A Wedding!

Our friends Josh and Lauren were just married at Memorial Church on Stanford Campus. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and are so happy for both of them.
It was nice getting to see all of the guys dressed up in their finest. They clean up alright.

Dennis, Jeff, James, Pete, Arun, Kevin, Jonathan, Jay, Mark, Brian and Scott in the front.

Sarah and I had to do a little last minute shopping in the morning for accessories, but we managed to pull things together in time for the ceremony.
Kevin really can't help himself.
They managed to get their wedding in the day before the first rain of the season. The day was perfect!
After the ceremony we headed over to the Sheraton in Palo Alto for appetizers and cocktails while we waited for dinner.

This guy across the pool was looking at us all for a really long time and we found it pretty funny so I had to get a picture.

The seating arrangement provided us with an awesome table.
We got a good laugh when then seated James between Mrs. Cara Kent and Mr. Kevin Kent.
Our friend Chris was back in town for the wedding and it was great to get to see him again since he moved back to New York.
During the dance this adorable little girl became my friend and she danced with our group. I had to introduce myself to her parents so they wouldn't think their daughter was hanging out with a weirdo. After that we had a blast until they had to go home.
The whole day was wonderful and we are so happy for Josh and Lauren. We hope they enjoyed Hawaii for their honeymoon!

Weekend with Chuck

Since my Dad hadn't been to Napa in about 30 years, we thought it would be good to head up and do a little wine tasting and enjoy some of the gorgeous scenery. First we stopped at Mumm to try a few sparkling wines.
It was a little warm outside, but with the misters and shade we were able to enjoy our tasting outdoors.
Dad and Kevin tried a few grapes on the vine and I caught them in the act.
We quickly stopped by a small winery before heading over to Rutherford Hill Winery. Kevin and I have been here several times and we were excited to take Dad and do a tour. Rutherford Hill was one of the first wineries in Napa to utilize caves to age the wine in and they make the tour a little more interesting...not to mention a little cooler.

After our tour we ate our picnic lunch at one of the tables overlooking the valley. It was a beautiful afternoon and we had a wonderful time.
We were happy to get home after a long day and were able to hang out and watch a movie. It is fun going to do stuff, but it is also nice just relaxing with people you love.

The next day Kevin had to go into work for a little bit so Dad and I headed over to Avery Aquatic Center on campus to get in a workout. Stanford's pool is one of the largest facilities in the nation and I thought it would be fun to go. Kevin had been in the facility a few times, but I had never been there in our 4 years out here. I quickly realized I'm not in swimmers shape, but I ended up getting a decent workout in and I know Dad did too.

I forgot to bring the camera with us, but later on we had Kevin take a picture of us outside.

Dad and I went home for a little while before heading back into campus to tour the place a little more. Kevin met up with us at one point and we wandered over to Hoover tower to get a better view. I liked this picture of the guys heading towards the tower.
Pictures from up top never turn out that great, but I had to include one anyway.

Kevin and Dad in part of the Main Quad.
We were a little thirsty from the heat and we managed to find a water fountain in an open building.Then we found a much fancier water fountain (the water wasn't nearly as cold though.)
Praying outside of Memorial Church in the Quad.

I had to take Chuck to see Lake Lagunita. It is so beautiful this time of year don't you think?

For Dad's last night in town we thought we'd go out for sushi. We ordered a few different things...some without the raw fish, but Dad seemed to enjoy all of it. We left with full bellies and had a great evening. I was so proud of him for trying something new (I didn't even have to convince him to try it...he was willing and excited!)
The time was too short and I knew it would be, but I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. It is always great having people visit and having Dad here was especially exciting since he hadn't been out here yet.

Stanford- USC Game

Last weekend was exciting for several reasons. My dad was visiting from Kansas for the first time since we've lived out here and was coming to the Stanford USC football game. I'd been looking forward to tailgating with him and spending a little quality time with him.

He was a big help in setting up for the tailgate. We had to get out there early and even then there were already USC fans taking our usual spot in the lot.


For awhile only a few people were around, and it was actually kind of nice to be able to relax for bit before tons of others started showing up.
We had to teach Chuck how to play our games including beer pong and flip cup. I was on his team for the first round of beer pong and we lost, but after that he teamed up with our friend Brian and they won a few rounds.
Not too bad for an old guy and his first time playing!
Later on we tried out a new game called 'Lance Armstrong'. It is a combination game of flip cup and beer pong. I was excited to try out the new game and it was a blast. It was fast paced, involved a lot of people and was overall just really really fun. Dad took up flip cup very quickly and helped lead our team to victory.

Here is the first ever Chemistry Department Tailgate Lance Armstrong Champions.
I also enjoyed being able to introduce my Dad to a lot of our friends and I think all my friends enjoyed it too. He was such a good sport and was really involved in all the games and it made the tailgate a blast.
Later on Kevin was playing against my dad on a different 'Lance Armstrong' team. Kevin's team was behind so they decided to kick Pete off of their team and asked me to join. After that we picked up speed and came back to win the whole thing. Chuck tried to call 'illegal substitution', but the original call stood and the victory was ours.
It was another great turnout which we expected since this particular tailgate was funded by the Chemistry Department. We really appreciated the ability to purchase extra goodies and have some stuff leftover for the next home game.
Finally we headed in for the game and I can't even describe how intense it was. It was a shootout with very little defense from either team. USC scored a touchdown to take a one point lead with a little over a minute left in the game. (Stanford's kicker hooked an extra point earlier in the game). Stanford pushed down the field to score a field goal at the very end to win the game 37-35. It was incredible and we were so pumped.
Even though it wasn't a ranked team that Stanford beat, everyone was so excited that people started rushing the field. It looked like so much fun that we headed out there too. Sarah got my dad to come out on the field and I think he was glad he did.
I got up on Kevin's shoulders and he pushed us through the crowd towards the players. Later on my friend Moria who was out of town but watching the game told me she saw me on television! She recognized my ponytail and when I turned my head she confirmed it was me. We went back and watched it from our recording later.

I couldn't have asked for a better game to bring my Dad to for his first time visiting us. We were exhausted by the end of the night though and crashed pretty early. That was fine with us since we were heading to Napa the next day.

I'll try to get the rest of the pictures up from Dad's weekend soon. Things have just been insanely hectic and it might take me a bit.

Oregon Weekend

For those that watched football this weekend you probably already know that Stanford was not able to beat Oregon at Autzen Stadium last weekend. That being said, it was a great game (the first half at least) and we had a wonderful weekend.

Here we are outside of the Molecular Foundry in Berekely right before hitting the road. Kevin did a great job in his presentation and I really enjoyed getting to be there.

One of the best parts of the Foundry is the view. It is in the hills above Memorial Stadium and overlooks the bay where you can see San Francisco, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay Bridge on a clear day. Leaving from Berkeley cut off about an hour from our trip and we made it to our campsite at about 11pm. Our friend Dennis and his girlfriend Rachel had a fire going when we got there. We stayed up for a little bit before heading to bed. We had our alarms set for 5:30am to head to the Stadium for College GameDay.

Kevin and I didn't bother showering before the event so we are looking a little gross here. There were few Stanford fans and an abundance of Oregon fans. Their ability to show up at the crack of dawn is why GameDay keeps coming to Eugene.

Both bands took turns playing during commercials and I like this picture because it shows the Oregon band (who were very proper) looking down at the Stanford band (which is known for being laid back). The Stanford band was having such a blast and I like to think Oregon was a little jealous.

Rachel, Dennis, Kevin, Cara

After leaving GameDay and grabbing breakfast we headed back to our campsite to get cleaned up. Dennis couldn't resist pretending to stomp on the "O" on our way back to the car.
We found a place called The Cooler where we ate breakfast and went back to to later on to watch the Wisconsin game. Both Dennis and Rachel graduated from there so we thought we'd cheer with them.
After awhile we headed to a tailgate by 'Toby the Van' They have a big van painted red with the Stanford S and tree on it. It was a really fun tailgate and we got to hang out with a bunch of band members while we were there.

This guy here is a drummer and also the guy in the red body suit from the last home game.

When the band unveiled the new tree last home game against Wake Forest, Kevin and Dennis called the tree over to us in the stands and grabbed it's leaves. The tree would respond, "Don't grab my leaves". Then a little bit later they would call the tree over again and grab his leaves. What we couldn't figure out was why the tree kept coming over to us. This happened probably 5 times. Not the tallest tree in the forest.

Of course they had to grab his leaves when they saw him again.

We had to get all of us in a picture with the tree!
The stadium was packed like I guess it always is. There was a sea of green and yellow and specks of red here and there. It is hard to describe how loud Autzen gets. It is supposed to be one of the loudest stadiums and I believe it. When people are yelling your head vibrates and it is pretty intense. The first half was amazing and we were cheering like crazy even though everyone around us was cheering for the other team. Then something happened in the second half and Oregon just dominated. It was pretty difficult to watch and tough with only 4 of us there. Many of the fans were great and really nice, but those that are bad are really really really bad. We had wheat thins chucked at us from up above (those corners are really sharp when thrown from far away)and the entire stadium booed when one of Stanford's players was down on the field for a little bit. I don't think we have ever wanted Stanford to win so badly before.

After losing we went out for pizza before heading back to our campsite and building a huge fire. We were all so tired from the long day before though that we headed to out tents early out of sheer exhaustion.

The next morning we hung out for a little bit before Kevin and I needed to hit the road for another 10 hour drive. Dennis was driving with Rachel 2 hours to Portland and flying back the next day.
We thought about stopping on the way back for some pictures, but we really wanted to make it home so I settled for a picture from the car. The view was incredible and I'd like to spend a little more time in Oregon.
We were pretty tired the first few days this week, but I think we've managed to recover. It is a good thing too because we have another tailgate this weekend. Stanford is playing USC and my Dad is coming to visit for the first time since we've been out in California. I'm very excited to have him here and I can't wait for another football game!

Oregon Bound!

Today Kevin and I are in Berkeley since Kevin is giving a talk on his work at Stanford and the Molecular Foundry (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab). I am looking forward to getting to see Kevin give a presentation since it has been awhile since I've had the opportunity to do so.

Immediately after Kevin presents we are hitting the road and headed up to Oregon where we will watch Stanford take on the Ducks at Autzen Stadium. Both teams are 4-0 and I think it is going to be an amazing game. Look for us on College GameDay...we might be there if we can wake up early enough to make the 6am live taping after a 10 hour drive today.

If you want to know more about tomorrow's showdown you can check it out here.