Liams 1st Birtday Party

Mom decorated cakes all day and prep for the big 1st birthday party. Dad barbequed all kinds of sausages for hotdogs, we even had real "boerewors" and Mrs Balls Chutney for some South African hotdogs. Everybody loved the hotdogs SA style. We were total of 31 people; 11 kids and 20 adults. Liam did not blow out his candle and only played with his cake and managed to make a huge mess, but we let him, since it was his special party. He enjoyed playing with everybody and got a massive amount of gifts. We will open them tomorrow on his real birthday...

Party prep

Mandy spent the whole day baking cakes for Liam's party tomorrow. Then it was off to the Party Store to get balloons and other party stuff. Liam had trouble sitting in the back with all the balloons, but he seemed not to care too much. Afterwards he played with them in our empty upstairs sitting area - it is empty since we gave our couch away, but the new one is not here yet. Having no couch will be great for the party though, since we'll have tons of space for all the kids to play.

Liam's new bruise

Last night we went to have dinner at the neighbors and James cooked a wonderful steak dinner again. Michelle made a lovely orange/custard tart.

Liam managed to bump his forehead against a chair, cried lowder than the usual .... a few minutes later a big bump and bruise forms on his forehead, just in time for his first birthday party in two days:)

And Again!

Liam slept through the night twice in a row now - the Vissers are very happy!

Deon Mitton came to visit us last night for dinner. Deon and Willem went to University together in Stellenbosch and this is the first time since those days that they've met up again. We had a great time chatting about when we're all going back to SA! Of course we had to have had boerewors and a South African Shiraz (Boschkloof 2003 to be precise - very nice).

A Miracle!!

Actually two miracles: Liam slept through the night and Willem enjoyed a hockey game. We got three free tickets to see the San Jose Sharks play the LA Kings last night. They were penthouse tickets ($105 a pop) and we had an amazing view from high behind the goal. We were also treated with free food and beer! That is the way to enjoy a hockey game. Mandy's contact at the HP Pavilion, Kevin, also gave us a tour of the facilities; they have a large array of restuarants in there and Mandy should sell wine to them like crazy! Sharks were very good, millions times better than last time I watched them, and they demolished the Kings 4-1.

Liam loved the hockey, although he cried the first time the Sharks scored; not from happiness but from the enormous amount of noise! After that he crept up and down the penthouse and as always everybody loved his antics. When we got home he played some more and at 10.30pm he went to bed, and so did we. At 7am we woke up and had a strange sensation that something weird just happened. Then it dawned on us: Liam slept through the night!!!! Mandy did go and check on him once, which means this is the first night in almost a year that she sleft through the whole night - what a miracle!!!

Liam's purple cheek

Liam fell this morning, his cheek hit a corner. He now sports a lovely purple line on the one side of his face. A few tears and some TLC and he was happily off to daycare after the incident.

The neighbors (yes, we are getting together a lot!) came over for the famous Thomas Keller chicken. Willem wanted to see if it was only a fluke the first time, but it turned out to be as good as the first time.

We are getting a new couch this week and we are giving away the old one. The lucky winners of the free couch came to pick up some of the couch, but not all. Their truck was too small, so hopefully we will get the old one out of the way in time for the new one.

Football and Food

Sunday James and Willem arranged to watch the two semi-final football matches. Beforehand we went to the range to hit a few balls. For some reason I hit my irons like I did in the old days: very long, accurate and with a nice draw! The games were a disaster for us: first the Broncos imploded (James' team) then the Panthers were demolished (Willem's team). Oh well, the Superbowl should be good since the Steelers and Seahawks seem to be on very good form.

Mandy went to get her nails done and then showed SJ a few tricks in the baby buying department. In the evening we went for a meal at the neighbors and it was great as always: goulash (sp?) with a very nice crab starter.

Visiting our old Landlords

Saturday evening we went to dinner at Jim and Joy Weaver, our landlords when we lived in 22509 Eunice. In 2 days we therefore had quite a reunion with the principals in 22509: first Bernd and Sylvie and then Jim and Joy. We had a great time and Liam REALLY enjoyed himself! He played like crazy and also enjoyed the "new" people. We see them once a year now, but need to increase it, since it was a lot of fun for all.

Bernd & Sylvie Going Away Party

Bernd and Sylvie used to share 22509 Eunice with us in the good old days. Now they are leaving for greener pastures, well literally at least, since they are off to the UK. There was a large crowd at the party since they built up quite a bunch of friends in their 7-odd year stay in the Bay Area. Good luck guys and hope to see you again soon.

Crepe/Pancake Evening

Tonight:
We had the Montoyas (Neighbors), Arika and Rochelle over for a pancake evening. Pancakes in Amerika are the thick kind, so I guess this was a "crepe-evening". We had great fun eating and drinking and even enjoyed and Aussie Cab/Shiraz with a screwtop!

Liam and Josh chased each other around and the adults enjoyed watching the kids laugh and play.

Ice Hockey business

Yesterday:
Amanda finally sold wines at the Shark Tank (San Jose Arena). It didn't end there; she also got (free) Penthouse suite tickets for her, Willem and Liam for Tuesdays game agains the Kings (ice hockey)....whooaaa!!!:)

Last night:
We watched Flight of the Phoenix after Liam went to bed. A very entertaining movie that was shot in the Namib dessert. (We only realized that after reading the credits at the end of the movie.)

Willem on the TV

Late Monday Willem went to play a bit of golf at the Los Lagos golf course. Turns out TV crews were there to report on the fact the course is losing lots of money. We watched the news in great anticipation at 10pm and sure as hell there he comes walking up the 9th hole for his 2 seconds of fame on the telly.

Tamales Night

The neigbors cooked Tamales on Sunday and we could not say no! Great food and yet another bunch of nice wines. The Carlisle Carlisle Vineyard 2003 was great although not Amanda's favorite. James used his tamale steaming pot and the tamales were easily as good as the ones we usually buy. Willem watched football the whole day: how the Colts managed to first get back in the game and then throw it all away again against the Steelers I just don't know. Nevermind, the Pathers will win the superbowl without breaking a sweat.

Dinner at the Tumers

We went up to Kagan and Irem in the city on Saturday and was joined by Guillaume. We started by watching the Redskins get beat by the Seahawks - Kagan didn't like that! We had a nother bunch of fine wines, but the treat of the evening was a 1983 Graham's port - wonderful and can last another 30 years easily.

Friday Night @ Parcel 104

Amanda arranged a great dinner for a bunch of wine friends, we were 16 in all and consumed 17 wines. Parcel 104 prepared the food. We had 4 flights of wines: 5 Burgundy, 5 Bordeaux 2000, 5 Rhone and 2 2001 Sauternes to finish things off. We left Liam at the daycare - once a month they let the moms (and dads) go out for a friday night for a flat fee of $25; what an amazing deal!

No Mom's night out

Michelle and Mandy was suppose to have a "Mom's night out" on Tuesday, but decided to stay with their lovely husbands and end up eating Costco roasted chicken at the neighbors.

Wednesday night Ben and Eizel came over to do a real estate presentation. I invited James and Josh over as well, since Michelle went out to see a basketball game. We had salad and pasta. Liam and Josh did not keep quiet or still during the presentation, but Eizel handeled it pretty well and managed to finish in good time.

Bad Curry

Sunday, Willem had a woeful attempt at a curry - better use the recipe book next time. The Vissers now all have a cold so things are a little rough at night. At least on Monday the curry tasted a lot better.

Saturday Night Out

Last night: Mandy went with Michelle to see the Sharks (ice hockey) play agains the Kings (LA). It was a great game and the Sharks won 3-2.

Father and son went to dinner at the Raths (with Linda and the Gordons also in attendance). It was Alan's 50th party and, as always, the food was amazing. This time however the wine was even more spectaculor than usual: 89 La Mission Haut Brion and 92 Dalla Valle being the headliners and an ample supporting cast. Both just sublime, with my vote going to the Graves. Liam didn't really want to sleep and playing with the candles were most fun of all.

Dinner at Montoyas

Yesterday: Liam was a good boy and ate all his food. He slept for 3 hours - from 12-3pm.

We went to the neighbors for dinner. Michelle was in charge of all the cooking and did a tremedous job. We had iceberg salad with bacon and blue cheese dressing, filet mignon, baked potatoes and a creme caramel-like dessert paired with late harvest riesling from Canada. Dan joined us and brought two stellar wines: 1996 Cos 'd Estrounel and 1994 Grahams vintage port. We paired the port with some stilton cheese....what a marriage!

Phd Diary

I've been looking for the diary I kept when I did my Phd and found it yesterday. Could not resist reading some of the stuff, especially of my visit to NASA in 1998 for the job interview. I'll post it on our website soon. Had a great 2001 Whitehall Lane Cab: lots of blackcurrant, marmite on the nose, smooth long finish. USC lost to Texas in the BCS final due to having a moronic coach that don't punt on 4th and 1 in midfield leading by 5 with 2 mins left.

Dinner at our place

Our neighbors came over for dinner at our place. Mandy made a Thomas Keller (French Laundry) recipe. Chicken baked at 450 degrees Farenheit for 50minutes. Turns out crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. We had a Fairview Viognier and a David Coffaro Pinot Noir....both very nice.
Liam is not at his best these days. We are thinking those terrible molars are starting to push through the gums....poor boy! Wish us a good night sleep:)

Dinner @ Neighbors

James & Michelle had us over for crab risotto last night- great stuff as usual and topped off with an amazing dessert (pear and muscat) by Michelle.

Primer

Watched Primer last night. Very interesting - it is the first movie ever that I watched the director's comments completely to figure out what I just watched!!

New Year's Party

Christina, Gavin and the Vissers went to Guillaume's new year's party in his loft in the city. Great food - thanks WholeFoods - lots of interesting wines and great company. Liam held out till about 22h30 but then he had to give up and finally fell asleep.