It's a two post day.
Here are a few pictures from our trip to downtown Portland on Memorial Day.

Here's a few more pics from the Eugene Marathon. Go Trent!

Warning...it's a two-post day, so keep scrolling for more blog excitement.

First of all (well, actually, secondly if you're talking chronological order), Trent and I went to Hoodoo on Saturday for a great day of fun in the snow.

Here's a vid of Trent showing how to get it done on a snowboard...

Here's a vid of me on skis. Woot!

I'd say roughly 25% of these tracks were courtesy of Trent and me.

Last weekend, we went to visit my parents in Lynden.

Henry wanted to show Grandma his piano skills.



Saturday gave us perfect weather, so we went to the local park.
Lynden knows how to build a park.

Maybe you already know this about me.

I have a guilty pleasure.

Jack in the Box tacos.

2 for $1.

Delicious.

Yesterday was a great day on the mountain!

Here is a clip of Mike & Eric going huge...

And Sam splitting the uprights...

And here's a picture of me...

This morning, Mike and I participated in the 2008 Shamrock Run (8k) in downtown Portland...

This afternoon we had family fun time at Shute Park. Henry loves him some slides!

Yippee! It's Ethan's 2nd Birthday Party!



Presents always put a smile on my face.

Hey candles. Your time on earth is coming to a close.

Every birthday boy needs a birthday hat!

Today I hung out with the Bunch family in Northwest Portland.

Jack didn't get a cupcake, but he seemed to enjoy his formula...

The sun was nice enough to come out for a few minutes...

And I just wanted to post this picture of Henry because it makes me smile!

Last night, Henry & I went with Jack & Mike to Cannon Beach...

Henry loved this little white "kitty"...

Henry made his decision on what to eat at Mo's...

Jack loves him some Pacific Ocean sunsets...

Good times!

Happy Valentine's Day to my lovely wife...

Henry says, "I love you, Mom!"

Hello there. No pictures or videos this time. Instead, I've got some knowledge to share with you.

CoinStar is not a scam!

For many years, I assumed that CoinStar charged you for counting up your loose change and converting it to real money. This is not (always) the case! You can choose to receive a gift certificate from a list of retailers and you get back $1 for $1. No "counting" or "processing" fee! We selected a gift certificate to Amazon.com. Other options were Eddie Bauer, Borders, Cabela's, Hollywood Video, Disney Store, and some others I can't think of right now.

If you want to exchange your change for cash, CoinStar does charge you for the service.

I have a feeling I learned about this from someone else's blog, so if I did, then thank you! And I didn't mean to plagiarize.

Playing blocks with Grandpa. Hysterical!

Trent and I took the boys for some fun in the snow today. Sledding was a big hit...

In a fit of nostalgia, I once again read through all of my previous blog postings. I realized that many of my postings were absolutely pointless. So, in the interest of returning to my blogging roots, I present you with...

An Ode to the Guy in Starbucks with a Bluetooth Earpiece and Velcro Shoes

You are more important than most.
Why else would you need
The time-saving double whammy of
Hands-free cellphone and
No shoelaces?

That is all.

Here is a selection of some photos we took over the Thanksgiving weekend at Cannon Beach.

The seasons are changing.

One of my traditions (that's not really the right word, but whatever) is to put a shovel, tire chains, and ice scraper into the car once the weather turns cold. That way I'm prepared to head to the mountain on a minute's notice. This is a useful ability when you have a friend like Mike Bunch, who more than once has called me in the afternoon and said, "Hey, what are you doing tonight?" and about two hours later we are skiing at SkiBowl.

That's all for now.

I noticed that my blog header says something about pictures and I've been really bad about posting anything visual lately. I'll try to do better on that end. Keep visiting.

Wow. This is pretty cool...

Have you checked out the "Street View" option on Google Maps? Portland is now available, along with a small sliver of Hillsboro.

Enjoy!

Henry helped Stephanie and I with some yard work yesterday evening. My golf clubs were sitting in the driveway (I was going to be moving them into the house) and I decided to take a few practice swings in the front yard. Henry watched me take one swing and started busting up laughing. Not the hee hee kind of laugh which is his specialty, but the kind that comes from the gut. Swing after swing, he couldn't help himself. Mom and I were caught up in the moment and started laughing right along with him.

Two questions...Is my golf swing that funny-looking? and What is it about watching someone else laughing that makes you want to laugh?

We'll try to reenact the moment and capture some video. Stay tuned...