Google Earth

Google Earth is now available for free download. All I can say is "Wow". Hard to believe that this is free. You need a pretty high-powered PC and graphics card for it to work smoothly though. The "fly-to" is pretty neat. Too many features to mention - go to the link and check it out.

Abby's birthday party

Here are some pictures from Abby's party on the weekend. Abby was a trooper the whole day - even with the sweltering heat (and no afternoon nap).

Mmmmm...cake

Abby having a bite

Playing with some new toys

Abby standing amongst the loot

And now it is time to dance!

Happy Birthday Abby!!

Happy Birthday to youuuu!
Happy Birthday to youuuu!
Happy Birthday dear ABBY!
Happy Birthday to you!

One year old today. How time flies... It has been a fantastic year for us, and I hope for you too. :-) Keep smiling, my little sunshine.

Love,
Daddy
XXOO

Smart goggles easy on the eyes

Why couldn't they have had these when I was swimming? Although, come on - looking at a pace clock was not *that* difficult. [Although some people never could master the "10 seconds apart" aspect...heheheh]

CNN.com - Smart goggles easy on the eyes - Jun 23, 2005

Daily Dancer

Daily Dancer: "I am Daily Dancer, a computer geek who loves to dance! Every weekday morning, you can watch me dance to a different song."

Uhhhh - ooookayyyyyyy... I must be hypnotized. But hey, if someone wants to dance like a spaz EVERY day, and post it on the internet, who am I to say anything! :-)

Sandbox & more

Just a few other pictures...

Sarah in her new sandbox (or "happy box" as she calls it)


The girls playing nicely together. Happens more often now - at least for a few minutes at a time. :-)

Front garden

Finally finished the garden in the front. Here are some pictures... We went whole-hog and got a little lighting system too. It lights up really nice at night. Now we shall just see if everything survives for more than a week!!

New garden

Close up

Close up (2)

Cuddles the poodle

Read this story on another blog. Made me chuckle... :-)

A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company.

One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that she's lost. Wandering about, she notices a leopard heading rapidly in her direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old poodle thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, she immediately settles down to chew on the bones with her back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the old poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?"

Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!", says the leopard, "That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!"

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard so off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!"

Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog sits down with her back to her attackers, pretending she hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says: "Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!"

Moral of this story.....Age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill!

Answering the phone

I call home from the office a few minutes ago, and after about 5-6 rings, I hear the phone pick up, but no one says "Hello". So I say "Hello?" and I hear Sarah's crazy laugh.

"Sarah, is that you?"
"Hi Daddy"
(me laughing)
"Where is Mommy?"
"Mommy is in the shower, and Abby is sleeping"

So Sarah now answers the phone (what a smart little monkey)... So if you call the house, and hear just heavy breathing after someone picks up the phone, chances are its Sarah... :-)