Birthday Boy!

Happy Birthday.... to you! Ryan turns the big 3-0 today. We got to celebrate this last weekend with Hubbel. Hubbel's sister, Taliatha, lives in Cary, N.C. so he got to kill 2 birds with one visit. What a great birthday present!

Ryan is the greatest husband. I am so glad he was born.
Happy birthday Ryan!

Ryan's Good Friday

I got Good Friday off but Cheyn didn't so I had a chance to go explore Duke gardens near the Campus in Durham. I took a few pictures at the gardens.



On the way back I got to pop in on Cheyn at the UNC hospital Here is an action shot. At the time Cheyn was telling her patient he had two weeks to live.

Cheyn's Picks

Cheyn brought this home yesterday. So proud of my woman for filling this out at work in her free time. She didn't pick all top seeds allowing for some upsets and I think they are good picks overall. Fun to see her loyalty to UCLA over UNC to take it all. I have such a cool wife. Any comments on her picks March Madness fans?

Meeting Team Harper in Charleston

We just got back from a wonderful weekend with the Harpers in Charleston,SC. Jenny has been my best friend since I was 5 months old. She is now 30 with a great husband Ridge and 3 beautiful daughters living in St Mary's Georgia. We met up at a good halfway point and the trip was great from the minute it started. Right near the beginning we had dolphin sightings and rainbows. Here we are AHHing at the rainbows.

The next day was jammed packed with adventures to the aquarium, Fort Sumter, a picnic, a slave market that was converted to a museum, parks, walking, and yummy barbetoo (as Shelby calls it). Here is Ryan With Shelby and Coby James at the Aquarium.
This is Coby James, the middle child. She is full of energy, pretty mischievous, and a lot of fun!
After the aquarium, we took a boat out to Fort Sumter where the Civil War started. The first shots were fired on this fort and the Confederacy overtook it in 1861.

Jenny and Ridge are such great parents and as you can see, they have their hands full.


This is Shelby. She is such a princess and she definitely has stolen my heart with her dainty ways.
This is Bay. She is going though the "I just want Mommy and Daddy" phase. A few times I would hold her against her will. She is just like a little doll.


We stumbled on this old historic cemetery with people buried from the 1700's.
Jenny and I doing the "Zombie Dance."
It really was a perfect weekend. Here is a link to more pictures and a few videos of creatures in the Aquarium.

P.S. Ridge beat us all at Ticket to Ride game TWICE! (Wendy and Justin.... I think we found your competition).

One Year Older and Wiser Too

Happy Birthday to you!

One Year

One year ago we officially started our life together (March 9, 2006).
Here is a little slide show we have been working that we hope you like. Were especially proud of the music syncing with the picture on "Kiss" and "Married." Love you babe.

Saturday Sushi

For Valentines this year Cheyn got me a Sushi making kit and recipe book. I've been thinking about trying to make sushi rolls for a while and drew inspiration from a friend who tried it last year. This morning I realized it was time to get in touch with my Japanese side and try it myself. I went to the Asian market down the street and stocked up. I got rice, rice vinegar, seaweed, ginger, imitation wasabi, some miso soup mix and a dish to put soy sauce in. I then headed off to the grocery store and picked up green onions, chives, soy sauce, cream cheese, and salmon and an avocado.

I never realized that rice vinegar was used in the process. Vinegar is used as a dressing for the rice with a little salt and sugar added. You also use the vinegar as a lubricant so that the rice doesn't stick to your hands or the knife when laying out the rice and cutting the roll. I think the hardest part of the whole process was rolling it. The first and third roll looked good. I wanted to use my hands but should have relied more on the bamboo roller on the second roll. I tried the seaweed on the outside on the first two rolls and on the inside on the third.

I ended up making a plain salmon roll, a salmon avacado roll with chives, and a Philadelphia roll. Cheyn helped and it did end up tasting just like the restaurants. For sure when we go out to sushi next time we will be watching and eating with a more technical mind. I think it took about 50 bucks to completely set up for making rolls at home. Hereafter I bet I can now make a meal for two to four for about ten bucks. I'll have to get adventuresome after this and use tuna, eel, yellow tail, or soft shell crab. I also want to add the fish eggs but wonder where to get them.

Domo Arigato for the present Cheyn!