1) "We feed the King Cobra.. Pork Sausage!!",
"A bite to the leg from the King Cobra leads to amp-U-tation!!"
- Quotes from the presentor at the Snake Farm in Bangkok in his deep, dramatic English voice.

2) "I can't find Afton and I'm starting to get freaked out"
- By Clayton while he and the tour group were desperately looking for Afton in Old City, Bangkok when she separated from the group. (She was later found at the Hotel in the Silom District)

3) "Clayton! Don't touch the monkey" - Said by Afton frantically and consistently at the monkey temple.

4) "You've gotto be kiddin' me??" - Said by Clayton after our cheap duffel bag that we bought at a Chiang Mai night market broke a 2nd time.

5) "It's Play Money" - Afton's mentality of Thailand's currency (the boht) while at the many night markets in Chiang Rai, Bangkok, and Chiang Mai.

6) Question: "What do you want to eat for dinner?"
Response: "Anything by Thai."
- A frequent conversation during the second week of the trip.

Some people think of the Rose Parade on New Years Day. For me the first day of year means two things: new year's resolution and College Bowl Games. This year I watched a little bit of the Auburn and Nebraska game but quickly moved on to something else –I didn’t really care about that game. Then I watched USC take apart the Wolverines in the Rose Bowl. That should quiet those sports pundits that kept gabbing that Michigan and Ohio State should rematch in the championship bowl because “they are definitely the two best teams.” Please.

The one bowl that I was particularly excited to see was the Boise State game against Oklahoma State in the Fiesta bowl. I love Cinderella stories where the little teams beat out the big, rich, and overly confident teams –unless the Cinderella team is playing BYU of course. Since Afton and I went to see a movie later today I decided to record the game and watch it when I got back. There are many benefits to this approach too. Have you ever realized how much dead time there is during a college football game (or any football game for that matter)? I could fast forward time-outs, commercials, and coach challenges and knock off a good hour off the time it would take to watch the game. However, today my college football game viewing stratagem backfired on me. I watched the entire Boise State/Oklahoma State game up till the remain 30 seconds of the fourth quarter with Boise State up 8 points and Oklahoma with the ball and a 1st and Goal when the recording stopped!!! The time designated for the game had expired and my DVR stopped recording. I frantically jumped off the couch, howled, “No!!!!”, and began hunting for my laptop to lookup ESPN.com for the final plays of the game. The headline, “Now that’s a Fiesta – Boise State beats Oklahoma in OT with a historic BSC finish.” I missed it! It’s now 11:00PM and I’ve mined the Internet for video highlights of those last plays of the game with no avail. I’ve finally given up and decided to vent with this entry.

Clayton and I have been busy busy busy as always with work. But we recently got a break from the corporate grind by taking our much anticipated trip to Maui, Hawaii!! We went with my (afton's) family and some others (momma and poppa ferguson, sister heather and her husband, matt, brother blake and his wife, venna, grandma ferguson, but also family-friend marcea, and some other extended family). It was quite a crowd! We stayed in Kihei in several condos and the weather was wonderful. Highlights include scuba diving at Molokini, scuba diving in other locales (honolua bay
and 5 graves/caves among them), snorkeling at the aquarium and black rock, hanging out at Lahaina and Big Beach. We also did the road to Hana and some cliff diving at the seven sacred pools. Not to mention some beautiful scenic hikes, including 13 crossings, and some good flea market and beach time. All in all, a very productive and adventurous trip! We're definitely a bit tanner than when we left!

Clayton has been working with the 11 year-old primary children, both boys and girls. They definitely keep him on his toes, but he's been enjoying it I think. He has quickly learned the art of incentivizing - that is, offering candy to those that keep their heads out of the trash can during the lesson.

Some good news is that Clayton has another vacation break coming! It's become a tradition for the Ferguson males to venture down to Key West, FL every year during lobster season. They go scuba diving, fishing, usually water skiing and have some good male bonding time. Clayton's headed there for some more adventure
and sunshine later this month. He'll have to give the full update when he returns!

I still remember a banner in my 8th grade English class that said, “Time will pass will you?” As for Afton and I, time is certainly passing and I hope we are passing. Life has been challenging and rewarding at the same time. We have been putting in lot of long hours at work, and at the same time enjoying our endeavors. Afton has had the opportunity to fly to a variety of different locations for work lately, including but not limited to: New York, San Diego, Beijing, and Munich (and yes, the Beijing in China and the Munich in Germany). Her employer likes to keep her busy. As for me, I just got booked on a new project in eBay setting up some analytic systems for their Marketing Department. It’s a great project because, first of all, it’s interesting work, and secondly, eBay is located only 5 minutes from where we live, which is a big plus when you have to deal with Bay Area traffic on a regular basis. On the free time side of things, Afton and I just got SCUBA certified (for those that are wondering, SCUBA stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus; you can thank me later for that one). We had to do four open water dives in the freezing 56 degree ocean water of Monterey Bay. Overall, it was a great experience. The uninviting event of the SCUBA course was when we had to remove our mask under 25 feet of water with only the regulator in our mouth. When doing this, all the cold water rushes to the face, giving you a brain freeze only Cold Stone could rival (if you can get the mask off at all, right Afton?). Maui should be a totally different experience with the warm water and better “viz” (SCUBA lingo). Anyway, we hope all is well with everyone. We are excited to see Rick and Wendy when they come up in late May; we’ll definitely have some fun up in San Francisco.

"From the baylands of Georgia to the Deserts in Texas to the Palm Trees of Southern and Northern California".. Sounds like a the next verse of America the Beautiful doesn't it? When those were my thoughts as Afton and I drove across the US, literally from coast to coast. I have been curious to see the cities planted along the Southern US for quite a whilte and I finally got the opportunity! Here are 10 highlights that we experienced throughout the 3000 mile journey:

1. Borrowing Michael and Karen Ferguson's GPS system. I love to play with new toys. Afton and I changed the instructional voice from "American English" to "British English" and got a kick out of hearing the British women inside the GPS system tell us to "Proceed 1.3 Miles and Turn Left at Exit 112" in her refined, monotone voice. Don't people with British accents sound more intelligent or is it just me?

2. Afton seeing half a boat lying on the side of the freeway (I-12) while passing through the New Orleans area

3. Walking around downtown Houston. I was surprised to see how clean and modern-looking the mid-town district was.

4. Splitting a hamburger at the Hard Rock Cafe in Austin, TX on 6th Street.

5. Raiding Aunt Leann and Uncle Rick's fridge while passing through El Paso, TX for the night.

6. Observing the "Don't pick up hitch hiker" signs while driving through New Mexico's border with Mexico.

7. The "Eat Beef" Billboard in Arizona.

8. Learning from "The Salmon Incident." I won't go into the details but it involves smoked salmon extract, a retched smell, and our car seats.

9. Seeing the crazy people on Hollywood Blvd trying to sell their souls to make it in the movie biz.

10. Observing the new look of our carport with the our brand new car in it.