- We celebrated our eleventh anniversary! It is hard for me to believe that we have been married for 11 years - it certainly hasn't seemed that long. But what an adventure it has been. We celebrated by going winetasting in Woodinville, where there are dozens of tasting rooms.
"I think I'm getting some notes of blackberry and with a hint spring mist..."
"No, actually I'm getting a nose that consists of wild mushroom and toasted oak..."
- We celebrated the wedding of our great friend Monica Kerslake to her husband David. We met Monica during my first year of law school in Eugene and she has been such a great friend ever since. Missi was radiant as the matron of honor and Sam was completely adorable as the flower girl. After the ceremony, Sam completely stole the show on the dance floor. It is completely apparent that Sam has received her mother's dancing genes. An added bonus of the wedding was the chance to catch up with my friend Ryan, who was up from Eugene to film the ceremony.
Sam coming down the aisle.
Mr. and Mrs. Chin!
This about stopped my heart when I saw Sam in the veil.
Ryan hard at work.
Missi did an AMAZING job with her toast. A great combination of heartfelt encouragement and humor.
- Baseball season has arrived! I have the honor/privilege/burden of being a head coach this year. We are the Cardinals. I am a mixture of excited and anxious.
- We took a trip to Great Wolf Lodge with our friends the Foglios. This was one of the kids' Christmas gifts and we had a blast. If you have kids, I recommend checking out Great Wolf. If you haven't been, think of a fairly large hotel with a huge indoor water park included in the price of your room. They also don't allow non-hotel guests to use the water park, and this limited capacity means that you don't have to wait in line for 45 minutes to use a water slide. They also have this crazy treasure hunt throughout the entire hotel called "MagiQuest" where you have a wand and have to point it at certain features (picture frames, plants, lights, etc...) in order to complete certain quests. It was a great time.
Drew hit it big in the arcade.
Sam and her BFF Taylor.
- We went to see The Decemberists in their "Popes of Pendarvia" tour. What a great show. I can't emphasize this enough, but please go see this band if they come through your town. They are total stage performers and you will have a great time, even if you don't know much of their music. Here is a review of their show in Portland, which took place on the night following their show in Portland. Without a doubt The Decemberists are one of our favorite bands right now.
- Speaking of music, I am listening to "Sigh No More" by Mumford and Sons a lot right now. Check it out. It's a great album.
