Cutest Kids Ever

OK, I know I'm a bit biased but dang my kids are cute.  Yesturday I got to spend the better part of the day with them while Laura was at a women's conference and a dog training appointment. We spent the morning wrestling, watching cartoons and practicing our karate. (Side note: Naiya practiced a little karate on Melia's face while we were in the car. She was upset and threw a backhand fist at Melia. Caught her square in the eye. The impact made quite a noise. I couldn't believe it. Naiya has quite the temper. Melia didn't deserve it and to make her feel better I promised I'd take her on a date tonight. We are going to dinner then to do some window shopping for vans. We are in desparate need of a larger vehicle now that we have 3 kids.)  I'm sitting here now with Aria. She's in a Bumbo seat watching me type, making funny noises and grabbing at the monitor. Like I said.....Cutest Kids Ever.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Found a few more grey hairs.

I found a few more grey hairs today. I'm sure its just a phase.

Utah or bust!!

As many of you know we are in the middle of transitioning to the great state of Utah. We have been planning on moving out there for a little while. Our plan was to transition slowly and methodically after Laura's mom retired and eventually sold her home. That plan originally had a 3-5 year time frame on it. Well, it's been 2 years and Sue's home is now in escrow. We knew it would happen, but we had no idea it would happen this fast. Needless to say this has thrust us into a frenzy that we are slowly coming to terms with. Laura and I flew to Utah last week to look for our new home. With divine help and an awesome sister that put us up for the quick two night stay, we were able to find a great home in Utah county that will be perfect for Sue and us. We are excited to move and look forward to all the new experiences we will have and friends and family we will be able to see. We are sad to leave Northern California as we have made some great friendships and enjoyed every minute of being close to grandma. The idea of moving to Utah is also something we are still getting used to. Laura and I are both from Southern California and have never lived in the snow or been away from the beach for very long (with the exception of the last 2 years.)

Beautiful Chico, CA

Once a week for the past 6 weeks my buddy Blake and I have been going to work early and leaving early to go on hikes in Upper Bidwell Park. Upper Bidwell has some of the most beautiful views and trails and we've really been enjoying it. It's a great way to break out and get some fresh air for a couple hours a week. Blake has brought his phone and taken some pics and videos that I think do a good job of sharing what we get to see every week. Enjoy!!

YAY!! Word(s) of the Day

For those of you who haven't see this yet.....I am making it a habit to share interesting, educational, and sometimes funny words with my family via email. I then post them to my blog to save for future reference and to share our fun with the world.
Here's this week's edition of "Word(s) of the Day"
I found an article that does a great job of clarifying some simple terms that are misused often in IM (instant message)  and text conversations at my work. Pet peeve of mine? Absolutely!! So....Learn it. Understand it. Don't mess with it. This  guy and I are on the same page. Read on.

Pet peeve: Yeah, Yay, Yea and Ya

by Brad Guigar

It's time to address a pet peeve that's been bothering me lately. I keep reading comics that misuse "Yeah" and "Yay." Often, I see novice cartoonists writing one when they mean the other.
Yeah (yě'ə) is a slang of yes. "Yeah, I agree that Larry Fine was the Forgotten Stooge." Nine chances out of ten, if you're using a slang for yes, you want to use yeah.
Yay (yā) is an excited exclamation or a cheer. "Yay! Our team won!" If you're cheering, you probably want to use yay.
Yea (yey) is also a slang for yes, but it's not interchangeable with yeah. Because yea rhymes with hay. Unless you're quoting Biblical text about walking through the valley of death, you probably shouldn't be using Yea.
Ya (yah) can be used either as a slang for yes, but again, it's not interchangeable with yeah, and it shouldn't be used unless your character is speaking with a thick German or Swedish accent (in which case, it's actually a slang for Ja): "Ya, I would like more meatballs."
Ya (yah), of course, can be a slang for you, as in "End this column already, would ya?"

Cutest Kids I've Ever Seen

OK, I might be a bit biased. But these girls are DANG cute. I just love them. This is them dressed up in their matching Christmas PJ's that Grandma Sue (Laura's mom) sent them. Thanks Sue! Melia wore them for two days straight after she got them. I am a super lucky dad.

What to wear under a kilt...

Ever wonder what someone wears under a kilt. Well....I still do. This is Andrew Ringwald (aka Ringer) sporting one of the only dresses that is still fairly socially acceptable to wear by a man. It takes the right kind of guy to sport this form of attire and Ringer pulled it off quite well. Props man. I just felt left out and thought I would show some leg too. This is at our work Christmas party at the Sierra Nevada Brewery Company. It was a fun Christmas work party complete with great music by a live band (Steel Breeze), a great venue (Sierra Nevada Brewery's Big Room) which included a lot of alcohol needless to say, great food, lots of work friends and plenty of dancing. The only thing that would have made it a perfect night would have been if Laura could have gone. Darn those nursing schedules. She would of had a blast. I took a friend, Christopher (aka toph or toe) that I met through Blake, who's own holiday work party was cancelled this year due to budget cutbacks. (He's a government employee, but I don't hold it against him). I had a great time with Toph, Blake and Dani. I work with and sit next to Blake. He rented a tux for the evening and was the only one to do so. Super slick too. All in all it was a fun filled evening topped off with a Hummer Limo ride around downtown Chico. Yeah, that's how we roll.

Blake and Dani.....aaahhhh. Cute couple.

Me and my date. Ain't she perty?

This is Mr. Jared Gilmore that went MIA half way through the night. If anyone sees him, please return him to us. We really miss our cuddly friend. You'll probably recognize him as the larger, but easy to hug Amerrcan!!, that at times likes to put his hands together as if to be praying. Not that he IS praying...he just likes that pious position for some reason. We're still paying for the therapy.