Kasey & Christina

Saint Louis

2011-08-24T18:51:00.003-05:00

So back in May, Christina had an ER rotation in O'Fallon, IL, which just so happens to be right outside of Saint Louis, MO. Kasey decided to take a long weekend to visit with her and drive back to Des Moines with her. Here are a few photos of our adventures.

Within minutes of landing at the airport we grabbed out bags and headed for the Anheuser-Busch brewery to take the tour where we saw the Clydsdales and of course took advantage of the free beer at the end of the tour. It is a very impressive facility.

Of course I think its against the law if you don't visit the arch if you are visiting Saint Louis. It's a really big arch.... that's about it. It's pretty cool to stand right next to it and look up, it gives you a crazy sense of vertigo.

Here is a view of the arch from our hotel.

Here is the old city center, or capital building or something of those sorts. It was a cool looking building so I took a picture.

We also visited Schlafley's brewery in downtown. Their beer is much better than Budweiser's. We like the atmosphere of small brew pubs and they tend to make much better beer than the huge commercial guys like Bud, Miller-Coors and all the others.

Anyway, it was a very fun (and very short) trip to Saint Louis.

Mexico

2010-10-30T13:45:00.004-05:00

In my attempt to catch up with my blogging I've had to get out of order with my postings. Anyway, in June Christina and I went to Cabo San Lucas on the Baja Peninsula Mexico. My previous experience with Mexico was at five years old when I went to Tijuana when we visited mom in San Diego. Cabo was a blast, it wasn't the tourist season so we didn't have a ton of people hogging up the beach.

Here is a photo from our last night in Cabo, we did a dinner cruise where the ship went along the entire beachline, including the world famous arch.

Famous Arch!

Of course no trip to Cabo would be complete without a visit to the Famous Cabo Wabo bar.

Here we are on our kayak trip. My oar broke about a hundred yards out, which was frustrating because then only one person could paddle us out to Lover's Beach and back.

A beautiful Mexican sunset.

One thing that impressed us the most during our time in Mexico was the food. There was a ton of great food (at pretty reasonable prices). We had steak, fresh seafood and good Mexican beer.

Here was a view from the street. The beach was filled with restaurants and bars.

This beach is right near the famous arch, we kayaked to the Lover's Beach and then walked about a hundred yards to the Pacific side of the peninsula. The waves were much too strong to swim on this side. But it was a very beautiful beach.

Here we are having a margarita at one of the beach side bars.

This was the swimming pool at the hotel we stayed at.

New Additiion to our family!

2010-10-24T15:53:00.002-05:00

So I know it has been far too long since my last post. However, I am not giving up on this whole blogging thing. So, as most people know earlier this summer Christina and I found a dog on Craigslist (for free!). It did take us a couple of days to give him a name, but sticking with the K theme we settled on Knox. He is mostly black lab with a bit of weimaraner. So, without further adieu we present Knox the Dog:;

Here is a sleeping Knox on one of the first days after we got him.

Here are some more Knox shot, including him playing with his friend Callalilly the white Husky puppy and Zookie the Lab/Collie mix.

Of course you can't have a blog about pets without mentioning the lazy cats.

The picture on the right is from when Christina and I took Knox for a hike at Ledges State park about an hour north or Des Moines.

I like to think of this last one as Knox's hunting pose. Maybe one of these days I can get him to some birds.

Fairbanks Reception

2010-04-04T22:13:00.003-05:00

So after our adventures in Hawaii we went up to Fairbanks, AK to hold a reception. We got to have some more of Margret's delicious carrot cake again. Also, there was a reenactment of our first dance, plus many gifts.

This a a beautiful frame set we got from the Chairells. It is a gorgeous frame with our wedding invitation and another frame for us to put a wedding picture of our choice into.

Here is a nice, handy tool set we received from Lance Cheeny. In just a few weeks these tools were going to be put to good use on the basement.

Lastly, here is a photo of the beautiful quilt that Lisa made for us. All in all the Fairbanks reception was a great time had by all.

Honeymoon!

2010-02-01T20:41:00.001-06:00

I know it's been long overdue (again!) but here are some pictures from the Hawaii Honeymoon. As you can see I am now only 6 months behind:

Here we are at a beach.... we went snorkeling. I got really sunburned... and yes mom I did put on the strongest SPF sunblock ever half hour and everytime I got out of the water.

This was just us walking around the resort one evening.

Us snorkeling at the beach just outside the hotel.

The last night there we went to a Luau (Hawaiian word for overpriced dinner with dancers). It was pretty cool actually and the flame thrower dancing guys were pretty intense.

We couldn't help but put up a picture of these penguins. They reminded me a lot of these ducks at a lake I used to fish at growing up. It's like these penguins were just looking for a hand out.

This is us out for sushi one day for lunch. We actually have discovered our liking for sushi since we've moved to Iowa. Go figure.

Some more of the local wildlife just outside of the resort.

All in all it was a great trip and we had a blast.

Up next: Fairbanks, AK reception followed by: The Storm of the Century... stay tuned!

Wedding Pictures

2009-09-25T16:55:00.009-05:00

Hello Everyone, we know it has been far too long of a wait for some wedding pictures. We will be posting a few different sets of them, so here is round 1:

Right before the ceremony, Christina and I decided to do some photos before the wedding to save some time at the reception.

Here is a good shot of me and Christina after seeing one another for the first time on the day of the wedding.

Here's just a picture of me waiting before the ceremony.

Christina was absolutely gorgeous on the wedding day. Her dress is so beautiful.

Here is Christina and her bridesmaids. From left to right; Katie Swaboda, Wendy Williams, Christina, Deanna Thompson, Casie Rae Rupard, Katie Stukey.

Chris escorting Christina down the isle.

Here are the mom's conducting the candle ceremony.

The Kiss!!

We Are Married!!!!

2009-08-04T10:37:00.002-05:00

We were married on July 11, 2009 in the Jacklin Cultural Center, also known as the Old Church. It has a special meaning to us because 2 sets of my Great Aunts and Uncles were married there. The church has been redone in the past few years, and looks great.
After our simple and beautiful ceremony we had a reception in my Aunt's bacyard. The reception was a blast, we had lots of spontaneous dancing from the guests, making the reception unique and memorable. We will post more pictures as we get them.

Wedding Directions

2009-06-13T11:31:00.010-05:00

Here are the directions to the different locations for the Wedding Ceremony in Post Falls and the Reception at the Straw Residence in Rathrum. We have also posted a map of where the reception in Fairbanks is going to be held. I have supplied the addresses to the locations so if you need more specific directions you can mapquest or googlemap directions:

Also, just to let people know I believe we still have some rooms still reserved at the Red Lion in Post Falls. They are located at 414 E. First Avenue, Post Falls, ID‎ (Just a few minutes from The Old Church). You can give them a call at (208) 773-1611‎ to check for availability and rates.

Here is a map of where the Old Church is in Post Falls, ID. The address is 405 North William Street; Post Falls, ID 83854

The Reception will be held at the residence of Ron and Shellie Straw, Christina's Aunt and Uncle. They were kind enough to offer us to hold the reception at their beautiful home. To get there from The Old Church head west on E. 4th Ave. until you reach N. Spokane St. Head north on N. Spokane St. then take a left heading west on Seltice Way. After 1.5 miles take a right heading north on McGuire Road. After 3.3 miles take a right on Highway 53 going east. Half a mile later take a left on North Church Road and then a quick left on West Hoyt Road. You will see 405 N. William Street on your right.

The Reception in Fairbanks, AK will be held at Christopher and Lisa Donat's home at 112 Nilgrub Ln. Fairbanks, AK

Wedding Gift Registry

2009-03-31T22:00:00.017-05:00

There might be some additions (probably the Lowe's registry), but I thought I would get these out there so people could see where we are registered at.

DMU Winter Gala

2009-03-01T16:01:00.000-06:00

So last weekend there was a formal dance event sponsored by DMU for students and their partners. It was pretty fancy (there was a chocolate fountain and everything!).

Here is a picture of me and Christina before we headed out with some of our friends.

Here is a group of Christina and some of her friends from school. (Kate, Christina, Amanda, Megan).

On the culinary arts...

2009-02-16T20:48:00.000-06:00

So as I mentioned in my previous post we didn't really do anything for Valentines Day. So yesterday I decided to make a dinner.

I decided to do a pork loin in the oven. It turned out pretty good, maybe a bit overdone, but still pretty tasty. I also did twice baked potatoes and some asparagus and mushrooms sauteed in garlic and butter. All in all it turned out to be a pretty good meal.

Valentines Day!!

2009-02-16T20:33:00.000-06:00

So on Valentines Day Christina and I decided to do something really romantic. Painting!!
Well it wasn't romantic but it was a bonding experience I suppose.

This is the living room. But with the brown furniture we decided there was too much brown. So we went with a warmer earth tone green color. It really brightened up the room

Here is the bathroom, it was white which was a very boring color. So we went with a warmer yellowish beige type. It is subtle but nice.

Finally, here is the kitchen, we went with a light green. We thought it was an improvement on the white, but we're not entirely sure if we should have so much green in the house.

As promised here is the picture of the guest bedroom (all that stuff on the right is on the bed). It is also currently doubled as a craft room. So, people can actually visit us and have a place to stay.

House (inside)

2009-02-07T14:27:00.000-06:00

Here are some more pictures of the place. Kimba and Koko are helping us move in this picture. Cats are pretty worthless when it comes to lifting heavy objects.

Here is part of the basement. That is an egress window, so when I begin the process of finishing the basement this is going to be a bedroom. Right now it is being used as storage.

Here is my den/office area. This too will be sensationalized and finished.

Here is the laundry/weird lone shower area.

Upstairs we have the kitchen, one of the big sellers of this house. It is very nicely updated and has a very nice tiled look.

Here is the bathroom, it will probably be painted pretty soon. We were thinking like an earth tone green.

This is the spare bedroom that is attached to the master bedroom. It works great as Christina's study.

Also, for some reason I did not take a picture of the other spare bedroom. There is actually a full bed in it. It is also the only room in the house that is carpeted.

This is the living room.

The dining room looks back into the yard and deck.

Here is the master bedroom. We just have the bed and dresser set up in it. It is a very nice color, so luckily I don't think I'll have to repaint it.

Well that concludes the tour for now. Hopefully everyone got a pretty good idea of how the place looks. It is my hope that is 4-5 years that this house will have proven to be a wise investment.

Finally!! House Pictures

2009-02-07T14:13:00.000-06:00

I know everyone has been patiently waiting for me to put some pictures of the new house up. So, without further ado, I present to you all: The House.

This first picture is of the front of the house. It is white. It is also a pretty simple design with a large tree in the front yard.

This next picture is of the back yard. I plan on putting a vegetable garden right behind the garage.

Here is the front of the garage; this view is from the deck.

The deck is one of my favorite parts of the house. Maybe in the future put a grill on it, maybe some outdoor furniture. A guy can dream I suppose, but for the time being our little 18” charcoal grill will have to suffice.

7 random facts about me

2009-02-06T20:38:00.000-06:00

This being my (Kasey's) first post on here I guess I can start with some random facts about me.

1. I am not traditionally a "cat person" per se, however I must admit that when Christina brought her two black cats (Kimba and Koko) to Des Moines I was at first apprehensive, however they are very well behaved cats and I do enjoy their company.

2. I sell paint!! I know I know but in all honesty it's not as exciting as it sounds. I do really enjoy my job and am fortunate to have stable employment in these tough times.

3. I am in the Big Brother Program of Central Iowa, next week I take my little brother on our first outing, we are going to go bowling.

4. I am currently watching the movie "Sliding Doors" with Gwyneth Paltrow. So far it seems like a very thought provoking movie, we just watched "Mama Mia" which despite my former thoughts on musicials was a pretty entertaining movie.

5. Since the weather was so nice today we decided to go for a run, we got to see the surrounding neighborhoods. I also found out today during our run that I probably don't have a future in hurdeling as I could barely clear small puddles.

6. I just bought a house, it is pretty exciting. I plan on finishing the basement while I am here to try and raise to value of the place. It feels odd though because this is really the only time in my life I have lived in a bigger city (population more than 30,000).

7. When I get married this summer I will have a total of 3 neices and 2 nephews. Clint, David, Hayden, Sandra and Shelle and Dan's baby.

Second love of my life

2009-01-09T14:08:00.000-06:00

This is my nephew David. David thought it was the funniest thing in the world to sit in the driver's seat. We got such a kick out of him.

Last summer we spent some time with him and his Sister Hayden. We took a family road trip to McCarthy. It was tons of fun, we had a large crowd: My sister Deanna, brother-in-law Scott, brother Aaron, best friend Wendy, Kasey and Me. We did a lot of driving, sight seeing and hiking. We even climbed on a glacier.

Kasey was supervising to make sure he was safe. He had a great time, it was so cute to watch David laugh SO hard. He was very intent on learning what all the button in the hard did, Kasey was a great teacher!

Here is David learning how to blow on dandelions, he was very fascinated with this.

Here we all are after a long hike up to a glacier and BBQ. McCarthy - Kennicott is an old abandoned mining town. We are standing in front of the old mining building. It was very intriguing. The drive to this town is about 8 hours, and lots of dirt roads. The population is very small, something like 50 or less, and you have to park your vehicle and walk into the town on a foot bridge. It was unique and fun. I am glad we have this memory.

Our Summer in Alaska

2009-01-09T14:03:00.001-06:00

This is a picture of the McCarthy-Kennicott. It could not be more beautiful. We camped at the base of the glacier, it was gorgeous to wake up to!

We are hiking up to the glacier.

We made up the glacier without ice grips! It was tricky, but the way down was even scarier.

This is on the hike as well. It was such a beautiful day, the scenery and nature were great.

This is a bridge on the way to McCarthy-Kennicott. We climbed up to get our picture taken, David was not big enough to come. He had to wait at the bottom with Deanna, he was very sad.

Here we are in front on another glacier. This was a stop we made on our way to McCarthy-Kennicott.

We went on a costal bike ride in Anchorage. We were able to rent bikes and ride the costal trail as far as we wanted. It was a beautiful ride.

We took a hike up Angle Rocks in Fairbanks. This is one of my favorite hikes in the area.

Look at Mt. McKinley in the Background, this is a once in a lifetime experience. The mountain never shows this well! The picture does not do the the mountain justice.

2009-01-01T21:37:00.000-06:00

Kimba and Koko are trying on Hayden and Sandra's tu-tus.

2009-01-01T20:12:00.000-06:00

Celebrating my Birthday at the Thai house in Fairbanks. Due to my long delays in Seattle, we celebrated a few days late, but we had lots of fun!

Alaska

2008-12-30T03:33:00.000-06:00

Last New Year's Kasey came to Fairbanks to visit. We went to Chena Hot Springs and visited the ice hotel. It was so cold outside that it was actually warmer in the ice hotel than it was outside. This is one of our cross country skiing adventures. From the snow on Kasey's hat you can tell he fell a few times. Falling is definetely a part of learning and when it is cold outside (below zero) the snow is very hard to ski on so I am proud of Kasey for trying!

Seattle

2008-12-30T03:28:00.000-06:00

In March 2007 we met my Mom in Seattle. Before she flew in we mastered taking pictures of ourselves on the warf.

Chicago

2008-12-29T16:52:00.001-06:00

We spent this past Thanksgiving in Chicago with my Aunt Anne, Uncle Mike and cousins Matt, Erin and Nick.