Animal Whisperer

The whole time we were in Alaska Ryan's parents kept calling me the animal whisperer because all kinds of wild life came out when I was around. We got to see bald eagles soaring, Alaskan salmon swimming up stream, cute Puffins (relatives of the Penguin), common muirs ("the penguin of the North"), sea otters, seals, sea lions, mosquitoes the size of sparrows, a pod of porpoise, a pod of orca (killer whales), and a humpback whale (the porpoises and whales all came right up to our boat on the glacier cruise). We of course saw moose everywhere. They are like wild dogs in South America; okay maybe not that bad, but there are a lot. And the most exciting animal encounter of them all was when Ryan and I got charged by a mama grizzly bear. True fact, not lying. We were on a canoe trip with two of Ryan's brothers. Ryan and I had gotten a little ahead of his brothers and we were paddling quietly, enjoying the scenery. We came around a bend in the river and suddenly we hear a loud growl/roar. We look over to find a mama grizzly bear 10-15 feet away charging into the shallow water after us. Oh my gosh, we had not paddled faster the entire trip. We flew down that river like a power boat. I guess she was just trying to protect her two cubs who were on the shore because after we took off the scampered into the woods, but boy did that stop our hearts for a few seconds. Lesson learned, never sneak up on a grizzly bear.  Oh and we also saw a dead black bear in the back of someones' pick up.

Humpback Whale taking a dive...

Orca... AKA Killer Whale... AKA Shamu

Very Loud Seal Lions

The Horned Puffin... Relative to the penguin

Alaskan Snow Cones

We are now back from Alaska and oh what a wonderful time we had visiting with family and seeing the beautiful sights of Alaska. One of my favorite things were the glaciers. Ryan's parents were nice enough to take us on a glacier cruise and we got an up close and personal look at the incredible Alaskan glaciers. They were just breathtaking! They really looked like big snow cones. You just wanted to take a big bite. After our cruise, we all hiked up to a local glacier called Exit Glacier. Ryan and I were even able to walk right up and touch the glacier. I was tempted to lick it, but I decided that our unlawful touching of the glacier was enough on its own to help the glacier hurry along with its already rapid rate of melting to extinction. I learned that the aqua blue color of the ice, that gives it the snow cone look, is from rich glacier minerals. The glacier runoff gives many of the lakes and rivers and bays incredible aqua blue water. It is absolutely beautiful. The pictures just cannot capture what you are able to take in with your eyes.

"Little Kid Lover"

All mothers hide your children because there is a creepy hairy man on the loose. Actually it is just my husband Ryan in a Chester Molester mustache. He looks like he should be behind the wheel of an old van with no windows, driving slowly through a suburb. Luckily the mustache only lasted a few days and Ryan gave in because I refused to kiss him with the caterpillar on his lip.  I am happy to have my cute husband back.

Breathtaking!!!

Ryan and I are currently in Alaska visiting his family and it is stunning here. I have been taking a million pictures but they just don't do it justice. It is the most beautiful place I have ever been. There are a few pictures of beautiful Alaska. There are more to come.

And You Didn't Think We'd Make It

Yes, we have been married a year now. Shocking I know, but Ryan still thinks I'm alright. It is amazing how much more I love Ryan today than the day we got married. I am one lucky girl. Life with my best friend is bliss.

Date Night

Since my wife decided to embarrass me with that last post, I decided to return the favor. These are a couple pictures from our date night a couple weeks ago. I think they speak for themselves.

My Husband's a Super Hero

After watching the Padres lose at PETCO Park, my eight year old husband magically turned into a super hero. As we walked through the streets of downtown San Diego back to our car, I found that Ryan tied the blanket we had brought around his neck and had now proceeded to run across the streets with his newly created cape flapping in the wind. It was quite the sight. My husband has a very vivid imagination.

Having Fun With My Camera

The more I learn about my camera, the more lost I get. I have a long way to go, but I am having fun trying.

Darby Camp Out

As mentioned in the blog about Ryan's mohawk, Ryan and I went camping in St. George, UT with his family. We had a great time getting dirty and sweaty. It was a scorcher, but I guess you cant expect any less in St. George in June. We went on hikes and played a lot of bocce ball. And I am happy to report that the anxiety attacks I had on the trip were all in vain because we did not see any snakes. I was a little freaked out at the possibility of running into a snake, but luckily we had no such encounter.

I HATE JAMES!!!

On memorial day we had some friends come visit us and we all went to the zoo. We had a great time! Ryan and I even bought zoo hats . Yes we are hard core.


Well, towards the end of the day Ryan, James (one of Ryan's good friends) and his girlfriend, and I took the bus tour of the zoo. As we sat in our seats waiting for everyone to load I asked James if I could have some of his water. For about a minute I tried to figure out how to squeeze the water out of this high tech, hiker water bottle. Finally I asked James to help me-- big mistake! James grabbed the water bottle from me and showed me how you had to give the bottle a good hard squeeze in the middle of the bottle to get the water to squirt out. And James gave it a good squeeze alright. He squirted a high powered stream of water right into my wide open eyes. I was soaked with black mascara smeared down my face. Of course James and Ryan thought it was the funniest thing ever. And as Ryan took a picture of James and I to commemorate the "hilarious" event, James held the water bottle up in front of my face to get the whole story in the picture and I don't know why I didn't see it coming, but right as Ryan said three James gave that water bottle a hard squeeze and again, right in my already blood shot eyes. I could of killed him, but I really couldn't expect any less from James.