UPDATE...

Ok, so it has been a few days since my last post. But, it's not like I have any new baby pictures to post and my life for the past two in a half months has consisted of work, work, and more work. This past week was nice because of Thanksgiving, so I got some time to rest and relax - aka not think about work one bit. Well, tomorrow it's back to the salt mines. I definitely enjoyed the nice break, and in an odd sort of way, look forward to getting back to work. And the fact that in three weeks, it will be Christmas break doesn't hurt either. 

Rather than posting my non existent pictures, I decided to post a video of THE greatest football game I have ever watched. Besides, I am a bit ticked off that Oklahoma jumped pass Texas and will get to play in the Big 12 Championship. So, nothing says, I am not a fan of OU, like posting a video of them getting upset by a team from the land of potatoes. Oh yeah, go Missouri - go out and kick some Sooner butt on Saturday!

Bye, Bye Hurricane Ike

If you have been living on another planet for the past few days, then let me give you an update. This little thing called a hurricane (this one was not so little, as it was around 900 miles in diameter) made it's way through Southeast Texas early Saturday morning. Early last week, it didn't appear that Hurricane Ike would make it to us, as it was well south of our area. However, as the week progressed, Ike's path made its way further north and a direct hit on Galveston was definitely a possibility. Mandatory evacuations started Wednesday for those living in Galveston and surrounding areas. With Ike getting closer, and the path not changing, more areas were told to evacuate. While all the surrounding school districts were cancelled for Thursday, my lovely school district decided to stick it out and hold school (as you can tell, I was THRILLED about this). Well, once I got to school, I got a call from mom saying Clear Lake was a mandatory evacuation area. I stayed at school for a couple of hours and then left. Thirty minutes after I got home, we left for Rockwall, Texas. The trip took around 7 hours. We kept the TV on for a good part of the day while we were there to stay updated on what was going on. Ike was forecasted to produce some serious storm surges (20-25 feet) and winds up to 110 mph. Though Ike definitely made his presence felt throughout Southeast Texas, it could have been a lot worse. As for us, it looked like our house lost power for a short time, but not for an extended period (as of now, there are still over 1.5 million residents without power). We made the trip back to Houston this afternoon to see our house still standing (others were not so fortunate). Only minor issues occurred, with the backyard patio covering coming down, as well as many tree branches, which is small compared to what happened to many, many other people's homes. We are thankful for still having a home, no one was injured or hurt, and that we have nothing to clean up, save some tree branches. Unfortunately others were not so lucky and our hearts go out to them, as we pray for them that they will be able to get through this tragic event. As you can see from the pictures of our yard, we were definitely lucky.

Future Baller!

Between Avery's dad and aunt (the one that is a sports fanatic), you figure that she will play a sport at some point during her life (I'll leave the ballet to her mom and other aunties). If (what am I saying, it's not if, but WHEN) she does play a sport, she's got to look the part running around the field. I may be a bit biased, but Avery does look awfully fly sporting her Nike threads!

(Well for some reason, the blogger won't let me post a video. I'll keep trying...)

Um, Taxi Please....New York: Part 4

After a semi-hiatus, I am back. I'm sure most everyone has riden a bus before...but, herein lies an even greater question...have you ever ridden on a double decker bus? So, it's like a regular bus, but not really. There are seats on the top of the bus....take a look for yourself.

And though it doesn't look too high, it is. On many occasions during the tour, the signal lights were literally right above your head. If I had stuck my hand in the air, I am pretty sure I would have no hand right now, and thus I would not be able to type, and therefore I would have no posts on my blog about my trip. Though you may feel like it's a roller coaster with the breeze in your face and traveling at a somewhat moderate speed, it would not be a good idea to put your hands in the air - just a piece of advice for any future double decker bus riding goers.

All right - so the tour. I went on three of the bus tours. It was a good way to see all of the New York hotspots and places of interests. Then if anything catches your fancy, you could go back later. I did the downtown, uptown and night tour. So I pretty much saw all of Manhatten and then during the night tour, we went traveled through parts of Brooklyn. I was bummed when I did the night tour because I was breaking in a new camera and I couldn't figure out how to get the night time setting right, so there are only a few good ones, and then some that are funky. Oh well. Anyways...enjoy your tour through NYC!

                          

We Interrupt This Blog To Bring You A....

It was on this day 28 years ago that a little baby girl was born in Hawaii. Her name was Ashlyn Nohelani. She lived in Hawaii until her family packed up and moved to Texas. Ashlyn would spend many a days during her childhood trying to hide from her younger tag-along, same clothes wearing sister, and it finally worked when she enrolled in dance classes (though it did take a few years). She danced, she sang, she excelled. The blonde hair, blue eyed girl born in Hawaii found herself going to college in Utah....only to find her younger sister trailing her up to Utah a year later. Four years later, she graduated from UVSC and began her career as a teacher at a brand spanking new school in Houston, TX. While living in Houston, she met a boy. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy...ok, do you really want me to go into all the details....skip to the end. Boy and girl get married. Ok, back to the story. Back up to Utah did Ashlyn and Boy go (Some of the names have been changed, as to protect the identity of the persons involved in the story. Boy is really not his name, though it would be funny to name a baby boy, boy. It really wouldn't surprise me nowadays with some pretty strange and unique names parents are naming their offspring). Where were we....oh right. After much nudging and persistent bugging by family, Ashlyn broke news to her family that she was pregnent. Nine months later, Avery came into the world. Ashlyn, Avery, and Boy would pack up and move to Phoenix, AZ because I guess they really like deserts and hot weather. After a year of joyful midnight feedings, happily changing dirty diapers (especially by Boy), and listening to the sweet sounds of crying, Ashlyn and Boy wanted to double their offspring, announcing the arrival of their second child, due in January. When asked how she was going to spend her birthday, Ashlyn said, "wait for my new washer and dryer, and fridge in an empty house in ghetto Surprise, AZ." Uh, right, ghetto....I guess that's why they call the city "Surprise?" Well, it is with great pleasure to wish Ashlyn, my big sis (and yes, I was the tag along sister, who dressed the same, and followed her to Utah, and then back down from Utah to Houston...and wouldn't you know that I ended up in the same profession - it's only because she was the coolest....plus, she was born in freakin' Hawaii! Lucky, duck!) a Happy Birthday. Here's to you!

A Walk Through the Park....part III

In any normal park, a walk through a park could be done in a fair amount of time. But Central Park is not your average park....I mean, first of all, it's not a bad idea to bring along a map, because you can actually get lost in it. Cars can drive through the park! Yes, cars! There is a zoo in the park, lakes and ponds, two ice skating rinks during the winter, statues, sculputres, a great lawn, an outdoor amphitheater, and of course, a whole lot of trees! During my early morning walk through the park, I barely scratched the surface of seeing what the park has to offer. Rather than risk getting lost in a park, I wandered around until I saw the "fountain that is in every movie filmed in central park" and of course "the bridge and boathouse."

These two pictures are taken from the outside of the park, looking in.

Cool perspective.

Me with the fountain in the background.

The fountain.

Underneath the bridge I was standing on.

The boathouse.

The view from the bridge. I really like the reflection.

Same as above, except with part of the bridge.

Self taken picture. It was bright and I had been up since 5 am - that's why my eyes are barely opened!

Part Deux....New York Skyline

Since I had never been to New York, you can imagine the list of things I wanted to see and do. I could've spent a month there and still not have done everything...and I only had a week. With that in mind, I wanted to make sure I saw all of the highlights....so, here in pat two of my trip, one of the coolest sites to see....the skyline of NYC.

The pcitures during the day was in the morning from the "Top of the Rock" observatory deck (aka the GE Building in Rockefeller Plaza). It was cool to see the view from this point of view because I got to see the Empire State Building.

Of course I couldn't leave NY without going to the Empire State Building.

The BIG Apple...Part I

What do you get when you combine a fairly small area of land with skyscrapers galore, the hustle and bustle of a lot....and I mean a lot of people (over 8 million if anyone is counting), a bunch of yellow "roaches" scurring about the streets, trains (yes they do still exist), planes, and automobiles (does anyone really call them automobiles these days?)....oh and did I mention a lot of people?

You get The City that Never Sleeps. Gotham (oh and speaking of Gotham, if you haven't seen "The Dark Knight" - whew, wee! What a movie!). Oh right...um, how about The Captial of the World. The Empire City. The Greatest City in the World. The City So Nice They Named It Twice. Yep folks, I'm talking about New York, New York!

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Being such a BIG-O sports fan, one cannot go to New York City and not catch a game or two, or three. Yep, I went to The House that Ruth Built, got a glimpse of the Amazing Mets, and went to a Garden that is not a Square, but is in fact a circle - go figure. So, to start off part I of part TBD from my trip to the Big Apple, here are some snapshots of my outings to arguably, three of the most historic sporting venues in the world. Enjoy!

Shea Stadium
New York Mets vs. Colorado Rockies
I sat in the upper deck along the first base line.

Madison Square Garden

New York Liberty vs. Washington Mystics

I had floor seats at the game and was only 7 rows from the court.

Yankee Stadium

New York Yankees vs. Oakland Athletics

This is the last year that the Yankees will be playing in this stadium. I sat in the left field bleacher seats in the outfield. A homerun was hit into the bleachers during the game...but into right field....so close, yet so far away. The last picture is the new Yankee Stadium that is being built for next season.

"Fun is where it's at. That's why you have to be there."

And fun describes what this past week was all about. Ashlyn, Mike, and Avery came to visit from Phoenix for a week. We did a lot of things, and had a blast. Rather than read about some of the things we did, it's a lot more fun to see pictures, right? Besides, do you really want to read the ramblings of a slightly crazed individual? I think not. In the words of some famous person, pictures are worth a thousand words and I didn't think anyone would want to read a thousand words, though if I don't stop pretty soon, I may in fact reach the quota. So without further adieu, sit back, grab some popcorn (or other movie snack for non popcorn eaters), get comfy, and enjoy the show.