Been Awhile!

No Excuses!

The time is right to start writing again!

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Stay tuned for updates. I plan on starting to post updates here much more frequently that I have in the past!

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I was amazed!

Cage: Where did this come from?

Self Portrait Masterpieces...Or Not!

Self Portrait Using Your Phone's Camera
By the way...this is NOT a HOW TO post. Has anyone mastered the art of self portraits using the camera in your phone? Seems like the more I try the weirder my pictures get. Like this one at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Yikes! "Hey, Down in Front Man!!"
And here is one from Miami. Does it look like I just ate a lemon to you? Either that or I'm snarling at the photographer...wait, I think I'm the photographer.Some folks are better at taking these self portraits than others. Take my daughter for example. She just seems to have the natural ability to take a great picture of herself. Oh yeah, it probably helps that she is a much cuter subject than lemon man above.

No that is a pretty darn good self portrait! Let's take a peek at one of my son's self portraits.
Oops! Maybe just a bit too close to the camera man! Ok, this next one is not a self portrait but it is such an awesome phone picture I just had to share it. Jeez how did we ever take cool pictures before they started putting them in our phones?Now here is an example of how much fun you can have with your camera/phone when Mommy goes out for the evening. Rock On Dudes!Speaking of Mommy. How about some "couple shots". Here are a couple of examples...one while sitting on the Herron Island Ferry and one at a restaurant called Sip here in Gig Harbor. How come she looks so pretty and I look like I'm concentrating really hard. Maybe I think I'm trying to build a rocket or something??!!



Alright. Let's see what else I have stored here in the ole phone. Oh yeah, this is one of Cage and I taking one last bike ride by the Spokane River...just before we moved Gig Harbor. Why does my nose look SO BIG?
This one kind of makes me sad because it reminds me of my quest for a salmon here in Puget Sound. So far I've hooked a couple but have not landed them. Maybe tonight :-) I took this while my family was visiting friends in Spokane and I had to leave the next day for Orlando.
Are you getting tired of these yet? Speaking of Orlando here is a wonderful self portrait in front of my hotel. It is kind of bright in Florida.
Wanna see something scary? Probably not but here goes anyway. This was taken in front of Lambeau field in Green Bay,WI. OMG...where have I seen those sunglasses before?
I think the picture below is a self portrait. If so it ranks right up there with Kennedy's portrait above. Good Job Kids! The awesome thing about this picture is that now those two front teeth are missing.
Here is one more for the road. Say Cheese! I took this just before publishing this post. Have a Great Day everyone! BTW the sunglasses are next to me on the desk. I took them off just for you :-)

Ahhh...the sweet fragrance of grass and shooting under Par

Golfing and Fragrance
When I arrived at Madrona Links Golf here in Gig Harbor, WA on Wednesday afternoon the first thing I noticed was the smell. Kind of a wet dirt, grassy, fertilizer fragrance. I say fragrance because that is what it was. Not a smell, or an odor...but a fragrance.

Normally most folks would not associate golfing with fragrances...but I do. Maybe it was because I had not stepped foot on a golf course for over a month. Maybe it is because my sinuses are still trying to adjust to Western Washington instead of Eastern Washington. Or maybe it is because since I've been buzzing around the US in planes lately my whole "smeller" is off. Whatever it is, the smell of the golf course Wednesday night gently rolled over me like a wave of sweet sustenance. I think I missed being on a golf course!

Strange But True
The wave of sweet sustenance had a funny effect on me. It kind of chilled me out...made me relaxed. Kind of like how you feel when you return home after a trip or vacation. You know that feeling...when you are thankful and peaceful..."Glad to be Home" we always say.

I was so freakin' happy to smell a golf course it felt like I had returned home from a looooong trip. I was so excited to be at the course that I fumbled around getting my bag and push cart out of the trunk. I tried to put my socks on over my flip flops and forgot to untie my shoes. I dropped my balls ~ golf balls, that is... tripped over my bag and stumbled over to the practice chipping area. Whew...with these kind of nerves I was not sure what was going to happen when I actually hit my first shot.

And Then!
I dropped 3 balls on the ground and set up to hit some practice chips. First one...good contact right distance but a bit right of the pin. Second one, great contact right at the pin...perfect speed and just short of the hole. Third one...just past the hole.

Hit a few more chips from all the way around the practice area and then over to the putting green with my golfing partner from the office Dave. Putts were rolling pretty good too...I was starting to feel pretty good given that I was beginning to think that trying to play after such a long "break" would be ugly.

Main Event - Under Par
So here 's how it breaks down. After shooting 73 last summer, several mid 70's rounds, several high 70's rounds and a few rounds in the 80's ( HATE THOSE )...

I shot my first round under par.

Hole 1 Par 5 - Par
Hole 2 Par 3 - Par
Hole 3 Par 4 - Par
Hole 4 Par 4 - Par
Hole 5 Par 4 - Birdie
Hole 6 Par 3 - Birdie
Hole 7 Par 4 - Par
Hole 8 Par 5 - Par
Hole 9 Par 4 - Bogey

Front 9 Par 36 - 1 Under

Hole 10 Par 4 - Birdie
Hole 11 Par 4 - Par
Hole 12 Par 3 - Par
Hole 13 Par 4 - Par
Hole 14 Par 4 - Birdie
Hole 15 Par 5 - Birdie
Hole 16 Par 4 - Par
Hole 17 Par 3 - Par
Hole 18 Par 4 - Bogey

Back Nine Par 35 - 2 under

18 Holes Par 71 - 68

So there you have it. I finally did it. For you non golfers out there...this probably just does not make sense. But for us golfers...this is a milestone. In fact even breaking 80 is a feat to master. I don't know how accurate this is but I saw this article and it refers to how many golfers can actually break 80.

Golfing and Fragrance
So what was it? What kept me so calm and in control of my game? I don't know but I hope I can find the "secret sauce" the next time I play.

I think I was just happy to be there. I'm still stunned by how great the grass smelled. It made me feel welcome...like the course was saying "C'mon Dude...where ya been?"

I played smart...hit fairways and hit greens. I did not go for the pins but aimed for safe places on the greens. I putted with confidence and was able to play at a good pace which always helps me. I kept reminding myself that golf is a game of misses and that I had to accept the outcome of my shots. The thing is since I have not been able to play golf...I've been thinking about golf. Here are some Words of Wisdom from golfers of the past. I guess I could sum it up like this... It is like not caring what happens but paying attention to what you are doing when setting up and then swinging.

Thank You
If you've stayed and read this...thank you for indulging me.

See you on the golf course!

Peterson Water Park...in Gig Harbor

Peterson Water Park
Seems like we kind of had a reputation for our Peterson Water Park back in Spokane. We are bummin' because we are not there to invite everyone over for some wet and wild waterworks, but we took the time to set up the ole slide here in Gig Harbor and took sliding to a new level.

Older Cousins
Funny thing about older cousins...they tend to inspire younger cousins to experiment with "new ideas". Here's an example: Instead of just sliding down the big balloon slide, lets get some sleds and surf down it! Fortunately we had two pretty killer sleds that we've used for winter recreation in Spokane. The best part is they go fast, look like a surf board and fit perfectly into the slide.

No ER Visits
We managed to survive surf sliding the entire week with no visits to the ER!! Actually, the kids were great and I'm pretty impressed with our new tradition. And, the waterslide survived too.

So Spokane visitors, next time you come over...bring your sleds!

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MORE INFORMATION

Life In The Harbor

We Are Here In Gig Harbor
Wow...moving sucks! But being together is pretty cool! I guess we have a lot of stuff because it took a long time to pack the 28' trailer and a long time to unload it. Ummm...and the entire container was packed floor to ceiling with only about 2" to spare for the bulkhead boards.

Since we have some "projects" to complete inside our new home the garage is stuffed with all the stuff. I would take a picture but I can't move in there.

Actually the move has gone quite smoothly and it feels good to be landed. We've started to enjoy our new home in between scraping popcorn off of ceilings, pulling weeds, digging up shrubs, watering the dried out lawn, switching out toilets, cleaning, unpacking, etc.

Here is one of our movers :-)

THANK YOU

A great big thank you to all our friends and family who helped us load this trailer. We could not have done it without you. Now get on over here and hang out with us!

Good Life
Here is a glimpse of the "good life" from our new backyard. Our backyard is actually pretty cool. We have tiers and quite a bit of space. Plus there is a large green space between us and the neighbors. Lots of privacy and tons of trees and shrubs. It is VERY green here.

I'll try to post some more photos in the future.

Roasty toasty marshmallows sure taste good after a long day of pulling weeds!

Randi has scraped the popcorn from ceilings in two rooms. The family room also has been scalped of carpet and pad. We are living on sub floor until we can get some new flooring! Here she is in action fixing up our new family room.

New Grill
OMG...don't ever try to assemble a BBQ grill. Buy it assembled if you can. After it takes you two evenings to assemble it you hopefully will be able to enjoy it...kinda like this.

And Finally
It is good to be here. Over the next few weeks we plan to have new carpet installed. We also have a huge shed coming from Costco. We are going to need it because this garage is much smaller than our garage in Spokane.

Also an electrician and a chimney expert to make some repairs. We have the phone, wireless and satellite up and running...but no putting green, yet. So on a final note...I'm going to go sit by this :-)