Wedding in Buffalo, Summer '06

Congratulations to Colleen and Bob! We traveled all the way to Buffalo, NY for the festivities with the McHale Family! Colleen was a beautiful bride and the wedding and reception was fantastic! Hmmmm Buffalo wings and Canadian beer, eh?

We hear there is a little one along the way soon too!

Home sweet home

Hmmm, ah ah ah

So, we are offically residents of Oregon driver's licenses and nursing licenses and all! Soon we'll even be employed! After a year of tiny hotels and guesthouses we landed in a ginormous yuppie condo situated on the banks of the Willamette River, next to the world famous Broadway Bridge and minutes from Sasquatch's section-8 condo across the street. We even have wild geese and ducks pooping on our sidewalks that we wander down to the music and beer festivals that happen every week here.

Summer '06 announcements:

Happy birthdays going out to Don, Kurt, Chris, Lia, Gail, Easy, Dad, Anna Eileen, Todd, Mom

Congratulations to James and Anna on their recent pregnancy!

Congratulations Colleen and Bob see you at the Wedding!

Congratulations Barry & Mary on your new baby bundle of joy!

Congratulations Kurt (aka Sasquatch) on your first US art exhibit Rake Gallery, Portland!

Congratulations Alicia and Evan on your engagement!

Road Trip

Since we've been home in the States we've spent our time finding a place to live, job hunting, discovering Portland and hanging with friends and family. Mau even made a trip down to New Mexico to visit her Dad and sister Eileen's family. Eileen and Mau then drove a moving van from New Mexico through Colorado, Utah and Idaho to Oregon. Here's a pic of Thelma and Louise in Utah.

Dante's house of Spanking

The next stop of the birthday party train was Dante's to watch our best friend and life partner Storm Large perform with her band The Balls. Storm invited Lil Donnie up on stage for some birthday (41) spankings. It was quite the spectacle. A month later and Don was still bruised. Yum.

Trash Can Joe's

Despite the earlier tragedy of the day we managed to celebrate Don's 41st birthday with lots of fun and ethanol. We started the evening at the Sixpence Pub listening to Lia's friends, Trashcan Joe's, a band that plays 1920s to '40s music on instruments constructed with trashcans. Quirky huh?

Gen got 86'ed from the Sixpence early in the evening for being young and rowdy. This second pic includes Kurt, his best friend and life partner Craig, Mau and the birthday boy Don.

Latourell Falls on Don's Birthday

We started Don's birthday off by visiting some of the local natural beauty of our new home town. Don, Gen and Maureen drove out to the Historical Highway to visit all the picturesque waterfalls. Here's Don and Gen at Latourell Falls, the first of 6 waterfalls. Latourell Falls is 249 feet, ain't no Iguazu but pretty nonetheless.

We didn't get any further than this waterfall because upon return to the car we found broken glass and discovered we were robbed. Mau's purse was stolen with her wallet, IDs, credit cards, phone, checkbook, journal from the trip, fingernail clippers and chapstick. After traveling around the world for a year and only having tiny combo locks protecting all our belongings it was ironic to return to the US and have a purse stolen from a locked car armed with an alarm. Isn't it ironic . . . don't ya think?

It was the beginning of a lovely birthday.

Welcome home!

Welcome home!
Originally uploaded by maujb.

We made it home May 3rd and we were warmly welcomed by the Upton-Fiser Clan. It was quite a three week celebration while we stayed at the Fiser estate. It's great to have an entire year's worth of family time after being away for so long.

This great photo was taken by the young master Kai (7 1/2 years old). Photography is in the blood.