Boarding Weekend Spectacular!!

Julia and I stayed local and enjoyed a great weekend of Ski and Boarding.. We were at Stevens on Sunday night, the snow was falling, the runs were great and no one was on the mountain. The video of Julia was destroyed by my unsteady hands and wobbly legs. Monday we spent on the west side and and found ourselves at the REI Winter clearance. We cleaned up and made the manager cry. Julia found a great ski helmet that looks made just for her. We also dipped our hands into the REI Garage Sale bin. I found a tent that I could not pass up. Tag told a story of the first owner using it a couple times before the they figured out they did not like the design. A "Half Dome" may be the best tent made. It was in nearly perfect condition, at garage sale price plus 50% off last marked price. Yikes, did I really need a tent? NO! But I thought it needed a good home anyway. Julia found a great camp pillow for $5.

Merle and Doreen went to Sun Peaks for the weekend. Merle must have gone crazy if this picture tells us anything. Did he come home in one piece? Dinner later to see, and lets make plans for next year...!

Arron's Birthday Weekend

We started Arron's Birthday weekend celebration with a fine dinner at the Lobster Shop on Jan 31. Yum Yum...

Can you guess what Julia is doing?

1. hiding from the camera
2. licking her plate
3. showing off her ring
4. looking for the logo
   

Feb 1 the after dinner snow at Stevens Pass was good, crowds were nonexistent ...Skiing was perfect.

We out lasted the boys on the slope ... seems they froze over waiting for the adults to tire out...

Hardwood Floor & Floods

UPDATE with new pictures off Arron's phone.

During Christmas we received a little snow as seen here with Corey standing on top of the pile. Notice how his knees are even with the railing on the deck !


After the snow it rained a little, melted the snow and caused wetness.

This is the building in Snohomish with the flood guage. This flood was pretty good but it did not pass the 1977 flood. We needed about 6 or 8 inches more to beat the record.

Looking at the Snohomish River Bridge from town to the airport. Notice the walk way into the river.

WOW, I almost forgot to share the great news. I no longer have traffic cones protecting the holes in the kitchen floor. I ordered up a refinished floor complete with a cherry - brown stain for a warmer look. This all happened during the floods, so while I ran around working in flood water everywhere, Grandma and Grandpa let Corey and I sleep over.

Arron, was more comfortable finding himself stuck north of the Snohomish River, lord knows he didn't want to miss any time at school during the flood. He bunked with his mom until the Snohomish River returned to its normal course. I didn't get many photos until after the weekend arrived but still you can see the retreating water. Arron has a picture trapped in his phone showing the level on the Snohomish depth board. This flood was a couple inches from the past record. I promise a photo soon. This shows the alternate route that opened a couple days before the highway opened.

Snow Bird Update

Not a lot of news other then the weather is warm and the sun, yes sun still exists.

Saturday they will arrive and visit many friends.

Mt. Si - in January

On Saturday we conquered Mt Si...

Julia the incredible hiker resting waiting for me to catch up.

Eric, Merle and Doreen were going hiking and although we slept in we were able to catch up to the crowd as they were coming down the trail. We were only a half mile from the top so we pushed forward knowing we would be late for after hike burgers, but it was worth the accomplishment. Seeing the view from the top and getting our feet in the snow too. For both Juila and I this was the first time on Mt. Si and we loved the challenge and vowed to do more hiking to be ready for a long trip this summer. Julia's knee is impressive and well.

Jim helps Bo to the Mt. Si view.

Ok- I learned how to rotate a video ....

Jim Stars in "Forensic Files" Case

Lights, camera, and some make-up action - this is the true behind-the-scenes making of an upcoming episode of the TV show,

"Forensic Files." Jim was the lead detective on a double homicide back in 1995. I do not want to reveal much of the case, but the crimes were gruesome, terrifying the community. The 20-month investigation is intriguing and leads to a satisfying end where the killer is captured and convicted to life without the possibility of parole.

Jim reviews a tableful of information - over 650 tips were documented, investigated and prioritized. Check the grin - he should not be that happy being up so early on a holiday (MLK Jr) - he is obviously delirious from his 16-hour study session the night before.

Here producer, Mike Joseloff from NYC, directs prosecutor, Don Raz, and Jim on a scene. Soundman, Ed Liming, signals camerman, Stan McMeekin.

Jim works the investigation - scene 5 take 2.

Unfortunately, my little chocolate gave out except for this last one - hmmm - looks suspiciously like Jim's front seats, but so clutter free... the things you do for Hollywood. Just when the street scenes were about to start - lights, sirens, action!

(Pencil in the Date October 16th @ 10 PM as the projected date this should be on. Maybe someone can "Tivo" this for a pizza party the next day.)

Click for Forensic Files - Whats new.

We are not listed yet... so .... don't look to hard. jk

Parents Flee Winter Weather

Broken pipes, shoveling snow and water water everywhere the panic stricken parents in Shohomish flee the cloudy Seattle weather.

They write in code of course ... We are in Redding Ca. left Sutherland Or. @ 9 AM arrived here 2 PM will spend the night. Water pump has a leak so will need to get it repaired, we may enjoy the sun here for a day or so.
Mom & Dad

Saturday Jan 17 they report in with glorious tales of fine home cooked dining in local restaurants near Bannon State Park a short distance from Lodi California on Thursday.

Friday night was spent in their favorite stop in Boron California. No side trips this time because they are dashing to the Fountain of Youth Trailer Resort on the North East side of the Salton Sea. Mom looks forward to warm weather and swimming in the pools.

2009 First Ski & Board Trip

On Friday the 2nd day of 2009 we went snow boarding. Conditions were good, the wind was calm and the crowds were not bad. We took the Suburban on it's first ever ski trip. The snow boards and Julia's skis fit nicely inside. This was like driving in luxury compared to the past several years of squishing into the truck with the kiddie seat as a back seat.

Julia went with her new years theme...
"something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" I helped her obtain this goal by leaving her skiing back pack in the house while we packed the Suburban for our first trip of the year. You might wonder what did this pack pack contain? Actually nothing much just her gloves, hat, goggles and all the stuff one likes to have to be skiing in 20 degree snow covered mountains. We were loaned a pair of goggles and went to the lost & found where we borrowed gloves and a hat. Arron wore my gloves, Julia wore Arron's gloves and I wore the glove shells from the lost and found and we were in business. Julia tested her new skis, knee and brace, I tried to keep up as she streaked down the mountain side.

I forgot the camera too so there are no photos of this first adventure, do believe this will not happen again. I will always bring her gloves, goggles, hat and camera from now on. Sorry, sorry to break in here, but I must interrupt to say that Julia forgot her gloves, goggles, and hat, and Julia will remember to bring them from now on. OK, Jim may continue...

Dinner at the Bull's Tooth Pub and Eatery was great as usual. Oh yeah, and get better, Moe! We missed Doe and Moe on the hill - just no one to chase.

Special Piano Music

My girls play beautiful songs on the piano but never like this... (click title)

Jim's Christmas Ho Ho Ho Down!

Click on the title Ho Ho Ho Down to watch Jim's creative dance steps with the not-so-famous-but-oh-so-willing Danish Shoreline twins.

Winter Police Work

With the icy roads we work extra hard to catch the bad guy.

Click here to see.

Merry Christmas

Cruising with Hurricane Paloma

Imagine the surprise when I was sitting in the airport on the way to Florida when I saw a news report talking about Hurricane Paloma. Oh My! Cruising with Hurricane Paloma, the second largest hurricane in November history with winds of 145 MPH. Yes, for all you technical geeks it was only a tropical storm by the time we were introduced to the rains from Paloma. Hurricane or Tropical storm they both have wind, waves and rain. Who would have thought the November hurricanes travel east not west. To the Captains credit we were well blessed with acceptable weather even if there were several nights the outside decks were closed because of high winds. On the nights the decks were open there were places on the deck up front where it felt as if your feet were being moved and pushed from under you just by the force of the winds.

When I made the reservations we all teased about my November 2006 cruise when Seattle was hit with floods, now in 2008 as my November vacation neared it became clear that my vacation would coincide with floods once again. The seriousness of the floods started early too with a horrible accident on the Green River. With local events leading up to my vacation departure I found it extra hard to transition from work to vacation. It was an extra challenge to surrender these thoughts because of vacation is an understatement, the thoughts of the unresolved incident would seep into my daily thoughts for nearly the entire vacation. I knew the critical and hard work the team would be doing while I was gone. Of course the team was fantastic and did the job as true hero's, the work each and everyone doing the seemingly impossible with little recognition for the emotional tolls this work brings to the table with it.

Enough of that, diving in 82 degree water is always wonderful and the sun burns that go with it are a great treasure to bring home. We dove 4 times on 2 days. Unfortunately we did not get to go out to the wreck dive I had wanted to investigate. However, we were well taken care of and dove on a series of beautiful reefs. Besides the first dive boat would have never made the 30 minute run to the wreck site since it broke down on the way in and needed a little tow to get home. Seems the water pump failed and over heated the motor. The dive operation I selected was not some mass produced mega company that catered to cruise ships but rather a great husband and wife team who are determined to make each dive unique and personal with a great amount of caring, perfect for our needs on this trip. Julia discovered they quit their jobs only a year ago and left the States to become dive operators at Secret Cove. From what I see they are enjoying their choice to leave the rat race back home.

The next day in St Maarten we dove the same company as in 2006. It was no surprise when we ended up at the same dive site again. Big Mama's Reef, named after the shark that live there and The Maze Reef a great place with swim through rocks. On this St Maarten dive we were lucky enough to have two professional diver photographers on the tour. Most photo posted today are from the one dive photographer. I am still waiting for my point and shoot photos and the 2nd photographer's photos. The damage to the reef was amazing, caused by the waves of Paloma. Broken coral and sand piled up against the rocks leaving only the hard clay bottom of the ocean exposed. (See dive and other photos)

This would be Big Mama -- she was not home while we were visiting... Remember in 2006 she was, and she had friends too.

Click this Link to see the 2006 photo of Big Mama...

Fun was had on the Fun Ship too. We even found time to dance a little between meals... This was actually the Red Team winning the contest. Seems the other two teams could not compete against Julia's magical dance steps. How incredible to have such a talented and wonderful dance partner.

Here is a clip from the weather center on Paloma;
Hurricane Paloma: Second most powerful November storm. Now that it has faded away, Hurricane Paloma will never be forgotten because of its late season assault on the Cayman Islands and Cuba.It will also be remembered for some climatological reasons. It was the second most powerful November hurricane on record, reaching peak sustained winds of 145 mph on Saturday.Only Hurricane Lenny in 1999 was stronger. On Nov. 17 of that year, that system reached a maximum sustained wind speed of 155 mph -- 1 mph shy of Category 5.At the time, Lenny was just south of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Fortunately, its strongest winds were over sea, not land. Still, Lenny killed 17 people in the northern Lesser Antilles.In becoming a Category 4 hurricane, Paloma marked the first time on record that a major hurricane (Category 3 or above) developed in five consecutive months during a season. The other major storms this year: Hurricane Bertha in July; Hurricane Gustav in August; Hurricane Ike in September and Hurricane Omar in October. Thanks to Paloma, as well as the other intense hurricanes this year, 2008’s Accumulated Cyclone Energy index, an overall measure of tropical activity, is about double that of 2007, experts say. Last year saw 15 named storms, including six hurricanes. With Paloma, this season has seen 16 named storms. That is the fourth most (tied with 2003) storms since 1944, when aircraft reconnaissance of tropical systems began. Only 1969, 1995 and 2005 saw more storms.

POSTED IN: Powerful November hurricanes (1)

Catching Up .... October 29th

How long has it been since we visited last......?

Arron has finished his Cross Country Running. His last meet was October 25th, he ran his best time ever shaving 50 seconds off his race time. I think he is starting to see his ability. This week, even though his running was officially over he decided to challenge his mile time this time cutting his time by another 20 seconds.

I have been to the Marine Fire Fighting Academy, which sounds pretty cool. In reality we were taught the very basic skills needed for fighting a fire on board a ship. We put out flaming gasoline on water, a little fire in a "galley" which looked surprisingly like a Aries K car. Then we finally, after two days of talking about getting into a fire were allowed to go into a real building with fire.... YES! Fire... I did however break the rules and snuck my camera in and while assigned to the back of the crew during the end of the training, I took out my camera and snapped a couple shots... :)


I have started diving at work with 4 dives in the last few weeks. My first dive was in the Snoqualmie River, then two at Lake Sammamish and now one in Lake Washington. Sorry no photos of myself to share. I do have a very stylish wet suit that someday will be seen.

Oh cruise count down... 10 days to go...

New Trailer

Craig and I have purchased a nice kayak, airplane car hauling trailer.... check it out...