The Brintons

Christmas and New Years

2012-01-25T08:30:00.001-08:00

Katarina and her dirt bike

Happy New Year

Learning how to ride a dirt bike!

My sister going off a sweet jump.. Go sis!

Flo Rider in Ogden!

Five Guys!

Hand-made gifts!

Cheering on Thomas at his wrestling match

Hale Center Theater after seeing the Christmas Carol

Great friends from high school!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas...in New York and DC!

2011-12-27T19:46:00.000-08:00

What an amazing trip! Ah! I had the most wonderful trip to Washington, DC and NY two weeks ago. I missed Clark (who had lots of finals to take that week), but my good friend Maren and I made the most of our girls week in the big city.

From Portland to NYC and DC!

2011-11-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

Happy "Almost" Thanksgiving! This is my favorite time of year, and I truly love Thanksgiving. It is definitely my favorite holiday. Two of my close friends and I will be traveling to DC and NYC in December to enjoy some east coast fun before Christmas. DC has so many wonderful memories for me (completing an internship at the Capitol, gaining lasting friendships, and of course meeting my husband!), and I am so excited to go back for a few days! My friend, Maren, and I are huge Harry Potter fans, and when we heard that Daniel Radcliffe was performing on Broadway, we knew we had to see him! So, we are going up to NYC for a day to see the sights and go to the broadway show "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." I am so excited! I already have a huge list of things to do and places to see. If you have any awesome suggestions, though, please let me know!

Happy Holidays!

Beautiful Portland...

2011-11-11T09:19:00.000-08:00

How I wish Portland would stay like this forever...unfortunately, I have 10 months of dreary rain and cloudiness to look forward to. Yay! Enjoy the pictures! They will have to sustain me until next August.

Hallows Eve!

2011-11-04T16:09:00.000-07:00

Me and my good friend, Olive, dressed up as a gypsie!

Workout Barbie and Karl Malone

The Huish's!

Little Jane... Walking!

Mugatu and Karl Malone

Barbie, Karl, and the Mad Hatter

Clark and I always tell ourselves that we'll come up with some cool costumes for Halloween, but it never ends up working out that way... Oh well. We had a great time putting together our costumes about 5 minutes before our ward party. One day, maybe when we have children, we'll put some time into our costumes. At least some of our ward members had sweet costumes. Enjoy the pictures!

Myers Family Photos

2011-10-09T20:33:00.000-07:00

While in Utah, our good friend Jeanne Reed took some pictures of my family before Zack left on his mission. It was a crazy photo shoot with the sun going down, but I think we got some good pictures!

4 weeks of fun in Utah!

2011-10-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

My mad climbing skills in Logan Canyon...

Clark repelling off the wall

The Grand Tetons

My brothers-Thing 1 and Thing 2

Jackson Hole!

My biggest fear in life...rafting and kayaking. No joke, I cried alot going down the river....

Eating breakfast at our campsite in Jackson, WY...

Swiss Taco at Swiss Days! It was awesome!

Thomas at Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. He wanted to be as buff as those dudes.

The beautiful view from Smith & Morehouse Reservoir

Tom and Clark enjoying all that Provo has to offer...

Clark's 26th birthday!

View of the Brigham City Temple from our airplane ride

Clark's birthday present!

My dad's sweet waterskiing skills

Tubing with our friends, the Smiths! Here I am with my dad, friend Matthew (middle), and Clark (hanging on for dear life on the back of the tube)

Flying in Seattle!

2011-09-21T20:05:00.000-07:00

Clark and I have finally returned to Portland after our long and lovely trip to Utah. We had a great time hanging out with our families and doing lots of nothing. Well, not Clark. He studied for his boards most of the time. :( (He passed so it was all worth it though!) Anyways, I had a very relaxing time, and it was great seeing my brother before he left on his mission! We took tons of pictures which I will sort through soon. In the meantime, I thought I would post some of our pictures from our recent trip to Seattle. I got a sweet deal on a 1-hr flight lesson up in Seattle as a surprise for Clark's birthday, and it was awesome! We drove up Thursday morning and explored Seattle for a few hours before the flight lesson. Pikes Place was beautiful, and I really enjoyed the city. There was so much I wanted to see so luckily we were able to see everything in Seattle from an airplane! We took off in a little Cessna airplane from Sea-Tac, the same airport that all of the huge jets use! It was pretty crazy taking off and landing at the same time as these huge planes! Once in the air we flew over the stadiums, the Space Needle, University of Washington campus, the Microsoft campus, Bill Gates house, the Seattle temple, and this amazing waterfall that I can't remember the name of. It was wonderful! Clark flew the airplane, and I took lots of pictures! Once Clark finished up his flight lesson, we asked the pilot to show us some cool tricks in the air. It was insane! He took us through some aerobatics moves that felt like the most intense roller coaster in the world. After that ride I decided that I should never be an Air Force pilot because I couldn't handle the G force turns :)

That night we camped at Dash Point State Park where a tricky little raccoon stole our muffins from the inside of our big, waterproof duffle. Clark chased it into the bushes where it just sat, eating its muffin, staring at us. Clark was not too happy that the raccoon ate his breakfast!

We had a wonderful time in Seattle, and I can't wait till Clark gets his pilots license (after dental school when we have an income :)) so we can fly all over!

Pura Vida!

2011-07-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

It finally feels somewhat like summer here in Portland. The sun has decided to show itself, and life is great. After the big triathlon adventure in June, Clark and I were able to fly down to Costa Rica to spend a week with my family. It was marvelous. The aftermath of the triathlon, the long flight to Costa Rica, and the three hour bus ride to our hotel made for one very exhausted Kjerstin. But, our vacation was super relaxing and wonderful! It was great to see my entire family, including my awesome grandma, Oma. This vacation was the perfect method of recuperation for my triathlon. We played by the pool, went to the beach, rented surf boards, went boogie boarding, saw beautiful rain forests and national parks, took pictures of sloths, monkeys, and red crabs, ate awesome food, did some intense shopping at the market, went on a canopy tour, rappelled from treetops, swung from tree to tree in the rain forest....the list goes on! We had an awesome time and were sad to leave such a beautiful country! The people were so laid back and very kind. I got about 100 mosquito bites on my legs, but I think it was worth the trip! Enjoy the pictures!!!

72.3 miles later...

2011-07-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

The battle wound!

The awesome shirt Clark made me!

I survived! I can't believe that after 4+ months of intense training, I finished my first (and maybe my last...we'll see :)) Half Ironman Triathlon!!! Clark was a wonderful support crew for me and followed me for most of the race which was great. I finished in about 8 hrs including the transitions from swim-bike and bike-run. Clark was at both transitions with the camera, taking tons of pictures as I came through.

The swim was super scary for me. I had never done an open swim before, and the freezing water temp wasn't much help. There were several different heats with hundreds of swimmers looking very tough. I knew I was in over my head, but I couldn't back out! The swim was definitely the hardest leg of the race which is kind of funny because its only 1.2 miles in comparison to the 58 mile bike and the 13.1 mile run. I had several other swimmers smack me pretty hard as they swam by, and there were a few times that I wanted to just quit and get rescued by the support staff. I had difficulty spotting the buoys and found out the hard way that I'm not that great at swimming in a straight line without lane lines ;) Clark said I probably swam close to 2 miles because I kept zigzagging back and forth. Finally, an hour after the start of the race, I finally made it out of the water. I was shaking because it was so cold! I was so thrilled to be done with the swim. I honestly felt like I could have drowned, so it was a relief to finish that leg!

The bike was a bit long, but it was so so beautiful! I wish I would have had my camera as I rode by some amazing glacier lakes and rivers. I finished the 58 mile bike ride in a little under 4 hrs. The bike had a really tough climb up to Mt. Bachelor with over 6 miles of climbing without any flats. Luckily, the last 10 miles or so were pretty flat. I did get a bit lonely out on the road though! I'm used to having Clark ride with me!

Once I made it through the bike, I knew I only had a few hours left! I wasn't sure how my legs would be feeling, but I was very surprised that my shins and IT band did not hurt at all. I was truly blessed. The altitude in Sunriver, OR is about 4000-5000 ft and I could definitely tell that I was not at sea level! I felt like I had asthma for most of the run, but I took it slow and was able to finish in about 2.5 hrs. Clark was awesome throughout the day and somehow tracked me down during the run and cheered me on alot. He even ran the final mile or so with me which was super helpful. I really wanted to just walk, but Clark kept me going. The last three miles or so were not so fun, but seeing the finish line was the best feeling ever! I just started crying!

Finishing the triathlon felt awesome. Luckily I didn't hurt as much as I did when I ran the marathon, but I felt exhausted! Overall, it was a fun experience. The swim was scary, but the bike and run were great. I got a nasty blood blister on my foot that just won't go away, but that is my only battle wound! Hopefully Clark will do a triathlon or duathlon with me in the future! He just started his third year of dental school, so we are hoping that he will have a bit more free time!

Costa Rica pictures to be posted next!!!

Life is too short...ENJOY THE RIDE!

2011-06-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

Source

Hello everyone! It is now T-minus 4 days until the big race day. I honestly cannot believe it is here already! Augh! So, regardless of whether I am ready or not, I will be swimming 1.2 miles in a freezing lake, biking 58 miles up to Mt. Bachelor, and then running a ridiculous 13.1 miles in Sunriver, OR. What fun! I'm super nervous but very excited to push myself farther than I ever have before. I think this race will make my marathon look easy. I'll let you know though :)

About two days ago I found a great website called thirtysixthavenue.com with great craft, design, and home decor ideas. I fell in love with a pillow case stencil with a picture of a bike and the quote "life is too short. enjoy the ride" that was shown on the blog. I promptly ordered the stencil so I could make my own craft project. Tonight, as I was browsing through The 36th Avenue website/blog again, I saw that Desiree (the blog owner) had given a shout-out to me and the triathlon that I'm doing! Woo hoo! :) Anyways, I'm posting the link below because I feel so special. Just scroll to the bottom of the post to see the shout-out to me! I think she knew it was my birthday tomorrow and wanted me to feel good about myself. It worked! Thanks for the inspiration!

http://www.thirtysixthavenue.com/2011/06/monday-20th-2011.html?showComment=1308718581219#c802793363727810692

Enjoy! Have a fantastic week!!!!!

XBox 360 Kinect

2011-06-18T00:33:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkTTVMm0PqQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGW4Nnhdmg8

-Kjerstin

Puget Sound...Tacoma, WA

2011-06-05T20:07:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Clark and I went up to Tacoma, WA to spend some time with our good friends, the Huish's. They have a wonderful aunt and uncle who let us stay with them! We drove up on Sunday afternoon and were welcomed by the most amazing view I have ever seen. The Huish's house was on the top of the hill, overlooking Puget Sound. We could see the forests, ocean, and the Narrows Bridge. I couldn't stop looking at it! I think that is what heaven will look like :)

That night Clark and I discovered XBox 360 Kinect, the most amazing game in the entire world. I think I burned about 1000 calories from jumping around so much! Lindsey and I took turns taking video of each other because it was so hilarious to watch. I'll post those soon for your entertainment.

On Memorial Day, Clark, Seth, and I took a 25 mile bike loop by the Puget Sound. It was so beautiful! The weather was perfect, and we really enjoyed seeing the sights! After our bike ride, we decided to get some lunch at a delicious seafood place by the water. It was great! I even took a picture with a big king crab and played in the water with my friend, Rae.

We headed home that afternoon and unfortunately blew a tire on the freeway going 70+ mph. I don't think our tires were used to these high speeds! Oregon, unfortunately, has the slowest speed limits known to man. So, Clark and I had to change the tire on the side of the freeway with massive semi trucks roaring by. It was a bit scary. Then we had to drive the 40 remaining miles back to Portland going 45 mph with the spare tire. What an adventure! :)

We truly had a wonderful and much needed vacation, even though it was only for a day. Now we are on to the next big adventure, my graduation! My parents and oldest brother will be coming TOMORROW! I will be graduating with my Masters Degree on Friday. I am stoked :) I'll post pictures as they come!

Brintopia 2011-Arrrrgh!

2011-05-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

Brigham City Temple!

Crazy lightning tournament. Yes, I won one round against the boys. It was awesome.

Pioneer Stick Pulling Game!

Oh yes, I beat my sister twice! Look at those muscles!

The remainder of the pirate pinata after Zack had a turn :)

On May 13, Clark and I headed to Utah for a brief (and I mean brief!) trip to Utah for the first-annual Brintopia family reunion! It was a blast! Thank you Brinton family for flying us to Utah to participate in the extravaganza! Above are some great pictures of our adventures.

1. My brother got his mission call! Tulsa Oklahoma! To the land of wind and tornadoes...
2. Pirate scavenger hunt and family photos
3. Delicious bbq and fun games!
4. Sunny and dry weather!
5. Wonderful family time!

I miss Utah, mountains, families close by, warm and dry weather, and sunshine!

Just waiting for the sunshine...

2011-04-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

It has been so so so so rainy this winter in Portland. We've had a few (and I mean a very select few) sunny days, but most of the time its dreary and wet. Usually weather doesn't bother me too much, but the last few months have been rough! Luckily Saturday was a beautiful day, and Clark and I took advantage of the dry, sunny, and warm weather to go on an early morning bike ride with some guys from our ward. It was wonderful. I'd wake up early every morning to ride my bike if it was sunny!

Anyways, there are so many things I am looking forward to in the near future! I have been trying really hard to enjoy life as it comes and take each day in stride. But, I can still be excited right?

Clark's dad and brother will be visiting us this weekend which is a real treat! They are always a blast to spend time with! We'll be going fishing on the Willamette on Saturday and catching up with the Brinton clan.

Then, two weeks later, we'll be heading to Utah for the first annual Brintopia Family Reunion! I am so excited!! I've been missing Utah and our families alot lately, especially the warm, dry weather!

A few weeks after that adventure, my parents and brother, Zack, will be coming to Portland for my graduation from my master's program! It will be epic. I'm hoping to take them all on a long bike ride around Portland... Now I just have to figure out where to get some bikes :) Suggestions?

The visit from my family will be closely followed by my Half Ironman Triathlon in Sunriver. I am very nervous to say the least. I'm hoping I won't drown in that big, cold lake. You are welcome to come camp with us and cheer me on!

If I survive the triathlon, Clark and I will be heading to Costa Rica the following day! I'm glad I have several hours to recuperate on the plane! My brother, Zack, will be going on a mission this summer, and Costa Rica was the place he chose for his final farewell trip! Thanks Zack! Everyone in my family will be going, including my wonderful grandma, Oma!!

Lots of pictures will be uploaded during the next few weeks of excitement! I hope everyone enjoys the sunshine when it finally comes!

the "Kjark"

Spring Break in Utah...oh, and rainy camping on the coast!

2011-03-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hello all! Happy almost April! I am so excited for General Conference this weekend! I hope it brings some sunshine. I am very vitamin D deficient right now... Last week, during my spring break, I was able to go to Utah for a few days. It was awesome! Clark had finals that week, unfortunately, and was not able to come with me :( I hung out with my family in their new house and got to see some of my friends! It was a bit cold, but at least I got some sunshine! Thank you Utah! My trip went by very fast and I was sad to leave my family. But... I got to go camping with Clark on the Oregon coast when I got back. Clark and I headed down with our good friends, the Huish's, to Cape Lookout on Friday. It was beautiful when we arrived, but about an hour after we set up our tent, it started to rain. And then it rained, and rained, and rained some more. All night long it rained. I thought we were going to float away. Finally morning came and the rain let up for about 20 minutes. We quickly took the wet tent down and hopped in the car. We then headed down the coast to Oceanside to help with the SOLV beach clean-up with other ward members. It was beautiful (and partly sunny), but super windy and cold! We didn't make it very long because we were frozen! We decided to get some tasty clam chowder and Tillamook ice cream with the Huish's. It was a really fun day, besides the ridiculous rain. I don't know about you other Oregonians, but this rain is getting to me! Augh! It has rained and rained for months. I need to start taking more vitamins because I haven't seen the sun in ages. Well, that is about it for now. I'm back in school for my last term before graduation. Yay! I'm still training for the triathlon (even though I fell down the stairs last week...long story...don't text message while walking down the stairs), and my arms are dying because of the swimming training. Clark is enjoying his spring break right now, a very well deserved break! I hope you all are having a great spring so far! Enjoy conference!

An exciting Thursday night...

2011-03-13T17:59:00.000-07:00

Thursday night we got to go to the Dive in Movie at PSU which was a romantic poolside showing of the Blindside with complementary pizza and Cliff Bars. After an enjoyable evening, we returned to our car, parked across the street from the Rec Center, coincidentally on the same block as a McDonalds "restaurant". As we approached the parking spot, our vehicle was obscured by a behemoth McDonalds semi tractor trailer dropping off over-processed frozen fare to be peddled to customers throughout the coming week. We found our way around the semi to access our car, only to find it more involved than I had imagined. The truck operator had assembled a metal chute with rollers from the truck over our car, the sidewalk, and into a window in the side of the building. A metal stand lodged under our front right tire was keeping the contraption from dropping onto our hood. Time to put my people skills to work. "Hello sir, you seem to have inadvertently set up your dealie-bob on top of my car. I'm very tired and just want to go home. Do you think you could move it so we can get out?" (Non-apologetic laughter) "Ha ha yeah, I pinned it in pretty good didn't I?" He continues to shovel frozen fry boxes onto the ramp. "If ya try to get her outta there, make sure not to turn yer wheel, or you'll bring the whole thing down on yer car." I assess the situation. We're pinned in by the truck and other cars both in front and behind. Me- "How long will you be? Even if I get out from under your ramp, I don't think I can get out from behind your trailer" McD guy- "Oh you'll be fine! Just back straight up out from under this ramp, but don't straighten your wheels cuz the whole thing will go crashin down on your car. But don't back out too crooked cuz yull knock that metal stand over. Then pull up and back onto the curb between that newspaper box and telephone pole and then just squeeze under the back end of the trailer without hitting the Jetta parked behind you." He didn't mention the part about backing blindly into oncoming traffic... Long story short, we navigated out of there with Kjerstin doing some killer spotting. We had about 2 3/4 inches total to spare, but made it over the curb under the trailer and backward into oncoming traffic with no scratches. Just another reason why I love parking downtown!

Pura vida! Costa Rica!

2011-03-06T22:51:00.001-08:00

Yes, we are going to Costa Rica. June 26th!! That is all...

The "Kjark"

A New Beginning in a New Apt!

2011-02-22T19:19:00.000-08:00

Staining the beautiful bookcase!

The handy-man!

Learning to use some tools in the living room!

Clark's workstation in the drive way!

I was looking through our pictures on the camera and noticed we had quite a few that we hadn't uploaded yet! So, I thought this warranted a new blog post!

**Update on my brother... Zack finally was released from the hospital last night and is doing a bit better. He is off his oxygen tubes, but the doctors still don't know what's wrong. I feel like I'm in a real life "House" episode!

Clark and I moved into a new apartment right before Christmas, and it has been alot of work getting things situated. With Clark's amazing carpentry skills, we have a new desk, a bookcase, a bathroom cabinet, and a shelf above our bed. Its so exciting! I can't believe I married someone so talented!

Clark has been working like a mad-man with all of his new power tools in the drive way making furniture. Our living room has been like Home Depot with lots of wood, tools, and saw dust. Once it got dark and Clark couldn't work in the drive way, we brought the tools into the living room and kept on working. I hope you enjoy the pictures! We now have a wonderful apartment without a drummer living upstairs. Ahh...peace and quiet!

The "Kjark"

Triathlon Training Begins...

2011-02-20T18:32:00.000-08:00

My awesome brother, Zack. I hope you get better soon!

Happy February!

As June 25th draws nearer each day, I begin to start putting together my training plan for my endurance triathlon. I just bought a new swimsuit and wetsuit for the big day! Ah! It is all coming together! I am going to start my training next week which is exciting! I hope my legs cooperate during this training, unlike during the marathon training. I was so happy when my wetsuit came that I tried it on right in the living room. Now I just need to figure out where to try it out. The Willamete River is a bit cold right now :)

Valentine's Day was spent laying in bed with a horrible stomach ache and nauseas. Yippee! Clark was so wonderful, making me soup and bringing home flowers. On Tuesday I was feeling a bit better so I made some homemade fettuccine alfredo and cheesecake! It was awesome.

Finally, its been a long week for my little brother. He has been very sick and had to go to the ER on Tuesday. He couldn't breath and had an extremely low oxygen level. Zack has been in the hospital all week because the doctors can't figure out what is wrong. He is on oxygen at all times and still is having a hard time breathing. We are all praying for him and hope that he gets well soon. Actually, it reminds me of a House episode. The doctors thought he had pneumonia, but the antibiotics haven't been working. So, now they are thinking Zack could have gotten sick from all of the dust and chemicals at the new house. Everyone has been so supportive of my family and brother, so thank you so much for the food, visits, and prayers.

**Update-Zack will hopefully be taken off oxygen tonight! He might be able to come home tomorrow! Cross your fingers!

2010 A year in review...

2011-01-08T10:59:00.000-08:00

Wow, can you believe it is already 2011?! Time has just flown by! Clark and I have had the most wonderful year and have been able to do some pretty amazing things! We are truly blessed! I thought I'd take a break from lesson planning and update our exciting moments from 2010. Enjoy!

1. I started teaching Group X classes at the PSU Campus Rec Center! Yes! It is wonderful to be paid for working out ;)
2. We visited the Oregon Coast several times with friends and family.
3. Clark grew a sweet mustache for Mustache March.
4. Clark had a not-so-fun injury playing intramural soccer at OHSU.
5. My mom and Zack came to visit for Easter! It was a blast! We even got to spend Easter with our good friend Rae!
6. Clark and I ran our first (and possibly last) marathon with my mom in Ogden Utah!
7. Clark competed in his first Dental Research Competition at the Oregon Dental Association Conference at won $500! He is amazing.
8. Clark and I celebrated our one year anniversary by riding in the Strawberry Century. It was beautiful!
9. We took advantage of the wonderful Oregon summers by picking berries!
10. I spent an entire month touring Europe with my family. Clark was even able to come for a week to see the sights and meet my Swedish family.
11. Clark received his official white dental coat! His family came up for the celebration, and it was great to see them! We even took a deep sea fishing excursion! Clark and I were the only people on the boat who didn't throw up :)
12. Clark turned 25! His cool brother Tom came for the festivities and had a great time in Portland with Clark while I was in school.
12. Clark and I went white-water kayaking!
13. My lovely sister got married in August, and we got to go to Utah for the wedding!
14. Clark and I went on a week-long road trip from Oregon to Southern California. Phew! What a drive!
15. Clark and I started school again in the fall. I'll graduate in June with my Masters in Education. Clark is almost halfway done with dental school!
16. We have some awesome friends in Portland. We all got together and went to Harry Potter 7 on opening night. We had a blast!
17. We went home for Christmas and had a very busy trip! We helped my family move into their new house and had some great times with the Brinton clan. I will never take Utah snow for granted, especially after an awesome ski day at Brighton!

Phew! What a year! Lots of pictures and lots of fun! We are so blessed and lucky to be married and to have such a marvelous life. Wishing everyone the best in this coming year!

The "Kjark"

b

Heading to the land of mountains and snow!

2010-12-16T12:32:00.001-08:00

Utah! Here we come!!!

Hello hello!

Clark and I finally made the big move to our new apartment down the road! We are loving the peace and quiet with no drummer living upstairs :) We still have lots of boxes to unpack, but there are more pressing and exciting things on the horizon! 12 hour road trip to Utah in t-minus 24 hours! I have so much to do, so much to pack, to wrap, and to prepare, but we are so excited! Clark is working so so hard this week with all of his dental school finals, and we are looking forward to the two weeks ahead with no school!

We put up a few Christmas decorations in our new apartment, so I'll post some pictures soon! We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas break with loved ones. Clark and I are so grateful for our amazing family and friends!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Love,
The Brintons

Harry Potter? Oh Yeah...

2010-11-21T20:23:00.000-08:00

Our best friends!

Thanks for the 3D glasses, Melissa! :)

On Friday night, Clark and I were able to see Part 1 of the final installment of the Harry Potter saga. We went with some awesome friends who camped out to get the first spot in line. When the theater opened, we (the wives) sprinted into the movie theater and threw ourselves in the best seats. We chanted "Harry Potter, Harry Potter" when the movie started and were so excited to finally get to watch the movie! It was so fun to be there with all of our good friends! I'm so glad to have such great friends. Thanks everyone!

We will be staying in Portland for Turkey Day, but we only have 4 weeks till Utah! Right now we are preparing for our big move down the road to a new apartment complex. It will be a very stressful time because its right during both of our finals weeks at school. Yay! We'll keep everyone posted! We can't wait to get out of "drum central" and be in a quiet apartment!

Happy happy thanksgiving! I am so grateful for my husband, awesome family and friends, my wonderful calling at church, and for the Gospel. Hopefully it will snow tomorrow and everything will be closed! Cross your fingers!

Mono anyone?

2010-11-07T16:10:00.001-08:00

Huge skis at Next Adventure...

Mountain biking in the mud!

My new sewing machine!

Hello hello!

What a few weeks! Clark and I have been trying to stay afloat with school and work. I have been exhausted lately and thought it was just from all of the things overtaking my schedule, but I went to the doctor to check on a swollen lymph node and neck pain. The doctor thought I had mono, which I thought was crazy, and had some of my blood drawn for tests. The next day I got a call from my doctor saying that the mono test was positive. Yippee! I had no idea that this was the reason behind my very tired weeks. Clark has been wonderful and has cooked lots of meals, cleaned the apartment, and let me rest as much as I can. Hopefully I'll be back to normal soon!

In other news, Clark is in Alabama for a few days at a conference for school. I have been passing the Sunday afternoon by using my new sewing machine! Clark got it for me yesterday as an early Christmas present. Its wonderful!

This past week, Clark and I dressed up in our fanciest church clothes and headed to the Portland Opera to see Hansel & Gretel with some of Clark's dental friends. It was very fun, and we even got to sit in the box seat section of the theater. I brought my camera, but we forgot to take pictures... Oops.

As part of my fall class schedule, I have been able to student teach at Parkrose Middle School. I have had a wonderful time so far working with the awesome 8th graders, and I learn from them everyday. Clark is working really hard in dental school and just finished up his mid-terms! Our next big item on our agenda is moving to a new apartment! We'll probably be packing up right after Christmas when we get back from Utah.

Here are some random pictures that I have taken lately on our adventures around Portland. Enjoy!

muddy mountain biking...

2010-10-03T16:56:00.000-07:00

Zigzag waterfall by Mt. Hood

Cameron's sweet mud stains

The fearless ladies!

Last weekend Clark and I were able to go mountain biking with our good friends, the Steineckerts, up at Mt. Hood. It was a bit rainy and pretty muddy, but we had a blast! Cameron and Jen took us on a sweet bike trail through the mountains which was awesome. We got so muddy, but it was totally worth it. We are planning on hitting the trails again next week!

road trippin'

2010-09-19T17:16:00.001-07:00

Enjoying the beach...

Da boyz and their boogie boardz

Skim boarding...

At the pier

Raegan and her ice cream

The beach house in Dana Point

Lake Tahoe!

Crater Lake

Clark and I took a week and drove, drove, drove from Portland to Orange County. We had a blast on our 20 hour drive (yippee!). We took three days to drive to the OC and spent some time at Crater Lake and Lake Tahoe. We had some crazy off-roading experiences getting to our free campsites in our little civic. Now we know why these government campsites are free. I'm just glad our car survived the rocky roads! After our long drive we made it Dana Point where we stayed with the Huish family. They were so wonderful to invite us to stay at their family beach house. Clark and I had such a relaxing and enjoyable time playing with them on the beach! We also went to an amazing taco restaurant called Taco Surf one night. If you are driving through Dana Point in Orange County, you must stop and eat there. It was AWESOME! After spending a few days on the beach, we had to head home so I could start my student teaching at Parkrose Middle School in Portland. Its been a busy month for me, and I know Clark can't wait to get back to school in a week!

Sunday afternoon craft projects....

2010-09-12T20:54:00.000-07:00

Why hello! I ordered a wonderful online craft kit to make a flowered t-shirt a few weeks ago from elizabethkartchner.blogspot.com (such a great blog!). Today I finally had some time to work on it! I just finished pinning all of my flowers onto the t-shirt, and I'm about to start the sewing! I'll post more pictures of the finished product soon. Happy Sunday!

Clark's Birthday!

2010-09-05T19:21:00.001-07:00

Tom fishin' in Washington!

Here's a beautiful shot of Punch Bowl Falls...this area is vaguely familiar...is it in a movie? :)

A memorable trip to the Vista House lookout

Clark's sweet new birthday hairdo

Da boyz...Clark modeling his new biking gear!

Blueberry Picking

We had a great time with Tom in town, and were able to do tons of fun things in just a few short days. We picked blueberries, celebrated a birthday, went hiking and swimming at punchbowl falls, did some dental school jewelery making, checked out Council Crest park, went to a Portland Beavers game, ate at the Eager Beaver, and even went fishing in Washington. Fun was had by all.

The adventures on the river...

2010-09-02T23:29:00.000-07:00

The waterfall...much bigger in real life :)

About 2 weeks ago, Clark and I went white water kayaking with our friends, the Ellefsons, on the Santiam River. It was quite the experience! I had never been kayaking before in my life, and I was pretty scared! We tipped the kayak twice and I got stuck underneath the kayak at one point and couldn't breath or find my way out for about 5 seconds. It felt like an eternity underneath the freezing water! The second tip was off a 4 foot waterfall. We went down the worst spot of the rapid and nose-dived. Mandi let me borrow her rockin' retro wetsuit which saved my life. It kept me from completely freezing! Anyways, we survived and I'm here to blog the tail. Enjoy the pics! I wish I would have had a waterproof camera!

Katarina and Jace 8-7-2010

2010-09-02T22:49:00.001-07:00

On August 7th, 2010 my little sister, Katarina, got married in the Bountiful temple! It was so nice to go back to Utah for the festivities (even though it was a really short trip). We stayed up till at least 1am every night as we prepared for the big day. I think we got a max of 5 hours of sleep a night while we were in Utah. So, even though the trip was exhausting, it was wonderful to be with my family for a few days! Here are some of the pictures of the big day!

Deep sea fishing anyone?

2010-07-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

Lots of updates! The day I returned from Sweden, Clark's family came up to visit for his big White Coat Ceremony at dental school. It was so nice to see them and catch up! While they were here we went to the zoo, drove to the coast and went deep sea fishing, and did some shopping at Nike! Yippee! I am so proud of Clark and love to see him in his very handsome white coat! Deep sea fishing was alot of fun, but insanely cold! My muscles hurt from shivering so much! Everyone on board got very seasick, but somehow Clark and I were the only ones who held down our lunches! (I almost didn't though...) I even caught four fish! One more than Clark! :) I'm pretty sure it was all luck though because I have never fished before in my life. Its great to be back in Portland with my husband and all of our great friends.

Hejsan hejsan!

2010-07-25T16:53:00.001-07:00

Swimming at the Ljungby Pool

Mormor with her beautiful table runner made one her loom

At the beach...

Cleaning out the big barn!

Family Reunion in Vislanda

Mmm, seafood pizza in Italy!

Lake Maggiore, Italy

Switzerland

Germany...having way too much fun on the playground. Playgrounds are way cooler in Europe!Spaghetti and camping!

Ahhh, castles in Germany!

Innsbruck, Austria

Up in the Italian Alps

Tightrope in Florence!

The best gelato in the entire world...hands down!

The view atop the dome of the cathedral in Florence

Venice on my birthday!

Verona, Italy

Casa de Guliette (Juliet's balony)

Leaving a note on the wall of Juliet's house

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Italian Alps

Back to Croatia!

Camping in Croatia...yup, we are 10 feet away from the ocean

Yay, a flat tire in Croatia!

Wow, what an amazing whirlwind trip throughout Europe! We had such a wonderful vacation visiting Italy, Croatia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and of course, Sweden! I hope you enjoy the pictures! Let me know if you want more details about specific pictures! I uploaded as many as I could, but I have more on Facebook if you are intrigued :)

We are survivors...

2010-05-19T21:22:00.000-07:00

The marathon finishers!

The crazy Myers clan!

Clark and I with our lovely sign!

And yes, my dad did forget the "t" in Kjerstin

Finish line baby!

Hello hello! We bring greetings from the land of Ogden, UT! We have returned from our short but jam-packed vacation (if you can call it that) to Utah this past weekend. What a trip! As you might notice from me writing this blog post, we survived the marathon! We can now officially say that we have run 26.2 miles! Boo-ya! I don't think I have ever been so sore or sunburned, but it was worth it! We had a marvelous time running around Pine View Reservoir and down Ogden Canyon with my mom, Christina, the marathon expert.
It all began bright and early on a Saturday morning. We woke up at 5am (luckily it wasn't 4am thanks to my dad driving us up the canyon!) and threw on our running gear. Clark taped up my legs in the van as we headed up the canyon to Huntsville. Once we arrived, we boarded a school bus with hundreds of other crazy marathoners all anticipating the events to come. Then, we drove and drove. It felt like hours! Maybe it was because I started realizing I would have to run all the way back down the road we had just driven up. I wondered what in the world we had gotten ourselves into! But, alas, we made it to base camp by Causey Dam where thousands of other people were already waiting, huddled around firepits and clinging to old blankets and sweatshirts to stay warm. I stepped off the bus and a blast of freezing air hit my face. Brrrr, it was so cold! 30 or so degrees actually. My mom, Clark, and I all got the case of "before-the-race jitters" and bee-lined it to the bathroom. The lines for the portapotties were ridiculous! It seems that everyone had the same idea. Luckily, we were able to snag a bathroom about 30 seconds before the race started. We then headed up to the starting line with the other 3,000+ people, some wearing only a sports bra and shorts! Augh! Mind you, my mom and I were still wearing pants and three layers of shirts. Anywho, the gun sounded and we were off like a herd of cattle. My legs were a bit stiff, but we made pretty good time for the first 13.1 miles. My shin splints were non-existent (a miracle in itself), but my knee wasn't feeling too hot. Luckily, Clark and my mom were awesome and very patient with me. They stayed by my side the whole time. The last 6 miles were insane. I was a bit delirious to say the least :) I loved running by the stations where people would cheer us on and give us powerade and clif bars. You all kept me going! My dad and brothers were waiting at the base of the canyon for us with a big sign! They were cheering like mad when we ran by! I started getting all emotional which didn't help my breathing much. When we had less than a mile left, I saw someone ahead jumping up and down cheering. I didn't realize this person was cheering for me until I got a bit closer. It was my bestest friend, Heidi! She came all the way from SLC to watch us run! She ran the last part of the race with us and helped me finish! My legs definitely did not want to keep moving, but we made it! Clark, my mom, and I crossed the finish line together with our arms raised in triumph. I then promptly almost collapsed. :)
What an adventure! It was probably the most demanding thing I have ever done in my life, and I am still recuperating. But, it was so rewarding! I didn't run fast, but I finished! I remember at one point on the course, my mom said a prayer as we were running to help me finish. Right after she finished, a beautiful yellow butterfly flew right in front of me. It gave me the strength to keep going! I could not have finished without all of the cheering crowds and the awesome support of Clark and my mom.
I could barely walk on Sunday, but I proudly wore my medal on the airplane! Now I just need to forget about how hard that was and maybe I'll decide to run another one!

Ready or not...here we come!

2010-05-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

The miracle KT athletic tape we found at Sports Authority!The sweet shin splint taping job Clark did on my legs! Ready to race!

Attending our first REI Parking Lot Sale... Sweet biking jacket right?

Hello everyone! Happy Mother's Day to you all! I thought I would write a final blog post before we ship off to Utah to run 26.2 miles this Saturday. You think we are crazy? I would have to agree. But, Clark and I are are super-duper excited to fly home to the land of mountains and snow in June to run, run, and run some more. I am hoping we survive, but if not, we will say our final goodbyes in this post. We love you all! :)
Anyways, we will be returning to Portland after successfully completing the Ogden Marathon on May 15. I will feel extremely hard-core once this beastly run is completed. Let me know if you agree. First of all, we will be running at 5,400 feet elevation...very different from our 27 feet training runs in Portland. Second, the temperature at the start of the race is usually around 35 degrees and some years it has snowed and hailed throughout the day. Yippee... Third, my favorite: We will be awakening at 4 am to run this darn race. Yes, you heard me... 4 AM!!! This is our detailed itinerary for race day:
4am: Try and rouse ourselves out of bed.
4:15am: Get dressed and eat some sort of breakfast that will give us 4+ hours of energy.
4:30am: Make my dad get up and drive us to the bus loading zone in downtown Ogden.
4:45am: Load the bus with the rest of the crazy marathoners and party it up the canyon to the starting line.
5:15am: Arrive in Eden at starting line where there will be 3,000 other runners, about a million port-a-potties, and freezing temperatures. Clark will be using his master athletic taping skills to tape my shins as well as my knees. I will be like the bionic woman!
5:15-6:45am: Wait...outside... Possibly using the bathroom several times as my nerves get the best of me.
6:45am: Still trying to stay warm and prepare for the long hours ahead.
7am: Race time baby!!!
10am: Running, running, and, you guessed it, running! My shins and IT band will be doing great! (cross your fingers please!)
11:30am: Hopefully we will be nearing the finish line at this point. Clark may be carrying me. Or I might be riding Thomas's wheely shoes and gliding down 25th street.
11:30am continued...: We will have successfully completed 26.2 miles of running! Yahoo!!!
11:31am: I will make a beeline to the Great Harvest Bread and Jamba Juice stands for all-you-can-eat marathon grub. Shortly thereafter, a team of highly trained medical professionals will massage my aching feet, legs, knees, etc. so I will be able to walk :) Can't wait!

As you can see, we have a very eventful weekend coming up. Although I am quite nervous for many reasons (e.g. the high elevation, freezing temperatures, and the actually running of 26.2 miles), Clark and I are super stoked to head to Utah to finally run a marathon! It will be a blast and I look forward to running it with Clark and my mom. Team Kjark forever! Pictures will be posted shortly after the race.

We look forward to sharing our Ogden Marathon Racing Experience with everyone next week!

Spring Break Sensation

2010-04-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

Clark's miraculous mustache for Mustache March... I was sad to see it go :(

Clark's wonderful parents during their visit with us!

The spring flowers have arrived!

Enjoying the Saturday Market downtown

On the beach in Seaside!

Yes! We were successful in capturing one picture with Kjerstin on the skimboard!

The pro

The view from our hotel room

The marvelous new curtain that my mom made for our entry way!

Thanks for driving up, mom and Zack!

Oh yes, the monster eggs...

Spending Easter Sunday with our friend Raegan!

Easter egg hunt success!

Poor blog...so neglected, for so long. Fortunately, I lowered any mediocre expectations long ago with my Facebook and previous blog track record. Much has transpired since last post, so we'll serve this one up like a multi course meal. First, the appetizers- Nike Employee Store...Teaching Bootcamp Classes in the new Rec Center...NEW CURTAIN IN THE ENTRYWAY?!? If you're still not jittery with excitement, read on. After finishing last semester, we took a well deserved break with the Brinton parents (that's gampa and gammie to you' Alice, Mollie and Ollie). We spent the weekend in Seaside on the coast. We had a nice and relaxing time, despite the other spring break riff-raff that surrounded us. We were then graced with the presence of Zack and our Myers' mom, Christina. Despite the constant rain, we had a great Easter weekend with them. We even had the oppourtunity of attending one of the group exercise classes Kjerstin teaches at PSU. Bootcamp = Hardcore exercise. Truly a sweaty treat for all involved. Easter was not only GC weekend, but an exciting day for our friends the Huishes. Reagan decided to join us for our Easter egg hunt, since her little sister was being born. What a treat... You'd think now that we're back in the school, the excitement would have died down. WRONG! To prove it, check out this impressive list of happenings: I entered a dental science fair, we planted our container garden, we went grocery shopping-twice, Kjerstin got new leggings , and salmon was grilled on a cedar plank. Lest you're starting to feel this is sounding too much like the Promontory News, here's something cooler than Winnie at Arctic Circle: We got into the Nike Employee Store yesterday, where all the brand spanking new Nike gear is 50% off! We went with our buddy Josh who works for Nike. I got new shoes. Kjerstin got new shoes. We got new shoes. Since that was what we both really needed... Thanks for tuning in, we'll post again sometime before the year is out.

Molly's visit!

2010-03-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

So, one of my best friends from elementary, middle, and high school came to visit me here in Portland! It was wonderful! Molly moved to Chicago when we were in 10th grade so I don't get to see her very often. But, she was kind enough to take a trip down with her brother who lives in Seattle. I'm so glad I got to see her and show her around downtown, making a specific stop at the wonderful Powell's Book Store! Here is a picture we took at the top of the OHSU tram. More pictures to come as our families arrive tomorrow!

Happy "almost done with finals" day!

Spring has arrived! Hopefully...

2010-03-22T17:39:00.000-07:00

The birds are chirping, the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and the Brintons are in a great mood! Finals are over for Kjerstin, and almost done for Clark! We are so excited that the weather has been cooperating lately! It definitely is making us smile! No new pictures to post...yet! My good friend Molly Hoisington came to visit today! We have been friends since elementary school, but she moved to Chicago in high school so we don't get to see each other very often! I'm so glad I got to catch up with her for a bit and show her around the beautiful city of Portland. We took a picture together at the top of the Arial Tram so hopefully I'll be able to post the picture soon! In other news, I spring cleaned our apartment on Saturday! And it only took 6 hours of hard labor! :) Who knew there was so much in-depth cleaning to do? Anyways, I'm so glad it is finished! Now on to some other projects until school starts next week... We have a busy two weeks ahead of us! Clark's parents are visiting this weekend and my mom and brother are driving up next weekend! We can't wait for our visitors to arrive! Many pictures will be coming shortly :) In other news, I am having a Twilight Marathon girls night tomorrow evening with some good friends! It will be epic. Enough said...

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures this blog, but I am posting my favorite commercial of all time. I have lost track of how many times I have watched it. It still makes me roll around on the floor. See for yourself!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

Cannon Beach Bonanza

2010-02-21T20:32:00.001-08:00

Tillamook Cheese Factory

Raegan enjoying the cheese making process!

The beautiful Oregon Coast

BBQ at the beach with the Huish's

Cannon Beach!

What a week! I feel like we say that everyweek...but still, what a week! Clark had a nice break from school on President's Day so we headed to Cannon Beach with our good friends, the Huish's. I, unfortunately had class, but I decided to be a rebel and skip for our beach adventure. :) Anywho, the trip was beautiful! The beach was amazing, warm, and sunny! We took our grill, some tasty food, and our bikes. We had a blast! And...we even got to see a huge wave pound this older lady to the ground, completely soaking her and her camera. It was hilarious, but we did feel bad that the wave got the best of her. After our water adventure, we headed down the coast to the world-famous Tillamook Cheese Factory to taster-test some delicious cheese and eat some amazing ice cream. Can you believe they have 38 different flavors?! 38! Clark and I decided to split the 5 scoop sampler, although I wish they would have offered the 38 scoop sampler :) The ice cream was amazing! We both agreed that Sticky Bun was the best. It tasted exactly like a cinnamon roll. Mmmm! Deliciousness! Overall, our Monday trip to the coast was a complete success! We had a wonderful, much-needed break from school!

In another news, I believe Clark and I have broken a record. Let me know if you agree. Since we have been married, we made the goal to attend the temple at least once a week. Its been so rewarding for both of us, and we love going each week! So...back to the record breaking... Every single time that we have attended a session since the middle of December, even when we went to the Ogden temple over the Christmas break, we have been asked to be the witness couple. That is nine times in a row! It really has been a wonderful experience to participate in this way each week, and it definitely helps us pay closer attention! We aren't sure why we keep being asked to be the witness couple, but its been really fun! Can anyone beat this record?

Its been a wonderful week! We love the sun and wish it would stay all spring long, but we are getting ready for the normal Portland weather of rain again. Hope you all have a great week and enjoy the Olympic Games in Vancouver!

Avatar 3D!ddd...(trailing off)

2010-02-07T20:56:00.000-08:00

What exciting things have we done lately, you ask? How about watch Avatar in 3D 1.5 times? If that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what short of a shift of the economic tide will... That's right, we saw .5 of Avatar last Friday night, and then 1.0 of Avatar the following Thursday. The story goes something like this... When you have an 8:00 showing what time do you get there? That's right! Right before it starts, cause ya know there will be a proportionate amount of previews to balance the length of the actual feature presentation. So, following the laws of Theatorology, we arrived about 5 minutes early, finding space ONLY on the second row. A bad place to sit for a 2D production, and within disaster-striking-distance for an action packed 3D thriller. About 20 minutes into the show, even the entire plate of homemade brownies Kjerstin had smuggled into the show didn't sound appetizing. Five minutes later, she was dashing for the bathroom. Even our friends, the McArthurs, were feeling woozy. After Kjerstin spent some one on one time with a bathroom stall, we decided to call it a night, and got tickets to see the show on Tuesday. Prudently, we arrived 45 minutes early, and the theater never filled up for the showing. Bottom line- if you're goin to go Avatar 3D-style, give the screen some space, or it gets territorial. In other news, our marathon training is coming along...slowly. We ran 11 miles on Saturday, and then came home and slept about 11 hours to recuperate. Albeit inspiring to push our fitness limits, knowing 11 miles isn't the half of it is a little daunting. But, given time, we'll get there. We did run through Albertsons at mile 8 and cash in on a little free sample action. We can thank Mike Slick's Hot and Spicy BBQ rub for helping us go the distance. Well, with one more week behind us, that puts another squarely in front of us... Inspiring words...

2010-01-23T14:54:00.001-08:00

The new bike shoes!

Thomas' sweet new BYU football!

Running shoes!

The sweet hat and scarf that Daniel made for me!

The Christmas Photos!

Wow, where has the time gone? I can't believe it has been over a month since our last blog update! Thanks for everyone's patience... So, we are back in Portland after our wonderful, two week vacation in Utah over the holiday break. It was great to see our families and enjoy the snow and freezing weather! Clark and I were able to go skiing a couple times and had a blast in the famous Utah pow. We celebrated our first Christmas together as a married couple and had a blast spending our days with the Brinton's in Brigham and the Myers' in Ogden. It was so nice to have a break from school and work. We loved it! Tom was kind enough to take our 1st Annual Kjark Family Christmas picture as well! It was very professional. Anyways, we were spoiled like rotten for Christmas. Clark got a sweet new road bike for his daily commutes to OHSU, and I got some awesome running shoes for the Marathon! Oh and Clark got me this amazing GPS/Heart Rate monitor watch to track my training runs!

Now we are back in school and as busy as ever. Clark leaves for school at 8am and doesn't finish up until 5 or 6pm each night. Poor thing! And then he has homework on top of that! My schooling is going great. I just started my teacher observations and tutoring at Wilson High School where I help the ESL students with reading, math, history, etc. I've only been once so far but I love it! The international students are great! Clark and I started our marathon training schedule this week which has been quite demanding. I don't think we've ever been so sore! Hopefully it will get better as we keep running, but I know it will be a long 17 weeks till race time!

Hope all is well with everyone else during the start of the new year! Thanks for being so supportive. We love you!

Counting down the days!

2009-12-09T13:24:00.000-08:00

Having fun at the zoo!

We loved the train and the sweet blue gorilla in the background!

Our First Thanksgiving as a married couple!

Hello hello! Seeing as everyone else has updated their blogs, I thought it would be a good idea to post a little something as well. Happy Holidays! More adventures and craziness abound here in Portland. Where to begin? Well, Thanksgiving was very nice and relaxing, minus the fact that Clark fractured his ring finger playing flag football with the YM in our ward on Thanksgiving morning. I don't think I've seen Clark in so much pain. He had to relocate his finger to get his ring off, and I can only imagine how much that hurt! It was horrible! Luckily I was able to talk him into going to the Urgent Care clinic on Friday to get an x-ray. The doctor found a small fracture on his finger and referred him to hand specialist. Clark had his appointment last week and found out that he doesn't need surgery! He just has to wear a splint for a couple weeks and do physical therapy each day to regain his range of motion. Its been a tough and painful road for Clark, especially because he has to use his hands so much in dental school! We are praying that his finger heals quickly though! I know Clark really wants to go skiing when we go back to Utah :)

About a week ago, Clark and I went to the Portland Zoo with our friends, Seth and Lindsey, to see the Christmas lights. It was so beautiful! Not to mention, freezing! We didn't get to see too many animals because it was dark, but the Christmas spirit was in the air with all of the lights shaped like elephants, seals, gorillas, lions, and tigers. It was awesome!

The weather is amazingly sunny here, but unbearably cold. Its been around 20 degrees all week! I went running on Monday and about froze to death! But, I can't complain. I'd rather have sunshine than rain!

We are headed back to Utah for the holidays in less than two weeks which will be wonderful! We can't wait to see our families and play in the snow! Until then though, just a few more days of finals for Clark. Yippee! We love you all!

Feliz Navidad!

Bloody Buddies...

2009-11-23T18:31:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been quite some time since we've updated our blog! Thank you all for your patience. I know you must be anxiously awaiting news from Portland, OR. Anyways, its been an exciting and eventful few weeks!

Blood Buddy #1 - Clark and I finally tracked down and killed the beast that was living in our heat vents in our apartment. About three weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night and thought someone had broken into our apartment. I was freaking out... Both Clark and I heard the ruffling of papers and movement out in the kitchen area. We slowly crept down the hallway and flipped on the lights. No one was in sight. All we saw was a package of ritz crackers on the floor. Somehow these crackers had moved from Clark's backpack to the middle of the floor. Hmmm... At that point I knew that our "mouse problem" was not a mouse problem but a huge rodent problem. A mouse could not have dragged the entire sleeve of crackers from the backpack across the floor. I immediately felt sick to my stomach, knowing that "the beast" had ventured out from his lair in the heat vents to the outside world of our kitchen and living room. EWW!!!! Anyways, we couldn't see the creature so we turned out the lights and headed back to bed. Within 10 seconds, I heard the package of crackers moving... I rushed out to the kitchen again and saw that they had moved another three or four feet from the carpet to the kitchen floor underneath the oven. Clark investigated and found a false panel on the stove with a huge opening. We had found the location of the beast's lair! We disposed of the crackers and went to bed. The next day we stopped at the local Fred Meyer and picked up a rat trap. This was not just a wimpy mouse trap. Oh no... It was as big as my face, and it cost $1.99. We returned to our abode, and Clark added some delicious cheddar cheese to the trap and set it below the stove. We went back to our bedroom and turned off the lights. Not even two minutes went by when we heard a huge "snap!" We darted out of our room and ran to the kitchen. To our excitement and amazement, we had lured the beast out of it's home with that cheese. The huge rat trap snapped on the rat's head, but he still managed to wiggle out of it. However, the force of the trap crushed its brain and it didn't make it back to its hole. It fell over inches from the trap, blood coming out of its head. The beast twitched for a few seconds and then went still... We had killed the beast!!! I grabbed the camera and documented the event for all of you. Be warned. Those with a squeamish stomach should not look at these photos. They may cause nausea, dizziness, and possible vomiting. Anywho, after the pictures were taken, we were left with the task of rodent clean-up. Luckily we had a shovel and a large garbage bag to dispose of the creature. Clark, being the very many man that he is, got rid of the rat and the remaining blood.

Blood Buddy #2 - The second story does not involve a large dead rodent, but a hurt and bleeding Clark. This past Saturday was Clark's first annual dental school Turkey Bowl! All four years of dental student came to play each other for the coveted prestige of beating all the other dental students. Clark played great! He even caught a 50-yard pass for a touchdown! I was so proud! He is such a speedy kid! However, during one of his mad dashes to retrieve the flag of the opposing team, disaster struck... Well, not quite, but it was bad news. Clark went up against this 6'8, 260 lb third year dental student and didn't fare so well. To make a long story short, Clark veered one way and the big third year faked and darted the same way, hitting Clark directly in the face. Clark tells me he saw stars as he laid on the ground, surrounded by all of his dental buddies. They helped him off the field where his worried wife was waiting. I thought he had knocked out his teeth because of all the blood I saw. Luckily, no teeth were injured in the accident. Just cut up lips, a concussion and whiplash, a deadleg, a sore neck, and a painful side ache. No big deal... We went home, and Clark rested for the remainder of the weekend. It was a scary experience for me! Apparently two other dental students of Clark's team got hurt as well with a separated shoulder and a broken toe! Crazy boys!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed our most recent escapades here in Portland. Enjoy!

Halloween

2009-11-01T22:05:00.000-08:00

Gabriel Park Pics

Halloween Happenins

Hey everybody! Hope your hallow-activities were as fun filled as ours... (Please reference the pictures to see our costumes) We started out our celebratory festivities on Friday night by attending the ward party for ten whole minutes. As primary teachers, we were in charge of creating a paper plate skeleton for the party. We arrived, put up the skeleton, saw the boiled hot dogs they were offering for dinner, saw an older ward member dressed as a witch tackle and scold someone else's children dressed as jedi knights for making noise and having fun, decided we had had enough bonding with the ward, and left. We continued on to the OHSU Medical/Dental school party to watch others partake of free booze. My Forest ranger find from Goodwill paled in comparison to the vintage Dream Team Malone jersey donned by Kjerstin (thanks Dad). Despite the substance subsidized high spirits of classmates, friends and associates, we actually had a pretty good time between the music, dancing, food buffet, and two other sober friends, the McArthurs. Saturday night we could think of nothing spookier than eating at a legit Korean BBQ restaurant. We knew we were in for a real treat when we walked in to find we were the only non-Korean-Americans in the entire establishment. We still aren't sure exactly what we ate, only that despite the unique textures and flavors, it was actually pretty good. Afterwards, we headed over to the Huish's house for some rootbeer floats and a lil late night Conan O'brien. Church was fantastic today; we were preparing for the Primary program next week, so we didn't give a lesson. Instead we sat on the stand and sang primary songs and listened to two liner talks for two hours. What could be better than that? This afternoon we took a stroll through Gabriel park to behold a little fall euphoria. All the leaves were a'changin, and it was quite beautiful. If you're still reading this, you have more textual tenacity than a saber toothed bookworm. And for that, I commend you.

What a week!

2009-10-23T11:03:00.000-07:00

The road rash! Its graphic, I know... ;)

Riding the tram!

Eating fajitas at the Brinton abode!

After going to the temple with Clark and my mom.

Multnomah Falls in the pouring rain...

At the top of the OHSU tram.

Reenacting the falling (stepping) into the pond at the temple.

Another engagement picture! :) jk

My wonderful little sis...

Hello everyone! Happy Friday! It has been quite the past few weeks! My mom, sister, and friend came up to visit last weekend which was g-reat! We had a blast shopping, visiting OHSU, riding the tram, going to the temple, visiting Multnomah Falls in the pouring rain, hanging out in our little apartment, falling into the pond at the temple (go mom!), eating at the Cheesecake Factory (yummy!), walking around Gabriel Park...the list goes on! Mom took plenty of pictures too :) We all ended up buying the same outfits which works out nicely because I live so far away and we don't have to worry about matching :) It was sad seeing my family leave last Sunday, but it was so nice to be with them for a couple of days. They are awesome!

On Wednesday I had a very eventful day. I decided to start my big marathon training and go for a nice run on Terwilliger Blvd. wearing my new hot pink running shorts. It was going great until I started heading back home. I was just starting to cross the road when a car started to pull up to the stop sign. I assumed he would stop, because that is what you are supposed to do at a stop sign, and I kept running across the road. However, the gentleman did not seem to notice a 21 year old girl wearing hot pink running shorts crossing the road and did not stop at the stop sign. Before I knew what had happened, I hit the hood of his car, rolled off and hit the road, falling onto my right hand and thigh. Ouch! Luckily the man wasn't driving too fast and the impact wasn't that hard. I got up and a kind lady who happened to be running by stopped to make sure I was alright. The man driving got out of the car and said that he didn't even see me. No apology mind you... He seemed dazed... Oh well. We exchanged phone numbers using a scratch paper and pen from another nice lady who was walking by. I was in shock and having no phone or anything else for that matter, decided I should just try and run the 3 miles back home. It wasn't a very fun run back, but I made it and called Clark right away. Clark, being the incredibly wonderful husband that he is, borrowed a friend's bike (thanks Seth!) and rode all the way home as fast as he could to make sure I was alright. He spent the rest of the afternoon with me. I love him! Anyways, I have a pretty mean road rash and bruise on my leg, but no broken bones. I feel very lucky that I wasn't hurt worse, and I know that I was protected. I should be back to normal soon!

Wednesday night ended well though... Clark and I went and saw the Warren Miller ski movie, Dynasty! It definitely was a-mazing. I know Clark was dying to go and try all of the awesome ski tricks and heli-skiing they showed in the movie. I could never do any of those crazy ski jumps, etc. but it was still really cool to watch!

Well, I'll stop rambling and post some pictures of our recent adventures! Hope you all are well! Love you!

Caramel Corn Conquest

2009-10-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

Enjoying the fruit of our labors...

Anxiously engaged and ready to chow down!

Caramel corn money-maker shot

You'll notice the sequential photos are in reverse order... now is when i say something about how I did that on purpose to showcase some metaphor on the preparation and consumption of our favorite corn based popped product. Quite frankly, that's just how the pictures arranged themselves when we uploaded them, and I am too lazy and incompetent to do ditthers about it. Anyway, this is cyber-documented proof that we too can keep up with the Manns. If you'll kindly notice, we also upped the ante with the addition of festive Kraft brand Jet Puffed Ghostmallows Marshmallows (TM) I dare ya'll to try and keep up. (Thanks Mom) Well, with that trash talk, I think we've appropriately set the mood for the rest rest of our FHE. Don't you?

Multnomah Falls

2009-10-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the pictures we took during our adventure to Multnomah Falls with our good friends, the Huish's. It was so much fun and incredibly beautiful! We love Oregon! Oh and the funny picture I took of Clark reminded us of a camel... What do you think? :)

Punkins, punkins, punkins!

2009-10-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! Well, almost... Last week Clark and I carved pumpkins with our wonderful friends, Matt and Melissa. We were all very excited that the fall season had arrived and decided to get our pumpkin carving action on. It was a blast! Now we are crossing our fingers that our pumpkin will survive till October 31st!

Holy smokes, no more dental school debt!

2009-10-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

Well hello everyone! Happy Monday evening! I hope everyone is having a lovely FHE... Clark and I are having a celebration of sorts! Clark, being the awesomely smart and wonderful man that he is, received his National Health Service Corps scholarship which means the government is paying for his schooling...all of it! He totally deserves this, and I am so proud of him! Needless to say, we will be having a little FHE party tonight! Oh and his Integrated Bio science book came in the mail today too! Whoopy! Today has been full of excitement! Clark and I also decided to sign up to run the Ogden Marathon on May 15. Yay! I think :) Now we just need to start training... Yikes!

Well, House is starting so I'll finish this in an hour! Adios!

Kjerstin

Weber State, Weber State, Great Great Great!

2009-09-27T23:55:00.000-07:00

What a week! Clark and I took a three hour nap today to recuperate from all of the craziness! Clark had finals this week, and he did great! I am so proud of him, as always! We've played tennis, gone on bike rides, visited the temple, went to a baptism in our ward, watched the Weber State v. PSU football game at PGE Park downtown, helped clean the chapel, ate breakfast at a ward cookout, saw the Relief Society broadcast, spoke in church, taught the 7-year-old primary class, played more tennis, made cookies, made cinnamon rolls, enjoyed the sunshine, watched Conan O'Brien and laughed so hard, practiced hymns on our new piano, took long naps, read the "Lost Symbol" in two days, bought tickets to see New Moon on November 20, video-chatted with my crazy awesome sis, Katarina, rode my bike to PSU and bought all of my books for school, then rode home with 30 lbs of books in my backpack, the list goes on! Its been a crazy week for both of us, but we had a blast! The Weber State v. PSU football game was madness. We got to the stadium in time to see the second half, which luckily turned out to be the most exciting part of the game! Luckily #81, Timothy Toone, with dreads and all, caught the football with 17 seconds left in the game and ran it into the endzone. I think Clark and I were the only ones in the whole stadium cheering at that point. It was interesting cheering at that game. I've been a Wildcat, but now I'm a Viking! Oh well, I think I will always bleed purple! Go Wildcats! Anyways, I'm very excited to start school tomorrow and start a new adventure! Pictures from the game will be posted shortly! Love you all! Happy Monday!!

Here we go!

2009-09-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our blog! I thought it would be the perfect time to start a little journal of our time here in Portland. Clark had a blog back when he was in DC, but seeing as we are married now, I started a new one! One that will actually be used :) jk. Clark and I have lived in Oregon for about two months now, and we love it! It is so beautiful, and it reminds me of being in the green forests of Sweden. Our basement apartment is right across the street from a park and a middle school which translates into lots of kids running around the neighborhood in the afternoon. Its been fun! Clark is just finishing up his first six weeks of dental school. I am so proud of him! He rides his bike to school everyday and studies very hard for all of his classes, especially anatomy! I'll be starting school at Portland State University next Monday where I'll be working on my Master's in Political Science! I am so excited! I am so relieved to finally pick something to study. It's been a long time coming! Clark and I will do our best to keep everyone updated on our adventures in the Northwest. Happy Wednesday!