Its been awhile....

Sorry for the long delay between postings. Married life is pretty boring so we haven't had much to post. Several of our friends and relatives have recently announced that they are expecting children. Don't plan on hearing any news like that from us. We are happily enjoying this time, just the three of us! And since we have no ultrasound pics of fetuses or cute little pictures of babies, pictures of our Canine-Child Cali will just have to do. At times she is a huge pain in the *** (in case my nieces or nephews see this post), but we love her a lot. Here are a few pictures of her in front of the Christmas tree and living the good life snoozing in her bed, with a blanket and a bone.

Our Wedding!

I cannot believe how long its been since I've posted. I blame Wedding planning and other related festivities for that. The wedding was on Oct 18, 2009 and was a blast. We then went to Maui for our honeymoon (those pics later). I won't bore you with a lot of chatter...here are the pictures! Look at them from bottom to top if you want a chronological order of events. PS-These were taken by our photographer Jim Colman. See his blog http://jcolmanphotography.blogspot.com.

Big Saturday for Cali

This Saturday Cali got to go on our errands with us and was rewarded with a trip to Jordan Lake for a swim. First we stopped at Mike's lab to print out a shipping label for his broken home theater system. Since it was the weekend, we decided to take Cali into the building with us. Probably not allowed but we didn't see anyone so no harm. She was a bit scared of the elevator and when it started to move she lied down.


Then we went to Jordan Lake to go swimming. Some people at the dog park told me about a fishing access to Jordan lake where there aren't a lot of people. It was a very nice and secluded cove so we let Cali off her leash to swim. As with the last time we took her to the creek, she was a little hesitant at first but after one or two times swimming out to the get the ball she was a pro. She really loved it. However, she didn't like the bath after. It was a necessity though. Just look at how disgusting that water is! The best part was that she slept most of evening.

The Big 3-0!

On August 11th, I turned 30 years old. Its a bit of shock to me but I also wonder if its a bit of a shock to my parents. I am their baby and if I'm 30... I had a wonderful day with some cookies from my new labmate Ginger, followed by dinner at Panzanella with a surprise group of people, and finished with lots of cake and drinks at the Wine Bar in Chapel Hill. It was so nice of all of my friends to make it out on a work night. I really appreciate all of you!! Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures of the evening. However I did get a few of Cali and the cow balloon Amir and Brandy gave me. She was totally freaked out by it for at least a day and wouldn't be in the same room as it. And in case you are wondering, it is still inflated and floating above my desk as I type this.

Catch up...

Wow, I didn't realize that my last post was over a month ago. Y'all must be wondering what we've been up to. I celebrated being done with my grant by taking a day trip to Wrightsville Beach, NC with Mike and his lab. It was a great day and I only got a little sun burnt. Here is a picture of us enjoying the ocean. The water temp must have been at least 78. We could have stayed in the water all day!

Finished!

In case you've wondered where I've been lately, the picture below is where I have sat each evening and all day on the weekends. Notice my faithful companion below the table. I am happy to report that the fellowship application is complete. I can now have my life back.

Frisbee Dog!

When we got Cali Mike told me two things he wanted her to do. One was play Fetch. (no problem there!) The second was catch a Frisbee. It took her a few times but now she catches about 50% of them. Don't get me wrong, she is not one of those dogs that do acrobatic jumps in the air but she does get her front paws of the ground when she catches them. Here are some pictures of her and Mike playing before one of his Ultimate Frisbee games.

Cali's Water Adventure

We went to the creek today so Cali could play in the water again. This time I brought the camera. She was sooooo happy. You should have seen her. Running and jumping and splashing in the water.
She went after this ball and then realized that she couldn't touch the ground anymore so she turned around. Eventually she got to the point that she would kind of swim to get it but not before I had to retrieve one or two because she sat there whining. Here are those pictures.


Here we are having a chat about how I was not going to go get any more balls so she better start swimming. And she did!
She is soaking wet but extremely happy. She wasn't so happy when we got home and she got a bath.

Busy Busy Busy

Sorry I haven't posted in two weeks. I've not only been extremely busy at work but in my free time as well. Wedding stuff is moving along. With the help of my friend Laura we have designed most of the decorations/programs/place cards for the wedding. I just purchased most of it this weekend and in a few weeks I'll try and organize an afternoon of paper crafting with some of my girls! Mike and I will be putting together the invitations this week and hope to mail some out a week from today.

Our little girl, Cali, is still doing well. We are trying to break her of her shyness and she seems to be gaining some confidence in new social situations. I also have discovered that she is very suspicious of statues and considers them to be real (very funny incident with a concrete cow). We also have found that she does, in fact, love water! I took her to a stream today back by our house. In places the water was deep enough to swim but often it was only up to the middle of her legs. She had a great time running through the water, exploring the stream bank, trying to pick up underwater sticks, etc. She was filthy so when we got home I gave her a bath. Not 3 hours later we let her outside to play fetch and she wandered into the woods off of our yard into a huge mud puddle. So she got another bath! We have one clean dog today. Sorry I don't have any pictures. I didn't think to bring the camera. Next time, I promise!

Wedding Info

The real reason I started this blog was to be able to share information about my life with friends and family I don't get to see very often. One of our big events this year is our wedding! Here is an updated version of our wedding website. Feel free to check it out. There is hotel information, gift registry, and specifics about the wedding itself.
http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/JenniferSallee&MichaelKerber

We are still working on a few big details (ie DJ and honeymoon) and also the small ones like favors. However, we ordered our invitations today! I know, I probably should have done this a month ago but at least its done now. Next on the list, wedding rings....

Success!

What a weekend! Cali got to do all kinds of fun things. First we pulled out the pool again. At first she was still weary of it, but after a few throws in the afternoon sun she decided that lying down in the pool wasn't so bad after all. Then this evening we put on her pack and took a walk along the Pumpkin Trail in Chapel Hill North woods. She didn't seem to mind the pack one bit! We didn't have her carry much weight for this first hike. Instead you can see me carrying the water bottle. Cali seemed to really enjoy herself. We can't wait to take her again. Let me know if you'd like to come along!

Ready Set Camp!

Cali has a lot of energy. A lot! One way to try and tire her out is for her to wear a pack on our walks. Perhaps in the winter we will have her wear it regularly but for now its too hot. However, we are planning on doing some day hikes with her and though she could help out by carrying her own water. Friday night Mike, Cali and I went to REI (people got a kick out of her in the store) and we found Cali her very own pack. She doesn't seem to mind it, but then again she only wore it for a few minutes.