spring sprung

Big news. Big. Its official. We are a 2 full-time-income family. I was recently offered a position with Mount Saint Vincent Home, a residential treatment center and school for children with trauma and other emotional/mental issues. I start tomorrow working in Aspen House, a section of the residential program where kids that are preparing to transition out of MSVH can practice their soon to be used social and life skills. Its similar to the work that I've done before, but this will be with a much younger population and in a residential setting, rather than wilderness. For now I plan to still work at Patagonia part-time one or two days a week. The extra income will be nice, but we'll see how thin that stretches me.

Other happenings in the DTM (danitommymunson) world have been positive. The weather has turned wonderful. There have even been hints of occasional moisture in the air which has made me thrilled to consider switching down to just 'Regular' strength Head n Shoulders. The garden has been filled with weeds and we are excited pick em and plant some beautiful flowers veggies fruits tubers and antiques. We also made it back to Des Moines a few weeks ago to see family and get my Tasty Taco fix.

Another wonderful trip was had last weekend. We made it over to our favorite place, Moab. We got to do some sleeping under the stars, humbling climbing, gluttonous smore making, canyon exploring with a muddy puppy and munching on muffins in the cutest cafe in the world, The Love Muff.

Things have been great.

love and miss you all.

d&t

Terrific Tail Waggin' Two's

Happy 2nd Birthday Munson!!!

you still melt our heart everyday.

love is all you need

Last Valentine's day we spent it in a bowling alley parking lot at a Damien Marley and Nas concert. This one, was a little different....

We got two groupons for Sippin' n Paintin' and let the creativity

flow. We painted what was suppose to be abstract wine paintings and turned them in to Olympic circles and magical unicorns. All while sippin' wine and paintin' canvas.

After our painting extravaganza we headed up the hill to our favorite sushi restaurant. Not only did we gorge ourselves on delicious sushi, but the chef made us our favorite hawaiian dish...poke. Raw cubed ahi seasoned with shoyu and wasabi on a bed of seaweed salad. After a few contemplative moments of strongly considering moving back to the islands....we decided that this is where we belong. Valentine's day isn't the only day that's great...every day in this beautiful state with each is even better. (awww)

Beers and Mayonnaise.

Our blog has typically been about our adventures, daily stories and new outfits for our dog. However, this story was recently sent to me in one of our work newsletters and it just warmed me so much that I had to share it with all of you...enjoy...

Two Beers & a Jar

of Mayonnaise

by Dianne Stobnicke

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things; your family, children, health, friends, passions, and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, house and car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children, your parents, your grandparents. Take your spouse out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house, fix the disposal or deal with things from your job."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.

The professor smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked. The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend."

2012

January 2012:

-Tommy got a job (at Patagonia!)

-I turned 26

so far so good.

enjoying the amenities

Aside from working, finding stolen cars, dressing up Munson in different outfits and savoring every square inch of our house we have been exploring and enjoying every bit of adventure that Colorado has to offer.

A big push for us moving back to the mainland (specifically Colorado) was all of its amenities; climbing, snowboarding, hiking, backpacking, the list goes on and on. In the past few weekends alone we have been climbing (twice!), hiking, snowboarding and snow-shoeing (my new favorite past time).

Tommy is as happy as a clam every time he puts on his climbing shoes and I am a giddy school girl strapping in to my new snow shoes or lacing up the hiking boots. Not to mention how absolutely wild Munson gets when we pull out her bright red vest, protective paw wax and harness. She really is a mountain dog now.

The mountains continue to take our breath away and we are so glad that we are here in Colorado, the sunshine state. Of course there are still the occasional (okay, constant) feelings of nostalgia and longing for Hawaii and the ocean air. But we agree that if we can't be in Hawaii, Colorado is absolutely the next best place. We love it here and can't wait for you to visit and share our joy with us.

new wheels

For those who didn't hear, not even a week after moving into our new home, some local members of the community decided that our Jeep would be better located on the other side of town. And would be better used as a medium for anti-police and pro-marijuana sharpie art. And who are we to argue?

So we made the best of a rather terrible situation and pooled all of our extended resources and contacts and got a new car. A lovely car. Just lovely.

And here it is.

Her name is Frau. But she also answers to Greta, Wienerschnitzel, Jerry and The Sonnekönige.

Thank you so much to those of you who offered help during that very tough time for us. It means the world to us to know that we have such a wonderful support group even across the country.

love and miss you all,

d& t