Three and a Half Schuerch's

Fun with Jack and Jane

2010-06-06T17:16:00.000-07:00

Sam, Dave, Jack, and Jane came to visit us a few weeks ago. We had a lovely time filled with smoked salmon, rib-eye steaks, and cheesecake. Thanks for coming you guys. We love you so much!

Rexburg Life

2010-06-06T10:14:00.000-07:00

I was thinking I was perhaps the worst blogger ever...then I looked at my blog roll and could see many blogs had not been updated in 5 months. Now I don't feel so bad.

So here's one big long corny post:

We both have been working new jobs since April. Lorenz and I both have part-time jobs working with the school. He is translating French legal documents into English for a history teacher on campus. It's part of a research project investigating a lawsuit. Dry old French translated into old English legalese. From what I've heard it's pretty fun.

I'm teaching Typography part-time and am loving it. I will also be teaching 3-D design in the Fall (i.e. packaging, signage, & etc.) It is a very rewarding experience.

Tristan is ever growing and will be seven months on Thursday. He has started to scoot backwards and loves to bang toys together. 'Seven teeth and counting and soon we will be moving to the 'Big Boy' car seat (much to Tristan's satisfaction I'm sure). He loves to eat anything Gerber can puree. Last night he almost ate a whole jar of carrots. Lorenz and I just love him so much. He is the highlight of our life.

We are loving Rexburg. Our new place is wonderful. Charlie loves to be inside too. He loves to play with Tristan and aside from stealing his 'lammy' (a baby lamb stuffed animal) from time to time, is very well behaved.

Nephite Geography

2010-04-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

We just started reading the Book of Mormon again last night. We read through the testimonies and the introduction. I really hope we can get through it this time. I think living at the same address for twelve solid months will definitely help.

We went to a seminar on Book of Mormon geography a few months ago. The main attraction was a video that was published about the ancient civilizations of North America. It talks about huge civilizations that inhabited the Kirkland, Nauvoo, Independence areas. There are pyramids footprints larger than those at Giza mathematically aligned with true north and the stars. Iron smelters were found in some areas. One city was shaped in the birds-eye view of a menorah. There were also stones found in burial mounds with hebrew engravings: 'Holiness to the Lord. The House of the Lord'.

It made me really excited to read the book again. In the testimony of Joseph Smith, Moroni explicitly states that the events of the Book of Mormon took place 'on this continent' not South America.

This was a wonderful discovery and the whole book is more alive to me.

Maybe it doesn't really matter that much—where all of it took place. It definitely doesn't change my belief . I know it is true. However, it is fascinating to think of the Church being restored on the land of the Book of Mormon.

Strawberry Banana

2010-04-11T11:19:00.000-07:00

We've gone a bit crazy with food storage lately (there have been a few sales recently and Lorenz cannot resist).

So, now we have four gallons of strawberry jam (both yummy and exciting) and 50 pounds of frozen bananas.

New Townhouse!

2010-04-10T17:41:00.000-07:00

We are finally moved-in! It's been so exciting to finally get into our own house. We've been living with my grandmother in Blackfoot for that past six months. It was great; even though we were only planning on being there six weeks originally. We are so grateful to her for her generosity.

Here are a few snaps from the downstairs. The upstairs is coming soon. We bought new furniture, dishes, and rugs. It's the first place that have felt like our home in a long time and we are so grateful for it.

Two Teeth! + Haircut

2010-02-27T15:19:00.000-08:00

3.5 Months + 15.5 Lbs + 25 inches long + Two Teeth!

Tristan has been teething for a few weeks now, i.e. unusually fussy, drooling through two bibs a day, and needing Tylenol in order to sleep. Yesterday one tiny little tooth finally poked through, and today he cut his second one. Now he has two little bottom teeth sticking out of his cute little gums. I can't believe he is only three (almost four) months and already—TEETH!

On a side-note...

I have been thinking about cutting my own hair for a while (a few years kind of 'while). So, after Tristan was born money was tight, and I had a Razor, so, I did it. The Razor was dull the first time and easier to control, so, this time around the hair cut ended up much shorter than planned...oh well. Pixie-cuts are fun. And, I only made one tiny unalterable mistake. Not Bad I'd say.

Books!

2010-02-24T14:24:00.000-08:00

I decided I would read one book a week this year. But, the problem is: I have terribly poor taste when choosing books. Whatever I pick up and take home from the library usually sit's on the shelf for three weeks. However, I've read a few selections from my cousin Sam's list and enjoyed everything so far. So much to read and so little time.

This is what I've read so far:

Defiance—Nechama Tec

The Ayatollah begs to differ—Hooman Majd

Answers to Gospel Questions—Joseph Fielding Smith

The Scarlet Pinpernel—Baroness Orczy
Bud, Not Buddy—Christopher Paul Curtis

Saint Maybe—Anne Tyler

Death Comes to the Archbishop—Willa Cather

Defiance—Nechama Tec

An account of the Beilski Otraid in Belarus. Three brothers manage to rescue thousands of Jews from getto liquidation and survive the German occupation by living in the forest. This work is so well docmented—nothing seems embellished. It was sobering, but also very inspiring.

The Ayatollah begs to differ—Hooman Majd

An insider's view on the paradox of Modern Iran. I had no idea Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the son of a blacksmith, or how to smoke opium in the form a tootsie roll. Majd gives you an understanding of Shi'a Islam and a humorous descrition of the quirks in Iranian culture.

Answers to Gospel Questions—Joseph Fielding Smith

Still working on this one—but have read the first installment (there are 5—200 page volumes). I know it is not official doctrine but I really like reading and thinking about whether I will get to keep my dog when I get to heaven, why Christ had to offer a blood atonement, and in-depth explanations of the fall of Adam.

The Scarlet Pinpernel—Baroness Emmuska Orczy

Lovestory + intrigue + heroism + suspense + delightful 18th century language. A classic children's book, that takes place during the French Revolution. A story about a witty englishman who smuggles French nobles out of the country, this saving them from the guillotine. I took breaks only for eating and sleeping.

Bud, Not Buddy—Christopher Paul Curtis

This very entertaining read takes place during the great depression. The voice is completely from a child's perspective, and is captured very well. My favorite part: 'Rules for making life funner and making a better liar out of yourself'—Priceless!

Saint Maybe—Anne Tyler

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, but I will say that this author has one of the most intricate and entertaining writing styles I have read in a long time.

Death Comes to the Archbishop—Willa Cather

I just liked it.

'Going to the library today. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Sunday

2010-02-21T22:33:00.000-08:00

Today was Tristan's first official flirt. The little girl sitting behind us in church caught his eye. He was laughing and smiling at her in his shy little way, and she spent the whole meeting trying to grab his face. I wish I could tell him social interactions will be different when he is older.

We're still kicking it at G-ma's house in Blackfoot, but are really really excited to move to Rexburg in a month (providing we have a place that will take our horse, Charlie). To commemorate what we hope will be our very last move (until the final move out of Idaho forever) we are thinking of renting a u-haul and getting it all done in one trip. Hopefully it all works out. We'll see.

Tristan's first day on the Job

2010-02-08T11:47:00.000-08:00

Since I'm a stay at-home-mom + graphic designer mom, Tristan spends a lot of time helping me in the office. When I was pregnant I thought these baby carrier things looked...well, just—wierd. But, since we got it (made it) I get so much more done during the day. Sometimes he gets bored and decides to go to sleep. I love to hold a sleeping baby and type on the computer at the same time.

Featured. Oh La la.

2010-01-13T17:38:00.000-08:00

Yay. We're famous. We've been featured on my sister-in-law's blog. I feel so honored. I don't think this has ever happened before. Thanks guys. You're the best!

Now, to explain the treasure chest: My family draws names for Christmas but we don't buy just any old gift...we MAKE THEM! I know, it sounds a little intimidating and it is—especially since everyone in the family is so good working with their hands in wood, fabric, and etc. But, it makes it meaningful and Michaels has a lot of good ideas to offer. For instance, this little toy box that we sanded and painted to look like a treasure chest. Josh made ours this year. You'll have to visit us tomorrow to find out what he made us because I don't have awesome pictures yet.

We were a little slow on the uptake and didn't get started until after Christmas but when we did it was so easy to keep going (well...Lorenz did most of the work, actually, and that is probably why it was finished so quickly).

Richard and Catherine had their baby about 11 days before us (on Halloween). They haven't met each-other yet but we are hoping to remedy that soon. Visit their blog for more fun pictures of Tristan's cousin Edmond.

You know it's rich when...

2010-01-13T17:33:00.000-08:00

You have to water it down with whipped cream.

To kick off our New Year's diet Lorenz decided to make Chocolate Mousse. A dish I thought I had eaten previously. Apparently not. Each bite was like floating on a cloud of chocolate that had evaporated from the waterfall in the Charlie and the Chocolate factory. I only made it through five bites before it had to go back in the fridge for safekeeping.

If you fancy our version of rendition of artery-clogging (a-very-chocolatey-mousse european cuisine style) the recipe can be found here .

To vaccinate, or not to vaccinate, that is the question.

2010-01-12T21:18:00.000-08:00

Well, it's not too much of a question anymore. I just thought I'd throw this out there and see how all you moms feel about the issue. After much deliberation and research we decided to vaccinate Tristan. Which meant three big scary shots for Tristan and one gooey (probably grape flavored) juice drink ;( Sad Baby. Sad Mommy. We also had our first experience with Tylenol today. Yum. I don't think it was too bad and baby felt much better. The item on today's docket that disgusted me the most is the multivitamin we tried (were coerced into buying). Which resulted in Tristan GAGGING, for about 2 minutes (which is longer in baby time).

Apparently Vitamin D is not found in breast milk. So, I ask myself: if this one vitamin is not found in the food that is naturally designed for babies, do they really need it? I'd appreciate your thoughts.

If you'd like a more eloquent and detailed soliloquy on the subject, see what Lorenz has to say: http://lorenzschuerch.wordpress.com/

Little Ditty Helping Daddy

2010-01-11T11:30:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite pics of Tristan. We were working on one of our many holiday dinners. I think this is my attempt at making Grandma's homemade rolls. I made the mistake of doubling the batch. It was HUGE. I think by the time the holidays were over I was so sick of food I was contemplating never eating again. It seems like that happens every year. Anyone concur?

p.s. His nick-name is Little Ditty (I'm not sure why). We use it more than his name sometimes...should probably change that.

Gargling and Cooing

2010-01-09T21:24:00.000-08:00

Here are some more videos of Tristan. If you do not have a facebook account, use puppiesandbears@gmail.com as a sign in for the videos, the password is schuerch1. Also, I post a ton of pictures on Facebook, of Tristan, and other stuff too, so if you want to look at more pictures, sign on with that dummy account (puppiesandbears@gmail.com) I'm my own friend and you can check out my profile with all the pictures, videos...

So Handsome.

2010-01-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

'Just a few pics from baby blessing day. Even though this was a few weeks ago I still remember how wonderful it was to see everyone. Thanks to everybody who came.

Tristan has grown so much since then. He is too big for almost all his 0-3 month clothes. He 'talks' all the time now (gurgling and cooing). Last night we were reading scriptures and he chimed in every time either of us started reading. This morning we were reading books and he was reading along with me at nearly every page as he smiled and laughed at the pictures. He is such a sweetie. I love seeing his personality more everyday. I couldn't dream of a more perfect baby.

Bumbo chair

2010-01-07T17:36:00.000-08:00

This was Tristan's Christmas present from Santa. It's a little chair that he can sit in once he is strong enough to hold his head up by himself. I highly recommend it. He keeps me company now while blogging (a lovely, gurgly, giggly paperweight); or it is just as fashionable as a plushy center-piece at dinner time.

My Writer's Blog

2010-01-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

Hi All,
I just created a blog specifically for the book I (Lorenz) am currently writing. Check it out and leave comments.
http://lorenzschuerch.wordpress.com/

Video Access

2010-01-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

OK, so many of you don't have a Facebook account. I didn't realize that you need one to view the videos. I can't upload anymore videos on this blog because I exceeded my video upload limit last year. This means that the only way for me to show those videos is to copy and paste the html code from the videos I post on my facebook profile. Fortunately I found a solution to this conundrum. I created a dummy Facebook account. All of you can sign in with this account. The login is puppiesandbears@gmail.com and the password is schuerch1 everything in lower caps. I hope it works. Good luck.

Videoz

2009-12-30T00:22:00.000-08:00

Here is a medley of videos we took over this past Christmas week. My brother Nathan has been staying with us during the Holiday break. We got Tristan a Bumbo chair for Christmas. It's one of those really cool seats for babies that helps them sit up safely before they can sit on their own. Basically it means that we get to eat as a family instead of taking turns holding him and eating :) He is growing very fast, today we had to buy size 2 diapers because he just would not fit in 1's anymore.

Tristan's Christmas Tunes

2009-12-23T22:31:00.000-08:00

Thought you'd enjoy two or three videos of your favorite Idaho Schuerch Baby.

Happy Face

2009-12-22T17:50:00.000-08:00

Sleepy-heads

2009-12-05T16:49:00.000-08:00

Today was a sleep-day. 'Complete with PJs and lazy messes all over the house (well...our upstairs part of the house. We would never dream of leaving any messes downstairs ;) Bytheway, Tristan likes to twirl his hair—nervous habit? We'll see. I just thought it was pretty cute.

First Christmas Tree

2009-12-05T16:36:00.000-08:00

So after being married for three years, we've finally decided to purchase a 4-ft Christmas Tree. We spent 18 bucks on the tree and 10 on decorations, so it's not super high end stuff, but I think we managed to pull off a pretty stylin' tree. Tristan likes it anyways, he mostly stares at the light when he's in our room. Oh yeah, Tristan has his very own bedroom now, he likes the independence, being able to put up pictures on his wall, listen to his music, have girls over... that sort of stuff. Mostly it helps mommy sleep better at night, she no longer has to get up to check on the baby every-time he squeaks lol. Anyways, peace on earth glory to a good night's sleep.

Ten and a half pounds

2009-12-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

So, our little man is now 10 lbs. 6 oz. and 22.5 inches long (as of Tuesday—His three week birthday). The newborn clothes are all in a box...ready for the next baby (Shhh—don't tell Lorenz). Here are some great-grandparent pics, some of the super-cool belgian v-neck onezie Sariah (Lorenz's sister) bought for us, and I thought it would be good to document how it takes him an hour to wake up just like me ;) Teenage years are looking great. I guess that's what I get for abusing and tormenting my dear father all those lovely early mornings.

Happy Thanksgiving + Tristan Pics

2009-11-26T18:00:00.000-08:00

Today was Tristan's first real bath in the bath tub. He liked it for a few minutes...then he decided the bath water was way too clean and decided to relieve himself. Precious. We also went for our first walk today. I find myself craving fresh air. Charlie was really, really excited to be running for the first time in a few weeks. Poor neglected puppy. Thankfully he is very forgiving.

Today was also a zip-up day. Jeans + Coat. 'So nice to wear real clothes again.

Two Weeks Already!

2009-11-22T16:41:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been a wild couple of weeks, I don't know that we're the best parents in the world, but if our parenthood is judged by how tired we are, we're definitely making the cut. All the Grandparents are back home now, and we've been experimenting with feeding schedules, sleeping schedules... I think we're slowly figuring it out, though Tristan mostly thinks it's up to him to decide when mommy and daddy are allowed to sleep :) He's a little bundle of joy, he started smiling more and more, I'm not sure whether it's conscious, but I think he has the most beautiful smile in the world. He opens his eyes a lot more which makes for pretty good photo ops.

On the last day with Mammy and Grandpa Schuerch, we went to the Potato Museum where we found out that it's 3 dollars per person to get in the lamest museum ever built, but hey, at least you get your free box of microwavable hash-brown right? After that we drove them to Salt-Lake so that they would be able to catch their plane in the morning, turns out Tristan does great on road trips, he only messed his pants twice.

That night we all went to an Italian Restaurant called, Buco di Bepo, the food was great, so was service, but the bill was a little bit of a bitter after taste.

The next day, Mammy and Grandpa went home and Kari, Tristan, and I went to a Belgian Friterie where they make pretty good Belgian Waffles, and no you don't know what real Belgian Waffles are unless you've been to that place in which case you "kinda" know what they taste like, or you've actually had one in Belgium, in which case you know that those pancake-esque wafers couldn't be further away from the real thing. Well, to be fair, Kari did make some pretty good waffles for her coworkers a little while ago, so I guess they kind of know what a Belgian Waffle is. Anyways, I'm waffling on about nothing (sorry I realized how lame that was as I was typing it).

Well enjoy the pics and be assured that Kari will be back blogging fairly soon so you only have to endure my bad literary style and pale jokes for but a while longer.

I just found this picture and thought it was a pretty cute picture of grumpy Tristan

The Potato Museum had a collection of stamps about potatoes, we were pleased to see that Tristan had his very own one

This is apparently the Guinness Record holder for the Biggest Potato Chip in the World

This is an eagle scout project: collecting as many potato mashers as possible. What a help to his community this kid was, I'll bet you he'll be the next President

Giant Potato Picture

This is the Italian Restaurant, Kari and my dad got cut out because of the polaroid application, it crops the picture a little

This is Kari and I trying to take a picture of ourselves at the Belgian Friterie in Salt Lake City, behind us is a picture of the King and Queen of Belgium

Stuff

2009-11-15T17:26:00.000-08:00

Ok, Kari usually does this blogging thing, this is my last attempt at loading pics and vids, if this doesn't work, just get a Facebook Account.

This is his GQ outfit, he kind of looks like a white rapper because the jeans are so big, but he's adorable nonetheless

This is his first date with London

Pictures

2009-11-12T05:46:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to upload pictures pretty much all day, and I can upload them but it will only let me post one at a time for some reason, I don't know if there's a problem with Blogger or if I really am just as dumb as I look, but here's a link to our public Facebook Album where you can check out all the pictures, of course there's a ton more coming.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=173227&id=557956468&l=040c03d29c

and another one

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=173225&id=557956468&l=48142b7b7b

2009-11-11T15:14:00.000-08:00

He's Out!

2009-11-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

Well after a 12 hour labor, an epidural, and a C Section, our little stud muffin finally deigned poking his head out of mommy's tummy. Tristan Michael Schuerch was born at 10h 19 PM on November 10th and he weighed in at 8lbs and 15oz (Doctor said, "yeah, there's no way that guy could've fit through there") Of course he's gonna lose some weight in the next few days but that big boy makes for a very proud daddy. I would post some pictures, because ya know we took 'em, but the internet connection here at the hospital is really ghetto. I'm sitting in the lobby which is where they have the strongest connection, and all my uploads have failed after hours of "please wait while we upload your pictures" either on Facebook, Blogger, or regular email. So yeah, that really stinks especially since he is the absolute cutest baby ever, and yes, I'm being absolutely objective ;)

No baby...yet.

2009-11-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to send out a little update. We are still excitedly waiting for Tristan to vacate. Today is his ultra-sound due date—so maybe he will decide to come. I hope so. I can't wait to see what he looks like. My brother just had his baby on Halloween (what a fun birthday!). You can see a few pics here. It makes me so excited.

Pumpkin time

2009-10-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

We carved pumpkins tonight. I think we had more fun taking pictures than the actual carving part ;)

My lady pumpkin—complete with earrings.

Lorenz's GQ/interpretive pumpkin photography.

My Scared-Face.

Fun.

Oh Charlie!

2009-10-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

Last night Charlie decided to run away. We came home from running errands and found Charlie's chain in the yard but no Charlie. Naturally we were pretty upset and went driving around the streets of Blackfoot until we were lost ourselves. I can't believe how attached a human can become to a dog. He's like our kid—or something. It's kind of ridiculous.

After a few hours it was so dark we finally gave up and decided to come home. We were so, so sad. A neighbor said they had seen a few other free-range dogs playing with him. We thought he had followed them home or was just lost somewhere—cold and hungry. But when we got out of the car there he was, running around in the yard. I've never been so happy to see him. I guess he found his own way home.

It made us feel good that he wanted to come home (even if the main motivation might have been for food). At least he knows where he lives. What a relief.

According to plan

2009-10-12T21:54:00.001-07:00

We think if it all goes according to plan we are going to bless our little baby on the 8th. Lorenz's parents will be visiting for two weeks and we think (fingers crossed) that there is a slight possibility the baby will come early. So, you can see, we'd love to bless the baby with both grandpa's. This, of course, depends on when he decides to show up. So, for all who are interested, mark your calendars and start your engines :) Every priesthood holder that is related to us is welcome to participate in the blessing. Dwight Harris that means you too, you better show your butt :) Anyways, as I said this is all tentative but if we have to cancel we'll do it as early as possible.

Peace and Love

-the schuerch's

Baby Dropped

2009-10-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't visited my doctor yet to confirm, but I'm pretty sure the baby 'dropped' on Saturday. I had more cramps {contractions?} than ever. It made me really excited—but also created a sense of urgency for Lorenz and I—realizing the baby could really come anytime.

There have been many requests for pregnant-girl pics—So, here's a super-hot one of my lovely self. TTFN

Just a shout out for all my rich friends

2009-10-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

I feel a bit silly about doing this, but Lorenz said people are asking about our stock of baby things so, here we go. For all of you who are interested, here's a link to our registry at Target. But honestly, we'll take just about anything ;)

My awesome friends at work had a baby shower for me last week and we got lots of good stuff. There were lots of cute outfits, baby-books {we had none of these, so this was a good start}, diapers, and even a diaper cake. {I had to educate Lorenz on this one, he thought it was something you eat}. One generous donor even bought all our crib bedding in one go. I couldn't believe it. Thanks to everyone. I felt so loved!

Soooo Pregnant ;)

2009-10-07T19:24:00.000-07:00

Today is just one of those days when I can't imagine getting any bigger, and I feel more bear-like than human. I feel like I'm transitioning into hibernation mode and craving nothing but oatmeal raisin cookies. Cookie cravings...and I actually wonder why I'm gaining so much weight. I am really excited though. In less than a month our little baby will be ready to come out of the oven {hopefully sooner than later—but not too soon!}

I've been reading a little on natural child-birth and so we are all rooting for that. Hopefully I'll feel more prepared when I've finished these books—we'll see.

We bought our first real baby item the other day. My grandmother gifted a little cash to us for a car-seat and so we bought this stroller-car-seat combo. Lorenz was really excited—finally some hardware. I love the print. I think it's a perfect just in case we have a girl someday.

Portfolio

2009-08-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

I just put my work online for the first time & I'm so excited about it. Come see.

coroflot.com/kschuerch

Short Story

2009-08-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

One of my good friends at work wrote this story as a nomination for this 'employee of the month' thing we have. It is much better when it is read by the author, J. Clark Gardener, but—you'll get the idea.

Courtesy of Mr. J Clark Gardner:

“No pictures today,” Kari Schuerch says to the screaming fans that line the red carpet from her black BMW limousine to her private entrance to Melaleuca’s marketing room. She hands her latte cup to one of her six square-jawed, chisel-chested bodyguards and flicks back a stray lock of her perfectly-styled nut-brown hair. “All right,” she says, removing her sunglasses. “Maybe one or two.” Teenage girls scream and young moms scramble for their cameras.

Schuerch’s piercing blue-green eyes dart to the sudden sound of disgruntled shouts from the back of the crowd. “Outta my way! Outta my way!” yells a rotund, disheveled man with a bad comb-over as he shoves his way to the front of the crowd.

“Hey!” barks Brutus, Schuerch’s head bodyguard. “Get out of here, Driskell! Press aren’t allowed while Kari’s working!”

“Settle down, tiny,” Driskell spits, smacking his gum irreverently as he adjusts a skinny, threadbare tie. “I’m just passin’ through. Besides, I ain’t press, I’m an old friend, ain’t I Kari babe?”

The crowd, now silent, rests their collective eyes on Schuerch. “I don’t know, Clyde,” she says uneasily. “Maybe you should—”

“Is it true, Ms. Schuerch,” Driskell says, flipping out a tattered notepad, “that in the past few months, you have almost single-handedly produced an entire new line of EcoSense packaging?”
“What?” Kari stammers, stepping back. “I’m not allowed to—”
“Not only that, but you have also completely designed the Melaleuca Holiday Catalog, including storyboarding and directing the photoshoot, all the while balancing other important projects like the tri-monthly email blast? Executing these projects with poise, class, and precision, and being billed as a delight to work with by all your coworkers?”
The crowd begins to murmur excitedly. Kari clears her throat nervously.
Brutus steps between her and Driskell. “I think that’s enough,” he growls.
“And is it also true,” Driskell says, backing up and glancing around nervously, “that you have successfully performed these considerable tasks while pregnant with your first child?”
“I knew it! I knew it!” shrieks a young mom, diving at Kari as the entire crowd explodes with delightful screams, mobbing the famous designer with congratulatory kisses and hugs.

Kinda funny, fun, silly, & etc.

Hiking Darby Canyon

2009-08-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

We decided to hike Darby Canyon last week. It's the first time we've been able to go hiking all year. I'm so glad we went because it was absolutely beautiful. I have never seen so many wild flowers and it was so green. It reminded me of Oregon.

Charlie turned into a mountain goat. He loved it so much it made me want to take him hiking everyday. I haven't seen him that happy in a long time.

Here's me, looking up at the waterfall that comes out of the mouth of the cave—trying not to get my camera wet. I love the way my Polaroid application magically gives my photos an awesome crop. If you want to try it—go here. It's totally free.

Lorenz and Nathan decided to do a waterfall-walk. I believe it is similar to a fire walk, just with a waterfall ;). I bet the glacier water felt good after the three miles in. Silly boys.

Charlie the spelunker. We did our hike later in the day, so when we got to the cave there were dozens of people coming out who had started in the ice caves, on the other side of the mountain, and were just coming out on our side. Crazy.

Macho Nathan. Conqueror of the cave.

Hooray for fun hikes + very pregnant-ness. We are having a boy, by the way (a fact which I have neglected to post). Due November 3rd—only 73 more days (give or take).

We were so glad to have those hiking poles. It's the first time I've actually used mine. I don't think I could have done it without them.

I have to say, I was pretty proud of myself.

As I said, the flowers were just stunning. There were fields and fields of them at every climb. I'll post some more pics on facebook so you can see for yourself.

Make some money

2009-05-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

Hey check it out. I wouldn't post it on here if it weren't legit. This company is the next Google. I've got three top spots at 300 bucks each, after that they're gone, but you can still get the free spots, less income though.

here's the main website so you can read up on it

clicketysplit.com

here's the link if you want to sign up

https://clicketysplit.orbsix.com/enroll/self_enroll.php?sponsor=lorenzschuerch

First Ultrasound (video)

2009-04-27T20:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the quality is so so, because I really wanted to have it all in one video instead of 8 but you can still tell it's gonna be the cutest baby ever!

Geeeenius!

2009-04-24T17:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I felt all cool because I was able to turn the VHS of our ultrasound into a DVD and I was going to post it on this blog. But unfortunately BYU I technology services are idiots and when I popped the DVD into the computer it was blank. Long story short we should have the actual video posted on Monday night. In the meanwhile try to make sense of this magic eye/ ultra sound picture that I scanned. (by the by, this is Lorenz)

1st Ultrasound

2009-04-24T08:32:00.001-07:00

We had our first ultrasound last night. The baby is healthy and growing fast. We were so excited to see the little fingers and toes. We even saw him/her sucking his thumb. We saw the heartbeat and the little eyes. I loved it. It is all more real, exciting, and a little scary.

And...he's big! I am now 13 weeks along (we thought we were 12 weeks and 3 days). So the due date is now more like October 30th.

We have a couple pictures—we'll have to post them later.

Kari Likes:

2009-04-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

Hey. I just wanted to let you all know my 'These are the cool things that I like' blog is up and going. I'm going for at least one post a day. You that have followed my sparse blogging here know how dependable posts can be...we'll just see how it goes.

Here's the link: http://karidrawspicturesallday.blogspot.com/ enjoy.

Best Easter Message!!

2009-04-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

This video gave me the chills thought I'd share it with yallz, and deedo to whatever Kari said. Big love.
Lorenz

gauffres de liege

2009-04-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

When we were in SLC for conference last weekend we went to an authentic Belgian fritterie. So good. I think the loading page for their website is even cooler than the gauffres and frites...or at least the next best thing...

We were kind of lame about taking pictures on that trip. This is the best I could do.

If you want a recipe for the waffles try this one. I've done it a couple of times. It's pretty easy. You can use Pure Cane Sugar if you can't find Pearlized Sugar. Yum.

10 weeks.

2009-04-10T12:56:00.000-07:00

This week our baby is as big as a kumquat. I'm supposed to be able to feel the little person kick, but I'm pretty sure its just indigestion.

We are going in for our first ultrasound at 12 weeks. I am really excited about that—but I'm a little bit nervous that I won't 'get' the picture. I always felt like untrasound images were much like those magic eye things (that I never could get...bytheway). Ah well, it'll be fun—right?

I'm doing pretty good if I input food regularly. Not too nauseous. Just really moody (Sorry Lorenz...and anyone else that comes in the way of the kari-dragon).

Well, I think that about wraps up the baby update.

p.s. Thanks to all those who 'voted' on the names. It was fun. We still have no idea which name we are choosing ;).

(oh ya...and I should mention that I stole this cool pic of kumquats from Jen Gotch at My Polaroid Blog).

Puppy Graduation + Silly Charlieness

2009-03-08T17:02:00.001-07:00

Lorenz loves to put this fluffy Russian Hat on Charlie. Charlie loves it too, as you can see.

It is true, he does not willfully wear it.

Only one other dog showed up to Charlie's puppy graduation. This is Harley (not confusing for the poor little dogs at all). Charlie likes to play with him: aka use him as a chew toy.

Yay he passed. We still can't believe it. Now he is in the intermediate class with the big dogs—much harder. He's kind of the class dunce; but that's ok.

That hat was so cute!

Charlie pretending to behave.

Awww. So sweet.

Glamor shots with Charlie. We are charging $25 an hour.

This bone was so big we had to take a picture.

The knots were as big as his head.

Again, glamor shots...so hot right now.

One of Charlie's many amazing tricks!

Trying to learn stay.

Learning to teach stay.

He has a thing for our sock basket.

He drags it from our bedroom to our living room—losing the socks as he goes.

Ya, Charlie is pretty-much like our kid...if you haven't figured that out by now, now you know.

Waffestival

2009-03-08T16:17:00.000-07:00

I have made waffles (real Belgian Waffles) for some of my co-workers a couple of times and I told them I wanted to try these chocolate covered ones (I had absolutely no idea how to make them...still don't). Well, me and my big mouth, I volunteered myself for another round of waffles but the recipe we used was all in grams...ya, they ended up being sort of pancakes with a symphony bar on top. Everyone said they like them. I kind of think they were just being nice. Oh well...just another day in the life of Kari.

Our Vat-O-Chocolate.

Yum.

Pregnant!

2009-03-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

As many of you have probably heard Lorenz and I are pregnant. We found out a couple of weeks ago and are so so excited! The baby is due on November 3rd and that puts us at six weeks along. We went to our first doctor's appointment this last week and that made it all feel more real. We really like Dr. Hopkin. He really listened, spent way too much time with us, and answered all our questions.

Here are some names we thought of...well names I (Kari) thought of and Lorenz can tolerate.

Boys:

Tristan
Liam
Eli

Girls:

Brayden
Camden
Maeve

Feel free to vote...but of course we will be naming our baby whatever we want;)

Heise Hike

2009-02-14T12:35:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we went on a little winter hike. It was so beautiful. The trail basically wound it's way up a hill overlooking the Snake River. It was really fun.

We weren't really at the top when we decided to go back down...'Charlie was tired'—that was our excuse.

Nathan tries to pretend Charlie is a big pest...but we know better.

Scenic Overlook.

Me being a little artsy.

The Explorers' Schuerch.

Flowing water...I guess that means there were hot springs somewhere around. We didn't wait around to check though.

I think we each tried to get Charlie to pull us up the hill. I'm not sure it ever really worked though.

We try to tell ourselves that we're not really skiers or snowboarders—that we like hiking better...but, really it is the only winter sport we can afford. (jk)

Taken by Suprise. —Count Olaf "Series of Unfortunate Events"

2009-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Lorenz decided to throw a little surprise party for my birthday this year. I was definitely surprised.

'Love the Paparazzi Shot.

It was so fun to see everybody.

Lorenz didn't even know Lauren was pregnant—shows you how well we keep in touch with everybody.

More than a quarter of a century! Half way to 52! (at least that's what Lorenz says).

Dwight & Kristen were nice enough to let us have the party at their house. They really put up with us a lot. I'm not sure we deserve it. ;o)

Housetraining for Dummies

2009-02-06T09:27:00.001-08:00

We bought this 'House-training for Dummies' book—thinking it would really help us out. Lorenz attempted to read it, but I never got through it. He said it wasn't that great. We just let Charlie have it. I think, in the future we will try to stay away from books that say "THIS IS FOR STUPID PEOPLE" across the front. Now that I think about it...buying a book like that, we were probably setting ourselves up for a not-so-good read.

I find the subject of this page so ironic—mostly because he really will eat anything. It ranges from the frozen broccoli stems in our garden to chunks of plaster he prys off our dry-wall. I don't get it.

Charlie & his edible toothbrush. He loves those things—devours them in a matter of minutes. If you have a dog I highly recommend 'Greenies'. (lorenz is kind of cute too. -wink-)

In short, I kinda like Charlie.

2009-01-31T07:28:00.000-08:00

Sam and Dave came up for New Years Eve. It was so good to see them. We played Scrabble and Settlers as much as we possibly could. Nathan was staying with us for a week before school started so we initiated him into our gaming club: 'Team Lorenz'. It was so fun, and so much food. Yum.

Lorenz decided to try out my Dad's clam chowder recipe. It makes a vat—I think that is the proper unit of measurement. He really made a ten course meal, and this was just the soup. He went all out! It was de-lish.

Here's little Jane, Sam & Dave's beautiful little baby. She is so adorable. Lorenz was spinning her in our old office chair that Dwight & Kristen sold for $20 bucks to an unsuspecting freshmen. Poor child. The Dairy Queen we bought from those funds tasted good though.

2009-01-31T06:40:00.000-08:00

This is me and my Charlie. We love him so much! Even from the very first day when he was only Seven pounds and walked around our house right into the sticky mouse trap. It was so hard to get those off his little paws...but, I guess that's a Charlie thing to do.

We decided to take Charlie for a walk. Since we were near the coast this is about the first & only time we weren't walking him through the snow. It took him a while to understand the point of the leash, and now he just pulls on it like crazy. I think this harness might have had something to do with it. It's kind of like a sled-dog harness. It teaches them to pull!

Here's Lorenz and little Charlie walking though the rain forest to get to the beach. I forgot how huge the trees are there. This shot makes me feel so insignificant compared to the colossal-ness of nature. Going back after living in the Idaho desert for more or less six years, it seems surreal; like the vines are going to take over & drag you into the jungle.

2009-01-31T06:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, so, backing up a little bit...I just wanted to post a few pics from our Christmas trip. We went to the beach for a few days. The Oregon beach in the winter time is kinda...well, this is the only time we left the condo to actually go down to the beach. We had to record it.

Lorenz had never seen 'Devil's Punch Bowl'. Now he can die happy.

The tide was too high to even get down to the beach so...we just took pictures. This is Beverly Beach. Fun fun.

2009-01-18T19:06:00.000-08:00

Ok, so, here's our post for the month. This one goes out to Kris. (jk)

So, news, news, news...we have a puppy that we are so excited about. His name is Charlie. He is about 11 weeks. We just love him; it's kind of like having a kid. I used to think dog-people were so weird & now I'm one of them. Ha.

Lorenz has already taught him to roll over, shake & do the army crawl. We are so proud of him. The puppy is ok too.

Anyways, enough of my dumb jokes. Lorenz is working nearly full time and going to school (taking 13 credits). He's crazy-busy. I 'm taking a night class too but really just for fun. I really like it and feel like I'm learning a lot. Other than that we are just enjoying the lovely Rexburg winter.

2008-12-13T10:06:00.000-08:00

So I just returned from a photoshoot to SLC. It was fun. Lorenz survived without me ( I think...with the aid of the history channel). On the fist day we shot in a really cool house with lots of windows. It was owned by an interior designer so it had a lot of really cool pieces to use for props & great surfaces to shoot product on. The second day was in a green-house & that went really well too. I am way excited but now I really have to WORK so hard on my catalogue.

Christmas is getting so close but we are so not ready for it. So much to do! I think there are just less days in December.

2008-12-07T11:04:00.000-08:00

I took the official wedding photos for Naomi & James (Whew! I had no idea you could even take that many pictures in 2 days). Over the last few weeks I've been editing them. One album down, and I have no idea how many more to go. I'll post them on Facebook once Naomi gets a chance to look at them all.

I just have to say...this cake was the best one I have ever tasted. Chocolate Banana—after I ate one piece I wanted the whole layer to myself. The leaves were made out of Marzipan too—delicious. It was the first wedding cake I had ever seen that was completely devoured at the reception (In less than ten minutes—I might add). I got the last piece! p.s. The topper was two little chocolate squirrels—so cute!

2008-12-07T10:53:00.000-08:00

Jake was in town Thanksgiving weekend so we decided to show him the luster of Jackson Hole. We explored the never-ending tourist shops on the boardwalk and then went to Bubba's for their mouth-watering ribs. Mmmm...I can still taste 'em.

Obama Voters!

2008-10-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

O'Reilley waling on Barnie Frank!

2008-10-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

Mitt Romney!

2008-10-04T00:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, I got to shake his hand, and it was cool! Ok, so I sound like a 15 year old groupie, but hey did you get to shake hands with Romney? Yeah most likely not, so when you do, you can make fun, until then let me enjoy my minute of sunshine! It was a town hall sort of meeting organized by the CEO and owner of the company Kari works for: Melaleuca. Mitt Romney came out to support a man who is running for senate here in Idaho Jim Risch whom I support wholeheardetly. I've been thinking about politics for a while now, I'm still very undecided as to who I should vote for. On one hand we have a "maverick" which is another word for "unpredictable loonie who is a little trigger happy" on the other hand we can vote for "change we can believe in" or in other words "same old democrat schemes with a new packaging". I was boring Kari to death the other night reflecting on the options and something occured to me, instead of thinking about who will be most beneficial for the country (which is a conandrum considering the impossibility of anything truly beneficial coming out of either candidates) perhaps the better approach would be to think about who would be the least harmful for the country. So based on this thesis or premise whichever you want to call it, here is my reasoning.
Choice one: McCain. He claims to stand for conservative values and simultanously being able to reach across the isle and provide bypartisanship this country needs. Well he does reach accross the isle allright but I'm not so convinced he will stand for truly conservative values, the reason he's been called maverick is mostly because he is to the GOP what Joe Lieberman is to the Democratic Donkeys, or in other words not so Republican. As Republican as I am, I cannot ignore the fact that the economy would be suffering if McCain got the white house, the guy just doesn't seem to ever be able to look convincing or knowledgable when he talks moneys. On top of that one of his senior advisors is on Fanny Mae's payroll so I'm not so sure John McCain is as disinterested in special interest groups as he wants to appear. Having said that he is running for the Republican ticket and he will have a lot of smart trustworthy people surrounding him (hopefully). I do not approve of Sarah Palin, I think she's a great person, I admire her values and her candor, but she is not ready to lead the country and ultimately that's what the VP job is, second string commander in chief; and let's be honnest here, it's not like John is in tip top shape, I know he passed his physical and all but he still has skin cancer, and he just looks frail (I would use decrepit if I weren't so affraid of not seeming politically correct lol). So Sarah is a fine lady, but she's just a poster girl and I feel insulted when John McCain tries to sell me that she was the most qualified for the job (especially in view of the last couple of weeks' events).
Option two: Obama. Obama has no executive leadership experience; he is naive and potentially dangerous on foreign policies; he is willing to support horrible things like partial birth abortion; he is in favor of defining marriage as the union between two adult individuals; and although his new ad tries to convince us that he stays away from partisanship and special interests groups well... he's a democrat, that's what they do, plus he was the second highest payee of Fanny Mae. He was a community organizer, let's look into that what did he organize, well he worked closely with ACORN an organization that encourages innercity young adults to vote, well... just watch this video.

So Obama in my opinion is a liar (well what else can you expect from a democrat?)
Conclusion: well all in all, there isn't a "best" candidate, but the "worst" applicant for the job is definitely Obama, he does not have much of a track record, and what little he has is shady and foggy. He voted "present" on most of his votes, that is not leadership, that is people pleasing. He wants to elect supreme court judges that will defend Gay Marriage which will cost churches millions of dollars, and us a lot of money too from lawsuits. His economy plan is to tax the wealthiest and give freely to the rest, well guess what if the wealthiest lose money we will suffer, the country will suffer. Lastly he wants to compromise, and talk with terrorists, he has said that he will sit down with terrorist country leaders and talk with them without preconditions and within his first year in office. Yes he did here is the video to prove it:

So Biden can lie about it all he wants but here is Obama on the record saying that he would actually sit down to talk with someone who said he wants to eradicate Israel. This would result in my opinion in the loss of many American lives, in conclusion, based on my initial premise, we can say that although McCain will cost us millions of dollars, Obama will cost us not only millions of dollars but also lives, and jobs, and freedoms, and constitutional rights.
the end
PS I'm a Republican if you haven't noticed by now :)

Cars, Job Search, and fun Camping Trip

2008-09-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

It just occurred to me that I haven't posted an entry in about a month. Well let us remedy that. Kari is now back at work and she enjoys the simple pleasures of life, such as: being underpaid, bending to the whimsical exigences of eccentric coworkers, and of course bland cafeteria food. It's nice to get a paycheck again though. I've been looking for a job recently, it is so hard to find a job when you can't work on Sundays. Businesses just don't want to hear about your religious beliefs, they just want to make more money. I do already have a job starting in October, but it'll be part time, so I'm looking for something more substantial so we can pay off Kari's medical bills (by the way health care isn't so hot right now...) We've also had to buy a new car, it's a little Hyundai Accent, it's brand new so it doesn't have the usual Hyundai problems and it has an awesome 10 year 100000 miles warranty so we like it and it has XM radio and AC which is a huge upgrade from our last car. Yes, the white minivan finally gave up the ghost, on our way to Salt Lake a few weeks ago, the transmission went out. So we gave it back to Kari's grandparents and we purchased Black Beauty (this how the Hyundai shall be known henceforth). Unfortunately, the people that Kari car pooled with until now have decided to move to Idaho Falls so now both our schedules will conflict and we're probably going to have to buy a second car! Cars are such a pain!
But our life in the past month has consisted of much more than trivialities such as jobs, and cars; we went camping over memorial day week end, we went to palisades reservoir. It's a beautiful place, I'd post some pictures but I forgot to bring the camera on the trip. The first day was a little hectic because we couldn't find a camp ground right away, we had to go to three different campgrounds to finally find an available site to pitch our tent. When we found a spot, we pitched the tent and I think Kari will tell you that this is when my language became questionable; see we have a great tent, it's been voted the tent of the year by REI and different other reviews, the one thing is the pegs are made of flimsy Alluminum, and they did not agree with the rocky nature of well... the rockies, so after a few curses, three or four bent pegs, and Lorenz throwing stuff in the air, Kari finally came to the rescure and fastened the tent with heavy stones (women are even cooler than swiss army knives, always full of ressources!) We then proceeded to build a fire and cook some spaghetti, which was if I may say so, exquisite. So that was the first night. The second day we found out why it's better to have a non stick skillet for pancakes after we experienced with an alluminum skillet (the poor thing did not make it out alive...) So we went to town and bought doughnuts (very rugged I know) After we had a copious breakfast we went on a hike...which lasted about two hours because we're both out of shape and the trailhead was 3 miles away from our campsite and the sun was blazing! So we never actually hiked very far on the trail before we turned around. That night we went up the road for pizza, it was yummy. The next day it was Sunday, we didn't feel like trying to find the local ward so we had a Book of Mormon marathon, that day we read like ten chapters out of Alma, it was way fun. That night Richelle and Jared brought us some dinner and ate with us in the rain, under a tarp, it was pretty cool. We then all built a monster bond fire and warmed our toushes until the forest ran out of wood to burn. That night I was happy to experience the comfort of this high quality tent, nothing came through it and it poured all night, we were warm and cosy, dry and comfortable. The next day we had sausage and bacon for breakfast and then we packed up and went home.

We also went to Cave falls with Jared and Richelle and Kari and I went to a free baseball game in Idaho Falls, baseball games really are no fun unless it's major league, we went home after three innings...

Well anywho, that's pretty much it for us, I'll try to post some pics but this thing his hard to load pictures onto sometimes.
ciao
Lorenz

2008-08-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

So, It has been a long few weeks getting over my surgery. I guess I'm just one of those people who want to get on with life so I have a tendency to rush things. I've read a few books, watched too many movies & now it is time to go back to work next week.

We spent a few days in Salt Lake last weekend. The reason for the trip was to go see my surgeon. He noticed some minor swelling but wasn't too concerned about it. I just have to keep tabs on it. I'll have to go see him if it doesn't go down in a matter of months. Aside from that, and how painful sneezing is, I'm fine.

I just want to thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers for both of us. We really needed them. This experience has definitely come with new challenges and hopefully we have learned all the things we could have from them.

Jackie Chan & Bruce Lee, Beware...

2008-08-11T23:53:00.000-07:00

So Lorenz & I have decided that because all out backpacking training & studies have yielded slim fruit thus far - we have decided to switch our interests for the coming season. Our subject of choice might be a bit of a concession on Lorenz's part, but, since backpacking was his passion I suppose he can humor me for a while. This is our T-shirt design for the promotion of a fictitious Kung Fu Movie featuring...Us. Please note that the rights are managed. ;P

Hospitals Suck!

2008-07-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

These are David's sisters, they took care of us for the first few days before surgery.
Here's Kari before surgery
Big Belly!
Kari's morphine button, she loved that thing, maybe a little too much... (this was after surgery)
The first 24 hours, she wasn't allowed food or drink, so they gave her this weird sponge lollipop, for her to dip in water and suck on

So, wanna know why I haven't updated our blog in about ten days? Kari had not one, not two, but three tumors in her abdomen! Pretty crazy huh? Kari and I were looking at her belly and we thought it had looked very round for a while so I told her to get an appointment to make sure she wasn't pregnant or something, thinking that if she were that would be great, if not we'd get a pill to dissolve the gas that was trapped in her abdomen. Her nurse practitioner gives her an exam and thinks she should get an ultrasound, so we go to the women's clinic the next day to check it out, after about a half hour in the exam room, Kari comes out and announces to all of us (Dwight and Kristian were there, they're really good friends) that she has some sort of growth that's 8 x 11 x 6 in, the ultrasound technician thinks it's a pancreatic pseudo-cyst. So, a few days later, Kari's Nurse Practitioner refers her to an abdominal surgeon and asks her to do a CAT scan because they're still not sure what that growth is. So she goes in to do the CAT scan, and the next day we go see the abdominal surgeon, after examining the scan with the radiologist closely, he doesn't think it's a cyst and he doesn't think it's attached to the pancreas but to one of her ovaries, so he refers us to a gynecological surgeon, who we go see right away, this surgeon think it's a dermoid teratoma ( a tumor that is usually benign, and is basically an ovary egg cell that decides that it's fertilized and starts reproducing other cells, so when you open it up, it's a bunch of hair, teeth, bones, even thyroid gland) and that it's attached to one of her ovaries (the thing was so big that they couldn't see her ovaries, all of her organs were squished up against the rib cage, the whole abdominal cavity was taken up by this thing). The surgeon tells us that he doesn't want to touch it because it's so big and so he refers us to doctor Jolles, a surgeon with a double specialty in oncology and gynecology (very smart guy); his office is in Salt Lake, so that Sunday we drive there and sleep at Dave's parents' house. The appointment wasn't until three o'clock the next day so all of Monday morning we go shopping, we visit Salt Lake, we have fun. Finally it's time to go see Doctor Jolles, we arrive there on time but he's an hour late, when it's finally our turn, he's very nice and friendly, he examines Kari and situates the tumor right away (he hadn't looked at the cat scan by then) so next he has us come into his office; there he tells us that he's actually not sure what the growth is but that it could be cancerous, he then spends some time telling us about all the different options and he says that either way, whatever it is, we have to take it out quickly, so he schedules a surgery for the NEXT DAY (Tuesday); he then proceeds to explain to us everything that will happen during and after the surgery, it was all pretty scary stuff. So that night neither Kari or I slept very well, I of course gave her a blessing, but sleep was just not there. The next day we drive her to the hospital and after she's admitted we go to a sort of pre-preop waiting room where they prep her (clothes off, vitals...) In the meanwhile, Dr. Jolles is trying to make his way to the hospital but on his way there, he gets rear-ended, which causes him to be an extra hour late. Finally it's time for Kari to go up into preop, I can't follow her there so it was a pretty emotional couple of minutes. After that Julie (my mother in law) and I are taken to a surgery waiting room, I tried to study, but I just couldn't focus for more than thirty seconds. Eventually, after about two hours, we get a message from the surgery room from Dr. Jolles that he has removed the tumor and that it is benign, needless to say that was a big relief for us. After another hour or so, Dr. Jolles is done and meets with Julie and I in a small room, there he tells us all about the surgery and how it went, he tells us that the tumor was attached to her ovary but nothing else (which was one of his biggest fears), and that the pathologist had confirmed that it was benign, he also said that to picture how big it is, just walk into Albertson's and find the biggest watermelon you can find, and you'll get a pretty good picture of what Kari had attached to her ovary, he of course had to cut out the ovary and its fallopian tube. After he went through all of that in detail he paused and told us that he also found two other tumors attached to the other ovary, each of them was as big as a grapefruit. He said that the ovary looked like a thin sheet of paper covering half of the mass. By this point I was almost in tears thinking that his next sentence would be something like: "And we had to cut out the other ovary, so you'll never have children" or "And those tumors WERE cancerous, I'm sorry", but this is what he said "So what I did, is I dissected one of the tumors out of the ovary and then the other one and I reconstructed the ovary" ! He also said that he couldn't see why this should affect fertility in any way and that we have as much chance as any other couple to have children! So really the surgery could not have gone any better, thank you all for your prayers, fasts, concern, phone calls, support... it was so humbling to see how many people care for and love us. We are truly thankful and are at a loss for words, we do not understand why we deserve so much love, and do not yet know how to be appropriately thankful, or how to find the words to prove our immense gratitude.
Kari and I got home yesterday after a long stay at the hospital, Kari is in great pain still (her incision is about 8 inches long (40 staples) but we're happy to be home, now I have to try to salvage my semester with the finals being this week and all. Thank you everyone for all that you did for us.

My favorite Michael Jordan shots!

2008-06-29T10:04:00.001-07:00

S'mores

2008-06-28T20:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we haven't been very good at writing lately but Kari has had some pretty severe health problems lately and we had to sort that out, she'll be going in for more tests next week, nothing too bad though, no one needs to worry too much; just keep her in your prayers.

Our last week end was not fun at all, we went on our first overnighter (hiking) and we got lost, I got sick, and we had no clue where the trail was, it sucked really bad. Eventually we slid down the mountain on our butts, and we ended up on the highway, we crossed it and found a campsite and pitched our tent there, the intent of the hike was to test out our gear, and the gear worked great, it would've been a real pickle if it hadn't, but we had forgotten one key thing: a map! Yeah, ten years of hiking, first time I go without a map, first time I get lost! So that was an experience and a half, but now we bought a good set of maps and we should be all right.

This week end we had some fun with Dwight and Kristian again, they're a lot of fun, we had a bbq and grilled some nice rib-eye steaks left over from last time, the girls had some chicken.

We ate outside this time and it was HOT! Even with the cheap plastic canopy we bought for shade. We ended up running through the sprinkler to cool off!

Afterwards, we sat in the shade and talked about everything, joked around and laughed a lot, mostly at each other's expense lol. When we were finally sick of sitting around we went to a park close by and made some s'mores, well mostly Dwight and I, Kari and Kristian (K square for short) mostly sat around complaining about the bugs and eating the s'mores Dwight and I made for them, couldn't stop 'em! It was so good though!

Oh I forgot, Kari's mom and sister came to town last week, it was way fun to have them over in our tiny apartment and catch up.

Well I got a good sun burn and it hurts like heck! (just thought I'd throw that out there)

Our garden is doing great, we're so excited about all those things growing in it; everyday it gets taller, and every day we get closer to having it into our plate! I'm even excited about vegetables, yes I know that's a first, but when you grow them yourself it just tastes better! I even had some lettuce from our garden today, it was great!

Finals are getting closer and I'm SO not ready for them, my chem class is still kicking me in the rear, but hopefully I can get a B in it, I'd be happy with that.

Well that's all folks, y'all have a great week!

2008-06-14T02:14:00.000-07:00

Schuerch Family

by the way this is our small online album if you guys wanna check it out sometimes, we'll try to put up more pics.

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-06-14T00:06:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day, although it was Friday the thirteenth and I did get bullied by my inorganic chemistry test, it was my birthday, thanks everyone for remembering (i.e. Nathan, Mom and Dad). Kari got me a nice BBQ gas grill for my birthday so we invited Kristian and Dwight and we had some rib-eye steaks, hamburgers, and italian sausages with corn on the cob, watermelon, and chips, oh and loads of IBC root beer, and Jones Soda!f It was all amazingly good!

Afterwards the women did the dishes and Dwight and I retired to the smoking room where we exchanged pleasantries, haha, no not really, we went out and scrubbed the Grill which sucked by the way, does anyone know a way around spending 45 min scrubbing the grill after a BBQ? I thought of wrapping the grill with foil, but then that would defeat the whole purpose of grilling it in the first place.

While grilling, Dwight and I saw a trick airplane do loops, and daredevilish things, it was cool, I'll try to upload some videos if this stupid thing will work. After we were done with all that, we went to the park and Dwight and I played soccer while the girls talked about girls stuff on a blanket. After Dwight and I got tired we all went back to our place and we had some strawberry shortcake. After Dwight and Kristian went home Kari and I felt a little sick from ingesting that much food, so we went on a walk for like an hour and a half, that was good. Ok well I might write later on this week end, but I'm very tired so I'm gonna go to bed now.

First hike of the season!

2008-06-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

Yay for us! Kari and I finally came out of hibernation and went hiking! It wasn't a very big hike, but it was a good little starter hike; we went in the Targhee National Forest on the Montana Border and picked out a little trail that went around some base hills. It was a lot of fun, I'm definitely out of shape though, those big climbs just about killed me. It was good to test our gear out, we were a little worried about some of our items but all in all, everything worked out pretty well. My favorite part of the day was when we were caught in a hailstorm with hail the size of pennies, we were able to test our totally awesome ponchos... hmm... that's the only gear that we were total cheap skates on and we found out that it wasn't a good idea to pay 50c for a "poncho" which consists of the cheapest garbage sac you can find with three holes in it; come to think of it, I really am convinced that a garbage sac would have offered more protection. So that's something we will have to look into before our big trip in August. We also tried out some different flavor GU, Raspberry and Strawberry are disgusting!!! Don't get them, they taste like really weird medicine... it's sick. We tried a freeze dried meal for lunch and it was delicious, we had the Mountain House Beef Stew, hmmyum! That's about it, after that we went home and put our things away, and we had some home made pizza. I studied for my big physiology test coming up on the blood, and we watched a movie: Michael Clayton, with George Clooney, it was pretty good. Well that's all folks, see ya later!

2008-06-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

This week-end we hung out a lot with our friendsies Dwight and Kristien, we had fun at the carousel, although we were a little embarrassed at first it was a blast! Thanks Kristien for making me and Dwight go, and Kari for supporting me! It was really fun. Then we were going to have a barbecue, but it started raining so we went back to Dwight and Kristien's and ate there, we just baked the chicken instead of grilled it, it was sumptuous! We also played Pirateer, it's an awesome game, and I think I want to get it, it's way cool. While we were playing Kari burped, sneezed, and laughed at the same time, it sounded a little like brahtcharp, it was very funny and "not embarrassing at all" is what I told her...lol. Afterwards we went and played soccer outside, that was fun, Dwight showed off his near Ronaldinio skills, and I showed off my fatness, lol. We went back and Kristien had made some yummy no bake peanut butter cookies, I had like 12... yeah my fatness isn't genetic, it's just fatness! Then we played...yes you guessed it, more mario! I really sucked this time, and of course everyone had fun making fun of Lorenz, but when someone else messed up it was "oh too bad" or "yeah I hate that part" or "oh man I always mess up on that part" but for Lorenz it was "man you really suck!" or "you play like a first grader!" or yet "Here Lorenz you can do this level" the level in question being one of those pick a card deal where you don't have to do anything! Anyways, I'm still a little bitter, it makes me feel better to know that Kari embarassed herself a second time by saying "I can misbehave too..." well that's what everyone heard, she claims to have said something else. Sunday wasn't very exciting just went to church and slept for three hours (just kiddin...) and then we went to our neighbor's house and had cake and played games, it was way fun except I lost every game (yes I'm a tad bit competitive if you hadn't noticed) Well that's us for this week end.

C ya

Lorenz

2008-05-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Today I typed papers all day, I'm taking this world civilization class online, and it's a little bit crazy. I think History Teachers are mad because no one really thinks they're important, lol. So they give you a bunch of idiotic homework, like read one million chapters from the book and summarize it. On top of that it is the single most boring book I've ever read, I like to think of myself as a history buff, I love to learn about history, but to be honest this class is just annoying. If I were a customer and his class was a product, I would not buy it (got that from Dave and used it on a few occasions ever since, it's pretty good).

Kari spent the day being frustrated because she couldn't get the house perfect before we get back to busy life tomorrow; you have to understand that my wife is the most wonderful person I know, she comes home from work, gives me a kiss and a big smile, and then she goes straightening the house and fixing dinner, every day! She never complains even when I have a ton of homework and I don't have any time to help out. She's my hero. So I really think it's cute when she thinks she's a terrible housekeeper because really I've never met anyone quite like her. She made the most delicious bread today, she made a few batches, one batch was cinnamon craisin ; the other one was a mix of just normal bread and tuscan spices with swiss cheese bread, keep in mind we don't have a bread machine and she does everything by hand, it is the most fabulous bread I've ever tasted.

After all of that, we went to our good friends' Dwight and Kristien, I think they might be getting sick of us, we hang out with them a lot! We went there for dinner and we had sumptuous home made alfredo sauce with bread sticks, tagliatele, and seasoned fried chicken, it was to die for. Afterwards we went a played some more Mario 3, this time I gave those turtle/duck dudes a sound beating, almost finishing the first world. Dwight also told us about his high school days when he went around with the rest of the basketball team terrorizing the good people of Arkansas; he was quite the prankster, I don't think I had laughed like this in 10 years, Dwight tells stories better than President Monson.

Anyways, it's time to head back to school and try to do good in my classes, I'm not super excited about the idea, but I'm sure I'll be glad a few years from now when I work 70 hour weeks to pay back my student loans, lol.

Love yall

Lorenz

2008-05-24T22:42:00.001-07:00

Hey, here's one of my favorite band right now, they're an Boston/Irish punk rock band, they're pretty cool, this is one of their music videos.

It's especially appropriate on Memorial Day week end.

2008-05-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Today was fun! We hung out with Dwight and Kristien (our new friends lol) it was Kristien's birthday so we partied like no tomorrow, we hit every happening place in town; Sam's club, WinCo, and of course the Olive Garden! It was dope! lol. No it was a lot of fun, we're newly wed, and we're broke, so it's fun to hang out with people that understand that. Afterwards, we went back to their place and Kari annihilated everyone on Mario 3 and 1, my jaw was on the floor, I always thought of myself as the gamer in the family, but she was amazing, hopefully I can load a video on here to show you. Oh and it rained insanely today, we took pictures of the water level in the mall's parking lot, we also got a video, but that was crazy, of course I was driving so I had to drop off everyone in front of the door and then park the car and get wet running back to the store, the perks of being the party's designated driver (they ordered a few bottles at Olive Garden, they were so wasted, I was ashamed of Kari, lol just kidding).

It's memorial day! Yay, some time off! Finally, Kari and I are going to be able to spend some time in the yard, I mowed the lawn this morning and Kari weeded the garden area, our potatoes are growing pretty well, so are our beans and peas, we just planted some corn and we're going to buy some tomato plants when we have money, so we're excited for that!

What about Gas prices huh? I am just besides myself, I can't believe I have to pay 65 dollars to fill my tank, it's preposterous, of course what can you do, boycott the gas companies, yeah that'll work really well in an email forward! lol. Oh well, hopefully Bush's stimulus plan will work (yeah right).

Anyways, that's me out.

Pieces.

2008-05-22T21:19:00.000-07:00

Kari's new Design blog is up, you all should check it out as it is the coolest design link out there!

Aside from that, we're still doing well, my math class is kicking my trash right now, but I have a tutor, and I still think I should get a decent grade. On Saturday we're going to go with Dwight and Kristien to Idaho Falls to go food shopping at Sam's Club and celebrate Kristien's birthday afterwards, so that should be fun.

hey guys, this is Kari:

So, I've been reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte over the past few weeks & I finally finished it. Whew, what a saga. I was drawn to this particular work because it is referenced several times in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. When I read the last page, I have to admit it felt a little simmilar to the time it watched Gone with the Wind: "Afterall--tomorrow is another day" (no offence, all you who are fans). It was miles & miles of rotten trajedy - part element, part human folly. Then at the end, once every one is dead - then a few people are happy. I wouldn't even trust that they are really happy except the book ended.

But seriously, I did see the correlation between Wuthering heights and Twilight. I noticed that much of Stephenie Meyer's inspiration must have come form that classic. One review I would give: when I read about these characters' insanity I start to think why were people so crazy back then? But after a while it dawned on me...No, this is just how people are. This book is an illustration of human nature unchecked (or al least Humans through Bronte's experience. That is why it is a classic. It must be why it has lasted so long.

So, have you seen the new trailer? - if not, Help yourself. I'm a little nervous to see the film because I loved to books so much. I'm pretty sure what my imagination invented cannot be created in our material world. All this writitng about it makes me want to read all three of them again. Lorenz commiserates with all his friends about how wives completely disappear when they are reading these books. I'm sure I was the worst of them all ;). Well, I'll just say one more thing about it before we drop the subject completely. If you have not read these, I would strongly advise it before seeing the movie - that goes for you too mom :).

2008-05-19T20:19:00.000-07:00

Backpacking

Well, I've finally caved in, and decided to jump on the massive band wagon, and post tips on backpacking, outdoors, hiking etc.... So there you have it, if anyone wants some tips from a decently experienced hiker, my words are yours for the reading!

The format will be pretty disorganized and scattered, though I will organize each entry by topic and add onto it as time and knowledge comes by. Also feel free to add on through comments and responses, I really do not mind being wrong and I love to to know more about a topic.

Links

www.backpackinglight.com is one of my favorite websites, because it has cool gear for cheap, and you can read reviews from people that have tried it out.
www.consummersearch.com is a great link for reviews from different experts on gear etc...
www.froogle.com or www.amazon.com are both great for relatively inexpensive quality gear.
www.backpacking.net/planner.html is an ok blog type deal for planning a trip, and remembering items that are easy to forget.

For further Backpacking tips and links and cool stuff, I've created a separate blog, you can just click onto view my profile, and then click on "Lorenz's backpacking corner"

Kari will soon have her graphic design spot, so keep an eye out for it

2008-05-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this is my official first post on this thing! Well Kari and I are doing pretty good, most of you know, but last month we went to Victoria BC with her parents; it was a BLAST! Longest drive I've ever done, but gosh it was so cool, and Kari's parents paid for everything, food, lodging, activities; they're awesome! I'll post some pictures when I figure it out, but I think the highlight of the trip was getting to know the Scholfield family, last time we really spent time with them Hannah was an infant and Andrew wasn't even an embryo. So we got to meet Hannah who is the most talkative two year old I've ever met, and also the cutest niece I have (the only one...lol) She's a darling. Andrew is an awesome little fellow, he's still an infant so there isn't much to say, apart that he's very cute and he throws up a lot!

David is definitely a lot of fun, we always have a blast with him; they've started this new therapy program with him where they have different people play with him in a specific "David" room in two hour blocks, I think it helps him a lot, he's a lot more soc-

ial than last time we visited with him, he's probably my favorite five year old boy. The rest of the fam seems to be doing good, all of them are happy people, it's really hard to not get along with them.

I'm back in school now and it's a lot harder than I had anticipated, I'm staying somewhat on top of it, but I'm still very tired from last semester; not to worry though, I'm doing everything I can to get straight A's and there is no reason to think otherwise. Kari and I have started to hang out a lot with one of my old mission buddies and his wife, we get along great, and they seem to like us so we're excited.

We're planning a week long backpacking trip at the end of the summer, so Kari is way excited because that'll be her first big hike like that, it's also very exciting to get cool gear and learn new skills. The other day we went to a First Aid class and we brushed up on things we had learned years before. It seems that every-time I do one of those classes, experts have changed their minds on what is appropriate in a given situation, for example tourniquets, did you know that they say you should never ever do them, like not even strongly discouraged or just in case of emergency, but now they say that you should not even think about it.

Anyways, that's me, Kari will post an entry later, but she's way tired so we're going to bed.

Love

Lorenz

2008-05-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

So this is Kari and I's new blog, we tried the website thing last year, didn't work so well, too hard to maintain, and also too expansive. So this is our brand new blog where everyone can learn about our comings and goings, what's happening in our lives; check out pictures, videos, and comment as much as you want. Pieces!