Chasing down the Pura Vida

Hey ya'll --

Just got back from a phenomenal vacation with five dent school buddies to Costa Rica. I was there in August, but this trip was unparalleled. We saw spewing volcanoes and mountains, Tortoises and Manta Rays, pellicans, toucans and birds of prey, a family of monkeys and a waddle of wombats(?).

I drove a little Suzuki Sidekick from San Jose to Arenal, and from there around Lake Arenal to the Nicoya Peninsula, where we explored the Pacific beaches from Tamarindo. Here are a few pictures that will speak volumes about Costa Rica's natural beauty.

Desales Baseball 2008

Exactly one month after the last post. awesome. ok, i just wanted to let you all know about how my baseball team (Desales) is doing. We had our first game today at home against Columbia-Burbank as a non-league game since they are 1A. We won 7-6 and our coach (the notorious Kim Cox) was pleased. We didn't go to state last year for the first time in 15 years which is disappointing. I think that this year we will be okay, and probably win the league title, and maybe even go to state if our pitchers stay healthy and arms don't get sore. Tri-Cities Prep may be able to give us a run for our money if they have a good team, but don't get your hopes up...i doubt you will. good luck to all with spring sports!

shane

Anatomy Test...

Hey ya'll --

Was just writing to my dad, and reported a test I just took today. I thought it would be potentially interesting to you. Was brilliant to see you all at the Wedding!

You of my Generation -- Start thinking about the College Wold Series in Omaha this summer! It is supposed to be awesome, and I will have a roof for you.


"...Had a gnarly anatomy test and practical today -- probably the toughest test I will take in dental school. We had the practical over every permutation of the trigeminal nerve, the facial nerve, every landmark on the skull (foramina, protuberances, insertion lines), the innervation from the ventral and dorsal root supplement, etc. every branch of the carotids, muscles of facial expression, and muscles of mastication.Whoah!

Then, the practical included every STRUCTURE from the previous test, over the triangles of the neck (infra and supra hoid muscles, sternocleidomastoid, etc) additionally, all vessels that pass via the superior thoracic aperature.

Now, I am in the library getting set to study some Histo and Dental Materials...must be midterms...


If you need any clarification of those terms, try wikipedia. It has gotten me through six months (!) of dental school.

Blessings in '08!

Moira is seriously, like, famous

Have you guys been to the Diocese of Spokane homepage lately?

Check out our little Smoy, all famous-n-grown-up-n-stuff!!!!!!!

http://www.dioceseofspokane.org/

The Iberian Peninsula

Hello All,

As you all probably know, Fr. Beaver and I made quite the European Trip just prior to J&J's Wedding and I have been meaning to write a bit on the experience and show you all a little taste of Spain, Portugal, France and Andorra. Each of those four countries is beautiful and different in their own ways, ie: languages, foods, people, and they are all much more different that I had thought (well a bigger difference than going from Washington to Idaho anyway). Being my first trip to Europe, I was not sure what to expect. The "main reason" for Fr. Beaver's visit was to see the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela which is the 2nd most visited pilgrimage site after St. Peter's in Rome (supposedly) but when we went there, I think there might have been five other people in the church. I didn't have a "main reason" for going. I just wanted to see Europe since it was going to be new, different and exciting. There were definite highlights, but no lowlights (is that a word?).

Anyway, we flew from Seattle to Paris to Madrid. In Madrid we rented our chariot (a 2007 Citreon C2) and we were there for a night before heading to Toledo and Cordoba. However, before we left I went to the Prado in Madrid to see some Rembrandt and El Greco (Uncle Dan see below:)


After leaving Madrid we headed south to Cordoba where we saw quite the old mosque tht was taken over during the inquisition and turned into a Catholic Church. It was quite incredible inside with all of the "candy cane" arches:

Once leaving Cordoba we headed to Seville to celebrate the last day of my existence as a 22 year old. While there we saw the Cathedral that holds the corpse of Christopher Columbus. Across town we also went to see the Madonna Macarena. While at the church of the Madonna Macarena I saw a lady lighting her cigarrette with one of the prayer candles. I think that this pretty much sums up what my impression was of what many Europeans think of religion, as in "nothing is sacred." Europe is chock full of these churches and yet nobody fills them. We had to pay to get into the majority of these religious sights because there are no devotees giving money for their upkeep. I have digressed.

Anyway, we headed to Portugal on my birthday and it was quite the drive - beautiful, very warm, and many sleepy towns along the way. We wandered through farmland and forests seeing storks on lightposts, pigs in pastures and castles on top of hills. But, once we hit the wide open, brand new European Union funded toll highways, I went 150 kmph on cruise control with Volvos, BMWs & Porsches passing me like I was standing still.

We stayed in Portugal for three days, the last two being in Porto. While there I took the time to visit the wineries and get nice and learned up on the intracacies of Port Wine. I brought back a few bottles for special events and had a great time hiking the narrow streets with the great views of the river and the city:

So I left Porto, Portugal with a heavy heart and headed for Santiago de Compostela, Spain. I would put a picture of the Cathedral here but the three pictures that we had people take of us turned out horribly. So, just check it out on wikipedia. It was here that I experienced my the best Paella that I have ever had in my life, to date (sorry dad) and it is deserving of a picture:


After Santiago de Compostela we went to Finesterra which is the real end of the pilgrimage to Santiago and is the westernmost point of Europe.

The next day marked probably the longest drive that we made in a day and we ended up in Bilbao for the night. This was a very beautiful city full of vibrant nightlife, beautiful buildings and the brand new Guggenheim. I went in for a little tour of the artwork, which was strangely enough '300 years of American Art' which I guess I had to go all the way to Bilbao, Spain to see.

After having seen not even a fraction of Bilbao, we quickly left to get a little taste of France and to see Lourdes:

I washed my feet in the miracle working waters in the grotto. No immediate effects, however, Fr. Beaver said that it is probably the "crock-pot" healing that I am going to experience as opposed to the "microwave" effect. My generation was not blessed with the virtue of patience, however I am not giving up on our Lady and the frigid healing waters of Lourdes. Also, Boin I got you something there, so ask me for it before I lose it.

Having left the Frenchies, we drove over to chat with the Andorrans for a night. This place was amazing and would not exist if not for the natural high mountains and extreme inaccessibility. This picture is an example of what must be done these days in Europe to prove that you have been to a country. They didn't even stamp my passport when I flew into OR out of Europe. I have no proof of even being there except for pictures: So leaving Andorra, we headed over the pass instead of going through the tunnels and ended up in Barcelona. Barcelona is amazing. Everyone should go there. Everyone should visit La Sagrada Familia. Everyone should look at this picture of it:














So, this temple is dedicated to the Holy Family and construction began in 1882 and is slated to be completed in 2025ish. Those three tower cranes are usually at work, it was Saturday when we went though so we didn't have to deal with construction noise. Uncle Tere, this temple is amazing, it kind of reminds me of St. Joe's in Kennewick, WA. I would have liked to walk around with you on this construction site to answer quite a few questions that I had re: construction methods, load bearing columns, materials, beauty vs. functionality and hyperboloids.

If anyone has not heard of this Temple, or its sheer proportion or Gaudi's intentions for its design they have been living in the dark. This is probably the last old, large Gothic-ish style church that will ever be built, so it is worth knowing about. Again, check out wikipedia for a bit more detail.

So Barcelona was the last stop on the trip and I just happened to stumble upon a ticket booth for a Barcelona Soccer game. I bought Fr. a ticket and he reluctantly went/I dragged him to the game where we sat way up high and and took up 2 of 98,000 seats. Barcelona won, which made the game that much better. Here is a pic of us at the Camp Nou Stadium:
The next day I drove from Barcelona to Madrid, we stayed in a hotel for four hours, flew to Paris, flew to Seattle and were back in the States in time for Julie & Joe's Wedding.

Never a dull moment.

Thanks to Fr. Beaver for making this whole thing work out, it was a lot of fun and once you've cycled through all of the other 43 cousins I'm ready to go again.

Eamonn

And now... Julie and Joseph Roach!

Family and friends,
We are now back from our great honeymoon in Kauai, and got our wedding pictures loaded, ready to make an album. Thank you everyone who made it, and those that intended to, it was a lot of fun! We now get to enjoy turning the house that has been the residence of 7 different bachelors into a home that is clean, and has things like full sets of dishes, clean carpets, and toilet seats that are down.
It is going through a much needed transition and all are welcome to come visit or stay, just make sure you call before stopping in!

Here is a link http://picasaweb.google.com/josephdroach/WeddingBesties to
some of the wedding pictures, and we will follow up with a few from beautiful Kauai. Enjoy, and thanks for everything!

Love,

The Roaches.

Where are the wedding pics???

Hey wedding goers! Are there any attendees that have some pics from the latest wedding? This Mother o the groom is dying to see some. By the way this is my first attempt at blogging......please respond! Love ya all. LA

UPDATE ON FUTURE CITY CONTESTANTS!!!!

There is a great article and picture in the Tri-City Herald today about St. Pat's Future City Team. The picture and story are in Section B - Mid Columbia section. I couldn't find the photo and story online.

However, here's a link to the video that the Tri-City Herald has online!

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/958/story/80516.html

Wedding Pics!

Hey does anybody have pictures from the wedding that you would like to post. I saw the ones Bart had on his facebook, but I'm wondering if you have anymore. Please post them asap if you have some. We had soooooo much fun!!!! Julie and Joe looked great and super happy. Can't wait to hear how the honeymoon went....... :0)

New Writing

All,

I recently wrote a letter to the wonderful facility that I spent 3 weeks at last October. The letter really explains what is going on in a place like that, and it also points to why such an experience has value for people who may not have substance abuse problem themselves.

It's only a couple of pages long, so in case you feel like reading it I've put it online. It's a little too long to make for a well-formatted blog post, so I left it in Word format.

You can read it here: http://www.jfroach.org/therapyletter.doc

P.S. There is a little bit of satire in there, see if you can find it.

Blog Formatting

All,

Nice job on all of the excellent blog posts in the past couple of weeks!

I am messing around a little bit with the blog template to try to make the default formatting a little more pleasing to the eye, so don't freak out if things start looking a little differently.

I also wanted to mention a couple of basic items that will help with the overall aesthetic of the blog. First, remember that when you post pictures you have several alignment options that effect the way your final post will look. Consider these when formatting your post. There is a 'preview' link directly above the right-hand side of the text-entry box for a new post. Clicking that link will show you what your post is going to look like when you publish it.

I encourage you all to use a double line-break at the end of paragraphs for longer posts. This means hitting the 'Enter' key twice when you finish a group of cohesive thoughts. It results in a most that looks like the one you are reading now, as opposed to a single, stream-of-consiousness-looking mess. Using this approach ensures that our older readers won't dismiss your post out of hand.

Finally, I would also encourage you to use label words for your post. These are words that allow for easy searching down the line if you are looking for a particular post. As you can see at the bottom of this post, I've labeled it with 'blog', 'posting', and 'formatting'. You do this by separating the words with commas in the 'labels for this post' field at the bottom of the posting window.

Always feel free to email me at jfroach@gmail.com if you have questions.

I expect to see some good pics from this coming weekend posted on Monday!

The Happy Final Results

Hi family!
We arrived in Seattle Friday night, met our team for dinner at Buca di Beppo, and stayed with the Johnstons. We sat in the Pope room of the restaurant, where Pope Benedict XVI watched us eat. KIND OF creepy. Not gonna lie. One of the waiters at the restaurant WAS Andy Leon's clone. My dad got a picture of him, and it turns out, his real name is Andrew. Crazy!
We played some Guitar Hero early Saturday morning before we left for the Science Center.
In the preliminary round of the competition, all of the teams present twice to two different sets of about three judges. Luckily, for both our sets, there was at least one cute judge, so I wasn't TOO nervous. Ha. Wait until you see how "un-nervous" I was...
After we presented twice in the morning, it was about 11:00. We went to have lunch in the Center House, and Ailis had some gross looking chili-cheese fries. I had an orange Julius and a cheeseburger and non-gross fries. Yay.
We went back to the Northwest Rooms where we would find out if we made the Top Five. Turns out, that we were the last of the five in "no particular order". We were a little nervous. The top five teams then had about an hour to move their models into the presentation room. They were sequestered after they drew numbers to see what order they would present in. We were four, which was sort of bad because then we'd only get to see one other team's presentation.
While we were waiting for our turn, we practiced our presentation, and got some tips from one of the cute engineer judges. Some of the other teams played games. Lame.
When it was our turn to present, we were ON FIRE. The nerves were gone, which was weird, because I was practically crying during the preliminaries. It was SHOW TIME!
After the final team presented, the officials tried to take up time so that the judges could tally the scores. It was agonizing.
After the tallies were tallied, one of the judges gave a little speech, it is needless to say that my mom was in tears...the main points of the speech were to value Reading, Fitness, and Friends/Family. He also told us to tell our parents: "Even though you are completely dysfunctional, I love you and thank you for raising such a perfect child." I'm sure my parents heard that a total of four times. From each child.
Finally, the lady that always announces/butchers the names of the winners stepped up to the podium. She announced fifth and fourth places, and then finally third. Then she asked us if we wanted to hear about her life in Rhode Island instead of hearing about the winners. We said no, and she said "When I lived in Rhode Island, I'd never traveled to...Flathead, Montana. In second place." Which was a tricky way of saying that we won, because the school from Flathead, Montana came in second. Which means we got first! And we're going to Washington, D.C.! In February! We also got the People's Choice award for our model, and $15 Barnes and Noble cards.
After the competition, we went for a celebratory dinner at Kells, walking from the parking lot to Kells in the pouring-buckets of rain. So here are some photos to chronicle the event!!!!!
Love you all, and thanks to the Barracudas, (you know who you are) for critiquing us, we'll probably need it again in a week or two!
Ciara (and Moira)

2008 Future City Competition

Hi family!
As some of you may know, a group of my classmates, including Moira, and I are competing in the Future City Competition this year. We had to develop a computer model of our city through SimCity3000 software, and then we had to write an essay on how nanotechnology was integrated into our city's infrastructure. That required us to learn about nanotechnology in the first place! Then we had to actually build a 25X5o inch model, that could only be 20 or so inches tall. The scale of our model is 1 inch = 100 feet. Which means that our tallest building in the model actually measures 900 feet. A 90 story building! As we built the model, we had to develop a presentation. The Barracudas, or Aunt LeeAnn and Aunt Nancy, came and critiqued our presentation, and now it seems much better than it was before.
We're off to Seattle today for the State competition tomorrow, and we thought, as we are frantically cleaning our house before our departure, that we might blog a picture and write about what we're doing! So when we find out how we did, we'll let you all know either by another blog post, or by calling you!
And IF we end up getting first place in Seattle, we win a free trip to Washington, D.C. to compete for Nationals! Which is pretty exciting. Ailis and her team went to Washington, D.C. a couple of years ago to compete, and we got to go with them, and it was a lot of fun, so I hope we can do that this year!
Love you all!
Ciara (and Moira)

I went to North Korea!

Hello again everyone!
Was so excited about my day today and just wanted to let you all know about it. Most importantly before I begin, I am still alive! The reason why I say that is because today Miguel and I had one of the coolest experiences OF A LIFETIME by going up to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), which is the 10 mile wide neutral area/border between North and South Korea. It is only 35 miles from Seoul, which is actually kind of scary when you stop and think about it. We left this morning from the base at 7am and took the 40 min ride up north. After a brief historical video and tons of strict instruction from the military personell, we went to the Freedom Building. This important building is almost RIGHT on the border line between north and south. We were told that we were not to point or make gestures once we exited out the back of the building and into the courtyard of the two countries (which is where we had the unique experience of coming face to face with the enimy...with about 20 meters inbetween). They had cameras everywhere, on both sides, watching our every move in the buildings and especially outside. We were to wear badges at all times while in the DMZ. The North Koreans with their cameras, binoculars, and just plain sight were definitely scanning that each one of us had a badge from where they were standing. If we didn't have our badge visible or if we pointed and made gestures, openfire is a high possibility from the North Koreans, as they take this as provoking them. We saw three N.K. guards from visible sight, and obviously many S.K. and American Military on all sides of us. After viewing the area outside of the building, we were escorted to another building about 10 meters ahead of us. This building is where they hold many political meetings between the two countries. Half the building is in the South and half in the north. So essentially when they have their meetings at the center meeting table, they are still each in their own countries, because even the table is on the exact border of the two countries. It was in this building that I took some steps into N.K. We obviously weren't allowed outside the building into the N.K. side. It was so scary! Directly outside the N.K. exit were armed N.K. guards ready to fire at any moment necessary. So intense. After this, we stopped at a few watch points, where we could clearly see the N.K. side, propaganda village (a fake town that N.K. has set up to try to fool S.K. and it's allies into coming over. This town is actually just wood boards which they take down when it snows because the "buildings" cannot hold the weight of the snow...ask me in person if you don't understand. Or look it up, it's soooo interesting!) Our final stop was to the third tunnell. There are five in total, all found in the DMZ by the S.K. or it's allies. All of these tunnels were made by the N.K.'s who were clearly planning an attack on S.K. Luckily, they were all found before they had been dug all the way through to S.K. We walked about 500meters into the tunnel before we ran right into the barricade separating the N and S. We only saw one because the others are spread around the border in different areas. And Miguel's dad told us tonight that the 5th tunnel was found in 2000...the end almost to the middle of Seoul. FREAKY! Anyways, I have written too much, and I hope that you are all still reading this to the end! And if you are interested I suggest looking this all up on wikipedia. We are living history right now!!!

Pat in Seattle

It's about time I tried this blog thing out. If Caitlin can do it, I can too (loved your note, btw, Cakie). Anyway, I just want to let y'all know I'll be in Seattle for a while. I officially accepted a job at Harborview working on the Trauma/Surgical ICU. It's a brand new unit: two units merging into one into the brand new wing (currently under construction) as early as May. I'm pretty stoked. I start Feb. 4th, so I've got exaclty one month tor relax after the last 20 or so months of having school on my mind. Ahhh...I'm currently living with Shannon, Jim, and Lucia while studying for the NCLEX, apartment hunting, and doing whatever tickles my fancy. All my love. Pat

This is what is going on with Me

All,

I've been meaning for a little while to blog about the events of my life over the past couple of months, and where I'm at these days. The truth is, after completing my 3-week recovery retreat at the Sundown M Ranch, I have been SO BUSY that I've been neglectful of my self-imposed blogging obligations.

Busy in a good way, though. It just seems that there is a lot to do, for a lot of people, for a lot of projects, and these days I'm able to perform much more effectively. Someone upstairs must have gotten some notion of this newfound effectiveness, because I've certainly found more of these sorts of 'assignments' funneled my way. It's nice to be able to respond to them.

So anyway, the exterior stuff is all good, as some of you know. I live in a great house with some great guys in Kennewick, I still work for Hertz as a regional IT Manager, I quit smoking on NYE, I quit drinking on October 17, 2007, I've lost like 23 lbs., I'm planning a trip to Assisi in May, I still like girls, and I still have a driver's license. HOW good all this stuff is would have blown my mind if you would have told me about it 5 months ago. (It still blows my mind).

The real stuff, though, the interior stuff......the stuff of the Spirit. Well, I could go on and on. But, I happened to come across a most excellent article, written by a Carmelite nun named Barbara Breaud, that sums up the goings-on of my soul and my efforts as effectively as I ever could. It isn't very long, and in its highly practical examination of the 12-step approach, Sr. Breaud manages to highlight some Catholic names and transmitters of inspired thought that you may recognize. Sundown M Ranch, by the way, is a 12-step based recovery/treatment center, and a very good one.

So, if you want to know what is really going on with me these days, what I'm doing with my energy and where I find my energy, I strongly encourage you to read the linked article. I've linked to it in a printer-friendly format, so feel free to print and highlight. You might even learn something about yourself.

The 12 Steps and St. John of the Cross

I love you all and pray that this New Year brings us all great peace and joy!

ANYASEOHHHHHH!

I have no idea if that's how to spell it, but that means HELLO in Korean! It's kinda tricky writing on this website, cause the log in page is in only korean figures, so I am writing with a blind eye.
I've been having so much fun over here with Miguel's family...it's been an interesting experience being in Asia with a puerto rican twist! I don't know where to begin...
The last four days we have spent in Seoul on the American military base. It's located in the south part of Seoul, just about a 15 min drive on side streets from downtown. His parents have the cutest little house, three bedroom and so roomy. They have a car and we take the subway. The driving here is crazy...this is definitely where crazy asian drivers originate! They are so swervy and seriously come within a millimeter of each other. His mom drives almost as crazy as the asians themselves (while cursing in spanish, of course), which makes sense actually, cause you wouldn't survive here as a cautious driver.
The weather is freezing, literal. It has been on average 22*F with a 10-15*F wind chill, settling at about 11*F. I seriously have to wear 3 sweaters. Walking around the city is almost unbearable for more than 15 or 20 min, so when we go out, we go to the outside market for a bit and then go into the nearest mall for a bit to warm up, and then back outside. I don't know how the venders sit outside for so long!
The food is amazing. We got our first taste of it on the plane ride over, bibimbop. It's a rice dish with some hot paste mixed in and a bunch of different veggies and meat. YUM!!!!!! We have been to one Korean BBQ, and it's my new favorite ethnic food!
The people are pretty nice. Miguel's dad was telling me that you could leave your car running the whole day in a parking lot, doors unlocked, while you were at work, or whatever, and that no one would touch it. It'd still be there that night. One of their friends left over $100 in his pants when he dropped them off at the dry cleaners, and every cent was there when he picked them up three days later. SO different from the US!!
Yesterday we went to the biggest knitting store I have ever seen in my life. His mom said that we were going to a craft mall, with lots of yarn, but I had no idea what I was in for. It washuge warehouse, with at least 100 different venders selling bags of yarn. I recognized a lot of the brand names from when I worked at skeins, so that was kind of exciting. We spent 2 hours there walking around, and after going back and forth on tons of different yarns, I didn't end up getting any. Disappointing, I know, but I think in reality the yarn wasn't too much less than in the US. It was so overwhelming. They had every size knitting needles for like $2 each. So much fun!
The past few days, his parents have had many Puerto Rican visitors, including three families that stayed at the house each night, all of which English being their second language to Spanish. We've had homemade Panamanian food every night with 2 or 3 main dishes of meat and fish, along with rice and some kind of fancy dessert. Salsa music is blasting in the background 24-7. The guys (Miguel and his dad esp) play his dad's bongos, maracas, and a few other Puerto Rican instruments along to the music making as much noise as possible in his dad's 10'X10' area of the living room desigated for the instruments. ha ha, it's so funny! His parents will stop in the middle of what they are doing, whether it be cooking, reading, walking- whatever- to just salsa dance in the middle of the room for a few. I love it! I am trying my best to absorb it all- picking up a few dance moves, practicing my spanish, and per Miguel's request, trying to learn EXACTLY how to make his mom's meals...while still making time to go out into Seoul and absorb that culture too. wheew, talk about sensory overload! It's sure been an interesting first week (almost)!
On Thursday we are going to make our way to the south part of the country to visit some of their friends (also Puerto Rican!!) and the Korean countryside. From there, we are going to Japan for a night. Next week we are signed up for a tour at the DMZ (North Korean border). We come back to Seattle on the 10th.
That pretty much sums it up so far. Happy New Year! Write me back on the blog!

This is an image-posting test. Look at how cute Lucia is!!!!

Most Complicated and Frustrating

I am getting too old for this..........painful. I am trying to get a pix in here. Is it straight forward......heck no! I am about out of here........

B-Rex Clinches a Fiver in Disc Golf Showdown

David and I have not spent more than about fifteen minutes in eachothers company for over a year and a half. The last time I can specifically remember seeing david -- except for a split second at Lisa's wedding, was when he sought a dispensation from my mom from going to my graduation from Carroll. He met us before for crepes, then probably went and played his nintendo.

So, we had much to catch up on, pee on, territory to mark, stories to tell, etc. We also needed to establish who was the better disc golfer.

Apparently in the last two years Davey Joe has become a gambling man. David's former credo was that he never made bets he knew he was not stacked to win...always wondered why he came back from Chris Tate's basketball invites with a pocket full of change...Anyway, he challenged me to a five dollar round.

Surprised, I declined at first. I hated the contentious competition of our youth, and was afraid I would hear David jabbering about nothing interesting, talking smack the whole game. But then I thought better and decided to play him for that cold (and metaphoric) cash.

It was a great round, sun was shining, bond was running, chains were ringing. David and I both played well, with probably four changes of lead in the game. But David was playing with a single disc (at his insistence) and one very foreign to him (which I cunningly provided). I ended up winning by four strokes, coming out strong in the end, as David struggled to stay in bounds.

David, typically, didnt have the cash at hand. However, he did have twenties and fifties, which is unusual. It was a great round, David never talked a bit of smack -- even when he was ahead.

So we came back to drop off the bondo, have some soup, and we are off to play round number two . Be jealous John....

Per Maria - Box Up A Gift !!

I've been asked to pass on to all that tomorrow night's event will have the old white elephant component. Maria will be giving out prizes for the best (worst?) gifts. Those of us w/love in our hearts will only give something that the lucky recipient will be able to put to good use... Someone may just get our last kitten - before the coyotes get him...

See you then.

Post Graduation Plans

Well, Colin might be headed out of South Bend, but not to worry! One more Roach is on his way (probably...I'm not going to tie myself down to anything just yet). I got my acceptance letter today, and I should get a letter from SU next week. Nick, Claw, Mads and Meesh should all be getting on here soon to tell us what they're doing, assuming they still check the blog. I know that Madeleine and Michelle are into Creighton, but I can't remember where else.

Gifts at the Gig?

Maria - do we get to bring gifts to the gig of gigs at your house next Thursday? Last year some lucky dog got a TV from our basement. As a matter of fact, I think we parted with two TVs and some other cool stuff. (I don't recall getting any thank yous from the recipients.)

I had a late pick and was able to trade up and get a copy of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" which I have been meaning to reread. Many thanks to whoever gave me that timeless tome.

Say the word and we'll head down to Main Street or down to the basement to find the right little something for some lucky loved one.

Can't wait to see you all!

Blog Email Notification?

So have those who signed up for email update notification been receiving emails about blog updates or what?

Post Graduation Plans

Family,

I have some great news that I wanted to share with everyone. I just found out where I am going to be stationed for the next 4 years. I received my top choice and will be living in the San Francisco area at Travis Air Force Base. It is actually located in Fairfield, Ca which is about 40 miles northeast of San Francisco and about 30 miles from Oakland. My job is a civil engineer which works out well since it was my first choice as well.

Hope all is well and I cannot wait to get home for Christmas.

Colin

Picture Request....

Hello all --

Just a little request for all of us out-of-towners that miss our niece and pseudo-nephews and Elena. Could you please load some pictures, videos, etc. onto the blog every now and again? Thanks.

Studying the primary dentition as I type and thinking about tooth eruption and the dental anatomy of those youngsters. Crazy to think that I will be Elena and Finn's first dentist! Wahoo!

How do the boys like that chocolate toothpaste Roseanne?

Can't wait to see you all on thursday! Until then...

Jack Chamber's Bling

I got all excited thinking that there were pics of Jack's Bling-Bling on the blog! Guess I am just going to have to go through ALL of his Facebook pictures....

Has John raised his grade from a D-? That is pretty low considering who it is coming from.

Love ya Jack!

Shannon

Go Irish!!

Check it out!

http://www.union-bulletin.com/articles/2007/12/05/sports/sports02.txt

Hope it works. From today's WW-UB

We are the Champions!

We are the 2B state Champs!! Desales Fightin' Irish defeated the Fightin' Ducks of Toutle Lake on December 1st, 2007. We led 12-0 season coming into the game, and came out 13-0! We beat Toutle Lake 30-0 in the first shutout in a championship game in a while. It was so awesome to be down on the field and play on the turf of the Tacoma Dome. I know that we won a state championship, but i just cant afford the ring :(. I hate you jack. On to basketball....

Old class ring

hey the guy from jostens came to desales the other day for the sophomores so we can order our class rings. whoever can find the oldest class ring and bring it in, will receive a free ring. if any of you have, or know of one i could borrow, just for this upcoming week, that would be awesome. i am going to be in town on sunday on my way back from the tacoma dome. if you have one, please call 301 1581 and let me know. thanks a bunch.

-shane

p.s. could someone maybe ask great uncle tom?

Go Irish

Big game on saturday! 4 pm over in the Tacoma Dome. if you want to listen tune in to 100.7 khss or go to www.khssradio.com to listen to it via internet. should be a good game...hopefully we will bring home the state title. i'm heading over tomorrow and having practice, then we'll be getting ready for a big game against Toutle Lake fighting ducks. Go fightin' irish!!!!!

I'm on the blog now!!

Hey all you cousins out there! I can post now.

This is at Brian's and Sofia's Wedding.

Please Add Moira and Sinead to Your Email Lists!!!!

Moira and Sinead Thornhill are thrilled to finally have gmail addesses!!! Please add them to your email lists and drop them a line if you get a chance. They will love to write you back.
In case you were wondering who Moira and Sinead were, we included a photo to refresh your memory....
Moira's gmail address is MoiraParisha@gmail.com
Sinead's is NatoPotato10@gmail.com

and while you're at it:
Ciara's is CTqueenie@gmail.com
Fiona's is mrsFionaCharming@gmail.com
and Ailis' is Aileecakes@gmail.com

They would all love to be added to the family lists and John, if youcould invite them all to the blog they would add to it and try to liven it up again! I've talked to several in the Family Blog membership who need to be re-educated and/or re-invited. If you could do that John, I think we'd see more activity and participation! Thanks.

Honeymoon Pics!!!

Here are a few pics:

Honeymoon!

Okay, I'm sorry I'm late to post this blog. The blog nazi has been texting me and sending oh so subtle of hints that it is time to post.



So .....as some of you know Brian and I went to the beautiful island of Maui after our super fun wedding!!!! (Thanks to all of you who could make it!) We stayed at the Westin in Ka'anapali which was a gorgeous part of the island. Everyday we went on a new adventure. We took a helicopter tour of the island and saw where parts of Jurassic Park were filmed. We flew over volcanoes and the rain forest as well as sugarcane farms and beaches. It was amazing! We also got to go on a sunset sail in this huge sail boat called the Gemini. We had a fabulous time hanging with people who were celebrating birthdays and anniversaries. We aslso did our fair share of snorkeling around Black Rock in front of the Sheraton resort. The pictures are from that area. They turned out really well for an underwater camera. The turtles were my favorite to see. I was a little nervous at first because they would come within inches of your face. I actually panicked the first time and pushed Brian in front of me in case they were going to bite! He wasn't thrilled because it ended up happening more than once that I would hide behind him underwater. He was more adventurous than I and would go out further. He even saw a huge mantaray! The puffer fish and the flute fish were also my favorite.



So now after all of the festivities we are back in California loving our home in Playa del Rey. Just last saturday we looked out on our deck and saw a huge pod of dolphins swimming so close to shore right in front of our house. It was awesome. So even though we live far away from family at this time, we are loving the area and taking advantage of it's beauty!



I am now a working woman again at L.A. Children's Hospital in Hollywood. It is my second week and I am enjoying it thus far. The unit I'm working on is much higher acuity than my floor in San Diego. So basically that means, for you non-medical folks, the kids are a lot sicker. I will be constantly learning new procedures and diagnoses. Fun stuff!



Wish we could make it to Ptown for Turkey Day, but we will be cooking our own bird in our new home in SoCal. If any of you are in the neighborhood we would love to have you!



Colleen Cooke

Allright, Cakie, here is my update :

I just spent the weekend in minnesota for a district American Student Dental Association meeting. The weather was cold, mullets were flowing, and Hockey was on the tube in all the bars. Minneapolis gets two thumbs up. There is no more sun in Omaha -- I spend all day in a window-less room, and by the time I get out the sun is at its downfall. Setting me up for a rather dismal winter, I'm afraid.

Today I spent five hours trying to carve the twelve facets of a maxillary first molar into the occlusal table. That is my favorite class of the week. Last week we eviscerated our cadaver; the day before he was emasculated! There are only three weeks left in my first semester and the worst classes of my career will be over. Yahoo!

Caitlin McHugh just asked me out on a date over Christmas break. Sweet...

Hope all is well with the Clan back in Washington -- I cant wait to see you all in December.

Blog almost all time low

Hi everyone...
It's been waaaay too long since the last blog was posted so I have made a list of people that I expect to hear from in the next few weeks to be writing a post of their own, both newsy and interesting. :
Eamonn didn't you go to China?

Lizzie aren't you on the east cost?
Jack and Bridget, didn't you just start college?
Anna, didn't you just get a new place in Magnolia? and a new job?
Cwisto, Claire, Michie, Mads, Nick, where are you looking for college?
Pat how's Harborview?
Aunt Theresa, where are all the cute pictures of Carter and Mary Meggie on Halloween?
Kevin and Eamonn, are you applying to law schools?
Dad, didn't you and Uncle Dan, Aunt Jac, and Mom go to ND?
Ailie and Fia, how was Homecoming (and the other HS cousins)?
Colleen, how was your honeymoon?
Colin, wassup with the Irish this year???!!!!

And THAT's just a start! Even if you aren't on this list, I am SURE you have something to say too!
As for me, Miguel and I are taking a two week trip to Seoul, Korea over New Years to see his parents. We are sooooooooo excited! Unfortunately, though, we are going to miss the Chambers annual post christmas bash. We'll be sure to blog about it after the new year!
Can't wait to see almost everybody at T-giving!
~Cait

Recent Letter from Father Beaver

I dont know how many of you were lucky enough to recieve Father Beaver's recent email regarding the use and abuse of alcohol, but if you have not had an opportunity to-- as he says, "wash your ears out with this", please email me at work broach@roachlaw.com, and I will send it to you. You may all have thought to yourselves from time to time, without necessarily expressing it in a crowd or among confidants, just what Father has been up to on this life-journey of his that has been filled with some, or at least a couple, profound difficulties. I have to say that, despite the fact that it is significantly challenging for me to be so up front by writing and publishing this email, the words of his letter were about as to the point and meaningful-- word by word-- as anything I have read in the last several years I can remember. I encourage you all as my cousins to first read this letter, and then to digest this letter, by committing its essence to your basic daily perspective, and make sense out of it as if it were a mandate. There are several key components to Father's letter that are-- I submit from my perspective only-- directly inspired by the life of Christ, and may in fact, be His Words. I have had many opportunities to talk at length with Father Beaver. Yet, I have never heard such profoundly personal and meaningful things come from him (and of course, we all know how many honestly great things he has to say ...). All I am asking from my cousins is that you read and reread this letter knowing that the content is important, relevant, and one hundred percent on point, and use it to form your opinions. I dont know that I have ever been accused by any of you of 'force feeding' a belief or opinion, or a set of values for that matter, (yes, I know I attempt heavily at being persuasive in a variety of often unimportant areas-- a roast for a different day/) but if there were a time that I would take responsibility for, and hope it were true, that I am being dogmatic and directing, it would be only in the context of this issue and these statements by our cousin. I doubt many of you would react differently than I did when I read this letter with such awe and emotion, but I thought I'd take the opportunity to let you all know, as an oldest cousin, that I found it more meaningful than much else in recent memory written by anyone.

bpr

ITALY 2007!

Hello family!
I thought this would be an absolutely appropriate time to write a little blog about our Italy trip, being 5am and awake for the past hour with jet lag still! :)
We left on Friday the 12th. Had a direct flight from Seattle to Paris, and then a flight from Paris to Rome. We were all very excited and only packed carry-ons, which I am not used to doing, but am very happy we did so! We got into Rome at about 8pm. It took us some time to find our "apartment" we were to stay at, as the contact man put 18 as the house number on the email, instead of 81...we were so confused! When we did finally find Giuseppe, our host, we were surprised to find that we were staying on the second floor (first floor was described by Giuseppe as "you must excuse me...I am making a construction site here." ??!!!) of a building with many flats. We stayed in a room the size of a dorm with six beds of different heights lined up one next to the other with about an inch in between each bed and about 6 inches between the ends of the bed and the wall! It was a surprise to say the least! We luckily were given ONE clean sheet for a bottom sheet and all slept snuggled in our sweats and sweatshirts using our hand towels as blankets (which we brought in case the places we stayed didn't have towels provided, such as this place. So the towels were wet!). HAHA, we stayed at this place for three nights and it definitely grew on us, although I don't know if we would recommend it to other travellers! :)
Saturday, we spent the day walking around Rome...AFTER we all accidentally slept in until noon! We saw the ruins, including the pantheon and colosseum, and went to the secret "keyhole" in a random garden in Rome, which had a view of three countries: Italy, Vatican City, and Malta (???Right???). It was so cool! We walked through numerous piazzas and of course, ate amazing italian food for every meal!
Sunday we woke up early so that we could walk to the Vatican and make it in time for daily Mass at the side chapels...hoping we would find one in English. After walking around the almost empty St Peter's, we happened upon a very young Californian priest! It was great! Us kids split up the readings (soooo cool to say that I have read in St Peter's!) and had a great personal homily about the church and some of it's secrets. After Mass, we ran over to the Vatican Museum and waited in line for two hours until it opened (and no, we weren't even close to the start of the line!) We finally saw the amazing Sistine Chapel. After that, we went back to St Peter's, climbed to the top of the dome, and went in tons of their little stores. We headed back home in the evening.
On Monday we woke up early and packed up to head off to Assisi. Assisi was my favorite town this trip. (I have been to italy once before). It's the cutest town built into the side of a hill and it just soo homey and quaint. We went in about 20 churches, they are on each block, and each one was it's own little treasure. Of course, we went into St Francis- gorgeous, and St Claire's-where her uncorrupt body lays! It was crazy!
Tuesday, we took the train to Padoua (took about 6 hours). Unfortunately, I cought some virus and was vomiting most of the day. We arrived in Padoua in the afternoon. We went to St. Anthony's, which has much more of an Eastern European influenced church style. It was very beautiful. The rest of the fam will have to fill you in about this city, as I checked in early to get over my sickness.
Wednesday was Venice day! We took a water bus on the Grand Canal all the way to San Marco's at the edge of the city. The church was incredible, and to our surprise, we recieved a free tour in english about almost every detail about the church. It was awesome to know the symbolism and history of the paintings and church. The tour guide told us we are lucky we didn't come the week before as the tide was very high and we wouldn't have been able to tour the church! After the church, Bridget and I helped ourselfs to some shopping, and actually ended up getting split up from the rest of the fam. After wantering aimlessly around the streets of Venice, and trying to soak up as much as we could about the city, we all met up at 6 to take the train to Florence.
Thursday we woke up in Florence at a youth hostel. Unfortunately for the first night, we were split up, girls in a random girls room and boys in a random boys room. (had booked to be alltogether in a 6 bed room, but showed up too late for our reservation, so they cancelled it!) We found the coolest cafe with amazing cappucinos and pasteries that morning. We climbed the Duomo and went to the market. We walked over te Pont a Vecchio and ate gelatto. We met up with Sonja in the evening, toured her pennsione, and went to the well known restaurant La Spada (Lizzie's FAV!). The food there is incredible!
Friday we met up with Sonja again and just toured around again. We went into Santa Croce, where Michelangelo and Dante are buried. Lots of history with that church, and Sonja was a great tour guide! The rest of the day, we mostly shopped, ate gelatto on the triangle bridge, and packed up for the flight home the next day!
Saturday we woke up very early to catch our flight from Flo to Paris. It was a loooong, but smooth day. We were welcomed home by Dom, with dinner already made for us by Aunt Theresa. So wonderful!
We all loved our trip and can't wait to go back! Kevin and Bridget, if I missed anything, please feel free to add more stuff.
I'm going to try to get some more shut eye before the sun comes up.
~Cait

HOME AT LAST!

Hello everyone!
This is NOT an ITALY post yet, but just a late post letting everyone know that I am back living in the NW. Miguel accompanied me on the long drive home at the beginning of this month. We stayed in Tucson for a few nights for his friend's wedding, then a night in Vegas (at NY,NY hotel. Never been before to Vegas, it was pretty awesome!), then in Portland and finally home! I am happy to be back in the NW to start a new chapter in my life, though I was very sad to leave San D. I am going to be starting my job in about two weeks working through a travelling company as a per diem nurse at Swedish on the Critical Care floors (not to be confused with ICU.) Since I am working through a travelling company, I have the option at anytime to just pack up and take a travelling assignment wherever I please. The per diem option, which I am going to be doing at least until early spring, does not require me to work any holidays and I basically call in every week and give them a list of the shifts I want to work that week. It's an AWESOME option for this time of year (winter holidays) and I will reassess if I still want to be per diem or travel somewhere in the spring. And on top of it all, I won't miss out on FUN FAMILY FUNCTIONS anymore! SO HAPPY and EXCITED to be back around!
Feel free to visit me at my new home on West Lake Samammish. Some of you already know it as Uncle Ed and Aunt Liz's! :)
Gotta get to bed, this jet lag is killin.
PS: Italy blog will come soon!
PPS: Colleen, BLOG THE WEDDING! Still so sad we missed it. :(

Honeymoon Stories

Thought there should be a blog space available for colleen and Brian to jot down a few romantic tales from the great HI. So, the question is: Did Brian sit around and watch Boston in the playoffs all week, or did Colleen set good precedent by turning off the TV, and take him instead on 'long walks in the woods.'
??

bpr

TC Prep Performing Arts

I am in the Performing Arts class this semester at Prep, and we are working on a play that we will be performing on October 30th. The play is Jekyll & Hyde, and it will be really awesome. Monica Powers, James Powers, Will Virden, Mary Davis, and Alivia Bierschbach are all in it, singing, and it sounds really good. So mark it on your calendars, because it would be really nice if you all could come see it.
Thanks! Love you guys.

Everybody, I need some collective prayer - chi - energy sent my way in the next forty eight hours. Im freaking out. This is a call to arms.

Thanks.

love,

bart

BACHELORETTE WEEKEND!!!

I just wanted to share the fun with my family. This last weekend my four best friends flew into San Diego to suprise me for a fun filled weekend. Caitlin and Brian had planned it all with them, and I had absolutely no idea. It was such a blast! Here are a few pics to show you how much fun we actually had!!!!

(P.S. Three of them are single!!!!! Hey Hey cousins........Come to the wedding!!!!)

Lappe

To All of you who know my friend Justin Lappe,

he is taking off for his second tour in Iraq on Sunday. Give him a call, send him your prayers, tell him thanks for "weaving the blanket of freedom we sleep under."

Lappe's number is 360-305-8494. jwlappe@gmail.com

Colleen, you are right in his neighborhood, and you can make out with him again because you are not married yet and neither is he! Wahoo!

love,

bart

First day of school

Hey y'all just thought I would send you all a little note to let you know that school is going well. I am passing classes like it aint no thang, but spend 48 hours a week in the classroom! Gnarly, but "if you want to be treated like a professional, act like one." I guess that means study like one too...

Omaha is a lovely little city. I live right in the downtown with views of Iowa and the missouri river. It was great to see Colin as he drove through, and all are welcome to stay with me for interviews or cross-country road trips.

More later -- Have to get to anatomy class. This is a picture from the first day of school; Joe Sullivan and I looking all professional and stuff.

Catholics vs. Protestants

In other news, DeSales Catholic takes on cross county rival and three times the size Burbank Government under the lights tonight at 7 p.m. on Ty Baffney Field, led by the one-two combo of Ty's younger brother, Kevin, throwing bombs to sophomore standout Shane (Shangsta-T) Roach, younger brother of previous Fightin' Irish standouts Colin (currently setting a world record for having been a Fightin' Irishman for 11 straight years without having repeated a grade) and Kevin and Madsie Padsie. Be watching in the years to come for upcoming Irishmen Reilly (who'll spend eight years as starting kicker for those two Irish teams) and Renee (head cheerleader material at a minimum).

Go Catholics!! Go Irish!!

Tri-Cities Prep vs. Liberty Christian

In other news, TCP is playing against their cross-town rivals tomorrow. The game will start at 7 at Edgar Brown Stadium (pasco high's stadium). Everyone who lives within 120 miles (will) is expected to attend, in order to watch a competitive football game with a catholic school (everyone knows that DeSales doesn't count). Just for the record, I expect a blowout, since we've never actually lost to Liberty before in football, and have beaten them by 30+ each of the last 4 years. Hope everyone makes it
-Christian

Thanksgiving 2007

Dear All,

Although we'd love to be with you all, we won't be home for T-giving because we'll probalby be at our new boyfriends/girlfriends house (borrowing from a famous quote from the princess). All of the Bellingham Chambers will be going to New Orleans for Thanskgiving to celebrate that holiday and to have a birthday celebration for my Uncle Bobby's 85th. ...sorry for partying.

We'll be thinking of you , eating muffellatas and crayfish for you and having a hand granade and hurricane for you all in the Big Easy.

Great time this past weekend being with nearly everyone to celebrate Patricia's birthday and to witness the demise of ND football...and that's sad.

Glad to be back on the blog and we'll post pictures of NO when we get back...Liz, figure out your password (Brian helped with your name) so that you can post from Italy next month.

Love you all,
Bill C.

Bloggability factor is low, please post lots on this strand

Craigslist

Hello All,
Just wanted to inform everyone who reads the blog about just how awesome Craigslist.com is. As I think all of you know, I am relocating to Seattle in just one month (!!!!!!). I have been researching many different moving companies, but since I don't have even enough furniture for a studio, I would be paying a ton of money for a small load. As time went on, my new almost cousin Brian Cooke suggested that I should try to sell my 5 pieces of furniture on Craigslist and then just ship my boxes up and pack my car with the rest. On Monday afternoon, I took pictures of all my items and posted them on Craigslist, playing it safe by starting a month early on trying to sell these things. I actually wasn't going to be surprised if nothing sold and I would have to hire a moving company. However, today, not even two days later, I have already sold, my Bed, my bookshelf, and my lamp. WOW!
Anyways, the point of this blog is just letting people know how great craigslist.com is. The website is user friendly and makes it so easy to post stuff to sell. So if anyone is thinking of selling a piece of furniture, I say use craigslist!
Just ask me if you have more questions! Love y'all! Can't wait to be in the NW so I can party it up with the fam!