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Full slide show:

Jasmine and Libby, Christmas Day, 2008

Taken December 25, 2004.  The girls first Christmas.  For days afterward, Jasmine would look in the stocking to see if it was refilled….

I’m at the Microsoft MVP summit.  They had poorly curated corporate art, but the piece of the Berlin wall in the lobby was pretty cool.  Although the individual pieces of art were good, there was no overall personality to the exhibit. While I was in Seattle the Dalai lama and Bishop Tutu were having a meeting in the next conference room over.  The security around the facility was high, and many followers and handlers were working on arrangements for the meeting.  Surprisingly, the followers of each religion (Dalai Lama, Bishop Tutu, MSFT) were very similar.

Which way, right or left?  Seems so simple a choice in retrospect….

Dad took this picture in 1959, I wonder why he was there.  Or more accurately, I wonder what academic conference was there?  Let’s see, Carol would have been 5?  I know my 5 year old (Jasmine) would be saying “This is  SO BOOOOORRRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGGG, Daddy!”

Happy Mothers day Mom!

Sedona at sunset

We just came back from a vacation in “Arizonia” as Libby would say.  We went to visit Agony in Phoenix, and John who lives in Sedona.  While in Sedona John took us on some four-wheel roads that were pretty bumpy.  Libby was scared to death that we wouldn’t make it back down, but Jasmine just kept giggling like crazy (“Daddy, the road is all crazy…”) — and it was pretty crazy driving over 3-4 foot boulders and craters.  We were covered in the red rock dust.  The girls did okay hiking and they loved to throw rocks into river.  We drove them up to see snow in the mountains, but they quickly tired of that and wanted to go back to the desert.  After seeing how much fun they had throwing the rocks in the river, we took them up to Oak Creek Canyon, where they could climb on the rocks all day long.  We had a picnic (Libby: Chetos and Chippies, Jasmine: Carrots and Meat).  Oak Creek canyon has been the same for decades, I remember when Dad took us there when I was 10

Andy (me, age 10) and Becky (my sister, age in Oak Creek Canyon

– funny how for generations the same things are interesting…

I think the highlight of the trip for Libby was to go to the “Indian Cowboy Ranch” and ride “Joe the Horse”  Jasmine still wants to be a doggy dentists when she grows up, but Libby is convinced that she will be a cowgirl and ride horses all day (Which, she assures me, is much better than riding airplanes every day like Daddy).

In Phoenix we stayed at a water park, so the girls were able to go swimming everyday — by the end of the week they had enough swimming, and just wanted to go home, so they could see their toys.

To see all the pictures I took in Arizona, click here

Libby is a movie star portrait

Jasmine is all smiles

Libby and Jasmine hike in Sedonia

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“Penny” the horse

Jasmine on rides Joe the horse

Libby rides Joe

Jasmine at Oak Creek Canyon

Libby, looking a bit like Carol

John takes us hiking in his back yard.

Agony goes bike riding in Sedona.  I took videos of Agony riding, but I just haven’t had time to edit them!