Green Lake fun

We sure missed Josh for the Saturday fun at Green Lake, eating at Cheesecake Factory and seeing Jersey Boys in downtown Seattle! Not to mention being entertained by Sadie.

Holly's wedding

What a festive and fun day for Holly's wedding on Sunday at Oak Harbor Yacht Club (gorgeous spot). We all just love Adam already (not to mention baby Evan)! Good catch for both parties. ... And thanks to my Evan for being my date and such a wonderful brother, too.

Let it snow!

More outdoor fun in Leavenworth! My parents love their new snowshoes, and Evan stayed out on them until midnight Sunday with Sadie.

Holiday fun...

We had a nice Christmas Eve dinner with our friends Rob and Krisha, and that was after celebrating earlier in the week with Suzie and her fiance', Michael. Happy Holiday HUGS, everyone!

Winter wonderland

I am missing the snow (and my family!) in California, so my Dad and Evan sent these cute photos today to lift my holiday spirits.

Baseball on the mind

This is about the time each year I start getting excited about baseball season again. Willie Upshaw, former Giants hitting coach, pitched to me in the cage at spring training last year and also during the season at the driving range gave me some of the best tips for my golf swing that really helped. (AP Photos by my pal Eric Risberg)

Waiting for Bonds...

My ESPN producer friend Charlie Moynihan (on phone) and Pedro Gomez kept me entertained early Friday morning at the federal courthouse as we waited for Barry Bonds to show up in court.

Ferry ride...

We had a great visit with cousin Karen and her boyfriend, Eric.

Basketball kickoff celebration and Thanksgiving

Where's Conor? Just like Where's Waldo, we are playing Where's Conor? Clue: He is the one dressed up like one of the 7-foot Lopez twins on the Stanford basketball team. Katie's fiancee' Kyle wouldn't let us have an "engagement party," so we cleverly called it a basketball kickoff celebration! HAA! ... Suzie and her family joined us for Thanksgiving, and her chef fiance' Michael showed up later only to have Josh heat him a plate of yummy food after Michael had cooked all day at the country club where he works. Josh got a high rating from the executive chef, too, not to mention from all the rest of us.

Dreaming of the desert...

This is about the time of year when my great photographer pal, Eric, and I start getting excited about spring training in Arizona again and counting down to the day pitchers and catchers report -- which means we report and get to not only work on fun stories but eat at tasty restaurants and jog in our favorite spot at the Papago Buttes each night! Yes, it's still 3 months away but I came across these pictures and got excited.

Sadie's first Thanksgiving

Clearly Sadie got spoiled by ever-willing dogsitters Evan, Petra and the rest of the Slapnicka family while her mom and dad visited us in the Bay Area!

Ballpark skating...

The Giants have opened up an ice skating rink in the ballpark, and my colleague Eric's wife, Elizabeth, and I had fun there today. Liz skates in competitions and is fabulous. I, on the other hand, slid (safely of course) headfirst into what would have been home plate and called it a day. My left hip and right knee will be screaming at me for a couple of days. The kids who witnessed it said it was just part of the experience for writing the story. I smiled (hiding a grimace) and agreed. Props to Eric for his fine photography as always!

McCauley farm equipment

My parents snapped this picture on their September trip to Ireland. If you click to enlarge, you'll see! :-)

The Big House

Josh and I had a fun time in Ann Arbor, my first trip to 110,000-seat Michigan Stadium -- thus, the nickname Big House. It was the Michigan Daily student paper reunion, so Josh saw a lot of his old pals. And to think they party harder than this at Washington State. Hmm, I guess I was out covering too many 8-man football games on Friday nights and high school basketball games all winter to really experience Pullman the way most college kids do. :-)