26 September 2011 by ben.

Last June, Sandy, Bonnie and I drove to Olympia to picnic with their cousins and other relatives and also to explore the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.  At the refuge, we saw dozens of herons, a rabbit, a racoon, and many other birds, and enjoyed a great view of Mount Rainier.  At the picnic, we enjoyed the company of several cousins, nieces, and nephew.

Click photo for archive:

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9 May 2011 by ben.

Raffle was the mother of our previous corgi, Bear, who died quite young of health complications.  When we adopted Raffle a month or two later, it felt like a band-aid for our hearts as she began to mother us.    Within a few weeks, we took her on her first camping trip near Leavenworth, where she proceeded to get the dirtiest ever in her life, and she loved it!  And then a few months later, we adopted a puppy named Pippin who turned out to be her own great grandson, and they always got along swimmingly.  Pipping was bigger, faster, stronger, more clever:  but Raffle was the Grandma and the boss!  The next year, we took them both to Manzanita, Oregon to our beach house rental, and both had a chance to run in the surf of the Pacific Ocean.

Raffle turned out to love playing in the snow, and her breeder, Gloria, told us that she was born in Alberta, Canada in early December, and so probably only knew snow for the first four months of her life.  By the time she was two, she was a champion corgi, winning local and regional best-of-breed titles. 

When she was older and had trouble keeping up with Pippin on walks, but still desperately wanting to join us for every outing, Sandy created a nest for her in her wagon.  When we had a big snow storm in December of 2008, Sandy pulled Raffle around the ‘hood to enjoy the beautiful snowfall. We’ll always remember you, Raffle, you were a good dog!!

Raffle in December of 2008… click for more

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15 February 2011 by ben.

Bonnie competed in the Seattle area solo and ensemble competition (classical) on Saturday, February 12th.  With accompanist Tom Bell, she performed the difficult 1st and 3rd movements of Hindemith’s Sonata for Trombone and Piano.  I uploaded a video of her performance here.  She advances to the State Solo and Ensemble Contest to be held April 29th and April 30th in Ellensburg, Washington, where she will be joined by two of her cousins from Vantage, Nick and Carolyn.

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27 December 2010 by ben.

This year, we had a small family gathering for Christmas:  my parents, who drove over from Okanogan for the week, plus the five of us.  During the week, everyone finished their shopping and enjoyed a seasonal flick or two.  This year, we watched It’s A Wonderful Life and The Bishop’s Wife earlier in the month, and after my parents arrived, viewed the John Ford / John Wayne classic, Donovan’s Reef.

On Christmas, Kim and the kids played a concert for us.  Sandy played the melodies on her saxophone, Scott and Bonnie accompanied on their trombones, and Kim added harmonies on her violin.  In the kitchen, Kim cooked Beef Wellington as the main course, and, with Kim’s crust, I made a chocolate pecan pie.   A few other dishes rounded out the delicious meal.

Click Santa for a few family photos:

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29 November 2010 by ben.

For the umpteenth year in a row, one of our kids marched in the Seattle version of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day (after) parade on 26 November 2010.  This year, Scott, in the Seattle Sounders Sound Wave band, and Bonnie, in the Roosevelt High School Marching Band, both participated.  As luck would have it, they both marched near the start of the parade.

Thanks to the termination of local TV coverage last year, the parade has been much more fun to watch because there aren’t repeated stalls due to the TV station showcasing a particular performance or to the ubiquitous commercial breaks.  As a result, this year’s version was the most fun ever — the weather was perfect, chilly but no rain and no wind, and the action just skipped along.

I shot video of various segments and created a short flick which is about five minutes long, with Scott appearing in the front row of the first band and Bonnie in the first row of the second band.

Click here to see the video clip.

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26 September 2010 by ben.

Today, Phil sung in front of his largest live audience ever — 70,000 rabid fans of the Seattle Seahawks football team.  We arrived about three hours early for a sound check on the field, and then after a few photo ops, headed to the “green room” for some food and relaxation time.  We shared this room with the honor guard who would be carrying the US, State, and MIA flags onto the field.  This group included personnel from every branch of military service. 

At 12:30, we headed back to the field where the players were going through their pregame drills — just a few feet from us at times!  Kim and I stood just off the field at the 50 yard line while Phil went out among the players and the military color guard and waited for his cue from the production director.  The he belted out a terrific rendition of the anthem to an appreciative audience.

When he finished and handed over the wireless microphone, a couple of the coaches came up to shake his hand including Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll.  We then looped around the field and walked along the Seahawk endzone as they lined up for the opening kickoff.  We were allowed to say on the sidelines for the opening kickoff before we headed down the tunnel and up to our complimentary seats above the south end zone.  The seats were great, the air was reasonably warm (and mostly dry) and the Seahawks won the game partly on the strength of their star kickoff returner who ran back two kickoffs for touchdowns, a 101-yard and a 99-yard play.

Click the photo for the archive.  Video clip is here.

Phil singing the National Anthem.

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30 August 2010 by ben.

At the Big Band Jazz and Auction in May of this year, Kim and I saw a very appealing auction item:  a boating adventure with Kim and Scott Yale complete with a delicious picnic lunch and beverages.  We’ve known Scott and Kim for several years through the high school jazz program, and so we knew we’d love to spend the day with them, and getting a grand tour on their new boat would make the day a highlight of the summer for us. Read the rest of this entry »

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25 August 2010 by ben.

On 18 August, Kim, Bonnie and I drove over Washington Pass to Klipchuck Campground, a few miles from Mazama and a few more from Winthrop, for a short camping trip.  Our plan was to hike every day, dine at least once on burgers and fries at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery in Winthrop, and treat ourselves to ice cream and lattes at Sherry’s in Winthrop. Read the rest of this entry »

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13 August 2010 by ben.

In early August, 2010, Phil, Max, Bonnie and I drove to eastern Washington to a trail head about twenty miles past Cle Elum and hiked up to Esmeralda Basin.  This was Max’s longest hike ever, 7 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 1750′.  He did great, soaking his baseball cap at each opportunity to keep cool. Read the rest of this entry »

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30 June 2010 by ben.

Sandy and a gaggle of her friends hosted their own potluck dinner on Prom Night this past June.  After taking a few photos of the group in the back yard, two departed with other friends, and the remaining eight headed down to Dahl Field just to hang out for a while before the drive to the dance.  I tagged along and took some additional photos of the group dressed in their prom night finery.

Click the photo to see the complete set.

Prom Night at Sandy’s House

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