Kaylee was born today!!!!

born 5:05am
7 lbs 10 oz.
54 cm (21.1 inches).

Took pictures at the hospital (less than 10 hours old)...
You can see them at
http://itzphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/919630 (use the family password)

You can check out Wendy's blog too.

Baby registry...

Wendy and I went out for dinner last night to
celebrate (with baby due any day now and all), and
then dropped in at the Baby Depot and made a registry.
We've got most of the major things (over 2 years,
just kinda accumulated stuff - simply because we
didn't know when we might be chosen)...

Here's how to look at our list of what's left that we
"need"...

http://www.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/Registry/Home.process

1. Click "Find a Registry"
2. Type in Last name: Rykowski
3. Choose State: Oregon

Click Find button. Bam! There we are!

We're having a baby!

My wife and I have been chosen by a birthmother today! It's been a long 2 year wait as adoptive family, but now our waiting is over! (for those that aren't in the loop on this... my wife and I have been in the adoption process for 2 years... most of that time just waiting and hoping to be chosen as adoptive parents).

When's the due date? THIS FRIDAY!

Boy or Girl? Baby GIRL! (just as we'd hoped for)

Any names picked out? We like "Kaylee"...

When will the baby be placed with us? When she is born... could be anytime now. (may even be at the hospital during delivery - just depends - still arranging those details)

Are we ready to be parents? Absolutely positively! (those with children are now probably chuckling and shaking their heads...)

Pumpkin Patch - EZ Orchards Farm (Salem, OR)...

On the way home from church today, we stopped in at EZ Orchards Farm to check out their pumpkin patch and annual Harvest Festival. They had a corn maze, live bluegrass band, and other activities.

Picked out a good pumpkin to carve for a Jack O' Lantern for Halloween.

Took some pictures while we were there too...

EZ Orchard Farm - Pumpkin Patch (20 photos)

My "Top Pics" from Auburn, WA agility trial...

Just completed uploading all of the photos from the Auburn agility trial (took a week to completely organize and upload!). There were 220 dogs, and I took over 3,300 photos! Out of all of those photos there's about 100 that I'd consider "good" and about 10 out of those 100 that are "great". Two of them are really, really great (I'll let you decide which ones!)

I've put my favorite 10 pics (out of over 3,000!) in a gallery at In the Zone Photography.

Take a look...
Joe's "Top Pics" from PSLRA agility trial (Oct 8/9)

Auburn, WA agility event...

In the Zone Photography provided event photo service at Puget Sound Labrador Retrievers Association's AKC agility event at Argus Ranch Facility.

There were over 400 runs on two different rings. They ran Standard and Jumps With Weaves for Expert, Novice, and Open classes. A couple of the dogs earned their MACH title (Master Agility Champion) - a major accomplishment for dog and handler... For more information about the sport of dog Agility see this Wikipedia article.

We drove up to Seattle on Friday night (dodging several accidents happening seconds in front of us thru Tacoma, WA)... and stayed with Erika. We commuted down to Auburn both Saturday and Sunday. Spent all day both days shooting photos, and Wendy tried desperately to keep up with showing participants their pictures and making prints. There was never a time that someone wasn't at our tent buying pictures! Had an awesome time. Was definately worth the trip. It's always a big hit to provide on-site printing of pictures. One person bought pictures for her dog that she'd just finished running 15 minutes prior (dump, preview, and print - within an hour!) Everyone raved about the great quality of the shots - the weather was just right - overcast, but not too dark.

Check out the gallery at http://inthezonephotography.biz for some pics. Still uploading! Over 4,000 pictures.. going to take several days.

Erika and Wendy Ride the "Peach of a Century" Salem Bicycle Club ride...

Erika and Wendy rode the third and final century ride organized by Salem Bicycle Club this season. They earned the much coveted "road animal award" for completing all three rides (Monster Cookie, Watermelon, and now the Peach of a Century).

As expected, the day turned out to be overcast and rainy.

Photos from Peach of a Century Ride (October 2005) (family album - password required)