their only brother (and his wife)

Go Magic: Back to Boston - Game 7!

2009-05-16T19:09:00.006-04:00

Thursday night (after picking up Luna) we went to see Game 6 in the Celtic/Magic playoff series. My employer has a Suite at the Amway Arena, and despite several previous invitations, I was finally able to make one - and we picked the right one to go to.

The weird thing about Amway Arena, besides the sponsorship of a multi-level marketing company, is that the Suite Level is at the top of the arena. The free food and drinks, made up for the view.

The Magic, lead by Dwight Howard, beat the C's by 8 and forced a game 7 back in Boston. It is truly "Win or Go Home" now. Go Magic!

New Additions to the Family

2009-05-16T15:04:00.007-04:00

This week, Lisa and I welcomed a new addition to our family. After months of searching and endless comparisons, we decided to bite the bullet and drink the Kool Aid that is being a Mac Owner. For my birthday Lisa bought me an iPod touch that I cannot get enough of. Little did we realize that is was only the gateway drug to more addictive behavior - buying a 24" iMac. Now that we are part of the cool kids, I feel so liberated and hip, I bought some skinny jeans and a bright purple hoodie. Heck, I may even vote Democrat in next year's mid-term election.

We also added another player to the squad.

World, meet Luna Lovegood!

Luna, we think, is a Puggle - a Pug/Beagle mix. It also means she doesn't practice magic. According to Wikipedia, they are very popular, despite the fact that I have never heard of them. We also found out that there are several famous Puggle owners - Uma Thurman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Sly Stallone just to name a few. So you combine a Puggle with the Mac, our coolness quotient has completely sky-rocketed. We got her from the Orlando rescue shelter on Thursday. She is a sweet dog that loves to play with Boo. We hope that she will help keep him young. My favorite part of Luna is her little underbite. It makes her look mighty ferocious.

My Parents are from Laos

2009-05-03T06:34:00.009-04:00

It's not every day, someone you know is featured on the front page of the Seattle Times website.

LHS Class of '92

2009-03-30T21:35:00.008-04:00

This is Taichi. We went to high school together our senior year. He was attending Lynnwood High School as an exchange student from Japan. After high school he stuck around the area and eventually opened two restaurants in Fremont. Not that I am jealous or anything, but he was just nominated for a James Beard Award as the Best Chef in the Northwest. So while Lisa and I were in Seattle for Alicia's wedding, we met up for lunch. While I have eaten at his restaurant, Chiso, on numerous occasions, I have not seen him since we graduated. It was great to spend some time together and catch up. As we were talking (and eating) I couldn't help but feel some obvious regret that we had not kept in touch. Hopefully we will both make the efforts to remain in contact. And in case you are wondering and you like sushi, one does not get nominated for a James Beard Award by serving bad sushi - I highly recommend anything on the menu.

This is Katie, Heidi and Andrea. I also graduated from Lynnwood High School with them. They were at Alicia's wedding a couple of weeks ago. I did not attend my 10 year reunion, so this was the closest thing to that. Actually, I saw all three of them about 5 years ago, so it hadn't been that long. It's amazing how time has just flown by. So while they may not own award winning sushi restaurants, they were pretty influential in how I turned out 17 years later. They were/are great friends, and it was nice to be able to spend some with them as well, catching up after all of these years.

My Side of the Story

2009-03-29T16:54:00.011-04:00

A couple of weeks ago, Lisa and I flew back to Seattle for Alicia's wedding. While were not enthusiastic about leaving the warm Florida weather to the land of the endless winter, we were really looking forward to spending time with family and friends. Including examples of both that we have not seen in quite some time. Apparently the morning we arrived, it snowed. Luckily for us, it was gone by the time the plane landed. Had we seen it, we would have promptly got back on the plane.

After a couple of days in Lynnwood, we headed up to Leavenworth for some QAT prior to the eventual madhouse that was to come. Prior to this trip I have never spent any significant amount of time in Leavenworth. Upon entering town, you will notice a theme. And if you don't notice it off the bat, the polka music ringing through the town, may be a clue. Leavenworth is decorated like a quaint Bavarian town in the mountains. In this case, the Cascade Mountains about 30 miles east of Stevens Pass. Our main plan was to hit Stevens Pass for a day on the slopes, but we got a late start on Tuesday and decided to head straight to Leavenworth.

After walking around town checking out the shops, we decided to blend in like the locals. Not too many opportunities for a grander hot chocolate in sunny Orlando. As far as dining recommendations go - definitely hit Pavz Creperie and Los Camperos in Leavenworth. While you might be lured into one of their many German restaurants, you won't be disappointed with either of these two places. Especially the dessert crepes from Pavz.

The view from our condo looking into our condo.
Wednesday was spent at Stevens Pass. Those photos are on Lisa's camera, which is conveniently in Uganda right now. So look forward to more pictures when Lisa gets back home.

A (Lisa and Jacob) Farrar Family apres-ski tradition - Zeke's Drive-in on Highway 2 in Gold Bar.

So on Thursday and Friday, besides watching NCAA College Basketball, the day was spent getting ready for the wedding. I didn't get too many photos of the reception, just the most important parts - the cupcakes.
While each flavor of cupcake was pretty tasty, the next day several of us decided to improvise a bit. The raspberry icing on the chocolate cupcake was the best combination.

This scowl was not directed toward me.

When Lisa and I got married, it was pouring down rain, and we didn't get any photos out in front of the temple. All of our photos were taken underneath the front portico. So we figured while the sky was clear and we were all prettied up, might as well take advantage of it.

Leah and Aidan were completely mesmerized by this statue in front of the temple. I have about a dozen more shots of them playing on it, including Leah singing "ring-around-the rosy."

BOAR 2009

2009-03-02T21:02:00.012-05:00

Several years go I became really interested in participating in adventure sports - mountain biking, trail running, adventure racing. Not as a competitor, but as a spectator. Becoming a spectator at these types of events would allow me to combine some of my favorite things - the outdoors, competition, and photography. Several months ago, I got an email from my favorite outdoor store here in Orlando advertising an adventure race put on by Pangea Adventure Racing. The outdoor store, Travel Country, is the main sponsor of all of their events.

For those that don't know what adventure racing is, it combines the 3 elements of running, mountain biking, and paddling. It is usually done in teams and is measured in hours instead of distance. In May, there will be a 72-hour race from the east coast of Florida to the west coast. The race involves checkpoints rather than just a start and a finish. In order to complete the race and get the maximum number of points, it is necessary to hit all the checkpoints and not lose one's punch card. There is also the element of orienteering. All participants are given a map and they must navigate the quickest route to each checkpoint.

So, back to the email. I go this email advertising a race and a point series here in Central Florida and I thought I might as well check it out. This race on Saturday was the BOAR (Best Orlando Adventure Race) , with the Elite Series being 6 hours and the Sport only 3. It was held out in Christmas, about 30 miles from where we live on a wetlands park designated for trail running and mountain biking. Add the lake in the middle and you have yourself a formula for fun. Shortly after I got there, I met Mark Miller, a photographer who has been shooting adventure races in Central Florida for the last 5 years. He was very informative, and didn't care that I was invading his turf. He let me hang out with him throughout the entire race. His photos of the BOAR can be found here. I am definitely looking forward to the next race in April. This will be a 30 hour race for the Elite racers, with the race going all night into the next day. I have more photos posted here.

You will notice that most photos during the paddle section that the racers are portaging their boats - the water was so shallow it was almost impossible to paddle. It was faster to just pull the boats.

When Worlds Collide

2009-02-23T18:33:00.007-05:00

Lisa loves Ace of Cakes. I love LOST.

I have found the answer here.

Kampala and nearby--Some pictures

2009-02-22T08:16:00.011-05:00

Enjoy some pictures from around Kampala and Ssezibwa Falls from the past couple of weeks.

From the top of tank hill--we ate at a cafe with this view

Marcia and I at the cafe

Malaria pills: case and point! This is what my leg looked like after we ate dinner at the cafe (unfortunately, I wasn't the only one enjoying my meal). I was even covered in bug spray (98% deet). This is why one takes medicine to prevent malaria.

The very nice family from Nigeria I ate dinner with last week--CUTE baby girl!

Sometimes when you live in Uganda, you get really thirsty.

A view of downtown Kampala from my meeting at the Public Health Laboratory--

On the road to Ssezibwa Falls--just in case we need a chair

Belated

2009-02-15T21:17:00.004-05:00

New Post

2009-02-15T21:16:00.008-05:00

Over the last couple of months the thought of breaking out of our non-blogging slump has caused a bit of anxiety for me. I know this probably sounds weird, but since it has been so long, the pressure to come up with something fresh, timely, and, of course, entertaining has been slightly stressful. Since the last post, in early, December, I have been trying to figure out what event in our lives was going to jar us out of the rut we were in.

For example, it would have been both appropriate and timely to post photos of our trip back to Seattle for Christmas. I could of talked about going to Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, the snow, Christmas Day, the snow, and being stranded with Rob and Stephanie and their apartment for a couple of days. I could have also mentioned the new golf clubs Lisa got me and the trip to Mexico I surprised her with.

How about our photo session with all of my siblings and their significant others? That would have been a good idea. I could have posted some of the shots that were taken.

Another opportunity to post something could have been when Lisa, Mark, andI went skiing up at Stevens Pass after Christmas. I brought a camera along with us and even took some photos and some video.

I could have posted something about New Years Eve at the Holley’s, falling asleep at about 11:30. And what about Dick Clark – that was kind of hard to watch. Again, took the camera and took pictures.

Lisa’s sister Sarah came to visit last month – plenty of opportunities there. I have about 75 photos of when we went up to Blue Springs to see the Manatees. We even caught a glimpse of Paul Sr. from American Chopper.

Also in January, Lisa’s Mom celebrated her birthday with us at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We had a great time and took plenty of photos. By the way, I highly recommend the Toy Story Mania ride.

There was the season premiere of LOST. I could have said a couple things about how my theory about Charles Widmore being the captain of the Black Rock was totally wrong. Or how I thought bringing Jin back in episode 3 was a bit premature.

Watching Southend United play Chelsea in the FA Cup. The team I have been supporting for several years now, was finally on TV here in the US. That would have been a worthy topic of discussion.

Oh, how about Lisa’s early birthday present before she left on her trip? We went out to the Flying Fish Café at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort. We had a fantastic time, and the food was so good. More pictures were taken then as well. Also, Lisa got me an iPodtouch for my birthday. I have been playing with it non-stop since then. I definitely could have posted something about that, as well as posted the video of me opening the box she wrapped it in. We took video; I very easily could have posted that.

Last week I turned 35. I am now closer to 40 than I am 30. A lot of opportunities for refection there. Plus, going to Disneyworld on your birthday is pretty awesome. You get a pin that has your name and “Happy Birthday” written on it and the whole time you are there, everyone there says “Happy Birthday” to you. I met up with Ben Holley after work and took a couple of spins on the Toy Story Mania ride – ahh, the joys of an Annual Pass. Again, I highly recommend Toy Story Mania.

I also thought about posting something about the fact that both Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born on the same day. And that Google celebrated Darwin's birthday and not Abraham Lincoln's.

There was the Man vs. Food episode in Seattle and how he went to Red Mill Burgers. I have posted several thoughts and photos of Red Mill in the past, so a couple lines about that would have been good.

And finally, Valentines Day was yesterday. Lisa is on the other side of the planet right now working in Uganda on a project with the Gates Foundation. She’ll be gone for another couple of weeks, so, needless to say, Boo and I are pretty lonely. Definitely my thoughts are on her and the fact that being married and alone (sorry Boo, you don’t count) on Valentines Day really is not delightful or recommended. You see other people buying flowers and chocolate and cards at the grocery store, and you get, as Lisa’s always says, “a bit weepy.” I definitely miss her and cannot wait until the 26th or the 6th – we don’t really know yet. Either way, it’s not tomorrow.

Vacation Catch Up and Much, Much More

2008-12-02T20:55:00.006-05:00

Lisa and I spent the first week of November in Western Massachusetts in area called the Berkshires. My employer has a resort in Hancock, MA that we were able to get in for a steal. So we jumped on a plane and headed up north. We met up with our good friends Cameron and Lisette (from Seattle) for most of the week. That part of the country is absolutely beautiful. Totally different than the flat, palm tree-filled terrain that we have become accustom to down in Florida. But at the same time, it was freaking cold a couple of days and because of that - We chose Florida! It's amazing that in 16 months we have become the biggest cold weather wimps. One day we actually had to scrape the windows.

I have documented below some of the highlights from our adventure. Neither of us had been to the Berkshires before, so it was fun to explore a new place. It was also great to hang out with Cameron and Lisette. I highly suggest the trip, especially if you like museums and learning stuff while you are on vacation. Things Lisa and I really enjoy doing while we are on vacation.

Day One - Hancock Shaker Village (Hancock, MA)

The centerpiece of the compound - the Round Stone Barn, built in 1826.

Cameron and Lisette

When in Hancock . . . milk the life-size plastic cow that "produces" water.

A possible preview of the photo that will be featured in our Christmas Letter.

While the Shaker Village was interactive, it wasn't that "interactive." In the Shaker faith, there are specific rules about the roles and actions of men and women and how they were to interact with each other. They are not allowed to eat next to each other, worship next to each other. They also believed in celibacy, as it distracts one from thier relationship with God. Cameron seemed to relish the role of "uncomfortable male Shaker, being touched by advancing female Shaker."

Day Two - Brigham Young Birthplace (Whittingham, VT). After spending the morning with the North Adams Branch, we headed a bit north into Vermont.

As we were heading back to Hancock, we decided to stop in Bennington and tour the Bennington Potters factory store. We did not know about this when we were there. Had we been aware of the potential for paranormal activity we would have stayed and explored a bit longer.

Day Three - Williamstown and North Adams, MA. On Monday, Cameron and Lisette took off to Boston for the day and Lisa and I decided to become cultured, by visiting a couple of museums in the area. Please note that if you are planning to visit The Clark art museum in Williamstown, MA on a Monday - it is closed and the guards will think you are an idiot becuase it clearly says on the door - Closed Monday. Instead, you should do what we did, walk around the town and visit Williams College, the home of the mighty Purple Cows (no joke) . . .

. . . and grab some hot chocolate at Pappa's Charlie's Deli in downtown Williamstown. While you are at it, grab some veggie-chili and a sandwich. You will not regret it.

The Mass MoCA is located in North Adams, MA. On a side note, we drove through this town at least 15 times during the week. For those not clicking on the link - the Mass MoCA is the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

The Northeast loves their "interactive" art. From the Mass MoCA' website, "continuing this nod to Earth art are Vaughn Bell’s Personal Biospheres which give gallery visitors their own miniature landscapes to experience by popping their head into Plexiglas domes filled with small working ecosystems. Bell’s new custom biospheres for Badlands will be based on the landscape of North Adams."

A Biosphere built for two.

Anselm Kiefer

More Anselm Keifer

The Miss Rockaway Armada - click the link. It's pretty interesting.

After the Mass MOCA, we headed back to Williamstown for lunch. By this time, the sun had come out and it made the stroll around campus much more enjoyable. Plus, it changed the light - so another round of photos.

Day 4 - The Norman Rockwell Museum (Stockbridge, MA). When I was a kid, my parents had this Norman Rockwell print hanging up in our house called Spring Love. Because of that, I have always been fascinated by his work. So when we were planning this trip, we had to go to the museum.

After his death, they relocated his studio to this location. The red building in the rear of this photo is his studio. Because we were there in the off season, it was closed. The statue in the front of the photo is by his son Peter. Peter has several pieces out on display around the museum grounds.

Downtown Great Barrington, MA.

Fun with Timed Exposure. Back to North Adams - Natural Bridge State Park.

Downtown Pittsfield, MA - Berskshires Museum.
There was this little cemetary not too far from where we were staying. The gravestones dated back to the 1700's.

Our last day in the Berkshires was spent in Amherst, MA. Which, technically, is not in the Berkshires. Our targeted destination was the Eric Carle Museum of Storybook Art. Eric Carle is most famous for his book The Very Hungry Caterpillar. This museum is fantastic, especially for kids. It is totally designed for younger visitors. Unfortunately not all of the galleries were open on the day we were there. The museum also features illustrations by other famous artists, like Maurice Sendak, one of my favorites. Amherst is also home to several universities and colleges. As much as Lisa and I love to go to museums, I think we like visiting college campuses just as much. We went to UMass, Amherst College, and Hamsphire College.

We had a great time, spent with good friends, exploring some cool destinations. Seriously, go to the Berkshires and Amherst - even in Novemeber. I totally didn't even mentioned the changing leaves. That shouldn't be missed either. For more pictures go here and here.

VW Baby

2008-10-26T21:34:00.000-04:00

We would like to have a baby for love...not for a VW Routan...but until then here is our virtual Routan baby, Cunningham Farrar:

(P.S. No, this does not mean we are expecting...)

Here is the link for your own Routan baby.

For Cameron and Lisette

2008-10-25T20:34:00.000-04:00

Only 6 more days. By the way - that is snow.

Someone has a lot of explaining to do (p.1)

2008-10-04T16:34:00.007-04:00

In an effort to itch the nagging rash that is maintaining this blog, I figured it was about time to update everyone on the last couple of months. August and September have been rather curious for us - Lisa has been home the entire time!! Since we have lived in Orlando, Lisa has traveled for work at least once each month we have been here. So it was a nice rarity to see here smiley face almost every day. I say "almost" because in early September I headed back up to Seattle for my job. While I was home, I thought I would take in the BYU/UW game.

After the controversial ending to the game, I am sure the UW Marching Band was rethinking the early tribute to the Cougars.
Guess who showed up - the biggest BYU fan at the stadium. By the way Joseph, a "touchdown" is what it is called when a team makes it into the "end zone" or the end of the field. A "touchdown" is worth 6 points. I think I recall you asking me about this during the game.
Ahh, the outcome. Ask Jake Locker about excessive celebrations.
While we were up in Seattle for the wedding in August, Lisa and I did not have time to "dine" at one of our favorite spots. So after the game, Rob, Stephanie and I went to Red Mill Burgers and it was everything I remembered it being. Granted it's only been 14 months since we have been gone, there are not too many places in Orlando that serve a a veggie burger like Red Mill. In fact, I don't think there are any. While I was eating my Red Onion Burger, fries, and a peanut butter shake, I sent a text to Lisa to rub it in. Oddly enough she didn't return my text - not sure why.

The aftermath. Who needs healthy lettuce.
Sunday was spent at my parents, of course, where my Dad prepared an excellent meal. While we do miss Sunday dinners with the family, I gain like 10 pounds every time I go home.
Not so long ago, families would often gather themselves around the radio to listen to The Lone Ranger, or Little Orphan Annie. Fast forward to 2008. Now they find themselves gathered around the Macbook watching some Russian pop star on YouTube. Mark is bored.

After YouTube was over, we went down the hill to Martha Lake to work off the pulled pork and no-bake cookies.
Leah shows solidarity to her uncle Jacob.
Nice Gut.

Later in the week, Joseph and Kham came to the hotel to hang out. I haven't seen Kham for a while, so it was nice to spend time making fun of Joseph with him. Joseph crashed at the hotel with me - free cable and breakfast. Looking at the photo, I was reminded of a certain little trip to Vietnam a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I could not find any photos of Joseph and Kham sharing a bed together. But I did find these little gems.

Also during this trip I also had the chance to have dinner with our friends Lisette and Cameron. I have know them for quite some time now and it was great do spend time with them as well. We'll even have more time together in about 4 weeks, as we are going to spending the week together up in the Berkshires in eastern Massachusetts. Hopefully by the end of the week, we'll still be friends. So with our track record of posting events on our blog, look for pictures of the trip sometime in March.

Thanks Yanks

2008-09-28T08:54:00.001-04:00

On Friday night, thanks to a 19-8 Yankees win over the Red Sox, the Tampa Bay Rays have clinched their first ever AL East Championship. Going from worst to first in one year, the Rays won only 66 games last year. Lisa and I went to two games this season, and while we have not jumped off the Mariners bandwagon now that we live here in Orlando, we have become big Rays fans and are looking forward to seeing them in the Playoffs. Heck, maybe we'll even go to a couple of games.

Amazing what you can learn watching PBS

2008-09-19T23:57:00.000-04:00

So about 15 minutes ago I was watching an episode of Austin City Limits on PBS and the band Arcade Fire was in concert. While I am not a huge fan (I copied an album from someone), I like their music and really enjoy listening to it. So while surfing the web, I had it on, but not really paying too much to it. At the end of the show they went backstage and began interviewing the band when I heard a familiar voice. While attending Northwestern University seven years ago I attended the Northshore 1st Ward. Northwestern's campus was in the ward boundaries, so most of the LDS students attended this ward. Since I was one of the few students that lived near campus that had a car, so I often brought other students with me to and from church on Sunday. There weren't a lot of us Mormons attending Northwestern, so everyone knew everyone from Institute or the YSA Sunday School class in the 1st ward. Well, one of the freshmen my first year there was a kid named Will Butler (you probably guessed where this is going). Will Butler was from Texas, but you would never guess it. He often talked about his brother attending McGill University up in Montreal.

Fast forward almost 7 years (now 25 minutes ago) and I am watching Austin City Limits and I hear a familiar voice. Sure enough it's Will(iam) Butler, keyboard player for the band Arcade Fire. And his brother he would often talk about, Win Butler, the lead singer. Crazy, huh?

I had no clue. I have only kept in touch with a handful of people from Northwestern, and unfortunately for me, Will Butler was not one of them. So let the "Guess who is Mormon" game begin. William Butler and his brother Win Butler are Mormons. For those they may not know who Arcade Fire are(is) here is a link and an awesome song.

Dang - I should have probably given him more rides around town.

Tinga Tinga

2008-08-06T22:22:00.000-04:00

Some of you may recall our little trip to Africa earlier this year. On the last day of our stay in Dar Es Salaam we went to an art cooperative that taught painters to do their craft in the Tinga Tinga style, made famous by Eduardo S. Tingatinga back in the 60's. We bought about a dozen pieces at the co-op and have given some away as gifts since we have been back. We kept six for ourselves and last week we finally got them framed. We are not sure where they are going to go in our house, but we have plenty empty walls to figure it out.

Nugget

2008-08-03T23:08:00.000-04:00

Check this out. There are some of you that will find this to be very interesting - Meredith, Natalie, Johnny.

Christmas in August

2008-08-03T22:36:00.001-04:00

Santa came a little early this year. Lisa has had the same ski boots for the last 15 years. Let's put this into some perspective. Here is a snippet of what was happening in the World 15 years ago:

1. Bill Clinton was in his first year in office
2. All of my sisters (except baby Monica) were still in high school - and Lisa too
3. Al Gore hadn't invented the internet yet
4. Gas was like a buck a gallon
5. Whoppers at Burger King were under a buck
6. Soundgarden was still a band
7. New Kids on the Block were still a "band"
8. I was freezing my can off up in Rexburg
9. I was eating meat

She was definitely ready for some new boots.

So on Saturday we went down to the local ski and snowboard shop here in Orlando - Peter Glenn's. By the way, the place was practically empty. Afterall, it is August and we are in Orlando. But, this is the best time to get the deals.

Merry Christmas!

Backyard Tourism

2008-07-28T21:25:00.001-04:00

Over Father's Day weekend, Jacob and I decided to explore our own backyard by taking a mini-vacation to St. Petersburg--on the Gulf Coast about an hour from where we live. We have been missing summer baseball games in Seattle, so we thought for our first night there, we would catch a Tampa Bay Rays game at tropicana field...

I've never felt such a strong affinity for OJ while watching baseball before...

Jacob's eye waiting anxiously for the game to start
The rest of Jacob waiting for the game (we arrived very early to make parking MUCH easier--the seats were filled closer to the start of the game) We stayed at a bed and breakfast in the heart of the waterfront. The room was nice, but I think it was designed for much taller people. Luckily they provided a stool to assist in getting into bed.
We were within walking distance to the pier, the local art museum, and several different shops. A lot of people rent bikes or scooters to explore here as well. Here are some of the local boats.
After exploring the waterfront and eating some lunch, we decided to go to the Salvador Dali museum.
I've had a fascination with Dali since doing a report on him in 5th grade. Here's me and Sal posing for a picture.
Even the benches are surreal at the Dali museum...
Our host at the bed and breakfast offered us free tickets to Saturday night's Rays game so decided to make the most of it while we were there. After we arrived, we discovered it was also the Festival Latino which meant that most of the game commentary was done in Spanish. After an eventful weekend, we stopped at the beach before heading home to Orlando. I had no idea how warm the water would be. Definitely coming back with my swimsuit.

New Feature

2008-06-03T22:38:00.000-04:00

Many of may not know this - but I was famous once. My first 2 years of college were spent at the college radio station where I was going to school. The summer after my 2nd year, I decided to move to Jackson Hole, WY to get a "real" job in radio. After sending out several audition tapes to the 3 stations in town, I got a call back from KMTN - The Mountain. The one station I really wanted to work at. In Jackson there were 3 stations, the classical music/news station, the Top 40 station, and then there was "Jackson Hole's Mountain of Music." We played everything else, from Alice in Chains to Widespread Panic. It's where I first heard of Big Head Todd and the Monsters and the Young Dubliners. We even had a weekly punk show and a weekly reggae show. They asked me to host the weekend overnight shift, from 11-6 every weekend. I absolutely loved it and had so much fun.

While on the air at KMTN, I developed some features that made the show "uniquely" mine. So not true - I just played music. The only real crazy thing I did was from 4 to 5 every morning I would play an entire disk. During that hour I would actually fall asleep until just before the disk was done. I stole from KISW the idea of doing "double shots" - two in a row from the same band. My favorite feature was to end every show with Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone. It's not even my favorite song - but it fit, and I think people looked forward to hearing it. At around 7 minutes, it gave me plenty of time to clean up my mess for the next guy to come on. The funny thing was his thing was to start every show with the Allman Bros - Mountain Jam. It's a 30 minute wonder off the Eat a Peach album. It was recorded live at Fillmore East in 1971.

All of this nostalgia has a specific purpose - to introduce a new feature. A common thing I hear on the radio these days involves playing two songs head to head, where the listeners phone in and cast a vote for their favorite of the two. In Seattle, 103.7 The Mountain, calls it their "New Music Showdown." This feature takes place every Tuesday. I have decided to give this concept a whirl on the old web log try it out.

I heard our first competitor on the new Mitsubishi Outlander commercial they have been showing lately on TV. Since I wasn't sure who exactly was performing, I did the most logical thing someone of my generation would do - I Googled it. I don't really know a lot about these guys, but their sound is pretty familiar and enticing.

Song #1 - Prototypes "Je ne te connais pas"

Their competitor is in the same genre - French Alternative. They have been around for over 30 years, but they sound pretty relevant compared to offering #1. I bought my first CD while I was living in France. The band is called Telephone.

Song #2 - Téléphone - "Ca c'est vraiment toi"

Let me know what you think - about the feature and the songs. The winner will move on to the next time I do this. And if I don't get any comments - this will be the only time I do this.

Finally

2008-06-03T21:56:00.000-04:00

Lisa is back Home.

More Potpourri

2008-05-28T21:05:00.000-04:00

The other day I was at the gym, working out and watching Sportcenter on ESPN and during a commercial break I noticed a familiar face. At first I wasn't sure, but as the spot continued I was able to confirm it. Uber-Mormon celebrity Kirby Heyborne was in a new ad for a known product sold around the world - Miller Lite Beer. Say it ain't so Kirby, how could you? You would think the pathway to worldly fame would be baby steps to the alcoholic beverage. Instead of going straight to the hard stuff - the progression would have been Sprite, Caffeine-free Diet Coke, Diet Coke, Coke, and then, if he got a little bolder, maybe Pepsi Max. The funny thing was - he really looked out of place. Oddly enough, this isn't mentioned on his website. In other Celebrity Mormon news, did anyone catch the contestant on Next Food Network Star wearing the BYU t-shirt. I did. Check out her bio.

On Saturday,while Lisa was on the other side of the globe, I was at the Crealde School of Art's annual Day of Workshops. I have taken a couple of photography classes there and every year this annual fundraiser brings in a bunch of professionals and extremely talented amateurs to talk shop. During lunch I was able to meet and chat a bunch with Bob Michaels. Bob's work in currently on display at Crealde. A really down to earth guy who does a fantastic job portraying the social landscape. His current exhibition focuses on the community of South Apopka - a suburb of Orlando. The above photo is from a series of photos taken at Daytona Beach. The two below are form the South Apopka series. His Trailer City photo essay is pretty good as well. Check out his website.

In "way to go" Alma mater news - Northwestern Women's Lacrosse won their 4th NCAA Championship.

The definite "face of determination." Hilary Bowen is not someone I want to see walking down a dark alley with a stick and a face mask.

That's right - our football team stinks, but we got Women's Lacrosse!

Sonics, who? I have to admit, Sounders FC is probably the one thing I am really going to miss now that we live in Orlando. Of course, after family, friends, and Red Mill Burgers. Let me be the first one to jump on the "Bring Brian McBride to Seattle" bandwagon. Brian has decided to relinquish his captain's armband at Fulham in the English Premiere League.

And finally, I agree, someone has been chatting it up with Hugo Chavez. And if we play our cards right - we may be able to get cell phones in the US.

"Potpourri for $800 please, Alex"

2008-05-18T20:37:00.000-04:00

Since it has been a while since my last post, I thought I would take take you through a journey of the last couple of weeks. It's actually been pretty crazy, I racked up about 5,000 miles in travel for work, and we had several visitors stop by the homestead.

It all started with a business trip to the Beehive State. While I was there I decided to visit with some old friends and take in a Jazz playoff game.

I met up with Sarah and Cindy at the Red Iguana in Salt Lake. Cindy did a fine job of describing the interesting wait-staff and the evening. It was great seeing them again and the food was mighty tasty. But, to be honest, I think I prefer the Blue Iguana downtown better. I also have to admit that when we decided to go to the Red Iguana, I thought we were going to the other one. Luckily it didn't disappoint. I hadn't seen either of them since last summer before we drove to Florida.
Despite the fact that I am not the biggest Jazz fan out there, I got invited to Game 3 against the Houston Rockets. WbW is a corporate sponsor, so I was in the company seats. We also recognized one of our major prize drawing winners during halftime - so I was actually working.

Rich, Justin, and Lee - coworkers. Unfortunately Rich and Justin are not only huge Jazz fans - they are also big Ute fans as well. I guess I should probably feel sorry for them.

As I mentioned earlier - we made a halftime presentation at mid-court.

This is our winner - I can't remember her name. She won the choice of $50,000 or 2 brand new cars. She chose the cars. No one ever chooses the cars. One of the tasks my department performs is we do all of our Major Prize Drawings. Earlier that day back up in Seattle we were doing out annual drawing - a chance at a million dollars. So, if you ever wonder if we actually give away the prizes we promote - we sure do. And more than likely I am "witness" in the selection of the winner.

Game 3 did not have the outcome the Jazz fans were hoping for. And despite missing the first return episode of LOST - I had a great time watching the Jazz lose.

I got home on Friday, and on Sunday, I was back on the road - this time on my way to DC. WVO (employer) is a member of the American Teleservices Association and every year they hold their annual Washington Legislative Summit. While my most people would find telemarketers discussing the latest in dialer safe-harbor laws, Political Action Committees, and self-regulation pretty boring, the ATA did a really good job and it was a lot of fun. I was able to meet Paul Begala from CNN and several sympathetic members of Congress who are deeply concerned about the plight of teleservices in the US - we are a dying breed that positively impacts the US economy.

While in DC I met up with Jay Sternberg and his then fiance Stacey - they are now married. We went to a fantastic Mexican Tapas restaurant downtown - Oyamel. By the way - my fish tacos are better. Oyamel makes the guacamole fresh in front of you.

Jay and Stacey. Jay and I went to Northwestern together. I tried finding some old photos of Jay and I at Medill, but my other computer is down right now. Jay works for Blackboard and Stacey is a researcher at Georgetown University. I was great seeing them and enjoying an excellent meal.

After the conference I stayed in DC for one more day to visit the city. It had been several years since the last time I was there. I checked out the National Gallery. I had been there before, but I really like museums and I couldn't resist their collections. The East Gallery has an exhibition on paintings and photographs featuring the forest at Fontainbleau. While I was in France I made several trips to the chateau at Fontainebleau. During Napoleon's reign Fontainebleau was a worthy alternative to Versailles.

I lost my notes - I think this one is like The Jolly Longboat Dancer or something like that.

Monet's Japanese Footbridge.

Van Gogh.

more Monet.

check out dude's mug - again, can't find my notes.

I really hope it was P-Day.

Washington Monument.

Since my last visit to DC, the WWII Memorial is a new addition to the Mall.

It's pretty moving. As you enter the memorial from the Washington Monument, the sides are adorned with reliefs depicting scenes from the war.

The detail of each panel is extremely life-like.

Each column represents either a State or a US Territory.

After I got home Ray and Frankie showed up on our doorstep looking for a handout. Actually, Lisa's parents were in town to look at their new house they bought on the coast. We are really excited to have family nearby. They are going to be bicoastal, spending winter here in Central Florida. It was nice to have them in town. I was also able to spend Mothers Day this year with them. Lisa was out of town for work, so it was up to me to celebrate the day for Frankie. I made a great dinner and Frankie was able to choose her favorite ice cream for dessert - she chose Cookies and Cream.

Our third time on the Winter Park boat tour.

Ray and Frankie. I had to sneak this one.

Nautical humor.

This is a stark reminder that we live in a region of the country that produces hurricanes. I was in the kitchen and heard this large crash and looked outside to see our BBQ on the ground. It had been extemely windy that day and I think a gust caught the cover and pushed it over and it fell off the patio. It must have been a pretty powerful gust, because it wasn't that easy to pick it back up and back on the patio.

Old Man Shepherd. I was checking out the Shepherd family blog last weekend and noticed they referenced a trip to Orlando. I shot Bryan an email to confirm the dates and over the weekend I spent some time with them at SeaWorld. Bryan and I were roommates back in Seattle about 7 years ago. Since then, he finished his PhD at UW, got married, and had three kids! He now is a professor at Vanderbilt in their BioStatistics Dept.

By the way, Lisa is back in Tanzania for ITECH. She gets back in a 8 days (not that I am counting)!! Boo and I miss her something awful.

Grandma Week

2008-04-09T21:29:00.000-04:00

Lisa and I had some visitors last week - the Grandma's (technically, Mom, you are a Grandma)! Around Christmas my Mom decided that her, Grandma Jackie, and Grandma Adeline would be coming for Spring Break. And Lisa and I welcomed them with open arms and a crazy schedule of activities that were guaranteed to leave them exhausted at the end of the week. And we accomplished our goal. The three of them got here Monday and right off the bat, their adventure began. We got them tickets to Kennedy Space Center, Gatorland, SeaWorld, and they went on the famed Winter Park Boat Tour.

On Friday, Lisa and I took the day off and with them to SeaWorld. One of the nice benefits of being a Florida/Orlando resident is the discounted rate residents get. As well as the benefit of getting annual passes. In the case of SeaWorld, an annual pass is the same price as normal single-day entry into the park.

Let's admit it - why does anyone come to SeaWorld? Two Words - Shamu, Shamu!

They don't call the first ten rows the "Splash Zone" for nothing.

This picture was taken inside the Penguin house. None of my penguin photos turned out - not enough light.

Manatee aka "Sea cow." Here's more info on the life of a Manatee.

Before the big Whale and Dolphin show.

The Whale and Dolphin show. I hate to say this, but I think I liked it better than the Shamu show.

On Saturday, we dropped Lisa of at the airport (she was going back to Tanzania) and then headed north to St. Augustine. St. Augustine is the oldest city in the US and was founded by Spanish explorers in 1565. There is so much to see there, and no way to see it all in one day. In fact we really only saw one thing - Flagler College. Other sites to see include the Fountain of Youth, Fort Matanzas, St. Augustine Lighthouse, and the St. Augustine Cathedral. Lisa and I will definitely be heading back.

Flagler College is located in what used to be the Ponce De Leon Hotel. The Ponce De Leon Hotel was luxury hotel built in the late-1800's, by Henry Flagler. Dude spared no expense when he built this thing. Between the custom Tiffany windows and chairs in the dining area (yes, that Tiffany, and yes, they are still there), and the original Thomas Edison clocks, this was the hotel to stay at in the early part of the 20th century.

There are lions everywhere - get it, Ponce De Leon.

The fountain represents a sword driven into the ground.

This is the dining hall and cafeteria for Flagler College - what was the dining room for the Hotel. The ceiling was hand painted with Tiffany glass windows.

An original Thomas Edison clock. Notice the number 4 on the clock - a unique element of every Edison clock.

Flagler's third wife.

We had a lot of fun with the Grandma's. It's probably the most time I have spent with either of them since we lived with my Grandma Adeline after moving back to Seattle, in the 7th grade. These are some pretty amazing women, and it was great to spend time with them. I hope they didn't mind the fact that we walked them into the ground all over Orlando.

A little behind . . .

2008-04-06T18:28:00.000-04:00

So while Lisa is in Tanzania this week and I am watching Blades of Glory for the 4th time, I thought I would update the old weblog on some past events. Lisa had a birthday last month and Scott and Georgia came over for games and dessert. They brought over a great gift we ended up playing that night.

Basically the game forces you to answer the hard hitting questions like, Would You Rather . . .

Be a Cyclops -or- have a six foot long tail?

Live alone with your Grandma in a small rural town -or- live in a downtown apartment with 20 cats?

Be the ugliest person in the world -or- the dumbest person in the world?

This is Lisa deciding that she would rather live with the cats.

While it make not look like it, Scott is enjoying himself. By the way, dessert wasn't half bad. I made brownie sundaes with home made chocolate sauce.

This Easter we had a special guest staying with us again - Moose!

Boo had a little too much of the goodies in his Easter basket

In keeping with our Florida tradition of making Mexican food for every holiday meal, Lisa decided to throw a little Fiesta Pascua, by making stuffed Poblano peppers. It was very good.

By the way, Boo's birthday was on the 26th. He's 7.

Lisa and I have become very competitive lately, and it revolves around a family favorite, Scrabble. Since Easter, my record against Lisa is 2 wins and 5 losses. Lisa was up 5 nothing until my recent 2-game winning streak.

After being told for the third time that pronouns are against the rules, Moose stormed off the table in protest.

Throwing Rolls

2008-03-26T22:37:00.000-04:00

I was in Springfield, Missouri this last week visiting one of our call centers. This wasn't my first time in Springfield. Several years ago passed through on my way to Branson. While in Branson I heard about this place that would throw rolls to customers. Years later I was watching the Travel Channel and they featured Lambert's Cafe - the place with the throwed rolls. In fact, I think the show was about the top 10 places to "pig out." Let me tell you - that is a very good way to describe the place.

One crazy year!

2008-03-24T21:52:00.000-04:00

Earlier this month, the 2nd to be exact, Lisa and I celebrated our first anniversary. We figured the best way for us to celebrate the ups and downs of our first year of marriage was to go to an amusement park. And lucky for us, we live in Orlando, the land of amusement parks. We had purchased some passes to Universal back in July. It was really hot and muggy that day and we totally wimped out and never used the passes. So, we decided to become your typical Orlando resident and spend a Saturday at the park.

Don't worry - it happened to be the regional cheer leading finals or something. The place was crawling with cheerleaders.

This ride is probably 50 times better when it's like 95-degrees and 95-percent humidity - also known as a typical Orlando summer day.

This picture was taken after we took a little ride on Lisa's favorite roller coaster - Dueling Dragons. Dueling Dragons was not my favorite ride. I found out after about 2 seconds on the ride that roller coasters featuring loops, going backwards, and my feet dangling in air, are not for me.

Yes - that is their feet dangling in the air.
A valid description as to how I was feeling post ride - pukey!
Now we are talking - Flying Unicorn. This is definitely more my style. No loops, going backwards, and my feet were firmly set upon the floor of the car.

The One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish ride in Seuss Landing. It's actually kind of a cute ride. As you spin around and go up and down, water squirts at you.

Caro-Seuss-el.

After Islands of Adventure we moseyed over to Universal Studios for the rest of the afternoon.

The Woody Woodpecker ride. Flying Unicorn was 10 times better.

This is a fun attraction - Disaster. It stars Christopher Walken and you the visitor. They basically make a disaster movie during the "ride."

The next day we celebrated our actual anniversary by having the "cake" from our wedding - Strawberry Shortcake and Brownies.
It truly has been a crazy year. In the year we have been married, we have purchased a home, found out my job was being relocated, decided to move to Florida, sold a home, purchased another home, drove across the country, went on vacation to Barbados, and went on Safari to Africa. We are ready for some piece and quiet and at least one month without either one of us traveling for work. Despite the craziness, I couldn't have done it without Lisa.

Tanzania - Part 4 (Lake Manyara)

2008-03-05T23:02:00.000-05:00

The last day of our safari took us to Lake Manyara National Park. Lake Manyara is famous for its bird watching - specifically Flamingos - and the the potential to see Leopards lounging in trees. While we didn't see any Leopards, we got about as close to Elephants as one would ever need to. At one point our driver Benny cautioned us to climb back into the Land Cruiser as an Elephant was getting precariously close to us.

Some Baboons, including a baby, hiding in the trees.

More Warthogs.

A baby Impala.
One of my favorite photos of the trip.

A juvenile male Impala.

These Hippos were much more active than those in the NgoroNgoro Crater. Unfortunately they were farther away.

An African Cape Buffalo applying the Jacob Technique to scratching one's back, with two Eagles watching from above.

This was probably the most amazing part of the day. We came across this Elephant enjoying himself in a mudpit. He was so close that his actions caused Benny to get a bit nervous.

For Johnny. In Arusha it is common to see these mini-buses with crazy signs and stickers. This one advertises Led Zeppelin. I saw Tiger Woods, Che Guevarra , and 50- Cent.

This Clock Tower in the middle of Arusha is located exactly halfway between Cairo and Cape town - right in the middle of Africa.
With Benny and Wilson. Wilson is the one wearing the Hakuna Matata t-shirt.

Our Burberry bed linens at the New Safari Hotel in Arusha. We are so luxury.

Matt's thoughts on the view of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the breakfast served aboard Precision Air.
Mt. Kilimanjaro - also known as the highest peak in Africa.

while we were in Arusha, Dar es Salaam had another American visitor - President Bush. The second Air Force One is for Condie Rice.

They love President Bush in Tanzania.

This is where we got our Tinga Tinga art. Tinga tinga is named after this guy with the last name of Tinga Tinga. This co-op trains people to paint in his style and then helps sell their paintings, we purchased several pieces.

Tanzania - Part 3 (NgoroNgoro Crater)

2008-03-03T22:13:00.000-05:00

After a rainy and cold night, the plan was to get up before 6 to ensure we got into the crater before the mad rush. Wilson made us a fabulous breakfast and then we were off for more. The NgoroNgoro Crater floor is about 100 square miles in diameter at over 600 feet deep. The crater is famous for it's Rhino and Lion populations - and boy did it deliver. It was amazing how close the animals and birds were to us as we drove along the crater floor. Geologists think that the crater was formed when a volcano collapsed on itself over 2-million years ago.

Up before the sun. This is the view of from our campsite - looking east. Simba Camp was right along the rim of the crater.

As we drove into the crater, it was just amazing how green and lush it was. It was unfortunate that it was cloudy, the sunrise would have been beautiful.Wild Ostrich - a much better view than the day before. The males have the black feathers.
There is a lake on the crater floor - here are some Flamingos and Hippos.
A very rare black rhino. According to Benny (our guide), there are only 3 in the crater. And because of the potential for poachers, they are monitored 24/7. We saw 2 that day, this was the closest.

Benny drove us to a Hippo pond. While we were close, these guys were pretty boring.

A very large Elephant with huge tusks crossed the road just in front of us. The amazing thing about Elephants is that they make hardly a sound.
Spotted Hyena.
Eland.

OK, now business is picking up. A pride of juvenile male Lions. We were watching them for a while and they didn't move a muscle. Benny told us that all the cats in the parks are pretty lazy and just lay around quite often.
About 20 minutes later, we drove off and we noticed a bunch of trucks pulled over to the side. By the way, a telltale sign that something good is going on. And we were right, we then noticed about 50 yards off the road, another group of lions engaged in a pretty amazing task. It was a group of five Lionesses going to town on a Zebra.

It was amazing to watch them eat - this is the stuff for National Geographic.

While we were watching, this guy came into the picture.
Benny drove the Land Cruiser around to the other side and we had an amazing view.

Just like everybody else.
The ladies continued to eat. If you look real close, their mouths are covered in blood. It was so cool.
For the most part he was just laying around. At one point, Lisa dropped the camera inside the Land Cruiser and it was loud enough that we looked around. while Lisa was embarrassed, the rest of us were like "way to go, he moved!"

We were less than 50 yards away.

My beautiful, blurry wife.

Pumbaa.

African Buffalo.

A much better view of Zebra than the day before. Zebra groups are called Harems. This Harem was on the side of the road grazing and was not startled one bit by us. I probably took about 25-30 photos of them.
Zebra and Wildebeest often travel together. Benny said it was because Zebra have better memories and that the Wildebeest need them to find their way around during the migrations. Wildebeest are much more startled by onlookers than Zebra and really don't stand still. A baby Zebra.

This is probably my favorite photo - Waterbuck.
I wish I could remember the species of bird this was.

We got back to Simba Camp and Wilson had made us lunch and packed up the tents and sleeping bags. It was really nice to not have to pack up our gear - admit it, it is the worst part of camping.
Our lovely facilities at Simba Camp.
This was probably the ugliest bird we saw - a type of stork, pretty common around the camp and in the crater.

Tanzania - Part 2 (Arusha & the the Serengeti Plains)

2008-02-28T22:28:00.000-05:00

On Valentines Day, Lisa and I boarded a plane and headed West to Arusha. If you recall the map in an earlier post, you'll see that Arusha is located near the Kenyan border, south of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Arusha is starting point for probably 99.9% of the safari trips that take place in Tanzania. It's near 7 national parks - including the 3 we plan on visiting over the next several days. Lisa and I were not going to be alone on the safari, Ginger and Matt would be joining us. Lisa works with Ginger and she was also in Tanzania working prior to the safari. Matt and I met up in London at Heathrow and flew out together. They had been out on the beaches of Zanzibar prior to flying to Arusha.

A view of Julius Nyerere International Airport on our way to Arusha.
The Arusha airport is located about 10 miles outside of the town. This is a view of Mt. Meru. You'll notice the the welcoming rain cloud. About 30 minutes after this photo was taken we felt it's wrath while waiting for our taxi into town. Because of the clouds and Mt. Meru, our view of Mt. Kilimanjaro was blocked.

Our room at the Meru House Inn guesthouse. You'll notice two things, the concrete floor and the mosquito net. I ended up using the net as a blanket, I had no desire to sleep between the sheets of my bed. Just outside our window was a television set that, when we arrived, was blaring the Tanzanian version of C-Span.
Matt's birthday is on Valentines Day. But because of their late arrival in Arusha, his birthday cake was also his dinner.

A view of the main drag in Arusha from our room.
Lisa and I ate both dinner and breakfast at the Noble Juice Parlour. It was actually really good. I had a veggie pizza for dinner. It's mainly an Indian place - despite the beef burger on the sign. I highly recommend the naan.
This is the Land Cruiser we rode in over the next three days. Unfortunately the snorkel on the front went unused.

The first real animals we saw on our safari, several Elephants on the side of the main highway to the NgoroNgoro Crater.

Some scenes from the small town of Mto Wa Mbu - Swahili for Mosquito River. No joke, pass the bug spray please.

A view into the the NgoroNgoro Crater. You have to pass along the rim to get to the Serengeti. We were going to be heading into the crater the next day.

Now we're talking. The Elephants earlier along the highway were nothing compared to these guys.

A Maasai village just outside of the crater.

The Serengeti is no place for your truck to breakdown . . .

. . . especially when it requires you to replace your rear axle. Benny our driver/guide had a jack and let these guys use it. Yes, you read correctly - they had not been using a jack prior to our arrival to help in the replacement of the axle.
Lisa, Ginger and Matt waiting for safari to continue.

A Thomson's Gazelle among the Wildebeest. The difference between the Thomson's and the Grant's Gazelle is the black stripe on the side and the size - Grant's are bit bigger.
You'll notice the fancy shoulder loops on my safari shirt - especially purchased for this trip. A shirt like this is standard issue in the deepest, darkest parts of Africa.

A Maasai tribe member. Apparently he wasn't to happy with me snapping a photo of him. Matt said he was shaking his spear at us as we passed him.
More Wildebeest. Zebra and Wildebeest are literally in a constant search for greener pastures. From December to March, their migration finds them on the border of the Serengeti and NgoroNgoro Crater National Parks. They estimate over a million Wildebeest and over 200,000 Zebra make the 1,800 mile counter clockwise trip following the rain. It was pretty amazing to see. Every black dot on the horizon is an animal.

A Spotted Hyena near our campsite. Don't worry, there were two guys at the entrance of the campsite with sticks protecting us from the wild animals.
This is the dining hall at the Simba campsite. Every safari group that camps has a cook. Ours was named Wilson. He used to be a lifeguard in Dar Es Salaam. Not only did Wilson cook three large meals a day for us, he set up and took down our tents. Yeah - we were "roughing it." Our first meal from Wilson - potatoes, rice, beef with sauce, and veggies with sauce. Dessert was fried banana fritters. It was all very tasty.

Tanzania - Part 1 (Dar Es Salaam)

2008-02-24T20:56:00.000-05:00

Lisa met me in Dar Es Salaam, TZ on Sunday Feb. 10th - I left Orlando on the 8th. After two days of travel, I was ready for a nap. Lisa still had three more days of work to do in Dar. So while Lisa was going to the office, I was meandering my way throughout the busy streets of the "commercial" capital of Tanzania. Dar Es Salaam is located on along the Indian Ocean, and our hotel was about a quarter mile from the beach. Unfortunately, it was not a swimming beach.

The Lonely Planet book on Tanzania mentioned a walking tour one can take around Dar. I thought that it would be a good thing to do while Lisa was working during the day. The first stop on the tour was the National Museum. Oddly enough is was about a block away from the hotel.

In 1957, about 75 miles east of Dar, archaeologists discovered the first known bicycle. Their best estimate is that it dates back around 300 years. It happened to be made of wood. (Just kidding - it's just a wood bike.)

This plaque and statue commemorates the bombing of the US Embassy in Dar in 1998.

So after the museum, I went back to the hotel for lunch and a quick 30 minute nap. 2 hours later, Lisa got back to the hotel and woke me up. Dang jet lag.
The next day I revisited the idea of continuing the walking tour. Along the tour I saw St. Joseph's Cathedral, it was built when Dar Es Salaam was the center of German East Africa.

A hospital near our hotel.
The view of the bay near the hotel.

The next day my main objective was the Village Museum. Thanks to my rent-a-friend Amissi, who, by the way is a big fan of Liverpool FC, I was able to get a ride to the "museum." The museum provides examples of the typical tribal dwellings of Tanzania. Joseph, it is similar to that museum we went to in Hanoi. Except it was not as good, and there was not a bridal photo shoot going on among the huts. There was about 10 different styles of huts and in the afternoons there is some dancing.

In 1932, about 32 miles east of Dar, archaeologists discovered . . . (another wooden bicycle).
A banana tree.

While waiting for Amissi to come pick me up, I decided to wonder around and came across a military cemetery from WWI.

The cemetery includes a section for German soldiers. It was the German defeat in WWI that turned German East Africa into the British Colony Tanganyika - which later became Tanzania.
The view from Lisa's office. Five days after this picture was taken, President Bush stayed at the hotel at the base of the two towers in the back of the photo. There will be more on his visit later.
Most people have heard of Mancala - the African bead game. In Tanzania play it a bit differently, it's called Bao. This board was in the lobby of our hotel.
My Birthday dessert - deep fried banana "spring roll" with vanilla ice cream.
The night before we left Dar for our safari, Lisa and I went to the Thai restaurant Sawasdee, located on the top floor of the New Africa Hotel. The view was awesome. This is the old Lutheran church that was built by the Germans. Basically you could see the entire harbor from the restaturant.
Lisa enjoying a selction from the Thai buffet. The Avacado salad was the best part. I am not sure how "Thai" it was, but it was tasty. Dessert was pretty good, but almost every item contained coconut. One of us in the family (not named Boo) is not a big fan of coconut.

Tanzania

2008-02-03T21:02:00.000-05:00

As Lisa and I have been getting ready for our trip to Tanzania, there have been several different websites that I have been using as references. I have decided to list some of them that have been pretty helpful.

This is the safari we are going on with a company called Victoria Expeditions in Western Tanzania (Arusha) - see the map. We are going the budget route - think tents, jungle, and Survivor Africa.
Here is a blog by a Danish woman living in Dar Es Salaam. I came across her blog while looking up Tinga Tinga art.
If you have 48-hours in Dar - here is the link for you. I'll have 72- hours and the Lonely Planet book I have has a pretty good walking tour around the capital.
If you are scratching your head trying to figure where Tanzania is - here is a great place to start.
Some definite souvenirs to bring home - Tinga Tinga Art.
This is a portion of an independent documentary about the famous carved doors of Zanzibar. It is really interesting.
One of the exciting elements of traveling to the developing world is the amount of vaccinations one should have prior to leaving. Luckily I got most of them when I went to Vietnam in 2006. Typhoid is one of them. Very interesting side-effects. But, if I was to get Typhoid - there is a pretty impressive list of famous "victims."

We are really excited about the trip and plan on taking a bunch of photos that I will definitely be posting.

Commander-in-Chief makes 3

2008-01-25T21:41:00.000-05:00

Lisa and I have picked up a travelling companion on our trip to Africa.

Obeying the Law of the Pack

2008-01-21T11:47:00.000-05:00

The first part of the weekend was spent at Pack 249's annual Pinewood Derby. It was a great success - no tears were shed and everyone had a good time. Here are a couple of my favorite photos from the event.

Christmas in Florida

2007-12-27T00:13:00.000-05:00

Not only has this been our first Christmas in Florida, but it is our first Christmas as an old married couple. And since both of our families are on the other side of the country, we really wanted to establish some of our own traditions - beyond decorating a kitchen chair. And looking back, I thought we did a really good job. For the longest time I have wanted to make homemade tamales on Christmas, so I figured, why not start now. And in this month's Cooking Light, there was a recipe for Beef Tamales - I took it as a sign. But, I modified the recipe a bit and made grilled chipotle chicken tamales and spinach and jack cheese tamales. The spinach tamales were real good, and Lisa said the chicken tamales were also tasty.

Surveying the damage done. We made way too many tamales for just the two of us. Seriously, we will being eating them for a week.

No fiesta is complete without some traditional postres. Lisa and I became addicted to these while in Mexico on our honeymoon. We went to the mercado to get the corn husks for the tamales and they had a case full of these - we couldn't resist.
Lisa's gift from me - new luggage. If you have seen her old luggage, you'll know this was sorely needed.
Unfortunately the box did not contain Hot Pockets. Alicia, why did you trick us so? Check out the link.
Boo loves his present from my parents. Just like a little kid - he would rather play with the box then the item in the box.

Lisa totally surprised me with a Canon XTi. Monica and Dad - don't be jealous. I also got the telephoto lens.
Boo impatiently waiting for the stuffed french toast.
I have a problem - I sometimes obsess about food I am going to be making. Breakfast yesterday, was no different. I had been planning it out in my mind for weeks. Stuffed french toast (with cream cheese and apricot jam), roasted potatoes & sweet potatoes, and scrambled egges with salsa & cheese. It lived up to expectations. It was so good.

Stephanie - notice the mug Lisa is using.

Our second "new" tradition of the holiday catching some movies we have really wanted to see. This isn't really a new tradition, because both of us have gone to movies on Christmas before. Sometime you should ask me about seeing Titanic on Christmas Day (I won't divulge any names). This year Lisa and I saw Juno and Enchanted. Juno was OK and Enchanted was real good. Juno just didn't turn out like I had expected it to. It was a pretty serious movie. Granted there were a lot of funny lines and scenes - especially when Juno tells her parents she is pregant. I was laughing pretty hard.

And finally, our third new Christmas Day tradition. When in Florida, do as the Floridians. Lisa made some homemade Key Lime Pie.

O Christmas Chair, O Christmas Lamp . . .

2007-12-23T19:27:00.000-05:00

This being our first Christmas in Orlando we have decided to start some new traditions. Trees are so Pacific Northwest.

Please Note - Boo was too busy chasing a frog around our patio to pose for a family picture.

Bajan Thanksgiving Experience

2007-12-21T16:13:00.000-05:00

Lisa has been working with the Ministry of Health of Barbados for the last several months. They had scheduled the pilot for the training program over Thanksgiving and since it wasn't Thanksgiving in Barbados, and I had some extra vacation time that I needed to use before the end of the year, it was only natural to leave the nice weather of Florida and head to the even nicer weather of Barbados. It was my first time in the Caribbean and we will definitely be going back. So while Lisa was busy working, I explored the southern part of the Island and the capital of Bridgetown. We were able to spend one day touring the entire island. Some of the highlights include, the George Washington House, Bardados History Museum, Fort Charles, Graeme Hall Natural Sanctuary, St. Lawrence Gap, Speightstown, the Blowholes, St. Nicholas Abbey, and St. John's Parish church. Barbados was so pretty and everyone was so nice. We even found a fantastic authentic Italian pizza place right next to our hotel .

I think this is an Amaryllis - these are allover Barbados. This particular one was at Fort Charles.

This is St. Mathias church - I discovered it on one of my many strolls near the hotel.
"Look kids - Big Ben, Barbados Parliament"

Scenes from downtown Bridgetown.

Brain Freeze!
The Barbados History Museum.
The young George Washington and his ailing brother Lawrence resided in this historic plantation house, also known as Bush Hill House, for two months in 1751. Barbados was the only country ever visited by the future “First Father” of his country and Bush Hill House the only house he ever lived in outside of the continental United States. The visit is a little known but very important chapter in the life of the then unknown 19 year old man, who would go on to become, as later described by Light-Horse Harry Lee, “first in war, first in peace, first in hearts of his countrymen” - from the website

Lisa found this little visitor one morning while getting ready to hop in the shower.
This guy was fishing for abalone or some other shell fish at the the base of Fort Charles.

A great little roti place not far from the hotel. Roti is a pretty popular fast food item with it's origins in India. You can find it all over Barbados. I loved the sign on this place - Curry in a Hurry.

A Spoonbill at the Graeme Hall Nature Sanctuary.

St. Lawrence Gap. This place is very touristy, but has a great Mexican restaurant and a nice bay full of little fishing boats.

Our chariot on the trip around the island. We met a nice couple from York, England.
I think this is called Organic Architecure. This was at the St. Patrick's Parish church.

In Speightstown.

The Blowholes. A definite stop if you find yourself on the northern side of the island. Absolutely amazing.
St. Nicholas Abbey - another definite stop. I think this was my favorite stop. I probably should have posted more photos. This place was really interesting. It is the oldest standing building in Barbados, built in 1650. A local family purchased it a couple of years ago from the relatives of the original British owners.

This is Chefette. Can you believe that there is not a single McDonalds on the entire island. This place had decent Roti, but awesome milk shakes.

12th Fan

2007-12-10T20:39:00.000-05:00

The Seattle Seahawks clinched their 4th straight NFC West Championship yesterday. No one was more excited than Ray - he couldn't wait to send me this photo of him in his favorite shirt just giddy with excitement of their prospects in the playoffs. Go Hawks!

Happy Thanksgiving from Barbados!

2007-11-23T08:02:00.000-05:00

I wonder if Joseph reads my blog...

2007-11-04T21:01:00.000-05:00

For more amazing moves - check out Stephanie's post!

House Guest

2007-11-04T19:06:00.000-05:00

As Lisa referenced on her blog - we have had a guest staying with us. My coworker Georgia and her husband were in Texas over the weekend visiting her parents. Georgia and Scott also recently relocated from Seattle. It's been very entertaining watching the two dogs interact. At times they have been very competitive, especially when it comes to Boo's knots. They have been very sneaky in taking them away from each other. They also have enjoyed chasing each other (or me) around the couch.

A very familiar sight this weekend. In fact Lisa has let him do things Boo can't even think of getting away with - like jumping up on our bed while she watches TV.

Boo has been a very generous host this weekend, but I know deep down inside - he is ready to have his knot all to himself. With that being said - we (especially Lisa) cannot wait for Moose to come back and visit.

Another reference to the Canadian Power Trio

2007-10-28T22:16:00.000-04:00

Come Sail Away

2007-10-28T21:49:00.000-04:00

Pack 249 had their annual Rain Gutter Regata on Friday. For those not familiar with the concept, it is actually very simple. Each Cub Scout was given a boat kit that contained the hull, mast, sail, keel and rudder. Two rain gutters were set up side by side for head to head racing by each scout. While it was windy on Friday, the boats are traditionally powered by the scouts blowing into the sails. Several strategies were employed this year. Logan made his boat a bit narrower than the other boats. He also trimmed the sail to make it narrower and squished the sail to gether to make it more of a curved surface. That strategy paid off because he was the big winner in the head to head competition. While second place went to Michael, he did have the fastest time in the time trial race - 8.6 seconds.

It was definitely a lot of fun, despite several tears being shed. Joseph loves to win and was not too happy coming in last every race. Gianlucca also was a bit disappointed in his performance. But in the end, they already started plannig for next year.

Boundary Issues

2007-09-23T17:31:00.000-04:00

***Warning*** Potential boring post!!!!

This last week we had several "minor" problems with Waste Management. We are required to put our garbage and recycling in the rear of our house next to the driveway. Garbage comes on Monday and Thursday and the recycling is picked up on Wednesday. Because our driveway is in the rear of the house, the truck has to navigate our alley to get to the rear of the house. This week the alley, and narrowness thereof, proved to be more than the driver could handle and our lawn became an unwilling victim. The funny thing was on Wednesday, not only did they drive over the lawn - they didn't even pick up the recycling we put out. Talk about salt in your wounds. When I called WM to file a complaint, they asked if I knew for certain that it was one of their collection trucks. While I couldn't say for certain, all I know is that our lawn got progressively more damaged on the scheduled pick-up days. Hmmm.

This is our neighbor directly across the alley - he got it worse than we did.

a valiant effort

2007-09-13T21:31:00.000-04:00

In the three weeks we have been in Orlando, Lisa and I haven't done a lot of sightseeing, unless you count going to Lowe's for ceiling fans or the occasional trip to Costco. Two words, Bor-ing. So last Saturday we decided to stretch our legs a bit and head north on I-4 to go on the Winter Park Scenic Boat Ride. We have been told on several occasions that though the boat ride sounds a bit cheesy, it is a lot fun. Winter Park is located north of downtown, and is around several lakes. For those in Seattle, Winter Park could be compared to Madison Park. Both are considered upscale neighborhoods, located near lakes, and with a lot fun shops and restaurants. We took off in the early afternoon and when we got about halfway there, we started noticing some clouds rolling in. Last week was a relatively dry week, so when we made the decision to go, we didn't even consider the possibility of rain. But since we are proud Northwest natives, there was no way were going to wimp out.

Our first clue . . .

Captain Alex

The canal that lead from Lake Osceola to Lake Virginia.

Uh-oh . . . Minutes later it just started pouring. Lisa and I were in the very front of the boat so we were not spared at all. We got totally soaked - depite the tarp we had over our heads.

Even though the boat ride ended early - we had a real good time. And they gave us rainchecks, so we will be going back. The only thing that stunk was that we were so wet, we had to go home. We had plans to look around Winter Park and go see Rollins College, home of the Tars. Maybe next time.

Odds and Ends

2007-09-08T19:34:00.000-04:00

Farrar Family Camping Trip

Lisa and my Mom - Glass Blowing

Jeff and Denise's Reception in Waldport, OR

WIP

2007-09-06T21:51:00.000-04:00

There have been multiple requests to see more photos of our new house - specifically pictures with our stuff in it. It has become a slow process, but things are coming together.

Some views from our house. This last week, we were treated with some pretty good thunder storms. This week though, it has been pretty nice and dry, definitely not as humid as it was when we first got here. I have actually been doing things on the outside of our house.

It's weird to see all of your earthly possessions in 5 crates.

The first thing we did was paint our bedroom before all of our stuff got here - much easier to do in an empty room.

Lisa did all the hard work with the ceiling fan installation. All I did was the wiring and get angry.

Did someone say road trip? (Washington to Utah)

2007-09-01T21:02:00.000-04:00

After our camping trip with the family, we started our migration eastward to Florida. The trip took 10 days and passed through WA, OR, ID, UT, WY, CO, OK, TX, LA, MS, AL, GA, and of course, FL. Thanks to Harry Potter books 1 through 5.3 the trip was pretty enjoyable. The only issue we really had was some pretty severe rain in Texas, which required a route change, and some one lane roads in the middle of nowhere southern Colorado. We visited the campuses of BYU-Idaho, BYU-Provo, Air Force Academy, Texas Tech, and Florida State. We planned on visting Univ. of Texas-San Antonio and LSU, but our route change had us going more north to avoid the effects of Hurricane Dean. We were able to see a lot of friends and of course a lot of the US.
Thus it begins.

No clue. We had driven by this on previous trips to Salem, and each time produced the same results - traffic. Annoying onlookers deducing what the heck it is.

Lana and Tony at Craigo's Pizza in Rexburg, ID. The cheesy breadsticks were better when I was going to school. The dessert was on the house due to the fact that we had driven the farthest to have dinner there.

Tony's son David - also known as the 7th best Guitar Hero II player in the US.

The Jacob Spori Building. I spent many hours in the orginal version of this building while attending Ricks College. It burnt down the day before it was scheduled to be demolished to build this version.

Boo, Lana, and Lisa relaxing on Patsy's Porch.

We were stuck next to this truck in a traffic jam in Salt Lake City. Unfortunately the Subaru was running rough and we had to turn off the AC and roll down the windows. If you are not familiar with this kind of truck - it hauls cattle. And this one was full of them. Thus we were fortunate to experience 100 degree temperature, no AC, traffic, and stinky cows. Yum.

The Evans Family!

Boo's friends when he was a kid - Max (Boston Terrier) and Kista (Boxer).

Heather! French Toast!

Did someone say road trip? (Colorado to Florida)

2007-08-28T22:06:00.000-04:00

We spent the night with Uncle Donnie and Aunt VaNeal in Colorado Springs.
Uncle Donnie's 1957 Chevy Bel Air. I called my Dad right away to tell him - somebody was jealous.

Lisa and I had a difficult choice to make. While in Colorado Springs, we could either go to the Air Force Academy or here. I was disappointed.

Our first one lane road. We were the first ones to arrive after the last caravan had left. We waited about 45 minutes until the pilot car arrived to lead us through the 15-mile stretch.

Finally - on the move.

Not again!

This is a common sight in the Farrar house - hyptonized black dog.

Now that Lisa and I are Southerners - we are required to partake of Waffle House. While eating we got two "Darlin's" and a "Hallelujah Time" from Kimberly our server and cook - it's how things are done at Waffle House.

Even Boo was able to enjoy a little of Waffle House.

What happens after eating at Waffle House.

Welcome to Florida!

Another common sight during the trip - Boo hogging all of the bed.

Lisa perplexed as to where to begin with the nice spread from Sonny's BBQ in Tallahassee. Don't worry, I had the catfish (and the mac-n-cheese, coleslaw, sweet potato, cornbread, and blueberry cobbler).

Welcome to Florida?

En fin!

Jour D' Indépendance

2007-07-06T00:03:00.000-04:00

The Farrar family (minus Monica) and the Tachers headed up to Kayak Point on the Tulalip Reservation for the 4th. This tradition has existed in the family for more than a decade - even when it rains. My parents invited several families from their ward - so there was quite a crowd. I have been to Kayak Point at least 50 times and the last couple of times we have spotted Bald Eagles. So it was only fitting that we saw a couple yesterday. Pretty much the ultimate symbol of the day. I think the best part was the fact that the weather was so nice.

Boo and his new friend Caden Vance

Lisa and I got pretty lazy after we got home from the beach. So while everyone else in Seattle was at Gasworks Park, we were home enjoying the WAMU Family Fourth on TV. In the process we decided we would rate the television broadcasts of various fireworks shows.

The KING 5 broadcast of the WAMU Family 4th. While the fireworks were really good - the "post game" commentary by Lori and Dennis was equally as entertaining.

This next 2 photos were from our neighbors - don't worry the show went until around 1 AM.

By far the lamest of the broadcasts - 4th of Jul-Ivars on KOMO.

The Boston Pops 4th of July on CBS. While this broadcast was from Boston, it was by far the best of the shows. The music and the fireworks were awesome.

2007-07-04T01:34:00.000-04:00

Going through stuff

With our move coming, I needed to move some boxes that were stored at my Grandma Adeline's over to our house. In the process of moving them, I decided to go through these treasure chests. And boy did I find some gems - here's a little peak at the goodies.

Amy Meisner. I apparently missed the boat on this one. This was from my senior year book - she was the only person from my school to sign it. I have no clue why - we may have been in french class together. Her photo is below.

John - in her note, she referenced something about you and driving by your house with Robbie Ann.

2007-06-29T20:24:00.000-04:00

iPhone
My coworker snapped this photo of me setting up my new phone. I bit the bullet and got the new iPhone. I couldn't help but to succomb to the cool commercials with the skateboarding bulldog. I'm a sucker for slick advertising, shiny metal, and bright lights. Who wants to be the first one called?

2007-06-19T01:26:00.000-04:00

Well we did it.

Yup, we found a house. Our new home is located southwest of downtown Orlando, about 20 minutes away from my new office. Lisa and I had gone down to Orlando to only look at some potential homes. The plan would then be after our house in Seattle sold, go back down and look for some that were still available. Well, we messed that one up. While we were gone we got an offer on our house here and accepted it this morning - perfect timing, huh? The new place is brand new and I am predicting the first carpet stain will come from me spilling something off a plate. While it doesn't have a pool, it's about a block away from a lake and there are 4 pools in the community.

Front

Rear

No trip to the south is complete without a little visit at the local Cracker Barrel. The time was 10:30 and I wasn't sure what to get. I was in the mood for something salty and something sweet. Hmm, what should I order?
Of course - Strawberry shortcake and a little Mac n' cheese. A perfect combination.
Who in the world matches their pj's to the bedding in their hotel room?

2007-06-12T19:13:00.000-04:00

Weekend

Lisa took Boo down to Portland on Friday to drop him off at his cousin's house. Nanook the Mastif is his cousin - she is just a puppy. Boo is training her the way of the dog in a human society. For a gangly Mastif puppy - not as easy as one would think.

While she was down there - Lisa decided to pick up a new bedroom. Kind of a random thing to buy, huh? Actually it was very coordinated. Multiple cars, bungee webbing, and milkshakes at EAT.

This . . .
. . . became this.

Sarah Plewe is leaving for Boston for the summer while we are in Orlando this week. So we invited her over for dinner on Sunday. We weren't able to make fish tacos for the missionaries last week so we made them on Sunday. Luckily Sarah will be back before our migration to Florida.

2007-06-07T15:54:00.000-04:00

5 months and a day ago

This photo was taken January 6th as I was moving into our house. Fast forward 5 months and here's this.

2007-06-07T15:31:00.000-04:00

Tough day at the Office

2:53 says it all. Unfortunately the M's lost 9-5.

2007-06-05T03:21:00.000-04:00

Mini-Update

With the impending move to Orlando, Lisa decided that the yellow paint and pastel argyle pattern in the kitchen had to go. The house goes on the market on Wednesday, so Mark, Natalie, Leah, Mom, and Alicia all came over to help us get ready for the photos to be taken tomorrow. I'll post some more photos of the house that will be in the listing. If anyone knows someone looking for a charming 3 bedroom/2 bath home in a serene, forest-like setting, close to I-5, I-405, and the Alderwood Mall - send them our way. Did I mention it has a hot tub, stainless steel appliances, and new paint in the kitchen?

2007-05-15T01:07:00.000-04:00

Port Townsend

Seems like everybody these days is going to Port Townsend. Lisa and I took off Friday afternoon on the Edmonds-Kingston ferry over to the Olympic Peninsula. After a brief stop in Port Gamble we headed North to Port Townsend. We spent Friday downtown shopping, looking for some Native American art from the Northwest to take with us to Florida.

We stayed at the Holly Hill House Bed & Breakfast. A converted Victorian mansion built in 1872.

Breakfast the first morning - Strawberry cheesecake pancakes!

Port Townsend Farmers Market runs every Saturday throughout the summer.

For Joseph - He left his mark here several years ago.

Richard Gere filmed Officer and a Gentleman at Fort Worden.

Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Forest.

2 bear cubs on the way down from Hurricane Ridge - luckily Mama was nowhere nearby.

Breakfast on Sunday - onion and cheese souffle with roasted potatoes.

Mandatory photo of Leah. Doing her best imitation of Popeye - look at those forearms!

2007-04-29T23:59:00.000-04:00

For Lisa -

So while you have been gone, Boo and I have been busy. Here's a quick recap of this weekends activities.

Definitely - not good.

Notice my car is not in the driveway - that's right, in the garage.

2007-04-22T05:07:00.000-04:00

Lisa's gone and Boo and I are lonely. She'll be in Namibia until May 8th.

Here's a link to her blog.

2007-04-22T03:42:00.000-04:00

It's Official - We're heading to Orlando!

Lisa and I have decided that getting married and buying a house was just not stressful enough. And that moving across the country and starting a new job would provide the excitement we have been craving. Trendwest (the company I work for) has recently changed its name to Worldmark by Wyndham - we now are under the Wyndham brand. That change lead to the inevitable consolidation of corporate offices. Back in February while in Orlando, I was notified of this and was offered relocation to Orlando. I was given just over 2 months to make the decision and last Thursday we signed the paperwork to make it official. Lisa's work, I-TECH, has given her the opportunity to work from home. So, we will spend one last summer in Seattle before loading up the Subaru with a certain black dog and drive across the country. We are definitely excited and kind of nervous about the change. And we are looking to forward to travelling around that part of the country.

2007-04-04T01:00:00.000-04:00

March - Part 2 (more from the first 2 days)

Thanks to Kara, Cameron, and Tom F. for the additional wedding photos.

These are the only Bachelor Party pictures that can be posted. The rest would show how Joseph's nickname of Slowpoke couldn't be more accurate. I think there may also be video floating around somewhere as well.

This picture definitely needs a caption - just not sure what it is.

2007-04-03T02:10:00.000-04:00

March - Part 1 (the first 2 days)

I have to say that I am kind of glad March is over - it has been a crazy month. It definitely couldn't have started any better. We are still waiting for the photographer's photos from the wedding. But because everyone has been asking for some pictures, I have posted some photos that were taken by people in attendance. Thank you Monica, Aunt Susan, Alicia, and John & Drew. I will post more as they come in. I also need to post the photos from the bachelor party - promising to keep it g-rated. I hope those in attendance had a good time. Thanks to Natalie for planning the party, Sarah and Frankie for the beautiful flowers, EJ the DJ for the music, and both families for all of the decorations.

2007-02-21T14:01:00.000-05:00

My coworker Evan's musical debut.

Slow Cook My Heart

Please, feel free to post your thoughts.

2007-01-23T15:40:00.000-05:00

Alaska Airlines Ski Nite

My friend Lucy works for Alaska Airlines and last night was their annual Ski Nite up at Snoqualmie. They basically rent out the entire Summit West area for employees and friends/family. Lisa and I went up with Kham and also several of my coworkers I was able to get some lift passes for. The snow was pretty slushy, but it wasn't busy at all, and lift passes were only $10 - so it made up for the snow conditions. We all had a good time.

Kham before his first run of the night

Kham, no longer smiling - this is what happens sometimes when you go back country in the out-of-bounds areas.

Last night, we were also formally introduced to The Coldpole. This is why they are now making helmets for winter sporting activities.

2006-12-19T22:29:00.000-05:00

Engagement Photo Outtakes

These are the pictures we have decided not to use. Thanks to Monica and her photography minor for taking the photos. And thanks to Stephanie for holding our coats.