Merry Christmas

Back from skiing in Big White, Canada just in time for Christmas. Wishing everyone a blessed Christmas filled with peace, love and joy. You can download our Christmas letter here.
Paper & Elements from Monika Designs' "Forever."

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Week Forty-Five Photo A Day

Here is WEEK 45 of our "Photo a Day" project. The last three days at Cancun were filled with rain from the impending Hurricane Ida. We lucked out and were able to get a lot of sight seeing in between the storms. The rest of the week was spent getting ready for Hawaii.I took a couple thousand photos in Cancun. I've uploaded about 150 of the best of the best. You can view the collection on my web site and at facebook.

Paper & Elements from Marti Scraps' "Forever."

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Card based on quick page by Judy at "A Touch of Class."

Week Forty-Four Photo A Day

Here is WEEK 44 of our "Photo a Day" project. We had an amazing time in Cancun. Stayed four days at the GR Solaris before moving to the Royal Islander for a week. We visited only three of the ruins— Chichén Itzá, Cobá, Tulum. Hooked up with friend Laura in Cozumel for a scooter tour of the island. We snorkeled, relaxed and played in the sun. Can't wait to go back.
I took a couple thousand photos. I've uploaded about 200 of the best of the best. You can view the collection on my web site and at facebook.

Paper & Elements from piggyscraps' "lillypond."

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Week Forty-Three Photo A Day

Here is WEEK 43 of our "Photo a Day" project. This week saw the end of the water ski season for us and the beginning of our first trip to Cancun, Mexico. We had a near perfect close to the season. Weather was awesome, sunsets and sunrises were spectacular, the river was not crowded (except for our boats), and the people jelled. More water ski photos can be found here.Paper and elements from Design by Latham's "Tiny Boy." Layout based on Template 95 from Lindsay Jane Digital Scrapbook Designs.

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Week Forty-Two Photo A Day

Here is WEEK 42 of our "Photo a Day" project. We didn't spend much time at home this week. We headed to LA on Wednesday for Catherine's play date with Patricia. Thursday we visited a good friend and had Gene's ski boot worked on. Gene went to the races Friday morning at 5 AM while Catherine slept in and left later in the day. The stop at Lake Pyramid is worth another visit. The best of the weekend was the sunsets. Photos of the sunsets can be found HERE while photos from the races are HERE. Both are on facebook. You don't have to be a "friend to view.Paper from one of DSO Color Challenge's." Layout based on template from Studio Flergs."

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Week Forty-One Photo A Day

Here is WEEK 41 of our "Photo a Day" project. This weekend was all about water skiing. The RV is finally repaired and the boat wake is back as the rams were swapped out. Another great river weekend. The weather was perfect and the crowds stayed home. All but our good friends. More water ski photos can be found here.Elements from Designs from Glenda’s “Afternoon Delight.”

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Week Forty: Photo A Day

Here is WEEK 40 of our "Photo a Day" project. This week was mostly about the Wine Maker Dinner for The Heuga Center for MS. We raised over $2,200. Thanks to everyone for their generous donations. The Dinner was outstanding. Photos, wines, food can be found here.

This week was also about hooking up. We got together with my nephew who is a guitar specialist for Little Feat. We met up with him at the Belly Up and watched the performance. Wednesday I connected with Sue from High School. I haven't seen her since graduation. It was really fun catching out. Our lives went in such difference directions but basically we are the same. Paper and elements from Scrappy Luv Designs “Earthy Grace.”

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Week Thirty-Nine: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 39 of our "Photo a Day" project. Another incredible long weekend on the Colorado River. Trudy and Simone joined us early on Friday for some good ski runs. RV is still being worked on and they still don't have the part for my boat.

A first for a river weekend. No wind. Absolutely NONE. Not even a whisper. How do we know? The awning on the RV stayed out all weekend, and trust me when I say that if someone sneezes, the RV awning comes in.

The weekend was perfect in other ways. Great friends. Warm days and cool nights. Light boat traffic. Sheriff on the river ticketing more stupid people on wave runners and boats. Brownies. Beautiful sunsets. Bacardi Big Apple rum for happy hour. Great friends. BBQ chicken and pork loin. Garbage omelets for breakfast. More brownies. More photos at the River Rat's Photo Gallery. Paper and elements from Lee Ann’s “Misty Eyed.”

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Here is WEEK 38 of our "Photo a Day" project. This week was all about the PARTY. Gene will be 45 while his twin brother Jack turns 70 on October 2, 2009. I know the PARTY was two weeks early but this was the only weekend we had open. More than 60 of our water and snow ski friends, family, neighbors and childhood buddies helped celebrate. One guest even arrived in San Diego on an F-18. Cool. The first guest arrived early at 1:30 PM and the last one left at 1:30 AM. We had a blast. Paper and elements from Deanna Jones’ Flower Scraps “It's My Party”.

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Week Thirty-Seven: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 37 of our "Photo a Day" project. Another water ski trip to the river. Saturday at the river was wonderful. Wow, what a difference a week makes. Now that the kids are back in school, the boat traffic was significantly less. This was the Griffin’s last trip of the season. Laura has a new wake board.

We had happy hour at the river's edge and then dined there as the sun set. It was really nice, then it turned hot, then it got a bit windy, and then it was really blowing. While the wind calmed a bit, it never went away. Sunday we went up river looking for better water and found none. The return trip to camp was pretty wet. We found the best water for wake boarding down river.

Now we are getting ready for Gene's 45th Birthday Party. Yes, he is getting younger.Elements from Dream Big Digi Scrapping “One Day I'll Fly Away.”

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Week Thirty-Six: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 36 of our "Photo a Day" project. It was pretty much a party week starting with the ants. Gene seems to forget that every year when it gets hot the ants join us inside. They are everywhere, not just where the food is. The ants drive him nuts. We had our first and hopefully last yard sale. Too much work and aggravation for too little money. Then there was a neighborhood bash, Fay's BBQ and my birthday. Now we are off for some water skiing.Flower from Digi Scrap Booking Boutique's “Carmen.” Ribbon by Digi-Designs by Nicole's "Family Ties."

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Week Thirty-Five: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 35 of our "Photo a Day" project. A very hot week. We are worried about fires in LA as it's kind of early in the year for these fires. I think October is going to be brutal. Gene has worked hard to keep the brush away from the house. So hopefully we will be fire free.

It was fun week. We FINALLY got new couches and tables for our family room. It looks so cool. Gene has been cleaning the carpets to get ready for his birthday party. Meanwhile, we escaped a couple of days to go bike riding and watch the Padres win. But it's still hot.Paper and elements from Linda Walton's “Shower of Flowers.”

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Week Thirty-Four: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 34 of our "Photo a Day" project. Another long weekend at the River Water skiing. The weekend started out VERY Hot. It was still 113°F when we returned from dinner on Friday at the Naked Pirate Bar & Grill at 9 PM. But the rains came overnight and brought cooler weather. It cleared by Saturday morning and most of us got in two runs before the rains came again. It rained for 3 hours so everyone huddled in our RV to watch old Rat's videos and partake of lunch. After which we resumed skiing and boarding.

Sunday was beautiful and the first run of the day had all of us on glass. As we broke camp the clouds came and we hit rain, thunder, lightening, and wind on the way home.

My boat and Gene's RV hadn't been fixed in spite of the fact that they have been in the shop for the past two weeks. The RV fixes are cosmetic so we were able to use it. The boat was not usable for skiing so our friend Paul lent us his boat. Hopefully, both will be fixed by our next trip in three weeks.

More photos available at Radar River Rat's Photo Gallery.Paper and elements from Linda Walton's “Oopsie Daisies.”

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Week Thirty-Three: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 33 of our "Photo a Day" project. A fun week with two days at the beach, two awesome events with Mike and Julie and a day at the races. I didn't bet just took about 600 photos. You will notice that both Gene and I got in at least a day of work. Best of us the deck is now finished... I think.Paper and elements from Stacey Tower’s Stacey’s Scraps “Indian Summer.” Modified template by Kim B’s Designs.

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Week Thirty-Two: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 32 of our "Photo a Day" project. Spent the weekend at the river and was treated to the moon rising over the Colorado River. It was magical. We stayed at a the river an extra day so we could take both the boat and RV in for repairs. Just hope they are done by the 20th.Template modified from Gunhild Storeide’s “Frames & Red Zigzags” .

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Week Thirty-One: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 31 of our "Photo a Day" project. Had a great time in LA. Celebrated Gene's oldest son Tom's 40th Birthday at P.F. Changs. We had such a wonderful time with family. Spent most of Sunday with a friend, Ed Knott, who is finally on the road to recovery. He has such a great attitude and a beautiful smile.Paper and element from The Mathematician's Assistant “Vintage Funk”.

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Tom's 40th Birthday

We had a wonderful time in LA this weekend. The highlight was celebrating Gene's oldest son Tom's 40th birthday. We took his whole immediate family (wife, step-daughter, mother, brother, brother's girlfriend) to P.F. Chang's for dinner.We spent Sunday visiting a friend who has been very ill and was finally diagnosed with Churg-Strauss Syndrome — a rare disease that can't be cured but can be treated. We were there for over seven hours and had a wonderful time as the day just flew by. Later.

Week Thirty: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 30 of our "Photo a Day" project. The river was HOT this weekend with temperatures up to 118°F in Needles. Skiing was awesome and the sunsets were again spectacular. Paul helped Gene and I out with the boat driving so I actually got lots of beach time. It was good to see Seena and Troy again. Check out the Photo Gallery of this river trip at Radar River Rats.When we got home from the river, we had four days of the Tour de France to watch. Wow! the Americans really did shine. Lance brilliantly maintained his third place on the podium.Yeah! American Team Garmin-Slipstream finished in 2nd. Yeah! American, Christian Vande Velde finished in 8th. Yeah! Another American, George Hincapie, finished a respectful 19th and led the final sprint in Paris. Yeah! Next year watch for the new American Team led by Lance— Radio Shack.

I've spent a lot of time this week learning the ins and outs of facebook. I've been uploading photos, videos, and events for my snow ski (Pacific Rim Alliance) and water ski (Radar River Rats) clubs. It's been lots of fun connecting with lost skiers, old friends, school chums and relatives.

Paper and element from Vicki Parker’s A Work in Progress “Uptown Girl”.

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Week Twenty-Nine: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 29 of our "Photo a Day" project. This week we did a bit or work and had some fun. Cat got a "new" PINK mountain bike, just in case we go to Sedona or Moab for riding in the dirt. So we tested it for three days by riding around Mission Bay and Balboa Park. Gene put the first coat of finish on the deck. He was told to roll it for better coverage. He worked very hard and has decided he will be spraying on the second coat. In addition, we have been captivated by the Tour de France and admire the job Lance Armstrong has been doing. Hope he maintains his third place on the podium.

Paper from Tracy Kosofesky's Resistance is Furtile “Those Summer Nights”.

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Week Twenty-Eight: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 28 of our "Photo a Day" project. The river is finally heating up with Sunday temps up to 108°F in Needles. The nights still cooled. Skiing was awesome and the sunsets were spectacular and the memories where never ending. Check out the Photo Gallery of this river trip at Radar River Rats.Elements from Nicole’s Digi-Designs by Nicole “Beach House”.

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Water Ski Weekend Recap

Fun, fun, fun times at the river and another beautiful weekend water skiing on the Colorado River. It was a weekend filled with awesome sunsets, amazing clouds, calm waters and great friendships. Scott and Kim made it back after a two year absence. We welcomed newbies Yvonne and Romelia, who were trying skis for almost the first time. Catherine, Paul & Carmen and Mark & Linda brought the boats. Jordyn, Megan, Sean and Brian supplied the vitality. Gene did his normal bang up job in the kitchen (the garbage omelets on Sunday were delicious). Simone, Trudy and Laura lent their many hands in helping around camp. You see, another wonderful weekend.

Check out the Photo Gallery of this river trip at Radar River Rats.Paper and elements from Nicole’s Digi-Designs by Nicole “Beach House”.

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Annual Wine Maker Dinner for MS

Pacific Rim Alliance Snow Sports Club and Radar River Rats Water Ski Club will once again host it's ninth annual Wine Maker Dinner for MS on Saturday, October 3, 2009, 5 PM in San Diego. Cost is a minimum $75 donation to "The Heuga Center for MS." 100% of the proceeds to benefit the center.Mary Trimmins, Executive Chef, returns as our guest chef. Dinner will consist of 6-7 courses with an exquisite wine specifically matched to each course. Dinner typically lasts 5 hours.

For those coming from out of town, plan to stay the night at a nearby hotel, and attend the Miramar Air Show on Sunday.

Paper & elements from Sara’s Sweet Blossom Designs “Boys World.”

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Week Twenty-Seven: Photo A Day 2009

Here is WEEK 27 of our "Photo a Day" project. We had a wonderful week. Caught the Del Mar Fair before it closed and spent the 4th of July at the beach. The focus this week was on our deck. Gene finally bit the bullet and spent a whole day stripping the deck. Next day he painted the iron on the benches. Now he knows what stain he will use so hopefully the deck will be done next week.Paper and elements from Deanna Jones’ Flower Scraps “Those Summer Nights”.
Modified Template 079 from Lindsay Jane's Digital Scrapbook Designs.

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Happy Fourth of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July. We took the trolley to Seaside Village and walked along the water taking in all the sights and people. It was a beautiful blue day without a cloud in the sky. We stopped for a late lunch at "The Fish Market" and enjoyed ice cream at "Ben and Jerry's."There were so many kids, family, energy, fun and food. We visited Julie at the "Summer Pops" with Marvin Hamlish. She kept us in wine, beer and desserts. Afterward we watched the fabulous San Diego harbor fireworks display. Fought the crowds on the trolley to home.

Template modified from template 079 by Lindsay Jane's Digital Scrapbook Designs.

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