Lake Tahoe

Eric and I went to Lake Tahoe to ski with some friends. We stayed at one of the Stanford surgeon's home in Lake Tahoe. It was beautiful. We had a good time the night before skiing. The next morning we went skiing at Squaw Valley. I haven't skied in FOREVER so I was nervous. Eric went last year in Salt Lake City so I had more confidence in him. Some of the residents are expert skiers. They were on the black slopes! I can't even imagine. Eric, Achal, David, and I were on the green and blue slopes. It was a lot of fun. We skied all day, and we were so sore the next day. Eric said that I skied well. :) We had a great time with our friends and enjoyed the beautiful scenery in Lake Tahoe. We are planning on going back soon since we live so close. We may even try snow boarding since a lot of our friends ski and snow board.

Achal, Eric, and David ready to ski

Me & Eric on the slopes

Beautiful Lake Tahoe

Squaw Valley

Squaw Valley

Me & Achal on the ski lift

David, Eric, and Achal on the slopes

Looking good

Go Eric!

Country Music in California

Last Friday night, Kristy invited me to join her and David for a country music concert in San Jose. Unfortunately, Eric was on 24-hour call at the hospital. Kristy, who is from California, has always joked that she should have been born in the South. She loves country music, too. I've been to a lot of country music concerts in Arkansas, Texas, and Tennessee, but I've never been to one in California. Needless to say, I was curious about the venue. We went to the Rodeo Club in San Jose to see Gloriana. Surprisingly, it felt very "country" once we walked into the club. There was country music, line dancing, and mechanical bull riding. The concert was also great. I really enjoy hearing live music. David doesn't really listen to country music, but I think he still enjoyed it. I kept telling him all sorts of country facts- like what is a pearl snap shirt and who Chris LeDoux is. Overall, it was a good country and "western" night on the West coast.

Neat fact- At the concert, I realized that one of the girls in Gloriana is Cheyenne from the old MTV show, "Cheyenne." Anyone remember that one?

Me, David & Kristy

Gloriana

Kristy's pink cowboy hat from Nashville and my cowboy boots

Our First EARTHQUAKE!

Image from the earthquake website

On Thursday morning at 10:00am, I experienced my first earthquake. I was sitting on the couch watching TV and eating breakfast when all of a sudden I felt the house move. It felt like someone pushed the couch forward and then back again- like a jolt. Rita was in the front window sill looking outside when it happened. She immediately jumped from the window and ran to hide. She knew something was wrong. At first, I thought someone hit the side of our townhouse. I ran outside to see, but no one was there. Then, I called Eric to tell him about this experience. He was in the hospital didn't feel a thing. I "googled" California earthquakes and found that there was a 4.1 earthquake in Milpitas. Here is a link to the newspaper article I read about it. I still can't believe how crazy it was! I'm just glad that we are all safe and sound. Hopefully, there will not be many more.

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14143883?source=most_viewed

Christmas 2009

This is our first Christmas as husband and wife. Eric and I have very different schedules and had to work on Christmas and Christmas Eve. However, we made Christmas work for us this year. I cooked Christmas dinner, and we opened presents with Rita. Here are a few photos from our Christmas together.

The table is set- just waiting on Eric to get off work...

Rita got in Eric's chair when he got up. She really wanted to eat his food.

Rita loved sleeping under the Christmas tree. She likes the soft tree skirt.

We had to make a place just for her.

Rita waiting by the tree and heater patiently for presents

Opening a present from Rita

Rita loved her Christmas presents, but she loved her stocking even more.

Eric opening his presents

I also went home the weekend before Christmas to see my family. I got to see both sides of my extended family. It was a short trip but worth it.

Family photo

Dad opening his present

Mom with her San Francisco trolley car ornament

Michelle by the fireplace getting ready to open gifts

Me and my Christmas presents

Mom, Michelle, and I also went wedding dress shopping on a whim when I was home, and Michelle found a wedding dress. I can't post pictures of that until after July 2010. She looks beautiful in her wedding dress.

Eric and I both have New Year's Eve off. We are flying back to Arkansas to see family for the holidays. This will be our first trip back to Arkansas together since we left in June. See you soon!

Anna's Visit to The Bay Area

Anna is home from Africa for the holidays. She had the chance to visit us at the beginning of December for some fun in The Bay. We did all of the tourist attractions plus she accompanied us to the Stanford General Surgery Holiday Ball. We had a great time going out dancing in San Francisco, visiting Napa, and hanging out in Palo Alto. Here are some pictures of her trip.

At Stanford University

Everyone here rides a bike. :)

Anna in front of Stanford Memorial Church

Union Square in San Francisco

Love the Chirstmas decorations

A night in the city

Having fun dancing

Anna, Achal, and me

Napa Valley the next day

I love the beautiful fall-winter colors.

Anna in the vineyards

The Castle Winery

In the cellar

Wine tasting

Going to the Stanford General Surgery Holiday Party

Anna, me & the faux fur :)

Eric & some of his co-residents

Me, Kelly & Kristy

Driving into San Francisco

Waiting on the trolley on Market Street

On the trolley

Golden Gate Bridge- just before nightfall

Ghirardelli Square

Eating sourdough bread- a San Francisco treat!

Other side of the Golden Gate Bridge

I had to post this because this is the worst photos ever taken by another tourist. I don't think he understood that we wanted the bridge in the photo with us- too funny.

Heading into Sausalito

Anna in Sausalito

View on the way to Muir Woods- there is nothing but the Pacific Ocean for miles

It is beautiful!

Enjoying the California redwoods- We took this picture with the self-timer.

It turned out great!

Overall, I think Anna had a great trip. We did a lot of things. She also experienced Korean food for the first time and tried In N Out Burger again. Yum! We hope that she comes back to visit us while we are here.