Sunday outing...

This past Sunday, we headed up to Seattle, in search of something to photograph! Terri is taking another online photography course that requires she shoot something each week, so we were looking for that "something!" This course is about high dynamic range, or HDR, and she had to find a scene with high contrast, preferably some bright sunshine and deep shadows...tough to find that kind of light this time of year in the Seattle area! Our first stop, Kerry Park, looking over Seattle. While nice view, it was still a bit foggy (we had a lot early in the morning), although some sun trying to peek through the clouds, and we could see Mt. Rainier...it wasn't quite what we were looking for.

Next stop was Seattle Center and the EMP (Experience Music Project) was what we were thinking might work. And, we got lucky, the sun came out and the reflections were awesome and the light good and "contrasty" so she got what she needed. Besides getting what she needed for the course, it was just nice to get out...with some sunshine and no rain that day...you've got to take advantage of those days when you can around here...it felt good to be out and about for a while. After the photos, we headed to the waterfront and walked a bit before grabbing a bowl of IVAR'S famous clam chowder and then heading home. It was a fun day and Terri got some nice shots for her assignment...now we'll see what the instructor thinks of them! Enjoy the examples of her HDR photographs!

Merry Christmas...a tad late!

As promised, we are working our way backwards, so now we've reached Christmas, which was over a month ago...sorry for the delay, life got a bit crazy for a while!

We flew over to Spokane on Christmas Eve, although were a bit concerned that we might not make it sense the weather had been pretty bad here in the Seattle area as well as Spokane and MANY flights had been canceled and the horror stories of those not making their flights were all over the news. A bit worried and nervous we wouldn't get there, but in the end, the day was mild both here and Spokane and we made it there, just a couple of hours late. Josh, Mandy and Jayden had driven over the day before, which was a good thing as there was more snow in the pass the day (24th) they originally planned on driving over. Josh was a godsend to my mom, helping her get all her errands done and taking her wherever she needed to go. The roads were AWFUL, with piles of snow so big, you could hardly tell it was a road. There were cars that were completely covered with snow and many roads were barely passable and if you had to go up a hill, well you then needed some good tires and 4 wheel drive didn't hurt either!

Christmas Eve dinner was the usual, traditional cracked crab, fresh break and salad...yum!!! Terri's brother's family, Scott, Betsy, Sam and Syd were there as well and we all devoured 6 crabs...completely! After dinner we piled, LITERALLY, into Josh's vehicle, a Durango...10 of us in all...to head up to some good friends(Connie, Kat and Hanna Stark, Jackie and Mel Schmidt) for dessert, pie and hot buttered rums! Although a bit crowded in the vehicle, we made it there and home, safely.

Jayden is excited for Christmas...the fun is just beginning!







Scott, Sam and Syd are relaxing at Connie's place on Christmas Eve.






Terri and Mandy sip their hot buttered rums...ummmmmmm!










Sis and Jackie, sisters at heart, enjoy some time together

Our hostess, Connie, who made some delicious pies for us to enjoy!!


Jayden thorougly enjoyed playing with Hanna this evening...she loves Kat and Hanna!


The Schmidt/Stark family.




The Hege's and Beloits...













Christmas day brought a bit of a break in the snow, so everyone made it to the condo for our traditional brunch and opening of gifts. Although a tough day as it was the first Christmas without Dad, it was great to be with family and all share the holiday together...that is what holidays are about, spending time with family and my dad wanted us kids to all stay close...and he would have loved having such a full house...so to speak that day. There were 20 of us in the condo...a lot of people for a small living room, but it was awesome...the spirit of Christmas was definitely there that morning! Mom out did herself, providing the usual spectacular brunch which we all look forward to all year long! After brunch, opening of gifts and more catching up, everyone went on their way to continue the day with other family members...and we enjoyed the quiet and relaxed a bit. Rick and I did venture out a bit for a few photos...how could we resist with ALL the snow...it truly was unbelievable!


Jayden is amazed that Santa and his reindeer ate nearly all the goodies and drank the milk she left for them!!






David, Terri's niece's husband, played the cello for us before we opened gifts and had brunch...he was wonderful!!!


Jayden is enjoying the live entertainment!
Jack, 2 years old, playing his dad's cello...amazing!

The guys are hungry and don't hesitate to start when the food is ready to go!


Sam, Jayden, Syd, Jack and Leah

Kirk, Blake, Sarah and Leah Impecoven
Jack, Heidi and David Austin

Krissy and Chris Mikkelsen

Scott, Sydney, Samantha and Betsy Hege

Josh, Jayden and Mandy




Two more days in Spokane until Terri and her mom headed for California, Rick flew home and Josh, Mandy and Jayden drove back...some more snow, more photographs and a few errands. We all had dinner on the 26th with Spike and Molly Lynch (THANK YOU!!) and Jayden was loving it there...they have two granddaughters so had tons of doll and Barbie things for her to play with...and she even got Spike to play with her a bit. Jayden also enjoyed "playing the piano" as well...it was a fun evening and great to spend some time catching up with good friends! Saturday afternoon, Terri, Sis and Mandy all got pedicures...I know seems kind of strange for the winter, but ohhh, it felt so good and our feet, besides being pretty, felt much better afterwards! Sis was amazed at how quickly the Christmas decorations came down...when you have a extras helping you...it goes quickly...and isn't the chore it usually is.

After all the snow, cold and difficulties getting around during the holidays, it's got us all thinking about next Christmas...and we're thinking a cruise to somewhere WARM sounds pretty good...and a great way for us all to be together without some of the stress that comes during the holidays...we'll see if we can pull it together. We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and were able to spend time with family and loved ones.

One last thing...as I look at the photos, I realize I don't have any of my mom where she isn't working...and so I feel bad she's not in any of these...so believe me, NEXT year, I will get her with everyone!! Be warned mom!!! Just know she was a HUGE part of our Christmas...she made it all happen and we love her for every bit of it as I know it was a lot of work and was a tough year for her...so thank you, Mom...we all love you very much!!!

Couldn't resist adding some snow pics...since this was what we had a REAL WHITE Christmas this year!!

Washington to California

As I said in the last post, I'm going to work my way backwards...so now I'll fill you in on the trip from Washington to California I made with my mom right after Christmas. With all the CRAZY winter weather, we were quite anxious to get out of town, although a bit concerned that we would make it, given all the snow they had! Mom's car had brand new snow tires on it and only about 10 miles before we left Spokane on Sunday, December 28th. Rick flew back to Spokane that morning and Josh, Mandy and Jayden had left, driving back home as well, so we were on our way...and anxious to get to drier and warmer weather! Just about a mile or two before we reached Ritzville, some guys in a car came along beside us with their window down, trying to tell us something...after catching up with them and rolling our window down, they told us we had a flat tire!!!! Now, how could that be since the tires were new and had hardly been driven, maybe 60 miles! We slowed down and made our way into Ritzville since the side of the road wasn't very appealing to us to be stuck! If you've been there, you know that there is NOT much there, and on a Sunday only restaurants and mini marts with gas are open... We pulled up to some AIR and filled u the tire, it was really low, but not completely flat. We asked inside the mini mart if there was any place we could go to have the tired looked at and their best suggestion was to call AAA...so we did and were REALLY nervous about having to change into the spare since the truck of the car was packed COMPLETELY full, every nook and cranny...unpacking it in the snow and slush (dirty at that) was not appealing! THANKFULLY, we didn't have to do that...the AAA guy seemed to think that maybe the tire just hadn't sealed on the rim since it hadn't been driven much and suggested we check it every time we stop and fill it if needed. Our first night we spent in The Dalles, with Scott and Betsy so that wasn't too long of a day and thankfully, the roads were all bare and dry all the way there! Considering we left FEET of snow behind in Spokane, this was a real treat! We enjoyed a nice evening with Scott, Betsy and the girls (Sam and Syd) and headed out the next morning...bound for California by the end of the day!

Day two had us still nervous about the tire, filling it up ever time we stopped, but it never got nearly as low as it was the day before. Driving through central Oregon was really quite nice...roads were clear and dry and the landscape quite interesting. We made our way into California through Dorris and and the next sight was Mt. Shasta - what a sight as we approached it in the late afternoon with some great light on it! OH, it would have been fun to stop and take some pic, but no time for that...so just "drive by shooting" was all I got! At Weed, CA we joined up to I-5 and the weather turned a bit on us, some rain, fog and now and the trucks were flying by us, making it really tough to see! Redding was our destination that night and were were very happy to make it there and get checked into a room. After unloading the car (no not all of it, just the necessities!) and having a drink to unwind, we grabbed some dinner and got to bed since we had another long day ahead of us!


Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon
Mt. Shasta, California
Ugh...the fog is upon us during our last leg of the day!










Day three, December 30th, we started out a bit slow as we wanted to get the tired looked out so I found a place that carried the same tires on the car...and someone must have been looking out for us as this place, Redding Valley Tire Co., was awesome. They took us right in, let us sit in the office while they checked it out, started with submerging it in a bin of water, assuming there was a nail or screw in it - but found no leak. After some more work on it, they discovered it had a bad valved and replaced that and sent us on our way...no charge! Wow, talk about service...we were so fortunate to find them and our minds were now more at ease with the tire not losing air. We headed south on I-5 with a quick stop at the Olive Pit before continuing on. We ended up cutting over to Hwy 101 on Hwy 41 and spent our third night out in Pismo Beach. Our room was amazing and when we opened the slider, we could hear the ocean...oh, that is what we were wanting, water and warmer temperatures, it was about 60 degrees that evening when we arrived there! We'd had a late lunch, so just stayed in and had a few snacks that night.

Day four, New Year's Eve, was a shorter day for us. After breakfast, I spent about an hour photographing around the grounds of the hotel (right on the water...lots of pelicans) and then we loaded up and headed south. This day we made it to Newport Beach in the late afternoon and stayed with friends of my mom, Cliff and Honey Hosteler, and spend the evening with them and some neighbors as we "rang" in the new year. Oh wait, we were in bed before midnight...but we did celebrate the new year with New York...we were just too exhausted to stay up till midnight...three days of driving had wiped us out!


Terri and her mom, Sis, celebrate New Year's Eve together
Suzanne, the neighbor, shows off her "new" glasses as does someone in NY on the TV!!


A new year...New Year's day, after breakfast, we headed for our final destination in Oceanside, where my mom has a house rented for the winter. Thankfully, the drive was just over an hour, so we arrived, got into the place and started unloading the car...phew that was a chore. We were really glad we only had to do that once...and didn't have to do it in Ritzville that first day!!! We also had several boxes of things that my mom had left with a friend last winter that we unpacked and found places for. Her house is just right for her and will be great while she's there...and it sure beats the cold and snow that Spokane has had this winter! It was nice to be there and not have another day ahead of us to drive...other than across the development to a friends place for dinner!

My mom has some good friends down there and has kept busy since arriving (a month now!) and is enjoying the milder weather (and sunshine!!!)...getting out to golf and walk as well as a bit of shopping and dinners with friends. I stayed there until the 5th and then flew home, leaving her to rest and relax a bit! Rick and I will return in March for a few days before we drive over to Sedona to meet Rick's parents for a week there (can't wait!) and then will return to Mom's place and Rick will fly home and I'll stay for a few more days, for a girls weekend with my mom, and sister's Krissy and Sarah!

Phew, two down and one to go, I'm almost caught up...yeah!

Some flowers from California, figured that many of you might want to see something you haven't seen for a while with all the cold and snow!!

A bit behind...

Hello...and happy February! We are a bit behind in updating you, so let's see if we can catch up...though I think we'll go "backwards" and start with the events of last weekend first...and then work back to Christmas!

Rick turned 50 last weekend and we had a party...well, technically, a "keggar" as that was what he wanted for his 50th...a keg of his favorite beer - Mac n' Jack - which is only available in restaurants...or by a keg, so that's what we had. Now, mind you, this was much more controlled than the typical keggar you might think of...from years ago when we were much younger and less mature! Of course, there was lots of food (LOTS...plenty of leftovers!), as well as wine, pop and water... Rick's parents, Howard and Jeanette, flew up from Arizona, Terri's brother and sister in-law, Scott and Betsy, drove up from Oregon and our great friends from Tennessee, Allen and Brenda Swift, flew out, all to help in celebrating this momentous occasion! It was a great turnout, and it was wonderful to have so many share the evening with us! Here are a few photos from the evening.



Jayden greets neighbors, Nick and Glenda as they arrive!

More neighbors, Greg, Leah and Amelia with Rick's mom, Jeanette.

Betsy, Scott, cousin, Tara and Ivar get a chance to catch up.

Rick looks over a hat he "inherited" about antiques! It was Terri's dad's and passed along to him by her mom.

Tara does her darnest to get Rick to dance...she tried to lure him outside hoping he'd give in without anyone watching...no such luck!


Rick celebrating with his parents...who were there 50 years ago when he entered the work! THANK YOU Howard and Jeanette!

No birthday cake, just a candle floating in a beer...didn't want to set off the smoke alarms with all the candles!

Tara had a great "gift" for Rick that was a booklet she put together about who and what was turing 50 this year, it was AWESOME and everyone had a good laugh! GREAT JOB, Tara, it was the perfect gift to share with everyone!

Friends, Kelly and Tammy, helping with the celebration as well, reminding Rick that he's older than they are!

Rick and Allen share some stories during the evening.


Jayden tries on "papa's" hat...a tad big!!!


Allen and Brenda, Jeanette and Howard...wow, we couldn't have made it without their help and support...especially Brenda and Jeanette's - besides their help, having them here meant a lot to us!

Jayden and Great Grandma wash up the dishes after dinner...on Sunday, when we had just family to celebrate!

Rick with the kids, their spouses, Jayden and his parents...what a great birthday weekend!!!