Family-
As I’m sure you’re all aware Paige and Carlos had a baby boy “Maddux” the day after Christmas last year (although I expect Paige did most of the work), so Mom won the pool. I spent the final portions of her labor stuck in the hospital stairwell…long story…If she had just held him in one more day that money would have been mine… anyway, he’s a pretty neat kid, he started walking a few weeks ago, and seems hell bent on becoming better and better at that, so it keeps all of us hopping out of our chairs frequently to find where he went and to make sure he’s not near the stairs. Paige and Carlos have changed as a result of having the kid as well, they are more mature (if that’s possible), probably a little more stressed, and definitely more comfortable sharing stories about the baby’s latest bowel movement at the dinner table. For more on Paige, Carlos, or the Baby…mostly the Baby check out http://www.1plus1equalsfour.blogspot.com/ but don’t be gone too long… go ahead I can wait.
Work-
The state of the nation’s economy has taken a toll on my profession as I’m sure it has most professions. Northern Nevada isn’t the best place to be at the moment if you’re in the land development field. On the other hand our company’s mining division has been keeping somewhat steady with the price of precious metals being inflated such that they’re able to counteract the corresponding deflated dollar. Needless to say we weren’t able to participate in any of the types of activities we had last year which was a little disappointing but not unexpected. I did however get the opportunity to work out of our company’s Fort Collins office four weeks this past summer, which was a nice change of pace from summer in Reno. This also gave me the opportunity to spend time with Lisa, Deb, Bernie, Tobe, Hannah, Luanne, and Julie. This was my first opportunity to size up both Hannah and Julie, both made the cut, as a result we had one wedding this summer and one will follow next year.
Animals-
Booker turned three in February, we didn’t have much of a celebration though, seems as we grow older birthdays occur more and more frequently and are less and less significant each successive year. Kirby on the other hand turned one year old in April and some friends and I had a small celebration at my house in his honor. Nermal is 6 and really hasn’t changed a whole lot over the years, although he is more and more tolerant of the dogs as time goes on, in fact he and Booker often sleep together. The turtle is still alive and kicking, she is about 14 years old, or so, and lives day to day hoping that I never let Kirby play with her again.
Weddings-
Seems this had been the year for weddings.
April had me heading down to Cabo san Lucas, Mexico for Ryan and Caitlin’s wedding. Matt Mowbray and I booked a trip down there with Apple Vacations. The trip began as Matt and I ran to meet our connecting flight in Phoenix and found that Matt Caviglia had gotten there a few hours earlier and had been enjoying the overpriced beers at the bar across the terminal (yes it was 9:00 AM). Mowbray and I both shook our heads at Caviglia’s attempt to board the plane with a Scolaris grocery store receipt, and it didn’t end there. Despite the plane only being 10% full Caviglia was insistent that we all sit in the same row as to have a complete row of Matts, this was of course to the great amusement of the rest of the passengers. We finally touched down in San Jose del Cabo and after Mowbray had filled out Caviglia’s immigration paperwork for him we took off to baggage claim where Mowbray’s uncanny ability to look like a terrorist got him random bag checked and strip searched (okay one of those was a lie). After that the vacation had begun. We stayed at the all-inclusive Riu Santa Fe resort where we drank our weight in beer and tequila each day. The room had a wall mounted shot dispenser and a couple of double beds that the cleaning crew seemed determined to make into one king bed (see pictures at right). With all of the drinking and time spent preparing for drinking (sleeping) we only actually had time for two activities while in Mexico, the wedding and a round of golf. The wedding was nice. It was on the beach where passersby decided to stand behind the alter and watch. The reception went late into the evening and while Matt and I made an attempt to head down to Cabo Wabo after the reception I found myself nodding off at the bar (too much fun in the sun I suppose) so we packed it in for the evening. Our game of golf was on a nice course inland from the ocean (those courses are $200 a round). Matt and I played with Caitlin’s uncle and a guy we had met in the clubhouse. I shot terribly (which I do often) although I blame the course, they had a 640 yard par 5 for god’s sake! The rest of the trip was rather uneventful unless you count the lady sharing a row with Matt and I who decided to have a nervous breakdown on the plane going from Cabo to Phoenix.
Kevin and Heidi got married in July at the Episcopal Church in downtown Reno, I got to the wedding late and had to sit in the back of the church near the horns…yes I said horns. After regaining my hearing the wedding had past and it was time to go to the reception at the Atlantis. The reception was a fun time, the most memorable moment was when Heidi’s aunt was mid-way through giving a half hour long toast recounting all the moments of Heidi’s life when she told a raucous crowd to “shut-up I’m not done yet.” Sorry I put this in here Heidi, but it was funny.
In late August we had Tobe and Hannah’s wedding in Colorado. I elected to drive Mom’s car out, a decision that I was actually happy that I made, the sun was still down all the way through Nevada, unfortunately it came out through Utah…gross. Wyoming was actually a really nice drive, while accounting for the longest leg of the journey it sure didn’t feel like it. I pulled into Lisa’s driveway after pretty much exactly 13 hours of driving. One of the managers of my company’s Fort Collins office got wind of me heading out there and decided to invite me in for a day of work the following day…sure. After that I was up the mountain to Deb and Bernie’s cabin in Allens Park for a couple of days of R&R. A couple of late nights drinking and playing hearts, as well as an impromptu visit to a biker bar in Lyon’s with Ted left me pretty unwilling to participate in the early morning hikes Luanne had put together, we did, however, squeeze in a game of golf in Estes Park. After a day in Fort Collins, and a couple of days in the mountains, it was down to Boulder for the wedding. The rehearsal dinner that Deb and Bernie put on at the Wanebo household was very nice, and the wedding the following day was also a very fun time. After the brunch the day after the wedding, it was time for me to head back home, this time I opted to spend the night in a Motel 6 in Wendover rather than make the drive through the night through Nevada. Those of you who saw my Facebook status update that night, thank you for remaining vigilant.
Jillian and Jason got married in early September up at Lake Tahoe’s beautiful South Shore. The wedding was coincidently overlapping one of the final days of the rib cook-off, so I was left with a difficult decision to make. I opted to go to the wedding as I had made it out to the cook-off the previous three days. The wedding began late as the minister was “stuck in traffic” which I took to mean “finishing his half rack of ribs before heading up the hill.” The wedding was a fun time, drinking and dancing were the staples of the evening, although I did behave myself as that mountain can be a treacherous one coming back down.
Pat and Jenna got married this summer at Idlewild Park, this wedding was the first one (and I assume only one) I’ve ever been to in which the bride actually referred to the groom as her “baby’s daddy” in her vows. That elicited laughter from Pat’s side of the isle and mortified gasps from Jenna’s… ahh good times.
Fun-
Well this year I played a number of rounds of golf, mostly at the local municipal courses that are being shut down one at a time by the county due to these economic times. I hope that we can pull out of this recession before I don’t have a golf course to play.
In early summer some friends and I went to float the Truckee River, a new favorite hobby of mine (yes sitting and drinking can be a hobby). When I say early summer I actually mean mid to late spring, since the water was not exactly the nicest temperature for playing in. We toughed it out though and actually made the longest float that I had ever done on the Truckee…about 5 hours. The cooler raft that I’d built held up pretty well, but after striking a few rocks it took on some water and floated cockeyed the rest of the way, nevertheless the beer made it unscathed. Next year I’ll be sure to schedule that particular event a little later in the year.
Rib cook-off is always the event of the year for me every year. This year I made it down 3 of the 5 days and actually decided to break from the vendors I usually visit and try some of the other ones. I was pleasantly surprised with the lesser know vendors ribs and will probably try them again next year. www.nuggetribcookoff.com
This year marked the 11th year in a row that we played our annual “Turkey Bowl” game. The venue this year was up at McQueen High School. We keep getting muscled out of municipal parks as they are all being turned into dog parks which I can only assume is a result of fat children not wanting to play outside in this day and age. Anyway, I digress, the game this year was great, we had a full game 11 on 11, well 11 on 10 anyway. Those of you on that “10 team” quit your whining. Paige brought Maddux so he could get acquainted with the game with players that run slower and take more than one halftime.
As I’m writing this I’m excited for our annual snow bowl game played every year on Christmas Eve, this is usually a low turnout game, but is always pretty fun playing in the snow, mud, and ice.
The Resolution-
My New Year’s resolution for 2009 was to give up eating french fries. Today is December 20 and I’ve still yet to have one (mostly because of the resolution, but also because some of my friends didn’t think I could do it, so there’s money involved now). You would not believe how hard it is not to eat French fries, go to a restaurant like TGIFridays (now closed in Reno) and order a salad instead, and they still bring you the fries like they thought you were joking. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though. I haven't decided what next year's resolution will be, but rest assured it will be a test of will power, and my friends will be able to wager against me.
Well I guess I’d better finish wrapping Christmas presents, Happy Holidays everyone. I'll leave you all with some footage I took this past summer of Kirby trying to keep cool in the sun.
