Bubbles for Braden

This cracked us up. He apparently has a problem with the verse (they learned it at Gymboree):

Brady & Tinley: Wrestling with rope

Brady loves playing tug-o-war with his furry brother:

Brady & Tinley: No Barking!

Heather and I constantly yell at the dog for barking...look who is helping with the discipline:

Brady & Tinley: Playing Fetch

Brady loves throwing the dog toys around and getting Tinley to play fetch or keep-away...

One or two weeks to go

The old house came down on February 17, 2009 and the latest update from the builder is that they can move in the week of 11/9. Hard to believe that they're down to the final weeks. Everything in and out of the house is looking spectacular. It's been a fun 9 months watching the progression and the happiness that it's brought to my parents. Here's some of latest/greatest:

Appliances coming this week:
My mom's office...lots of cabinet space:
Living room (just screaming for flat screen):
2nd floor hallway:Dining room:

University or Resort?

We thought we've seen some neat schools...but as of last weekend nothing compares to what we saw at Stanford. We spent an hour wandering thru the campus and we're not sure how anyone at this campus studies...

Checkin' out NorCal

Heather and I did some reconnaissance last weekend in San Fran to see if it's a city we could live in. Well, to cut to the chase, it is. We've been to SFO to do the touristy thing (Alcatrez, Golden Gate, Napa, etc.)....but we've never done the Silicon Valley area (Palo Alto, Mountain View, etc.). My company is creating an office in Silicon Valley, so we're contemplating a family move. That way I can be close to the hub of activity at my company and the family can try something new....life's too short, right?

Northern California is so neat. It has an interesting blend of Florida, Arizona, and the north woods of Wisconsin. Where else do you see super colorful flowers, under a palm tree, next to a Redwood pine tree?!

We're working on renting out our place in Chicago and if that goes well, we just might be on our way to SFO. Nothing official as of right now, but we just wanted to keep everyone posted as to where we were in the process. Here are some pics from our weekend trip:

These are from the downtown Mountain View (seems to be top choice so far) area:

And here's San Carlos (in foothills)...neat town, but a bit of a commute for Matt...