It has been a while since I have written one of these. I have been going through some issues lately. Namely my Grandfather passed away a couple of weeks ago. I will probably be writing a whole blog post on that. But in the meantime, Halloween has came and passed and I realized I have not posted any pictures due to my grieving time. It is very hard to stay focused these day especially when holidays force us to be happy. But regardless I have kids and there pretty f’ing cute these days. So without any further adieu.

We took our boys to go to the San Diego Zoo.  It was amazing to see how much they have grown.  Everything went smoothly and they had a really great time.  They followed direction and repeated every animals name that we came across.  Chase really loved the Elephants and wanted to stay there watching them for a while.  We also fed the giraffes which was pretty cool.  Aiden dropped his pacifier in the koala exhibit and we had to get someone to fish it out.  We ate dinner there and the went to the reptile area.  Man there are some pretty cool snakes.  U was sad that the polar bears were a little sleepy but there was some good monkey action.  In all it was one of the best trips yet. You can see the pictures Here

So I was showing Chrisitne the travesty that is the London Olympic Logo for 2012 when she asked me what does the Beijing Logo look like.  So I did a google search and found some really good logo concepts for Beijing that did not quite make it.  I don’t know why but I think they would have been better.

This one was pretty strong.  Unfortunately the balance is off on the design!

Here we get a well balanced concept. The dead Tibetan monks robes do not stand out enough.

This one is good but a little understated.  I don’t think the concept reads well

This one is technically not a logo but it shows the thought process of the final design.

So I just finished watching Phelps make history. WOW!  That was amazing.  In part this is all thanks to my On Demand service with Verizon Fios.  I hate giving made props to a utility service but I must say that they are keeping up with HD content as fast as it is being filmed.  I have been able to watch all the Olympic events that matter to me and not have to record them or look for them.  They are just there waiting for me to hit play.  Absolutely amazing.

Well, The weekend before last we celebrated our boys 2nd Birthday. My how it goes so fast. We had a huge celebration that involved about 50 adults and 20 kids. We are so in the kids birthday circuit now. We rented a train bouncer and obstacle course which was a pretty big hit. It even had a slide. I cooked burgers and dogs and we got pizza for the kids. Everyone seemed to have a great time especially the kids. We received many gifts and thanks to all for overloading our house with even more stuff.
It has been amazing how quickly 2 years went by like the blink of an eye. It feels like yesterday we where sleep deprived giving medication every 3 hours and dealing with apnea monitors. It feels good to finally be here. Aiden and Chase are very strong and healthy and I attribute that to the whole family and everyone who has lent a helping hand. I just love these little guys and it seems like their little personalities and flourishing every day. They are talking a whole bunch and putting words together. They can even get stuff for me when they ask.
Every year Christine and I discuss about having a small intimate party with family but that usually flies out the door when we make the invite list. I guess I should just stop fighting it. And besides, there birthdays are on the same day. I guess I can have a big blowout once a year. Till next year when they turn 3. Toodles!

You can see the gallery of Pics here! 

WOW! I have not felt that in a while. Although I was not scared per say of myself, this was the first earthquake since having kids. My thought quickly turned to my children who where home alone with my mother in law. The hard part is that everyone immediately uses there cell phone to call loved ones and it completely clogs the cell towers for more than a half hour. I was not able to get through until I reached a land line and called my mom. The boys slept right through it. And everyone was safe. My wife was very close to the epicenter and the Nixon Library got shook pretty hard. They even closed it down until they can inspect the facilities. I was at Taco bell waiting for my food when everything started rolling. All the patrons just looked at each other in a very laze fair attitude. The one thing this reminds me of is to make sure i am prepared for this kind of catastrophe. Make sure you have drinkable water, generator, canned food, emergency kit, and batteries. Or in my case just get a gun and steal it from your neighbors. BTW, that is a joke but not really!

I was a little shocked by the winner.  I thought she was a little to young for the position.  Patrozza I feel would have made a better winner.  After Gordon Ramsey explained his decision it made sense.  Still, I wanted Patrozza to win.  He even had a better service for the finale.  Oh well.  I feel this was the best season yet for the show.  I hope it comes back again.  I now have Kitchen Nightmares to look forward to.  I actually like that show a little bit better because it gives you a glimpse of the real genius that is Gordon Ramsey.  Plus it is a little more of an intelligent show than the usual reality elimination crap that survivor has created.

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epocha in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forevermore.

Quote by John Adams

This year as the previous few we headed over to Doug’s house in Corona.  Although it was hot there was a nice breeze to alleviate the heat.  We took our kids along for the festivities.   We ate lots of food.  Unfortunately the first few hours there I was taken ill by some previous Taco Bell I had ate.  I was hitting the bathroom every few minutes.  Jaclyn took a look at me and told me I was pale and sweating.  I did not feel very good.  In fact I haven’t had that much pain in many years.

After I recouped  we went swimming at a neighbors house.  It is a beautiful lagoon type pool with a small waterfall.  Chase kept hamming it up by jumping into my arms because he enjoyed everyone clapping for him.  Aiden spent the enrire sitting on Doug as he floated around.  They where very sad to leave.

We drank all day and played darts.  In the evening I put the kids to sleep in Dougs room.  Christine played cards with the girls and had a really good time.  Doug, Geoff, Davey, and myself enjoyed our cigars and pipes around the fire and told stories and reminisced about Disney.  It was a very enjoyable time.  Also, I had the itch of lighting something off.  Doug procured a 12 shot mortar box and set it off.  2 seconds later a cop rolled down the street.  Every years seams like I and Doug get closer and closer to getting a fine.  I’m sure it is inevitable.

BTW,  The quote above from our founding forefathers explicitly says to Blow Shit Up.

I’m just sayin

Christine Took me to the West London Hotel off the Sunset strip to eat at the new Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised about the whole experience. I am not big on fine cuisine but this was amazing. Each course was to quote Doug, “an explosion of flavor in your mouth” When we arrived at the hotel we where “greeted” by Larry King who was waiting for his driver. We arrived early for our reservations so I asked the hotel manager if we could go upstairs to the rooftop where earlier I had seen a bunch of people gathered. She quickly found a bell hop and he keyed us to the roof top. When the doors opened we where visually thrown into some sort of weird trendy Hollywood party. There where girls in bikinis by the pool. and a bunch of movie stars wandering around eating and drinking. We got some good margaritas and enjoyed the view. Ron Jeremy was there with some girls and I thought to myself it is really strange that I keep running into this guy. It does help that I go to the porn convention every year. I’m sure that has something to do with it. we also saw the lead winger to Fall Out Boy and Roman from Big Love. One of our favorite shows.
We left the rooftop and went down to Ramsey’s for our reservation. The Dining room was decorated out of the 80’s. It was interesting but definitely appealing. We ordered dinner and the play commenced. Each course was brought by a team of well groomed waiters. The are held at a staging area and are all lead at the same time to your table. As soon as the last fork is set down anew team comes immediately to pick up your table and reset for the next course. Everything we ordered was delicious. The portions are tiny but the food is not about filling yourself. It is about enjoying a unique and interesting blend of flavors. After dinner a cake was brought out for me and it was delicious. In all, I was shocked at what a great experience it was. Dinner took 3 hours. Amazing!
After Gordon Ramsey’s we went to The Standard in in Downtown LA. We quickly jumped into one of the rooftop water beds and relaxed with a few cocktails. after we secured an awesome spot for people watching and a couple of bottles of wine. We hung out and talked for a while until we got sleepy. Damn I am getting old. Chrsitine did a wonderful job setting everything up and I thank her immensely. It was definitely a great evening. You can view the images here!