Christmas Eve 2008

First, we would like to wish all of our friends and family a Merry Christmas wherever they may be. Know that we are thinking about all of you.

The weather has finally taken a turn and instead of snow and ice we now have slush and flooded intersections. It has been a very crazy week here, but it appears that we are going to get back to our normal winter... rain, rain, and more rain.

We did break out of the neighborhood to head downtown for a Christmas Eve dinner at a French restaurant named Fenouil. Great dinner. And for an added bonus the pastry chef makes all-natural dog biscuits to give out to customers - only in Portland - but Charlie loved it. Below are a few pictures of Simone at 7 months and our sad little Charlie Brown Christmas Tree.

Happy Holidays!

The Storm Continues

The crazy weather continues in the Pacific Northwest. Saturday into Sunday we probably received 8 - 10 inches of snow followed by a coating of freezing rain. Charlie appears to enjoy the snow, but he didn't enjoy the frozen coating on the snow this morning. He would prop himself on the frozen surface until he the ice broke and then he would crash into the snow. We are expecting to be locked down for another day. We are keeping safe and warm.

Charlie standing on the frozen snow...

Check out that accumulation!

Simone and Charlie enjoying the winter weather.

Arctic Blast '08

Portland has been hit this week with a winter storm that the 3 snow plows in the county are not able to deal with. Sunday we were hit with 4" or so of snow that fell on top of rain which made for sheets of ice for roads. Today snow started falling this morning. Then comes the freezing rain, rain, and then more snow. Which again should make for sheets of ice for roads. Oh what fun.

OH-IO

The first couple days in Ohio have been noteworthy. First, while we were traveling the Buckeyes decimated 'that team up north.' GO BUCKS!

On Sunday there was a baby shower held for Simone. I hear that it was a lot fun. Our room now looks like a Baby's-r-Us exploded. Gift bags full of clothes. Thank you to everyone.

On a related note, the little one now has a name: Nicholas Thomas. I can quit calling him 'bump.'

The weather is cold and a little rainy (turning to snow at some point) and we are looking forward to seeing everyone at Thanksgiving.

Across the Pond

I just returned from a trip to England for work. Swindon is where Intel's site is which is about an hour east of London. I had never been to London before and was able to do a little exploring with a co-worker (who is originally from England) on Wednesday evening. After the sites we stopped for a few pints and a dinner of bangers and mash at a random pub. Good times.

Buckingham Palace - The Queen Was Home - You Can Tell By The Flag

This is a GIANT Ferris wheel-like thing on the Thames. Huge. I was told that you pay for one loop that takes 20 minutes to complete. It moves around very slowly.

Look kids... Big Ben... Parliament.

The Malaysian Crew

It's has been a few weeks since I have posted. Sorry about that. Not a whole lot new, but my team from Malaysia has been in town for the last two weeks. Binder, Hui Hui, and Chiew Ching. It's kept me busy with meetings and activities. While I usually go to Malaysia once every three months or so, once a year I get to bring my entire team together here in the US. We had a good time. We went to the corn maze (aka Corn Maize) on Sauvie Island (pictures below). We also did some pumpkin carving since none of the Malaysia folks (and some of the larger team here in the US) had ever carved one before.

The wife is doing well, but she fought a stomach bug for a couple of days earlier this week. She is really enjoying the experience and I am looking forward to being able to feel the kicking that she can feel. The Great Name Debate is continuing. Enjoy the pictures from my team's visit.

It's a boy!

We had the 'big ultrasound' today and we are told the picture below shows it is a boy - you can judge for yourself. The angle of the picture is sort of looking up between the baby's legs from the bottom. Mother and baby are doing wonderful so this should be the last ultrasound and the last time we see the little guy until March 1st.