Christmas 2008

It is difficult to place the activities and traditions of one's youth in 'freeze frame', expecting that each Christmas thereafter will reflect the same feelings, activities and participation. People need to grow out of their parents home and establish their own traditions and unique memories. Still, as a parent of three great kids we wish that our time with each other can be repeated without change. But they do change and we intellectually understand but emotionally resent the absence of our children's excitement. We enjoyed having Michael share Christmas morning but understand the degree of void it represented, not having Dave and Stacey at his side. Although we spent critical time with Stacey and her family later in the day; and spoke to Dave, Bri and family by phone, still it was the variance from many years of our traditional experiences that made this Christmas unique among other festivities.










Ann did a great job of making the house feel all the warmth and joy of the holiday. I often give her grief for hanging on to Christmas decorations that have not been used in many years, hence filling the storage space with boxes that have no immediate use. But I can truly understand the reluctance of literally throwing tangible evidence of our memories into the refuse.














Stacey's in-laws (Carl and Sue) were kind to invite us to Christmas Eve dinner with their family. It was a great time and gave us time to feel the energy and excitement of the many children in attendance.

Thanksgiving 2008

More random photos of Thanksgiving.

Mike and I went fly fishing on a cold morning.

Ya can't take a bad photo of Zach!

Busy hands are happy hands when it comes to the girls...

Holiday Season

While a little late, photos of friends and family during Holloween and Thanksgiving always works.

Kate and Ann share a moment at Holloween time

Ann gets into the Holloween Spirit with Stacey's family

Alaska Fishing 2008

Opa was excited to take David to Ketchikan for, what has become, the annual Silver (Coho) fishing trip.

A quick night was spent at Dave and Bri's so that Opa could drop off come Holloween 'spiders' for the boys and then Dave and Opa were off the next morning.

David was cautiously excited about the first day, not knowing the routine or what to expect from the weather and rough seas. He soon found out that sea-sickness pills would have helped a great deal.

But, alas all was not lost when a couple of fish came calling and the pills started to take effect.

Opa caught his share, including the largest of the trip.

Tommy and his son-in-law (Jason)rounded out the foursome of fishermen. They live in Phoenix and Tommy (Judy) Wittman have become great traveling companions.

As one can imagine there was much to wonder the eyes while not in the midst of catching fish (and there was much time spent watching the end of the poles). An everchanging skyline was a fitting backdrop to forest that seemed painted with a full pallet of green tones. The water was full of kelp that served as a play ground for Dall Porpoise, whales, sea lions, seals, sea gulls (who loved following the boat to claim small morsels of herring that were thrown over board) and many other animals occasionally made their presence known.

Some brag about the fish they caught or the number of pounds of fish fillets they brought home. But for us it was the memories of early mornings where the gravitational pull of the warm bed was most apparent. It was the frequent check of the sky that hinted at the next gale was seeking out our location. Then there was the not-so-funny quips that Opa dropped on the group to see if they understood the double and triple meanings behind the comments (mostly missed it is sad to report). But for Opa, it was the evening sky that bid us good night and fare well to a land that only the hardy could endure year round. It was the feelings, smells, and memories that draw us to a land were are only infrequent guests. I hope it never changes.

A Day At The Zoo

Opa had a wonderful time with Kate and Zach at the Hogel Zoo today. It reminds me of college days when I had the distiction of building a 'cat house'. To some that may sound obscene but take heart. It was while I worked for a construction firm that we built a new facility for the big cats. One of the hardest and worst jobs I've ever had. I feel sorry for the common laborer on a construction site. It really was not what I wanted to do for more than a couple of months while school was out for the summer.

Oregon Coast 2008

Although Stacey and her family were not able to join us, time on the Oregon Coast was relaxing (at times), renewing of my days as a PT and as a newly-wed, and a time to bring most of those that matter together for important 'face time'. Oma and I especially appreciated the one-on-one time we spent with Dallas.