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?

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? (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.

We got engaged five years ago, March 19, in New York City. It was a gorgeous spring day–one of the first days of the year where you could feel the warmth of the sun–and Nate and I took the opportunity to walk through Central Park. He surprised me along the trail, one bend before the MET, with a ring and a proposal. We both cried. Of course, I accepted.

Six years ago, March 19, we found ourselves out late after honoring the victims of the Madrid subway bombings. Nate had emailed his contacts list, saying he had reserved Westlake Park and would be standing with a lit candle to show his solidarity to those in Madrid and to take a stand against terrorism. Over 400 people showed up, including the Canadian Vice-Consulate to Spain. It was covered by a number of the major T.V. stations, and we were both overwhelmed by the power of human fellowship and community. We ended up watching Nate’s interview on the news while eating buffalo chicken wings at the Wing Dome. And it’s become an annual tradition, especially because it now also marks the day of our engagement.

Our wedding took place on March 25, four years ago. After basking in the glow of Ailey and Ritchie’s wedding, we’re reminded of our special day and look upon it with incredible fondness. One of the best days of my life, hands down.

We’re establishing a tradition of spending our anniversary in Whistler, B.C. 2010 will be the third year in a row that we spend March 25 in Canada, and I’m really looking forward to it! This year, we’re taking our 1.5-year-old niece and her parents with us. We can’t wait to show the Barkers the Blackcomb Glacier, the Peak to Peak chair, and the expansive Whistler Village. It’s only 2.5 weeks away, and the last time I skied was at Ailey’s bachelorette party. I hope I’m in OK shape to ski three days in a row! Dim Sum loves to ski, by the way

Here’s some pics of my last ski excursion, the mayhem that ensued when off the slopes, and the gorgeous wedding that took place joining Ailey and Ritchie as husband and wife:

That’s the Yo-Yo I’ve experienced in this pregnancy thus far. As it turns out, my mid-January cold lasted until the beginning of February, so most of January was spent in “no energy” mode. Thanks to my G.P. and a dose of antibiotics, I was able to kick the cold by SuperBowl weekend. Not that we had Superbowl plans… Instead the weekend was spent skiing and redeeming myself from a January spent on the couch.

We headed out to the cabin and Mission Ridge Ski Resort where the snow was AWESOME, the company was a barrel of laughs, and the food was phenomenal. That’s my kind of weekend, and it definitely got February off to a good start.

Nate is getting really good on his telemark skis, even if he takes a spill once in awhile in the steep stuff. I learned that my weak legs can’t take two full days of telemark. I switched back to my alpines on the 2nd day, but I can still tear it up

My burst of energy petered out just in time for the work week to start (doh!). I found myself in bed by 8 or 9 p.m. every day of the work week, totally unable to think critically and barely able to process a sentence beyond 6 p.m. That really sucked because it was an incredibly busy week at the office, full of meetings during the day and needing additional attention at night. I’m sitting here on a Sunday at the Mission Ridge Lodge with my work laptop open, not skiing because I need to catch up on some work stuff.  Dammit.

There shouldn’t be anything to complain about though… it’s my sister-in-law’s bachelorette party, I’m with an amazing group of girls, and they are HILARIOUS.

…………………….

OK – I started that blogpost on February 14 (Happy Valentine’s Day), but it’s now March 5 and I’m a LAME-O for waiting this long to post to the blog. I got distracted. Ailey, the girls and I had an amazing weekend in Eastern Washington for her bachelorette party, her and Ritchie’s wedding was too gorgeous for words, and it was family, family family (and friends we would consider family) for awhile there.

The pregnancy Yo-Yo is still if effect. I had planned to work from home on Thursday, but all I managed to do was get up for my 1-hour conference call between Geneva and D.C., and then go back to sleep… for the whole day. Sigh. But I’m in my fifth month now and overall, feeling pretty good. Let’s hope the sunshine, 60-degree weather, and return to a “normal” schedule help keep my and Dim Sum’s energy up through these remaining four months.

But I think it’s starting to happen. My belly is beginning to grow. Let me back up a minute and clarify that other things have grown quite rapidly since I’ve learned I was pregnant… I had to go buy bras a full 2-sizes bigger, and my doctor says they’re not “done” yet. Oy. But up until this point, my belly was not included in the growth spurt. And then yesterday, as I was getting dressed and whining about not being able to breathe, Nate said out loud, “You’ve lost a LOT of definition in your belly.” I didn’t take it personally. I just looked down and rebutted, “I know. I’m pregnant.”

And it’s true. I know. I’m pregnant.

Today in the bath (yes, GASP! I took a bath while pregnant and it was glorious and necessary) I noticed that my belly sticks out a bit more. Not only that, but I think I have one of those belly buttons that’s gonna pop out as my belly grows. It’s definitively less embedded than typical. Silly question, but do they go back in again? Charting my baby bump via how far out my belly button has come is certainly one way to track things, but I hope it goes back down again after Dim Sum makes his/her appearance. (Back to that vanity bit.)

So I guess it’s time to embrace the growing belly, no matter how small. And it’s time to stop being frustrated and annoyed when well-intentioned friends ask “how’s the baby bump?” I can now respond, “small, but growing.” But beware: If I answer “FINE” and then wrap my arms around myself, know that I’m probably in a pissy mood. It might be a good time to tell me how good I look and how you can’t even tell I’m pregnant (… add “from behind” depending on how far along I am at the time). I’m sure you’ll make my day, and then my mood will shift again in an hour because I’m pregnant and that’s what happens with all these hormones. Or so I’m told.

But last week sucked, and I want a do over. Sadly, it began the moment the long weekend started to wane–on the way home from the Summit. I felt a little nauseous (not uncommon for a pregnant woman), and I started to develop a headache. The uncomfortable state of the car ride home only worsened as the evening and week went on. By the time the Tuesday work day ended, I was begging for an appointment with my chiropractor, whom I was certain would help abate the raging pain in my temple. The chiropractic adjustment worked just fine, but it was out with one ailment and in with the next, so to speak. As soon as my headache abated, my throat got a little itchy, my nose started to run, and I came down with an awful head cold.

I thought I’d be tough, stick it out for a couple of days, and get better by the weekend, but that hasn’t happened. In fact, this damn head cold has kept me up at night and made it really hard to breath. I was fine to lose a few weeknights last week, but I’m PISSED to have lost this whole gorgeous weekend to a stupid virus. When I talked to the pharmacist on Thursday, she advised me to take Tylenol or Loratadine (Claritin for those of you who prefer brand names). But after suffering for the past five days, I’ve decided further action is needed. I need something to knock me on my pillow and give me more than 2 hours sleep at a time. The doc says I can start with Benadryl and we’ll work our way up from there. If I graduate to Sudafed, I’m not supposed to take it for more than a couple of days… all because of Dim Sum. (If it weren’t for Dim Sum, you know I’d be taking the Nyquil, sipping the Theraflu, and popping the Codine.)

So yeah, this weekend was pretty much a wash for me. If I could rewind and have it play out differently, I’d be much happier.  It DUMPED today on all the mountains at all the local ski resorts, and I’ve been home sick watching it from my television and reading about it on Facebook. I tried to console myself with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a chocolate chip cookie, and I couldn’t taste a THING. What a waste of calories and a good cookie!

If there was a bright side, at least I got to go to Teatro Zinzani last night. And I didn’t have to pay for it. The show was super fun and I laughed the whole way through… even though my nose was running the whole time. Nate’s new company is pretty cool to have treated its employees and their significant others to dinner theatre for their holiday party. Guess there’s always a silver lining.

So here’s hoping next week is waaaayyyy better than this last one.

New Year's Eve snowstorm over I-90

I have to say, it was a KICK ASS new years. For New Year’s Eve, Nate and I packed up the truck with plenty of food, ski gear and the dog, and headed to the Kaiser family cabin. We made the somewhat treacherous drive over the I-90 Pass, going 35 MPH for much of it, but made it all the way to Eastern Washington without incident. In fact, it was a gorgeous trip, surrounded by winter white! And Nate and I were thrilled that it was snowing, since that meant fresh powder for us once we hit the slopes!

We chilled by ourselves that evening, enjoying a delicious home-cooked meal and watching Uncle Buck on VHS (remember those?!?!) I hadn’t seen the movie in years, and I’m reminded how much I love John Candy and the young Macaulay Caulkin. Our evening was spotted by the occasional cat-nap on the way to midnight, but we somehow managed to be up for the ball drop. Ten years ago, Nate was in Times Square, watching the millennium change over. This year, he was in his jammies laying on the couch. How times have changed…

The next morning, Nate ignored my pleas to sleep in a bit more, and we packed up to hit the slopes. I’m glad he insisted on getting up when we did cuz by the time we got to Mission Ridge, put on all our gear, picked up our ski passes and made it to the lifts, the fresh stuff was just about all scraped off. Bummer. That’s what I get for a lazy morning. We were still on the mountain by 10:15, and we love the terrain at Mission Ridge no matter what the conditions but an hour earlier would have been better. Nonetheless, we ripped through the day, taking in as many turns as possible. We skied HARD and by 2 p.m. both of us were done. On our last run of the day, Nate fell three times in about five turns, and I figured it was definitely time to head back to the cabin. Besides, our puppy was waiting for us!

New Year's Day

That night, making New Year’s Day even BETTER, Ailey and Ritchie joined us. Time with family, especially family that you consider friends, is so special. We hit Mission Ridge again the next day, and Ritchie experienced his 2nd day ever on skis. He ROCKED! Half way through the day, we took him up Liberator (the high-elevation quad chair) and he made it down a whole series of blue runs… mostly upright The whole day was awesome, and it marked one hell of a way to kick off 2010. If the rest of the year keeps up like this, it’s gonna be a great year!

Mars and Ritchie - tearin' it up!

The Kaisers - Nate, Mars and Ailey

Views from the top

Mission Ridge

After-ski hair = awesome!

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

And of course enjoying his new bed…

It’s been a crazy Q4 and I need a little downtime. This lady needs her rest! It’s not too hard to keep up on this blog since we hardly ever post, but in case you haven’t seen the last couple of updates, 1) We got a dog, 2) I got a new job at an amazing nonprofit called PATH, which started on Dec. 1, and 3) I started this new job when I was 6 weeks pregnant. Oy.

So yeah, this lady needs her rest. I’m just about into my second trimester, and I can’t wait for it to be here! I’ve never slept so much in my life! I guess I’m lucky since I didn’t really get any violent morning sickness… queasy, but nothing violent. I’ve managed to stay productive during the work days (PATH doesn’t all know they hired a pregnant lady), but I’ve often gone to bed between 7:30 and 8 p.m. And on weekends, I take naps… long naps… like 3+hr long naps. That’s a lot of sleeping folks.

I’ve been told by just about everyone the second trimester is the best part of pregnancy. The energy comes back, the queasiness goes away, and the belly is small enough to deal with it all. So second trimester here I come!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled about this whole thing. I’m just looking forward to fewer side effects. The other day, Nate and I grabbed a Dick’s Burger after an evening on the slopes. I woke up at 3 a.m. sick to my stomach, and wasn’t able to go back to sleep for a few hours. The whole next day my stomach was still in knots. Apparently, Dim Sum doesn’t like Dick’s Burgers.

Oh, did I tell you that we call the kid “Dim Sum”? Nate’s sister originally coined the name, and it stuck once we learned that dim sum means “a little heart” or something to that affect. At the time, a little heart was all that was there! I had another ultrasound earlier this week, and now Dim Sum actually looks like a baby. It was kinda amazing to see this thing, approximately 2 inches in length, holding its fist by its head and jumping up and down. Amazing.

I’ll do my best to update the blog with Dim Sum’s progress, but in the mean time, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

… and a valid excuse for not posting anything since November 1.

2009 marks the fourth Christmas letter that we’ve written as a family.

It began like many others—we’ve settled into a nice rhythm that mimics the best part of years past. And while the first three-quarters of the year have been fairly predictable, the final quarter has made up for any lack of excitement in our lives! Read on…

Winter:

In the winter we went on numerous ski excursions that took us in all directions: to Eastern Washington, Mt. Hood, Whistler B.C., and Big Sky Country, MT. We took up telemark skiing this year, and now we understand what Nate’s sister and brother-in-law have been raving about!

Spring:

With spring came a heavier workload for Marissa, who took on more Microsoft work. She enjoyed the challenge of working within the Microsoft culture and preparing for the launch of the new Windows 7 operating system. Nate continued with his one man media company and resource for technology startups, nPost.

Summer:

As spring passed into summer, Nate and Mars frequented the Kaiser family cabin in Eastern Washington. We went with Kaisers and friends alike, and spent as much time in the warm sun and on the cool Columbia River as possible. We are also fortunate to be able to regularly sail Puget Sound aboard our friends’ 42′ Catalina!

Fall:

With autumn came a change of seasons and hints of new things in store. We celebrated Marissa’s birthday in Honolulu with friends and relatives, and then escaped to Kona for a week of relaxation with a couple of good friends. Marissa accepted a new position at a global nonprofit called PATH. She is now a communications specialist working on safer water and better vaccine delivery for consumers around the world. And we adopted a Golden Retriever puppy named Galt. Lots of changes, but the biggest was to come.

In November, Marissa’s grandmother turned 80, so the entire Ng clan met in Sacramento for a family reunion and celebration. At the event, Mars and Nate let it slip that we’re expecting our first child in July! The baby’s due date is Nate’s birthday, July 11.

2009 will be our last hoorah as DINKS… Next year will bring many, many changes to the Kaiser household. We look forward to celebrating those changes with you and keeping in touch in the New Year!

Much Love,

Nathan, Marissa, Galt the dog, and the little one on the way!

Kaiser Family Blog: http://kaisertales.com

On Twitter: twitter.com/mjkaiser, twitter.com/npost, twitter.com/galtthedog

As it turned out, only one couple brought a movie, we still had pizza, but we threw in an 8-week old puppy into the mix. I know you’re surprised to hear this, but most of the evening was spent doting over the dog. As one friend put it, “You host horror night and your contribution is a puppy?!?!?”

Galt's first day at home, getting "scared" at Fright Night

Puppy-loving fright night crew

It worked out well for us, since everyone in attendance was a dog owner. They gave us tips, and Galt got LOTS OF LOVE.

Oh how they dote!

The next day Galt had all sorts of visitors… And all kinds of adventures.

Galt and his favorite toy

Upside down Galt

Flea bath

Turns out, there was a LOT going on last weekend: 2 baby showers, a 1-year birthday for a friend’s baby (are you sensing a theme here?)… but we kept our commitment and headed south to Portland. On our way out of town we stopped by my grandparent’s place for dinner. As she answered the door, PoPo said to us, “I’m so glad you’re going to babysit. It’s good practice!” We told her shortly thereafter that we’re getting a puppy, to which she replied, “I knew it. All our grandchildren are getting dogs instead of having kids.”

I think Hazel still qualifies as practice, but I don’t think our new puppy will look like this after he eats his meal:

We had a great time. On Saturday we all got to play together, and since the weather was GORGEOUS, we went to play outside. The Columbia River Gorge is within a short drive from Portland, so we made for the hills… err… glacial-carved landscape.

Then we went to visit a prehistoric, gigantic fish named Herman. I kid you not. He’s old, he’s huge, and he’s ugly.

On Sunday, it was just us and the Hizz. We went to a coffee shop — she charmed all the coffeehouse guests. We carved a pumpkin — she wasn’t at all interested in the process. We took her to a minor-friendly bar — because we’re the aunt and uncle, and can do that

Nate didn’t get any work done, but he didn’t really expect to. And we had a great weekend in P-town.

Gorgeous autumn colors

I’ve been asking for a dog for over a year. Ask anyone. Friends, parents, siblings, even random acquaintances know it: Marissa wants a dog.

It probably started with Shacka, a rescued German Shepherd taken in by our friends, Rex and Sharon.

Shacka the dog

Rex’s daughter, Stephanie, ended up being the perfect parent for Shacka, but I seriously considered taking Shacka home. Nate and I visited the King County Animal Shelter on a couple of occasions, and while it’s a heart-warming experience to see how well these animals are cared for, it’s also a heart-breaking experience to learn about how they were abandoned… So many of them were pit bulls, over-bred and under-wanted.

Last summer, Nate looked at me after a returning from a trip to Texas and said, “I’ve been thinking… If you still want a dog, we can get one.” But the funny thing was, I didn’t really want a dog at that moment. Summer was upon us, and I wanted to pursue other things.

Then last weekend, as the fall colors and cool weather made it known that Autumn was squarely upon us, it hit me again: I want a dog! So we talked about it. Nate even went to the shelter again; too many pit bulls. And then I saw it on Facebook (the best medium for convincing one’s husband that everyone is doing it and we should too): Molly Smith picked out a golden retriever puppy from a litter of eleven. HOW DO I GET ONE?!?

To my surprise, Nate helped me contact the Smith’s, and Bob and Pan gave me the 4-1-1 on the breeder, the litter, and the their choice of pup. We were at the breeder’s within 2-days, picking out ours.

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Galt:

Galt the puppy

Let’s hear it… Awwwwwwww!!!! I know. Too cute, right? Nate picked the name after a character in Atlas Shrugged: John Galt. If you didn’t know it already, Nate’s a bit of an Aynn Rand fan, libertarian values and all. He has another blog that he created and contributes to regularly: www.CallingJohnGalt.com <Leftist liberals beware! Content may ignite anger and frustration! –I should know. And I don’t even read it.>

But back to the puppy… err, puppies. HOLY MOLY, are eleven puppies cuuuuuttteee! The litter is five boys and six girls. Mom was looking trim and spry, especially for having birthed so many babies seven weeks prior.

Nearly weened, the puppies were all housed together in a warm shed. They’re up for adoption, but new parents will wait one more week before they can be taken home.

Since the Smith’s had picked out one of the boys, we had four boys and all six girls to choose from. “Galt” was already the determined name, so we chose our little boy, and damn is he a sweetheart. I’m sure he’ll grow up to be a well-behaved, masculine golden retriever (fingers crossed–we’re taking names for good trainers in Ballard), but for now he’s our sweetheart.

We bring him home on Friday. I can’t wait.

(Video disclaimer: the breeder calls our pup “Zeus,” so that’s what I’m calling him. This dog already has a history of strong names… and he’s only 7-weeks old!)

Quick geography lesson:

Map of the state of Hawaii, in case you who were curious

• The state of Hawaii is made up of eight islands.
• Oahu is the island where the state capital is located (Honolulu) and the home of the world famous Waikiki Beach. Don Ho, the Society of Seven (shout out to my Uncle Wayne, long time band member!), and Japanese tourists reside along Waikiki.
• The “Big Island” is actually called Hawaii, so there’s Hawaii the island that’s part of Hawaii the state. Get it?

Nate and I visited Oahu, and then we flew to Hawaii. By the way, have I mentioned how much inter-island travel sucks? IT SUCKS. The planes all come in miniature… about 1/8th smaller than a regular plane, so there 1/8th less leg room, 1/8th less overhead space, and zero places for carry-on luggage. Which means you need to check them. Which means you need to pay to check them. We were frustrated to learn that our carry-on sized bags would still cost us $20, cuz their planes are “smaller.”

… I digress…

Once we landed in Kona, all frustrations with GO! Airlines passed (stupid Midwest outfit…) and we hopped into the Jeep that Brian and Jen rented. The Jeep kicked ass, and Brian and Jen kicked even bigger ass for choosing it over the P.T. Cruiser. We made a beeline for Costco where made the best investment decision of the trip: snorkel gear for $80. Hours of tropical fish, coral reef and sea turtle viewing pleasure: priceless!

So here are some pics of our good times on land. We don’t have an underwater camera, so there’s no pics of said tropical fish, coral reefs or sea turtles. Sorry. Deal with it. This other pics are still awesome.

• 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.

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

After arriving late on Friday we had two options on Saturday. Either suffer through the heat in Portland or head west to the coast where it was 30 degrees colder.  Thankfully, my brother-in-law was kind enough to read off the temperature in 2 degree increments the entire trip out there and back.

Once we arrived though, we realized that we hadn’t packed enough clothes and that we didn’t know when the fog would dissipate. So we huddled in the tent for warmth, company, and lunch…

The Hizz shows off her wrestling skills by pinning down dad until he taps out.

View after the Fog Lifts

On Sunday we decided to head out to the Portland Brewfest for cold brew and hot, hot weather:

It was a great weekend. Portland is simply one of the coolest cities. I can’t wait till I get to go back.

And they are off!

For our support, we got to stay at our friend’s parents’ beautiful place on Lake Chelan which included (not necessarily in the following order); amazing food, innumerable dips in the water, fishing off the end of the dock, a drink or two, a cigar or two and a few quick swims.

View from the back porch

The Capt'n

The Crew

The View

View Astern - Don't they look slow?

Time for a closeup

Buried the Rail

Now for the video:

The Onion strikes again!

Spock (TOS)    15    65%
Data (TNG)    8    35%

The poll from yesterday…