Month: July 2014

Tonight I finished my latest side-project: the El Gaucho football pool website. About 10 years ago I used to run the pool while I worked there as a busboy. I would hand out printed sheets of paper to everyone so they could make their picks each week. It was as manual of a process as it gets. Five years later I had upgraded it to a website, but it was still a very manual process because I didn’t have a database to store picks, and the players still had to make their picks on paper. I just used the website as a place for people to see all the picks. Well, that’s all about to change. Although I haven’t been involved in the pool for at least 5 years, I’ve decided to come back and run it, with the help of Jessica, and this time I’ve gone all out.

After writing out a data structure that accounted for every relevant piece of NFL schedule data in the 2014 season, I set out to build a dynamic website that would allow the players to create accounts, make their picks on the site, and track their picks, as well as the picks made by other players, right there on the site. I’m using a database to store all the picks and the whole thing has been pretty much automated. I’ve got all kinds of error checking in there to make sure that each registered user is unique, that all their picks are complete, and that they can’t view everyone’s picks for a particular week until they have entered their own picks for that week. This keeps them from having the unfair advantage of knowing the picks made by other players. I’ve also got some date checking going on to verify that the picks for a week have been submitted before the first game has kicked off.

The site, which is located at http://gaucho-football.com/, has been thoroughly tested and verified on various laptops, tablets, and cell phones. I wanted it to be really easy and convenient for someone to be able to visit the site on their phone at the last minute and be able to get their picks in. It may not look perfect depending on the resolution and dimensions of the screen, but it will always be functional. Feel free to create an account and check out the site. I’d like to get as many eyes on it before the season starts as possible so that any foreseeable problems can be dealt with sooner than later.

With this project complete I can now start thinking about the next one, which will probably be a redesign of this blog. The problem with our current layout is that the photo banner has a really wide and short aspect ratio, making it very difficult to find photos that will fit into it. Consequently we still don’t have any photos of Elise in there. Everything I’ve tried just ends up getting cut off in a weird place. I’ve got some ideas for the new site that will work much better, so it probably won’t be too long before I get things going on that.

In other family news, it’s been a pretty quiet week around here. Amy and Tom left last weekend so its back to the 4 of us at the house. Looks like we don’t have any visitors for the next couple months so it should be a pretty laid back remainder of the summer. Jessica had a pretty exciting night on Thursday when she served Mariner’s 2nd baseman Robinson Cano and friends. We now have a very nice bottle of ‘Ace of Spades’ champagne to enjoy on a special occasion.

Ava is starting in pre-school on Monday. It’s kind of hard to believe, but there’s no doubt she is ready. It’s only going to be one day a week but it’s going to be so good for her. She needs to start making friends and interacting with more people. Of course a little part of you is sad because you don’t want to let go of them, but its exactly what she needs right now. This will give Jessica some consistent time to get her own things done so its going to be good for everybody.

Elise seems to be teething these last couple days. She’s been a little out of sorts and there isn’t much you can do for her. I’ve been proud of how Ava is starting to respond when Elise is upset. Not to say she doesn’t still walk up to Elise and bonk her on the head with a toy (a behavior that is definitely not condoned), but she seems genuinely concerned when Elise is crying and has made some really nice attempts to console her. She’s turning into a good big sister for sure.

Tomorrow is Sunday, the weather looks great, and we have nothing to do. We’re thinking about going back to the swimming pool, so hopefully that works out. Probably end up grilling something for dinner and enjoying these late summer sunsets. Happy weekend everyone.

Today was a really special day for all of us. My Dad’s sister Norma has always been a big part of my life; she has shown me more love than I can possibly express, she was at the hospital when I was born, and today she finally got to meet Ava and Elise. It was the first time Jessica and I have seen Norma in several years, and it was our first time meeting her husband Wayne. This visit was long overdue, but now that we live only 20 minutes apart we’re going to start coming over regularly.

Norma was her classic, energetic self. You can’t walk down the halls of Brighton Court with Aunt Norma without stopping to talk to everyone you see. She literally knows everybody; she’s on the greeting committee, she’s on the food committee, she calls bingo, she’s just so genuinely friendly with everyone that it’s hard to comprehend. If I only had one word to describe Aunt Norma it would probably have to be ‘genuine’. Although her constant sense of positivity may be hard for some to understand, it cannot be doubted or questioned. To me she has always exemplified the sense of family and love.

There was an outdoor carnival going on at Brighton Court so we spent much of our time watching a juggler, getting our palms read, throwing darts at balloons, and smashing whip cream pies into the faces of Brighton Court’s finest. Ava couldn’t get enough of the juggler and followed her around relentlessly. After the carnival we all went inside and had lunch in the dining room. As expected the girls drew more than their fair share of attention from all the residents. One woman even apologized to Jessica for staring but said that they don’t see young children in there very often and couldn’t believe how cute the girls were.

On our way home Jessica and I agreed that we need to start doing this regularly. It means so much to Aunt Norma and I love the idea of the girls getting to know her. I’m also really glad we got to meet her husband Wayne. He was a very nice guy with 8 children of his own. He’s got over 40 grandchildren and over 40 great-grandchildren, plus he’s a musician who enjoys playing the guitar, mandolin, and ukulele. Norma says between his instrument skills and his yodeling skills he’s quite a hit at their talent shows.

In other family news, Tom flew home to Colorado today. The RV he and Amy bought is parked out in our cul-de-sac and it’s incredible. I’ve never been in anything like this before and I can’t wait to take it on a road trip. Amy is leaving tomorrow morning, which is earlier than expected, because they need to get the RV registered in Colorado before their grace period expires. She’s going to drive the RV towards Colorado while Tom drives from Colorado towards Amy. They’ll meet somewhere around the half-way point and go the rest of the way home together. Soon they’ll be driving it to their cabin in Ontario, Canada and back; not a bad way to break that baby in.

As usual Amy and Tom were so helpful to us during their stay. Between the help we’ve gotten from them, and from Rick a couple weeks ago, our house has really turned into our home. The common theme everywhere has been increasing storage and making more efficient use of spaces. I’ve learned so much since moving here about doing work around the house. I’ve still got a lot to learn but so far its been a lot of fun.

We recently found out that Joel and Melanie will be coming out for a visit in September, and we’re also booked for a trip to Vegas on Halloween to spend my Mom’s birthday with her, so there’s definitely a lot to look forward to. Here are a few photos from our visit with Norma and Wayne today, as well as Elise’s 12-month photo.

Norma having fun with the pies

Our sweet Elise at 12 months

This weekend we celebrated our sweet little Elise’s first birthday with family and friends. Although today (Monday) is her actual birthday, the party was held at our new house on Saturday afternoon. It was a great day filled with presents, food, pictures, and most importantly, lots of quality time with family. Amy and Tom flew into town for the occasion, as did my Mom. Others in attendance include Uncle Jim and Aunt Brenda, Uncle Butch and Aunt Carol, my sister Dana, and my Godfather Pete. It wasn’t a large party but it was a great time. Thank you so much to each of you for coming and making it such a great day. Also, thank you for all the gifts you brought not just to Elise, but to Ava as well.

After the party ended on Saturday we had a nice lazy Summer afternoon around the house. Some of us took naps, while others played out in the front yard. I’ve been really into riding Jessica’s longboard skateboard lately so I took it out with Ava and gave her a little lesson on riding it. The rest of the weekend was pretty much the same; just relaxing, eating some good meals, and doing stuff around the house. Tom gave me a lesson on doing a brake job on my bike and my Mom got lots of quality time playing with the girls.

Today my Mom flew home to Vegas, but first she came with Jessica, Ava, and I to take a tour of a pre-school we’ve been considering for Ava. It was obvious right away that Ava likes it there and I was very happy with the place, so we finished the visit by signing Ava up to start going there every Monday. We’re starting with just one day per week and we’ll see how it goes. We may increase her schedule later on but one day a week is good for now. After dropping Mom off at the airport we went home, had a quick lunch, then went swimming at the McCollum Park pool, which is less than 10 minutes from our house. Amy and Tom hung out in the shade while Jess and I took the girls into the water. It was pretty crowded and neither of them have ever been in a swimming pool before, but they both did really well. After 90 minutes in the pool everyone was ready to go home and relax.

Tomorrow I’ll be back at work but Amy and Tom are going to stick around for a bit to give Jessica some help with the house. At the end of the week they’ll be picking up their brand new motorhome that they just bought, so hopefully we’ll get a chance to check it out in person. I’ve seen the pictures and from what I can tell this thing is quite impressive. Definitely looking forward to taking it for a spin at some point. Hopefully that will happen sooner than later.

We’re finalizing our plans to visit my Mom in Vegas this fall. Looks like we’ll be arriving there on Halloween for her birthday. It’s been a while since we’ve been to Vegas so that will be a lot of fun. My Aunt Lisa will be living there by then so it will be fun to catch up with her, Bob, Sandy, and Denny. I spoke to my Aunt Norma yesterday and arranged a visit for us this coming Saturday. I haven’t seen her in years and she’s never met either of our girls, so that should be really special. Not much else going on around here this month, which is fine with me considering how busy June was for us. Below you’ll find a bunch of our favorite pics from the party on Saturday. Once again, thank you all so much for making it such a fun day, and most of all, Happy Birthday to our precious Elise. We love you more than you’ll ever know!

Elise and Uncle Jim

Ava and Grandma

The Birthday Girl

Cuddling with my little girl

The fam

Ava with Auntie Dana

Elise and her Nana

Getting messy

Love this one

My sweet little birthday girl

Happy (early) Birthday, Baby Girl! We just said goodbye to the last of Elise’s party guests. It was a great 1st birthday party. We put together a little summer BBQ, complete with Hamburgers, brats, snacks, fresh summer fruit, cold drinks and of course birthday cake. We decorated the house with streamers and balloons and got 2 cakes, one for Elise and one for everyone else. Ava ended up diving right into Elise’s cake as well and even helped feed cake to her. It was a really cute moment.

It’s been hot all day so we stayed mostly inside to keep cool. Michael made lunch to order and we enjoyed cake immediately after. Elise was adorable while we sang Happy Birthday to her, she just sat quietly in her chair looking around at everyone with a half surprised look on her face. I know that we will have tons of pics to post later. It’s no surprise that she seemed to thoroughly enjoy the cake. She actually ate more than I would have expected. She went about it in a much more subdued way than Ava did. Elise chose to sit and eat her cake slowly, enjoying as much as she could. Much like the way her Dad eats. It still managed to get all over her face, arms, hair and torso but it was another memorable moment and totally worth it.

Both of the girls had a great time seeing all of our family. Elise was loving Uncle Jim and stayed right by his side most afternoon. Ava kept busy dragging various adults all around the house and yard. Playing with bubbles, eating cookies, and being a complete ham. She was in her element all day long. Thank you, Aunt Brenda for indulging her so much.

It was our first official party in the new house and I’m so glad that it was Elise’s 1st birthday party. It was a day that I won’t forget. What an awesome way to “break in” the house. We been keeping busy with various house projects and today it was nice to enjoy all of our work. I found myself getting chocked up a few times throughout the day, just thinking about her growing up so fast makes me sad. I want to keep her way forever. It’s true what you hear being said over and over again. They really do grow up fast. I have to constantly, stop, and remind myself to savor the moment because it won’t come again.

Elise is One. She is talking. Minor words like mama, dada, and bye bye. Waving. Signing. She is standing up without assistance, a lot. She seems to have mastered stairs. Both going up and down. When she wants something; she is faster and more determined than you can probably imagine. It takes 5 hands to change her diaper, and another hand to apply the continuous diaper cream. She refuses to keep anything on her feet. She thinks Bella is the funniest member of our family. She is finally sleeping through the night! She is tough as nails and is barely phased by falling down stairs or rolling off beds. She is bothered by almost nothing. She is a great baby. We are so very lucky she is ours. Happy Birthday Elise. We love you so much.

Thank you, also to everyone that came over to celebrate with us. We love having you all over and look forward to the next party.

Yesterday morning Rick left for Iowa. He was supposed to have a 3 hour layover in Minnesota but his plane had to make an emergency landing somewhere in the Dakotas. He arrived in Minnesota 3 hours and 8 minutes late, meaning he just barely missed his connecting flight to Iowa. Of course it was the last flight of the day so he had to then stay night in Minneapolis before heading home today. I feel so bad for him having to go through all this but greatly appreciate all the help he gave us around the house, as well as all the time we got to spend together. I think I spent more time with him than Jessica this time, which isn’t normal, but was a lot of fun.

I know I wrote my last post about the 4th of July, but I wrote it in the early evening before the neighborhood fireworks party. All I can say is I’ve never seen anything like it. Lighting off fireworks is illegal in King county, but not in Snohomish county, meaning that our neighborhood, and every other neighborhood in sight, takes great pride in seeing who can put on the best fireworks show. It wasn’t just impressive for a neighborhood, it was impressive for a town. I’m serious. Rick and I kept saying all night “I can’t believe this! I’ve never seen anything like it!”. On my street everyone gathered in the cul-de-sac, which is right at the end of our driveway, and had a good old fashioned block party.

I got a chance to meet and talk to almost all of the neighbors. Everyone was super cool and has graciously welcomed us to our new neighborhood and home. They’re actually a pretty tight-knit group, which was evident by the fact that the people we bought the house from were also there. Getting to meet them was nice; they have two daughters that are almost the exact same ages as Ava and Elise. Their oldest daughter kept going to our lawn and garage because she thought she was home. It was pretty sweet.

Rick was kind enough to bring some Cuban cigars for us to smoke, so we saved them for the party. I haven’t had a cigar in years, and even though I generally have a pretty high tolerance for stuff, this thing kicked my ass. I hadn’t even reached the half-way point when I realized that I had to put it down. I was getting the spins and had to take it easy after that. Luckily there were plenty of neighborhood kids who were more than happy to light off my fireworks for me. Rick was in pretty much the same boat as me so we just kicked back and enjoyed the show.

In addition to helping Jessica with upgrading our closet, laundry areas, and bedrooms, he was kind enough to help me upgrade our TV area. We now have a nice big dark wood shelf mounted about the TV, which was moved down the wall about 8 inches to allow space. In order to hide the brackets we put them through the top of the shelf, which makes the shelf look like it’s floating. Now all of our TV equipment is up high and out of the reach of curious little hands. He had to add a power outlet up high on the wall and do all kinds of crazy wiring to make it work. It took us about 6 hours on Sunday but turned out amazing. It’s easily the nicest home entertainment center I’ve ever had, and we left room to replace the current TV with a bigger one down the road. Jessica was thrilled.

As soon as one visit ends, another begins. Tonight Amy and Tom will be arriving from Colorado. They’re doing some type of camping expedition the next two nights and therefore won’t be staying with us, but will be back in time for Elise’s first birthday party on Saturday. My Mom will also be flying in on Friday for the weekend, so I’m excited to see everyone and show them all the work we’ve done on the house. I’m sure there will be plenty of updates and photos coming soon. Rick – thanks again for everything. We really appreciate it!

First and foremost I want to wish my sister Dana a Happy Birthday! I hope you’re having fun with Brad in Leavenworth and can’t wait to see you next weekend for Elise’s first birthday. We love you so much!

Grandpa Rick arrived from Iowa on Wednesday to spend the holiday weekend with us. He spent the whole day working on our house yesterday and we now have a much upgraded master closet and laundry area to show for it. I’m looking forward to working with him tomorrow on our TV area. The plan is to lower the TV (which I mounted on the wall when we first moved in) and install a shelf above the TV for our cable box and peripherals to sit on. This will get everything out of Ava’s reach and will clean up the mess of cables we currently have.

First, however, we need to continue enjoying the great day we’re having today. I must admit it didn’t start off all that great though. Jessica and I were up with the girls very early in the morning. We all fell back asleep until our rude awakening when every smoke detector in the house went off. Grandpa was frying up some bacon to make breakfast for everyone, and even though he had every window and every door open, it got too smokey. I don’t know if you’ve ever been awakened by a fire alarm but it’s not the most pleasant experience. Anyway, once that was over we were good to go and ready to enjoy the day.

We started off with a long walk around the neighborhood. The girls love going for walks and its fun to get to know our new area. After that we decided to go to a park, so we ended up visiting Forest Park in Everett. We hadn’t been there before but really enjoyed it. There’s an animal farm, splash park, playground, tennis courts, and a huge field that Rick and I played frisbee on for a while. It was a beautiful day and everyone had a really nice time. Elise impressed us by standing on her own in the grass for the longest we’ve seen. I’d say it was a solid 5 seconds. I assume she’ll be walking in no time. Ava was 13 months when she started walking and Elise seems to be on the same course.

After leaving the park we stopped by a farmers market to buy some fresh produce, then came home for lunch. Rick is smoking ribs for dinner tonight and I’m sitting down to watch the World Cup Quarterfinal match between Brazil and Columbia. I’m definitely pulling for Brazil in this one. I can’t explain how much I love the World Cup but it’s definitely my favorite sporting event to watch. I’m sure a lot of that has to do with the fact that it only happens once every 4 years, but the frenzy that it causes upon the world is not lost on me. I’ve loved it ever since the 1994 World Cup when I happened to be on the East Coast for a school trip and stayed in the same hotel in New York as the Irish national team. I’ll never forget watching the 1994 Championship match between Italy and Brazil with my Dad. It came down to penalty kicks and Roberto Baggio, Italy’s star player at the time, missed high and cost Italy the championship. I cried.

Last weekend Jessica and I took the girls up north to the Tulalip Reservation so I could get some fireworks and then we could go shopping at the outlet mall. I haven’t bought fireworks in at least 15 years, but we’ve heard from a few of our neighbors that there will be a couple of block parties going on throughout the neighborhood so I thought it would be fun to contribute a bit. I don’t know if this is still the case, but when I was a kid you had to go to the reservation to get the good firecrackers. I’m pretty excited about everything I got so hopefully the girls will have fun watching them. We live on a nice little cul-de-sac and it’s a perfect place to set them off.

We’re getting really close to Elise’s first birthday and I can’t wait to have everyone over to celebrate. The house will be looking good thanks to all the hard work by Grandpa, so I’m excited to show everyone around. My Mom will be coming to visit, as will Amy and Tom, so it will be a nice full house for a few days. I’m really excited that my Uncle Jim and Aunt Brenda are going to make it, and of course having Dana and her family over is always great. Amy is going to stick around for a couple weeks after the party, so hopefully Jessica and I can get out a bit. I also just got invited to a work dinner in celebration of the FC Tours project I worked on a couple months ago. It’s during Amy’s stay with us so I’ll be able to make it. Definitely looking forward to that.

Work has been going really well lately and I’m already enjoying the fact that I can study things that I’m interested in, rather than work on homework every night. It still hasn’t fully sunk in that I’m done with school but I’m definitely enjoying my new-found freedom. I’ve been looking forward to the summer of 2014 for a while now and it has definitely started off very well for us. Guess that’s all for now. Wishing everyone a very safe and Happy 4th of July! Here’s a few photos from earlier today.