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!

Our Home Area

So recently while we have been spending many days away from "our home area" as Jason likes to call the beautiful central coast we live within, we HAVE enjoyed many wonderful weekends and visits.

Here is just a small collection of the friends, family and fun in our home area. (and if you haven't yet been to visit, take this as an open ended invitation-we miss you!)

Our new cousin Isa visits w/Uncle Jeff & Aunt Jackie from WI


Our very first adult overnight visitors that aren't family!
We think we showed them a GOOD time!


Some of the locals


Who wouldn't LOVE THIS home area?

Jason's new diggs!

A SuperBowl Super Fun Time!

New friends feedin' the ducks

Visiting with local family

Our SoCal friends venture North for a little R&R


When Parker can't visit, he sends Flat Stanley instead!

Having fun @ The Dunes

Family visits!

6 weeks to go!!

Times are tough! Money is tight! The wind is high! Training is goooiiinnnggg.....

Me on the trainer riding my little brains out!!!
The only place I can ride in this Santa Maria winds without being BLOWN OVER!! Gosh this training stuff is challenging!


Jason on the other hand does not need the training so much-he is much more fit and bicyclee gifted than I, therefore you will often find him training as a ninja instead
We are short on donations!! Please send your love and support our way-as you can see from above, WE DESPERATELY NEED IT!

Jingle Bells!

We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season in store! We have big plans! BIG, BIG plans!! Well, mostly they include traveling to see our friends and family and eating lots of good food and maybe catching a football game or two, but the thing we are MOST excited about is 2008! and everything the year has in store! Our life and a bit of our outlook changed recently on our return from Greece. What, why, how you say...??? Well lets start in the beginning and we'll end in well 2008...

1. We are celebrating a wonderful event this year-Krista's mom's birthday (it's a good one) as she has made every single one of Karen and Kristas' birthdays as special as they could possibly be, they figured it was their chance to turn the table and so it has turned it to a year long celebration!!!! Happy Birthday Year Mom!
2. Krista started teaching at her job in the VA, this is something she's been wanting for months, make that a year now, so this was a happy start to what she hopes will develop into a very rewarding job
3. Thanksgiving, gobble, gobble! we had a great celebration with the Thomas Family and Krista's mom, we even got to see Jason's parents and brother Phil for a quick visit-made it even more special!
4. Krista, Karen & the birthday girl got to celebrate with style, in the city that never sleeps-Las Vegas! The highlight was seeing Celine Dion in the 1st of her last 10 performances in LV!! Would love to tell you more-but you know the deal!
5. Jason got a new JOB!!! With a fabulous new practice in San Luis Obispo! We were so pleased when we got to meet the whole office staff at their holiday party last week-great group! And Jason's 1st day went SPLENDIDLY!
6. Christmas-we're going to the Bay Area to see the fam. and hopefully catch up with some old friends; It is always wonderful to see Jason's family and we miss the Bay Area like no other and so-nuff said!
7. Right after Christmas more family fun-this is the really exciting part-AND we get to meet our new COUSIN ISA!! We're so excited to see Krista's Uncle Jeff & Aunt Jackie-but especially excited to see their new baby girl!!
8. Happy New Year!!!
9. SO many events in 2008 we couldn't possibly list them all but here are some of the highlights:
-Camping scheduled for President's Day Weekend-took a little coordinating, but should be big fun!
-Jason's parents' 40th anniversary!! Great celebration, great family trip!
-Trip up north (way overdue) to Krista's Dad's place and the county Jason & Krista got ENGAGED!!
-Andrew Mick and Julie Flettner WED!! We hope we can make this one, but our dance card is filling up quick and it's ALL THE WAY in MAUI, but it is in MAUI sooo...
-Jordan/Martin/Thomas/Chang Family Vacation (also long overdue) planned for Hawaii
-Last but NOT least AIDS RIDE 2008 June 1-8!!!; This is where Jason & Krista ask you to kindly check out the homepages on the right (simply click away) and seriously think about your love for us, support for medical research, tax write offs, and general good will. In the end we think you will support us, we really think you will...

We love you all and to all a good night!