Nathan Lucas Standring

Nathan is the newest addition to the Standring family. His royal cuteness sailed into the world on June 25th, 2008 at 3:23 pm. He is loved by all. Big Brother Ian says, "I love my baby!"

The New Ride

So, I finally decided on my new wheels, my new commuter, my new ride. Not what some may have expected, but a long term interest has finally solidified in a new hobby with the purchase of my first motorcycle, a 2007 Suzuki SV650.

I had been looking for a replacement commuter for the terminal '94 Toyota Camry for a while. However, narrowing down on the finalists based on my three criteria of fun, efficient and inexpensive was proving difficult. I had narrowed down the list to a Mazda Mazdaspeed3 or a Subaru Impreza WRX, but while both were successful at "fun" and somewhat successful at "efficient", neither was exactly inexpensive at $25k+.

After three weeks of sharing a single family car with Sarah (the Nissan Murano) and a highly successful and exciting MSF Basic Motorcycle Training class at Safetyville USA however, I found that a motorcycle would fit my needs quite well!

4 wonderful ...

Sarah and I hit the coast over the holiday weekend to celebrate our first 4 years of being newlyweds.

Fort Bragg was our destination 2 years ago as well, and I don't think I could ever tire of it. Wonderful weather, beautiful views, great food and a magical weekend with my dazzling wife. I couldn't ask for more!

A Standland Hello from Alaska

Definitely the information age when you can catch your parents on a web cam waving from a dock in Ketchikan, Alaska during their Alaskan cruise.

No, that is not the cruise ship they are standing next to. Its not the massive one in the background either. You can just see the bow of their 138 passenger cruise ship on the right side of the picture.

Might as well face it ...

It's true, I am addicted to WoW. "World of Warcraft" for those of you not aware of the acronym (working where I do, everything is acronyms, so you get used to it). Over the past couple of months I have found myself spending the vast majority of my free time (and some not so free) leveling up my assortment of characters through questing (accomplishing specific tasks) and grinding (killing as many computer enemies or 'mobs' as possible) ... not to mention working on my skills (with assortments of weapons) and professions (skinning, mining, gathering herbs, jemcutting, leatherworking, and even alchemy).

The vast world that Blizzard has put together for this game is quite daunting, and yet so full of unending exploration and fun. Damn them ...

Here are my current chars, for those of you that are curious -

1) Gnar - level 49 Dwarf Hunter
2) Gnal - level 25 Night Elf Druid
3) Gnaz - level 24 Draenei Warrior
4) Gnad - level 16 Human Rogue
5) Gnoz - level 12 Blood Elf Rogue

[Update: too many characters to list as of mid-May (up to 9 or 10 I think) so I will not bother updating the list ... damn game ...]

Smile Ian !

These are some pics that Ian's grandma ( Diane's mom - Ann ) has captured ... Just a little update on our little man. Coming in at 19 months old. Entertaining as always - getting louder and more adventurous everyday !

Rena Standring : 1909-2006

Nana passed away back on July 11th at the age of 97.

I have been hoping to be inspired to write the perfect post, to capture all the feelings involved, but have resigned myself to the fact that this will not likely happen. I have felt that having so recently posted about the loss of our pet bearded dragon Zed would seem to diminish a post on the impact that losing Nana has had on our lives However, writing of Nana's passing has been postponed too long already.

Nana had 96 healthy and happy years. By the end of the last year I believe that in the end Nana was more than ready to move on and to be reunited with Daddy Ed who passed away back in 1997. While her passing was expected, I was far from ready for it and never expect to be.

Rena Standring
1909 - 2006

Cassi has grown ... at least a little ...

Just over 6 mos. and likely pushing 80 lbs. ... our little puppy ...

What's Cookin'?

This is one of Ian's favorite pastimes... playing with the pots and pans. He love to see which ones make the most noise, as well as which are big enough for him to sit in. Too cute! I only wish we knew how to teach him to put the pans back after he is done using them...

With sadness ...

I announce the passing of beloved family member Zeddicus, our pet bearded dragon of 4 years.

He will be missed.