Rough Creek Lodge

My company celebrated our 10-year anniversary this past week. The actual anniversary is 9-9-09, but we celebrated early at Rough Creek Lodge. This place is amazing. If any of you want to get away for a weekend, you should really try this place. They have tons of outdoor activities (i.e. zip line, bungee jump, paddle boats, ATVing, skeet shooting, target shooting, fossil hunting, etc, etc...)

Working at an office with 22 women is a roller coaster ride, but we truly get along so well. This was such an awesome way to celebrate the anniversary. I just hope our boss celebrates our 11-year anniversary in such style! :)

The first day we did a GPS navigated scavenger hunt. We were split into 4 teams and were forced to answer Asher-specific questions and do different activities, once we found the "check points". It was cool because we got to try 10 of the activities offered at the lodge, without spending 3 full hours on 1 activity.

The second day we woke up really early (8am on vacation is no fun for Kate!)ache I, and we zip-lining and bungee jumping. This was alot of fun, except for the killer hangover headache I was sporting. After the aerobic activities, we went to the spaaaaahhh... The owner of our company gave us a $125 gift card to spend however we pleased (some women went skeet shooting or ATVing...I went to the spa). I got a Lomi Lomi massage, which was amazing. I definitely recommend that everyone try this style. Its representative of the Hawaiian waves, moving all over your body. Nice!

Both nights we had awesome cocktail hours and delicious dinners. I definitely recommend that EVERYONE goes out there. Josh & I will be going out there for a weekend getaway soon.

Coming up on the big time

I find myself sitting here at home tonight, with my 2 dogs napping, the lawn freshly mowed, a home-made burger for diner, & reflecting on how good everything is. The only downer is that Kate is currently on a company retreat & won't be home until Saturday afternoon. But, things are good. Tomorrow is our 11-month mark in our marriage......one month from our 1-year & our celebratory trip to Cabo.

I've got to say I'm quite happy with my little family. Schatzi is blending in surprisingly well with Maverick. It's great for them to have a friend to hang out with & play with. Kate & I continue to grow together. It's crazy to think that we're already coming up on a year. I remember this time last year, how it was all so exciting & moving so quickly. Then we went to Jamaica, & this year it will be Cabo. I think traveling is going to continue to be a big thing for us; one of our priorities. I'm really excited to take a vacation, but I really can't wait for that feeling I get when I'm far away from everything else except Kate, & we're n a new place together.

So hurry back, hun! Me & the dogs are doing good, but we can't wait to see you again!

Love you!

--Josh

our newest addition!

On Saturday, May 30th we welcomed Schatzi Sokolewicz into our home. She's a little girl, about 11 weeks old and will be a little smaller than Maverick. She has such a spunky personality and really gives Mav a run for his money. We are so happy to have another dog in our family...I just hope we sleep better than last night! :)

Some pictures:





I'm sure there will be plenty of stories and pictures to come.
Love,
Kate

HOLA!

Well, I'm happy to report that we have officially booked a trip to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate our 1-year wedding anniversary! The trip is scheduled for 7/19-7/25!! I'm super excited...1 month 30 days 15 hours 33 minutes and 28 seconds...but who's counting? :)

Gotta go work on my tan...
Kate

Decisions, decisions......

Life is full of decisions everyday. Some big, some small. Some individual decisions, some group decisions, some family decisions, some ground braking decisions. White bread or wheat? Get out of bed or snooze a little longer? Take this job or take that job? Buy this house or that house? Book a vacation or spend money elsewhere (the bought house)? It's crazy to look back & see what results came out of certain decisions. I guess the best guide to follow when making a decision is to follow what is important to you, what are you comfortable with, & what makes you happy.

Being a married man now, I am faced with decisions all the time, & try to keep in mind what is best in the long run for my family. Sometimes, I'm reminded by my lovely wife that its good to live a little once in a while. We're trying to decide now on several items: furniture for the house, outdoor items for the house, proper monthly savings, & vacations. Kate & I both feel it is important to travel & see different parts of the world we'd like to see, take some time off from work to relax, & spend a little quality time together without outside emails, phone calls, or anything else invading out time together. It really is great to be together somewhere far away from everything/everyone else, to just relax & enjoy being together. So with all that said, we're faced with the ecision to take a vacation this summer to a Mexican beach, or to spend that $$$ on some stuff for the house. This should be decided in the very near future.

So on to other topics & goings on. Life is going great. Summer is getting closer & the weather is really warming up. I just downloaded music on an Ipod Shuffle Kate got me & it's awesome. We got an inflatable pool for the backyard. Thinking about getting another dog. Carrie (Kate's younger sister) is coming to stay with us for the coming week & that should give our home a shot in the arm of youth. Should be a lot of fun hanging out & showing her around our area. So that's about it. Just wanted to check in with everyone & catch you up on some things. Take care, have a wonderful day!

--Josh

The Art of Marriage

The little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.

It is never going to sleep angry.
It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,
it should continue through all the years.

It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciation and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.
It is not expecting the husband to wear a halo or the wife to have wings of an angel.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.

It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.

It is finding room for the things of the spirit.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.
It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.
-Wilferd A. Peterson

...this is one of my favorite poems, and was recited during our wedding. I find it a good reminder of what we promised each other, and how great WE can be.

Love,
Kate

blessed weekend

This weekend has been so relaxing and very productive at the same time (never thought that could happen)...

Josh and I both had Friday off, and boy was it a Good Friday! We slept-in until about 10:30 which is a huge accomplishment because we usually can't sleep in past 8am (mostly due to a licky dog). After tinkering around the house for awhile, we dropped Maverick off at PetSmart for a haircut, and swung by the AT&T store. I have just about had it with cell phone companies. I have been with AT&T since I first got my cell phone like 10 years ago, so I find it really hard to believe that they can't cancel my # on my parents' account and let me sign up on my husband's account AND get an iphone AND a data plan...I mean, its a win-win situation for them. UGH. So now, I have to wait another 8 months to get my iphone. By then, I'm going to be so over AT&T and their bs that I'll switch to Verizon!!! After sitting at the AT&T store for over an hour, we went to Garden Ridge (loves it), Calloway's Nursery and Home Depot.

Finally! We're home with a backyard full of plants! We finally dug a trench and buried the border for our flower bed, and laid a bunch of mulch around the crate myrtles and irises.

Saturday we spent the day planting all the awesome plants (Sea Thunder Plantation & Asianic Lillies), trimming the 20 bushes in the front yard, mowing & edging. Let's just say, we were both sun burned and exhausted by the end of the day.