Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve we went to dinner at Lynnea and Ken's for our Brown Family gathering. Lynnea made a wonderful meal. My favorite is her twice baked potatoes.



After dinner we gathered near the tree to exchange gifts.



Diane gave Ken a toilet paper roll holder. Never seen a guy so happy to get one.



Grandma Brown got a Bart original bowl. Looks like she likes it.



Christmas morning we opened gifts from Santa. I think its a Lego.



Diane looks happy with what Santa brought for her!



My Mom and Dad came by for Christmas dinner. I made the traditional bouillabaisse which was yummy. Grandma looks like she like her new photo printer.



The day after Christmas our friend Greg came by. Its always great to see him.



Bart and Alex finally got to meet Santa after Christmas. Turns out he was also vacationing at Disneyland.

Happy Holidays!

The 2011 version of our Xmas picture of the boys.

A Perfect Weekend (NOT!)

The Hope family was psyched about a wonderful weekend. As happened in 2008, we had an Illini game and a Bears game on the same weekend (see December 2008 blog). Plus we had the annual family Christmas party (on my side) and it was my Dad's birthday. The weekend started perfectly, with a dusting of snow on December 18. Lovely as you can see below and only the second snow of the year.



The Illini were ranked #19 in the country, with a 9-0 record. The opponent at the annual game at the United Center was UNLV. The team the Illini had beaten in the NCAA tourney last year. Well the Illini were flat and the game was torture (as you can infer from the picture). They lost 48 - 64. Game started and ended late. Time to go to the Christmas party.



At least its not possible to lose at the family Xmas party. It was my Dad's 81st birthday. The picture of him blowing out the candles was a fail. This was right after.



The party was great! Forgot about the Illinois game. Always wonderful to get together with family during the holidays. It was hosted by Beth and Steve this year. They had a nice tall tree in the high ceiling room. We didn't get back home until midnight. Had to get going early Sunday for the Bears game.



Along the road to the south suburbs there was this great house decorated for the Christmas season. So cool we stopped to take a picture. Couldn't get it all into a single frame, but this gives you an idea of the display.



The final bit of fun was to be the Bears game. Chicago vs. Seattle, Bears vs. Seahawks. The first half was great football and the Bears were ahead 14-7 at halftime. The sun was shining. It was December 18 and we were sitting in the sun with our jackets open. A rare and glorious treat for Bears fans at home in December. Maybe they were back on track, maybe not. After multiple interceptions and Seahawks scores the season was pretty much over. The Bears lost 14-38. Just 4 weeks ago the Bears were 7 - 3 and heading for a series of weaker opponents. Then Cutler broke his thumb and Forte sprained his knee. 4 losses later and the Bears are 7 - 7. A Detroit win later in the afternoon put the Bears out of their misery. I think they are mathematically eliminated. Bummer. Wait til next year.

Update: turns out they are not mathematically eliminated yet. I don't care.

Bears Lose, ARRRRrrrgggggggggg!

It started off well enough with a field goal. Bears up 3-0 on the Chiefs. Next thing you know or star running back (Forte) goes down with a knee injury. That combined with our broken thumbed quarterback left the Bears in sad shape. Along the way the defense was tough and the offense struggled. Most pathetic Bears game I can remember. The horror! A botched attempt to knock down a hail mary pass as time ran out in the first half meant a bears loss 3 - 10. 2 weeks ago after 5 wins in a row the year was looking good. Bummer.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Its all about getting together with family and friends. How can you beat that? This year the featured guest was a beast of a bird that weighed 29.75 pounds. A record breaker. After overnight brining and 6.5 hours of roasting is was quite tasty.



Bart helped get the gravy ready for dinner. I have really gotten the recipe down for gibblet gravy. The key is to use a hand mixer to vaporize the gibblets. It was nice.



Everyone loaded up their plates and seemed to enjoy the feast.



Diane thought it was a grand gathering.

They gather every fall in Shawnee National Forest

A visit to the woods is always wonderful. Saw a couple of nice sunsets (and sunrises).



Alex also enjoyed the fresh air.



Alas, I saw nothing before I returned home. But first thing Monday morning, Bart spotted these two in the front yard. Diane said there were 3 in the back. Maybe next year.

Go Bears!

I have to say I wasn't expecting much from the Bears this season. But they are starting to look pretty good. 6-3 after beating Detroit. My friend Ron from North Carolina got to enjoy an entertaining game. Hester ran a punt back to extend his record. Bears got 4 interceptions, 2 for touchdowns. Great game!



The final score was 37-13. After each score the crowd sings "Bear Down Chicago Bears". Ron thought it was a silly song. It is, but its fun. We got to sing it 8 times (one at the end celebrating the win). Below is #7.

3 Talks, 3 Continents, I'm tired.

It began simple enough. A short, late night hop to Baltimore, MD. As you can see, I was up at sunrise the next morning to be ready for the start of the IHV meeting. Late the next morning I gave my presentation and then headed to Dulles for the long flight to Durban, South Africa. This is a shot out my hotel room window. Nice view!



After about of 18 - 20 hours of travel, I was in Durban. Beautiful city on the Indian Ocean. This was the view off the balcony of my Hotel room. Very nice!



The meeting was at the Tala Game Reserve. Beautiful area with amazing wild African animals. To enjoy more pictures from Tala, see the blog below.



At Tala I had a wonderful bungalow (hut). Such a shame to have all that space and be alone. Wish Diane had been there. It was completely walled by windows (with curtains). A beautiful hotel room window view in many directions. It was wonderful.



The meeting was 3 days long and then I headed back to Durban to get ready for the 3 leg trip to Paris. Took about 14 hours to complete the travel. The highlight was the flight between Johannesburg and Frankfurt on a A380 airbus. The new double decker Jet. it was very cool. Luckily I got some sleep, because I had to be at the start of the meeting early afternoon in Paris.



I was in Paris for a bit more than 48 hours. The meeting was wonderful. The 2 dinners were outstanding. Unfortunately the skies were gray and it rained alot. Not much of a view out of my room window for such a beautiful city. Although the hotel was great. Flight home as the shortest and easiest, non-stop Paris to Chicago. Less than 9 hours. After 10 days and 18,000 miles for travel I know there's no place like home.

Africa 2011

Had to go to a mucosal immunology meeting in Durban South Africa. It was held at a game preserve about an hour out of the city. What can I say. Africa is an amazing place. The Tala game preserve was wonderful. I just wish that I had brough my good camera equipment.

Halloween 2011

The Boys are getting older so halloween is less of an event. Alex went to a party at a friends house. He had a great time and was able to get some nice candy too.

Seattle - Great Hotel Room window

I was at a conference in Seattle. Stayed at the Edgewater Hotel. The right name, it is the waters edge. Right on Puget Sound, Pacific Ocean. There was also a small deck.



With the time lag and late sunrise I saw it every day. This was looking towards the city on my deck.


We went up to the top of the Seattle Space Needle. This shot is looking up from below the tower.


Great view of the Olympic range, which is in the distance behind me. It was a bit windy.

Great America - Fright Fest!

We took our annual trip to Great America for the Halloween celebration at Fright Fest. It was a beautiful fall day and we had a fun group. I like the blood red pool in the sunlight.


Having fun on the Ricochet.


One of the fun things about Fright Fest is the wandering zombies, ghouls, goblins, and creatures of all sorts.


I guess Diane didn't think this zombie cop was scary enough.


This zombie only wanted a taste of Bart's brain.


Then Bart turned into a zombie himself.


The day ended with a storm which cleared out the park. The rain passed through quickly and we got to do a couple rides at the end. I think everyone had a great day!