It's a ....

Tomorrow's the day

Tomorrow we learn the sex of the baby!

Baby on the way...and a new house too

Jessi and I are expecting. Well, she is expecting...I am anticipating. And we are buying a house. Here is a picture of the Baby.

And here is a picture of the house.

Beer Can Chicken

So this year for my Birthday I got a new grill. I have never worked with Gas before so there is a little bit of a learning curve for me, but I think that I will be more than happy to rise to the challenge. My Sister-in-law but my a beer can chicken roaster for Christmas, and you are looking at the first attempt. There were definitely a few lessons learned. Like go ahead and cook it over the heat...don't use the indirect heat method. And season the chicken like you normally would. (I just put the seasonings in the beer.) Here is pic when it first went on the grill.

China town

The entrance to China town was right across the street from our Hotel in San Francisco. We went down with our friends Lia and Serge. We saw Alcatraz, Angel Island, China town, Pier 39, Fisherman's wharf. It was a full weekend!

And the Golden Gate bridge...

CA state fair

From J & J Bates

This weekend took us to the Ca state fair. It was a beautiful, clear, hot day and we spent most of the day hopping between shady spots and looking for the fans that mist you if you stand in front of them. Unfortunately, we got there in the early afternoon, and all of the people who were already there were lined up in front of the misting fans so it took us quite a while to cool down. Once we were cool we got a neat little tour of the counties in California and got some great ideas for future trips. There was a farm animal nursery with baby, cows, sheep, and piglets. They were really cute, but it was a little sad that they were stuck in such a little pen.

From J & J Bates

Then there was a brewfest that featured a bunch of microbreweries represented. It was actually a really neat experience. Some of the people were real down to earth and if you asked about the beer they would tell you. Some of the people were really snobby and if you asked about the beer they would tell you about it, just a lot more pretentiously. All in all a really neat day.

Biking to Beale Falls

So Jessi and I said goodbye to Mom this morning. Parting is never fun, especially on such a short trip. Even though it was really short, it was a good one. Mom and I explored Grass Valley, the Mining museum, then Jessi joined us for a lovely dinner at Buonarroti's. We did Tahoe and Old town Pizza. And she made it home safely...which is always the best way to end a trip!

After Mom left Jessi and I loaded the bikes in the back of the truck and went to Beale falls, which is a 3 mile bike ride that ends in some beautiful waterfall scenery. This was our first bike trip together and it seemed a little ambitious on the way up, mostly because it is all up hill. We had a little snack by the river at the base of the falls and decided not to continue to the top. But the ride down was much easier and we were back at the car in no time.

Thanks for the great trip Mom!