family photos

on tuesday, we took some impromptu family photos.

things were going very well...

and then, this happened...

and this...

now you know why i am the way i am...

happy friday, peeps!

what i learned at x-games 13...

after having to watch the debut of the x-games rally event from my couch last year, i vowed to make it to this year's event. how awesome would it have been to see this live...

luckily, colin mcrae knew how sad i was about missing his roll into second place last year, so, he hooked me up this year by landing himself on top of a barrier...

(i stole that photo from expn.com. they have some great coverage of the entire 4-day x-games event.)

so awesome. seriously. and beyond mcrae, there was amazing driving all the way around. and although my boy travis ended up in third (due to a *ahem* questionable dq ruling in the semi round) it was a wicked run for the top slot on the podium. in the end, the foust/bevis team took gold. (yes, i said bevis.) of course, travis will always be #1 with me...

as a bonus, we got to see the men's vert skateboarding final as well, where so cal.'s own mega-olympian snowboarder shaun white took the gold with an insane third run on the ramp. check out the video on russell's recap of the games HERE.

all in all, it was a great way to spend a sunday. i was an x-games rookie this time around, so i thought i'd share a few things i learned...

1. wear sunscreen.

2. if you forgot to put sunscreen on, when someone hands you a promo gift of sunscreen, put it on immediately, not 2 hours later when you feel your skin bursting into flames.

3. the best promo item ever, next to free sunscreen, is a frozen, wet towel. (thank you subaru!)

4. get there early, there are a ton of exhibitors. (had we arrived a little earlier, we could have packed in 5 times as much free taco bell and mountain dew.)

5. bring a camera. (thank goodness for russell's phone!)

6. if the event is after noon in the home depot center soccer arena, get seats on the west side of the stadium. (the sun sets in the west, so you'll be in the shade. we were on the east side.)

7. did i mention sunscreen?

8. wear comfortable shoes. (there is a lot of standing involved in watching skateboarding.)

9. park near the exit. (zero waiting. it was fabulous.)

10. seriously. sunscreen. that's all i'm saying.

if they keep the rally event around for next year, i'll be going again for sure. i think skysurfing hung around for at least 5 years, so hopefully rally can keep enough momentum to hang in there for a few more years as well. now, if they'd just find a way to include a swoop event, i'd be in heaven.

70 years of SPAM

did you know spam has been around for 70 years? i surely didn't. in fact, i was pretty uninvolved with spam, until last night...

i don't know how it happened, but at some point, a decision was made to have a night of spam at our apartment. kristine made spam stir-fry and i made spam quiche. and people, it was really good! i'm not even kidding!

and can i tell you, when i went searching for a recipe, i found and entire spam sub-culture. spam.com has some seriously entertaining features, including the talking book of spam, which will answer all your questions about the product.

my life has been changed for ever. i am now a serious fan of spam. which is great, because, i mean, who can't use a little more sodium nitrate in their diet? spamtastic!

sure, i'm smiling now...

nothing like a ride to altitude in a teeny tiny helicopter with no doors to remind me just how bad my fear of heights is. yes, i know... the irony. i'm a weirdo. you already knew that. the jump was great though!