The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

So the husband and I both loooooove Christmas time. Seriously love. So last night we perused Target after the gym and dinner (thanks again Chick-Fil-A for those free coupons) and purchased a few things to get our yuletide cheer going. One of which was the Brushfire Holidays- a compilation of Jack Johnson and friends Christmas songs. So far, so good. But our favorite song is by a new chick, Zee Avi. Has anyone heard of her? I like her. a lot.

I'm so glad tomorrow is Thanksgiving. And that the holiday season has finally begun.


We LOVE it!!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Lucky Day

I can't even remember what I did for my 19th birthday...but I don't think this guy will have the same problem:

A Very Lucky Day - Watch more free videos

Slamming Christmas in your face!

Last night we went to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert and it was amazing! Try to picture a mix between the Philharmonic, Metallica, a techno rave, and any 80's band (For the hair).For those who don't know, TSO plays Christmas music, but in a very non-traditional type of way. I enjoy their style. The concert would have even been good for anyone that is deaf or blind because you could enjoy the audio and the visual. I think we had a little stimuli overload to be honest. There were so many things going on and the brightest lights I have ever seen that I had to close my eyes at some points. They even had fake snow (bubbles), lasers, smoke, pyrotechnics(Only for part of one song...not like in the video below), and moving sound/lighting set equipment. I'm really glad we were able to see them and hope you can/have too. Have you seen them or heard their music? What's your favorite part of a concert?
-Dave
Wizards of Winter is one of my favorites:

By the way, it was a little weird driving to a Christmas concert with the air conditioner on. When will winter get here?

My Childhood Best Friend's Almost Wedding Day

Katelyn Ashley Hicks, now Mrs. Jared Ashton, got married October 28, 2008 in Cancun Mexico. I was SO sad that Dave and I couldn't make it- but traveling in the middle of the week just isn't possible when we're both full time students and I'm in the middle of PT school. So, we just had to suffice going to their gorgeous reception in town yesterday. I'm just stoked Katelyn wore her amazing dress. Of course we got to see pictures, and man, that just made it worse that we weren't there.

So beautiful.

Anyway, Katelyn and I met in preschool. I know what you're thinking, how do you "meet" in preschool. But somehow, we did, and from the age of about 18 months up through junior high we were bff. And inseperable. She and I had so much fun together and I wouldn't be the super cool, amazing girl that I am today without her influence. (HA.) She has younger twin brothers, and I know it doesn't look like it in the picture, but people used to ask her mom, "How do you deal with 2 sets of twins?!?" We used to look identical- and of course we loved it so we dressed alike. We had coordinating outfits at many stages of life. (Including in 7th grade when we took BFF pictures after winning History Day. Like I said, super cool.)

But really, I love this girl with all of my heart. She couldn't have picked a better man to share her life with.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Jared Ashton!!!

Old Man Strength Kicking In?

Well, after a loss in our last match of intramural volleyball, I was a little upset at my performance, the loss, and the end of the season. I had a great time playing with a bunch of Jessica's PT classmates, we did pretty well through the season, and I was sad to have it end. To vent my frustration (and since we were already at the gym) I decided to try something I hadn't done in...I can't remember...at least a year and a half: Bench press. "Let's see if my old man strength has started to kick in yet." Jessica spotted me, though neither of us was very confident in that assurance, so I asked a larger guy at the gym to spot me for the second to last set, my max set. I was surprised to have finished the following without help:
5 reps of 135
2 reps of 185
1 rep of 205
1 rep of 225 --my max and 10 lbs short of my highest max ever
15 reps of 135

I think I should start going to the gym again. Bring it gym...this old man is ready!
Shown in the picture below is a 225 lb bench press attempt and a man much larger than myself. I am rarely that intense

Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day everyone. I'm so proud to live in a country where I am free to do, think, and act however I want because others were willing to lay down their life. I'm also very proud that both of my grandfathers served in the Air Force, and one even dedicated his life for our country. Let's all try to remember those individuals today, and not focus on any of our other problems.

Things I've been meaning to blog about:

There have been a lot of things happening and not a lot of time to blog about them lately, so here it is...just lots of pictures and short descriptions.

Chris and I spent a weekend at his Grammy's beach house. We spent most of our time surfing on our new boards and eating unhealthy food with lots of dark new beers.


I spent the night in a Chik-Fil-A parking lot with my parents and Brain and Jacinda for Chik-Fil-A's opening. Jessica came out to visit but couldn't stay the night with us crazy people. We did this in order to receive a free meal, once a week, for a year. It was actually pretty fun, but 5 grown adults in a 3-4 man tent was a little crammed. There was definetely some spooning. "My minds telling me no...but my body, my body's telling me yes" (<--R Kelly)


The Armstrongs took Jess and I to the Chihuly exhibit in SF. It was amazing! We had a great time just walking around and laughing.



We had a beer tasting with some friends. Don't worry, we didn't drink all of that! The winners ended up being the Golden Gate Park Porter and the Downtown Brown.

Chris turned 25 and we celebrated at PF Changs. Congrats old man. Again, lots of laughing.

E Rock turned 21. We tried to take him out to buy something at midnight but they said they couldn't sell to him because they didn't know what time of the day he was born! How lame is that?! We went to Las Vegas later though, so I guess we can't complain. Stay tuned for that post.

My dad and I staring down the biggest watermelon my garden produced. It was a weird variety that was yellow instead of red.

We went to the fair twice this year. One time Jess couldn't go, but that didn't stop Jen and I from betting on the ponies. We were so confused on our first race when the horse we bet on was a donkey! That race was a mule race...whew! FYI, in the programs, they list the jockey's weight...not the horses.

Last, but not least, Chris played in a tennis tournament (which was for all the winners of previous matches/tournaments)at Copper River and won the whole thing! That a boy

Uplift Your Heart

Here are two commercials that make my heart happy. Way to go Boeing and Liberty Mutual.
-Dave


Any commercials pop in to your mind?

Rock the Vote!

I just did.... and Dave did too! I'm pretty sure my kids will be asking me about this day years in the future.....

Halloween

More to come...what did you do?