when the boys are away the girls will play

with the guys out of town for a few days, we headed into the city saturday night for a girls night out. and what better to do than go out for indian food and then spend the night jamming at karaoke? the locals here LOVE karaoke. they are everywhere and are always packed on the weekends, so we joined in the fun. and let's be honest, our guys aren't really up for karaoke much so the timing was perfect.

katelan, lydia, lindsey, michelle, natalie, lyndsay, & me.
lyndsay and i felt really old the whole night at 27 when at 22 katelan and lydia didn't know ace of base and we didn't know tairo. the difference 5 years makes!

in the karaoke room

lydia, me, and michelle at KFC before our ride back out to where we live

typical. on the menu they have a coffee float with coffee, ice cream and ice. i asked if they could substitute coke for the coffee. no can do. neither can i order a coke float. so i ordered a coke and ice cream and made my own.
such a fun night!

maximus & me

easter weekend was some really great downtime for both of us at home for a few days to celebrate together. and it is the last lull of a weekend for the next few months. last weekend we were both away with some friends/neighbors and it was really fun and good quality time. and then today i just dropped jarred off at the airport (and drove back out of the city by myself for the first time ever!). last night we estimated that we have spent only 12 nights apart over the more than 3 years we have been married. so his 4 nights away this weekend not only will this be the longest time we have been apart at a third of that time, but we will probably double or almost triple that number 12 over the next few months with different things on our schedules. crazy. i am so thankful that our lives coincide so much that we rarely spend nights apart! but for this weekend it is just max and me at home. i'm not sure that it will be adventure-packed, but we'll hopefully have fun!
and yes, in that picture i am hiking.

porch dinners

6:35 pm - dinner on the porch. april and may are my absolute favorite months here. it is warm and sunny and the rainy season hasn't started yet. and that means lots of dinners on the porch. it is so wonderful!!

6:55 pm - since we still only have water a couple hours a day until may 31st, we both normally run for showers between 6 and 8 pm. and tonight after dinner water was already gone, leaving my shower to be dunking my face and hair in these buckets. i think the rainy season this year will be welcomed by all of us out here!

the 2 crazy things of the day

1. the restaurant we had lunch in today was playing "go d bless the usa" by dolly parton. never before have i heard "i'm proud to be an american where at least i know i'm free" in this country. kind of surreal and a little strange. but mostly awesome.

2. we knew our pup was smart, but today reached an all-knew level. this afternoon an evening we had friends over for a long time so max was shut in his room for an extended time. i moved him to our bedroom to feed him when people were still over tonight, shut the door, and came back out to the living room. 10 minutes later max came running out. strange, because i was pretty sure i had shut the door. i took him back and made sure to latch the door, but 5 minutes later we heard a loud noise and then he came bolting into the living room. here we have door handles instead of knobs like most doors in america and it turns out that max can jump up on the door and if he lands on the handle on the way down he can unlatch the door and then pry it open with his nose and paw. awesome for him. trouble for us. here's to hoping he's not smart enough to do it again or we might have to start locking him in rooms with a key!

she's almost 30

today my little sister laura turns 26! so she's not actually close to 30 but 5 years ago when our older sister turned 26 laura, then a mere 21, called her to wish her a happy birthday and remarked that she was now "almost 30." and tonight i got to repay the favor because my little sister is herself now "almost 30." :) laura, i can't believe you are 26. but then again looking at your life and all you have done i can't believe that you are only 26. i love you and am so proud of you. enjoy the next 4 months of being only 1 digit away from me :)

monday morning

mondays are our saturdays and this morning jarred headed out with our friend mark for a four-hour bike trip up in the mountains out here. he told me it probably wouldn't be my cup of tea (mountains, not my thing), but for him it is an extraordinary day off. he came back caked in mud, exhausted, and smiling. and then he helped me out by cleaning the bathrooms. what a guy!

jarred with his new-to-him mountain bike he bought from josh since his was stolen a few months ago. and then this one was 10 seconds from being stolen last week when jarred walked up on the thief who had already cut all the way through the lock just before he took off with it.

throwback movie time

7:21 pm

last night we ended our easter day celebration watching the mighty ducks. not sure how that happened, but it was as great as i remembered.

Happy Easter!

7:48 am - my easter basket from jarred!

11:52 am - jarred and me; me, lindsey & lydia

easter lunch & table at lindsey and lydia's house

6:57 pm

today it rained! never before have i been so thankful for overcast skies. hoping the drought here could be over soon.

this is where we live