On buying a baby play mat featuring a rocket ship and a planet and a flying saucer

Me: I can't believe that no one else snapped it up.

(It was a display model on deep discount at the maternity store.)

Ed: Maybe other people don't think outer space is as cool as we do.

Me: You know why that is?

Ed: Because we're nerds?

Me: Yeah. FYI.



P.S. There is something on the fabric playmat that looks like an alien version of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. (Check the lower right corner.)

Happy birthday, Kris!

We celebrated Kris's birthday one day late on Saturday night at Iron Chef CSA. Here she is with Kickass Cupcakes and binary candles. (The fifth cupcake is obscured by champagne.)

Iron Chef CSA

We joined the World PEAS CSA together and the boys cook up the veggies every weekend while Kris and I assemble IKEA furniture or watch TV. Awesome. Just like we always planned.

Talking about the little guy

Me: Our son is totally going to be nerdy.
Ed: No he's not!
Me: Well, I'm a nerd. I'm not saying he won't be athletic or anything.
Ed: (not reacting well)
Me: He'll have to wear glasses when he's four or five, like me. And you'll probably buy him sweater-vests.
Ed: Yeah, that's pretty nerdy.
Me: Maybe we can get him hipster glasses.

Hawaii 2009

Still catching up on old photos... This is still from May.

One of my first stops was the Hawaii Book and Music Festival with my mom, Brad, and Ed to see Jake Shimabukuro (friend from high school) perform. He is an ukulele master.



Brad and Ed had a really tough run up Pu`u (Mt.) Makakilo to my mom's house.



My mom was a lovely host. We had a great time.



Ed and Brad rented bikes and I borrowed one from my friend Trish. We had a lot of fun doing a ride from Kapiolani Park to Hanauma Bay and back. I used to do that route almost every day after school with the UH team.



We enjoyed some Waiola shave ice (my favorite) after a super-fun surf lesson (longboard) at Waikiki Beach with Sat and Tammy. Both Ed and I were able to stand up multiple times. It was so much fun.



Leonard's for malasadas, of course.



Ed and I did a North Shore ride from Haleiwa to Laie and back. It was gorgeous and the fresh-cut pineapple was so yummy.



Ahi steak and eggs at the new Eggs 'n Things, which sadly is not nearly as cool as the old Eggs 'n Things.



We also did the Pali Loop ride. The hills, thankfully, were smaller than I remembered.



On our last full day, we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. We saw tons of fish and four green sea turtles. Swimming with the turtles was pretty magical.



I'm glad we got to travel so much in the past couple of years. I imagine once the little guy arrives (the baby is a boy!) we'll be sticking pretty close to home for a long time.

Sat's wedding

We were so happy to be a part of Sat's wedding in Hawaii in May.

Brad, Sat, and I spent a lot of time together in high school. Here we are re-creating (for the second time, the first being at Brad's wedding) a photo of us taken in 1994. This was at the rehearsal lunch.



83 degrees, tuxedos, beach wedding. A money belt and ice packs under the cummerbund kept the groom cool.



The traditional juice syrup shots -- 100% food coloring and corn syrup. (This is what Hawaii State Student Council nerds like us did for fun late at night in the '90s.) Brad and Sat added Icelandic vodka (Reyka), which apparently did not help.



All dressed up.



The lovely couple, Sat and Tammy.



My second favorite part of the reception was when the DJ played "A Whiter Shade of Pale" while Brad was being introduced.

My favorite part was when Tammy did this INCREDIBLE karaoke version of "Don't Stop Believing" that came out of nowhere. The whole crowd was on its feet.



Awww.

California 2009

I had a very fun road trip with my dad in May before I went to TechEd. Here are a few of the photos.

We started off with a trip to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. My dad took this picture of me with a grouping of sequoias known as "The Senate."



Dad's car developed a leak in one of the pipes leading to the radiator. Fortunately some very nice folks in KCNP (employees of a local camp, a UPS driver, and two park mechanics) helped with the temporary fix that got us out of the park and to the nearest Auto Zone in Sanger.

Here we are on the beach in Monterey.



We spent a lovely day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.



Near the famous cypress on 17 Mile Drive. This squirrel was frighteningly tame and would not leave us alone.



We drove down the Pacific Coast Highway. Here's a pic from our lunch stop at Ragged Point, near Big Sur.



Hearst Castle in San Simeon was stunning.



We ended our trip in LA. We stopped in Thai Town so my dad could get his yearly supply of beer and we had some yummy Thai food before heading to the conference hotel.



We had a super fun time. My dad is a wonderful road trip companion. :)