the 4th

this past weekend we headed up with a group of andrew's friends & headed off to "sea ranch" in sonoma county.  relaxing atmosphere with no traffic, open fields, hot tub on the deck, someone else cooking my meals, other dogs for jack to mess with, & a beach filled with treasures!

notice:  all photos were taken with my phone.

on the drive in (therefore through a windshield) -- i couldn't wait!

on the trail to the water

J didn't like the open back stairs.

right off the bat we found a mini-crab!
yeah, i'm holding it like a tarantula...

these little guys were A's fave.

this one was my fave!

i will admit that any photo i couldn't get "doctored" up, i turned black & white...

i think J had a good time -- he had many mini-adventures & couldn't resist checking out all surfaces. 

luckily it was low-tide, so everything was exposed!

this one last photo is the only pictures i got from the house:

the group.

the primitive stairs.  loved 'em!

updates

1.  andrew is finishing out his third quarter as a salesman.  he won't let me talk about any of the details except to say he's "doing well."  boring, right?  sorry to hold back on you.  other than that, he has a new friend -- chris -- who's an intern from minot state here for the summer.  we all graduated high school together, so please jump to: summer adventures & site-seeing opportunities.

first adventure: self-serve frozen yogurt.  chris couldn't resist  the candy store appeal!

2. i started camp galileo a couple weeks ago.  i'm in-charge of teaching science curriculum to kids that really don't want to be put back into classrooms -- plain & simple.  therefore i'm left to my own devices of creativity & uncommon teaching practices.  good times!  luckily, all of the other staff members are in the same boat & it's a sink-or-swim effort for all!  i'll let you know if my sanity breaks down.  i just consider it good birth control for the time being.

3. jack is fantastic!  he's spending time with me at camp this summer.  other than that, he has tons of friends & admirers.  

here's one example:  katie.  she is another jack russel rescue that met jack when she was 3 months old -- ripe out of non-training mode & being a hyperactive mess.  one reason that i fell in love with her was that her owner swooned over the possibility of katie becoming a "trained" jack.  (notice the "")  he helped me realize that the dream has not died of jack growing into a sweet, mature pup.  therefore, i accept the ball of adrenaline that is katie.

katie has on the harness, which makes identifying much easier.
they like to wrestle.  if you haven't caught on to what they're up to.

jack does impressive jackie chan moves.  i'm biased in this statement, i know.

did i mention these were taken with a phone?  sorry for the shotty quality.

obviously she can hold her own -- that face can haunt!

4.  for those who don't know -- minot is flooding.  i'm not going to go into the details.  half the people who read this blog have either written about it themselves, have read about it on someone else's blog, or are dealing with it themselves.  here's a couple pictures from the USGS to bring the severity across & i would like to point out that this is no "fargo"-annual-style flood.  this is a 500-year flood that has crested at the highest point they've measured since they started keeping records in the 1800's.

if you would like any details & more pictures, i recommend visiting the kxmc website.  they are not running their 24-hr coverage anymore, but it was devastating to see the footage around the area.

here's a direct link to all flood related searches.
if you would like to help, please visit here 

i wish i could say as a geologist that there are ways of solving this for the near future.  i know there are answers as to how it can become less of a blow & methods of lowering the risk, the there's no quick-fix. i'm very interested to hear what the experts have to say & wish i had the opportunity to join in on the research.  for now, i'm happy that everyone is safe -- family & friends included.

celebrating dad day with a feature on mom.

the man himself -- stu.

my dad is such an amazing person.  no question about it.  unfortunately, he was stuck in the magic city alone (mom is on a cruise) for his special day working hard on finishing the basement.  when i stated the fact that he has been fantastically celebrated as a dad for almost 40 years, he said he has loved every one of them.  that's my dad!

i could go on-and-on with the highlights of how much i cherish stu and how his unwavering support has made me so appreciative for my life & choices i've made -- but i haven't shared the few photos i have from ione's visit to ca!

on this note, i must admit that we were terrible hosts in planning outings & making sure that our guest was entertained every moment of her visit.  the majority of our time was filled with sitting around, playing on electronics, exploring the farmers market, running errands, and cooking delicious meals.  i feel like this is what it would be like if i moved back into the sautner household!  we loved having my dear mother around for the week (even though we missed you dad!) & appreciated the down-time she allowed us to have!

jack & mom got along -- *sigh of relief* -- but i think she was a little thrown-off by how much of a shadow freak j is.

she even brought him new toys!  (which were then destroyed & destuffed within 12 hrs)

these are the only other photos i have documenting the activities we did: a dinner at macaroni grill.  this ridiculous server made us obsessed with trying to write our names upside-down.  in cursive.  are you serious sir?  it's like he knew that i would still be trying to accomplish this 2 wks later.  (it's on a whiteboard now, so i'm not wasting as much paper!)

the server's addition.  it took him 5 seconds.  i'm still at 10+.

britt + sf

as i mentioned, britt johnston (a friend from high school) came in for a visit to sf.  she had to combine a california vacation get-away with catching up with old friends with worrying about her parents house in minot flooding (they live on the edge of a river/bridge) with trying to see all the sights!  so, we had BIG shoes to fill!

with a couple trips to sf, hours of shopping, and clint & conni's house acting as our hub, i think she left happy! 



chinatown -- i took her about two blocks in & we bailed.  too many people on those tiny sidewalks!




on all 4 corners around union square are hearts with various artsy decor.




this was my favorite one.  so much detail on such a big heart!




we made a stop by alamo park -- from the full  house opening scene -- i realize i've shot this sight a million times before, but look at those clouds!



jack took the opportunity to rip up some lovely, city park grass.  i caught a couple less-than-impressed glances from other patrons, but i showed no shame.  little man is set in his ways.



his mouth is in the ground.  that takes some motivation!



again, one of those shots that you've taken a million times, but can't resist!  both times that we went to sf we had beautiful skies.  that happens about 10% of the time & usually isn't forecasted, so lucky us!

while admiring the view, we found a friend! 
we also got a show -- him eating a fish & a pelican trying to snipe his feast.  did you know that they have to throw around the fish in order to get the pieces off?  we thought he was just messing around, but it came quite clear as he was barking at the pelican that he had no choice!



a view of the city skyline.



alcatraz in the distance. one of my favorite bay details = old ship port docks. 

alcatraz again.

up next: mama sautner visits!  t-minus 4 hours until her arrival!

argh!

i've got a wrinkle

i've got a wrinkle

i've got a wrinkle

hey hey hey hey!

that's right, folks.  i've found my first official wrinkle.  not a laugh line or crows feet -- those i can deal with & more than likely already exist.  this one is right between the eyes.  she's a deep one, too!  i'm not contemplating life or my mortality after finding the little gem, just purely vanity concerns. oh, how i love you freckles!  just promise you won't stare...

on a better note, our stress levels are going to go down in the next couple weeks.  (at least a couple knotches!)  britt, a high school friend from nd, is going to be here starting monday for a few days & the next week, mama sautner is coming!  andrew will still be semi-working (a lighter load) & i will just have some swim-related obligations, but the touch of home will be perfect!

more on this in the future.

mobile uploads

what do you do with these pictures?  they are terrible in quality, but they're what you rely on when you're without the "real deal."  so, i have decided to share these with you to 1. be able to delete them from my phone with no regrets, 2. share with you a few moments i captured, and 3. fulfill my blogging duties, because i really have nothing else to share!  i will try & explain each in the captions -- enjoy!

as i said, terrible quality. 
however, this portrays what happens when jack doesn't like us.  he sulks & gives us his best guilt trip.

my boss (left) alex at the zoo & the exibit (right) designer lee -- she makes all of the wonderful dispays for the animals, such as habitats, decorations, & such.  they are semi-inappropriate, which i love.
examples:  "i love smelling ferrets.  it's orgasmic!"  -lee (ferrets give off a pheromone that smells like musk)
"i would watch any animal mate!  does that sound pervish?"  -alex  (after we got off-subject in an education department meeting)

one of my student's automata projects.  if anyone is familiar with "angry birds," take note that he free-handed everything!  amazing, right?  (his mother is aware that i have this picture. not as creepy this way!) 

this was taken at an ARF event a couple weekends ago.  you were able to adopt (at a price) one of the greyhounds that have retired from racing in the area.  they were so sweet & cuddled up with some dog-sized snuggies at the end of the day!

this past friday night, we headed off to the NCAA tennis championships at stanford.  fascinating to watch!  they were up against UVA -- that's right jess!  stanford lost, but it came down to the 6th match to determine a winner!  intense.

students were sporting some interesting full-body costumes.  these fellas were enthusiastic & i got to know the players names, as well as other information, as the matches went on.

we are house sitting for clint & conni while they are in europe for the next 20 days, which means jack has an unbelievable amount of space to spread out in.  most of yesterday was spent by the flamingo tracking & spotting shadows. ridiculous.

woops!



i will admit there's really no excuse.  i've been terrible about returning calls, emails, & updating.  i could say "there's not enough time in the day," but clearly i'm not that busy!  so, i will try take this one day at a time & update you on the happenings of the past 3 weeks. 

first, & perhaps the most exciting, is our trip to az.  the main event was the warrior dash -- a 5k with "extreme" obstacles -- that i ran with ashley & a couple of her friends.  it was a blast!  ashley & i stayed up in the wee hours of the night (with updates on the royal wedding -- yeah it was that long ago) crafting the capes, wrist bands, masks, & belts that were to be the spectacular costumes of our team of 4.

enjoy the pictorial documentation (stolen from ashley) of the weekend adventure:

our quad: earth, wind (tornado), water (droplet), & fire (that's me!).



gearing-up for the start!  this was the formation we tried to hold throughout each obstacle -- you can imagine how that held up! 

one of the obstacles.  i was hugging the top like it was everest. 
they also had staff members along the sides of these things, but really, what can they do?  catch you?

entering the final challenge was a chilly treat -- one member of our quad couldn't contain her relief!



the mud pit finale was deliciously cool, but housed sticks, hay, etc. from past waves of warriors.
we survived with minor mud caked teeth -- notice the man kicking his feet in ashley's face?  (gray hair)

jack was a hit!

jack was a challenge for h's grasp -- moving target.  luckily he has tons of extra skin & an amazing temperament, so no animals were harmed in the process.

whipping baby h around the pool & andrew playing with the 1 ring they scavenged from the deck.

h was compliant with every position, which is a clear sign that he will not be a headache in his first swim lesson experience.

 finally, i'm going to meet jess in millbrae this morning to have a quick lunch!  she's coming through for work, but fortunately can budget me into her crazy ridiculous schedule!