Melting

Merry Christmas

It Never Snows in Portland - Almost Never

Safe Sledding

We've had a lot of kids come into the Pediatric ICU these past couple weeks due to sledding accidents. Amazingly, none of those kids were mine from this last Saturday. The sledding was fun but the wind was another matter. As you can see, the kids got some "air" in other ways!

Cold and Wet

It's That Time of Year

Spring in the midst of Winter

Princeton Snow

Portland Petals

Expectation

The Parade of all Parades

I took this picture Thanksgiving 2006 in NYC. As we were watching all of the balloons go by I noticed an apartment full of little ones with their faces pressed up against the windows. Since it was raining I would have liked to been in their spot.

A Window with a View

Taken from our bedroom window.

Princeton Battlefield Sunset

Row Row Row Your Boat

memorial

bulbs

Leaves

What did one tree say to another?
Leaf me alone.

Flowers

There is something about a field of flowers that has therapeutic value. Maybe it is remembering the experience that went along with seeing the field that has some way of transporting you to another place when you need transporting. Maybe it is recapturing a picture of beauty when a lot around you seems so ugly. Anyway - if you need a reminder that there is beauty in this world - take a look.

Sunday Hike

The kids and I found ourselves with time to fill on this last Sunday afternoon so "we" decided to go for a hike in the Columbia Gorge. Natalie was the least excited about this - quote - "This is going to be the worst thing ever!" However, I believe she is a natural hiker. Many times I had to tell her to slow down so I could still see her in front of the rest of us on the trail. I asked her as I was tucking her in if she did in fact have a good time and she said yes. All of them did really really well encouraging each other and showing each other their discoveries along the trail. We made it to our goal - the top of Multnomah Falls (where the red arrow points) which was one mile from the parking lot and we all became familiar with the term "switchback" which J renamed "zig-zag." Of course we had to reward ourselves for completing our goal. Good times.

Fall Is Here

Fall on the canal in Princeton.

You Light Up My Life

At the Cranberry Bogs in Massachusetts during the holiday season.

My Baby J

That smile can make any bad day go away pretty quickly.

Japanese Garden III

A wider shot of the falls. Nice.

Japanese Garden II

Here is a roof we saw at the gardens. I thought the pattern was cool. I dressed it up a little bit for effect.

Portland's Japanese Garden

Another beautiful and scenic spot in Portland complete with "water therapy."

Lady Liberty

A little help from Photoshop Elements.

Egg Heads

Some Easter egg decorating fun with the kids produced these gems. If any of you ladies out there are looking for a date you can't do much better than one of these studs. However, chicken won't be on the menu if you go out to dinner.

DC Sunset

That's what it is - I saw it with my own eyes.

Mountain Rainier

This has been a favorite spot of mine since I was a wee lad. Our family has camped at Mt. Rainier for as long as I can remember. I can still distinctly hear Cade as a little boy calling it "Mountain Rainier" and seeing Nat's cute little face poking her head out of her sleeping bag. This picture was taken on a hike with Sarah and J while the other two kiddos were at a summer camp not far away. At Mt. Rainier it is a blessing when you get a clear blue sky - always have your camera ready.

Flower Field

Some days you just want to lay down in a field like this and look up for awhile.

Haystack II

Here is another picture of Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach, Oregon. It's kind of hard to take a bad picture at a place so beautiful.

Droplets

Here are some cool water droplets on the evergreens outside of our apt. in Princeton. Macro is a must for close-up photography.

Trees

I like the trees. This was at sunset on the canal in Princeton.

Some Things Never Change

Oh those Cougs. Since I had taken Nat and J on their Father/Daughter trips it was time to do the same with Cade. We had originally planned a camping trip but due to football commitments and Labor Day reservations we had to make alternate plans which turned out to be a trip to Seattle to watch the Gridiron Classic - OSU vs. WSU. The Cougs still do those things that make you sick to your stomach - jump offsides, false starts, personal fouls that take away momentum, missed extra points, special teams breakdowns, and dropped passes. Ahhh, just like old times. Afterwards, we visited a favorite restaurant in Seattle where I asked Cade his favorite part of the game...."Being with you," he replied. Took the words right out of my mouth.

Recapture the Wonder

A favorite author of mine, Ravi Zacharias, wrote a book that is the same as the title of this post. On the cover it has a picture similar to this one. I'll let you read the book and draw your own conclusions but worship is a central theme. Realizing how small we are and embracing that sense of awe and mystery coupled with a response of worship brings meaning and purpose to our lives. Good stuff.

Talons

Napoleon would be impressed with this guy's talons. We took the kids to the zoo here in Portland and they did a bird demonstration which is when I was able to snap a picture of Baldy here. I must say that they are very intimidating. Anyway, a beautiful bird indeed.

Canal Pointe Blvd.

The title says it all. I like the lines.

Getting Ready For Fall

One of the things I will miss the most about the East coast is the changing of the colors in the fall. With my job starting soon (well, in about a month) and fall sports starting and school just around the corner fall will be here SOON. I snapped this picture the first September we were in Princeton when the colors were amazing. Hopefully, I'll get some color-full pictures of the Gorge this fall.

Falls 2

Since a lot of people seemed to like the last picture of "the falls" I thought I'd add another. I took Nat on a "father/daughter" weekend and we found this place called Bushkill Falls in Pennsylvania. It was a neat little hike with a number of pretty waterfalls. We followed that up with a visit to the Crayola Factory. Nat did a great job hiking around the falls - A LOT OF STAIRS!

Re-visit

There is this little place in Amish country Pennsylvania that we first visited when Cade was a little over one year old. We ate dinner there with Sarah's dad, fed some goats, and saw this sign by the road. Back then, I was taking pictures with my first SLR camera - the Minolta Vectis APS SLR. My how technology has changed. That camera ended up being my first sale on ebay.
We visited the same place with friends during our time in Princeton and I have to say I was a little nostalgic. Here is the sign along with a couple of Amish carts and buggies.

A Photo You Wish To See Hmmm

This is actually two pictures stitched together. I was proud of myself for getting the exposure and level right and finally being able to stitch two pictures together and then I met Joey. Joey is about 50 levels higher in photographic ability than I am and he showed me a photo stitch that he did consisting of 40 pictures. FORTY! In other words, Joey is like Yoda and I am like Luke. May the force be with you.

CRW Night

This was taken just outside our front door in Princeton. Nice sky, bright moon, the lingering smell of BBQ, and mosquitoes nipping at your heels. Ahhh, the memories.

Jersey Dew

Sarah said today that she liked this picture so I'm putting it out here for you too. I noticed one fall morning as we went out to the playground in Princeton that water droplets had formed on some of the leaves and so I just took some pics while the kids played. There never seemed to be a shortage of water in New Jersey. I now know what the word "saturation" means.

All Work and No Play

We visited this playground today by the Portland Rose Garden. Sarah's cousin had said it was "the biggest play structure in the Northwest." NOT. Anyway, the kids lasted about 15 minutes there and then we went to a fountain to cool off. Word on the street is that it rains a lot in Portland. It has rained about a total of 2 hours since we moved here in mid June. Is this the calm (and HOT) before the storm? I happened to get this kinda cool picture of part of the "biggest play structure in the Northwest."

Blast From the Past

Every Christmas we had this tradition of going to the forest outside of Naches Washington and cutting down our Christmas tree with friends. Whether there was snow on the ground (most common) or not, it was always cold - this explains why Jlyn looks like the Michelin Man or maybe that kid from the movie "A Christmas Story." When it's 40 degrees out nothing beats a campfire, some hot soup, and being dressed in 27 layers.

Garden of Eden?

This picture is from an incredible place we visited in New Jersey - Longwood Gardens. I think it was Natalie that asked the question, "Is this the Garden of Eden?" It really was a neat place to visit complete with a lot of lit up trees. If you're in the area it is worth your time.