Seabrook - For a Day, a Lifetime, or 20 minutes...

Left work a bit early today to head out to Seabrook to deliver a new log desk, chair, mirrors and blocks. The drive was easy, but a bit slow. I unloaded the car, settled in for a few minutes on the porch to take in the views and listen to the ocean. I'll maybe hop on my bike
and cruise around, or maybe just relax here for a bit longer.

I'll head back to Olympia in a while, but for now, I'll savor some time on the porch.

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

A couple of video messages for the Birthday Boy!

We love you!

Brian, Julie, Ian, Charlotte, and Alec

5 Drifts - 5 Fish

It took 5 casts to catch 5 fish Sunday afternoon. The fabled fish of 1,000 casts - the elusive Steelhead - seemed for 20 minutes at least, to be as simple to catch as a chill in February.

Our boat, guided by "Miracle Ken" had toiled for nearly 6 hours along 20 miles of river with only 1 Steelhead to show for our efforts. Ken announced it was time for a fourth quarter comeback. So with Favrian skill he orchestrated what would now and forever more be known as simply "The Comeback".

You see, it wasn't just us not catching any fish, it was everyone. Hundreds of shore and boat anglers had been counting their thousand casts, hoping the next one was it. Blue Creek was swarming with boats and people, the only missing player, the fish. That was, until Ken piloted us to the top of the drift and into the Steelhead Hall of Fame.

We increased our weight, switched our presentation and set forth. (no pun intended). 30 yards down the drift, "Fish On!") We landed a mid-size hen a few hundred yards down river. We proceeded back upstream and began again.

This time it took all of 40 yards for the announcement. "Fish On!" So it was to be, another Steelhead.

We tried again and again...two more drifts two more fish. 4 for 4.

In the world of hitting a baseball 4 for 4 is a fine, fine day. In the world of fishing for Steelhead 4 for 4 would be like throwing a perfect game and hitting for the cycle in the same game.

Would lady luck smile upon us on drift 5?

The simple answer, yes. Just as Bill Murray lived the same day over and over in Groundhog Day, so we did on Blue Creek for a fifth time.

Anglers on the shore and in their craft stood with jaws agape as Ken drifted us through that final run and simply stated, "I believe we've worn out our welcome".

As quickly as it had begun, it ended. We got our 6 fish - 5 on 5 casts the other on 6,000 casts, which I guess when you average it all out it not all that special after all. ;)

Many thanks to Chuck and Bob for the trip and hat's off to Ken - architect of "The Comeback".

Adios 14 MPG, A Strike, and Before and After

So it's been a fun Saturday around here. It started with me presenting to Pastoral Council and is now just winding down.

Adios 14 MPG

We replaced our Jeep with a brand spankin' new Jetta. I was tired of filling up the tank every 3 or 4 days and the mileage with the big mudders was just downright unacceptable from an economic and environmental standpoint. Our gas mileage will increase by 2x - 3x.

A Strike

Charlotte and I went to Zavien's Birthday party. It was Charlotte's first time bowling and she did very well. She scored a bumper assisted 72. With her rolling the rock so effectively, I decided I best stay on the sidelines so as to not be outscored. A video is below.

Before and After - A Haircut

Have you seen me lately?

It has been a crazy week.

It all began with a whirlwind of graduation, end of school, birthdays and Father's Day and now has settled in to a less than hectic pace. Lots has been going on here, but it's been a blur. I'm looking forward to a day of fishing tomorrow on the Cowlitz River as the guest of one of our vendors, so that's nice. I will be sure to get some photos up of this as well as the remaining June gallery items sometime tomorrow afternoon.

Here are the highlights from last week!

• Book Club - Mom's Group
  
• Bellydancing
• Poker
• Ian's last day of school
• 1st Grade Swim Party
• Charlotte's last day of school and graduation
• Alec's Birthday
• Charlotte's Friend's Birthday
• Presentation to St. Michael Parish Pastoral Council (1 hour from now)
  
• Small fender bender in the Costco parking lot (Friday the 13th)
• Finally finishing 2007 taxes
• Father's Day BBQ (Flank Steak) and Smoked Baby Back Ribs
• Mom's Group Painted Plate Night
  
• 10 Gallons Belgian Wit
• Possible new car? $13.50 a day to and from work is not going to cut it for much longer with these gas prices

More to come...I promise. :)

I'm Two - Birthday Videos

Alec turned two yesterday and you can see some of the video highlights below! Enjoy!

Presents

Book from Charlotte

Lawnmower from Ian

Happy Birthday - Blow out the Candles

Eating Cake

Don't forget about the June Photo Gallery!

The Graduate - Two Down One to Go!

We are now officially under a one-year hiatus from Sacred Heart Preschool as Charlotte graduated this evening. I can't say enough about how wonderful Sacred Heart school has been for our children. Ms. DeeDee and the entire staff have given both Charlotte and Ian a great start and for that we are very grateful. Charlotte won the "Writing Her Name Award" for her determination while learning to write the longest name. :)

Next year we will have two at St. Michael. This will certainly make it easier on carpools, etc. but we will miss the trip to Lacey. Perhaps Ms. DeeDee will use the year to prepare for our sweet little Mr. Mischief. :)

Hooray for Friends!

Ian and Murron at the park celebrating the graduation of Charlotte and
Audrey!

Seabrook Weekend

Despite a cold weekend we had a great time this past weekend at Seabrook. We arrived Friday afternoon and spent that evening playing around the house. Saturday morning Ian and Charlotte made breakfast, played Wii and hung out around the house. In the afternoon, we all watched The Princess Bride and Charlotte declared it the "Greatest Movie Ever". We roasted marshmallows and hunted some frogs Saturday night. Daddy even shared some Alaska Frontier Ale with friends. We spent most of the day Sunday laying low before heading back to a busy work week. It fun to be back at the beach. I've posted some shots in the June Gallery!

Candy Land Cake

This past Friday was Charlotte's Birthday! Well, not really, but it was the day they celebrated her summer birthday at school. The occasion was made even more special by one of Mommy's famous cakes. This time, a Candy Land cake. The cake featured, lollipops, an ice cream cone castle, rollo swamp, candy canes, gumdrops, and more. It made a big hit at school! I added some of the in-process shots to the June Gallery!

The Reveal - Belgian Wit Edition

So, I re-cleaned out all the lines in the fridge, re-sanitized everything in preparation for the tapping of the Belgian Wit keg. Today was the day. Verdict: Excellent!

Bottles will be ready in one more week!

The Dance!

A classic video of a princess dance joined sometimes by a prince known as Mr. Mischief. :)

Authors and Artist Fair

Ian wowed the crowd at the Authors and Artist Fair at St. Michael School on Monday. He did a stirring rendition of the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. In addition he showed off some of his great artwork. Added to the June Photo Gallery! Also I've added a video below...Enjoy!

We have a jumper!

Ian taking his turn off the diving board. Hooray!

A Lazy June Day

So it's been a lazy day around here. We are all missing Mommy and looking forward to her return. We took the opportunity to recover from the fun and activity of Dad's weekend, not to mention clean up! :)

Alec was a bit tired and grouchy this morning and was acting like he may be getting sick, so we laid low, missed out on fishing at the Lacey pond with the Risse family. There is always next time.

I've started June's Photo Gallery...the first upload includes shots around our house on this lazy first day of June.

Alt Style Ale - Another (Alt)ernative

So you may or may not have read my earlier post(s)

• Single Stab Wound to the Hand - Alt Style Ale
  
• Alt Style Ale Recipe

Mercifully, this post is more related to the second. My wound has healed and I have at least to this point avoided lock-jaw (much to the staff's chagrin).

In any case, during Dad's weekend, I elected to brew late last night after the kiddies were in bed and expanded upon the Alt Ale recipe previously discussed. In this case all remained the same EXCEPT, I replaced the Hallertauer hops with Mt. Hood. Why? I dislike pellet hops.

Fermentation is currently rip-roaring and it appears we will have 10 gallons in a couple of weeks. We'll see how it differs from the previous batch.

Also while wart was boiling I bottled the Belgian Wit and kegged 4 gallons. I was a fun late night/early morning.

On Safari

The kids and I took a trip over to Charlie's Safari yesterday and it was a blast. While they are still working out a few kinks you can see that it is going to be a very successful operation. With our weather being marginal at best for 9 months out of the year it is great to have a spot so close to home where the kids can get out (or in rather) and play. They offer a huge play area, bouncing houses and slides, put put golf, laser tag, and an arcade complete with tickets which you can redeem for prizes. While it is nearly 8 dollars a child for the bounce house and play area, adults with a paid child are FREE. (Laser Tag and Golf are extra). As an added bonus, even the adults can play! Just make sure to leave your shoes and BRING SOCKS...no bare feet allowed. :)

More Photos