Amber on June 15th, 2011

I entered to win a free photo shoot with Piper Moore.  She is now up to 100+ fans on facebook.  To celebrate she is offering a free photo shoot:
http://pipermoorephotography.blogspot.com/2011/06/100-fan-photo-shoot-contest.html

Good luck if you enter.

But I hope I win.

 

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Amber on June 9th, 2011

We love you so much!

Wesley says: I love you with all of my heart.  You are the goofiest birthday.  You are upside down every day.  I wish you have the best birthday every.

Jillian says: Happy Birthday.  I miss you.  Me and Wesley did not get to see you.  I love you with all my heart.  I hope your birthday goes good with us.

 

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Amber on May 22nd, 2011

On Saturday afternoon Mom and I left for southern California.  This is the first time we have ever traveled together so we were very excited.
We spent the night with mom’s sister Lori and then on Sunday we went out to Ventura Harbor to visit with mom’s family.

L to R: Lori, Jim, Mom & Vivian

Link to all the family pictures on Jim’s boat: http://flickr.com/gp/hunterji/2PG0Rx/

While we were there Mom, Ashley and I enjoyed watching the pelicans flying and diving for fish right in front of us!

Pelican diving for a fish.

A link to all the Pelican pictures: http://flickr.com/gp/hunterji/60kt78/

We truly enjoyed our time in the harbor.

Monday we spent the day in Santa Barbara. We enjoyed Sterns Wharf and found a cute little gifts for the kids.

At the end of the wharf/pier.

Then we walked along the shops on State Street. It was a wonderful way to spend the day.

On Tuesday we went shopping again – but this time just at the local mall.  We had lunch at Chick-Fil-A, which I was very excited about.

A link to all the pictures of Santa Barbara and of our shirts: http://flickr.com/gp/hunterji/b6Hu42/

We all got matching shirts - so when we get home and we wear it, we can remember our trip together.

Then we went to visit with Moe and JJ.  It was great to see them both again!

All the pictures with Moe & JJ: http://flickr.com/gp/hunterji/6Ki6X0/

Then on Wednesday – our last day – we finally got to do what we flew down for!

Ashley’s graduation from Ventura Community College with her AA.

Way to go Ashley!

With Mom and Gordon

Greg, Ashley, Me and Mom

All of the graduation day pictures: http://flickr.com/gp/hunterji/413B68/

We then went to Darlene’s house after graduation for pizza and to say our final goodbyes.

What a great trip!!!

I had such a fantastic time reconnecting with Mom and Ashley!  I will ever forget it.

 

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Gamestorming sets out to change the way knowledge workers use meetings to gather ideas, come to a decision and move their project forward.

It starts by presenting a set of tools, both physical objects and techniques, that can then be combined in a number of ways to help groups of people work together to solve problems. The various combinations become the games in Gamestorming.  About 80 games in all are presented (more on their website). Each offering a format for the interaction that helps elicit certain types of results.  Think standard brainstorming with enough structure to help the group actually produce something tangible, either by staying on track or diverging from it, as needs dictate.

For me, the most important part of each game’s description was the “Strategy” section. Here you find out really what you’ll get out of the game. I always check this section first to see if the game is appropriate for what I need to accomplish.

 

 

The book has changed the way I view meetings (how they should be run, what the result should be) and I’d recommend it to anyone who ever has to “call a meeting”.  Anyone new to the process will get a set of useful tools, while veterans will certainly pick up a few new ways to combine the tools they already have to be even more effective.

I review for the O'Reilly Blogger Review Program

 

Full disclosure: I received a free PDF version of this book for free in exchange for writing this review. I’ve followed the review guidelines set by O’Reilly. Especially (and always) “First and foremost, we want nothing but complete honesty in your reviews”.