Ready for a trip to to the beach:

July 4th, waiting for the fireworks:

At the playground:
Welcome to the official website of Jason McAllister!


Adrian riding the tractor at the Children's Farm (at the zoo):
Clara and Adrian at the merry-go-round (at the zoo):
Clara and Adrian, battling the virus that nearly took down the entire household:
Adrian, Clara and their friend Jake in Michigan:
Scientists discover a rare T-Rex fossil right here in Chicago:
Clara has been having fun with our whiteboard, filming episodes of "Clara's Drawing Workshop". I posted a couple of them on YouTube, but my favorite is this outtake where Clara encounters technical difficulties.
"Rainbow Blizzard" by Adrian:

Foo-riffic!
I just returned from a fantastic mini-vacation: A four-day swing through Cincinnati and Ann Arbor to watch a couple of football games.
I was joined by my old University of Oregon roommate Jubil, my high school friend Jay, and my brother Justin. Jay and Justin flew in from Portland to Chicago, and the three of us drove to Cincinnati for the Oregon State vs. University of Cincinnati game. We then met up with Jubil in Ann Arbor for the Oregon vs. Michigan game.
Needless to say, the Ducks (Jubil and Jason) had a little more fun than the Beavers (Jay and Justin). The final scores:
Oregon 39, Michigan 7
Cincinnati 34, Oregon State 3
The two Beaver Believers compounded their misery by actively rooting for Michigan. The fools!
Ann Arbor was particularly fun, as 3,000+ Duck fans invaded this fair city in anticipation of Oregon's biggest game in years. Every restaurant and bar we visited was packed with Quacker Backers. I ran into lots of friends, both old (like, a guy I hadn't seen since college) and new (several Chicago Ducks were on hand). Not to mention the Ducks' thrashing of the Wolverines, which was far beyond my expectations and even my wildest dreams. Everyone expected a shootout, but only Oregon held up their end of the deal. It got to the point where I basically stopped cheering in the second half, out of respect for the Michigan fans all around us who were in agony.
On to the photos...
Cincinnati pictures, Thursday night:
Justin and Jay count their beer money
Justin and Jay at Nippert Stadium
Ann Arbor pictures, Friday night:
Jubil and Jay in a shuffleboard Civil War at Arbor Brewpub
Jason with Chicago buddies Nick and Brad at the Arbor Brewpub
The boys at the Michigan memoribilia store on Main Street
The boys enjoying beers at Ashley's Pub
The boys mingling with the Absolut Vodka spokesmodel at Scorekeepers
The boys getting ready for gameday at Scorekeepers
Ann Arbor pictures, Saturday:
Jay and Justin sporting their maize and blue
Jason poses with a clever Duck fan
Jubil keeping his distance from the traitors in our midst
The boys outside the Big House
The view from our seats
The glorious final score!
When the University of Oregon football team decided to hold a "secret scrimmage" at the Nike campus in Beaverton, observers wondered if it was an expression of gratitude to Phil Knight. Knight, the CEO and former U of O track star, must have really enjoyed the private screening: he announced yesterday a $100 million donation to the U of O athletic program.


What size do those Greg Oden Trailblazers jerseys come in? XXXXL? I'll take ten of them!
We just watched the best "rockumentary" that I've ever seen: "Classic Albums Presents: Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon". It's only 48 minutes long, but I thought it was a perfect combination of elements: band members, critics, lyrics, melodies, arranging, mixing, finances, present-day interviews and archival footage. Just a really well-done film about one of my favorite albums. Among other tidbits, we learn:
Clara's birthday is not until May 16, but we observed it yesterday with a fun party at the local playground. (I will post some pictures and video soon.)
Sharon is taking me on a date tomorrow night: The Columbia College Manifest party, featuring a concert by Chicago's hottest new rapper Lupe Fiasco.