Shannon, my lovely and talented wife, celebrated her birthday today! Here she is enjoying an early lunch at Trader’s Point Creamery (it was delicious):

Perhaps my view is a bit biased, but I think she is a stunningly beautiful (even after rolling out of bed to eat at the creamery) and intelligent wife and mother. Libby and I are very lucky to have her in our lives.

Today is both Mardi Gras and Super Tuesday.

Now those are two things that go well together: heavy drinking and voting!

Make sure to take the time to VOTE TODAY! Find your polling place and make your voice heard. Remember: if you don’t vote, you can’t complain.

The first picture of the year, taken just ten seconds into 2008:

Brent and Heather graciously hosted Jeff, Caroline, Reese, me, Shannon, and Libby for a wonderful new years celebration. We ate some very tasty grilled chicken, (giant) baked potatoes, seasoned green beans, and topped it all off with two helpings of a low fat graham-cracker-pudding-whipped-cream dish (I’m sure that’s not the name, but it was good).

Everyone stayed up late, but us boys drank like we were young and foolish again. We paid for it the next day… but it was worth every penny.

Life, my friends, is good. We wish you and your families a very happy new year as well!

Here are a few “professional” pictures that Shannon just picked up for the Holidays (click to make bigger):

I have many, many things to be thankful for: my wife, our daughter, our families, good health, and good fortune. I have what I need, often in abundance. I live a good life (even by American standards) and for this I am exceptionally grateful.

We spent Thanksgiving day at my parent’s house - everything was great. I just wish Thanksgiving was everyday!

For Halloween I put on a large blue sheet with cotton balls attached in various places. I also carried around a spray bottle. My costume was called “Partly Cloudy with a Chance of Showers.” Vincent also wore a costume to work - he was Mumm-ra the Ever-Living (from Thundercats)!

We looked pretty freakin’ sweet:

Vincent is pretty damn cool (in a geeky way), especially when it comes to costumes. He always makes his own, sewing most of the complicated outfits by hand. I’ve decided to share a collection of his costumes from over the years - MegaMan and Syndrome (from The Incredibles) are my favorites:

Here are Shannon, Libby, and my pumpkins from this year:

I think they turned out pretty good. Not as good as some (especially these), but pretty good for us amateurs.

The neighborhood kids in their full costumes (this group picture is a tradition each year):

Don’t be fooled by their apparent calm demeanor. Immediately after this picture was taken the evening returned to it’s normal candy-induced chaos.

Most of my co-workers wear some sort of costume for Halloween, so the pressure is on to find something to wear that is fun and functional. I was a Detective last year, which was easy because I wore the same costume I had used for a dinner party.

So far the only costumes I like are of the overly-complicated variety. I LOVE costumes that make the wearer look like two people. For some reason there is a popular theme of making the wearer look like a baby being carried:

I also liked these humorous costumes, but they aren’t really appropriate for work:

So what are you guys dressing up as?