Life Snacks

Christmas at the Bradley Lodge

2009-12-18T21:12:00.000-08:00

Christmas at the Bradley Lodge was full of adventure. Luke had his first sledding and first snowman building experiences! I got to ski with my dad and brother. And we opened lots of great gifts. Luke loved all his new cars toys to play with.

Luke's 2nd Birthday Party

2009-11-14T20:34:00.000-08:00

Luke's favorite movie provided the theme for his second birthday party.
Before the party he helped us with building his play structure - which kept the guys busy throughout the party and late into the night.
Opening presents...Luke got a haircut from daddy before the party. As you can see his eye is still healing from falling on a rose bush.
This is what happens when you leave a box of packing material open near Luke.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

Luke loved trick-or-treating with his friend Jackson.
They took turns pulling each other around the block in the wagon.They caught on pretty quickly to the whole idea of knocking on doors and getting candy thing.

Sunset Sailing in Santa Cruz

2009-07-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

Great evening away with my wife on the Chardonnay II, complete with wine, cheese, beer, and a great sunset!

Yummy dinner at The Crow's Nest at the harbor was a perfect way to finish off our much needed date night.

Memorial Park Camping Trip

2009-07-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

Camping with 7 families and 13 kids. This time instead of going all the way to Yosemite, we stayed closer to home; right up the hill in San Mateo.
Each family was in charge of one or two meals which made packing and meal planning a little more manageable. Here's an example of one of our breakfasts -- the parents try to get a few bites of food in here and there while running around making sure the kids are taken care of.
Luke enjoyed hanging out with his friend Annelise.Luke manages to get dirty no matter what he's doing, whether it's playing in the dirt with his trucks...or picking berries in the mud... or (not pictured) jumping into the river and making his dad jump in after him so we had to hike all the way back to camp soaking wet.

Day Trip Hiking in Saratoga and Dinner in Carmel

2009-07-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Great view of the Bay Area on the hike up from the Mountain Winery.
Luke taking a break from the hike to throw big rocks. We were amazed by his endurance; he ran full speed all the way up the mountain - and back down.Luke loved running around the Pebble Beach golf course. The Spyglass course has some great areas overlooking the ocean for pictures.Finished off the evening with some dancing to Jazz at Roy's.

Luke still loves his guitar

2009-06-28T18:24:00.000-07:00

Rockin' out on his ukulele as usual.

Dinner at Roy's

2009-06-27T01:13:00.000-07:00

This evening we borrowed a friend's convertible and drove down to Carmel - The Inn at Spanish Bay - for a great dinner at Roy's.
Good food, great scenery, and even a guy walking around the course playing bagpipes.
and we took a stroll on the beach at sunset.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

Capitola Monday

2009-06-08T22:26:00.000-07:00

The best place to recover from Surgery is the Capitola beach. Especially on a Monday.
Luke had his first kite flying lesson.
And we played in the waves. Luke has no fear, he sprints into the water any chance he gets.
Luke enjoyed blowing sand out of his spoon,
and trying to jump into the river...
We ate breakfast on the wharf. I still can't open my mouth all the way, but I was able to eat small bites of my omelet.

Stanley tools

2009-06-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

My grandma's last name is Stanley so we like Stanley tools.

Grammy in town to help during my recovery

2009-06-01T22:14:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling good and getting a lot of time to read and watch movies. Still drinking my strained food through my wired shut teeth. Glad Sharon is here to help Natalie and keep her company while I'm out of commission. Looking forward to getting the wires cut tomorrow.

Day after jaw surgery

2009-05-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

Surgery went well and I'm feeling good. Although it's a little hard to eat with my jaw wired shut. The masks you see are a cooling mask for keeping the swelling down and an oxygen mask to help me breathe. Heading to Sacramento today so my family can help take care of me and Luke while I'm healing.

Half Moon Bay Surfing

2009-05-17T16:44:00.000-07:00

Beach day with a couple other families.
The guys did a little surfing. I'm so out of shape I barely caught a few before I had to head back to shore. Luke had a good time playing with all the other kids.Then he crashed and took a good nap before we headed home.

Craig's Surprise Birthday Party

2009-05-16T16:29:00.000-07:00

Joy planned a great surprise party for Craig, and it was very kid friendly.
Luke couldn't get enough of the inflatable jumpy gym thing...
and playing in it with his friend Annelise.His favorite part was throwing all the balls out.

Play Date at some new park with water fountains

2009-05-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

Luke tried to drink the water from the fountain each time it shot up. Big slide!..

Shopping for Apples

2009-05-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

Luke has developed a new technique for testing apples at Safeway -- just take a bite out of each one until you find one you like. Genius.
He still won't let us put anything in his cart though, it has to be empty - always.

The Shopping Cart

2009-05-02T10:19:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken after Luke did about 10 sprints back and forth across the length of our backyard; he likes to run.
This look by the shed means he wants to take a bike ride.
Doin' the dishes...
Luke would push his shopping cart all the way to Sacramento if we let him. He runs all over town with this thing. Here he is on his 27th run down the driveway.

Easter in Seattle

2009-04-10T15:25:00.000-07:00

After returning from Austria I flew up to Seattle meet up with Natalie and spend Easter with Natalie's family. After breakfast at the Crumpet Shop, we met up with Nick and Steph at the Pike Place Market.
Natalie and Stephanie drove up from California a couple days earlier, stopping at Pat and Les' place in Oregon for a good night's rest on the way. Luke enjoyed riding the toy airplanes.He also enjoyed playing the piano at Pops' place.
Luke enjoyed searching for easter eggs in grandpa's backyard.
and he likes walking around with his friend Blake. This is my sister-in-law's sister-in-law and her daughter.
Luke and Grammy hanging out in the train at the Old Spaghetti Factory before Natalie and I started our long drive from Seattle to Sacramento.

Klagenfurt, Austria

2009-04-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a home-use laser skin resurfacing device in collaboration with Philips, so I went to Klagenfurt to meet with the Philips engineering team. This is the conference room we were stuck in all week:
Got to see a beautiful sunset as I flew in over the Alps into Klagenfurt.Here we are getting on the little plane in Munich to make the short trip into Austria.This is what a plastic part mold looks like.
The hotel I stayed at was called the Palais Porcia.
It was located right in the middle of town on the town square. The gathering of people by the statue is a nice little outdoor coffee and ice cream stand; great place to hang out on a beautiful sunny day.
Klagenfurt was very clean, easy to walk around, and lots of areas like this to find food and people watching.
Here's the view of Klagenfurt in the distance from a lookout tower on the Worthersee. I didn't want to call a taxi for the ride back so I met a nice young couple visiting from Romania who drove me back into town.
Here's the small one terminal Klagenfurt airport as I walked out to the plane to head home...
This is a video of one of the machines assembling a lady-hair-puller-outer-device, see if you can understand the explanation in German:

Huntington Beach

2009-03-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

Natalie and Luke took a trip down to Huntington Beach this week to visit Natalie's college friend Allyssa, her hubby Jason, and her son Kelly.
Check out Luke and his buddy in the VW bus.
Luke couldn't wait to run down to the water...

Easy Chair

2009-03-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

Luke loves sitting in his chair, eating, and watching DVDs. We don't let him watch very often, so he thoroughly enjoys it when we do. First thing he does almost every morning is run to his chair, sit in it, and point to the TV saying "wanna wonna choo choo", which translates to "Good morning mommy and daddy, may I please watch a Thomas the Train DVD while I drink my milk this morning?" He's so polite.
Then he says, "a-a-a outside, a-a-a outside", which means he wants to go outside. He pretty much wants to be outside all day.

Petting Day at Deer Hollow Farm

2009-03-21T21:28:00.000-07:00

While Natalie was out getting flowers and gardening supplies to prepare for spring, Luke and I had some good father-son time at the farm. This goat is pregnant with twins...
Luke's not afraid to walk right up to the big sheep...
Awe... baby sheep.
When we got home Luke helped build the fire.

Sick Luke

2009-03-18T21:21:00.000-07:00

Luke hasn't been feeling to good this week. He doesn't have quite the energy he usually does...
Just lounging around...When he's sick and tired he just wants to hang out on the couch and watch Thomas the Train videos...

California Academy of Sciences - San Francisco

2009-03-14T21:01:00.000-07:00

Climbing on the fences at the California Academy of Sciences was more fun for Luke than seeing the animals:
Turtles...
Lots of fish Big fish tank...Petting the starfishThe most fun part of the day was when Luke found this cement ledge between the glass wall and the garbage cans; he ran up and down this thing for a half hour, laughing all the way.Museum review: The California Academy of "Sciences" is basically a religious institution with a small zoo inside. One side is dedicated to the worship of macro-evolutionary theory, and the other to man-made global warming. We went soon after the renovation so it was also very crowded, no where to sit, long lines for a hot dog lunch, etc. -- but we had a great time! Lots of interesting animals to see.

Gelato in Los Altos

2009-03-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

We took a family bike ride today to Los Altos for an afternoon snack. Luke loves riding in the back of Natalie's bike.

More Guitar

2009-03-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

Every few days Luke opens up the hall closet and points to the guitar case inside. It's a good reminder to make time to play the guitar a little more.

Bumper Pool at the Lodge

2009-02-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

Luke is learning to play bumper pool, without the hassle of pool sticks
and golf...He got pretty good at putting the ball on the tee and hitting it off.

Christina's baby shower

2009-02-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

Birthday party day

2009-02-21T20:38:00.000-08:00

Luke and Natalie celebrated birthdays for the Ferri's kids and the Santos' 1-yr old today. Here's Luke and his buddies enjoying some snacks.
Notice Luke below in the front row, enthralled with the guitar once again. Sean is great at playing kid's songs.Then off to the Santos party where Luke got to meet Elmo!! (and pet him)
Now Luke just wants to watch Sesame Street online to see Elmo more.

Video: Luke on the slide that Grandpa built

2009-02-15T15:42:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day in Capitola

2009-02-14T20:27:00.000-08:00

After we let Luke roam around the village and beach we dropped him off with the babysitter and went out for a double-date with Jerome and Becca for Valentine's Day sushi.

Hidden Villa Farm

2009-02-13T11:07:00.000-08:00

Luke isn't afraid of mud puddles.
Stollin' down the boulevard with his buddy.Celery!Chickens!Pigs!

Video: Luke playing Guitar

2009-02-12T16:09:00.000-08:00

Video: Dancing in his Car

2009-02-11T16:13:00.000-08:00

Play-Doh

2009-02-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

Luke loves playing play-doh with mommy...
He takes the play-doh balls in and out of the cups. In and out, in and out, all day long...He's also getting better at petting the cat nicely.

Snow Adventures in Salt Lake City

2009-02-06T10:14:00.000-08:00

Visited Nick this weekend in Salt Lake City, and as usual, he had a bunch of adventures in store for us. First was snowmobiling on Friday up a big mountain.
It was a bumpy road, but we made it to the top and found a big flat lake bed to race in. My speedometer was broken, but I know we were going way too fast for our first time on snowmobiles. Here's Natalie looking cute on her snowmobile with a great view in the background. Here's the second time Nick crashed his sled. It took us about an hour to dig out, then we had to tow Nick and Cat all the way back down the mountain.Sunday we skied at Snowbird, an amazing resort with great terrain. We were hoping the Mormons would all be at ward and not on the slopes -- it was still pretty crowded, but at least we didn't have to wait in many lines.In between snow adventures we'd play Rock Band at Nick's house. We have look, now we just need to work on our skills...

Hiking in Palo Alto

2009-02-02T10:36:00.000-08:00

Headed up the road today to our favorite after work hiking spot; now Luke can hike it on his own.
Starting out on the panorama trail overlooking Stanford and the bay.Mom and son enjoying the open fields at sunset.I won't mention the part where Luke threw up in the car on the way home because other than that, it was a very pleasant afternoon.

Luke in the Kitchen

2009-01-18T10:32:00.000-08:00

Luke loves helping Natalie with the salad spinner.
He gets his stool into position, climbs up, and tries to help out with the cooking.
He also enjoys pushing around his new shopping cart that grammy got him.

Video: Delivery Man

2009-01-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

Consumer Electronics Show 2009

2009-01-10T09:44:00.000-08:00

This was my first time at CES; I got to see all the new technology... 1/2" thick LCD tv's, robots, cell phones, netbooks, MIDs, and amazing car stereo systems. I was there to develop relationships with Chinese manufacturers for a consumer product and a server product I'm working on.

Pearly Whites

2009-01-07T21:55:00.000-08:00

Luke is now brushing his own teeth. He's very talented. He can get up on the stool, brush all 8 teeth, and rinse off the brush afterward.
Big smile!Yeah!

The New Years Card

2009-01-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T22:02:00.000-08:00

We spent new years in Sacramento. Luke loved spending time with Grandma and Grandpa -- both in the rocking chair (above) and on Grandpa's lap watching football (below).

Video: Christmas Morning

2008-12-26T15:43:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T21:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve was spent caroling with a big group of friends in San Jose with beverage cart in tow...
Christmas morning...
Since we were still recovering from the cruise and associated travels, we had a wonderful relaxing Christmas at home. Luke had a great time emptying his stocking and opening his gifts.

Caribbean Cruise 2008 Day 7: Miami

2008-12-13T21:05:00.000-08:00

Outta the way, I'm late for work!...
Just kidding, haha...After a week at sea, we took the afternoon to enjoy South Beach. We watched the kite surfers, took more pictures of Luke, and walked and walked and walked to find a good place to eat lunch. That night our hotel forgot to get a crib for us... again; so Luke slept with us and we got a free room. We flew out the next morning and Luke got to look at more airplanes...

Caribbean Cruise 2008 Day 6: Day at Sea

2008-12-11T20:42:00.000-08:00

On day 6, Caleb, Andrew, and I took on the undefeated cruise worker team in a no-holds-barred soccer match. Caleb put us up 3-0 in the first few minutes so they put in their subs and beat us. We'll have to try harder next time. We got in a little miniature golf too... Nick won.
Then we just relaxed the rest of the day. Mostly in the various hot tubs around the ship.

Caribbean Cruise 2008 Day 5: Labadee, Haiti

2008-12-10T11:16:00.000-08:00

Royal Caribbean's private peninsula in Haiti was surprisingly awesome. 5 or 6 pristine beaches with plenty of chairs, hammocks, and shade for everyone, free food, swimming areas, the longest zip line in the world, and drinks delivered. Here's a map.
Ahhh...
Back on the ship it was another dress up night. Check out Luke's cheesy grin:

Caribbean Cruise 2008 Day 4: Philipsburg, St. Maarten

2008-12-09T11:00:00.000-08:00

Philipsburg, St. Maarten! Luke loved exploring the beach and we enjoyed relaxing with a couple ice buckets full of Coronas.
Luke spent a good amount of time running around the ship with Grandpa, especially deck 4...

Check out the slideshow for more pictures from St. Maarten.

Natalie and Lori singing on stage at in the ship's Irish Pub...

Caribbean Cruise 2008 Day 3: Puerto Rico

2008-12-08T14:22:00.000-08:00

Puerto Rico! Some of us made the 20 minute walk to the fort. It was beautiful at sunset.
Natalie did well on the flowrider, she got up to her knees pretty quick and only fell when she tried the 360.
We met up with our friends Liz and Jesse who live in Puerto Rico; they showed us how the locals live and we had a great dinner with them before getting back on the ship.

Caribbean Cruise 2008 Day 2: Day at Sea

2008-12-07T14:10:00.000-08:00

The ship has an awesome baby pool area for Luke to play in. I tested out the Flowrider wave thing and won a medal in the sexy legs competition for the 4th straight time -- it helped this time that Natalie was a judge. Then we all got dressed up for 'formal night' dinner...

Caribbean Cruise 2008: Day 1

2008-12-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

Heading out of Miami on Royal Caribbean's "Liberty of the Seas" with 21 members of our family. Luke did great on the plane rides and is enjoying exploring this huge ship so far.

Thanksgiving at the Bradley Lodge

2008-11-28T10:13:00.000-08:00

Like last year, we spent Thanksgiving at the Bradley Lodge in Big Trees with the family. The big project this time was continuing to chop up the tree we had cut down a couple months ago. I got to use the chainsaw -- one step closer to my dream of becoming a lumberjack someday.
We got to preview Erin and Eric's new house they're building up there to get ready for the twins on the way. On the way home we stopped by Copperolpolis to see what the new downtown was all about and they just happened to be having a tree lighting ceremony that night. Everyone in town (~100 people) were out at City Hall to ride the horse-drawn carriage, listen to the carolers, and watch the tree light up. Luke didn't like the snowman very much, but other than that he enjoyed our little 15 minute detour.

San Francisco Zoo

2008-11-22T22:29:00.000-08:00

Jerome and Becca invited us to go to the San Francisco Zoo today. Luke and Sierra had a great time with the animals, especially the goats. Check out the slideshow below to see the bears, ducks, and even the squirrel that stole all our food.
This zoo is pretty lame at the moment, they don't have many animals and most of the exhibits seem to be empty or closed -- however, the children's petting area is awesome!
On the way home we stopped to take a stroll on ocean beach.

Video: Luke on Piano

2008-11-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

Video: The Growling Drummer Boy

2008-11-16T15:31:00.000-08:00

Video: Luke and his Uke

2008-11-15T14:26:00.000-08:00

Luke and the Ukelele

2008-11-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

Luke received this Ukulele from Grandpa and Grandma after their Hawaii Cruise. This is by far his favorite toy. I'm certain he is going to be a famous musician one day.

I still have upload some video of Luke walking around the house playing... so more on this later!!

Anniversary Weekend Away

2008-11-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Dave took me on a secret anniversary getaway. Since we were dropping Luke off in Lodi I had a pretty good idea we were going to our wedding reception site, the beautiful winery/hotel/spa Wine and Roses, I was right! Our room was beautiful with a huge fireplace and large spa-like bathtub

The first night we ate a romantic dinner at the hotel. My mom sent us wine and chocolates to pair with it, so we enjoyed yummy dessert and wine every night.

On Saturday Dave had a couples massage set up for us in the Hotel's Spa ...oh it was so glorious!! We spent 5 hours just hanging out in our robes at the spa enjoying a glass of wine in the jacuzzi and by the open air fire pit, I think I could have stayed there all day. That evening we joined in on the local Taste-and-Sip tour of many of the local wineries. We even received a free, signed bottle of Old Vine Zin from Pasos Vineyards thanks to their super friendly sales girl.

On Sunday we enjoyed a leisurely morning of breakfast and a game of Nerts then it was off to pick up our little buddy at Great Grandma's house nearby. It was a much needed weekend of just being "US", rest and relaxation. Now back to reality!

4-Year Anniversary

2008-11-07T09:47:00.001-08:00

Happy anniversary Natalie! Four years ago today I first experienced the great joy of calling you my wife. With each year that goes by I grow in my love for you as I see more of your loving heart, humble spirit, and prayerful wisdom. You're a fun and adventurous travel companion, an incredible mother to our son, and my best friend. I pray that I'll continue to learn how to love and serve you better in the many years to come.
I love you, my beautiful bride. Happy Anniversary.

UAE Desert Challenge

2008-11-05T10:55:00.000-08:00

My buddy Jonathan just completed an impressive feat, he competed in the UAE Desert Challenge last weekend in Dubai -- a 5-day 1,300 mile race through the desert. Riding the dunes is a good way to pass the time when you live in Dubai. His team of 4 amateurs decided to do it for charity and ended up raising $100,000 for two charities, the Dubai Center for Special Needs and Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) for people living near Lake Albert in Uganda.
You can read and see more on their "UAE Charity Challenge" website.
XPress article.
Gulf News article.
Looks like fun, I'll have to enter this race with Luke someday.

Luke on SmugMug

2008-11-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

When you go trick-or-treating with the CEO of SmugMug, you get really cool pictures taken of your kid! They had an awesome photo-shoot setup in their driveway for the neighborhood kids (and adults... Natalie and I will have to dress up next year). Check out all of Luke's pictures here.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T14:46:00.000-07:00

Luke was a fireman for his first Halloween. We met up with some friends and trick-or-treated in Mountain View.

Luke is walking around everywhere now.

Here's Luke with his firehose, ready for any emergency...

Playing with Danny

2008-10-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

Luke likes playing with his buddy Danny in the slide/fort that grandpa built him.

"Mine!"

1 year-old croquet...

Video: Luke's First Long Walk

2008-10-26T19:40:00.000-07:00

Cousins and Capitola

2008-10-25T08:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Dave and I went and met my cousin Greg (who just so happens to be Dave's best friend from childhood) at Capitola beach. We met up with his wife Sharda and their new baby boy Cooper. Dave and Greg were born in the same hospital four days apart and have many fond memories together - causing great heartache to their mothers due to their adventurous spirits. Sharda and I worry our boys just may follow in their dads' footsteps. Greg and Dave also just so happened to be blessed with the opportunity to live in the Venetians at Capitola for two years from 2000-2002, so to be back in Capitola now, both fathers with young sons, was quite nostalgic. They lived in the bottom of the pink one closest to the Ocean in the below picture.
The boys with their friend Harleen who owns a clothing store in Capitola, In the Raw. He has fabulous dresses, I buy something almost every time we visit.

Luke's 1st Birthday: The Barnyard Bash

2008-10-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we celebrated Luke's 1st Birthday at McKenzie Park in Mountain View. It was a beautiful fall day and many of our dear friends and family joined us for some barnyard fun. Even Aunt Lori and cousin Carly flew out from Texas to join in the fun! For his birthday Dave and I got Luke a wagon and Grandma and Pop made Luke a slide just like Dave had when he was young. The Barnyard animal cupcakes took me hours to make but I think they were a hit and Luke manage to eat a whole one.

Happy Birthday sweet Luke!!

Video: Luke Climbing

2008-10-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

Luke's 12 month checkup

2008-10-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

We took Luke in for his 12-month checkup today and he's doing great. He's a happy, healthy, tall little guy weighing in at 22.13 lbs (50th percentile) and he's 31 inches tall (85th percentile). He's still sleeping regularly from 7pm to 6:30am with a mid-day nap, he eats a lot of whatever we feed him, he's still bald, and he crawls really fast -- I think we should enter him in a baby race.

Wine Tasting for Natalie's Birthday

2008-10-11T19:54:00.000-07:00

Natalie was a little too busy last year to celebrate her birthday, so this year we made up for it.

With 3 other couples we wine tasted in the Soquel Mountains at Bargetto Winery, Hunter Hill, Soquel Winery, and ended in the Capitola villiage at the Armida tasting room.
We took a break at Hunter Hill and ate a picnic in the grass.
Audrey gave us the background on each winery in the car rides.

Beautiful scenery!
Natalie got to smash the grapes at the Soquel Winery.

Happy 1st Birthday Luke!!!

2008-10-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday son. Your mom and dad love you very much. We are very thankful you were born one year ago. We're looking forward to many more birthdays and family adventures ahead.

Radio Flyer

2008-10-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

Luke got a wagon for his birthday. His first big trip was to Cuesta park with his buddy Danny.

Soccer Player

2008-10-08T19:04:00.000-07:00

We're getting Luke warmed up for soccer -- he looks pretty good in his Ireland jersey.

He's also learning to water the flowers.

Luke's a Climber

2008-10-05T17:19:00.000-07:00

The first thing Luke did when we sat up his table and chairs was climb up the chair and on top of the table.
The cat used to be able to get away from Luke by laying on the couch, but now Luke has found out that he can get on the couch from the table... so Ebony has nowhere to hide.
Today Luke kept climbing to the couch from the table to get to my guitar. I suggested we hang the guitar from the living room wall, but Natalie's not going for it.

Los Altos Wine Festival & Luke's First Bike Ride

2008-10-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

Natalie found a great baby bike seat dealio on craigslist and we got it all hooked up on her bike today. Luke loved riding over to Los Altos for the Art & Wine Festival.

Palo Alto Junior Museum

2008-10-03T22:36:00.000-07:00

Luke proved his genius once again as he figured out all the contraptions at the Palo Alto Junior Museum. Natalie also continues to prove her mom-genius by thinking of cool things like this to do with Luke.

Luke's First Birthday Party in Seattle

2008-09-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

Late September Natalie and Luke headed up to Seattle to celebrate their birthdays along with brother/uncle Nick. They had a week crammed full with a visit to Natalie's best friend's house to see her new baby, some serious Wii tennis matches, rides on uncle Nick's shoulders, hang out time with Grammie, and Luke's first ever birthday cake.

Video: Luke's First Steps

2008-09-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

Luke's first steps at 2:06 and 3:04...

Video: Luke Sliding at the Park

2008-09-21T13:39:00.000-07:00

Clinton and Sarah's Wedding in Monterey

2008-09-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

Luke loves hanging out by the beach in his tux.
Natalie was the Matron of Honor and gave a great speech!
It was a beautiful outdoor wedding at the Pacific House in Monterey, right next to Fisherman's Wharf. We enjoyed catching up with a bunch of Sacramento friends and it was the first time I was able to play bocce ball and eat clam chowder in a bread bowl at a wedding.

Indoor Skydiving

2008-09-18T20:40:00.000-07:00

Our engineering group went indoor skydiving at iFly today for a team building activity. Indoor skydiving is definitely not as relaxing as real sky diving, but it's a good way to refine your technique. You get 2 one-minute rides in the wind tunnel with a guy inside making sure you don't get too out of control. It was interesting to compare the terminal velocities of different body types -- our group ranged from 65 - 130mph.

Luke's Forty-Ninth Week

2008-09-17T00:37:00.000-07:00

Luke in Capitola with Grammy and Troy

2008-09-15T22:31:00.000-07:00

The hunt for the 'God Particle' takes a major leap tomorrow in Switzerland

2008-09-09T17:33:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow the Large Hadron Collider gets turned on and will attempt to recreate conditions just after the Big Bang. Particles will be accelerated to 99.9999991% of the speed of light and smash into each other so scientists can observe things like quarks and, hopefully, Higgs Bosons -- the elusive 'God Particle' which may explain how particles acquire mass. Some people think this device will cause black holes that could swallow the earth, so if you feel yourself being pulled toward Geneva tomorrow, get a good grip on something immovable.

Woodleaf: Former Soviet Republics Weekend

2008-09-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

Natalie, Luke, and I got to spend the weekend at Woodleaf with Younglife staff from the former Soviet Union: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikstan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. It was an encouraging weekend to see and hear about all the great work Younglife is doing there, learn about the history of Younglife from an old-timer who was there for the first club in a circus tent in Dallas, and to relax with friends in a beautiful setting.
Thankfully, the Russian and Georgian representatives got along just fine. I was thankful once again for running water as Stass, a Younglife staffer in Kazakhstan, shared about his hometown. They don't have any hot water -- and they have cold water for only 5 hours... a week! To keep warm in the winter they build small fires in their living rooms because they don't have heaters. I'm liking our duplex better all the time. Stass was also a formidable opponent in our 3-on-3 basketball tournament.
Natalie and I hitched rides whenever possible from Jeff Farrar riding around in his golf cart.
Playing at the lake after a wiffleball game.
This is the biggest swing Natalie and I have ever been on.
Sheryll and Leon are really good at Ultimate Frisbie.
Luke hanging out with Armin, the most famous musician in Armenia, after some messy games.
Luke likes diving.
A few more pictures coming soon...

Video: Luke Playing Around the House

2008-08-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

Luke's Forty-Sixth Week

2008-08-27T21:22:00.000-07:00

18 pictures of Luke playing guitar, crawling, and playing with the hose.

Guy's Weekend

2008-08-24T00:46:00.000-07:00

With mom in Tahoe for a bachelorette party, Luke and I had some quality guy time. We relaxed in the park,
played some music,and enjoyed the swings,
Luke even helped me clean up before Natalie came home by doing the dishes.

We are the 5th fastest growing company in the Silicon Valley!

2008-08-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

Reliant Technologies has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies in the US.

157th in the US
5th in the Silicon Valley
8th among top 100 health companies

Alternative to Waterboarding

2008-08-20T20:54:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned back in January, I've got braces on; the process started back around last November. And not just braces, but also expanders, top and bottom, behind my teeth that make it even more difficult to eat and talk. As of now, the surgery is scheduled for around March '09. It's not fun. So I submit, for Joint Task Force Guantanamo's consideration, that they use braces instead of waterboarding for their preferred coercive management technique at GTMO.Photo by Claudia Akers.

Sightseeing in SF

2008-08-17T22:17:00.000-07:00

We stayed in San Fran after the wedding last night and toured the city with Sharon and Troy today. We got a good view of the Golden Gate from Crissy Field. And, of course, took a couple pictures of Luke.
Natalie showed Luke around the Palace of Fine Arts.Alamo Square...Luke loves the clam chowder bread bowls at Fisherman's Wharf.
And he liked the sea lions at pier 39.Lots of interesting street performers...Luke's favorite was this guy who entertained us while we were waiting in a two hour line for the cable car. He played 'twinkle twinkle little star' and 'itsy bitsy spider' especially for Luke and they were the only songs he got applause from the crowd for.
Everyone on the cable car...
We rode past Lombard street and an Obama appearance on our ride from Ghirardelli Square to Sutter & Powell.
More pics...

Andy and Sorrenta Roberson Wedding

2008-08-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

Natalie and I attended our first San Francisco wedding this weekend. The ceremony was held at St. Ignatius church, a huge church on top of a hill by the University of San Francisco.
The reception was at the Flood Mansion. complete with live accordion cocktail music. Andy and I grew up 2 doors down from each other so there were a lot of old friends there to catch up with. Here's Keith, Amanda, and my brother Andrew...
And the parents...
The bridal party arrived via trolley car.
Nice views of Alcatraz from the mansion.
Bride and Groom ...

Bedroom Decorating

2008-08-15T21:25:00.000-07:00

Natalie got a plant and headboard to make our bedroom into a oriental tropical paradise.

Luke's Favorite Toys (this week)

2008-08-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

Forget all those fancy bright-colored baby toys, Luke likes pushing buttons. When he's not trying to tear apart our stereo, he's playing with his cell phone and calculator.

Cell Phone = Mom's side = Salesperson
Calculator = Dad's side = Engineer
We're encouraging Luke to be a Sales Engineer.

Kathy Lee Gifford's Fraxel Treatment on the Today Show

2008-08-13T15:18:00.000-07:00

Luke's Tenth Month

2008-08-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

Solution to Luke's Male Infantile Baldness

2008-08-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

photo by Claudia Akers

Another Preschool Friend Gets Married Off

2008-08-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

We went to Heather Willey's wedding in Sacramento this weekend and got to catch up with a bunch of preschool, elementary school, high school, and San Diego friends.
Here they are: Jeremy, Aaron, Jeff, Gilda, Sarah, Nessa... ..and Marlo, who I haven't seen much since she moved to Turkey and got married to the guy in the blue tie...
Beautiful wedding, fun reception, good times..I recognized one of the groomsmen, but it took us a while to figure out where we knew each other from. We were on the same floor in the dorms freshmen year at Cal Poly. He grew up with the groom in Humboldt. Small world.

Luke eats a burrito

2008-07-31T23:11:00.000-07:00

We found out Luke really likes burritos this evening at the concert in Cuesta park.
We love walking here for a picnic dinner and watching the bands on Thursday evenings -- wish they did it more than just 3 weeks in the summer.