we are in Texas!

Last night, Tori and I arrived at DFW airport. We then made the trip to Crowley, TX to surprise my grandparents who had no clue that we were coming for Christmas. We were able to pull it of and once the screaming and crying (in a good way) subsided we had a great time. We will leave on Tuesday and be back up at camp on the 31st. There it is.

it's great to be on vacation

I am up at 1:30 a.m. watching Quigley Down Under. This doesn't normally happen.

another good one

one of my favorites as a kid...

up to my eye balls...

in a fixed asset inventory. There is so much stuff here at camp! It feels like my days off have been busy running errands and my days on have been really full, which is all great. But, my blog has been neglected and that is not great. I needed to post if for nothing else than my own sanity. Any readers that used to follow this thing have probably given up at this point, oh well. I'm alive.

we survived our Thanksgiving feast.

We celebrated Thanksgiving at The White House one day early. Today we will be going over to a friends house to watch all the football and basketball and of course play rock band. But yesterday, Tori and I made our first Thanksgiving meal and shared it with a few friends at our house...it was awesome. There was, of course, a lot of work that went in to the preparation and cooking of the food but we had a good time doing it. Highlight for me was everything was enjoyed and then cleaned up by about 9:30. So on that note, Happy Thanksgiving II!

Oka and a baby.

Today Tori and I are going to go down in to town and grab some Oka to take over to Ryan and Nellie's house. We are going to meet their new baby, Naomi! After that, maybe Quantum of Solace?

fall is lasting a very long time.

I can't believe our fortune in weather. This is incredible. I know that the snow is going to come eventually and most likely we are going to get dumped on. But, I'm just trying to soak up the sun while we still have it. Also, I can't wait for thanksgiving. I'm just sayin'.

what I smell right now...

a fresh pot of chili. Lily and Tori are making some bomb chili, we have fresh baked bread and were sipping on beer an Julies sangria. This should be an incredible evening. Oh yeah, Haas, James and Dustin are also here.

a shout out to interim

tonight, it is time for another rousing game of signs. Somewhere Ginny Siverly must be giddy.

cat hair is like a visa...

it's everywhere you want to be. I've been cleaning a bit today and I'm pretty sure I've vacuumed up the equivalent of five of our cat (Apollo.) The battle rages on. Geoff vs. Hair and Dander.

As I see it...

out of my office window. It is most definitely fall. Even though we are having unusually warm weather for this time of year, the colors are still changing. We don't get as much of a color change up here (compared to Spokane lets say) because of all cedars, but the oaks are in the midst of their fall for sure. Some reds, some yellows and some orange the colors of fall are nice and a precursor of what is to come...

a great night

Tonight was awesome. A fire in the wood burning stove. Good wine. Good friends. A couple rounds of cribbage. Fresh pressed apple cider. And a movie that I really enjoy. The only downer was our bank statement; not enough money. I'm sure that the readers of this blog can give an amen to that one!

Sincerely,
Geoff

I thought I was joking when...

I said that USC would beet Washington State by a score of 82-0 last week. It's currently half time of the game and the score (no joke) is 41-0. They are exactly half way to making my stupid prediction stand up. Sad.

My friend James and I started from the beginning, not too long ago, with the TV show Heroes. What a weird idea for TV. It was a little hard to follow at first but we have since warmed up to it, that is to say, wayyy warmed up to it. We are at the finale of the first season and lets say that the tension is a little high.

tonights plan.

Have some friends over, play some settlers of catan and eat some of the homemade chicken mango sausage that Tori and I made today. Thoughts?

so close, yet so far away.

Today was the Second Annual Sherwood Forest Golf Classic. It was an awesome time with good people at Sierra Meadows Country Club just outside of Oakhurst. There was one hole in particular, hole 5, a 170 yard par-3 over water to a green surrounded by bunkers; that was the stage for a $20,000 hole in one prize. That was no misprint, $20,000. So I jovially stepped up to the tee (following Tony Biasell, one of my partners for the day) and took my swing at the prize. My three partners and I (accompanied by 4 other witnesses) watched my ball take flight starting just to the right of the flag, then moving slightly back to the left. Anticipation and emotions rose as the ball started to fall towards the pin. THUD!! it landed 2 feet behind the pin and tried to trickle toward the hole stopping just inside of a putters length from the cup and the 20,000 g's that would have accompanied it. I cant remember the last time I have been so thrilled and angry at the exact same time. As my heart raced we went to the green and I tapped in the easy birdie putt and we moved on. The only thing I could think of as we approached the next tee was how much that would have had an impact on our student loans...bummer.

Fresno is great.

Today we went to a stellar farmers market, the meat market, Bevmo and a few other awesome places. Now, I know Fresno isn't quite as cool as some other cities out there but it really gets the job done. Oh...did I mention Teazer?

my action packed night.

Im going to clean out the cat box and then Im pretty sure Im going to watch Tombstone.

rough weekend

the seahawks and cougars both got pounded and my fantasy football livelihood went down the toilet right along with Tom Brady's left knee. Perseverance develops character right?

catan and a meat grinder.

what are the two things that arrived in the mail today?

it does my heart good when...

Cedar Lodge is completely clean. We had a big group come up for labor day weekend and the entire lodge has been turned over, mopped, dusted, etc... Im just saying, it feels good. Bring on the next group! Im also realizing that I am really in to elipses these days...

fight, fight, fight...

today is the first game of our college football season. We have a new coach, a new quarterback and were running a new offense and defense, this should be interesting...

joint b-day party

Happy birthday to Tori and Lily! Tonight we are going over to the McKenzie's and we are going to celebrate with carne asada (and other food and beverage of course.) It should be an awesome time.

people need hope, people need lovin'

so let it be written, so let it be done.

today was the last full week of summer camp. Tomorrow morning our last campers will head back to their respective homes and we as a staff (at least those of the staff that remain) will clean up/tear down camp. It has been a great season and I am looking forward to the fall. Apples, blackberries and guest groups, oh my.

the status of things (since July 1st...)

I've gained another year in the age column
My wife went to Guatemala for 2 weeks
We celebrated our 1 year anniversary in Cambria
Camp has flown by
My sister came to visit
Tori's family came out to visit
I've been introduced to new board games
My fantasy baseball team has taken a nosedive
I cooked for the accommo team
And there is probably more that I cant think of right now, but there's a snap shot.

Settlers of Catan.

So I'm hooked...big deal.

this is shaping up to be a very merry un-party...

tonight Josh Krane, Heather Karwowski, Andy Meyers and a handful of other people were supposed to come over to our humble abode and get their hang out on. So far, at 10:11 p.m. its still just the three of us (Tori and the cat of course.) I'm still holding out hope that the Crestviewites who get off shortly will be able to come over and resuscitate this. Until then, I'm probably going to check my fantasy baseball teams chances of squeaking out a win this week...I hear a car outside...

whats going on?

I haven't posted in quite a while. I offer you, my 5 readers, my deepest heart felt apology. There is more to come soon.

it's Cambria time!

today Tori and I are going to go to Cambria and stay at the J. Patrick House. Tomorrow is our one year anniversary, my how time flies. In other news Junior High Camp is under way.

one year ago today...

I was inwardly freaking out a little bit. I was in Sacramento, CA. I was making sure my friends and family were making it in to town safely and I was four days away from getting married. That was a year ago?!

that happened.

So to those of you who know about the local Oakhurst band known as Swingshift, this goes out to you. Tonight at Danny's Pizza Factory said band was playing their usual set. For those of you who are not familiar, this band (to my recollection) has played the same set for the passed five years every other weekend during the summer. Tonight, they broke that streak. And, Shalene, if you still read this thing your mind will be blown in 3, 2, 1... Swingshift covered Africa by Toto. I sat in a state of awe and wonder as this unfolded in front of me. Of course they played the usual suspects of Mr. BoJangles and If I Had a Million Dollars. But for this one moment in time what was once thought to be an unbreakable streak, is broken. I think this is up there with JoeDiMaggio's 56 game hit streak or at least Joey Chestnut's 66 hot dogs in the Nathans Hot Dog Eating Championships.

birthday eve

so as you may have guessed tomorrow is my birthday. The big 2,5. I tried to celebrate the pre birthday by ordering a pizza online from Giordano's in Chicago (by Shalene's suggestion) the only problem is its $76 to overnight the 12 inch za. Too bad.

movin' on up

I worked with Kyle while at Washington State University. He was a part of the freshman class that came in to WSU to turn things around. There were some definite growing pains, but I would say that things have turned around. Two nights ago he was selected with the 38th pick to the Charlotte Bobcats. He will be coached by Larry Brown and will get to play along side Adam Morrison. This should be fun.

so gardening really isn't my thing...

Tori left yesterday for a trip with the youth group to welcome the incoming freshman. I (as the diligent husband/worker bee) was put in charge of the upkeep of our extensive garden. Yes I did say our even though Tori does 99.9% of the garden keeping. She left me very detailed and comprehensive notes, of which I was very appreciative. As it turns out, gardening isn't all bad, I just don't like it very much. I do love my wife though, so for her, anything...

so...I'm a glasses wearer.

Yesterday, while I was down in Fresno, I picked up my prescription. I was amazed at how clear everything was around me once I dawned these bad boys. I must say, that they are relatively hip and unique. They were giving me a bit of a headache at first, but I think we are starting to become friends.

one day more

tomorrow summer camp begins. Family campers are going to be on their way up the mountain. O-week has been good and now it is time for this (really great) staff to give it all they've got. This is going to be a good time.

that man could do anything with soap on a rope and duct tape!

guess who needs glasses?

If you guessed me, you are correct. I got my eyes checked out last week and was given a prescription. Tori and I are going to go in to Fresno today, to see which frames suit me best. We are also going to take our cat in for booster shots. Should be quite the outing.

baseball and new faces.

The other night I went to a Fresno Grizzlies game with Tony. This wasn't your average minor league baseball outing, it just so happens the Grizz were playing the Mariners AAA affiliate, The Tacoma Rainiers. Baseball is awesome. It was a relatively humdrum game (that got incredibly interesting when the home team hit a 3 run homer in the bottom of the 9th), but the conversation with Tony and the older couple in front of us was great. Not to mention the dog and libation. The Rainiers won and both Tony and I got a ball. I'm pretty sure a fun night was had by all.
In other news, tomorrow is the last day of our commonfire season. Summer staff will be arriving soon and summer camp will be in full swing before you can say, "who's on first?"

Summer Camp Starts in 11 Days.

That seems completely unfathomable to me. There is quite a bit to do between now and then in preparation. The excitement is definitely building.

Work Party!

There will be roughly 160 people on their way up the mountain today and tomorrow to help us get ready for camp. This is always a weekend where a lot of work gets done at camp in preparation for the summer season. Its pretty exciting that this many people are interested in donating their memorial day weekend to the betterment of camp.

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss...

Tori and I are starting to seriously entertain the idea of a summer trip to Boulder, Co.

questions...

The group that was in this passed weekend left me with some questions. There way of viewing the spirit was not one that i am accustomed with. That doesn't make it right or wrong just because it made me question, I'm just saying they are still on my mind...

so walk down this mountain with your heart held high...wow!

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=3386121

Sunday Stroll Through Costco.

So , yesterday I made a trip down the mountain to pick up some necessary accoutrement's for camp. A staple in my diet of fine shopping establishments is Costco. It had been a while since I had been inside the wholesale juggernaut with such a large crowd and let me say, they were out in force. As I stealthily and smoothly wove my way through the endless sea of clanking metal shopping carts I heard the desperate plea of a Costco Food Sample Employee. "They told me I was at chimichangas like five minutes before I had to be there, I didn't even know where my product was located!" she said with angst. Truth be told I had a small inward giggle and kept on my way to the back right corner of the store.
Upon arrival to the paper products section of our marvelous super center, there was a child sitting in the middle of the aisle wailing for some reason; needless to say I chose another corridor to get me to my tp dreamland. At this point my list was nearly complete and I asked a woman who was hawking pepper jack cheese at her food sample booth, "do you guys carry bug bombs by chance (you know, the little fogger thingy's you shoot off in rooms to get rid of unwanted pests)?" She replied gruffly, "I just do cheese, you'll have to find someone with a costco name tag." So I set off on my new quest, to find an "actual" Costco employee. What does "I just do cheese" even mean?
My wanderings lead me past the aforementioned chimichanga table and I felt morally obligated to grab a sample. As I continued to weave my way around people, carts, clothes, bikes, chocolate muffins and small running children, I noticed that I hadn't seen a costco name badge in quite some time. I decided that enough was enough and I was just going to get out of this zoo. When I finally got to the register, I asked the cashier person-we will call him professor x as to not reveal his identity-if he knew the whereabouts of any bug bombs and he looked at me as if I had slapped his momma and said, "you wanna know if we sell bombs?" I tried to explain myself, but to no avail so I grabbed my receipt an went on my way. Now that I think of it, what if there's an APB out for me, because I'm that guy who wanted to buy bombs at costco? Anyway, I loaded all of the spoils of my adventure in to the back of the MPV (one of the camp vehicles) and went to put my cart back in one of those parking lot cart gatherers that nobody seems to be able to get their carts in to since they are strewn all over the lot in those compact car landscaping squares. Upon my arrival to said cart gatherer there was an extremely old man attempting to push his cart over the little speed bump at the opening. No joke, he backed up and re-pushed like three times as I was making my final approach! So, I helped him out (and back to his car) and we went our separate ways.
The final thought going through my head as I exited the maze of a parking lot was how did that old man navigate that crazy house? And I thought I was cool for my skills with a cart?

our french press.

I love that on the back one of the instructions says, and I quote, "children and hot fluids should be kept apart."

OKA!

So, tonight Tori and I went to our local sushi place. As usual, it was awesome. We sat at the bar tonight, which isn't what we normally do. The sushi was great but I was really in to the nigiri sushi tonight, especially the red snapper. The baked green muscles weren't bad either.

Lost Update

I am going to watch the finale of season 3 as soon as I am done with this post. This show is so bizarrely addicting. I cant even begin to explain my curiosity. Ok, enough babble it is time to enter the looking glass.

top of the lid.

Is it just me, or is the ice cream that gets stuck to the (insert post title here) so good? It makes me feel as if I am eating bonus ice cream. I understand that it is the exact same ice cream that remains in the carton and that it really is just the tip of the creamy iceberg. However, the simple joy that comes from it is irreplaceable.

Wednesday

http://www.riverbendgolfclub.com/

just because

Avacado oil and Taxes

Tonight tori popped some pop corn over the stove. It was awesome! Mostly because she used the avocado oil that we got on our honeymoon. Plus there were only 4, count them 1,2,3,4 kernels left at the bottom of the tub; unreal! In other news we tried to help a friend do her taxes tonight and it didn't go quite as planned. It was a step in the right direction though.

the tape of love.

Brown paper, White paper stick them together with the tape, The tape of love.

Play Ball!

Baseball is back today. A new season, a new hope of greatness. I realize I have a had a lot of sports posts lately, but that's the way it goes. Its spring. New Life!

bittersweet

WSU is done. They got beat by UNC last night. The seniors that I worked with when I was there have now played their last game. The program has come a long way, due in large part to those guys. They played hard.

how sweet it is.

WSU is in to the sweet 16! They completely dismantled the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in route to a 20 point win. If they continue to play defense like that, they will be able to compete with anybody. Go Cougs!

Lost Update

Season 2 Episode 4. So this others thing is getting crazy. And the hatch? What?! I don't know what to do with myself other than keep watching. Craziness.

time to dance!

March Madness is back, and Washington State is the 4 seed in the eastern region. They have a tough matchup against an experienced senior led squad from Winthrop and should they advance they would meet the winner of Notre Dame and George Mason (the Final Four Cinderella story from a couple years ago.) This time of year always fills me with nervous excitement. Its gonna be awesome. Go Cougs!

Draft

Last night was our fantasy baseball league draft. I'm pretty sure that Julie Oldroyd and I were the most nervous being that we logged in to the draft an hour early. That said, it was awesome. So much fun bantering back and fourth with friends about baseball. Good times.

We're out!

The infirmary is cleared out and ready for its new tenant! All of our stuff is now over in our new home and ready for us to put it in to place. It is such a relief to have all of our stuff in one place again. It kinda sucks to be living out of two homes, and it really sucks to come home from work and then get down to work again. Those days are now numbered; let the excitement ensue!

still painting...

we finished the hallway tonight. This project is taking quite a large chunk of time, but the house is starting to take a lot more shape as well. In other news I am up to the season finale of Lost season one...John Locke???

Tax Return!

Praise God.

Batter Up!

Today is the Mariners first official Spring Training game. They played a charity game against the San Diego Padres yesterday, which the Mariners won 10-3. Let the pre-season begin!

Once

Great Music. Simple story. Falling Slowly = great song. Plus, how can you not like a movie which has the main characters listed in the credits as "guy" and "girl"?

gettin' our paint on!

Tori and I (truth be told, mostly Tori; oops) are painting the abarnment. Getting some new paint on the walls will be nice and will go a long way to making it feel like our home. Pictures are to come later. As for now, we are waiting for the first coat in the kitchen to dry.

my future Carhartt jacket

olive or sandstone?

quote of the weekend

"It's like heaven, only better; with brownies."
-anonymous junior higher at the end of the weekend dance-

the melt is on

We had a lot of snow up here. I am able to re-appreciate just how much we had because of our recent spike in temperature. The snow is melting at a pretty good rate and there is still so much! Every day is a new adventure, I just hope that enough of it sticks around for the jr. high "winter chill" (snow go) this weekend.

Groundhog Day.

I don't really care what Punxsutawney Phil has to say, there is a lot of snow up here and more on the way. That's good enough for me.

Im sick,

and have been for a while. It feels like I have a porcupine in my throught.

sitting in my livingroom...

listening to Tori administer a personality profile to Caitlin McCarthy, who is attempting to answer...

Incredible.

I've been watching this series one disc at a time for a little over a month now, whenever I get the time. Pretty powerful stuff.

#18394

wow. This is the most difficult game of Free Cell I have ever encountered. Tori stumbled upon it and neither of us have been able to conquer it. I triple dog dare the best free cellers out there to give it a go. Fare warning, it's going to take multiple attempts. Go with God friends!

so...

WSU got trounced :-( They wound up losing by seven points, but it really wasn't that close. They hit 7 three pointers in the last 1:30 of the game to make it look respectable. In other news the Seahawks lost as well, further tearing my heart out. Oh well, that's why I love sports; the ups and the downs.

A Clash of the Titans!

vs.

Tomorrow my WSU Cougars travel to Pauley Pavilion to face the UCLA Bruins. This matchup marks only the sixth time in Pac-10 history that two top 5 teams play against each other. The Cougars are number 4 and 14-0 overall, while the Bruins are number 5 and 14-1 overall. Both teams are loaded with talent and it should be one of the most entertaining games of the year. Go Cougs!

so, we have a bit of snow.

last night we got about a foot snow, hopefully we can get more tonight so I can post an untainted picture from our porch.

in reference to the previous post's comment.

Our Wedding Photographer, Chris Humphreys won a pretty major award a few weeks ago. He entered some of his images
into a contest through The Artistic Guild of the Wedding Photojournalist Association [AG]WPJA and a picture from our wedding won first place! This is awesome for Chris and even more reason that if you are getting married, or know someone who is getting married, you/they should give him a call. So cool.

Thanks Mom and Dad.

This was a Christmas present from my parents. The next 6 months should be pretty entertaining, especially with the winter setting in.