Trip to Orlando and to D.C.

We went to Orlando for a couple of days to see Jeannie play in her softball tournament for the Coast Guard Academy (she is the best left fielder I have ever seen). We also spent a day at EPCOT. Of course, we saw the huge alligator with the car in it's mouth at the Gator Motel (we want to stay there next time). Then it was off to D.C. where the weather was warmer than California. We went to the World War II monument and also saw the baby panda at the National Zoo (he is 8 months old.) We also went to the Maryland shore one night for dinner and had crabs right from Chesapeake Bay.

Mission to Mars

I can't tell if Evan and Jeannie are leading the space exploration or if they themselves are the aliens. Watch for yourself!

Space Cadets

Here are two clips of the gang down in Florida. And they thought the hurricanes were bad???

Warnick Bathroom

This is the bathroom that Dan and I have been working on for several months. We had it functional just in time for a visit from Dan's parents during the holidays. There are a few minor things left to do including molding and cabinet work. We hope to have many visistors.

 

A Family of Strippers

A friend of ours asked Megan what she was going to do this weekend. Without thinking about it Megan replied that she was going to go home turn on some music and strip with James. An explanation followed to put our friend at ease and to erase the disturbing mental image. We took all the paper off of one wall and I will be doing the rest tomorrow. Then if all goes well, the paint will follow in the next couple of days. 

Why didn't I think of this???

Who ever came up with this idea is my hero of the week. Let me start off by saying how annoyed I am that so many grocery and other retail stores require you to have a "Club Card" to get the "savings" that they offer. Thank goodness that many of them now let you just give your phone number. Still I have far too many little cards and what not in my wallet. This is the perfect hack to get around all that. It takes a little bit of time, but being able to toss 5 cards is worth the work. Have your self a look.

Trip to Michigan to visit James and Megster

I had a conference in Detroit (ergo the nice view from the hotel room overlooking the Detroit River and Canada) but spent the weekend with James and Megster. We drove up to the largest Christmas store in the world in Frankenmuth, MI and saw an exact replica of the Austrian Silent Night chapel. I also got to do rounds with James at the Vet. Hospital at Michigan State. . .it was pretty cool. Their house looks great and they can't wait for more people to visit.

Quick trip to Connecticut!

Erin and I flew to Connecticut to visit Jeannie for a long weekend. I actually had a parent association meeting to attend. It was so wonderful seeing Jeannie and her friends. We attended the Academy's musical on Friday evening, saw Jeannie play in a Dodgeball tournament on Saturday, stayed at this beautiful, old historic inn in New London on Long Island Sound and had dinner with her sponsor family. The weather was cold, but sunny and it was just great being with together with out sweet girls. 

Terry Tate!

An oldie but a goodie! What a great job :)

Snow Trip to Utah for President's Day

We went up to Utah to see Ian and Alana for the President's Day weekend. We had two great days of snowshoeing with Jessie and her family, watched the Winter Olympics from Torino and played games with friends of the kids, and went to the BYU Creamery with Valerie, Allyson, and Jessica Reeves for our fix of ice cream and chocolate milk. It was a quick trip but it was great to be with family.

Great Truths from SNL

If you are needing to teach a lesson on debt management I have a great video clip for you. You don't normally think of Saturday Night Live as being a great source of truth, but you really should watch this. I need to see if I can get a hold of a copy of this book. Click here to watch the video.

Check out this Rig

This is me and my rig. We were given the opportunity to drive an 18-wheeler and it was pretty much sweet. I got this baby up into eighth gear. It was pretty cool driving it as we were testing a new product that allows you to change gears without using the clutch. Sometimes I question my decision to attend school.

New Fridge

You may be wondering why we have all of our food out on the deck. Well we ordered a new fridge last week and it was being delivered today. So we needed a cold place to store it all. Megan had the brilliant idea to use the large "fridge" in the backyard. It worked very well, sort of makes me wonder why we bought a new Refrigerator :) No worries, the new one is now installed and all the food has found its new home.

Hawk Island

Megan and I went on a walk this morning around a lake (Hawk Island Park) that is a 1/2 mile from the house. The weather here in Michigan has been very strange, more like April than February. We are not complaining at all. The last time we went walking around this lake it was frozen over and now there are birds and muskrats swimming in it. When we left the park we met a group of people (about 70-100) that come and walk/run here each Saturday at 8:15am. We are going to try and fit that in to our schedules each weekend.

Hybrid Car Myths

I recently read and interesting article from Businessweek about myths associated with Hybrid vehicles. I personally learned a lot of facts about these little cars that makes them sound very appealing. If this technology continues to develop as it has I will be buying one when I can afford one (in about 10 years). Dubya even said in the State of the Union address that Americans are addicted to oil and I for one want to kick that addiction ASAP. Click here to read that article.

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.

Christmas Trip 2005

Here is a slideshow of the Christmas break. The first pictures are from Loon Lake, then the rest are just from the family get togethers.

Megan in Arizona

Here are some pics from my trip to Arizona. We took a trip up to Sedona where they have some very pretty red rock formations. The church in one of the pics is built into the side of the rock. Merry Christmas.

James and the Tiger

On Monday I got to go the Potter Park Zoo and help with a physical exam on a Bengal Tiger. His name as Charlie and he weighed about 400 pounds. It was really a neat experience to get to work with such a huge animal. I hope to have may more experiences like this in the future.

Talk to a REAL Person

Don't you hate calling big companies and having to use their automated systems? Here is a huge list of big companies and what you need to dial to talk to a real person. This is very handy, especially around the holidays. Click here for page.