We're In Our New House

Here is the view from the front.....















...and here is the backyard.

I would share pictures of the interior, but it is still full of boxes. Those pics are forthcoming.

As you can all imagine, we are all thrilled - especially Rosie who loves running around the "big house" and backyard. Carolyn and I love the all the space - we now have 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a much bigger kitchen, dining room, and living room, and plenty of storage in the house and garage.

We are now residents of Kent, which is about 30 miles from the Microsoft campus. I am taking the bus to and from work - the park and ride is 4 miles from our house. It is actually a nice lifestyle. I get on the 564 or 565 and in an hour I am at my building. During that time I am actually quite productive, usually catching up on work related email.

Life is great - but check back in August when we have to write the first mortgage check :)

A Couple Of Pictures Of The Kids

Why? Because they are cute



































Brett Phillips Is Coming Home In Less Than A Month

After serving our country for a year in Iraq, Brett finally gets to come home. All of his family and friends are thrilled. He sent an update regarding his latest mission a couple weeks back - the letter is here and below is a picture he sent.

Brett will be in Washington in September and we look forward to having him and his lovely wife over for dinner.




















What Do Warren Buffet and Matt Kennedy Have In Common?

They were both hanging out with Bill Gates a couple weeks ago.

Every year Microsoft hosts BBQs at Bill Gates' house for our interns. We have a lot of interns so we normally divide them up and host them on different nights. This year we had four different BBQs. These are pretty big shindigs and many VPs come to mingle with the interns from their respective orgs.

This year I had the privilege of introducing all the VPs and Bill. On the first night, I got to introduce myself to Bill and shake his hand. On all four nights we stood next to each other as I did the introductions and then handed him the microphone. It was a neat experience. Nothing too exciting - basically my job was not to screw up. Nonetheless, not everyone can say they met, shared the stage with, and introduced Bill Gates - at his house.

My Other Blog

I am now an active contributor to our Microsoft Technical Careers Blog. This Blog is part of our marketing campaign and gives me yet another avenue to pontificate. Pretty boring stuff unless you are a software developer looking for a job. But if you are interested, the blog can be found here. Scroll down a bit to see my first post.

One Last Picture Of The Kids

Why? You all know the answer. Thank God they look like their mommy