The Panama Canal Crossing

Going through the Panama Canal is an all day process. There are three locks to go through, and a big lake.

We started through the first part of the canal at around 6:00AM. Keep in mind, we'd gotten back on the boat from our Panama excursion at about 1:00 the night before. I think you can tell by my face that it was too early to be up and so excited about anything.

But, it is the Panama Canal, so of course we got up and joined the rest of the ship out on the decks to watching the passing.

We have locks at home, so we weren't as in awe of the process as everyone else, but it really is amazing to watch.





They are adding another set of locks...here's a glance at the construction of it.



We retired back to our room for a little power nap and wardrobe change {it got way hot way fast!} before we came back out and found some lounge chairs to camp out on for the rest of the voyage. Our ship was so wide, there were only a few feet of clearance on each side as we went through. And here is where we get our first view of Rob's favorite purchase, his hat. ☺



The passing was really pretty. There were a ton of this little islands scattered all over throughout the lake.



We just sat out on the covered deck all day and watched the scenery float by...and played endless games of dominoes, our favorite pastime.

And that was the crossing of the Panama Canal. We have now officially crossed that off our list of things to do before we die.

Fall Stuff

Some weekend mid-October we trekked all the way out to Stocker Farms to conquer the corn maze and give their haunted house a try.

I think this was the first time it hit us that it was starting to get cold out. We weren't dressed warm enough for the weather, but luckily Rob had a few extra sweatshirts and pairs of gloves in the car!

We got there too late to hit their pumpkin patch, but were not much for pumpkin carving anyways. With an hour or so of daylight left we took on the corn maze. They offered us a map as we beginning, but we passed and entered the maze with nothing but our superior navigating skills.

There were all these CornText check points throughout the maze, but we didn't give in. We were certain we'd make our way through without any help.

Turns out we sorta suck. We ended up coming back out of the maze without any problems...only we came back out the entrance, not the exit. So technically we didn't do the whole maze, but I thought we did pretty good.

The haunted house was awesome! It wasn't really scary, but there were definitely some parts where I was startled. We met some fun people in line and went through it with them, which made it even more entertaining.

On the way home we tried to ignore the fact that our shoes and pants were all muddy and stopped PF Chang's for dinner. I think we got a weird look or two, but pretended not to notice!

I think we can scratch corn mazes and haunted houses off our list for a few years.

It's hip to be a square

Last Saturday we found ourselves wandering through what is normally a beautiful park along the Seattle waterfront. I say normally because this trip it was a little less than lovely. Seattle Hempfest had taken over the park and it was pure chaos, but in the most laid back of ways, of course.

We been to Hempfest once before, you know - just to say we'd gone, but apparently we've turned into complete squares since then. It was really crowded and super smelly (I got a wee bit nauseous and Rob was feeling a tad 'affected' by the surrounding odor) just by walking through the park.

The place was covered in garbage and there was an abundance of parents who thought it a good idea to bring their children. Way to go! It was a good place to people watch though...always a plus.

We snapped a few pictures, did a little bit of walking around/shoving our way through the park, dared to buy and drink some bottled water and then made a beeline back to the safety of our neck of the woods. I can confidently say we've been Hempfest-ed out. For good.

Accepted

A pretty piece of mail arrived at our house this week, and it wasn't for me. It was for the Robster. And it was from this incredibly not so little school called Penn State.

Apparently Rob isn't content with the handful of degrees he has already and he needs to have another Masters degree. Penn State thinks it's a good idea too, as they have accepted him. Yay.

No, this doesn't mean we'll be moving {although I wouldn't have been 100% opposed to a move}, it's mainly an online program that will only require him to travel to the campus a few times a year.

So just to sum it up: Rob is awesome, super smart and I am proud of him.

Jam-Packed Weekend

Saturday morning started out bright and early with the Seafair Pirates landing at Alki Beach. The sun was out, but there was a bit of a breeze so it was nice to be outside.

We did the pirate thing and then wandered down the rest of the beach. There was a pole vaulting competition going on and a bunch of kids were taking advantage of the low water and doing trick on their boogie boards. It made me want to play in the water, but after glancing at the murkiness of it, I quickly changed my mind!

On the way back from Alki we stopped in Mercer Island and spent a few hours at a street fair there. Rob was into the 3 on 3 basketball tournament, while I was enthralled by these two little poodles that were dyed green and purple. From Mercer Island we headed down to Southcenter for dinner and then back home to rescue Jackson from his boring day at home.

Dog in tow we headed down to Lake Sammamish where Jackson had his first swimming experience. I thought I was going to have to pull him into the water but he walked right in. He didn't stay for long though...maybe next time.

Sunday was a camera free day, but pictures would have been great! We'd signed up for a 5K that was sponsored by a local community club. It was a little odd but we had a good time and met some very interesting people. They were 'courting' us to join up with them, but I think our one visit there was enough.

Post 5K we hit IHOP (of course!!) to get our carbs on and did a little house hunting...then went home to collapse.

We're Cruisin'

Our annual Spring trip is upon us and I really thought Rob was going to let me sneak New York in again, but alas, I was wrong. Apparently our agenda is taking us South...way South.

Rob's been begging for hinting towards a Florida vacation for years and I figured it's about time for me to give in. Yes, that's right...we just booked ourselves two hot, humid, sun filled weeks in Miami and the Caribbean. And in our true nature, we booked last minute, meaning we leave next week.

I've got just a handful of days to get our wardrobe looking cruise-ready (sarongs and floral shirts, anyone??), build up my base tan burn and snag Rob some sunscreen for his head.

So put in your souvenir requests now...or you just may not get anything. ☺

Aloha, or whatever.

What to do?

School is out. For EVER the quarter.

I've got a week and half to waste...relax...do something with until I am back in school four nights a week for ten weeks. Again.

All this free time and I've got nothing exciting planned out...but I am working on it.

I am determined to:

• not let this time off waste away
• not have sitting around catching up on all the episodes of LOST, Grey's Anatomy and 30 Rock that I've missed be the most exciting thing that I do
• dig my bike out of the garage and spend some time with it on one of the many trails by our house
• not freak out about turning 29 next week
• get in some quality time with The Robster
• hit a bucket or two of balls at the driving range
• finally drop off all those boxes marked GOODWILL that have been taking up space in our garage for the past year and a half

If I even get two of these crossed off my list, I will be happy! I know, I know...I am such an under overachiever.

Lethal Weapons

This weekend one of Rob's colleagues invited us to attended a Combat Hapkido Clinic. We've talked about taking Hapkido lessons for some time, but just never actually did it.

There is a martial arts studio near our home that was hosting a well know Hapkido master for the weekend, so we thought this would be a great opportunity to get started.

It was really fun, and a work out different to anything we have done before. Especially when Rob punched me in the face. Seriously.

The master reminded us that it was a 'training accident' (that stays on the mat and doesn't follow us home), and that I should have been blocking him anyways. True.

Rob was really sorry...although I swear I saw him spit out a chuckle. But so did I. I managed to get it a few good jabs myself too. ☺

We are now toying with the idea of taking the more advanced course on a regular basis...I just don't like the idea of having to wear a gi.

So now we are both I am pretty sore from being thrown on the ground over and over again...but also prepared to fend off a mugging or two. Don't mess with us, we are now lethal!

Olympics, two tickets please

With the 2010 Winter Olympics being so close to us (Vancouver, BC), we thought we just HAD to go! Only problem...we got this idea a few years after the rest of the world. Way to go, I know!

By the time I got around to buying tickets, all the exciting events were sold out. I really wanted to see the figure skating, and Rob wanted to see anything that he didn't have to stand outside in the cold to see.

Skating (figure and speed) sold out long ago, but we were lucky enough to get some hockey tickets. I was a bit put off by the price of the tickets, but Rob reminded me that it's not going to be just any old hockey game, it's the Olympics and that is one more thing we can check off our list of 'cool things to do before we die'. True.

After hours of time online and on the phone with their customer support I finally got our tickets purchase and am really looking forward to going!

Go USA!!

Oh, wait...we're seeing Germany and Belarus...not sure who we'll be cheering for yet.

Let me introduce you...

...to my new best friend: The Wii EA Sports Active Personal Trainer. I call her Megan. Best thing I have bought in a long time!

I wasn't sure what to expect from her, but she is an honest to goodness personal trainer! There are a ton of different exercises that work all parts of your body. It keeps my keister off the couch and definitely beats working out next to all the other sweaters at the gym!!

The more time I clock exercising, the more exercises that are offered. So far the punching bag is my favorite. I started the 30 Day Challenge last week and am excited to see where it goes!

'To do' really means 'I'm not doing it'

I've had the exact same to do list for months...and have yet to cross a single thing off of it! Here's a little taste:

• Clean out my car - my trunk is so full, I can barely fit my bags in when I go to the grocery store.
  
• Drop off bags at Goodwill - there is about a five or six square foot patch of garage that is taken up by stuff I keep meaning to take to Goodwill (which I pass three times a week!), but I just can't bring myself to load it up...which also goes back to my last task...I don't have room for it anyways. The pile is growing too...pretty soon Rob won't be able to fit into the garage!
  
• Clean out the fireplace. It's still full of ashes. And not ashes from logs...it burned my old bills instead of shredding them. I thought it was a great idea, but turns out it made a HUGE mess. Rob was not happy!

I am hoping to use this long weekend to tackle a task or two, but I will most likely keep up my streak. I'd be better off paying someone else to do it...that's the only way it will happen. So, who wants to make $20?

What are we up to?

We I have been so bad at keeping up with blogging lately. Here's a little rundown of what has been going on with us lately...

Rob just finished up with his MBA program - yay! He will now have a lot of extra time on his hands. He is contemplating getting into another Masters program next quarter...just not sure which program he will choose.

My Biology program was just changed to pre-med, which kicks everything up a notch. The Anatomy and Physiology class is killing me! We have to do gross stuff like dissect cow bones and sheep brains. It's interesting, but oh-so-gross at the same time. Plus, I am a wuss. I have pictures, but thought it a little tasteless to post them. They really are gross!

With our schedules we don't get to see too much of each other during the week, so we are really looking forward to taking our long vacation together. We haven't really planned out what were are going to do...I just know I want to see a show - Rob, not so much. I am still working on getting him to go with it. I am also planning on taking lots of pictures. We are SO bad a doing that and are trying to work on it...we'll see.

Booked!

I finally did it. I just booked us 9 days back East for the first week of May. Three days in New York City, down to Washington DC for two, up to Philadelphia for two more and then back to NYC for another two.

We are really looking forward to getting away for such a long vacation. We haven't really decided what we will do while we are there, but we have a few weeks to plan. Anyone have any must see/do's for us?

So much to do

I recently had a mid-twenties meltdown. I just hit me that there are so many things that I want to do and I am running out of time to do them. Pretty soon it will be time to start a family and then I will have to concentrate on that instead of flitting around fulfilling all of my quirky dreams. I have spent the last weekend sitting around doing the same thing. When I told Rob about it he thought I was overreacting a tad (true!) and decided we needed to make things happen. I had a long list of things that I wanted to do (which I compiled during a boring night in my Psych class), but it all seemed so overwhelming. Where to start? Rob pointed out that now is not the best time to up and move to another country. Also true. So we decided to pick a few small things to start on.

1. Watch all Academy Award winners for Best Picture - We decided that every Sunday evening we would watch one of the movies from this list. This way we get to watch a great film and spend some much needed quality time together.

2. Trip to New York WITH ROB - No big secret...I LOVE New York!! It's been several years since I have been back and I would really like to return with Rob. He's never been and he has no interest in visiting. I think that if I could just get him there he would really enjoy it. I finally got him to commit to visiting...but not until June. That is way far away, but I will take what I can get. :)

3. Become fluent in Spanish - I took Spanish for years in school and still remember quite a bit of it. I bought some Instant Immersion CDs a few years back for us to listen to on a road trip, but we didn't really spend a lot of time listening to them. Rob would rather take a class vs. listening to the CDs, so we decided that we would sign up for Spanish classes starting next quarter at BCC.

These are some of the small ones that we feel are doable now, but I am trying to put a few of the others in the pipeline. I am hoping that we will be spending the summer in Europe next year...but because of conflicts due to school it will most likely the summer after that. Keeping my fingers crossed! Now I need to tackle my individual ones. Oy!