Baby Warnick's Bedroom

More Pictures from Dalian, China

Here are some more pictures from Dalian. The first is of a Mongolian hot pot dinner where we would go through a buffet line and select seafood, meats and vegetables and cook them at our table (we are with a teacher - Dr. Brown- and her husband). The next photo is of Evan on a bicycle that goes around by human power. It was located at a small carnival on the coast with Dalian in the background. The 4th photo is our hotel in Dalian, which had an indoor water park (the 3rd photo). The kids got the opportunity to spend a few hours in the water park which was fun for them. Dalian was an interesting and beautiful coastal city.

Spring Time?

I took these pictures tonight after getting home from a bike ride around the lake. The greenery isn't out on the trees yet as you can see, but the tulips are coming out. Megster is very excited about that, especially since she thought that most of her tulips had died when we were hit with a late frost. I think in about 3 weeks all the tulips in the front and back will be in full bloom.

Seoul, South Korea and Dalian, China

Spring break was a lot of fun, as well as a lot of work, this year. Our high school choir, including Evan, was invited to sing in Dalian, China. Several school officials and city officials went and met with business and municipal officials there also. The first picture is of Dad, Margaret and Ian on the Friendship Bridge in Dalian. The next picture is of Ian and Evan in front of the World Cup Soccer Stadium in Seoul, South Korea (we had a 7-hour layover there and decided to see the city). The next picture was taken at the Tiger Park (similar to our Sea World) in Dalian, with Grammie and Ian and a beluga whale. Our students had been invited to sing there as part of business exchange. The final picture is our students doing an impromptu song for a crowd at the park. Dalian is in the northern part of China on the coast - similar to Monterey in climate. They don't see a lot of Americans in this part of China and thus we gathered quite a crowd around us. Even though we had a tour guide, making sure that students were in the right place at the right time, was exhausting.

Happy Easter!

Just wishing everyone who checks in a very happy Easter. Ster and I enjoyed a wonderful dinner with friends (the Forsyths) of honey baked ham, cheese potatoes, salad and home-made rolls. It was a great way to celebrate. Also here is an interesting clip about that Easter icon, the Peep.

Vet-A-Visit 2007

This past weekend was Vet-a-visit at the vet school. This is a day when the entire hospital (large and small) to the public (except for the infectious disease ward). It was a great event. I worked at the wildlife ward exhibit and showed some of our birds off. We had a Barred Owl, Screech Owl, Barn Owl (pictured) and a Merlin Falcon. The Herp Society of Michigan came as well and brought some of their cold-blooded friends. There were about 5000 people who attended. We hope that some family can come next year!

Sweet Deals

So I know how much everyone loves the outdoors and loves outdoor equipment so I though that this information would be very helpful. Talking with my BYU buds a couple of days ago I ran across a couple of websites that are pretty sweet in terms of saving big bucks on outdoor gear. Enjoy!

• Steepandcheap.com - there is only ever one product on sale here, almost always at least 50% off. Once they run out of the one product then the move on to the next. It can be a little addicting because you always want to check out what the new product is. I have seen brands such as ArcTeryx, Marmot, Mountain Hardware, and Sierra Designs. Products have ranged from watches to shoes to snowshoes to bikes to all sorts of camping gear and ski gear. Check it out.
• Sacattack.com - this is pretty much Steepandcheep on steroids. Although you only save 40% on each product, it is pretty substantial still, so there are some killer deals. Before you buy anything in a retail store make sure you check out this site first because there is a pretty good chance that they will have it. And, since most of the products will have a lifetime warranty by the manufacturer (always double check first - I have a Sierra Designs jacket that the manufacturer has fixed for me as it is covered by a lifetime warranty), it will be covered even if you didn't purchase it from REI.
  

Oh Say Can You See. . .

The first picture is of the ship Barry that was at the Naval Museum where Erin worked in D.C. The second picture is everyone celebrating Megan's birthday at Chipotle and finally, the group is at Fort McHenry, where Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner when he saw the stars and stripes still flying after a night of intense bombing on the fort.

Spring in D.C.

Our trip to D.C. was fun this year. We visited a number of Civil War sites this year in preparation for the Academic Decathlon curriculum next school year. The first photo is Manassas Battlefield, with Olde Town Steak and Seafood in Fredericksburg, Va. in the second photo and Harper's Ferry in the third.

Bring on the BIG DANCE

Although this picture was taken in January (Alana and I traveled to Salt Lake to watch BYU beat the Utah Utes), it applies perfectly to this past weekend as BYU won its first conference title in 19 years. To add to the sweetness of it all, BYU now has the longest home winning streak in the nation and the victory came against its in-state rivals, the Utes of Utah. Everyone, get ready to prepare those March Madness brackets.

Above the fold!

Take this James!!! (Edit... Take that Mom!)(Edit - Tony is above the fold)

Let's Play Doctor!

This past Saturday I participated in a Spay/Neuter clinic at MSU. We did about 80 animals in total. It was a long day which started at 6:30am and ended about 4pm. I was on my feet pretty much the whole time, but I did gain a ton of experience. I was amazed at the ability of the 4th year students. They were already handling abdominal surgery like pros. They say I will be that way as well, but I am really doubting that in my current state. My role during the surgeries was to be the anesthetist. Basically I monitored heart rate/sound, respirations, and anesthesia concentration. It was a great day of learning, but I was glad to get a sit down later on!

Brrrrrr. . .it's cold up there!!!

We decided to visit Ian and Alana up in Utah a few days ago. We got there in time to watch them play their intramural soccer game. That night we had a delicious dinner with the Reeves family in Bountiful and then all of us went to hear the Orchestra at Temple Square in the Conference Center. . .we heard a 16 year old violin soloist that started playing with the Boston Pops at age 8. . .really incredible. The following day, we went snowshoeing at the base of Mt. Timpanogos. . .it was really beautiful but I was glad to get back to no snow and 70 degree temperatures at home.

That is what a Hamburger is all about!

Since we will be in California is just over 2 weeks I thought it was appropriate to think about the wonderful culinary delights that await us there. One that popped into my mind (stomach?) was In-n-out Burger. Now most people who go there on a regular basis know about the unwritten menu items that you can order (animal style fries anyone?). I found today that they actually publish a "Secret Menu" on their website. Check it out here. It is interesting to note that there seems to be no limit to the number of patties that you can add to your hamburger. The secret menu goes up to 4x4, but the picture to the side would suggest differently. This is a 100x100 burger. That's right, 100 patties and 100 pieces of cheese. I think I am going to stick to my normal cheese-burger, animal style, extra lettuce, extra tomato with a thick creamy chocolate shake.

Year of the Boar

Ster made some delicious sweet and sour pork to celebrate the Chinese New Year. In addition to this we had egg rolls and homemade fortune cookies. We took time to write fortunes for the other person which was pretty funny. It was a nice way to roll in the year of the boar.

Elephant Seals and Yogurt at Bali's

We went up to Piedras Blancas and watched the elephant seals. There were many males that were sparring and trying to get the females attention. That night we all went to get frozen yogurt at our favorite place in SLO - Bali's.

It's good (and cold!) to be in DC!

Last weekend, Helen, Dan and Jeannie joined Erin for a few days to explore Erin's new surroundings. The weather was sunny, windy, but cold. We enjoyed a delicious dinner at one of our family's favorite restaurants in Annapolis - Cantler's Riverside Inn. Steaming bowls of clam chowder really hit the spot on that chilly evening. Annapolis is a very quaint, picturesque town. The Naval Historical Museum, where Erin has her internship, has many interesting, hands-on exhibits. It seems like we only saw a small portion of the museum, so it will be nice to see more when we are there in March. The museum is free and even has a destroyer in dry dock that you can visit and walk through. We spent Sunday in Baltimore and thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Fort McHenry. It was a bit of a challenge to find the national monument, but very worthwhile learning how our national anthem came to be written after the Battle of Baltimore. It was good to be in DC and the surrounding area!

Trip to Hearst Castle

This past weekend, Evan and I met Lisa and Allen up at the beach house in Morro Bay. We decided to visit Hearst Castle. The Neptune pool was drained (first time since 1995) due to repairs. The pool was losing close to 5000 gallons of water a day due to cracks in the concrete under the tiles. Coincidentally the guide that gave us our tour of the castle was a high school friend of Dan Crump.

Just Another Day in DC

Last weekend, Erin and her roommates went down to the mall to watch what was happening at the anti-war rally. Erin said the whole mall was very crowded with demonstrators, from the capitol building to the Jefferson Memorial. It was quite a sight to see so many people gathered at one location, she said. It's great that we have the freedom in this country to hold a rally like this. And it's great to be in DC to experience a whole new political climate!

Saving Up Your Poison

This is really cool. There is a snake in Japan that feasts on poisonous toads and actually sequesters the poison for itself. It stores it in its nuchal glads (over the back of the neck). When the snake is threatened it will express this glad. When the attacker breaks open this glad the poison is sprayed possibly blinding the attacker. Just awesome. Have a read.

Danny with Storm Trooper

One Card to Rule Them All...

I can't remember if I already posted something about this or not, but even if I have it was not automated like it is now. We all belong (against our will) to different "clubs" at grocery stores so that we can get their "club" prices. This annoys me to no end since I have to carry cards around with me. I know that I could just keep the card in the glove box in the car, but what if I am driving the other car or I forget to bring it into the store? Enter JUST ONE CLUB CARD. This website helps you put the barcode for 8 stores on a single card so that you can carry it in your wallet. How awesome is that?
So when you go to the store just whip out this hybrid card and let the store scan it and you are good to go. I was so excited to see something like this. Go ahead and trim that wallet down a bit. Click here.

Three weeks after having arrived in Washington DC, Erin is starting to settle into a routine with work and living on the east coast. She has learned how to navigate the Metro system quite well since this is how she commutes to the Navy Historical Museum. Yesterday, Erin led a tour of elementary school children through the museum and did a hands-on project about submarines with them. She is learning quite a bit about the Navy and how museums operate. The pictures are of the Navy Historical Museum and also the University of California DC Center on Rhode Island Ave. This is where the UC/DC students live in apartments and attend classes in the evenings in their community rooms. Professors from the UC/DC program also reside here. The first snow arrived last weekend and Erin and her roommates thought is was really cool!

Up on the housetop, ursine paws. . .

This afternoon one of the baby bears was in our backyard. He walked away from the trash cans and went across the street to Larry and Susan's house. Next thing we knew, he was up on their rooftop wandering around. Fortunately, no one was home at that time.