Monday, January 29, 2007

Our new toy: Skype!

For Christmas this year, we purchased two Logitech cameras and gave one to Susan and Paul. With the help of Skype (free via download) we can now chat for free over the internet and see each other at the same time. What a great way for Julia and Andrew to stay close to Nana and Grumps even though they live far away. Here we are in action:


Any other readers out there have a camera and want to call us on Skype? Let us know!

Look at those eyes!

These three pictures were taken today. I just love Andrew's eyes. The last is of Julia in a cute new sweater. She's sporting her usual photo smile. I don't know why my pictures are suddenly coming out sideways sometimes. If there are any expert bloggers reading this who know why, please post me a comment to help me out!



Andrew at 8 Months

I haven't yet posted an official portrait of Andrew at 8 months old. I was looking through my pics for options and found nothing taken on his exact birthday that was suitable. But I found this first one from a couple of days afterward, and it's darling although unconventional for a portrait. And then I found the second one which was taken 5 days before he turned 8 months. It's more of a classic portrait. Is 5 days before close enough? Just for fun, if you are reading this please post a comment and vote for which is the better picture of Andrew at 8 months, Option A (with food on his face), or Option B (in the white sweater.)

Option A
Option B:

Jocelyn and Valerie visit

So, I'm way behind again/already in my blogging. This one is way overdue. A couple of weeks ago, Jocelyn and Valerie (my cousins) came by for a Friday night dinner. It was so nice to see them. Here are Jocelyn and Andrew together, and below that, Andrew is modeling the very cute bib which Jocelyn knitted for him. I do not know why the picture is sideways. I didn't do anything different so it's a mystery.





Here is another picture of Andrew in the bib, taken the day we got it.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

New Marketing

I'm in marketing, so I keep my ears open to new marketing trends. I have been watching the rapid growth of YouTube, viral marketing, and user generated content in marketing. People often forward me different interesting examples of creative marketing, and I saw one today that made me laugh. I can't resist sharing it. Take a look at this video made by Smirnoff to publicize their new line of "Raw Tea". Please only look if you are over 21...

Smirnoff Tea Partay video

Enjoy.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Friday afternoons with Grandpa

Posted by Picasa

Precious little guy


Andrew is a week or so shy of 8 months old.
Posted by Picasa

First bloody nose


Julia took a spill and bonked her nose. Poor thing!
Posted by Picasa

More Pasadena highlights


Here we are at the Director's Dinner, another high point for me. We were out without the kids, in a beautiful setting, with great company, a wonderful dinner, entertainment, and a great band. We fox trotted the night away. It was great.


Here is Julia posing with three of the Rose Princesses. We kept running into them, and they made good friends with Julia.

Well, I can't call this last one a highlight, exactly, but it's definitely a memory... this is how much stuff it takes to get through 4 days in Pasadena!

A ride of a lifetime

Here they are, the President and First Lady of the Tournament of Roses. We were lucky enough to be invited to join them for their ride in the 2007 parade. Here we are in our open-air, flower-bedecked antique touring car, heading down the parade route on New Years morning.



Saturday, January 13, 2007

Christmas at Benne and Grandpas




Benne and Grandap did Christmas in style and we all had a wonderful time. Thoughtful and fun gifts, great company, and a delicious dinner. And even a visit from Santa himself, who dropped by to say hello. It was a very merry christmas.

Posted by Picasa

Christmas Morning



Posted by Picasa

Christmas Eve family party

Christmas eve was busy in our house this year. No sooner had Brad, Kim, and Kira left around noon, we had another round of family visitors come by for some Christmas cheer. Mom & Dad, Craig & Andrea, Nathan and Hannah came over. I caught only a few pictures during the hectic evening, but they are cute ones!

Here is Andrea getting dogpiled by the toddlers while simultaneously trying to keep the babies happy. Aunt Andrea is great at keeping the kids happy!












I had a strange glimpse of Julia as a 30 year old librarian when I saw this picture. You can just picture what she might look like as an adult. Andrea's glasses change Julia's look entirely!












I love the next picture of Nathan getting some Daddy tickles.


















And here' s Andrew intently studying his new bongo drum (a gift from Brad & Kim from the morning. He loves it!)


Posted by Picasa











Nathan, Craig and Julia horsing around:


Christmas Eve visit from Kira, Kim and Brad

I am pleased to say I have a new computer, and I'm very excited to be reunited with my pictures, and with blogging. But I have some catching up to do...

Kira, Kim, and Brad visited on Christmas Eve. Here are the two babies playing together:

And here is Kim getting the usual treatment from Andrew:


Kim, Brad, and Kira on the couch in our living room:


And a darling shot of Kira. What a doll!


It was so nice to see them. We wish they lived closer!
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

An Inconvenient Truth

(Still no working computer at home, so no photo downloading...)
Meanwhile, in my extra free time I recorded Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth from Pay Per View, and watched it tonight. Have you seen it yet? It is a must see. Absolutely fascinating, completely frightening, but with just enough of a sliver of hope at the end that you don't end up feeling completely depressed. I highly recommend it. Makes me want to quit my job and take up the cause full time. Or at least lower my thermostat a couple of degrees. Watch it and then tell me what you think. There is more about the movie here: www.climatecrisis.net

Friday, January 05, 2007

Computer down... no pictures for weeks!

Just in case you've been checking in to see the same aging post, time after time, I just wanted to let you know that our home computer has been down for weeks now, explaining my long blogging absence. I have tons of pictures from the holidays, and from our amazing New Years ride in the Rose Parade, but I can't download anything until the computer is fixed. Jeff is working on it. For those of you who I know read the blog frequently, I'll send out an email when I'm back up and running again. Meanwhile, Happy New Year!