July 2008 Photos
The July 2008 photo galleries for Berkeley, Eliana, and Olivia are now closed. The galleries can be reviewed at Berkeley's web site, Eliana's web site, and Olivia's web site. Or just access the galleries directly using the following links:

Berkeley's July 2008 Gallery ... (6 years old)
Eliana's July 2008 Gallery ... (4 years, 4 months old)
Olivia's July 2008 Gallery ... (2 years old)

Snoqualmie Train Depot Pictures
Kristy took the kids to visit the Snoqualmie Train Depot today and snapped a few pictures. For example, here is a set of the kids climbing on a train engine (Olivia hanging on the chain is my favorite):

Here are some other random pictures of interest (take special notice of how green Berkeley's eyes are while wearing his green shirt):

Movie Review: Vantage Point

Title:	Vantage Point (2008)
Rating:	7/10

The film, Vantage Point, is about the attempted assassination of a US President. The plot is unveiled slowly by using a non-linear storytelling method that is engaging and fresh. Specifically, the same period of time (the time from about 5 minutes before to 4 minutes after the assassination attempt) is retold from several different vantage points... back to back to back. Each version of the story opens new aspects of the mystery until the final vantage point (from the point of view of the President) is given and the movie proceeds along ahead to the climax and conclusion. I enjoyed the movie very much (even if you overlook the plot similarities to Air Force One).

Summary: Recommended

July 2008 Berkeley Birthday Party Photos
Berkeley had his friends over today for a birthday party in the morning and afternoon (11am-1pm). The theme for the party was baseball. We (well Kristy) had the great idea of making the activities for the party function as various aspects of a fictional baseball training camp.

The first activity ("Uniforms") consisted of the kids painting the first letter of their names on hats. The second activity ("Catching Practice") was a water balloon toss. The third activity ("Hitting Practice") was simply whacking at a piñata. And finally, the fourth activity ("Running Practice") involved the two teams - the red team and the blue team - competing in a relay race between some bases.

Here are the two teams... the blue team is pictured on the left and the red team is pictured on the right:

From left to right on the blue team: Becky (friend from Church), Nathan (cousin), Eliana, Jake (friend from school), Fox (friend from both school and Church), and Nandi (friend from Church). Not pictured: Ebey and Emily (cousins).	From left to right on the red team: Mitchell (friend from school), Samuel (friend from school), Berkeley (the birthday boy), Isabella (neighbor), Tucker (friend from Church), Isabella (cousin), and Olivia. Note pictured: Kate (neighbor).

Here are a couple of pictures of two of the group activities... painting hats and hitting the piñata.

After the games we hosted a lunch (of hot dogs), ate some cake, and opened presents:

Berkeley Turns 6
Berkeley (like Olivia) wanted doughnuts for his birthday breakfast. His favorite KK doughnut is the "Chocolate Fling" (despite the fact that he has a distaste for chocolate in general).

Here are Berkeley's sisters... both enjoying a sprinkled doughnut.

Cracker Jack Ice Cream
The theme for Berkeley's birthday party is a baseball training camp. Berkeley already requested Oreo Ice Cream, but we need something else to have enough to serve everyone.... something baseball theme... hmmm... I know how about Cracker Jack ice cream?! I came up with the idea of making the ice cream based on the "Burnt Sugar Ice Cream" recipe found in The Ultimate Ice Cream Book (found on page 22) and then just mixed in some cracker jack popcorn after the ice cream hardened. It's actually pretty good. Give it a try.

2 cups milk
1½ sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tbs cornstarch
1½ tbs milk
¼ tsp salt
1 cup cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
about 1 cup cracker jack caramel coated popcorn

Place the 2 cups of milk in a small saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat. Place the sugar in a large saucepan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook until the sugar turns golden brown. Remove from heat and gradually add warmed milk to sugar, stirring constantly. The mixture will rise, foam, and splatter. Return to heat and keep warm.

Mix cornstarch and salt with remaining 1-½ tbs milk and stir until smooth, then beat into the egg yolks. Slowly add the milk/sugar mixture to eggs. Return mixture to pot and place over low heat. Stir constantly until slightly thickened (be careful to not heat too quickly or the eggs will scramble). Remove from heat and pour hot custard through a stainer into a large bowl. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in cream and vanilla. Refrigerate until cold.

Transfer to ice cream maker. The White Mountain ice cream maker we own will freeze the ice cream in about 25 minutes (ymmv). Remove frozen ice cream from ice cream maker, add cracker jack popcorn and mix to combine by hand. Serve immediately or transfer to freezer to harden completely.

Oreo Ice Cream
Berkeley's favorite flavor of ice cream is Oreo. He specifically requested it for his birthday party tomorrow. None of my ice cream recipe books have a "Cookies and Cream" or "Oreo" ice cream recipe, so I made it up. This recipe is based on the "Vanilla Ice Cream #1" recipe found in The Ultimate Ice Cream Book (found on page 129). It turned out great... probably the best batch of ice cream I have ever made.

2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tbs flour
¼ tsp salt
1-2/3 cups milk
1 cup cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
10 oreos

Beat sugar into eggs until thickened, add flour and salt and set aside. Simmer milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Slowly beat hot milk into the egg mixture and then transfer back to pan over low heat. Stir constantly until slightly thickened (be careful to not heat too quickly or the eggs will scramble). Remove from heat and pour hot custard through a stainer into a large bowl. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in cream and vanilla. Refrigerate until cold.

Add 5 crumbled oreo cookies to ice cream mixture and then immediately transfer to ice cream maker. The White Mountain ice cream maker we own will freeze the ice cream in about 25 minutes (ymmv). Remove frozen ice cream from ice cream maker, add remaining 5 Oreos (crumbled) and mix to combine by hand. Serve immediately or transfer to freezer to harden completely.

Movie Review: Wild Hogs

Title:	Wild Hogs (2007)
Rating:	4/10

We have been incredibly busy lately with party preparations (one down, two to go)... but we decided to take a bit of time to unwind tonight and watch the completely brainless Wild Hogs. The movie has very little to offer other than a few laughs. The predictable plot, manufactured drama, as well as the inane ending (not to mention the melodramatic acting *cough*Ray Liotta*cough*) would be quite suitable for an hour-long TV sitcom (a la Tim Allen's Home Improvement), but this definitely wasn't good movie material. But whatever, I wasn't expecting much.

Restoring Order to the Universe
A couple of weeks ago we started cleaning up the garage. Today I made some signifcant advances to restoring order to my universe (which consists of a clean garage and a clean home office). Enough progress was made to park the ML in the garage, something that hasn't been possible to do for almost a year. The garage is only halfway cleaned up, but as the Chinese say: 慢慢來.

w00t!

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Tile Grouted
The tile was grouted today (top and bottom). It will be sealed next week. The kids have had to stay off the tile the entire past week. On different days, different sections of the tile were installed and we were asked to stay off of it while the thinset completely cured. But today the kids were happy to enjoy the new patio with some ice cream bars (see below).

July 2008 Olivia Birthday Party
We sent out Olivia's Party Invitations to a birthday luau a few weeks ago. If you didn't get a card - don't fret - we only invited local family (and the grandparents too of course). We made the best of the semi-finished backyard with some luau-themed decorations (e.g. tiki torches and the like). The kids were all provided with grass skirts, a flower (or a shell) lei, and the opportunity to get a tattoo on their forearm or calf. Olivia welcome her birthday guests in a new pink dress (with matching silk flower hair clip) and her new "pretty" shoes. Here are some pictures of the principal party guests:

From left to right: Eliana (age 4), Berkeley (age 5 yrs and 360 days), Nathan (age 2), Isabella (age 4), Emily (age 3), Hinckley (age 1 month), and the birthday girl Olivia (age 2). Not shown: Jenna, Ebey, and Andrew (oops).

We invited the wife of our home teacher, Kamaile, to teach the kids a simple Hawaiian song. I can't remember much of the song now, and the kids can't either... except for the part that went "poo poo". Heh. Here is Kamaile teaching the kids the song and the accompanying hand movements:

After the song we served a luau feast headlined with Kalua Pork and Teriyaki Beef. There was also plenty of fresh fruit to munch on. I wish I had taken a picture of the spread now. Suffice it to say, the food was deluxe and there was plenty to go around.

After dinner, we sang to the birthday girl and served the cake:

We served the cake with three luau-themed flavors of homemade ice cream... Coconut Macadamia Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunks, Pineapple Ice Cream, and Mango Ice Cream. The coconut ice cream was a big hit and I must say that it was exceptional, one of the best flavors Kristy and I have created. The pineapple was also very good. However, the mango flopped (and it was the hardest to make!). I don't think my mangoes were ripe enough as the flavor was very weak. Ah well.

Immediately following the cake and ice cream, Olivia opened up her birthday presents:

Pictured below are two of her gifts... a new umbrella and a new "sofa" (her word) for the attic playhouse.

But, by far, her favorite gift was a sing along cassette recorder that the Thurmonds bought for her. Just take a look at the pictures:

It was a great party! I wish some of my own family was there to enjoy it (maybe next year *wink wink*).

Coconut Macadamia Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunks
A few years ago I bought an ice cream recipe book that contains predominantly custard-style recipes called The Ultimate Ice Cream Book. This recipe is based on the "Coconut Ice Cream" recipe in that book (found on page 50). My own variation adds the macadamia nuts and chocolate chunk pieces. Enjoy!

½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon cornstarch
¼ tsp salt
1 cup half-and-half
1 ½ cups unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup macadamia nuts (or more if desired)
½ cup chopped chocolate bars (or more if desired)

Toast coconut in a broiler oven until golden brown. Beat sugar into eggs until thickened, add cornstarch and salt and set aside. Combine half-and-half with coconut milk and bring to boil over medium heat. Slowly beat hot liquid into the egg mixture and then transfer back to pan over low heat. Stir constantly until slightly thickened (be careful to not heat too quickly or the eggs will scramble). Remove from heat and pour hot custard through a stainer into a large bowl. Add toasted coconut, cream, and vanilla and mix to combine. Refrigerate until cold.

Transfer to ice cream maker. The White Mountain ice cream maker we own will freeze the ice cream in about 25 minutes (ymmv). Remove frozen ice cream from ice cream maker, add macadamia nut pieces and chocolate chunks and mix in my hand. Serve immediately or transfer to freezer to harden completely.

Book Review: The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein
Several years ago, I purchased The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein. I bought it with several other ice cream books (specifically the Ben & Jerry's one and the one published by Williams Sonoma). The Ultimate Ice Cream book is a good reference and has many obscure recipes for ice cream flavors that you won't find in many other books (like recipes for Lavendar, Rhubarb, or Red Bean Ice Creams... the latter of which I had almost every day in Taiwan during the hot and humid Taiwan summers). Most of the recipes in the book are "custard-style", meaning that you must create a thin custard out of the ingredients (with the exception of the cream) before the ice cream mixture is transferred to the ice cream maker. If there is one weakness in the book, it is probably the chocolate ice cream recipes... but I prefer non-chocolate ice cream anyway, so I'm not complaining too loudly.

Summary: A book well worth the minimal $12 price tag. Go get it.

Teriyaki Beef

About 4 lbs of tri-tip beef steak
1 cup Hawaiian "Huli-Huli" sauce

Combine steak and Huli-Huli sauce in a leak-proof ziploc bag and marinate for 24 hours. Grill on an open flame until medium-rare. Cut into bite-size strips (or chunks) and serve over white rice.

Kalua Pork
Dig a pit in the middle of your backyard lawn. Then build a fire in the pit... no, not really. Just get your crockpot out 24hrs in advance of serving this.

1 pork roast (about 5 lbs)
2 tbs Hawaiian sea salt
1 tbs liquid smoke flavoring

Combine ingredients in crock pot about 18-24 hours before serving. Turn crockpot on low and simmer until pork is tender. Pull pork apart with two forks and serve over steamed white rice.

(Note: QFC sells Hawaiian sea salt; it is mixed with purified Hawaiian Alae Red Clay.)

Olivia's 2-Year Measurements
Olivia had her 2-Year Well Check today. She brought back a "Report Card" with her weight and height. She officially weighs in at 24 lbs (25th percentile for her age) and measures 34" in height (70th percentile for her age).

By comparison, Eliana at 2 years old also measured 34" in height but weighed in at a 27 lbs (70th percentile). Eliana was a chunky baby though and has thinned out considerably now.

Olivia Turns 2
Olivia turns 2 today. The tradition around here is that the birthday girl (or boy as the case may be) gets to pick the menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I asked Olivia what she wanted and she said "No-nuts" (doughnuts). I drove her down to KK and let her pick out a doughnut - a plain glazed doughnut with brightly colored sprinkles. When we returned home, we put a couple of candles in her doughnut and sang to her. She was thrilled.

(Update Fri Aug 8 11:16:11 PDT 2008 // corrected spelling)

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Hearth Installed
The solid surface slate slabs were installed today, namely the hearth and the fireplace cap. Here are a few pictures of both the hearth and the project progress at large:

	The hearth stone and fireplace cap are made from solid surface Brazilian multi-color slate; the same material used for the tile. The fireplace and the bottom portion of the columns will be wrapped in the synthetic stone shown resting against the hearth. The colors of the synthetic stone and the slate look a little too close, but the slate will be sealed which will give it a permanent "wet look" that is darker than currently shown. The synthetic stone is scheduled to be installed late next week.
	This is how the intersection of the deck and the roof turned out. If you look carefully, you can see the small exposed line of the flashing that extends up the roof about 8" inches and underneath that last row of slate tile about 6". That outside corner has also been sealed up. The roofer said there was a big hole there between that corner and the deck (which he fixed). Eventually, the handrail will be installed right along the intersection to keep the kids off the roof.
	This is a shot looking back toward the house from the south corner of the deck. The slate tile is completely installed now upstairs and lacks only some grout around the curbing (not to mention the mess that still needs to be cleaned up). The first window will be replaced with a door. This door will lead into the kids study (or music room or whatever we are calling it). The large holes on either side of the windows are for the lights. The smaller holes are for speakers that will be connected to our home audio system. The second window is the window in our master bedroom. Eventually we will need to address some structural concerns before we can swap out that window for a door.
	This picture show much of what Baxton did last weekend. The column was built out to cover the storm drain system and then wrapped in fascia. The soffit cedar material was installed. And the posts were built out to hide the downspout pipes. What's next for Baxton? Siding repair... this weekend supposedly.

(Update Fri Aug 8 11:34:34 PDT 2008 // changed URL of pictures)

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Tile Progress
The tile on the upper deck floor has now been restored. The curbing still needs to be re-installed and grouted. About 6 rows of the slate tile were also installed today down on the patio floor, out on the outer edge around the fireplace and the posts. I'm trying to get the mason out here to install the stone on the fireplace and the posts before Berkeley's birthday party next week (on the 29th), but it doesn't look like his schedule is too promising. Oh well.

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Roof/Deck Intersection Flashed
After our recent rain (and subsequent leaks), I hired the roofing outfit that did our Ecostar slate roof to come out and properly flash the intersection between the roof and deck. They sent a field technician out about a week and a half ago to look at the project and get the measurements for some custom flashing to make the transition from the roof to the deck waterproof. The installer came out today and installed the flashing and re-installed all of the roof tiles necessary to finish the roof.

Jason the tile setter was out all day today and has reset many of the tiles up on the deck. Still a lot of work to do if we hope to have the tile done by Olivia's birthday party (on the 24th).

Movie Review: National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

Title:	National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets (2007)
Rating:	3/10

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets provides little more than a threadbare plot and inane, meaningless, "ho-hum" non-stop action. Nicky Cage has returned to reprise his role in a movie (which like its predecessor) is pretty much a ripoff of Indiana Jones and The Da Vinci Code. The plot is so pathetic that it hardly deserves mention. Cage and Cage's dad (Jon Voight) must prove that their great grandfather was not in league with President Lincoln's assassin as alleged by a good 'ol southern boy, Ed Harris, and some halfway burned up piece of paper. Though it doesn't really make sense, Cage and Voight decide they must find a legendary "City of Gold" that the now-ignominious grandfather supposedly died trying to protect from Confederate spies. Yet, finding the City of Gold doesn't prove any such thing, the grandfather still could have been in league with the South... but hey, look over there... an explosion!

Summary: Absolutely preposterous; almost insultingly so.

(Update Thu Jul 31 07:09:48 PDT 2008 // added link to first review)

Home Renovation Project: Tile Repair
Well, Jason the tile setter has been working on re-waterproofing the deck all day yesterday and today. The tile is still all torn up and strewn about the deck... but the new waterproofing is installed. I guess that is something. Baxton will return tomorrow (and work through the weekend) to finish up the soffit install, wrap the beam, and build out the column posts.

Eliana's Ballet Pictures
We received Eliana's class ballet picture in the mail today. These were pictures taken backstage at on the day before Eliana's First Ballet Recital. She sure does make a nice pose with her ballet dress on!

(Update Thu Aug 7 22:10:24 PDT 2008 // corrected the timeline)

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Concrete Pour #2
The new step is now poured... and the larger patio footprint as well. I felt kind of bad making Baxton (and Mike and Darren) do the extra work, but it will look far better in the end. It was a short day of work today on our project; Baxton is now stalled until the tile can get fixed. That is supposed to happen tomorrow and Friday.

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Soffit Cedar Install Delayed
Baxton started installing the cedar soffit material today. He installed about 5 or 6 rows of the material and then decided to test the integrity of the waterproofing at the deck edges. Sure enough, there were leaks... pretty big ones... on either side of the deck. So the tile on the edges (and on the curb) will need to be ripped up, the waterproofing redone, and then re-installed. Baxton can't continue with the framing until the deck is water tight.

So, uh, that sucks.

Instead of installing the soffit material, Baxton formed out the patio extension we decided to have him do yesterday. We are widening the deck by about a foot on either side and another foot in depth. This will align the edges of the patio with the outside edges of the column posts... which are going to be built out for the benefit of hiding the drain pipes. Also, Baxton will pour the new step tomorrow as well.

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Mantel Installed
Baxton was able to knock out quite a few items today. The most exiting item was the installation of the fireplace mantel (see first two pictures at right below). We made the mantel ourselves (even the kids helped!) out of a 4x12 we bought at Second Use for $20. We all took turns distressing it and we sanding it. We used the same dye/stain process on the wood that we used on our hardwood floors in the attic. It came out pretty good.

Baxton also completed the drain pipe install (see second two pictures below) and also took care of the mechanical run for a duct that provides exhaust for a fan in the mudroom. The vent was extended out through the deck fascia (see third picture).

Parking Garage
We spent the evening as a family cleaning up the garage. Ever since we started our attic conversion project (almost a year ago), our cars have not seen the inside of the garage. There is still a lot to do... quite a lot to do. While we were working, Berkeley asked:

"Why are we cleaning up the garage?"

Kristy responded, "So we can park our cars in here again."

"We used to park our cars in the garage?!", Berkeley offered incredulously.

Yeah OK, so it's been awhile.

Eliana's Request
Just before dinner today... and remember, Eliana is 4.

"Dad, can I have a pown in my room?"

"A bone? What?"

"No, a pown."

"A what?"

"A pown to call people. I need a pown in my room."

"Oh, a phone. Who are you going to call?"

"Everyone I want."

"Like who?"

"Um, Elsa or Dallin or whoever I want."

Elsa was in Eliana's preschool class. And Dallin is in Eliana's Primary class. The mention of Dallin is interesting since Eliana made Dallin a card yesterday afternoon. While she was making the card, she asked me to spell the word "love" for her. Oh boy.

LDS Radio Online
About a year ago (or so), the Hallmark Channel pushed back the Sunday morning broadcast of Motab from 8:30am to 6:30am. We haven't watched it since. I guess I could get/build a DVR, but I don't watch (or rather *miss*) enough other TV programs to make the value proposition of a DVR worthwhile. *shrug*

So on a whim, I googled up "LDS shoutcast stream" and found LDS Radio Online which offers a free broadcast stream of Sunday-appropriate audio. Most of the instrumental pieces are quite lovely. But you'll have to wince once or twice (and roll your eyes) for a few of what I call "Josh Groban"-like tunes. It's hard for the music directors to separate the wheat from the chaff I guess.

Movie Review: The Notebook

Title:	The Notebook (2004)
Rating:	7/10

At the beginning of The Notebook, an old man (James Garner) in failing health enters a room in a rest home where he meets and greets a silver-haired woman (Gena Rowlands)... seemingly for the first time. He is there, he tells her, to read her a story out of a notebook - a love story - about a young man and young woman who meet and fall in love during one summer, are then separated by class (and by WWII), undergo a lengthy separation (where the young woman becomes engaged to another man), and then reunite. We find out that the old man and woman are the young couple in the story, and have been married for quite some time. However, the woman is now suffering from Alzheimer's disease and can no longer recognize her husband or her family. The man reads their love story to his beloved wife every day only for the hope that she will "remember" and come back to him... even if it is for only a few moments during the day.

It is a touching story and hits close to home (for me), since I'm very much in love with my wife and would be hurt tremendously if she were to fall into such a state. The acting in the film, especially by Garner, really drives home the emotional impact of the material... particularly when the wife "remembers" at the end of the story and then relapses just minutes later.

The end of the movie lays it on a bit thick. I thought the climax of the love story, which coincided with the wife's re-emergence would have been a fine place to end. But the movie continues and offers a denouement that seemed a bit too contrived for me (albeit it did provide a happy resolution for the couple).

Summary: Worth a look.

Olivia's Birthday Wish
Kristy bought Olivia a new pair of shoes yesterday which she is saving for Olivia's birthday on the 24th. Olivia was not very happy about the idea of waiting to wear the shoes. Today I had this conversation with Olivia:

"How old will you turn on your birthday Livy?"

"Two."

"And what would you like for your birthday Livy?"

"Shoes."

[Then a slight pause while she looked down at the shoes on her feet.]

"New shoes."

Um. No comment.

The Hanging Fruit Roll-Up
One day several months ago for the benefit of Eliana, I unwrapped and hung a fruit roll-up from a pan hanging over the kitchen island (this was before our general ban on "fruit" snacks and other sticky sweets at the recommendation of our pediatric dentist). Today I stumbled on a leftover fruit roll-up and gave it to Olivia for snack time. She pointed an index finger to a pan just above her head and said "hang it Dan."

(Update Sun Jul 13 21:16:48 PDT 2008 // fixed for grammar)

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Progress Report
Lots of work on the back patio deck project was accomplished today. In the early morning, Bob from the Allied Roofing (the company that installed our roof) dropped by to figure out the best way to flash the intersection between the roof and the deck. Jason was here too and between the three of us we came up with a good game plan to fix the problem of the water leaking down to the lower patio. Bob is going to order some custom metal flashing to step up the roof over the slate tile. He'll also flash around the corners. After he is done then Jason will re-install the tile in the area for a nice watertight fit. Hopefully it will work. Here is a picture of the area in question:

Jason spent the rest of the morning installing the final pieces around the curb of the deck and completely cut in the corner drains. He'll come back and grout it on Friday (tomorrow).

The fireplace subcontractors returned today to fix the damage to the fireplace that occurred during install. I had my doubts about whether it would look OK, but (to my surprise) they did a really good job. Here are a couple of pics:

Baxton was busy jackhammering out the back step. We decided to make the footprint smaller for the benefit of increased floor space in the patio area. He'll pour a new step next Monday; after that we will be ready to tile. Baxton also installed the fascia around the upper deck (see picture above at right left).

(Update Mon Jul 14 07:45:39 PDT 2008 // right -> left)
(Update Fri Aug 8 11:34:34 PDT 2008 // changed URL of pictures)

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Irrigation Moved
My landscape contractor, Tony, came out to the job site this morning and moved some of sprinkler heads and sprinkler lines. The old sprinkler lines are now running below the footings for the deck beam, so we thought it would be prudent to run new lines around the patio that will not be subject to such strain. Tony brought his son ("Junior") and Berkeley was happy to play with him for much of the morning.

Home Renovation Project: Fireplace Installed
The fireplace was installed today... that's the good news. The bad? Well... a little over a month ago the fireplace sales rep was out to take a look at the site and inspect our current gas lines to see if the supply was adequate (which it was thankfully). At the time, he informed us that the fireplace we ordered required line voltage (120V). Both Baxton and I were present and both of us asked for confirmation (Baxton said something like "Are you sure?" and I said something like "It doesn't run the ignition off of batteries?"). Anyway... it was somewhat of a surprise. So, at some expense, we ran some electrical conduit and wire out to the fireplace in the same trench as the gas piping.

Can you guess where this is going?

Yes, it turns out the stove's ignition system is in fact battery operated. So we ran the line voltage out to the fireplace (and up through the fireplace foundation) for naught. Thanks for that!

To add insult to injury, the installers put a huge dent in the front of the stove that they will have to address one way or another... either by part replacement (if possible) or by completely replacing the stove for another one. Aargh.

Olivia's Coconuts
Livy's upcoming birthday party will feature the theme of a luau. Here is one picture (of 28) that Kristy took of Olivia today for the benefit of Olivia's birthday invitations.

Movie Review: Wall·E

Title:	Wall·E (2008)
Rating:	7/10

We traveled as a family downtown this afternoon to catch the 4:45pm showing of Wall·E at the magnificent Seattle Cinerama. The kids have been looking forward to seeing the movie for a few months (I downloaded the Wall·E trailers off the PlayStation Store as soon as they were posted and the kids have been watching them ever since... imitating the robot's unique pronunciation of his own name).

The movie is very good, not Pixar's best (The Incredibles still tops my Pixar list), but far better than last year's Ratatouille (which I just noticed I never bothered to even provide a review for... and I'm usually very thorough about such things). For comparison, this might help:

The Incredibles... 9.01/10
Monsters Inc...... 9/10
Toy Story......... 8/10
Toy Story 2....... 8/10
Wall·E............ 7/10
Cars.............. 6/10
Finding Nemo...... 6/10
Ratatouille....... 5/10
A Bug's Life...... 5/10


Wall·E is a robot, the sole inhabitant remaining on a future planet Earth. Earth has been abandoned because of its filthy state and a legion of Wall·E trash compacting robots were left behind to clean up the joint. Only one Wall·E robot remains operational. Wall·E is joined by a visiting robot "EVE" who is investigating Earth's re-inhabitability. Wall·E is instantly smitten and stows away on EVE's spaceship back to the "Axiom", a space-bound cruise ship where the remainder of the human race now lives. At the center of the movie is a plant seedling that Wall·E finds during his trash cleanup duties on Earth and then gives to EVE as a token of his affection.

There isn't much to the plot and very little dialog to speak of (pun intended). Yet, Wall·E accomplishes quite a bit with very little. The character Wall·E has an "ET"-like charm that endears himself to the audience. The interaction and playfulness between Wall·E and EVE is quite touching at times. When the movie is developing the relationship between the two robots, the film works very well. The "human" characters and plot didn't work as well and although the two plot lines were necessarily symbiotic (to advance each other), they didn't enmesh particularly well. In other words, Wall·E feels like two movies... one that was really good (the robot love story), and one that was just so-so (the humans returning to Earth).

Summary: Worth the dollars to see it on the big screen.

Wild Hair
The state of Olivia's hair this morning after she woke up reminded me of Eliana back in the day. When I looked for the picture, I found that the pictures of both girls (see below) were taken at pretty much the same time... about 3 weeks before they turn 2 years old. Enjoy!

Other than the crazy hair, the two girls looks completely different (to me anyway).

After Eight
All three of my kids woke up after 8am this morning. The Second Coming shall soon commence.

Movie Review: The Other Boleyn Girl

Title:	The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)
Rating:	6/10

The first thing I must say about The Other Boleyn Girl is this: cool costumes! I'm a moderate fan of English period pieces (see Remains of the Day, Howard's End, Sense and Sensibility, etc), so this film about Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, struck my fancy. At almost 2 hours in length, it is a longer film than most... but considering how much ground it covers, the film's pace is very fast and there are more than a dozen key players which forces the historically challenged (e.g. me) to strain my old brain to keep everything straight. In fact after the film ended, I hit wikipedia to fill in the historical context of the story so that all the pieces fit together just so.

But much of the film does not require any historical knowledge really. The story is that of two sisters, Anne Boleyn and Mary Boleyn and their (supposed) rivalry between each other to catch a king (Henry VIII). Mary Boleyn is a reluctant participant at first, and would rather leave the business of seducing the king to her sister Anne. However, the king is smitten by Mary first (despite Anne's overt advances), a fact that leaves Anne quite annoyed. Despite Mary's recent marriage, her family forces her to be the king's lover. Mary slowly replaces her emotional attachment to her recently wed husband to that of the king. Mary soon bears his child (a son), only to be ostracized by the king and his court at the behest of Anne. The sisters play against each other but at last reconcile just before Anne loses her head (by court order on charges of treason). Mary takes Anne's daughter (Elizabeth) and raises the baby as her own (Elizabeth eventually becomes Queen of England).

Summary: Entertaining. Pay special note to the costumes.

Fourth of July
We spent our 4th of July with family and friends. In the afternoon we drove over to the Thurmonds for a Sorenson family get-together (minus the Corays). We stayed for dinner while the kids played on the trampoline that the Thurmonds recently pulled out of storage and have assembled (see below):

After dinner we drove over to the Folkmans. Bryan and Julie (Roos) invited us and several others to the Folkman dock to watch the fireworks that are launched out over Lake Sammamish. While we were there the kids enjoyed playing with a few waterside activities (such as the rope swing and the lakeside beach toys). The fireworks were very good. I used my new Cannon 50mm camera lens (received for Father's Day) to catch a few shots of the fireworks (sorry Khan... no tripod, all my shots were hand held).

As an aside: the lens performed admirably all evening. A great value for under $100.

Home Renovation Project: Back Patio Deck: Rain Rain Go Away
It rained here pretty hard through the night and into the morning. The storm included lots of thunder and lighting... which is rare for around here. The deck easily handled the large amounts of rain; funneling the rain to the corners and down the drains. Unfortunately, it also found a few holes in the seam between the house and the deck. Water was dripping down the seam and getting the lower deck all wet. Obviously not what we desired. So, with the long weekend ahead of us, and the weather not cooperating in the short term... progress on the project has ground to a screeching halt. Bummer.

Restaurant Review: Pecos Pit BBQ

Restaurant:	Pecos Pit BBQ
Cuisine:	Pork and Beef BBQ Sandwiches
Rating:	The ultimate Seattle BBQ joint
Price:	$8 for lunch combo (sandwich, beans, drink)
Location:	2260 First Ave S, Seattle, WA

I was downtown with Livy running some errands. On our way home (at about 1pm) we stopped for lunch at Pecos Pit BBQ. Pecos Pit is only open 5 days a week from 11am-4pm and will close before 4pm if they run out of food. The Pecos Pit can get crowded early putting a squeeze on the limited parking options, but our arrival at about a quarter after 1 was well timed. We were able to secure a spot right up front and the line was only a couple of people deep.

The menu at Pecos Pit has about 6 items: Pork Sandwich, Beef Sandwich, Sliced Beef, Beans, Chips, Drink. I ordered up the Pork Sandwich (mild for sharing with Livy), a cup of beans, and a fountain drink. The sandwich is a mouthful... I would estimate that it weighs about 12-14 ounces (perhaps even 16). There was plenty to share with Livy; and since Livy loves meat, she ate quite a bit of it actually. The sauce has a mild flavor - mellow and savory - not too heavy on the vinegar or the sweetness. It hits a sweet spot. The beans are as good as the sandwich... the same sauce on the sandwich is used to steep and tenderize the beans. The flavor of the beans and the sandwich are too close to each other though; I would have rather had a side of cole slaw, but no such option is available at Pecos Pit (and the nearest KFC is over in West Seattle). Ah well. Still and excellent BBQ option; probably the best in Seattle.

There and Back Again
Swimming in the lake has been delayed this year due to unusually cool weather in June. I usually start in June, but about three weeks ago (during the first or second weekend in June) I checked the lake temperature only to find it registered a very brisk 61°. Too cold. But while I was in Utah last week, it became very hot in our part of Washington and the hot weather has continued this past week.

The temperature of the lake has warmed considerably. Today I took a dip for the third time in the last 4 days. The water temperature? 75°! Delightful. I was a bit shy with my previous two swims, but I opened it up today and swim across the lake and back again. I completed the one mile round trip in 32 minutes, for a pace of about 1:50 per 100 yards. I've got some work to do.

Regardless, the best part of the swim was no more lane sharing with the elementary backstrokers. Yeehah!