimed that he wouldn't kiss the stone. He thought that it was gross to kiss an old dirty stone that has been kissed by that many people. So dramatic!

Crossing the bridge to get to the castle, the grounds were beautiful

“Blarney Stone at top of Castle”

Entrance to a few of the caves underneath Blarney

Climbing through the dark, damp tunnels

It got pretty narrow; you were almost crawling at some points. I was definitely not dressed for climbing through caves!

At the end of the tunnel, they think that it was created by someone trying to sneak into the castle and when they got to this point they either got caught, gave up, or were unable to get through

The watch tower

Half way up the castle, the stone is all the way up at the top

Climbing the narrow, winding, slippery stairs with the rope as our guide. The stairway is also where the line to the stone starts. So not only are you in a tiny little stairway but you have people packed in there! Not a good place if you’re clausterphobic! I was fine until the lady in front of me said “I hope I can make it up” as she slipped..

KISSING THE BLARNEY STONE

Here is an idea of how far up you are when you are dangling over the edge of the castle

And here is a shot of the Castle from the bottom. In the center of the wall all the way up on the very top you can see the opening…This is where they grab you by your legs and you lean out belly up and head back to kiss the mystical Blarney Stone!

As we were waiting in line to kiss the stone I thought that Ryan would change his mind. No such luck. I’m not sure how you go all the way to Ireland and are standing in the Blarney Castle and don’t kiss it!!! At least he was my photographer. They only allow people to stand in one spot to take a picture so you don’t get in the way of their camera but Ryan did great. He was practicing taking pictures of the people in front of us! I mostly think he didn’t want to have to wait in line and do it all over again if he missed the shot!

When it was almost my turn I started to get a little worried…not because it look scary (which it did) but because I wasn’t sure where I was actually supposed to be kissing!! Everyone that I was watching was kissing up high on the stone and in random places and heights. So after the grumpy Irish guide showed me where it was it was my turn!

Getting ready, I didn’t realize how far down you have to lean and how far over the wall is!

“The stone this is, whoever kisses,

He never misses to grow eloquent

‘Tis he may clamber to a lady’s chamber,

Or be a member of Parliament”

Finished..it was such a rush! I was totally shaking after they pulled me back up (and laughing as you can see in the picture). I was a little worried about walking back down the staircase with shaky legs!

The line at the top, and the stone straight across from me. Luckily the line didn’t take too long

The stairs on the way back down

The “murder hole” where unwanted visitors would be hit with aarows, rocks, or boiling liquids

The neatest tree at Rock Close Gardens around the castle

Estate where the family that owns Blarney Castle still lives

On our way out we found some more caves to explore

I love the castles and the history and Ryan loves the caves and the climbing so it was a good mix of both

This cave was much taller, but also very wet, I’m shocked neither of us got dirty!

After our visit to the castle we headed to a pub for lunch before hitting the road. The roads in Ireland are crazy. First, there are NO street signs. Anywhere. Even when we stopped to ask, no one knew the names of any of their streets. It was a mirical that we didn’t get more lost! Second, they were so narrow!! There were a few streets where we were hitting the bushes next to us, and only inches from the car passing us who was also in the bushes! Here are a few pictures I tried taking while driving but I’m not sure if it shows just how scary, albeit pretty, it was!!

We were off the our next destination: Dingle Penninsula

ROCK OF CASHEL, IRELAND

2010-07-18T22:40:00.009-04:00

We left JFK Saturday night at 10:30pm and arrived in Dublin at 10:30 Sunday morning. Our redeye flight turned out to be pretty awesome because they oversold coach so we got upgraded to Business Class..the service and the seats were amazing!! After cleaning up and changing in the airport bathroom, we hopped into our rental car and realized that we had two huge challenges:

1. Ryan had to drive on the wrong side of the road in a manual car while shifting with his left hand

2. I (having absolutely NO sense of direction) was in charge of getting us from point A to point B with as few u-turns as possible

Our first stop was the Rock of Cashel, a historical landmark whose history of the site dates back to AD 450 and St. Patrick himself. We first explored the quaint town center

The castle and cathedral were built upon the rock for strategic positioning and protection

Once inside we realized that I would have fit in well with the Monks. After watching everyone ducking to get through the doorways I breezed right through, and probably still would have made it on my tip toes!

Ryan wanted to see what life would have been like for the Monks so he sat in the light of the window sill where the Monks used to read..(which was behind the velvet rope!)

St. Patrick's Cross in the courtyard with stunning views

Relaxing in the castle

Graveyard behind the cathedral...I have a weird fascination with old graveyards!!

Ryan goofing around in the sarcophagus

Still enjoying the graveyard

Ryan showing off his handstand skills in front of the castle

Climbing the outside wall..gives you an idea of just how big the castle really is

The stone work was so impressive, especially considering how old everything is

Posing...

HORE ABBEY

In the fields below the Rock of Cashel is the ruins of this 13th century Abbey. There were paths leading to there but we somehow missed them and created our own way over there. Ryan looked over a rock wall and said that he saw a path so he helped me over to our "path" which was the grass field

Realizing that we hadn't taken a picture together yet

Ryan climbing the ruined wall

Then climbing into what used to be a door and the now non-existent second floor

And then climbing some more...he was like a little kid in there!

The two of us

So, we took Ryan's "path" back to the castle which was full of thistles. I was trying to avoid walking on them since I was in flip flops so when I saw a large flat rock I stepped onto it to save my feet. Only to find out that it wasn't a rock...it was a cow patty!! I screamed and Ryan turned around to see me standing there next to it and trying to figure out how I didn't notice the HUGE pile of poop!! I then had to tell him that I actually deliberately stepped in the cow patty... luckily I had wetone's in purse and Ryan to clean off my shoe!

After a very eventful and long day we got back in the car and headed to our Bed and Breakfast for the night, which was about 2 hours away in Blarney. When we got into our room we sat on the bed (both exhausted after only sleeping a few hours on the plane the night before) and were asking each other what we wanted to do for the rest of the night. Ryan suggested that we relax until 7 and then go check out the town, I then had to inform him that it was already 8:30! The sun didn't set until around 10:30-11pm there! After deciding that we didn't need to go out we continued to just lay there. We didn't even manage to get changed, brush our teeth or wash our faces..we were out!!

Memorial Day

2010-06-11T00:55:00.000-04:00

Ryan travels outside of the city all the time for work, he gets out of the hustle and bustle, gets to actually drive a car, and even gets to make Target or grocery trips for me! I on the other hand have only been out of the city once since we moved here. I love living in the city, but I do miss seeing greenery, trees, and (in the words of the Dixie Chicks!) being able to look at the horizon and not see a building standing tall!! And we both of coarse miss going to the beach! Laying out at Central Park just doesn't appeal to me! I want a pool I can jump in or an ocean I can run into!!! So on Monday we decided to spend the holiday out in Long Island. Ryan's family was so nice having us out to Gilgo beach for the day! They stayed out there for the weekend on their boat so we got to hang out on the dock eating great food, walk across the street to the lay out at on the beach, and even take a boat ride!! The water was FREEZING!! So we just walked up beach along the water getting our feet wet (no one was swimming..not even kids!) We had a great day and can't wait to spend some more time out there this summer!!

Ryan and his Grandma Fran

Ryan and his Uncle Rick on the boat ride home

Relaxing and enjoying the scenery

Lindsey's Visit to the Big Apple

2010-06-08T10:43:00.020-04:00

Lindsey left Gracie in California with Matthew, Grammy & Grandpa and came to visit 2 weeks ago to come check out New York. She got in Tuesday night and left Saturday night and we spent the whole time on the go! We saw almost everything that she wanted to see while she was here and so much more! Here is our check list...even though I'm sure I forgot some of the places we went to!

Check List:

a Central Park

a Jackie O' Reservoir

a Metropolitan Museum of Art

a High end shopping on the Upper East Side

a Lincoln Center

a Metropolitan Opera House

a Juilliard School

a Manhattan Temple

a Canal Street

a China Town

a Little Italy

a SoHo

a The Fashion District

a Times Square

a Fox New Building

a Rockefeller Center

a Garment District

a Radio City Music Hall

a Dean & Deluca

a The Rainbow Room

a Jimmy Fallon Monologue Rehearsal

a NBC Studio Tour

SNL Studio

World News Studio

Late Show Studio

a The Diamond District

On the running track around the Jackie O' Reservoir in Central Park

It was in the high 90's on Wednesday with about 120% humidity--it was so HOT!!

Metropolitan Museum of Art

We knew it would be air conditioned here so it was the perfect place to go on a day when being outside was unbearable (even though we spent the whole day walking around the city before and after the museum!) We saw a lot of the museum but our favorite was a really neat exhibit called "American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity" that showed American fashion through the decades. Sadly we couldn't take pictures but all the dresses, shoes, purses, hair styles, and body shapes were so fun to see!

Top of the Met

Walking around the very posh East side where we found Lindsey's favorite designer

The Manhattan Temple

Its hard to see but its the building in the back behind all the taxis!

Metropolitan Opera House

We got to see all the people walking out of the opera one night, its fun to people watch and see all the outfits as they are leaving the opera!

Garment District

Linz wanted to check out some of the fabric stores down here

Times Square (notice that we are now wearing jeans and sweaters...)

Radio City Music Hall

The Dean & Deluca across from the Today Show

Linz really wanted to go see the Fox News building..we went in but sadly this was as close as she could get! We thought about just running in quick to see how far we could get but decided not to since there was a lot of security around!

Outside of the building

Out to dinner with Ryan after he got back home from Boston

Lindsey swears that there was a pro football player eating at the table next to us but we couldn't figure out who he was!

On the subway

Times Square

Rockefeller Center

They had the flags changed because of Memorial Day

A few stories that didn't have pictures to go along...

On Friday we tried to get tickets to go see Late Night with Jimmy Fallon but since we got there a little late we didn't have a good chance of getting in. They gave us a standby ticket for the show and also for the rehearsal of his monologue so that either way we would at least get to see him. It was so fun! There were about 40 of us who went in and Jimmy just came out and sat and talked to us all and then basically ran through his jokes to see what worked and what didn't. The writers were sitting off to the side making notes and changing things the whole time. And Jimmy was really funny- when no one laughed at one he would be like "yeah I didn't think it was funny either" It was fun to see how he worked and watch him crack up at himself. Since it was for a Friday show we also got to watch him rehearse his "thank you notes" (if you watch the show you know what that is). We were sitting in the front row so when he first came out and was telling us what he was going to do and what he wanted us to do he asked Linz if she could whistle.. her response was "yeah, really well" so naturally he asked her to whistle, which she then attempted to do. She totally can not whistle!! It was super quiet (sitting next to her I could barely hear it!) so everyone started laughing and Jimmy thought it was hilarious. He started making fun of her and saying that in case of a fire it was her job to alert us all and when we heard her whistle (which he then had he do again) we would all know to run. Everyone was laughing and we both thought it was pretty cool that Jimmy Fallon was making fun of her! Sadly we didn't get into the actual show, but really the guests weren't that great and just seeing the rehearsal was good enough!

When we went down to Canal Street on Thursday Linz really wanted to find a Chanel purse. We found a shady Asian guy whispering about purses so we asked and then followed him about 10 blocks up to another group of people who then showed us the cards with pictures of purses on them. The large Chanel purse was $160 and we got them down to $80, but we still hadn't seen it. I'm pretty sure neither of us wanted to actually buy the purse we just wanted to see the quality! So she started talking on her walkie-talkie in Chinese and we had to wait about 10 minutes before a man finally emerged with a black plastic bag. As soon as we saw it we said "no" because it really didn't look that great at all. But the Chinese girl was MAD! We just hurried and walked away, without the purse.

It was such a fun (but exhausting) week! When she left on Saturday night she took Karma with her, which was so sad! We're leaving on Saturday for a trip to Ireland and Scotland and the day after we get back we're going to California where we'll be until the 5th of July! So since we were going to be gone for 12 days and then in CA for almost 2 weeks it worked out better for her to take Karma home with her and then when we come back home to NYC we'll bring her home with us. But it has been kinda sad around here without her!!

TRAMA

2010-05-25T00:50:00.000-04:00

Tonight at around midnight I was minding my own business putting away some clean clothes when out of the corner of my eye what did I see?! A HUGE DISGUSTING COCKROACH!!!!!!!! It was awful! It just sat there looking at me at the door to my room so I madly looked for something to kill him with. I grabbed a magazine off the desk and I hurried and threw it at it. Not sure what I thought that was going to do, but I couldn't get close to it. As I'm screaming the roach ran off under my couch. I called Ryan FREAKING out. Of coarse he would be out of town when I had an emergency!!! He told me I had 2 options, move the couch and kill it, or just go to bed. The first option sounded awful and impossible but the second was even worse. No way was I going to go to bed while that thing was crawling around laying eggs everywhere and spreading disease! After ten minutes of talking to Ryan about the best plan of attack and completely being terrified I grabbed the broom and tried to get him. Karma at this point was totally worried. She was confused why I was panicked and throwing pillows around!

I moved the couch and there it was. I was screaming and hitting it with the broom while Ryan was on speaker. I hurt it enough with the broom so I had time to put a show box over it and then smash that with the broom. Ryan was trying to figure out what had just happened because all he heard was screaming and commotion! I was pretty sure that the neighbor was going to come and knock on the door thinking that I was being attacked! After being sure that it was dead and smashing the shoe box down a few more time I started to calm down.

I knew I had to clean it up but knowing that it was now dead I was okay. I was going to be very calm, move the box and just clean it up. I got off the phone with Ryan telling him I was going to be fine now and got out the paper towel. I picked up the box and was fine when I saw the roach..until its gross hairy leg started twitching. Then it tried to crawl away...I had completely smashed it and there were guts everywhere and it was somehow STILL MOVING?!?! I lost it...I started screaming again slamming the box over and over on it....and I'm pretty sure I even yelled "die" at one point. I really didn't mean to scream again, I was going to be calm! I managed to then get it into the shoebox, into the trash, then straight down to the basement..I couldn't have it in the apartment!!! Karma and I are now sitting on the couch together, she is pressed up next to my leg shaking..poor thing!

I can take care of other bugs and creepy crawlers...I don't know what it is about cockroach's, I just can't handle them.

My 23rd Birthday

2010-05-23T14:38:00.000-04:00

When Ryan asked what I wanted to do for my birthday he offered to take me out to a nice dinner and a show on Broadway, even though that sounded really fun, I said no.

What I really wanted to do was go to a Yankee game and have a hot dog for dinner :)

On the subway on our way to Yankee Stadium

In a sea of Blue

Their new stadium is so nice! And they have to most gourmet food for a baseball game!

Sporting my Yankee's gear! I wanted to wear my Angels jersey and a Yankee hat to show that although I do support the home team, Angels will always be #1 in my heart! So, I had my jersey pulled out ready to wear. When I went to go get dressed it was mysteriously gone! Ryan told me I wasn't aloud to wear it and knowing that I wouldn't listen to him he decided he would hide it from me!!

It was so much fun being surrounded by crazy New Yorkers! They really do love their Yankee's!

My birthday treat--A chocolate peanut butter shake!!

Karma was trying to help me blow out my candle

My new spin bike that Ryan got me! I was wanting something that I could do at home when it was either too hot or too cold out and also when he's out of town something that I can do at night! I'm really enjoying having it, but my butt hasn't gotten used to it yet-So soar!!

It was such a fun birthday! Even though the Yankee's lost we still had a blast at the game. And I decided that it probably was a good thing that I didn't wear my Angel's jersey because on the VERY crowded subway ride home they were hekeling a girl for wearing a Twin's jersey!

Central Park & The Met

2010-05-21T14:14:00.001-04:00

MESA GRILL

On Friday night we met up with Nathan & Heather who were in town for a wedding. We went to Bobby Flay's restaurant Mesa Grill. The atmosphere was so fun, and the food was great!

CENTRAL PARK

Karma met a new friend who was as playful as she is

She's the submissive type- she ALWAYS rolls over for other dogs, its a little embarrassing!

THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

I love everything Buddha! This statue was so neat with the coloring on it. We did get yelled at though for taking a picture with the flash on!

The art exhibit on the top of the roof- it was all made out of bamboo and has trails that you can take a guided tour though!

Such a great view!

Sunset from the top of the met, it looks over the park and the city

City lights

Canal Street Shopping

2010-05-15T11:30:00.000-04:00

I decided to be brave and venture down to Canal Street on my own this week! It was quite an adventure. I took the subway down to China Town and had no clue where I was going when I got off! I started walking and once I saw people walking towards me with those classic black plastic bags I knew I was going in the right direction. I wandered up and down the streets in and out of the little shops looking at all the purses, sunglasses, scarfs, I ♥ NY gear (you can get literally anything with the logo on it!), and so much more! I stopped at a table to look at Buddah statues and was asked if I wanted a glass pipe as he was opening up a container to show me them he quickly whispered "I got the good stuff, you want some" ..umm no thanks! I found (and bought) a cute black purse for $35 that I got down to $25! I wasn't looking to buy anything (even though I did), I was just on the search to find where they sell the really good knock offs so I would know for future trips! I wasn't having any luck! Everyone says that they have the best ones there and so many but I wasn't finding any! There seemed to be way more in LA at the garment district! As I was about to give up on the purse hunt I started to figure it out. I found myself in the "scarf" room of a large shop with mysterious little rooms all covered up just walking around to find the exit. I found the Chanel purses! They weren't the best knock offs but at least I was getting closer! That was until they started saying "hurry, police are coming, hurry" and started closing all the doors and rushing everyone out! I kept walking and was in the back of another store when the lady asked if I wanted Juicy or Chanel...after checking up and down the street for cops and having her "lookouts" on the street she opened up a locked cabinet to show me the goods! The Juicy bags weren't what I was looking for so I asked if she had any leather. After waiting a few minutes for the coast to be clear she hurried and opened another locked cabinet and ripped open a bag with a Chanel leather purse in it! I only got to hold in for a few seconds before she had to hurry and put it away so the police wouldn't see it! From what I got to see the quality was pretty good but I didn't buy since I didn't really get a chance to check it out...and had already bought a black purse! Walking back to the subway I finally listened to the voices I had been ignoring the whole day..the shady guys on the street saying "Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton" I asked what they were selling and the snuck me a laminated card with pictures of Louis Vuitton bags for me to look at. I followed him across the street (I'm pretty sure to avoid the cops) so we could talk. I wanted to get a small wallet because I actually have been wanting one and also so I could see the quality but unfortunately he didn't have any! He started calling to his other friends but I didn't want it that badly so I just walked away! I got back on the subway and even found a quicker way home! Now I feel a little more prepared for when visitors come and want to do some shopping!

The BIG move!

2010-05-13T21:30:00.000-04:00

When my mom and I met up with Ryan in New York on Monday (April 19th) our stuff was supposed to be there. Of coarse, it wasn't!! Our furniture didn't arrive until Friday so we had the whole week with an empty apartment and nothing to unpack! We managed to find some stuff to keep us entertained and also got a little shopping for the apartment done.

The Tonight Show

We were walking past the Ed Sullivan theater and saw that you could sign up for a lotto for free tickets to the show. We went in and signed up and got a call back an hour later that we had won the tickets! We got the run down on what to expect/do form the (overly) enthusiastic CBS interns and heading in for the show! It was pretty fun watching how it was filmed and seeing inside the Ed Sullivan theater. We found out how lucky we were to have gotten tickets so quickly...most people around us had signed up 4 weeks before and just got a call that afternoon! The guests were Demi Moore and the owner of Momofuku restaurants

(step back Momofuku, you don't know me like that!)

The Today Show

We went down one morning to check out the set! We didn't stay too long because we couldn't bring Karma into the gated off area but we got to see them all outside and could even look through the windows to watch them in the studio.

The Rainbow Room

Broadway

Thursday night we went to see "Promises, Promises" on Broadway. It was SO GOOD! We had the best seats and got to watch Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth sing their hearts out!

We found a Target!!

Its all the way up in the Bronx and in a little bit of a sketchy area but its so worth it!

Bringing home all of our treasures on the subway

Before the movers came...

Getting ready to take inventory

The moving truck

After to movers left...

So happy to have her furniture back-she didn't understand where she was supposed to sit in the empty apartment because clearly she doesn't belong on the floor!

Refusing to work..

Boxes, boxes, boxes...Where is all of this stuff going to go!?

Around the town...

I took karma for a walk in the rain and then shopping at Michael's--she didn't like either!

Ryan taking me to his favorite place to eat, the Shake Shack

Long Island

Saturday we took the train out to Long Island to see Ryan's Uncle, Aunt and Grandma. It was nice to get out of the city for the day and great to see everyone and catch up!

Out to dinner for some BBQ--it was so good!

We're enjoying living in the city and exploring all the fun things to do and see!

Beach Day

2010-04-16T04:04:00.000-04:00

We got to enjoy one last beach day before we head off to New York! We spent the day at Corona Del Mar enjoying the sun and sand, and then a bonfire with hot dogs and s'mores! It was such a nice day down there, and surprisingly warm that night!

Jon showing off his mad skills

Sophie being very brave screaming "I'm swimming! I'm swimming!" and jumping over and through the waves in the FREEZING water

Hitchin' a ride

Cute little Owen playing in the sand

Feeling a little sad that we're not going to be here to hang out at the beach all summer!

Me & Dad

Ryan & Karen

The fire was a little hot, but Ryan was a trooper with the hot dogs

S'mores!

Moving Day!!

2010-04-15T15:00:00.000-04:00

We had a week and a half from the time we got home from New York until the movers came to pick up all of our stuff. Ryan was out of town for 5 of those days so we really only had about a week to get everything ready. Instead of just worrying about packing up our apartment and getting that ready I also decided to refinish 4 pieces of furniture and make a new headboard! (Another post on that with pictures once I get there and can take some pictures of the finished product!) Needless to say it was a very busy week but we got it all done and our stuff is in the truck headed to New York!

Ryan is in Long Island working this week so on Friday he'll go "home" to an empty apartment! We're hoping that our stuff will show up on Monday, thats when my mom and I are heading out there. So Ryan is going to try to keep himself busy this weekend by doing a little shopping to get a few necessary things like an air mattress so he has something to sleep on, and maybe even doing a little painting for me to pass the time!

The Apartment Hunt

2010-04-14T15:00:00.000-04:00

We went to New York in the middle of March for a CRAZY 3 1/2 days of apartment shopping! We walked about 15 miles a day (and I'm not being dramatic when I say that!) The good part about walking so much was that we got to know the city a little bit better and will have a least a little bit of an idea where we're going when we move!

This was after walking ALL day on Friday... In my clothes that I had traveled in ALL day on Thursday! My flight out was horrible, we sat on the plane for an hour at Orange County where they took my bag that I was carrying on because there was no room overhead due to a full flight. Then they took us off, made us wait for 2 hours, then decided that our plane was no longer going to JFK so I was "lucky" enough to get shuttled over to LAX for a flight out. My luggage however was not as lucky. It didn't make it until Friday night, about 24 hours after me! I was so glad to get out of those clothes when it finally did arrive!! (Ryan had been in New Hampshire working that week so he met me there on Thursday night)

Friday night we met up with a friend of Ryan's from college and got to check out their apartment and they even took us to get some New York Pizza!! After we left them we walked around just trying to check out the area. That was most of the weekend, walking around looking at areas trying to figure out where we wanted to live!

In front of the temple where we will be going to church!

The Lincoln Center

The security guard took a picture for us..I'm pretty sure that people will think I'm a tourist the whole time we're living there because I always have my camera out!

Hailing a cab, I was pretty great at it!!

Central Park

We left on Sunday with no apartment, a few options but we hadn't decided on anything. After a stressful few days trying to make the decision we picked an apartment (on the upper west side at 101st street) sent all the paper work over to receive an email from our broker that said "sorry, someone already has papers in on that one" LUCKILY the apartment next door was available so she went a checked it out and we decided to just go for it! From the pictures it looks a little bit nicer than the other one, the kitchen and bathroom were just redone so its all brand new, so it will be nice and clean!! It was a little complicated trying to sign the lease and take care of all the money and paper work from across the country but we finally got it all done and officially have an apartment!

Visiting Kat

2010-04-13T23:45:00.000-04:00

The end of February Ryan went on a snowboarding trip with his brother and some friends to Tahoe so I headed to Oregon to visit Kat. It was such a fun weekend just hanging out and catching up. I loved Portland- the city was so different but had such a good vibe. I also got to see my Uncle Jeff and Aunt Mary while I was there, it worked out perfect that they were both in town that weekend!

PORTLAND, OREGON

Getting attacked by Ben

Hanging out at the coffee shop

In the coffee shop they had these old library drawers that people can write notes and leave them in there. It was fun reading through a few of them!

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

We headed up to Seattle on Sunday and spent the day there. The two hour drive up there was absolutely beautiful! We watched the sunrise through the mountains and fog. So worth getting up at like 4:30am!!

Conversation with Michelle (Kat's roommate) and Kat before we left for Seattle:

M: "Have you ever been to Seattle?"

W: "No this is my first time to Oregon"

M: "So have you ever been to Seattle?"

W: confused by the question "No, I've never been to Oregon"

K: "Whit, Seattle is in WASHINGTON!!"

The Troll Under The Bridge

(As seen in 10 Things I Hate About You)

It was so neat to go see this, its just a huge troll underneath a bridge crushing a VW Beetle! It even had a heart beat...

I definitely came home and watched "10 Things I Hate About You"

so I could see the part with the troll!!

My street

The Space Needle

Back In Portland...

Voodoo Doughnuts

On my last night it Portland we went downtown so Kat could take me here. Its a famous little doughnut shop with CRAZY doughnuts!! Things such as the bacon maple bar (a maple bar with bacon on it) And lots of others, many of them being inappropriate!!

The before..Kat got the classic "Voodoo" and I went for the "Old Dirty Bastard"

The Voodoo

Doughnut with chocolate glaze and Oreo chunks then drizzled with peanut butter

So good...

"I think I'm going to die"

And that was only after eating less than half!! It was so rich but great. But its probably the ONLY doughnut I will eat in all of 2010 so I'm glad I went for a good one!

Sad Puppy

2010-02-23T15:00:00.000-05:00

Karma got fixed about two weeks ago and it was pretty pathetic!! Ryan was supposed to get home the night she had the surgery but got stuck in New Jersey due to bad weather so I was on my own!! It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and she even had pain medicine! (even though is smelt AWFUL!!!)

She insisted on laying her head on my hand

And being on my lap covered up any time I was home with her

Tis' The Season

2010-02-22T13:45:00.000-05:00

LOTS OF PICTURES FROM OVER THE HOLIDAYS....

HANGING OUT

Karma trying to stay warm on a cold rainy day!

Logan & Gracie Belle

Spending time with the boys shooting guns

Emma Jane playing at the park

Birch Street after seeing the Squeekquil!

CHRISTMAS PARTY

The Nativity...

Mary Joseph...and baby Jesus Trixie!

(The real baby Jesus was Gracie, Trixie just tried to steal her spotlight)

Also...the only reason this picture is in sepia is because of that stupid black line, this was the only way for the picture to come out and I thought it was a good one and kind of summed up how our attempt at a nativity went!

The Angels

Emma, Abbey, Sophie

The Wise Men

Jon, Ryan, Royal

The Cow

Logan, who was so not into this whole thing!

Sophie sharing her cute snowman that Karen made for all the kids

An intense game of Left, Right, Center

CHRISTMAS EVE

Cooper & Owen

Ryan & Owen

Mackenzie & Sophie

Owen

Matching sister jammie's

And matching brother-in-law pj's...

CHRISTMAS MORNING

Poor little Karma went into heat on Christmas Eve! So here she is a little traumatized in Gracie's onsie with her favorite present!

Owen checking out the love blanket I made for him

Gracie opening her's before her nap

NEW YEAR'S EVE

The long awaited opening of Cafe Rio in Lake Forest, so amazing!!

Karma getting into the festivities

No one was in the New Year's spirit but Karen and Ashley were good sports and celebrated with me!

Cheers!

THE ROSE PARADE

Sadly my camera died during the parade so I only have a few..

Karen & Layne

Trying to get Landen to enjoy the parade!

Ryan and Abbey at the Grove

BIG BEAR ATTEMPT 2

Last year we tried to go sledding up in big bear and only made it half way up the mountain due to too much snow. This year, we made it less than half way up the mountain, it was 75 degrees out and taking about 4 hours to make it to the top! So maybe next time we'll actually make it up to Big Bear!!

Not wanting to turn around..

Trying to decide if we should..we were moving so slow that Ryan could get out of our car and stand on Royal and Nicole's to talk to them!

It was so hot and we were all in sledding gear!

Snack Time!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T01:49:00.000-05:00

The Bee Keeper and his Bee's

A Witch with a Bee

Momma Karen dressed as a Clown

Kitty Cat Layne is so cute....

...But SO attached to Karen its hard to hold her when she's around!

Trick-or-Treat

Landen refuses to take pictures so I just tickled him until he smiled..well kinda smiled

We had 4 adults walking down the streets in full costume with only 1 year old Layne...people were staring!

You're never too old to trick-or-treat

We caught an extra bee

We had a great time, thanks Nicole and Royal for having us over! Thanks Mom for sewing my tutu and helping me get everything togerther last minute!!

And of coarse thanks to Abbey and Landen for sharing some of their treats :)

BRAZIL PART 5: RIO DE JANIERO

2009-09-26T15:53:00.000-04:00

Impanema Beach

The bug bites I got the last day in the Amazon...I have NO CLUE what bit me but it definitely got me good! I was really sick the whole time in Rio with body aches, high fever, soar throat and just didn't feel good. This was the day after, they got much much worse and took about 2 weeks to go away!

Soccer game at Maracana Stadium

Pao De Acucar

(Sugar Loaf Mountain)

Copacabana

Cristo Rendentor

(Giant Jesus)

Cristo Rendentor

Checkin' out the thongs on Copacabana Beach

BRAZIL PART 4: AMAZON

2009-09-24T15:40:00.000-04:00

THE HEAT HELPED MAKE IT EASIER TO BE SWIMMING IN THERE! I JUST KEPT REMINDING EVERYONE NOT TO PEE BECAUSE OF THE BUGS THAT ARE ATTRACTED TO URINE AND SWIM UP THE STREAM!!

SNUCK IN SOME ONES HAMMOCK TO TRY IT OUT...SO GLAD WE HAD BEDS!

FISHING FOR PIRANHAS!

PUTTING THE RAW MEAT ON HIS HOOK

OH YEAH!

AND LOOK WHO CAUGHT ANOTHER ONE...

SO SCARY!

PLAYING WITH MY FISH

MY SCARY PIRANHA FACE WITH MY BUDDIES.

BRAZIL PART 3: MANAUS & THE AMAZON

2009-09-22T14:15:00.000-04:00

IT WAS SO HOT IN THE AMAZON!

RYAN MADE ME CARRY ALL THE LUGGAGE

SUCH GOOD CHURROS, THEY PUT CHOCOLATE OR CARMEL DOWN THE CENTER

ON THE AMAZON RIVER CLOSE TO THE MEETING OF THE WATERS. FLYING IN WAS SO COOL BECAUSE YOU COULD SEE WHERE THE TWO RIVERS MEET UP BUT DON'T MIX FOR MILES

I WAS A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT MY CLOTHES

OUR HOTEL IN THE AMAZON

SITTING WITH MY FEET IN THE WATER...A LITTLE NERVOUS

RYAN KILLING THE BUGS IN MY NET, HE HATES BUGS!

NOT SO SURE ABOUT STRANGERS SLEEPING THIS CLOSE TO ME!

YES, WE SWAM IN THE AMAZON RIVER. NO WE DIDN'T GET ATTACKED BY PIRANAHAS. BUT THEY WERE DEFINITELY THERE, AND IT WAS DEFINITELY A LITTLE CREEPY

A PIRAHANA SOMEONE CAUGHT THAT NIGHT...I TOLD YOU THEY WERE THERE!

MORE PHASE 10..NOT MUCH TO DO DURING A THUNDERSTORM EXCEPT TRY TO HIDE FROM THE BUGS

SO PROUD OF HIS MOSQUITO NET

SLEEPING IN HERE WAS INTERESTING, AT FIRST I WAS SCARED OF BUGS SO WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT I TURNED MY FLASHLIGHT ON TO MAKE SURE THERE WERE NO BUGS IN WITH ME! BUT THEN WHEN I FELT LIKE I WAS SAFE INSIDE MY NET I STARTED WONDERING ABOUT WHAT OTHER KIND OF ANIMALS COULD COME INTO MY BED. THATS WHEN I WAS GRATEFUL THAT I WAS FAR FROM THE DOOR SO IF A SNAKE SNUCK IN THEY HAD A LOT OF OTHERS TO CHOSE FROM FIRST!

AARON AND I GETTING READY TO EAT A GRUB...AKUNA MATATA!

OH NO, WE'RE LOST!

AND HERE IS THE VIDEO OF ME EATING THE GRUB. RYAN DIDN'T THINK THAT I WOULD DO, BUT IT ACTUALLY WASN'T TOO BAD. IT TASTED LIKE COCONUT WATER! IT WAS A GLOW BUG SO THAT NIGHT I WAS PRETTY SURE THEY KNEW I HAD EATEN THIER BABYS AND WERE GOING TO ATTACK ME...LUCKILY WE HAD BUG SPRAY!

NOT SURE HOW TO ROTATE THE VIDEO, SORRY!

BRAZIL PART 2: SALVADOR

2009-09-19T15:00:00.000-04:00

WE MET UP WITH AARON AND ANGELA IN SALVADOR. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN EXPERIENCING BRAZIL WITH THEM

OUR ROOM

CAPOEIRA

DRESS SOME LADY PUT ON MY TRYING TO GET ME TO BUY IT

NO EXPLANATION...

EATING ACARAJE OFF THE STREET CARTS IN BRAZIL, IT WAS A LITTLE SCARY BUT RYAN INSISTED THAT I TRY IT

RIGHT BEFORE I GOT ROBBED...TWO TEENAGERS RIPPED MY NECKLACE OFF MY NECK. I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO RYAN WHEN HE TOLD ME NOT TO WEAR ANY JEWELRY!

PHASE 10

BRAZIL PART 1: FOZ DE IGUAZU

2009-09-17T15:00:00.000-04:00

ARGENTINA SIDE

HAM FLAVORED CHIPS...INTERESTING

DEVILS...

...THROAT (NAME OF THE WATERFALL BEHIND ME)

BIRD SANCTUARY ON THE BRAZIL SIDE

THIS BIRD WAS A LITTLE CRAZY, HE WAS TRYING TO BITE RYAN'S SHOES

A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT HOW CLOSE THIS BIRD IS

PARROTS FLYING EVERYWHERE!!!

CHECK OUT THE PARROT RIGHT OVER RYAN'S HEAD

BRAZIL SIDE OF THE FALLS

HE'S GOT HOPS...

CARPINCHOS...

PROM PHOTO WITH THE "INVENTOR" OF THE AIRPLANE...ACCORDING TO THE BRAZILIANS!

JUNE

2009-09-15T13:00:00.000-04:00

MORE PICTURES OF KARMA

EXHAUSTED FROM A HARD DAYS WORK AT THE OFFICE

SHE FELL ASLEEP WITH HER HEAD IN MY SHOE AFTER I FINISHED WORKING OUT!

MUD RUN

CAMP PENDELTON

RYAN WAS PLANNING ON RUNNING THE 10K MUD RUN AND I FOUND OUT TWO DAYS BEFORE THAT THEY NEEDED ONE MORE PERSON SO I WAS VOLUNTEERED TO JOIN IN! IT WAS SO MUCH FUN, AND VERY MUDDY! BUT ALSO A LOT OF UPHILL RUNNING AND TONS OF CRAZY PEOPLE!

BEFORE

YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME..WE'RE ONLY AT MILE 1?!?!

CROSSING A SWAMP/MUD PITT THINGY

THERE'S ALWAYS TIME TO POSE FOR A PHOTO!!

CLIMBING THE MUD WALL

PLAYING IN THE MUD

GIANT, FREEZING RIVER WE HAD TO CROSS. IT WAS AWESOME EXCEPT FOR THE SPOTS WHERE I COULDN'T REACH AND SWIMMING WAS IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE AROUND!

FIRE HOSE!

AND AFTER

KARMA GETTING HER BATH...SHE DOES NOT LIKE THEM!

ALL CLEAN!

RYAN'S BIRTHDAY

RYAN "WORKING" IN FLORIDA

MAY 2009

2009-09-13T15:00:00.000-04:00

RYAN HAD TO GO OUT OF TOWN THE WEEK OF MY BIRTHDAY SO WE DECIDED TO GO TO SANTA BARBARA THE WEEKEND BEFORE

SURF LESSONS

THIS IS WAAAY HARDER THAN IT LOOKS!!

LINZ FLEW DOWN TO SPEND THE WEEK HANGING OUT WITH ME FOR MY BIRTHDAY, IT WAS SO NICE HAVING HER DOWN HERE! WE WENT TO GLEN IVY HOT SPRINGS TO SPEND THE DAY GETTING MASSAGED AND RELAXING IN THE POOLS, SAUNAS, SULFUR BATHS, MUD PIT, AND THE GROTTO...

RYAN DECIDED TO GET ME A DOG FOR MY BIRTHDAY SO BEFORE HE LEFT HE TOLD ME. AFTER I TOLD HIM I DIDN'T THINK WE SHOULD GET A DOG (EVEN THOUGH I HAD BEEN ASKING FOR ONE FOR LIKE..EVER!), I KINDA CHANGED MY MIND AND WE THOUGHT WE COULD JUST GO LOOK AND THINK ABOUT IT.

KARMA!!

PICKING OUT KARMA, SHE WAS SO CUTE AND SWEET ONCE WE GOT THERE, IT WAS DONE, WE WEREN'T LEAVING WITHOUT HER! SHE WEIGHED 2 POUNDS AND WAS A LITTLE FLUFF BALL!

TRIP TO VEGAS

WE WERE SAD TO HAVE TO LEAVE KARMA AFTER ONLY HAVING HER FOR A WEEK, BUT LUCKILY HER FAVORITE BABYSITTERS TOOK GOOD CARE OF HER! WE DIDN'T TAKE MANY PICTURES BUT HERE ARE A FEW..

OXYGEN BAR...REALLY WASN'T THAT COOL, BUT I HAD ALWAYS WANED TO TRY IT!

IRELAND PART 3

2009-09-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

BUSHMILL'S IRISH WHISKEY FACTORY

I THOUGHT THIS WAS A HAT..TURNS OUT ITS A TEA COZY. MY MISTAKE

A PICTURE OF THE GIANT WHO CREATED GIANTS CAUSEWAY

WE WERE REALLY CRAVING MEXICAN FOOD, WHICH IRELAND APPARENTLY DOESN'T HAVE. SO WE FOUND A GAS STATION AND BOUGHT WHAT WE COULD TO MAKE A FEW THINGS, WE WERE SO EXCITED!

PHOTO SHOOT AT A GRAVEYARD..