Congratulations Daniellee!!!

My sister Danielle graduated from ASU in May 2009 with her Bachelor's degree. Quite an accomplishment, as she was also working full time, maintaining a social life, and making time for her family. We were there to celebrate as President Obama spoke at her commencement. Since he only spoke at 4 schools, it was an honor for him to be there, even though we had to brave 100 degree weather in the large tin bowl that is Sun Devil Stadium to hear him speak. There were plenty of protesters and supporters surrounding that made the wait entertaining.





The next day she received her diploma during the W.P. Carey convocation, followed by a party at my parents' house. She got a kindle!!

We also managed to take a family picture since all of us were in one place! That doesn't happen very often, so it's nice to document it.






One of Danielle's friends made her a beautiful cake. Everyone was proud of her!!

Seattle Trip-April 2009

Matt & I went to Seattle for a long weekend to visit Pete & Jill (my uncle & aunt) and play tourist. Matt had never been to Seattle before, and we visited several places that were new to me as well. Our first day we arrived, then drove out to the Tulip Festival. Our timing was perfect, as it had still been freezing until the week before we arrived, so the flowers were freshly bloomed and the colors were amazing! We went back to see Pete & Jill's new house in Bothell, took a short nap, then had dinner at Red Hook and even got to see some live music and dancing!





The next day we got up and had breakfast at a bar in Seattle, drove out to the Sound, went to the Jimi Hendrix Music Experience and Science Fiction Museum, briefly walked through the overly crowded Pike's Place Market, toured the Seattle Aquarium, and had an amzing seafood dinner at Elliots. It was a great day.




The last day we visited Jimi Hendrix's grave on the way out to the Northwest Trek (as in Star Trek, as Matt so eloquently explained). They had quite the shrine, and I thought it was tastefully presented. The NW Trek was a lot of fun, after a tiny bit of drama when Jill realized she had left her professional camera at the Wendy's 45 minutes back. Luckily they had it, so she went for her camera while Pete walked with us. I really enjoyed the experience, with all of the animal exhibits, bears, beavers, moose, bison, and goats!

March 2009

Matt makes a fabulous homemade meat pizza!


Danielle & I took Matt to the Renaissance Festival, his fist visit. As you can see, it was quite successful, complete with Turkey leg and Beer!




Sorry for the short post, but March was full of dog days:

Tour of California February 2009

For Christmas, I bought my dad a dinner with the riders in the Amgen Tour of California. 2009 is Lance Armstrong's return year, and there was a lot of hype about him riding in a domestic race. My dad and I bike on the weekends (definitely nowhere near a TOC rider level) and he and my mom watch cycling on tv, so they were very excited about attending the race. In fact, I think my mom was almost more excited at seeing the announcers than the cyclists, which, as my dad said, was because you see more of them on tv than you do the cyclists!






We flew to Sacramento for the first race, the prologue time trial. It was cold, but luckily the rain held off until after the race. It was interesting to wander through all the booths and events before the race, and of course, during a time trial you are guaranteed to see every cyclist. I was surprised at the turnout; the news later said it was the best Sacramento had ever had for the tournament. I even got to see Kevin Johnson, KJ of the Phoenix Suns!!

At dinner we had our photos taken with a few of the more pleasant cyclists, even a few who didn't speak English! Thanks to team Saxobank and Ivan Basso for posing with me and my dad in photos!

The Coast of Northern California

My parents and I traveled to Sacramento for the Tour of California. We arrived a day before the race to scope things out and decided to drive out to the coast. Even with the rain, it was a beautiful drive.

Super Bowl XVIII: Cardinals vs. Steelers

After a long and stressful season, the Cardinals entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the NFC West. Even at #1, they were not favored to win any of their matchups. Yet, in a nailbiter, they defeated the Atlanta Falcons. Hope began to appear on the horizon. The next week they dispatched Carolina, at Carolina, in bad weather. People in Phoenix could barely contain their excitement, yet we had so many reasons to doubt, and then, in the NFC Championship, the Cardinals dominated the Eagles. The town went crazy, people were in shock, waiting for ice to coat the I-10, the Cardinals were headed to the Superbowl, led by Larry Fitzgerald & co.





The Cardinals played a good game, but a few huge errors, and the Steelers' coverage of Larry Fitzgerald, lost us the game. But we made it there, and hopefully we will again next year!

There was a lone Steelers fan at the Super Bowl party. Luckily he left at halftime, so we didn't have to watch the celebration at the end of the game.

The Sail Inn Grand ReOpening!!

The Sail Inn, which had been a live music staple in Tempe for many years, closed in 2005. On January 30, 2009, the Sail Inn reopened. I ventured up to the bar for both Friday and Saturday of Opening weekend, and on Saturday, the Mojo Farmers played, featuring their new drummer.



Thanks to Gina for bringing back the best live music venue in Tempe!!