Look Who I Found Under the Tree

Liam does his "Chicago" Dance

Liam has been doing what he calls his "Chicago" Dance. Here it is in slow motion.

Corbin Howard

Corbin's Pouty Lips

More to come soon. Here is a freshly hatched Corbin testing out his pouty lips and eyes.

Blast Off!

The Many Layered Liam

Liam is constantly asking us to button, tie, or fasten something as he puts on layer upon layer of clothing to create some amazing costumes. Then when he gets frustrated dismantling his latest creation we are often surprised to see how many layers there are. He's had six socks on (per foot!) and will also have something like this on his legs starting with his birthday suit > underwear > pajama bottoms > underwear > shorts > underwear > bigger shorts > underwear (and sometimes a couple extra layers of underwear on top of that last layer)

wore half ink abe abe bee

2010 SoCal Ragnar

A few days ago Ashlie and I got to run in the Southern California Ragnar Relay with "The Big Kahunas", a great team of family and friends, many of whom you may recognize (or be!) in the photos below.

Starting Friday morning, our team ran the 200 miles non-stop in 31 hours and 55 minutes (First Place did 22:35! Last was 40:02). The course started in Ventura and ended at Dana Point. James put together a map of the course and exchange points. The route was divided into 36 legs and each person was assigned 3 legs that fell in the same order throughout the race. I was runner 9, so I had legs 9, 21 and 33. Ash had 11, 23, and 35.

Each team was also divided into two vans. Van 1 took the first six legs, then our van (which I drove most of the time) took the next six, and then we traded back and forth. We tried to get rest while the other van was on, but that didn't always work out so well and by the end we were pretty fried and tired. Saturday night we slept very well.

It was so fun to spend time with everyone, see the creativity of all the teams, work hard and play together. Ashlie and I both thought it was a great experience we would do again.

The Big Kahunas just after finishing

Nemo was the mascot for "The Big Kahunas". We traded him off at the exchange points. We didn't carry him throughout the race, because he needed to get dressed up for his photo shoots, like this one in night gear showing what we needed to wear when it got dark.

Megan passing the baton (slap bracelet) and Nemo to Ashlie

Teams decorated their vans (and bodies) with names, logos, funny phrases, taunts, and all sorts of mischief. Here we have boxes we checked off after finishing our legs. "Victims" or "Roadkill" tallies marked other racers we passed during our runs.

The runners (plus some little helpers) joined in on the last part of the final leg to cross the finish line together.

Ashlie and me with her sisters Nikki (who turned 18 the day we flew out) and Megan. Kyle Beck, on the left, came in at the last minute to sub for someone else who couldn't make it. His brother, Nathan Beck (who can be seen in the far right of the finish line shot) rounded out our half of the team.

Brooklyn Trains Her Dragon

We went and saw "How to Train Your Dragon" which we all really enjoyed. This and "Kung Fu Panda" are, I think, the best CG animated films from DreamWorks so far.

Later that night Brooklyn drew this great picture. The text reads:

"Dragons [LOVE] Fish but...I don't know why?"

"ME [<---] A Real Dragon Trainer"

"They make them look mean...But look deeper and harder"

And it has a collar with the name "Delilah"

Liam Spins a Yarn

After hearing Brooklyn present her book report, Liam wanted a turn and told us a tale of intrigue and his "zero brothers"

Liam's Coat

Liam put on this coat and transformed into...

Marathon Man

Way back in October, Nathan ran his first marathon! (That deserves a back post, wouldn't you say?)

We woke up around 3:30, to get Nathan to the bus to get him to the starting line.

Before the race

Ashlie's sister had the kids at mile 23 to cheer Nathan on, and to call and let me know when he was on his way to the finish line!

Crossing the finish line!
(The army soldier in the picture was with a unit that was there to carry people to first aid when they collapsed--yes there were several!)

Nathan's official finishing time was 4:21 (it took over 5 minutes to cross the starting line!) He was hoping to finish around 4:00, but I think finishing at all is very impressive!! It took him a few days to recover, but he's talking about doing it again!!

I staked out a spot at the finish line (that I wasn't about to give up!) and watched the first runner cross at 2:21 (WOW!). It was a great place to be to watch people's reactions as they crossed. And, of course to watch out for Nathan and be able to take pictures of him as he crossed!

Little Chef

Liam LOVES banana bread (with chocolate chips, of course! Which, by the way, makes excellent french toast!) And he LOVES to help make it (wearing the strawberry apron that I had when I was 3!) He does a great job cracking eggs (rarely gets shells in!) and helping pour and mix in all the ingredients! We try and frequently have some available, because that is one thing I can get that kid to eat!

Jacob Memorial Video 2009

Six years ago today we held the funeral for my brother Jacob. On that day I shared a video I put together of some moments from Jacob's life, growing up, his artwork, his skating etc. The video contained some wonderful photos and video taken by family and friends. I also included some footage I started shooting with Jacob for a short film that I never finished.

I have since made a few changes and added a few more clips. So for those of you who knew Jacob, I hope this brings back some good memories.

Jacob and Spencer on the Raft

6 years ago my brother Jacob died; he was almost 20 years old. Early that morning, I got a phone call from my Uncle Kevin who softly gave me the hard news. Kevin was always a hero to me for making those calls.

The glass through which I saw life cracked and shattered. And a river of thoughts and emotions flooded my little room of perception.

As I went through video footage and photos I tried to put together a memorial video of some of my brother's life. This was one little clip from footage that my Aunt June shot when we visited their place in Arizona one summer.

Dance Recital

Brooklyn had her annual dance recital in June. The theme this year was "Around the World in 60 Minutes" Brooklyn is a natural dancer and did a fantastic job (even though she had a fever through the performance!)

Brooklyn with her teacher, Miss Kathryn

The dance class in their ballet costumes (they did a Spanish dance)

Brooklyn and her aunt Katie are in the same class!!

Impromptu Piano Recital

This made me smile and I had to share!! If only we could all be like this at 90!!



Fran & Marlo Cowan (married 62 years) playing impromptu recital together in the atrium of the Mayo Clinic. He's 90!!

Brooklyn's Cast

Brooklyn chose a green cast, and Daddy got first dibs on signing it (he drew Kermit, then wrote the same thing my dad wrote on my cast when I broke her arm at about the same age: "Too bad. So sad, your Dad.")



Brooklyn was excited to be getting her cast off! (It was getting itchy!)




Getting used to the strange feeling! (It took about 3 weeks for her to be able to straighten her arm all the way, practicing and stretching several times a day!) We were grateful that it was broken where it was and not 1/2 inch difference, or it would have been on the growth plate and she would have needed pins! There are lots of things to be grateful for with the outcome of our accident)

Moon Rise

Nathan took this awesome picture on Earth Day from our back deck (we have the greatest view!!)

Homework

I love this picture of Brooklyn working hard on her homework!! :)