Saturday, December 29, 2007

Merry Christmas!

We hope you had a very Merry Christmas!!! We had a great time with our families. After bouncing around to all of the many different houses we were beat, but glad that we live close and that we could see most of our family! We also enjoyed white Christmas, even with the drive to Fort Collins and Erie.

We made out pretty good and are enjoying all of the great gifts we received.


You can kind of see the white and snow outside at my sister's house. Tim got a Broncos Jersey and doesn't care that they did bad this year, he's not a fair weather fan. Also, you can kind of see Amanda's belly in this picture. The baby is doing good and really enjoys sticking her feet in mommy's ribs.

At the Miller's house on Christmas Eve we got to open some presents. Here is the Willow Tree figurine Amanda got from her brother-in-law Walter. It's of a mom, dad and a new baby.

Monday, December 10, 2007

CHristmas is coming!

We are so excited for the upcoming Christmas holiday! It is one of our favorite times of the year. One of Amanda's presents this year was to go see the Nutcracker! Tim kept it a surprise until we were drove up on Saturday night. We braved the snow and icy roads and made it to Fort Collins to see the show. It was the first time Amanda had seen the show, but is now one of her favorite Christmas classics!

We picked out an ornament of a little girl holding a nutcracker so every Christmas we will remember our fun trip to Fort Collins and the wonderful story of the Nutcracker.


Also exciting news is Amanda's growing belly. She is getting bigger and bigger these days and is 28 weeks along in this picture. Less than 3 months away!!!

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Amanda's Belly

Less than 4 months away!!!! 16 weeks left!!!
What's crazy is that we have all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season quickly (Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks!!!) approaching followed by Tim and Amanda's birthdays in January and February that will make these last few months fly by.
Here is Amanda at 6 months (24 weeks).
She may not look huge yet, but she feels gigantic.
She had a doctors appointment yesterday and he said we were right on track. The heart beat was 144 bpm which is good and Amanda has gained 10 pounds so far.


We hope everyone is doing well and we are excited for all of our friends with little babies who are also on the way! Congratulations to all of them in case we never told you!

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Pictures!!!

Sorry for the delay in getting these pictures up, we got caught up watching too many Rockies games. It was a good run, even though the Red Sox swept them. So here are some pictures of us during our adventure to Seattle!!!

Tim on the Ferry to Whibey Island

Angie with our Pumpkins, there were a couple near disasters!!

Probably the most creative pumpkin carving I have seen

The carved pumpkins, ours is the house.


Us at Snoqualmie Falls at the bottom after the "hike" down

Snoqualmie Falls at the top overlook


The salmon swimming up river to spawn


Ducks diving to get the delicacy of salmon eggs

Downtown Seattle from the Space Needle on a crystal clear day


A ferry going across the sound


The sun setting across the Olympic Mountain Range


The Seattle Temple


A statue on the temple grounds that Amanda really liked


Us


Now for the good stuff! Here are some of our ultrasound pictures.


A profile shot of our baby


A little wave hello from the baby


Last but not least the baby's face. We're hoping when she comes out she looks a little less like an alien and more like us.

Hopefully you enjoyed our pictures! ...Next up Amanda's growing fat belly!!!

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Our little one and our trip to Seattle

We got to go on a fun trip last weekend to Seattle. It was the first time there for both of us and we had a great time! Amanda's friend from high school lives there as well as Tim's aunt and uncle. Of course we did all of the touristy things. We went to Pike Place Market, Whidbey Island (on a ferry that we drove on to... another first), carved pumpkins, saw Snoqualmie Falls, and the Salmon Hatchery in Issaquah. We also went downtown and went to the top of the Space Needle, it was also cool because we went up at sunset time and watched the sun set over the Olympic Mountains. We got to go the famous Boehm's Chocolate factory and get a yummy treat. To end our vacation we went to see the beautiful Seattle Temple, which had it's own crazy little forest with lots of cool vegetation.
We had a great time and were so thankful that Angie, Aunt Patti, Uncle Brad, and Allison (Tim's cousin) were able to show us around and let us stay with them. If you ever want to visit somewhere try Seattle in the fall. Of course make sure you bring the nice weather with you. We did and it brought bright blue skies while we were there and cold yucky weather to Denver...ha ha. Apparently it was the nicest weekend they had had in months.

Pictures will come soon, the blogger was unable to load them.


After we came home from our trip we had a doctor's appointment. After much work we had a scheduled ultrasound. We got to see our little one moving around for the first time. We saw all of her little body parts and they measured her as well. In the end, the technician determined that it was in fact a little girl, a very modest one might we add. The whole time she wouldn't open up her legs to make sure she didn't have any boy parts. So we are going with a 99% chance that she is a she. Perhaps we will have another ultrasound to make it 100% later. Also our due date was reconfirmed and it is now officially on Leap Day (February 29th, 2008 for those of you who don't know when that is, because we have been asked that question.)

We hope everyone is doing well and we are always checking everyone else's blog. FYI Adam's family we finally made it to TGIFriday's. Cinnabon Cheesecake is to die for, so good!!!!

Monday, September 03, 2007

Summer Pictures

2nd Anniversary Dinner!!!

We went to Rodizio Grill and had lots of yummy meat!

The meat guys bringing around the meat


At Alumni Night at the Rockies

It was a great ninth inning win!!!



Our Recent Trip to the Zoo


Amanda chasing a peacock


A cool lion


Us in our cool Safari hats


Let's see who really reads this...

The reason for this title is that I have an announcement to make, one that many people have been waiting for. Earlier this summer Amanda and I found out that she was pregnant. We have slowly been telling people because we wanted to make sure everything was ok. Now she is almost four months along and we are really excited. The baby is due near the end of February, we are shooting for Leap Day. We do not know the sex of the baby yet but should find out within the next couple of months. People have been asking me if I am nervous and I really don't think it has all set in yet. Amanda is not really showing yet so it still seems a bit surreal. I am sure as time progresses everything will set in and the nervousness will begin. So far Amanda's pregnancy has been good. She has felt sick quite a bit, but never actually got sick. This has been by far the best news of the summer. My little sister just had her first baby on Tuesday so that has really helped us both become a little more excited, and nervous, to have our own.

As for the rest of the summer, we have had a very busy one. It seems like we enjoy trying to pack our weekends full a month in advance. We have had the opportunity to go camping twice, go to a couple Rockies games, see a Broncos preseason game, and I have actually been able to go golfing twice. We have had an eventful summer and it has been great getting a chance to see and hang out with a lot of our new and old friends.

Although this summer has been great I am very excited for the fall and winter. I am getting ready to buy my ski pass and football season has started! Needless to say I was severely disappointed at the result of the CSU / CU game. I was so depressed after the game I needed two episodes of The Office just to get me to a functional level. The one bright side to the game was how well CSU played. I feel that if they can play every team like they did CU they will have a great season and may even have a chance at winning the MWC. We'll see what happens against Cal and TCU. I am so glad Kyle Bell returned, now they can actually run the ball. Moving onto the Pros, I think the Broncos also have a great chance to go far this year. In the offseason they added, in my opinion, two keys players: a Terrel Davis style running back and a Shannon Sharp style receiving tight end. These two pieces will help complete the offense. Now if they can sign Simeon Rice they will help sure up their defense. The run defense is the one area I am worried about, hopefully they can fix that problem.

That is all for now I guess. Needless to say life is going well for us now and we have some very exiting times coming up. I look forward to hearing from everyone and hopefully seeing you soon.

Sunday, July 08, 2007

What's New

I am not used to posting so close together so I really don't know what to talk about. I am still working at my job and have finally been assigned a project. I will work on designing a natural gas plant for the next few weeks for a location in the Middle East. My company designs a lot of these plants to make natural gas usable. It has been very interesting learning about this process. I never knew there were so many factors that went into refining natural gas and so many different situations to consider. I am looking forward to getting the chance to work with a team and accomplishing a task that hopefully, in a few years will result in a plant that produces billions of cubic feet of natural gas for people in the Middle East.

Enough about work now what is going on in m life. Since I have been working I have not done a whole lot. Once I come home from work I do a few things around the house and then usually watch a movie on T.V. and a Rockies game. I think this is because for the past three years every day when I would come home there would be some assignment, reading or project I would need to work on. Now I can come and forget about work and it is okay. I like that feeling and hopefully I will start doing something more productive with my time like reading, or some other type of hobby. I need to find one now that I am no longer in school. I have considered taking up skeet shooting. The few times I have done it have been a blast, we will see. If anyone has a suggestion for a hobby I am wide open right now.

Amanda has still been commuting to Fort Collins and other than a lot of stupid drivers on I-25 she doesn't seem to mind the commute much. We were able to help out at a 5K that benefited Parkinson's and Breast Cancer, that was organized through her work. I was very successful and everyone who was there really seemed to enjoy themselves.

Over the 4th we went and saw Transformers and then went to a BBQ at one of my friend's from high school house. The movie was awesome and if it wasn't so expensive I would see it again. I really thought it very well done. It had a few corny parts but all in all it was amazing, I really hope a second is coming soon. The BBQ was fun and my friend has a house that overlooks all of the city from Westminster. We were able to see all the firework displays at Invesco, Coors Field, Littleton and many other city displays. We could also see lots of personal displays that were going on. It was great except you couldn't hear the explosions or smell the sulfur which is two of my favorite things about fireworks.

We were also able to go to Water World which was fun because it has been so hot here. It wasn't too crowded in the morning so we got to all the cool rides first, and then the lines formed and we had to wait a little while. The lines weren't too bad at all during the day and we had a blast. The only down side was the blazing hot sidewalk that scorched my feet. I wish they could do something about that.

Well that is all of my random thoughts for the time being but if anyone has any hobby suggestions let me know because I am definitely looking for one.

Monday, June 18, 2007

The Official Update

I now have a renewed desire to be a better blogger so we will see how this works. Last night I decided to do a random post to let everyone know I still exist, this is my official update as to what is going on our lives right now.

I finally finished school and graduated from CSU with my B.S. in Chemical Engineering last month. I didn't think it I would feel that much different after graduating, but it has really instilled a sense of accomplishment in me and I am glad I was able to stick through and finish. It is not something everyone does and as I come to find out a college degree is something a lot of people do not have. Please do not look at my writing in this blog as a reflection of my degree, it is in engineering not writing.

After graduation I decided to take some time off before entering the "real" world and just relax, sort of. In my time off Amanda and I had to pack our apartment and move to the Northglenn area, because of my job. Although packing and moving kept me busy it was nice not having any homework or other school things to worry about. A few days after our move Amanda and I headed off to Mexico.

This was our graduation present to each other. She graduated last May and since I just did we needed to take a trip to celebrate and relax!! We vacationed in Tulum, Mexico, which is about 1.5 hours south of Cancun. I had never been to Mexico and it was amazing. The water was so clear and the sand was so white, it looked just like the movies. We stayed at an all-inclusive resort, which I liked because I could eat anytime and not have to pay extra for it. It was a Dreams Resort and I would recommend it to anyone wanting a nice quite vacation. It seemed like there were a lot of couples and families, not a whole lot of places to party though if that is your purpose in Mexico.

Our plan in choosing Mexico was we wanted to go some place where we could do nothing an be okay with it. However, it is our nature to stay busy so even when we just wanted to relax, we had to do something. Amanda was good at just reading a book but I could not sit still very long, so I developed a liking to swimming in the ocean, and especially snorkeling. Also while in Mexico we rode some bikes from our hotel, to the Tulum ruins and got a chance see them, and swim at the amazing beach there. Also at our hotel we had a chance to watch Pirates of the Caribbean 2 on the beach in between palm trees one night. It was great being on the Caribbean and feeling the wind and hearing the ocean while watching a movie. It was like natural surround sound!!

We also had a chance to go on a Mayan Adventure. There we were able to see the Mayan ruins at Coba and learn a little about the culture there. We also got a chance to climb one of the tallest Mayan temples, that you are allowed, and got to see great views of the jungle. During this adventure we also were able to walk through the jungle, swim in a cenote (under ground river, very cold but refreshing), rappel down a cliff, and zip-line through the jungle. It was a very busy day but very fun!! The rest of the time in Mexico was spent on the beach, or doing shopping. It was a great trip and we can't wait to go back!!

After returning from Mexico we came back to reality and began working. Amanda still holds her job as an assistant wellness coordinator at a corporate gym in Fort Collins. She has a good work schedule that makes the commute from Northglenn bearable. I am working for Washington Group International in the tech center, in the industrial process department. For anyone who knows Denver this too is quite the commute from Northglenn, but I found the bus system works very well for me. I can hop a bus and sleep all the way to work, I could never do that driving. It only takes me about an hour so it is not too bad.

So far at Washington Group I have been doing random projects here and there and lots of training. I have yet to receive an actual project but that will come with time. I like it there and the people are good to work with.

So far living in Denver isn't too bad. Fort Collins is still my favorite place to live but it is nice to be able to catch a Rockies game whenever I want instead of having to make a special trip. Look to see more frequent posts and here are some more pictures of our last few months.




Amanda and I after Graduation



An old pier on the beach


A bidet, you just don't see those every day



Our hotel lobby at sunset



The Tulum Ruins


Amanda descending the temple at Coba

Sunday, June 17, 2007

I do exist!!

I do exist to any of those who still read this and now that Amanda knows the information to post it may be updated more frequently. I will provide a more detailed post later with information on my new job and apartment and graduation info, but here are some pictures from our recent trip to Mexico.


This is our room


Us on the beach


Us at the Tulum Ruins with ocean in background


At the Coba Ruins on top of the temple overlooking the Jungle


Captain Jack Sparrow


Me washing ashore

More to Come!!!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

I am Still Alive!!

For all you you who might read this and I haven't seen since Mike and Carly's wedding, I am still alive and very busy, but you also know my blogging habits and know that my post are not frequent at all.

Believe it or not I am finally in my last semester and am looking forward to graduation even more everyday. Lucky for me I have already got a job lined up and now a place to live. I will be working at Washington Group International, which is an engineering consulting company. I will be working in their industrial process division, meaning I will get to work a lot with oil and gas applications. Amanda and I will be living in Northglen for our first year in Denver. She is still going to be working in Fort Collins a few days a week so it will be an easier commute for her and I am going to ride the bus to work.

I just finished Spring Break during which I spent 4 days working, 2 skiing and one relaxing. The two skiing were a ton of fun and hot, but good spring skiing. The four working were spent catching up on homework and working on my senior design project.

I am very excited about the topic of my design project. My group was assigned the task of designing a 100 million gal per year biodiesel plant. This in and of itself is something that has already been done...the new part it that instead of using plant oils to make the biodiesel we are using algae as a feedstock and making the biodiesel. The other bonus is that the the algae would use carbon dioxide from power plant to grow therefore reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

This on paper sounds like a brilliant idea in reducing our dependence on foreign oil and stopping global warming but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to make it a feasible solution to those problems. I have really like working with biofeuls and I hope that with the new push for renewable energy by the governor that maybe some more biofeul projects will come my way.

Well it is about that time to get going and get ready for another busy day of school, senior design and now FE Reviews. Hope everyone is doing well and maybe I'll update soon.