Addie Bunny--STL Easter

Its hard to miss a "first" when you have a cute little one. And it doesn't hurt when St. Louis is kind of in between Seattle and DC. So, we spent Addison's first Easter Weekend in St. Louis.

We didn't have a lot planned except seeing the family and staring at Addison. We were able to accomplish a few things. I had heard about Pappy's Smokehouse. Since I like BBQ almost as much as I like biscuits, I conned everyone into going to visit it. You know its a good restaurant when the line is 50 people deep at 2:30pm. We of course waited, but were disappointed to learn all the chicken and turkey was gone. Thankfully they still had the swine, so i got the double platter of brisket and pulled pork..with a side of the most amazing sweet potato fries. Lunch was worth the trip alone.

After the long lunch, we took Addison to the petting zoo. We showed up with just a few minutes to go before closing but were able to see horses, cows, goats and a few others. Addison liked to watch and growl at the animals and we just laughed at her the whole time.

When we got home, Derek schooled everyone in the science of Corn-hole. That night since Addison couldn't die Easter eggs, we decided to do it for her. Because Chad can't focus on anything for a while, he quickly died his eggs and then ate candy. Biscuit, Heather and Derek spent hours drawing on, dipping, and creating masterpieces while Chad pretended he was Superman.

Luckily the next morning the Easter Bunny showed up and brought everyone candy--of course Chad ate from everyone's.

It was a short trip but great to get to see the family and finally hear Addison growl in person.

We love NY

Even though I went to law school a short train ride away from NYC, I had never been. Chad thought (rightfully so) that this was a great tragedy, and promised to take me as soon as possible. Thanks to Tonya, we managed to find a great deal at a new hotel in Midtown, so we picked a weekend in March and booked the trip!

During our three-day whirlwind tour of NYC, we managed to see Times Square, eat Tasti D-Lite (Biscuit), run into The Naked Cowboy, get a bus tour of Lower Manhattan, Explore (a very small part of) Central Park, eat falafel from a street vendor, eat Pinkberry three times (again, Biscuit), and be the first ones to the top of the Statue of Liberty's crown.

My favorite part of the trip was without a doubt the trip up the Statue of Liberty. It was quite an undertaking to get there. Chad had to buy our tickets months in advance, as they only let around 90 people to the top every day. We arrived in Battery Park at a very early 7:45 a.m. Our tickets said 9 a.m., but Chad is not a fan of being late. We stood in line until 8 a.m., when we moved inside to a different line. We went through one level of security, took the boat to Liberty Island, and literally raced off the boat to be the first ones in the next security line. After passing through the final layer of security, we were off to the races! Somehow one other couple cut in front of us on the way up the 350ish stairs; however, they hesitated for about 2 seconds on a landing halfway up the monument. Chad and I did not hesitate. We glanced at each other, nodded, and took off up the stairs. We were the first ones to the top of the Statue of Liberty's crown!

It was an amazing weekend and I can't wait to go back, even if only for the numerous conveniently located Pinkberrys and the Hummus Place restaurant. Amazing. Thanks Gravy!

Oh Canada.....Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

I have always loved watching the Olympics. No matter the sport, the country or if its the summer or winter. There is just something about the competition, camaraderie, and nationalism.

I was lucky to attend the Atlanta 96 Olympics when my sister was dancing in the opening and closing ceremonies. However, Kelly had not been to an Olympics.

In February I was basing out of Seattle for 2 weeks. Every night Kelly and I watched the Olympics religiously. Kelly decided we should pop up to Vancouver for the day to just experience the festivities. I called my friend Chris and had my passport FedEx'ed to me and we decided on the day. Not to my surprise, Kelly didn't want to just visit Vancouver but wanted to see an event. She looked for days until she found the perfect tickets...Curling (or shuffleboard with ice, brooms, and big granite rocks).

At 7am on Sunday, February 28th we made a run for the boarder. Our trip into Vancouver was easy--flew through the boarder and found cheap parking downtown. After picking up our tickets we wandered around taking in the shirts, jackets and red mittens. While the Olympic Flame was beautiful, the fact it was behind a fence (referred to as a concentration camp) was troubling.

After fighting our way through the official souvenir shop (and failing to find mittens) we headed to the Olympic Center for Curling. 4 sheets of ice, 16 stones per sheet, and 4 (wo)man teams. Although I had been watching curling daily and reading up on it, it was still intimidating. We bought a radio to "listen in" on what was happening and to help us understand the matches. While it was hard to follow 3 matches at once (much harder than on TV), it was amazing to be part of the Olympics and a "sport" that most people hadn't heard of 2 weeks earlier. The Americans lost badly and the Canadians were also beaten in an upset. However we felt like winners for getting to Vancouver and taking part in a once in a lifetime experience (well, maybe twice a lifetime for me).

We're ready to book our tickets to Sochi in 2014!

Gravy Learns to Snowboard

Chad escaped Snowmageddon in DC to spend Valentine's Day with me in Seattle. I decided Chad had not experienced enough snow recently, so I took him snowboarding! Chad had never been before, so I signed us up for a lesson together.

After the first hour of the lesson, the instructor took us up the mountain for our first run. Gravy was awesome! He had a couple ugly falls, but he jumped back up like a champ. After one of Chad's particularly painful-looking falls, the instructor turned to me and said, "Umm, yeah he's going to be really sore, so make sure he takes some advil tonight. Or a bottle of wine. Whatever works for him."

After our lesson, we took a couple runs down the mountain on our own. I asked Chad if he was having fun. The look on his face most of the day had me a little concerned. He turned to me and said, "Why would I be having fun. I'm terrible. I'm falling constantly and every joint in my body hurts. What part of this is fun." Despite his answer, I think he actually had a great time--except for the part where the 8 year old kids flew past us down the mountain as we sat in the snow trying to muster the energy to stand back up. That was not cool.

All in all it was a good day. We both left the mountain without any (new) injuries and with at least half-smiles on our faces. Next weekend, we head to Vancouver to check out the Olympics!

Snowmageddon--February 2010

Its not my style to give you an update when Kelly wasn't there too, but Snowmageddon is big enough that it deserved a posting.

The 2009-2010 winter has been one of the roughest in DC history. My first year in DC (2003) we had a blizzard, but I haven't seen a real snow since. This winter, we have had 2 top 10 snow storms and a few other significant storms--mostly on weekends of course!

The storm started mid-day on Friday. At about 3 pm, it started to accumulate. I had planned ahead. Not only did I have candles and flashlights, but I had beer, wine, candy and of course Beer! By Saturday morning at least 16 inches had fallen. Luckily I had power (and still beer and pizza).

After watching movies and G-town basketball, I ventured out to see what it was really like. Hundred of people were walking down the middle of major DC arteries (most were carrying beer or cigarettes). There were people driving, but mostly those from countries that don't traditionally have snow. I took a few pictures, did a snow angel and hit a local watering hole for a Snowmageddon brew--Chocolate stout and Banana beer.

Except for dropping snow and water on kids smoking pot under my window, the snow has been anti-climatic. I kept my power and we didn't break the record for the largest snow ever (its top 5 and my 3rd in the top 10). My unofficial tally (on top of a recycling bin) was 22 inches for the storm!

I can say for a fact that being stuck in your condo, alone, is not a great thing. I have read books, watched movies, eaten pizza, consumed beer, taken a walk, thrown snowballs, and made yellow snow. However, its not the same with out Biscuit. I wish that she could have been stranded with me too. At least she is warm and safe in perpetually rainy Seattle

I'll stay warm tonight and start the process of digging out tomorrow.

Chad 1: Snowmageddon 0.