Justin had his first wrestling match ever yesterday at Desert Hills Middle School in Kennewick. He is wrestling at 127 lbs. He has been learning some moves in practice and used some of them in his match. He did really well. Here's video of the match. Uncle Matt, any pointers?
Friday, January 22, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Back to Badger
It's been a month or two since I've hiked up my favorite local hill. This morning seemed as good a time as ever. When I hatched the idea, I realized I might even get to enjoy the sunrise. I hustled to the trailhead and headed up, I was not disappointed. It is amazing the beauty of the shades of brown on the desert hill with dried up grasses and sagebrush. As I hiked up, I kept glancing at the sky to the East as it started to glow.
My heart was beating strong in my chest. The cold wind nipped at my exposed nose. I knew every turn as I'd been on this hill a hundred times before. But it was still an exhilarating adventure. I knew I'd pay for it for the next few days with stiff, sore legs that were out of hiking practice. But I set a goal to be on top at least twice a week this year. I only saw two other sets of footprints and one was actually pawprints from man's best friend. No one was in sight this morning and this trail isn't too busy this time of year. As I kept inching higher, the sky grew brighter. A look at my watch showed I was on my normal pace to the top of 19 minutes. As I reached the top, the sun shone bright in my face. I walked around a little on top, then headed back down. I snapped these pictures on the way down and remembered and felt the familiar gratitude for the beauty we are blessed with, even in the desert. Hopefully, within a few weeks, my legs will be used to this and I'll tackle the hardest trail. The late Sir Edmund Hillary would probably scoff at my "adventure" but it's something to me and I'll keep enjoying Badger Mountain.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Polar Bear Plunge, 2010
Well, everyone is alright and safe. We had a great, quick swim in the Columbia River today to mark the New Year holiday. It's an annual tradition. This year, we had about 24 swimmers (probably more people cheering us on along the bank!)
Though we're only in the water about 12 seconds, the fingers, toes and ears got pretty chilly! The water temperature was about 36 degrees, air temperature about 34. We were blessed to have the sunshine come out for the event.
We swam from the Lee Blvd. dock to shore in the Columbia River. Nate, Justin and I all did the swim. Denise was cheering and video recording the event. It was a fun event and we look forward to more enjoyment of our beautiful Columbia River (especially when the water and air warm up a bit!)
Christmas, 2009
Our genuine and sincere thanks to all who shared our home this Christmas. We truly appreciate the good times we had and want you all to know how much we love you!
Trip to the Zoo
A few weeks ago, before Thanksgiving, Nate, Justin and I took a quick trip to see the animals at the Woodland Park Zoo. We went over Friday night and stayed in an older hotel near Seattle Center. We got up the next morning at went to the world's largest REI store. We found a few goodies and drooled over the outdoor selection. It was pretty busy because of a big sale they have going on. They even have a neat climbing pinnacle in the store, billed as the tallest free-standing climbing wall in the world. It was by reservation only so we promised a return trip! Then, we made our way through town to the zoo. It was a neat adventure as we didn't even know it was turkey feed day! Many of the animals (like the leopard and komodo dragon) got to eat their own turkey feast.
We also saw tigers, bears, bugs, giraffes, etc, etc.The Penguin exhibit was pretty cool, they were getting fed when we were there (no turkeys though)
It finally got dark and kind of deserted so we decided to get going, I think we were some of the last people to leave. We also had the chance to stop by and visit Amy and Mindy (thanks for letting us drop in, it was great to see you).
Christmas Tree and the Princess and the Pea
We had a great time combining our annual family traditional Christmas tree trek with a play at the Dayton theater with family. 
We drove up to the Bluewood area in the morning and got parked then hiked up the hill (way up!) We got to the top to find sunshine and ice crusted snow that was great for cutting out snow blocks as Justin and Nate built forts. The view from the mountain was beautiful as we looked down over the Bluewood Ski area.
Denise and I hiked up further and over the top to find a wonderful tree, the trouble was the drifted snow was so deep, Nate and I had drag the tree back up the hill, tugging at it, heave-ho style a foot at a time 'til we reached the top!
It was a wonderful adventure, especially as the tree dragged us back down the hill to the car! Then, we drove back into Dayton to meet Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Liz and Uncle Dan for the community theater production of "Once Upon a Mattress" A humorous rendition of the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea.
It was a neat, intimate venue with good local talent. We finished up with a great dinner at Grandpa and Grandpa's house. It was a great day and we got home exhausted!
Denise with one of the characters
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for the wonderful time! 
We drove up to the Bluewood area in the morning and got parked then hiked up the hill (way up!) We got to the top to find sunshine and ice crusted snow that was great for cutting out snow blocks as Justin and Nate built forts. The view from the mountain was beautiful as we looked down over the Bluewood Ski area.
Denise and I hiked up further and over the top to find a wonderful tree, the trouble was the drifted snow was so deep, Nate and I had drag the tree back up the hill, tugging at it, heave-ho style a foot at a time 'til we reached the top!
It was a wonderful adventure, especially as the tree dragged us back down the hill to the car! Then, we drove back into Dayton to meet Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Liz and Uncle Dan for the community theater production of "Once Upon a Mattress" A humorous rendition of the fairy tale The Princess and the Pea.
It was a neat, intimate venue with good local talent. We finished up with a great dinner at Grandpa and Grandpa's house. It was a great day and we got home exhausted!
Denise with one of the characters
Justin Runs with Sarah Palin, Nate Runs with Santa
Justin and Nate had some fun runs a few weeks ago. Sorry its been awhile since we've updated the blog. A good activity for a quiet New Year's Day (Happy New Year!). Justin ran a 5K on the morning of November 25th (Thanksgiving Day). We had a little surprise in the Tri-Cities as former Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin decided to come to Richland to spend Thanksgiving with her sister's family. She signed "Going Rogue" at a local bookstore and thousands turned out for that. Justin and Denise went to the run in Columbia Park along the river. You can see Justin in the red shirt as he gets started. He had a fun run finishing the 5K in 21:49! A few weeks later, Nate wanted to run in the Jingle Bell Run sponsored by the hospital where I work. It was another 5K that covered the same course I ran for the triathlon in the summer only it was much cooler! Nate won a prize for having the fastest time in the 17 and younger males. He had a good run and a good time too! Here's a video of both events. We hope you enjoy it! Love, Paul
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