Splish Splash

For Labor Day weekend, we drove to Kennewick, WA to visit the Jakemans. I haven't seen our ol' BYU Quad 5 buddies since graduation. Now a mere four hours away, our schedules finally aligned and we were able to visit for a long weekend of fun. Thanks for inviting us into your home and entertaining us, guys.

I was never able to get a photo of their whole family because their oldest kiddo, Calan, was too busy doing this...

Jordan is one creepy Sith.

Despite the fun we had catching up, during the weekend I was harshly reminded of the fact that water sports and I do not mix.

At a waterpark, I hurt my sinus (is that even possible?) on the water slides, made a fool of myself bodyboarding, and was even stung by a wasp...IN MY MOUTH!

I also cut up my toe bodyboarding, cut my thumb while kayaking on the Columbia, scratched up my back in the waterpark's lazy river (of all places), and my sunburn is quite severe.

Then, to complete the weekend, we went paddle boarding.

Personally, I think the whole paddle board idea is pretty cool. Kind of like driving a gondola or walking on water. And how hard could it be?

TLC stood up with ease...

David was paddle boarding with a child on board...

Rebekah paddle boarded...in jeans...without the need for vision...and without her hearing aids.

So I, with my amazing physique, couldn't possibly fail.

Fail #1

Fail #2

EPIC FAIL #3

The Columbia River is a cold, cold place, my friends. Cold and heartless.

More Jakeman Pics

Ramona Falls

So we had a lot of fun at Mount Hood. We ate huckleberry milkshakes and huckleberry pie at the Huckleberry Inn, we read books on the bank of Trillium Lake, we went zipping down an alpine sled, and we all relaxed. But the end of camping came much too soon. To finish off our trip, we hesitantly decided to take the boys on a 7.1 mile hike to Ramona Falls. The boys did fine on a steep 2.8 mile hike two days prior, so we figured it was worth a shot, especially if the falls were 'exceptionally beautiful' like our hiking book said.

There was a huge flood three years ago that wiped out part of the Ramona Falls trail, Pacific Coast Trail (the one that runs from Mexico to Canada), and the Timberline trail (40 miler that runs around Mount Hood). The above pic shows a very small portion of the devastation. Even three years later and with a guidebook, it's quite difficult to figure out how to navigate the trail. Given the difficulty of finding the path and getting to the out-of-the-way trailhead, this may be the only time you see pics of Ramona Falls. You're welcome.

One side of the trail loop runs by a pretty stream hugging a cliff. Very nice photo ops. I just wish that I had a tripod. I took the above shot with Carter on my shoulders - holding a camera steady is difficult like that. I did have to carry both boys quite a bit during the hike as seven miles proved to be a tad much. I carried Jordan about 3/4 mile and Carter about 2.5 miles.

But as difficult as it was, we made it! Here's the photographic proof. Carter is sporting his Junior Ranger hat with badges from Zion, Grand Canyon, and Pipe Springs.

We got there late in the afternoon, which was a perfect time to see the falls. The lighting was beautiful. However, it was a horrible time to take photos. The contrast of light and shadow was just too great. So here's the best shot I could get of the 150 ft. by 150 ft. waterfall...

Not good enough for you, eh? Well, I also took a video. So there.

Nero Shots

On our first day of camping at Trillium Lake, the evening was perfect. A nice spaghetti dinner, a light smattering of rain, then a perfect temperature with no wind. To top it all off, there was a great sunset over our campsite. TLC (The Lovely Cynthia) had me take a picture which is shown below.

As the sun went down, the sky became more and more red. Jordan decided that he wanted to be in a pic with the sunset. So...

I took one. Since I needed a flash to get Jordan in the image, it darkened the background and made the sky look more red than it really was. I called the pic a 'Nero shot' (and then had to explain the reference to everyone).

Then TLC decided we needed a Nero shot of everyone (except the photographer)...

After a few bad shots when someone invariably had their eyes closed, Carter decided to experiment a little (as shown above). And when Carter started the shenanigans, the whole thing got even sillier...

I still don't understand what bananas and surfing had to do with it.

Mt. Hood Overload

It's no secret that I've been smitten with Mount Hood from the first day we moved here (or whenever I could first see it through the winter cloud cover). I told Cyn that for vacation this year I wanted to go wherever I could get a good pic of the craggy wonder. Well, after four days of camping at Trillium Lake, I think I came away with around 250 shots of the mountain. I only got snaps of the West and South sides, so the collector in me is already planning a trip to the North and East sides...tee hee. To show you my level of fanaticism,  here's a representative image from every angle I got.

Trillium Lake Nordic Loop

Trillium Lake (morning shot)

Mirror Lake

Extreme close-up! Taken from Timberline Lodge. This shot is from halfway up the 11,000 ft height.

Trillium Lake at sunset. Yes, I was crazy enough to take pics from the same locations during different hours of the day.

Lolo Pass. This is the West side, so it's pretty close to the view of the peak we have from downtown Portland.

Muddy Creek view.

Obsessed? You be the judge. But with a mountain that pretty a mere 60 miles away, can you blame me? 

Which shot do you like best?

Berry Good

Lately we have been picking berries like they're diamonds worth hoarding. We've trekked to a local berry farm three times already, and Cyn is heading back today for more.

We've been going to Rowell Brothers, which is five miles from our apartment, has ridiculously low prices (99 cents a pound anyone?), and an all-you-can-eat free of charge policy.

The main reason we've been going here in Oregon and never did in Wisconsin is in the above picture...boysenberries. These li'l guys are just too hard to find and they're only available for 2-3 weeks every year. If you know much about me, you probably already know of my great love for the boysens. This year's Thanksgiving pie is going to be killer! Not to mention all the Boysenberry Butter Tarts! We've got two gallons of perfectly frozen boysenberries in the freezer.

Some people might call it family fun, I call it child labor.

One more pic of boysenberries...because they're the nectar of the gods.

We made the mistake of picking these Willamette Raspberries (which are amazing) on a brutally hot day. The berries couldn't hold their shape very well in the heat so the only option we had was to make jam.

On Saturday we got almost eight pounds of blueberries. Cynthia enjoyed the outing so much that she told everyone she knew how we got $50+ worth of blueberries for $7.70. It's funny though, everyone has asked "what on earth do you do with that many blueberries?"

Well, on Sunday I used 4.5 cups of berries for Sneaky Chef recipes, we've eaten about 2 cups frozen already, I'll use 4 more cups of blueberries for a Pomegranate-Blueberry Sorbet this week, and I can go through 2 cups per week for snacks at work. At this rate, the berries won't even last through the Fall. By the way, eating blueberries straight out of the freezer makes them taste like ice cream.

Cynthia was so proud of her first attempt at making jam, and I'm also a big fan. I can't believe how flavorful the Willamette Raspberry jam is compared to store-bought raspberry jams.

There and Back Again

Hooray for Cynthia being home again! What does someone do with 37 days of free time? You go to...

Bear Lake. Which, I hear, is the only place on earth to have a family reunion. Seriously, I know 7 people who are having family reunions this summer...every single one is at Bear Lake.

Minnetonka Caves in Idaho. Just because it has a cool name.

The Utah Shakespearean Festival. Cyn went thrice and saw two shows: Much Ado About Nothing, and Pride and Prejudice...sans Colin Firth.

Bryce Canyon, which I've always thought looks like how I imagine Mars looking.

Zion National Park

Sand Hollow Reservoir

Pipe Springs National Monument

The Grand Canyon...I know it doesn't look very canyonish, but I just had to show you the bison.

Ahh, Now that's more like the Grand Canyon.

Jurassic Park. I mean...Utah's Museum of Natural History.

She also spent time visiting both our families, playing games, helping with cleaning, visiting friends, etc. It was a long time to be apart, but it was very valuable for the boys to be able to really get to know their grandparents and cousins. Thanks to everyone for being so accommodating to Cyn and the boys.

Ira's Fountain

Right outside my office is Keller Auditorium - the best theater in town to catch a Broadway show, opera, or other culture event. And right across from Keller Auditorium is Keller Fountain (aka Ira's Fountain), one of the coolest little spots in this whole city.

If you look up 'urban serenity' in the dictionary, you find this picture.

I'll spare you the history lesson about the fountain - go here if you'd like to know more about it.

I love this fountain and the way it fits seamlessly in the urban community. I often get lunch from a teriyaki food cart that sets up shop in the park for a few hours each weekday; sitting down to eat, it always feels like a community gathering. If you go up a sidewalk on either side of the fountain, you'll see there's a nice park space where the fountain water is pumped into creeks that run under the sidewalks. It's a really cool effect. The way the park is set up, you can only see the actual fountains from the front end - anywhere else and it just looks like a typical park. Not to mention that the architecture is stunning...right down to the dedication plate:

But you see, there's one problem with the fountains. I took the above pics at 6:30 this morning. Because if you go there at any other time, it looks like this:

On an average summer afternoon, there are at least 100 people hangin' out at Ira's. I didn't dare take a closer picture of the park, because there are just too many bikini-clad ladies, pot-smokin' hippies, beer cans, guitar-pickin' folk-song writers, panhandlers, and unsupervised kids. It's a messy throng of humanity. And what's with that guy reading a book on that friggin' ledge!!! It's a 25-foot drop! "Don't jump bro, there are people who can help! I've got a prozac... right... here!"

All of this despite a warning at every park entrance that the fountain is NOT intended for wading. Oops. I guess the city decided they couldn't keep the crowds out, so they chlorinate the water instead.

Well, at least some people still view the hippie crowds as art:

Sketch by Jason Das from Urban Sketches

p.s. A few weeks ago, someone dumped a whole gallon of Dove soap in the fountain. As humorous and juvenile as that is (not to mention shutting off the fountain for a day) it was actually quite pretty seeing bubbles EVERYWHERE. Kind of Willy Wonka-ish.

The Greatest Song In the World. Tribute.

IIIIIIII stepped on the bathroom scale, what did it say?

15 POUNDS DOWN AND NO LONGER OBESE!

Biking has brought me such a nice surprise,

15 POUNDS DOWN AND NO LONGER OBESE!

Eating vegitarian is a treat,

The pounds fly off when you eat no meat.

I'm still short of my goal, but it's good to be...

15 POUNDS DOWN AND NO LONGER OBESE!


All of a sudden, I feel like popping some popcorn...or sniffing apricot blossoms.

Washington Pyros

I was invited to a 4th of July bash at my coworker's house across the Columbia in Vancouver last weekend. The sole reason he was having a party at his place is because it's the first time he's ever lived in a state that allows every type of firework...except bottle rockets because little boys are stupid sometimes.

Most dinner party hosts ask you to bring a food item. Not Steve-o; he asked us instead to buy some fireworks that had the warning "shoots flaming balls". Oh, my little pyro heart was ecstatic.

We got sparklers out of the way for the kiddies and then we got to the lighter fare. First were ground flowers...ground flowers on crack. Apparently in WA, they attach them to propellers. So you light it, watch it zoom up a good 50 feet in the air and hear it explode as the propeller floats back down. Next up were little 2-inch rockets that went far higher than we expected - somewhere around 75 feet. They shot so far up that it was hard to see it's trajectory. We did see one fly way over their house and into the backyard. Then we broke out the Roman Candles. I've always liked the candles.

Lastly, we busted out...{insert a reverent pause}...the MORTARS!!!

Back in Wisconsin, we had a great party a few years ago where the star of the show was a package of 1-inch mortars. Those make a nice boom, shoot up 20 feet and explode in a nice flower. We had a few this year, but they were far from the star...because we had...4" mortars!

After lighting the first one, we were all a little shell-shocked. It was crazy loud, shot up at least 50 feet, and made a huge flower; none of us had every lit anything that large before. And to think that we had 24 of them in many different colors and varieties! I had no idea that mortars that large were even available for the Average Joe. There were some neighbors who had even larger fireworks, so who knows how large they get. I tell ya though...Vancouver sure is a loud place on the 4th of July...imagine every household launching a city-wide display of fireworks.

The video isn't exceptional, but I knew that Cyn wouldn't believe me about the fireworks unless I had proof...