Saturday, August 30, 2008

Solvang, CA : A Danish Village

So almost a month ago now, seems hard to believe, Brad's parents were out here visiting. We decided to take some time off of work and trek through Santa Barbara and into Solvang, which is a small Danish community within the Santa Ynez Valley. (It was established by Midwestern Danish families who wanted to escape the winters.) It was fabulous! We were actually in the car on the way there when the most recent earthquake happened. I was sort of bummed that we didn't feel it--I would have loved for Mike and Diane to have experienced that on their trip to California. Ha.

Anyway, enjoy some of these photos. Great wine. Great times.


Our Hotel: Krongborg Inn

Brad and I at the Firestone Winery (the same family as the tires...)

Grapes!

When Kenneth had these candies in Iowa, we called them Hairball

Part of the Village

More Village

Santa Barbara and it's beauty

Santa Barbara

Monday, August 25, 2008

Can't Resist

Here is a video of Gizzy catching a mouse. We wore her out playing this game prior to realizing we could capture this all on video...so know that she was jumping much higher in the beginning. She has also mastered hiding under the bed.

Enjoy!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

It's a Girl!!!

Say hello to our little friend...

...A new kitty! The stork brought her by this Wednesday. She is approximately 2 pounds and 9 weeks old. She went two days without a name, and we have finally settled on "Gizzy." She looks like Gizmo, so although the name is not shortened per se, we shall call her Gizzy. Smokey and Gizzy.

Though I realize this is our first blog, and I want y'all to keep coming back, the reason why we got a new little one is because we had to put Cali down this past July. It was actually the morning of our 3rd wedding anniversary that we realized she had a tumor with no hope of corrective surgery. We made the decision that day, and she passed on that afternoon. She was only 5. I think Smokey loved having full rule of the house for a couple of months, but we want to keep Cali's spirit alive with a new Himalayan.

Back to the good stuff...So we brought her home just to find out the obvious--Smokey was going to win the gold in the hissing Olympics. He was not as excited as we were. We have been separating them this entire time in two rooms, and I'm not sure when he is going to calm himself. For punishment, the next time we post Smokey is when he befriends Gizzy. Now that we have this up and rolling, tune in for kitty updates.

As for Brad and myself...I am still working at Gettys as a designer. I have obtained all of my credentials, and have been there almost 2 years. Brad is still working on his financial business and staying busy all hours of the day. We have lived in our condo for 2.5 years now and are loving it. Just minutes from the beach and a perfect daily weather forecast, we couldn't have asked for more!

I will post more pictures of our latest vacation in Solvang, CA. Welcome to the jungle. Stay tuned!



Day 1, Hour 1

With the Remote, For Scale Purposes

What Big Eyes You Have...