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.

San Diego Educator of the Year Dinner

In October my principal let me know that she nominated me for San Diego County middle school teacher of the year. I knew I had been doing great work with my new AVID and Leadership programs but was extremely honored to simply be nominated. I was selected as one of the top 12 nominees and they have a dinner where everyone is recognized for their achievement. I had to make a three minute speech and meet a lot of people. I had Kindra by my side and had family and friends there as well. Great times were had by all and to all of our amazement I WON!!!!!!!! It was one of those once in a lifetime moments :)

Did you know the U.S. had a pro Soccer League?

Even though soccer is not the most popular sport to talk about in the US, millions of people play it and catching a game live is always fun. Catching the MLS Championship Game is awesome. Columbus beat New York (which made me happy) and the four of us had a blast sitting in great seats behind the goal. Hopefully, the Earthquakes will be in this game in a couple years!!

I heard Napa had some good wine

Kindra and I snuck a trip up to Napa to enjoy some great wine and some spectacular views. It was the first time either one of us had been there and we had a blast trying out a couple of wineries and eating some great food at some old-fashioned burger joints. It's always a blast to travel with Kins!

Who are you going to call...?

Once again Kindra and I had a blast being creative with our Halloween costumes. Ghostbusters was just one of our many ideas. Can you guess what two people we are from our accessories? :) Josh through a fantastic party and good times were had by all.

10 Year Reunion - Tino Style

My graduating high school class was just over 300 ( a little different than Kindra's) but we had a small intimate reunion and it was awesome. Nick, Daniel, Josh and our ladies all got together and had some dinner together beforehand and then had a great time at the reunion. Some people were great to see and others I hadn't thought about in ten years and was happily surprised to talk to them. Reunions are funny things but seeing people was definitely a good time.

Nephew # 1 is born!!!!

William James McGurk was born on September 11th, 2008 and he is our first nephew. Kindra's bro Josh and his wife Kate were super excited about Will and we can't wait to see our little nephew as much as possible!!

Kindra's 29th B-Day!!

80's Party anyone? Kindra wanted an 80's party for her 29th and we made it happen. We borrowed the McGurks house, decorated it with 80's posters and streamers and got our sweet outfits ready to go. Kindra looked like she popped out of an 80's tv show and I must have just left the Goonies film studio. It was a great way to celebrate my beautiful wife's birthday!!

Celebrate with McDonough

In early September we decided to go to Vegas to celebrate with Dan before he got shipped out to Iraq for his 3rd tour. Us four together in Vegas always makes for lots of laughs. Looking forward to having you back soon McDonough!!