Our Western Clan Life

Sundry Winter Photos

2012-02-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

Now that my foot is nearly healed from the neuroma surgery, Finn has his own ski gear bin, and Nola fits her hand-me-down Patagonia "sport suits," we are starting to complain about the lack of wintery winteryness. And we're not the only ones (Winter...You There??). But in true DuRoss fashion, we've been loading up on snacks, and making the most of it:

Finn test driving his remote control car, which Mom and Dad, and NOT Santa, so smarty gave him for Christmas!

Enjoying the last few hours of 2011. This photo makes me laugh - I can picture it as another DuRoss classic - the sepia, weathered, and torn, "Wanted Dead or Alive" poster.

Finn and our amputee snow man. Notice the leaves in the snow. This was taken Jan. 7th. Seriously.

Finn sledding on mostly grass. He didn't seem to mind.

Nola wondering why she is wearing a snow suit if there's no snow.

Stefan, Jess, Greta, Graham, and Cooper helping us find snow in the Uinta's.

Here is the sundry part. Great, but random photo of Nola by E.

Finn's first day on skis, or actually on "click-in" skis as he reminded me. He did great, and is excited to go every weekend (thanks E and Nola in advance!).

Finn eyeing that line down Mt. Superior. Actually eyeing the lodge, but someday...

9 Months

2012-01-10T14:16:00.000-08:00

Salt Lake Christmas

2011-12-29T21:34:00.000-08:00

Christmas came and went in a snowless, foggy haze of coughs and runny noses for all four of us.... but it was still memorable to have our first Christmas at home in Salt Lake City.

We shared Christmas eve with our neighbors (Scott, Shannon, Farah and Gunner) complete with prime rib, popovers, roasted vegetables, wild rice soup and strawberry, rhubarb creme brulee. Santa even dropped a few early gifts off in a bag on the front stoop for the kids.

Christmas morning started quietly at our house with Finn methodically riffling through his stocking. Once all the contents were fully assessed we settled in at the kitchen table for parfaits prepared by Chris (yogurt, granola, raspberries and whipped cream).
What a treat!

We unwrapped gifts from beneath the tree. Finn was sweet helping Nola open her first gifts and was overjoyed with what his packages contained. As much as he complained in the weeks leading up to Christmas that, "surprises were hard" and he didn't really like surprises, I think he would agree now that the wait was worth it. Lunch was a treat too. My crazy foodie antics must be rubbing off on Chris. Not only did he plan for these amazing sandwiches but he even paused to photograph them before we ate. (Baguette with sopressa, fontina cheese, shredded fennel, spring greens, and a sauce of mayo, capers, paprika and grainy Dijon mustard)
And isn't this the same person who usually gives me grief for taking photos when we should be eating the food? I love it!

To round out the night, Audrey came down the mountain with Ruby and Owen to join us for Christmas dinner. Chip was working.

Did we really not take any pictures of this? Ruby and Owen thoroughly enjoyed following their big cousin Finn between rooms and doing laps around the kitchen/living room loop. Good times!

Thankful for Another Year

2011-12-29T18:49:00.000-08:00

This November Chris's grandma (Gammy) had her 90th birthday. We were fortunate to be able to join everyone in Ohio for the festivities. Was she ever surprised when we opened the study door revealing our huddled mass, of 13 adults and 7 great-grandchildren, in song. As a grand-finale to the evening we gathered around a slide-show, choreographed by Derek, portraying her beautiful, vivacious life. Ninety years old; amazing (and so hard to fathom)!

Our stay extended through my birthday and Thanksgiving allowing for lots of quality family time, numerous cakes, wonderful food and even a quick visit to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Finn was a pro at sorting animals into categories of bird, mammal, amphibian, reptile and insect. How does he know this so well already? I guess he is the son of a wildlife loving science geek, teacher.

Nola: sitting strong on her own and interested in smearing food everywhere under the guise of feeding herself.

Our little "gamer" taking in a late night game of Parcheesi with Daddy, Nana and Papa.

Hudson Rock DuRoss, 2000-2011

2011-11-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hudson DuRoss

He was with us...

Those four words pretty much sum it up: Hudson was a faithful friend who, for the last 11 years, was there at every turn. Looking back through the albums, from the ones on the shelves, to those on the computer, nearly each one has a photo of Hudson in there. Sometimes front and center, other times just hanging in the background.

He was really our first kid. We married September 1999, and we picked Hudson out of the litter in early 2000. We named him after "Hudson Rock" at Joshua Tree. He saw it all. Every house we lived in, nearly every adventure, a move across the country, school, house remodeling, and kids. He spent many nights in the tent, in the vestibule, in the truck, and just lounging around in the back yard with us.

He was a great dog. Although annoying at times, Hudson was never far. He was famous for following you around the house, only content and willing to snooze if he knew you were close by. His favorite place to lay was at your feet, whether in the kitchen, under the table, in the garden, or on the floor next to the shower. The first four years were crazy - he would run and run, steal things (shoes, clothes, etc.) and then run some more. He loved to play fetch, swim, lounge in the shade, follow me into the ocean surfing, roll in the snow, go for hikes, and just take strolls around the blocks.

Literally, he was there through thick and thin. He was there when we brought Finn home from the hospital; although he wasn't sure what to think at first, he quickly accepted Finn as part of the family and realized that he was an excellent source of food. He was there on Finn's birthday, his first day of preschool, and on the day we brought Nola home. I have great memories of Finn playing with him, feeding him, walking him, and hugging him. Hudson never complained, never turned down a treat (or dropped food), never failed to bark at the mailman, never had a bad day, never lost his temper, never failed to wag his tail when you came through the door. He was a comfort when we lost loved ones, when Erika miscarried, when we were having bad days.

The last month was difficult. Good days and bad days. Days when we thought he'd pull through; days when we thought it was the end...when he just couldn't take another step and I'd have to carry him inside. We're glad that we were able to take him on one last adventure together...to a cabin where he wandered, got muddy, and just enjoyed being with us.

Hudson, you will be missed. Thank you for teaching us what unconditional love really is. Goodbye "good ole boy."

Chris, Erika, Finn, and Nola

My favorite photo of Hudson. In the San Rafael Swell

Fall changes

2011-11-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

We've been on extended blog hiatus. It is daunting to catch up .....but we will (or at least we'll do a multiple month in summary post). For now, here are a few recent photos of the kids.

"You are My Sunshine"

2011-06-29T11:55:00.001-07:00

Our approach to bedtime has changed again with the addition of Nola. Most nights I read stories to Finn on the couch and then while I get Nola ready for bed Chris finishes off the rest making sure Finn gets his teeth brushed and then tucks him into bed with a song, a Bob Book and often a few shared giggles.

The other night I overheard a moment that made me smile and still does as I think about it again. Finn was cranking his music player which plays the tune "You are My Sunshine". He was varying the speeds and they were both making a game of singing away fast then slow, getting such a kick out of it. Those little moments are so special (for them - and me when I'm fortunate enough to catch a small "glimpse").

June Days

2011-06-28T21:56:00.002-07:00

We are enjoying our summer! The heat has definitely set in with temperatures stepping up to the mid-nineties but we've managed to find our escapes - whether it is spending the hottest part of the day playing indoors, running through water outside or escaping into the nearby mountains.....

Nola is smiling more all the time and has begun to laugh/coo more frequently. She had her two month appointment last Friday. Three immunization shots in the thighs left her wailing and a bit out of sorts for several days - thankfully that has passed and she is back to her calm, sweet self. Her growth seems to be starting off like Finn's, and he definitely has his Dad's build. It will be interesting to see if she continues to follow Finn's growth tradjectory or ends up more petite in stature like her mom. For now she is long and lean: 25th percentile for weight (9.94lbs), 50th percentile for height (22.5) inches and 75th percentile for head circumference. Only time will tell....

Finn is my great helper. He is ever enthusiastic about rushing out the door in the morning to see if the chickens have laid any eggs then reports to Daddy when he gets home on whether it was a "two egg" or a "three egg day". Finn eagerly takes kitchen scraps out and makes great effort to ensure the hens receive equitable shares. Today we gave them a treat of mozzarella cheese. One of the girls has been laying thinner eggs and Finn wanted to make sure she got her calcium so he tore the cheese into small bites and strategically dispersed it to their anxious beaks.

We are working hard to play catch-up after such a late start to gardening this year. Chris assembled a great sprikler system for the expanded garden bed this weekend. With the regular watering (and the warmer temperatures) perhaps things will start taking off and our seedlings will not frizzle in the sun as soon as they pop out of the soil. Finn wanted to participate in putting the sprinklers together and testing them out. The past few days he has been out there next to me poking beet seeds into the dirt and covering them over so they can germinate, checking on how many potato plants have poked out of the ground, looking in awe at the purple sweet potato sprout just emerging, grabbing the trowel to transplant a pathetic eggplant so it won't be crowded out by the potato. It is so fun to hear him say, "I like feeling like a farmer"!

Rapidly rising summer temperatures and copious quantities of snow melting out of the Wasatch range have the local rivers raging. Finn has always loved the outdoors as much as we do and Chris knew that the striking power and velocity of a roiling river escaping its banks and crashing over rocks/trees was something that would completely enthrall Finn. He was absolutely right. Sunday we headed up Big Cottonwood canyon and hit the Mill B South trail (toward Lake Blanch) for our first hike with Nola and really the first hike where Finn had to do all his own footwork instead of being in a backpack. He did absolutely amazing, hiking over 3 miles, all-the-while his enthusiasm for everything around him overflowing infectiously. We didn't make it to Lake Blanch (we never expected to) or even to that magical spot just ahead that would provide us one last "good view" or even find "a shady, private place, with a rock to sit on, aspens, ripe strawberries and a lake to nurse Nola beside" but we enjoyed all we saw and our time together as a family. I can't wait to get out for our next hike!

June

2011-06-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

This has been a crazy month:

Nola Mae has continued to grow and become more awake and expressive, and we're all settling into our family of four (er, five...sorry Hudson). It is amazing how time flies with the second and how there are days that I feel like I barely get to hold her. The real challenge has been trying to tackle house/yard projects (see bullet #2)...things like dog-hair management tend to spiral out of control. Erika has been amazing in that regard: losing one job (teaching), but picking up three: Finn, Nola, and part-time work for a science museum. But, we're happy...especially with how calm she is (unless she's hungry!).
We were saddened to have our good friends from across the fence move to Portland. We sadly deconstructed the gate between our yards, but happily moved the fence - acquiring some of their expansive back yard. Many hours went into moving the fence (thanks Chip!), but we couldn't be happier with our new bigger yard and are grateful to them for making it happen.
With the extra land, we accelerated our plans to add three new additions to our family: 3 chickens in a hurricane-proof coop. Our amazing neighbors helped build it (including supplying a 1/4" sheet of aluminum for the roof!) and after just a week or so, we took on our moving neighbor's chickens. They're psyched about their new digs, and after a brief period of contemplation and discussion, have been rewarding us with three eggs a day.
Last, but not at all least, Finn turned 4! The weeks or so building up to his birthday were amazing: he was thrilled to be turning four and happy to no longer have to tell people he was three and three-quarters. The weather held and we celebrated outside with a pool and a bunch of his friends. He is one amazing kid - who continues to surprise and amaze us with his creativity, questions (though exhausting at times!), comprehension of complex things (e.g., photography, neighbors moving and us taking their chickens...), his calmness around and love for Nola, and appetite for learning (officially read his first word a few weeks ago).

Ok, the photos:

Sweet Nola Mae...sorry if we leave you in this seat a lot.

June blooms.

The upper deck....the new 19' added to our yard, which we're "turning into a farm" according to our upset neighbor (actually, he's right)

Our new garden space. Saying "our" as opposed to "E's" is a big step for me...finally taking part ownership of the garden. Carrots, potatoes, lettuce, squash should be "harvestable" come November.

The coop. At three organic eggs a day, our break-even point is mid June of next year in case you were wondering.

Sir Pecksalot...our most consistent layer (nickname Miss Laysalot).

Pool party! Total craziness.

Finn on his 4th.

Cake pops! These were a huge hit with kids and adults alike.

Blowing out the lighter (too windy for the candles).

Nola taking it all in with mom.

The whole crew of moms and kids (minus Ann/Anya, Renae/Kaya and a few others).

Sun Sun Sun Here It Comes

2011-06-14T15:58:00.001-07:00

OK, we're a few weeks behind, but this is too priceless to not share. Check out Finn jammin' on his last day of preschool. Watch as much as you can bear, but at least wait for the pan right and then back left...cracks me up every time.

Chris

2011-06-07T21:09:00.000-07:00

School's out for the Summer

2011-05-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

Summer is officially here. Finn had his last day of pre-school, complete with a grand finale class performance. They sang "Here Comes the Sun" and "Down By the Bay" with fun props and "moves". I hope we can once again figure out how to post video clips because it was priceless to watch Finn strum his guitar and wiggle to the beat.

His teachers sent home a packet of his collective works from the year along with a packet of photos. I can't believe how much he has grown (physically, mentally and emotionally) over the school year. His handwriting continues to improve, he is starting to visually recognize numbers and is showing not only an interest but a striking adeptness for learning to read. I don't think Finn fully grasps what summer means yet. He is excited to be home every day but I am sure he will miss seeing his friends and teachers.

Nola continues to grow...... she weighed in at 9lbs 3oz at my 6 week postpartum exam.

5 Weeks

2011-05-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

We've been meaning to post some photos and thoughts on how a month has flown by, and here we are already at 5 weeks. Nola is doing great and seems to be growing incredibly fast (she had gained a pound at 2 weeks!). Right now she seems pretty entertained by food (nursing), sleeping, looking at your forehead and intently tracking your movements, moving her head all around, and wildly swatting and talking at her toys (definitely a DuRoss).

Here are some photos from last weekend when she was actually a month old.

And of course hard to believe this guy is ALMOST four

(three and three-quarters he likes to say)

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T19:11:00.001-07:00

Weeks Two to Three

2011-05-08T16:59:00.000-07:00

Change is slow, or not as readily apparent, when you are with a newborn every day, staring into their eyes and marveling at the wondrous life in your arms. I'm sure that watching growth through our intermittent photo postings the changes are much more drastic.

Friday we went to Nola's 2 week appointment (at 3 weeks). She weighed in at 8lbs 3oz and measured 21 inches. Our little girl is indeed growing. Looking back at the photos or reflecting upon how tiny she was, dwarfed in her car seat, at her two day pediatrician appointment I see the changes in size, scale, expressions, alertness, interest and increasing strength.

Transition from Three to Four

2011-05-07T19:01:00.000-07:00

.........and Hudson makes Five.......

To my, perhaps limited, knowledge there is no illustrious guide documenting how to transition from life with one child to two; no definitive text describing how to prepare for the changes as parents or how to prepare the first child for their new role of older sibling while ensuring continued growth as an individual. For now I will put my faith in the same maternal and paternal instincts that got us through the first time and keep my ears out for any good advice out there. We'll surely make some great discoveries in both areas of success and things to learn from. Who knows, maybe I'll even document them and pass them on or maybe I'll just get caught up in experiencing the joys of every new day.

Photos of Birth and First Few Days

2011-04-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry, but I have to redirect you. I've been unsuccessful in uploading photos to this blog, please check out my Picasa Web Albums for a whole mess of photos - from birth to today!

Also, check out Facebook (shouldn't need an account) for more photos:

Pictures of Nola
Pictures of Finn and others enjoying the Salt Lake Spring

Week One

2011-04-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

Here we are at the one week mark. Nola continues to sleep away much of the day and the night, awaking to nurse every 2-3 hours now instead of the every 5 hours during her first few days. She definitely is a good eater.

We've run the range of good nights to long nights but as a whole she is a very calm, content baby. She squeaks, coos and sometimes grunts but doesn't cry much. Being the scientist I know that correlation does not always mean causation but the two most difficult nights spicy dinners - of course another discounting factor is that this is two nights out of a grand total of 7 nights so not exactly a significantly sound sample size/data set.

Our first round of help has come and gone. Finn reveled in the time with Grandma and Grandpa and we were so thankful for all the help with shopping, laundry, cooking, cleaning, baby holding, entertaining, school shuttles.

Life at home has been eventful yet pretty sedentary. A trip to the ER the day after we returned home from the hospital confirmed a blood clot in my left calf (thankfully superficial and needing nothing more than self-monitoring, heat, elevation and ibuprofen). Since I was dizzy upon arrival the doctor ordered a series of tests involving poking and prodding and even more waiting (blood draws, EKG, vitals, IV). The test results concluded my hematocrit/hemoglobin levels were extremely low (likely explains why I blacked-out the first time I got out of bed post delivery). So per ER doctor and midwife orders I have been taking it easy, seldom leaving the couch. Chris has been impressive taking on 98% of the diapers changes, swaddling, bedtime routine with Finn, playing with Finn, refilling my water, serving snacks/lunches/dinners couch-side and keeping the household running smoothly inside and out - all that and still managing to squeeze in a little more work on getting the basement closer to ready to move our bedroom into. Did I say impressive yet?

Nola's First Day

2011-04-15T12:37:00.000-07:00

We're finally home with Nola! But before I get into how great it is to be in our own (very clean - thanks Donna, Matt, & Finn!) home, let me lay out the back story.

E and I wondered if Nola and I would be sharing a birthday, but that didn't come to pass. Instead, after mild to moderate contractions that evening (13th), E woke at ~2 am with fairly strong contractions. With the distant memory of E's 18-hour labor with Finn, we tried not to get too excited...timing contractions, packing, talking, etc. Pretty much ignoring our midwife's recommendation to not hang around the house too long, since labor with the second has a way of progressing more quickly compared to with the first. But over about 30 minutes E progressed from one stage to another, suddenly becoming very serious. A this point she was working incredibly hard, and then started feeling hot and sweaty, and felt like a bowl movement was coming on...uh oh. With contractions about 4 min apart and lasting over a minute, we quickly loaded up in the driving rain/sleet/snow and made way for the hospital. Later E told me that she was having serious self doubts right before leaving the house - a good sign that things were moving toward the end game! Upon check-in (~3am) she was 8cm dilated and expertly weathering strong contractions. Our awesome midwife showed up, E weathered a few more contractions, and then started pushing. About 20 min later, after a short, but very-intense (drug-free!) labor, Nola was born (4:05 a)!

We are so happy to report that she is happy, healthy, beautiful, and perfect in every way. Here are some photos from her first full day.

Finn finally getting to meet his baby sister. He was really cute - excited, cautious, and curious. He's going to be a great big brother.

E soaking up the Nola time. How special she is to both of us.

Nola. In DuRoss fashion nicknames to follow. So far, tossing out: Nol, Noly, Noler, Nellie.

She's a sleeper (at least during the day)

It was great to have so many visitors. Here Nola is meeting Chip, Audrey and cousins Ruby and Owen.

Mom and Matt. A special thanks to them for taking triple duty with meals, Finn-entertaining (and explaining, I'm sure), and house/basement details.

My special girl...can't seem to hold her enough.

Nola Mae DuRoss

2011-04-14T07:11:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce the birth of our beautiful, healthy daughter Nola Mae DuRoss! She was born this morning, April 14, at 4:05a, weighing 7 lb. 5 oz. E was absolutely amazing, induring a short, but intense labor (~2 hours). Both E and Nola are doing well. We can't wait for all of you to meet her!

Chris, Erika (and Finn)

Winter Pics

2010-12-16T16:38:00.000-08:00

You'll have to look here:

https://sites.google.com/site/durosswest/

Let us know what you think (we are still deciding whether to move the blog or not).

Chris

A Girl!

2010-11-28T14:46:00.000-08:00

Ever since the day in early October when we told Finn I was pregnant he has been telling us with great conviction that he is going to have a baby sister. Our 20 week ultrasound confirmed that the new addition to our family this April will indeed be a girl! Finn was pretty adorable during the appointment. When asked if there was anything else he wanted to see in the ultrasound before we left he requested to see the tiny feet again. He was pretty enthralled with the "thumbs up" image and was excited to get sent home with his own 4 picture print-out (which he hung on the bulletin board in his bedroom).

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T12:15:00.000-07:00

Finn talked for months before Halloween arrived of how he was going to be a shark AND that the mailman was going to deliver the shark costume. Knowing that the mailman doesn't just deliver costumes magically (without someone ordering and paying for them) I was left with the one option of figuring out how to make him his very own shark costume. So, I pulled out an old sweatshirt of mine, bought some felt at the store and began cutting, gluing and sewing. Two hours later he had the perfect costume, complete with a fin on back (unfortunately we never got a side shot to show it). At least for all the effort he got to wear it three times: his school party Thursday, around the neighborhood trick-or-treating with friends Saturday, and then up to pot-luck Halloween Party Sunday in Summit Park, which Chris and I decided to scrape together costumes for. Can you tell what we were?

2010-11-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Nearly a year and a half after moving into our house we finally got inspired to put the patio back together thanks to a lot of help (experience, confidence, support and physical labor) from Dad. Finn loved helping his Daddy and Grandpa by carrying bricks from one pile to another.

Since the front yard, including the patio, was excavated to a depth of 9 feet for sewer repairs, two days after we arrived, we never got to know the joys of sitting out front. We have more work ahead to find the perfect furniture for the area but for now we've moved our Adirondack bench up from the backyard and are enjoying visiting with neighbors as they come and go.

Awake My Soul

2010-10-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

That's right...Erika is pregnant! This is week 15 and we're all incredibly excited...even Finn, who remarked that he wanted both a brother and a sister. :)

BTW...title is from a band Chip turned me on to: Mumford & Sons.

First Day of Pre-school!

2010-09-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

Wednesday/Thursday - Orcas Island

2010-08-15T18:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday to Tuesday - Westernclan/Easternclan reunion

2010-08-10T15:32:00.000-07:00

After a quick drive up the coast and visit to Ecola state park (last surfing destination...for those interested, the waves were small, but fun and provided a good chance to get used to my board...especially the fast quad fin setup) our trip shifted gears a bit as we pulled into a Victorian mansion come B&B. This leg of the trip will be spent with my parents, which is especially fun for Finn, who might be getting just a little worn out.

So far, we've really enjoyed their company and have exhausted ourselves with beach hikes, forest hikes, tide pool gazing, choosing just the right campsite, and thousands of questions: what is that starfish doing, why is it on the rock, what does it eat; why is the tide low, can waves get us here; why are barnacles on rocks; how deep can cormorants dive, is that an anemone; daddy you should surf here...why don't you just steer around the rocks; where are we going; where are Nana and Papa?...

The highlight though was definitely the long crazy drive from 0' to 5500' in the interior of Oly NP to gain the Deer Park campground set in a subalpine environment. After a foggy 4 mile hike we enjoyed near solitude, another great meal, and the slow unveiling of one of the most beautiful views from a "front country" site...billows of white to gray fog enshrouding the thick forested foothills of the glacier carved and partially snow covered Olympic Mountains....wow.

We packed up quickly in the mist and rain, drove down the narrow winding road, shoveled down all a nearby Starbucks had to offer, and made our Port Townsend ferry with room to spare. Our next stop is Orcas Island, where all of our thoroughly damp camping gear will stay neatly tucked away in the rocket box as we look forward to showers and maybe even a chance to break the newly formed rust off of our bike chains.

PS - for more photos, see previous post.

Saturday - Sunday

2010-08-10T10:51:00.000-07:00

Thursday - Friday, Oregon

2010-08-10T10:17:00.000-07:00

Thursday August 5

The last three days have been a whirlwind of checking surf breaks, wandering along random beaches, admiring the views (and fog!) at overlooks, and pushing up through the entire OR coast.

Thursday we hit the last few beaches In northern CA, including crazy rough seas at the Del Norte coast. Definitely no surf there. We continued on to Gold beach...and thanks to a visitors center volunteer telling us about her son "wetsuit surfing" at the jetty, we investigated. The current was strong and the two locals not very welcoming, but I managed to sneak a few waves in.

Friday morning we explored more of the OR coast, and completely stumbled on nice waves at another jetty, this time at the Upqua lighthouse. We carefully navigated Dune Fest craziness and found the break. Again, me and two locals (this time welcoming); the waves were amazing, but getting outside was quite a battle. We rounded out the day with tide pools at yachats, and great camping on the bay near Pacific City.

Wednesday - Northern California

2010-08-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

August 4
just a short jaunt up the coast today to meet up with another good friend. Clara and I go back to college days of mucking around chasing frogs in the Missoula vicinity. We figured it had been somewhere around ten years since we'd last seen each other so I was happy she, and her two kids, could make the 45 minute trip from inland to hang out. Finn relished having a fellow three year old to play with (after nearly a week of being on the road with the two of us as his sole companions). Our afternoon was spent at Trinidad State Beach together and then out for fish n'chips/clam chowder at the Trinidad Bay Eatery before parting ways.

Chris, still on the prowl for an opportunity to get out and catch some waves on his new surf board, scouted every potential break with anticipation. Moonstone beach was beautiful but too uneventful. Hiking to down to Agate beach from our camp site at Patrick's Point State Park after dinner was an enjoyable scouting session for all. The surf was deemed worth checking into again in the morning, Finn and I scoured the beach for perfect rocks and Chris inspected the banks to determine the origin of the sediments.

Monday-Tuesday - Redwoods

2010-08-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

Monday, August 2

I can't imagine a more idyllic place to spend a few nights! After a Long drive up the serpentine Northern California coast via HWY 1 we veered inland on 101, at the Lost Coast, for a few more hours of winding through Redwood forests before landing at our destination, The House in the Redwoods. The house, nestled into a private corner of Flood Plains Organic Farm is complete with all the fine details of comfort and luxurious simplicity in and out: a private yard scattered with mature fruit (apple, plum, pear) trees, hammock, expansive garden open for wandering/ picking, deck with hot tub, blackberry bushes lining the driveway and unlimited access to anything at the produce stand. I can already say wholeheartedly that I will be hesitant to move on after only two nights. For now we will embrace every moment here in the Redwoods and I will be scheming on plans to return another year.

Tuesday, August 3
Driving through the Redwoods is one thing but biking beneath the canopy gives a greater sense of the grandiosity, while exposing the senses to fog-laden, woodsy aromas, filtered sunbeams contrasted by deeply shaded stretches, skin chilling breezes of rapid hill descents, and the "taste" a bit of pain at the end of 47 miles. Our route: Avenue of the Giants; Pepperwood to Miranda and back.

Other highlights of the day:
Blackberry Popsicles from the Flood Plain Organics produce stand.
Using produce stand and self-picked herbs/vegetables to make pizza with Finn (California mozzarella, walla walla onion, Jimmy Nardello pepper, yellow squash, patti-pan squash, spinach, olive oil and basil).
A soothing soak in the hot tub.
Looking forward to savoring the figs we just picked for breakfast........

Sunday - Salt Point

2010-08-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday August 1 - Salt Point

Starting to lose track of time and days of the week; haven't thought about work in a long time; excited about simple meals; amazed (and sometimes exhausted!) by Finn's running commentary; and just in awe of the beauty of this part of the coast. just some random thoughts as we are all settling into life on the road.

Today we woke to chilly fog streaming through camp. After a lazy morning we pulled a true "DuRoss" move and switched camp sites...can only imagine the laughs as I walked about with the tent high above my head....but we were so glad we did as we scored a beautiful quiet site and later watched an 80' long RV pull next door to our previous site. The rest of the day included a 4 mile hike along the roaring, rocky coast and cashew tofu masala...ahhh why do we work again?

Tomorrow a long trek noth past the Lost Coast into Redwood country.

Saturday - Salt Point

2010-08-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

After a hearty Oakland breakfast (Batter Blaster!) and send off, we finally found views of the ocean, along with a thousand German-made hybrid SUVs. But past Stinson beach the crowds dwindled as we ventured Into lands too far for a typical weekend getaway from the Bay. Checked the surf at the salmon creek mouth, but no go - variable wind swept chop...not ideal for the virgin run on the fish...though the locale name was suitable.

Salt Point. Beautiful, raged wind swept and foggy cliffs...complete with every earthquake geologist's dream: uplifted beach terraces from movement on the San Andreas fault! No surfing here, but if i weren't a little spooked by strong crashing waves on broken sea stacks and through thick kelp forests, i'd put my wetsuit to good use harvesting some abalone.

After settling camp we saddled up for a quick ride down to the coast, explored tide pools, watched resting sea lions, and found a rocky nook to watch the sunset. So amazing to be huddled together as a family, watching something so simple and beautiful.

PS - sorry for the multiple posts...finally have AT&T service!

Friday - Oaktown

2010-08-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

Day two drive was easier than expected; arrived in Oakland at about 2pm. Thanks to google maps on iPad, we killed some time at a park along the bay that ended up being a bird-nerd's paradise, including a few random (and eager) shore birds migrating south from the arctic. We are on the opposite path - pushing north to mist, tall trees, and cold water.

Afternoon hit and we finally met our destination - old friends from what seems like an epoch ago (actually a decade) when we inhabited this part of the coast. Great to catch up with Rob and Kristin and meet their amazing 6-month old twin daughters Abby and Emma. Thanks again guys - and Rob, see you in Memphis!

Tomorrow - Salt Point State Park, where $80 will buy you a whole mess of BBQ oysters, some top shelf wine, or two nights of sleeping on the dirt (but you can't put a price on the sound of crashing waves from your tent!).

on the road and headed West

2010-07-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

The car is loaded to the top, with more up top, and Salt Lake City is a distant memory beyond the view of our rear view mirror. First stop Fernley, NV.

follow our trip!

View CA-OR-WA trip in a larger map

Fishyness

2010-07-28T19:38:00.001-07:00

Finn giving me his best swallow tail look. we are all super excited for our trip! (we push off for the CA-OR-WA coast tomorrow am... Stay tuned for live blogging updates!

I'm Three Right Now?

2010-06-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe Finn is 3!

We had a great 2-day birthday celebration. On Friday, Finn and I (cbd) enjoyed some quiet time together, including a long bike ride to the park and some weather watching (he's a true DuRoss!). That afternoon we were supposed to have a neighborhood "block" party, in which all of our neighbors were looking forward to celebrating his birthday. Unfortunately, the party was rained out...but we had fun making a cake-muffins and celebrating his special day together inside.

But wait, who's that at the door? Despite the rain, our neighbors surprised Finn at the door and sang him happy birthday anyway (did we mention that we love this neighborhood yet?).

Here is a great video to make up for all those one-sided phone conversations:

Saturday we had the real party. Lots of friends and lots of kids. Rain forced us inside, but we still had fun.

And finally, some of our favorite photos of our amazing, energetic, talkative, insightful, adventurous, sweet boy:

July, 2009 -- SLC

August, 2009 -- Uinta's

September, 2009 -- SLC

November, 2009

January, 2010 -- Driggs

April, 2010 -- SW Utah

May, 2010 -- SLC

Fishing the Provo

2010-06-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

As we packed up our things to head to the Provo River for a morning of fishing, walking and picnicing, our neighbor Bob brought over a set of binoculars for Finn to borrow. He suggested we look for Yellow Warblers so we grabbed our bird book and kept our eyes open as we wandered the overgrown path leading toward the foot of the dam. We spotted a single yellow bird on our walk as we headed back downstream and over the Cottonwood bridge, but it flit through the tree tops too quickly to identify.

Current state of the yard

2010-06-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

watch out! Finn's armed and dangerous these days. You're likely to get very wet!

Oh yes! We have plums forming
lettuce growing and beets getting closer to first harvest every day....

A Few Swell Photos

2010-06-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

Good times in the dessert (San Rafael Swell) with friends Stefan, Jess and Greta:

Progress

2010-06-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

Not many people would say that they had a weekend well spent if it involved shoveling 1.5+ cubic yards of steaming compost into the back of a truck and then pulling it all out again to spread in all corners of the yard over the next two days. Well, call me crazy but I loved every dirty moment of it and better yet I love reaping the rewards of the results. the parking strip looks refreshed again with the plants vibrantly contrasting the rich black covering. Additionally we've added a few new rocks, compliments of Chris's last trenching project. In the back, the garden beds are all covered and sure to benefit from the added nutrients (along with the good streak of rain we've had). Now that the Chris has tackled the lawn with the edger, weed whacker and lawn mower I need to get some finished product photos. Of course the garden will continue to morph over the season with abundant growth and harvests.
Finn was our fantastic helper. He gathered tools for replacing sprinkler heads, pulled weeds, swept, spread compost, hauled small rocks...... and just enjoyed being out in the yard with us (with time to play too).
Nana reading to Finn at the library. He just can't get enough - we brought home eleven books and I'm certain we'll be going back for more in the next day or two.

I just finished a post that was started months ago. It's before the Spring climbing post.

Random Spring Photos

2010-04-23T08:22:00.000-07:00

Climbing trip to Red Rocks (NV) with Justin. I think we logged something like 2000' of climbing!

Easter trip to southwestern Utah with Stefan, Jess, and Greta; Justin, Pam, and Eli; and Craig, Renae, and Kaya.

Enjoying some hammock air time

Our new giant "grow bed"

This is what the area looked like when we move in

Enjoying our new favorite backyard spot

Changes

2010-03-27T20:52:00.000-07:00

Thankfully potty training went as smoothly as moving out of the crib and into a bed. Traveling with a potty makes things so easy!
Finn's room got a growing boy's overhaul. With the removal of the crib and the addition of the "big boy bed" everything looked a little bare. With a lot of help from Grandma he now has a new duvet and curtains. We ordered a rug and Finn could not wait for Daddy to get home from work to unroll it and get it all situated. I tried to stall by having him help clean the floor first. All the painstaking decisions over fabric, rugs and paint color have paid off (well, we still haven't gotten to painting with the color we picked but someday....)

My kitchen helper, making pizza, has it all figured out. He knows how the water, sugar and yeast are added first. We give it a little time to rest so the yeast can eat the sugar and get all bubbly. We add the flour, oil and salt then knead, let it rest an hour, roll it out and spread toppings before baking. He's involved every step of the way. I wonder how long it will be before he can make us dinner? Hmmmmmm.

Weekend

2010-01-31T14:54:00.000-08:00

Just Finn and I this weekend.

We all enjoyed the temps in the 50's...though a literal minefield exposed itself in the back yard.

Dreaming of skiing (at least I was). I gave Finn the option of

XC skiing or going to the pool. The pool won out easily. Luckily

the minefield is now buried again.

Genuine 2-yr old.

Cabin Fever

2010-01-15T09:31:00.001-08:00

With the smoggy air and lack of snow, we've been feeling a little cooped up lately.

Thankfully, we have Finn to keep us entertained:

"Look there's salt on Texas." [on his United States place mat]
"This guy is going to buy some money"
"Daddy are you a man boy?"
"Why is it dark?" [officially entered the "why" stage]
"Daddy can't wait for spring. You can't either?"

"What is the ceiling for? What are the walls for? What is the door for?

E: Look it's snowing. F: "barely." [one-word summary of this ski season]

"Daddie are you teasing me?"

I realized that cabin fever had set in when looking back at my favorite Finn photos; nearly all were taken out of doors.

-Chris

Christmas Collage (II)

2010-01-08T15:28:00.000-08:00

One more collage for y'all. This year we enjoyed a DuRoss Christmas here in SLC with my parents and then a relaxing trip with them up to Driggs.

Click here for the source photos.

This time pics of (left to right and down):
1. Erika and Finn Christmas morning. Erika is holding a new cookbook from "Nana and Papa" (DuRoss). Maybe time to reenact the conservation of mass and donate an old one for each new one that squeezes onto the shelf (or basement overflow zone). Of course Finn and I benefit greatly from her culinary excursions.
2. Finn's first day of (free heel) skiing! He did great and eventually insisted on doing "it all myself." He's a natural and I see many adventures in our future.
3. Finn's ski buddies...Alexander and Greta.
4. Finn trying out the headphones at the Jackson Hole visitor center. He was barking right along with the "pretend" elk.
5. Sledding...yay.
6. Barnyard animals in the 'hood.
7. Ready for the slopes.
8. Ready for the trail.
9. The quiet side of Jackson begins at the pass.
10. Finn showing Nana his culinary prowess
11. Me showing my consummate skill in marble blocks.
12. DuRoss pit stop.
13. Hudson always the center of attention (here laying on blocks).

Nov-Dec Executive Summary

2009-12-18T13:54:00.000-08:00

Regretfully it has been a long time since we posted anything. In looking back, there's a lot of ground to cover...so you'll have to suffer through two collages. The first is of Thanksgiving with Erika's mom and step dad in Bozeman. We really had a nice time. Matt and I enjoyed games on the Wii (no tennis elbow this time!). Finn loved his rock climber guy (upper left corner). Turns out it is pretty challenging as you have independent up/down controls for each arm/leg. I still haven't made it to the top (maybe too old). Erika, her mom, and Finn all enjoyed preparing and cooking an amazing feast (see photo left-center), and Matt won over Finn's heart with popcorn and 4-wheeler rides. In the end a quick trip, but a really nice visit.

Winter has arrived in Salt Lake City! I think one of the great things about owning a new house is experiencing all of the seasons and finding things you really appreciate. There are so many positive things to mention...like the fact that the road doesn't get salted/plowed immediately after a storm like it did at our last house (busy street). But the main thing is the great community. Last Sunday we were invited to a "roundabout party" as my neighbor called it - visiting four homes all surrounding us and one home of a neighbor's daughter who is married to a guy named Crazy Dave who Chip used to fight fires with (small world!). We had a great time getting to know our neighbors (and Finn playing with other kids) and as Erika put it, it really sealed the deal that we've found our home. Besides that, we've been hunkering down a bit. Fight off colds, getting Christmas lights up, XC skiing (once for Erika's b-day), and just enjoying the winter.

Halloween Weekend

2009-11-01T18:42:00.000-08:00

Finn and I had a nice Mommy and Son weekend while Chris was in San Diego visiting Chip. Saturday we made pumpkin spider waffles in the morning and dressed up to go hang out with friends up in Summit Park in the evening. The leaves continue to fall off the huge maple in our front yard. A week ago we raked five bags of leaves. Today we filled three more and the tree is still not bare.

Fall Update

2009-11-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

We've been slacking on the blog front lately so I decided to throw together a hodge podge of what we've been up to recently. Well, I guess this one is mostly about what Finn has been up to.

Our big helper:

Cleaning the windows with Daddy

Raking leaves and jumping in the pile too, of course

Checking in with the lemon verbena to see if it is "happy" or "sad" ( we dug it out of the garden to overwinter in the house)

Harvesting the end of the season tomatoes before it freezes (and sampling a few to ensure they are still of the best quality)

Making his own batch of pizza dough, each step of the way, by my side (while I prepare my own ball of dough

House Full of Family

2009-10-18T14:03:00.002-07:00

We've never had so many people staying in our house - and it was fabulous. Dad flew out from Wisconsin for a visit and then Brock, Amber, Madison, Isaac, and Hannah (Sampson too) decided to drive down from Bozeman to join in on the family fun.

The weather was more winter-like than Fall. We spent a fair amount of time just hanging out around the house. The kids played together non-stop. We ventured out for a snowy trek up to Cecret Lake. We all worked up an appetite and drove down the road to the Snowbird parking lot where we scarfed down our sandwiches and then caught a jam-packed bus up to Octoberfest. I think we set a record for the shortest visit at Octoberfest. We did a quick walk through past all the booths of items for sale, paused briefly to listen to the polka music under the warm tent, stood in amazement of the line people were willing to stand in for a $9 sausage and then turned around and headed out. I think that is one of those things we can now say, "been there, done that" with no desire to go back again. The event was good for people watching if nothing else. I'll look for photos on Amber's site since I forgot to bring my camera.

Misinformation

2009-09-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we put out a press release for a new earthquake publication. If you search Google News for "Utah earthquake" you'll find the stories - some good and some, well, pretty bad.

Interesting to see how news get skewed:

1. Our press release: NEW UGS REPORT DETAILS HISTORY OF WASATCH FAULT EARTHQUAKES NEAR NORTH OGDEN. Salt Lake City, Utah -- A recently completed study has found that a major earthquake struck the Wasatch Front between North Salt Lake and North Ogden about 500 years ago. The study, which focused on the Weber segment of the Wasatch fault zone, also found evidence of six earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or greater recurring about every 1500 years.

2. Associated Press: Big earthquake rattled Utah 500 years ago. SALT LAKE CITY — Geologists say a major quake could strike at any time in Utah, with new research showing the last large temblor along the Wasatch Front was more recent than previously thought. (Hmmm, a little misleading)

3. Huffington Post (hah!): Utah Earthquake: MONSTER Quake 500 Years Ago Rattled State (just plain sensationalism - before you blame the liberal press I'm sure Matt Drudge could have come up with an equally bad heading).

4. Standard Examiner - North Ogden: The problem with averages, said Chris DuRoss, a geologist with the Utah Department of Natural Resources, is that when you add two numbers together and divide by two, you get a third number that never happened. (what!? I never said that)

So our story went from a new report about an earthquake at 500 years between North Salt Lake and North Ogden, to a large earthquake on the Wasatch fault that occurred more recently than thought, to a MONSTER earthquake that rattled the state! OK, and the really enlightening thing: Our local Fox channel got the story RIGHT.

LPC

2009-09-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we celebrated our ten-year anniversary. Rather than stay at a bed and breakfast (as my dad suggested), we headed to the mountains. Our intent was to climb up to Lone Peak Cirque, camp, and climb. But weather and old age held us back. No matter though, we camped below the cirque at 9200', enjoyed time to relax, drank Pinot Noir from sunny boulders, cooked Indian food, and watched a half dozen mule deer stroll through camp. Our revised plan was to get up at 6:30 am, hike the 1.5 miles to the cirque and climb...but after an entire night of storms we opted for just a morning hike up to the cirque...which was beautifully carpeted in orange. Despite these setbacks, and an orthopedic surgeon's dream laundry list of body aches (cranky knees, guitar-string IT bands, high-heel neurmas, and a flexy pelvis...) we soaked up every minute of time together. And by Sunday night, over pizza and beer, the aches had subsided (temporarily) and we toasted to our accomplishment: topping of ten years of marriage with a trip that proved to be more painful than giving birth (according to E). Anyway, enjoy the photo-video, and if you need more - try looking at the photos on my Picasa web album:

http://picasaweb.google.com/cduross/LonePeak10YrAnniv#

-Chris

"One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life: that word is love." --Sophocles

Uinta Backpacking

2009-09-12T07:59:00.000-07:00

Mommylessness

2009-09-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Erika, Finn and I, and our friends Stefan, Jess, and Greta spent time in the Uinta Mountains. Except, Erika was backpacking with high-school students, and Jess was backpacking and climbing Kings Peak with friends. That left Finn and I and Greta and Stefan. We forged new ground in a mommyless night of camping and best of all got some fishing in (no photos, sorry).

Ready to hit the lake and go fishing.

Throwing rocks for Hudson and Cooper.

Ooooh - that was a good one!

Greta connecting too.

Matching camp hats.

Stefan and Greta.

Finn and Greta in their "house."

Relaxing after gathering firewood (and charcoal).

Contemplating a hike after a kinda rough morning.

I Strongly Agree with the Wasatch Fault

2009-09-04T12:15:00.000-07:00

OK, a few things to catch up on. This July I was involved in a FEMA Region VIII (intermountain west region) Interagency Steering Committee meeting (aptly named "RISC") in Salt Lake City. I was asked to give a talk on earthquakes at the meeting and organized a field trip to view the Wasatch fault in person. The trip was by far the largest I've led (over 150 people) and was really popular:
As a reward (at least in my mind), I was asked to participate in a flight over Salt Lake Valley, following the trace of the Wasatch fault. We had two blackhawk helicopters, and with the doors wide open flew at 500 feet for about 45 minutes. I took about 200 photos, some of the best are below.
The fight was basically an exercise for what would happen after a large earthquake along the Wasatch front. FEMA, state, and county representatives would likely fly over the fault rupture (break at the surface) to survey the damage to infrastructure, and where I come in: to assess the potential for earthquakes on different parts of the fault, review how the earthquake ruptured the ground, and determine where to send field teams for a more thorough scientific response. It was hard not to be a little giddy during this whole thing as it really was a dream come true. But in the end, it was a serious exercise (kind of).

My seat, staring at the back of the pilot's head. We had internal "comm's" (radios) and I was given a feed to the pilot - in case I wanted to change our route mid course!

We first flew north, with the intent of surveying any damage to the oil refineries. The Wasatch fault is along the base of the mountains in the far left part of the image.

From there we followed the trace of the fault south, circled over the three hospitals all located within spitting distance of the fault (which could be a real issue) and then moved on toward Parley's Canyon. This photo is looking directly west toward downtown Salt Lake City. The fault is right by the prominent Z curve in the road. Chip and Audrey can probably locate their old house.

Flying toward Parley's Canyon we about flew right over our house! Unfortunately, Finn was naping at the time. Our house is in the color part of the black and white photo above.

Flying up Parley's was amazing. It's a pretty narrow canyon and the gusty winds made it pretty exciting.

Mountain Dell reservoir. One question is whether or not some of the large reservoirs in the Wasatch Range will be affected by a large earthquake.

Once out of Parley's we continued south, past Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, and then out into the center of the valley. Here is a shot of Little Cottowood Canyon (center-left) and Bells Canyon (center).

Last one, flying back into the airport, we had a great view of downtown Salt Lake City. The fault runs left to right, where the roads suddenly go steeply uphill in the upper-center of the photo.

The "Little" Things that Bring a Smile

2009-07-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

Top left: Eight years ago I had a sizable collection of orchids. Slowly they all died, never to bloom again. This one has stood the test of time and recently enlightened me with a second bloom.

Top right: A comforting cup of Earl Grey infused with lavender along with the requisite milk and honey.

Bottom left: Echinacea - becoming a new garden favorite

Bottom right: Stalking the local wildlife. Hummingbirds and dragonflies abound in our backyard. They both provide a worthy challenge to photograph.

Window Seat

2009-07-05T16:03:00.001-07:00

We were supposed to go to Driggs this weekend, but since I've been feeling sick, we opted instead for a weekend of rest, recovery, and yard work, followed by fireworks and more yard work. Here you can see the view out the front window improving dramatically.

Just a reminder about how bad it was.

Movin' dirt - one of the few things I'm good at.

The neighbors thought the "grass" looked good at this point (no where to go but up).

Not quite finished...but lookin' good.

Did we mention that we love the view?
You guys are going to get sick of Mt. Olympus photos I can feel it.

Here is the much improved parking strip. You can tell that Erika vented some pent up artistic energy.

OK, and no blog posting is complete without paying homage to our offspring, who is smartly pointing out the dog in the comic strip (while "good dog Yea Yeah" is ignored).

Wilson Living

2009-06-29T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe, but it has been almost a month since we moved into 1967 Wilson. The first three weeks were mostly chaos, followed by a week of actually getting things organized (and painted). So far we really feel at home (have stopped looking at utahrealestate.com) and have met most of the neighbors, including a neighbor across the street that has a daughter married to a crazy guy that Chip fought fires with, and another down the street that is on an email list I send out for earthquake-related meetings. Small world. Here are a few photos...more to come (in a month or so):

Kitchen and dining "nook"

OK, so not as nice as our remolded kitchen in our last house, but no hidden coal soot!

Good sign that we're getting old. We're no longer experimenting with random paint colors, but "going with what you know." In this case - Crocodile Tears.

Not surprisingly, the view of Mt. Olympus out the front window is one of our favorite things, which reminds us why we live in Utah.

2009-06-29T12:39:00.000-07:00

Finn and I have been away in Yellowstone and Bozeman for the last ten days. The reality of being away so long was sinking in for Finn yesterday as we made our drive back to Salt Lake City. The last two hours he kept commenting "miss Daddy", "miss yay-yay (Hudson)", "hug Daddy"...... Chris was busy while we were away. He managed to paint the living room and front entry, purchase and install a front-loader washer and dryer, tear up a chunk of concrete and plant a grape vine along our driveway, and even squeeze in a few day climbing trip to Idaho. All that on top of a normal work week. He'll be posting photos shortly (since I somehow took all 3 of our cameras with me).

Finn had many rambling stories to tell along the drive home of the adventures we had while we were away:
"Brock cut hair" "Isaac watch"

"Madison like black horse" "Madison feed black horse"
"more buffalo" "steamies" "watch for animals" "animals hide behind trees"

"play Isaac, Madison, Hannah"
"see Grandpa's rescue truck" 'back Grandma's house"
"play at park" "digger"

In the end I realized that I should have taken more photos. I covered the first weekend at Yellowstone well but slacked from there on out.

Out of the Storm and Into the Fire (or rather Sewer)

2009-06-10T18:38:00.000-07:00

Well we are slowly settling into our place. The inside is still chaos, so you will just have to wait on photos. Things were going great, until this:

Whoa. Not that I figured tearing out and replacing the sewer would be easy and clean. Hmmm...haven't we been here before? "Deja vu all over again" as they say. In fact, these same guys replaced our sewer at our last house. Only there the sewer was 5-6 feet deep; here it is 9. That extra 3 feet makes quite a difference:

Despite the mess, I'm sure we'll eventually be glad to have a new sewer (like in a year from now).

One last photo. Erika and Finn in the only part of the house not stacked with boxes or discarded sewer pipe:

A to B to C

2009-06-06T13:55:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a toilsome 8 weeks of mind-numbing real-estate madness, but we finally made it 1967 E Wilson Ave. This all began with the statement (probably from my lips) of "let's list it and see what happens..." What happened is this:

- Our house went under contract in 8 days (!) just after Erika left for New Orleans.

- Buyers wanted to own it in <3 weeks, which if you've ever seen our basement or shed, created a fair bit of stress.

- I convinced Erika to let me offer on a house (1967 E Wilson) while she was away. The sellers countered close to asking and we decided to back off until Erika returned.

- Erika returned. We frantically moved out of 1400 S., moved to a rent-free rental that a good friend of ours had vacant for the month, and put in a low, but fair offer on 1967 E. Wilson. Our timing was right and they countered <1% higher; we accepted.

- We moved into 1449 E 3150 S (rental) with 1 mattress, 1 pack and play, 1 rug, 1 armchair, 1 table & 3 chairs, 1 skillet, 1 pot, five knives, 4 forks, and 3 spoons. Livin' was light (no TV, no internet, little mail), but relaxing. I read almost 2 books and we spent most of our time playing with Finn, walking, and talking about our (possible) new house.

- After a lot of drama on behalf of the sellers, we finally closed on 1967 E and moved in last Wednesday! We are glad to be settling down, unpacking our stuff (one of two PODs arrived yesterday), checking out our house (and scheming about future projects), and meeting neighbors (so far we have met neighbors from 4 nearby houses!).

A special thanks to all of our family and friends who helped us move, put us up for >3 weeks, watched Finn, and had us over for BBQs.

So I'll stop blabbing and share some photos.

Last photo in 1400 S. We were both a little sad to leave (E more than me)...we put a lot of sweat into that place. In the end, I was glad to be free.

Our humble, temporary residence. After three weeks we were ready to move on.

1967 E Wilson Ave!

Finn enjoying his new slide (he goes up and down on his own!)

Moving = Fun

2009-04-25T16:23:00.001-07:00

Just a few photos of Finn playing:

3 Days!

2009-04-24T16:40:00.000-07:00

Erika has been away for 7 days now. Finn and I have had fun, and especially enjoyed time with Nana, but are hoping these last three days go fast! In case you haven't heard, we put our house up for sale (yes we are crazy) and accepted an offer in 8 days (what real estate slump?)! The down side is that we have to be out of our house by May 7 (yikes!). Oh yeah, and we need to find another place. OK, on to the photos:

Finn enjoying Fairmont Park. I can't believe how old
he looks in this photo.

We've been loving this spring/summer weather.
Here we are eatin' out. Note Finn's own burger.

Caught reading the "daddy book" the daddy and kid
in the book look just like Finn and I, which is fun
for Finn (and kinda creepy for me).

Finn enjoying his Nana time. We are both so thankful that she came!

Preppin' for packing. If you look closely you'll see a little kid packed in there.

EarthWatch

2009-04-21T20:46:00.001-07:00

If you're wondering where Erika is and what in the world she is doing in New Orleans, click here: http://www.earthwatch2.org/lff/DuRoss/

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T06:19:00.001-07:00

Kaya, Greta, Finn

Finn had fun getting a taste of his first Easter egg hunt. He lasted a little while before getting distracted by the sandbox and food.

Schmee Schmoo

2009-03-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Finn's vocabulary seems to be growing exponentially these last few weeks. Driving around town he continues to point out the red, white and "blue bus", the "yellow bus" and today it was "bike car" for a bike mounted on the back of a car. The colors he knows are rapidly expanding to include: red, pink, green, yellow, blue, purple, white and black. Opposites such as push/pull, off/on, in/out, and up/down are becoming more common terms. Hudson is praised for being a "good boy" until he wants him out for "night night".

below are a few images of Finn's version of Andy Goldsworthy style art with the creation of "snow mouse". Notice the nice rice cracker touch. Next time we build something like this I'll know to consider a location that is visible from a window knowing that Finn will want to visually keep checking on it. Who knows, maybe this will be the last of the snow for the season...

Back at It

2009-03-26T18:42:00.000-07:00

Quick Laugh

2009-03-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

Here's a video I captured of Finn and his "good dog" Hudson:

-cbd

Double-Double

2009-03-09T20:25:00.000-07:00

Well I finally made it down to St. George for a "Winter" climbing trip with my friend Stefan. We had postponed the trip two previous times due to scheduling difficulties and weather, but persevered and made it down. We met up with an old friend Eric, now living and teaching in Cedar City, and hit three different areas in three days.

Overall it was a great trip. We thoroughly enjoyed the warm rock, plentiful (and mostly well bolted) routes, and complete lack of crowds. We saw one person the entire time...the author of the guide book who put up about 400 routes in the area in the last decade. And I got to fulfill a long-neglected In-N-Out fix, hence the title "double-double," which is their signature burger and one of only four menu items, unless of course you know the "secret menu" (unlike Eric).

Here are some of my favorite photos:

Day 1 we visited an area called the Prophesy Wall...
moderate, well bolted routes abound.
Stefan's camper patiently waits....

Eric belaying Stefan on a classic "5.10" at
the Prophesy Wall.

Eric stepping up and leading a super fun and moderate
(but somewhat scary looking) route at the Zen Wall,
just outside of Santa Clara.

That's me on a moderate, but exposed
route at the Zen Wall.

Stefan leading at the Zen Wall.

Oh for a macro lens. Beautiful Yucca...
but poor depth of focus. Still like the shot though.

Eric and Dana getting ready to climb at the very cobbly
Parowan Gap, just out side of Cedar City.

-Chris

Give me MORE outdoors

2009-02-27T20:10:00.000-08:00

Things have been a little still on the home front with Chris sick all last week and now I've been home a few days taking care of Finn. Despite running a fever and being fairly congested, Finn still had his cheery moments where he wanted to be outside. Here he is making a pit-stop to play with the ski poles on the front porch before we walk to the grocery store for milk. He's so fascinated with skis and poles and loves riding in the backpack while we're skiing. It won't be two long and he'll be schooshing or kicking and gliding himself (maybe next year).

Yay-Yeay

2009-02-16T08:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Erika took advantage of lots of fresh snow in the Wasatch and Finn and I had a good long day together. Here are some photos from throughout the day...which seemed to focus on Hudson.

On a rough night, I usually take advantage of Hudson's midnight backyard wanderings (he always gets up when we get up) to calm Finn. Looking out the window into backyard and searching for "Yay-Yeay" always calms him down. The other day Finn realized that he could push his stool up to the back window and look out on his own. I captured this from outside:

The idea of Hudson walking through his own mini-door must be so strange and exciting for Finn. Here he is calling for Hudson,

and here he comes...look out!

And finally, a video that I took at lunch...listen for Hudson's growl near the end.

Chris

Did you say dung beetle?

2009-02-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

Well, this is a random smattering of photos and events to update everyone. Below: Finn showing off his dung beetle shirt. I can't believe he is big enough to fit this shirt. It seemed so huge when we received it in the mail from friends in S. Africa last year. He thinks he's pretty funny peeking through the back of my hat. I agree, it is pretty comical.

A recent teaser week of warm weather made it feel like Spring and left me craving a little change. It's been a year since my hair was last cut so I figured it was time to go short again, and a little blonder.

Lastly, I can't help but mention how proud I am of few of Chris's recent accomplishments. Last night he received a 2009 WSSPC (Western States Seismic Policy Council) Award in Excellence under the category of Research, specifically Wasatch and Sevier Faults Paleoseismic Research.

It's been a number of weeks now since Chris made the news, but there are still a few family members that haven't had the link to see it. Click here to see him speak about "Putting Down Roots in Utah".

Finn, Hudson and a Box

2009-01-30T21:57:00.000-08:00

Finn's First Fine Art

2009-01-18T09:09:00.000-08:00

Here are a few photos of Finn expressing his artistic side. He just loved painting and kept asking for more. Thanks to Stefan and Jess for the great birthday gift...

Great concentration.

The mess begins...

Gettin' after it.

Masterpiece 1.

Masterpiece 2.

Personally, I think Masterpiece 1 has more depth and subtle meaning. Masterpiece 2 is just a mess. Check out our poll - upper right. Hopefully more posts to come.

2008 Photo Review

2009-01-02T12:59:00.000-08:00

Here is a quick photo-movie of our favorite moments of 2008 (at least those that we have photos for). Enjoy!

Happy New Year!
Chris, Erika, & Finn

Christmas 2008

2008-12-29T08:24:00.000-08:00

Since we weren't going to be home for the week surrounding Christmas this year, we decided not to get a live Christmas tree, but instead dug out the little metal standby from the basement. Finn absolutely adored the tree with its lights and ornaments which he rapidly learned to identify as star, angel, frog, fish, snowflake, etc....paying particular attention to the macaroni angels (an old time favorite of Hudson's). My pre-Christmas project next year will be to make a few replacement macaroni angels.

The snowy and icy roads created treacherous conditions for our drive to Bozeman, but we made our way, slowly, surely and safely with Chris behind the wheel; setting a record long drive time of nine hours. After a car spin out in front of us and the first car off the road we placed our bets on what we'd see on our journey. The numbers continued to climb as we drove with a final tally of:
9 vehicles off-road and a boat - as one of these was an overturned truck hauling a large boat
1 snowplow accident
1 spin-out
I'm thankful we weren't included in any of these statistics! Who knew that having to replace all of our tires last week due to a slashed sidewall would be such a blessing in disguise.

Our stay was memorable. Much time was spent in the kitchen preparing Christmas traditions such as lefse, date cookies, and popovers, as well as just working together to create plain ole good meals to share. I'd be in trouble if I ate that well every day!

The cousins played hard:

Giggles filled the air, as did noises of trucks driving and crashing. Kids tumbled to the ground in hugs. Madison popped back and forth between assembling the annual Christmas puzzle with Mom, Amber and I (especially motivated by the horse theme), becoming a tennis pro on the wii and playing alongside the smaller kids. Hannah and Finn swapped toys; Hannah checking out Finn's phone or trucks and Finn carrying Hannah's baby around. They crawled up the stairs side-by-side like partners in crime or were spotted playing silently together in the guest bedroom. Finn and Isaac were all about trucks, trucks, trucks, whether it was books or toys. Apparently Isaac said one night, after they'd gone back to their house, that Finn was his best buddy. I bet if Finn could speak that many words, he would express the same sentiment. He often sat in awe of his big cousin and soaked up all his actions.

Unfortunately our camera died half-way through the trip so i'll be relying on posts from Amber to fill in the shots of the adults playing hard: between intense wii competitions of boxing, bowling and tennis and our crazy snowmobile adventure to Little Bear Cabin...... there's more to come.

and now for the parting shot of Finn dancing in Grandpa's baby boots. I wish I had his moves on video as his tap dancing two-step accompanied by a enormous grin was so adorable.

It feels good to be home but it is so hard to be far away from family again!

1.5 yrs; Good Times

2008-12-15T19:42:00.000-08:00

It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that Finn's entire body fit on Chris's forearm. This photo gives a good sense of how big he's gotten (although it may be a bit like the classic exaggerated fish story photo due to the angle). Here is a brief photo update of our 1.5 year old boy.

To Walk in Daddy's Shoes

2008-12-08T11:50:00.000-08:00

One quick lesson from Daddy and he's a pro

Chris and Finn assemble the new shelves for the mudroom.

The mudroom continues to come together. I just need to pick up some more baskets for storage of hats, gloves, shoes, etc...and we'll be on our way to reducing clutter in other rooms.

Birthday Getaway

2008-11-23T13:56:00.000-08:00

This afternoon we returned from a remarkable weekend just over the Idaho border at the Malad Summit Guard Station. Chris orchestrated the entire weekend down to the smallest thoughtful details: planning and shopping for meals, sneaking the few gifts that arrived by mail into the car, packing all we needed except Finn's clothes and my clothes, and keeping all plans a complete secret until we pulled up to the gate leading to the cabin. I was pleasantly surprised by a weekend getaway to a rustic cabin (just Chris, Finn, Hudson and I).

Chris and Finn warming their hands by the "Hot" fire.

We had a memorable time taking frosty morning walks with Finn to hunt down the "water". The creek ran along both sides of the cabin and through the surrounding riparian areas. Finn couldn't get enough of it, constantly asking to go outside to see the "water, water...". If it was up to Finn, we'd have spent the entire weekend walking along the creek or running through the grass.
-Lucky me, even the traditional carrot cake!

We spent a few hours Saturday hiking the Indian Mill Trail. The wind had a chilly bite when it wasn't countered by the sun. There were sections of snow and mud and water to cross and all and all, it was beautiful to be out together.
I couldn't have asked for a more perfect birthday celebration!

Fall Leaves

2008-11-23T13:21:00.000-08:00

Even though there are still a good number of leaves in the trees, it is that time of year to begin to rake, rake, rake (before the snow falls).

Finn got to come to work with me for the morning - for the Realms annual Leafathon fundraiser

Using his new skills learned at the Leafathon, here's Finn raking at home with Daddy

..............................
and undoing the raking by jumping into the piles

Good Times!

First Tracks

2008-11-10T18:43:00.001-08:00

Finally a new post! Sorry for the delay - hopefully you haven't given up on us.

Last weekend we celebrated the first signs of Winter in the Wasatch and took the kids up to Alta for some nordic skiing. We had a great time touring up a road to the base of an upper Alta lift. Going down was a little more interesting. Those skinny skis even make snowplowing hard! Finn loved it, except when I would almost lose my balance and go over and when I'd get going too fast. He was very interested in where Erika was, looking back and saying mmmmmmmmom.

Here are a few photos:

Majestic Mt. Superior.

E and Finn getting ready.

Stefan, Jess, and Greta (in Chariot) and Erika skiing up.

Lunch.

Finn and Greta making a snowman.

Finn and his new favorite food: Clif Bars

"Wish those lifts were running!"

Family shot...Greely bowl in the background.

One last note: Finn has taken after his mother - loving frogs. As I write this Finn has collected all of his frogs into one big pile - nine total! I asked him if there were any more and he brought his blanket with about 200 frogs on it! Smart boy.

Gotta Stay Positive

2008-10-19T17:02:00.000-07:00

Erika and Finn headed up north today to visit her parents in MT (she has the week off since students are on an international trip). Unfortunately, I'm stuck at home...but took advantage of all the spare time to work on a couple of overdue projects (once fully fueled with coffee, obviously). First - I tiled a few trim strips between the kitchen and "mudroom" and down on the lower landing. This was supposed to be easy - but try as I might, I had a hard time getting the individual squares to look level. Oh well, not that anything in this house is level anyway.

Here is the "before" photo...from when we moved in. Notice the wallpaper in the hallway - those walls (and ceiling) are the only surfaces that we have not painted in this house!

And the after shot. The mudroom walls are painted "faint flickr" which really brightens it up.

Next I gingerly approached another long-standing project. I donned the HEPA-filter mask, eye protection, gloves, and ipod and started scraping and painting the shed. Ughh. Luckily good songs came on "shuffle" and I pushed through. Here are the before and after photos:

Looking through the old photos I came across this one, housed in the folder "kitchen demolition and choas," which about sums it up. I think it's my favorite shot of the total madness that sprung from our kitchen remodel. I had no idea what I was up against (mold, coal soot, plumbing issues, electrical issues, plaster issues, window issues...) and spent a lot of time staring blankly, but somehow pulled through. Notice the open book that has plumbing photos for a PERFECT house. A lot of help that was. Also notice the essential kitchen gadgets: Coffee maker, Egg & Muffin Toaster, and Toaster Oven.

Snowy October Weekend

2008-10-16T09:40:00.000-07:00

Setting good habits early

as I am posting this,
Finn is sitting in my lap very clearly exclaiming, "Daddy, Daddy!" and pointing to the pictures. He loves his daddy and if only he know that tomorrow was his daddy day (Fridays) he'd be jumping up and down with joy!

Bummin' 'Round the House

2008-10-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

September has been kinda slow, but good. We've enjoyed the fall weather, late-season harvests, and watching Finn turn in to one hyper boy. Here is a random collection of photos. -cbd

Finn quickly figured out that he can climb onto the couch using his push cart. He's looking pretty proud of himself. Yes, I know - he needs a haircut.

Who needs toys when you have tools! I finally dug deep and found the motivation to start another house project. Actually I didn't feel like finishing the other six projects I have going...

Finn showing much improved technique here.

Finn showing his sign for "more" (index fingers carefully put together) and showing his best "please mommy" face.

We harvested lots of squash (of four different varieties) this year, but only one pumpkin. Finn and I are about to harvest.

The pumpkin generated lots of interest... (cool crop by E)

But only Finn tried to eat it right away. Our hyper little boy.

Fall Fuggles

2008-09-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Our first hop harvest! Thanks to Craig for donating his Fuggles noble hops from his old house. We "adopted" this plant mid-summer and were surprised by a pretty good harvest. Hops are a fragrant, bitter herb used in making to beer to balance the sweet malt. I'm looking forward to using them in my next batch.

What a Character

2008-09-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Things have been slow on the blogfront lately with home projects, me being back to teaching full time, family in town, and the general busy nature of life. I figured it was time to sit down and add a few posts.

Finn's personality is definitely becoming more pronounced. Here he is getting hyper before bed. He found his hat that no longer fits him in his bedroom and decided that he just had to wear it. It really compliments his pajamas nicely doesn't it? So, he put it on all by himself and plowed through the house giggling away. He's getting pretty proficient at cornering with this toy, without ramming into too many walls or door frames.

Today I noticed that he has two new teeth. That makes ten!

Fall BBQ

2008-09-25T18:30:00.000-07:00

The daytime temperatures continue to cool and the night time forcast threatens frost. With BBQ season winding down we decided to host a small gathering. Even Finn got to invite a few friends.

You can see the shed project in the background here. The front is painted a nice pale shade of green called crisp celery. We have yet to scrape and paint the sides or build doors. These are all on the short list but projects have moved indoors lately to the mudroom/back entry. I'll have to try to capture photos of Chris's transforming paint job. Next we lay backerboard, tile and wood treads.

Greta

Kaya

Finn showing off the fridge in dad's "man space" (a.k.a. the shed)

Corn Dog

2008-09-14T08:09:00.001-07:00

Last Friday Finn enjoyed his first State Fair. Thanks to Stefan, Jess and Greta for the laughs and for taking all these photos (we forgot our camera - oops).

We didn't get to see too many animals (except Bengal Tigers! and some horses), but did enjoy foot-long corn dogs, square-dancing Texans, people watching, a fun farmer chore activity for Finn and Greta (see photo of him harvesting veggies!), a Ferris Wheel at dusk, and polish sausage!

The ultimate corn dog. I think the age-old DuRoss quote goes well here (used to be on our fridge in Ohio): "You have freedom of choice but not of consequences."

Big apples. Finn and Greta posing

Finn reaping a bountiful harvest

E, Finn and I on the Ferris Wheel. He wasn't quite sure what to think at first (whereas Greta was standing, bouncing and smiling!), but was smiling and clapping by the end.

Perfect Fit

2008-09-10T21:19:00.000-07:00

With the cooling temperatures I've been going through Finn's drawers and pulling out the clothes that no longer fit. In the process I ran across this sweater that he got for Christmas. It was worn many months ago but is just now the perfect size. All your efforts and frustrations were well worth it Mom. Look how adorable it is on him!

City of Rocks weekend

2008-09-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we got out of town for some climbing at the City of Rocks, thanks to some master group organizing by Craig. We camped at the Breadloaves group site (somewhere around twenty-five of us) and took turns kid watching so everyone who wanted to could get on a few routes. Saturday night we did potluck style burritos. These were hands-down one of the tastiest camp meals I've ever had (and all I had to do was cook up some tortillas). We're typically so good about photos, but somehow we drove away with only a handful of Finn photos and not a single climbing shot. Although, I think this sparked an interest in both of us to want to get out climbing more. With that in mind, there should be upcoming photo opportunities.

Renae entertains Finn and Kaya with bubbles, bubbles, bubbles... "Hey, do you have your helmet?"

Finn thinking about climbing safely already.

Four other kids to play with and so much room to roam, what fun! Finn was all over the campsite. He'd wander off into the sagebrush or across the vacant parking lot, turn around to wave "bye" then continue to wander farther. He's definitely becoming more independent.

Affinity for the Backyard

2008-09-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

After years of aspiring to have "dueling hummingbirds" in our yard, we've succeeded. We've spotted at least three individuals visiting the scarlet runner beans and various Penstemon flowers, or sipping nectar from the two strategically placed hummingbird feeders. Most recently this female broad-tailed hummingbird has been fiercely defending the entire backyard as her territory. Both Chris and I savor sitting for hours on end quietly watching them flit around the yard and hearing their high-pitched chirps and whirrs.

It is not just the birds that have an affinity for the backyard. We have an abundance of bees that make their way from flower to flower. They are especially abundant in the mint and the cosmos. I've seen damselflies and even had a huge praying mantis stalking insects on the Sacred Datura plant near the mint.

Finn is taking advantage of his newfound mobility to make the rounds in the backyard. Not only is he picking tomatoes from the garden (with no consideration of whether they are ripe or not), he is now ravenously eating the Finn sized tiny yellow cherry tomatoes. I never thought I'd keep up with how fast they were ripening, but as of yesterday afternoon he's effectively wiped out all of the tiny little gems.
Behind Finn you can just see a glimpse of our enormous pumpkin. Soon it will be pushing on the sides of both raised beds. I'll have to get a picture when we pick it

The bountiful harvest we returned to after vacation

Homelife

2008-09-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

Finn relinquishing his "mommy-mode" for Daddy time. He just lights up when Chris gets home from work. Below: he's crawled up into Chris's lap to share an after work snack of chips and garden salsa (omitting the salsa for Finn since it has a bit of a jalapeño kick and he's not too fond of tomatoes yet).Finn's creative play shining through. He's stacked each drum on its own step and is pushing them all around the house, giggling as he goes along.

Simple Pleasures

2008-09-03T09:34:00.001-07:00

Finn got some Fall clothes in the mail from Grandma. He was way more interested in the packaging than the content. Who knew that a few sheets of packaging paper could be so much fun?

Post II of II: Adults Had Fun Too

2008-08-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

OK, here are the rest of the photos!

This was the start of Finn's magnetic attraction to the ocean!

Finn ready to call it a day

Typical Fort DuRoss

Requisite shower shot

Papa and his clan

What's up "cuz?"

Somehow I managed to capture this storm off the coast to the south. The bright white light above the trail of taillights is the Cape Hatteras lighthouse.

Finn's first ocean swim! He loved it.

Stingray?? Doubtful. They stay away from the surf - it was probably just a cloud of sand. Actually everyone is looking for a lost sand toy.

Papa enjoying some much deserved rest.

Finn checking out the waves. That's me in the red shirt in the background.

Papa and Judah. Judah knew from day one that he needed to be in that ocean.

Post I of II: Giant Sandbox

2008-08-26T18:03:00.000-07:00

OK, it's time to get posting - even Chip and Audrey posted their NC shots and they were a week behind us! Our excuse is that we all recently came down with the stomach flu (seriously).

Here are our Outer Banks photos (hard to narrow it down from 400+ photos!). We really had a memorable time, and are thankful to have had the chance to catch up with Derek and Hope (miss you guys already!), and see the three kids go crazy together. It is so amazing how unique their personalities are. Of course we also loved seeing Nana and Papa soaking up all the kid time ("I'll be at the beach if you need me!") - and can't thank them enough for doing so much to make our time together so special.

Here is the "kid collection" of photos:

Finn predicting that large waves will fall upon us

Finally, the pool all to myself!

Judah and Finn workin' in the sun. That bucket eventually became Finn's favorite resting place!

Success! Papa and I had doubts that that "inflatable kite" would actually fly.

Finn's first fins. Daddy I saw a fin just like this in the water behind you!

Judah clearly has the best style. One of my favorite photos - amazing that they all sat still for so long (4 seconds).

Look at the hole I dug!

Ocean Beaches ------->

2008-08-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo-video from our recent trip to Oregon and Washington. We had a great time - and soaked up as much time with Chip and Audrey, cool port-town air, wet rain forests (redundant), and incredible ocean beaches as possible.

Thanks again to C & A for sacrificing much, and for making our stay super memorable. Enjoy the video (sorry, kinda large)... C & E.

Boy Ages 6 Months in 6 Minutes!

2008-07-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

We just gave Finn his fourth haircut! Here is a before photo:

And the "after" photos:
Now that his hair is "#7" short, he looks so much older - especially combined with him walking around!

He's been loving climbing all over our gear for our upcoming trip to Oregon/Washington! So much for traveling light. We're definitely going to be maxing out our luggage poundage limits as well as every bit of free space Chip and Audrey have.

And here is a quick photo from our garden. Our first Jalapeño peppers! I was thinking that they would be a little less hot - reasoning that the spiceyness reflected the local climate, but boy was I wrong. They are mean little green things.

Centenial Post!

2008-07-18T19:55:00.000-07:00

Just now, the thought crossed my mind: I wonder how many posts we've racked up, and if it's anywhere close to 100...cause it would be cool to post a 100th post. So I looked, for the first time mind you, at the number, which unbelievably was 99!

So here you go. Our 100th post (in 9 months)! Probably our 92nd post of Finn. That kid is going to have a record of his upbringing suitable for a presidential library. We're doomed as parents as he'll easily be able to pull up posts in support of feeding hudson, dressing up hudson, refusing to eat, or making a huge mess (when eating, just in general).

My favorite post? That's hard. Drummer Boy is probably my favorite. This is right about the time when we wondered what happened to our cute infant who slept all the time! Hmm, I also really like Snowy Sunday Hike, which recalls our first official hike together. Of all the firsts, this one seemed pretty meaningful to me.

My least favorite (or rather, hardest moment to recall)? Parting Shots

Most comments? Surprising I Passed! That was a big day for me though.

Most meaningful? Easy. Reflection and Renewal. Still gives me goosebumps.

More to come...E still needs to weigh in.

-Chris

Experiment 2-a

2008-07-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

We didn't stray far from home this weekend but regardless, it was enjoyable. In continuing to prepare for our upcoming Oregon camping adventure, we set up the tent in the backyard. Finn certainly enjoys being in the tent, although it is entirely possible that he has too much fun crawling, bouncing, looking out the mesh sides, etc and will have a hard time sleeping when the time comes.

As an addendum to the milestone list from Chris's 13 month post.....
Finn is now able to walk! Not that he has converted to this as his main mode of locomotion but he has the know-how and balance to at least get across the living room.