Seattle Trippin'

Earlier this week, Ang and I ventured northward to Seattle with our friends Tom and Tara and their daughter, Jessie. Tom recently finished law school and decided that Seattle was the magical place for him to unwind. We stayed in a hotel downtown and were able to explore most of the city on foot. We went to the Space Needle, the Experience Music Project, Pike Place, Westlake Center, the aquarium, and went on a bay cruise.
My favorite place was the Experience Music Project, which features (among a variety of artifacts) some original guitars played (and smashed and burned on stage) by Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana's demo tapes and instruments, and a pretty nifty collage of guitars. They even had a hands-on music area where you could play all sorts of instruments, have jam sessions in music studios, and even rock the turntables! Here are some pics from the trip.

We had a most triumphant time! (yes, that was a Bill & Ted reference)

Hancey's Visit

My sister, Jodi, and her kids Braden(11, almost 12), Rachel (6), and Tysen (16 months) came to visit us a couple weeks ago and we had so much fun! I was so sad to see them leave. It was Braden's first time in Oregon, so we had fun showing him around. John wasn't going to come, but decided on Sunday morning to fly out later that morning, so he told Dan and I and we had to keep it a secret until later that afternoon when he showed up. I told Braden and Rachel to go outside (Jodi and Tysen were napping - I tried to do a video of Jodi's reaction but it was too dark in the room and she was whispering so Tysen wouldn't wake up) and I was just pointing the camera at them without saying anything so I could get their reaction. Braden kept looking at me like I was nuts and Rachel just looks like she's happy to have a camera pointed at her.



We went to the coast (which was cold and rainy, but still fun) and to the aquarium with Rob, Kristi, and the boys. We had Easter Dinner at our place and it wasn't until I was in the middle of cooking that I realized I had never hosted a major holiday dinner for more than Dan and I. After I panicked a little bit, I got over it and we had a great time! John was supposed to go home early Monday morning, but we all talked him into staying until Tuesday morning. Yea, us!! Jodi and I went baby shopping!!! I posted about this on our adoption blog, but I'll talk about it again here because it was just that much fun! We didn't get a ton of stuff, just enough to get going. It was so much fun once I calmed down and accepted that, yes, this stuff is for US. :)

Here are some of the pictures I took while they were here.

We had such a great time with them!! Thanks for coming so that we could have so much fun with you guys!!

Touring the Facilities

Last Saturday my nephew and I took a tour of the Oregon Ducks' world-class training facilities. One of the guys on the team is in our ward and he was kind enough to arrange a private tour at the last minute (thanks, Will!). Since the founders of Nike went to this school, they have put millions and millions of dollars into this program, so they can afford to have all of the high-tech training equipment (and over a dozen 60+ inch flat screen TVs). Did you know that Nike makes contact lenses for both day (black lenses) and night (red lenses) vision?
Anyway, I didn't really take pictures in the training rooms, but I did in the indoor field and while in Duck Mecca, aka Autzen Stadium. It was fun to run around on the fields. Did you know that when you slide on that new, grass-like turf that it doesn't even stain your jeans? Not that I dove into the end zone while racing my nephew or anything...
Here are some pics (in addition to the rad one up top). Enjoy!

Braden chillin' on the field.

Walking through the team tunnel.

Braden and Ducks D-lineman Will Tukuafu

He's stormin' the field and tearing down the goal post!

The end zone...yep.

He's a zippy little sucker...

...and he sprints like a gazelle!

This is my favorite picture of them all. We came, we saw, we conquered.

Back to Utah

I took a last minute trip to Utah a couple weeks ago to get my hair done. I feel so dumb telling people that, so let me explain myself. :) For our adoption, we need to put a profile together complete with pictures and we've been told how huge of a deal the pictures are, which makes sense to me now. I hadn't had my hair done since September and I love, love, love how my cousin, Jen, does it. So I made the trek to Utah to have her cut and color my hair. I figured if we're spending so much money on this adoption, why not spend a little more to get my hair done so I'll be completely happy with the pictures. Plus, this way, I'd have someone do it that I know will do a great job - she's been doing my hair for the last 6 or 7 years and has ALWAYS done such a good job. She's amazing. I know I have a picture somewhere of her doing my hair, but after searching everywhere, I can't find it - she'd probably kill me though if I put it on here. :) Thanks again, Jen!!

So I ended up making a longer trip out of it and spending some time with my family and some friends. It was such a fun trip!! But I did miss Dan a lot. It's always nice to get home. :) I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do, but here are a few I did take.

Checkin' in

It has been a long time since we have posted on this blog and even longer since I, Daniel Jedediah Phelps, have authored one. I've been out of the blogging spirit the past couple of months and I have since repented of this iniquity. Now get off my back! jk

I had an awesome post planned out that required me to take some pictures. But Angie is out of town and took the camera with her, so that post will be postponed. Zing! (Honestly, there was no pun intended when I originally typed that. I guess I'm just that clever.) Here are some awesome pictures to hold you over until the next post (which I promise will not take another month to do). Enjoy!

...and one more for the ladies:

You're welcome.