Virginia Visit

Wow, we let this thing go! So, here I am. Last month, I went out to visit Leisha in Virginia and we had a nice long weekend together. The first thing we did, like usual, was go out to eat. We found a little Thai place that was pretty good just outside of the Army Post. Then Leisha took me to her temporary home which is arguably nicer than where we REALLY live!

The next day, we headed out to Williamsburg, VA, which is kindof the birthplace of America. It's the first real settlement that actually stuck. We went through the historic town, where there were a lot of people dressed in period, crafting some of the things of the time. Leisha even got to play on a harpsichord that the carpenter had made.

Sunday, we lazied around and went to church and, on Monday, we hiked through the local forest to a historic Civil War battlefield. It was the site of the Petersburg siege. It was fun to get out and see what the land is like in the area--covered in tall stringy trees and full of wildlife. We saw a big group of deer (which Leisha has seen plenty more of since).

Afterward, Leisha took me back to Richmond, where we had lunch and walked around the capitol building before I flew back home. To sum it up, it was a fun trip and it was VERY nice to see one another, which we're planning on doing again very soon!

-Jim

More Hiking Pictures

This picture was taken with Jim's phone after last week's rain turned out pretty good, can you find Catalina, or Downtown LA?  

Weekend Hiking

So Jim and I have been lucky enough to be able to be able to get out and about quite a bit recently.
Here are a few pictures that we took.

First a picture from when Dad Schiess came up:

We hiked up over the clouds, very nice. Then as we stood up above everything the clouds blew up into us.
Next our trip up to Big Bear with all the Kinney Kids and family.
Angie and Tyler had to leave before we could take a picture. We spent a few days in Big Bear enjoying the snow and trying to stay warm in our cabin. It was really cold! We went sledding for a little while but quickly discovered that we were all prone to some kind of injuries.
On the way home we stopped by March AFB: John gave us the grand tour and all the info on all the planes.














This weekend Jim and I enjoyed the rain this weekend by hiking to the two falls that we have up here. The water level was up in both canyons and eventually we had to take off our shoes and wade through the water to get to the waterfalls. It was chilly, but really fun.

The Honeymoon!

So...it was a BLAST!!!

We saw the Bellagio water show multiple times. It was my personal favorite, aside from the Cirque du Soleil show.

The water "danced" to music from classical to classic Frank Sinatra. It was a spectacular attraction, that made you feel like, while in Vegas, you weren't a member of the life you left at home (which was the perfect atmosphere for our honeymoon!).



We mostly wandered the streets at night along with the other thousands of visitors, and took in the sights. It was fun wandering around in the warm desert air, miles from home, and knowing that I didn't have to drop her off at the end of the day.

The insides of the hotels were ridiculous! They were so decorated in the shopping areas, it was as if we were wandering around in an indoor Disneyland. We did a lot of shopping (mostly window) and went out to eat quite a bit too.





We're really going to have to go again, because you can only take in a small portion of the sights. Cirque du Soleil was fantastic! On top of the acrobats performing seemingly impossible feats, the show was funny and the props were awesome. And there are so many shows to see still!

We had a great honeymoon!

How To Recover from the Week that was Christmas

Mountains! We are so grateful to have this 5 min from our home. No Commentary really necessary.

Recap of the Week that was Christmas

Ok so, I am going to try to recap the week of Christmas and through in a few pictures for you. Anyone may feel free to interject corrections cause my mind is still a little mushed from 11.5 hours of Lord of the Rings.

Saturday Dec 19: (Yes it starts all the way back there) SNOW DAY. Jim and I met the Moss family in Idlewild for some fun in the snow and after a few very funny wipe outs and bruises I think we succeeded. Because disking just isn't fun unless there is a big jump and the end of the run...
Sunday December 20th, big dinner with the Kinney's after going to church with Mom and Dad Kinney. It was the Ward Christmas Program and guess who accompanied Shannon, it was nice to have to opportunity to play again, it's driving me crazy not having a piano right now.

Skip to Wednesday now, Christmas eve at Oma's house which also happens to be where we are living right now. Thanks Oma! Oma had jury duty in the morning, this was followed by rain and Jim and I not making it to the deli before it closed, subsequently not getting the Italian sandwiches for dinner. But in the end we really had a nice Christmas Eve, Jim's family is wonderful. We had a great dinner, we read Luke 2, and opened a few gifts. Watching Jim's young cousins excitedly show off their new toys to everyone was definitely a highlight of the evening.

Alright making some headway now, Christmas Day! Jim and I wake up and make a pretty extravagant breakfast before heading back down to the homeland (Murrieta). It's the Kinney's home again. Homemade tamales :-) and a small gift exchange, Jim and I walked away with a 7ft basketball arcade game, in my book infinitely better than any Foosball table. Where it's going we have no idea.

Alright stayed in Murrieta in order to trek down with my parents to the Gardner Family get together. More homemade tamales, Southern California is awesome!

Finally, stayed in Murrieta and finished it all off with a Saturday of World of Warcraft at the Schiess'