Land.

Why can't I have a little land? Not a farm, or even acreage... just a little plot to grow tomatoes and let there be undiscovered hidden spots for my children to be the first to find. I know this may sound selfish, but having good weather isn't enough. Watching my son chase grasshoppers for hours in the wild pastures here in Oregon is bitter sweet. I just try to tell myself that it rains here 70% of the time. That land comes with a price... But in the summer when the sun is beating down on the hammock and the white fence is so far off in the distance you can hardly see it... there is no better place. Here is to summers in Oregon and winters in California!

Black Butte

Returning to the place I spent my summers as a kid is like taking a bath after rolling in the mud of life! Watching my kids do the same things I relished in, laughing with family, breathing in the crispest air imaginable... I feel new all over!








so many more pictures to come it is scary!

ovarian cyst bursts... not cool!

Dudes, just when you think you have created a life that puts pain up on a nice little shelf as much as possible... you find yourself on the ground writhing from the worst feeling that has ever been experienced by me... feeling like you are in the dark ages and someone has you hooked up to the torture machine from "Princess Bride." Not that Ben looks anything like the weird Albino, but seriously I have been reintroduced to the concept of pain. You always wonder what the body is capable of and when you get those tiny glimpses you shudder at the possibilities. For example, a stubbed toe on the bed frame in just the right spot. Or, your epidural mysteriously waring off for the last hour of labor and delivery. Not to mention "being electrocuted!" (So I married an axe murderer quote...) Long story short... there are levels of pain that we can't even begin to understand. I may have seen the big toe of the monster called pain last night and it was ugly! If that was just the big toe... I can't imagine what the rest of it's hideous form may be. It makes me 3 parts scared, 2 parts in denial and 5 parts wanting to repent for all my sins. I definitely made some promises to my Heavenly Father last night. You find yourself pleading with the Lord when you are in a wheelchair at the ER begging for morphine! Lets just hope I can live up to those promises... or atleast be a little bit more humble. It would be nice if I never had to do that again. Ever...

Big city for 2 little girls!

Well, my cutest little niece Julia and her friend Amber came to stay with me for a week. Oh what a party we had. Let's just say I learned some new sayings like, "Life is like a garden... dig it!" Also, I observed that the 11/12 year old girl lingo basically revolves around the word weird. Everything is weird. Food is weird, China Town is weird, Hanna Montana is weird, their Dads are definitely weird and it goes on and on. Basically after every statement they follow it with... it was so weird. I caught myself doing it by the time they were ready to leave, it was weird.

They were helpful, kind, fun, silly, considerate, pretty, healthy, giving, patient, weird girls! I hope I didn't scar them too much! Here are some highlights from their trip...

Chinese market


on the trolley car...

super model!

eating gelato in North Beach...

good luck cats in chinatown... fascinating!

Union Square

super model!

candles at Old St Mary's Cathedral

this is Amber giving our left over fried rice to a homeless man. She did whatever I dared her to do basically! The guy loved it. He was the most civilized homeless man I've ever met! Good experience for them!



Me taking pictures... which was all I did of course. I decided that going to the city is underrated. I need to make it there more often. William would be fascinated by all the lights and people. It might do us some good to get past clubsport and Safeway. Hmmm, we'll see. I'll have to make a whole post of the weird people I photographed. Weird...

Don't worry guys...

Your daughters are in good hands!!!

Lake House continue...

Being up at the lake at this time of year reminds me of the movies where people in the 1950's stayed at old lake resorts. Kinda like Dirty Dancing, without the abortion, Patrick Swayze and overall young adult angst! It was much more boring than that but with the same back-drop.

It makes me want to do that more often. Just be away and let William get all scratched up and dirty. There is something about staying up late at a cabin with family playing games that makes one feel satisfied! Catching crawdads and having more subjects to photograph than I can keep up with. With the light and the setting it made me realize how much I love taking pictures of everything and nothing at the same time.

The car line William set up and the bird that hit the window and was stunned just long enough for us to investigate!

cute cousins!

baby feet...

not so baby feet...

when you gotta go...!

what says summer more than ponytails and life jackets...?

see you later...