4,088,000,000 miles and counting

Dansen in America

2009-04-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

Our visit with Dansen just ended, he had to get going to meet up with his Mom. We first met Dansen about 8 years ago at Fairhaven College at Western here in Bellingham. He was helping a friend of his and ours Nicky on a theatre/ film project. We later found out that he and Nicky had a radio show called Japan Radio on the college station . As the years went by we would hang out at the radio station from midnight to 2 a.m. every Sunday with Nicky and Dansen. We'd work on movies together and even fill in for Dansen on his show when he'd travel to Japan during the summer he now permanently resides. Even though our visit was not very long we where quite happy to see him after all these years. He's now off to see some friends of ours who live down in Oregon. Have a safe journey home my friend.

2009-03-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

We went on a tour of Mallards Ice Cream Shop a couple of weeks ago. It was a lot of fun and we got to enjoy some tasty treats. These pictures were taken by our friend Rainbow.

Are you smarter than a four year old??? We're not!

2009-03-03T19:15:00.000-08:00

Adrian just moments ago came over and announced to us that "the capitol of Burkina Faso is Ouagadougou!" We had to ask him what continent it's on...look it up. He's right!

Busy, busy, busy!

2009-03-03T15:48:00.000-08:00

We have had a lot going on recently. M went back to work a few weeks ago, and Kieran started in daycare two days a week. Both are going well, but keeping us very busy. M has updated her flickr page with some more pictures of the boys. They are growing up so fast! We are having a lot of fun. Adrian is such a good big brother and Kieran is about as relaxed and easy going as they come.

New pictures on M's flickr page

2009-01-17T12:59:00.000-08:00

Check out new pictures here! http://www.flickr.com/photos/pixielyte
We had some major computer trouble over the holidays so we are working on catching up, but everyone is doing well. Adrian just had his 4th birthday and Kieran is now two months old, and already weighs 15 pounds! They sure grow up fast!

Flickr posting.

2008-11-30T12:35:00.000-08:00

I have finally decide to sign up with Flickr for photo sharing. Here is the link to the photo stream for your perusal. Enjoy! http://www.flickr.com/photos/outwestalready/

10 Days Old

2008-11-25T19:41:00.000-08:00

On Saturday November 15th at 5:45 a.m. Kieran Conrad Sheridan was
born in the St. Joseph's Child Birth Center. This round was definitely different
from when Adrian was born, and the old adage; "no two births are the same" is true. With Adrian it was late in the evening but unlike with Kieran, Adrian's birth had progressed a lot further by the time we arrived at the hospital. Meaning once we got there Adrian didn't take very long to make his appearance. With Kieran we arrived a lot earlier in the cycle of contractions and therefore spending a little more time in the hospital.

We arrived around 10:30 p.m. got checked in through the triage nurse and then
assigned to a birthing room. The contractions came and went until it was decided at 4:45a.m. to break M's water. Since this was our second pregnancy the odds where that Kieran's birth would go fast. So once the water was broken he was born exactly an hour later. He was born 9 lb., 4 oz. and 21 1/14 " long. While in the womb he had swallowed some a meconium and had to be tended to by the respiratory specialists. He was checked out and once they cleared out his lungs and stomach M got to hold him.

At the hospital in the Child Birth Center instead of staying in the birthing room for the entire duration of your stay, you get moved to a postpartum room for the duration. It's nice especially for M because the bed is an actual bed and not a modular birthing bed. It was a really nice room and all of the nursing staff was really nice. We where there only for a day and a half from Friday night to Sunday afternoon.

So far things are going well, still working out schedules, not getting up until 9:30 or 10:30 a.m. or so. Kieran is such a good baby as newborns go. Unlike Adrian, Kieran will do marathon feedings and then sleep for hours on end afterwards. The timing of Kieran's birth couldn't have been better, because I was able to take off two full weeks with the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of this week. M had actually reached the end of her time at work on the day she had Kieran. She'll be off until the early part of February. We have lots of pictures and they will be posted shortly. So stay tuned!

338 and counting......

2008-11-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

I have voted three times in my life in for the president. For the first two times the person I voted for wasn't elected, but this time, this time I cried. I cried for happiness, I cried for validation of my beliefs, I cried for our country and the new future we can proudly look forward to.

2008-11-03T06:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween! We went trick-or-treating in Fairhaven. Adrian was a leopard (in a costume made by G-mo for Aunt Moli when she was little) and Kieran was a jack-o-lantern.

Television, Genius, Music

2008-10-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago our television picture suddenly shrank down to a 1/4 inch by 27 inch wide image. So you can imagine our surprise when it happened. M called me at work and informed me of this and told me that it happened to her parents' television right before it died. At the time we decided that we should wait until it really dies before we invest in a new one. Last night the picture pulled the incredible shrinking trick four times. So now we need to get a new one much to our dismay, and finances. We've narrowed our search and budget to a 26 inch LCD television, which when watching movies and the like would be somewhat equivalent to what we have now. Admittedly it comes at a rather bad time with a new baby coming any day now, M's mom coming out on Tuesday. It's the kind of situation I would have liked to avoid but it's something we need to take care of. (insert heavy sigh here)

Around the same time the TV started to first act up iTunes software updated and installed this thing called Genius. I of course had no idea what it was let alone what it did, and just went on my way listening to my music. A week later I was using the Safari browser and saw Steve Jobs' presentation of this mysterious feature called Genius. (see image below)

Basically it looks through your music library and matches up music you'd honestly never think of putting together in a million years. So today I turned the feature on, and I must say it's pretty awesome. First you select any song from your library and then click the little atom shaped icon at the bottom of the iTunes window and Genius takes over. In a fraction of a second it compiles a list of 25 songs that the program feels goes well together. For my first list I clicked on "november has come" by the Gorillaz off their Demon Days album. Included in the playlist was Rob Thomas, Gnarls Barkley, Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay, Kyle Minogue, Incubus, Beck, Cake, Colin Hay, just to name a few. I will enjoy this very much, and like Steve Jobs said you'll re-discover music you haven't listened to for a while. Sure enough he was right. Pretty awesome.

Adrian from a very young age has had an interest in music, and the wide variety that is out there in the world. You could even say that he's developed his own taste which is quite eclectic. He always has listened to what M and I are listening to at the time, which could range from Vivaldi to the Gorillaz or one of his all time favorites Kanye West feat. Daft Punk. I caught him bobbing his head to the beat of a Zero 7, or a fast past song on the television or radio. Not only do we get to see the head bobbing, but we are also treated to him dance to the a fore mentioned artists respectively. Before he falls asleep he like to listen to the A side of They Might Be Giants, Flood Album from 1990 (a cassette that I borrowed from my Dad), sorry Dad. When I'm listening to music on the computer through itunes Adrian will request that I make it "big" meaning I switch it to full screen with the album covers enlarged. I guess he likes the full music experience. Can't blame him though, I used to listen to my dad's records through head phones for hours on end when I was younger. The technology may have changed but the ultimate experience hasn't.

M, Adrian, and Kieran

2008-10-21T18:08:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to getting some shots of M before Kieran comes. As you can see Adrian is making silly faces.

More silliness.

Adrian giving Kieran a kiss.

Gibsons Pt. 4

2008-10-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

This was taken the night before we left. We had a lot of fun visiting with our friends especially Adrian and Twain.

Gibsons Pt. 3

2008-10-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is from the summit.

A tired little boy.

This is a shot looking down the east side of the hill.

This is looking up as the group of us comes down.

Gibsons Pt. 2

2008-10-06T20:52:00.000-07:00

This bridge was half way up the path to the top of Soames Hill.

Here we are at the top taking a well deserved rest.

Here is Tom showing us the various points on the land way, way down.

Nice view!

Best buds!

Gibsons Trip, Belated Post. Pt. 1

2008-10-06T17:47:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we traveled north of Vancouver to Gibsons where our friends own a condo. It took us about 5 1/2 hours total, only because we got lost getting to the Route 1 and then to the ferry. Once we got to the ferry we had to wait another 3 hours for another ferry to arrive. We finally arrived around 11:00 p.m.. (Pictured above is from Saturday as we walk down into Gibsons from their condo.
This is from the water front in the small port. The buildings on the hill behind the boat are the city hall and library. After wen walked along the water front we walked to a little park and had the boys play for a few hours.
The next day we took a short drive out of Gibsons to climb Soames Hill which took about 40 minutes to summit.
This and the picture below are shots of some of the stairs going up. It was a long walk.

Viv Special

2008-09-13T20:22:00.001-07:00

Vivian a.k.a. Emma

2008-09-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

A bed time buddy.

Breakfast togeather.

My pirate cat, one of her favorite pastimes.

She'll walk around and then lay down across my shoulders.

A rest after people watching out the window.

It turns out that we where given the wrong name for our new kitty. Her Real name is Emma, but M, Adrian and I like Vivian instead so we'll be sticking with that. Today Adrian and I took Vivian to the Whatcom Humane Society (WHS) to get the RF tag put in Vivian and for them to correct the paper work. When M got home from work she noticed that the WHS had given Viv another rabies shot. So M called to double check, and sure enough they had, but where reassured that it would not harm her. Viv is a trip one of the things she like to do is to sit up and lay on my shoulders as I walk around our place. Pictures are to follow.

Vivian

2008-09-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

This is Vivian, our new adopted kitty. We got her through one of the Whatcom Humane Society's foster homes. She's a real sweet heart and thus far is getting along with Kunnie fairly well. She loves attention and when she's real happy she drools just like Kunnie. When we went to the foster home and sat down Vivian came right over, plopped her self down in my lap and laid clam to me. It was quite reminiscent of how Floyd choose me all those years ago.

One might think we're jumping into getting a new kitty too early. We feel that the best way to memorialize Floyd is to provide a loving caring home for a cat, just as we did for both Floyd and Kunnie.

Passages

2008-08-28T22:02:00.000-07:00

This evening at 5:30 P.S.T. our dear friend and companion Floyd passed away at the Fairhaven Veterinarian Hospital. Last night he took a severe turn for the worse and we decided with discussion with the veterinarian that it would be best to end his suffering. I've never witnessed and animal die before let alone have one pass away in my arms. It was a quiet passing with just M, myself and the doctor in the room. M had already made arraignments with our friend Hannah to bury Floyd on their property. After we left the vets' we went over to Hannah's house and choose a nice quite spot in the woods to put him to rest. We said our goodbyes and marked the spot with stones we had found around and from with in the spot we left Floyd.

He was my first cat that I had ever had the pleasure to live with. After M had gotten Kunnie I felt that I should adopt a cat as well. So once we had looked on line we made the trip up to the home where Floyd was at. We had actually gone there to see another cat when Floyd made his decision to pick me. Where Floyd and these other cats where the foster Mom made an open outdoor enclosure for them. It had ropes, branches and other items for the cats to climb on. I was next to one of these branches when I felt a tug on my belt loop. I looked down and there was a one year old Floyd looking up at me. Both M and I took it as a sign and decided to adopt Floyd instead of the other cat. A day or so later we went back to pick him up to bring him home. Once we got home and Floyd had checked out our apartment he made himself right at home. We put his bed right out side our bedroom door, and Floyd took it upon himself to guard our room from Kunnie. He would go after her if she tried to go into the room, and also attack my feet when I was lying down on our bed.

Admittedly it feels weird not to have him here right now. A part of our family is gone and we will miss the cat that thought he was a dog.

Life & Family

2008-08-24T11:57:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken by our burgeoning photographer, Adrian.

Here is a very happy Mom and a very happy son. As of today M has about 77 days left in the pregnancy.

Hovander Park

2008-08-24T11:07:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday Adrian went up to Hovander Park to have guided tour of the homestead. It turned out that Adrian and I where the only ones who showed up for the tour. So we ended up with a personal tour of the Hovander home and grounds. Here is one of two female Peacocks that we saw at Hovander park in Ferndale. In with the peacocks they had large rabbits to keep them company.

This is one of the many large geese that they had in at the park. They had Turkeys, sheep, goats, ducks, roosters and horses too.

It turned out to be a fun day. While we where there M's co-workers were holding a baby shower for one of M's co-workers. Adrian and I also ran into our friend Nancy and her family. They were having a big family picnic with her in laws. It was pretty muggy but then the wind picked up and it cooled off a bit, we also got a lightning show too.

Heritage Flight Museum

2008-08-24T10:38:00.001-07:00

This is an A-1 Skyraider which Adrian and I saw when we visited the Heritage Flight Museum just outside of Bellingham. They had about seven planes when we were there only because the museum had moved to a smaller building.

This is the A-1 Skyraider again.

Here Adrian is showing me one of the wheels to the Skyraider.

This is the AT-6D Texan.

This is the L-13 Grasshopper which folds up it's wings when it's in the hanger.

Here is the AT-6D's logo.

This is the inside of the cockpit for the Grasshopper.

Here are a few more of the planes that where are the Flight Museum.

Our dear friend Floyd

2008-08-01T18:42:00.000-07:00

The other day M called me at work sounding very frantic, and asking me if I knew where the cat carriers where. She told me that Floyd had vomited up blood earlier and she had made an appointment to take him to the vet. About an hour later M calls up sounding very upset, and begins to tell me what the vet found. He had found a very large mass inside Floyd and told M that there where a few options. One was to do an ultrasound, the second was to take a biopsy , and get the results the next day. He did however tell M with out the results and with Floyd's symptoms that the prognosis was not good. The mass was large and that Floyd was still quite young to be having this happen.

When the next day came M called me once she had talked to the Vet. It was Cancer. He told her that we had some options on how to make Floyd comfortable during his last couple of months. SO we decided to get some special food for cats with sensitive stomachs, and to get prednisone along with an anti nausea medicine. He's less than half the cat he used to be and now is only a matter of time be fore he leaves us fir a far better place. He was my first cat and we had a special relationship, and I will miss him very much. Our dear friend Floyd.

Mini BADC Reunion

2008-07-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

This is Jeremy focusing movable lights for Go Diego Go! He's been in town since Monday working on this particular show. Next he's off to Oregon, then to California.
Here is here Dan who is now living in Bellevue. I haven't seen him in almost 10 years not since I was in high school. It was almost like a mini Bel Air Dram Company reunion in Seattle.
A quick shot of Dan and Jeremy in front of the WAMU Theatre in Seattle after we had a early dinner. It was really good to see both Dan and Jeremy today, and hope to see them both next year at the BADC 20th Anniversary.

2008-07-04T23:30:00.001-07:00

Happy Fourth Every one!

Our Dragonfly visitor.

2008-06-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

M spotted this off our balcony just moments ago and snapped this shot. She did get pretty close to it and did not fly away. It just sat there perched on a vertical post. Just so you know that angle M took the shot aiming downward towards the ground. Pretty awesome shot.

2008-06-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

Here are the most recent pictures of our baby boy! He looks like his big brother already.

Friday Harbor Continued.......

2008-06-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

Here we are coming back from a fabulous whale watching trip, which I'll be posting once I get the pictures on the computer. One of the cool things about this boat we were on was that it's biodiesel. SO instead of smelling horrid exhaust it smelled like french fries and popcorn.
M took this cool shot from the side of the boat as we headed south from Point Roberts.
Adrian was very well behaved and was the center of attention for the crew and the other passengers on the boat. During the trip out and the trip back to Friday Harbor, Adrian spent in the cabin playing with puzzles, coloring books, and read books too.
This was taken on the ferry on the trip back to Anacortes. We where all tired and had a very good, and enjoyable vacation with my parents.
This was taken the day before we left Friday Harbor from the inside of the van my parents had rented for our trip. I thought it was a pretty cool shot.

Friday Harbor Continued.......

2008-06-07T20:41:00.001-07:00

This and the picture below where from the beach west of the American Camp.

Here we all are headed back up from the beach. Dad say Hi!
Here we are later on that day at the English camp at the north end of the island. Dad and Adrian went ahead to examine one of the existing builds from back then.
The English camp was a little bit smaller than the American camp but this was set up in an inlet where the Americans where all out in the open. Here M, Adrian and my Mom took a sit down before the climb back up a steep hill to the van.

Friday Harbor Continued.......

2008-06-07T20:18:00.000-07:00

Here is M, Adrian, and my Dad watching the first of two ferries coming in while we waited for dinner. We ate at an organic vegetarian Mediterranean restaurant that the woman at the tourist center recommended. It was awesome! Great food!
After dinner we took a short drive and came across a beach and watched the lovely sunset.
Before the Civil War the British and Americans had camps on separate ends of San Juan Island. The first one we visited was the American Camp on the southern end of San Juan. One person in-particular that served here was George Pickett who came here after building Fort Bellingham. George Pickett was later made infamous for his ill fated charge on the Union camp during the battle of Gettysburg.
Adrian ran ahead to the map and was pointing out all the things that were on it. At the trail head M grabbed a walking tour guide and had a blast waling through where the American encampment was at one point.
Here Adrian was leading my Mom back up the trail. It was quite cute.

Friday Harbor Continued.......

2008-06-07T19:54:00.001-07:00

There where all these little orange flowers all over the place.
Here we're scoping out the town shortly after we parked the van, trying to get our bearings.
Mom and Dad enjoying the gorgeous weather after finishing out mid-day treat.
The Thinking Man
This is the view from where we were sitting as a ferry comes into the dock. Just out to the shot to the right was an ice cream shop that we stopped at a few times while we where there.

Friday Harbor Continued.......

2008-06-07T19:14:00.001-07:00

The following pictures where taken at the Whale Museum in Friday Harbor. This is a skull of an orca, this particular one was between 3 and 4 feet long. You can see how big it's teeth are.
This is full shot of the same orca from above and it was a little bigger than 20 feet long.
This is a skeleton of a gray whale which was about as big as the orca next to it. These pictures don't really show how big they actually are.
Look in the bottom right corner of this picture there is the rarely seen M outside her natural habitat. Totally oblivious to the flying orca above her.
Here are the skeletons of a Human and a Dolphin. What's cool is when you get down to it there's not much difference between us and them.

Friday Harbor

2008-06-07T18:18:00.000-07:00

This is a shot of my Dad on the headed out to Friday Harbor from Anacortes.
This was taken by a nice man who was in two cars in front of us. The ferry was pretty full and the trip took about a an hour and a half.
M and Adrian braved the quite cool and very windy top deck right after we left. A few weeks before we left Adrian was scared of being on the ferry, but was the one that took us out on the deck.
Here Adrian is pointing out the islands as they go by. He's holding two maps of Friday Harbor one he kept in the van we had and the other he carried around with him. He even found the post office for us so we could send our postcards.
M, my Mom, and Adrian have a sit down after the ferry ride.

Twins

2008-05-20T20:47:00.000-07:00

I came home and found that M and Adrian where napping and that the both of them matched. The funny thing is that M and Adrian got dressed separately. M informed me that Adrian picked out and put on his own clothes. What a sweet heart.

A fond farewell.

2008-05-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday went traveled down south to Granite Falls to where our friend Nicole' parents house is. A couple of her friends and family members where there as well. It was a small send off party before she leaves for graduate school at Harvard. We had a really nice evening and will miss our friend. We wish her all the best at school and look forward to seeing her again soon.

Happy Mothers Day! (optimus matris umquam niger eyed susan)

2008-05-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

While surfing the for pictures of flowers I came across this one. It's called "optimus matris umquam niger eyed susan" other wise know as the Best mom Ever Black Eyed Susan. Apparently you can only find it during this time of the year in a remote part of the world near the southwest edge of Maryland. I guess I know where I'm going today. "Maryland or Bust"

A quick rant.

2008-05-02T17:58:00.003-07:00

I wanted to get this out so I don't dwell on it all weekend. Our apartment complex has a no dog rule with the exception of service dogs. I absolutely have no problem with the service dogs being here in the apartments. What I do have a problem with is people who have dogs that really shouldn't. I guess it ultimately boils down to me being jealous of those who have them and me not. The last time I talked with our apartment manager we where told that dogs weren't allowed because of what some previous tenants dogs' did to an apartment. Not only that but one young lady who has a dog was supposedly being asked to leave because she had gotten a dog against the rules of the lease. Not that long ago I ran into the young lady and her dog named Chinook, and realized I was missing my dogs back east, also I couldn't be angry at such a loving dog as that. This brings me to this evening; as I was pulling into my parking spot I saw an man walking what seemed to be a young puppy out to take his trash out. I know that M and I are not in the position to have a dog , but it's the principle of the whole thing that I take issue with. Ok now I feel better. Thank you for listening.

The demise of the independent video store.

2008-04-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

I willingly had a hand in the demise of the independent video store. There is now a self dispensing video rental machine in the Fred Meyer lobby. It's been there for about two or three months. It costs one dollar per movie rental per day, and up to fifteen days before it charges the cost of the movie. After you re-insert the movie back into the machine it then charges you the fee for the rental time. It is quite handy because I can return the next time I'm in the store. On less trip to make and saved gas. I will be the first to admit that I would always go to a local store over a chain any day but this one time was a test to see if it was worth it. In a way it was but I did miss the human element. As of now the self dispensing machine is quietly sulking in the darkness waiting for it's opportunity to upsurge the independently owned. Lets try to keep the upper hand unless they come out with self dispensing gratification machines then we'd be really...... well you get the idea. GO HUMANS, GO!!!!

For those who are interested I rented the new release of I Am Legend, starring Will Smith. Admittedly I was a little disappointed to find out his name is not Legend. First off I did like the movie, second for those who haven't seen it can expect a movie sparse of other actors besides Will Smith and some supporting actors. It is one of those movies that starts in one point of time and goes back to the past to revisit bad memories. That and extremely brief explanations of what led to Will Smith being all alone on the island of Manhattan. There is his faithful companion through most of the movie, his 3 year old German Shepherd. I would recommend watching this movie with the lights turned off and an open mind. Also in the extra features there are the quasi animated shorts that have to do with the movie's theme. Here is something to look for in the beginning of the move when Will's character is driving through the city: A Batman & Superman giant sized movie poster with the Superman emblem over the Batman emblem. Perhaps it's a hint for 2012 of a coming movie?????????????

2008-04-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

We got some more images of the baby today. We had to check on some things after the last ultrasound. The baby was dancing around when we first got there but by the time we got to take the video clip the baby had gone to sleep. It's still pretty cool to see. The baby is about 2 inches long now. Adrian was excited to see the baby again and when I asked him if he is going to be a good big brother, he responded "no, a gigantic brother!"

2008-04-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

Ms. Cole makes a visit.

2008-04-21T21:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Nora who was in the BADC with me in high school was in Washington on a work trip came up to visit for the day. Adrian and I took her on a driving tour around Bellingham. Our first stop was at Sehome Arboretum. There was a map that showed all the trails around the arboretum. In large friendly letters it said "You Are Here" the sign was very helpful.
After dinner we went for a walk down to Joe's Garden which is about a quarter of a mile away. I wanted to take a picture of us walk over there so I went to take a picture. Nora quickly posed as M froze in mid sentence.
This photo and the second photo are not in order, sorry. Here Adrian was not wanting to walk through the woods to Joe's Garden, and he wanted to go back and take some pictures of the grass and dandelions.
A quick photo be fore Nora left to go back down to Seattle. It was nice to catch up on all thats been going on in her life and back east in Maryland. It was really nice to see her because I hadn't seen her since our trip last May. I've known her now for ten years now and I hope she is able to came back and visit again soon.

Smile

2008-04-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday and through out this week the Dali Lama is visiting Seattle. The theme of his visit is called Seeds of Compassion. On Saturday there was a large gathering at Qwest Field where the Seahawks play during the football season that was televised. Me being me I forgot about it until there was only a half hour left. It was an opportunity for me to see the Dali Lama with out driving and paying to get into the venue. Words can't describe what is was like to see him there in my living room. When I got to the station that was broadcasting the gathering the first shot I saw was of him with the biggest smile on his face than any other I've seen. He was smiling and than began to respond to a question that was asked of him. Every time I see his picture it makes me smile and think of happy thoughts. Almost like the bumper stickers that say "SMILE" that enviably make you well .... smile. I stood there and watched and listened intently to every word that he said. Afterword I had a sense of joy about me. It may sound weird but it made me happy. I would encourage you to take a minute and think of the Dali Lama's face and I guarantee it will put a smile on you face. :)

Le Raccordement Français = The French Connection

2008-04-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

I should note that the previous post was meant to be sincere in the most truest of sense, So below here is the post in English for those who don't know french. I wonder if I should go to work in Quebec as a blogger??????

This has been a rather normal week for us. Adrian is definitely acting his age, and M has continued with the morning sickness. Though she has started some days have feeling alright the oh so familiar nauseous feeling stalks her like the lioness of the african plains stalks a wounded water buffalo. Though one may find this whole morning sickness a bit disturbing, but it is after all a part of nature. She has about a month left of feeling this way and each day I think she wishes it was the next month. Well actually each day it does get closer to next month so..... never mind.

I have caught a slight cold from who knows who, and now Adrian is sounding congested and is coughing too. M pointed out that when ever Adrian and I get these small colds she alway seems to end up with some sort of flu derivative. Hope fully this time won't be that way (Knock on wood)

Earlier this week I got home and gotten a voice message on my cell phone. The number as it read off was a 410 area code number. I obviously didn't recognize the number and tried to go through the people that I know who are from Maryland with that area code. I'll tell you there aren't a lot. It turns out to be my friend John's little sister Nora. She was calling to tell me she was going to be in Washington for a week or two and wanted to come up to Bellingham to visit. I've known her for about ten years now and it would be nice to see an old friend again. It turns out that she's been out here 12 times since the first of January this year on business. Which is what she'll be out here the next week and a half for.

M and I should send out cards warning people visiting us that we are not responsible for them falling in love with the area and consequently moving here.

The Due Date is the 13th of November!!!!!!!!

Le Raccordement Français

2008-04-12T15:59:00.000-07:00

After re-discovering one of my favorite websites Babel Fish I have decided to post entirely in french. Ayez à lui ! (Copy and paste to translate if you so desire)

C'a été une semaine plutôt normale pour nous. Adrian est certainement agissant son âge, et M a continué la maladie de matin. Bien qu'elle ait commencé quelques jours avoir sentir bien le sentiment nauséabond tellement familier de l'OH l'égrappent comme la lionne des tiges de plaines d'Africain que un blessé arrose le buffle. Bien qu'on puisse trouver cette maladie entière de matin un peu déranger, mais lui est après tout une partie de nature. Elle a environ un mois encore de sentir de cette façon et chaque jour je pense elle souhaite que c'ait été le mois suivant. Puits réellement que chaque jour il obtient plus près du prochain esprit de mois ainsi..... jamais. J'ai attrapé léger froid de qui sait qui, et maintenant Adrian retentit encombré et tousse aussi.

M a précisé que quand jamais Adrian et moi obtiennent ces petits colds elle alway semble finir vers le haut avec une certaine sorte de dérivé de grippe. L'espoir entièrement cette fois ne sera pas que la manière (coups sur le bois) Plus tôt cette semaine j'ai obtenu à la maison et reçu un message de voix à mon téléphone de cellules. Le nombre car il a lu au loin était un nombre d'indicatif régional 410. J'évidemment n'ai pas identifié le nombre et essayé de passer par le peuple que je sais qui sont du Maryland avec cet indicatif régional. Je vous dirai qu'il n'y a pas beaucoup. Il s'avère être la petite soeur Nora de mon John d'ami. Elle appelait pour me dire qu'elle allait être à Washington pour une semaine ou deux et a voulu monter à Bellingham à la visite.

J'ai su qu'elle pendant environ dix années maintenant et il feraient beaux pour revoir un vieil ami. Il s'avère qu'elle est étée hors d'ici 12 fois depuis le premier janvier cette année sur des affaires. Est ce qui pour ce qu'elle sera hors ici de la semaine suivante et d'une moitié. M et moi devrions envoyer des cartes avertissant des personnes nous rendant visite que nous ne sommes pas responsables d'elles tombant amoureuses du secteur et se déplaçant par conséquent ici.

Nous avons une date due, le 13 novembre !

2008-04-08T08:35:00.000-07:00

Adrian saw these and exclaimed "oh! it is so cute!"

Bathroom Adventures, Do Not Exit, and My thoughts.

2008-04-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

To begin this epic tale we need to turn back the clock to early last week. I was at work and M called me up to tell me how her first doctors appointment went, or so I thought. She was calling to ask me where our mini toilet snake was. I told her that it had fallen behind the washer and dryer. She told me that I'm not going to believe what Adrian did with the toilet. He had taken off the roll of toilet paper and flushed the long plastic spring holder down the toilet. M told me that when I got home I had the task to dig out the snake out from behind the dyer, and get the holder out of the toilet. It occurred to me that was not a task I would enjoy, so I called our apartment manager, and asked if she could help us out. Luckily for me I had called her because she was able to get him to come over. Later that afternoon M called back asking if I had called for the maintenance guy to come over. She had just gotten home for the doctors and a few minutes later a knock came at the door. She opened and he said he was here to unclog the toilet. She was surprised because how did he know about what happened? Well I didn't tell M I did it partly as a surprise and partly I didn't want to work on it. The maintenance man ended up being there for two hours, after having to take the toilet off the floor and putting it in the tub. The object was finally removed with the help of a metal coat hanger. The pen that day was definitely mightier than the sword.

Just a few hours ago M took Adrian to the store to do a mini grocery run. She took Adrian to the potty and afterwards she ran into a co-worker she hasn't seen for a while. While they where talking Adrian ran down the hall where the restroom s where and opened the emergency door. The siren it was loud and suffice to say it scared Adrian a bit. Luckily M knows most of the people there and where somewhat understanding of what happened.

This next topic is as unavoidable as Mt. Everest is to, well the sky. Politics. There I said it. The eight lettered word that has rolled off of every persons tongue at least once in the last few months. Wither its linked to the environment, global warming, medical care, or even the presidential race. We're all entangled in it whether you like it or not. There are the two main parties, you have the old white man most likely planning to follow in his predecessors footsteps, and on the other we have two people who are neck in neck in polls with what seems to be almost identical platforms. Admittedly I could list out, break down, get down to the nitty gritty, but I won't. It's not my job nor is it my place to tell you who to support, who to vote for, or who to believe in. I would encourage you to base what ever your decision is on what you believe and how you feel. Have hope where to be quite honest with you isn't much. Look at what matters most to you, your family, and your community, because at the end of the day those are what is waiting for you at home. So for those of you who wonder where I stand, I stand here with my beliefs, my views. Vote right, vote smart and vote often. I leave you with this. "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and provide new Guards for their future security." - Quoted from the Declaration of Independence.

News, News, News.......

2008-03-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well for those who have not heard yet M and I are expecting our second child. If all goes alright the baby will be due in November. We've known for a few weeks now but just wanted to make sure things are proceeding along just fine. The other day M was looking through one of the millions of baby books we have and showed me the actual size of the baby. At eight weeks which where we're at now it's about the size of a nickel. From last week it was the size of a grain of rice. Next week M goes in for her first doctors appointment to make sure things are progressing well. We'll keep you updated as the news comes.

On music news Adrian has a new favorite song. Kanye West's song "Stronger" It's a remake of Daft Punks' song Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger. Adrian loves this song, so much he starts to bob his head to the beat. He knows who Daft punk is Gorillaz, and the group called Bowling For Soup. As I have been typing this paragraph Adrian has been reading along out loud. For the Gorillaz on of his favorite songs from them is "Dirty Harry". From the movie Cars he quite enjoys Rascal Flats version of "Life is a Highway" It's pretty cool to find out which songs he enjoys listening to. His tastes rang from Vivaldi to the Gorillaz, to the Beatles, to Kanye West. The eclectic listener he has become.

Photography 101

2008-03-10T20:55:00.001-07:00

In the top picture Adrian is explaining to me how I need to take the picture and how to orientate the camera. The bottom picture Adrian is not only pleased I listened to him, but is hamming it up for the camera. Just look at that smile.

Post Date

2008-03-08T15:06:00.001-08:00

The pictures from above are from my parents visit back in January. I feel extremely silly for not have put these up any sooner, but that's me mister forgetful. We had a blast when they where out here and I can't wait to see them agian.

An Ill Closing and just a bit more.....

2008-03-08T08:59:00.000-08:00

To begin, M had gotten sick again back towards the end of February. She had gotten the flu in December but this was much worse. Long story short, she was sick for about two weeks, and then when she was starting to feel somewhat better she got a double ear infection. She's just now coming to the end of taking antibiotics for the ear infections. She had coughing, congestion, 100 degree plus temperatures, upset stomach, the works. Luckily Adrian and my self didn't catch what she had, but we both did have a mild cold for a couple of days. I'm just glad that's over because it was not fun at all.

On other news M and I decided to retire our business for the time being until we saw fit. It just wasn't worth our time to try to keep up with it. Especially when it came time for customers to stop by to drop off their photos, having to clean up and vacuum before they came over. It was fun to restore their photos but now it's one less thing to worry about. R.I.P. (for now)

Back on the 27th of last month was my two year anniversary with my work. It's a pretty cool feeling not only for being with one place for two years, but I can see myself there for many more years to come. I was telling M one day that unlike most people who have say they have "jobs", and not really like what they do, but I can say "I have a career." Between you, me and the guy in the next room I someday would like to work in theater full time. Ahhhhh to dream......

Love Day

2008-02-14T20:06:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

A funny line to help break the Ice.

2008-02-14T19:59:00.000-08:00

On the weekends I like to put on a nice dress, go around to bars and insist that everyone call me Mrs. Habadasher. (Key point; emphasize the haba in Habadasher.) Got it off an episode of Scrubs

Trouble In Little Bellingham

2008-02-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

Today Maralise got a call from Adrian's school, saying Adrian had a fall agianst a shelf at the school. He had fallen face first and split his lip and brused his gum. So M went over to pick him up she found him sitting in thier lunch room on a chair with a wet cloth on his mouth. As soon as Adrian saw her he broke down crying. M looed at his teeth and his gums and decided to take him up to the dentist's office for a emergency check up. Our doctor took some x-rays of his teeth to make sure nothing was broken or damaged by the fall. The doctor said that the brusing was from tearing of the tiny ligiments that hold your teeth in. Also that the little piece of skin between Adrian's upper teeth and upper lip teared just alittle bit. Ouch! Adrian has also been dealing with a cold and cough. He's done really well today except for now because he's tired and I'm sure he's in alittle bit of pain. Best be going.

Maralise vs. The Flying Turtle

2008-01-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

Adrian & The Flying Turtle

2008-01-01T14:24:00.000-08:00

12 Days

2008-01-01T10:06:00.000-08:00

Coming up in a week my mom and dad are coming out for about 12 days. Fortunately they'll be out here for Adrian's third birthday which will be nice. This year we're planning to have a low key party for the A man having, but the best laid plans...... One can hope. We're looking forward to seeing my parents; it's been about seven months since our trip to Maryland and since they've seen Adrian. Thsi time they'll be flying into Bellingham and not Seatac, so no 2 hour drive after a 8 hour flight just a 15 min drive instead.

Happy New Year!!!

2008-01-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

Last night M and I let the rest of the world celebrate the ringing in of the new year for us. We slept. M is sick and I was tired from working all day. I hope our friends and family had a fun time and enjoyed the evening. M, Adrian, and myself wish everyone the very best in this new year and hope it's even better than last year.

More Christmas Photos

2008-01-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

This is Adrians new wagon, he spent most of the last few days going in and out of it. He would move it to one side of the apartment and then back agian.
Adrian is holding his new favorite gift. It's his own digital camera, if you look closely you can see that it has two view finders instead of one. That's so it's easier for him to see what he is taking a picture of. The camera also has a LCD screen on the back so you can view previously taken pictures, access the menu and so on. M put a link to Adrian's photo page so anyone can check out his shots.
For those that did not hear, M was starting what would be a so far eight day long flu and secondary infection epic. For Christmas some one gave her the flu, so by the middle of the day as you can see here she was out like a light. She is still feeling pretty rotten, but hopefully she will start feeling better soon. Especially beacause she needs to be at work on Thursday.

Updates, finally....

2008-01-01T09:07:00.000-08:00

Here M helps opens what would be the first of many, many gifts for Adrian on christmas.
Here he plays with two presents from my Uncle Bruce & Aunt Irene. When you bash the toys togeather they make crash noises.
Adrian hiding under a blanket M got for him. Behind Adrian you can make out the giant stack of presents that was under the tree that day. We had to spread them out through the day, opening up a few every couple of hours. I think the last one was opended around 5:00 pm.

2007-12-31T19:56:00.000-08:00

Check out Adrian's new photo page with some of the photos he has taken (and a few that he has requested that we take of him) with his new camera. http://my.opera.com/adsview go here and go to "photos"

Christmas Morning

2007-12-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning, M and I get kicked out of our own bed, and Adrian sleeps in until almost 9:00am. What a life. :) I'm going to try to update the blog through out the morning so you all can get a play by play so to speak. Merry Christmas to all!

Seasons Greetings

2007-12-23T10:38:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year agian when it looks like it's going to be cold out, it's in the mid 40's over cast, and rainy. We get togeather with friends and family to share in the holiday spirit. It's been a very busy year and we want to wish everyone we know the very best and a very safe holiday. And of course what other time of the year do you sit in front of a dead tree in the living room and eat candy out of your socks?

2007-12-05T10:19:00.001-08:00

Adrian's "Lego pile with Lego palm tree"

Are you ready for this?

2007-11-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

On Friday M went down to get a hair cut. I thought she was just getting it shortened, oh was I mistaken. When she came in to the living room, I said over and over holy crap!. For years now I have jokingly asked her to cut it this short. Apparently last Friday was that day. She looks good dosen't she?

Class is now in session.

2007-11-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

Last weekend our friend Nicole came up to visit. The book they where read is Adrian's favorite now a days. Once they where done Adrian proceeded to read the sub title of the book; "Text and pictures by Ken Robbins." We all stopped for a second to take stock of what had just occurred. Adrian read. He actually read the words to us which was pretty cool. Pretty soon he'll be the one reading to us.

Falling a sleep on the job.

2007-11-18T15:20:00.000-08:00

Adrian here fell a sleep right below the table with his bucket and his froggy boots on. If only we could do this at work the world would be a much better place.

Pumpkin - O - Rama

2007-10-31T20:19:00.000-07:00

The Dalai LamaA Monster
Mr. Pumpkin Head

Trick-or-Treating with friends.

2007-10-31T20:02:00.000-07:00

From Left to Right: Luke (Black Cat), Hailey (Cheerleader), Adrian (Dinosaur), Brayden (Tiger)
Luke and Adrian taking a break from the trick-or-treating in downtown Fairhaven that was held today for the little kids of Bellingham.

2007-10-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

M and Adrian all dressed up for Holloween. Adrian a dinosaur, and M a witch.

Sudden Onset Sleep

2007-10-31T19:46:00.000-07:00

Last night Adrian came out with this blanket and was lying on the floor in the entrance to the kitchen. I asked him what he was doing and he told me that he was sleeping. A few minutes later I heard this noise, I was like what is that noise?! I went over to where Adrian was and found him fast a sleep on the floor. He was so out that I was able to vacuum in the other side of the room. Very Cute.

2007-10-31T11:50:00.000-07:00

Adrian, Twain, and Luke in the car on the way to playgroup.

2007-10-15T15:14:00.001-07:00

We went on a tour of the Geneva Fire Station on Friday.

Playing in the dirt.

2007-09-08T19:09:00.000-07:00

The other day we all went to the park at Lake Padden after walking around the lake. The dump truck that Adrain is playing with is from his Uncle Bruce in Long Island. Adrain takes it everywhere he goes. That day he was covered head to toe in dirt by the end of the morning, it was quite funny.

2007-08-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

2007-08-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

Adrian got a new pet snake at the zoo. It's name is Snake. Snake hisses at Daddy.

2007-08-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

Adrian got a new pet snake at the zoo. It's name is Snake. Snake hisses at Daddy.

2007-08-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

At the end of the day we saw the cows and a donkey.

2007-08-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

2007-08-21T16:35:00.000-07:00

2007-08-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

2007-08-21T16:26:00.000-07:00

2007-08-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

Saw some big cats.

2007-08-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

Adrian and Hannah checking out the giraffes.

2007-08-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

2007-08-21T16:04:00.000-07:00

We went to Woodland Park Zoo the other day with Hannah and Lars.

2007-08-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

Adrian decided the other day that he needed to wear his helmet around the house.

2007-08-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Telescope!

2007-08-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

Climbing on the play structure at Lake Padden

2007-08-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Look who got a big boy bed! After refusing for about a week to sleep in his crib/toddler bed, and choosing to sleep only on the couch or floor, we asked Adrian what was wrong with his bed and he told us that it was too small. We figured that we'd have to get him a bigger bed sooner or later...can't have a 12 year old sleeping in a toddler bed. He loves it!

Run around time.

2007-08-11T20:11:00.001-07:00

M and Adrian playing outside this afternoon. Adrian was in the middle of going around in a circle saying daddy over and over.

Berry picking with friends!

2007-07-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday M and Adrian went with Rainbow and Twain to go berry picking. The farm they went to was an organic farm. M brought home blue berries, rasberries and has already made 17 jars of jelly! A jelly making machine.

New Stroller (for mom and dad) I mean Adrain.

2007-07-31T17:45:00.000-07:00

This is the new stroller we got a steal on. It's perfect for both M and me, it has an adjustable handle bar, large tires, dual braking system both foot and hand brake. It's Awsome!!!! Plus Adrian likes it too.

Luke's Birthday Party

2007-07-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

These shots are from Luke's birthday party. Tom brought his guitar and played happy birthday and other children songs. Everyone loved it and had a great time. Especially the kids.

2007-07-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

The first picture is from the other day after I came home. I found the two of them fast asleep for a nap. The second picture is from this past Wednesday. M had gotten a new hair currling set and was attemping to tame her hair. Hair (1) - M (0) Keep up the good fight!

Lunch at Atwater's In Baltimore

2007-07-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

A well over due posting from our trip to baltimore. Top: Andrew and Adrian. Middle: Sue, My Dad with adrian, and my Mom. Bottom: M, Catherine, and Carol. We stopped for lunch here before we headed down to the airport to go home.

Happy Birthday!

2007-07-07T10:06:00.000-07:00

Adrian helped me make a birthday card for M last night. I think it turned out perfect.

Our Life

2007-06-27T18:57:00.000-07:00

Places where we're from for you to explore.

Baltimore, Maryland

Bellingham, Washington

Bel Air, Maryland

Enjoy!

Look Over There!

2007-05-31T22:41:00.000-07:00

Adrian peering out of a tower in this really big play ground near my parents place. I actually helped build this playground back when I was in high school. It's pretty neat to see it doing so well.

An Iron Giant

2007-05-31T22:22:00.000-07:00

This was a engine that we found at the B & O Railroad Museum. We were fortunate to catch it while it was open. There were three engines in this building. This was the largest of the three. Here my Dad, M, Adrian and Carol stood in front of it to give a scale of how large the thing is. The water car held 25,000 gallons which is more than what is in our swimming pool. The largest wheel on this thing was just about 5 1/2 feet. When I first saw it, it took me a second to take in how massive it is.

Gardening 101

2007-05-31T22:14:00.001-07:00

Gardening with Adrian one leaf at a time.