Video Tour

Our New Place: A Tour

Here are a few pictures of our new place. A video may follow later.

Isn't that the most obnoxious wallpaper you have ever seen in your life?

This is our new kitchen. It is an eclectic blend of 70's and 2000's style.



And finally a picture of the big room! 14' x 26'

We Were Expecting and Can Finally Announce the Arrival of...

... OUR NEW COUCH!

Okay, maybe not what you were expecting, but most definitely the most exciting acquisition we have had in a while. This is Elysa's present for graduating from Law School. Special thanks to Abby for helping show it off! (We have learned that we must borrow other people's children to increase our blogs readership!)

Yes, Minister...

Elysa and I just finished watching the last episode of a BBC comedy series titles "Yes, Minister" and "Yes, Primer Minister." We loved it as, and this description is a stretch, it is something like "The West Wing" meets "The Office." The story follows a member of parliament, Jim Hacker, who is promoted to a cabinet position and later becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain. The plot always focuses on the never ending struggle between his efforts to reform some aspect of government and the civil service that is resistant to any form of change, headed by the formidable Sir Humphrey Appleby. Caught in the crossfire is Bernard Woolley, the Personal Private Secretary to Jim Hacker, who must carefully balance his devotion and loyalty between the two other men.

Although they were filmed between 1980-88, the series is surprisingly fresh as it deals with topics still of great debate today in the US: military size, education, domestic spying and terrorism. However, that doesn't imply that the series is about political debate; on the contrary, it merely takes one of those controversial topics to act as the catalyst for the new daily struggle between Hacker and Appleby, who tirelessly try to outmaneuver the other. The series is very witty and well done with only a total of 38 episodes.

The picture above is (from left to right) Sir Humphrey Appleby, Rt. Hon. James Hacker and Bernard Woolley.

Strawberry Fields

While Lake's parents visited last weekend, we went to Chile's farm in Crozet and picked fresh strawberries. We were only out a short time, but managed to pick 3 pounds of the sweetest strawberries we have ever tasted. The best part of the picking was that you could eat while you pick! We also sampled fresh strawberry frozen yogurt, bought fresh cherries, and enjoyed the lovely surroundings. We later used the fresh strawberries on angel food cake with fresh whip cream. Yum!

Small size, big taste.

Just Picked Berries.

Heaven is Monticello in Springtime

When Lake and I first met in Washington, D.C. as Senate Pages in 1998, we went with his parents to visit Monticello and the University of Virgina. Lake and I were photographed together at Monticello as teenagers when we first started dating. We returned to Monticello with our family to celebrate graduation weekend this year. Who would have thought 9 years ago that we would return to Monticello married and me having graduated from the University of Virginia Law School! This is particularly ironic since when we visited the University of Virginia with Lake's parents long ago, I didn't bother to get out the car to see the Rotunda and Lawn at the University! It was wonderful to revisit this special place, reflect on the past, and make new memories!The graduation gang at Monticello overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains

Lake and I with my parents in front of the house.

Beth Lynn and Deya enjoying the sun.

Cancun Part III: Chichen Itza

This was our third adventure in the Yucatan: Chichen Itza. We recommend taking the earliest trip in the day that you can. It is cooler and less crowded. We left Cancun at 6:15 AM, but went in a smaller group and had the whole place practically to ourselves. Here are a few pictures of a very neat place.

Elysa once caught a fish THIS BIG!!!

This is Chaac, the Mayan God of Rain. Elysa likes this picture because... well, I don't exactly know; she just told me she likes it. I like this picture because when I look at it, I imagine a voice saying,"Chaac, meet Chaac. Chaac, this is Chaac." To me, Chaac looks more like the Mayan God of Bad Dentistry or Poor Rhinoplasty.

Here Elysa and I are standing on the observatory. It is my understanding that circular Mayan structure are extremely RARE (In fact, this might be the only known one). They don't let you climb the big Pyramid anymore, but they have recently opened this up so you can climb on it. It is a lot of fun.

This is an important building, but I wasn't paying attention to the guide at this point. By this time in the tour, you realized that some of what he was telling you was... ahem... factually challenged. I think this was a place where members of the ruling families of other Mayan cities were keep as lifetime hostages. The ruling councils would exchange hostages to help ensure peace.

This is the Sacred Cenote (which is a sinkhole). It is believed to be a site of sacrifice by the Mayans at Chichen Itza to the Rain God Chaac. Some claim it was the site of human sacrifice, although, according to some sources, that is more strongly believed by the tour guides than the scientific community at large. I believe the legal term is called "Puffery." It is green from all of the chlorophyll from the leaves of the trees above.

Running down the sides of a lot of the temples is the symbol of Kukulcan, the feathered serpent. He is the Creator God in Maya lore. Supposedly, Kukulcan is also priest who is half-god (the feathers represent the heavens and imply his immortality) and half-man (the serpent represents the earth and denote his mortality). Some legends say that he unified the people before leaving them, promising them that he would return one day from the East.

I liked this picture because you have the little iguana sunbathing on the tongue of the the great Feathered Serpent.

Wish you were here!!! Love, EB and Laker!