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Recently on Facebook I linked with some old friends. This got me digging up the photo album and scanning a few 10-year-old pictures. While I was at it I found a few more gems. Like this one. Lu, Myself and nephew Joe were at Thane beach during the summer: built a fire, roasting hot dogs, skipping stones. Joe was at that fantastic age where everything is a wonder and discovery. He couldn't stop asking questions, including "Why did God make guitars?", "Why are there flowers?" and my favorite: "Do rocks burn?". (Those who know me should be able to guess the answer I gave him. :))

We've had a goodly amount of snow recently and it's one of Meadow's favorite things:

In fact, she was NOT happy we had to go inside:

Meadow enthralled us at the cabin with the telling of our epic adventure. She sensed we didn't quite grasp the moral of the story, so she was forced to repeat it with increasing ferocity all evening. And a little in the morning too. :)

Meadow made the excursion so much fun!

It's a lot of responsibility taking that 19-month-young baby through the Alaskan wilderness, in 30 degree weather, in up to 2ft of snow, with survival gear for three on a sled that isn't behaving. When the road got rough and too long, Meadow started to get fed-up with being in the backpack.

Thankfully my partner is "the bomb" and as a team I can't imagine anything we can't do.

We put our heads down and trudged through the snow and low light. The 2.5 miles took us 2.5 tiring hours. But once we arrived at the cabin Meadow bounced back with a big smile and big energy for the party.

This year, for our annual hike to/from Cowee Cabin for Bill's anniversary, since we have the baby we had to figure out a new way of lugging all our overnight gear. So we borrowed a harness and made use of Url's boundless energy. On the way out he didn't fair so well in the insanely deep snow, but some of that was our fault for being newbies at the sled thing (it kept wanting to corkscrew). On the way back the rain had packed the snow down nicely, plus I installed some stabilizing straps on the sled to allow us to control its torque and Url championed that thing! Good job Url! You earned mega points and an "A" grade for your performance.

Here's some footage of the stroll:

This year we did something very special for Christmas. We bought tickets to visit my family in Spokane, but didn't tell them! We showed up on my mom's doorstep Christmas Eve, my dad's Christmas Morning, and my grandpa Tom's a couple days later. No one knew and we successfully pulled off one of the biggest surprises we've ever done!

We put together a video of our visit. Click here to view the high-quality version:

Or, if you don't want to watch the high-quality version, here's a YouTube version:

Here's a fun lil E-Card wishing you all a Happy Holidays from Ryan, Laura, Meadow, and of course Url the dog.

We headed down to Zihuat with Nate, Tracy, and Emilya this spring for a family vacation. This was our first big vacation taking the baby. Not the same as going without the baby, of course. There wasn't any late night bar-hopping or wild carousing (not that we ever did that before), but there were still plenty of good times. Dare I say *better* times! :)

We rented a great house in the Madera neighborhood which served as the perfect base. Very secure, awesome pool, plenty of privacy. And the gardener also cooked us authentic dinners! Yum. Thanks Lionel!

Just up and over the hill one block away was the beach. And down the road a few blocks was El Centro with all the restaurants and shopping we could want.

We spent most of our time sunning by the pool, enjoying the food, or strolling the beach.

Midway through the vacation Meadow came down with her first real sickness. Being first-time parents, and being her first-time with a bug, and being in Mexico, we naturally over-reacted. In retrospect it was no big deal, but there were a couple nights where the baby wouldn't be soothed.

(MJ with a 103 degree temperature and Daddy with a cool fruity beverage.)

At the peak of her fever we went to a doctor's office to make sure she was clear of infection in her ears. She was - phew! But she did have some in her throat so some antibiotics and she was quickly on the mend. I should also point out that the doctor at the clinic was SO wonderful. His English was a little better than my Spanish, but with Lu's skills we managed to communicate well enough.

Our little girl is such a joy. Even with the fever and feeling like garbage her spirits were good. She loved playing with Emilya and her toys and wouldn't be stopped from using the coffee table to help herself stand. She took a couple bonks on the marble floor but got around exceptionally well. She also enjoyed for the first time in her life floating around in a big pool full of water!

Traveling with friends is the best. And sharing the house was a perfect way to get privacy but also get to hang out with the old pal. One of the highlights was getting to smoke a fine Cubano cigar late in the evening and chat it up with El Natron. What a good guy you are Cap'n!

Once Meadow was back in action we hit the streets and the markets and festival and all the goodness Zihuat has to offer. What a great town to vacation in. The people there are so friendly and family-oriented. Everyone wanted to hold Meadow, and by the end of the trip we were letting them.

(MJ and her pals at the juego (juice) bar)

In the end the 10 days was too short. I actually wanted to extend our trip! But alas it wasn't meant to be. We said goodbye to Zihuat and flew home.

We took Meadow down to Spokane to show her off when she was about three months old. The timing was perfect because we also had a Stanley reunion at my Uncle Wally's lake place. The cabin on Spirit Lake holds a lot of great memories for me, as I know it does for the rest of the family, so it was the perfect environment to get caught up with the cousins.

(The Stanley cousins and their kids)

(the whole Stanley gang!)

We also got to have a mini-gathering of family on my Mom's side. Our visit was only for a week or so - too short - but it was packed full of family goodness.

(Mom's side of the Family)

Meadow Jean Marguerite Stanley was born June 23, 2006. And again I find myself wondering "how did I get to be the luckiest guy on earth?"

She's a bundle of joy and the whole process has been quite the wondrous journey. The scientist in me is blown away by the sheer miracle of it all. The soft and gushy emotional part of me is blown away by the fact this little tiny precious amazing thing is my daughter. And I'm her father. Wahoo!

I look forward to all the times (good and bad) we're going to have in our lives Meadow. Thanks for choosing us. -Dad.