Great weekend. I am not sure if I can elaborate on that statement, but I will try. We went to Yosemite with a few of our friends (Brett, Michelle, Harry, and Mindy) to go camping and causing trouble. A few of the people had not ever seen Yosemite so it was fun for Brenda and I show them the best spots inside of the park and outside.
On day 1 we thought we would do some swimming and so in the morning we checked out Hetch Hetchy. Gorgeous lake, but no swimming or boating. These BS government rules make the lake useless.

Harry loved throwing rocks off of the dam. It is huge and the rocks started small and got much bigger. After the last rock was thrown we about had to run because it made such a bang while it hit the bottom of the dam.

Next up was a hike up the river from an undisclosed location to this awesome area where there is cliff jumping and a rope swing into the water. The water was so clear it was amazing.

This is me trying to hit dive bomb Harry as he sits helpless in the water.

Harry and Mindy...aaawwwe.

That night we ate and as soon as we got in our tent it began to sprinkle. It ended up doing this all night and everything was wet in the morning. We ate eggs and sausage under the 15'x30' tarp and got going to the valley floor. It is a good thing we went swimming the day before so we could do the car stuff while it was raining.

Here we are at the Awahnnee (or however it is spelled). A cup of Coco later we were on our way. The falls this time of year pretty much suck so that was a disappointment, but it was still nice.
Harry and I with John Muir.


We rednecked it up for lunch. This involved taking the bench seat and captains chair out of the van and setting them up for a no neck straining view of El Capitan. We love being white trash.

Here is what we saw while in the seat/chair.

On the way back to the campsite we stopped at a fire lookout and got there right in time to see a chopper set down and refuel.

Here is where the firefighters stay in shape. Notice the sign that states "Restricted area: Authorized personnel only". Apparently Brenda (and later Harry) could not read.

After we got camp packed up the others left. I stayed another night because today I had a job on the way home. This gave me a chance to get in some fishing. I caught a few, but they were very tiny.

Here is the spot I caught 2 Rainbows...on the fly of course.

Here I am jumping over everyone.

Last wedding of the year

Yes I will have one more blog post before I turn 29 (tomorrow). I do not think that 29 is much different than 28 except maybe now I will stop getting carded while attempting to buy regulated merchandise (beer).

This weekend we went to the last of the three weddings we were invited to this summer. I am not sure why, but I actually do like weddings...wait that isn't quite accurate...I like wedding receptions-alot. Our new neighbors in our triplex are actually friends and it was their wedding that rounded out the summer of love. Will and Jenny had a great wedding and it was in beautiful Los Gatos.
Here is the blushing bride and groom.

Another picture...not in chronological order.

Reception dancing is where Brenda can always be found, and even though the music was not based on 80's hair bands, I did have a good time as well. I am rarely in pictures due to the fact that it apparently is my job to document the "Life and Times of Brenda".

Thriller by MJ always brings out the best in everyone.
YMCA...Good times.

Drew had a very good time and thought that it was warm enough to just sport the vest.. and armbands of course.

I had to put this picture in because it is the worst picture I have ever seen of Mindy, and Harry seems a bit confused.

Brenda playing the air guitar. I have three pictures of this exact scene played out during all three of our weddings this summer. She is very good at the air guitar. Brenda also wants me to point out that she is wearing her wedding dress...that is the dress she purchased to go to all the weddings in. I guess it may look a bit weird when all of the wedding pictures we have we are both wearing the same clothes. that makes it very hard to tell what wedding the pictures are from, but they are kind of blending together anyway.

Jon Patrick, Sarah, Mindy, and Harry pose for the camera (this is a better picture of Mindy).

Brenda tries to "bring it", but it had already been "brought".

Shaking it up.

These girls love to bang their heads and play the air guitar. Drew and Amy are amazed in the background. When a guy wearing only a vest and sweatbands is amazed at your skills you should be proud.

Here is Drews' brother Kyle and his old lady Heather. They had a great wedding reception a few years back...great...great reception.

Mindy "bustin' a move".


Here is a video of Thriller and the girls acting normal...for a dance.

Air guitar and ACDC, a deadly combination.

Ingredients for a good reception included *free*(a must) Sierra Nevada, great food, awesome DJ, and a few hours.

A quick blurb about the bay area rapid transit (BART). For those of you who do not know what this is, it is the public transportation in the bay area. It has been in the news a lot lately because of yet another dumb Union stike warning that didn't happen. I guess it is about 5 days worth of breaking news when there is even talk of a strike (this has happened twice in the past 3wks). Why must I hear about this as if it is going to cause thousands of people to die. Union workers get far too much pay for doing far too little. Health care and retirement union restrictions are killing America and all of the industries where unions are involved. Get a job, do your job, and pay for your own retirement by actually saving something. (this opinion is of course a generalization and places all unions in one category...where there actually may be a union which is needed and does good for everyone...not just its members).

Baby shower...no really.

It has been crazy out here and with all of my work and our slowest Internet since dial up, I have not had a chance to upload many pictures until now.

Two weeks ago I got to go to my very first baby shower(my cousins). Many of you may be saying, lucky John...I bet he had fun. Well, I was not a huge fan of the games, but sometimes you got to be a good sport and play along. It really was not that bad, and I did have a great time swimming and chilling with the extended family. It was well worth the trip to Davis and we got to send out cousins off in style (they are moving to England).
Brenda got 3rd in the baby game and she liked her prize.

Brenda with our cousin Cara(she is the one moving). They are both posing with their Diabetes trophies. Brenda got diamonds for keeping her A1C low and Cara got pregnant. I never would have thought that I got a good deal buying diamonds...but considering the alternative.

Matt and Cara and us. We really get along well and have a great time together.

The classic baby clothesline gift (this is now standard for Brenda and usually goes over well).

Jakey loved the ice cream and he also loved to swim(or sink is what he did better).

Last weekend we went on a hike near big sur with the 18-20something group from our church. We went up a river and hung out climbing over all of the rocks. We took the motorcycle down there and it was a perfect day for a ride.

The guys on top of a rock.

Trying to go up the river valley.

Ciki getting some sun on a rock.

So instead of paying $350 for a new backrest on the motorcycle and another $300 to get the seat reupholstered...I thought I would try and do it myself. I got a $20 piece of vinyl and some more foam to fix the seat and it too about 3 hours, but I got it covered and it looks almost as good as new. It is a lot better than paying 300 bones.

For the backrest I got two pieces of angle brackets, and then put a piece of wood between. Then I covered it with foam and vinyl and bam...for $10 I got a backrest. I also thought that I would make a little cargo rack. An old aluminum rectangular sign did the trick and then I mounted a few things on it and drilled a few holes and bam..done. All in all I spent about $40 to save $650+. It may not look expert, but I think it is pretty cool and functional.

Seat looks professional...right?

Here is the cargo rack that I built out of an old aluminum sign I found. It works out pretty well and I hope to try it's functionality soon on a camping trip.

Yet another view.