San Jose Round 1

The past two weeks I have been out of town working around my old stomping grounds of San Jose. My co-worker down there went on vacation and with a lot of turnover to a newer and better water treatment plant I was able to get a trip down there to help them out. They needed someone with facility knowledge and since I had worked down there for a while I was able to be put right to work. The weather was perfect. I was able to get a lot of vitamin D and overdosed once while down there.

Before I left I was able to get out into the garden at our house and harvest these carrots that have survived nicely over the winter. I hope next year we get as good of vegetables as we have received from the previous owners.
Brenda was also able to come for the weekend I was going to be there and that gave us a great excuse to get back together with our friends. Myron, Andrea, and Jake came up from the Visalia area and we got to spend some time with them. Andrea and some of Brenda's old friends threw her a baby shower and she was very excited about it.
Here is Jake...this kid laughs all the time as we had a great time going to lunch with them in downtown Campbell.

Notice the blossoms on the trees already...very nice weather.

Here is a pic of Brenda opening her shower gifts. No I was not there to take this picture. Men did not attend the shower but we went to Brett's house to play video games and toss a few back. A man shower.

Here is another random pic of the girl fun.

Another gift. Everyone was very nice and Brenda loved being the center of attention (as always). Myron and I showed up at the end of the shower to pick the ladies up and of course they had more talking to do so Myron and I stepped outside onto the back porch. I think that had I been inside, I would have hearing loss from all the talking and laughing that was going on in there.

Mindy and Amy are also pregnant...as if you couldn't tell. Guess us guys finally figured out how to get it done at about the same time.

Lots of friends made quite the effort to be at the shower. Lyndsay Schenk came down from Riptown with her twins and they were very cute. Next time I go to CA I am going to make time to get out to the central valley and catch up with them over a few cold ones.

This is the reason I don't go to showers. Camille is Jen and Jeff Baham girl who really liked to play and was gracious enough to lend me her crown and sunglasses.

Some more shower pics

After the shower we wanted to get together with some friends and have dinner. It was about 630pm and Brenda went to put our name in at BJ's....to find out that there was a 2.5hour wait for a table. Well I guess they don't want our money that bad, and the economy is doing just fine. We decided to go to Brett and Michelle's (where we were staying) and get some pizza and brews. This turned out much better and we had a great time.

Here is everyone getting ready for the group photo.

And then it was time for the serious one.

Two big girls.

I tried to strut my stuff as well and think I did pretty good for just being out of shape. I am not really that fat.

Unfortunately Mindy and Harry had parked in the wrong parking space that was not marked for guests and got towed. Michelle brought them to the tow yard and they were able to get their car back, but make for an expensive night.

For all the time we were at Brett and Michelle's we did not get enough pictures of them. Here is their adorable girl named Bria. She was a very happy baby and seemed to be very easygoing from my perspective. She also laughed a lot and was right on the verge of crawling. I tired to train her to crawl so her mom and dad's life would be more difficult, but I failed.

I also messed around on image editor the other day and thought of what our kid may look like when they grow up. I have come up with the image below if it is a boy(right) or a girl(left). I know it is bad when I have to tell you which one is a boy and which one is a girl. Sleep easy as you dream of these two options.

Wow is parenting going to be scary or what.

I have been out of town on and off for the last two weeks and have not really had a chance to post some of these pics. Last week I worked down in Merced Ca for my old boss and worked like a dog, so it was really nice that this week I am in San Diego at a conference and can take it easier although my head does hurt from all the technical papers and presentations I sat through. I am really fortunate to work for a company that lets me do these types of things and really cares about its employees.


Over Christmas break on day we got about 12" of snow in about 14hrs and man did it look so nice. Brenda and I got to have time to just hang out and relax together and take a walk in the winter snow.
We also had a chance to go to Wenachee and visit one of Brenda's old friends. While it was a long drive, we did have a great time and also went to Leavenworth (a Bavarian style town).

Here is a picture of the town. It was a very relaxing get away for us.

Here is one of those weirdo side profile pics that pregnant women take to show they are pregnant and not just getting fat.

Ben and Laura came up for the weekend and brought the kiddos. Of course we had to go to Cabelas and see all the fish and animals there. They had a great time and I think I may have had even more fun having them touch semiautomatic assault rifles and seeing the reaction of Brenda and Laura.

Ashton thought this was a trampoline after I got done with him.

Good thing this gun does not have an recoil...I mean really Laura, you would have broke your nose or gotten a black eye if it was a real gun.

The kiddos also loved to shoot. Ben and I had a competition and he kicked my butt, but the game of course must have been rigged.

San Diego sunsets were so nice. The weather was 65-70 every day with vitamin D in copious amounts.

Classic California. Christmas decorations anyone???

Pic of the palm tree outside of my room in San Diego.

I am back home now and ready for the nice weekend.

Christmas time.

The snow is really coming down today at about 1”/hr and the office is closed so I have time to write a post. Christmas was good to us and we got to spend a lot of time with my parents and Brenda’s parents. Of course first things first, we had to get the Christmas Cards ready. By “we”, I really mean Brenda. Of course she went way overboard and sent out about 80 cards to all of our friends and family (only about 5 actually like me and the rest like Brenda). I think she does this because she also loves to read Christmas cards and kind of hopes to get one in return (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Since we sent out so many, and if you did not get one, you may be thinking that you are not important and we couldn’t care less about you. This is not the case. I apologize in advance, although there are only a few people who actually even read this blog and I know I sent them cards. My job for the cards was to lick the envelopes and put on the stamps…right about at the top of my skill set.

On the weekend before Christmas we went down to Brenda’s parents house to see Brenda’s mom’s Christmas program. It was really good and it is always fun to see grade school kids and speculate as to their inelegance level and what crazy things they do. Of course it was great to see Ben and Laura and we are pretty pumped that they are going to be coming out here this weekend.

Check out the kid in the sweater showing his belly. At one point in the show he tried to get the kids around him to smell his shoe laces...real genius.

Fun time with the twins.

For Christmas Brenda’s parents came up along with my parents. I made multiple huge meals and must say that they turned out quite well. Hornado, llapingachos, and pork hominy soup were just a few of the great things on the menu.

Christmas Eve Dinner

Here is Brenda and I with out Friends Chris and Izumi.

Brenda's parents getting cookie fixing for Christmas.

For Christmas I gave Brenda tickets for Jim Brickman tickets and last night that is what we did. The concert was great and just flew by.

No Photography was allowed so I had to sneak this crap picture.

For the last two weeks I have been out of town for work in Seattle. There were a few sites over there I had to visit and fix a few things so off I went. the weather was actually pretty good. the first day I was there I woke up and I knew I was sick again. I went to the local urgent care facility top confirm that yes once again, I had Strep throat. That makes twice in the last four months that I have had Strep...not very common for me. After a few drugs I was fine and of course without anyone to sympathize over me I just went along my way working. The faster I got the stuff done the sooner I could go home.

One day when I pulled up to one of my job sites, I stopped at the well I had to work on. the well I had to work on happen to be in a handicapped spot and I parked next to it per usual. I was going to open a hole in the ground in the handicapped spot, it would be unusable for the next ten minutes, not a big deal. Right when I got out a guy took a picture of my license plate and asked me where my handicapped placard was. I let him know I was there for work and he immediately got pissed off and said he was calling the cops. He continued yelling and saying something like "you can't park there I don't care what you are doing" and "that's bull s***, you sorry blahblahblah...." and other yelling. I then went to put up my work cones and started to laugh a little at him and the absurdity of the situation....he took offense to my obvious amusement of his ranting. He then proceeded to run out get into my face and kick my cones over....I calmly put them back up and he would yell and kick them right over again. He then told me if I thought it was so funny maybe he wouldn't wait for the cops and would just kick my a** right there. I let him know if he was going to call the cops then he should ask them to send an ambulance as well because he was going to need one in the not so distant future. It all ended up with him leaving and nothing really happening, but I have not seen someone so mad in a long time. Next time I think I will just reach into the back of my truck (about 2' away) and grab the axe I got back there and ask him if he needs anything else...idiots are all around...be careful.
Here is a nice view of Rainer from one of my sites....it was much better in real life.

My work truck just passed 100K on this trip. I think it had about 40 when I got it just over a year and a half ago.

Random picture of the week.

This is a 4wheeler that some guy in Idaho has totally make up to look like a jeep. He has a jeep front on it and so much crap hanging off this thing it is amazing....Oh ya and it is for sale as well.

This weekend I was home so I thought that it would be a great time to go out into the deep woods a pick out a Christmas tree. Brenda and I stopped by the Forest Service office and for 5 bucks go the permit to cut down any tree we wanted for Christmas. We drove up to the mountains and were off.

Here is me dragging the tree out of the woods...that snow was very deep and the truck was quite a distance away.

Here is my wonderful wife being a great sport.

And here we are back at the homestead in front of the fireplace. That is one cute little stocking, but I am afraid it will be to small for our kid right off the bat.

And the tree after we got it up. I know it is not a "full" as those trees you may get in the lots around you, but I think it is not that bad for picking one out covered in 3' of snow and paying 5bucks.

Some of you may be wondering how Brenda broke the news to me about her "situation"...I was sitting on the couch, after having a very long week out of town for work, sipping a cold one down and relaxing when she told me she got me something and handed me a bag. Being a complete idiot and not ever looking into anything she is saying or catching the subtle hints..I had no idea until I pulled this thing out.
It took about 10minutes of deep breathing to catch my breath and realize what she was trying to say...I was shocked.



A short video of a cycle ride I took on Friday and one also of Brenda when we went to get the Christmas tree. It was a great weekend....we are very blessed.

1+1=3

This thanksgiving was a great time at the house. My parents and Brenda’s parents both made it out here for the celebration ….and then work. We have been very busy out here with buying the house, leaving the next day for four days of work in central Washington, buying a car in the same week, moving into the house, and getting ready for all the changes. It may seem to outsiders that we are swimming in money because we are spending it like our hair is on fire, but I can assure you it is not the case. After multiple trips to Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, and countless furniture stores I can officially say I am a homeowner. Although it does cost a lot, it feels better spending money on this instead of the empty pit that is our apartment. Brenda's new ride....a 2008 Ford Escape.

Look at all those leaves. Brenda is very excited about the new house in this picture.


The counter is transformed into the work bench.

Here is Brenda by the fence the the horse area.

We were able to paint a bit in the house and get the baby’s room ready as well….what…are you serious. Yes I am. Brenda and I after years of looking at couples that had kids and thinking that we were very happy with our kidless lives, have done a 180 and now are expecting a child on or about the 7th of May. I know it happened a little fast and really it was a lot for me to handle with the house, work, and everything else, but I guess that is life and will not change anytime soon. We are not going to find out what we are having other than the normal verification that it is a human. Brenda is getting bigger, but has not had any ill effects from the pregnancy except for some changes with her diabetes. A lot can happen between now and then and we are just trusting that God has it all in control… which is good because there really is nothing we could do anyway.
Here are the girls painting the Baby's room. Notice my parents already gave us a highchair and we have to arrange the crib delivery yet. We are well on our way to having a cluttered house.

My parents were nice enough to also bring a bedroom set four one of the bedrooms which will save us a ton of money. Brenda's parents also brought us a couch(hide-a-bed) and a beautiful grandfather clock. It is great to have parents to outfit our house and give us a hand at moving in.

More pics of us on Sunday. It was way to bright for pictures, but we tried anyway.

Here is the barn

And lastly the guys are hanging some doors on the closet in the baby's room.

Snow and winter has hit the northwest (as you may be able to tell with the pictures. With a high last of 6F one day we really felt like we had moved to the Midwest or something. Highs have now stabilized around 35 or so and are great. We got about 8-10” of snow on the ground and tomorrow it is supposed to drop another 6” or more. I really like the snow, mostly because it covered the leaved before I had to rake them, but also because it is nice wet fluffy snow that makes everything look so nice out here. We are really thankful we got our ford escape with 4wd a mere 6 days before the snow hit. With Brenda’s, commute it has made it much safer than driving the rear wheel drive T-Bird.

I am really skimming over a lot that has happened in the past few weeks, but it is all kind a blur to me and I am having a hard time recalling it.