Biking fun

This morning we took an 8-mile bike ride through Thetford Forest. It was beautiful and lots of fun--also, a great workout! Jacob refused to pose for photos with his helmet on, but I assure you he did wear it.

A birthday wish

Guys, my Dad is in Afghanistan right now, and today is his birthday. I just think he's awesome, and on top of his day-to-day awesomeness he's serving his country right now. So in my opinion that deserves an extra-special birthday tribute. Here are a few pictures of him that I really love. I hope you'll all join me in wishing him a very happy birthday. I love you, Dad!

When he's not living in the hot-as-the-sun desert, Dad lives in Alaska. I LOVE this photo of him. We were standing on the river (which was solid ice in the -45-degree weather) for the start of a dogsled race. He looks totally content. Dad, I bet you wish you were standing on ice right now, huh? How hot is Afghanistan this time of year?

The below photo is lots of fun too. I took it at my brother Mike's wedding 3 years ago. Dad is pictured here with his siblings Rosie, Gloria and Ross. I'm sure they could tell lots of fun stories about my Dad's birthdays past!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!

Work and dessert

One of the best things about my trip to the USA was getting to go work in the office; I loved it! My coworkers are fabulous, and it was great. (above: Vicki, Scott, me, Jeff, Christopher, Brian, Jennifer, Kelli and Steve; photography by Paula)

We did more than just work; we also ate some pie and cookies and cake. I love the above photo of me with Scott, the CEO, eating pie. (Scott is awesome! So was the pie...) Pictured below, my "maximum fudge density cake." [Conspicuously absent from the post is my amazing boss Paula who wasn't interested in being photographed for the blog.]

Arizona

I spent the week in Arizona visiting family and attending 2 weddings. The highlight of the week was getting to see my Mom and my older brother Mike, whom I hadn't seen in 2 and a half years! I also got to see my maternal grandparents and all but one of my Mom's siblings who were in town for the wedding of my cousin Zach. (Below, my Mom's sister Joye and her husband Kim, plus me and my Mom--and my Grandma in the background taking a picture of something else.)

Here's a picture of Tara and Zach right after their wedding. They are SO ADORABLE, and the wedding, reception, dinner the night before and brunch the morning of were all exceptional.

We also attended the wedding of my cousin Matt, whose dad (Arlo) is my Dad's brother. Isn't the bride gorgeous? Matt is the oldest of 12 children in his family. Unbelievable, right? Even more unbelievable is his mother Michelle--she looks fantastic! I'm always super-impressed with my Mom's ability to recite all the kids' names. She never misses one. I'm not even going to attempt.

Eurovision 2010

Even though we weren't home to watch it on TV, we made sure to follow the Eurovision Song Contest over the weekend. Since we've loved it so much the last couple of years (click here too), we didn't want to miss it this year. Here's the video of the winner, Lena from Germany. I'm not too sure about the song, or her accent, but she's adorable.



And here's the entry that I laughed out loud all the way through. France. It's hilarious, especially the choreography. And I know my French is limited, but I'm pretty sure the words really don't mean much of anything...

I can't even find a video of the UK's performance, which came in LAST place. Seriously. So here's the music video for the song. A cheese factory, to be sure.