tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42272604324575894482024-03-20T03:15:03.850-04:00A River Runs Through ItRandom thoughts that will probably dull your mind...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17951165811902813597noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-18095092775948751442011-08-09T23:17:00.000-04:002011-08-09T23:17:21.043-04:00Hold me closer tiny dancer...<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, this past weekend was quite a busy one. Kennedy and I had a daddy-daughter date Friday night, Lindsy worked Saturday morning and then went to a Mary-Kay party afterwards while I watched the girls at home, then we went to her clinic summer party that evening, Sunday morning we did church and Sunday evening our church had a big block party to kick off the new school year. So going back to work on Monday seemed relaxing. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The best part of all of it was my date with Kennedy. We had a quick dinner after work and then she and I headed to <a href="http://www.lexingtonky.gov/index.aspx?page=2120">Woodland Park</a> to see "Ballet Under the Stars". They set up a big stage in the park and people bring their favorite relaxing apparatus to sit and watch. The festivities start at 8pm with a "preshow" and the main event at 9. Well, we rolled up slightly after 8 not knowing what to expect at all. We stepped out of the car and immediately choked on all the moisture in the air. It was so stinking humid! But what are you gonna do, right? I mean it's summer and my kid wanted to see the ballet. Kennedy got in for free (thank God) and I paid 6 bucks for a ticket and a program. I almost had to put a bag over K's head as we passed by trucks selling cupcakes, icees, and doodads. </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5nwYnfitR1A/TkHYdl7DALI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/qy9gIpniePg/s1600/Ballet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" naa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5nwYnfitR1A/TkHYdl7DALI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/qy9gIpniePg/s320/Ballet.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">By the time we made it to the seating area, I needed a change of clothes. You wouldn't think carrying a couple tailgate chairs and a miniature backpack would be that much work, but I felt like I had just walked through a carwash and paid the extra $5 for the supreme wash. The place was packed out with soccer moms and guys who put on a happy face for their wives or girlfriends, probably because they were promised something later. There was a white line in a semi-circle around the seating area which was the demarcation of chairs or blankets. Judging by the mass of humanity, the density of blankets, and the size of the picnice baskets, apparently, you have to get there two weeks in advance to get near the stage. We ended up in a spot only <em>partially</em> blocked by a giant oak tree, right next to some lovely old ladies with a giant picnic basket full of crackers and cheeseball. mmmm... cheeseball. We quickly realized that Kennedy's little low-profile beach chair was going to give her a wonderful evening of old-lady fanny all night. So, as if it wasn't hot enough, she got to sit in my lap. She immediately asked for her "treat" that mommy had packed us, as if her mind had never left the thought since we left the house. That is one reason I know she is her mother's child. I am half-drunk and drooling over a half-eaten cheeseball in the next row, and she has visions of twizzlers dancing in her head. So, she had her treat, and loved every bite. And then she had my treat, and loved every bite.</span></div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The "preshow", as it turns out, is a production of younger ballet students (7-17ish). It could not have been more perfect that they were doing Snow White. Kennedy was instantly mesmerized by the gold and blue dress. I don't know how much she enjoyed it because she asked 1,462 questions within the first scene. "What is Snow White doing?" "Dancing, honey, this is ballet" "Why is she doing that? (dancing that is)" "because this is ballet, honey, that's what they do" "Why are the flowers dancing?... Why are the trees dancing?... why are the butterflies dancing?... ". But she was glued to it.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BvmDvTu4OoU/TkHaAUR2YSI/AAAAAAAAAKA/SWikAlHRO1E/s1600/Ballet+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" naa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BvmDvTu4OoU/TkHaAUR2YSI/AAAAAAAAAKA/SWikAlHRO1E/s320/Ballet+004.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The show was really cute. The kids did an excellent job. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ko6PafOotYM/TkHa5JU5NyI/AAAAAAAAAKE/syuJe5ulXAk/s1600/Ballet+008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" naa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ko6PafOotYM/TkHa5JU5NyI/AAAAAAAAAKE/syuJe5ulXAk/s320/Ballet+008.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tBtcUPIaryA/TkHb3dej3EI/AAAAAAAAAKI/vsAGa0v99s0/s1600/Ballet+012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" naa="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tBtcUPIaryA/TkHb3dej3EI/AAAAAAAAAKI/vsAGa0v99s0/s320/Ballet+012.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">After the preshow, alot of the parents and people from the blanket section left, so Kennedy and I gave up the comfort of our, (ahem), <em><strong>my</strong></em> chair and moved to the comfort of the bare earth. Between shows, Kennedy spotted Snow White shaking hands and talking to her younger admirers across the way. I asked her if she wanted to go meet her and get a picture and she was all about it... that is, until we got about 5 steps from her. At that point, I became a human shield from which she would not come forth. I actually had flashbacks to when I was that age. I probably would have turned into a puddle. So I couldn't get her to come out and I apologized to Snow White. We started walking back to our little patch of dew and dirt covered heaven, when she changed her mind and decided she could brave the perils of meeting her #3 idol (#1 = Cinderella, #2 = Sleeping Beauty). By this time Snow White was walking back to her car with her mom, so we had to chase her down through a huge crowd of people. You can imagine how that looked with this grown man chasing down this little star performer in the shadows, but oh well. So this time Kennedy went up to her and sheepishly told her she liked it and that she did a good job (with much coaxing). I tried to snap a few photos, but the stupid flash was not working!!! So, this is the best I could do with editing....</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I think this was the highlight of her night, and maybe even of her short little life. Actually, I think in her mind the rest of her life is pretty much downhill from here. I was really proud of her for perservering through the veil of shyness that I inadvertently passed on to her.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The main portion of the program (which already had to pail in comparison before it even started) was two groups of professionals dancing to various pieces of music. Kennedy didn't have quite as much interest in this, although there was still a million questions about the new "princesses" and "princes", as now any girl dancer in a pretty dress is a princess and any boy dressed and dancing is a prince. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I didn't think I could get any hotter than her sitting in my lap in the chair. I was wrong. Sitting in my lap on the ground was hotter, and more uncomfortable. I finally talked her into sitting into her low-profile chair since it would work in this section. Yeah, that lasted all of 5 minutes. Then she was back in my lap looking for more twizzlers. I tried to convince her to leave at the intermission of each act, but alas, she wasn't having it. Finally, she said she had to potty really bad and I thought this was our chance to head out, so I grabbed all of our parafenalia and started out. We dropped it all outside the jiffy-jon and then sealed the deal. Upon exiting, I said, "OK, the car is this way". "Daddy, it's not over yet." So back we went, with the chairs, and candy, and lovies. I perched us in the back and we stayed and sweated until the bitter end. Although, the last 30 minutes or so consisted of her dancing for me in front of our chair. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">It was alot of fun and cool to see the Snow White performance. The program is Friday to Sunday, so I don't know if they did different "preshows" each night? or Snow White every night. It would have been the tripple crown if Kennedy could have seen all three of her idols in one weekend... Overall, this was an incredible evening spent with my first-born and I will always remember it.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">On another note.... I stayed home to take care of Lindsy and the girls today and had some more fun with K. She wore all three of her dance leotards (I have no idea how to spell that and am proud of it) this afternoon while she played and danced. At one point, she approached me in her little yellow number with the earrings I had helped her put on and she said softly, "daddy, can we get married? It's getting late, it's almost midnight." (everyone should recognize the Cinderalla reference)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ASw4e4w8Sc/TkH0SecRsMI/AAAAAAAAAKU/mvW__piFh8U/s1600/earrings+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" naa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6ASw4e4w8Sc/TkH0SecRsMI/AAAAAAAAAKU/mvW__piFh8U/s320/earrings+004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div align="justify"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Seriously, how could I say no to that face?? So we said our vows and kissed, and then she rushed me into the "ballroom" (otherwise known as the playroom, bonus room, addition..) and turned on her Disney music so we could dance. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was possibly the sweetest thing ever. I guess it was one of the high points of my longer life. Is it all downhill from here? Hopefully Avery has the same affection for her daddy...</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><div align="justify"><br />
What is better than being a Dad?!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jZ-4ZBM5B5I/TkHUyYO_E-I/AAAAAAAAAJ0/mlt-XggHGK8/s1600/Ballet+007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a></div></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-12920338529389882872011-05-02T19:55:00.000-04:002011-05-02T19:55:04.340-04:00She blinded me with Science<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was talking to a buddy of mine at Dudes and Donuts this Saturday morning (that is our bi-weekly men's breakfast and Bible study at <a href="http://www.southernacres.org/">church</a>), his son is in Kennedy's class</span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">at daycare, anyway, he told me they were thinking about taking him to the <a href="http://www.lasclex.org/">Living Arts and Science Center</a> for some big day of activities they had going. So, I went home and checked into it. Lindsy was going to some arts and crafts fair, so I thought maybe this would be something fun for Kennedy and I do to.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So we headed off for a Saturday morning full of adventure. I didn't really know what to expect, but anyway I can expose her to science and pre-dispose her to following in my footsteps is worth the effort. So the first thing we saw when we got there were these robotic golf cart thingy-ma-hoppers. A local kids science club had developed them. Kennedy got to push and pull the levers to control the robotic arm while I drove, even though she tried to convince me to trade places.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dFVA2D2EH7s/Tb3psBWtXvI/AAAAAAAAAI4/K4wuj1SKnbM/s1600/04-30-11+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dFVA2D2EH7s/Tb3psBWtXvI/AAAAAAAAAI4/K4wuj1SKnbM/s320/04-30-11+002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A scary preview of 13 years from now. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I finally convinced Kennedy to exit the car to see what else was available for our enjoyment. She quickly noticed the reptile exhibit. Kennedy is quite fond of turtles. She has 4 plastic ones she bathes with every night. On a side note, we watched baby sea turtles hatch on tv the other night, and I thought, Oh cool, Kennedy must be really digging this. Then the buzzards and storks swooped down and started devouring them. I nearly fell off the couch and dropped the remote trying to change the channel. But she seemed to understand and be OK with it. Anway, they had two little racers and a box turtle and she picked up and petted all of them. Thrice. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yOEX3c9GeX0/Tb3p2ddlOvI/AAAAAAAAAI8/b2HqQoPZicM/s1600/04-30-11+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yOEX3c9GeX0/Tb3p2ddlOvI/AAAAAAAAAI8/b2HqQoPZicM/s320/04-30-11+004.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Kennedy loves her some turtle. Too bad she missed out on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle craze.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now, I consider myself to be fairly tolerant of animals larger than my finger. Anything smaller than that, I may or may not scream like a little girl if they touch me. Snakes, I am typically not real afraid of; I am not saying I want a pet python, but I am ok being around them. They had a couple of snakes at the reptile table. I thought, cool, maybe Kennedy will touch one. I mean, she has been exposed to quite a bit of wildlife just living in our house and she likes looking for bugs. So to my delight, she wanted to pet them. Of course, petting them was not good enough. She promptly asked the nice gentlemen if she could hold one; like it was a soft, fluffy bunny. Meanwhile, I am breaking into a cold sweat hoping she will not ask me to help. Is that sad? When do they develop this fears? I thought we were born with them? I am sure I was afraid of spiders when I was still just a gleam in my grandfathers eye! Well, she held it. And held it. And held it. "Kennedy, I think other kids want to touch it now". We later went back to hold them both, again. And, I am proud to say, I held the snake too! No, I don't have a picture of it, but I promise I did. I couldn't let her see her daddy be afraid. But then it bit my hand and wouldn't let go! There was blood running down and my arm and it just kept biting! Well, that's what I thought would happen, but everything went fine. Now I know she is truly her mother's daughter. She is a friend to all animals.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">HSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!</span> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qhIB7rV3Tgo/Tb3scDl5gVI/AAAAAAAAAJA/_YkaAEGoQJI/s1600/04-30-11+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qhIB7rV3Tgo/Tb3scDl5gVI/AAAAAAAAAJA/_YkaAEGoQJI/s320/04-30-11+005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">My little 'Jack Hanna'</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kennedy is now an official Snake Handler.</span></div> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next on the list was the tortoise. Which Kennedy accurately pointed out to me. She loved petting him and ltrying to feed him everything she could find within a 10 yard radius.</span><br />
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</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Verdana;">So after some electricity fun inside, that pretty much concluded the science portion of the morning. After the reptilian love fest, we went to try some of the artsy stuff. They were letting all the kids paint a pickup truck with what seemed like a mixture of sidewalk chalk mixed with water. Kennedy thought this was amazing. It may have surpassed the serpentine extravaganza! We painted for an eternity. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">She had to get creative on where to paint as most of the truck had already been painted.</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The only way to get her away from this painting was to lure her to another painting station. This one involved paint that did not wash out, so they gave her a t-shirt that would have been big on me. The painting was some style named after the guy who did it. Sorry art people. She did love it though. If it hadn't been for the fact that I was freaked out her flinging permanent paint 30 feet in all directions, I may have let her go back to it the 4 more times she asked.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After that, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;">we headed inside to try some crafts. Her favorite by far was the clay city. All the kids were making different buildings to create a city out of modeling clay. Below is Kennedy and our house we built.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c15GN6bDZGw/Tb3tJk9XTAI/AAAAAAAAAJI/WAgsU95JhBs/s1600/04-30-11+020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c15GN6bDZGw/Tb3tJk9XTAI/AAAAAAAAAJI/WAgsU95JhBs/s320/04-30-11+020.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">She will probably tell you she did the whole thing...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And because we are engineers, we made a bridge too.</span></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We met her little classmate inside and they played together in some of the science rooms. They then chased each other around the paint truck trying to find blank spaces to smear with paint. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">I think K had a great time. I did. It was so much fun to see how interested she got in all of the stuff, and how brave she was with the snakes! We, of course, stopped for a happy meal on the way home, as every good daddy/daughter date should end with. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Well, hopefully it won't be so long until the next post. Peace out.</span></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-90784968795619960032010-11-23T21:36:00.000-05:002010-11-23T21:36:30.715-05:00little bit of this... little bit of that<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy. I have been to Ohio a couple different times for work. Lindsy went on a retreat a couple of weekends ago so Kennedy and I spent that weekend chillin' like villains. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When Lindsy got home Sunday, our water heater went out. So she had to shower at work Monday morning. I ended up taking off pretty much the entire day, thinking I would have to buy a new unit and meet a plumber at the house to have it installed. I called Lindsy's electrician step dad for some advice and he told me some things to look for and try. When I connected the hose to drain the water heater, nothing happened. So the thing was filled with sediment and I couldn't break it free or pound it out, which means I was going to have to move the whole thing filled with water. When I opened it up, I also noticed that the insulation was soaked, so it was leaking as well, and that is why our house had smelled like cat piss for the last few days. Well, fortunately, Lindsy's boss had an old electric heater they had replaced. So I drove down to Nicholasville and picked it up. I brought it back, took out the old and put in the new, <strong>completely on me own</strong>! Ok, well, Jim talked me through the whole thing through about 20 phone calls. Aaaaand.... I may have dropped the old tank in our bonus room and spilled it all over the floor... but it was a minor mess and I ultimately accomplished the entire task myself and only spent about $10 bucks to do it! Maybe I am finally living up to my name. I am the Toolman.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Well, the next weekend, Lindsy was supposed to go on a scrapbooking retreat, but, ended up taking a different kind of retreat. One that requires a green gown that ties in the back. Some bowel issues during the week turned into an all out ralf-fest Thursday night. She was up all night in the bathroom. The next morning, I had to take her to the urgent care to get her some fluids and something to help her stop puking. A little about my wife.... She does everything 100%. Everything. Even getting sick. Once she starts puking, she will not stop until she turns herself inside out. So, we had to do something to stop it. When we got to the urgent care, they took her vitals and found she had pretty low blood pressure and she couldn't stand up w/o chucking again. They called our midwife and she wanted us to go to the hospital so they could monitor the baby. So, no fluids, no drugs. We then had to go to labor and delivery. They hooked her up and eventually gave her something to curb the vomit machine. Turns out, the dehydration had caused her to have some small contractions, but the baby seemed to be doing fine. Her midwife still wanted her to stay overnight. So.... I went home with Kennedy so I could be awake enough to handle them both on Saturday. I went back and picked up Lindsy the next morning and she was much better. It took her several days to fully recover, but she was back to her hard-charging self soon. Still, not the way envisioned our weekend going.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This past weekend, I spent all day Saturday watching Kennedy and doing yard work/cleaning. Kennedy and I raked the backyard, which as small as it is, you wouldn't think it would have all that much, especially since I had already raked it once. It did. I ended up with our lawn/leaf can packed full and ten more lawn/leaf bags. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Here is my slave labor...</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEislANtHt5_7gfqB4uOWFv2OHMAUTc6ciEhCsF87EVa3UBhMm6jifW_fPPGd132KaoC_TVKIakuvcWfTl1-2KYuWYwtWKnGdZdWqq0lXUlH4S6xleqJmhKyXR4BYhO30wIrw-hC8sF7rGOf/s1600/11-22-10+021.jpg">Slave Labor</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She was going pretty slow, so I let her try with the leaf blower... that was a hoot! She was blowing leaves out of the pile, but it was so funny, I didn't mind (plus the wind was blowing them out of the tree as fast as I picked them up). </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiueNyU9J4Yj9EURRDkZy9mq9TFOKR4KGpDMMOIUkA9WbCnbg8tE_zs224REPfX2tDRmj3Hpv30Rpo0_S-b5yPZcodKPs1WrFjbMjEHlbQScIPgPdpnnwejgBci_CoIrOdW5EzJKhXa7In/s1600/11-22-10+029.jpg">More Power!! Argh, Argh, Argh....</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It wasn't all a hardcore labor camp... She had some fun too!</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnGpgvifqWT_r4cPrTajC35FZGm9Dk3USRPIbQtjYzTxh4rDR3fLqcEgKRHbrNrnVFodw23RUotWm6E9JpSzKZa0Yq41682G9NKdVHxHIMvzBhasZGlbDs14-WzI0qPtO1AOA_nFt_FP6/s1600/11-22-10+026.jpg">Fun and Games...</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, our current trip to see Lindsy's family for Thanksgiving should offer a welcome reprieve for both of us. We are currently pit-stopped in WV at my parental units place for the night. Peace out.</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-90199226438623043622010-11-04T07:04:00.000-04:002010-11-04T07:04:35.178-04:00redo<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So apparently, I can't use X-Large pictures or they get cut off.... so now you have to look at the bottom half of the last post again because you couldn't see the right half of them.</span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-68511234041981195512010-10-25T18:51:00.002-04:002010-11-04T07:02:31.171-04:00Montana (and I don't mean the discontiued minivan)<span style="font-family: verdana;">You will have to bare (bear? I’m too lazy to get a dictionary) with me for a few paragraphs throughout this post. I am probably going to regurgitate a lot of stream restoration-specific principles and terminology that could either bore you to death and make you want to pull your eyes out with one of those little ice cream sampler spoons they have at <a href="http://www.baskinrobbins.com/">Baskin Robbins</a> or fascinate you and inspire you to get out and enjoy, appreciate, and learn more about the natural environment. I can’t imagine how it would do anything other than the latter, but for those in the first category, this book has pictures! So, I guess, if you want to miss out on an incredible education of river processes and analysis, you could just scroll down and look at the photos and captions. But I know you will want the whole drawn-out scientific explanation behind every detail captured within the photo, so you will want to read all of this. Actually, most of the pictures are just “shiny objects” that caught my eye. In conclusion of my introduction, let me say this post is going to be fairly long (30 pages) (J/K) So, sit back, grab a warm cup of cocoa, draw your blankets tight, and prepare for an unforgettable blogging experience. Here we go!!!<br />
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At the end of July, I was able to attend a professional training course called River Assessment and Monitoring. It is the 3rd of 5 levels of training offered by <a href="http://www.wildlandhydrology.com/">Wildland Hydrology</a>, a leader in stream restoration through extensive research, design and implementation. This class focused on techniques/methods of assessing the condition of rivers. We look at bed degradation or aggradation; bank erosion; changes in pattern, profile and cross-sectional dimension; and sediment competence and capacity. The class lasted two weeks with 1-2 days of lecture in class, 3 days of field work, and about 4-5 days of data analysis and presentations. We basically have a class day, then go in the field the next day, analyze the data we collected the next day, then present our analysis the next day and do that through 3 cycles. So there was a lot of work, a lot of late nights in a rustic conference center out in the middle of nowhere. Oh, but it was in the hills of western <a href="http://www.visitmt.com/">MONTANA</a>.<br />
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I flew out of Lexington early and would have missed my flight if it hadn’t been delayed for more than an hour so the flight crew could finish their McBreakfast platters. I landed in Chicago with just enough time to sprint through the entire airport knocking down old-ladies and punting infant-filled strollers and carseats out of my way. (I did have to sprint). They were literally closing the doors when I got there. So then I flew into Seattle, which, let me tell you, is a beautiful approach… wow. Grabbed some lunch there and then caught my plane to Missoula. The Missoula airport is pretty small, I mean there wasn’t a little guy shouting “de plane, de plane”, but there was more rental car places than depart/arrive gates. I stepped out into the hot, dry air and thought all things were right in the world. Not even the <a href="http://www.chevrolet.com/hhr/">HHR</a> (a cross between a minivan and a pt cruiser) that enterprise gave me could bring down my excitement. I picked up some groceries for the week and headed out to <a href="http://www.cfc.umt.edu/Lubrecht/">Lubrecht Experimental Forest</a> a sort of “campground” for forestry research in conjunction with the University of Montana. On the way, I spotted a forest fire in one of the neighboring forests (something you don’t see everyday “back East”).</span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><img height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMD4LPp2isI/AAAAAAAAAFM/JntCjYil0rk/s400/P7250002.JPG" width="400" /></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So here is some background on the stuff we were learning…</span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Much of the condition of a stream is based on a departure from reference conditions. Reference conditions demonstrate the geomorphically stable form for the type of stream that is located in the surrounding conditions of a watershed. It might be easier to explain geomorphically unstable; that would be one some or all of the following: a lot of bank erosion, aggradation or degradation (rising or lowering) of the channel bed, significant changes in the channel substrate (the rocks are getting smaller/bigger); and too frequent or not frequent enough access to the floodplain at bankfull conditions (bankfull is typically understood as the incipient elevation on the bank where flooding begins, also, the bankfull discharge is responsible for the formation, maintenance, and dimensions of the channel as it exists under the modern climatic regime. A bankfull event typically occurs every 1-1.5 years.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">OK, I promise it will get a lot less technical from here, with more pretty pictures!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first field day, we (in teams of about 8) surveyed a “reference reach” that exhibited stable conditions for the type of stream we would be investigating later (a C4 stream type; if you would care to learn more about stream classification, please post your name and address in the comments section and I will flood your inbox with fascinating literature). This reach was in a forest about 1.5 from our accommodations. Of course, the field day had to be cold and rainy since I didn’t bring any waders, intending to “wet wade” the whole trip. It was pretty stinking cold walking waste-deep in the stream for the first couple hours, but once we got surveying and walking around a little, it warmed up. I was better off than the guy wearing sandals and swim trunks. Here are a couple snapshots of our reach.</span></div><br />
<div align="center"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMD5DmSXOSI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/5hGlJWMyYl4/s1600/P7270011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMD5DmSXOSI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/5hGlJWMyYl4/s320/P7270011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMD5I6qEDMI/AAAAAAAAAFU/m-725k8cops/s1600/P7270012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMD5I6qEDMI/AAAAAAAAAFU/m-725k8cops/s320/P7270012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMD5NiITSHI/AAAAAAAAAFY/N0T8NctIHdY/s1600/P7270016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMD5NiITSHI/AAAAAAAAAFY/N0T8NctIHdY/s320/P7270016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Look at that beautiful bankfull bench on the right!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: verdana;">We then worked hours and hours and hours consolidating and analyzing data, filling out forms, and preparing a presentation (which happened after every field day). Besides a slight mishap with the water surface on the profile, the presentation and all went well.<br />
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On field day two, we went to a sight 2 hours away. It was a sight under special attention from the EPA for clean-up. An old mine slurry pond had failed and sent tons of metal-laden sediment throughout the valley below and really jacked up the stream there. So the prior year, the class had set up all kinds of monitoring apparatus like bank pins and scour chains. We were going back through and measuring everything they did exactly the same way they did it to see how things changed.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMD6ID_SWII/AAAAAAAAAFc/_5O2YONejv0/s1600/P7300026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMD6ID_SWII/AAAAAAAAAFc/_5O2YONejv0/s400/P7300026.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, that is my fat finger.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMD6NtIZf3I/AAAAAAAAAFg/2iXno7OlHrQ/s1600/P7300043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMD6NtIZf3I/AAAAAAAAAFg/2iXno7OlHrQ/s400/P7300043.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Look at that tiny culvert. No wonder the stream has issues.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;">OK. Bankpins are pieces of rebar (the stuff you see sticking out of concrete sometimes) that are driven horizontally in the bank until the end is flush with the bank. When you come back to measure it, you can see and measure how far the bank has eroded and get an idea of erosion rates based on the time interval between visits. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530913000335305378" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMHAEdyTaqI/AAAAAAAAAFk/Pmp9q3jIXfU/s400/SB2+U.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Example of an actual bank pin on one of my projects.</span><br />
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</tbody></table></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="327" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530913001230229490" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMHAEhHq3_I/AAAAAAAAAFs/T4T-dvECvzc/s400/bp.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The re-sruvey of the bank to measure erosion</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Scour chains are chains that are driven into the bed of the stream vertically, ending flush at the channel bed. Same type of principle where you come back later and see how much chain is exposed/buried to know if the channel is aggrading or degrading.</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />
</span></div></div><div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="292" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530913793220932850" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMHAyng99PI/AAAAAAAAAF0/JSL3MNh0HcU/s400/SC.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="400" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;">This shows how the process works</span></span></div><div></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530913828874682354" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMHA0sVe__I/AAAAAAAAAGE/Ec7K3kE4q9s/s400/P7300045.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The chains are installed so that the last link is at the surface</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530913801029994498" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMHAzEmyyAI/AAAAAAAAAF8/eAMC1jaxKlo/s400/P7300030.JPG" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can see the chain at the bottom</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: verdana;">Despite being screwed by crappy work from the previous class, our presentation was a much heralded success of which we were proud. At this stage, we learned (I reviewed) a sediment transport model built into my company’s <a href="http://www.rivermorph.com/">RIVERMorph</a> software. It basically takes a cross section (reference, impaired or designed) and routes bedload and suspended sediment data through the cross-section and tells you whether that cross section has the hydraulic properties to adequately pass the amount of sediment that is coming at it from upstream. If your channel doesn’t have enough capacity, then sediment will drop out and your stream will aggrade and then vice versa. It’s a pretty nifty tool that can be applied to almost any stream, even if you don’t have sediment data readily available.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Anyway… On the third field day, we went to a farm where the farmer wants to fix his crappy (literal) stream. It had a lot of “hoof shear” from his cattle. On this day, we installed our own bank pins and scour chains and surveyed it all so that the class next year could do the same thing we did on field day 2.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMIfFSR14eI/AAAAAAAAAGM/78k7tAQPkjk/s1600/P8030124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" nx="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMIfFSR14eI/AAAAAAAAAGM/78k7tAQPkjk/s400/P8030124.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is Dave Rosgen teaching us how to use a bedload sampler</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMIfL2hjCtI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/NYLYpzr_QkM/s1600/P8030128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMIfL2hjCtI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/NYLYpzr_QkM/s400/P8030128.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These are two of my teammates installing bank pins.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMIfXPjfnEI/AAAAAAAAAGU/Y1Tmt62d28g/s1600/P8030135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMIfXPjfnEI/AAAAAAAAAGU/Y1Tmt62d28g/s400/P8030135.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is part of our reach. You can see two bank pins on that vertical bank on the left</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><br />
<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMIfq9JMU8I/AAAAAAAAAGY/3joUuHptxiA/s1600/P8030137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMIfq9JMU8I/AAAAAAAAAGY/3joUuHptxiA/s400/P8030137.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here we are collecting and analyzing a bar sample. Determining the gradation of material being moved through the stream.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Saturday night, they took the class to a little bar and restaurant up the road (up the road = 45 minutes in MT) called Trixi’s where we were able to let our hair down a little, relax and enjoy some incredible prime rib. Mmmm….</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI3sCqnCxI/AAAAAAAAAGc/qvtGt7G4NXI/s1600/P8030170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" nx="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI3sCqnCxI/AAAAAAAAAGc/qvtGt7G4NXI/s400/P8030170.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You know it's going to be good when a border collie meets you at the door. He had free reign inside too.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> </div><div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI3zKkfWHI/AAAAAAAAAGg/hZuLgkwWOy8/s1600/P8030172.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI3zKkfWHI/AAAAAAAAAGg/hZuLgkwWOy8/s400/P8030172.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was the view from the front door of Trixi's</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div> </div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Sunday, we had a day off. I decided to go up to <a href="http://www.nps.gov/glac">Glacier National Park</a> for the day with a few other people, so we headed out early and drove the 4.5 hr or so to get there. On the way we saw some of the most beautiful country…</span><br />
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<div> </div><div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI4q21JrAI/AAAAAAAAAGk/A0yfB0j-haQ/s1600/Flathead+Lake2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="95" nx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI4q21JrAI/AAAAAAAAAGk/A0yfB0j-haQ/s400/Flathead+Lake2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Flathead Lake</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div> </div><div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI4xQgywuI/AAAAAAAAAGo/k8QR2SGOaHI/s1600/P8010034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI4xQgywuI/AAAAAAAAAGo/k8QR2SGOaHI/s400/P8010034.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Look how clear and blue it is!?!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div> </div><div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI41r1pVjI/AAAAAAAAAGs/p1Bql0KiiBw/s1600/P8010037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI41r1pVjI/AAAAAAAAAGs/p1Bql0KiiBw/s400/P8010037.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Random Barn... Because I am random</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The following are a selection of the photos I took in the park, mostly along Going-to-the-Sun Road.</span><br />
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<div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI7dTu4khI/AAAAAAAAAHc/UHuLcrt7Q20/s1600/P8010117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI7dTu4khI/AAAAAAAAAHc/UHuLcrt7Q20/s400/P8010117.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can't tell by my face, but I am ecstatic...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWxKhYObFI/AAAAAAAAAH4/wbHim-Nx5BU/s1600/Lake+McDonald1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="87" nx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWxKhYObFI/AAAAAAAAAH4/wbHim-Nx5BU/s400/Lake+McDonald1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is Lake McDonald... beautiful..</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI5svDIu8I/AAAAAAAAAG4/iTNsqCqNULQ/s1600/P8010045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI5svDIu8I/AAAAAAAAAG4/iTNsqCqNULQ/s320/P8010045.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Look how clear the water is!!!!!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI5svDIu8I/AAAAAAAAAG4/iTNsqCqNULQ/s1600/P8010045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div> </div><div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI5lstqnXI/AAAAAAAAAG0/-F5R6dr5vdw/s1600/P8010050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" nx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI5lstqnXI/AAAAAAAAAG0/-F5R6dr5vdw/s400/P8010050.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the McDonald River... oooo... aahhhhh</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div> </div><div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6AdRS_OI/AAAAAAAAAG8/uY9rRYCR5GU/s1600/P8010061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6AdRS_OI/AAAAAAAAAG8/uY9rRYCR5GU/s320/P8010061.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Again... so clear!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6LoEuiiI/AAAAAAAAAHA/VwaFMzKnFy0/s1600/P8010063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6LoEuiiI/AAAAAAAAAHA/VwaFMzKnFy0/s320/P8010063.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No creeks are this clear in the East, and especially not rivers.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6P7nqgAI/AAAAAAAAAHE/riu03UhwZc4/s1600/P8010064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6P7nqgAI/AAAAAAAAAHE/riu03UhwZc4/s400/P8010064.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is what a riffle looks like from under water... oooooo..... aaaahhhhh...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6cYbCcwI/AAAAAAAAAHM/TTBkgTzg7H0/s1600/P8010080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6cYbCcwI/AAAAAAAAAHM/TTBkgTzg7H0/s400/P8010080.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6hAaNCkI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/dleqpDCNbYo/s1600/P8010100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6hAaNCkI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/dleqpDCNbYo/s400/P8010100.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6qjhe-FI/AAAAAAAAAHU/tXD_2MFkijk/s1600/P8010108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6qjhe-FI/AAAAAAAAAHU/tXD_2MFkijk/s400/P8010108.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6uoggw4I/AAAAAAAAAHY/WDD-8QWJbq0/s1600/P8010095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" nx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMI6uoggw4I/AAAAAAAAAHY/WDD-8QWJbq0/s400/P8010095.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That place was gorgeous. Breathtaking. I wanted to hike a couple small trails while were in the park, but a random rain/hail storm popped up when we reached Logan’s Pass at the Continental Divide, which discouraged my weak-stomached fellow travelers. I would love to take Lindsy back there and spend some more time in the park…</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We finished up at noon the last day and I headed back to Missoula and had lunch with a local DEQ guy who attended the class (a fellow baseball fanatic). After that, I decided to get some hiking in before my flight left that evening. I went to the <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm9_021313.pdf">Pattee Canyon Recreation Area</a> within the <a href="http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/lolo/">Lolo National Forest</a> near Missoula, MT.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMJA5YUT7GI/AAAAAAAAAHk/Na2CvXLm2mI/s1600/P8050047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMJA5YUT7GI/AAAAAAAAAHk/Na2CvXLm2mI/s400/P8050047.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I hiked Crazee Canyon Road to the top of Mt. Sentinel (about 3.5 mi straight up one way) which overlooks the town of Missoula.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMJBUNg9e5I/AAAAAAAAAHo/HDiFOJYFdL4/s1600/P8050045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMJBUNg9e5I/AAAAAAAAAHo/HDiFOJYFdL4/s320/P8050045.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div> </div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMJBZL49AxI/AAAAAAAAAHs/hHqDSSw040k/s1600/P8050057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMJBZL49AxI/AAAAAAAAAHs/hHqDSSw040k/s400/P8050057.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That is Mt. Sentinel in the background with the Clark Fork River in the foreground.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div> <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWx_mVEFvI/AAAAAAAAAH8/Aci_3dewf1M/s1600/Missoula2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="60" nx="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWx_mVEFvI/AAAAAAAAAH8/Aci_3dewf1M/s400/Missoula2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is the view of Missoula from the top...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> </div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some photos I took along the way…</span><br />
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<div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMJB8Egg5PI/AAAAAAAAAHw/BJDWKO7hhbQ/s1600/P8050023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMJB8Egg5PI/AAAAAAAAAHw/BJDWKO7hhbQ/s320/P8050023.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A tree that survived a fire</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><br />
<div> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMJCAhQkU4I/AAAAAAAAAH0/D-3as7QKKBQ/s1600/P8050033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMJCAhQkU4I/AAAAAAAAAH0/D-3as7QKKBQ/s400/P8050033.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you look closely above the island, you can see people floating down the river in tubes...</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWyq3bR5tI/AAAAAAAAAIA/kY5R3EncMgc/s1600/P8050038a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWyq3bR5tI/AAAAAAAAAIA/kY5R3EncMgc/s400/P8050038a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWyuHiZO9I/AAAAAAAAAIE/3iUnCb_tR7s/s1600/Mt.Sentinel2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="111" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWyuHiZO9I/AAAAAAAAAIE/3iUnCb_tR7s/s400/Mt.Sentinel2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I got back to the car, I bathed in leftover bottled water, changed clothes and splashed some cologne on. Then I grabbed some dinner and headed to the airport.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The trip was amazing and a lot of fun. I wished KCT and Lindsy could have been there with me. We will definitely have to go back. I recommend Montana to anyone who loves being outdoors and seeing natural beauty!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hopefully you have enjoyed your educational experience. This was better than a PBS special, huh? You thought this was the Discovery channel for a second, didn’t you? Nay, it is merely my simple life as a blessed child of God.</span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In parting… I will leave you with a few photos of the Blackfoot River. (yes, the same one from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105265/">A River Runs Through It</a>. Yes, that is where the title of my blog </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">came from. A great movie!!)</span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWzn7KuwWI/AAAAAAAAAII/1u2j8PdENwI/s1600/P7250005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" nx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWzn7KuwWI/AAAAAAAAAII/1u2j8PdENwI/s400/P7250005.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWz1h-92SI/AAAAAAAAAIM/7JfHrkXMeO8/s1600/P7250006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWz1h-92SI/AAAAAAAAAIM/7JfHrkXMeO8/s400/P7250006.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWz481BmRI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/YJLroV8ukik/s1600/P8050003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWz481BmRI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/YJLroV8ukik/s400/P8050003.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWz8IFotDI/AAAAAAAAAIU/IoeirTlXif8/s1600/P8050006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWz8IFotDI/AAAAAAAAAIU/IoeirTlXif8/s400/P8050006.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWz_hW7iKI/AAAAAAAAAIY/L6C8BoTaOQM/s1600/P8050012a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" nx="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TMWz_hW7iKI/AAAAAAAAAIY/L6C8BoTaOQM/s400/P8050012a.JPG" width="400" /></a></div></div><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tell me those don’t make your day brighter!!! </span><br />
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</div></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-48143419135237600712010-10-11T12:06:00.006-04:002010-10-11T13:05:14.138-04:00A NEW POST!!!<span style="font-family:arial;">Well, after an exhaustive study and review of extensive data, I would like to report that Late Night Cheeseburger Doritos do actually taste like a cheeseburger. (At least to me anyway). If you close your eyes while eating one of these chips, you might forget it is merely one chip and think you are biting into a cheeseburger that has Doritos as a condiment. While mixing two of my favorite food items into a space-saving, budget friendly delicious little pseudo-triangle seems like a great idea, I find myself desiring, rather, to have the two items separately. In my humble opinion, the two tastes get slightly muttled, thus reducing the full satisfaction of two of the best tastes in the world. Now, having said that, I am one of those people who generally does not mix their foods. More often than not, I will even finish one item before moving on to the next; especially when dealing with cheeseburgers. So, there may be a slight bias in my reporting of these results. They are of satisfactory taste to me (translation: I could eat a whole bag in ten minutes); however, I feel the same about most food items that come in a bag.</span> <div><div></div><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526821145862539106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 230px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TLM2jMBBB2I/AAAAAAAAAEo/RmRtXoFSVkI/s320/chdor.jpg" border="0" /></p><br /><p></p><p>Now that I have that off my chest, I need to rewind and pick up my life where I left in the summer, if I can remember back that far. The annual entire family vacation occurred the week before Independence Day this year. We went back to Edisto Beach to stay in a mac-daddy house that supplied ample room for all families, including separate accommodations for each couple, as well as a bedroom where all 4 girls slept in their own tiny individual beds. That made bedtime routine interesting a couple nights, but it was kind of funny and cute to see them all lined up in their beds like the brady bunch or something and I think it was a great experience for them.</p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526829556869472274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TLM-MxdVoBI/AAAAAAAAAEw/zmkjKIWQeis/s320/bed.jpg" border="0" /><br /><p></p><br /><p></p><p>The weather was gorgeous for the most part. The last few days it got windy and made things interesting. Everybody got a nice exfoliation on the beach from the sand-blasting we took. It made some nice waves though! While we were violently pounded and I almost lost my shorts a few times, it was great fun. Several waves made it past the fortifications that the little girls had constructed and managed to knock the littles ones over and drench several unsuspecting sunbathers. Although funny eventually, it shortened our beach time.</p><br /><p>Once again, it was a fabuloso week with the fam and we had a blast. We found out about the pregnancy on the way down to the beach. The great news sprung forth from a Dollar General bathroom. While incredible news, it greatly limited Lindsy’s ability to let loose at the beach. </p><br /><p>This blog doesn't even come close to doing justice to the week, but I could share a million pictures and stories... so.. sorry. I'll leave you with this...<br /></p><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526835549343313282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TLNDplKb7YI/AAAAAAAAAE4/qYgaxKIiZbU/s320/wag.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-46447985944418517452010-08-29T07:55:00.005-04:002010-08-29T09:00:24.166-04:00It's been awhileI realize it has been 5 years since I last blogged. I haven't posted since my death-defying bicycle trip that left me scarred for life. Literally. You may have actually forgotten who I am... Allow myself to introduce... myself. Life has been pretty busy over the last two months. We have had some major life events on top of vacations and work trips. Anybody who reads this probably has already read my wife's blog and knows most of the stuff that has happened, but I will try to give my spin on things. I will probably break things up into separate posts just to make reading easier, and you won't have to sit here for 2 hours reading. I guess I will go with the big elephant in the room first.<br /><br />WE HAVE ANOTHER IN THE OVEN! We are at 12 weeks and Lindsy and I got to hear the heartbeat on Tuesday. There is no more beautiful sound in the world. Well, a sleeping baby is a pretty good sound too, especially after they have been crying for 4 hours. We are super excited and very relieved as well after the loss of our prior attempt this past spring. Lindsy doesn't want to know the sex of the baby until delivery. That seems a little a little crazy to me, but I can live with it. Lindsy had a litte more nausea and sickness with this pregnancy, although she has gotten past most of that. She is handling things like a trooper as always. Be sure to check her <a href="http://lindsyslifeintraining.blogspot.com/">blog</a> for pictures and updates. Hopefully we haven't completely forgotten how babies work. I am sure it will all come rushing back as soon as we hear the screaming! HA! I am sure Kennedy will be a big helper too. In true male fashion, I do not know the exact due date, just that it is early April. I think.<br /><br />Well, that is the first catch-up post. I will try to post another soon, although this will be another busy week of work and travel, as we are going to this weekend NC for K's birthday. The rest of my life is consumed with studying for the Professional Engineer's Licensure Exam coming up at the end of October. It is 8 hours of pain, agony, and suffering at which I am supposed to remember every detail I learned in college, and a little more.<br /><br />Stay tuned for more exciting posts. New and Improved, with pictures!<br /><br />Peace Out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-61045677428933911252010-06-14T20:04:00.033-04:002010-06-19T09:34:17.120-04:00Mountain Bicycles<div align="justify">So, about the title of this post... My brothers-in-law... brother-in-laws... my wife's sisters' husbands (BIL) invited me to join them on their 2nd annual mt. biking trip. And I agreed, despite the fact that I have not ridden a bicycle since I was about 10, much less pedaled straight up and ridden straight down. But it involved camping, so I said yes like a giddy little school girl. The location of what was nearly my final resting place was <a href="http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/dou.shtml">Douthat State Park</a>. <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Douthat+State+Park+Virginia&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=51.222969,82.265625&ie=UTF8&ll=37.881086,-79.808807&spn=0.100669,0.160675&z=13">Located</a> in the mountains of Virginia just off of I-64, this lovely park has a little bit of everything; including an abundance of trails designed to maim and punish novice mt. bikers such as I. Here is a map of the trails, and below that, what they really looked like. </div><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBkD9P1SXZI/AAAAAAAAACg/mZfhSf3WWqU/s1600/Picture1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483418372057226642" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 275px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBkD9P1SXZI/AAAAAAAAACg/mZfhSf3WWqU/s320/Picture1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBkE2y4iEwI/AAAAAAAAACo/kFWSsAzaNuk/s1600/Picture3.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483419360718623490" style="WIDTH: 460px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 203px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBkE2y4iEwI/AAAAAAAAACo/kFWSsAzaNuk/s320/Picture3.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br />Yeah, that's right, straight up and down the sides of mountains. I have a lot of new found respect for people who can do this. Anybody who has seen me lately knows that intense physical activity is not my top priority, so I basically pushed a bike around alot that weekend.<br /><br />So here is a rundown of the activities. Carl set up the whole thing and is a master planner. He got there on Wednesday and Kevin joined to have a day of "hardcore" riding before the newbies arrived. So Carl and Kevin rode Thursday. Steve got there on Friday afternoon and went for a ride with the guys. I didn't get there until about 9 on Friday night. Just barely in time to set up a tent before dark.<br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrEjtZcu3I/AAAAAAAAACw/Vq-qQRbFEFo/s1600/P6050012.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483911614037801842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 272px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 176px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrEjtZcu3I/AAAAAAAAACw/Vq-qQRbFEFo/s320/P6050012.JPG" border="0" /></a>Here is a picture of our campsite. To the left is Carl's Taj-ma-tent. It is basically as big as my Master Bedroom. You can walk in and remain standing. Carl and Kevin lived it up in here with padded flooring, a fan mounted to the ceiling, a clothesline, and two cots. Steve and I slept on gravel. And I use the term "slept" lightly. But, at least it was shelter and it wasn't unbearably hot. I probably kept the wild animals away with my snoring. </div><br /><div align="justify">Since it was a national holiday, we had to celebrate. I am, of course, talking about National Doughnut Day. So I brought along the food of honor.</div><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrGjzxTcMI/AAAAAAAAAC4/NMgcjDBR4ak/s1600/P6040003.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483913814771724482" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrGjzxTcMI/AAAAAAAAAC4/NMgcjDBR4ak/s320/P6040003.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center">Doughnuts go with everything, apparently even Miller Lite.<br /></div><br /><br /><div align="justify">Saturday, we started with a nutritious, energy-packed breakfast. Grits, bacon, and eggs cooked in bacon grease. Carl is a master chef as well. </div><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrH7EM7AII/AAAAAAAAADI/D9fAX_OJXV4/s1600/P6050011.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483915313831149698" style="WIDTH: 292px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 217px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrH7EM7AII/AAAAAAAAADI/D9fAX_OJXV4/s320/P6050011.JPG" border="0" /></a> <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrHxd5kWgI/AAAAAAAAADA/L5JVA5PNoWY/s1600/P6050010.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483915148930603522" style="WIDTH: 290px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrHxd5kWgI/AAAAAAAAADA/L5JVA5PNoWY/s320/P6050010.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify">After the grease solidified in our arteries, we went for our first ride. After we pedaled up about a 1000 ft (and when I say pedaled, for me, that means pushed), we took a break, had a snack, drank some water, layed down, took some oxygen, started an IV drip... Here are some pictures on the way up...<br /></div><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrLmkAMZWI/AAAAAAAAADY/1GwT3SoohqY/s1600/P6050028.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483919359636956514" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrLmkAMZWI/AAAAAAAAADY/1GwT3SoohqY/s320/P6050028.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrLXwPgZZI/AAAAAAAAADQ/Vs_m09hSx9M/s1600/P6050018.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483919105224369554" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrLXwPgZZI/AAAAAAAAADQ/Vs_m09hSx9M/s320/P6050018.JPG" border="0" /></a> </p><p align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrL8gbFXCI/AAAAAAAAADg/OYodt-XYmzA/s1600/P6050021.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483919736633121826" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrL8gbFXCI/AAAAAAAAADg/OYodt-XYmzA/s320/P6050021.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><div align="justify">So, although it was hard, and I failed miserably, it was fun and it made me sweat like an ice cube in the sun. The downhills were hard to navigate as well. Even my experienced BIL's had to push some downhills. Although, at one point, an old man flew past all of us around a hairpin turn while we walked and basically laughed at us and told us to pull up our panties. On the way down, I discovered something about myself that I didn't know about..... myself. That is, I have apparently lost any sense of balance that I may have once had as a younger me. On the way down, there were several areas that were tricky to say the least and I managed to mismanage one such area (OK, it was probably the easiest part of the downhill). I gently rode my bike off the bath and proceeded to steer it straight into a tree, subconsciously thinking it would stop my forward motion. I was subconsciously wrong. The tree merely deflected my forward motion. I then proceeded to flip off the bike and roll down the hill, head over heels. The bike followed me, bounding high over my head. When at last I came to rest, I was no worse for the wear, except for a gash on my shoulder. I was fresh out of the "Dorah the Explorer" band-aids I stole from Kennedy, so we stuffed some leaves, sap from special tree roots, and a various assortment of herbs in the gaping wound and it healed immediately.<br /></div><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrQ3-o15sI/AAAAAAAAADo/XKsWUd_C1_Y/s1600/P6050035.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483925156402685634" style="WIDTH: 462px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 311px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrQ3-o15sI/AAAAAAAAADo/XKsWUd_C1_Y/s320/P6050035.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br />It is still scabbed over, but I'm sure I will get a super macho scar out of it, and that is really all that matters.<br /><br /><br /><div align="justify">That afternoon, most of us were pretty wiped out, so we went to the beach on the lake to relax a bit. We took turns riding around the lake in Carl's kayak and, being the engineering nerd I am, I took the opportunity to go look at the spillway for the dam holding the lake. It was pretty cool, there were two spillways with a wetland between the two and the faces of the spillways were fashioned out of stone blocks; not very common.</div><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrShoylg3I/AAAAAAAAADw/MbjTycU1c2I/s1600/P6050053.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483926971604108146" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrShoylg3I/AAAAAAAAADw/MbjTycU1c2I/s320/P6050053.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></p><br /><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483927199760751778" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrSu6vXnKI/AAAAAAAAAD4/uBTaDbn3Yas/s320/P6050058.JPG" border="0" /></p><br /><br /><div align="justify">When we got back to camp, two “nature girls” working for the park dressed like girl scouts came by to show us some of the local wildlife. One girl had a garter snake they had just caught, and the other girl had a little bug magnifier case with a giant Carolina Wolf Spider in it. For those of us who are deathly afraid of Spiders; those of us who bolt straight up out of bed screaming because they are dreaming spiders are dropping on them from the ceiling fan; those of us who nearly fall down the stairs at work in front of the secretaries to avoid the tiny spec of dust in the air that could, in some universe, possibly resemble a spider hanging from the ceiling; for us, that was not good. I calmy asked her to please lie to me if she had to and tell me that she didn’t catch that here, meaning the park. She quickly replied with a smile not to worry. They caught it at the park office, not our campground. If I hadn’t started sweating and trembling, I might have punched her in the throat. For those who do not know what this spider looks like… here it is.</div><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBttokIjmwI/AAAAAAAAAEY/y9zj8gSJjgI/s1600/4320455705_1f228995eb_o.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484097514915470082" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBttokIjmwI/AAAAAAAAAEY/y9zj8gSJjgI/s320/4320455705_1f228995eb_o.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><div align="center">This is pretty close to life size.</div><br /><br /><p align="justify">That evening we just hung out and had BIL fellowship over a wonderful dinner of "walking tacos" and Reese's S'mores. MMMM..... The next morning, we had one more ride. Steve left a little early because he is a girl. Actually, his knee was jacked up pretty bad. As far as the ride goes, I was spent from the previous day. It wasn't as much of a climb (I still pushed most of it) and it was a much better ride down. I enjoyed it alot more. Kevin and Carl rocked it out, of course. </p><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrVlJlK7OI/AAAAAAAAAEA/__Aq8qGDA1Y/s1600/P6060011.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483930330480700642" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrVlJlK7OI/AAAAAAAAAEA/__Aq8qGDA1Y/s320/P6060011.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></p><br /><br /><div align="center">So here we are one last time.</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrVyP640xI/AAAAAAAAAEI/BykspTARzYU/s1600/P6060018.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483930555520701202" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrVyP640xI/AAAAAAAAAEI/BykspTARzYU/s320/P6060018.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><div align="center">It was a great weekend (although I felt like a little girl in a man's world) and I can't wait for next year!<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TBrV79iPewI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/2mYaGagfqRo/s1600/P6060019.JPG"></a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-77838175291853080912010-05-30T15:15:00.004-04:002010-05-30T16:23:45.312-04:00Random ThoughtsI'm just chillin' pool-side while KC gets her swim on, thought I'd impart some wisdom upon the world. Heat makes you sweat. While my hottie counterparts are in their bathing suits, I am still in jeans from church. And even though I am losing water weight by the gallon, what better way to spend a Sunday than watching the two most beautiful women in the world splash around a in a peanut-shaped kiddie pool. I am truly blessed beyond words; beyond my wildest imagination even. What could I have possible done to deserve God's two most beautiful creations?<br /><div><br /><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477154958603683874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TALDamdXiCI/AAAAAAAAACI/lvM6ZaLu5m0/s320/0530101535.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5477154622574644050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/TALDHCpzS1I/AAAAAAAAACA/LuRUJoV5PQQ/s320/0530101546.jpg" border="0" /></p><br /><div>Despite the heat, it is a <em>gorgeous</em> day. And the best part about today, is that its not tomorrow. I am trying to soak up every wonderful second of this holiday weekend. Plus, if it is tomorrow, then that means the next tomorrow would be a work day. So a today that includes a tomorrow with a non-working tomorrow following is always a good today. Even though tomorrow will be a good today, I don't know that tomorrow will compare to this today, because this today is pretty great. <br /></div><div>OK... it is really, stinking hot. I had to go change into shorts mid-post. </div><div> </div><div>We had our friends Matt and Leann Roberge and their kids Kennedy (Grace) and Carson over for dinner last night. It is the first time I have been able to see them since we left our previous house last summer. It was really great seeing them again; they are great friends. We had a great time with them and the kids had a blast! It made me realize how much I missed the availability of a close-by friend. We used to be able to just walk a few steps across the street and hang out and chat every evening. And by every, I mean whenever both of us happened to be home at the same time. He is in the Army and constantly going out of town to train other units across the state and country and my job requires me to be out of town frequently. So anyway, I have missed that frequent "manly" face time. This might sound gay, but I think manly bonding is underrated. I would argue that the right kind of edifying man-time is essential for all men, and especially married men. Don't get me wrong, the time you spend with your wife and family is ultimately the most important, but guys can't survive on shopping, romantic comedies, and tea parties alone. We need time to discuss manly things in our own manly ways. I'm not just talking boxscores and bodily functions either, although those definitely need to be included. We need insight from similar perspectives and edification in ways that women are not always able to provide. (I still love you, Honey) So anyway, it was great to talk to Matt again. </div><div> </div><div>OK, I am going to join my family in the tiny peanut-pool. Have a great holiday weekend.</div></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-85900160650992473132010-05-23T07:35:00.003-04:002010-05-23T08:20:01.439-04:00Official Diagnosis<div>We finally got an official diagnosis for my Grandfather. The week before they opened him up to try and seal off the portion of this lung where a bunch of fluid was collecting. That gave them the chance to look around and they found the same cancer cells around the lining of his heart. Initially, the doctor said that it didn't look like Mesothelioma typically does, but the biopsy of the tissue confirmed it last week. It is definitely Mes. and it now in the lining of his heart as well. The doctors said that it would typically grow out and away from the heart, filling his chest and abdomen. At this point, it is probably a long shot for him to make it to Father's Day next year. He has elected not to do chemotherapy, as he wants to be able to fully enjoy the good days he has left, instead of extending the inevitable for only a short time. He has been really weak since his surgery, but hopefully the pain medication will help him get up and around... He still has plenty of strength left in his body. That is the ironic thing about this whole situation. He is one of the healthiest, most fit men in their nineties. He has been the one caring for <em>all</em> of the older people in our family while their general health fails. Only something like this could have taken him down, and now, here it is. He has been so strong for so many people for so many years. I hope he realizes how much of an impact he has had through service and love. He has so much love in his heart, it is humbling. There is not a better person on this planet. And I hope he can look forward with expectant joy to the incredible celebration that will take place when the time comes for him walk with God that he has served so incredibly for so many years. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Please pray for him. This is him with Kennedy and I a couple years ago.</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474438540347858834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/S_kc2P4kX5I/AAAAAAAAABw/EWRT9awUBqE/s320/granddad.jpg" border="0" /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-61713939062720980342010-05-17T12:12:00.006-04:002010-05-17T13:09:46.371-04:00Bible trivial pursuit.<div>Growing up as a PK (Preacher's Kid), you get many unique opportunities that most other kids don't get to experience. As a for instance, <em>Bible Trivia. </em>An adaptation of the popular trivia board game "Trivial Pursuit", maybe you have heard of it. And, yes, there is an "app" for that. </div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5472284795513441410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/S_F2BzJZjII/AAAAAAAAABo/QuadvPpvbS8/s320/51V9V0R10TL._SS500_.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div><div>I don't remember much about the game, other than you had to be a bible scholar to know any of the answers. My "phone a friend" would have to be <a href="http://www.billygraham.org/">Billy Graham</a>, and "asking the audience" probably wouldn't help since I don't think most congregations could answer half of the questions. [I think "Who Wants to be a Bible Scholar?" could catch on in Churches and in religious circles! Maybe Dr. Dobson could host? (or Pat Buchanan, purely for entertainment value)] Anway... Even I, with a lifetime of "religiously" attending Sunday school (perfect time to use that little cliche, huh?), couldn't come close to answering except for some of the softballs like "Who did David kill with a sling?". Playing Bible trivia against a preacher is, let's just say, slightly against the odds, and I don't recall ever winning. I was a sucker for games, though, so I always tried. Now that I think about it... it was probably just my dad's way of getting back at me for beating him at chess. "Who was Asenath's famous husband?", "Who was Mary's oldest brother's farmhand?", "How many rungs were on Jacob's ladder?", "How many times did Isaac's goat stub his toe on the way to the watering hole?" How can a 6 year old answer these?!?!?!!! "What was Jesus's name?" I can handle that one! I think my parents still have it somewhere. I'll have to break that out again whenever I start feeling too proud. For now, I will stick to "<a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.terragame.com/chutes_and_ladders.html">Chutes and Ladders</a>" and other simple games I can cream Kennedy at. We are trying to teach her humility. Just Kidding!!! </div><div> </div><div>Well, until next time, always go for the yellow pie piece first.</div><div> </div><div>Transmission terminated. </div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-48849458735861691632010-05-09T10:30:00.008-04:002010-05-09T11:30:45.207-04:00Trip to Indianapolis<div><br /><br /><div>This weekend, we took a trip to Indianapolis to surprise our friend while she ran a half-marathon. I picked up K from school after work and she had barely taken a nap, so she fell asleep in the car (and it's only about 15 minutes to get home). </div><br /><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469288206462799090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/S-bQpXByzPI/AAAAAAAAABY/WaLFuRukpuk/s320/Indy7.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div><br /><div>So I brought her in and layed her on the couch and she slept until we left. We were staying with my friend and college roommate, Mark. We got to his place around 11 and put her down, then got her up at 6:30 to go to the race. It was c-c-c-cold and really windy, so we had <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/S-bLvYZhyyI/AAAAAAAAABI/QA_mg2kIc14/s1600/Indy5.jpg"></a>to bundle her up, as you can see ......................................................</div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469288973164895202" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/S-bRV_N0W-I/AAAAAAAAABg/mzftT-xkKso/s320/Indy5.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div>It was like 40 with 30mph wind gusts. She was a trooper. Mark was kind enough to get up early with us, fix us breakfast and drive us around town. He even braved the cold to walk with us and hold up signs and cheer for someone he had never met...She fell asleep in the stroller at the end of the race until we walked the mile back to the car, and then took a nap when we got back to Mark's house. </div><br /><div>I think we might have fallen asleep while she did... there are several minutes that are unaccounted for... While we waited for Lindsy and Chelsea to get back from the race and Kennedy slept, we went out back of his house where there is a little retention pond (~ 1/5 acre) to wet a line or two. Mark had brought back about 8 bass from fishing trips to stock the little pond. The first cast, within 10 seconds, Mark got a hit and this is what he pulled out...<br /></div><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5469286165891233250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/S-bOylTnteI/AAAAAAAAABQ/HpBH96q_bSY/s320/Indy6.jpg" border="0" /></div></div></div><br /><p>We weighed it at about 4.5 lbs. It was monstrous! Who knows how big it will be the next time he pulls it out. The girls got home shortly after that and we headed out to go to the cheesecake factory for lunch. mmmmm... just let that thought sink in... Unfortunately, they were booty-packed, so we had to go to Johnny Rockets instead. Not the end of the world... they have good burgers. After that we all went our separate ways. L, K and I stopped at the Edinburgh outlet mall and took care of some neccesary things. When it was all said and done, we didn't get home until about 10, so again, K had a late night. She was good the whole weekend though, as always. </p><p>It was great seeing Mark again... It had been awhile. Linds and I both had a great time together and with our friends. It was good to get away together. She will probably post more pictures and write about the weekend on her blog at some point, so keep checking hers.</p><p>I am staying at home w/ K this morning while Linds goes to church to see our friends' baby dedication. We all had a waffle breakfast together this morning for Mother's Day (yes, I cooked). K has green paste coming out of her nose and is coughing like a 80 yr smoker. </p><p>Mom, Happy Mother's Day! You are amazing. </p><p>Well, time for a tea party... peace out.</p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-82714555964239312412010-05-07T12:41:00.004-04:002010-05-07T13:22:30.686-04:00Post<div>I traveled to Raleigh, NC this week for work. It seemed like a really nice city. Very clean and welcoming from what I could tell. The travel down there kind of turned into a nightmare. I was supposed to leave LEX @ 4 go through CLT and get to RDU @ 7. So I got to the airport a little after 3 and checked in around 3.30 and they said the flight was delayed. Enough so that I would miss my connection in CLT. So I got rerouted through ATL, but that flight didn't leave until 6. By the time it all got figured out, it was around 4 and I didn't feel like leaving the airport for an hour just to have to come back. So I stayed. Then, my ATL flight got delayed another 1/2 hr, but by that time I had already got a book and was over it... (In the spirit of the blog and improving communication, it was a book about merging the personalities of you and your wife by the Parrotts). The descent into ATL felt like the back seat of a wooden roller-coaster and almost made me hurl. After a reroute around bad weather, I finally made it into RDU after 11 and the hotel around 12. So I could have driven in a shorter time!<br /><br />Anyway, I went down to get some training on using our survey grade GPS while helping with a baseline monitoring survey for a stream. I'll try to explain that... Some other firm designed and oversaw the construction of a stream. Now we have to monitor the site for several years to make sure it stays reasonably stable.<br /><br />In the past, we have surveyed with a total station, which is what you have probably seen surveyors looking through on the side of the road at some time. It's an instrument that shoots a laser at a prism that send it back and it can tell how far away it is and what angle up, down, or sideways. That is much better than stretching a tape and using a level and rod, which takes forever and is not very accurate at best. Well, now we can use a GPS (sort of like what is in your car) and just walk to whatever point we want and hit a button and it will get your position and elevation extremely accurately. So, I learned how to use that, while driving an ATV around the two mile site. When not on the ATV, we walked about 5 miles a day surveying and assessing the newly constructed stream and the veg monitoring plots around the site (we have to monitor planted tree survival). Below is a sample of what it looked like.</div><br /><div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468576772416844706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0nrgILQpF20/S-RJmcrbs6I/AAAAAAAAAA4/Om_2mpYvwD0/s320/P5050011.JPG" border="0" /><br />That was the first I have been out in the field since the turn of the year, so it felt really good to get out, even though the travel wasn't the greatest. I missed KC and LK.<br /><br />The next post I will talk a little about the book I read during my travels.</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-49454369400412568022010-05-01T17:00:00.001-04:002010-05-01T17:04:20.803-04:00bad newsUnfortunately, my first non-inaugural post is not a cheerful one. We received news last week that my Grandfather has developed Mesothelioma (sp?) and the projections for expectancy are not great. <br /><br />This is going to be really rough and I will probably post a lot more about it in the coming days… Please pray for him and our family.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4227260432457589448.post-47293464353873010552010-04-27T12:42:00.002-04:002010-04-27T13:32:47.808-04:00Numero Uno<span style="font-family:verdana;">Drum roll please…. You have reached the inaugural, new, first, original, posting to my blog. First off, metaphorically raise your hand if you actually did the drum roll thing with your tongue or hands or some physical action… I have always wondered if I was the only one who did that.<br /><br />I never thought in a million years that I would have a blog, but in an effort to improve my severely lacking communication skills, and for the sake of my beautiful wife who is left in the lurch of those lacking skills, and our marriage, I thought this might help. I have no doubt that I will be forced to turn in my man card for this, but it is worth it if it works. This does not mean, however, that I will be starting mani-pedi trips or drinking soy latte’s. <br /><br />So let me run down what this will probably look like, a disclaimer, if you will. Let me start by apologizing to any English majors who might read this (or anyone else who holds spelling and grammar dear to their heart). Run-on sentences are my forte and I don’t feel like taking the time to find out how to put accent marks on letters and making everything perfect, unless I deem that to be important to the point being made. I am obsessed with the proper and improper use of ellipses and will use them to no end… I will try to keep posts coherent and organized as best as I can. I will probably include a lot very subtle jokes, so be on your toes. You may even need to read through the post 11 or 12 times. <br /><br />Topics will vary immensely. I will leave most of the posting of the adventures of my daughter, Kennedy, to my lovely wife’s blog, because she does a much better job, but I will frequently mention her exploits and maybe reference posts on my wife’s blog. If you disagree with any of my opinions, please keep it to yourself to protect my fragile ego. OK, well, since this is all about improving communication, I welcome any viewpoints on anything I post and will listen to any disagreements, but then I will probably hold my feelings inside and resent you, or I may agree with you, or I may try to humiliate you and your viewpoints… so respond at your own risk.. I will be fair, I will treat everyone with the same disrespect. J/K If you know me, you know that is all a bunch of hooey. If you don’t know me… that is all a bunch of hooey. I love discussing any topic, especially ones I know nothing about, so feel free to bring anything up in a response as I love to learn. <br /><br />I have no idea how often I will get to post. So if you enjoy reading the blog, you should probably check back every 15 minutes throughout the day. Thanks for reading and come back frequently, often, and a lot.<br /><br />As mentioned above, my wife has a blog (<a href="http://www.lindsyslifeintraining.blogspot.com">A Little Training and a Little Life</a>) and has been doing it for a while, so her blog is probably 3.14 times better than mine. </span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2