Exploring this theme as our Christmas Card...wanted to see how it played.j
Monday, November 26, 2007
For Trev
Dear Trev & Robin,
Kids are the funnest thing you will ever call your own.
Congratulations!
Jace, Lori, Marina & Elena
Sunday, November 4, 2007
ASLosers
Another fine day of football in the Eug. Campus shots are easy in the fall. Deady hall in the mid day sun.
The captain of the Epiphany, and my sanity, after a quick haltime break with me on the concourse.
The captain of the Epiphany, and my sanity, after a quick haltime break with me on the concourse.
What on Earth is in that bottle? Half time sunset.....the game looked good but tight at this point. Anxiety ratcheted up some...would the fabled 2nd half ASU team show up? Or even if they did, would they like what they'd find in the Oregon team on the field...we know now. The 2nd half was a total 10. Loud as ever, and the Oregon defense was as huge as JStew.
When the dust settled, and my ears, vocal chords and hands stopped ringing, we moved clear of the Pac.
Night comes on to Autzen. Sweet walk back over the river to campus for a celebratory prime rib feast at the OES with the crew....a slice of Sy's and I-5 any other night, but this one was worth the wait.
3 more big games....
Viva La Halloween
Halloween was really fun this year....the girls both finally "got" the pumpkin thing and were into pulling out the guts and all that stuff. Marina wanted to be part of the whole process...including making sure that the right mood came through on her pumpkin.
Elena just wanted the whole thing to hurry up to the point where I would light hers on fire so she could see it in the dark.
I think things turned out alright myself.....
The resurgence of the princess patrol broke out again for the big night. We actually strayed from our neighborhood and went to some friends of ours that we met during Marina's pre birth class thingy. Forgot how cool all that crowd was. They live on Alameda, which I've never trick or treated at....it was nuts. Like Peacock Lane for Halloween....literally there would be 15 kids at the door, and another 15 waiting to get up the steps, with another 15 running towards the house from both directions. Totally impossible and a little worrying trying to keep your eye on your 2 year old in the candy feuled mayhem.
I think Elena could do Halloween every night. Dead sprint from start to chocolate mouthed finish and ultimate collapse
Boo.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Troj-ends
What a great weekend. Beautiful weather, trip down to the Eug with the usual suspects, and several hours of the Ducks putting the hurt on the Trojans. Very festive down there, starting with the campus. Love this picture.
The fine people at Rennie's made an art installment on the roof to commemorate the occasion. Great jack-o-lantern work, and use of a toilet.
The tailgate lot was happening before the game, and this guy got himself all prettied up for the occasion.
Game was awesome. Pete Carroll was his typical jackass self. Including calling a timeout at 9 seconds remaining with the Ducks in possession and just needing to run out the clock....only to make the officials clear the field of the fans and players rushing the field. So, ok Pete, we'll clear out, let you have your hissy fit and then finish with the celebration. That ok with you?
The day ended as perfect as it began, walking back slowly over the footbridge in the golden sun. The Ducks aren't over the hump yet. Next week vs ASU is huge, as it should be.
GODUCKS!
The fine people at Rennie's made an art installment on the roof to commemorate the occasion. Great jack-o-lantern work, and use of a toilet.
The tailgate lot was happening before the game, and this guy got himself all prettied up for the occasion.
Game was awesome. Pete Carroll was his typical jackass self. Including calling a timeout at 9 seconds remaining with the Ducks in possession and just needing to run out the clock....only to make the officials clear the field of the fans and players rushing the field. So, ok Pete, we'll clear out, let you have your hissy fit and then finish with the celebration. That ok with you?
The day ended as perfect as it began, walking back slowly over the footbridge in the golden sun. The Ducks aren't over the hump yet. Next week vs ASU is huge, as it should be.
GODUCKS!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
5 years and counting...
Marina is FIVE! Wha happa? We had a full day of Princess-O-Rama today as Marina turned the big half decade. Good times. Started out with special hairdressing and Princess Dress fitting.....
Meanwhile, I worked on another Daddy cake masterpiece...
Then it was friends and chaos. Evan and Marina always love to pose for a picture...
Our Goddaughter Olivia and Marina...seperated at birth?
Fun day. The whole princess bash, complete with catered food and everything (Lori "won" the event in an fundraising auction last year) was a hit with us, and the kids. Sets a high bar now though for Elena, who is looking to even the score this winter for her big 3rd....what have we done. Started a sister birthday arms race already.....
Meanwhile, I worked on another Daddy cake masterpiece...
Then it was friends and chaos. Evan and Marina always love to pose for a picture...
Our Goddaughter Olivia and Marina...seperated at birth?
Fun day. The whole princess bash, complete with catered food and everything (Lori "won" the event in an fundraising auction last year) was a hit with us, and the kids. Sets a high bar now though for Elena, who is looking to even the score this winter for her big 3rd....what have we done. Started a sister birthday arms race already.....
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
26.2....whew....
First off...where have I been on my blog? My bad. Sabbatical ended (sort of) and I got swept up into the lifestream again....not that I don't have good content to put up on the ol' blog though! Alvarez has inspired me to post once again.
That said, I finished my first marathon last weekend here in Portland. I've always wanted to do that...way back from when I was a skinny cross country kid in high school. Well, by 35, mission accomplished. What a trip that was. The training, the avoiding injury in the lead up, the mental preparation...all of it. And to top it off, the virgin marathon experience. No precedents, no preconceived notions, just me, my shoes, my GU, and my determination not to die out there.
It was a beautiful day in Portland (speaking as a Portlander), low 50's, overcast, no rain, little wind, great day to run. 9000 people on the course or so abouts. I got to the start later than I would have liked, and found myself stuck way back in the mob. Behind the 4:15 pace group. I was shooting to hit 3:45, so I knew I was going to be swimming upstream for the whole day.
Bang.
Run, run, run, run, run some more. Weird things happen when you run this long. I've described it as going into a narrower and narrower tunnel. Until it is so narrow, you are simply staring at the pinhole right in front of you and trying to figure out how you are going to get through it to go find a beer, a burrito and a bed. Total concentration and meditation. I see why people get addicted to such a seemingly painful experience.
Anyway, I beat my goal. Crossed the line in 3:40:10, and then thanked my lucky stars that Lori made it downtown with the girls to get me. After 10 minutes cooling down, I started walking pretty funny.
Not sure the girls understood what I was doing (or why I was so stinky, and unable to pick them up), but I was totally ecstatic to have all my ladies with me at the finish.
72 hours later, I am almost free of the pain. And almost ready to run again. To where or to what? I'll have to figure that out. Fun day I'll always remember.
That said, I finished my first marathon last weekend here in Portland. I've always wanted to do that...way back from when I was a skinny cross country kid in high school. Well, by 35, mission accomplished. What a trip that was. The training, the avoiding injury in the lead up, the mental preparation...all of it. And to top it off, the virgin marathon experience. No precedents, no preconceived notions, just me, my shoes, my GU, and my determination not to die out there.
It was a beautiful day in Portland (speaking as a Portlander), low 50's, overcast, no rain, little wind, great day to run. 9000 people on the course or so abouts. I got to the start later than I would have liked, and found myself stuck way back in the mob. Behind the 4:15 pace group. I was shooting to hit 3:45, so I knew I was going to be swimming upstream for the whole day.
Bang.
Run, run, run, run, run some more. Weird things happen when you run this long. I've described it as going into a narrower and narrower tunnel. Until it is so narrow, you are simply staring at the pinhole right in front of you and trying to figure out how you are going to get through it to go find a beer, a burrito and a bed. Total concentration and meditation. I see why people get addicted to such a seemingly painful experience.
Anyway, I beat my goal. Crossed the line in 3:40:10, and then thanked my lucky stars that Lori made it downtown with the girls to get me. After 10 minutes cooling down, I started walking pretty funny.
Not sure the girls understood what I was doing (or why I was so stinky, and unable to pick them up), but I was totally ecstatic to have all my ladies with me at the finish.
72 hours later, I am almost free of the pain. And almost ready to run again. To where or to what? I'll have to figure that out. Fun day I'll always remember.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
He who layeth stones...
The design plan begins...hours upon hours of placing, leveling, removing, replacing, repeat.
Checkpoint. I almost could see what I was doing at this point.
My helpers arrive to make sure I'm keeping on pace. Sort of....
Marina giving me advice.
Almost there. A whole load of rock short though. Two solid days of rock laying with another and a half to go.
Checkpoint. I almost could see what I was doing at this point.
My helpers arrive to make sure I'm keeping on pace. Sort of....
Marina giving me advice.
Almost there. A whole load of rock short though. Two solid days of rock laying with another and a half to go.
Patty-YO!
Back to work...finally...on completing the vision of a patio under the grape arbor. Started 3 years ago when I rebuilt the arbor to raise the profile of it high enough for someone my height to walk under it. That was a horrible job. But done. Then, when I put the lawn in I left a patch bare, and that has been my weed garden / mud pit ever since. I launched into the job hard after Lori and I agreed on the plan and the materials. First, a whole day of excavating and grading the soil....
Then an entire day of hauling gravel up the front steps and into the pit. Rake, grade, tamp, repeat.
Then a whole day of hauling sand up the front steps and into the pit.
Followed by THE ROCK. Finally the fun stuff.
By my count, 3.25 tons of material hauled up the front steps from the street in 5 gallon buckets, followed by a wheelbarrow ride to the backyard.
Mule time. High Life time.
Then an entire day of hauling gravel up the front steps and into the pit. Rake, grade, tamp, repeat.
Then a whole day of hauling sand up the front steps and into the pit.
Followed by THE ROCK. Finally the fun stuff.
By my count, 3.25 tons of material hauled up the front steps from the street in 5 gallon buckets, followed by a wheelbarrow ride to the backyard.
Mule time. High Life time.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
ZIPPY TIME!!
Lori's birthday Zip finally arrives. She was given clearance from the physical therapist, so away we go on our final day in Whistler. We got harnessed up by the crew and told what we were in for for the day. Five zips back and forth across the valley between Whistler mountain and Blackcomb mountain, over Fitzsimmons creek. The longest zip was going to be 2,200 ft. Bring on the super wedgie!
They drove us up to the start through the area where the bobsled course is being constructed for the 2010 Olympics. We drove right underneath it, and then headed into the woods for an instructional on the first "starter" zipline. Lori was nervous, but there was no time for nervous, because the flight was going to happen one way or the other....yeehaw!
Zip #2 was a little (or a lot) hairier, crossing the valley really high up and going much faster. Totally bitchin. Walk the plank!
Between some of the ziplines, you literally had to hike across suspension bridges and platforms built 150 feet up in the canopy of some huge old growth Doug Firs. Ewok world. Very impressive engineering.
The long zip (wish I could show the movie that I took of it) was so killer. Took about 40 seconds to complete and hit some super high speeds. Felt like a rocket through the trees and over the valley floor. Everyone (even Lori) ended up doing one or several zips hanging upside down like bats from the line. Very cool, but very disorienting feeling...
By the end of the trip, coming into the village and the downhill mtn bike park on the last zip, everyone, even Lori, wanted way more of that. Highly recommended.
Left for home the next day. Hellish trip getting across the border back into the US. Plus, Marina's puking habit kicked in again on the road out of Whistler. Good times. That Griswald family trip to Wally World smell crept into the Volvo...now I know all about it.
When we got back to Portland, I launched into.....THE Alan Parsons Patio Project. Ugh.
They drove us up to the start through the area where the bobsled course is being constructed for the 2010 Olympics. We drove right underneath it, and then headed into the woods for an instructional on the first "starter" zipline. Lori was nervous, but there was no time for nervous, because the flight was going to happen one way or the other....yeehaw!
Zip #2 was a little (or a lot) hairier, crossing the valley really high up and going much faster. Totally bitchin. Walk the plank!
Between some of the ziplines, you literally had to hike across suspension bridges and platforms built 150 feet up in the canopy of some huge old growth Doug Firs. Ewok world. Very impressive engineering.
The long zip (wish I could show the movie that I took of it) was so killer. Took about 40 seconds to complete and hit some super high speeds. Felt like a rocket through the trees and over the valley floor. Everyone (even Lori) ended up doing one or several zips hanging upside down like bats from the line. Very cool, but very disorienting feeling...
By the end of the trip, coming into the village and the downhill mtn bike park on the last zip, everyone, even Lori, wanted way more of that. Highly recommended.
Left for home the next day. Hellish trip getting across the border back into the US. Plus, Marina's puking habit kicked in again on the road out of Whistler. Good times. That Griswald family trip to Wally World smell crept into the Volvo...now I know all about it.
When we got back to Portland, I launched into.....THE Alan Parsons Patio Project. Ugh.
Big Mountain Walkabout...
Took our much awaited hike up to the top of Whistler mountain on a beatiful day. Packed up the kids like luggage and started up to the gondola chair. Lori was feeling good enough to attempt the hike, so we were in good shape.
Rode the gondola up to the roundhouse station at the base of the final ascent to the top of the mountain. The girls loved riding in the gondola, but Elena didn't feel safe enough to get out of her backpack.... we watched the downhill mountain bike riders airing huge drops and jumps on their way down the mountain as we floated along above.
We got off the gondola and Lori saw the chairlift that takes you straight up a cliff to the top of the mountain and wasn't really excited about taking the kids on it. Plus it wasn't going to open for another hour, so, we all started walking up the trail towards the backside and top of the mountain. Steep. Pretty soon I had both kids on my back, Elena in the pack and Marina on my shoulders. Mule time. After 30 minutes of that, and turning around to see how far we had come up the climb, we decided to keep pushing on for the top. Lori and Janet went back down to ride the chair, since Lori's back was acting up and it was a tough climb. A very sweaty, mindbendingly hard hike later, with my own back compressing under the weight of 70 pounds of kid, we arrived at the summit. Family photo!
Had a great picnic on top of the mountain with the view 100% clear for 360 degrees. Beautiful. The kids and I built the family cairn to mark our passing there.
After playing in the glacier snow and whatnot for awhile, we headed back towards the chairlift for the ride down. (I wasn't about to pack the kids back down...). And man, what a chairlift ride that was. Literally the thing drops down a series of cliffs. We held the kids, very, very, very tight. Worth the price of admission though. I would have ridden the chair again just for that!
Mountains are cool.
Rode the gondola up to the roundhouse station at the base of the final ascent to the top of the mountain. The girls loved riding in the gondola, but Elena didn't feel safe enough to get out of her backpack.... we watched the downhill mountain bike riders airing huge drops and jumps on their way down the mountain as we floated along above.
We got off the gondola and Lori saw the chairlift that takes you straight up a cliff to the top of the mountain and wasn't really excited about taking the kids on it. Plus it wasn't going to open for another hour, so, we all started walking up the trail towards the backside and top of the mountain. Steep. Pretty soon I had both kids on my back, Elena in the pack and Marina on my shoulders. Mule time. After 30 minutes of that, and turning around to see how far we had come up the climb, we decided to keep pushing on for the top. Lori and Janet went back down to ride the chair, since Lori's back was acting up and it was a tough climb. A very sweaty, mindbendingly hard hike later, with my own back compressing under the weight of 70 pounds of kid, we arrived at the summit. Family photo!
Had a great picnic on top of the mountain with the view 100% clear for 360 degrees. Beautiful. The kids and I built the family cairn to mark our passing there.
After playing in the glacier snow and whatnot for awhile, we headed back towards the chairlift for the ride down. (I wasn't about to pack the kids back down...). And man, what a chairlift ride that was. Literally the thing drops down a series of cliffs. We held the kids, very, very, very tight. Worth the price of admission though. I would have ridden the chair again just for that!
Mountains are cool.
Mo Whistler
So, Lori's back turned out to be a major lumbar sprain, so the poor thing kicked off her trip to Whistler with a bout of physical therapy and muscle relaxers. And on her birthday to boot. But she was a trooper, and carried on, even though her husband went out to run 18 miles with his sister on the "epic trail" called Comfortably Numb out in the valley alongside Blackcomb mountain. 3 hours and 40 minutes of it. Really, it would have been a hard trial just to hike, let alone run, but my sis and I survived...barely.
Baby Beckett was a hit of the party. The girls would crowd him all the time. He will be one spoiled dude one day. I'm already jealous.
We had a muted birthday party for Lori, and pushed out the ZipLine tour that I had set up for her birthday to happen later in the week. Girls made birthday hats and sang. Cooked another big barbeque dinner (what's new for the Thompson's?)
Pete and I took my dad golfing for his birthday the next day over in Pemberton. Cheap(er) course in the valley, but that is really only relative. Beautiful course, set right up against some huge mountains. Beautiful day too. If only we could keep our balls out of the water, weeds, swamps, trees and the occasional habitat zone...Funniest thing I've seen in awhile, Pete tee'd off one time and plunked his ball down into some bull rushes in a pond...all of a sudden we heard a horrible "SQWAAAAK" and a huge Heron took off from the same spot. Good shot for my brother in law.... 2 points.
I think my dad had a good time, although Pete and I lost almost all of his balls out his bag. Thanks dad! We kept "borrowing" balls...of course, that is relative as well. Great day out on the links.
After we got back, we spent the rest of the day lounging at Alta Lake. The girls spent hours digging in the sand and running around in the water. Hot beautiful day. The good news was that Lori got back on the horse, and actually rode her mountain bike to the lake and back. PROGRESS!!!
Spent the rest of the in between time with other mtn bike rides with Pete on the BC trails, complete with wooden trick bridges and teeter totters and stuff, swimming pools, ice cream in the village, and major cookouts. Dropped dead every night.
Big mountain hike and ZipLine still to come!
Baby Beckett was a hit of the party. The girls would crowd him all the time. He will be one spoiled dude one day. I'm already jealous.
We had a muted birthday party for Lori, and pushed out the ZipLine tour that I had set up for her birthday to happen later in the week. Girls made birthday hats and sang. Cooked another big barbeque dinner (what's new for the Thompson's?)
Pete and I took my dad golfing for his birthday the next day over in Pemberton. Cheap(er) course in the valley, but that is really only relative. Beautiful course, set right up against some huge mountains. Beautiful day too. If only we could keep our balls out of the water, weeds, swamps, trees and the occasional habitat zone...Funniest thing I've seen in awhile, Pete tee'd off one time and plunked his ball down into some bull rushes in a pond...all of a sudden we heard a horrible "SQWAAAAK" and a huge Heron took off from the same spot. Good shot for my brother in law.... 2 points.
I think my dad had a good time, although Pete and I lost almost all of his balls out his bag. Thanks dad! We kept "borrowing" balls...of course, that is relative as well. Great day out on the links.
After we got back, we spent the rest of the day lounging at Alta Lake. The girls spent hours digging in the sand and running around in the water. Hot beautiful day. The good news was that Lori got back on the horse, and actually rode her mountain bike to the lake and back. PROGRESS!!!
Spent the rest of the in between time with other mtn bike rides with Pete on the BC trails, complete with wooden trick bridges and teeter totters and stuff, swimming pools, ice cream in the village, and major cookouts. Dropped dead every night.
Big mountain hike and ZipLine still to come!
Whistler Rules!
Made it to Whistler again! The place where 11 years ago, a day after proposing to Lori, we arrived in her new VW Jetta with mtn bikes on the roof, and I plowed them into a condo garage, beating the crap out of Lori's car. She should have learned then to turn around and RUN! ;) Anyway, good to be back...the trip started out quickly with a scavenger hunt that my folks set up for Pete and Lyssa and fam, and my fam to quickly get reoriented with the village. Fun time running around with the kids finding things. BUT, along the way, Lori threw out her back carrying our jog stroller up some steps. Didn't know it yet, so more later on that saga...
My neice Olivia and Elena had an immediate love, love, push, scream, love, dance, kiss, hit, take, love relationship from the start. They will be a dangerous pair one day...
Grandpa and Grandma spent hours chilling with the kids, swimming, breaking up toy fights. Fun times!
At "Adventure Zone" they had all sorts of things for kids to do. Elena was a bit too little to do any of them, so she hopped on the hopscotch and followed us around plugging her nose from the smell of the pony rides.
Marina however, stepped into Olivia's spot on the super bungee trampoline thingy after Olivia decided it was a little too wily for a 2 year old. Smart girl. Marina was freaked too, but the girl running the thing was great and slowly got Marina up to "Super Bounce" height. The rest of the week Marina would be staring off in space and I would ask her what she was thinking about, and she would tell me... "Jumping".
Too much to do in Whistler. Haven't even cracked the egg.
My neice Olivia and Elena had an immediate love, love, push, scream, love, dance, kiss, hit, take, love relationship from the start. They will be a dangerous pair one day...
Grandpa and Grandma spent hours chilling with the kids, swimming, breaking up toy fights. Fun times!
At "Adventure Zone" they had all sorts of things for kids to do. Elena was a bit too little to do any of them, so she hopped on the hopscotch and followed us around plugging her nose from the smell of the pony rides.
Marina however, stepped into Olivia's spot on the super bungee trampoline thingy after Olivia decided it was a little too wily for a 2 year old. Smart girl. Marina was freaked too, but the girl running the thing was great and slowly got Marina up to "Super Bounce" height. The rest of the week Marina would be staring off in space and I would ask her what she was thinking about, and she would tell me... "Jumping".
Too much to do in Whistler. Haven't even cracked the egg.
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