July 4, 2019

February 10, 2019

  • Snowpocalypse and Tankers

    Seattle has had a week of snow, with four storm fronts coming through so far and more on the way. First, however, the first two KC-46 Tankers were delivered to McConnell AFB on January 25, and the day before there was a celebration in the Everett Factory. Some photos:
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    Then on Sunday Feb 3, while we were having a Lunar New Year party for Jimmy (it's the year of the Pig!) the snow started falling and has hardly let up since. The kids had less than two weeks of school last week, and with another front headed in this afternoon I'm afraid classes will be cancelled again tomorrow.
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    Veronica also had some ice this weekend, she and Bryan went to the skating rink.
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December 1, 2018

  • New Balance / Super Jock 'n Jill Winter Grand Prix

    The Winter Grand Prix season began today with Road Race 1. Jimmy and Étienne signed up for the whole six run season. Here they are ligned up to get their bib numbers.
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    The weather could not have been better. We warned Jimmy to expect bone chilling wind, rain, and mud in the future.

    At the start, Jimmy and Étienne are looking good!
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    That is Joel running on Étienne's left.

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    Jimmy finished with a time of 14:27 for the approximate 2 mile course.

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    Étienne finished with a time of 17:52. His PR is 16:16.

October 7, 2018

  • October Update

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    Étienne is playing Ultimate for the Salmon Bay Panthers. Of all the sports my kids play, this is a standout. The game is about "how you play", not the score. Every game ends with a critique of the opposing team. With no referees on the field, integrity plays a starring roll. Great game.

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    Can you find Carl in the first picture? Saturday was Ballard High Homecoming football game. The half-time show was fabulous with the Ballard Marching Band and the Dance Team putting on a terrific show.

    The week is rounded out with a celebration of Francis of Assisi at church. Pastor held the leash of a rather large Labradoodle and with a dozen canines, she wanted to point out there were at least one, maybe three felines and a turtle! Here is Monica's Gus, happy to steal the show hopping about and chewing on his chew toy.
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September 23, 2018

  • Ballard Locks and Rain City Flyers

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    Last Sunday we toured the Ballard Locks. A large sailboat was locking. The salmon are also running and we had great views at the fish ladder.

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    Before leaving, a mega yacht entered the locks.

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    Yesterday, Jimmy started running with Rain City Flyers. Veronica and Étienne ran with them and we still have several friends in the club. We look forward to cheering Jimmy on at the next meet.

July 11, 2018

  • Orkila Return

    Yeah, Étienne is back! He had a great time and thanks Cindy for the email. The Orkila Smugmug account had 1137 pictures from camp and only the one (cabin pic in next post) with Étienne. He thoroughly enjoyed the High Altitude Leadership camp. When asked about next year, he really wants to get a "care package" with lots of junk food and snacks!

    Welcome home Étienne.

    Yesterday we also saw the return of Wella and Veronica from their week in Paris with Kyle. They had full flights to Detroit and Seatac. Both are relaxing and recovering today. They did not talk much last night on the ride home from the airport, perhaps today we will get more details about their trip.

    Welcome home Wella and Veronica.

July 3, 2018

  • Orkila 2018

    Étienne is off to another week of camp. In the past we have had three kids at Orkila, this year we are down to one. Étie enjoys the traditional camp. This year he made his own lunch for the three hour bus/ferry/bus trip. No chance of being hungry today. He has two juices, two foot long turkey pepperoni sandwiches, a large bag of jalapeno chips, and a rice crispy treat from Larsen's.

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    We will be watching the camp photos this week for a glimpse of Étienne.

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March 24, 2018

  • Salmon Bay Soccer

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    Étienne played his first soccer game today. We had good light, cool temperatures, and a new field to play on. The team did great. Everybody got to play most of the game. It was refreshing to see the opposing team with both boys and girls. I was a bit out of my league not knowing what "No Turns", "Pull Back", and "Take a Knee" meant. The coaches were very vocal and nobody criticized the other team.

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    Here is Étienne in action!

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    Étienne demonstrates his dribbling skills.

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    Great steal Étie!

    I look forward to more games.

February 10, 2018

  • Honor Day at Cal-Lutheran

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    On February 2nd, Steve and Veronica flew out to LA. Veronica accepted an invitation to Honor Day at California Lutheran University. The flight was booked, Veronica scored a center seat across the isle from mine. The picture on the right shows Veronica driving her first rental car, first time in LA traffic, first time using a drive-thru, and ordering her first double-double. A very exciting day.

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    I dropped Veronica off at about 8 AM and she began her very full day. There were lectures, papers to write, department heads to talk to, and interviews. Veronica did great! She remembered other students she met from a Lutheran Youth Gathering she attended here last summer. The weather was perfect and we enjoyed the grassy open spaces. Here Veronica is enjoying the grassy open spaces with Kaitlyn, another Honor nominee.

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    Judy let Veronica wear a pearl necklace from Japan. The dress code was business classy and Veronica did great. This picture was taken at the end of the day and Veronica was feeling very excited about her performance. We asked the staff for a steak house recommendation and made plans to hit Morton's. Veronica drove, getting a good taste of Friday afternoon LA traffic. Good high speed control (70+), lane changes, and the inevitable traffic jam. We found Morton's and used the valet parking. With 20 minutes to kill we hit the bar for the requisite martini and Shirley Temple. When asked what we were celebrating, Veronica was quick to share her experience of Honor day. The bar tended was also from Cal Lutheran. That set the mood for a wonderful celebratory evening.

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    Veronica ordered her favorite filet and truffle fries. I got a salad! The meal was great and offered a great ending to our wonderful day.

    While Veronica was busy with her Honor Day activities, I drove up to Lancaster for a quick visit with Ron and Lori Pletsch. Ron just had hip replacement surgery and it was good to check in on the two of them.
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    The house is looking good and Lori answered the door, shocked to see me. Nothing like dropping in unannounced! I spent the morning updating them on Veronica and hearing how well the surgery went. Ron is already on his feet just two days after the replacement. I moved some boxes for Lori, made a pot of coffee, and got out of their way. Ron and Lori, thank you for a great visit.

December 28, 2017

  • Hipster Nativity 2.0

    Wella gave the nativity a wonderful upgrade. The background includes lights and snow. Up front we have the very plush Faux bear skin rug. Just behind the bovine is an organic Christmas tree. Thank you Wella!

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