Father & Son Camping Trip

Ryan and I went on a motorcycle camping trip yesterday, we had a great time. It was good to go, just the two of us, and have a simple but fun adventure.

Here's the motorbike - all ready to go

Here's a shot of our campsite:

A boy and four hot dogs - who could be happier?

Hot Dogs for our camping dinner

Isn't life grand?

Perfect for a short haiku

Where we would like to camp if we come here again - we found the remnants of another group at this great spot.

Lots of fun, just what dad and Ryan needed.

Emma Rose at the Skate Park

Emma trying out her new skills at the Redmond skate park. A month of riding around her older brothers has given her great "situational awareness"...

Emma Rides Again

She wanted to show off some tricks - pretty amazing for her third day of riding!

Emma Learns to Ride

Inspired by her older brothers, Emma learns to ride in one afternoon. Two days later, she rode 11 laps around our driveway, and then I got bored of counting :-)

Skate Park, day II

A little more confidence today, thanks to familiarity, and inspiration from some very awesome riders - check it out:

Friday at the Skate Parks

Another (more modern) video of us boys at the parks:

Butch and Etta

Ryan and Emma in a faithful reenactment of the bicycle scene of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid:

Jake does the "Rock Lobster"

Here is a compilation of some of Jake's favorite songs. He'd sit at the computer and do this all day if we let him.

Happy December 3rd!

We drove up to Snoqualmie Falls tonight because of the record rain and flooding. It was pretty amazing.

Here is a picture of the falls normally:


Here is what we saw tonight:

Happy December 1st!

Fun way to wake up, this morning.

Perfect in every way

Another one about Ryan. Sometimes it's hard to be humble... Ryan has been "borrowing" the camera lately to take pictures of himself. He turns the little viewfinder around, and poses in various ways. To make this video, I gathered up a few of the shots he's taken over the last 6 months, and found the perfect song to go along with them. You'll need sound.

Tractor boy

We were in Friday Harbor recently, and Ryan had his first try at driving Smithy's tractor. I was amazed at how quickly he learned to "feather the clutch", and he, of course, was in heaven.

It continues the (probably Mead) tradition of learning to drive a tractor before learning to drive a car. too bad you can't start your car in fourth gear from a stop, like you can with a tractor...

Jessie's "Mean Face"

Here's a video Ryan took of Jessie showing off a bit. The chocolate powder added (by Ryan) to her bottle probably helped a bit...

Book Report

Ok, I feel very guilty for not posting in so long. Here is a very easy one to get me back in the game:

My Mom gave me two books to read while recovering from hernia surgery. "Peace Like a River", and "Playing for Pizza". Two very different books, but both page-turners and fun reads.

So, if you are so bored that you are checking our blog for activity (yikes), here are two solid book recommedations for you.

Thanks again Mom!
Toby

Stunt Man

Here's Ryan on his home-made bike jump. He's very proud of these pictures.

It's Football Season !!!

Sunday afternoon in the fall...milk, pretzels, blankie, and football...

everything a girl needs.

Endless Summer / Come Touch the Sun

Here is a compilation video from our recent trip to Iron Springs with the Smiths and Guysers - enjoy!

Trip to the Ocean

I'm going to do a little vacation catch-up. We've been out and about some this summer, but I haven't shared any pictures. We'll start with our trip to the ocean last week. We spent a few days on the Washington coast and here are some pictures:

Baby camper...camping will be easier when she's a few years older.

Contemplation and Reflection

A little more deep thinking and appreciating.

A lot of the trees over there have odd bulges in the middle - I'd like to know what they are and why there's there. Anyone know anything about this?


These next pictures are of the kids at the "Big Cedar Tree". That's what the sign on the road says to direct you to it and it is, indeed, a big cedar tree.

This is Emma inside the Big Cedar Tree.

Surfer dude...or skimmer dude.

Busy, busy.

There's that skimmer dude again.

Happy Bath-Baby !!!

Jessie took her first "happy bath" yesterday. She has liked showers with Toby but has cried through every bath before this one. So, Mom, I'll soon have a picture of Jessie in the kids' bathroom rather than an empty frame.

P.S. Notice the dark brown eyes in this baby -

the first one to have brown eyes...I mean, the only one.

Jake Turns Eight

Here's a picture of Jake on his eighth birthday, which was july 28th. The cake is Flat Stanley, a character from a book series he likes.