Laguna Beach

This is Laguna Beach. It is the most unique beach i've seen since we moved to the area. Most have been water, beach, million dollar 200 sq. ft. homes, getto. Laguna is a mix of sandy cliffs, lots of food places, volleyball courts, bb courts, and seaweed. It was the most fun Kate and I have had together at the beach so far.(With friends Newport wins)You have to love how much MTV and other television stations blow up this beach. Oooo...Laguna Beach. There weren't any overly attractive people (besides Kate) and the average age was 40. Which is a great age. That wasn't a diss to people over 40. Sorry. Gesh.
When it was time to leave Katie used my washboard abdominals to dry our towels and suits. I was trying to use one of those things that tans the bottom of your chin but didn't realize I was using it improperly.


I played softball tonight and almost hit a homerun. It was caught at the warning track. Katie was in the bleachers. "Did you see my almost homerun?" She was talking but said she liked my "catches and throws." I was the catcher. Yes, it was slow pitch softball and yes the throws were back to the pitcher. Thanks Honey, glad I impressed you. Glory Days...

Here We Go Again!!

Today was the first day of college football. I am please to say that the Buckeyes, at the expense of possibly losing their Heisman canidate runningback, beat Youngstown state handily. USC fans are breathing a sigh of relief because they know he might not play against them in two weeks when Ohio state heads out here to Southern California to play at the Rose Bowl. It doesn't really matter anyway. The teams this year are so balanced and there isn't one awesome team so a loss for any team this early in the season won't matter too much come January. I want to stress the word "too."
There is something about Saturday football that is comforting. I must admit, it isn't nearly as fun watching it by myself. Katie tries but she reminds me often that we've only been married for two years and it is going to take her time to enjoy football. I'm glad she's trying.
I met some students to study this week. They called me crazy. What? "You midwestern football fans are crazy." I smiled to that compliment.
We got cable this week. Now I can watch games on saturdays. We got the basic channels but on Saturday there are still like 8 games on throughout the day.
We went to this place on campus called the "little white house." It is a thrift store I guess. It has beds, furniture and kitchen stuff. Katie brought home lots of stuff for the kitchen. I got this dresser below. It is in great shape and I couldn't believe that someone gave it away. It's a rather expensive dresser made from good wood. The deal is you borrow the furniture and bring it back when you are done with school. I told the lady that if I took this it would require lots of work and would not be bringing it back in three years. She was fine with that.Some of you care so I'll tell you. I took off the handles. Each drawer had a key lock with a key. I took those off and will replace with new handles. Sorry I didn't rotate the below picture. The drawers are going to have a light stain and everything else will be a darker brown stain. Sounds ugly but just wait. It will take me some time but eventually it will look good.
I have two finals this week. I also have two quizes (a quiz in grad school isn't the same as a quiz in undergrad). I already finished a paper that is do on Thursday. I have got a huge jump on next week and it's only Saturday. Some of you have asked how i'm doing grade wise. I got my lowest grade of the year this week...84% in Manual Muscle Testing. Well, I thing I got an 82% once in Anatomy. An 84% is passing but close to failing. No worries. Anyway. Going into this week I have an A(95%) in Med. Terminology, an A-(93.9) in Kinesiology, and the other two classes are too low in points to really justify a grade. Those points will come this week. Sorry to bore some of you with numbers.
We are going to the beach tomorrow after church. I don't know which one but that's what we are doing.
Katie starts work on Monday. She is ready to go. I'm ready for her. It will be good for her to start getting involved with things around here.
This blog is all about me. I honestly don't know what's up with Kate. Our conversations are getting shorter as we get closer to finals. Tomorrow at the beach we will catch up. Maybe she'll write midweek with how here first few days of work went.
Go Buckeyes!!

Lots of fun stuff to do

I went to the symphony tonight. Alone. I took my Manual Muscle Testing notes to study, dinner and a headlamp. I've got a midterm on Monday yet i'm sure I was the only one studying on a Friday night. I left at the intermission though. I was there to study but the classical was the kind of classical I don't like. You know the kind in the movies where the young guy wears the white wig and tries to persuade the good looking woman to marry him while they are forced to dance at the ball. Yeah, not my kind. Too hip hop for me. I like the classical that involves blood or swords. Now that's good classical. The guys reading this are all like, "yeah...I know that kind." You know, Braveheart, Gladiator, Legends of the Fall, i guess lord of the rings. Good stuff.
This picture below is the side of our driveway. The plant on the right started growing a month or so ago. Every morning I got on my bike for school and had intentions of cutting it down. Now I think it looks like a type of grass. The neighbors weren't sure. They tried cutting it down. I found that out after I spent two hours collecting seed off of it and sowing them in the surrounding bare areas. Hopefully in a few weeks there will be grass weeds from that rock to well beyond the mature one on the other side. (im listening to the gladiator soundtrack right now) The grass weed curls up during the heat of the day and opens to a deep green in the evening and especially in the morning.
I also planted a bunch to the left of this tree. (between the rocks)

This is a picture from the middle of our backyard. There are still about 10 yards behind me. There is a deck and a shop connected to the garage. I hope to transplant some flowers to the back so Katie will sit back there with me. Right now there are too many little lizards and crickets. Sometimes I will sneak a peek of her watering the plants. She is so nervous 2 inch lizards are going to attack her or something.
Palm Springs. No...Seriously this is Palm Springs. I have yet to see what all the fuss is about. I've now been there 3 or 4 times and haven't seen the reason people vacation there.

A prickly pear. They're prickly.
This sign is too funny. This was taken about a mile in on the Barker Dam hike in Joshua Tree N.P. I got the same picture in January when I came out here for the interview at Loma Linda but the ground was atleast damp. It is well into the upper 90's everyday and rain just doesn't happen there often. They need a "no diving" sign too.
I don't remember the name of this area of the park and this picture doesn't do it justice. It was too hot to exit the car so we settled with the window down.
Three weeks down, three to go in the second half of summer quarter. I am doing well. I have really prided myself on my ability to adjust to the schedule and balance my studies. My confidence grows with each compliment and "A" that I receive. Yesterday I pointed out an error in the notes. My teacher said he has been teaching this for 13 years and no one has ever caught that error. He called me "very bright." I have to be. I am taking on lots of debt, responsibility and have a woman attached to me for life. It's not about me anymore. I had a student ask me why I study so hard. I told him to get married and then he would understand. When you have someone relying on you, things change. There are lots of motivations to keep me going but knowing Katie is proud of me and respects me is my ultimate motivation.
I think i'm going to do the L.A. marathon in March. I always vowed I wouldn't be the guy that WAS in shape and then disappears for a few years and returns with two more chins and an additional few pounds. School is time consuming and i'm noticing i'm not as healthy as a once was. So when the idea of a marathon was presented to me by a fellow health struggling student I jumped on it. I don't think I could look back on life and be ok with saying I didn't atleast try one. "Thank God for your health Scott." My bud Brian said that to me years ago. He prays for his and his families health daily. I am grateful to ride to school and do the things I can do. Thank you God. Anyway, it's in March and I don't have to worry about the weather down here so training should be convenient.
Katie returns tomorrow evening. Tomorrow starts OUR life down here together. God responds. May He be glorified.

Put your face in your guestbook.

So don't forget to read Katies writing that she wrote today. I told my mom I would put this guestbook thing in. I guess she saw it on one of my friends blogs and liked it. Plus, We want to know who is checking up with us. After all, we do this for you guys. Fellas, keep it PG. Have a good week.

Finally! A job

It's official -- I have a job. Come September 2nd I think Loma Linda will start to feel more like home. oh! i'm so excited to start, to have a routine again, structure, income, and sanity. The position i will be starting is Administrative Assistant to the Women's Ministry Pastor at Trinity Evangelical Free Church--the church we're attending in Redlands, CA.

The process, however, for getting this job was quite an ordeal. I had heard about this position a few weeks before we even moved, but put it out of my mind mainly because I figured I'd find something before September (and we weren't sure if Trinity would become our home church). Things started to fall into place the beginning of July when Scott and I became pretty close with a family from the church whose daughter, Holly, is in Scott's class. Julie, Holly's mom, is the Secretary at Trinity brought up the position. I then became pretty excited about the opportunity and worked out the numbers (financially) to see if it would be possible to wait till September for a job... not really, but with extra loans and my family offering to fly me up north to Blaine (where i still am) and put me to work, it all started to make sense.

I sent my resume to the appropriate person and things began to fall into place. A couple other job interviews came up and i made it clear to Julie that i needed to know if i was even being considered for the position. She set me up to meet with the Administrative Director, then finally I met with the Women's Ministry Pastor. I felt good about my interviews (with encouragements from Julie), and i took off for Blaine, hoping to hear bout the position that next week. The week passed and come Friday i couldn't handle the anxiety any more! I emailed the Administrative Director trying to get some bit of information. (I had also received an email earlier that day about another opportunity that I might pursue).

It turned out that the Executive Pastor still wanted to meet with me (arg!). I told the Admin Director i could do a phone interview with him, otherwise it would have to wait until i get back from WA. Anyway, they ended up flying me home to Loma Linda for a few days to meet with the Ex. Pastor and they would let me know Monday. (i know... they flew me home, crazy! God is good!!) So, after a nice weekend with Scott and some friends, the Body Worlds 3 exhibit in LA, i returned to Blaine anxiously, but confidently, awaiting the offer. It came via e-mail :) saying "welcome aboard" and "call us when you return to work out the details."

3 months without a job while being prepared for only 1 month seems crazy, but somehow God provides. I'm amazed at how this time has passed!

Anyway... i had the opportunity to go with my parents and my aunt and uncle (Teresa and Shon) to the Lynden fair. Good memories come from that fair... and things are pretty much the same.

Here's the cow barn -- where i spent the first 8 summers of my life. My dad would bring his prized jerseys for showing. We would live at the fair for a week in our tiny trailer :)
Here's my aunt Teresa attempting to bite into a "moowich" -- as you can see, two large chocolate chip cookies with a nice hunk of ice cream between them :) there were 5 of us that shared this scrumptious, annual treat.

Another fair favorite is corn on the cob -- That's uncle Shon, flossing after his cob.

For some reason, i've always loved looking at the arts, crafts, food, produce and quilts at the fair... here's my favorite quilt: a beach scene with a Madrona tree -- like at my grandpa's beach :)

Blog Wars!!

My good friend Brian Foster decided to post a blog (on his blog, which you can see on the left hand column) on how wonderful his wife's cooking was. This couldn't have come at a better time considering Katie is out of town.(sarcasm.) So I decided to throw in some of my cooking skills to make myself feel better about what I'VE been eating these few weeks. Fresh pizza from Costco. This was my second attempt. And a good one. Pepperoni and cheese with a sprinkle of red pepper. Mmm. Beat that Brian!
Next, something I picked up since marriage has been the hard boiled egg. Simply put the eggs in water, boil, and let them cool down in the water. If you let them sit in the fridge for a few days they are easier to peel. Bet you didn't know that Brian. If our wives are such great cooks there is only one way to settle this. A cook off. Not between the ladies but between you and I. Next time I'm in town we will have the face off. Pick your food. But microwaves must be involved.
On a less serious note, the olympics are my achilles heel right now. I study till about 10 and then instead of going to bed I watch something insignificant like womens badminton. US vs. a country i've never heard of and have never even won a bronze. But still, i'm jumping up and down yelling, "go! go! Hit that ball...i mean mitton...birdie." Holy crap there's track on. That being said I wake up with rings around my eyes and running late. The good part is the last few nights I've been studying at Panera bread and Starbucks is right next door. I head in there a few minutes before they close to see some other P.T. students and the last few nights they've given me the pre-made sandwiches they didn't sell that day. That has been my breakfast and dinner up until they spoil.
School is good though. I love my muscle movement class. I seem to know more than I thought. I'm sure it's cause my background in fitness. My hardest class so far is World Religions. I really enjoy it. There is a ton of reading and discussion. Plus the tests are crazy hard. Learning about other faiths and hearing lectures from Hindu's, Latterday saints, and Muslims so far has given me a deeper understanding of what's out there. Plus, it's deepening my faith in scripture and Christ Himself because it's challenging me to check for Truth. People really get offensive when religion is the topic of discussion. I don't know why that assumption is made that conversion is the goal. Let me be straight up with you. I care about about what you believe but could care less if you believe it or not. What you invest your soul in is your decision but I enjoy learning about what you believe and why so I know what's out there. That being said, don't think I'm pressing my beliefs on you. It's your life and life after...believe what you want.
I have four more weeks of the 2nd summer quarter and then Kate and I get to somehow go make our way up to Spokane for a wedding that I wouldn't miss for anything. It really has been an uneventful few weeks. That's why you get pictures of eggs and pizza. Things should pick up when Katie gets back.
My aunt Mary Beth is in town this weekend- for a conference or something. It will be nice to see someone face to face that I love. It has been awhile. With all these new faces and awkward, forced friendships you don't have time to meet new people because all you do is literally study. Our house right now is a house. It is not a home. It's only a home when Katie is here. She puts fruit in the hanging basket and keeps the fridge stocked. The plants seem to do better when she's here too. I keep up with them but I think they know she's gone. Sometimes I talk to them saying while I water, "It's ok guys, she'll be back in a little while." Then they wither some more and I say, "Fine! You want your mother! See what it's like without water in this 106 degree heat!" Then I apologize. Imagine the neighbors. That being said I don't have much to show off when my aunt comes. The bathroom is clean. No pee on the seat. No Katie... I didn't just use water to clean the toilet! None the less, she'll come here with smiles. I do have one thing for her. When I was younger, for our birthdays, she would always give us one Hostess chocolate cupcake with a candle in it. She would sing. I will greet her with the same as today is and tomorrow we will celebrate her birthday.

Nothing new really

Hi Everyone. Today is Sunday. Let's see... I picked Katie up on Thursday afternoon. We went to a show thing on Friday night with some friends. It wasn't that good. Saturday morning we went to Los Angeles for the Body World's 3 exhibit. It was neat. I saw it before in Seattle a few years ago before I had anatomy. Since then, I've had it twice and other classes that contribute to the human body. They have also added giraffes, gorillas etc. Bodies is a museum of different human bodies that have been dissected and what they call, "plasticized." The dissections are 100x better than our dissections so we had plenty of, "ohhhh, thats what that looks like," moments. I was amazed by how much Katie knew aswell. She has obviously been listening to me ramble on with my memorization everyday. My favorite part was watching her educate other people on things I didn't know she knew. "Oh, yeah, that is the... it does this...did you know that..." She is so smart I wish I could take her brain into my studies. It would make my time much more efficient.
I had a good first week of school. I don't know the results of my first three test but I feel good about them. Katie will hear about her job tomorrow. I will put everything on it. She'll get the job. If she doesn't, they made a big mistake.
I just let out a long sigh as the thought of studying keeps poking me saying, "let's go!" I guess I should. Press on.

My time in Birch Bay, WA so far...

I arrived in Blaine on Saturday the 26th...and it's already Wednesday the 6th. Time is flying by fast. I came here to avoid boredom in Loma Linda and be put to work by my family. I can say that i have definitely not been bored. :) From observing Emma, the Smith's puppy, being hit by a car on Monday while they were out of town--rushing her off to the animal hospital, then attending to her care, anxiously waiting to hear back about a potential job in CA, to entertaining all the random company that's arrived, picking raspberries, making Jam, making lots of meals, helping my mom with VBS prep., attempting to paint my uncle's garage (and stair railing, and inside trim), and on top of everything else taking time to enjoy the beauty of Northwest Washington.

I do have to add that this is not just my parent's house... this is a commune of 4 houses: grandma and grandpa, uncle Kevin, my parents, and my mom's sister Teresa's family (the Smiths). Below is a picture of Kevin's house on the right and the Smith's house on the left:

I'm taking the picture from my grandma's driveway... below is a picture of the grandparent's house (that overlooks the beach on the other side):

The day i took this picture, my grandma had her little "shop" open. She makes quilts of all sizes, bags, jewelry, and other crafts that she sells on Saturdays during the summer.

Her slippers are my favorite...Below is a picture of my dad's boat...beached because the tide is out just a bit :)
We decided to venture out Saturday morning to see if we could find any wildlife....

This is not your usual oceanic wildlife... it's Charlie, my family's chocolate lab of 12 years (this is his retirement from being a farm dog all of his life... and he's beginning to resemble grandpa a little).
My brother and his wife Michelle came up from the Portland area for the weekend. Above is Michelle (hoping Charlie won't knock her down into the seaweed).

After our ventures across the exposed ocean bottom, grandma wanted us to do some tidying around the campfire area for the "wienie roast" later that evening. (present in picture: Uncle Kevin, Time and Michelle, and 2nd Cousins Johnny and Becca from Mexico, currently living in Idaho, visiting their grandpa Linden, my grandpa's brother who is up from Mexico for a few weeks).

After enjoying our lovely hot dog dinner, the boys and Michelle took off for some wake boarding

And the rest of us had homemade ice cream

And a nice, calm ride through the bay at sunset

Later Saturday my friend Sarah Gothold from Spokane arrived. It was lovely seeing her again! We only had a day and a half together, so we made the most of it (and i didn't get the best pictures...). We walked the beach and rode bikes along the bay, drove into Blaine, onto the Semiahmoo spit, went to the border and saw the Peach Arch between US and Canada, then got coffee and a muffin at a quaint coffee shop in Blaine. This is a picture at the resort/marina at Semiahmoo.

Good times... and still a week and half to go! The Smith's are back and that definitely adds more life to the commune, along with more painting and more company to come, then VBS for a week and the fair in Lynden, and maybe camping with my parent's church family. It's hard to find time alone here... there's always someone around and always something to cook or clean. The Smith boys went to Canada yesterday and picked 280 pounds of blueberries. An annual endeavor that stocks them up for a year of smoothies. So today the women will sit on Teresa's deck and pick through 280 pounds of blueberries (minus what we used for blueberry pies last night!). There's never a dull moment.

I do get to fly home tomorrow (returning Saturday) to meet with the Executive Pastor at the church where I'm hoping to get a job! They decided they wanted to fly me back to meet with him so that they could make the final decision. This is already after 2 other interviews. Wow--I hope i get this job!

I'm excited to see Scott for a day and a half...and if i get the job, it may mean that i can stay in Blaine an extra week and finish my painting job that's been kind of put off by all the commotion. Everyone here says, "that's life in the commune." The job at the church doesn't start until September 2nd, so staying an extra week would be nice.

That's all for now! :)

Good day, can't wait till tomorrow.

I apologize for the lack of pictures. There hasn't been a moment that I've even thought about taking a picture this weekend. It's summer here, everything is dead, brown and concrete.
I choose a bike ride this morning over church. I wanted to check out this paved trail by myself to make sure it would be safe for Katie. It is. It's ugly. The trail itself is smooth pavement that runs from Loma Linda to Huntington Beach. 40 or so miles. It is surrounded by highways, drainage canals (like the one in Terminator), bridges and stuff like that. I was cruising along at about 18 mph and starting to catch up to these three other riders when they all started ducking down on there bikes. I looked to there right and noticed a swarm of bees headed my way. No point in stopping they may hang around longer. I ducked and they started pelting me but I managed to not get stung. Last year I got a bee between my sunglasses and eye. I squeezed my eye shut and it held on to the bee and the bee stung my eyelid. Having a run-in with one bee is normal but to see a swarm of them coming at you was a first for me.
On my way back I saw a fellow rider walking his bike. I slowed down and asked if everything was alright and he said, "yes." I could have been sarcastic at that point. What person puts on those uncomfortable bike shoes, spandex and walks his bike down the road. He obviously had a flat tire. I had the supplies to fix that tire so I willingly offered. He was the most ungrateful (beep) i've met so far. I was like, "dude your wearing spandex, humble yourself." Here's my observation with Southern Californians: For every 2 friendly people that you meet you run into 5 that you want to punch. What's the deal with these people? Every time I encounter someone with an attitude that I didn't ask for it makes it all the harder to show respect to the next person. That's the problem: everyone thinks the next person has a problem with them. Long story short, I kept my mouth shut fixed his tire and hoped that I didn't get a flat on my way home cause I gave him my only tube. Seriously, I don't want to be influenced by these people. I hope I always stop.
On a better note I got to talk to lots of people I love today. My dad, Katie, the Koziol brothers, and smalley. The Koziol brothers live in Spokane and were just returning from a bachelor party for another friend of mine, Dan. (Kate and I are heading up to Spokane in Sept. for the wedding. ) They went up to Icicle Creek in Leavenworth, Wa on a backpacking adventure. I appreciated that because I have made the trek myself. There is great joy in knowing the guys that went on the trip are still friends even after I left. Tyler, age 9 I think, also went on the trip. He is Jake's son. Long story short, Jake has been in a custody battle for awhile and finally won. He gets Tyler for a good chunk of time each month and Tyler got to tag along on the trip. How cool for him to be apart of axe throwing, cutting down dead trees just to see them fall, wading through creeks, backpacking with dad, and observing the guys that were there. This is a good thing for him.
I start school tomorrow and am ready. I really need something to do. Let's get this thing going! Tomorrow I will be overwhelmed with school work but will have purpose and an objective. So, it's nine and time for a milkshake and then bed.(I need the milkshake cause I miss Katie.)

Saturday Night, Man Night

I watched "3:10 to Yuma" by myself. It was great. I had the surround sound up so loud people were walking by on the street and looking in. It's a western so the gun shots might have spooked them a little. I ate costco pizza, a salad and my neighbor brought by some chocolate chip cookies. He was bacheloring it tonight as well. Why he choose to make cookies with this cherished time is his own business. I must admit he makes a good cookie.
It doesn't matter what I do, I drank at least a gallon of water today and I still have a headache. It is so consistently hot here that I find myself taking 2-3 ice cold showers just to keep cool. I hate using the A/C. I'm not complaining I would take this over winter most days.
I'm trying to get a table and chairs stained and cleaned up before Katie gets back. They should be done tomorrow. Ill put pics up. They're nothing special but with the time i've put in I will want to show them off.
Katie is having a good time in Blaine. She said she would post pics and stuff soon. Probably tomorrow. I hope so cause I want to see photos just as much as everyone who reads this.
Bed time.

Victory!

Anatomy is over. I did it! I got the grade I wanted...an A-. Well, an A+ would have been nice but that wasn't going to happen. Nine credit hours down and I'm starting things off right. A lot has happened since I last wrote. Besides school, I went camping/mountain biking, settled into bachelorhood for a short while and experienced the rumblings of a 5.4 earthquake.
A new friend of mine, Andy and I went up to Lake Arrowhead to ride some trails and get away from the city. We had a great dinner and went mountain biking. The mountain biking was a little challenging for me. The roads were loose dirt and steep ATV trail so braking was a problem. All I could think about was showing up to lab monday with a cast. One of my next classes is manual muscle testing(very hands on). Andy agreed and we called it a day. Our biggest laugh came when we were finished riding on Thursday evening. I got cleaned up and we started preparing dinner. I did my best to hold in my laugher because Andy didn't realize he still had his helmet on. He had it on a solid half hour after we got done riding.
Adventure set in in the morning when the guys in the campground across from us discovered one of their buds wandered off in the middle of the night. He was nowhere to found. We offered to join the search and rescue team. So a few of us and a helicopter overhead set out looking. I felt like Rambo. The guy had been drinking and shirtless so dehydration and hypothermia was a concern. Andy and I shared thoughts about what we would do if you found him. We both realized that we've been staring at dead bodies for weeks so what's the fear of seeing another one? In the end the guy had wandered into the town 3-4 miles away and passed out. Maybe he'll learn his lesson after he gets the bill for the search and rescue time. Volunteering was cool enough.

Katie, until today, hadn't heard about the job at the church. She was supposed to find out on Wednesday afternoon. So she email them. The head guy wants to meet Katie before they hire her which is a good idea. Frustrated because she can't meet with him until she gets back in three weeks offered a phone interview. Instead they offered to fly hear down here. She'll know more in the next few days. At least i'll get to see her for a few days. Maybe she'll write and let you know her side.
The earthquake was cool. I thought someone was knocking on the door until it turned into a pounding. "Who's shaking my house?" That's the extent of it. Stuff moved in the house but nothing broke.
I don't know what I'm going to do this weekend. Exercise, go to church, maybe the beach, stuff around the house are a few options. Anyway, that's what's new in Southern Cal.