Friday's Foto - Snow Angel   What is it about freshly fallen snow that simply beckons a kids to plop down onto his back, flap his arms and legs and make a snow angel? This is our 11-year-old son, Ben, doing just that on our back deck just after it snowed here this week. Remember how exhilerating that felt when you were little? When was the last time you made a snow angel?   12/16/2011

  Finally REAL Snow in the Hood River Valley!     Winter has finally arrived in the Hood River Valley with the arrival of real snow in the foothills over night. Timberline Ski Resort opened yesterday, followed by Mt. Hood Meadows today, so the mountain has been getting snow for the last couple weeks, but the rest of us finally have enough to truly welcome winter. It continues to snow as I type and we're expecting more through the day and over night.   The passes of the Cascade Mountains are under winter advisories through the day; snow tires are required and chains are required on double axle trucks. Lower roads are plowed and sanded so travel shouldn't be restricted.   So head to the resorts, or even to one of the Mt. Hood's snowparks for a little sledding or cross-country skiing. Make... 11/19/2011

  Friday's Foto - First Snowman of The Season (Well, Kind of)   Our 11 year old son, Ben, rushed home from school this afternoon to make this snowman, which is pretty impressive considering we only had about two inches of snow on the ground. He's been pretty anxious for it to snow. Sure, the snowman's a little... shall we say... creative. We're expecting up to 12 more inches of snow over night tonight.   11/18/2011

  Speechless Sunday - Looking Down The Line   I took this photo on Friday in the town of Parkdale, Oregon. These are the Parkdale railroad tracks, just next to the Parkdale Train Station, which are mainly used for scenic train trips from the town of Hood River. It was such a crisp, autumn day, unseasonably warm and sunny.   11/13/2011

  Skating Nights Kick Off At Parkdale Elementary School   Wonderfully popular skating nights have begun again at Parkdale Elementary School for the 2011 season. Every Saturday night, join the Parkdale community roller skating in the school gym, 4880 Van Nuys Drive, Parkdale, Oregon. 4:30 to 5:30 is a speed skating session, 5:30 to 6:30 is for slow/young skaters and 6:30 to 8:00 is regular skating. The evening includes jamming music, games (with prizes!), dances, the limbo and more. Everyone comes, from toddlers to seniors, with the elementary school age crowd being the largest. Registration is $3 a person, then skating will be $1 each time thereafter. You can't beat that for cheap entertainment and community fun! On the first Friday of each month, the skating club presents middle school... 11/13/2011

  Friday's Foto - An Autumn Cottage in Parkdale, Oregon   We drove by this cute little cottage this afternoon on the way to visit a friend in the town of Parkdale, Oregon (15 miles south of Hood River). It looks so cozy and so very "autumn" that I just had to shoot a picture and share. The house is situated on the grounds of the Parkdale train station, just behind the Hutson Museum. Autumn here remains unseasonably warm and sunny with the leaves staying colorful far longer than usual.   11/11/2011

Friday's Foto - Mt. Hood Is Burning! I took this photo this evening around 8 p.m. from Highway 35, just 1/4 mile from our home on the north side of Mt. Hood. The "Dollar Lake Fire", as it is being called, is about 15 to 20 miles from our house, has already burned 1,700 acres and is less than 5% contained. This morning we woke to choking smoke filling our valley as high pressure trapped smoke from rising. That cleared by mid-morning, thank goodness. Meanwhile, the region feels like a war zone as helicopters fill the air and fire trucks continuously go up and down the highway. 09/01/2011

Wordless Wednesday - Boys Will Be Boys! Take one warm summer day, a couple boys and nothing much to do... they'll figure out something. Our 12-year-old, Sam, figured out how to make a pulley system to hoist himself into a giant evergreen: Here, Ben's at the base of the tree to demonstrate how huge the tree is and the blue oval shows where Sam is: Here's a close up of Sam in the tree: And finally, here's Sams in the tree from below. Can you spot him?: 08/10/2011

Speechless Sunday - Our Own Little Snake Charmer This is our son, Sam, with his garter snake named Parsnip. Sam caught Parsnip just outside our yard two years ago last month. The irrigation canal is just down the street and there are lots of the little snakes there.. We didn't expect him to live much longer than the butterflies or grasshoppers he usually catches, but he's still with us two years later. Twice a month we buy live little minnows to feed him. 07/31/2011

Friday's Foto - Creative Recreation Finally, we've had several days of fairly hot summer weather as we've reach 80+ degrees for five straight days now. Our boys, Ben 10 and Sam 12 got creative when trying to have fun and cool off. They made this in our back yard then they played for three straight hours. They couldn't have enjoyed a real water slide much more. 07/29/2011

Speechless Sunday - A Slice Of Summer Little says summer to me like a big, juicy slice of watermelon and a smiling, kid-next-door-type devouring it. This was only the first of four slices our son, Ben, ate that evening. I know you can't see if his mouth is smiling, but his eyes sure are.   06/18/2011

Wordless Wednesday - An Overgrown, Green Spring Our wetter than usual spring has turned everything incredibly green. Meanwhile, the grass and weeds are growing out of control. Unfortunately, the coolness is not great for growing many veggies. This photo is of our son, Sam, mowing our overgrown, lower back yard. The kid has to mow two to three times a week. Thank goodness he's at that age where driving the riding mower is still fun.   06/15/2011

Challenge Conquered! Reflections on 31 Days of May And this is it! Our last blog in the 31 Days of May Challenge 2011 and we're proud to report that we did it. 31 days and at least one blog every single day. I know I sound like I'm bragging, but, hey, maybe a little self-congratulations is called for since I'm sort of amazed that we made it. So, here's what I learned this month: 1. Blogging every day breaks the work up so it's not as overwhelming. Since our business is still fairly new, we are really working on our web presence and have set a personal goal of 10 blogs a week. When I don't do one every single day, I was finding myself needing to do 6 or 7 blogs on the weekend, which is not conducive to putting in as much effort as it deserves. 2. I never run out of great things to write ... 06/06/2011

Friday's Fotos - A Lazy Spring Morning Sure, it may be summer in most parts of the county, but here in the Pacific Northwest, spring is still pushing its way in through the rain and clouds. These horses looked so peaceful grazing on the side of a road in Parkdale, Oregon, I just had to take their picture. This one played shy and refused to turn around so I could take his picture.   06/04/2011

Thankful Thursday - Parkdale Little League Majors Finally Won! Last night, our son, Ben's, Little League team won against the Odell Tigers, 21 to 8. I know most parents are pretty pleased when their son's team wins, but this goes a little beyond that. Last night was game number 13 of 14 games to be played this season and it was their first win. The thing is... they sure were not losing for lack of trying. These guys have been out there playing and practicing up to five times a week, two to three hours each time. As parents we want to instill a good work ethic... to us, that's one of the reasons to support our sons in playing sports... but what message is it sending to our boys when they work and work and work and still never win? Our son has even said before a game "I don't want to go t... 06/02/2011

Send Them To Camp... Cascade Pet Camp, Hood River, Oregon This is an ingenious idea! Every community needs a dog kennel, but the Cascade Pet Camp took it a step further. They don't just "board" dogs, they entertain them, train them and lavish them with attention. It's a great place for tourists to leave their pups, for locals to board theirs while out of town, and even for the dogs to just spend the day. Services include plenty of outdoor and indoor exercise, beds or cots in every room, a choice of staying in a "bunk" room or a private "cabin", soothing indoor music, group play sessions, grooming and even therapeutic massage! At check out, your pet receives a report card detailing how he did, what he enjoyed most and what new friends he made. Training is based on a fun, trust and cooper... 05/13/2011

Thankful Thursday - Today I'm Thankful For The Sun All right. Maybe it's not the most original idea... to be thankful for the sun... but we've seen so little of it here lately that when it does come out, it's very appreciated. Today was all blue skies, little wind and warm! Of course, in the next month or two I'll be complaining that it's too hot. I took this photo this evening in Parkdale, Oregon. 05/12/2011

Wordless Wednesday - The Road Home This is the road to our house in Parkdale, Oregon (10 miles south of Hood River) and this is our son, Sam walking with our dog, Tucker. After a longer and colder than usual spring, the leaves are finally coming out and we finally see blue sky. At least for now. It's supposed to rain again tomorrow.   05/11/2011

Wordless Wednesday - Parkdale Little League:  The View From The Concession Stand Living in a small town and with our son playing Little League, I am expected to help out. At our ball park, that means running the concession stand on a rotating basis during games. Selling hotdogs, nachos, popcorn, candy, drinks, etc. is our primary fundraiser. One of my turns was last night. I was right behind home plate, but two fences were between me and the game. This is our son, Ben, going up to bat, going out to be catcher, then in the dugout. Unfortunately his team lost the game. 05/04/2011

Parkdale Elementary School's Spring Music Program Few things bring on a surge of nostalgia for me more than sitting on metal folding chairs in the school's gym-atorium, watching the elementary school kids sing songs they've been working on for months. They start singing and I'm right back in the 70's doing the same thing myself. Monday was this year's spring program at Parkdale Elementary School. This year's program had a calypso, tropical theme which included songs like "Daylight Come and Me Wanna Go Home". The fourth and fifth graders played recorders for some songs (I remember getting my gum stuck in one in the fifth grade), while the ukalele club accompanied a couple songs. Our son is in the fourth grade, but I have to admit that I enjoy the kindergarteners the most. They're so swee... 04/28/2011