Fool for Art & Science Festival

Last weekend, my office participated in the County's Fool for Art & Science Festival. After I hosted our table for a couple hours-- giving out information about CFLs, energy conservation programs, and answering random questions about our power plants, it was time to check the place out. (The pics were taken with my old Blackberry, so they're not stellar.)

Parker tried his hand at funeral reconstruction-

These are the mannequin heads and wax used by funeral services to re-create
facial features for a viewing in the event of a ghastly accident.

Would you want this for your face, should you become disfigured?

Continuing in the theme of icky booths...next was the owl pellet dissection station.

Parker was supposed to try to identify the species of animal
recently eaten by the bones found in the regurgitated pellets.

And then he dug up a dinosaur!

Next on the agenda was making his own "fossil."

Moving right along to the GERM table, where he got an eyeful
of the germ cultures grown from cooties found on various surfaces and body parts.
Maybe he will understand why I insist on hand-washing.

He met some interesting people at this festival.

It's one thing to shake someone's hand,
but you REALLY get to know someone
by checking out their inner workings.

It's okay, though--he was a Utah fan.

He took a break from all the dirty stuff
and tried to re-create a Picasso masterpiece with oil pastels.

Here's my company's table...the side without the cool stuff and the candy.
Unfortunately, we didn't have anything that
could be dissected, molded, or dismantled (BORING).

Adventures in Snowboarding

The 3 of us had planned to hit the slopes
pretty much the minute we knew we were going to visit Utah.

It took less time to reach the top than I remembered
from my high school bus trips to the slopes,
probably because I was traveling in, well, a BUS.

And so we arrived at Brighton: 2 newbies and 2 practiced snowboarders.

We almost look like we know what we are doing, don't we?

Jeremy, Angela & Eric, getting strapped in and ready for the first run!

Smooth moves by Eric

Angela, lookin' cool

My adventurous boys!
Parker seemed to get a handle on the mechanics immediately.
I was not as fortunate.

Worn out after giving it their all!
It was great to have 2 "experts" with us,
though I don't think they imparted any helpful tips!
Although if they did, it's hard to remember them when
you're sailing down the mountain at breakneck speeds,
trying to avoid trees and small children!

There aren't any pictures of me snowboarding.
Mostly because whenever I actually WAS vertical, no one was around.
They all ditched me for steeper slopes pretty much immediately.
I think this is the first time I've had a bruise on this part of my body.
Hooray for souvenirs!
Next time I'll wearing more padding :)

Our peeps in Utah

Thanks to Adam and Heather, we had an excuse
to take the week off from work and fly to Utah and hang out with our families!

2nd annual Sibling Dinner- thanks Eric & Courtney!

Siblings only--no parents allowed!

Only missing Josh & Scott in this one.

Parker & Grandpa at the Auto Expo!

Serious bonding time over hot rods, customs, and antiques

Addie and Parker were inseparable on this trip.

Addie wore Parker out from all the playing!

They never seemed to run out of things to do the week we were there.

Parker & Madsen- handsome little dudes!

Madsen & Ryan (incredulous for some reason)

Angela and Cassia

Addie actually had the nerve to be shy with me!

We tagged along to one of Addie's dance classes and
watched her prance around with her best friend.

It took awhile, but Addie finally warmed up to Jeremy.

Music makes everything less scary, even an uncle with a big goatee.

Soft pretzels at the mall.
This was Addie's first one...she'll probably be addicted now. Sorry, Rach!

Parker & Grandma W.

Maybe there was questionable content on the TV??

Adam & Heather got MARRIED!!!

Once upon a time, there was an awesome guy named Adam,
and an awesome girl named Heather.
They started dating and we all knew immediately
that those two supremely amazing people should be together forever.
Luckily, they agreed.

So we all flew to Utah to help them get married!

Not so sure it was the BEST idea for the groom
to be climbing that rickety ladder over and over....

Wedding day!

Does that look like a happy bride or what?

Adam looks pretty happy, too.

We were pretty excited about the whole thing, as well.
Just check out those smiles!

Here's to a future of dance-worthy moments for Adam & Heather!

Parker's First Concert

We were thrilled to recently attend Parker's first concert performance. With 5 months under the band's collective belt, we were certain to be treated to heavenly sounds. As you'll see in the first video, we weren't disappointed.

It's beginning band people!

Parker loved performing and we are so proud of him!

Engagement Anniversary

Over Valentine's weekend Janell and I celebrated the 13 year anniversary of our engagement (we can come up with any excuse we want) by heading out to a B&B in the middle of nowhere. In this case the middle of nowhere can be found in Nelson County, VA.

Janell decided to try out the various baked goods available within minutes of our arrival.


This was actually one of the nicer B&B's we've stayed in. It was a lot better than the one where the pipes froze and we couldn't flush the toilet. That was also the one that the hot water only lasted long enough to fill the jacuzzi tub up enough for a foot bath. Anyway, this one was very nice and had hot water and flushing toilets and everything.

We had dinner at a brewpub near Wintergreen (VA ski resort area) that I had been wanting to make it out to for a while. We waited almost two hours for a table, but kept eachother laughing and happy making it seem a relatively short wait. To Janell's chagrin, I ordered crawfish. I had to ask the waitress how to eat them. After her explanation on the technique (break them open and suck out the meat) I did not eat them.

It was fantastic to get out on our own, even for just a night. Thanks to G&G Hancock for making it all possible!