A Whale of a Weekend

We had a busy weekend with Alana coming home and Erin being here for Evan's Eagle Scout Court of Honor. Saturday was beautiful so we drove down to the Palos Verde Pennisula and counted California Gray whales migrating off the coast. We also saw hundreds of dolphins playing in the water offshore. The island in the background of the picture is Catalina. That night, we all went to Evan's ceremony for his Eagle Scout. . . Cousin Nicholas came out also to see what it was like to get the Eagle Scout award as he says he is going to become an Eagle Scout also. It was sad to have everybody leave to go back to college but Evan has Academic Decathlon this Saturday and finals next week so it's back to the grind.

Pics of the Alpha House

The dining room.

The upstairs bathroom.

The kitchen.

The upstairs bedroom/entertainment center :)

Our bedroom.

The front room.

James' office and Kibaki's room.

Well, we finally have the house set up. It took a while since James was spending his free time working on his car. We decided the best way to hurry along the process was to invite people for dinner. So we basically organized and set the whole place up in two days. A little stressful? Yes, but totally worth it. We love our new house and the friends we had over!

Our Favorite Tree

So far we have decided that our favorite tree in the backyard is this one. Of course we have not seen all the others with leaves yet so we will have to wait until the Spring to be sure. We got about 5 inches of snow last night and the tree came out looking just fine. It is about 30 feet tall.

MLK in Akron

Went spent a wonderful 3 days in Akron over MLK day. It was nice to get to spend some time with Gram and Gramp (and with each other!). We went to the Science Center in Celevland and saw two IMAX films that were really spectacular. 

Arnold, Helen and Margaret

At the Contract Cities Conference in Sacramento this past Tuesday, there was a reception and the usual senators and assemblymembers came. . .the surprise came when Arnold Schwarzenegger walked into the party and stayed for about 1/2 an hour, talking with all of us. Just the day before, he had the run-in with the car while driving his motorcycle (and thus the 15 stitches and fat lip). He was very personable and joked about the accident with us.

Watch for the Floating Dog

This clip was on Google video. It just cracked me up. Be sure the next time you are flying that you starp your dog into its seat. Hang on!

Our New House!

We spent our first night in our new place last night. We feel very blessed to be in this house. There are no pictures of the inside because it is mostly boxes still. Once everything is arranged (James starts school tomorrow and Megan is out of town, so it could be a while), we will post some new pictures. Now anyone who wants to can come and stay! 

The Wet Rose Parade, 2006

Happy New Year! We certainly had a wet time today at the Rose Parade. This was not a drizzle. . .this was full-blown rain and wind for the entire parade. Mardene and her family held the place for us as they so kindly do every year. . .we brought breakfast for the whole gang. Evan was carrying the banner for the National Trophy, which is for a float that best depicts life in the United States. The ESPN float won the National Trophy. . .Mardene brought confetti to throw at Evan as he marched by. We were all cold and wet but said that this is one parade that we will not soon forget. It was the first time since 1955 that it has rained on the parade.