It has been a whirlwind month already. With my parents coming out the first weekend, work for 4 days, then TJ and Alex coming for a week, it has been a good start to September.
Quentin had his first soccer game on Saturday September 9th, actually it was a soccer jamboree (4 games in one day). Quentin did very well and scored the only goal

in the second game. He also got to play goalie in the third game. To see his pictures, click on “Quentin's Soccer 2006” on the right side. Shortly after Q was done playing, TJ, Alex and Ava arrived from Denver. Ava did very well for her first big

road trip (her first birthday was on September 1st).
Wasting no time we started out on Sunday with a trip to the OMSI. The OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) is incredible. Most of the displays are hands on and

are as much fun for adults as kids.
Monday, Quentin went to school and we went to the Ape Caves. We were so impressed

the first time we saw them; we had to return to do it again. This time however, was after Labor Day so there weren’t as many people. In fact, we only saw one other couple the entire time we were down there. With tripod in hand, we made our way down

the 1 mile long Lava tube. We made it home just in time to pick Quentin up from school.
Tuesday we then decided to go take the tour of the waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge. Again a favorite for Jennifer and I, these spectacular waterfalls leave you

breathless every time you see them. This was our 6th trip to them. Again, we made it home just in time to pick Quentin up from School. Tuesday evening we rented a minivan. Wednesday, our plan was to drive to Seaside, down through Tillamook and end up in

Newport, OR. The minivan would be necessary because Quentin would finally be going with us.
Wednesday morning we departed nice and early. The 2.5 hour drive from Portland to

Seaside was uneventful. Upon arrival in Seaside, we choose to eat at Normas Cafe, once again, a favorite for Jennifer and I. After eating, we made our way to “The Candyman” where Quentin got to choose from the 170 flavors or Salt Water Taffy. We

then took a stroll down the main street and did some window shopping.
After the quick stop in Seaside, we loaded up the van and headed to Tillamook. Jennifer, Qunetin and I have been through there before, but did not have the chance

to stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory last time. This time around, we knew we had to. Once there, you can do the self guided tour ending up in the cheese tasting room. After cheese tasting you can get fresh cheese to go and ice cream cones. We couldn’t resist.

We then piled into the van for the 1 hour trip to Newport. We finally arrived in Newport around 5pm and it couldn't have been better timing. We had all had enough of the car and decided to check out the accommodations at the Waves Hotel. We unloaded the car, got the little one’s rested,

and took a stroll on the beach. Alex and Ava got to finally touch the Pacific Ocean for the first time. From there we headed to the Rogue Brewery for some dinner.
The following day (Thursday) we went to the highly recommend Oregon Coast Aquarium. Indeed it was a treat. This is where the original “Willy” was housed from the movie

Free Willy. After his release into the wild, they turned his tank into a shark pool with a glass tunnel you can walk through. Pretty impressive little aquarium. We took a stroll over to a old light house and tour on our way back to Portland.
Friday we decided to go to Silver Falls Park. Again, highly recommend it consists of

a 8 mile trial with 10 water falls along the way, several of them you can walk behind. We decided to do the abbreviated tour due to time. We hiked down and saw 6 of the ten all in a 4.5 mile loop. Ava enjoyed the trip in the new Kelty kid carrier

they got her. Quentin, again, was in school.
We wrapped up the week long adventure with an anniversary dinner for Teej and Alex (4 years on Aug 2, congrats) at Beaches restaurant. We thank TJ and Alex for the

time they spent out here, we had a blast.
It was a good week with lots of new Oregon to see. We will keep exploring the land and make a list of the best places to go, that way when you come out, we know where we will take you.

This month has flown by. We can't believe it is September already. Not much has happened this last month other than Quentin starting soccer. Now that Labor day is over, Quentin will be going back to school. He is looking forward to that.

Over labor day, my parents came out for three days. I had to plan something that none of us have seen or done, just to mix things up a little. It started off on

Saturday with a trip to the Ape Caves. The Ape Caves are a 12,000 lf lava tube that was caused from an eruption of Mt. St. Helens 1900 years ago. It was discovered in the late 70's by a group of boyscouts, the Ape troop, hence the name. You can go one of two routes, the easy or the difficult. We chose the easy wich takes you in about

1 mile. The temp inside is 42*F year round, a little on the chilly side. It was amazing. On the way back from the caves we pulled to the side of the road and picked marion berries. They are like a cross between rasberries and blackberries. They grow

everywhere and are considered a "weed" to most the natives. We pciked close to 3 lbs and Jennifer made a incredible pie out of them.
The following day I made reservations for a whale watching cruise which departs

from Anacortes, WA. Little did I know it was 40 miles from the Canada border. We left at 4am and it took us 4 hours to get there. Once there we had to picked either heavy coat or suit, Quentin picked the suit. They then loaded you onto their custom

built aluminium boat wich will do around 35-40 knots, it moves you right along. We got front seats and were skimming across the water in no time. We went through the San Juan islands and eventually caught up with three pods of Orcas. We watched them for about 35 minutes and then headed back in. We were out on the boat for about 4 hours.

After that we headed to the property Jennifer and I are buying, took a look around and headed home. We walked in the door about 8:30pm. A LONG DAY!
All in all we had a fun three days. We got to see something new and that's what makes it a good adventure.

It is final. The property is in Escrow. We will post pictures after we go up there and take better ones. My parents are coming out for Labor Day, we will most likely stop by the property, we can post those pics.

Another month has past. Not much news came about through July. Big events include Jennifer teaching preschool again and finding a piece of property.
Jennifer got a job at a local childcare facility. She is teaching preschool and so far enjoys what she is doing. I give her credit, I could not do that job.
We found a piece of property in Hoodsport, WA. It is 5 acres and over looks Hood

Canal. We are expecting to make an offer later this week, keep your fingers crossed. We are planning to build a small house on it in the next 8 years and use it mainly as a get away. The property is situated 15 minutes from Hood Canal and 10 minutes away from Lake Cushman. We will keep you posted on what happens.
One of my best friends, Tad Snide, came out to visit in hte beginning of August. He was out for 6 days. While out here we took a trip down to the OMSI. At the OMSI, we watched "Superman" the new movie on the 72' dome IMAX screen. It was pretty cool. We
then caught a concert in Salem, Rob Zombie and Anthrax. Tad knows the bad Anthrax on a first name basis. We arrived early and hung out with them on the tour bus, and even got to take Scott Ian to Best Buy. It was pretty sweet. Tad hooked me up with a
full access photo pass for the concert. While they were on stage, I could go anywhere and shoot them. I mainly stayed down in front between the crowd and the

stage, it was amazing. Check the photos out on Anthraxband.blogspot.com.
Over the weekend we went downtown Portland and then out to the waterfalls along the Coulmbia Gorge. Once again, they were amazing.

We were looking for a “non-crowded” camping trip this time around. We loved the coast so much in May, we decided to look there again. We had been looking at a visit
to Shi Shi Beach/Point of Arches area. It is a long haul to this spot, taking almost 7 hours. We put it on the back burners until the perfect weekend. We spoke to the rangers last time we went camping, and they told us to try Toleak Point and then Shi Shi Beach. We took their advice and scheduled Shi Shi Beach for the July 4th weekend. To our surprise, the latest backpacker magazine came out featuring our July 4th destination on the front cover. We thought we were going to be among a sea of tents, but we were wrong. There were less people than there were at Toleak Point. To see the whole trip and read about the most amazing beer story ever, click on “Shi Shi Beach” to the right.

What a month it has been. It started off perfect with an incredible camping trip to Toleak Point, and will end with another one. Unfortunately the destination of choice coming up is featured on the front page of this month’s issue of Backpacker Magazine. We expect a lot of people to be present.

Quentin got a little pet. We got him a hamster and he named it “dash”. A fitting name because the thing will not stop running on its wheel. That seems like the only activity it likes to do.

For Fathers Day the family and I went to the Portland International Speedway to watch the Portland Grand Prix. We got free tickets from a vendor at work which had

incredible seats, right across from the Pits. What not a better time to bring the Canon 20D and the 300mm lenses which allowed for the close up action.

Last weekend I had the great idea (at the time) to build Quentin a clubhouse. Every kid needs a clubhouse some time in his life and Q was overdue. With most of the kids in the neighborhood hanging out at our house anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to keep them outside in there own play place. At work, we are about to demo a building. I went in and removed a couple walls, doors, shelves, etc. Everything that was used in this clubhouse was 100% recycled and cost $0.

This weekend Jennifer, Quentin and I decided to go for a hike. We learned that there was a hidden waterfall which required water hiking. We set out for the short trip which led us to the base of a pretty large waterfall where you could swim in the

bottom. It was incredible and beautiful. The hike is was exciting, reaching depths of mid torso deep, it kept it interesting.

What a weekend. Quentin, Jennifer and I all went camping at the Coast in Olympic National Park (Check Map Below). To read and see the entire trip, click on "Toleak Point Trip" on the right.

It has been awhile since our last update. We have been so busy with jobs and life. We have had little time on the weekends to do much of anything, except to relax and get ready for the next week. We finally got a break when Bob and Claudia (Jennifer’s parents) decided to visit. Our first stop was the waterfalls along the Columbia River. This trip was better than the last trip, not so cold and miserable. We took the entire tour of the falls finishing at the Vista House.This last weekend we made the decision to go to the Oregon Coast. We drove the hourand half to Seaside. Seaside is a small town suited for tourist right on the coast, with a large board walk and many shops to explore. Jennifer finally got to see theocean which made her very happy. From Seaside, we made our way South to Cannon Beach. While in Cannon Beach we drove into the local park which sent you to a very picturesque over look of the cliffs and ocean. While on our departure from the park we got our taste of wildlife. Elk are not a big deal for us due to the fact we got to see them on a daily basis in Colorado, but it was interesting seeing them in a different environment, so green and lush. After departing Cannon Beach, we drove Highway 101 along the coast to Tillamook. Tillamook is famous for cheese and dairy products. We were not that impressed with the town and left fairly
early. From Tillamook, we drove back to Portland and called it a day.
Our next weekend trip planned is to visit the Ape Caves out side of Mt. St. Helens. We will keep you posted.

We are all moved in. The house is put together, and we can even park a car in the garage now. We now have a guest bedroom and our door is always open.

Jennifer is staying busy finishing the final touches, working a part time job, and taking care of the family. We are both looking forward to December for our 22 day trip to East Africa. We are going for our ten year anniversary, can you believe it is almost ten years.

Quentin is loving his new school. He has lots of new friends and is being challenged with the new curriculum. The schools here are much tougher than the Colorado school he came from, they rank 2nd in the Country. This will be very good for him.

As for myself, I am busy with work. I have been putting in some long hours to try to get the job up and running. Little time for anything else. This will be one of the most interesting jobs I have ever been on. We are building a sewer overflow tunnel under Portland. It is 80'-165' deep and 22' diameter tunnel that stretched for 6 miles. It is going to be pretty cool. The Tunnel Boring Machine is having the final preparations done at the Herrenknecht plant in Germany before it is shipped to us.

Last weekend we finally got to get away for a little bit, we made it to the waterfalls along the Columbia River. They were really cool even in the winter time. We are looking forward to them in the summer.
We have attended a Winterhawks hockey game up here, it was fun, especially since the tickets were free. We invited our new neighbors to go with us, they are pretty nice, and again, they have a daughter Quentin's age. We do miss the Avalanche though.
This weekend, the fire department burnt down a house about 3 blocks over, Quentin and I went and watched, it was interesting to watch and made me miss doing that on the Fire Department in Evergreen.

All is well and we hope to hear from all of you soon.

We are moved in and the house is getting unpacked slowly. To see the fun we had on the road trip, click the link to the right that says "The Move 2006"

Got the house this last weekend. Everything is set. We went to Q's new school and that sold us on the house. The movers will be at our house the 24th of January and we will do the long road trip route and be at the new house the 30th of January. Here is a picture of our new house we are moving into....

WE ARE MOVING

Kenn just found out he will be transfered to Portland, OR at the end of Januay. We are going to be in our new place by Jan 30th. We are not changing our cell phone numbers so you will still be able to reach us without having to go through the big hassle of remebering another number.
We are looking to move on the Vancouver, WA side of the river and Kenn will drive across each day.

Another month has almost past and no new news. Jennifer, Quentin and myself are all doing fine.
Jennifer and I attended the Boston vs Colorado Hockey game last night. Of course I was cheering for Boston(even though they traded Thorton - boneheads) and Jennifer
for Colorado. Just like most of their season, the Bruins looked horrible and lost 4-1. The seats were great at least, we sat in VIP club level (one of the vendors I work with gave us the tickets).

Click to see our latest adventure on the right. Jennifer, myself, and a couple guys I work with went to Blue John Canyon November 11-13, 2005.

Another month has passed.

Fall is finally here. These are some pictures taken last weekend of Jennifer and Quentin playing in the leaves. The last of Quentin’s soccer pictures have been added also.

October was a fairly good month. Quentin finished up soccer on the 30th. He finished with quite a few goals this season. Now that soccer is over we are going to really concentrate on skating. I have put him on inline skates and he is improving. I would like him to start playing hockey this spring. He should be ready by then. School is going good for him and his parent/teacher conference went really well.

Jennifer is doing equally as good. She is still teaching preschool at Parker Landing in Aurora. This takes up the majority of her time and enjoys the weekends off at least. She has made it to every soccer game and practice, making her the ultimate soccer mom. We are going on a Canyoneering trip November 11,12, and 13th to Blue John Canyon in Eastern Utah. This is the same canyon where Aron Ralston had to amputate his own arm to survive. We are looking forward to this trip and will post pictures when we get back.

I am staying busy with work, hockey and weekend photography. The job is going well and we forecast our departure sometime in spring. We are hoping to make it in Denver until Quentin is out of school. When we do eventually make it back to the West Coast, we are going to do a road trip and swing by to see everyone in Southern California. We will let you know the details when we have them.
I have started a new hockey team on Sunday nights and we are doing very well so far. The photography business is taking off and the weekend schedule is starting to book up quickly. I have taken several studio portraits, a couple of weddings, and family location portraits for different families and friends. Finally the money is starting to come in to offset some of the equipment that has recently been purchased.

This is our non-exciting month in review.

Practice makes perfect


Quentin did an incredible job playing soccer again. He scored the first goal of the game for the Bulls. He was almost at half field charging to the goal when he became swarmed by the other team. He gave the ball a huge kick and it got nothing but net. If you look at the pictures under “Quentin’s soccer pictures” you will see the 3 pictures of his goal and congratulations from other teammates.

After the soccer game Jennifer and I wanted to freshen up our repelling skills for our trip in November. We are going to attempt (with 2 other people) Blue John Canyon. You may have heard of this canyon, this is where Aron Ralston got trapped and had to cut off his own arm to survive. The route we are going requires 4 repels with one of them being 65’.
Quentin, Jennifer and I piled into the car and drove to Evergreen and found the perfect wall to repel off of. Someone else had the same idea; they left 2 embedded anchors behind. After testing the anchors to make sure they would hold our weight, we were off.

Last weekend of the summer



Quentin is back in soccer. He is playing for the same team he was last spring, the Bulls. So far this year they have played two games and have dominated both of them, winning this past Saturday 8-6. Quentin is quite the ball handler and scores at least one goal every game. Jennifer and I get to go to every game and I, of course take pictures with the new Canon 20d with a 75-300 telephoto. If you look to the right you will see a tab for Quentin’s Soccer Pictures, click on it an you will see up to date pictures from his games. I will add pictures every week as I take them.

I wanted the summer road bike riding to go out with a bang, do something I have never done before, a long hill climb. I decided to ride Mt. Evans road, the highest paved road in North America. There are many options on where to start. You can either start in Idaho Springs (27 miles one way) or Evergreen (32 miles one way) for the common rides to the top, or you can opt for the Dave “Crusher” Strunk and start from Denver which makes it a 60-70 mile one way trip. I was under a time crunch and didn’t feel I was in that good of shape, so I started from Echo Lake, which makes it a 14.25 mile one way ride. One of my riding buddies, Jason UL and I set out from my house in Denver around 7 am and were at the lake around 8:30 or so. The lake sits at 10,600 ft above sea level and is the beginning of the Mt. Evans road off of Highway 103. The road is a well-maintained due to the fact you have to pay to use it. Jason and I started out at 9am slowly climbing the road towards the top. I stopped several times to document the trip with my camera. When we made it to summit lake (mile 9.5), we were please to find the road closed to cars beyond that. This was great news to us, we had the road all to ourselves. As we pushed on we got to the last grueling part, the final switchbacks. They were steep and the wind was blowing making it cold (I would guess in the 40* range). Finally, 2 hours after we started, we made it to the top of Mt Evans. It was by far the longest, most grueling hill climb I have ever done. With an average speed of 7 mph, I have GREAT respect for the men of the Tour De France who could of maintained an average speed of close to 20 mph cranking up that hill.
It took us 2 hours to climb, and around 25 minutes to descend, passing cars going along the way.

The last 3 day weekend of the summer....

Thursday we thought we would be in for just the normal 3 day weekend. Wow, were we wrong. It started out by hearing the great news that our super close friends the Schmidt's, TJ and Alexandra, were proud new parents. We got to go see them at the Hospital and it was really exciting. Congratulations to the Schmidt Family. You can read about their adventure at http://aschmidtlife.blogspot.com/

Earlier we had made the decision to go camping with Quentin and the dog, again, an adventure. Click on the " Q's first camping trip" to the right and read all about it.