Home again, home at last, and home for GOOD!!! It's soooooooooo great to be back. Colorado is the best place on Earth; it has everything. Beautiful country, four real seasons, plenty of sunshine, and most importantly, family!

The boys helped unpack some of my stuff from Berkeley, and were really excited to help assemble the speaker system. Once it was up, Owen politely demanded that we play something REALLY LOUD. Hm, maybe some Earth, Wind & Fire? No, that was too mellow for Owen, even at full volume. "Um, Nick," he asked, "can we please play something LOUDER? Something REALLY LOUD?"

Well, Owen must be my nephew indeed, because he wasn't satisfied until we had hardcore techno blasting at full volume. He and Lincoln ate it up.







He's just a regular little raver, isn't he?







Not sure why, but Owen loved this move. Some kind of "fighting Irish" pose, which he would hold while running around the room.


Lincoln looks a little worried about "fighting Irish" Owen.


Lincoln doesn't need such intense dance moves; he jives in his own way.

The other news of the day is that my road bike, nearly the victim of an unfortunate car accident, survived to ride again! Accordingly, this bike is named The Phoenix, as it rose from the splintered ashes of its former self. It used to be a Tri bike, but has been converted to road setup to be my daily trainer. The new Ceepo should be coming in on Tuesday or Wednesday, and will get built up in a week or two. Stay tuned for those pictures. Until then, I present in all its glory, The Phoenix:





That's all for now, kids. Love Love,

Nick

What a whirlwind the last few months have been! It seems like just yesterday that the pro peleton was racing through the Stanford campus, but now it's the middle of May, and schools are sending their graduates off into the world. Monica graduated this past weekend, and Mom & Dad are coming out on Friday to celebrate my graduation at Boalt.

But Springtime isn't just about schooling, no sir! Love is in the air, and wedding bells are ringing. Theresa came out this weekend to watch her friend Erin get hitched, and the two of us got to steal an entire day together before the event. As always, Theresa was a sport and posed for her incessant photographer boyfriend.


Isn't she adorable?

She'd never been to Chrissy Field, on the Northern shore of San Francisco, so off we went, picnic in tow, for a sunny afternoon by the Golden Gate Bridge.


T-Dawg hydrating like a champ.


She even puts up with kissy-kissy photos :-)


Right on cue, here's Theresa's "action shot."


Action shot #2. Not sure what this action is.


Theresa grabbed the camera and commanded that I do my own action shot. Here's me pretending to be the Incredible Hulk.


Fortunately, I didn't actually turn green like the Hulk.


Boo.


After our date by the bridge, Theresa had a craving for bubble tea (a.k.a. boba), which is basically a funky creamy tea with balls of tapioca floating in it. You drink it with a really thick straw that's big enough to suck up the tapioca balls. Yes, there are LOTS of inappropriate jokes you could make about this stuff.


Theresa wanted to see that ridiculous poster on campus. Here's proof that I really do look that goofy in real life.


Theresa giving a little love to Mother Nature.


Uncovering the mysteries of the universe.


Joan and Uncle Andy had us over for dinner on Friday night. As usual, they made an absolutely delicious meal from scratch. Fresh grouper and halibut fish, seasoned with spices, peppers, shallots, and butter, baked to perfection and served with a fresh salad and long-grain rice. And as usual, they claimed that this fantastic fare was "nothing special." Who are they kidding? Funny enough, Theresa picked out a wine for our dinner that turned out to be exactly what they already had open when we got there! In fact, they had recently bought a case of that exact wine. The 2007 Salina Chardonnay was our pick for the evening, and it was delicious. Highly recommended.

This will be the last Verdict post from the Bay Area, I'm afraid. It's been great, Berkeley. Colorado, here we come!

Love Love,
Nick