June in Alaska

We just returned from a week long vacation in Anchorage visiting my parents and enjoying the beautiful scenery. Here are some of the highlights!

Emma came along with us and got to meet my parent's dog, Dango, for the first time.
We took a long walk along the coastal trail and watched the airplanes take off and land.
We drove to Whittier for a half day glacier cruise. On the way, we saw some Dall Sheep. Kon was particularly proud of this picture as he used his small tripod and timer to take the picture from the hood of the car.
Here we are on the glacier cruise. We saw otters, bald eagles, and the glaciers calved for us!
Here Kon is sitting with Emma at the top of Flat Top, a short hike from Anchorage. Emma loved hiking and practically threw herself down the mountain. Kon had to hold her back with her leash.
A little rusty on the jumping pictures!
We met Hudson, my cousin Blake and his wife Virginia's first child. He is such a mellow baby and keeps all the adults entertained!
Blake and Virginia took us on a fishing trip. Here we are getting ready to launch Blake's river boat.
Bill, a family friend, flew us home to Anchorage from his Bulchitna Lake Lodge where we stayed for a couple nights. What a fun time!

Now, we're back in Rochester. Starting next Monday, we'll officially be second year residents!

Spring update.

I have included some photos of Stacy's trip to Germany with her mom. They traveled in March to participate in the wedding off one of Stacy's college friends, Ryan, to a German girl, Anne. I will let Stacy tell more about the trip if she wants...I didn't get to go along.
Stacy read from Velveteen Rabbit as part of the ceremony.


Stacy got a new weed pulling tool. She has a lot of fun spending time in the yard pulling dandelions. The new tool allows her to do it without bending down all the time. Our yard looks better since she started using the tool, but we have a long way to go before we are anywhere near weed free.



Here are some pictures of Memorial Day spent with Stacy's cousin Jackie. We drove to her place north of St. Paul and spent Sunday night and Monday with her. We went to a park on the St. Croix River just east of the twin cities. We were able to take our dogs, Emma and Miller, and had a nice time in great weather. We have enjoyed hanging out with Jackie a number of times since we have moved here.


Just today I bought a product for headlight refinishing...it is supposed to refinish the lens and get rid of the haziness. My headlights were pretty hazy, and the product is only $20 at Walmart, so I decided to try it. I haven't driven the car in the dark since doing it, but it does look better. Hopefully the function will also be better. I included a picture of the bag...kind of like an infomercial below complete with before and after photos. That's about it for now. Stacy and I leave for Alaska next week to visit Steve and Narumi, Stacy's parents. We are pretty excited about the trip. I will try to update the blog with some pictures when we get back. Hope this finds you well.

Recreational activity!

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to see Storyhill in concert in Zumbrota (a little town about 25 miles from Rochester). It was a great concert. We were in the second row. Unfortunately we forgot our camera, so we didn't get any actual pictures. I stole this one from the world wide web. The guys are originally from Montana and have a bunch of references to Montana stuff in their music. It made me miss Montana when I listened. They have ties to the area (John, the guy on the left in the picture, went to college out here), so we should get a chance to listen again in the future. Things are going well otherwise. Stacy starts a busier rotation on Saturday in the MICU (medical ICU). I get to work in the emergency department again. Dad comes to visit next weekend. I will try to update after his visit and all the exciting things we will get to do (the plan is to put a new back door on the house...I bet you can't wait for some pictures of that).

Flatus

I came across this passage while studying today. I thought it very funny and descriptive. I realize that not everyone will agree with me, but I still wanted to share. I hope that you can at least get a chuckle from this...

From The Merck Manual, 16th edition:

Flatulence: Among those who are flatulent, the quantity and frequency of gas passage shows great variability. As with bowel frequency, persons who complain of flatulence often have a misconception of what is normal. In a study of 8 normal men aged 25 to 35 yr, the average number of gas passages was 13 ± 4 in one day with an upper limit of 21/day, which overlapped with many persons who complained of excess flatus. On the other hand, one study noted a person who expelled gas as often as 141 times daily, including 70 passages in one 4-hour period. Hence, objectively recording flatus frequency should be the first step in evaluating a complaint of excessive flatulence.

This symptom, which can cause great psychosocial distress, is unofficially described according to its salient characteristics:
· The "slider" (crowded elevator type), which is released slowly and noiselessly, sometimes with devastating effect;
· The open sphincter, or "pooh" type, which is said to be of higher temperature and more aromatic;
· The staccato or drumbeat type, pleasantly passed in privacy; and
· The "bark" type (described in a personal communication), characterized by a sharp exclamatory eruption that effectively interrupts (and often concludes) conversation. Aromaticity is not a prominent feature.

Rarely, this usually distressing symptom has been turned to advantage, as with a Frenchman referred to as "Le Petomane," who became affluent as an effluent performer who played tunes with the gas from his rectum on the Moulin Rouge stage. Despite the flammable nature of flatal H2 and CH4, no hazard is likely to those working near open flames, and youngsters have even been known to make a game of expelling gas over a match flame. However, gas explosion, rarely with fatal outcome, has been reported during jejunal and colonic surgery, and even during proctosigmoidoscopic procedures, where diathermy was used.

This last week Tuesday, March 10 was my mom's birthday. It was a sad day...I wish that I had been able to be home with my dad and sister to celebrate her life and her birthday and to mourn her loss. I cried more on Tuesday than I had in quite a while. That same day I got a couple of emails from our Swiss relative. One of these included an older photo that I wanted to share. This photo shows, in the back row (the big people, left to right), Dad's Swiss second cousin Ursula, Dad, Dad's Swiss second cousin Margrit, Mom, and Aunt Ginnie. In the front row (the little people) are Teresa and my cousins Ali and Dusty.

I hope this posting finds you all well. I am doing OK as I remember Mom frequently this week and as I miss Stacy (she is in Germany with her mom and friend Julia for the wedding of her friend Ryan...hopefully she will bring some pictures we can share).

God Bless,

KON

A New Post ... At last!

It has been over 2 months since our last post. I had planned to update our blog a month or so ago, but realized I only had pictures of Emma, so I waited it out a little longer. Now, I realize that my pictures still are mostly of Emma. We have been busy, mostly working and enjoying the time we have off together.
I found Emma showing off her buck teeth in her kennel one night and could not stop laughing.
Here is Kon holding the baby Judah in a carrier, while we enjoy dinner. Below, Emma is giving kisses to Judah. She really likes him!
Emma got a haircut in anticipation of my mother visiting this month. The cube she is sitting on is from Teresa's work in Bozeman. The multi-functional cubes have been a hit in our house, acting as an ottoman, seat, and end table!
We had a special visit from Dustin, Shannon, and Caedmon last week. Here's a picture of the whole group at the Mall of America where we spent a couple of hours catching up.

Last, we had the pleasure of dog sitting a sophisticated Dachshund named Lucy last week for one of my colleagues. Look at how she sits up in the chair. So fun! Emma enjoyed having some doggy company too.
Kon is working hard this month on the Labor and Delivery floor, delivering babies. I have a lighter month and a week of vacation coming up too! Hope all is well! Love, Stacy

Winter Wonderland

Here is a quick photo tour of our last month. Fred and Teresa visited us for Thanksgiving. Here we jumping with downtown St. Paul in the background. The weather was frigid! We stumbled upon an awesome evening at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul where we watched Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" from on-stage. The live show was impressive and we are hoping to go again in future months with future guests!
Here is our studious dog. She likes to sit on the desk chair and watch all of the happenings on the street. She keeps us pretty entertained with her fun personality.
In early December, we spent a short week in Montana. We had a great time visiting both sides of the family. All of Kon's cousins are having babies, and they are all growing so fast and are so cute! Kon and I tried to spend some time in the mountains. It was too early to ski but we did spend one morning picking out a Christmas tree, and hiked up the "M" on the Bridger's a couple times too.
The following is Kon's artistic picture.
Rochester has been hit with some snow over the past couple of weeks. Here are some pictures from today. Emma loves the snow and does a great job of playing in it even when it is deep.
This is the view of our home this afternoon. It is blanketed!
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Love, Stacy