Pumpkin Carving

Behold, Jaime and Geoff's Jack'o'lanterns of 2009 -

(Spooky night shot! I'm getting good with the camera!)

Jaime's getting quite good with the carving kit. Me? I just stick with the Homestar Runner theme...(maybe a Strong Sad pumpkin next year, Courtney!)

Another great weekend on the books, even if the Huskies got blown out of the water. In fact, as I keep telling everyone (trying to justify it to myself) the game was never really close, so this loss is a lot easier to bare.

Friday night we finally made good on our promise of awesome Greek food for Michal. We also left the Sportwagen in the very capable hands of my brother for it's first official service! On the drive up, it rolled over 10,ooo miles! A fresh change of oil, and I'm sure it'll be ready for another 10,000. I'd say I'm proud of our baby, but that would just be weird.

Saturday was the Husky game (At least it was dry) and a nice night with Craig at Beveridge Place pub, playing cards and (for me, anyway) enjoying many fine brews. Sunday was house cleaning, and of course, carving pumpkins...

I suppose I should catch everyone up on last weekend, too! We took Kendal (and my brother) to a farm to pick out our pumpkins. We met up with Kendal's friend Morgan, and parents Tara and Ryan. The kids had a great time, and it even stayed dry for us. I'd get all into the details, but the pictures speak for themselves...

Inebriation - Fun when it happens to others

Have I ever been drunk? Oh yeah!
Have I ever been REALLY Drunk? Sure...
Have I ever been so drunk...well, we're not going to continue this - instead, enjoy this video!

Another great weekend...

Saturday was the Seattle Food Truck food fest (very impromptu) or as Craig pointed out - the hipster mobile food fest (lots of skinny pants, witty t-shirts, and army hats) Twas supposed to be an absolutely glorious event, and it almost measured up. The food was good, but the organization wasn't. To their credit, there didn't seem to be an official organizer, and it was their first year. I got a Dante dog (ketchup, mustard, onions and cream cheese!) and a pulled pork sandwich. What I did not get was the burrito that Jaime had waited in line so patiently to order - the lines were ATROCIOUS and it was around 3:30 by the time we decided we weren't going to see our Mexican food. We'd been waiting about half an hour, and they were up to number 106 (we were 126) from 99. Unfortunately we had other engagements to get ready for (but you already knew that, I mean, it's US! Of course we have other stuff to do Saturday!)

We headed home and prepped for dinner with my coworkers Deke and Miranda down at their house in Puyallup. Nothing beats a Saturday night, great friends, a good steak, and a glass of red wine. That the Huskies pulled off an AMAZING come from behind victory was even better (go Dawgs!) Thanks to Deke and Miranda for hosting us!

(Kendal, what do you think of your new sister?)

Sunday we enjoyed breakfast at the 'rents house with our new niece Natalie (and the rest of the fam). I get an awesome breakfast, Jaime gets to hold a baby - everyone wins! Sunday afternoon we had a wonderful visit with Courtney and Dan at Beveridge Place Pub, where we shared great conversation and I got a fresh hopped IPA. Fall is the best season for hop lovers!


And so begins another week...

Nature, F*ck yeah!

Oh my god, it's quiet!

Nothing exciting going on this week, really...so here's an awesome story to pass the time. I had to go to the dentist yesterday for a cleaning. While they were in there, they found that the cap on one of my fillings had cracked, so they cleaned it out and fixed it. When I picked Jaime up from the bus stop, I relayed my story of getting the filling repaired, and she said to me, "Oh, they had to put a bit of fixin' on it."

I love my wife! (That would be a reference to the new Pearl Jam song "The Fixer")

A compiled list of things that ARE and ARE NOT Rock and Roll

(Photo by Karen Loria)

Welcoming a new niece on the day your favorite band releases a new album...VERY rock and roll.

Traveling out of town to see your favorite band...rock and roll.

Ripped jeans...rock and roll.

Pre funking...rock and roll.

Spending 45 minutes in traffic trying to get to the venue...not rock and roll.

(Ninja edit - The Zipper move...totally rock and roll!)

Geoff almost having a Lake Tahoe episode with his bladder (ask him for the story sometime)...VERY not rock and roll.

14th row seats...rock and roll.

7 foot tall dude in the row in front of you (and his wife/girlfriend the USC fan)...decidedly not rock and roll.

Forgetting ear plugs...quite rock and roll.

Ordering lemonade (and thinking it's "quite reasonably priced") from a vendor inside the amphitheater...not really rock and roll.

Admittedly texting for the Husky score during the set...not rock and roll.

Learning the Huskies lost...not rock and roll either.

Hearing "In Hiding" for the first time in 9 years...INCREDIBLY rock and roll!

Hearing the three songs that are your favorites off the new album...rock and roll.

Playing the guitar behind your head like it was designed to be played that way...way more rock and roll than I'll ever be.

In fact,
Mr. Mike McCready...probably IS rock and roll!

Spending over an hour trying to exit the venue...totally not rock and roll.

Well folks, that's it for now. Thanks to Josh and Liisa for hosting me in Portland. Sorry I didn't stay for breakfast (but I DID get the lawn mowed!) Next time...

What a weekend!

While Geoff was rockin' out to Backspacer and helping to welcome our newest niece into the world, I was on the other side of the country in Miami spending time with my parents and sister.

To start the weekend off my Dad was able to snag some time with one of the flight instructors at PolarAir Cargo in a 747-400 simulator. The four of us and Bill (our flight instructor) spent two hours taking off and landing a plane out of SFO airport in all sorts of conditions. (Folks when its foggy in San Francisco, thank goodness for autopilot). Most amazing flight experience ever. It was so real feeling that I'm pretty sure my mom had miniature heart-attack when we stalled out on our first take-off. Wanna get freaked out? Experience the feeling and sound of a 800,000 pound aircraft stalling... yikes!

I was able to stick two landings (bad landings and not without taking out a couple of baggage handlers)! Kinda proud of myself. Thanks to Bill for all his time and to PolarAir Cargo for a little time in their $40 Million Simulator. It was amazing!

The next day we spent the morning by the pool and beach. Water on Miami beach is nice! We went up to the room for a little lunch and I tried to watch the Husky game. Tried was the main word... ESPN was broadcasting the Ducks game. Really, the Ducks? So, I watched the ducks game, but was really watching the ticker at the bottom of the screen for the updates and score. My dad and I were jumping and yelling everytime the ticker would show UW. Also Geoff was sending me minute by minute text updates. For those of you who have not been tuned into college football, UW (unranked) beat USC (ranked #3) 16-13. Luckily ABC switched to the UW game for the last 30 seconds so I got to see the sea of purple storm the field after the winning field goal. Seriously amazing! I hope you enjoyed being at the game Brad!

The rest of the time was walking around Miami Beach, eating out, having a few cocktails and enjoying the "scene". Really an interesting place, all that old time Art Deco architecture was amazing and the people are fun to watch! It was really wonderful to spend some time with the family in a nice relaxed setting. The only non-relaxing thing about the weekend was the 2:30am fire alarm at the hotel... seriously? Also, the fire department took at least 15 minutes to respond... a little scary.

Now I'm on my way home, literally. Wi-Fi on the airplane (free trial run). Makes the flight go by way faster. Now if only the power outlet worked.... stupid battery.

It was a great weekend, but I cannot wait to meet our new niece on Tuesday and join Geoff for some quality Pearl Jam this week.