Whaddup, Weinmeisters?

Hello dear family! Seems like blog activity has waned severely again. Small surprise as we Weinmeisters are all pretty busy either working or roaming the far reaches of the continent (or both!). Thanks to the Bubbas - the brave chiefs of our tribe - for keeping some activity going here. What are the rest of you up to?

I've somehow survived another Oregon winter. The trick to making it through I've discovered is frequent travel to sunnier places. Christmas in Lyden was great - there was cold and snow, but the winter sunshine in the desert was perfect. Mom, Dad, John and I represented the Weinmeisters well amidst the chaos and had a good time celebrating and feasting with Chamisa's sisters and their families. John and I had some great brother-sister bonding over Guitar Hero III, much to the chagrin of everyone who had to listen to "Slow Ride" and "Barracuda" repeatedly as we tried to get through level 1.

January and February were long, broken up only by a brief visit from Mom, Dad, and Hoover for an OHSU visit. Lots of call, lots of babies, and by March I was desperate for a vacation. So my friend Stacy and I ditched jobs and responsibilities and took off to Mexico for a week on the beach. It was relaxing, wild fun, and just a little bit out of control, but no one got arrested and we both made it home tanned and in one piece with all symptoms of the northwest winter funk gone.

Eye candy in a Puerto Vallarta shop.

Trying (unsuccessfully) to body surf on a small child's inflatable pool toy we found on the beach. We tried to find the owner, but when that failed, we just decided to take advantage of the opportunity. We did get cheers from the beach and found a couple eager to assume ownership of the toy when we were done.

Lots of vendors on the beach. Not too aggressive, but they accurately pegged me and Stacy for total suckers...

El Senor de los Desamparados (the abandoned ones) y la Virgen de Guadalupe.

Pretty intense.

Sunset on the beach our last night.

Back to the cold northwest and a beautiful view of Mt. Hood as we descended into PDX.

Bubbas Go West

Little Bubba took Big Bubba's bait and chased him west to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Carmel By The Sea, and Big Sur. It's a beautiful world when you are a Bubba.