snow and some other things

We had some serious fun in the snow over the break. Got some sweet action shots of sledding and a great one of Julie and Kristi in their cross county ski/sledding outfits. We had a great break with some fun in the sun in Phoenix and then had some serious snowfall in Utah.

      

Doesn't Julie just look like she belongs in the snow?

Below are some pics we took at temple square the night before we left to PHX. It was snowing like crazy, nothing had been plowed, just about a foot of fresh powder everywhere....roads included.

and happy new year. we had an awesome party at Baliwood. julie made a piece of art also known as seven layer dip. nice and symmetrical and everything.

k. last thing. julie and i have gotten into painting lately. i highly recommend it, go to a craft store, buy some paint and a canvas or two and see what you can come up with. julie's new name is julie kandinski.

k now really last thing. one night before christmas we went to the motab christmas concert with mom and dad which was really awesome. after feeling some good christmas cheer, the choir conveniently ended at halftime of the jazz game. so we parked, walked up to the door right as a couple was leaving early...i asked if we could have their tickets, they looked at me kind of funny, but were like "sure, they're on the 11th row." I was thinking we'd be lucky to get in the upper bowl, but i guess they'd had enough by halftime and we benefited quite nicely from that! some days you just get lucky.

 

It's cold here. We are already ready from spring. we're happy here...hope the new year is treating you well!

Thanksgiving + Cajun Fried Turkey

Well. I will be the first to admit, having a wife from San Diego isn't half bad, in fact, it's fantastic. Julie and I made the long trek down to San Diego last week and had quite a time. I was able to work from down there for a few days, which allowed us to leave the Friday before Thanksgiving so we had a whole week down there. And let me tell you, 70 degrees is real nice when 2 days earlier you were in DC at it was about 20 degrees and windy. I don't know that I would like to make a tradition of that drive, but it wasn't too bad as we split it in two, stopping over in St. George.

We had a wicked awesome week with Julie's family. I am not sure what it is to the nieces and nephews there, but apparently I am the crazy uncle that can be climbed on, jumped on, not let go of no matter what guy. I tell you what though those are some cute kids and it was great to get to know them all a little better.

Probably the highlight of the trip would be this:

        

      

and this...I had a hard time eating it, it was so mesmerizing

 

Yes that is a piece of Jell-O. Don't even ask how, cause I don't know. But it was awesome. Above is the famous Haslam Cajun Fried Turkey...all injected with southern spices. I have heard about this for over a year now. And although it was quite dangerous to cook, it lived up to all the hype. It was so tasty. You gotta try it sometime. Thanksgiving Turkey with a kick. We were lucky enough to spend the week with Julie's two older sisters and their families along with her parents. We had an awesome Thanksgiving. We have so much stuff to be grateful for, don't know how or why we got so lucky.

So we had a great week. Everything from this:

 

 

Balboa Park. This really cool area near downtown kind of like San Diego's version of the Mall in DC. Beauty buildings and a lot of really cool museums. To this:

 

Hash House a Go Go. Look at the size of Mark's french toast. We went to this awesome breakfast place where they had bigger portions than I have seen in my life. The plates weighed like 10 pounds are were about 18 inches wide - no exaggeration. Had some really good Hash (not the bad kind, the good kind). To this:

To the Hotel Del, an incredible spot. This was the day after Thanksgiving, and I was on a beach and warm. Kind of messed with my head a bit. I am used to snow and cold on that day. We randomly ran into Gordon there as he was checking in (he was there with his kids for the weekend).

Thanks so much to Haslams for hosting us, especially Tis and Dagan as we crashed at their house for a week. On our way home we decided to drive through LA so we could go to the Getty Museum. I love that place. Julie had never been there before so we decided it would be worth it to go out of our way a bit...and it was. I love that museum. The architecture of the museum is just about as cool as the art within it.

 

More nice weather in LA made it hard to begin the drive home. That pic of Julie sitting in a chair was this cool exhibit where you sit in the chair, and there is a camera on you and it superimposes you and the chair into the flatscreen in front of you to make you look like you are in a palace somewhere in Europe. Art is so interesting, and awfully creative at times. I am inspired to become more of an artist and a student of art. Julie is in an Art History class and is really into it so it was fun to hear what she knew about the stuff we saw.

We stopped in Vegas and stayed there on our way home to enjoy the end of our vacation. It only takes about 2 hours in Vegas to realize how weird that place is and how it is fun about once every 4 years. We are back home and back into school and work. I am really liking my new job, it is going to be a challenge, but nonetheless it is really exciting and an awesome company. Julie saw two people give birth today. Yikes.

I almost forgot the most important thing. It is the Christmas season! The music is playing non stop. It is so fun to be here with Julie celebrating our first Christmas as married peeps. Merry Christmas!!!!

sight.

Have you used lightroom? I started messing around with it the other day and thought i'd show a few of my masterpieces (ya right). That's what brought on the "sight" idea. The way we see things is incredible. If you don't know what building this is then you don't deserve to.

up close and in detail...

or out the window of a car driving through maine. If you had to enter one of them, which one would it be...my answer will be at the end of the post.

or at my alma-mater

or at the place I want to take Julie most. Lake Windermere

or a secret shot from my waist in one of the most beautiful architectural feats in Londy.

Or the spot where Julie said yes.

or one of earth's greatest mysteries

or in the land where it all began

or through the art of the self timer

the eye and the camera and a computer can do some pretty amazing things. sight is an incredible thing. so notice what is around you and try to see it in a new way. i'd go in the the one on the right second from the top. and only in my dreams did i go to Columbia.

Cruisin with my Broskis

So Mom and Dad were awesome enough to take me and the brothers on an awesome cruise. It was so fun to be there with my 4 brothers and my parents. I don't know the last time the 5 of us were all together at the same time. These are pics from Cozumel where we rented scooters and drove all over the island. Tal was with us in spirit as he met up with us there in Cozumel.

Here's Josh with his camera strapped in tightly (which was a good thing cause there were some unexpected bumps.

Here's Noah showing some leg. These little things were pretty fast.

I almost fell off my scooter trying to take these pics while going...so I hope you can appreciate them.

We all drove along in a little caravan. All following behind mom and dad who opted for one of these instead of the scooters. Dad is obsessed with these things. I drove it too. Pretty fast little pups. I hope he really gets one.Here we are with Pops after formal dinner night. The food was so dang good. We went through a lot of food at our table each night. Had to try at least 2 or 3 of everything...appetizers, dessert, and entrees.

And with our Beautiful Mom. What a lady she is to put up with 6 guy for a week. It was so fun to sit there for hours at dinner or lunch or on the deck, or wherever to have really in depth conversations and discussions about everything from the economy to politics, to hopes and dreams. I have some great brothers as role models. It was awesome to get their take on life and how they do things.

Here is something I had to show people. Every night the room steward left these animals on our beds made out of towels. We had a good laugh about this seductively posed puppy.

Here we are at Chichen Itza. These incredible Mayan ruins. 7 square miles of pyramids and ruins. Some for the 5th century AD and the newer part from the 10th century AD. These explorers went out in the 1850s in search of what was a legend of an old city. And happened onto these incredible ruins that had been buried in the jungle. (Notice the pyramid shape of our heights as well).

We had a grand old time. Even though we weren't able to go to Roatan Island in Honduras b/c of a political uprising, or to Belize because of a big old tropical storm. We had a whole lot of fun scuba diving in Cayman, and a trip to the Turtle farm (see video of mom below). In Cozumel on scooters and snorkeling, and in Progreso (a replacement site for the places we couldn't go) at Chichen Itza. Or on the "fun days at sea" as they called them, eating up a storm. Cruises are also a great motivator to get in and stay in shape as there are some gigantic people lumbering around. Other highlights were watching some awesome Red Sox games on the boat, only to be let down in game 7 after we got off the boat (luck ran out), the waterslide, having fun with drunk people. Thanks mom and dad, that was a trip to remember!

Here are a few more pics for the fam and my bro's wives cause I know no one else will post pics (except maybe Josh). And one more, can't forget this awesome little room we packed into. The beds folded out of the ceiling. It was sweet!

Mom Likes Turtles.