California Dreamin'

Well we just returned from a great week in California. Here are a bunch of pictures starting out with the reason for the whole trip. Congrats to Julie and David on their marriage. Here they are with the rabbi at breathtaking Pebble Beach. It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful ceremony. They're living it up in Italy right now.

Taylor inspected the fairways to make sure that all was well.

Oh, and it was a great sunset that evening.

The place we stayed at in Pacific Grove was across the street from the water of Monterey Bay. We loved it.

Every day seals would sun themselves on the rocks in the water. I named this one Zippy.

Then we drove down the coast to San Diego. The weather was absolute perfection. We spent a lot of time playing on the beach. Here are the sand castles the kids and I made.

Whitney had a blast playing in the waves.

Taylor was just a little scared of the water (with each wave he would say "Water coming, water coming.") so he just played with the sand.

Aren't these just the cutest heads you've ever seen?

We spent one afternoon at a nearby amusement park called Bellmont. There were about a dozen rides that we went on about a dozen times.

Oh and there were some more sunsets. Here is one night from our rooftop deck. There were table and chairs up there. It was a great spot to watch the sun sink from the sky.

We ate well too. We had some great mexican food in Old Town and we found another Tin Fish (like the one in MN). The one in Chicago wasn't the same but this one definitely was. Steph loved her halibut taco. The cheeseburger wasn't quite the same but was some good eats all the same.

31 Doesn't FEEL Old ...

It just sounds old.

Well, Monday was the big day for me. It was a good day, even if I did have to go into the office. Steph and I went to a very fancy pants restaurant called Metropolitan. The food was very yummy and the portions very small. Steph gave me a game we played this summer called Blokus and a great DVD of Jim Gaffigan. He's a funny guy ...

Get a Haircut!

Here's some pix from Tay's bath tonite. Steph is threatening to get his hair cut so we thought we should show it off while we can. Enjoy!

Labor Day Fun

We enjoyed a fun filled Labor Day holiday on Monday. Since I didn't have to work I got to spend the whole day home with Steph and the kids. Unlike most days when I spend the whole day at home with Steph and the kids telecommuting.

We met up with our good friends Jason & Melinda for dinner at Gecko's. We caught up with each other and admired how cute little Sara is. Whit and Tay ran amok around the restaurant with their daughter Laura.

We then took the kids to Mulligan's for some mini-golf. I think their grandpa would be proud of their great form. They should give the option to just play the front 9 cuz Tay lost interest around the 4th hole. He survived the activity but was out as soon as we got in the car. He did manage to find some energy when we got to Coldstone.

Firsts

Well this is a big week of firsts for our family.

On Tuesday Whitney had her FIRST day of FIRST grade. She has been so excited to go back to school but nervous about being there "all day". On Monday we met with her teacher for a few minutes. She is very nice. Tuesday Whit went to the wrong door for the first time. On Wednesday she had her first sick day. She's feeling better today. Here she is in front of the wrong doors into class.


This weekend is also our FIRST wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe a year has already gone by. Time flies when you're having fun. In honor of the event I'm posting our wedding video which didn't get finished in time to show at the reception. Thanks to Jeff who shot the video at the luncheon and temple. You can see his latest work here. This video is kind of long so it may take a minute to load. Enjoy!

The Chicago Trip

Well I'm finally sitting down to talk a little bit about Chi-town. It wasn't completely miserable by any stretch but it got a whole lot better once Steph came to town. We saw all sorts of sites. The picture above was taken at Millennium Park. I don't know why but there is a huge, shiny bean in the park. But it reflects the skyline in a really cool way. When you walk under it and look up it looks like you're looking up a huge donut hole and way up high in the sky you can see you looking back at you. It's pretty cool. It makes for some good posing too. Steph liked that a lot.


We also went on one of the river architectural tours. When you're in Chicago we highly recommend these tours. You really feel like you get to know the different buildings. Take this tour early in your Chicago trip so that you can get your bearings a little easier. This is when we were out on Lake Michigan looking at the city and the sailboats.

We also walked over to Grant Park to see Buckingham fountain. They play some music, a lot of Mo-Tab interestingly enough, and change the lights to go along with the music. Now when I first heard about it I pictured the fountains at the Bellagio. It was nothing like the Bellagio. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty cool, just not that cool.

I threw in this picture because we rode the train a lot. I wanted to give Steph the full Chicago Transit Authority view of the city. While we didn't get on any buses, we did ride the L, shown here and the suburban rail too. I also took Steph on her first cab ride ever. If I had known it was her first I may not have picked one up on Lower Wacker, but oh well, you've gotta experience a white knuckle cab ride sooner or later.

All in all it was a great little trip for us. Sure there was some morning sickness and some bad smells coming out of the alley ways. But I had a great time showing my wife that cool little city. Don't know when we'll get to go back, but I'm sure we will. I've gotta take her to the Billy Goat Tavern.


I got back from Chicago in time to attend the sealing of my niece Emily to Christian Rytting - a great guy by all respects. Also last week my brother Dayne lost his fight with cancer. We were shocked at how soon he passed but are relieved to know he's in a better place.

C ya Chi-town

Of all the random things to happen ...

I decided to go out for lunch yesterday because I just couldn't stand to eat the catered lunch of the Gleacher Center again - no offense Wolfgang. While wandering towards Michigan Ave wondering where I was going to eat I noticed two familiar people standing along side the road looking at a map. I couldn't believe it but there were Jenny and Eric with Eric's folks, Kent and Anne. I knew they were in town but never imagined we'd be able to actually meet up with how busy schedules get. And there they were just standing around. I was able to direct them to the restaurant they were looking for (they couldn't find it because they were standing on top of it and didn't realize, Chicago is weird like that.) Kent was even nice enough to buy my lunch. Thanks!!! Hope y'all enjoyed your trip.

I do have to give a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Kris today. Hope it's a good one sis!

Well after 3 long weeks it is finally time for me to bid farewell to The Windy City and return home to be with my loving family. It's been fun and I've got some great memories of this great place but I can't wait to get home.

I love you Steph, see you in the morning!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPH!!!

That's right, the love of my life has turned 27. After a very enjoyable weekend here in Chicago (pictures and the full detail of the Chicago trip will have to wait until I get back home and can get them off of the camera), she has returned home to celebrate with the kids and her folks.

At this time I'd like to express my thanks to Vardell and Brenda for all that they did in raising such a wonderful woman.

Our First Day Out

Yesterday afternoon Steph safely touched down in Chicago, joining me after a week and a half apart from each other. We walked to "downtown" Hinsdale and found a good Chinese place (MMM, Orange Beef) and saw several multi-million dollar homes we would love to buy! Steph instantly fell in love with the small town feel of this upscale burb.

For our first full day in Chicagoland Steph and I went to the temple. It's great to be able to visit smaller temples where the workers are sooo excited to meet you. We were equally excited to meet them.

This evening we visited my favorite movie theater EVER! It's an AMC Premium theater. They have leather seats and serve full dinner entrees that they bring to you while you watch. There are only about 30 seats so it's pretty cool. We saw Bourne Ultimatum. The movie was just as good as the first two and was a thrill ride from start to finish. Two very full tummies up.

Tomorrow it's off to the city!!!

Baby Time!

Our home is a flurry of excitement lately. At long last we are pleased to announce the future arrival of a bouncing baby in our home. For what it's worth, the due date is mid-March. Steph is uber sick but her spirits are high and we can't wait for all that lies ahead.


This isn't ours, but it looks much like this, except ours is much cuter.