Pictures

Carrie reading

Sample of Carrie reading for the family before bed time...

Tour of CA Bike Race

Amgen Tour of CA went thru La Canada on it's way to Pasadena yesterday during the 7th stage of the race.  Today is the last stage down in San Diego County.  After a ride to Santa Anita with a couple of friends, we went down to the Rose Bowl to watch the peloton ride 5 laps towards the finish line.  It was awesome.  Check out the pictures.

Christmas '08

Santa came!

Twister Accident

It all started innocently enough with a game of Twister - that the kids got for Christmas.

Friday morning, right after breakfast, Carrie wanted to play.  So all of us played at least one game.  Carrie was the undefeated champion.  Figuring it was the next best thing to Yoga, I decided to go for another game.  This time, it must have lasted 15 minutes.  Carrie, exhausted, finally decided to give up.  So after 15 minutes on all fours, I stand up and raise my arms in victory.

"Wow, head rush..."

I passed out.  

I remember the impact, but I didn't know what happened.  I had no idea where I was or what had happened.  It was like a dream, and I thought I'd been hit.  I was trying to stand up and fight back.

Next thing I know Becky was telling me not t get up.  Hearing her voice calmed me down, so I didn't.  I looked around a bit and saw some blood.  At that point I didn't really feel any pain yet, but I could tell my face has sustained most of the damage.

Long story short.  I passed out and landed face-first onto the floor - fortunately for me the rug portion of our hardwood floors.  The pain started to set in, but I wasn't bleeding too much.

After calming the kids, we decided to go to the hospital to have stitches applied to the gash on the bridge of my nose.

After examination, a Tetanus shot, and X-Rays, the verdict was in.

Broken nose - "clear in half" according to the Dr.

Rug bun on my chin and upper lip.

My upper lip is bigger than Joaquin Phoenix's and the bruise inside my mouth is worse than Vovo's after the car crash in Florida.

I have several cuts around my face.

My right eye is swollen, and my upper back and neck as sore as a car crash.

So the moral of the story is.  If you think you can beat Carrie at Twister, you've got to want it bad!

I'm fine now.  The nose doesn't appear to need to be re-broken since the alignment doesn't appear off - or at least that's what people tell me - but they may just be trying to be nice.

Aside from the soreness, and the need to take baths, I'll recover.

If you want to send flowers, just send them to Becky for taking care of me ;-)

Favorite things of '08

2008 was one of the fastest years on record for us.  Although a lot happened, the year seems to have gone fast.    Becky added to her movie credits with Kung Fu Panda, and continues to enjoy work.  We've lost track of how many soccer leagues she plays in, but she chose to twist her ankle while passing the ball around for fun with Carrie.  She was out for weeks.

We spent the bulk of our summer remodeling the house and the work is finally over.  We're completely broke, but very happy with the end results.  The kids get to share their new bathroom, and we're enjoying a lot of little touches throughout the house.  We've not really had a chance to enjoy the outside bar & patio since construction didn't finish until Fall, but we had a few small parties to break it in.

At the end of the summer JR broke-in his new road bike and completed his first full triathlon in Malibu.  He had done practice tris before, but never competed officially. "It was a blast", and he brough home a 4th-place medal.  Don't tell anyone it was for the 'clydesdales' category (that's for men over 185 lbs. - I think).

JR has taken a new role at work that includes toys & electronics, and is enjoying the prospects & possibilities so far despite the global macro-economic circumstances.  His recent work trip to Brazil was great.  Beside work he was able to visit friends & family and reacquaint himself with 'caipirinhas' (rumor has it - a little too well).

This was a big year for Luca with the start of kindergarden.  He's learning to read and write.  He's on the letter 'O' now.  We expected a less rosy report from his teacher at the half-way mark, but Luca got a glowing report card from Ms. Price.  His best friends at school are Ryan, Madison, Lars, and Johny

Luca's favorite thing to do this past year was going to Sea World in San Diego and seeing the dolphin show.  He enjoyed going to the zoo as well and visiting the Panda exhibit.

Lucas' soccer team did well.  Like his sister, he seems to have a defensive mind-set on the field.  He'd rather dismantle the other team's plays than attack.  Luca was unbeatable 1-1 on the back field.  He says he enjoyed having dad coach.  But more than anything, he says he wants this blog to be over - "this is hard Daddy".

It was nice to have both Luca & Carrie at the same school - makes for a shorter commute for Becky & I.  Carrie can now read and write.  She's blossoming into an artist as well, and seems to enjoy drawing and coloring more than ever.  Carrie, or Carolina, as she seems to prefer now has a style all her own.  I like to call it PowerPuffEyes, but I don't know what she calls it.

Carrie's favorite things this year were Snowboarding for the first time at Big Bear, her Brownie's outings, and visiting the Lamorees/Wimbrows in Knoxville over the summer, where she got to play with her cousin Lexee and learned to fish from Nanny & Pop-pop.

Holiday '08

We're starting a blog to keep friends & family abreast of our adventures.  Hope you enjoy.