I'm a free agent

Had to start restructuring the startup today, a disappointing day for all of us at PAN_TA Systems. We were successful technology-wise and were very close to making it big so many times, but that's the nature of a startup, you win some, you lose some. At least we're going out knowing that we gave it our all and accomplished a lot with minimal resources. Above is the whole team and below is a picture of the hardware group on a Sunday night after completing the assembly of one of our world record breaking supercomputers:
Time to send out some resumes...

Blomgren - Van Elderen Wedding

Good times at Audrey and Jason's wedding. Natalie's first pregnant bridesmaid experience. She was able to stand up through the whole thing -- and even dance!

Younglife kids (who are now in college) helping out.
Bridesmaids (guess which one is Natalie)...
Beautiful setting at Nestldown.Audrey and Jason arriving at the appetizer hour by train.This cool band, the Brass Monkey's, led us from the ceremony to the appetizers to the dinner gardens.Dance party!

State of the Blog: 100th Post

So far this blog is serving its purpose, so I'll think we'll continue. Friends and Family (you) have been able to check in once and a while and see updated pictures and stories of what we're up to at your leisure. And we've been able to post updates about every 1 to 2 weeks on average without spending too much time on the computer.

Top 11 positive aspects to having this blog:
1. I think it saves us time compared to sending out emails and pictures.
2. Friends and family don't have to get as many mass emails from us. (Although we'll probably send one when the baby boy gets here.)
3. We don't run the risk of forgetting an important person on a mass email.
4. We can link to our friends blogs so we can more easily check in on their lives too.
5. I get a creative outlet to post my videos. (I still haven't finished editing our Europe videos; I hope to finish sometime in the next year.)
6. I get to write.
7. When we post about an event (most of our posts), we set the date to the actual date of the event so this doubles as a kind of diary/journal and we can go back and have nostalgic moments remembering things we've done.
8. It's fun to read your comments.
9. We've inspired others to start their own blogs, including our friends in southern Italy -- they even copied our name "Spuntini di Vita", which we take as a compliment.
10. When you Google "lifesnacks" we have the top 6 spots!:

11. It's free. We like free.

Thus I conclude my 100th post. I hope you had as good a time reading as I had writing. Let us know in the comments if you'd like to see anything change for the next 100 posts.

Audrey's Rehearsal Dinner

Natalie's going to be a bridesmaid tomorrow so we got to go to this great rehearsal dinner at the Van Elderen home. Here's a picture of some cool people on stairs. They even got to wear this awesome balloon love hat that we walked through on the way to dinner...

Video: Dave drinking a blended In-N-Out combo #2

For our last Younglife club event of last school year I decided to bring back one of my favorite games: the blended fast food combo. This year it was a #2 from In-N-Out. I hope that someday they'll add it to their secret menu. The video is about 4 minutes long, well edited, two rounds of competition, and couple surprises. If you've never seen a hamburger and fries in a blender, you'll have to check it out:

Video: "Introducing the #2 Blended"

Enjoy the show.

Sacramento Gourmet Baby Shower

My parents threw an amazing baby shower for us this weekend. I don't know how she does it, but somehow my mom has tables, chairs, place settings, and food for 50 people ready to pull out at a moment's notice whenever the need arises. Natalie thoroughly enjoyed her time with all the ladies and I had a great time at BJ's Brewhouse with the guys. We are very blessed to have such generous friends and family -- now I think we'll be able to have this baby and still be able to eat. Here's the shower setup in the backyard.
Doesn't she look happy and content?:
By the end of making a collage like the one below, you start to feel a little spoiled. You also start to wonder when was the last time you made a collage. Then you wonder how many ecstatic expressions one girl can make...
Click on the collage for a larger view.

2 months to go!

Here's the latest picture of my beautiful pregnant wife! She's doing great and in the home stretch. We've been going on walks and swimming once and a while (when the YMCA lets us in) to keep in shape for the big day. Classes are coming up soon to teach us how this whole giving birth thing works -- I'm hoping to learn how not to faint while Natalie's in labor.

Church Baby Shower: "Ahoy It's a Boy!"

The women of Central Peninsula Church are awesome! And they're all hotties, just look at 'em:

Their prayer, encouragement, and friendship is a great blessing to me in this somewhat stressful yet exciting time of getting ready to have my first kid. Thanks Anne-Marie, Liz, and Taylor for organizing this for me, and to everyone who came for your love and support.

Concert in Cuesta Park

Natalie and I walked down to the neighborhood park this evening to enjoy a picnic and a fun cover band, and ran into some neighborhood friends and Younglife kids while we were there. It was great to see everyone outside enjoying the beautiful weather.

To get a feel for the crowd, imagine 200 young couples, each with 2-3 active kids -- we saw two of every stroller on the market.
Languages we overhead these kids speaking: Norwegian, Russian, Hindi, Mandarin, Tagalog, Korean, and even some English.

Georgian Relatives

Tonight we got to see my dad's brother and his wife who live in Georgia and we haven't seen in a really long time. Here's a picture of us at Campo di Bocce in Livermore.

We hope to see them again soon -- and meet up with our cousins soon too!

Will I be on Google Street View?

I just happened to be outside helping a neighbor move his BBQ when I saw one of Google's Chevy Cobalts drive by with its spherical video camera on top. Once they update their Mountain View pictures, I'll have to see if I made it on.

New Addition to the Family

Birthday: 2005
Name: Toyota Camry
Weight: 3,164 pounds
Length: 189.2 inches
Ethnicity: Black(?)