Berngala

Nesting Time

2010-01-01T19:29:00.001-08:00

We finally got all of our stuff in the house and sorted out (for the most part) and started to make the house our own. So we bought a dog.

Her name is Chevy and she loves people, Mack (Gretch and Phil's dog), and to SHED. She can shed with the best of 'em. If there were a competition in shedding, she would be top.....20, at least.

" Staring contest...You and Me....GO!"

Anyway, other than an addition to our family, we got the crazy idea that we would paint the house over Christmas Break. Good News: We painted. Bad News: It's a lot more work than we anticipated. My left forearm is throbbing as I am using that attached hand to type this lovely blog.

" She's a Pro"

We also have inter-webs. For the technology stunted crowd, it's a "series of tubes" connecting me to all of you.

So with all that said, we will be posting more often (hopefully) since I have all of these "tubes" at my disposal.

We love you, and have a Happy New Year! ("Happy New Jeah" for Nat.)

FOR ALL HOUSE PICS :

5 jobs

2009-11-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

Sooooooooooooo, about NOT posting in a long while.....I have been working on a lot of things recently, including: Wedding Photography, CBS News, Teaching at Birchwood Christian School, Shooting a commercial and Drilling with the Air Guard.

Oh yeah, we bought a house! So here are the pictures of our new house including the keys!

Chemical Warfare

2009-06-09T14:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in ages, but here is some pictures from our BIG Air Guard Inspection in chemical warfare. We were putting in 15 hour days and had to be in chemical suits for hours on end. So here is a little taste of what we went through.

Let's go to the ZOO

2009-04-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

I was able to hang out with Carsten for his Big Birthday. Here are some pics I have worked on.

Easter Pics

2009-04-14T12:37:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures I took during Easter weekend.

Bomb Fire

2009-04-06T21:38:00.001-07:00

We had a BBQ over at our BFF Jess Hall.....take a look!

Untitled from Bernie Kale on Vimeo.

Babies

2009-04-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick little video of my beautiful Niece and Nephew, Finn and Elli.

Redoubt Party

2009-03-31T16:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick video of what you do on an Alaskan weekend when a volcano erupts.....Pizza, dominoes and friends...

Redoubt Party from Bernie Kale on Vimeo.

Rahab

2009-03-26T23:51:00.000-07:00

I put this video together for my kids who are in the "180" group...enjoy

Why do you think that God chose someone so drenched in sin to cover for the Isrealites?
How much faith do you think Rahab had?
Is it ever permissible to lie?
How did God bless Rahab and her family?
Is there something in your past that you think God hasn’t forgave?
What risks have you taken lately in your spiritual walk?

Please selesct FULLSCREEN and HD

Downtown Pics

2009-03-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some stills from Downtown

NEW CAMERA

2009-03-16T13:15:00.000-07:00

Angie and I could not bear it any more, we just had to get a new Camera. We ended up going with the Nikon D90. It's a great camera and I am already familiar with Nikon, but the selling point was it shoots HD video. We took it for a "spin" downtown with Dori taking some pics of the always beautiful Angie. Here it is.

80's Party

2009-01-25T16:53:00.000-08:00

Here is the 2nd Annual "Cabin Fever Reliever" for the Air National Guard members and family. I think the best part was going out to eat at a restaurant before that and have everyone staring at us....too funny.

Juneau by Day

2009-01-22T13:21:00.000-08:00

So, the sun came out and I decided to take some pics. So, ENJOY!

This one is my favorite....I think they need to put another thumb or finger on that sign...

JUNEAU Pt. 2

2009-01-20T22:52:00.000-08:00

First of all, Juneau is a very dark and rainy place. Second, it's really......dark and rainy. It seems like a ghost town this time of year, and so I decided to walk around in the rain for a few hours at night to take part of this skeleton of a town. Here is a glimpse.

Juneau

2009-01-20T10:28:00.000-08:00

Here is my room's view from Juneau....hopefully more to come from Alaska's capital

BOSTON ECT.....

2009-01-12T17:09:00.000-08:00

If anyone has seen a Nikon D40 that has taken these pictures, please let me know. Angie and I (actually, just me) left it on the Airplane....Silly, I know. Here are the last of the ones that I took. Enjoy!

Boston...On Foot

2009-01-04T15:44:00.000-08:00

Well, right before Angie and I headed back to the A-State (Alaska, for you non-ebonic speakers). We flew out of Boston, and her sister thought it would be a good idea if we took the day to go visit the "Bean-Town". Here are some of the ones, I have got around to fixing.

Also, A huge shout out to Jesus. We weren't supposed to be in Alaska until tomorrow morning, and it worked out so we could fly home early instead of spending a night in Seattle and then 8 hours in Faribanks (all layovers). Thank you God!!

Lights over Syracuse

2009-01-02T13:08:00.001-08:00

Angie and I were able to spend a night up in the wonderful city of Syracuse with her sister and husband. They took us to a 2 mile stretch of Christmas displays. It was a wonderful sight and here is how I saw them.

Happy New Jeah

2009-01-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

Well, Hello there! Not much to say other than 2008 took the exit, stage right, and 2009 is here to stay.....for now. Here are some pics of New Year's Eve in New York.

Here are the twins hanging out on their laptops surfin' the web

Amy trying out her super tasty salsa

Cousins Tyler and Madison are playing around with the massive amounts of toys they received for Christmas.

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Christmas-New York Style

2008-12-27T15:49:00.000-08:00

So we finally made it into Norwich, New York (different story entirely) and we were able to celebrate with Angie's family. We love them dearly, and hope to most a lot more this week. Here is the festivities that have taken place so far.

Here is the paparazzi that was responsible for all the baby photos. I believe a total of 4,576 pictures were taken just in the morning alone. I'm glad that we are all now digital, because that would be quite the headache for photoshop hut guy.

Here are the adults getting presents. Angie, Mrs. Madison and Mr. Madison.

The best part, (now that we are "grown up") was watching the little babies open their massive amount of gifts. Madison and Tyler (cousins).

First feet on the board

2008-11-29T22:54:00.000-08:00

Angie and I were finally able to get away this weekend and go snowboarding up at Hatcher's Pass. It was amazing. Here are some pictures from it. By the way, this was Angie's first time on a snowboard!

Here we are on the slopes. She did such a wonderful job and never gave up, which is a key while learning to board.

It was my first time on a board in around a year, but I did okay by the end of the day.

Here we are playing the card game that is kind of like "Rook" but I forget the name. I just liked this picture and the different things going on here.

Happy B-D ....D!

2008-11-09T14:58:00.000-08:00

Well Dori's annual "celebration of being in her 20's" has finally come to an end. In her final year in her 20's she decided to kick it off with no inhibitions whatsoever. Sing Star. If you don't know what that is, then my friend, I feel sorry for you.

It is a competition Karaoke in the comfort of your home. Songs range from Sublime to Ah-Ha, and it is a blast to navigate your way through the genres. Here are some pics documenting the night and Happy Birthday Dori!

Jess can't wait to try it.

Ryan and Chris attempt their singing skills to a Boston song.

Sing Star Champs

Courtney Photos

2008-10-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some Pictures I snapped for Gretchen and the fam. Enjoy!

Photoshop-Tastic

2008-09-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

Gotta say, this is my first time playing around with photoshop. So far I am realizing how little I know about the program...but it is awesome!

Any tips would be great!! Thanks...

Fall, la-la-la-la....

2008-09-16T00:20:00.000-07:00

Considering Alaska had one of the coldest summers in around 70 years, Angie and I (with the help of Dor and Sar) decided to celebrate the coming and going of fall considering it only lasts around 3 days.

We drove North for a few miles and pulled over if we saw something worth shooting. THIS was definitely worth shooting! We saw some abandoned cars in the woods around 20 yards off the road and got a little closer.....yeah, carcass in the trunk! Throw some snow in this picture then this would be the stereotype of what people think Alaska is.

Buuuut, then we moved onto the "Bridge to Nowhere" that actually was a bridge to somewhere once. It turns out that my wife is GORGEOUS and took wonderful pics.
We also brought out my John Deere tractor that I used to play on as a kid

Hurricane Gustave...Via Alaska

2008-09-03T00:59:00.001-07:00

Man....I thought this would be an exciting week as far as me getting a NEW JOB (CBS) and learning the ropes! Then, a Hurricane decides to rip through the Gulf Coast. So Dad and I decide to help out where we can. NO...Not parachute packing Nat and Bridge...We do what we know best...

We stay up all night and inspect things...and load things.

THIS IS WHAT AIR TRANS DOES...Dori, for you it means "Arial Porters".

Dad and I made sure the equipment we were sending was in proper order to send and help the people in the hurricane region.

We may not be the people on the absolute "front line", but without me and (my dad) everyone else, nothing would have been possible.

Ex-GF's Den of Thieves and Carni Food

2008-08-24T22:53:00.000-07:00

We were able to get out to the fair today, which was nice after a long week of never seeing Angie. We (Angie, Me, Mom, Dad) took the bikes in so we could enjoy our last little bit of summer (which wasn't to great to begin with) and pulled in to park. We had to pay 3 dollars per bike to park in the grass. Then they gave us a white ticket and told us to put in on the windshield! It completely logical for an ENCLOSED vehicle to put a ticket up on the windshield, but anyone can take it off of our bike....Any way, I digress.

We were looking around the "Biggest Cabbage" and "Hottest Heifer" and we stumbled upon this. Apparently, cousin Dawn is a magical honey maker. She took first place for "Extra White Honey". I'm not sure if anyone ran against her though...

Then we entered the "Den of Thieves", as I like to call it. It is the place where Strong men are broken down to mere mortals, Where 2 hours pass by in seemingly seconds. The black-hole for cash. You get the idea. I actually caught Dad in the act!

He is being sold on some "Tree Trimmer 9000" where it can cut small branches with ease. I know something else that can do that. A CHAIN-SAW! But he did the smart thing (probably cause it wouldn't fit on his Goldwing) and walked away. I was surprised when mom was sold on some quilting fabric cutter thing. Her birthday was coming up, so Dad and I are going halfsies (still haven't paid him) on it.

You can see mom (left) taking the bait and dad (right) talking about the possibility of cutting down a full size tree with his "Tree Trimmer 9000".

The best part about the entire thing is mom was going to have to hold it in her lap while on the motorcycle, which would have been a riot (it's about 4 feet by 3 feet). BUT, on our way out of the fair we run into some people we haven't talked to in a while. My 1st girlfriend, Allison Stadig's PARENTS!! My parents were talking to them, and they happen to live by us....and they drove a car. They offered to take it home for us! But they weren't leaving yet, so they had to carry this huge quilting contraption around while we got away light as a feather. I'm glad I dated her, or else mom would have had to carry it on her lap.

Oh, yeah. FAIR FOOD!!

Campy Birthday To You.....

2008-08-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

Well, Angie did it. She finally turned 22 for the fourth time in her life. She says that she feels arthritis is setting in now, but other than that she feels great.

We have both been working crazy schedules and hardly ever get a chance to see each other at the end of the day. She had never been to King River, which is a Batten/Kale tradition. I work at ABC News, and I asked the weatherman what the weather was looking like for the weekend and he told me, "Rain". He put it into a sentence form, but that's pretty much all I heard.

The first night we were up there, it was beautiful. Just enough clouds to keep us warm, but still no rain. Then we slept.... It started pouring down rain pretty much all night, but when we woke up, Nothing! It was mostly sunny all weekend for us. I am so glad the weather man is wrong....often....

Most of Saturday we spent 4-wheeling and cutting up trees for our fires at night. Like Christian (cousin) says, "DO WORK"!

Finn was nice enough to take me on a 4-wheeler ride for a while. He is really generous with his toys.

I GOT ONE

2008-07-08T13:06:00.000-07:00

Well, after months of searching and begging (my wife for permission), I finally got a motorcycle. I got a great deal on it and love it!

It is a 2002 Honda CBR 954 RR and it super fast and LOUD.
Angie's only requirement from me was that I would buy her a pink helmet. Sure enough,6 hours after I got the bike, I bought her a helmet.

I will post more after our first road trip.

Air Show '08

2008-06-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

This year we were able to go to the Annual Air Show on Elmendorf. Normally, they will have small aircraft stunts and the Thunderbirds (F-16 demo team).

The only exception this year is the F-22 Raptor. This guy can actually (at an angle) go backwards and rotate 360 degrees, before it has to actually move faster than 40 MPH.

Jamaica Continued

2008-06-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

Just playing around with my camera.

JUNE!

2008-06-26T12:48:00.000-07:00

Really sorry about the delay of posting, but Angie and I have been really busy with, I don't know...GETTING MARRIED! Anyway, those pictures are to come. Thank you to everyone who helped out at the wedding, you made it very special for both of us. In spirit of catching up, I am going to skip the wedding and go right to the honeymoon. Jamaica, Mon!

It was sunny every day there and we literally did nothing all day. No phone calls, no emails, no problem. The most we ever did was win in "The Amazing Race" scavenger hunt and Angie took it all in Bingo. Also, I won in a Limbo contest. I was really proud of us. Other than that here are some pictures of the trip. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chicken

2008-03-28T13:04:00.000-07:00

So Angie Pants and I decided to make dinner for the "Roommates" (parents). We decided to go with an Ace-up-the-sleeve, AKA: Peanut Butter Thai Chicken. We learned of the recipe through our friend from college.
So as I cooked the Chicken on "The Big Green Egg" (see my parents blog if you have questions), Angie Prepared the peanut butter mix inside.
The end result was so good, we forgot to take pictures. But here is the recipe: Unfrozen Chicken Breast. Generous amount of Chili Powder on all sides of chicken. Cook until almost 165 degrees. Then with a Chunky Peanut butter and Honey mix, spread over the top of each chicken. Let it caramelize until chicken is 165, then serve with a fork and knife.

YOU'RE IT

2008-03-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

DORI! You are now it!!

I'm it

2008-03-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

Sorry it took so long for the posting, but I wasn't aware of how the "tagging" mumbo jumbo worked.

10 Random Facts about me :

1. I used to be deathly afraid of horses. It all started when I had a nightmare where worms were coming in and out of the ground and and old lady on a horse. When I woke up, I wasn't afraid of old ladies or worms, but seriously afraid of horses....I DID get over it when I finally rode a horse in college.

2. I was Superman. Seriously.....I used to have Superman pajamas and whenever I put them on, I thought I could fly. I would jump down the flight of stairs in my house and land SO hard! Then, of course, I would do it again.

3. My sisters used to hang me on the door knob with a plastic bag. We have pictures to prove it. They would put me in a Pay N' Save plastic bag, and hang me up on our back door knob. At first I thought it was funny, but as time progressed, I realized that they were laughing AT me.

4. I never won a championship. Of all the years playing baseball and hockey, I have never taken home a 1st Place trophy. I am playing in a slow-pitch softball league this summer, so the streak might end soon.

5. I came up with McDonald's new marketing campaign. You know the whole green coloring and "McSalads", well that was all me. In High School, I was in a class where we had to come up with new marketing campaigns. That was right when McDonald's was getting a lot of heat for serving fatty foods and fries. I decided a good idea would be for them to introduce green, because green makes people think "fresh and healthy". I also wrote how having more salad choices would be a smart bet. 1 year later they decide to copy me. I was shocked! Of course, I threw away my project so I have no formal proof of my creation....but they know that I know they know.

6. I forgot my times-tables (sp.). In the third grade, I woke up and went to school and tried to do math. I couldn't do anything. I went completely blank. I told my mom and at first she didn't believe me, but she eventually came around to realize her son was "handicapped" in math. So she did what any good mother would do and, went to Salvation Army.... She bought me these "Sing to Learn" records (that's right, records) and let me loose. Well, I am proud to say I can count on my fingers and toes because of those things.

7. I write poetry to vent. In High School, I was a very frustrated kid. I kind of scaled the fence with good and bad (I thought I could do both). Needless to say that left me frustrated and confused. So I wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I still write poetry today and I thank God I am not "scaling" and frustrated anymore, but my writing still kind of reflects on those issues.

8. I make movies. I would drive my sisters insane with my hunger for hollywood. I always wanted to "spoof" the latest SNL skit, or "Blair Witch Project". Eventually, my actors (sisters and Dori and Chris) turned on me and tired of the movie making biz. Well, I went to college for it and now I get to make movies or shorts for my church. It's a huge blessing to have an outlet that helps the church as well as my talent.

9. I was stood up by my fiance' when I asked her out for the first time. Like in the video we posted before, I asked her to a concert (thinking I was "Joe Cool") and she said she would meet me there. She was a no show. It's kind of funny, cause eventually she came around to see how "Joe Cool" I was.

10. My sisters were my best friends growing up. As much as they made me mad or upset, they have given me great advice, told me the absolute truth no matter what, and have never looked down on me ever. For that, I am who I am today :)

that was tough....I was scraping towards the end

Congrats......Cake eater!!

2008-03-01T22:53:00.001-08:00

Here is the King!! Finn is finally 1 year old. Congrats to the parents. Gretchen and Phil did a wonderful job...so far ;)

Here are the cowgirls of the night Great Grandma Batten and Kiki.
Here is his cousin Carston getting into the cowboy spirit with his boots and hat.

And here is a wonderful "Cake Eater" shot of Angie and I.

Fur Rondy

2008-02-24T22:31:00.000-08:00

So we have an event in Alaska known as "Fur Rondy". It is pretty much an excuse to hang outside in the cold and wear funny fur hats.

Angie, My cousin Sara (pictured above) and I went downtown in hopes that we can try out my new camera. I just bought a new Nikon D40x. Also, my parent's old camera was a Nikon so the lenses work with my new one. I LOVE it. These are just a few of them that I took. I didn't really enhance them too much. I need photoshop for that...soon to come.

Good end to a good week

2008-02-17T13:32:00.000-08:00

Angie-pants and I have had an eventful week (Bill, Masks, ect.) so we decided to wind down, only not really. We went to the fancy restaurant Simon and Seaforts. Delicious!

Here is Angie with her Filet. It was scrumptious and expensive all in one. The steak was only 7 ounces and she couldn't finish it which is funny, because she almost got the 12 ounce sirloin!

I decided to go with the stuffed halibut and mashed pataters. Really good and plenty of it for me to fill up on.

Mask On....Dance Off

2008-02-16T11:04:00.000-08:00

What a night! Angie and I went to the 1st annual (I don't think I can say annual because it's the first) Cabin Fever - Reliever. It involved costumes, masks, or normal clothing (boring). There was Batman, a Canadian Mounty and of course, a couple of birds.

What good looking birds!! Man, I wish I knew who these good looking birds were so I could call them up and say, "Hey, you are so super good looking....bird people"

2 HOPS THIS TIME! Here we are (in the far right) dancing to "That Song". Does anyone know what "Everybody Charly Brown" means?

Free Concert

2008-02-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

Angie and I got quite the treat when we recieved 2 free tickets to a concert. If you are millitary, you were able to go to a free Bowling for Soup and Billy Ray Cyrus concert.

Here is the band Bowling for Soup. They were a wonderful live act, and hillarious too. Billy Ray was alright, but this band definately entertained the audience a lot more. Billy Ray didn't even sing "Achy Breaky Heart". HUGE slip-up, Bill.

One last picture of me and Angie....cause it's OUR blog!

Shooting Off

2008-02-06T22:07:00.000-08:00

Well, we had an AWSOME Wednesday night! My Dad took the entire family out for a night at the shooting range. I was able to shoot my 9 mm that I was given from Angie. My mom and Angie-Pants shot my Dad's new .22 that he just got.

This was Angie's first time shooting a gun before and she did great. She was a little nervous, but she shot decent "groupings", which is a good thing if you want to stop anything in your way. I'm proud of her.

Apparently there is no smiling while on the line. There is my 9 mil compact, and she is a beauty. It shoots really well and smooth recoil. Angie definitely knows what to buy me.

How We Met

2008-02-05T18:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of the story of the "actual" time Angie and I met. I think my side of the story sounds better, but her's is probably more realistic.

I hope you guys like it. If you want more information on our upcoming wedding click here

New Race Car

2008-01-28T22:16:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally got a second car. We figured since I am back home and will not be unemployed for long (fingers crossed), we are gonna need another one.

Here is her huge rims...they are pretty much a big deal. Sophie wanted in the shot too.

Sushi Night

2008-01-26T22:28:00.000-08:00

One of the good things about being away for so long was that my mom had about 3 different celebrations planned as soon as I got home. This one was "Sushi Saturday" and it was a blasty blast. We had some friends and family over as Angie and I prepared some wonderful tasty delights.

We had a blast and watched Finn demolish his fried rice. The kid is a tank...he will eat anything including fish eggs that Phil (his dad) had given him.

This is what the whole setup looked like before everyone nibbled on the crab, raw tuna, shrimp or veggie style sushi. It took a while to make these guys, but it was definately worth it.

We do exist

2008-01-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

Hello from Angie and Bernie. We are engaged and in Alaska right now but we do NOT have a digital camera. So while we are working on getting one, enjoy this wonderful Dance Video