Did I Hear the White Eagles Won Again?

You heard correctly. Our soccer team moved up leagues from the Open league to Men's C league and won our second straight championship. It wasn't easy but we played some crisp soccer and scored timely goals. This season we were 9-1-0 and the #1 seed going into Playoffs. We played good enough in the Semi's and then played the only team we lost to in the regular season in the Finals and shut down their best player and won 6 to 2. Another championship was ours and now a move up to the B league is upon us. Hope we can continue to have fun and play great soccer!!

Idential Twin Nephews; could it be?

I can't wait for a lifetime of second guessing which nephew is Lucas and which nephew is Noah, but that is what Kindra and I are going to have with our identical twin nephews. On November, 6th Mel & Jeff had their second and third children and couldn't have been happier. It's going to make family time oh so much crazier and awesome. Kindra and I can't wait to come up and see our new nephews and the big sis!!

It Can Be Cold In October!!

Kindra and I have been wanting to visit Ellen in Ann Arbor, Michigan sent she started grad school there. We took off for a three day weekend to get out of the beautiful San Diego weather and enjoy some real fall/winter weather in Michigan. We got to meet Ellen's squeeze Chris and had a blast hanging out there. We saw our first college football game - Michigan vs. Penn State - 111,000 people. It was an awesome experience and took a tour of this awesome city. The colors we saw on the trees were ridiculous and it made me itch even more for some cold weather in SD. Thanks for a great getaway El!!

Will turns one!!!

Kindra and I snuck up to the Bay to celebrate our nephews first birthday. We had a blast seeing family and playing in Will's jumpy house. We got to check out the empty hollows of the McGurk residence (it is under construction) and simply enjoy seeing our nephew a little bit. How awesome is his curly hair!!!

Adios 20's Kin!

Kindra needed a surprise party for her 30th and she got it! :) I planned a surprise party at Kindra's parents house for the weekend before her birthday and it worked to perfection. I got her sis and bro down here, as well as her college roomie and my parents. It was awesome. We had about twenty-five people to surprise her and she had no idea. With all the people coming and going I can't believe no one let is slip or blew it on accident. We pulled one on Kins and she was so happy to share this event with the people she loves. We socialized, had some snacks and drinks, played Kindra trivia and then had some cake. It was awesome. Hope you remember it forever my sweet love!!

Josh & Sarah's Big Day!!!

It takes four hours from the Oakland Airport to get to Napa right? On the day before Josh's wedding, it sure did and it sucked. We had every problem in the world but I got to the rehearsal on time (barely) and we had an amazing weekend of being in Napa and enjoying the festivities that Josh & Sarah had planned for us. Good times spent with friends and family. I did get to do a speech at the wedding and even though I wanted it to be a roast, I made it a pretty damn good toast. What a wedding weekend Josh & Sarah!!!! Welcome to the marriage club. It's a good club to be in :)

You are running from where to where?

Kindra and I decided early on in the springtime that we were going to train for a 1/2 marathon in July or August. Kindra wanted to run one before she turned 30. We found a race that went from Point Loma to Balboa Park in SD and thought it was perfect. We got in shape in April and May and then started our running training in June and July. Kindra stuck to the plan amazingly and I battled through some injuries early on. Kindra continued to impress herself with how fast she got with each run and I started to feel like a distance runner again. We both were in excellent shape heading into the race. On race day morning we had to take a bus from the finish line to the start line and we were on the very first bus. There was over 8,000 people racing in this half marathon and to be two of the first thirty-five was a pretty funny feeling. We sat on a curb at Cabrillo National Monument for over an hour in the pitch dark. It was a crazy experience. The first two miles were spent weaving between the thousands of people that started in front of us. I started out perfectly as I went through the first half of the race in 42:25 and thought I had a chance at my ultimate goal time of breaking 1:30. I completely bonked and didn't have enough training (a combo of my early injuries and trying not to run too much so my injuries could heal and starting out too fast!). I finished at 1:49 and change and was thrilled to be done but hungry to race again. Kindra simply wanted to finish but truly had the goal of breaking 2:45 and if she had a fantastic day breaking 2:30. She went 2:17 and change and I think surprised herself on what a great accomplishment she had done. She must have had a great coach :) All the training had paid off for both of us because we reached our goals of finishing a 1/2 marathon and got into great shape doing it!

Where is my Championship Ring?

Our first season in an all guys soccer league turned into a championship season. This was our second time winning the league we played in (one coed victory in VAVI outdoor soccer). We knew we had a great team and were actually hoping to go undefeated but lost a game late in the season to go 7-1-2. We were the #2 team for Playoffs and played a good team that we simply destroyed the first time we played them. We were overconfident and were down 6 to 1 with 15 minutes left in the game. We went on a shooting frenzy and ended the game in a 8-8 tie. I had four goals in a 6 minute span and felt like Lionel Messi out there! We won the shootout with our goalie Ari dominating and kept the momentum in the final to win 6 to 3. The feeling of winning a championship still feels great at the age of 29 :)

Who is that PRE guy again?

Of course no one in Eugene, OR asked that question because Steve Prefontaine is still a hero in the Eugene community. Kindra's cousin Ellen was getting married in Eugene so Kindra and I flew up and enjoyed some great time with her family in a beautiful Oregon escape. After the wedding Kindra and I enjoyed some of the Oregon landscape and checked out Pre's old stomping ground at the Univ. of Oregon. We ran on amazing trails, had killer ice cream and had a great time with family. I wouldn't mind living up there for the summer (training for a big race of course!).

Josh's Bachelor Party!!!

That is correct, Josh is actually getting married. You would have never thought it when we were younger, but Josh is getting married before he turns 30. Sarah and Josh are a fantastic couple and perfect for each other. We still had to have a big blowout for him. Nine of us went to Vegas and had a blast. We stayed at a 1500 square foot suit at Mandalay Bay, played Beer Pong in the room to start off the trip, went two clubs on Friday and Saturday night and got bottle service at both. Had a blast consuming beverages by the pool and more. It was expensive, but worth it with the amazing times and stories we have. Note to self, no more no limit poker at 8 in the morning :)

This city is wicked sweet!

Boston, of course! Bostonians love using the wicked adjective as much as Bay Area people love using the "hella" adjective. Kindra had a little time between switching from one group to another at her job and on a whim decided to go see Boston for a couple days. We literally talked about it on Monday and left Tuesday night. We saw a game at Fenway, took a tour of the city in a duck, and enjoyed the European feel of the city. It was an unexpected but fantastic trip. It was wicked awesome!!

Time to sneak up to the Bay

On Memorial Day weekend Kindra and I snuck up to the bay for a family bar-mitzvah and to see family and friends. We went to an awesome bar-mitzvah on Treasure Island and got to hang out with a lot family members that we don't get to see enough. We spent time in Oakland with Jules/Wood, spent time in the Mateo with Josh/Kate/Will/Kelsey and got to see Keller/Chrystal/Abbie. Going to the bay is a tiring experience but so worth it to see so many people that we love!

3 Years already!!

Even though I feel like Kins and I just got married we celebrated our three year anniversary in May. We decided to stay local and it worked out great. We wanted to do something different so we went to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad (about a mile of different colors of flowers all over the hillside). It was amazing and beautiful. Then we decided to do something that we love. We went to Rudy's Diner and got burgers, fries and milkshakes. Yum, so good!!! We got a hook up from Josh's mom Barbara and got an amazing deal at the La Costa Resort and Spa. We had an amazing suite, hung out at the pool (which had two water slides) and had a blast. Three amazing years as husband and wife :)


Even though I feel like Kins and I just got married we celebrated our three year anniversary in May. We decided to stay local and it worked out great. We wanted to do something different so we went to the Flower Fields in Carlsbad (about a mile of different colors of flowers all over the hillside). It was amazing and beautiful. Then we decided to do something that we love. We went to Rudy's Diner and got burgers, fries and milkshakes. Yum, so good!!! We got a hook up from Josh's mom Barbara and got an amazing deal at the La Costa Resort and Spa. We had an amazing suite, hung out at the pool (which had two water slides) and had a blast. Three amazing years as husband and wife :)

A softball loss, inconceivable!

After winning 6 softball tournaments in a row we lost in the Championship game by one run. We had one bad inning and had trouble coming back from it. We had a lot of starters missing but still played pretty darn well. On a personal note, I had my best tourney ever by hitting 16 for 17 and playing well in left field. There is always next year to start another streak. Two side notes: we were nominated as the best alumni softball team in UCSB tourney history and finally won some beverage consumption contests at Gio's after the tourney!

Do you know who the killer is?

Towards the tale end of March we celebrated Decker's birthday by attending a 1920's murder mystery party. Kindra and I decided to have fun and go all out. We went downtown to Hillcrest and shopped in some sweet thrift shops and got some great outfits. We had a blast with some soccer friends and even though we didn't figure out who the killer was we enjoyed playing dress-up!!

Teacher of the Year Part 2

The day before my birthday I presented at the CLMS national conference in front of 80 teachers during the day and then had to give another speech at the dinner at night to celebrate myself and the other 11 regional winners. Once again, it was a glorious night with many great speeches and some that were not so impressive. Family and friends were there to celebrate and we had a great time. We thought that I had a good chance of winning, but they made us come back the following morning to find out the results. Waking me up at 6:00 on a Saturday birthday :( and driving downtown was going to be all worth it when they said my name. They put us all on stage and right when I was about to walk forward and accept the prize for winning they said the guys name next to me. At least Kindra and I thought he was a pretty solid choice so we were happy. We spent the afternoon with my parents and then had a birthday party at the bowling alley and people came back to our place afterwards. Kind of old-school birthday but it was a blast!!

The Happiest Place on Earth

Who doesn't love Disneyland? In early March my family took a trip down South and we had a blast at Disneyland. Of course, they hit the worst traffic ever and an accident and actually drove for over 10 hours to get to Disneyland and arrived at 2:00 AM but that didn't stop them. We also got rained on most of the day, but that helped bring shorter lines :) If Kindra could have come it would have been a perfect day!

Was that a Lance & Levi sighting?

The Tour of CA had its final stage start 1/2 mile from our house. We walked down the hill and into bicycling heaven. All the best teams were there. So many great American cyclists from Lance to Levi to Christian. We got to see them up close and be in the craziness which is the start of a bike race. One of the best parts was finding a side road that we thought might be the road the cyclists took out to get to the starting line and being correct. We were inches away from the cyclists and got pictures of the days winner Frank Schleck, the tour of CA winner Levi Leipheimer and the almighty Lance. If you are a cycling nut like me or a fan like Kindra it was an awesome experience!!

McGurk Family Olympics - Year 3

This was going to be the year Kindra and I were going to take it. I should of known when we couldn't decide between Australia and New Zealand that we were going to be in trouble :) Josh and Kate couldn't make it but Brandon's bro and cousin Billy were there and created a new team. They seemed to dominate throughout the day (even though Kindra and I did pretty darn good) but the obstacle course that awarded a ton of points was dominated by Jules and Wood and somehow they squeaked out their 3rd victory in a row. The only thing that matters next year is a loss for mother-freaking Russia!! :)

Is there a cat stuck in a tree?

Don't worry, Kindra's brother is officially now a firefighter and can take care of that for you :) We went to Josh's firefighting graduation at Sequoia High in this awesome old-fashioned auditorium. The graduation did not disappoint as there were Scottish bagpipe players, good videos and of course celebrating with Josh. It's great to see Josh so happy. Cheers brother!!

A Day in Frisco Anyone?

Kindra and I flew up to the bay a couple days before Christmas and decided to spend one of those days in the city. I had only been to Alcatraz once and Kindra and had never been. The history alone at the prison was awesome but the views were pretty amazing as well. We became part of history and then walked around the wharf, Ghiradelli Square (where we got free chocolate :) and finished the day outside the Exploratorium. We had a blast getting wet in the ocean and taking in some of Frisco's finest places. Not to mention we ended our day with Mel & Jeff at the best restaurant in the world (The House of Prime Rib)!!!! Ummm, sounds so good to eat right now.