Auburn Rocks

The following is the continuation of this season's segment: "Top 7.5 Coolest Things We Did In Northern California During Our Christmas Vacation"

3. As long as I can remember, I have been obsessed with throwing rocks. I don't know why I just can't get enough of it. Maybe I'm part caveman, I don't know. And it doesn't matter how or where I throw rocks - skipping them in lakes, shooting them from a sling, throwing them off bridges, or causing pain to annoying kittens (okay, the last one is not quite true, unless you replace "annoying" with "unsuspecting" and "kittens" with "small children") Observe:

This is me, probably thinking about throwing rocks. Or about how awesome my pants are. Or about the sweet gap in my teeth.

(this is definately during one of my "akward" years, which ended up lasting nearly 2 decades)

While in Auburn, Sheri and I discovered an awesome hike. It led to an open area with steep cliffs that I knew if we could just climb to the top of, we could have some sweet rock-throwing:

The new setting for "Lord of the Rings IV: Gollum vs. Elmo"

We managed to make it to the top of the cliffs without killing ourselves (much to my surprise). The best thing about it was that not only were we on a cliff, but we were also above an old mine. So by the time the rock finally hit the bottom, you could have watched the first half of "Pride and Prejudice" (if you didn't thow up first, of course).

Be sure to pump up the volume so you can hear the "rock" music...(ba-doom-ching!)

Basketball Brew-ha-ha

The following is the continuation of this season's segment: "Top 7.5 Coolest Things We Did In Northern California During Our Christmas Vacation"

2. People are often surprised when they find out that Sheri is an amazing basketball player. You either hear it from someone, or you figure it out in the instant that she dunks a basketball into your previously unbroken face. Both ways are pretty effective. You see, Sheri appears to be a quiet, shy little lamb in public. But once she gets on the basketball court, images of a man-eating vampire puma quickly come to mind. Case in point:

Careful...she's going for the jugulars!

(Sheri's so good at basketball, she once challenged Chuck Norris to a game of "HORSE". She won by making 5 baskets in a row...on her first shot)

In all seriousness, Sheri is very, very good at basketball. She is one of the most accurate shooters I've ever seen, guys included. (Marriage Rule #1: Do not play HORSE against each other). And her basketball skills run in the family. Sheri has 9 sisters. That's right, I'm not exaggerating this time...9. And almost all of them play basketball too. So it's a tradition that every time we visit Northern California, we have to play basketball with the Squadron.

We had to nail the basketball to the backboard in order to take this picture.

Sheri's maiden name is BigGuns...you can see why

Northern Cali Vacay

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Some of you have commented that it is high-time for us to update our blog. Well, the wait is over and here it is: the "Top 7.5 Best Things We Did in Northern California During Our Christmas Vacation". We are going to break off the old tradition trail and do this in installments. So be sure to check at least hourly for more exciting updates!

1. Wild Stallion Scamperoo

Sheri and I did one of the funnest things we've done as a married couple - horseback riding! It was amazing. The reason why it was so cool is because except for once, every time I've gone riding it's been a "horseback riding adventure", which is a fancy way of saying, "single-file death march". I've been forced to sit on my emaciated steed while it shuffles along the same path that it's done 6 zillion times. At the end I usually end up either carrying the horse myself, or eating it to put it out of our misery. Why, why couldn't I run wild and free like the stallion inside of us that we both yearn to release?

But this time was different. Since we were going with friends that owned the horses, we could go wherever we wanted. We thought single-file was a pretty good idea.

After an amazing afternoon of beautiful scenery, fresh air, and venomous Tse Tse flies, we reluctantly headed back to the horse trailer. But before we did, we found an open field where we were able to gallop as fast as we wanted (the horses, not us). It was seriously one of the most fun things I've ever done. It makes me want to get horses one of these days - or at least a really big raccoon.

Amateur....