Home Sweet Home

Home Sweet Home

Feb. 10, 2008 - 14 Photos

Having slept the entire car ride home, we took Benjamin straight from the car to his swing in the house where he promptly slept for 3 straight hours. We had to wake him up just to feed him. He was certainly home!

Sadie and Molly took to him right away. Marsha had brought home one of Benjamin's blankets the night before and let the girls sleep with it in their bed, so they were used to his smell before he even arrived home. They smelled his little head so gently and didn't even try to jump up on him once.

We introduced him to his new room and he fell asleep right away after his first feeding at home in his new crib. But boy did he look small in it! I guess he'll have to grow into that—along with his car seat and swing.

Daddy and Mommy have settled into our little routine with him—sleeping, changing, feeding, sleeping, changing, feeding, sleeping, changing, feeding. Thank goodness for baby monitors! I don't know what we'd do in this world without them.

He had his first pediatrician appointment today—only 5 days old and just 48 hours out of the hospital. Everything checked out great and the doctor said his jaundice is long gone which was great to hear. She commented on how strong he was already and to—of course—never leave him alone as he is already trying to roll himself over. He was—of course—the hit of the doctor's office with all of the parents in the waiting room fawning over him. I tried to convince myself that it was because he is particularly cute, but had to settle for the realization that babies are just plain cute in their first week no matter what. :-)

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Photos: 14 Photos

Leaving the Hospital

Leaving the Hospital

Feb. 9, 2008 - 11 Photos

Our first two days in the hospital went wonderfully. Little Benjamin was quite exhausted on his first day in the world, so he pretty much just slept in our arms most of that first day. By the second day, he was active and alert again and ready to take on the world. We had visits from our friends in Dallas and calls from family and friends far and wide checking-in on how our little guy was doing.

The doctors asked us to spend a third night in the hospital before going home because Benjamin had a very slight case of jaundice, but after spending a night in the "blue suit" (see pictures), they gave us the clearance to take our little guy home. We packed up our suitcases, loaded him in his car seat which he looked so tiny in, and headed home to show him where he was going to grow up.

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Photos: 11 Photos

Little Benjamin Butler is Here!

Benjamin Butler's Birth

Feb. 6, 2008 - 26 Photos

After a long 9 month wait for our little prince to arrive, Benjamin Patrick Butler was born at 9:19am this morning on Wednesday, February 6. He weighs 7lbs 12oz and is 20 1/4 inches long. Momma and baby are both doing great!

Kerri went into labor last night at 6:30pm and wanted to stay at home as long as possible before going to the hospital, so we went for dinner at The Porch a few blocks away from our house. After the waitress gave me a third odd look as I frantically scribbled numbers on a paper napkin, I explained to her that I was timing Kerri's contractions. Based on her reply of "SHE'S IN LABOR?!?!?", I can only imagine that she thought that we were going to have the baby right there at the table. All of the staff took turns stopping by the table to wish us luck and the manager came by at the end to wish us well and hoped that the soon-to-be-3-of-us would be back in soon.

At around 9:30pm, Kerri decided it was time to head to the hospital, so we put in calls to Dr. Dullye and our doula Anna Marie. Dr. Dullye was at the hospital delivering 3 other babies that night so she said, "Come on down!". Anna Marie said, "Wonderful! I'll meet you at the hospital in 30 minutes." Our final call was to Kerri's mom Marsha to tell her we were headed to the hospital and that she should head to the airport. We piled into the car with our 200lbs of suitcases, pillows, and exercise balls and were checked into the hospital by 10:00pm. Contractions intensified quickly through the night. At 5:00am, Kerri's mom strode in the door suit case in hand, at 7:00am we started pushing, and at 9:19am little Benjamin was born.

Kerri did a wonderful, wonderful job throughout the entire experience and it was her dedication to making it all happen that brought him into the world so fast and so healthy. In addition, we were surrounded and supported by so many people great staff at the hospital (Dr. Dullye and Nurse Carol in particular) and family and friends both near and far constantly checking-in on us to see how we were doing. We thank you all for all of your help bringing little Benjamin into the world for us to love!

More info and pictures to come shortly...

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Photos: 26 Photos

Our Christmas Party

Our Christmas Party

Dec. 8, 2007 - 26 Photos

It's that time of year again! Christmastime always means one thing in our family—a lavish Christmas party with family and friends thrown by Kerri that would put Martha Stewart to shame.

This year's party was a particular accomplishment. Kerri flew back to Dallas from her annual girls' trip to New York on Thursday night, cooked for 2 days straight, decorated the house, and through a great success of a party—all while 7 1/2 months pregnant! As is the case every year, I was showered with compliments on the party and questions as to how she can possibly make all of the food herself, hand-make every invitation, every ornament on the tree, every party favor. Some people just have natural talent and Kerri was born to throw wonderful parties.

I can't wait to see what our little boys' birthday parties are going to look like...

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Photos: 26 Photos

Baby Boy's Nursery

Nursery All Ready

Dec. 1, 2007 - 3 Photos

No one can ever accuse us of not being prepared. It's December 1, our nursery is all done, and little baby boy isn't due until February 9. Kerri has done a wonderful job bringing together blues, whites, and greens for a nautical theme that includes photos of her Grandfather's fishing boats on the wall, as well as pictures from when Marsha was a fisherwoman herself and spent 6 years fishing in Alaska.

OK, buddy—we're ready for you. Keep cooking in there—but we're ready for you.

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Photos: 3 Photos

Enjoying the Fireplace

Enjoying the Fireplace

Nov. 30, 2007 - 6 Photos

It's winter-time here in Dallas and that means that the temperature has dropped considerably. Most people don't think of Texas as being particularly cold, but Dallas has an average low of 36 and an average high of 55 in January.

Our house was built in 1929, so the chimney was long since abandoned when we moved in. But we knew we'd enjoy a warm fire during the winter so we had a fireplace installed. Little did we know that we wouldn't be the only ones enjoying it—Sadie and Molly can't wait for evening to arrive to cuddle in their bed by the fire.

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Photos: 6 Photos

Kerri's Last Birthday for Awhile

Kerri's Birthday Dinner

Nov. 16, 2007 - 6 Photos

On Friday night, Kerri had her last birthday. No, no, no—don't get worried! She just celebrated her 29th birthday which means that she will be 29 for a few years now and won't be celebrating any more birthdays for awhile—especially ones that have a "3" in them. Our friends Meghan, Shay, Megan, Chris, Allison, and Rob all joined us out for a great dinner at Trader Vic's. And don't get too concerned with baby on the way—that crazy-looking drink in her hand is just virgin. :-)

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Photos: 6 Photos

Our Couples Baby Shower

Our Couples Baby Shower

Nov. 4, 2007 - 27 Photos

This last weekend, our friends Megan and Chris and Heather and Chris were kind enough to throw Kerri and I a couples baby shower in preparation for our little guy on the way. Megan and Chris hosted, Heather and Chris planned the shower's activities, and all of our Dallas friends were kind enough to shower us with gifts for our little one.

We may still be getting prepared mentally for his arrival, but we now certainly have all of the stuff for his arrival!

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Photos: 27 Photos

We're Pregnant!

Home Sweet Home

Jul. 6, 2007 - 1 Photo

That's right—we're pregnant!

We have a little boy on the way due February 9. Momma is feeling great and we can't wait to welcome the little guy into our life next year. We definitely know that it is a boy—we couldn't stand the thought of waiting until he is born to find out the sex. There is just too much planning to do! :-)

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Photos: 1 Photo

Trip to Puerto Viejo

Puerto Viejo 2006

Oct. 1, 2006 - 20 Photos

Kerri and I just returned from our trip to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica for the weekend. We got a late start on Friday and didn't get in to town until after dark, but just in time for the beach town's festivities to begin.

As we sat down to eat at Cafe Viejo right in the middle of town, a band struck up and a parade started coming down the street complete with fire dancers, drummers, and dancers. All the kids and adults were dressed in all white and playing and dancing in sync as they made their way through town. After the band had passed and we'd finished our dinner, we headed across the street to an art gallery that had just opened that was displaying local artists' works.

After wrapping up things in town, we headed a few kilometers (we speak in kilometers, kilograms, and celsius now...gotta fit in!) to check into our bungalow at Cariblue. It was a little more "rugged" than we thought it would be, but the hammock hanging on our porch made it just fine!

On Saturday, we jumped in the car and drove up the coast about 50 kilometers to Limon and down the coast about 20 kilometers to Manzanilla to see all of the drivable Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. We made on big stop at a local furniture maker where we bought 2 adirondack chairs and a matching table for the backyard of our house. We came back in the afternoon and laid in the hammock reading books all afternoon.

On Saturday night, we went to dinner at a small Italian restaurant only to find that a finalist from Latin American idol and a guy referred to as Costa Rica's "Ambassador of Tango" were performing. Seriously, I have got to get me a title like that. And then I'll make everyone refer to me as "Ambassador" or "Your Ambassadorship". They were both quite good and we were happy to enjoy the evening's free entertainment!

We took Sunday to rest and relax. We had breakfast in town, laid on the beach, got massages in the afternoon, and hit the hammock again to get caught up on some reading (currently reading "Angels and Demons", the prequel to "The Davinci Code").

On Sunday night, we recreated our Friday night dinner at Cafe Viejo--the stone-baked oven pizzas were just too good. On the walk back from dinner, we hear, "Scott and Kerri?" We turn around and find ourselves standing in front of some friends of ours from our Denver book club who were on their honeymoon. Thousands of miles from the US, in a foreign country, at a small little beach town—and we run into our friends. Small world.

On Monday morning, we woke up early to do a photo shoot. We hit the pool, jungle, and beach. No edited photos yet, but I will post them when they are done. Then we checked out of the hotel and hit the road back to Santa Ana!

Other Highlights: Kerri saw two monkeys. I saw none. We ran out of gas at one point during the trip. Not completely out of gas, but enough to not be able to get to Limon. So we had to go see "Tony" in town. Tony sold us 2 gallons of gas. For $10. Probably not a bad deal considering our other option was to walk 50 kilometers to Limon. Kerri stepped in a fire ant hill. Ouch. Not a highlight. Oh, and we bought our own hammock for the house.

Photo Booths and Funny Faces

When I was growing up, my mom and dad always had a photo on the fridge of the two of them in a photo booth out on a date one night when they were in their early 20s. They look so young and happy in the photo. I think everyone should have a photo like that on their fridge.

Growing Up

I had a rough childhood.

First, I was almost eaten by an alligator at a very early age. A near death experience like that made me think about entering the seminary, but I knew I couldn't cut it. Instead, I thought seriously about attending Duke University, but decided against it in favor of joining the Navy.

When I got out of the Navy, I had a bad drinking problem and one night was arrested Nick Nolte-syle. Coming out of rehab, I cleaned up my act and walked the straight and narrow. Even dressed the part for awhile. OK, maybe quite awhile. OK, probably too long.

I tried becoming a professional golfer, but was told that only professional basketball players where their socks that high. So I tried playing in the NBA for awhile, but that too didn't work out.

Shortly thereafter, I landed a guest role on The Partridge Family, but they killed off my character during the first season. That led to a stint with a Triple A baseball team, but we only had four players so we didn't win very often.

Coming off golf, basketball, and baseball, I was feeling pretty on top of the world and the world needed a lot of help, so I became a super hero, but had to quit shortly after I outgrew my size 3 suit.

The next spring, I landed a spot on the US Track and Field team and the following winter skied with the US Ski Team, but at that point I had had it with sports.

So I re-enlisted in the Navy. I just couldn't support the US war efforts, however, so I left the Navy and protested instead. Protesting was exhausting so I took some time off to go fishing for a few weeks.

Coming back, I really missed my time on The Partridge Family, so I went back to find my roots in the theater. I played Danny Zuco in the Broadway cast of Grease. I tried being a puppeteer. I joined a small traveling group of Evel Keneval impersonators, but quite frankly, I just couldn't stop laughing. I joined a ragtime band. I performed with a Chinese acrobat troop. I went back to Broadway and played Oliver Twist. I worked at a local McDonald's as Ronald McDonald. I even played a leprechaun at St. Patrick's Day festivals.

By the end of it all, I was exhausted so I went fishing again for several months this time. I needed to rest my mind for awhile, so I took up the arcane hobby of making chairs from milk cans. It didn't last.

It wasn't long before calls for Superman's return were rampant across the nation. I knew I couldn't keep up with it all. So I cloned myself.

One of me moved to Hawaii and took up surfing. The other version of me was last seen continuing to abuse the use of the sweater vest.

And now you know why I am how I am.

Trip to Vancouver

Vancouver 2006

Sep 17, 2006 - 33 Photos

Kerri and I just got back from our trip to Vancouver BC this weekend. We stayed at the Sutton Place Hotel in downtown Vancouver. I spent the first two days in meetings for work and then come the weekend we were able to get out and explore.

On Friday night, we had dinner at Blue Water Cafe in Yaletown, a great steak and seafood restaurant. About an hour into our meal, I noticed we were sitting next to Jason Priestly from Beverly Hills 90210. I wanted to sneak a picture for the blog, but Kerri wouldn't let me. :-)

On Saturday morning, we walked through Stanley Park which provides an amazing view of Vancouver from across the bay. We saw the totem poles in the park, teams playing cricket, and horse-drawn carriages giving people rides around the park.

On Saturday afternoon, we took a cab over to Gastown, had lunch at Old Spaghetti Factory (no, we don't have Old Spaghetti Factory in Costa Rica), and caught a show at Storyeum called, "The History of Vancouver". On the streets of Gastown, we met a fantastic artist named Gastown Sam who we bought an amazing piece of art from.

On Saturday night, Kerri's dad Dan and her brother Steven drove up from Bellingham to meet us for dinner. We had another great steak and seafood meal and had a great time catching up with them.

On Sunday morning, we were up bright and early to catch our flight back to Costa Rica! On the way to the airport, we were in an accident in our cab. Thankfully it was just a small fender-bender, no one was hurt, and we hailed another taxi that got us to the airport with plenty of time to make our flight.

Trip to Toronto

Toronto 2006

Sep 4, 2006 - 20 Photos

I just returned from our trip to Toronto. We got in late on Thursday evening, took a quick shower, and headed downstairs to meet the folks from Media Profile who I was in town to meet with. We stayed at the Suites at One King West which I would definitely recommend. The first night, Media Profile took us to an amazing restaurant called Ultra Supper Club. Great atmosphere, great wine, and great food.

The second night, Kerri and I laid low and ordered room service after I got out of a long meeting all day. On Saturday, we explored Toronto checking out St. Lawrence Market and Eaton Centre (the largest mall in Toronto and the third-largest mall in Canada). On Saturday night, we had a great dinner at a place called MoDo's which had a quaint atmosphere and showed old black-and-white Charlie Chaplin movies on a brick wall.

On Sunday, we jumped in a car and drove south to visit Niagara Falls which neither Kerri nor I had ever been to. We took quite a few pictures and took in the sights. We didn't realize that there was a little "mini-Vegas" in Niagara Falls. On the way back, we cut off the highway to check out a little town that was recommended to us—Niagara-on-the-Lake. It was a cute, old, little town that Kerri absolutely fell in love with and decided that we had to return to some fall when the leaves were changing color.

We got back into town just in time to meet up with our friends John and Bettina for a fantastic dinner at the Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar. No, not that Jamie Kennedy.

Then it was up at 4:00 AM on Monday morning to head to the airport—Kerri to California to visit her mom and me back to Costa Rica.

Trip to Aspen

Aspen 2006

Aug 27, 2006 - 24 Photos

It is Sunday and Kerri and I just finished three days in Aspen for Casey and Katie's wedding. We drove up on Friday with our friends Pat and Brooke after spending a few days in Denver. On the way up, we stopped in Idaho Springs for lunch at a local Colorado microbrewery called Tommyknocker's. Not being beer drinkers, Kerri and I knocked back a couple of cold root beers. And I had a bowl of the best chili I've ever had in my life. If you ever find yourself in Idaho Springs, Colorado, order the chili. :-)

In Aspen, Brooke and Pat's friend Jeremy was nice enough to let us stay at his house. Well, it wasn't his house exactly. It was the $35 million dollar vacation home next to Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn's place that he is the caretaker for. Wow—what an amazing place this house was. It must have been 8-10 thousand square feet, on 300 acres, pool, 2 hot tubs, bocce ball court, motor bikes, a 60" plasma screen TV, and 3 server racks to run the entire house. The best feature of the entire place was the Indonesian Tea House that Jeremy built right outside that sits on the pond. What a relaxing place to sit and—well—relax.

On Friday night, we went out to dinner in downtown Aspen. I've been really lucky to go to a lot of amazing places in the last 10 years (New York, San Francisco, Miami, Paris, St. Tropez, etc.), but I have never seen money like there is in Aspen. It just oozes money. But not in a good way. We had a fantastic dinner at Campo De Fiori, hit the hot tub back at our borrowed mansion, and then called it a night in preparation for the big wedding the next day.

The next morning, Kerri (wedding planner) and Brooke (maid of honor) left the house early to begin the wedding preparations. Pat, Jeremy, and I took the opportunity to have some guy time.

• 10:26 AM: Huge omelet breakfast at one of the cafes from the movie "Aspen Extreme". Yum.
  
• 11:46 AM: Go in hot tub.
  
• 12:33 AM: Jump on the trampoline. No broken bones.
  
• 1:16 PM: Play soccer—the three of us against the two dogs that live at the house. Dogs win.
  
• 2:04 PM: Ride dirt bikes around property. Avoided broken bones again. OK to show up for wedding.
  
• 3:34 PM: Shoot guns at cans on the fence. Miss.
  
• 3:53 PM: Jump in shower.
  
• 4:00 PM: Leave for wedding.

We arrived at the wedding right on time to catch the gondola at Little Nell up to the top of the mountain for the ceremony which was held on an outcropping overlooking an amazing mountain view. Then inside for dinner, some wine, and some dancing.

All in all, a fantastic Aspen weekend.

Trip to Denver

Denver 2006

Aug 25, 2006 - 1 Photo

Kerri and I just finished up our trip to Denver. It was great to be back "home". Drive our old streets. See our old friends. Eat at our old restaurants. Kerri and I really love Denver and—had it not been for this job—would not have moved away from there. But perhaps some day we'll be back!

The first night, we had dinner with our good friends Toby and Angie and Pat and Brooke at one of our favorite restaurants—Cuba Cuba. Brooke had planned a "Girls Night Out" with Kerri and the girls from Premier Image, so it was "bye bye" to the boys. The second night, we went out with a big group of people to the Rio Grande and paid tribute to their famous margaritas. As I've mentioned many times on this blog, it was so great to have good Mexican food again!

Then it was off to Aspen for the wedding we were in town for...

Los Muebles Para Casa Mango

Costa Rica House 2006

Aug 23, 2006 - 17 Photos

I completely forgot to post something about this—Kerri and I have finally completed furnishing Casa Mango (our house) in Costa Rica. It's named Casa Mango because we have a huge mango tree in our front yard. So now you all have a place to come stay! And it's all-inclusive. Well, all-inclusive if you like to eat mangos.

E-mail me the dates you would like to come visit.

Picture Pages, Picture Pages

I've started using Google's Picasa.

If you have tried it yet, do. It's awesome. You download the free software, it helps you sort all of the photos on your computer into nice albums, then with one click of a button it automatically uploads the photos you want to albums online. No more browse-upload-caption, browse-upload-caption, browse-upload-caption.

Anyways, I've included a list in the right hand navigation of all my most recent photo albums that will stay there permanently, but here's the list so far in case you want to check them out:

• Toronto 2006
  
• Aspen 2006
  
• Denver 2006
  
• Costa Rica House 2006
  
• Las Vegas 2006
  
• Cancun 2006
  
• Europe 2006
  
• Miami 2006
  
• Bahamas 2006
  
• Panama 2006
  
• Miami Heat Game 2006
  
• Jaco 2006
  
• WPT Shooting Stars 2006

PS—If you didn't get the subject line of my post, then you didn't watch this show growing up.

Unexpected Visitors

We have a new guard dog at Casa de Mango. Well, actually, its more like a guard toad. Kerri and I came home the other night to find this guy sitting in front of our front door. And now he seems to show up every few nights. We held up a CD next to him to show how big he is.

Our New Guard Toad

We have geckos all over our house. Kerri found one in her shirt in the closet the other day. Another one jumped out of my closet and landed on my leg the other day. I've been showering with one for the last two days. She doesn't seem to want to leave the bathroom.

Actual Size Shown

Kerri explained to me that "it" was a "she" when it walked across a window and the sunlight shown through her skin and you could see gecko eggs inside her belly. Girl from Hawaii: No big deal. Boy from Portland: Not cool with sharing my bathroom with a gecko, even a friendly pregnant gecko.

• Between Kerri and I, we've killed no less than 5 scorpions--in our house.
  
• The other day, we went over to a friend's house for a barbeque and he showed us the tarantula he had just caught in a plastic bag.
  
• There are monkeys that throw things at you when you walk in the park.

If there's one thing that's clear down here it's that we don't live here--we're just renting from the local wildlife.

The 2006 World Series of Poker

Kerri and I just returned from 3 weeks in Las Vegas for the 2006 World Series of Poker. 3 days can be a long time in Vegas, so you can only imagine what 3 weeks was like. :-) We stayed at the Rio the whole time because that is where the World Series is held and it was actually quite nice. All of the rooms are "suites" so they are a little bigger than normal which made a real difference given the amount of time we were there.

2006 World Series of Poker

We spent most of our time working at the Paradise Poker booth at the Gaming Expo, watching the Main Event, or helping run the Roller Girls, the street marketing team that was promoting Paradise throughout Vegas during the tournament.

Dinner at Batista's

Ladies at Hard Rock

We had a lot of visitors. Marsha and Ken. Michael and Alyssa. Brooke and Pat. Allyson. We always make sure to get two queens wherever we go so that friends and family can come and stay with us!

Pat and Brooke

Ladies Eating Cotton Candy

Kerri had quite the luck with the pokerati. She ran into Chris "Jesus" Ferguson (2001 World Series Champion) several times (he was staying on our floor) and talked to him for 20 minutes one day. The next night we were up at the Voodoo Lounge in the Rio and she met Steve Dannenmann (2005 World Series Runner up and winner of $4+ million).

Ladies and Steve Dannenmann

Jamie Gold walked away as the 2006 Champion and winner of $12 million. Not too shabby for two weeks' worth of work. Although he may not be able to keep it all.

And Sadie is "All-In"

Back from Cancun

Kerri and I just returned from 5 days in Cancun for Sportingbet's annual company trip. It was quite an adventure starting with a chartered jet to take all of the employees from Costa Rica to Cancun. We stayed at a beautiful Melia resort right on the water. I had to work quite a bit during the day because the World Series is right around the corner, but I made sure to take a break in the afternoons and join Kerri at the pool. We also were very good on this trip and worked out at the hotel's fantastic gym every day.

At the Beach Party

Marsha and Ken Come to Visit

Marsha and Ken came to visit us in Costa Rica this past weekend (our first visitors!). We spent the first night at our house and took them to our favoriate Italian restaurant D'Bartolo's. On Friday morning, they were real troopers trudging around town with us as we looked for the US Embassy to notarize the closing documents for our loft in Denver. (It's sold!)

Indiana Jones Bridge

House sold, we left for the beach and encountered more than one bridge that was straight out of the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. No sides to the bridge, planks moving back and forth as you go over them. And then we watched a semi cross!

We arrived in Manuel Antonio and checked into the famous Hotel Si Como No. It's an amazing hotel built right into the rain forest on the side of a mountain. We had dinner at the famous El Avion which is a restaurant built out of the plane that started the Iran-Contra Affair when it crash landed in Nicarauga. It was sold, taken apart, hauled to Manuel Antonio on a train, and reassembled as the restaurant.

During the day, we relaxed on the beach and watched USA eeek out a 1-1 tie with Italy in the World Cup at the place we had lunch. Good news is everyone in the bar was cheering for the US--Costa Ricans love Americans.

The second night, we had a fabulous dinner at our hotel's restaurant and hit the casino in town. Kerri and I were joking around with a $1 bill that Marsha had handed us and in 3 minutes turned it into $45. Then we called it a night. I know--high rollers.

On our last day, we laid by the hotel pool and hit the road to head back to Santa Ana (where we live) in the early afternoon.

(If you look close in the photos, you'll see I've got about 4 days of a beard going. A part of my electric razor broke. They don't carry the part in Costa Rica. I had to order it from the US. I waited two weeks. And didn't shave the whole time. Fun.)

View from Our Room	Scott at Breakfast
Dinner at El Avion	Balcony Sunset
Iquana Sunbathing	Dinner at Si Como No

Full Album of Photos from Europe Trip

I have uploaded all of the photos from our Europe trip. Click on the image below to view the full album.

Europe Trip 2006

Jun 11, 2006 - 59 Photos

Europe Trip: Back Home

We're back home. What a trip. 15 day, 6 cities, 7 flights, 3 trains, and 1 Tom Clancy book later (give me a break, it was 987 pages...front and back!), we've landed back in Costa Rica. I'm here, Kerri's here, Kerri's suitcase is here, but American Airlines decided that my suitcase needed some time off and sent it to the Dominican Republic. No joke.

¡Bienvenidos a Costa Rica!

Does that strike anyone else as odd? The airline has enough intelligence and technical sophistication to be able to tell me with 100% accuracy that yes, my suitcase is at this moment on AA Flight #453 to the Dominican Republic but not the intelligence and technical sophistication to make sure that two bags given to them at exactly the same moment in time do not remain together as they travel 500 feet from the check-in counter to the tarmac. Weird.

Europe Trip: Paris...Again

To wrap up the trip, we flew back to France for one last night in Paris. Kerri and i had dinner at a wonderful little place called L'escargot where the specialty was--you guessed it--snails (Kerri's favorite). Then we walked along the Seine where the entire city seemed to be picnicking and ended up for a final drink in Paris at the Hotel Ritz.

Dinner at L'escargot

Europe Trip: Nuremberg

After being on the Mediterranean in the South of France, we hopped on a train to Charles de Gaulle where we caught a flight to Nuremberg--home of my brother Jeff, his wife Blythe, and several World Cup games this year.

Nuremberg Bridge

Though we didn't plan far enough in advance to actually attend any of the games, we were lucky to go with Jeff and Blythe to the Adidas World Cup Kickoff Party at the Adidas world headquarters campus where Jeff works. Jeff and Blythe on the other hand had tickets to USA vs. Italy. We also toured the city of Nuremberg and hit the second largest festival in Germany (second only to Oktoberfest).

Oktoberfest...Cheers!

Adidas Party

Europe Trip: La Cadiere

After Barcelona, we jumped on the train and headed east through the beautiful countryside of the South of France to La Cadiere--home of Kristin, David, Chloe, and Chloe's new little brother who will be joining us in November!

The Csorba Family

We visited the local French markets, toured the villages around Kristin and David's house, and ate lunch along the coast overlooking the beach. At night, we opened the doors to warm summer nights on the patio and had more French apertifs. And what a doll Chloe was the entire time we were there--we didn't hear her cry once!

Scott and Chloe

Time to Explore!

Europe Trip: Barcelona

After Dublin, it was off to the one "wild card" destination of the trip--not a destination that we either knew someone at, had to go to for work, or to attend an event. Kerri found an amazing hotel called B Hotel--extremely modern and highly recommended. We walked Las Ramblas, checked out the street performers, and bought some artwork for our new house in Costa Rica. Then we went to the famous Las Ramblas Market and and bought fresh fruit for the hotel room. We decided to pass on the skinned goat heads (no joke). The next day we hit the coast for our one day at the beach and to get caught up on our reading.

The Fruit Market

At the B Hotel

Drinks at the Bar

Barcelona Fountain

Europe Trip: Dublin

Kerri and I were in Dublin for our good friend's John and Janna's wedding. We became friends with John and Janna when we first moved to Costa Rica. They were so helpful getting us aquainted to a foreign country! In May, they moved back to their home country of Ireland and we were sad to see them go. But so happy to see them again in Dublin for their wedding.

At the Reception

The night before the wedding, we met up with the Paradise Poker crew for dinner at a Thai restaurant in downtown Dublin, then off to a traditional Irish pub for drinks late into the night. The wedding the next day was fantastic and the weather amazing. In fact, the locals told us it was the best weather they'd seen in 6 months! After dancing late into the night at the wedding with the dancers from Lord of the Dance (no joke!), we headed to bed to catch an early flight the next morning.

The Wedding Dinner

John and Janna's Exit

Europe Trip: London

After a couple of key meetings in London for work, Kerri and I hit Smith's at Smith Market for dinner. Smith Market is the distribution center for all of the butchers in London. Some of the best steaks, wine, and dessert on the trip. Then the next night, we caught "Mama Mia" in the London Theater District with Marsha. A great show--highly recommended! Then it was time for Marsha to head back to the States and for Kerri and I to head to the airport to catch a flight to Dublin.

The London Phone Booth

Kerri and Marsha at Tower Bridge

Europe Trip: Paris

After getting over the jet lag, Kerri, Marsha, and I set out to explore Paris. Kerri and Marsha had already been in Europe exploring the sights for a week when I got there, so we did fewer of the churces and museums in Paris and, instead, spent most of our time there with my sister Kendra and her boyfriend Florent. They were nice enough to show us the town, enjoy apertifs at their apartment, and then hit the city for dinner at night.

At The Eiffel Tower

After three days, it was time to hit the Chunnel to head to London. By the time we were done, we were not the only ones saying goodbye to Paris. Kendra and Florent are moving to New York in July!

Kerri Relaxing in Paris

Europe Trip: Arrival in Paris

I've arrived in Paris. I jumped in a cab and joined Kerri and Marsha at our hotel in downtown Paris. They are ready to hit the town. I'm jet-lagged. Very jet-lagged. But they say the best way to get through it is to stay awake the entire first day until bedtime. To just push through that... first... day. Don't... let........ yourself........... fall.............. zzzzzzzzzzz..............

Paris from the Sky

Poker, Pina Coladas, Dolphins, and Yachts!

Kerri and I have just arrived back in Costa Rica after our trip to the Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. We were there for Paradise Poker's Conquest of Paradise Island poker tournament. The tournament went great and winner Brian Malczewski walked away with a cool $500,000.

The Atlantis Hotel

View from Our Room

Ten days at the resort were wonderful, though I didn't have nearly as much time for "vacationing" as I thought I would. Trying to do my "day job" while helping run the tournament was a double-time job. But Kerri and I definitely enjoyed ourselves while we were there!

Along the Village Marina

"The Dig" Aquarium

We had dinner at Nobu, walked the maze of aquariums, strolled along the Marina Village and ogled the multi-million dollar yachts. I even snuck away on the last day we were there for a day by the pool and hitting the Atlantis water slides.

The Village Marina

Village Marina Shopping

The Straw Market

Dancing Bahamian Style

And we were particularly lucky to have our good friends Pat and Brooke from Denver join us at the resort for a week.

Pat and Brook in the Ocean

Brooke and Her Coconuts

Kerri spent time with them at the pool and beach during the day and then I joined up with them for dinners and hitting the casino at night. They even went swimming with the dolphins and on a shark-feeding trip. It was great to see them having not seen them since I left Denver 4 months ago!

Kerri and Brook in "The Dig"

Pat and Brooke at the Beach

Getting home was a bit rough. We were deplaned in the Bahamas due to "weather in Miami", re-boarded and took off, told mid-way to Miami that they were experiencing a Level 4 storm in Miami and tornados (tornados in Miami?), circled Miami for 2 hours, were redirected to Key West, sat on the ground in Key West for 2 hours, flown back to Miami after the storm subsided, and then caught our connection back to Costa Rica. All in all a 5 hour journey turned into a 12 hour journey! But we are home safe and sound now.

Dinner at Nobu

Atlantis Paradise Island

After a quick stop in Miami, Kerri and I have arrived at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, Bahamas! We are here for Paradise Poker's Conquest of Paradise Island tournament--our first tournament played completely offline. We are expecting 350+ players with a $5,000 buy-in and a total prize pool nearing $2,000,000. Tonight is the big welcome party for all of the staff and players. More photos and details to come.

King Neptune

Skyline on the Sea

This past weekend, Kerri and I flew to Panama City for the weekend with our friends John and Janna and Bruce and Rebecca. We were there to celebrate (or mourn, depending on how you look at it) our good friends John and Janna's last weekend living in Costa Rica. Panama is quite a skyline right on the sea! We stayed at the Real Intercontinental downtown, had dinners out in the city, and hit the big casino at night. Quite a weekend and only a 1 1/2 hour flight away!

Panama Skyline

Dinner in Panama

John and Janna

At Italian Dinner

Bruce and Rebecca

John and the Mariachi Band

Flora or Fauna? I Can't Remember

Is this flora or fauna? I can't remember. Either way, Costa Rica sure is beautiful. Kerri took all of these photos, had them blown up large, framed, and has hung them in our new house in Costa Rica. They look fantastic.

Miami Heat Game

Kerri and I just got back to Denver from Costa Rica. On the way back, we swung through Miami. Now, normally our flights into the US would go through Miami anyways, but this time we had a special reason. Paradise Poker is a sponsor of the Miami Heat and we had to represent the company at a Suite Night for the players of Paradise Poker.

We had a Sky Box for the event for the Paradise Poker players, but also had 4 seats down on the floor which we took turns sitting in which put us right down on the action. To give you a sense for how nice the Heat staff was in getting us good seats, we didn't zoom the camera at all for this photo of Shaq.

At halftime, our great reps from the Miami Heat gave us a tour of the stadium, including the Heat locker room. Well, "locker room" isn't the right word. "Gentlemen's Club" is more like it! There was a fitness center the size of a 24-Hour Fitness, a lounge with pool tables and big screen TVs, a training room that looked like something out of Rocky IV (the one with Ivan Drago), and the locker room itself was all dark wood, huge spaces for the players, and big screen TVs on the wall to watch game footage.

We were in the locker room during half time just after the team went back out onto the floor to warm up for the second half so we snuck a pic with Shaq's shoe from the first half! At a size of 22, his shoe was a tad bigger than Kerri's.



I even got a picture of Mike Dunleavy in front of the Paradise Poker signage. Dunleavy went to my high school, led the team to a State Championship, went on to Duke, won the 2001 National Championship, and now plays for the Golden State Warriors. I don't know him though, and he certainly doesn't know me.

On Saturday, we ate breakfast/lunch at Jerry's Famous Deli on Collins Avenue in South Beach which--based on the proof of this photo--has the world's largest menu. For those of you that grew up in the 80s, Collins Avenue is also the same "A1A, Beachfront Avenue" referenced in an ever so popular Vanilla Ice song.

On Saturday night, we had dinner at Wish at "The Hotel" before meeting up with some friends for drinks. No relation to "The Hotel" in Vegas. But Kerri did have a drink that glowed like a neon sign in Vegas. Seriously.

Jaco (Pronounced "Hako")

Kerri and I have just returned to Santa Ana from our first weekend trip to Jaco, Costa Rica (near Punta Renas and Manuel Antonio). I was interviewing a few candidates for Paradise Poker and we brought them down to Costa Rica to interview and show them the country.

We stayed the first night at the White House, a boutique hotel up in the hills of Escazu and owned by an American here in Costa Rica. Yes, it really does look like the White House. Kerri and I stayed in the Grover Cleveland room. No, I can't tell you anything Grover Cleveland did during his presidency.

After a night at the White House, we hit the road for the 2-hour drive to the beach in our rented Toyota 4Runner. The road to Jaco is a curvy one, but it's not the curves that will get you. It's the cows. This Tico was kind enough to yield the road to us.


We spent Friday night at the Los Suenos resort in Jaco, had an amazing dinner at the restaurant Nuevo Latino, and then played poker into the wee hours of the morning. The next day, we lounged by the pool and in the hammocks by the beach.

On the way back, we saw an interesting sign...



And then we realized what the sign meant when we looked over the side of the road and saw this!

World Poker Tour Shooting Stars

You never think your first live poker tournament is going to be a $10,000 buy-in.

Kerri and I flew to San Jose for the $10,000 buy-in World Poker Tour Shooting Stars event at the Bay 101. Paradise Poker had sent 108 players to the event through satellites and super-satellites online so we were there to represent the company.

The format of the Shooting Stars event is a bit unique. One "star" is assigned to every table. The player that eliminates each star gets $5,000 so each star ends up with a "bounty" on their head the length of the tournament.

All of the stars were out in force, both poker and Hollywood:

• Phil Ivey
  
• Doyle Brunson
  
• Phil Hellmuth
  
• James Woods
  
• Jennifer Tilly
  
• Shannon Elizabeth
  
• Phil Laak
  
• Mike Matusow
  
• TJ Cloutier
  
• Chip Reese
  
• John Juanda
  
• Layne Flack
  
• Eric Seidel
  
• Allen Cunningham
  
• David Williams

On the second day of the tournament, two players from Paradise didn't show up. Rather than let the seats go empty...

...I got the call to play.

The "star" at my table was Gavin Smith who has won multiple World Poker Tour events and over $2,000,000 in career winnings. I played very tight for about 3 hours, pretty much only entering pots where I had AAs, KKs, QQs, or AK/AQ suited. I won a couple of hands--just enough to keep from getting blinded away. Eventually a few of us at the table started to get short-stacked and started looking for a solid hand to push on pre-flop.

I looked down and saw AAs. Since everyone at the table knew I was playing tight having watched me play for the last 3 hours, I limped. I hit the jackpot when Kristy Gazes went all-in. I called, she flipped over her AK suited, and I flipped over my AAs a bit half-heartedly (considering that it was my first live tournament and she has won tournaments and over $350,000 in lifetime winnings). No Ks or diamonds hit the board and I doubled up to $5,000.

A few hands later, I got lucky going all-in with AQ only to see the other guy flip over AK (seriously dominated) when a Q hit on the flop. So then I was back up to around $10,000 (where I started) and probably not too far off the tournament average at that point. And then I played stupid. Got too pot-committed on an A-high spade flush draw, called an all-in after the flop, only to see runner-runner red. I thanked my table and made my way for the rail, 150th or so out of 600, my first WPT event behind me.

My Favorite Moments from the Tournament

• I sat down at the table about an hour late and my seat happened to be right next to Gavin Smith. He offered me a "last longer" bonus for our watches (e.g. whomever lasts longer in the tournament gets the others' watch), but I quickly turned him down considering that my watch was a wedding gift from Kerri. Oh, it had nothing to do at all with the fact that he is 100 times better than me.
  
  
• I'm sitting at the table and someone I don't recognize walks up to the table. He looks at Gavin Smith and says, "Gavin, do you want this now?" and reaches into his pocket and pulls out $30,000. IN CASH. Poker players...
  
  
• Though I didn't make it far in the tournament of even close to cashing (Top 45), I did knock out three other players!
  
  
• Sitting in the bar having lunch at the table next to Nam Lee--who went on to win the whole tournament.

Valentine's Day at Chinook Tavern

Happy Valentine's Day! Kerri and I had a wonderful dinner for Valentine's Day last night at Chinook Tavern in Denver. Though we do have our good friends Zach and Amanda to thank for dinner having given us a thoughtful Christmas present dinner at the restaurant! It only took us about 30 minutes at dinner to stop saying "si" and "por favor" to everything the waitress said. And I was able to order a lime in my Coke for the first time in 6 weeks--I have yet to learn "lime" in Spanish.

Weekend at the Beach

Kerri and I spent the weekend in Tamarindo, Costa Rica for Paradise Poker's $1,000,000 Masters IV final table. Our upgrade to the Daihatsu Terios didn't work out so well--it was basically the equivalent of a Suzuki Samurai (if you remember that car from the 90s). So we took it back and upgraded to the Toyota Prado--the international version of the Toyota 4Runner. It made the drive to the coast about 5 times smoother.

Enough about cars. We arrived on Friday evening and had a great cocktail party and dinner with the 10 players that had made the final table. 9 men and 1 woman. About par for the course for poker these days. We were all secretly rooting for the woman during play on Saturday, but unfortunately she was short-stacked going into the final table. Toby Stubbs took down the top prize.

We had a great dinner on the beach afterwards to celebrate with the Paradise Poker team. And then off to the Jazz Casino in town for a little poker both nights. We played from about 8-2 on Friday night and I was dealt AAs, KKs, QQs, JJs, AK, AQ, and AJ and went home the big winner. Anybody can play when they get the cards though. On Saturday night, I wasn't so lucky and gave back a bit of my winnings to the locals. But just a bit.

The drive back from Tamarindo was a long one after getting stuck behind a sugar cane truck for about 50 kilometers. That's 30 miles for all of you in the States. Have to think in 6/10 when I'm in Costa Rica! But it was made much more enjoyable with some lively conversation with our good friends John and Janna. Great to spend the weekend with them as they are headed back to Ireland in March.

(Photos to come! We bought a disposable camera for the trip--as we had our digital camera stolen on New Year's--only to have me leave the disposable by the pool. Thankfully, someone turned it in and the hotel is mailling it to us in the States.)

Destination: Tamarindo...Take 2

Kerri and I are headed back to Tamarindo this weekend for Paradise Poker's $1,000,000 Masters IV final table. The event will be played live on Saturday, February 11 at the Hotel Diria Tamarindo. Here is the breakdown of the chip count and the players going into the final table.

After last weekend's adventure on Costa Rica's roads (read below) and the fact that we'll be driving up with our Irish friends John and Janna, we've upgraded from the Toyota Yaris to the Daihatsu Terios. Car names in Costa Rica are just as weird as in the US.

Then on Monday, we're headed back to Denver for a couple of weeks!

Lightning, Italians, and Guayanas...Oh My!

Kerri and I are back from our weekend trip to Tamarindo. It was quite an eventful weekend! Over the course of three days, we:

• Drove 6 hours in a tropical rainstorm (lightning included).
• Arrived at our hotel only to discover that the hotel had messed up our reservation and was overbooked. Negotiated a free night for Saturday night.
• Ate banana macadamia nut pancakes. Twice.
• Ate steak and lobster. Twice. For $20!
• Played poker with a Frenchman, three Italians, two Americans, and two Costa Ricans. Saw quad Qs twice in 3 hours. Neither was mine. Walked out slightly richer. Slightly.
• Took our Yaris through Costa Rican's worst pot holes. Think Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland.
• Found Mexican food. Finally.
• Almost drove over 2 iguanas. Iguana disaster averted.
• Passed 2,341 fruit stands from Tamarindo to San Jose. Hypothesized that "guayana" means "guava". Have not confirmed.
• Had "Texas BBQ Ribs" on the way home. Yes, in Costa Rica.
• Forgot to take any pictures of ourselves on the trip.
  

And we're headed back this coming weekend for Paradise Poker's Masters IV $1,000,000 Final Table.

Destination: Tamarindo

Kerri and I are off to Tamarindo this weekend to explore the beaches of Costa Rica for the first time. Tamarindo is in Guanacaste near Liberia on the West Coast of Costa Rica. We are staying at the Jardin del Eden.

I'm hoping we can find some Mexican food there.