Carson Makes 4

Congrats to our friends Rob and Laurie and their son Jason who welcomed their new addition, Carson Richard. He is an adorable baby boy and we can't wait to meet him! Everyone has settled in at home in Cambridge and is doing well. You can see pictures of him if you click on the Palmer Blog to the left.

Also, Rich's cousin Susan and her husband Jeff welcomed Kendal Elizabeth last week.

Now we are patiently awaiting the arrival of our new niece, fingers crossed that she will decide to appear a bit early. A few weeks after that we will get to see whether the Graham family will have a new baby brother or sister for their son Caleb.

Thats all from here. We had a beautiful long weekend. Rich studied and my Mom was here visiting. I can't believe this coming Monday we will be celebrating one year as the Christensons!

Another Birthday weekend....

2 weekends ago my brother came to town with Zoe and Connor to surprise me on our 30th birthday. This last weekend we went to Martha's Vineyard with several friends to celebrate my birthday yet again. I mean really, with me now being 30, could there be too much celebrating?

We took off from Boston sometime around 1 pm on Friday to catch a 2:30 ferry to Martha's Vineyard. As usual we headed to our favorite section of the island, Edgartown. Jessica organized a dog friendly house for us and all our friends.

I had a great weekend and hope everyone did too! I was so happy to see so many of our friends making it out to celebrate with me, some for the day, some for the whole weekend. We have some pretty great friends! Friday was pretty relaxed just sitting around the backyard drinking and talking which led to dinner that night at 'The News' and played a game of 'Ticket to Ride: Europe', a game that Rob and Laurie gave me the previous weekend for my birthday. Everyone was a big fan of the game...

Saturday started slowly, some were trying to recoup from the previous day, some just sleep late and some get up at 6:15am to run (TED). It didn't matter because the only project that day was to get some food and drinks for the partying that was going to happen later that afternoon. Not sure where others went (as I wasn't with them) but Ted and I went to go get the lobster for the lobster rolls Jessica was making. We ended up getting 1 FIVE POUND LOBSTER!!! I don't have the picture of it, Lisa took it but trust me it was HUGE!!! It was so big that I needed a rock to crack it's claws open. Lisa took Jasons advice and cleaned the rock I used. Trust me, it took a ton of force (from my freakishly strong wrists) to crack that puppy open.

For Linner (Lunch/Dinner or Dunch as it is sometimes referred), we had a smorgasbord of things to eat including tenderloin, lobster rolls, pesto pasta salad, chicken, tomato basil mozzarella and tons of other 'starters'. This was all washed down with beer and some of the BEST margaritas I have tasted...talk to Jessica's cousin Kelley if you want the recipe.

Friday was then spent playing bocce around the yard (ok it was the dirt leach field but it was still fun). When it started getting cold outside we moved it in to a game called spoons, Ashley taught us this game and it isn't one that should be played with open beer bottles on the table. It got to the point that I tried to bite Ted for one of the spoons left on the table, if I had gnawed alittle harder I bet I could have gotten that from him.

More eating ensued, including homemade pigs in a blanket a la Chef Fitton. When the beer started drying up we all headed out to a bar in town where they had a live band. They kept asking for requests and everytime we requested something they didn't know it...I wonder why they kept asking. They did know 'Happy Birthday' which if I were any less inebriated, I might not have liked. The highlight of the dance-a-thon was Ashley Wallace's flashdance.

Sunday came in rather slowly with a trip into town and a 'big' lunch at Espresso Love and some shopping in town (well at the stores that were open this early). The 2:30 ferry ended the fantastic weekend and reality set in, followed by a nap on the boat.

I want to thank everyone for making the trip to the Vineyard, especially those that only came out for the day, it isn't easy to get out there. I really think that this should become a yearly event, not my birthday but the Vineyard house.

Not only was this one great weekend but it only emphases the fact that I have found a wonderful wife that I am lucky to spend the rest of my life with. In 20 days we get to celebrate our 1st of many happy years together.

Hope everyone is coping well with being back in reality.

30th Birthday Begins...

So many of you have heard that I just turned 30 today, Jessica got Sushi for dinner and a nice 22 oz Sapporo to wash it all down with but that was just the finish of a wonderful weekend with Steve, Zoe and Connor.

That's right, Steve, Zoe and Connor flew up from Florida and surprised me Friday night. Jessica had mentioned that she was going to the airport to pick Lisa up, a believable story since she has been traveling through Spain and was due back any day. However, I had a sneaking suspecion that something was going on because I couldn't reach Steve on his cell phone or their home phone that night. Ok so it isn't that strange that I couldn't reach them but Jessica and I surprised them once in Florida for an earlier birthday and I was just hoping they would do the same this year.

We toured some of the more famous parts of Boston, including Fanuel Hall and also the Samual Adams test brewery. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that the beer that they made us 'test' for them left us wanting the taste of a good beer, though it was nice to try some differet things out.

Rob and Laurie then brought Jason over later on Saturday to meet Connor and play a board game or two. Jason was very good with Connor so if I had to guess, I'd put money on him being a great older brother. When they left, we sat around and tried not to fall asleep before dinner that night. Jessica made a great chicken parm and what would have been great garlic bread ;).

Before we knew it the weekend was over and they were on a flight back to Boston...it was all too fast but I was happy to see them all.

Pictures can be found in the 30th Birthday album to the right...---->