Wow, long time gone

Sorry everyone. I promise I will be better about this.....someday.
First of all, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!! And Grandmothers day, and Auntie's day, and sisters day, and everyone else who I forgot!

Lots has been going on out here, and I will try and catch you up!
I (Nikki) switched school districts this past summer, and am SO happy I did. I am also teaching zero period Jazz band at Ridgefield High School, a local, smaller community school here in SW Washington. I started a blog to share my running stories as well. I have been running off and on all last year (lots of off) and this year picked it up a bit. Check out www.walkjogrunrace.wordpress.com if you would like to read about a slow runner!

Ryan has been continuing with Jiu jitsu and is getting really good! He is progressing as a white belt, and feels like he will be ready to advance to blue belt here soon. He is now working 2 jobs, which means we gt to see each other about 2 times a week. Boo. But hopefully we will have debts paid off here soon so he can go back down to a sane person's schedule.

For now, please see some pictures below of our escapades the past year or so!

Ryan got in to a fender bender with a company van. The van won, and Ryan got a new truck out of the deal. Win for him!

We had a bridal shower for Mrs. Gibbs ;)

We went on a relaxing family vacation to Estes Park, Colorado.

Linda and Steve enjoying their hike!

Alicia and Erich enjoying the hike as well!

Keller came to Portland, so we showed them a good time at Jimmy Maks!

We fostered an awesome Golden named Chet. What a ball of fun!

Nikki's Mom came to visit! And loved Mt. Hood :)

We went on a motorcycle trip after Nikki got her very own bike! What a great way to end an awesome summer!

We got to see our Huskers play in Seattle with There, Sean and Amber!

Miss Glover became Mrs. Gibbs in October!

Ryan got in to Halloween with an AWESOME creative spark!

We got to go to Virginia for Christmas! And of course, went in to DC. :)

We got to go to the National Zoo,and see a cute baby elephant playing with a stick. :) Kinda like kids, it seems the most entertaining things are the least expected.

Pretty sunset from the Zoo :)

I got my first medal! No, I didn't win, but it's still bling!

I crossed the finish line at the Shamrock 15k! (9.3 miles)

Ryan took 2nd at the Sub League tournament!

And was very excited about it!

And just this morning I ran my 3rd 10k! (6.2 miles)

The only pictures I don't have is of when Linda and Steve came out to visit this spring. It was an amazing visit full of running, hiking, lots of great food, and maybe some shopping thrown in there. ;)

I hope that catches you all up on our hijinks for the past year or so. I will try and be better about updating this!

Back to school, back to school....

Welp, so much for Winter break. It was amazing while it lasted!

Ryan surprised me and took me to "A Christmas Carol" at Portland's Center stage theater. I was a great night, and the play was VERY well done! The actor who played Ebeneezer was hilarious!


The two of us ready for a night out!

Ryan's co-worker gave us a puzzle, and I finished it in about a day. I felt very accomplished until I talked to my mom and realized they regularly complete 2000+ piece puzzles. Shot to the ego.


Still looks pretty when it's finished though.

Wednesday night Ryan had to work, then we had the traditional Lewis Christmas Eve dinner of hors d'oeuvres. We woke up the next morning and did Christmas via Skype with the Lewis clan. I GOT A SEWING MACHINE!!!! Woot woot! Mom and Dad were very generous, and it was nice to have something to open on Christmas! Ryan and I are saving our money for each other to buy a new digital camera. We also get to have 2 christmases this year, since Linda and Steve are coming out here in a week! Who's lucky? US!

We had our Christmas dinner on Saturday, and it was yummy! I think we might be getting hooked on Prime Rib though. :)

The rest of break went by too fast, with visiting downtown Portland, finding new places to eat, and SNOW!! Yes, the second week of break we got a totally random day of snow. We ended up with at least 2 inches on the ground, and it was the really fun wet, heavy stuff. Perfect for snowballs!

Our backyard after the snow.

The one thing we did not enjoy during break was having to find a new home for Jeanie. We know it's what's best for her, especially since she wouldn't eat well, but it was still hard. We took her up past Seattle to a group called Greyhound Pets Inc. I loved the facility, they are the only greyhound group I know of to have their own shelter, just for greyhounds. We miss her, but know that she will be placed in a home that works better for her.


Jeanie is not so sure of the other greyhound from the shelter. His name is Bill, and he was sniffing her just a little too much.

Which brings us to this week. Ryan started school, and I started teaching again. I think so far his math class is going well. He has gotten all of his homework done, so that is good! We have been focusing a lot on going to the gym and just being more active in general this week, so hopefully it pays off here soon.

Chugging along

Well, we have been trying to get back to life as close to normal.

School is over for both of us for now. Ryan passed his EMT course with a B+!! The final was last Wednesday, then the mulage final (The one where they dress people up with fake blood and have to simulate a real emergency) was the following Saturday, the 12th.

He got the highest score in the class on the written final, and only missed that because of a small brain fart on the physical final. Still something to be VERY proud of!

I made it through the holiday season at the elementary school level. For those of you with kids, or who teach kids, you know that this in itself is a feat. We had 2 sing-a-longs, 2 choir performances and LOTS of too-yummy food. New years resolution? I think so.......


Me with my choir of 47 members.

This past week has been full of school stuff for me, but a nice break for Ryan. He has been able to get back in the gym and lift, and is loving it. He keeps telling me how good he is feeling. We are really starting to buckle down and talk about the tough things we are going to face in the upcoming years, with him going to Nursing school and me finding a new career. It has been nice to be home together a little bit more.

This past weekend, Ryan made a cake! It was a mocha torte, and it was a great idea!


The delicious looking cake, and the handsome chef :)

We also had a delicious dinner on Friday (Cheese zombies anyone?) and watched some Christmas movies. Ryan had never seen "It's a wonderful life" so we watched it, and he loved it. I forgot how much I like Clarence. :)

Saturday we got up and were able to make it to the gym, together for the first time in months. I actually kept a lot of the strength and muscle I used to have, so I was pretty happy. I think Ryan was excited we got to go together. His strength is coming back too, and he can't stop admiring his traps in the mirror. :)

Then Saturday night we tried a new recipe - Swedish Meatballs!


Look good? Not really, but boy were they tasty!

Then Saturday night, we visited a place called Peacock Lane. It is in Portland, and the whole 2 block lane is done up in beautiful Christmas lights. The houses were lovely, and some were very VERY creative. (note: done up looking like a present with bow and everything) Unfortunately, as Ryan put it, "It was like standing in a two block disney world line". We went down the lane one way, then escaped at the end instead of going back up the other side. There were some very nice houses though!



These were neat, but my favorite is below! And the reason it is my favorite has NOTHING to do with think pink/purple lights........



We got to get dressed up to go out Saturday night too!


Take 1 - Happy, no? Take 2 - All I can say is wow


Take 3 - gave up on the timer YAY!!

After Peacock lane, we went to McMennamin's Kennedy School. IT WAS AMAZING! I love the fact that it still looks like an old school building. There are 3 or 4 bars, a soaking pool, a movie theater, hotel rooms, 2(?) restaurants, and way too much to take in in just one visit. We saw a "Where the wild things are" for just 3 dollars/person. We sat on a couch, (the theater is full of them) had beer and pizza delivered to us at our seat, and all around enjoyed the atmosphere. For those of you coming out for the game next year, We are SO going here!

This morning, Ryan let me sleep in, then made me soft boiled eggs for breakfast. Yum! We were debating on going to the gym, but then decided to take a walk, then go. We ended up taking a little bit longer walk than we anticipated, and 2 and a half hours later we made it back home. After not working out for a few months, an 8 mile walk was NOT on the agenda, but lovely all the same.

Which brings us to tonight. Ryan is at work, looking forward to his dinner of Swedish meatball leftovers, and I am about to go heat mine up. Hopefully we will get another update up here with Christmas pictures soon.

Miss and love you all, especially this time of year. We hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Chasing Goats in Dog heaven

Well, this morning we let Rudee go to dog heaven. We came home to a flooded kitchen. Fun day. :( We love you Rudee, your were an awesome dog and an amazing friend, even if you did drool a little. :)