The Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas to all! It's Monday, December 25th, and I hope that everyone is having a great holiday! Kat and I have been enjoying a nice visit with her parents, Jan and Craig, who are visiting from Arkansas.

So far we've enjoyed plenty of sunshine and outdoors attractions. On Saturday, we took Jan and Craig to the Wild Animal Park~ It was a really great day - Mild temps and sunny skies; Unfortunately, our friends the Cheetahs were not running that day. But there were plenty of rhinos, giraffes, and the occasional scimitar white oryx to check out (my favorite) -




Flurry of activity when the lion actually woke up long enough to put his head in the air. And WE WERE THERE! *grin* -

Christmas Eve -

Sunday was Christmas Eve, and we went to church in the morning and the afternoon at North City. I played my Trombone for both the morning and evening service, which is about 100% more than I normally play~ Ahh, sigh - I remember when I could actually play... After the service in the evening, we came back to Jan's sister's home, where Jan and Craig are staying. We exchanged gifts, ate tamales, and had a real nice time!



Maggie, the amazing foot-long tongued dog...


Craig with his new reindeer nose

Christmas Day

Nice and quiet monday for Christmas. We took a long walk at Torrey Pines, and then Kat and Craig topped it off with yet another 6 mile hike! They've earned their prime rib, I'd say...



It's been a great visit! Somewhat of an uninspiring post, I admit, but it really has been good! Drope us a note soon and let us know what's going on in your corner of the world! - B -

A Weekend in Rome...

Its been a big weekend for our church. We hosted 1100-plus for the 8th or 9th annual "Bethlehem Village" event. I was in charge of the Roman Guards for this shindig, and I think we held our own pretty well - We had a really big crowd on the first night, with perfect weather and fair conditions. On the second, the skies opened for one of our 5 days of rain per year, and so that kept all but the hardiest couple hundred of our neighbors from coming out.

But it was a good time! Llamas, nativity plays, puppet shows, crafts, petting zoos - Its a great way for our little church to reach out to the community, and a really neat bonding time for us as a group -

Man! I am ready for the holidays ~ Kat has just a few more hours of exam left, and she will be too!

Will the real Brent Applegate please step up...

It's Saturday morning, I am still feeling a little bit queasy after staying home from work sick yesterday, and that means, "Too much free time on the internet!"-

First, an obervation. Google really is an amazing thing! While the company does not provide detailed information about its hardware, a 2006 estimate consisted of over 450,000 servers, racked up in clusters located in data centers around the world. They have LOTS of info. For a real treat, type in your own name to Google Images and see what comes up!

I am pleased to see that the first ranking for my name is a picture of me getting a trophy! Can't go wrong with that!












But after that, it gets intriguing. A couple "other me's" emerge ~ I could have been Brent Applegate, the Iowa State-going, dirt-bike riding, snowmobile racing, former farmhand current Ag Econ studying student - www.public.iastate.edu/~aplg8/homepage.html

Or even better, I could have been Brent Applegate, the manager of Brewsky's sports bar just of the campus of Lincoln, Nebraska - www.brewskys.com/catering.html

Ah, but alas, I am Brent Applegate in San Diego, California, who has a trophy from Toastmasters and a bit of a stomach bug on a drippy Saturday... But I am happy with my life... Though I think I might want to contact my other self in Iowa and see if I can trade some HP equipment for a nice dirtbike...

3 church kids, 2 movie buffs, and a carol party by the sea

Weekend update...

On Friday night, Kat and I put our wills and hearts to the test as we took on... BABYSITTING! This was another first for us, and I don't think either of us had done any babysitting since we were 16 or so...

Fortunately, we were taking care of 3 awesome kids from our church. It gave their parents a night out, and allowed us to get a little glimpse of what family life might someday be like!

Luckily, the evening went pretty smooth. No threats or duress needed, though I did find myself in a collossal psychological battle with their two-year old, Shin, to get him to put his pajamas on...

Eventually, his big sister took pity on me and working together, we coaxed him in. It was tense, though... I mean if you can talk a 2-year old into PJs on your own, you are ready for hostage negotiation, I'd say.

Saturday - Kat went to day 1 of a 5 day conference in downtown San Diego, so I was left to fend for myself for a bit. My buddy Hank and I went to see Nativity Story, which as a Christian I would solidly recommend. Critics all panned it, but I think because it was too encouraging and wholesome for their darker tastes.

Sunday - After Kat's day at the conference, we went out to a caroling party... Now, this too is a first as an adult for us both. Her previous roomate Sara threw the shin dig. A group of 10 or so of us got together at the condo complex where Sara now lives, enjoyed a variety of nogs and cheeses, then set out to serenade their neighbors. We knocked on doors, disturbed resident's TV watchings, didn't get arrested, sang Silent Night in multiple languages, and generally had a blast. Here's what a caroling party looks like:



And this is what a Sara looks like with a naked mole rat sculpture in the foreground...


If you are thinking, "Christmas Card-worthy," we are on the same wavelength!!!

A Little Flickr 101

I've heard a couple of confused folks about the Flickr wedding photos -

What you want to do is click to the photo of your choice, then look for a little toolbar above the photo - It will say "All Sizes" and "Order Prints"...

If you want to download the photos to your PC, click All Sizes, and then "Download Original Size."

If you want to get them printed and sent to you, click "Order Prints" and follow the instructions.

Little bit confusing, I admit, but Flickr is pretty good at everything else!

It's beginning to look a lot like... breaking and entering

OK, so I've never been that big on car stealing. Ask all my friends - I VERY RARELY try to break into automobiles! That's what makes the events of this past Tuesday so out of character for me.

It was a day like most Tuesdays ~ I was walking out of HP with a couple of friends to head to our lunch pickup Ultimate Frisbee game, and my buddy Gordon said he would drive since he had his Durango SUV.

All is well - I headed out to the parking lot, looking around for something like this











I got a little distracted when I saw a co-worker who I hadn't talked with for awhile who was arriving - So I was just chatting away with my co-worker and opened the door to the Silver Durango, talking away, putting my bags in, etc... This goes on for a good minute or so until Gordon walks over and motions me that HIS Silver Durango was in fact parked a good 20 feet away, and that I might want to consider getting out of that trusting person's unlocked truck!

So let that be a lesson to you! Not all breakers and enterers are up to no good... Some are just very easily distracted...

It's beginning to look a lot like...

I love December. It is such a great month! Every time you turn around, someone's handing you a santa cookie or something like that. There's wassail, misteltoe, bowl games, carols, advent calendars, presents, and so much more!

The first couple days of December are off to a great start. On Friday, our church had their annual Christmas dinner. This year they had a French theme, which pretty much meant a lot of REALLY poor pronunciation and butchering of the beautiful French language. But we had fun, and our pastors did a remarkably creative pastors of the 12 days of Christmas...

This morning we went to a work session for Bethlehem Village, our church's big holiday event. Kat's organizational abilities have been shining; She's got hundereds of costumes put together, organized, and ready to roll.

Well, tonight we are heading downtown for a friend's "crepe party." The French theme rolls along. Life is going good... All I can say is, "We wish you a VERY merry Christmas"

I can't believe it's for real!!!

Seen in the movie theatre tonight...



(That's my best attempt at Homer's drooly Pavlovian gargle)

7/27/07... But I want it NOW!!!

Great cause to give thanks!

Kat and I have officially declared this to be our first successful Thanksgiving as husband and wife. The food was great, the time with friends old and new was sweet, and the leftovers... Mmmmm... the leftovers just keep GOOOOOING and GOOOOOING!

First, I played in our church's annual Turkey Bowl football game on Thanksgiving morning



There's a couple of young, fit guys like my buddy Brenton who play, but the majority are old and creaky like me. The opposing team won by a score, we think, though I think there were definitely some plays that probably would have gone the other way if we had video review. Special moment for me had to be watching a teenager tackle our youth pastor (in a flag game) and the youth pastor then reaching over and tripping up the teen so he fell flat on his face. Ahh, the holidays!

Back home, Kat's preparations for the big day were in FULL SWING.



We loaded up the center room with a really nice setup, though I have to say that an extra room for post-dinner relaxing might have been nice. But condo-dwellers can't be picky on these sorts of things. It looked GREAT!

Dinner was set for 2:30. The food was exquisitely prepared and ready right on time, our friend Khoulud had arrived with a homemade Pumpkin pie... and the Jamaicans showed up unapologetically at 3:30. Island time, they tell me, runs a wee bit SLOOOOOWER than you or I might think. I knocked on their door (This is a group of Jamaican domestic workers who are over here on an exchange program and working for a nearby hotel. They live in our complex) at 2:45, and they still had curlers in their hair and stuff...

But, the food was still hot and our appetites were DEFINITELY hot by then, and we had a really lovely dinner.



Stuffed! That's all I can really say about the day. We had two shifts of folks come through, because some of the ladies had to work, and I was obliged to eat with both. It was quite a nice thing to clean everything up and get back to normal that night. Glad that the memories (and the leftover Turkey) will stay with us for quite awhile!

The great, long-overdue Wedding Picture Post!

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

I was just able to awaken from my tryptophan-induced coma for long enough to load up a bunch of wedding photos to our jazzed-up Flickr account. I'm paying the 2 bucks a month or whatever it is to get the big upload limit, so all these photos can be downloaded and printed to 4x6's. Or you can order photos right off of Flickr. Your choice

Downloads are free... No charge! I've organized the photos from the official photographer as well as those from our friend's into three convenient sets:

Preparation - http://www.flickr.com/photos/78249236@N00/sets/72157594390328721/
Ceremony - http://www.flickr.com/photos/78249236@N00/sets/72157594390365261/
Reception - http://www.flickr.com/photos/78249236@N00/sets/72157594390414228/

If you want a higher res photo for any reason, just let me know! Thanks, and enjoy!

B

Just a little Dinn -E.R. with friends

So Opal is thinking... Routine dinner with the Aplegates, right?



Silly Opal!

Well, first, you are wondering, "Who is Opal?" Kathryn, being the incredibly friendly gal that she is, made friends with Opal, one of our neighbors in the condo complex. Opal is an incredibly fit and spry gal who I hope won't mind me revealing that she is 88. She is super-sharp, which comes in handy for our story here.

I had come home and helped Kat a little with dinner prep until I got to be too much of a nuissance in the kitchen and went out for a quick run. When I was leaving kat was just getting started cutting up a rather stubborn acorn squash with the biggest cleaver in our knife rack...

When I came back from the run, Opal was tending to Kat who's wrist was covered in a protective bandage. Turns out, just after I left, the squash slid out and she cut her wrist, though thankfully just superficially. Kat had called Opal who came over to tend to things.

I took a look at the wound, and with all my years of experience of occasional E.R. watching, decided she needed stitches. So we paused dinner and headed over to the nearby Urgent Care center where Dr. Chris (above) was so good to stitch her up. Though it took a couple of hours, the people there were really cool and fun, so it wasn't too much of a drag. We came home, picked up the cooking where we left off, and had a really nice Salmon dinner, albeit sans Opal, at about 9...

Hopefully, the cullinary drama is out of our systems before Thanksgiving. I'll provide a full report in the next edition. *Grin*

Going a'baja

Brent says: I went down to Tijuana today with a church group from our sister church, Harbor Prez... We joined a church called Dios con Nosotros for Sunday morning worship.



This ministry is more about relationships than remodeling. We are trying to make more frequent visits to share meals and fellowship with a church in TJ, rather than just going down to do projects all the time. Makes for a different kind of dynamic, with Spanish language much more important. My Spanish is regrettably rusty, but it is amazing how much comes back with just a little bit of immersion.



These trips are really important; it's a good reminder that we are all God's children. So much of the rhetoric about immigration is so hateful! I think a good cross-cultural Sunday picnic or two should be highly encouraged for all.

But now... the Chargers are playing on TV... Gotta run! Go Chargers!!!

Christmastime's a'coming

For these past 3 years, the official arrival of the Christmast season for me has been our church's annual Bethlehem Village preparation. On Saturday, I helped our resident construction genius, Gary, paint some backdrops for the big event.



Now bear in mind, I am not fit for anything more complicated than roller-work, and even then, I tend to paint outside the lines unless I try really hard not to... But it is exceptionally nice to get outside and feel that crisp 78 degree November air in San Diego, and know that Christmas is almost here!

Plus, Gary and I built some clothes racks for Kat's costume department, so I felt like I was being suitably supportive for my lovely wife. It'll be fun!



Friday and Saturday evenings, Dec. 15th and 16th, at North City Presbyterian Church in Poway, CA for those of you in the area..

The Jury is In

Quick "before work posting" here...

This past weekend wasn't too wild and crazy, though we did have fun. On Friday, Kat and I got together with some of her fellow jurists from the case that she almost had to serve on recently. I say almost, because though she waited for 6 days, she actually DIDN'T have to serve.

In any case, we had a lovely Chinese dinner with Ginny, Matthew's family, and Ginny's friends.


Turns out we all live within about a mile of each other... Go figure?

On Saturday I pretty much laz'ed away the day while Kat worked hard at Church with the ladies on costumes for Bethlehem Village. Sunday was a big day for Missions at the church. We had special classes, speakers, and a dinner. The day was really good, and people liked the booklet that I had put together.

*Sigh*- Not so lively, this morning. But keep the faith, dear reader. More exciting stuff will follow, I promise!

The Camera Falters...

Brent says: So, Kat and I haven't been doing too much that is "Photo-worthy" as of late, which is usually my criteria for when we ought to be posting on the blog. But, things were starting to seem a bit stale on brentkatcali, so I am going to provide a special "Mid-Week Update" edition. Here goes:

What we've been doing that we are not taking pictures? Brent has been working on a publishing project for church to create a Missions Booklet of the missionaries our church supports. Sunday is a special day at our church, focused all on missions, and so I've been working really hard to get it done before then. PS- I just finished it today, so I feel quite relieved! Kat has been working on the costumes for our church's Christmas production and helping some of her girlfriends plan a shower.

What are we watching? No TV. Its always awkward when people ask us about shows, cause we are SOOOOO out of touch. One of Kat's friends, Kat, and I have started into the first couple hours of six in the PBS version of Pride and Prejudice. It rocks!

What are we reading? Kat is into "The Language of God" by Francis Collins, which is a really top-notch Science and Religion book by a Nobel-laureaute scientist, and written for a layperson reader. I've been slowly making my way through "Surprised by the power of the Holy Spirit" by Jack Deere, which is a book that argues in favor of the miraculous happening today in Christianity. That and US weekly, in which I was happy to learn in the most recent edition, that just like US, James Woods scratches his nose while he walks. Who knew?

Who are we meeting? Jamaicans. Lots of em. 6 Jamaican women who are working at a nearby hotel moved into our condo complex. Their accent is like music. We're going to invite them and a lot of other "orphan away from home friends" over to our place for Thanksgiving, as we enjoy our FIRST Thanksgiving as a married couple. Our goal is to represent at least 15 countries around the dinner table ~ Call it, "Brent and Kat's United Nations Thanksgiving."

What else? Tired... Very Tired... Better sign off before I embarrass myself anymore! Still reading? Very dedicated! Leave a comment so we know you care. Ciao!

Not the Applegate's you've been a-costumed to

The last couple of days have been all about costumes... Not that this is too out of the ordinary, considering that one of the last few days was a certain holiday known as Halloween. Now, the origins of Halloween - THAT is an interesting topic - Talk about your intersection between the secular, the sublime, and the surreal.

Anyways, we spent part of Sunday restfully beginning the process of organizing the costumes for Bethlehem Village. Kat is in charge of 100+ costumes for our church's annual Christmas festival. Its a huge job, for sure, but one that her super-organized powers can certainly handle!


My good buddy Hankster helped us out and did some modeling of the Roman guard outfits. I, incidentally, am in charge of the guards, which is a heck of a lot less work than the costume person, though it does involve wearing a skirt in public... Hmmmmm?



Fast forward a couple of days to Halloween. My good buddy Gordon and his wife have started an annual tradition of transforming the large front deck of their home into a haunted graveyard for Halloween.

You walk by tombstones, there are big caves, a smoke machine pumps out fog, and they have this creepy soundtrack. To just SEAL the DEAL in kid's impressionable minds, though, is the fact that we dress up as monsters and try to scare the be-jeebers out of em!




This year Kat got to get into the act as well... Though to be sure, we ARE fairly conscientious monsters. We use a code "Oh, what a cute costume" when we see a little kid, so we don't traumatize them TOO bad... And we try everything in our power to avoid making kids (or adults) cry. But some collateral damage is to be expected. Best line of the night? Mom shouting up from the street: My daughter remembers your house from LAST year and she won't come up!" Gord was so proud!

Here's our "Couple's Picture" from the evening. I'm thinking Christmas card, for sure!

Fun with Macro Settings and Roses

So I didn't win my group's photo contest this week (Theme: Macro Close-Ups) but I did score some points with the flowers I got for my wife... Enjoy!

I hear a little voice...

Yes, that little "ratta-tat-tapping" that I hear in my head, usually just before I drift off to sleep at night... That nagging, insistent little voice that says, "Psstt... Did you realize another day has gone by and you HAVEN'T updated your blog?"

ARRRGGGGHHH!!! Blogger Guilt! They definitely never told me about this when I signed up for the free blog account.

So here's a big ol' week in review post.

Last weekend, while Kat was madly working on her midterm (and I don't use "madly" lightly *grin*) I was mainly at a weekend seminar on John Calvin. Our church brought in a prof from Reformed Seminary in Jackson, Derek Thomas. The seminar was on the life and theology of John Calvin, who you have to admit was really QUITE brilliant and a major force in the Protestant Reformation, even if you aren't totally crazy about 5-point Calvinism.

So then this past week has been pretty chill. Kat managed to avoid getting picked for the Jury Pool of the case that she had been called for... 6 days of going downtown for her Jury Summons, 40+ hours of sitting and listening to jurors being interrogated, and she said about 6 words total before getting thanked for her willingness to serve, but being sent home... Justice does need to be served, but my goodness, it IS a lengthy process.

The highlight of my week had to have been my first dabbling in Corporate Catering...


Better translated, "I took in the waffle iron my group gave us as a wedding present and made waffles for everybody." Stellar success, though, just look at my buddy Rex with me. Does he look satisfied or what? Actually, he looks a little high... I swear, those waffles were CLEAN!

Anyways, it's been a lazy Saturday. I've been working on some stuff for Church for most of it, while Kat had errands and the like... I did, however, experience a first for me... Snorkeling at La Jolla Cove.. I can't believe I live in a town where you can just go snorkeling on a whim... I'm a long ways from Indiana, for sure! But its not the same as Hawaii... Sigh... Ciao!

Stanley Screamer

Brent says: It's Sunday Night and I am SOOOO happy to be home. Not that its bad to be away, or anything... It is just feels good to be in your own place, ya know?

Anyway, since a week ago Friday, Kat and I have been responsible for the health and wellbeing of one Ms. Maggie May Clark, Pug-Extraordinaire


She really is about the cutest dog you could ever imagine ~ Unfortunately, I was in Colorado for work most of last week, and Kat was called in for Jury Duty... Uggh - More on that in a few moments.

Anyways, I was up in Estes Park, CO for a team offsite. I still don't know how my boss was able to pull this off, but we met at the historic Stanley Hotel for our semi-annual team offsite. The Stanley is this big, beautiful turn of the century hotel. The first day as we got there, it looked something like this


It is also the hotel where Stephen King was inspired to write "The Shining" - Though it was not used in the filming of the uber-creepy 1980 version, it DID get its due in the 1996 miniseries. What it lacks in film credits it makes up for in creepiness. We took the "Ghost Tour" and heard about all the zany things that have happened over the years, and we also watched the Shining Movie at night on the snowy second evening. Oh yeah, failed to mention - This is what it looked like by day 3 AM.


We got a good 8-12 inches of snow while I was up there. Any of you who know of the film, "The Shining," know that as the amount of snow increases, so does the SCARINESS! I had more than a little trouble sleeping up there, for sure!

Well, after the bumpy night, the following days were great. Snow hiking and elk watching made for a GREAT time! I got back on Thursday, just in time for Kat to pick up her huge Mid-Term, which she has worked on all weekend. All you praying types: Would appreciate a prayer for her test... She has worked so long and hard on it - I am really proud!

So that's the story in our little corner of the universe. Back in Cali where the temperature is steadily affixed on 80 degrees, and I am just wondering to myself why we don't get more visitors out here, especially as the weather in much of the rest of the country gets all nasty... Drop us a comment and let us know what's happening with you! Ciao

Ease on down the road...

Brent says:

This past Thursday was really cool! We went to see a musical, "The Wiz," at La Jolla Playhouse.


But before I get to the play, which was an awesome experience, I have to share a bit bout dinner beforehand at the Humphrey's in the Raddison-UTC. OK, so the Entertainment Book, with all the 2 for 1 coupons, is GREAT for things like Subway or Pat and Oscar's, but I have to say that if a "finer" restaurant is advertising in it, there may be something amiss!

What I'm trying to say is that we wouldn't have even known about this place if it weren't for the Entertainment Book... OK... Well, why am I complaining? Not to sound super-cranky, but the service was so rude it was almost COMICAL! Here's a rough play-by-play of our arrival.

6:05 pm - Arrive and are seated promptly - Crowd is mainly older; Restaurant has distinct "Holiday Inn Restaurant" vibe
6:15 pm - Nobody has come near us
6:20 pm - Waitress named Lucy who's nametag reads - "Bulgaria" approaches and intones, "OK, what you want?"
6:21 pm - Kat and I stammer a bit and try to buy time by asking for water. "He be here when he get here," Lucy says, "Now what you have"
6:22 pm - "Well, we thought about an appetizer..." I mention, and order the Shrimpt Cocktail, to which she grunted and then says, "What else want?" - Now we're startled a bit, especially when we didn't get the answer in fast and she started clearing all the plates and silverware off the table. We managed to squeak out an order, keep most of our silverware, and actually enjoyed the food, but MAN - talk about losing the customer from a poor customer experience. I wonder how oftn people vow to never go back to a place based on a poor customer experience?

Well, bear that in mind as we go to the show at La Jolla Playhouse. Now THIS as a tremendous experience! You walk in and first notice that the set looks like "Who Wants to be a Millionairre?" Very sleek and modern

They have lots of multimedia stuff going, and the surround sound is playing a prairie thunderstorm even as you sit down.

The musical itself is a modern, multi-cultural with a heavy slant towards African-American retelling of the Wizard of Oz. The claim to fame on this show was David Alan Grier from In Living Color, Jumanji, etc. as The Wiz.

But the show really shined on its costumes, innovative set, and constantly active pace. It was really entertaining...

This weekend we are pug-sitting for Maggie, Kat's Aunt and Uncle's dog - I'll be in Colorado Mon-Thurs, so Kat will be "Single-Pug-Parenting" - I hope she'll get by! *grin*

B

Say CHEEEEEEEEEEEESE!!!

Brent says: News flash - Couple eats multiple pounds of cheese, reports lactose-driven hallucinations... Film at 11.

So my friends Gordon and Lis had this idea. Why not take the tried and true "Wine and Cheese" party, where people get all snobby about the wine and eat the cheese as an afterthought, and flip it on its head. They created a "CHEESE PARTY," where exotic cheeses are at the forefront, and the wine is what you sip to give your palate a rinse before diving into the next decadent bit of heaven.

Its actually really fun, though killer for dieters and people like me who try to avoid dairy. Kat and I really did do a decent job of enjoying it in moderation. Lots of fun people to see and meet, too.

John and Heidi, Sean and Shawna, Brent

We definitely had JUST the right amount of cheese ~ Wanna throw a cheese party? Check out Gord's website - www.cheeseparty.com - B -

Oregon Tales

Brent says: I've been in Oregon and Washington this past week for work. I flew up on Monday and got back Friday evening. Gotta say, it was pretty fun to visit the state I briefly called home... but its definitely good to be back in San Diego with Kat~

Best thing about the trip was the time with friends. On 3 of the 4 nights I drove to see dear friends for dinner and catching up.

First night I went down to Eugene, OR to see my friend's the Strattons ~ They have 6 great kids, and when I was living in Corvallis they were right down the street - I became (and happily remain) "Uncle Brent!" It was SO MUCH fun to see everyone again. I enjoyed lots of hugs, watched impromptu family plays, tried to defend myself in "Pitch Black Wrestling," and of course, made a nice family pyramid or two.


God was so good to me to cross my path with theirs at just the right time. They were a big part of helping me to pick up the pieces and get my life back on track. It is so GREAT to be able to keep up that contact and for them to see me now happy and married...

On the second night I drove over to Multonomah Falls, which is not too far away, but just INCREDIBLE to see - I had never stopped before. It is totally worth a hike to the top, just to look over the edge of the falls and to gaze out at the sun setting over the Gorge.



The rest of the week, alas, my camera ran out of batteries and so I have no more pics to share... *Big sigh* - I did have dinner with my friends Tim and Heather, and got to see their in-progress but fabulous self-remodeled house. On my last evening I got together with Dan and Jess and their two daughters. These were friends from college days, and it is such a trip to see you college "pledge parents" in action as REAL parents... But they rock and I think make pretty cool parents.

Little bit of work in there, as well, but that's boring- The main point is that in four days I covered 600+ miles, got to see 3 dear families, and most importantly, made it back safely to my lovely wife...

Back home again...

"...in Indiana, And it seems that I can see
The gleaming candlelight, still burning bright..."

Or so goes my home state's official song, which has been immortalized by an annual tradition at the Indianapolis 500 automobile race for actor and singer Jim Nabors , TV's "Gomer Pyle," to perform "(Back Home Again in) Indiana" with backing from the Purdue University Marching Band.

Actually, all facets of that preamble were satisfied last weekend when Kathryn and I went home for the weekend. We flew home to Indiana, and specifically, into Indianapolis. We went to Purdue's Homecoming and got to enjoy the Purdue Marching Band, of which I am a somewhat sheepish alum


And we went to my high school reunion, where Kathryn got to meet all the Gomer's I grew up with!


OK, so this isn't really one of the Gomers. This is my best buddy from High School, Erik. He now lives in Tampa and is married to Heather, an exotic animal trainer - Those who know her can judge for themselves whether she is exotic or the animals or both.

Anyways, we also had a fun Wedding Open House last week at my parent's place. I'd share some pictures, but I never stopped shaking hands long enough to take any!

That brought us back late on Monday evening, from which time its been pretty quiet. Mainly just working together to get our house under control. It HAS been fun, though, to make our little place the way we want it. My only complaint? Even I, as secure as I am, feel a little bit funny using Kathryn's "Do it Herself" toolkit!



Click to see more closely ~ At least she has gotten rid of the pastel-colored box. All in all, life is good - I go to Vancouver, WA for a week for work next week - Going to brave my way through the new TSA carry-on procedures! Wish me luck -

Brent

Don't Hate Us! We've been on Hiatus!!!

Brent says: Oh, loyal blog readers! How sorry I am that the last post on this now-venerable, 5-month old publication was over two weeks ago! Shameful! But fortunately enough for me, I've got a REALLY good excuse. 200+ guests at a wedding, a week on an island on which I never even THOUGHT about touching a computer, and then a week or so of bein shocked back into the real world of moving, garage sales, and work!

But don't worry about us, folks! For the Applegate's, the honeymoon rolls on! Here are some pics and quickie stories to recap the last couple of weeks. Its been an AMAZING time~ Enjoy!

Pre-Wedding

Before the wedding, Kat was busy with - imagine - last minute wedding details. She also spent a good deal of time with friends and especially family from out of town.

I avoided worrying by packing in as many events and activities BEFORE the actual wedding as possible. On Friday I had about 40 friends to Mission Bay for a picnic, and then we went to the padres game that night (but the Pad's LOST!) -

On Saturday, a group of my buddies and I had a golf scramble in the morning at the Doubletree course.


After the scramble we had to literally scramble over to church for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

Wedding Day - September 3rd

What a day. First, I have to say that the day was a wonderful, special, emotional, and exhilerating success. Next, I have to say, IT WAS REALLY FLIPPIN' HOT! 101 by most thermometers. But Kat looked radiant, and I didn't pass out. So call it all a success, right?




Honeymoon - September 4th - September 10th

We stayed at the Hotel Del on Sunday night. What an amazing leap back into the Victorian era. Those cats know how to make a couple feel like Gatsby and Daisy, ya know? It was, in a word, LOVELY!


Kauai, HI - We flew out on Monday morning to Kauai... On the island, we finally RELAXED! For us, that meant slowing WAY down - Like, driving around at 25 mph and not caring at all, cause you love the scenery so much. We did a lot of snorkeling and hiking, and did some day excursions to kayak, view the scenic Na Pali coasts by Catamaran, and found some tucked away beaches. Very fun, very ROMANTIC... Well, the pictures tell the story even better than I ever could!









Back to reality - September 10th to now

SO here we are back in SD. We've come to love (and hate)... BOXES. Lots of em, big and small. I moved into Kat's place and we turned her condo into a more cubic version of the ballpen at Chuckie Cheese's!

But Kat especially, and I in a supporting role, have been working hard to slay the chaos. I'll show you how things look now in th next post. Its come A LONG WAYS! Kat rocks... That's all there really is to it ~ *grin* - Until then!

Tic toc...

Brent says:

Here it is! The final weekend blog update for the unmarried Brent and Kat! Our last weekend before matrimony was, as you might guess, HECTIC! But we had some fun in there as well~

On Friday I played golf, totally spaced on my friend's BBQ (I feel horrible), and Kat when to the American Idol Tour show at the Sports Arena in San Diego. The main report I got out of it was that she tried really awful pop-tarts, and got to be on Fox6 news in the background as they were doing a human interest story. That, and it was one of the less raucuous shows she had seen...

Saturday, we helped out for a few hours at a church workday - Then we went to Costco for some massive shopping sprees. I saw my next hair-do at Costco - Think I could make it happen?


Feels more and more real all the time! (Click the photo to see what she is holding)


Our ace in the hole in this whole wedding deal is Danielle from After Hours. She is easily the best tuxedo shop employee EVER! She got my tux in early on Saturday, so I went over and tried it on - Not too shabby, eh?



Sunday -

As if there wasn't enough going on, Kat ALSO has been planning a going away party for her friend Ann.


We got together with a bunch of friends in the park to grill-out, kick the soccer ball around, and to reminisce with Ann, who is going back to the UK to work on a post-doc in a lab at Imperial College. Kat did a great job as the co-organizer. They were making scrapbooks, had multiple cakes and desserts, and tons of food. Plus, a great crowd to give Ann a proper sendoff!



Whew! Now we have a couple of days to get braced for the next weekend... Cause guests start arriving on Wednesday, and pretty soon... IT'S ON!!!

Cheers!