Memorial day- Birthday- weekend!

We had a pretty laid back Memorial Day weekend. The weather wasn't fantastic so we mostly just hung out. The huge Kinetic Sculpture race was this weekend and my work sponsored one of the sculptures. So I got some overtime hours taking pictures of the race! It was nice because we were going to go check them out anyway! We spent Saturday watching the sculptures trudge through the sand and down "Dead Man's Drop" and hiked around on the dunes at the beach (after Alex let me sleep in and went out to get my flowers and an apple pie for my birthday! he's so sweet) We were so exhausted from going up and down all the huge sand dunes that we opted to grab some steaks and make a nice dinner at home, instead of getting ready and going out! Our friends Mike and Shak stopped by for a little and brought me a chocolate chocolate cake that Shak made! It was very yummy! Sunday the race was in the bay so we grabbed the boats and headed out on the water for a few hours (until Alex had to go to work) I spent the rest of the day futzing in the garden and then went out to dinner with the girls! Here is the poster I made of the race for work...

Here's one of Alex that I liked....

Thanks to everyone who sent me a card/called for my Bday!

Meet Diego!

Charlotte and Brendan got a puppy!

I can't wait to meet him... he's so stinking cute!

Banana Slug!

Look at this big guy I found hanging out on our ferns by the pond.....

Banana Slugs are very common in the Pacific North Coast, and leave their slime trails everywhere!! They are the second largest slug in the world, growing up to 25 cm long. They are so named because very often their coloring resembles a banana, bright yellow body with black spots. EEWWW!!!

Now here's a pretty picture of one of my calla's to distract from the banana slug!

Canoe Trip!!!

So with all the hot beautiful weather we've been having we decided to skip out of the CG yard sale (which made our neighborhood a madhouse) and take the boats out. We decided to try a different section of the Mad River that we had yet to be on that was around 5 miles or so long. I (alex) was abit nervous about taking our wood canoe down given the prospect of potential rapids but it faired fairly well with only some minor scratches. On the up side with all the heat the river still had a good bit of water on it (snow melt), and was even moderately warm considering. We also brought Ned's good friend Maddie with us as well. She wasn't quite sure what to do about the boats, and wanted to hop in right off the bat so she couldn't get run over. After a few pictures she was back in the water and joined our two monsters for the swim the rest of the way down. Aside from all the people at the different swimming holes, we ran into some turkey vultures, and a whole flock of ducks. By the time we finally closed into the end of the trip all three dogs were exhausted and needed a break, so we managed to fit them all in the boats for the final stretch. We ended with a run-in with a hot-air ballon; which oddly enough was the first one we've ever seen in humboldt county.

This has got to be some kind of world record!

it is HOT HOT HOT today! It's NEVER this HOT in Eureka! Bring on summer!

So Sad...

Dan was our Sales Manager here at Tomas... and an all around great guy! He was biking home from work Thursday evening when he had a sudden heart attack and died. We all went to a memorial service yesterday for him, and was totally overwhelmed by the amount of people that were there- who all had their lives touched by Dan! Here is his obituary from the paper....

Allen Daniel (Dan) Gunderson went home to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on May 8, 2008. Dan loved the Lord with all of his heart and was faithful in sharing his faith with everyone he encountered. Dan was born August 5, 1959, in Inglewood, California, to Allen and Pat Gunderson. He had a younger sister, Laura. Dan just celebrated his 22 wedding anniversary with his loving wife, Cheryl, and their four children, Sarah, Amy, Heidi, and Adam. They will deeply feel his loss and always feel his love. The family attends New Heart Community Church where Dan was actively involved in many ministries. He loved working with children and would share the Bible with them sincerely and often times through humor, which Dan had a lot of. He was involved in small group and men’s ministries where his presence will be dearly missed. Dan died suddenly while bicycling home from work. He loved being outdoors, especially loved being with his family and dogs at the ocean. His passion was his family and his Lord. He loved nothing more than to spend hours with his kids in the snow, at the beach, or just playing games. Prior to his death, Dan worked for Tomas Jewelry in Arcata. Dan leaves behind many family and friends who will hear his laughter and miss his tender caring way. Dan always had time to listen and give of himself. He truly loved people and people truly loved him. In lieu of flowers, an account has been set up at Coast Central Credit Union, in Allen Daniel Gunderson’s name. We all love you Dan and will miss you always.

Rhododendron's and Smores!

So this past weekend was the annual Rhododendron Parade! We've missed it the past 2 years (man has it been that long that we’ve been here!) So I was sure to make it this time! Alex unfortunately had some work to do... so off I went with my 2 Coast Guard mascots!

We had a lot of fun! The sun was out, lots of friends, a beautiful day! Boy was it a long walk! I don't know why I didn't think it would be that long, afterall it is a parade route! The dogs were plum tuckered out by the end!

Alex finished his work and met up with us just in time for the end of the parade! We spent the rest of the day bumming around downtown for lunch and then a sat around the fire pit with the neighbors for some smores at night!