Amelia turned 2 this week. We're in Orlando at Disney World and she had a lot of fun walking around the park being wished happy birthday by the staff, riding a boat through the singing toys in It's a Small World, and meeting Tigger, Pluto and Pooh. I don't like pushy crowds and long lines and over-priced food and 95 degree heat with high humidity, but the smiles on Amelia's face were pretty amazing. Zack enjoyed it, too. Get a look at how he enjoyed meeting the princesses.

 

It's amazing to me how well Amelia is doing. The doctors recently extended her check-ups to yearly, which is a great sign. We're feeling very lucky.

The results are now official - Live Search Club moved our share over 13% (up from 10% last month). This is the first time in over 4 years that Microsoft's search share has grown significantly. It feels great to have actually changed the industry dynamics and had a successful marketing program, and the morale has improved dramatically in the organization.

 

Josh and Jill married in a little log cabing on Lake Louise outside Boyne Mountain in northern Michigan. The two families made quite a contrast.  The Holmstroms from Utah, loud, boisterous, energetic dancers and black sheep who left the Mormon church. The Gilberts from Michigan, stoic, elegant speakers, and married by their Methodist grandfather who founded the lakeside Christian community where the wedding occurred. It was a heck of a trip getting up there, flight to Detroit, long drive north, 14 hours total travel with 2 toddlers. But Josh looked pumped and I'm glad to see him happy.

 

After the wedding we went to Clarkston, MI to visit Mark and Donna and their kids Dominic (7), Mia (5) and Luke (2). I really miss them, and they've got a great life in Michigan with lots of family and friends, though the economy is hurting due to the long decline of the US auto industry. W definitely need to see them more frequently.

My five best friends from high school in Hudson, Ohio got together in San Francisco last weekend. We hung out, ate tacos, grilled chicken, drank fine wines, and played games. Wings of War and Call of Cthulu were the favorites. It was a lot of fun. I haven't seen Bill and Giancarlo for over 15 years.

 

Attendees: Phil Hay, Chris Waterson, Bill Drugan, Giancarlo Scalzi, Jake Pultorak (also saw Karyn and Michio (Phil's family), Bill's wife, and Grace, Gian's girlfriend).

Julia and I saw the movie Knocked Up Saturday night. It's very funny and the actors have great timing. I recognized some of the songs and thought they were by Loudon Wainwright, and remembered that my borther had said he'd been recording some of his work in LA. We waited on the credits to see if I was right and - WOW - Ryan's name came up as a credit for the entire soundtrack. We had no idea. It was very cool to see it.

 

Go bro!