Our niece Anna is visiting us for a few days and we’re having the greatest time. Yesterday we spent the day walking around mission beach, taking Bruno and Bella on a walk, playing soccer at the local school, going out to dinner at Jessica’s restaurant, listening to the seals bark at Seal Cove in La Jolla, getting yogurt at YogurtLand, and playing games on the Wii. Today we went to the beach so Anna could try boogie boarding for the first time. Afterwards she had fun burying me in the sand. Below are a few pictures from our day at the beach.
Today I launched a website on search engine optimization, or SEO for short. I’m working on putting together a portfolio of design work and I wanted to do something with a professional look that would showcase my technical writing skills as well as my knowledge on SEO. I’m really happy with how it came out and think that it will be a nice part of my portfolio.
Today we launched the new and improved version of our family website. The idea was for it to have more of a fun, playful, family sort of vibe and I think we captured that nicely. This new site will also serve as a much better portfolio piece for me to show to propsective employers. Hope you enjoy!
I went surfing at Tourmaline Beach this morning. Tourmaline is one of the most famous longboarding spots in California, and luckily for me it’s only a mile or two from our house. I caught my first wave and paddled back out beyond the break to wait for the next set. While sitting there on my board looking out to see, all of the sudden a full-sized adult seal popped up from under water, literally less than six feet from me! It startled me, and for a second I was worried that it might be aggressive, but there was nothing to worry about. It just layed there on it’s back and looked at me. Several other people noticed the seal and started commenting on it, but no one was nearly as close to it as I was. I playfully splashed it with water a couple times and it didn’t seem to care one way or another. I then tried to paddle over to get a little closer and it swam away. A few minutes later a big set came through and I caught the biggest wave I’ve had in a while. Nice way to start my day.
My sister Dana and her husband Brad were in Southern California this weekend for a work conference so I rode my bike up to Temecula Wine Country to meet them for lunch today. I’d never been out there before and was surprised at how beautiful it was. It was a bit hot to be on a bike with a leather jacket and gloves (100 degrees) but more than worth it to be able to visit with them. I’ve still got my fingers crossed that they will end up moving down here after Kallan graduates from High School. Tomorrow we’re heading to the beach with friends for the day, so it should be a great day off!
Today is my 31st birthday. Obviously 31 isn’t any sort of big birthday but it’s exciting for me because it’s the last birthday I’ll have before my first child is born. Since it’s a Saturday and we both work in the restaurant business we decided it would be silly for both of us to take the night off to celebrate, so we’re just going to celebrate on Tuesday instead. The plan is to head up to Beacon’s Beach at Leucadia State Park for the day and hang with friends, surf, boogie board, etc. I think the craziest thing about being 31 is that it’s been a full decade since my 21st birthday. While working at the Tractor Room last night the whole staff decided to sing “Happy Birthday” to me at midnight, which was equal parts cool and embarassing. Hopefully we’ll have some good pics to post to the site after Tuesday. Also keep an eye out for a whole new family website. I’ve been working on a redesign that’s coming along really well…
Last night provided us with an experience that we won’t soon forget. Our hound dog Bruno kept freaking out and trying to get at something underneath our bed. My first instinct was that there was some little animal under there, but when I got down to look, I couldn’t see anything. Bruno continued to freak out for the next couple hours and Jessica and I thought he must be going crazy! His attention soon shifted from under the bed to behind my guitar amplifier, which is just across from the bed. I wheeled the amp out to see what was there, and was quite startled to find a rat! I must admit that I kinda freaked out and screamed, then rushed Jessica and the dogs out of our room. Jessica HATES rats/mice so I knew I was going to have to deal with this one on my own. I decided to use my pellet gun to hunt the poor thing down because I couldn’t think of any other way to catch it. After suiting up with motorcycle boots, plastic shooting glasses, and an airgun, I went in for the kill. I shot it once and it scrambled away. Since I couldn’t find it I had to bring Bruno back in to locate it for me. Once located, I shot it several more times and it died. I didn’t feel good about it but had no choice. Cleaning it up wasn’t fun either. Afterwards I had to praise Bruno for alerting us that something was definitely in our house. What a memorable night!
Five years ago today, one of my dearest friends, Spencer Frenette, drowned in Lake Washington while trying to save someone. Neither of their bodies were ever recovered. It was because of Spencer’s death that I decided to move from Las Vegas back home to Seattle. Less than a year after moving back, Jessica and I started dating. Had it not been for this unfortunate event, we may have never met. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, but I miss my friend and wish he was here to witness the birth of our baby girl. Although he can’t be here in person, his spirit lives on with all the amazing friends and family he left behind. Miss you Spencer!
Jessica said she could feel Ava kicking for the first time tonight. This was very exciting news! All of our pregnancy literature says that it’s around the 4–5 month range when the baby starts to kick, so she’s right on time. Jessica also had a doctor’s appointment earlier this week and everything was good to go. We’re almost at the 5 month mark now so the half–way point is behind us. Hopefully Ava will be kicking next week on my birthday.
