A Guy A Girl and 2 kids...

Oh Christmas Tree

2011-12-08T18:08:00.002-07:00

Christmas time is here again! I love relaxing in the living room in the evenings with all the decorations up. A roaring fire helps too!

A Sunday Drive to Benchmark

2011-10-02T11:56:00.002-06:00

Double Falls

The bridge across the South Fork into the Bob Marshall

unique pack bridge

A few Sundays ago we were bored and decided to take a drive to Augusta. We ended up in Benchmark. Double Falls is always a nice little walk and a good photo opp. The trail at then end of the road leads to the bridge over the South Fork and is the gateway to the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Its such a nice area and it was a beautiful day.

Flag Football

2011-10-01T22:20:00.002-06:00

Michael ready for the play

Michael's flag football team is kicking some butt this year. The coach has them practicing hard and often and it shows. Michael has been playing defensive end, offensive guard and running back. Last game he had a run of at least 35 yards. Look at my you tube page, we have a video of it. He is pretty excited about football this year and really looking forward to tackle football next year.

Sluice Boxes

2011-10-01T21:50:00.002-06:00

Some old mining cabins

playing in Belt Creek

Bear Shit

We went for a nice little hike up the sluice boxes trail a few weeks ago. Belt Creek is still running pretty high for this time of year. It had been awhile since i had been back there. It is very scenic. The bridge is even still fun to jump off.....Luckily this time my battery didn't get stolen.

Flight Over the Falls 2011

2011-09-15T20:10:00.004-06:00

P-51 Mustang "The Little Witch" one of my favorite airplanes

B-2 Stealth Bomber, An awesome surprise

Gotta love Fat Albert

The Blue Angels

Flight Over the Falls was a great airshow. I went in not expecting much but it blew me away. Defiantly one of the best airshows I've been to. Started out with some Montana Air Guard F-15 flyby's and just got better from there. The B-2 wasn't in the program so it was a great surprise. Only the second time I've seen one. They almost look like something out of a si fi movie. The P-51 and A-10 demos were fun to watch as were the Korean War era fighter demos. Topping it off were the Blue Angels who are always fun to see. All around a very good time.

Disneyworld With the Parents

2011-09-15T19:57:00.003-06:00

After breakfast at the Grand Floridian Cafe

The Magic Kingdom

Scallops at Reglan Road. They were very good. However, the chickeniver pate we had wasn't.

The new Star Tours at Hollywood Studios

What a nice way to top off my NASA adventure. We had a great time! I just wish Dawn and the kids could have been there.

Day One

2011-07-14T14:57:00.010-06:00

Our day started at the NASA Media Accreditation building. There we showed our id's, picked up our badges and received our swag bag. The NASA folks were nice enough to give us a backpack with mission pins, patches, stickers and lots of other cool items. After picking up our badges we drove through security and parked in this parking lot. Quite the view right? I was amazed they let us park here. The day was starting off good!

After parking we followed the signs down to the Tweetup tent. This is a picture I took while we were walking by. Such a historic location. I was in awe being there. This is the same location people were watching Saturn 5's launch for the moon from and I was actually standing there.

Here is the badge we had to wear at all times. Now that I'm home I still find myself wanting to wear it.

Day one consisted of lectures in the morning and a tour in the afternoon. The picture above is Mike Massimino and I. Ever since his spacewalks to fix Hubble he's been my favorite astronaut so meeting him was something I was really looking forward to. I was really struck by how nice everyone was. They had no problem taking pictures and answering any questions we had. Massimino had to do an interaction with Elmo for Sesame Street. After that Doug Wheelock joined him and they talked to us for quite a long time. Bill Gerstenmaier was next (Associate Administer for Space Operations) and came in for awhile. I asked him about the main engine fuel valve that they replaced the week before and he spent about 5 minutes explaining it to me. Very cool. While he was talking a huge storm hit and the entire KSC was shut down due to lightening so he was stuck there for about 45 minutes. There was even talk of the shuttle taking a lightening strike. Turns out it was close to the pad but didn't damage any systems. After this weather everyone was very apprehensive about tomorrow. Some of the other people that talked to us were Angie Brewer (Atlantis flow director) and Tracy Trumm and Justin Kuglerm of the ISS.

After lunch in the NASA cafeteria we started our tour. For some reason I was really excited about eating there. The food was good but nothing special. The sandwich was about like Subway. Due to some strong storms in the morning RSS roll back had been delayed so we weren't sure if we would be able to see it. Turns out we did get to see it. The massive structure that encloses the shuttle protecting it from weather slowly rolled away and exposed Atlantis. I was able to take some very cool pictures while there. The location we were bussed to was amazingly close to the launch pad.

Doug Wheelock and I at the perimeter of Pad 39A

After viewing RSS retract we were dropped off at the Saturn 5 center for an hour. I spent the time in the gift shop getting shirts for everyone. When our time there was up we hopped back on the bus for a tour of the Vehicle Assembly Building. This is the massive (5th largest in the world by volume) building where the shuttle is mated to the external tank and SRB's. It was very cool walking in knowing that every shuttle mission has started here. One sobering moment was when our guide pointed out to us that the remains of Columbia were stored in this building. I didn't know that. After the tour were free to go so we headed back to Orlando to get ready for launch day.

Launch day

2011-07-14T13:05:00.010-06:00

On to day two. Paul (my carpool buddy) and I decided that to beat the traffic we would drive over to the Cape at around 3am. It worked, we beat the traffic but got there too early. The guard said, "you're not getting in until 5, u-turn and exit." We spent an hour in the media accreditation parking lot with a bunch of others going to the Tweetup. You could feel the nervous energy even sitting in the parking lot that early.

Once we parked the car in the VAB parking lot and walked to the press site (about a quarter mile) we were greeted with this sight. Truly spectacular especially when you think that in a few hours this serene scene will be one of fire and thunder.

An the morning progressed things got busier around the press site. There was an electric feeling in the air. Our Tweetup host said that this was the most media they had registered since the John Glenn flight in the mid 90's
The previous day NASA had forecast only a 30% chance of weather being favorable for launch so we were all keeping our fingers crossed that the clouds would hold off. As the clocked ticked down towards launch time my anxiety seemed to be going the opposite direction.
There were even a few celebrities around to watch the launch. Seth Green talked to us about supporting NASA and was nice enough to take pictures with whoever wanted. Bob Crippen (the pilot on STS-1) and Tony Antonelli (a veteran of 2 shuttle flights) came to the tent to talk to us. Tony Antonelli was a great speaker and very funny. Bob Crippen told us that his only thought while he was sitting in the Shuttle on the first ever launch was, "God, please don't let me screw up." Around 9:00 an officer from the 45th weather squadron gave us a weather brief. Things were still not looking too good. Even though it was nice out they were still expecting clouds to move in by launch time.

This picture was taken around 8am as the astronauts drove to the pad. It was quite fun watching the convoy escorted by a helicopter with snipers hanging out the door drive by. These were the kind of things that made it feel like I was not just watching a launch but a part of it all. As the minutes ticked down were all amazed that the weather seemed to be holding out. At about T-30 minutes I started to feel like this might actually happen! We could hear the NASA weather briefings to launch control and the weather was mostly green but every now and then it would go red for cloud cover and you could hear a collective groan. At T-9 minutes the launch director took his final poll. When the weather officer said we are go a huge cheer erupted. The excitement went up another notch. Everyone found a place along the water to watch and photograph. At T-1 minute I'm thinking this is it, I'm going to see it go today! Then I heard something that made my heart drop, hold for a failure at T-31 seconds. The launch window was only open for 5 minutes so whatever it was they had to figure it out quickly. Minutes ticked by then over the scanner I heard launch control tell the astronauts to close and lock visors and initiate o2 flow. I knew we were back in business. Turns out it was a faulty sensor on the gaseous oxygen vent hood that retracts before launch. It had to be visually cleared then the count resumed. When the call, "we have main engine start" went out I took a second and thought to myself, " this is actually going to happen."

And this is what happened. Liftoff of Atlantis! It seemed to jump into the air and head down range. The sound didn't reach us for several seconds. First the main engine sound hit. It was a far off sounding rumble but when the SRB noise hit, it about knocked me over. A deep pulsating rumble washed over us unlike anything i have experienced. Almost like Atlantis was trying to rip the sky apart. The first picture was the only decent close up i captured. After that I was shaking so much I couldn't hold the camera steady.

So I panned out and took a few shots. This is about how it looked to us. Atlantis kept picking up speed and before I knew it she disappeared into the clouds.

And that brings me to the end of my NASA Tweetup adventure. For one brief time I was in the middle of the action and it made me feel like I mattered. After the launch I even had KRTV calling me for an interview. A truly amazing couple of days that I will never forget. Thank you from the bottom of my heart NASA and the NASA tweetup team.

My Amazing Day at the Kennedy Space Center

2011-07-07T20:26:00.003-06:00

What an amazing day. It was almost surreal being that up close and personal with NASA's inner workings. I'll do a better post later, but here are a few pictures I took until then.

Hubble astronaut Mike Massimino and I

Just after RSS roll around

A great view of Atlantis!

The Shuttle is huge in person!

(Disclaimer, BlogPress doesn't work as well as I thought it would on my IPad. I did this post from the hotel in Orlando and had trouble even getting this much done.)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

NASA Tweetup

2011-06-27T20:08:00.005-06:00

Thanks to NASA and Twitter I've been selected to attend the STS-135 Tweetup. Only 150 people from around the world were selected so it is a huge honor. When i opened the email from NASA and saw that i had been selected my heart skipped a beat. I really couldn't believe it.

We will be treated to lectures from NASA engineers, managers and astronauts. One of the highlights will be the tour of NASA facilities. We get to walk inside the huge Vehicle Assembly Building, watch RSS retract the day before launch and wave to the astronauts as they drive by on their way to the Shuttle. The most amazing thing is where we get to watch the launch. The NASA press site is the most desirable place to watch a launch. It's only 3 miles from the pad and provides an amazing view. I am so lucky. Just keep your fingers crossed that there are no big delays! After the launch I'll update the blog with pictures and video.

Here's a link to a story by KRTV:

http://www.krtv.com/news/great-falls-man-tweets-his-way-to-historic-nasa-shuttle-launch/

Picture courtesy of Lar DeSouza

An Evening Walk at Giant Springs

2011-06-08T14:43:00.002-06:00

A little creek that usually isn't running
Yosh and the Mighty Mo
Giant Springs is one of the nicest places in the country for an evening walk in my opinion. This was one of the few nice evenings we've had. As I'm typing this it's raining yet again. The Sun River is the highest I've ever seen it. I think it's a hair over flood stage right now and the Missouri isn't far behind!

Ducks in the backyard

2011-06-08T14:39:00.001-06:00

It's been a wet spring.......

Yosh's Honor Society Ceremony

2011-06-08T14:34:00.002-06:00

Yosh didn't get anything less then an A in any class all year. Good job!

Easter 2011

2011-06-08T14:12:00.002-06:00

We had Filipino food. Rice, noodles and Lumpia
Awesome deserts
Gram on the deck. It was a pretty nice day.
Yosh, Michael, Marley and Lilly

Sorry for the late update. I was looking through pictures and realized i hadn't put these up yet. The Filipino food was a nice change from the usual. Everything was really good.

A Few More Disney Photos

2011-03-19T14:10:00.001-06:00

Here are a few pictures I ordered off Disney Photopass. These are the guys always asking to take your picture. Kind of annoying but also pretty handy when there are just two of you. Looking at these pics makes me want to go back.....

Pictures to Make You Hungry

2011-03-14T17:29:00.005-06:00

BoBo Brazil Roll: seared kobe beef, avocado, kaiware, shiso, red onion, chimichurri with Eel and King Crab on the Right. This was all very tasty. The roll sounds kind of weird but everything went together really well.
Sea Bass and Miso cooked over charcoal with Peruvian Corn. This could be the best fish I've ever had. It was mild and buttery with a hint of charcoal flavor. Just thinking about it makes me hungry.

Assorted Tempura on the Left Mane Lobster Taquitos on the Right. The lobster taquitos weren't quite what i was expecting but still very good. It was kind of like a chilled lobster salad in them. The Tempura was good too.
An old favorite...Yellowtail with Jalapeno and lemongrass
Macarons from Payard's These were a bit of a disappointment. Wolfgang Puck said they were his favorite thing on the food network so we had high expectations. They were just ok though.

Those sundays are as big as their heads!
The Euphoria Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Sunday: Deep Chocolate peanut butter ice cream, dulce de leche ice cream, carmelized toffee bananas, pure chocolate chunks, milk chocolate sauce & warm peanut butter sauce garnished with whipped cream and crunchy hazelnut bits. served with extra peanut butter sauce and pure milk chocolate ganache. My mom and dad ordered this and loved it. I tried a bite and it might be what i get next time.

Dawn and I had the sharing tasting for two. This was the fondue portion of it. The black grill in the back is to roast the marshmallows over before dipping them in the white chocolate. This was awesome...so sweet but so good.

This was the other portion of the sharing plate. It was banana split waffle, milk and white chocolate bark, chocolate sponge cake, chocolate egg roll and a shot of chocolate ganache. The waffle was really good, sponge cake a little too chocolaty for us, egg roll was just ok and the chocolate bark was really good. All in all Max Brenner was a hit.

Lunch at Swish, Dawn's favorite restaurant. It was so good we went twice
Shabu Shabu, I had Sukiyaki

Pot Stickers, Dawn said they were good
Chicken Tom Yum Soup from the Thai Style Noodle House. It's off the strip in Chinatown but it's worth the drive and my favorite soup bar none. So good but so, so spicy. It will have tears running down your face...literally.

Our favorite thing about Las Vegas is the huge variety of great food. We have a few favorites we try to hit every time (Swish, Thai Noodle House, Sushi Samba, Nine Fine Irishmen) then we like to try someplace new every trip. I think Max Brenner will be moved to the favorites list. I highly recommend it for dessert. Don't forget to grab a cookie to go afterwards. Mom and Dad took us to dinner at Landry's Seafood. The pictures didn't turn out too well but the oysters I had were great. Hope you enjoyed the pictures...I can't wait for the next batch.

NASCAR Weekend in Las Vegas!

2011-03-14T16:30:00.004-06:00

Dawn getting ready to blast some shit on the Strip
Fun times at the Carnival Court Bar

Brady and Kristy at Carnival Court

Joe Montana at Caesars. Hope his son does good for the Griz this year.
David Reutimann before the race
Getting ready to drop the green flag
The view from our seats

As usual we had a great time on our annual trip to Vegas for NASCAR weekend. We made it in time on Thursday to catch the hauler parade. It was pretty sweet. I'll have a video of it on my you tube page. Friday dawn and I drove to Chinatown to check out a few stores and a couple of our favorite restaurants. I'll do a food update next. Friday evening my mom and dad flew into town. Saturday we and lunch at the Stage Deli at the Mirage and lunch dessert at Max Brenner in the Forum Shops. Wow Max Brenner was good. For dinner Saturday we had planned on driving to Joe's Crab Shack but the gps took us to a closed location so we ended up at Landry's Seafood. I had some great Oysters there. Sunday was race day and even tho Jeff Gordon blew a tire and slammed the wall we still had a great time. We finally have some really good seats after going to the race for 10 years. Sunday night and the drive home were rather taxing but that is for another post. We can't wait for our next trip to Vegas...the best place for a quick get a way in the country. We may take the kids in July or August. They love the pool at the Mirage.

Universal Studios

2011-01-30T18:17:00.002-07:00

Harry Potter

The castle is bigger then i thought it would be

An early morning picture before things got crowded

Let me preface this by saying I know nothing about Harry Potter. Dawn and I arrived at Islands of Adventure sometime in the afternoon and decided to go check out the new Harry Potter Land. That was a mistake. It is very cool but insanely crowded. We went during the off season so I can't imaging what it will be like in the summer. We kept seeing big lines of people everywhere and figured there must be a few more rides then we thought. Wrong...the lines were to get in the gift shops. We're talking long lines for everything. Even the butterbeer. After a brief look around we decided to come back first thing in the morning. The next day we hurried over and there was still a 40 minute wait for the forbidden journey ride. I will say the the wait goes pretty fast. The line is really neat. Talking pictures, real snow falling and Harry Potter talks to you. The ride it's self is a motion sim ride where you follow Harry Potter in a race. Defiantly worth the wait but not my all time favorite ride by any means. All in all the new land was nice. I'm sure it would appeal more to a fan of the series. I think universal should have made everything a bit bigger tho. I can see them not letting ppl in this summer when it reaches gridlock.

A Study in Beaches....Three Beaches in Five Days

2011-01-22T17:08:00.002-07:00

Half Moon Cay....You couldn't ask for a nicer beach. Clear blue water and not too crowded.
The ship from Half Moon Cay

Megans Bay, St. Thomas A very nice beach.
Megans Bay
Governors Beach, Grand Turk, One of our favorite beaches. Nice white sand and deep blue water.

Swimming in January was something different for me. I think knowing that it was cold back home made our beach days that much better. Half Moon Cay was fabulous. Clear blue water, white sand and about 85 degrees. We really couldn't have had better weather. The only negative....we had to get back on the boat.

Dining Extravaganza 2011

2011-01-22T13:55:00.011-07:00

Ok, I'm going to start with the appetizers and work my way to dessert...So sit back and enjoy.

Seared Scallops, Yachtsman Steakhouse

Tchoup Chop Crunchy Shrimp and Steamed Pork & Asian Vegetable Dumplings
New Orleans Barbecue Shrimp, Petite Rosemary Biscuit and Stone Crab Claws, Emeril's Orlando

These huge turkey legs are damn good!
Dragon roll and California roll, Orchid Lounge, Royal Pacific. I wish i had a plate of these right now.
Trio of Escargots Baked in Brioche, Stuffed in Fondue Potatoes, and Classic Bourguignonne. Supper Club, This may have been the best thing we ate on the whole trip. Amazingly good.

Lobster Bisque with Vintage Cognac, Fleuron and Fresh Cream, Supper Club

Shrimp Cocktail, Supper Club

Conch Fritters, St. Thomas. I can't remember the name of the bar we were in. All I remember is that Dawn was drunk off one drink and needed food. I'll explain later lol

Pot Stickers and General Tso's Chicken Dumplings, Nine Dragons, World Showcase

Fried Oysters Rockefeller, Narcoossee's...very tasty

Blue Lump Crab Cake with Potato Crust, Brown Derby

Butternut Squash Bisque with Spiced Creme Fraiche, Brown Derby. This might be the best soup I've ever had.

I don't remember the name of this appetizer but it was very interesting. On the bottom is venison pate, smoked duck sausage in the middle and very strong! blue cheese on the lower left. Behind the bread is beef tartar (raw beef) and the cheese on the right is creamy and very ripe. Overall pretty good and it was fun to try something different. Yachtsman Steakhouse

It's hard to go wrong with lobster bisque. Les Chefs de France

Cheese plate from Les Chefs de France. The cheeses I remember from top to bottom are Brie, Gruyere, Goat Cheese and something that tasted like soft Munster. I can't remember the name of it though.

Entrees

2011-01-22T13:23:00.006-07:00

Ok, here come the Entrees........

Herb Broiled Ashley Farms Free Range Chicken Breast, Kimchee Fried Rice, Chinese Mustard Sake Reduction Sauce, Tchoup Chop
Hot Iron Seared Yellowfin Tuna Steak with Thai Sticky Rice and Smoked Bacon - Wasabi Butter Infusion, Tchoup Chop

Salmon and Shrimp on the ship. Very good

Broiled Filet Mignon, Supper Club

Surf and Turf, Supper Club

Pork Mofongo, Cafe Puerto Rico

Ham and Cheese Mallorcas, La Bombanera, Puerto Rico. Andrew Zimmern had one of these on his show at this cafe. It was quite good.

Yum....fresh Maine lobster, Narcoosee's

Char-grilled Filet of Beef over Truffle Whipped Potatoes, Brown Derby

Madeira Braised Lamb Shank with Goat Cheese and Rosemary Polenta, Brown Derby

Prime New York Strip Steak...very good. The potato thing next to it was really good too. In the background is Truffle Mac and Cheese, Yachtsman Steakhouse

Demi poulet fermier roti (half an all natural roasted chicken) Les Chefs de France

Croque Monsieur, Les Chefs de France

Such good food it would be hard to pick out a favorite. A couple of exceptional entrees were the lobster from Narcoossee's, The filet from the supper club and the New York steak from the Yachtsman. Dining really is my favorite part of traveling.

Dessert!

2011-01-22T11:56:00.005-07:00

Emeril’s Signature Banana Cream Pie, Tchoup Chop
Yum

Cheese plate, Main Dining Room Carnival Liberty
Chocolate Tarte with butter Chocolate Pate, Pineapple Croquant, Tiramisu Notre Facon

La Bombonera, San Juan

Room Service on the ship. A sweet cheese and dry almond cake. Pretty good

Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse Dome, Narcoosee's

Almond Crusted Cheesecake, Narcoossee's

Banana White Chocolate Toffee Tower, Brown Derby

Creme Brulee, Yachtsman Steakhouse

Banana Napoleon, Yachtsman Steakhouse

Carmel Apple Crepe, Les Chefs de France

Profiteroles au Chocolat, Les Chefs de France

Strawberry Shortcake, Sunshine Seasons, EPCOT

I think my favorite was the Creme Brulee from the Yachtsman. Really good! The banana cream pie from Tchoup Chop is hard to beat too. I know there were a couple of things Dawn didn't care for but as far as the deserts went everything i tasted was good and some very good.

Christmas Around the World, Disney that is

2011-01-22T10:45:00.005-07:00

Main Street, Magic Kingdom
Main Street
Just outside the Magic Kingdom.
EPCOT
Germany, World Showcase
USA, World Showcase

Lobby of the Yacht Club

MGM

It was really something to see most of the Christmas decorations still up throughout the parks. EPCOT was nice but the best by far was the Magic Kingdom. Main Street was really quite spectacular. Every park and every hotel had a tree that was themed to that park or hotel. I tried to get some nighttime photos of the trees lit up but they didn't turn out. If would be fun if the whole family could go to Florida over the holidays someday.

Hunting 2010

2010-12-02T16:45:00.003-07:00

Hunting Crew

Dad hiking
Stuck Trucks
The one that got away

Not too bad of a hunting trip. My Dad, Dusty and myself all got deer. We saw lots of elk. They were just too far away. Maybe next year.

Michael's 9th Birthday

2010-12-02T16:30:00.003-07:00

Bowling

At Howards

Michael's new bike

Fall Pictures

2010-10-04T20:14:00.004-06:00

Experimental picture

Pictures taken at Giant Springs

Foriegn Food

2010-10-04T20:10:00.002-06:00

Tasty treats from Norway

Fall Flowers

2010-10-04T20:08:00.002-06:00

Nice flowers...better enjoy them. Everything will be dead soon.

Highwoods

2010-09-13T21:04:00.004-06:00

Several creek crossings.

It was so nice Sunday we just had to get out of the house. We took a drive to the Highwoods to see if the Thain Creek campground was open yet. It wasn't. The deer sure stand out this time of year. There were lots of Whitetail out. No big bucks though. We even found a nice load of firewood. Now i just have to cut and split it...fun fun.

The First Day of School

2010-09-01T19:53:00.001-06:00

Lets have a good year!

Award Winning Legos

2010-09-01T17:41:00.003-06:00

Michael's Creation
Yosh's Jeff Gordon castle

Michael and Yosh won some nice ribbons at the fair the year. Pretty cool!

Camping at Willow Creek

2010-09-01T17:20:00.005-06:00

The camp chef making peach cobbler

Ahhh, nice water

Listening to some tunes and drinking some beer

Wallowing in the sand

And a nice sunset

Willow Creek was fun as usual. We had fun playing a new game Dawn bought, riding 4wheelers, the waverunner and swimming. Now on to fall.

View From The Backyard

2010-06-13T13:27:00.002-06:00

Ya gotta love spring

The Great Pacific NorthWest

2010-06-13T12:26:00.005-06:00

Seattle

Pikes Market...so much fun

Lots of fresh seafood
Yosh and her nuts and a nut

Seattle Center

Sea Urchin

The new mars rover (launch 2011)

Nice View

Alki Beach

Snoqualmie Falls

A quick very fun run to Seattle with the parents over Memorial Day weekend. Good food and pretty country.

Florida Here We Come

2010-04-08T20:43:00.003-06:00

Our next vacation is starting to fall into place. Looks like we're flying to Orlando on Jan 4th. We'll spend 3 days in Orlando then drive to Miami on the 8th. The cruise is a seven day cruise to Halfmoon Cay, St. Thomas, San Juan Puerto Rico, and Grand Turk. After the cruise we'll drive back to Orlando for 2 nights at the Royal Pacific. If anyone wants to come along airfair isn't too bad right now. It's going to be a good time!

We'll be eating here....

And staying here.

Vegas Baby

2010-03-22T19:24:00.005-06:00

Dawn and I at Paris
Mussels and Fried Sausage Pail at Nine Fine Irishmen

Seared Kobe Beef and Yellowtail Sashimi with jalapeno and lemongrass

Dawn and Lisa
Race Day!

Kim Kardashian

As usual our yearly trip to Las Vegas was a blast. Brady, Christy, Dawn and I drove down and met my dad who flew. Jeff Gordon dominated the NASCAR race but couldn't quite get the win. He did lead the most laps by far though. I am sure getting sick of seeing Jimmy Johnson win. We had some awesome food at Nine Fine Irishmen and Sushi Samba. Sushi Samba was one of the best meals we've ever had and the mussels at Nine Fine were to die for. Vegas tip...Don't eat at Shanghai Lilly at Mandalay bay..way overpriced and not very good. Also, House of Blues isn't as good as it used to be. All in all a great trip!

Sledding With Avery

2010-02-14T14:18:00.003-07:00

Lacy, Avery and my Mom and Dad came out a few weeks ago for some sledding. Avery had a blast and even went for a ride on the four wheeler.

Playing In The Snow

2010-01-23T16:49:00.002-07:00

Well it's about time we got some more snow. Brrr...the temp isn't too bad but the wind is coming up pretty good now. I think Dawn is going to have to go shovel again pretty soon. For some reason she seems to like it. Maybe I'll pull the kids on the sled with the 4 wheeler tomorrow.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T00:08:00.005-07:00

Mmmm...Dessert
The kids on the deck
It's midnight and I'm still stuffed so it must have been a good Thanksgiving. Lacy, Jeff and Avery were in town. It was nice to see them. Avery had a blast playing with Michael. She is so funny. My Grandma even made it. Her gingerbread trifle was great. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Mighty Hunters

2009-11-24T21:50:00.002-07:00

Dumb deer...

I know, not the biggest deer ever, but when you've only got one day (damn Griz games) you can't be too picky. Dawn said I had to come home with meat so that's what I did.

Michael's Eighth Birthday Party

2009-11-19T20:34:00.002-07:00

Thanks to everyone who attended or sent Michael a card or present. He had a great time.

Michael's Team Photo

2009-11-02T21:10:00.002-07:00

Michael's flag football season has wrapped up. He really came on strong towards the end of the season and is already looking forward to playing next year. Thanks to the coaches...they did a great job. Sorry for the picture quality...it's a picture of a picture.

Flag Football is here!

2009-10-04T20:51:00.003-06:00

Future Griz defensive end

It's not that cold.

Michael's football season has started and is keeping us quite busy. He has practice Tuesday and Wednesday and games Thursday and Saturday. He's on defense the first half of the season and is doing pretty good. Last game he grabbed the ball carrier's flag twice. Enjoy the pictures, I have a couple videos up too.

On to Fall........

2009-09-24T19:14:00.003-06:00

This time of year any night could bring a freeze and an end to the summer flowers. So in a week or so, or whenever everything is dead you can come back here and enjoy the flowers.

Hopefully this weekend I'm going to get the shed shingled. Slowly but surely.......

Michael vs. The Kitchen......

2009-09-16T17:46:00.002-06:00

Whoops Into the oven
The happy baker

Michael had to bake a cake for a school project, and it was his first time cooking. The house isn't burned to the ground and he still has all his fingers so I guess it could be classified as a success. Actually aside from the egg he did very good and the cake wasn't too bad either. He had fun and earned some extra credit to boot.

On a side note Dawn's Aunt Yolly died last Monday after a long battle with cancer. She was famous in the family for her Filipino cooking. She will be missed.

Sunday Night Under The Lights

2009-09-13T21:19:00.002-06:00

We decided to take in the Voyagers playoff game Sunday night. I had forgotten how much fun a baseball game is. Dinner consisted of dollar hot dogs, dollar beers and tons of peanuts. What a nice night and to top it off the Voyagers beat Missoula 3-1. I think we're going to have to do this more often.

My New Shed

2009-09-08T18:19:00.002-06:00

I'm finally going to have a place to keep my 4 wheeler. They were cleaning up the bone yard at the heart tower and gave these away. With a little work it's going to be a great shed. I've already added 8 feet to the floor off the back. With football every weekend it's going to be tough to get done before the snow flies but I'm going to give it a shot.

Garden and Cat vs. Rabbit

2009-09-01T20:12:00.004-06:00

This is the garden I built for our deck. It has tomatoes underneath that are growing quite well now. Up top are onions peppers and various herbs.
Friends?
Maybe not.

Actually the cat was just yawning. She sat up there for about an hour watching the rabbit play in the yard. Don't forget to check out our new blog, http://thegrizzone.blogspot.com/ . I'll be updating it every week.

Memorial Falls

2009-08-30T18:24:00.004-06:00

The hike up

The lower falls

The upper falls

Dam building

This morning we woke up and decided to take a drive to Memorial Falls just out of Neihart. The falls are nice and the hike isn't too bad. It's pretty short but steep in places. Michael spotted some wild raspberries so we had a few of them. After the falls we drove in towards Hughesville and found a nice spot to have lunch. Michael and I worked on a dam for awhile then the kids played in the creek.

Rabbit

2009-08-30T18:19:00.003-06:00

Here is our rabbit. She doesn't really have a name so we just call her rabbit. Dawn saved her from being eaten by a coworker a few years ago. She's super friendly and just likes to hang out in the backyard and dig.

SPLASH!

2009-08-23T20:08:00.003-06:00

Michael and I found a pool in the shed today. I have no idea where it came from. We set it up, filled it with water and had a good time. Dawn came out in a hurry when she saw me getting the ladder out. Like I would do anything to hurt myself. We did chicken out on the top tho. The water was a bit on the chilly side for me, but Michael didn't mind it.

A few more random vacation pictures

2009-08-22T15:28:00.000-06:00

At the Kennedy Space Center with Endeavour on the pad.
Looking into the Atlantic off grand Turk.

Dinner at Tchop Tchop.

Dinner at the Emerald supper club on the ship.

Climbing the falls in Jamaica.

Strawberry Shortcake at Narcoossee's

Dawn and Mom at the Royal Pacific

This is my final installment of pictures from our last trip. We had a great time. In fact such a good time that we've already booked our next cruise. Right now our plan is to take a seven day cruise on the Liberty then rent a car and drive to Key west for a couple days. The cruise goes to Halfmoon Cay, Grand Turk, St. Thomas and San Juan with 2 days at sea. Anyone that wants to come along is welcome so start saving.

Paradise......

2009-08-16T12:26:00.000-06:00

Here are some pictures of tropical paradise for your viewing pleasure.Castaway Cay, Disney's private island
Relaxing on Castaway Cay with Conch Koolers

Daytona Beach

South Beach, Miami..look closely

South Beach

Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

A little beach bar in Playa

Cocoa Beach

Governor's Beach, Grand Turk

Nice blue water on Grand Turk...probably my favorite beach.

A fisherman selling Conch Shells on seven Mile beach, Grand Cayman. I bought one for five bucks.

I would say Grand Turk is the best island I've been to for beaches. The water is crystal clear and the perfect temp. Very uncrowded too which is always a plus. After that Castaway Cay is a close second. We're really looking forward to checking out Halfmoon Cay on our next cruise. It's hard to beat a nice beach and a cold drink.

Are you hungry yet?

2009-08-12T19:18:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pictures from various vacations to make your mouth water.Crab cakes at Narcoossee's, Grand Floridian

Fish and chips, fried oysters, onion fritter and tuna, Carnival Glory

Fish and shrimp tacos on homemade tortillas, Cabo San Lucas

Shrimp at Bubba Gump, Hollywood
Conch Fritters and shrimp at Breezes, Grand Cayman
Scallops, shrimp and lobster risotto at Tchop Tchop
Smoked Sea Salt Grilled Filet of Beef Tenderloin, Tchop Tchop
Smores at LeCeller, Epcot
Surf and Turf at Narcoossee's, Grand Floridian
Dessert at Boma, Animal Kingdom Lodge

Cookie Boat at Blue Bayou, Disneyland

Volcano Nachos and Cracked Conch, Margaritaville
Grand Turk
Shabu Shabu at Swish, Las Vegas
Chocolate Tarte with butter Chocolate Pate, Emerald Supper Club, Carnival Glory

Sea Bass, Fusia, Luxor Las Vegas

I have a bunch more pictures but I think these were my favorites. It's always fun to try new foods while on vacation. Planning our meals usually becomes a big part of any trips we take. A couple other restaurants I really like but didn't have any pictures handy of are Nine Fine Irishmen, Las Vegas (great bangers and mash) and The Corral in Big Sky. Their seafood pasta is to die for.

Even More Vacation Pictures

2009-08-06T20:10:00.001-06:00

Dawn and the gang at Universal Studios.
Dessert at Tchop Tchop. yum

Run!!

Ahhh...

Magic Kingdom at night.

Narcoosee's...Great food.

Dessert at Narcoosee's....almond cheesecake

Dinner at Narcoosee's and Tchop Tchop was great. I think Tchop Tchop is my all time favorite restaurant. The banana cream pie is to die for. Our waiter at Narcoosee's was funny. He had to go get his phone and show us pictures of his trip to Yellowstone. All around a great meal.

Water Spout

2009-08-05T17:20:00.000-06:00

Here's a unique picture I took off our ship while tendered at Grand Cayman.

7 Years

2009-08-02T15:53:00.000-06:00

Well for all of those that care, Jess and I met 7 years ago today. YAY!! Its hard to believe its been 7 years already.

We started talking online over 7 years ago, but we actually met 7 years ago today in person at the Montana State Fair. I was selling cell phones and he sent his lil brother Brady in to make sure I was normal looking, before he would come and meet me. I actually didn't think he was gonna come. After 3 hours of waiting, him and his brother finally showed up. I couldn't of asked for a better guy to show up. He is a great guy. And I wouldnt trade him for anything. I love him with all my heart and think he's amazing. I can't wait to see where the next 7 years takes us.

Yellowstone 2009

2009-08-02T10:06:00.000-06:00

Michael at the Corral in Big Sky

Michael at FireHole Falls

Firehole Falls

Jess and I in the River...it was warm

Cliff Geyser

Rainbow Pool

Michael and Old Faithful

Old Faithful

Elk

Tower Falls

Instead of coming home from picking up Yoshiko at Camp Timbercrest in Red Lodge, we decided to take a detour and go through the park. It was tons of fun.

Our detour took us over the Beartooth Pass (10,995' on the GPS) and through Cooke City. We were going to stay there but every hotel was booked. It was starting to look like we might have to see if Wade had a spare couch but the Travel Lodge in Gardiner had one room left. It wasn't cheap though. haha!! There was only one bed, so the front desk guy brought us two roll aways for the kids to sleep on. My advice to anyone going to the park, make hotel reservations before hand and DON'T forget the credit card, cuz no one takes checks anywhere.

Our main objective was seeing Old Faithful. I love this Geyser, it is stunning to see. After that we toured different areas of the park on our way home.

We got to see tons of Bison, an Osprey that was fishing, elk, and a couple of wolf pups. We didn't see any bears. We have been to the park twice in 3 years and still haven't seen any bears...grrr!!

On the way home we stopped in Butte and got to see Avery, Lacy and Jeff. Avery is always a ball of fun. She was dancing and singing and just having a blast. I wish I had 1/2 as much energy as she does. We need to go see these guys more often, They are so fun to hang with. Even if its just for an hour.

more vacation pics!!

2009-08-02T09:39:00.000-06:00

Kari and Ron before dinner at Narcoose's

Jess and I before dinner
Jess, gotta love that smile.

Space Shuttle all wrapped up

Jess and I at the Kennedy Space Center
Jess and I on our balcony before going to dinner.

A picture of me on the high seas before going to our Elegant Night dinner. It was slightly windy outside.

Our Hannan Gulch and Elk Creek Adventure

2009-07-30T15:30:00.000-06:00

We took a drive to Sun River Canyon last weekend with the 4 wheelers. Hannan Gulch is nice and a fairly easy ride...or so I thought. Going up was no problem and the view from the top is beautiful. Coming down was a little more difficult. Dawn tipped the 4 wheeler on it's side going down a *(muddy rut filled) hill. Not a big deal but put a few scratches in the 4 wheeler and in Dawn. All in all a great day and hopefully we can get out again before the summer is over.

*Dawn's interpretation...lol

The weekend before we took Dawn's Mom to Elk Creek, Cataract Falls and swimming in the Dearborn. It was a fun filled day too.

Cruise Vacation

2009-07-29T20:24:00.001-06:00

It has been quite some time since we posted last. We have been busy this summer, going here and there.

Jess and I went on a 7 day cruise out of port canaveral florida in June. We had the best time. We climbed the Mahoe water falls in Jamaica. In Grand Turk, we rented a golf cart with another couple from Cruise Critic and saw the entire Island. We took that golf cart where golf carts shouldnt go. Governor's Beach was amazing. The water was so blue. We ended Grand Turk with lunch at Margaritaville. In the Cayman Islands, we visited HELL!! A neat place. Been there don't wanna go back. We went to the beach, it was over crowded and not as good as Grand Turk. Over all this cruise was absolutely fabulous. We are booked on another in January, 2011.

After the Cruise, Ron and Kari came to the port and picked us up. We then headed to Kennedy Space Center. More to come....

Better Late Then Never

2009-05-20T22:01:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip last summer. I finally got them photoshopped and printed out for an album.

California Disney....very hot that day. Michael and Yosh had fun trading their pins.

The best hot dogs ever! Pinks in Hollywood. I could really go for that chili cheese dog with bacon right now.

Universal Studios. Bart kept pushing Michael's hat down.
Sailing out of Cabo on the Elation.

Cabo Wabo....Cabo was good for tequila shopping....I picked up a couple bottles.

On the Elation with the aircraft carriers USS Nimitz and USS George Washington in the back ground....very cool!

Joe's Crab Shack in San Diego...We had a great time visiting with Mandy. We only had a day in San Diego but Mandy was a good tour guide so we saw quite a bit.

Airshow pictures from Fairchild last year.

2009-05-11T21:13:00.000-06:00

F-22 taxiing

A chilly day

F-15

F-22 Raptor in action!

The Blue Angles

All around this was by far the best airshow I've been too. The F-22 was insane. I hope next year's is as good.

Snow Monster

2009-05-11T21:06:00.000-06:00

Our masterpiece.

Scrimmage in Corvallis

2009-04-20T20:59:00.000-06:00

Michael and Marc Mariani

Sushi at Nara

Future Griz

Michael and Chase Reynolds

Coach Hauck

It was good to see the Griz playing even if it was just a scrimmage. Corvallis was a nice location..very scenic. I can't wait for the season to start! Go Griz!

Biggest Losers

2009-04-11T20:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Easter Everyone!! Hope you all are having a great weekend.

Jess and I are doing the biggest loser with about 9 other people. Whoever has the highest percentage of weight loss will take home a cash prize of $275. We are weighing in once a week, with a final weigh in on June 1st. Our first weigh in was on friday....Jess lost an astonishing 20 pounds. I came in with a 4.4 pound loss. Which im very proud of....because i cheated....haha!! We are about to dye some eggs and will post some pictures later.

~Smile~

Jeff Gordon

2009-03-30T21:47:00.000-06:00

Jeff Gordon...2009 Nascar Race in Vegas.

Pictures from Vegas!

2009-03-29T19:15:00.001-06:00

Jess and I at the Nascar Race in Vegas. It was so Hot!!

Ron~he is a such a huge Nascar fan. And gets so excited. Its great.

Kenny Wallace doing his string dance. It was quite funny!

Jess and Ron's Hero of Nascar~~~Mr Jeff Gordon himself...it was fun listening to him talk.

This is Kyle Busch, I don't care for him too much, but after he was up there talking, I don't think he's as bad of a guy as everyone thinks he is. Much better then his brother I think. And I love his sunglasses....

So here you go lacy....this is all there was. I'm pretty sure I took one of Jess in front of the fountain at the monte carlo but strangely it's not on here...hmmm...wonder what he did with it...

Back From Vegas!!

2009-03-11T20:12:00.000-06:00

Well we made it back Vegas!! Unfortunately....We had the best time. It was over 80 degrees at the race. Which was nice...but a tad too hot for me.....Kyle Busch won the race...which was his first win in Vegas.

We did see a famous Rapper guy....i didnt know who he was, im kind of a country girl i guess. But there were all these people standing around a craps table...and i asked who it was. Jess says its Flavor Flav, and i said Flavornoid??...im like who is that. A rapper from awhile back i learned...he had a pick in his hair, and a huge clock around his neck....seriously....i would never walk out of the house lookn like that...but im not famous either...haha!

Jess and I gambled at one table for over 5 hours. We met the funniest people, and laughed and laughed all night long. I think we got back to the MGM at around 4 in the morning. We didnt lose too much money but didnt make any either. Oh well...had a blast anyways.

We went shopping at IKEA!! If you have never been to that store, you should go. It's amazing. I think we were there for over 3 hours. It was fun picked up a few items, and had swedish meatballs for lunch at the restaurant there.

After IKEA we had to check out the SEE'S candie place. Yummm....$31 later with over 2 pounds of chocolate....yep its gone already i ate my pound in two days....yeah the gym's not working so well yet...haha!!

Jess and I have a new found love of Iced Green Tea from Starbucks. I think its Kari's fault. I was waiting in line to get her a black iced tea when we were shopping and i tried the green tea and it was amazing....im really glad there is not a starbucks on our side of town. Starbucks Iced Green Tea, and Sees Chocolates are my new found loves....

We also go to check out the shopping at Kohls in Salt Lake. I love this store. I shopped some and tried on some clothes, while Jess waited patiently...its a miracle....he hates shopping.....I usually never ever try stuff on...but Kohls is along ways away to take something back...so nonetheless i tried everything on.

We had a long drive back to Great Falls, and reached our house after picking up the kids around 2 in the morning...it was a long day for me...but i made it.

I love Vegas. I do think Vegas Once a year is plenty.

Looks like we may be going to UTAH to watch the Jazz play basketball easter weekend. Jess and Michael will be going to the game, and of course Yoshiko and i will be shopping and visiting IKEA, and a starbucks im sure.....

Yoshiko's birthday party was fun. Lippy and I took her shopping at the mall. She got some clothes. We picked her friends up a lil later, and we all went to Bostons for Dinner. I have a few pictures but they didnt turn out very good. We ended up going rollerskating. I havent done that in long long long time...but i can still skate. Lippy made it around a few times...but it got crowded and that was enuff for us...people are just waiting to run you over there....The first song they played was a country song at the rink...yosh and her friends were freaken out...it was funny, i led them to believe that i requested country all night long....she was mad at me for about 5 minutes when a song she liked finally came on....it was quite funny....

Yoshiko also had a party with the family on her real birthday. Kari made her a cool cake. It was delicious. Im pretty sure its the best cake on this planet. She made out like a bandit this year...she is getting to the age she doesnt want presents just money. Which makes it easy for everyone....theres no shopping involved. She spent all her birthday money on clothes and shoes....which is great for me......Anyways...She says thank you to everyone for the presents...money and cards.

***smiles***

Nascar in Vegas

2009-02-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

It's almost time to hit the road again. We will be traveling to Vegas on the 26th, to watch the nascar race, and to gamble, and shop. I'm extremely excited. I didn't get to go last year.

Yosh turns 11 on the 26th. She will be having a slumber party here tonite. And a party with the family on the 26th at Kari's. She has grown up alot since last year. She has alot more attitude.

Michael is still the crazy kid that doesnt stop talking. And never is anything his fault. He is doing well in school, getting 100% on almost all of his spelling tests. He did have an accident on the playground last week. Some lil kid pushed him down and he hit his head on the sidewalk and cracked it open. Kinda gross. The kid that pushed him was devastated when he saw michael was bleeding. He applogized profusely. I felt sorry for both of them. I had to pick him up from school , so he missed his Valentines Party. But he was excited he got to come to work with me.

I wanna say congrats to Mandy and James. Haydn is such a cutie. I can't wait to meet him. I'm sure Gramma Lynn will bring many pictures back for all of us to see. I will post pictures of Vegas and Yoshikos rollerskating party in March. Take Care everyone!!

Happy New Year!!

2009-01-03T11:42:00.000-07:00

Jess, Lippy, Sabra, Kenny, Mom, Me, and Michael, Yosh was taking the picture....

Mom Taking a Shot....

Mom wishing she just didnt drink that

Dawn Winning the first game of Wii Bowling

Lynn's totally tropical drink....

Before the festivities....

I hope everyone had a great New Year. We had a gathering at our house. Jess made his famous ribs, which were fabulous. I made daquiris in my new Margaritaville Machine. Its wonderful. Ron and Kari, Lynn and Fred, Mandy and James, Brady and Kristi, Kenny and Sabra, Lippy, My Mom and Yoshiko and Michael were all here. After dinner and a lil fireworks outside, some people left. We then broke out the Wii and played Bowling. Kenny was on my team and we lost everytime...I think everyone had a great time. It was so nice having everyone out there.I can't wait til this time next year....I have a good video of Michael doing a dance when someone got a strike. It was too cute.

2008-11-02T15:56:00.000-07:00

Griz Game, November 1,2008 Score 45-10, versus Northern Arizona

Halloween 2008

2008-11-02T15:37:00.000-07:00

Yoshiko and Michael meet thier new friend for the first time...

Halloween 2008

2008-11-02T15:25:00.000-07:00

Michael and Yoshiko almost ready for trick or treating. They started out at Gramma Kari's house. This would be their very First Warm Weather Halloween. We had to sew Michael into his costume. He grew a little more then I had expected. Yoshiko was a Vampiress.

A Guy A Girl and 2 kids...

Oh Christmas Tree

A Sunday Drive to Benchmark

Flag Football

Sluice Boxes

Flight Over the Falls 2011

Disneyworld With the Parents

Day One

Launch day

My Amazing Day at the Kennedy Space Center

NASA Tweetup

An Evening Walk at Giant Springs

Ducks in the backyard

Yosh's Honor Society Ceremony

Easter 2011

A Few More Disney Photos

Pictures to Make You Hungry

NASCAR Weekend in Las Vegas!

Universal Studios

A Study in Beaches....Three Beaches in Five Days

Dining Extravaganza 2011

Entrees

Dessert!

Christmas Around the World, Disney that is

Hunting 2010

Michael's 9th Birthday

Fall Pictures

Foriegn Food

Fall Flowers

Highwoods

The First Day of School

Award Winning Legos

Camping at Willow Creek

View From The Backyard

The Great Pacific NorthWest

Florida Here We Come

Vegas Baby

Sledding With Avery

Playing In The Snow

Thanksgiving

Mighty Hunters

Michael's Eighth Birthday Party

Michael's Team Photo

Flag Football is here!

On to Fall........

Michael vs. The Kitchen......

Sunday Night Under The Lights

My New Shed

Garden and Cat vs. Rabbit

Memorial Falls

Rabbit

SPLASH!

A few more random vacation pictures

Paradise......

Are you hungry yet?

Even More Vacation Pictures

Water Spout

~~7 Years~~

~~Yellowstone 2009~~

more vacation pics!!

Our Hannan Gulch and Elk Creek Adventure

Cruise Vacation

Better Late Then Never

Airshow pictures from Fairchild last year.

Snow Monster

Scrimmage in Corvallis

~~Biggest Losers~~

Jeff Gordon

Pictures from Vegas!

Back From Vegas!!

Nascar in Vegas

Happy New Year!!

Halloween 2008

Halloween 2008

7 Years

Yellowstone 2009

Biggest Losers