Weekend of the Almighty Asterisk

Jason and Winter came and visited us for Memorial Day weekend! They didn't stop by on their way to or from somewhere, they came TO US, FOR US. We are special peeps. Here is what we did with our timity-time-time:

-Saw the bastard hybrid of Jim Krasinksi & Michael Phelps*
-Had the best gutful of In N Out EVER**
-Made Penny look like a rabbit
-Wandered through the Arboretum and visited The World's Largest Sundial***
-Just about killed Jason
-Went grocery shopping (no really, it was fun)
-Made the kickest-ass meal ever crafted at 1142 Walnut****
-Played Settlers of Catan*****
-Watched 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon'******
-Went Aqua Golfing (the balls float)
-Visted the winery and got harassed by a drunk rancher
-Saw the Largest Privately-Owned Waterfall*******
-Baked some souffles********
-Watched all the best episodes of Arrested Development*********
-Smelled and saw Shasta Dam**********
-Visited the Baker Country Club for a swim, steak dinner, and outdoor fireplace sit-around
-Saw Sue!***********
-Met a gorgeous barn owl
-Observed masterful uses of Legos
-Discussed iphones************

As you can see, it was a weekend of spectacle, intrigue, and giggles. Thanks for coming to visit us! We really do feel honored and hope to return the favor soon.
___
*he wasn't what you would call 'classically good-looking'
**Thanks to Charles in Woodland for delivering the savory
***That Is Also A Bridge
****Any previous meals prepared by the previous owners and ibvolving Special Herbs do not count
*****Two times!
******Three times! We heart Jimmy.
*******In The State Of California
********Two times! (oops)
*********And the worst Arrested Development episodes are still better than the best thing on tv right now
**********The spillway of which is the largest man-made waterfall in the WORLD!
***********The largest and most complete T. Rex skeleton in the WORLD!
************Eleventy-billion times!

On the advantages of drought and dry heat

Looks like Mother Nature has a case of the Mondays. That's our mailbox:
This is the creek that runs beside our house and under the street....well, it USUALLY runs under the street. Not today. That's our car:
And this is our yard, which has a 2 foot retaining wall down to the sidewalk, which is of course higher than the street. Under normal conditions, of course. The red car is kindly demonstrating how the street in front of OUR house is the worst section.
Josh came home for lunch just in time to change into his best rain gear and start building dams to keep the deluge out of our house. And he was clever enough to measure the amount of water he had INSIDE his boots. (about 1 measuring cup each)

It goooooooooooes

We spent the last few days with our 5 pals, Matt, Brenda, Lizzie, Addison and Wahoo. (Wahoo is a dog, not an unfortunately-named child.) We slept in, we made food, the dogs played, we turned the ceiling fans off, we turned the ceiling fans on, we visited The World's Largest Sundial That Is Also A Bridge, we saw Warhols and Lichtensteins and 15 different breeds of geckos, we journeyed through the magical lands of Costco and moscato, we turned the ceiling fans off, we turned the ceiling fans on, we judged bad interior design and ate tacos, bought boots, built fires, crowned Miss Ireland, turned the ceiling fans off, turned the ceiling fans on, and generally giggled like idiots. Good times. And all this within Redding city limits! see how much fun visiting us can be? No really, it's rad. Thanks for making time for us, kiddos! We were honored and tickled pink and are excited you'll be on the West coast with us for a while.

Aqua Golf

Here are a couple picks of Kallie and I at aqua golf. She was kind enough to model for me for a picture I needed for the upcoming SU magazine we are creating at Simpson University.

just your typical january barbeque

Since Winter (the season) is A.W.O.L. this year, it was in the mid-70s today and we barbequed. Please welcome the honorable first chicken apple sausages of 2009. Undoubtedly the first of many, many, many to come. They're not much to look at, but with some grilled peppers and sweet onions and a nice cold brew.....sono magnifici.