Photo Update

I've uploaded the last four months worth of photos to our Picasa site. It's been a crazy busy spring and summer is just getting started!

Add comment June 17th, 2009

January 2009 Photos

Here are some photos from January. We've had a great winter so far. Now the snow is melting and spring is on the way.

Some highlights:

- Skiing and snowshoeing in the Kootenai Valley and Ross Creek Cedars
- A visit from Uncle Josh
- MLK Day in Nelson, BC
- Madeleine's 2nd birthday
- Saying goodbye to David before his departure for Utah
- Ear candles!

January 2009

Add comment February 25th, 2009

Family Photos - Nov / Dec 2008

Here are some photos from the last two months.

November 2008

December 2008

Add comment January 5th, 2009

Family Photos - Sept / Oct 2008

We have more than four months of photos from our camera that we finally downloaded last night. Here's the first batch, from September and October of 2008.

September 2008

October 2008

Add comment January 5th, 2009

A Sunny Weekend in Portland

On Thursday night I drove down to Portland to visit family and do some research for my MBA final project. The weather was incredible (for western Oregon): sunny and mostly warm. I spent Friday in downtown Portland, interviewing and getting fleeced by downtown parking operators. I stopped in at my favorite bookstore, Powell's, but I couldn't find the Russian grammar text I was looking for. I have to say that Amazon has completely changed book buying for me. I love to sit and read in a place like Powell's, but in terms of getting specific books quickly and painlessly, the Internet wins hands down.

I stayed at my brother's new house in Gresham. They live on a dead end and I played football and basketball with my nephews on the street. We also went down to a nearby wood where there is a pond and some trails. Gavin and I went on a bicycle ride out toward Boring (that's the name of a town, believe it or not) and my foldable bike performed flawlessly. Tawnya also took me out to Portland to meet my brother on his break from work. We had pizza at a little place that was jammed with customers. It's always a shock (though fun at the same time) to go from my tiny town to the city, where you see more people in ten minutes than I see during an entire year in Bonners Ferry.

On the drive home yesterday I stopped at Multnomah Falls. I hadn't been there since high school, and it was a good break to hike up to the top and get some exercise in an otherwise dull day in the car. The wind was tearing through the Columbia Gorge and leaves were flying everywhere... a great memory.

Add comment October 27th, 2008

Summer Photos

We have a serious photo backlog... click here for the June through August photos from our family.

Some highlights:

Add comment October 5th, 2008

Family Photos: April - May 2008

Here are some family photos from the last two months. The entire album is also at our Picasa site.

Nadine had her birthday in April. She's going home soon and we'll miss her!

Kayla and I had our choir concerts in April, in Spokane and Bonners Ferry. This is the first year Kayla has been able to join our community choir.

We went on a hike to Snow Creek Falls. The water was roaring with all the snowmelt.

Our friends the Ipsens came up and visited one day. Kayla and the kids took them out to see the wildlife refuge.

We planted the garden for Mother's Day. I experimented with a new way to even the ground for planting peas (using a board).

Two weeks ago we went on our first camping trip of the year, to Green Bay on Lake Pend Oreille. It is hands down the best place to camp in our neck of the woods, and we had the entire peninsula to ourselves.

Our new tent is completely waterproof!

Hyrum had a birthday celebration at school, even though it's not his birthday until the summer!

Add comment May 21st, 2008

One Year Down, One to Go

Ah.... I finished my first year of graduate school yesterday. Our last class session was in early May but we've been submitting final exams and projects for the last couple weeks. Toward the end of the schoolyear I was starting to doubt my initial motivations for taking on an MBA program while working. I have to say (being halfway done) that I'm still glad I signed up for this grueling two-year sprint. It's already enriched my career in many areas. Now I'm ready for summer!

Add comment May 19th, 2008

Photos from Feb-Mar 2008

Here are some photos from the last two months. You can see the complete album here.

A children's theater came to town a month or so ago. It was an interesting setup: they ran auditions at the beginning of the week, rehearsed all week and performed on Friday and Saturday. Nadine played one of the Merry Band in a production of Robin Hood (she's the left-most in the back row).

I missed the Easter egg decorating but apparently the kids had fun. We tried Nadine's method of blowing out the eggs first so you don't get that horrible boiled egg smell permeating through the house.

The Easter egg hunt at the park was also a success.

For Spring Break, we went to Seattle to visit Nathan and Monica and some friends we met while living in Kansas.

Monica suggested we visit the Fremont Bridge Troll, a concrete sculpture under a bridge. The troll is gripping a VW Bug in its hand.

Jeremiah and Nathan got along really well. Jeremiah was begging for Nathan to play with him every minute of the day.

Kayla and the kids went up the Space Needle while Madeleine and I strolled around the grounds.

The boys were so happy to play with their friends. Our friends have one boy and four girls, and I think he was glad to have Hyrum come visit.

On the way out of town we stopped by the LDS Temple and had a walk around the grounds.

The boys were glad to be home. A couple of days ago we had the neighbor kids over to play in the sandbox. The weather has finally warmed up and Spring is on its way!

Add comment April 15th, 2008

Fold Your Own Bicycle

We spent a long weekend in Seattle. On Friday it snowed all day, and (surprisingly for this time of year) the snow stuck to the ground overnight. Saturday we had a morning of decent weather, then heavy rain. The last few days were much better, cool with sunshine.

We stayed with some friends in Lynnwood and I went on several bike rides. We did the obligatory spring break visits: Space Needle, Science Center, Pike Place. We also visited some interesting landmarks, including Gasworks Park and the Fremont Bridge Troll. This was Nadine's first trip to a city since she first landed in New York last August, so it was a big deal. Lots of shopping! I got zero homework done, and felt good about it. The kids had a great time playing with friends and visiting Uncle Nathan and Aunt Monica.

One of my tasks while in the big city was to buy a bicycle for my trip to Denmark this July. I have a conference to attend for my MBA program, and the week before the conference I plan to cycle and camp in one of the world's most bicycle-friendly countries. I have a solid road bike, but wanted to get something more appropriate to touring and the possibility of the occasional unpaved road. The airlines, in an attempt to shore up revenues under rising fuel prices, have jacked up the fees to transport bicycles (Northwest charges $150 each way). I worked out the math and came up with three options: buy a bicycle and transport it, rent a bike in Denmark, or get a folding bicycle that would fit in a suitcase (and thus avoid airline fees).

I went with option #3, which at first blush seems a little strange. I wasn't familiar with folding bikes at all and thought they were something of a gimmick. However, renting and shipping were both unappealing because I am basically throwing that money away, when with a folder I have something to keep at the end of the trip. I did my research and found several options that are appropriate for touring and that would still fit in airline-approved luggage.

There are just a handful of companies that build decent folding bikes for touring, in descending order of quality and price: Moulton, Bike Friday, Birdy, and Dahon. Since this is my first folding bike I had no intention of plunking down $3,000 on a Moulton. I opted for a mass-market Dahon MU P8 which cost about $650 with racks and fenders.

My wife laughed when she first saw a photo of the bike, but after checking them out at a Seattle bike shop she agreed it would work well. Despite the 20" wheels, the bike has a great feel. Best of all, it's a simple and straightforward machine that you can take anywhere. I ordered from a shop in New York and should be able to take it on its first spin sometime next week.

Add comment April 2nd, 2008