Greg and Dian on the plane headed to Microsoft.

Greg reading the manual for his new digital camera.

Dian prefers to click the buttons to see what develops.<smirk>

[Image of Greg reading his manual on the plane and posing to the camera like a shocked deer in headlights.]

In past years, we were housed at nice hotels in the Bellevue area (near Redmond, where Microsoft is located).

But due to the fact that now nearly 700 of the 1200 MVPs were attending this year, we were housed in five beautiful hotels in downtown Seattle. Greg and Dian were at the Renaissance Hotel Seattle

Dian begins to unpack.

[Image of Dian starting to unpack suitcases in the bedroom with large window views of the city.]

Looking down the hall of our very nice room...from the living room down toward the bedroom.

[Image of our room, taken from the living room, showing hallway with dressing area...or as computer geek Greg puts it "female work station"<grin> toward separate bedroom.]

The view of downtown Seattle from the livingroom.

[Image of busy highway ramps to/from Interstate highway 5 and some tall downtown buildings in the distance of varied heights and colors.]

Seattle Monorail.

[Image taken from street level, below the rails with a monorail trail rolling overhead. From underneath, you can see how the train wraps around the thick cement rail.]

Thanks to FrontPage MVP, Tiffany Edmonds, for taking this great shot from her hotel...of the Seattle space needle.

[Image of the space needle against a colorful sky with trees and buildings far below. Taken at nearly the same level as the top of the needle.]

HA! Some new building areas around MS provided a little comic insight as to the possible future of Access.

[Image of a construction zone at Microsoft showing port-a-pot, Microsoft building signs and a construction sign that says Access, meaning road access for the trucks, but looking like the new dump for the Access database program.]

We meet up with some long-time friends and head to dinner, then back to their hotel for drinks and chatter.

Korry Pearl...

[Image of Korry Pearl kicking back in the lounge at the hotel.]

...and we get to spend time with Korry's fun wife, Denise Pearl.

[Image of a smiling and pretty Denise Pearl.]

Greg Chapman

[Image of Greg, hair pulled back into a pony tail and looking a little tired from the day's travels.]

Dian Chapman

[Image of Dian making faces for the camera with hands waving at her ears...as if to say, nah, nah, can't catch me!]

Cool...Beth Melton, Office MVP, gets a chance to show up.

[Image of Beth Melton, smiling and relaxing in a lounge chair with cigarette in hand.]

We were hoping some of our free time would provide nice enough weather to do a little flying with Greg and Jeff...but as you can see from the fog, it was not to be.

[Image of a local church with two towers, only a few blocks away from our hotel, but yet the towers, approximately 3 stories high, are nearly obscured due to the low lying fog.]

So instead, Greg and Dian rent a car and head off to the Flight Museum.

[Image taken out the front of the car, showing cars ahead traveling along the highway, beautiful pine trees on either side, but gray fog hanging low.]

Exiting at Boeing field...and off to the museum.

[Image showing the Boeing Access Road exit 1 mile ahead.]

Cool!

[Image of the front of a very large bomber with U.S. Air Force emblazoned across the front.]

Boeing's first airplane.

[Image of a very small, wooden biplane hanging from the ceiling.]

Goodyear FG-1D Corsair

[Image of WWII fighter plane.]

Busy air space!

[Image taken from the balcony showing several jets and planes, both military and commercial suspended from the ceiling at various levels above the main floor of the exhibit; giving an illusion of many planes flying in jam-packed airspace.]

Greg, former aircraft mechanic at WrightPat Airforce base in Dayton, OH, explains how he used to climb up inside these fighters to fix them. And HOPE another team wasn't testing the landing gear while HE was inside!

[Image of Greg pointing up to the open area inside a plane with the landing gear down. Cool looking inside there, but scary to think about being inside there!]

Moon buggy.

[Image of the Apollo era moon buddy. The tires were made of metal slats and wire mesh to allow it to plow through the moon's surface.]

A former Air Force One...the one that carried JFK's coffin.

[Image from the parking lot showing the full VC 135, or 707, plane with white and blue paint, the American flag on the tail and the words United States of America boldly written across the length of the plane. Very impressive looking. It sits right outside the main entrance to the museum and tours allow you to enter and see inside.]

At the registration party that night, we get a chance to catch up with more long-time friends.

Former MVP lead and now retired MVP assistant, Connie Sullivan.

Former MVP DTS lead, now retired and became an MVP, Patty LaBarge.

Long-time Consumer MVP, Ron Chamberlain.

[Image of our three friends, hugging and smiling for the camera.]

Dian, Greg, Jeff Struyk (who we featured in a flight tracking article in TechTrax, This is your Cap'n Speaking) and Korry Pearl.

[Image of the four of us grouped together with two lower in front and two standing behind.]

More of the same...just a little more silly!

[Image of the same picture as above, but this time Dian takes advantage of Jeff in front of her and tosses a leg over his shoulder.]

We pile into buses and head back to our hotels to get ready for the days ahead.

Beth Melton, trying NOT to giggle for the camera and Susan Ramlet, Office MVP, on the far left.

[Image of Beth Melton sitting in the bus, looking proper and trying to control a smirk building on her face.]

Hey Susan...will you be ready for 6am!

[Image of Susan Ramlet screaming with a look of total terror on her face. Very funny. Can you tell this woman as small children!<smile>]

Greg, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at 6am for the day's meetings.

[Greg standing on the street in the dark morning, looking a bit dazed.]

The MVPs start heading to campus before the sun rises.

[Image of all shades of blue, the clouds above breaking away a bit to the light in the middle, the fog darkening the ground, the darker tree lined horizon and the deep blue of the water.]

HA...as you can see, Susan has recovered nicely overnight!<lol>

[Image of Susan mugging for the camera, eyes crossed and tongue hanging out, letting us know she's ready for the day. Hysterical.]

Good to see more old friends...Hal Hoestetler and Sue Mosher, owner of the famous Outlook/Exchange site Slipstick.com.

[Image of Hal and Sue smiling for the camera.]

We pile into campus shuttles to get to our respective buildings for meetings.

Word MVPs: Jonathan West, Suzanne Barnhill, Beth Melton (Office MVP and honorary Wordie) and Terry Farrell.

[Image of the MVPs loaded along the side seats of the small campus shuttles, loaded down with box lunches and books, ready to tackle the day's sessions.]

The Word MVPs meet with their product managers for Word.

Chris, the lead, has been with us for two years. Mike has put up with us now for three years. It's our first time meeting Stuart.

Terry Farrell, Stuart, Chris, Mike.

[Image of the guys above sitting at a conference table in a meeting room, laughing.]

Jonathan West details the numbering complexities users face in Word and we provide suggestions how to make it work better.

[Image of Jonathan up at the whiteboard, writing out numbering sequences on the board and explaining how the various style changes change the numbering sequences.]

After a great day of meeting with very open and responsive Word softies, it's back to the shuttles to head to the Office development building # 17 for our dinner with the Office MVPs and Microsoft Office teams.

Jonathan, Suzanne, Cindy Meister and Bill Coan chatter about Word VBA.

[Image of the Word MVPs back on the campus shuttle, laughing and enjoying being together again.]

We're given free reign of the Office building...with a warm welcome from the Office developers and product managers.

[Image of a sign hanging over the balcony inside the main office area, says"Welcome Office Family MVPs."]

Microsoft VP for Office, Steve Sinofsky, welcomes the Office MVPs to Building 17 and tells us "this is your building...feel free to look around, check it out and talk to your team members."

Very cool!

[Image of a very friendly looking, smiling Steve, standing on the stairway balcony addressing the MVPs and softies below. FYI...softie is an endearing term for Microsoft staff.]

Chris hanging out chatting with various Word MVPs.

[Image of a smiling Chris sitting at a table, laden with food, wine and flowers, chatting with some Word MVPs at the round, banquet style dining table.]

Mike and Greg chatting about some VBA object issues in Word.

[Image of softie, Mike, and MVP, Greg, standing and gesturing as they chat about Word, amongst others in groups chatting around the room.]

Suzanne Barnhill gets out her camera and gets a bead on Dian!<g>

[Image of close-up shot of Suzanne Barnhill, one eye closed as she focuses on Dian taking her picture from across the room.]

Bill and Dian get to meet Janet, the new content lead for the MS Office web site and we chat about possible articles and content for the MS Office user site.

[Image of Bill, Janet and Dian, all seated at a table, but leaning in so all of us can squeeze into the shot together.]

Bill also chats with Jean-Phillipe, a great guy who runs the Office development web site.

[Image of Bill and Jean-Phillipe involved in a deep discussion while seated at a table.]

Sloan...former Office lead who refuses to give up on us and keeps hanging in there to be our assistant lead and help us out!

Great guy!

[Image of Sloan sitting at the table, a pile of flowers in front of him on the table, with his usual big, fun smile.]

Office lead, Jamie. He was our lead before and we were sad to see him leave to move to SQL, but Brandy Frank replaced him and she was great! Very sadly, she was killed in January 2003 (see bottom of linked article for info on Brandy), so Jamie returned to take care of us in the interium.

We're thrilled to have him back for a time, but heartbroken for the reason why.

[Image of Jamie trying not to smirk for the camera.]

MVPs ready for the next day...the Executive Discussions with top group leaders, vice presidents and, of course, Bill & Steve!

[Image from the front of the room, looking into a sea of camera laden computer geeks sitting in rows, as anticipation heightens.]

Microsoft LOVES us!<grin>

[Image from across the room, showing tons of people mingling around the room and a large banner hanging from the ceiling along one wall that says "We love our MVPs, with the word love being symbolized by a large, red heart.]

VP Eric chats about Windows issues with MVPs.

[Image of Eric, a Microsoft VP, casually sitting at the edge of the stage speaking to the room and answering the questions from whoever is currently at the microphone in the aisle.]

Team leads come out to chat and answer Qs with MVPs.

[Image of several softies sitting on stools along the backwall of the stage, passing the mic around to answer questions posed to them by MVPs.]

Then Bill Gates comes out to tell us about some new technology.

(For those interested, you can read the transcripts of Bill's presentation to the MVPs HERE.)

[Image of close up shot of Bill Gates at the Microsoft podium holding the video clicker between his fingers as he looks around, smiling, and patiently waits for the applause and camera flashes to settle.]

He presents a hysterical video on the history of technology...and is impressed with the fact that "this group" caught all the humor!

[Image of very close up shot of Bill's face with a tightened smirk on his face as he tries to keep his composure while the audience is screaming with laughter while watching a hysterical video on the history of technology.]

Note: Internet geeks will appreciate one particularly fun segment where Bill is being interviewed saying how he backed the idea of the Internet right from the start! Under his image it says "Bill Gates, Internet Pioneer" and shortly after the word "NOT!" appears under that title! OR...how the nightly news anchor is chastising "someone" for the dot.bomb, fall of the Internet craze. They then show the guest who is being blamed...it's the Pet Smart.com dog puppet!<lol>

...and then Bill answers some of our questions.

[Image of Bill sitting on a stool, onstage, gesturing with his hands and explaining some answer, while Lori Moore, Product Support VP, also sitting on stage with Bill, looks on.]

Steve Balmer "comes out" for the first time to the MVPs (50 pounds lighter).

[Image of the loud, large and impressive Steve Balmer entering the stage.]

(And yes, he is a Peter Boyle look alike!)

Steve also chats with us and answers our question...in a much more casual forum...for which he's famous.

[Image of Steve pacing the stage, hands on his hips, as he talks to the MVPs about his role with Microsoft and the company mission.]

Steve discusses Microsoft's mission statement.

"Enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential."

In other words, provide the tools and technology to let people do whatever it is they want to do! Everyone has potential!

[Image of the slide as described above.]

Steve takes down notes of our comments and suggestions and even gives us his private email address so we can pass along more suggestions.

[Image of Steve standing on stage, writing notes after an MVP has made a request or suggestion.]

Then he announces several new benefits for the MVPs.

Very cool...more MVP training!

[Image of slide that says: "announcing...Microsoft MVP Academy, online training center for MVPs, customized courses in multiple languages, online, peer to peer environment, taught by MCS "Top Guns", registration begins February 17".]

And they finally agree to let MVPs assist with Certification tests.

[Image of slide that says: "announcing...You asked for it, you got it! Free Certification Betas, participate in certification betas, provide feedback, influence programs with practical expertise, free certification opportunities.]

Note, MVPs had previously received free cert testing vouchers, but few MVPs go for certification since the tests are not true to real life situations and we've wanted to get involved to make them better for all. So this is great news!

HA...and fun guy that Steve is, he offers to pay for the best suggestions and even signs the bills he passes out.

An obviously thrilled FrontPage MVP gets a signed souvenir!

[Image of Steve on stage holding money he's signed and is passing along to a Front Page MVP who is mugging and showing an overly exaggerated thrilled smile on his face. Quite funny.]

Steve enjoys mugging for the camera as he passes over the cash.

[Image of Steve bending over to hand over the cash to the MVP, both with big smiles for the camera.]

Some factoids from this year's summit.

[Image of slide that says: 2003 Microsoft MVP Summit, MVP Factoids, 685 MVPs attending this week, 50% of this year's attendees are from international locations, over 60 in depth technical sessions, over 2000 Microsoft attendees, 9 executive speakers, 5 hotels with 2700 room nights booked, 30 product groups activities across campus.]

MVPs hanging outside the Executive Conference Center.

[Image of the outside of the executive conference center with bunches of MVPs milling around outside during various meeting breaks. Two orange traffic cones out front signify parking spots for Steve and Bill just outside the door.]

FrontPage MVPs, and good friends of ours, Stefan, David, Tiffany and Kathleen.

[Image of some Front Page MVPs standing around outside of a building on campus waiting for the bus to take us elsewhere.]

And, of course, NOW that there's no time to go flying...the weather gets beautiful!

View from outside the executive conference center.

[Image of scenic shot with pine trees in front, opening up to a vista of snow capped mountains in the far background. Prior to today, all we saw was gray fog out there.]

That night MS rents out Jillian's Billiard Parlor for some fun...and Dian gets to meet her MSN butterfly!

[Image of a windows engineer, Cory, dressed as the MSN butterfly in blue spandex with multicolor wings with Dian posing at his side.]

Later we all gang up on our butterfly.

MVP lead, Janni and her assistant, Bobbi on each side of Mr. MSN. Alumni softie, Sally in the fur and Dian front and center as she tries not to slide off her boots while cracking up!

[Image of all the ladies around their MSN butterfly hoping he helps them block all the unsolicited passes!<smirk>]

Dian with Brian Kvalheim, Publisher MVP.

[Image of Dian and Brian posing and smiling for the camera.]

Greg gets a bead on his next shot.

[Image of Greg shooting pool.]

Outlook MVP, Jessie Louise, chatting with the MSN butterfly.

[Image of the butterfly explaining something to Jessie Louise.]

Lots of games going on.

[Image across the room at Jillian's showing many MVPs engaged in various stages of pool games on tons of tables lined up throughout the room.]

Including one with Jeff and Greg.

[Image of Jeff casually leaning against the back rail, holding a pool cue, next to Greg in his black shirt, brown wolf tie and hat, also holding a cue as they wait for their shots.]

The last night, Jeff, Greg, Korry and Dian head off for an incredible steak dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House and head to their cigar lounge for some sipping brandy and a little relaxing chatter.

A great time was had by all.

But more importantly, Microsoft is listening...big time!

[Image of the gang mentioned above relaxing on fine leather couches around a small table covered with various cocktails.]

Once home, the hounds were extremely happy to see us back and refused to get off the bed for fear that we might disappear again!

[Image of Dian asleep under the covers in bed with both dogs making themselves at home on Greg's side of the bed.]