The Saratoga Dog Park

The dog park down the street from us just re-opened yesterday, with all new fake grass for the dogs and decomposed granite for running. Yep, fake grass. Its pretty much astro-turf, but specially made to not get any bacteria growth and to drain much better. Just what you need for a dog park ;)

So they had a grand re-opening yesterday, with city council members and everything. They gave out free dog treats and cookies, and of course people from the company that made the turf was there.

A pretty neat setup all around. Of course I took lots of photos...

Google Holiday Party

So the Google Holiday Party was last night at Pier 48 in San Francisco. Shannon and I got all dressed up and partied with about 3000 other Googlers and their dates.

Quite the impressive get-together. The two buildings were split into either main areas, themed with things like Jazz Club, Street Party, Psychic, Marie Antoinette, Tango, New Age/Ethereal, Reggae, and Hip Hop Dance Club.

They had airbrush artists for tattoos, basketball courts for pickup games (in formal wear! tough!), pool tables, ping pong tables, over-sized croquet, Playstation 3's, and wine cork shooting range.

Tons of fun all around, then to top it off some Googler's rented out a club in San Francisco and about 700ish people (including Shannon and I) went there to dance until 3am.

We didn't get to bed until 3:45am last night, which made today a little tough but it was well worth it :-)

Some photos...

Shannon and I ready for the party:

The street party / car show area:

Dancers at the street party area:

Shannon ready for croquet:

The ethereal room with lots of people

The ethereal room before it filled up:

Happy Holidays!

Apple Hill

This weekend Shannon and I picked up a couple of friends of ours (Peter and Danika) to go to Apple Hill and see the sights. Nick and his girlfriend Sarah met us up there as well.

We went to a few apple orchards, a winery, and the Fudge Factory. Here are a few photos from the trip.

Shannon waiting patiently in line

Shannon got a turkey leg for lunch

She couldn't finish it though, and Peter had to help out (oh so politely)

Everyone in line to see them making apple juice, but Shannon got distracted by the camera

Peter, Shannon, and Danika enjoying some kettle corn

All of us at the end of the day

We are moving!

Our house finally is in escrow again! This time we think it is serious.

Here is our rental in San Jose that we are moving into at the end of this week. It is in Campbell and down the street from a dog park that is being remodeled. Teenie and LuLu can't wait to move in.

THE HOUSE

THE ENTRY

YOU TURN RIGHT WHEN YOU'RE IN THE ENTRY TO ENTER THE KITCHEN (Sorry it is a mess, but what is a house without a messy kitchen)

ROOM OFF OF THE KITCHEN

DINING ROOM

LIVING ROOM OFF OF THE DINING ROOM

FIREPLACE IN LIVING ROOM

NON-MATCHING BUILT IN CABINETS IN LIVING ROOM

HALLWAY TO BEDROOMS (HALL BATHROOM STRAIGHT AHEAD W/TUB)

FIRST BEDROOM ON THE LEFT (OFFICE)

SECOND BEDROOM ON THE LEFT (GUEST)

MASTER BEDROOM (DOOR TO HALLWAY ON THE RIGHT)

MASTER BATH

MASTER BATH

That is the house in a nutshell. The backyard is nice and big with lots of space to plant and garden. You all are welcome to come play in the San Jose way anytime.

Baby Balland's Baby Shower

In December, our friends Peter and Danika are expecting their first baby. They don't know if it is a boy or a girl so we look forward to their surprise. Here are some pictures. I was lucky to be appointed "Games Coordinator" along with my friend Skyla. Here are some pics:

The happy couple opening cute gifts:

Danika is enjoying the "Poopy Candybar Diaper" game and is smelling one of the numbered diapers trying to guess which kind of candy bar is in it:

What is a shower without a pinata? Here is Peter taking his best jab at the dino:

Danika gets in there not wanting to hurt or maim anything to do with her soon to be child:

I had enough of the "gentle" play and had to step in and blow the thing to smithereens:

Each party-goer then got a chance to guess how big Danika's belly was with a chosen length of string (Peter's guess fit twice around her...ugg, men):

The only baby at the party was Skyla and Casey's adorable son Aiden. He slept through some of the festivities:

I got to love Aiden up once he was awake (sorry for the scary face):

Skyla loving her baby:

I got to make the cookies to give away as shower goodies. They were fun to make and decorate:

Bring on Baby Balland!!!

Happy October 1st

It is Pumpkin Day!

We hit our favorite, local fruit stand for their mini pumpkin patch today. Andrew got a huge pumpkin, I got a weird, flat one, and Teenie and LuLu got pumpkins resembling their body types.

Here are some pics.

I had to tell Andrew to stop lifting the girl scarecrow's skirts up.