Ducks Fan??

Apparently, in Oregon you have to be a University of Oregon Ducks fan or an Oregon St. University Beaver fan (personally, I think a Cougar could take them both on). In my firm, there is a division of Beaver and Duck fans, and they are all trying to convert me to one side or the other. One of the Partners bribed me with courtside seats to the Ducks vs. Arizona game for this past Saturday. It was an amazing game! I called up Alan Longhurst and he flew in for the weekend and we went to the game. Arizona beat Oregon pretty good, though the score was pretty close for much of the game. Attached are a few pictures from the game:

Do you Recognize the old guy in the picture with me? That is Lute Olsen who coached the Arizona team for many, many years.

Places I've Been...

Here are a couple of pictures of places that I have been in the last week. Last Saturday, I drove to Portland and went to the Portland Temple. Beautiful Temple both inside and out, though most of them are anyways.

Last night, a partner gave me and an associate attorney, Brian Moore, his tickets to the Trailblazers basketball game. Turns out that his tickets are first row club level seats that come with an all inclusive setting - in other words, we could eat whatever we wanted on that level for free. Needless to say, we wiped out the place as we ate nachos, cookies, hot dogs, licorice, pop, salad, potato wedges, brats, and vegetables. Yes, that was everything that I ate - though Brian did just the same. I did not eat much today and feel a little sick, but we definitely had a good time. Oh yeah, the game was fun to watch as well...

When Mommy is away the kiddies will play....

The other day Stacey and I were chatting on ichat when Sami told Stacey that she wanted a bottle. So, Stacey put me on hold to get the bottle. Meanwhile, Sami crawled into the chair and took her spot ichatting with me. She just started jabbering and not really saying anything, but she felt like she was having a conversation with me. She was doing exactly what she saw her Mommy doing. I took some pictures of our conversation.

The New Twilight Eclipse Moon

I wanted to clear the air on a misconception that most of you out there have - no, I am not reading the Twilight Series....should anyone ask please let them know that. Candidly, yes, I am reading the Twilight series, but no one is ever going to know that - is that understood? I have made powerful friends in Salem, farmers and grape growers that you would never want to mess with (mainly because they smell like manure - but that is beside the point). In the spirit of not taking responsibility, I am going to blame this one on Brandon. Let me explain: Stacey has been trying to convince me for a very long time to read the series, but I always responded with 'maybe someday' (which in man-terms means 'never,' along with 'okay,' 'I'll get right on it,' 'Yes Dear' and 'Right after the game' - which is technically true but we didn't tell you that it will be right after the BCS Championship game in 2029). Stacey and I were having a conversation about how Brandon joined a dance troupe because a girl asked him to do it. Stacey asked me 'Would you have ever joined a dance troupe for a girl in High School?" I responded with an enthusiastic "Heck, yeah!" An answer to which I dug my own grave - Stacey then said "So, you would join a dance troupe for a girl, but you won't read The Twilight Series for me?" Several strong, poignant four letter words raced through my mind, but there was no way I could respond other then "Boy, that chainsaw is a beauty isn't it? A real manly tool." I was trapped - and I knew it. So, I read the Twilight book and I am now in the middle of New Moon. New moon has taken me about a month and a half to get through - I said I would read it but there was no time limit as to when I would finish it. The books have been a little difficult to get through. But once I got past the "what a magnificent creature" and "a perfect face" and "adonis-like features" and "beautiful" and "amazing chest" from Stacey's buttering me up, I decided to start reading the series....

What's New?

2010 has started off with a bang. Let me do a quick run down for you: My wife and I are separated, I have a baby coming in July, I am living in a shed, my house flooded, and there is no Lamar's doughnuts in Salem. Sounds pretty bleak doesn't it? Well, things aren't that bad. Stacey is hanging out in Utah until our house closes, however, the bank has to fix the house before we can move in. They appear to be moving forward with getting that taken care of but we haven't received the final papers yet for closing on the house. Supposedly, we should have all the paperwork completed by the end of the week. Right now we are just anxious to get complete resolution from the bank and get the documents completed so we know exactly what is happening. It does put off the reunion of the family a little while longer, which is definitely the hardest part. Of course, I have to live in THE SHED for a while longer as well! By now, most of you know that we have a baby coming in July - Stacey is pregnant. Crazy! We are excited and shocked at the same time! That is the hardest part for me - not being able to experience the day-to-day changes in Stacey (which can be good on those bad day, am I right guys??). But we are crossing our fingers that things will progress quickly and we will be together soon. Today marked my second day as being the lone Administrator at Saalfeld Griggs. I am very excited about the job, and I have really enjoyed the experience so far. Wonderful people - great opportunity - and a good manager (for those of you slow on the uptake I was talking about myself there). 2010 hasn't quite started out the way that I thought it would, but I am very excited about what it has to offer and the experiences and adventures that will come our way. Happy New Year everyone - I miss you very much!