The Nugget

Coming July 6th at a hospital near you!

Woot! SNOW!

Wow, can you believe the amount of snow we received today. So much fun and so beautiful...although, ask me in a week how I feel about it.

Good Morning

Have a great Sunday!

I can't help myself...

Such a silly picture, I had to post, thanks Dalene.

Jolene and Lucas

Woot! found some time to BLOG - I know you guys were desperate for an image. Well, here is the latest Lucas shot.

The Spit

Hello bloggers! Another adventure cataloged for the week, although this time we will try something new. I installed the latest in Microsoft Tech called Photosynth, basically it’s a super stitch program that renders your photos in 3-D.

You need to install the program here (Sorry Martha and Zach it won’t work on a MAC)

http://photosynth.net/default.aspx

Here are the photos I took in Sequim (48 in all).

http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=352a6e65-4c64-41e6-9b92-7e7880053b44

and of course a video bite.

Pica

Yes! thanks to Steph we finally caught a Pica on film! Make sure you click on the image to see this fella.

Snow Lake

This maybe the final hike of the year (bummer)! This is my 4th or 5th time to Snow Lake to experience the beauty of nature and the awesomeness of God’s surroundings. Steph, Chris and I took off early on Saturday to hit the trailhead near the Alpental Ski resort. To say the least it was cold, really cold, but we managed to get to the lake in record time - winter is coming!

Salmon Days

Salmon Days! We all took the shuttle downtown and enjoyed the parade and then the rains came. Which is okay if you are a fish or have a new water proof jacket.

View from the Pilchuck

The top one looks towards Everett (and Stephen's shoulder) and the bottom one looks to the Olympics and Lake Stevens. (Click to Enlarge)

From the top of Pilchuck

A buddy and I from work (Stephen) decided to tackle Mount Pilchuck this past Saturday. Overall it was a great success with exception of Stephen’s little spill at the end (sorry about the finger nail, at least they grow back). The Morning started a little foggy, however by the time we go the top all was clear and amazing. On a side note, Jolene wanted me to try and catch one of our favorite animals on camera but the pika remained fast and elusive. But we certainly heard plenty of them; please follow the link for more.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7066578568747223192

The top of Squak

Yes, I hiked up Squak Mt. again. So many interesting things to find; radio towers and old cabin remnants to say the least.

I fixed it

It was driving me crazy.

Lake Serene

It took some work to get here, but I finally arrived at Lake Serene near Index Washington. This was the final spot for Jolene and I on our mini-vacation. Unfortunately, Jolene was pretty ill and remained in the cabin while I was able to enjoy this amazing day. (click to enlarge) Strange, the lake appears to be at a slant - this has nothing to do with the photographer!

One more beast from Turnbull

Yes, she is my beast. Okay, last of the Turnbull pics I really do love this place. If I had done it right this is where I would have asked Jolene to marry me, but you can’t have it all (poor Jolene).

Turnbull

More fantastic pictures from Turnbull. I swear I can see every color of the rainbow in these pictures.

Happy Birthday Dad

Yeah, it's a blog classic - but it's fitting. Happy Birthday Dad!

Moose

During one of last weeks adventures in Eastern Washington I spotted a Moose . This was as close as I dared get, especially with the dogs. Hiking in Turnbull was amazing, more to come.

Squak Mt. Summit

Another "Issaquah Alp" conquered, I am looking ahead to Tiger Mountain now.

Sneaky Returns, Again

Yes, no year would be complete without a visit from Sneaky. This year Sneaky found a hole in the house that needs to be patched; because I don’t think Sneaky is the only one using it. Anyway, celebrate the return of everybody’s favorite snake and have a great Sunday afternoon.

Iron Horse Trail

Dad and I took a hike yesterday; the goal was to hike down the Iron Horse trail that runs through Snoqualmie Pass. The trail is an old railroad line that literally has a 2 mile tunnel that runs under the pass – and you can hike in it. We got turned around several times (depicted in the video above) but we eventually found the tunnel. Perfect day!

Joe and Mia

Yesterday Joe, Mia and myself spent sometime in Renton looking at planes and playing on the swings. Mia loved every minute of it, including sticking her fingers in her fathers ears.

When you need to sleep...

...use whatever you can (or bottle). Last night Pat explained that he found Aliya using her bottle as a pillow to catch some winks, pretty clever if you ask me.

Hey! What's wrong with this picture?

Rich sent some action shots from this years adventure - so what is wrong here?

Another Hike

Jolene, the dogs and I took a hike up and around Cougar Mountain today. What an amazing day, Praise God!

32 pounds

Yeah, cheap cut and paste with the picture - but hey, as of this week 32 pounds less.

Happy Wednesday! Enjoy the Otters

Went to the Seattle Aquarium over the weekend; otter’s are always the highlight.

Thank You Rich!

For organizing another amazing trip!

The White Salmon

Yeah, unfortunately you can't hear a word I am saying, just enjoy the enthusiasm. The White Salmon river was something else, talk about high adventure. On this day we geared up in wet suits and we dove over a class 5 waterfall. Pat's statement brings the adventure to a close.

Re-coup

After an exhausting day of rafting it was time for steak dinners. We all looked forward to the day ahead.

Oak Springs

Monday was our first day to hit the river. Much excitement and anticipation as we loaded up the Subaru and geared up. At the bottom we find Oak Springs – the very rapid we flipped on last year. Unfortunately, we didn’t hit so well this year. Even though I don’t have the picture to prove it (Rich will) we went over it backwards. Oh, and Dano is right of Preston on the end.

Rafting Trip 08

Bloggers get ready for this year’s adventure down the Deschutes! Starting from the top left we have Rich, Chris, yours truly, Preston, Pat, Travis and of course Dano (Picture not shown but more of him to come). The third picture down is a picture of Spooky’s Pizza in The Dalles, the pizza served at Spooky’s is amazing and if you’re in area please don’t pass it by. Last we have a Dave Kidney Jr. video short, enjoy the commentary.

IV Reunion

EWU InterVaristy reunion! It was great to see some faces from the past and to make reconnections. Above we have starting from the right Mel, Jolene, Amy and Donna. Mel, Jolene and myself all lead a small group bible study our senior year of college, goodtimes.

Leftover from Saturday

Lincoln Park

One of the better hidden parks of Seattle and close to home, enjoy.