Our 3rd Anniversary

Kersti and I just celebrated our third anniversary! What an amazing three years it has been. It's fun to look back on all we have done! To celebrate, I took Kersti to a cooking class at the Good News cooking school right here in Pacific Beach. They have a fantastic cooking shop and culinary school which happened to be offering a Gluten Free cooking class on the day of our anniversary! Especially perfect because Kersti is on the 28-day program right now, which is gluten free. We learned some interesting techniques and recipes, and were thoroughly stuffed by the end of the class! And of course, afterwards we had to pick up some nifty cooking tools as well!


That evening, we went to see Avatar 3D. What a great movie! Everyone was recommending to see it in the theaters in 3D, and I have to agree. I had no idea what the plot was about, but I actually found it to be pretty entertaining and not as cheesy as most blockbusters I have seen recently. I would highly recommend it to anyone, the visuals were really awe inspiring. And the 3-day glasses we were given were way cooler than the flimsy paper ones with one blue and one red lense! They were thick rimmed black plastic with clear lenses, and we looked awesome ;) - especially Kersti who had to wear them over her regular glasses.



That weekend we drove up to LA, to visit Peggy, JT, Andrew, Inga, and Paul. We hoped to see the Cavaliers-Clippers (go Lebron!) basketball game, but our tickets on stubhub fell through which was a major bummer. So, we stayed at JTs and went out on the town instead. We also tried out the new Tony Hawk Ride game, which has a peripherial skate board (without wheels) that you do tricks on! It was a blast, especially as I can't skateboard worth a darn so it was nice to be about an inch off the ground surrounded by soft carpet!



We both have been working pretty hard now that we are back in San Diego. I was at the American Wind Energy Association this week, and Kersti has been helping run the next session of classes for her company. Plus, it has been crazy stormy and windy here the last week. Our apartment leaks through the windows, so Kersti had quite the busy time staying ahead of it while I was at the conference. The only good thing was that with the high winds, we got to see a type of sailboat on the bay that I had never seen before.


A beautiful sunset from our balcony, the prettiest one yet I think!

Some cooking supplies we picked up after the cooking class, thanks Mom and Dad!

We grew mushrooms from recycled coffee grounds (a xmas gift from Kersti's mom)!

When I first saw this boat from a distance, I thought it might be two boats sailing really close together. But as it got closer, I realized this was the weirdest boat I think I have ever seen. This crazy boat actually has two pontoon type hulls with mast and sails each, and then a main hull in between. The two pontoons are connected by a long rod, which the main hull can slide along. So the main hull moves back and forth between the two pontoons, depending on your point of sail. The two masts are also connected higher up. It was fast when it got moving, but seemed to be hard to keep straight.

New Year's Eve

After returning from Florida, it was time for Swedish Christmas! Kersti’s family has a tradition of celebrating Christmas over a Swedish meal, including such delicacies as lutefisk, jellied veal, pickled herring, potatiskorv (homemade sausage), gravlax, ham, fruit soup, pepparkakor, spritz, and glogg!

The whole family dressed up, and I busted out my tuxedo which I haven’t worn since the wedding. Luckily my mother in law had a bowtie and cumberbund handy, because I realized that I didn't own anything since I had rented that for the wedding! I had to teach myself how to tie a bowtie. YouTube came in very handy, and after a bajillion tries and some help from the guests, I got it right in the end.

Afterwards, Kersti, Julia, and I celebrated New Years at our friend Ronnie's house. His sisters from Israel were visiting, and they had helped him decorate the whole house! Our good friend Dan was there as well as many friends from the Bay Area whom we hadn’t seen in a while, so it was a fun reunion of sorts.

It was quite the party! We danced and played musical chairs (well, an adaptation thereof). We didn't have an outdoor stereo, but I provided vocals (which everyone, including the neighbors, enjoyed). And who knew how incredibly useful bead necklaces could be? Not only do they make fine, versatile jewelry that add class to any party, they can also serve as a limbo stick AND as a hula hoop (though not at the same time)! It comes as no surprise that I am a big fan of New Years, and I was very pleased to celebrate this year with old friends!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's everyone!

Sporting off my tuxedo and bowtie prior to Swedish Christmas dinner

Paul, the newest member of the family! He proposed to Kersti's sister Inga over the holidays, and we are so excited to welcome him! He seems unsure about his decision, now that we have told him he has to eat lutefisk once every 365 days for the rest of his life!!!!!

The girls were always fighting over the apron... which was from a 1984 computer trade show.

Las tres hermanas bonitas

Kersti sporting her new Crocs slippers, and trying to hide the fact she just chomped on an enormous meringue. All in all, a very nice new years look (perhaps, though, not to be repeated).

Julia and mini-me.

Julia and Kersti at the New Year's party - we're so happy Julia is back from Argentina!!!!!!

Limbo with the bead necklace. This is right before Dan bit it... there's always one.

Hula Hooping with the bead necklace. I was struggling to do it with my hips (I can't hula hoop normally), but it worked well around my neck! I could've done this for hours!

Christmas in Florida

Kersti and I moved out of our apartment in San Diego (we will be moving back into in January), and drove up to the Bay Area. Julia (Kersti’s younger sister) was flying back from Argentina after having spent six months in Buenos Aires (her blog is at http://juliainbaires.blogspot.com/). She had a fabulous time there, studying really hard I’m sure. She had a bit of adjustment to be awake during the daylight hours (they often party until dawn there), but it was so nice to see her again after such a long time.



We then flew to Florida for the holidays for a week with the Peter/Johnson family. The whole extended family was in town, and it was the first time I had seen many of them since the wedding. My younger brother David was back from Newcastle, England, having finished his first year of Med School. He leaves for Grenada, next week, so hopefully we will get a chance for an island vacation!


Sarasota is perfect in the winter, and we had some great sailing and so many fabulous meals! My Aunt is an excellent cook, and has become a pro at feeding the 20+ family gatherings. My dad has been perfecting his pie recipes, and my mom hosted two amazing dinners. It was great to see all my cousins’ kids again and of course to see my two nephews, Leo and Isaac. They are only one and two years old, but are so clever already, not to mention super cute. We went on a walk to St. Armand’s Circle, and celebrated Chirstmas with the whole family!



We are now off to the Bay Area again, where we will spend New Years with friends before returning to San Diego and moving back in to our beach apartment!



Christmas in Florida!

Why you need a fireplace in Florida

Reindeer games in the pool

Family dinner

The saxophone pros Emma and Carolyn

Going for a sail on the shearwater

Kersti helping Leo open his presents

The three Peter boys

The whole family!

Leo is a big hit with the kids

Leo checking his email

Mom, Dad, and Max in St. Armands

My bros

Dad and I on the beach walk

A beautiful day and picture, too bad I blinked!

Amy taking Isaac for a stroll

Helping Leo climb the sawdust mountain

Pacific Beach

We have been living the last six weeks in Pacific Beach on Sail Bay, and have decided to stay for at least the next six months! We really like our apartment, as we have a fabulous view of the bay. It is a perfect spot to sail and wind surf, what more could I ask for! We are both working from home, and San Diego is a good spot for our work so hopefully we can stay here long term.

The weather here is ridiculously nice, but this week we had a major storm come through (depending on where in the US you are from, it might also be categorized as a "windy day with some rain"). It was really windy and rainy, and the sight of the bay from out apartment was pretty impressive. We had some leaking problems at the apartment as it turns out the windows aren't waterproof, but fortunately it rarely rains here!

Here's to becoming Pacific Beach residents!

Kersti on our balcony

Crewers coming back in at sunset

Sporting an Umpa Lumpa hairstyle

We can watch the fireworks at Sea World from our apartment

The major storm hit, it was quite the scene!

The sunset after the storm

Thanksgiving 2009 in LA

This year, we spent Thanksgiving in Los Angeles with Inga (Kersti's sister), Paul (Inga's better half), Leslie (Kersti's mom) and Kappy (fam friend). Being SoCal rookies, we didn't leave until late in the morning on Thursday, and thus got to sit in 4 hours of traffic! But it was all worth it, as we had a fabulous dinner at Kappy's, an old friend of Leslie's, who graciously hosted us. The next day we visited Paul and Inga's place, where they are busy studying for their Law Degrees. Paul even showed me his loop machine for his guitar, now I know what I'm getting myself for Christmas! We went out to a nice healthy brunch at a French cafe, and then dropped Leslie off the airport before meeting up with friends in LA.

Jason Taylor (JT), hosted us at his new apartment, and we had a fabulous time despite Kersti's sickness. He recently bought a place in Santa Monica, so we had to be sure to break it in for him. Peggy and Andrew met up with us, and we first headed to a tres chic burger joint/bar, and then to a dive bar to listen to one of JT's friends play in a band. We had met some of his friends years ago, so it was fun to hang out with the LA crowd! We then headed to a courtyard themed bar before heading home.

The next morning we headed to Santa Monica beach for some volleyball, as both JT and Peggy have mad skills. It was a beautiful day with clear skies, and we finished the games off with a few acrobatic antics before heading home.

Paul, Inga, Kersti, and Leslie at brunch

The sisters fighting for the last seatbelt (in a parked car, of course - no moving infringements here!)

Kersti bundled up for the arctic weather of LA, which only she felt.

Kersti squinting for the camera

Andrew, Kersti, Bill, Peggy, and JT at JT's new apartment

Some LA celebrities

A beautiful day at Santa Monica Beach

The Dartmouth crew

How we've grown since college

Demonstrating our newly acquired acrobatic skills

Pre-Thanksgiving

Now that we are back in the States, we decided to revive the old tradition of Pre-Thanksgiving! It started while we were at Dartmouth--the cross country team would have a full turkey dinner a week before everyone went off for the actual holiday. Once we moved to California, we continued the tradition!


This year, we invited our friends down to San Diego for the weekend! Dan, Phil and Telisa flew down from the Bay Area and Andrew and Peggy drove down from LA. Unfortunately, Jason (JT) got really sick so he couldn't make it, but at least we will see him over real Thanksgiving when we are in LA! We also met Telisa's friends, Jessica and Reese, who drove down from northern san diego to hang out on Friday night and Sunday.


It was a perfect weekend! The weather was fabulous, and we spent the days playing beach volleyball right in front of our apartment. Except for Peggy, who is close to becoming a professional, I think we all need to practice a bit!

Kersti headed a wonderful meal as always. She and Peggy (with Dan's emotional support) prepared a perfect (well, slightly undercooked!) Turkey, with a tasty cranberry infused stuffing. Dagny's Yams, mashed potatoes ala Peggy Johnson, green beans with leeks, a second stuffing, corncake, pumpkin pie, apple pie with Apples-by-Telisa, and pumpkin cheesecake made for quite the feast!





The whole gang ready for Pre-Thanksgiving dinner!



The design on the back of our T-Shirts! Poultry in Paradise! Thanks to Amy for the great slogan. This picture was actually taken from our patio, turkeys and all!

The front of our T-shirts, designed by Kersti!

Prepping the turkey... this was the first time for both me and Peggy, so we learned a lot! Thank goodness we had each other -- it's a 2 person job!

Peggy and Kersti in front of their masterpiece turkey. Ummm... lesson learned about the location of the thermometer ;)

Dan is ready to eat already!

Our ever-entertaining friend, Andrew, drove down from LA for the weekend. We hope to be able to see him more often now that we are only a few hours away! That's the closest he and Billy have been since 1997.

The girls modeling their t-shirts

Peggy and Kersti out on the town after dinner!

The butheads out on the town, look out!

The gang out and about causing mischief.

Andrew demonstrating the art of sleeping bag stuffing the next morning after a long and fun night!