and baby makes 4

and so instead of a guest room we might need a baby room and instead of going to Italy in the fall to see our friends get married, we decided to "stick around" the US and have a baby instead =)

Here are some of the very first photos of our baby due Nov. 15th (yep that's right Suzanne you read it right-Nov. 15th) and NOOOO we don't know the sex yet (we really won't until November =)

Home Sweet Home -and- Dog Oh Dog

I know, I know this one is overdue, but there's more!!!!

After all of the long miles, steep hills, and cold nights of our last adventure, Krista and I both had a goal...another goal, that we were going to surmount at the end of the AIDS life cycle. It was time to buy a house. So... we had been looking for around a year, just kind of browsing the internet listings and visiting open houses. Learning a lot about what we wanted out of a home...and of course, what we could afford.

Our IDEAL home: 3 bedrooms - one to sleep in, one to work in, and one for guests (one of the bedrooms needed to have a BIG closet for "our" expansive wardrobe. 2 bathrooms - one for us and 1 for everyone else. STORAGE. Someway, somehow, we NEEDED storage. Let it be known that for the past 2 years, we have had a storage place in Oakland AND a storage space in Santa Barbara, all the while we have lived in 5 different places. It was time to do away with storage rentals and consolidate to one location. It wasn't a must, but we would like to have a yard and some outdoor space where we could dwell, chill, BBQ. And finally, the "perfect" home would have a "granny" unit so we could rent it and at some point a "Granny" might have the option of residing.

After we returned from our ride we thought we should finally hook up with a real estate agent and see what it was all about...

We found a great agent from one of the open houses we visited and we set up a date to see some houses that we had been watching and also a few that she thought would be a good match for us. On that fateful day, our first day "officially" house-hunting, we saw our dream home...

3 Bedrooms...

1.5 baths,

STORAGE! (a small shed to start anyways..)

oh and a garage =)



and a GRANNY!


Wow, here it was OUR DREAM HOME




and then....

We just had to add to the family right then and there and so came....ZOEY

but there was something still missing....

A bicycle ride

Its been a month since AIDS Lifecycle 7 and we thought its about time to take you along on our voyage! It was an amazing journey for the two of us. Full of joy, heartache, and of course good old fashioned PAIN. There were long days, filled with strenuous hours, and they were capped off with cold nights surrounded by hundreds of other cyclists. Come along on our epic voyage!

It began at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Over 3,000 people showed up for the kick off ceremony


We headed out, and began the 545 mile journey to LA!
And saw some beautiful scenery

We made it to Camp1! Whew what a sigh of relief. And good friends were waiting for us.


We told you there were lots of tents around us

One of the best things about the ride, was all the support received. Here was a coffee shop in Santa Cruz that had free coffee, free smoothies, and free music!


More great scenery



On day 3, there was a terrible hill suitably named: THE QUADBUSTER. Here is Krista at the summit!


The other great thing about the experience, was the entertainment! The Gay and Lesbian community always keep it interesting!


The sign says it all....




We are the champions!


Go troops!



Ladies in red.....



These are the trucks that carried our gear. At the end of each day, we would go get our gear, and set up our tent for the night. The next morning, before the sun rose, we would break camp, pack up our gear, and bring it all back to the same truck



Isn't Santa Barbara beautiful!?



On the move shot! Hey Aras!


Last day of camp! This is our last meal line!



And now...the home stretch. The beautiful PCH somewhere in Malibu....



Illegal! Only Jason is supposed to take those on the bike pics!!!....Well, we're almost to the finish line, so we'll let it slide

545 miles, seven days, 1 tube of chamoise butter, and 2 sore butts later....WE MADE IT TO LA!!!


We would like to thank all of our wonderful family and friends for all of their support. Without which we most definitely would never have been able to accomplish our goal and ride for such a worthy cause. THANK YOU ALL!!



love,

Krista and Jason

IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN...

So many roads to travel, never enough time or sunshine to do it all... We keep on training though and Jason & I are in our final days of fundraising. He has 500 smakeroos to go, I 750....the going has been rough but soo worth it. The pants are fitting a little looser, the legs and arms are feeling a little stronger and we feel proud... Proud of what we have accomplished thus far and proud of what's to come! So if you're still thinking about it, but have been a bit too busy to yet click on the right-remember: We'd DO IT FOR YOU!!

It's ALOT STEEPER than it looks OKAY!!

Looks like you're going pretty fast there J!

We get to see so much of our beautiful home area on our rides-including this great barn!!

Jason always the daredevil, takes pics while we ride!

Jason gives the thumbs up near a beautiful vineyard ride...

"You have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you."- Anonymous.

Cool Beans!

Straight from my friend Carolyn's blog to ours:

First Time in Event History That Cyclist Registration Closes Early

We're so excited to be a part of this event!

Los Angeles & San Francisco, March 27, 2008 -- For the first time in the event's history, AIDS/LifeCycle has closed registration for cyclists early after an unprecedented number of riders registered for the event. A record 2,500 people--representing 42 states and 10 countries--are expected to leave San Francisco on June 1. Cyclists will pedal for seven days to Los Angeles, all to raise HIV/AIDS awareness and more than $11 million for the HIV/AIDS-related services of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.

Registration is still open for volunteer "roadies," the volunteers who are the lifeblood of the event and serve food, transport gear, staff rest stops, direct cyclists and perform other critical jobs during the week-long ride. To volunteer as one of the 500+ roadies, visit: www.aidslifecycle.org.

Online registration for AIDS/LifeCycle 8 will open in mid-September. AIDS/LifeCycle is jointly produced by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center. More information about the event is available at www.aidslifecycle.org.

So YOU TOO can join in the experience of a lifetime!!

Still Standin' Yeah Yeah Yeah!

Or should I say, still training, still cycling, still fundraising!!! Jason & I are still hard at work raising money for our 545mi trek from San Francisco to Los Angeles so if you've been thinking about it...or meaning to... or wondering if we're still in need...click on the links to the right (our homepages) and donate to a great cause! Cause we're still truckin'!!

Our Away Areas

So as I mentioned we've been doing quite a bit of the away thing lately. SOOO you ask...where have we been? and what the heck have we been doing? Well as usual it involves family, friends, oh and food =)

A camping trip overlooking the beaches in Malibu brought us back to nature and doing the thing we love the most...roasting marshmallows of course







A trip to Seattle brought us many good things-Jason's 1st trip to this great city, CE which we always need and afabulous reunion with good friends we miss!





2 weeks later we were on the go again this time to celebrate a momentous birthday-our brother in laws 40th! (Happy Bday Fred!) and to see some of Parker's new moves out on the field, oh and lest we forget Trent had a few new moves of his own...




you can put in your own caption for this one

So, then came Easter with all of it's egg decoration, sugar and glory. For the grand finale Parker put on quite the magic show!

Uncle Jeff, Jackie & Isa are back visiting from WI-what fun!! We went to the beach, played with cousin Trent (and ALL of his toys) then off to the Discovery Museum of Science where even 15month olds find things to discover!

and last but not least my good friend Julie had her bachelorette party in a unusually warm San Francisco this past weekend. We had a splendid time! While I don't have any pictures here, the very next day our very good friends The Aleknas hosted a housewarming brunch (congratulations you two!) and again we found ourselves surrounded by good friends, laughter, love and you guessed it-good food!