Pappy's New World Record - A marathon in 100 countries!!!

Pappy finished a marathon in Tahiti on February 8th. Not a big deal considering it was his 319th marathon! But, this marathon happened to be the 100th different country in which he had run a marathon, which broke the World Record!

Here is a picture from the finish (notice the t-shirt and the race number!):

After getting cleaned up, Pappy joined Grandmaman for a beautiful Tahitian sunset before dinner to celebrate his new world record. If you look closely, you will notice they are both wearing the T-shirts Priya got them for Christmas to celebrate Pappy's achievement:

The shirt reads "Pappy's 100 Marathon Country Tahiti 2-8-09 New World Record"

The local paper in Florida wrote an article about Pappy's achievement and it included Priya! If I can figure out how to post it on the blog or find a link, I will post it.

Scottsdale Escape - Part 2

Of course, we did some relaxing at the resort.  We relaxed in bed:

And we relaxed by the pool:

We did a little swimming, with Camelback Mountain in the background:

And I climbed to the top of Camelback Mountain:

And nature was not to be outdone by Chihuly:

Lovin' the sun in Scottsdale - Part 1

I surprised Ami with a trip to Scottsdale, AZ over Valentine's Day weekend.  We escaped to get some sun and warmth and it was a great weekend.

The highlight of the weekend was a visit to the Desert Botanical Garden, which is showing a Dale Chihuly exhibit right now.  Chihuly's hand blown glass art really shined in the desert setting with the beautiful blue sky as a background.  We were so impressed, we thought it deserved it's own post.

Priya was in awe.

Priya Dives In

Priya had her first swim lesson tonight.  She had a blast.  At first, she didn't want to let her legs down and she kept playing with her feet.  But once she let them go, she was kicking and splashing all over the place.  She loved it!  Enjoy the video.

Priya's First Swim Lesson (2/10/09)

"Water No Get Enemy" - Fela Kuti

Hanging with the Stalochs

Our friends Mike and Jen are visiting from San Francisco.  They have been lucky in that it hasn't been raining.  It has been a little chilly and the fog has been thick but we are dry, and in Portland in Jan/Feb that is all you can ask for.

We lined up the babysitter for Friday night and hit an awesome restaurant called Tanuki.

Saturday we explored the Columbia Gorge.  This is an overlook with the Vista House in the distance.

Then we did a great little hike along Latourell Falls.  Priya was talking the whole way.

Of course, we had to stop by Multnomah Falls.

Finally, we stopped into Hood River which is a great town known for windsurfing and kiteboarding.  After Priya shredded it on the kiteboard, we headed to one of my favorite breweries, Double Mountain, so Mike could get a taste of some more local brews.