Last Chance to Donate!

This is it! The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society are only accepting donations for the Firefighter Stair Climb for 3 more days! Please help me top my previous accomplishment of $1500. I'm so close thanks to all of you that have already given to this great cause. Thanks to everyone who has helped out! My donation page is here!

Firefighter Stair Climb

Pre-race composure: It only lasts so long. Then you get that nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach when you realize you have to climb straight up carrying 60 pounds of gear on a limited supply of air.
At least I was in good company. I got to spend some time with the Rat City guys.
My roots are in White Center, but the patch on my shirt says Bellevue now and fortunately we have very a competitive team this year. It still doesn't make this climb any easier, though. In the end I finished 303rd out of over 1500 registered participants with a time of 17:59. You can donate through the end of this month if you would like to support my climb by clicking here.

There's a Texan in Our Town!

Our friend Jessie had some vacation time this week and had never been to Seattle so Carmen told him to get on a plane and fly out here. He came all the way from Texas on a day's notice.
We took him to see all the sights. We went to Kerry Park and Pike Place Market...
We visited Starbuck's World Headquarters.
...had Dick's Drive-In in the snow... Something tells me it's probably not snowing in Houston right now.We saw the ferries & the Puget Sound...
the people at the bus stop in Freemont...
We even messed with the Troll a little.
And of course, what would a Seattle tour be without touching the top of the Space Needle?! It's always fun touring our city, especially when you're hanging out with awesome people!

Liam is 2 today!!!

It's hard to imagine that it's already been two years, but it's true. The day after St. Patrick's Day is Liam's big day. Happy Birthday Liam!!!Liam & daddy got all dressed up to celebrate.

Thailand - Day 9 & 10

Liam continued this theme throughout the trip... zonked. Just one more stop in Japan and we'll be heading for the USA.
Carmen was excited that we finally got to fly on a 2 story airplane. Out last leg of our journey landed us in Tokyo where we couldn't catch a flight out because of some bad information received in Thailand. The only connecting flights out of here were going to Hawaii, but we would have been stuck there because of the Pro Bowl. I know, what's wrong with being stuck in Hawaii?! Well, I don't think my Chief would appreciate it if I called in and said, "Sorry I can't make it to work today. I'm stuck in Maui."
No big deal. We overnighted in Japan, got our passports stamped, and had some play time.
"Ok, daddy can we go home yet?"
-Liam
"I'm leaving with or without you guys."
-Liam
After flying from Seattle to Portland to Tokyo to Bangkok to Phuket to Bangkok to Tokyo to Portland, it was time to get on one last puddle jumper bound for SeaTac... and we were happy to see a glimpse of home out on the tarmac.

Thailand - Day 8

Today we went to a local street market to buy some authentic Thai knock-off's.Carmen wanted to buy a scooter just like Brian's.I'll bet if you got that scooter up to about 50 you could jump the canal. Whaddya say?Ok, Amanda. I totally stole this from you. (No points for originality.)
Then we headed toward the airport and saw another picture of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. His portrait is absolutely everywhere. It is probably the only thing we saw more than Buddah on this trip. (Liam apparently thinks he's #1)
Some say Bangkok is "The Venice of Asia".
I would say yes, but with a little more poverty thrown in.
Too bad they don't make a Liam-sized version of their massage outfits. Sorry buddy. You'll have to sit this one out.

Thailand - Day 7

"Tuk Tuk!" (Liam's favorite word this week)
This morning we jumped in a taxi & headed for the dock.
Of course by the time we got on our Longtail boat Liam had fallen asleep.Soon enough he woke up to enjoy the historic river that connects Bangkok to the sea, the Chao Phraya.We had the boat all to ourselves.The driver took us through the canals.And into the floating market.We even saw the Royal Barge Museum.Lookout Carmen! You're in the line of fire!It's been a while since these canons were fired (if at all). These ships were used to transport Thai Royalty accross the river.
Our tour concluded accross from the Grand Palace and Wat Pho......at Wat Arun.
We saw a lot of "Wat's"! (Temples)
Despite the trecherously steep steps, we did manage to get Liam up and down safely.

Thailand - Day 6

Out on our morning stroll we found a whole street of Buddha statues.

"Daddy, I'm confused. Are we in Thailand, or the South Pole?"

-LiamSpeaking of poles Liam; you better hang on until the train stops!

There's a first time for everything, including my first time seeing a Toyota tow truck.
A swear; there's a differnt type of fire hydrant in each and every country.
Liam, aren't you so happy we took you with us instead of leaving you at home this time?
Carmen won an Oscar for best mom.
Hard Rock - Bangkok!The hard rock girls loved Liam. We had full time child care during dinner! When we left he had 8 tatoos, a souvenir bib & cup, a balloon, a flashlight, and whatever else he could get his hands on.
Traveling in style!
The locals complained more about the traffic in Bangkok than we did. What do we care. It's 75 degrees at night!

Thailand - Day 5

"Hello, Bangkok? I'd like to make a hotel reservation..."
-Liam"...Can you send a tuk tuk to pick me up from the airport?"
-Liam
"...I may be a little tired when I check in so please have the baggage cart ready to go."
-Liam
The phone booths in Thailand are a little different than their counterparts in London.
Why do you have to leave the United States to get your drink in a bag??Flashback to 1977. It's CHiPS patrolling the Bangkok highways.

Thailand - Day 4

And so begins our last full day in Phuket. 24 hour moped rental: $10
Our adventure around Phuket Island led us to some elephant crossing signs, so obviously we had to stop and check it out.
I'd say it was a good stop.Riding an elephant in Thailand. High 5!That is one big pooper. Yikes! Liam was a little worried.
Lookout Liam!!
Just kidding. She's harmless."Ok daddy. Time to go. I'm driving."
-Liam
Wait a minute. What are the Seahawks doing in Thailand?"I guess they're on vacation, too. Watch your finger Liam unless you think you don't need that one anymore."
-daddy
Here are the 3 main beaches of Phuket Island. Our hotel is on Kata Beach.
Every time we got on our moped Liam was sleeping within 30 minutes. Maybe we can convert it to a bed and bring it home.
With the kid sleeping we were limited to visiting the palaces and temples from the outside. A couple pic's from the seat of the motorcycle and we were on our way.
After a hard day of driving in Thai traffic I decided to indulge in a 1 hour oil massage; a whopping $10!
Then we enjoyed dinner on a floor mat. Now that's culture!
Our last stop of the day was the Phuket Aquarium. Liam was more fascinated with the moving walkway... naturally.
The Sting Ray's are so nice to let you pet them.
I have no idea what Carmen is saying, but Liam thinks it's hilarious!
Ok dude. Safety first! Lets drive up the hill & see the sunset!
Whaddya know? We found a Liam-sized elephant!"Back to the hotel, daddy. I've had enough fun for one day."
-Liam