Reminiscing..

 

I was just looking through some pics of Dean & Sheri's last visit and thought I should post a couple pics. Here are D & S in front of an exhibit (I am hesitant to name the animal since I got it wrong the last time). Below is Conner being friendly.

Kissy-Face

 

Coolest Lecture...Ever!

 

I received an invite from the Consul General of Japan honoring astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. I was allowed to bring a guest so I took Eric, science nerd at my school. We attended the event in which Hoshide had a DVD presentation of his mission to the International Space Station. So very cool. At the end, there was a (very) informal meet & greet session and then of course, a buffet. I would have taken pictures of the food, but you know...kinda embarassing. Above is a shot of Eric, astronaut Hoshide, and me.

Seattle Tour - Fall '08

My brother and sister-in-law have come for a visit!!! It's been wonderful having them here although it's only for a short week. Dean and Sheri arrived last Wednesday. The purpose for the trip (aside from visiting family) was to attend the University of Hawai'i (against OSU) and Seahawks game (against the 49ers).

On Friday morning we drove to Portland where we met up with my other brother, Kyle, and his friend, Wade. We all stayed with Dean & Sheri where we sat up, talked, and ate. We headed out early on Saturday morning for Corvalis. While the game wasn't dazzling, it was a way to support the team. We drove back to Seattle on Saturday night so that we could see the Seahawks on Sunday morning. We were lucky that John snagged some tickets for us. It really was a great day - everything about it was memorable and I wish we could do it every weekend.

Dean and Sheri are on their last couple of days here in Seattle. I'll be sad when they leave, but am immensely glad that they came.

See below for pics.

The eats

 

We left Seattle Friday morning and stopped for lunch in Vancouver. We headed to Sonic in Vancouver but on the way, we spotted this frozen custard place so we stopped for dessert. We all had burgers at Sonic but I gotta tell you that the frozen custard was excellent. Frozen custard is basically soft serve with mix-ins - like a Blizzard...only better. After eating we did some shopping and then headed to Portland.

Kyle talking to Conner

 

Wade & Suz

 

Game Day: UH vs. OSU

 

We left Portland at about 8:00 and headed to Corvalis to go to 2 tailgate parties. We arrived right around 9:30 and headed to the first tailgate - lots of locals from Washington. Go figure. We then headed to the second tailgate sponsored by the UH Alumni Association. The crowd was certainly different - older with more money. The food wasn't as good, though. After the tailgates we headed over to Reser Stadium for the game. Here's a shot of Dean & Sheri in front of the stadium.

Mary & Dean

 

At the first tailgate party we went to, Dean ran into a former co-worker from Hawai'i. How weird is that? Mary and Dean used to work at Long's Drugs in Kailua. Both have since left and moved on to bigger and better things. Incidentally, Kyle ran into a high school football teammate from Castle at the game, too. Me? I didn't know anyone...apparently my brothers are more popular than I.

Our Seats...Row 37 (of 38)

 

We got tickets to the game and while we had a good view (both inside and outside the stadium), one could get altitude sickness from where we were.

 

Field view

 

The long walk to our seats...

 

Dean went and got beverages for us after we arrived at the stadium. Here he is making the trek up to our seats.

The view from row 37

 

Seahawks Game Day

 

The main reason why Dean & Sheri headed to Seattle was for the UH game, but the added bonus was the Seahawks game. John hooked us up with tickets which we were thrilled with (all home games are sold out). Cindy was very generous and opted not to go to the game so it was the four of us at Qwest Field. We had great seats (about 20 rows back on the 40 yard line) and the game was pretty good...well, until the 49ers took the lead. Here we are picking up John for the game.

The Drum Corp and Leader

 

I don't know how many people were in the corp, but it was loud and chaotic, and it was great. Here's a shot of one of the drummers and leader.

Dean at FX

 

My brother has always been a sports fan, particularly of football. He's always wanted the chance to hang out on game day at a place where everyone knows his name...just kidding...not really. He's always wanted to hang out with other football enthusiasts who were EXCITED about the game. So John suggested we take Dean to FX before the game. It did not disappoint. There were tons of people in jerseys and Seahawks gear, it was loud and noisy, and there was food. Dean was finally home. And you should have seen his face when the drum line walked in to perform...he reveled in it. It was a good day - even though we lost.

Dean & Sheri at FX

 

Posing for pics...

 

Like my nephew, Conner, Dean has his 'smiley' face - this is it.

John & Dean

 

Posing for the camera - Hawaiian style

 

Conner at play

 

Conner & Aunt Sheri

 

Conner's Smiley Face

 

So when Conner poses for pics, he has a smiley face. This is it. I don't know where he picked it up from, but it's a little tiresome for his mom and dad who are trying to take 'normal' pictures of him; he's always posing.

Conner & Aunt Suz