Smitten

Posted: July 8th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: | 1 Comment »

I must say, Eli (@elikaiser aka @babykaiser aka Dim Sum) is a handsome boy  and @mjkaiser is one beautiful mom!

Eli in the first few minutes

A tale of the new Kaisers

Kaiser family with Aunt Ailey and Uncle Ritchie


The Kaiser Kids Take Over the Playground

Posted: July 6th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: | No Comments »

Fun times at the park:




Ten Tips for Expecting Parents

Posted: July 5th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: | Tags: , | 2 Comments »
  1. Hormone roulette is real and scarier than you can possibly imagine. The best defense is a good offense and HUMOR is the only thing that can save you.
  2. Listen to everyone and ignore all of them -> They are all well meaning, but this is your experience and it will be far different than anything they experienced.
  3. Be safe and make the right decisions for you -> if you are high risk, take that seriously, if you aren’t high risk, take that seriously as well. Make the right decision for you and your family.
  4. The Borg will consume you! How did our parents and their parents have kids that lived to see their 2nd day without all the crazy stuff you can buy at Kids-r-Us or anywhere else?
  5. Have as much sex as possible… (partner willing).
  6. Men are affected by hormones as their wives are (at least I was – poor @mjkaiser).
  7. Delight in every moment, from the messy to the sublime.
  8. Make fun of the baby classes and those that attend (including yourselves) – People are crazy, they should be ridiculed mercilessly.
  9. Don’t listen to your Dr. about sports, @mjkaiser was playing soccer into her first trimester (until she got nailed in the belly by the ball), tele-mark skiing well into her second trimester and sail boat racing well into her third trimester.
  10. Ignore this post completely!

Dim Sum Watch – Day 17

Posted: July 4th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: | 1 Comment »

Yes, it is true, we have been on Dim Sum watch for just over two weeks. I will let @mjkaiser address the feeling of anticipation and anxiousness.

I for one am enjoying every minute with Mars. Regardless of her post, she is the most amazing, resilient and fun loving person I know. She is simply amazing. I on the other hand am a nervous wreck!

I have always prided myself on handling disasters and excitement well, with a very even keel. Though, with Dim Sum I have found my foil, my kryptonite, and it is a sustained level of anxiousness and excitement for two plus weeks. I go bat-s**t crazy… Yes, bat-s**t crazy.

Obviously, there are far worse things to have to be dealing with, and we are both thankful that everyone is healthy, happy and incubating (though, at some point it is time to pop out and see the rest of the world — hint, hint Dim Sum!).

Well, while we are at home working on keeping out of the house and staying busy, my family sent this photo:

Enjoying the Sun at the 4th of July Parade in George, Washington

This is an annual trip for the family, and this year we decided to stay home as Dim Sum could arrive “at any time.” What we should have read into that was that he/she would arrive on their own time. And good for him/her!

At the end of the day, I think this process has brought Mars and I even closer and I couldn’t imagine experiencing this with anyone else.


Galt Thinks He Knows the Competition

Posted: June 28th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: | Tags: | 2 Comments »

Marissa and I have been wondering if Galt (@galtthedog) knows that there is serious competition around the corner… Though, if he does suspect I can certainly say that he wasn’t expecting this…

Thanks Aviel and Corwyn!


Dim Sum, what are you waiting on?

Posted: June 24th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: | Tags: | 1 Comment »

Marissa and I were all excited to hear that she was 3cm dilated and that Dim Sum could arrive at any time. This excitement was fed by the “fake” contractions that occurred early Monday morning. All of this led to both of us getting quite anxious and ready to GO should Dim Sum decide to make an appearance.

Dog sitters are lined up, the bag is packed (complete with duct tape and real Gin-u-Wine Texas dirt), gas tanks are full, Twitter updates are already written, camera has a full battery (a first), and much, much more. It is all sitting their waiting as the clocks keeps its incessant tick-tock, tick-tock.

I have an iPhone, I am on Twitter, I drive too fast, am always online and to put it simply I am horrible at waiting. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Maybe this is teaching me a good lesson… Who knows. I am still not good at it.

I continue to wait. When all is said and done, I am simply excited to meet Dim Sum. Boy or girl, I just want to meet him/her.

Is that so bad?

Tick-tock, tick-tock.


Hazel, her tater tots, and Uncle Nate

Posted: May 3rd, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: | Tags: , | 1 Comment »

After our Mt. Hood Ski day (which happened to be our last day of the season… glad it was EPIC!), we stopped at the lodge to have a bite. Hazel had a few more bites than the rest of us.

And after she ate, we all had fun watching Hazel imitate Uncle Nate.

If you want to see more of Hazel imitating Uncle Nate, check out her blog >> (It’s too cute!)


Gospel for any husband!

Posted: March 11th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: | 1 Comment »


One Beautiful Day in March

Posted: March 8th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: | No Comments »

It was one amazing weekend, well day actually. After a whirlwind day visiting with friends and running errands on Saturday, Marissa and I decided to head off to my parent’s cabin in Eastern Washington.

Upon waking up to an amazing morning with crystal clear blue skies, Galt and I decided to hike the ridge and see if we could get a clear view of the community where the cabin is located:

Upon returning from our little hike, we found an amazing homemade breakfast of Huevos Rancheros waiting for us (well me, I am sure Galt didn’t get any…).

Yum, who doesn't like Huevos Rancheros?

Yum, who doesn't like Huevos Rancheros?

That one meal pretty much invalidated my whole hike, but sometimes you have to go with the flow!

The rest of the day / afternoon was punctuated by naps, snacking, and a bit of plinking…

You talkin' to me?

You talkin' to me? (said with a smile)

Nothing cooler than doing a little shooting in the afternoon. Upon our return, we had homemade enchiladas… More yum, more arterial plaque. :-)

All worth it.

As all good things must come to an end, so did our 24 hour foray to Eastern Washington. The rain hit where it always does on our return to Seattle; halfway between Easton and Snoqualmie Pass.

It was an amazing day.


Po-Po Learns about DimSum

Posted: January 3rd, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: | 4 Comments »

Marissa’s Po-Po (Chinese for the Maternal Grandmother) learns about DimSum…


Some Galt Updates

Posted: January 1st, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: | 1 Comment »

Marissa asked me to post a few Galt videos…

Here is one of the first ones of him learning the stairs:

And of course enjoying his new bed…


Almost off Oahu

Posted: September 26th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: | Tags: , , | No Comments »

We’ve had a great three days on Oahu.

  • We’re staying in the Hilton Hawaiian Village Vacation Club, thanks to a birthday gift from my mom.
  • We’ve had amazing meals with friends and family: pupus, some of the best Vietnamese food ever, delicious Korean BBQ, and Laoatian/French cuisine.
  • We’ve swam in the Pacific Ocean at every opportunity.
  • We’ve driven to the North Shore and sampled all sorts of ice cream and shave ice along the way (and swam a little there as well).
  • We’ve hiked 5 miles through the Honolulu hills.
  • And we’re off to Kona tomorrow for another 7 days :)

I am so thankful for the fun times, the great company, and the tons of memories that we’ve collected. Here’s some more pics and highlights.

Matsumoto Shave Ice. Just as we stepped into the shop, it started to pour down rain. We have good timing :)
Matsumoto Shave Ice. Just as we stepped into the shop, it started to pour down rain. We have good timing :)
Lilikoi shave ice with ice cream and red beans on the bottom. It's amazingly delicious!
Lilikoi shave ice with ice cream and red beans on the bottom. It’s amazingly delicious!
As our afternoon on the Northshore came to a close, we were greeted by the most amazing rainbows. Yes, it rained, but doens't this make it worth it?
As our afternoon on the Northshore came to a close, we were greeted by the most amazing rainbows. Yes, it rained, but doens’t this make it worth it?
Today we went on a hike with Anders and Molly. You have to ask them the name of the hill... it had a lot of vowels in it. Something like Nuu'ala... yeah, I don't remember.
Today we went on a hike with Anders and Molly. You have to ask them the name of the hill… it had a lot of vowels in it. Something like Nuu’ala… yeah, I don’t remember.
Gorgeous views from along the hike, looking out onto Honolulu.
Gorgeous views from along the hike, looking out onto Honolulu.
And the mountains in the distance, covered in the clouds that would soon come and rain on us. It was awesome and sooooo fun!
And the mountains in the distance, covered in the clouds that would soon come and rain on us. It was awesome and so fun!
Wild orchid at the top. We ate wild strawberry guava, picked fragrant ginger flowers, and admired the beauty. Then we turned around just as the rain hit and hiked down in the warm tropical rain. Good day.
Wild orchid at the top. We ate wild strawberry guava, picked fragrant ginger flowers, and admired the beauty. Then we turned around just as the rain hit and hiked down in the warm tropical rain. Good day.

31 in Hawaii

Posted: September 25th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: | Tags: , , | No Comments »

It’s been a loooonnnng time since I’ve posted to our blog. I’ve neglected to post about anything in regards to our awesome summer… the trips to the cabin, the purchase of a Toyota Tacoma (a failed attempt at cashing in on cash for clunkers), my painful back spasms… but I’ve turned a new leaf. For my new year’s resolution, I vow to post more often, beginning with these pictures from our first days in Hawaii. What a great way to ring in my 31st year!

Ice Cream at Bubby's: Tanya and Chris joined us for a birthday dinner. After too many tapas.. sorry, pupus... we went out for ice cream. YUM.

Ice Cream at Bubby's: Tanya and Chris joined us for a birthday dinner. After too many tapas.. sorry, pupus... we went out for ice cream. YUM.

Beachside of our hotel. Everyday thus far we've gone for a morning swim.

Beachside of our hotel. Everyday thus far we've gone for a morning swim.

Dole Pinapple Plantation: It was meh. Ice cream was good.

Dole Pinapple Plantation: It was meh. Ice cream was good.

Pinapple fierceness

Pinapple fierceness

Flora and fauna at the Dole Pinapple Plantation Gardens.

Flora and fauna at the Dole Pinapple Plantation Gardens.


A Golf Balls and Gunpowder Weekend

Posted: September 20th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: | No Comments »

This was my first invite out the annual Golf Balls and Gunpowder. As you can see from the video, there was lots of gunpowder!

Here’s to hoping that I get invited back next year! ;-)


A Neighborhood Cat Sees Dinner

Posted: September 16th, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: | 1 Comment »

And the chickens run for cover!