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.