Halloween

Over Halloween weekend, Moria's department held a social hour costume event. I was off that day since I was working over the weekend so I decided to head over.

I had to throw together a costume quickly so I pulled out a mask and a cape from our collection of costume stuff. People kept asking me if I was a phantom so I guess I was a phantom. Moria was part of a 'Royal Flush'. They were all dressed as cards with bathroom themed items. They had plungers and little crowns. Their group costume actually won the department costume contest...congrats!

Kevin stopped by a little late and was not in costume. Brian finally got to wear his entire gorilla costume (He'd had the suit part for awhile but just recently bought a mask...entire costume $20...awesome)

We had a Halloween party to go to the next night but since I had to work we couldn't go until later. Here is Kevin and our friend Dennis dressed up as Gumby. There was actually another Gumby there and they had a Gumby fight (a fake fight).

It was also very entertaining watching Gumby get his groove on on the dance floor. In case it wasn't clear....Kevin in Indiana Jones.
I decided to go for a fire woman this year. It was something easy and I was able to change quickly at work.
Although a somewhat uneventful weekend we still managed to have a good time. My next post will be better. Kevin's brothers came into town for the Stanford vs Arizona game and while they have difficulty smiling for pictures I have a few good shots to include.

Stanford vs Washington State

The last Stanford football game was an early game (2pm) so we had to start our tailgate early. It was tough waking up early on a Saturday, but we managed to get everything together and were out on the lot by 9am. It was strange eating a hamburger before noon, but I didn't really mind. It took awhile for people to show up, but eventually the lazy folks made their way over and were able to have a great time.
I did manage to make treats for this game (I was a little bummed about skipping the USC game, but I just couldn't find the time). Moria helped me decorate again and I think the Rice Krispie Treats turned out pretty well. We played a couple rounds of Lance Armstrong again this week and once again had a blast. Dennis' girlfriend Rachel was in town for the game and she was looking forward to getting to play.

Here we are with our Stanford tattoos.


Due to the rainy overcast weather the stadium was pretty empty. Probably half of the people there were alumni back for Homecoming and a good portion of them were on the field so the stands looked bare.

Kevin and Ethan somehow managed to get down on the field without being noticed. Ethan was discovered shortly afterward, but Kevin was able to stay down there for quite sometime by telling everyone that he was alumni. He even got someone to give him a pass.
Needless to say we were cracking up. He was there for almost the entire first half of the game before someone got suspicious. They wanted him to give the field pass back but he just ran away and sat with us.


I don't know how well this video is going to work, but it was so hilarious that I wanted to at least try and include it.



It was great getting to see Rachel again so soon since Oregon only a few weeks ago.

Later on in the game Dennis used Kevin's pass to go back down on the field. Here he is with a few of the trees from over the years.
We somehow ended up with this Indian hat (Before Stanford was Cardinal they were the Indians but it was changed to be more politically correct. Why they chose a color instead of a real mascot I'm not really sure.)
After the game we were completely exhausted so we went home and took a nap. I haven't taken a weekend nap in forever so it was pretty amazing. They only problem came when we tried to go to bed that night and couldn't fall asleep. Still worth it though.

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.